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The Static PageMatters of momentumWhen we think of technology innovations,the few examples that cometo mind instantly are those thathave solved a longstanding problem. The car forexample solved the problem of rapid personaltransport, the laptop allowed us all to computeon the go, and the internet (apart from making usworship cats) forever changed how we live.Even at a product level there were innovationsthat made things incrementally better.Apple didn’t invent the touchscreen smartphoneor the portable music player, but what it didwas make those devices genuinely practical bysolving many of the little problems that hadplagued previous attempts – battery life, storagespace, touch response, etc. There are many moreexamples like this, but space is a constraint here.Technology, I believe, should solve a problem,fulfill a burning need, or make a user’s life infinitelysimpler. When designing a new productthese principles should ideally be common sense.Thus, to make something that doesn’t fulfil anyof those elementary principles is a recipe fordisaster, right? Surprisingly, the answer is bothyes and no.I was at an NVIDIA conference in Canadarecently, where they announced a solution tographical tearing and stutter – problems thathave bothered us gamers since the dawn ofcomputer graphics. This new technology got memaking a mental list of all the other innovationsin recent years that were built from the groundup to solve such problems. Turns out there aren’tas many as we’d like to believe, and most werecreated simply because they could be.Take Windows 8, for example; what realproblems did we have with Windows 7 that itfixed? What need did the Surface RT meet? Honestlyit seems to me like someone at Redmondjust wanted to do something in the tablet spaceand decided to bootstrap Windows with a touchscreento try and get in on the tablets action.I’m not on a Microsoft witch hunt here. EvenNVIDIA, whom I just applauded for one elegantsolution, has something that just doesn’t makesense. Look at SHIELD; why would you everwant to stream a PC game that’s running in all itsglory on a PC monitor to a portable small screenwith a controller? It never made sense to me fromthe word go. Technology companies seem to beobsessed with being creative and innovating forthe sake of innovation – building solutions forproblems that don’t exist. Recently, they added ause case scenario that made a little more sense –stream your PC game to your large TV in anotherroom using SHIELD.Another example of possible success despitea lack of need: Steam OS. I had a chance to meetJohn Carmack in Canada and he said that whenValve approached him years ago asking forDOOM to be locked for distribution to Steamhe thought they were crazy. “But look at Steamnow!” he quickly added to those present. Evenwith Steam OS, he sounded skeptical abouteverything shifting ground up to a new platform(Linux), but as he said, “It’s Valve. Years later wecan look back at them as being prophetic, and it’spurely because it’s Valve I won’t call them crazythis time.” The sheer momentum that Steam hasgathered as a platform might just be enough topropel Steam OS into success.This momentum is the aberration to therule of technologies and products that makesense. Take the iPad for example. When Applelaunched it, it literally birthed an entirely newindustry, despite the need for a “tablet” not beingthe strongest at the time. Even today, there arebillions living their lives just fine without one,but if you happen to get one, all of a sudden youcannot imagine ever being without it. The Applejuggernaut made sure devs were churning outapps for it from Day 1. Can we really have anApple product that flops anymore?Most companies are hoping that the smartwatchwill become what smartphones and tabletsare today. I have serious doubts, because againthis seems like a desperate attempt at innovationfor the sake of it, and not really filling a need.We don’t need these incremental innovations,or duct-taped solutions. What we need are builtfrom the ground-up new technologies – a newerand better interface than touch, radically newand efficient sources of portable power; we needtoday’s equivalent of the car, the internet, thewheel and sliced bread, and the company thatdoes it first will see all the world’s momentum gowith it – and our money too!Siddharth ParwatayFeatures Editorsiddharth.parwatay@thinkdigit.com“Technologycompanies seem tobe obsessed withbeing creative andinnovating for thesake of innovation –building solutions forproblems that don’texist.”Got feedback about this column?Drop me a line at:siddharth.parwatay@thinkdigit.comDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 1

Contentsnovember 2013 volume 13 \ issue 11quicknavigator001020042046057072105110114EnterCOnnECTIONSMobile WatchWeb WatchApp WatchSecurity WatchWorkshopSecure your digital lifeSci-TechTomorrow’s TechSpace AgeToolboxTips and TricksQ&AWorkshopTest CentreCamera PhonesRoutersAll-in-One PCsStreet SmartKiller RigsAgent 001Price WatchTech @ WorkSmart SoHoIndustry ConnectEscCommunityDigit 10134Feeling naked and exposed?You should be! Find out more about the harsherrealities of the Internet.114UnwindLose the serious face, kick back and relax with us like a boss.TriedTested&93HP Slate 21Android on this “PC” feels quitegood. Nay, very good.96Cooler Master 690IIIA great case revisited97LG G2Finally, a phone from LG thatimpresses. A lot.4 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Canon’s new portable scannerweighs 550g & measures 312.5 x55.5 x 40mm. Price: `11,995/-The next installment in the NFSseries will be avoiding the next genWii console http://dgit.in/15ZSedsEver had problems with 3D movies which reallyshouldn’t have been 3D movies? Un-3D your 3Dglasses with this article http://dgit.in/1eG6t9PWill Powell comes up with a way to subtitleforeign languages on the go, through yourglasses http://dgit.in/186lCv532 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.comDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 33Digital lifeCanon P-201No need for speed2D glassesPortal Sentry TurretSubtitle your lifeDrool maalOn The DVDsHTC One GoldIf you’ve ever fancied King Midas, you’ll probablylove this pure 18-carat gold beauty. If the HTCOne wasn’t already one of the most well-craftedsmartphones ever made, the Gold is yet anotherreason to buy it, but be advised – only five ofthese were ever made by HTC to celebrate the18 th anniversary of MOBO Awards and eachcosts $4,420 or `2,87,500 to be precise. Thoughit’s hard to get your hands on one of these, itdoesn’t hurt to try.Are you are a gamer who was left smitten byValve’s Portal franchise? If yes, then you’re sureto remember GLaDOS and those cute little turretsthat fired bullets once they detected your presence.After all this time, the enthusiasm for the gamestill hasn’t died down and the folks over at GamingHeads have started selling replica models of theselovable talking turrets. You can get this 16-inch tallhand finished video game paraphernalia at $330(`20,346) a piece, but hurry, only a limited 350 ofthem are up for grabs.Basic Chemistry lab videotutorialsSKOAR! Magazine: Theinteractive editionTake what you want, butleave me my toys!032053101Red HarbingerCross DeskUsually we use a desk to keep our PCs on butthe Red Harbinger Cross Desk destroys thatconcept. As per its design, the Harbinger is adesk and a PC case rolled into one. Inspiredby the immensely popular and award-winningL3p D3sk modding project, the Cross Deskcan accommodate the most costliest andmost outrageous computer components yourmind can possibly think of. And get this: youcan build two separate rigs, add the hugeliquid cooling components, install twenty3.5-inch drives, hide cables using its excellentcable management system and add somefuturistic lighting to pimp up your desk. Thisridiculously awesome desk can be yours for ameasly $1,700. The cost doesn’t include thePC hardware, shipping and customs. Add thisup and what you get is a nice way to burn yourDiwali bonus.DroolmaalGadgets and gizmos that will enrich yourlives. Provided you’re rich of course.World ViewOur pick of the best articles from aroundthe world.Devworx>Code > Creativity > Community046Fitbit FlexIf you’ve gained some weight due to those longworking hours cooped up in front of a computerscreen chomping on fries, this product is just for you.The Fitbit Flex is a wireless activity tracking bandthat keeps a log of your steps, distance travelledand calories burnt – all through the use of an appinstalled on your smartphone that’s connected to thewearable Flex band. Its uses are not limited to this;it can also be used to log your food activity, measurethe time duration of your sleep and wake you up withits silent vibrating alarm. Available in trendy colours,it can be yours for just $99.95 (`6,162).Continuum Caliburn+ Cobra + CastellonTurntableIf you say that Vinyl LPs are dead, chances are that somehipster will throw his useless copy of Rebecca Black’sFriday at you. Nevertheless, the LP is still the musicformat of choice for many audiophiles. Of course, youneed a good turntable to play your collection of records,and Australian audio specialist Continuum has an answerfor you in the form of its $160,000 (`9,86,4800 ) turntable– the Caliburn. Made of aircraft grade aluminium thatconsists of a floating platform, a platter weighing 36 kgsand a specially designed motor which is incidentally alsoused by the U.S. military for motion control systems, theContinuum Caliburn is a state-of-the-art example of whatyou can expect in high-end audio equipments. Want it? Putyour name down and wait for 10 months. After all, youasked for a made-to-order, über expensive turntable.FeaturesSci-TechFind out what the new updateto AMD’s Radeon line-up hasin store for us.Linux security distributionsKali LinuxTailsLiberté Linuxand more...AMD GPU 14 ConferenceMicrosoft Surface 2 launchkeynoteNetwork Security ToolsWiresharkNetcatTor Browser Bundleand more...Music AlbumsAarambhSons of SinChewing on TinfoilMovie TrailersGrudge MatchThe Nut JobLosers Take Alland more...The Open Art Game BundleHalcyonicFalconXNutcase NightmareKenneyMind Chamberand more...Game demosRayman LegendsSpin TiresAlien RageUrban Trial Freestyleand more...Full GamesCodename GordonEuthanasia 1.0FakteurPeggle Extremeand more...Game TrailersWarfaceDarkest DungeonGalactic Civilizationsand more...064WorkshopLearn how you can do wonderswith your pen drive.3.8GB of secureLinux DistributionsDVD18 SecurityTools99Zebronics GladiatorRome would be ashamed100Sandisc Extreme II240GBOne expensive but quick SSDDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 5

November 2013 • Volume 13 • Issue 11Managing Director Dr Pramath Raj SinhaPrinter and Publisher Kanak GhoshPublishing Director Asheesh GuptaEditorialExecutive Editor Robert Sovereign-SmithFeatures Editor Siddharth ParwatayMultimedia Co-ordinator Siddhant SharmaTest CentreManager, Test Centre Jayesh ShindeReviewers Vishal Mathur, Sameer Mitha,Swapnil Mathur, Anirudh RegidiIntern Siddhant Sharma, Prakrit DhondiyalProduct Co-ordinator Shweta MaliAssistant Vikas PatilThinkdigit.comOnline Editor Soham RaningaAssistant Editor Nikhil PradhanSr. Sub Editor Kul BhushanDesignSr. Creative Director: Jayan K NarayananSr. Art Director: Anil VKAssociate Art Director: Anil TSr. Visualisers: Manav Sachdev, Shokeen Saifi &Sristi MauryaVisualiser: NV BaijuSr. Designers: Shigil Narayanan, Haridas Balan& Manoj Kumar VPDesigners: Charu Dwivedi, Peterson PJ,Pradeep G Nair, Dinesh Devgan & Vikas SharmaConsulting Sr. Art Director: Binesh SreedharanConsulting Designer: Vijay PadayaMarcomDesigner: Rahul BabuStudioChief Photographer: Subhojit PaulSr. Photographer: Jiten GandhiContributorsWriters Mithun MohandasCopy editing Infancia CardozoProduction and LogisticsSr GM - Operations Shivshankar HiremathManager Operations Rakesh UpadhyayAsst Production Manager Vilas MhatreProduction Assistant Brahmanand NikaljeManager Logistics Vijay MenonAsst Mgr Production & Logistics M P SinghExecutives Mohd. Nadeem Ansari,Nilesh ShiravadekarBrandProduct Mgr Arun YadavAsst Product Mgr Sourabha ShakyaMgr - Online Shauvik KumarCo-ordinator / Scheduling Kishan SinghCirculation SalesNational Co-ordinator Samir MehtaRegional Mgrs Jayanta Bhattacharyya,Norbert JosephManager Circulation Dharmendra SinghExecutive Vijay MhatreReader ServicesLead Associate Itishree MishraExecutives Pinky, Sudhir, Shabana, Pradeep+91-22-67899678 / help@thinkdigit.comTo AdvertiseEmail: sales@thinkdigit.comSales Director:Vinodh Kaliappan, Mobile: +91-97407 14817South:Ram Sarangi, Mobile: +91-98864 06961Jijo George, Mobile: +91-7676881480West:Sajeed Momin, Mobile: +91-98192 44603Suvarna Shringarpure, Mobile: +91-93249 28247North:Debleena Majumdar, Mobile: +91-98101 19492East:Jayanta Bhattacharyya, Mobile: +91-93318 29284advertising indexBrandPage No4Charge...............................................................................23Acro Engineering............................................................. 49Asrock.......................................................................... 25. 29ASUS.....................................................7, 9. 59, 61, 63, 65Canon....................................................................................21Cyber Solutions................................................................31Graebert..............................................................................15HP.......................................................................................IFCIndia AV.............................................................................117Kaspersky..........................................................................BCLEO Impact.......................................................................51LIC........................................................................................17Logitech........................................................................... IBCMediatech............................................................................27Micromax.............................................................................13Quantum...........................................................................120Quickheal.............................................................................79Samsung............................................................................2,3Top Notch............................................................................19Toshiba.................................................................................11TP-LINK............................................................................. 39Published, Printed and Owned by Nine Dot NineInteractive Pvt. Ltd. Published and printed on theirbehalf by Kanak Ghosh. Published at Bunglow No.725 Sector - 1, Shirvane, Nerul, Navi Mumbai. 400706.Printed at Print House (India) Pvt. Ltd. R-847, TTCIndustrial Area, MIDC, Rable, Navi Mumbai 400701.Editor: Anuradha Das Mathur“We do not endorse or recommend any product or service advertisedin the magazine. The advertisement’s in this magazine arefor information purposes only. We do not, expressly or impliedly,warrant or assume any liability or responsibility for the quality,accuracy, completeness, legality, reliability, usefulness or claimsof any product or service advertised in the magazine. Our readersare strongly advised to carry out their own independent assessmentof the product or services advertised in the magazine.”DisclaimerFor every Digit contest, there will be only one winner,unless specified otherwise.In the event of a dispute, the Editor’s decision shall be final.Products reviewed this monthBazaarAshampoo anti-virusASUS RP-N53 Range ExtenderASUS WiFi AC Adapter USB-AC53BlackBerry 9720Cooler Master 690 IIIHP Slate 21Kaspersky Internet Security 2014LG G2Logitech UE900Rapoo 3920pRicoh GRSanDisk Extreme II 240GBSony Xperia Z1Toshiba Q series 128GBTP-LINK TL-WN823N Wireless N USB AdapterWD Black 4TB WD4001FAEXZebronics GladiatorZebronics TabmateRoutersASUS RT-AC68UASUS RT-N10EASUS RT-N12HPBelkin AC1200DBBelkin N600DBD-Link DIR-810LD-Link DIR-868LDigisol DG-BG4100NDigisol DG-BR4000N\EDigisol DG-BR4313NGEdimax BR-6478ACNetgear JNR1010Netgear JNR3210TP-LINK TD-W8968TP-LINK TL-WDR3600TP-LINK TL-WDR4300TP-LINK TL-WR720NTrendnet TEW-811DRUTrendnet TEW-812DRUAIOsDell Inspiron One 2020HP 18-1106inHP Pavilion 21-a255inHP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-f201inHP ENVY 23-d200in TouchSmartHP ENVY Rove 20Lenovo IdeaCentre C340Lenovo IdeaCentre C440Lenovo IdeaCentre B540Lenovo IdeaCentre A730Lenovo IdeaCentre HorizonCamera PhonesApple iPhone 5HTC One DualLG G2Nokia Lumia 1020Nokia Lumia 925Nokia Lumia 920Samsung Galaxy ZoomSony Xperia Z16 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Contact usTell us what you feel about DigitIf you have an opinion about anything published in Digit, or about technologyin general, write to editor@thinkdigit.com or call at +91-22-678 99 700.To interact with the authors of specific articles, please write to the emailaddress specified under the author’s nameSoftware on the DVDsTo submit and suggest software or any other type of content, to be included inthe Digit DVDs, write to dvd@thinkdigit.com or call +91-22-678 99 707Q&AIf you’re having trouble with your PC or a gadget, our experts can help solveyour problems. Just write in to sos@thinkdigit.com. Remember to include fullsystem configurations in your email.Agent001Our very own secret agent will give you the lowdown on what to buy, fromwhere and for how much. Send in all your buying advice or questions to thecoolest agent ever. Write to agent001@thinkdigit.comHelp!For copy-related issues, delivery status or any other complaintsregarding out service, write to help@thinkdigit.com or call+91-22-678 99 678SubscribeWant to subscribe to India’s #1 Technology Magazine? You should, because wehave exciting offers for everyone, and you save money in the bargain.SMS: to 92200 92200 or visit www.thinkdigit.com/subscribeProduct testingWant your product reviewed by Digit? Contact our Test Center attestcenter@thinkdigit.com or call +91-22-678 99 708News and new product launchesTo announce new product launches and press releases, email us atpressrelease@thinkdigit.comEndorsements / reprintsInterested in ordering article reprints or in using our logos? Get the requisitepermissions by contacting us at reprint@thinkdigit.comBusiness enquiriesThink we can help you grow your business, or maybe you can help us growours? Get in touch with us at business@thinkdigit.comDigit Facebook PagesJoin the group thatsuits your need!http://www.facebook.com/thinkdigitYour favouritemagazine on your favourite socialnetwork. Interact with thousands ofDigit readers and have some geeky fun!http://www.facebook.com/techkrantiLet’s wake ourselvesup and gather the toolsof tech to change the future of ourgreat nation. Join The Revolution!http://www.facebook.com/IThinkGadgetsCommunity of Peoplewho love mobiles, laptops, cameras &other gadgetshttp://www.facebook.com/consumermateExpert buying advice and someawesome offershttp://www.facebook.com/devworx.inCommunity of softwareprogrammers whoenjoy writing code and want to growtheir career in software developmentCareersWant to work for Digit? Send us your resume at careers@thinkdigit.comSponsorshipWant Digit to sponsor your tech event? Send your proposal tosponsor@thinkdigit.comInteract with Team Digitthinkdigit.com/twitterthinkdigit.com/facebookForumthinkdigit.com/youtubethinkdigit.com/forum8 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Enter14BuzzThe world of tech is always abuzzwith rumour and releases. Getyour fix here.Cartooned Pop CultureJoey Spiotto aka Joebot seems to be rather good atmaking cartooned book covers based on pop culturethemes. Take a look: http://dgit.in/1be0S7N) Hello Team Digit, this is my first everletter to you. You said on the cover ''360reasons to pick up this issue” and I mustsay that there are not only 360, but thousandsof reasons to pick up last month’sissue. The cover is really festive. I’ve neverseen anything like that before. I’m veryhappy about the advertisements for newdesktop PCs, laptop, phones, etc. Now Ihave better knowledge of new iPhones,Galaxies, Xperias and BlackBerrys.The cover story, ''the 50 mistakes'' wasreally very useful/true, and it helped togrow my knowledge. The “30 gadgets tobuy this Diwali'' feature gave me evenmore knowledge of the newest gadgets butthe ''online shopping' story was pointless.Your product reviews are really good, andDgt and the DVDs are very useful.I have a suggestion for you: why don'tyou add a price list of new products suchas processors, motherboards, GPUs,storage drives etc. in Digit.And finally the package of the Octoberissue was extremely gorgeous. l'll give 5+out of 5 stars to your magazine. My Englishisn’t very good, so please don't mindthe errors in my letter.By the way, my T-shirt size isnormal. I'll be glad to wear a Digit T-shirt(just kidding).–NK KalitaAh we seem to have another letter droppinga not-so-subtle hint about the digitt-shirt. Well, you’ll have to try harder :-)But thank you so much for the feedback.We do try to put up-to-date price lists inour “Price Watch” section every month,but we can’t possibly stick to only PCcomponents. We have to try to cover othercategories as well. Do keep writing in.–Siddharth) Hello, this is my first mail to you. I am a13-year-old guy. I’ve always loved to knowabout new technology, software, gadgetsetc. I bought the first Digit magazine at abookstand and consequently subscribedto it. You guys are really fabulous.I like your cover stories and articleswhich have many times been useful. Iknow how you added the Digit 101 sectionto suit the needs of new readers. When myfriends ask me anything about gadgets IFeedback for the October 2013 issue of Digitcan answer them easily only because ofDigit magazine.I also recommend them to buy Digit asit is India's best technology magazine. Ilike your software in the CDs. Since I likedeveloping apps, software and web pagescould you please add more information,software and tutorials in CDs focusing ondeveloping. I like your Fast Track bookletsand also read the devworx section.All your magazines are essential inkeeping me updated about the techworld. Please continue and keep up thegood work.–Anirudha GoradThank you for your kind words Anirudha.We’ll surely have more dev content on theDVDs in the coming issues. Knowing yourtaste I’m sure you’ll like our FastTrackthis month. We’ve covered developing forFirefox. Also, do check out the devworxpages for tips on securing your websiteand our interview with whacky and talentedJavascript wizard, Sunil Pai.–Siddharth) Hi Siddharth, just read your column.Looks like you’ve taken the Introductionto Psychology course on Coursera ;) (Itwas a great course by the way). I haven'tbeen following Digit religiously over thepast two years because my MBA coursetakes up a lot of time (I was a fan boybefore). It was good to see a computergeek talk about psychology! We computergeeks are often falsely perceived tobe a bit robotic when it comes to emotionsbut with you (and me) interested inpsychology, it seems that we’re evolving:D Team Digit is doing a great job! Best ofluck for all future editions!–Abhishek KumarThanks for the vote of confidenceAbhishek. I got a notification about thecourse some time ago but no, I didn’t endup taking the course. Much of what I wastalking about in the column was from thisbook I read recently titled “You Are NotSo Smart”. It’s a revelatory read and I’drecommend it to anyone even remotelyinterested in psychology. And you are rightabout us evolving. Geeks shall definitelyinherit the earth :-)–Siddharth) Happy Diwali to you, Team Digit.It’s an awesome experience to open thisenchanting magazine in the first week ofthe month.The October issue really deserved tobe a collectible – not just for the currentgeneration but for the coming generationalso. You made a mistake on the coverpage when you said "360 Reasons to Pick10 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

InboxTom Clancy passes awayOn October 1st, spy thriller author Tom Clancy,passed away at the age of 66.http://dgit.in/16yLljHSelf-assembling robotsThis bunch of small brightly coloured magnetic cubes canspin, somersault and snap together to create all kinds ofmodular shapes. http://dgit.in/1flbDdW) Dear Team Digit, first and foremost,hats off to the entire team for improvingthe delivery service to subscribersand bringing it up to blazing speed.Whether India gets 5G or not in thenear future, you guys definitely provide10G in terms of speed of delivery. Iremember some few years back therewere delays, especially with the Specialedition. But you guys have improvedin this area, which is quite a milestonein itself. I’m quite sure the delivery guyhas special connections with Rajnikant;) Keep up the good work.Coming to the issue, theeditorial is just awe-inspiringand very close to my wayof thinking.The way Siddharthhas written the editorial,I won’t be surprised whenhe becomes a regular part ofthe editorial team. The completelayout of the magazineand the passion of each teammember is evident in every single word.It’s evident from each of your issuesthat you guys sweat it out to be the bestin the world and wave your magic wandon readers each time. The advertisementsin the magazine are also wellbalanced, neither too much nor too less,which is quite a feat by itself. I just lovethe World View section from Day Oneof its origin. Please keep it alive for adecade or so :PUp This Issue". It should be "36,000 Reasons…"This is because if a person who’sreally passionate about technology goesthrough a specification, he’ll also find therelated and fundamental ideas about thatproduct or technology, and that’s why theOct 2013 issue was done perfectly. It alsodiscredits salesmen and companies’ strategiesto fool their desperate customerswho hide most naturally occurring factorsin daily life.Although a day before readingthe magazine I bought a new smartphone,the reviews of smartphones arealways pleasing. It’s always interestingLetter of the monthJust a few suggestions from my side:1) How about interviewing inspirationaland motivational personalitiesand ask them about their use oftechnology for maximum output andsimilar stuff.2) Include a game or movie poster insome of the issue (as many readershave already demanded). It can besponsored and another source ofrevenue for the magazine.3) Kindly do a Fast Track on Troubleshootingyour Smart Gadgets 3.0.(mobile, tablet, laptops, etc.)PS: In case you’re wonderingwho this fan boy of Digit is,I’m a Software Engineerwith an athletic physiqueand buddies call meAbhishek Bachhan.–Abhishek KapoorTMI on the physicalattributes but hey, nice tohave you on board! Thanks forall the kind words and those three suggestionsyou’ve given are bang on. We’dlike to implement each one of them andwe’re already working on them. Withreaders like you for support anotherdecade should be a piece of cake. Dokeep writing in and enjoy the t-shirt youget for letter of the month. Hopefullyyour athletic physique will make it aperfect fit :-)–Siddharthto know what Team Digit thinks aboutthe products and its practical factorsfrom the users’ point of view. The editorialabout biased customers is enlighteningand the advice helps buyers thinkbefore they act. I always support tryingnew products, no matters what the companyprofile.Although I believe in the phrase“Silence matters more than words” andit took me about 7-8 years of being aregular reader of Digit since I was in 9thstandard, this is my first response to youas I couldn’t hold back any more.-Gyanendra TiwariThanks for your kind words Gyanendra.You’ve managed to put smiles on all ourfaces. Just don’t wait another eight yearsto write to us next time :-)–SiddharthI’ve been reading this mag for four yearsnow (not regularly though) and this is myfirst letter to you. Firstly, I’d like to thankyou for your fabulous work. I’ve learntmany things from your issues but it’s theFast Tracks that I enjoy the most. Thereason I mentioned that I’m not a regularreader is because I pick up the issue basedon the FastTrack content.I have a few more things to ask ofmy favourite magazine. Why don’t youprovide TED videos regularly? Why don’tyou provide open-ware courses? Pleaseprovide an FT on advanced programming(not basic data structure like thoseavailable in most advanced programmingbooks), it will be much appreciated.Please add a devworx on softwaredesign using a combination of languages. Idownloaded the source code of a few opensource software the other day and it hadsome C files, some Flash and some XML.How did they all work together?Also, provide a column on migratingfrom Windows 7 to 8 with reasons as towhy many features that worked fine onWindows 7 have problems with Windows8 (like creating ad-hoc networks, installingVisual Studio 2008, .Net before 4.0 etc.)Finally, change the UI of your DVD (theprevious one with a Start menu was moreinteresting than the present one. Do youhave a name for that?) and please add aPDF mentioning the list of software andresources available in the particular DVD(like many have said before). Thank youfor your work and don’t you ever dare stoppublishing this magazine!–Amrutansu GaranaikThanks for the mail. We’re glad thatyou’re really enjoying the content wework so hard to create. Thank you. Digitis ever evolving and your suggestions areinteresting. Don’t be surprised if you startseeing some of your suggestions beingimplemented over the coming months. Dowrite to us again.–Anirudh12 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

BuzzDrones Away!Ready, Set, Launch. Here’s an article about thethings you should know before getting yourown drone. http://dgit.in/1aDRtEYHello, Siri!Meet Siri: The Majel Barett of the 21stCentury. Somebody call Kutherapali!http://dgit.in/1a30BEpKinect sensor and while KinectAdventures will come standard,Microsoft will also throw in twoadditional games; Fruit Ninjaand Forza. The other SKU willalso include Kinect Adventures,but the other two games wouldbe Disney Adventures andYour Shape Fitness Evolved.The goodies don’t stop therethough. We are told that (thebundles might take a few daysto percolate to every store), eachof these SKUs will also comebundled with FIFA 2014 comeOctober 12th.The second offer will beavailable on the 250GB variantof the console. The Xbox 360250GB Core Bundle (withoutKinect) will come with a copyof Darksiders 2 in the box anddownload tokens for BatmanArkham City, Halo 3 and GearsWindows 8.1 - Its predecessor revampedof War 3. In case you’re wondering,these are all full games.The second variant, the Xbox360 250GB Kinect bundle willcome with Kinect Adventures,Kinect Sports 1, Dance Centraland Minecraft.When we asked why Microsoftwas not offering discountedprices on their bundles thisseason, Anshu Mor said thatdue to the fluctuations in thedollar price, it has become difficultto offer discounted prices.However, bundling gamesessentially comes down to thesame thing as anyone whobuys a new console would wantto pick up a few games to startoff with. The bundled gameshelp save on that cost, which canbe anywhere between `3,000to `7,000.Windows 8.1 nowavailable, bringsmany new features tothe tableMicrosoft Windows 8 gets anew lease of life, with the Windows8.1 update that went liveon October 22nd across Microsoftservers. The update shouldshow up in the Windows Marketplaceand if it doesn’t, we suggestsome patience as the rolloutis happening sequentially.Windows 8.1, just like Windows8, is a fresh departure fromwhat we have come to thinkand see of Microsoft Windows.Windows 8 in of itself was radicallydifferent in terms of userinterface and user experience,but Microsoft takes it up a notchwith this new update, which isless “service pack” and moreof a powerful boost of features.Windows 8.1 is a downloadableupdate that add a host of newfeatures to the operating system,something that’s a long departurefrom the updates we’ve seenin the past. Earlier, all Microsoftdished out was updatesthat fixed things in the “back”,Windows 8.1 brings a lot of newthings you can actually see.We’ve been using Windows8.1 from the day the PreviewBuild was released, and whileit was somewhat buggy (especiallythe search), it seems thatMicrosoft has ironed out manyof these gaping issues. In caseyou’re wondering what exactlyis new, well, here are five newfeatures of the update that wefeel you might like instantly.Read more here: http://dgit.in/H6dyFwWatch Dogs, TheCrew and DriveClubdelayed until 2014Ubisoft has officially announcedthat the release of two of itshighly anticipated titles – WatchDogs and The Crew have beendelayed. Both titles were slatedfor a current fiscal year release(ending on March 31, 2014),but now the release has beenpostponed to the next fiscalyear instead.In a conference call, Ubisoftsaid that the tentative releasedate for Watch Dogs will bein the first quarter of the followingfiscal year (betweenApril 1 and June 30, 2014) . TheCrew will be released in thesecond quarter (between July 1and September 30, 2014).The launch has been postponedso that Ubisoft can givethe games a final revamp so asto fine tune every aspect. Thedelay affects all platforms of thegame, so for once, PC gamerswill not feel left out from theirconsole counterparts.Several sites reported thatthe launch of DriveClub, one ofthe launch titles for Sony’s nextgenconsoles, has been pushedback to Spring 2014. DriveClubwas one of the launch titles forthe PS4, and Sony’s officialDriveClub page still lists Nov15, 2013 as the launch date.However, according to Kokatuand The Same Coin, the delayis inevitable.According to Kokatu, “Toadd some fuel to this rumor fire,today in San Francisco, Sony isholding an event to show off theirPS4 games. Although DriveClubwas originally part of the lineup,a Sony rep told me this afternoonthat it has been removed due to a“scheduling conflict.”Super Mario Brosnow playable in yourbrowserSuper Mario Bros is now playableon your web browser asFull Screen Mario has adaptedthe game from its 80’s Nintendoconsole roots to HTML 5.The site has been created byJoshua Kevin Goldberg, pursuinghis majors in ComputerScience. Users can play theoriginal levels via the keyboardarrow keys or create custommaps using a level editor. Thegame’s authenticity is maintainedas this version retainsthe same music and animationfrom the old school version.‘The whole project is opensource and free - if you wouldlike to use the code for anything,email me’, says Goldberg.However, as of now the HTMLversion of Mario is only compatiblewith Google Chrome.Support for other browsers maybe added very soon. So whatare you waiting for? go on,pounce on a few mushrooms!Visit the URL to start playing:www.fullscreenmario.comSony announcesthe A7 and A7R fullframe mirrorlesscameras, the RX10and 5 new lensesSony dropped the mother of allbombs on the world of photog-16 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

BuzzMemory LaneGamers, take a long walk down PlaystationMemory Lane at the other end of this link:http://dgit.in/PSMemLaneLibraries - Our FutureNeil Gaiman, master of sci-fi-fantasytalks about the future of the human racehttp://dgit.in/heymangaimanraphy AND mirrorless cameras.We recently saw the announcementof two full-frame, mirrorlesscameras and five new lensesdesigned for them. If that wasn’tenough to make you jump out ofyour seat, Sony’s also added anincredibly powerful superzoomcamera to its lineup.First off, the Sony A7 andA7R, the two new mirrorlesscameras from the companywith full frame sensors. Itwas long rumoured that Sonywould be coming out with afull frame mirrorless camera(with the VG900, a full framevideo camera which camewith the E-mount used on themirrorless cameras). The A7and A7R break away fromthe usual design we’ve seenon Sony’s mirrorless cameras,and instead, goes the route of theRX1. Each camera is equippedwith advanced imaging featuresincluding a powerfulnew BIONZ X processor; fastAF capabilities; a clear, brightXGA OLED Tru-finder, full HD60p video recording, Wi-Fi andNFC, dust-and moisture- resistanceand more.In case you’re wonderingwhat the difference between thetwo cameras is, the Sony A7 is afull frame mirrorless with a 24megapixel resolution with a fastHybrid AF while the A7R sportsa 36 megapixel resolution andno optical low pass filter.To compliment these newcameras, Sony’s also announcedfive new lenses, three of whichcarry the high-end Carl Zeissbranding with the other twoSony RX10Sony A7being Sony G lenses. The modelmost photographers would beinterested in would be the CarlZeiss Vario-Tessar T* 24-70mmf/4 ZA OSS, offering the idealwalkaround focal length. Ifzoom lenses aren’t your thingand purism runs in yourveins, then there are the CarlZeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f/2.8and the Carl Zeiss Sonnar T*55mm f/1.8 Lens Since theZeiss lenses tend to carry ahefty price tag, Sony’s alsointroduced a kit lens, the Sony28-70mm f/3.5 – 5.6 OSS whichwould ship with the Sony A7as an optional kit. Finally,there is the G 70-200mm f/4lens which is ideal for photographerswho love reachThere is no official India dateor release price as yet. Readmore at: http:/dgit.in/19MoWw4NVIDIA announcesGameStream,G-Sync, ShadowPlayand the GTX 780 TiDay two of the NVIDIA Editor’sDay in Montreal began with abang and a slew of announcementsthat promise to radicallychange the way we are going toexperience games in the nearfuture. Here’s our roundupof what was announced, howeverything works and how it’sgoing to affect you.GamestreamThe new technology announcedis sort of like NVIDIA’s Airplay- something that even Jen Hsunalluded to in his presentation.Of all the platforms, PC gaminghas always been the farthestfrom the living room TV andthe powers that be (not justNVIDIA) seem to be makinga lot of effort to change that.With NVIDIA’s Gamestreamyou will be able to streamgames to your large screenTV from a number of sourcesincluding your PC. Of coursestreaming Android gamesfrom the SHIELD is an optionand going by the slide below itseems streaming from GRIDwill also be an option too (possiblyin the near future).G-SyncThe pièce de résistance of theentire two day event was G-Sync- a technology that has been inthe making for a number ofyears and is now finally out.To understand what it is andwhat it does we first need toacquaint ourselves with thethree most dreaded problemsthat a gamer faces. Stutter, Lagand Tearing have been the baneof computer gaming for years.Paraphrasing here, Jen Hsuneven went on to say they are togamers what hemorrhoids arefor regular folk.NVIDIA comes in withG-Sync, with which the GPUwill be able to drive monitortiming. This needs a hardwarelevel handshake between themonitor and GPU which comesvia a module that G-Synccompliant monitors will haveembedded in them. The monitornow will not update untilthe frame is done drawing.So in other words variablerefresh rates.ShadowplayShadowplay is NVIDIA’s hardwareaccelerated game videocapture technology and hasbeen in the drawing boardstage for quite some timenow. It’s finally out now andwill enable gamers to captureJen Hsun and the GTX 780 Ti “This is a good time to be a PC gamer”gameplay in full HD withouttaxing the system as heavilyas the purely software basedcapture solutions out there.Shadowplay will also enableanother interesting feature byleveraging Kepler.GTX 780 TiUnfortunately apart fromshowing off what the cardlooks like, NVIDIA had nofurther details to discloseabout the GTX 780 Ti interms of specifications. Buthey it’s bound to be powerful!Echoing Jen Hsun’s words “thisis a good time to be a PC gamer”.Read more at: http://dgit.in/nvmontreal218 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

ConnectionsWeb WatchThe web is changing as we speak. Read out toexplore the latest developments triggered by24 other advancements in this space 28App WatchGet ready to rock these navigation apps.Also, don’t miss the dedicated Dish TVapp for Live TV on your mobile devicesA future-friendly presentThe month sprang quite a few pleasant surprises. Read on...Nexus 5 makes abrief appearance onthe Google Play Storefor `21,000The Nexus 5 appeared briefly onthe Google Play store in October.The listing seemed to be an errorsince the smartphone could notbe purchased. The price for the16GB variant of the Nexus 5 waslisted at `21,456 ($349).Codenamed Hammerhead,the smartphone was no longervisible on the Google Play storea few hours later. Its tagline“Capture the everyday and theepic in fresh new ways” leads usto believe that the camera will beone of the USPs of the Nexus 5.Twitteratti hinted that theNexus 5 would be unveiled onOctober 28. Leaks regarding theNexus 5 have been making therounds on the internet for sometime now. It all started with theofficial unveiling of AndroidLooks similar to the Nexus 7KitKat (Android 4.4) wherethe Nexus 5 was accidentlyspotted in the video.When the Nexus 4 waslaunched around this same timelast year, it was available in twovariants: 16GB priced at $349and 8GB at $299 (`18,382).Ingram Micro tooffer iPhone 5S,iPhone 5C in Indiafrom NovemberInformation Technology distributorIngram Micro has tiedup with Apple to offer iPhone5S and iPhone 5C at trade storesand retail outlets across Indiabeginning Friday, November 1.Prices are as follow:iPhone 5s• 16GB – `53,500• 32GB – `62,500• 64GB – `71,500iPhone 5c• 16GB – `41,900• 32GB – `53,500The two smartphones will beavailable contract-free in India,but will also be sold by Airtel andReliance Communications. Boththe service providers have promisedto offer attractive data andtalk plans with the two devices.BlackBerryslashes Z10, Q10and Q5 pricesfor its enterprisecustomers; writesopen letterAiming to cash in on the festiveseason in the country,BlackBerry announced that itwould be slashing prices of itsnew smartphones for existingBlackBerry Enterprise Service(BES) 10 customers.iPhone 5s’ many coloursPrices for enterprise customers:• Q10 – `39,990• Z10 – `29,000• Q5 – `22,699Prices for retail customers:• Q10 – `44,900• Z10 – `27,500• Q5 – `24,500BB writes an open letterAfter being at the receivingend of bad press and many aspeculation, BlackBerry hasshot back at detractors with anopen-letter to customers withwhich the smartphone manufacturerwants “to set the recordstraight”. BlackBerry said that ithas substantial cash on hand,and a debt-free balance sheet.It’s important to note thatthe company isn’t shying awayfrom or denying the existenceof the current situation: “Theseare no doubt challenging timesfor us and we don’t underestimatethe situation or ignore thechallenges. We are making thedifficult changes necessary tostrengthen BlackBerry.” However,the confidence is more thanapparent in the rest of the letter.While the letter is aimed atalmost all smartphone users,BlackBerry has not forgottenthat the enterpriseaudience is stillcritical to its survival.The letter says that in aBYOD scenario, Black-Berry’s devices aremuch easier to manageand are more securethan Android and iOS.The company revealsthat it saw an increasein BES 10 (BlackBerryEnterprise Service) subscribersfrom 19,000 to 25,000in the previous quarter, and alsospeaks about being the best inclass mobile social network.Well, Android and iOS usersare still waiting to experiencea taste of this, with the delay ofthe official BBM release for thetwo platforms.We’re not really sure if aletter would be enough to preventcustomers from jumpingship to other platforms, but it’sdefinitely heart-warming tosee that BlackBerry is still puttingon a brave and confidentface. Read the open letter athttp://dgit.in/15PjRG7RCom launches‘Awesome America’roaming pack forpostpaid GSM usersReliance Communications(RCom) has introduced a newinternational roaming scheme forits postpaid GSM customers travellingto the U.S called the “AwesomeAmerica” pack. It offers adiscount of up to 98 percent ondata usage and upto 76 per centon voice calling on roaming. Thepack is available for `849 with avalidity of 30 days.20 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Mobile watch30Security WatchTurn to this section for a round ofthe latest security related news fromthe world overMicromax hires X-ManThe Indian mobile phone maker has roped in X-Menstar Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassadorhttp://dgit.in/1804nvCThe operator says that underthe new international roamingplan, data charges have beenreduced to `10 per MB onroaming in the U.S.RCom also recently launcheda roaming plan for its GSMusers travelling to Saudi Arabia.The plan, called the Super SaudiPack, is available at `786 andallows Reliance customers tosave up to 84 percent on voicecalls. By paying a charge of only`0.24 per 10 KB, you can save98 percent on data usage whileon international roaming.Complaints forwrong VAS activationreduce by 87%: TRAIThe Telecom RegulatoryAuthority of India (TRAI)revealed that there’s been asignificant 87 percent reductionin the number of complaintsregarding wrong Value AddedServices (VAS) activation sinceJuly 2013, when the regulatorhad released tightened normsfor activation and deactivationof such services. The number ofcomplaints regarding wronglyactivated value added serviceson mobile phones has gone from75,117 in July to 9,338 in August.There’s a catch though. TheTRAI figures do not includedata from BSNL, QTL, MTSand Videocon.According to the regulator’snew guidelines, operators aremandated to include all formsof activation and scenarios– this includes OBD, IVRS,WAP, Mobile Internet, USSD,SMS and Tele-calling. The serviceprovider needs to developAWESOME AMERICA ROAMING PACKUSAServicesBase PackTariff TariffDiscountPack Rental in ` 849Incoming call 90 40 56%Voice inOutgoing call within America 70 40 43%INR/MinOutgoing call to India 165 40 76%Rs/SMSOutgoing SMS 15 10 33%Incoming SMS 0 Free NAData in INR Per MB 614.4 10 98%a system that has second consentfrom the customer beforethe activation of any valueadded service.“The first offer of a service ison the service providers’ platformand a second confirmationfrom the customer is througha dedicated consent gatewaywhich is owned by a third partyand not by the service provider.”said the new guidelines.“In case of USSD and SMSmode of activation, no activationresponse time should begreater than 10 seconds and60 minutes, respectively and incase of non-response, the sameshould be treated as ‘no activationrequired’.”Now smartphonesrecognise you byyour touchCheng Bo and his colleaguesat the Illinois Institute ofTechnology have developeda new smartphone softwarecalled Silent-Sense that canidentify smartphone owners bythe way they tap or swipe acrossthe touchscreen.Cheng Bo said that SilentSense uses the phone’s built-insensors to record the uniquepatterns of pressure, differentfingertip sizes and durationand position of each user whileinteracting with their smartphones.SilentSense showed anaccuracy of almost 99 percentin the tests.Machine learning algorithmsturn this informationinto a signature that identifiesthe user and will lock outanyone whose usage patternsdon’t match. Users can furtherenhance the systems’ accuracyby using the smartphone’saccelerometer and gyroscope tomeasure how much the screenmoves when you’re tapping it.The test was performed ona group of 100 users who weretold to use the smartphones’touchscreen as they normallywould. Silent-Sense was ableto identify the smartphone’sowner with 99 percent accuracywithin 10 taps.The researchers stated thatthe software stops checkingthe smartphone user’s identitywhen apps and mobile gamesare being used. However, itautomatically switches onwhen email or SMS apps arebeing used.Samsung launchessub-`10k phonesSamsung has brought outthree new budget phones inSilent-Sense recognises your touchthe sub-`10,000 range to displayits seriousness towardsthe Indian market. In October,it launched the SamsungGalaxy Trend and Star Pro,available online for `8,260 and`6,730, respectively. The twosmartphones boast of the AndroidJelly Bean OS and dual-SIM support.The Samsung Galaxy Trendhas a 4-inch TFT screen withan 800 x 480 pixels resolutionand 233ppi pixel density. It hasa 1GHz processor. The smartphonehas 4GB internal storageexpandable via microSD up to32GB. The Galaxy Trend smartphoneoffers 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi,Bluetooth 3.0 and microUSB2.0 connectivity. It has a 3.15MPrear camera and is powered by a1,500mAh battery. The smartphoneis available in black.The Samsung Galaxy StarPro has a 3-inch screen with320 x 240 pixels resolution andpixel density of 133ppi. It has a1GHz processor and 512MB ofRAM along with 4GB in-builtstorage expandable via microSDcard up to 32 GB. The smartphonehas a 2MP rear cameraand comes with a 1,200mAhbattery. Connectivity-wise thedevice offers 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth4.0 and microUSB 2.0support. It’s available in white.Samsung had announcedthe Galaxy Trend Duos in Septemberfor `8,700 in India.The smartphone has a 4-inchWVGA display with 480 × 800pixels resolution. The dual-SIMGalaxy Trend Duoshas a 1 GHz dualcoreprocessor coupledwith 512 MBof RAM. It comeswith 4GB of internalmemory expandableto 32GB via MicroSDcard. It has a 3MPrear camera butlacks a front-facingone. In terms of connectivity, itoffers 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi andGPS/AGPS. The Galaxy TrendDuos has a 1500mAh batteryand runs on Android 4.0 IceCream Sandwich. It’s availablein white and grey.22 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Web WatchShould you use Dvorak?Read about the pros and cons of using analternative keyboard like Dvorak or Maltron anddecide for yourself http://dgit.in/GUe9tcNow access net via Li-FiUsing a one-watt LED lightbulb, Chinesescientists took four computers online. Readmore here: http://dgit.in/19WEJhHThe butterfly effectRead on to explore the latest developments in the web space triggered off by otheradvancements on the internetFacebook removesopt out setting andadds privacy settingfor teenagersFacebook has further relaxed itsprivacy policies and users canno longer opt out of appearingin search results. The social network,so far, was letting usersopt out of being searched byname but now has removed thatFacebook changes its privacy settings againoption. The company said thatonly a small percentage of Facebookmembers were using it.Now any member on Facebookcan search for anyone withoutany restrictions. Facebook saidthat this search setting won’tdisappear for those still usingit until those users get a notificationand click a button reading,“Okay, I understand.” Thosenotifications will be going outin coming weeks, the companysaid in October.The feature was intendedto prevent users from showingup in searches conducted bynon-friends. However, Facebookstates that it led to a lot ofconfusion while using GraphSearch which lets you search forfriends, check everyone’s statusupdates and shows profile picturesto everybody in a group.Bringing back the teensThe social network now also letsteenagers between 13-17 yearsshare images and posts withthe general public. However,for teenagers. the default settingsallow them to share with‘friends only’.All users can now change thesettings to share images, picsand posts with other friends,however they’ll receive areminder if they choose a publicsharing setting stating that theirposts can be seen by anyone, notjust people they know. Facebookwill send a warning to teenagersif they make changes in the settingto public saying “Did youknow that public posts can beseen by anyone, not just peopleyou know? You and any friendsyou tag could end up gettingfriend requests and messagesfrom people you don’t knowpersonally.” The default settingswon’t change or affect past postsfor existing teen users’ profiles.The new settings will helpFacebook compete against othersocial networks such as Twitterand Tumblr which don’t preventteens from posting publicly. Thenew privacy settings will appealto advertisers as well as they’llhave access to the photos, commentsof teenagers, etc.Yahoo! Mailrevamped; faces furyof usersCelebrating the 16 th birthday ofYahoo! Mail, Yahoo! revampedthe look of its email serviceacross all platforms with a newdesign and slew of features suchas themes, collapsible toolbarand improved management ofthreaded conversations. Thestorage space on the service isnow 1TB for all users.Inspired by Flickrand Tumblr, Yahoo!’s redesignedmail service offers anumber of theme options as wellas image-free colour themes.Users can sync a theme acrossall the platforms on whichthey access the mail service.The sidebar can becollapsed and thereare now shortcuts tostar or send messagesto trash. There’s alsoan option to view thethreaded conversationswith ’quick view’. Thisfeature is similar toGmail’s threaded conversations.Users can access the‘quick actions’ when they hoveror select a mail. To sort incomingmessages, Yahoo! offers up to200 filters – double the numberof filters available now.Moreover, Mail Plus featuresare now available to all Yahoo!Mail users. Users can now createa disposable email address ifthey don’t want to give out theirprimary address. Users canforward their mail to anotheremail account as well as anotherYahoo! Mail address. The servicealso allows you to downloadyour Yahoo! Mail messagesusing a desktop email applicationsuch as Outlook, and thenaccess them offline.Angry Yahoo! Mail usersThe redesign, however, is facingmajor backlash from users whoare furious over missing tabs,bugs and eliminated features.Disappointed Yahoo! Mail usersare comparing it to a knockoff ofGmail. In October, users postedover 5,200 complaints reportingbugs and reduced functionalityin the server.The biggest complaint is theelimination of a feature thatallowed users to open searchpages and email in individualtabs − a feature that distin-Yahoo! Mail was revamped last month24 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Web WatchBicycles of the futureHonda Unicub and Toyota Winglet were ondisplay at Japanese tech show, Ceatec. They’restill at concept stage http://dgit.in/H8o5iyKarbonn’s 4 new budget phonesKarbonn launched four smartphones for below `8,000: A16,A99, A35 and A90. They’re 2G and 3G-enabled smartphonesin the `5,500-7,500 price range http://dgit.in/19Qn9Itguished Yahoo! Mail from itsbiggest competitor, Gmail. Thenew Yahoo! Mail design alsoleaves out a ‘print’ button forusers who need paper copies oftheir email. Users can no longerview their folders unless theyleave the inbox, while new emailwill no longer show up in bold.The delete button is placedrather unfortunately, next tothe sender’s name.Users have also complainedthat they can no longer sort theiremail by sender. Many usershave complained of bugs in theserver including drafts not gettingsaved, text not being formattedproperly, email not beingsent and errors while logginginto the site. Some users havealso reported that their contactsare being automatically deletedfrom their address book withouttheir consent.This is Yahoo!’s second redesignin the past seven months.The first redesign had alsoreceived a lot of flak from users.Thousands of Yahoo! Mail usersare requesting the site to revertthe changes.Bing search addsKlout-verifiedsnapshotsSnapshots on Bing will nowinclude the public portions ofyour LinkedIn profile as wellas your best moments on socialnetworks like Instagram andTwitter with your Klout score.The initial implementationwill show Klout scoresfor friends in the “People WhoKnow” section of the right-handcolumn. The snapshots will containuseful information aboutpeople, topics, places and willprovide information at a glance.This move by Klout and Microsoftwill give users more controlover information that appearsabout them on search. Kloutusers who have Wikipediaentries associated with theiraccounts will get Klout scoreboosts based on the numberof times their entries show upin search.In a blog post announcing thenew feature, Klout said, “You’llnow be able to easily share yourprofessional accomplishmentsand highlights, as well as yourmost influential moments onInstagram and Twitter, whenpeople search for you on Bing.”Klout is a social rankingwebsite that uses analytics tostudy a user’s reach over socialnetworks such as Facebook,Twitter, Instagram and evenFlickr and gives you a scorebetween 1 and 100. The moreprofiles you tie to your Kloutprofile the more accurate thescoring becomes.Snapdeal introducesReGlobe, a platformto sell used gadgetsSnapdeal has introduced a newplatform called ReGlobe, whereusers can sell used gadgets suchas mobile phones, tablets andlaptops to the retailer. The newSnapdeal service is available forfree to its users. The service willsoon expand to other categoriesin the near future.“Only thing users have to dois identify their gadgets’ brandand make on thesite, fill in detailsabout its condition,get a quotefrom Snapdeal.com, schedulea pick-up or drop-off and getpaid in cash instantly,” said theonline retailer in a press release.Once the gadget has beenphysically verified by theSell your old gadgets on ReGlobeReGlobe technician, the customergets paid the exactamount mentioned in the onlinequote in cash. In case of any discrepanciesbetween the detailsfilled online and the actual conditionof the gadget, the technicianwill revise the quote andif the new amount is agreedupon by both parties, the paymentwill be made on the spot,explains Snapdeal.Currently, the pick-up servicesare available in Delhi,Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida,Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Bangalore,Secunderabad and Hyderabad.Snapdeal plans to add new citiesevery month.Researchers developalgorithm that canreveal life historybased on yourTweetsResearchers at Carnegie MellonUniversity in Pittsburgh andCornell University in Ithacahave developed a new algorithmthat can sort out news of importantevents from entirely trivialdetails in Twitter streams.The algorithm developedby researchers Jiwei Li andClaire Cardie can depict importantevents in an individuals’life without knowing anythingabout them. The teamof researchers tested thealgorithm on 20 ordinaryTwitter users and 20 celebritiesover a 21-month periodfrom 2011 to 2013.According to ‘MIT TechnologyReview’, the researchersasked 20 users to enter theirmost important tweets manually,to depict their own lifehistory. For celebrities, Li andCardie used Wikipedia biographiesto create ‘gold standard’life histories manually.Following this, the tworesearchers compared the lifehistories generated against theones generated by their algorithm.The results were quiteaccurate. The algorithm alsomanaged to pick out severalfactual life events.“Experiments on real Twitterdata quantitatively demonstratethe effectiveness of our method,”the researchers said.However, this works forusers who have Twitter accountsand update their status messagesregularly. The user alsoneeds to have enough followersto allow the algorithm to spotthe unique pattern of responsesthat identifies the tweets inportantto the calculation.“It can be extended to anyindividual, (eg friend, competitoror movie star), only if heor she has a twitter account,”they added.26 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

App WatchZynga, stage left!Justin Waldron seems to bemoving on with his Lifevillehttp://dgit.in/19Lqf0pPNR StatusHere’s an interesting app by NFN Labsto make missed trains a thing of the pasthttp://dgit.in/idontwannamissmytrainNavigation apps for Android,iPhone and Windows PhoneOne new navigation app after the other, from the same brands that make standaloneGPS navigators. We give you options for each platformVishal Mathurvishal.mathur@thinkdigit.comWhen you readthis magazinelast month,you probablycame across a mention of theupdated TomTom navigationapp for smartphones. This timearound, we’re here to show youthe way with more than one navigationapp recommendation.considering how many thereare, it must be hard to pick one.Sygic for Androidgoes freeIt was rather big news in thisdomain when the Sygic navigationapp for Android slashed itsprice from `1,399 to Free! By far,the best GPS navigation app thatwe’ve tested, Sygic has excellentoffline maps and voice navigation.Sygic for Android continuesto use the MapmyIndiamaps, with 3D maps for certaincities and landmarks. Theoffline maps download and storeability means you can also usethis on a device with no connectivityto the internet. Youcan download maps for specificregions across India, whichnot only makes the downloadseasier to manage, but also lesstime and space consuming. Incase you haven’t already, youmight just want to downloadthis and keep it on the phonefor emergencies.Price: FreeAndroid: http://dgit.in/1h4Ng3CANS for iOSThis could be a case of wrongtiming for Ayana NavigationSolutions (ANS), but just as theSygic app went free, the companylaunched the ANS Navigatorfor iOS devices. The appoffers live traffic updates, whichgives it an immediate edge overthe Sygic app. The 3D Mapsdon’t look as good as Sygic, butthey get the job done smoothly.In what’s a rather tight integrationwith the iOS contacts, theANS app lets you access contactaddresses from within the app,and start navigation. Google’slocal search is a neat feature tohave, but there were many timeswhen it simply said “server connectionerror” while using 3Gon the move.One big issue with the ANSNavigator application is theextremely cramped on-screenkeyboard, each key of whichis extremely narrow. If trafficupdates are important for you,then this app is a must have onthe iPhone.Price: `1,650iOS: http://dgit.in/15ZVgycMapmyIndia Mapsfor Android andWindows PhoneWith MapmyIndia also providingmaps for the Sygic app,it becomes a tad confusing formost smartphone users to decidewhich application to download.The MapmyIndia Maps app forWindows Phone and Androidbrings the visually excellentmaps typical of the company’sstandalone GPS devices. Whileit lacks the three-dimensionalbrilliance of the Sygic Maps version,it gets the job done withabsolute ease. The interface ofthe app looks very different onAndroid than on a WindowsPhone, with the latter’s versioncompletely blending in with theOS’ unique interface. Interfaceand maps aside, you get a fairlywell laid out set of features thatwon’t confuse a first-time userof such an application. Unfortunately,the search for addresseswasn’t always the smoothest,and we ended up relying onnearby landmarks to get to certainlocations. However this ishopefully something that MapmyIndiacan improve with afuture update. The app doesn’toffer offline maps, but compensatesfor this by offering trafficupdates along the route you maybe travelling. It’s certainly muchmore convenientPrice: FreeAndroid: http://dgit.in/16pCcMgWindows: http://dgit.in/1eG7oHe28 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

This.Is.Vegaaas!The hardware battlefield inVegas tenses uphttp://dgit.in/15KEvqDBetter online shoppingOnline shopping can be convenient, but sometimes,things go wrong and how! Here’s a quick guide to avoidingsuch fiascos http://dgit.in/GP5mZCApp WatchDishOnline – Live TV for yoursmartphone or tabletDish TV is the first DTH provider to offer Live TV on your phone. Impressivebeginning, and the only direction is towards improvementVishal Mathurvishal.mathur@thinkdigit.comIf you’ve wanted to watchLive TV channels onyour smartphone ortablet, you’ve had to relyon third-party apps and serviceproviders. But, if you’re aDish TV Direct to Home (DTH)subscriber, you can now alsoget Live TV on your Androidor iOS device via its dedicatedapp. Additionally, Dish TV isalso providing something akinto Time Shift TV (access to olderprogramming on any channel)as well as a range of movies andThe app follows a black andgrey themevideos in various languages. Allthis is a part of the Video OnDemand package. The app iscalled DishOnline, and can bedownloaded for Android andiOS at http://dgit.in/H83StG It’sThe interface is very easy to usefree to download, but the servicerequires a subscription. Thereare two packages: Jumbo Packfor `69 and the Starter Pack for`29. This service is available toDish TV DTH subscribers.Dish TV provided Digitwith access to the DishOnlineapp for testing, and theoverall package seemed ratherimpressive, considering that it’sthe first attempt by any DTHprovider in India. However,there’s considerable room forimprovement for the dittotv.com powered app.The channels: Onlythe beginning,hopefully!There are 35 channels on boardat the moment, with Dish TVsaying that more channels willbe available soon. The channelson the DishOnline list are availableon the DTH platform andare currently in their StandardDefinition (SD) versions.Interface: You can’tget lost hereThe first thing you notice onopening the app is the amountof empty grey space on thehomescreen. A black striprunning horizontally lists allthe sections and options suchas Live TV, Movies, TV Showsetc. The same colour theme andhorizontal scrolling method isfollowed throughout the app.Quite neat, since it doesn’t overwhelmthe user with too muchinformation on the screen.However, while you’re in thevarious Video On Demandsections, the genre and sortingmethods are a tad uncomfortablewhile horizontallyscrolling. The colour themeis easy on the eye, and thefont sizes used are very comfortableeven on a smartphone,and even more so on a tablet.There are not too many subcategoriesor sub-layers toremember and negotiate.Anyone using a DTH connectionwill be used to seeingthe Electronic ProgrammeGuide in the same method asthe DishOnline shows it.While DishOnline neverhad any issues, it did crashonce on the iPad when we weresorting the movies section bylanguage, wanting to only seethe English and Hindi content.Maybe something that can beironed out in a future update.Picture Quality:Massive scope forimprovementBe it Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity,the streaming was mostlystutter-free. While the contentlooks good on a smartphoneDigit watched a match on TenActionor even an iPad Mini, you can’thelp but notice the generousdose of noise when viewingon a higher resolution screen.Read the rest of this review athttp://dgit.in/GZNTh5CMYCMMYCYCMYK

ConnectionsSecurity watchPS4 Spaces OutPS4 seems to have realized gamers needmore space today... Say hello to the 1.5TBPlaystation. http://dgit.in/1eF3sXaSteamed Slender ManSlender: The Arrival hits Steam for$9.99. Read on for detailshttp://dgit.in/1cSjFb4I spy with my little eye…Some true, some false. Find out how true are the rumors of security breaches on thenet and your phonesResearchers claimthat Apple andNSA can read yourmessagesApple had recently released astatement regarding customerprivacy stating that the companywas unable to access ordecrypt iMessage and FaceTimeconversations. Researchersrefuted the company’s claim atthe Hack the Box conference inKuala Lumpur.Researchers in a recent studyof the iMessage protocol foundthat Apple has the ability tointercept and decrypt iMessages.Despite the fact thatthe messages are encryptedend-to-end, Apple handles thekeys needed to encrypt andexchange the messages. Securityresearchers are claiming that it’sactually possible for someoneinside the company to interceptmessages as the company hasaccess to public iMessage keys.However, researchers emphasisedthat there’s no indicationwhether Apple or the governmentis actually doing so.Researchers state, “With apublic server, such as MIT’s PGPPublic Key Server, the sendercan at least see more information,such as whether a keyhas changed. At that point, thesender can decide whether theywant to trust it or not, if they suspecta man in the middle attack.Apple’s key server is not public.”A blog post published byCyril Cattiaux, an iOS jailbreakhacker states,” Yes, there is endto-endencryption as Appleclaims, but the weakness is inthe key infrastructure as it iscontrolled by Apple: They canchange a key any time theywant, thus read the content ofour iMessages.”“The biggest problem here isyou just cannot control that thepublic key you are using whenyou are ciphering the message isreally the key of your recipientand not, for example, the publickey of some guy in Apple,” Cattiauxsaid.India, ICANN to setup center to ramp upinternet securityThe Center for Development andAdvanced Computing (CDAC)has tied up with the InternationalCorporation for AssignedNames and Numbers (ICANN)to develop a research facilitythat will help prevent cyberattacks and security threats. Thefacility will be known as Centerfor Excellence in DNS Security.“We are always in doubtwhen accessing the internetwhether whatever is beingshared is visible to someoneelse. We need to dispel thisfear, which is associated to theinternet,” J Satyanarayan, secretary,department of telecommunicationsis quoted as saying.The two sides on Thursdaysigned an expression of intentwith regards to setting up theresearch facility. Representativesfrom the CDAC, an agencyof the union ministry of communicationsand IT, and theICANN also discussed ways toco-operate on issues related togovernance and managementof the internet infrastructure.Union Minister KapilSibal called for a “consensualapproach” to develop an institutionalframework of the web.“India is a natural multistakeholdersociety. It shouldn’tbe a huge effort [for India] tolead us in this space of multistakeholderism,”ICANN presidentand CEO Fadi Chehadesaid at the FICCI conference,later in the afternoon.“This centre will play a centralrole in ensuring the securityand stability of the DomainName System. The Internet hasbecome one of the world’s mostvalued resources and it deservesnothing less than full globalcooperation and collaborationin developing concrete solutionsto combat threats to theDNS,” said Chehade of the newresearch facility.Huawei dispelssecurity fears, statesno government hasasked for its dataChina’s Huawei TechnologiesLtd. has been trying to dispelfears that the company is controlledby China’s CommunistParty or might be a security risk.It has released a cyber-securityreport stating that no governmenthas ever asked informationabout its customer data.Huawei released a reportfollowing an outcry over disclosuresabout the role of theinternet and telecom companiesin sweeping U.S. governmentsurveillance. The reportis written by a Huawei executivewho is a former British officialand asks companies and regulatorsto co-operate in settingglobal standards and for customersto press suppliers toimprove security.Huawei has faced suspicionsabout its activities and has beenbarred from bidding in an Australianbroadband network. Thecompany stated that it’s owned byits employees and denies beingcontrolled by China’s rulingCommunist Party or military.30 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Flac Your FragsInterested in good headphones for gaming?Here’s some food for thought to help youdecide http://dgit.in/18oceHrFacebook WP 8.1The updated Facebook app has beenofficially released for Windows 8.1by FacebookSecurity watch“We have never been askedto provide access to our technology,or provide any data orinformation on any citizen ororganization to any government,”said Huawei’s deputychairman, Ken Hu, in a forewordto the report.Is your Wi-Fi welland truly secure?It’s almost second nature now,whiling away a few momentsonline using a Wi-Fi hot spot.But hooking up to an alien networkcan carry hidden risks.Despite this, more than a thirdof users take no additional precautionswhen logging on topublic Wi-Fi, according to theKaspersky Consumer Security Riskssurvey conducted by B2B Internationaland Kaspersky Lab inthe summer of 2013.Nowadays, it’s easy to getonline – in addition to cellularnetworks and broadband cablecommunication networks,there is often at least one hotspotwhich can connect computersand mobile devices tothe Internet.However, many of these hotspotsskimp on protection forusers who are either unaware orunconcerned about the potentialproblems this can cause.In the survey, 34% of userssaid that they took no specialmeasures to protect onlineactivity using a hotspot. 14%,on the other hand were happyto bank or shop online usingany network that came to hand.Just 13% took the time to checkthe encryption standard of anygiven access point.Caution is never a bad thing.In an open Wi-Fi network, thereis a very obvious entry-pointinto your privacy - the man inthe middle.There may be a person inwhichever public place youare sitting on the next table,monitoring the internet trafficin your vicinity, looking for awindow of opportunity to slidein and take control of any sensitivedata lying around on yourlaptop, or accessible throughyour phone or tablet. Credit carddetails based on the transactiondetails of Arkham Origins thatyou couldn’t wait to prebookonline, for instance.It’s one thing to ask you tobuild yourself a bunker 60 feetunder the ground and rely onshort-wave communicationsto order your pizza, and quiteanother to ask you to simplyupgrade the security on yourelectronic items to prevent beingcaught with your pants down.One such option is to use anAntivirus which has the optionof keeping your financial detailsbehind a virtual vault rightthere on your laptop. It’s notmuch of an effort on your part,and you may prevent being ahapless victim of credit cardfraud, amongst other things.Stay smart. Stay protected.One PC many USERS, Savingsone STOP shop for ALL your Thinclient needsTMhigh endThinclientscorporateThinclientszeroThinclientseconomicalThinclientsXL-500 ML-100 Z-102 AW-100thanks for visiting us inBangaloreITE.biz......................call for free demo1800 200 2444......................more details visitwww.rdpcomputing.in......................RDP Workstations Pvt. Ltd. , Sri Lakshmi Arcade, # 8 - 2 - 248 / B / 32, Journalist Colony, Banjara Hills -3, Hyderabad - 500 034. PH : 040 - 6457 1110

Digital lifeCanon P-201Canon’s new portable scannerweighs 550g & measures 312.5 x55.5 x 40mm. Price: `11,995/-No need for speedThe next installment in the NFSseries will be avoiding the next genWii console http://dgit.in/15ZSedsHTC One GoldIf you’ve ever fancied King Midas, you’ll probablylove this pure 18-carat gold beauty. If the HTCOne wasn’t already one of the most well-craftedsmartphones ever made, the Gold is yet anotherreason to buy it, but be advised – only five ofthese were ever made by HTC to celebrate the18 th anniversary of MOBO Awards and eachcosts $4,420 or `2,87,500 to be precise. Thoughit’s hard to get your hands on one of these, itdoesn’t hurt to try.Take what you want, butleave me my toys!Red HarbingerCross DeskUsually we use a desk to keep our PCs on butthe Red Harbinger Cross Desk destroys thatconcept. As per its design, the Harbinger is adesk and a PC case rolled into one. Inspiredby the immensely popular and award-winningL3p D3sk modding project, the Cross Deskcan accommodate the most costliest andmost outrageous computer components yourmind can possibly think of. And get this: youcan build two separate rigs, add the hugeliquid cooling components, install twenty3.5-inch drives, hide cables using its excellentcable management system and add somefuturistic lighting to pimp up your desk. Thisridiculously awesome desk can be yours for ameasly $1,700. The cost doesn’t include thePC hardware, shipping and customs. Add thisup and what you get is a nice way to burn yourDiwali bonus.32 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

2D glassesEver had problems with 3D movies which reallyshouldn’t have been 3D movies? Un-3D your 3Dglasses with this article http://dgit.in/1eG6t9PSubtitle your lifeWill Powell comes up with a way to subtitleforeign languages on the go, through yourglasses http://dgit.in/186lCv5Drool maalPortal Sentry TurretAre you are a gamer who was left smitten byValve’s Portal franchise? If yes, then you’re sureto remember GLaDOS and those cute little turretsthat fired bullets once they detected your presence.After all this time, the enthusiasm for the gamestill hasn’t died down and the folks over at GamingHeads have started selling replica models of theselovable talking turrets. You can get this 16-inch tallhand finished video game paraphernalia at $330(`20,346) a piece, but hurry, only a limited 350 ofthem are up for grabs.Continuum Caliburn+ Cobra + CastellonTurntableIf you say that Vinyl LPs are dead, chances are that somehipster will throw his useless copy of Rebecca Black’sFriday at you. Nevertheless, the LP is still the musicformat of choice for many audiophiles. Of course, youneed a good turntable to play your collection of records,and Australian audio specialist Continuum has an answerfor you in the form of its $160,000 (`9,86,4800 ) turntable– the Caliburn. Made of aircraft grade aluminium thatconsists of a floating platform, a platter weighing 36 kgsand a specially designed motor which is incidentally alsoused by the U.S. military for motion control systems, theContinuum Caliburn is a state-of-the-art example of whatyou can expect in high-end audio equipments. Want it? Putyour name down and wait for 10 months. After all, youasked for a made-to-order, über expensive turntable.Fitbit FlexIf you’ve gained some weight due to those longworking hours cooped up in front of a computerscreen chomping on fries, this product is just for you.The Fitbit Flex is a wireless activity tracking bandthat keeps a log of your steps, distance travelledand calories burnt – all through the use of an appinstalled on your smartphone that’s connected to thewearable Flex band. Its uses are not limited to this;it can also be used to log your food activity, measurethe time duration of your sleep and wake you up withits silent vibrating alarm. Available in trendy colours,it can be yours for just $99.95 (`6,162).Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 33

Cover storyTheNakedTruthHow your privacy is dyinga slow death onlineNikhil PradhanThere is a war going on right now,and unbeknownst to you, you areboth the soldier and the casualtyin it. Like most wars, this one ismade up of a collection of battles ratherthan a single massive conflict takingplace in one spot. However, unlike mostwars where the opposing forces tend tobe somewhat evenly matched (in one orthe other aspect), here we have the behemothsof entire governments along withmulti-billion dollar corporations fightingagainst lone individuals. People likeyou and me.Come to think of it, this isn’t a war, it’smore of a slaughter.Writing about privacy (or rather thewholesale murder of it), in the wake ofthe Snowden revelations is a depressingaffair. This is not because the fight toregain control over our online lives looksextremely difficult, but rather becausewe’ve already lost that fight and the onlything we can do now is try and staunchthe bleeding and cauterize the wounds.This process did not happen overnight, no,it happened incrementally as we becamemore and more willing to choose convenienceover privacy, while companies likeGoogle, Facebook, Microsoft and Yahooencouraged it – hell, incentivized it. Now,anyone with access to the databases ofthese companies can paint (and in certaincases, have painted) a complete picture ofa person based on their online footprint.And now as the governments around theworld tighten the screws on these companiesand spy on each other, your privacy isat risk, and as creepy as it may sound, youare, for all intents and purposes, naked tosomeone with intent and access to yourdata. Imagine, private emails sent between34 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Cover storyyou and your girlfriend, all available forthe viewing pleasure of some namelessgovernment or corporate agent.Like we said, this tale about online privacyis not a happy one, not even a hopefulone. If you started out reading this storythinking that we would be able to sharesome amazing solutions with you thatwould help erase your worries, then we’resorry to disappoint. However, throughthis story, our attempt will be to bring youup to speed on how your online privacy isbeing infringed upon and which are themajor parties involved in the process. Inthe story that follows, Anirudh will alsoshare tools you can use and best practicesyou can follow to make sure you’re doingall you can to protect your privacy thenext time you’re on the Internet.Snowden: The Man WhoOpened the FloodgatesEdward Snowden, 30, is an unassuminglooking man with the appearance of astereotypical IT professional. A pair ofslim glasses frame his face and only addto this picture of someone who could bedescribed using generic, bland termssuch as ‘normal’ or ‘average’. Despite thisregular-Joe image that Snowden projects,at 29 years, 11 months and 24 days, he wasbranded a “defector” and a “traitor” by theUnited States government and chargedas a spy. Today, a mere five months later,Snowden’s name is synonymous with thenow commonplace news on online spyingand privacy infringements that both theUS and other governments are activelyengaged in.In May of this year, Snowden who wasworking with Booz Allen Hamilton, adefence firm sub-contracted by the NSA(National Security Agency), in Hawaii,flew to Hong Kong with data pertaining tothe U.S. government’s mass surveillanceprograms. In Hong Kong, Snowden got“‘PRISM’ is actually something like acustomized interface that NSA and otherAmerican intelligence analysts use to collateand view intelligence data collected.”A video still of Edward Snowden talking to the GuardianThe eye in the skyin touch with The Guardian, a UK basednewspaper and proceeded to leak criticaldata that painted the entire picture of howmassive the surveillance undertakingactually is.One of the most important revelationswas regarding something called ‘PRISM’that has been incorrectly branded as THEtool being used by the NSA to keep trackof the Internet. ‘PRISM’ is actually somethinglike a customized interface that NSAand other American intelligence analystsuse to collate and view data collected bythe various data scraping and accumulationtools being used by the intelligencecommunity. However, there’s no denyingthe fact that PRISM is actually a verypowerful tool within the scope of its functionalityand makes the job of analysingcollected data a whole lot easier for all thepeople concerned.Apart from PRISM, Snowden alsorevealed the existence of programs suchas XKEYSCORE and TEMPORA thatwere part of a global surveillance programconducted by not only the US but alsoits allies that included the UK, Canada,Australia and New Zealand. Througha concerted effort, these countries arekeeping tabs on India and other nationslike China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, France,Brazil, Japan, Germany and Afghanistan(some of which have their own surveillancepresence on the Web) primarilyusing data gleaned online.Perhaps more shocking were themedia’s claims about how most of thetechnology companies that have become apart of our daily lives (think Google, Facebook,Yahoo, Microsoft) were in bed withthe NSA and the various governmentsof the countries they were operating in.These reports also accused the companiesof giving security agencies ‘backdoor’access to their servers. These accusationshave turned out to be somewhat inaccurate(unless the company’s name happensto be ‘Verizon’ or is another U.S. telecomoperator) and we’ll talk about these allegationsin the next section of the story.The Orwellian InternetAs the scope and reach of the Internethas widened, we’ve become more andmore comfortable with the idea of storingour personal and private informationonline. This is because we do implicitlyand explicitly trust the services that weuse online, at least to a certain extent. Forinstance, you wouldn’t think twice beforeDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 35

Cover storyasking your lawyer or broker to sendyou copies of your property documents,or your HR to send salary details overGmail, would you? Of course, as naiveor simplistic as it may sound, you alsoalways have the option of not using aparticular service. The Terms of Servicefor any online service is available for yourviewing at any point of time and if there’ssomething there you don’t agree with,recognizes the right to privacy only of itsown citizens, which is the policy that theUS government follows.So, what happens when a companyyou’ve chosen to trust with your data getsin bed with a government that you don’t?Unfortunately, the answer to thatis, ‘nothing good’, especially if you liveoutside the US but primarily use onlineservices from American companies,“According to a confidential NSA slideshowpresentation, Microsoft began providingdata to the PRISM program back in Septemberof 2007.”Big brother is watchingyou can bid adieu to that service. Howeverdifficult or complicated the processmay be, the truth is that online servicesdo offer you a choice.Now, with governments, it’s a differentstory altogether. You don’t reallyhave a choice whether you want to trustyour government or not. While there isimplicit trust in play, Snowden’s revelationshave proved that there is a LOT thatgovernments do that concern you butyou’re not made aware of. That gets evenworse when the government in questionis not even of your country and thatgovernment follows a formal policy thatA slide from the leaked NSA presentationsomething that describes most Internetusers in India. Post-the Snowden expose,when the media began reporting thatmost of the big online companies weresharing user information with the USgovernment wholesale (and gettingpaid for it), the companies reacted withabsolute denials stating that they wereonly cooperating with the governmentup to the extent required by specific courtorders and warrants. As it turns out,while there’s some truth to that, there’salso more to the story.As per the documents leaked by theGuardian, Microsoft may have been thefirst company to agree to a relationshipwith the NSA. According to a confidentialNSA slideshow presentation, Microsoftbegan providing data to the PRISM programback in September of 2007. Microsofthas also allegedly provided the NSAwith a method to access emails and chatson Hotmail and Outlook.com, before theyare encrypted.Microsoft, on its part, has deniedthat it has a special relationship with theNSA and has stressed that it only sharesuser information when served with alegal order.Google’s relationship with the NSA(which began in January 2009) has beenmore tenuous when compared to Microsoft’s.While the Snowden documentsaccuse Google of engaging in similaractivities as Microsoft to make it easierfor the intelligence agencies to procureuser information, Google has also vociferouslydenied the existence of a back doorto its servers and while it has admittedthat it has been the subject of numerousrequests from the US government withrespect to level of access to user data,it has denied permission for any directaccess to its hardware. Instead, as toldto Wired by Google Spokesperson ChrisGaither, Google responds to data requestsbacked by a legal order by either handingover the data in person to the agenciesinvolved or through a secure FTP serverwhere the data is hosted for the perusal ofthe NSA.Being the largest entity on theInternet, it’s only obvious that Google will36 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Cover storyEt tu, brutus?be the subject of attention from both thegovernments and users. To which of theseparties Google has demonstrated moreloyalty is something that’s still not clear.Yahoo has also been caught up in theweb of privacy infringement and whynot? After all, its main website and itsservices are one of the most popular globallyonly surpassed by the juggernautthat is Google. Yahoo was also one of thebig names mentioned in the leaked documentsas one of the companies that haveallegedly handed over users’ personaldata to the NSA on a silver platter. YahooTracking IndiaSo, where does all of this leave us herein India? Since India is the fifth mosttracked country by the NSA accordingto the Snowden leaks, using most of thepopular online services is somethinglike a double-edged sword for you. First,your personal data is as much at risk asanyone else in the US, and second, as perthe policy followed by the NSA and itspaymasters, you don’t have any rights toprivacy especially when the Americangovernment comes into the picture. Whileall the companies we’ve mentioned earlierhave iterated over and over again thatthey do not provide information to the USgovernment at the drop of a hat, you haveto realise that most of this data gatheringprocess is still wrapped under layers andlayers of institutionalized secrecy.The only real choices that you do haveis to- a) trust the Googles, the Facebooks,the Microsofts and the Yahoos of theworld b) or opt out of using any of theseservices, which is almost an unthinkableact in this day and age, c) or resign yourselfto the idea that there will always bethe risk of your private data being viewedby someone else overseas, d) or simplyrefrain from using the Internet when itcomes to highly personal or private data.Now, as if this story wasn’tdepressing so far, this is not the onlything that you’ve got to worry about,if you care about online privacy. TheIndian government has also taken ashine to online surveillance and has inplace processes through which it hasan unimaginable potential to monitoralmost 100% of the web traffic that flowsin and out of our shores. This it doeswith the help of LIM (Lawful Interceptand Monitoring) systems that havebeen deployed at the primary gatewaynodes of the major Indian ISPs, throughwhich all of India’s Internet traffic isrouted to and from the rest of the world.By being the only ones controlling andmaintaining these LIMs, the Indian“India is the fifthmost trackedcountry by theNSA accordingto the Snowden(document)leaks.”has, of course, denied those allegationsjust like Google and Microsoft and hasin fact sued the US government so thatthe company can make it clearer to itsusers about what it’s sharing with thegovernment. Facebook seems to be in asimilar boat, accused of being lax with thepersonal information of its billion stronguserbase while denying that it has goneout of its way to help do that.Google Co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 37

Cover storyPrivacy in IndiaThe Indian government has also seen fit to go after privatecompanies in search of your data, just like the NSA.Transparency reports released this year by Google, Facebookand Twitter reveal how interested the government in the going onsin social media. According to Google’s transparency report releasedthis year, India was the country that made the second most numberof data requests from the search giant (over a period spanning Julyto December 2012) at 2,431 requests about 4,106 users, 66% ofwhich resulted in some data being handed over to the government.In comparison, the US, ranked number one on the list, made 8.438requests about 14,868 users on Google with an 88% ‘success rate’while France came in third with 1,693 requests about 2,063 usersof which only 44% were handed over. India’s numbers have onlygrown from the previous transparency report which showed thatfrom January to June 2012, the Indian government made 2,319 datarequests on 3,467 users with a 64% ‘success rate’.Moving on to Facebook, here too the Indian government rankssecond, only outmatched by the US’ desire to spy on its own citizens.From January to June 2013, India made 3,245 data requests about4,144 user accounts of which Facebook was able to hand over 50%of the requested data. Germany falls a distant third with about 58%of India’s data requests. Twitter, on the other hand, has seen notseen too much attention from the government but we should accordthat to the fact that rarely is Twitter used for private communication,rather than a sudden change of heart up top.In its transparency report that spans the first half of 2013(January to June), Yahoo has revealed that India made the seventhmost data requests globally with a total of 1,490 requests for 2,704user accounts, of which 341 requests were handled by disclosingthe content of the information while some data on 494 requests wasrevealed to the government.Summary of requestsRequests by Reporting PeriodUser data requestsUser Data RequestsAn image showing data requests made to Google by Indian governmentGovernment data requests23%ContentDisclosed33%Only NCDDisclosedUsers/Accounts2,800 100%2,100 75%1,400 50%700 25%0 0%12/31/09 12/31/10 12/31/11 12/31/12 12/31/09 12/31/10 12/31/1112/31/12Time period endingPercentage of Requests Where Some Data ProducedWe did not start providing information about the percentage of user datarequests we complied with, in whole or in part, until the July-December2010 reporting period.34%Rejected10%No DataFound155No Data Found500Rejected494Only NCD Disclosed341Content Disclosed1,490Total GovernmentData Requests2,704Total GovernmentSpecified AccountsAn image showing data requests made to Yahoo by Indian governmentData requests fully or partially complied withgovernment essentially can sift throughall the data generated on the Internet bythe 160 million odd users who go onlineregularly in our country.While the government has asked ISPsto appoint nodal officers to liaise withthe government regarding what datais required and whether its legal (andfeasible) to pull it out, for all intents andpurposes that’s a moot point, since thegovernment doesn’t actually require anyhelp from any of these ISPs. As a result,as the Hindu found out, none of the majorIndian ISPs have bothered to install theLIM systems at their end or even appointnodal officers. There also don’t seemto be any legal safeguards with an eyeout for user privacy in place, although“The Central Monitoring System (CMS) isIndia’s answer to PRISM, an amorphoussurveillance system that would put bothSkynet and Shodan to shame.”privacy is protected under Section 419Aof the Indian Telegraph Rules 1951 andthe Information Technology Act of 2000(before it was mutilated in 2008 throughan amendment that gave the governmenteven more power to intercept, monitorand decrypt online communication forreasons of ‘national security’).But wait, there’s more! Right out ofthe pages of a story written by someonewho could only be the love-child ofStephen King and George Orwell, comesthe Central Monitoring System (CMS),India’s answer to PRISM, an amorphoussurveillance system that wouldput both Skynet and Shodan to shame,put together by the Centre for Developmentof Telematics (C-DOT). The datacollected from the CMS will be put to useby India’s intelligence agencies, IndianRevenue Service (for monitoring tax collections)and by the NATGRID (NationalIntelligence Grid), an interconnectedintegrated database for all intelligenceservices in India.38 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Cover storyThe CMS is expected to have amassive scope, in fact as per C-DOT’sambitions, once fully setup and in itssecond year of operation, the system willbe able to track any mobile user in thecountry up to 95% accuracy. Apart fromjust being able to track your geographicallocation within our borders, the CMS isalso expected to be able to record phonecalls, intercept and analyze emails andmessages and monitor VoIP communicationand will be integrated into thesystem that’s already monitoring Internettraffic. The CMS will do this using adirect link to all telecom operators in thecountry through which the data requiredwill be requested and received.The scary thing is (yup, we realisewe’ve been saying this a lot in this story)that the CMS is completely devoid of anyjudicial oversight. The government hasrefused to clarify the process that will beinvolved to initiate surveillance againstan individual and whether doing so willeven require a warrant. There has alsobeen no insight into how long a personwill be tracked and what will be done withthe intercepted data once it’s of no use. Allwe do know is that the CMS will only beunder the purview of the Home Ministryand boy, we sure do know that all politiciansand bureaucrats in our country canbe trusted completely, don’t we?All of these numbers only standto prove that the government is very,very interested in what you’re doingonline or on your cellphone. You willremember Kapil Sibal railing againstsocial networks and how there was aneed to monitor them for inflammatorycontent. You will also remember thatearlier this year, a man from Agra wasarrested under Section 66 (A) of the ITAct for posting images of Mulayam SinghYadav and Kapil Sibal on Facebook,images that were deemed to be “communaland inflammatory.” Further back,last year also saw the to and fro betweenBlackBerry and the Indian governmentfollowing which BlackBerry did complywith directives to let the governmentmonitor all of its users’ encrypted data.These aren’t isolated incidents but rathersignify how important online surveillanceis for the intelligence gatheringcommunity both within our borders and“Research shows that while globally about79% of Internet users were concerned aboutonline privacy, that number jumped to 94%when it came to Indian citizens.”overseas and how easy we’ve made it forthem to continue doing so.Despite this growing trend accordingto a study conducted by ProfessorKumaraguru and Niharika Sachdeva forIIT-Delhi, 75% of Internet users in Indiaare in the dark with respect to onlineprivacy. The study that covered more than10,000 Internet users in India showedthat a large majority of them did not readthe privacy documents that websites andonline services provide and had no ideaof their privacy rights and how they couldbe infringed. However, the hope lies in thefact that Indian Internet users do seem tocare more than others about online privacy.Research conducted by Big BrotherWatch, a UK based privacy group. showedthat while globally about 79% of Internetusers were concerned about online privacy,that number jumped to 94% when itcame to Indian citizens.The Road AheadSo, if you haven’t already put a gunto your head, this is where you stand.Everything that you do online or on yourcellphone can be tracked, intercepted,monitored and collated by not onlyyour own government but also foreignones. Thanks to the paranoia that thewords ‘terrorism’ and ‘national security’can engender, you, in effect, haveminimal or altogether no right to expectprivacy if you happen to use the Internetor a cellphone.The only possible way to fight backto regain your right to privacy would bespread the word about what is going onand hope that soon this fight will gainenough traction to garner the attentionof the lawmakers. Only when more andmore of Internet users start caring deeplyabout their privacy and what rights theyC-DOT is the organization responsible for implementing the CMS in India.have, will this fight gather momentum. Aswe mentioned at the very beginning, ourobjective with this story was not to try andsatiate your worries with the help of stopgapsolutions or moralize about what’sright or wrong, but rather help you understandthe context and the state of affairswhen it comes to privacy online and howyour rights are being infringed upon. Wehope we’ve been able to do that.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 41

Cover storyWorkshop:Protectyour privacyonlineThe NSA just showed us how limited our online privacytruly is. Here is a small workshop that just might be able torestore some measure of privacy to your current, pseudoprivateonline life.Anirudh RegidiBefore we begin, we need adisclaimer of sorts. None of themethods we’re listing out hereare guaranteed to offer privacy.As we don’t have any spies inside theNSA (or any other security agency forthat matter) and have no access to anyconcrete evidence to support the claimedfeatures of the services we will list,we don’t know for sure if the methodsactually work. What we can say is thatsteps and services that we’ll list in thefollowing article will, in theory, providea far more secure and private onlinelife than you previously experienced.The big question is not how youprotect your privacy, but rather, why?What do you hope to achieve? CompleteInternet anonymity? Do you just want tohide a bit of, ahem, indiscreet browsing?Are you an activist hell-bent on joiningthe ranks of Anonymous and the like?The latter is something that we can’t helpyou with, but the rest, well, let’s see.First, here are a list of general guidelinesthat you need to follow while online.There won’t be much point in worryingabout whether Google is reading yourGmail if your accounts are open alreadycompromised is there?• Passwords: Probably the most importantcomponent of your online life, thepassword is much neglected by most.No matter how many times we’retold that we need multiple, strong,secure passwords, we don’t keep them.Maybe we’re lazy or maybe we’re justshort on memory, who knows? Thepoint is, people who tell you to change42 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Cover storyThey’re always watching. Always.your passwords regularly are nottalking through their hats. You maynot realise the importance of multiplepasswords till your account is hacked.While your password itself may besecure, it’s how the website that you’relogging into handles the passwordthat is suspect. Take the recenthacking of Adobe’s database; the sitewas probably one that you trustedwith your credentials and maybe youwere a bit lax and you used the samepassword that you use to login to, say,facebook. All the hacker has to do isfind your identity online (using yourprofile information on Adobe’s site)and just try your Adobe password onevery social network and forum thatyou’re on! We’re not saying that Adobeis particularly lax, what we’re sayingis that if Adobe can be hacked, whatabout the more risqué forums that youmight be frequenting?• Two-step authentication: An essentialsupplement to your password. Ifyou have this option, enable it. Thisis easily one of the safest and mostsecure methods of logging in anywhere.It might be more cumbersome,but trust us when we say this, you’llbe thanking your lucky stars the dayyou discover that your accounts havebeen compromised.• A double-life: If you’re reallyparanoid about your online life, leada double life. Create an entirely newonline persona, complete with fakeaddress and birthday. Hell, createmultiple personas. Use those detailsas credentials for sites that you wouldnot want linked to your real life.• Public Wi-Fi: Try not to use publicWi-Fi networks to access private andsecure data that you would not havefall into the wrong hands. If you reallymust use a public network, use a VPN(more on that later), but even thatmight not be enough.• Encryption: Don’t leave sensitive datajust lying around. Leaving passwordsin Google docs or Skydrive is not theintelligent thing to do. If you reallymust offload private data, use utilitiessuch as true-crypt to encrypt yourinfo before you upload the data. Butremember, the best place to store anydata is your memory.• Google yourself: We’re pretty surethat some of you do this anyway, butfor those who don’t, this is not reallyvanity. If one wants to remain anonymous,one must pride oneself on one’sinability to find oneself.• Misc. tips: There’s not much elsereally. Just make sure you understandhow privacy works on varioussites, don’t put any compromisinginformation online and be carefulwith your passwords.• Incognito: It’s best if you browse theweb in incognito mode whereverpossible. Most importantly, don’t signin unless you really have to. Even forthat Google search. Also, enable “DoNot Track” in your browser. Almostevery modern browser from InternetExplorer onwards has this feature.This will at least prevent your datafrom being logged by sites that complywith the request. Bear in mind thatmany sites do not comply with a “DoNot Track” request so it’s not a completesolution.It’s imperative that you understandone thing though, the incognitomode doesn’t make you invisible. Allthat the mode really does is deleteJust because you’re wearing a maskdoesn’t mean you’re invisiblebrowsing and tracking data on thePC that you’re working on. All youractual history has already beenmapped and tracked by your ISPand any other organization taking aninterest in what you’re doing.• Anti-social behavior: If you trulyvalue for privacy, stay away fromsocial networks. Facebook forexample, with its myriad privacy fauxpas is just one of the biggest sources ofinformation on your entire online (andreal) life.Now that we’ve got the basics out ofthe way, it’s time to move on to the moreadvanced stuff. If you’ve implementedthe above steps, your online life shouldalready be pretty secure, but, to go thatextra mile, here are a set of steps thatmore advanced (or paranoid) users cantry out.VPNOne of the easiest ways to get trackedonline is via your ISP. Anything youdo online can, and probably will belinked back to your IP address, a digitalsignature of sorts. One way you can getaround this is by using a Virtual PrivateNetwork (VPN). How it works is verysimple. You access the VPN via yourISP, so the ISP knows you went that far,but after that, all your Internet traffic isrouted via that VPN provider’s servers.Basically, no matter what you’re doing orwhat site you’re browsing, all your ISPknows is that you’ve accessed that VPNand no other site. As you can see fromthe box labelled “How does the Internetwork?”, the Internet is nothing morethan a collection of interconnected PCsand routers. Each of those PCs (serversin this case) will keep logs of your IPDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 43

Cover storyHow does the Internet work?To understand how to protect oneself, one must understand how theInternet actually works. What happens when you click on that link inyour browser?For something as seemingly large and complex as the Internet,it’s also surprisingly basic and straight-forward in its operation. Afteroversimplifying the process considerably, here’s a rough overview ofthe Internet.Here are some basics that you need to be aware of:1. End-points: The data that you need to access is stored on a PCthat is called a server. This could be the place where all the dataon www.thinkdigit.com is hosted for example. The device withwhich you’ll access the data from the server is the client. Thiscould be your smartphone, PC or laptop or any other Internetready device. Both these devices are end-points. The ends of thechain that make up the Internet.2. IP Address: Every end-point / server will use a network cardto access the internet and a unique address that’s called the IPaddress. Think of the network card as your cell-phone and theIP-address as your phone number. The IP address itself is notyour identity in the same way that a mobile number is not you.3. Packets: All data over the Internet is sent as “packets” of data.Think of it this way, when you click on an image, the data thatmakes up that image is broken up like a puzzle. Each piece is toldwhere it needs to go and when it gets there, where it needs tofit. When the packet arrives at the destination, it’ll find its spotand settle there, when the rest of the packets arrive, the puzzlereassembles itself to give you the image that you requested.4. DNS: Trying to remember phone numbers is hard enough,remembering an IP address even worse. The Domain Namesystem was put in place to sort out exactly this problem. It’sessentially a contact book that keeps track of IP addressesand their associated names. So, www.google.com can be74.125.239.96 for example. DNS is a Domain Name Server,a server that hosts a database of domain names that can bereferred to. Whenever a new Internet connection is setup, theaddress of a DNS server is also included.Let’s start with a simple address.1. You open Google Chrome and type www.thinkdigit.com in theaddress bar.2. Your PC translates that data into a request that is sent via a routerto your local ISP, which will try to contact a DNS server to figureout the IP address of www.thinkdigit.com.3. The local ISP will have a regional ISP above it. The regional ISPwill in-turn contact a Network Service Provider (NSP) that willin-turn contact a Network Access Point (NAP) or IX (Internetexchange). All these ISPs, NSPs and IXs are basically routers.Once the DNS tells the system the IP address that you’re lookingfor, all these routers will try to find that IP address. Each routerrefers to a routing table, a chart that lists the IP address that therouter is responsible for and a default route to the next router inthe hierarchy if the required IP address is not listed.4. One the addresses are resolved and the server located, yourrequest is finally submitted and the server responds withdata. That data is sent in the form of packets (read in detailabove). What’s interesting here is that the packets don’t returnto your client via the same route that your request arrivedat the server. These packets will discretely pick and choosethe most optimal way to arrive at your client and will almostalways arrive via multiple routes. This system ensures that theInternet pathways don’t get clogged and that a balanced dataflow is maintained.5. That’s it! The packets arrive at your client. They’re already taggedwith the information required to reassemble them and yourbrowser automatically collates the data and interprets it. All thismagic happens in a matter of milliseconds.address, where the request came fromand where it was sent. The only wayto protect your anonymity online is bymaking sure that those logs are not kept.VPNs that claim to be secure do exactlythat, they delete logs.If someone wants to find the source ofa request that they want to trace, they’llbe able to trace it as far as the VPN provider,but no furhter. Use multiple VPNsand you further enhance your security.VPNs are also an excellent way tobypass censorship and also to access contenton region-restricted sites includingiPlayer, Netflix and Hulu. Do rememberthat you might very well be breaking thelaw here and you’re on your own if youdo take such a risk.Therefore, to truly take advantage of aVPN you need to access a VPN providerthat keeps no records. There is no pointin taking steps to protect your privacy ifyour VPN logs your every move and thensells it off to the highest bidder is there?Another problem is that many of the goodVPNs require you to pay a certain sumof money for their services. Of course, ifyou can put a price on your privacy, that’swhere you start.Proxy servers are very similarbut they’re not the same thing. Proxyservers only act as intermediariesbetween you and the rest of theInternet. VPNs act as intermediariesand encrypt your traffic at the sametime. Do note that that just because aVPN or proxy server is popular doesn’tmean that it’s good. Consider http://hidemyass.com/; itwas recently accused44 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Cover storyof divulging the details of a Lulzsecmember to the authorities.Here are some of the more reputableVPNs that we know of:• http://btguard.com/• https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/• http://torguard.net/• https://airvpn.org/VPNs are only good if they’re up andrunning. As a user who is worried aboutsecurity, it’s important that you ensurethat you’re actually connected to the VPNat all times. Of course, you can’t keeptrack of the connections at every momentof the day, so you can use utilities such asVPNetMon and VPNCheck to keep track ofyour connection and ensure that you’reconnected at all times.One more thing you need to monitor isthe DNS server you’re connected to. For aVPN to work, you must be using their DNSservers as well and websites such as https://www.dnsleaktest.com/ will let youverify the DNS networks that you’reconnected to and have access to.Browser plug-insVPNs and proxy-servers are good,but there are some simple browserplug-ins that can make your life awhole lot more private. Here aresome of the more useful ones.• HTTPSEverywhere: Thisplug-in forces websites to use theHTTPS protocol where possible.Of course, government agenciesand other such agencies willprobably still track you down,but for the average joe, this isenough. (https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere)• DoNotTrackMe: An interestingplug-in, this plug-in enables theDoNotTrack feature whereverpossible. It does its level best toprotect your information fromthe Internet. (https://www.abine.com/dntdetail.php)• Ad-Block Plus: Almost everyonewho is even vaguely geeky hasused this plug-in. Now this isn’ta true privacy plug-in per se; itblocks out almost all ads and ineffect, might save you from thehassle of accidentally clickingon an ad and leaving a trackingcookie on your system. (https://adblockplus.org/)TORThis network will probably requirean entire article on its own. The TORnetwork is seen as the bastion for privacyseekers and while it does draw a fairshare of flak for being an enabler forthe truly dark and demented side ofthe Internet (child pornography, drugdealingand other such nefarious activities),it does have a reputation for beingthe most secure and anonymous networkthe world has yet seen. This is supposedlyone of the very few networks that theNSA hasn’t cracked yet.TOR works by randomizing the routeyour Internet traffic takes by running itthrough the TOR network and erasingall traces (logs) along the way, effectivelygiving you anonymous access to anything.TOR can be downloaded from http://dgit.in/TTORR. Just be sure to follow all theinstructions on that page.Secure file-sharing andmessagingSharing files online can be an issue ifyou’re really worried about privacy.While services such as drop-box andSkydrive are very good, they store theinformation online, meaning that there isa possibility that the data can be hackedinto. The same goes for all your messagingand chat needs.Two services can come to youraid here, both provided by the BitTorrentnetwork.• BTSync: This service uses the BIt-Torrent protocol (P2P) to sync filesbetween PCs or servers. The systemdoesn’t use any third-party serversto store or mediate the data transfer,making the connection as secureas possible.• BTChat: This service is very similarto BTSync, the only difference beingthat the protocol is used for chattingand messaging rather thanfile transfer. The service is still inthe testing phase though and youcan apply for access to the alpha athttp://dgit.in/16STiTb.Use your headUsing these basic tools and followingthe steps that we’ve listedout you’ll, be a ghost online. Justremember that these are only toolsand are only as good as the personwho makes use of them. Eventhe world’s greatest hackershave been unmasked and they’vebeen unmasked by old-fashionedpolice work rather than by somesuper-geeky sleuth who’s voice isyet to break. Regardless of howyou’re trying to remain anonymous,there’s a more than evenchance that you can be foundif someone really wants to findyou. Always work under theassumption that you can and willbe tracked and conduct yourselfaccordingly. Don’t do anythingthat you’ll regret.More importantly, don’t usethese tools to engage in illegalactivities and expect to be safe. Eventhe most secure VPNs have beenknown to cooperate with authoritieswhen it comes to taking downreal criminals.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 45

Sci-Tech48Space ageWe’ve been to Mars – our space probesand robots have been there – but arethere more trips lined up?Fis(8)keFiske Planetarium in Colorado recentlyreopened with newly incorporated 8Kscreens http://dgit.in/fis8kayJayesh Shindejayesh.shinde@thinkdidgit.comAMD GPU14 Tech Day:New beginningsThere’s a Radeon revival on the horizon with new GPUs, newfeatures, backed by a bold new AMD. Excited?At the beginning of the year,AMD showcased the newRadeon 8000 series GPUs atCES 2013, on a few partnerproducts (all either laptops or ultrabooks),all made from the existing chips foundon the Radeon HD 7000 series cards.As the world waited frustratingly fora tangible graphics update on AMD’sRadeon desktop lineup, it never materializedaround their speculated launchdates. A lot of gamers blamed Grinch,but he wasn’t really to be blamed for notdelivering shiny new Radeon GPUs tographics-starved PC gamers.While we were all contemplatingwhether AMD had overshot another oneof its deadlines – and the chip maker’srather infamous of doing it – somethingbig was brewing within the company. Wegot an early sign of things to come duringthe middle-of-the-year next-gen gamingconsole sneak peek (remember the PS4and Xbox One announcement events?).Was it all a big coincidence that AMDmanaged to convince not just Microsoftbut also Sony to become the hardwareplatform of choice for the next wave ofgaming consoles (including the NintendoWii U released late last year)? In one fellswoop, AMD positioned itself at the centreof traditional console gaming, and wewondered what more the company hidNew AMD R9 and R7 series GPUs are out!Raja Koduri speaking about AMD’s new GPUs, and introducing Mantle – a new GPU APIbehind closed doors. Tech and productsthat would still have to wait before theywere revealed to inquisitive, rejoicing, anduncompromising eyes.However, in Hawaii of all places, AMDfinally rolled back the curtains and gavethe world a glimpse of what it’s beenworking on for the past several months.AMD Radeon R9 and R7series GPUsFor those of us who wondered whenAMD was going to finally launch its8000 series of graphics cards, wellthere’s some news for you. There willbe no 8000 series of cards, as AMD’schanging the nomenclature for its GPUs.That’s right, the four digit numbernaming convention wasn’t sustainable“with an eye on the future,” according toAMD, and let’s face it the “HD” tag in theGPU names was getting old, too. Theynot only revealed their new GPU namingconvention, but AMD also unveiled themuch-anticipated successor to the HD7990, the Radeon R9-290X – AMD’sfastest graphics card yet – and RadeonR9-290, both of which sport a brand newsilicon architecture inside. There’s alsothe R9 280X and R9 270X which whencoupled with the previous two cards completethe top-end, aimed at uber gamersand priced highest accordingly. At theother end of the spectrum lies AMDRadeon R7 series comprising RadeonR7 240, R7 250, and R7 260X, which istargeted at budget to average gamers whodesire more value out of their buck.The AMD Radeon R9-290X is theflagship GPU of AMD’s 2014 lineup,and it’s a beast of a device. However, theentire Radeon R9 290 series sports somecommon features like over 5 TFLOPS ofcomputing horsepower, over 300 GBps ofmemory bandwidth, ability to process 4billion triangles per second, and they havemore than 6 billion individual transistors.Another peculiar feature of all thenew AMD Radeon R9 and R7 series ofGPUs is that none of them have externalCrossFire – neither the ports or the bridge.All of that’s being taken care of through46 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Full-On SonyBig things come in small packages. Sony’scompact Alpha cams insist on full-frames.Read more http://dgit.in/full-onSonyCar ConnectToyota seems to be having trouble modifyingits in-built stereo to keep up with mobiledevices: http://dgit.in/gaddinubluetothTomorrow’s techthe PCI-E lanes on the motherboard. Goodmove, we think, and long overdue.It’s not just about launching refreshedgraphics cards but also working on techthat matters to the gaming fraternity, andto elucidate the point, AMD’s Raja Kodurioutlined three important pillars of the company’s‘Radeon is Gaming’ offerings. It’sabout AMD’s GCN (Graphics Core Next)Architecture, TrueAudio technology, andSuper high-resolution gaming. Most of thespecifications improvement in the R9 andR7 series GPUs are all thanks to AMD’sGCN Architecture, which also claims toprovide enhanced DirectX 11.2 support andramp up on energy efficiency. In its quest tobe the definitive gaming platform out there,AMD’s also taking the leap to fully supportUltraHD 4K displays for enhanced visualbrilliance – along with the multi monitorEyeFinity technology that AMD graphicscards support out of the box. With a CatalystDriver update, the UltraHD 4K displaysupport will also be rolled out to currentGCN enabled AMD graphics cards.AMD TrueAudio TechnologyAnother integral part of the new AMDRadeon graphics offering is the company’sTrueAudio Technology. With a lot ofimpetus given on enhancing visual, 3Dgraphics as far as GPUs are concerned,it’s about time that someone did somethingabout optimizing and enhancingthe audio experience while gaming – akey component for true in-game immersion.What AMD tries to deliver withRadeon R9-290X:AMD’s new flagshipTrueAudio is a fully programmable audioengine for game developers to work with.While AMD hopes to “revolutionize gameaudio” with TrueAudio Technology – we’lljust have to wait and watch – a game thatexploits this feature of the DSP will beable to reproduce more realtime voicesand channels, letting you perceive agreater degree of directional audio overany output. Well, recreating complex positionalsound with audio functions isn’tsomething new, what is new is AMD’sapproach to make the whole processindependent of the main CPU (to a largeextent). The company claims that only 10per cent of a game’s CPU resources aretraditionally allocated for audio processing,and with TrueAudio it’s trying tomake real-time CPU-independent audioprocessing available for games to exploit.According to AudioKinetic – theydesign audio middleware – traditionallyit’s either the CPU or a dedicatedDSP (assisted by the CPU) that processesin-game sound on the fly, but that isn’tProject Mantle claims to offer developers unrestricted access to the GPU’s full potentialthe case with AMD TrueAudio. Digit waspresent at the event listening to AMD’spartner’s sound demos across 24 channelssqueezed into a 7.1 setup, and the directionaland positional sound was definitelyimpressive; even on a stereo demo,the same audio clip didn’t deteriorateoverwhelmingly, retaining a significantamount of the directional audio processedon-the-fly on a Radeon R9 series GPU.This new TrueAudio technologywill be made available on AMD RadeonR9 290X, R9 290 and R7 260X GPUsonly (for now). All three GPUs claimto have three dedicated DSP cores foraudio processing in their attempt todeliver enhanced audio immersiveness.Upcoming games like Thief, Murdered SoulSuspect, Lichdom, Sonic & All Stars RacingTransformed, and of course Battlefield 4 areall developed to exploit AMD’s TrueAudiotech, if you’re gaming on a supportedRadeon GPU, obviously. We can’t reallycomment on audio performance conclusivelywithout testing one of theseTrueAudio enabled GPUs, but all signsindicate that the era of superior in-gameaudio and audiophile gamers is about totake off real quick. That’s got to be good forgamers, developers, and the industry as awhole, right?Project MantleThis is AMD’s silver bullet. Mantleis AMD’s solution to something thatdevelopers have been “complainingabout” for a long time now – flip to Page113 to know more about this rant. It’s alow-level API in its GCN architecturethat’s different from DirectX, Direct3D,OpenGL, etc., allowing game enginesto knock on the GPU’s hardwaredirectly – demand GPU memory access– reduce CPU draws and boost overallperformance. More importantly, withAMD’s APUs (and GCN) debuting on theupcoming Xbox One and PS4 consoles(and a lot of Radeon GPUs down theline), it offers game developers a onestopsolution to code and port their gameengines smoothly across platforms anddevices. This definitely throws openinteresting possibilities for PC gaming,and we’ll be watching AMD closely to seehow it all unfolds in the near future.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 47

Space AgeTorenToren is a game by an independent companybased in Brazil called Swordtales. Read thereview of the game here: http://dgit.in/1afeSjwMonaco LightsMonaco gets a Halloween update.Read the article for details:http://dgit.in/17fbSFvBarsoom,orBustFuture missions to MarsPrakrit Dhondiyalreadersletters@thinkdigit.com“Imagination is but another name forsuper intelligence.”— Edgar Rice BurroughsSo said the man who became thefirst literary pop cultural influenceon the world to tell us whatlife could be like on the Red Planet.Burroughs’ Barsoom series sparkeda flame in the mind of countless peopleworldwide (in quite a few languages!) andarguably helped pave the way to the wayall of us look at our celestial neighbourtoday. Carl Sagan, a well-known scientistand writer admitted to reading about JohnCarter’s adventures as a kid. Ray Bradbury,Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinleinwere also followers of Burroughs.Since the 6th of August, 2012, therehave been three Orbiters surveying theplanet: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, andMars Reconnaissance Orbiter and twoscientific rovers on the surface of Marsbeaming signals back to Earth (Opportunity,and Curiosity of the Mars ScienceLaboratory mission). That being said,humanity seems to have very little interestin stopping. There are several excursionsbeing planned at this very moment toNASA’s Mars Rover Curiosityultimately place a human being on thesurface of this Planet of ‘War’.A long time ago...We have had 38 missions concerningMars spanning the Space Programs offour countries (The United States, TheUSSR, Europe and Japan) out of which 16missions have been successful. This listexcludes two projects:• The Mars 6 Orbiter/Lander project of1973 where the occultation experimentproduced data and Lander failure ondescent. (Roscosmos - USSR)• The Mars Express Orbiter/Beagle 2Lander mission of 2003, where theOrbiter imaged Mars in detail but thelander was lost on arrival. (ESA)These missions have provided us withover several thousand images and a littleless than 30 Terabits of recorded data to48 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Space AgeSupermassive holesHow do black holes get so massive?Read the answer here:http://dgit.in/1a4mQOgFirst evidence of comet strikeA team of South African scientists discovered the firstevidence of a comet entering the atmosphere andexploding 28 million years ago. http://dgit.in/19jOrGVSuccessful Space Missions to Mars since 1964LaunchDateName Country Reason1964 Mariner 4 US (flyby) Returned 21 images1969 Mariner 6 US (flyby) Returned 75 images1969 Mariner 7 US (flyby) Returned 126 images1971 Mars 3 Orbiter/Lander USSROrbiter obtained approximately 8 months ofdata and lander landed safely, but only 20seconds of data1971 Mariner 9 US Returned 7,329 images1973 Mars 5 USSR Returned 60 images; only lasted 9 days1973 Mars 6 Orbiter/Lander USSROccultation experiment produced data andLander failure on descent1975 Viking 1 Orbiter/Lander USLocated landing site for Lander and first successfullanding on Mars1975 Viking 2 Orbiter/Lander USReturned 16,000 images and extensiveatmospheric data and soil experiments1996 Mars Global Surveyor US More images than all Mars Missions1996 Mars Pathfinder USTechnology experiment lasting 5 timeslonger than warranty2001 Mars Odyssey US High resolution images of Mars2003200320032005Mars Express Orbiter/Beagle 2 LanderMars Exploration Rover- SpiritMars Exploration Rover -OpportunityMars ReconnaissanceOrbiterESAUSUSUShelp us understand the planet, its historyand hopefully its full potential to help usfurther our knowledge about what’s trulyout there.The National Aeronautics andSpace Administration:NASA has several projects planned overthe next seven years to explore Mars. Itspresent final stage being to set a mechanicalrover on the planet’s surface in 2020in pursuit of scientific knowledge. Thecommissioned projects in the Mars SpaceProgram are:• MAVEN: (2013-2014)The Mars Atmospheric and Volatile EvolutioN(MAVEN) is a reconnaissance missioncurrently in the works. It involves placinga satellite in Mars’ orbit to record data as away of discovering the history of the planet’satmosphere. One of the features of theMAVEN project is to provide informationabout the rate at which atmospheric dissipationoccurred on Mars. This has severalOrbiter imaging Mars in detail and lander loston arrivalOperating lifetime of more than 15 timesoriginal warrantyOperating lifetime of more than 15 timesoriginal warrantyReturned more than 26 terabits of data (morethan all other Mars missions combined)2007 Phoenix Mars Lander US Returned more than 25 gigabits of data2011 Mars Science Laboratory US Exploring Mars’ habitabilitypossible plus-points. The first being thatthe similarities between our planets mayoffer a solution to our own environmentalissues back here. The second (on a moreideological level) is that we may have abetter idea about terraforming Mars to suitour own needs so that we may, at sometime in the future, be able to consider it asan option for colonization.MAVEN is set to launch sometime between18th November and 7th December,2013 and be placed in Mars’ orbit around22nd September, 2014.MAVEN• InSight: (2016)The Interior Exploration using SeismicInvestigations, Geodesy and HeatTransport. A mouthful of a name, InSightis a project that may just be able to trulyexplain Mother Nature’s existence. Theproject involves landing a geophysicallander on MARS to study the interior of theplanet. Comparing that data with what wealready know about our planet, InSightmay bring us one step closer to eventuallyproving (or maybe even disproving) thebig bang. InSight is programmed to digits sensors beneath the surface of Mars,detecting the remnants of the processesof terrestrial planet formation, as well asmeasuring what NASA describes as theplanet’s “vital signs”: Its “pulse” (seismology),“temperature” (heat flow probe), and“reflexes” (precision tracking).InSight is scheduled to launchsometime in March 2016 and land on theplanet’s surface in the September of thesame year.• Mars 2020:The Mars Rover program set for 2020 isone in a long line of attempts to successfullyperform a mission of robotic explorationof Mars. Not much is confirmed aboutthis mission since its budget dependson the future success of NASA. To keepmission costs low and decrease the risksthis highly-capable rover would ideally bebased on NASA’s successful Mars ScienceLaboratory design, including the guidedentry and sky-crane landing system thatsuccessfully proved its worth when itcarried the Curiosity rover to the planet’ssurface back in August, 2012.The European Space Agencyand The ExoMars Program:(2016-2018)The ESA is a joint effort of twenty states inthe European Union. It was formed in 1975,by effectively merging two older organizations:ESRO (European Space Research Organization)and ELDO (European LauncherDevelopment Organisation). Since then,they have had their share of highs and lowsas space explorers. However, their ExoMarsProgram has a high possibility of givingthem (and through them, us all) a hugepush in the right direction.50 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

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Space AgeExplanet 1000+The number of discovered Extrasolar planetshas risen avove a thousand. What areExoplanets? Read On: http://dgit.in/1fUYmcnTelescope in the DesertConstruction of a masive telescopes indesert regions. Follow the link to see morehttp://dgit.in/1bVVXcOThe ExoMars Program currently consistsof two future missions, the Orbiterand the Rover. The program as a wholeis dedicated to answering the questionsraised about the existence of life on Mars.The next mission in this program is theTrace Gas Orbiter.The ExoMars TGO a project beingcarried forward by the ESA in collaborationwith Roscosmos (The Russian SpaceProgram) in 2016. It is a satellite whichis being sent to Mars’ orbit to detect thetrace amounts of gases minutely detectedin the atmosphere of Mars by previousmissions. The measurements carried outby the Orbiter will provide evidence aboutthe location and sources of these gases.These locations could then be targetedas possible landing sites for future missions.The Orbiter will also function as asignal booster to any future manned andunmanned rovers sent to the planet’ssurface. As a result of NASA’s Electratechnology (which is installed in the TGO)the satellite can transmit accurate Dopplerdata pinpointing the rover’s positionon Mars’ surface. The TGO also uses itsnadir-pointed antennae (antennae thatare pointed straight down at the surface)it transmits UHF coverage to the landersand rovers on the surface which do nothave adequate radio power to communicatedirectly with Earth.In the wake of the anticipated successof the ExoMars Orbiter program,the ESA also have the ExoMars Roverprogram in the pipeline. The launch datehas been tentatively set sometime in2018 The Rover has several goals, themost important of which is exobiologicaland geochemistry research. The Roveris made to autonomously drill 2 metresColonizing Mars. Science-Fiction made real?into the Martian crust while investigatingthe borehole wall mineralogy, and collectsmall samples. These samples will bedelivered to the analytical lab inside theRover. The sample will be crushed intoa fine powder. By means of a dosing stationthe powder will then be presentedto other instruments to perform detailedanalyses of these samples. Quite theAsimovian procedure.ISRO’s advent to martian space:Moving a little closer to home, the IndianSpace Research Organization is tryingto make its own headway into researchon the red planet. ISRO’s Mars OrbiterMission (MOM) is scheduled for launchbetween 28th October and 16th Novemberthis year.The MOM has certain technological andscientific objectives (though the formerseem to outweigh the latter, probablyconsidering how new ISRO is to the interplanetarymissions). As per ISRO’s officialwebsite, they are:Technological objectives:• Design and realisation of a Mars orbiterwith a capability to survive and performEarth-bound manoeuvres, cruise phaseof 300 days, Mars orbit insertion / capture,and on-orbit phase around Mars.• Deep space communication, navigation,mission planning and management.• Incorporate autonomous features tohandle contingency situations.Scientific objectives:• Exploration of Mars surface features,morphology, mineralogy and Martianatmosphere by indigenous scientificinstruments.Have to say, it sounds very attractive inwriting. But missions like the MOM areonly as good as the final goal, which alsohugely depends on the next big step wetake towards it. However, consideringwe’re at the eve of this launch, let’s hopethere’s more to come. It’s about timeIndans began colonizing off-planet.Dennis Tito of Mars (Andother stories)Here’s hoping he at least christens thevessel Barsoom. Admit it, at least someDennis Tito - Space touristof you laughed when you heard about thisguy offering a (possibly one-way) flyby tripto Mars and back, and said “Who’s going totake this bozo seriously?”Answer: At least 200,000 people. Yes,at least. The requests are still flowing in.For those who come in late:Dennis Tito is a multi-million-dollar AmericanEngineer. He is best known for spendingabout twenty million dollars on a tripto the International Space Station simplyto satisfy his need to see space, thusbecoming the world’s first Space Tourist.Now he’s asking for people to join himon his trip to the red planet. He’s startedhis own non-profit organization calledInspiration Mars and is oddly tag-lined AMission For America. One can imagine theJLA theme song playing while he and histeam walk up the ramp into the spacecraftin slow-motion, wearing spacesuits andcarrying helmets under their arms.Adding to Dennis Tito’s urges and makethis a mix is the Mars One project, whichis offering to train a human crew to goon a one-way trip to Mars to colonize in2023. The search for Astronauts began inApril 2013 and more than 78,000 headsworldwide signed-up for the selection programmewithin two weeks of its launch.“Yes I’m an alienWhen I’m touching the earthCall me a spacemanWhen I travel the universe......Call me a spaceman.”– Mr Spaceman, by Hardwell.52 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Our pick of the best tech articles from around the globe(Must reads)[Extreme Tech Corner]The machine stopsNASA’s space pen mythRemember the urban legendclaiming NASA spent millionsof dollars on a pen that works inzero-g when they could’ve simplyused a pencil? (Yes the one seen in3 Idiots.) It turns out pencils can’tbe used in space but NASA didn’treally spend millions on creatingsuch a pen. Read on:http://dgit.in/wwspapenThe 10 most expensivevehicles to operateIf you thought the Bugatti Veyronwas the most expensive you’d bewrong. The Apollo lunar rovingvehicle had a cost per mile of $5.9billion! From supercars to supercarriers,when it comes to burningdollars faster than gasoline, these10 vehicles are the absolute worst.Check them out:http://dgit.in/wwexpn10The truth aboutChristopher ColumbusWas old Chris Columbus a braveadventurer and explorer whodiscovered the new world? Or washe sex slaver, mass murderer, andchampion of sociopathic imperialism?In typical Oatmeal fashion,this post attacks this illusionand questions the existence ofColumbus Day:http://dgit.in/wwchriscWhat will happen if vital technology based services stop? Services that have almost beenraised to a god like status. Be it the internet, the electricity grid, fossil fuel supply we’resupremely dependent on them. Read this chilling account. http://dgit.in/wwend1US shutdown, in legoBy now you’ve probably read theheadlines of the US governmentshutdown. If you’ve been wonderinghow an organization like thegovernment can shut down, thisarticle will explain it all via Lego:http://dgit.in/legogoMeet the ‘Terminator’ polymerThe material can spontaneously ‘heal’itself in a matter of two hours. Soundsfreaky? It is. The material uses anelastomeric matrix – a network ofcomplex molecular interactions thatwill spontaneously cross-link to“heal” any break. Check it out:http://dgit.in/wwtermiSony’s PS4 is made this way?It seems the new PS4 is made with theblood and tears of blackmailed studentlabourers who were told to work asunpaid “interns” in the Foxconn factory.The students were told that if they didnot accept the position, they’d lose 6course credits, fatal for their graduation.http://dgit.in/wwslavezNVIDIA’s working on a 64-bitTegra 6 chip?After Apple unveiled its 64-bit chip (thebenefits of which are still not very clear),NVIDIA doesn’t want to be left behind.It seems Project Denver is the 64-bitprocessing core ready in early 2014as part of the Parker SoC. Read more:http://dgit.in/ww64beetDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 53

(worldview)ShortsStealth Coptersof 2030In the not-sodistantfuture,U.S. specialforces (marines who use boats,night vision and SUVs to goafter enemies) may be carriedinto combat by quiet, ultra-fasthelicopters. See the US Army’sstealth choppers of 2030.cracking Snowden’semail providerAs the F.B.I. pursued Snowdenthey began a four-monthtangle with law enforcementofficials ending with shuttinghis decade-long business andbecoming an unlikely hero ofprivacy advocates in their escalatingbattle with the governmentover Internet security.All the dope onAndroid’s nextBy the time you readthis, official newsabout the Nexus 5might have alreadybeen out. If not, here’s somethingto tell you everything youneed to know about the deviceand also the next major revisionof Android 4.4 KitKat.Saviour ordoombringer?AdTrap was invented by ChadRussell and Charles Butkusto “change” the internet, butalso has the potential to ruinit. It’s a white box to hook upbetween your modem andwi-fi router to block data fromad networks before it reachesyour computer. Read more:http://dgit.in/wwchoprhttp://dgit.in/wwprivacyhttp://dgit.in/wwnex5http://dgit.in/wwnoadsThe thrill is goneThe element of surprise is dead when it comes to upcoming tech launchesand there’s only the rumour mill to blame for it. But are all these“accidental” leaks from companies, really accidental?- By Vishal MathurThe new iPad (or whatever they finallycall it - iPad 5?) will be a disappointment.No, I am not jumping the gun,and neither am I pro or anti any platformor brand. All I am saying is, once the smokesettles, we’ll all be left feeling somethingmissing – the great feeling of being pleasantlysurprised.There was a time when launch eventswere full of surprises, and a first look at theproduct that was being shown off for thefirst time. All of us remember the excitementand anticipation when Steve Jobs walked onto the stage right? And it’s not just for Appleproducts, all of Nokia’s N-series smartphoneswere received with the same amountof warmth and excitement. Simply put, wealways expected to see something new, oureyes searching for any hints of what wasto come, fixated on the man so to not missthe big moment and letting our imaginationsrun wild about what sorcery the newproduct could do.I have felt this new found disappointmentmany times, but actually properlynoticed it when the iPhone 5 wasunwrapped. The final product had beenleaked so many times before (most correctimages, mind you) that there was nothingnew left anymore. The response to all thatwas “okay”, before moving on to otherthings. Mind you, just okay.Now, even the most earth shatteringannouncement gets a shrug and a pout.And there is a reason for that: all the leaks /rumours / ‘reliable’ rumours that are doing54 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.comthe rounds on the Interwebs on a daily basis.We pretty much knew what the Galaxy NoteIII would look like. The Galaxy SmartWatchhas been subjected to so many “leaks” thatit would almost be nauseating to look atit when the covers come off. Oh well, theNexus 5 has apparently been “accidentally”leaked too. So, there goes that surprise.For the company, that is a very bigmoment. Something they look forwardto, a special moment. And that is true forall brands. Like the birth of a child, if youmay. But the people they are addressing arealready so sick and tired of hearing aboutit, the response is possibly of indifference.We pretty much know what the iPad’ssuccessor will look like, considering theAustralian teenager, Sonny Dickson, is outwith leaked pictures of the new iPad. Fromthe leaked images it looks like it’s going tobe 2mm shorter and 15mm slimmer than itspredecessor. Now, whoever has the misfortuneof being on the stage to unveil the newiPad, will have to deal with the rather frozenexpressions of the audience.So why and how do these guys do it?Almost every time, the news is “confirmed”by some nameless “sources”. Even the FCCfilings are scanned for product hints everynight, by some people in the media profession,before they go to bed. The latest trendis to keep an eye on what the likes of Foxconnare making and shipping and thento assume what is going to be launched.Today’s latest is the shipment of packagesto Apple, marked “set top boxes”. Inevitably,everyone is on it like hungry creatures,assuming that the next generation AppleTV is on the way, and laughing at anyonewho has the current Apple TV.Coming back to the new iPad. Leakedimages of the shell have been able to confirmthat it will likely continue with thesame screen size and resolution (Retina),while also sneaking in the Touch ID sensor(debuted on the iPhone 5S) within the Homebutton. A 128GB model is an absolutely certainty,but whether it’ll sport the same A7chipset as found on the iPhone 5S or go oneup seems to be the only mystery. By the timeyou read this, all will have been revealed.But the point is you won’t find me circlingthe launch date with a red marker,with utmost immediacy. I’ll have seen toomany leaked images by then. Why can’t weget the element of surprise back? Maybe wecan. Maybe we can’t. Mostly because peoplewriting the “leaks” possibly believe it givesthem some sort of bragging rights.

(worldview)Do you really ownyour phone?The smartphone business relieson convincing consumers to dumptheir not-so-old devices, brokenor not, for the latest offerings.This only fuels this consumeristpattern we’ve fallen into. ReadUgo Vallauri’s insight to changeyour mindset about consideringelectronic devices disposable.http://dgit.in/wwphphSpaceX - the future ofNet CommunicationElon Musk’s commercialspace company, SpaceX justlaunched a Falcon 9 into orbitcarrying the CSA satellite,CASSIOPE. The satellite’s payloadincludes Cascade, a prototypefor a super-fast spacebornefile-transfer system– a digital courier service.http://dgit.in/wwbumThe 9 leastcompetent JediMasters of theForce and capableof mind tricks itseems the weren’t very bright.From Qui-Gon Jinn to Obi-WanKenobi, this articles detailsthe mind-numbing stupiditysome Jedi display. Stay back atthe Academy, some should.http://dgit.in/wwdumbjStory of an internetcriminal mastermindThis is the story of 29 year oldAmerican named Ross Ulbrichtwho operated a billion dollarillegal empire out of a SanFrancisco coffee shop. What washis crime? He sold drugs likeheroin, cocaine, meth, molly,and LSD through the dark web.Here’s how he did it:http://dgit.in/drglordGoogle, put down that Kit-KatThe Play Store is a mess, uncurated mess of apps, many of which have noright to be there. Kids especially can get into a lot of trouble if they’re notcareful. Here’s why.- By Vishal MathurAfter the BBM app leak on Androidstore last month, it was inevitablethat BlackBerry would face a backlashfor not doing things properly and many“experts” quickly followed up with the “Itold you so, routine”. However, no one reallybothered to go into what really was the rootcause of the issue. I am sad about this too,but please allow me to burst the bubble –the real cause of this problem was Android.Specifically the Play Store.While the entire episode with BBM forAndroid was unfolding, one thing that gothighlighted was the amount of fake apps onthe Play Store. Most Android users wouldassume that the apps on the Play Storewould be fine to download, all tested andapproved by the organization that manyassume as the saviour of the earth - Google.However, most of us who are in this lineof work know that isn’t the case. A simplesearch for BBM on the Play Store, on theactual launch date, revealed a bunch of fakeapps. Most had the listing icon as the actualBBM icon, which would seem genuine toalmost any unsuspecting user. Adding thecherry on top of this poisonous cake was thefact that the developers were listed as Black-Berry Inc. and Google new apps. The horrorsdon’t stop there, if you actually openthe app page, you’ll see screenshots fromwhat is possibly the beta version of BBM.This discovery led to another discovery- the Play Store is teeming with apps thatyou wouldn’t want your child to see or use.It looks like there is no control over whatgoes live on the Play Store, and some ofthose insensitive apps might even makeit to the Trending apps list! Imagine whatwould happen if your kid navigates to thePlay Store in search of a game? He’s notgoing to find what he wants and will probablyinundated by fakes anyway.This does make us wonder - will Googleever clean up the Play Store? It has alwaysclaimed the moral high ground by being an“open” platform to Apple’s so-called “closed”platform. But, since it’s never a good idea tovote for censorship regarding content, thesimpler way would be for Google to makeit easier for parents to change the contentrestrictions on the device. At the moment,they are there buried deep inside the settingsmenu, but surely most first timeAndroid users cannot be expected to figurethem out.Personally, in this battle, I believe WindowsPhone has the best model for the otherstores to follow. Of course, the WindowsPhone Marketplace is not really teemingwith apps the way the Play Store and Appstore are, it’s still implemented a betterapproval system that ensures that the appsthat are put up are what they claim to be.An advantage of arriving late to the gamewe suppose.We don’t really want to get into an argumentregarding the mertits (or demerits) ofany particular application store. What weare trying ot say however is that free stuff isalways nice, but there needs to be a systemof checks and balances somewhere in thesystem. Companies need to be more responsiblefor the services they provide and theyneed to get serious about it.While some may argue that Microsofthas the luxury of indulging in this “censorship”due to the limited number of appsthey probably receive in the first place, onemust remember that companies like Googleare more than well-equipped to handle thissituation. They just need to decide to do it.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 55

(worldview)YogscastMinecraft and multiplayercomedy gamingcoverage with a drunkendwarf and a handsomespaceman! What else(Product Launches)HP Chromebook 11The new KindlePaperwhiteSamsung GalaxyRoundcould you ask for!? Jointhem as they laugh theirway through the best, theworst and the funniestindie games, Minecraftmods, mini-games andadventure maps. Theirother Yogscast buddies areworth checking out too.http://dgit.in/wwyogs1(QR Code)This Chromebook has a 6-hourbattery life. The 11.6-inchIPS display has a 176-degreeviewing angle with an aspectratio of 16:9 and a 1366 x 768resolution. With 16GB SSD and2GB DDR3 RAM, Google alsooffers 100GB of free storage onDrive to start with. Pay $279 tofind out ‘who need Windows?’w O R D j u m b l eSlightly lighter, it has a fasterprocessor making it snappier,and also features a screenthat is lit more evenly thanits predecessor. The internalmemory remains 2GB and itremains the same to look atincluding its footprint – 6.7 x4.6 x 0.36 inches. Price: $119(ad supported, Wi-Fi only)L I Z X S T U A N E M O S W A T Y A C OO P I C O D A E D E H T O T N I J U N OU W X X Y B T D E A D T R I G G E R I VE M V A T G V A S P H A L T B X R S U HR F R G B V X S S G B I F X A A X U T NQ V S B O W C E U N G Y S D E U J S N PH P U Z H L P W O R S T N I A S V W N AO E F M R S Y Z B B H P G O N E H O M EU R I N F I N I T Y B L A D E S A A Y QQ B F T C E J K Q E R E C N A L E E R FD C A U I Q M O D E R N C O M B A T K EW Z D D A H M Z P A N D A U W J C P B LD E U S E X J A Z O T U C A U X H O D XW J G B Q I P H V G N I N W O R D E H TX T O T A L W A R N V A H M B L Q M V YFeaturing a 5.7-inch curveddisplay as its USP, one shouldkeep an eye on the GalaxyRound. The phone runs on a2.3 GHz quad-core QualcommSnapdragon 800 processorwith 3GB of RAM. The phonewill have Android 4.3 out of thebox and has a 13-megapixelcamera. Price: approx $1000.AbsoluteTimepassThe word gridalongside has namesof 17 games we’vefeatured in SKOARthis month. Find themall. Hint: 4 of them arepopular short formsof the names.Top 3 PicksMake sure your boss doesn’t catch you goofing off withone of these videos playing on your screenFor a list of all the links fromthis section, head over tohttp://dgit.in/wwnov13Or point your phone to theQR code aboveRobot runnerDuration: 2 min 8 secThe WildCat is a four-leggedrobot being developed to runfast on all types of terrain atGTA V car chaseDuration: 5 min 0 secThe bar has just been raisedseveral notches higher forHollywood car chases.Steam controllerDuration: 4 min 26 secHere’s a quick look at somegames from playing at thehelm of the Steam Controller.16mph! http://dgit.in/botatckhttp://dgit.in/wwgtavchttp://dgit.in/wwsteamc56 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

BoostWindowsStartupThe launch of Windows 8 hashad mixed reactions from themasses. While its snazzy layoutand almost instinctive UI givesit a fresh feel, it occasionallyhandles like a clunky-yet-sleekmuscle car in comparison to thelight sports model that Windows7 is. But alas, one mustmove with the times. Peer pressure,and all that.One USP of Windows 8 isthe faster boot time. However,unlike perfection, this operatingsystem could use a few tweaksto improve the PC’s start-uptime. To avoid this, the recommendedstep would be to relyon hibernate; Much like tabletsand smartphones (A bar thatWin8 seems to be aiming for).However, if you’re a user whoprefers to shut down your computerfor a fresh start every day,here are some steps you can taketo improve your start-up time.Most of these techniques canalso be used in Windows 7.Do a clean bootIt would be helpful tonote that the Windows startupprograms utility in Windows8 has been shifted to the TaskManager. Open the task managerand move to the Startuptab. Then, just deselect theapps you don’t need whenWindows starts. For Windows7 users, access the System Configurationmenu [Windows +Windows’ new Startup tabBoost Windows startup.............................................55Optimise your gaming experience...........................56Increase your internet potency...............................58Tips & Tricks has its own page numbers, and does not follow the rest{ }of the magazine’s page numbers. This is done to ensure that you cancut out and save T&T in a separate folder for later reference.R, type msconfig] to accessthese options.DisableanimationsIf you’re not too attached to thesmooth transitions and effectsin your Windows interface,use the Windows + X shortcutand select the System menu.In the System window, clickon Advanced System Settingson the left pane and access thePerformance Settings in theAdvanced tab. Disable effectsthat you consider irrelevant.Disabling Aero in Windows 7by switching to Classic Modehelps. Windows 8 users havethe High Contrast option.Disabling your Start screenand password also helps boostyour start-up time. Access theUser Accounts Menu [Windows+ R, type netplwiz] and uncheckthe ‘users must enter a usernameand password’ option.Soluto – A new way to do ITWindowsregistry tweakThere are certain Windowsprocesses that slow downyour start-up. A simple windowsregistry tweak takes careof them:[HKEY_CURRENT_USERControlPanelDesktop]“AutoEndTasks”=”1”“HungAppTimeout”=”1000”“MenuShowDelay”=”8”“WaitToKillAppTimeout”=”2000”“LowLevelHooks-Timeout”=”1000”[HKEY_CURRENT_USERControlPanelMouse]“MouseHoverTime”=”8”[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEM-CurrentControlSetControl]“WaitToKillService-Timeout”=”2000”Tips & TricksType this into notepad, andsave it as speedystartup.reg; Runthe file and restart your system.The softwaresolutionThere are several simple download-and-usesoftware optionsonline. Soluto is a very usableoption to do an overall systemscheck on your laptop to seethe errors on your unit. Youcan use it to find out the applicationsthat hinder your performance.This will help youwhen you follow-up with AnviStartup Booster.Anvi Startup Booster is probablythe most convenient,user-friendly one around.Being a 12MB file, it’s easy onthe down-load as well as lighton the system. On startup, itshows you your current start-uptime, and recommends changesthat could be made to lower it,a few notches. The plus-pointof Anvi is that it has an easyrestore option, in case you disableany program you weren’tmeant to. It’s simple, effectiveand good for people who areuncomfortable with technology.Manage fontsSince the dawn of thedigital era, Windows has sloweddown boot time by loading fontsat startup. This is, admittedly,less of a problem than it usedto be, but it can still slow youdown. Chances are, you actuallyuse very few of the availablefonts. The best way to deal with| www.thinkdigit.com Vol 13 | 55 Digit | November 2013

Tips & Tricksthis problem is to download afont manager to handle yourfonts. While the font manageris running, all listed fonts in itare available on other programs.This way, if you ever want them,you can bring them back, butWindows won’t load themat startup. A recommendedfree font viewer is NexusFont.This freeware app available onwww.xiles.net/nexusfont. Fordesigners and other media professionalsfacing the problemwhere 30,000 fonts are slowingdown their system, SuitcaseFusion 3, a paid software.The Anvi UI – clean, simple, straightforward.Upgrade,already!If your software and settingare up to the mark, moveon to examining your hardware.If your PC is configuredexactly to Windows 8 minimumsystem requirements,well, there’s your problem.Dig up your tattered walletand move up the food chain.We recommend:• Processor – Nothing lowerthan an Intel Core 2 Duo orAMD Athlon X2.• Graphics – Dedicated GPU:AMD Radeon HD 2000series; NVIDIA GeForce 8series or higher; IntegratedGPU: AMD Radeon HD 3200,NVIDIA GeForce 9400, IntelHD Graphics or higher.• RAM – 2GB (32-bit) or 4GB(64-bit)• Hard Drive – If feasible,a Solid-State Hard Driveis always a good investment.Otherwise a 320 GB5400rpm hard drive issufficient.OptimiseYour GamingExperienceGaming has always has its ownselect cult following. Over thepast couple of decades, withthe advent of modern consolegaming, PC Games have to keepup with an opposing force thatgrows greater by the year. Inturn, gamers today have to keeptheir systems top-notch andconsistently updated to ensurethe ever-elusive optimal gamingexperience. However, even withthe best hardware in the markettoday, it can be tough (and mostof the time, impossible) for agamer to do an annual overallhardware update or keephis/her pace with the evershrinkingbytes. Of course, theeasier option in this case wouldbe to buy a console. There arealways rewards in the puritanapproach. There’s also the addedadvantage of not worrying aboutupgrading your hard disk, RAMand GPU every two years to playthe latest instalment of yourfavourite game series (that is,until the next generation of consolecomes out and yours joinsyour laptop in the ‘things of yesteryear’pile… But pros and cons,right?); And still, without thefeel of a keyboard and mouse inFPSes just doesn’t feel the same.So keeping that option aside,and assuming you aren’t one ofthose millionaire geeks, thereare some techniques out thereto hold your own and suck outthe most possible performancefrom your system, or in the veryleast, add to your gaming.Let’s start withthe obvious stuff,shall we?Admittedly, the computer isa masterpiece of technology,but not unlike anything elsemechanical, it can only doso much with the hardwareinstalled. Games today arealready very complicated,so there’s no point in overworkingyour computer. Bea little smarter and use somecommon sense when setting upyour system for gaming.Update your graphicsdrivers. I’m sure it’s hard toremember. And if that is thecase with you, check the settingsof your graphic card’sdriver interface - There’s anoption that states ‘automaticallyupdate drivers’. If you have abad memory, let the computerremember to do it for you. It’snot that hard, and it’ll give youone less thing to consider whenyou’re wondering why Nomad istaking so long to fire his weapon.Close unnecessary programs.Shut down your instantmessaging clients. Even if you’replaying on the best systemmoney can buy, a message notificationcan randomly your gameat critical junctures, causingyour game to handle like a sluggishdrunk on a Saturday night.That is, presuming your gamedoesn’t just crash.If your social life can’t takea break for a while, check outin-game messaging clientslike: XFire (http://www.xfire.com/), Raptr (http://raptr.com/)and Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/).Lower theload on your RAM and GUI.Unless you’re on an incrediblyslow system, programs likenotepad probably won’t makea dent, but the least you can dois shut down your Adobe suiteand Microsoft office beforecranking up your game. Shutdown whatever programs youhave running as backgroundtasks. Check your task managerto end the processes you won’tuse for your game. Sure, theyaren’t visibly performing anytasks, but they’re obviouslyleeching off your processingpower in some small way.Remember to leave your soundand graphics controllers alone,though (yes, as I stated before,this is the obvious stuff).FRAPS:FRAPS is a useful toolif you’re one of those gamerswho likes to review their styleto improve their skill - or simplyone of those people who likeuploading walkthroughs andgameplay videos on YouTube.Be as it may, it’s always goodto be familiar with FRAPS.This video game capture softwareis undoubtedly the biggestname in the professionalgame recording community.We that its mainly because itoffers great quality videos, excellentvideo compression andabove all, it’s the easiest softwareavailable online with respectto controls and usability.FRAPS, (Frame Rate PerSecond) stays true to its name.One of its main features isthe yellow numbers that youhave the option to disable orshow in any corner of yourdesktop. This is a siample wayof measuring the consistencyof the frame rate (which ispart of the benchmarkingprocess). The game-recordingsoftware gives you completecontrol over audio-visualrecording as well as screenshotsDigit | November 2013 Vol 13 | 56 | www.thinkdigit.com

Tips & Trickswhich help set benchmarks forgaming reviewers.Its simple interface marksit high on the user-friendlyscale. The one constant complaintabout FRAPS is themonster size of the video filesit captures. You can recordup to 4GB of footage at a time,and to take full advantage ofthis software’s high qualityrecording using high frameratesand still avoiding issuesconcerning lag, one should beprepared with a good processor.If you intend to go on for a fewhours, we would recommend aUSB 3.0 hard drive for storage,as a precaution.Overall, FRAPS does justenough to set itself apart andat the same time, lay the benchmarkfor other software of thesame nature without breakinga sweat.Raptr andNVIDIAGeForce Experience:Raptr was started back in2007 by Dennis Fong (of XFirefame) and played a huge rolein pushing online gaming tothe level it is in today. It gavegamers worldwide a commonhub to come together - gamers’own personal social networkingwebsite. Its primary functionwhen it was created was anumbrella like leaderboard forgamers to get a platform wheretheir skills in the field are appreciatedand understood. Of late,Experiencing the NVIDIA GeForce Experiencesince Raptr launched its desktopapp, it connects members andtheir gaming effectively, givingpeople convenient, consistentand mobile connectivity.Meanwhile, in relativelymore recent news, NVIDIAlaunched its own all-in-onePC Game optimiser. NVIDIAGeForce Experience is, admittedlyvery useful with the gamesit supports.Features: It primarily worksas a jack of all trades. Wheninstalled, it scans your systemfor detailed specifications ofyour computer, correlates thatto the recommended systemrequirements for the gamesalready installed on your PC,and tells you what configurationwould be suited best forrunning the game on yoursystem. Its Shadowplay feature,when enabled, it leverages theNVEnc fixed-function encoderbuilt into Kepler-based GPUsand automatically records thelast 20 minutes of gameplay.players also have the option ofmanual control. This is a greatreplacement for software-basedsolutions like FRAPS, for peoplewho record their gameplay,which reduces the load on yourhost processor.Enter the Gaming Mode:Almost all antiviruses todayhave an option called ‘gamingmode’ during which they switchto either minimum or zeroconsumption of your laptop’sresources. It’s a handy tool tohave, and goes a long way toamp up your game performance.Freeing the RAM andthe little GPU memory that theyconsume, it can make the differencebetween smooth sailingand jerky gameplay with anoverheated unitVirtual PrivateNetworks:LogMeIn Hamachi is oneexample of several VPN (VirtualPrivate Network) creating softwareavailable online. Hamachispecifically is easy-to-use to setup a VPN that’s sophisticatedenough for a small networkof gamers online. Admittedly,Hamachi isn’t an enterprisegradeVPN like Juniper andCisco, but it’s reliable enough toensure that your VPN is secure.It is comparatively much easierto set up, so it’s a great optionfor a small group of users Thefree version is a cheap and convenientfor people who want togame on a closed LAN-like network.It has string security anddoes very well emulating a virtualLocal Area Network. Andif required, Hamachi also has apremium paid version for thosewho can afford itOther free options in VPNproviders which have comparativelyeasier interfaces includeTunnelBear and VPNBook.Optimize yourin-gamegraphic settings:If you’re all too familiar withthe terms V-Sync, FXAA andAnisotropic Filtering, thenyou can skip this last segmentof the article. For those whodon’t, here’s a short segmentexplaining what to do withthose settings in your Video/Graphic settings in your ingameOptions menu.Vertical Sync: It fixes thetearing (misalignment of pixels)of the screen due to a discrepancyin your refresh rate. Put iton only if you experience this.

Tips & TricksScreen Resolution: Adjustthe resolution of the gamewithin the maximum resolutionof your own system. Sometimesthis difference in resolutionscan cause some major lag issuesin your gaming.Anti-Aliasing and FXAA:AA smoothes out jagged pixelsin a game when the game’s resolutionis on a much lower onethan that of the screen. It’s effective,but we suggest you onlyraise the AA of the game aftermaxing out the appropriate resolutionof the game. If the gameis having issues with speed,you should just switch this featureoff. FXAA stands for FastApproximate Anti-Aliasing.It does the same thing the AAfeature does, but using lesserpower from your processor. Thedownside is, instead of jaggededges in an environment, youend up having blurry edges. Souse this feature in accordance toyour preferable visual sacrifice.Anisotropic Filtering: Thistweak deals with textures ofdistant objects in your game’senvironment. Graphic cardstoday can handle high levelsof this filter, so feel free to keepthat at a maximum. However,if you think it is causing adrop in frame rate, keep iton 2x instead of completelyoff. It shouldn’t cause much ofa difference in performance,and would enhance your experienceconsiderably.Shadow Quality, Field ofView and Texture Quality:As the names suggest, thesefeatures deal with the qualityof your environment from thepoint of making it more realistic.While setting these (usually onhigh, medium and low), youshould do so at your own preferenceand discretion. Set these onmaximum first, then bring eachdown a notch in descendingorder of what you’d like to giveup. The reverse may also work.Gaming today has moreoptions. Keeping up withnew features may take timeand effort, but it’s all worth it.Game On.IncreaseYour InternetPotencyThe internet has become quitean integral part of our lives,social or professional. Stayingconnected is, beyond doubt,important. Connectivity thoughdepends on sevral factors. Oneimportant thing to keep topnotchis your connectivity to theinternet through your computer.Your Internet Service Providerisn’t the only one responsible forbad internet connectivity (okay,it’s true that most of the time itis your ISP, but that isn’t completelyunder your control). Itcould be a problem at your end.There are two main kindsof problems you can have withyour internet setup. (1) Hardware:Maybe your computerisn’t optimized well enough togive you the kind of output youneed to get your work done.(2) Software: Maybe it’s outdated.Maybe it’s insufficient tofulfil your needs. Maybe it’s confusingyou so much that you’vejust decided for yourself that a1gbps connection just isn’t fastenough for you.There are several ways toensure - assuming that yourInternet provider is, indeed,infallible - that you have doneall you can do to get the mostout of your setup:ConnectifyDispatch:Connectify is well-known forits Connectify Hotspot - its programfor turning your systeminto your own personal wifihotspot. Its relatively recentprogram, Connectify Dispatchalso lives up to its hype. However,Dispatch only comes inhandy if you have more thanone internet connection (notnecessarily of the same bandwidth).To put simply, thissoftware combines theresources of all theseavailable connectionsand prioritizes yourusage to fit the rightone. For example, ifyou’re streaming a videoon chrome while youriTunes downloaded thenew AVB album, thisprogram would prioritizethe streaming tothe connection withthe higher speed whilepushing iTunes to thelower speed connectionfor the duration of your stream.In this way, it guaranteesoptimal usage of both bands.Connectify is available forfree download at: http://www.connectify.me/ the paid premiumupgrade is also available.DNS Servers:What is a DNS Server?Glad you asked! A DNS Serveris akin to a phonebook for theinternet. Its main function is totranslate the various computerhost names into IP Addresses.Example:Domain name: google.comIP Address: 74.125.128.113When the user connects to theinternet, the ISP automaticallyassigns primary and secondaryDNS server addresses to yourcomputer. Most of the time theDNS Servers of the service provideraren’t optimized. BecauseConnectify Dispatchof this glitch on the ISP’s part,these DNS Servers are incapableof handling traffic duringpeak hours (when everyone onyour side of the world is onlineat the same time), which resultsin the slow internet speed thatannoys you so much. If thingsget worse, the server goesdown. But this problem has afix. There are several free publicDNS Servers which are madeto handle heavy traffic. Theirservers are distributed worldwide,so if one goes down, theother server closest to you isready to back it up.These servers are mostlyfree, but also have an option toupgrade to premium (at a price,of course) if the difference inyour speed isn’t satisfactory.The premium servers are lesscrowded, helping make the connectionfaster and more reliable.Here’s a list of 10 such free potential servers:Server Name Primary DNS Secondary DNSGoogle 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4Comodo Secure DNS 8.26.56.26 8.20.247.20Norton ConnectSafe 198.153.192.40 198.153.194.40Level3 209.244.0.3 209.244.0.4Securly 184.169.143.224 184.169.161.155OpenDNS 208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220DNS Advantage 156.154.70.1 156.154.71.1GreenTeamDNS 81.218.119.11 209.88.198.133SafeDNS 195.46.39.39 195.46.39.40OpenNIC 74.207.247.4 64.0.55.201Public-Root 199.5.157.131 208.71.35.137SmartViper 208.76.50.50 208.76.51.51Dyn 216.146.35.35 216.146.36.36censurfridns.dk 89.233.43.71 89.104.194.142Digit | November 2013 Vol 13 | 58 | www.thinkdigit.com

Tips & TricksWi-Fi routers:Basics: A, B & G routersare old and slow. N-Routersare capable of handling higherspeeds. Check on that if youhave a speed issue. Also remember:if you want to makeuse of your N-Router’s full potential,your computer shouldhave a wireless N-Card as well.The next thing you need to usea little bit of common sense iswith respect to the placementof your router. Try placing itclosest to where you use yourlaptop the most. Once you’vedone that, please remember,putting behind the fridge orcabinet will, definitely, hinderyour performance. Yes, I agreethat it seems ridiculously basica suggestion, but you’d be surprisedhow many people placetheir routers out of sight justbecause it doesn’t match their18th-Century Rajasthani tableYour Wi-Fi Channel: Thechances are that the default settingsfor your router to find achannel are set on auto. If that isthe case, the reason your speed’sdown could be a result of havingtoo many people broadcastingtheir own Wi-Fi in your vicinity.Fixing this is easy. There’s a freeprogram called InSSIDer (http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/) which can be used todetermine the ideal channel foryour router.These programs also helpimprove your router’s QoS(Quality of Service). QoS is abroad phrase referring to a collectionof networking technologiesinSSIDerand techniques. The idea behindhaving QoS is to provide a guaranteethat a network will deliverpredictable results to the best oftheir ability. Elements withinthe framework of QoS usuallyinclude throughput (bandwidth),delay (latency), uptime (availability)and error rate.Electrical Interference:Some devices, like cordlessphones and microwave ovenscan play havoc with your wifisignal. Keeping these itemsaway from your router wouldhelp in the overall performanceof your internet connection.DD-WRT: Disclaimer: Thisis a specific fix for routers supportedby the DD-WRT opensourcefirmware. So beforetrying this, find out of your specificrouter is supported, or youmay end up bricking your router.Most routers don’t use theirfull potential because of thefirmware restrictions on them.This tends to affect their overallfunctionality. To overcome thisproblem, there exists a Linuxbasedfirmware for wirelessrouters and wireless accesspoints called DD-WRT. It is athird-party firmware designedspecifically to replace theoriginal on some commercialrouters. Alternative firmwarelike DD-WRT may offer featuresand functionality sets that differfrom the original one it replaces.Instructions: First thing to dois to go to http://www.dd-wrt.co.in/site/support/router-database, (1)Type your router’s modelnumber in the search bar and(2) check if your router supportsthe firmware. If it does, downloadthe corresponding file offthe same website.The installation of DD-WRTdepends on your router, but thegeneral instructions are usuallythe same:i) Log into your router’s adminpage. Consult router’smanual for admin address.ii) Go to the Admin section andselect Firmware Upgrade.iii) Select your DD-WRTupgrade file and keep therouter plugged in until theupgrade is done.After DD-WRT installs,reconnect to your networkover Ethernet or Wi-Fi (with anew network SSID of dd-wrt)and visit your admin page. Inmost cases it will still live atthe same address of its predecessor.DD-WRT will ask you tochoose your own username andpassword. Older versions mayrequest one, which by default isroot/admin (which you shouldchange to your own after this).When you login, you will seethe DD-WRT admin page.Welcome to your new router.One thing we haven’t mentionedin the segment above is the useof Internet Booster software.Though reputed to do a goodjob of improving your internetconnectivity, most of the effectivedo so in specific ways; likefixing your connection’s latencyor bandwidth. But let that notdeter you from mailing us yourqueries at sos@thinkdigit.com.Before reading any articlethat tells you how to fix yoursystem, remember, cover whateverbases you can cover on yourown before relying on peopleyou assume are more experiencedat this than you are..Coming back to the internetissue, make sure you read up onservice providers. What workedfor you in Delhi may not necessarilyhave the same servicein Mumbai or Bangalore. ISPschange by the city, and this iswith respect to all kinds of connectionsbe it Broadband, USBdongles, 3G data cards or evena 56,000kbps dial-up.

ToolboxTips & TricksIn this issue, learn how to optimize yourgaming experience, internet connection and57 64boost your Windows startup timeWorkshopYou thought that pen drive was only fortransferring files? Think again. Let usshow you its hidden talents.Android tablets goinghaywire, inaccessible drives,troubling AutoPlay….System issues or failing gadgets never seem to deter the good folks ofteam digit and thinkdigit forum and they come to the rescue to troubleshootthe digital lives of our readers.AutoPlay not workingI am facing an issue with my PC. TheAutoPlay feature for various devices likeCD or USB has stopped working. EarlierAutoPlay was working fine, but now wheneverI plug in any device into the computer,nothing happens and I don’t see theAutoPlay prompt. Please provide a remedyfor my problem.–Chinmoy DasTo fix this, first head over to theControl Panel and search for AutoPlay. Alist will pop up containing several types ofmedia and devices. Tick the checkboxesfor all the media or devices for which youwant to enable Autoplay. Once you’redone, click “Save”. AutoPlay should nowbe enabled for your devices. If this doesn’twork, Click the “Start” button. In thesearch box type “services.msc” and pressEnter. In the list of services find “ShellHardware Detection” and ensure that thisservice is running. If not, right-click onthe service and start it. Right-click on theservice again and select “Properties”. Inthe “Startup type” drop down menu, select“Automatic” and click on the “OK” button.You can also search for “Microsoft Fix it50475” online and download the MicrosoftAutoPlay Repair Wizard. Use thistool and try to fix the problem. For moresolutions to the issue, head here: dgit.in/HelpAutoPlayTablet troubleHi, I have a problem with my SamsungGalaxy Tab 2 - 310.Its specs are-• 1Ghz processor. Power VR GPU• Android 4.0.4• 7” 1024*600 screen• 4000mAh battery.The problem is that it gets very sluggishat times and force reboots at leastsix times a day. Recently, red thick bordershave starting flashing on the screen. So Iam forced to reboot and factory reset mytablet a couple of times a day. Please helpme fix this. I also wanted to know howcan i overclock my tablet, and will it causeany kind of infringement or hiccups withmy device?–Rithvik Reddy Gaddam.Since your tablet reboots frequently,there seems to be something very wrongwith it. If it’s still under warranty, youshould take it to your nearest Samsungservice center and get it checked.Thethick red flashing borders that you seesometimes is an outcome of Strict Modeon Android. Strict Mode is basically adeveloper tool that detects your device’sdisk read, write and network processesand tells you when apps do long operationson the main thread. In simplerwords, whenever there is too much loadon on your device’s GPU, it brings themto your attention so that you can fix them.In order to get rid of this, just followthese steps:• Open Settings > Developer Options;• Scroll down a little bit and find theStrict Mode option;• Uncheck or unmark this Strict Modeoption;• Restart your tabletOverclocking a mobile device isalways risky. Overclocking would normallyrequire you to root your Androiddevice which would void its warranty.Disable Strict Mode from the developeroptions settings menuYou should only go about it if you knowwhat you’re doing as any wrong stepmay result in your device becominguseless. If you still want to go aheadwith it you should check out www.xdadevelopers.comWrite protected flash driveI am having a particular issue with myTranscend 4GB pen drive. Whenever Iinsert this flash drive in my PC, it showsme that the drive is write protected andbitlocker status is on. What to do? Pleasehelp me.–Guru Prasath62 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Kaspersky Multi-Device SecurityKaspersky Labs launches its first Multi-Device InternetSecurity package which can activate Kaspersky Securityon upto 5 PCsAlmost SpaceBalloons can take you higher than theeye can see... and to the edge of space!See how: http://dgit.in/1aFLZtuQ&AThe write protection canbe removed with the help of asimple but powerful toolcalled HP USB Disk formattingtool. This is a compactand free tool with an easy touse interface. Download itfrom here: dgit.in/DiskFoTo.To use it, install the tool onyour PC and connect your pendrive to it. Then launch thetool and select the appropriateoption from the menu andyour issue will be resolved.Inaccessiblesystem drivesI have two hard disk drives. I’ve installedWindows 8 on one of them and Windows7 one the other one. When I boot intoWindows 7, I can access content of theother drive but when I boot into Windows8 , I’m not able to access content from theWindows 7 HDD. I am also unable to bootstraight into the Windows 8 drive by makingit primary using BIOS. When I try to do it, Iget a message saying “Bootmgr error”. Howcan I fix this problem and boot into theWindows 8 HDD and access the contentfrom the other drive.–stellar (TDF member)Go to Device Manager while you are inWindows 8 and check whether you cansee the other HDD. If you can see the harddrive, just head over to Disk Manager andcheck there if you can see the drive thereas well. Now assign a drive letter to theother drive and you should be able to seeit. If you are still facing issues, post ascreenshot of Disk manager.–gameranand (TDF member)Boss key and password settings in µtorrentLock my utorrentHello friends, I came across a weirdproblem at my college. We use µtorrent todownload files but somehow other peoplecome across and delete the downloadedfiles altogether. Is there a way to hide orlock µtorrent?–niraj trehan (TDF Member)You can do this:• Go to µtorrent Preferences;• In General, select “Start µtorrent whensystem starts” and “Start Minimised”;• Make a Boss-key by selecting any keycombination;• Select “Use BossKey Password” andcreate a password of your choice;• Open Registry;• Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER>Software>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion>Run• Right Click µtorrent and select Modify;• Add "/HIDE" without quotes at the end;• Restart your PC.Now µtorrent will run but it won'tappear in Taskbar, to open µtorrentyou need to press the boss key and thenpassword to gain access. However, thismethod has a loophole. Other users canend the task or µtorrent process from taskmanager and start with its executable.You can counter this by using µtorrentportable. Now only you will know thelocation of the executable.–gameranand (TDF Member)dllhost.exe eating memoryI have a strange issue with my PC. Irecently re-installed everything on itand saw that a process called dllhost.exe is running in the background and isconsuming a lot of memory. The memoryconsumption keeps on increasing and I geta warning saying "Your computer is runninglow on memory". It tried searchingfor the this .exe file and tried deleting it.But It was asking for permissions. Pleasehelp me get rid of this issue as I guess thiswill also affect the performance of my PCwhile gaming.–Shivam AnnapureThe dllhost.exe process is an importantcomponent of Windows. It's responsiblefor monitoring DLL-based activities.in thebackground. The problem you're facing isvery common and you can follow a coupleof steps to try and repair it. First performan SFC scan by opening Run as anadministrator and opening the commandprompt then typing sfc/scannow in thecommand prompt. See whether thedllhost com surrogate issue can beresolved. If not, then run a full systemvirus scan and check if that works. Nowdo a registry cleanup using CCleaner.Ideally this should fix the issue.

WorkshopBetter by 0.1?Windows 8.1. Should you get it? Orbear with 8.0? Here’s something tohelp you out: http://dgit.in/1a3d3EmMath ShmathIf you were never good at Math, you should havestarted early. Here’s a study showing that Mathskills develop at the age of 3 http://dgit.in/1fSSTTtPocket your utilitiesThink your dimunitive flash drive got no juice? Wrong! Here’s some awesome saucePrakrit Dhondiyalreadersletters@thinkdigit.comThe introduction of the thumbdriveby IBM and Trek back in2000 was revolutionary. It sawthe beginning of the first viablereplacement of the floppy disks that hadbeen used for conventional data storagesince the mid-70s. With the fallout of thefloppies between 2002 and 2009, thumbdrives (later pen drives, pocket drives,flash drives and USB drives) made theirway into being the most convenientmethod of storing data that can be carriedaround in your pocket. What started as8MB storage device now ranges fromanything between 1GB to 512GB, dependingon the (metaphorical) depth of yourpocket. The physical size and capacity ofcurrent flash drives in the market openavenues to more creative programming,helping people get more portable. Here aresome innovative uses of a pen drive:Gentlemen, ready yourtin-foil hats:For all those people out there who hate itwhen anyone else uses their system, thereare two simple ways to secure a PC witha USB:Predator: Everyone likes their privacy,and the people at Predator know it. Predatoris a software created to lock your PCusing your pen drive as a key. Most peopleuse direct login. Introverts use passwords.Ingenious Paranoia gives rise to Predator.To Install: Download the installer from:http://www.predator-usb.com/predator/en/index.php?n=Main.DownloadFreeThe installer program will automaticallystart Predator. If not, you can launchit manually via the Start Menu>AllPrograms>Predator item or via thePredator icon on the Desktop. A dialogbox will ask you to enter a password andto prepare a USB flash drive. Insert yourUSB drive and click OK to continue. Keepin mind that the current contents of yourflash drive will be unchanged by thisoperation. Then you see the Preferenceswindow. Type the password of your choicein the “New Password” field. You will useit to unlock your sessionif you lose your USB key.You must enter at least sixcharacters, letters, figures orsigns. The password is casesensitive.Also, avoid typingcharacters that require theAltGr key because this keyis disabled in the PasswordDialog box later. Check thatthe drive letter displayedunder USB key drive actually matchesyour flash drive or choose the correctletter from the dropdown list. Click theCreate key button and finally, click Ok.SysKey: Windows also has an inbuiltsystem utility called SysKey that can helpyou use a normal pen drive as an accessdevice instead of a regular text based password.To do this the first step is to assignA: as your removable disk drive. This isbecause the utility was designed to workwith floppy drives. To do this hit [Windows]key and type “disk management”and press enter. Right-click the relevantdrive name and click rename. Next hit the[Windows] key again and type “SysKey”and press enter. Click on Update Storekey on floppy disk. Click ok. After this afile called Startkey.key will be created onyour pendrive and your PC won’t bootinto your desktop unless the pendrive isplugged into your systemCombining these two programs givesanyone with a pen drive a little aboveaveragesecurity on their personal PCs.Media, media, everywhere:In a scenario when using a PC wherethe system is uncared for (other offices,cyber cafes and in college), that a programTake your VLC with youas commonly available as VLC hasn’tbeen installed on it. VLC Portable is aprogram used to fix this inconvenience.It is a mobile version of the VideoLANPlayer which can be installed on your pendrive and carried around, complete withcodecs and a multilinguallanguage pack.To Install: Downloadthe portable package fromthe VLC Portable page athttp://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/vlc_portableand begin installation.A PortableVLC directorywill be created and all thenecessary files installed.The Clam Police:Eradicating Viruses in any system is usuallyquite a task. Taking your own datastorage devices to alien PCs is always apossible viral hazard. ClamWin reduceschance of your storage devices and hardwarecontracting viruses from other systems.A free Antivirus for Windows it hasa track record for having a high detectionrate of viruses and spyware. The ClamAntivirus Team updates its databaseregularly to include a new virus or variantsof old viruses almost regularly. TheClamAV is effective and portable. To installthe Antivirus on a pen drive, downloadthe setup from: http://portableapps.com/apps/security/clamwin_portableClamwin updating...64 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

MacPro UnleashedAfter Apple launched its MacPro, it’s almost certain youwant to know what’s inside. Check out this link to watch thestripped down MacPro http://dgit.in/1h5VKaKRest in TweetsWhen you die, kindly remember to includea last post in your Will. Give people closurehttp://dgit.in/18HJDwSWorkshopOnce downloaded, install it in thelocation of your pendrive. After installation,go to H:/ClamWinPortable/ and runClamWinPortable.exe (Replace H:/ withthe name of the pendrive you’ve installedCWP on). Clamwin would prompt youto update your databases. Once updated,you’re set.Your mission, if you chooseto accept:In the Mission: Impossible series, it is thesecret message that sets the plotline of thestory, but you have to admit - it’s the selfdestructionof the device that fans usuallywatch those scenes for. Darik’s Boot andNuke is as close to that as you can get,on a data deletion level (short of actuallywiring fireworks to your PC).DBAN Opening ScreenDBAN is a free software for theultimate data deletion on your computer.It is usually used to erase a harddrive completely to start afresh, newoperating system et al, but personally,I would ONLY recommend using it ina situation where you intend to throwout your PC and prevent any chance ofpeople retrieving data off it. Or, if in ahypothetical situation where you want toexact revenge on a techno-geek who reallyprizes his hardware (no pun intended).To Install: First you have to create abootable pen drive that launches rightafter the system BIOS. Download and runthe Universal USB Installer from:http://www.pendrivelinux.com/downloads/Universal-USB-Installer/Universal-USB-Installer-1.9.4.3.exe|Select DBAN from the drop down listand follow the onscreen instructions.Once the installation to USB is complete,restart your PC and set your BIOS orBoot Menu to boot from the USB device,save your changes and reboot. If all hasgone well, you should be booting fromyour DBAN USB. Once DBAN loads, youhave two ptions. The first option beingautonuke which nukes any and every datamodule attached to the PC (including theflash drive with DBAN on it). The secondis to press Enter and start DBAN ininteractive mode, where you can decidewhich data drives you wish to delete.Once started, the process may take time,depending on the PC’s RAM capacity;but when done, there is no chance ofrecovering any possible data that wason the system.I bun Ubuntu:Linux-based Ubuntu is becoming morepopular by the year. The OS is well-knownfor it’s easy live-boot-and-install feature.But it’s also possible to modify the setup touse Ubuntu as an OS-on-USB.Disclaimer: You need a desktop PC atyour disposal, and a rudimentary knowledgeof taking it apart. You also need twopen drives (at least 4GB and 8GB). Theinstall can be divided into three parts:Phase one: Live bootDownload Ubuntu 13.04 or 12.04 LTS isofile from: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktopDownload and run the Universal USBInstaller mentioned in the previous section.Create the bootable Ubuntu installationUSB drive (the 4GB one). This stepcan be bypassed by simply creating a bootDVD. That way, you need one less pendrive (just the larger one) and you have aUSB port free during installation.Phase two: Dismantling your PCOpen up your PC and disconnect thehard drive (or hard drives). This part isreally important, to avoid GRUB (Linux)bootloader from installing onto the rootdrive of your existing operating system.If this step is skipped then removing thepen drive (with the new installation) andbooting will cause GRUB to load and youroriginal OS will not be available.Phase three: Installation.Modify the PC’s boot order to boot fromyour Ubuntu boot USB/DVD. Restart,keeping the pen drive that you wantUbuntu to install on plugged in. WhenUbuntu boots, select the pen drive as theinstall location, and let the OS do its thing.What you have at the end is a portableUbuntu OS-on-stick. Oh, and pleaseremember to reassemble the PC exactlyhow you found it.Pen drives may seem like a dying breed,but as long as they keep adapting to theshrinking byte, people will find newerways of making use of the portability theybring to the table.

special sectionAdvertorialWhy Android*developers should useBeacon MountainIntel BeaconMountain, the codename for Intel’sAndroid developmentenvironment, providesa full Intel and thirdpartytoolset with IDEintegration for all thestages of Android appdevelopment.Figuring out the shortest route to theirneighborhood coffee shop is just oneof the many problems Android* developersface on a daily basis. Anotherpersistent problem has been getting all thenumerous development tools in one place,keeping them updated, and finally developingfor as many platforms as possible in one go. Butnow these niggles can be a thing of the past.Beacon Mountain provides a revolutionarynew development environment for Androidapps targeting ARM* and x86-based devices,and it provides all the Android-related developmenttools under a single umbrella. It isavailable for Windows* and OS X*. BeaconMountain provides a one-stop shop to automaticallyretrieve all the necessary tools related toAndroid development for Intel© processorbasedas well as ARM-based devices. Asopposed to other environments, Beacon Mountainhelps keep all your tools updated to thelatest version without any manual effort as itautomatically checks for updates and promptsyou to install the latest software. Apps createdusing the third party tools can run on devicesbeginning with Gingerbread 2.3, while appsdeveloped using Intel tools support Jelly bean4.1 and up.For any software brand or company operatingtoday, it is critical to have a strong mobilepresence. One of the best ways to connectwith a wider audience is through mobile apps.Developers are looking for easy portability(build once and publish for multiple platforms).Android is the market leader in termsof the number of devices that use it. While themajority of mobile phones and tablets run onsome form of an ARM* chipset, Intel® Atomprocessor-based mobile phones and tabletsare gaining popularity in the market. The66 Digit | November 2013 | www.devworx.in

special section | AdvertorialBeacon Mountain development environmentallows developers to write apps for both Intelprocessor- and ARM-based platforms withinthe same development environment.Android’s flexible architecture allows mostapps to run without any issues on top of a DalvikVirtual Machine, which abstracts most of thecode from the underlying hardware. This allowsdevelopers to program apps in Java* withoutworrying about the differences in functionalityon varying hardware architectures.Many of these Dalvik-based apps that aredeveloped in Java can easily run on Inteldevices just like they do on ARM. Moreover,the binary translation functionality makes iteasy even for some of the native ARM appsthat are dependent on the Android NDK to runon Intel devices without any effort on the partof the developer. The Intel Atom chipsets haveinnovative features that make them suitable fortablets and mobile phones. Codenamed Silvermontand Haswell, these chipsets are alreadyshowing Intel’s increasing presence in the newwave of portable devices. While it is impossibleto predict the future of the computing industry,trends indicate an impending unification of processorarchitecture for all devices, regardlessof form factor. Intel x86 architecture, bothIntel Atom and Intel© Core processors, willplay a very important in this process.OverviewIntel Beacon Mountain, the code name forIntel’s Android development environment, providesa full Intel and third-party toolset withIDE integration for all the stages of Androidapp development. The product not only aims tolower the entry barrier for developing apps forthe Android platform on Intel-based devices,it also demonstrates Intel's commitment toAndroid. The best part about Beacon Mountainis that the tools it installs not only supportapps for Intel processor-based devices, butalso facilitates development of apps for ARMbaseddevices, so that developers do not needto jump between development environmentsto target multiple architectures. Beacon Mountaincurrently supports Android Jelly Bean4.1 and later for the Intel-based tools andAndroid Gingerbread 2.3 and later for thirdpartytools. The development environmentcurrently supports Intel Core processor-basedhost systems running Microsoft Windows* 7-,Windows* 8 64-bit-, and Apple OS X*-basedmachines. Intel plans to support additionalplatforms in future releases.The following Intel tools are installed andauto-updated by Beacon Mountain:• Intel® Hardware Accelerated ExecutionManager• Intel® Graphics Performance AnalyzersSystem Analyzer• Intel® Integrated Performance PrimitivesPreview for Android*• Intel® Threading Building Blocks• Intel® Software ManagerStandard third-party tools include theGoogle Android SDK and NDK and theEclipse* IDE. Intel also provides the AndroidDesign bundles.You will notice that the Oracle JDK is notincluded in the bundle; however, Beacon Mountainchecks to make sure you have it installed.If you don’t, Beacon Mountain points you tothe Oracle site to install a copy.Installationof BeaconMountain toolsThe Beacon Mountain installation binary isavailable at the Intel web site http://dgit.in/intelbm. The binary is basically a web-basedinstallation wizard that downloads all the tools.The installation is as easy as any other oneclickinstallation on a Windows system. Theinstaller shows you the software it will installand asks you to accept licenses in a singleview, making the overall installation processvery easy. Once the licenses are accepted, thetools are automatically downloaded in under 45minutes in most cases. The installer automaticallydetects if the third-party tools are on yoursystem and installs the ones that aren’t, so thatyou can avoid any conflicts. Once installed, theEclipse IDE shortcut is placed on your desktop.The Eclipse ADT environmentAlternatively, you can launch Eclipse by goingto the Beacon Mountain installation folder. Ifyou are on a Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows8 system, you can find the 'Beacon Mountain'submenu on the Start menu. Similarly, on aMac, it may be possible to open the BeaconMountain folder easily from spotlight. If youwant to use the NDK, you can then set its locationfrom the Window > Preferences > NDK submenu.The SDK's locations and all the requiredcomponents from the Android SDK Managerare already installed by default. Now all youneed to do is create an Android Virtual Device.Uninstallation is equally as easy. In Windows,you can remove any unwanted softwareelements by going to the Control Panel'sUninstall menu or by running the installationbinary and then choosing the 'Remove' optionin the wizard.Third-PartyTools OverviewThe Android Developer Tools (ADT) bundle providesa comprehensive Android developmenttoolkit provided by Google. There are manybundled tools included that supplement thefunctionality such as the DDMS, Pixel Perfect,Hierarchy Viewer, MonkeyRunner, Traceview,etc. For a more detailed overview of each ofthese tools, you can take a look at the “Androidfor Intel Architecture” devworx booklet publishedin the March 2013 edition of Digit Magazine.It provides an in-depth overview of howto develop Android apps, specifically usingthird-party and Intel tools. Beacon Mountainofficially supports and bundles the Eclipseintegrated development environment. Eclipseis one of the most used IDEs with support forthe largest number of plug-ins. If you preferDigit | November 2013 | www.devworx.in 67

special sectionAdvertorialto use another IDE, you can definitely do so.However, you will need to manually handlethe configuration, integration, and updatesyourself, instead of letting Beacon Mountaindo it automatically. Android NDK is the NativeDevelopment Kit that supports implementationof Native C/C++ code in your Android applications.Cygwin is another important utilitythat provides a Unix*/Linux*-like environmentto interface with tools such as vi, make, gcc,etc. This becomes important when trying toimplement code that uses both Java and C++in the underlying source code. Since it is listedas a requirement for the Android NDK, BeaconMountain tools bundle Cygwin as well.Beacon Mountain also includes all theAndroid Design elements that are important fordesigning the UI of most Android applications.This includes icon packs, stencils, Robotofont,etc. Google also provides these elements in theAdobe Photoshop* and Illustrator formats, sothat they are easy to integrate with the rest ofthe applications and can be modified accordingly.Google recommends that you design yourapplication according to the Holo Design Guidelines.The Holo interface is the theme generallyadhered to while designing most Android appssince Android Honeycomb 3.0. The three availableHolo themes are Holo Dark, Holo Light,and Holo Light with dark action bars. You mayrefer to the online design guide for more detailshere: http://dgit.in/holodesign.Intel SoftwareManagerThe Intel Software Manager is a utility installedby Beacon Mountain. It is available for all threeoperating system environments (includingLinux), although it is only distributed for Windowsand OS X in combination with BeaconThe Intel Software Manager settings screenMountain. Intel Software Manager downloadsand installs updates for all software. Intel SoftwareManager allows you to update subscriptionsand serial numbers as well as retrieve thelatest news related to Intel software developmentproducts. You can configure variousparameters related to software updates usingits interface. This includes the frequency atwhich updates are checked, download location,notification method, and other privacy settings.The update frequency can be set at manual,when an Intel tool is launched, at system startup,or on a periodic time-based frequency. Thedefault download location of updates for IntelSoftware Manager is as follows:• Windows OS: [MYDOCUMENTS]\Intel\Download• Linux OS:Root (sudo) users: /root/intel/downloadNon-root users: ${HOME}/intel/download• OS X:Root (sudo) users: /root/intel/ downloadNon-root users: /Users/[user]/intel/downloadIntel® HardwareAcceleratedExecution Manager(Intel® HAXM)The Intel HAXM is a virtualization engine orhypervisor that utilizes the Intel hardwareassistedvirtualization technology to greatlyspeed up the execution of the Android Appemulator. Intel HAXM supports MicrosoftWindows, Apple OS X, and Linux (Ubuntu*).However, it is distributed as part of the BeaconMountain bundle for Microsoft Windows andApple OS X only. Linux users can set it upmanually using KVM virtualization with thehelp of the installation tutorial available onlinehere: http://dgit.in/inteltuto.The minimum requirement forIntel HAXM is an Intel processorthat supports Intel® VirtualizationTechnology (Intel® VT)i orhardware-assisted virtualization,EM64T and Execute Disable (XD)Bit functionality along with at least1 GB of RAM. Beacon Mountainchecks for all these requirementsduring installation and will notifyyou accordingly if they are notmet. If you are sure that your processorsupports this functionalityand you still get this error, thenyou should check your BIOS tosee if the Hardware Virtualizationfeature has been turned off. Once the installationis complete, you can check if Intel HAXMis running or not by executing the “sc queryintelhaxm” command on Microsoft Windows orthe “kextstat | grep intel” command on AppleOS X. One important thing to understand isthat Intel HAXM only supports Intel Atomprocessor-based x86 images for the emulator.Creating an Android x86 virtual deviceTo create this image, you can choose theCPU/ABI as “Intel Atom (x86)” and a RAMmemory of not more than 1024 MB. Once youcreate the image and launch it with any of thesample programs, you’ll notice a significantincrease in the execution of the program. Ifyou want, you may also choose to use GPUacceleration, which will improve the graphicsperformance by offloading any OpenGL* callsto the host GPU.Intel® GraphicsPerformanceAnalyzers(Intel® GPA)The Intel GPA Graphics Performance Analyzersare a set of profiling tools that providesmetrics and optimization features for graphicsintensive applications such as games. One ofthese tools including the GPA System Analyzeris available for targeting Intel Atom processorbasedphones for free and provides a complimentaryalternative to the Intel® VtuneAmplifier XE so that developers can perform68 Digit | November 2013 | www.devworx.in

special section | Advertorialbasic optimizations and identify bottleneckseasily. Recent Intel GPA releases now also supportIntel Core processors running on MicrosoftWindows 7 or 8 target platforms. The IntelGPA System Analyzer now also allows you totarget both Android apps and Microsoft Windowsapplications in the recent releases.The Intel GPA Monitor launches the applicationfor analysis and other dependent componentsthat are required to run the application,detects the launched application, configures theHUD (Heads Up Display), sets up triggers andapplication profiles, etc. The Intel GPA SystemAnalyzer GUD allows you to analyze metrics likememory, power, and OpenGL-related metrics,for example, App Resident memory, currentcharging, Frame Time, etc. It captures framesfor further analysis and finds performance bottlenecks.The Intel GPA System Analyzer helpsanalyze OpenGL ES* applications running onan Intel processor-based Android device thatis connected to the host system. The best partabout this tool is that it does not require thedeveloper to make any changes to the applicationcode. The wide range of metrics and intuitiveuser interface allows you to explore andeasily determine available functionality. Thistool is also well suited for performing experimentationduring the development process ofthe application to identify various approachesfor adding and removing visual effects to gaugetheir performance impact.Setting up theADB connectionBefore setting up the Android Debug Bridge, orADB, first be sure that the USB Debugging optionis enabled in the Settings menu on the Androiddevice. If not done, it can be enabled from thedeveloper options menu in the settings menuof the Android device. Since Beacon Mountainalready installs all the required dependenciesThe device connection screen when GPA startsfor you, not much else is requiredin terms of installing extra software.If the Google Android SDKand the Android USB Driver arenot installed, Beacon Mountain willdisplay a message asking you toensure that these requirementsare met before it lets you proceed.To start the connection, plug yourdevice into the host computer withthe USB cable and then open theIntel GPA tool's settings dialog bypressing [Ctrl]+[F1] from the Connectionwindow. Here, make surethat you provide the correct pathfor the ADB tool installed on yoursystem from under the platform tools directoryof the Google Android SDK. This is all that IntelGPA requires in order for your device to connectto your Intel processor-based Android device.If you have any problems, you can disconnectthe device, run the “adb kill-server” command,and then see the output of ADB devices afterre-connecting again. You can also establish aconnection over Wi-Fi* to perform analysis wirelesslyfor Android 4.0 or newer devices.Performing theanalysisOnce connected, the application being analyzedis shown in the list of analyzable applications.The application can be made analyzable byenabling the debugging and Internet connectionpermission in the Android Manifest.The main Intel GPA screen is divided intovarious panels for viewing and controlling partsof the application. The Metrics panel shows youthe list of metrics supported by the connecteddevice. This varies depending on the underlyingchipset of various devices. When Intel GPAstarts, the device connection screen generatesthe content to add support for JNI functions inthe Android application. To run the applicationthat you are developing, you will needto copy the files from the Beacon Mountaininstallation directory and enter the sourcewhere it is relevant. In our example, thenative function retrieves the version of theIntel® Integrated Performance Primitives(Intel® IPP) and returns the value to thecalling Java function. This is shown in theHelloIPP.c example that follows:#include #include "ipp_preview.h"JNIEXPORT void JNICALLThe Android Application chooser in the GPA toolJava_intel_example_HelloIPP_Hel-loIPP_IPPVersion(JNIEnv* env, job- ject thiz,jin- tArray *vinfo) {// get a pointer to the Javaarray jint *tmp = (*env)->GetIntArrayElements(env, vinfo, 0);// call IPP's utility functionto get library version infoconst IppLibraryVersion*lib=ippGetLibVersion(); // copythis info into the array (visiblefrom Java caller)tmp[0]=lib->major;tmp[1]=lib->minor;// release the pointer (*env)->ReleaseIntArrayElements(env, vinfo,tmp, 0);}The calling function can be called in Java asfollows:package intel.example.HelloIPP;import android.app.Activity;import android.widget.TextView;import android.os.Bundle; publicclass HelloIPP extends Activitypublic class HelloIPP extendsActivity{public native voidIPPVersion(int[] vinfo);@Overridepublic void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState){s u p e r .onCreate(savedInstanceState);// Call the native function whichqueries the IPP version infoint[] ippversion=new int[2];IPPVersion(ippversion);Digit | November 2013 | www.devworx.in 69

special sectionAdvertorialThe Intel GPA main screen// Display version info in aTextViewTextView tv = new TextView(this);tv.append(" testmajor="+ippversion[0]+"minor="+ippversion[1]);setContentView(tv);}// Load the native librarystatic {System.loadLibrary("HelloIPP");}}The Metric Chart Area at the center canshow up to 16 charts for each of the availablemetrics. You can select and drop the relevantmetrics in the chart area to show the relatedchart for that particular metric. These metricsare grouped into CPU, GPU, OpenGL API, Power,Memory, and Device I/O categories. You can alsocreate custom metrics by inserting the relevantfunctions in your application code. These custommetrics will eventually appear under the Usergroup of the Metrics Control Panel. The StateOverrides Control Panel lets you set the variousoverride modes for performing short experimentson the application. For more details onthe override modes, you can refer to the onlineor bundled documentation. The Control Panelprovides buttons for some of the most basicfunctions such as CSV export, starting/pausingthe metric data collection, etc. The FPS Area andNotification Area at the top perform similar functionsof displaying relevant information such asFPS values, name of the application, OpenGL ESversion, status of Vsync, size of theapplication window, etc. An exampleof retrieving the extension functionsand utilizing custom metrics in yourapplication code is as follows:CreateMetricGPA_t pfn-CreateMe- tricGPA =(eglCreateMetricGPA_t)eglGetProcAddress("eglCreateMetricGPA");eglSetMetricValueGPA_tpfnSetMetricValueGPA =(eglSetMetricValueGPA_t)eglGetProc Address("eglSetMetricValueGPA");eglRemoveMetricGPA_t pfnRemoveMe- tricGPA =(eglRemoveMetricGPA_t)eglGetProcAddress("eglRemoveMetricGPA");// Creating a new metricEGLint hMetric = -1;if (pfnCreateMetricGPA) {hMetric = pfnCreateMetricGPA("Refvalue(42.0)", "unit", "Synthetic");}// Setting a value for the metricif (pfnSetMetricValueGPA) {pfnSetMetricValueGPA(hMetric,42.0);}// Removing the Metricif (pfnRemoveMetricGPA) {pfnRemoveMetricGPA(hMetric);}The Intel GPA Console Client tool enablesautomatic collection of metric data from thecommand line. It lets you specify the deviceand application name as one of its argumentsand accepts the list of metrics to collect in aconfiguration file. You can similarly export thesemetrics into a CSV file. You can type in the “gpa_console_client -h” command from the commandline to find more details about the syntax.Intel® ThreadedBuilding Blocks(Intel® TBB)The Intel TBB is a library for developing parallelfunctions within your application and in yourC++ code. This is relevant for Android phonesand tablets as multi-core mobile processorsare now the norm and ubiquitous. Using IntelTBB gives you a significant performance advantagewithout major effort and with typicallyless code. There are various forms of licensesavailable—the commercial binary distributionlicense, an open source distribution license, anda custom license—that allow you to modify ordistribute the source code of Intel TBB. Thelatest version can be downloaded from http://threadingbuildingblocks.org/download. ForAndroid, just download the Linux version. Youcan then use the libtbb.so and libtbbmalloc.solibraries in the lib/android folder.Some of the basic algorithms are parallel_for,parallel_reduce, and parallel_scan, and advancedones include parallel_while, parallel_do, parallel_pipelineand parallel_sort. Some of theadvantages of using Intel TBB for parallelprogramming include specification of logicalparallelism instead of thread-based programming,focus on performance-based threading,easier compatibility with other packages andapproaches, data parallel programming, and afocus on the generic programming approach. Theparallel_for function provides one of the simplestuse cases for demonstrating the parallelization inIntel TBB, which makes tasks in a loop parallel.All you need to create a class is a functioncalled “operator,” and pass the name ofthis class to the parallel_for function. BlockedRanges become important here as they representone-directional iteration spaces thatare to be split into several task ranges thatmay or may not be parallel. A sample of oneof the examples can be seen as follows, wherewe first define the body object, which is anSTL-style function object, and then call theparallel_for function. In this example, we aregoing to take the Foo function that runs oneach element of an array and make it parallel.The code to do this sequentially is as follows:void SerialApplyFoo( float a[],size_t n ) {for( size_t i=0; i!=n; ++i )Foo(a[i]);} However, in order to parallelizethis loop, we define this inside abody object as follows:#include "tbb/tbb.h"using namespace tbb;class ApplyFoo {float *const my_a;public:void operator()( const blocked_range& r ) const {float *a = my_a;for( size_t i=r.begin(); i!=r.end(); ++i )Foo(a[i]);}70 Digit | November 2013 | www.devworx.in

special section | AdvertorialApplyFoo( float a[] ) :my_a(a){}};Once we have the body object ready, we cancall the parallel_for function as follows:#include "tbb/tbb.h"void ParallelApplyFoo( float a[],size_t n ) {parallel_for(blocked_range(0,n), ApplyFoo(a));}Intel® integratedPerformancePrimitives previewfor Android*The Intel IPP preview for Android is a richlibrary of data and multimedia processing functionsfor various environments that include notonly Android, but also Windows, Linux, and OSX. These functions are highly optimized anduse the Intel® Streaming SIMD extensionsand Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (Intel®AVX). Intel IPP caters mainly to Signal processing,Image processing, Matrices, and Cryptographyand can be used on any processorthat supports SSE2 or newer instruction set.Beacon Mountain bundles a preview of IntelIPP functionality available as a free download.If developers choose to use this library, theycan buy an extended version from the Intel website. The Google Android NDK is a prerequisitebefore you can use or run a sample programfor Intel IPP, because it is called using nativecode from the C/C++ part of your application.To prepare to run the sample HelloIPP app, weneed to create a HelloIPP Android project in theEclipse IDE, with an activity of the same name.Once this is done, native support can be addedto the project by right-clicking on the projectname and choosing Android Tools > Add NativeSupport. This will autogenerate the contents toadd support for JNI functions in the application.To run the application, copy the files fromthe Beacon Mountain installation directory andenter the source where it is relevant. In ourexample, the native function retrieves the versionof the Intel IPP library and returns thevalue to the calling Java function. This can bewritten in HelloIPP.c as follows:#include #include "ipp_preview.h"JNIEXPORT void JNICALLJava_intel_example_HelloIPP_HelloIPP_IPPVersion(JNIEnv* env,jobjectthiz,jintArray*vinfo){// get a pointer to the Javaarrayjint *tmp = (*env)->GetIntArrayElements(env, vinfo, 0);// call IPP's utility functionto get library version infoconst IppLibraryVersion*lib=ippGetLibVersion();// copy this info into thearray (visible from Java caller)tmp[0]=lib->major;tmp[1]=lib->minor;// release the pointer(*env)->ReleaseIntArrayElements(env, vinfo,tmp, 0);}The calling function can be called in Javaas follows:package intel.example.HelloIPP;import android.app.Activity;import android.widget.TextView;import android.os.Bundle;public class HelloIPP extendsActivity{public native voidIPPVersion(int[] vinfo);@Overridepublic void onCreate(BundlesavedInstanceState){super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);// Call the native functionwhich queries the IPP version infoint[] ippversion=newint[2];IPPVersion(ippversion);// Display version info ina TextViewTextView tv = newTextView(this);tv.append(" testmajor="+ippversion[0]+"minor="+ippversion[1]);setContentView(tv);}// Load the native librarystatic {System.loadLibrary("HelloIPP");}}When you run this application, you shouldbe able to see the Major and Minor versionnumbers of the Intel IPP library. When youare confident you understand the sample app,you can decide if you want to buy the completelibrary. Once done, all you need to do isreplace the static library and include files inthe JNI folder of the application. The bundledsample programs provide advanced examplesof how to use the functions for audio-videocodecs, computer vision, image processing,speech codes, data compression, etc. There isalso a reference guide available that providesa comprehensive list explaining each type ofutility function available in the library.ConclusionBeacon Mountain provides you with all thetools you need to get a jumpstart with Androidapp development on Intel processor-basedmobile phones and tablets. With the help ofBeacon Mountain, you no longer need to worryabout setting up and configuring the IDE andretrieving everything from multiple sources.Moreover, it provides a rich set of examples togive a taste of how to use high performancelibraries like Intel IPP and Intel TBB. •NoticesINFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT ISPROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH INTELPRODUCTS. NO LICENSE, EXPRESS ORIMPLIED, BY ESTOPPEL OR OTHERWISE, TOANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ISGRANTED BY THIS DOCUMENT. EXCEPT ASPROVIDED IN INTEL'S TERMS AND CONDITIONSOF SALE FOR SUCH PRODUCTS, INTELASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER ANDINTEL DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIEDWARRANTY, RELATING TO SALE AND/OR USEOF INTEL PRODUCTS INCLUDING LIABILITYOR WARRANTIES RELATING TO FITNESS FOR APARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, ORINFRINGEMENT OF ANY PATENT, COPYRIGHTOR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT.Intel, the Intel logo, Atom, Core, and VTune aretrademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and othercountries.The Android robot is reproduced or modified fromwork created and shared by Google and usedaccording to terms described in the CreativeCommons 3.0 Attribution License.*Other names and brands may be claimed as theproperty of othersCopyright© 2013 Intel Corporation. All rightsreserved.Digit | November 2013 | www.devworx.in 71

Tried & TestedWi-Fi routers testTake control of that wireless networkwith some of the best routers80 available for purchase 86All-in-one desktopsNeed a compact, space-saving alternativeto your old desktop? Read to find out whatare the options likePoint and shoot!Cellphone cameras have improved a lot over the years and so we pit eightsmartphone cameras in this shoot-out and let you know which snapper is theabsolute best of the lot for your needsSwapnil Mathurswapnil.mathur@thinkdigit.comSaying that cellphoneshave come a long waywould be one of the biggestunderstatements of theyear. They’ve gone from large,clunky monochromed bricks todevices that are designed withelegance and have renderedthe notebook, the mp3 player,and even wallets (in somecases) obsolete! The cellphoneadvancement is heading in thedirection of being the “onedevice-to-rule-them-all”.It hasits eyes set on replacing yourpoint and shoot camera.With society becomingincreasingly connected, thanksto social media and its increasingneed to share information ina world where individual citizenstry to grasp on to the fadingidea of privacy, the camera hasbecome extremely essential forthe proper functioning of thissocial machine. Earlier, it was“take your camera, shoot theparty, go home, transfer photosto your PC and THEN postthem online.” The process waslong and tedious and someonehad the genius idea of “what ifyou could just take the photoson your phone?” While it wasa solid notion, the problemwas that cellphone cameraswith their miniature sensorsjust couldn’t match up to thequality of even the basic pointand shoot.Today, all that changes. Wehave with us eight cellphoneswith industry-leading cameramodules. Nokia revolutionizedthe game with the PureView808 and its 41 megapixel sensorand then again with the Lumia920, the first cellphone to haveoptical image stabilization builtin. Sony brought another gamechanger, by putting a point andshoot camera sensor and opticsinto a phone. Then there is theiPhone, which changed howmuch we all shared online. TheLG G2 brings a totally novelshooting ergonomic into an72 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

92BazaarWe review some of the latest and greatestproducts launched in the market. Are theyworth the hype?Pinballin’ CrazyThe Pinball Expo in Chicago revealedsome interesting designs (borderingon sociopathic fanaticism)Camera Phonesindustry that’s got its design languagepretty set. Samsung’s contenderin this battle is a phonebolted to a camera – the GalaxyZoom and the only cellphonecamera that gives us properoptical zoom. So which of theseis actually a good enough phoneto replace that bulky point andshoot? Read on to find out.november 2013Lumia 1020s 41MP sensor on the left faroutresolves the one on the Xperia Z1 rightNokia Lumia 1020The feature packerAll of the camera phones inthis shootout are pricey, so it isimperative that you get the mostphotography related featuresyou can. In our testing, we foundthat the Lumia 1020 packs themost features for a cellphone.This ranges from megapixelcount, to sensor size, to optics,and even the battery life (ifyou’re going to be shooting forlong, you need a good battery!)The Lumia 1020 does pack themother of all sensors, with 41million pixels spread across a1/1.15 inch sensor, the biggest ina modern day smartphone. It’salso packing the optical imagestabilization that we first sawin the Lumia 920, but switchesout the spring based mechanismfrom the 920 (and 925) for a ballbearing based system.Surprisingly, the SamsungGalaxy Zoom comes in at a closesecond, with an optical zoomcapable lens (which is somewhatslow though) and shippingwith multiple shootingmodes, including P/S/M modesbuilt into the default cameraapp. Other than that, it hassome features very standardto the category it belongs, withother phones coming with alot more. For example, we feltthat the Sony Xperia Z1 had apretty decent set of features,including a manual mode. The1/2.3 inch sensor and the SonyG lens is something that weusually find in the company’spoint and shoot cameras suchas the WX300 (which we likedquite a lot). It’s got a mammoth3000mAh battery too, to makesure that you don’trun out of juice onyour shooting frenzy.The display on theZ1 is, if put bluntly,simply fantastic,rendering imagesin all their colourfulglory. It is, however,not 100% accurate,being a TFT LCD typeand not an IPS panellike in the Lumia 920.Speaking of theLumia 920, this isthe phone that beganNokia Lumia 920a new trend in mobile imagingby building an optical stabilizationassembly right into thelens elements. The 920 packsa very gorgeous IPS display,which might not be incrediblysaturated, but the colour andcontrast rendition on it is absolutelyaccurate. The f/2.0 apertureon this is the brightest inthe lot, meaning that the Lumia920 lets in the most light of allthe cameras in this shootout.However, the phone loses outto the fact that the 2000mAhbattery built into it is somewhatunderwhelming.When considering featuresrevolving around photography,it is impossible to ignore theLG G2, which also comes withLumia 1020 resolves more lines per inch onthe left than the iPhone 5’s 8MP sensor rightNokia Lumia 925optical image stabilization builtinto the lens. However, whatreally stands out is the power/shutter button that LG hasremoved from the usual sideyou’d find it on, and put it on theback. As unconventional as itmay seem, the button is actuallyreally well designed. Whetheryou’re shooting “Selfies” orjust taking shots using the rearcamera, the button is incrediblyeasy to press and doesn’t actuallyinduce any shake, unlikeother phones that have theirshutter button on one extremeof the camera body. The HD+IPSpanel is also beautiful and thecamera itself has a pretty decentaperture of f/2.4The studioperformerNow going into this test, wehad a pretty fair idea of whichcamera was going to comeout on top, but what we didnot know, was the rest of theorder. The Lumia 1020 hasa gigantic sensor (relatively,but still), not just in physicalsize, but also in the megapixelcount. Factoring the size andthe megapixel count, theeffective pixel pitch on thecamera drops to 1.12 µm,Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 73

Camera PhonesOculus primedThe Oculus Rift, hugely criticized for it’sless-than-perfect resolution takes anotherstep for the consumersSome chroming requiredGoogle Chrome may be raising efficiency...But at what cost? Find out here:http://dgit.in/180UjSTwhich is actually smaller thanthe pixel pitch on most othercamera phones. However, Nokiaoffsets this by a very intelligentalgorithm that combines thedata from four adjacent pixelsinto one. This allows the Lumia1020 to pretty much nail everythingon our resolution chart.The horizontal and vertical lineson our chart rendered beautifullyon both the 38 megapixeland even the 5 megapixel files.The edge sharpness was prettygood, too as the text we placed inthe corners was clearly readable.Frankly put, performance likethis coming from a cellphonecamera, one that we normallyonly see in a point and shootcamera, is impressive.Speaking of point and shootcameras, the Xperia Z1 washow we testedThe goal of our test this timewas to determine which phonecamera would give the bestimage quality regardless of theshooting conditions. As a camerathat’s going to go everywherewith you, we also wanted tomake sure the video features onthese shooters was up to thetask of documenting our all yourprecious moments.We divided our tests into threeparts, two for stills and one forvideo. One set of tests involvedshooting a simulated test target incontrolled light to measure colordepth/accuracy, white balanceaccuracy and lens sharpnessin the corners and center. Acontrolled test target also helpsdetermine the ISO performanceof a camera. We also devised ourtest target to measure dynamicrange by including pure black,pure white and neutral grey areaswhich would effectively measurethe sensor’s ability to capturevarious levels of illumination. Alltest target shots were taken inProgram mode as most of thesecameras do not have an AperturePriority mode. At the center of thetest target is a resolution chartthat helps us measure horizontaland vertical resolution.not to be left behind. With thevery impressive 16 megapixel1/2.3-inch sensor paired witha Sony G lens, the Xperia Z1managed to dish out some veryimpressive performance as well.Edge sharpness was surprisinglygood, but what we likedthe most was that it was ableto do justice to the colours onour test. The Lumia 920 andthe 925 did equally well, whichwas a little surprising seeinghow the Lumia 925 has a sixthlens element that is supposed toimprove the image quality on thecamera. The iPhone 5 did quitewell as far as the resolution goes,but had a little problem keepingthe distortion low.The LG G2, despite havingthe relatively smaller sensorwhen compared to the LumiaThis fine spreadout was our palette for the test.The second phase of testinginvolved getting outside thestudio and shooting with eachof the cameras a “real world”scenario. We included severalkinds of still life, lots of landscape,some macro along with the usualpeople shots. For our low lighttesting, we just walked aroundwith all the phones late at nightshooting the cityscape. We alsoshot coloured targets in a dimlylit room to see how good thecolour accuracy would be in lowlight/high ISO conditions, along1020 and the Sony Xperia Z1,did exceptionally well. Eventhough it had slightly lowernovember 2013Sony Xperia Z1with checking for sharpnessacross the board.Video performance was testedoutdoors during daytime andnight. While the outdoor filmingallowed us to gauge the dynamicrange and audio prowess of eachof the cameras, the night timetest allowed us to have a truemeasure of how well the sensorcan curtail and snub noise alongwith how much detail it couldretain in highlight and shadowareas. All shooting was doneusing the default camera app.resolving power than the othertwo, it still was on the higherside. If you chose the G2 overall others in this shootout, you’dstill be getting great images. TheSamsung Galaxy Zoom, is themost novel of the lot, and lendsthe feeling of shooting withan actual point and shoot, butdoesn’t do as well as a pointand shoot would. The imagesout of the Galaxy Zoom visiblylacked edge sharpness, whichis a little surprising seeing howthe optical assembly on this bigguy is the same one would findon a point and shoot.The HTC One dual SIMcomes with the “Ultrapixel”sensor, which is the same sizeas a regular camera sensor (1/3inch) but with only 4 megapixelsof resolution. HTC says whatthey don’t deliver in megapixels,they claim to deliver in imagequality, but unfortunately, ourresolution chart begs to differ.The edge sharpness on the HTCOne was disappointing, as wasthe colour reproduction. It did,however, manage to make themost out of the 4 megapixelsensor in terms of resolutionreproduction though.If a winner was to be picked,it would be the Lumia 1020 forsure, but the Xperia Z1 isn’t toofar behind. The Lumia 920 and925 can hold their own withtheir 8 megapixel sensors, ascan the LG G2 and the SamsungGalaxy Zoom with their 13 and16 megapixel slabs of siliconrespectively. The iPhone 5 isgood too, but it showed somedistortion while the HTC hadtrouble with the colours.The real worlddominatorNow this is where things gotreally interesting. While theimage quality of the NokiaLumia 1020 was top-notch,it seriously faltered in some74 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Android ExpansionAndroid gadgets of the future maybe getting a LITTLE out of handhttp://dgit.in/19WHPwrSaving the SmartwatchAn article emphasizing ways to can get the bestout of the next generation of Smartwatcheshttp://dgit.in/H6qYRiCamera Phonesother key areas. For starters,the camera app. Nokia Pro Cam,which is default on the 1020,takes almost a second and a halfto ready itself for the first shot.We pressed the physical shutterbutton and the app takes about asecond to load and then anotherhalf a second to sort of stabilize.This is a serious drawback fora phone that is being toutedmore as a camera than anything.If you would like to speedthings up, you could just usethe regular camera app, whichperforms a whole lot faster anddoes leverage the full resolutionof the sensor, but it is Pro Camthat will allow you to use featuressuch as lossless zoom andmanual shooting controls thatactually make the Lumia 1020a photographer’s phone.In comparison the SonyXperia Z1 flies. Not only doesthe phone go from standby toready-to-shoot almost instantaneously,it can even fire off shotsone after the other without anynoticeable delay. What wasincredibly disappointing aboutthe Xperia Z1, which needs tobe mentioned, is that the onlyway you can get the full 20megapixel resolution out of thiscamera is if you shoot in manualmode. The logic and reasoningbehind the resolution not beingavailable in “iAuto” escapes us,making us feel as if Sony justmight have dropped the ball. Ifyou do get the Xperia Z1, makesure you change the dial toManual (from iAuto).The other two Lumia siblingsdo rather well, with a specialnote for the Lumia 920, whichdespite having older optics, doesjust as well as the Lumia 925.The LG G2 and the SamsungGalaxy Zoom were good too,especially given how we shootwith them. The Galaxy Zoom’sforte is that it’s an incrediblyfamiliar shooting experience,HTC Onegiven its form factor. The LG G2has a strategically placed buttonon the back which somehowmakes it convenient to press.The HTC One and the iPhone5 were impressive in their ownright in our real world tests.Both fired off quick shots, butthe iPhone 5 was visibly betterthan the HTC One in low lightshooting, and just slightly fasterto go from idle to shooting.The one thing that we foundslightly disappointing on theiPhone, the HTC One, the LGG2 and even the SamsungGalaxy Zoom was their needto fire up the camera using theicons on the screen. While theG2 and the Galaxy zoom dohave physical buttons, they donot bring up the camera automatically.The HTC One and theiPhone don’t have any physicalbuttons, but do come with iconsthat can be accessed directlyfrom the home/lockscreen, butit’s just not as fast as having aphysical button.If we talk pure image qualityin the real world, the Lumia1020 wins this too, but unfortunately,in the real world, there’smore to performance than justpixel quality. The Pro Camapp makes the Lumia1020 slow, and sinceit’s the only app thatcan actually leveragethe mammoth sensorto the fullest, it’s all themost frustrating. TheZ1 breezes right aheadleaving even the Lumia920 and the 925 in thedust (despite not evenhaving optical imagestabilization). The HTCOne, despite the lowresolution, does surprisinglywell for its sensor,and does produce good images,but the Lumias and the XperiaZ1 do better. The LG G2 andSamsung Galaxy Zoom areworth mentioning here. Theyseem to be at a slight disadvantagedue to their small sensors,but very large pixel counts.november 2013Samsung Galaxy ZoomColour Rendition Sony Xperia Z1 left vs Lumia920 rightVideo performanceAnother bag of surprises cameour way during our videotesting. While we expectedthat the Lumia phones wouldtop the roost, with their CarlZeiss optics and image stabilization,but it was actually quitea close call. The Lumias, and theXperia Z1 were incredibly closein their video quality. While theNokias came ahead in termsof audio quality, due to the“Rich Recording Technology”built into the phones. TheXperia Z1, however, stormedahead in terms of low lightautofocus. Overall, the Lumia1020 was just a little bit betterin retaining detail in shadowsand highlights.In the daytime, the Lumia1020 charged right ahead ofthe competition. What’s noteworthyis that pretty much allphones in the day time shootsome very impressive videos.However the Lumia 1020 hadthe best performance of themall, especially when it came todynamic range. Where it didlose out a little was in terms ofkeeping up with the AF.What we did find surprisingwas that the footage out of theHTC One was visibly lackingin edge sharpness, which isalright if your camera is staticwhile filming, but can be prettybad if you’re trying to panacross a scene, or are trying tofilm someone running acrossthe road for example. Still, theoverall footage looked slightlysoft, especially when put nextto the iPhone 5.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 75

Camera Phonesnovember 2013 november 2013Camera Phone TestBrand Nokia Nokia Nokia Sony HTCModel Lumia 1020 Lumia 925 Lumia 920 Xperia Z1 One DualPrice (in `) 49,999 33,499 32,319 40,500 47,499Features (Out of 20) 14.6 13.4 13.3 13.58 11.43Still Image Performance (Out of 40) 34.48 30.02 30.42 31.8 24.12Video Performance (Out of 30) 23.1 21.9 21.45 22.35 17.25Build Quality (Out of 5) 4 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.75Ergonomics and usability (So 5) 4 3.7 4 3.8 4.1Grand Total (Out of 100) 80.18 72.52 72.67 75.03 60.65Specifications 73 67 66.5 67.9 57.15Sensor resolution (MegaPixel) 41 8 8 20 4Sensor size (mm) 1/1.5 1/3 1/3 1/2.3 1/3Sensor type BSI CMOS BSI CMOS BSI CMOS BSI CMOS BSI CMOSLens Construction 6 elements, carl zeiss 6 elements, carl zeiss 5 elements, carl zeiss Sony G lens HTC BrandLens Focal Length 25mm 26mm 26mm 29.7mm 28mmOptical Image Stabilization Yes Yes Yes No YesP/S/M mode Yes Yes Yes M only NoAperture f/2.2 f/2.0 f/2.0 f/2.0 f/2.0Startup Time 1 seconds 0.7 seconds 0.8 seconds 0.5 seconds 0.6 secondsBattery Rating 2000 mAh 2000 mAh 2000 mAh 3000 mAh 2300mAhEditing Suite (availability of quality editing apps) Yes Yes Yes Yes YesScreen Type AMOLED AMOLED IPS TFT Super LCD3Weight 158 139 185 170 156Build Quality (So 10)Body 8 7 7 7 8Buttons and dials 8 7 7 7 7Ergonomics and usability (So 10)Grip 8 7 8 8 9Layout of buttons and dials 8 7 8 8 9Intutiveness of buttons and menu system 8 8 8 7 7Menu layout, options and ease of use 8 8 8 7 7PerformanceStudio TestResolution Chart 9.5 7 7.5 8.5 6Center Sharpness 9 8 8 8.5 7Edge Sharpness 9 7 7 8 6Color Reproduction 9 8 8 8 6Contrast Reproduction 9 8 8 8 6Distortion 8 7.5 7.5 7 7Text Legibility 8.5 8 8 8.5 4Real World TestTime from idle to first shot 6 7 7 8 7Recycle Time (time between shots) 6 7 7 8 8Dynamic Range 8 7 7 7 7Low Light Performance 8 8 8 7 5Burst Mode 3 5 5 8 8Video TestingDaylightDynamic Range 8 7 7 8 6Colour Reproduction 8 7 7 8 7Focus tracking 7 7 7 8 6Audio clarity 8.5 8.5 8.5 8 7Low Light VideoHighlight Detail 8 8 8 7 5Shadow Detail 7 7 7 6 5Color Reproduction 7 7 7 7 6Sharpness 8 7 6 8 576 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

What’s up doc?Who needs shots when you have an inbuiltdoctor to give em to you on the go?Say hello to the injection implantCamera Phonesnovember 2013Samsung LG AppleGalaxy Zoom G2 iPhone 529,900 40,489 45,90013.88 12.88 11.4228.12 30.3 31.2618.15 19.2 19.953.5 3.75 3.754.3 4.1 467.95 70.23 70.3869.4 64.4 57.116 13 81/2.3 1/3 1/3BSI CMOS BSI CMOS BSI CMOSSamsung Brand LG Brand Apple Brand24-240mm 29mm 33mmYes Yes NoYes No Nof/3.1-6.3 f/2.4 f/2.40.7 seconds 0.5 seconds 0.5 seconds2330mAh 3000mAh 1440 mAhYes Yes YesAMOLED True HD+IPS LED Backlit IPS208 143 1126 7 88 8 79 9 89 9 88 7 88 7 87.5 8 7.57 7.5 86 7 77 8 97 8 97 7.5 7.58 8 86 6 87.5 8 87 7 7.56.5 7 76 7 76 7 76 7 77 8 87 7 86 6 65 5 56 6 66 6 7A few extraconsiderationsObviously, the primary functionof any camera is to takeimages, the cellphone adds anew layer to the experience byadding post processing capabilitiesto the process. Whileall phones and their built-incamera apps offer some levelof editing capabilities suchas cropping, straighteningetc., enthusiasts might want alittle extra.It is in this regard that wefelt that the iPhone 5 was at thehighest advantage, leveragingthe hundreds of editing appsavailable on the App store. Ourfavourite happens to be Snapseed,which offers not just a lotof editing styles, but also a greatlevel of control. Then there isalso Mextures that adds layersinto editing, allowing users toapply various effects in varyingdegrees, all at once. TheAndroid phones do enjoy a similarlavishness when it comes toediting apps, Snapseed beingone (since it is now ownedby Google) along with manyothers. The Lumias, unfortunately,suffer from a distinctlack of quality editing apps.While you will find plenty thatgive you the option of adjustingthe basics, and even applyingsome effects, none of them areactually quite as polished as theiOS and Android apps.Then there is the question ofHDR and panorama apps. Whilethe stock cameras on almost allphones now come with this feature,there is seldom the optionof tweaking settings. Whenit comes to shooting HDR, allthree platforms offer excellentchoices but if you were to shootin HDR with the Lumia 1020,you wouldn’t expect it to weigh38 megapixels. Apps built withthe new SDK are yet to populatethe Windows phone store.For panoramas, the stockapps are, good, but the MS Photosynthapp, available for iOSand Windows phone is one ofour favourites. The optics on allthe camera phones are excellentfor daytime shooting of panoramas,however, if you werelooking at taking nighttimepanos, the Lumia 1020 wouldbe your best choice. The cameragrip accessory makes it compatiblewith any standard tripod,allowing you to shoot with itwhenever, wherever.ConclusionIt’s incredibly tough to pickwinners from this basket ofeight phones, if we were tolook at it subjectively. Our testwas designed for mostly higherend cameras, but seeing howthe new age cellphone camerasseek to uproot the pointand shoot as your trusted dailycompanion, we felt it only fittingthat these phones be subjectto the same rigors.Looking at pure performancescores, the Lumia 1020comes out ahead of the rest byquite a noticeable margin. It hasa large sensor and an incrediblyhigh pixel density when it comesto picture quality, but factor instartup times and time betweenshots, and it loses a few points.In terms of pure image andvideo quality, the Lumia 1020 isabsolutely the king, but the slowperformance of the Pro Cam appcan be slightly annoying whileusing this otherwise greatphone. However, no app wouldgive the kind of extensive controlPro Cam can give you onany of the Lumia phones, withthe 1020 being the most suitedfor the app. With Pro Cam, theLumia 1020 can shoot imageswith the maximum resolutionof 38 megapixels and creativelyreframe the photograph later ifneeded. It offers lossless digitalDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 77

Camera PhonesAereo DroidBroadcast over IP with Aereo nowavailable for android devices. Take alook: http://dgit.in/AereodroidWascally WabbitThese poor guys may just endup being the next ‘in’ thing in theworld of fashionzoom and spits out a final imagethat is 5 megapixels in resolutionfor web use. The Lumia1020 is a little pricey, but itoffers the absolute best imageand video quality in a cameraphone today. For this, we awardthe Best Performer award tothe Lumia 1020.If you are looking for somethingthat’s a delicate balancebetween price and performance,then the Samsung Galaxy Zoomwould be your best option andso it wins the Best Buy award.It has fairly decent optics andgiven the form factor whichresembles a point and shootcamera anyway, it shouldn’t behard to get used to using this as acamera. However, what could bea problem is carrying it around,seeing how the phone is actuallyquite bulky (bulkier than manypoint and shoot cameras even).If Windows phone isn’tyour flavor of OS, but you’restill craving the best imagingcapabilities available in an OS,the Sony Xperia Z1 is whereyou should be aiming yourcredit card. It’s got a gorgeous5 inch screen with a pixel densityof 441 ppi and is poweredby Sony’s Triluminous displaytechnology. Camera wise, it’sgot a large, 20 megapixel sensorstraight out of Sony’s point andshoot range and paired up withthe G lens, this phone placedsecond in our shootout. Whatwe love about the camera onthe Z1 is that it’s incrediblyfast, an area where the Lumia1020 falters. The Z1 not onlystarts up very fast, but has avery small interval betweenshots, which is good. In terms ofimage quality, it’s definitely farahead of a standard cellphonecamera, bordering on the pointand shoot arena. It’s a greatcamera, but with one seriousdownfall. Though the sensoris 20 megapixels, any shootingmode, except for manual willonly shoot at a reduced resolution.If you want to get the mostout of the camera, you will haveto switch to manual mode (formaximum resolution) and probablywill also have to learn howto play around with the settings.While this can be cumbersome,we do feel that the Xperia Z1 isa great camera phone, and forthat, we give it the Editor’sChoice Award.The LG G2 as a camera isalso a very competent device,though it’s not a show stopper.However, if you are incrediblyself-obsessed or love takinggroup shots with yourself inthem, then you would love theG2’s innovating shutter button.If you value colour accuracyon your screen, then the IPSpanel on the LG G2 would bequite a pleaser.The HTC One Dual Simvariant was an ambitious littledevice from the Taiwanese companyand while it does a decentjob with photos and videos,the small megapixel count justdoesn’t cut it in today’s worldof high resolution demands.While 4 megapixels are goodenough to upload to theweb, when you take areally great shot of themountainside and wanta large 18x24 inch printof it is when you’ll cursethe HTC One.The Lumia 920 and925 are excellent cameraphones. The 920 in factwas a game changerfor Nokia, and the onlyreason it couldn’t pickup market share wasbecause it was verybulky and heavy (clearlythese guys hadn’t triedout the Samsung Galaxy Zoom).The Lumia 925 was Nokia’sattempt at fixing the weightand bulk issue by shipping thephone in an incredibly slim allaluminiumconstruction. Thecamera on the two phones isnear identical, despite an additionallens element in the Lumia925. The Lumia 920 still remainsour preferred device though,mostly because the heft actuallystabilizes the camera a littlewhile shooting and also becausethe IPS screen is very accuratein displaying colours. Whilethe Lumia 920 has an MRP ofLG G2’s back panel Apple iPhone 5Xperia Z1’s sensor performs much betterthan the ultrapixel-laden HTC One`32,319, the phone can be foundon various online market placesfor anything between `20,000-25,000, which is a GREAT pricefor this phone.Last, but most definitely notthe least, the iPhone 5. Applehas never chased anyone else’sstandards but their own. Everyonemay pack double digitmegapixels into their sensors,but Apple has always stuckto the “quality over quantity”mantra. The iPhone 5 is theprime example of that, comingwith a modest 8mp camera anda not-so-wide 33mm lens. TheiPhone 5 also has at its disposalthe most extensive suite of appsrelated to photography, be it forediting, sharing or even portfoliomanagement. If you wanta phone with a decent camerathat will get the job done thenthe iPhone 5 could be for you,provided you can afford it!So there you have it folks,the Nokia Lumia 1020 ourBest Performer, the SamsungGalaxy Zoom the Best Buy andthe Sony Xperia Z1 the Editor’sPick. However if you’re lookingfor cheaper alternatives to theseGREAT camera phones, domake sure to give the Lumia920 a serious thought. Even ifit is a bit old now, it still has alot to offer.78 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Wi-Fi routersThe spy gameTake a look at this article to know moreabout spies and their clandestine liveshttp://dgit.in/16uYqXVEA appoints new CEOEA veteran Andrew Wilson was appointed as the newCEO of Electronic Arts, replacing John Riccitiello.He’ll be paid an annual salary of $800,000RootinTootinRoutersSuper fast routers go head to head in thisshootout featuring both single and dualband routersMithun Mohandasreadersletters@thinkdigit.comPicking up an 802.11accertified routerwould have beenalmost impossiblelast year, given the rarity andprice of compatible devices.Things have changed thoughand 802.11ac can now be officiallylabelled as mainstream.There is a minor caveat though,most devices will probably bebased on the draft 802.11acspecifications. Nevertheless,the tech grapevine is rife withrumours regarding the next802.11ac capable mobile device,laptop and tablet.So what’s new?Well pretty much nothingactually. The current 802.11acdevices have scaled up a bitand maximum throughput iscurrently 600 Mbps on the2.4GHz band and 1300 Mbpson the 5 GHz band. If you’dhave paid any attention to thesefigures then having 600 Mbpson the 2.4 GHz should’ve stoodout since it was limited to 450Mbps till now. The increment isdue to a new modulation algorithm,256QAM (QuadratureAmplitude Modulation); currentlyonly Broadcom has thistechnology so you can expectBroadcom-to-Broadcom communicationto hit the 1900Mbps limit while all otherdevices will still be limited to1750 Mbps. Broadcom callsthis TurboQAM and we saw itin action in the ASUS PCE-A68that we used as a reference cardin our test.We also saw our first Dualcoreprocessor based router –ASUS RT-AC68U which has aBroadcom BCM4708A. Ratedat 1GHz, this processor is fasterthan that on a lot of the smartphoneswe have in the market.Let’s hope this doesn’t kick offan unnecessary CPU war inthis category though.InterfaceSomething that usually getsoverlooked is the firmwarethat routers ship with. Mostmanufacturers seem to bedeliberately restricting thefunctionality of lower-endrouters to push their higherendmodels. As long the routersupports custom firmwaresuch as Tomato or DD-WRTand others, you shouldn’t beworried about this. That beingsaid, installing the said customfirmware does require a fairamount of networking and programmingknowledge and itisn’t something that amateursshould take lightly.Of note here is ASUS, whichis doing something that wewish more manufacturerswould do, namely, releasingthe source-code to their firmware!This is a boon for geeksthe world over and somethingthat should translate toincreased sales consideringthe increased customisability80 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Dark Souls IINamco Bandai have officially confirmed thelaunch of its flagship Dark Souls II for NorthAmerica, Europe and JapanLaser communiquéDo you think it’s possible to communicatevia lasers? Find out more at the link belowhttp://dgit.in/1idGJ4zWi-Fi routersthat their routers offer. In fact,ASUS’s firmware in their midto high-end routers is based onopen-source firmware calledASUS-WRT.Coming back to the matterat hand, the routers that wereceived were quite featurerich.However, we’re prettysure that most people will noteven look beyond compatibilitywith their Internet connectionand the speed on offer. Especiallyfor such users, Belkinhas one of the most beginnerfriendly UIs we’ve seen so far.It’s like looking at one of thosetextbooks that you’d have inkindergarten. You simplycannot make a mistake.D-Link, ASUS, Netgear andTrendnet have interface thatare for those of you who canconfigure their own routersand don’t need the extra help.TP-LINK has maintained theage-old familiar interface andwe still appreciate the simplicityand comfort of havingall configurable options onthe left column. Navigatingthrough TP-LINK’s interfaceis the fastest since all changesmade are saved temporarilyand do not come into effectuntil you reboot the router.Most other manufacturershave a mini-reboot each timeyou modify any parameterand it can be quite painfulwhen you have to set up over20 routers in a day.Digisol has some good productsthat work wonderfullyand provide a stable bandwidthunder full load conditions,however, their interfaceon entry-level routers needsa lot of work. Since it’s anIndian brand very few opensourcevolunteers can get theirhands on these devices andhence the prospect of seeing anopen-source firmware on thesedevices is far-fetched.how we tested1. PreparationCreating an ideal test environmentin our office was near impossible,but we did our best to ensure aminimum of interference from outsidesources. We disabled as manyunnecessary routers as we couldand even the essential ones wereswitched to other channels. As areal world environment at least,we were all set.Each router was assembled andconnected to the Internet for firmwareupgrades if required. Certainrouters wouldn’t get past the QISscreen unless connected to anRJ11 jack and those we promptlydropped as we didn’t have a DSLline to spare. After upgrades, therouters were hooked up to a testrig for initial setup and individuallytested as required.To maintain a fair playing field,all routers were switched to mixedmode a/b/g/n/ac mode and openauthentication was used. Theserouters were not connected to theinternet during the testing phaseso as to avoid unnecessary lossin performance. Also the orientationof the router was adjusted toensure maximum signal strengthat both client locations.Two machines were used – Onewas connected using a CAT6 ethernetcable directly to the router’sLAN port while the other was connectedwirelessly at a fixed range.Each machine connected waspretty much top of the line withmore than enough read and writespeeds owing to 2x SSDs in a RAID0 configuration. Needless to saythere wouldn’t be any bottlenecksat these locations.Build qualityThey being routers, we didn’treally expect to see metallicbodies, especially on those withinternal antennae, but we didexpect some to see some robustMachine 1 (Client) Configuration:Processor: Intel Core i7 3770KMotherboard: ASRock Z77Extreme 4Primary drive: OCZ Vector 256 GBRAM: Kingston HyperX 2x4GB @2133 MHzEndpoint: ASUS PCE-AC68Endpoint: Trendnet TEW-805UBSMPS: Corsair RM650Cabinet: Cooler Master HAF-XMMachine 2 (Server) Configuration:Processor: Intel Core i7 4770KMotherboard: ASRock Z87Extreme 6Primary drive: Kingston HyperX2x120GB SSD in RAID 0RAM: ADATA 4x4GB @ 2333 MHzSMPS: Cooler Master 850W2. Endpoints:The endpoints used on the clientside was primarily the ASUS PCE-A68 owing to the ridiculous bandwidthit provided on all three channels.TurboQAM modulation wasenabled and the antennae wereadjusted according to the recommendedspecifications. In case theASUS PCIE WLAN card didn’t connectto a particular router then theTrendnet TEW-805UB was used.The Trendnet endpoint was usedat multiple locations to simultaneouslyfill up the router bandwidth.We made use of two TEW-805UBfor this purpose.3. Tools usedWe wished to ensure that the softwarethat we used could be usedby anyone reading the articleThe Tamosoft Throughput toolwas used to flood the router withplastic shells at the very least.In the latter department wewere a bit disappointed, withonly the Edimax BR-6478AC,Digisol DG-BR4000N\E andthe Netgear JNR3210 havingboth TCP and UDP traffic to figureout how the default QoS settingsworked. LST Speed Test and LSTServer were used to replicate thesame results. In Zone2 we faceda little problem regarding UDPtraffic, almost all packets weregetting dropped in Tamosoft and sowe used iperf to test TCP and UDPtraffic in Zone2. There was a littlehassle involved in the same giventhat Linux drivers for the ASUSPCE-A68 were yet to be released.Hence, we used the windowsdrivers encapsulated with thendiswrapper to test throughput.Needless to say, TCP bandwidthwas given greater weightage thanUDP bandwidth.WirelessMon was used tomonitor the Wi-Fi signal strength.Pinging the machines was done viathe command prompt.For file transfer tests wereperformed on both the 2.4GHzand 5GHz bands. A single 100MBfile and an assorted collection offiles totalling 100MB were usedat 2.4GHz; a single 1GB file andan assorted collection of filestotalling 1GB were used at 5GHz.For HD media streamingtests, we used a true 1080pmovie compressed to mkv andstreamed via VLC using TCP. Allplayback above 12500000bpson the client was considered astutter free experience.Performance testing waspurely objective in nature whilefeature scoring was subjectiveas always. The routers were,obviously, classified into singlebandand dual-band categoriesfor this test.a tough exterior and of heft tothem, (sigh).Almost all high-end routershad good build quality thoughand seemed capable of takinga few falls. The one issue hereDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 81

Wi-Fi routersnovember 2013 november 2013Dual Band RoutersBrand ASUS Belkin Belkin D-Link D-LinkModel no. RT-AC68U AC1200DB N600DB DIR-810L DIR-868LPrice in ` 18,000 14,999 6,499 3,799 11,999FeaturesTotal LAN ports / Gigabit 5 / 5 5 / 4 4 / 0 5 / 0 5 / 5portsAntennae(External/Internal)External Internal Internal Internal InternalNo. of Antennae 3 2 4 2 6Antenna gain (dBi) NA NA NA NA NATotal USB/ USB 3.0 2 / 1 2 / 0 1 / 0 0 / 0 1 / 1Data Rate (Mbps) 1900 1200 600 750 1750Wi-Fi Hardware Switch Y N N N NInbuilt ADSL2+ modem N N Y N NSurge Protection N N N N NMultiple SSIDs / Guest Y Y Y Y YParental / Access Y Y Y NA YControlsUPnP Y Y Y Y YVPN Support Y Y Y Y YPPPoE support Y Y Y Y YWPS Button Y Y Y Y YWarranty (years) 3 3 3 3 3DD-WRT/Tomato support Y N N N YDual CPU Y N N N NRange Extender (WDS) NA N N N NPerformance Tests Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2Throughput test (2.4 GHz) (mbps)TCP Down 66.15 44.3 25.21 19.8 21.57 14.6 34.82 13.1 60.83 45.2TCP UP 71.27 62.92 66.7 20.1 44.83 37.2 69.4 23.8 104.72 67UDP Down 116.12 9.84 11.97 9.93 21.5 7.21 42.05 4.11 103.53 10UDP Up 87.71 9.92 65.16 9.34 65.92 9.49 71.15 9.92 89.36 8.59Steaming HD video (megabits/second)12.69 13..90 10.91 11.94 11.03 12.06 12.56 10.09 13.53 12.88Signal Strength (dBi)35 47 49 53 61 66 44 61 46 54Ping (milliseconds)0 2 7 4 1 14 6 423 2 5File Tranfer Read and write time combined100MB assorted 24.91 44.14 44.48 73.98 51.08 85.45 33.7 18.83 34.46100MB sequential 21.38 34.02 43.13 63.86 51.14 82.4 32.63 16.34 29.5Throughput test (5 GHz) (mbps)TCP Down 144.49 187 139.73 53.3 63.32 14.4 74.72 83.9 131.63 157TCP UP 190.04 190 160.39 52.6 73.49 12.3 92.53 76.6 175.99 137UDP Down 731.64 10 503.66 10 43.68 11.2 95.33 10 694.73 13.8UDP Up 169.81 17.7 166.11 9.71 50.49 5.82 95.19 9.74 161.1 9.73Steaming HD video (bits/second)Star Trek bps 12.63 14.86 15.5 13.16 12.97 8.47 13.07 13.04 12.99 12.17Signal Strength (dBi)36 50 47 71 52 72 48 68 49 56Ping (milliseconds)0 18 4 0 2 4 5 0 130 143File Tranfer Read and write time combined1GB assorted 49.51 56.62 105.48 297.05 34.56 189.32 208.94 43.19 62.681GB sequential 30.12 53.69 77.49 257.98 30.67 185.43 198.65 35.48 56.3382 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Wi-Fi routersEdimax TP-LINK TP-LINK Trendnet TrendnetBR-6478AC TL-WDR4300 TL-WDR3600 TEW-812DRU TEW-811DRU13,500 8,999 6,999 15,550 7,7005 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 5 5External External External Internal Internal2 3 2 NA NA3 3 3 NA NA0 / 0 2 / 0 2/0 1/0 1/01200 750 600 1750 1200Y Y Y N NN N N N NN N N N NY Y Y Y YY Y Y Y YY Y Y Y YY Y Y Y YY Y Y Y YY Y Y Y Y3 3 3 3 3N Y Y N NN N N N NY Y Y Y YZone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 222.67 52.7 10.78 24.4 40.36 36.9 11.74 9.46 22.97 3.5485.57 67.3 29.66 33.4 40.32 30.3 61.2 33.9 50.3 2.7733.27 9.93 8.59 10 49.21 9.88 10.35 9.3 25.52 10107.22 10 156.95 10 195.92 10 82.94 10 56.03 1.7812.14 12.55 8.89 11.81 13.24 12.61 10.11 11.21 12.62 4.5453 54 59 60 49 52 61 72 59 63494 0 1 4 624 0 1 30 3 761.08 25.91 107.81 45.52 25.62 19.94 87.01 86.99 63.33 597.17107.88 24.06 100.15 42.41 24.2 22.6 76.59 171.26 61.77 462.45102.9 141 112.74 66.9 114.49 149 135.31 139 124.55 139145.85 116 54.79 31.5 32.44 32 160.88 109 156.33 116288.62 9.94 245.22 9.94 224 10 544.68 9.94 535.46 10141.42 10 116.77 10 122.3 10 156.49 9.94 145.65 1012.59 12.64 13.05 12.49 13.01 12.62 12.76 12.76 12.79 12.6950 59 60 77 48 60 49 59 42 560 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 9677.71 114.84 85.57 194 103.23 109.2 93.57 111.07 59.06 149.4963.17 105.33 81.7 176.5 100.45 101.5 63.81 83.14 53.32 79.26Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 83

Wi-Fi routersnovember 2013Single Band RoutersBrand ASUS ASUS Digisol Digisol DigisolModel no. RT-N12HP RT-N10E DG-BR4313NG DG-BR4000N\E DG-BG4100NPrice 4,500 1,300 2,300 1,300 2,000FeaturesTotal LAN ports/ Gigabitports5 / 0 5 / 0 5 / 0 5 / 0 4 / 0Antennae External External External External ExternalNo. of Antennae 2 1 2 1 1Antenna gain (dBi) 9 5 3 3 2Total USB/ USB 3.0 0 / 0 0 / 0 1 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0Data Rate (Mbps) 300 150 300 150 150Wi-Fi Hardware Switch N N Y N NInbuilt ADSL2+ modem N N N N YMultiple SSIDs / Guest N N N N YParental / Access Controls Y N Y Y YUPnP Y Y Y Y YVPN Support Y N N Y YPPPoE support N Y Y Y YWPS Button Y Y Y Y YWarranty (years) 3 3 5 5 5DD-WRT/Tomato support N N N N NRange Extender (WDS) Y Y N Y NPerformance Tests Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2Throughput test (2.4 GHz) (mbps)TCP Down 53.29 41.4 4.99 4.44 52.79 31.3 62.52 29.5 38.95 54.3TCP UP 88.94 64 7.79 34.4 69.76 39.6 72.59 17.3 50.34 48.7UDP Down 92.94 10 67.9 10 90.86 10 91.23 10 51.16 9.98UDP Up 95.08 10 3.61 10 66.11 9.21 67.84 10 46.39 10Steaming HD video (megabits/second)13.14 12.58 12.28 12.32 14.84 12.83 12.98 4.87 12.81 13.16Signal Strength (dBi)45 42 40 48 45 51 40 63 39 49Ping (milliseconds)505 1 95 4 50 27 8 566 7 0File Tranfer Read and write time combined100MB40.79 32.49 30.88 61.81 28.24 34.63 24.71 161.01 42.31 38.63assorted100MBsequential46.94 43.2 30.39 39.68 25.57 35.6 21.63 343.42 36.61 37.89was with the ASUS RT-N12HPwhich seemed to be lacking abit of thought in the design.That router featured ridiculouslylong and heavy antennae(9dBi), but the router wasn’tweighted to compensate forthe high centre of gravity andwe ended up tipping the routerover every time we wanted toadjust the antennae.Having external antennaeis a major factor when decidingon a router as you get thefreedom to orient them in thedirection you prefer. You canalso extend the antennae usingSMA connectors and even hideyour routers somewhere withantennae poking out at justthe right spots. Routers withinternal antennae are good iffor some reason, you’re consideringtheir aesthetical value.PerformanceAn improvement in throughputwas expected due to the acspecifications and most routersdidn’t disappoint though therewere a few that didn’t performas expected in Zone 1 as well asZone 2. There were some basicauthentication issues whenthe routers were set to openauthentication which is quitethe opposite of what shouldhave been. Regardless ofauthentication, most routers wetested didn’t have a steady rateof data streaming. The graphseemed to be on a roller coasterride with frequent spikes everynow and then. There were two84 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Wi-Fi routersnovember 2013Netgear Netgear TP-LINK TP-LINKJNR1010 JNR3210 TL-WR720N TD-W89681,951 5,037 1,499 3,0995 / 0 5 / 5 3 / 0 4External External Internal External1 2 NA 25 NA 5 50 / 0 1 / 1 0 / 0 1/0150 300 150 300Y Y N YN N N YY Y Y YY Y Y YY Y Y YN N Y YY Y Y YY Y Y Y2 2 3 3N N N NY Y Y YZone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 1 Zone 234.47 33.7 53.94 98.5 15.45 48 25.91 36.646.86 52.2 73.52 46.8 43.93 53.1 60.12 48.847.52 9.94 76.8 10 17.85 9.97 26.34 9.9440.25 10 64.5 10 59.36 10 95.57 9.7113.22 12.31 12.92 12.72 11.4 12.89 12.61 12.8745 56 46 47 48 49 45 4927 3 2 0 533 9 2 239.94 51.38 27.85 40.56 67.17 48.83 32.9 40.1338.62 43.98 29.44 33.45 54.78 41.55 34.12 54.78expensive router unless youhave 8-10 devices that reallyhog bandwidth. Do considerthe features on offer across thespectrum as well.Winners:Best performerASUS RT-AC68UAside from the obviousadvantage of being a dualband router, the RT-AC68U ispacked to the hilt with features.Thus, not only is it capable ofan insane throughput but isversatile enough to be adoptedinto different roles. The onlydownside is the price at whichit comes - `18,000. There arevery few people who’d need toinvest in this behemoth.Best Buy Single BandDigisol DG-BR4000N/EA Digisol router has madeit to the podium owing to astable throughput and a mixof features all put together atthe right price. The firmwaremight be a bit cumbersome todeal with but once it is setupproperly it works without anyissues. Overall, it was the priceto performance ratio that wonit the award.Best Buy Dual BandD-Link DIR-810LThis router is very discretewith its internal antennae.Great signal range and a goodfirmware secured this devicesBest Buy award.exceptions to this phenomenonthough, the D-Link BelkinAC1200DB and the D-LinkDIR-868L. The Tamosoftoutput of these two routersmaintained a steady gradientthroughout that particular test.The Belkin AC600DB on theother hand didn’t perform wellat all. We don’t know whetherto chalk it up to a messed upfirmware or the placement ofthe internal antennae but weweren’t expecting such results.The TP-LINK WR720N did getpast the threshold for HD videostreaming but it experiencedperiodic spikes which was alsoevident when we were pingingthe device, where it averaged533ms in Zone1. These spikesdid interfere with the HDstreaming in a not-so-subtlemanner. Digisol routers performedrather well whichdoes compensate for the lackof attention paid to the firmware.The ASUS RT-AC68Uturned out to have the highestthroughput of them all.The one thing that we cantake away from these tests isthat you really don’t need anEditor’s PickTP-LINK TD-W8968This router not only featuresgreat performance, but also agreat price as well. The Digisolrouter narrowly beat it to BestBuy, but this is one great routerand it gives you ADSL2+ support,8dBi antennae and a greatUI. An excellent choice foralmost any occasion.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 85

Desktop All-in-ones TestOrigin of MusicSo where do you think music came from? Opinionsmay differ, but see what this guy has to sayhttp://dgit.in/163hLCCCygnus GoneCygnus is a commercial freighter constructedfor the International Space Station. Whathappened to it? http://dgit.in/17fpaS9More thanjust PCsDesktop PCs are evolving thick andfast to do more than just stay relevant.We test and review 11 fancy all-in-onePCs from leading manufacturers tohelp you pick the right one.Jayesh Shindejayesh.shinde@thinkdigit.comWith the wholepost-PCrhetoric, onewonders ifany desktop formats are a lucrativebusiness anymore. You’dbe surprised to know that farfrom being consigned to thedoldrums of history, the PCcontinues to reinvent itself andfights on. Nowhere is this trendmore evident than among allin-onedesktops – sleek, sexyspecimens that are taking thedraconian desktop to unforeseenplaces that it once dreamtof in happier times. After a brieflull last year, we’re seeing a lot ofinteresting all-in-one desktopsin the market, especially fromHP and Lenovo, and they sentpretty much their entire productportfolio for us to test andreview in this feature – alongwith a lone candidate from Dell.We’ve been tracking the allin-onedesktop space keenlyover the past several years,with the firm opinion thatevery other manufacturer inthe space was trying to emulatethe Apple iMac’s magic.However, improving hardwarestandards and the growinginfluence of smartphone andtablets is reflecting on the allin-onedesktop space. Brands86 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Gadget DisruptionHTC seems to be overconfident about leavingits mark. Follow the link to find out morehttp://dgit.in/1a785u2Television OvertakeNetflix may be taking HBO for a ridewith respect to subscribershttp://dgit.in/1cX61mUDesktop All-in-ones TestHow wE teStedWhenever we receive any products for review,we take a lot of care to ensure they’re judgedon a level playing field. For this, we created ourown partition on their hard drives, installed ourown copy of the 64-bit version of Windows 8OS, ensure none of the key hardware driverswere missing, and of course perform a Windowsupdate once before proceeding with our systembenchmarks. The screens were kept at maximumbrightness and so was the audio volume.Finally, we disconnected the all-in-ones fromthe Internet or any other local network to keepthem completely isolated.BenchmarkingWe benchmarked the all-in-ones under HighPerformance mode (including other advancedsettings which prevent hard drive idling, sleep,system hibernation, etc., that keep the machinein an always-on state) in the Power Settingsof the Control Panel to ensure we stressedthe machines enough. We ran through a wholegamut of Futuremark benchmarks, includingPC Mark 8, 3D Mark, and Peacekeeper; not tomention Maxon’s Cinebench to test both thesystem’s CPU and GPU, respectively. All theseindustry standard benchmarks do a very goodjob of running standard scripts to gauge a system’sWeb browsing, photo and video editing,casual gaming, and multimedia capabilities. Wealso took a look at PixPerAn and Lagom.nl’stest parameters to ascertain the viewabilityaspects of the screen of all these all-in-onedesktops – parameters that included text readability,contrast, colour gradient, black level andwhite saturation.Real-world testing included browsing theWeb, watching movies and listening to music– which pretty much all machines in here arecapable of handling. We also watched high bitrateBlu-ray rips in MKV format to judge eachmachine’s HD movie playback and ran througha whole host of our audio test files to checkthe onboard sound quality at different volumelevels. On products that came with a discreteGPU, we tried some gaming as well, just to see ifthey could handle it. As always, we scored theseaspects of the products on a scale of 1 to 10.Feature listingAfter this the specs and features of every allin-onedesktop were listed and weighed. Wedidn’t assign points to core hardware components(since its impact is felt in our performancebenchmarks, anyway), but scored productsbased on aspects like the number of connectivityports, screen size, type of panel, whetherthey support touch-input or not, stereoscopic3D, active shutter 3D glasses, etc. We also consideredpreloaded software including backupand restore apps, cloud syncing tools, webcamsoftware, and any other uniquely interesting,non-bloatware programs as valuable additionsto the product. Ultimately, the more featuresprovided by a product the better, obviously, andthat’s exactly what we looked for.Build and designWhile design and appeal is a matter of immensepersonal taste and subjectivity, the choice ofcomponents and basic ergonomics, however,isn’t. Desktops that had metal stands or exterioras opposed to plastic were graded higher,so were products that had a flexible orientation(tilt forward, backwards, conceal its standto become a tablet, etc.) compared to rigid,unwholesome boxes. We also graded keyboardand mice here in terms of their overall usability.know that consumers’ tastes areevolving and improving – evenwhile picking AIOs – and anybrand that shortchanges themdoes so at their own risk, withthe danger of being droppedoff the customers’ radars permanently.The all-in-one desktopswe received this monthfor testing were all sleek andsexy in their own right, be itthe most inexpensive sub-`30kdesktop or a rather large 27-inchdesktop-tablet hybrid priced atover `1.3 lakhs.We’re glad to report thatalmost all AIOs now ship witha de facto wireless keyboard andmouse combo, keeping the cableclutter on your desk to a bareminimum. Also, one of yourtruly’s perpetual dreams to see“portable” AIOs (or is it moreappropriate to call them gianttablets?) featuring built-in batteriesis finally being realized.According to our scoring sheets,the bare minimum number offeatures available in any AIOsold now, compared to twoyears ago, has increased andimproved. We got more productsthan what we featured in thepages here, and over 90 per centof the products we tested wereall good and highly recommendable.That’s a huge improvementover 2011, the last time we didan all-in-one desktop comparison.The playing field wasmuch smaller at the time andthe quality of majority playersnot of the highest order.Below `50,000If you thought lower-pricedproducts are always inferiorto their higher-priced counterparts,you’ll be pleasantlysurprised to know that thismonth’s Best Performer – theHP Pavilion 21 – edges out therest of the competition quitecomfortably. The combinationof a good processor paired withvery good graphics running on a7200 rpm drive supported ablyby an adequate quantity of RAMis just too much for anyone tohandle. The fact that it outperformssome of its higher-pricedbrethrens (a la the two 23-inchHP AIOs) is a strong testamentto its unique build. What’s surprisingis that not only does thePavilion 21 kick every other PC’scollective derriere in terms ofraw, benchmark scores, it alsodoes a stellar job of passingour real-world tests with greataplomb – including stuff likewatching 1080p video, betterthan-averageonboard speakers,and a vibrant Full HD display.We even did some casualgaming on the thing, and youcan get by on most of the latestgames at medium settings. Itdoesn’t stop there; the machineis quite petite, compact andwell-built and its keyboard andmouse are great to work withas well. Having three years ofwarranty – which is the highesthere – is another thing going forthe HP Pavilion. Yes, it doesn’thave a touch-enabled screen(how often will you touch yourPC’s screen, seriously?) and itcan’t be used as a TV out-ofthe-box,but at its aggressiveprice, it more than justifies thepurchase if you’re looking for asolid, high-performing, spacesavingPC alternative for yourold and aging desktop.Coming to the next bestAIO in this price bracket, theLenovo IdeaCentre C340 isalso a very good machine,Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 87

Desktop All-in-ones Testnovember 2013november 2013Under Rs. 50,000Brand HP Lenovo Dell Lenovo HPModel 18-1106in IdeaCentre C340 Inspiron One 2020 IdeaCentre C440 HP Pavilion 21-a255inPrice (`) 28,990 38,490 45,090 47,490 48,990Warranty 3 yrs 2 yrs 1 yrs 2 yrs 3 yrsFeatures (of 30) 9.13 13.64 12.7 16.89 12.94Performance (of 50) 13.42 26.36 29.16 18.13 41.41Build and Usability (of 20) 6.64 9.83 9.14 10.17 8.28Overall (of 100) 29.19 49.83 50.99 45.19 62.62CPU AMD E1-1200 APU Intel Core i3-3220 Intel Core i3-3240T Intel Celeron G540T Intel Core i3-3240Number of cores 2 2 2 2 2Processor Speed (MHz) 1400 3300 2900 2100 3400RAM (GB) 2 2 4 2 4Graphics AMD Radeon HD 7300 Intel HD 2500 Intel HD Intel HD 2000 Intel HD 2500 / NVIDIAGeForce GT 720ADedicated Video Memory Size (in MB) 384 NA NA NA 1024HDD Size (GB) 500 500 1000 320 1000OS 64-bit Windows 8 64-bit Windows 8 64-bit Windows 8 64-bit Windows 8 64-bit Windows 8Media Center Remote N N N Y NScreen Size (Inches) 18.5 20 20 21.5 21.5Touchscreen? 0 0 1 1 0Type of Panel = is it IPS? 0 0 0 0 0Screen Resolution (Pixels) 1 4 4 5 5HDMI (in / out) 0 2 0 2 0TV (Cable) in + Composite? 0 0 0 1 0Built-in BATTERY? 0 0 0 0 0Stereoscopic 3D? 0 0 0 0 0No of Ports (USB 2.0) 4 6 5 4 4USB 3.0 (Y/N) 2 0 0 2 2Connectivity (LAN / Bluetooth / Wi-Fi) 3 3 3 3 3Built-in TV Tuner? 0 0 0 1 0Headphone/Mic (1/1) 2 2 2 2 2Wireless Keyboard & Mouse? 0 2 2 0 2SD Memory Card Reader (Y/N) 1 1 1 1 1Optical Drive (Y/N) 1 1 1 1 1Blu-ray? (Y/N) 0 0 0 0 0Inbuilt Webcam (Y/N) 1 1 1 1 1BenchmarkingPC Mark 8 (Home) 1155 2659 2156 1150 31243D Mark - Ice Storm 10478 24180 24540 8441 45605Cinebench R11.5 (Open GL) 6.77 9.12 9.49 4.52 28.47Cinebench R11.5 (CPU) 0.26 3.29 2.9 1.6 3.34PixPerAn Readability Test 11 9 10 9 12Lagom.nl - Contrast 6.5 8 7.5 9 9Lagom.nl - Gradient 8.5 9 9 6.5 6Lagom.nl - Black Level (out of 20) 18 17 15 18 17Lagom.nl - White Saturation (out of 12) 8 9 9 10 10Real World TestsSpeaker volume (at 50%) 3.5 3 3 6 4.5Speaker clarity (at 100%) 4 5.5 6.5 7 7.5HD video playback test (So 10) 1 8.5 9 7 9WinRAR (Compression / Decompression) 493 KB/s 3439 KB/s 3537 KB/s 1624 KB/s 3774 KB/sNOTE: The Lenovo IdeaCentre A730’s performance figures reflected here are exclusive of NVIDIA display drivers. Despite our best attempts, the machine only ran on Intel88 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Desktop All-in-ones Testnovember 2013november 2013Above Rs. 50,000HP HP Lenovo HP Lenovo LenovoPavilion TouchSmart23-f201inENVY Rove 20 IdeaCentre B540 ENVY 23-d200inTouchSmartIdeaCentre A73058,990 69,990 75,990 80,990 1,25,990 1,36,9903 yrs 1 yrs 3 yrs 3 yrs 3 yrs 3 yrs17.77 18.38 20.61 15.87 24.24 20.5339.54 18.46 33.26 34.86 35.87 38.517.76 11.03 10.52 7.76 13.62 11.3865.07 47.88 64.39 58.23 73.72 70.41IdeaCentre HorizonIntel Core i3-3240 Intel Core i3-4010U Intel Core i5-3330S Intel Core i5-3470S Intel Core i7-4700MQ Intel Core i7-3537U2 2 4 4 8 23400 1700 3033 3400 2400 31004 8 6 8 8 8Intel HD 2500 Intel HD NVIDIA GeForce 615 Nvidia GeForce 610M Intel HD 4600 / NVIDIAGeForce GT 740M1024 NA 2048 1024 NA 20481000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000Intel HD 4000 / NVIDIAGeForce 620M64-bit Windows 8 64-bit Windows 8 64-bit Windows 8 64-bit Windows 8 64-bit Windows 8 64-bit Windows 8N N Y N N N23 20 23 23 27 271 1 1 1 1 11 1 0 0 1 15 4 5 5 5 50 0 2 1 2 20 0 2 0 1 00 1 0 0 0 10 0 1 0 0 04 1 2 2 1 02 2 4 4 3 23 3 3 3 3 30 0 1 0 1 02 2 2 2 2 22 2 2 2 2 21 1 1 1 1 11 0 1 1 1 00 0 0 0 1 01 1 1 1 1 12656 1289 2531 2457 2722 281742916 11273 34696 32234 27387 4309326.95 5.05 16.69 15.4 9.73 26.883.36 0.86 4.66 5.25 5.07 2.8111 10 10 10 14 149.5 8 6 9 9.5 9.59.5 9.5 6 7 9.5 9.519 19 15 15 19 1811 10 8 10 11 106 2 1 7 3 37 5 4 8.5 5 69.5 7 9 9.5 9 93290 KB/s 1563 KB/s 4338 KB/s 4486 KB/s 6935 KB/s 3799 KB/schipset and onboard Intel HD 4600 graphics drivers.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 89

Desktop All-in-ones TestBye-Bye MacbookApple decded to discontinue its 15-inchMacbook Pro, so what did it leave behind?http://dgit.in/HeO8pdiOS 7 UpgradeThe new iOS 7 upgrade has some pretty distinctchanges. Does it fix the bugs in the first version?http://dgit.in/1cX7GJlnovember 2013Contact DetailsCompany Phone Email WebsiteDell India 1800 425 0088 india_care_con@dell.com www.dell.co.inHP India 1243886238www8.hp.com/in/en/contact-hp/contact.htmlwww8.hp.comLenovo IndiaPvt.Ltd1 800 3000 9990 customercare@lencare.co.in www.lenovo.comhardly putting a foot wrong. Itsports a contrasting design tothe HP Pavilion 21 – which hasa kick stand, only allowing it tolean backward – allowing itsdisplay to pivot about a hinge,not unlike an iMac. The C340’sthick aluminium stand is easilyamong the best built ones we’vecome across in this test, givingthe device great support andfreedom of movement. It’s availablein two colours – white andblack – and offers good overallperformance and a feature setthat doesn’t skimp on any of theessentials. What’s more, apartfrom an HDMI-in port, the C340sports a matte display that’sgreat for watching movies too.Little things like the presence ofa Rupee symbol on its keyboard(which is great to type on, by theway), and a robust set of proprietarysoftware (Lenovo VantageTechnologies) including a ratherhelpful Education Portal toolmakes it a well thought outproduct for a consumer on abudget, looking for a stylish,november 2013no-nonsense AIO that does itsjob well.Comparing this to the DellInspiron One 2020, a device thatis very close to the IdeaCentreC340 in terms of overall performanceand features, we seethat the Dell Inspiron One 2020loses out on build and designpoints. Plus, the fact that theInsipiron comes with a touchscreensends its cost spirallingout of control.It’s the same story withLenovo’s IdeaCentre C440which also features a touchscreendisplay (with Full HDsupport) and a built-in TV tunercard and media center remote.While the C440 has that uniqueTV-cum-PC thing going for it,its hardware and performancedoesn’t keep up with the 2020or C440; it’s even priced higherthan the latter.The choice couldn’t be simpler.Consider the Lenovo Idea-Centre C440 for its TV-cum-PCfunctionality, with a touch-enabledscreen and all other designcharacteristics, if that’s whatyou’re looking for. If you wanta touch-enabled AIO with significantlybetter overall performancethan the Lenovo C440,then check out the Dell InspironOne 2020. If you don’t give ahoot about either touchscreendisplays or out-of-the-box TVfunctionality, and desire a wellperforming, sleek AIO desktopon a tight budget then look nofurther than the Lenovo Idea-Centre C340. It’s our Best Buyrecommendation – all thingsconsidered, a well deserved win.We know that having highexpectations from the cheapestAIO in the comparison is askinga bit too much, but that doesn’tabsolve the HP 18-1106in of itspoor showing. It had the lowestperformance, had the fewest features,and failed to be anythingmore than a dull plastic box. TheHP 18 couldn’t play HD moviesand it felt sluggish even whileloading regular apps, not tomention the disappointing multitasking.On this evidence, it’shard to recommend the machineeven if you’re looking to buy oneunder `30k. In the absence ofcandidates from Lenovo andothers, we advise you to spenda little extra and consider someof the other machines we mentionedearlier in this category.Above `50,000The higher end of the AIOmarket always promised tohave some interesting, innovativeand drop-dead gorgeousproducts on offer. And weweren’t disappointed.The HP Pavilion TouchSmart23-f201in bags our Best Buy forthe category and for good reason.It takes some of the best thingsoffered by the HP Pavilion21 (our Best Performer) andtakes it to a whole new level,also incorporating features itscheaper sibling skips. The HPPavilion Touchsmart 23 has agorgeous 23-inch, Full HD IPSLED display that makes moviewatching a very good experience– given the device’s decentonboard speakers. Five-finger,multitouch gestures helps youmake the most of Windows 8. Interms of features, it packs in everythingexcept an HDMI portand TV mode, but it more than90 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Naked SurfaceAfter the arguable success of its precursor, we’re sureyou want to see what’s beneath the surface of Microsoft’sSurface 2 Pro. http://dgit.in/1gEOQvmBrand.a.gramCan brands usng Instagram as a propagandictool? You’ll be surprised. Read into it:http://dgit.in/brandagDesktop All-in-ones Testcompensates for it with exquisitebuild quality, design andoverall performance. A 720pwebcam allows for better videochats and the 3-year warrantyjust safeguards your investmentsubstantially. Like the HPPavilion 21, this is one of the fewmachines out there on whichyou can indulge in a bit of casualgaming (with modern games atmedium settings) without beingdisappointed. Overall, it’s a verygood AIO at the price.The HP ENVY 23-d200inTouchsmart and Lenovo’s Idea-Centre B540 are very similarproducts in terms of featuresand performance. Both look well-built and designed, with the HPoffering the better glamour quotientthanks to its svelte figure.While the Lenovo B540 comeswith an out-of-the-box TV functionality(complete with a mediacentre remote) and an NVIDIAgraphics chipset that supportsstereoscopic 3D visuals, the HPENVY 23 AIO comes with BeatsAudio and a 10-finger multitouchinput LED IPS display.Wait, the Lenovo B540 offers amultitouch enabled displayscreen, too. Actually, if you scanthrough the mag table, you’d behard pressed to find any majordifferences between the twoproducts. The Beats Audio functionalityis definitely a feather inthe HP ENVY 23’s cap, whereasthe all-encompassing, all-inclusivefeatures of the B540 – not tomention the two 3D glasses thatare bundled with it, and acceptable3D performance – take ithigh on the lists of 3D enthusiastswho don’t want to invest inan expensive 3D TV.In fact, the Lenovo IdeaCentreB540 pips the HP ENVY 23 interms of overall performanceand also comes with a betterset of proprietary software, notto mention its unrivalled twoin-oneappeal. To top it off, iteven sells for a lower price. Forall these reasons, awarding theLenovo Ideacentre B540 the Editor’sPick award was the easiestdecision we ever made.The HP Rove 20 is a mobileAIO – that’s right, it comes witha built-in battery. It’s a wellbuiltdevice and isn’t unlike avery large Windows 8 tabletthat has good overall specs,decent performance andgives you the best of bothworlds – a fully functionalWindows desktopPC (with wireless keyboardand mouse) anda very efficient (albeitlarge) Windows 8november 2013Lenovo IdeaCentre HorizonThere’s a reason why we’rekeeping this machine separatefrom the main narrative and that’sbecause it’s not aimed at themasses, something we’ve neverseen before. While it comes witha wireless keyboard and mouse,this is a 27-inch table-top AIO PCwith a kickback stand. However,since it’s also a massive tablet,supporting 10-finger multitouchinput, Lenovo also sells a standwith wheels (for an additional`15k) that lets you use the Horizonas a touch-enabled table that youcan take around the room. It’stablet. Its built-in battery lastsjust under 2 hours (in our highperformance battery test), andit’ll only last longer in a conservativebattery mode – which isn’tbad given its large screen. Poweredby Beats Audio and an IPSdisplay, watching movies andlistening to audio is a pleasantexperience. This is definitelyworth considering if you havethe appetite for it.This leaves us with theLenovo IdeaCentre A730,an uber cool, premium,Apple iMac-esque AIOwith quite stunningbuild and design. Despitesporting a unibody-esque aluminiumcase, with the “slimmest”27-inch multi-touchenabled screen (whateverthat means), the A730 haspowered by an Intel Haswell chipand NVIDIA graphics, very goodhardware building blocks, not tomention a battery that caouldactually power this beast for twohours in our battery test. You cantake it around on the bed or sofa,play games on it, or just keep itas a massive photo frame in theliving room – and watch visitors’jaw drop in admiration. Eventually,machines like the Horizon willbecome more affordable and ifthis is the future of all modernAIOs then it looks like a brightone indeed.full 90-degree tilt capability,allowing it to be used as a regulardesktop or touch-enabledflat table-top PC. It has an enviablefeature set, including theonly Blu-ray reader we saw inthe comparison and a quad-coreHaswell chip complemented bythe latest NVIDIA graphics. Onpaper, this is the best speccedAIO in the comparison, butour review sample only ranat 60-65% of its performancecapacity due to an NVIDIAdriver glitch that we justcouldn’t iron out; but keepingthat unfortunate bit aside, it’sa machine that you absolutelymust consider if you’re in themarket for an Apple iMaclookalike with top-of-the-linehardware, great feature set andjust a unique user experience.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 91

INSIDEBazaarThe latest productsreviewed For youThe Digit Test Centre receives hundreds of productsevery month. Each of these products is put througha series of tests and is finally given a score. Thefinal score is arrived at after considering a numberof factors and evaluating them in terms of features,performance, value for money, build quality, and, inthe case of software, even ease of use.Want toexperienceAugmentedreality?If you have an iOS or Android device,you can make some of the reviews inthis Bazaar section come alive.Step 1: Install “Zoop” (from the GooglePlay Store or Apple App Store)Step 2: Look for images that have theZoop tag and scan them using the Zoopapp (example below).For better understanding of our ratings, here’s aquick guide to our overall score10 to 3031to5051 to 7071 to 9091 to 100Extremely poor product.Keep away!Strictly OK.Not recommendedDecent product.Go for it, but there may be better products out there.Very good product.Highly recommended.Ground-breaking product.We’ve never seen anything like it before.A definite must buy!Step 3: Enjoy an augmented reality Digitlike never beforeRemember to send feedback aboutthis initiative to editor@thinkdigit.comPLUS94 | ASUS RP-N53 Range Extender95 | Logitech Ultimate Ears 90095 | Ricoh GR96 | Cooler Master 690 III97 | LG G298 | Blackberry 972098 | Kaspersky Internet Security 201499 | Sony Xperia Z199 | Zebronics Gladiator100 | SanDisk Extreme II 240GB100 | WD Black 4TB WD4001FAEX&MORE...92 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Fitness WatchAdidas hops onto the fitness watch bandwagon.After seeing Nike’s Fuelband SE... Say hello tothe MiCoach Smart Run. http://dgit.in/16PH8sfM.O.J.O, BabyMad Catz is getting ready to launch its newAndroid gaming microconsole in December.Groovy, baby! http://dgit.in/16hrGS1BazaarHP Slate 21Android on this “PC” feels quite good. Nay, very good.While the design and the form factor ispretty much the standard AIO stuff,there are little elements here and therethat make you sit up and take noticeof the HP Slate 21. Plastic throughout, but it doesn’tlook or feel cheap. Very well put together as well,and that makes all the difference. Not a glossy finishby any means, but there is the slight enamel lookthat lends it that little bit of shine. The same colourtheme extends throughout.The kickstand is rather well built, with thesolidity and tautness of the hinge ensuring thatthe fairly heavy machine remains at exactly theangle you leave it at. The stand allows the screen totilt back a fair amount as well.The 21.5-inch screen has an IPS panel, witha Full HD resolution, with multi-touch supportcomplete with gestures. The panel itself is nativelybright, with good contrast levels that make thismachine excellent for watching movies on. Textreadability is brilliant, with very crisp writtenword on the screen, be it a document or a webbrowser. The Full HD resolution on a 21.5-inchscreen size means there is a lot of real estate foryou to work with. The web pages can be resizedto nicely fill the width of the display, enhancingreadability. Touchscreen works smoothly, addinganother way to interact with the product. Also fora display this big, it understands gestures well.While it may be Android on a touchscreen,using it with a keyboard (and mouse) is madesimple by HP – especially the keyboard, which’scustomized to work with Android, fitted withHome, Back, and other buttons. The travel isgood, key size is perfect and the spacing is adequate,but this is where a problem creeps in. Thekeyboard is noisy, creating a ruccus while typing.Since this is a USB keyboard, you can certainlyswap it with a quieter one, if you don’t want toupset the house cat.The Tegra 4 powering this machine is fasterthan most tablets and smartphones, but not quitein the league of Intel’s Core chipset. Benchmarkscores were blistering fast, which also included the3D Mark - Ice Storm graphics benchmark actuallygiving up, “this benchmark is too light for yourmachine”. From an Android perspective, all thesystem benchmarks gave out the best scores wehave registered. Benchmarks aside, the real worldperformance is what matters, and the Slate 21 isa delight. While goingabout the daily tasks onthe Slate 21, you will hardly feel anyslowdown. To see how well it holds up across, wetested the machine with various usage scenarios.First, we had a spreadsheet open, half a dozen tabsin the browser, Google Docs in the dedicated appand still, apps opened without any stutter. Second,we let all these apps remain open in the background,and opened a Full HD movie rip via VLCmedia player, and skipping through the timelinewas smooth as knifing through butter.One thing is certain, if and when HP does blessthe Slate 21 with the Android 4.3 update (currentlycycling through various Android 4.2 versions),the performance will only improve becauseof the wider TRIM support that’ll enable betterstorage performance.While we are no doubt impressed with thisproduct, don’t look at it as a full-fledged Windowsdesktop replacement. Yes, Android as a fullfledgeddesktop OS is quite restrictive at times,but it copes very well on a larger form factor, andthe product’s looks, build and performance aredefinitely heartening. The only niggle we find withthis machine is that there is just 8GB of internalstorage – but a memory card or a USB drive cancompensate for that with ease. It’s a great option toconsider for a non-Windows, basic, space-savingtouchscreen AIO. Buy this if you need an affordableyet innovative desktop based on Android.Vishal MathurPrice29,99085Features......................... 80Performance................. 85Build................................ 90Value............................... 85SpecificationsProcessor: NVIDIA TegraQuad-Core T40S; RAM: 1GB;Graphics: ULP GeForce;Display: 21.5-inch IPS(1920 x 1080 pixel) withtouchscreen; Storage: 8GB+ expandable memory;Connectivity: 1 USB forexternal drive, 2 USB forkeyboard + mouse, micro SD,3.5mm jack; OS: Android 4.3(Jelly Bean)ContactHP IndiaPhone: 1243886238Website:.hp.com/inDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 93

BazaarFor Relaxing GamersGaming isn’t just for the hardcore fraggers andheadstrong action-oriented Gamers, anymore.Check these out: http://dgit.in/GS2evUNot a “Guitar” Guitar!Gittler’s guitar is a baseless titaniumbeauty. Shiny, sleek and completely sizezero! http://dgit.in/1cwmpKSASUS RP-N53Range ExtenderWhen the default range just doesn’t cut it.Range extenders aren’ta common purchasesince most people aretricked into buyingbigger and more powerfulrouters which have high-gainantennae. However, they arethe economical choice giventhat most high poweredrouters tend to cost a lot more.Visually, this product hasdeviated from ASUS’usual colour schemeof black body coupledwith blue LEDs.Instead it has a whitebody with a mild whitelight at the back and blueLED indicators on the front.The pattern on the front is thesame as seen in most ASUSproducts, the very peculiaraward winning design which ithas carried forth since 2010 onalmost every router and USBadapter. The lights on the frontand the back can be custom-77Features.....................................78Performance.............................83Build Quality.............................81Value for Money.......................65Specifications802.11 a/b/g/n; 2.4GHz/5GHz; 4.5 x 3.1x 8.5 cm; 300 Mbps Uplink; 300 MbpsDownlink; Ethernet port; 3.5mmAudio portContactASUS Technology Pvt. LtdPhone: +91 22 6766 8800 /18002090365Email: reachus@asus.comWebsite: www.asus.inPrice6,649(Tentative)ised to turn on/off with asimple tap on the front.Like most extenders eventhis one can be used as anExtender or as an Access point.The WPS button can be used toconnect the extender to a routerthat supports WPS, unfortunately,the same does not applyto devices which want to connectto the extender via WPS.And talking about the range,it did a pretty good job giventhat we could still connect tothe extender from roughly 70feet away and run a completerun on Speedtest.net. Also, ifyour router is transmitting ona single band then the extendercan extend the same on both2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.A feature that was new tothis particular model was the3.5mm jack that it had whichcan be hooked up to yourspeakers and you can streammusic using the AiPlayer appwhich is available for bothAndroid and iOS. Or youcould simply select one of theinternet radio streams featuredon the device.Mithun MohandasZebronicsTabmateSmall wonderThe Tabmate Bluetoothkeyboard from Zebronicscaters to the portability andproductivity demands ofthe tablet generation. It’sextremely slim, and probablythe slimmest keyboard we’vereviewed. The Tabmate has astainless steel brushed backwith an in-built, rechargeableLithium-Ion battery. Thebattery takes about five hoursto charge and the keyboarduses a standard Micro USBcable for charging includedwithin the pack. The keyboardcomes with different functionkeys that work with both iOSand Android, and they doubleup as multimedia combos aswell. With a decent wirelessrange and good tactile keys,the Tabmate is a nice optionto consider for a feature-rich,portable keyboard.79Price1,350Features.....................................79Build Quality.............................81Value for money.......................77SpecificationsKey Type: Membrane keys;Compatibility: PC, Mac, Android,iOS; Bluetooth Version: 3.0;Dimensions: 206.5 x 81.7 x 12.1 mm;Weight: 220 grams; Warranty: 1 yearContactTop Notch Infotronix India pvtltd(Zebronics)Phone: 044-40000007Email: enquiry@zebronics.infoWebsite: www.zebronics.comRapoo 3920pExpensive wireless mouseFor those who don’t like touse the laptop touchpad,here’s a worthy wirelessmouse to consider. The 3920pfrom Rapoo is like any otherwireless mouse but it has anice glossy finish on its curvybody. The 3920p has a rubbercoating along both its sidesfor added grip. Its laser sensorworks well and the overallmouse tracking is good.We also liked the addition ofa DPI switch on the mouse thatallows you to switch between880 and 1650 DPI on-the-fly.Other features include a scrollwheel with tilt support andside buttons for back and forwardoperations. At `3,349 the3920p is expensive, consideringyou may get somethingsimilar at a cheaper price.Worth considering if you get itfor a less though.66Price3,349Features.....................................75Build Quality.............................73Value for money.......................50SpecificationsRequirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win7/Win8, USB port; Connectivity:5GHz wireless; Battery type: 2 x AAbatteries (included); Warranty: 2 yrsContactRapoo Technologies LtdPhone: +919899994802Email: sunil.srivastava@rapoo.comWebsite: www.rapoo.com94 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

4K or No-K?Does GoPro Hero 3+ overcome the flaws of it’ssuccessor? Or does it fall short of the greatGoPro name? http://dgit.in/199MduVZombies don’t scare usCracked discusses why we need to stop pretending thatZombies are scary and how the Zombie Apocalypse ishighly unlikely. http://dgit.in/15OUJz0BazaarLogitech UE900Premium in-ear noise isolation that will appeal to the fanatics83Features......................... 90Performance................. 90Build................................ 85Value............................... 65SpecificationsEarphone Type: In-ear;Driver: ProprietaryArmatures x 4; Frequency:20Hz - 20KHz; Connectivity:3.5mm; Cable length: 1.2mContactLogitech IndiaPhone: 1800 600 1133There are times when it becomes difficultto justify or recommend expensiveearphones, especially in the performanceand the value for money aspect. However,the Logitech Ultimate Ears 900 doesn’tsuffer from this problem one bit. One ofthe many Ultimate Ears products thatthe company has launched recently, theUE900 falls in the in-ear monitorscategory, meant for the audiophile.But even then, the factthat these pack in fourbalanced armaturedrivers, just goes on tojustify the price tag. These are meant to sit snuglyin the ear canal, with the cable twisting over andbehind the ear. The package includes one bluecable, with the in-line call handling controls for theiPhone, and also a replacement black coloured one,but without the controls. The package also includeseight different size ear cushions – five silicone andPrice34,995three foam. While they’re very comfortable, thefoam cushions tend to tear apart easily, if you aren’tinstalling them carefully.If you are willing to put down so much cashfor these earphones, you’ll be delighted by theperformance. Not a surprise then that the quaddriverearphones have a rather widesoundstage and the soundis quite well balanced.The use of dual-woofersdon’t make the UE900’suncomfortably bass heavy,unlike certain Sony XBA earphones.Vocals are very nicelyhandled for most songs, except for “Live” recordings.All in all, you will pay a lot of money for theUE900. And once you do, this will be anotherfeather in your richness cap. Because the soundyou get from this will spoil you. And anythinglesser will be unacceptable.Vishal MathurRicoh GRA point and shoot from a different leagueAn enthusiast point and shoot camera,the Ricoh GR has a 16 megapixel APS-Csensor and a 28mm f/2.8 bright lens.Other impressive features include a builtintwo stop ND filter, a 10MP 35mm crop mode anda 1.2 million dot 3-inch screen.Using the Ricoh GR is incredibly easy. If you’rea professional photographer who’s used to thevarious dials and buttons (that can havefeatures mapped to them), then you willlove the GR’s extensive suiteof controls built onto theback. Speaking of build,the Ricoh GR is made ofsolid magnesium alloy, thesame stuff real professionalDSLRs are madeof, so don’t think of thiscamera as a weakling. Areally neat feature that itborrows from the high endPrice52,990DSLRs is the mode dial lock, something seeminglyvery small, but with massive benefits.We shot with the Ricoh GR quite a lot,including a popular music festival in Delhiand boy were we impressed! The Ricoh GR isextremely quick to respond, locking focus incrediblyfast even in low light. The fast aperturecombined with the large sensor produces not justgreat bokeh, but also helps keep the noise atbay when shooting at high ISO. Video quality’sgood, but the camera doesn’t allowyou any exposure controlwhile shooting nor anexternal mic port.Video limitations notwithstanding,the camera’simage quality’s admirable.And its menu systemwould definitely appeal tothe tinkering types.Swapnil Mathur80Features......................... 80Performance................. 85Design............................. 85Value............................... 70SpecificationsSensor: 16 MegapixelsAPS-C; Lens: 18mm f/2.8 GRLens; Video: 1920x1080 at30, 25, 24 fpsContactRicoh India LimitedPhone: 011-49103000/100/200Email: ril.info@ricoh.co.inDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 95

BazaarTouch laptops under `40kWe help you identify the best budget Windows8 touchscreen laptops under Rs.40,000 andshare some tips as well. http://dgit.in/1a2iLpCDungeon Keeper outEA has released its new highly appealinggame called Dungeon Keeper fordownload on Android devicesCooler Master 690 IIIA great case revisitedWhen you takea look backat the historyof computercases, you’re sure to findthe 690 series from CoolerMaster involved in takingthe design and featuresaspect of cases forward.The 690 III is the thirdversion of the original andit has the same curvedmetal-mesh design withshiny accents along thesides. There is nothingmuch that has changedwith the exterior designof the case but everythinglooks much more refined.The entire construction of thechassis feels strong and thequality of the parts used inmaking the case is top-notch.The top of the case featuresa slide to cover panel thatreveals a small area to keep75Features.....................................86Performance.............................78Build Quality.............................75Value for money.......................60SpecificationsDimension: 230(W) x 507(H) x 502(D)mm; Motherboard Support: ATX,mATX; Expansion Slots: 7+1; FormFactor: Mid-tower; Drive Bays: (x3)5.25”, (x7) 3.5”/2.5”; Cooling: Front1x200mm, Rear 1x120mm; Front I/O:(x2) USB 3.0, (x2) USB 2.0, Audio jacks;Weight: 8.7 Kg; Warranty: 2 yearsContactCooler Master Co. Ltd.Phone: 9820207871Email: sanket_naik@coolermaster.com.twWebsite: www.coolermaster.inPrice7,500your belongingslike flash drives andstuff. This area will be helpfulfor those who frequent LANparties. The ports and buttonson the case can also be coveredusing this plastic panel. We’vealways liked computer casesthat have stands which raisethe height of the case fromthe ground to some extentand the 690 III takes care ofthat. These stands keep a goodgap between the floor and thechassis so that your PSU fanhas enough breathing space.Though the 690 III is only amid-tower, opening it you’llnotice that it still has a lot ofspace inside. The motherboardarea has a big enough cut-outfor the CPU bracket whichwould help system buildersto easily install a new CPUcooler backplates withouttaking the whole motherboardout. Cooler Master hasimplemented a new design forthe drive bays making eachdrive caddie a convertible thatcan be adjusted to accommodateeither a 3.5” drive ora 2.5” drive. Apart from theseven regular 2.5” drivebay areas, you can installthree more in hiddenareas such as behind themotherboard tray, belowthe optical drive bay andone at the bottom. Beinga spacious mid-tower,the 690 III has a ton ofwater cooling supportwith space for installing a240mm radiator at the topand the front. A 120mmradiator can be installedat the back as well. Cablemanagement is taken careof with the inclusion ofstrategically placed cutouts.Since the 690 III unit wereceived for the test was a preproductionsample, it didn’tcome with rubber grommetsfor the cable managementcut-outs like the retail unit.Each cutout is big enough toroute even the most thickestof cables. CM has provided agood amount of space at theback of the motherboard trayand the cables routed throughthe back never look cramped.The performance of the 690III in terms of temperaturewas good. At an ambientroom temperature of 28ºCthe internal case idle and loadtemperature was 41ºC and45ºC respectively. With dustfilters attached everywhereinside the case, the mesheddesign of the 690 III is not alowdown in any sense. In fact,this meshed design allowsfor more airflow. At `7500,we feel that the 690 III is onthe expensive side and CoolerMaster could have thrown ina couple of more fans with thecase to justify the price.Siddhant SharmaTP-LINKTL-WN823NWireless NUSB AdapterMini in size and speedPrice1,099This thing is miniscule andhas a glossy texture, with aWPS button on its underside.It’s not a wonder that they’vemanaged to squeeze in a Wi-Fidevice and a USB controllerin such a small space sincesmartphones have been doingit for quite some time. Whileit may have 300Mbps capablecircuitry on the inside it couldonly manage 54.81 and 46.86Mpbs on the uplink and downlink,respectively, at a distanceof 20 feet from the router.Since not many people in Indiahave access to a 6 MBps linethat could saturate this device,the TL-WN823N is more thancapable of handling youraverage load.71Features.....................................40Performance.............................73Build Quality.............................83Value for Money.......................86Specifications39x18.32x7.87mm; WPS; 802.11 b/g/n;USB 2; Internal antennae; Warranty:3 yearsContactTP-LINK India Private LimitedPhone: 1800 209 4168www.tp-link.insales.in@tp-link.com96 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

GTA V reaches 3mn salesGrand Theft Auto V continues to break retailrecords, reaching 3 million UK sales - fasterthan any game before itLG G2Finally, a phone from LG that impresses. A lot.Arkham Origins GameplayAs the release date grows closer, batfanaticsgrow more fanatic. Watch some of thegameplay at: http://dgit.in/1b7lGOqBazaarStraight out of its retailpackaging, the G2’sdesign tone makes itlook very similar to theSamsung Galaxy S4. Not that itis a bad thing, but LG has madethat even better with the literallynon-existent bezel on the left andthe right side of the screen. Thefootprint is relatively the same asthe Galaxy S4, Despite a 5.2-inchscreen, the G2 is not much biggerthan the Nexus 4, and puts thelikes of the Sony Xperia Z1 toshame. Additionally, taking a cuefrom Sony’s new UI, LG has alsomoved the actions like Return,Home and Options into the onscreenUI itself, taking away theneed for the touch sensitive keysbelow the screen.Flip the G2 over, and you will find the volumerocker and the power key on the back panel, justbelow the camera. This looks different, but admittedly,takes some getting used to as well. Nothingthat is insurmountable, but takes some gettingused to. We received the white coloured versionof the G2 for review. The back has a nice imprinton it, something like what a fiberglass materialhas. However, that doesn’t mean much in terms ofusability, because the plain finish tends to be slipperyat times. The enamel colour finish looks good,at least in the white. It is a tad disappointing thatLG has used all plastic on the G2, but it is of goodquality nevertheless.For some number crunching, the 5.2-inch screenon the G2 has a 424ppi, while the 5-inch screen onthe Galaxy S4 has 441ppi. However, the differenceisn’t at all noticeable; in fact on the contrary, theG2’s display looks crisper and colours look a lotmore realistic. This fantastic display handles HDmedia playback very well. Like most phones, thereare reflective tendencies as well, but IPS affordsbetter viewing angles from the sides as well as outdoors.Among the recent crop of Android phones– the Galaxy S4, the HTC One, the Xperia Z1, thisdisplay is by far the best in all regards.Packed with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800processor and Adreno 330 graphics, the G2 hasmore than enough power on tap, comparabledirectly with the Sony Xperia Z1,which has the same processor.Beyond the benchmarks is thereal world performance, whichsurely most of us are more botheredabout. Like the other deviceson Snapdragon 800 and 2GB ofRAM, the G2’s performanceis excellent. Apps openPrice41,500(16GB)snappily, the interfaceis smooth and noamount of backgroundapp load slows it down.However, like the otherphones running Snapdragon 800,the LG G2 also tends to heat upconsiderably when loaded. Play agame on this for 10 minutes, andthe warm back panel is more thanjust uncomfortable.For the 3000mAh batterypacked in, the LG G2 is compensating for thescorching processor that it packs in. In terms ofbattery, we got almost two working days out of asingle charge, when used as a primary phone. Thebrightness was set at 20% but the rest of the load –3G constant, mails and SN syncing, IM chats and2 hours a day of voice calls – drains most phonesin a few hours. The Xperia Z1, with the biggerbattery had impressed us, and the G2 continueson the same path.While a 13MP camera is pretty much standardfare, what is not is the Optical Image Stabilizationthat LG has packed into this clicker. From what wesaw with the test results, the camera is fairly decentin good light conditions, but it earns its keep andjustifies the price tag when taking low light shots –where focusing does take a bit of time. Overall, thiscamera is fairly good for what it promises, with therevelation being its low light photography.There is absolutely no doubt that LG has madean exceptional smartphone. And for once, an LGflagship is right up there with the rivals in termsof the overall package, and for some buyers, it mayeven be better. Its display is by far the best one onflagships at the moment. Battery life is very good,camera does the job well and the performance isbreezy. LG loyalists will hop on, and so shouldpeople sick of rival flagships. Worth every Rupee.Vishal Mathur85Features......................... 90Performance................. 90Build................................ 80Value............................... 80SpecificationsProcessor: QualcommSnapdragon 800 quadcore @ 2.2GHz; RAM: 2GB;Graphics: Adreno 330;Display: 5.2-inch IPS+ LCD(1920 x 1080 pixels); Storage:16GB / 32GB; Battery:3000mAh; OS: Android 4.2ContactLG IndiaPhone: 1800 180 9999Email: http://www.lg.com/in/support/productenquiryDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 97

BazaarKeep Catchin’ Em14 years of the Pokémon gets AndrewCunningham thinking about his glory days as anew teenage gamer. http://dgit.in/1b7nLd8Black as an AngelLong-lost short film rises from anunknown grave of film cans. Geeks, payattention. http://dgit.in/1b7oz1CBlackBerry 9720Rocks OS 7.1, and a price that wouldappeal to the BlackBerry loyalist.BlackBerry has beenclarifying time andagain that with BB10around, the reportsof OS 7’s demise have beengreatly exaggerated. With thenew 9720, BlackBerryis back to appealingto the “BlackBerryBoys” crowd.The phone’sdesign cues havebeen taken from the previousgeneration of Curve phones,so much so that you willbe hard pressed to actuallyidentify any difference fromafar. The only real differenceis the straight-line keyboardwith flatter keys, instead of thecurves and angles of the previousgen. Below the screen sitthe traditional bunch of keys– call connect/disconnect, theoptical trackpad, Menu andReturn. The battery cover hasa nice soft finish to it, which63Features.....................................50Performance.............................60Build............................................70Value...........................................70SpecificationsProcessor: Tavor MG1 single core806MHz; RAM: 512MB; Display:2.8-inch IPS touchscreen (480 x 360pixels); Storage: microSD; Battery:1450; OS: BlackBerry OS 7.1ContactBlackBerry IndiaPhone: N.A.Support: https://consumersupport.webapps.blackberry.com/support/form/contact_in/Price15,990immensely helps with thegrip. The white colour finishhas a nice design, which feelsgood in the hand.It may just be a 2.8-inchreal estate, but the IPS screenhas brilliant colour reproduction,is bright and textreadability is very good. Theonly niggle is that visibility inbright sunlight isn’t as good.The OS 7.1 UI is very wellknown, and that remains asis. The highlight still remainsthe mail client and BlackBerryMessenger. For the socialnetworking animals, there isthe new app called Multi-Cast,that will simultaneously postan update on BBM, Twitterand Facebook. It doesn’t sporta powerful processor, but forthe apps that OS 7 supports,it is pretty much in line withthe requirements. Battery lifeis good enough for a day, whenused as a primary phone.Buy this, if all youwant is an affordable Black-Berry phone.Vishal MathurKasperskyInternetSecurity 2014Excellent featuresPure anti-virus suites aresomething that manymight not see the point inspending money on, especiallywhen excellent suiteslike Avast! can be had for free.Kaspersky Internet Securitygoes one step further andoffers an excellent scan enginethat is complemented by asuite of very useful utilities.The parental controls in particularare very comprehensive.The bundled tools comewith detailed instructions soeven a novice can find his wayaround. This is an excellentsuite and while Avast! doessneak ahead slightly in detectionrates, it isn’t by much.89Price899Features.....................................90Usability.....................................90Internet Security.....................90Value for Money.......................85SpecificationsAnti-Virus; Anti-Malware; InternetProtection; Identity Protection;Anti-Phishing; Parental Control;Maintenance tools; etc.ContactKaspersky LabWebsite: http://www.kaspersky.co.in/internet-securitySupport: http://support.kaspersky.com/kis2014Ashampooanti-virusDecent, but expensive69Price2,500Ashampoo’s foray into thecreation of anti-virus (AV)software is an intriguing one.The AV engine used here issupposed to be a combinationof the one used by BitDefenderand Emsisoft, both excellentengines and AV software intheir own right. Aestheticallyspeaking, the interface is quitepleasing and all the informationyou need is clearly visible.That said, the deeper menustructure is a little more convoluted,though to be fair, it’s onlycomparatively so. The softwareis very light on features insome regards, but then again,it includes scanning supportfor ADS and LSP, which someusers might appreciate. Thiswould have been quite a decentsuite if it wasn’t for the price.Features.....................................80Usability.....................................75Internet Security.....................70Value for money.......................50SpecificationsFeatures: 2xscan engines; Anti-Virus;Web protection; game mode; ADSscanner; LSP viewerContactAshampooWebsite: https://www.ashampoo.comSupport: https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/sup98 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Lord of the TimesI now pronounce you Ring and Clock... Youmay now tell each other the time. Presentingthe Ringclock! http://dgit.in/17Eu7ymeBay’s Spy LensIzvinite, madam. I seem to have misplacedmy spy lens could you tell me where I can...ebay, is it? Spasibo! http://dgit.in/16nBFupBazaarSony Xperia Z1The most powerful phone in India, on paperZebronicsGladiatorRome would be ashamedThe Xperia Z1 hasa slab-like design,with a glass back.The water and dustresistance ratings mean theports and slots get the similarlooking flap covers, even its3.5mm headphone jack iswaterproof internally! It’s stillfairly slim, at just under 9mm,but the glass and the metalframe adds to the weight, tippingthe scales at 170g.The Z1 retains the slipperynature of its predecessors,thanks to the glass at the back.The Xperia Z was one ofthe first phones to sport a FullHD display, and the Z1 buildson that. The Triluminos technologymakes this display avery good one to watch movieson, because the colours aremuch more vibrant and thedetailing is improved as well.Not surprisingly, text renderinghas seen an improvementas well. The X-Reality79Features.....................................90Performance.............................90Build............................................75Value...........................................60SpecificationsProcessor: Qualcomm Snapdragon800 quad core @ 2.2GHz; RAM: 2GB;Graphics: Adreno 330; Display:5-inch Triluminos display (1920x 1080 pixels); Storage: 16GB +microSD; Battery: 3000mAh; OS:Android 4.2ContactSony MobilePhone: 1-800-3000-2800Email: http://bit.ly/o7xidEengine boosts colour andsharpness, and while it doesslightly increase the batteryconsumption, we find that itdoes make a huge differencewhile you may be browsingthrough the vacation pictures.But for a natively brightdisplay, the reflective glassabove the screen does sortof complicate matters. TheXperia Z1 packs in a QualcommSnapdragon 800processor and 2GB of RAM.The Xperia Z Ultra has thesame specs, and is comfortablyahead of the likes of the HTCOne and the Samsung GalaxyS4 in all system benchmarktest scores.This translates brilliantlyinto the real world as well,with apps opening instantaneously,and the backgroundapp load not bothering onebit. The Z1 never felt sluggish,something that even the HTCOne cannot completely claim.Tap on the Real Racing appon both phones at the sametime, the Z Ultra wins the raceby a couple of seconds. Evenwithin the app, race loadingtimes are lesser. All in all, avery good performer.However, for a phonethat packs in so muchpower, there is theinevitable heatingissue. Use the camerato take around10-12 shots, or the webbrowser for five minutes andthe back heats up considerably,particularly just abovethe Sony logo and slightly tothe left of it.Battery life from the massive3000mAh pack is quitegood, lasting over a day asa primary phone with calls,mails, messages and IM – with40% brightness. Its StaminaMode lets you pick and chooseapps that are important to runin the background.The Z1‘s camera is a bitof a mixed bag. The UI has amanual mode, and surprisingly,for 16:9 aspect ratioimages, you are limited to8MP, and this is where thecamera ends up capturing farless detail than the HTC One.The successor to the XperiaZ is on paper the most powerfulsmartphone available inIndia. The Z1 has almost thesame design tone, water anddust resistance capabilities,but improves on the display,battery life and to a certainextent, the camera as well.Costs a lot of money, and youhave the equally brilliant LGG2 to consider as well.Price44,990Vishal MathurThe Gladiator is a mid-towercase from Zebronics andhas an appealing Alienwareesquedesign to it. The sidepanels protrude outwards andthe left one has a large acrylicwindow. There isn’t a lot ofroom inside the case.As there isonly a single fan installed in thecase and that to as exhaust, theGladiator had a difficult timein keeping the internal casetemperature at an acceptablelevel. With an idle temperatureof 46°C and load temperatureof 52°C at 28°C ambient roomtemperature, the Gladiator isone of the hottest and avoidablecases we’ve tested till date.57Price3,750Features.....................................63Performance.............................45Build Quality.............................57Value for money.......................65SpecificationsDimension: 405(L) x 175(W) x 390(H)mm; Motherboard Support: ATX,mATX; Expansion Slots: 7; DriveBays: (x1) 5.25”, (x2) 3.5”; Front I/O:(x1) USB 3.0, (x1) USB 2.0, Audio jacks,Card reader; Weight: 4.2 KgContactTop Notch Infotronix India pvtltd(Zebronics)Phone: 044-40000007Email: enquiry@zebronics.infoWebsite: www.zebronics.comDigit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 99

BazaarValve Opens UpValve announced the launch of a specialSteam Controller. Read on to know more:http://dgit.in/1837KSxGasless Underwear?!You read it right... Underwear thatfilter out flatulence. Read on for more.http://dgit.in/17GbTMUToshiba Qseries 128GBA decent 128GB SSDToshiba is one of the biggestmanufacturers of NANDflash chips and this is their firstSSD we’ve ever tested. Comingfrom the Q series line of SSDsthis 2.5-inch drive is enclosed ina metal casing but has a thicker9.5mm profile, slightly thickerfor a laptop fit. Performancewise, the SSD achieved and ASSSD score of 671 and was aheadof the SanDisk Extreme II in afew synthetic benchmarks butclosely followed it in real worldtests with an 8GB sequentialfile transfer having read andwrite speeds of 376 MB/s and311 MB/s respectively. Peoplewith a budget of `10,000should consider this SSD. Andwe think you can get it formuch cheaper in the market.79Price10,000(MRP)Features.....................................80Performance.............................86Value for money.......................70SpecificationsModel: THNSNH128GBST; Maxsustained read: 552 MB/s; Maxsustained write: 501 MB/s; TRIMSupport: Yes; SSD Controller: NA;NAND Process(nm): 19; Interface:SATA III; Profile: 9.5mm; Warranty:3 yearsContactToshiba IndiaPhone: 22 61771771Email: polad.garda@toshiba-india.comWebsite: www.toshiba-india.comSanDiskExtreme II240GBOne expensive but quick SSDThe Extreme II from SanDiskuses Marvell’s new Monet88SS9187 controller. We testedthe 240GB version and theresults were impressive withan AS SSD benchmark score of758 which was just a bit belowthe Samsung 840 Pro SeriesSSD that we tested previously.The real world read and writetransfer figures for an 8GBsequential file were in therange of 320 MB/s and 380MB/s respectively. At an MRPof `26,100, it’s very expensive,especially as the Samsung840 Pro Series is available formuch cheaper. In its absenceor at a similar price, definitelyworth considering.77Features.....................................82Performance.............................88Value for money.......................60SpecificationsModel: SDSSDXP-240G; Maxsustained read: 550 MB/s; Maxsustained write: 510 MB/s; TRIMSupport: Yes; SSD Controller:Marvell - Monet 88SS9187; NANDProcess(nm): 19; Interface: SATA III;Profile: 7mmContactSanDisk CorporationPhone: 18001022055Website: www.sandisk.inWarranty: 5 yearsPrice26,100(MRP)ASUS WiFiAC AdapterUSB-AC53Tiny might76Price4,118The USB- AC53 is a moderatelypowerful USB Wi-Fiadapter that performed wellon the 2.4 GHz band as well ason the 5 GHz band. Installationand connection waseffortless thanks to ASUS’sutility. The device supposedlyhas two PIFA which is thesame as a PCB antenna butwith a few design tweaks toimprove signal characteristics..Performance wise the adaptermanaged to maintain around55 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz bandwhile it managed about 120Mbps on the 5 GHz band, bothwhile it was situated about 20feet away from the router. TheNetClip is also a nice additionthat you can use to clip thisadapter onto any device.Features.....................................60Performance.............................85Build Quality.............................84Value for Money.......................74SpecificationsDimehnsions: 9.6 x 2.6 x 1.24 cm;WPS; USB 2; Internal antennae;Warranty: 2 yearsContactASUS Technology Pvt. Ltd.Phone: 18002090365www.asus.inreachus@asus.comWD Black 4TBWD4001FAEXExtremely fast, expensiveWD’s Black series of driveshave always been theirtop of the line performancedrives. For a drive targetedtowards consumers, theWD4001FAEX is quick. Ourbenchmark results pegged it atalmost the top of the pack withCrystal Disk Mark Randomread and write at 168.9 MB/sand 151.7 MB/s respectively.This drive was also great inreal world transfer tests withits performance coming closeto the Velociraptor. At `14,999,it would actually make senseto buy two 2TB drives insteadof this but if you want its riproaringperformance coupledwith massive capacity, whynot? Of course, you’ll have toshell out a lot of money for it.Life’s like that.78Features.....................................85Performance.............................85Value...........................................65SpecificationsUnformatted Capacity: 3725.9 GB;Interface: SATA 3; Cache memory:64MB; Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM;Weight: 450 grams; Warranty:3 yearsContactWestern DigitalPhone: (011) 65151104Website: www.wd.comPrice14,999100 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

code / creativity / community >Interview withSunil Pai,UI Architect, MyntraNVIDIA announces FlameWorks, Flex and GI Workstechnologies at Montreal*side panel*Google offers cash>>Not for free, of course.It’s for devs who not justprivately report bugs tothe search engine giant’sonline services, but arealso willing to do “proactiveimprovements that gobeyond merely fixinga known security bug.”Volunteering with benefits!http://dgit.in/1aYQtxZ*What languagesto learn for Androiddevelopment?>>If you’re just startingout as an app developerfor the Android platform,take a look at some wordsof wisdom provided in thevideo link belowhttp://dgit.in/1exrcMYNVIDIA announcedthree new dev tools atthe Editor’s Day 2013meet in Montreal Canada. Thetools are a part of NVIDIA’sGameWorks library which hasabout 300 visual effects engineersworking on it currently,many of whom hold PhDs.Making the announcementTony Tamasi, Senior Vice President,Content & Technologyemphasised the cross platformnature of many of these tools.The most interestingdemos were of the three newtools announced. Find themexplained below in detail:Flex: For the uninitiated,Flex is a unified GPU PhysXtool that helps integrate crosssimulation interplay. What thismeans is that now you can havefluids, cloth, rigid, and semirigidbodies interact with eachother in real time all at once. Thedemo showcased simulations ofwater balloons and rigid bodiesbeing flung about by waterwaves. This presents some veryinteresting possibilities for thefuture of game design and enduser experience.Flame Works: Remembergames that had smoke waftingthrough other physical objectslike ghosts? Say by to all thatas Flame Works is a tooldesigned to render flame andsmoke effects that interactwith other physical objectsin the scene. The idea is tohave film-quality volumetriceffects rendered in real time.Watch the demo here: http://dgit.in/1exrcMYGI Works: A tool for creatingaccurate global illuminationeffects, it will helpgame designers save time andresources by not having to placemultitudes of tiny light sourcesto sort of “fake” global illumination.The idea is to create realisticin game visuals by making surelights bounce off surfaces creatingindirect lighting. GI workscan create real-time specular orglossy reflections and lighting inshadows is also possible.We should start seeinggames integrating all of theabove technologies from earlynext year according to NVIDIA.For more on this and otherannouncements from Montreal,catch the extended report athttp://dgit.in/1exrcMY for morenews on these technologies.*Kate for Linuxsimply rocks!>>For all you Linuxprogrammers out there, ifyou haven’t checked outKate, you’re coding it allwrong. Seriously.http://dgit.in/1a4XXOIFor latest news, updatesand features, join us onFacebook atfacebook.com/devworx.indevworx> | November 2013 | www.devworx.in 101

Bracing the walls>>Making your web applications more secure> by Jait DixitAccording to a recent report by Cenzic, an applicationsecurity intelligence platform, 99 per cent of productionapplication it tested had at least one securityvulnerability with a median of 13 vulnerabilities perapp. With increased adaptation of web-based technologies bybusinesses, along with increased utilization of cloud and mobileinfrastructure, these figures may become more bleak in timesto come. You may think that your application will not be as significantas high profile clients like The New York Times, Bank ofAmerica, and the US Federal Reserve, but Aesop’s teaching offinding safety in insignificance doesn’t hold much weight here. Thehackers are in fact interested in your website’s visitors. They primarilyseek to compromise and infect all the end-users accessingyour website by subjecting them to a variety of attacks, and in thiscase – every website counts.In this article we’ll discuss some of the most common securityvulnerabilities in web applications and what you can do to protectyourself. One thing to point out, is that the method of applyingthese solutions will change based on your platform, programminglanguage and framework used. With so many permutations andcombinations, we’ll not be able to explain every solutions in detail– but most of the language and framework wikis have dedicatedpages on security along with excellent help and support availableon forums, IRC and Stack Overflow.SSH Authentication and SFTPThe very first advice here is to stop using passwords for boththese services. Instead use public-private keypairs to authenticatea particular user. When you want to authorize yourself orany other user then you only have to put that public key in theauthorized_keys file in an account on the server and the serverallows anyone knowing the private key that’s coupled to thatpublic key to log into the server. In case you or other user looseshis/her private key then you only need to remove the offendingSafe websites lead to building user trust. So plug those holes.public key from the server and generate a new one from scratchand authorize that key.Another suggestion would be to stop using simple FTP andrather use SFTP and/or rsync to store and retrieve files from theserver. SFTP essentially encrypts your datastream providingyou with security at transport layer. OpenSSH and thus bothSSH and SFTP support AES-256, 3DES and Blowfish so barringsome overnight breakthrough in quantum computer, attackerswill not be able to decrypt your data stream till the sun turnsinto a red giant.Up-to-date production environmentThe modus operandi of a typical hacker involves finding whichversion of operating system, language runtime and/or frameworkyou’re using and then execute a specific set of exploits which willallow them to compromise the system. The most effective wayof protecting yourself from such attacks is to keep every pieceof software up-to-date, this will give you a twofold advantage ofbetter performance, new features and added security.Obviously, this shouldn’t be done at the cost of jeopardizingthe applications functionality or feature. If your applicationdoesn’t have any esoteric dependency(s) which require youto use legacy or older version of underlying software, then itmakes all the sense in the world to use the very latest versionsof such software.Up your website security now102 devworx> | November 2013 | www.devworx.inUse SSL/HTTPSAlthough not always feasible, it is always better for security thatyou deploy your website using HTTPS instead of HTTP. This willmake sure that user credentials and other data is not travellingdown the line in plain text for everyone to see. Shifting to SSL/HTTPS sitewide means that you should serve everything overHTTPS – HTML, CSS, images, Javascript, everything. If youplan on doing then then we’d also suggest that you go ahead and

enable HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) and marking allcookies with the ‘secure’ flag.Apart from authenticating your web server, SSL/HTTPS willalso provide security against man-in-the-middle attacks. It willalso provide bi-directional encryption which safeguards yourcommunication against eavesdropping, tampering and forging. AnSSL certificate costs around `4,400 per year for a single domainand is fairly easy to setup on any server. Make sure that youredirect all your traffic on HTTP to HTTPS along with the HSTSheader mentioned above along with ‘secure’ cookies, you can dothis inside your server/middleware configuration.XSS ProtectionXSS attacks allow a user to inject client side scripts into thebrowsers of other users. This is achieved by storing maliciousJavascript code snippets in the database. If the same data is fetchedand displayed to other users which will cause that particularsnippet to be executed in the user’s browser. XSS attacks are usuallyachieved by the virtue of a single bad practice, not sufficientlysanitizing user generated data before including it in a page.Sanitizing all user generated data is the most effective way ofprotecting yourself against such attacks. If you’re using a templatingsystem (use one if you’re not already) to generate yourweb pages, then most of them have excellent in-built mechanismswhich sanitize such data making sure that you’re 95% of the waythere. The key is to understand the limitations of such mechanismsand work your way around them, you’ll have to be very carefulwhen working with output other than HTML where you’ll havean entirely separate characters and words which require escaping.SQL InjectionThe go to attack for demonstration, by ethical hacking workshops.Essentially, the attack is a result of a user being able to executearbitrary SQL code on a database which can lead to records beingleaked or deleted. If you’re using some sort of ORM layer in yourapplication, then for all practical intents and purposes you areprotected from SQL injection.It may be the case that your application requirements force younot to use such an ORM and require you to directly run native orraw SQL queries, therein as the bard would say, lies the rub. Ifnative or raw SQL is not properly escaped before running thenProtection is absolutely essential*w3af(web application attack and audit framework)http://w3af.org>>You can easily find some ofthe most common vulnerabilitiesin your website using this niftylittle tool. Written in Python, thiscross-platform tool with it’s 130+ plugins it is able to identify most ofthe common web application vulnerabilities like SQL injections, OScommanding, remote file inclusions, cross-site scripting (XSS), unsafefile uploads and so on.there are all chances that someone can wreak havoc within yoursystem. You must use native queries absolutely sparingly if atall you must. The key to protecting yourself from such attacks isto always be careful to properly escape any parameters that theuser can control.CSRF ProtectionCSRF or Cross Site Request Forgery is when unauthorized commandsfrom a malicious user are executed using the credentialsof another user without that user’s knowledge or consent. Onecan say that this attack is a mirror of an XSS attack, in case ofXSS – it exploits the trust a user has for a particular site, CSRFexploits the trust that a site has in a user’s browser.There are a number of countermeasures to protect yourselffrom CSRF attacks something that you can do right off the batis that you can embed a user-specific token in all form submissionsand side-effect URLs prevents CSRF; the attacker’s sitecannot put the right token in its submissions. You must limitthe lifetime of session cookies and make sure that the client providesauthentication data in the same HTTP Request used toperform any operation with some security implications. A morestraightforward and effective solution is to use a CSRF filter likethe OWASP’s CSRFGuard (https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Category:OWASP_CSRFGuard_Project | http://goo.gl/FiwlPE).The filter is then responsible for handling CSRF tokens in therequest and response HTML.ClickjackingA very devious form of attack in which the a user is tricked intoclicking something different from what the user perceives they’reclicking, which in turn leads to revealing confidential informationto the attacker or at times allow the attackers to take controlof their system. It is carried out by a malicious site wrappinganother site in a frame.Standard protection against clickjacking is for the server todefine a Content Security Policy. CSP defines a standard HTTPheader which allows websites to declare approved sources ofcontent that browsers should be allowed to load on that page. Thiscovers JavaScript, CSS, HTML, frames, fonts, images and embeddableobjects. The standard CSP header Content-Security-Policyis supported by Firefox 23 and Chrome 25 onwards. Another solutionis to use the X-Frame-Options, which will force a compliantbrowser to deny any framing or prevent framing by external sitesor allow framing only by specified site depending on the optionsin the header.devworx> | November 2013 | www.devworx.in 103

“I don’t hateFlash, I just didn’twarm up to it.”>>>>Sunil Pai, UI Architect, MyntraTell us a bit about the CSS Libraryyou created.Beam (https://github.com/threepointone/beam) is the result of trying to do animationsbased on exponential smoothingalgorithms. This funny little algorithmhas its roots in 5th century BC greek philosophy(search for “zeno’s paradoxes”) andis widely used in the 3d world, games, andmotion graphics. I was trying to mimic acouple of these animations I’d seen elsewhereon the web, but with regular htmlelements; this led to writing an animationengine, a css serializer, helpers for css transforms,and finally Beam itself, which pullsit all together. Have a look at the funny littledemo at http://threepointone.github.io/beam. Beam’s useful for bringing physicsyanimations to UI elements, which meansyour drag and drops looks better, and livedynamic animations become very achievable.I’ve used beam to implement inertialscrolling, accelerators, buttons, and even agraph smoothing algorithm.to mess with code during runtime, and thecrazy, crazy community that’s coming upwith a 100 new ideas a day. This shit doesnot get old, I promise you.Why do you hate Adobe Flash so much?Lies! I don’t hate Adobe Flash, I just didn’twarm up to it. Look, when we’re learningfront end development, we spend endlesshours reading other peoples source code- HTML, CSS and Javascript. right-clickand view-source and/or inspect elementbecomes second nature. The collegesin India don’t really teach any of that,and the browser environment itself issuper hostile and quirky. I hate thatmargin: 0 auto; is the accepted method tocenter an element with CSS. This is the21st century, ffs. And who decided that“draggable” is a css property? But I digress.Anyway, so Adobe Flash. This technologybreaks the learning flow by becoming ablack box. It might be a gorgeous animation,a complex application... whatever.If you’re in my browser, and I can’t seewhat you’re made of, then I’m an angryman. So I’ve always made it a point in mycareer to be the guy who responds to “wecan’t do that in javascript” with “lemmegive it a go.” Worked out well for me asa career move, and my laptop fans thankme everyday.Why do all shopping sites look the same?Do they, really? I think it comes from thepeople who get the most ‘say’, or ‘final*coding matterscut’ when it comes to the site’s look andfeel. So when Sunit Singh’s in charge atCleartrip, it’s a given that the site will lookand feel ‘designed’ and well though out.And if it’s the IRCTC, then you know thatyou’ll want to pull out your own eyes after20 minutes of whacking your keyboard.I like Flipkart’s redesign, and Amazon’sresponsive layout is really neat. Myntra’salways had feedback from people sayingthey love the typography and the ‘style’that runs through the site; all credit to thedesigners in the office for that. Withoutgiving away any secrets, I can promisebig stuff happening on Myntra in the UIspace, so keep an eye on the site for details.Also, we’re hiring! I’m looking for the mostmental folk to come join me at and createcrazy beautiful web stuff.Any advice for budding developers?- Practice, practice, practice. The naivetyof the engineering community is to believethat 4 years of ‘professional’ education aresufficient for a lifetime. The truth is you’regoing to have to constantly keep studying.Which is fine, really, because programmingis easily the most interesting domainin the history of the world. Where elsedoes one get to work on the science ofstructured thought?Sunil Pai works as a UI Architect at Myntra.He’s previously worked at Yahoo, Idiom, Visa,Pramati, and his uncle’s garage. Beyond work,he writes open source for fun, and plays a blueLes Paul. He tweets at @threepointone.Why JavaScript?Hell, why not javascript? Javascript isthe South Indian English dialect of thetechnology world; all colloquial, quirky,illogical, and the pronunciation is highlysuspect. But it gets the job done, and thensome! It’s also good at borrowing ideas fromother languages, and a good fit for multipleenvironments. The front end of the internetruns on it, so ‘reloading’ becomes your compilebutton. That’s crazy good! I like havingfunctions as regular objects, the dynamic/loose nature of the type system, being able104 devworx> | November 2013 | www.devworx.inServer’s up. What’s next?>>Check out this fine series ofdetailed articles on ArsTechnicathat shed light on and walk youthrough the process of setting yourown custom web server. But as faras a developer’s concerned, whatshould one do after going throughall that coding pain? Read on...http://dgit.in/Hgnvz4Code is essential>>Just how important is coding inour increasingly tech-dependent life?Very important. That’s the messagefrom Clive Beale of the RaspberryPi Foundation. Here you’ll seehim discuss the revolutionary tinycomputer and UK’s attitude towardssoftware development.http://dgit.in/Hgnvz4

killer rigsEverything you’ll ever need to build your own PC. Whatever your budget.Basic rig = 26,270 HTPC = 29,327 Entry-level gaming = 40,004 Mid-range Compact System = 61,877 Mid-range gaming = 68,644 Ultra high-end = 2,17,248Basic RIGProcessor Intel Pentium G2020 3,950Motherboard Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2H 3,720RAM Corsair 2GB DDR3 1333MHz 1,600HDD Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3,350Monitor AOC E2043FSK 6,580Graphics Card None 0Cabinet Huntkey T-91 1,650PSU Corsair VS450 2,360Speaker (2.1) Logitech Z103 1,560Optical Drive Samsung 22x SATA DVD Writer 950Mouse Amkette Ash Black (Bundle) 550Keyboard Amkette Ash Black (Bundle) 0Sound Card None 0Total 26,270Entry-Level GamingProcessor AMD A10-5800K 8,850Motherboard ASUS F2A85-M-LE 6,800RAM G-skill F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT 2,500HDD WD Caviar Green (WD10EZRX) 1TB 4,520Monitor AOC I2251FWE IPS 8,350Graphics Card None 0Cabinet Huntkey T-91 1,650PSU Corsair VS450 2,360Speaker F&D F680 3,500Optical Drive Samsung 22x SATA DVD Writer 950Mouse Amkette Ash Black (Bundle) 0Keyboard Amkette Ash Black (Bundle) 550Sound Card None 0Total 40,004Mid-Range GamingProcessor Intel Core i5-3470 13,750Motherboard Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H 4,850RAMKingston HyperX 8GB(KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX) 4,935HDD Toshiba 1TB DT01ACA100 4,620Monitor BenQ G2420 HD 10,500Graphics Card ZOTAC GTX 650Ti Boost 13,700Cabinet Antec One - S3 3,540PSU Corsair GS 600 5,400Speaker F&D F680 3,500Optical DriveSamsung 22x SATA DVDWriter 950Mouse CM Storm Devastator (Bundle) 2,899Keyboard CM Storm Devastator (Bundle) 0Sound Card None 0Total 68,644HTPCProcessor AMD A8-5600K 7,500Motherboard MSI FM2-A75MA-P33 4,500RAM Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3 4 GB 2,500HDD Western Digital WD20EZRX 2TB 6,300Monitor None (your TV) 0Graphics Card None (HD7560D onboard) 0Cabinet Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced 2,977PSU Cooler Master Thunder 450W 2,600Speaker None 0Optical Drive Samsung 22x SATA DVD Writer 950Mouse Microsoft Desktop 2000 wireless combo 2,000Keyboard Bundled 0Sound Card None 0Total 29,327Mid-range Compact SystemProcessor Intel Core i5-3570K 16,200Motherboard Asrock Z77E-ITX 11,000RAM Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600 5,300HDD Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 6,200Monitor Your TV 0Graphics Card ASUS GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB 13,850Cabinet Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced 2,977PSU Cooler Master Thunder 500W 3,400Speaker None 0Optical Drive Samsung 22x SATA DVD Writer 950Mouse Microsoft Desktop 2000 wireless combo 2,000Keyboard Bundled 0Sound Card NA 0Total 61,877Ultra high-end GamingProcessor Intel Core i7-4770K 24,400Motherboard ASRock Z87 Extreme4 13,000RAMCorsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB)DDR3 1600 6,100HDDWD WD4001FAEX 4TB + CorsairNeutron 128GB 23,298Monitor BenQ XL2420T 26,000Graphics Card ZOTAC GeForce GTX 780 51,500Cabinet Cooler Master HAF - XM 10,000PSU Cooler Master Real Power Pro 850W 11,000Speaker Logitech Z906 5.1 23,000Optical Drive LG Blu-ray WH14NS40 RW 6,000Mouse Roccat Kone XTD 4,000Keyboard Corsair Vengeance K70 8,450Sound Card ASUS Xonar Phoebus 10,500Total 2,17,248Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 105

Street smartKiller RigsPCs for every budget, be it an entrylevelone, a HTPC or even a beast of a105 machine. They’re all here 108Price WatchDiwali is here. Bonuses are here as well.So blow your budget on tablets of everysize and category you can think of.Intel or AMDWhich processor mobocombos to buy?Deciding which to get canbe quite the painAgent 001agent001@thinkdigit.comI’ve been putting off a few configrequests for quite some timebecause … um ... GTA V happened.Well it’s time to get backon track so I’ve decided to do a roundupof sorts and list just the processor andmotherboard combinations since that’swhat most dealers are bent on sellingyou anyways. And don’t get me wrong,it’s not a bad thing since it does reducethe chances of the customer messing upthe generation of AMD and Intel. Everyother processor is a i3, i5, i7, A4, A6, A8or an A10 but little do they notice thatthe nomenclature has been retainedacross multiple generations and thishas been the bane of our existence. Thenomenclature makes sense only for thosewho spell out the entire model numbersand such but if you call them purely bytheir segment name(i.e. i5 or A6) thenyou’re bound to get things wrong.Like all configuration tables even thisis subject to modifications depending onyour needs. If you need a heck lot of PCI-ecards on an HTPC (for whatever strangereason it maybe) then you can swapout the board I’ve mentioned and opt for aboard with as many PCI-e slots which youmay need. What you need to do is ensurethat whatever combination that you go for,you should check the motherboards “CPUsupported list” to confirm if your processorwould be compatible. Motherboardsrarely affect performance unless you wishto overclock which is why I’ve assumedthat most users in the mid-range andenthusiast segment would be interested inoverclocking their processors. Hence, I’veincluded stable motherboards whose VRMfeatures plenty of power phases.In a bid to future-proof this list I’veincluded a few processors that are yet tobe launched in India but have enjoyedfavourable reviews overseas in theirrespective categories. Also, I don’t judgeViable Processor-Motherboard Combos:Low Mid High HTPCCPU AMD FX-6300 Intel Core i5-4670K Intel Core i7-3930K AMD A10-5800K APUPrice in ` 7,632 17,120 37,999 8,905Motherboard ASUS M5A97-R2.0 Gigabyte Z87X-OC ASRock X79 Extreme6 ASRock FM2A75-DGSPrice 7,295 19,635 19,750 NAAlternativesLow Mid High HTPCCPU Intel i3-3220 AMD FX-8350 AMD FX-9590 Intel i3-4340Price in ` 7,900 13,230 TBA TBAMotherboard ASRock Z77MASUS Sabertooth ASUS Sabertooth990FX-R2.0 990FX-R2.0Gigabyte Z87N-WiFiPrice NA 18,389 18,389 NAwhether you are an AMD fanboyor an Intel loyalist so I’veincluded both options. TheAMD FX-9590 clocked at4.7GHz with a boost clockof 5GHz should be pricedin the same segment as theCore i7-3930K and going bybenchmarks should sufficefor games that load all availablecores. Comparing thesame to a 4960X is somewhatcommon on the internet but the 4960Xis bound to be way ahead given that itcosts roughly twice that of the 9590.Similarly, the Haswell i3-4340 shouldprovide slightly better performance thanthe A10-5800K since early benchmarkshave pegged it better at single-threadedand multi-threaded applications. On topof that it has a lower TDP and greatermemory bandwidth so it’s economicaltoo! But wait, the 5800K has an unlockedmultiplier that should help to redeemitself against the i3-4340.A question that I often have to answerwhen I mention a certain processor iswhy not pay the extra `1000 and get thenext SKU? Well, if you’ve got money tospare then go ahead by all means but ifthat same amount could be spent gettinga more efficient power supply or coolingfans then that would be the smarterchoice from an economic perspective.Given that most of these processors havea turbo mode that kicks in when the extrapower is needed it really doesn’t make anysense to go for the very next SKU. Alsobenchmarks show that in most cases twosubsequent SKU differ in performance bya meagre amount.So until next time, do keep sending ine-mails telling me how your configurationis better than mine. Toodles!106 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Aww that’s sweet!Youtube filmmaker Casey Neisat gets aconsolation gift from his fans at Nokia. Read onto know why: http://dgit.in/18Jv3FbCongoSamsung buys 7.4% stakes in a well-knownGorilla Glass-making firm. Business, as usualhttp://dgit.in/1dhuqGkAgent 001The right decision?I’m a student in Chennai. On thecommencement of the semester, I boughtMicromax Doodle1. I had a budget of`10.000 and was confused between :A) Samsung Galaxy S Duos.B) Micromax Canvas 2.C) Micromax Canvas Doodle.Because of the smaller screen andlesser specifications, I chucked GalaxyS Duos off the list and shortlisted thetwo Micromax phones. And finally, Ichose Micromax Doodle cause it gave aquad core processor. The only real risk Ithought I took was that I gave up on abetter RAM.Canvas2 gave me a 1GB RAM with asingle core processing unit. CanvasDoodlegave me 512MB RAM and a quad coreprocessor. Was this a good decision?Also, could you in your next issuecompare Micromax’s flagship modelswith the other expensive phones withsimilar specifications?Hrushikesh. VThe Canvas Doodle is your best bethere. it has a large display and thespecifications of the device are goodenough to run all the apps. Yes, with512MB of RAM, you may see some lagduring multitasking but the overallperformance of the Doodle is good.So yes, it was a good decision to pick upthe Doodle.In-ear headphones adviceHello! I am in desperate need of a newearphone (in-ear only). I am not anaudiophile but I am somewhat nitpickyabout the audio quality. CurrentlyI own a Philips SHE3570WT which Ihad to buy urgently when both my SonyMDR-EX35LP and Creative EP-630 died(unfortunately, they died long before Ibought my Lumia so I have no idea howthey would have sounded with my currentphone). I would use it with my cellphone, Nokia Lumia 620. The Lumia hasa strictly average sound quality. The bassis OK but the highs are just too harshfor my liking especially at the frequencyrange of 7KHz-12KHz. The same problemis with my Philips in-ear too! It has aspike in output for the same frequencyrange, which destroys the listeningexperience, making the music even moreharsh at higher volumes. So I need tokeep the highs low from the equalizer.I experimented with Nokia in-ears thatcame with my previous phone (theones you can get separately at `349).The Nokia in-ears have good bass butsubmerged vocals and highs. The Lumiadidn’t sound harsh with the Nokia in-ears,maybe due to the fact that it submergesthe vocals and highs.So, the conclusions are:1. I need an in-ear headphone thatWOULD NOT SOUND TOO HARSHwhen using with my phone.2. I want good bass, tight bass for thatthumping experience when I listen toRap/Hip-hop and Rock songs. The Sonyand the Creative had lesser bass thanI would like (I used them with myprevious phone 5800 Xpress Music)3. Sweet highs would be great but Idoubt whether I would get that qualitywhen the output of the device itselfis crappy.4. A good soundstage is preferable5. The in-ears SHOULD NOT HAVE anyin-line mic/volume controls, just plainin-ears only for music.6. Cable should be good enough as Ialways keep my headphones with meand travel in crowded buses and autorickshawswith them.7. Though I don’t listen to vocalmusic a lot but still, good vocals aresometimes needed when listening tosoft Hindi songs.8. Treble should not be overpowering.Already my phone has overpowering(and harsh) treble!My budget this time is `3,000. Notmany brands are available where Ilive. I see only Sony, Sennheiser andSkullcandy are available in RelianceDigital here. Philips and JBL Tempo canbe seen sometimes. I have shortlistedSony XB30EX and Sennheiser CX 300-II because many are saying that theyhave somewhat submerged vocals andhighs and I think that may solve theproblem of my phone having harsh higherfrequencies. By reading mixed reviewsonline, I am really confused betweenthe two. Please advice which of the twowould be better for use with my phoneand also suggest other alternatives.Siddhanta BiswasGreat to see a mail from a discerningreader. You are very right about the sourceand it matters a lot when it comes to greataudio reproduction. In our test labs thedifference is very noticeable when we tryplaying the same test samples from ourXonar Essence One amp or the STX or theiPad and even a portable source like theHTC Radar smartphone. We usuallyrecommend devices that have a neutralsignature so that you can tweak individualpreferences using a DSP Equalizer.Considering your case I’d say you stayaway from SoundMagic in-ears or evensomething like the Meelectronics M6. Foryour particular situation the CreativeHITZ MA 350 is a good choice and wellwithin your budget. It does have volumecontrols and mic but they cause nohindrance. The cable is flat and tangle free.Another good choice – and one that iseven cheaper – is the Cowon EM1. TheCowon is available in a microphone-freeversion as well. Both should be availablevia online shopping websites. As for theSony XB30EX and Sennheiser CX 300-IIwe can’t give you an opinion because wehonestly haven’t got them in for reviewyet. Hope to hear from you again.For want of a GPUI want to buy a graphics card, either1GB or 2GB. Can you please suggestwhat to buy and where to buy it from? Mysystem configuration:Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1GHz), 4GB RAM.I want to play games like NFS Run, MassEffect, etc.Chidella SaijayachandWe’ll need more details before we canrecommend a card.• What PSU are you using?• What motherboard are you using?• What’s your budget?For a tight budget, the Nvidia GT640should be fine (available for around`7,000). If you have a 450+W PSU, then theNvidia 650Ti should be ideal. (available for`12,000 approx). Both cards are availableon Flipkart.com and PrimeABGB.com.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 107

Price WatchUnFlexedFlex unveiled: The latest in LG's phonemodels. Take a look at The Verge's articlefor the same: http://dgit.in/1gE5SddWeb of fireSay hello to the Fireweb: The first FirefoxOS phone released by LG. Read the articleto know more: http://dgit.in/1cW4Y6DSpend SmartConsidering how tablets seem to be catching on, we will take a look at tabletsin the market today and compare their specifications.TabletsBrand Model DisplaySize (ininches)ASUS MeMOPadDisplayresolution Processor RAM7 1024x600Buil-instorage1 GHz VIA WM8950 1GB 8GBAcer Iconia B1 7 1024x600 Dual-Core 1.2GHz MTK512MB 8GB8317TLava E-Tab 7 1024x600Dual-core 1.5GHz 1GB 8GBXtron+LenovoSpiceMicromaxKarbonniballIdeaTabA1000StellarPad Mi-1010FunbookMini P410TabletCosmicSmart Tab10Slidei90187 1024x600 Dual-Core 1.2GHz1GB 4GBMTK831710.1 1280x800Dual-core 1.5GHz 1GB 16GB7 1024x6009.7 1024x7689 1024x600 Dual-core 1GHzCortex-A7Dual-core 1GHz 1GB 4GBDual-core 1.5GHz 1GB 1.5GB1GB8GB3G (viaSIMcard)CallingcapabilitiesOSPricein `N N Android 4.1 5,990N N Android 4.1.2 6,940N N Android 4.2.2 6,999N Y Android 4.1 8,399N N Android 4.1 8,499Y Y Android 4.1 8,820N N Android 4.1 8,959N N Android 4.2 8,999Simmtronics Xpad Mini 7.85 1024x768 Quad-core 1GHzN N Android 4.2.2 9,2991GB 8GBprocessorVideocon VT10 10.1 1280x800 dual-core 1.5GHz 1GB 8GB N N Android 4.1 10,640AmazonSamsungKindle FireHD 7GalaxyTab 3 2107 1280x800 Dual-core 1.2GHz TI1GB 16GBOMAP 44607 1024x600Dual-core 1.2Ghz 1GB 8GBHCL Me G1 9.7 1024x768 Dual-core 1.2GHz ARMCortex-A9iberryiBallAuxusCoreX23GEdu slidei10177 1280x800 Dual-core 1.6GHz ARMCortex-A910.1 1280x800 Dual-core 1.5GHz ARMCortex-A9ASUS FonePad 7 1280x800 1.2GHz Intel AtomZ24201GB 8GBMicromax Canvas 8 1024x768TabQuad-core 1.2GHz 1GB 16GBASUS Nexus 7 7 1280x800 Quad-core 1.2GHzNVIDIA Tegra 31GB 16GBSamsung Galaxy 7 1024x600Tab 3Dual-core 1.2Ghz 1GB 8GBT211iberryAuxusCore X43G9.7 1024x768 1.6GHz Quad-coreSamsung Exynos 4412ARM1GB1GB1GB2GB8GB8GB8GB16GBN N Android 4.0 11,999(customized)N N Android 4.1 12,810N N Android 4.0.4 12,990Y Y Android 4.1 13,000N N Android 4.1 13,999Y Y Android 4.1 14,499Y Y Android 4.2.1 15,499N N Android 4.3 15,999Y Y Android 4.1 16,250Y Y Android 4.2 16,990108 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Gearing upFor all those people not buying the Galaxy Gearonly because of its incompatibility to your phone,read this and rejoice: http://dgit.in/17f8hadNokia tabletWindows joins the Tablet game with NokiaLumia 2520. Read this article to see if you'd buyit over the next 'droid http://dgit.in/1dhydDOPrice WatchASUS Nexus 7 7 1280x800 Quad-core 1.2GHzNVIDIA Tegra 3HuaweiMediaPad10 Link10.1 1280x800 Quad-core 1.2GHzHisilicon K3V2 Cortex-A91GB1GB32GB16GBY N Android 4.3 18,999Y N Android 4.1 20,490ASUS Nexus 7 7 1280x800 Quad-core 1.2GHzY N Android 4.3 21,0001GB 32GBNVIDIA Tegra 3Apple iPad Mini 7.9 1024x768 Dual-core 1GHz Apple A5 512MB 16GB N N iOS7 21,900AmazonKindle FireHD 8.98.9 1920x1200 Dual-core 1.5GHz TIOMAP 44701GB16GBN N Android4.0(customized)Apple iPad 2 9.7 1024x768 Dual-core 1GHz Apple A5 512MB 16GB N N iOS 7 23,029Samsung Galaxy 8 1280x800Y Y Android 4.2.2 24,500Dual-core 1.5GHz 1.5GB 16GBTab 3 311Apple iPad Mini 7.9 1024x768 Dual-core 1GHz Apple A5 512MB 32GB N N iOS7 27,900Samsung Galaxy 8 1280x800 Quad-core 1.6GHzY Y Android 4.1.2 28,1302GB 16GBNote 510Exynos 4412AppleiPad 3rdGen9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA5X1GB16GB21,999N N iOS7 29,690Apple iPad Mini 7.9 1024x768 Dual-core 1GHz Apple A5 512MB 16GB Y N iOS7 29,900Apple iPad 2 9.7 1024x768 Dual-core 1GHz Apple A5 512MB 16GB Y N iOS 7 31,900Apple iPad 4th 9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleN N iOS7 31,9001GB 16GBGenA6XAppleiPad 3rdGen9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA5X1GB32GBN N iOS7 32,500Apple iPad Mini 7.9 1024x768 Dual-core 1GHz Apple A5 512MB 64GB N N iOS7 33,900Samsung Galaxy 10.1 1280x800 Quad-core 1.4GHzY Y Android 4.1 35,4902GB 16GBNote 800Exynos 4412Apple iPad Mini 7.9 1024x768 Dual-core 1GHz Apple A5 512MB 32GB Y N iOS7 35,900AppleAppleAppleAppleSonyiPad 3rdGeniPad 4thGeniPad 4thGeniPad 3rdGenXperia Ztablet9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA5X9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA6X9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA6X9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA5X10.1 1920x1200 Quad-core QualcommSnapdragon APQ80641.5GHz1GB1GB1GB1GB2GB16GB32GB16GB64GB16GBY N iOS7 35,900N N iOS7 37,900Y N iOS7 39,900N N iOS7 40,900Y N Android 4.2 41,499Apple iPad Mini 7.9 1024x768 Dual-core 1GHz Apple A5 512MB 64GB Y N iOS7 41,900Apple iPad 3rd 9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleY N iOS7 42,7731GB 32GBGenA5XAppleiPad 4thGen9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA6XASUS PadFone 10.1 1280x800 Dual-Core 1.5GHzQualcomm SnapdragonS4 8260AAppleAppleAppleAppleAppleiPad 4thGeniPad 3rdGeniPad 4thGeniPad 4thGeniPad 4thGen9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA6X9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA5X9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA6X9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA6X9.7 2048x1536 Dual-core 1.4GHz AppleA6X1GB1GB1GB1GB1GB1GB1GB64GB32GB32GB64GB128GB64GB128GBN N iOS7 43,900Y Y Android 4.1 44,690Y N iOS7 45,900Y N iOS7 48,900N N iOS7 49,900Y N iOS7 51,900Y N iOS7 56,900Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 109

Tech @ Work112Industry connectThis month, take a note of the wordsof wisdom from eminent personalitiesin the tech industry.Cancer ControlIBM’s Microfluidic Probe seems like a stepcloser to curing cancer. Read this article toknow more: http://dgit.in/17atgc1Setting up your own NASThe hardway!There are plenty of out-of-the-box NASsolutions available, but not all of them areeconomical for a home/small office use. Here’show you get around to building a full fledged NASdevice and save a lot of money along the way.Mithun Mohandasreadersletters@thinkdigit.comNAS (Network AttachedStorage) devices are gainingin popularity by the daygiven the versatility thatthese devices have to offer. Not only dothey offer a communal storage which ispretty much the basic function of thesedevices but they can be modified using thenumerous plugins available to suit a lotof use case scenarios. You could alwaysbuy a NAS device with a similar level ofversatility which should set you back byquite a bit. Or you could repurpose an oldcomputer as a NAS device. We’ll walk youthrough the entire process.BenefitsWhile adding a new hard drive to yourcomputer does take care of your spaceshortage issues it only lasts till someoneelse runs out of space. Another computerthen needs to be upgraded. So instead ofupgrading multiple devices one by oneyou could just build a NAS device and geta shared storage space which amountsto a much more efficient usage of spaceand funds. Not to mention that particularstorage can be accessed anytimeby anyone and is not dependent on anyone user’s machine. Sharing a folder onyour computer does get the job done andothers can store data on your machine.However, when your machine is turnedoff or experiences connectivity issues thenwork might come to a standstill till yourmachine is fixed.Adding additional storage spacerequires a fair bit of configuration too notto mention searching through all thesefiles across multiple machines is quiteinefficient. A NAS is safe from networkissues affecting individual machines. Allfiles are indexed by most file systems andthus searching for a certain file is fasterand required no user action to manuallyindex newer partitions/drives. Adding anew drive to a NAS device is also an effortlessprocedure as a lot of motherboardssupport hot-plugging on SATA ports. Soyou don’t even have to turn off the NASdevice to add extra storage, just plug inyour power and SATA cables and thedevice’s operating system does the rest.You’d be surprised how economical itis to setup a NAS device, a lot of NAS operatingsystems are open source. Hardwarerequirements aren’t outlandish, an oldPC can be easily repurposed to be a NASdevice. Newer network infrastructureisn’t required unless yourwork is bandwidth exhaustive.And by virtue of beingopen source, any problemsthat you could face along theentire process has alreadybeen documented and stepsto resolve them are availablequite easily. And just like agood portable storage thesethings come with automaticbackup facility to anotherFreeBSD-based FreeNASdrive or to the cloud. Finally, dependingupon which file system you’ve chosenyou even have data redundancy so in theevent one of your hard drives fails thedevice will send you an alert well beforethe actual event occurs and all you have todo is swap the faulty drive with a new one.The data copying and restoring is doneautomatically by the device.Software neededThere are umpteen operating systemsavailable for NAS devices. Most of themare based on a Linux kernel. We’ve chosenFreeBSD based FreeNAS for this littletutorial. There is also U-NAS, unRAID,OpenFiler, Greyhole, NexentaStor etc andfor the more adventurous sort – any linuxdistro on the planet. FreeNAS is prettymuch the most popular distro out therefor NAS and here’s why:ZFS is a file system designed forenterprise storage solutions and is a bitheavy on resources but is somethingyou just setup once and forget about itforever. It is faster than most file systemswhile ensuring data security all along.110 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Metal vs PlasticIt’s like trying to distract a dog from the baconwith yesterday’s chicken. iPhone 5c just can’tseem to compete. http://dgit.in/1cwzELzWar of the tabletsRead further to see the comparisonbetween the new iPad Air, Nexus 7 andSurface 2 series: http://dgit.in/1bdUn59Smart SoHoHow it does that is by having read andwrite caches like every other system but itcontinually indexes each file and createschecksums which are stored away fromthe actual file. So in cases of passive datacorruption which occurs randomly evenwhen the file is not being accessed, the filesystem can detect and heal the corruptdata. Also you don’t need hardware RAID,infact it is recommended that you don’t setit up at all since ZFS has it’s own softwareRAID functionality called RAID-Z1 andRAID-Z2 which has overcome the drawbacksof RAID 5.It also features deduplication andcompression! Deduplication is where thesystem first creates a checksum for a newfile to be written and then checks if the filehas been written before. When there is aprevious copy found the new one is notwritten and just an entry for the file locationis made. Which is why you shouldn’tbackup the NAS data onto the same NASdevice because the deduplication won’tallow a new copy to be written. However,deduplication being the memory intensiveoperation that it is requires a lot ofmemory (5GB RAM per TB of data!). Somost people prefer to turn it off and thenbackup data onto the same NAS device tillit can be moved elsewhere.Hardware neededThe expenditure on the hardware comesdown to what all features you wish toenable on your FreeNAS installation.Installing a 32-bit OS limits the capabilitiesseverely since it can only address 4GB ofRAM which means after keeping aside 1 GBfor the OS there is 3GB of RAM left whichcan manage 3TB of storage space, in caseyou wish to use a 32-bit installation do stickto a UFS file system. Now we’ll look at the64-bit installation. ZFS can be used properlyon a 64-bit installation and requires aminimum of 8GB of RAM. ZFS makes useof all the RAM you throw at it so the more itgets the better is can perform. If you wish toenable deduplication on ZFS then you needto get 5GB of RAM per TB of storage spacewhich amounts to an awful lot once you gobeyond 5TB. Also you might have to spenda little extra on a newer motherboard whichcan handle a lot more RAM. As for speed –1600MHz is fine.The processor should be rated at 1.6GHz minimum for normal operation, themore features you enable the more processingpower the device needs, going allthe way to 3.2 GHz at peak loads is normalfor deduplication. Intel or AMD doesn’tmatter since all the processor is doing ishashing files and nothing else.The WD Red DriveHard drive manufacturers likeWestern Digital, Seagate, Toshiba havecome up with hard drives specificallysuited for NAS drives. The WD Red driveis one such device which is suited for aNAS implementation. It comes in multiplecapacities ranging from 1TB to 4TB, theRPM is managed intelligently given it’sIntelliPower technology which rampsup RPM when data is to be accessed andreduces RPM while idling. Also it features3D Active Balance technology whichleads to reduced wobbling. This not onlysaves power but also reduces the overalltemperature and vibration inside the NASdevice – both being harmful to hard drivesin particular.Better yet, these drives are tested andcertified by all major third-party NASmanufacturers. So you can use themwithout any worry. They are better suitedfor 1-5 bay NAS implementations, in caseyou wish to add more drives than 5 youmight want to consider enterprise solutionslike WD Se and WD Re.Set it up!1. DownloadObtain whichever OS you want, we areusing FreeNAS here. Get the ISO or theflash drive image. Use 7-zip to extract the.xz file. Then use Win32DiskImager to usethe uncompressed .img file and create abootable USB flash drive.2. Install all hardwareGet your computer configurationtogether, ensure that there is enoughRAM as per your storage needs. Plug inthe Ethernet cable and ensure all the WDRed hard drives are connected and aremounted securely.3. Install FreeNASBoot up and change boot priority (usuallyby pressing F11) to boot from the flashdrive. There will be a lot of random textflowing across the screen till you get to theASCII art that spells out FreeNAS. Press1 and then Enter to begin installation orFreeNAS will auto install, anyway.4. ConfigureWithin a few minutes, FreeNAS will haveinstalled and you’ll be shown a consolescreen with an IP address mentioned atthe bottom. Note this address down andtry to access the NAS device from anothercomputer’s web browser. If you can accessit then unplug your monitor and keyboardfrom the NAS device. You are done here.5. Web interfaceThe default user id is “admin” and thepassword is “freenas”. From this web managementconsole you can get everythingdone. You can create partitions, createbackups, schedule regular disk imagecreations or by means of various pluginsadd more features. Change the default idand password for security reasons.6. PluginsThere are a lot of plugins available whichshould enable you to use your NAS as amedia server or a web server. Install Plexto enable a media server GUI tool on theweb interface or you could install Lampand get a fully functional web server foryour hosting needs.ConclusionThat’s all there is to it! It’s not a big tutorialbecause there simply isn’t enoughsteps involved, so get cracking and buildyour own NAS device for cheap!Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 111

Industry ConnectBackup OSXMake your own pocketOSX backup pen drivehttp://dgit.in/OSXonastickSamsung Galaxy S4 I9506Samsung Galaxy S4 I9506 withSnapdragn to launch in Europe. Read moreabout it: http://dgit.in/s4I9506euroCanon’s Price PhilosophyWe spoke to Mr. Andrew Koh, Senior Director, Imaging Communication ProductGroup, Canon India about his responsibilities and his vision of Canon, India. He isfrom Singapore and is “married with three kids and one wife.”Swapnil Mathurswapnil.mathur@thinkdigit.comSo the work you did in Singapore, andnow being in India, do you feel there is adifference in how things work in terms ofbusiness and consumer behavior?First and foremost, I’ve come from a verysmall country to a very huge country.In Singapore, the consumer is the same,but in India, consumer in the South isdifferent from consumer in the North andthey are different from the consumer inthe East. The second thing that is verydifferent is the level of familiarity withphotography. I think Singapore is a verymature market for photographers, andthis is based on the rate of adoption ofnewer technologies. India in my regardsstill has some way to go.Since lenses are also a part of your division,we’d like to know how the prices oflenses are determined. Furthermore, whatled to such a steep rise in their prices eightmonths ago?Much as we try to standardize the pricesworldwide, certain difficulties do comeup, the first one being the exchange rate.When I first came to India in May, theRupee was 55 against the dollar and now,it is 62. Since we cannot be changingprices all the time, we try to factor for thisfluctuation. Second is the import duty,which is quite high on DSLR Lenses.The third is the VAT. Compare this to acountry like Hong Kong, where there is noimport duty or VAT, so lenses are cheapthere. As far as the price hike is concerned,we are here for the long run andthus need to have a sustainable business.Therefore, we need to strike a balancebetween market share and sustainability.All these factors put together comes intoplay to determine the price of the lensesand even the price hike.Andrew Koh, Senior Director, ImagingCommunication Product Group, Canon IndiaWhat kind of signs should users look outfor in terms of the price of equipment goingup, so that they can decide whether to makethe purchase now or wait?Whenever people ask me whens the besttime to buy, my answer is always thesame, “buy it now!” Why delay the gratification?The three or six months you spentwaiting could have been spent enjoyingthe product instead! A product for us isnot about the cheapest price, but the mostvalue one can derive out of it.Why does Canon India not offer anInternational Warranty?Well, we at Canon try to provide ourconsumers with the best local experience.You buy it here and you will get thewarranty here. There are cases like inSingapore where you can trade in our oneyear national warranty for a six monthinternational one, but that’s not so inIndia. As to why there is no internationalwarranty, that is a Canon Inc. decisionand I cannot comment on that. What wedo have in India is the Canon ProfessionalService (CPS) but we are currently in theprocess of revamping the requirementsto standardize it across Asia. So youcould travel across Asia and still reap thebenefits of CPS.Lately, the consumer has realized thatbig sensor makes a difference to imagequality. What is Canon’s take on that?Well, we do have the large sensor G1x.However, different countries have differentrequirements. In the more developedcountries, our S series is doing verywell, and the G series is very popular. InIndia, not so much and I think that hasto do with the level of sophistication andunderstanding of camera technologies, butI also believe that this is slowly changing.Earlier, people were only focused onone thing; “how many megapixels?” butafter some time, they moved onto otherthings like sensor size and aperture. Soovertime, I think that the understandingand sophistication will increase. I feel thatas a market leader worldwide, we have akey role to play in educating the massesbecause we hold all the key technologiesand we also manufacture all the parts andcomponents ourselves.What is your perception about the Indianmarket? Do you see the focus being primarilyon point and shoot cameras or do yousee a shifting trend?The shift is definitely happening andit will develop a momentum overtimebecause a lot of people who have beenfocusing on compact cameras have suddenlyrealized that the demand for thiscategory is declining, but the good thingis, that is driving up the demand forDSLR. This shift has already happenedin many countries, but in India, it isjust beginning.Watch the interview at: http://dgit.in/1h5faN1112 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Google’s Sword + ShieldGoogle protects its own. It’s ‘uProxy’ and‘Project Shield aim at protecting individuals.Read on to know more: http://dgit.in/1fTHtivIdiotic NamesSome characters in games really do havethe most laughable names. Read on to seewhat we mean: http://dgit.in/HdAVgiIndustry ConnectGraphically speakingAt AMD, Raja Koduri’s the sole man driving thecompany’s graphics hardware and softwareendeavours – a rare honour. Having worked at Apple(with Steve Jobs) before re-joining AMD as VP ofVisual Computing, he’s tasked with strategizingAMD’s GPU architecture and hardware roadmap. Wetalk to him about Mantle and other gaming-relatedstuff. Excerpts below:Jayesh Shindejayesh.shinde@thinkdigit.comRaja, could you tell us some more abouthow long Mantle has been cooking insideAMD and what was the thought processbehind it?The concepts about Mantle have beenin discussion for more than five years,because that’s how long some of the gamedevelopers have been coming to us andcomplaining about the problems on thePC and the ways to solve it. In terms of itreally coming together enough for us tobe able to announce it, we’ve been onlyworking on it really for the past year. Andthe timing all came out to be good becausenow we’re in a world where majority ofthe games are based on game engines,and all the game engines are now gettingmajor overhaul and upgrades in anticipationof the new consoles. I’m sure this isa good time for them to architecturallyadopt something new along with all theAPIs they need to support for the gameengines to be compatible on consoles,tablets, multiple APIs.How specific is Mantle? Can a gamedeveloper code in multiple? It’s not aruntime, so can you code partially in Mantleand partially in DX?I think it (Mantle) has enough flexibilityfor those kind of interesting possibilitiesfor the developers to do, and whatmakes sense and what doesn’t make senseremains to be seen. The other thing I’dsay is that Mantle, right now, is kind ofin its first phase of experiment, there arespecific game engine developers that areworking on it, playing around withit and are actually trying to do a fullfledgedtitle like Battlefield 4. While doingall this, they will be learning. They will belike ‘I needed this, I needed to be able todo this, I could have done more with this,if I had compatibility with somethingelse or interoperability with someother APIs, etc. And all of those ideaswill form the roadmap for how we moveMantle forward.I mean there’s one thing about gettingexcited about an API and another thingabout putting all the hard work necessaryto achieve maximum performance.Frankly, Mantle doesn’t do any magic – asI said it’s a very thin, driver-level API,which means it just gets out of the way. Itsmain job is not to be in the way, allowingthe game engine and the game to takeadvantage of all our hardware capabilities.Do you see a fundamental shift in AMD’spriorities; as in, are they turning into apredominantly gaming company?Yeah, I mean that’s a big statement. I’venever seen in my past life at ATI, theamount of focus we have on gaming andgame developers like we have today everbefore. And that’s also one segment ofthe market – the whole high performanceside of the PC market that’s still veryhealthy. Despite all the doom and gloomthat is written around the current PCindustry, which is impacting (which Icall) the ‘crappy side of computers’ whichshouldn’t have existed, actually, but theyexist and they’re going down because theyare better devices. They’re much betterbuilt, better screens. So those are killingRaja Koduri, VP, Visual Computing, AMDthat side of the PC market. But the classicside of the PC market – the reason whywe all use computers, that is still goingpretty healthily, and that still needs moreperformance. That’s where the statementsthat ‘AMD is Gaming’ is coming from.Can we expect a handheld gaming devicefrom AMD in the near future?See the thing is, you’ve got to think, whenyou ask that question ‘What problem willwe be solving for our users?’ Companieskind of get confused about that. Theythink they’re solving their own problems.I mean, if you think that AMD needs toget a handheld game device just to putAMD technology in their hands, are wesolving a problem that the user has withhandheld gaming? That’s how we lookat things – if there is a problem that wethink we can solve – and not just to sellmore hardware. That’s not how you getinto these businesses. Right now, I don’tsee that there is a problem to be solvedthat isn’t already covered (by Androiddevices for mobile gaming).Koduri once served in a range of graphicsleadership roles at AMD and formerly at ATI.He is the latest example of world-class processorengineering and design talent to join AMD.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 113

EscCommunity116The zealous young lads of our very ownDigit Squad put fingers to keyboard to presentyou with some interesting reads 118Digit 101Everything you ever wanted toknow about keyboards in one,easy-to-understand articleMother nature’s day offNature has a habit of working in very weird, but usually wonderful ways. Sometimes however,she lets her hair down and when she does, she unwittingly unleashes the most horrificcreatures that the world has ever seen.Desmoxytes purpuroseaAlso known as the shocking pink dragonmillipede, yes, that is its real name.This is a creature that can go aroundclaiming that it’s absolutely fabulous andnot one other creature will argue thatpoint. Why? This terrifying monstrositysecretes hydrogen cyanide! Unlikenormal millipedes, this one doesn’t eventry to hide in the undergrowth.Megalara garudaWith jaws so large that they need to bewrapped around its own head, this waspis a freak of nature. At 2.5-inches, it’slarger than any wasp has any right to beand it’s quite poisonous as well. No oneknows exactly why this creaturehas jawsthat are longer than its legs but there issome speculation that it has somethingto do with mating rituals. (shudder)Megalopyge opercularisThis diminutive creature might look likea cute fur ball and has even been christenedthe puss caterpillar because ofits similarity to a Persian cat. Now whysomeone would imagine that a caterpillarcan look like a cat is beyond us,but we’ll let it slide. This awful creaturesecretes a potent poison from the spinesalong its fur.Giant isopodJust thinking about this gives us thecreeps. A merciless, hideous beast witha bloodlust of the type we’ve neverheard of before; the giant isopod basicallylatches onto the tongue of a fish,eats the tongue and then supplants it.The isopod then spends the rest of itslife sucking the life-blood out of the fishfrom the surviving tongue stubble.Vespa mandarinia japonicaThat multi-syllable name is referringto the Japanese Giant Hornet, a hornetwith a wingspan of just under 2.5-inches.What makes this creature scary is itsdamage potential, where it can massacreentire bee colonies when outnumbered a1000:1. And anyway, getting chased for50 miles by 2-inch bees is not an enjoyableprospect.BlobfishAt long last, the end of our list and arguably,the ugliest animal in the world; presenting,the blobfish. Unlike all the otheranimals in this list, this one takes thecake for being the most harmless, but atthe same time the most repulsive, creaturehere. A quirk of nature, this fish’sugliness is a consequence of its deepsea habitat.114 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Ubuntu TouchUbuntu’s operating system forsmartphones reviewed. Read more on:http://dgit.in/touchmyubuntuMicro-PhoneEver thought you need to check out the structure of anepithelial cell, but have nothing bt your phone? Find out how tomake your own Phone Microscope http://dgit.in/micro-phoneUnwindHow we unwindGTA VGTA stole our time this month. A lotof it. Everyone was fighting over theconsole and while Jayesh was happilyclueless in America, all work came toa standstill as we sat around and eitherplayed, or watched the story unfold assomeone else played the game. Goodtimes, really good times.ClickingBadMany of you might have heard thatBreaking Bad has, sadly, come to anend. It was Jayesh and our new minionthat discovered clickingbad (http://dgit.in/1h4Irra). An addictive game that hadthe whole team hooked for quite a while,till Anirudh came up with an AHK scriptfor making trillions overnight that is.Initiation ritesWe’ve been getting a steady stream ofminions for a while now and figuringout what to do with them is a challenge.To sort out this problem we’ve beenformulating a set of initiation rites thata fresh minion must get through if it’sto be a part of our team. Hmm, do weshoot him before or after the internship?diarySince the time the Ant arrived in our office some 10 months ago,we’ve been working him over in the hopes of getting him up toscratch. Our efforts always pay off, but every once in a while hedoes something that leaves us speechless and wondering if ourefforts were for naught. Take the first half of this past month forinstance, the time when we received a copy of GTA V for review.Jayesh had disappeared to the U.S. to meet some guys fromAMD and he had left us his PS3 specifically so we could playthe game. As it turns out, the Ant quickly and quietly swiped thedevice and snuck into his corner of the TC and started playingbefore anyone knew what had happened. We’re an indulgent lotat Digit and we let the lad have his day, on condition that he finishplaying and writing the review within the week, given that he hadthe DVDs to finish.What followed was a mad week of non-stop gaming andsleepless nights and the result? A completed game in five daysand a review a couple of days later. We were mighty impressedby his endurance and all the more surprised when he said thatthe DVDs would also be done on time (they were due in two daysand he hadn’t slept much the past week). What we didn’t knowwas that all was not actually very well in the Ant’s world. Thatfateful night, Jayesh and Anirudh went to sleep and left the Antto his own devices, busy preparing the xml files and compilinglists and categorizing the DVD data.It was early next day that they heard the moaning. Jayeshand Anirudh were shaken from the depths of their slumber byan other-worldly wail the likes of which they had never heardbefore. A hideously sad wailing that set their teeth on edge butsimultaneously moved them to tears, a sound not unlike that of abanshee getting asphyxiated in an air-tight plastic bag.As they shook the last dregs of sleep and their brain grudginglystarted to kick itself into gear, they found the source ofthe noise. It was the Ant. He was frozen in his chair, staring athis monitor in complete, wide-eyed terror, and issuing forth thatawful noise from his vocal chords. Jayesh and Anirudh were quitestunned at first, but as their brains booted up, they managedto get enough sense to try and coax the tale of horror from themouth of that quivering young lad.It turned out that the Ant had somehow, in his half-asleepstate, deleted the entire contents of the Alpha DVD before hehad compiled the ISO! Ten hours of hard work all down the drainbecause he accidentally pressed “Shift+Delete”. To top it off,he had stored the data on an SSD and the fact that Windows 8incorporates the TRIM function scared him even more (Google itif you don’t know what we’re talking about).As luck would have it, the drive hadn’t yet been TRIMmedand he could recover the data. But what a night! That wailing issomething that will be etched in our memories forever. The Antwill never live this down. We won’t let him. (muahahahaha)Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 115

Digit SquadR9-290X benchmarksCheck out the benchmark scores ofAMD’s latest poster boy GPU - RadeonR9-290X here: http://dgit.in/R9-290XBattlefield 4 CommInterested in Battlefield 4?Remember to buy your matchingheadset! http://dgit.in/16sDcKiThis month we highlight some aspiring techwriters and their spirited attempt to get publishedin the magazine. Let’s have more!Readers’ write-upsTarun DhamTechnology InSportsTechnology is an integralpart of our lives. Most ofthe things we use currentlywouldn’t have existedwithout technology. Evensports isn’t unaffected. Let’s take a look atsome technology specifically for sports:CricketPeople are crazy about cricket in India,but they hardly have a clue about thetechnology used in the sport. Obviously,the looking-glass that is your TV is also animportant technological creation.SnickometerCreated by Allan Plaskett, this techniquehelps umpires decide whether a batsmanis out or not out. A sensitive microphone iskept near the stumps and it’s connected toan oscilloscope that measures soundwaves made by the ball touching the bat.On contact, the oscilloscope responds witha big wave (of sound). The decision is madewhen the wave is synchronised and playedwith the slow motion shot.HawkeyeThis brilliant piece of technology was createdby Dr. Paul Hawkins. It uses sensitiveimage processing techniques using camerasthat are placed all over the stadiumwhich track the trajectory of the ballthrown by the bowler. This helps accuratelytrack the ball’s speed and length,providing the decision that is used inLBW. The Hawkeye is not only used incricket but also in tennis as well, to helpresolve disagreements.DartfishDartfish is used by team coaches to analysea player’s performance, statistics etc.It not only shows the player’s live footage,but also compares the footage to the lastplayedmatch. This sophisticated systembreaks the recorded footage into frame-byframesequences for the actions of eachplayer, helping performance analyses.Formula 1Everyone is familiar with this sport whichpits professional drivers against eachother for a race using super fast F1 cars atbreak-neck speeds. Since the pace of thissport is extremely quick, it is continuouslymonitored by the race teams, and the raceris given second-by-second reports. Thereis a lot of impressive technology used :Car DesignA regular F1 car is capable of going from0 to 160km/h in less than five secondsand the design of the car matters a lot. Tohandle this, each and every F1 car ismeticulously designed. The chassis of atypical F1 car is made of composite carbonfibre and lightweight materials andthus the weight of the car is very lessbut ballast is placed inside the car toimprove weight distribution. This helpslower the car’s centre of gravity, thusincreasing its stability. The car isdesigned keeping aerodynamics in mind.Good aerodynamics minimise drag, loweringturbulence. The wings of an F1 carare very important too as they help inproviding maximum downforce.Steering wheelUsing the steering wheel of the F1 car, adriver has the ability to control many elementsof the car. The buttons and knobson the steering wheel can be used tochange gears, adjust fuel/air mix, applyrev. limiter, change brake pressure, use theradio. A small LCD screen on the steeringwheel displays data such as speed, engineRPM, lap times, and the gear. The steeringwheel has gear shift paddles as well.Tanmay PatangeMy visit to the You-Tube API DevelopersConclaveA big high five to DigitSquad members and readersalike who share theknowlegde they obtainfrom this magazine. I would like to shareone of my experiences with all you readers.Earlier this month, I attended the YouTubeAPI Developers Conclave in Mumbai. Theturnout was impressive and the attendees’response was great All of them looked verypassionate about YouTube APIs, especiallyfor application development.At the venue, I met Jonathan Levine,Associate Product Manager at Google. Hereare some of the key points I discussed:Me: I recently saw a movie called “TheInternship”, which was really fascinating.It shows the interns going through sometough challenges which they had neverimagined. Is the process actually that difficultor is that just the Movie?Jonathan: (Laughs) Not really! I agreethat the process is not so easy to complete.However, whatever is shown in the movie isnot 100% real, after all it’s just a film right?Me: Yes, exactly. Moreover, is it reallythe Google HQ shown in the movie?Jonathan: Yes, at some parts. Some ofthe movie scenes were filmed inside Googleheadquarters, and I remember it happeningjust outside my cabin. It was reallya great experience for all of us at Google.Me: Google introduced the ChromebookPixel and the Chrome OS. Is thereany reason why Google employees areusually seen working on a MacBook Pro?Jonathan: (Laughs again) Maybe yes! Ihave Chromebook Pixel, and in terms ofhardware specifications, it simply stands116 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

Youtube RadioYoutube is soon going to be used onAndroid phones as a background musicplayer. Read more on: http://dgit.in/ytradioCorrigendumThe Digit Squad article on Rooting an AndroidPhone/tablet was written by Rupesh Prabhu inthe Oct 2013 issue. We apologise for the error.Digit Squadout in the market. Nevertheless, I don’t really use it. The reason Iuse MacBook Pro is because it is secure and lightweight.Dileep MohanHello Firefox!The next big thing is already here: Firefox OS(FxOS). Mozilla’s OS uses a Linux kernel andboots into a Gecko-based runtime engine, lettingusers run applications developed entirely usingHTML, JavaScript, and other open web applicationAPIs. Yes! Even the simplest website can bemade into an app. Wait, the best part is yet to come. Since you aredeveloping using HTML/JS, any other platform that supports aweb browser will be able to use your app and have offline supporttoo! So let’s take baby steps to make a Hello World for FxOS.Pre-requisites: HTML/JS/CSS basics; A text editor,Firefox browser, FxOS Simulator add-on and the Firebug addonfor debugging.Let’s Begin: In FxOS we design the UI with HTML/CSS andJavascript for programming controls like buttons, forms etc.We’ll be making three basic files – an HTML (.html) ,Javascript (.js) and a CSS (.css). Create a directory to saveyour files, say “Hello” on your hard drive. And create a fileindex.html (any name will do) and save it with the basicHTML tags. Hello Firefox Hello FirefoxYou can test if the file is working by opening it in Firefoxbrowser. You can also use CSS media queries to build aresponsive layout for the application. Use ctrl+shift+M tocheck your app in different screen sizes in Firefox. EveryFirefox OS app needs a file called manifest.webapp. This filecontains the app’s name, description, permissions and othersettings like author, icon, etc. Type this in your text editor:{“name”: “Hello World”,“description”: “My first Firefox OS app”,“launch_path”: “/index.html”,“icons”: {“128”: “/img/icon-128.png”},“developer“: {“name”: “Your name or organization”,“url”: “http://your-homepage-here.org”},“default_locale” : “en”}Save it as manifest.webapp in your directory. Now fire up theFirefox OS Simulator by going to Tools>Web Developer>FirefoxOS Simulator in the Firefox browser. Click on AddDirectory and browse to the manifest.webapp you have justcreated. Tada! Your Hello World is now installed and runningin Firefox OS. Now let’s add a button and an input boxin index.html inside the tag:Click hereNow let’s program the controls. As we know that the programmingparts are done by Javascript, we now write the helloworld.js. Inyour text editor type these lines://get the added elementsvar button = document.getElementById(‘testButton’);var txtInput = document.getElementById(‘testInput’);//click eventbutton.addEventListener(‘click’, function(){var text = txtInput.value;//Show alert box with this textalert(text);})Save it as helloworld.js in your directory. Open Firefox OS Simulatorand click update. Congratulations! You have made your firstFxOS app. Head to dgit.in/HFireFox for more resources.Disclaimer: The views expressed in this section are of the respectiveDigit Squad members.Digit or 9.9 Media takes no responsibility of theirclaims whatsoever.

Digit 101The Dexter plagueDexter Malware makes psychokillerinto cyberthief. I see plastic cards inyour future. http://dgit.in/1gNhdoHReal world DNDNot unlike their online shopping counterparts, retailstores in the U.S are tracking their customer’s everymove. Here’s how http://dgit.in/1gCBZtEKeyboards 101Buying something as simple as a keyboard for your PC can be quite a task with all those optionsout there. Let’s help you cut that long list down, shall we?USB or PS/2Most motherboards come with a PS/2 port so itreally doesn’t matter if you get a PS/2 or USBkeyboard unless you want the portability thatcomes with it. Keyboards don’t need any significantbandwidth so use a USB 2.0 port.Key Roll OverKRO is the ability of a keyboard to distinguishall the keys that are simultaneously pressed.• 3KRO - can detect 3 keys• 6KRO - can detect 6 keys• nKRO - can detect any number of keysGhostingThe keyboard circuitry is a mesh of multipleelectrodes. Pressing a key triggers a combinationin the mesh; pressing two triggers another.Certain combinations share the same signals sothere is a chance that a key that wasn’t pressedmight be detected purely because of the similarcombination in the mesh. This is called ghosting.Good motherboards have a modified meshso that multiple combinations don’t share thesame signal.LayoutsThe way keys are positioned on the keyboardis according to a pattern that has been carriedforth from the typewriters. Current technologyhas overcome the hindrances of the mechanicaltypewriter and thus we now have multiplekeyboard layouts. Certain countries prefer adifferent positioning of some keys. Also, thelanguage of the keyboard has a lot to do withthe layout as well. The QWERTY layout is themost common, but there are other interestinglayouts like the DVORAK - the most commonlyused letters are placed in the centre row (AS-DFGHJKL). This improves typing efficiency byreducing the number of mistakes made.Unusual Keyboard TypesFoldableMade out of rubber or silicon, these keyboardscan be rolled up and carried easily. Some aren’tflexible but they can be dismantled.Optical/LaserThese keyboards are quite exotic, they have aflat surface onto which the entire keyboard patternis illuminated by light. Placing your fingerover a key reflects light back into the keyboardand triggers a keypress.ProjectionSimilar to optical keyboards with a twist,projection keyboards project the entire keyboardpattern onto any surface that reflects asufficient bit of the projected light. Placing anyreflective object over a key reflects light whichis captured by a camera.FeaturesMechanical keysThese are durable keys whose trigger mechanismis altered to provide tactile feedback forthose who prefer an audio chatter as they type.Cherry MX Keyboards: FeaturesTactilefeedbackClicknoiseActuationforceCherry MX Black No No 60 cNCherry MX Red No No 45 cNCherry MX Brown Yes No NACherry MX Blue Yes Yes 50 cNCherry MX Clear Yes No 65 cNCherry MX Grey NA NA 80 cNCherry MX Green Yes Yes 80 cNCherry MX White Yes Slight 80 cNCherry MX Super Black No No 150 cNCherry MX Dark Grey No No 80 cNCherry MX Lock NA NA NAThe Cherry MX series which is popularly usedin most keyboards comes in multiple variants.Each variant suited for specific purpose.MacrosMacro keys are programmable buttons whichcan trigger a set of commands or multiple keypresses in a sequence. So if you want just onekey to open an Explorer window, a browserwindow, a calculator and the notepad with justone key.BacklightingBacklighting is achieved when the entire key ismade with an infusion of opaque and translucentplastic. The translucent part is thenpainted over with opaque paint to leave outjust the key pattern. So when an LED is lit upbeneath the keyboard only the character showsup illuminated. Certain keyboards allow forpatterns in backlighting so you can have certainkeys (WASD) light up keeping the others dark.Cable modificationsSometimes the keyboard cable is covered witha protective cloth sheath for added durability.Also keyboards feature routing paths along thebottom to channel the cable out of whicheverside you want to. Now-a-days keyboards sometimesfeature removable cables so you can replacethe cable in case a mouse chews throughit. Gold plating has no effect on performanceother than the fact that it doesn’t oxidize.118 Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com

The RSS FeedNothing endures but changeIwant to start with thanking all of youwho wrote in to wish me by email oron Facebook – for those who don’talready know I became a dad in September,and have been going throughthe whole deal of sleepless nights and tiringdays that make the horrors of issue closingseem like a walk in the park. Since I’ve beenasked a lot, I should tell you I named my sonLucas Isaac, as a tribute to two of my biggestscience-fiction heroes – George Lucas andIsaac Asimov.Now getting back to the headline of thiscolumn, the Greek philosopher Heraclituswas the first person to say this, and he said it2500 years ago! He’s right of course, and since2500 years hasn’t proven him wrong thus far,we’re not about to try.First I want to put some of the rumours Iheard to rest: No I was not “fired”, and neitherdid I “quit”! I don’t work for either Apple orBlackBerry now – which is what some of youthought when I asked people to add me for astress test of BBM that I ran on iOS! Funny?Yes. True? No.I’ve always thought of Digit as the brandthat breaks the mold, ducks under all the redtape and doesn’t toe the line. We’re different.Why? Because we have fun doing what we do,and we don’t give a damn who we piss off solong as we tell the truth. I’d like to think I’vekept that attitude going for the past decade(which I inherited from my seniors when Ijoined in 2003). Now it’s time for some freshblood to take over and bring something newto the table, whilst following the same idealsof course.Many of you will ask, “Why has the RSSFeed shifted to the end of the magazine?” Thesimple answer is that although I am 100 percent focussed on Digit the brand, over the pasttwo or three months I have ceased to be 100per cent focussed on Digit the magazine.As many of you know, editors are creaturesthat hang on to their editorial pages asif their life depends on it (and often it does)...thankfully at Digit (and 9.9) we’re a littledifferent. Credit always goes where creditis due, and StaticSid (Siddharth’s nicknameand thus the reason for “Static Page” in caseyou were wondering) has been the one to takecharge in my absence. He will continue to beresponsible for the day-to-day functioningof the magazine, and although I will surelymeddle every chance I get (just to exasperateeveryone), he’s the one who deserves thepraise (or abuse even), will ensure that themagazine reaches you on time, and that it carriescontent that you will love. Thus he is thenew face of this magazine by default, simplybecause it’s his rear end that’s on the line andnot mine anymore!So what am I going to be up to now? Thoseof you registered on the forum would haveseen me being more active there recently, sothat’s one aspect of what I will be doing. I willalso do what I love most, interact directlywith you, our readers, whether online, onFacebook, on our forum, over the phone andyes even in person.My aim is to ensure that we find new waysto engage you, serve you and reach you. Inorder to be your technology navigator, we’regoing to have to do a lot more than give you afew articles in a magazine or on a web site –no matter how brilliantly written. Suffice tosay, a bunch of us are going to be working onsome interesting new things which we hopeyou will like. That’s all I can tell you for now...without having to kill you that is.We have a few things in mind already, obviously,but we still want to listen to you, and seeif we’ve missed any aspect of what you expectfrom us. If you have ideas on how we canleverage our strengths and expertise to serveyou better, make sure to drop me a line and letme know – via our Facebook page, the forum,and by email (robert@thinkdigit.com). Here’slooking forward to change, and partnering allof you on the journey to improvement.Robert Sovereign-SmithExecutive Editorrobert@thinkdigit.com“In order to beyour technologynavigator, we’regoing to have to doa lot more than giveyou a few articlesin a magazine oron a web site.”Liked or hated this column?Write in torobert@thinkdigit.comand let me know your thoughts.Digit | November 2013 | www.thinkdigit.com 119

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