welcome note

colophon

There Goes The

First Quarter!
A
s the first quarter of the gains. In our cover story, we find out how the methods hackers
year is about to come to used to find loopholes, what they are used for, how much they
a close, I have to say that cost and what are some of the consequences it can bring to
it really has been a very exciting individuals and an entire nation.
few months thanks the numerous events we have had here locally Of course, that isn’t all we have in store for you this month as
and overseas. February really blazed by us as Nazrin and myself we other features that are also very informative like the Repair
found ourselves going for three different work trips in Vietnam, Special that is catered to all you DIY-junkies out there and also an
Indonesia and Japan. Be sure to check out all our coverage for the article that tells you how to stop Google and Facebook using your
NVIDIA, Samsung and OKI inside. name and photo for advertisements and so much more.
Other than those events, the Mobile World Congress also took Finally, we also have a very good selection of products when it
place in February but it was way too close to our closing period so comes to our reviews and although we were a little strapped for
we have kept the highlights of that show for next month. There time, we still soldiered on to bring you our thoughts on some of
were loads of impressive new devices showcased at the event and the latest gadgets and hardware.
we can’t wait to share them with you. So, that’s really all I have to say for this month and I really can’t
But let’s set our focus back to this issue. This month, our cover believe the first three months of 2014 has already come and gone
story is about security loopholes and how it has become quite a but no matter as they year seems to be a very interesting one.
commodity in the industry as software engineers, government Until the next issue, remember to stay safe & live for the moment.
officials and even cybercriminals fight for it for their own personal

Jeremy Cheong

Managing Director Noor Azman ONLINE DISTRIBUTED BY

Head of Department YK Cheah www.chip.com.my MPH Distributors Sdn. Bhd. All information in the magazine / free CD
Ground Floor Warehouse, Lot 2, Bangunan is provided ‘as is’ and ‘as available’ and
EDITORIAL @CHIPMY TH, CHIP magazine / the publisher makes no
No. 5, Jalana Bersatu, Section 13/4, representations and gives no warranty of
Editor Jeremy Cheong 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor any kind, implied, express or statutory as
CHIP Malaysia
Writer Nazrin Zain Tel: (03) 7958 1688 Fax: (03) 7956 5995 to the accuracy, adequacy, completeness,
non-infringement of 3rd party rights, title,
Contributors Anand Tuliani, Azril
merchantability and / or suitability / fitness
Malik, Brian Pereira, Deepti Krishnan, PUBLISHER © This edition of CHIP is a publication of for a particular purpose with respect to the
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Pletzer, Tan Jee Yee Tel: (03) 7727 6554 Fax: (03) 7727 3554 Germany. or in tort arising out of or in connection with
Design & Layout Halijah Ismail the use of the information made available in
Cover Design Halijah Ismail PRINTED BY No part of CHIP magazine / free CD shall be CHIP magazine / free CD.
reproduced without thepublisher’s written
SALES & MARKETING permission. The use of the programs in the
Unipress Printer Sdn. Bhd. All prices, product versions and URLs’ are
free CD is subject to the reader’s acceptance correct at the time of printing.
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Senior Manager YK Cheah of the terms and conditions found in the CD.
Alam Jaya,
Consultant Muffadzlee Dato’ Sufian 42300 Bandar Punchak Alam, All views expressed in the magazine
Selangor Darul Ehsan. are solely those of the writer and do
ADMINISTRATION Tel: (03) 6038 5578 Fax: (03) 6038 3944
Admin Manager WP Lim not necessarily represent those of CHIP
magazine / the publisher.

International Members of the Family


 

China Czech Germany Hungary India Indonesia Italy Netherlands Poland Romania Russia Thailand Turkey Ukraine
Republic
 contents
march 2014

067
The Business
End Of
Security
Loopholes
In this month’s cover story, we take a look
at security loopholes and why they are
now considered a commodity by hackers,
governments and software engineers. We
also explore how some developers forge
partnerships with hackers to root out
potentially devastating loopholes

061
A Guide To DIY
Repairs For
Devices
After a device’s warranty period is over and
problems start cropping up, most would just
replace said device with a new one. But if you’re

058 on a tight budget and fancy a little hands-

on project, we teach you how to easily solve
common problems

Facebook &
Google Privacy
Find out how you can stop your photo and name
being using in ads by Facebook and Google with
a few simple steps
 contents
march 2014

008 113 104

036 054 111

FEATURES
036 LegalTECH TEST LAB LITE & LEISURE
Most of us haven’t read it yet 069 Test Lab: The Tools 104 Read
but its time we took a look a t Test Labs’ tools of the trade If you love unconventional sci-
some of Facebook’s Terms & 070 Test Lab Contents fi stories then you should really
Conditions Take a pick and get check out Hitoshi Ashinano’s
054 Timeline started! Yokohama Kaidaishi Kikou
Find out what was the 078 Reviews 111 Play
granddaddy to Instagram? Professionally conducted The Last of Us for the PS3 was
reviews following our stringent already a fantastic game but
NEWS & TRENDS tests and benchmarks does its latest DLC measure up
008 Local News to it?
Coverage of the latest news PRACTICE
and events right on our shores 113 Getting Android Back In REGULARS
024 World Wired Web Shape 001 Welcome Note
All the latest tech happenings Is your Android device acting 006 Letters
around the world weird after an update? Find out 119 Tips and Tricks
028 Security Reports how you can bring back into
Monthly dose of security news shape
 contents
chip downloads

CHIP Downloads
We’re back with our monthly dose of interesting, free and handy tools for you to enhance your PC experience. If you want to know how
you can get these files, follow the instructions below:

1. Head on our website @ www.chip.com.my and right at the top, click on the “Downloads” tab
2. After that, click on the respective month’s post (eg. March 2014). You will then be prompted for a password. The password can be
found on this page monthly.
3. Navigate using the tabs and pick the categories you want to download the files from. Once you find the file you want, just click on it
and you’re good to go!

And it’s as easy as that!

PASSWORD FOR MARCH 2014 - capacitor

Featured Tools
Secunia PSI Microsoft Enhanced
Chances are you have more Mitigation Experience
software installed in your PC Toolkit
than you can remember. Solid State Drives are known
Secunia PSI is a software that for their super-fast read and
identifies vulnerabilities in write times, and are more
these programs and provides often than not used as OS
you with reminders that these drives to minimise boot and
software need to be updated startup times. The only
to ensure that they work properly and are secure. You can even problem is that these flash-based drives have a shorter lifespan
set it so that every time a new update comes in, Secunia will compared to their magnetic counterparts. SSD Life is a software
automatically update them for you so you don’t have to worry that is able to calculate the lifespan of your SSD, which allows you
about having out-of-date software. to control how safe and secure your data is on them.

KeePass Password Safe Portable

As we become more dependant on the Internet, we begin to realise that we’re using many
passwords for different services. KeePass is a software that helps you store all your passwords, be it
for your Windows network login, your email account, FTP passwords, and other online passwords.
So as you register and use a wide variety of passwords, you only need to remember one master
password, which is the one used to safely lock all the other passwords in a database. It is also
portable, which means you can install the app in a thumbdrive, external hard drive or CD and bring
it around with you without worrying about leaving any personal information behind.

Essentials
Our list of essentials consists of programs and software such as graphic drivers, browsers, compression software and even Cloud
storage software that will improve a PC user’s experience. The links on our website won’t provide you with the files, instead it will lead
you to the developers’ official website, where you can find the right file for you.

004 march 14 chip malaysia

 contents
chip downloads

March 2014
The Monthly Ten
Ashampoo Burning Studio Glary Utilities 4.1
Operating system: Win XP/Vista/7 Operating system: Win XP/Vista/7
Ashampoo Burning Studio is a Glary Utilities is a software that
standalone CD/DVD burning helps you remove clutter from your
software that does away with a lot registry, and also gets rid of system
of gimmicks. You can choose to files that bloat your OS installation.
either backup the entire PC or just It also fixes problems relating to
the individual libraries or user errors, crashes and freezes, and
directories. The software allows you features over 20 tools to maximize
to not only backup date to CD or your PC’s performance.
DVD drives, but also USB flash drives and external HDDs as well.

Challenger 2.4.5 Opera 18

Operating system: Win XP/Vista/7 Operating system: Win XP/Vista/7
Challenger allows you to encrypt Opera is one of the fastest Internet
files folders and hard drives. All you browsers available today. It
need to do is press the Encrypt/ supports the latest web technologies
Decrypt button and select the files such as HTML5 and CSS3 and has a
you want to encrypt. You can also variety of add-ons that you can
set a list of passphrases you want to download for free to enhance your
use in order to decrypt the folders. web-browsing experience.

ToolWiz Time Freeze 2014 gBurner Virtual Drive

Operating system: Win XP/Vista/7 Operating system: Win XP/Vista/7
What ToolWiz does is turn your The gBurner Virtual Drive tool does
entire Windows-based computer only one thing, and it does it well. It
into a sandbox so you can test creates virtual drives, which allows
various things safely without having you to make use of various image
to worry that it will jeopardise your file formats such as ISO, BIN, CUE
system. It even resets your PC and NRG files.
settings once you’re done.

Ocenaudio 2.0 HeavyLoad 3.3

Operating system: Win XP/Vista/7 Operating system: Win XP/Vista/7
Ocenaudio 2.0 is an audio editing HeavyLoad allows you to check
software that lets you play around whether your system is able to
with a wide variety of audio formats, operate stably under full system
be it mp3, AAC or even WAV. With load. This tool conducts several
this software you can effortlessly tests on your PC to check on the
edit and cut your music files, choose processor, graphics card and the
from a variety of effects and create HDD. Based on the results, you can
mixes of your favourite songs. then decide whether or not your
system is up to snuff.

BleachBit 1.0 ADWCleaner

Operating system: Win XP/Vista/7 Operating system: Win XP/Vista/7
BleachBit made its name originally Downloading freeware might seem
in Linux-based systems, and its task like the best idea but more often
is to clean your system off than not, they come with unwanted
unnecessary temporary and LOG add-ons such as browser toolbars.
files with the press of a button. It not What ADWCleaner does is it scans
only checks the common files and your PC for these unwanted tools
folders but also system and and gets rid of them, making your
application folders as well. PC much more responsive.

chip malaysia march 14 005

 letters
readers’ feedback

Letters
Letter of the Month of these components are rated to have a Mean Time Before
Failure (MTBF) of several thousand hours.
With regards to “gimmicky” features found on graphics
cards and motherboards employed by OEMs, this is one way
these companies differentiate themselves from one another
and each will definitely have its own pros and cons in terms of
performance.
Our reviews of these products are to ensure that readers
and potential buyers such as yourself know what these products
are capable of and if they suit your needs and budget.
Making a comparison list of various similar GPUs and
DTIG4/16G
motherboards is certainly an intriguing idea, and we will be
Pondering About Shelf-Life taking your suggestion into consideration.
Dear CHIP, For the great feedback and ideas you have given, we would
I subscribed to your magazine about two years ago. There was like to bestow upon you the honour of being one of our Letters
an article that caught my attention and it was titled “Hardware of the Month. So to show you our appreciation, we are also
with An Expiry Date” published in the August 2012 issue. giving you 16GB Kingston DataTraveler G4. Enjoy and please
Then in the newest issue I received, there was an article titled continue giving us more great ideas!
“Programmed Deterioration” which I believe is similar to the
one in August 2012. I like both articles very much as it keeps me Favourites From Vegas
up to date with the shelf-life of various gadgets and estimated Dear CHIP,
time before it break downs before I consider any new tech. In I happen to have stumbled upon your magazine in a book store
fact, which of the tech nowadays doesn’t have self-life? Even if I frequent recently, and was drawn in by the front cover, which is
it doesn’t break down, it will still be phased out thus becoming of the coverage of the Consumer Electronics Show that happened
out-dated. recently. I browsed through the magazine, and the coverage
Using these articles as a template, I would like to suggest that you guys did for the event was very informative, yet not too
to you to conduct more inspections and tests on computer technical, which made it a very enjoyable read.
hardware, for example, graphic card and motherboard. Those That being said, I am quite curious as to which of these products
higher-end devices are usually quite pricey. But what if the money caught your personal fancies, and what do you hope to see more of
we spent is not worth the value because of its shorter lifespan? in 2014? I for one hope that we see less of smartphones, and more
Another suggestion I have is with regards to the many of the cool stuff such as wearables, 3D printing and the like!
different brand of hardware and their respective advertisement Travis Poh
gimmicks such as the various cooling solutions, do they have
the same type of performance or are they just about they same Dear Travis,
Things like these can easily confuse or mislead consumers. CES 2014 has certainly shifted a lot of focus from the usual PC,
By providing proper comparisons on the lifespan of products notebook and smartphone brands, and we too were very excited
and proving that these products do live up to the facts in their about the little and big things shown at the event this year. One
advertisements, you will be able to guide consumers to buy of our writers owns a Kickstarter Pebble, and after looking at the
devices that is worth every cent and has a better lifespan. somewhat upgraded Pebble Steel, the only thing that stopped
Lio Jiun Yung him from pre-ordering one the day it was announced was its
relatively prohibitive price tag.
Dear Jiun Yung, That being said, we believe that one of the technologies we’ll
Thank you for writing in and giving us such great feedback. be seeing a lot more of this year is quite likely going to be 4K
The articles you’ve mentioned certainly had our interests piqued resolution televisions. The battles have begun late last year, and
as well, as there are many businesses and manufacturers who looks to continue on, with players such as Sony, Samsung and
do exactly that, making components faulty just outside the LG asserting themselves in the market with their very own takes
warranty period so that customers are forced to either fork out on UHD TVs.
a fortune for repairs, or buy a newer model, which we’re pretty As PC components enthusiasts, Razer’s Project Christine
sure is against some consumer laws. takes center stage for us, ahead of the Nabu wristband. If Razer’s
As for your suggestion, whilst it would be a good idea, modular PC project goes through, we’re very certain that the PC
testing for failure rates is a difficult and time consuming components industry will be turned inside out, though we are yet
process, which could easily take weeks, if not months as most to be sure if this is a good or bad thing.

Write to us at [email protected]. Alternatively, log on to the forums at forum.chip.com.my and make yourself heard! The Letters page is an outlet for you to voice your
views and opinions towards the magazine as well as general tech trends. Feedback sent to us may be edited for suitability without altering the intended point-of-view. The
monthly winners for LoTM will be contacted for further details.

006 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
local news

For instance, users can use gestures on

the display to do various things such
as activating the display, turning on the
camera and such.
OPPO also unveiled three other phones
as well, the OPPO Find 5 Mini, the OPPO
R1 and the OPPO Neo. The OPPO Find 5
Mini comes with a 4.7-inch display with
a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels, powered
by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB
of RAM, an 8MP camera and also sports
OPPO’s Color OS.
The OPPO R1 is a 5-inch phone with
a resolution of 1,280x720 pixels with a
1.3GHz quad-core processor and 1GB
of RAM. Like the Find 5 Mini, it is also
powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor,
1GB of RAM and sports an 8MP rear-facing
camera, as well as a 5MP front-facing
camera.
The OPPO Neo meanwhile is targeted
at the low-end market, and features a
4.5-inch display with a resolution of 854 x
480 pixels, powered by a dual-core 1.3GHz
(From leŌ): OPPO Electronics Brand Manager, Lu Chen; OPPO Electronics CEO, William Fang and OPPO Electronics Assistant to processor with 512MB of RAM. Unlike
CEO, Candice Liu posing with the very impressive OPPO N1.
the previous two phones, this one has a
5MP rear camera and a 2MP front facing

An OPPO-rtunity camera, running the ColorOS as well.

Available in stores, the OPPO N1 costs
RM1,798, while the OPPO Find 5 Mini is

Not To Be Missed RM998, the OPPO R1 RM1,298 and the

OPPO Neo RM590 respectively.
en.oppo.com
OPPO makes its mark in Malaysia by launching
flagship N1 smartphone and three other models

O
PPO is a smartphone brand that have involved more than 1,500 engineers.
many local tech enthusiasts have They produced 200 patent applications
been looking forward to seeing every month for technology innovations,
here in Malaysia. The company has made making the company among the top-
significant strides in the American and ranking ones when it came to technology
Asian markets, so it was only a matter of innovation.
time before they decided to open a branch The 5.9-inch OPPO N1 features a Full HD
here in Malaysia. 1080p display, powered by a Snapdragon
“Malaysia is an exciting market for us. 600 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of
The people here are technology-savvy storage and OPPO’s pride and joy, the
and are constantly looking for compelling 13MP swiveling camera. The camera is
designs and advanced capabilities for their capable of rotating up to 206 degrees and
mobile applications. We believe OPPO can be locked at any angle. It also comes
is the right match as our main focus is with an O-touch panel on the rear side of
meeting our customers’ needs. We are the N1, which allows users to use it as a
also a young and innovative company shutter without the need to touch the front
that develops devices to give each user screen.
a unique experience without sacrificing The N1 is also the first of OPPO’s
simplicity,” said William Fang, OPPO phones to feature the Color OS, based
Electronics Chief Executive Officer. on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, featuring over
According to William, the research and 400 design improvements and 37 patents OPPO‘s agship, the N1 will give just about any other Android
smartphone in the market today a run for its money
development of the OPPO N1 is said to for highly improved usability and looks.

008 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
local news

Distribution’s Business Development

Manager, William Chow.
According to Kaspersky Lab’s reports,
the risk of having data compromised
by malware attacks is increasing as the
security company detects 315,000 new
malicious files every day, as opposed to
200,000 in 2013. Statistics gathered from
Kaspersky shows that in 2013, Kaspersky
has neutralized close to 5.2 billion cyber-
attacks on users’ devices. It is with this in
mind that Small and Medium Businesses
(SMBs) should evaluate their exposure
to these risks and consider the effects of
malware attacks on their businesses.
TitanWALL comes with several
features that ensure businesses stay
protected at all times of the day, be it
before, during and after working hours.
One of its main components is the hybrid
protection that combines traditional
anti-malware tools with technologies
from Kaspersky that are based on data
gathered within the framework of both
Kaspersky and TECH TITAN with over
(From leŌ): Jayson Ong, Pre-Sales Engineer of K Now DistribuƟon Sdn. Bhd.; Dobson Beh, Country Manager of K Now DistribuƟon 100 million database signatures.
Sdn. Bhd.; Bryan Sat, Business Development Manager of Kaspersky Lab SEA Sdn. Bhd. and William Chow, Business Development Its stream-based algorithms also
Manager of K Now DistribuƟon Sdn. Bhd. launching the new Tech Titan TitanWALL appliance-based rewall
provides virus scanning on data buffers

A Titan Wall For

without having to wait for entire files
to be received by the TitanWALL. This
method has been proven to be the
fastest method to scan for viruses

Internet Security without affecting your business’ network

traffic. On top of that, the TitanWALL
also supports all common forms of site-
Safeguard your office network against malware with to-site VPN via IPSec, and also both VPN
the TitanWALL by TECH TITAN fall over and fall back mechanisms.

W
ith malware attacks and well established IT Security Solution On top of that, the TitanWALL’s
Advanced Persistent Threats providers, Kaspersky Lab and TECH intuitive user interface saves
becoming more and more TITAN for increased protection for administration and installation time,
malicious as of late, it has become that SMBs. Hybrid firewall solutions such while predefined dashboard and real-
much more important that businesses as TitanWALL are easy to manage time log analysis offer administrators
protect their network infrastructure from and provide greater functionality and a quick view of network health and log
being compromised. practicality for SMBs who often do not analysis of any important events.
K Now Distribution Sdn Bhd and have dedicated IT personnel,“ explained www.tech-titan.com
TECH TITAN has recently unveiled the K Now
latest product that helps companies
do just that, in the form of the
TitanWALL by TECH TITAN.
Powered by Kaspersky Labs,
the TitanWALL offers ultra-
high performance, deep packet
inspiection and is able to block the
latest attack variances that include
viruses, worms, spyware and other types
of malware.
“TitanWALL is equipped with
the most advanced and dynamic Tech Titan‘s TitanWALL appliance-
based rewall
anti-malware technologies from two

010 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
local news

(From leŌ): Masashi Honda, Datuk Loo Took Gee , & Sunil Gupta together with signed plaque, announcing the launch of Fuji Xerox Malaysia‘s new oĸce and the company‘s new Sustainability
Report

Creating A Sustainable
Business
Fuji Xerox opens new Malaysian headquarters and
launches Sustainability Report

M
ore and more companies environmental and social sustainability
have begun to embrace the through many contributions within the
sustainability movement and Fuji community.
Xerox has set its targets at being in the Fuji Xerox has also ensured that all CG Lee presents Fuji Xerox‘s new showroom soluƟons at FX‘s
forefront, as the Malaysian chapter of the measurements used in the report is within new HQ in KL
Japanese imaging company moves to a the framework of the Global Reporting
new office in Jalan Binjai, Kuala Lumpur. Initiative which is used by many global
Following the standards set by the organisations.
United Nations Global Compact and “Fuji Xerox’s 2013 Sustainability Report
Global Reporting Initiative framework, the is a step in demonstrating our commitment
sustainability programme at Fuji Xerox to transparency and open communication;
Malaysia is aligned with the principles and sharing the vision for our company;
commitments of its parent company in giving business partners, investors and
Japan. Commemorating the launch of the consumers insight into how we live our
new Malaysian headquarters was Datuk values; our progress towards a sustainable Thevendran Sivanantham speaking about Fuji Xerox‘s
Loo Took Gee, Secretary-General of the future and how we want to make a real sustainability eīorts at the press conference
Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and difference in every life we have touched,”
Water. said Sunil Gupta, President of Fuji Xerox life products at all their business sites
In order to showcase their sustainability Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (Malaysia Operations). within Japan and overseas. Moving
efforts to the public eye, the company Having invested over RM100,000 in forward, Fuji Xerox targets to achieve a
has recently launched the Fuji Xerox management and employee time in 2012, stronger customer focus by identifying
2013 Sustainability Report, which reveals Fuji Xerox continues its commitment in areas of improvement in their products,
the company’s commitment in allowing contributing more to the community in standardised service nationwide and
stakeholders to understand their business this year. In 2012, Fuji Xerox achieved maintain customer service efficiency.
model and ethics in maintaining economic, a recycling rate of 99.5% for end-of- www.fujixerox.com.my

012 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
local news

Mark Eng, Country Manager for Singapore and Malaysia, SanDisk CorporaƟon (leŌ) and Hui Low, Manager of Product MarkeƟng Management Asia Pacic, SanDisk CorporaƟon (right) with the two
new products

More Portable
Storage Options
SanDisk announces first dual USB drive designed for
both PCs and mobile devices

T
he digital storage industry is to a smart device that supports USB
probably one of the fastest on-the-go (OTG) to be able to access up SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 3.0 Flash Drive
moving one right now in terms of to 64GB of external storage capacity. In
innovations and new products. SanDisk keeping things simple, the flash drive
is one of those companies at the uses a retractable cover, which means
forefront of digital storage, launching you won’t need to worry about losing
storage devices that are meant for both any caps whatsoever.
PC and mobile devices. The company On top of that, there is also the
recently announced the availability of SanDisk Memory Zone app which users
two new portable storage devices in can use to better organize files that are
the form of the SanDisk Ultra Dual USB saved onto the SanDisk Ultra Dual USB
Drive and the SanDisk Extreme Pro USB drive.
3.0 Flash Drive. The SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 3.0
SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive
The SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive flash drive meanwhile is a professional-
is unique in the sense that it is a USB grade flsh drive providing users with the
flash drive that features both a USB 2.0 fastest transfer speeds in the industry, SecureAccess software that provides
connector and a microUSB connector in making full use of the next-generation 128-bit AES file encryption and password
one single form factor. The microUSB specifications of the USB 3.0 standard, protection to secure private files.
connector is meant to connect to providing write speeds of up to 240MB/s The SanDisk Ultra Dual USB flash
Android-based smartphones and tablets and read speeds of up to 260MB/s. drive comes in storage variants of 16GB
who need an easy way to move content Design-wise, the SanDisk Extreme up to 64GB, with prices ranging from
such as photos and videos from these PRO USB 3.0 drive features a durable RM55 to RM155, while the SanDisk
devices. aluminum casing, which provides the Extreme PRO USB 3.0 drive comes in a
All the SanDisk Ultra Dual USB flash memory modules from daily wear and 128GB package, costing RM699.
drive needs to work is to be connected tear. It also comes with the SanDisk www.sandisk.com

014 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
local news

Wong Yen Lin, Senior Sales Manager of WD Malaysia; Margaret Koh (second right), Sales Director of WD Asia South and Mike Goh (right), Senior Staī Field ApplicaƟon Engineer, WD South Asia
Region presenƟng the newly launched surveillance hard disk drive, WD Purple

Storage
Made For
Surveillance
Never miss a frame of video with Western
Digital’s new Purple drives

T
hanks to advancements in typically reserved
technology, CCTV security solutions for enterprise-level Mike Goh, Senior Staī Field ApplicaƟon Engineer, WD South Asia explaining the features of
have become affordable, and more storage. the Western Digital Purple drive

houses have begun to opt for their own Some of the

surveillance systems. That being said, features that make the WD Purple an
more often than not the videos stored in excellent choice for surveillance duty
these systems are usually of low quality, include the AllFrame technology which
and have a lot of missing frames in order helps reduce the number of frame loss with
to save on storage space. a proprietary cache policy management
Western Digital has recently launched technology to help improve data flow
its line of Caviar Purple drives, meant and playback. The Advance Formatting
for surveillance purposes. These drives technology meanwhile is an efficient
excel in new and existing home and small media format that enables increased areal
business security environments with up to densities, allowing more data to be stored.
eight to 32 high definition video cameras. The Western Digital Purple surveillance
These Purple drives are available in storage class are available immediately through
capacities of 1-, 2-, 3- and 4TB respectively. authorized retailers, with the 1TB drive
Optimized to withstand the demands costing RM259, the 2TB drive priced at
of always-on digital PVR, DVR and NVR RM359, the 3TB drive at RM459 and the
recording environments, WD Purple hard 4TB drive at RM639.
The Western Digital Purple drive comes in storage opƟons of
drives offer low power consumption and www.wdc.com
1TB, 2TB, 3TB and 4TB
many advanced performance features

016 march 14 chip malaysia

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The Note For The

Professional
Samsung launches the most powerful tablet
yet for the business-savvy

C
atering to the more business- improve the user experience
minded crowd, Samsung of the tablet even more.
Malaysia has recently announced Other new features built
the availability of its latest tablet, into the Samsung Galaxy
the Samsung Galaxy NotePro tablet, NotePRO include the Multi
equipped with hardware and variety of Window feature which
features that helps enhance the ever- enables users to split the
growing BYOD culture that has taken root screen up to four different windows, and The new Samsung Galaxy NotePro 12.2 tablet
in Malaysia. the Virtual Keyboard which provides
The NotePRO is a 12.2-inch slate users with enough space to type
device with a WQXGA resolution of 2,560 comfortably, leveraging haptic feedback wide variety of accessories that are made
x 1,600 pixels, powered by a 2.3GHz so that they have a more realistic typing for the NotePRO, including Book Covers,
quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM experience. USB LAN HUB, USB Connectors, the S
and 32GB of built-in storage, which is Bundled together with the Samsung Action Mouse and even a HDTV adapter.
expandable to 64GB via a microSD card. Galaxy NotePRO is a list of premium The Samsung Galaxy NotePRO will be
Much like previous Samsung tablets, the pre-paid, long-term subscription offers available in Malaysian stores nationwide
NotePRO also comes with an S-Pen and from local and global news portals, beginning March for a retail price of
S-Pen specific features such as S Note, social media platforms and various RM2,999.
S Planner and Air Command that helps entertainment outlets. There are also a www.samsung.com/my

Hack For Change

DiGi’s Challenge for Change Hackathon draws
200 developers

D
iGi Telecommunications recently Responsibility said this concerted
held the App Development phase effort with both programme and
of its DiGi Challenge for Change event partners was aimed at driving
5 (DiGiCFC5) with a 36 hour hackathon, the production of mobile applications
joined by 200 mobile developers. that are mature, socially relevant and
The hackathon was aimed at helping commercially viable.
developers fast-track their mobile app As a big incentive, Telenor Group
development across the five winning will also select one developer team
ideas of the Ideation Phase of the to participate in the Digital Winners
challenge. Conference in Oslo, Norway. The team
Thanks to DiGi’s software partners, will also represent Malaysia at the
such as Google, Microsoft, Telenor Digital Winners Global App Developer
Digital and Xamarin, the developers Challenge and stand a chance to win a
gained valuable insight as to what cash grant of RM112,000 to start up their
makes for a successful app development business and work closely with Telenor
phase. Inspire sessions with emerging Digital as a commercial partner, and
Malaysian app developers such as not to mention gain access to Telenor’s programme and short stints at Google
MyTeksi, Kehmistry and InstaB also shed global customer base. Malaysia and Microsoft Malaysia’s
light on what makes apps attractive to Other prizes up for grabs include offices for an insight at developing on
locals. RM25,000 for the winning app for both Android and Windows Phone 8
Joachim Rajaram, Head of each category, participation in Digital platforms.
Communications and Corporate Malaysia’s MSC Start-up Accelerator Lite www.digi.com.my

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A Sign In The Clouds

Barracuda integrates eSignature into its cloud storage service

B
arracuda Networks, a provider for administrators by incorporating a app stores and get 15GBs of storage for
of cloud-connected security and simplified setup and management to have free. Paid Copy Pro plans start at 9.99 USD
storage solutions have announced a more systematic workflow while offering a year right up to 99.99 USD a year for
that it will be integrating the work-flow users flexible options to access and share storage options of up to 250GB.
automation, eSignature to its secure data, via a streamlined UI, an updated Companies who wish to purchase Copy
cloud service, Copy for business to enable mobile app and centralized administration, can do so in 10-user packs of 79.99 USD a
organisations to simplify the way they which includes a simple company account month of 899 USD a year, with unlimited
collaborate and work, from anywhere or setup wizard which includes the creation storage options.
with any device. of an initial file structure and groups for www.barracuda.com
Barracuda has also fitted Copy permissions.
with some enterprise-class security Copy has also made it easy for users to
requirements such as user and group collaborate with others. They can sign-in,
management by adding controls for save and share documents securely
securing company data. inside and outside the corporate network
These features include federated without having to worry about data being
storage areas, where users can access both compromised. This is thanks to Copy’s
their personal and company data using integration with SignNow and Redbooth,
one single Copy account, similar to the a collaboration and communications
BYOD concept, only with cloud storage. platform which allows for smoother
Administrators will still be able to control workflow processes.
and help users maintain approgriate The user version of Copy can be
ownership records for different types of downloaded for free at Copy.com, while
data. the mobile apps can be downloaded by
Barracuda has also made it easy Android and iOS devices at their respective

Ay Carama!
Carama launches Malaysia’s first
online car service price calculator

C
arama, Malaysia’s first online the workshop
service for car care has recently selection process
launched a new service on top and all Carama
of their online portal for simplified car workshops
maintenance and workshop guide in one provide car
solution. owners peace-
The company, together with Paul of-mind through
Tan, Malaysia’s automotive blogger has a three-month
surveyed a group of people, who felt that warranty on Carama’s General Manager, Sumeet Wadhwa oĸcially launches the Service Price Calculator and
reveals results of a recent survey that sought for a greater understanding on the general percepƟon
there is a need for assurance that the all services surrounding the car service industry
quality of workmanship needs to be on par and repairs. By
with the pricing, which also needs to be introducing our Service Price Calculators perceptions. We are excited to bring this
transparent. What they have come up with, to consumers, they can now calculate opportunity to both Malaysian workshops
is the Service Price Calculator, which helps estimates of their repair and not feel and car owners.”
users of the Carama service to provide overcharged.” At this stage, the service price
estimates for their car maintenance. Roy Williamson, Director, Castrol calculator covers a selection of car makes
Sumeet Wadhwa, General Manager of InnoVentures said: “This is a great step and models including, Proton, Perodua,
Carama said “The survey results collected for consumers in Malaysia. The quality Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Suzuki, Isuzu,
from over 1600 car owners in Malaysia assurance offered through Carama and Mitsubishi, Ford, and Naza, with more
indicates concern and uncertainty around pricing transparency has the potential car brands slated to be added in the near
quality of repair and maintenance costs to lift the standards of independent future.
for their vehicles. Carama streamlines workshops in Malaysia and consumer www.carama.com

chip malaysia march 14 019

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Enjoy Life
With Samsung
The Galaxy Life is your passport to
amazing experiences and privileges

S
amsung Malaysia recently to experts sharing
launched a new consumer customised content
community initiative which and preference-
is coupled with a mobile app called based offers
GALAXY Life. With the app, Samsung and deals that
seeks to offer their consumers benefits go beyond the
(From leŌ): Ricky Lew, Content and Services Manger; Elaine Soh, Head of Corporate and
that is unrivalled by its competitions. mundane. Whether Branding and Vincent Chong, Director of IT and Mobile CommunicaƟons, from Samsung
With the app, coupled with the it’s about getting Malaysia Electronics came together to present the exciƟng mobile app, GALAXY Life which
aims to reward Samsung consumers with exclusive deals
programme, Samsung product users recommendations
are entitled to join a community where on food, fashion or lifestyle by experts look forward to deals on a weekly basis
service is personalized and content is or a good deal found especially for a from 50 partners, which also include
curated and exclusively optimized for consumer, GALAXY Life will be their more than 120 offers and deals that are
their devices. passport to all these and more!” up for grabs.
Vincent Chong, Director of IT and The programme will look towards The Samsung GALAXY Life
Mobile Communications, Samsung building experiences for consumers programme is available for users of
Malaysia Electronics Sdn. Bhd. said, across seven categories, including Samsung GALAXY smartphone, tablet,
“GALAXY Life is about living a life that Live, Learn, Play, Entertain, Connect, or cameras which run on Android 4.1
is more enriching. We are happy to Work and Surprise. Content will then and above. This app can be downloaded
welcome Samsung smartphone and be provided by experts across various for free from the Google Play Store.
tablet users to the family with access topics, and in Malaysia, consumers can www.samsung.com/my

Time For A
New Reign Of
Leadership To Lead
The Way
Trend Micro appoints Dhanya Thakkar as new
Managing Director of Trend Micro SEA and India

T
rend Micro has recently Micro’s business in one of the most
Dhanya Thakkar, recently-appointed Managing Director of
announced the appointment of diverse and fast-changing regions in the Southeast Asia and India, Trend Micro
Dhanya Thakkar as the Managing world,” said Dhanya Thakkar, Managing
Director of Southeast Asia and India. Director, Southeast Asia and India, where he first joined Trend Micro after
In his new role, Thakkar will be Trend Micro. “As mobile population the company acquired IndusGuard, a
spearheading Trend Micro’s enterprise and Internet penetration rate continue company that he co-founded and was a
and consumer product segments in the to grow in Southeast Asia and India, president of.
region, helping deliver on the company’s we are committed to safeguarding our Prior to IndusGuard, he was the Vice
vision to make the world safe for stakeholders against evolving cyber President of the Business Development
businesses and consumers to exchange threats that may occur on the cloud, the and Security Center for Third Brigade,
digital information. Internet and mobile devices.” which was also acquired by Trend Micro.
“I am delighted and humbled to be Dhanya Thakkar was previously the
offered the opportunity to lead Trend Managing Director for India and SAARC, www.trendmicro.com.my

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Get Ready For The Surface 2!

Microsoft Malaysia confirms Surface 2 Tablet will launch in Malaysia in March

M
icrosoft recently ran a survey use it in even more variety of ways than options for accessories if they so desire.
in the Asia region to gauge the before. Customers who purchase the Microsoft
consumer’s interest in owning Alongside the Surface 2, Microsoft Surface 2 will also receive free Skype
a tablet that allows them to do both Malaysia will also be launching the Type calls to landlines in more than 60
work and play. Thanks to the results Cover 2 and Touch Cover 2, giving users countries in a year and 200GB of free
of the survey, Microsoft Malaysia has even OneDrive storage
announced that they will be making its more space for two
Microsoft Surface 2 tablet in Malaysia on years.
March 14. www.microsoft.
Microsoft’s Surface 2 tablet is a com/malaysia
productivity device meant for personal
use. It is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra
4 processor, features a 10.6-inch
ClearType Full HD display, and features
a USB 3.0 port which is four times
faster than the previous USB 2.0 port
used in the original Surface
RT. Microsoft
has also
reworked
the Surface
2’s kickstand, The MicrosoŌ Surface 2 will be
making it dual- coming our way sooner than you think!
angle so users can

Reward Your Gaming

Achievements
AMD’s new rewards program celebrates all the little and big things in gaming

T
he AMD Gaming Evolved networking website and game tracking AMD’s new line of R9 graphics cards,
application was launched with service that links with game services ASTRO gaming headsets, GUNNAR
the aim of helping gamers ensure such as Steam, which allows users to gaming eyewear and more.
that their computers are in tip-top tell their friends what games they’re “We see AMD Rewards as a natural
condition, their graphics card drivers playing and the achievements they’ve extension of what Raptr Rewards does
up to date and helping gamers get the received. for gamers,” Dennis Fong, Raptr’s CEO,
best experience every time they play a With the AMD Rewards program, explained. “It’s really great to be able to
game, by recommending optimal game gamers stand to gain points from reward players for all the time and effort
settings, alongside a variety of in-game extended use of the AMD Gaming they’ve invested in playing games.”
tools as well. Evolved apps, and these points can be www.amd.com
The AMD Rewards program is used to redeem a large number of prizes
a collaboration with Raptr, a social from the Raptr store, such as games,

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Save To
The Cloud
NVIDIA’s Game Booster comes
with new features

N
VIDIA’s Game Booster is a game
launcher that has been fitted
with a wide variety of features
that helps gamers get the most out of
their gaming PCs. The main feature, the
Game Booster maximizes your system
performance to give you higher frame
rates per second by automatically
shutting unnecessary processes
and applications, and resuming scanning the PC for any newly installed The Save Game Manager
them after you’re done gaming. It games, automatically ensuring the automatically backs up save games
is also capable of helping gamers library of games is always up to date. and game settings in any cloud storage
configure the PC’s settings for optimal The Screen Capture Gallery service of your choosing, allowing
gaming performance, and keeps your meanwhile not only helps gamers gamers easy access to them whenever
components up-to-date with the latest capture those special moments in-game and wherever they need it. You don’t
drivers. via a customizable hot key, but also lets need to worry about limitations as well
The Game Launcher feature gamers record gameplay videos of any as you can sync as many save game
meanwhile catalogues and backs up length without watermarks and makes it files as you want.
the games installed in the PC in an easy to upload to popular video sharing www.razerzone.com
easy to view and access manner, also sites, be it YouTube or Facebook.

Going The Way Of

The Analytics
Intel’s new Xeon E7 processors delivers industry’s
most advanced technology for in-memory Analytics

L
ike it or not, analytics is fast analyzes a whole data set, such as an
becoming a necessity for many entire customer database in the system’s
industries, be it government, memory, rather than traditional hard
health, enterprises or even retail. drives or SSDs, similar to the methods
Companies now need the capability to used when employing RAMDisk.
turn data into tangible information from Built for up to 32-socket servers,
which they can use for insight in order with configurations supporting up
to improve their bottom and top-line to 15 processing cores and up to 1.5
results. terabytes of memory per socket, the
Intel’s new Xeon E7 v2 processors new processor family achieves twice the
deliver new capabilities which help average performance of the previous
process large and diverse amounts of E7 processor. These enhancements Xeon Processor E7 v2 family features
data to unlock information that was help businesses running mission-critical Intel Integrated I/O, Intel Data Direct I/O
previously inaccessible. This is thanks applications including business support and support for PCIe 3.0, achieving up
to the Xeon E7 v2’s vastly expanded systems (BSS) and customer relationship to four times the I/O bandwidth over the
memory capacity compared to its management (CRM) and ERPs to operate previous generation and providing extra
previous model, allowing for a faster more efficiently at lower cost and faster capacity for storage and networking
and much more thorough data analysis. response times. connections.
Its new in-memory analytics places and To reduce data bottlenecks, the Intel www.intel.my

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Going
Multilingual
Astro launches new multilingual
guide for customers

A
stro B.yond customers will soon language,
be able to sample a set of new be it Bahasa
features that the company will Malaysia,
be rolling out in stages. Throughout the English,
rolling out phase, customers will begin Mandarin or
receiving a new programming guide, Tamil.
alongside Astro On The Go which has The EPG
also received a fresher look, as well now also recorded episodes, or filter and arrange
as features that will enable a more has a Video On Demand catalogue that them according to date and season, and
personalized and localized TV experience allows customers to easily browse and even lock the libraries as well, so as
that speaks to them in their own search for movies that are currently on to not accidentally delete the recorded
language. offer that month, based on genre, title, episodes.
The new Electronic Programming season and episode, providing customers The EPG TV guide will be
Guide (EPG) will also make it easier with more control and choice over how automatically downloaded to all Astro
for customers to find and watch the they enjoy entertainment. B.yond set top boxes in phases, from 24
content they want, be it live, recorded, Astro has also improved the recording February 2014. Astro B.yond customers
or via Video On Demand. Some of the feature, as customers now can manage are advised leave their set top boxes on
key features this new EPG has include a and browse their PVR recordings and standby mode to receive the software
multilingual mode, which allows you to VOD purchases all from one place. update.
check the programming in your preferred Customers will also be able to view all www.astro.com.my

New Prices All Around

HTC announces price revisions for its line of smartphones

H
TC has recently announced that it the HTC Butterfly s for RM2,099, the black.
will be revising the prices of their HTC One 32GB for RM1,999 for three Four HTC Desire phones are also
2013 line up of smartphones for colours, including silver, black and red, included in this list, with the HTC Desire
the year 2014, possibly in preparation and RM2,199 for the recently-launched 601 costing RM1,099, the HTC Desire 500
for the Taiwanese telephone company’s gold variant. The HTC One Mini and at RM859, the HTC Desire 300 at RM699
upcoming line up of offerings. One Max meanwhile will be priced at and the HTC Desire 200 at RM449.
A total of eight phones are in line RM1,499 and RM2,399, both of which www.htc.com/sea/
for price revisions, and these include are available in two colours, silver and

BuƩery s Desire 500 One Max

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A Bright Star Is Chosen

Maxis appoints Brightstar as developer for next-generation mobile device
services platform

A
multi-year agreement has been value-added services, such as buy-back greater than the sum of the parts.”
signed recently by Maxis Malaysia and trade-in and handset insurance. “Brightstar has a track record of
and Brightstar Corporation to Brightstar will also implement an consistent supply chain performance
provide the Malaysian mobile network innovation roadmap for new Maxis with Maxis and a deep understanding
operator with next-generation mobile products. of our business strategy, needs and
devices services. “Being selected to integrate multiple opportunities,” said Morten Lundal, CEO
This agreement builds upon services by an innovative market leader of Maxis Bhd. “We are confident our
Brightstar’s logistics service which has like Maxis is an excellent opportunity for partnership will allow us to further our
been provided to Maxis since 2007. Brightstar,” said Marcelo Claure, CEO leadership role in delivering the best
The specialised wireless distributor of Brightstar Corp. “We look forward to mobile experience in Malaysia.”
will deliver a range of supply chain bringing even greater innovation to the www.maxis.com.my
devices to Maxis, including logistics, Malaysian marketplace, and showing
strategic sourcing and device portfolio how integrated services provide even
management, alongside specialised more value than standalone. The whole is

The Wallet Goes

Digital
Accenture launches mobile wallet platform with
integrated analytics for insight-driven customer offers

M
obile wallet technologies are not of managing proximity transaction and
new, but they aren’t as widely payments, such as NFC or QR codes, with
used as businesses are not yet the relevant cards presented at compatible
open to the idea of swiping digital data point of sales systems.
in favour of receiving cold hard cash. In a Other features offered by the Accenture
leap to make physical wallets a thing of the Mobile Wallet include the Trusted Service
past, Accenture has recently unveiled its Manager, which allows banks or other
new Mobile Wallet platform that features service providers to securely send and
integrated advanced analytics and big personalize smartcard applications. It also
data capabilities, recommendation tools allows for remote removal, blocking and
and security elements to provide a robust, other status actions related to cards stored
modular platform for a trusted digital in order to protect the user in the event
payments ecosystem that Accenture that their devices are stolen.
clients can operate for enhanced customer The Push Payment feature meanwhile is shipped, instead of the typical pay when
services. makes it easier for customers to make shipping method, so as to reduce the risk
The Accenture Mobile Wallet platform digital payments as they no longer need to of chargebacks or lack of funds, as users
allows end users to manage and operate all share account data with merchants. Users must have money available when making
their cards, including credit, debit, loyalty can also check out immediately by pushing the purchase.
and such. The service also is capable the money to merchants before the item www.accenture.com.my

024 march 14 chip malaysia

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world wired web

Uncovering
The NSA’s
Phone-tapping
Secrets
The NSA collects billion of positioning data bits a
day with a trio of methods

E
dward Snowden’s repository of hundred million devices so far. First, the the relationship of users, as well as the
classified information has revealed secret service hacks into the databases location of the mobile phone at the time.
that the NSA collects about five of mobile communication providers. If Using the Global Cell Phone Tower
billion mobile positioning data bits per the devices exchange positioning data Identifier (GCID), the NSA is able to
day from telephones around the world. via the cloud, the NSA is also capable of identify the location; date and time of
NSA director Keith Alexander has only accessing that data. The NSA is also cellular access, as these information are
admitted to intercepting these phones capable of doing this by penetrating into stored here and updated every hour.
for testing purposes, but the leaked Google’s fibre optic networks that Database tools then match telephony
documents have shown that the method exchange data between data centres. and other services, and the amount of
allows the NSA to track and link people The last method is by hacking the data the NSA has access to is enormous,
worldwide to an unimaginable extent. accounting systems of mobile as it goes through 27 terabytes of data a
Using three different methods, the communication providers. The NSA then day.
NSA has been able to intercept several makes use of stored call logs to identify

Apple Patents Smart Hub With Voice Control

D
ocks for iOS devices so far have iOS device to it, it should theoretically the device needs to be alerted with a
been nothing more than simple function as a communication hub as defined command, for example snapping
stands that hold the phone and well. With the help of built-in of fingers or voice command, to ensure
PHOTO: REUTERS/JASON REED

outputs and amplifies audio. Things are microphones, it is also capable of that arbitrary statements are not acted
looking to change however as a recent monitoring sound in the surrounding on. Once connected to a WLAN network,
patent application by Apple may just area and will be capable to respond to the dock becomes web-enabled device
show that things are about to change in voice commands. and can compile appointments or tasks,
the near future. The recently patented The Smart Dock also utilises Siri, which are stored in the cloud, for the
Smart Dock serves as radio, alarm clock Apple’s famous voice-command feature. calendar via voice control.
and loudspeaker, but if you connect an Similar to using it on the iPhone or iPad,

chip malaysia march 14 025

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world wired web

Hack For Xbox One

1.9 m. Corrupts Console

W
hile the Xbox One hasn’t
officially arrived here in Malaysia
yet, here’s something you may
Euros was the tax amount paid by want to know before it gets here. There is a
Facebook in 2012 in Ireland for a turnover tip about Microsoft’s latest gaming console
of 1.8 billion Euros – a tax rate of just 0.11 that is currently making rounds on the
percent with the help of a legal trick Internet. This tip promises that a couple of
simple changes in the Xbox One settings
ought to make the console backward
compatible. The fatal consequence

Amazon Submits however is that whoever follows this

instruction opens a specific developer
interface on the Xbox through which the

Patent Proposal For console cannot be used. The device then

gets stuck in a boot loop, where even a
reset doesn’t help. Microsoft’s Director of
Chameleon Payment Programming for Xbox Live, Larry Hryb,
has made it clear that there is no way to

Card make Xbox One backward compatible.

A
ccording to a patent proposal information is written on the magnetic
made by Amazon, the world’s
largest online store wants to
strip. The card of the start-up Coin also
functions in a similar manner and is able
Facebook
develop a dynamic payment system,
where a single credit card is capable of
to copy various magnetic strips. The
Coin card is slated for release in
Buys
simulating various payment data and do
so automatically. The data is then
summer. It is still not clear whether the
Amazon patent would prevent its sales.
WhatsApp for
activated in a location-specific manner
with the help of GPS. All relevant
US$19 billion
I
n an unexpected turn of events,
Facebook has recently acquired
WhatsApp, a mobile messaging
service for a whopping US$19 billion.

New USB 3.1 Standard This deal came as a shock to many, if not
everyone in the tech ecosystem that
Facebook was willing to pay that much

Comes with Anti- to have WhatsApp come under its wings.

Whilst the deal does look enormous,

Twist Plugs it is cut down into several portions.

Facebook will offer both Jan Koum and
Brian Acton, co-founders of WhatsApp

T
he USB Implementers Forum boards and thus save on costs. It is US$4.0 billion in cash, US$12.0 billion
(USB-IF) has announced that new estimated that the first devices and worth of Facebook stock and an
plugs will be used for the new corresponding plugs would be out additional US$3.0 billion of stock to its
standard 3.1 headers. What this means is sometime this year. founders and employees in the future.
that the cable can be “We’re excited and honoured to
inserted in any way, and it’ll + partner with Mark and Facebook as we
still work. The reason for continue to bring our product to more
developing a new, people around the world,” Mr Koum said
standardised type C plug in a statement.
was for better installation in The acquisition is thought to be due
devices as well as user to the fact that Facebook wants to tap
comfort. The concept is that into WhatsApp continuously growing
device manufacturers can lay 450 million userbase, which Mark
the cables needed for the Zuckerberg commented will reach the 1
new connection closer to 10 Gbps billion mark in no time.
each other on the circuit

026 march 14 chip malaysia

Swiss
Journalists
Monitor
Switzerland’s Head of
Secret Service
M
arkus Seiler is the head of the collected the results of their surveillance 80,000 Euros (RM362,000), which is an
Federal Intelligence Service on the website markusseiler.ch. Here, attractive offer because the information
(NDB) in Switzerland. users can follow Seiler’s life, his career, collected includes extremely private
Journalists Jan Jirát and Dominik Gross hobbies, friends and work, all things, including Seiler’s income or the
have recently turned the tables on him. documented with photos. fact that one of his close relatives is
As a special edition on surveillance of a If Seiler wants to stop this, the weekly deep in debt. Other information includes
weekly paper, they followed Seiler to his paper has offered him the option of his cars with the registration numbers,
residence and spoke with neighbours, buying the complete print run of their his address, the road he takes to work
old teachers and church mates and espionage special edition for about and more.

Companies Toyota Wants

Protest Against Wireless
The NSA Charging of
U Electric Cars
nsolicited Internet spying by the NSA has damaged
the reputation of many companies, whose customer
data is being monitored by the US secret service. Tech

T
giants such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Twitter, oyota has signed a license agreement with WiTricity, a
Facebook, AOL and LinkedIn are protesting against the NSA’s company that works on wireless charging systems for
activities in USA. With ads in newspapers and open letters to batteries. The license will allow Toyota to use such
the US president Barack Obama and congressmen, they want systems in future iterations of its electric cars. Electricity is
to initiate a reform of the secret service. This should put an transferred via induction and the corresponding boards can
end to the groundless surveillance and make government simply be admitted into the ground at charging stations. The
matters more transparent. charging range is several metres and the wireless induction
energy transfer in theory should not affect people around
the charging area. WiTricity was founded by members of the
MIT, who are already working on the wireless operation of a
television in the laboratory.

chip malaysia march 14 027

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world wired web

Satya Nadella
Announced As
5 patents Microsoft CEO
Microsoft has finally ended its search for
a new CEO, and it turns out to be
someone inside the company after all.
are granted to Google on an average per day. This makes Satya Nadella, previously Microsoft’s
the company amongst the Top 10 in the world. In 2007, Head of Cloud and Enterprise Division
has been chosen to take over Steve
Google had only 38 patents. Ballmer’s position as the CEO of
Microsoft.
Satya Nadella is a Microsoft man

New Dating Algorithm through and through, having worked in

various division in the Redmond-based
company for over 20 years. The

Knows What Users headhunters within Microsoft felt that he

was the right choice as he knows the
company in and out, from its consumer

Really Want right up to the corporate and enterprise

businesses.
That’s not the only revelation of

R
esearchers from China and USA actual behaviour into account and
have developed a new algorithm suggests partners accordingly. This has course, as Bill Gates has also been roped
for online dating portals, which is increased the reply rate in the tests to back into a working role at Microsoft,
supposed to double the chance of people about 44 percent. Although the stepping down as chairman and taking
getting together. According to the algorithm has been tested on dating up the role as Technology Adviser to
analysis of the university researchers, sites, it is not limited to the matchmaking help Nadella ease into the role as CEO of
about 25 percent of the contact requests services alone. It can also be used in Microsoft. Taking over from Bill Gates
in dating portals are answered at the scenarios where one seeks to find a will be former Symantec CEO Jack
moment. This is most likely due to the suitable partner on the basis of Thompson.
fact that they don’t put their actual characteristics – even on a job site for
preferences truthfully in their profile instance.
pages. The new algorithm takes this

Kickstarter Hits 1 Billion USD in

Pledges
K
ickstarter is a crowdfunding According to an infographic they backed more than 50 projects as of
website that was first set up in made, the United States tops the list of March 2014. It is also estimated that
April 2009, allowing small startups backers with US$663,000 pledged in around US$619 million of the US$1.0
to create products and services with the total, followed by the United Kingdom at billion amount was pledged by returning
help of common folks, instead of trying US$ 54 million and Canada at US$45 backers who came back to pledge money
to sell ideas to angel investors or million. What’s even more impressive is to even more projects. This is an
venture capitalists. Nearly five years the fact that Kickstarter has broken down enormous growth especially when you
down the road, the company has such a large amount of pledges into take into account that when Kickstarter
recently announced that they’ve hit tangible numbers. first opened, there were 40 people who
US$1.0 billion in pledges in March 2014, It is estimated that 1,689,979 people pledged US$1,084 to seven projects.
and that more than half of that amount have backed more than one project on
was pledged in the last 12 months alone. Kickstarter, and that 15,932 people have

028 march 14 chip malaysia

 More
Power
with 64-
bits
Intel aims to make use of mobile CPUs with 64-bit processing

A
pple is the first company in the these devices, which are expected to run consumption of 2.2 Watt and supports
market to have launched 64-bit on Android and Windows Phone 8 have up to 2GB RAM. It is intended for low
processors with their line of yet to be perfected as of yet. The 64-bit priced 7- and 8-inch tablets between 150
iPhone and iPad devices. The A7 CPU version of Android is currently still in the and 250 Euros (RM680 and RM1,130).
earns points not just based on theory, testing phase, while Microsoft is still Intel will then release Cherry Trail – the
but it is also undeniably fast, and the fact squashing bugs in its own 64-bit version first 14nm CPU to be designed for
that the operating system also was of WP8. Android and Windows 8 tablets – at the
tailor-made to perfectly utilise the A7’s That said both 64-bit capable end of September. It will drive 300 Euro
capabilities. operating systems are expected to be (RM1,360) tablets with up to four
Intel, unfortunately does not have this unveiled in the first quarter of 2014. Airmont cores. A successor, Willow Trail,
luxury. Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel has These free updates would be with Goldmont architecture will follow
announced a number of smartphone and immediately available after Intel’s Bay after three months.
tablet CPUs that are due to launch in Trail processors arrive.
2014, but the operating systems for The quad-core CPU has a power

A Bigger Screen For The iPhone 6?

I
t hasn’t been that long since the new not accept any degradation in the because of the high costs involved. A 20nm
PHOTOS: INTEL; REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON

iPhone 5S was launched and there are resolution, an increase in the resolution will TSMC A8 is expected to be used as the
already increasing rumours about the go hand in hand with an increase in the processor, which has four instead of two
upcoming iPhone 6, which is estimated to display size. cores and brings up to 30percent more
be in the markets at the end of 2014. The It is possible to double up the resolution performance than Samsung’s A7. Another
most significant change in the new Apple to 2,272 x 1,280 pixels, as this would be the version leap to iOS 8 is also likely to be
phone is a larger screen. It is also possible easiest to implement for app developers. In confirmed. An upgrade to the map function
that Apple may launch two devices – one future, the front could be made up of the and the voice assistant Siri are also
with a 4.7-inch screen and the second with significantly stronger sapphire glass, which supposedly in the works.
a 5.7-inch screen. Since Apple CEO Tim has so far only been used for individual
Cook has already announced that he would elements such as the camera cover

chip malaysia march 14 029

 news
world wired web

Bluetooth Andy Rubin Keen To

4.1 Make Robots
Finalised A ndroid inventor Andy Rubin has recently devoted himself to developing real
robots. Rubin is now leading a new department in Google, for which the
company has acquired seven robotics companies. He has yet to disclose any

T
he Bluetooth Special Interest
information about the kind of robots he would build, but according to insider reports,
Group (SIG) has completed work
they would be used for installing electronic devices. Rubin’s enduring enthusiasm for
on the standard for Bluetooth 4.1.
robots has already left traces in the IT history: his colleagues at Google had once
The new version allows Bluetooth
given the robot fan the nickname “Android”.
Broadcasting with any number of
receivers. For instance, in future a large
number of 3D glasses can be operated
with a TV without any one of them
having to cope with more data load.
Moreover, the data transfer rate in the
energy saving mode has been increased,
which is useful when connecting
smartwatches with smartphones. The
interaction with LTE radio in mobiles has
also been improved. As a result, the
Bluetooth and LTE units can manipulate
1 m.
is the number of apps that Apple
the used radio channels to reduce
disturbance in future. The SIG has also
currently provides in its US app store.
installed a matrix for IPv6-based direct Out of these, about 473,000 are
communication between Bluetooth optimised for the iPad.
devices.

Architects Of The Internet Want

Tor-Encoding As Standard
T
he Internet Engineering Task Force future. This would render the Andrew Lewman is particularly
(IETF) is planning to promote complicated set-up of the tool concerned that the encoding quality
encoding based on the Tor unnecessary. To speed up the could drop significantly if multiple
network as the standard for Internet integration of the anonymisation service, companies were to integrate their own
connections. According to their plans, the IETF is trying to arrange meetings Tor versions in their hardware and
Tor would be integrated into browsers, with Tor developers, but they don’t seem software or “improve” the programme
routers, servers and other software in to be very interested. Tor project leader code with proprietary upgrades.

Apple Equips Stores With

iBeacons
A
pple is introducing its iBeacons in 254 Apple Stores in USA. Customers will be able to receive push notifications, for
example, about offers or background information depending on their location, on their smartphones via this Bluetooth
transmitter. That said, this will require a special Apple Store app that should also make it possible to edit support tickets
and send notifications about repaired devices. iBeacons are being tested in baseball stadiums as well; replays and vouchers can
be distributed locally here. The Beacons are as big as a coin and serve as an indoor positioning system.

030 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
security report

Data Theft Of
The Month
CUPID MEDIA: 42 MILLION
PASSWORDS STOLEN
Online dating network Cupid Media, Neverquest Trojan
Attacks Banks
a company which operates several
dating platforms was recently robbed
of 42 million customer passwords
in a hacker attack recently. Security A banking Trojan accesses banking and stock exchange websites as
experts discovered that the data was
experts expect thousands of new infections

T
found on the same server which stole he name Neverquest sounds like it media platforms.
150 million Adobe customer details wouldn’t be out of place being the The developers of Neverquest boast
in October 2013. Cupid Media has title of some fantasy novel. Alas, that their software can theoretically attack
since written to their users about the the moniker is now associated with a any bank in any country. At present, about
incident, and had their passwords complex banking malware. The security 30 banks are at risk, and this includes
reset. experts at Kaspersky, who first came international financial institutions as well as
across the Trojen in a hacker forum, are online brokers. The developers can extend
warning that the Neverquest Trojan is their list of threatened banks by using a
E-SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT:
spreading incredibly fast. In November separate configuration file.
14,000 PCS SEIZED
2013, the company registered thousands In order to access log-in information,
Competitive gaming organisation
of installation attempts just two and a half Neverquest utilises a variety of hacks to
E-sports Entertainment has had to
months after they first discovered it. infect computers and get bank account
agree to an in-court settlement of US$1 The company has also warned that this access, which include man-in-the-middle
million as it was caught for infecting is just the beginning as the Trojan uses attacks to fetch the data entered in Firefox
14,000 computers with a Bitcoin ingenious mechanisms as its methods of and Internet Explorer, an injection of
mining Trojan in a span of two weeks distribution. In addition to email login data, code in websites to display a failed log-in
in May 2013. The company has to pay the Trojan steals access data for social attempt and SOCKS and VNC servers that
US$350,000 first, with the remainder networks and FTP servers. It also spreads anonymously allows remote access to bank
of the fine vacated if the company through spam mails, gets uploaded on accounts and infected computers.
stays clean for the next 10 years. The websites via FTP and even spreads via
malware was introduced into users’ links to the hosted malware through social
systems via the company’s anti-
cheating software.
Panda Security Discovers
EU PARLIAMENT: DELEGATES
HACKED Massive Loophole In Android
A hacker broke into the EU
parliament’s network and has accessed OS Via Facebook App
emails and confidential documents

P
anda Security, a name known for out to be a Trojan that subscribed users
of the government. The hacker also its line of PC security software to a premium-rate SMS plan without their
stated that hacking into the network has recently uncovered a new knowledge. The Trojan checks all inbound
was child’s play as the security system massive attack on Android users via ads messages received on the device and if
was using an old IT infrastructure. This on the platform’s Facebook app. Users the sender is using the premium-rate SMS
is definitely fact as most of the PCs in will typically see messages under the service, the message is intercepted and
the EU parliament runs on Windows “Suggested Posts” advertising, with one deleted so the user is unaware.
XP, which does not support email of them being ads about WhatsApp, some While this method does not work on
encryption. promoting ways to see your friends’ phones using Android 4.4 KitKat, the
contact lists and others about hiding creators of the Trojan have found a way to
yourself. circumvent it with a series of complicated
Victims who clicked on these links will methods that includes tricking the user into
be redirected to a fake version of the Play keying in their personal details.
Store to download this app, which turned www.pandasecurity.com

chip malaysia march 14 031

 news
security report

Trouble Already Danger Barometer

Trustwave High risk

For The Internet Of discovered that

a Pony Botnet
has stolen over 2
million passwords
and account

Things credentials for

Facebook, Google
or Yahoo
Medium risk

T
he concept of Internet of Things is a computer, allowing the attacker to issue
brilliant one. Having said that, it does commands through it. Whilst this is not a
Low risk
open up a whole new can of worms, big issue for computers and smartphones,
as there is a large possibility that these devices such as routers, set top boxes
devices can be affected by malware too. and industrial control systems are a major
Symantec investigator Kaoru Hayashi threat, as these devices generally stop
has recently discovered a worm that getting updates after a certain period of
targets PCs running MacOSX and Linux, time.
which leaves a backdoor to the infected www.symantec.com/en/my Online banking Trojan
According to Trend Micro, the number of
banking Trojans have hit the highest high

Threat Un“Masked“
with more than 200,000 infections in the
third quarter of 2013
IN
THOUSAND
2012 2013 202
200

K
aspersky has recently announced IPs were found, and some of the countries
the discovery of “The Mask”, or that have been hit include Germany, 150
146
131 132 125
Careto that has been involved in Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, 113
110
100
global cyber-espionage operations since Switzerland, and even the UK and the US.
at least 2007. What makes this threat The complexity of this toolset includes 50
especially dangerous is its extremely leveraging high-end exploits, an extremely
0
sophisticated malware, which includes a sophisticated piece of malware, as well as QUARTER QUARTER QUARTER QUARTER
01 02 03 04
rootkit and bootkit that runs on MacOSX customised attacks against Kaspersky’s
SOURCE: PROLEXIC
and Linux and possibly Android and iOS products. Researchers have also found
as well. out that one of the attack vectors uses an
Rarely observed in APT (Advanced Adobe Flash Player exploit which was used
Persistent Threat) attacks, it is now known in 2012 by VUPEN to escape the Google
IT industry is poorly
that the campaign was active for at least Chrome sandbox to win the CanSecWest
protected against threats
According to a US study, technology firms
over the past five years until January 2014. Pwn2Own contest. are very poorly protected from threats in
Over 380 unique victims between 1,000+ www.kaspersky-sea.com terms of IT security, while financial service
providers boast top-notch protection

US Tops
IN POINTS
800
BitSight SecurityRating (Fortune 200 companies)
780
760
740
720

Spampionship List 700

680
660
640
620
FINANCE
ENERGY
RETAIL TRADE
TECHNOLOGY

600

S
ophos’ Naked Security blog has zombified computers spewing spam is 10. 11. 12. 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09.
2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013
announced the Dirty Dozen, 12 a truly global one,” says Sophos Senior
nations who top the world’s spam Security Analyst, Paul Ducklin. “Every SOURCE: BitSight Technologies

relaying charts, and it was found that the region of the world is strongly represented,
USA retained its top spot, generating 14.5 with the exception of Africa. In most Number of the Month:
percent of the total spam volume sent cases, the countries in the Dirty Dozen
during the last quarter of 2013. Second-
placed China narrowed the gap however
made it onto the list because a statistically
significant proportion of their residents
145,000
new malicious programs for mobile
by contributing 8.2 percent of the spam, are conducting business online using
devices were detected by Kasperksy
with Russia in third place, at 5.5 percent. computers that are actively infected by in 2013. More than double of the
“The most obvious message from the remote-control malware,” says Ducklin. previous year‘s figure of 40,059
Dirty Dozen charts is that the problem of www.sophos.com

032 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
nvidia press tour

Seen here is JusƟn Walker with the GM107 GM and a model with the new graphics card and another with the SHIELD

NVIDIA GeForce and

Tegra Showcase
The Consumer Electronics Show was just the beginning for NVIDIA. There’s no doubt that
they will still be leaving our jaws wide open over the course of 2014, especially if we take
what we saw in Vietnam as an example By Jeremy Cheong

J
ust a month shy of impressing gracious host had in store for us.
tech pundits all over the world
with their announcements made in The Next Stage in Evolution
the Consumer Electronics Show 2014, of Mobile Processors
Las Vegas, NVIDIA continued to prove First up, we got to take a look at one of
that they are never short of surprises as the most talked about topics during the
they invited members of the media from recent Consumer Electronics Show in
South East Asia to Ho Chi Minh City, Las Vegas, NVIDIA’s very own super
Vietnam as they gave them a closer look mobile processor, the Tegra K1. This
at their new Kepler-based super mobile tiny little powerhouse won’t only change
processor and first-generation Maxwell the mobile industry but also another one
graphics cards. that NVIDIA has been very active in, the
The day began just like any other, automotive industry.
after a hearty breakfast in Hotel Nikko Similar to most of its predecessors,
Saigon; we then made our way to the the Tegra K1 was initially just known by
Origami conference hall for the product its superhero codename ‘Logan’ and
presentations and showcases where we with tis impressive capabilities, it might
Jeīrey Yen, Senior Technical MarkeƟng Manager, NVIDIA was got a more up close and personal just live up to that moniker. We already
the man in charge with giving us all the juicy details regarding
the Tegra K1 and what it brings to the industry experience with the two things that our wrote about this mobile processor in

chip malaysia march 14 033

 news
nvidia press tour

similarities that include

things like the support
for DDRL and LPDDR3
memories of up to 8GB
(with 40-bit address
extension) and they will
also enable devices
powered by them to
output display
resolutions of up to
3,840 x 2,160 and
support HDMI 4K. In
addition to this, both A quick comparison between the two versions of the Tegra K1
processors also
support graphics technology such as Anomaly 2 and Trine 2.
DirectX 11, Open GL 4.4, Unreal Engine 4 As for their differences, the first thing
With its compute and graphics processing power, the Tegra K1 and tessellation so now users will be is the fact that both are designed on a
will easily change the handheld gaming market with its ability able to have PC-class graphics on their different architecture. The 32-bit version
to produce PC quality graphics
mobile devices. During the presentation, is based on the quad-core 4-Plus-1 ARM
last month’s CES wrap-up but during NVIDIA showcased how the K1 can Cortex A15 CPU design, while the 64-bit
this press tour, we managed to get a easily handle games like Serious Sam 3, version uses a custom NVIDIA-designed
little more info about this impressive
little piece of technology.
Firstly, this little 28nm processor
actually uses the same Kepler
architecture that is used to power
NVIDIA’s incredible GeForce GTX 700
series graphics cards and yes, this
includes the likes of the mighty GTX
Titan and GTX 780 Ti. This means, the
processor actually boasts a 192-core
super chip and is also the very first
mobile processor to support NVIDIA
CUDA, which means that this able to
provide much faster parallel processing,
which also means an impressive
increase in computing performance.
Other than that, the processor will
also be available in 32- and 64-bit This chart shows the performance of the Tegra K1 compared to two of the most popular gaming consoles
versions. Both versions share some
dual Super Core CPU (codenamed
‘Denver’) design that enables it to deliver
very high single- and multi-thread
performance.

Super Charging the

Automotive Industry
Like we mentioned earlier, the NVIDIA
Tegra K1 isn’t just designed to take on
the mobile device market. In fact, it was
also designed for things that are a little
more “mobile”. That’s right! According
to NVIDIA, there are currently 4.5 million
cars on the road all over the world that
uses NVIDIA’s processors to power up
their infotainment system. It is also
estimated that this number will grow
The Tegra K1 has been what NVIDIA has been working towards all along. A Ɵny processor that can be used for mulƟple industries even more as more than 20

034 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
nvidia press tour

cruise control. With ADAS, cars will be

able to detect pedestrians, monitor blind
spots, warn drivers when they sway
from a lane, avoid collisions and even
recognise traffic signs.
One final neat feature that NVIDIA
hopes to integrate into cars of the future
includes Project Mercury. For now this
feature has yet to be seen in many
vehicles but what this does is enable car
manufacturers to do away with analogue
dials and gauges and replace them with
fully customisable digital ones. This will
also be a treat to customisation
enthusiasts as they will get to easily trick
out the look and personality of their cars
without having to spend hard-earned
The automoƟve industry isn’t exactly a new venture for NVIDIA as their graphics processors have long played a part in it cash on gauges and the costs to get it
fitted.
manufacturers have
already started using The Long Awaited Arrival of
NVIDIA processors in Maxwell
over a 100 models. ‘Logan’ is a definite game changer when
NVIDIA isn’t actually it comes to the mobile processing
a total stranger to the market due to what it brings to the table.
automotive industry as It was already quite a treat that we got a
their desktop GPUs have better understanding of the Tegra K1 but
been used in the NVIDIA had something else in stored for
workstations to design us that day and that was getting us
vehicles. Moreover, acquainted with their next-generation,
These are some of the features you can expect to nd in a vehicle equipped with the thanks to the immense Maxwell.
Tegra K1
compute power brought As of this time of writing, there are
on by GPU’s some only two cards that run on the latest
manufacturers have even Maxwell architecture and these are the
omitted wind tunnel and GeForce GTX 750 and GTX 750 Ti. Both
race track tests for their of these cards are actually designed for
cars as GPUs are able to the entry-level market and come with
do all the calculations for very reasonable price tags. But with that
them virtually. being said, gamers will definitely love
But in those cases,
we’re talking about
desktop and workstation
GPUs. As for mobile
processors, so far, they
Project Mercury looks to give car owners the ability to truly personalise their cars the
way they want have only been used to
power infotainment
systems. But with the
Tegra K1, NVIDIA looks
to achieve more than
that as the first
impressive feature the
Tegra K1 Visual
Computing Module
(VCM) boasts is the
Advanced Driver
Assistance System
JusƟn Walker, Senior Product Manager, GeForce, NVIDIA
(ADAS), a very handy
showing members of the media the GM107 GPU used in the
Seen in this image is the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) at work. It basically feature for cars with new graphics cards
detects the vehicle in front and also notes the lanes

chip malaysia march 14 035

 news
nvidia press tour

issued per clock cycle and many more

enhancements that allow the Maxwell
SM to exceed the Kepler’s SMX design.
The new Maxwell SM architecture boasts
135% Performance/Core and 2x
Performance/Watt compared to Kepler.
Furthermore, Maxwell also boasts a
much larger L2 cache design; 2048KB in
GM107 compared to 256KB in GK107.
With this much larger cache, there will
be fewer requests to the graphics card’s
DRAM therefore, reducing overall board
power and improving performance.
To ensure users get the best
performance, both these new cards also
support GPU Boost 2.0, which means
that they will have a constant and
This is a comparison between Kepler and Maxwell’s architecture minimum core clock speed of 1020MHz.
This number is much higher compared
while the GTX 750 to any entry-level card in the market to-
only uses 55W. Both date. As the cherry on top of the cake,
cards don’t even Maxwell also features an improved
require power from a NVENC block that provides faster encode
power supply unit (6-8x real-time for H.264 compared to 4x
thus don’t have real-time for Kepler) and 8-10x faster
power connectors on decode. There’s also a new local decoder
their PCB. However, cache when combined with the higher
NVIDIA has said that memory efficiency per stream for video
certain partner cards decoding, lowers power consumption
that are overclocked immensely when decoding videos.
or are designed for Both cards are already available in
overclockers will the market and have a retail price that
The GTX 750 Ti and GTX 750 easily t in the palm of a hand and are the perfect cards for feature power starts at US$119 (~RM393) for the GTX
those who want to build a HTPC or small yet powerful gaming rig
connectors. 750, US$139 (~RM460) for the 1GB
“A very critical variant of the GTX 750 Ti and US$149
part when it comes (~RM492) for the 2GB variant.
to developing
graphics processing
units and graphics
cards is that to
advance
performance, you
have to advance
power efficiency,”
explained Justin
Walker, Senior
Product Manager,
GeForce, NVIDIA.
Both cards will share the standard ports that we see in most graphics cards today
What really makes
all this possible is
these cards as they come with the same the new Streaming Multiprocessor (SM)
features found in high-end cards such as design that greatly improves
NVIDIA ShadowPlay, G-Sync and Game performance per watt and performance
Stream. per area. NVIDIA have made significant
There is really plenty to love about improvements to control logic
these cards but one of the best has to be partitioning, workload balancing, clock-
This liƩle empty space (where the two holes are) is where
the fact that the cards are super-efficient gating granularity, compiler-based the power connectors are supposed to be but since this card
as the GTX 750 Ti only use a TDP of 60W scheduling, number of instructions consumes very liƩle power, it doesn’t need one

036 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
nvidia press tour

The GeForce GTX 750 and GTX 750

Ti in Partner Colours
Just shortly after the embargo was lifted PHOC-1GD5 and RM645 for the
off of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 and GTX750TI-OC-2GD5. GIGABYTE
GTX 750 Ti, we started receiving even Not one to miss out on the latest
more information from NVIDIA’s MSI technology GIGABYTE also has
technology,
partners regarding their very own take Last but announced the availability of their
on the cards. So here’s a look at the certainly versions of the GeForce GTX 750 and
GeForce GTX 750 and GTX 750 Ti not least, is GTX 750 Ti. Both cars have also
rocking customisations from ASUS, MSI MSI. Out of b
been overclocked and the GV-
and GIGABYTE.
ABYTE. the three, N750OC-1GI (GTX 750) now
M
MSI is has a base clock speed of
ASUS cu
currently 1059MHz that goes up to
First up on th
the one with h 113
1137MHz when boosted. As for
the list is
s th
the most variations the GV-
ASUS. of the GeForce GTX MSI N750-1GD5/OC
N75TOC-
The 7
750 and GTX 750 Ti 2GI (GTX
most but for this little feature section, 750 Ti), its
obvious we’ll be taking a look at the N750- base clock
thing you
ou 1GD5/OC (GTX 750) and N750Ti-TF- has been
will notice
ce is the fact that 2G
2GD5/OC (GTX 750 Ti). The N750-1GD5/ tweaked up
both the e GTX 750 and GTX OC may not look like it has been given a to 1033MHz
750 Ti now sport ASUS GTX750-PHOC-1GD5 drastic makeover but it actually has and can reach
new coolers that been overclocked and now has a core up to 1111MHz when
aren’t just dust-proof but also help clock speed of 1059MHz that goes up to boosted.
extend the lifespan of both cards by up 1137MHz when boosted. To withstand To ensure that the
GIGABYTE GV- N750TOC-2GI
to 25% compared to the reference this newer clock speed, MSI have also GPU doesn’t
coolers. To further enhance the lifespan placed in a much larger fan and also overheat due to being overclocked, both
of the cards, ASUS have also equipped now features All Solid Capacitors that cards also now sport new coolers. The
the cards with the exclusive Super Alloy can last up to 10 years due to its lower GV-N750OC-1GI comes with a 10cm fan
Power Components such as concrete- temperature and higher efficiency. that not only enhances airflow but is
core chokes and hardened MOSFETS Then we have the N750TI-TF-2GD5/ virtually silent. However, the GV-
that can handle much greater stress and OC that was designed for the gamer that N750TOC-2GI sports a more
heat. demands the best in terms of radical change
These new components are necessary performance and also cooling. The card as GIGABYTE
as both cards have been overclocked for now features the signature red and black have bolted
performance that’s up to 52MHz faster Advanced Twin Frozr IV cooler that has a on their
than the cards they are based on. The two large fans and also a large WINDFORCE
GTX 750 has a 1059MHz overclocked Aluminium fin grid and SuperPipe cooler that
base clock that reaches 1137MHz when technology. The card’s core clock speed sports a 2X
boosted while the GTX 750 Ti’s 1072MHz will also be able to go from 1020MHz in anti-
ked base clock
overclocked Sile mode to 1059MHz with a boost
Silent turbulence
goes up to o c
clock speed
eed of parallel
parallel-inclined
in fin design onto
1150MHz 1
1137MHz z in the card. T This GIGABYTE GV-N750OC-1GI
when G
Gaming cooler has two
boosted. m
mode to a ultra-quiet PWM fans and a copper heat
Both w
whooping g pipe
pipes that provides a more
these 1085MHzHz ef
effective airflow.
cards with a As an extra little feature,
are b
boost GIGABYTE have even enhanced
G
already on n the clo
clock the cards with Dual HDMI 1.4,
th
market and nd sport price speed
spee of which m means gamers can now run a
M519 for
tags of RM519 1163MHz
1 in
i OC multi-display
l i di setup at 4,096 x 2,160
ASUS GTX750TI-OC-2GD5 MSI N750TI-TF-2GD5/OC
the GTX750- mode. resolution at 60Hz.

chip malaysia march 14 037

 news
samsung forum 2014

Samsung
experiences as the global technology
leader. The SEA market continues to
show growth and Samsung hopes to
contribute to this growth by combining
our deep local consumer insights with

Forum 2014
our innovative technologies to cater to
the demands of the local market,” said
Moon Soo Kim.

Stating a Case for Ultra High

A sneak peek at what’s to come from Samsung in 2014 Definition
After the keynote speech by Moon Soo
By Nazrin Zain
Kim, Andrew Woon, Director of TV and

T
he Samsung Forum, or Samsung waxing lyrical about Samsung’s
SEA Forum, as it was formerly achievements the previous year, he also
known, is a little showcase of what outlined the current year’s challenges,
customers from the South East Asia and plans to ensure that the company
region can come to expect from the continues to grow and improve this year.
Korean tech giants for that year. Last One thing to note is that he also
year we were given a glimpse on a mentioned how the successes with the
myriad of things to watch out for in company’s variety of electronic devices,
Jakarta, Indonesia. This time around, we mainly from the smartphone and tablet
were sent again to Indonesia, but instead market have affected the design of the
of Jakarta, we were shuttled off to the company’s other products as well. This
island of Bali, where Samsung yet again shared design philosophy, as we later
showcases products that consumers can found out, has made its way to a few
come to expect in 2014. products already, and will surely
Starting off proceedings at the Bali continue to do so even more in years, if
Nusa Dua Convention Center was Moon not months to come.
Soo Kim, the President of Samsung “In 2014, Samsung is set out to bring Moon Soo Kim, President of Samsung Southeast Asia and
Southeast Asia and Oceania. Whilst our latest innovation and new Oceania delivering the opening speech at the Samsung Forum
2014

038 march 14 chip malaysia

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samsung forum 2014

A cool gallery showcase of Samsung's Curved UHD TV models Lee Jui Siang, Vice President of IT & Mobile CommunicaƟons,
Samsung Singapore showing oī the new Samsung Galaxy
TabPro tablets
distance in mind.
Not only does the Auto Depth Enhancer, an algorithm that
curved design automatically adjusts contrast for a
enable a more greater sense of depth.
realistic and true- Seeing as this is a 4K TV after all,
to life viewing Samsung’s Curved UHD TV comes built
experience, those in with a UHD upscaling feature, which
who are watching converts SD, HD and Full HD resolution
the TV at different sources to nearly UHD quality via a
angles will no unique four-step process that includes
longer have to signal analysis, noise reduction, detail
worry about analysis and upscaling. Also included is
viewing angles as the UHD Dimming technology that
the curved display further optimises picture quality by
allows them to adjusting the picture’s brightness levels.
Andrew Woon, Director of TV and AV of Samsung Southeast Asia and Oceania introducing enjoy watching the The Curved UHD TV also supports a
Samsung's new Curved UHD TV that will make its way here in Malaysia in April TV without any wide variety of media output standards,
AV of Samsung Southeast Asia and degradation to the including HEVC, HDMI 2.0, MHL 3.0 and
Oceania took the stage to unveil a range colour and contrast quality whatsoever. HDCP 2.2. Like Samsung’s previous
of devices that some may have been Colour is further enhanced on the iterations of the Smart TV, the Curved
acquainted with recently in Las Vegas UHD TV via Samsung’s PureColor UHD TV will also receive future-ready
during the Consumer Electronics Show. technology, augmented by Samsung’s upgrades in the form of the Samsung
That’s right folks, one of Samsung’s
biggest announcements so far, the
Samsung Curved UHD TV made its
appearance in Bali for us to see.
Samsung definitely knows their
playing field well and when it comes to
TVs, the 4K revolution is fast becoming
the in thing. While manufacturing large
TVs with curved displays take a lot more
work compared to the traditional flat
ones, Samsung is determined to remain
competitive and also become leaders in
the UHD TV market.
According to Andrew, the most
common viewing distance of a TV is
around the three to four meter mark, and
Samsung’s Curved TV is designed
The Samsung Curved UHD TVs will be available in Southeast Asia in three sizes: 55-, 65- and 78-inches
specifically to cater for spaces with this

chip malaysia march 14 039

 news
samsung forum 2014

UHD Evolution Kit. In this region, Being business-oriented tablets,

Samsung will be introducing the Curved the NotePRO and TabPRO devices
UHD TVs in form factors of 78-, 65- and also come pre-loaded with the
55-inches. Expected date of arrival is Cisco WebEx Meeting platform,
estimated to be some time in April. and out of the box, it also has
other long-term subscription offers
Tablets with More Pixels of various services, including
Than You Can Count Bitcasa, Bloomberg
The Samsung GALAXY NotePRO 12.2 Businessweek+, Blurb, Dropbox,
was announced in Malaysia prior to the Easilydo Pro, Evernote and even
Samsung Forum, but in Bali, this device Sketchbook Pro.
was unveiled alongside a series of Users also get to choose what
business tablets in the form of the kind of connectivity options they
Samsung GALAXY TabPRO 12.2, 10.1 want to have on their tablets.
and 8.4. These tablets aim to provide These include options for Wi-Fi- Samsung Galaxy Camera 2, now comes in a more compact
users with an extraordinary display and a only, Wi-Fi and 3G or Wi-Fi and LTE. As form

matching feature set, as all these form with previous Samsung tablets, the
factors share the same hardware NotePRO and TabPRO will also have
specifications and resolution, the only their own optional accessories as well,
noticeable difference being the display including Book Covers, USB LAN Hubs,
size. universal Bluetooth keyboards and the S
All the devices, safe for the TabPRO Action Mouse.
8.4 runs on a Samsung Exynos 5 Octa Both the Samsung GALAXY NotePRO
quad-core processor, and every one of and TabPRO are expected to be available
them has a WXGA resolution of 2,560 x in the region sometime during Q1 of
1,600, which is actually tailor-made to be 2014.
used with Samsung’s wide variety of new
features, including the new Magazine UX Expanding the Camera
and the Content Home UX. Having such a Portfolio
large display resolution also means that On top of their burgeoning smartphone
users can comfortably use the Multi and tablet market, Samsung also aims to
Window feature, and comfortably utilize assert its presence in the digital imaging
the Virtual Keyboard that now has industry as well, specifically the camera
The Samsung NX30, the latest in Samsung's line of
enough space to type comfortably. market. At Samsung Forum 2014, the
interchangeable lens cameras
company announced two new cameras in
the form of the Samsung NX30 and the much like the previous NX-series
Samsung GALAXY Camera 2. cameras, functions as an
The Samsung NX30 is a interchangeable-lens camera. The NX30
professionally-inspired camera, and features the Samsung NX AF System II

Samsung's Galaxy TabPRO 8.4 is a device that combines

portability and performance perfectly

A gallery showcasing the new Samsung cameras, the Samsung NX30 and Samsung Galaxy Camera 2.
The Samsung Galaxy TabPRO 12.2 features design and specs
similar to that of its brother the Samsung Galaxy NotePRO

040 march 14 chip malaysia

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samsung forum 2014

which the company claims has fast and number of features with the NX30, such
accurate auto-focusing, as well as a as Photo Beam, Mobile Link and Remote
1/8000 second shutter speed and 9FPS Viewfinder. All of this is made possible
continuous shooting feature, powered by thanks to the 1.6GHz quad-core processor
a 20.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor. and 2GB of RAM. The second iteration of
It also has a unique Tiltable Electronic the GALAXY Camera sports a 4.8-inch HD
Viewfinder which makes it easier for Super Clear Touch LCD panel meanwhile
users to use the NX30 in new, even more allows users to preview and edit images
dynamic ways and at angles that are right on the camera itself.
otherwise very hard to pull off. The
viewfinder’s 80 degree tilt means that Improving The PC Experience
you can pull off some nice shots even Unlike the two previous years,
The 16-50mm F2-2.8 S ED OIS is the rst of Samsung's "S"
when you are being obstructed by large premium lenses Samsung’s notebook line has seen a
crowds or other obstacles. drop in the number of models
As we are in the age of connectivity, announced at the Samsung Forum this
the NX30 also comes with support for year. We’re not quite certain whether this
both Wi-Fi and NFC, making photo- is a good or bad thing, but it would seem
sharing to other devices a very straight- that they have streamlined their
forward affair. Users of previous notebook division, and instead of
Samsung cameras will also be happy to unveiling ten or so products of varying
find out that features such as Photo quality and performance, Samsung has
Beam and Remote ViewFinder Pro opted to showcase what they deem to be
making a return to the NX30 as well, the the products that will carry the Samsung
latter allowing you to control the various PC line to greater heights, in the form of
NX30 features straight from the phone. the Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition
The Samsung 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 Power Zoom ED OIS is meant
Alongside the NX30 are two new for daily usage
and the ATIV One 7 2014 Edition.
lenses in the form of the Samsung 16- Sporting a sophisticated,
50mm F2-2.8 S ED OIS lens and the aerodynamic design and a single shell
Samsung 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 Power Zoom this new S lens is capable of taking aluminium body, the Samsung ATIV
ED OIS lens. steady shots and produce exceptional Book 9 2014 Edition is powered by a 4th
The 16-50mm F2-2.8 S ED OIS lens is photos with amazing clarity ad detail. generation Intel Core i-series processor,
the first of Samsung’s premium line of The second lens, which is the and features a 15.6-inch display with a
“S” series lenses, which Samsung claim Samsung 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 Power Zoom 1,920 x 1,080 pixel display which is 20
is the brightest 3X zoom lens amongst ED OIS lens is designed for everyday use, percent brighter than the previous
equivalent class lenses. The 16-50mm especially if you’re constantly on the generation’s Book 9.
lens has an extremely bright aperture, move and need something that is both On top of that, the ATIV Book 9 2014
with F2.0 at 16mm and F2.8 at 50mm. Not lightweight and compact. Edition also comes with what Samsung
only that, the lens is also splash and New features touted by this particular claims to be a 14 hour battery life for an
dust-proof, and is designed to deliver lens include the Silent Auto Focusing, all-day computing experience.
stunning images even in the harshest of which greatly reduces the noise Audiophiles will also especially enjoy
conditions. produced by focusing and zooming, as using the ATIV Book 9 as it comes with
The lens also features an Ultra-Precise well as the Electro zoom with seesaw Samsung’s SPlayer+, an exclusive
Stepping Motor (UPSM) which is three button. This feature allows lossless audio player that works in
times more precise when it comes in to photographers to click to zoom and take conjunction with a high-performance
zooming and focusing on subjects. a photo from any view or angle, much Wolfson DAC chip.
Thanks to this feature and many others, similar to how you would on a compact The ATIV One 7 2014 Edition
camera. meanwhile continues on Samsung’s
The Samsung GALAXY Camera 2 has grand plans for PC-mobile convergence
been reworked as well. The most with their own GALAXY smartphones.
noticeable difference being that the We don’t see that many AIOs from
camera this time is much more compact Samsung, but Samsung’s got one that’s
that the original GALAXY Camera. It is a doozy. Powered by a 4th generation
equipped with a 16MP BSi CMOS sensor Intel Core i-series processor, this 24-inch
which produces great quality images, AIO is truly one meant for the family.
and a 21x optical zoom which allows you It comes with a 1TB HDD, and with
to get those far away shots without Samsung Link, you can back up all your
having to move an inch. data from the phone right on to ATIV One
The Samsung NX30 and the Samsung Galaxy Camera in a side- The GALAXY Camera 2 also shares a 7. It also has a feature called Bluetooth
byside comparison

chip malaysia march 14 041

 news
samsung forum 2014

includes an upscaling mouths salivating at how useful, yet

technology that unique some of these products are.
converts low resolution These include the Samsung Food
content to UHD-level ShowCase Refrigerator, the WW9000
qualities. washing machine and the Samsung
The minimalist AR9000 air conditioning unit.
SD590 monitor The biggest announcement in this
meanwhile is a particular segment has got to be the
straight-forward Full Samsung Food ShowCase refrigerator.
HD monitor that allows The design of this refrigerator smartly
users to concentrate on separates the refrigeration area with two
whatever they’re layers of doors. The first door opens to
watching and doing provide users with instant access to
without any frequently used items, and an InnerCase
distractions. The for storage that requires constant
The super sleek and powerful Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 EdiƟon was beauty to behold SD590 comes in two refrigeration.
display sizes, 23.6- and As mentioned before, the ShowCase
Music Play which allows users to enjoy 27-inches, both of which sport a very has two different doors, one which only
media that is streamed from your Galaxy narrow bezel, and has a wide viewing opens the exterior of the refrigerator,
smartphone, via the speakers, even when angle thanks to the PLS panel used in the designed to make consuming food and
the ATIV One 7 is turned off. monitor. drinks as easy as possible. This outer
Both the Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 It also has what Samsung calls the zone has multiple food compartments for
Edition and Samsung ATIV One 7 2014 Magic Upscale technology where users sauces, drinks, snacks and such.
Edition has been made available around can use to experience better picture When the InnerCase is designed to
the region since February 2014. quality even with low resolution content. store items such as raw food, and unlike
That’s not all of course as Samsung The SD590 also has a game mode, and more conventional refrigerators,
has also announced two desktop includes one VGA and two HDMI inputs Samsung’s All-Around Cooling cools the
monitors in the form of the Samsung for connectivity to multiple machines. fridge and freezer parts of the ShowCase
UD590 UHD Monitor and the Samsung evenly. This allows for food products
SD590 Monitor. Home Appliances Aplenty stored inside it to retain their freshness,
Making full use of the hype that is Samsung are not just making strides to and as a result, makes them last longer.
created by the 4K movement, the ensure that they are number one in the Also announced was the Digital
Samsung UD590 is a 28-inch UHD display consumer electronics market; they are Inverter Technology that was
that provides four times the resolution of also adamant at being the number one incorporated into the Food ShowCase,
Full HD displays. It has a response time brand in the white products, or home helping the refrigerator improve energy
of 1ms, and Samsung claims that it is appliances industry. efficiency and cooling performance by
able to display up to 1 billion colours, During the Forum, Samsung automatically adjusting the compressor
which is 64 times more than standard announced a number of new appliances across seven RPM speeds, depending on
Full HD monitors. On top of that, it also that are sure to have heads turning, if not cooling needs. As a testament to how
confident Samsung is with its durability,
the Digital Inverter Technology comes
with a 10-year warranty.
The next product, the WW9000
washing machine is a washing machine
unlike any other. For one, it’s the first
washing machine that we know off that
comes with a 5.0-inch colour touch
screen and smart features that Samsung
claims will improve the washing
machine’s performance.
Clad in an elegant, minimalist design,
the WW900 features a translucent deep
blue crystal finish, and the door creates a
spectrum of colours when it is in contact
with light.
Some of these smart features of the
One of the features touted by the Samsung ATIV One 7 2014 EdiƟon is the Samsung SideSync, which allows you to sync your WW9000 is the “Most Used” feature that
Galaxy Smartphone with the AIO computer
remembers your most frequently-used

042 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
samsung forum 2014

The Samsung WW9000 is the rst of Samsung's washing machines to feature a full-edged touch screen display on it
The Samsung ShowCase Refrigerator features mulƟple doors
and compartments for diīerent kinds of foodstuī Samsung came up with in Bali. Their new and expelled faster, by 26 percent
wash options, while the Favourites Samsung AR9000 features a unique compared to other conventional air-
feature allows them to personalize the triangular design that Samsung says conditioning units.
wash cycle by configuring various delivers improved performance by The single most important and
options such as temperature and spin circulating cool air faster, further and impressive feature however, is the fact
cycle. wider. that you can control the AR9000 by using
Auto Optimal Wash meanwhile Samsung’s Digital Inverter an app on your smartphone. Available on
detects various information about your Technology makes an appearance in the both Android and iOS, this Smart Wi-Fi
wash loads, including size, degree of dirt AR9000 as well, not only providing the function allows users to remotely control
and the amount of water and detergent AR9000 with more power, but also the functions of the Samsung Air
needed to clean them. Based on the significantly better energy efficiency. On Conditioner to schedule its operation,
information the WW9000 receives, it will top of that, it also comes with the Virus check operational time, electric usage as
then decide the most optimal wash cycle, Doctor and Easy Filter which helps to well as provide cleaning reminders. It
temperature, time, rinse cycle and spin eliminate dust, contaminants, allergens, also comes with a Smart Check
needed. bacteria and viruses. automatic error-monitoring system which
As far back as we can remember, air- The AR9000’s triangular design, detects and diagnoses problems and
conditioning units have always been according to Samsung delivers improved provides troubleshooting solutions via a
rectangular, and we didn’t really think performance via its wider air inlet, outlet smartphone app.
much of this design until we saw what and a bigger fan so that the air is cooled

Stanley Goh, Vice President of Consumer Electronics, Samsung Singapore introducing the new Samsung ShowCase Refrigerator, The Samsung AR9000's triangular design and Digital Inverter
complete with its innovaƟve two-door system at Samsung SEA Forum 2014 technology allows it to cool rooms faster and further, whilst
reducing power consumpƟon

chip malaysia march 14 043

 news
oki media tour

(From leŌ) Hiroshi Endo, Corporate Oĸcer & General Manager, Products Business Department, OKI Data CorporaƟon; Takao Hiramoto, President, OKI Data CorporaƟon, Director & Senior Vice
President, OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd. and Goh Yin Hwang, Country Manager, OKI Data (S) Pte. Ltd. Malaysia Rep Oĸce

OKI Japan
Media Tour
In a rather relaxed trip to the “Land of the Rising Sun”
organised by OKI, not only did we get to experience the
sights and sounds of a beautiful country but we also got to
find out what OKI has in store for the year 2014 and beyond
By Jeremy Cheong

D
uring the second last week of headquarters to meet and greet their
Hiramoto-san kicked oī the day with a welcome speech and
February, we embarked on yet men-in-charge who also gave us a more gave us insight to OKI’s performance over the years
another work related trip and this in-depth look on their global
time, the trip was organised by OKI Data performance, what their future plans are,
(S) Pte. Ltd. Malaysia Rep Office as a way details on some of their latest printers
to thank members of the media for their and a look at a new and exciting venture
support and also give them a chance to they are moving in to.
visit OKI’s home base.Throughout the According to the President of OKI Data
trip, we got to visit Tokyo and Osaka and Corporation, Takao Hiramoto, the
the many landmarks that made them company is looking to boost their printer
famous. While it was quite a relaxed trip, business and bring innovations to greater
we did have a little work to do but it was heights to fulfil the growing office
what made the entire trip worthwhile. solution and professional printing market
During our second day in Japan, we through its subsidiary, OKI Data This map shows the many OKI diīerent faciliƟes located all
over the world
made our way to OKI’s global Corporation.

044 march 14 chip malaysia

 news
oki media tour

flexible solution for offices. The reason

being is that this printer features a 9-inch
coloured touchscreen, duplex LED
copying and scanning, high yield
cartridges, internal stapler and a slew of
other optional features.
“Our efforts to strengthen OKI as a
global printer brand boils down to our
right focus on our customers and their
Out of the many countries OKI has a presence in, Malaysia is needs. At OKI, our intention is to turn this
the one that creates the most revenue for the company
into practical initiatives which deliver
identified end-user benefits,” added
Hiramoto.
While many of us outside of Japan
relate OKI with just printing, the company
actually dabbles in more than that. During
Endo-san shared with us what makes OKI's LED PrinƟng our visit, we got to visit their product
technology unique compared to their compeƟtors and also showcase area in their headquarters. This
details of some of their newer printers
is where we learned that OKI actually has
colour (CMYK White/Clear toner) digital products for surveillance and
LED A3 printer C941dn that offers high- communications. But while those
If you've ever wanted to know what makes LED prinƟng
diīerent compared to laser prinƟng, here's an explanaƟon quality white colour printing or clear spot products were quite interesting, the one
colour printing. The concept of the that OKI is now placing a major focus on
As of their fiscal year 2013 projection, C941dn is
OKI Data’s main market share lies in essentially a
EMEA as that market covers 40%, printer that is able
followed by Japan with 30% then the to deliver high
Americas and APAC with 20% and 10% quality images and
respectively. In South East Asia, Malaysia support a wide
plays a major role as 42% of OKI’s sales range of media.
revenue for South East Asia comes from Some of the usage
here. of the spot colour
To continue their growth and toner includes
leadership, OKI is aggressively moving printing POP/
towards the office solution market with a Signage on
wide variety of single-function printers transparent film,
and printer-based multifunction devices creating soft
labelled as ‘Executive Series’ (ES). These packages, t-shirt
new models will also feature the smart prints with The C941dn is a truly versaƟle device as not only can it print on a wide range of material for many
Extendable Platform (sXP) – an open transfer paper diīerent types of uses

application programming interface (API) and also things

platform for which an expanding suite of like catalogues,
solutions is available through OKI. Using manuals and
this platform, customers and solution photo books.
partners can easily integrate these MFPs While the
into their work environments, adding highlight may have
customised solutions to meet their been placed on the
specific business needs and further C941dn, OKI
increase productivity and cost efficiency. actually has a few
“OKI will put more emphasis in other interesting
developing products and solutions for the devices such as
professional market that is demanding for the ES7470MFP
high speed, high performance printing that is part of the
solutions,” says Hiramoto. Executive series
This definitely rings true as OKI is the and is an A4
first manufacturer that has perfected the workgroup colour
LED printing technology and also is the MFP that was Seen here are just some of OKI's older and newer model of dot matrix printers that are sƟll being
used a few diīerent industries
first to introduce the world’s first five designed to be a

chip malaysia march 14 045

 news
oki media tour

Just a quick look at how the inside of the C941dn looks like

During the showroom tour, we got to take a closer look at the C941dn and witnessed rst hand its capability to print with white
toner on transparent lms

is Automated Teller Machines (ATM). dispenser machines, this was not much of
Another example of the capabiliƟes of OKI's ve colour
But they are not talking about just any a problem as they money going in and
printers
normal ATM, the company’s expertise out of each machines go through a
lies in Cash Recycle ATMs that combines thorough check-up by bank personnel, to differentiate multiple currencies from a
a cash dispenser and depositor into one whereas a recycling ATM is “re-stocked” stack, so users can easily deposit or
machine. OKI currently holds about one- by users. Finally, comes reliability, banks change whatever foreign currency they
third of the recycling ATM market share worry about the devices’ life and don’t aren’t using.
and is looking to make those numbers want to spend on new machines after a To enhance the versatility and security
grow as they are aggressively introducing few years and it also has to be able to of these machines, anti-scheming
them to other countries. withstand the wear and tear caused by measures and biometric scanners such as
When asked what the biggest constant use. retina and fingerprints scanners can be
challenges was when it comes to getting Even with these challenges, OKI are installed depending on the bank’s
banks to adopt these ATMs, Kawamura- very confident that they can convince requirements. Finally, when installed in
san said that first they have to update banks to adopt this new machine as it convenient stores that open 24hours, the
their software, which is time consuming also brings about some very nifty ATM can also serve as a safe for store
and brings about a learning curve to learn features such as being able to correctly employees and prove to be a boon for
the new features of the software. identify a country’s currency and provide customers who need to withdraw money
Secondly, banks demand a 99.8% success the correct exchange rates to customers. or pay bills.
rate when it comes to counterfeit The aforementioned feature is made even
recognition. With older deposit and more impressive as the machine is able

OKI has been perfecƟng their Cash Recycling ATM for many
years now and from what we saw, they are very close to Other than just being used to deposit and dispense cash, the Cash Recycle ATM can also be used as a foreign exchance machine
geƫng things all sorted out as it is able to accurately give users the right amount of money

046 march 14 chip malaysia

 feature
tech spelunk

Tech Spelunk
Lenovo ThinkPad
Yoga

Flip and Fold

If the Yoga name didn’t already give it away, this
ThinkPad can be transformed into four different modes,s,
and be used in different ways if you so desire. These
modes include the Laptop, Tent, Stand and Tablet
modes, each with its own advantages. Lenovo has also o
included the exclusive Lenovo Recommends software
that recognises when you switch modes and
recommends the best apps and software for each mode. de.

Bells and Whistles

One of the coolest features that the ThinkPad
kPad Yoga is how Lenovo have
managed to find a way to protect the keyboard
board from damage when it is used in
the other modes. What the company has done is to implement a lift-and-lock
design that locks the keys in place as it goes
oes in Tent, Stand and tablet modes,
eliminating accidental keystrokes while providing
roviding a comfortable grip.
The ThinkPad Yoga also comes with the he Active Protection System for the
Yoga’s SSD which detects sudden movements ments of the notebook, locking the
hard drive in place to either avoid or minimize
imize the damage that may otherwise
prove to be fatal for your drive.
Select models of the ThinkPad Yoga comes omes with a digitiser pen, which helps
users maximize productivity, regardless in n whatever mode the Yoga is being
used on. The digitiser provides a natural writing experience and allows you to
take notes, sign documents and more.

048 march 14 chip malaysia

 feature
tech spelunk

In this month’s edition of Tech Spelunk, we take a look at a peculiarly-designed notebook

in the form of the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga. Bearing the iconic and instantly recognisable
ThinkPad badge, this device was designed for users who value durability, versatility and
performance in a notebook for work. But while it may look just like ThinkPads that came
before it, this one comes with a few new and neat tricks up its sleeve By CHIP Team

Power-packed
The ThinkPad Yoga is powered by the latest 4th generation
Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, which not only provides excellent
processing power, but also reduces power consumption that
translates to a longer battery life. Together with the new
integrated Intel HD 4400 graphics, you can also enjoy movies
and games with little to no problems whatsoever.
Depending on the model, it also comes packed with either a
configuration. Also, for storage the ThinkPad
4GB or 8GB RAM configuration
Yoga comes with a 1TB SATA HDD with 16GB microSATA
SSD.

Thin, Durable and Long-lasting

Th
We
Weighing in at about 1.5kg, and measuring at about 2.0cm in
thickness, this device is truly a thin and light ultraportable
thic
computer. On top of that, Lenovo has also made claims that
com
with a full battery charge, the Yoga can last about eight hours,
wit
so it definitely works well as a portable workstation, and you
need not worry about not being able to finding a plug point to
nee
charge your notebook for a few hours of work.
cha
Like most ThinkPads, this one is also built to be hardy as it
has a durable magnesium-alloy frame and heavy-duty, scratch-
and smudge-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass display means it
can handle tough treatment from even the hardiest road
warrior.
wa

High Definition Display

The new ThinkPad Yoga features a 12.5-inch Full HD
10-point multi-touch display which is optimised for use
with Windows 8.1. Made specifically for the new
Microsoft operating system, Lenovo’s advanced multi-
touch technology provides an excellent touch
experience and excellent responsiveness.

chip malaysia march 14 049

 feature
legaltech

10 Years
Of Legal
Issues And
Counting
Facebook has a been a great tool to many of us as it enables us to stay
in touch with family and friends and make new ones easily and this
month, we take a look at some very important things you should know
when it comes to the social network By Edwin Lee Yong Cieh

A practicising lawyer specialising

and Responsibilities (“Facebook’s Terms”), which is essentially the
in telecommunications, media
& technology law, Edwin is in a main document that sets out the terms of use that governs the
constant effort to educate users relationship between Facebook with users and others who interact
on the many legal happenings in with Facebook. Violation of any provisions under Facebook’s
the IT world
Terms will result in the individual’s account being terminated or
suspended.

F
acebook, arguably the world’s most successful and influential
social networking site, just turned 10 last month and it has Posting third party content
grown by leaps and bounds to become the largest social Very often, we find users posting contents such as text, graphics,
networking site in the world since it was launched by Mark photos or videos not belonging to them on Facebook without
Zuckerberg in 4 February 2004. Facebook has attracted 1.23 billion realising that such act could potentially amount to infringement of
users worldwide so far, and reportedly earned RM26 billion in copyright laws that can result in both criminal and civil liability.
revenue in 2013. According to Facebook’s Terms, users are not allowed to post
Facebook made a grand entrance into Nasdaq stock exchange content that infringes or violates someone else’s rights or
when it went public in May 2012 by having one of the largest initial otherwise violates the law. Facebook has set up a special tool to
public offering in Internet history, and it continues to make enable users to report to Facebook if their intellectual property has
headlines every now and then, the latest being the acquisition of been infringed by other users. Facebook has the right to take down
WhatsApp for a whopping RM62 billion (Facebook bought the infringing content upon receipt of such a report. It also states
Instagram for RM3 billion in April 2012, just before it went public). that repeated or continuous infringement of other’s intellectual
This article is not intended to talk about how awesome property rights may result in the individual’s Facebook account
Facebook is, or the benefits or changes that Facebook has brought being terminated or disabled by Facebook.
to our daily lives (for better or worse). This article is meant to set
out the various social and legal implications arising from the rapid Who owns and controls your content?
growth and widespread use of Facebook in the last 10 years. In this When Facebook first started, it tried to claim ownership over all
article, reference will be made to Facebook’s Statement of Rights content posted on Facebook. This of course resulted in a barrage

050 march 14 chip malaysia

 feature
legaltech

criticism, which prompted Facebook to change its terms of use. explicitly state that users are not allowed to bully, intimidate or
Facebook’s Terms now state that all users own all of the content harass any other users on Facebook, or use Facebook to do
and information they post on Facebook, and they give Facebook a anything unlawful, misleading, malicious or discriminatory.
non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide
license to use any content that users post on Facebook. Facebook Electronic discovery
also tried to remove a sentence from the Facebook’s Terms saying Lawyers and prosecutors have resorted to fishing for evidence
that “the license will automatically end when the user removes the from information posted on Facebook. Some have even applied for
content”, and this had again caused uproar, forcing Facebook to court orders to obtain such information. In one instance, photo of a
restore that particular sentence. wife hugging an unidentified man on Facebook was accepted as
evidence to support a claim for adultery. In another instance, an
Disclosure of sensitive or confidential accused person’s web chat history was admitted to prove intention
information to kill in a murder trial.
The ease of posting information online, and the desire to share (or
show-off) information has resulted in instances where users Privacy
(knowingly or unintentionally) leak sensitive or confidential Many companies and businesses have leveraged on the use of
information (such as trade secret, corporate intelligence or Facebook as a marketing tool as it provides a platform for much
financial disclosure in violation of securities laws) to the public. We more interactive communications between companies and
all know that once information gets published on the Internet, it customers. Companies will be able to gather information of users
will never get deleted. The instantaneous and far reaching nature who have liked their pages, and use that information to sell
of social networking makes it difficult for users to recall products and/or services to the customers. Facebook’s Terms state
information that has gone public. The implication can be very very clearly that if you wish to collect information from your users,
serious because for information to remain confidential, it must you must obtain their consent, make it clear that it is you (and not
have the necessary “quality of confidence”. The confidential Facebook) who is the one collecting their information, and publish
information will lose its confidential nature the moment it is a privacy policy explaining what information you collect and how
disclosed to the public. you will use it.

Defamation Employers and Schools

Lawsuits alleging defamation based on content posted on social It is becoming increasingly common for employers to use
networking sites such as Facebook are on the rise. A defamation Facebook to vet current and potential candidates for employment
claim may be actionable when a person has published words and background check. Some employers have even used
which connote any imputation which may tend “to lower the other information gathered from Facebook as a basis for firing or taking
person in the estimation of right-thinking members of society disciplinary action against employees. In the United States, this
generally”, “cut him off from society” or “to expose him to hatred, kind of conduct has been held to have violated the National Labour
contempt or ridicule”. Courts have ruled that posting on Facebook Relation Act. In Germany, a new law has been passed to prohibit
amounts to a publication to the world at large. The social employers from discriminating against potential candidates based
networking site’s terms require users not to post content that is on what they do in their private time. Schools and universities
hate speech, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or have also used information found on students’ Facebook pages as
contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence. Users should grounds for disciplinary action and suspension. This has of course
therefore avoid making statements that are harmful, offensive or caused much controversy, and blurred the line between protecting
inflammatory. one’s privacy and relying on public information found on social
networking sites.
Cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying
Stalking and bullying that used to only take place in real life, are Conclusion
now also happening on the Internet, particularly on social The above are just some of the many legal issues that have arisen
networking sites. Many users tend to post too much personal over the years, and the legal issues will continue to evolve and
information on their profile pages, which enables anyone with counting, as Facebook marches into the next decade. To cite an
access to that information to stalk them. What is more worrying is, example, a German data protection commissioner has recently
many users are not aware that everything posted on Facebook is raised his concern that the deal between Facebook and WhatsApp
by default made public, and it is up to the users to restrict the may lead to serious data protection issues as WhatsApp’s users’
access to the information to just friends or family. personal data will likely be merged with Facebook data for users
Cyber-bullying can take many forms, such as posting hurtful or profiling and commercial exploitation for advertising purposes.
threatening messages on a user’s page, spreading false rumours
online, starting pages to ridicule or spread gossip about
individuals, or circulating embarrassing or compromising pictures The view expressed in this article is intended to provide a general
about individuals. It has been reported in the newspapers that guide to the subject matter and does not constitute professional
many teenagers have committed suicide or suffered from anxiety legal advice. You are advised to seek proper legal advice for your
and depression due to cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying that they specific situation.
experienced on social networking sites. Facebook’s Terms

chip malaysia march 14 051

 feature
chip maps

Sales RM5,336.46
San Jose,
California, USA
RM6,685.99
Seattle, Washington,
USA

Figures Of
Companies RM770.437 RM7,805.63

Per Second Menlo Park,

California, USA
Seattle, Washington,
USA

T
he turnover of Korean tech giant, Samsung is valued at
about US$250 billion and is as high as the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) of Finland – the Korean
company has thus become one of the top IT companies in the
world. After the deduction of expenses, Samsung had an
impressive profit of US$18 billion. Even Apple supplier
RM5,453.52
Santa Clara,
Foxconn can’t complain because even though the Taiwanese California, USA
company sells about 40 percent less than Samsung per
second, RM12,000 is still more than what a lot of companies
produce here in Malaysia and other parts of the world.

RM6,271.97
Mountain View,
California, USA

Huge sales, less profit

In 2012, Facebook made a turnover of
about US$5 billion but hardly made 6,000
any profit: the return on sales was one
percent. One reason for this is due to
the acquisition of Instagram for US$1 5,089
billion.

4,000 RM3,574.78
IN MILLION US DOLLARS

3,711
Redwood
Sales
Shores, California,
Net profits USA

1,974
2,000

1,000
777
606
229 RM15,196.11
53 Cupertino,
0
California, US
2009 2010 2011 2012

Source: Facebook RM11,577.80

Palo Alto,
California, USA
052 march 14 chip malaysia
 feature
chip maps

RM3,150.44
Espoo, Finland

RM12,772.56
New Taipei, Taiwan

RM686.472
Waterloo, Ontario,
Canada

RM1 384 9
RM1,384.9
Seoul,
South Korea
RM2,215.44
Bonn, Germany

RM21,714.39
Seoul,
South Korea

RM185.742
Walldorf,
Germany

ILLUSTRATIONS: HARRY FUCHSLOCH; VERONIKA ZANGL

RM10,599.40
Armonk,
New York, USA

RM6,242.46
Austin, Texas,

chip malaysia march 14 053

 feature
timeline

1977
77
Low-price
price Polaroid
Polaroid
oid 1000

700.000
units
of the first SX-70 were
sold by Polaroid in the
first two years

1972 1977 1980 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

1996
Digital camera
Canon PowerShot 600
(0.5 MP)

Polaroid SX-70
Sales launch: 1972 (USA)/1974 (Europe)
End of production (successor): 2008
Weight: Weight
Dimensions: 25 x 102 x 178mm (sealed)

CHIP TIMELINE
FOTOS: FLICKR/AMY TREESPACESTUDIO; NIKOLAUS SCHÄFFLER; WIKIPDEIA/MORIO

Instant Imaging
Before digital cameras and smartphones made viewing images immediately after they
were taken possible, consumers had to rely on Polaroids that actually paved the way for
today's cameras

T
homas Alva Edison was the most heard of him? That’s not exactly 1948 was the year in which the
diligent inventor of the modern shameful, because unlike Edison, Land’s revolutionary model 95 hit US shelves
age. He patented a total of 1,093 top invention is a lot more famous than for the first time. The somewhat
inventions, the most well-known of its inventor: Land was the one who built unwieldy bellows camera rapidly
which is probably the electric light bulb. the first instant camera, the device that became a mega-seller: The entire stock
Second place goes to another American. became famous under its brand name, was sold in the very first day, and from
His name: Edwin Herbert Land. Never Polaroid. that point onwards, it was as if Polaroid

054 march 14 chip malaysia

 feature
timeline

2007
2002 Smartphone
Camera phone Apple iPhone
Nokia 7650 (0.3 MP) (2 MP)

2012
Mega-Sensor
Nokia 808 PureView (41 MP)

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

2010
2006 Photo app
Photo-mobile with Polaroid was the
flash inspiration for the
Sony Ericsson K800i quadratic Instagram-
(3.2 MP) photos

was selling the cameras directly from been taken. After the first instant Photographs that can be viewed
the assembly line. Model 95 gave rise to cameras were launched, it took another immediately: These are things that no
the comparatively unsightly Sepia prints, 24 years for the technology to be longer knock people’s socks off. The
which made it necessary to print a perfected: When Land introduced the invention of digital photography has
protective film. foldable Polaroid SX-70 in 1972, he was relegated Polaroid to the realm of
The quality of the images wasn’t what basically holding the world’s first nostalgia – and almost killed off the
turned the first Polaroid camera into compact camera in his hands. The company itself. After filing for
such a roaring success. Rather, it was developmental period of the images, bankruptcy in 2001, Polaroid is now
the fact that the device made it possible which were now being doled out trying to keep up with tablets and instant
for people to experience something they automatically, had reduced to about one printers. However, the sparkle of the old
had never experienced before: For the minute, and Polaroid had become part of days has faded. What’s left are
first time ever, they could (more or less) the fabric of western culture. memories and a not-too-unimpressive
view their pictures as soon as they had Cameras that fit into pockets – cult status.

chip malaysia march 14 055

 feature
technic lexicon

Asymmetric encryption and its weaknesses

Browsers and servers negotiate a secure connection with a pair of keys namely the private/public key, which in turn is protected by the
session key. If a hacker, who is recording all communication data, gets hold of the private key of the server, he can also decode the session
key because it is sent via the Internet.

Browser Server
1 The browser contacts the server 2 The server has a secret general
!
key (private key)
4 The browser receives the public key 3 It selects a suitable public key and sends
it
5 It suggests a random number as the
secret session key
6 It encodes the session key and sends it
with the public key ! ? 7 The server decodes the session key with
the private key
8 It confirms the session key

9 Both now use the agreed symmet- 9 Both now use the agreed
ric encryption symmetric encryption

! WEAK POINT

Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS), the secure solution

In case of PFS, the session key is not sent via the Internet. Instead, the browser and server agree on a mathematical method and a secret
random number which is known only to them. Thus, both separately work out the same session key (SK), which they later destroy. A hacker
cannot reach the session key.

Numerical Browser Server Numerical

example example
1 The browser contacts the server 2 The server selects:
p • a large prime number p = 29
g • a primitive root modulo p g = 27
a • its secret random number a=5
A • The server calculates:
ga mod p = A 275 mod 29 = 26
4 The browser selects: p+g+A 3 It sends p, g and A
b=9 b • its secret random number
279 mod 29 = 10 B • it calculates: gb mod p = B
5 It sends B to the server B 6 The server receives B

7 The browser calculates: 7 The server calculates:

269 mod 29 = 8 Ab mod p = Session Key Ba mod p = Session Key 105 mod 29 = 8

8 If the session is terminated, both

delete the session key (SK)

IN %
Factor key length Mathematical glossary
Use of PFS 100
Prime number – A number that has only two
90
per browser 80
Longer keys are more secure but they burden
divisors – 1 and the number itself, for example 23
Perfect Forward the CPU. If you compare the complexity of the
70 Modulo – The remainder that results from the
Secrecy (PFS) is 60
methods keeping the security factor constant,
division of integers.
seldom used with 50 ECDHE is better for web encryption.
Example: 17 mod 3 = 2, as 17:3 = 5, remainder 2.
HTTPS. It is only 40 Second example, explained differently:
the beginning of 30 Key length in bit 17 mod 4 = 1, as 16:4 = 4 and remainder is 1.
the modern PFS 20 Symmetrical Primitive root - A number n, whose powers yield
encryption e.g., AES 80
variant with ellipti- 10 112 128 192 256
all remainders up to n-1.
cal curves. 0 Asymmetrical 1.024 2.048 3.072 7.680 15.360
Google Opera Internet Example: 3 is a primitive root mod 7 since the
Firefox Chrome Safari Explorer encryption RSA
calculations from 31 mod 7 to 36 mod 7 yield all
Q Asymmetric 66.38 % 66.39 % 66.71 % 97.84 % 99.71 % PFS standard (DHE) 1.024 2.048 3.072 7.680 15.360 numbers between 1 and 6 respectively
Q PFS elliptical curve 2.38 % 1.38 % 0.00 % 1.38 % 0.29 % PFS elliptical curve (36 mod 7 = 1; 36 mod 7 = 2; 31 mod 7 = 3;
160 224 256 384 521
Q PFS standard 31.24 % 32.23 % 33.29 % 0.78 % 0.00 % (ECDHE) 34 mod 7 = 4; 35 mod 7 = 5 und 33 mod 7 = 6).

056 march 14 chip malaysia

 feature
technic lexicon

Tap-proof
Encryption
Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) prevents NSA from deciphering encoded web
communication – unfortunately, it is very rarely used By Markus Mandau

W
e are in the first year after Edward Snowden played defines the parameters (a prime number and a primitive root) for a
whistleblower to the National Security Agency (NSA): mathematical formula, in which both set their own random
the American secret service has persistently hollowed number, which they do not disclose. They send their result to each
out security mechanisms used for web communication. All data other and repeat the calculation with the result of the other. The
flowing through the big undersea cables or Internet nodes are outcome is the same number. This number is now taken as the
being tapped on a large scale and any surfer, who encodes his session key for the symmetric encryption. If PFS is implemented
communication, is being marked as a suspicious character. If a key correctly, both delete the session key as soon as the
symbol at the top left of the browser row shows that the HTTPS communication is over. The encrypted exchange of messages can
connection is secure, he can safely assume that a secret service is no longer be decoded, not even by the server and browser
recording his communication and will decode it later if required. themselves.
The transatlantic Big Brother cannot be stopped through political
power, but it can be stopped by technology: with Perfect Forward Mathematics locks out eavesdroppers
Secrecy. An omnipotent eavesdropping service such as the NSA knows the
According to Snowden, strong encryption is the best protection parameters and the respective result of the random numbers. But
against global monitoring. But with the way browsers and servers it needs to know at least one of the random numbers to be able to
usually establish HTTPS connections the encryption strength is not crack the key. Random numbers are used as exponents in the
enough. The connection is established in two phases with the aim calculations. To determine these, the eavesdropper will have to
that when the contact is established (handshake) by an solve a logarithm equation with the two unknown random
asymmetrical encryption, the session key is transferred for the numbers. This is extremely complicated but not impossible. This is
following symmetrical encryption: first, the server sends the why the server and browser use very large prime numbers, for
browser a public key, which matches its private key, which can in example with 2048 bits. Only this ensures that the eavesdropper
turn decode messages coming from the browser. After the does not get hold of the result with brute force.
handshake, both switch to the less CPU-intensive symmetrical In addition to the classic Diffie-Hellman algorithm, key exchange
encryption for the actual communication. They need to agree on a can also take place via elliptical curves (ECDHE). This mathematical
session key and a crypto method (for example AES) to do so. method is more complicated; ECDHE calculates with smaller prime
Negotiating the session key is the last step of the handshake. numbers and hence does not burden the CPU and accelerates the
calculation of the session key. Practically all known browsers have
The private key is the weak link implemented Perfect Forward Secrecy for DHE and ECDHE, but not
Up to this point, an eavesdropper can only record encoded in combination with all symmetric encryption methods. The same
“gibberish”. But if he gets hold of the private key of the server, he goes for servers and hence they very rarely use PFS for key
can extract the session key and with it all the communication from exchange. But they should start doing so very soon.
INFOGRAFIK: ANDREIA MARGARIDA DA SILVA GRANADA

the gibberish. The NSA wanted a similar private key from Ladar
Levison, the operator of Lavabit because Snowden made regular
In Firefox,
use of this email service. Had the NSA been able to record the entering
encrypted Snowden mails, they could read them fully. But instead “HTTPS” in the
address bar
of giving the key to the NSA, Levison suspended his webmail
shows if PFS is
service. He wouldn’t have had to do that if he was working with active on a site.
Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) because PFS does not use a private The description
contains the
key. abbreviations
Moreover when it comes to PFS, the session key is not sent via DHE or ECDHE
the Internet but is calculated independently by both parties
through sheer mathematics. For this, PFS uses the Diffie-Hellman
key exchange (DHE).
In the classic DHE (refer to illustration on the left), the server

chip malaysia march 14 057

 feature
fb & g+ privacy

New Rules For

Google & Facebook
If you somehow find your name or picture in an advertisement, don’t freak out. We’ll show
you the profile settings to prevent this from happening By Claudio Müller

I
f Google and Facebook change the look of their services, it advertising. A good 90 percent of their turnover comes from
creates a hullabaloo but if they change their usage rules, as the advertising business and the total market for online ad
it happened recently, it is of interest to only a few. What you business is growing rapidly (more than ten percent every
don’t know is that this change would affect each and every quarter). But the struggle for minting dollars from ads is
user. Starting November last year, Google displayed user becoming harder because ad customers want to reach out to a
endorsements and profile pictures in advertisements, thus definite user mass; they expect Google and Facebook to show
turning its users into flagships for products. Facebook has the ads to the right users – those that have a higher probability
actually been doing this for some time, but has now changed of clicking an ad than others. And that’s exactly why both
ILLUSTRATION: ISTOCKPHOTO/BENNYB

their policies regarding this. In ambiguous words, they companies are now integrating user data and photos into
describe the rights that users have over the contents they post advertisements. According to their calculations, if one sees a
on Facebook. Furthermore, Facebook will add a new search familiar face or the name of a friend in an ad, one pays more
function (Graph Search) and has also deleted the option of attention to it and thus increases the chances of said ad being
hiding from the Facebook search without offering any clicked on.
alternatives. On the following pages, you will read just how these
All these changes in Google and Facebook have been changes in Google and Facebook can affect you and we will
initiated primarily to increase their advertising revenues. Both show you what you can do to protect your profile. This is not
web giants offer free services that are financed through complicated but the settings are quite well hidden.

058 march 14 chip malaysia

 feature
fb & g+ privacy

GOOGLE
advertises
with users
If you don’t want your name and photo to
If you enter your ratings in Google services, these will appear in search
results and advertisements in future unless you deactivate the relevant
appear in Google ads, you must optimise your setting
profile settings

B
eginning from 11 November, Google has used the names,
photos and endorsements of Google+ users in ads and
search results. These “shared endorsements” will appear
directly below the text of an ad or a search result. These
endorsements would be based on the “+1” that one gives articles
1
or products on websites (it functions the same way as the “Like”
button in Facebook) and also includes the experiences they have
compiled about hotels and restaurants in Google Maps or
comments on YouTube that are written through the Google
account. This means, if you have rated a café in Bangsar on Google
Maps three years ago, your name, photo and this rating might just
appear in an ad today if someone googles “Café Bangsar”. Your
Google+ friends, i.e., all those you follow, those who follow you
and your Google contacts will be able to see these endorsements.
Obviously a suggestion made by a friend can be useful. And 2
one would tend to rely more on a suggestion made by a friend
rather than a stranger. But the flip side for all Google+ users is that
whenever you make these remarks – be it a rating, a comment on
YouTube, a +1 click – you must remember that this can appear on
the web anytime anywhere. Let’s not even think about all the
endorsements made in the past, where you didn’t have the
slightest idea that they would be used in ads someday. One cannot
foresee whether Google+ users will accept this readily or whether
this would adversely affect the use of this already weak Facebook
competitor. At least one thing is good: Google users, who have 3
specified their age and are less than 18, will not be included; their
contents will not appear in advertisements. All others should
deactivate the function. But please note that the deactivation only
applies to advertisements; it cannot prevent your endorsements
from appearing in search results.

How you can protect your Google profile date, place of residence, employer or any other personal
1 User endorsements in ads information you have entered in your Google profile. To do so,
When it introduced “shared endorsements”, Google had requested switch from the “Home” view to your “Profile” view via the button
all registered users to deactivate this function. If you missed this on the top left. Then once in your profile page, click on “About”
opportunity, log into your Google account and open the page plus. and then choose the sections you want to edit the visibility. A
google.com/settings/endorsements. Here you can reject the use of window will then pop up when you click “Edit”. Here the tabs on
your Google contents in ads by unchecking the “Based on my top will lead you to the individual parts of your profile you want to
activity, Google may show my name and profile photo in shared edit.
endorsements that appear in ads” setting at the bottom of the
page.
3 Profile for web search
By default, Google shows your Google+ profile in a web search
2 Personal information when one looks for your name. To deactivate this, go to “Settings”
If you don’t want everyone to see your profile contents, you must and scroll down till you see “Profile” and then simply check off the
set this manually for every type of information: contact data, birth “Help others discover my profile in search results” option.

chip malaysia march 14 059

 feature
fb & g+ privacy

FACEBOOK 1

finds
everyone
New terms and conditions and a new search
engine mean less privacy on Facebook. But
you can resist this change, and we will show
you how

L
ike Google, Facebook users too will have the pleasure (if it
can be called that) of seeing their friends and “Likes” in 2
advertisements. After some people in America
complained against these “shared adverts”, Facebook changed
(but did not improve) the relevant passages in its terms and
conditions. For example: previously if the terms and conditions
stated that Facebook has the right to show “related content
(for example your favourite brand)” in adverts, this has now
been ambiguously changed to “information”, which could
include everything that is published on Facebook.
A second change, unrelated to the one above, concerns the
Facebook search. The new Graph Search makes all your
Facebook profile information, which you have shared to the
public, available for search results. Graph Search has already
been released for profiles in English. If you are a CHIP fan
living in Malaysia, and if someone looks for “People who live 3
in Malaysia and like CHIP”, the search will list you and all the
others, who have made this piece of information publicly
visible. Who can see your information – only you, friends or all
Facebook users – decides who will find you in a search. This
Graph Search could revolutionise advertising on Facebook
because it will allow Facebook to display ads that are right for
the search result. This is exactly what Google does in the web
search. If you look for “Restaurants in Bukit Bintang that my 2 New Facebook search engine
friends like”, you will see advertisements for restaurants in Luckily, you can hide from the new Facebook Graph Search
Bukit Bintang next to your search results. engine. When you make your data visible only for yourself,
In the changes it has made to its search, Facebook has also they will not appear in the search results of other people.
deleted the option of avoiding appearance in name searches However, you need to do this individually for all the
on Facebook. All those who had adjusted this setting to “No information. To accomplish this, open your profile page by
one” received a notification recently that this function was clicking your name and then click “Update info”. Next to some
deactivated. The following steps will show you how to protect entries, you will see a drop-down menu, where you can set the
your privacy despite all these changes. visibility of the information to “Only me”. For other entries,
you will need to first click “Edit” to get to the corresponding
How you can protect your Facebook profile drop-down menu in the next window. Confirm all changes with
1 Photos in ads “Save”.
You will have to take action if you don’t want Facebook to
show your profile name, photo and your “Like” clicks in ads
3 Facebook profile in the Google search
for your friends. To do so, click the cogwheel at the top right in By default, Google finds your Facebook profile when someone
your Facebook profile and then go to “Account settings | looks for the name with which you are registered there. If you
Adverts”. Then click “Edit” next to “Adverts and Friends, select don’t want this to happen, simply open the “Account settings”
the “No one” option in the drop-down menu and confirm the in Facebook and then go to “Privacy”. Under “Who can look
change by clicking “Save changes”. me up?”, click “Do you want other search engines to link to
your Timeline?”. Here, disable the checkbox. Now confirm the
change and Google will no longer be able to find you.

060 march 14 chip malaysia

 feature

Repairing It
Instead Of
Chucking It
Manufacturers don’t really make their products to be repair-
friendly. During the warranty period, it’s their problem. After
that, you can fix it yourself By Christoph Schmidt

061 march 14 chip malaysia

 feature
repair it don’t chuck it

iPHONE 4 1

Wi-Fi
Antenna
When it comes to smartphones, bad WLAN-
reception can be caused by a simple reason: The
contacts of the antenna could be corroded or
loose
If the WLAN stops working on an iPhone, it probably means that
the antenna-connection has become defective due to mechanical 2
influences or corrosion. We’re using an iPhone 4 to show you how
you can fix the WLAN aerial’s contacts.

1 Open the rear panel

First of all, disengage the two screws next to the dock connector.
Depending on the design, these screws are mini Philips-head
screws that can be unbolted using the smallest screwdriver from
an off-the-shelf precision engineering set. If the screw heads have
star-shaped notches, you will need a special Apple pentalobe
screwdriver, which can be found in online shops such as Amazon
or eBay. After the screws have been disengaged, raise the rear
panel through a distance of about 2mm (towards the camera) and
remove it.

2 Remove the battery 3

In order to be able to disengage the WLAN antenna, you must then
remove the battery. If it’s already giving way, you can take this
opportunity to replace it. Substitutes manufactured by external
companies can be found in several online shops, which can be
located with a simple internet search. Disengage the screw that is
on the left side, next to the lower edge of the battery. Remove the
battery-plug by lifting it from above and then raising it from the
left. Then carefully lever out the stuck-in-place battery from the left
side.
Caution The plastic strap that juts out below the battery can get
snapped off very easily. If the adhesive refuses to relent, heat up
the display-side carefully using a hair-drier.

3 Disengage the screws 4

The antenna is hooked in at a centrally-located point in the lower
section. It is also mounted with the help of two hooks on the right-
hand side. Use a pair of fine tweezers to unhook them in a
downward direction. Remove the aerial. Avoid touching the silvery
metal parts. These are the contacts

4 Remove the WLAN antenna

Even a small trace of moisture or dirt on the contacts can disrupt
the WLAN reception. Before you screw on the aerial, clean the
PHOTOS: NIKOLAUS SCHÄFFLER

contacts with a microfibre cloth and isopropyl alcohol, which can

be obtained from pharmacies or online shops.

5 Clean the contacts

Even a small trace of moisture or dirt on the contacts can disrupt
the WLAN reception. Before you screw on the aerial, clean the
contacts with a microfibre cloth and isopropyl alcohol.
5

062 march 14 chip malaysia

 feature
repair it don’t chuck it

1
NOTEBOOK
Loud Fan
The fans in old notebooks often become
disruptively noisy. The repair-operation, which
deals with an “open heart surgery” of the
computer, can take a long time
For this tutorial, we used a notebook manufactured in 2006 to
show you how you can get to the fan. If it starts rattling loudly, you 2
should just get it replaced. Replacements can occasionally be
found on eBay. If the fan sounds normal, but constantly revs itself
up, it usually helps after cleaning up the fan grill and applying
some new thermal grease.

1 Disengage the screws

To disassemble the device, disengage all the screws on the
underside of the computer. Remove all the removable parts
(battery, DVD-burner, hard drive, RAM, WLAN card etc.). Turn the
computer around and swing the display out all the way. Unclip the
cover above the keyboard, as well as the keyboard itself.

2 Dismantle the display 3

A thick monitor-cable and two thin WLAN antennas lead from the
display to the motherboard. Pull the WLAN antennas out of the
casing (make sure the WLAN card has been removed). Disengage
the monitor-cable’s plug not by pulling on the cable, but by pulling
on the black plastic lug that’s below another flat cable. Disengage
the three screws that have been used to attach the two hinges of
the display to the body of the notebook

3 Remove the face plate

Detach the flat cable of the switch panel that is above the keyboard,
and then remove the panel that has been fastened using three
large screws. Remove the remaining plug of the cover-sensor from 4
the motherboard and unclip the face plate on all sides without
using too much force. If it gets snagged at a point, check whether
you have missed a screw on the underside.

4 Remove the mainboard

Remove all five plugs from the motherboard and extract the
loudspeaker unit on the left. Then disengage the two screws that
have been used to fasten the mainboard in place, and lift it out.

5 Remove the cooler

Remove the plug of the fan that is on the upper side of the
mainboard. Turn the board around, disengage the cooling
element’s five screws and lift it out.
5
6 Replace fan
The fan is attached to the cooling element with the help of four
screws. Unscrew it, use a table vacuum cleaner to vacuum the fan
grill from the inside, and replace the fan, if necessary. Use a
microfibre cloth that has been soaked in propyl alcohol to clean the
processor and the cooling element’s contact surface, and sparingly
apply new thermal grease. When the device is being assembled,
check whether you have re-attached all the screws and plugs, in
order to avoid the need to make frustrating corrections.

6
 feature
repair it don’t chuck it

1
PSU - PC
Reducing Fan
Noise
1 Open the casing
If the power supply unit’s fan has become loud, you should replace
it with a 12cm casing fan made by a brand manufacturer. After a
few screws have been removed, remove the power supply unit’s
2
cover. Unfasten the fan and obtain a substitute fan of the same size
and the same wattage.

2 Disconnect the electricity cable

Use a wire-cutter to nip off the electricity cable at a point that is
close to the old fan, strip a few millimetres of the cable and twist
the wires. Subject the cable of the substitute fan to a similar
procedure. The cable should end up being approximately as long
as it was.

3 Solder on a new fan

Soak the stripped cable ends in solder and push a centimetre of 3
shrink hose onto the positive and negative cables. Keep the
respective ends together and heat them up with the soldering iron
until the solder melts. Now, push the shrink hoses above the solder
joints, heat them up with a hot air gun, and re-assemble the power
supply unit.

PSU - Laptop
Silencing Whistles 1
1 Open the power supply unit
Although the power supply units of notebooks don’t have fans,
they too can produce noises. This happens when the wires in the
interior have been wound up into spools and start oscillating. This
will then result in whistling or beeping noises that intensify when
the power supply unit is subjected to heavy loads. Since most
casings are sealed up in a manner that makes them ‘irreparable’,
you have to use a box cutter to carefully cut the synthetic material
open along the thin, circumferential track.

2 Lacquer the coil 2

Usually, no more than three or four coils are built into the power
supply units of notebooks. The large coils that are close to the AC
input are the usual suspect, in terms of being sources of noise.
Their windings should be painted with transformer-lacquer. If
that’s unavailable, nail polish can also be used.

3 Glue up the casing

Let the lacquer dry. Connect the open power supply unit (Caution:
Never touch the internal parts when the connection has been
established!) and switch on the device to check whether the noises
have been eliminated. If they haven’t, disconnect it and re-lacquer
the respective item. Once sorted, reseal the casing with adhesive.
3

064 march 14 chip malaysia

MONITOR 1

New Lights
LCD monitors are not built to be tinkered with –
nevertheless, it is possible to repair buttons,
capacitors and backlights
The backlight of our eight-year old Dell UltraSharp 2001FP has
become so dim that hardly anything can be discerned in daylight.
In order to replace the fluorescent tubes, the monitor has to be
completely disassembled.

1 Remove the back panel

There are six little slots at the lower edge which a screwdriver can 2
be inserted into. Once it has been levered using a little bit of
strength, the rear section of the casing breaks away from the front
in a downward direction. As for the sides, all you have to do is
insert a screwdriver into the gap that opens up and keep turning it
until the next clip breaks away. Keep doing this for few more
centimetres, until you can lift the rear section of the casing.

2 Remove the defective control knob

Unclip the front-side display frame from the metallic casing of the
panel. Situations in which one of the control knobs stops working
often arise as a result of the fact that the front-side plastic
component is either cracked or stuck. If you cannot repair the knob
(by gluing in a piece of plastic), remove it altogether. In the future,
you can use a matchstick to actuate the switch directly on the
printed circuit board.
3
3 Switch the capacitors
Unscrew the electronics box that has been bolted to the panel from
the rear. Detach the wide data cable leading to the LCD panel, as
well as the power plugs for the upper and lower fluorescent tubes.
Potential electrical problems afflicting the device can now be
rectified: Situations in which the monitor can no longer be
switched on and those in which it starts flickering or breaks down
completely after a short period of time are often caused by a
cracked or bloated electrolytic capacitor on the circuit board. We
have described how you can replace these in the January 2014
issue.

4 Open the panel 4

In order to reach the fluorescent tubes, you have to remove a cover
that is in the upper section of the rear side, as well as the rack that
has been attached from the front. Remove the LCD panel, the foils
and the Plexiglas disc. Arrange everything in the right sequence on
a clean, soft base.

5 Switch the fluorescent tube

Dismantle the frames of the fluorescent tubes on the upper and
lower sides. The tubes are, along with the cables, simply glued in
and hemmed in. Substitutes can be found on the internet. All you
have to do is run a search for ‘CCFL’ and enter the panel-notation
that is printed on the rear side, on the panel’s metal casing. For our
Dell 2001FP, it’s an LG Phillips LM201U04. There are even sites that
contain instructions on how to install modern, bright LED bars
instead of cold light fluorescent tubes. Similar to all the other tips, 5
the device is to be assembled in the reverse order.
 feature
know it all

Snooping On The NSA

If you take a closer look at the facts about the US secret service you will know that the
service is armed with virtually inexhaustible resources By Fabian von Keudell
NSA

Annual budget of the NSA in US dollars 10.8 billion

Percentage by which the budget has increased since 2004 53
Budget for data acquisition in US dollars per year 2.5 billion
Cost for data processing in US dollars per year 1.6 billion
Cost for data analysis in US dollars per year 1.5 billion
Present employees (estimate) 40000
Number of NSA whistleblowers so far 6
Employees that gave Edward Snowden their password approx. 25
Number of snooping tools used by NSA 50
Mails and telephone conversations stored with NSA 40–50 trillion
Possible storage duration of the mails and telephone conversations 100 years
Locations at which NSA uses the prying programme Xkeyscore (as of 2008) 150
Amount of money that is spent by NSA on a radio espionage facility (in US dollars) 268.2 million
Top target of NSA in Europe Germany
US dollars that NSA spends each year for crypto analysis 1 billion
Name of the secret NSA interception room at the AT&T network hub 641A
No. of days for which NSA may store data without a judicial resolution 180
Percentage up to which NSA must be sure that a suspect to be monitored is not an American
PHOTO: 123RF/PHECSONE

(officially, the service may not intercept its own citizens) 51

Number of acquaintances of the suspect that NSA analyses (friends of friends) 3
Percentage of military personnel in NSA 64
Budget in US dollars, which NSA should receive for preventing whistleblowing in advance 75 million

066 march 14 chip malaysia

66 01/2014
The Dirty Truth About
PHOTOS: HEWLETT-PACKARD/JONATHAN ANDERSSON; ISTOCKPHOTO/GREMLIN
Security Loopholes
The knowledge of security loopholes is a boon to hackers and governments. This is why
both parties strike deals to gather information from each other in an unmonitored market
By Claudio Müller

O
n the second Tuesday of every month, PC users go are often extremely critical ones, like the one that appeared in
through a familiar yet frustrating ritual; on this day, November 2013: in Office versions 2003 to 2010, hackers could
Microsoft publishes updates for Windows, Office, take advantage of an error, which would appear when playing
Internet Explorer and more. Most of the time on this “Patch TIFF graphics files, to install malware on the targeted PC.
Day”, downloading ten or more patches slows down a home Before such attacks are made, the digital trade centres
or office’s Internet connection and installing them slows down witness a furious battle for the latest software loopholes and
the computer. These updates patch security loopholes, which exploits, which are small programmes that use these

chip malaysia march 14 067

 cover story ADDITIONAL INFO
truth about security loopholes
Finding software errors
Hackers look for errors in popular programmes (which are aplenty)
loopholes to insert malware into a computer. Participants of to earn big bucks in the security loopholes’ market of millions
these fights include security researchers, hackers and
specialised exploit dealers as well as software manufacturers
and government officials. Each with their own agenda: hunger What do the terms exploit, zero-day etc. mean?
for profit, attack options for cyber warfare or preventing poor
> Security loophole: Programming errors in a code or software or a
PR. The security of the user is not their concern – or it takes web application, through which malware attacks are made
lower priority at best.
> Zero-Day: An open security loophole that is attacked and has not
This trade, which goes on at the cost of the user, flourishes
been closed with a security patch yet
only because software developers goof up with programming.
In his bestseller “Code Complete”, ex-Microsoft employee > Exploit: Malware, which uses security loopholes to install other
malware on the PC
Steve McConnell writes that 1000 lines of programme code
contain between 15 and 50 errors (Windows 7 is made of a > Patch: Software update that resolves the identified error and that
code that has about 40 million lines, so you can imagine the can be installed automatically or manually
number of errors it can contain). Most of the errors will never
cause any harm because they will never be discovered. Others The software with the most errors
lead to smaller programme errors or crashes. But there are The most security loopholes were identified in the following
some which pose a huge security risk: these loopholes can be applications and operating systems last year (as of: 29.11.2013):
identified by whether an attacker can use them only directly on
Programmes Operating systems
the device (local) or via an Internet connection (remote). Plus Oracle Java 180 Linux Kernel 177
there are different methods of attack. A typical one is Code Google Chrome 168 Windows Server 2008 98
Execution, where an attacker can run their own programmes Mozilla Firefox 136 Windows 7 95
Microsoft Internet Explorer 120 Windows Vista 92
on the targeted system. The same is done via Internet in the Mozilla Thunderbird 106 Apple iOS 90
so-called Remote Code Execution method. This is a common Source: CVE Details/MITRE, Figures for 2013
method used in malware attacks and cyber warfare.

Finding the gold needle in a code haystack

Before making money with software errors, one has to look for
them in the programme code. To do this, open-stage
competitions take place, for example, the computer hacking
contest Pwn2Own, which last took place in November at the
PacSec Applied Security conference in Tokyo. In this contest,
which was sponsored by HP, participants found new exploits
in iOS 7, in the Chrome browser for Android and in IE 11 for
Windows 8.1. They could use these to view photos from an
iPhone and control a Google Nexus 4, Samsung Galaxy S 4
and a Microsoft Surface RT.
Donato Ferrante from the IT security firm ReVuln described The Java browser plug-in has many security loopholes but can be
the methods used by hackers at the hacker event ShmooCon deactivated in the Java Control Panel
2013. The first is called Fuzzing. This is a software testing
technique, in which a tool provides all possible data to the
inputs of software or web applications, to see how they handle
it, for example, what does the browser do if a JavaScript code security researcher at F-Secure.
is entered in the URL bar instead of a URL? Ferrante’s verdict Those who use these methods to find new loopholes are
about Fuzzing: easy but the loopholes found through this just a step away from earning bundles of money, but the
technique can often be patched quickly and hence it is less question is, who will they sell it to?
lucrative. The second method is Code Review. It is the
systematic examination of a known programme code, for Finder’s reward for software errors
example, Open Source tools or leaked source codes. Ferrante An obvious potential customer for a software loophole is the
says that this method is moderately difficult but all in all a manufacturer of the software itself. Some manufacturers tempt
good investment if one wants to find loopholes. The third hackers with a reward, the Bug Bounty. As part of such
method is Reverse Engineering of software, whose code is not projects, companies pay between US$1,000 and 20,000
exposed. The purpose is to trace back the development steps (RM3,277 - 65,553) for a single security loophole (see page 24).
of software to find out where the weak points lie. Ferrante’s “Such programmes give researchers an incentive to sell their
opinion: very difficult and expensive, but the loopholes that discoveries to software companies instead of going
are found often remain unpatched for a long time. Hackers also underground”, says Christian Funk, virus analyst at Kaspersky.
use this method for security patches. “They thus try to find “The rewards too are no less compared to what they would get
which error has been resolved so that they can attack those from other sources.” In June 2013, Microsoft also opened its
who haven’t installed the patch yet”, says Sean Sullivan, cash boxes and has been paying up to US$100,000

068 march 14 chip malaysia

 ADDITIONAL INFO

Selling exploits
Those who know security loopholes and have programmes that use
(RM327,733) for new loopholes found in Windows 8.1. these (exploits) can earn big bucks in the free market
Google and Facebook have been resorting to such methods
for much longer. Since 2010, Google has discovered more than
2,000 loopholes with this method and spent more than US$2 What the software manufacturers pay
million (RM6 million) in the process. Facebook too has Bug Bounty programmes reward hackers, who inform software
distributed more than US$1 million (RM3 million) to over 300 manufacturers of unknown errors in their programmes.
security researchers in the last two years. Two of them are BUG BOUNTY PROGRAMMES OF MANUFACTURERS
even working for the security team at Facebook. Johnathan MICROSOFT UP TO $100,000
Nightingale, Vice President, Firefox Engineering at Mozilla too ZERO DAY INITIATIVE (HP) UP TO $25,000
states that “Bug Bounty programmes are an essential part of FACEBOOK UP TO $20,000
our security endeavours”. Not just because they reward GOOGLE UP TO $20,000
discoveries but also because they guarantee researchers that YAHOO UP TO $15,000
they would not face any legal consequences for taking PAYPAL UP TO $10,000
software apart. But Nightingale knows that “Bug Bounties are MOZILLA UP TO $3,000
not a panacea” because they are competing against wealthy
opponent buyers in a free market.
Unlike software manufacturers, buyers in the free market What the secret services and military pay
are not just looking for security loopholes but also for exploits. Government agencies pay much higher sums than most software
These exploits can be used to spread malware, which makes manufacturers to get hold of exploits in popular programmes.
them attractive for cyber criminals. But secret services and the THE BLACK MARKET PRICE FOR EXPLOITS
military too need exploits because they are the ammunition in IOS UP TO $250,000
cyber wars. To add to this list of buying parties, we also have CHROME/IE UP TO $200,000
exploit brokers, who act as middlemen who buy security FIREFOX/SAFARI UP TO $150,000
loopholes and zero-day exploits (for example, those for WINDOWS UP TO $120,000
unpatched loopholes) from hackers and researchers and sell MS WORD UP TO $100,000
them to the highest bidder. FLASH/JAVA UP TO $100,000
“This market has been in existence since the end of the ANDROID UP TO $60,000
nineties”, explains Candid Wüest, security researcher at MAC OS X UP TO $50,000
Symantec. “But the number of exploits handled and the prices ADOBE READER UP TO $30,000
paid for them have gone up only recently.” Although the Source: Grugq, Exploit dealer
increasing cyber war activities of individual states are crucial
factors for this increase, the changed malware market too has
contributed to it. “Especially because Drive-by-Downloads
have become standard attack methods”, says Christian Funk.
And to initiate attacks one needs exploits, which can be
used to manipulate websites and in this way find unpatched
software loopholes in the system of the website visitor and
install malware on his computer through these loopholes.
The risk involved in this market is that only a few know of
such exploits. “That’s why loopholes remain unresolved for
long and cannot be patched”, explains Candid Wüest from
Symantec. And it is this exclusivity that exploit brokers
capitalise on. Grugq, an anonymous exploit broker operating
from Bangkok, divulged to Forbes that an exploit for iOS is At the hacker event Pwn2Own, Chinese hackers show photos that they
have stolen from an iPhone using an iOS loophole
worth up to US$250,000 (RM819,636). He revealed that he sells
exploits primarily to the US government but only because
Russia and China don’t pay enough dough. In China, too many
hackers sell exclusively to the government there and hence the
prices fall.
Apart from solitary operators like Grugq, there are many
exploit dealers, who profit from their proximity to the US
military. These include the company called Endgame, for
which the Ex-NSA director Kenneth A. Minihan works, the
armament firms Raytheon and Northrop Grumman and the
American company Netragard (motto: “We protect you from
people like us”). Netragard specialises in penetration testing,
i.e., they are hired by companies to hack their systems to find
security loopholes. In 2000, Netragard also started the Exploit Exploits are mostly programmed in JavaScript because they are placed
on websites where the attacks start

chip malaysia march 14 069

 cover story ADDITIONAL INFO
truth about security loopholes
Using loopholes
Cyber criminals use exploits to infect computers with malware. This
is possible because many users do not update their software
Acquisition Program (EAP), which is designed to acquire Zero-
frequently
Day exploits from security researchers and exploit developers
for US$20,000 (RM65,575) and more. “These sellers need to
identify themselves personally and register with us before we
buy anything from them”, says Netragard founder Adriel
The most popular exploit kits

+9
Desautels. This is also applicable to buyers. “We sell exploits A few exploit kits dominate the market, above all the Blackhole kit
exclusively to customers in USA”, declares Desautels. “In our from Russia.
opinion, selling exploits to other countries is legally 29 % 31 %
Blackhole
questionable because if these are used for an attack against
SweetOrange
our country, we could be accused for aiding and abetting it.” 9% 11 %
CrimeBoss
Styx
Countries: the wealthiest buyers
Cool
Adriel Desautels is one of the few exploit brokers to have come 10 % 10 %
Others
out in public. We feel that such a controlled trade is legitimate
and even prevents exploits from falling into the wrong hands, Source: F-Secure
like those of cyber criminals or lawless states. But Desautels is
an exception because all exploit brokers are laying down their The most attacked software loopholes
own rules for the game. As per its own admission, the French These five loopholes, marked by the industry standard CVE, were
company Vupen sells exploits to governments of NATO used the most by hackers in the first half of 2013.
CVSS
countries and “NATO partners”. But Vupen refrained from Score
commenting on who the members of this clientele were. Loophole Target About *
CVE 2011-3402 Windows XP, Processing TrueType fonts allows code
Against this background, such companies can be described Vista, 7 execution
9,3

as modern-day arms dealers, or even “merchants of death” as CVE 2013-1493 Java SE 7.15 Error in colour management enables code
and earlier execution and DoS attacks 10
the privacy researcher and activist Chris Soghoian called them. versions
This is because attacks on industrial systems or on the CVE 2011-3544 Java SE 7 Gives unreliable web applications access to
and earlier data 10
infrastructure of a state can have devastating consequences for versions
CVE 2011-2423 Java SE 7.17 Error in the Java VM HotSpot allows attackers
the people. The role of government agencies must be critically and earlier to cancel out authorisations 4,3
examined as well. “Governments, some more than the others, versions
CVE 2013-0422 Java SE 7.11 Defective security queries enable attackers to
have fuelled the research for security loopholes and earlier execute any code 10
versions
tremendously”, says Sean Sullivan from F-Secure. After
*COMMON VULNERABILITY SCORING SYSTEM (0–10)
Stuxnet, which was created to attack the Natanz nuclear facility MAXIMUM RISK HIGH RISK MEDIUM RISK Sources: F-Secure/CVE Details
in Iran, was discovered in 2010, we know that USA actively
develops cyber weapons to attack distant destinations. But
Old software versions in use
even Germany is upgrading its cyber warfare armament. The
Many users update their software very rarely and are thus prone to
Strategic Reconnaissance Command of the Bundeswehr
attack long after the security loopholes are patched.
(German armed forces) and the associated Computer Network
Operations unit (CNO) are also among the potential buyers for JAVA VERSIONS USED (AUG. 2013)

exploits. The 60-man troupe is the cyber war department of the JSE 7.25 (6/13 *) 42.6 %

Bundeswehr. It is supposed to provide information to the JSE 7.21 (4/13) 15.2 %

armed forces which it obtains from infiltrating foreign systems JSE 7.17 (3/13) 4.9 %

(“communication and electronic intelligence” and “electronic JSE 7.15 (2/13) 1.5 %

warfare” as it is called in the Bundeswehr jargon). ÄLTERE 35.8 %

* PUBLICATION DATE SOURCE: KASPERSKY
Officially, only freely available tools are used for this, for
example, the Open Source password cracker John the Ripper.
Nobody speaks about the possible purchase of exploits “due
to reasons of secrecy”, explains a spokesperson of the
Strategic Reconnaissance Command, which is at present in the
organisational and training phase and has not conducted any
real missions, for example, in Afghanistan.

Exploit kit – the multipurpose weapon

The computer worm Stuxnet developed by the USA and Israel
remains one of the exemplary models of the use of exploits for
military purposes. Stuxnet attacked four vulnerabilities in
Windows (which remain undisclosed even today) to
manipulate the control systems in the Natanz nuclear facility. It
was based on the same principle as malware attacks on PCs.
The exploits check which operating system and software

A good exploit kit: Security experts check networks for loopholes with
the tool called Metasploit
070 march 14 chip malaysia
 cover story
truth about security loopholes

versions are running on the target computer. If a security

loophole for one of them is known, the exploit executes certain
commands, for example, a buffer overflow in the memory. In
simple terms, the loophole is used to fully write the memory ADDITIONAL INFO
section allotted for a programme and then to load and execute
a code in an adjoining memory section. This method can be Protecting your computer
used to infect computers in industrial facilities as well as PCs If possible, you should activate the automatic updates for your pro-
of users who have visited a manipulated website. grammes. Apart from that, you can use the tools Secunia PSI and
Such websites don’t conceal individual exploits, but rather Microsoft EMET (both available for free on our website) to patch
exploit kits, which check a PC for various loopholes in different open security loopholes
applications. Even these kits are developed, maintained and
sold underground by specialists – but they don’t have anything
Secunia PSI
to do with malware attacks as such. Some sell an exploit checks software
packet, others rent it out. McAfee found out that the CritX for available
updates and
toolkit for instance can be rented for US$150 (RM490) a day. installs them
However, the Blackhole Kit has been the numero uno for about automatically
two years now. Blackhole uses different vulnerabilities in
Adobe Reader, Flash Player and Java; the respective exploits
and individual code elements are modified regularly to hide
from virus scanners. To check the browser plug-ins of potential
victims, Blackhole uses the JavaScript library PluginDetect
which is available for free.
Most of these exploits target loopholes that have been
known for long and have also been patched. But it is still
possible to use them for attacks because very few users take
software updates seriously. “Zero-day exploits are therefore
seen very rarely in kits like Blackhole, especially because their
developers often don’t possess the know-how to quickly
develop exploits for new loopholes”, says Candid Wüest from
Symantec. “The Cool Exploit Kit was an exception. Its
developer sold the kit for a huge amount and then bought
zero-days from the income. But the developer has been
caught”, says Wüest.

Regular updates: the best protection

As long as careless users rely on outdated software, cyber
criminals don’t even need the expensive zero-day exploits. In
EMET activates security features like DEP and ASLR to prevent
the first half of 2013, the most attacked vulnerability was a attacks such as buffer overflows
Windows loophole in the processing of TrueType fonts. It was
known since 2011 and at that time it was used by the Stuxnet
successor Duqu to spy on the industrial systems. As per the
result of a Symantec study, a single exploit is used for 312 automatic updates so that users don’t have to go through the
days on an average. It is only after this that the number of hassle of installing them.
unpatched targets sinks so much that attacks are no longer of But an improved update process can hardly curb the
much consequence. trade of security loopholes. The question is, whether this
Software manufacturers as well as users are responsible for market must and can be controlled. This is because exploits
preventing such exploit attacks. First of all, the companies are weapons which can be used against private individuals as
must respond to such exploits immediately. well as countries. “But it is not possible to stop the trade of
“As soon as we identify and resolve an error, the patch is digital goods such as exploits because they cannot be tracked
subjected to an automatic and manual test process so that like objects. Hence it is not even practical to control the
there are no undesired side effects”, says Johnathan market”, says virus researcher Candid Wüest. “Putting
Nightingale from Mozilla. “Every patch has to pass our quality restrictions can have the same effect similar to drug trade,
checks even in case of emergency like a zero-day loophole.” which has flourished in illegality.” And it’s up to manufacturers
This takes some time, but the software industry is getting of popular programmes to invest a large part of their billions
measurably faster. According to Secunia, only 72 percent of turnover in the development and testing of their software
loopholes were patched within a day in 2011. In 2012 this because if an individual hacker can find a loophole in
increased to 84 percent. More and more programmes, Windows, then a global organisation such as Microsoft with
especially browsers like Chrome and Firefox, are using 100,000 employees should be able to do so as well.

chip malaysia march 14 071

 test lab
test bed

TEST LAB: The Tools

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

Intel Platform AMD Platform

Motherboards Graphics Motherboards Graphics
Intel DZ77GA-70K Processing Unit ASUS Sabertooth 990FX Processing Unit
Intel DZ87KLT-75K MSI GeForce GTX MSI A75MA-G55 ASUS AMD Radeon HD
680 Lightning 6970
Processors Processors
Intel Core i7-3770K CPU Cooler AMD FX-8150 CPU Cooler
Intel Core i7-4770K Cooler Master X6 AMD A8-3850 Cooler Master Hyper 212
EVO

PSU, Storage & RAM Benchmark Software

Power Supply Live Duo Operating Industry
Cooler Master Silent Pro Memory System Standard
Hybrid (1300W) Kingston HyperX Windows 7 Ultimate Benchmark
KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX (64-bit) Tools
Storage Kingston HyperX AIDA64
Western Digital KHX1600C8D3K4/8GX Futuremark SiSoftware SANDRA
SiliconEdge Blue 256GB PCMark 7 Speccy
SATA PCMark 8 Unigine Heaven
Western Digital My Book 3DMark 11
3DMark
Powermark

chip malaysia march 14 073

 test lab
contents

TEST LAB 6 8

14

The
Technologica 16
Crux 11
13

February has been a whirlwind month for

the editorial team at CHIP Malaysia.
Besides the fact that we have news and
reviews to cover, we were also away in
three different countries in the span of
two weeks. Many interesting things have 9
happened throughout this period, as 7
NVIDIA announced its new Maxwell-
based GPUs, and Samsung just had their
annual regional Forum event as well. 17

I was lucky enough to be handed a Nokia

Lumia 1020 to review, and I have to say
that this phone is one of the most
spectacular phones I’ve had the pleasure
of playing around with. Nokia has shown
that phones don’t need fancy quad-core
processors to operate smoothly, and the 1 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 082
PureView’s camera is nothing short of
breathtaking.
2 Lenovo Flex 20 AIO 083
3 AMD A10-7850K APU 084
We’ve got quite the selection of products
in our Test Lab this month, ranging from 4 Panda Global Protection 2014 085
AMD’s latest A10 Kaveri APU, the ASUS
Rampage IV Black Edition, which requires
5 Samsung GALAXY NotePRO 12.2 086
the use of an Intel X79 processor, the 6 ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Black Edition 087
Seagate Central, a very easy to use
network storage device, The Lenovo Flex 7 HTC One Max 088
20, the AIO that thinks it’s a tablet, as
well as the very powerful ASUS ROG
8 MSI A88X-G45 Gaming 089
Poseidon Platinum GTX 780. That’s not
all of course, and to find out more, you’ll
9 Nokia Lumia 1020 090
have to turn the pages to see what other 10 ASUS ROG Poseidon Platinum GTX 780 091
goodies we have inside!
11 Canon EOS 70D 092

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CONTENTS
10
4
2

15

18
5

12

12 Corsair CS750M 093 16 Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 097

13 Epson LabelWorks LW-400 094 17 Seagate Central 098
14 Aztech DSL8800GR(S) 095 18 ASUS Transformer Book Trio
15 Logitech Z200 096 TX201LA 099

Ratings CHIP Awards

Each product review is rated on a scale
of 1 to 5 for different key parameters: CHIP Editors’ Choice Award
Awarded to products that receive unanimous
endorsement from all CHIP editors for its overall
brilliance

PERFORMANCE : Refers to the efficiency of execution CHIP Outstanding Award

Reserved for products that combine astute technical
FEATURES : Rates the abilities and unique characteristics
performance with good quality and design
available
DESIGN : Varies according to product. Finished products -
form factor and build quality. Hardware components - CHIP Recommended Award
layout, size and cooling solution. Software - user interface Given to products that possess singular quality
worthy of a recommendation
VALUE : Calculated from the performance and features of
the product in relation to the price

chip malaysia march 14 075

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Once You Go Black, You’ll Never Go Back

The NVIDIA GTX Titan was launched with much fanfare, and NVIDIA
claiming that it was, at the time, the most powerful graphics card on
the planet. Its direct successor, the GTX Titan Black, aims to provide
more of the same performance, with a few tweaks here and there.
Much like the recently launched NVIDIA GTX 780 Ti, the Titan Black
features a fully unlocked GK110 GPU, giving it free reign over 2,880 CUDA
cores as opposed to the Titan’s 2,688. Its 6GB GDDR5 memory is also not only
more than the Titan’s; it is also clocked at 1.75GHz, which is another increase over
the Titan’s memory speed. Whilst the price of this beast hasn’t been released yet, it is
expected to retail around the same price as the GTX Titan when it first came out.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan Black

Price: TBA
Info: www.nvidia.com

Popping Out The Colours

Alcatel has been busy with a variety of phone launches over 2013, and
they’ve started 2014 to a colourful blast by announcing their latest series
of Android smartphones in the form of the Alcatel OneTouch POP C9. The
POP C9 features a 5.5-inch qHD resolution display, powered by a 1.3GHz
quad-core CPU, running Google’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating
system. One of the selling points of the POP C9 is the fact that you can
choose to either get a single or dual SIM phone, and the fact that the back
cover is removable. Choices of colours include Hot Pink, Cherry Red,
Turquoise, Full White, Bluish Black and Slate.

Alcatel OneTouch POP C9

Price: RM699
Contact: Ten Ten Telecommunications Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 5569 1010
Info: www.alcatelonetouch.com/ml/

For Ultra High Definition Video Recording

Some of the digital cameras and video recorders these days have come with the
capability to record videos in 4K or UHD formats. Whilst this is great, more often than
not, the storage medium is not able to keep up with the data that is streaming through.
Kingston has just the fix for that, in the form of the Kingston UHS-U3 SDHC/SDXC card.
The UHS-U3 card is one of the first cards to be awarded the UHS-U3 (Ultra High Speed
Bus, Speed Class 3) which guarantees 30MB/s read and write speeds, which goes up to
90MB/s read and 80MB/s write speeds which is at least eight to nine times faster than
standard Class 10 SD cards.

Kingston UHS-U3 SDHC/SDXC

Price: TBA
Info: Amble Action Sdn. Bhd., Convergent Distribution (M) Sdn. Bhd., Ingram Micro
Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7665 3939, (03) 2144 1881, (03) 7952 8188
Contact: www.kingston.com

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Pocket and Shoot

As far as cameras go, Sony has been very active in launching new cameras for various
markets. From the now-defunct NEX-series to the Alpha DSLRs and compacts,
there seems to be no end to the number of shooters that are coming out from
the Japanese tech giant’s factories. Here’s yet another new point and shoot,
the Sony DSC-HX60V. Boasting 30x optical zoom G lens in a compact body,
the Cyber-shot HX60V combines the lens with the 20.4MP Exmor R CMOS
sensor, the newly developed BIONZ X processor and Optical SteadyShot, which
captures blur-less high quality detailed images even at maximum zoom in dim
light. Much like many of Sony’s new camera, it also comes built in with Wi-Fi,
and you can use the PlayMemories Camera App for easy photo transfer to either
your social media albums or your smartphone.

Sony DSC-HX60V
Price: TBA
Contact: Sony (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: 1 300 88 1233
Info: www.sony.com.my

Rock It, Wherever You Go

Recent purveyors of portable speakers, The Logitech X100 mobile speakers redefines the terms
mobile and compact, as the device fits in the palm of your hands and right into your pocket. With
a full charge, the X100 can output sound for all of five hours, and charging the device is a simple
matter of hooking up a connected micro-USB cable to a PC or laptop. It connects to devices via
Bluetooth or a 3.5mm cable, and if your phone supports the Bluetooth Handsfree Profile 1.6,
it can also output calls through the speakers. For those whom style is an important aspect of
choosing a device, the X100 also comes in five funky different colour schemes.

Logitech X100 Mobile Speakers

Price: RM169
Contact: Ingram Micro Sdn. Bhd., MCL Sdn. Bhd., M-Link Sdn. Bhd., Kaira Technologies Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7955 8188, (03) 8023 3800, (03) 7728 9003, (03) 7955 3669
Info: www.logitech.com

For The Rugged Businessman

Panasonic’s ToughBook series of notebooks have always been used as the computer
of choice for engineers and technicians who work in the harshest conditions. The
Panasonic Toughbook CF-LX3 however is made for a market the Japanese company
calls “business rugged”, which is basically a business-class notebook that is made
to withstand a few knocks here and there. Powered by a 4th generation Intel Core i5
processor, this 14-inch notebook comes with a battery that lasts for seven hours on a
full charge, and up to 14 if you decide to go with the optional extended battery. As with
all ToughBooks that came before it, the CF-LX3 can also be configured to include a
wide variety of options, including an optical drive and other accessories as well.

Panasonic Toughbook CF-LX3

Price: RM6,960
Contact: Intellogic Technology Sdn. Bhd., Total Industrial Solutions (M) Sdn. Bhd.,
Eita Electric Sdn. Bhd., Flexible Automation System Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 8942 6800, (03) 51910 0888, (03) 5637 8099, (03) 5633 1280
Info: www.panasonic.com/my/home/

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Turn Your House Into A Network Infrastructure

Homeplugs are amazing things, in which they turn your electrical wiring into a digital
network cables without the hassle of having network cables be strewn all over
your house. Aztech is one of the pioneers of this tech, and has always tried to
upgrade this device to provide faster speeds. With the Aztech HL119EP, they’ve
done just that. Powered by a Qualcomm Atheros QCA7450 chipset, it features
a faster processing power and an enhanced analogue front end. Thanks to
the SmartLink Plus coupling, it reduces dead spots in the electrical systems
and allows you to surf the internet and share data at speeds of up to 1Gbps. It
is also in compliance with Homeplug AV and Homeplug AV2 formats, which
makes it work with existing Homeplug AV devices in the market.

Aztech HL119EP
Price: RM139 (each)
Contact: Az-Technology Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7804 8450
Info: www.aztech.com/my

AMD Goes ARM

AMD is not a new player when it comes to the server processor game. The American
semiconductor giants have their own line of chips that are powering some of the world’s
most important mission-critical servers, and the manufacturer is now looking to expand that
expertise to include ARM-based processors in the form of the AMD Opteron A110 series.
The Opteron A-series processor, named Opteron will make software design on the industry’s
premier ARM–based server CPU quick and easy. AMD is collaborating with industry leaders
to enable a robust 64-bit software ecosystem for ARM-based designs from compilers and
simulators to hypervisors, operating systems and application software, in order to address
key workloads in Web-tier and storage data center environments. This processor will include
a series of quad and octa-core processors, up to 4MB of shared L2 and 8MB of shared L3
cache, configurable with DDR and DDR4 RAM, and up to eight SATA 3 ports.

AMD Opteron A110

Price: TBA
Contact: AMD Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 8316 3512
Info: www.amd.com

Built for Silent Cooling

PC fans, specifically case fans are one of the last few things a PC builder would think about
when building a PC, yet choosing the right fans is the difference between having a PC that
is silent, and one that sounds like a jet engine. NZXT’s new FN v2 case fans, which come
in sizes of 120mm and 140mm claims to help solve this issue, as the fan blades spin at
a maximum count of 1,2000RPM, 45CFM and outputs a sound level of 21 dBA at most.
To help reduce sound even more is a built-in anti-vibration mechanism in the frame, and
NZXT has employed sleeved cables to reduce the chance of the wires getting tangled
during operation.

NZXT FN v2
Price: 120mm - US$9 (~RM30), 140mm - US$10 (~RM32)
Contact: Permanent Premium Technologies Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7845 1424
Info: www.nzxt.com

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Low-powered Solutions For Your Business Needs

MSI have created computing solutions for a wide variety of user types, be
it the home, office user and even the gamer and overclockers. With the MSI
AE202 AIO, they’ve created one that is meant to function as a Point of Sales
system which is low-powered, yet efficient enough for businesses to use
at the register. Powered by an Intel Celeron 1037U processor, the AE202
AIO features a touch-sensitive 19.5-inch display, and comes with 500GB of
storage space, enough for even the biggest software installs needed to run a
register. The AE202 also comes with a COM port which allows businesses to
use the barcode scanner and other devices that utilise a COM port as well for
their day-to-day operations

MSI AE202 AIO

Price: TBA
Contact: Media Forte (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7960 6868
Info: my.msi.com

The R7 Family Continues To Grow

AMD have been busy launching even more budget graphics cards for the masses, and one of these
cards includes the R7 265 GPU. Made to fill the gap left behind the recently-discounted R7
260, The R7 265 is an inexpensive option that also performs up to snuff, if you’re
considering building an inexpensive gaming machine. The R7 265 features the
same performance as the R7 260X, complete with DirectX 11.2 support and AMD
TrueAudio technology, alongside AMD’s pride, the Eyefinity multi-display technology.
As the R7 265 is also based off the GCN Architecture, it also comes with support for
the Mantle API as well, optimizing graphics in a way that doesn’t require you to own
an expensive GPU for those extra pixels.

AMD Radeon R7 265

Price: TBA
Contact: AMD Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 8316 3512
Info: www.amd.com

An Oppo-rtunity Not To Be Missed

Oppo is an exciting new smartphone brand that has just recently made its presence felt
here in Malaysia. The company, which hails from China has recently launched a number
of phones here in the market, with the Oppo N1 being the one standout model out of the
lot. Powered by a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, the Oppo N1
features a 5.9-inch Full HD resolution IPS screen, running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Two of
the main features of the N1 is its 13MP rotating camera, which allows users to use the
same camera for both front and rear-facing shots. It also comes with a whopping 3,610mAh
battery, which is one of, if not the biggest in the industry.

Oppo N1
Price: RM1,798
Contact: OPPO Electronics Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7954 1969
Info: en.oppo.com

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Taking Gaming Audio To The Next Level

From Sennheiser, the makers of some truly remarkable headphones, comes a gaming
headset in the form of the Sennheiser G4ME Zero, made specifically for professional
gamers for whom audio is just as important as graphics and gameplay. The G4ME ZERO
features an all new ear pad design, made out of leatherette and memory foam to close
gaps under the ears, which ensures that the headset is one of the quietest gaming
headsets to date. The two transducers in the G4ME ZERO have been developed at
their labs in Germany, which is optimized to provide accurate reproduction of gaming
audio, regardless of what game you play. Its microphone also comes with a noise-
cancelling feature, which is important so that your orders come out crystal clear and
noise-free.

Sennheiser G4ME Zero

Price: RM1,039
Contact: Mypantrade (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7958 2148
Info: www.sennheiserasia.com

The Silent Tower

A casing that is silent is as important as one that is able to house a wide variety of
components. With this in mind, Cooler Master, the masters at PC components, have
created the Silencio 452, for those who go out of their way to not only make their PCs
powerful, but also silent. The Silencio 452’s matte front door and side panels are equipped
with noise-absorbing materials for absolute silence, and the two 120mm fans in the front
and back are specially designed for optimised airflow. This casing is also liquid-cooling
ready and supports 240mm radiators in the front or 120mm radiators at the back. For
better system maintenance, the Silencio 452 is also equipped with multiple dust filters that
are easily removable, making it easier to clean.

Cooler Master Silencio 452

Price: RM229
Contact: Ban Leong Technologies Sdn. Bhd., Build Technology Supply Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7956 6300, (03) 7955 3699
Info: www.coolermaster.com

Bring This Boombox Places

Bringing the original music culture icon back to life, the TDK Life on Record Wireless
Boombox featuring Bluetooth wireless technology combines dynamic sound and
premium components to provide the ultimate modern listening experience. This
boombox doesn’t just play music. It works for you with a USB charging port to power
your device while you listen to music. Adjustable treble and bass equalisation allows
you to customise the sound, and the 3.5mm auxiliary input lets you to pair it with
almost any device that you may have in your office, home or backpack.

TDK A73
Price: RM1,399
Contact: Digital Paper Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 5569 2002
Info: www.tdkperformance.com

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Flash Storage For Your PC and Smartphone

Back then, and even now, portable storage devices are excellent ways of transporting one
data from one place to another. The thing is, however, these USB storage devices can only
be used amongst computers, and considering that we’re at an age where smartphones rule
to roost, it’s about time someone made one for them as well. This is exactly what Apacer
has done with the Apacer AH173 OTG flash device, which comes with both a USB 3.0
port and a microUSB interface. The drive itself is encased in high quality zinc alloy, which
shows off a delicate and streamlined design. The AH173 comes in a variety of storage
options, which include 8-, 16- and 32GB for your portable multimedia storage needs.

Apacer AH173 OTG Flash Drive

Price: RM49 (8GB), RM79 (16GB), RM109 (32GB)
Contact: Mobile Dot Com Network
Phone: (03) 6257 0925
Info: ap.apacer.com

Projecting A Clearer View

If you’re looking to buy a projector for your home theater system, Viewsonic has recently
launched a new projector in the form of the Viewsonic PJD7223, a 4,000 lumens and 15,000:1
contrast ratio projector for medium-sized rooms. The PJD7223’s high lumens and contrast
ratio count ensures images that are projected turn out crystal clear and vivid even when
placed in relatively bright environments. This projector also features the DynamicEco
Technology to adjust lamp brightness, prolonging the lamp lifespan and
lowering power consumption.

Viewsonic PJD7223
Price: RM2,399
Contact: Ban Leong Technologies Sdn. Bhd., INGENS Sdn. Bhd.
Phone: (03) 7956 6300, (03) 7688 9888
Info: ap.viewsonic.com/my/

By The Power of Zeus!

You may or may not have heard of the Team Group, but in hardcore overclocker circles,
they are known as a brand that makes some of the most affordable overclocking RAMs the
market has ever seen. They’ve recently launched a new series of
RAMs in the form of the Team Zeus DDR3 1600 memory modules.
The Team Zeus memory modules come in pairs, with each stick
featuring a memory capacity of 4GB. Its default speed is set at
1600MHz, which can be overclocked to 2133MHz. As an added
extra, the Team Zeus modules also come in a variety of colours
which suit different sets of colour schemes for your motherboards.

Team Zeus DDR3 Memory Modules

Price: TBA
Info: www.teamgroup.com.tw

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NVIDIA GeForce
GTX 780 Ti
Price US$699 (~RM2,290)
Info www.geforce.com

Specifications

Core Clock: 876MHz

Boost Clock: 928MHz
Memory Size: 3072MB GDDR5
Ports: 1x Dual link DVI-I, 1x Dual link DVI-D, 1x
HDMI, 1x DisplayPort

RATINGS

Performance

Features

Cooling
King Of The
Value

Very powerful
Near-silent operation
Mountain
Hold on to your seats because NVIDIA has gone
Headroom for
overclocking and given the GeForce GTX 780 the Ti treatment
Power balancing feature By Jeremy Cheong

Pricey

T
he high-end graphics card market upgrade to a newer card.
recently underwent a massive One of the best things about having
BENCHMARK RESULTS
firefight as NVIDIA and their NVIDIA’s very own cooling technology is
3DMark (Fire Strike): 9,924 points competitor both launched very impressive the fact that not only does it do a good
3DMark (First Strike Extreme): 4,952 points single-GPU cards and it seems like the job at keeping the card cool even when
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
title of “King of The Pixel Mountain” has under heavy load, it is also very silent.
4.0: 2,051 points
once again fallen back into NVIDIA’s lap The only time it really made a racket was
thanks to the GeForce GTX 780 Ti. Now when we overclocked it and had to boost
we know we’ve seen quite a few variants the fan speed up to a 100%.
of this card from NVIDIA’s partners but Speaking of overclocking, the GeForce
we were anxious to find out if the vanilla GTX 780 Ti has quite a bit of headroom
variant is just as “tasty” and the answer is for overclocking and we managed to
a resounding yes. boost its core clock up to 1150MHz where
For those of you who have seen the it produced a score of 5,858 in 3DMark’s
GeForce GTX Titan and GTX 780 before, Fire Strike Extreme test. Of course,
the GTX 780 Ti looks very similar to we’re sure with a little more tweaking;
both those cards in terms of design even those with a little more expertise with
down to the ports. Putting the topic of overclocking can actually make it go
design aside, what really matters is the higher.
cards internals. It still relies on the 28nm
GK110 core that boasts 7.1 billion GPU CHIP CONCLUDE :
transistors but has an increased core clock While the vanilla version of NVIDIA’s
Display ports on this powerhouse is the speed of 876MHz; 7000MHz memory clock GeForce GTX 780 Ti may not sport
standard fare and supports up to four displays
and 336GB/s memory bandwidth. a custom cooler and overclocked
With those very impressive numbers, core clock speed out-of-the-box, it is
the card produces very impressive still a very powerful card and would
performance and it just sailed through make any gamer and power user
even the most demanding benchmarks giddy with excitement. However,
and games. It doesn’t matter if you have with such impressive performance,
a vanilla card or a partner variant, the the card also comes with an equally
GeForce GTX 780 Ti will definitely be able impressive price tag but then again,
to last you a few years before needing to this is a pretty sound investment.

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Lenovo Flex
20 AIO
Price Starts at RM2,999
Contact Lenovo Technology Sdn. Bhd.
Phone 1 800 80 8575
Info www.lenovo.com/my/en/

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core i3- 4010U @ 1.7GHz

OS: Windows 8
Display: 19.5-inch 1,600 x 900 WLED
Graphics: Intel Graphics HD4200
Connectivity: 2x USB 3.0, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

RATINGS

Performance

Features

Design

Value

Decent work machine

Stylish

One Flexi AIO

Leaders of the PC+ segment, Lenovo, brings us their
Tablet mode is great for
multiple users

Touch display could be

more sensitive
The Flex still needs to be
latest AIO that also serves as a tablet By Nazrin Zain connected to the power
cable even in tablet mode

L
enovo has been churning AIOs Performance-wise, the Flex 20 does
left, right and centre for the past as well as expected, as it can play 720p
several months. It appears that it’s and 1080p videos with no lag, and
not going to stop any time soon as the functions perfectly well as an office
company has just sent us yet another machine too, thanks to its wireless
AIO to review. However, this isn’t like keyboard and mouse combo. This helps
any AIO as it also doubles as a giant a lot if you want less cable clutter on
tablet. Here’s our review of the Lenovo your computer table, in case there isn’t
Flex 20 AIO. much space for anything else.
Much like many of Lenovo’s products Despite being a two-in-one device
that we’ve reviewed recently, the Flex however, the Flex 20 is meant to be
20 is clad in a silver aluminium chassis, used as an around-the-home device. Its
and when laid flat down, looks exactly built-in battery lasted no longer than an
like a very large tablet. It has a 19.5- hour plus, and that’s only when it’s idle
inch touch-sensitive IPS display with most of the time. Another nitpick that The Lenovo Flex 20 comes with two USB 3.0
a resolution of 1,600 x 900 pixels. It is we do have is the fact that the Flex 20’s ports and a 3.5mm combo jack.
powered by a 4th generation Intel Core touchscreen display could be a tad bit
i3 processor together with 4GB of DDR3 more responsive as there are occasions
RAM. As far as I/O ports go, the Flex where the touch input is not recognised
20 comes with two USB 3.0 ports and a by the display.
3.5mm combo port for headphones and
microphones.
As mentioned before, the Flex 20 is a CHIP CONCLUDE :
2-in-1 device, which allows it to be used The Lenovo Flex 20 is a special kind of
both as an AIO and as a tablet when laid AIO, whose concept still needs to be
flat on a surface. It uses a simple flip- proven by real-world usage scenarios.
It is also packaged with a Bluetooth keyboard
down stand, which is sturdy enough to Its performance is good enough to and mouse combo
prop up the device, yet flexible enough warrant use as a home PC and even
to tuck back when you need to use it as on office desks, especially in places
a flat device. where spaces are limited.

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AMD A10-
7850K APU
Price RM679
Contact AMD Malaysia
Phone (03) 8316 3512
Info www.amd.com

Specifications

CPU Type: AMD Accelerated Processing Unit

Processor Speed: 3.7GHz
Graphics Processor: AMD R7
CPU Socket: Socket FM2+

From Piledriver
Chipset: AMD Kaveri

RATINGS

Performance

Features

Cooling
to Steamroller
AMD launches yet another APU for the masses
ByNazrin Zain
Value

Affordable

I
t wasn’t too long ago that AMD when we check the specs in the Properties
Comes with a lot of new
features launched their Richland Accelerated window, in this case, it is not shown at
Processing Units (APU). Whilst all. That being said, the GPU portion is
High TDP consumption
that particular model offered a bit underwhelming, as throughout our
Graphics performance
not as good as it could both performance and low power benchmarks, the scores were quite low
be consumption, it still had several niggling all around. That being said, if you are to
issues, such as performance issues use the on-board GPU for gaming, you
BENCHMARK RESULTS when running software that do not have should still be able to play some of the
multithreading support, amongst others. latest games on medium settings with the
PCMark 8 (Home): 2,801 points
Its successor, the AMD A10-7850K APU resolution set to 720p.
PCMark 8 (Creative): 2,344 points
3DMark (Cloud Gate): 3,869 points aims to fix some of these issues, and Having said all that, the A10-7850K
3DMark (Fire Strike): 656 points improve on others. APU does come with a wide variety
The A10-7850K APU is based on of new features seen both in the new
the Kaveri architecture, which uses the Steamroller and R-series graphics cards,
Steamroller CPU cores, as opposed to the including support for DirectX 11.2,
Richland APUs that used an enhanced Mantle, AMD Memory Profile which
Piledriver CPU core. There are several supports up to 2300MHz speeds for DDR3
new technical features introduced here RAM, HSA Computing, which enables
within the APU, which include the shared memory between both CPU and
Graphics Core Next GPU, which means GPU to improve overall computing and
that the A10-7850K taps into AMD’s new graphical performance, AMD TrueAudio, a
R7 series of GPUs as part of its graphics dedicated Digital Sound Processor (DSP)
solutions. for better audio performance, as well as a
AMD processors, be they CPUs or dedicated video decoder to offload video
APUs have always had a high base clock, encoding and decoding off the CPU.
and the A10-7850K is no different. It is
clocked at 3.7GHz, and comes with a
Turbo Boost feature accessible via the CHIP CONCLUDE :
BIOS. At base clock speed, The A10-7850K If you’re looking to build a PC for
is already capable of playing 1080p videos home use, or even a HTPC for your
and the like with no lag whatsoever. media-playing needs, the A10-7850K
As we mentioned earlier, the APU is definitely one to consider. It’s
also comes incorporated with a GPU, affordable, yet powerful enough to do
which in this case is an R7 GPU. While everything you need a home PC to do
the specific model is usually mentioned on a daily basis.

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Panda Global
Protection 2014
Price RM88
Contact Panda Security
Phone (03) 2166 8984
Info www.pandasecurity.com/
malaysia/

Specifications

Operating Systems Supported: Microsoft

Windows, Mac OS, Android 2.2 (or later)
Minimum Processor Requirement: Pentium
300MHz or faster
Minimum RAM Requirement: 128MB (1GB
recommended)

Globe-Trotting RATINGS

Performance

Panda
Panda’s latest Internet security suite doesn’t reinvent
Features

Design

Value

the wheel, but it is as wholesome and effective as Easy setup and use
Good suite of features
always By Mark Lee Solid Internet security
performances
Cloud-based security

W
hen it comes to Internet security, You can also backup your content
Affordable
one is always spoiled for choice. online, but with 2GB of online storage
How do you decide which is available for you upon sign-up, however, Only 2GB of online
best when everything seems pretty much this storage offered may not be enough for storage
similar? Here is where you dive into the some.
little details – namely, the features it It’s worth noting that Global Protection
provides and its ease of use. For all of its 2014 runs on the cloud, which is beneficial
worth, the Panda Global Security 2014 in a few aspects. For one, this doesn’t
pretty much gets all of these details right. bog down your system with heavy file
Installation is a quick and hassle-free installations. For two, your security suite
affair; we had our copy up and running is perpetually updated and ready to fight
within five minutes, which is a good thing. malware, as the security database is all
There’s no need for a complete PC restart online.
either. Scanning a computer doesn’t take too
The user interface is very much long with Panda; it took somewhere about
Windows 8 centric, featuring coloured tiles 30 minutes to scan 300,000-odd files. It
lay out over a dark blue background. It’s manages to discover and clear off our
immediately easy to assess – one row of infested test desktop computer, making it a
tiles are for the functions you toggle on or solid performer that will keep your PC free
off, while the other is for you to access. of unwanted “visitors”.
Speaking of functions and features,
Panda’s suite is nowhere short of them. CHIP CONCLUDE :
This includes a PC recovery system, web While we are displeased with its
browsing filters, password managers, PC measly 2GB online storage, you can’t
optimisation, parental control, remote deny that the Panda Global Protection
access and identity protection. They’re not 2014 suite is one that is as wholesome
inventive features, but they work well and and performable as can be. The suite
are very nifty to own. comes with a good set of features
You can also extend the protection and is also available for your mobile
into Mac and Android devices. There is no devices. Cloud-based protection is
iOS support here, but if you connect your nifty and fast. We’re comfortable to
iPhone, iPad or iPod to your Mac device, leave our Internet security with this
Panda’s suite can also scan it for malware. globe-trotting panda.

chip malaysia march 14 085

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Samsung
GALAXY
NotePRO 12.2
Price RM2,999
Contact Samsung Malaysia Electronics
Sdn. Bhd.
Phone 1 800 88 9999
Info www.samsung.com.my

Specifications

Operating System: Android 4.4 KitKat

Processor: 2.3GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm
Snapdragon 800
Frequency: LTE 800/900/1800/2600+850/2100
Screen: 12.2-inch WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600)
The Professional
Super Clear LCD
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO
(2.4GHz & 5GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, AllShareCast,
Bluetooth 4.0, USB3.0
Canvas
The Samsung GALAXY NotePRO 12.2 is appropriately
Memory: 3GB
Storage: 32GB (internal), microSD (up to large and packed with features. But is it worth its sky-
64GB)
Others: 8-megapixels camera with LED Flash, high price tag? By Mark Lee
2-megapixels front camera, IrLED

T
Dimensions: 295.6 x 203.9 x 7.95mm urning the Samsung GALAXY and even with Multi Window on, the
Weight: 750g Note devices into tablet form is a tablet performs admirably stable.
natural progression – more screen No GALAXY Note is complete without
RATINGS estate to work with the S Pen is always the exceptional S Pen, which works just
a joy. But now the Samsung GALAXY as well and precisely here. The NotePRO
Performance
NotePRO 12.2 arrives, asking a steep price is also complete with all the S Pen
Features for a professionally-designed desktop functionality that you’d expect, including
replacement. Is it worth the money? Air View, Pen Window and Scrapbook.
Design
On the design standpoint, it would’ve Additionally, the NotePRO comes with
Value been somewhat justified. While Samsung remote desktop capabilities, letting you
Slim, light and solid build is still eschewing metal parts, the stream your PC’s content on the Note Pro
Large and gorgeous NotePRO is undoubtedly a well-designed using just an app and a Wi-Fi connection.
screen
tablet. Despite the hefty screen, the tablet It works fairly well, though not without its
Good performances
Remote PC functionality is wondrously slim, light and solid. lags and quirks. It’s an addition that need
There are many design pluses to praise not be here, but welcoming all the same.
Pricey
here; starting with the black textured- Battery on the NotePRO is fairly
Screen poor under
sunlight matte back that makes the device easier decent. With Wi-Fi and 3G turned on to a
to grip. Samsung has smartly allowed video loop, we managed a good 12 hours
BENCHMARK RESULTS some bezel space between the edges and of battery. Ah, and if you’re curious about
the screen that gives you ample thumb- the camera, we’re glad to report that it’s
3DMark (Ice Storm): Maxed out!
3DMark (Ice Storm Extreme): Maxed out! space to work with. surprisingly solid and fast.
AnTuTu: 31,479 points Top praises go to the 12.2-inch
screen, which displays at 2,560 x 1,600
resolutions. Samsung opted for a TFT CHIP CONCLUDE :
LCD screen instead of their traditional Ultimately, whether you will get the
AMOLED displays, but it doesn’t stop the Samsung GALAXY NotePRO depends
display from looking sharp, bright and on how you weigh its hefty price tag
clear. Sadly, it performs rather poorly towards its offerings. At RM2,999,
under direct sunlight. the NotePRO is undoubtedly above
Running under the hood is a 2.3GHz most tablets out there. Is it worth the
Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon price? Somewhat, considering that it’s
800 processor and a generous 3GB of a powerhouse tablet of great screen
RAM, making this tablet something of a and functionality. You’ll just have to
The 8-megapixel rear camera is definitely a
plus as it takes sharp images but the size of powerhouse. Expectedly, apps, games decide if it’s worth your investment
the tablet makes it a little awkward and videos run smoothly on the NotePRO, towards your professional life.

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ASUS Rampage
IV Extreme
Black Edition
Price RM1,999
Contact Build Technology Supply Sdn.
Bhd., ECS Astar Sdn. Bhd.
Phone (03) 7955 3699, (03) 6286 8222
Info www.asus.com/my

Specifications

CPU Support: Intel Core Processor

CPU Socket: LGA 2011
Chipset: Intel X79 Chipset
Memory Type: Quad Channel Memory

The Black Prince RATINGS

Performance

ASUS’ Rampage IV Black Edition provides you Features

with the best of many worlds By Nazrin Zain Cooling

I
ntel’s X79 series of motherboards are that shows you the numbers of your PC’s Value
generally made to be used by industry internals without having to refer to the PC.
Wide variety of
specialists as the Extreme Edition Other overclocking features touted by overclocking options
processor is made to be used with software this motherboard include the Extreme A lot of ports
and programs that have multi-processing Engine Digi+ III, which provides hardcore Cool design
Great performance
and multi-threading capabilities. ASUS power delivery with premium components,
defies that pre-conception by slapping an VGA Hotwire, which allows you to Clearing for CPU
ROG label on its X79 motherboard, and physically hotwire the motherboard to coolers not big enough
came up with the ASUS Rampage IV Black allow higher power delivery, as well as
Edition. Subzero Sense, which is especially useful if
BENCHMARK RESULTS
As with all X79 motherboards, the you’re toying with liquid nitrogen.
Rampage IV Black Edition is equipped with One concern that we do have however PCMark 8 (Productivity): 5,380 points
PCMark 8 (Creative): 3,870 points
eight DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to is that you may have a bit of a problem
quad-channel memory architecture, and trying to fit large-sized CPU cooler onto
up to 64GB of RAM. It also has a large the motherboard as the RAM slots are
complement of SATA ports, up to 10 in on both sides of the CPU socket. This is a
fact, with six of the ports supporting SATA concern as the fan may block some of the
3 6.0Gbps and four supporting SATA slots on either side, which can be quite
2 3Gbps. True to its ROG moniker, the troublesome.
Rampage IV Black Edition has four PCIe Performance-wise, the Rampage IV
3.0 slots, and is capable of supporting both Black Edition does as well as can be
NVIDIA’s SLI and AMD’s CrossFireX in a expected. Overclocking our i7-4960X
quad-GPU setup. processor from 3.4GHz to 4.0GHz took very
As for the I/O ports, ASUS has been little effort, and with even better cooling
generous by putting a wide variety of systems, such as a water-cooling or liquid
them at the back of the Rampage IV Black nitrogen cooling, we’re sure that that
Edition. These include six USB 3.0 ports, processor’s speed can go even higher than
four USB 2.0 ports, two eSATA ports, five that.
audio jacks, as well as the ROG Connect
button and the ports for the ASUS Wi-Fi CHIP CONCLUDE :
GO! module. The ASUS Rampage IV Extreme is The Rampage IV Black Edition also comes with
The main stars of the Rampage IV one to consider if you’re looking for a the OC Panel that was first introduced with the
Maximus VI Extreme.
Black Edition has got to be its abundance motherboard that fulfils your wish of
of overclocking features that ASUS has building a PC that is not only good at
included. The first feature that just begs rendering media files, but also good
to be mentioned has got to be the OC for some good old hardcore gaming
Panel, the overclocking command centre and overclocking.

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HTC One Max

Price RM2,399
Contact HTC Careline
Phone 1 800 88 9855
Info www.htc.com/sea/

Specifications

Operating System: Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

(Upgradeable to Android 4.4 KitKat)
Processor: 1.7GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm
Snapdragon 600
Frequency: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz,
HSPA 850/900/1900/2100MHz, LTE

One Large
900/1800/2100/2600MHz
Screen: 5.9-inch Full HD Super LCD3
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n,
Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, DLNA, microUSB 2.0,
infrared
Memory: 2GB
Storage: 16/32GB, microSD (up to 64GB)
Others: HTC UltraPixel Camera, 2.1-megapixel
front camera, Fingerprint sensor
Smartphone
Dimensions: 164.5 x 82.5 x 10.29mm HTC takes their winning formula from the One and
Weight: 217g
puts it into a larger body for consumers who prefer
RATINGS larger smartphones By Jeremy Cheong

W
Performance hen HTC released their One in phone is asleep; instead you have to wake
March last year, it was the talk it first. In the end, we just found ourselves
Features
of the town and also picked doing it the old fashion way.
Design up numerous awards around the world Moving on from the more aesthetic
due to its design and innovative features. aspects of the One Max, the device is
Value
From there on, HTC created two different actually quite a powerful one. While
Large, sharp and bright screen versions of the One; the One Mini and now it doesn’t sport the latest Qualcomm
Great performance
we have the One Max, for those who prefer Snapdragon 800, the 600 is still quite a
Long battery life
Good audio larger displays. But is it just as good as its capable one especially when paired with
predecessor? Read on to find out more. 2GB worth of RAM. It perform smoothly
Fingerprint scanner a little
At a glance, the One Max looks very even when we were multitasking and
finicky
Unwieldy for those with similar to the One and One Mini but it can even handle graphic intensive games
smaller hands isn’t quite as sexy as it doesn’t retain such as Ridge Racer Slipstream and Dead
Camera lacks image
stabilisation
that anodised aluminium unibody design Trigger 2.
and instead uses more polycarbonate. The 3,300mAh battery also performed
BENCHMARK RESULTS Unlike the smaller Ones, this One comes really well and even under heavy use, it
with a removable back plate, which is a managed to last us about a day and half.
3DMark (Ice Storm): Maxed out!
hit and miss because the One Max is the For those who need more juice, then they
3DMark (Ice Storm Extreme): 7,000 points
AnTuTu: 26,455 points only device in the line that comes with a can always invest in the Power Flip case
microSD card slot but on our review unit, that comes with an extra 1,150mAh battery
the back plate doesn’t sit perfectly flush that will help extend the devices battery
and juts out a little bit. even more.
Other than the signature HTC features,
the One Max comes with a something a
little extra, a fingerprint scanner. While CHIP CONCLUDE :
placing it right under the camera does Despite some of its little drawbacks,
make it much easier to get to, it does the HTC One Max is actually quite
get a little confusing and sometimes we a good device that will give other
found ourselves swiping on the camera larger smartphones a run for their
instead and the whole process of using money especially for users who want
your fingerprint to unlock or open apps the innovative HTC features such as
Right under the camera is the fingerprint also needs a little more work. One of the BoomSound, UltraPixel camera and
sensor, which is a little bit of a hit and miss
reasons being you can’t unlock your phone Zoe in a device with a larger display
just by using your fingerprint when the and of course larger battery.

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MSI A88X-G45
Gaming
Price RM509
Contact AMT PC Distributors Sdn. Bhd.,
JW Power Marketing Sdn. Bhd.
Media Forte (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone (03) 3344 1124, (03) 2148 1307,
Info my.msi.com

Specifications

CPU Support: AMD APU

CPU Socket: FM2/FM2+
Chipset: AMD A88X
Memory Type: Dual Channel Memory

RATINGS

Performance

Features

Game On With Cooling

Value

MSI And AMD

This Gaming motherboard from MSI isn’t just built
Good performance
Affordable
Generous amount of
ports

No SLI support
for gaming, it even comes with games By Nazrin Zain
BENCHMARK RESULTS

A
MD has launched their latest components, including the Killer E2200
Kaveri APUs, and together with Networking Platform that has been PCMark 8 (Home): 2,801 points
PCMark 8 (Creative) 2,344 points
that, MSI has been kind enough used throughout MSI’s Gaming line
to send us one of their latest Gaming- of motherboards, Audio Boost and
series motherboards as well, the MSI Audio Power, which improves the audio
A88X-G45 Gaming which also happens quality of the on-board audio chips, and
to be one of the few AMD-based boards the MSI Military Class 4 components,
in the market. which are not only long-lasting, but also
The A88X-G45 motherboard has four very hardy, as they can withstand high
DIMM slots that supports up to 64GB of temperatures too.
memory, eight SATA III 6.0Gbps slot and Performance-wise, the A88X-G45
three PCIe slots, which supports AMD’s Gaming motherboard performs well
CrossFire multi-GPU configuration. If enough when set with the right APU
you’re one to install a lot of HDDs on and GPU. Benchmarks ran smoothly,
your PC, the A88X-G45 also supports and during our video tests, there was no
various RAID storage configurations, noticeable lag even when playing 1080p MSI has been very generous with the selection
of ports on the A88X-G45 Gaming
ranging from RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10. material. Definitely a great all-rounder in
As for I/O ports, MSI was also kind our books.
enough to equip the motherboard with
quite an array of them to play around
with. Most notable is the inclusion of CHIP CONCLUDE :
six USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, Often times it is quite difficult to find
or as MSI calls them, Gaming ports, affordable alternatives for gaming
specially made to use with your mouse components, but MSI has given
and keyboard, a PS/2 port, and a full AMD some love by launching this
complement of video output ports, new gaming motherboard, and we
including VGA, DVI, DisplayPort and have to say that there is not much The multiple PCIe port means you can have
HDMI. for us to complain about in terms a CrossFireX multi-GPU setup with AMD
graphics cards if you want to
True to its Gaming title, the A88X-G45 of performance of this particular
also features a swath of gaming-grade motherboard.

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Nokia Lumia
1020
Price RM2,199
Contact Nokia (M) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone 1 300 88 1600
Info www.nokia.com.my

Specifications

Operating System: Windows Phone 8

Processor: 1.5GHz dual-core processor
Frequency: HSDPA 2100/900 EDGE /
GPRS / GSM 850/900/1800/1900, LTE
900/1800/2100/2600MHz
Screen: 4.5-inch 1,280 x 768 AMOLED touch
screen
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, Wi-Fi, NFC
Memory: 2GB
Storage: 32GB
Others: 41MP PureView Camera
Dimensions: 130.4 x 71.4 x 10.4mm
41-Megapixels
Weight: 158g

RATINGS
Of Awesome
For those who complain that their smartphones
Performance
camera is never good enough, well here’s a nice
Features
solution By Nazrin Zain
Design

N
okia has quite a strong hold in the for phones into the Lumia 1020.
Value mid-to-low range market, but the Coupled with the Nokia Pro Camera
high-end market seems to have app, you can take some amazing photos,
Excellent camera
Nicely designed always eluded the Finnish phone makers, regardless whether it’s outdoors, or at
polycarbonate body despite their best efforts. One of their night, in the dark. The Pro Camera app
latest high-end Lumia, the Nokia Lumia allows you to adjust various settings,
No MicroSD card slot
Display shows 1020, aims to cater to a certain consumer including ISO, shutter speed, aperture,
discolorations at certain segment, and are doing it with aplomb. exposure levels and even how the flash
angles
Whilst the main feature of the Lumia works. On the right settings, and with
1020 comes in the form of its 41MP a tripod, preferably, the Lumia 1020 is
camera, the rest of the phone is no slouch capable of taking stunning night shots
either. Powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core that even some point-and-shoots can only
Snapdragon S4 processor, the Lumia 1020 dream of taking.
has a 4.5-inch AMOLED display at 1,280 One of the main issues that we do
x 768 pixels, and is equipped with 2GB of have to address with the Lumia 1020 is
RAM and 32GB of internal storage space. the fact that despite the AMOLED display,
It is quite unfortunate however that the is that at a certain angle, you will notice
phone does not come with an expandable a fair amount of discolouration. This is
storage slot, especially since a full 41MP especially annoying when you’re taking a
shot eats up about 11MB of storage space. photo at a specific angle, and it’s especially
Housed in a polycarbonate body, the bad considering that the display is very
Lumia 1020 is one of very few phones that reflective as well.
has gotten the plastic look right. Carved out
of a single block of polycarbonate material, CHIP CONCLUDE :
The Lumia 1020’s 41MP camera is the main
highlight of the device, capable of capturing the phone feels very sturdy. This is The Nokia Lumia 1020 is the go-to
images other smartphone cameras can only definitely one of Nokia’s brilliantly designed phone if you’re a shutterbug or an
dream to be able to.
phones, judging purely by aesthetics. Instagram addict. The best thing
The meat of the review, however, has to about this phone is also that it
be about its 41MP camera. Using Carl Zeiss comes with support for Microsoft’s
optics to power the PureView camera, OneDrive, which allows you to back
Nokia was able to incorporate what is up all your photos to the cloud
arguably the most powerful camera made instantly over mobile data or Wi-Fi.

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ASUS ROG
Poseidon
Platinum GTX 780
Price RM2,579
Contact Build Technology Supply Sdn.
Bhd., Servex (Malaysia) Sdn.
Bhd.
Phone (03) 7955 3699, (03) 8024 6688
Info www.asus.com/my

Specifications

Ruler Of Two Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780

Core Clock: 954MHz
Memory Size: 3GB GDDR5
Ports: 1x DVI-D, 1x DVI-I, 1x HDMI, 1x

Realms
ASUS’ first graphics card to feature the revolutionary
DisplayPort

RATINGS

Performance

DirectCU H2O cooling solution is here and it is Features

amazing By Jeremy Cheong Cooling

W
hen it comes to combining two can easily be fitted with different sized Value
things together to make life easy barbs of a user’s choice. This means the
Performance
for consumers, ASUS seems card will work with just about any liquid- DirectCU H2O cooler
to be right at the front of the pack. That cooling solution on the market. Plenty of overclocking
headroom
same idea has somehow spilled over from Then again, even without liquid cooling,
their mobile computing division to their the air cooling solution managed to keep Price
hardware division and the ASUS ROG the card just slightly warm to the touch Air cooling a bit noisy
Poseidon Platinum GTX 780 is proof, as even after our long and strenuous test
they have managed to fit a graphics card sessions. Out of the box, ASUS have BENCHMARK RESULTS
with both air and liquid cooling solutions. already given the card’s core clock a 61MHz
3DMark (Fire Strike): 9,368 points
Using NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 780 as boost, while it isn’t much, the vanilla card 3DMark (Fire Strike Extreme): 4,738 points
a base, ASUS removed the stock cooling is already very powerful, so it produced Unigine Heaven Benchmark
solution and have replaced it with their impressive scores on all our benchmarks. 4.0: 1,937 points

very own revolutionary DirectCU H2O. But if a core clock of 954MHz isn’t
Now while it does bear the DirectCU name, enough for you, there’s plenty of
it is definitely much slimmer but doesn’t overclocking headroom for this card. Even
lack that same ruggedness of the other on air cooling, we managed to crank it
“original” DirectCU coolers. With that up to 1100MHz, where the card produced
being said though, this card will take up a score of 5,139 in 3DMark’s Fire Strike
a little bit of space on a motherboard and Extreme test, which is 400 points more
can even be a problem if you rely on a than its default setting. So imagine what
large high-performance CPU cooler. But if you could do with a liquid cooling solution.
you already have this card in your system,
we’re sure you’re going to opt for a fully
liquid-cooled system.
Speaking of liquid cooling, this card CHIP CONCLUDE :
actually comes ready for those who do If this is just a glimpse of the future,
want a liquid-cooled system. The major we are hoping that ASUS continues Thanks to the DirectCU H2O cooling solution,
advantage of the DirectCU H2O cooling with this trend of producing graphics users will no longer have to go through the
solution is the fact that users won’t have cards with both air and liquid cooling hassle of dismantling their graphics card’s
cooling solution and fitting it with a water
to remove the card’s original cooling solutions. Yes, it may bring the prices block
solution to fit it with waterblocks. This will of their graphics cards up but we’re
definitely reduce headaches and potential sure many overclocking enthusiasts
heartaches. Its water channel comes with and power users will be happy to
standard G1/4-inch threaded fittings but invest in a card like this.

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Canon EOS 70D

Price RM4,399 (EF-S18-55 IS STM Kit)
Contact Canon Marketing Malaysia Sdn.
Bhd.
Phone (03) 7884 6000
Info www.canon.com.my

Specifications

Lens Mount: Canon EF Mount

Image Processor: DIGIC 5+
Effective Pixels: Approx. 20.20-megapixels
ISO: ISO 100 – 12800 (Standard)
Built-in Flash: Retractable, Auto Pop-up Flash
LCD Monitor: 3-inch Capacitive Clear View II

Improvements A
TFT LCD
Storage Type: SD / SDHC / SDXC (UHS-I)
Connectivity: USB 2.0, mini HDMI, Remote
Control Terminal (RS-60E3), Built-in Wireless,
Wireless Remote Control (RC-6 Compatible),
Eye-Fi, 3.5mm stereo microphone-in
Dimensions: 139.0 x 104.3 x 78.5mm
Weight: 675g (Body Only) Plenty
RATINGS Canon once again creates a DSLR with plenty of
Performance
features that will make both enthusiasts and newbie
Features
photographers very happy By Jeremy Cheong

C
anon’s EOS 60D may be a little amateur photographer to get familiar with
Design
over three years old now but it is where the buttons are situated.
Value still highly regarded as one of the Seeing as this is a mid-range DSLR, it
Impressive image quality best mid-range SLRs for enthusiasts due actually produced very impressive images
Super continuous AF for to its ability to produce stunning images as they had very natural colours with a
movies and myriad of features. However, for good balance of saturation and contrast
Built-in Wi-Fi
19-AF pounts those who are looking to get upgrade and also retained plenty of details in both
Responsive touchscreen their aging shooter to one with newer bright and low light conditions. There
features and technology, then the EOS was hardly any chromatic aberration even
Single SD card slot
No built-in GPS 70D is the natural way to go as it outdoes when we zoomed in really closely to our
Unable to record videos when its predecessor in many ways. photos. Furthermore, with its Dual Pixel
Wi-Fi is on
If you’ve seen or used the EOS 60D CMOS AF technology, photographers
Creative filters & HDR JPEG
only before, then you will be very familiar with are able to easily capture fast moving
the 70D as it looks very much the same subjects and yet still come out with great
to the 60D but upon closer inspection you quality shots.
will notice that it is smaller by just a very Speaking of the Dual Pixel CMOS AF
little bit and has had some changes done technology, those who love recording
to it. While it isn’t made out of metal like videos will also love the 70D as it has
some of its competition, the 70D is still easily the fastest continuous focus to-date
very solid and can take a few bumps. We that improves focusing tremendously in
had it with us during our recent trip to live view and movie mode.
Japan and even in the cold weather of
4-degrees Celsius, the 70D held up very
nicely. CHIP CONCLUDE :
Much of the button layout on the top For photographers and Canon
and back of the 70D is reminiscent of the fans who have been waiting for a
60D and that’s a really good thing as we successor to the well-loved EOS 60D,
Much like its predecessor, the controls on the always found that they were very easy the EOS 70D is definitely a worthy
back of the 70D are located very strategically to get to even when we had our eye on one as it retains much of what was
and easy to get to even when you have your
eye on the viewfinder the viewfinder. There are some minor loved in its predecessor but has new
changes and additional buttons here and and improved features such as the
there but at the end of the day, it won’t Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology that
take too long for an experienced or even puts it in a league of its own.

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Corsair CS750M
Price RM449
Contact Cudo Technologies (M) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone (03) 2148 1177
Info www.corsair.com

Specifications

Type: lntel ATX 12V V2.4

Input Voltage: 100-240Vac
MTBF: 100,000 hours
Fan: 120mm

RATINGS

Performance

Features

Affordable And Cooling

Value

Affordable

Efficient Energy Good performance

Not fully modular

Source
Corsair releases yet another affordable and efficient
power supply to power your mid-range PC By Nazrin Zain

W
e’ve reviewed quite a number 80 Plus Gold rating PSUs are aplenty
of Corsair power supplies in this day and age, but what the CS750M
over the past few months, has above the competition is that it is
and the company, known for their PC also rated to support Intel’s latest range
components and accessories have sent of Haswell processors, which have a new
us yet another power supply unit to play Deep Sleep mode which only uses very
around with in the form of the Corsair little power, in some cases, negligible to
CS750M. other PSUs, which causes them to shut
The CS750M is a semi-modular PSU, down.
with all but the motherboard power During our tests, we find that the PSU
cables detachable, which allows you to remained silent throughout various usage
pick and choose whichever cables you scenarios, which is a huge plus as we are
want and need to use. The CS series was sure that many people would like to have
built for low to mid-range PC builds, but their PCs stay quiet regardless if they’re
fret not, as during our tests, it was able to doing work or are playing games.
The semi-modular nature of the CS750 means
power an NVIDIA GTX 780 Ti and even an you can pick and choose which cables you
ASUS Poseidon graphics card in a proper need for better energy usage and simpler
cable management.
PC setup. CHIP CONCLUDE :
On the PSU itself are several ports, The Corsair CS750M is a great PSU to
including ones meant for PCIe and SATA consider if you’re building a PC that’s
power, as well as legacy devices such going to be used for both work and
as optical disc drives and floppy drives. play, and don’t want to be bothered
If you so need them. These include two too much by things like overclocking
ports for PCIe and four ports for SATA and such. That said, it is also
and other legacy cables. We’d complain powerful enough to support some of
about the lack of PCIe power ports, the best components money can buy
but considering that this isn’t meant in the market, so you don’t need to
to be used for more than a dual-GPU worry about there not being enough
configuration, we’ll take it as such. power for your PC.

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Epson
LabelWorks
LW-400
Price RM269
Contact Epson Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Phone (03) 5628 8288
Info www.epson.com.my

Specifications

Print Technology: Thermal Transfer

Display: LCD
Built-in Memory: Up to 50 labels
Keyboard Type: QWERTY
Tape Compatibility: LC
Tape Varieties: Standard, Iron-on, Metallic,
Reflective, Strong Adhesive, Glow-in-the-Dark,
Tab, Fluorescent, Clear
Number of Fonts: 14
Built-in Symbols: Over 300

Working Labeller
Dimensions: 170 x 110 x 56mm
Weight: 418g

RATINGS

Performance
Simple, easy-to-use and very portable, the Epson
Features
LabelWorks LW-400 is all you need in a label maker
By Mark Lee
Design

T
here are labellers out there in the You can even inject a little personality by
Value world – them with the deep, innate adding several of its 300 preset symbols
Easy to use desire to have everything tagged, onto the labels. It’s also great to know
Lots of features highlighted and informed with strips that the LW-400 supports wider labels
Nifty backlit screen of sticky paper. Oh the woes of these with 14 types of fonts, five different font
Supports many label types
labellers, especially when making labels sizes and two types of font widths. Did we
Keyboard a little cramped are all computers and printers and time- mention that you can also use it to print
for fast typing consuming hassle. What’s a labeller to barcodes?
do? Well, it’s probably best to get settled The simplicity in use is also extended
with the Epson LabelWorks LW-400. to replacing label cartridges – all you need
At first glance, the rounded shape and to do is pop the bottom hatch open and
design of the LW-400 makes it look like you can easily slot in the cartridges. The
a children’s toy. It’s a good thing, really, LW-400 also supports a multitude of label
because the LW-400 is marvellously types, including double-sided tab tapes,
easy to use. The device is packed with glow-in-the-dark, fluorescent and even
features, yes, but it’s not hard to simply decorative ones.
type out something and print a label upon To use it portably, the LW-400 requires
unboxing it. six AA size batteries. The batteries will
It helps that the screen is backlit, which last you a good number of labels, though
makes it very easy to see what you’re there’s a power chord which you can opt
typing on. The print button is helpfully for when stationary.
painted green, and there’s a large button
on the side that you depress to cut CHIP CONCLUDE :
the printed label. There’s a QWERTY The Epson LabelWorks LW-400 is a
The keyboard is a little cramped but is
responsive and makes producing labels easy keyboard for your typing convenience, simple, portable, no-nonsense label
and while we find that to be accessible, maker that is immensely easy to
the keys are perhaps a little too cramped use and would satisfy the chronic
for long and fast typing. labeller with its many features and
There are also features here to aid label types. The keyboard is a wee
the avid labeller, including the ability to cramped, but all in all, we’re labelling
store up to 50 user-created label designs. it with nothing but our shiniest fonts.

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Aztech
DSL8800GR(S)
Price RM369
Contact Az-Technology Sdn. Bhd.
Phone (03) 7804 8450
Info www.aztech.com

Specifications

Network Standard: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n

Operating Frequency: 2.4GHz, 5GHz
(concurrent)
Encryption: 64/126-bit WEP
Ports: 1x Gigabit WAN, 1x ADSL, 4x Gigabit
LAN, 2x USB
Dimensions: 172 x 219 x 42mm

Under One Roof

Want all of your networking and connectivity
RATINGS

Performance

Features
goodness at one go? The Aztech DSL8800GR(S) is all Design
you need By Mark Lee Value

L
et’s face it: Unless you’re aiming for in accessing the more advanced features. Easy setup and use
home network with the performance The DSL8800GR(S) isn’t chock full of Fast performances
Gigabit LAN
and complexity of NASA’s control innovative features, but it certainly has
Dual concurrent band
room, you’re most likely aiming for a some essentials that shouldn’t be missed support
modem router that has all, gives all. out in a home network. For starters, it
No AC wireless
You’re looking for ease of use and all the offers dual concurrent network bands,
Somewhat bulky
essential functionalities that matter. In that meaning both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz band
sense, you’re really looking for the Aztech can run at the same time. It also features
DSL8800GR(S), a Wireless-N Dual Band Gigabit LAN ports, meaning the Ethernet
Concurrent Gigabit Router with Built-In connectivity is blazingly fast.
ADSL2+ Modem. With two USB ports, this router can
For all of its dark-matte design, the also function as an NAS. It even functions
DSL8800GR(S) is quite possibly one of as a DSL modem on its own. Talk about
the most user-friendly routers in the wholesome!
market now. To start with, the front panel But what about the wireless
is decked with large text indicators to performance? In our test on both bands,
helpfully tell you which LED light is for the router performs admirably well. The
which. Indicator lights for the band it’s on 5GHz band is naturally faster, and we
and even the USB functionality is quite managed transfer speeds close to its
rare, and frankly useful. 450Mbps specifications. The router only Aztech have equipped this device will all the
usual ports and two extra USB ports that
Look to the rear and you’ll find two falters slightly when we went further in makes it more than just a router
USB ports and the Gigabit LAN, Ethernet range.
and DSL ports, all helpfully labelled under Perhaps the only disappointment of the
‘Local Network’ or ‘Broadband’ to ease DSL8800GR(S) is the fact it doesn’t support
your setup. That said though, the design the new wireless-ac standard, meaning no
of the router is rather unwieldy. You can’t blazing-fast wireless speeds for you.
really lie it flat down, so you’re going to
need a little headspace for it. But that’s CHIP CONCLUDE :
hardly much of an issue. The Aztech DSL8800GR(S) will
Setting up the router is also very easy. provide you with everything that you
Just get the necessary ports plugged and need in a home network router: Easy
fire up your web browser to the router’s use and setup, solid performance Like most routers these days, the
IP address. The quick setup page will get speeds and nifty essentials like dual DSL8800GR(S) also comes with a WPS button
that makes setting up a secured wireless
your network running in no time. Bonus concurrent bands and Gigabit LAN. network quick and painlessa
points are also awarded to the simple and Under one roof (ours, especially), this
accessible UI. We had little to no problems is the router to own.

chip malaysia march 14 095

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Logitech Z200
Price RM129
Contact Ingram Micro Sdn. Bhd., MCL
Sdn. Bhd., M-Link Sdn. Bhd.,
Kaira Technologies Sdn. Bhd.
Phone (03) 7955 8188, (03) 8023 3800,
(03) 7728 9003, (03) 7955 3669
Info www.logitech.com

Specifications

Driver size: 2x 2.5-inch

Satellites: 2
Cable: 1.8m
Dimensions: 241.2 X 90 X 124.07mm

An Affordable
RATINGS

Performance

Features

Design

Value
Set of 2.0s
Logitech’s Z200 does a decent job as an affordable set
Compact
Affordable
Has ports for
of speakers for your laptop or desktop PC By Nazrin Zain
headphones and

B
efore their boom in the PC audio quality is clearly leaps and bounds
microphones
peripherals market, Logitech ahead of similarly-priced speakers as
No bass was known for its excellent line well, and is great especially if you watch
of speakers. The company recently videos or movies on your computer
announced a line of new multimedia often.
products, and the Logitech Z200 2.0 That being said, the Z200 is severely
speakers are a part of that line. lacking in bass, even when the bass dial
2.0 speakers are essentially a pair of is set to maximum. In fact, we’d say
speaker satellites that do not come with that regardless at what level you turn
any subwoofers. These kinds of speakers the dial, there is no discernible bass
are typically paired with notebooks whatsoever. This is especially telling
and desktop replacement machines, when listening to music, where bass
for users who want to have audio that is an important aspect of the listening
is comparably better than what their experience.
laptops’ speakers are capable of offering. One thing that has remained constant
The Z200 is equipped with four in our many Logitech product reviews
drivers housed in two satellite housing is build quality. We’re glad to say that
to simulate both the treble and bass this also happens to be the case with the
functionality of typical speakers. Z200 as the product is as robust as can
Together, these drivers output 10W of be expected, as there are no parts on the
peak power, and is loud enough to fill device that stick out as being flimsy.
The Logitech Z200 comes with two 3.5mm a sizable room. The controls on the
audio ports, one for headphones, and the Z200 are fairly straight forward. There
other for line-in.
is a volume knob on the right hand side
of the speaker, with a bass dial at the CHIP CONCLUDE :
side. Logitech has also added the option For its price, the Logitech Z200 2.0
for you to use your headphones and speakers is an excellent option if
microphone as the Z200 comes with a you’re looking for a set of inexpensive
headphone and microphone port as well. speakers to pair with your laptop or
As far as sound quality is concerned, even PC. Whilst sound quality could
the Z200 works well as a replacement be better, its relatively compact size
for built-in speakers often seen in and good build quality makes up for it
laptops and all-in-one desktops. The at this price range.

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Lenovo Yoga
Tablet 8
Price RM999
Contact Lenovo Technology Sdn. Bhd.
Phone 1 800 80 8575
Info www.lenovo.com/my/en/

Specifications

Operating System: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

Processor: 1.2GHz Quad-Core MTK 8389
Frequency: HSDPA
Screen: 8-inch 1,280 x 800 IPS LCD
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth
4.0, microUSB
Memory: 1GB LP DDR2
Storage: 16GB EMMC, microSD (up to 64GB)
Others: 5-megapixels rear camera,
1.6-megapixels front camera
Dimensions: 213 x 146 x 8mm
Weight: 400g

Get A Grip RATINGS

Performance
Lenovo’s 8-inch Yoga tablet is an Android device
Features
that sports a unique design and good set of features
for a reasonable price By Jeremy Cheong Design

Value

L
enovo has also been quite an audio that makes watching movies and
Unique design with
innovator in the ‘multimode’ gaming an immersive experience. useful hinge
market thanks to their Yoga line of Sadly, its performance isn’t quite up Solid build
products that consists of Windows based to snuff as it is powered by a 1.2GHz Long battery life
Reasonable price
consumer and commercial notebooks quad-core processor and has only
and Ultrabooks. Things changed at 1GB RAM and at times the tablet feels Hardware could be
the end of last year though as Lenovo sluggish, especially when there a few better
So-so camera
introduced the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8, an things running in the background. Games performance
Android based multimode tablet that has like Dead Trigger 2 run fine but take User-interface could
quite a few things going for it. a few minutes longer to load and we use a little work

First off, if you are feeling a little bored did experience a little chugging. More
with the standard slate like design of demanding games like Ridge Racer BENCHMARK RESULTS
tablets, then the Yoga Tablet is the tablet Slipstream however is quite unplayable 3DMark (Ice Storm): 3,189 points
for you as it sports a very unique design due to the lag. 3DMark (Ice Storm Extreme): 1,555 points
thanks to its grip that is quite unsightly But if you aren’t too particular about AnTuTu: 13,368 points
at first but not only makes the already performance and instead worry more
lightweight tablet comfortable to hold but about battery life, then the Yoga Tablet
also houses a huge 6,000mAh battery. is the one to get as it easily lasted us two
Other than that, the grip also houses the days of normal use with some light video
flip out stand that enables users to use streaming, web browsing and gaming.
it in Stand or Flip mode when they want
to watch a movie or share pictures and
presentations. CHIP CONCLUDE :
Speaking of which, the Yoga Tablet There’s actually a lot to love about the
is actually works as a media player quite Yoga Tablet especially if you want a
well as it does sport a 1,280 x 800 HD very portable tablet that can be used
display with 189ppi that is quite sharp in a few different modes and has a
and since it has an In-Plane Switching long lasting battery. But do keep it The grip may make the tablet look weird at
(IPS) panel, it has quite wide viewing mind that you will have to deal with first but it is actually a very handy feature that
makes holding the tablet feel weightless
angles. Then there’s also the case of its occasional chugs and also a very
front facing Dolby Digital Plus DS1 stereo heavily customised Android interface
speakers that pumps out loud and clear that can be a little confusing to use.

chip malaysia march 14 097

 test lab
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Seagate Central
Price RM469(2TB), RM599(3TB),
Contact RM789(4TB)
Ingram Micro Sdn. Bhd., Servex
(Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone 03) 7952 8188, (03) 8024 6688
Info www.seagate.com

Specifications

Storage Size: 2TB, 3TB, 4TB

Interface: USB 2.0. RJ-45 CAT5
Features: Samsung Smart TV, Android, iOS

A Nice NAS For

app
Dimension: 145 x 216mm

RATINGS

Performance

Features
Home
Seagate’s Central is one of the most user-friendly and
Design

Value
feature-filled NAS devices By Nazrin Zain

N
etwork Attached Storage (NAS) multitude of USB-based devices such as a
Easy to setup and use devices are a godsend to many printer or even a USB flash drive.
Elegant design
who keep a lot of digital files in Setup for the Seagate Central is
Goes up to only 4TB of their PCs, be it documents, photos, music a breeze regardless if you’re using
storage and even videos. Apart from being an a Windows-based PC or a Mac. The
Heats up after extended
usage
external storage device, they also allow instructions of getting it up and running is
No RAID support for easy sharing amongst family and pretty straight forward. Just hook up the
friends that are connected to the same Central to a router, and a set of instructions
network. The only problem is that setting will guide you throughout the setup, and
up these devices can often be a bit tedious, you’ll be uploading files to the Central in
especially those who aren’t familiar with no time at all. There are also mobile apps
how networks work. Seagate aims to that allow you to access the files via your
eliminate this issue with its latest Seagate Android and iOS smart devices. If you own
Central. a Samsung Smart TV, there is also an app
The Seagate Central is an elegantly- on it that allows you to browse the media
designed NAS that utilises a horizontal stored in the Seagate Central.
design instead of the typically vertical That being said, it does come with
designed used in more conventional NAS several shortcomings. During extended
devices. At a glance, it looks like a set top usage of media streaming, the Central is
box, not looking out of place with your known to heat up a fair bit, although there
UniFi modem or Astro box when placed is no downtime in terms of performance.
side by side. Far from it being an empty The other is the fact that due to it being a
box, the Seagate Central comes with single drive, there is no way of setting up a
storage options of 2-, 3- and 4TB, which RAID for backup purposes. In order to back
is a bit unfortunate as these values are up, the easiest way would be to hook up an
considered to be the bare minimum in this external drive to the Central and have the
The Seagate Central is easy enough to setup
that all you need to do is to plug in the power day and age. files backed up manually.
adapter and a LAN cable at the back to get it This is due to the fact that it only uses
running
one single drive instead of the more
standard dual-bay system as its storage CHIP CONCLUDE :
solution. The Seagate Central has one LED Seagate is one of the first few
light at the top of the device to show that companies to make a network storage
it is operational, and at the back are two device that is easy for home users to
ports, namely the LAN port, which is used utilise. It is quite unfortunate however
to connect the device to the network, and a that it only has up to 4TB of storage
USB port, which you can use to connect a space to play around with.

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ASUS Transformer
Book Trio TX201LA
Price RM3,799
Contact ECS Astar Sdn. Bhd., Build
Technology Supply Sdn. Bhd.,
Servex (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
Phone (03) 6286 8222, (03) 7955 3699,
(03) 8024 6688
Info www.asus.com/my

Specifications

CPU: 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2560 (Tablet) /

1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U (PC Station)
RAM: 2GB LP DDR2 (Tablet) / 4GB DDR3 (PC
Station)
Storage: 16GB MMC (Tablet) / 500GB HDD
(PC Station)

Three For The

OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean (Tablet) /
Windows 8 64-bit (PC Station)
Display: 11.6-inch Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 IPS
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11n (2.4GHz),
Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB 2.0, 3.5mm

Price Of One
What may look like a simple hybrid laptop from ASUS
headphone/mic, microSD (Tablet) / Wi-Fi
802.11ac (dual-band), Bluetooth 4.0, 2x USB
3.0, Mini DisplayPort, Micro HDMI 1.4, 3.5mm
headphone/mic (PC Station)
Extras: 5-Megapixel Rear Camera, 720p Front
is actually a triple threat but does it impress on all Camera, ASUS SonicMaster technology
Dimensions: 304.9 x 193.8 x 9.7mm (Tablet) /
fronts? By Jeremy Cheong 304.9 x 193.8 x 13.4mm (PC Station)
Weight: 700g (Tablet) / 1kg (PC Station)

A
SUS has definitely made a name utilise Windows 8 as you can easily hook
for themselves over the years as up an external display to the PC station via RATINGS
they continue to combine multiple its mini DisplayPort or micro HDMI. When Performance
devices into one, easing the headache combined however, switching between
Features
of consumers who can’t decide between operating systems is also quick and
purchasing device ‘A’ or device ‘B’. Their painless as all you have to do is hit the OS Design
PadFones and Transformers are the first Switch button next to the F12 key.
Value
that come to mind when it comes to Equipped with an Intel Atom and Intel
combinations and this month, we take a Core i5 (or Core i7) processor, the device Switching between OSes
is easy
look at their latest Transformer Book Trio. ran smoothly on both OSes. On Android, Solid build quality
While the 3-in-1 concept isn’t exactly we were able to multitask and run games Full HD display
new to the Taiwanese company, their such as Dead Trigger 2 with very minimal
Pricey
first being the Transformer AIO P1801, it lag. However, it lagged quite badly in Ridge A little on the heavy side
is still very impressive to see how they Racer Slipstream. As for the Windows 8 Average battery life
have managed to fit in all that hardware portion of things, it produced okay scores
BENCHMARK RESULTS
into a laptop/tablet combo. Both the in PCMark8 and since it has Intel’s HD
tablet and PC station/keyboard dock are Graphics 4400, you should be able to enjoy PCMark8 (Home): 1,913 points
quite portable albeit a little heavy even some older or casual games. PCMark8 (Work): 2,079 points
PCMark8 (Creative): 1,829 points
when not combined. This is because both PCMark8 (Home – Battery): 1,468 points
devices house hardware for the Android CHIP CONCLUDE : AnTuTu: 16,899 points
and Windows 8 portion of things. Both In our books, the ASUS Transfomer 3DMark (Ice Storm): 5,842 points
3DMark (Ice Storm Extreme): 3,360 points
the tablet and PC station come with their Book Trio TX201LA is actually quite
own range of ports but we felt as though a good solution for those of you who
there could have been a little more such can’t figure out whether you want an
as having the RJ-45 LAN port built into Ultrabook or tablet. But it does come
device instead of having to rely on an USB with a costly price tag and we’re only
adapter as there is quite a bit of real estate talking about the version with Intel’s
on both devices. Core i5 processor here, for the Core i7
One of the nice things about the version, you will have to pay RM300
Transformer Book Trio is the fact that you more. But do keep in mind, you are
don’t need the tablet as a display for you to sort of getting a 3-in-1 device.

chip malaysia march 14 099

 lite & leisure
think

THINK the thoughts of our uncertified tech junkie

A Tale Of Two Licenses

I‘ve been away from the Windows scene for a while now, until a recent encounter with the Redmond
juggernaut‘s products reminded me of why I had switched in the first place By Tim Lee

M
ost of my daily work and personal computing takes or just a tourist who buys a Windows PC in Russia, for
place in Macs running OS X. I prefer that platform example, you had better learn to read Russian... because the
because of its intuitive interface and strong Unix- ability to change languages in the most basic Windows variant
based underpinnings. Think of it as the snobbish, snooty has been removed. OEMs also don’t offer alternatives unless
cousin of Linux and Windows, taking the best ideas from both you’re willing to pay a lot more for an upgrade to Windows 8.1
and wrapping them up in pricy hardware that’s surprisingly Pro. And the biggest irony is that the same model, having a
worth it. superior version of Windows costs less in a developed world
The problem is that Apple is letting the consumption- market like the US. You could either import a US-market
oriented iPad be its low range product. They are fine for computer and risk having no official support or you can buy a
absorbing the Internet’s content but it’s a pain to do any real local model from big names like Dell or Lenovo and still have a
IT-related work on them, other than using remote logins. heck of a time deciphering a foreign script.
Running web services in virtual machines locally or doing Such was the case with my tablet which, after a lot of
some heavy database crunching on a tablet? Not a chance. I hacking and cursing, still has most of its interface in Chinese. I
would probably have to wait for Steve Jobs to come back from could upgrade to Windows 8.1 Pro but that would almost
the dead before an iPad running OS X ever came out... but double the tablet’s price. Modern UI apps obey my setting to
then new Windows 8.1 tablets came out at the right size and use English but system apps like Explorer and IE just ignore it.
price point to make me open my wallet. I don’t know why OEMs agree to this crazy licensing
These tablets run strategy in the first
Intel’s power- place. On OS X, I can
sipping Atom change to any interface
systems-on-chip, and input language
unlike the hot and without having to pay a
hungry Ultrabook single cent - there
processors in being only one OS X
Microsoft’s Surface variant for the whole
Pro tablets, which world, and the latest
drives down the Mavericks update being
prices to US$300 free makes Microsoft’s
(RM985) or so. own nickel-and-dime
That’s less than half licensing look
of the Surface Pro ridiculous. Sure, Apple
pricing in a smaller makes money from the
package with better hardware and content
battery life. ecosystem too, but
Windows 8.1 makes Microsoft is moving in
a halfway decent tablet platform too and I can run thousands the same direction now. Ubuntu Linux also makes a mockery
of full x86 desktop apps instead of being locked in to an app of arbitrary restrictions by letting you use whatever language
store. I ended up getting one on a trip to China and it’s been a you want and it too is free, both in terms of cost and liberty to
messy, love-hate relationship since. tinker.
In developing markets like China, Russia, Mexico and Brazil I thought the nasty days of having pointless variants like
- defined by the piracy rate, I suppose - local PC buyers have Windows Vista Starter up to Everything-Including-The-Kitchen-
the misfortune of being stuck with Single Language or Country Sink-Edition were over, but they’re not. Hopefully the
Specific variants of Windows. These cut-down versions lack a Redmond giant listens and changes but, given its totally
lot of features found in regular retail Windows sold in more dominant position in PCs and enterprise computing, I doubt it.
affluent parts of the world, the rationale being cheaper There’s plenty of money to be milked out of the Windows
legitimate Windows versions mean cheaper PCs and less monopoly yet.
piracy. Even Microsoft’s own support forum staff don’t know Once a working Ubuntu release comes out with tablet
anything about these restricted variants. friendly features, I’ll pull the trigger, break these unsightly
The problem is that there’s no choice. If you’re an expatriate panes and give the penguin a home in my tablet.

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 lite & leisure
eve

EVE the world of tech through the eyes of the fairer sex

Tech Trendy Geek Is The

New Chic
Some years ago, being called a geek or associated with like-minded individuals would never be taken as a
compliment. However, thanks to technology, things have taken a 180-degree turn and now being a geek is
somehow cool. So if you now want to be part of the cool crowd, here are some gadgets that will help you
look the part. Time to get your geek on By Elis

I
was watching Arrow, a television of a smart phone and a GoPro, and does fit the bill of being functional and
series based off the character Green hipsters now have a reason to wear fashionable. Not only that, it even
Arrow created by DC comics, the other glasses even if they don’t have a manages to fit health into the equation!
day shortly before getting a new pair of prescription. While there have been An array of trackers that come in an
glasses. Now I’ve always been more of a complaints about Google Glass’ assortment of colours, Fitbit tracks the
contact lenses kind of girl. Prior to the hardware lacking fashion sense, startup number of steps taken by the user,
hipster era, glasses were seen as nerdy, company LaForge Optical is working to encouraging the user to live a healthier
geeky, or both and basically do nothing offer consumers market variety in their lifestyle. And according to Fitbit data,
for your appearance unless you’re one of “fashion friendly” smart glasses Icis. their users take 43% more steps when
those models paid to make glasses look Still in its prototyping stage, Icis will using Fitbit. Perhaps it’s the need to
great in which case you can forget about look just like regular glasses with all the outdo ourselves and level up, perhaps
problems the average teenager might hardware cleverly hidden within the it’s the competitive side in us wanting to
have. However, recent trends no longer number of frames they offer. The basic outdo everyone else now that someone
paint glasses in such a bad light with functions of Icis will make your eyewear can actually keep track but whatever it is,
geek being the new hot, and people with the central hub for smart phone I’m on board. Now for someone to
perfect vision resorting to acquiring notifications and even turn-based invent a top that will actually tell you off
powerless lens glasses for accessories. directions from a map application while for stretching it out too much.
But I digress. Despite glasses a premium version of the glasses, Icis
becoming a trendy accessory circa 2010, Bold, will include a camera, microphone
I am just barely learning how to style and speaker that will put it on par with
them which is why I was looking up Google Glass.
images of Felicity Smoak, the quirky IT However, glasses aren’t the only tech
genius female character in Arrow, for item that’s permeating the fashion
ideas on how to do my makeup with world. Among other stranger items that
glasses. Can I also mention that I covet join the ranks of high tech couture is the
her wardrobe because if that’s what an bra that unhooks when it sense its
IT nerd’s wardrobe looks like, sign me wearer is in love. Employing the use of
up! But that also got me thinking – that sensors and a gadget linked to a mobile
is basically what the generic tech savvy device that analyse the pattern and
female character looks like. They usually speed of the wearer’s heartbeat, the
have a quirky, if flattering, wardrobe, are ‘True Love Tester’ as it is currently
pretty in that girl-next-door way and dubbed claims to be able to determine if
generally wear glasses which when the woman’s feelings are for real.
taken off reveal a sexy bombshell no one Although, the average woman will not
around her ever knew existed. get the chance to put it to the test as the
This trope, along with Superman’s bra is a gimmick by lingerie brand
‘disguise’ as Clark Kent probably helped Ravijour and will not be produced for
boost the popularity of glasses as more sale. It’s just as well that this is one tech
than a necessity of sight. Fast forward to item the guys probably won’t be waiting
our modern world, technology and with bated breath for.
fashion have come together more than And while Fitbit was probably not the
ever. Enter Google Glass, the love child most awaited piece of wearable tech, it

chip malaysia march 14 101

 lite & leisure
touch

TOUCH the best apps to spice up your day

The Top Windows

Phone 8 Exclusives
Microsoft’s beautiful but flawed operating system might be a little short on apps, but don’t say that
it’s not without its own gems! By Mark Lee

L
et’s face it: the largest reason most of you have yet to dive headlong into the Windows Phone 8 realm is because of its sparser
selection of apps. And we’re not blaming you – Microsoft’s mobile ecosystem isn’t catching the fire that Android and iOS are
fanning, and it’s often a long and arduous wait for popular apps to finally hit the WinPhone app stores.
But don’t let it be said that Windows Phone 8 isn’t without some great exclusives. They might not win you over, but they’re
undoubtedly a showcase of what Windows Phone can do and could sit proudly in any users’ device. Get ready to feel a little jealous:

BLINK
This is one cool, nifty app forged in the furnaces of Microsoft Research themselves. BLINK
essentially captures a burst of images before and after you take a photo. You can then leaf
through these images to select and save the shots you like best, particularly nifty if you’ve
somehow missed That Perfect Moment. To top it off, you can also stitch the images
together to form a short animated video, which you can share to Facebook or Twitter. A
must have for photography enthusiasts, especially those with their masterful Nokia
devices.
Developer: Microsoft Research
Price: Free

Handyscan
There are times when you really do need to have a document scanner, but we all know how
well those can fit in your pockets. While most people content themselves with crude,
sometimes unintelligible photographs of said documents, Windows Phone users can
content themselves with Handyscan. Handyscan utilises the phone’s camera to let you scan
any document you have, be it homework or articles or that parking receipt you keep
forgetting to claim, and then store it as a proper and very readable document format. It
works surprisingly well and is easy to use – something that will prove undoubtedly handy
in tight situations.
Developer: JDB Pocketware
Price: USD2.99 (RM9.87)

Halo: Spartan Assault

This is the one game on Windows Phone that officially gives you bragging rights above
other mobile devices. Halo: Spartan Assault is the spinoff Microsoft’s immensely popular
Halo series, departing from its first-person shooter roots and turning it into a top-down
shooter. The game is set sometime between Halo 3 and Halo 4, with a story that is
surprisingly well-received by fans. The graphics are great and the touch-screen controls
work fairly well. Fans of Halo can also revel in the attention to detail and how it keeps true
to the series in a whole. The micro-transactions of the game might be a drag, but you can’t
deny the game’s rightful place as a solid, memorable exclusive.
Developer: Microsoft Studios
Price: USD6.99 (RM23.10)

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touch

Fresh Paint
The popular Windows 8 app has been lovingly ported for the mobile screen. Fresh Paint is,
quite possibly, the painting app that most closely mimics what it’s like to use real paint and
painting tools on canvas. Sure, other drawing apps out there offers paintbrushes of various
types, but Fresh Paint pretty much turns this into a simulator. You get a variety of tools and
an infinite amount of paint colours, courtesy of a nifty ‘paint mixing’ feature that lets you
combine and experiment. As you paint, tapping on a fan icon will dry what you’ve already
painted – if you let it be, the painting will actually smudge or smear. How’s that for realism?
Developer: Microsoft Corporation
Price: Free

Disqus
Now here’s an absolute first. For once, an anticipated app actually gets the Windows
Phone release before the Android and iOS platforms. Disqus, the popular blog
commenting platform, has somehow remained a Windows Phone exclusive. Disqus is a
widely used platform that many websites across the Internet have adopted, allowing
users to sign in with a variety of social accounts and participating in the conversations of
these websites. The app provides you with notifications for replies and the ability to
follow, star and vote on comments – all presented through a dynamic live tile that is
constantly updated with the latest information.
Developer: Disqus
Price: Free

Hey DJ
Ever harboured that dream of being able to say: “Hey Mr. DJ, play it. Play As Time Goes
By”? Well, now you darn well can with Hey DJ for Windows Phone 8. Hey DJ is essentially
a hands-free music player that lets you play tour music using just your voice. All you need
to do is just say the name of the song, artist, album, genre or playlist and the little DJ in
your phone will do its magic (so long the actual song is in your device, of course). Works
wonderfully while walking or driving, and the voice detection of the app does a fine job in
selecting the songs we actually want.
Developer: Diego Carlomagno
Price: Free

ilomilo
ilomilo started life as an Xbox Live Arcade game, and is now ported over to Windows
Phone devices. This puzzle game puts you in the control of two friends named ilo and milo,
both who are somehow always separated from one another thanks to a surrealistic world.
Your goal is to reunite them, and it’ll take the ability to think three-dimensionally to help the
friends navigate themselves through the cubic stages. It’s a well made, challenging and fun
game, not to mention a gorgeous one, and it’s only available for the Windows Phone
device.
Developer: Microsoft Studios
Price: USD4.99 (RM16.47)

Wikipedia
This is not the official Wikipedia app for Windows Phone, but it’s so immensely thought-
out and well-made that Wikipedia Foundation couldn’t possibly pass on getting developer
Rudy Huyn’s expertise on board. What makes this app work is in how well it’s designed
for the metro styling. It’s immensely accessible and manages to outperform other
Wikipedia apps in terms of speed and fluidity. The app also doesn’t run any
advertisements, and yet it’s free to download and use. You can even search articles in 100
languages and save them for offline reading!
Developer: Rudy Huyn
Price: Free

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read

READ the books that shape our world of stories

A Shopping Trip Worth

Taking
Lives and times of a robot girl, her coffee shop, and the vast, beautiful world By Mark Lee

ink style
Alpha lives in the future, but it’s not
the one that we’d expect it to be. The
world had undergone a series of
cataclysmic changes, the great cities
long fallen and buried beneath the rising
sea levels. Yet pockets of humanity
remain, living simple lives, seemingly
accepting their ending world and
choosing to live its remainder in peace.
Surrounding Alpha are the people she
meets and ultimately befriends, which
include a friendly uncle (Ojisan) who
runs a petrol station, and his grandson
Takahiro, whom shares a nascent crush
towards the robot girl. Alpha eventually
meets Kokone, a slightly more advanced
robot which takes a deeper interest
towards their lineage as androids. And
then there’s Ayase, the mysterious
traveller.
I can best describe Yokohama as an
antithesis of a manga. It breaks manga
conventions just as much as it adopts
the best of it – sometimes its themes and

T
here is a wealth of science fiction Yokohama Shopping Trip”) takes science ideas are antitheses among themselves,
manga out there – fine, amazing fiction and places it at the idyllic coastal making this a manga of contradictions.
works that range from the thrilling countryside of Japan, and tells you that But it’s a yin yang harmony that works.
to the bizarre. There are mindless, it’s alright to stop and take in the world. Yokohama is a manga that takes its
entertaining actioners like Gantz just as I’m not used to having science fiction time. You’re not ushered through a story
much as there are heady, philosophical tell me to enjoy the little things. But arc with mysteries to solve or villains to
ones like Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, or having completed Yokohama, I’m glad
hard sci-fi thinkers like Makoto such a manga existed.
Yukimura’s Planetes. It’s a banquet of Yokohama tells the tale and
wonderful stories that has something for adventures of a robot girl named Alpha,
everyone, and even more a feast for the who runs a coffee shop at the coastal
sci-fi aficionado. regions of Miura, Japan. As we’re
And amidst all of it is something like introduced to her, Alpha goes on a
Hitoshi Ashinano’s Yokohama Kaidaishi shopping trip at Yokohama town. That
Kikou, which is science fiction quite one trip is enough to acquaint us with
unlike anything else. the bubbly, perpetually-pleasant android
Serialised from between 1994 to 2002, as she rides her moped through a
Yokohama Kaidaishi Kikou (which gorgeously drawn world, sketched to life Yokohama Kaidaishi Kikou tells its tale through
roughly translates to “Record of a through a beautiful yet simple pen-and- a gorgeous spare pen-and-ink style, which
produces some really breathtaking scenes

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biological and mental capacity.

Alpha is also immortal, something
which is probably the best and worst for
her. In one way, her perpetuality means
that she can endlessly observe and
learn, which she believes to be her
ultimate goal. At the same time, being
immortal means watching the people
surround her come and go as they
succumb to growing up and death.
Inevitably, humanity may cease to exist,
leaving Alpha (and the other robots,
some of which are her friends) as the
sole denizens of a changed world.
So what is Yokohama Kaidaishi Kikou
Alpha and Kokone share a moment. Certain Mysteries play a big part of the manga, much
really about? It’s about Life. It’s about
chapters can go on without any dialogue of which are never explained, such as this the simplicity of a vast world and the
whatsoever, letting you sink in its beautiful art enigmatic plane that flies around the world complexity of humanity. In a strange
and moment
that flies around the world. And strange way, Yokohama is very reminiscent of
battle – most chapters of the manga are plants that mimic the streetlamps of a Bill Watterson’s brilliant Calvin and
contained stories of Alpha and her forgotten world. And on, and on… Hobbes comic strip.
interactions with the world, either by It is this unconventional storytelling Calvin and Hobbes tackles the issues
herself or with a cast of endearing that sets Yokohama apart from most of the world through the ruminations
characters that she befriends. manga out there, not to mention most and philosophy of our wise-beyond-his-
Sometimes nothing happens – Alpha, science fiction works, which are usually age little boy, yet occasionally takes its
for example, may take a ride through the constructed to discuss and display ideas. time to show that the world is beautiful,
countryside and all we see is her and the Yokohama isn’t about ideas or theories. large, and a great big wonder to explore.
empty world, saying nothing, and It’s about experience and, past that, it’s Yokohama shows that despite our
ending the chapter with a smile at the also about Life. perceived limitless in capability, we’re
sunset. There are chapters that simply This is mostly told through the eyes ultimately only the smallest things that
carry on without any dialogue, letting of our plucky protagonist. Alpha is also are part of a chain of inevitability, and all
you sink into Ashinano’s gorgeous an antithesis of what you may expect we can do is be swept along and,
artwork (especially the coloured about robots. On one hand she’s pretty perhaps, experience it in the best ways
chapters, which are flat out gorgeous). much human – save for her green hair, that we can.
There is a story here, however, and a Alpha can feel and question and interact It’s not every time that a science
world of many mysteries. But the author as she would a person, and she stumbles fiction manga brimming with ideas
tells you very little about it. Instead, the and falls and griefs all the same. But would come and tells you to simply
manga takes its time by showing you the she’s also superhumanly ready to learn savour the world in its wonders. It
world and its changes, letting you guess and to experience. She may be very doesn’t matter if it’s just a shopping trip
and discover things by yourself. You’re much human, but she may not – the little things make up a larger world,
meant to see the world through Alpha’s understand humanity enough to stop and it’s best to savour every moment.
eyes, and that means having learning.
unanswered questions. It’s a deep, livid The manga doesn’t concern itself with
version of Earth here, but you’ll only see the rules of robotics, or the complexity
a fraction of it. of artificial intelligence. Instead, Alpha
Mysteries play a large part in does very little concerning herself. She
Yokohama, most of which will remain doesn’t have a goal beyond running her
unravelled. There is, for one, the strange coffee shop and experiencing all there is
female-like creature called the Misago (it about the world. That, strangely, tells
translates as “Osprey”, the type of bird), more about humanity than the human
which lives immortally by the sea and characters in the manga, who go about
only appears before children. And then living and growing up and worrying,
there’s the large, awe-inspiring plane bound by a certain limit to their Yokohama Kaidaishi Kikou is most beautiful
when coloured

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watch

WATCH the movies that becomes us

Rebooting Sci-Fi
Throughout the past two to three years, we’ve seen a growing number of reboots of several sci-fi
titles that were popular back in the 80s and 90s. In this month’s Watch, we take a look at some of
these movie titles that has been given a reboot to cater to a new crop of audience that may have
never seen or heard of the original movies By Nazrin Zain

Prometheus the 1940s, Superman tells the tale

Year of Release: 1979 (Alien), 2012 of a baby from outer space who
(Prometheus) crash-lands into the fields of
Directed by: Ridley Scott Kentucky. The rest, as they say, is
Prometheus isn’t a reboot per se, history.
but a prequel to the Aliens series Superman movies have been
of movies, which were wildly based upon the comic books,
popular back in the 80s. The movie typically lifting scenes and lines
promised an origins story that will page by page with very minimal
tie in to the Aliens universe, editing. The latest remake, called
complementing the movie in a Man of Steel takes a slightly
way that tells the story of the melodramatic approach to the
xenomorph and how they came to Superman mythos, in an attempt
earth. to make Clark Kent, or Kal-El more
The movie tells the story of relatable to the audience.
Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Fans hoping to see some action were definitely not
Holloway who discover a star map disappointed as Superman wreaks havoc across the town of
in Scotland, making a space Smallville and half of Metropolis, as he engages General Zod and
expedition to the distant moon LV- his small army of super-powered Kryptonians.
233, aboard the scientific space The movie did relatively well as an origins movie, explaining
vessel The Prometheus. The pair, the backstory of Clark Kent, however, certain aspects such as
alongside a crew which consists of Superman’s wanton destruction of a big city, and some of the
mostly scientists and military choices made throughout were movie were mind-boggling, so
personnel end up on a planet here’s to hoping to a less clustered sequel!
where many things go wrong.
Directed by Ridley Scott, who Judge Dredd
also directed the first movie, Alien, Year of Release: 1995 (Judge
the story is loosely related to the Dredd), 2012 (Dredd)
Directed by: Danny Cannon (1995),
Pete Travis (2012)
Judge Dredd originally started out
Aliens universe, by way of several as a character in a strip for the
cameos and references to the British comic book 2000AD, and
1979 sci-fi horror flick. fast became one of the magazine’s
top and most well-liked
Man of Steel (Superman) characters.
Year of Release: 1978 (Superman), The original Judge Dredd movie
2013 (Man of Steel) starring Sylvester Stallone and the
Directed by: Richard Donner 2013 remake featuring Karl Urban
(1978), Zack Snyder (2013) were both set up in a post-
This isn’t the first time that the apocalyptic dystopian future, but
Superman movie franchise has they couldn’t be any more different as one was a story of betrayal
been remade. First appearing in and vengeance, while the other was more of a Tower of Druaga-

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esque kill-em-all movie. help makes sense of the attacks that are being done by Nero, a
The original movie made it big Romulan from the future.
thanks to Stallone’s presence, The movie does an excellent job at introducing the new, yet
however the story was too already established characters, putting a human spin that is
contrived with his Dredd character otherwise lacking from the shows of old, and putting to rest
being framed for a murder he continuity problems with the alternate dimension reveal.
didn’t commit, and us having to sit
through a lot of exposition when RoboCop
what he should be doing is kick Year of Release: 1987, 2014
ass all the time, every time. Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
Karl Urban’s version was (1987), José Padilha (2014)
straighter to the point, clearing out The 2014 RoboCop remake came
a drug nest with all guns blazing, with it the stigma of being a movie
with some amazing slow-motion that no one really asked for. The
effects and 3D scenes, showing in original 1987 movie was a gritty
first person view the effects of using a drug which is cleverly title with lots of corny dialogues,
named Slo-Mo, which slows the user’s perception of time to one even cornier one-liners, and the
percent of what is normal. pleasure of being one of the most
We would argue that the remake was what Dredd should have violent movies of the 1980s.
been about all along, taking down baddies, a lot of trash-talking, Which is unsurprising then, that
and witty one-liners. the remake of this movie is done
to suit the movie-goers of 2000s.
Star Trek We’re not saying in any way that
Year of Release: 1979 (Star Trek: this movie is all bad. In fact, it
The Motion Picture), 2009 (Star does have several very gruesome
Trek) moments where it is shown what
Directed by: Robert Wise (1979), J. is left of Alex Murphy, before his
J. Abrams (2009) transformation into Robocop.
The 2009 remake of Star Trek is The one major concern about
the eleventh film in the Star Trek Robocop prior to the movie’s
franchise, however, it is a retelling release was the leak photos of the
of how a young James T. Kirk, new Robocop armor. The movie
played by Chris Pine became a does well in obliging the fans by
decorated captain of the USS showing the old Robocop design
Enterprise. before switching to the new one
Peculiarly enough, the remake for “performance reasons”.
was originally planned as a The ED-209 also made its
prequel story way back in 1968 appearance with a new shell, but
when Gene Roddenberry, the unlike the one in the original
creator of the Star Trek universe Robocop, it didn’t feel as menacing as the original did.
wanted to make an origins story The older movie was a lot more juvenile in the sense that
after the huge success that was Robocop never needed any reason to act indiscriminately, but in
the TV series. This idea came up the remake, the logical reasoning behind why Robocop acted the
several times, but was always put way he did when he did made a lot of sense, in which case we
down in favour of other projects were quite okay with. It was strange that they decided to mention
by the screenwriting futurist. his family at all, as they did very little in terms of impact
An interesting point to note is throughout the movie.
that this remake is widely Our biggest surprise however, was seeing Michael Keaton (Tim
considered to be an alternate Burton’s Batman) taking on the role as the CEO of OCP in the
universe to that of the original movie, who, instead of making products for consumer use, is
Star Trek, as during the movie, the actually making weapons and robot soldiers for use in war-torn
original Spock, played by Leonard countries. The irony of it all.
Nimoy makes and appearance to

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WATCH the movies that becomes us

Her and Us
Spike Jonze’s movie about a man’s romance with his operating system says a lot of what we may be
tomorrow, and what we are today By Jeremy Cheong

2
013 had been a fantastic year doesn’t write them – he recites
for science fiction. Everything, them to his computer, which
from the rock-em’-sock-em’ prints it in handwritten form.
pounding of Pacific Rim to the quiet Today, we’re constantly
and intense eeriness of Gravity, communicating in faceless ways.
had been great entertainment and Our text messages, our calls
discussion fodder for the sci-fi fan. through the phone, are conveyed
And, last but not least, we get to without our physical presence.
round the year up with Spike Today, and also in Her, we can
Jonze’s Her, which is undoubtedly essentially have our human
one of the most heartfelt and relationship be carried out
thought-provoking flick the year through technology. Mobile
has to offer. phones have been the catalyst,
A quick summary: Her is set in an and now we have Skype and
undetermined time in the future, WhatsApp that we use just as
and it’s about Theodore Twombly much as we can to further our
(Joaquin Phoenix), an all-around communication, deepen our
nice guy who composes beautiful relationship.
handwritten letters for a living. So what, then, is the measure of
Things haven’t been great for him – human connection do we need to
he is in the last dregs of his satisfy what we consider to be
divorce, a fact that pushes him love? In Her, Samantha only exists
further into loneliness and as a voice to Theodore. But to
depression. Things changes, Theodore she is more of a person
however, when he gets his hand on that the people around him. She
a brand new operating system – the understands him, becomes
first artificial intelligent OS that is concerned, and aims for his
capable to learn and adapt to your needs. wellbeing. She talks to him, listens, takes initiatives.
His OS takes on the name Samantha, and picks up a Ultimately, she makes him happy. And she’s just a voice, a
personality and voice based on Theo’s preferences. They digital entity existing without a physical presence.
quickly form a peculiar bond, which eventually escalates into We credit Spike Jonze’s directorial ability to make Theo’s
romance. What follows is a movie that dives deep into the and Samantha’s relationship not only heartfelt, but also real
implications of technology today, and what it may mean to and understandable. But as you dive deep into the psyche of
human relationships in the foreseeable future. Theo and the workings of Samantha, you grow an
To dissect the depths of Her’s philosophical connotations of understanding that today’s technology has essentially allow us
human relationship and technology would require more than a to love without physicality. From here on, even the stories of
team of Oxford surgeons, but we can at least discuss what Her people who marry their Nintendo 3DSes doesn’t sound so
implies to how we use technology today. crazy.
Spike Jonze’s envisioned future is one where people, so Can we truly love a piece of programming? Perhaps, as most
enveloped by technology, have forgotten what it’s like to be of you can already attest to how you can’t live without your
human but is still desperately seeking it. He first shows it smartphones. But the message here shouldn’t be whether you
through Theodore’s occupation – as someone who composes can or can’t, but more of what love should really be. Is the
handwritten letters for other people. In a time where text person happy? Can that person be happy with the rest of his
messaging and emails could easily convey your thoughts, a life? Maybe that’s all it takes to love and be loved.
handwritten letter would’ve been much more significant. But In that way, maybe love truly transcends all.
why employ someone to do it for you? And even so, Theodore

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game review

The MOBA Alternatives

Bored of DoTA 2? Growing tiresome of League of Legends? Pretty much sick of the same old map design
and gameplay that have been permeating these Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games? Fret not:
there is a there is a whole wealth of games outside the of the mainstay MoBA selection that might just
offer the refreshing take on the genre that you need By Mark Lee

AWESOMENAUTS
Games, aims to solve that. The game is money they have, rather than experience.
Developer: Ronimo Games essentially the simplification of MOBA It’s easy to pick up, hard to master –
Price: USD9.99 (RM32.72) game mechanics – so simple that the exactly the sort of multiplayer game that
Info: www.awesomenauts.com game runs on a 2-dimensional plane rather belongs to everyone.
than the typical top-down perspective.
Quick, what’s the biggest problem about The mechanics are largely the same – it’s
MOBA games that every person hoping still about pushing forward with your
to get into will tell you? If you answered creeps to take down defensive towers, but
“Accessibility”, then you’re right on the thanks to the simplified map battles are
money. Most MOBA games, especially faster and much more chaotic. There’s no
DoTA and LoL, are so elitist and complex complicated item-purchasing mechanic
that it turns the newbie player away here. All of your gold goes into purchasing
quicker than Rosie O’Donnell’s sock. your next upgrade, while your character’s
Awesomenauts, by Dutch studio Ronimo level are tied more towards the amount of

SUPER MONDAY NIGHT COMBAT

you skirt around taking out creeps to earn style setting that comes complete with
Developer: Uber Entertainment cash and experience. Skill trees are much over-the-top commentators.
Price: Free-to-Play more simplified, as you only have 3 core
Info: www.uberent.com skills along with some passive upgrades.
No item purchasing here – your cash can
Before Awesomenauts came along, be best spent purchasing more powerful
Monday Night Combat was the first robots that can help push into enemy
game to try a more refreshing take on the territory. Super Monday Night Combat
classic MOBA game design. It basically would be the F2P version, which is one
mixes the MOBA game mechanics with of the few free online shooters that keep
a 3rd-person, class-based shooter. The things balanced for both free and premium
mechanics are also largely simplified – you players alike. It’s also hard to dislike the
pick your hero from a large roster and colourful characters and the Superbowl-

SMITE
the characters. It’s a very different way setting is much more engaging compared
Developer: Hi-Rez Studios of playing, as the perspective gives you to the high-fantasy designs of the rest.
Price: Free-to-Play a better, further view upfront but leaves
Info: www.hirezstudios.com your back more vulnerable. Anyway, Smite
is undoubtedly complex, and it features
Created by the same studios that brought an item-purchasing system that quite as
you Tribes: Ascend (which is a very good complicated as DoTA. But the ability to
F2P MMO shooter, mind), Smite takes the customise the auto-levelling and auto-item
more familiar complexity of DoTA and shopping means you can take your brains
puts it in a more up-close-and-personal off micromanagement, and new players
3rd-person perspective. So, essentially, can pick a few builds online, let it go to
just imagine a traditional MOBA game auto and focus on learning the ropes of
as you would play it on the ground, with combat first. Also, the mythology-inspired

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RIDGE RACER SLIPSTREAM

A Triumphant Return For The Drift King?

By Jeremy Cheong

does come with some in-app easy.

purchases (naturally) but But besides the in-app purchases, one
even if you don’t want to thing that really bothered me was the
spend cash on the game, replayability of the game. There are only 20
you will be fine. If you tracks, 108 events and 12 cars. That’s not
thought you’d be getting a a lot when you compare it to games like
watered-down experience, Asphalt 8 and Real Racing 3.
you are quite wrong, as
NAMCO BANDAI have made
STRATEGY
it so that it is everything you
Ridge Racer
A
t one point in time, Ridge Racer remember from a RR game. They even got
(RR) was easily one of the best Reiko Nagase to host the game once again. Slipstream
arcade racing games out there and The game looks fantastic especially DEVELOPER NAMCO BANDAI Games
hardcore fans will even tell you that IT IS if you play it on a high-end device and SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
better than Need for Speed and Burnout. we really recommend you do so as even PLATFORM : Android (reviewed), iOS
But somehow over the years, the series on mid-range devices, the game will lag.
RATINGS
just couldn’t keep up with the competition. Audio in the game is also done very well
So for those of you who want a RR game as the purr and roar of engines sound great Gameplay

that relieves its glory days, you can now along the techno soundtrack. Other than Graphics
have it with you on the game thanks to that, the game is just real fun to play as
Sound
Slipstream. the cars feel fast and the controls are tight,
Slipstream is a free-to-play title but it pulling off and maintaining drifts are super Replayability

SHADOW BLADE

Be The Shadow
By Jeremy Cheong

down. This fast-paced fluid and also a little bit violent. The
action-platformer puts you art style may be a little simple but it
in control of a ninja who looks great nonetheless. On the Android
has to deliver a message version, you can download it for free but
to his master. That’s pretty in my honest opinion, paying to get the
much it for the story and full game at RM6.52 is worth it as you
it doesn’t really matter gain access to over 45 levels.
as the gameplay is really
enjoyable.
Stages of the games STRATEGY

N
injas have seemingly taken a are usually quite small
back seat in the world of gaming but challenging as you have to jump Shadow Blade
and that’s actually quite sad. If up walls, slice and dice enemies all the
DEVELOPER Crescent Moon Games
you’re like me and love playing a sneaky while trying to beat a timer. The first
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
devil in games then I highly recommend few levels of course are easy but in later PLATFORM : Android (reviewed), iOS
you buy the indie wonder that is the ones, you will have to deal with homing
Mark of the Ninja (MotN). But if you missiles. But by then, you should RATINGS
want something for your commutes on already be a master ninja leaping and Gameplay
the train, then Shadow Blade (SB) is a dashing out of harm’s way and slicing
Graphics
very good mobile alternative. up your prey.
Actually, SB strikes me as a simplified One of the best things about this Sound

MotN but that isn’t to say it’s dumbed game is its animations as it is fast and Replayability

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game review

THE LAST OF US: LEFT BEHIND

The Times We Left Behind

By Mark Lee
few of these encounters over Left Behind.
But where Left Behind succeeds most
is in letting you feel the weight and pain
of this particular chapter in Ellie’s life. Few
DLCs have managed to achieve this – to
not only give you a reason to care about
Ellie, but to know the motivations that
drives her determination.
In many ways Left Behind is a great step
forward not only in what DLCs can provide,
but also in video game storytelling.
The way it utilises both gameplay and
cutscenes to flesh out the story is quite
unlike anything else we’ve played, and
there are themes and messages here that
are progressive but far too spoileriffic to
If you loved Ellie's character and wanted to nd out more about her past and also friendship with Riley, LeŌ Behind is a must buy discuss here.
Top props to actress Yaani King for her

W
hat more can you find in a rehashed gameplay sections just for a few excellent portrayal of Riley, a performance
decrepit world of death and extra bucks. You’re here for a story, and it’s which rivals Ashley Johnson’s (award
decay? What can remain after this story of a teenage girl and a friend. winning) role as Ellie.
the ravages of violence and despair? Most of Left Behind is spent exploring Should you get The Last of Us: Left
In a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested the mall with Riley, where they do what Behind? Definitely. Not just to play a
Earth, what else is left for you? teenagers do best: goof off. Here you short and heartfelt story of a broken
Last year’s brilliant The Last of Us engage on water-gun shootouts and joke teenager and her past, but also to
answers that perfectly. Amidst the heavy about masks in a Halloween store. That experience storytelling in its finest. Its
throng of zombie-themed survival horror you’re in charge of the fun of a teenage only shortcomings, to our opinion, is that it
games, Naughty Dog’s PS3 masterpiece girl in a dark, broken world is surprisingly ends far too quickly (two to three hours is
manages something truly spectacular. The endearing. You’re wishing for these enough to complete it). But we can’t deny
genre-breaking game of a tired, bitter man moments to continue longer, just because that it is one wonderful tale of shattered
and his quest to transport a foul-mouthed you get to see them have fun. In a world pasts and hopeful futures.
teenage girl across a torn and dangerous where death can happen in the next
country has broken hearts, won awards minute, one extra second of fun and games
and cemented itself as one of the many is worth more than anything. SURVIVAL HORROR/ACTION ADVENTURE
greats of this video game generation. This juxtaposes well with the bits The Last of Us:
But there is something a little more where you do have to survive. Once more Left Behind
to this tale of enduring and survival. The you’re back to the stealth and combat
DEVELOPER Naughty Dog
Last of Us: Left Behind is the first single- mechanics that make The Last of Us so
INFO www.thelastofus.
player DLC to hit the game, and believe us great. Scavenging for precious scraps is playstation.com/left-behind
when we tell you this: this is one DLC you important for you to craft items crucial SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
PLATFORM : PS3
shouldn’t be skipping. to your survival. Stealth becomes vital,
The DLC puts the controller behind where sneaking around your enemy helps RATINGS
Ellie this time, the teenage companion. you stay alive and keep your ammo well
Gameplay
Specifically, this deals with her past stocked.
– something we’re surprisingly rather Left Behind even manages to introduce Graphics

unacquainted to. a few new methods of survival. You can, Sound

As the game starts, Ellie is visited by for a change, force idling zombies against
Replayability
her estranged best friend Riley, who takes hostile humans through some careful
Heartfelt story of Ellie’s past,
her on a romp through an abandoned distractions, letting them fight your battles. Excellent storytelling, Some great
shopping mall. At this point you’ll realise It’s something that would’ve been great in sequences, Terrific voice acting
that Naughty Dog isn’t just here to throw the main game, and sadly you only get a Ends far too quickly

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 lite & leisure
game review

LOADOUT

Don’t Blow Your Load…Of Cash

By Jeremy Cheong
modes include Death Snatch, Extraction,
Blitz and Annihilation, which is a
combination of all the game modes.
The other different approach Edge
Of Reality took with Loadout is the
fact that there are no classes. Instead,
players get to customise their weapons
and this is actually really fun as there
are tons of customisation options and
the best thing about it is, to unlock new
parts, you use Blutes and not real cash.
With the seemingly endless list of parts,
you can create some very whacky and
devastating tools of destruction. Seeing
as how the guns are the main draw of
the game, they are actually great fun to
Part of the fun in Loadout is being able to craŌ your own weapon. This makes the game interesƟng as every player won’t have
the same one
use as they feel punchy and satisfying
for a certain period or buy a snazzy new to shoot.
hat for your character, you don’t really All in all, I have to say, if this is
have to. The game still felt levelled the way free-to-play is going, I really
just by playing the game and winning don’t mind as I’m sure many of you
matches. will agree to. At least with games like
If you haven’t heard, read or Loadout and Path of Exile, you don’t
watched a video about Loadout, the feel disadvantaged if you don’t spend
best description I can think of is a real cash. It’s free and fun. If you want
There are some really cool cosmeƟc items for purchase but combination between Team Fortress, to take a break from more immersive
they are quite expensive
Happy Tree Friends and a PG-rated games and just want something you
adults only cartoon. It is basically a can jump in to and shoot some people
team-based third person shooter that in half, Loadout is just the remedy. Be
is filled with over-the-top gore and warned though, it does get addictive.
lewdness. Basically, this is not a game
you want your five year old brother
playing or even watching you play,
unless you turn on the censorship, even THIRD-PERSON SHOOTER
then it is still not safe for the kiddies.
For a free-to-play game, Loadout actually has very nice
graphics Why? Because without the censorship
Loadout
turned off, let’s just say there can be a DEVELOPER Edge of Reality

F
ree-to-play has gone through lot of jiggling and “meat” flapping. INFO www.loadout.com
quite a bit of changes over the But I digress, for a free-to-play game, SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
last few months as there are now Loadout is actually very fun. There are PLATFORM : PC
many free-to-play games that don’t five game modes to take part in and
RATINGS
really require gamers to take part each one is your typical team-based
in microtransactions. Last month, I shooter game mode but with a little Gameplay
reviewed Path of Exile, an enjoyable twist. For example, Loadout’s version of Graphics
Diablo-esque action role-playing game Capture The Flag is Jackhammer. While
Sound
that looked great, was fun to play and in most games of the genre, when you
I didn’t need to pay a single cent. This get the flag, you either have to run for Replayability

month, I decided to give Loadout a go your life because you can’t shoot or your Free-to-play, Guns feel punchy, Fun
weapon customisation, Interesting
and while you could spend cash on movement is slowed down, in Loadout maps
things like power ups that increase your however, you can use the Jackhammer
Boring default characters, Expensive
Blutes (in-game currency) and XP gain to smash your enemies. Other game cosmetics

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 practice
faulty updates with android

When Updates
Make It Worse
Updating your Android smartphone’s firmware and operating system is important, but
PHOTOS: KLAUS SATZINGER; APPLE; ASUS; OCZ; CHRISTOPH SCHMIDT

sometimes it can potentially slow down or even ruin your smartphone. Here is the remedy
By Christoph Schmidt

O
S and firmware updates for your Android smartphone significantly, or become buggier. Your phone might also not
are good. They bring in new features, help patch be meant to handle a new OS, but you relented because the
security loopholes and generally make a more stable phone insists on the update.
and compatibly device. But no use crying over spilt milk (or updated smartphones,
That is theoretical, however; in many cases, upgrading your um, if it makes any sense). Here are two ways to get your
operating system does more harm than good. If the update is device up and running smoothly again:
poorly implemented, your device may end up slowing down

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 practice
faulty updates with android

Getting Android
1 2
back on its feet
You may think that the latest Android versions are much faster
than the older ones, but an Android device can get sluggish after
an update. This is mostly due to the internal memory becoming
too full with apps and the new system, slowing it down
exponentially. Having a large number of installed apps on your
device is bad because they fill the Dalvik cache of the Android
system.
In most cases, clearing out your device out of unnecessary junk
is enough to make the system run faster. If this fails, perhaps you
have to consider switching to an alternative firmware (see next
page). But let’s try doing some spring cleaning first.

1 Create backups of your content

Every time you’re set to perform some huge changes to your 3
device, be sure to backup your important details. Address book
contacts, SMSes and call lists can be backed-up into your SD card
using an app called Super Backup. Once done, connect your device
to the PC using a USB cable and copy the DCIM folder to your PC –
here is where your images, downloads, music and video are
stored. The “SmsContactsBackup” folder is where your Super
Backup content is stored. Get those copied as well.

2 Restore device to factory settings “Restore apps, settings and other data you’ve saved from Google”.
Time to clear the trash out of your device! Under “Settings | Deactivate this option to ensure the best possible performance on
Personal | Backup and Reset”, you can find the option to send your an older device. Selecting it will otherwise reinstall all previously-
phone back to its factory settings (don’t worry, this won’t regress saved apps in one go, which will fill up the Dalvik cache once
your OS). You can also choose to erase the content from your SD again.
card storage as well, which is good if you intend to only copy the Instead, manually install the apps that you primarily use. Under
content you want back to your device. “My apps | All” in the Play Store, you will find a list of every
application you’ve installed – it’s easier to pick the ones you want
3 Only install the apps that matter from here. You can restore your phone data from the folder
After factory-resetting your device and having it rebooted, the created by Super Backup, while your important photos and music
setup wizard of your device would provide you the option to files can be copied back to your phone using Windows Explorer.

There is more than one way to create backups of your Android device. Under “Settings | Device | Storage”, your phone is able to show you
MyPhoneExplorer, for instance, can create data backups to your PC how full your internal memory is. If it’s starting to get filled up, move the
easily heavier apps to the SD card via “Settings | Apps”.

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Fully replacing
your firmware 1
If your phone still isn’t working up to par after a firmware update,
perhaps it’s the right time to switch to a better and sleek Custom
ROM. These often work much better than the firmware provided
by the manufacturer, as they’re better optimised for each
individual devices. Older phones benefit greatly from custom
ROMs, and the CyanogenMod installer makes the switch easier
than having to downgrade to an older OS or firmware version.
Note: Installing a custom ROM will void your manufacturer
warranty! It’s best to perform it on an older phone which is already
beyond the warranty coverage.

1 Preparations
As in the previous page, first create a backup of your device. You
should also check if you can reinstall the manufacturer’s firmware
in case something goes wrong. For Samsung devices, you can use 2
the Odin tool.

2 Install the CyanogenMod App

Activate the “Security | Unknown sources” option under your
phone settings. After that, go to your phone’s web browser and
type in this URL: get.com/app. From there, download and install
the APK file (you can just tap on it). Start the application and follow
its instructions.

3 Using the Windows installer

If you’re not so keen on using your smartphone to install
CyanogenMod, the installation can also be done over your
Windows PC. With your PC web browser, go to get.cm and run the
MSI file. Upon request, connect your smartphone to the computer
3
using a USB cable. The computer will then automatically download
the corresponding files and installs them on your phone. The latest
supported CyanogenMod version will be installed after a reboot.
We recommend that you reinstall only the apps that you actually
need. You can find all of your previously-installed apps under “My
apps | All” in the Google Play Store.

If your device fails to boot after an update, keep the Volume Up, Home Your mobile is rooted with CyanogenMod. You can thus install apps like
and Power Buttons pressed until the recovery mode starts. Select and Titanium Backup, which can access to all of your phone’s data (but only
perform the “Wipe Data” option. if you grant it permission to create a full backup).

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 practice
flash drive tricks

The Trick With

The Drive
No password is safe once a hacker decides to hunt it down – that is, unless you encrypt the
passwords and store them on a secure USB drive
By Markus Hermannsdorfer

O
ver the past years, many high-profile companies, including Trojans that steal passwords can’t track these either. And since
the likes of Sony and Adobe, have fallen prey to hackers you don’t have to remember dozens of passwords any longer, you
who have stolen millions of passwords. These lists of can use a new and secure password for every web service.
passwords showed that users often use insecure passwords (like The following six steps will teach you how to set up KeePass:
“123456”) or use the same passwords across several accounts.
Although this makes the hacker’s job immensely easier, you can To get started
fault the users either. After all, how can one remember dozens of 1 Create a password safe
complicated passwords simultaneously? Insert an empty, formatted USB drive onto the PC, and then unzip
A simple solution would be to write your passwords on a Post- the KeePass .zip file on the drive and run “KeePass.exe”. After it
It note and stick it below your keyboard; no hacker could possibly starts, activate the automatic search for updates by clicking
access it from there. But then you would constantly keep a lookout “Enable”. You can also change languages via “View | Change
for people who approach your computer. And this wouldn’t work Language” and by clicking “Get more languages”.
if you’re constantly moving between PCs.
KeePass 2 Portable (available for download at chip.com.my) 2 Define a master password
solves this dilemma. All you need is a USB drive with about 10MB Select “File | New” and enter the USB drive as the storage location
of free storage space, on which you install the tool. From here on, for the password database. In the next window, define a password
you just have to remember one password – the one for the USB under “Master password”. You will need to enter this every time
drive. KeePass saves the login data of all your web services in an you start KeePass. We recommend that you use at least 15 letters,
encrypted database on the USB drive, secured by a master figures and special characters. Once done, click “OK” to confirm
password. You only need to insert the USB drive on your the master password and name your password database in the
computer when you enter a password on the web browser. next window.

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1 6

The best upgrades for KeePass

Equip your password safe with additional functions, for example, a
backup function or password transmission for mobiles

Name Description
DataBaseBackup Creates a backup of your password database in case the
USB stick is stolen or lost
2 Twofish Cipher Adds an almost uncrackable encryption algorithm; bear
in mind that KeePass slows down because of this
KeeAgent Blocks spy attacks by transmitting your log-in data via an
encrypted SSH connection
KeyExchanger Stores the master password on your mobile phone; you can
thus open your password safe on your PC via Bluetooth
KeeForm With just the press of a button, it opens your favourite
websites and automatically enters your log-in data there

Note: To make a password easier to remember, tie to a specific

something that you like, then use the figures and special characters
as punctuation.

3 Activate a secure desktop

To prevent Trojans from reading your KeePass password, you
3 should use the Secure Desktop feature over your Windows User
Account Control. To access this, open KeePass and go to “Tools |
Options | Security”, scroll to the bottom of the “Options” and
check the box for “Enter master key on secure desktop”

4 Store your passwords

To the left your KeePass window your password database will be
listed as categories such as “Windows” or “Internet”. Select a
section and click the key on the toolbar. In the following window,
enter the name, URL and your login data for your web account.
Since you no longer have to remember the passwords, you can
use a new, complex password for the service. Or simply create one
from those password generators online.

4 5 Use the automatic login feature

If you want to log into a service with KeePass, open the relevant
website and start KeePass. Right-click the service in the KeePass
database and select “Perform Auto-Type”. The tool then copies the
log-in data to the input field of the website. Ensure that you enter
the exact URL that is in the database, or otherwise KeePass will not
respond.

6 Add in more features

If you want to expand the usefulness of KeePass, access “Tools |
Plugins | Download more plugins” (the table above lists our
suggestions). Now click the plugin name and download the ZIP file
from the website and unzip it on the stick. Restart KeePass and go
5 to “Tools”. At the bottom of the menu, you will find the plugins
that you can start activating and use.

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 tips & tricks
windows, applications & hardware

Tips
Tricks
MARCH 2014
03
Disable the automatic uploads to SkyDrive
help prevent uploading sensitive data online,
or to avoid a clogged up online storage.

WINDOWS Windows is automatically enhanced by documents and photos are automatically

WINDOWS 8.1 additional search results from the Bing uploaded into SkyDrive cloud storage
01 Go straight to the Desktop network. Through this, however, means
you’re getting personalised and location-
system. If you intend to keep your
content securely grounded to your PC,
based advertising targeting you. If you’re you can correct the SkyDrive settings
troubled by it, you can disable it quite accordingly.
easily. To start with, call out the Charms bar,
First of all, call out the Charms bar the select “Settings” and “Change PC
by either swiping out from right edge of settings”. Select the category “Skydrive”
the screen (or placing your mouse on on the left and then “File Storage”. You
the lower right corner). Select “Settings” can now disable the “Save documents on
and then “Change PC Settings”. Go on SkyDrive by default” option. Now select
to “Search and Apps” and then select “Own photos”. You might want to disable
“Search”. Change the option to “Do not the option titled “Upload photos with
receive any personally-customised results good quality”, which – while convenient
from Bing” under the “Your Search for storing only photos of high quality
01 Query” section. – means it will affect data transfers
You can finally avoid the tile view and skip You will thus avoid sharing your and data backups. Uploading photos
right to the desktop easily
location and/or receiving customised automatically is also a sure-fire way to fill
advertisements. Furthermore, you can up your online storage space quickly. We
While Microsoft had good intentions turn off the “Retrieve search suggestions suggest turning it off.
with its new touch-friendly Metro UI, and web results from Bing”, which will
not everyone is a big fan of it and if also restrict the Windows Search function
you fall into that camp, there's actually to the computer and not the Internet. WINDOWS VISTA/7/8
a way to bypass it with just a simple
method. There’s no need for complicated
Don’t worry; your browser won’t be 04 LAN connection preference over
WLAN
instructions and downloadable tools
here – you simply start by accessing You can connect your notebook to a
the Desktop view and right-clicking on local network on both WLAN and LAN
any free space on the Taskbar. After simultaneously, but only one can run at
that, select “Properties” and then the one go. Sometimes it’s best to keep both
“Navigation” tab. Here, enable the option connected at the same time, but you may
“When I sign in or close all apps on 02 prefer having the LAN connection being
a screen, go to the Desktop instead of Disabling Bing can help avoid personalised the primary one whenever you restart
Start.” Confirm the changes, run a test and targeted ads. your notebook. To make it so that the
and be thankful. LAN takes the top spot every time, first
affected at all. access “Network and sharing centre” in
the Control Panel. After that, head on to
WINDOWS 8.1 WINDOWS 8.1 “Change adapter settings” (or “Manage
02 Disabling the integrated Bing
searches
03 Prevent automatic uploads to
SkyDrive
network connections” under Vista).
Here you’ll see each individual network
your notebook is connected to. Pres
In Windows 8.1, the search function for Upon upgrading to Windows 8.1, all new the [Alt] key to display a menu at the

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 tips & tricks
windows, applications & hardware

You can now add in more options before

executing the command. Easy, no?

WINDOWS 7/8
06 Safely remove USB drives from
the system (when there’s a
problem)

04 07
You can select any network connection, LAN AdwCleaner can easily help you track
or WLAN, your PC runs as a priority unwanted toolbars or Adware and securely
remove them.
top, then select “Advanced | Advanced
settings”. Here, your entire network Run the “AdwCleaner.exe” and
connections are listed in the upper tab, click on “Search”. Wait for the system
under “Connections”, in a sequence as 06 analysis. The “Results” area will show
the system accesses it. You can now ProEject is a useful tool to keep the usage you the questionable objects it found,
move your fastest LAN connection as the of your USB drive safe and is handy when it nicely categorised under “Folders”,
won’t eject due to several problems
priority. Select the corresponding LAN “Files”, “Registry” or a browser, like
connection and move it to the topmost “Firefox”. Check on them to make sure
position using the little arrow buttons Occasionally, a USB drive cannot be that they’re either legit or not, and simply
at the side. You can also determine the safely ejected from the system normally, deactivate the entries you don’t want. You
order of the other connections. as something is still accessing it. Instead can receive a report of all your findings
of forcibly removing the drive and risk and actions by clicking on the “Report”
damaging its content, you can instead button.
WINDOWS 7/8 utilise ProEject to safely remove your Close all of your programs and
05 Using Drag & Drop with the
classic command line
drive when your PC says you can’t.
Just start ProEject and right-click on
browsers in the background and click on
“Clean-Up”. Once the clean-up is done,
the USB drive’s designated name in the restart the computer. It’ll be Adware free
Tasks under the command line often Programs window. Select “ProEject” from and spanking clean.
require you to navigate to the required the context menu. The program will now
path using the cd-commands or ensure that all of the outstanding data
to manually enter long file names. will be written immediately and every MOBILE
This can go much faster with clever program accessing the device will be iPHONE/iPAD
implementation of the Windows Explorer.
In the command line, enter the respective
terminated before safely ejecting your
USB drive. References to this USB drive
08 Locating stolen or lost devices

command such as “cd” or “del” followed in the Registry and in the Windows Among the many wonderful features that
by a space. Then switch on over to history log will also be removed. Great iOS 7 brings to the fray is the new “Find
Windows Explore and navigate to the if you hope to keep the usage of your My iPhone” function. This is usually
desired folder or the file concerned. Now multiple drives an untraceable secret (for activated by default. You can check to
pull this file via Drag & Drop to any place whatever reasons we won’t judge you see if this is activated by heading over
in the console window, which will insert for). to “Settings” under the “iCloud” option.
the name of the file along with the path. Older devices upgraded to iOS 7 can
otherwise find the “Find My iPhone” app
WIN XP/VISTA 7/8 at the App Store.
07 Track Adware and securely
remove it from the PC
Anyway, in order to access your
locating and locking functions, have
another iOS device installed with “Find
There may be instances where your My iPhone” and link it to the same
browsing and program-installing would’ve iCloud account. You can otherwise access
contracted additional toolbars, Adware or these over the browser through icloud.
changes to the browser that your security com and register your user details. You
software didn’t pick up. If you noticed can then use the “My iPhone” section
05 these changes and would like to clean to locate your devices as soon as they
You can drag & drop a file from Windows up your system, get AdwCleaner (www. become active. Select the respective
Explorer onto the command window, which
will easily display its file name and path bleedingcomputer.com). device, pick “Play sound notification” to

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 tips & tricks
windows, applications & hardware

08 09 10
iOS 7 offers the “Find My iPhone” feature, The Coast browser utilises an intuitive touch- Emailing your WhatsApp conversation to
which is turned on by default. We can’t stress based control system that makes full use of the yourself is one way to keep them saved and
how important it is. touchscreen’s capability (it’s beautiful to boot) archived.

check and see if the device is nearby. towards the right and left to hop between you choose. If you’ve chosen to send the
Otherwise, activate “Lost” mode. To lock website pages (like a magazine). Swiping media along, they will come attached
the device, enter a four-digit code twice. downwards will refresh the page, while separately from the text.
You can also send a telephone number swiping upwards closes the page. The tab
to your stolen device to see if the honest symbol located in the lower right section
finder will contact you. After that, click will display all of the websites that are SOCIAL NETWORKS
“Next” to send the message. The remote
lock will be activated when you select
open and makes it possible for them to
be switched to and closed – just like you
11 Avoid unnecessary notifications

“Finish”. would with iOS 7 apps running in the Your various social networks regularly
Note: Before you sell or give away an background. send you emails, especially whenever
iOS device, remember to remove any someone comments on your status
connection from the device to your Apple or when a friend’s birthday is close.
ID, or it can’t be used by anyone else at SOCIAL NETWORK Most of these messages are, by nature,
all WHATSAPP pointless and will clog up your email
10 Forward chat messages via email
to save and archive them
storage. These social networks, however,
have notification settings that are often
iPAD well-hidden beneath the troves of other
09 Use a web browser that has been
optimised for the iPad
Long chat messages over WhatsApp
may produce interesting conversations
options and setting. Here, usage the
“Notify Me Not” web service can be
that you may love to archive, or forward very useful. It will direct you straight
Thanks to its larger screen (and the to another person. This can be done by to the notification settings of Facebook
gorgeous Retina Display, if you have it), sending the entire chat record to yourself and friends, without needing your login
the iPad is ideally suited for surfing the or to a recipient using email. The content credentials at all.
Internet. However, the usual browsers of the chat can also thus be viewed and Access the notifymenot.com website
primarily use toolbars which are processed on the PC as well. and search through the sample content to
occasionally harder to handle, and not To get started, open the respective find your respective social media network,
really making full use of the touchscreen’s chat in WhatsApp. Tap and hold the chat such as “Twitter” or “YouTube”. Use to
full potential. Opera’s free-to-use Coast for a moment until an additional menu mouse cursor to hover over it, and click
browser, on the other hand, is specially pops up. There, select the “Send chat
designed to overcome this. via email” option. Now, decide whether
Just head on to the App Store and you would like to forward the attached
locate Coast, which gets our high score media in the conversation (photographs
in terms of its minimalistic but stylish or whatnot) along with the text. If yes,
design, along with very practical touch- select “Attach media”. Do note that this
based operations that iOS 7 users are will make the email a lot heavier, so you
used to. The home page only features should utilise a Wi-Fi connection for this
a preset Google search field and a few rather than your phone’s data. Selecting
websites you can hop directly onto “Without media” only sends a pure text
(think a “Speed Dial” function on a web file.
browser). Regardless of which you choose, you’ll
The search is also very visual, end up in your email app which will
11
displayed in the form of full-screen contain the conversation. All you have to
“Notify Me Not” is an easy way to access and
images. You can use swiping gestures do is send the message to the recipient turn off your social network notifications

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 tips & tricks
windows, applications & hardware

on the “See tips page” for instructions the preview bar to select a chunk of the For compact cameras, a piece of
regarding the settings. Hover over that video you want to use. Click “Next” to semi-transparent paper comes in handy.
to access a “Go to settings” option. take you to the filters page, which lets Just paste a rectangular section over the
The login page of the respective social you pick a filter and then the cover image extended flash like an arch so that the
network will be opened on a new tab. of the video. You can then type in a light goes through the paper.
You can then be directed to the settings message, geotag the location and then
page and turn off the notifications you share the video out on your designated
don’t want. social network. POST-PROCESSING
14 Semi-coloured photos

INSTAGRAM PHOTOGRAPHY
12 Record videos, Instagram-style CAPTURING TECHNIQUE
13 Generate soft shadows using
flash

Self-taken portraits generally do not

have a ‘professional’ impact, most likely
because you’re not using studio lights.
A cardinal error when it comes to taking
portrait is by having the flash focus
directly onto the subject. While TTL
technology on the right flash unit helps 14
expose the picture correctly, direct flash
Semi-coloured photos can draw the attention
upon your subjects generates hard and of the viewer directly to a particular subject
often undesired shadows on the face. matter.
You might even get greasy sheen on the
face as the light reflects into the camera.
A person standing against a bright This is a very striking and often
background will also cast conspicuous atmospheric effect. You can highlight
shadows that usually destroy the desired certain elements in a black and white
picture effect. photo using strong colour elements to
The solution? Soften the harshness bring attention to it. For this, open the
of the light by scattering them and image in Photoshop and set the colour
guiding it around the subject. You can mode to “RGB” (or else it won’t work).
12 achieve this best by using a diffuser, You can do so via “Image | Mode”.
You can now capture ‘hipster’ video and share which breaks up the narrow light beam Open the Palette layer, then click on the
it with your friends and family of the flash and distributes the brightness “New” icon next to the trashcan on the
equally. You can find suitable attachments lower palette edge and create an empty
to your flash in any camera shops, but layer over the background. In the toolbar,
For those who like Instragram’s square sometimes even a simple white card double-click on the left colour field.
and filter-filled images, you can now attached to your flash jutting up on top is Select a basic colour using the slider and
record short videos on the service and enough to work as a makeshift one. determine the colour hue. Make sure the
share them to your friends and family. colour is not too saturated, or otherwise it
This also works with videos you’ve will end up with a candy-coloured effect.
taken and saved on your phone. The percentage of the “blacks” as you
To access the video function, select adjust the colour should not be over 50%.
the camera symbol in Instagram, then Note: Individual values can be set
select the video camera button to the precisely by using the mouse wheel
right. Holding the red camera button will instead. Select the brush from the toolbar
record the video, while letting go will and set the harshness to approximately
stop it. You can record up to 15 seconds 90% via the brush options under the
of video. menu bar. This allows a sharp contour
Alternatively, clicking on the Gallery delimitation of the colour details. The
button to the left will call your phone’s opacity should be at 100% here, or
gallery, which lets you select a video otherwise it may look like a water colour
you’ve already taken. Select your video effect. You can now proceed to paint the
of choice and tap “Next”. The next 13 desired element. Change the brush size
step requires you to shorten your video A diffuser works by reflecting the light so that often to manoeuvre around the subject.
it falls indirectly on the subject, casting only
into a permissible length. Simply move soft shadows. Control the intensity of the colour using

chip malaysia march 14 121

 tips & tricks
windows, applications & hardware

the opacity layer. Do not capture the beach just from the
Some compact cameras actually tripod – such perspectives often look
provide this shooting method, though you flat and uninspired. Instead, try taking
may only get to pick from a few colours. through a more eye-catching perspective,
like with a local rowing boat. This brings
more life to the environment, especially
CAMERAS when taken from a low perspective.
15 Customise your own menu You can supplement this effect by
using a short focal length. The keyword
is “Wide-Angle” – lenses with 28mm or
lesser are ideal. If you go as close as
possible to the subject, the foreground
16 will appear disproportionately larger
This picture was taken at a music gig, which which actually creates a very interesting
conveys a lot for the band and their music.
effect. Most perspective distortions arise
Change your location and the viewing in the form of an apparent bent but in
angle: Capture the band from various reality perfectly straight edges.
locations, sometimes from a bird's eye Be experimental and try many ways
view, sometimes from below like a frog. to approach this. The more unusual
15 Proven tools: A steady ladder and loose the picture is, the more it will attract
You can allocate the function keys in the clothing. The music should be the main attention, especially when the know
system menu so that important features can
be quickly accessed
focus, so showcase the musicians with picture elements have been seen
their instruments (the guitars and bass hundreds of times before. Using a
and drums and keyboards and what have polariser helps strengthen the colours and
In the system settings of most cameras, you). weaken the annoying reflections on the
the photographer has a choice between You may be shooting band photos water surface. The picture will thus get
a ‘maxi’ and ‘mini’ menu. Generally, the for album covers or a magazine article. more depth, and more attractive.
‘mini’ menu offers far too little options If so, pick an environment that suits the
to tinker with, but is much easier to music type. Try implementing new and
access. In contrast, a ‘maxi’ menu would interesting ideas too, but never at the FIREWORKS
offer a wide range of functions but is a
little harder to navigate. Don’t despair if
loss of the band’s identity. For individual
portraits, try going for fixtures with
18 Create impressive shots with
unique settings
you can’t decide between which – you extreme angles – go closer and use short
can pick the third option that almost all focal lengths to show oversized hand and
DSLRs and compact cameras have. You instruments. Using fisheye lenses here
can actually compose a menu yourself to work very well. This often results in very
include the features you want best. Here striking photos that attract great attention.
you can decide, point for point, on which
settings should appear on the display
when you press the menu or function CHOICE OF SUBJECT
button. No need to concern yourself with
an unwieldy menu – have your favourite
17 Always capture the beach with
decorative props
settings at the ready.

18
Long exposures provides very interesting
EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY firework effects, as seen here
16 Skilfully place musicians in
appropriate scenes
The camera in auto is often overwhelmed
You photograph people who love to by the difficult light conditions which
be in the limelight and also want to be come along with fireworks. It’s better to
presented that way – like musicians, for proceed like this: Disable the autofocus
example. Thus, forget standard photos and set the focal length to “Infinite”. In
in which the band members stand next manual mode, set an aperture to 5.6 and
to each other as if they’re on grandma's 7.1 and expose it for one to two seconds.
birthday. No class photo trick here – what Obtain the correct values by viewing the
happens on stage is dynamic and chaotic, 17 image in the camera display. To lower
so you’ll need to know how and where Beach shots in the sunset are a dime in the noise, select a smaller ISO number.
dozen, but the boat here helps gives it more
to shoot. atmosphere and depth. And of course, use a tripod for steady

122 march 14 chip malaysia

 tips & tricks
windows, applications & hardware

shots. Your fireworks pictures will never as possible. If you really have a huge
look better. collection of CDs or DVDs that you have
burned yourself, using a DVD box can
not only bundle all data at one location
HARDWARE but also protect it simultaneously against
ULTRABOOKS heat, sunrays and humidity.
19 Use existing IDE or SATA-DVD
drive with an Ultrabook
However, CDs and DVDs are not
made to last for eternity. For example,
if you purchase a movie on DVD then,
optimistically, it has a life expectancy of
up to 50 years. Self-recorded blanks can
go kaput after a few years. If it really
20 deals with important data which you will
Connect additional monitors to a Mac device not be able to procure again readily, then
using Mini-Display and Thunderbolt ports.
you should regularly backup this data.
a Mini-Display port cable. This can be done either using another
19
Mac Mini and Mac Pro, respectively, CD or DVD or a totally different storage
At little cost, you can connect more drives to
your Ultrabook using an IDE or SATA adapter. have an HDMI port that is used to medium such as an external hard disk or
connect the devices to a screen. Mac Mini a USB stick.
has an additional Thunderbolt port - a
Ultrabooks are thin and elegant but they Mac Pro Six. On the back of the iMac
never come with a built-in CD or DVD you will also find a Mini-Display port WINDOWS PC
drive. You can, however, connect the
Ultrabook to any spare disc drive you
that provides a connectivity option for
a second monitor. Connect a screen to
21 Find out the type and clock rate
of your CPU using available
have lying around. All you need is a your Mac and the display is inherently resources
small adapter which you can use for hard duplicated. To expand the work area you
drives. must apply few settings. Open the system Under Windows, you will find the
Built-in disc drives require their own settings. Click on “Monitors” and go most important specifications for your
power supply, hence the adapter has down to the category “Arrange”. Remove computer in the Task Manager and
to have a supply unit of its own. If the the check for “Synchronise screens”. You Control Panel. Open the Task Manager
power is supplied via the USB port, then will now see the screens superimposed by pressing the key combination [Ctrl] +
it cannot be generally used as DVD drives on each other. Pull one screen using the [Alt] + [Del] under Windows 8 and select
need more than 500 to 900 mA that the mouse to the left or right to expand the Task Manager. Now go to “Performance”
USB ports provide. A 5.25-inch drive display. in the upper menu bar. Here you will see
not only needs five but also 12 Volts for a live graph showing the consumption
operation. Connecting such an adapter is of your CPU and other important data.
simple: simply connect the power supply OPTICAL MEDIA The exact name of the processor is also
unit with the drive and plug the adapter
to the SATA or IDE port. You now need
21 Extend the shelf-life of CDs and
DVDs through proper storage
shown on top. If you are using Windows
7 on your computer then you can also
to plug the power cable into the socket find your CPU easily via Control Panel.
and plug the entire thing into a USB port. Keeping CDs and DVDs in cases or DVD Open the Control Panel via the Start
Done! boxes is always recommended so that menu. Click on “All Control Panel Items”
the life of your music, video and data and then on “System”. You will see the
collection is maintained for as long name and the clock rate of your CPU
APPLE COMPUTER
20 Easily expand the display over to
several monitors

If you work with a Mac, you can easily

expand the display to several monitors.
On every latest Mac, you will find a Mini
Display port or a Thunderbolt connection.
Connect an additional monitor to the
MacBook, iMac or Mac Mini via the same.
Some models have an additional HDMI
output. You can also connect screens to
your Mac using this port. MacBook Air
21 22
and MacBook Pro can be connected to a
Optical media will live longer if they’re well Why bother with complicated software to
screen via the Thunderbolt interface using protected against heat and light. check on your CPU type? Windows offer very
easy ways to find out.

chip malaysia march 14 123

Subscribe & Win!
As our technology and devices continue to improve, so do the tools of
cybercriminals who will stop at nothing to find loopholes and exploits to gain
access to our computers and the intimate and confidential data stored in them.
Without the proper protection, our computers are like open books with its
contents ready and waiting for these cybercriminals to steal and misuse.

We here at CHIP Malaysia know the dangers that are lurking in the dark and dank
corners of the web, this is why this month, we are once again giving away a
security software to new and returning subscribers with a one year subscription.
Panda’s Internet Security 2014 comes with plenty of useful features that you will
keep your computer safe. Thanks to a collective intelligence whenever a new
threat is detected, every instance of the Internet Security 2014 will be updated to
protect users against it. Since this security solution also leverages Cloud
technology, users will get immediate protection against all types of known and
unknown threats. It also comes with a rescue kit that enables users to restore
their PCs to the way it was before being hit by a virus. Users can even create a
rescue USB drive to help restore other PCs. Other features of the Internet
Security 2014 includes a personal firewall, parental control, anti-spam
protection and the ability to create backups online. If you have more than one
PC at home or office, fear not, as we’re giving you the version that supports up to
three PCs for one year.

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 picture perfect
events & happenings

, & Sunil
k Loo Took Gee mpur 13/02/201
- (L -R ) M as ashi Honda, Datu ter s in Ku ala Lu Shield at a 4 - A model posing w
21/02/2014 the new Fuji Xerox headquar regional ev it
ent recentlyh the NVIDIA
Gupta opening

of Astro and
mmercial Officer
13 - Li ew Sw ee Lin, Chief Co er of Astro showing off Astro’s
19/02/ 20 Offic
21/02/2014 - Cu Chief Commercial
for us during NVte isn’t she? A model strikes Liew Swee Lin, ogramming Guide
IDIA’s regional a po ron ic Pr
event in Vietnamse new Elect

new Pu rple drives help

Western Digital’s
e check out how
28/02/2014 - Wce that much more effective 16/01/201
make surveillan minimum 4 - Western Digital’s
of 1TB spac Pu
e and goes rple drives has a
up to 4TB

126 march 14 chip malaysia

 picture perfect
events & happenings

fe preview get a taste 28/02/201

ng’s GALAXY Li Samsung 4 - Curious to know w
sitors to Samsu
28/02/2014 - Vito be a part of the good life GALAXY L ha
ife is? Have t
of what it’s like a look

Challenge For
ts too k part in DiGi’s
er 200 participan
28/02/201 28/02/2014 - Ov ho n
ck at
care ensure 4 - The Carama onlin Change Ha
shortchang s that the workshop y e service for car
e you ou go to does
n’t

the OPPO
launch event having fun with
sitors to OPPO’s 23/01/201
18/02/2014 - Vicamera features Samsung 4 - A model introduci
N1’s variety of personalisedGALAXY Life applicatng visitors to the
content an io
d various den, promising
als

chip malaysia march 14 127

 in the next issue
april 2014

Next Issue
The Most “Generous” Countries
When It Comes To Cyber Crime
Cyber crime is no laughing matter as the number of victims continue to increase on a yearly
basis. We take a look at some of the most “generous” countries that have lost billions of dollars
to cyber crime.

Technic Lexicon:
DDR4 RAM - The
Turbo Memory
DDR3 RAMs were launched in 2007 and it is still being
widely used today. After seven years of waiting, there is
finally some concrete facts and details about the next-
generation of RAMs and it will be quite impressive.

Taking The
NSA Out Of The
Equation
Due to the revelation by whistleblower Edward Snowden,
the world now knows a lot more regarding the National
Security Agency’s snooping endeavours. So to stop them
from getting into our personal and confidential data, IT
experts and the industry are now banding together and to
find a solution that will set the web free from the prying
eyes of the NSA.

128 march 14 chip malaysia