Publication History For : Michael Fereday
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Until we get self-charging mobile devices, a popular accessory for smartphone and tablet users will be a lightweight battery charger.
When reading a review of a mobile device, there is a good chance that one area that will engender some criticism will be that involving battery life. While advances in other areas continue at a pace, the important factor regarding the length of battery life can often be a disappointment with the result that a recharging source becomes increasingly important.
As can happen with dreams not everything is as it appears in a new addition to GSPs game catalogue as you attempt to free your family.
The Emerald Maiden Symphony of Dreams is a Hidden Object Adventure game available in Collector’s Edition format on Avanquest’s GSP game label. As usual with Collector’s Edition format, this game comes with a number of bonus items, some of which are available immediately while others require a certain degree of progress to have been made before they can be accessed.
This is one of those Big Red Bus moments when no sooner do I finish looking at a product when something covering a familiar area arrives. In this case the subject matter concerns charging multiple devices simultaneously from a single source.
Just how many mobile devices do you own? I am almost embarrassed to answer my own question with the number of devices that I have collected over the last few years. Each of my devices requires regular access to a power source for recharging which does put a strain on the available sockets at my disposal. While mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, etc.
We often use labels to identify items for our personal benefit and that of others. These labels can be tags which we add to digital data or physical markers such as name badges. This next product offers the means to give those physical labels a professional appearance.
Unlike the other Brother label printers that I have looked at over the years, this next model immediately stands out due to the fact that it arrives with its own carry case. This is the Brother P-touch D450VP product. Possible to justify the presence of its business-like carry case that reminds me of an old portable typewriter, this product is described as being a “professional PC labelling machine”.
This next product has certainly taken its time in getting to me. I hasten to point out that the extended delay was not down to the developers of the product but the inability of the courier service to do its job and deliver the product. I should point out that this company was not the one to go into receivership recently.
No doubt you will long ago have accepted that your mobile devices regularly require recharging. As your family of devices grow you will quickly find that these devices have a habit of requiring the recharging service at the same time. At times I am convinced that my smartphone waits until my tablet or wireless headphones need recharging before announcing that it also needs immediate access to an available power source.
Can you help rescue Pennys father and locate the hidden Relics of Fate in this Hidden Object Adventure game?
Belonging to the Hidden Object Adventure genre, Relics of Fate is a Penny Macey Mystery which is now available on the Avanquest GSP game label. In this game you take on the role of Penny Macey, the daughter of Newtown’s local PI Jack Macey. While investigating a series of robberies, Jack Macey is kidnapped, leaving Penny to continue the investigation and rescue her father.
While various mobile devices allow us to listen to music, sometimes the quality lacks a little in volume and certain functionality. Lindy believes this next product can help in such circumstances.
Back in the day when personal computers were just beginning to take a firm hold on our everyday lives, you could guarantee that a new piece of equipment, whether of the software or hardware variety would come with its own extensive User Manual in printed format. This would provide a reference guide as to what was possible and how to achieve various aims when using the particular kit. While not always perfect, the User Manual was a useful fall-back option.
When the local inhabitants come into conflict with nature, who do they send for but you. Can you help restore peace and harmony to Dire Grove?
With its elongated title of Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove, Sacred Grove Collector’s Edition, this next game has a touch of de ja vu especially for those who enjoyed the challenge of an earlier visit to this Dire Grove inhospitable environment seeped in Celtic legends.
Like skimming stones on water, Wi-Fi Range Extender technology can expand the reach of your local Wi-Fi network.
While ideal for open plan environments, Wi-Fi technology can struggle when faced with structural layouts found in many homes. Walls and other obstructions can create dead spots within a local home Wi-Fi network structure. Offering to help with this type of situation is a product such as the TL-WA860RE. This particular offering is a 300Mbps Wi-Fi Range Extender with AC Passthrough functionality from TP-Link.
Providing a break from actual game playing, the next two offerings contain a pictorial reference to a time when death was but an assassins blade away.
Throughout time conflicts have arisen between specific groups for reasons often shrouded in mystery. Take for instance the conflict between the Brotherhood of Assassins and the Knights of the Templars which forms the basis for a series of Assassin’s Creed titles that currently consists of more than eight main games and a number of support material offerings available for the main gaming platforms.
While a convenient method for storing and transferring data between computers situated in different locations, a USB flash drive could be at risk from issues of security. Small and compact with various storage capacities, USB flash drives could easily be misplaced or attract the unwanted attention of those looking to gain unauthorised access to your data. One method to avoid the possibility of unauthorised access would be to use some form of encryption. Developed by iStorage, the datAshur Personal USB flash drive has its own approach to delivering data encryption.
In the past I have checked out a number of iStorage products. These have been external hard drives featuring a front mounted numeric keypad for entering a personal PIN number in order to gain access to the data stored on the drive. Now iStorage has adapted this PIN number technology for use with a USB flash drive that goes by the name of datAshur Personal.
Police work often involves following a set routine and this next game certainly lives up to this theory.
Available from Ebuyer.com listed at £169.98 is the Officejet Pro 8620. This product is a HP All-in-One device offering print, scan, copy and fax capabilities along with an ADF (Automatic Document Feed) facility and a Duplex print module powered by a 600MHz processor with 128MB of memory. When linking the Officejet Pro to a computer system, you have a choice of wired, wireless or USB connectivity.
Decked out in a combination of lacquered black and charcoal grey, the Officejet Pro 8620 has a sturdy appearance. With dimensions of 499.3 x 468 x 314mm (including the Duplex module), this device follows the standard layout pattern adopted by such devices. Forming the base of the unit is the paper input/output module which feeds the inkjet printer that makes use of four inkjet cartridges (black, cyan, magenta and yellow).
Who could have imagined that Ridley Scotts 1979 film, with its never-to-be-forgotten scene of a ravenous alien emerging from John Hurts stomach, would be the instigator for a massive industry of follow up films, games and other creative offerings. Not me for one.
Some 35 years later, there have been numerous films and computer games based on the Alien franchise. Now we have a coffee-table book taking as its inspiration the latest computer game entitled ALIENS: ISOLATION™ that continues the Ripley theme through Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda, taking a central role. Published by Titan Books, this hardback offering is entitled The Art of Alien Isolation.
May the Phorce Be With You
Published in Misc
on
20 Jan 2015
Arriving from the Netherlands is a means of transporting and powering devices when on your travels.
Phorce, a company based in the Netherlands and the creator of the world’s first interactive smart bag, has followed up its original offering with its second generation product. This is the Phorce Freedom, a bag designed for everyday use with the capability to power various devices when on the move. Like the Transformers, stars of the silvery screen and toy resellers’ shelves, the Phorce Freedom has shape-shifting capabilities.
Instead of music while you work (more relevant to older readers), this next product lets you have music while you shower or have a bath.
Splish, splash, I was taking a bath – actually it was a shower but that would not fit in with the rhyme – with the musical accompaniment being provided by a small device developed by Sandberg. The device in question is a Shower Bluetooth Speaker with built-in microphone. As you might suppose from its title, this product has been designed for use in the bathroom.
It is relatively straightforward to stream and share your media content over various devices when you have access to your home wireless network but away from this environment matters may not be so cut and dried.
The PNY Wireless Media Reader is a product that offers to provide a solution to sharing and streaming media content between devices when you are away from your home network environment. It does this by setting up its own Wi-Fi network to which mobile devices can log into and receive content that is stored on USB flash sticks and / or SD memory cards. The main unit of this product is a black box, slightly smaller than a pack of playing cards, with dimensions of 95 x 66 x 13mm (W x D x H).
Adding to the Dark Parables series of games is an offering with mermaids and a tide that destroys everything in its path,
Available from Big Fish Games in Collector’s Edition format, Dark Parables The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide is a Hidden Object Adventure game. As usual with a Collector’s Edition title, this game features a number of bonus items. Some of these items, such as Picture, Music and the Strategy Guide, are available immediately while others require you to make progress or even complete the main game before you can gain access.
Working from home, I regularly find myself having to put up with unwanted calls from companies wanting to provide a so-called service I do not want or have asked for. Maybe this next product could help.
A fairly recent modern phenomenon concerns the numerous cold calls we have to put up with from companies who have so little concern for the general public and think we have nothing better to do than listening to their marketing spiel. There are also those calls asking for our opinions so that the data can be sold on to others or claiming we have been involved in an accident.
Whatever the type of threat, it is up to you to ensure your computer is protected with a product such as developed by BullGuard.
While maybe not the first name that springs to mind when the topic turns to Internet security and anti-virus protection, BullGuard has been around since 2002 and has built up a well-respected reputation. The company’s latest product entitled, not surprisingly, BullGuard Internet Security is available for £49.95 covering three PCs either as a download or a boxed product from various retailers.
They say small is beautiful, and in the form of a microSD card, it can also contain enough entertainment to keep me happy.
The phone in your pocket (with appropriate apologies for the original saying) has tended to grow in both power and functionality with each new version. However there is one aspect of your mobile friend that is sometimes neglected. That area is the one of storage capacity. Often manufacturers believe that by offering devices with a MicroSD card slot, the needs of their customers will be satisfied and this approach will allow them to keep their costs down.
The Empress of the Deep returns for the third instalment of this Hidden Object Adventure game as twin sisters take on the faces of good and evil.
Legacy of the Phoenix is the third title in the Empress of the Deep series featuring the on-going conflict between Anna and her evil twin sister Pandora. This Hidden Object Adventure game is now available on the Avanquest GSP label in Collector’s Edition format. As usual with Collector’s Edition titles, there are some bonus items which can be unlocked as you progress through the game plus a Strategy Guide that is available immediately.
Now firmly entrenched as part of the Corel family of products, the latest version of WinZip is now available.
Starting out as a product whose sole aim was to compress data that could fit on the floppy disks measured in kilobytes and hard disks in megabytes, WinZip has developed into a software product that adds encryption, conversion and file management, both local and Cloud based, to its original concept. Thinking back I could easily store the original WinZip software on a 180KB floppy disk and still have room for other files.
Unlike the TARDIS, this next product projects time rather than travels through it,
Generally, but not always, I tend to use the term “multifunction” in regards to devices that provide print, copy and scan functionality. However this is not one of those occasions. The subject of this review, while offering various features, can not print, copy or scan. Instead this is a timepiece with alarm and indoor / outdoor temperature readings plus the ability to project the current time on to an appropriate surface such as a ceiling or wall.
With four main components and plenty of free add-ons, this next title will certainly take over a sizeable chunk of your hard disk.
What do you call a combination of PowerDirector 13, ColorDirector 3, AudioDirector 5 and PhotoDirector 6 plus shed loads of graphical add-ons? There is a clue in the constant element making up the various titles. The answer is Director Suite 3 from CyberLink. This product arrives with the claim of being the most complete video and Photo editing solution for creative experts and maybe those of us who are not quite as skilful.
Put your investigation powers to the test as you solve a mystery that it seeped in magic.
Originally released as part of the Alawar catalogue of game titles, Panopticon Path of Reflections is now available from the Avanquest GSP label. This is a Hidden Object Adventure game. In this game you take on the role of Senior Inspector John Perry who has been set the task of investigating the mysterious disappearance of the stage magician Andy Fox and his assistant during a performance.
If your plates of meat are giving cause for concern then maybe this next product can be of assistance.
An often neglected part of the body is the foot. Yet this pair of body parts has a vital role to play in most aspects of modern day living as we sometimes discover when their develop problems. Offering to help provide a degree of relief to overworked and tired feet is the Deluxe Shiatsu Full Foot Massager from HoMedics. As well as providing a deep kneading massage to the feet, this piece of kit also has a relaxing Heat feature for an extra soothing experience.
While the battery capacities of mobile devices are increasing, it never seems to be enough even for moderate users.
Over the last few years we have become more reliant on and, in some cases, emotionally attached to our personal mobile devices. As a result the need for an easily accessible power source has increased in important. Not surprisingly this need has been noted by manufacturers who have not been slow in developing solutions that can fulfil the role of a portable power source to recharge our power-hungry devices.
Keeping a check on your blood pressure could provide an early warning of any health issues. This next product could help.
Activity trackers, with their ability to measure different aspects of your everyday life, are currently all the rage. Several of these devices, as part of their functionality, offer to provide a blood pressure measurement. However the data that is produced by these devices is based on a single reading rather than the Systolic and Diastolic measurements that are required to give a blood pressure reading.
When stage magicians meet in competition you can expect magic to be in the air along with some trickery.
Hoyle Illusions is a Hidden Object Adventure game set in the early 1900s. The game takes place in New York City as the top two magicians of the period, Johannes the Great and Merlin the Amazing, plan to face each other in a contest to decide once and for all who is the top illusionist. But this is just the subplot as you take on the dual roles of Peter and Sophie who work as assistants to Johanne the Great.
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