The Knowledge...
If you’rea seriousprofessionalwhorelieson
a computerforcreativepursuits(andif you
alsohavea spare£3,830layingaroundto
investinnewcomputerhardware)Acer
reckonsit hasyoucoveredwithitsConceptD
9.It’shalf-laptop,half-fullyadjustable
drawingsurface,andallpower,withthe
latestCorei9processorandNvidia’stop-end
RTX 2080 graphicsproppinguptheinsides.
That’squitetheconcept– thoughwedon’t
knowwhenit’llbeformallyreleased.
Keep in touch without
leaving your PC
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K
eepingupwitheverybodyisn’t
easy.Everyfriendseemstohave
theirownpreferredmethodof
writtencommunication,beit
textmessage,email,oroneofany
numberofchatapps.Youmighthave
fourorfiveonthego,onefriendon
FacebookMessenger,a familykeeping
intouchona WhatsAppgroupchat,and
soon.Whilewecan’thelpyouconvince
yourfriendstostandardise– let’sfaceit,
that’softena lost
cause– it’sworth
knowingjusthow
easyit is tokeep
tabsonallthese
differentsystems.
WHATSAPPANDMORE
Somearestraightforward.Loginto
FacebookonyourPC,andyou’llbeable
toaccessthewebequivalentofthe
FacebookMessengerphoneapp.
Google’sHangoutsis apparentlyoneof
thefirm’slatestpropertiestosufferthe
axe,butif yourfriendsuseit totalkyou
can(fornow)findit bothintheGmail
sidebarandathangouts.google.com.
Emailis,well,prettyobvious.
ButdidyouknowthatWhatsApp,
traditionallymobile-basedandtiedto
yourphonenumber,hasa webversion
accessibleatweb.whatsapp.com? Even
textmessagingcanbebroughttoyour
PCif youlinkyourphonetoWindows
10’sPhoneCompanionapp.One
problemareais Instagram;youcanview
it throughanywebbrowser,butposting
requiresawkward
workaroundsor
spendingsome
£2.50permonth
onDeskgram
(deskgram.net).
If youwanttoconsolidateeverything,
we’drecommendFranz(meetfranz.
com). It’sa chatappthatseamlessly
supportsa hugeselectionofdifferent
services,andonceyou’vesetit upyou
canbringallofyouraccountsto
whateverPCyouhappentobeusing.
It won’tletSkypeuserstalkto
WhatsAppusers,butit’llhelpyou
stayconnectedtothemall.Forget your phone – however your friends
and family want to chat, you can do it online
Xbox One S
All-DigitalWhat’s the difference?
Look at that picture. What’s missing?
That’s right: it’s the small slot that would
normally run horizontally along the centre
and graciously accept a game disc. In this
new cheaper edition of the Xbox One S,
Microsoft has done away with the optical
drive, meaning that this version will only
be able to run games and apps
downloaded from the web.That’s awful!
But is it, really? Think about it: when was
the last time you saw, say, a laptop with a
DVD drive? They’re increasingly rare, and
this is just another step along the road.
The world is moving towards digital
distribution of just about everything,
from software to movies. And, of course,
there’s an ulterior motive for Microsoft.Such as?
Such as squashing that pesky pre-owned
market, for a start: by selling games
entirely digitally, publishers can control
prices, and ensure that discs don’t get
passed around or resold without their
consent. That sounds a little mean, and it
is, but the games industry is an expensive
one to prop up. It also removes a space
restriction, enabling newer games to
grow beyond the confines of a single disc.So that’s it? No more discs?
Not so fast. Specifications are trickling
out for the Sony’s PS4 successor, and it
apparently still carries a disc drive, perhaps
as part of a backwards compatibility
system which will enable it to play older
disc-based games. And the Xbox One S
All-Digital is only one model in the Xbox
line – for now, it’s an option, but we don’t
know what will happen when the
successor to the Xbox arrives.So my discs are safe?
Indeed they are. And if you’re frustrated by
a laptop which doesn’t have a drive, you
can pick up a USB-powered DVD writer for
as little as £20. DVD and Blu-Ray are going
nowhere any time soon.DRAWN TO LIFE Whichever angle suits your hand,
you can adjust the screen to fit your artistic style.COOL AND CALM Acer’s 3D cooling system should
ensure even the high-end internals stay frosty.HIGH POINT The screen sits on Acer’s Ezel hinge,
and can be moved wherever it makes most sense.
CONCEPTUAL $FHUUHGH¾QHVWKHODSWRS
It’s easy to keep tabs
on a wide range of
different chat systems
Image credits: Acer, MicrosoftDiscover
Keep in touch on your PC
June 2019 | |^7