Game on Slots of fun YOUR FRIENDLY GUIDE TO PCS + GADGETS + THE WEB WINDOWS 8

Transcription

1 100only! PROJECTS Keep data in harmony Scratch and riff Game on Slots of fun REVIEWS HTC One May 2013 Vol.8 Issu e 5 YOUR FRIENDLY GUIDE TO PCS + GADGETS + THE WEB WINDOWS 8 RESTORE ITS LOST FEATURES AND FIX THE FLAWS Get the start button back Shut down quickly Make work, Play DVDs and more PUBLISHING LENOVO P770

2 CONTENTS WELCOME TO COMPUTERACTIVE From the Editor Most new computers ship with Windows 8. Though gaining acceptance, most people still have a bugbear about the so called flaws in the operating system. We explain how these can be fixed. In other projects we talk about how computer programming is easier than you think as well as how Microsoft is reinventing gaming in Windows 8. We are sure you will enjoy this issue. Amit Tewari, Editor a.tewari@nextgenpublishing.net INSIDE THIS ISSUE NEWS & VIEWS 12 Letters Tablet productivity 16 News round-up iball launches MJ-D9 2.1 multimedia speakers PROJECTS WORKSHOPS 56 Send s from an Android phone 58 STORE AND SHARE YOUR ONLINE BOOKMARKS REVIEWS 61 Switch to full-screen editing in Microsoft Word 24 NHTC Windows Phone 8X 62 Make animated online maps 25 HTC ONE 26 escan Internet security with cloud support 26 Lenovo P McAfee Anti Theft Technology 66 Try the Android operating system on a PC 68 Fix your finances 69 Hints & Tips 28 Portronics Pebble Bluetooth speaker 30 ASUS Transformer Pad TF300TG 72 Game FEATURES 32 Make Windows 8 great Windows 8 is a good operating system, once its flaws are fixed. We explain how PROJECTS FEATURES 50 Game on Microsoft has reinvented gaming in Windows 8 52 Cut the ribbon The ribbon is now a key part of many Microsoft programs. Find out how to use it with our Back to Basics guide 74 No Problem Tips for your Android devi ce Do more with your Android smartphone or tablet with our eight secrets 40 Keep data in harmony Access the same , calendar, contacts and photos on any computer, smartphone or tablet simply and free 44 Scratch and riff Computer programming is easier than you think. Get coding with your kids 4 Computer active May 2013

3 WINDOWS 8 FIX ITS FLAWS Make Windows 8 great Windows 8 is a good operating system, once its flaws are fixed. We explain how COMPUTERACTIVE WINDOWS 8 APP Our video guides show you how to master the Windows 8 operating system Got Windows 8? Get the app: Got Windows 7 or earlier? Visit: KEY POINTS Some favourite features have been removed from Windows 8 Others features remain, but are hard to find Windows 8 can t play DVDs or synchronise with some accounts Most of the problems are resolved easily Free software is required to fix some problems Windows 8 hasn t been out long, but already it s a bit like Marmite you either love or hate it. But even the most ardent fan will admit that Microsoft s newest operating system has some very annoying aspects. Where has the Start button gone, for example? Why doesn t work? How do you turn off the PC? In this article we ll answer these and many other questions about Windows 8 s foibles, in the hope that once they re fixed you will be free to enjoy the good bits. Start here So where to start? That s the problem faced by many people when they first encounter Windows 8, because Microsoft has retired the Start button a familiar sight since the days of Windows 95. Instead, users are now greeted by the colourful but slightly baffling Start screen, comprised of numerous animated tiles. A dedicated tile launches the old-style Windows Desktop, complete with the Taskbar but still minus the Start button. Although it is easy to launch an old-style program (just type its name from the Start screen or right-click near the bottom of the screen and choose All apps), many users miss the old Start menu. Luckily it is easy to fix. Classic Shell restores all the missing bits, and even allows new-style apps to be launched from a Windows 7-style Start menu it s a free download from When Classic Shell s installation options screen appears, we recommend clicking the Classic Explorer and Classic IE9 options and choosing Entire feature will be unavailable (these features are designed for older versions of Windows). Once installed, a new Start button appears on the Taskbar, along with a Windows 7-style Start menu. To change the look of this, rightclick the button and choose Settings. Classic Shell also bypasses the new-style Start screen to display the old-style Windows Desktop immediately when Windows launches. It can also be used to disable all or some of the 32 Computer active May 2013

4 ALL-NEW SECRETS ANDROID Tips for your Android devi ce Do more with your Android smartphone or tablet with our eight secrets Hundreds of millions of people now carry smartphones and tablets that run Google s Android operating system. Clearly, Android is popular but with countless adaptations and endless updates, keeping up with developments is nigh on impossible. The latest versions, Android 4 (sometimes called Ice Cream Sandwich), 4.1 and 4.2 (Jelly Bean), have some great features that many users may not even know exist. So here are eight of our favourite Android secrets to help you get more from your smartphone or tablet. Note that as some manufacturers change how Android looks and operates, some tips may work slightly differently on your device. Find forgotten apps Crippled by indecision? If you uninstalled an app and but later decide you would like it back, there is an easy way to do it. This is especially useful if you can t remember exactly what the app was called. Open the Play Store on your device and tap the downwards arrow pointing at a line (next to the Search symbol in the top right corner). This will display a list of installed apps. Now tap All to view installed apps alongside a list of anything ever installed on your device. Tap on the app you want to reinstall and then tap Install. letter to the next until the word is typed. With a bit of practice, typing with swipes can become very fast and intuitive. If your device doesn t have or can t be updated to Android 4.2, then download the free Touchpal Keyboard app from it does much the same thing. Gesture control for Chrome Using Android s default web browser, Google Chrome, can be made all the more speedy with some handy touchscreen gestures. The most useful gesture is for switching tabs: with more than one tab open, swipe from the far left or far right of the screen to switch between them. On Android smartphones, tapping on the numbered tabs button next to the address bar displays all open tabs, in a deck. Tabs can be pulled up and down while a swipe to the left or right will close the tab. Close apps properly Android tablets and smartphones can slow down if many apps are open at the same time. Quitting an app by hitting the Home button doesn t actually close it, meaning it may still be hogging the device s resources. The advantage of this is that apps open up again where you left them but if you ve finished using the app, then tap the Recents button (it looks one rectangle on top of another, and it s next to the Home button). This will display all currently open apps. To close an app properly simply swipe it off the screen to the left or right. Type with a swipe Some people struggle to type on touchscreen devices, especially on smartphones with smaller displays. To help out, Android 4.2 has introduced a feature called Gesture Typing. To try it out open an app that accepts typed input, such as , and swipe around the keyboard to type words. Don t lift your finger from the screen just move smoothly from one With a bit of practice the gesture input method is a very quick way to type texts and s Gesture controls can make browsing in Google Chrome a much smoother experience 38 Computer active May 2013

5 SYNCING STAY UP TO DATE ON MULTIPLE COMPUTERS Keep data in harmony Access the same , calendar, contacts and photos on any computer, smartphone or tablet simply and free KEY POINTS Many providers allow syncing through a technology called Imap Use a free Google account to keep , contacts, calendars synced between devices from any manufacturer Bookmarks, photos and more can also be synchronised Apple users can use icloud to keep things synchronised The lines between computers, smartphones and tablets continue to blur. We increasingly use these devices interchangeably for ing, web browsing, as a diary and more. However, with all this nifty functionality comes a problem keeping everything synchronised between various devices can be tricky. In this article, we re going to explain how to keep , contacts, calendars, browser bookmarks, photos and more in sync between a smartphone, tablet and desktop computer even if they don t all run the same operating system or come from the same manufacturer. How syncing works Synchronisation simply means being able to access the same stuff, more or less, on any device. So, you can view the same inbox, calendar and contacts list on your smartphone, tablet or desktop PC or Mac. While synchronisation isn t new, the internet has made it easier because of the ability to store a master copy of this information online. So, when you make a change to the information on one device, such as deleting an or adding a calendar appointment, this is then reflected in the online master copy. Access the information from another device later and the deleted message will no longer be there, or the new calendar event will appear. If storing personal information online concerns you, be reassured that the services that do this typically protect personal data by encrypting it, as well as requiring a password for access. Synchronisation services generally offer limited storage Apple s icloud service makes it easy to sync iphones, ipad, Macs and even Windows PCs 40 Computer active May 2013

6 PROGRAMMING LEARN TO CODE Scratch and riff Computer programming is easier than you think. Get coding with your kids KEY POINTS Scratch is a free programming language, developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Scratch is designed to encourage children to create games and interactive stories Programs can be shared and run online on the Scratch website Learn how to create a working game in just 15 minutes Scratch runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and even the Raspberry Pi Scratch can be downloaded free from the Computeractive website The little Raspberry Pi computer has led to a resurgence of interest in the more technical aspects of computing, including programming. However, the challenge with many programming languages is that they don t offer the quick gratification needed to keep novices interested. But a free tool called Scratch takes a different approach one that offers an engaging experience from the start. Programs are created simply by dragging and dropping elements around on screen. A complete novice can create a working program quickly, and projects can be shared with other users on the Scratch website. So, to learn how to program a game in just 15 minutes, read on. Getting hold of Scratch To download Scratch, visit active.co.uk/ , click the red Download now button and then follow the prompts to finish the download. Now double-click the download file (called ScratchInstaller1.4.exe or similar) and work through the installation wizard. At the last screen, leave the Start Scratch box ticked and click Finish. The Scratch program window will appear, ready to use. However, we d suggest pausing for a moment to visit the Scratch website and sign up for an account. This is free, and will allow you to share your work with other people. Visit and click the Signup link at the top of the web page. Fill in the registration form and the blue sign up button at the bottom. Your Scratch profile page will appear we ll return here later. Share your coding projects on the Scratch site Understanding the interface Flip back to the Scratch program window. There are several panes; the window in the top-right corner, with the picture of a cat, is the stage and this is where the results of the program will appear. It also controls the starting and stopping of programs, with the green flag and red dot respectively. Objects on the stage, such as the cat, are known as sprites ; they are listed in the pane below the stage the cat is named Sprite1. This is where you can add new sprites and change their properties. The tall pane to the left-hand side of the stage is known as the scripts area ; this is where the programming code is developed and shaped. Programming essentially involves creating a series of commands to control something sprites on the stage, in this case. A complete series of commands is known as a script. Scratch s commands are arranged into eight different categories, which can be selected by clicking one of the eight labelled buttons in the top-left corner of the Scratch program window. Scripts are created by dragging items from the commands pane into the scripts area. 44 Computer active May 2013