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Santa brought you a 4th generation Apple TV? Here's what to do first

Publié: décembre 25, 2015, 7:18pm CET par Brian Fagioli
As far as I'm concerned, Apple won 2015 -- feel free to disagree. According to yours truly, the privacy-focused company holds the crowns for best smartphone (iPhone 6s Plus), best tablets (iPad mini 4, Air 2, Pro), best smartwatch (Apple Watch) and, of course, the best streaming media box of the year. Yes, I am talking about the amazing 4th gen Apple TV.

Did Santa bring you one for Christmas this year? Well, you must have been good, because it is a wonderful steaming media box. Actually, it is much more than that; it is also an incredible gaming console -- the Siri remote doubles as a passable gamepad. Ready to use the Apple TV? Here is what you need to do first.

First things first, you need to unbox it. As always, Apple has done a phenomenal job of presentation. If you want to see what is involved, you can check out my unboxing video below.

Now that it is unboxed, you will need to set it up. There is no HDMI cable in the box, so you will have to use one of the other such cables you have lying around. Don't have one? A quality cable can be had at Amazon for under $10 -- don't overpay at a local brick and mortar seller unless absolutely necessary.

Once connected, Apple has created a brilliant process for those with iOS devices. Rather than go through the tedious process of finding your Wi-Fi network and typing in the password with the remote, you simply hold your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch near it. The Apple TV will connect to your device, which will ask you for permission. By granting access, the Apple TV will then pull in the appropriate network settings and you are off to the races.

Congratulations, you are ready to use the Apple TV! Much like any other streaming box or game console, it is useless without content. You will want to enter in your credentials for your favorite video services like Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, HBO GO and more. Once done, you can begin watching tons of content in beautiful 1080p.

Video aside, you can also enjoy music using Apple TV. You can listen to the awesome Apple Music streaming service (now featuring the Beatles) through your television's speakers, or connect through a receiver or soundbar. Ideally, you will want to connect the Apple TV to your television with HDMI, and then connect an optical cable from the display to your external audio player. For casual listening, however, your television speakers may be OK.

Next up, you will want to explore the App Store. Just like on other iOS devices (tvOS is a variant of iOS), you can download awesome apps and games to improve the experience. Some are free, and some are paid. What's particularly cool, however, is that some software is universal, meaning you pay for it once and it is available on all your iOS devices. Heck, you may already own some paid Apple TV content and not realize it.

Here are some of the apps and games that I recommend.

Games
- Rayman Adventures
- Asphalt 8
- Crossy Road
- Oceanhorn
- Bean Dreams
- Mr. Crab
Apps
- Periscope
- Speedtest
- MLB.TV
- QVC
Now that you have downloaded some apps and games, plus connected your favorite streaming media services, you are ready to go, right? Well, almost. Don't forget, this is an Apple product, so you will want to buy accessories too! While none of these are required, I suggest them to enhance the experience.

Steelseries Nimbus Wireless Controller $50. The included Siri Remote is great for navigating menus and playing casual games. Unfortunately, it is not ideal for more in-depth games (although it can be used for them). Luckily, Apple TV has baked-in gamepad support. There are plenty of options, but I recommend the Steelseries Nimbus. Not only is it well-built and comfortable, but it charges using Apple's lightning cable too. In other words, it can be charged using the same charger as your iPhone or iPad -- very cool.

Apple Remote Loop $13. Many people claim that this accessory is overpriced for what it is. At $13, maybe it is. With that said, protecting your Siri Remote from flying out of your hand and hitting something else is a must. Heck, if you have kids, this could prevent an injury too. Just buy it.

Griffin Survivor Play $20. While the Remote Loop protects the Siri Remore from flying out of your hand while playing games, Griffin's Survivor Play protects it just in case it does hit the floor. Much like an iPhone case, it protects the controller from falls -- I can see myself dropping it when falling asleep while watching a movie. It has the added bonus, however, of making the Siri Remote more ergonomic, meaning it is more comfortable to hold.

Did you get the Apple TV for Christmas? Tell me how you like it in the comments below.
Best Windows apps this week

Publié: décembre 25, 2015, 7:00pm CET par Martin Brinkmann
One-hundred and sixty in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.

Game of the week is the great looking fighting game Gods of Rome in which you fight as gods, demigods and mythical heroes both against the computer and other human opponents.

Other apps of note are Microsoft's Deals Hub application which lists all deals on Windows Store in a single app and King of Thieves, the new game from the creators of Cut The Rope.

As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email instead.

Discounts This Week

Red Stripe Deals are back. Up to six applications and games are discounted and highlighted in Windows Store each week.

The following is this week's selection:
1. Big Days of our Lives: Countdown Timer Digital Event Count Down Clock, for $0.99
2. Doodle Creatures HD, a puzzle game for $0.99
3. Duck Tales Remastered, a remake of the classic arcade game for $0.99
4. Lara Croft Go, a strategy game for $1.99
5. MeteoEarth, a weather application is free currently.
6. myTube, a popular YouTube application is free today, available for $0.10 on December 26th and 27th.
7. Prune, a beautiful game about trees for $2.99
8. Reading Trainer for $1.99
9. Snowboard Party 2, a snowboard game for $0.99.
10. Spelling Mix 2, a spelling game for children for $0.99
11. Wolfram Alpha, the official application for $1.49
App of the Week

Gods of Rome

Gods of Rome is a fighting game that features great looking graphics and gameplay that resembles that of classic arcade style fighting games such as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter or Dead or Alive.

While called Gods of Rome, it features gods from other ancient pantheons, for instance Zeus or Athena.

Summon and upgrade gods, monsters and heroes that you can play as, and fight gods and mythical creatures in single-player missions or by participating in PVP events to beat other human players of the game.

The fighting is basic when you compare it to classic arcade fighting games as you have three types of attacks, one special attack and one block at your disposal.

While that may sound like much, it is not really that much considering that you usually win by smashing on those buttons as fast as you can, at least in the earlier levels and against computer opponents.

That does not mean that the game is bad or anything, but it is simpler. This may appeal to some however who don't want to learn 99 different combos using 12 or so buttons and movement.

Other apps

ScummVM

An unofficial port of ScummVM which allows you to run classic adventure games if you have the data files already.

It supports the majority of LucasArts adventure such as Monkey Island, Indiana Jones or Day of the Tentacle, but also third-party adventure games from other studios. The version is based on the latest development build.

Deals Hub

This official Microsoft application lists deals that are currently available on Windows Store.

The app brings together Red Stripe Deals, as well as other deals under music, movies & TV, and apps & games.

So, instead of having to browse to various store sections to check out all the deals available, you only need to run the app to do the same.

Adidas Smart Ball

You need a miCoach Smart Ball from Adidas to use the application. It has been designed to improve your control and manipulation of footballs by providing you with instant feedback that includes information such as power, spin, strike or trajectory.

In addition to that, it offers tips and guidance to improve your skills further.

Bloons TD Battles

A new version of the popular Tower Defense game franchise in which you play against the computer or human opponents for the first time.

It works similar to previous games of the series, but instead of trying to beat levels on your own, you have to take your opponent into account now as he or she may send extra balloons your way using gold.

Cricket Live Australia

Get your Cricket fix with the app which follows domestic and international matches. It features live scores, fixtures, and stats, and also live streams for subscribers on top of that.

4Shared

The official 4Shared application for Windows lets you sign in to your account to manage files hosted by the service.

It features a search, options to filter by file type, and previews for certain file types. It is labeled as beta so keep that in mind.

King of Thieves

The new game from the makers of Cut The Rope mixes platform action with PVP multiplayer.

You try to become the wealthiest thief by stealing gold and gems, defending your loot, and competing in the worldwide leaderboard.

The game features 80 single-player missions and provides you with access to user-generated content on top of that.

Notable updates
- Bamboo Paper has a brand new look and is compatible with Windows 10.
- Perfect Tube, a YouTube application supports Vevo videos now.
- TED, the official application, has been relaunched as a universal app.
Santa brought you an Apple Watch? Here’s what to do first

Publié: décembre 25, 2015, 12:12pm CET par Wayne Williams

If you were lucky enough to receive an Apple Watch as a present this year, you’ll no doubt be keen to see what it offers, and what you can do with it.

To start you’ll need to pair it with an iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 or later. This is straightforward enough, go to Settings > Bluetooth on your phone and make sure the feature is enabled. Press and hold the side button (next to the digital crown) on your Watch to turn it on, and once you’ve selected a language, tap Start Pairing on your watch, and on your iPhone.

An animation will play on your Watch. Hold your phone over this, centering the Watch in the camera's viewfinder, until you see a message stating the Watch is paired. You can always pair it manually if things don’t work out or you don’t see the pairing animation.

On the iPhone, tap Set Up as New Apple Watch and choose which wrist you plan to wear the Watch on. Tap Agree when faced with the terms and conditions.

Sign in to your Apple account and the review the settings. Services like Siri and Location will be synced between devices.

You can set a passcode for the Apple Watch (the device automatically locks when you take it off your wrist), and then sync your iPhone apps to the Watch. Not all of the apps you have on your iPhone will be added to the watch, only the compatible ones. When you browse and buy new apps on your iPhone you’ll be able to see if there’s a Watch app included as well. The Featured section in the Watch app (on your phone) contains a good selection of apps to get you started.

You can install all apps or just sync Mail, Contacts and Messages, and choose which apps to install later on. Removing any apps you don’t want or use is easy enough and done through the Watch app on your phone.

There’s a good chance you’ll receive too many notifications on your Watch, and it will be pinging and tapping you on the wrist repeatedly, so you’ll want to adjust this which, like most things, you can do through the iPhone app. Go to Notifications section.

Once that’s finished, you’re ready to start using the Watch. If there’s an update for WatchOS available, you’ll want to install that, which (again) you can do through the Watch app on your iPhone.

Learn your way around

Once you’re up and running you can spend time getting to know Watch and learn what’s possible with it.

To wake the watch, just angle the screen towards you. If you don’t want to move your wrist to see what’s on screen, you can set it so a tap will wake things up.

The Watch’s digital crown acts as a home button, and is also used for scrolling and summoning Siri. To change the default watch face press down on the existing design, and you can choose an alternative from the selection that pops up.

You can choose which apps to have as glances (the information you require is shown "at a glance"), and these can be accessed by swiping up from the watch face screen. The first glance screen shows you that Watch is connected, and lets you toggle airplane mode, do not disturb or silent modes on or off, and also ping your iPhone-- handy if you’ve misplaced it.

Scrolling from right to left takes you to the activity monitor (which shows Move, Exercise and Stand progress), music player (control the music on your phone), heart rate monitor, battery remaining indicator (you can switch to power reserve here if the juice is too low), the calendar, stocks, maps, world clock, weather and any other glance-friendly apps you’ve installed.

A lot of things you can do with the watch can be controlled through Siri. You can use her to start a song playing on your phone, for example. While Siri can be summoned by pressing the crown, the hands free approach of just saying “Hey Siri” at the Watch works very well.

The Camera app acts as a remote snapper for taking photos with your phone, and there's a 3 second delay option to avoid you having lots of shots with your wrist in front of your face. Photos lets you view images on your watch.

If you intend you use Watch with Apple Pay, set it up through the iPhone app and then double-click the side button on the watch to call up the credit card you added, ready to use with an Apple Pay reader.

Apple Watch is a great device, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of enjoyment from it.
Santa brought you a Windows 10 PC or tablet? Here’s what to do first

Publié: décembre 25, 2015, 12:11pm CET par Wayne Williams

If you were fortunate enough to unwrap a new Windows device this Christmas the chances are it will be running Windows 10.

The new operating system has much to recommend it, as well as a few features that you might not be so keen on (the spying aspect for example). Getting Windows 10 set up exactly how you want it will -- like all versions of Windows -- take a while, but follow this guide and you’ll soon be sorted.

What's new

While Control Panel still exists in Windows 10, most of the configuration options are now found in the Settings app which you can launch from the Start menu. This has sections for Settings, Devices, Network & Internet, Personalization, Accounts, Time & Language, Ease of Access, Privacy, and Update & Security.

There’s a new Action Center which shows notifications, and common settings, and a Task View option (on the taskbar) which lets you view all of your open windows and create and manage virtual workspaces.

Microsoft's personal assistant Cortana, of course, is an integral part of Windows 10. You’ll need to enable the feature before you can start making use of its capabilities. Sign in with your Microsoft account if you haven’t already, click the option and tell Cortana what you’d like her to call you. Listen to how she says your name and if it’s not right, you can tell her and speak your name correctly into the microphone.

Type something into the search box, or click the microphone icon to ask a question. When summoned Cortana will present you with the news and weather and you can customize this by clicking the three dots to the right of each section.

To further customize Cortana's abilities, click the hamburger button at the top left. Go to Settings. This is where you can turn the assistant on or off, change your name, and enable the "Hey Cortana" feature. You can manage Search, including General Cortana & Search Settings, from here too.

Some tweaks to get you started

Entering a password every time you want to use your PC can quickly get annoying, even if you know it’s the secure and sensible thing to do. However, if you really want to you can easily automate the login and bypass the lock screen.

The Windows 10 Start menu can be customized in lots of ways, and you’ll probably want to spend some time doing this. We wrote a full guide on this which you can view here. There are also third-party apps available which you can use to customize things further.

If you’re not a fan of the Windows 10 Start menu, with its live tiles, you can always change it for an alternative Start menu. There are plenty of excellent choices.

You can tweak File Explorer so it just shows the entries you want and use. Changes you can make include removing Quick Access, and removing the OneDrive entry. If you want to completely remove OneDrive from Windows 10 that’s possible too. Windows 10’s Action Center can also be disabled if you have no use for it.

While you're at it, you may wish to make Windows UAC prompts less obtrusive.

Other tweaks to make include managing notifications, importing iTunes playlists into Groove Music, activating Windows 10's secret God Modes, and freeing up space by removing unwanted core apps. There’s a Dark Mode you can enable in the Film and TV app, and if you want to use a video as your account picture you can.

Updates are mandatory in Windows 10, but you can potentially delay and/or block them.

Customize the browser

Microsoft Edge is the default browser in Windows 10, and while it’s rather unfinished (no support for extensions being the big omission) it’s serviceable. There are a couple of things you might want to tweak about the browser including changing the default search engine from Bing to Google. If you really don’t like Bing, you can also disable it from Windows 10’s Start menu, and from Cortana.

Changing Edge’s default download folder isn’t easy, but there are a couple of ways to do this, which you’ll find here.

After you’ve used Edge for a while you might want to view and delete your browsing history, and we’ve covered how to do this previously.

Not a fan of Edge? You can make Firefox or Chrome your default browser instead.

Privacy issues

Windows 10 spies on you in myriad ways. You can stop the OS’s keylogger from monitoring what you type, ink, and say, we also have a great guide you can follow which will help you regain control of your privacy.

Keyboard shortcuts

The best way to master Windows 10 is to learn the many keyboard shortcuts that work with the new OS. While a lot of these are universal, some such as Windows key + A (Open Action Center) and Windows key + S (Open Cortana ready for typed input) are new to Windows 10.

There’s a full list of all of the important keyboard shortcuts to be found here.

Troubleshooting

Hopefully Windows 10 will work fine and without problems, but if it doesn’t Microsoft has released a set of useful troubleshooting tools, and we’ve two guides which you can use to fix the operating system’s worst problems. Take a look at part one and part two.

That should be everything you need to get started, so enjoy your new device!