Compubuzz

If you’ve managed to come this far without hearing about Skyrim, it’s a bit of a miracle. Even non-gamers have been exposed to huge amounts of hype and anticipation about the game itself: the live-action trailer has been showing on TV and in cinemas, whilst the proliferation of social networking has seen Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and co. inundated with related news and updates. After a great deal of build-up, Skyrim was released on November 11^th and instantly dominated each and every video game blog, website, and magazine within a day. For every one, rare report of glitches or bugs there were ten reviews that raved of its success. To date, Skyrim has earned more than 50 perfect rating reviews from some of the world’s top names in game appraisal. Gamespot named it their game of the year, Wired their number one game of 2011. G4TV named it “one of the greatest games ever made”, Eurogamer called it a “masterpiece”. There have been hundreds of in-depth reviews and analyses of the game itself, but for those who just want a basic understanding of what’s making gamers tick, let’s have a quick delve into what the fuss is all about.

Entering the world of Skyrim is like landing on another planet.

Skyrim is the fifth game in the Elder Scrolls series of fantasy role-playing games, the first since 2006’s success story, Oblivion. The developer behind the series is Bethesda, who have completely revolutionised the open-world genre with titles like Elder Scrolls and the equally successful Fallout. The key lies in the incredible amount of detail this developer puts in to each virtual game world, and this, more than anything else, is what has had players raving about Skyrim, which pushes the boundaries further than ever before. There are so many places to go, people to see, and side-quests to pursue, that Skyrim will take even more of that previous commodity that all open world games demand: your time. Yet this isn’t being viewed as a negative. In the words of Games^TM magazine, you can spend hours in game without feeling like you’ve wasted a second. The expansive environment feels like a world of limitless possibilities. On release, when Jason Schreir of Wired asked director Todd Howard if there was one element of Skyrim that he thought the team had gotten spot on, his answer was exceedingly simple – “the world”.

And what a world it is. Skyrim is a Viking-esque land of warriors and dragons – a world where you can become any character you can imagine, a hero or villain, a thief or assassin. Arm yourself with weapons and spells, and new to the series with Skyrim, “shouts” spoken in dragon tongue. Your character, as the last known remaining Dragonborn, has a unique talent for these magical powers which you can learn from reading runes on walls in caves and dungeons, and then unlock with the souls of slain dragons. That’s right. Dragon slaying is definitely on the agenda. The levelling system will be familiar to those who have played earlier Elder Scrolls instalments, or most RPGs for that matter. Repeat actions, collect experience points, level up and unlock new skills. One area in which Skyrim particularly excels is that of cause and effect – every action has a consequence, whether it’s something as small as picking up an item or as large as killing an NPC or quest character. Games^TM call it a “playground”, and there’s a great deal of room for expansion, exploration, and indeed, play.

Here there be dragons!

Not that Skyrim is a perfect beast, however – after all, what is? Gamers in particular can be a particularly hard crowd to please, overtly critical of most new releases, quick to jump in and seek out any and all glitches the developer may have overlooked. With so much positive buzz beforehand, there were always going to be those desperate to tear it down. Minor bugs have been reported, but none that thoroughly affect or hinder gameplay, and all hugely outweighed by the game’s strengths. The main issue that most PC gamers have picked up on is something that console gamers see as a positive; the gamer’s user interface has been completely redesigned to suit console gameplay, but that is much less convenient for those playing on PC. However, downloadable mods could fix this problem somewhere down the line. A recent patch was also released to fix a whole host of small glitches, and this is likely to be the first in a regular series of updates, so hopefully all the bugs will eventually be totally ironed out.

So that’s Skyrim for you – get stuck in. If you have, by some chance of fate, been sitting under a rock for the past couple of months, you can also watch the live action trailer below. Happy hunting!

- Kat Humphries

Sources and further information:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – elderscrolls.com

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – review – guardian.co.uk

New Skyrim Patch 1.2 Fixes All Kinds of Stuff – pcworld.com

Review: Skyrim – techcrunch.com

Review: Boundless Skyrim Will Become Your Life – wired.com

In spite of some recent dips in popularity, The Sims still remains one of the most  successful video game franchises of all time. Since the release of the first Sims game in 2000, there have been three iterations of the main game, each with numerous expansion and stuff packs, as well as various spin offs. The series has expanded from the PC onto Mac, consoles, handhelds, mobile gaming and even a Facebook App, The Sims Social, which is currently making waves in the world of social networking. The most recent addition to The Sims 3 family was The Sims 3: Pets, which marked the fifth expansion pack for The Sims 3 on PC, the second version to become available on console, and the third time the creators of The Sims have attempted to successfully integrate animals into the game.

Every instalment of The Sims since the original has had a lot to live up to. Just two years into its release, the original Sims game had sold over 2 million copies, overtaking predecessor Myst as the best-selling PC game of all time. It was officially named thus in 2008, by Guinness, when the series featured in the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition. Simultaneously the entire franchise was named the world’s best-selling simulation series. One by one, related Sims releases have attempted to maintain this reputation, with huge success (The Sims 2) and epic failure (The Sims Online), as well as plenty of mediocre entries in between. Recent efforts such as The Sims 3: Generations and The Sims Medieval: Pirates & Nobles, both disappointing expansions, had begun to fan the flames of player dissent. However, The Sims team have pulled it back with Pets, which has generally received positive responses across the board.

The Sims 3: Pets is the fifth expansion pack released for the popular life simulation game.

As with every expansion in the series, Pets is brimming with new content. Although lacking the customary additions of new clothing and hairstyles, the animal-centric expansion more than makes up for this with its intensive levels of customisation in the new Create-a-Pet. This feature of the game parallels Create-a-Sim, and you can edit almost every aspect of the pet you create, from appearance to personality. The three kinds of “high maintenance” pet (that is, the playable kind) are cats, dogs, and horses. Although cats and dogs have both appeared in Sims expansions before, in The Sims 2: Pets and The Sims: Unleashed, this marks the first appearance of horses, and is also the first time you can take control of the pets themselves and walk in their shoes. Or hooves. Or paws. In addition to these primary pets, which require more time and attention in-game, you can also adopt low maintenance pets such as snakes, lizards, turtles, birds, and even a pet rock for those truly incompetent Sim-carers.

As with the most satisfying of the Sims expansions, Pets also introduces a whole new neighbourhood in which your Sims can interact with their four-legged friends. Apaloosa Plains has a range of ready installed families with critters created, or you can use your imagination to produce your own unique furry companion. You can then explore various new pet-related objects included bird cages, feeding bowls and pet toys, and careers such as the “Horse Handler”. Pets can take over your game if you wish, and you can focus your Sims’ lives, careers and social interactions around them, but you can still prioritise other areas of Sim life if you want to keep things varied. The great thing about Pets is that you can choose how much to incorporate the new aspects of the game into your existing Sims’ lives. If you wish you can keep some neighbourhoods completely pet-free, whilst going totally creature-crazy in Apaloosa Plains.

Let Pets liven up your Sims’ lives with individual personalities and traits.

There are more and more additions to The Sims franchise in development each year, and with numerous spin-offs such as The Sims Medieval and their subsequent expansions contributing to the series, it is one of the longest running and most expansive game lines in existence. And it shows no signing of stopping, or even of slowing down; the next expansion for The Sims 3 has now been announced and is due for release March 6^th 2012. The Sims 3: Showtime will add all the standard content we have come to expect from the games: a new town, Starlight Shores; new careers as magicians, acrobats and singers; new hairstyles and clothing; and new objects including pool tables, karaoke machines and DJ booths. But for one major reason, Showtime is possibly the most exciting Sims release to date. For the first time, players will be able to interact with one another in-game, visiting each other’s towns and Sims. Various iterations have attempted this kind of co-op mode; the console games, for example, and The Sims Social, but this is the first time that the main Sims game will have a multiplayer mode. Check out the trailer below for a sneak preview!

- Kat Humphries

Sources and further information:

The Sims 3: Pets Review – uk.pc.ign.com

Life is better with Pets – thesims3.com

The Sims (series) – wikipedia.org

The Sims 3: Pets – wikipedia.org

The Sims 3 (expansion packs) – wikipedia.org

The Sims 3: Showtime – wikipedia.org

When it comes to investing in a great SD handheld camera, users look to three main qualities. These include the ease of use, the look and of course the price of the model.

The Sony DSR-PD175P 1/3” Professional DVCAM Camcorder is a great option for camera fanatics that simply desire the best on the market. If fact Sony have described it as the best model offered at the moment!

The Sony DSR-PD175P 1/3” Professional DVCAM Camcorder uses the same chasis as the previous model, which was introduced three years ago. The current model also includes all of the originals’ advanced features, such as the all-new high performance G-lens, which works to combine a ClearVid. The camera also has an advanced Exmor image processing technology, which allows for class leading picture quality and low lighting performance.

Another great handheld camera to check out is the Panasonic HDC-SD800, This particular model offers 12 times optical zoom, 800 times digital zoom and measures 6.9 inches in LCD resolution, it’s also a very lightweight model, which makes it great for those on the move or those that need to use the camera for work projects. It is a great camera for a first handheld model, as its not too expensive!

The Panasonic SDR-S70 is another handheld camera that has received great reviews. The camera offers 70 times optical zoom, 3500 times digital zoom and offers a 2.7 inch LCD resolution display, it is again a relatively lightweight model. This is another camera that is a good option for those that don’t want to spend too much on a handheld device yet still want to capture quality. It’s weight and size also makes it a great handheld device for those that require a model to capture simple family or holiday videos.

Think carefully for a second – how much do you think that your phone, iPod or mp3 player, laptop and any other gadgets you may own are worth altogether? It’s probably quite a high sum, especially if you’re a student and a big fan of the latest technology. These days we own so many different little gadgets, from the three kinds mentioned above to hundreds of other products such as digital cameras and Kindles. We often don’t think about how much these things are worth, and how expensive they would be to replace if they were stolen, lost, or damaged.

If you have been living with your parents thus far, you probably haven’t ever really thought about insurance and what it means. Whilst you are living at home, your property is covered in your parents’ contents policy. However, once you move out into student accommodation, whether that is halls or a house or flat you have rented independently, it is up to you to provide cover for your possessions. Gadgets are probably the most valuable things you own, so you should definitely consider taking out a policy that covers them should the worst occur.

You can contact insurance providers over the phone, or more conveniently over the internet. Many companies now have comprehensive websites where you can read all about the different kinds of cover they provide. If you are a student, you can explore specialist student policies such as those offered by Endsleigh Student Cover. Student Cover by Endsleigh will help you to achieve peace of mind knowing that even if your gadgets are lost, stolen, or irreparably damaged, there is a system in place to help you replace them. This is particularly important for items like phones and laptops – where would any student be without them? Visit the Endsleigh Student Cover site for more information.

In the modern age of mobile communications technology, it is starting to seem somewhat archaic if a mobile phone has any buttons on it at all; devices such as the Apple iPhone have brought touchscreen technology firmly into the public conscious – though many people are left wondering how this impressive, convenient technology works beneath the surface…

Developers can utilise a few methods to create touchscreen displays for their mobile phones, these vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and sometimes from model to model. These different systems are known as the Resistive System, the Capacitive System and the Surface Wave System.

The resistive system makes use of a normal glass panel, which is then covered in conductive and resistive metallic layers. These two layers feature a spacer that separates them, with a scratch-proof coating being placed over the final display. When a user touches the screen, the two layers make contract at that spot, which is then deduced by the phone’s processor, with coordinates being calculated.

The capacitive system utilises a layer of charge-storing material, which is placed on a glass panel. When a user presses down on the screen, some of the charge that was stored in the charge-storing material is then transferred to the user. This slight decrease in charge in monitored by the phone’s processor, which than extrapolates the precise coordinates that have been touched.

The surface wave system makes use of ultra-sonic waves; these pass over the surface of the device’s touchscreen. These are produced by two transducers at the X and Y axis of the screen. When the screen is touched by a user, part of the wave is absorbed, which is then used to calculate coordinates by the phone’s internal processor.

You can search online today for the latest mobile phone deals and you will find that most are in relation to a touch screen phone – and at a reasonable price too!

Anti-virus software is a vital application for any one with a PC but why is it so important?

The simple answer is if you don’t want all your files deleted, your personal details stolen, your software corrupted or your computer ruined then you need anti-virus software. It is the best and most cost effective security you can get for your computer.

Viruses can attack computer systems across the world and no one operating system is immune from attack. They are transmitted in a number of ways; through emails, web pages, networks and digital media such as USB sticks, iPods – even CDs. In fact one of the first known viruses was created by a 9th grade student and was transmitted via a floppy disc. Today the threats are far more complex and can be spread globally in a matter of hours.

Viruses also take different forms and have different outcomes; some collect information while others install malicious software –which are also known as malwares or spywares onto a computer. You can get one simply by opening an email, using peer-to-peer sharing sites or loading music to your computer from a network device. Therefore, however you use your computer it is vital to have good anti-virus software installed.

Because viruses are difficult to detect, in fact many people don’t even realise they have one, and can even re-route web searches to remove software away from legitimate sites there needs to be a means of detecting them. This is where anti-virus software comes into play as they can detect a virus before it destroys your computer.

While viruses can take down whole networks it has a terrible effect on the average computer user as it can lead to the loss of all their personal data – all those precious family photos, CVs, work, music and other data can all be lost if there is a virus attack. As anti-virus software is either free or very reasonably priced it is a cheap way of ensuring that your computer stays attack free.

It may seem like a difficult task but building your own PC is actually doable and can have many benefits.

Building your own PC means that you can create a custom model that exactly matches your criteria and needs. It also makes it a lot easier to upgrade your PC in future as you will understand it much better and it may also save you a lot of money. Plus you will learn a lot about computers in the process.

It may sound simple but the first step in building a new PC is to decide exactly what you want from your new machine. It is important to take into consideration whether you want it an inexpensive model for the family, a quiet one to use in the living room as a media PC or one for gaming as these will all affect the specifications you need.

You then need to choose the type of processor you want. Here in the UK there are two to choose from the AMD based processor or the Intel based one. They each have a different range of benefits and it is worth researching the two types before committing to a processor.

To build a PC you will need at least nine components but this of course depends on your specific needs. These include: A processor and a cooler, which are often sold as a pair, a motherboard, system RAM, a video card – although if the motherboard has an integrated graphics chipset but if you want to play games you will need an independent one, a hard drive, if you have the equipment to utilise a high end audio processor the you will need a sound card, an optical drive (so a CD/DVD drive), an operating system – most computers run on windows but there will be others available to suit your needs, a power supply unit and finally a computer case.

On a practical point you will need a Phillips screwdriver to mount the components and a few extra parts may come in handy – things like zip ties, an aftermarket thermal compound, extra case fans, an aftermarket CPU cooler, an antistatic wrist strap, a modular power supply unit and 70 per cent or purer Isopropyl alcohol. You can find all the bits and pieces you need at the online store lindy.co.uk.

Once you have all your components you need to dismantle the case first so you have easy access to the whole chassis. From here you can start installing all the components starting with the power source.

You also need to prepare your motherboard by installing all its components on it before mounting it on its case. Once everything is in place you can start wiring the entire computer, the best way to do this is to start from the most out of reach cables to the most easily accessed cables. You can then tidy any errant cables with a zip tie replace the side panels and it is ready to go.

A new initiative was born in 2006, funded by the European Union. Called “Enabling Grids for E-SciencE (EGEE)”, it is essentially a computer grid with the processing power of 20,000+ CPUs over a global network connecting sites from Paris to Chicago. The combined storage capacity of this very large-scale effort is over 5 million gigabytes (GB) and is rapidly growing as more plug in. This grid is involved in testing data for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which itself produces some 15 million GB per year. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is the leader in this massive effort at global infrastructure. With it’s partner universities, CERN intends to use this global grid as a tool to solve existing important problems in the areas of science and engineering, and will partner with industry worldwide to pilot-plant the results.

This is the world of E-SciencE. Only now coming into view of the general public, the complex problems in this field are myriad and varied. Three major areas are currently being addressed: High-energy physics and Astrophysics; Medicine and Biological Sciences; and Earth Sciences. It is worthwhile to take a peek under the hood at this engine, which is after all, a machine built by the world’s best and brightest, and worthy of analysis.

In the area of High-Energy Physics and Astrophysics, E-sciencE is currently involved in LHC (the Hadron, mentioned before), MAGIC (the telescope) located in the Canaries — cosmic ray simulations never looked so good, and ANTARES, a complex neutrino observatory to be built in the Mediterranean Sea, immersed at a depth of several kilometers! In Medicine and Biological Sciences, five projects were on the docket in 2006 ranging from the analysis of chemical compounds to discover new drugs against disease to a 3D magnetic resonance imager. Earth Science projects ranged from looking at physical processes on groundwater flow to analysis of satellite profiling data and imagery on ozone research and oil spill detection.

Because of E-SciencE, new technological advancements in the area of computers have been forthcoming. All major vendors now offer hardware and software that can hook servers and PCs into a grid. They are not quite there in terms of numbers, but are making steady progress in building smaller grids. Grid technology itself is undergoing growing pains, alternatives to the Web for example, are emerging. Major projects still need public funding and common standards. The academic community has the lead, and tracking this fascinating field will provide information for years to come.

Technology in the 21st century has its own brand of difficulty. Progression of technology in general has led us to the following hot areas, where tremendous growth both in research and development has led to new products and more research, offering great opportunity for the talented student and graduate alike. Salary ranges in these fields vary, but all pay well. These areas are where new theories, ideas, products and services will come from as the 21st century progresses.

A field that has taken off by leaps and bounds in the 21st century is Electrical and Computer Engineering. Universities and Colleges all over the world are advertising for positions in the areas of Microelectronics, Computer Engineering, and Communication Systems. New technology demands it, and the search for bright and enterprising students, and qualified faculty, is an ongoing challenge.

Microelectronics has some great topical areas for study. Included in this field are analog and mixed signal very large-scale integration (VLSI) — including mixed signal integrated circuit design, as well as building systems on a chip (SOC) — we are entering, in fact, the SOC integrated circuits era, and new languages must be built to communicate with these devices. Design synthesis and verification, and power electronics are also important areas. Computer Engineering includes such subjects as software engineering, embedded systems, hardware, VSLI design and hardware description languages (HDL) modeling, and computer architecture. Communication systems is a huge field and covers mobile and wireless communication, security, and information theory. Topics such as Configurable Embedded Systems design and networking figure heavily here.

Computer Engineering also crosses disciplines, into areas such as Biomedical Engineering. Offshoots, like working with biomaterials, biosensing, and biomechanics, offer great career opportunities for those interested in cross-disciplinary studies. The entire field of medicine is going to be rewritten at the intersection of engineering and neuroscience, for example. Such fields as Computational Biology, Bioengineering, and Nanoscale System Research and Development offer broadsweeping technological changes impacting areas from noninvasive scanning to full-scale understanding of how neural circuitry really works in diverse species. The implications for technological advancement are staggering.

All in all, the future will look very different than the present due to these new technologies. More and more product will filter from the lab to the tabletop in the coming decades, being generated from the minds of the people working in these areas. The latter half of this new century will look very different from the former!