Overlord: cruel never felt so good

In the picturesque Delft is a game developer with great potential. Triumph Studios is housed in a former hospital building in this game Overlord was born. Tweakers.net was present for a playable demo of the action-RPG here and a tour of the studio. Triumph Studios was already verantwoordeliijk for turn-based strategy game "Age of Wonders". This game got good reviews but was not a commercial success. The Dutch studio should not be underestimated, prove the first images of Overlord we get to see. Both the cutscenes and the ingame footage of the game impress.

Overlord preview: cutscene with the Overlord
The story of Overlord begins where other end. Seven heroes return after their victory over the dark ruler 'Overlord' home. Sorry, no happy ending for these heroes, because each of them is plagued by one of the seven deadly sins. Thus, the halfling, a sort of common version of a hobbit with ingrown toenails, plagued by gluttony. However, the player does not crawl - as expected - in the skin of these heroes, but should get started as the dark ruler who defeated backward in what was once an impressive tower. If Overlord is intended to stave off hunger. Revenge on the seven heroes Help in the quest comes from the Minions, a kind of gremlin-like creatures, who are hyperactive and laughing at the player jump around and dance. The minions are the best compared to a fake version of the Pikmins from the Gamecube game Pikmin and have to work for all kinds of jobs.

Overlord preview: bombing
When the game starts, there are only three of these Minions. In a field where some sheep grazing, a path that is blocked by a fallen pillar runs. The Minions get the pillar only too happy way, but this will be getting two congeners. Reinforcement By killing sheep that more energy is released Minions can be called. As many as fifty of these creatures follow the Overlord, they can be used to kill, pillage and intimidate. Also, they can reach places where the Overlord himself can not reach. As Pikmins funny minions come in different colors. Brown Minions are warriors, they take everything at your fingertips to use as a weapon: rolling pins and pitchforks are great and a pumpkin can be used as an excellent helmet. Green Minions with their long claws ideal assassin employable and able to surprise the enemy from the bushes. The red variant can be used to blast off. Fireball as This can not only cause damage to enemies, but also can convert all grass plains ablaze. Finally there are the Blue Minions. They can swim and cases species back to life.

Preview Overlord: Minions
Not only are there similarities with Pikmin, we also had to regularly think of Fable. The fairytale towns breathe the same atmosphere, though there is some Dutch architecture in hiding. The choice between good and evil is somewhat similar, though it is in the Overlord longer a choice between bad and uber-bad. As the character is worse, it will also be seen in his appearance. In the home, the tower resemblance to the Tower of Sauron from Lord of the Rings, the player can customize the look of his character itself and even the tower is to tweak at will. Because the dark lord has his hands full with inventing harassment against the seven heroes, but the tower is not always clean with. There is also thought by the creators of the game and nothing to prevent the Overlord to regularly drag to turn. Her to work with a woman by the hair First, the player will have to settle for a simple peasant woman, could be prettier lassies dragged to the castle tower. Later pleasure In the tower are Minions to melt great weapons. The more Minions, the better the weapon. The quality of the weapon is also affected by the type of minions being processed. On the player the choice between a large army of followers or powerful weapons.

Shadowrun: a new dimension to first person shooters

From now on the worlds of PC and Xbox 360 gamers come together. In the world of Shadowrun mouse and keyboard taking against the controller. PC gamers will actually win the console players, as is frequently called? It must be fantasy shooter remembered as the first true cross-platform game or the game offers even more like to be memorable Tweakers.net played the Xbox 360 version.

Shadowrun was originally a role such as Dungeons & Dragons and played the set in a cyberpunk-fantasy world that was inspired by the books of William Gibson. In 1993 on the Super Nintendo action-RPG "Shadowrun", which was based on this universe. Later versions appeared for the Mega Drive and Mega CD. Now comes Fasa Studio with a shooter that is according to the fans, but loosely based on the world of Shadowrun. However, the game contains elements that we know from RPGs, such as the choice of four different races and upgrade the character.

Shadowrun
* Magic and Technology

In the year 2031 there is a fierce battle raging between the industry giant RNA Corporation and Lineage, an ancient secret society. Both are out on an artifact that contains magical powers. The player must choose sides in the conflict, after which he can make a choice of four races: human, elf, troll or dwarf. Each race has its pros and cons. As a troll can through his thick skin easily catch a hail of bullets, but he is the slowest of the four. The eleven other hand, is fast but may have little. The dwarf can sip magical powers of enemies and his surroundings, and the man takes advantage of being allowed to purchase weapons or additional technology where other players are still saving immediately. Shadowrun is trying to distinguish itself from other shooters through the use of magic and technology. All races have Essence, a kind of mana . This Essence is required for the use of magic. However, the player buys more technological gadgets, they will reduce the amount of Essence. The player will have to choose.

The battle at the gamers market: Guerrillas tactics revealed

Guerrilla Games is originally an Amsterdam-based company that has become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment. The company was founded in 2000 as part of the Dutch multimedia company Lost Boys. Under the banner of Lost Boy Games worked Arjan Brussee and Arnout van der Kamp, in 2003, the game development department was acquired by Media Republic. Respectively from Orange Games and Digital Infinity, jointly, but With this acquisition relaunch as 'Guerrilla Games' was accompanied. A year later, the company announced an agreement reached with Sony for its exclusive shooter Killzone on PlayStation 2 will launch. In December 2005 Sony found that the game developer had better take over completely and so it happened.

 got the chance to fire a salvo ask the developers and the management of Guerrilla and got the answers back some time ago. As expected, there are no great revelations, but is awarded us a glimpse behind the scenes of a game developer.

* Hermen Hulst

Hermen HulstOne of the people who will answer the questions, Managing Director Hermen Hulst. He began his career as a marketing assistant at Ubi Soft, but is now almost six years in the service of Guerilla Games. He is as concerned with the financial side, marketing and outline the strategy. Hermen has mainly taken the questions regarding strategies and visions for his account, and should ensure that no information leaves the Guerilla offices that may be. Still not brought out

* Arjan Brussee

Arjan BrusseeArjan Brussee was with his company Orange Games one of the founders of the former Lost Boys. He developed along with Jazz Jackrabbit games and was appointed in 2000 as Technical Director of the development studio. Three years later he received the title of Development Director pasted and in this position he is responsible for leading projects in the right direction. Arjan is therefore the ideal candidate if you have questions about developing for the PlayStation 3 or about how a game is created, and there is to read about. More in this feature

* Michiel van der Leeuw

Michiel van der Leeuw is one of the developers at Guerilla Games and knows better than anyone how to program a console game works. He has hands-on experience with PlayStation 3 devkits and works in the team is currently hard at the code for Killzone 3 is knocking.

Eventlog: Sony Spac3, quick test with the PlayStation 3

Following the press a small group of tweakers on March 10, 2007 was given the chance to for the European release on March 23, Sony's PlayStation 3 to feel the tooth. This event log with some pictures an impression of Spac3, as this day was baptized. Of course there are pictures of some games, and the findings of a number of tweakers taken during this event.
 The event was held in a secret location, which was only made to the tweakers who had received an invitation. Known The location was - as far as we can reveal - an old factory where until last year ships were built. Crumbling stairs and dark empty spaces. The entrance does not suspect that at least on the top floor console yet to be released in Europe on our guard.


Upstairs is a shower room converted into reception and test room. Five large plasma screens, a projector and a 71 "LCD screen shine here. Strikingly, only two plasma screens and projector are turned on.

Cause: The power supply is a little less recent engineering feat. Technicians rush to the factory and within no time all the plasma screens in operation. For security, the 71 "screen remains because of the energy consumption.

The power that it left off know
To our surprise, there is already a Dutch Cow Power to be invaded to install. Clients on Playstations Unfortunately, he has had to pay for it with his life and his skin is shown as a warning to others.

Asus Transformer Book: The long-awaited tablet Zenbook

Introduction

Asus has in recent years made ​​a name with its Transformer series of Android tablets with keyboard on one side and its Zenbook-ultrabooks on the other side. This company seems to have made ​​a successful transition from its Eee PC netbooks for affordable tablets while the ever so popular high-end segment is operated with expensive ultrabooks by manufacturers. The name Asus has built provides direct opportunities to come. Crossovers with all We saw earlier in the Transformer all-in-one and now the Transformer Book.

The Transformer Book has a for technology products, long history. The launch took no less than a year ago  place , then we saw him in September at the IFA in Berlin and then one more time  at CES in Las Vegas. Now the laptop-cum-tablet finally available. We looked at whether the result outweighs the long wait.

Acer Aspire V3-772G-747a321.26TBDWakk

I have a history with this type of laptop. Already? Yeah, my first three copies were purchased at Cool Blue (good store, very good service, friendly, cooperative store staff), but they proved afterwards specimens from a bad batch they had all three problems of unexpected stroommonderbrekingen (for the whole story: AcerPower Issuel ). Bought my fourth copy at Informatique (also fine shop) and this one is not happy the problem. A comprehensive review of this laptop can be found at http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-Aspire-V3-772G- 747A321-Notebook.93916.0.html I only had three criteria for my new laptop: - Full HD minimal, because I want to see a lot of information on the screen at once - at least 16GB of RAM for running multiple VMs - much disk space as you read: speed is less important to me, but it's good to know that this thing is really fast My experiences are definitely positive, except with the mousepad. Even in the most insensitive mode is that thing not to use. I ended up tapping off and now it works fine. I use always the mouse-buttons for tapping, but if you're so used to doing this with the path you have a challenge. , the casing / housing of the laptop is not the best you can get. Does so from the beginning careful with open / close and transport. I always transport that thing in my overstuffed backpack and did so to be sure a Hama protective cloth (Hama 39887) purchased to protect against breakage by keyboard. Screen I play no games, but turn there are several VMs simultaneously and therefore the laptop zeeeer quiet and not hot and the battery keeps much longer than necessary enough for my daily train trips. , the price is quite reasonable to mention in my opinion. considering the features

Acer Aspire S7: ultrabook with high-end aspirations

Acer may not be easily associated with expensive, high-end laptops, but the company that builds indeed. In 2012, Acer Aspire S7 came with a thin ultrabook, with a layer of Gorilla Glass on the outside and inside. Market a 11 "version, the S7-191, and a 13" came variant, the S7-391.

That first generation S7 appeared to be stuck tightly together and have a good screen lightly. Minuses were there too. The battery life was disappointing, the cooling could produce some nice sound and the keys had little travel.

In 2013, the 'mandatory' update of S7 followed. Intel introduced the Haswell processor, which should mean good news for the battery life of ultrabooks. Acer could not stay behind and placed a Haswell processor in the housing of the new S7. In addition, it did not stop, the battery was increased, the keyboard was adapted and peripheral connections were changed.

Naturally, we wanted the new S7 fire seemed to lay to see if the flaws of the first generation S7 are ironed out. We borrowed from Acer is the most expensive version with Core i7 processor and 8GB of memory, and looked at whether Acer has managed to create. An even better ultrabook of S7

HP Envy 17-j120ed Leap Motion TS SE

Leap Motion.

Several months ago, this gadget came on the market, and immediately attracted my attention. Operation, based on movement of your hands, without physical contact. The images from Minority Report, where Tom Cruise serves a status board with his hands, was suddenly a lot more science and a lot less fiction. But yes, you have a controller that release is necessary for your montior. Not really useful or so. But still, for $ 80, - a nice gadget at first sight .. So when I was looking for a desktop replacement computer, and actually looked a thick notebook, suddenly pulled the HP Envy 17 j120-ed my attention: there was a Leap Motion integrated into the behuziing! That's nice! Purchasing For the rest, the laptop also fell within the stated requirements: 2.2GHz quad-core i7 processor, full HD touch screen, 16GB RAM, 1.5 TB hard drive, 4 USB 3 ports, card reader and DVD burner. Basically everything I wanted in a PC, but easy to carry. Under the arm Well, easy: all the hardware weighs 3.5 pounds together, so light is not exactly the lap PC. , the total price of nearly € 1300, - is not very low, but I saw him buying business, I VAT recover and the whole journal entry as an investment, the net still quite that bad, and I would venture, although there are few reviews on the net to find. gamble in this price range, there are alternatives, including the Dell Inspiron 17, 7000, and the Asus N750 which are all in the neighborhood in terms of specs. Nevertheless, triggered by Leap Motion HP ordered, which was one day later delivered. That's fast! Boys will be boys, the Only Thing That changes the price of the toys. That proverb went to unpack, because it's still like you unpack the new toy. First impression is positive: chic aluminum look. Nicely finished and packaged. And after pressing the power button on the welcome screen of Windows 8.1 will appear. Fill few things, configure bit and not much later he hangs in the local WiFi network, and we can see how works eea, feels, or (in the case of the Lap Motion) does not feel! Hardware The display is very nice: contrast bright, colorful, and although not measured but reflective, shows that the reflection is not disturbing in practice. With a resolution of 1920x1080 is also watching movies in full HD just fine to do, where the sharpness of the picture nothing to be desired. When surfing the net, the letters stand somewhat small, but fortunately we can now also zoom fine (with touchpad, or on the screen itself, thanks to the touch screen). Works just fine. noise is perfectly fine, with 4 speakers and two subwoofer little Beats Audio built. A headphone jack can be found incidentally on the right side. Touchscreen is getting used to. Do not know if I'm going to use. Many I feel more hear a tablet or phone. With a laptop, I use the touch pad or much prefer a wireless mouse. Anyway: it is done, and it works fine. Sweeping, click, pinch, swipe, 1 or 10 fingers perfectly fine. pity ... What is striking is that the fan can be heard doing his job, even if the laptop itself does still relatively low. Not quite disturbing, but most laptops I've had are basically silent, until they become more responsible, and it is certainly not quiet. If the laptop is going to be for some more computationally intensive tasks actually use the volume of the cooling goes up noticeably, and the sound of the fan more emphatically. keypad consists of black plastic buttons with lighting. That keyboard illumination does the otherwise well, and makes working in dark conditions possible: after all, you need to see which characters you should have no light. The key types as you might expect: light and fine. Nice that they are black, and not have the same color as the body. It is also striking is that the keyboard is not particularly rigid, and just the whole keyboard flexes typing. This is especially noticeable on the left side (say, the block around the 'D'). Doing so on the quality feel, and the price of the laptop, I would not really expect. 's casing is made ​​of plastic, while the competitors in this price range often have an aluminum casing which fits better in terms of look and feel. You could argue that a metal housing which may feel cool when your wrists rest on, but a laptop is used rarely cool, so my opinion is a shame that it is plastic. The performance of the laptop is reasonable, but not in line with what I would expect. Xampp on it, and install Joomla template building is significantly slower than I had hoped. Perhaps the pre-installed Norton anti-virus was to blame for this, but this and other jobs just are not going so smoothly. Little setback. The HP Probook (with i5 processor) of the work (at least for the feeling) faster. , no hands , then of course the reason I chose this laptop:. Leap Motion If you want to know about what Leap Motion is more how it works, and opinions about it: there is to be found on the net enough. This is because for me which is beyond the scope of this laptop review. what is covered inside, is the integration of the sensor, as well as use in conjunction with a laptop. 's Leap is built as a sensor bar, on the right side of laptop under the keyboard. Identified by two red LEDs that light up when the sensor is active. After starting Airplay (and the corresponding course included software) is a brief introduction: how does it work, what can you do, and especially as a showcase course. First impression is positive: this cute, clever, and this is so! When purchasing not only two standard apps on the Leap Motion, as well as five free apps from Leap appstore get. Unfortunately you can not choose, but these five already picked for you: a weather app, a game, an anatomy app, and Google Earth. Fortunately, there are more apps to get, including Touchless, that it should be without touching Windows to operate as possible. However, it still requires some practice, and also the height that you should have in hand relative to the display is a bit uncomfortable. With a fixed display that would not be such a problem, but because the laptop screen at the height of the table begins, and your hands should have a distance of 20 cm from the right speed sensor you'll soon suffer from tired arms. The software is nicely pre-installed, and works flawlessly. Also AirPlay, app-store Leap is fine to use. disadvantage of using the sensor is, however, that the battery has to suffer terribly here: the percentage is deteriorating. Now HP also recommends itself, the Leap can be used as the laptop to the current depends, and since it is primarily a desktop replacement for me, that's a real problem. Actually uses only 9 times out of 10 he will in fact be connected to the power supply. If you still want to work, mobile, turn off the sensor with a simple key combination. Incidentally, the food no lightweight: 120 watts is even firmly call for a laptop. Too bad that there is still a message screen appears after turning on the laptop that the power for this laptop really is not heavy enough. HP has supplied him self else ... Verdict After a week use the laptop is provisionally concluded, however, that Leap is currently not yet transcended the level of gadget and particularly special, funny or interesting, but no final place in the sequence of operating modes has conquered. The novelty is quickly, and then you actually do not use the device and grab your back (literally!) to the mouse. Regarding the laptop itself: in itself good specs, and performance is reasonable, but the wobbly keyboard and the noisy fan is a bit unfortunate. Fortunately, the good image with good viewing angles too which is good. All in all pretty happy, as I expect in this price range is actually better. Finally, after two weeks decided that this laptop and I will not build a long friendship and after contact with the store have I can send it back and got my money back. So now looking for a better solution!

Dell XPS 12: the best tablet-ultrabook so far?

It has been two years since we Inspiron Duo Dell discussed . The first iPad from Apple was already almost a year old, the netbook hype was on its peak and ultrabooks and Windows 8 was not yet. Still, even then manufacturers experimenting to combine. Features of tablets and laptops While the Inspiron Duo was one of the original versions, we found this experiment have been largely unsuccessful: as many so-called hybrids, it was not the best tablet and you could not even speak of a good laptop.

Anno 2013, much has changed but still trying to find the perfect combination. Laptop and tablet manufacturers Dell has developed an unique feature of the Inspiron Duo revived: the ability to display in the frame of the screen edge to completely collapse. The XPS 12 has properties that we only dreamed of in 2011: IPS capacitive touch screen with full HD resolution, a powerful yet economical CPU and an operating system that does touch support to a large extent. Manages the XPS 12 thus where the Inspiron Duo failed?

Apple MacBook Air 2013 13.3 "4GB 128GB (U.S. keyboard)

Introduction
The last (and first) time I purchased an Apple product was in May 2010, an iPod Touch 8GB, to take the trip to Rome with. Listening to music, World Cup scores monitor, surfing etc. € 150, the time bought me a huge amount for a person who is subject to six hours a week working at the supermarket. Have fun with it had there (now owned by my sister), but a new Apple product in the house was no other way. Too high a price in my eyes. Now three years later, I would venture to me a new Apple product. The X230 which has served me well is now owned by another Tweaker, and I wanted to Mac OS X a try. I had always wanted to know why other users / were so highly critical of the notebooks (and other products) from Apple. Business Administration As a student, I have no need or quad-core processor, a powerful graphics card for playing games. For me, the device must be able to multitask (Word, PDF, Safari, SPSS, Excel), but most have a long battery life good. There are plenty of workplaces, but too few outlets. If I were in a group of four work, I have two friends who necessarily need an outlet, otherwise it falls off again after one minute. Battery life is priority number one. The X230 could achieve the 7 hours on its 6-cell battery, which I almost never have to take the charger along. WWDC Apple on June 10, 2013 was therefore very interesting to follow. It was certain that the MacBook Air would get together with the MacBook Pro. A refresh A Retina display would get the MacBook Air. And of course the new Haswell processors. But they were disappointed, and the MacBook Air was only a few innovations. But the most eye-catching of the topic on the MacBook Air was still the battery life. The 13 "would be a whopping 12 hours of work. On one battery charge Unlike some manufacturers, Apple is often accurate with their prediction. But even 12 hours for me was a bit unbelievable. , the choice was quickly made, and the MacBook Air 13 "(from now on referred to as MBA) was the chosen one. The configuration of my MBA is the same as the basic model for one thing: an i5 processor, 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. 8GB RAM may seem superfluous for my tasks, but despite that gaming is not on my list, I still like to play Football Manager, more RAM, and also could not hurt.





Ordering, delivery and unboxing
Ordered on July 2 through the Apple Store, I had to transfer the money. The amount was too bad, since I had a student discount and promo code. This brought the amount of € 904.13. I also could use the Back-to-School Action, which gave me a coupon of € 80 to spend in the App Store. On July 8, I received a shipping confirmation, and after half a world from Shanghai, Incheon, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Cologne came on July 11 via UPS to me. 9 days the trial lasted, and if you got a standard, it would still be / should be faster. The sad thing is that Apple, unfortunately, does not use iDeal, making it even faster would be in, but I was not really in a hurry, so it did not matter. 's MBA came in a simple, bare cardboard box. From the outside you would not know it was going to an expensive notebook, and that's a good thing. Once the box opens, you see a white box with the famous Apple logo. Inside the box is not much. The MBA, a 45W MagSafe 2 charger, extension and three booklets. That's it. No more, no less. When I saw the box, I thought there'd be a lot in, but it went really well (and a bit disappointing ...).




Appearance and gates
an Apple notebook is very easily recognizable. The silver and aluminum? Does it have a glowing Apple logo? Congratulations, you have found an Apple notebook. Similarly mine. Silver with a white Apple logo that lights up when the MBA is turned on. On the left we find a MagSafe 2 connector, a USB 3.0 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and two microphones. The only change compared to all previous MBAs is the addition of a second microphone. On the right we find a Thunderbolt port, another USB 3.0 port and an SD card reader. The MBA opened, we find a US-International keyboard ( rectangular Enter button, and long left shift key) keyboard with lighting and a large touchpad. Especially the touchpad is a relief, but later it.




Build quality
, as in the previous section, the MBA made ​​of aluminum. The X230 was made ​​of carbon fiber, a type of plastic. The Thinkpads are known for their build quality. The housing is flexible, allowing it to absorb the blows. Easier The MBA is the rigid aluminum housing. Some users say that stiffness is not tantamount to build quality. Whether this is true time will tell, but no thanks. It would be extremely shame to just toss to see who is right. So expensive laptop on the floor What I worry about is the surface of the MBA. Aluminium scratch faster (see the iPhone 5), and that I would only too gladly avoid. I'm sparing with my stuff, but accidents do happen. Again, time will tell, as the real "intensive" use and dragging again only about to begin in September.






The screen
where they used was flooded with 1366x768 screens 13 "and above, manufacturers begin to understand it. getting better and better Some may even exaggerate a little to spend on small formats (Apple, Samsung, Toshiba). Extremely high resolution screens on the market Of course, can of course be scaled so that it is some workable, but the increase in sharpness in exchange for lesser battery life it worth? The MBA has, as in the first model, a 1440x900 resolution. Coming from a 1366x768 resolution on a 12.5 "screen, it was still getting used to. While I certainly do not have bad eyes, is working at 100% in Word a bit small. The entire Office package is much smaller for my feelings, and that's getting used to. Yet this is a step higher on the ladder resolution, and more is often better. However, I do agree that Apple for the MBA had to choose at this price. Higher resolution Competitors today have at least 1600x900 screens on their Ultrabooks, a large part even 1920x1080. Apple also had to opt for something but they probably will in the next generation switch on Retina displays. The screen is a TN panel, which usually does not provide good viewing angles. To be honest, this point is not an issue for me. Also, I'm not a graphic designer, do not work with Photoshop and other photo editing programs, so do not worry about me too precise color accuracy. Of course, of course, no blue green on the screen, but high demand in this area, I do not. Suggest It is also a glossy screen, so you can look back. Yourself sometimes on the MBA The X230 had a matte screen, and there it was a bit dull screen (perhaps it also has to do with the quality of screen). On the MBA, the colors look a bit brighter out, which makes it more beautiful. Or under fluorescent light glossy screen is vomiting, irritation later I can only conclude, as it is currently holiday. In September / October, there will most likely be an update occur. Updated September 11, 2013 As I said, the exact color fastness me not of great importance. But of course more is always good. Many users claim to have a custom color setting screen. Benefit This mainly applies to screens made ​​by LG. After the instructions from this site had succeeded, I notice that the colors just look a little better. Previously, no problems, and now I do not even feel that it brings something extra. But for other users this can be useful.





Keyboard and touchpad
on the world there are countless types of keyboard layouts, making it difficult to import some. For example, you have Azerty, Qwerty, Qwertz etc., and if you buy the wrong you've got a little problem. Upon ordering the MBA's keyboard was set to "Backlit Keyboard Dutch. Most users are probably used to "Backlit Keyboard U.S.. The differences are shown below. Dutch Keyboard: U.S. Keyboard: The keyboard is nice and spacious. Blind typing is fine, and pressing keys is not a problem. Well there are some things differently, thanks to the OS. So called the 'Alt' 'Option' and the start button disappeared / replace the 'Command' key, which also acts as a 'Control' key. Also, there are no dedicated Home / End / PgUp / PgDown buttons, but I have not actually really missed, and are also accessible. Using the FN key Furthermore, the 'Backspace' button is replaced by a "Delete" key, but the function is the same. This means that there is no "Delete" function. Backlit keyboard is now ingrained standard, and has sixteen positions. It's nice to have, but actually never needed. When it is dark, I usually have a desk lamp that provides me with enough light. TouchPad is huge. The X230 had a small touchpad, but that problem could be solved using the trackpoint and trackpad buttons. The touchpad has a glass layer, what gestures to make smoother. Snapping the touchpad works fine, but to my ears a bit loud. It had softer liked, but it does not bother. I often use the "Tap to click" function, so it makes less noise.


Performance
As I wrote in my other two reviews, I am not one of the benchmarks. For benchmarking data, I also refer to other review sites like Anandtech and Notebookcheck.
Back to Contents



CPU
The CPU chosen for my MBA is a 1.3 GHz Intel Core i5-4250U. It is a dual-core processor ULT, which has a low TDP of 15W. It is a CPU from Haswell series, Intel's latest processor generation. Strikingly, the i5-4250U clocked lower compared to the i5 (1.8 GHz) in the Ivy Bridge generation that sat in the MBA in 2012. This processor had a TDP of 17W. From various reviews the main reason for the lower clock seems to be. A boost in battery life Anandtech has the CPUs tested and in some cases performing the MBA 2013 is equal to or better than the MBA in 2012, while the MBA 2013 match for MBA 2012. Narrowly in other situations, for an additional cost of € 150 may be chosen a 1.7 GHz Core i7. I do not need the power and the € 150 I can do better somewhere else to spend. For those readers who have doubts about the added value of an i7 over an i5, the impact on battery life and other tidbits I recommend this review read AnandTech .







GPU
Core i5-4250U comes with an Intel HD5000 graphics card. This falls in the GT3 category, the 'high-end' series from Intel. However, this does not have a dedicated RAM for the graphics card (Intel HD5200 has that) and has a lower clock speed compared to the HD5100 and HD5200. gaming and OS X usually do not go together, partly because of the compatibility (. exe), on the other because the ports are often not good. Still, I have two games just to test. The first game is Guild Wars 2. On the Intel HD4000 the X230 I could barely pick up the 20-25FPS, and the MBA I get the OS X client 30FPS when I'm in a quiet area. In a busier environment this drops to 25FPS, which yet again is better than the HD4000. Maybe it works even smoother in the Windows version, but I'm not going to test. I also Guild Wars 2 is not able to test long because playing through the touchpad is not fine. A mouse is surely a must. Another game is Football Manager 2013, which is more CPU intensive than GPU. Loading a next day takes a while, perhaps it is because the database I selected (Dutch Football Pyramid database for the experts). Watching the matches in 3D is very smooth, and I had not the X230 on the HD4000.







SSD
The SSD is a 128GB PCI-E SSD made ​​by Samsung. Which SSD you get is seemingly in the 11 'a lottery (SanDisk vs Samsung), but at 13' I heard this moment only Samsung's. You have a Samsung SSD if SM state and SanDisk SD if there is. The difference is that the Samsung SSDs perform slightly better than the SanDisk SSDs. The Samsung seems to be something. Reliable Nowadays I can not live without SSD. HDD makes noise, less efficient, and especially less. Booting the MBA is also done within 10 seconds. Blazing so. Windows 8 could also boot in 10 seconds using a Samsung 830 SSD, so very special is it not. It is of course nice to be able to launch programs quickly. This was a very difficult choice: opt for the 128GB version for € 200 or more a 256GB SSD. On my X230, I had a 256GB SSD which was half full. 128GB would be very tight, and the 256GB so I would have more leeway. But the additional cost of € 200 was too much for me. A 2.5 "256GB SSD is not € 200, but well, there must be a profit. Finally opted for the 128GB, which I just very good to deal with the space available. Currently I have the Office 2011 suite, SPSS, Windows 7 x64 VM, Football Manager 2013 installed and 2GB of documents on Dropbox. In total I now have 56GB free of 120GB, so it is not that bad. Music I have now via Spotify and Google Music, and movies I have an external hard drive. Altogether been provisionally a wise choice. Below is an image with the benchmark of the SSD. Tweakers.net received read and write speeds of 613.78 MB / s and 599.94 MB / s respectively. I come to read and write speeds of 722.6 MB / s and 442.7 MB / s, respectively. With my own test using Blackmagic Disk Speed ​​Test A higher reading speed, but a lower write speed. The performances are comparable, and in practice you nothing of the difference. The system feels very fast. Opening Safari and Finder goes right, but opening Word documents take a little longer, while that happened on my X230 instant.




RAM
This was the only upgrade I've done through Apple. Namely RAM soldered to the motherboard and it is not user-upgradeable. Would you have 8GB RAM, then you should indicate this in advance. Although I've never gone over the 4GB ram 8GB anyway I found some 'safer'. The two 4GB sticks LDDR3 soldered to the motherboard, running at 1600MHz. The MBA uses efficient DDR3 RAM, especially now that the Haswell processors supporting better.
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/2831/vr19.png
Back to Contents


Wifi
The early adopters of the MBA had complaints about the Wifi connection. Apple is known for it, in order to deliver new products. Wifi performance with moderate Of course, the complaints were also received at Apple and they would solve it with an update. My preliminary experiences with Wifi are positive. On the first day I had suffered from a slow connection, but I suspect this is due to the numerous downloads simultaneously (Dropbox sync, Office 2011 download). The next day was my connection back to normal and I get 1.2 MB / s with a Tele-2 to 20Mbit / s Internet service. 1x I only suffered from a drop-away connection. However, Tele-2 modem has more often suffer from Wi-Fi Woes (1x per month, for a period of 1 to 3 hours). A new modem does not see Tele2 as a solution. Below is a picture of some speed tests of the WiFi connection on my MBA. I'm at the time of testing in my room, which 5-7 meters away from the modem, as the crow flies. Between the modem and my room is still a room between, and thus two walls. Updated September 11, 2013 After testing nearly two months, I still pleased to report that I have encountered with Wifi no problems. Before the update I had no problems, and not after the update. Too Note that this may be different, since there are still a number of users have problems. Per person





Battery life
The selling point of the MBA 2013: "all day battery life. 12 hours without a power outlet nearby, no extra battery slices, no protruding battery cells. A dangerous claim, but Apple is in the area of battery life is usually not far off. At the time of writing, the summer, making it more difficult to mimic. the 'real-life' situation Still, I'm just trying to do what I always do: surfing the web, typing a document in Word (review in this case), there music (Spotify). Done browsing through the Safari web browser, installed AdBlock. I visit sites like 9GAG, Soccer Zone, Tweakers, GoT, Engadget, AnandTech, TheVerge, Nu.nl and Blackboard. Word as the Office 2011 version. Brightness is at 5 bars, since I do not like bright screens. Results: 09:30 to 10:30 Surfing, typing, listening to music. 13:30 to 15:00 and again worked just played Football Manager 2013. 16:15 - 18:00 surfing, typing, listening to music. 18:45 to 20:30 surfing, typing, listening to music. 08:45 -. 10:51 Yet about 26% battery * The periods in which no use is made ​​of the MBA has it stood / closed, in standby mode, but not completely off. Total: 1 + 1:30 + 2:45 + 1:45 + 2:06 = 9 hours and 6 minutes. According to the battery indicator I can work 3 hours, which equates to 12 hours of battery life. Apple makes it so true, but there are caveats should obviously be placed. First of all, varies with the situation, per application and per person. So I'm using a fairly low brightness (5 bars), and here I have stable WiFi connection. I also use the Safari browser, which is optimized for OS X, unlike other browsers. Also I just played Football Manager, and simulating was not flawless, which has also affected the battery life impact. If I had not played FM13 I could certainly benefit from more than two hours (decrease of 15% in an hour of play, more on that later). I be able to add, hoping later more realistic test, but that, as of September really clear. Updated September 11, 2013 Now that I've used, the MBA longer again, I can also tell something about the battery life. First of all, watching a flash video online. I follow with pleasure the series 'Suits' and that I look through a website. Watching one episode suits (average length of 44 minutes) costs 10% on the battery indicator. Basically, you can be 10 episodes of 44 minutes Suits look before the MBA gives up the ghost. Most tablets often do better, but not much better. Basically this is not a problem. Moreover, the use of Google Chrome and Safari a difference. The power of Google Chrome is higher than Safari. Most likely this is due to the optimizations that are in the Safari browser. Exact figures unfortunately I can not give, but an indication. For example, if I missed any 9GAG posts between 00:00 and 9:00 back browse Safari, is only 1% off. I do this in Google Chrome, however this increases to 6%. Also, viewing websites in Google Chrome creates a noticeably shorter battery life. An hour or 8 is feasible, but 12 hours is far away. Idle MBA is very economical. If you have your programs open but nothing else does, then that has very little impact on battery life. I do not work non-stop to the MBA, as there may be consultation is needed between teammates. Then the MBA is not used, so that fortunately little influence. short battery life is good as long as you stay with the included Apple programs. The next update can be expected after the release of OS X 10.9 Mavericks.







Heat and noise of the fans
in a thin laptop it without visible ventilation outlets. Something makes you think. Where do all the heat out then? Then is done via the hinge at the rear. That's where the ventilation system, which should provide. A laptop cooler under normal use (surfing, Word, listening to music), where you do not put the CPU to work, do not hear the fans. The MBA does not feel warm. Workable so. And then you feel probably coming. What if you put the MBA to work? A game like Football Manager 2013, what does that with the MBA? Unfortunately, no good. The fans are going to blow at full speed, and the MBA is hot, very hot in the upper left corner and at the hinge. Makes sense, since FM2013 is a CPU-intensive game. To see how loud the fans are impressed I made ​​a movie. Side note is that this is in a quiet environment, allowing fans clearly be heard.







In short: 99% of the tasks MBA makes no noise and produces hardly any heat. Are you going to still try a game, you have to take into account loud fans, hot top and an impact on battery life.
Back to Contents



OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
A touchy subject. For Windows is sacred, the other OS X. As I indicated at the beginning of the review, I wanted to know why people are so wonderful OS X badly find /. Upon startup I was greeted with a setup: Name, location, password Apple ID, etc. The setup felt almost the same as Ubuntu. Once everything is set up, a "desktop" presented by the oh-so-familiar universe as background. always visible menubar, which has the same functions as a mouse. Also always visible, but it is to hide the Dock. From there you can launch applications quickly. Similar to the Windows 7 taskbar. Finder is the variant of Windows Explorer and works as I actually expected it. Items you can remove the keyboard shortcut Command + Delete , or fashioned by tapping with two fingers on the touchpad and 'Move to Trash' choosing. Safari is the Internet Explorer of Windows. Supplied as standard with OS X and the browser to choose the longest possible battery life thanks to the optimizations. Installing programs in two ways. First, you can install via a. Dmg programs such as via Windows Installer. SPSS for example, took advantage of this and this was also a familiar face. Another variant, however, by dragging them to the "Applications" folder, and then the program is installed. Very simple, but also confusing for a Windows user. The same goes for uninstalling programs. Where you "Remove Programs" programs had to uninstall Windows Control Panel and you can now simply drag the application to the trash and ready. Also this was just searching the internet and even digest, but I know now that it should be done. In the area of program compatibility issues, and I'm still running up against problems. Office I use Office 2011, and is happy FM13 compatible with OS X. For FIFA is not an option, but maybe that's only good. But I have a virtual machine installed with Windows 7 for Microsoft Access and Publisher I need. Case Also, I sometimes paint (yes you read that right) needed for very quick drawings or adjustments. 7-zip I Keka found, but am still orienting to other applications. Where I am most satisfied with the gestures built into OS X. Two finger scrolling works great with two fingers 'tapping' to right, four fingers to the left / right to switch between full-screen apps and Spaces, four fingers up for Mission Control etc. Especially Mission Control is very convenient. During an SPSS case I had several Word documents, Chrome tabs, Excel and SPSS two screen open. Alt-Tab works in that case less fine, because you've got that you keep looking. Lame so many applications open Also you can add new desktops from Mission Control, so you can separate during use. Certain programs This is very useful if you want to have SPSS in Desktop 1 and 4 Word documents in Desktop 2. So there is not much overlap between all programs. Also, you can switch between the two desktops as a fullscreen app, through a four-finger swipe.






Full Screen mode is also very useful if you have open. Two main programs So you can switch between a (non-) fullscreen app and a full screen app. With four fingers Another advantage is that you have something more pixels available in Word to use.


But for example one thing OS X Windows 8 can learn the 'Acitivieitenweergave. Windows 8, I found much clearer and more colorful. Overall I am very happy with OS X, but I probably have to learn a lot and to explore in the future. What I like to have is OS X Mavericks, the successor Mountain Lion. This will provide even more optimizations that have a positive impact on the battery life should have. Imagine even more than 12 hours on one battery charge ... But as long as OS X Mavericks is not out yet, it remains tentative at speculation and to wait. By that time, this review will also get an update.





Connections - External Screen
During my studies there will be plenty of occasions when I have to give a presentation. Often this Powerpoint presentations will be where the MBA should be on the projector. Thus connected Sometimes it is also fine to close so you have more space and can use two screens. Still higher resolution screen on the MBA has only one connection to connect, screens and beamers and it is in my opinion the best choice . The Thunderbolt port is in fact also a Mini DisplayPort. Why is this the best 'connection', as the most common type VGA connector and HDMI projectors is now established in TVs and game consoles? Therefore, there are two reasons: first, there are plenty of 'connectors / converters' for the Mini DisplayPort. There is a Mini-DisplayPort to VGA / HDMI / DVI. Another advantage is the level of resolution output. Where VGA and HDMI (version 1.3a and earlier) are limited to 1920x1080 and 1920x1200 respectively, can Mini DisplayPort to send a resolution of 2560x1600. At the time of writing, the summer has already begun, so the test put on hold for the time being at beamers must be. My first test is thereby connecting the MBA on a Samsung SyncMaster S22B150, which has a VGA port and a resolution of 1920x1080. Connecting the SyncMaster on my MBA was a breeze. First I had a Mini-DisplayPort to VGA connector purchased to make the connection. Possible Then it was plug and MBA immediately recognized my screen. Just like in Windows could be chosen between duplicating / mirroring of the screen, or extend the current screen. The first option is useful if there is someone who needs to see, and what you see. Exactly the same things on the screen For example, a situation is giving a presentation. The disadvantage is that your external display is limited by the resolution of your notebook. In this case, my SyncMaster gave a 1440x900 resolution, which is not sharp and enhances everything looked. The second option is useful if you need more space. Safari on one screen, and Word for example on screen 2. , but then there are some irritations that make working on an external display is less enjoyable in OS X. First, there can be only one screen, the menu bar have + Dock. Want to start a program on your external display, so you will first have to deal with Dock, and then drag it to the external display. Program to screen Although this is also present in Windows, and not necessarily a specific negative feature of OS X, it remains a negative point. What is also strange is that the programs may be using Mission Control. Not drag Fortunately, this is dissolved in OS X Mavericks, so this problem is solved. Another negative feature is the inability to turn off your monitor from the MBA. This is possible if you clam up your MBA, but I also want to use the keyboard and touchpad of the MBA. In Windows it was possible to select only for the external display, but in OS X, this is only possible if you enter a command in the Terminal. While it is indeed possible, I think it is too cumbersome, and you must enter each time the command and when you are ready to make the command settings. In Windows, this was a button 'done'. As a middle ground, I have chosen to set up so that my mouse can escape. Only from the top left / bottom right corner of the desktop / screen diagonally opposite each other In addition, I screen my MBA completely dimmed, so it looks like it is off. Not an optimal solution, but it works. Whether this is resolved at Mavericks, I unfortunately can not be clearly found. My last comment on the external screen is a questionable case, which I'm not sure if multiple users suffer from it, or that this is on my screen. With my Windows 8 laptop I got a sharp display on my external display. But I do it with my MBA, I feel that it is not 100% sharp. Now I do not know if this is an OS X issue, or that this is because my screen was "too cheap". Perhaps converting Mini DisplayPort to VGA also plays a role. 100% sure I am unfortunately not, and therefore I will further investigate this issue yet (via Google) or perhaps a fellow tweaker has the same issue. My preliminary conclusion at this point is that it works, but not optimal. There are some points that need to be improved and fortunately improved in the next version of OS X. When Mavericks out, I will update this section if needed.





Connections - printer
A while ago, I had thought that with the purchase of a Nexus 7, the paper era would be over. Some books I had in PDF format or I have scanned my summaries so that I could read on the Nexus and the paper version could resell. It turned out that reading from a 7 "tablet screen something was more tiring than I expected and the distraction was also greater. Hence I had to print out. Still scanned versions The same applies to reports. Nowadays everything has to be uploaded to check fraud but the professors find it better to make. Scribbled / note paper So a printer is still necessary. For purchasing the MBA I had searched the internet and my printer, Epson Stylus SX115, did work on the MBA. On the website I found drivers for my printer, so I already knew I was right. In Windows 7/8 is now plug and then Windows Update searches the drivers for you. On OS X, it is exactly the same. When connecting my printer, I got the following message: In one way or another, went looking for the drivers fault and was nicely told that could be searched for updates through the Mac App Store. Of course it is useful if my printer does, so good I went to the App Store. After loading a while and I was waiting to see the following: By clicking on "Update" was sufficient to install the drivers. Not much later, I got around to see if I ever got into Windows the same screen. Connecting my printer went so smoothly and It just works motto appears to be correct. However, I would recommend the purchase of an MBA, to see if your peripheral is suitable to avoid. A lot of trouble and stress Updated September 11, 2011 After I update within got through the Apple Appstore, I got a very annoying problem . Before, I could always print manual duplex. Since the update option is gray-sided and therefore not selectable. After I consulted Google this problem was still not resolved. Uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers, unfortunately, did not work. I had to print something and therefore had a Windows 8 virtual machine booted and printed from the VM. However, this is not a nice solution to this problem. I hope I can find a solution, as it is annoying anyway. Here




Windows 7 & 8
was asked to me to test via Boot Camp Windows 8. There is often a debate as to whether it was necessary to use Boot Camp for Windows or VMWare / VirtualBox / Parallels. The answer is simple: if you want minimal performance loss, then Boot Camp is the way to go . You only use it to test / use just that one little program I would virtualize. Until I saw a post from a user. This user said that the Boot Camp could be via Parallels / VMWare. Partition approached This would be the best of both words are. Your Boot Camp partition accessed via a virtual machine to use MS Paint and via Boot Camp starting to play. Fifa 13 This sounds fantastic in the ears. supports Windows 8 now (U) EFI boot, something OS X for years. This is a great advantage to install on your Mac. Windows 8 This means that there is no BIOS to become more virtualized and saves an installation step. However, there are specific drivers needed to work. Enjoyable in Windows These can be downloaded from the Boot Camp Assistant. The drivers are also on the Apple website to find, but the Boot Camp assistant often has a newer version that is not on the Apple website is. The illustration below shows which features this assistant is: My first attempt was to install Windows 8 on the SSD for the MBA. After I put the necessary drivers on a USB stick I started the MBA again and pressed at the boot sound the "option' button. This allowed me to choose a different boot disk. You can see that there are some possibilities: Machintosh HD, OS X Recovery, Windows and EFI Boot. The first is your "regular" hard drive where OS X on it and all of your personal files. The second disc is your recovery disc, which you can access if your OS X installation is destroyed. The Windows option is to install Windows via the BIOS method, and EFI Boot install Windows using UEFI method. I chose "EFI Boot" because Windows 8 supports EFI perfect. installation actually runs just like a normal Windows installation. Country, language, keyboard, etc, everything is there for. Note that "Tap to click" inside the installation environment does not work. You have to really engage the touchpad. Windows reboot 2x, and both times you have to be careful. You started namely from a USB / DVD installation. In the first and second reboot you should choose the appropriate boot disk, namely BOOTCAMP HDD. Otherwise you will be redirected to your OS X installation, and that is not the intention (for now). If all rebooting and setting is completed, you get instantly see your desktop, not the Metro interface. Striking. Now we need to install that you downloaded to install. On a USB through the Boot Camp Assistant Boot Camp drivers After a short 5 minutes everything was ready, and you had a good working Windows 8 (Pro) installation on your MBA. From now on, your MBA boot directly to Windows 8. However, many people use Windows only occasionally, and therefore more likely to boot into OS X. This can be changed by the task bar at the bottom of the gray rectangle to select. Boot Camp configuration, Here you can choose to select. OS X as the primary boot drive Here you can also activate "Tap to Click 'like' Two taps = Right. ' If you've read my piece well this was my first attempt. Back in OS X, I tried to approach. Bootcamp partition via Parallels In Windows 7, this was no problem, but Windows 8 still had some cures. Parallels can be no EFI recognize, so the Boot Camp partition can be. Did not start Other users say this is due to the PCI-e SSD, which is not recognized by Parallels. But both have it agree that this problem may be solved by Parallels and should be.






So I thought it was a shame that I could not approach. My Boot Camp partition via Parallels and VMWare This still gobbles a fairly large amount of storage space, and plenty of space to install programs I had not. When I read on the internet that Windows 8 could be. Installed on an external drive In one way or another, this brought me to an idea, to testing. "Force" of Thunderbolt I have for a reasonable price a LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt / USB 3.0 256GB SSD external drive tapped on the head. 256GB is more than sitting, as big as my SSD was in the Thinkpad. I found it a waste to spend, so I solved it. Follows much space on Windows 128GB is committed to Windows 8, formatted in NTFS. The remaining 128GB free space when I set. This is important if you want to install on an external drive, Windows 8 but do not want to use Windows. Complete external drive





This time I have Windows 8 installed on the 128GB partition on the external SSD, and after 15 minutes everything was ready. It feels just as fast as the Windows 8 installation on the MBA. Then a Windows Experience Index benchmark done, yielding no bad results.



After installation, I went back to OS X to see if I could get through Parallels / VMWare., The Boot Camp partition recognized The 128GB partition where Windows is because it is recognized as Boot Camp (probably by the drivers). But unfortunately I get the same error as before EFI Shell. As I said earlier, I recommended if you use do not want your entire external hard drive for Windows 8, to create a partition for Windows and create. a free partition In my case I want to use the remaining 128GB as a real external drive, which I can put files. To maintain for OS X and Windows, as many compatibility I want to format this partition as exFAT. However, the first time I went into the mist, because I had designated. Both partitions as NTFS Once in OS X and Windows, I could see the second partition but not formatting to exFAT or remove and return. The second time so I have a 128GB partition for Windows and the other 128GB deflated. So I could after installing Windows to format the second partition exFAT. This is a temporary solution for Windows. I took the entire space for OS X and 128GB for Windows to install programs and utilizing the power of the MBA. Use Meanwhile, I have my virtual Windows 7 again put to very fast to boot. MS Paint and Access I hope Parallels and / or VMWare with a solution to the inability to access the Boot Camp partition, and otherwise I think this is also a good solution. Data on the battery life, I still owe you. This is because I boot Windows 8 from an external SSD, leaving just a little more power. I also want to be sure that all drivers and programs are installed before I can give. An indication of the battery life







Conclusion
The MBA is an ultrabook which since its first introduction to the outside barely changed. This year, a second microphone got there, and that was it in terms of changes to the appearance. changes have taken place there. On the inside There is a Haswell processor and it is not a SATA SSD, but a PCI-e SSD. The battery has become something bigger, without making. MBA thicker But more than this has not changed. ultrabook For connoisseurs and lovers you would think that the MBA has to offer little extras at this time compared to the other ultrabooks. Many have a 1080p IPS display, which should provide. Good viewing angles The Vaio Pro is the first competitor of the MBA, which has a better screen than the MBA. With the help of a sheet, the battery life can be up to 14 hours. It is striking that the Vaio Pro also the only competitor in the ultrabook market with Haswell processors. To me this is at least a step up compared to the X230. I deliver on CPU (i5-3210m) and partly Windows and perhaps build quality. Battery life I go forward again, as well as in the field of weight. User experience is fine, but Windows 8 I've never found appalling. It worked just nice and my dream machine was a 13 "tablet with Haswell processor, 8GB RAM, SSD and super long battery life. But for now it remains a dream and I am extremely pleased with the MBA. The MBA is easy to everyday tasks, but an intense game play will come with trade-offs: heat and sound. The retina MBP 13 "I have never considered, since the performance was substandard. The retina MBP 15 "is for me a lot too high and expensive step, and there were many problems. The MBA 11 "I found again too small. Overall, the MBA a great laptop for the average student battery life on priority number one is standing. In terms of processing power you get almost no deficit and the speed of the MBA ensures that tasks smoothly and quickly go. About the price is a bit debatable: one is the basic model with student discount a good choice, compared to the competition. On the other hand upgrades again expensive, and the money should be spent then, because afterwards it can not. For now cross the MBA head and shoulders above the rest with its battery life, but still arriving Haswell ultrabooks and tablets for the door and windows 8.1 is yet to be seen. Updated September 11, 2013 For the update of the MBA had an overall assessment of 5 stars. Some users commented that if I took the reviews, that I would never come. Never a 5 star average When I had the excuse that point battery life as a student weighed heavily on me many times. With this update, I'm still a star get off. The reason for this is the problem that I encountered with my printer. For the software update of the printer, there was nothing going on, but after the update I can no longer double-sided printing. Also, there are a number of settings have disappeared. With the result that I need to print via a virtual machine or Windows PC for now flawless experience. It is a pity that there is no half-stars could be given, but worth 5 stars, it is unfortunately not. For the rest, my conclusion is not changed, and remains a wonderful machine. But one with a small blemish.








Accessories
The reason I gave this section after the conclusion place, because I believe that some accessories will not affect the performance of the MBA. Of course there are some accessories that increase the connectivity, but real influencers on performance are not. For the accessories I have therefore a separate conclusion in this section. 's MBA was fairly bare delivered, as mentioned in the review. Not supplied or picture sleeve adapters like the Zenbook (Prime) from Asus. I'm pretty careful with my stuff and especially when it involves a huge investment in a device. A sleeve was therefore a must if I take my MBA. Since Apple products often maintain a universal standard in their product lines, the accessories are also easy to use and find. So you can buy at the Apple Store for example accessories. Often the products are more expensive than what you can get elsewhere. At the time of writing, I have purchased some accessories. Accessories - be.ez LA robe 13'' MacBook Air sleeve Graphite / Black When I go to school, then I use my shoulder to my Thinkpad laptop, lunch, notepad and occasionally books to carry. The choice of a shoulder might not be good for my body, but I found it easier. The bag has separate compartments inside, which makes separating things easier. In a backpack things are often 'squeezed'. The shoulder was originally designed for 15'' Thinkpads, but I was there for free with the purchase of the X230. The X230 fit well in the bag, and was completely covered, leaving other stuff was not damaged. The X230 The MBA is a different story. There he stands out above the protection, which could hit some other stuff damaged. This, of course, I would not have and had a sleeve for the MBA in my eyes the solution.






Ideally I'd like to see the MBA in black because it gives a nice look in my eyes. The color of the sleeve must also be black for me, or very close to black. I was first looking at the online Apple store. There I saw the Incase 13 "sleeve stand, which according to Apple was also suitable for the MBA. Just searched the internet for reviews and the like, and it appeared to be true. Perhaps a little too rushed to order printed, I came back until afterwards that it was created specifically for the MBP. Yes, the MBA fits in, but then there's a lot of empty space in between. Contacted Apple through the mail and I did a) not returnable and b) I got my money back. A blessing in disguise, but let's say. then I looked elsewhere for a sleeve. On the website of A-mac i saw this 'be.ez LA robe sleeve 13''' stand. Luckily there was an A-mac store in my hometown, so I could see it with my own eyes and feel. I was already sold fairly quickly and had the right sleeve included.


The sleeve has only one fastener which is one quarter of the total area covers. As a result, you do not have to worry that the rest of the case your MBA damaged. Also in the zip you do not have to worry. There is a kind of protective strip on both sides, so the MBA is closed zipper. Here they have thought about it. The case on the inside and outside is made of a soft, firm but malleable material. Apologies for the somewhat vague description, but better unfortunately I can not articulate.





I use it mainly to transport, the MBA secure in my bag and it does (for now) too. There will, of course, alternatives to the reasonable hooggeprijste his sleeve, which are often found on Chinese online stores and / or websites such as Ebay. A hard case for the MBA around seemed not convenient, since the heat also partly goes through the aluminum. The MBA can be a nice warm stove without hard case, hard case and I do not even know. Price: € 25.95



Presentations held on the university continues through projectors, where you can connect to a VGA connector your laptop. The MBA course has no VGA connector, otherwise it would not be so thin thin profile more. As a solution to this could be a VGA cable can be connected via the Mini DisplayPort / Thunderbolt Port. Using an attachment, I opted for the Apple version, since I have heard that some non-Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter is not working properly stories . It would be extremely annoying if the cable does not function during a presentation for a grade. As a test, I have it connected to my Samsung SyncMaster where the experience to read earlier in the review are returned. The cable was purchased from the online Apple store, and admittedly, it's pretty pricey. According to other friends I could just as well for a standard Mini DisplayPort to VGA cable select, but I would have preferred that it works well at one time. Price: € 29.00







Another cable, which I occasionally will only need. My wifi connection at home is not always stable and sometimes sense to stop one day. Oddly enough, there is Internet or via Ethernet cable. I've been through a number of times that this situation occurred to a deadline, and it has an Ethernet cable ensured that my life is not so hard went down. cable does what it should do and is recognized by my MBA. The connection is stable and there are no preliminary rarities discovered. However, I must place an important caveat. As the title suggests, it is a Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. The MBA has only one Thunderbolt port, and when you connect your cable to it, then you can often use an external display. Of course this is possible when you have an (expensive) Thunderbolt display. This is very important, and probably ensures that you get to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter must consider. USB Often the speed via USB or (significantly) lower. Again the same story. Pricey. However, it uses a Thunderbolt connector, which is a completely different thing than a Mini DisplayPort cable. Furthermore, a USB to Ethernet cable alternative, if use is made ​​of an external display

Best Buy Laptop Guide: April 2013

Introduction



In the April edition of the Best Buy Laptop Guide we give advice on basic laptops, mainstream laptops and gaming laptops. Thus we have for every pocket some tips.

The budget segment, laptops for, let's say, less than 400 euros, has become less attractive to consumers and manufacturers, but there are new developments that it might change course. First Samsung Chromebook has been excellent with Exynos SOC Netherlands released , after Acer Chromebook already been released here and more manufacturers will follow. Second, we expect before too long the first laptops produced in 28nm Kabini-SOCs AMD. These come in quad-core variants out, have Radeon HD 8400 graphics, and would significantly better performance than the current Brazos 2.0 APU's.

Also the heavy work is coming in the form of the new Intel Haswell chips, which first become available in quad-core variants for high-endlaptops. The first laptops with these chips are expected within months.

In this LBBG laptops are recognized based on current platforms, all of which have very good price performance ratio available. Besides the expensive ultrabooks and the profusion of tablets because there is still plenty to enjoy in the laptop market.

For the selection of the Best Buys we start from its own findings, third-party reviews and user experiences. With the help of the visitors to the  Complete Systems & Laptops -forum as the best laptops in the market fished. For advice, sharing experiences and other messages related to the Notebook Best Buy Guide, we refer you to the forum. In CSL, we have before various  topics  opened. The links to these topics are listed with every notebook.

Three Samsung ultraportables: AMD APU, touch and 15 "

Introduction

Early this year, Samsung released its Series 5 ultrabook out. With this model, the company introduced an affordable alternative to its Series 9 ultraportable, which it focused more on the high end. This year a new generation of Series 9 laptop came from, which include a PLS-screen features: Samsung's own version of ips.

However, since it did not stay with. While Samsung's what design is concerned with the supply of the Series 5 Ultra and the new Series 9 showed, there are several configurations came from. Tweakers looked at three of the most interesting: a cheap Series 5 with an AMD APU instead of a fuel-efficient Intel CPU, the Series 5 Ultra with a touch screen for Windows 8 and a 15 "version of the new Series 9, with a . magnesium housing instead of aluminum model with AMD APU is not sold as ultrabook: to be allowed to enter the ultrabook designation must have a laptop with a fuel-efficient Intel chip disposal.

Because we both Series 5 Ultra as the Series 9 13.3 " have been discussed and a small round-up is concerned, we are a bit shorter dwell on the appearance and impression than usual, and we do not give advice on alternatives

Lenovo Yoga 2: office convertible unpretentious

Lenovo's laptop series is notable perhaps that called Yoga. Yoga laptops are equipped with a screen that is all about the laptop around late hits, resulting in four different ways to use the device. In January 2012, the first convertible laptops were announced in the series, and in the meantime the second generation Yoga 2 Pro laptops for a while on the market. The 'normal' Yoga has also been upgraded and is available as Yoga 2 soon.

Yoga 2 follows the Lenovo Yoga, which was equipped with a Tegra 3 processor from Nvidia and Windows RT turned. It seems that more and more manufacturers Windows RT forcing through combining a full version of Windows 8.1 with a cheap x86 processor. Similarly Lenovo, the fastest Intel Bay Trail processor, the Pentium N3520, the new Yoga laptop has mounted.



Yoga 2 immediately becomes the easiest and cheapest laptop in the Yoga series, which further comprises the 11S Yoga, Yoga and Yoga 13 2 Pro, all of which are provided. Intel Core processors The price of Yoga 2 with six hundred euro is very low and we looked at whether the Yoga 2 is worth the money or whether we prefer to save for a more expensive, but also faster Yoga laptop.

Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus: pixel sample

Introduction

In 2012, Samsung released the 'new Series 9', the successor of the old 'Series 9'. Meanwhile, Samsung has pushed some of namings and called the new 'new Series 9' ordinary 'Ativ Book 9 Plus. Like the previous Series 9 is also the Book 9 Plus flagship Samsung in ultrabooks.

With flagship course that includes the latest and most expensive gadgets, they must have thought at Samsung. Therefore, we find the ultrabook a panel with the enormously high resolution of 3200 by 1800 pixels. Samsung has also supplies the panels to other laptop manufacturers, but for the Book 9 Plus is the only available laptop with the high res screen pls.

With flagship course that includes the latest and most expensive gadgets

The Ativ Book 9 Plus is the luxury, big brother of the Book 9 Lite, which we previously tested . The appearance of the Book 9 Plus is similar to that of the Lite, but is thinner and made ​​of aluminum instead of plastic. The Haswell processor and the display of the Plus, the price, which is roughly twice as high as that of the Book 9 Lite justify. In addition, we compare the Samsung laptop with new ultrabooks from Haswell series, such as Sony's Vaio Duo 13 which hardware view is similar, but a totally different appearance. And of course, we pay much attention to the screen resolution and the way Windows deals with them.

Desktop power in a laptop: Nvidia's GTX 765m and 780M

Haswell Intel and Nvidia's GeForce 700 series have been released a while ago and both chips we have already written quite some. The mobile GeForce chips are there still remained underexposed. Therefore, we tested two gaming laptops BTO. One is equipped with mobile GeForce GTX 765m and other features flagship GTX 780M. Both laptops are powered by a quad-core Haswell processor. We look using different benchmarks and games how GPUs relate to each other and see which video cards for desktops also with the two mobile video cards to compare. We hold the course, not only in desktop graphics cards, but where possible, draw the comparison with other mobile GPUs.


The BTO laptops are both barebones , meaning that the "shell" of the laptop is used by several laptop manufacturers, but different internal hardware can be provided. Both barebones come from manufacturer Clevo. The 17CL58 has W370ST the Clevo chassis, while the 17CL56 is based on the Clevo P170SM housing. A laptop with almost the same case as the latter reviewden we once before in the form of XNB Titan IV17. The BTO laptops from a generation ago, then with Ivy Bridge and GeForce 600 hardware, we have previously been reviewed . Because of the similarities between the cases we look at this review, therefore, mainly to the performance of the new GPUs and we will not elaborate on the other features of the laptops.

Surface Pro: Microsoft's hardware ideal for Windows 8

Introduction

A year ago, Microsoft unveiled its own Surface tablets. The announcement hit like a bomb, because at that time everything was clear, Microsoft built provided by third party systems are Windows software and did so in decades built a warm relationship with its partners. Suddenly went Microsoft now competing with them?

In the days after the announcement, Microsoft tried to take. Fears its partners away The tablets should be seen as an expression of Microsoft's vision for the new interface of Windows and the company said that they would expect to be there. Sold a few million Afterwards it appeared Microsoft indeed serious about Surface. There was a huge advertising campaign in the U.S. and an international rollout. Furthermore, it seems that much more Surface products begin to appear.

Earlier the Surface RT arrived in the Netherlands on the market. The sale of the tablet with ARM processor and Windows version, with appropriate restrictions seems to be seriously under pressure and both consumer and tablet manufacturer seems Windows RT backs return.

The success of 'Surface' as a viable product line thus seems to depend on the Surface Pro off. This is the powerful x86 variant, which ultrabook performance should offer. In a tablet form factor Where the Surface RT mainly to compete with Android and iOS devices, go to the Microsoft Pro directly compete with a growing number of hybrids of its Windows partners. How this struggle will develop remains to be seen. The key question now is: does Microsoft stand out with the Pro and conquer the mobile PC market, which is already under pressure in one place?

Asus Zenbook Prime: elegant ultrabook

Asus did last year excellent chance to throw his first Zenbook. The UX31 was the first ultrabook which was presented and was intended for the capabilities of Intel's new platform as an example. We were at that time very pleased with the laptop because of its thin chassis, high screen resolution and relatively powerful hardware.

We are now a year later and a lot of manufacturers now release their second generation ultrabooks based on Intel's new Ivy Bridge chips off. Asus could, of course, not be absent.

At first glance, there appears the new Zenbook, that the addition of 'Prime' has received, has not changed much. The housing is largely unchanged and in the field of connections, there is little new under the sun. What is new are the Ivy Bridge hardware and screen. In addition, Asus claims to have. Been improved keyboard

The old Zenbook had a tn panel with a screen diagonal of 13.3 "and a resolution of 1600x900 pixels, and at the time of its release, this was a fine display. Especially the high resolution compared to the competition was a plus. With the Zenbook Asus Prime gets another great step forward: the resolution is jacked up to 1920x1080 pixels, the panel is of the IPS type and screen reflects much less than that of its predecessor.

In this review we will focus the new screen and the Ivy Bridge components under the microscope, but we also look at whether the case could be measured., A year after the first Zenbook still competition

Samsung Chromebook XE303C12-A01NL

If you're reading this review you'll probably do that because you have mixed feelings about the whole "Chromebook" idea. You will probably have watched YouTube videos about everything and / or the official Tweakers.net review have gone through. A laptop for 300 euros sounds appealing, but the XE303 is also worth the money? This purchase was given to me is not important. If you have a desktop and a mobile phone is a Chromebook is not really a necessity of life and a laptop would be a much more logical choice. Still, I'm glad I still ended up buying him and why are you reading this review. Because I am aware that this really is such a product which is much uncertainty prevails light I occasionally - for some - basic things far. First I will discuss the hardware: how does the laptop look like, how (well) work those things that you find on a Windows or Apple laptop? Then I will discuss Chrome OS and that judge. Finally, I will explain who this laptop is actually meant, because I can already tell you that this is absolutely not a desktop / laptop replacement. specifications and feature set , the exact specs of the XE303 can be found here . Much is not there to say, except that the chip in this Chromebook is also found in the Nexus 10 Samsung about the specs. The following are included with the Samsung Chromebook: - Samsung Chromebook - Samsung AD-4012nhf adapter - Manufacturer's Warranty Information Guide - (15GB + 100GB extra Google Drive cloud storage) This all comes in a box 36x37x6cm. If there is no free Google Drive 100GB storage sitting there, I had all found some scanty, but that extra storage anyway, I was very very happy. Note that the 100GB extra storage is valid for 2 years. Then you are not suddenly deleted files, but you have to pay extra if you want to upload. Above the standard free 15GB additional Incidentally created files with Google services do not take space. First impression / Design / Construction Quality At first glance, the Samsung Chromebook looks huge on a Macbook Air. It just has to be that Samsung has taken his inspiration from it. I can now enumerate all contracts, but I think this picture of businessinsider.com well illustrates what I mean. http://www.businessinside...chromebook-design-2012-10 that Samsung has chosen for this design as the basis The Chromebook is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, the design is beautiful. Even at first glance looking log protruding hinge, I come to appreciate as a design element. In good time if the Chromebook is closed you see the Chrome logo top left and below the letters slightly larger Samsung. "Samsung" look when he open back bottom of the screen in the middle. Although it must be a manufacturing defect will be the placement of the letters fails bottom of the screen with my Chromebook, they are not quite right and differ slightly from the center. The fact that he has come as factory inspection does indicate that Samsung's priorities are:. Making a cheap but nice working product , the whole is therefore not the build quality of a Macbook, but that is obviously a lot more expensive. The housing is not aluminum but just plastic / plastic. However, the Chromebook may for example be a hand held without squeaking, creaking or other crazy scenes. If he is open to a vertex So that says something about the robustness. The screen could go shocks as the Chromebook is not on solid ground. Overall, however, I think that this is one of the sturdiest laptops I've ever used. I dare say that there really is, especially for the money, do not buy much firmer falls for a consumer. Moreover, you feel the Chromebook with its 1.1 KG hardly as extra weight in a backpack. Keyboard The keys, which, incidentally, no backlight have been neatly incorporated in the casing (see photo above again). As expected, the letters, numbers and symbols on the keys are not engraved but they consist only of simple stickers. How long that will retain their glory, I do not dare to bet, but it will at least months rather than years. keyboard typing very tasty and there can be hours worked without irritation or pain in the fingers. The actuatiekracht (force required to effect a registration key) is other ultrabooks like the Macbook Air, which is lower than the Chromebook. So compared to the competition, you must click the XE303 what 'harder' than other types. Whether you feel comfortable in is different for everyone. Therefore I recommend to advance or to try it for what it is. Equally in the shop For me it was a godsend, because I attach more importance to disaster patience than a weak design keyboard. Connectivity and Multimedia On the left is a 3.5mm headphone / mic combo (both also present internally). There is an SD card (SD, SDHC, SDXC) lock to the 16GB SSD expand available. Furthermore, a webcam (unknown number MP) present. On the back you will find: - The adapter input (DC-in) - HDMI out - 1x USB 2.0 - 1x USB 3.0 - 1x not usable USIM for 3G adapter input and plug of the adapter are both very small. It is a tip of about 2x10mm. Furthermore, the plug at an angle of 90 degrees. Careful with pull out so HDMI out, I have not tested since I no point of however deep-seated. A Chromebook is a mobile device at the top. Then you really do not connect additional monitor or TV. I would have preferred a second USB 3.0 port instead of HDMI-out, but points for Samsung that there is in any event. About the USB ports I have little else to report. The velocity is excellent. Read and copy (if you are going to do to the SSD of 16GB that ...) is good rap, both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. Speed ​​is of course dependent on the USB device you are using, and tools to monitor the speed is not there, but it should be clear that Chrome OS optimized for physical storage. Moreover, Samsung - obviously to reduce production costs - chosen Also for this model, it does not support 3G, let sit. USIM slot That is sloppy and confusing, but a logical choice for a mass-produced product. Screen (quality) screen with its 135 ppi (1366x768 11.6 ") nice and sharp, has good color and reasonable contrast. Backlight bleeding is quite a problem, well, it's a TN panel. Do not expect perfect viewing angles and good black levels. (for comparison: the black bar in the middle is the shadow of my hand / phone, so it should therefore be) The screen looks fine if you are somewhat right there, but it is not desirable to look. obliquely at the screen See pictures below. The screen also shows slight ghosting, but unfortunately I do not have a camera with slow shutter speed to show it. These pictures were taken at maximum screen brightness. That clarity is indeed sufficient to operate. Decent in the sun And I have found something that Samsung should have thought. better about it To keep the design pretty slim they have when the laptop is closed the space between the keys and the screen kept very small. This has the consequence that if, after a while dirt or grease film on the keys you came this print slightly see on the screen. Touchpad The touchpad works very nice. It records your finger well and almost never misses input. Google has a help page illustrates how to use the touchpad: That all works fine, except for the latter option. Even if I turn it on in the settings (tap and drag Enabling Accessibility →) does not work. The only thing you notice is that the touchpad less captures what you are doing. On most laptops there is the ability to zoom in on the way that may be on a mobile phone or tablet. touch pad That is not the case with the XE303. But I have discovered that you can zoom by holding CTRL and using the scroll movement. noise and heat This has to be one of many factors why this thing is actually a must-buy: he is quiet and does not get much hotter than a modern smartphone. Indeed, because there is absolutely no moving parts in it (hard drive is not there, no fans) you can actually hear anything. Battery Life Samsung and Google sell Chromebook with the promise of "more than 6.5 hours battery life. For exact measurements and whether that promise is fulfilled, I refer to by the Tweakers review. For me it is more about whether I was a typical day it gives. To me that getting up at 7 am, to college and back home around 7pm. So that's 12 hours a day that I need the Chromebook. 12 hours browsing is not, of course, and the same goes for watching video. But several times a day in and out of standby and occasional tapping, some listen to music and social media, I'll be right out. On standby I still have a comment. What is the XE303 incredibly fast wake from sleep. You will not even talk in seconds but rather about 'the blink of an eye. " Furthermore, it seems as if he hardly consumes energy in standby, because sometimes I do not use him for several days and then there is usually only 1% of the battery. Chrome OS As you may know, Chrome OS is actually not much more than Chrome. Yes, indeed, it is really only a browser with some additions. Google's philosophy is that the move rather quickly which read online than using heavy software. Clearly this is a hasty generalization, because there are people who for example, but what I say, want to add the move. Latter effects to a movie project This group has nothing to Chrome OS. Since the whole whirl of a laptop for € 300 ie all disappear, because you do not get a laptop for € 300. You get a Chromebook, which is quite different. When you first start since the Chromebook to log in with a Google account or sign you. No, you want that then there is the guest mode. However, since you only get an incognito browser. Furthermore, files you download may not be stored and changes are not remembered. You are in fact obliged to bind to Google if you buy a Chromebook. Because there are few opportunities and everything in advance is already set for you from the first time you have logged all ready to go. The entire setup process takes less than 15 seconds. Updates are every 6 weeks automatically installed in the background without you have to do something. There is no learning curve, everything speaks for itself - at least, if you have an Internet connection (but did I get back to this). After logging in you will see the potential of Chrome OS and ask a welcome screen, you will be referred to Google knowledgebase. After that your on your own. " For daily tasks that you do on a normal computer, Google has developed its own web / app. Word Documents, Excel> Spreadsheets and PowerPoint> Presentations. Skype is Hangouts and iTunes Google Play Music. If you have already made ​​use of Google's services, you know that these knock-offs are not as many options as the competitor products. It works well, but at times when you're 'Peeling' you should just put up with the problem. Wrong word added to the dictionary of Documents? Unfortunately, nothing to be done. Bullets too big? Tough luck. Mic too soft? Sorry for you. Google has succeeded to create where you can be as different, without the extra options. equally prolific knock-offs That is, as I said, for his and his post. Moreover, consider the effect of Google's knock-offs is not necessary, because everyone understands that "B" stands for bold and office users Powerpoint know how transitions uses. Offline? What is important is to go on it offline using Chrome OS. The 3G model is not (yet) available in the Netherlands, there are situations where you just sit without internet. What then? Two years ago, when you were really screwed. Now a little less. Google has a built-in functionality that allows you to work when needed. Offline So you could then make use of the following services use: - GMail (new mails are sent by next connection) - Read-only Calendar - Docs (new documents are synchronized at the next connection) - View and Edit - Listen to music (from the internal storage or a USB device, not from the cloud) - Office and PDF files - use Keep to take notes - Offline Web Pages Reading - Offline / use desktop apps - Offline games That sounds well and good, but Google is offline promise after. simply For office applications within Drive you must offline support switching to work. offline There's nothing wrong with that, but to somehow just work office applications not good offline. It's just not stable and that goes for the rest of the matters listed. Go Please do not assume that you have your Google Calendar in good (with internet) and bad times (without Internet) with you, because you'll be disappointed. I personally think that it is the fact that virtually every application of Chrome no native OS software. Anything you use actually supports the browser, in the form of a web app or extension. It "feels" to somehow not good. Microsoft Word feeling that really stand-alone software pur sang, you have absolutely not if you use Google Docs. However, if it works, you can just go with your final document by him through the file manager → → Google Drive Offline . opening Compatibility Another small issue I found: Drive can not convert any file type, and then read. Work that instance is created on a Mac with the Microsoft Office suite can not be read on a Chromebook (or rather, Google Drive, depending on where you are). The same applies to large. Docx documents in general. Weather thus a problem in software that Google should have. actually fixed it for years Chrome OS hotkeys on a Chromebook missed quite a few buttons. Thus, the entire F row replaced by Chrome OS-specific buttons and missing caps lock and delete. Most of the buttons is accessible using keyboard shortcuts. With keyboard shortcuts, you can do very useful things that would cost much time. Using the mouse Below you will read back what hotkeys I came. Disappeared keys: HOME: CTRL + ALT + UP END: CTRL + ALT + DOWN DELETE: ALT + BACKSPACE CAPS LOCK: ALT + 'SEARCH' (magnifying glass) Other: Lock computer: CTRL + SHIFT + L Notifications: ALT + SHIFT + N Files: ALT + SHIFT + M Open app: ALT + Appnummer Connect app: CTRL + W * Screenshot: CTRL + F5 former (appoverzicht) ** Screenshot: CTRL + SHIFT + F5 former Open Terminal : CTRL + ALT + T * If you make a screenshot, wait about 20 seconds before you open the image / send / upload: Chrome OS has long needed to process a screenshot. Open your image too quickly after making a screenshot, you get a corrupt file, a black image or an image with artifacts. ** Function to select an area of the screen being recorded. Who? That is indeed the question. If I had to outline a number of audiences, I would come in the following types of people: Tweakers Chromebooks and Chrome OS have a very high content gadget. An avid tweaker would XE303 only wanted because it's something new. A means Tweaker can also Crouton / ChrUbuntu put a Linux distro on it, so for a very attractive price to have a "real" laptop. Moreover Chrome OS offers the opportunity to beta and developer even receive (unstable) updates; something a real Tweaker is naturally cheerful. Students in virtually every middelbare-/hogeschool/universiteit is a reliable WiFi network. If you just have internet Chrome OS works fine and the Samsung Chromebook is a good option for students to take notes. Obviously will have to move to (La) TeX for advanced formatting such as a thesis, a student at another OS, because the limited formatting options Docs are really crying. Elderly (with a WiFi network) Older people often do not want too spend a lot of money to go along with the technology of today, and in that event this Chromebook a nice option. The OS is simple and clear, and the laptop can take a beating because of the lack of moving parts. Digital Access Understanding the cloud and Google Drive is just one issue, but for people who normally do not often work with computers and would like a simple handheld Search solution is Chrome OS and Chromebook is a good option. Anyone else who is satisfied with an OS that is far from mature because I dare to ask. Chrome OS is not yet mature, point, period, done. There is still a lot of software to solve, but it is fine workable. Conclusion If you're looking for a (new) laptop, looking at this time remember you well or a Chromebook something for you. You get 300 euros for a product that you can actually resist work and that money is not really anything to get anything better. But is it a laptop replacement? Unless you want to run off with another Linux distro: absolutely not. Chrome OS may be simple, user friendly and fast, you can by no means the same thing as Windows, OS X and Linux. And precisely that the first and second, which most good software is available, you can not install the XE303. And one last tip: if you can, then import the XE303 from America or buy him second. There is really nothing much to go inside in a short time and you are much cheaper. Misspellings, additions or something else to say about this review? Report it below, it is appreciated. Google's philosophy is that the move rather quickly which read online than using heavy software. Clearly this is a hasty generalization, because there are people who for example, but what I say, want to add the move. Latter effects to a movie project This group has nothing to Chrome OS. Since the whole whirl of a laptop for € 300 ie all disappear, because you do not get a laptop for € 300. You get a Chromebook, which is quite different. When you first start since the Chromebook to log in with a Google account or sign you. No, you want that then there is the guest mode. However, since you only get an incognito browser. Furthermore, files you download may not be stored and changes are not remembered. You are in fact obliged to bind to Google if you buy a Chromebook. Because there are few opportunities and everything in advance is already set for you from the first time you have logged all ready to go. The entire setup process takes less than 15 seconds. Updates are every 6 weeks automatically installed in the background without you have to do something. There is no learning curve, everything speaks for itself - at least, if you have an Internet connection (but did I get back to this). After logging in you will see the potential of Chrome OS and ask a welcome screen, you will be referred to Google knowledgebase. After that your on your own. " For daily tasks that you do on a normal computer, Google has developed its own web / app. Word Documents, Excel> Spreadsheets and PowerPoint> Presentations. Skype is Hangouts and iTunes Google Play Music. If you have already made ​​use of Google's services, you know that these knock-offs are not as many options as the competitor products. It works well, but at times when you're 'Peeling' you should just put up with the problem. Wrong word added to the dictionary of Documents? Unfortunately, nothing to be done. Bullets too big? Tough luck. Mic too soft? Sorry for you. Google has succeeded to create where you can be as different, without the extra options. equally prolific knock-offs That is, as I said, for his and his post. Moreover, consider the effect of Google's knock-offs is not necessary, because everyone understands that "B" stands for bold and office users Powerpoint know how transitions uses. Offline? What is important is to go on it offline using Chrome OS. The 3G model is not (yet) available in the Netherlands, there are situations where you just sit without internet. What then? Two years ago, when you were really screwed. Now a little less. Google has a built-in functionality that allows you to work when needed. Offline So you could then make use of the following services use: - GMail (new mails are sent by next connection) - Read-only Calendar - Docs (new documents are synchronized at the next connection) - View and Edit - Listen to music (from the internal storage or a USB device, not from the cloud) - Office and PDF files - use Keep to take notes - Offline Web Pages Reading - Offline / use desktop apps - Offline games That sounds well and good, but Google is offline promise after. simply For office applications within Drive you must offline support switching to work. offline There's nothing wrong with that, but to somehow just work office applications not good offline. It's just not stable and that goes for the rest of the matters listed. Go Please do not assume that you have your Google Calendar in good (with internet) and bad times (without Internet) with you, because you'll be disappointed. I personally think that it is the fact that virtually every application of Chrome no native OS software. Anything you use actually supports the browser, in the form of a web app or extension. It "feels" to somehow not good. Microsoft Word feeling that really stand-alone software pur sang, you have absolutely not if you use Google Docs. However, if it works, you can just go with your final document by him through the file manager → → Google Drive Offline . opening Compatibility Another small issue I found: Drive can not convert any file type, and then read. Work that instance is created on a Mac with the Microsoft Office suite can not be read on a Chromebook (or rather, Google Drive, depending on where you are). The same applies to large. Docx documents in general. Weather thus a problem in software that Google should have. actually fixed it for years Chrome OS hotkeys on a Chromebook missed quite a few buttons. Thus, the entire F row replaced by Chrome OS-specific buttons and missing caps lock and delete. Most of the buttons is accessible using keyboard shortcuts. With keyboard shortcuts, you can do very useful things that would cost much time. Using the mouse Below you will read back what hotkeys I came. Disappeared keys: HOME: CTRL + ALT + UP END: CTRL + ALT + DOWN DELETE: ALT + BACKSPACE CAPS LOCK: ALT + 'SEARCH' (magnifying glass) Other: Lock computer: CTRL + SHIFT + L Notifications: ALT + SHIFT + N Files: ALT + SHIFT + M Open app: ALT + Appnummer Connect app: CTRL + W * Screenshot: CTRL + F5 former (appoverzicht) ** Screenshot: CTRL + SHIFT + F5 former Open Terminal : CTRL + ALT + T * If you make a screenshot, wait about 20 seconds before you open the image / send / upload: Chrome OS has long needed to process a screenshot. Open your image too quickly after making a screenshot, you get a corrupt file, a black image or an image with artifacts. ** Function to select an area of the screen being recorded. Who? That is indeed the question. If I had to outline a number of audiences, I would come in the following types of people: Tweakers Chromebooks and Chrome OS have a very high content gadget. An avid tweaker would XE303 only wanted because it's something new. A means Tweaker can also Crouton / ChrUbuntu put a Linux distro on it, so for a very attractive price to have a "real" laptop. Moreover Chrome OS offers the opportunity to beta and developer even receive (unstable) updates; something a real Tweaker is naturally cheerful. Students in virtually every middelbare-/hogeschool/universiteit is a reliable WiFi network. If you just have internet Chrome OS works fine and the Samsung Chromebook is a good option for students to take notes. Obviously will have to move to (La) TeX for advanced formatting such as a thesis, a student at another OS, because the limited formatting options Docs are really crying. Elderly (with a WiFi network) Older people often do not want too spend a lot of money to go along with the technology of today, and in that event this Chromebook a nice option. The OS is simple and clear, and the laptop can take a beating because of the lack of moving parts. Digital Access Understanding the cloud and Google Drive is just one issue, but for people who normally do not often work with computers and would like a simple handheld Search solution is Chrome OS and Chromebook is a good option. Anyone else who is satisfied with an OS that is far from mature because I dare to ask. Chrome OS is not yet mature, point, period, done. There is still a lot of software to solve, but it is fine workable. Conclusion If you're looking for a (new) laptop, looking at this time remember you well or a Chromebook something for you. You get 300 euros for a product that you can actually resist work and that money is not really anything to get anything better. But is it a laptop replacement? Unless you want to run off with another Linux distro: absolutely not. Chrome OS may be simple, user friendly and fast, you can by no means the same thing as Windows, OS X and Linux. And precisely that the first and second, which most good software is available, you can not install the XE303. And one last tip: if you can, then import the XE303 from America or buy him second. There is really nothing much to go inside in a short time and you are much cheaper. Misspellings, additions or something else to say about this review? Report it below, it is appreciated. Google's philosophy is that the move rather quickly which read online than using heavy software. Clearly this is a hasty generalization, because there are people who for example, but what I say, want to add the move. Latter effects to a movie project This group has nothing to Chrome OS. Since the whole whirl of a laptop for € 300 ie all disappear, because you do not get a laptop for € 300. You get a Chromebook, which is quite different. When you first start since the Chromebook to log in with a Google account or sign you. No, you want that then there is the guest mode. However, since you only get an incognito browser. Furthermore, files you download may not be stored and changes are not remembered. You are in fact obliged to bind to Google if you buy a Chromebook. Because there are few opportunities and everything in advance is already set for you from the first time you have logged all ready to go. The entire setup process takes less than 15 seconds. Updates are every 6 weeks automatically installed in the background without you have to do something. There is no learning curve, everything speaks for itself - at least, if you have an Internet connection (but did I get back to this). After logging in you will see the potential of Chrome OS and ask a welcome screen, you will be referred to Google knowledgebase. After that your on your own. " For daily tasks that you do on a normal computer, Google has developed its own web / app. Word Documents, Excel> Spreadsheets and PowerPoint> Presentations. Skype is Hangouts and iTunes Google Play Music. If you have already made ​​use of Google's services, you know that these knock-offs are not as many options as the competitor products. It works well, but at times when you're 'Peeling' you should just put up with the problem. Wrong word added to the dictionary of Documents? Unfortunately, nothing to be done. Bullets too big? Tough luck. Mic too soft? Sorry for you. Google has succeeded to create where you can be as different, without the extra options. equally prolific knock-offs That is, as I said, for his and his post. Moreover, consider the effect of Google's knock-offs is not necessary, because everyone understands that "B" stands for bold and office users Powerpoint know how transitions uses. Offline? What is important is to go on it offline using Chrome OS. The 3G model is not (yet) available in the Netherlands, there are situations where you just sit without internet. What then? Two years ago, when you were really screwed. Now a little less. Google has a built-in functionality that allows you to work when needed. Offline So you could then make use of the following services use: - GMail (new mails are sent by next connection) - Read-only Calendar - Docs (new documents are synchronized at the next connection) - View and Edit - Listen to music (from the internal storage or a USB device, not from the cloud) - Office and PDF files - use Keep to take notes - Offline Web Pages Reading - Offline / use desktop apps - Offline games That sounds well and good, but Google is offline promise after. simply For office applications within Drive you must offline support switching to work. offline There's nothing wrong with that, but to somehow just work office applications not good offline. It's just not stable and that goes for the rest of the matters listed. Go Please do not assume that you have your Google Calendar in good (with internet) and bad times (without Internet) with you, because you'll be disappointed. I personally think that it is the fact that virtually every application of Chrome no native OS software. Anything you use actually supports the browser, in the form of a web app or extension. It "feels" to somehow not good. Microsoft Word feeling that really stand-alone software pur sang, you have absolutely not if you use Google Docs. However, if it works, you can just go with your final document by him through the file manager → → Google Drive Offline . opening Compatibility Another small issue I found: Drive can not convert any file type, and then read. Work that instance is created on a Mac with the Microsoft Office suite can not be read on a Chromebook (or rather, Google Drive, depending on where you are). The same applies to large. Docx documents in general. Weather thus a problem in software that Google should have. actually fixed it for years Chrome OS hotkeys on a Chromebook missed quite a few buttons. Thus, the entire F row replaced by Chrome OS-specific buttons and missing caps lock and delete. Most of the buttons is accessible using keyboard shortcuts. With keyboard shortcuts, you can do very useful things that would cost much time. Using the mouse Below you will read back what hotkeys I came. Disappeared keys: HOME: CTRL + ALT + UP END: CTRL + ALT + DOWN DELETE: ALT + BACKSPACE CAPS LOCK: ALT + 'SEARCH' (magnifying glass) Other: Lock computer: CTRL + SHIFT + L Notifications: ALT + SHIFT + N Files: ALT + SHIFT + M Open app: ALT + Appnummer Connect app: CTRL + W * Screenshot: CTRL + F5 former (appoverzicht) ** Screenshot: CTRL + SHIFT + F5 former Open Terminal : CTRL + ALT + T * If you make a screenshot, wait about 20 seconds before you open the image / send / upload: Chrome OS has long needed to process a screenshot. Open your image too quickly after making a screenshot, you get a corrupt file, a black image or an image with artifacts. ** Function to select an area of the screen being recorded. Who? That is indeed the question. If I had to outline a number of audiences, I would come in the following types of people: Tweakers Chromebooks and Chrome OS have a very high content gadget. An avid tweaker would XE303 only wanted because it's something new. A means Tweaker can also Crouton / ChrUbuntu put a Linux distro on it, so for a very attractive price to have a "real" laptop. Moreover Chrome OS offers the opportunity to beta and developer even receive (unstable) updates; something a real Tweaker is naturally cheerful. Students in virtually every middelbare-/hogeschool/universiteit is a reliable WiFi network. If you just have internet Chrome OS works fine and the Samsung Chromebook is a good option for students to take notes. Obviously will have to move to (La) TeX for advanced formatting such as a thesis, a student at another OS, because the limited formatting options Docs are really crying. Elderly (with a WiFi network) Older people often do not want too spend a lot of money to go along with the technology of today, and in that event this Chromebook a nice option. The OS is simple and clear, and the laptop can take a beating because of the lack of moving parts. Digital Access Understanding the cloud and Google Drive is just one issue, but for people who normally do not often work with computers and would like a simple handheld Search solution is Chrome OS and Chromebook is a good option. Anyone else who is satisfied with an OS that is far from mature because I dare to ask. Chrome OS is not yet mature, point, period, done. There is still a lot of software to solve, but it is fine workable. Conclusion If you're looking for a (new) laptop, looking at this time remember you well or a Chromebook something for you. You get 300 euros for a product that you can actually resist work and that money is not really anything to get anything better. But is it a laptop replacement? Unless you want to run off with another Linux distro: absolutely not. Chrome OS may be simple, user friendly and fast, you can by no means the same thing as Windows, OS X and Linux. And precisely that the first and second, which most good software is available, you can not install the XE303. And one last tip: if you can, then import the XE303 from America or buy him second. There is really nothing much to go inside in a short time and you are much cheaper. Misspellings, additions or something else to say about this review? Report it below, it is appreciated.