Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles:

10 Hidden Microsoft Word Features That Will Make Your Life Easier
A Video Deep-Dive Look At Dell's XPS 13 (2015) Ultrabook And Yes, It's HOT
Acer Liquid Leap Review
BAPCo TabletMark v3 Benchmark Presentation
Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2,400 16GB Review
ECS LIVA X 64GB Mini PC Kit Review
Entry-level PC - January 2015
Hands-on review: Samsung Galaxy A5
HIS Multi-View USB Portable Docking Station Review
Install Windows 10 Preview From A Flash Drive
Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop Review
NUC getting Core i7, Skylake too
PAPAGO! GoSafe 272 Dashcam GS272-US Review
Reeven Justice RC-1204 Heatsink Review
Silicon Power Jewel J06 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review
Super Talent DuraDrive AT7 SSD Review (1TB) – In Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) System SSDs
Transcend MTS800 128GB M.2 SSD Review
Unreal Engine 4 Linux Tests With AMD & NVIDIA Graphics Drivers

10 Hidden Microsoft Word Features That Will Make Your Life Easier

Everyone knows Clippy. But are you friends with Pilcrow? Stop there if you know what I am talking about. You know more about Microsoft Word than I do. Okay. Let me test you a bit more by asking about widow lines. If you still got that, then do stop. If you didnt, then welcome to this side of the line where we think we are proficient on Microsoft Word – but honestly arent. You are fine as long as you fire up a document and just type.

Read full article @ MakeUseOf

A Video Deep-Dive Look At Dell's XPS 13 (2015) Ultrabook And Yes, It's HOT

Dell took the wraps off a fresh, new revamp of their popular XPS 13 ultrabook line, out at CES in Las Vegas last week. The new machine was widely considered best-of-show for core computing products and racked-up awards left and right from major publications, including accolades with us here. Dell seemingly hit all the high notes with this machine, from its new 14nm Intel Core i5-5200U Broadwell-U processor power plant, to its absolutely stunning 13.3-inch 3200X1800 IPS display that's strapped with Corning Gorilla Glass NBT and nearly completely devoid of bezel on its side and top edges.

The net-net of Dell's tech makeover of the XPS 13 is that it's currently one of our most favorite notebooks to hit the test bench ever here at HotHardware, and we're not even done putting it through its paces yet.

But here's where doing what we do at HH is probably one of the better gigs on the planet. We get an early look at all the best new gear and the good news is, as a result, you do as well.

Read full article @ HotHardware

Acer Liquid Leap Review

Liquid Leap: introduction You probably know Acer for its good-value laptops, but with the Liquid Leap it's having a crack at the big noise in lifestyle tech: wearables. The Liquid Leap is a fitness tracker with a hint of smartwatch functionality. At £80 it's not a price for a band with a full display. However, with a fiddly fit and only surface-level features in each of its areas, it's best used as a simple watch and pedometer.

Read full article @ Techradar

BAPCo TabletMark v3 Benchmark Presentation

The new TabletMark benchmark from BAPCo is one interesting software each hardware enthusiast should check out, which is offered free of charge and thanks to the community the database will grow consistently in order to have comparisons between lots of tablet models which are now present on the market from different manufacturers.

Read full article @ Madshrimps

Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2,400 16GB Review

Striking a fine balance between price and performance. Crucial, the retail arm of Micron, has been selling DDR4 memory at its US store for a while now. Though not present in the UK webstore at the moment, various Crucial Ballistix modules can be purchased this side of the pond through enterprising retailers.

The company doesn't claim to the be the first to market with cutting-edge DDR4 - we have yet to see anything quicker than 2,400MHz on the Ballistix line - but has a well-earned history of reliability and customer service. And with the Intel X99 platform the only one using the new memory for now, one that isn't partial to higher speeds, purchasing well-priced DDR4-2,400 remains a sensible choice.

Playing on this value-performance theme is a 16GB (4x4GB) pack of Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2,400. Identified as part number BLS4K4G4D240FSA and available for $299 in the US and £199 in the UK, the quad-module pack is specified with 16-16-16 latencies. The pricing is consistent with other manufacturers' DDR4 rated at the same speed and timings.

Read full article @ Hexus

ECS LIVA X 64GB Mini PC Kit Review

Over half a year ago ECS ELITEGROUP introduced the LIVA Mini PC Kit, which was marketed at the time as being the world's smallest Windows based mini PC kit. Last week at CES 2015 ECS released the second generation of the LIVA family, the LIVA X. The ECS LIVA X will be also be available with 2GB or 4GB of 1333MHz DDR3L memory and 32GB or 64GB of eMMC memory. The big change with regards to storage on the LIVA X is that there is now a mSATA slot for SSDs and that means you can finally install Windows 7 on a LIVA PC! That is very big news as the LIVA X is finally a full fledged Mini PC that supports more than just Windows 8 and Windows 8.1! Read on to see this this tiny system that is the size of a soda can is right for you.

Read full article @ Legit Reviews

Entry-level PC - January 2015

Our guidelines for the Entry-level PC category are as follows. The entire computer system, excluding OS, should not exceed £420. Its primary, but not only, function is to provide a smooth and enjoyable online experience. This means that the cheapest processors won’t be enough, as modern web pages and internet applications do demand some processing power.

Additionally, the system has to be able to efficiently perform internet-related tasks. This includes basic photo editing (cropping and resizing to upload or send a photo) and extracting compressed files. At the same time the necessary background programmes need to be active, such as a virus scanner, a firewall, and anti-spyware software. The computer also needs to be able to efficiently run word processing software and administrative programmes.

The cheapest PCs that you can currently buy are good enough for internet use. If you want to do other things, however, then you will quickly notice the limitations of the CPU and graphics processor. More powerful pre-assembled computers often turn out to have one weak component that becomes a bottleneck. Maybe it has a very fast processor, but lacks enough RAM, hard disk space, or a good enough graphics card.

Read full article @ Hardware.Info

Hands-on review: Samsung Galaxy A5

Samsung's a good brand for trying things out. After the mixed reviews to the Galaxy S5 it needed something big, as the Galaxy Alpha and Note 4 both accelerated the design story while keeping up with the high-power internals.But that doesn't mean the South Korean giant wasn't looking to keep things fresh in the non-premium market, offering something for those that don't want to have to sell a car / kidney / house every time they fancy a new handset.The Galaxy A5 joins the A3 in the new range of more affordable smartphones, bringing with it a lower spec list while upping the design message with an all-metal unibody along with a microSD slot.The latter part is important, after the Galaxy Alpha (which only had a 4.7-inch screen) decided to go without the memory expansion but keep the removable battery.It seems Samsung can only ever have one of these features on board at any one time, with the metal chassis prohibiting the use of a battery pack that can be swapped out.

Read full article @ Techradar

HIS Multi-View USB Portable Docking Station Review

HFor people constantly on-the go, the HIS Multi-View USB Portable Docking station comes to help by providing an extra HDMI port, one VGA port but also one Ethernet gigabit port, all in a single adapter; potential customers will say that by plugging this device we will lose one available USB 3.0 port, but HIS had this in mind and has also provided one extra USB 3.0 to complement the lost one.

Read full article @ Madshrimps

Install Windows 10 Preview From A Flash Drive

It's that time again, yet another version of windows to install. You can wait for long boring periods of time and install from an optical drive or you can supercharge the install from a Flash Drive.

What you’ll Need

Windows 10 (preview) Windows 10 Technical Preview Direct from Microsoft
Rufus “Create bootable USB drives the easy way”
A 4GB Flash Drive for the 32 bit or an 8GB for the 64bit version

Read full article @ Bjorn3D

Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop Review

These days, when it comes to peripherals for computers, a lot of attention is given to mobile keyboards and mice for tablets and laptops. But what if you are one of the remaining desktop computer users or use your laptop or tablet on a dock as your primary computer in your home or office? You will likely want a full-size mouse and keyboard to fill out your command center. The Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop is a fresh and comfortable setup that combines functionality, versatility, and style.

Read full article @ Windows Central

NUC getting Core i7, Skylake too

The company plans to reveal a Core i7 version for the first time in NUC's history and this is happening in Q2 2015. It is officially named Intel NUC with Intel Core i7 Processor and 2.5-Inch Drive Support (NUC5i7RYH). It also accomodates M.2 drives, has integrated 802.11ac Wlan with Bluetooth 4.0 and a 2.5-Inch hard drive bay. You can plug a super-fast M.2 SSD drive as a primary system drive and a mechanical or hybrid 2.5-inch drive for a couple of terabytes  of internal storage.

Intel has told us that it is using the Broadwell-U 14nm dual-core Core i7 5557U that has a configurable TDP of 23-28W. Intel didn’t talk about the exact TDP of this CPU, but the company said that the unit has two cores, four threads and a 3.1GHz base clock.It comes with Intel Iris Graphics 6100 graphics with 1.1GHz core clock and base GPU frequency of 300MHz and 48 EUs. Once it launches it comes with mini HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2 for 4K resolution, Gigabit LAN, four USB 3.0 two at the front and two at the back. Intel didn’t talk about the pricing of this unit. We expect the Core i7 based NUC5i7RYH to end up close to $499 in retail, but this is just the price that makes sense to us, and was not confirmed by Intel at this time. We got the picture of the NUC5i5RYH Core i5 based motherboard and as you can tell, its tiny. 

Read full article @ Fudzilla

PAPAGO! GoSafe 272 Dashcam GS272-US Review

It is my opinion that in-vehicle cameras have become a necessity for modern drivers. The streets are a dangerous place for motorists, with heavy traffic congestion and driver distractions adding risk to everything from long trips to short commutes. Defensive driving will help prevent some accidents, but every moment after getting into the vehicle is wrought with random chance and uncertainty. It’s never been a question of if you’ll someday be involved in an traffic accident or the victim or violent road rage, it’s a question of when. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the PAPAGO! GoSafe 272 Dashcam.

Read full article @ Benchmark Reviews

Reeven Justice RC-1204 Heatsink Review

In this review Frostytech will be testing the Reeven Justice RC-1204 heatsink, a 162mm tall tower CPU cooler with a 125x100mm footprint. Weighing in at 930grams, the Justice RC-1204 comes with a single 120mm PWM fan that spins at 1500-300RPM and moves upwards of 82CFM according to manufacturer specs. Reeven include an extra set of plastic fan clips for users who wish to install their own rear-mounted exhaust fan too.

Read full article @ Frostytech.com

Silicon Power Jewel J06 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review

If you happen to need lots of storage capacity while on the go then the smart and most affordable thing to do is either to get an 2.5" portable hard drive or one of the larger 3.5" desktop drives (although the first is obviously preferable thanks to size and the lack of need for an external power supply the 2nd can offer much higher capacities at least currently). The last and least affordable solution is to get one of the highest capacity USB flash drives available in the market but since that's really not a valid choice for most people lower capacity models can offer good value for your money and can even get you out of tough situations. The Jewel J06 is one of the latest USB 3.0 flash drives to hit the market by our friends over at Silicon Power and we just happened to take the 64GB variant for a spin not long ago.

Read full article @ NikKTech

Super Talent DuraDrive AT7 SSD Review (1TB) – In Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) System SSDs

Every now and then, we are fortunate to have SSDs reach our bench that one might not normally find within every day PC systems or servers. Our review today of the Super Talent DuraDrive AT7 SSD is just that; a SSD fully intended for the automobile industry, and more specifically In-vehicle Infotainment Systems. Unlike other examples that we have reviewed though, the DuraDrive AT7 is no more than a SATA 3 notebook size SSD and can easily be flipped inside any PC, as much as it might be used for completely different designs within the auto industry.

Read full article @ The SSD Review

Transcend MTS800 128GB M.2 SSD Review

Fritz Lang’s dystopian film “Metropolis” is well known and hailed by many as one of, if not the, most important films of the silent era. The initial cut was quite controversial at time of release, with much of the original footage cut out after the initial showing. Attempts to restore the film over the past several decades have proven slow, with much of the original footage having been destroyed. An original copy found in an Argentinian museum has allowed the film to be restored almost completely to its initial form, much to the delight of movie aficionados. In addition to its powerful story line and political messages, “Metropolis” has always had a special regard among technology enthusiasts; it was incredibly accurate in predicting many inventions.

You look at “Metropolis” and essentially see FaceTime being used, and this is in a film made in 1927. Unlike 1950s and 1960s jet packs and hover crafts, the props of “Metropolis” came to fruition. Of course, we have seen other sci-fi props become reality through the years, and one thing that seems to be a trend is the simple downsizing of existing ideas. We know that today’s laptop has more capabilities than a mainframe from several decades ago that needed several rooms to hold, and the trend of downsizing continues at an exponential pace. Digital storage has certainly played a huge part in this, and that continues with the release of mSATA and now SATA M.2 and SATA Express.

Read full article @ HiTech Legion

Unreal Engine 4 Linux Tests With AMD & NVIDIA Graphics Drivers

This week there was a 22-way graphics card test of Metro Redux on Linux using GeForce and Radeon hardware with the latest AMD and NVIDIA proprietary drivers. Today the newest Linux gaming test candidate to look at is the AMD/NVIDIA Linux performance with the latest Unreal Engine 4 demos. In this article is a look at the UE4 Linux performance on AMD and NVIDIA graphics hardware running with Ubuntu.

Read full article @ Phoronix