Australian PC World articles from April 2005

Australian PC World archives from April 2005

Crossed wires: Internet telephony has come a long way since the early days. If you tried it a few years ago, you probably encountered some of the most garbled, inaudible conversations since tin can met string. Well, the good news is that the service has improved. But should you ditch your mobile and landline? I'll put you on hold.(Editorial)
April 1, 2005... Thanks to advanced technology, the call quality of Internet phones has improved dramatically. The upsurge in affordable broadband services, combined with a new breed of hardware adapter, has led to a slew of Internet phone (aka Voice over...

ASUS DVD burners enable 16x burning with 8x discs.(ASUS Advertorial)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2005... Although DVD burning technology has progressed to 16X, the supply of disc media supporting this new high-speed standard remains low. Even if you are one of the lucky few that is in possession of these expensive discs, you still have to worry...

The choice of expert gamers: ASUS Gamer Edition cards deliver big bang for the buck.(ASUS Advertorial)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2005... The launch of new titles such as Lineage II and Doom 3 should propel a wave of system upgrades among serious gamers, since more powerful video performance is needed to smoothly run the latest 3D games. Taking into account that many gamers...

Super cell unveiled.(News Analysis)
April 1, 2005... Researchers from IBM, Sony and Toshiba have unveiled the long-awaited Cell microprocessor, revealing a multicore, multithreaded gaming engine described as "a supercomputer on a chip". Cell is expected to be the chip used in Sony's...

Pentium to go extreme.(News Analysis)
April 1, 2005... Intel plans to release a version of its Pentium desktop processor this year that can run up to four software tasks at the same time. Called the Pentium 4 Processor Extreme Edition, the chip will include two processor cores, each of which will...

Phishers find new hook.(News Analysis)
April 1, 2005... Security experts are warning about a new threat to Web surfers: malicious Web sites that use international domain names to spoof the Web addresses of legitimate sites. The new trick is a variation of a known technique called the "homograph...

Microsoft to buy antivirus company.
April 1, 2005... Microsoft has announced it will buy Sybari Software, an antivirus and antispam software company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Microsoft intends to use the acquisition to provide its corporate customers with technology to protect...

Yahoo test drives contextual search.
April 1, 2005... Yahoo has begun testing publicly a new search technology that can generate on-the-fly queries based on the content of the Web page a user is reading. The goal of the new technology is to make it easier and faster for users to find information...

iiNet hotrods ADSL.(News Analysis)
April 1, 2005... Perth-based ISP, iiNet, has blown smoke in the face of rivals by firing up residential broadband speeds to 8Mbps and planning for up to 24Mbps later this year. Its "Broadband2" plans offer up to 8Mbps speeds to customers on iiNet DSLAMs...

Triple-play still far away.(News Analysis)
April 1, 2005... A new IDC report has revealed that 70 per cent of Australian broadband connections are still only 256Kbps--far below the speed required for "triple-play" services which provide voice, video and data applications over one single access...

Late night chat link set to save lives.
April 1, 2005... Doctors in Australia and the UK now have a late-night "chat lifeline" that can save lives by providing them with immediate medical information. The antipodean "Chasing the Sun" project is the first international virtual reference service...

Survey: IT job market getting hotter.
April 1, 2005... The IT job market last year was the strongest of 21 industry sectors surveyed, with a particular increase in vacancies for graduates, according to the latest Olivier jobs index. The index shows that IT jobs ads increased by 77.7 per cent...

Single card SLI GV-3D1, GA-K8NXP-SLI.(First Looks)
April 1, 2005... In a great display of innovation, Gigabyte has taken NVIDIA's SLI graphics principle, which enables two individual graphics cards to be linked together in the same system, and applied it to one graphics card. That is, it has installed two...

Grunty gaming board: Fatal1ty AA8XE.(First Looks)
April 1, 2005... This motherboard squarely targets gamers wanting to build a powerful and intimidating rig. It uses the latest 925XE chipset from Intel, which means it will accommodate Pentium 4 processors that have a 1066MHz front-side bus, DDR2 memory...

Micro trumps the mini? Zen Micro.(First Looks)
April 1, 2005... Previous Zen digital audio players from Creative have proved it isn't afraid to take on Apple at its own game. Now, with the Creative Zen Micro, it's going head-to-head with the iPod Mini. Design-wise, Creative has certainly got it right:...

Watching the box: S-Presso S1-111, XCube EA915 AV.(First Looks)
April 1, 2005... Small Form Factor (SFF) PCs are designed to be space-efficient and packed full of features, Since appearing on the market in 2001, they've matured from a fad into respectable Mini PCs ideal for transporting (to your friend's house for example)...

Undercover agent: AntiSpyware Beta1.(First Looks)
April 1, 2005... In addition to spyware and adware detection and removal, Microsoft AntiSpyware includes a variety of security and privacy tools, such as one that alerts you if someone tries to piggyback bandwidth off your wireless network. The free 6.4MB...

Super-fast file finder: Google Desktop Beta.(First Looks)
April 1, 2005... If your computer is awash with documents, e-mails, instant messages, cached Web pages--making finding anything close to impossible--try Google Desktop. Using the same techniques as the company's Web search engine, Google Desktop is...

Portable printer: Pixma IP90.(First Looks)
April 1, 2005... Canon's Pixma iP90 portable photo printer offers good prints for mobile users. The 1.8kg unit prints better and faster than its predecessor, the Canon i80, and even competes with full-size rivals. We clocked the iP90 printing text at 6.3...

Foxtel's hard disk recorder.(Quick Takes)
April 1, 2005... Those of you already using or thinking of subscribing to the Foxtel Digital service now have the option of purchasing the Foxtel PDR (personal hard disk recorder) set-top box, which integrates perfectly with Foxters electronic program guide....

Media Center Extender.(Quick Takes)
April 1, 2005... Extender devices let you free content from your Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) PC and enjoy it wherever you want. We've taken an exclusive look at the US model of Linksys' Media Center Extender due for launch here in September. ...

Starlight express.(Quick Takes)
April 1, 2005... When most city slickers leave the city lights and pollution far behind, it's hard for them not to gaze in awe at the sparkling spectacle of the galaxy stretching out across a clear night sky. Like many amateur astronomers, we usually know the...

Nice zoom, but pricey.(Quick Takes)
April 1, 2005... By rights, the Nikon Coolpix 4800 should be in the beginner category, but its price tag pushes it up to intermediate level. The 4800 is a simple point-and-shoot camera with dimensions too large to be called compact, though the big...

Backup and imaging.(Quick Takes)
April 1, 2005... There's lots of backup and imaging utilities out there, but few are as easy to use as this one. Not only can you clone a complete drive, but restoring the mirror image of your data is a piece of cake. Acronis True Image 8.0 generates a...

Beefy home theatre projector.(Quick Takes)
April 1, 2005... Simply one of the biggest projectors we have seen in the Test Centre, the PE8700 has the dimensions of 400x347x116mm (LxWxH) and weighs approximately 7.5kgs. The PE8700 is targeted at the home theatre enthusiast for that ultimate home...

Performance enhancement.(Quick Takes)
April 1, 2005... WinTasks Professional 5.0, as its name suggests, is not for the novice. It's designed to help you prevent software programs running in the background slowing down your PC's performance, or even harbouring Trojans and spyware. You are...

Time is on our side.(Readers' Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... Regarding the Helpscreen question in the February issue about Windows Time Server, I thought you might be interested to hear of a great alternative program I found on the Web, called DS Clock. It is a free download from www.dualitysoft.com/...

Who's spamming you?(Readers' Forum)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... A survey of my e-mail account found a 75 per cent spam rate, similar to the November figures released by the antispam vendor MessageLabs (March PC World, p.10). But what kind of spam is it and how well do my spam filters work? A fairly...

Missive of the month!(Readers' Forum)
April 1, 2005... Congratulations to Dick Baldauf! You are this month's winner of a year's subscription to PC World worth $66. We are pleased to receive your letters, but please keep them to less than 300 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for...

Centrino evolves: two years after it launched the Centrino mobile computing platform, Intel has released new technology in the form of Sonoma. But is the update a revolution or an evolution? We put 10 of these latest portable performers to the test to judge the nature of the beast.
April 1, 2005... The original Centrino platform helped foster smaller and lighter notebooks with standardised wireless networking options. Although it's not like you couldn't wirelessly network a notebook before Centrino, Intel's marketing blitz as well as a...

Movie magic: in the first of a two-part guide to digital video, we review some great cameras and present essential advice to read before you hit the shops. Plus: how to transfer your video to digital.
April 1, 2005... ALL-STAR CAMERAS Digital camcorders have gone through some transformations recently. Demand has led to the addition of features that can help you take better footage as well as edit it and apply special effects. You can now record to an...

Talk is cheap: did you know that broadband gives you the potential to make cheap and sometimes free phone calls? It's easier than you think! PC World shows you how to get started and what the (realistic) cost savings and hardware options are. Plus, we road test five of the latest services.
April 1, 2005... What is VoIP? VoIP (Voice over Internet protocol) services providing "Internet telephony" can save money because you use an Internet connection to carry voice calls rather than the regular public switched telephone network (PSTN) or, as...

More than just talk: if you're baffled by the extras on offer from your all-singing, all-dancing mobile, follow PC World's simple advice to get the most from a smartphone.
April 1, 2005... Gone are the days when mobile phones just made voice calls. The latest generation of smartphones provide text and e-mail facilities, as well as Internet access. They can also double as digital audio players and cameras--both video and still....

The latest hard drives tested.(Driving Range)
April 1, 2005... We can never have too much hard drive space these days. Let's face it, with the introduction of affordable 1.5Mbit ADSL plans and quotas up to 20GB per month, and with the latest games and applications each taking up gigabytes of space, it's...

Express graphics takes over.(Sweet Spot)
April 1, 2005... When constructing a PC it's worth looking out for hardware pieces that can offer the highest levels of performance without the heftiest of price tags. These components sit in what is called the sweet spot. The rule that we use to determine the...

Over $3500.(Best Buys)
April 1, 2005... Plus Corporation Altera FX-55 [pc world BEST BUYS] [1] A perfect system to meet all types of computing needs, the Altera FX-55 is feature-packed and has some great expansion possibilities for future upgrades. A black Coolermaster...

$1500-$3500.(Best Buys)
April 1, 2005... APUS Universe Pro 3500A9 [pc world BEST BUYS] [1] The wholly aluminium Thermaltake Tsunami case which houses the components has several security features. A large swingable door on the front can be locked at the side of the case with a...

Dell Dimension XPS.(Best Buys)
April 1, 2005... A new desktop from Dell, the Dimension XPS, just missed out on the Over-S3500 charts this month, but we thought it was still worthy of a mention due to some standout features. Trying to muscle in on the gaming crowd, the new design from Dell...

Sub-$1500.(Best Buys)
April 1, 2005... Altech Gameforce Sniper [pc world BEST BUYS] [1] NEW The Gameforce Sniper from Altech is ideally for first-time PC buyers, students and families. It won't blaze through every latest game and application at breakneck speed but should...

PCs: over $3500, $1500-$3500, sub-$1500.(Best Buys)
April 1, 2005... VALUE MAKE/MODEL ADDING SPEED RATING REAL WORLD TESTS OVER $3500 (1) Plus Corporation 109 (A) 369 (F) 2m14s Altera FX-55 (B) 27913 (G) 2m38s...

Over $4000.(Best Buys)
April 1, 2005... Pioneer DreamBook Power 900 [pc world BEST BUYS] [1] NEW The Power 900 is a well-built multimedia desktop replacement that's ideal for video and gaming enthusiasts. At 5.7kg, it's a huge notebook with more features than we've ever seen,...

$2500-$4000.(Best Buys)
April 1, 2005... Dell Inspiron 9300 [pc world BEST BUYS] [1] NEW Dell has again updated the flagship of its Inspiron notebook range, harnessing Intel's new Centrino update to deliver a big 17in screen, mid-weight and great performance--particularly on the...

Sub-$2500.(Best Buys)
April 1, 2005... Viewmaster Portiva 5z70 [pc world BEST BUYS] [1] NEW 5z70 may use the now older, original Centrino platform, but that doesn't stop it being good value for money. It's also another notebook that's originally manufactured by ASUStek in...

Notebooks: sub-$2500.(Best Buys)
April 1, 2005... VALUE MAKE/MODEL RATING BENCHMARK SCORES REAL WORLD TESTS OVER $4000 (1) Pioneer 86 (A) 304 (D) 38s Dreambook (B) 17173 (E) 4m30s ...

Hard drives.(Best Buys)
April 1, 2005... In your PC the hard drive is the home of your operating system, applications and personal data. It is the one device that you cannot afford to lose, yet it is also the most vulnerable. Out of all the major components (CPU, memory, motherboard,...

Serious issues.(Windows XP)
April 1, 2005... Q MY two-year-old Windows XP system has recently started crashing while running an application and giving the "Serious error recovery" message on restart. These crashes are quite unpredictable, although a disk cleanup on drive C, a ScanDisk or...

Picture imperfect.(Windows XP)
April 1, 2005... Q Can you tell me where Windows XP stores desktop background image files? I have two files listed under Display Properties-Desktop that don't work, and I would like to delete them. --Ron Ransley A Windows' standard desktop backgrounds...

Unclear.(Windows XP)
April 1, 2005... Q What is ClearType (Desktop Properties-Appearance-Effects) supposed to do? After stumbling across it one day I tried enabling it out of curiosity. Having done so, it seems a more appropriate name for it would be BlurredType. --Andrew...

Changing places.(Top Tip)
April 1, 2005... Q Is it possible to change the locations listed on the left-hand side of the File Open and Save dialogue boxes, so as to replace a location I never use with one that I do? --Jon Wills A The short answer to this is yes, Jon. This panel...

Restore restoration.(Windows XP)
April 1, 2005... Q After installing the SP2 upgrade to Windows XP I seem to have lost the ability to use System Restore. It creates restore points but won't restore from them. Could you publish a fix for this? --Bill Hughes A The procedure that usually...

Folder print.(Windows XP)
April 1, 2005... Q I want to print a list of the contents of a folder. A simple enough request, you'd think, but I've searched in vain for a Print option in Windows Explorer. --Arthur Davison A Surprisingly enough, Windows has never provided a way to...

Strung up.(Windows XP)
April 1, 2005... Q When my PC loads up Windows XP Professional I receive the message: "GS4: No valid string table was found". What does it mean and what can I do about it? --Brian Ainsworth A Our investigations turned up just two reports of people...

Problem PDFs.(Applicatopns)
April 1, 2005... Q Ever since installing Windows XP Service Pack 2, I have been unable to view PDF files on Web sites. All I see is a little box with a red cross in it. I have tried reducing the security settings to minimum, but it makes no difference. ...

Coolweb hijack.(Security)
April 1, 2005... Q When opening Internet Explorer I receive the message: "Cannot find File://C:/ searchpage.html. Make sure the path or Internet address is correct". The browser then opens, but doesn't work, so I'm having to use Mozilla. Can you advise? ...

Intruder update.(Security)
April 1, 2005... Q I'm using XP with SP2 installed and I am having a problem with Norton Internet Security 2004. Intrusion Detection is off. When I try to switch it on I receive the message: "Failed to save settings. Please verify that your Windows account is...

Double firewall.(Security)
April 1, 2005... Q I have two PCs, one of which is connected to the Internet using an ADSL modem. The other is networked to it, and shares the Internet access. When I installed the SP2 update, it enabled the Windows firewall on both computers. --Ian...

DVD editing.(Miscellaneous)
April 1, 2005... Q I had some home videos professionally transferred to DVD. Upon opening the DVD on my computer I found a number of files, some of which can be played using the PC's DVD player software. My computer has Ulead VideoStudio 5.0, which doesn't...

Right click.(Top Tip)
April 1, 2005... When you right-click a file, a context menu pops up. But did you know you can add your own options to this menu--to provide, for instance, direct access to a specific file type, such as DOC or ZIP? Open Windows Explorer and select Tools-Folder...

Optical drives: burning data to CDs and DVDs is all the rage these days, but only if you've got the right hardware. Back to basics shows you how to upgrade.(Back To Basics)
April 1, 2005... When Philips came up with the CD-ROM back in 1984, it's unlikely that even they realised its importance as a storage medium in years to come. These days, optical disc technology is a standard component in every PC, not to mention the mainstay...

Stay in touch: it's not what you know, it's not even who you know--it's what you do with all the contacts you've made. Here's how to get that address book working smarter for you.(Office)
April 1, 2005... You may have spent hours carefully entering contact details for your friends, family and colleagues into Outlook, but are you making the best use of them? It's so easy to lose touch with people, but the success of sites such as Friendster and...

Video a go-go: this month, Laurence ditches his prehistoric mobile phone and enters a bright new age of video on the move.(Digital Video)
April 1, 2005... After months of putting it off, I've finally bought myself a new mobile phone to replace the retro breezeblock that drew unwanted attention when I got it out in public. It was when children started to point and call me names in the street that...

Sites and sounds: take new-year trade shows, mix in new technologies, then add a dash of gee-whiz and you've got some of 2005's most interesting music tools.(Audio)
April 1, 2005... Audiophiles worldwide were quick to jump online earlier this year, keen to see and hear the latest and greatest music instruments launched at key annual tradeshows. MacWorld San Francisco got the ball rolling, quickly followed by the big...

Burn, network and search with Gnome: our free software guru looks at new software for his desktop--some of which he can run, some of which he can't.(Linux)
April 1, 2005... One of the Gnome desktop's biggest weaknesses is the lack of a serious CD burning application. Yes, there is a rudimentary-yet-elegant burning function built right into Nautilus, the Gnome file manager: simply open up the CD Creator system...

Flash in the pan: Macromedia's flagship product is the ultimate in web multimedia, but it's expensive. As luck would have it, some of the cheaper alternatives are also more effective.(Internet)
April 1, 2005... At the end of the 1990s, "usability guru" Jakob Nielsen published an article entitled Flash: 99 per cent bad, in which he lamented the proliferation of pointless and useless Flash animations and applets. Any average Web browser connected...

Home improvement: having reception problems with your home Wi-Fi network? There are lots of simple ways to improve its performance and cut down on interference without spending a fortune.(Networking)
April 1, 2005... There's no doubt about it: Wi-Fi in the home rivals sliced bread as the best thing ever. It makes the associated hassle, cost and mess of cabling up your house a thing of the past and, if you have a notebook, you're even better off because you...

Chronicles of Riddick: escape from butcher bay Director's Cut.(Backbytes)
April 1, 2005... Bald, bold and very beautiful, The Chronicles of Riddick (COR) is exceptional gaming. It grabs the movie-license sub-genre and provides the perfect template on how to make a great gaming experience from a cinematic source. From the outset,...

Hard disk drive voice recorder.(Backbytes)
April 1, 2005... Sanyo's HDR-B5GM includes a 5GB, 1in drive that provides a maximum recording time of 693 hours in the lowest quality MP3 recording mode. There are four quality modes and recording time drops to 57 hours with the highest of them. The device...

Share the power of 5.1 sound.(Backbytes)
April 1, 2005... Producing a perfect partner for their 5.1 headphones, Zalman has also released a compact external amplifier. It allows you to plug in two pairs of 5.1 headphones to a single sound card and supplies each with a separate volume control. Setup...

Knights of the Old Republic II: the Sith Lords.(PC)
April 1, 2005... Released about a year and a half ago, the first Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) was very successful, but wasn't all that revolutionary. As any hardcore PC gaming fan will tell you, KOTOR's emphasis on long conversations and meandering...

Solar vest suits on-the-go gadgets.(Backbytes)
April 1, 2005... The Solar ScotteVest System is a coat with removable zippered sleeves, 42 pockets for gadgets, and a mesh lining that lets you run connector cables and earbud cords inside. But the coolest feature is its detachable solar panel. The solar panel...

Sid Meier's Pirates!(PC)
April 1, 2005... In the age where mediocre games with movie-sized blistering budgets and high profile voice acting have become standard, Sid Meier's Pirates goes in the other direction, focusing on the basics of what makes games great. The first thing that...

Play it again, Sam.(Backbytes)
April 1, 2005... Logitech's MediaPlay cordless mouse was designed for more than just mousing around--it doubles as a media remote control. You can manage your MP3s, audio CDs and DVDs totally via the mouse; the extra 10 backlit buttons on this ambidextrous...

Stick-on battery booster.(Backbytes)
April 1, 2005... Do you find your mobile phone or laptop battery just doesn't have the life that it used to? You might want to check out the "batterylife Activator". Developed in Japan, the batterylife Activator is a nano-ceramic foil which is claimed to...

Pool your play equipment.(Backbytes)
April 1, 2005... Looking for something to spruce up that boring boardroom or are you just a gadget lover with a passion for billiards/pool? This full-sized billiard table, The Executive, may be what is missing in your life. Not only is it a traditional billiard...

Cool move.(Backbytes)
April 1, 2005... Weighing only 15gms each and as the name suggests, able to fit into your pocket, the Pocketsize Speedballs attach to the underside of your notebook. Speedballs not only elevate a notebook to a more ergonomic position and allow for a cooling gap...

Multi-format film scanner.(Backbytes)
April 1, 2005... High quality scanning requires high resolution and optical density. The Epson Perfection 4990 Photo has a top resolution of 4800x9600 and a Dmax rating of 4.0. Plus, this versatile scanner has a built-in transparency unit to cope with film...

Fantasy physics.(Bytesback)
April 1, 2005... Our favourite Web site this month is Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics. It uncovers unrealistic explosions in the vacuum of space (with no air, how can there be noise and fire?), visible red laser beams, people bursting through glass windows...

Colour my world!(Bytesback)
April 1, 2005... Military special forces around the world are rejoicing with news of the first ever colour night-vision system. The standard fuzzy grey or green night-vision images are usually too hard to interpret and lack depth perception. Dutch military...

Teraflop in a box.(Bytesback)
April 1, 2005... The processing power of PCs has come along way since IBM's first humble 5100 desktop model. For example, IBM's Blue Gene--the world's fastest supercomputer--is approximately 450,000 times faster than the swiftest system 30 years ago. Every...

Give them a big hand.(Bytesback)
April 1, 2005... In last year's blockbuster, Spiderman 2, Dr Octavius built a small nuclear fusion reactor. But even with his super-strong tentacled armour Doc Ock failed to control it, and in the process went mad and became Spidey's nemesis! Now, real...