Australian PC World articles from February 2000

Australian PC World archives from February 2000

news briefs.(Australian intelligence organization gets permission to hack personal e-mail)(Government Activity)
February 1, 2000... ASIO given power to hack The Australian intelligence organisation, ASIO, can legally hack into personal computers and bug online communications under amendments to federal legislation. Based on recommendations from a secret report by...

Coming attractions: the processors of 2000.(Technology Information)
February 1, 2000... Want a sneak peek at the PC industry's scripts for 2000? We'd call one of them "There's Something About Megahertz", and it stars a 1GHz processor. The industry's cranking up the speed and trying to tease you with fancy words like "copper...

What's the standard for the wireless Web?(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)
February 1, 2000... The PC industry says it will deliver on its promise this year for seamless access to data anytime, anywhere, but wireless capability -- a key component to make pervasive computing a reality -- may still come up short. The Wireless...

Microsoft banking on Win CE upgrade.(Company Business and Marketing)
February 1, 2000... With a name change and new features, the spotlight is on Microsoft's last-ditch effort to find a winning combination for Windows CE in the sub-PC marketplace. A new upgraded version of Windows CE features improvements to give the operating...

Cracking up.(Crackz allows users of trial software to break the registration code)(Technology Information)
February 1, 2000... What is more devious than Warez (the subject of alt.net's December column)? One tiny file that turns shareware into a fully-functional program. The file is known as a "Crack", and like everything else that revolves around violating copyright on...

online news.(Company Business and Marketing)
February 1, 2000... ATO working on e-tax It may take five years or more for international e-commerce taxation issues to be resolved, an Australian Tax Office (ATO) official has said. The ATO is currently working with local businesses and international...

Kicking tyres on Windows Millennium beta.(Product Development)
February 1, 2000... OPERATING SYSTEM If you're eager to step up from your Windows 98 desktop but are not equipped for Windows 2000, you may not find much visible difference in the update to the "consumer" edition, code named Windows Millennium. We...

PocketMail.(mobile messaging service available in Australia)(Company Business and Marketing)
February 1, 2000... MESSAGING SERVICE February will see the launch of an innovative new service catering to those who cannot live without e-mail, and who need access to it just about everywhere there is a telephone. PocketMail, a service that debuted in...

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Mobile.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2000... SPEECH RECOGNITION DEVICE Taking dictation outside the desktop is the mission of Dragon NaturallySpeaking Mobile. Through it, you can create documents, notes from meetings, memos, e-mail messages and any other text to transcribe later into...

Partition Magic 5.0.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2000... SOFTWARE UTILITY Partitioning your hard drive can make your system easier to manage, back up, and troubleshoot, and lets you set up two operating systems on one machine. Judicious use of hard drive partitions can also optimise drive and...

eMachine eOne 433.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2000... ALL-IN-ONE PC Does a budget PC necessarily equate to overall value for money? eMachine believes it can be done with the release of its new entry-level Intel-based PC, the eOne. Translucent and looking strikingly similar to Apple's...

Fujifilm MX-1500.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2000... DIGITAL CAMERA Not only are digital cameras getting sharper and cheaper, as our digital camera feature says (see page 81), but they're also improving in the style arena. Fujifilm's latest release, the MX-1500, is a perfect example. Encased...

Digital Dashboard.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2000... BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITY Those of you familiar with the "My home page" concept favoured by online services these days (my.yahoo.com and my. excite.com, for example) will already know how useful it can be to bring together the information in...

Download Demon 3.0.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2000... INTERNET UTILITY Netzip's Download Demon 3.0 offers download junkies a better way to manage downloads -- it's a free utility with smart features for quickly downloading, organising and installing multiple files. Download Demon launches...

Easy CD Creator Deluxe 4.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2000... CD BURNER SOFTWARE Easy CD Creator is a reliable workhorse that has grabbed a significant slice of the CD burner software market. Nearly all recent CD burners have been bundled with version 3 of this software which, despite a few bugs,...

SAFtyLatch 1.05.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2000... ENCRYPTION SECURITY Keeping your personal files safe is ultra-easy with SAFLINK's SAFtyLatch. Using your voiceprint via biometrics, the program can protect your folders with medium-level 56-bit file encryption. SAFLINK has designed the...

The myopic approach to computing.(computer design causes stress injuries)(Technology Information)
February 1, 2000... Myopia generally does not present as a problem until a child is seven to nine years old. Some optometrists, though, are now reporting that they are seeing more children with short sightedness, and earlier than they might expect, which some...

The Rare Glitch Project.(Humor)
February 1, 2000... In October 1999, three student filmmakers disappeared in a building in Redmond, Washington, while shooting a documentary. A week later, their footage was found. What follows is an edited transcript of that footage. I was able to cut the...

Put some punch back into life.(Technology Information)(Column)
February 1, 2000... Every Saturday morning from November to May, the pointy-nosed Concorde touches down at Barbados' Grantley Adams International Airport. It's a 4-hour flight from London and, with the time difference, you arrive 15 minutes after you leave, which...

GST bytes PC market.(Australia's Goods and Services Tax on PCs)(Government Activity)
February 1, 2000... As the saying goes, there are two things in life we are certain of: death and taxation. Regarding the latter, I will be discussing the impact of the Goods and Services Tax on the Australian PC market. As of today, there are over 1425...

Readers forum.(Product Support)
February 1, 2000... QuickTime upgrade woes Am I the only person in the world who has a problem with QuickTime, or am I just missing something? I'm an average home PC user, with no great technical knowledge, and I would have thought that QuickTime, which is...

Cash in on your Web site's success.(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)
February 1, 2000... Creators of Web sites have many different reasons for publishing on the Internet. Whether it is a fan site dedicated to local celebrities, a developer's outlet or an online presence for an established store, it is only a matter of time before...

THE Digital FUTURE.(the future of PCs looks dim)(Technology Information)
February 1, 2000... How will the next advances in computing affect your life and work? The horizon is crowded with possibilities, from polymorphic viruses to wireless everything. Here's what's in store -- we think. FOR A QUARTER OF A CENTURY computing...

Web wonders HTML editors for any budget.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2000... WEB AUTHORING PACKAGES COME IN MANY DIFFERENT FLAVOURS -- BUT WITH SO MANY POSSIBILITIES, WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE? WE REVIEW THE LATEST HTML EDITORS FOR NOVICES AND EXPERTS ALIKE. No software group has evolved as fast as that of Web authoring....

TAKE YOUR best shot.(digital camera buyers guide)(Buyers Guide)
February 1, 2000... DIGITAL CAMERAS ARE GETTING SHARPER, AND THEY'RE GETTING CHEAPER. WE REVIEW 16 OF THE LATEST MODELS, PLUS GIVE TIPS ON THE SOFTWARE THAT CAN GIVE YOUR CHERISHED PHOTOS A PROFESSIONAL POLISH. Polaroids may make you the life of the party, but...

HOME & BUSINESS PCS.(Buyers Guide)
February 1, 2000... HOME PCs 1 Peripherals Plus Athlon 700 Once again taking the number one position on the Home chart due to its blazing performance and fully featured configuration, the Peripherals Plus Athlon 700 represents power, versatility and value...

NOTESBOOKS best buys.(Buyers Guide)
February 1, 2000... 1 Gateway Solo 9300 XL Up in the stratospheric end of the notebook market live machines such as the Gateway Solo 9300 XL. It boasts all the high-end specifications you can think of, including a 500MHz Intel Pentium III processor, 8MB 3D...

SCANNERS.(Buyers Guide)
February 1, 2000... With such a wide variety of scanners available, we thought we would look at some of the better known brand name scanners. Seven USB scanners costing less than $550 from Canon, AcerScan, Epson, Agfa, Hewlett-Packard and Microtek were evaluated....

INSTALL A CD-RW Drive.(Technology Information)
February 1, 2000... The CD-Rewritable drive continues to be one of the most popular PC upgrades. A CD-RW drive can repeatedly read, write and erase files from $8 to $16 optical discs, while it can also read files on standard CD-ROMs and read and permanently write...

Make Windows safe.
February 1, 2000... For years, readers have Been asking how they can protect the security and privacy of their Windows settings and files without upgrading to NT. This is like asking how you can secure your home without putting doors in the doorways. Okay, maybe...

Application management.(using the Add/REmove Programs utility)(Technology Information)
February 1, 2000... The necessary and now ubiquitous Add/Remove Programs utility is a double-edged sword that you must learn to use if you want to keep your system under some semblance of control. Because of the complexities of today's programs, it is almost...

Basic Linux network security -- Part 2.(Product Support)
February 1, 2000... Last month I discussed basic Linux security. The model involved was quite restrictive, and offered very little for remote users. At the user end Linux is build on the shell, and it is often the case that people with Linux machines will want to...

Mac OS 9 -- Sherlock 2.(Product Information)
February 1, 2000... Mention search engines or `portals' to your friends or colleagues and chances are they'll each have a different favourite. Sites that search a variety of popular engines with a single click of the mouse -- such as dogpile.com -- are gaining in...

WINDOWS 9x.(Using Internet Explorer 4.0 to preview Web files in the folder window)(Product Information)
February 1, 2000... If you have Windows 9x with Internet Explorer 4 installed, you can preview many common Web-related files right in the folder window. First, select View and make sure that as Web Page is selected. Then pick a file to see a preview of it,...

WINDOWS NT.(printer sharing)
February 1, 2000... Selectively share your printer with colleagues So the computer whizzes downstairs finally installed that nifty colour printer you've been waiting for. Because you're such a pal, you're willing to let some of your colleagues in nearby...

INTERNET.(Pretty Good Privacy offers secure e-mail)(Technology Information)
February 1, 2000... Ready to get serious about e-mail privacy? You may have heard about e-mail encryption -- you may even have tried it and given up because it was too confusing (okay -- too geeky). It's time you tried it again. With programs like Pretty Good...

APPLICATIONS.(locating lost files on a hard disk)
February 1, 2000... You Created a document last month or maybe a year ago, and now it's nowhere to be found. You know you saved it on your hard disk but can't remember the file name or the folder where you put it. If that's your dilemma, Word 97 or 2000 can help...

HARDWARE.(PC maintenance)(Technology Information)
February 1, 2000... Take care of your PC or watch it die PCs require maintenance. For example, you need to regularly purge old, unused files and applications. Slack off, and your PC will be prone to crashes or will perform more sluggishly. But PC maintenance goes...

DirectCD and Easy CD Creator patches.(Product Information)
February 1, 2000... Adaptec's burner software has a reputation for being reliable and easy to use -- unfortunately, not all users have shared this experience. The frustration has not been helped by a support site that can be very confusing. Some common issues with...

The Internet: The Rough Guide 2000.(Review)
February 1, 2000... ANGUS J. KENNEDY Currently in its fifth edition, this book is an excellent buy at a competitive price. Costing around $12.95, it is hard to find a better book covering the Internet. And when you flick through it and realise its vast scope,...

Mastering HTML 4.(Technology Information)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... DEBORAH S. RAY AND ERIC J. RAY Trying to learn how to write HTML from a book can be a tough process. Titles aimed at new users are quickly outgrown, while advanced books tend to lose readers with their dry, analytical approaches. The next...

Weaving the Web.(Review)
February 1, 2000... TIM BERNERS-LEE It is hard to believe that it's 10 years since the Web was created, and during this decade it's expanded to encompass a global flow of information. Many of us take advantage of this technology, and some of us have yet to...

Smell the coffee.(www.smellthecoffee.com Web site offers coffee information)(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)(Brief Article)(Directory)
February 1, 2000... www.smellthecoffee.com If you want your coffee to mean more than a quick cup of instant to see you through the afternoon, and to be an experience to be enjoyed with friends, la Seinfeld, then this site will enthrall. While most of the...

Ultimate cookbook.(Review)
February 1, 2000... www.ucook.com The Internet is one of the greatest cookbooks every invented. Instead of poring over your copies of Margaret Fulton and Charmaine Solomon cookbooks, the fastest way to get a receipe is to go online. At the Ultimate...

Webtender.(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)(Brief Article)(Directory)
February 1, 2000... www.webtender.com Cocktail parties are always great fun. It starts off a swinging success, then the blender usually overheats from overuse. The kitchen floor becomes a sugary swamp, and by the end of the party, the guests who have consumed...

Create your own radio station.(www.mp3.com offers MP3 service)(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)(Brief Article)(Directory)
February 1, 2000... www.mp3.com When it comes to music, you know what you like. Now, you no longer have to listen to what someone else thinks you ought to like. MP3.com has launched a service allowing users to create their own fully interactive music...

Adolescent Adulthood.(www.adolescentadulthood.com Web site offers info on adolescent relationships)(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)(Directory)
February 1, 2000... www.adolescentadulthood.com Are the days gone when Mum or Dad sits you down to explain the birds and bees? Probably not. However, when it comes to explaining the perhaps more technical aspects of relationships -- that is, the flirting,...

gadgets.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2000... Home weather station Trying to plan a weekend fishing trip or a family barbie and want to make sure the day isn't rained out? Well, stop relying on the Bureau of Meteorology and have a punt yourself using the home weather station, which...

gizmos.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2000... Pioneer DVD-V7300D DVD-V7300D in Australia, and Pioneer is continuing its push into this market with the launch of its new DVD player this month, which supports the dual standards of PAL and NTSC. Features of the player include a frame...

Star Trek: Hidden Evil.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2000... BY JASON SAMUEL Rejoice, Trekkers! Rejoice, adventure fans! Activision appears to have successfully bred the Star Trek: Next Generation world with graphic adventure and action elements... and the baby is a curie! Star Trek: Hidden...

Shadow Man.(computer game)(Software Review)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2000... TOM CHICK As far as Tomb Raider clones go, Shadow Man is pretty good stuff, steeped in a rich comic book world. But its gameplay doesn't live up to the promise of its atmosphere, and the game is prone to spells of tedium. Shadow Man...

bytesback.(News Briefs)
February 1, 2000... Watching the watchdog It's good to know there's someone out there looking after consumers' rights. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched an all-out war against people who try to rip off consumers using 190...