Australian PC World articles from July 2003

Australian PC World archives from July 2003

Public enemy: George W. Bush believes Osama bin Laden is public enemy number one--closely followed by Saddam Hussein (sometimes he reverses the order). But for the rest of us, unsolicited e-mail--or spam--is the real enemy that terrorises us daily. (Editorial).
July 1, 2003... The inbox deluge is something many of us succumb to every morning. Boot up, log on, make coffee, then delete 300 unopened, unsolicited e-mails. OK, maybe you don't get that many every day--but even those of us who try to block, manage, filter...

P-to-P lawsuit dismissed. (News Analysis).
July 1, 2003... In an enormous blow to the music and motion picture industries, a US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against file-sharing services Grokster and StreamCast Networks, saying that they can not be held culpable for illegal file trading done...

Survey shows Australian computer crime rising.
July 1, 2003... There is very little good news in the 2003 Australian Computer Crime and Security Survey, which shows a rise in attacks and reveals that the impact on business is more costly and damaging. More than 40 per cent of respondents experienced...

Study: mobile phones still a threat in aircraft.
July 1, 2003... Airlines should continue their ban on the use of mobile phones onboard aircraft because of possible interference with navigation and communication equipment, according to a study published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). A series...

Intel scopes notebooks. (News Analysis).
July 1, 2003... Intel is working on a reference design for mobile products that expands upon a convertible Tablet PC blueprint to incorporate a double-hinged design, the company said. Intel's mobile Platforms Group had built a non-working prototype of a...

IBM claims smallest solid-state light emitter.
July 1, 2003... Researchers at IBM have used microscopic carbon molecules to emit light, a breakthrough that could replace silicon as the foundation of chips and lead to faster computers and telecommunication equipment. The focus of the research team was...

GeForce FX gets faster. (News Analysis).
July 1, 2003... NVIDIA introduced its fastest graphics processors yet at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The GeForce FX 5900 series of GPUs (graphics processing units) contains the GeForce FX 5900 and the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra. Both feature...

Hotmail adds fee service. (News Analysis).
July 1, 2003... Hotmail users will gain access to a new premium subscription-based service with the launch of ninemsn's Extra Storage. The new service, which represents ninemsn's first step into the paid subscriptions model, will allow Hotmail users to...

Watchmaker puts flash memory close at hand.
July 1, 2003... The decreasing size and increasing capacity of flash memory chips has enabled small portable memory devices, such as flash disks and key rings, and now a Vienna-based company has packaged flash memory into something many people wear all the...

Toshiba develops 36GB AOD disc.
July 1, 2003... Toshiba has developed a dual-layer rewritable optical disc for use with the blue-laser-based AOD (Advanced Optical Disc) format that it is developing with NEC. The disc is the same physical size as a CD or DVD aod capable of storing up to...

Telstra ADSL under fire. (Broadband).
July 1, 2003... Senator Kate Lundy has called for the ACCC to investigate Telstra for anti-competitive behaviour, following claims it rejected an application for ADSL services from a competitor through its wholesale division only to then approve the same...

Unlimited downloads for iHug broadband.
July 1, 2003... Adding to Australia's increasing list of broadband service providers offering unlimited high-speed Internet access, iHug has launched its own nationwide ADSL service with unlimited downloads for an all-inclusive flat monthly fee. The new...

Telstra broadband hits 300,000 mark.
July 1, 2003... After committing to signing up one million broadband subscribers by 2005, Telstra has announced that it has now almost 313,000 broadband subscribers across its cable, ADSL, satellite and wholesale networks. The figures were revealed during...

Pricey Athlon? Athlon XP 3200+. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... AMD has released the latest in its line of Athlon XP processors, the 3200+, which is built on the same Barton core as the previous high-end flagship, the 3000+. Improvements over the 3000+ chip are in the areas of clock speed and front side bus...

Slim and stylish: Lifebook L2010. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... Although the Fujitsu L2010 is in essence and looks a transportable slimline PC, it actually uses notebook components and can run from its own six-cell battery. Targeting niche markets such as trend-setters wanting to integrate a PC into a...

Professional projector: PB8220. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... Targeted at the business and educational markets, this projector is well specified with 2200 ANSI lumens brightness, 16.7 million available colours and a 200:1 contrast ratio. The PB8220 supports aspect ratios of 4:3 and 16:9 (wide screen),...

Entertainment cornerstone: Radeon 9700 All-in-Wonder. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... For gaming, TV and video on a personal computer, the 128MB DDR PowerColor Radeon 9700 All-In-Wonder graphics card is brilliant. It can be used for applications such as capturing TV (including time shifting) and video on your PC in AVI format or...

Wireless PC networking: SpaceLink WL-300 wireless access point. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... For wireless home or small office networking, the 802.11b Wi-Fi standard is excellent for sharing Internet connections and transferring data among two or more computers. It has a maximum theoretical transfer rate of 11Mbps, which is more than...

Wireless networking kit: WRT54G Wireless-G Router, WPC54G PC Card. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... For the uninitiated, 'G' in these new Linksys products stands for the latest IEEE wireless specification, 802.11g. The well-established 802.11b standard, otherwise known as Wi-Fi, offers a maximum speed of 11Mbps and broadcasts at 2.4GHz....

Illustration refresh: Designer 10.0. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... Corel's 2001 acquisition of Micrografx Designer raised clear doubts about the program's future as a stablemate of rival vector-editing application CorelDRAW. Designer 10.0 is more sensibly aimed directly at technical illustrators rather than...

Latest in PDF creation: Acrobat 6. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... Workgroups can now get more out of their favourite Microsoft Office applications by using them less. Rather than collaborating on separate files that make up a typical project (a Word press release, an Excel inventory list, and a PowerPoint...

Powerful, usable design: FreeHand MX. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... FreeHand has been given the MX interface treatment to bring it in line with Macromedia's other design programs. The updated onscreen layout is accompanied by an Object panel, making FreeHand much more intuitive. This new panel presents all...

Protect your privacy online: NetBarrier 2003. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... NetBarrier will be a new name to most PC users, although this piece of software has been available for the Mac for some time. As well as protecting your computer against hackers who may be scanning unlocked ports or using Trojans to exploit...

Antivirus alternative: PC-cillin 2003. (First Looks).
July 1, 2003... Trend Micro has worked hard to make its latest version of PC-cillin--the 2003 edition--the best possible package in terms of protecting users against various forms of malicious code online. In addition to antivirus tools, the previous...

PDA/phone with video camera. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... The Nokia 3650 features a calendar, address book and to-do list which can be synchronised with your PC. We expected to find the unusual key layout difficult to use, but were pleasantly surprised. The five-way control pad let us work our way...

Voice recorder and MP3 player. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... This device is perfect for professionals and students who want a versatile music player, voice recorder, FM radio and data transfer capabilities all in one tiny, very solidly built unit. It can be used in meetings, lectures, during interviews,...

Skyhawk Matrix case. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... Aesthetic appeal and high ease of use are two major contributing factors when purchasing a new case. Not only do you want your PC case to look good, but it has to be easy to set up and configure to your needs. Weighing only 4.3kg when...

Disk Steno CP100. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... The Disc Steno CP100 is the first type of hybrid storage solution that is essentially an external CD-RW drive but also has two different slots for flash memory cards. Weighing only 693g with the battery, the CP100 is best suited for corridor...

Expand your sync options. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... Microsoft's ActiveSync is great for synchronising Outlook with your Pocket PC but it's not much good if the data you want is sitting in another program. If the office has standardised on Lotus Notes or your e-mails arrive in Outlook Express,...

Manage customer relations. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... GoldMine 6.0 Business Contact Manager is aimed at small- to medium-sized business and builds on the strengths of its predecessor. A couple of modules have been redesigned, including the Calendar and Scheduling tools, and you can now customise...

Plan your business. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... Business Plan Pro 2003 contains everything you need to get your new venture off the ground. Initially, the EasyPlan Wizard asks you a series of simple questions 80 that it can set up an appropriate draft. Following the Plan Setup, the...

Good value 17in LCD monitor. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... Although it's not the least expensive 17in model on the market, the $1179 LCD1760NX offers good value and quality. The list of specifications such as the 450:1 contrast ratio, 1280x1024 resolution support and 260cd/[m.sup.2] brightness rating...

Useful label printer. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... Compatible with PCs and Macs, the Dymo LabelWriter has connections for both USB 1.1 and standard serial ports. The operating system treats it like any standard printer, so it's not only compatible with all Windows applications but it can be...

Entry-level palm plus camera. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... Slide up the metallic slate face plate, and the $599 Zire 71 turns into a camera. In camera mode, the 320x320 transflective 65,000-plus-colour screen functions as an LCD viewfinder. It also displays thumbnails when you slide the faceplate back...

Cordless telephone headset. (Quick Takes).
July 1, 2003... Fancy freeing yourself from your phone? GN Netcom's GN 9120 is a wireless headset that has a range of lOOm. It allows you to answer a call, wander across the office to confer with colleagues and keep chatting as you go. To set it up, you...

Opera 7 for Linux. (Linuxworld).
July 1, 2003... The browser wars continue on the Linux platform with the release of Opera version 7. Opera is a browser famous for its high performance, standards compliance and very small size, not to mention its position as the first browser to use the now...

Call for justice. (Reader's Forum).
July 1, 2003... As an ex-police officer and now forensic psychologist (a total of some 40 years experience), I read with dismay Julian Bajkowski's article about Craig Dendtler 'breaking into' the OptusNet customer client details and getting off without any...

Vendors to blame for fake inks. (Reader's Forum).
July 1, 2003... The story on fake ink cartridges (Fake ink cartridges becoming a big problem, http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php?id =1688689637) comes as no surprise to me, whatsoever. When you manufacture a product that's overpriced and that people depend on...

Missive of the month.
July 1, 2003... Congratulations to Alec E Jones! 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...

Dilbert[R].
July 1, 2003... MY SOFTWARE WILL CREATE HUMAN SIMULATIONS FROM DNA SAMPLES. WHAT'S THE MARKET APPLICATION? WELL... THERE ARE MANY VARIOUS APPLICATIONS. NAME ONE. WELL... SOMEDAY THE ENTIRE HUMAN GENOME WILL BE MAPPED AND DECODED. YOU...

The user's guide to user reviews: all over the Web, all kinds of people write real world reviews of tech products. Should you rely on them? (Web & You).
July 1, 2003... Mike Woznicki has been reviewing computer hardware, software, books, and videos on Amazon.com for the past five years. Woznicki, an IT manager and technical certification instructor, certainly knows his stuff. He is currently ranked number 11...

Cheap tweaks: 35+ underpriced, overperforming ways to get more from hardware, software, and the Web.
July 1, 2003... Being cost-conscious has nothing to do with cutting corners or buying shoddy goods. It means shopping and working smart--getting exactly the right tool for the job at the best price. (After all, cheap is such an ugly word, don't you think?...

Natural-born spam killers: six top utilities promise relief from the junk-mail onslaught. Our tests reveal the best defenders for your inbox.
July 1, 2003... Everybody gets too much spam, and nobody likes it. But you don't have to eat any of it. Invest $35 to $100 and some training time in an antispam utility, and you can enjoy a nearly spam free diet. We put six leading spare fighters through...

Integrated utilities. (Natural-Born Spam Killers).
July 1, 2003... www.cloudmark.com ***1/2 $US5 per month SpamNet wants you to participate in the war on spare. Though Cloudmark's Outlook plug-in (free download, with a $US5 monthly fee) isn't the most efficient spam fighter--it caught less than 70...

Spam filters help limit your junk e-mail intake. (Natural-Born Spam Killers).
July 1, 2003... SPAM FILTERS HELP LIMIT YOUR JUNK E-MAIL INTAKE Most filtering tools we tested caught 90 per cent of the spam in our sample, after training. But spam fighting is all about saving time. That's why we preferred utilities that integrate...

Stand-alone utilities. (Natural-Born Spam Killers).
July 1, 2003... Firetrust MailWasher Pro 3 www.firetrust.com/products/mailwasherpro **1/2 2.5 stars, $US30 Would you rather wash your e-mail by hand, or hire someone to do it? MailWasher Pro promises to sanitise your inbox, but we had to scrub...

Stealthmode: how to keep your PC's data safe from snoopers: most PC users worry about the possibility of viral infection and how to store sensitive information away from prying eyes. Here are some practical, relatively painless steps you can take to protect your private PC life.
July 1, 2003... Although most of us are brought up with the idea that sharing is good, we all know there are times when it pays to keep things to yourself. After all, what would your colleagues say if they knew what your salary really is? There are many...

Thinking cost effectively: multifunction devices. (Best Buys).
July 1, 2003... Convenient, feature-packed and requiring comparatively little desktop real estate, multifunction devices (MFDs) are rising in popularity, particularly in the bottom-line-conscious small office/home office (SOHO) environment. All the models we...

Choosing the right PC components. (Tech.Files).
July 1, 2003... Over the last few months we have looked at the latest in motherboard, hard drive and graphics card technologies, and kept you up to date with offerings from the big name vendors. Looking at these components, you may be thinking 'do I need...

New Intel-based motherboards.
July 1, 2003... Two new motherboards for Intel's newly released 865PE chipset (formerly codenamed Springdale) were reviewed this month, one from Albatron and the other from AOpen (we didn't subject the AOpen motherboard to our tests because it is an...

Albatron PX865PE Pro II.
July 1, 2003... A beauty of a board for the enthusiast who wants supreme performance and pleasing aesthetics, the Albatron 865PE II Pro comes fully stocked with seven-channel on board audio capabilities, Serial ATA and parallel ATA RAID ports. These features...

AOpen AX4SPE Max.
July 1, 2003... Bluechip Infotech sent us an engineering sample of AOpen's latest Intel-based board, the AX4SPE Max. Using the 865PE chipset, AOpen has built a fully, featured solution with lots of value-added features that make it a perfect backbone for any...

The inside running: graphics cards, CPUs and chipsets. (Sweet Spot).
July 1, 2003... Graphics cards, CPUs and chipsets will dominate the PC hardware components market over the next couple of months. The latest technology developments and product releases in these categories mean distributors and vendors will be delivering new,...

Over $3500. (Best Buys).
July 1, 2003... Plus Corporation Astra H31 [1] The Astra H31 from Plus Corporation has dark, chic styling and luminous lights within the case. This system would definitely appeal to the gamer, audio enthusiast or digital video buff, and the included...

$1500-$3500. (Best Buys).
July 1, 2003... Trinity International AMD Pro Pack [1] NEW The TI AMD Pro Pack has shot to the number one place in the $1500-$3500 category, taking the reins from Infocom. The Pro Pack has some strong specifications for a decent price of $3325. ...

Sub-$1500. (Best Buys).
July 1, 2003... Hotmicks Value 2083 [1] NEW Hotmicks Computers, a first-time entrant in PC World's Best Buys, has seized the number one position for the Sub-$1500 category. It's encouraging to see first-time vendors do well in their initial outing,...

Over $4000. (Best Buys).
July 1, 2003... Hi-Grade UltiNote M6600 [1] Hi-Grade's Ultinote M6600's writing drive can write DVD-RW and DVD-R discs at 1x and rewrite at 1x, and write and rewrite CDs at 16x and 10x, respectively, in addition to reading DVDs at 8x and CDs at 24x. For...

$2500-$4000. (Best Buys).
July 1, 2003... Hi-Grade Notino C1000 [1] NEW Using the Centrino platform to deliver a high-performance (220 in SYSMark 2001), portable (at 2.4kg) and long-lasting (80-minute battery life) product, Hi-Grade's C1000 also has integrated 802.11b wireless...

Sub-$2500. (Best Buys).
July 1, 2003... Hi-Grade Notino 4400 [1] The Notino 4400 just manages to keep its number one spot again this month after being bolstered last month by a major improvement in the form of an 8x8x8x24x DVD-ROM/CD-R/RW drive. Dropping $100 in price from last...

Notebooks: over $4000, $2500-$4000, sub-$2500. (Best Buys).
July 1, 2003... VALUE BENCHMARK REAL WORLD MAKE/MODEL RATING SCORES TESTS OVER $4000 (1) Hi-Grade 82 214 45s UltiNote 4852 4m34s M6600 ...

Best buys: multifunction devices.
July 1, 2003... The multifunction device is gaining popularity among home and small office users because of its easy manageability and convenience. An MFD incorporates a wealth of features--such as printing, scanning, copying and faxing capabilities--into a...

Brother MFC-9660. (Workgroup Multifunction Devices).
July 1, 2003... DESCRIPTION: This compact workhorse can provide convenient greyscale scanning, copying, faxing and printing of documents in very quick time and at good quality. It does not feature a colour flatbed scanner so can't be used for scanning...

Canon ImageCLASS D320. (Workgroup Multifunction Devices).
July 1, 2003... DESCRIPTION: This laser printer unit has a flatbed copier function built into it, is simplistic in design and very easy to use. It will consume an area of about 40x40cm on a desk, not including the paper cassette tray, which loads into the unit...

HP LaserJet 3330MFP. (Workgroup Multifunction Devices).
July 1, 2003... DESCRIPTION: Taller than any of the other devices in the review, the 3330MFP has an interesting design in which the output paper tray sits in a void between the scanner and printer portions of the unit. This is similar to the output tray of the...

Samsung Digital Laser MFP SCX-5312F. (Workgroup Multifunction Devices).
July 1, 2003... DESCRIPTION: This unit is well suited to an office with volume heavy printing, scanning, copying and faxing needs. The control panel on its front has well laid-out buttons for easy photocopying and faxing. The number pad has well spaced...

Multifunction devices. (Solo/Personal).
July 1, 2003... WORKGROUP MULTIFUNCTION DEVICES BROTHER MFC-9660 Price $1499 Warranty 1 year RTB URL www.brother.com.au Phone ...

Brother MFC-5100C. (Soho/Personal Multifunction Devices).
July 1, 2003... DESCRIPTION: At $749, this unit is able to fax, copy, scan and print, as well as send faxes directly from your Desktop. It has a very light weight and access to the print cartridges is provided through the lifting flatbed portion of the unit....

Brother MFC-5200C. (Soho/Personal Multifunction Devices).
July 1, 2003... DESCRIPTION: The 5200C improves on its 5100C sibling by including convenient loading slots for CompactFlash, SmartMedia and Memory Stick cards. It also has a faster fax component and memory for up to 400 received faxes when it runs out of...

Canon ImageCLASS MP700. (Soho/Personal Multifunction Devices).
July 1, 2003... DESCRIPTION: This MFD is definitely suited to the photo connoisseur. Its functionality encompass high-quality photo printing, scanning, copying and direct printing from CompactFlash, SmartMedia or Memory Stick cards. It is a quiet beast and,...

Epson Stylus CX5100. (Soho/Personal Multifunction Devices).
July 1, 2003... DESCRIPTION: This chunky looking all-in-one unit has printing, scanning and copying capabilities and features a minimalist control panel that offers good user friendliness via its quick access to copying and scanning. Its inkjet printing...

HP OfficeJet 6110. (Soho/Personal Multifunction Devices).
July 1, 2003... DESCRIPTION: One of the most elegant and silent machines in the review, the 6110 boasts great productivity features for an inkjet-based device. It has printer, scanner, copier and fax functionality, and the comprehensive control panel at...

Lexmark X5150. (Soho/Personal Multifunction Devices).
July 1, 2003... DESCRIPTION: As the only MFD in the review to feature a talking driver program, the X5150 has a lot of value-added features in its driver that make it a worthwhile proposition for the non-tech-savvy SOHO user who has printing, scanning and...

You're surrounded: the highs and lows of using a PC. (Here's How).
July 1, 2003... If you've read this month's features on keeping your data safe using antivirus and encryption software (page 67) and the top six antispam utilities (page 57), you should have an excellent grounding in some of the worst aspects of using the...

Set antivirus software for maximum protection. (Upgrader).
July 1, 2003... Whether you have an always-on cable or DSL connection or you use dial-up, you're on a road that can deliver all sorts of nasties directly to your PC through downloads or e-mail attachments. Virus writers are becoming increasingly clever....

Surviving a virus attack. (In Depth).
July 1, 2003... The onslaught of virus outbreaks over the Internet and through e-mail programs is a problem that has received widespread attention. To deal with this threat, every computer user must have proper defences in place to stifle any such infiltration...

Getting that game to play. (Windows XP Home).
July 1, 2003... One of the most common questions that I receive as a "guy who knows something about computers" is how to get a game to run better in Windows. With the many thousands of old and new games out there, it can be difficult to provide a simple...

Using multi-channel sound. (Windows XP Pro).
July 1, 2003... Windows XP Professional is a very capable digital media platform for sound, but there are a couple of tweaks worth doing to the stock operating system for maximum aural enjoyment. Recently, I took delivery of a Hercules Digifire 7.1 sound...

Get more from iCal. (MAC OS).
July 1, 2003... This month we take a look at both basic operation and extending the possible uses of Apple's iCal scheduling software (available free as a 10.4MB download from www.apple.com.au/ical). iCal can be operated using the controls at the bottom of...

Send off spam. (Linux).
July 1, 2003... If you've had an e-mail address for some time, chances are you have been the victim of unsolicited junk e-mail--otherwise known as spam. Removing spam can become a tiresome chore, and filtering for it using traditional filters is often...

Mixing 5.1 audio. (Audio).
July 1, 2003... In previous audio columns we have detailed how to use a variety of tools to help create music, and exclusively in the Digital Music section of our Web site are tutorials for making a video clip in Vegas 3 and remixing songs in ACID Pro 4. ...

Finding and using anti-alias. (Graphics).
July 1, 2003... A common use for graphics software is to add captions and other basic objects to photographs. During this process, rounded objects, text or diagonal edges can accidentally become jagged. How do you prevent these unwanted effects creeping into...

Dates and time in PHP. (PHP).
July 1, 2003... Dates and time form an important part of many sophisticated PHP applications. From simply displaying the date for a user to validating dates and times in user-supplied input, PHP developers have a wealth of functions to solve all manner of...

Set your movie making to auto. (Digital Video).
July 1, 2003... After a less than impressive first version, Movie Maker 2 has definitely caught up with Apple's popular iMovie entry-level video editing program. Movie Maker 2 now has more transitions, an improved interface and support for analog as well as DV...

Restore sleep mode. (All Windows).
July 1, 2003... Q I usually leave my computer turned on but in Sleep mode. On one occasion it failed to wake up properly. Upon rebooting I received a message asking if I wanted to prevent the system going into Sleep mode. Without thinking, I selected Yes. Now...