Computer Act!ve articles from April 2006

Computer Act!ve archives from April 2006

Action.(home installation companies )
April 13, 2006... Byline: Niall Magennis Action stations Dreading the thought of installing a fancy new AV or home automation system? If you're prepared to pay, an installation company could take away the hassle If you've tried programming a...

Kworld USB Digital TV Box Mini.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Kworld USB Digital TV Box Mini A portable TV tuner with disc creation software TV tuners that connect via USB are the easiest way to watch television on either a notebook or a desktop PC. The Kworld Digital...

Canon MV960.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Canon MV960 A widescreen camcorder on a small screen budget This tiny camcorder comes with one impressive feature straight out of the box -- it records in true widescreen format. That means that, for...

u3 key.(Disgo Classic U3)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 13, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek Removable storage >> [pounds sterling]60 Disgo Classic U3 Smart USB Flash Drive Simple storage devices get smarter USB keys have become a welcome replacement for floppy disk drives and are so cheap...

Aego M-system.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Luke Peters Speakers >> [pounds sterling]100 Aego M-System In issue 151 (December 2003), we reviewed the Aego 2 speakers, which projected great sound but could have looked a bit better. Three years later, and Acoustic...

Ricoh R30.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Jacqueline Williams Digital camera >> [pounds sterling]220 Ricoh R30 A chunky camera that lets you take photography to another level If you're in the market for a digital camera, we wouldn't recommend dipping below a...

OneClick Mains Panel.(saves electricity)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 13, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Peripheral >> [pounds sterling]30 OneClick Mains Panel Save power and money at the click of a switch Power consumption is becoming more of a problem as we buy more devices that need electricity. ...

Laplink PCdefence.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Security software >> [pounds sterling]30 Laplink PCdefense Laplink is well known for its software for transferring files between computers. PCdefense is its attempt to break into the crowded PC security...

Vonage IP Phone.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Will Stapley internet telephony >> [pounds sterling]90 Vonage UTStarcom Wifi Phone The Vonage internet telephone service offers free calls across the UK for a flat fee of [pounds sterling]8 per month. Unlike some similar...

R 213 Liteon EZDub.(Product/service evaluation)
April 13, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith peripheral >> [pounds sterling]75 Lite-On EZ-Dub A USB external drive is the easiest way to add an optical writer to a PC, with the added advantage of leaving any existing drives in place. The Liteon EZ-DUB...

Packard Bell ixtreme Gold.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Packard Bell iXtreme Gold S1919 A sleek Media Center PC that has decent home-entertainment features for the price This computer includes Intel's Viiv certification -- this means it's designed to work...

Net Chart.(gaming sites)(Brief article)
April 13, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Delve into alternate gaming and computer systems with our handy site guide www.c64s.com Take a trip down memory lane with this site that allows hundreds of old Commodore 64 games to be played online....

Sega competition.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Win Sega games and a Dell PC worth [pounds sterling]1,650! Drive off with OutRun 2006 and a Dell XPS gaming PC to play it on Outrun is one of the most celebrated driving games yet: over the past 20...

i-Map leads the way in web design.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Anna Lagerkvist i-Map leads way in web design i-Map, the arts resource for visually impaired people developed by Tate Online and BT, has won a web accessibility award. The judges, who awarded Tate Online the 2006 Jodi...

Sony Microvault Pro 8Gb.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Removable storage >> [pounds sterling]100 Sony Microvault Pro 8Gb A bigger but smaller hard disk The latest product in Sony's Microvault range is a large capacity portable hard disk. Like...

Gardening feature.
April 13, 2006... Byline: Martin James Field of dreams Flower pots, forks, trowels, peat a[bar]PC? It might not be the most obvious gardening aid, but your computer could be as indispensable as all those other tools. Spring is well and truly under...

Philips Showline MCP9350i.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Will Stapley Philips Showline MCP9350i Philips makes its first foray into the world of Windows Media Center Despite the large number of PC manufacturers making computers these days that incorporate Microsoft's Windows...

Set default programs in.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Paul Allen Set default programs in Windows XP Be the boss of your PC and set your preferred application for various computing activities We each have our preferred programs for completing tasks, whether writing a...

Make numbers add up in.(mathematical calculations in word)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Make numbers add up in Word Who needs a spreadsheet? Use the formula function in Word tables to perform simple calculations In the Workshops section of issue 213 we looked at creating tables in Word and...

Workshop Hint 1.(newsgroups accessed with Microsoft Outlook Express)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey News on the button Although Outlook 2003 cannot be used to access newsgroups on its own, it is possible to add a button to the toolbar making it easier to access them through Outlook Express. Right-click on a...

Beautiful AutoFill.(Microsoft Excell)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Beautiful AutoFill You're probably familiar with Excel's AutoFill feature, which enables you to type 'Mon' or 'Monday' into a cell and then drag the bottom right-hand corner of that cell to create the other days...

Workshop Hint 3.(fax with Microsoft Windows)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Face the fax It's possible to send and receive faxes using Windows, assuming the computer has a built-in fax-modem. However, you'll need to enable the Fax Services feature in Windows. To do this, open the Control...

Workshop Hint 4.(autofilters used to manage data )(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Filter force Many people use Excel to manage lists of CDs, movies, MP3s and much more. Lists can easily grow to be hundreds or thousands of rows long, so to make them more manageable it pays to use AutoFilter. To...

Turn a hard disk into a.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Turn a hard disk into a USB device An external USB disk drive enclosure gives a new lease of life to older hard disks A new hard disk is probably the most popular PC upgrade after adding more memory, but...

Resize and enhance digital.(Visualizer Photo Resize)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Resize and enhance digital photos Shrink photos in batches, prepare them for web display or sending by email with free software Digital cameras make it so easy to take snaps that there's a danger of...

Widen the scope of instant messaging.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Widen the scope of instant messaging using Trillian If you can't send instant messages to everyone you'd like, then use Trillian to bridge the gap If you've never heard of instant messaging, think of it as...

Speed up downloads on.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Speed up downloads on dial-up Accelerate internet download speeds, and banish the frustration of interrupted file transfers While much of the computing world is talking about broadband connections, there...

Use the magnifying glass to enlarge.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Use the magnifying glass to enlarge the display If you find it difficult to see certain areas on a computer's screen, then zoom in with a free utility If you have difficulty reading parts of the computer's...

Supply personal details with.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Supply personal details with RoboForm Online form-filling can be time-consuming. We explain how RoboForm can make things easier There are countless websites that require you to log into an account with a...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Gavin Stoker Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01 A cute six megapixel compact with some unusual features At the size of a credit card, the stylish and easy-to-use FX01 is no run-of-the-mill, point-and-shoot digital camera. There...

Macbook Pro.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Kathryn Twyford Apple Macbook Pro Apple's latest notebook joins in the Intel revolution Hot on the heels of the iMac, Apple's MacBook Pro is the first in its range of notebook computers to get the Intel makeover. This...

Intuit QuickBooks Regular.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Paul Wardley Intuit QuickBooks Regular A helpful, small business accounting system that grows with your company The information accompanying our copy of QuickBooks is refreshingly honest in stating that the program's main...

Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5.(video editing software)(Product/service evaluation)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 A low-cost program to help make the most of your DVD High-definition (HD) is the flavour of the month right now, so the latest version of Ulead's DVD MovieFactory kicks off with a...

Serif DrawPlus 8.(drawing software)(Product/service evaluation)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Simon Williams Serif DrawPlus 8 This latest drawing program from Serif takes the rough with the smooth DrawPlus is probably the best-known drawing program for under [pounds sterling]100 and its uses stretch across...

Rock Pegasus 550N T2400.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Rock Pegasus 550N T2400 A competent notebook with an impressive bundle of extras This medium-sized notebook is more powerful than it looks -- the processor inside is an Intel Core Duo T2400, which runs at...

Olympus Mju 700.(digital camera)(Product/service evaluation)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Jacqueline Williams Olympus Mju 700 A good snapper that's sleek and sexy Olympus has held its own in an increasingly design-led compact digital camera market with its Mju range, and its latest is no exception. The...

In the frame.(digital photo frames)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey In the frame A digital photo collection is wasted if it isn't viewed and enjoyed, and a high-tech picture frame may just be the answer At some point or other most of us have enjoyed -- or endured -- flipping...

Plustek Opticard.(Product/service evaluation)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Scanner >> [pounds sterling]80 Plustek Opticard 820 Although the Plustek Opticard 820 is designed to scan business cards, it can also handle pictures. As a card scanner it works well and the supplied...

Sandisk Sansa M250.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Luke Peters Digital media player >> [pounds sterling]98 (2Gb) Sandisk Sansa M250 A decent player, if a bit odd looking The three big names in portable music players -- Apple, Sony and Creative -- have got the market...

Creative TravelDock 900.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Speakers >> [pounds sterling]70 Creative TravelDock 900 Portable speakers that are a sight for sore eyes Open up what looks like a white spectacle case and you will discover Creative's latest set of...

Sony Microvault Expander.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Removable storage >> [pounds sterling]110 Sony MicroVault Virtual Expander Although this USB drive is only 2Gb, it comes with compression software designed to expand its effective capacity. Sony claims a...

Top of the Pods.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Top of the Pods From joysticks to hockey sticks, tune in to podcasts anywhere and at any time. We show you how You know that a technology has gone mainstream when it reaches Radio 4. The Today programme is now...

Diino.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith service >> from [pounds sterling]3 per month Diino Access important files and music from anywhere Now that broadband is so popular, storing files online makes a lot of sense. They can be accessed wherever...

Magix MP3 Maker 11.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Martin James Magix MP3 Maker 11 Magix's MP3 Maker software has been updated for 2006 with several new features that reflect the ever-changing digital music landscape. In fact, the 'MP3' in this program's title becomes...

Clifford Thinking Adventure.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Martin James Clifford Thinking Adventure For many of us, the concept of a bright red dog about 15 feet tall is the stuff of nightmares, but Clifford is quite gentle, and apparently quite popular with kids. In this...

Family Tree Maker 2006 Collector's Edition.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Martin James Family Tree Maker 2006 Collector's Edition The Family Tree Maker software has been near or at the top of the genealogy tree for some time. As the flagship edition in the Family Tree Maker range, this...

Ultimate Dance.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Martin James Ultimate Dance The world of dance music is most popular with young people, and they are clearly the target market for Ultimate Dance Music & Video Maker. Behind the chunky and futuristic interface, this...

Driving Test Success Practical.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Martin James Driving Test Success Practical Most people about to take a driving test will have been for lessons with a driving instructor. Sadly, these are pricey and often don't leave the learner completely prepared come the...

Pioneer DVR-111.(Product/service evaluation)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Removable storage >> [pounds sterling]30 Pioneer DVR-111 The DVR-111 is not much different from its predecessor, the DVR-110, which we covered in issue 205, but it comes with one handy extra...

Air Taxi Manager.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Eddie Henderson Air Taxi Manager This Championship Manager of air taxi simulations (although we will admit that there isn't much competition in this field) allows you to set up a small chartered company and eventually...

The Godfather.(Product/service evaluation)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Mike Anderiesz The Godfather Voice acting by Marlon Brando himself and classic scenes and music, but is it enough to tempt virtual gangsters? What was Marlon Brando's last ever screen appearance? This question will pop up...

SWAT 4: Stetchkov Syndicate.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Eddie Henderson SWAT 4: Stetchkov Syndicate While SWAT 4 had more bugs than a Bangkok hostel, it was undeniably extremely good fun and found plenty of support online. This expansion pack (which requires the original to play)...

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend.(Product/service evaluation)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Eddie Henderson Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend While the original Tomb Raider and first sequel were gaming milestones, the others in the franchise have been of a shoddy standard. A miracle then that the latest is a corker....

No Problem.(installing Macromedia Flash Player, shortcut for task manager, video editing in computer)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Anthony Dhanendran Task Manager missing QI can't access Task Manager by using the Ctrl and Alt and Backspace shortcut on my keyboard. It seems to work fine when I access it by right-clicking on the Taskbar and...

Site Seeing 214.(sharing photographs on internet)(Website list)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Share your photographic talent with the world at large using our selection of photo sites www.snapfish.co.uk Snapfish lets you place albums online to solve the problem of large downloads when sharing pictures...

HD_DVDs available soon.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek HD-DVD PCs available soon The first notebook PCs capable of playing high-definition DVDs (HD-DVDs) will be launched by Toshiba next month, followed closely by Acer. The Toshiba Qosmio G30 will make full use...

Online backup.
April 27, 2006... Byline: staff Online backup Free software that allows users to back up data to another computer has been launched. The BuddyBackup software uses the internet to transfer data to designated computers. For better security, the software...

Shuttle competition.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Win Shuttle products worth [pounds sterling]2,450! Small, perfectly formed and packed with features We have teamed up with Shuttle, maker of small format computer systems, to give away two computers worth...

MOT testing hits the digital highway.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek MOT testing hits the digital highway It is hoped that many of the estimated one million unroadworthy cars in the UK could be taken off the road now the MOT computerisation programme is up and running All 18,500...

BT TV channels unveiled.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Staff BT TV channels unveiled BT has revealed some of the TV channels that will make up its broadband television service when it launches in the autumn. The company has signed deals with BBC Worldwide, the National Geographic...

Heads up for new camera.(wearable camera from Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: staff Heads up for new camera Researchers have developed a wearable camera that ensures users need never miss a photo opportunity. The prototype at HP's Bristol Labs consists of a sensor module taped to a pair of...

Doodle for Google.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek Doodle for Google Britain's school children can take part in Google's Doodle 4 Google -- My Britain competition to design a Google page explaining what it means to be British. A panel of judges will choose 30...

ET project faces closure.(search for extra-terrestrial intelligence to be closed due to lack in fund)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek ET project faces closure The first popular and largest grid computing project to date faces closure because it is rapidly running out of funds. The SETI@Home (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) project...

Win online security tools.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek Win online security tools We're giving you the chance to win one of 50 copies of eTrust Internet Security Suite. Complete the simple 10-question survey at the website below and you could be one of the 50...

Don't panic.(Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anna Lagerkvist Don't panic Premium-rate watchdog, the ICSTIS, has launched a leaflet offering consumers advice on how to protect themselves from inadvertantly subscribing to a premium-rate service. Although...

ISP price cuts 'unlikely'.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anna Lagerkvist and Dinah Greek ISP price cuts 'unlikely' Consumers should not get too excited about the immediate prospect of a broadband free-for-all following Carphone Warehouse's announcement about free internet access. ...

Army rises to the Everest Challenge.(with podacst, video clips and blogs)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek Army rises to the Everest challenge People can watch and listen online to the progress of three Army mountaineering teams as each sets out to conquer a different peak in the Himalayas. The expeditions are...

Public mistrust of Government.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Public mistrust of government Fewer than one in four people trust the Government to secure and protect their personal data and identity. According to a YouGov poll of 2,000 people, nearly three-quarters of...

Treasury U-turn on HCI possible.(home computing initiative to be closed)(new security software from Steganos GmbH)(annual cd-rom on sale)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Staff Treasury U-turn on HCI possible The Government may at least partially reverse its shock decision in the budget to scrap the Home Computing Initiative (HCI). The tax-relief scheme was meant to help people on low incomes...

Council websites a success.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Council websites a success A growing number of people are using the facilities available on local council websites, a new survey has found. The latest figures in a report by the Society of IT Managers...

Google offers free online calendar.(Calendar)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek Google offers free online calendar Google has launched the trial version of its free web-based calendar service. This latest edition to its portfolio of web-based tools allows people to access and manage their...

Scams fool 'nine in 10'.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek Scams fool 'nine in 10' Phishing scams are now so sophisticated that the best fool nine out of 10 users. This was the worrying conclusion of research carried out by computer scientists at three US universities....

Use of malicious stealth technology rises six-fold.(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek and Tom Sanders Use of malicious stealth technology rises six-fold Hackers are increasingly using rootkit technology to hide spyware and other malicious tools from security software, according to researchers at...

EU: broadband 'not a right'.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Dinah Greek EU: broadband 'not a right' EU refuses to pressurise ISPs to ensure every European has access to broadband The European Union has said that although desirable, EU citizens must not think broadband and mobile...

Customer service.
April 27, 2006... Customer service gripes Consumers get so annoyed about company customer service they take their custom elsewhere, according to a survey. The National Consumer Council survey found half of consumers said that when faced with...

Webeasy 6.(Web design software)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Web design software >> [pounds sterling]50 Webeasy 6 An easy web editor with a lot of scope Webeasy 6 Professional is designed to create fairly complex sites quickly without sacrificing useful features....

Philips SPD5400CC.(hard disk)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 27, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Removable storage >> [pounds sterling]97 Philips SPD5400CC This mini hard disk is high-capacity at 6Gb, compact and competitively priced. However, it fell down on the transfer speed. While all...

Display album covers on.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Jonathan parkyn Display album covers on an iPod Download album covers for your digital music collection the easy way A digital music collection -- either on a PC or portable player -- is a convenient way of storing...

Tidy up your music with Audacity.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Paul Wardley Tidy up your music with Audacity Split and join your MP3 music files by downloading and using the free Audacity program Audacity is a free digital music editor capable of numerous clever tricks, including...

Use Excel to create and edit.
April 27, 2006... Byline: Rob Beattie Use Excel to create and edit charts Bring information to graphical life by adding colourful graphs and charts to Excel documents People usually respond better to information when it is presented visually...