Computer Act!ve articles from February 2006

Computer Act!ve archives from February 2006

From The Editor.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Dylan Armbrust. If you believe the statistics, Microsoft Office applications run on about 90 per cent of PCs in the UK, both at home and in the office. So it's probably a safe bet that you too use a Microsoft application, like Word...

Shopping site closed down. Complaints from consumers compel authorities to shut down US-based site.
February 2, 2006... An American company accused of misselling online to UK consumers has been closed down by US authorities. A company called Nepco set up a number of websites, including one known as Mydv.co.uk, which marketed itself as "The UK's best source...

Fresh rootkit threats uncovered.
February 2, 2006... Two more companies have caved in under pressure and removed technology that hid files used by their software. Following the infamous Sony rootkit furore in November last year (issue 203), security software developers Symantec and Kaspersky...

Personal podcasts.(Computeractive join forces with Personal Computer World to produce a free weekly podcast )(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... Computeractive is joining forces with our sister title, Personal Computer World, to produce a free weekly podcast on the most impressive new computing products. The podcast will feature some of those who get their hands dirty testing the...

Time and time again.
February 2, 2006... The Time brand has been resurrected in the UK following the demise of associated companies Time Computers and Tiny.com, which went into administration in July 2005. Time UK Factory will start trading later this month. This company has...

Consumer group backs digital rights.
February 2, 2006... UK copyright laws are outdated and need to be changed, according to the National Consumer Council (NCC). In its submission to a parliamentary inquiry into digital rights management (DRM), the NCC argued that new laws must protect users'...

Free 2005 annual index.(new service)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... The Computeractive Annual Index for 2005 is now available to download free of charge. Articles are broken down by the section they appeared in, and then by product or topic name. The index is saved in PDF format, so will need Adobe Reader...

Living the iLife.(enhanced product iLife from Apple Computer Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... The latest version of the iLife software for Apple Mac includes web design software called iWeb. Websites created using the software can include blogs, podcasts, photos and home movies. Content from other parts of iLife can be sent to iWeb, and...

Google gags at demands.
February 2, 2006... Google is continuing to defy the US Department of Justice, which has demanded the web search engine hand over search records. In the request, Google has been asked to supply a list of terms entered into the search engine during an unspecified...

Produce new rights.(television programs)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... Television producers and broadcasters have until 21 March to come up with a plan for implementing new rights to television programmes, media regulator Ofcom has said. The two groups are fighting over the length of time broadcasters, such as...

Jargon Buster. Techno babble demystified...
February 2, 2006... - Blog: A frequently-updated website that can act as an online diary. - PDF: A file format that allows pages to be viewed and printed. - Podcast: Audio or video files placed on the internet for people to subscibe to. - Rootkit:...

E-banking future 'at risk'.
February 2, 2006... Consumers are so concerned about internet fraud that the future of online banking is seriously threatened. This was the warning from the Financial Services Association (FSA) in its latest Financial Risk Outlook 2006 report. The report found...

SMS service developed for emergencies.
February 2, 2006... West Yorkshire police are widening the reach of a service that enables people with speach and hearing impairment in the area to contact 999 via SMS. People text their message to 07786 200200 and the SMS is automatically converted into an...

Search for the best website.
February 2, 2006... Yahoo! Search has announced its Finds of the Year for 2005. Hundreds of websites were discovered by the Yahoo! Search team during the year but only a few shortlisted for the annual awards. The shortlist was divided into eight categories,...

Jargon Buster. Techno babble demystified...(computer related terms)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... - Download: To transfer files onto your PC directly from another computer. - Notebook: A portable computer, usually around the size of an A4 notebook. Also referred to as laptop. - SMS: Short Messaging Service. More commonly called...

Jam-cam clips go mobile.(new service from CCTV Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... UK drivers will be able to download video footage from Highways Agency CCTV cameras onto their mobile phones as part of a 12-month trial. The footage, previously only available to road contractors, the police and emergency services, will start...

Car tax moves online.(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... Motorists can now renew their car tax online. The service uses the Motor Insurance Database to check that the car is insured and requires the reference number from either the Vehicle Registration Certificate or the new style computerised MOT...

MPs lack IT tools in-house.
February 2, 2006... The lack of IT facilities in Parliament has left some MPs without the tools required to do their jobs, a parliamentary report has found. For IT-literate MPs, basic needs include internet and telephone access. But the parliamentary network does...

Digital divide widens.
February 2, 2006... The broadband digital divide - the gap between the haves and have-nots - is wider than was first thought. This is the conclusion reached in new research from market research company Point Topic, and comes despite the continued move from...

Internet kiosk plans shelved.(British Telecommunications PLC drops plans to set up Internet kiosks)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... BT has dropped plans to set up a network of 28,000 public internet terminals, after trials of the so-called internet kiosks proved to be a flop. The idea was to provide easy access to the internet and allow people to send and receive...

Konica Minolta to quit camera market after 100 years.
February 2, 2006... Konica Minolta is pulling out of the photography market, and is selling its technology in digital SLR cameras to Sony. The company, which is also shutting down its photographic film and colour paper business, said Sony would continue to...

Surf's up.(Freedom 2 Surf Ltd. expands broadband service)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... Internet Service Provider Freedom2surf has expanded the availability of its 8Mbit/s broadband service. The service will initially be available from 53 exchanges across the UK, and it is hoped that this will rise to 5,300 exchanges by 31 March....

Pay-as-you-go broadband.
February 2, 2006... Internet service provider Be, which provides ADSL 2+ services, has announced a pay-as-you-go service. Be Lite, which costs [pounds sterling]14 per month for the basic package, will include a free Be Box wireless router, the same as is included...

Bridging the digital divide.(United Kingdom, Home Computer Initiative )(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... The number of UK companies participating in the Government's Home Computer Initiative (HCI) has more than tripled in the past 12 months. In the two years since the HCI guidelines began, more than 1,250 organisations have implemented schemes...

Tax credits hit by fraud.
February 2, 2006... The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) tax credits website remains closed as government agents continue to investigate thousands of suspicious claims. The Government, which has admitted to losing [pounds sterling]2.7m to fraudulent claims,...

Movies on the Movio.
February 2, 2006... People are taking to mobile TV, according to BT, which has released the results of its six-month test of the technology. The information gathered from 1,000 people using BT Movio in the South East is the largest yet conducted. It used...

BBC to update users online.(Feed Factory, really simple syndication)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... The BBC has set up a website to demystify Really Simple Syndication (RSS). The Feed Factory is aimed at both novice and expert computer users. It explains how RSS allows information to be delivered directly to computer desktops as and when...

Sailing news online.(www.sail.tv)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... Keen sailors can use their broadband connection to tune into a TV channel devoted to sailing and boating issues. Access to Sail TV is free and available to anyone anywhere in the world with a high-speed connection. Supported by sponsorship...

Creative blogs.
February 2, 2006... Creative has launched a website for accessing, creating and transferring thousands of audio and video blogs onto its Zen MP3 players. ZenCast.com lists a number of channels on a range of topics and users can also browse content from other...

Pop stars in your pocket.
February 2, 2006... EMI Music UK has launched The Raft online service for music downloads, ringtones and videos from EMI Records, Virgin Records, Parlophone, Angel and Catalogue. 'By texting 'GO RAFT' to 85080 (free text from all networks), people can access...

Jargon Buster. Techno babble demystified...(computer related terms)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2006... - ADSL A technology that converts a phone line into an internet connection with a fast download speed. - ADSL2+ A faster version of ADSL. - Beta: A software application still in development. - DAB: A technology to broadcast audio...

Consumeractive! - Get Some Answers! Consumeractive sticks up for your rights. If there's an issue you want investigated, get in touch.
February 2, 2006... PROBLEM Point of order I ordered a Sony rear projection TV on the internet from a company called Digital Point. We paid a deposit of [pounds sterling]120 with the remainder to be paid through a two-year finance option. When the TV was...

Cover Story - Office tips and tricks - 50 Microsoft Office hints and tips. Get the real benefit out of Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint with a top selection of Microsoft Office tips.(Cover story)
February 2, 2006... Microsoft Office is a productivity suite with near-diabolical capabilities. The irony is that all of this power comes with controls that aren't immediately obvious to the average home user. We've decided to redress the balance on the following...

Hot New Products - Evesham Mini PC Plus. As small as a box of chocolates but powerful enough to run Windows Media Center.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Luke Peters. Entertainment PCs come in all shapes and sizes, with the challenge being to create a device subtle enough to stick under the TV, but powerful enough to handle all forms of digital media. If you can live without...

Hot New Products - Hauppage WinTV-HVR900. Record and watch digital TV on the move.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Ben Tudor. It's a pretty attractive proposition: plug a small USB key into your notebook computer to watch and record digital television. Hauppage's latest TV tuner can receive both analogue and digital TV (Freeview)...

Hot New Products - Fujifilm FinePix S5600. Small in size; big on features.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith. Compact digital cameras are great for taking spontaneous pictures, but more serious photographers often find them limiting. The FujiFilm FinePix S5600 is the same shape as a traditional camera, but a fair bit...

Hot New Products - Creative Zen Vision: M. Has Creative finally built a media player to conquer the iPod?(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn. Apple may only just have added video playback capability to its iPod, but Creative has been making portable video devices for some time. None, though, have been as small and attractive as the Zen Vision: M. ...

Hot New Products - Jargon buster - Techno babble demystified ...(definitions)
February 2, 2006... - 3G: Shorthand for 'third generation mobile telephone network'. 3G networks support fast data transfer. - ADSL: A technology that converts an ordinary telephone line into a very fast internet connection. - Bluetooth: A technology that...

Hot New Products - Project Dogwaffle. Create impressive looking images from scratch with realistic artistic effects.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith. The focus of most image-editing software is the tweaking of digital photos. Project Dogwaffle, however, is all about creating images in the first place. Many of the tools mimic the real-life paints and brushes used...

Hot New Products - Motorola A780. Stay on track with Moto's mobile route master.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn. Our mobile phones already do quite a lot more than just making and receiving calls. Most have personal organiser functions built in and many now feature digital cameras, games and even double up as digital...

Hot New Products - Cosmic Blobs. A well-sculpted 3D-modelling application for beginners.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph. Graphics software tends to be both expensive and complicated. However, Cosmic Blobs is an attempt to bring 3D graphics and animation to a wider audience. The program is aimed at children and the interface is fun...

Hot New Products - Perific Wireless Dual Mouse. A versatile alternative to the traditional mouse.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith. Many people who use a mouse for long periods of time find that it becomes uncomfortable and leads to pains in the hand and wrist. The Perific Wireless Dual Mouse offers several alternative positions to alleviate any...

Hot New Products - Toshiba TS10. The Toshiba TS10 is a stylish clamshell-style mobile phone that comes with a VGA camera and a hands-free set.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith. The phone's external screen includes information such as the time, signal strength and remaining battery life. Opening the phone reveals the internal colour screen and the keypad. The screen is of good quality and all...

Hot New Products - Sony DRX-810UL.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. External DVD writers tend towards the clunky, a trend that Sony is evidently trying to avoid with its top-of-the-range DVD writer, the DRX-810UL. It can stand either vertically on its side or sit flat on a...

Hot New Products - X-oom MP3 Radio Recorder. Download MP3s from internet radio stations.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. There are many internet radio stations available, which stream music over the internet. They are accessible using any common media player but what MP3 Radio Recorder does is enable the copying of songs from...

Hot New Products - Buffalo Ministation HD-PS40U2. This hard disk can take a knock.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. Most portable hard disks, while their capacities are getting bigger, don't look like they could withstand being dropped or even knocked. However, when we are carrying these devices around in our pockets,...

Hot New Products - Nokia 6680.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. As far as mobile phone functions go, there is little that this one doesn't have. The 6680 is a 3G phone, and offers tri-band, so it can be used in most parts of the world. It uses the Symbian operating...

Hot New Products - Thomson Speedtouch 585(i).(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. Like many internet gateways, the Speedtouch 585(i) includes three main components - an ADSL modem, a router and a wireless access point. This enables it to be an all-in-one connection to the internet and a hub...

Hot New Products - Mojoworld 3 Focus. Create your own virtual planets from a PC.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. Modelling software, which allows the creation of virtual objects, is generally the domain of professional designers and artists, because it is so expensive and hard to use. The full version of Mojoworld...

Feature - Customise Word toolbars - Tools of the trade. Toolbars can easily be customised to put key features you need close at hand. We take a look at Microsoft's word processor and show you how to get the most from its toolbars.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Jacqueline Williams. There are some things in life that you can't change. Thankfully, Microsoft's word processor is not one of them. Word is flexible enough to allow you to work the way you want to, and here we'll show how Word's...

Feature - Firewalls explained - Keep up your guard. Whether you have one PC or a whole home network, it's important to keep safe from net nasties. We talk firewalls and how they can help you.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith. Home networking is an excellent way to get the best from a broadband connection linked to more than one computer. Unfortunately, there are various scare stories about the security of networking that might put you off. In...

Feature - Online dating - Love bytes. Online dating is more popular than ever - and even if you don't find true love, there are plenty of friends to be made.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Rob Beattie. Valentine's Day is just around the corner and hearts are beating that little bit faster. But making new friends can be a peculiar business. What are you supposed to do when you know every face in the local pub and have...

Digital home - Video on demand - Demanding viewers. If you've ever fumed at the rubbish put out by television broadcasters then get set for the on-demand revolution. Watch whatever you want, whenever you want.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey. The days when the nation would collectively plonk itself down on the sofa for the post-dinner ritual of tuning in to the goggle box to discover what Auntie Beeb and the upstart ITV had lined up for the evening's...

On Test - CD-Roms - New wave. Revitalise your hobbies with the latest versions of old favourites, from creating a family tree to editing music.(Encyclopaedia Britannica, Infinite Kakuro, MP3 HQ 2.0, Scrapbook Factory Deluxe 3.0, Who Do You Think You Are?)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Martin James. At the start of each year, software companies release new versions of their products to renew people's enthusiasm for their hobbies and our round-up is sure to provide inspiration. However, it starts with...

On Test - Games - Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire. Far from magic, but likely to cast a spell on young Potterites.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Eddie Henderson. We all know and love young Harry Potter, and large numbers of us have read the tomes on our journeys to work to sneering stares from fellow 'adults' digesting the latest grown-up bestseller. As you might have...

On Test - Games - Battlefield 2: Special Forces.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Eddie Henderson. This first expansion for Battlefield 2 delves into the murky world of the armed forces' covert soldiers, such as the SAS, Navy Seals and insurgency groups from other nations. The main addition in gameplay,...

On Test - Games - Trident.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Eddie Henderson. This latest add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator (2002/2004) takes us back to the 1960s, when air travel was changing from the sole preserve of the super-rich to a reasonably affordable method for anyone to head...

On Test - Games - Real World Golf.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn. Golf simulations have seen several different control systems holding sway over the years. Lately, the traditional power/accuracy meter method has been largely rejected in favour of a more 'realistic' swoosh...

Games Top 10. Here are the top 10 games according to the official UK Leisure Software chart. (C)ELSPA. Compiled by Chart Track.
February 2, 2006... 1. Football Manager 2006 - [pounds sterling]35 (football management) EA Games 2. The Sims 2 - [pounds sterling]40 (people simulation) EA Games 3. Age of Empires III - [pounds sterling]35 (real-time strategy) Microsoft 4. The...

Net Chart - Free Downloads. We've trawled the internet to test what you can get for free ...(Mozilla Thuderbird)(Lightnote)(World Wind)(Core FTP LE)(Abiword)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 2, 2006... MOZILLA THUNDERBIRD www.computeractive.co.uk/2129012 Free replacement for Outlook Express Thunderbird is the partner of Firefox, for email and RSS news feeds. It works like Outlook Express and includes a junk mail filter. ...

Net Chart - Site seeing ... Brighten up greeting cards or newsletters with our selection of clip art sites.
February 2, 2006... www.hasslefreeclipart.com The Hassle Free Clip Art site keeps advertising to a minimum making it easy to access the graphics quickly. Most of the images on the site are quite cartoon-like,which is suitable for certain designs, but if...

No Problem! Q&A - Answers to ... PC problems. Our resident technical doctor is here to cure your PC ailments.
February 2, 2006... MISSING FILE Q: On starting up my computer I receive a message saying: "This application failed to start because ace.dll has not been found. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem." Even though I run Ad-Aware frequently, I...

Readers to the rescue ... Can you help your fellow readers? Do you need a problem solved? Join our forum dedicated to PC trouble-shooting at www.computeractive.co.uk.
February 2, 2006... THE PROBLEM When I use Internet Explorer all the text appears really small. How can I change the text size so that it is easier to read? Anne Marie Storey, issue 207 YOUR ANSWER You can increase text size in Internet Explorer,...

Letters - Your say! We want your opinions! Write to us on any of the topics covered in Computeractive.(Letter to the Editor)
February 2, 2006... STAR LETTER ADAPTER OVERLOAD I read the article on recycling (issue 207, page 10) with interest. One item that most of us probably have in abundance is the AC-DC power adapter, or charger. Countless new gadgets come with these...

Love.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Rob Beattie Love bytes Online dating is more popular than ever -- and even if you don't find true love, there are plenty of friends to be made Valentine's Day is just around the corner and hearts are beating that little...

Look up website.
February 2, 2006... Look up website registrants If you've ever been curious about the ownership of a website, a whois search will reveal the answer Millions of companies and individuals the world over have websites. Indeed, you may have registered a...

Chat online and receive instant.
February 2, 2006... Chat online and receive instant messages Explore the world of instant messaging with Google Talk, a free program from the net-search supremo The world of computing has gone communications crazy, and there are now countless email,...

Go to it in Excel.(commands)
February 2, 2006... Go to it in Excel There's a Go To command in Excel that makes it a breeze to jump from one part of a worksheet to another, or from one worksheet to another. The Go To command is on the Edit menu, though you may prefer to use the shortcut...

208 Hints2LEAD.(Microsoft Outlook protects inbox)(Brief article)
February 2, 2006... Unblock attachments Outlook 2003 tries to protect your inbox by blocking potentially harmful attachments. This means that if someone sends you an executable file, you will not be able to access it -- even if you know for sure that it's...

208 Hints3.(arranging paragraphs)(Brief article)
February 2, 2006... Maximum viewing When rearranging paragraphs in a long document, it is possible to spend a lot of time scrolling up and down through a Word window. To make things easier, you can split the screen in two so that two sections of a document...

Decipher foreign words and.(Microsoft Word)
February 2, 2006... Decipher foreign words and phrases Communicate more effectively with free tools that make quick conversions between different tongues When the 'mot juste' is required in French, German, or even Russian, most of us need a little...

Transfer files to your website with.
February 2, 2006... Transfer files to your website with FTP software Transfer files to and from your web space with Windows' FTP support or dedicated FTP software With some web space at your disposal, it's possible to create a website. Most internet...

Manage text and frames in.(PagePlus DTP)
February 2, 2006... Manage text and frames in PagePlus DTP Learn how to add text to a desktop publishing publication and manipulate its frames The first part of this series of four Workshops (published last issue) demonstrated how complex pages can...

Keep.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Keep up your guard Whether you have one PC or a whole home network, it's important to keep safe from net nasties. We talk firewalls and how they can help you Home networking is an excellent way to get...

208 Hints4.(passwords)(Brief article)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Self-prompts To help me remember passwords for protected files I add a coded reference to the end of the filename. For example, the suffix 'D2MB' on the end of a Microsoft Word document file would refer to the...

R 208 Motorola A780.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Motorola A780 Stay on track with Moto's mobile route master Our mobile phones already do quite a lot more than just making and receiving calls. Most have personal organiser functions built in and many...

Cosmic Blobs.(Product/service evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Cosmic Blobs A well-sculpted 3D-modelling application for beginners Graphics software tends to be both expensive and complicated. However, Cosmic Blobs is an attempt to bring 3D graphics and animation to a...

Project Dogwaffle.
February 2, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Project Dogwaffle Create impressive looking images from scratch with realistic artistic effects The focus of most image-editing software is the tweaking of digital photos. Project Dogwaffle, however, is all about...

Fujifilm FinePix S5600.(Product/service evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Fujifilm FinePix S5600 Small in size; big on features Compact digital cameras are great for taking spontaneous pictures, but more serious photographers often find them limiting. The FujiFilm FinePix...

MP3 HQ 2.0.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Martin James MP3 HQ 2.0 In the highly competitive MP3 software market, it's essential that any new product is able to convert, burn and rip music to and from the MP3 format. MP3 HQ covers these basics very well. It can...

Scrapbook Factory Deluxe 3.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Martin James Scrapbook Factory Deluxe 3 The first thing to mention about this software is its size. Even the minimum installation requires 1.3Gb of hard disk space, begging the question, what could possibly take up so much...

Encyclopaedia Britannica.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Martin James Encyclopaedia Britannica The latest version of this well-known reference suite brings together the usual articles, timelines, photos and video content. The first thing to note is that the 2005 in the title...

Infinite Kakuro.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Martin James Infinite Kakuro Hot on the heels of Sudoku comes another number-based puzzle called Kakuro. The game physically resembles a crossword, but instead of letters Kakuro requires numbers in the blank squares, with each...

Who Do You Think You Are?(Product/service evaluation)
February 2, 2006... Byline: Martin James Who Do You Think You Are? The second series of this popular BBC television series has recently started, and this package helps you track your ancestors and find out exactly who you are. Despite the packaging,...