Computer Act!ve articles from January 2006

Computer Act!ve archives from January 2006

From the Editor.(new edition release)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Dylan Armbrust. Welcome to the first 2006 edition of Computeractive. With 2005 now behind us, it's time to look to the year ahead. If you're keen on upgrading your PC, a good start is to look around for some great bargains in the...

Consumers need a fairer deal. OFT advises technology retailers to clarify terms and conditions for Sconsumers.
January 5, 2006... Companies that sell IT goods and services need to have a better understanding of their legal obligations to consumers, said the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The consumer watchdog said that while the market works very well in some...

Zone Labs defends spyware label.
January 5, 2006... Security company Zone Labs has hit back at a company taking it to court over having its products rated as spyware. 180Solutions claims that although its software displays advertising which is based on the websites a user looks at, it does...

Music, maestro, please.
January 5, 2006... Microsoft and MTV plan to jointly develop a digital music service for users of the next-generation Windows Media Player. The service will offer downloads of MTV programmes, original content and online songs from top labels. The service,...

ISPs to store call details.
January 5, 2006... Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies will have to keep records of their customers' phone and internet activities for up to two years following new legislation approved by the European Parliament. The draft Data...

Hang up on costly telephone queues.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... A US consumer has set up a website that tells people how to sidestep frustrating multiple choice options in automated telephone queuing systems. Paul English's Cheat Sheet was initially set up to deal with US companies, where being...

Bugs in browsers.
January 5, 2006... Microsoft has released a critical patch to fix flaws in Internet Explorer that allow hackers to take over a PC. Some of these flaws are already being exploited with Trojan Horses being downloaded to unpatched PCs from infected websites....

Get the latest CES updates.
January 5, 2006... The world's largest and most significant electronics show begins today, 5 January. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is the stage where companies unveil to the waiting world what they can look forward to over the coming year....

Voicemail for hard of hearing.
January 5, 2006... A voicemail-to-text message service from Spinvox is offering a week's free trial. Designed for the deaf or hearing impaired, the service is also a discreet way of receiving messages without having to make a call. Spinvox receives the message...

McAfee warning.
January 5, 2006... Experts are warning of a new Trojan that is spreading by masquerading as a patch for McAfee's anti-virus software. Emails have been sent out pretending to be a security update for a virus called Kongos 31. The email contains a link to a web...

JARGON BUSTER. Techno babble demystified ...
January 5, 2006... - Hackers People who break into other people's PC, in an attempt to steal information or sensitive data. - Patch Software that fixes problems with an existing software application. - Spyware Software installed surreptitiously to...

Rights laws under review.
January 5, 2006... An independent review will consider proposals to make the UK's Intellectual Property (IP) rights law fairer and clearer to consumers. IP includes artistic or literary works such as books and music, as well as patents. A source close to the...

Online heroes and villains.(Internet Service Providers' Association's awards)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... The Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) has revealed the nominees for its annual internet heroes and villains awards. The ISPA council gives the awards to individuals or organisations that have either helped or hampered the...

Music chief takes aim at lyrics publishers.
January 5, 2006... People who make song lyrics freely available online should be jailed, according to a music industry figure. Lauren Keiser, president of the US Music Publishers' Association (MPA), is reported to have said he did not just want the sites...

RealMusic to your ears.
January 5, 2006... One of the biggest names in internet music has revamped its service. RealMusic, from the makers of the RealPlayer software, now gives subscribers access to a large number of customised internet radio stations, with the ability to stream and...

NTL boosts speeds.
January 5, 2006... NTL, the country's largest cable operator, is to increase connection speeds for customers on its fastest broadband package. NTL is now offering a 10Mbit/s package for [pounds sterling]38 per month, while its 2Mbit/s package costs [pounds...

US mum faces the music.
January 5, 2006... A US mother of five has lost an appeal and has been ordered to pay $22,500 ([pounds sterling]12,700) in damages to the Recording Industry Association of America. After being charged with downloading and sharing copyrighted music, Cecilia...

JARGON BUSTER. Techno babble demystified ...(Brief Article)(Glossary)
January 5, 2006... - Broadband Refers to high-bandwidth internet connections, such as ADSL. - Capped When an internet service limits the amount of data that can be downloaded per month. - Mbit/s Megabits per second. A measure of data transfer speed. ...

Silver surfers speak out.(web browsing by old people)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... Older people are increasingly turning to the web to make their voices heard, according to new research. In a survey of 1,000 web users aged between 50 and 65, a third stated they had signed a petition online or made charitable donations...

Fussball crazy.(launching of websites for football coverage)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... The British Embassy in Berlin has launched a website for football fans planning to go to next year's World Cup finals in Germany. The site includes useful phrases such as 'ihm war kotzubel speiubel' (he was as sick as a parrot),...

Speak easy.
January 5, 2006... Instead of straining to look at the small screen of a portable computer or a mobile phone, new software could let documents be read to users. Mobile audio company Magnetic Time has developed software that automatically converts Word documents...

Zen vision.
January 5, 2006... The Zen Vision:M from Creative is a 30Gb hard-disk-based player that can play both music and video. It also includes an FM radio receiver with the ability to record to disk from both the radio and the built-in microphone. The player supports...

Change of address.
January 5, 2006... The web portal MSN is changing its web address to be more consistent with owner Microsoft's other sites. The site is now at http://uk.msn.com. The old site address, www.msn.co.uk, will remain available, however, with users being...

Data woes over for Rover as owner says fangs for recovery.(Ontrack Data Recovery Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... Dog day afternoons and a dropped pot have featured in the oddest data disaster stories of 2005. Ontrack Data Recovery, an American company that specialises in getting data back from seemingly lost causes, has published its list of last...

A tall order.
January 5, 2006... For men who are on the tall side, shopping for clothes can be a nightmare. Now one tall man, Justin Edison, has set up an online webstore, Alto Clothing. The store aims to offer the latest fashions, as well as more classic styles, at...

These dogs are a picture.
January 5, 2006... Northumbria Police is trialling two additions to its dog squad, Sammy and Zara, who wear a digital camera system. This allows the dogs' controllers to monitor what they see via a wireless link. The cameras also have infrared capabilities to...

Wikipedia tightens rules.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... Online encyclopaedia Wikipedia has tightened its submission rules after an article it ran falsely implicated US journalist John Seigenthaler of involvement in the Kennedy assassination. The case has once again highlighted the problem of...

BBC extends iMP trial.(British Broadcasting Corp.'s integrated Media Player)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... The BBC has extended the trial of its integrated Media Player (iMP) for a further two months. The trial has been running since the end of September but the BBC hopes the extra time will allow it to gain more data on user needs and how...

A music service with good taste.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... Although most of us are used to looking up information on the internet, it's not often that a PC is able to give lifestyle advice. However, a new 'music discovery service' promises to do just that, using processing power to put together...

A wee word in your ear.
January 5, 2006... Customers of internet telephony company Skype can now personalise their calls with avatars from WeeWorld. Known as WeeMees, the avatars can be customised from facial features, body shapes, hairstyles and clothing through to accessories,...

JARGON BUSTER. Techno babble demystified ...(Brief Article)(Glossary)
January 5, 2006... - Avatar A graphic or icon used to represent a person in an online echatroom or game. - Download Process of transferring files to a PC from another ecomputer. - Portal A website that offers a variety of services, such as news,...

Consumeractive! - Get Some Answers! Consumeractive sticks up for your rights. If there's an issue you Swant investigated, get in touch.
January 5, 2006... PROBLEM Power leads to trouble I bought an Acer handheld computer in August 2005 but it developed a fault in November. I had recently started to use the power lead that connected it to the computer in the car as well. After...

Cover Story Bargain software - Golden oldies. The newest software is chock-full of whiz-bang features and functions S- but do you need them all? Save money by investing in perfectly good Sbygone releases.(Cover Story)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey. When Computeractive began life the best part of a decade ago, most PCs of the time employed the Windows operating system. Today, most PCs employ Windows, perhaps with Microsoft Office or Works installed for...

JARGON BUSTER. Techno babble demystified ...
January 5, 2006... - Activation code A set of numbers and letters provided with software to activate its functions. Activation is often needed to access product support. - Attachment A computer file sent along with an email message. - DOS The standard...

Hot New Products - Averatec 1050. A slim Apple iBook lookalike that runs Windows.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. Small notebooks are all fine and well but make them too teeny and you will end up with something as powerful as a pocket calculator. Fortunately, Averatec has avoided falling into the trap of throwing too much...

Hot New Products - Terratec Cinergy 2400i DT. A dual digital TV tuner that makes for an excellent home computer upgrade.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Simon Williams. ADVB-T (digital) TV tuner card enables you to tune into Freeview channels for display on a computer screen or television. A dual-tuner DVB-T card, of which this is the first example we've seen, enables you to...

Hot New Products - T-Mobile MDA Pro. It looks like a notebook computer but it's really a phone and a handheld PC combined.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Rory Reid. The T-Mobile MDA Pro is a handheld computer that doubles as a mobile phone, although its designers have clearly drawn inspiration from a notebook PC. Unlike the smaller MDA Compact, one half of this device houses a...

Hot New Products - Beblu Media Centre. A Media Center computer that's a break from the norm.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. Home entertainment computers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and the Beblu Media Centre continues the trend of not looking much like a traditional computer at all. For a start, it comes in two parts....

Hot New Products - Genus DU1. Add DAB digital radio functions to a normal home stereo.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith. Digital radio offers many advantages over FM, AM and other analogue wavelengths. Its clearer reception and automatic tuning features are a definite plus, and the Genus DU1 provides a convenient way to add DAB to an...

Hot New Products - Evesham Voyager C720. A gaming notebook that pulls no punches in terms of performance.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Rory Reid. The Evesham Voyager C720 was designed to be the fastest gaming notebook ever created. It uses the very latest nVidia Geforce Go 7800 GTX graphics card, which is a mobile version of arguably the fastest desktop graphics...

Hot New Products - Kodak EasyShare One. A four-megapixel digital camera that can send snaps straight to a website.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Jacqueline Williams. Last year we saw a number of digital cameras with built-in Wi-Fi. Thanks to a tie-up with T-Mobile, though, the four-megapixel Kodak EasyShare One offers something different. On top of the camera is a small...

Hot New Products - Tecnacom USB Keylock System. Cheap physical security for a computer.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith. The USB standard is a handy connection to have on computers but it can present a security risk, as removing files from your PC is as easy as plugging in a USB key. There is also the risk of viruses being transferred to...

Hot New Products - Bitdefender 9 Professional Plus. Anti-virus, firewall and anti-spam in one package.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. Choosing the right security program is more than simply a matter of picking the one that detects viruses and blocks other threats to the computer. Any security software worth its salt should be able to do...

Hot New Products - Morphy Richards DAB MP3 player.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Anna Lagerkvist. The benefits of DAB radio really come to the fore when you're on the move. This portable Morphy Richards DAB radio also comes with an MP3 player and FM tuner in case the DAB reception is poor and has either 256Mb...

Hot New Products - Genius ErgoMedia 700.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith. Curved keyboards have rather fallen out of favour in recent times but the Genius ErgoMedia might reverse this trend. With a far gentler curve than the first generation of split keyboards, it requires less adjustment to...

Hot New Products - Orange SPV C600. The latest edition of Orange's smartphone.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. The SPV C550, Orange's most recent standard-sized smartphone, came out only a couple of months ago so it's odd to find the C600 released so soon afterwards. On the surface, the main difference between the...

Hot New Products - Creative TravelSound 400.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. One accessory for the portable media player that is both useful and relatively inexpensive is the portable speaker set. The TravelSound 400 from Creative is one such product, a small and neat two-speaker...

Hot New Products - NetObjects Fusion 9.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith. NetObjects Fusion 9 offers a full set of tools for creating a complete website, not just individual pages. It uses technology called CSS (cascading style sheets), which sets up the formatting in the web pages and the...

Hot New Products - Sony MDR-NC11. Sleek noise-cancelling earphones.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran. Noise-cancelling earphones work by cancelling out the sound they detect from outside the units. A tiny microphone is built in to the side of the earpiece, which allows the device to generate a tone that will...

Feature - Remote PC diagnostics - A friend at hand. Solving PC problems for friends and relatives is much quicker and easier if you use Windows XP's Remote Assistance utility. We show you how.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Martin Courtney. Anybody and everybody familiar with computers has at some point been asked to help someone less knowledgeable sort out a problem, and those with large families often find themselves becoming the unofficial helpdesk...

Feature - Move to a new PC - Trading places. Moving to a new computer can be more complicated than you would first think. Here's how to make the process easy and avoid any tears.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith. Just like buying a new car, the purchase of a new PC brings with it both anticipation and excitement. A new machine promises better performance, sleeker styling and greater reliability. But, just as new car owners have...

Digital home - In-car entertainment - Fun on four wheels. With the latest in-car entertainment devices, you'll never ask "are we there yet?" again.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Niall Magennis. Think back to your childhood and probably the most entertaining aspect of car journeys was playing I-spy. Nowadays, however, there is a whole industry behind in-car entertainment and some cars are kitted out with...

On Test - CD-Roms - New year, new you. If you've resolved to write a novel in 2006, master the guitar or just make sure your PC is secure, we've got a package to help.(Driving Test Gift Pack Deluxe, Interactive Guitar Coach Gift Pack, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, Spyware Doctor, Writer's Cafe)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Martin James. Every new year gives the chance to set fresh goals for the next 12 months. Your PC can help you achieve these goals, as this issue's selection of software shows. They say that everyone has a bestseller in them,...

On Test - Games - The Movies. Like the idea of making movies? Then this new people management game will give you a taste of Hollywood.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Mike Anderiesz. Peter Molyneux is a veteran of computer games, having his fingers deeply wedged in the pies of Black & White 2 and Theme Park. His latest creation takes us back to the sim genre and marks a welcome return to his...

On Test - Games - Pro Evolution Soccer 5.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Eddie Henderson. While it has undoubtedly been the fans' choice - only those who prefer pixel-perfect recreations of Wayne Rooney over serious football gameplay argue for EA's FIFA titles - on the PC the Pro Evolution series has so...

On Test - Games - Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Eddie Henderson. The name Zoo Tycoon sounds rather inhumane, especially when you bring endangered species into the equation. But this is just a video game and should only be judged as such. This first expansion pack for last...

On Test - Games - King Kong.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Eddie Henderson. With Peter Jackson's update of King Kong hitting the cinema over Christmas and New Year, it was inevitable that a video game tie-in would follow in time for the present-buying season. While this is by no means a...

On Test - Top 10 Games.
January 5, 2006... Here are the top 10 games according to the official UK Leisure Software chart. (C)ELSPA. Compiled by Chart Track. 1. Age of Empires III [pounds sterling]35 (real-time strategy) Microsoft 2. Football Manager 2006 [pounds...

Net Chart - FREE Downloads. We've trawled the internet to test what you can get for free...(Brief Article)(Buyers Guide)
January 5, 2006... Winroll www.computeractive.co.uk/2147285 Keep the Desktop clear and uncluttered Apple users have for some time had the ability to reduce a window to its title bar. With this download, Windows users can now do it too. Type:...

Net Chart - Site seeing... It's the new year, and as such it's time to get healthy using our selection of fitness sites.
January 5, 2006... www.gymuser.co.uk This is a useful introduction to exercise with plenty of helpful advice on what to look for in a gym. There are calculators for body mass index, heart rate and the number of calories burned by different forms of exercise....

No Problem! Q&A - Answers to... PC problems. Our resident technical doctor is here to cure your PC ailments.
January 5, 2006... Broken Firefox Q. Acting on your recommendation, I started using the Mozilla Firefox web browser and it has been working well. I have installed several extensions that enable me to use mouse gestures, among other things. However,...

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.
January 5, 2006... The Problem Outlook Express has stopped displaying graphics and other images in my incoming email messages, and some of the links in emails are missing. This seems to have happened after I installed the ClearType software. Tony Jones,...

Letters - Your say! We want your opinions! Write to us on any of the topics covered in Computeractive.
January 5, 2006... Tough customer The Beat Rip-off Britain article in issue 203 has prompted me to add my views, both as a customer service manager for a small computer system retailer and an end user. I am very happy to see such articles educating...

Sizing up cells.(spreadsheet software)(Brief article)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Sizing up cells Good planning doesn't always mean that projects progress as planned. The default cell size in Excel doesn't allow much room for typing text. To extend a column width, move the mouse pointer over one...

A scientific view.(Windows calculator)(Brief article)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey A scientific view Almost everyone will have used the Windows Calculator application at one time or another, even if it is for something as simple as working out the cost of the weekly shop. But what if you need to...

Vital visuals.(GUI)(Brief article)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Vital visuals There are lots of settings for your display that are hidden away in Windows XP. Hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and then press the Pause/Break button on the keyboard. When the dialogue box...

Terratec Cinergy 2400i DT.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Simon Williams Terratec Cinergy 2400i DT A dual digital TV tuner that makes for an excellent home computer upgrade ADVB-T (digital) TV tuner card enables you to tune into Freeview channels for display on a computer screen...

Choose the best image formats.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Sheila Hill Choose the best image formats with Photobie With graphics files formats a-plenty around, be sure to select the best for the job in Photobie Digital images come in a variety of formats. Pictures acquired in...

Keep up to date online with an.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Mark Wilson Keep up to date online with an RSS reader Save time by viewing the latest information from your favourite websites at a glance Many websites have content added on a daily basis -- or even more frequently...

Pro Evolution Soccer 5.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Eddie Henderson Pro Evolution Soccer 5 While it has undoubtedly been the fans' choice -- only those who prefer pixel-perfect recreations of Wayne Rooney over serious football gameplay argue for EA's FIFA titles -- on the PC the...

Averatec 1050.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Averatec 1050 A slim Apple iBook lookalike that runs Windows Small notebooks are all fine and well but make them too teeny and you will end up with something as powerful as a pocket calculator....

Upgrade your PC by attaching a.(USB hubs)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Upgrade your PC by attaching a USB hub If Santa brought a host of new USB gadgets for your PC, you may want to add some more connectors sockets Just as busy motorways can never be wide enough, so it seems...

Symbolic dialogue.(word processing)(Brief article)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Scott Colvey Symbolic dialogue Windows has a feature that gives access to special characters that don't usually appear on the keyboard. It's called Character Map; launch it by clicking on the Start menu then moving to All...

Writer's Cafe.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Martin James Writer's Cafe No computer can write fiction but yours will be able to do just about everything else with Writer's Cafe. From its unique packaging to its thoughtful approach, this program stands apart from its...

Spyware Doctor.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Martin James Spyware Doctor There is no more worthy New Year's resolution than vowing to keep your PC safe, and Spyware Doctor makes this important job easy. Installation is quick and easy, and offers the choice of an...

Evesham Voyager C720.(notebook computer)(Product/service evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Rory Reid Evesham Voyager C720 A gaming notebook that pulls no punches in terms of performance The Evesham Voyager C720 was designed to be the fastest gaming notebook ever created. It uses the very latest nVidia...

Driving Test Gift Pack Deluxe.(software)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Martin James Driving Test Gift Pack Deluxe Passing the driving test requires a combination of practical skill and theoretical knowledge and with Driving Test Gift Pack Deluxe, the latter at least should contain no hidden...

Interactive Guitar Coach Gift Pack.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Martin James Interactive Guitar Coach Gift Pack If you are interested in learning how to play the guitar this year, this limited-release gift pack would be a great investment. It includes a two-disc interactive guitar...

Readers to the Rescue.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran the problem Outlook Express has stopped displaying graphics and other images in my incoming email messages, and some of the links in emails are missing. This seems to have happened after I installed the...

No Problem.(web browsers)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Anthony Dhanendran Broken Firefox Q Acting on your recommendation, I started using the Mozilla Firefox web browser and it has been working well. I have installed several extensions that enable me to use mouse...

Beblu Media Centre.(multimedia computer)(Product/service evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Beblu Media Centre A Media Center computer that's a break from the norm Home entertainment computers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and the Beblu Media Centre continues the trend of not looking...

Genus DU1.(digital radio)(Product/service evaluation)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Genus DU1 Add DAB digital radio functions to a normal home stereo Digital radio offers many advantages over FM, AM and other analogue wavelengths. Its clearer reception and automatic tuning features are a...

T-Mobile MDA Pro.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Rory Reid T-Mobile MDA Pro It looks like a notebook computer but it's really a phone and a handheld PC combined The T-Mobile MDA Pro is a handheld computer that doubles as a mobile phone, although its designers have...

Kodak EasyShare One.
January 5, 2006... Byline: Jacqueline Williams Kodak EasyShare One A four-megapixel digital camera that can send snaps straight to a website Last year we saw a number of digital cameras with built-in Wi-Fi. Thanks to a tie-up with T-Mobile, though,...