Computer Act!ve articles from January 2007

Computer Act!ve archives from January 2007

Canon PIXMA MP160.(Product/service evaluation)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Simon Williams Canon PIXMA MP160 Who says you can't get a good multifunction device for under [pounds sterling]40? Canon is taking on Lexmark's challenge for basic multifunction devices (MFD) at low prices. If you shop...

Serif PhotoPlus 11.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Simon Williams Serif Photoplus 11 Its advanced features make this a formidable image-editing upgrade Photoplus 11's numerous new features make it a definite contender against its image-editing competitors, as it does a good...

Acer p610.(satellite navigation devices)(Product/service evaluation)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Acer p610 Will this budget-priced road warrior find its way into your car? There aren't many satellite navigation (sat-nav) devices that come in under [pounds sterling]200, and those that do tend to be a...

Belkin Wifi Phone.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Rob Jones Belkin Wifi Phone Make free calls without needing a computer We're beginning to see a proliferation of Skype wireless phones, which allow owners to make calls over a broadband connection without their PC switched...

Radio.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Radio days There's more than one way to listen to digital radio. Here's how to tune in to radio reinvented At a time when manufacturers are bombarding us with hype about high-definition TV, it's easy to...

Back in time.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Mark Wilson Back in time Reinstalling Windows is a last resort but is sometimes necessary. We outline the options for XP users A new computer with Windows XP installed runs smoothly and quickly, but it doesn't take...

Philips X56 Freevents.(laptop)(Product/service evaluation)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Chris Cain Philips X56 Freevents Philips latest offers truly portable power at a great price Here at Computeractive we're used to seeing computers that skimp on power, memory or features to meet a certain price. So, when...

Net chart.(Directory)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Get things done this new year -- our selection of sites can help you keep your resolutions www.videojug.com 'Life Explained on Film' is the tagline of this excellent site. It builds on the video-sharing...

Vonage V-Phone.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Paul Lester Internet telephony >> [pounds sterling]20 Vonage V-Phone Vonage touts this as the world's smallest phone, although it's actually just a USB key with a headphone socket and some pre-installed software for making...

Jajah.(internet telephony service)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen Internet telephony >> from free Jajah This is an internet telephony service with a difference. Rather than using a direct PC-to-PC connection, users need to register their landline numbers online (both...

PrevX.(security software)(Product/service evaluation)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen security software >> [pounds sterling]13 PrevX Effective overall security software Pitched as a complete replacement for the better-known packages from Symantec, McAfee and others, PrevX covers all...

Winzip.(utility software)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Tim Smith utility software >> $50 ([pounds sterling]25) Winzip 11 Professional Save time and disk space by compressing files Although Windows can now open and create compressed Zip files, there are still plenty of...

BlueEye.(Bluetooth gadget)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Andrea-Marie Vassou ipod accessory >> [pounds sterling]50 Gear4 Blueye A three-in-one Bluetooth mobile with hands-free connection and FM tuner iPod accessories are big business, and one of the latest to join the...

Check broadband.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Mark Wilson Check broadband connection speeds Find out how fast your internet connection really is using free online tools and speed-testing software With the widespread availability of broadband, the speed of internet...

Turn videos and photos into a.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Mark Wilson Turn videos and photos into a slideshow Corel Snapfire enables you to enhance and share digital photos. We explain how to download and use it Most digital camera owners want to share their photograph...

Find figures with Excel.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Find figures with Excel Goal Seek Excel's Goal Seek command will find the right number to fit a desired result. Here's how to use it Life regularly throws up 'What if?' questions. You might be considering...

Head of the table.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Head of the table When a table that has been created in Microsoft Word spreads onto a second and subsequent page, it is often difficult to remember the column headings. A little-known but useful feature is to have...

Tab talk.(keyboard shortcuts)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Tab talk In Windows, when there are a lot of folders, internet pages and application windows open it can be hard to navigate through them. A quick way to cycle through to find the one you want is to hold down the...

Picture mesages.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Picture messages If you want to insert photos into emails that have been created in Outlook Express, click anywhere in the text area of the email, then click the Insert File menu and select Picture. When the...

Quick Play.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Quick play Using the mouse to control Windows Media Player is a bit clumsy. However, there are a number of keyboard shortcuts that control all the common elements of the program. If you want to pause a song or...

Quick photo fixes with.(Paint Shop Pro)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Quick photo fixes with Paint Shop Pro The image-editing application Paint Shop Pro has tools to fix common photo flaws. Here's what to do It's the time of year when many of us have lots of new photos....

Recover damaged.(Microsoft Word)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Rob Beattie Recover damaged Word documents Sometimes Word documents can become corrupted. Learn some techniques that may recover them Although it's pretty straightforward to use, Microsoft Word is a complicated...

QDOS Genesis.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Speaker >> [pounds sterling]70 QDOS Genesis The QDOS Genesis promises to bring something new to the iPod speaker party: instead of just stereo sound, it has four speakers that give all-round listening....

Tesco PhotoRestyle.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Andrea-Marie Vassou image-editing software >> [pounds sterling]10 Tesco Photorestyle Low-cost, basic photo-editing software Not content with supplying most of our groceries, Tesco has introduced a range of software to...

Diino.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Online storage >> From free Diino Diino stores backup files on the internet, in what it promises is a secure environment. The free version requires no credit card details and offers 2GB of file...

Reinstall without losing data.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Mark Wilson Reinstall without losing data Anyone who has bought a copy of Windows XP on discs, and therefore has a full installation CD, has another option in the form of a repair installation. Using this method makes it...

Encyclopaedia Britannica Standard Edition.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Encyclopaedia Britannica Standard Edition It seems oddly quaint to install a computer-based encyclopaedia from a couple of CD-Roms. Of course, it would feel equally old-fashioned to do so from a single DVD-Rom disc...

Interactive Atlas Of Great Britain Gift Set.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Interactive Atlas Of Great Britain Gift Set We had high hopes for this product, as Ordnance Survey (OS) maps and atlases are always a delight to pore over. However, the pleasure of the paper maps doesn't really...

Teaching-you IT Skills.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Teaching-you IT Skills We've seen a few of these Teaching-you titles now and thus far we've been unimpressed. Will Teaching-you IT Skills be the title to convince us that this is a range worthy of future attention?...

Make The Most Of Your Digital Camera Gift Set.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Make The Most Of Your Digital Camera Gift Set This product is part of GSP's new Gift Box Collection (as, too, is Interactive Atlas Of Great Britain, reviewed on the facing page. As such, it gathers products with a...

Fishz.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Fishz Computer-based pet simulators have proved so popular over the past couple of years that it was perhaps inevitable that someone would come up with one concerned with, er, fish. So here it -- a fish-tank...

Variety pack.(CD-Roms )(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Variety pack This issue's theme is that there's no theme. We look at four CD-Roms that will appeal to a diverse range of tastes With so many CD-Roms turning up in the Computeractive office, we thought we'd...

Extra tools.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Simon Williams Extra tools There are a couple of free downloads from Microsoft that could help when preparing research-based documents. The first software adds financial stock movements as a facility within the Research Task...

Find the right.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Simon Williams Find the right words For anyone needing to sort and present information, Word has dozens of hidden tools. We show you how to uncover them Microsoft Word suits many kinds of writing, from a quick letter or...

Mouse alternatives.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dave Howell Mouse alternatives Many users who have suffered from repetitive strain injury have switched to a trackball (about [pounds sterling]12.60 from online stores). They can take a bit of getting used to, but could be ...

Who needs.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dave Howell Who needs a mouse? The mouse has been in use for decades, but you don't necessarily need it Controlling your PC with a mouse is almost second nature, but wouldn't it be great to manipulate every aspect of...

VHS RIP.(video home)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn VHS RIP VHS may be going the way of the dodo, but you can breathe new life into your old video tapes by converting them to DVD. Here's how VHS is dead. There, we said it. Big chains such as Currys Digital...

PVRs.
January 11, 2007... PVRs In this feature we've talked about converting old video to DVD, but we haven't really mentioned transferring tapes to personal video recorders or PVRs. In fact it's quite rare for dedicated hard-disk PVRs, like Sky+, the Humax...

Disc formats.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Disc formats In a world where five conflicting formats are, for some reason, always better than one, it'll come as no surprise to learn that there are multiple recordable DVD variants out there. DVD-R and DVD+R discs can only be...

Connections and cables.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Connections and cables Whether you're converting your VHS to DVD via a computer or a set-top DVD recorder, you'll need to physically connect the two devices first. How you achieve this will very much depend on the connections available on...

Readers to the rescue.
January 11, 2007... the problem When connecting my notebook to my LCD television, the Windows screen comes up on TV but after that the television just says 'no PC input'. Other notebooks work without any problems. Cyril Luger, Issue 231 your answer...

Driver Genius Pro 2006.(Product/service evaluation)
January 11, 2007... Driver Genius Pro 2006 A useful tool for managing hardware drivers In computer terms, the word driver only comes about when you install a new piece of hardware. However, these small programs that allow Windows to talk to hardware...

Get to the PowerPoint.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Rod Lawton Get to the Powerpoint Far from being a corporate tool of torture, Powerpoint is actually pretty fun If you've been exposed to Powerpoint presentations at work, chances are they have left you gnawing your...

Top tips.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Rod Lawton Top tips l Quickly create a photo album Go to the Insert menu, and move the mouse pointer down to Picture, then select New Photo Album. On the 'Insert picture from: ' pane, select File/Disk, and navigate to the...

Consumeractive lead.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek Problem The problems dead pixels pose I bought a notebook PC from PC World in April 2006 as a Christmas present for my daughter. I put it away, unopened, until Christmas. When I got the machine out two weeks...

Consumeractive body.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek Problem You can't can spam this way I recently purchased and installed Norton internet security 2007, which cost me [pounds sterling]37. I then started receiving spam. I spoke to my ISP, Cable and Wireless...

Truants face trial by text.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Andrea Marie Vassou Truants face trial by text Parents who are concerned about their children playing truant can now be contacted by the school via a discreet text message. Schools-SMS is a web-based service launched by...

KishKish and tell.(KishKish Lie Detector )(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek KishKish and tell Skype users may think twice about telling tall stories in future now the internet telephony company has added a lie detector to its applications. The KishKish Lie Detector is made by BATM,...

Speech skills for call centres.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek Speech skills for call centres IBM has developed a way that could improve communications between employees in overseas call centres and their British customers. Outsourcing call centres to other countries has...

Sharing music on the go Sharing music via Bluetooth using a mobile phone is becoming increasingly popular but will not hold the same punishments as file sharing over a PC. Although this is still illegal without the permission of copyright holders, a repre.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Staff Sharing music on the go Sharing music via Bluetooth using a mobile phone is becoming increasingly popular but will not hold the same punishments as file sharing over a PC. Although this is still illegal without the...

Arabic language learning Auralog has added Arabic to its language-learning software. Tell Me More Arabic is geared towards learning modern standard Arabic and introduces different Arabic dialects. The software uses two learning modes: the Free-to-Roam Mo.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Andrea Marie Vassou Arabic language learning Auralog has added Arabic to its language-learning software. Tell Me More Arabic is geared towards learning modern standard Arabic and introduces different Arabic dialects. The...

Greenpeace peels Apple.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Paul Allen Greenpeace peels Apple Greenpeace has slammed Apple over its record on environmentally friendly technology. The green charity has published the 2006 update of its guide that ranks technology companies based on...

Active Home gears up for new year fun.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Paul Allen Active Home gears up for new year fun With the winter sales in full swing, the latest issue of Active Home, on sale in WH Smith from 18 January, will examine the best deals on high-definition TVs. This next...

Song sung true Revoice has launched a ringtone service that lets users create their own ringtones by singing along to popular hits. Singtones, which can be downloaded free, uses voice synchronisation technology that can alter users' voices so that they ar.
January 11, 2007... Byline: staff Song sung true Revoice has launched a ringtone service that lets users create their own ringtones by singing along to popular hits. Singtones, which can be downloaded free, uses voice synchronisation technology that can...

WRAP up your batteries.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek WRAP up your batteries People around the country are being given the chance to participate in a range of battery recycling initiatives. Ongoing street collections currently involving around 350,000 households...

Vista to lock out the fakes.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Paul Allen and Dinah Greek Vista to lock out the fakes Microsoft has built anti-piracy technology into Windows Vista that locks users out of their PCs if the operating system isn't activated within 30 days of installation. ...

Wii have a problem Nintendo will replace any broken wrist straps for its new console, the Wii. Since its launch, users across the world have reported problems with the straps attached to the motion-sensitive controller worn on the player's arm. Some peop.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Wii have a problem Nintendo will replace any broken wrist straps for its new console, the Wii. Since its launch, users across the world have reported problems with the straps attached to the motion-sensitive...

Phishing net An update for a glitch that affects the phishing shield in Internet Explorer 7 has been released by Microsoft. It has been found that the feature, which is one of the new browser's big selling points and which flags up fraudulent websites th.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Staff Phishing net An update for a glitch that affects the phishing shield in Internet Explorer 7 has been released by Microsoft. It has been found that the feature, which is one of the new browser's big selling points and...

Stalked while you walk Simple 'plug and play' wireless gadgets are putting consumers' privacy at risk, warned a team of student researchers at the University of Washington. They found that thieves or stalkers could make use of the simple 'plug and play' w.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek Stalked while you walk Simple 'plug and play' wireless gadgets are putting consumers' privacy at risk, warned a team of student researchers at the University of Washington. They found that thieves or stalkers...

Switchover help for elderly and disabled.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek Switchover help for elderly and disabled Older people and those with a disability will get help to pay for the switch-over to digital television, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has announced. Analogue TV is due...

Ban on images of children The Government plans to make it illegal to own computer-generated images of children being abused. Currently, although it is illegal to own photographs of child abuse, the same is not true for computer-generated images. Like pho.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Staff Ban on images of children The Government plans to make it illegal to own computer-generated images of children being abused. Currently, although it is illegal to own photographs of child abuse, the same is not true for...

Don't PIN your hopes on being rescued.(Brief article)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Don't PIN your hopes on being rescued A hoax email is being circulated claiming that entering a cash card PIN in reverse will alert police to a robbery taking place. The message claims that new technology...

Patients win right to NHS privacy.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek Patients win right to NHS privacy Ministers back down over plans to create compulsory central medical database Patients will be able to stop their medical records being stored on the Government's cental NHS...

The law of the land The Government has published the country's law statutes online. The Statute Law website contains the 'official revised edition' of the UK's primary legislation -- that is, any acts passed by parliament. The record includes details of.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran The law of the land The Government has published the country's law statutes online. The Statute Law website contains the 'official revised edition' of the UK's primary legislation -- that is, any...

Vista spam Consumers are being warned not to fall for a spam campaign claiming to offer a cut-price edition of Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista. The spammers are using new techniques to bypass spam filters to offer recipients a bargain edit.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek Vista spam Consumers are being warned not to fall for a spam campaign claiming to offer a cut-price edition of Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista. The spammers are using new techniques to bypass spam...

E-waste recycling regulations come into force.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek E-waste recycling regulations come into force The long-awaited Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations came into force in the UK this month. In this country, more than one million tonnes of...

Kitemarked kit provides better protection for kids.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Dinah Greek Kitemarked kit provides better protection for kids Parents will soon be able to put more faith in child protection and parental control software, thanks to new standards, the Home Office has said. By the...

headline.(using virtual printers)(using hard disk drives)(ubuntu and Xubuntu based on linux operating system)
January 11, 2007... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran What's a virtual printer? QFor about 18 months I have been using Picasa to print photos from my PC. Recently I installed Adobe Photoshop Elements 4, after which my printer would not work on either photos...

Need For Speed: Carbon.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 25, 2007... Byline: Eddie Henderson Need For Speed: Carbon There's little science to Carbon -- but we like it all the same What petrolheads seem to dislike most, other than speed cameras and congestion charges, are...

A whole new view.(Windows Vista)
January 25, 2007... Byline: Mark Wilson A whole new view We take a look at Vista, the new version of Windows. How could you benefit from its new features and is it an essential upgrade? It may be hard to believe, but it is now more than five years...

Norton Internet Security 2007.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Simon Williams Norton Internet Security 2007 Internet Security 2007 is a good all-round package at a good price Norton Internet Security (NIS) 2007 consists of anti-virus, personal firewall, anti-spyware and anti-phishing...

Samsung CLP-300.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Simon Williams Samsung CLP-300 New colour technology in a laser printer not much bigger than some mono printers Samsung has been building inexpensive mono laser printers for some years, but its colour cousins are a more...

Nikon Coolpix L5.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Gavin Stoker Nikon Coolpix L5 Smart 7-megapixel snapshot with Vibration Reduction and Face Priority focusing Nikon has released quite a few compacts in recent months, split into two ranges: its 'S' for Style and 'L' for...

Philips LX1000.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 25, 2007... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Philips LX1000 A good-looking, compact PC that's great for the living room The LX1000 from Philips, a PC World special offer, really is a multimedia computer. Not only is it stylish enough to put in the...

Protect a PC against spyware.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Mark Wilson Protect a PC against spyware infections Using free software it is easy to secure a computer against spyware and other malicious software The recent surge in the spread of spyware -- malicious software that can...

Organise data on USB.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Rob Beattie Organise data on USB memory keys Keeping tabs on the contents of USB disks? Find out how Microsoft's free software can help From time to time Microsoft releases free programs that add useful features to...

Table tallying.(Brief article)
January 25, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Table tallying When using tables in Microsoft Word, it's worth remembering that every cell has a spreadsheet-style reference that can be used for simple calculations using numbers in the cells. Highlight the cell...

What a stitch-up.(Brief article)
January 25, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey What a stitch-up Most of the basic photo-stitching programs that come with digital cameras can only join pictures side by side to create panorama shots. But what if you want to join one picture above another to...

Toolbar tricks.(Brief article)
January 25, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Toolbar tricks If you frequently use Microsoft Office applications, you may find that you're clicking the wrong button by mistake. There is a quick and easy tool built into all Office programs that allows you to...

Run free office software on any.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Scott Colvey Run free office software on any online PC Use ThinkFree Office to create and edit documents from any PC with an internet connection Ever been stuck somewhere without a copy of one of your favourite...

Nintendo Wii.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Nintendo Wii Nintendo shows its sensitive side with this latest games console When Nintendo released its touch-screen games console, the DS, it injected some much-needed innovation into handheld gaming. With...

Make the switch to.
January 25, 2007... Make the switch to Windows Vista Even if you don't intend to move to Vista immediately, keep our installation guide for future reference Microsoft hopes Vista will eventually replace Windows XP as the face of PCs around the world....

Sony Cyber-shot T10.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Gavin Stoker Sony Cyber-shot T10 Flick and click with Sony's slimline shooter You would expect Sony to deliver the goods when it comes to stylish, well-crafted products, and the 7-megapixel Cyber-shot T10 digital...

Bangers & cash.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Nigel Donelly Bangers & cash Selling a second-hand car is easier than ever thanks to the popularity of the auction website Ebay. We show you how to list a car on the site and keep your sale on track The key to selling...