Personal Computer World articles from April 2008

Personal Computer World archives from April 2008

Feeling bookish?
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mark Whitehorn Feeling bookish? Essential Database Stuff, the book I mentioned in April, is now complete and proving popular. It contains selected highlights from this column A- tips, tricks, solutions and other useful material...

Kit for taking it to the next level.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Gordon Laing Kit for taking it to the next level Ring flash As we've seen, you can take perfectly good product shots with the most basic equipment. But if you need a lot of product shots, for example for a catalogue, then...

Selling an image.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Gordon Laing Selling an image How to take studio-quality photos to help sell items on Ebay I've just put my old wireless router on Ebay. It's less than a year old, but when I upgraded my BT broadband package they gave me a...

Portable power.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Gordon Laing Portable power Ensuring peak performance from your laptop may mean 'downgrading' to XP With each new version of Windows, Microsoft introduces technologies it claims will improve performance, but the end result...

The changing face of Fedora.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Barry Shilliday The changing face of Fedora Ubuntu may be the most popular desktop distribution, but Fedora support is strong Regular readers will know that Ubuntu Linux is often the focus of this column. The distribution...

Livna fills some gaps.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Barry Shilliday Livna fills some gaps Fedora's policy of only having free, open-source software means many useful packages that have restrictions in copyright or patents are not available. The Livna repository provides a...

A bit more about Vista file copying.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens A bit more about Vista file copying Microsoft has finally released more information relating to file copy enhancements in the Vista SP1 update that I talked about last month. This confirms that you can expect big...

Crack Homeplug encryption.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Crack Homeplug encryption A guide to encrypting Powerline networks, and more about Vista's first Service Pack In this Network Hands On, I'd like to revisit the question I tried to address in my last column -...

Bridging the memory gap.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Gordon Laing Bridging the memory gap Can adding memory to your laptop have unforeseen consequences for Vista users? In this and last month's Hardware columns we've been looking into ways of improving the performance of...

Domain name dilemmas.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Domain name dilemmas internet QI am interested in owning my own domain name and have checked out various domain name providers that charge a very reasonable nominal fee; say, [pounds sterling]10 for two...

HO QuestionTime.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Databases QI have just installed xampp on my Windows machine to get Apache, MySQL and PHP. I've looked at the MySQL documentation to try to create my first database, but it assumes I am using Linux. I can't...

Create your own ringtones.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Niall Magennis Create your own ringtones It's easy to convert songs into ringtones using just a few simple tools Not that long ago mobile phones rang out with monophonic renditions of well-known tunes that often sounded...

Transfer ringtones to another handset.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Niall Magennis Transfer ringtones to another handset If you already own a ringtone that you'd like to use on a different handset you may be able to transfer the file from one phone to another. If the two phones you are using...

Counting letters.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Stephen Wells Counting letters If you have a group of grade letters A to F in the range A1:A30, in cell B1 enter: =CHAR(MODE(CODE(A1:A30))) The most common grade will be displayed. It works like this. MODE returns...

Whati?1/2s your status?
April 17, 2008... Byline: Stephen Wells What's your status? The Status Bar along the bottom of the Excel screen has got better The whole idea of the Status Bar at the bottom of the Excel screen has always been to keep you informed of where you are....

Use PowerShell to convert Flac to MP3.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Tim Anderson Use PowerShell to convert Flac to MP3 Flac is an excellent open-source format for storing music ripped from CDs. It is lossless, which means you get quality and flexibility. Unfortunately, Flac files are large and...

Powerful part of the script.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Tim Anderson Powerful part of the script How to convert your music files with Windows' new scripting environment PowerShell is a new scripting environment for Windows. It is a free add-on for Windows XP SP2, Server 2003,...

This appearing act.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Tim Nott This appearing act The mystery of a new Windows tab solved and how to find files in XP Being a frequent user of the XP System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe), I was rather surprised to see that it had suddenly...

Building with Word 2003.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Tim Nott Building with Word 2003 Remove private information and add some Word 2007 tricks to the 2003 version In the March column we looked at Autotext in Word 2003 and earlier, and in April we covered Word 2007's Building...

upgrade by downgrading In the world of computers, sometimes we prefer to stick with what we know. Vista is a case in point, and many people have been cautious about making the leap. In this monthi?1/2s Hardware and Performance columns, we discover the effects.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield upgrade by downgrading In the world of computers, sometimes we prefer to stick with what we know. Vista is a case in point, and many people have been cautious about making the leap. In this month's Hardware and...

GT_Image Editors-Editor's Choice.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon Of the six applications in this software group test, two are clear front-runners: Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 and Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2. Both programs started out from a similar place and are travelling in the...

ACD Systems ACDSee Photo Editor 4.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon ACD Systems ACDSee Photo Editor 4 Price [pounds sterling]24.99 Contact ACD Systems www.acdsee.com ACDsee is bucking the trend for combining photo-editing and management tools in one application. Photo Editor 4...

Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 Price [pounds sterling]69.32 Contact Adobe 020 7365 0733 www.adobe.com/uk Adobe Photoshop Elements has enjoyed the position of top dog in the non-professional image-editing world for...

The urge to merge.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon The urge to merge Photo editors are introducing automatic compositing tools that help you produce one really good photo from several not-so-good ones. These include high dynamic range (HDR) tools in Paint Shop Pro...

Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Price [pounds sterling]79 Contact Corel 0800 376 9271 www.corel.com Corel's tenure of Paint Shop Pro has seen its transformation from a niche photo-editing application to...

Corel Ulead Photoimpact 12.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon Corel Ulead Photoimpact 12 Price [pounds sterling]29.99 Contact Corel 0800 376 9271 www.corel.com Ulead, probably best known for its video products, developed Photoimpact to version 12 at which point it was...

Gimp 2.4.5.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon Gimp 2.4.5 Price Free Contact Gimp www.gimp.org Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a GNU open-source project that grew out of a software project started by a couple of Berkeley students who wanted to...

Digital darkroom.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon Digital darkroom Even the best photographers need image editors to tweak their photos. Ken McMahon takes a snapshot of the market Digital photography is everywhere you look. Cameras in phones and other handheld...

Magix Photo and Graphic Designer.(Xtreme Photo Designer 7)(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon Magix Photo and Graphic Designer Price [pounds sterling]59.99 Contact Magix 0905 118 0888 www.magix.com/uk This suite from Magix includes Xtreme Graphic Designer and Magix Photo Manager, but we'll be...

Sage Instant Accounts.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Sage Instant Accounts Easy-to-use small-business bookkeeping package There are no radical enhancements in the latest version of Sage Instant Accounts, just considered improvements focused around making the...

HP Laserjet P1505n.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens HP Laserjet P1505n This little laser is faster than it looks Not long ago, a network laser capable of churning out documents at 20-plus pages per minute (ppm) would be the size of a small fridge and cost...

Hypertec Firestorm.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Hypertec Firestorm Go faster with this eSata-enabled external disk drive External disks are great, in that they let you add extra storage to a PC or server with minimal fuss and expense. Unfortunately, most use...

Garmin Colorado 300.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph Garmin Colorado 300 Price [pounds sterling]399.99 Contact Garmin 023 8052 4000 www.garmin.co.uk The Colorado 300 is one of Garmin's latest top-of-the-range models. It's fairly expensive at [pounds...

Galileo, Galileo i?1/2 GPS takes over the world.(Global Positioning System)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph Galileo, Galileo - GPS takes over the world Sales of sat-nav devices are booming. Almost 30 million sat-nav devices were sold worldwide in 2007, and it's estimated that the sat-nav market in 2008 will be worth as...

Garmin Etrex Vista HCx.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph Garmin Etrex Vista HCx Price [pounds sterling]279.99 Contact Garmin 0238 052 4000 www.garmin.co.uk The Etrex Vista HCx is the more casual alternative to Garmin's Colorado 300, aimed at hikers and other people...

The great outdoors.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph The great outdoors With an outdoor sat nav you can explore the countryside like never before. Cliff Joseph gives six models a run for their money Anyone who drives a lot probably has a GPS satellite navigation...

GT_Outdoor GPS-Editors Choice.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph We were a little surprised at how expensive these outdoor GPS devices are. With prices starting at [pounds sterling]175.99 and going up to almost [pounds sterling]400, they're certainly more expensive than their in-car...

Magellan Explorist 210.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph Magellan Explorist 210 Price [pounds sterling]175.99 Contact Elite UK Electronics 08704 03 02 www.eliteukelectronics.com The Explorist 210 is definitely showing its age a little, but it's still an excellent...

Magellan Explorist 600.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph Magellan Explorist 600 Price [pounds sterling]327.99 Contact Elite UK Electronics 08704 03 02 www.eliteukelectronics.com As the name implies, the Explorist 600 is the big brother of the entry-level 210 model....

Road Angel Adventurer 7000.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph Road Angel Adventurer 7000 Price [pounds sterling]279.99 Contact Road Angel 01327 855 586 www.roadangel.co.uk Unlike all the other GPS devices in this group, Road Angel's Adventurer 7000 doubles up as both an...

Satmap Active 10.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph Satmap Active 10 Price [pounds sterling]299.99 Contact Satmap 0845 873 0101 www.satmap.com Satmap's Active 10 claims to be the ultimate GPS device for sports and outdoor activities. It's certainly an...

Slipstreaming slips aways.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Slipstreaming slips aways One thing you won't be able to do with SP1 is 'slipstream' it. Slipstreaming is a way of incorporating the files from a service pack (or other patches and hotfixes) into a new...

June 1983.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Emil Larsen June 1983 How much would you pay for a word processor? In 1983 [pounds sterling]1,000 was considered a fair bargain. For that you could expect to get your hands on a Vic-20 computer, a daisy-wheel typewriter with...

June 1993.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Emil Larsen June 1993 Leaping straight to the middle of the June 1993 issue we had a group test covering hard drive controller cards using either ISA or EISA interfaces. Prices ranged considerably from [pounds sterling]127 to...

June 2003.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Emil Larsen June 2003 Digital cameras are ten a penny today, but in 2003 the revolution was just starting, with digital camera sales accounting for 51 per cent of all cameras sold. We tested 10 digital cameras, ranging in...

Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Niall Magennis Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 An impressive high-end, all-purpose soundcard This soundcard is a bit special because it is built around one of Creative's X-Fi audio processors - the same chip that sits at the...

Maplin USB2 to Sata/IDE Adapter.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Emil Larsen Maplin USB2 to Sata/IDE Adapter Price [pounds sterling]39.99 Contact www.maplin.co.uk Overall HHHHH This combo adapter supports both Sata and IDE hard disk types in both notebook and desktop hard drive sizes,...

Modus Interactive Powerwise.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Modus Interactive Powerwise Go green with this energy-saving software Soaring electricity prices have prompted more and more companies to look for ways of managing the amount of energy they consume. A number of...

Saviour of.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Terry Relph-Knight Saviour of the universe Flash memory is one of today's most ubiquitous storage technologies. Terry Relph-Knight investigates Imagine a mobile phone that lost all its numbers when you took out the...

Flash forms.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Terry Relph-Knight Flash forms Over the years Flash memory chips have appeared in more than 20 memory card formats. Only a few remain - USB stick, Compact Flash, Secure Digital and Sony's Memory Stick are the survivors, along...

Fake Flash.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Terry Relph-Knight Fake Flash Flash memory is an obvious target for counterfeiters because it's small and easy to ship, it sells in high volume with a reasonable margin and it's relatively easy to copy the labelling and case...

Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Will Stapley Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse Price [pounds sterling]54.99 Contact www.microsoft.com/uk Overall HHHHH Microsoft's Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 is a stylish affair that sits comfortably in the hand and glides...

Nuance PDF Converter Professional 5.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Nuance PDF Converter Professional 5 Do more with PDF documents for less cash The Portable Document Format (PDF) and Adobe's Acrobat go together like bread and butter, but Acrobat isn't the only application...

Medion Gopal P4425.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Paul Lester Medion Gopal P4425 A feature-packed navigator with solid performance Despite taking a back seat to more established brands like Tomtom and Garmin, we've been impressed with the solid performance on the road and...

The evolution of broadband.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield The evolution of broadband 2008 is supposed to be the year superfast broadband arrives in the UK. Nigel Whitfield takes a look at the harsh reality We've been waiting a long time for it, but is the next...

Korea can. Why cani?1/2t we?
April 17, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Korea can. Why can't we? Take a look around online, and you'll often find people pointing out that other countries have cheaper and faster internet provision than the UK - and it's true. But, sadly, that...

Moving on up to IPv6.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Moving on up to IPv6 "The world is running out of internet addresses! We won't be able to add any more computers to it!" You might have heard that cry before. Last time round, it was fixed by the introduction of...

The bandwidth gap.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield The bandwidth gap As users clamour for faster broadband, ISPs are starting to have a problem on their hands. Already some have made a fuss about the BBC iPlayer, and the amount of capacity that it's consuming,...

Autosafe Cubebyte.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Will Stapley Autosafe Cubebyte Price [pounds sterling]22 Contact www.cubebyte.com Overall HHHHH Almost all notebooks come with small slots designed for Kensington locks, allowing them to be secured to non-moveable items...

Wise-FTP 3.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Wise-FTP 3 FTP clients don't exactly make headlines any more, but they're still essential applications for just about everyone who needs to manage a website, and Wise-FTP is one of the best. The program makes...

Build your first web store in less than a day.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Build your first web store in less than a day 1 Launch Shop Factory, click 'Create a new Website' and give your project a name. Then click Next to see your choice of themes, the layout and colour scheme that you'd...

switch to Shop Factory Pro.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams switch to Shop Factory Pro new features Add unlimited products More professionally designed themes Discount and gift vouchers Supports unlimited pages PPH search with Ajax powered results...

full Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams full Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus new features Block browser hijackers Protect your Windows Hosts file Remove tracking cookies Block malicious hidden processes Protect your network settings...

Configure Spyware Doctor to deliver the best possible protection.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Configure Spyware Doctor to deliver the best possible protection 1 Install Spyware Doctor and the program will immediately start protecting your PC, no further effort required. But you'll get better results if you...

Build stylish, professional movies at speed, no experience required.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Build stylish, professional movies at speed, no experience required 1Launch the program, choose to Create a New Movie, and select the Edit button at the top of the screen. Click My Media and browse to the folder...

Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 Silver.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 Silver Transform tired home videos into stylish and professional movies The secret to making great home movies isn't in the amount of cash you spend on the video camera or even the...

Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 Plus.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 Plus New Features Watch and record TV Full HD video support Automatic soundtrack creation Record streaming videos Upload straight to Youtube Write to MPEG, DVD,...

Likno Web Button Maker SE.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Likno Web Button Maker SE Trying to get the right buttons for your website can be frustrating. Especially after you've spent hours trying to create them manually with a graphics editor, or browsing through a host...

Save 20% on Button Maker standard.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Save 20% on Button Maker standard Move to the standard version of Likno Web Button Maker and you'll gain a lot, including 26 eye-catching button shapes, 35 stylish, attractive textures, and a pack of 100...

East-Tec Backup 2007.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams East-Tec Backup 2007 Keep your valuable data safe from harm with this backup tool Running backups will always be a tedious process. But the pain can be kept to a minimum with the right backup software, and...

Create a useful backup job that runs in less than 5 minutes.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Create a useful backup job that runs in less than 5 minutes 1Backups don't have to take forever. Even a quick backup across the network can still be useful. Launch East-Tec Backup 2007, click Create a new Backup...

More power in East-Tec Backup 2008.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams More power in East-Tec Backup 2008 New features Create compressed archives Incremental/different support for CD/DVD Span archives over multiple hard drives Enhanced reporting capabilities ...

Exchange and smart.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Exchange and smart An email server is a must-have for many small businesses and Microsoft Exchange is a popular choice. However, it's not the only option and several alternatives offer much the same functionality,...

Smart exchange.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Smart exchange There are alternatives to Microsoft's Exchange mail server. Alan Stevens tests three options aimed at small businesses Microsoft Exchange is one of the most popular mail servers around, but it's...

LG Flatron L197WH S+.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton LG Flatron L197WH S+ Good looks and performance along with some interesting features This 19in monitor from LG is so shiny it almost looks wet but, despite this, it's surprisingly resistant to fingerprint...

Topaz Moment 3.4.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Karl Foster Topaz Moment 3.4 Grab impressive-looking images from video footage Precious moments can can be fleeting and, sometimes, with a regular camera, it's easy to miss the vital moment; your finger is just about...

Palit Geforce 9600GT 512MB Sonic.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Palit Geforce 9600GT 512MB Sonic A great card for those on a tight budget Sonic is the name Palit gives to its overclocked graphics card range, the latest of which features Nvidia's G94 core, better known as...

Terratec DMX 6Fire USB.(Product/service evaluation)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Karl Foster Terratec DMX 6Fire USB External audio system for gamers and DJs, but audio enthusiasts will be left wanting Despite the word 'fire' in the name, Terratec's latest take on budget audio/Midi I/O is USB2, not...

Serif Webplus X2.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Tim Smith Serif Webplus X2 Website-creation suite with a strong focus on design Web design falls into one of two camps: the first type designs the entire site, including content and design, in one place, the other designs...

Webroot Parental Controls.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Tim Smith Webroot Parental Controls Block inappropriate content and restrict access to the internet Controlling what children get up to on a computer is guaranteed to challenge even the most experienced of systems...

Miniature motherboards.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Emil Larsen Miniature motherboards The future looks bright for motherboards with integrated graphics. Emil Larsen explains This month we've looked at six micro-ATX motherboards with integrated graphics. This form factor...

GT_mboards_editors choice_June08.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Emil Larsen There have been a lot of superlatives used to describe AMD's new 780G chipset, but that doesn't mean those motherboards using it are gaming heaven. Modern titles will be at low settings and games almost three years old,...

AVG Internet Security 8.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Will Stapley AVG Internet Security 8 A revamped interface and extra web surfing protection Companies developing security software aimed at the home market have something of a problem on their hands at present. They want...

Homeplug devices go like a rocket.(Brief article)
April 17, 2008... Byline: Clive Akass Homeplug devices go like a rocket Dozens of companies showed data-over-mains devices at Cebit, but the most striking was an Intellon prototype packing an Ethernet port into a standard power socket (see picture). ...