Personal Computer World articles from August 2006

Personal Computer World archives from August 2006

Sanyo Xacti VPC-C6E.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Monckton Sanyo Xacti VPC-C6E A pocket camcorder that doubles up as a quality digital camera The current crop of ultra-compact digital still cameras can all shoot video clips, and the Sony Xacti VPC-C6E is no exception....

Boost PC speed with a tune-up.(personal computers)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Gordon Laing Boost PC speed with a tune-up Sometimes a few tweaks and a good clean-up is all the upgrade your PC needs There comes a time for every PC owner when they realise it's time for an upgrade. Maybe you're into...

Watch HD video on your PC.(high definition video)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Gordon Laing Watch HD video on your PC Discover the benefits of the newest digital video compression system High-definition (HD) video playback is set to become a popular application for PCs. And, like DVD before it, HD...

What a mistaka to maka!(Correction notice)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Mark Whitehorn What a mistaka to maka! In the August issue of PCW (www.pcw.co.uk/ 2160189), I discussed the use of a delete query, but the code I showed was of a select query. Sorry about that. The problem was entirely of...

Multivalue personality.(Microsoft Access)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Mark Whitehorn Multivalue personality Jet becomes Ace, and Access breaks a basic rule of relational databases The future of Access has been a matter of debate for some time. When pushed, Microsoft made all the right...

Useful links.(printers)(Website list)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon Useful links http://shop.colourconfidence.com Online shop for Pantone Colorvision Colorplus. Shop also sells more advanced Spyder colorimeter and printer profiling products, and Kodak Colour Management Check-up...

Soft proofing.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon Soft proofing Implementing a colour-managed workflow won't guarantee that your printed output will match what's on screen. This is impossible because of physical differences in the way the two systems represent...

The right profile.(inkjet printers)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon The right profile Colour management when printing is complex; find out how soft proofing can help Despite operating system support for colour management, and the proliferation of ICC colour profiles for...

Installing DVD playback code.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Barry Shilliday Installing DVD playback code Regular readers will know about the problem with DVD playback under Linux. As a result of US legislation, the code required to play back DVDs in open-source code cannot be provided...

Understanding Dapper Drake.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Barry Shilliday Understanding Dapper Drake All you need to know about installing and configuring the latest Ubuntu release After a short delay, Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake) was released in June. Originally scheduled for...

Happy birthday, PC!(International Business Machines Corp.'s Personal Computer)
August 17, 2006... Byline: David Tebbutt Happy birthday, PC! In PCW's November 1981 issue, David Tebbut wrote a world exclusive review of the very first IBM PC. This is an abridged version to commemorate the 25th anniversary of its launch With more...

Practical wireless streaming.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Practical wireless streaming Enjoy music, photos and videos on your home-entertainment system, on demand As a concept, multimedia streaming gets written about a lot, but theory is one thing, doing it yourself...

The Report Manager.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Stephen Wells The Report Manager Compiling a printed manuscript, creating a flashing cell, and counting coloured cells If you want to compile a printed manuscript from bits and pieces of an Excel workbook, the Report...

Seeing red: how to count coloured entries.(in Microsoft Excel)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Stephen Wells Seeing red: how to count coloured entries When I receive the inevitable monthly query about how to count cells in an Excel worksheet with entries of a certain colour, my first question is, are you using...

Sky+ Remote Record.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Will Stapley Sky+ Remote Record Schedule television programme recordings via your mobile Remote Record from Sky looks set to end the nightmare that is forgetting to set your Sky+ box to record your favourite show before...

Get creative with effects routing.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Niall Magennis Get creative with effects routing If you want to get creative with effects, try chaining multiple plug-ins together in your sequencer. Different effects work on different parts of the signal so you can achieve...

Orderly process.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Niall Magennis Orderly process The order in which one effect runs into another can make a huge difference over the type of sound they produce. For example, if you route a sound through a flanger plug-in and then onto a...

Ableton Live Automation.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Niall Magennis Ableton Live Automation Use audio effects more creatively with the automation features in Ableton Live Ever since the early days of music studios, audio effects have been pivotal to the recording process....

Four routes to better performance.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Tim Anderson Four routes to better performance Search giant Google is just one company attempting to combine the broad reach of browser-based web applications with local desktop applications. But plain HTML pages are inadequate...

Coding Flash with Flex 2.0.(Adobe Flash Player )
August 17, 2006... Byline: Tim Anderson Coding Flash with Flex 2.0 Get hands on with Adobe Flex 2.0 and code multimedia web content for free Most web browsers have Adobe's Flash player installed, enabling impressive multimedia effects in web pages....

To-do list code.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Tim Anderson To-do list code layout="absolute" 4 initialize="initData()"> import mx.collections.*; public var listArray:Array = new Array(); [Bindable] public var arrColl:ArrayCollection;...

Outlook Expressionism.(Microsoft Outlook Express)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Tim Nott Outlook Expressionism From font sizes to command prompts, four Outlook Express mysteries are resolved It's been a while since we looked at Outlook Express, and we're happy to report that it is still full of...

Turning the tables.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Tim Nott Turning the tables Header and footer issues with landscape tables, line spacing, plus laying out minutes Back in May's Question time, we promised ways round the perennial problem of getting a page in a Word...

Advice from our experts.(installing hard disk drives)(connecting personal computer to high definition television)(using Microsoft Access)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Advice from our experts Solutions to your problems and tips to help you improve your skills HARDWARE Large hard disk Q A friend of mine has just installed a large hard disk on an old PC and...

How to make sure your hardware is fully supported.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor How to make sure your hardware is fully supported LINUX Q I'm interested in getting more into Linux but I'm worried about what hardware is supported, and how to find out if future purchases will be supported...

Finding the cause of faulty scanning.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Finding the cause of faulty scanning DIGITAL IMAGING Q After reformatting my hard drive, my previous HP 2001c scanner started to scan all the white areas with a blue cast. I called in a professional who said...

Opera 9.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Opera 9 Loads of new features added to an already excellent browser When any software reaches maturity, it can become hard for manufacturers to justify new releases. Opera 9, however, comes equipped with a...

Tom Tom Go 510.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Lester Tom Tom Go 510 A stylish, well-featured GPS from the market leader The 510 is the base model in Tom Tom's new Go range, yet is packed with enough features to satisfy any tech-hungry GPS customer. One...

NEC TCM160.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens NEC TCM160 A portable terminal with optional wireless networking It looks like a notebook, but NEC's TCM160 is, in fact, a portable terminal for use with Windows Terminal Server, Citrix and other thin-client...

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Ubuntu 6.06 LTS One-click server deployment and long-term support are just some of the enhancements Ubuntu, if you haven't ever heard of it, has been a real hit, especially with enthusiasts wanting a complete...

Storcase Data Express for Backup.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Storcase Data Express for Backup Quick and reliable small-business device at a reasonable price With hard disks now very cheap, small businesses are increasingly opting for disk-based backup as a cheaper,...

EMC Retrospect 7.5.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens EMC Retrospect 7.5 Never lose a file again using this versatile backup application A member of the EMC Insignia family of small-business products, Retrospect is a deceptively easy yet versatile backup...

Flock.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Flock A quality browser, with extra features for bloggers With the rise of blogs, photo sharing and RSS newsfeeds, much has been said about Web 2.0. Flock is a browser built on top of Mozilla Firefox, with all...

End of the office.(Microsoft Office)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Mark Schroder End of the office Stone Age The new office file types from Microsoft and Open Office will create more cross-application compatibility when using Office documents. Mark SchrA[paragraph]der explains the benefits ...

Net neutrality or a neutered net?(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Net neutrality or a neutered net? At the moment, there is much talk about a controversial issue -- especially in the US -- called 'internet neutrality'. It's a simple concept: in essence, net neutrality means...

Inside the complexities of swapping providers.(British Telecommunications PLC)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Inside the complexities of swapping providers Swapping broadband providers continues to be one of the recurrent bugbears of PCW readers, despite moves to put in place a system for migrating from one service to...

Broadly speaking.(internet service providers offering free broadband in United Kingdom)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Broadly speaking UK ISPs all seem to be offering free broadband at the moment. But is free broadband ever really free? Nigel Whitfield investigates the fine print behind these seemingly fine offerings When...

Microsoft's free tools.
August 17, 2006... Byline: MArk Schroder Microsoft's free tools Hidden deep within Microsoft's web servers are several gigabytes of very useful free tools. Mark SchrA[paragraph]der checks out over 100 of the best for Windows, security, internet, Office...

Our PCs, our planet.(Reduction of Hazardous Substances and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directives)(personal computers)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Our PCs, our planet Technology marches on, but at what cost to the environment? Nigel Whitfield looks at the impact of PCs on our planet The digital world has many benefits but, let's face it, it's not the...

Green credentials.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Green credentials You might think that, faced with a market of 300 million Europeans, and a directive that restricts the substances that can be used in products, as well as mandating recycling, that major...

PCs and the planet resources.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Resources Computer Aid International www.computer-aid.org Charity that accepts donations and gives computers to developing countries Donate a PC www.donateapc.org.uk Site that allows donors to...

PC Nextday Zoostorm 5-7502 Advanced PC.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph PC Nextday Zoostorm 5-7502 Advanced PC Price [pounds sterling]1,299 Contact www.pcnextday.co.uk It's hard to find fault with PC Nextday's Zoostorm 5-7502 Advanced PC. The machine's performance is excellent, and...

Mesh Matrix2 AM2 5000 PCW.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Mesh Matrix2 AM2 5000 PCW Price [pounds sterling]1,299 Contact www.meshcomputers.com We were almost -- but not quite -- tempted to give the Matrix2 AM2 5000 a bonus point for the glowing meters and dials on its...

HP Pavilion Media Centre TV m7475.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph HP Pavilion Media Centre TV m7475 Price [pounds sterling]1,185.99 Contact www.hp.com/uk It doesn't have quite the same raw horsepower as some of its rivals, but HP's Pavilion Media Centre TV is still a...

Evesham Visto.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Evesham Visto Price [pounds sterling]1,299 Contact www.evesham.com Evesham's Visto is an excellent all-round performer that also boasts a comprehensive set of multimedia features. Based on an Athlon64 X2...

GT_PC_Editor.(personal computers)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph A group of PCs aimed at a specific price point often tend to have similar features and performance. These [pounds sterling]1,299 systems all performed very well -- enough to earn their keep for years to come and (as...

Cube Pegasus ST6.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Cube Pegasus ST6 Price [pounds sterling]1,299 Contact www.cube247.co.uk Cube often opts for small-form designs for its PCs. On this occasion, however, it clearly thought a high-end PC deserved a full-scale...

Virtualising Vista.(Microsoft Windows Vista)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Virtualising Vista Windows Vista hasn't been officially released yet, but for a brief period in June and July Microsoft made a public beta version of the operating system available for download from its website...

Ambros Shuttle SD36G5 PC System.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Ambros Shuttle SD36G5 PC System Price [pounds sterling]1,299 Contact www.ambros.co.uk Housed in one of Shuttle's trademark small form factor chassis, Ambros' SD36G5 PC System packs a lot of power into its...

Iiyama Prolite E1900WS-B1.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Monckton Iiyama Prolite E1900WS-B1 A no-frills, 19in widescreen display at a reasonable price The best-value model in Iiyama's new range of low-cost TFT monitors is this no-frills 19in widescreen display that costs...

Extrasys Hosted Desktop.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Extrasys Hosted Desktop Access your desktop and applications any time, any place, anywhere Hosted application services have never really taken off, primarily because of poor availability and performance....

Gordano Messaging Suite v12.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Gordano Messaging Suite v12 Not as easy to use as some, but this rivals Exchange in functionality Version 12 of Gordano Messaging Suite (GMS), includes implementations for Linux, Solaris and AIX platforms as...

Winternals Recovery Manager 3.0.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Winternals Recovery Manager 3.0 Remote rollback and recovery of damaged PCs If you've ever needed to recover a corrupted Windows XP PC you'll probably have used the System Restore feature, which lets you...

Mio C210.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Lester Mio C210 A budget device for newcomers to sat-nav systems The C210 is Mio's budget, in-car satellite navigation (sat-nav) system and is built in the same style as the compact Tom Tom One. Intended to be a...

Matrox Triple Head 2Go.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Monckton Matrox Triple Head 2Go Create a large, widescreen display without forking out for a 30in panel If you run a game across two screens, the crucial action occurs slap-bang in the middle. Unless your chosen...

Serif Album Plus 4.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon Serif Album Plus 4 Price [pounds sterling]59.99 (with Photo Plus 10) Contact www.serif.com In stark contrast to ACDSee 8 Photo Manager, Serif Album Plus 4, which is only available with Serif's image-editing...

Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006 Price [pounds sterling]59.99 Contact www.microsoft.com Microsoft Digital Image 2006 is available in various editions that include different applications and content, but the...

One for the photo album.(album software for organizing and storing digital photos)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon One for the photo album Building up a large collection of digital photos is easy, but finding specific pictures later on can be frustrating. Ken McMahon looks at album software that helps you organise your...

Google Picasa 2.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon Google Picasa 2 Price Free download Contact http://picasa.google.com Picasa is a free Google application for managing digital photos and, like most of the software reviewed here, also offers basic editing...

Corel Photo Album 6.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon Corel Photo Album 6 Price [pounds sterling]25.85 Contact www.corel.com Like the Adobe Photoshop Elements Organizer, Corel Photo Album 6 has a well laid out and logically organised interface. Tabs provide...

IPTC and keywords.(International Press Telecommunications Council)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon IPTC and keywords As well as picture data, image files contain extra information known as metadata which tells you about the photo -- metadata literally means 'data about data'. Some of this metadata is recorded at...

Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 Price [pounds sterling]69.32 Contact www.adobe.co.uk Although many people will think of Photoshop Elements 4.0 as a photo-editing application it's also, in equal measure, a photo...

ACDSee 8 Photo Manager.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon ACDSee 8 Photo Manager Price A[currency]46.39 (about [pounds sterling]31) Contact www.acdsee.com The first thing that strikes you about ACDSee 8 Photo Manager is the sheer number of panes on the screen: in...

Sustain or collapse.(materials used in designing computers)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Sustain or collapse Recycling, energy consumption and elimination of hazardous substances are only one aspect of the bigger issue of the sustainable use of natural resources. As lucidly explained by Jared...

GT_Photo_Editors Choice.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Ken McMahon Like organising anything, getting your photo collection into some semblance of order is going to take a little work, with the emphasis on little. The most important criteria for photo album software is how easy does it...

October 1981.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Anna Lagerkvist October 1981 The Oki if800 adorned the cover of this issue of PCW, and Chris Sadler and Sue Eisenbach had the honour of putting this Japanese business microcomputer through its paces in our benchtest feature....

Samsung Syncmaster 940MW.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Monckton Samsung Syncmaster 940MW With a built-in tuner, this 19in TFT is suitable for both work and play From its not-too-stylish looks it is difficult to tell if this is a TV that works as a monitor or a monitor...

Colorvision Printfix Pro.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Terry Relph-Knight Colorvision Printfix Pro Professional printer calibration at an affordable price The Printfix Pro from Colorvision is an affordable printer calibration tool. The package includes both hardware and...

Sonic Gear i-Steroid.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Luke Peters Sonic Gear i-Steroid Add extra warmth to your music collection with this valve amplifier for the iPod The latest device to prove the iPod accessory market is still going strong is Sonic Gear's i-Steroid. This...

Lexmark X3480.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Monckton Lexmark X3480 A cheap inkjet printer, scanner and fax, but colour output isn't its strong point What sets the X3480 apart from its lower-cost stablemates is a single-line,16-character backlit LCD panel. ...

Chillblast Fusion Hardcore Crossfire.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Marc Delehanty Chillblast Fusion Hardcore Crossfire Overclocking makes this PC the fastest we've ever seen The launch of Intel's Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors herald a new dawn for computer gaming enthusiasts....

Maxfield G-Flash Metal.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Lester Maxfield G-Flash Metal A stylish music player, but it's low on features and has a high price Maxfield's G-Flash Metal is yet another flash memory mp3 player to hit the market. Light and stylish, the stainless...

Mediaman Multimedia Player HVX-3500.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Mediaman Multimedia Player HVX-3500 Turn any 3.5in hard drive into a high-definition media player With HD-ready television sets flying off the shelves, and precious little in the way of high-definition...

Minispeakers K8000.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Lester Minispeakers K8000 Outstanding sound quality from this compact speaker system There is a host of options available for people who are looking to buy a mini speaker system for an mp3 player or notebook....

Not just Linux.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Not just Linux Although often mentioned in the same breath, open source and Linux aren't joined at the hip. Indeed, there are proprietary applications for Linux and open-source programs to run on Windows and other...

Linux servers.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Linux servers Linux desktops are relatively rare, with most vendors focusing on business customers with preconfigured Linux servers. These often have optional Linux implementations of popular software applications...

Linux for business.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Linux for business Open-source operating systems and applications can have numerous attractions for small businesses, not least of which is cost savings. Alan Stevens explains As PCW readers, you will all have...

An open dialogue The focus of this month's Business Section is on Linux and all things open source. A contentious subject at the best of times, it's likely to elicit a deluge of emails and letters from both sides of the Windows-Linux divide. Still, that d.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens An open dialogue The focus of this month's Business Section is on Linux and all things open source. A contentious subject at the best of times, it's likely to elicit a deluge of emails and letters from both sides...

Avanquest software, plus a 30GB iPod Video.
August 17, 2006... Byline: Anna Lagerkvist Avanquest software, plus a 30GB iPod Video Avanquest UK has launched a great range of iPod software and is giving PCW readers the chance to win copies of iExtend, Web Pod Studio, Pod Media Creator, DVD2Pod and...

Diskeeper 10 Professional Premier Edition.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Marc Delehanty Diskeeper 10 Professional Premier Edition A defragging program that will give you more than Windows XP's utility Diskeeper 10 is aimed at people who want a faster, more powerful defragging program than the...

Hannspree Hannsvaas.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Monckton Hannspree Hannsvaas A 15in panel, complete with a TV tuner, in a truly unique design One glance at Hannspree's website leaves you with the distinct impression that its products may well exist only to boggle...

Kworld Dual TV Tuner DVB-T 220.(Product/service evaluation)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Kworld Dual TV Tuner DVB-T 220 Receive digital and analogue TV signals, but not simultaneously When the term dual tuner is used with respect to computer TV tuner cards, the product usually comes with two...

Links to Vista-compatible hardware information.(Microsoft Windows Vista)(Website list)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Monckton Links to Vista-compatible hardware information CPUs Intel: www.intel.com/business/bss/products/ client/vistasolutions/index.htm AMD: www.amd.com/windowsvista Via Technologies:...

Anti-piracy measures dictate hardware choices.(Microsoft Windows Vista)(High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection)
August 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Monckton Anti-piracy measures dictate hardware choices Pressure from Hollywood and from the creators of 'premium' content (especially high-definition video) has been the impetus behind the huge amount of work that has gone...