Personal Computer World articles from August 2007

Personal Computer World archives from August 2007

Senao Engenius.(product evaluation of Engenius Outdoor Wireless Multi-Client Bridge/Access Point )(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Senao Engenius Don't mind the gap with this outdoor wireless multi-client bridge/access point When it comes to linking networks at different sites, there aren't many options. Cheap ADSL services are slow,...

GUID and bad.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Mark Whitehorn GUID and bad When uniqueness isnA-t quite all itA-s cut out to be I heard recently from John Stevens, who uses an Access database to record departments and the people working in them. He uses a GUID (Global...

Unreal time.(processing digital video)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Ken Mcmahon Unreal time How to record and play back slow-motion digital video While most of what we see in the movies and on TV happens in real time, slowing down and speeding up the action for creative effect has become...

Putting the boot in.(Dual-boot configurations for Windows XP and Vista)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Gordon Laing Putting the boot in How to dual-boot Windows Vista on an existing XP system Dual-boot configurations allow you to install two or more operating systems on the same PC. Maybe youA-d like to try a new OS, but...

Scheduled restart and standby.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Gordon Laing Scheduled restart and standby Modern versions of Windows are getting better at quickly putting themselves to sleep and waking up again. One of the most useful implementations of standby and resume is on an...

Feisty frills.(latest release of Ubuntu Linux's Feisty Fawn)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Barry Shilliday Feisty frills We round up our look at Ubuntu with a collection of useful tips and tricks Over the past two months, weA-ve looked at the installation and configuration of Feisty Fawn, the latest release of...

Vista networking.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Vista networking Find out what changes you might need to make when adding Vista to your network Having resisted for some time the urge to start investigating Vista, IA-ve recently added a couple of Vista PCs...

Vista and Samba.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Vista and Samba Commonly used to drive Network-Attached Storage (Nas) appliances, Samba is a great little open-source application that allows Linux to share files using the same SMB/CIFS protocols used by Windows....

Readyboost revisited.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Gordon Laing Readyboost revisited Find out which systems can benefit most from VistaA-s speed-up technology VistaA-s Readyboost technology exploits Flash memory, such as a USB key, to create an intermediate cache between...

Six ways to Sunday.(using Microsoft Excel)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Stephen Wells Six ways to Sunday How do I solve your problems? Let me count the ways When readers ask me how to accomplish something in Excel, IA-m often presented with the dilemma of having to choose from the many options...

Excel does trigonometry.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Stephen Wells Excel does trigonometry When I was a Boy Scout many years ago, we were taught how to measure heights by standing with our back to the building or tree to be measured and our legs apart. Then we bent over and...

Labels in formulas.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Stephen Wells Labels in formulas In the Microsoft tradition of dropping previous features from new, improved versions of its software, Excel 2007 doesnA-t offer the option of using labels in formulas. However, to be helpful, if...

Vista survival guide.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Tim Nott Vista survival guide Using VistaA-s Explorer and taming Update in Windows Home Judging by your feedback, either very few readers have upgraded to Windows Vista or very few have had any problems with it. So weA-ll...

Words and pictures.(using Microsoft Word)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Tim Nott Words and pictures We explain how Word can help you convey the right image WordA-s treatment of images and other graphics has always been full of surprises and frustration, but I will admit it has got steadily...

Taking the Air.(Adobe Air)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Tim anderson Taking the Air Find out how Adobe Air can provide a new way of writing applications AdobeA-s Air (Adobe Integrated Runtime) was released as a beta in June and is set for full release later this year. In...

Get your site noticed.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Get your site noticed Search engine tricks, and getting to grips with HTML Kit Search engines are the gateways to the web today. CanA-t remember the exact name of a site? Just Google it. Not sure where to...

Getting to grips with HTML Kit.(Hypertext Markup Language)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Getting to grips with HTML Kit As promised last time round, hereA-s a quick example of using HTML Kit (www.htmlkit.com) to create a page quickly. It may not be quite as slick as using Dreamweaver to hide all the...

OKI C8800.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens OKI C8800 Fast A3 colour printing in a remarkably compact format Unlike some A3 colour printers, which can be both bulky and slow, OKIA-s C8800, based on a compact single-pass LED print engine, is half the...

Dell Latitude D531.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Dell Latitude D531 Dual-core processing power in an affordable notebook format Designed to appeal to budget-conscious business buyers, DellA-s Latitude D531 is far from the quickest notebook on the block and...

Lindy 200M PLC Bridge.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Lindy 200M PLC Bridge Price [pounds sterling]145.98 Contact Lindy 01642 754 000 www.lindy.com/uk ThereA-s a distinct difference between products that are designed to attract home users and those that are not....

Devolo Dlan 200 AV.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Devolo Dlan 200 AV Price [pounds sterling]154.99 Contact Devolo 01865 244 141 www.devolo.co.uk DevoloA-s Dlan 200 AV is the smallest powerline adapter in the group test, which is an advantage for a wall-plug...

D-Link DHP-301.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton D-Link DHP-301 Price [pounds sterling]129.99 Contact D-Link 020 8955 9000 www.dlink.co.uk D-LinkA-s starter kit comprises a pair of DHP-300 adapters based on the DS2 Powerline HD standard. Similar in size to...

Power to the people.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Power to the people If Wifi has been letting you down, networking over the mains is a more reliable and faster alternative. Paul Monckton puts the latest powerline devices through their paces Wirelessly...

Powerline standards.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Powerline standards explained Today, there are many different and incompatible flavours of powerline adapter available. Unlike current wireless technology, which incorporates a degree of...

Maximise your powerline performance.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Maximise your powerline performance As with wireless products, powerline devices are categorised according to performance. In both cases, the performance quoted is a theoretical maximum that is never matched by...

How we tested.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton How we tested To compare the performance of the adapters, we set up two scenarios. The first was designed to be a relatively easy test (low noise, short distance between nodes) and the second to be difficult...

Zyxel PLA-400.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Zyxel PLA-400 Price [pounds sterling]129.99 Contact Zyxel 01344 303 044 www.zyxel.co.uk ZyxelA-s PLA-400 is a desktop Homeplug AV product that has a trailing power lead to the mains socket rather than...

Solwise NET-PL-200AV.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Solwise NET-PL-200AV Price [pounds sterling]121.12 Contact Solwise 0845 458 4558 www.solwise.co.uk The NET-PL-200AV adapters from Solwise deliver solid performance over clean connections and are resilient...

Panasonic BL-PA100KT.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Panasonic BL-PA100KT Price [pounds sterling]119 Contact Panasonic 0844 844 3856 www.panasonic.co.uk The BL-PA100KT from Panasonic is different from most in several ways. ItA-s a standalone unit that connects...

Netgear HDX101.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Netgear HDX101 Price [pounds sterling]123.99 Contact Netgear 01344 458 200 www.netgear.co.uk The HDX101 is one of three adapters in this round-up to use a standard other than Homeplug AV. Featuring a chip...

Tips, tricks and treats.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Tips, tricks and treats ItA-s a brand new operating system, and many of you are still trying to get to grips with it a so Vista once again features in several of our Hands On columns. This month we bring you...

October 2002.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen October 2002 The highlight of this issue was 50 free utilities that were challenging the paid-for world as never before. These often tiny bits of code were testament to how competitive the internet had made...

October 1992.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen October 1992 Power-saving notebooks featuring IntelA-s just-launched 386SL processor were the subject of a group test. Of the 10 386SL notebooks tested, Zenith Data SystemsA- Z-Note got the PCW seal of approval...

October 1982.(trends in 3D computer graphics)(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen October 1982 PCW donned its cardboard 3D specs for a step-by-step guide to creating 3D stereoscopic images on a microcomputer. By plotting a series of red and green lines on the screen and placing the monitor on its...

Powerline Editor's Choice.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton ThereA-s plenty to consider when buying powerline kit a usability, performance, compatibility and price are all crucial. For two reasons, we recommend sticking to the Homeplug Powerline AllianceA-s Homeplug AV...

Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Niall Magennis Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio Produce impressive sound from your notebook PC If youA-re fed up with poor quality audio from your laptop, CreativeA-s X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook might be what youA-re after. It...

Nikon D40x.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Nikon D40x A quality 10-megapixel camera that is easy to use The D40x and D40 are, in essence, the same digital SLR (DSLR) camera. However, the D40x has a 10-megapixel CCD, surpassing the six-megapixel one in...

Samsung Q1 Ultra.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen Samsung Q1 Ultra Second-generation UMPC boasts Steeley processor and McCaslin platform Microsoft and IntelA-s joint ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) concept has almost solely been manufactured by Samsung. One of the...

Pentax DSmobile 600.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Lester Pentax DSmobile 600 Duplicate documents on the move with this capable scanner Thanks to their portability and simple operation, manual feed scanners are popular with business executives and those who handle...

Canon Selphy CP750.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Karl Foster Canon Selphy CP750 Apply red-eye removal and colour effects The Canon Selphy CP750 replaces last yearA-s CP730 and ushers in some new features for the photo enthusiast. Most noticeable is the 2.4in colour LCD a...

Freshly served.(Windows Home Server)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Freshly served Windows Home Server could change the face of home computing. Kelvyn Taylor explains how in a preview of the product When Bill Gates announced Windows Home Server (WHS) at the Las Vegas CES show...

Dial A for advanced VoIP.(Voice over Internet Protocol)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Dial A for advanced VoIP Asterisk and NokiaA-s N95 open up a whole new VoIP world, reports Nigel Whitfield While AppleA-s iPhone may have grabbed all the headlines lately, for many, NokiaA-s N95 is...

Setting up VoIP on your Nokia N95.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Setting up VoIP on your Nokia N95 Configuring your N95 to work with VoIP over Wifi is easy. Just follow these simple steps 1If VoIP has been removed from your N95, install NokiaA-s PC suite and then Nemesis...

Mobile and VoIP A- whatA's the big deal?(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Mobile and VoIP a whatA-s the big deal? With the worldA-s number one handset maker putting VoIP into its flagship handsets, there have been a few users disappointed to find that their network has taken out one...

PBX software and hardware.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield PBX software and hardware Asterisk for Windows isnA-t the only choice for this sort of task. WeA-ve used it here because it automatically detects devices such as modems and ISDN cards. On Linux your...

Mindjet Mindmanager 7 Pro.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Mindjet Mindmanager 7 Pro Let others see what you have in mind If youA-re ever asked to visualise a complex idea or project on paper, chances are youA-ll draw a mind map, with the main topic in the middle, out...

Advice from our experts.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Various Advice from our experts PCWA-s experts solve your PC problems Digital Imaging Under pressure Q I read with interest your article about zipping folders and protecting them with passwords. In AprilA-s...

Crash and burn.(computer system crashes)(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Various Crash and burn linux QAfter reading the series on Feisty Fawn I decided to upgrade my Kubuntu Edgy Eft system to the new version. All was going well until my laptop crashed part-way through the upgrade. I now have...

Off the record.(database query)(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Various Off the record databases Q IA-ve built a parameter query that lets me enter the name of the person whose record I want to see. What I really want is for the parameter query to show me the whole list if I donA-t...

Acer V200.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Lester Acer V200 Can entry-level navigators at this price point really perform? While itA-s possible to live without the extra maps, media support and travel guides that are often omitted from entry-level sat nav...

Iriver X20.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Lester Iriver X20 A feature-packed multimedia player at a bargain price Iriver had been relatively quiet of late on the media player front, but CES 2007 saw the unveiling of a new line-up of players for this year that...

X-oom Internet Movies 3 Youtube Edition.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Lester X-oom Internet Movies 3 Youtube Edition Move your video clips to and from websites and portable media players Transferring and converting video to and from a website or portable device is often quite an awkward...

SWsoft Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Ben Tudor SWsoft Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac Run Windows and OSX on your Mac without rebooting AppleA-s move to Intel processors has opened many new doors to users, but one of the most important is the ability to run...

Compatibility.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Tim Nott Compatibility Apart from minor issues such as the Adaware display change, we found no compatibility problems with the software we tried for this feature. Bear in mind, however, that we were using the 32-bit version of...

Vista essentials.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Tim Nott Vista essentials It may boast an A'UltimateA- edition, but there are still some things missing. Tim Nott rounds up some essential utilities for Vista users So youA-ve upgraded to Vista or got it with a new PC....

Tips for getting to grips with Vista.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Tim Nott Tips for getting to grips with Vista Many windows, such as Folders, Media Player and Internet Explorer, have the menu bar hidden. In Folders you can get this back by clicking the Organize button and going to Layout,...

Dell Latitude D630.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen Dell Latitude D630 A solid, business-oriented Santa Rosa notebook Following the success of its Latitude D620, Dell hasnA-t changed the formula much for the D630. Physically, theyA-re almost identical, with...

Crucial Ballistix 2GB kit.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Simon Crisp Crucial Ballistix 2GB kit Price [pounds sterling]133.94 Contact www.crucial.com/uk Overall HHHHH This is CrucialA-s current flagship memory kit in its high-performance Ballistix range (product code:...

Western Digital Mybook World.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Western Digital Mybook World Price [pounds sterling]134.75 Contact www.westerndigital.com Overall HHHHH This 500GB network-attached storage (Nas) drive provides remote access to your data. By integrating a...

Iris Accounts Office.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Iris Accounts Office An easy-to-use, well-featured finance package for small businesses Based on the popular Iris Exchequer software, Accounts Office is aimed at the smaller business (between five and 50...

Zyxel Zywall 2WG.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Zyxel Zywall 2WG Wireless Lan and Wan connectivity, but itA-s complex to set up With companies ever more reliant on their internet connection to do business, backup connectivity is fast becoming essential. The...

Future IT EZ Manage SQL.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Future IT EZ Manage SQL Simple database management is the aim, but itA-s not quite there yet In an ideal world databases would never crash, they would be backed up automatically and if problems did occur...

Paying for it A- Sage TV.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Paying for it a Sage TV A large part of the appeal of a Linux-based HTPC is the fact that all the software is free. However, if after several days of struggling, you still arenA-t able to sit down and relax in...

Pros and cons of a Linux home theatre.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Pros and cons of a Linux home theatre For: l Linux costs less than Windows Vista l You want to build a dedicated TV-based media centre, so why buy an entire commercial PC operating system? l...

Configuring MythtvA's backend.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Configuring MythtvA-s backend 1If youA-ve installed Mythtv yourself, youA-ll need to launch the Mythtv backend configuration program. All-in-one distributions will run it for you, but youA-ll still need to take...

At home with Linux.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton At home with Linux You donA-t need Windows to put a PC at the heart of your home entertainment system; Paul Monckton explains the other options With the release of Windows Vista, using your PC to watch and...

Accountdown.(using accounting softwares)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Accountdown ThereA-s a wealth of bookkeeping packages to choose from. Alan Stevens explains what the small business needs to consider ItA-s all very well stuffing receipts into a shoebox for your accountant to...

Epson Stylus Photo RX560.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen Epson Stylus Photo RX560 Price [pounds sterling]129.99 Contact Epson 0870 241 6900 www.epson.co.uk Epson has produced some impressive photo printers in the past and, with the inclusion of its Claria ink...

Canon Pixma MP810.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen Canon Pixma MP810 Price [pounds sterling]249 Contact Canon 08705 143 723 www.canon.co.uk CanonA-s Pixma MP810 is the biggest device on test in terms of volume. The futuristic, almost robot-style design might...

Brother DCP-130C.(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen Brother DCP-130C Price [pounds sterling]69.99 Contact Brother 0845 606 0626 www.brother.co.uk Brother opens this monthA-s group test with its budget MFD, which also turns out to be the cheapest model in our...

Printers for all reasons.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen Printers for all reasons Looking to save space in your study and cut down on the clutter? Emil Larsen checks out the current crop of MFDs Not so long ago it was common for most homes to have a separate printer...

Editor's Choice.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen With the home office now a way of life for many of us, working is a more personal experience than ever before and having one device to print, scan, fax, copy and more is a real lifesaver. The high quality of every...

How we tested.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen How we tested We ran our standard inkjet tests on each of the devices featured in this group test, as well as speed tests for the scanning components. The printing tests featured plain text, mixed content documents,...

Lexmark X9350.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen Lexmark X9350 Price [pounds sterling]249.99 Contact Lexmark 0870 444 0044 www.lexmark.co.uk The Lexmark X9350 is by no means a compact MFD and sits well above the rest at 27cm tall. This extra height is due to...

Kodak Easyshare 5300.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen Kodak Easyshare 5300 Price [pounds sterling]139.99 Contact Kodak 01442 261122 www.kodak.co.uk KodakA-s Easyshare 5300 has had more hype than any other printer we can remember, after the company said it could...

HP Photosmart C5280.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen HP Photosmart C5280 Price [pounds sterling]149.99 Contact HP 0870 010 4320 www.hp.com HPA-s Photosmart C5280 has a rather classy presence compared to all the other devices. This is partly because it is not as...

The laser alternative.(laser printers)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen The laser alternative Inkjets are great for printing high-quality photos, but laser printers can offer much lower total cost of ownership if youA-re printing thousands of pages every year. This is despite the high...

About Ashampoo Magical Security 2007.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Ashampoo Magical Security 2007 Keep your private data away from snoopers Once youA-ve equipped your PC with a firewall, anti-virus tool and maybe a specialist spyware detector, itA-s tempting to believe your...

Upgrade to Roxio Buzz.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Buy the Roxio Buzz Decoder pack Roxio Buzz works just fine as a simple video editor and sharing tool, but the current beta version handles MPEG1, WMV, AVI and Quicktime (if Apple Quicktime is installed) video...

Roxio Buzz information.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Roxio Buzz Most video editors are crammed with features such as automatic scene detection, timelines and zooms ThatA-s fine when youA-re taking raw footage of a wedding and trying to create a movie that will last...

Learn Quick Notes Plus.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Boost your PC productivity with this smart sticky notes software 1 At its simplest, Quick Notes Plus is just a very easy way to jot down messages, thoughts and ideas as they come up. Clicking the system tray icon...

About Quick Notes Plus.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Quick Notes Plus 5.0 Take notes quickly and easily on your PC, without wasting time In theory, having a program that lets you make simple text notes doesnA-t exactly sound like itA-s going to be revolutionary....

About Paragon Partition Manager.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Partition Manager 8.5 Personal Partition, optimise, tweak and repair your hard drive Splitting your existing hard drive into multiple partitions can help you organise your data, improve performance and make...

Upgrade to Paragon Partition Manager.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Save 20% across the Paragon range Partition Manager 8.5 Personal is just one of ParagonA-s powerful drive-related products. It also produces Drive Backup, a feature-packed image backup tool. CD-Rom Emulator...