Personal Computer World articles from December 2006

Personal Computer World archives from December 2006

Adobe Premiere Elements 3.(Desktop video software)(Product/service evaluation)
December 4, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Adobe Premiere Elements 3 An impressive upgrade to this popular video-editor -- if you can get it to run Before we look at the new video-editing features in Premiere Elements 3, we need to address a problem...

Dell Dimension C521.(personal computer)(Product/service evaluation)
December 4, 2006... Dell Dimension C521 Small and compact with enough power to suit undemanding users Following the trend of the new Dell Dimension casing, the C521 comes in a compact white and silver chassis that stands upright to save space. ...

Tribulations and trials.(Letter to the editor)
December 5, 2006... Byline: KElvyn Taylor Tribulations and trials After several years of struggling along with my old steam-powered HP Omnibook, I decided to rush out and buy a shiny new HP Pavilion DV8396EA laptop. So far I am pleased as punch. It flies...

Biblical relationships.(organise your data by creating many-to-many relationships between multiple fields)
December 5, 2006... Byline: MArk Whitehorn Biblical relationships Organise your data by creating many-to-many relationships between multiple fields Arecent email from Ian Park provides the starting point for this month's 'back to basics' theme, which...

You've got it Raid.(guidance on boosting system performance using multiple hard disks)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Gordon Laing You've got it Raid Get further guidance on boosting system performance using multiple hard disks Raid uses two or more hard disks working together as a single logical volume to deliver various combinations of...

How to maximise your PC's uptime.
December 5, 2006... Byline: Gordon Laing How to maximise your PC's uptime If you need remote access to a PC over extended periods and there's no-one around at home or work to fix any problems, it's clearly essential to have as stable and reliable a...

Alternatives to Remote Desktop.(Microsoft developed its MSN Remote Record service )(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Gordon Laing Alternatives to Remote Desktop Almost any remote access program can present the desktop from one machine in a window of another, allowing you to remote control it with your mouse and keyboard. This would in theory...

Home and away.(Learn new ways to avoid missing out on your favourite TV programmes)(Column)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Gordon Laing Home and away Learn new ways to avoid missing out on your favourite TV programmes For TV addicts there are few things more annoying than missing an episode of your favourite show or discovering that a great new...

Keeping track of your pictures.(Desktop video software)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Ken Mcmahon Keeping track of your pictures Organise, edit and output digital photos with Aperture or Lightroom The October 2006 issue of PCW featured a group test of photo album software (available online for free at...

It's all write now.(NTFS filesystem under Linux)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Barry Shilliday It's all write now You can use tools to support NTFS well beyond read-only access Many people coming to Linux for the first time will be dual-booting with a Windows XP installation on their hard drive. Those...

Macromedia Flash 9 plug-in released.(Adobe Systems Inc., web authoring software)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Barry Shilliday Macromedia Flash 9 plug-in released Many thought it would never happen, but Adobe has finally released a Flash 9 plug-in for Linux. Until now Linux users have had to put up with the intensely buggy and...

Ubuntu Feisty Fawn leaps into view.(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Barry Shilliday Ubuntu Feisty Fawn leaps into view It doesn't seem all that long ago that Ubuntu Dapper Drake was released, followed by Edgy Eft just four months later, in October. Now that Edgy Eft is out, the code name for...

Expanding a virtual disk.(VMware Virtual Disk Manager)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Expanding a virtual disk Disk resizing isn't an option in the VMware console. It can be done only from the command line using a tool called the VMware Virtual Disk Manager (vmware-vdiskmanager.exe). This is...

No VM? No problem.(virtual machines)(user can create new virtual machines for use with VMware Player)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens No VM? No problem Here's a useful website I found the other day. It's called EasyVMX (www.easyvmx.com) and it lets you create new virtual machines for use with VMware Player. Why might it be useful? One of...

Create a background.(Combinator, music software)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Niall Magennis Create a background There may be times when you have multiple iterations of the Combinator in your rack that contain the same modules, but with different routings or settings. In this case it can be difficult to...

A useful combination.(Propellerhead Software new music software "Combinator")
December 5, 2006... Byline: Niall Magennis A useful combination Use the Combinator module in Reason to group instruments and effects together There have been times when we've found Reason to be a bit of a chore to use. Don't get us wrong, we love the...

Building groups.(Combinator, music software)(managing groups of instruments and effects )(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Niall Magennis Building groups As well as enabling you to create presets of groups of modules from scratch, the Combinator also lets you take groups of instruments and effects that are already active in the rack and shovel them...

Feedback corner.(to enable a USB memory stick to Autorun )(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Nott Feedback corner In last November's question time, I wrote that you couldn't make a USB memory stick Autorun without third-party software that needs to be running on the host PC. Furthermore, I quoted Microsoft as...

Winter's wonderland We're heading towards the depths of winter, so what better way to spend the long nights than curled up with your favourite Hands on columnist? Well, perhaps that conjures up slightly the wrong image, but you know what I mean. And you c.(Brief article)(Column)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Winter's wonderland We're heading towards the depths of winter, so what better way to spend the long nights than curled up with your favourite Hands on columnist? Well, perhaps that conjures up slightly the wrong...

DirectX 10 reality.(Microsoft DirectX 10.0, multimedia authoring software)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Matthias Ott DirectX 10 reality Vista's new 3D graphics interface should raise the standards of gaming to make your future adventures even more realistic, explains Matthias Ott One of the key changes with the introduction...

DirectX in detail.(Microsoft DirectX, multimedia authoring software)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Matthias Ott DirectX in detail DirectX is an interface that has been principally developed for games. Microsoft's DirectX is responsible for 2D and 3D drawing as well as for multimedia device interoperability. The DirectX...

Web links.(Website list)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Jon Thompson Web links Sun's Project Looking Glass: www.sun.com/software/looking_glass SphereXP: www.spheresite.com Microsoft's Task Gallery: http://research. microsoft.com/uiTaskGallery/index.htm Multi-touch...

A little-known Gem.(Graphical Environment Manager)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Jon Thompson A little-known Gem Back in the 1980s, just as GUIs were taking off, there was a brief alternative to Microsoft Windows on the PC -- the Graphical Environment Manager (Gem). If you don't remember it, you're not...

The first mouse.(computer peripherals)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Jon Thompson The first mouse Most people became aware of mice as input devices with the introduction of the Apple Mac in 1984, but their history stretches back more than 20 years before that. Widely regarded as being...

Give your server an extreme makeover.(Servers)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Give your server an extreme makeover When old age sets in and your server starts to clunk along, don't ditch it. Why not upgrade it instead? Alan Stevens suggests which elements to nip and tuck for the biggest lift...

What's new in servers.(evaluation of new servers)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens What's new in servers If it has been a while since you last shopped around for a server, you could be surprised at what's now available, even for small businesses with modest budgets. One of the biggest...

Software matters.(Upgrading the server operating system )(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Software matters Upgrading the server operating system is another way of boosting performance. Swap Windows 2000 Server for Windows Server 2003, for example, and users can expect big improvements when it comes to...

HP Proliant ML370 Generation 5.(server)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens HP Proliant ML370 Generation 5 A big server for demanding applications The fifth generation of the venerable HP Proliant ML370 really is a serious piece of kit. Not only does it offer support for the latest...

Dell Poweredge 1950.(server)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Dell Poweredge 1950 A compact rackmount server that packs a big punch There's not much room inside a 1U server case, but Dell has crammed an awful lot into the Poweredge 1950, producing a super-slim server...

Cosmetic surgery for icons.(Desktop utilities on windows)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Mark Schroder Cosmetic surgery for icons Desktop links can be unsightly. The good news is that the arrow, colour and description can all be changed. Windows adds an arrow symbol to every shortcut you place on the desktop....

Save typing with Autotext.(Microsoft Word)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Mark Schroder Save typing with Autotext Word's Autotext function helps you add frequently used phrases to documents without typing. Microsoft has added plenty of phrases used in American-style communication to the Office...

Handy Office tips.(Microsoft Office)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Mark Schroder Handy Office tips Lists in Excel Excel interprets a leading hyphen as a minus sign. If, for example, you want to put a dash in front of lines in a list, insert an inverted comma before the hyphen. Moving...

Top 10 Office irritants.(Microsoft Office)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Mark Schroder Top 10 Office irritants 1. Poor support in Media Player Play back all formats instead of seeing error messages 2. Word's Autocorrect Format text the way you want it 3. Spam in Outlook ...

Quick tips.(using personal computers)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Mark Schroder Quick tips Move the My Documents folder In order to separate the system file and documents on your computer, storing them on different partitions or hard disks, you need to move the My Documents folder. To do...

Top 10 nuisances.(personal computers maintenance)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Mark Schroder Top 10 nuisances 1. Slow start-up Analyse the system and turbo-charge booting 2. Missing anti-virus software Configure the security centre and add a virus scanner 3. Internet Explorer security...

Lurkers, trolls and sock puppets.(online social networks)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Peter Jackson Lurkers, trolls and sock puppets The internet has proved that if you give people the means to communicate freely, they will quickly form strong communities with common interests. The original Arpanet was one such...

The UK dimension.(innovations in telecommunications)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Peter Jackson The UK dimension The UK has made two of the most important contributions to the development of the internet. At the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) Donald Davies and Roger Scantlebury built the first...

Sophos Security Suite SBE 2.0.(Security Suite Small Business Edition 2.0)(anti virus software)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Sophos Security Suite SBE 2.0 Integrated security for network desktops and servers Previous attempts by Sophos to address the small-business security market have not always hit the mark. Its new Security Suite...

Mamut Enterprise E5.(business management software)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Mamut Enterprise E5 Business management software that won't break the bank While bigger companies can afford integrated ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions from software companies such as SAP and...

Move on with VMware Server.
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Move on with VMware Server We'll hear a lot more about virtualisation when Vista ships, so stay one step ahead Last month I walked you through the basics of using the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005. This month...

Do as the Romans do.(spreadsheet software)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Stephen Wells Do as the Romans do Spreadsheets aren't dull: in this issue alone we look at areas from physics to frippery Nobody writes 'Henry 8'. It's always Henry VIII. The credits for most films and many TV programmes...

Build your own blog reader.(how to code for the common RSS store built into Internet Explorer 7.0 and Windows Vista)(Really Simple Syndication)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Anderson Build your own blog reader Find out how to code for the common RSS store built into IE7 and Windows Vista One of the things that gets installed along with the new Internet Explorer 7 browser is a system...

Painless Extraction.(Zip and unzip compressed files)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Nott Painless Extraction Zip and unzip compressed files, and find out how to make your PC hibernate As you no doubt know, you can create Zip files in Windows XP (and in ME) by selecting a bunch of files then...

Advance and be recognised.(optical character recognition software, document imaging )
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Nott Advance and be recognised Turn a printed page into editable text with optical character recognition When I first reviewed optical character recognition (OCR) packages in 1992, the major players had two things in...

Feel the depth.
December 5, 2006... Byline: Jon Thompson Feel the depth Windows Vista has certainly pushed 3D desktop interfaces into the news, but this is just the beginning of the revolution, according to Jon Thompson For those with hardware that can take the...

Watford Performa 3500+RV.(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Watford Performa 3500+RV Price [pounds sterling]499 Contact www.watford.co.uk Watford's Performa 3500+RV throws down the gauntlet and shows few of the signs of cost cutting evident in most of its rivals. ...

PC Nextday Zoostorm 1-3301 Versatile PC.(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph PC Nextday Zoostorm 1-3301 Versatile PC Price [pounds sterling]500 Contact www.pcnextday.co.uk It has a couple of minor weaknesses, but PC Nextday's Zoostorm 1-3301 Versatile PC is one of the more impressive...

PC Specialist Trident s500.(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph PC Specialist Trident s500 Price [pounds sterling]500 Contact www.pcspecialist.co.uk It doesn't have any particularly outstanding features, but the Trident s500 performs well in most of our benchmark tests....

Mesh D820 Value +.(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Mesh D820 Value + Price [pounds sterling]499 Contact www.meshcomputers.com Mesh's D820 Value + system is aptly named as it strikes a balance between performance, hardware features and bundled software. ...

Evesham Axis STR Plus.(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Evesham Axis STR Plus Price [pounds sterling]479 Contact www.evesham.com It's not the strongest performer in this group, but the Axis STR Plus is a good choice if you're looking for a competent, basic machine...

PC Group test editor's choice.(personal computers)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph We were pleasantly surprised by this group of bargain PCs. They provide strong performance to meet the needs of most home users, and the fact that they all include decent 17in or 19in TFT monitors, emphasises their...

Is the desktop PC dead?(desktop computer market)(Industry overview)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Is the desktop PC dead? It's hard for manufacturers to make money from selling PCs at these prices, unless they sell them in huge volumes. Admittedly, the group of low-cost PCs reviewed here represents the extreme...

Ambros Shuttle SS31T.(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Ambros Shuttle SS31T Price [pounds sterling]500 Contact www.ambros.co.uk Ambros' small form factor PCs make regular appearances in the pages of PCW. This time, though, the company has opted for a bigger...

Everyone loves a bargain.(personal computers)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Cliff Joseph Everyone loves a bargain Feel you've missed the boat because you can't shell out for the latest quad core setup? Fear not. Cliff Joseph tests the bargain end of the market to help you get what you need from your PC...

Hard to explain.(Microsoft Windows XP)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Various Hard to explain windows Q When I look in the XP Task Manager under Processes, I have several copies of a program called Svchost.exe running, totalling about 30MB of memory. Is this normal? What is the program and...

I don't need you any more.(removal of Linux in dual-boot configuration)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Various I don't need you any more linux Q I've installed Linux in a dual-boot configuration, but I don't need it on my PC any more. Can you advise on how to remove it? At startup the Grub menu offers the choice of Suse...

Queries without number.(searching the parameters in Microsoft Access 2003)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Various Queries without number databases Q I've built a parameter query in Access 2003 for finding phone numbers. I want people to be able to type in part of a number and have it find all matches, but I can't work out how...

Curing Microsoft's nagging little ills.
December 5, 2006... Byline: Mark Schroder Curing Microsoft's nagging little ills Senseless automation, useless hints and unintelligible error messages: Windows and Office can be really annoying. Mark SchrA[paragraph]der has put together a blister pack of...

Imps, daemons and trolls.(Interface Message Processors)(wireless networking technology forecast)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Peter Jackson Imps, daemons and trolls The World Wide Web first appeared 15 years ago, but the underlying technology of the internet is twice as old. Peter Jackson takes you on a tour of its past, present and future From...

Ulead Photo Impact 12.(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Ulead Photo Impact 12 A competent photo-editing package with a collection of basic and advanced features To get to version 12 a software application must have something people like. In the case of Ulead's Photo Impact 12, it is...

Ricoh Caplio R5.(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Ricoh Caplio R5 Not the most stylish of digicams, but that doesn't stop it taking great photos With the 35mm equivalent of a 28-200mm zoom lens, the Caplio R5 is a truly versatile camera, suitable for shooting a wide range of...

PC-Cillin Internet Security 2007.
December 5, 2006... PC-Cillin Internet Security 2007 Network-oriented internet and system security PC-Cillin Internet Security 2007 from Trend Micro is a home PC and network security package offering a number of levels of security and some interesting...

Billion Biguard S10.(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens Billion Biguard S10 All-in-one internet router, firewall and SSL VPN gateway The Biguard S10 is an SSL VPN appliance with a difference, the difference being that it's not just an SSL gateway. As well as...

30 copies of AVG Anti-Malware.
December 5, 2006... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor 30 copies of AVG Anti-Malware AVG Anti-Malware, one of the latest products from AVG UK & Ireland, combines AVG's popular anti-virus scanner with the latest, extremely powerful anti-spyware solution to ensure your...

The future of home computing?
December 5, 2006... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor The future of home computing? Within the next five years people will move away from using home PCs to a much smaller unit. The unit will be about the size of a VHS tape cartridge and consume less than 10W of...

February 2002.(Comdex)(handheld computers)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Emil Larsen February 2002 The focus at technology show Comdex this month was the new era of mobile products, including Tablet PCs, PDAs and Microsoft's Stinger OS (Windows Smart Phone Edition). Complementing these new products,...

February 1992.(robotics exhibition at The Science Museum in London)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Emil Larsen February 1992 This month PCW's Nick Beard visited the robotics exhibition at The Science Museum in London. Nick wasn't impressed with their limited skills, even though he encountered some that could paint, clean...

February 1982.
December 5, 2006... Byline: Emil Larsen February 1982 The man who many people regard as kickstarting the personal computer industry was Chuck Peddle. During the 1970s he designed the $25 ([pounds sterling]13) MOS Technology 6502 processor that powered...

Evesham Solar XK.(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Evesham Solar XK The most powerful computer you're likely to get for [pounds sterling]800 As the Christmas period draws closer it's inevitable that the price of computers will become increasingly competitive. Never one to shirk a...

A new lease of life . . . Businesses grow, technology moves on and yesterday's state-of-the-art servers quickly become networking millstones. But do you start afresh or tweak what you've got to make it last a bit longer? In this month's business section.
December 5, 2006... Byline: Alan Stevens A new lease of life. . . Businesses grow, technology moves on and yesterday's state-of-the-art servers quickly become networking millstones. But do you start afresh or tweak what you've got to make it last a bit...

Coming, ready or not.(high density DVD drives)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Barry Fox Coming, ready or not PCs once struggled to play DVDs and were beset by decoding issues. Barry Fox asks if blue-laser drives are opening those old wounds When DVD first went on sale nearly 10 years ago, standalone...

How we tested.(testing routers)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith How we tested As one of the claimed core benefits of draft-N devices is their higher throughput compared to 802.11g models, we were anxious to see whether it did live up its claims. To test the routers we used...

Trendnet TEW-631BRP.(wireless routers)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Trendnet TEW-631BRP Price [pounds sterling]130 Contact Trendnet www.trendware.co.uk Of a similar size to the D-Link, but better looking, the Trendnet TEW-631BRP is also wall mountable. The status lights on the...

Netgear Rangemax Next WNR834B.(wireless routers)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Netgear Rangemax Next WNR834B Price [pounds sterling]100 Contact Netgear www.netgear.co.uk Netgear's Broadcom-powered WNR834B router has a clean design that uses dual internal antennas rather than the more common...

Linksys WRT300N-UK.(wireless routers)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Linksys WRT300N-UK Price [pounds sterling]120 Contact Linksys www.linksys.com The Linksys WRT300N-UK certainly caught our eye with its peculiar antenna arrangement, but it doesn't make for a discreet home...

Speedy delivery.(Draft-N wireless kit promises high speeds and extended range)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Speedy delivery Draft-N wireless kit promises high speeds and extended range, but can it deliver in practice? Tim Smith sees how the latest wireless routers shape up Wireless networking has always been the poor...

Routers group test editor's choice.(Trendnet TEW-631BRP wireless router)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Choosing a product that's based on a draft standard is not something we like doing too often, but in the world of Wifi it's becoming the norm due to interminable industry wrangling over small print. There's no guarantee...

D-Link DIR-635.(routers (network hardware))(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith D-Link DIR-635 Price [pounds sterling]110 Contact D-Link www.dlink.co.uk The D-Link is one of the smallest routers in this group test but it doesn't sacrifice any functionality. All three antennas can be...

Buffalo Airstation Nfiniti WZRG300N.(wireless routers)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Buffalo Airstation Nfiniti WZRG300N Price [pounds sterling]91 Contact www.buffalotech.com With a rather garish design and a vertical orientation, the WZRG300N is the cheapest router on test, but it's a good...

Filling the holes in your home network.
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Filling the holes in your home network Despite the convenience of getting rid of network cables there are still times when wireless networks have their own drawbacks. The best place for the router may be incovenient...

Belkin N1.(wireless routers)(Product/service evaluation)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Tim Smith Belkin N1 Price [pounds sterling]130 Contact Belkin www.belkin.co.uk As well as having the simplest name in the group test, Belkin seems to have taken the most time to make the N1 easy to set up with clear...

Let Vista entertain you.(Microsoft Windows Vista)(Column)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Gordon Laing Let Vista entertain you The waiting for Vista is almost over, and the exciting bit is that the latest Windows Media Center software will come as standard Windows Vista is almost here. As I wrote this column,...

Disc_Paragon.(Paragon Drive Backup 8.0 SE backup software)(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Mike Williams Paragon Drive Backup 8 SE Keep your data safe with this fast, efficient backup tool You don't need a degree in IT to realise that backing up your hard drive occasionally is a good thing, but getting around to...

Disc_Paragon workshop.(Paragon Software's backup software, "Drive Backup")(Brief article)
December 5, 2006... Byline: Mike Williams Restore a corrupted Master Boot Record with Paragon Drive Backup 1Launch Paragon Drive Backup, and click the 'Backup selected disks or selected partitions' option to launch the backup wizard. Click Next, then...