Personal Computer World articles from January 2009

Personal Computer World archives from January 2009

Lacie 5big Network.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens Lacie 5big Network Solid and straightforward five-disk storage device With its sleek, brushed-aluminium case and large blue 'eye', the Lacie 5big Network looks like a larger version of the 2big Network storage...

Capturing HDMI video.(High-Definition Multimedia Interface)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Gordon Laing Capturing HDMI video The search is over foir a simple yet flexible device for video enthusiasts At some point, every hardware enthusiast will encounter an issue and wonder if there's a device, adapter or cable...

From Access to SQL Server.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mark Whitehorn From Access to SQL Server How upsizing can affect VB code in forms, and using Access to manipulate SQL Server A couple of months ago, after demonstrating due diligence (that is, consulting the readership), I...

Magix Musicmaker 15.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Cliff Joseph Magix Musicmaker 15 Create your own songs with this easy-to-use music program The success of Apple's Garageband on the Mac has proved there's a demand for easy-to-use music software that will allow budding...

WMP 11 tips and tricks.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Niall Magennis WMP 11 tips and tricks You don't have to put up with the aggravating quirks of Microsoft's media player Windows Media Player (WMP) came in for a lot of stick when it was introduced in 2000 for its cluttered...

Assign command and control of WMP functions to shortcut icons.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Niall Magennis Assign command and control of WMP functions to shortcut icons Windows Media Player can be controlled through command-line instructions. For example, you can instruct it to open on a specific tab, start up and...

Hotkeys in WMP.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Niall Magennis Hotkeys in WMP Keyboard shortcuts can speed up control of Windows Media Player 11 and can be especially useful if your keyboard doesn't have dedicated media keys. Track control Play/Pause: Ctrl & P ...

Mesh takes Silverlight offline.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Tim Anderson Mesh takes Silverlight offline Silverlight plus Live Mesh brings the Microsoft cloud to the desktop Late last year, Microsoft unveiled various pieces of its cloud computing strategy under the overall name...

Groovy graphs in Excel.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Stephen Wells Groovy graphs in Excel How to spice up your spreadsheets with impressive-looking graphs Emma Lynch contacted us to say: "It's a pity Excel doesn't offer a thermometer chart as we'd like to be able print one...

Convert a chart to a graphic.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Stephen Wells Convert a chart to a graphic If you want to save an Excel chart as a graphic for use in a web page, in a slide or other document, it's quite easy. Many people save it to the Clipboard and then paste it into a...

Running in full screen.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Will Stapley Running in full screen Windows QI am trying to use the Sapphire Group's Dataease Database for Dos, but in Vista the Command Prompt option uses a small window that cannot be extended to full screen such as in...

Netbook know-how.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Will Stapley Netbook know-how Miniature laptops may be small, but they are capable of much more than meets the eye, as Will Stapley discovers When the first Eee PC arrived in 2007, it caused quite a stir, but few would...

Accessorise your netbook.(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Will Stapley Accessorise your netbook They work fine by themselves, but invest in a few accessories and your netbook will thank you for it. Here's our pick of the bunch. Buffalo DVSM-P58U2 [pounds sterling]59 ...

Netbooks for nowt.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Will Stapley Netbooks for nowt If you're looking for both a netbook and mobile broadband, consider combining the two and getting the netbook for free. Your choice of netbooks will be limited, and you'll be tied into a fairly...

The virtual OS route.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Will Stapley The virtual OS route If you want to install a new operating system on your netbook, it's worth trying it out first using virtualisation. A virtual operating system will act in exactly the same way as a...

Six-pack for video editors.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon Six-pack for video editors Which video-editing package can turn you from an amateur to an auteur? Ken McMahon puts you in the frame Digital video is experiencing something of a golden age at the moment....

GT_VideoSW_EdsChoice.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon The free market is alive and well in the world of video-editing software. Competition is such that software developers are quick to incorporate features introduced by their rivals and adopt new formats and technologies,...

Advanced editing.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon Advanced editing If you've outgrown a consumer video-editing application, or you're planning a professional project, what are the advanced editing options available to you? What do they offer that you can't get...

Adobe Premiere Elements 7.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon Adobe Premiere Elements 7 Price [pounds sterling]74.75 Contact Adobe 0800 028 0148 www.adobe.co.uk Adobe has skipped Premiere Elements from version 4 straight to 7 so that it matches Photoshop Elements 7, with...

Corel Videostudio Pro X2.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon Corel Videostudio Pro X2 Price [pounds sterling]67 Contact Corel 0800 376 9271 www.corel.co.uk This is the second release of Videostudio under Corel's stewardship, having acquired long-time video application...

Cyberlink Power Director 7 Ultra.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon Cyberlink Power Director 7 Ultra Price [pounds sterling]58.49 Contact www.cyberlink.com Cyberlink isn't the only application developer to produce more than one version of its video-editing program. Power...

Magix Movie Edit Pro 14.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 Price [pounds sterling]59.99 Contact www.magix.com Movie Edit Pro manages to squeeze in a lot of features and some powerful editing tools for a reasonable [pounds sterling]59.99....

Muvee Reveal.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon Muvee Reveal Price $79.95 ([pounds sterling]53) Contact www.muvee.com Most of the applications in this group test have a feature that automatically produces a finished movie from your clips and other content,...

Pinnacle Studio Plus 12.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon Pinnacle Studio Plus 12 Price [pounds sterling]69.99 Contact www.pinnaclesys.com Pinnacle Studio comes in three versions: Standard, Plus, and Ultimate. The Standard version doesn't provide video overlays, so...

Choose your distro.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens Choose your distro Don't let the bewildering array of Linux distros put you off. If it's a serious business platform you want, the choices are a lot more limited. Here are our recommendations: Red Hat...

The Ubuntu experience.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens The Ubuntu experience For small businesses trying Linux for the first time, Ubuntu is a good choice. It's free to download for both server and desktop use, and a Live CD implementation of the desktop version makes...

therei?1/2s life after windows.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens there's life after windows With Windows pre-installed onto every PC and server you buy, it's easy to think there are no real alternatives; however, that's not the case. In this month's Business Section we look at...

Configuring the Bios setup.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Configuring the Bios setup hardware QBarry Shilliday's excellent article, Join the Linux Revolution (PCW, Christmas 2009), fell short for a novice like me with the magnificently disingenuous advice on loading...

Prevention is better than cure.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Jason D'Allison Prevention is better than cure The best way to avoid losing data in the first place is to back up. One option is to create a sector-by-sector snapshot of your entire hard disk. If the disk subsequently fails or...

Emergency services.(Data Recovery Direct )(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Jason D'Allison Emergency services Subjecting your hard disk to recovery software is only sensible if it's in good health. If it's rattling like a train or exhibiting some other hardware fault (in severe cases, of course, your...

Email of the species.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Jason D'Allison Email of the species What about deleted emails? Can they be recovered? Well, in general, emails are stored not as individual files but as entries in a huge database. When an email gets deleted, its entry in that...

How to repair optical discs.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor How to repair optical discs CDs and DVDs are surprisingly tolerant of abuse, but there comes a time when your game, audio or movie discs simply won't play at all due to dirt or scratches. Here's how to repair...

How to use Windows Vistai?1/2s Shadow Copy.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Jason D'Allison How to use Windows Vista's Shadow Copy 1Shadow Copy (or as it's sometimes called, the Volume Snapshot Service) is quite likely something you've never heard of. For the most part, it works silently in the...

Blu revue.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Paul Monckton Blu revue Paul Monckton puts some of the latest Blu-ray drives to the test Blu-ray recordable drives, once out of the reach of all but the richest early adopters, are continuing to come down in price. Although...

Buffalo BR-816 FBS Media Station.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Paul Monckton Buffalo BR-816 FBS Media Station Price [pounds sterling]229.99 Contact Buffalo www.buffalotech.com One of the first vendors to offer eight-speed Blu-ray writing, Buffalo has used a Panasonic SW-5584 drive...

LG GGW-H20L.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Paul Monckton LG GGW-H20L Price [pounds sterling]141.90 Contact LG http://uk.lge.com The GGW-H20L is unique in this group test in that it supports playback of HD DVD media, and anyone with an existing library of discs will...

Lite-On DH-4B1S.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Paul Monckton Lite-On DH-4B1S Price [pounds sterling]166.37 Contact Lite-On www.liteonit.eu Lite-On's DH-4B1S is a much better buy than it might seem at first glance: unfortunately for Lite-On, the most obvious stand-out...

Sony NEC Optiarc BWU-300S.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Paul Monckton Sony NEC Optiarc BWU-300S Price [pounds sterling]254 Contact Sony www.sony-optiarc.eu The Optiarc BWU-300S, along with Buffalo's BR-816FBS, offers what is currently the fastest Blu-ray burning solution...

GT_BluRay_EdsChoice.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Paul Monckton Take a little care when choosing your Blu-ray writer; going straight for the package displaying the biggest numbers won't necessarily get you the best deal. The difference between four-speed, six-speed and eight-speed...

Three top Blu-ray tips.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Paul Monckton Three top Blu-ray tips Make sure your system can play back Blu-ray discs If you want to rent or buy Blu-ray movies on your new drive, you'll need to make sure the rest of your PC is up to the job. Unlike...

Far Cry 2.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Emil Larsen Far Cry 2 Battle through 50 square kilometres of African war Brand power is the only reason Far Cry 2 is called what it is, since it has a different development team, a different environment, a completely...

Grand Theft Auto IV.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Emil Larsen Grand Theft Auto IV Gruesome but engrossing universe with more freedoms than ever Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV was the game the American religious right tried to ban last year. The fact that a man was attacked as...

Webroot Window Washer 6.5.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Webroot Window Washer 6.5 There's no easier way to maintain your PC's privacy Add a firewall, spam blocker and anti-virus utility to a PC and you might think your data is secure - but it may not be. Anyone...

Clear all traces of your PC activities in a couple of clicks.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Clear all traces of your PC activities in a couple of clicks 1Window Washer can clear hundreds of different history files and privacy-related Registry settings, freeing up hard disk space and recovering a little...

Webroot Internet Security Essentials.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Webroot Internet Security Essentials New features Two-way firewall Anti-virus tool Detect and remove spyware Automatic local backup 2GB online backup space Gamer mode If you like...

How to make an exact copy of your hard disk quickly.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams How to make an exact copy of your hard disk quickly 1If you just need a simple, direct copy of your system drive, then click One Button Copy Wizard. Tell the program which drive you're copying, and where you want...

Save 20% across Paragon range.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Save 20% across Paragon range Move to Paragon Drive Backup 9.0 Personal and you'll be able to exclude some files and folders from your image, speeding up the backup process. A scheduler runs backups automatically...

Paragon Drive Backup 9 SE.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Paragon Drive Backup 9 SE Paragon Drive Backup 9.0 Personal Special Edition is a backup tool that creates an image of any hard disk or partition with the absolute minimum of hassle. This image file may then be...

Iolo Antivirus.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Iolo Antivirus At first glance Iolo Antivirus looks much the same as any other anti-virus tool. There's real-time scanning of downloads, emails and any files you might open, for instance. Scheduled and on-demand...

Save 50% on any iolo product.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Save 50% on any iolo product Iolo produces a wide range of PC security and maintenance tools. There's System Mechanic, which contains everything you need to speed up your PC; System Shield, a complete internet...

Ashampoo Burning Studio 2009.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Ashampoo Burning Studio 2009 Burn audio or data discs quickly and easily Ashampoo Burning Studio 2009 is a simple, yet powerful, suite that aims to get back to disc-burning basics. No bloat, no unnecessary...

Three reasons why you need Ashampoo Burning Studio 2009.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Three reasons why you need Ashampoo Burning Studio 2009 1Some disc-burning packages weigh your PC down with unnecessary features that can tie up 1.5GB or more of hard disk space. By comparison, Ashampoo Burning...

Save 75% on Burning Studio 8.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Save 75% on Burning Studio 8 New features Create animated DVD slideshows Many transitions and zoom effects Burn video DVDs Quicktime video source support Preview DVD movies with audio ...

Acronis True Image 10 Personal.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Acronis True Image 10 Personal Protect your PC from hard disk disasters with this tool If you're looking for the quickest possible PC backup then opt for a file-based tool. Tell it to back up the contents of...

Keep your data safe with regular image backups.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams Keep your data safe with regular image backups 1Launch Acronis True Image 10 Personal, click Backup and tell the program which partition you'd like to save. Point it at the disk where you'll be saving the backup,...

i?1/210 off Acronis True Image Home 2009.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Mike Williams [pounds sterling]10 off Acronis True Image Home 2009 New features Exclude files and folders acents Incremental/ differential backups acents Easier backup scheduling acents Full text searchacents Zip archive...

Lenovo Thinkpad USB Portable Secure Hard Drive.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Paul Monckton Lenovo Thinkpad USB Portable Secure Hard Drive Protect your data from prying eyes Encryption systems such as Vista's Bitlocker, or third-party products such as Deslock, offer a high level of protection but...

Ricoh R10.(Product/service evaluation)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Paul Monckton Ricoh R10 The latest Ricoh camera offers subtle improvements over the popular R8 At its launch, the R8 brought with it many new features, not least of which was a complete physical redesign. However,...

Lenovo Thinkpad SL400.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Lenovo Thinkpad SL400 A well-built laptop for business The old adage of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' certainly applies to Lenovo's Thinkpad styling. There have been some subtle changes to the design over...

Ofcom clamps down on hidden costs.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Byline: Clive Akass Ofcom clamps down on hidden costs Nearly three in 10 broadband users have been hit by unexpected charges, according to a survey by price-comparison site Moneysupermarket. The survey of 2,016 users revealed...

20Mbit for a tenner O2 is offering 20Mbits/sec access to its mobile customers for just i?1/29.79 per month, with no usage caps. Customers of other mobile providers will be charged i?1/214.68 and a receive prioritised customer service. A Pro service for business.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Clive Akass 20Mbit for a tenner O2 is offering 20Mbits/sec access to its mobile customers for just [pounds sterling]9.79 per month, with no usage caps. Customers of other mobile providers will be charged [pounds sterling]14.68...

Office in the clouds With small laptops, fast mobile internet and better browsers, is the time finally right for online applications? We put the best online office suites to the test, and find out if they really are a practical alternative to running soft.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Office in the clouds With small laptops, fast mobile internet and better browsers, is the time finally right for online applications? We put the best online office suites to the test, and find out if they really...

Lucky number 7 for Windows?
January 22, 2009... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Lucky number 7 for Windows? Despite the gloomy economy, the sun is shining on CES in Las Vegas, and the Windows 7 beta is showing early promise After all the dismal retail and business news over the past few...