Personal Computer World articles from May 2009

Personal Computer World archives from May 2009

Colour management resources.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon Colour management resources http://blogs.msdn.com/color_blog Discontinued 'Color at Microsoft' blog with WCS profile demo image http://colorwiki.com Useful colour management articles including ...

Managing colours.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Ken McMahon Managing colours Accurate colour reproduction in Vista isn't as simple as you might think An email from reader Peter Webster prompted the subject of this month's column: how colour management works (or, in his...

From Vista to XP via the US.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Gordon Laing From Vista to XP via the US How to downgrade a UK Sony Vaio using American drivers It's no secret that many PC owners prefer running Windows XP over Vista. This is down to a number of reasons, including...

Edit HD seamlessly.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Gordon Laing Edit HD seamlessly How to achieve smooth and responsive AVCHD editing The vast majority of modern high-definition camcorders use the AVCHD format. This is a highly efficient system designed to squeeze...

Raid in Linux.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Barry Shilliday Raid in Linux How to maximise your hard disks' potential in Ubuntu Most desktop computers now come with two hard disks and, with the price of hard disks being so low, it is inexpensive to add extra storage...

Mobile Exchange.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens Mobile Exchange How to get Mail for Exchange running on your phone The subject of this month's column is, once again, email. This time, however, I'm not focusing on the server side of things. Rather, having...

Sorting out the students.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Stephen Wells Sorting out the students How to generate statistical analysis using Excel An apple for the teacher these days is just as likely to start with a capital 'A'. But if my mail is representative, teachers are...

Advanced music management.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Niall Magennis Advanced music management Discover some of the less obvious features in Apple's music player Thanks to the popularity of Apple's iPod range of music players (and increasingly the iPhone), many of us now rely...

Iti?1/2s good to share.(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Niall Magennis It's good to share If you've got more than one computer linked up via a wired or wireless network at home or at work, you can use the iTunes sharing feature to share libraries and playlists with up to five other...

Take a shortcut.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Niall Magennis Take a shortcut The iTunes interface is so well designed, so most functions are pretty quick to get at. However, Apple knows that many people prefer to use shortcut keys to access commonly used functions, so...

Delve into ASP.Net MVC.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Tim Anderson Delve into ASP.Net MVC Microsoft's new web framework goes under the microscope When Microsoft launched the .Net Framework nine years ago, a major part of the offering was ASP.Net, a web application framework to...

A good start.(Vista Start menu)(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Tim Nott A good start If Vista's Start menu doesn't impress, there is an alternative One thing that hacks me off in Vista is the Start menu. Having a lot of programs installed, I much prefer the way XP shows a multi-column...

Dos to the rescue.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Mark Whitehorn Dos to the rescue How to populate an Access database using Dos Like many of us I suspect, reader Alan Simpson, has his entire music collection on his PC. He asked how he could create an Access database of...

Enjoying the view.(zoom levels)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Tim Nott Enjoying the view Make text legible on screen without affecting print size If you're working on a high-resolution screen, you may find that the Word Normal style (12 point Times New Roman) is too small. You can...

Advice from our experts.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Various Advice from our experts Our experts solve your problems Hardware QMy small firm currently runs Windows XP on 12 PCs that access shared files from an old server running Debian with Raid disks. I will not be...

How to set your Access display preferences.(Access 2007)(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Various How to set your Access display preferences Databases QAccess 2007 always seems to open a form, report or table in a full-screen mode with a row of tabs across the top to move between them. It is fine to have a...

Upgrade to the latest version of Ubuntu.(Ubuntu 8.04)(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Various Upgrade to the latest version of Ubuntu Linux QSome time ago I installed Ubuntu 8.04. I understand that a new version has been released since then, but I cannot see any options to upgrade, though I do receive small...

Consistent colours.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Will Stapley Consistent colours Anyone who has put two monitors side by side and looked at the same image on both will know how important colour management is. Even with identical monitors, if the images are being displayed in...

Nintendo DSI.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Orestis Bastounis Nintendo DSI The world's most popular handheld console becomes a portable media device Nintendo's DSI looks very similar to its predecessor, the DS Lite. The fingerprint-attracting gloss finish has been...

F_Windows7FINAL.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Tom Royal Get ready for Windows 7 With the release of Microsoft's latest operating system just around the corner, Tom Royal looks at some of the features expected to make an impact Microsoft has been working on the next...

F_win7BOX1.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Tom Royal Try out Windows 7 for free Microsoft made the beta version of Windows 7 available to the public, but annoyingly it chose to limit the number of downloads that were available. With the first Release Candidate (RC1),...

A touch of class?(Microsoft Windows 7)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Tom Royal Touch of class? One of the most talked-about features in Windows 7 is its support for multi-touch devices. If you're lucky enough to have a PC with a multi-touch screen -- remember that some cheaper touchscreen...

How to clone a disk or partition with Clonezilla.(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Scott Colvey How to clone a disk or partition with Clonezilla Once you have created a Clonezilla live CD, start your PC with this disc inserted and run through the initial options as described earlier. When asked to choose a...

Clone a hard disk.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Scott Colvey Clone a hard disk Scott Colvey explains the basics of creating an identical copy of your hard disk for backup or recovery purposes We're always exhorting PCW readers to back up files. But even though there's...

Clonezilla alternatives.(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Scott Colvey Clonezilla alternatives Clonezilla isn't the only hard disk cloning tool. Norton Ghost (www.symantec.com) is probably the best-known commercial drive-imaging program, but at [pounds sterling]40 it's not an...

HP Procurve MSM410 Access Point.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens HP Procurve MSM410 Access Point An impressive product, but beginners may require expert help Google 'wireless access point' and you'll find plenty of brand-name products available, starting from as little as...

Novell Suse Linux Enterprise 11.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens Novell Suse Linux Enterprise 11 Novell cosies up to Windows with latest Enterprise Linux distro Release 11 of Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise product line marks a milestone for a number of reasons, one being...

Flip Mino HD.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Flip Mino HD High-definition video recording in the palm of your hand The Flip Mino HD camcorder is the same size as its predecessors but, as the name suggests, it records in high definition, at 720p...

Apple Mac Pro 8-Core.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Cliff Joseph Apple Mac Pro 8-Core A great showcase for Intel's new Xeon E5520 Nahalem processors We were disappointed that Apple's new iMac range didn't include Intel's Core i7 processors. However, Apple has been quick off...

Fujitsu Scansnap S1500.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens Fujitsu Scansnap S1500 A little scanner with big ambitions The latest addition to Fujitsu's Scansnap family of desktop scanners, the S1500, is both fast and compact with a comprehensive bundle of document...

NTI Shadow 4.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens NTI Shadow 4 Stop worrying about backup with this easy-to-use application Everyone knows how important it is to take regular backups, but backup programs aren't known for their user friendliness so few of us...

Nokia E63.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Tom Royal Nokia E63 An affordable, Qwerty smartphone ideal for those on a tight budget When we reviewed the Nokia E71, we found it was one of the best Qwerty smartphones available, although fairly expensive at more than...

Touch the future.(radio frequency identification technology)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Dave Howell Touch the future Tracking goods, paying with your mobile and finding a lost pet are all possible with RFID. Dave Howell reports Even if you don't know what RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is, the chances...

I, Cyborg.(Verichip Corp.)(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Dave Howell I, Cyborg The most advanced use of RFID in medicine is the Verichip (www.verichipcorp.com). Developed in 2000, the implantable RFID chip is used to identify patients in hospitals and as a means of identification...

Eclypt Pico Freedom 8GB Flash drive.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Paul Lester Eclypt Pico Freedom 8GB Flash drive A 256-bit encrypted USB drive for securing sensitive data Carrying sensitive data while you're on the move can be risky if you lose a USB key or your laptop is stolen....

Actinic Express 2.0.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens Actinic Express 2.0 Get online and trading quickly with this hosted tool Actinic Express is a simpler, hosted, implementation of Actinic Catalog, the company's popular small-business ecommerce product. Some...

Servers or appliances - what's best?
May 14, 2009... Byline: Alan Stevens Servers or appliances -- what's best? Discover which method of sharing is best for your small business. Alan Stevens explains the pros and cons If you want to share files on your network and, perhaps, host your...

The power behind the throne.(power supplies)(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Orestis Bastounis The power behind the throne Power supplies are the hardest-working component in a computer so you need to make sure you buy the best one for your needs. Orestis Bastounis puts 12 through their paces ...

Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 450W.(briefs)(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Orestis Bastounis Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 450W Price [pounds sterling]69 Contact www.be-quiet.net Overall HHHHH Although the Dark Power Pro's total output is less than the Coolermaster M520, it uses four 12V rails rated...

Cooler Master Silent Pro M700.(briefs)(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Orestis Bastounis Cooler Master Silent Pro M700 Price [pounds sterling]86.18 Contact www.coolermaster.com Overall HHHHH The rear of the M700 looks almost identical to the M520, as it's the same semi-modular design. The...

Akasa Power Xtreme 1200W.(briefs)(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Orestis Bastounis Akasa Power Xtreme 1200W Price [pounds sterling]189.95 Contact www.akasa.com.tw Overall HHHHH Akasa's flagship high-capacity PSU is the most powerful we tested. Each of its six 12V rails are rated at...

What do the figures mean?(personal computer power supplies)(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Orestis Bastounis What do the figures mean? All PC power supplies come with a total output rating in watts. A general rule of thumb is that the greater a PSU's wattage, the more powerful it is and therefore the more components...

Making the most of modular cabling.(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Orestis Bastounis Making the most of modular cabling A power supply with modular cabling makes a big difference when assembling a PC. Normally, the rear of a PSU will have a massive bunch of cables protruding from it, to...

Wacom Intuos4 S.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Tim Smith Wacom Intuos4 S An innovative device aimed at professional artists The Wacom Intuos4 S graphics tablet is ideal for anyone who wants to do precise artistic work with their computer, either on a Windows PC or a...

Xara Web Designer.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Tim Smith Xara Web Designer Create attractive websites without knowing HTML Creating a visual style for a website often begins with a graphic artist creating a look in Photoshop, which then needs to be recreated in HTML by...

PSU_Ed Choice.(power supply unit)(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... The good scores we awarded nearly all the power supplies in this group test are evidence of the high quality of premium, branded PSUs. A few years ago, PSUs didn't deliver the output stated by the manufacturer, were inefficient and could even...

Getting started with Ad-Aware Pro.(Lavasoft)(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Getting started with Ad-Aware Pro 1Once you've installed Ad-Aware Pro it's a good idea to carry out a full scan, just to make sure you're not currently infected by something nasty. Double-click the Ad-Aware icon in your system tray, then...

extend your Ad-Aware Pro licence.(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: DG extend your Ad-Aware Pro licence Install the Ad-Aware Pro Anniversary Edition from the cover disc and it'll keep you safe from harm for six months, but if you want to use the program after that then you'll need to purchase a...

AveryMainnbody.(Avery UK)(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: DG Avery Label Design Wizard You've probably already found the sample sheet of Avery's new Blockout labels. (But if yours is missing, request one at www.avery.co.uk/blockout sample). These cover old text so you can re-use...

AveryUpgrade.(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: DG Try more Avery solutions The Avery Label Design Wizard is just one of the useful freebies that you'll find at the Avery website. Other highlights include Avery Design Pro (in PC and Mac varieties), which includes...

AshampooMainBody.(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: DG Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 2.02 One advantage of digital photography is that you can fix most problems later, but this isn't always straightforward. If your image seems dull and lifeless, say, should you tweak the colour...

AshampooUpgrade.(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: DG step up to Photo Optimizer 3 Move to the latest version of Ashampoo Photo Optimizer and you'll find new features such as red-eye removal, Explorer integration, and the ability to convert your images to sepia or black and...

The 15-minute guide to optimising your PC.
May 14, 2009... Byline: DG The 15-minute guide to optimising your PC 1Launch Uniblue SpeedUpMyPC 2009, click Start Scan, and it'll look for potential problems. Then click Optimize All to apply all the recommended tweaks, or click a particular action,...

Apple Mac Mini 2GHz.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Cliff Joseph Apple Mac Mini 2GHz After a modest upgrade, the Mini is starting to look overpriced Apple's latest ultra-compact Mac Mini is rather disappointing. The processor in the [pounds sterling]499 model has the same...

Apple iMac.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Cliff Joseph Apple iMac A powerful, but pricey, upgrade for Apple's stylish desktop machine The new iMac does not, as many had hoped, use Intel's new Core i7 processor. The entire range, which consists of four models...

Symantec Norton 360 3.0.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Paul Lester Symantec Norton 360 3.0 Easy to use and efficient protection for your PC Symantec made great improvements in the previous iteration of its Norton 360 suite, addressing many of the long-running concerns with the...

Advent 4214.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Advent 4214 Price [pounds sterling]259.99 Contact PC World 0844 561 0000 www.pcworld.co.uk Advent's first netbook, the 4211, was little more than a rebadged and slightly cheaper MSI Wind. Its latest unit, the...

HP 2140 Mini-Note PC.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp HP 2140 Mini-Note PC Price [pounds sterling]393.30 Contact HP Store 0845 270 4215 www.hp.co.uk HP's original 2133 Mini-Note PC, with its great, user-friendly keyboard, was one of the best built netbooks...

Medion Akoya E1210.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Medion Akoya E1210 Price [pounds sterling]239.99 Contact Medion www.medionshop.co.uk Although MSI is poised to release a new variant of its highly popular Wind netbook, the timing just missed inclusion in our...

Samsung NC10.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Samsung NC10 Price [pounds sterling]305 Contact Dabs www.dabs.com After a string of netbook clones of the MSI Wind, not to mention a large line-up of Eee PCs, its refreshing to see Samsung has come up with a...

LG X110.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp LG X110 Price [pounds sterling]279.99/free with mobile broadband ([pounds sterling]35 per month) Contact PC World www.pcworld.co.uk or Phones4U www.phones4u.co.uk LG isn't known for its mini-computer...

Asus Eee PC 1000HE.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Asus Eee PC 1000HE Price [pounds sterling]329 Contact Asus 01442 202 720 www.asus.co.uk The Asus Eee PC needs no introduction, as the 7in Eee PC 701 was the very first netbook model on the market, kicking off...

From Atom to Ion.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp From Atom to Ion Although Intel's GMA 950 integrated graphics chipset, found in most netbooks, isn't our first choice for running the latest games, netbooks are still capable of playing many older titles. You might...

Netbooks cut down to size.(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Netbooks cut down to size Netbooks are taking the world by storm, and 10 inches has become a standard screen size. Simon Crisp puts six models to the test to see how they perform To say that netbooks have...

GT_Netbooks_Edchoice.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp You might have noticed a common theme running across every single product we looked at. They feature near-identical specifications, most using the same specification as MSI's Wind U100, others being complete clones of...

Enum i?1/2 linking two worlds.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Enum -- linking two worlds Making calls using VoIP can certainly save money, but all too often a call from one person with VoIP to another may go back onto the public phone network at some stage, when it need...

Skype i?1/2 the missing link.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Skype -- the missing link While the Session Initiation Protocol (Sip) leads the way for professional VoIP, many home and small-business users, opt for Skype. It's easy to set up and there's a good range of...

Set up VoIP on Nokia handsets.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Set up VoIP on Nokia handsets When we last looked at VoIP in PCW (www.pcw.co.uk/2195730), Nokia's N95 was the flagship handset with VoIP and Wifi, and we showed how you can set it up to work with a PBX; you can...

Windows 7 and the netbook.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Windows 7 and the netbook The Asus Eee PC 701 used a Xandros Linux distribution that replicates the look and feel of Microsoft Windows. Overnight it became the most popular computer in the world preinstalled with a...

Inside information.(backup software)
May 14, 2009... Go for comprehensive insurance Skip downtime and that awful sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach with Raid -- but don't forget to back up, too Like all types of insurance, backing up your data can feel like an inconvenience until...

Straight talking.
May 14, 2009... Hidden agenda behind push to 3D Several technologies are vying for adoption -- but Panasonic has an added reason for rushing its system to market Dig a little and you will see why Panasonic is trying to rush the world into home 3D. The...

Kewney at large.
May 14, 2009... Too early to declare victory Microsoft claims to have thrashed Linux in the netbook market but the real battle has yet to come It really doesn't matter much whether the world's netbook owners prefer Windows XP to Ubuntu Linux in early...

Adobe Director 11.5.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Cliff Joseph Adobe Director 11.5 A powerful tool for creating multimedia applications If you've used the internet, you've probably come across Flash -- the format used to add animated graphics and video clips to websites....

Readiris 12.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Clive Akass Readiris 12 OCR package receives an updated interface in the new home edition Optical character recognition (OCR) can now achieve almost 100 per cent accuracy translating cleanly printed pages to text. But...

Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 Plus.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Cliff Joseph Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 Plus A versatile, but somewhat complicated, video editor Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 Plus provides an impressive range of advanced and entry-level video-editing features. However, the it...

Teco XS2008CA.(Product/service evaluation)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Teco XS2008CA A desktop phone that lets you use Skype without a PC Skype has become popular for internet telephony, largely because it's easy to set up, but in the past it has relied on PC software to make...

Roxio Easy VHS to DVD.
May 14, 2009... Roxio Easy VHS to DVD Easily transfer analogue video onto your computer If you still keep an archive of ageing VHS tapes, then Roxio Easy VHS to DVD is a simple means to give your old films a new lease of life. In the box comes a small...

Gear4VideoBuddy.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Paul Lester Gear4 Video Buddy Play media stored on your iPod on your TV or stereo Gear4 produces a wide range of iPod accessories and its Video Buddy is a simple way to play media on your iPod on a big screen. The Video...

Sony Vaio RT2SY.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Sony Vaio RT2SY A powerful and attractive all-in-one PC Sony's Vaio RT2SY is part of its all-in-one range, based around a flat-panel screen. It looks better than most all-in-one PCs and outperforms them too,...

Flashback.
May 14, 2009... 2004 Laptops are a fraction of the price they were a few years back (see below), despite having a far better spec including the new 11g flavour of Wifi. Our Editor's Choice went to Hi-Grade's V7000, based round a 1.5GHz Pentium M. ...

Yoyotech Water Dragon 940.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Yoyotech Water Dragon 940 A great-value, water-cooled AMD Phenom II gaming PC Last month, we were impressed by Chillblast's Fusion Stinger, an overclocked Core i7 gaming PC. Intel's Core i7 processor is a lot...

Empire: Total War.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Orestis Bastounis Empire: Total War Dominate the globe with toy soldiers and model ships The Total War series of games gives you the opportunity to rewrite a specific age of history and control great armies to conquer...

AkasaCable.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Akasa AK-CB050 Slimline Sata cable Price: [pounds sterling]4.88 Contact: www.dabs.com Overall: HHHHH A cable is a cable right? Well if you've been trying to fit cables inside a mini-ITX or small form...

Akasa.
May 14, 2009... Byline: Simon Crisp Akasa AK-CC044 low-profile Intel CPU cooler Price: [pounds sterling]9.53 Contact: www.scan.co.uk Overall: HHHHH If you're thinking about building a small home theatre PC based around a Socket 775 Intel...