Personal Computer World articles from November 2007

Personal Computer World archives from November 2007

Time for giving.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Gordon Laing Time for giving Gordon Laing reflects on which hardware he'd like to find in his Christmas stocking As the end of the year approaches, it's an opportune time to reflect on your hardware configuration and...

Taking a structured approach.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Mark Whitehorn Taking a structured approach Learning how a little SQL can go a very long way Access has a great graphical query builder, which blew the socks off the opposition when first implemented and continues to...

Essential video tools.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Ken Mcmahon Essential video tools A selection of must-have software for graphics and video editing One of the perks of writing about software for a living is that you're never short of applications. If I want to make a...

Web links.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Ken Mcmahon Web links Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net DivX www.divx.com Donald Graft's Virtualdub filters http://neuron2.net/index.html Lastolite www.lastolite.com Photoshop www.adobe.com...

Embrace the spirit of 64.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Gordon Laing Embrace the spirit of 64 If you want a memory boost, it could be time to look at a 64-bit operating system PC enthusiasts have long understood the benefits of upgrading their Ram for better performance. The...

Game on.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Barry Shilliday Game on Find out how Linux could be the ideal solution for your old Dos games Not many people switching to Linux will do so in order to play games. It comes as no surprise that just about all commercially...

Turn on to Offline Files.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Turn on to Offline Files Windows can help keep you in sync when the network is unreachable Storing documents and other files on a remote network share is all very well, but what do you do if the network goes...

Possible Vista networking fix.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Possible Vista networking fix I've had a number of emails from readers recently claiming that they've managed to overcome problems networking XP and Vista PCs together, simply by downloading and installing the LLTD...

Tune in to internet radio.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Niall Magennis Tune in to internet radio All you need to know about the new golden age of wireless There's plenty of interest in digital radio at the moment. The BBC is heavily promoting the DAB digital radio platform, a...

Internet radios.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Niall Magennis Internet radios The sheer number and variety of stations available on the web makes it a really exciting way to access radio, but let's face it, most people don't want to have to use a PC to tune in to a...

A more efficient broadcast system.(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Niall Magennis A more efficient broadcast system The vast majority of internet radio stations are broadcast using a method called unicasting. This means that when you click on an internet radio feed a dedicated connection...

Taking sides.(using Microsoft Excel )
November 1, 2007... Byline: Stephen Wells Taking sides Peek around the edges of Excel and see what extra options lurk there You're used to interacting with cells, rows and columns in Excel. But are you taking advantage of the options available in...

Not that random.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Stephen Wells Not that random Dave Simpkin wrote to me about problems he was having using Excel 2003 to create a series of blind samples in a correlation exercise. According to Microsoft, the RAND and RANDBETWEEN functions...

Word challenges.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Tim Nott Word challenges Hyperlink issues solved and the mystery of Word's master document unravelled We've dealt with various aspects of Word hyperlinks in this column, but reader Jan Owen had a new challenge. She wanted...

Editor's choice.(product evaluation of printer servers)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Print servers can be difficult to configure at the best of times. Add in the wireless element and they can be even harder to get working, so ease of deployment was a prime consideration when evaluating the products in...

Compatibility and other considerations.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Compatibility and other considerations When buying a wireless print server there are a number of potential issues to bear in mind. For example, wireless security could be a problem. The models we've tested...

Netgear WGPS606.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Netgear WGPS606 Price [pounds sterling]65.80 Contact 01344 458 200 www.netgear.com At first glance the WGPS606 bears more than a passing resemblance to other Netgear networking products. This isn't surprising...

Linksys WPS54G.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Linksys WPS54G Price [pounds sterling]51.35 Contact 0800 068 0327 www.linksys.com A neat-looking device, the WPS54G has an external antenna and gets its power from a separate AC adapter. Printers are attached...

Lindy Wireless USB Print Server.
November 1, 2007... Lindy Wireless USB Print Server Price [pounds sterling]109 Contact Lindy Electronics 01642 754 000 www.lindy.co.uk The print server submitted by Lindy is one of the most compact in the group test. However, it did prove to have a...

HP Jetdirect ew2400.
November 1, 2007... HP Jetdirect ew2400 Price [pounds sterling]170.38 Contact HP 0870 241 3625 www.hp.com A member of the well-established Jetdirect family of HP print servers, the ew2400 has a lot going for it, including support for 802.11g and fast...

Edimax PS-1206UWg.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Edimax PS-1206UWg Price [pounds sterling]47.18 Contact Edimax 0845 123 8307 www.edimax.co.uk Marginally the cheapest of the servers on test, the tiny Edimax PS-1206UWg is also among the smallest. Despite this, it boasts an impressive...

D-Link DP-G310.
November 1, 2007... D-Link DP-G310 Price [pounds sterling]59.97 Contact D-Link 020 8955 9000 www.dlink.com Like most of the print servers in this group test, the D-Link DP-G310 is designed to allow a single USB printer to be shared on a network. It...

Belkin Wireless G All-In-One Print Server.
November 1, 2007... Belkin Wireless G All-In-One Print Server Price [pounds sterling]48.28 Contact Belkin 01933 352 000 www.belkin.com Belkin only has one model of print server, and it's the only one in this group test to feature full support for...

Set your printer free.(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Set your printer free If you've got a home network with multiple PCs but just a single USB printer, you'll know how frustrating it can be when you want to print a document or photo. Alan Stevens tests the solutions Unless the PC...

Disorganizer.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Disorganizer digital imaging QI have a large number of scanned copies of old photographs which have had title, keywords and comments embedded as metadata in the relevant jpg files using the Microsoft...

State of union.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Databases State of Union QI have three tables of insurance sales in Access. Any individual customer can have zero, one or more entries in one or more tables. I want to combine the records from all three...

All ways yours.(image processing)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield All ways yours Linux QI want to rotate and save JPEG images from my digital camera. I know that it is possible to do this without losing quality, but how? Christopher Coope AMaking modifications to...

Installing Slimserver.(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Tim Anderson Installing Slimserver The first step in this tutorial is to install Slimserver. To do that, head over to www.slimdevices.com/su_downloads.html. The install procedure varies according to operating system. On...

Controlling Slimserver with VB.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Tim Anderson Controlling Slimserver with VB Discover how you can take control of your audio Ripping CDs to a home music server is now commonplace, but there are a variety of different approaches. Among the best is...

Becker Vision Pro.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Paul Lester Becker Vision Pro A large and versatile media player to use at home or on the move If you're looking to keep yourself entertained on the move, there are dozens of products around to manage and store digital...

Qnap TS-209 Pro.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Qnap TS-209 Pro A feature-rich Nas with dual Sata drive bays Qnap's TS-109 Pro scored highly in our Nas group test (PCW September 2007), and the TS-209 Pro is its bigger brother. The main function of both...

Webroot Antispyware Corporate.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Webroot Antispyware Corporate Anti-spyware and anti-virus protection combined Simple and affordable enough for small-business use, Webroot Antispyware Corporate Edition with Antivirus is based on enterprise...

Paragon Drive Backup 8.51.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Paragon Drive Backup 8.51 Simple to use for disk imaging, server backup and disaster recovery You don't need special hardware or complicated software in order to back up and restore a network file server, just...

Intuit Quickbooks Pro 2008.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Intuit Quickbooks Pro 2008 One of the best accounting packages just got a little bit better It's been a while since Intuit updated its popular small-business accounting package and, at first glance, there...

Iriver B20.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Paul Lester Iriver B20 A feature-packed media player with built-in DAB Although the B20 doesn't appear to be a direct successor to the impressive Iriver Clix2 (www.pcw.co.uk/2191299), it has a similar design with a...

File sharing with Samba.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens File sharing with Samba Samba is an open-source application that enables a Linux server to share files using the same SMB (Server Message Block) protocol employed by Windows. Typically bundled with most Linux...

The good and the bad of Linux.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens The good and the bad of Linux Linux A- the benefits Linux is open source, which means you can get your hands on the source code, not just the executable software as with a proprietary platform such as Windows....

What hardware do I need to use Linux?
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens What hardware do I need to use Linux? You don't need special hardware to run Linux. In fact, hardware requirements tend to be lower for Linux than Windows. That said, you won't find many vendors selling desktops or...

Linux as an alternative to the Windows desktop.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Linux as an alternative to the Windows desktop Most small businesses view Linux as a server OS. However, it can also be employed instead of the more usual Windows desktop, with plenty of applications available, for...

Linux for real.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Linux for real We're increasingly encouraged to look beyond Windows for our OS. Alan Stevens shows where to begin with Linux The recent fine levied on Microsoft by the European anti-trust authorities has...

December 1998.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen December 1998 This edition saw the results of our sneaking around under cover, investigating PC companies on their sales and technical support, as well as the hardware they supplied. PCW's consumer spies set...

August 1998.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen August 1998 Back in August 1998, Intel decided the time had come to make its play in the low-cost processor market, dominated at that time by AMD and Cyrix. Enter the Intel Celeron processor, built without the...

February 1998.(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen February 1998 Our incessant demands for increasing levels of speed in our processors led us to put nine of the fastest PCs on the market through their paces. All were built around a 300MHz Pentium II processor with...

Sat-nav secrets.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Sat-nav secrets Satellite navigation isn't just about finding the nearest motel or getting to the church on time. Nigel Whitfield explains how you can take sat nav a lot further For many people, the Global...

Create your own PoI files.(Poor Obfuscation Implementation)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Create your own PoI files It's easy to create your own PoIs for a sat nav, armed with a postcode and a web browser Step 1 We're going to create a PoI file listing branches of the Waitrose supermarket....

Resolve format problems for easy sharing.(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Resolve format problems for easy sharing When it comes to sharing information between GPS devices, websites and software, it's vital to make sure the information is in the right format. We've mentioned Tomtom's...

Raise the standard of your maps with updates.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Raise the standard of your maps with updates One of the frustrations that many people will have experienced with sat-nav devices is the accuracy of the maps. Ask almost anyone who uses sat nav and they'll tell...

UK points of interest i?1/2 useful links.(Website list)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield UK points of interest A- useful links POI Editor www.poieditor.com Interactive PoI editing Poi Edit www.poiedit.com Windows tool for PoI editing Garmin Free www.garminfree.com Free PoIs for Garmin...

Nero 8.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Nero 8 It's time for the battle of the burning suites again and Nero's first in the ring It's like Cavaliers and Roundheads; with disc-burning software suites you usually belong to one camp and not the...

Nokia E51.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Will Stapley Nokia E51 A sneak preview of Nokia's new business-focused handset The line that separates a business handset from a mainstream consumer one is hazy at best, and Nokia's forthcoming E51 is a prime example. The...

Dell Inspiron 1720.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Cliff Joseph Dell Inspiron 1720 Price [pounds sterling]944 Contact Dell 0870 907 5818 www.dell.co.uk The standard Inspiron 1720 listed on Dell's website starts at around [pounds sterling]550, so you'll need to use the...

Making a stand.(laptop computer stand)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Cliff Joseph Making a stand The laptop systems reviewed here have all the power and features required to replace a conventional desktop PC. However, there are still some obvious differences between a laptop and a desktop system...

Useful links.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Useful links Tips on creating Data Collector Sets http://technet.microsoft.com/ en-us/windowsvista/aa905098.aspx Full advanced guide to Vista Performance and Reliability Monitoring ...

More Vista maintenance tips.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton More Vista maintenance tips Problem Reports and Solutions Like Windows XP before it, Windows Vista gathers information about system and application crashes and gives you the opportunity to forward it to...

Third-party tools.(Iolo System Mechanic 7)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Third-party tools The new troubleshooting applications bundled with Windows Vista are certainly useful, but there is plenty they won't do. The Reliability and Performance Monitor is a very low-level utility that...

Domia Bye Bye Standby Online.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Will Stapley Domia Bye Bye Standby Online Control your home appliances via the internet Bye Bye Standby Online (BBSB) allows you to control the power of your home appliances, such as lamps, TVs and even ceiling lights, over...

Sega Rally.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Will Stapley Sega Rally Fast and furious arcade racing Since it appeared in the arcades back in 1995, Sega Rally has gained a loyal following, and now it has made a comeback on the PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and even the...

HP Pavilion HDX9095ea.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen HP Pavilion HDX9095ea Enter the dragon: bigger, faster and scalier than most HP refers to its HDX9095ea as the Dragon, a nickname we're inclined to use too, since 'desktop replacement' doesn't sum up just how...

Sling Media Slingbox Pro.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Will Stapley Sling Media Slingbox Pro Stream TV around your home network and over the internet The Slingbox won awards back in 2006 for being a truly innovative product that streamed your home TV (eg satellite box or DVD...

Asus EAH2600XT.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Simon Crisp Asus EAH2600XT Price [pounds sterling]64.61 Contact www.overclockers.co.uk Overall HHHHH Based on AMD's midrange R630 GPU (2600XT), the EAH2600XT from Asus keeps to reference design when it comes to clock...

Antec Nine Hundred.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Simon Crisp Antec Nine Hundred Price [pounds sterling]70.14 Contact www.ebuyer.com Overall HHHHH Antec's latest chassis follows the new trend of placing the power supply (not included) at the bottom of the case. Built...

Abit iL-90MV.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Simon Crisp Abit iL-90MV Price [pounds sterling]78.03 Contact www.cclonline.com Overall HHHHH Abit's iL-90MV, based around an Intel Socket 479 (Core 2 Duo, Core Duo and Core Solo CPUs), would make an ideal base for a...

MSI NX8500GT MTD256EH.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Simon Crisp MSI NX8500GT MTD256EH Price [pounds sterling]52.46 Contact www.yoyotech.co.uk Overall HHHHH MSI's latest card is passively cooled and based around Nvdia's 8500GT GPU. With just a 450MHz core clock and 256MB...

Spec honed to vie with next generation Bluetooth.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Clive Akass Spec honed to vie with next-generation Bluetooth Implicit in plans for a upgraded version of Wireless USB (see above) is the fact that the current version is not ready for mobile use. WUSB adapters and hubs...

Wireless USB heads for 1Gbit/sec.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Clive Akass Wireless USB heads for 1Gbit/sec And a new version of the technology will be optimised for mobile use. Clive Akass reports Date rates on Wireless USB (WUSB) links will approach a gigabit per second under plans...

Roxio Easy Media Creator Suite 10.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Roxio Easy Media Creator Suite 10 If Nero's no-nonsense suite doesn't take your fancy, Roxio has an alternative Looking at what Easy Media Creator Suite 10 offers today, it's hard to imagine the program...

United Pepper Lili.(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen United Pepper Lili Price [pounds sterling]29.99 Contact www.unitedpepper.org.uk Overall HHHHH United Pepper is launching products it claims are fair trade electronics. It says 70 per cent of the materials and...

More flawed brilliance.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Barry Fox More flawed brilliance SIG claims that it is constantly at work to keep Bluetooth technology secure, but others would beg to differ Bluetooth, USB and HDMI are all flawed brilliance - great ideas for making life...

PC treats...(Buyers guide)
November 1, 2007... PC treats... ... for the user who wants it all Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 Price: [pounds sterling]140 www.coolermaster.com Standing 60cm tall, the Cosmos reaches for the stars. It has stellar cooling performance, thanks to...

Stranglehold.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Will Stapley Stranglehold John Woo's Inspector Tequila runs amok in downtown Hong Kong Based on Hard Boiled, a 1992 John Woo film, Stranglehold is a full-on action adventure. You take control of unconventional,...

The dot-squiggle breakthrough.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Guy Kewney The dot-squiggle breakthrough If you have the technical ability to manage a top-level domain, then Icann will give you the right to do it Imagine that you're a programmer. You speak Korean, not English, and all...

Doni?1/2t get foxed by feature overload.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Gordon Laing Don't get foxed by feature overload With digital cameras all claiming endless features and gizmos, it's hard to know what will work out best for you We're fast approaching that time of year when Christmas...

Smoothwall Corporate Guardian 6.(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Smoothwall Corporate Guardian 6 Get simpler setup and better reporting in this updated web filtering tool When we last looked at Smoothwall's Corporate Guardian we found it to be an effective and affordable...

Save up to i?1/215 on Mcafee security.
November 1, 2007... Byline: Mike williams Save up to [pounds sterling]15 on McAfee security Blocking spyware is a key part of any security plan, but for real protection you need something like McAfee Internet Security, which adds antivirus, backups, an...

Access all images.
November 29, 2007... Byline: Mark Whitehorn Access all images A picture is worth a thousand words, but takes up considerably more storage space Storing images in databases is getting more popular. For example, I'm currently developing a database at...

A select skill.(image processing)
November 29, 2007... Byline: Ken Mcmahon A select skill Selections are excellent tools you'll need when editing your digital images A couple of issues back (December 2007, www.pcw. co.uk/2201025), I looked at the many things you can achieve when you...

Inversion therapy.(using image processing software)(Brief article)
November 29, 2007... Byline: Ken Mcmahon Inversion therapy Sometimes it's easier to select what you don't want, for example a plain-coloured background, or the sky, than the subject itself, which may be composed of many different colours and tones. Select...

Firewire 800 connections.(Brief article)
November 29, 2007... Byline: Gordon Laing Firewire 800 connections Firewire 800, or as it's technically known, IEEE-1394b, may be based on the original 1394a standard but it employs a new type of connector. The original 1394a offered full-size six-pin or...

Ready, aim, Firewire!
November 29, 2007... Byline: Gordon Laing Ready, aim, Firewire! We explore the high speed version of a much-overlooked interface This month we take a look at Firewire and examine how the latest 1394b version performs. Firewire ports have become a...

Which distribution?
November 29, 2007... Byline: Barry Shilliday Which distribution? Most distributions offer both KDE and Gnome desktops, while some specialist distributions will be available with just one. Ubuntu (www.ubuntu.com) focuses on Gnome, though KDE can be...

Look and feel different.
November 29, 2007... Byline: Barry Shilliday Look and feel different Fancy an extreme makeover? With Linux you can change the graphical interface There is no doubt that you get a lot of choice with Linux. This follows through to the desktop...

Take control of your tasks.
November 29, 2007... Byline: Tim Nott Take control of your tasks Tame the Control Panel, fix Windows Update and change associations in Vista Windows XP gives you three ways of using Control Panel. You can open it in Category view, where related items...

Dynamic data.(web development)
November 29, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Dynamic data How to make sure your website keeps up with changing events Over the years we've looked at web development, one of the things that has remained constant has been the need for many people to...

Web navigation.(Brief article)
November 29, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Web navigation The latest title from O'Reilly covers a topic we've touched on here before A- Designing Web Navigation explains the principles behind different types of navigation, and what you need to consider...