Personal Computer World articles from October 2008

Personal Computer World archives from October 2008

Access all areas.(SQL queries )
October 2, 2008... Byline: Mark Whitehorn Access all areas Discover how SQL queries are executed and decide whether to upgrade to SQL Server All relational databases use SQL (Structured Query Language) to query the data. But when you think about it...

Edit videos online.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon Edit videos online If you want to edit your videos using internet-based tools, try some of these options Online video-editing applications are unlikely to replace professional video-editing tools, at least not...

The reality of streaming HD.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Gordon Laing The reality of streaming HD What's involved in sending high-definition video across your network I'm revisiting that perennial favourite, streaming media, expanding on a reader's question about the possibility...

Life at the cutting edge.(latest release of KDE)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Barry Shilliday Life at the cutting edge Delve into the new features offered by the latest release of KDE Back in January 2008, the KDE project released the first version of its KDE 4 desktop environment. This 4.0.0 release...

Home server alternative.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Home server alternative Network-attached storage might suit your needs better than Microsoft's Home Server I've written a lot about servers of late, devoting my last two network columns to what Windows Home...

Powering up.(computer power supply maintenance)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Gordon Laing Powering up How a power supply can affect the performance of your PC Power supplies are one of the most important yet overlooked components in a PC. As PC components grow hungrier, it's the power supply that...

Noise pollution.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Niall Magennis Noise pollution Removing noise from your recordings is a tricky process, without the right tools Sometimes the recordings you make just don't turn out as well as you would have liked. There may be background...

Using noise gates.(to remov noise from a recording )(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Niall Magennis Using noise gates One of the oldest methods of removing noise from a recording is to use a noise gate. Analogue noise gates have been around for years and were commonly used to reduce the background hum and hiss...

A DI makes enquiries.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Stephen Wells A DI makes enquiries How the Document Inspector can save embarrassment Before you share an Excel workbook with colleagues, you might prefer to remove the hidden data it contains, such as the dates the file...

Creating a function to calculate mileage costs.(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Stephen Wells Creating a function to calculate mileage costs An Excel 2007 user has asked for a function that will calculate the mileage cost of petrol given the cost per litre and miles per gallon of her car. To create a...

Putting Silverlight to work.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Tim Anderson Putting Silverlight to work Microsoft's cross-platform plug-in now includes the .Net runtime Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-platform browser plug-in that runs in Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer on...

DNS dabbling.(network problems)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Tim Nott DNS dabbling A round-up of Windows tips with a solution to some network problems Networking is a black art, which is why this column generally leaves it all in the capable hands of Alan Stevens. However, here's a...

Chapter and verse.(Word documents )
October 2, 2008... Byline: Tim Nott Chapter and verse Make your Word documents easy on the eye with these tips and tricks Last month we looked at setting up a Word template to create long documents, with styles linked to outline levels. This month...

Firefox unbound.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Joe Cassels Firefox unbound There are hundreds of add-ons available for Firefox but not all of them are worth your time. Joe Cassels separates the wheat from the chaff One of the main attractions of Mozilla Firefox A- over...

Add more extensions.(www.greasespot.net)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Joe Cassels Add more extensions If you have a problem with a site or a group of sites, Greasemonkey (www.greasespot.net) could be your answer. It enables you to use, write and modify scripts that change the way certain sites...

Compatibility issues.(Firefox Compatibility issues)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Joe Cassels Compatibility issues Firefox is regularly updated and so are most of its extensions, so many should still work with the latest Firefox 3. However, not all keep in step with browser development. Some older extensions...

Smart ways to save.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Smart ways to save With one eye firmly on the credit crunch, Alan Stevens looks at how small businesses can weather the storm by making the most of what they've got What with inflation, the credit crunch and...

Cross-browser compatibility.(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Cross-browser compatibility internet QHaving spent much time developing my website for cross-browser compatibility I was shocked to find that, despite looking pretty much the same in IE (6-8), Firefox,...

Swap space has stopped working.(Linux)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Swap space has stopped working linux Q I have Ubuntu installed on my PC, but installed another version of Linux. Now my swap space isn't working any more in Ubuntu. The swap partition is still there, and is used by the other version....

Advice from our experts.
October 2, 2008... Advice from our experts Our experts solve your problems Databases Q I should like to use an Excel spreadsheet file (.xls format) as a dBase database file. All the "APPEND FROM..." or "IMPORT" commands I have tried in dBase don't...

queries, wizards and more.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield queries, wizards and more We've got our usual collection of hints, tips and useful information this month. In the Database column we look at how queries are executed and optimised. Optimisation, of a slightly...

Breakini?1/2 the law.(Information Commissioner's Office)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jon Thompson Breakin' the law Judging by the number of Enforcement Notices it has served in the past two years, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is being kept busy by Government departments, big business and even...

Tempting fate i?1/2 the Clarkson debacle.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jon Thompson Tempting fate A- the Clarkson debacle When outspoken TV car critic Jeremy Clarkson decided to make his thoughts known about the loss of 25 million child benefit records, he got more than he bargained for. Like most...

The state of privacy.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jon Thompson The state of privacy Jon Thompson discovers that the information society holds hidden dangers for us The growing weight of evidence suggests that we are in increasing danger from the UK Government losing...

Turn Windows Server.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Turn Windows Server 2008 into Vista Paul Monckton gets seriously geeky and shows you how to create a workstation version of Windows Server 2008 Windows Vista certainly has some useful features, but who...

Obtaining Windows Server 2008.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Obtaining Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2008 is prohibitively expensive for the average user, costing from around [pounds sterling]350 for a five-user licence, but don't let that put you off for now. We most...

Online resources.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Online resources Vijayshinva Karnure's blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/vijaysk contains his original posting on the subject, under the heading "Using Windows Server 2008 as a super workstation OS" and dated 11...

Computing in the land of make believe.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Computing in the land of make believe Take a trip around the world of virtual PCs with Kelvyn Taylor, and find out how they can benefit you Wouldn't it be great if, when your PC gets infected by a virus or...

Clone your PC.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Clone your PC There's no standard format for virtual PC files, which means that in general you can't transfer them between the various virtualisation applications. There are a couple of exceptions, though....

Seamless operation.(virtual PC )(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Seamless operation Once your virtual PC is up and running in its own Virtualbox window, you can resize it or even make it run full-screen by choosing Machine/Fullscreen mode from the Virtualbox menu. To exit...

Sierra Wireless Compass 885.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Sierra Wireless Compass 885 Free yourself from your landline with this mobile broadband 'dongle' High-speed mobile broadband services can, in some areas, match ADSL in terms of bandwidth. Prices have dropped...

VMWare ESXi.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens VMWare ESXi The latest VMWare giveaway lets you run a production-class hypervisor for free First VMWare gave away VMWare Server, now it's the turn of the company's market-leading bare metal hypervisor, ESXi,...

HP Procurve Switch 2510G-24.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens HP Procurve Switch 2510G-24 Get Gigabit and a little bit more with this device The Procurve Switch 2510 series is a family of network switches aimed at small businesses that are looking for a quality solution...

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Better integration with Photoshop improves this management and editing software Following a four-month public beta, Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 2, the second version of...

Aiptek AHDZ500 Plus.(Camcorder)(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Aiptek AHDZ500 Plus Easy on the wallet and small enough to slip in your shirt pocket A- so what's the catch? When a product feels suspiciously like it might have just fallen out of a Christmas cracker, it...

Devolo Dlan 200AVeasy.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Will Stapley Devolo Dlan 200AVeasy Price [pounds sterling]64.99; [pounds sterling]119.99 (two-device starter kit) Contact www.devolo.co.uk Overall HHHHH Since the Homeplug AV specification was launched back in 2006, we...

Lavasoft Ad-Aware Pro 2008.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Lester Lavasoft Ad-Aware Pro 2008 Anti-spyware suite with integrated virus protection The Pro edition of Ad-Aware 2008 adds virus protection to the company's free spyware scanner. It provides two levels of security:...

Logitech V550 Nano.(computer mouse)(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Will Stapley Logitech V550 Nano Price [pounds sterling]39 Contact www.logitech.co.uk Overall HHHHH The design is uncomplicated and will suit both left- and right-handed users, although its small size means it doesn't fit...

Sonos BU150.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Anthony Dhanendran Sonos BU150 Share music around the home with ease The world has moved on since Sonos first wowed us with its music-sharing kit (www.pcw.co.uk/2144735). At that time, there was nothing that worked so...

PC Tools Spyware Doctor With Antivirus 6.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Lester PC Tools Spyware Doctor With Antivirus 6 Fast and efficient online security suite, but it's not cheap Released just before Symantec agreed to acquire PC Tools (www.pcw.co.uk/2224318), the latest version of...

Phones Editor's Choice.(Editorial)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton We have here a collection of phones that share many essential characteristics, such as cameras, personal information management and PC synchronisation, but that are in other ways so different from each other as to...

Your life in a smartphone.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Your life in a smartphone Paul Monckton puts eight top smartphones through their paces to find out how they handle the modern work-life balance Mobile computing is never quite as mobile as we would like A-...

Mobile operating systems explained.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Mobile operating systems explained Although we like to think of them as appliances, smartphones are really little handheld computers that happen to be able to make and receive phone calls. Like your PC, they...

HTC Touch Diamond.(telephone)(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton HTC Touch Diamond Price [pounds sterling]399.95 Contact HTC www.htc.com/uk The Touch Diamond from HTC crams a huge amount of functionality into a tiny phone. Primarily a touchscreen-operated device, either...

Motorola Moto Z10.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Motorola Moto Z10 Price [pounds sterling]259.99 Contact Motorola http://emeapromotions.motorola.com/uk/z10 The Motorola Z10 is stylish in a 1970s macho kind of way. Its positive, robust slider action is...

Nokia E71.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Nokia E71 Price [pounds sterling]330 Contact Nokia www.nokia.co.uk The superb build quality of the E71 is immediately apparent A- its super-sleek polished looks are worthy of a jeweller's shop window. ...

Palm Centro.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Palm Centro Price [pounds sterling]173.52 Contact Palm www.palm.com/uk The Centro's design somehow makes it look smaller than it actually is. It might be the square proportions of its 2in 320x320 pixel...

RIM Blackberry Bold.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton RIM Blackberry Bold Price [pounds sterling]439.99 Contact RIM http://eu.blackberry.com/blackberrybold It may be a bit big, but there's no disputing the fact that the Blackberry Bold is a good-looking piece...

Samsung Tocco.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Samsung Tocco Price [pounds sterling]272 Contact Samsung http://uk.samsungmobile.com Like Palm's Centro, the Tocco sits at the basic end of the spectrum. However, being a pure touchscreen device, it does so...

Samsung i8510.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Samsung i8510 Price [pounds sterling]484 Contact Samsung http://uk.samsungmobile.com Samsung's latest 'slider' phone is packed with features. Not only is it the first to market with an eight megapixel...

weather the storm.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens weather the storm Times are hard and getting harder and we're all having to make what we've got stretch farther. Small-business budgets in particular are being slashed, so in this month's feature we share our top...

Alt-N Securitygateway.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Alt-N Securitygateway Protect your email server with this easy-to-manage application Best known for MDaemon, its popular Windows-based mail server, Alt-N has years of experience in dealing with email-borne...

Windows Small Business Server 2008.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Windows Small Business Server 2008 Microsoft's definitive small business server gets a whole new look The latest version of Microsoft's Small Business Server package sees Windows Server 2008 bundled with...

Dragon Naturally Speaking 10.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Clive Akass Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Dictation software comes of age and is useful for more than just transcription Not so long ago we began a review of a speech recognition program by repeating the gibberish that it...

December 2003.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Clive Akass December 2003 Fujitsu-Siemens was one of the first manufacturers to attempt to make truly portable (as opposed to luggable) computers. We gave its Lifebook T3010 tablet convertible four stars, even though, at 1.9kg,...

Apple iPhone 3G.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Apple iPhone 3G Price From free on contract, [pounds sterling]349.99 pre-pay Contact Apple http://store.apple.com/ukiphone Combining spotless minimalism with matchless ease of use, the iPhone has a wow factor...

Bluetooth profiles in depth.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Bluetooth profiles in depth All the smartphones tested here feature wireless connectivity via Bluetooth, which can be used to connect your phone to a variety of other devices. Not only can you connect to your PC...

Acer Aspire G7700 Predator Trooper.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Tom Royal Acer Aspire G7700 Predator Trooper A powerful gaming computer for those who want their PC to stand out Some people like PCs that are small and sit unobtrusively on a desk. Some prefer PCs in expensive-looking...

Inside Inteli?1/2s Centrino 2 technology.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Inside Intel's Centrino 2 technology Codenamed Montevina, Centrino 2 is the evolution of the original Centrino technology with better performance from all the major components, including the CPU, chipset, graphics...

Centrino 2 under the microscope.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Centrino 2 under the microscope Along with the new range of CPUs (see box on page 89), Intel's Centrino 2 technology brings with it a new chipset family A- namely the Mobile Intel 45 Express. Three new...

Asus G50V.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Asus G50V Price [pounds sterling]1,049 Contact Asus http://uk.asus.com If you like your notebook to stand out from the crowd, the G50V from Asus will instantly appeal; its glossy black and metallic orange...

Advent 5511.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Advent 5511 Price [pounds sterling]529.99 Contact PC World 0844 5610 000 www.pcworld.co.uk Advent's 5511 is a no-nonsense, well-priced notebook aimed at the home user. However, gamers need not give it a second...

Centrino 2 notebooks-Editor's Choice.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Given the wide price and feature range of these notebooks, we're not giving an overall Editor's Choice award. Our aim was to get a broad selection of Centrino 2 models in for review to get an early look at the market....

Zoostorm 84-4601.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Zoostorm 84-4601 Price [pounds sterling]542 Contact PC Nextday www.pcnextday.co.uk Using one of the faster models in Intel's new Core 2 Duo chips line-up, the P8400, the Zoostorm 84-4601 runs at 2.26GHz. Its...

Sony Vaio BZ-11MN.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Sony Vaio BZ-11MN Price [pounds sterling]759 Contact Sony 020 7365 2947 www.sonystyle.co.uk This is the only notebook reviewed here that is aimed firmly at the business user A- its austere charcoal grey finish...

Samsung R510.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Samsung R510 Price [pounds sterling]49 Contact Samsung 0870 726 7864 www.samsung.co.uk Making use of Samsung's Black Aura design, the R510 is a no-nonsense notebook aimed at the non-gaming home user. To...

Samsung Q210.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Samsung Q210 Price [pounds sterling]699 Contact Samsung 0870 726 7864 www.samsung.co.uk Samsung's replacement for the popular Q45, the Q210, is a diminutive 12.1in notebook that thanks to Intel's Centrino 2...

Novatech X20MV Pro.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Novatech X20MV Pro Price [pounds sterling]598.80 Contact Novatech 0871 222 2812 www.novatech.co.uk Novatech's laptop has the smallest footprint of all the notebooks reviewed here and weighs 2.3kg (including...

Medion Akoya S5610.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Medion Akoya S5610 Price [pounds sterling]499 Contact Medion 01793 715 715 www.medion.co.uk Medion's relatively slimline S5610 is one of the best-looking designs we've seen from the German company. Although...

No-nonsense notebooks.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp No-nonsense notebooks Intel's latest mobile platform has landed and, as Simon Crisp discovers, it brings with it many technological benefits Intel's follow-up to its incredibly successful Centrino technology...

HP Pavilion dv7-1000ea.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp HP Pavilion dv7-1000ea Price [pounds sterling]899 Contact HP 0845 270 4142 www.hp.com/uk Even before you open the lid of HP's brand new Pavilion dv7-1000ea, you get the feeling that this not just another HP...

Hi-Grade D-8000.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Hi-Grade D-8000 Price [pounds sterling]799 Contact Hi-Grade 020 8532 6111 www.higrade.com The D-8000 is similar to Fujitsu-Siemens' effort in that it's housed in a rather plain chassis, although this laptop...

Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pi3450.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pi3450 Price [pounds sterling]699 Contact Comet 08705 425 425 www.comet.co.uk The Pi3450 is the latest addition to Fujitsu-Siemens' well-established Amilo line of notebooks aimed at home...

The turn of the screw.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jason d'Allison The turn of the screw Access to the hard disk and other serviceable parts of a laptop is almost always via one or more 'escape hatches' that are found on the underside. To 'enter' a hatch, undo the appropriate...

Keep cool.(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jason d'Allison Keep cool Heat is a killer. The recommended upper temperature for a hard disk is 45A[degrees]C, but on a poorly designed laptop with inadequate cooling (which is more common than you might imagine), it can...

Battery care.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jason d'Allison Battery care Most laptop batteries use lithium-ion technology (usually abbreviated to Li-ion). Typically, this type of battery can be charged between about 300 and 500 times, but a fact not widely acknowledged...

Tuning the wireless.(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jason d'Allison Tuning the wireless When wireless hardware is faulty, it's far from game over. Not many people realise that a laptop's Wifi functionality is usually provided via a separate card and it's one of the few...

Buttoned up.(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jason d'Allison Buttoned up Some faults A- no display, no wireless or no Bluetooth A- could just be because parts of your laptop have been turned off. Wireless parts need to be switched off to allow use on aircraft, and the...

Arbico OC 4870 XL.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Tom Royal Arbico OC 4870 XL It lacks style, but you get plenty of power for the price Arbico's OC 4870 XL might not have the striking looks of Acer's Predator Trooper (see page 57), but its plain black case belies the...

Troubleshoot and.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jason d'Allison Troubleshoot and repair your laptop Keeping your notebook in tip-top condition isn't as difficult as it first seems, as Jason d'Allison discovers More and more of us are turning to laptops as a convenient...

Adobe Premiere Elements 7.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph Adobe Premiere Elements 7 Powerful video-editing program with improved ease of use Premiere Elements has always been one of the most powerful video-editing programs available in the sub-[pounds sterling]100...

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Cliff Joseph Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 The latest Elements upgrade puts its focus on special effects There's no shortage of photo-editing programs on the market, but Photoshop Elements has retained a big advantage over its...

Huddle.(Product/service evaluation)
October 2, 2008... Byline: Tim Smith Huddle Keep teams up-to-date with this service The concept of organising a team is nothing new, but online tools such as Huddle make it far easier for smaller teams, especially if they are not all based in the...

How to tweak your laptopi?1/2s power-saving options.
October 2, 2008... Byline: Jason d'Allison How to tweak your laptop's power-saving options 1If your laptop suffers from overheating, one possible solution is to slow down the CPU. Doing that is also a good battery-saving measure, as most laptops are...