Personal Computer World articles from September 2007

Personal Computer World archives from September 2007

Acrobat vs XPS.(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Tim Nott Acrobat vs XPS Can Microsoft's portable format really rival Adobe's mighty PDF? While rooting around the Microsoft website for information, I found exactly what I wanted A- and it's not often I am able to write...

Tree surgery.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Tim Nott Tree surgery Pretty directories, jiggling mice and the dark screen of fright A- it's all here! Older readers may remember the Dos Tree command, which is still around. If you open a command prompt and type tree,...

Creating monthly totals.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Stephen Wells Creating monthly totals Automating calculations, plus customising Excel 2007 and animating your charts Oliver Couzens writes: "I have an Excel 2007 spreadsheet that includes columns for dates and amounts of...

Alternate formula.(Microsoft Excel formula input)(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Stephen Wells Alternate formula In cell B3 you could also use the shorter formula =HLOOKUP(B2,$B$8:$T$9,2) and drag that along row 3. It's less complicated and works just as well. But anytime I suggest using any of the...

Dynamic trio.(dynamics processing of audio files)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Niall Magennis Dynamic trio Dynamics controls can breathe life into a lacklustre track Do you feel your recordings lack the professional polish you hear on commercial CDs? If so, then one of the reasons may be that you...

Ear to eternity.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Niall Magennis Ear to eternity When working with limiters, compressors and noise gates, the best approach is to keep your ears open to the affect the changes you are making have on the sound. While we can give you ball park...

Advice from our experts.
September 6, 2007... Advice from our experts PCW's experts solve your problems Digital Imaging Colour changes Q I read with interest your column in August's issue of PCW concerning Windows Photo Gallery (WPG). I agree with your comments A- it is...

Welcome wagon.(configuring Windows XP's login screen)(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Welcome wagon Windows QI've just changed from Windows 2000 to XP Pro. I know this puts me behind the times, but I like XP apart from one thing. I'd much prefer the Windows 2000 style login dialogue to the...

Gain Access by taking a shortcut.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Gain Access by taking a shortcut Databases Q I'm a keyboard sort of person rather than a dedicated mouse user. It probably comes from using a laptop and finding the mouse substitutes not very usable....

High def, low power.(definition)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Gordon Laing High def, low power The latest graphics cards mean you might not need a processor upgrade for HD Smooth playback of high-definition (HD) video presents a considerable challenge for even respectable PCs, but...

Vista revisited.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Vista revisited A tour round some network map features of Windows Vista As mentioned last month, I've recently acquired a couple of Vista PCs with the object of working my way around the networking features...

User Account Control.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens User Account Control A lot of the networking setup and changes discussed here will be affected by the new User Account Control (UAC) technology built into Windows Vista. This much-debated new feature is a core...

A word in your shell.(using Linux operating system)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Barry Shilliday A word in your shell The Linux command line is less frightening than you might think In recent months we have concentrated on the desktop aspects of Linux, particularly on the Ubuntu Linux distributions....

Cache me if you can.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Gordon Laing Cache me if you can Find out how you can rein in Vista's use of your hard drive and memory Vista introduced a number of performance-enhancing technologies, some of which have caused quite a bit of user...

Memos are made of this.(using Microsoft Access)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mark Whitehorn Memos are made of this Access may not have an XML data type but that doesn't mean you can't use it There has been a huge amount of interest in adding support for extra data types to database engines in...

Ultrawideband.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Ultrawideband Nigel Whitfield explores the latest wireless technology to hit the desktops Wireless networking is nothing new, but most of the technologies we're used to, such as Wifi and Bluetooth, are...

Wifi without worries.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Wifi without worries Alan Stevens offers solutions to the 20 most common problems encountered with wireless networks Wireless networks are great A- until they go wrong, that is. For example, you want to...

Hidden Vista.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Ji 1/2rg Geiger, Christian Lanzerath, Manuel Masiero Hidden Vista tools With more than 2,800 functions, Windows Vista packs a lot more punch than its predecessors, but the sheer number of tools can be overwhelming....

Back in the Studio.(Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 beta 2)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Tim Anderson Back in the Studio Find out what's new in Visual Studio 2008 Microsoft has released Visual Studio 2008 beta 2, which it says is close to feature-complete. The full version is promised before the end of 2007....

The Linq effect.(Language Integrated Query)(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Tim Anderson The Linq effect Microsoft's big innovation at the language level is Linq A- Language Integrated Query. At heart, Linq is a set of language extensions for querying arbitrary data sources. The result is that you can...

something for everyone We offer our usual selection of tips, hints and insight in this monthi?1/2s Hands On, offering plenty of useful information for all manner of users i?1/2 whether youi?1/2re a power user of Microsoft Office, a hardware guru or a creative genius.
September 6, 2007... Byline: Nigel Whitfield something for everyone We offer our usual selection of tips, hints and insight in this month's Hands On, offering plenty of useful information for all manner of users A- whether you're a power user of Microsoft...

Nero 7 Premium Reloaded.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Cliff Joseph Nero 7 Premium Reloaded Price [pounds sterling]59.99 Contact Nero 0905 7890135 www.nero.com Nero started out as a fairly straightforward program for burning CDs, but over the years it has added more and more...

Cyberlink Powerdirector 6.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Cliff Joseph Cyberlink Powerdirector 6 Price [pounds sterling]49.99 Contact Cyberlink www.cyberlink.com Cyberlink isn't as well known as big-name rivals such as Adobe and Pinnacle, but its Powerdirector video editor is an...

Corel Videostudio 11 Plus.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Cliff Joseph Corel Videostudio 11 Plus Price [pounds sterling]59.99 Contact Corel 0800 376 9271 www.corel.co.uk Originally developed by Ulead, Videostudio was bought up and added to the Corel stable a year or so ago. It's...

Adobe Premiere Elements 3.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Cliff Joseph Adobe Premiere Elements 3 Price [pounds sterling]69.32 Contact Adobe 0800 028 0148 www.adobe.co.uk Adobe's Premiere Elements has always been one of the most powerful video-editing programs in the sub-[pounds...

Stardock Tweak Vista 0.9.(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Stardock Tweak Vista 0.9 Optimise your Windows Vista computers Windows Vista offers a large number of new features and options, but they're not always set up the way we'd like them to be. With Tweak Vista,...

Anthropics Portrait Professional 6.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Monckton Anthropics Portrait Professional 6 High-quality retouching at an ultra-low price Photo retouching is a time-consuming and highly skilled process that usually requires years of practice and considerable...

A word about compression.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens A word about compression When it comes to backup capacity, hardware vendors tend to quote two figures. A native or uncompressed capacity A- effectively the amount of data you can store on a backup tape or disk...

Top tips for successful small-business backup.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Top tips for successful small-business backup Keep it simple Don't make life difficult for yourself. Differential backups, for example, may save time but if at all possible try and keep to full backups. That...

Back up to DVD.(Digital Versatile Disc)(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Back up to DVD With the advent of recordable DVD drives you might reasonably consider making backups on optical media. After all, the drives and discs are now very affordable and data stored on optical media can't...

HP Compaq 6910p.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens HP Compaq 6910p There are few compromises on this very portable business notebook Hewlett-Packard uses the phrase 'balanced mobility' to describe the Compaq 6910p A- a term which usually means that one or two...

Imation Odyssey.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Imation Odyssey As much storage as you want with this removable Sata disk solution Odyssey is a neat serial ATA (Sata) hard disk storage solution that can be used as a tape replacement for small-business backup...

Numara Track-It 8.(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Numara Track-It 8 Keep on top of network assets and users with this small-business helpdesk For a helpdesk application, Track-It 8 from Numara Software is unusual in that it's very much aimed at the smaller...

Webfusion VPS 2.0.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Webfusion VPS 2.0 Virtually indistinguishable from the real thing If you're looking to develop, test and run business applications on the web, you've several options. One is to deploy or rent dedicated servers...

November 2002.(I.T. news of the month)(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen November 2002 Five years ago, we put new tech products up for a public vote in our annual awards. Windows XP came out on top by a mile in the Best Software Innovation category. We take it for granted today, but five...

November 1992.(I.T. news of the month)(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen November 1992 Today, Microsoft Word dominates the word processing landscape, but in 1992 Wordperfect for Dos was the world's best-selling word processor. In the November issue, PCW put 29 word processing...

November 1982.(I.T. news of the month)(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Emil Larsen November 1982 "The problem with the law as it stands," said PCW writer Gail Counsell, "Is that nothing in it deals specifically with computer programs." That statement shows how much technology has changed over...

SCM Microsystems Chipdrive.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens SCM Microsystems Chipdrive Clocking in and out gets the smartcard treatment Many companies need to record employee time and activity, both to ensure that they're paid correctly and in order to bill clients....

Backup to speed If youi?1/2ve ever accidentally deleted an important document or file, or suffered from a server crash, youi?1/2ll know just how important a good backup can be. Choosing the right type of hardware and software, however, isni?1/2t that straightforward,.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Backup to speed If you've ever accidentally deleted an important document or file, or suffered from a server crash, you'll know just how important a good backup can be. Choosing the right type of hardware and...

Dragon Naturally Speaking Wireless.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Lester Dragon Naturally Speaking Wireless The popular voice recognition suite goes wireless and gets a Vista overhaul The Dragon Naturally Speaking series from Nuance has rightly held the flame for commercially...

Media Now CD & DVD Burning Suite.(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Lester Media Now CD & DVD Burning Suite A basic collection of tools at a reasonable price There's no shortage of software for burning and authoring media to optical disc, and with some pretty impressive entries from...

Zyxel Zywall SSL 10.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Alan Stevens Zyxel Zywall SSL 10 Add client-free remote access to an existing network with this low-cost device One of the biggest issues with traditional Virtual Private Network (VPN) remote access has to be the need to...

Sony DPP-FP90.(product evaluation)(Product/service evaluation)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Lester Sony DPP-FP90 A feature-packed compact printer from Sony With a range of connection options and a simple design, producing 6x4 photos from Sony's DPP-FP90 dye-sublimation printer is an easy task. Compact Flash,...

Spyware doctor_upgrade.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Save 20 per cent on PC Tools range NEW Features Block browser hijackers Protect your network settings Remove tracking cookies Block malicious hidden processes Detect dangerous websites ...

Mcafee QuickClean_workshop.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Three steps to a leaner, meaner, faster PC 1Click Disk Cleanup > Search for Unnecessary Files on My Computer, then wait while the program analyses your drive and applications. This could take a while, but be...

Mcafee QuickClean_upgrade.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Save [pounds sterling]15 on McAfee security suites new features Protect against viruses and spyware Block phishing and online scams Back up and restore your data Keep your inbox spam-free ...

Mcafee QuickClean.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams McAfee Quick Clean 6 Easily and securely delete junk files that could slow down your PC Your new PC turns up and it's hard to imagine how you'll ever fill all that hard drive space. But then you install and...

Mcafee firewall_workshop.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Customise McAfee Personal Firewall Plus 7.0 to suit your networking needs 1 Install McAfee Personal Firewall Plus 7.0 and it'll do its best to detect your current network, but if that doesn't work, you might find...

Mcafee firewall.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams McAfee Personal Firewall Plus 7.0 Keep hackers, worms and other online threats out of your PC Some PC security measures can be regarded as optional, but a decent firewall isn't one of them. Honeypot tests...

Genie_upgrade.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams 25 per cent off Genie Backup Manager new features Fully Windows Vista-compatible Disaster recovery option Integrated online backup Supports many new applications Backs up open/locked files...

Backup4all_upgrade.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Save 33 per cent on Backup4all There's plenty to like about Backup4all Lite, but the Professional version squeezes in even more features, including support for additional backup destinations and the ability to run...

Backup4all.(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Backup4all 3.9 Lite Edition Once you've equipped your PC with a firewall, anti-virus tool, spam blocker and spyware detector, it's easy to feel that your data is now safe from harm. But while you've successfully...

Avery.(Avery Wizard 3.1)(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Byline: Mike Williams Avery Wizard 3.1 At first you thought it would be simple: after all, you've got a copy of Microsoft Office, so printing out some name badges should be a cinch, right? But then you gave it a try and the reality was...

Video stars.(video-editing software)(Brief article)
September 6, 2007... Video stars Sort the A-list from the extras in the video-editing software market; Cliff Joseph tests six of the best The video-editing market is quite mature these days A- the version numbers alone are proof of that, with some programs...