Personal Computer World articles from September 2008

Personal Computer World archives from September 2008

Forms of normality.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mark Whitehorn Forms of normality A discussion about normalisation, and your preferred Access version In the September column, I described two possible table structures for storing answers to multiple-choice questions and...

A tale of two packages.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Ken McMahon A tale of two packages How to choose between Aperture and Lightroom for managing image libraries Reader Brian Nuttal, who describes himself as a serious digital photographer, emailed asking whether he should...

Is it time to upgrade?
September 4, 2008... Byline: Gordon Laing Is it time to upgrade? With Nehalem waiting round the corner, you could just opt for a new platform Timing is everything when it comes to upgrading your PC. Processor, memory, graphics and disk technologies...

Working with WHS.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Working with WHS How to set up an HP Media Smart box with Windows Home Server More about Windows Home Server (WHS) this month, starting with the news that HP has lent me one of its Media Smart boxes. Designed...

Making Vista see Samba.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Making Vista see Samba Several readers have emailed me about a recent networking feature (Network Harmony, PCW August 2008), where I outlined a solution for Vista users having problems connecting to...

Faster file transfer.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Gordon Laing Faster file transfer One way to send massive files quickly and easily is by using FTP. Here's how Here's the thing: you've got an urgent file you need to send to a friend or colleague who's too far away to get...

Simple project management.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Stephen Wells Simple project management Use Excel to make sure things run according to plan, and explore Smart tags Whatever job you need to do, in the office or at home, it's usually beneficial to plan in advance how long...

Debugging PHP on Windows.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Tim Anderson Debugging PHP on Windows How to use Eclipse to debug your PHP scripts on Windows PHP is a great web development language, but it can be awkward to test and debug. Unlike ASP.Net and Visual Studio, there's no...

Debugging PHP on Virtualbox.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Tim Anderson Debugging PHP on Virtualbox There are a few disadvantages to setting up a fiddly debug environment for PHP on Windows. First, if you're deploying to Linux, the differences between the two can get in the way....

This monthi?1/2s themei?1/2.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Tim Nott This month's themea[bar] Take a look at the future of Windows through retro eyes It's long been a standing joke in Windows XP that the 'More themes onlinea[bar]' item in the Display Properties Themes list doesn't...

Live long and prosper.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Tim Nott Live long and prosper Discover the best way to use Microsoft Word for long word processing projects In the past few months, we've been concentrating on the layout features of Word A- in particular, graphics,...

The rise of spam and scams.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Stephen Copestake The rise of spam and scams The first instance of spam may well have occurred in 1978 (http:// tinyurl.com/4xbr8u) when a now defunct PC manufacturer sent junk mail to 400 individuals over the Arpanet. ...

A holistic approach to spam.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Stephen Copestake A holistic approach to spam No one anti-spam technique can ever be completely effective. Stephen Copestake explains why a joined-up approach that adopts a variety of techniques often works best In...

Get it covered.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Get it covered Hands On is the section of the magazine where our experts provide solutions to your computing problems, starting with Question Time. Contributors' contact details are on page 139, and we'd like...

A new lease of life.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Barry Shilliday A new lease of life Find out how increasing memory can enable an old PC to run Linux A few months ago we looked at running Linux on older machines and how this can make a computer that has been confined to...

Hardy Heron.1.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Barry Shilliday Hardy Heron.1 If you've kept an eye on the latest Linux news, you may have seen that Ubuntu and its derivatives, Xubuntu and Kubuntu, have now been updated to version 8.04.1. These updated CD images are designed...

Advice from our experts.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Various Advice from our experts PCW's experts solve your problems Digital Imaging QIf you look at screen 1, both pictures are identical; one is just a file copy of the other. But when I right-click the photo and select...

Sixes and sevens.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Various Sixes and sevens Databases QI want to set the tab order for an object on my Access 2007 form. When I change its property to '6' and tab through the objects in Form view, it is the seventh object the cursor lands...

Running Ubuntu.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Various Running Ubuntu linux QI have an older laptop with 256MB of memory currently running Windows XP. I'd like to wipe the laptop clean and run Ubuntu. I downloaded the CD and tried to install it, but after the initial...

Strings and things.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Strings and things Foreign characters, SQL injections and the downside of the mobile web This month, I'm looking at a clutch of conundra I've come across on various websites. First up is SQL injection...

Costing the mobile web.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Nigel Whitfield Costing the mobile web Browsing on mobile phones has become much better in recent years, with quite a few phones making a decent stab at downloading pages and rendering them on a small screen. But there are...

SQL Server 2008.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mark Whitehorn SQL Server 2008 At last, Microsoft's new version of the industrial-strength RDBMS By the time you read this, SQL Server 2008 will have been released. It has been three years in gestation, but the wait has...

Fujitsu fi-6230.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Fujitsu fi-6230 This scanner can handle almost anything Professional, high-volume, document scanners can be both expensive and bulky. The fi-6230 from Fujitsu, however, is affordable and compact, making it a...

Draytek Vigorpro 5510.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Draytek Vigorpro 5510 Affordable network protection in one device All-in-one security appliances such as Draytek's Vigorpro 5510 are designed to be both cheaper and easier to manage than separate firewall,...

Using other computers.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Joe Cassels Using other computers Looking for a laptop to give you portable computing, but can't afford the outlay? Why not do away with the notion of your own device and carry your documents and most useful applications around...

Remake and remodel.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Joe Cassels Remake and remodel Why throw away an ageing computer when you can put the hardware to good use? Here are five ideas to get you started. Nas box Old computers contain upgradeable hard disks, so why not...

Economy drive.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Joe Cassels Economy drive There's no reason your computer habit has to hit you in the wallet during the credit crunch. Joe Cassels points out some basic, but timely, cost-cutting measures The past months have included much...

The future of XP.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Robin Nixon & Nick Peers The future of XP Bill Veghte, Microsoft's senior vice-president, has written a roadmap on the future of Windows, where he explains which versions of the operating system will be phased out and when, as...

Emulate Vista on Windows XP.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Robin Nixon & Nick Peers Emulate Vista on Windows XP If you like the look and feel of Windows Vista, then why not emulate it on your XP computer? There are many ways you can achieve this, one of which is to use a program such...

Make XP last longer.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Robin Nixon & Nick Peers Make XP last longer If you don't want to make the move to Vista, Robin Nixon and Nick Peers show you how to keep Windows XP in tip-top condition until the debut of Microsoft's next operating system ...

NOVember 2003.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor NOVember 2003 Over cover feature on building the ultimate PC was quite an eye-opener at the time. We wrote about three DIY build ideas - a quiet PC for [pounds sterling]553, a home entertainment PC for [pounds...

NOVember 1993.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor NOVember 1993 In 1993, Britain was still in the grip of dinomania following the success of Jurassic Park. Such was our obsession with all things Jurassic, we devoted a feature to three of the latest...

NOVEMBER 1983.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor NOVEMBER 1983 Spookily, given the recent rise of low-cost laptops, November 1983 was also the month of the sub-[pounds sterling]100 computer. We reviewed Tandy's latest, the MC-10, concluding that while it looked...

Navman S30 3D.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Lester Navman S30 3D Satellite navigation with 3D landmarks and a bargain price The S30 3D is the low-end model in Navman's latest satellite navigation line-up and, as indicated by its name, features 3D landmarks. It...

Nokia E71.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Tom Royal Nokia E71 Well-designed handset for consumers and business users alike With all the hype surrounding the launch of Apple's new 3G iPhone, it would be easy to forget that mobile phones with two of its new features...

O&O Diskimage 3.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Lester O&O Diskimage 3 Back up and clone your hard disk with this straightforward tool With a basic, but clear, interface, it doesn't take long to get to grips with O&O's Diskimage 3. Building an image takes quite...

Dane-Elec Zpen.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Lester Dane-Elec Zpen Translate your handwritten notes onto a PC using optical character recognition The Zpen is designed to digitally convert your handwriting as you write. The kit comprises a pen and receiver unit;...

Akasa Omega.(Product/service evaluation)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Akasa Omega Excellent build quality and some interesting features The Omega follows on from Akasa's Eclipse range of cases, and has a high level of build quality and some neat design features. Not only are...

Test out your slipstreamed CD.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Kelvyn Taylor Test out your slipstreamed CD Once you've created your personalised slipstreamed CD with Nlite, it's worth testing it out to check that it works correctly and that you haven't messed up the Windows CD key, for...

Hiper Osiris.(Product/service evaluation)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Simon Crisp Hiper Osiris A well-built case that's easy to access Constructed from aluminium alloy (6063 T5 to be exact), the top, rear and front of the Osiris PC case have a stylish, brushed-metal black finish. The side...

Alternatives for sharing files.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Alternatives for sharing files If you only want to share files, a traditional server may not be your cheapest or best option. Indeed, if starting from scratch you can save both money and aggro by opting instead for...

Find the best home server hardware.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Find the best home server hardware The majority of 'proper' servers will be designed for business use, but that doesn't mean they can't be used on a home network. If you do bring that old server home from work it's...

Windows Home Server.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Windows Home Server A ready-made Windows Home Server (see our group test in the July 2008 issue) is easy to deploy, but the DIY approach is also worth considering as the PC involved doesn't have to be highly...

Managing a Linux server.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Managing a Linux server The fact that it's not Windows doesn't mean you can't use Linux on a home server as most distros include a variety of open-source tools, such as Samba, that let you share files and printers...

Choosing a home.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Choosing a home network server There are many things to consider when adding a server to a network. Alan Stevens explains Home networks tend to start out small, with most of us content to use the connectivity...

Parallels Virtuozzo Containers 4.0.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens Parallels Virtuozzo Containers 4.0 Take a different approach to server virtualisation with this easy-to-use application Most virtualisation products work by emulating hardware that enables a single physical...

Canon Pixma MP610.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Canon Pixma MP610 Price [pounds sterling]139 Contact Canon www.canon.co.uk Canon's Pixma MP610 is a powerful, multifunctional printer that delivers an unbeatable combination of performance and quality. It's...

Epson Stylus Photo SX400.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Epson Stylus Photo SX400 Price [pounds sterling]119.99 Contact Epson www.epson.co.uk As the lowest-priced MFD of the group, the Stylus Photo SX400 is an attractive budget option. It provides a solid but basic...

Kodak ESP 5.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Kodak ESP 5 Price [pounds sterling]129.99 Contact Kodak www.kodak.co.uk When Kodak first introduced a range of all-in-one photo printers, it was a mini revolution. Everyone knew ink prices were too high, but...

HP Photosmart C8180.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton HP Photosmart C8180 Price [pounds sterling]298.45 Contact HP www.hp.com At more than double the price of any other MFD in this group test, you'd be justified in expecting something a bit special from HP's...

Lexmark X4875.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Lexmark X4875 Price [pounds sterling]149.99 Contact www.lexmark.co.uk Lexmark's x4875 has an impressive specification. Priced at [pounds sterling]149.99, it includes automatic double-sided printing and...

Running costs explained.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Running costs explained Until recently, printer running costs have been quoted in terms of the cost of the ink or toner required to cover a fixed proportion of an A4 page - usually five per cent for monochrome or...

GT MFDs Editors Choice.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton In our search for a high-quality inkjet MFD, we've discovered a wide range of functionality, huge differences in quality and varying levels of performance in prices, ranging from [pounds sterling]119.99 to [pounds...

Prints and the paupers.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Monckton Prints and the paupers Perfect for the home or small office, an MFD combines printer, scanner and copier. Paul Monckton looks at the latest crop Multifunction devices (MFDs) are incredibly convenient....

Canon HV30.(Product/service evaluation)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Canon HV30 Price [pounds sterling]700 Contact Canon 08705 143 723 www.canon.co.uk The lone HDV model in our group test, Canon's HV30 uses regular miniDV tapes but records to them at a higher resolution...

Canon HF100.(Product/service evaluation)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Canon HF100 Price [pounds sterling]600 Contact Canon 08705 143 723 www.canon.co.uk Smaller, lighter and somewhat less busy looking than its HDV cousin (see review above), the Canon HF100 has a smart, if...

Hitachi DZ-BD7HE.(Product/service evaluation)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Hitachi DZ-BD7HE Price [pounds sterling]800 Contact Hitachi 01628 643 000 www.hitachidigitalmedia.com Right at the very cutting edge of technology, the Hitachi DZ-BD7HE features not one, but three storage...

JVC GZ-HD40EX.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn JVC GZ-HD40EX Price [pounds sterling]950 Contact JVC 0870 330 5000 www.jvc.co.uk JVC - which once bragged about inventing VHS - has finally caught up with the likes of Sony and Panasonic by introducing an...

Panasonic HDC-SD9EB.(Product/service evaluation)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Panasonic HDC-SD9EB Price [pounds sterling]450 Contact Panasonic 08705 357 357 www.panasonic.co.uk The HDC-SD9EB's forefather A- Panasonic's SD1 A- was considered by many to be the best of the early AVCHD...

Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1000.(Product/service evaluation)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1000 Price [pounds sterling]400 Contact Sanyo 01923 246 363 www.sanyo.co.uk The distinctive phaser gun-shaped design is something Sanyo came up with several Xactis ago and has stuck with...

Sony HDR-UX19E.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Sony HDR-UX19E Price [pounds sterling]700 Contact Sony 08705 111 999 www.sony.co.uk Sony has been at the forefront of consumer - and broadcast - video technology from the word go. Its current favourite...

The format question.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn The format question There's no doubt that Flash memory is currently the most convenient consumer video storage format. Apart from helping to bring down the size and weight of the camcorder itself, solid state...

Canon HV30.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Canon HV30 HDMI/Firewire sockets An HDMI output is vital for showing off your work on an HD-Ready TV A- Firewire output is becoming less common in HD camcorders Accessory shoe Accessory shoes come...

GT Camcorders Editors Choice.(Product/service evaluation)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn Many readers will probably be surprised to see Canon's HV30 coming away with the Editor's Choice award. After all, it uses what many consider to be an obsolete recording format (tape), an older codec (MPEG2) and a...

High-def in your hand.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jonathan Parkyn High-def in your hand High-definition camcorders are more affordable than ever, but that doesn't mean they're any easier to buy. Jonathan Parkyn helps to ease the agony of choice It wasn't too long ago when...

Sony HDR-TG3E.
September 4, 2008... Sony HDR-TG3E Price [pounds sterling]500 Contact Sony 08705 111 999 www.sony.co.uk You'd have to have a dark soul not to appreciate the look of Sony's minuscule HDR-TG3E. All brushed aluminium and sharp edges, its design harks back...

Titan Backup 2.1.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Titan Backup 2.1 New features Back up open files AES encryption Individual file compression Back up more applications Priority technical support A year of upgrades The latest...

Run a useful backup job in under 10 minutes.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Run a useful backup job in under 10 minutes 1Backups don't have to take forever. Opt to save just your key settings and you'll create a job that's over so quickly you can run it every day - real insurance against...

Titan Backup 1.5.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Titan Backup 1.5 Save emails, settings or an entire hard drive with this backup tool Running backups will always be tedious, and there's nothing Titan Backup can do about that. The program does, however, help...

PC Tools Spyware Doctor.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams PC Tools Spyware Doctor Move to the full version of Spyware Doctor and you'll gain improved real-time protection, with additional resident guards to monitor your browser and network settings, Windows startup...

PC Tools Spyware Doctor 6 SE.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams PC Tools Spyware Doctor 6 SE All the main anti-virus tools claim to detect spyware along with other threats, but tests show their effectiveness can vary. It's a good idea to install a specialist anti-spyware tool,...

Fix a corrupted hard drive with Hard Disk Manager 8.5.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Fix a corrupted hard drive with Hard Disk Manager 8.5 1A single changed byte in the system areas of your hard drive can be enough to prevent your PC from booting up, so it pays to be prepared - and Paragon Hard...

Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.5 SE.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8.5 SE All the hard drive management functionality you'll ever need Partitioning, cloning, backup, defragging, recovery: managing your hard drive requires many different functions and...

Save 20% across the Paragon range.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Save 20% across the Paragon range features Real-time drive backup Effective disaster recovery Migrate your data online Erase your data securely Optimise hard drive performance ...

Wipe your hard drive before reselling it.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Wipe your hard drive before reselling it 1It's regularly reported that the majority of second-hand hard drives sold on sites such as Ebay still contain confidential data left behind by the previous owner. Drive...

Iolo Drive Scrubber 3.5.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Iolo Drive Scrubber 3.5 Securely erase confidential data so it can never be recovered Usernames, passwords, financial details, work documents - most PCs contain all kinds of confidential information you really...

Save 50% on Iolo System Mechanic 8.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Save 50% on Iolo System Mechanic 8 New features Repair PC problems Accelerate system speeds Free up hard drive space Advanced spyware protection Optimise your Registry Improve internet...

Fotoinsight Designer 3.3.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Fotoinsight Designer 3.3 Digital photography has given us instant, quality photos at a low price, an end to the hassle of sending film off to be developed, and the ability to edit photos to suit. But the...

Save 15% on a photobook.(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Save 15% on a photobook Fotoinsight's best product is a photobook, which can take hundreds of your best photos and display them in a professionally bound and printed hardback book, with anything up to 98 pages and...

Become the next retail success story with your own web store.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Become the next retail success story with your own web store 1Creating a great online shop takes time, even with Actinic Catalog, so we'd recommend you get started by practicing with the example store that comes...

Actinic Catalog LE 9.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Actinic Catalog LE 9 Design, build and manage your own online store with ease A lethal combination of the credit crunch and rising fuel and food prices has helped turn the high street into a retail disaster...

Save i?1/2100 on Actinic Business.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Mike Williams Save [pounds sterling]100 on Actinic Business New features Up to 20,000 products Advanced discounting features Customer-specific pricing Dynamically link to databases Integrate with accounts...

VMWare Thinapp 4.0.
September 4, 2008... Byline: Alan Stevens VMWare Thinapp 4.0 Manage applications easily across your business Thinapp is VMWare's first stab at application virtualisation, following its acquisition of specialist developer Thinstall. Like similar tools,...

Bullguard Gameri?1/2s Edition.(Product/service evaluation)
September 4, 2008... Byline: Jason d'Allison Bullguard Gamer's Edition Fully featured security suite targeted at hard-core gamers An expanded version of the company's Internet Security 8.0, Bullguard's Gamer's Edition includes the same core modules:...