PC & Tech Authority Magazine Issue: August, 2007
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Issue: 117 | August, 2007

About PC & Tech Authority Magazine:

Australia's premier computer magazine, PC Authority gives you the facts, opinions and insight to make informed PC and tech purchasing decisions. Every issue is packed with the latest products, reviewed by an expert team of technical writers and guarantees more Aussie exclusives and first looks than any other Australian PC magazine.

Trusted for its reliable & objective product reviews, the foundation of the magazine is the comprehensive and thorough evaluations of every product tested by the tech team in our Labs. Its readers are both PC enthsusiasts at home and small-medium business decision makers at work.

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  • INTEL'S SANTA ROSA
    The Intel Centrino brand is due for a major update, and we report on the intricacies within.

  • COMPACT CAMERAS
    The most popular and portable category of camera, the compact is something everyone should own. Our comparative test is the best in the business.

  • VISTA AND GAMING
    Do you really need Windows Vista to play the latest DirectX 10 games? Are Windows XP gamers being held to ransom? David Kidd has all the answers.

  • BUSINESS SUPPLEMENT
    Harvest a wealth of advanced networking tips and information from the PC Authority team in our Advanced Networking special.

  • BOOST YOUR NOTEBOOK
    Notebooks are upgradeable, believe it or not. We explain exactly what can be improved, replaced and made faster in our hands-on notebook upgrade tutorial.

  • COMPUTEX REPORT 2007
    Ever seen a computer made of bamboo? Intrepid reporter Nick Ross reports on this and other technological delights from the Far East.


    New staff writer David Field and I recently attended Google Developer Day 2007 in Sydney. Meeting in a large industrial complex, the venue was brimming with code-savvy programmer types, lapping up the knowledge fairly dripping off the mighty Googlists attending. A key quote was noted during the announcement of the new technology Google Gears, by Erin Boodman, visiting Australia from the Googleplex in Mountain View, California. After resuming the bulk of his presentation, be gave a small nod to one of Google’s co-founders, one of the famous “smartest guys in the room” who still pushes Google’s signature web search technology to the forefront. “Larry (Page) wouldn’t let us launch it without some kind of search involved,” he quipped.
    See our online coverage here: http://tinyurl.com/2olwor and here: http://tinyurl.com/2uxz5r.

    Another fascinating point was the news on the Australian TiVo. Channel Seven have made waves with their arrangement with broadband phone company Engin, to distribute the American TiVo system in 2008. TiVo is a word that has become as synonymous with VCR in the USA as Kleenex is to tissues, since launching in 1999. TiVo is of course the easy-to-use, digital set top box for recording free-to-air TV (to hard drive) that only exists overseas. Reaching us nine years late, is the TiVo still relevant? Absolutely. In the absence of a widely embraced system, the general public is ready for a cheap, reliable alternative to Foxtel IQ and Windows Media Center computers, and the affordable but more technically demanding PVR (personal video recorder) incarnations such as MythTV, et al.

    TiVo here in Oz was stalled by its reliance on a service component – a digital EPG that lists all the available shows. A compound issue was the industry attitude that’s currently keeping IceTV in court – the mainstream TV broadcasters being fiercely protective of their oligopoly by fending off all digital or Internet-related content companies. Often they will do this by using their capital advantage to delay them with legal action, so-called ‘filibustering’. Oddly, the same issue of sharing EPG listings seems to have dried up in relation to the new TiVo. So the way forward seems clear.
    Seven’s TiVo proposal includes a broadband component for movies on demand, closely matching Foxtel IQ’s offering, but aimed at free-to-air subscribers – the everyman. PC Authority suspects there are a great number of VCRs still in service, which consumers will be keen to replace and go digital - at a reasonable price.

    Ed Dawson
    Editor

    • What's on the Disc?

    On this month's DVD, enjoy a free 90 day trial of Avira Premium Security Suite, enhance your navigation and file management with a full version of Explorer View 4, scrub your Windows installation for remmnant data fluff with a full version of Registry Shower 2007, create your own cool ringtones with Magix Ringtone Maker 2007 Silver. Finally, powerfully customise your PC and optimise the speed of your Internet access with System Mechanic 6.

    In the entertainment section, enjoy demos of the white-knuckle racer Colin McRae: DIRT and the Tomb Raider: Anniversary demo, which is reminiscent of the classic first game in the series. Finally, take a look at the Grand Theft Auto IV video in hi-definition. In the Linux department, try out two new distro releases in SimplyMEPIS 6.5.00 and Ubuntu "Feisty Fawn" 7.04.

    FULL VERSION SOFTWARE
    Avira Premium Security Suite 90-day trial
    Explorer View 4
    MAGIX Ringtone Maker 2007 silver
    Registry Shower 2007
    System Mechanic 6

    FREEWARE
    AbiWord
    Ambient Design ArtRage
    Audacity
    DeepBurner Free 1.8
    GIMP help files
    GTK+ 2 Runtime Environment v2.10.6 (required for installation of the
    GTK+ GIMP)
    Open Office 2.2
    PDFCreator 0.9.3
    The GIMP 2.2.13

    GAMES
    Colin McRae: DIRT demo
    Grand Theft Auto 4 video
    Tomb Raider: Anniversary demo

    EDITORIAL
    Real World Benchmarks
    Creating a burned CD-R from an ISO image with DeepBurner

    UPDATES
    WINDOWS
    Ad-aware SE Personal 1.06
    Adobe Reader 8
    AVG 7.5.467 Free Edition
    EditPad Pro 6.2.2
    ExplorerXP 1.07
    Google Desktop Search 4
    Google Earth 4 Beta
    Microsoft Windows Media Player 11
    Spybot Search & Destroy 1.4
    True Launch Bar 4.2
    Tweak UI
    WinRAR 3.62
    WinZip 11.0
    Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Firewall

    INTERNET
    AOL Instant Messenger 6.0
    Crazy Browser 3.0 Beta2
    CWShredder 2.19
    Diino 4 Trial Account
    FileZilla 2.2.30
    Google Toolbar 4.0
    LeechGet 2006 v201650
    Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3
    Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5.0.7
    MSN Messenger 7.0 (98/ME)
    Portable Firefox 2.0
    Remote Administrator 2.2
    SpamBayes 1.0.4
    Trillian Basic 3.1
    Windows Live Messenger

    PATCHES
    ATI Catalyst 7.3 Control Center Package (XP)
    AVG Free Edition Updates
    DirectX
    Norton AntiVirus definitions update
    NVIDIA Forceware drivers 81.98 (95/98/ME)
    NVIDIA Forceware drivers 93.71 (2000/XP)
    NVIDIA Forceware drivers for 8800 Version 97.92
    Spybot Search & Destroy Update
    VIA HyperionPro drivers 5.11A

    LINUX
    SimplyMEPIS 6.5.00
    Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn

    Articles in this issue

    Adobe CS3

    With Web Standard/Premium, Design Premium AND Macromedia’s products now absorbed into CS3, choosing the right suite is EASY.

    Adobe Flash CS3 Professional

    A new interface, drawing engine and programming language, but surprisingly little new power.

    BlackBerry Curve 8300

    A slim Blackberry that doesn't dispose of what makes Blackberries so popular and effective.

    How we test the CPUs

    Plus, how we work out the ratings.

    Intel "Santa Rosa" Centrino

    The newest version of Intel’s laptop platform is here. We unveil and test real Santa Rosa hardware.

    LG BH-100 multiformat HD player

    Format war? What format war?

    Microsoft keeps on pushing

    Paul Ockenden Ditches his blackberry for a month and finds out the benefits and the pitfalls of using Microsoft’s push email system.

    Preview: Windows Home Server Beta 2

    Some intriguing new technology and genuinely useful features make Home Server one to watch.

    Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35

    A complete bargain at this price. The DSC-W35 boasts superb quality and a great range of features.

    The Intel P35 chipset

    We examine the features of Intel's newest chipset and review the first motherboards to use the chipset.

    Xbox 360 HD-DVD Drive

    A bargain route to getting HD DVD playback for your PC or Xbox, but there are limitations.

    Zepto Znote 6314W

    A decent machine with plenty of power, but it’s not earth shattering in terms of features and value.

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