The PC was meant to make our lives easier, but as software gets more complicated and operating systems become richer in features, it's hard to remember who's serving who.

Turn on and tune in with cards that give your PC a whole new lease of AV life.

Napster began life in 1999 when collaborators Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker released a program that combined a search engine, a chat program and a peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing program onto the Inte

100 virtual layers on a single optical disc.

Features voice recording and an FM tuner. The device can be fiddly to operate, and the LCD screen doesn't display any track information other than the title. There is no playlist management, and no directory structure for your tracks. Voice recording allows the sampling rate to be set up to 48,000Hz.

Australia's PC market is still going gangbusters, recording second-quarter growth of 14.4 percent and sequential growth of 8.6 percent in latest Gartner statistics.

The digital still camera is a treat to use.

Digital convergence is one of those irritating buzz phrases used to describe things like an Internet fridge. But every so often a product that epitomises the concept actually appears.

The JNC has a reasonable range of features, including FM radio and voice recording, although no capacity for storage expansion. It can be also used as removable storage, for any file type. The software includes a simple tool to format the device, a firmware upgrade utility and RealOne Player Gold. There is no support for playlists, however, unless created within the player itself.

Add a TV tuner and you can make the most of Media Center, which is bundled with Vista Home Premium and Ultimate.

The Internet is booming again, but this time it’s very different. PC Authority brings you up to speed with the global Web 2.0 phenomenon.

Digital video camera technology is constantly changing. The transition from analog to digital has been slow, with tape still being the standard. But, while the Mini DV tape may be the most popular recording media today, many experts tip that within a few years most of us will be recording direct to disk. Already several companies are producing DVD-based camcorders and with the introduction of Blu-Ray disks in coming years it seems the days of tape may be limited.

A fully digital multitrack audio production suite for under $2,500

Hitachi pioneered the idea of consumer cameras capable of recording video direct to DVD. The early models were large and relatively expensive but high quality. It has taken a while for the idea to take off but it is certainly gaining momentum with a number of competitors now coming into the market. Hitachi has responded by progressively making its cameras more compact and adding extra features such as a SD memory card for storing still images or compressed video clips.

Nanotech breakthrough sees quadrupling of capacities.

There is not a huge difference between this and the MV550E. In fact, if you put them side by side you have to look closely to see the difference in looks, which is model number in small print on one side.

Buying a digital video camera is a tough task, but you’ll be well prepared with our comprehensive guide.

Hitachi VM-D965LE Video

DVD is said to be to movies what CD was to music. Well-filmed DVD movies are better in all respects than those recorded on VHS, so the idea of a digital video camera recording direct to DVD disc would appear sound.

Not exactly a hi-def holiday shooter, but the Action Cam is perfect for creating your ‘when skiing goes wrong’ home video