PC & Tech Authority Magazine Issue: September, 2000
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Issue: 0 | September, 2000

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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Articles in this issue

101st Airborne in Normandy

They were the elite of the US Army, primed and ready to take on the enemy.

Go back in time to that fatefull night to lead a stick of 18 paratroopers through multiple campaigns and comba

Age of Empires II - thanks to Microsoft

Age of Empires II spans 1,000 years, from the fall of Rome through the Middle Ages, in which players control the destiny of one of thirteen civilizations. The game keeps the epic scope of Age of Empir

Agent Armstrong

Join us on a thrilling journey around the world. This action arcade adventure casts you as Agent Armstrong, as you steal military secrets, destroy key installations and head for a showdown with the c

Allegiance - brought to you by Microsoft

Allegiance combines intense space combat with unique squad-based gameplay. Fly full throttle into an epic multiplayer experience. Choose your allegiance to the Iron Coalition peacekeeping force; the B

Ancient Evil

For centuries, would-be heroes have pitted their skills against the Crypt of the Ancients. Now controlled by the seemingly ageless arch-mage Alaric, the crypt is believed to have been built some five

Ashron's Call - brought to you by Microsoft

Asherons Call is an online only role playing game that immerses players in an original fantasy world where they must choose to compete or cooperate with thousands of other players. Players can create

Ashron's Call - brought to you by Microsoft

Asherons Call is an online only role playing game that immerses players in an original fantasy world where they must choose to compete or cooperate with thousands of other players. Players can create

Auction Winners

Link LS 2000 - brought to you by Microsoft
Microsoft Links LS 2000 is the newest edition of the all-time best-selling golf simulation. More than 17 years of passion and precision have evo

Backing up

Backing up your data is a job thats simple when done badly: doing it properly requires ongoing effort. Its easy to get complacent about your backup routines, particularly when the network is small and

Balance of power campaigns

Now a new set of challenges awaits you in two, immersive story driven campaigns that redefine your Star Wars experience. Fly for the Imperial Navy or for the Rebel Alliance in 30 cooperative missions

Beyond Hubs

For the average small office network, a 10/100BaseTX installation focused at a standard Ethernet hub gives enough network capacity. But if some of your users will be placing more demand on the network

Building a network

In todays environment, a network is an essential business tool.

David Fearon shows you how to make the connection.
To most people, networking is a black art. The sheer volume of kn

Colour inkjets

Inkjet technology has reached maturity. We put nine to the test to see which offer the best quality and the best value for your money.

The 1990s witnessed an explosive change in the inkje

Dell Dimension XPS B733r

Dell Dimension XPS B733r

Dethkarz

2408 A.D. You're one of the elite racers chosen to compete at exotic locations around the world and beyond. Strap yourself into a fusion-powered racing machine, packing plasma artillery and ready to

Epson Stylus Color 860

In Epsons more than comprehensive range it sits near the top, offering high speed in addition to impressive print quality.

Epson Stylus Color 760

On paper, the 760 boasts several improvements over its predecessors, the most noticeable being noise reduction.

FileMaker Pro 5 - thanks to FileMaker Inc.

As a relational database, FileMaker Pro's key strengths have always been ease of use and flexibility. This was equally true if you were a single user wanting a quick route to a database solution, or s

Fireworks 3 - brought to you by Macromedia

Professional Web designers will frequently mix and match applications from two or more developers. It seems it is no longer good enough to bundle several applications together to form a single solutio

Flash 3 - thanks to Macromedia

Flash 3 is the solution for producing and delivering high-impact Web sites. Pulsing musical tracks, sound effects, gorgeous animations, and innovative interfaces all converge in Macromedia Flash. Deve

Getting Started

Step one is to have a clear idea of what youre after (as well as how you expect the network to grow) starting with the number of users, or the number of client machines on the system. Weve based this

Goosebumps Attack of the Mutant

The Masked Mutant has a diabolical plan to rule the world and it's up to you to stop him!

But think fast and move even faster, because The Mutant and his army of evil henchmen will do any

Graphic Power

A lot has happened since our last graphics card Labs back in September 1999. Back then the nVidia Riva TNT2 Ultra was starting to give 3dfx a hard time, and the Matrox Millennium G400 MAX was showing

Head Rush

A wild game show roller coaster crammed with cool animation, hi-octane musinc and hilarious wisecracks from your hambone host. Compete head to head with your friends in a jet-paced trivia whirlwind w

Hercules 3D Prophet II 64Mb

Fastest 2D/3D graphics card

Hexplore

Immerse yourself in a medieval world. A world where Garkham, Grand Master of the Black Magicians, has sworn to take possession of the Book of Hexplorer.

From this moment, the whole world

HP Jornada 545

The future, they say, is based on the Internet and mobile computing.

IBM ThinkPad A20p

Fastest Notebook

Implementing the Network

By far the most common architecture today is Ethernet, which first appeared in 1975. Today its the de facto standard in almost every corporate network but there are other factors to consider, such as

Internet access and WAN connections

An important piece of ancillary hardware you need to consider is what your users will get Internet access through. For a small network it might be feasible for everyone to have modems; go above five u

Microsoft Internet Keyboard & Intellimouse

Microsoft Intellimouse
The more efficient way to work, the Intellimouse is the easy scrolling mouse that will allow you to zoom quickly in and out of applications. Its raised back fits t

Motocross Madness 2 - thanks to Microsoft

Motocross Madness 2 is the outrageous sequel to the award winning Motocross Madness. Motocross Madness 2 features all of the killer dirtbike action of the original, but takes a quantum leap forward wi

MP Zoo DAP 32


The popularity of the DAP enjoys in Europe and Japan is not self-evident on a quick viewing of the player. It is a boxy little thing, a bit smaller than a packet of cigarettes. It has the best e

MPZoo DAP Pro

While we didn't time battery consumption, the DAP turned in an amazing performance in this regard.

MPZoo E-Sounds

As a portable music player the E-Sounds is a performer of the highest calibre across all styles.

Network Interface Card

Choosing and installing NICs shouldnt cause problems. Were using Farallons PCI FastEtherTX-10/100 cards (www.farallon.com). You need to make sure the cards have the correct physical connectors (RJ-45

Networking Essentials Plus

Networking Essentials Plus

Palm Vx

With a hefty 8Mb of storage - four times that of the Palm V and Palm IIIe, it,s doubtful that you,ll ever have to worry about running out of space for applications and data.

Palm IIIc

Palm's primary considerations for the IIIc,s design brief was battery life, size and weight

Palm IIIe

We had one of the special releases of this version of the Palm, which comes with a translucent plastic shell

Palmtop Paradise

While PDAs began their life as the same kind of techno-curiosities that mobile phones once were, their popularity is now rocketing.

In researching this Labs it struck us that nothing cou

Peer-to-Peer or Client/Server?

Peer-to-peer networks - networks in which theres no central domain controller and all machines have equal status on the network - are the easiest approach for small installations of up to around ten m

Samsung Yepp E-32

Samsung has made some noise recently about its MP3 players and this example is at the forefront of this product family.

SideWinder Dual Strike - brought to you by Microsoft

The Microsoft SideWinder Dual Strike's rotating right hand perspective control enhances precision mouse movements like looking, aiming and firing. The left hand controls agility movements for running,

SideWinder Precision Racing Wheel - Thanks to Microsoft

The SideWinder Precision Racing Wheel is a complete driving system including a compact, yet rugged state-of-the-art PC steering wheel that includes an easy-to-release clamp for quick attaching and rem

Sony Multiscan G400

Flat CRT technology is all the buzz these days, and there are three main competing technologies. While LG, with its Flatron range, offers a completely flat screen, it has run into a couple of problems.

Star Lancer - brought to you by Microsoft

Today you must decide between life and liberty or defeat and domination. The Eastern Coalition has launched a surprise attack against the Western Alliance fleet, massacring hundreds of dedicated servi

Tank Platoon II

From the creators of the award winning classic MI Tank Platoon comes the most realistic modern ground warfare simulation anywhere in the world.

Winner:bubalouie
Bid:

Tektronix Phaser 850DP

Solid Ink Colour printer

TerraTec M3PO

The idea behind a MP3 CD player is probably a little ahead of its time. We first looked at the M3PO a few issues ago (issue 30, p95) and found some criticisms to go with the unit. Those criticisms remain, and we toss in some more with this second look.

The Entertainer

Back in 1997 Intel CEO Andy Grove made it clear that in order to boost personal computer sales and usage, Intel was specifically targeting the television as its direct competition in the home. To quot

The Interstate '76 Arsenal

Wage full scale auto combat in 30 graphically enhanced Interstate '76 missions - now with out of the box 3D acceleration.

New Missions. New Weapons. New Vehicles!

Winner<

The Interstate '76 Arsenal

Wage full scale auto combat in 30 graphically enhanced Interstate '76 missions - now with out of the box 3D acceleration.

New Missions. New Weapons. New Vehicles!

Winner<

TurboLinux Workstation - brought to you by TurboLinux

This Linux Workstation package is a high performance choice for Linux on the desktop. It comes with a powerful office productivity suite - StarOffice - which allows for full Microsoft Office compati

WarBreeds

In a far off galaxy, the once great empire of Yedda has all but perished in a blight of famine, disease and grisly civil war. In the aftermath, the four former slave Clans have seized upon the Yedda

Wired for sound

For those of us who don't really have a lot of money to spare there's always one payoff that you can look forward to each year and that's tax time. Which means there is the perennial question of what

Wireless and Remote Access

For most networks, wireless LAN hardware isnt essential, but it has its advantages. If you have roving sales staff, for instance, setting up a wireless system and giving them wireless PC Card Ethernet

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