PC & Tech Authority Magazine Issue: March, 2007
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Issue: 112 | March, 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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* 19 inch LCD monitors
* Office 2007 reviewed
* Internet security suites
* Video editing software shootout
* Web 2.0 in-depth

We have a great collection of articles in this issue of the magazine. The current ecosystem of Internet seites, communities and applications have evolved significantly since the first version of HTML. Now, new technologies and the expanding worldwide audience are making new and interesting uses of the Internet, in a phenomenon known as "Web 2.0". Join us on an in-depth journey into the meaning, relevance and future impact of this in our Web 2.0 feature.

In the labs, we've got our massive comparison of 19-inch LCD monitors, pitting these comfortably-sized models against each other in a showdown of quality and economics. We also properly review Office 2007 and all of its components. We cover Adobe's new PhotoShop Elements 5, which is compared against Sony Vegas+DVD 7 and Magix Movie EditPro.

In the Macintosh camp, we've reviewed the 24 inch iMac, which contains all the computer components inside its flat monitor casing.

What's on the Disc?

DVD Contents

Dear readers,

There is a known issue with PC Authority's recent cover discs involving Windows' Autorun feature on some systems. For those who have had difficulty using PC Authority's cover disc, please follow these instructions:

1) Insert the cover disc in your DVD drive
2) Hit cancel if Windows' Autorun dialog appears
3) Open Windows Explorer
4) Right-click the disc icon in Explorer and select 'Open' or 'Explore' -- do not double-click the icon
5) Navigate to index.html and double-click to open it in your default Web browser

We apologise for the inconvenience, and have now rectified the problem. If the above steps do not solve your problem, or if you have sent us a damaged disc and have not received a reply, please contact us immediately at cd@pcauthority.com.au.

Regards,
The PC Authority Team

On this month's DVD, we've got full versions of Spyware Doctor 4, Paragon Hard Disk Manager 6, MAGIX Movie Editor Pro 11 Silver, ConceptDraw Project 2 and Ashampoo Photo Commander 4.

We've also got some great entertainment in the form of eight game demos, big-screen dragons with the Eragon demo, the GODS: Land of Infinity demo, the RACE demo, The Mark demo, the Bionicle Heroes demo, Making History the Calm & the Storm and finally the exciting, world-beating open beta client of Supreme Commander by Chris Taylor, architect of the Total Annihilation series.


Articles in this issue

19-inch LCDs

The 19" LCD fits now represents outstanding value for money, and is so much nicer to use than a 17" screen. We round up and test the best.

Ableton Live 6

Live’s standing as a general-purpose music-production environment continues to grow.

Acer AL1951D

Ideal for movies, but a few flaws keep it in the middle of the pack.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 5

Best-of-breed photo management, editing and sharing with great usability and value.

Adobe Premiere Elements 3

As it focuses more on the new user, beginners will find this release easy to get to grips with.

Apple iMac 24in

Eye-catching and very well designed, the new iMac is an excellent all-in-one PC system.

Asus Asteio D22 DAV

A flexible and powerful livingroom PC that ticks almost all the right boxes, as well as being great value.

AVG Internet Security 7.5

Excellent support, but a confusing user interface and disappointing firewall let AVG down

BenQ FP92W

Impressive widescreen quality for an attractive price.

Cakewalk Sonar 6

It’s business as usual, but this consummate all-rounder continues to grow in power and value.

Canon CanoScan LiDE 70

The attractive looks are undermined by average image quality, although it remains good value.

Dell Dimension C521

Dell’s first foray into using AMD processors is a modest performer, but fair value.

Eizo FlexScan S1931SH

The price puts it out of reach for some, but the incredible colours and adjustable stand will appeal to professionals.

Epson Perfection V350 Photo

An excellent balance of performance, features and image quality makes the V350 an amazingly flexible choice.

Excel Computers AllRounder 1500

Dual-core and Windows Vista make it into our A-List’s Value PC category.

Gigabyte H663

An adequate Media Centre PC, but Asus’ competitor blows it out of the water.

HP Compaq nc6400

A good laptop for business, with superb design touches but some unfortunate omissions.

HP Pavilion dv9008TX

A good-looking, ergonomically excellent laptop with a wealth of multimedia capabilities for home users.

Linksys RVL-200

A low-cost SSL-VPN appliance that may fit your bill, but sacrifices are inevitably made to hit the sub-$250 price

Magix Movie Edit Pro 11

Surprisingly powerful for the price, even if the best features are reserved for the more expensive Plus version.

Medieval 2: Total War

Dare we say the near-perfect strategy game? A royal treat for history addicts.

Microsoft Access 2007

Now pitched at less experienced database users, this refresh is a mixed blessing.

Microsoft Excel 2007

A rewritten front end makes Excel’s significant power far more accessible than before.

Microsoft Groove 2007

An effective group-working tool, especially for those with the infrastructure to take full advantage of it.

Microsoft InfoPath 2007

This version sees a new maturity, with more server integration and easier-to-use controls online forms.

Microsoft Office 2007

Useful new features and a total interface overhaul make this the best Office ever.

Microsoft OneNote 2007

A worthy update to the most underrated of the Office applications — OneNote is now a must-have.

Microsoft Outlook 2007

Behind-the-scenes changes make a huge difference, even if the interface is inconsistent.

Microsoft PowerPoint 2007

Improvements all round keep PowerPoint well ahead of the competition.

Microsoft Publisher 2007

Still a competent tool for marketing material, although it would have benefited from an interface overhaul.

Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2

A disappointingly modest number of improvements, although they’re well integrated into the complete suite.

Microsoft Word 2007

Not many new features, but the new interface breathes fresh life into an already great product.

NEC MultiSync 90GX2

A super-bright entertainment LCD, but it’s not for office work.

Opinion: foresight equals growth

Philip Argy challenges companies to prepare for the future.

Panda Internet Security 2007

A competent suite delivering good value for money, but it offers only average spyware and spam protection

Philips 170B7CS

Fine image quality and a perfect panel guarantee make this a superb choice at this price.

Philips 190P7EB

Fantastic quality, a flexible stand and a raft of features make the Philips worth every cent.

Product brief: March

Brief reviews of new products, plus updates on items we've already featured.

PS3 counts down to launch

Confirmation of the PlayStation 3's launch details announced at the media and business partener launch.

Samsung SyncMaster 971P

The design is excellent, but you pay a hefty premium.

Samsung YP-T9 MP3 Player

Sexy, isn’t it? And it might just knock Apple’s iPod Nano off its pedestal.

Sony Vegas+DVD 7

Vegas has a huge array of editing features for the money, plus powerful bundled DVD authoring.

Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online Adventures

It's to the video game arm of the Star Wars franchise what "The Phantom Menace" was to the films.

Synology Cube Station CS-406

Not the best value, but this desktop NAS appliance offers good backup and webserver facilities.

The complete guide to Microsoft Office 2007

Useful new features and a total interface overhaul make this the best Office ever.

TI Super Power 8800

Nvidia’s 8800 GTX graphics card is the crowning glory of this very-fast, great-value, PC.

Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2007

Feature-packed and good value, but it’s slow, has too many pop-ups and a less-than-perfect firewall.

ViewSonic VP930

An unbeatable stand and good quality, but it’s simply too costly.

Web 2.0

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.

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