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PC Authority > Magazine > Issue 101, April, 2006

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Authors
- Nick Ross (19)
- David Kidd (11)
- Damien Virulhapen (3)
- Tim Dean (1)
- Leigh Dyer (1)
- Ashton Mills (1)

Magazine

Australia's premier computer magazine, PC Authority gives you the facts, opinions and insight to make informed PC and tech purchasing decisions.

What's in this issue

Ten years ago I downloaded a then unknown application that sounded too good to be true. I couldn’t believe that by installing a piece of software I would know when another person was online and send messages to them. That piece of software was ICQ, and it started a revolution in instant messaging that we now take for granted.

But once we got over sending messages to each other in real time, I skimmed through the other features that this nifty little app provided and found that we could send files back and forth. No email, no FTP, just a press of a button and you can send a file directly – exactly what we needed. While Napster made the headlines, it was applications like ICQ that laid the foundation for modern peer-to-peer (P2P) networking by simply providing a way for people to connect directly to each other.

Ten years later and peer-to-peer is hot property, whichever way you look at it. It’s a haven for pirates, but it’s also becoming a valuable tool for small groups, independent publishers, and big business. The rampant copyright infringement saw P2P get some court side action, but the growing legitimacy of filesharing ensures it’ll have a permanent role in all forms of media distribution. Films, TV, and music will all be tapping into these networks – there’s simply no faster or cheaper way to reach a large audience than a P2P network.

In researching this month’s feature, I was floored by how pervasive all forms of filesharing is getting. From my father sharing his photo library with our distant relatives, to Warner Bros looking to release films via P2P networks in Germany, you won’t need to look too hard to find and share files. It’s a fact that the majority of files being traded around the world are copyright, and only the naively optimistic would assume that it’ll disappear when big business jumps on board. I don’t see that as happening. Rather, the proportions will balance out – piracy will always be there, but so too will legitimate content increase. It’s a big call, but a logical one. Check out the feature in this month’s PC Authority and make up your own mind.

Also in this issue:

* Centrino Duo notebooks
* Backup Superguide -- NAS appliances and backup software on test
* iPod killers -- Sony and Creative take a bite out of the iPod.
* Viiv media centre first look
* ATI X1900 reviewed
* Latest wireless routers head-to-head
* Next gen VoIP products reviewed
* And much more...

Articles in this issue

Acer Aspire 5672WLMi
Acer's latest Aspire has the familiar Acer look we've come to expect in recent months but with a few nice tweaks.

Altech ECS Media Center G610
The look of Altech's offering split the office. Some liked the glossy black lid and silver and matte black insides, while others thought it too lumpy: the battery sticks out, it has protruding feet which dig into your lap and the sides that aren't flat or symmetrical. But aesthetics aside, it's a solidly built notebook.

ASUS A6Ja
We quite liked ASUS' charcoal grey styling but it was more of an understated cool than a head turner.

Azureus
Azureus has it all.

Battle For Middle Earth II
If only all film licensed games were as wonderful as this thoroughly enjoyable game!

BitComet
BitComet is the friendliest inclusion in this roundup.

BitTorrent
This is as bare as it gets with BitTorrent.

BiTtorrent 101: The Complete Guide to Filesharing
Peer-to-peer networking is one of the Great Internet Treasures. David Kidd looks at the future of file sharing, and how to get the most out of it.

Centrino Duo dual-core notebooks
The first wave of Centrino Duo notebooks has arrived in Australia. We show you which ones deserve your cash.

Creative Vision: M and Sony Walkman NW-A3000
For the last few years Creative has played catchup to the likes of iRiver, Rio and Apple.

Don’t be evil, Google
Tim Dean wrestles with the ethics of Internet censorship overseas.

Dvico Fusion
One of the better Dual TV tuner cards.

Empire Earth 2: The Art of War
RTS gaming for grown-ups.

Grouper
Grouper is an all-in-one filesharer, that facilitates both private and public sharing.

i-Rocks NXT MP3 Mono Audio Case
A carry case with a built-in speaker? Now that's thinking.

Ipex AllStation X 5000
With consumer PCs these days being as fast as the supercomputers of yesteryear, are dedicated workstations still relevant?

Labs test: Private file sharing apps
Control the files you want, and who has access to them. Here are four of the latest next generation filesharing tools available.

Labs test: Torrent Clients
All BitTorrent clients will download torrent files, but they vary wildly in the amount of features they have. Here's a rundown on the most popular clients out there.

Lite-On SHM-165x
One new drive, three subtle variations, all the optical drive you'll want from the current generation.

Logitech Z-5450
We detest IT’s spider-web-wire-syndrome and speakers are the worst offenders with their several kilometres of wiring.

MSI NVIDIA GeForce NX7900 GTX
The new graphics dragon slayer has arrived.

Netcomm MyNetGateway NB9W
Performance and security, now exciting again.

Pioneer DreamBook Power 900K
Pioneer’s new DreamBook Power uses the Clevo D900K chassis which offers the size and space required to cool the blisteringly fast components contained within (see the specs box below).

Pioneer DreamBook Slim 550
We did a double take this month. Not only are Pioneer and Protac's chassis identical but the inside specs are too.

Protac Excel M555N
We're doing our best to champion Australia's home grown White Box market.

Qnext
Grouper's feature set is impressive, but Qnext takes the gong for the most extraneous features crammed into what is essentially filesharing tool.

Samsung R65
There was very little to separate the top two but this month there was very little disgrace in finishing second for Samsung.

ShareDirect
Laplink's ShareDirect takes a different approach to the others on test.

Star Wars: Empire at War
RTS is getting tired and repetitive, and Star Wars games have been famous for almost always being bad.

TDK Tremor Xa60
We didn’t think that speakers this small could produce decent sound, but we’re happily wrong.

Toshiba Satellite P100
Toshiba won this month's cat walk competition.

Unwired Wireless Card and Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card
Mobile wireless broadband for your notebook, and a tale of two cities.

uTorrent
uTorrent is stands tall among the many BitTorrent clients out there.

V8 Supercars 3
Wonderful multiplayer racing, but woeful for single-player.

Virtualization 101
Leigh Dyer shows how virtualisation technologies could change the server market.

WASTE
WASTE is a no-nonsense app that does one thing: sharing directories.

What's on the disc

REGISTRY MECHANIC 4.0*
With Registry Mechanic you can safely clean, repair and optimise the Windows registry with a few simple mouse clicks! Problems with the Windows registry are a common cause of Windows crashes, slow performance and error messages. By using a registry cleaner regularly and fixing registry errors your system should not only be more stable but it will also help improve your system performance without expensive hardware upgrades.

O&O DEFRAG 4 PROFESSIONAL EDITION*
There are many reasons why PCs seem to slow down over time, but file fragmentation bears more responsibility than most. As files grow, they will inevitably become spread around your hard drive, some clusters over here, some over there, increasing the time it takes to reload the file later. We’ve got the ideal utility for keeping your hard drive running at peak performance – O&O Defrag Professional. Register at http://www.oo-software.com/en/special/defrag4.

MAIL MANAGER 2.1*
Mail Manager 2.1 works directly with your mail server to discover any waiting email messages, but only downloads the headers. This means any spam can be detected and deleted at maximum speed, with minimum effort, and without your regular email client ever knowing anything about it. Register at http://www.bluesquad.co.uk/vnu/ mailmanager/register.

SHOPFACTORY 5 LIGHT*
Creating your first e-store doesn’t require any knowledge of databases, HTML, or scripting of any kind with ShopFactory 5. Just work your way through the wizards, typing in company details, text descriptions and adding the occasional graphic. Register at www.makemeashop.com/ covermounts/vnu.

TRANSLUTION LIGHT*
Translution installs an Outlook add-in that automatically handles the translation process. Just set your required language for a given contact and send your message. Translution processes the message and sends the translated version to the recipient. This version will work as the Pro edition for the intial 60 days, translating up to 15 emails every 30 days. Maximum email size is 250 words. To register, follow the instructions during installation, use the activation code PCW60 and register using your default email address in Outlook.

THE MOVIES*
Take charge of a Hollywood studio. Only your creative genius and business-building acumen can drive it to the top.

100 FREE E-BOOKS*
We have a special treat for book lovers. Project Gutenberg is a non-profit organisation that freely supplies electronic books, audio and film that have expired copyright. Books are available in text, PDF or HTML formats. PC Authority and Project Gutenberg are not affiliated in any way. *Online registration required

FREEWARE

AI RoboForm 6.6.3
Aurionix FileUsage 1.1.0
CallingID Toolbar 1.2.0.21
ColorPic 4
cPicture LE 1.6.1
Cropper 1.7
DeskTask 1.0 RC2
DupKiller 0.6.2 beta
Easy2Sync for Outlook 1.10
EtherSnoop 1.11
Firetune 1.10
Foxit PDF Reader 1.3 Build 1231
FTP Wanderer 2.8
Icons from File 3.3
ISO Recorder 2 RC1
NetPing 2.2
Netscape Browser 8.1
Quotes 2006
Rainlendar 0.22
RK Launcher 0.4
SimpleOCR 3
Steganos LockNote
Virtual Drive Creator 2.1.3
Visualizer Photo Resize (Free) 4.0

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Back Issues

Issue: 144 November, 2009	Issue: 143 October, 2009
Issue: 142 September, 2009	Issue: 141 August, 2009
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Article Topics

Acer Altech BitTorrent business card chip client disc game Grouper MCE music network notebook peer Pioneer ports race RTS Samsung score security server speakers torrent

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