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PC Authority Issue: March, 2007

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

Issue: 112  |  March, 2007

What's in this issue

* 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.

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.

What's on the disc

PC Authority Issue: 112
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.


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Back Issues

November, 2009
Issue: 144
November, 2009

October, 2009
Issue: 143
October, 2009

September, 2009
Issue: 142
September, 2009

August, 2009
Issue: 141
August, 2009

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