search technology reviews, news, features, group tests
Popular Searches:   video , dvd , windows
 |  Register
 |  Newsletters  | 
Sitemap  |  RSS
RSS
Sunday November 22, 2009 1:36 AM AEST
Skip Navigation LinksPC Authority > Magazine > Issue 113, April, 2007

Search

Magazine

PC Authority Issue: April, 2007

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

Issue: 113  |  April, 2007

What's in this issue

* The world's biggest operating system is here - read our essential Windows Vista upgrade guide and lab review!
* Save money, power and the environment - Green computing explained
* Running out of space? read our Network attached storage (NAS) lab test!
* Hollywood's fiction is today's reality - Technology from Sci-Fi feature!
* Tomorrow's fuel cell power systems! 25 hour notebook batteries

This month we have easily the fastest desktop computer we’ve ever seen – the most powerful desktop computer in Australia, at the time of testing. Never before have we seen our reference PC so completely floored. For the first time, its dual-core capabilities look positively rubbish next to the power of Quad-core, especially in multitasking. We’ve also got our comprehensive seven-page review of Windows Vista in the lab, getting into the nitty gritty of every key component and judging whether you should buy it. After that, get stuck into our five-page Vista upgrade guide, to find out what hardware you’ll need to cope with Microsoft’s latest operating system. Elsewhere, we also review the new Fujitsu Lifebook, the Samsung 225BW LCD monitor, the new Palm Treo and the Nikon D40.

Articles in this issue

3.5in SATA hard disks
If your PC is lacking storage space then give it some extra room with these four internal hard disks.

A tale of two desktops
Why do GNOME and KDE compete for the Linux desktop?

Acronis True Image 10
For those who don’t own version 9, a few improvements should put this at the top of your shopping list.

AGP Graphics Card Roundup
Breathe some life into your old PC in time for a Vista upgrade with these budget AGP video cards.

April Product Brief -- Part 1
Brief reviews of new products, plus updates on items we've already featured.

April Product Brief -- Part 2
Brief reviews of new products, plus updates on items we've already featured.

Asus DRW-1814BLT
Lite-On’s DVD writer was our A-List choice for almost a year. At the time we said it was practically perfect – offering compatibility with every format, plus Lightscribe, for a bargain price. But Asus has managed to trump it.

Batteries: their past, present and future.
Battery capacity has proven to be a serious barrier to true mobile computing. Tim Dean looks at how the technology is evolving.

BattleStations Midway
In the ocean of World War Two action games currently available, this is one release that swims above the school.

Buffalo LinkStation Pro
Great performance, near-silent running and the FTP server make the Buffalo a great alternative to the Maxtor.

Canon Pixma Pro 9000
Expensive but solidly built – a fast way to get superbly vibrant A3 prints.

Clean, green alcohol
Fuel cell power technology seems to hold great promise. We ask what fuel cells would be like to live with.

Dell UltraSharp 2707WFP
Great quality, great features, great price.

Desktop Speakers
Want great sound but not the cable mess of a 5.1 system? A stereo or 2.1 set is what you need.

Enspire Lightspeed XLC 680i
Custom design watercooling and some judicious overclocking make for a showstopping performance and price.

Freecom FSG-3 WLAN
Plenty of features for such a small box. If you don’t already have a wireless router, this is a fantastic choice.

Fujifilm FinePix S9600
Attractive styling and a long lens will tempt some, but we recommend spending more on a real SLR.

Fujitsu LifeBook N6420
A decent multimedia notebook, but it’s not exciting enough for the price.

HP Photosmart C5180
An excellent all-in-one, particularly when it comes to photo quality, but it’s possible to get more features elsewhere.

Iomega StorCenter
Not the fastest or quietest here, but it does offer some unique business benefits.

Maxtor Shared Storage II
Superb performance, quiet running and excellent value for home use, especially if you want to stream media.

Microsoft Zune
Stacks of potential, but current hardware is underwhelming and the client software a mess.

Network attached storage drives
Share and back up music, photos, video and documents on your network with a high-capacity NAS drive.

Nikon D40
Good performance and handling, low price and far better quality than any digital compact.

Pacstar Elite6300
A great combination of power, features and downright value.

Pacstar Eragon Quad Core 2007
Quad-core makes it powerful and good value at the price. Noise and stability suffer though.

Palm Treo 750
Palm has embraced Microsoft, creating a neat 3G business phone in the process.

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

Ricky Ponting International Cricket 2007
Relive the joy and excitement of the Cricket World Cup or a fast One Day International.

Samsung SyncMaster 225BW
The height-adjustable stand and good image quality make it a worthy rival to the best 20in models.

Synology DiskStation DS-106e
Packed with features, and with great performance, the only disadvantages are the price and the short warranty.

Tandberg Data RDX QuikStor
Tandberg delivers an innovative hard disk-based alternative to tape for small-business backup operations.

Webcams for Vista
Not all webcams will work in Vista, so we examined three Vista-ready models to find the best.

Western Digital NetCenter
One of the cheapest 500GB drives here, but this is reflected in the lack of features and slow transfer speeds.

What's on the disc

PC Authority Issue: 113
On this month's DVD, enjoy full versions of Explorer View, Webrtoot Spysweeper 5, Nova PDF 3.3, Ashampoo Music Studio 2007, ePrivacy Suite Home, G-Data Internet Security 2007 and Website X1.

We've also got some great entertainment in the form of four vital game demos: Atari's intense action-strategy title BattleStations Midway, the vividly supernatural first-person-shooter demo of Infernal, the multiplayer demo of Warhammmer: Mark of Chaos and fl0w, a PlayStation 3 launch title.

FULL CONTENTS
Full Version Software

Ashampoo Music Studio 2007
ePrivacy Suite Home
Explorer View
G-Data Internet Security 2007
Nova PDF 3.3
Webroot SpySweeper 5
Website X1

Windows Vista Toolkit
Advanced Vista Codec Package 4.2
Auslogics Disk Defrag 1.1.1
Belarc Advisor 7.2
CCleaner 1.36.430
FireTune for Firefox 1.1.3
FlashGet 1.8.0.1
IcoFX 1.0 beta
MCE WebGuide for Windows Vista 4.005
Stardock StyleVista 0.10
StudioLine Photo Basic 3.12.3
TweakNow RegCleaner Standard 3
TweakVI
TweakVista 0.85
Vista Shortcut Overlay Remover 1.2
Vista SideBar Styler
Vista Start Menu 2.1
VistaBootPRO 3.1
vLite 0.7 Beta

Freeware
AbiWord
Ambient Design ArtRage
Audacity
DeepBurner Free 1.8
GIMP help files
GTK+ 2 Runtime Environment v2.10.6 (required for installation of the GIMP)
Open Office 2.1
PDFCreator 0.9.3
The GIMP 2.2.13

Games
Battlestations Midway
fl0w
Infernal Playable demo
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos multiplayer demo

Music
Bennie James MP3 tracks

Editorial
Real World Benchmarks
Creating a burned CD-R from an ISO image with DeepBurner
PC Authority NAS Labs Technical Report

Updates - Windows
Ad-aware SE Personal 1.06
Adobe Reader 8
AVG 7.5.432 Free Edition
EditPad Pro 6.2.1
ExplorerXP 1.07
Google Desktop Search 4
Google Earth 4 Beta
LP Recorder 8
Microsoft Windows Media Player 11
Spybot Search & Destroy 1.4
True Launch Bar 4.1
Tweak UI
WinRAR 3.62
WinZip 11.0
Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Firewall

Updates - Internet
AOL Instant Messenger 6.0
Crazy Browser 3.0 Beta2
CWShredder 2.19
Diino 4 Trial Account
FileZilla 2.2.30
Google Toolbar 4.0
LeechGet 2006 v201650
Mozilla Firefox 2.0
Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5.0.7
MSN Messenger 7.0 (98/ME)
Portable Firefox 2.0
Remote Administrator 2.2
SpamBayes 1.0.4
Trillian Basic 3.1
Windows Live Messenger

Updates - Patches
ATI Catalyst 7.1 Control Center Package (XP)
AVG Free Edition Updates
DirectX 9.0c
Norton AntiVirus definitions update
NVIDIA Forceware drivers 81.98 (95/98/ME)
NVIDIA Forceware drivers 93.71 (2000/XP)
NVIDIA Forceware drivers for 8800 Version 97.92
Spybot Search & Destroy Update
VIA HyperionPro drivers 5.11A


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 will have the problem rectified in the April 2007 issue of PC Authority. 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

Subscribe

Subscribe to PC Authority this month and you can choose to pay only $19.95 every three months.

Quick Contacts

For subscription queries, please contact:
Australia
Subscriptions Department
ph: 1300 610 765
(FREE CALL from anywhere in Australia)
subscriptions@pcauthority.com.au

New Zealand
ph: +64 (09) 625 3005
ahunt@gordongotch.co.nz
For editorial queries, please contact:
William Maher
Brand Editor, PC Authority
wmaher@pcauthority.com.au

Zara Baxter
Deputy Editor, PC Authority
zbaxter@pcauthority.com.au
For advertising queries, please contact:
Joanne Nichols
Group Advertising Manager, Print and Events
ph: +61 (02) 8399 7603
jnichols@haymarketmedia.com.au

Sam Askin
Product Manager, Consumer IT Digital
ph: +61 (02) 8399 7619
saskin@haymarketmedia.com.au
 
Intel
 

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

View all back issues
 
LogMeIn
 
 
Amazing Dell Coupons now available
 
Discover Apple
 
PC Authority A-List
Ads by Google