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PC Authority Issue: June, 2007

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

Issue: 115  |  June, 2007

What's in this issue

  • INTERNET TV
    What’s better than Foxtel IQ, YouTube and Tivo? The answer is Internet TV, and its related cousin, IPTV. PC Authority explains why in this must-read feature.

  • 18x DVD BURNERS
    One thing you’ll notice about 4.7GB is that it takes a lifetime to burn at 8x speed. We test five contemporary high-speed burners.

  • TOSHIBA PORTEGE R400 STRIP
    What’s inside a cutting edge notebook computer worth $3400? PC Authority takes up the special star-headed screwdrivers and finds out, right down to the nicely flattened processor and mainboard.

  • HIGH-DEF CORNER
    Got a spare $10,000? You could invest in a home theatre that’s ready for high-definition movies in ‘full-on HD’, 1080p resolution. But should you? We put the latest player, display and Blu-ray movies to the test.


    We’ve got an absolute bumper issue this month, with more than sixty product reviews to take in and enjoy. We’ve tested the shiny fenders of the new Acer Ferrari notebook, tested a range of wireless media streaming equipment and spent some time with an amazing wireless talking rabbit. In Techdesk, we find out what’s in store for the version 2.1 update to the Bluetooth standard and speak with the lucid Japanese notebook designer, Mr Masa Okumura.

    Ed Dawson, Editor
    edawson@pcauthority.com.au

  • Articles in this issue

    ‘Creative energy’ notebooks
    Toshiba’s resident portable computer visionary speaks about hardware design, Vista, and the future of notebook tech.

    A measure of our success
    The contribution of ICT workers has been under-estimated.

    Acer AT4220B
    Decent quality at a great price make this a bargain, but you'll need extras to appreciate it.

    Acer Ferrari 1000
    Looks and feels good, but performance is more super Aguri than Scuderia.

    Acoustic Energy Wi-Fi Internet Radio
    Ideal for a bedroom or kitchen, but it lacks the quality for streaming a music library.

    Acronis Disk Director Suite 10
    Protect your PC from itself and yourself

    Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional
    A questionable interface redesign and greater-than-ever complexity lead to a half-baked feeling.

    Adobe Captivate 2
    Improved media handling, Flash video support and greater interactivity see Captivate extend into new areas of training.

    Archos 404 Camcorder
    Camcorder, still camera and portable media player all in one sleek package.

    Asus P5B Premium Vista Edition
    Packed with extras to target some of Vista’s interesting new features, but it isn’t quite the marvel we were hoping for.

    Asus U1
    An incredibly light and practical notebook for frequent travellers, but not without its quirks.

    Axis 207MW Wireless Network Camera
    The 207MW may be bandwidth hungry, but image quality and features are superb.

    Corel Painter X
    New realism for bristled brushes and automatic painting that approaches manual quality give Painter X an edge.

    CyberLink PowerDirector 6
    This version brings some real improvements, but there are still a few features missing.

    Dell PowerEdge 860
    A versatile single-socket rack server with a wide range of processor choices,
    plus a good warranty for the price.

    Fujitsu Lifebook P7230
    A very well-built ultraportable that’s great value, but a bit too small.

    HD News - June
    A month's worth of HD news in digest form.

    HP Compaq tc4400
    The best convertible tablet we’ve seen great performance and great design at a decent price.

    HP L2045w
    A decent 20in widescreen LCD for the office, with a flexible stand and USB hub. But it is expensive.

    Kyocera FS-C5025N
    A workgroup laser with a good turn of speed and low running costs, but we expect better quality at this price.

    Lenovo ThinkPad X60 Tablet
    Well built and with astonishing battery life to boot. It’s pricey but decent value.

    LG P1 Pro Express Dual
    Good value, but it needs to decide whether it’s a business or consumer notebook.

    Linksys SPA9000
    A compact IP telephony router with great features, but the web interface isn’t user-friendly.

    Maxon Cinema 4D 10
    Improved interface, object and layer handling, plus integrated 3D painting add greatly to power, usability and value

    Microsoft Expression Web
    Microsoft finally recognises that web authoring needs a standards-compliant tool, albeit on its own terms.

    Nabaztag Tag
    Confounding and half-baked. You either love it or want to boot it out of the window.

    Oki C8600n
    An A3 colour printer with a good turn of speed, quality colour output and low running costs.

    Online backup services
    Guarantee your data is secure by backing it up remotely. We test six of the most popular services.

    Panasonic Toughbook CF-19
    A remarkably tough machine that will endure almost anything thrown at it, although this comes at a price.

    Preview: Asus W5fe
    Windows SideShow is a fascinating distraction, but even without the supplementary screen the W5fe is impressive.

    Product brief -- June
    A selection of briew reviews of a new Canon photo printer, a Microsoft 6000 laser mouse and a 3 phone with extras.

    Product brief -- June
    Product brief continues as we look at more products from June.

    Questions & Answers: June
    David Moss tackles Vista queries, as well as dealing with floating bars and annoying pop-up reminders.

    Ribbons, licenses and Microsoft
    You can be proud of an interface you developed, but this is taking it too far.

    S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl
    Explore the burnt out shell of Chernobyl while shooting and savaging your way to the top.

    Samsung SyncMaster 226BW
    Sleek, stylish and wonderfully vibrant in use, this is the best of the 22in LCDs we’ve seen.

    Slim Devices Squeezebox 3 Wireless
    Stunning design and innovative features make the Squeezebox extremely desirable, despite the price.

    Starry Night Enthusiast 6
    A highly polished, enthralling 3D guide to the universe, although it lacks convincing reasons to upgrade.

    Telstra’s leech problem
    Is Australia’s biggest telco beset by parasites? PC Authority looks at Telstra’s new strategy to win over our hearts and minds.

    Terratec Noxon 2 audio
    The USB port is a great feature, but we’d still choose the Squeezebox.

    Terratec Noxon iRadio
    Ideal for streaming music wirelessly or listening to Internet radio, but the iRadio suffers from a few design niggles.

    U3 flash drives
    Carry your favourite applications, Windows settings, emails, data and more with one of these 2GB USB flash drives.

    ViewSonic VX1945wm
    A decent LCD in its own right, but the speakers are poor and the dock isn’t much more than an expensive gimmick.

    Xara Xtreme Pro
    New multiple page support and improved text handling, but the program’s main strength remains its underlying speed.

    Yosemite Backup 8.1
    A familiar face with a new name, and it offers support for a wider range of systems than before.

    What's on the disc

    PC Authority Issue: 115
    On this month's DVD, try out the dizzying world of operating system virtualisation with Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, hone your DVD creation skills with Ashampoo Burning Studio 6.5 and manage your music collection with SyncWrangler 1.0. In imaging, adjust your digital photos with Magix Photo Clinic 5.

    In the entertainment section, Try out the Sparta: Ancient Wars demo, a strategy game which puts you in control of armies during the Peloponnesian War and other ancient conflicts. In a more recent period of history, command the axis or the allies in the massive WWII tank battle at Kursk, with the Frontline Fields of Thunder Demo. Finally, experience some nail-biting first-person shooter action in a submarine base with the Red Ocean demo and try out the impressive community project called Beyond the Red Line. This is a total conversion of the classic game Descent Freespace 2, to create a game based on the recent BattleStar Galactica TV series.

    FULL CONTENTS

    FULL VERSION SOFTWARE
    Ashampoo Burning Studio 6.5
    Magix Photo Clinic 5
    Microsoft Virtual PC 2007
    SyncWrangler 1.0

    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 2.2
    PDFCreator 0.9.3
    The GIMP 2.2.13

    ENTERTAINMENT
    MUSIC

    Tracks by Grimick

    GAMES
    Beyond the Red Line Windows Demo
    Colin McRae Dirt video
    Frontline Fields of Thunder Demo
    Red Ocean Demo
    Ricky Ponting International Cricket 2007 Demo
    Sparta - Ancient Wars Demo

    EDITORIAL
    Real World Benchmarks
    Creating a burned CD-R from an ISO image with DeepBurner

    UPDATES
    WINDOWS
    Ad-aware SE Personal 1.06
    Adobe Reader 8
    AVG 7.5.446 Free Edition
    EditPad Pro 6.2.2
    ExplorerXP 1.07
    Google Desktop Search 4
    Google Earth 4 Beta
    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

    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 2.0.0.2
    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

    PATCHES
    ATI Catalyst 7.3 Control Center Package (XP)
    AVG Free Edition Updates
    DirectX (9.x & 10)
    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

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    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

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