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PC Authority Issue: October 2007

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

Issue: 119  |  October 2007

What's in this issue

In this month’s magazine we’ve cut down on all the chaff and packed it to the gills with good things to read.

First off is our mammoth Digital Photography guide; from cheap compacts, through super-zooms up to digital SLRs. So, no matter what sort of camera you want, we’ve got a top recommendation for you. We also provide two tutorials which show you how just a few minor tweaks can dramatically improve the look of your pictures.

The antivirus market is changing too. Finally, software vendors are realising that the general public does not know the difference between antivirus and antispyware software. The newest generation of programmes finally protects your computer from everything. This is great because you no longer have to waste money on a fully-featured ‘Internet Security Suite’ knowing that you won’t use half of the features – like spam protection or parental controls.

Wikipedia is becoming the de facto fountain of knowledge for the online world. But can we trust it? Stuart Andrews investigates its custodians and uncovers serious infighting which could undermine the entire resource. We also ask top experts to compare it to the old-school encyclopaedias from Microsoft and Britannica to find out which is best.

Finally, be sure to check out our new notebooks. This month Sony and Toshiba redefine (yet again) just how small and powerful notebooks can be. We’ve also had exclusive access to Asus’ stunning new U3 which introduces us to the concept of notebooks with GPS antennae and eSATA ports.

Nick Ross, Editor
nross@pcauthority.com.au

Articles in this issue

32 Reasons why PCs are Better than Macs
Apple’s ads may be funny, but they’re woefully inaccurate. Here we reveal dozens of reasons why the PC outclasses the Mac.

Adobe Bridge & Device Central CS3
Media management gets a Macromedia-inspired makeover; with export preview facilities for mobile devices.

Asus LS201
The world’s first punch-proof LCD is here, but only time will tell if there’s a market for it.

Asus U3
The most fully-featured notebook we’ve seen, but price will determine just how desirable this stylish notebook really is.

Avira AntiVir Personal-Edition Classic
A free package that scores highly, beating almost all its big-name competition. It’s just a shame it’s such a nag

Belkin Tunestage 2 for iPod
Pull the plug on the party, but keep the music playing.

Canon Digital Ixus 900 Ti
A superb camera that takes fantastic pictures, and offers excellent portability and versatility

Canon EOS 400D
The lack of a separate status LCD is annoying, but the 400D is great value and capable of great quality

Dell Inspiron 1420 and 1720
Dell’s new Inspirons are more about colour and value than performance and excitement.

Ebay tools
Whether you’re buying or selling, there are some great tools that help you make the most of online auctions.

Fujifilm FinePix S9600
It might look like a DSLR, but it doesn’t handle as well and loses out to others with bigger zooms

How to save a hard drive or corrupt filesystem under Linux
It doesn't happen often, but in case it does, we'll step you through Linux disaster recovery.

HTC p3600i
An excellent mashup of features, phone and battery life in a Windows Mobile 6 package.

JVC Everio GZ-HD7
A great next-generation camcorder, but it lacks editing support for the recording format

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7
With peerless detection capabilities, this well-conceived package towers over its rivals.

Magellan CrossoverGPS
Not the best road handling, but the offroad features could make it very attractive.

McAfee Virus Scan 2007
A professional product, but it's a poor performer for the price.

Microsoft Expression Media Encoder
Modern and efficient conversion to WMV with ahead-of-the-curve Silverlight capabilities

Nikon D40x
An ideal first DSLR thanks to onscreen help. It takes great shots and the battery lasts for ages.

Nikon D80
A superb DSLR that’s a joy to use, but the high price and poor software damage value

Olympus SP-550UZ
An 18x zoom in a compact, well-built body. General handling and image quality are great too.

Overlord
Evil has never been so much fun.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50
Good quality and with a proper li-ion battery, but expensive and bulky compared to the Olympus.

Pentax K10D
More features than similarly-priced cameras, including weatherproofing. JPEGs are a touch soft, though

Samsung ATA flash drive
Samsung’s new Flash disk can extend battery life and boost performance – at a price

Sony DSLR-A100
Good value thanks to a decent 18-70mm kit lens and camera-based anti-shake

Sony Soundforge 9
Surround-sound support and mastering-quality plug-ins mean Sound Forge is better than ever.

Sun Tzu's Art of HD optical disc technology
Follow the HD bit flow from the cinema to your home. We look at the technology, cost and advantages.

Will your digital photos survive 10 years?
Our feature story covers best formats, backup options, and why you should reburn those photo CDs every two years.

What's on the disc

PC Authority Issue: 119
Full version Software
Ashampoo Magical Security 2007
Ashampoo StartUp Tuner 2
Quick Notes Plus 5
Roxio Buzz

Entertainment
Civilization 4: Beyond the Sword (Charlemagne Demo)
Civilization 4: Beyond the Sword (Final Frontier Demo)
Combat Mission Shock Force Demo
Transformers: The Game Demo

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)
OpenOffice 2.2
PDFCreator 0.9.3
The GIMP 2.2.13

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

Windows
Ad-Aware 2007 7.0.1.6
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
RocketReader 8.20
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 6.1
Crazy Browser 3.0 Beta2
CWShredder 2.19
Diino 4 Trial Account
FileZilla 2.2.32
Google Toolbar 4.0
Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.6
Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0.0.4
MSN Messenger 7.0 (98/ME)
Portable Firefox 2.0.0.6
Remote Administrator 3.0
SpamBayes 1.0.4
Trillian Basic 3.1.6
Windows Live Messenger

Patches
ATI Catalyst 7.3 Control Center Package (XP)
AVG Free Edition Updates
DirectX
Norton AntiVirus definitions update
NVIDIA Forceware drivers for the FX, 6000. 7000. and 8000 series GPUs. Version 162.22 (Vista)
NVIDIA Forceware drivers for the FX, 6000. 7000. and 8000 series GPUs. Version 162.13
NVIDIA Forceware drivers for 7800 and 7900 GO Series Version 84.63 (Laptops)
Spybot Search & Destroy Update
VIA HyperionPro drivers 5.12A
Realtek AC'97 Codec
Realtek AC'97 Codec (Vista)
Realtek High Definition Audio Codecs
Realtek Realtek High Definition Audio Codecs (Vista)

Subscribe

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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
 
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November, 2009
Issue: 144
November, 2009

October, 2009
Issue: 143
October, 2009

September, 2009
Issue: 142
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Issue: 141
August, 2009

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