VIA is attempting to tackle Shuttle’s stranglehold on the micro-PC market with the launch of the C3M266 motherboard coupled with a C3 processor...

The EasyShare CX4230 is a 2.1-megapixel unit with 16MB internal memory, ability to write to both SD and MMC, 3x optical zoom, auto focus, USB and PC card connectivity, and video-out.

Sony's DSC-FX77 has some really nifty features, including the addition of Bluetooth connectivity.

What makes Publisher different is its automated approach to design through its colour and font schemes and huge range of publication templates. These are handled via the redesigned Task Pane, which now has a simplified Start panel offering drill-down access to project types split into print, Web and themed sets. Another ten attractive master sets increase the total to 45.

The Canon A300 is an entry level 3.2-megapixel camera with rather plain specifications and an average range of photgraphic features.

Again, SharePoint and XML support separate Access 2003 from its predecessors, and Access can now import and export XML data using custom Schemas. Exports can employ XSLT transforms to match data formats to other custom Schemas, and you may include related data such as look-up tables so you export structured data.

The BenQ DC2300 is a 2.1-megapixel camera with 2,048 x 1,536 optical resolution, 8MB internal memory, fixed focus, and built-in flash. It stores images and video in MMC and SD card media, has a USB interface and takes AA batteries. A fairly low priced camera, the DC2300 offers white-balance modes, metering modes and exposure adjustments.

The DiMAGE F300 is a 5.3-megapixel camera, with a built-in 3x optical zoom, 32MB of internal memory, and support for SD and MMC media. It's a camera that allows a good deal of control of exposure, colour, contrast, saturation, and white balance and also features a noise reduction system.

Not a bad tome to have in the computer room, the PC Repair Bench Book, by R Glister, is geared more towards the beginner tinkerer than the hardcore techie, but it's chock full of good information. Much more descriptive than "Upgrading and repairing PCs" (March 2003, page 63) but without the depth straight away, the PC Repair Bench Book is broken into 10 major sections.

Just another 4-megapixel camera is what we expected when we opened the box and pulled out the Nikon Coolpix 4500, but this beauty soon proved us wrong.

It has been over two years since we previewed Office XP, but Microsoft has finally given us a glimpse of Office 2003. The finished version should be on the shelves by the end of July, but will it be worth the upgrade? The answer could be an emphatic 'yes' if you're a Tablet PC user, as Microsoft has just launched OneNote (see page 59), making full use of electronic ink. The company is also introducing InfoPath (see page 59) for designing electronic forms, with the flexibility of XML. The classic apps have also had their seen refurbishment, with Outlook (page 56) getting the most attention, and FrontPage and Publisher (page 58) a bit of a revamp.

The Creative PC-CAM 850 is a 2-megapixel digital camera geared to double up as a Webcam and a camcorder. Priced at a low $279, it hosts an impressive 16MB of built-in memory, writes to both MMC and SD card media and also has S-Video output.

It's a fair guess that if you're a frequent burner of optical media that you have more than a few scratched or dirty discs that can no longer be read by your drive.

For a camera as packed with controls as this, Minolta has still kept the body comfortable and light. With more features than your average Boeing, this camera's menu modes are entered into with a jog dial that locks in the off position, stopping you from draining your batteries with accidental inside travel-gear shots.

The IBM NetVista M42 business PC offers a 2.4GHz Pentium 4 with 256MB DDR RAM and a 40GB hard disk.

FrontPage used to pride itself on its almost code-free approach to Web design, but not any more. Top of the new coding features is the Split View, which combines layout and HTML views. There are also improved code formatting and Auto-complete features, providing a drop-down list of context-sensitive options as you type. Auto-complete also handles regularly reused code snippets and works with HTML, CSS, XSL, JavaScript, JScript, VBScript and ASP .NET, which are all directly editable.

Beginning with the basics of digital cameras, the underlying hardware and the concepts of taking a good photo, Click!, by Ron White expands on this information in great detail in the following chapters. Although this comes across as a ‘Dummies' type title, it contains enough good information to be considered by the self-styled digital photo enthusiast as well as the beginner.

The Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock 6000 is a tiny photo printer-cum-camera dock for Kodak EasyShare CX/DX 6000 and LS600-series cameras. Although it's designed to print 4 x 6in borderless prints, the dock is capable of a lot more. The abundance of functions this dock can perform boggles the mind. Ranging from slide show streaming, three-hour camera Li-Ion battery charging, multiple print runs and PC file-synching, this printer does it all.

Once the lens shutters are opened, the Canon PowerShot S50 powers up and welcomes you with a tone. Similar to the smaller Canon IXUS 400 in terms of features, it too ships with a 32MB CF card and AV cables. With fairly easy to navigate menus, the S50 also features video capture and a thumb-sliding preview mode.

Sony has a reputation in the PC Authority Labs for providing both quality and reliable products. The DSC-P32 is no exception.