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Parental Control Software Smartphones

19 Secrets from
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PLUS
The Truth
Behind the Delay
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ALSO INSIDE
11 Cool Sci-Fi Gadgets
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YYePG Proudly Presents, Thx for Support
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Digitally signed by TeAM YYePG
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Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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Wireless for availability and coverage in your area. Verizon Wireless BroadbandAccess offers download speeds of 400 to 700 Kbps. National Access provides download speeds of 60 to 80 Kbps. BroadbandAccess speeds are based
on Verizon Wireless network tests with 5MB FTP data files without compression; National Access speeds are based on Verizon Wireless network tests with 101KB FTP data files. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of
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PC
Cover Illustration by Joe Zeff, Bill Gates Photograph: Reuters/Corbis MAY 9, 2006 PC MAGAZINE 7
TM
MAY 9, 2006 VOL. 25 NO. 8
COVER STORY
WHY YOU WANT
VISTA NOW
The much-anticipated and
oft-delayed Windows Vista is
still months away from shipping. So why do
you want it now? Easy: Even at this early
date, Vista is damn cool, and its bursting at
the seams with new tools for productivity,
entertainment, and computing safety.
23 FIRST LOOKS
24 Hardware
HP Pavilion Media Center
TV m7360n PC
Sony VAIO VGC-RC210G
Lenovo ThinkPad X60s
Sony VAIO VGN-SZ170P
Lexmark E120n
Iomega ScreenPlay
Lenovo 3000 C100
Buying Guide: Dedicated
Photo Printers
Epson PictureMate Deluxe
Viewer Edition
32 Consumer
Electronics
Olympus Evolt E-330
LG CU320
Samsung Yepp YP-Z5
StarTech MP3 AirLink
Sennheiser CX-300
NEC 42XR4
Buying Guide: Windows
Mobile Devices
T-Mobile SDA
42 Software
ClipMarks
Buying Guide: Parental
Controls
Safe Eyes
46 Small Business
ReadyNAS NV
Yellow Machine P400T
Symantec Backup Exec 10d
for Windows Servers with
Continuous Protection
Server 10.1
ClearOne Chat 50
50 What to Buy
PCONTENTS
8 PC MAGAZINE MAY 9, 2006
FUTURE GADGETS
KEEPING UP WITH THE JETSONS
REAL- WORLD TESTI NG
KEYBOARDS FOR LESS
Keyboards that are great for typing may not work as well for gam-
ing, and vice versa. Is there a keyboard thats good for bothand
that you can have for less than $20? We rounded up six low-priced boards and
put them to the test. Here we reveal our favorites.
More processing and graphics power means more heat, thus more
whirring fans. You want your high-performance computer to run like
a race carnot to sound like one! Our hints and mods hit noise at its sources;
we show you how to make a screamer thats as quiet as a library.
PC Magazine, ISSN 0888-8507, is published semi-monthly except monthly in January and July at $44.97 for one
year. Ziff Davis Media Inc, 28 E. 28th St., New York, NY 10016-7940. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY 10016-
7940 and at additional mailing ofces. POSTMASTER: Address changes to PC Magazine, P.O. Box 54070, Boulder,
CO 80328-4070. The Canadian GST registration number is 865286033. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40009221.
Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to P.O. Box 503, R.P.O. West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6,
Canada. Printed in the U.S.A.
BUI LD I T
A SILENT PC
We asked the industrys top design experts to reveal their most
innovative ideas for future products. Here are some of the most
inspired concepts that help propel tech gear into tomorrow.
OPINIONS
11 First Word
Jim Louderback
53 Inside Track
John C. Dvorak
55 Michael J. Miller
56 Bill Machrone
144 John C. Dvorak
PIPELINE
18 Control your PC
through your phone
Visit the pocket doctor;
Running Windows
on a Mac?
19 Future Watch
The brain-to-computer
interface
SOLUTIONS
113 The Connected
Traveler in
San Francisco
San Francisco has the
Exploratorium, Sonys
Metreon, and a wireless-
enabled ballpark. Coming
soon: free citywide Wi-Fi.
116 Security Watch
Why plain passwords are
dangerous, and how to
create strong ones.
117 Ask Loyd
SATA and PATA hard
drives; Intel vs. AMD; a
disconnecting network.
118 Ask Neil
Make words blink in
Access; make thumbnails
larger in Windows XP; turn
off peripherals at shutdown,
and more.
122 SMB Boot Camp
Web site analytics can help
your business know its
customers and maximize
its prots.
125 Software Solutions
Replay AV is like a VCR for
your PC.
GAMING &
CULTURE
140 PlayStation 3:
What we know
GEARLOG
143 Toshibas jazzy
MP3 players
TECHNORIDE
20 Mercedes ML 250
Geneva Auto Show
tech highlights; Hymotion:
more hybrid efciency;
diesel cars are back.
21 Bill Howard
ALSO INSIDE
16 Feedback
16 Abort, Retry, Fail
PCMAG ONLINE
Want to learn more
about Microsofts
impending operating
system? Go to
PCMag.com for all
the Windows Vista
info you need, includ-
ing news articles,
expert opinions, and
screenshots of the
test builds. See
go.pcmag.com/vista.
Illustration by Sashimi MAY 9, 2006 PC MAGAZINE 11
MORE ON THE WEB
You can contact
Jim Louderback at
Jim_Louderback
@ziffdavis.com.
For more of his
columns, go to
go.pcmag.com/
louderback.
FERRIS WHEEL AND JAY LENO.
Thats what I remember most
from Microsofts gala launch
of Windows 95. That operating
systema great improvement
over its predecessor, Windows
3.11debuted at a big party in
a eld on Microsofts Redmond
campus. But Microsoft didnt need the carnival or the
comic; Windows 95 stood on its own.
Eleven years later, its dj vu all over again. De-
spite a recently announced delay, the long, slow slog to
Windows Vista is drawing to a close. Just as Windows
95 delivered a radically improved experience com-
pared with Windows 3.11, Vista promises a similar
leap over XP.
Although it wont ship until early next year, you can
actually start using it within a few weeks, if not already.
Microsoft plans to offer a beta copy of Vista to anyone
with a few bucks.
If youre like most PC Magazine readers, you enjoy
sampling revolutionary products and applying their
benets before others catch a clue. But something as
complex as an overhauled operating system resembles
the original Adventure text gameat times it can be
a tangled maze of many paths.
Lucky you, though. In this issue we reveal the re-
sults of hundreds of hours of Vista exploration. PC
Magazine was granted unprecedented access to Mi-
crosofts Vista development team; contributing editor
John Clyman has been embedded inside Redmond
for months. Weve found nine great reasons why youll
want Vista now, along with lots of secrets to help you
get the most out of Microsofts latest OS.
Considering the Vista plunge? Come on in, the
waters ne. Whether you like playing games, explor-
ing the Internet, or enjoying multimedia, Vista will
greatly enhance your Windows experience. Our col-
lection of secrets and insights will help you navigate
the deep pools and rocky coves of the new OS. We
dont know what entertainment Microsoft will feature
at Vistas launch party, but thats about all were still
foggy about.
Origami. Im bullish about Microsofts updated
operating system, but Im far less sanguine about its
newest portable platform. Originally code-named Ori-
gami, its now called the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC).
This Windows XPbased tablet weighs two pounds,
includes a 7-inch touch screen but no keyboard, and
should last for around two hours between charges.
Spawned via a sad mnage trois between the Portable
Media Center, the Tablet PC, and Windows CE, this
unfortunate love child is doomed. It will inherit the
failures of its parents, including tepid sales and poor
industry support.
Microsoft has high hopes for the UMPC, promising
that it will eventually become as indispensable and
ubiquitous as mobile phones are today. But the dearth
of launch partners belies the optimism: Where were
Toshiba, Dell, HP, and Gateway? Samsung will deliver
a UMPC, but it wont conrm a U.S. launch. Asian PC
maker Asus is the lone vendor that has promised the
tablet to the U.S. Thats hardly a ringing endorsement.
Considering a UMPC? Think about what youd use
it for. The upcoming Sony Reader for e-books promises
far better battery life in a much more readable format.
Want a tiny, extremely mobile PC? Both the OQO and
Toshibas Libretto offer more, albeit at higher prices.
Were looking forward to testing the UMPC, and Ill
even promise to carry one for a few weeks and report
back. But my prognosis, so far, is not good.
Just as Windows 95 delivered a radically improved experience
compared with Windows 3.11, Vista promises a similar leap.
BY JIM LOUDERBACK, EDITOR
FI RST WORD
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jim Louderback
EDITOR, REVIEWS Lance Ulanoff
EDITOR, TECHNOLOGY Ben Z. Gottesman
EXECUTIVE EDITORS Stephanie Chang, Carol L. Gonsher, Vicki B. Jacobson (online),
Jeremy A. Kaplan
ART DIRECTOR Richard J. Demler
MANAGING EDITOR Paul B. Ross
REVIEWS
SENIOR EDITORS Sean Carroll (software, Internet, networking), Dan Costa (consumer electronics),
Jennifer DeFeo (hardware), Carol Mangis (TechnoRide), Sebastian Rupley (West Coast, Pipeline)
LEAD ANALYSTS Cisco Cheng, Robert Heron, Davis D. Janowski, Oliver Kaven, Mike Kobrin,
Neil J. Rubenking, Joel Santo Domingo, Sascha Segan, M. David Stone, Terry Sullivan
REVIEWS EDITORS Brian Bennett (hardware), Gary Berline (software, Internet, networking),
Laarni Almendrala Ragaza (consumer electronics)
WEB PRODUCERS Rachel B. Florman, Molly K. McLaughlin, Jenn Trolio
PRODUCT DATABASE MANAGER Gina Suk COMMERCE PRODUCER Arielle Rochette
PRODUCT REVIEW COORDINATOR PJ Jacobowitz
INVENTORY CONTROL COORDINATOR Nicole Graham
FEATURES
FEATURES EDITORS Dan Evans, Sarah Pike, Erik Rhey
SENIOR WRITER Cade Metz STAFF EDITOR Tony Hoffman
ART
SENIOR ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Michael St. George ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Liana Zamora
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Aaron Able GRAPHICS DIRECTOR David Foster
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Scott Schedivy
PRODUCTION
ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR Michal Dluginski PRODUCTION MANAGER Jennifer Murray
COPY CHIEF Elizabeth A. Parry COPY EDITORS Ann Ovodow, Steven Wishnia
ONLINE
SENIOR PRODUCER Yun-San Tsai PRODUCER Mark Lamorgese
ASSISTANT PRODUCER Whitney A. Reynolds PRODUCTION ARTIST Erin Simon
NEWS EDITOR Mark Hachman NEWS REPORTER Bary Alyssa Johnson
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kyle Monson ASSISTANT EDITOR Jennifer L. DeLeo
UTILITY PROGRAM MANAGER Tim Smith COMMUNITY MANAGER Jim Lynch
EDITORIAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Anita Anthony
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Helen Bradley, John Clyman, Richard V. Dragan, Craig Ellison,
John R. Delaney, John C. Dvorak, Galen Fott, Bill Howard, Don Labriola, Bill Machrone,
Ed Mendelson, Jan Ozer, Larry Seltzer, Don Willmott
INTERNS Veronica DeLeon, Courtney McCarty
CORPORATE PRODUCTION
ASSISTANT PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Ivis Fundichely
PRODUCTION MANAGER Michelle Chizmadia TRAFFIC MANAGER Amanda Allensworth
CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER Michael J. Miller
THE INDEPENDENT GUIDE
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products and services and report fairly and objectively on the
results. Our editors do not invest in rms whose products or
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This year, the hands-down-choice
band for the Honda Civic Tour was
The Black Eyed Peas. Their funky style
and off-the-hook energy are a perfect
match for the 2006 Civic, redesigned
with more spirit, performance savvy
and at-out fun than ever. As part
of the tour, The Peas got to add their
unique air to a shiny new Civic Hybrid.
To view their customized ride and
get info on when The Peas will be
driving their groove to your town,
go to hondacivictour.com.
Looking for a ride with a planet-friendly vibe?
Check out the all-new, Ultra-Low-Emission
gas/electric Civic Hybrid.
2006 American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
To learn more about Buffalo High Performance Wireless
Routers, go to www.buffalotech.com/pcmag-gameon
WHR-G54S
WHR-HP-G54
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HONDA CIVIC TOUR PRESENTS
THE BLACK EYED PEAS
Find out more about tour dates and
venues, read up on the Black Eyed
Peas, and get the chance to win the
all new, completely redesigned civic
hybrid, customized and autographed
by the Black Eyed Peas! For more info
visit www.hondacivictour.com.
SAFEGUARDING YOUR PHOTO COLLECTION
Thanks to Lance Ulanoff for an excellent arti-
cle (Are Your Photos Safe?, go.pcmag.com/lu
photossafe). I nd that people are very gullible.
Many of them dont understand the capitalistic
system we live under. Some folks really think that
a Web site is their personal storage! Many dont
know that photos posted online can be pilfered
the best options. Now, if only I had an article
instructing me on how to get dirt-cheap air-
fare.Kristin Carew
Glad you liked it, Kristin. Remember, Skype is
a great way to stay connected. And for decent
airfare, I love Kayak.com here in the U.S., but
if youre ying around Europe, their low-cost
airlines can be difcult to nd. Check out Ryan
Air, EasyJet, and Air Berlin for starters. Opodo
offers a continental variant of our own Ex-
pedia and Travelocity, while OctopusTravel
and used elsewhere if good enough. I dont
post my images anywhere, even though I get
dozens of offers from dotPhoto and others.
I keep my images in my iPhotoall
15,000 of them, across three libraries. Each
one is backed up weekly to three separate
external FireWire drives, of which at least
one is kept off-site at all times on a rotating
basis.Jorge Moro
CMON, MICROSOFT
I read Jim Louderbacks column in the April
11 issue, then searched the Internet for the
elusive retail copy of Windows XP Media
Center Edition, but I had the same results.
It seems that all you can purchase is
an OEM copy. I found several Web sites
(Newegg.com, Royal Discount, PCDirect
.com, TigerDirect.com) that sell the OEM
version at a price ranging from $114.95 to
$139.99 (with remote).Russ
Yes, its weird that Microsoft makes you get it
through this back channel. Ive seen it for sale
with just a remote control or another piece of
cheap hardware. They should just sell it outright.
Jim Louderback
CONNECTING IN TRANSIT
The Well-Connected Traveler (March 21,
page 68) showed up at the perfect time for
me. Im planning a summer trip to Europe; it
will be my rst time going overseas. Im hope-
lessly addicted to my gadgets and to the Inter-
net, and after reading this piece, I feel con-
dent Ill be able to manage technologically
during my vacation. Thanks for all the great
ideas about what to bring; I never manage
to pack light, but this should help me select
.com aggregates discount lodging and more.
Oh, and have fun! Jim Louderback
Ironically, I just nished reading your March
21 issue on a ight from Burbank to Phoenix.
Im sending you this e-mail during my layover
en route to Baltimore at gate A21 on the free
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
wireless network. Signal strength, excellent.
E-mails received. Thanks, Phoenix.
Larry Yaffe
APPLES IPOD HI-FI
I liked Lance Ulanoff s column, The Apple
Effect (go.pcmag.com/appleeffect). He men-
tions the new speakers and Apple eating its
young. I felt that way when Microsoft ben-
eted from and then crushed products like
WordPerfect. But I sense this is different.
Other speaker systems will continue work-
ingand likely continue sellingjust ne.
I am very enthusiastic about my Apple
iPod Hi Fi speakersand Im glad Apple
is having a shot at that side of technology. I
already own four or ve other iPod speaker
products, but the sound on these is the best,
FEEDBACK
Thats weird. We
thought Kelly was
a hard worker.
ABORT, RETRY, FAIL
BY DON WILLMOTT
He lives right
down the street
from the Giffs.
ARF NEEDS YOU! If your entry is used, well send you a PC Magazine T-shirt. Submit your photos or
screen captures via e-mail to arf@ziffdavis.com. Ziff Davis Media Inc. shall own all property rights in the
entries. Winners this issue: Andrew Kopanski, Tom Pentland, and Michael Ufkes.
Lookin good,
Simon!
CORRECTIONS & AMPLIFICATIONS
We gave a direct price of $3,299.99 for the T-Mobile
SDA (April 11, page 69); the correct price is $299.99.
and the possibility of running on batteries
now and then has its appeal. For now the
speakers are on top of the TV, using their
audio-in connector for the TV (and DVD)
sound input into the speakers. They get gor-
geous sound that way. And using my video
iPod, mounted on the speakers on top of the
TV, I can run a line out from the iPod into the
DVD player and so into the TV. This lets me
show good movie images from the iPod on
the TV with sound coming through the iPod
Hi Fi speakers. Since the speakers are so
new, I thought you might be interested in this
note on how one customer uses them. Can
the iPod TV be far behind?! Bill Youngs
Glad you enjoyed it, Bill. I hope youre right
about Apple encroaching on the third-party
market. If this serves to grow it, thats a good
thing. Still, only time will tell. As for the
way youre using the Hi-Fi speakers and your
iPod with video, I am suitably impressed.
Lance Ulanoff
WHY NOT LIMIT WINDOWS
ADMINISTRATOR ACCESS?
The Sorry State of Security (February 21,
page 78) was a great article; I hope that ev-
eryone who ever buys a computer will read it.
The problem with computers is that they al-
low such a level of communication that every-
one wants to play. But people forget that this
tool simplies others communication to you,
whether warranted or not. Unlike the phone
system, which can be tapped or called only so
many times a day, computer communication
lets you receive a ood of information with-
out much effort.
I think that your article missed one impor-
tant point. Its strange that Microsoft would
default every user on Windows XP Home and
Professional as Administrator; that is not the
case in Pro when you are in a domain scenar-
io. This opens up the oodgates for anything
to override security and install itself. When
our company migrated to XP, we immediately
revoked this level of access to anyone who
didnt explicitly need it. Viruses and spyware
decreased dramatically, and our OS reload
percentage dropped to almost nil.
This posed other challenges, such as
forcing IT to do more software installa-
tions and to access computers remotely
to do things the users cant, but the payoff
was great. About six months ago I reloaded
my neighbors computer for the third time.
As I run mostly in a domain environment, I
didnt pick up the Administrator glitch in XP
Home. On this third attempt, I noticed that,
on newly created user accounts, Administra-
tor was the default. Users could do whatever
they wanted with the computer, and so could
anyone on the Internet. So I created the us-
ers myself and revoked Administrator. I have
not heard a peep lately.
Thank you for a wonderful breakdown of
the problems plaguing the future of comput-
ing.Juan Gamboa
Its an excellent point. We did a Security
Watch last year on trying to run as a limited
user (go.pcmag.com/limiteduser). Unfortu-
nately, its very difcult to do in a home envi-
ronment. Microsoft is partly to blame, but so
are ISVs who dont bother to make sure that
their apps (games, especially) work in limited-
user mode. Vista should really improve this
situation, since even admins dont run with
complete privileges all the time. Of course Im
sure it wont take long for social engineers to
exploit this.Ben Z. Gottesman
ON VENDOR RESPONSIBILITY
I disagree with the degree of responsibility
you place with vendors. No one would ex-
pect GM or Ford, before selling you a car, to
make sure you knew how to drive. Or track
that you didnt exceed the speed limit or fol-
low too close. Nor do we expect automakers
to tell us that the trunk can be used to carry
groceries or that we need to be wary of icy
roads. Yet we expect people to buy PCs with-
out any idea of what theyll do with them or
the attendant risks.
PCs are incredible devices, but deciding
to purchase one shouldnt be considered as
trivial as buying a magazine about PCs.
P.A. Gendron
Years ago my dad bought a Ford Pinto under
the assumption that they had built a car that
wouldnt blow up. Fortunately he sold it before
finding out how dangerous that assumption
could be.Ben Z. Gottesman
THE DOG-EAR TEST
I bring the latest issue of PC Magazine with
me to the gym and read through it while
working out on the treadmill and stair climb-
er. Since there are no notepads or voice re-
corders to be bothered with, a dog-eared
page is my best reference for articles and tips
I want to revisit when Im back at my com-
puter. Thus, each issues merit is based on
the number of dog-ears. Sometimes I have
none, sometimes two or three, but April 11s
brought in seven. Thanks for the helpful edi-
tion.Pat Carroll
Free
software
training.
Free
business skills
training.
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support.
On your
own time.
In your
own way.
2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft is
a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United
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HOW TO CONTACT US
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When sending e-mail to Feedback, please state
in the subject line of your message which arti-
cle or column prompted your response. E-mail
pcmag@ziffdavis.com. All letters become the
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PIPE
WHATS NEW FROM THE WORLD OF TECH
Phone Home
Free services are giving almost anyone with a cell phone remote access to PCs.
ates the service from big players such as Citrix Onlines
GoToMyPC and Orb Networks Orb.
There are almost a billion phones out there that
arent considered smartphones, says Song Huang,
SoonRs cofounder and VP of marketing. The services
only phone requirement is a WAP browser, so you
might, for example, access your remote les using Op-
era. SoonR has also integrated its service with Google
Desktop Search and X1, so you can quickly nd les by
typing queries on your phone. The service will remain
free, although premium extensions will be available.
Avvenu offers similar services, also costs nothing,
and integrates with the free Motorola Share service for
sharing images. If your phone is your constant com-
panion, take note.Sebastian Rupley
When Apple con-
rmed last year that
it would begin build-
ing computers with
Intel chips, predic-
tions of dual-boot
systems running both
Windows and the
Mac OS abounded.
Now, with ofcial
approval from neither
Microsoft nor Apple,
several code warriors
are pulling that off.
AirmanPika, a
member of the OSx-
86Project (forum
.osx86project.org), has
posted photos of his
iMac running Windows
Media Center Edition
2005, as shown above.
Our own experts have
loaded Windows XP
on Mac systems and
found it to run faster
on Apple computers
than it does on many
PCs. Find the details at
go.pcmag.com
/windowsonamac.
In PC Magazines
cover story on Apples
move to Intel last
year, Apple spokes-
person Natalie Kerris
said, Were not ship-
ping and supporting
Windows, but were
doing nothing in our
hardware designs to
preclude running it.
And where theres a
will, theres a way.SR
WINMAC
QUICK ON THE DRAW How fast does your brain process information? At www.positscience
.com you can take an online test and determine the precise answer. The process takes 10
minutes, and results are compared to averages for your age range, using charts.
Why shouldnt checking
your bodys status be as
easy as glancing at the
temperature gauge in
your car? At the recent
CeBIT show, Vodafone
showed off its biozoom
device, which tests a
persons water levels, en-
zyme levels, body fat per-
centage, and more, then
displays the results on a
mobile phone.SR
OU RE ON THE GO, Y OU NEED A
presentation thats on your home PC,
and all youve got is a cell phone. What to
do? A new crop of online startups is solv-
ing such remote-access problemsand
you dont need a smartphone or a phone
running Microsoft Windows to use them. SoonR (www
.soonr.com) and Avvenu (www.avvenu.com) provide no-
cost solutions for retrieving and sharing anything on
your remote PC, even if youre carrying a cheap phone.
SoonRs service is in beta now, but that hasnt
stopped tens of thousands of people from signing up.
The service requires you to load a small client on your
PC, but no software is needed on your phone. That, in
addition to SoonRs focus on business users, differenti-
MOBILE TV TAKES OFF
As carriers, content providers, and
marketers are ramping up their
mobile TV and video initiatives,
3G subscribers are also
increasing their usage.
Source: eMarketer, March 2006
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Watch TV
on phones
Watch video
on phones
2009 2008 2007 2006
Projected
U.S.
viewers
(in
millions)
POCKET DOCTOR
MAY 9, 2006 PC MAGAZINE 19 Photograph (right) courtesy of Oakley Photography
Consider the possi-
bilities of a mirage dis-
play, visible one minute
on a pane of glass and
gone the next. Oregon
State University elec-
tronics engineer John
Wager (shown) has
invented the worlds
rst transparent inte-
grated circuit, which
could be the basis of
now-you-see-it, now-
you-dont displays.
In conjunction with
a remote sensor, a
pop-up display could
suddenly be visible to
a driver on a car wind-
shield to make him
aware of a potential
accident, says Wager.
There are many other
potential applications
for smart glass, from
advertising to medical
concepts. The break-
through may even
create entirely new
industries.
Wager developed
the see-through circuit
using the transparent
conductor material
indium gallium oxide.
Hewlett-Packard has
already licensed the
technology for a variety
of products. Keep your
eyes peeled.SR
HO DOESNT YEARN TO HEAR YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND?
Thats the idea behind the Berlin Brain-Computer Interface
(BBCI), shown here, which is being developed by Fraun-
hofer FIRST and Benjamin Franklin University in Europe.
The BBCI uses the brains electrical activity, in the form of an
electroencephalogram (EEG).
Electrodes attached to the scalp128 of themmeasure the brains electrical
signals, which are amplied, transmitted to a computer, and converted into actions.
Users can already control cursors and software applications by imagining motions.
Electrical activity in the brain reects the conception of a particular behav-
ior, such as moving a hand or foot, says principal researcher Benjamin Blankertz.
BBCI may allow paralyzed people to write documents and control prosthetic and
electronic devices. It could also have a role in next-generation computer games. No
controller required!SR
Thinking It Through
FUTURE WATCH
SMART
GLASS
MORE ON THE WEB
Want the full story on
these reviews, plus news
and opinions? Go to
www.technoride.com,
the car site for tech fans.
$40,525 to $69,250
l l l h m
PROS LCD panel in all
models. Reasonably
priced nav system
available.
CONS The Comand con-
troller is complex to use.
No Bluetooth until the
2007 model this summer.
Options are pricey.
BOTTOM LINE Though
tech and entertainment
options abound in the
second-generation M-
Class SUV, the Comand
cockpit controller is
tough to use.
MERCEDES
ML 350
ERCEDES-BENZ PACKS A HOST
of technology and entertain-
ment features into its second-
generation midsize M-Class SUV.
Every M-Class includes a 7-inch
in-dash LCD panel. On the dash
is a fussy Comand control dial that has lots of buttons,
but this device doesnt compare well with the Audi
MMI controller or with the console-mount Comand
knob in the new Mercedes S-Class. An audio line-in
jack and three power sockets come standard; an iPod
jack, backseat DVD, Sirius satellite radio, and a Logic
7 sound system are available as options. A hands-free
phone adapter runs about $1,000; dealer-installed
Bluetooth will cost about $500 when its available this
summer in the 2007 model. Because the LCD is stan-
dard, the passable DVD nav system can be added by
the dealer for about $1,300very reasonable by Mer-
cedes or BMW standards.
The ML 350 comes with all-wheel drive, seven-
speed automatic transmission, and roomy comfort for
four passengers and baggage. Unlike the rst genera-
tion (1998 to 2005), the new M-Class no longer rides
like a truck. Most buyers should be satised with the
V6 ML 350 at about $50,000, passably equipped; add
$10,000 for the V8 ML 500.BH
NEARLY IRRESISTIBLE
GREEN CAR TECH
In February, Hymotion
unveiled the Plug-In
Hybrid Electric Vehicle
(PHEV) technology
for hybrid cars: Users
can charge their PHEV
batteries in any normal
120V outlet, enabling
a hybrid car to travel
longer distances solely
on battery power and
resulting in fuel efcien-
cies reaching 100 mpg.
The kit, expected
within a year, is under
development for the
Lexus Rx400h, Toyota
Highlander hybrid, and
Toyota Camry hybrid.
Bary Alyssa Johnson
T E CHNO RI DE
BI LL HOWARD
MAY 9, 2006 PC MAGAZINE 21
BLUE&ME : Low-Cost Telematics
The technology star of the 76th International Motor Show in Geneva was
Blue&Me, the rst product of a joint venture by Fiat and Microsoft. The device, a
low-cost telematics box, works as an in-car communication system that enables
hands-free Bluetooth-based talk, voice recognition, music player connectivity for
MP3 and WMA les, and remote diagnostics. It also has the potential for turn-by-
turn navigation downloads via cell phone.BH
DIESEL CARS ARE BACK
HAT WOULD IT TAKE
to get you into a die-
sel engine car? Will
you wait till diesels
run clean, and until
theres no engine clat-
ter? Until somebody
makes diesel airplane
engines? Until a diesel engine car wins an auto race?
Done, done, and done.
In March, an Audi won the Sebring 12-hour
endurance race, four laps ahead of the gasoline-pow-
ered runner-up. This is the rst time a diesel engine ve-
hicle has triumphed in a major automobile endurance
race, and its a shot in the arm for the image of such ve-
hicles. Diesels account for nearly half of all passenger
cars sold in Europe but for only a fraction in the U.S.
Technology has eliminated much of the noise that
diesel engines make; theres none inside the car and
hardly any outside. A sophisticated common-rail fuel-
injection system propels an atomized stream of fuel
into the cylinders at twice the speed of sound, ensuring
that air and fuel are properly mixed. They start almost
instantly, even in the cold.
As for running clean, this year the EPA ordered fuel
companies to stop whining and start refining diesel
fuel with low levels of sulfur, the pollutant thats re-
sponsible for the rotten-egg smell and black soot. Most
diesels also run on biodieselfuels made in part from
vegetable oils or animal fats. So if the Jetta ahead of
you smells like a McDonalds, now you know why.
New technologies, such as particulate lters (here
now) and the injection of urea into the exhaust stream
(coming), make diesels even cleaner.
In European countries, Herr Doktor Rudolf
Diesels 1892 invention purrs along under the hoods
of one-third to two-thirds of all cars. But here in the
U.S., only a dozen passenger-vehicle models with die-
sel engines are offered: a bunch of brawny American
trucks/SUVs, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and four
Volkswagens. California, Maine, Massachusetts, New
York, and Vermont effectively outlaw diesels, and some
automakers say they wont introduce diesel cars until
theyre allowed in every state.
Still, I dont think you can deny that were entering
a golden era of performance coming from a wider array
of engine types: gasoline or diesel boosted by hybrid,
turbocharged, or supercharged technologies.
If youre a stop-and-go driver, hybrids make sense.
But if you rack up a lot of highway miles and/or spend
a lot of time idling, a diesel may be your best bet. Wait
a year and youll see more choices. Diesels are de-
nitely back.
LCD panel
comes standard
Steerable headlights
track you through corners
2006 MPC Computers, LLC (MPC or Seller). MPC is not responsible for omissions or errors in typography or photography. All offers are subject to availability. Prices and specifications may change without
notice; prices do not include shipping, handling or applicable taxes, unless specifically required under contract. Seller's return policy does not include return freight and original shipping/handling charges, and a
restocking fee may be charged. All return and warranty periods begin from date product is shipped. All sales are controlled by Seller's current terms and conditions of sale and limited warranty, copies of which
are available on Seller's website or from its sales representatives. On-site service is provided at sole discretion of MPC. A qualifying diagnostic determination must be made by MPC prior to on-site service (if any).
On-site service is provided by a third-party service provider under a separate contract between you and the service provider. Advertised configurations may differ from award-winning configurations. Intel, Intel
Inside, Intel Inside logo, Intel Centrino, Intel Centrino logo, Celeron, Intel Xeon, Intel Speedstep, Itanium, Pentium and Pentium III Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries
in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other product names herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of
their respective companies. 1. All hard drive sizes calculated with 1GB equal to 1 billion bytes. 2. MPC 56K modems capable of receiving downloads at up to 56Kbps and sending at up to 31.2Kbps. Due to FCC
regulations on power output, receiving speeds are limited to 53Kbps. Actual speeds may vary. 3. 52X = 52X max./17X min. 48X=48X max./17X min. 24X = 24X max./10X min. 8X DVD = 8X max./1X min.
MPC recommends Microsoft
Windows
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CALL: 1(888) 208-7220 VISIT: www.mpccorp.com/pcmag609
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INSIDE...
IKE THIS SPIFFY OLYMPUS E-330 DIGI-
tal SLR, many of the products covered in
this edition of First Looks look familiar
but feature subtle yet important differ-
ences that set them apart from all thats
come before. The E-330, for example,
is the first D-SLR with a live-view/articulating LCD
screen. HPs Pavilion Media Center (in our hardware
section) looks like any other MCE desktop, but its our
rst Viiv- certied system. We have hands-on reviews
of Lenovos new laptops, small business NASs, and
Samsungs Nano competitor. Plus, theres advice on
how to make some of your most important purchases:
photo printers, parental-control software, and Win-
dows Mobile Devices. Come check out products youll
be buying today.
Olympus Evolt E-330
Flawless? No, but
for now, this camera
stands apart from all
other D-SLRs on the
market. Full review
starts on page 32.
WHAT THE RATINGS MEAN:
l l l l l
EXCELLENT |
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VERY GOOD |
l l l m m
GOOD |
l l m m m
FAIR |
l m m m m
POOR
F I R S T L OOK S
FI RST LOOKS
HARDWARE
HP Personal Media
Drive for unlimited
storage
Easy-access
FireWire port for
DV camcorder
S
lid
ing d
oor h
id
e
s
th
e
e
a
sy-a
c
c
e
ss
ports
Analog input
for VCR
PORTING A SLICK-LOOKING CASE AND
the latest Intel Viiv hardware, the Sony
VAIO VGC-RC210G is one seductive,
powerful Media Center PC. Our tests
prove that this desktop has enough
oomph to breeze through all your chal-
lenging multimedia projects, from editing video and
creating graphics to burning DVDs of exciting (at least
to you) holiday snapshots and home movies.
The RC 210Gs premium dual-core Pentium D 930
processor helped it complete a Windows Media En-
coder benchmark test about 40 percent faster than sim-
ilarly congured single-core systems and about as fast
as the Editors Choice HP. Better yet, its 320GB hard
drive offers plenty of room to house all the data you ac-
cumulate as you live your digital life. Moving content
onto the RC210G is easy, thanks to the 9-in-1 memory
card reader, a dual-layer DVD burner, and integrated
Wi-Fi networking. Using Microsoft Windows Media
Center 2005 OS with an internal TV tuner, the system
handily records live programming TiVo-style, too.
There are drawbacks, such as the systems ugly
Microsoft IR receiver and the weak 3D graphics card.
And the storage isnt as convenient to upgrade as that
of the HP m7360n. Still, the RC210G is an excellent
home workhorse and multimedia showcase.JSD
HP Pavilion
Media Center
TV m7360n PC
As a Media
Center PC,
the m7360n
has some outstanding
fea tures, such as the
Personal Media Drive,
wireless networking, and
good dual-core perfor-
mance.
$1,200 direct, without
monitor
go.pcmag.com/
hpM7360n
l l l l m
STYLE MEETS MEDIA SAVVY
HIS PC LOOKS BORING, BUT THE
m7360n is a powerful media cen-
ter system. It can handle regular
multimedia projects like compos-
ing, encoding, and burning video
DVDs, and its included TV/PVR
capability makes it a welcome addition to any
home ofce or bedroom, especially when a family
feud breaks out in the living room over whether to
watchLost or American Idol. Its also Viiv-certied,
so when Viiv takes off, youre ready.
Thanks to its dual-core Pentium D 9 Series
processor and 2GB of memory, the Media Center
operates smoothly, and the picture from the inter-
nal TV tuner is jitter-free. The m7360n also has
instant-on capability, letting you put the system
into a quiet, deep sleep (no rotating fans) from
which it can wake within seconds.
Im particularly fond of HPs Personal Media
Drive. This unique component lets you easily swap
hard drive cartridges that also hook up to other
PCs via USB. It gives you virtually limitless storage
(drives cost about $1 per GB). The more storage
the better, especially when youre recording TV and
video. The m7360n also has a LightScribe dual-
layer DVD SuperMulti drive that can read and
write DVDRW discs and can read DVD-RAM.
Im a big fan of the HP Pavilion Media Center
TV m7360n PC. Families looking to do more than
just view photos, videos, and TV should seriously
consider it.Joel Santo Domingo
MEDIA MAVEN
Sony VAIO VGC-RC210G
This attractive Media
Center PC is a great
option if youre looking
to trick out your home
with a chic desktop that
has oodles of storage
space and serious dual-
core muscle.
$1,380 direct, without
monitor
go.pcmag.com/
sonyrc210g
l l l l m
=
+ + +
Pentium D
975X
975X
Processor Chipset Network card
Media Center
THE CURRENT FORMULA FOR VIIV
Dual 160GB
hard drives
FI RST LOOKS
HARDWARE
TAYING CONNECTED AND EDGING OUT THE
competition are two musts for any business trav-
eler, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X60s helps you do
both. This 3.5-pound laptop has great connectiv-
ity by way of Verizons EV-DO. And, as we found
in testing, it can work off battery power for more
than 7 hours.
Some of my favorite things about this system, as with any
ThinkPad I can get my hands on, are the unmatched keyboard
and TrackPoint. Although the X60ss 12.1-inch screen is good
enough for most travelers, as a writer I prefer a slightly larger
screen. However, I certainly cant complain about the inclusion
of EV-DO: While roaming Manhattan, I was able to access my
e-mail, surf the Web, and download video clips at broadband-
like speeds. Talk about staying productive!
The X60s uses a low-voltage Intel Core Duo processor, the
1.66-GHz L2400, which helps it achieve a pleasing balance
of power and battery life. If your primary tasks on the road
are presenting slide shows, managing e-mails, Web surf-
ing, and working in Excel or Word les, the X60s is
the ultraportable for you.Cisco Cheng
HE SONY VAIO VGN-SZ170P SUCCESS-
fully combines good looks with inter-
esting featuresand a lot of power.
Two features Im crazy about, and
that are rarely found on a sub-4-pound
system, are the wide 13.3-inch LCD
and internal DVDRW drive.
To extend battery life, Sony integrates a hybrid
graphics system. A switch above the keyboard lets you
choose between the nVidia GeForce Go 7400 graphics
chipset (for better performance) and the integrated
Intel GMA 950/945GM graphics chipset (for better
battery life). Its a great concept, but you have to reboot
every time you ip the switch. When I used the Intel
graphics setting, I got only 42 extra minutes of battery
life, for a total 4 hours 15 minutes. I expected more.
The SZ170P comes with only two USB ports, and
I think every laptop should have at least three. None-
theless, Im pleased about the large 100GB hard drive,
and I love the addition of the 0.3-megapixel webcam
perfect for the growing number of video chatters and
Skype users. As long as its not a long trip, anyone who
travels with the SZ170P will be very pleased.CC
Sony VAIO
VGN-SZ170P
For a 3.8-pound system,
the Sony VAIO VGN-
SZ170P offers an
irresistible combina-
tion of sleekness, cool
features, superb per-
formance, and top-of-
the-line components.
$2,799 direct
go.pcmag.com/
sonysz170p
l l l l m
Lenovo
ThinkPad
X60s
The 3.5-
pound
ThinkPad
X60s is ideal for
anyone who spends
more time on the
road than in the
ofce. For many,
its pretty much the
perfect ultraportable.
$2,299 direct
go.pcmag.com/
thinkpadx60s
l l l l h
A PERFECT TRAVEL COMPANION
An amazing 7 hours
of battery life!
SEXY, SLEEK, POWERFUL
Razor-thin
13.3 inch LCD
Antenna for
Cingulars
Edge network
SIMPLICITY
TAKES
BUSINESS
Visa Business tracks your expenses on one simple statement, helping you run your business more
efciently. Saving you time and money. Not to mention sticky notes. For more information, visit us
at visa.com/smallbusiness. Your business is your life. Life takes Visa.
2
0
0
6

V
i
s
a

U
.
S
.
A
.

I
n
c
.
FI RST LOOKS
HARDWARE
ITH A BARGAIN PRICE, SMALL
size, and paper capacity suit-
able only for light-duty print-
ing, the Lexmark E120n is
decidedly a personal laser print-
er. This one, however, has net-
working capabilities, which makes it a good choice for a
home ofce or very small ofce. Its still a monochrome
printer, though, so if you plan on printing a lot of color
graphics or photos, an ink jet is a better solution.
Setup is as simple as it gets. The E120ns speed and
text quality is, according to our tests, more than good
enough for any text youre likely to print. Graphics qual-
HE I OMEGA SCREENPLAY SEEMS
like a dream come true: a 60GB hard
drive that plays video, photos, and mu-
sic on a TV. Sadly, the ScreenPlay has
limited playback capabilities, is pricey,
and simply doesnt work.
The ScreenPlay claims to support most flavors
of MPEG video, but on our tests, I had trouble play-
ing unprotected MPEG-4 files. QuickTime, Real,
and WMV arent supported, either. Photo and music
playback is better, although still not top-notch. The
ScreenPlay doesnt support some common audio for-
mats like M4P/M4A and WMA. And if you do have
music thats supported, good luck nding it. The navi-
gation is awkward: You must play or scroll through all
your music just to nd the song you want.
And yet, thats not the worst part: The ScreenPlay is
slooooooooow. Unbearably slow. It took me 14 minutes
to boot up to a navigational screen on my TV, and then
once I got there, clicking on any of the icons resulted in
a 5-minuteor longerwait.
The Iomega ScreenPlay needs worklots of work.
First, the performance needs to be fixed so that you
can actually browse and view content. Adding playlist
support, better le navigation, and search capabilities
should also top that needs xing list.
Joel Santo Domingo
Iomega ScreenPlay
Great in concept but a
failure in execution, the
Iomega ScreenPlay has
more things wrong than
right. Dont buy this
product.
$220 direct
go.pcmag.com/
iomegascreenplay
l m m m m
Lexmark E120n
With its small footprint,
fast performance, and
network connectivity,
the Lexmark E120n is a
good choice for sharing
on a home or small-
ofce network.
$149 direct
go.pcmag.com/
lexmarke120n
l l l h m
NETWORK POWER ON
A PERSONAL PRINTER
ity is just okay, which is typical for most monochrome
lasers. For internal documents its ne, but I wouldnt
use it if I were trying to impress a potential client.
The only real drawback is the low paper capacity.
If you print as few as 50 pages a day, youll be relling
the tray roughly every third day, which can be quite
annoying. But if thats not a concern, the E120n offers
a better balance of speed and quality than its direct
competition, and its a network printer at a stunningly
low price.M. David Stone
THIS DREAMY DEVICE
DOESNT WORK
5
.2
in
c
h
e
s
ENOVO IS TRYING HARD TO DISTIN-
guish its new 3000 series from the suc-
cessful high-end ThinkPad series, and,
if judged on looks alone, it succeeds.
Still, even though the Lenovo
3000 C100 is a capable value
notebook, it doesnt distinguish itself from
popular value offerings from Acer, Dell, and
HP. If anything, its less attractive than any of
those three.
The C100 is thick, weighs 6.3 pounds, and has a
15-inch display. Lenovo endows this beast with some
good features, such as four USB ports and an S-Video
port. In addition, the 80GB hard drive is fairly roomy,
and the DVD+R dual-layer drive is better than the
combo drives found on most budget laptops.
Though not the fastest laptop on the market, the
C100, as our testing shows, is capable of handling
everyday Ofce applications. As dual-core optimized
apps come down the line, however, this single-core
Lenovo 3000 C100
At less than $1,000, the
C100 is decidedly budget-
friendly. But if youre look-
ing for a true value, better
offerings are available.
Our online review details
those offerings.
$999 direct
go.pcmag.com/
lenovoc100
l l h m m
processor system may be
begging for an upgrade sooner than youd like.
Five months ago, I wouldve told you that any lap-
top from Lenovo is worth every penny. But with new,
more powerful, sleeker systems available from Dell
and HP for the same price, its hard to recommend
the C100, even if it shares a stable with the excellent
ThinkPad line of notebooks.Cisco Cheng
LENOVO GOES FOR VALUE
The best
keyboard
in any laptop!
Ricoh dependability moves your ideas forward.
ricoh-usa.com/itchannel
1
.
800
.
RICOH
.
43
2006 Ricoh Corporation
Stan, I depend on that Ricoh printer
for just about everything.
Youre still getting
your own lunch, right Jerry?
FI RST LOOKS
HARDWARE
BUYI NG GUI DE
Dedicated
Photo Printers
The Epson PictureMate has been our high-
end Editors Choice for so long that we
keep thinking the next printer we test will
surely replace it. But its stayed on top,
thanks to its true photo-quality output,
memory slots, 2.4-inch color LCD, kiosk-
style print menus, battery option, and reasonable
29-cent cost per photo.
Its six-color ink system helps produce high-
quality, waterproof, smear-proof images. You can
print easily from your camera, an external CD or
ZIP drive, a USB memory key, memory card, or your
computer. A color LCD screen lets you easily pre-
view your prints, and an intuitive menu offers op-
tions such as cropping and resizing of images. And
if you love your PictureMate so much that you want
to take it with you everywhere, fear not: With a car-
rying handle and optional battery, the PictureMate
is designed for maximum portability.
$199.99 direct
go.pcmag.com/epsondeluxe.
l l l l h
F YOU HAVE A DIGITAL CAMERA AND YOU WANT
the freedom to print your own photoseven
if its moments after you take thema dedi-
cated photo printer is the way to go. A dedi-
cated photo printer qualies more as a cam-
era accessory than as a computer peripheral
because you dont even need a PC to print. And you
can nd a dedicated photo printer to t just about any
budget, with prices ranging from $80 up to about $400
for printers aimed at casual users, and up to four gures
for more serious photographers.
Sure, you can print photos on almost any ink jet
printer, and you can even print them at sizes larger
EPSON PICTUREMATE
DELUXE VIEWER EDITION
than 4 by 6 inches. But part of the goal of dedicated
photo printers is to make printing your photos as easy
as dropping off a roll of lm at the drug store. Few stan-
dard computer printers offer the same ease of use for
printing photos. And even the ones that do dont offer
the same portability. Because they print at a maximum
of 4-by-6 or, in some cases, 5-by-7 format, virtually all
dedicated photo printers are small and light enough to
take anywhere.
Output quality is the most important, yet most dif-
cult, issue to check before buying. Most photo printers
will print at least some photos at true photo quality, so
take any samples a store shows you with a grain of salt.
STAY AWAY!
Large, 2.4-inch LCD
for easy photo editing
Lab-quality photos
Lexmark P315
The lack of resistance
to water makes photos
printed on the P315 easy
to ruin just by handling.
$99.99 direct
go.pcmag.com/
lexmarkp315
l l h m m
Samsung SPP-2020
Digital Photo Printer
At 42 cents per photo,
the SPP-2020 is far less
of a bargain than its
price suggests.
$80 street
go.pcmag.com/
samsungspp2020
l l l h m
ANALYST S VI EW
BY M. DAVID STONE
RECENT REVIEWS
Canon Pixma
iP5200R
$230
street
l l l l m
Fast, prints great photos, and has
support for wireless networking.
Olympus P-11 $150
street
l l l h m
It's compact, inexpensive, and deliv-
ers swift 4-by-6 prints.
Dell Photo All-
in-One 964
$199.00
direct
l l l m m
It's not fast, but it's ne for mundane
home ofce work.
Kodak Easy-
Share 500
$199.95
direct
l l l l m
This Kodak prints excellent 4-by-6
photos and has plenty of ports.
Canon Pixma
MP950
$399.99
direct
l l l l m
A talented multifunction printer that
will tackle almost any printing task.
Canon Pixma
iP6600D
$199.99
direct
l l l h m
Foremost an excellent photo printer.
Text output is average.
MORE DEDICATED PHOTO PRINTER REVIEWS ONLINE
Check out all our photo printer reviews at go.pcmag.com/photoprinters.
HE PHONE CALL USUALLY COMES
right after friends and family go
shopping on their own for aphoto
printer and come back confused.
There are so many choices. First
they need to decide if they want
a standard desktop ink jet or a
dedicated photo printer. If they
settle on buying a dedicated unit, theyll have to gure
out if they want ink jet or thermal dye. Thats when
they remember they have an expert resource to call on.
The most common question I get is, Whats the differ-
ence between thermal dye and ink jet printers? I usual-
ly take a deep breath, because as simple as the answer
is (at least to me), its equally complicated to convey.
The short answer is that theres plenty of difference in
the printer technologies themselves, but a tremendous
overlap in the featuresthose features being cost-per-
photo ratio, photo quality, and water resistance. And of
course, at the end of the day, your choice will depend
on the features you value most. The tips below have
helped many a friend and family member choose the
perfect printer.
First, lets clear up a common misconception.
Thermal dye printers do not print better-looking pho-
tos than ink jets. They did several years ago, but they
no longer do. The reality today is that both technolo-
gies can produce good-looking output, but four of the
ve best photo printers Ive seen since mid-2004 are
ink jets.
The bad news about prints generated by ink jet
printers is that most ink jet output isnt waterproof.
Even after the ink is dry, you can ruin a typical ink jet
photo easily: Just pass it around for people to handle
on a humid day. The ribbons in thermal dye printers,
however, include an overcoat panel to coat the nished
photo and protect it. The result is a photo that you can
handle without ruining, even immediately after print-
ing. Try that with most ink jets and youll smudge the
photoor at least get ngerprints on it. Some ink jets,
like the Epson PictureMate Deluxe, offer the same
level of waterproofing as a thermal dye printer, but
most dont.
Ultimately, ink jets are more likely to give you
better-quality photos, yet you risk unpredictable costs
and smudging. Thermal dye photo quality isnt as highly
rated, but with thermal dye you know your photos wont
smudge and you can calculate costs more efciently.
Instead of calling me, research your printers until you
nd one that can give you everything you want. Theyre
out therelike the 29-cent-per-photo Epson Picture-
Mate Deluxe ink jet.
M. David Stone is PC Magazines Lead Analyst for
Printers.
OTHER
OPTIONS
PRINT BIG
HP Photosmart 475
GoGo Photo Printer
The HP Photosmart 475
is portable, easy to use,
and one of the few that
print 5-by-7 photos.
$250 street
go.pcmag.com/
hp425gogo
l l l l m
PRINTING CHOICES
Canon Selphy DS810
This printer lets you print
on its less expensive
paper, but you can also
step up to quality suit-
able for framing.
$149.99 direct
go.pcmag.com/
canonDS810
l l l l m
AFFORDABLE
ALTERNATIVE
Canon Selphy CP510
Compact Photo Printer
Small, lightweight, and
offers the best combina-
tion of running cost (at
29 cents per photo) and
output quality for the
price.
$99.99 direct
go.pcmag.com/
canonCP510
l l l l m
Almost as important is what the printer can print
from: cameras, computers, or memory cards. Nearly
all dedicated photo printers today include a PictBridge
connector, which lets you use a PictBridge-enabled
cameras LCD and menus to print. Most photo print-
ers can also connect to a computer by USB cable,
which may or may not be included with the printer, and
they typically come with software that lets you manage
your photos as well as edit and print them. This can be
handy if you want to reprint photos later. Unless youre
convinced youll never want to store your photos on your
computer and you have another storage plan, make sure
that the printer can connect to your computer.
Youll generally have to pay more for printers with
memory card slots, because the slots are usually paired
with a color LCD and built-in menus. The combina-
tion lets you preview photos as well as crop or enhance
them, much like using a photo kiosk. If a printer offers
these features, nd out what editing tools it has; some
printers offer lots more than others. And dont overlook
the LCD size. Its much easier to preview photos on a
2.5-inch screen than on a 1.5-inch one.
Youll want to consider paper size, cost per photo,
and portability. In addition to the usual 4-by-6 size, a
few photo printers offer smaller or larger paper sizes,
or both.
Cost per 4-by-6 print ranges from about 28 cents
up to more than 60 cents. If you dont print a lot of pho-
tos, the cost may not matter much, particularly if the
printer offers some other feature you want, like a low
initial price or fast print speed. But the more photos
you print, the more critical the cost per photo will be.
In almost all cases you can buy packs of paper and ink
or paper and dye rolls for a specic number of photos,
so youll know exactly how many photos you can print
and at what price: simply divide the price of the pack
by the number of photos it can print. MDS
FI RST LOOKS
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
HE OLYMPUS EVOLT E-330 WAS A BIG HIT
at this years PMA show in Orlando.
And for good reason: Its the first
D-SLR to give consumers the option
of framing their shots on the LCD, a
feature thats been available on lower-
end digital cameras for years. Its also the rst D-SLR
with an articulating LCD.
This breakthrough product gives you the best of
both worlds: You can compose a shot on the 2.5-inch
LCD screen or peer through the viewnderits your
choice. How Olympus achieved this Live View was
relatively simple: It added an additional CCD sensor
into the reected path that carries the image from the
lens, through the camera, and into the viewnder.
Olympus Evolt E-330
The Olympus Evolt
E-330 is the rst D-SLR
that lets you compose
your subjects on its LCD
screen.
$1,100 street, with
14mm-to-45mm lens
go.pcmag.com/e330
l l l l m
LIVE FROM YOUR D-SLR
3.1 x optical
zoom
CF and xD
card slot
Pop-up ash
The LCDs ability to articulate is another feature
new to D-SLR cameras. If you want to take a Hail
Mary shot (hold your camera above your head and
pray you get the shot), you can adjust the screen,
extend your arm, and still see precisely where youre
aiming the E-330.
The E-330 weighs 1.2 pounds without a battery,
about the same as the Nikon D50 (1 pound 3 ounces).
I enjoyed holding it. Also, it has one of the nicest con-
trol sets Ive seen on an entry-level D-SLR.
Olympus lets you choose between two options for
composing images on the LCD: Live View A Mode, for
general-purpose shooting, and Live View B Mode, for
close-ups (see the diagram on page 34). Both modes
are easy to use, and its simple to toggle between them.
ITS THE NETWORK
SM
THATS BUILT IN TO THE LATEST NOTEBOOKS.
For the frst time ever, access to Verizon Wireless BroadbandAccess service is built in to the most
innovative notebooks from Lenovo ThinkPad and HP. So you can work wirelessly without a PC card
or the hassle of Wi-Fi hotspots.
With BroadbandAccess built in, theres never been an easier or more convenient way to work on
the nations largest high-speed wireless broadband network.
Already have a notebook but are still interested in the power of BroadbandAccess? You can get a
BroadbandAccess-capable PC card that slides directly into most notebooks.
BroadbandAccess built in. Only from Verizon Wireless.
verizonwireless.com/notebooks
Our surcharges (incl. 2.41% Federal Universal Service [varies quarterly], 5 Regulatory & 40 Administrative charge/line/mo., & others by area) are not taxes (details:
1-888-684-1888); govt taxes and our surcharges could add 6%35% to your bill. Activation fee: $35/line. IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: Subject to Customer
Agreement, Calling Plan & credit approval. $175 termination fee, other charges & restrictions. Ofers, coverage & service not available everywhere. BroadbandAccess is
available in 181 major metro areas covering over 148 million people. Wireless service not included with notebook. Access limited to coverage area of Verizon Wireless.
Check with Verizon Wireless for availability and coverage in your area. Coverage limitations & maps at www.verizonwireless.com. Limited time ofer.
Ofer valid on 2-year Customer Agreement
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FI RST LOOKS
HOW IT WORKS: LIVE VIEW
Until now, no D-SLR let you view a live image of your subject on the LCD screen. Instead, you were forced to put
your eye up to the viewfinder. With its innovative Live View display, the Olympus Evolt E-330 gives you two ways
to view your subjects on the LCD screen: Live View A Mode and Live View B Mode.
A MODE: For General Photography
The image travels
through the lens into
the camera body, as it
does in A Mode. When
you press the Live View
button, however, the
image is not reflected
around the camera
body but instead travels
back to the main 7.5MP
MOS sensor.
In B mode, the
digital image is sent
directly to the LCD for a
live preview. Because
the autofocus is
disengaged you have to
focus manually. To help
with that, you can view
the image magnified
10X on the LCD.
B MODE: For Closeups
As with all D-SLRs, the
image enters through
the lens here.
1 1
2
In Live View A Mode,
when you take the
picture, this mirror will
swing out of the way and
let the image register on
the 7.5MP MOS sensor.
2
The E-330 has special
mirrors, called Porro
mirrors, which reflect the
image around the side of
the camera body instead of
up through its center.
3
The image is reflected
through the glass
viewfinder and also to an
8MP CCD sensor, which
sends a digital image to the
LCD at the back.
4
1
1
2
2
3
4
MOS
to LCD
to LCD
CCD
MOS
Articulating
live view screen
The specs of the Olympus Evolt E-330 make it an
entry-level D-SLR: Its a 7.5MP camera that comes
with a Zuiko Digital Specic lens, which has a 3.1X
optical zoom with a 14mm-to-45mm range (equivalent
to a 35mm lens with a 28mm-to-90mm zoom) and cor-
responding maximum f-stops of f/3.5 to f/5.6.
The menu structure was decent enough, although
I hope future Olympus D-SLRs will include the guide
features found on some of their latest Stylus models. I
like that the camera gives you a wide array of image-le
choices, including TIFF and various combinations of
RAW and JPEG les.
I was happy to see that there is no solarization on
the 2.5-inch Hyper Crystal LCD panel. This means
you can view the image at an angle without having it be-
come obscured the way it would be on an older LCD.
The E-330 isnt without some shortcomings. The
camera has just three autofocus points, rather disap-
pointing for a somewhat expensive entry-level D-SLR.
Most other D-SLRs have at least ve AF points. There
is also no way to change between the three points
quickly; you have to use the menus. Other D-SLRs use
a multiselector controller. These AF points can help
you track your subjects more precisely and keep them
in focus, although most of the time this will apply only
to action shooters.
The E-330s full feature set and variety of options
make it competitive with other D-SLRs, although
Olympus will need to add some improvements to
render it awless: In testing I found the image quality
quite good but just a notch below that of the Nikon
D50 and the Canon Rebel XT. But by giving me that
best-of-both-worlds feeling, its a camera that truly
stands apart from the pack.Terry Sullivan
HE LG CU320 IS A PLEASANT, MIDRANGE
phone that plays fun, boredom-banishing
video clips. But its a modest introduction
for Cingulars new 3G network.
A solid, slightly techy-looking slider
phone, the tri-band CU320 performs
pretty well in terms of reception and sound quality. The
phones major feature is Cingular Video, a package of clips
from HBO, CNN, ESPN, NBC, and others. The selec-
tion is better than Verizons, but Sprint leads the pack with
live TV channels. Videos look sharper than on Sprint or
Verizon, and they even look good in EDGE cities without
Cingulars 3G network. Photos taken with the CU320s
1.3-megapixel camera were bright but blurrier than I would
have liked. Theres also a POP3/IMAP e-mail program and
AIM, ICQ, and Yahoo! instant messaging.
Unfortunately, the CU320 doesnt use Cingulars 16-
city UMTS/HSDPA network to its fullest. Theres no video
calling or full HSDPA speed, though the phone works as a
PC modem on the 200-to-300-Kbps UMTS system. For a
high-speed modem on Cingular, get a PC Card or wait for
HSDPA phones this fall.Sascha Segan
LG CU320
Although it doesnt take
full advantage of Cingu-
lars new 3G data network,
this is a solid midrange
phone with some nice
entertainment features.
$299.99; from $149.99
with contract
go.pcmag.com/cu320
l l l h m
1.3-megapixel
camera
Keypad
slides shut
CINGULARS MODEST 3G HANDSET
Ricoh dependability moves your ideas forward.
ricoh-usa.com/itchannel
1
.
800
.
RICOH
.
43
2006 Ricoh Corporation
Stan, you can depend on
Ricoh color to stand out.
We could use
a little color, Jerry.
FI RST LOOKS
Sennheiser CX-300
If you want thumping bass
with minimal mud, youll
love these compact in-ear
headphones.
$69.99 list
go.pcmag.com/cx300
l l l l m
HE SAMSUNG YEPP YP-Z5 IS PART OF THE OPENING
salvo in what will soon be a slew of non-Apple
high-capacity ash MP3 players hitting the shelves.
Although not quite an iPod nanokiller, it does have
some advantages, including an impressive 30-hour battery life,
a bright 1.8-inch LCD screen, and photo panning/zooming.
It is also the rst PlaysForSure-compatible 4GB ash player
on the market, though it will soon be followed by many similar
devices. The Z5s screen seems fairly rugged, though I did nd
a few scuffs on the silver plastic casing. Nearly twice as thick as
the nano, the Z5 still qualies as thin. The somewhat nicky
controls are probably what will keep this otherwise satisfying
player out of the limelight, but techies will love nice touches
like Ogg Vorbis support. Overall sound quality is good, but not
the best Ive heard; at least the included earbuds arent bad. The
Z5 is available in black or silver, and pricing is comparable with
that of the iPod nano.Mike Kobrin
Samsung Yepp
YP-Z5
Its the rst 4GB
ash player to be
compatible with
PlaysForSure, but
its still no iPod
nanokiller.
4GB: $249.99 list;
2GB: $199.99
go.pcmag.com/
ypz5
l l l l m
HE STARTECH MP3 AIRLINK LETS YOU SEND MUSIC
across your home without making your oor look
like a snake pit. The 2.4-GHz transmitter and re-
ceiver are two nearly identical 1- by 3.1- by 3.1-
inch (HWD) plastic boxes. Each box has its own wall-wart
AC power adapter, and the system comes with two sets of
RCA-to-3.5mm cables and one 3.5mm-to-3.5mm cable.
Overall, Im impressed with the AirLinks sound
quality and ease of use. It has a signicantly clearer sig-
nal than Bluetooth-based products. But if you have a
lot of interference in your space from other devices that
use the 2.4-GHz frequency band (Bluetooth headsets,
microwaves, some RF remotes), the AirLink may disap-
point. If you dont, youll nd this is a very useful, and
affordable, product.MK
OR BASS LOVERS AND SUBWAY COM-
muters, the Sennheiser CX-300
in-ear headphones are a very good
step up from stock earbuds. Theyre
small, fairly nonintrusive, and the sound
quality is noticeably better than that of the
slightly cheaper Sony MDR-EX series, with
more clarity and crisper highs.
The bass is very powerful, but it doesnt
overwhelm the rest of the sound. Also, the
16-ohm CX-300 headphones are more
efcient than Sonys, which means you
dont have to turn your player up as loud
to get a comfortable listening volume. In
addition, the CX-300s noise isolation is
reasonably effective. These are a good al-
ternative to your players included earbuds,
especially if you dig a beefy low end.MK
StarTech MP3 AirLink
With a dead-simple setup and
a price that wont hurt your
wallet, this is an excellent
wireless music system.
$92.99 direct
go.pcmag.com/airlink
l l l l m
THANKS FOR THE MEMORY
TINY BASS THUMPERS
WIRELESS MUSIC MADE SIMPLE
Drivers are
covered with
a screen
Channel button
C
ontrols a
re

re
ce
sse
d
into
th
e
fra
m
e
Learn Excel
on your lunch break,

take a marketing class on the train,
and get technical support anytime,
anywhere.
Free.
2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft and Excel are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Introducing Microsoft
Small Business +. This free online business resource is designed to help you get the most
out of your Microsoft software investment. Small Business + provides you and your employees with free training,
technical support, and practical tips and how-tos to help you improve overall business practices. Best of all, the
program is based on your business needs, and is customized around what you tell us is important to you.
Just go to: www.microsoft.com/sbplusG
ITH A NATIVE RESOLUTION OF
1,024 by 768 pixels, the NEC
42XR4 is, to date, the most
impressive 42-inch plasma
display panel Ive ever seen. It
doesnt include many extras,
and its advanced picture controls demand professional
setup, but with some tweaking, this TVs accurate
and faithful video reproduction is a pleasure for the
eyes. The 42XR4 is ofcially labeled a monitor, since
NEC 42XR4
The 42XR4 is a
superb plasma
display. It needs
professional
installation to
set the advanced picture
controls, however.
$3,995 list
go.pcmag.com/nec42xr4
l l l l m
it lacks a television tuner (DTV or otherwise), but for
cable and satellite set-top box users, this is mostly irrel-
evant. After calibration, the 42XR4 produces an ANSI
contrast ratio of 1,001:1, the best among all displays
(plasma or otherwise) that Ive tested to date. Subject-
ively, both DVD movies and HDTV appear pleasingly
correct, with accurate colors and detailed imagery. Yes,
the near $4,000 42XR4 costs more than most other 42-
inch plasma displays, but I have yet to see a 42-inch TV
come this close to image perfection.Robert Heron
THE BEST 42-INCH PLASMAFOR NOW
1. Toshiba EasyGuard technology comprises a number of features some of which may or may not be available on a particular Toshiba notebook depending on the model selected. See www.easyguard.toshiba.com for
detailed information. 2. Toshibas shock absorption technology provides higher impact protection for your system as compared to Toshiba systems without similar shock protection features based on Toshibas drop tests.
Toshibas standard limited warranty terms and limitations apply. Visit www.warranty.toshiba.com for details. ConfigFree, Portg, Satellite and Tecra are registered trademarks and EasyGuard and Qosmio are trademarks
of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. and/or Toshiba Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Inside, the Intel Inside logo, Celeron, Intel Centrino, the Intel Centrino logo and Pentium are trademarks or registered
Toshiba recommends Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.
Tecra M4 Tablet PC
Combines high-performance notebook
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Toshiba EasyGuard enhancements
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Starting at $1,699
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ToshibaByDesign.com/M4
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Innovation by design.
trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Wi-Fi is
a registered certification mark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. While Toshiba has made every effort at the time of publication to ensure the accuracy of the information
provided herein, product specifications, configurations, prices, system/component/options availability are all subject to change without notice. Toshiba is not liable for pricing, typographical or photography errors.
Prices listed are based on products listed at ToshibaDirect.com at time of publication printing. Reseller/Retailer pricing/products may vary. 2006 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Where can innovation take you?
ToshibaByDesign.com/M4
The ability to adapt to your surroundings is a key component of
success. The Tecra M4 Tablet PC brings together state-of-the-art
notebook technology with innovative tablet functionality to become
Toshibas most advanced notebook yet. It works around you,
instead of the other way around. Thats innovation 360.
The power of versatility.
Patented Diversity Antenna
Improves wireless signal reception by
strategically placing a dual-band Wi-Fi
antenna in the notebook display.
Toshiba Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
Chip embedded on motherboard helps protect your data
with NSA-level encryption.
ConfigFree Software
Simplifies finding and connecting to networks
and allows collaboration between connected
users and workgroups.
High-Resolution
Video Display
14" diagonal SXGA+ display offers an
extended viewable range and more
vivid visuals plus, the polycarbonate
protective surface offers an authentic
pen and paper experience.
HDD Protection Design
1
Shock-absorbing materials and integrated
3D accelerometer helps safeguard your
hard drive from falls, impacts or vibrations.
1
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3D accelerometer help safeguard your
FI RST LOOKS
BUYI NG GUI DE
Windows
Mobile
Devices
Pick Your Favorite Flavor
Windows Mobile comes in three avorsand two ver-
sions. Traditional PDAs like the Dell Axim X51v are
the most powerful of the bunch, but obviously, they
dont make phone calls. Right now, only traditional
PDAs offer features like 640-by-480 VGA screens,
graphics acceleration, 624-MHz processors, and n-
gerprint scanners. That makes them ideal for gaming,
multimedia, remote-desktop access, or other demand-
ing business applications.
Smartphones such as the T-Mobile SDA look like
regular phones, and they dont have touch screens.
Theyre best for people who will be receiving informa-
tion on the go. You can surf the Web, read e-mail, or
INDOWS MOBILE IS WINNING
the mobile OS wars. Once a
clunky also-ran, Microsofts
operating system now appears
on devices for every major
wireless carrier.
Flexibility and power put Windows Mobile in the
lead. The OS comes on a wide range of devices, from
candy-bar phones to laptop-style mini-PCs. It sup-
ports the fastest mobile processors and wireless con-
nections. Youll also nd that Windows Mobile devices
are on the cutting edge of mobile video and gaming.
Windows Mobile devices sync with Windows XP
PCs, letting you carry your Outlook contacts, calendars,
e-mail, and Windows Media Player music and video
wherever you go. They also surf the Web with Pocket
Internet Explorer, play games, read Microsoft Ofce
documents, and run hundreds of other applications.
MORE ON THE WEB
Check out all our Windows
Mobile Device reviews at
go.pcmag.com/wmd
T-MOBILE SDA
A total reball of a smartphone, the T-Mobile
SDA syncs with Outlook, plays music, and
surfs the Web over Wi-Fi. The chubby can-
dy-bar phone has plenty of buttons, giving
you great power once you get the hang of it.
Though the phone isnt very loud, it gets
excellent reception, and the talk time is outstanding.
Microsofts Windows Mobile 5.0 plus T-Mobiles all-
you-can-eat Wi-Fi/EDGE data plan make the SDA a
great way to carry around your calendar, play music
synced from Windows Media Player, and nd that
Mexican restaurant using the built-in Web browser. I
wish it had more memory for add-in programs, but
no phone is perfect.
$299.99 list
go.pcmag.com/sda
l l l l m
320-b
y
-240
VG
A
sc
re
e
n
Dedicated
music buttons
ANALYST S VI EW
BY SASCHA SEGAN
listen to MP3s on your smartphone, but editing docu-
ments or writing e-mail is only for the very patient.
Pocket PC phones such as the Sprint PPC-6700
balance power and phone capabilities. All have touch
screens, and many have full keyboards. But theyre a
bit clunkier than smartphones.
Youll also have to choose between the newer Win-
dows Mobile 5.0 and the older 2003 OS. Windows
Mobile 5.0 devices use persistent memory, so your data
doesnt disappear if the battery dies, and theyre better
at reading Microsoft Ofce documents and Web brows-
ing. Also, they hold out the promise of true push e-mail
from corporate Outlook 2003 SP2 servers with a future
upgrade. But Mobile 5.0 devices feel a little slower than
devices running the older OS. Still, we think you should
buy Mobile 5.0 devices whenever possible.
Once youve picked your avor and version, scope
out the features you need. If you plan to talk a lot on a
Pocket PC phone, youll probably want Bluetooth. If
youre into e-mail, try out your devices keyboard rst. A
few Pocket PCs, such as the HP iPAQ hw6515, even
come with built-in GPS, useful for road warriors.
High-speed cellular networking, such as EV-DO,
will cost a lot monthly but will give you the best brows-
ing experience. To save on monthly fees, you can nd a
Wi-Fi device and restrict yourself to hot spots.
Processor speed matters only if youre going to try
to watch full-screen video or run voice-over-Internet
applications like Skype. In such cases, look for a device
with a 416-MHz or faster processor.
Once youve settled on a Windows Mobile device,
stop by an online store such as Handango or Pocket-
Gear to see the wide range of software available.
Whether youre an ofce drone, a gamer, or a multi-
media maven, youll be amazed at what you can hold
in your hand.SS
UST A FEW YEARS AGO, PALM OS
ruled the mobile landscape. Hand-
spring, Qualcomm, and Samsung
all brought out compelling smart-
phones with the easy-to-use Palm-
Source software.
But in 2006, its increasingly
becoming a Windows Mobile world.
Windows gadgets from Dell, HP, HTC, and even Palm
ood wireless carriers stores. The formidable Palm-
Source has been reduced to one smartphone, the Treo
650, and a handful of PDAs.
In the fourth quarter of 2005, Microsoft licensees
shipped 2.1 million Windows Mobile PDAs, almost
double the number of Palm OS PDAs shipped that
quarter, according to Gartner Dataquest. In-Stat prin-
cipal analyst Bill Hughes sees Windows smartphone
sales jumping to 6.7 million in 2006, with RIM and
Palm at about 3.7 million each.
How did Microsoft jump from worst to rst? The
company embraced the latest technologies faster than
anyone else. Looking for a handheld with hardware
graphics acceleration? Check out Windows Mobile.
How about EV-DO high-speed networking? Windows
Mobile again. How about EV-DO and Wi-Fi? Yup,
Windows Mobile.
Microsoft also listened to its licensees, and signed
up new partners. PalmSources Cobalt OS was sup-
posed to be the next generation of the Palm OS. But it
wasnt designed to accord with the needs of licensees,
and nobody picked it up.
Microsoft played up its strengths. Exchange Active-
Sync leverages corporate IT departments existing in-
vestments, and Microsoft has provided a clear road
map toward Microsoft-based push e-mail. That takes
some of the wind out of RIMs sales.
The company also waited for technology to be on
its side. Microsofts OSs are not terribly efcient. That
was a drawback when PDAs ran on slow processors
with little memory. Now that handhelds can pack 624-
MHz processors and 128MB of RAM, the efciency
advantages held by Linux, Symbian, and PalmSource
have begun to evaporate.
And finally, Microsoft delivered. PalmSource
might be more of a contender if it actually had a new
product. Instead, after the Cobalt debacle of 2004, the
company practically went into hiding, coming out only
to announce that its new ALP platform might appear
on devices sometime in 2007. That will leave Micro-
soft crossing the nish line while PalmSource is still
tying its running shoes. For 2006, at least, Windows
Mobile is the OS to watch.
Sascha Segan is PC Magazines Lead Analyst for cell
phones and handheld devices.
OTHER
OPTIONS
BEST FOR SPRINT
Sprint PPC-6700
This is the best Windows
Mobile PDA/phone weve
seen for Sprint,
with a nearly
ideal balance
of size and
power, and
good EV-DO/
Wi-Fi integration.
$479 list
go.pcmag.com/ppc6700
l l l l m
BEST FOR VERIZON
Palm Treo 700w
The rst Windows
Treo isnt a huge
step forward, but
it offers zippy EV-
DO speeds and
good reception.
$619.99 direct
go.pcmag.com/700w
l l l m m
BEST FOR CINGULAR
Cingular 2125
A truly pocket-sized
phone for syncing
with Microsoft
Outlook or Ex-
change servers, it
also has a terric
battery life.
$299.99 list
go.pcmag.
com/2125
l l l l m
RECENTLY REVIEWED
HP iPAQ
rx1950
$299.00
list
l l l h m
A good business PDA for PIM and
integrating into corporate networks.
Samsung i730 $599.99
list
l l l l m
The most powerful cellular device
available; just recharge it daily.
i-mate JAM $639.00
direct
l l l l m
This little Pocket PC phone offers a lot
of performance for its size.
Sprint
PPC-6600
$629.99
list
l l l h m
The most powerful Sprint handheld
doesnt offer a high-speed network.
Siemens SX66 $549.99
list
l l l l m
This powerful PDA/phone has a wide
range of networking options.
Audiovox
XV-6600
$549.99
list
l l l l m
Surf at near-broadband speeds in 16
cities with this PDA/phone.
Sprint PCS
PPC-6601
$629.99
list
l l l l m
This smartphone works very well for
what it's meant to do, but at a price.
HP iPAQ
hx2750
$549.00
list
l l l l m
A fast, handsome business PDA with
top-of-the-line performance.
FI RST LOOKS
SOFTWARE
HE CLIPMARKS APP/WEB-SITE COMBI-
nation dees easy classication. When
you browse, it lets you clip (select and
save) and tag content, as you might
guess from the name, but the sharing
and social components at its heart are
its most compelling and entertaining attributes. Al-
though you can, of course, keep your content private,
the sites very nature invites you to share it, as well as pe-
ruse and comment on what your fellow clippers post.
Using tools that the plug-in app puts on the
menu bar of your browser (Firefox, Internet Explor-
er, or the little-known Flock), you snag Web con-
tent and store it on Clipmarks.com, a thoroughly
intriguing interactive site that has a very intuitive
and responsive interface. Because you can easily
tag items with common-sense categories and create
tags that others can search on or use themselves,
members can easily nd clips, subscribe to RSS
feeds based on tags, and even stitch clips together
into personalized cliprolls.
Although there are just 10,000 registered users
and 2,500 active clippers currently, someone will
nearly always be interested in what you post, and
youll come across a lot of fascinating content posted
by others. Despite the relatively small community,
there are a wide variety of clips with topics from
news and celebrity gossip to shopping. I nd itfor
now at leasta far more intimate and inviting place
to spend time than del.icio.us, digg, or Yahoo! My
Weband that makes part of me sad to recommend
this free tool so highly.Davis D. Janowski
Clipmarks
This addictive app/Web-
site combo is an effective
way to store pieces of
Web pages for future ref-
erence, sharing, and gath-
ering commentary.
Free
go.pcmag.com/clipmarks
l l l l m
A TRULY SOCIAL BOOKMARKING SITE
Current
hippest
clips
Public
comments
area
Typical clip,
political satire
Search by tag
THERES HAVING A PLAN.
AND THEN THERES FOUR GUYS,
NO MAP AND A
FULL TANK OF GAS.
THERES HAVING A PLAN.
AND THEN THERES FOUR GUYS,
NO MAP AND A
FULL TANK OF GAS.
ALSO AVAILABLE IN POUCHES
Always moist.
Always premium.
Always fresh.
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FI RST LOOKS
SOFTWARE
BUYI NG GUI DE
MORE ON THE WEB
For in-depth reviews of
parental-control software and
hardware, visit us online at
go.pcmag.com/
parentalcontrols
HOW THEY RATE
Site blocking
Image
blocking Time control
Alerts &
remote access Robustness Overall
ContentProtect
l l l l m
N/A
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iShield N/A
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N/A N/A
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PC Moderator N/A N/A
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N/A
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Safe Eyes 2006
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N/A
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RED denotes Editors' Choice. N/ANot applicable: The product does not perform this function.
Parental Controls
SAFE EYES 2006
Keep your kids away from bad
sites and control how much time
they spend online. If they go wild
on the Web, Safe Eyes rats them
out so you can take control from
wherever you are. The product is
toughI tried but failed to get around its
site blocking and could not gain access out-
side scheduled hours. One license allows in-
stallation on three PCs or Macs, which can
conveniently share the same online user
prolesthats great for the multicomputer
family. And ltering happens at the server
level, so it works with any browser. Add log-
ging of Web and IM activity, and youve got
near-complete parental control.
$49.95 per year for up to three computers
go.pcmag.com/safeeyes2006
l l l l m
N A PERFECT WORLD, YOU D GUIDE YOUR
children through the vast resources of the
Internet, and theyd follow your guidance.
Theyd use the computer only when permit-
ted, eschew violent games, and avoid inap-
propriate sites. But this isnt a perfect world.
You may not be able to supervise your kids all the time:
Maybe they get home before you do, maybe they have
computers in their roomsand maybe they dont do
what theyre told. Parental-control software can help.
Most of these programs filter HTML traffic and
block access to Web sites that match from a dozen-odd
to 40 or more specic categories. The products use a
local or online database to categorize Web sites; a few
actually analyze each page. You may have the option of
logging violations without blocking them or just dis-
playing a warning. Naturally, you should have the op-
tion of overriding the category ltering to allow access
to specific sites; the database wont always be right.
But dont even look at a product that relies solely on
lists of good and bad sites. And be sure the lter blocks
inappropriate sites regardless of the browser used.
Time Management
In most cases, these products let you limit time
children spend on the computer to a daily or weekly
Vary settings
by user account
Control settings, alerts, and
logs with the menu bar
ANALYST S VI EW
BY NEIL J. RUBENKING
STAY AWAY!
allowance, a weekly matrix of permissible times, or a
combination of the two. Some let you set an allowance
in minutes, and others use half-hour or hour blocks.
And some let you separately schedule overall comput-
er usage, Internet usage, and individual programs. Of
course, if a program lets the kids change the system
clock, all bets are off; the best products defend against
such chicanery.
Look for a solution that supports multiple users so
you dont have to put the same restrictions on a teen-
ager that you do on a preschooler. User accounts may
be tied to Windows accounts, or they may require a
separate log-on; the best products give you both op-
tions. And of course, anything designed for parental
control should log users off automatically when theres
no activity.
Invade Their Privacy
Activity logging may feel a bit like reading your childs
diary, but virtually all parental-control programs do it
to some degree. Theyll at least log Web sites visited
and any attempts to reach blocked Web sites. They
may also log the time spent using specic programs,
record both sides of IM or e-mail conversations, or
even record every keystroke typed, along with which
program it was typed in. If you opt for activity logging,
make sure the logs are stored where kids cant modify
or delete them.
If the content lter mistakenly blocks a site needed
for research, or if your child runs out of computer time
before running out of homework, remote management
can be a lifesaver. Many modern parental-control sys-
tems let you view reports and change settings from any
browser. They may even notify you by e-mail, phone,
or text message when specific events occur, such as
multiple attempts to reach blocked sites.
Of course, none of the restrictions mean squat if
the kids can break the parental-control system. Fire-
walls and antimalware programs have to resist attack
by hackers and virusesparental controls need to be
just as tough. Your kids may know more about comput-
ers than you do, so youll want a product thats hard-
ened against meddling.NJR
DON T KNOW HOW LONG MY KI DS
would stay on the computer if I let them
Ive never waited long enough to nd out!
Ive tried all sorts of techniques for anchor-
ing them in the real world: changing their
passwords, rewarding good behavior with
computer time tokens, and limiting non-
homework computer use to weekends.
One thing I havent done is automate the limits, be-
cause I can see their computer from my home-ofce
desk. If I didnt have the luxury of direct supervision,
however, Id consider a time-limiting utility.
As for where they go on the Internet, Im reluctant
to apply filtering software. Site-category databases
can lag behind reality, so a new site or one that has
changed from kiddie games to kiddie porn might not
be blocked.
And these utilities can err the other way, too, pre-
venting acces to perfectly innocent sites. Some have
even been accused of promoting their own agendas,
inappropriately blocking topics such as feminism, gay
rights, or progressive politics.
The real-time approach, categorizing pages by
analyzing text, may be more timely, though sites with
text in images can fool it. And its only useful when the
software analyzes entire pages to derive meaning from
words in context.
I have no patience for applications that block
pages because they contain keywordsand those
that nd keywords within other words are even worse.
To illustrate, heres an example using a nonoffensive
word: Put the term reside on the keyword list, and
the software might block sites containing president.
Pointless!
Im on the fence about activity logging. If I were
an employer, Id have to notify employees they were
being logged, and there still could be ethical issues if I
recorded private e-mail and IM conversations. Perhaps
the situations different for my preteen kids, but what
about when they get older?
Theres no substitute for actually paying attention
to what your children are doing. But when you cant
be there to cast a watchful eye, software can control
how and when they use their computers and can track
what they do.
Still, dont forget this one important fact: Your
kids are smart. You need to talk with them about
their favorite Web sites, and you should ask what
theyve discovered each day. Explain why youre
imposing restrictions. Let them know if their IM
conversations arent private. And hope they re
not so smart that they can hack whatever pa-
rental-control software you do decide to use.
Neil J. Rubenking is a lead analyst at PC Magazine.
OTHER
OPTIONS
CONTENT FILTERING
ContentProtect
This full-featured paren-
tal-control app analyzes
Web-page text in real
time and applies catego-
ries on a per-page basis.
$39.99 per year
go.pcmag.com/
contentprotect
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GRAPHICS BLOCKER
iShield
Blocks pornographic
images rather than
pornographic text. Use
it with a text-based or
URL-based Web lter.
$24.95
go.pcmag.com/ishield
l l l h m
ACCESS CONTROL
PC Moderator
This gadget is the best
way weve found to con-
trol time spent on the
PC, but thats all it does.
Still, it accom plishes
its mission well, and
that earns it an Editors
Choice.
$79.95 analog, $89.95
digital
go.pcmag.com/
pcmoderator
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CyberSitter 9.0
Un changed for years, this former Editors Choice no longer measures up.
$39.95 direct. go.pcmag.com/cybersitter90
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NetNanny 5
No Web ltering by category, no improvements in yearsno thanks.
$39.95 direct. go.pcmag.com/netnanny5
l l h m m
Chaperone Pro 5
Whats worsethat it lacks many common features, or that its easy to hack?
$59.95 direct. go.pcmag.com/chaperonepro5
l h m m m
FI RST LOOKS
SMALL BUSINESS
ANT TO MAKE STORAGE EXCIT-
ing? Run out of it or lose some
data. If your small business
doesnt need that sort of thrill,
though, the ReadyNAS NV
will keep you happily bored.
This Network Attached Storage (NAS) appliance can
hold four SATA drives running in a RAID (Redundant
Array of Inexpensive Drives) 0, 1, or 5 conguration.
My test unit came with four 250MB drives.
Few NAS boxes at this price let you hot-swap, but
I yanked a bad drive while the NV ran and popped in a
new one with no problem. Another plus: OS and con-
guration infowhich are held in integrated memory,
not on the drivesstay put when drives crash.
The rmware and software are stellar. The installer
lets devices auto-detect the NAS, and the impressively
thorough setup wizard (a bit daunting for networking
newbies) walks you through conguration. The NVs
smart DHCP server bows out if your network already
assigns IP addresses. The NVs X-RAID technology
adjusts the RAID conguration (a tough task if youre
new to RAID) when, say, you expand storage.
Small businesses, departments in large companies,
and tech-savvy people with home multimedia net-
worksheres your shopping list for a compact NAS:
the ReadyNAS NV.Oliver Kaven
HY BUY AND SUPPORT A NAS
devi ce, r out er, f i r ewal l ,
switch, and Web server when
your small business can get
the same features i n one
toaster-size package? Not only
does the Yellow Machine P400T combine all that,
but it also supports RAID 0, 0+1, and 5 (the default);
contains eight built-in Ethernet ports; and comes
preloaded with excellent backup softwareRetro-
spect Professionallicensed for ve clients. I tested
a P400T that had four 250MB drives.
To congure the applicance, you simply plug a PC
into one of the eight Ethernet switch ports, point to
the IP address of the administration interface, and
follow a wizard. Setup is relatively easy if you have a
Anthology Solutions
Yellow Machine P400T
This RAID system packs
capabilities far beyond
storage.
1TB conguration, $999
direct
go.pcmag.com/
yellowmachinep400t
l l l l m
Infrant
Technologies
ReadyNAS
NV
You can
replace a
bad drive in this RAID
appliance without
turning off the power.
1TB conguration,
$1,300 street
go.pcmag.com/
readynasnv
l l l l m
marginal understanding of networking. The manage-
ment interface is very rough, thoughone reason the
P400T loses the Editors Choice to the ReadyNAS NV.
Still, this appliance gives serious bang for the buck to
those needing more than a NAS device. If youre one of
them, put it high on your list.OK
KICKIN NAS
SWISS ARMY NAS
One-touch
backup button
Eight switched
Ethernet ports
on the back
Lenovo recommends Windows
XP Professional
It looks like a revolutionary. But dont let
the titanium cover fool you. Underneath,
its all ThinkPad. The Lenovo ThinkPad
Z60 titanium with Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology (select models).

New Thinking. New Thinkpad.
TM
Lenovo recommends Windows
XP Professional
Availability: All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specications at any time, without notice. Lenovo is not responsible for photographic or typographic errors. *Pricing: Prices
do not include tax or shipping and handling or recycling fees and are subject to change without notice. Reseller prices may vary. Warranty: For a copy of applicable product warranties, write to: Warranty Information, P.O. Box
12195, RTP, NC 27709, Attn: Dept ZPYA/B676. Lenovo makes no representation or warranty regarding third-party products or services. Footnotes: (1) Mobile Processors: Power management reduces processor speed
when in battery mode. (2) Included software: may differ from its retail version (if available), and may not include user manuals or all program functionality. License agreements may apply. (3) Memory: For PCs without a
separate video card, memory supports both system and video. Accessible system memory is up to 64MB less than the amount stated, depending on video mode. (4) Hard drive: GB = billion bytes. Accessible capacity is
less; up to 4GB is service partition. (5) Certain IBM and ThinkPad logo products: are not manufactured, warranted or supported by IBM or Lenovo. IBM and Lenovo logos and trademarks used under license. Contact
Lenovo for details. (6) Client Security Solution: preloaded on select models; requires software download. (7) Wireless: based on IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g respectively. An adapter with 11a/b, 11b/g or 11a/b/g
can communicate on either/any of these listed formats respectively; the actual connection will be based on the access point to which it connects. (8) Activating Verizon Wireless Service: Lenovo customers will be contacted
after purchase to activate service; requires separate agreement with Verizon Wireless and is subject to the Customer Agreement, Calling Plan and credit approval. Service and airtime charges will apply; $175 early termination
fee. Verizon Wireless, not Lenovo, is solely responsible for service. Service not available in all areas; purchaser is responsible for verifying that service is available for the intended location before purchasing a computer equipped
with WAN card. Network details, coverage limitations and maps at: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobileoptions/broadband/serviceavailability.jsp?opener=b2b. Trademarks: The following are trademarks of Lenovo:
ThinkPad, ThinkCentre, UltraConnect, Access Connections, Rescue and Recovery, ThinkPad Part Replicator II, Active Protection System, ThinkPad dock, ThinkVantage and ThinkVision. IBM and the IBM logo are registered
trademarks of IBM and are used under license. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Celeron, Celeron Inside, Centrino, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel SpeedStep, Intel
Viiv, Intel Xeon, Itanium, Itanium Inside, Pentium, Pentium Inside, the Centrino logo, the Intel logo and the Intel Inside logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and
other countries. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of other companies. 2006 Lenovo. All rights reserved.
Visit www.lenovo.com/safecomputing periodically for the latest information on safe and effective computing.
To shop or locate
your local reseller
It takes all kinds to make up a family. Well, here are some members
of ours. Serious machines for serious business. Lenovo ThinkPad
notebooks and ThinkCentre
desktops for the creative, practical,

ambitious, nomadic, thrifty and even clumsy members of your
family. Each featuring the kind of world-class technology that
continues to make ThinkPad and ThinkCentre the envy of the
industry. Just part of a whole line of Lenovo PCs.
ThinkPad Z60 notebook available with
Intel
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ThinkPad R51e
distinctive innovations
ThinkPad Productivity Center ThinkPad
help at your ngertips
system features
Intel
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1
Microsoft
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256MB
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40GB
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ThinkPad T60/Z60m 9 Cell Li-Ion Battery
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ThinkCentre A52 Tower
Rescue and Recovery One-button
recovery and restore solution
system features
Intel
Celeron
D Processor 331 (2.66GHz)

Microsoft
Windows
XP Professional
256MB memory
40 GB Hard Drive, CD-ROM
6 USB 2.0 ports (2 Frontside)
think express model
$
479PN 8288A2U
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17" ThinkVision
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ThinkCentre A52 Tower
Rescue and Recovery One-button
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system features
Intel
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Microsoft
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80GB Hard Drive, CD-RW/DVD Drive
6 USB 2.0 Ports (2 Frontside)
think express model
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Lexmark X7170 All-In-One Printer
with USB cable
$
149PN 40Y8260
ThinkPad Z60m
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Intel
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Intel
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Microsoft
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ThinkPad Z60t
system features
Intel
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Microsoft
Windows
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ThinkPad ABG WiFi Wireless
Integrated BT and Verizon WWAN
8
14.1" XGA Widescreen (1280x768)
DVD Recordable Drive
think express model
$
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$
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FI RST LOOKS
N BACKUP EXEC 10D, SYMANTEC BLENDS
the continuous file protection and self-
service restore capabilities of Continuous
Protection Server (CPS) with the functional-
ity of the mature, full-featured backup solu-
tion, Backup Exec. (Symantec acquired both
in its 2005 merger with Veritas.) The combination
best suits companies with multiple servers, perhaps
in separate locations.
Backup Exec kicks in nightly, which protects
against major failures but not daytime user mishaps.
CPS, though, works throughout the day. By default, it
immediately saves any le changes made on the servers
it protects. A Web interface called Backup Retrieve lets
users see their own file copiesbut no othersand
HE WELL- MADE AND DURABLE
ClearOne Chat 50 is a cut above the
chintzy toy-like gadgets typical of
USB speakerphones. More important,
though, is its excellent, full- bodied
sound. I found the audio comparable
to that of high-end Polycom conference-room mod-
elswhich cost far more.
Simply plug the Chat 50s USB cable into your
PC, and youre ready to use your VoIP phone service.
A mini DIN headphone jack lets you connect your cell
phone, PDA, or even your MP3 player (in a pinch, the
Chat 50 isnt half bad for playing music).
While youll enjoy the sound quality, youll really
love the full-duplex operation (which is excellent),
because it lets you simultaneously speak to and hear
the person on the other end.
If you hate the speakerphone quality on your
laptop or youre sick of constantly wearing a head-
set, consider the Chat 50. Its well worth the invest-
ment.Oliver Kaven
ClearOne Chat 50
This USB speaker-
phone provides
business-quality
full-duplex sound
for PCs using
Skype or similar software or
cell phones.
$149 direct
go.pcmag.com/chat50
l l l l h
Symantec Backup Exec
10d for Windows Serv-
ers with Continuous
Protection Server 10.1
This backstop lets
admins recover from
disasters, but also lets
users retrieve les that
have been deleted by
mistake recently.
With three CPS agents,
$795
go.pcmag.com/
backupexec10d
l l l h m
SYMANTEC ENTERS
THE BACKUP GAME
restore those made very recently or further back. This
capability is valuable for administrators who spend a lot
of time helping users restore les selectively.
Continuous protection works only for standard les
right now, though, not for the more complex les found
on database or Exchange servers. For these (and other
data types), Backup Exec has a full set of agents and
options that allow backups of Oracle and Microsoft
databases, e-mail systems such as Lotus Domino and
Microsoft Exchange, Linux and Unix servers, and a
number of other enterprise software packages. And
naturally, the product provides the features youd
expect in a traditional enterprise backup solution: full,
incremental, and differential backups, scheduled jobs,
tape-drive support, and more.Robert P. Lipschutz
YOURE ON, SPEAKERPHONE
SMALL BUSINESS
Wizards simplify
admin tasks
Smart LED is blue
when powered,
red when muted
WH AT T O B U Y
MEDIA CENTER LAPTOP
Dell Inspiron 6000
(Media Center)
Dell Inc.; $968.80 direct
(E-Value Code 1111-i6004pc)
Media Center OS. 15.4-
inch widescreen display.
Very good performance.
go.pcmag.com/
inspiron6000mce
42-INCH HDTV
(PLASMA)
NEC 42XR4
NEC Display Solutions of
America; $3,995.99 list
Exceptional picture
quality. Comprehensive
display options. Good
video processor.
go.pcmag.com/nec42xr4
DEDICATED ULTRA-
PORTABLE LAPTOP
Lenovo ThinkPad X60s
Lenovo; $2,299 direct
Just 3.5 lbs. Over 7
hours of battery life.
Integrated EV-DO.
Excellent management
utilities. Very good
screen and keyboard.
go.pcmag.com/lenovox60s
IPOD SPEAKERS/DOCK
Apple iPod Hi-Fi
Apple Computer Inc.;
$349.99 list
Excellent sound quality.
Big-room sound. Can run
on alkaline batteries or
AC power.
Optical and analog
audio inputs.
go.pcmag.com/ipodhi
DESKTOP (APPLE OS)
Apple iMac
(Intel Core Duo)
Apple Computer Inc.; $1,699
direct, $1,799 as tested
Dual-core processor.
Front Row. Mini-DVI port
for true dual-monitor
use. Excellent all-in-one
design.
go.pcmag.com/
appleimacintel
OPTICAL DEVICE
Sony DVDirect VRD-MC1
Sony Corp.; $299.99 direct
Easily transfers video
directly to DVD from
camcorder or VCR. Easy
to use. 2" preview LCD.
go.pcmag.com/sonydvdirect
MORE ON THE WEB
Weve got 87 Product Guides
and thousands of up-to-date
reviews on the Web.
See them all at:
go.pcmag.com/guides
DEDICATED PHOTO
PRINTER
Canon Selphy CP510
Compact Photo Printer
Canon U.S.A. Inc.; $99.99
direct
Fast performance and
low running cost. Very
good photo quality for
the price. Battery option.
go.pcmag.com/canoncp510
ALL-PURPOSE PRINTER
HP OfceJet Pro K550
Color Printer
Hewlett-Packard Develop-
ment Co.; $200 street
Super-fast performance.
Suited to a small ofce
or home ofce.
go.pcmag.com/hpK550
MOBILE PHONE
Motorola RAZR V3c
Motorola Inc.; $349.99 direct
Gorgeous. Excellent
voice quality. Good
reception. Supports
EV-DO.
go.pcmag.com/razrv3c
BUDGET PDA
Palm Z22
Palm Inc.; $99.99 list
Small, light, easy to use.
Excellent battery life.
go.pcmag.com/palmz22
SMALL-BUSINESS
BACKUP
NTI Shadow
NewTech Infosystems Inc.;
$29.99 direct
Fast, simple, continuous
backup.
go.pcmag.com/ntishadow
MEDIA CENTER
DESKTOP
HP Pavilion Media
Center TV m7360n PC
Hewlett-Packard Develop-
ment Co.; $1,610 direct;
$1,200 without monitor.
Dual-core processor.
TV tuner. Media Center.
Massive amounts of
storage.
go.pcmag.com/hpM7360n
HOME NETWORKING
Netgear RangeMax
240 WPNT834 wireless
router and WPNT511
CardBus adapter
Netgear; router, $135 street;
CardBus adapter, $100 street
Our wireless router of
choice, it has the highest
throughput (more than
100 Mbps) weve ever
seen at short distances.
go.pcmag.com/rangemax240
UTILITY
Altiris Software Virtual-
ization Solution 2.0
Altiris Inc.; free for
personal use
Installs, uninstalls, or
resets software; prevents
conicts between apps;
leaves Windows base
unaltered.
go.pcmag.com/altirissvs
ANTISPYWARE
Spyware Doctor 3.5
PC Tools; $29.95 direct
Best version yet. Re-
moved more spyware
than other tested pro-
ducts did.
go.pcmag.com/spydoc35
FLASH DRIVE
Memorex U3 smart Mini
TravelDrive
Memorex Products Inc.;
$35 list
256MB. Offers a great
mix of storage capac-
ity, U3 applications, and
security features.
go.pcmag.com/
memorexdrive
DIGITAL CAMERA
(COMPACT)
Canon PowerShot S80
Canon U.S.A. Inc.;
$549.95 list
Outstanding picture
quality. Good perfor-
mance. Wide-angle lens.
go.pcmag.com/S80
Theres always something
better about buying local.
Now,whenyoubuyaPCwithgenuineWindows
XP
softwarefromyourlocalPCbuilder,yougetafree
BONUS PACK
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worth up to $1,200
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www.localPCbuilder.com/PCMag.Butactnow.These
offersexpireJune30,2006.
*Foralimitedtime.Somerestrictionsapply.Seewww.localPCbuilder.comforofferdetailsandconditions.PricesareinU.S.dollars.OfferavailableforcomputerspurchasedintheUnitedStatesMarch1,2006,throughJune30,
2006,fromapprovedsystembuilderchannelswithagenuineUnitedStatesWindowsXPHomeEdition,WindowsXPProfessional,orWindowsXPMediaCenterEditionoperatingsystempreinstalledandvalidatedbytheWindows
GenuineAdvantageprogram.Offerexcludessystemspurchasedfromretailers,majorcomputermanufacturers(OEMs),thosepurchasedaspartofavolumelicenseagreement,andthosepurchasersredeemingoutsideofthe
UnitedStates.LimitoneBONUS PACKpersystempurchased.RedeemtheBuyLocalBONUS PACKbyAugust15,2006,intheUnitedStates.
**ValueofBONUS PACKvariesdependinguponversionofWindowsXPoperatingsystemacquired.
Whilesupplieslast.
2006MicrosoftCorporation.Allrightsreserved.MicrosoftandWindowsareeitherregisteredtrademarksortrademarksofMicrosoftCorporationintheUnitedStatesand/orothercountries.Thenamesoftheactualcompanies
andproductsmentionedhereinmaybetrademarksoftheirrespectiveowners.
*Please note: Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage. For more information, please consult
Kingstons Digital Media Guide at kingston.com/Digital_Media_Guide. 2006 Kingston Technology Company, Inc. 17600 Newhope Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708 USA.
All rights reserved. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
C O M M I T T E D T O M E M O R Y
With a wide range of models, capacities and features, DataTraveler
is the most
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ve-year warranty and legendary Kingston
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To learn more from others who use the versatile DataTraveler, and to meet the
whole groovy family, visit kingston.com/dt. We have much more than a hunch
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Our large family of Flash drives
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I NSI DE TRACK
BY JOHN C. DVORAK
thing expensive and bound to breaka classic un-
necessary gizmo.
Another hot topic was RFID. Its generating world-
wide interest now that the devices have come down to
the size of a grain of rice. Now they want to put these
things everywhere, from trucks to pets to you and me.
Everyone was talking about getting chipped. I
think not.
Strange Bedfellows Dept.: I find it amusing
that Dell just bought Alienware, a maker of high-end
AMD-based computers for gamers. Its odd, since Dell
actually got rolling in the PC business by developing
some of the fastest computers available. I remember
Michael Dell, at a PC Magazine Editors Day in Tex-
as about 20 years ago, personally showing off a 286
machine that at the time was clocked faster than
any competitive computer. Back then, the company
was designing its own motherboards and pushing the
envelope. I wonder just what it is that Alienware does
that Dell itself cant do. My guess is that its just an
excuse to get into bed with AMD after all the years
Dell chose to be an Intel-only shop. An expensive
divorce, if you ask me.
Booting Windows XP on a Mac Dept.: Someone
nally came up with a quick-booting version of Micro-
soft Windows XP that boots just ne on an x86 Mac.
I had the opportunity to play with it; it looks just like
any Windows XP until you go into the device manager
and see more yellow question marks than youll ever
see anywhere. It works, but it doesnt really like being
on a Macyet.
How Did They Do That? Dept.: I had no idea that
you could manage to get a video feed out of a USB 2.0
port, but Tritton seems to have done it with the TRI-
UV100 USB 2.0 Interface. As many of you know, you
can run multiple monitors with Windows XP and cre-
ate a large desktop. An nVidia SLI card can support
two monitors from a single card. Most cards can drive
only one monitor; to run another monitor you need
to add a second card. Enter the Tritton. This small,
widely available USB device gives you an addi tional
1024-by-768 output for a second monitor. I didnt
know that this was even possible. You could probably
add another display card for less than the $80 that this
thing costs, but with closed systems, or for its simplic-
ity, its a very interesting idea.
HE CEBIT SHOW IN HANNOVER,
Germany, wi l l become the
worlds dominant computer
technology show unless a new
U.S. show can fill the void left
by the collapse of the Comdex
event. Such a shift in dominance
from the U.S. to Europe could
be a disaster for American companies, which have
tended not to participate heavily in CeBit. If interest
in CeBit were to grow in the U.S. market, then the
show would be impossible to unseat as leader. That
said, CeBit could veer off in the wrong direction and
self-destruct or stall.
One of Comdexs wrong turns was to downplay
interesting gadgets and technologies. The show
suddenly changed its focus, choosing to concentrate
instead on enterprise computing and the needs of the
Fortune 1000 companies. I hate to have to point out
continually that although the Fortune 1000 companies
can each purchase tens of thousands of computers
and software systems, there are only 1,000 of these
companies, hence the name. This makes for a show
with low attendance, if you just do the math. Though
1,000 people might go to the show, each representing
one of the 1,000 companies, nobody wants to exhibit
in an empty hall that resembles a ghost town without
the tumbleweeds.
This was the kind of target market CeBit chose
for its CeBit America show in New York a few years
ago, which proved short-lived. But at this years Han-
nover show, the promoters were again talking about
de-emphasizing devices and technologies and instead
focusing on solutions. Solutions, by their nature, are
boring. The booth that was packed to the gills with
showgoers was Microsofts pavilion, loaded with giz-
mos and technologies. This was followed by the mo-
bile-phone makers booths, which displayed all sorts
of jazzy phones. The solutions booths were empty,
and the TV crews covered the jazzy new stuff. Can
you imagine otherwise? Yes, Brent, our back-ofce
database subsystems rely on an SQL database which
our proprietary software accesses via VPN and our
special nodal software. Let me give you an example of
a complex query search here on the monitor. Yawn.
If any one theme dominated the show, it was the
copycat attempts to make the mobile phone into some
sort of all-purpose device. This will never end and
will never succeed. The spotlight this year was on
games and ip-around screens. I think every phone
maker had one of these screens. They slide up and
then ip sideways to form kind of a T.
This is useful for watching TV and playing games
with a controller below the screen. I see it as some-
Attempts to make the mobile phone into
some sort of all-purpose device will never
end and will never succeed.
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MI CHAEL J. MI LLER
To: John Thompson, CEO, Symantec
George Samenuk, CEO, McAfee
Eva Chen, CEO, Trend Micro
Laura Yecies, General Manager, Zone Labs
LL OF YOU HAVE REASON TO
worry about the prospect of
Microsoft entering the security
market this summer with a
new service called OneCare.
But you re focused on the
wrong problem. Instead of
focusing on Microsoft, you need
to take a good hard look at the effectiveness of your
own wares. Ive talked with a lot of computer users
lately, and the conclusion is inescapable: Your prod-
ucts just arent good enough.
Some of your products dont do a complete job;
others are packaged in ways that customers dont un-
derstand; parts of some software dont work properly,
and other programs are so big that they cause the very
problems customers want to avoid.
It starts with marketing. Many of you promote
single-solution productstypically your antivirus
softwareas if they provided enough protection. So
people install Norton Antivirus or McAfee VirusScan,
or get computers with these products preinstalled, and
they think theyre protected. Yet we all know thats not
true. Most of the threats these days are blended, so
people need multiple defenses: antivirus, a rewall,
spyware protection, and an antispam program.
True, each one of you now offers suites that cover all
the bases. But you havent clearly told your customers
that the standalone solutions arent enough protection.
Even for the most technical of us, running separate pro-
grams can lead to conicts and confusion. And most
users dont want the hassle of multiple interfaces.
Ive installed each of your products on at least one
of my systems and have had problems with every one
of them. Norton Internet Security is bloated and oc-
casionally messes up my machine. When I upgraded
it this year, my Web browsers stopped working, and I
spent two hours on an Internet chat to get the Registry
patch to x it. The software still sometimes interferes
with my Internet access for no apparent reason.
McAfee Internet Securitys antivirus and rewall
modules have worked well for me, but its antispam
module is very slow and inadequate. In addition, the
privacy control is very annoying, and it doesnt offer
parental ltering.
Trend Micro has all the right tools in the box, but
its antispyware component is a major disappointment.
One of my children downloaded a Tetris game that
came with spyware, and I spent days removing it.
In my testing, ZoneAlarm Security Suite has been
the most stable, with good antivirus and antispam
modules in addition to its best-in-class firewall, but
its antispyware is weak. And many of the people I talk
with who have tried ZoneAlarm are confused by its
messages. The same goes for Computer Associates
eTrust, which also includes the ZoneAlarm rewall.
Still, each of you continues to believe youll be able
to compete against OneCare because you offer better
software. So far we havent been completely thrilled
with the beta versions of OneCare (particularly its anti-
spyware), but Microsoft will continue to improve it.
And though many people will avoid a Microsoft add-in
because they want an outside vendor, I know others
who just trust Microsoft because it makes Windows.
OneCare changes the model to a pure subscrip-
tion service, something you all like. But you need to do
more. All of you have been more active than Micro soft
in getting xes out and alerting customers to security
threats. This needs to continue. But you also have to
build products that are easier to use, by making their
messages and help systems clearer and by making your
products work better with the software most people
run. And you need to make them easier to keep up to
date, perhaps requiring fewer reboots.
Between now and when Vista ships in early 2007,
I hope and expect that youll focus on improving your
products so theyre more stable, functional, easier to
upgrade, and simpler to run. Not only is that the best
way to fend off Microsoft, but its also the best way to
make everyone a better computer user.
An Open Letter
to Security Vendors
You havent clearly told your customers that
the standalone solutions arent enough.
MORE ON THE WEB
Read Michael J.
Millers insights daily
on his blog, at
blog.pcmag.com/miller.
BI LL MACHRONE
Doggs neckwear. Most other speakers equipped with
docks nestle or partially envelop the iPod in a protec-
tive nook. Not so the iPod Hi-Fi, which leaves it dan-
gerously exposed.
Real Home Stereo
If you really want to use your iPod with your home
stereo, you should get a good dock such as the Xitel
HiFi-Link iPod dock. We have one and will probably
get a second one. The unit is sometimes hooked up
to the stereo in the kitchen, the home theater in the
family room, or the boom box in the basement shop.
And when its not playing music, its charging my sons
iPod or mine.
The Xitel unit has its own remote control, which
comes in handy for tasks such as adjusting the volume
from across the room or skipping that song that you
didnt want to hear. Of course, you can always use a
generic
1
/8-inch stereo cable with suitable adapters to
hook the iPod up to anything that has an auxiliary port.
But the charger, the remote control, and the stand-up
dock all make the Xitel dock worthwhile. It also has
video-out, but we havent taken the iPod video plunge
yet. My son likes the Xitel docks SRS TruBass bass
boost, but I dontI suspect that its one of those gen-
erational things.
Real Portability
If you really want to share your tunes with a small
crowd, we have an ideal do-it-yourself project for you,
which we are featuring in the next issue. I converted
an old stereo cassette playerradio (its not quite big
enough to break into the boom box category) so that
it stealthily conceals an iPod inside the cassette com-
partment. You can control the iPod by using the cas-
sette buttons. It wont rattle the windows like the iPod
Hi-Fi, but its loud enough to make itself heard. And
its ratty enough that no one will think about stealing
it, even if you leave it on your beach towel while you
take a dip.
F YOU HAVE EVEN A SHRED OF INTEREST IN
audio devices, you have probably checked
out the iPod Hi-Fi, that shiny white boom
box with the iPod dock on top. It garnered
an Editors Choice here in PC Magazine
and has been well reviewed elsewhere.
Everyone agrees that it sounds good and
that its loud. No one disputes that it has
visual appeal. Apple didnt cut corners on construc-
tion quality, magnet weight in the speakers, or ampli-
er power, although the company is coy about citing
wattage.
I think its silly.
Real Hassles
First of all, if you look around the average home or
apartment, you will nd an abundance of Things That
Play Music: these may include home theaters, high-
end and midrange stereo systems, bookshelf systems,
Bose and Bose-like table or shelf radios, even upscale
clock radios with CD players. Which of them will you
displace to make room for an iPod Hi-Fi, which has no
radio and only an inconveniently located input jack at
the rear?
In an ideal locationsay, on a credenza located
against an uncluttered wall and placed equidistant
from the side wallsthe iPod Hi-Fi sounds very
good for its size, but it is somewhat midrangey for my
tastes and unable to create a true stereo sound stage.
Other locations further compromise stereo imaging.
Granted, imaging isnt important if youre just lling
the room with sound, but Apple advertises this thing as
a replacement for an audiophile system. Audiophiles
care about imaging.
Second, theres the blindingly white case. I jok-
ingly coined the phrase mug-me white to describe
the iPod earbuds, but the phrase has been all too ac-
curate in some locales. So where will you take the iPod
Hi-Fi so it wont attract the wrong kind of attention? A
picnic in a state park? The beach? Sure, if youre going
to hire security for the day. Perhaps a more appropriate
venue would be the fenced patio in your gated com-
munity. Seriously, when you look at the iPod Hi-Fi,
you have to wonder why Apple bothered to put in a
battery capability at allit denitely looks like a stay-
at-home.
Finally, consider the iPod itself, waving idiot ically
from the top of the unit, in the most blatant bit of
hey-look-at-me style self-consciousness since Snoop
Steal-Me White
Where will you take the iPod Hi-Fi so it
wont attract the wrong kind of attention?
A picnic in a state park? The beach? Sure,
if youre going to hire security for the day.
MORE ON THE WEB
You can contact Bill Machrone
at Bill_Machrone@ziffdavis
.com. For more of his
columns, go to go.pcmag
.com/machrone.
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58 PC MAGAZINE MAY 9, 2006 Illustration by Zohar Lazar
It wont be on Wal-Marts shelves until next year, but
Microsoft has let loose the next Windows. We went
under the covers to nd the secrets in the new OS.
BY JOHN CLYMAN
I CROSOFT WI NDOWS
Vista, the long-awaited
and long-delayed suc-
cessor to Windows XP,
is still in the beta- testing
stages. Until recently,
Microsoft held rm to a
release date in the sec-
ond half of this year. (And lets be candid: When
Microsoft uses a vague term like second half, that
sure doesnt mean July). But then, on March 21,
the company announced that though Vista would
be available to businesses in November, consumers
would have to wait until January 2007. So why would
you want Vista now, when the product is likely six to
nine months away from shipping?
Two words: More fun. Like a new car, Vista prac-
tically begs you to play with all its shiny new gad-
gets, see how hard you can drive it, and luxuriate in
the novelty of the experience.
We admit thats not the most rational justica-
tion. Fair enough. There are plenty of down-to-earth
reasons Vista is appealing. Improved security, for
one. Dramatic improvements in tools that can help
you cope with information overload, for another.
Better support for multimedia and mobile devices,
a better version of Internet Explorer, and a dramati-
cally revamped UI, to name a few more. If Vista de-
livers on all its promises, youll spend much less time
performing tedious maintenance and conguration
tasks and much more time being productiveor
just keeping yourself entertained.
If youre an bergeek, youll want to try Vista
so you can retain your reputation of staying on the
bleeding edge. If youre a developer, youll want to see
how Vista offers the opportunity to write compelling
new applications. If youre an IT manager, you need
to start thinking about how youll eventually intro-
duce Vista into your organization and manage migra-
tion and training. At PC Magazine, weve been diving
deeper into Vista with each new CTP (Community
Technology Preview), uncovering useful little secrets
and powerful new capabilities, excitedly sharing our
discoveries with each otherand now with you.
In February, Microsoft released a version of Vista
that it calls feature completethat is, including all
the basic functions that will be in the nal product.
That CTP was available only to select beta testers and
members of MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network)
and Microsoft TechNet. Soon after you read this,
we expect Microsoft to release a consumer-oriented
CTP that anyone should be able to get their hands
on. As we go to press, Microsoft hasnt said how that
public CTP will be distributed, but as soon as that
information is released, well have it at go.pcmag
.com/vista with the rest of our ongoing coverage.
Make no mistake: Were not advocating that
you urge Uncle Jimor whoever calls you for help
after his system has ground to a halt because hes
installed too many adware-laden screensaversto
start working with Vista today. Nor would we recom-
mend installing Vista on a production system where
incompatibilities, crashes, or data loss would prove
catastrophic. Betas are by denition unnished
products, and our experience with Vista has been far
from seamlessit can be slow, crash unpredictably,
refuse to work with various hardware, cause glitches
in a variety of software, and generally be a hassle.
(And yes, we can hear the more cynical among you
grumbling about how that doesnt sound any differ-
ent from any other Microsoft OS, but we disagree;
if youve kept Windows XP patched and up to date,
your computing should be pretty predictable.) But if
youve got a spare machine around and are comfort-
able living on the edge in exchange for a little excite-
ment, then get your hands on Vista now.
Why You Want
Vista Now!
VISTA PREVIEW
MORE ON THE WEB
Youll nd PC Magazines on-
going coverage of Vista as its
revealed at go.pcmag.com/
vista. This page includes re-
views of Vista CTPs (Commu-
nity Technology Previews) as
theyre released, columnists
opinions on the emerging OS,
and Vista Revealed, hands-
on, in-depth looks at new
features.
And dont miss the Vista
coverage at ExtremeTech, our
sister site, including Jason
Crosss optimistic Why Win-
dows Vista Wont Suck, at
go.extremetech.com/vista.
Because Its Cool
NSTALL IT AND YOUR JAW WILL DROP. THE VISTA GUI IS SO SLICK,
so cleverly put together, that it may even impress a few Mac users. Un-
like Windows XP, which had a new look and feel that seemed like
the same ol same ol, Vista takes you to a different world. Tiny widgets
hover in the corner. Translucent windows it to and fro like Disney
characters. The Start Menu is actually easy to use. Not since the
summer of 95 has the Windows interface taken such a giant leap forward.
Cade Metz
NEW AND IMPROVED TASK SWITCHING
Using the new Windows-Tab key com-
bination, you can instantly spin through a
3D Rolodex of open applications.
Vista Secrets
Vista includes speech
recognition for both
entering text and
executing Windows
commands. Get
started in the Control
Panels Speech Rec-
ognition applet.
There are six Vista
variants: For the
home, Home Basic,
Home Premium, and
Ultimate; for busi-
nesses, Business and
Enterprise; and for
emerging markets,
Starter.
THE START MENU
Rather than fanning out
across your desktop, as it
did in the past, the Start
Menu stays compact.
THUMBNAIL
Mousing over a

minimized window
gives not only a descrip-
tion of the app, but also
a live thumbnail.
TASK
SWITCHING
The old Alt-Tab key
combination pro-
vides thumbnails
and descriptions
as well.
SEE-THROUGH
WINDOWS
Partially translucent
windows cast thin
shadows on items
below, giving a 3D
look and feel.
MINI-
APPLICATIONS
Running along
the edge of your
desktop, Sidebar
gives quick ac-
cess to all sorts of
mini-applications.
You can even
drag the mini-
apps onto the
desktop.
VISTA PREVIEW
8
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o
f IT
d
ire
c
to
rs
b
u
y
m
o
re
s
to
ra
g
e
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a
q
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fix
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I
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A
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:
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Insight and the Insight logo are registered trademarks of Insight Direct USA, Inc. IT For The Way You Work is a trademark of Insight Direct USA, Inc. All other
trademarks, registered trademarks, photos, logos and illustrations are property of their respective owners. 2006 Insight Direct USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Magazine, February 2005.

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NOTHER REASON YOULL WANT
to try Vista now is that it offers an
improved Internet experienceat
least compared with the one you get
with a vanilla version of Windows
XP. Vista includes Internet Explorer
7, a revised version of Outlook Express called Win-
dows Mail, and a unied RSS store.
MAIL CONTACTS You can now nd your contacts right in Windows Explorer and
even use the context menu to send a message.
For a Better Internet Experience
Lets start with IE7, since Web browsing is what
most users associate most strongly with the Inter-
net. Microsoft has packed quite a few new capabili-
ties into IE7capabilities that are new to IE any-
way, though many may seem ho-hum to Firefox and
Opera users: tabbed browsing and a streamlined
menu bar, antiphishing and antispoong capabili-
ties, an integrated RSS reader, improved printing
support, and features for Web developers.
Im pleased with the way IE is shaping up, but
I cant help saying: Its about time. Microsoft re-
leased IE6 in 2001, and aside from some hotxes
and service packsadmittedly with important fea-
tures such as a pop-up blocker and a better UI, to
help protect nave users against dangerous down-
loadsthe companys browser development had
languished.
I long ago stopped using IE as my primary
browser because it lacked tabs, but IE7 just might
win me back. If youve somehow missed out on the
tabbed-browsing revolution, IE7 might give you the
shove you need. Tabbed browsing lets you keep a
number of Web pages open within a single browser
window, using tabs to select among them. To open
a link in a new tab, you can click the center mouse
button (or the wheel, depending on your mouse
conguration), hold the Control key while you click
a link, or right-click a link and choose Open in New
Tab. IE7 always keeps a blank tab open, so you can
simply click it and enter a new URL. Im psyched
that tabs have nally arrived, but most of this was
already available in other browserseven in IE6 if
you added the MSN Search Toolbar. But IE7 does
add one unique feature, a useful quick tabs view
that shows thumbnails of all the Web pages you
have open in different tabs.
IE7 includes a Web-search box at the top right
cornerit uses MSN search by default, but you
can easily select a different search engine. Im
disappointed, though, that the browser cant per-
form incremental search (aka search-as-you-type or
RSS FEEDS Right on the cutting edge of a few years ago, Microsoft has built an
RSS reader into IE7. As shown here, your feeds can appear in the IE7 Explorer bar.
VISTA: BECAUSE YOURE A GAMER? Microsoft has made a
good show of talking up Vista for games, but gamers have re-
mained uninterested, at best, and can you blame them? Thus far
the big points have been a rich set of parental controls, pretty
icons, and info pages for cataloging your library. Hardly sexyat
least, not to performance-hungry gamers.
Recently, though, a Microsoft representative mentioned
something that could heat gamers interest up quickly. No,
not the exclusive PC release of Halo 2 on Vista. But there is
something to be learned from the excitement over being able
to play a two-year-old Xbox game. Most of us would consider
the Xbox antiquated. Its 733-MHz Pentium III, 64MB of RAM,
and nVidia video chip derived from the now four-generations-
out-of-date GeForce 3 would barely be suitable for surng the
Net. But because the architecture allows a direct path to the
hardware, it puts on a terric show with Halo 2 and dozens of
other fantastic-looking games.
PCs, on the other hand, have been saddled with the Win-
dows graphics device interface (GDI). Applications didnt talk to
the drivers, much less the video card, directly; they talked to the
GDI, which in turn interacted with the drivers for the application.
So, whats the big news here? Well, Vista removes this road-
block. Its another benet of the OSs requirement of a DirectX
9capable video card. Though there will be a compatibility
mode for older applications that need the GDI, new applica-
tionsnamely, gameswritten specically for Vista will be able
to take the same direct path the Xbox has enjoyed, and with it
get a performance boost that representatives have said may be
around 30 to 40 percent. Now thats something to get excited
about.Garnett Lee
VISTA PREVIEW
ARE YOU READY? Jon Peddie Research (JPR) estimates there are around 1.2 bil-
lion computers in use todaynot sitting on shelves in the garage, but actually in
use. A good percentage of these are running pre-XP Windows OSs.
Based on two decades of data collection on shipments of both add-in graph-
ics processors and integrated graphics cards, JPR determined that approxi-
mately 51 percent of the PCs in use as of the end of 2005 werent ready to run
Vista (see chart). But Vista interacts with PC hardware differently from previous
versions of Windows, as it taps the power of the graphics processor. The result-
ing interface improvements, collectively known as Aero Glass, go far beyond eye
candy like transparent window edges and truly change the computing experi-
ence. According to JPR, only about one in ten PCs is ready to mine Aero Glasss
richness.
You dont have to be left out in the cold, thoughand you dont necessarily
need to buy a new computer. To enjoy the nice Aero Glass interface in Vista, youll
need a reasonably modern DirectX 9capable graphics cardintegrated graphics
just wont do. This doesnt mean you need to spend a lot of money on something
high-end. The nVidia GeForce 7600 GT and Radeon X1600 Pro cards run Vista
great, are available in both AGP and PCI Express, and cost under $200.
PCMag.com sister site ExtremeTech recently put a new crop of graphics cards
through the wringer. Youll nd the results online at go.extremetech.com
/graphicscards.Jon Peddie & Jason Cross
Vista Secret
Feeling some trepidation
about installing the beta?
Make Vista coexist with
your existing OS: You can
install it on a separate
partition (we recommend
PartitionMagic, www.
partitionmagic.com), or
install it on a virtual
machine by using Micro-
soft Virtual PC (www
.microsoft.com/virtualpc)
or VMware Workstation
(www.vmware.com).
word-wheel search) within a Web page, an unfortu-
nate shortcoming considering how extensively Vista
emphasizes this capability elsewhereand that
other browsers have been doing it for some time.
IE7 also offers simplied menus and adds wel-
come conveniences such as shrink-to-t printing,
which helps ensure that you dont cut off the right-
hand side of wide pages. For Web developers, IE7
includes improved support for CSS (Cascading
Style Sheets) xed positioning and for alpha- channel
transparency in PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
images, which lets images on Web pages be partially
transparent.
Then theres RSSReally Simple Syndication,
a technology that serious Web surfers have come
to rely on for delivering regular streams of updated
information, the Internet equivalent of newspaper
headlines or TV-news crawls. IE7 automatically
discovers RSS feeds on pages you visit and lets you
view and subscribe to those feeds. But RSS sup-
port isnt limited to IE; Vista itself provides unied
RSS storage, so all applications (with suitable work
on the part of developers) can share a single set
of RSS content. You can see this in action in the
simple RSS headline component for Vistas Sidebar,
which automatically picks up feeds you add in the
browser.
IE7 takes steps forward in security as well, which
we enumerate in the section Because You Need
Better Security, on page 74.
If you use Outlook Express for your e-mail, youll
nd Vistas Windows Mail clienta tweaked version
of Outlook Expressoffers some advantages as well.
For starters, youve got to try the incremental search:
Start typing in the search box and watch as your e-
mail morass gets rapidly whittled down. (Too bad
Outlook itself cant do this yet.) Windows Mail also
includes spam and phishing lters like those in Out-
look. And despite its name, Windows Mail still serves
as a newsgroup reader as well; in fact, it includes a
link to Microsoft Help newsgroups by default.
Windows Mail stores its data differently from
Outlook Express, using a combination of Vistas
le system and built-in Jet database engine, which
Microsoft claims will make for more bulletproof
storage. And heres something really cool we found:
Windows Mail stores contacts right in the le sys-
tem, so you can view and sort your contacts, or send
them e-mail, from directly within the shell.
I might not consider any one of Vistas Internet-
related features compelling by itself, especially given
how many of them are just a download away if youre
using Windows XP. But put them together and Vista
makes using the Internet a bit safer, more produc-
tive, and more enjoyable.John Clyman
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006* 2007*
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percentage of PCs in active use
Not Vista-capable
Vista-capable
Vista Aerocapable
PCs Ready for Vista
Source: Jon Peddie Research. *Projected.
OUR CONTRIBUTORS: John Clyman is a contribut-
ing editor of PC Magazine and president of the technol-
ogy consulting rm Narrative Logic. Cade Metz is senior
writer at PC Magazine, and Oliver Kaven and Neil J.
Rubenking are PC Magazine Labs lead analysts. Garnett
Lee is the managing editor of 1up.com, Ziff Daviss site
for gamers, Jason Cross is a lead analyst for Extreme-
Tech.com, Mary Jo Foley is the editor of Microsoft
Watch (www.microsoft-watch.com), and Jon Peddie is
the founder of Jon Peddie Research, a consulting rm
specializing in graphics and digital media technology.
Features editor Sarah Pike was in charge of this story.
day-to-day work onto Vista to see just how effectively
it helps me with these masses of data.
Search is just about everywhere in Vista. Open
the Start menu and youll see an embedded text box.
As you type in the box, Vista starts showing data that
matches your search term: application names, le
contents, even e-mails. Its very satisfying to know
you can get to all your data from this one boxIm
even considering giving up Google Desktop Search.
Many users will probably nd the single text-box
search interface meets most of their search needs.
But heres a secret: Try Vistas parametric searches,
such as all the music les from albums released
in 2005 that Ive rated 4 stars or higher, which are
sophisticated and easier than ever. You build these
searches using the simple point-and-click interface
in the Advanced Filter Pane, accessible from the
drop-down menu to the right of the Search box, then
save them as Search Folders, which you can open at
any time to see dynamic, current results.
File browsing is improved as well. The expanding
list view that shows all your applications in the Win-
dows menu is easier to navigate than the cascading
program menus in Windows XP. One feature you
dont want to miss is Windows Explorers scalable
live iconsthumbnails of documents actual con-
tents rather than simply the icon of the application
that created them. These make it far easier to nd
the le youre looking for at a glance (with some le
types, such as Microsoft Ofces, you may need to
check the Save preview picture check box in the
File | Properties dialog). Windows Explorer lets you
tag les with metadata such as ratings or keywords
and then use this data for grouping, sorting, ltering,
or searching within it, providing hope for escaping
the tyranny of having to organize all your les within
a xed directory hierarchy.
Vista also includes le-synchronization features,
improved backup, and the ability to roll back to pre-
vious versions of les.
What about transferring your existing
data and apps to a new PC? Vista includes
an updated migration wizard, though we
havent yet gotten it to work in beta builds.
This wizard transfers only data and set-
tings, not entire applicationsbut in
March, Microsoft acquired Apptimum
(formerly Eisenworld), maker of the Alo-
habob utilities for transferring programs
from one PC to another, so we wouldnt be
surprised if Microsoft makes it possible to
move apps in the future.John Clyman
To Regain Control of Your Files,
Your E-mails, Your Photos....
NE OF VISTAS BIGGEST PROMISESand
one of the best inducements to want it
nowis to help you regain the upper
hand in the battle against information
overload. Weve all experienced it: the
inbox bursting with e-mails you dont
have time to sort, the directory tree with les buried
a dozen levels deep, and the mass of digital photos
you never gured out how to organize.
Originally, Microsoft was going to solve this prob-
lem with WinFS (Windows Future Storage)but
WinFS wont make it into Vista in time. Still, my
experience so far indicates that Microsoft is mak-
ing strides in this direction after all. With pervasive
search, I can easily nd les regardless of what dark
corner of my hard drive theyre hiding in. New ways
of viewing and entering metadata to help identify les
are just taking shape, but they look promising. And
I particularly like Vistas Search Folders, which let
you dynamically collect les that meet certain crite-
ria, regardless of where theyre actually located.
In Vista, Microsoft has revamped Windows Ex-
plorer to make it easier to navigate your hard drive
its nifty breadcrumb facility for selecting directories
is especially convenient. The breadcrumbs are the
clickable trail of directories a user has followed to get
to the current location, for example, YourComputer-
Name > Pictures > Vacation photos > 2006. New le
dialogs are a big improvement as well. Although these
capabilities arent likely to be a panacea, theyre sure
tantalizing, and Im eager to start moving more of my
THE START MENU
More contained and ef-
cient than before, the
Start menu includes an
incremental search box.
SAVED SEARCHES You
can save a group of
search criteria, then go
back to the folder for
dynamically updated
results.
SEARCH These incre-
mental search boxes are
just about everywhere
in Vista. As you type, the
search results narrow
down.
VISTA PREVIEW
J UMP TO NEXT PAGE >>
w
w
w
.
p
l
e
a
s
i
n
g
.
i
t
-
A
D
V
For the name of a reseller near you or further
information, please call Acer or visit our Web site:
800-571-2237
www.acer.com/us
May/June 2006
Acer recommends Windows
XP Professional.
May/June 2006
P
r
i
c
e
s
s
h
o
w
n
a
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e
e
s
t
i
m
a
t
e
d
s
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e
e
t
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i
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s
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d
d
o
n
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i
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c
l
u
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e
t
a
x
o
r
s
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i
p
p
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.
R
e
t
a
i
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e
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o
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s
e
l
l
e
r
p
r
i
c
e
s
m
a
y
v
a
r
y
.
Acer
TravelMate
4200
Dual-Core Powerhouse
Intel
Centrino

- Intel
Core
Duo Processor
- Mobile Intel
945GM Express chipset

- Intel
PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
network connection
Genuine Windows
XP Professional
1GB DDR2 533 SDRAM
The Acer TravelMate 4200 allows you to experience all the benefits of dual-core performance
_
and more
_
at a price
you can live with. Intel
Centrino
Duo Mobile Technology includes a processor optimized for the multitasking you
do every day plus full 802.11a/b/g wireless capability. Images are stunning on the 15.4 wide-screen display that
delivers razor-sharp 1280 x 800 resolution. Abundant memory boosts the performance of application programs,
while ample storage space is provided by the hard drive and integrated DVD-Dual drive (DVD+/-RW).
100GB
1
hard drive
Integrated DVD-Dual drive (DVD+/-RW)
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT display
Intel
Graphics Media Accelerator 950

802.11a/b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN, V.92 modem
One-year limited warranty
2
Acer TravelMate 4202WLMi
$1,099
INTEL
CORE
DUO PROCESSOR T2300

(2MB L2 CACHE, 1.66GHZ, 667MHZ FSB)
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(LX.TAV06.040)
$200 PRICE CUT!
Prices shown are estimated street prices and do not include tax or shipping. Retailer or reseller prices may vary.
Acer
Flat Panels: Displaying Quality & Value

Acer
TravelMate
2420
Priced Right for Work & Play
Whether you need a notebook for your small business or for everyday home computing, the
Acer TravelMate 2420 has you covered. Track budgets, plan a killer marketing campaign, work on school
assignments or surf the Web with this affordable system. Thanks to integrated wireless access, youre not
tied to home base. Feel free to take the TravelMate 2420 anywhere theres a hotspotmeetings, your
favorite coffee shop or class. You also get a built-in combo drive for your recording and viewing pleasure.
INTEL
CELERON
M PROCESSOR 370 (1MB L2 CACHE, 1.50GHZ, 400MHZ FSB)

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
512MB DDR2 400 SDRAM AND 80GB
1
HARD DRIVE
(LX.TB206.050)
Acer TravelMate 2423WXCi-XPH
$599
INTEL
CELERON

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP HOME EDITION
256MB DDR2 400 SDRAM AND 40GB
1
HARD DRIVE
(LX.TB205.077)
Acer TravelMate 2423WXCi
$699
Intel
Celeron
M Processor
Genuine Windows
XP Professional or
- Genuine Windows
XP Home Edition
Integrated CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive
Mobile Intel
910GML Express chipset with

integrated graphics
802.11b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN, V.92 modem
2
14.1" WIDE-SCREEN
14.1" WIDE-SCREEN
Acer AL2416Wd
24" wide-screen
TFT LCD
1920 x 1200
native resolution
1000:1 contrast ratio
178 horizontal
viewing angle
178 vertical
viewing angle
VGA, DVI-D signal
connectors
500 cd/m
2
brightness
6ms gray-to-gray
response time
Internal power
adapter
Silver color
Acer AL2416Wd
$919
(ET.L6102.018)
24" WIDE-SCREEN
20" wide-screen TFT LCD,
Acer CrystalBrite
Technology
1680 x 1050
native resolution
176 horizontal
viewing angle
176 vertical
viewing angle
Acer AL2051 W
Two 1.5W
integrated speakers
VGA, DVI-D
signal connectors
300 cd/m
2
brightness
8ms gray-to-gray
response time
External power
adapter
Silver/black color
XP Professional.
Acer
TravelMate
4070
Enjoy the Freedom of Mobility
The Acer TravelMate 4070 strikes just the right balance between performance and
affordability. Along with Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology, you get a panoramic

15.4 wide-screen display for side-by-side document viewing plus integrated
wireless with Acers exclusive SignalUp technology for enhanced antenna
efficiency. An excellent choice for office or home computing, this notebook lets you
enjoy the freedom of mobility to work smarter without sacrificing features.
Acer TravelMate 4072WLCi
$849
INTEL
PENTIUM
M PROCESSOR 735
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(LX.TBC06.121)
15.4 WIDE-SCREEN
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
- Intel
Pentium
M Processor
- Mobile Intel

- Intel
PRO/Wireless 2200BG network connection

Genuine Windows
XP Professional
512MB DDR2 400 SDRAM
80GB
1
hard drive
Integrated CD-RW/DVD-ROM
combo drive
Intel

2
AL2051 W
$409
(ET.L7008.006)
19" TFT LCD,
Acer CrystalBrite Technology
1280 x 1024 native resolution
150 horizontal viewing angle
135 vertical viewing angle
Two 1.5W integrated speakers
Acer AL1951C
VGA, DVI-D signal
connectors
400 cd/m
2
brightness
4ms gray-to-gray
response time
External power adapter
Silver/black color
Acer AL1951C
$359
(ET.L4108.068)
4MS RESPONSE TIME
Compare LCD Prices/Features & You'll Choose Acer
Acer
ezDock
The one-plug Acer ezDock manages and organizes peripheral
connections with ease, allowing you to add or remove devices
instantly, without turning off your notebook computer. This
compact docking solution features 21 interface ports and two card
slots for desktop-like expansion possibilities, as well as PCI Express
technology and a Kensington
lock slot.
$999
Acer
TravelMate
4070
Your Essential Business Tool
INTEL
PENTIUM
M PROCESSOR 740
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(LX.TBC06.126)
15.4" WIDE-SCREEN
Count on the Acer TravelMate 4070 for growing your business. Powered by Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology,
this stylish notebook boasts high-end features at a price that wont break your budget. The wide-screen 15.4
display is perfect for viewing documents side by side. The integrated optical drive offers flexibility and
convenience, and the wireless LAN will keep you connected and productive wherever your work takes you.
Acer ezDock Docking Station
$299
COMPATIBLE WITH THE TRAVELMATE 8200, 8100, 4670, 4650,
4400, 3010, 3000, C310, C200; FERRARI 4000
(LC.D0103.004)
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
- Intel
Pentium
M Processor
- Mobile Intel

- Intel

Genuine Windows
XP Professional
1GB DDR2 400 SDRAM
100GB
1
hard drive
Integrated DVD-Dual drive (DVD+/-RW)
Intel

2
19" TFT LCD with height
adjustment and rotation
Acer AL1717 Bbmd
Acer AL1923 r
17" TFT LCD
1280 x 1024
native resolution
150 horizontal
viewing angle
VGA, DVI-D signal
connectors
300 cd/m
2
brightness
8ms response time
Internal power adapter
Black color
VGA, DVI-D signal
connectors
280 cd/m
2
brightness
8ms response time
Titanium color
Acer AL1923 r
$339
(ET.L660B.048)
ADJUST HEIGHT
& ROTATE
XP Professional.
Acer
TravelMate
C310
Tablet & Full-Featured Notebook in One
The Acer TravelMate C310 is the convertible tablet that you'll want to use as
your primary computer. With a big 14.1" XGA display, full-size keyboard,
modular optical drive and optional ezDock Docking Station, it's similar to a
standard notebook but offers much more. The screen becomes a writing
surface when you rotate it and fold it back over the keyboard, perfect for
taking notes, annotating documents and completing online forms.
Acer TravelMate C312XCi
$1,699
INTEL
PENTIUM

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP TABLET PC EDITION
512MB DDR2 533 SDRAM, 80GB
1
HARD DRIVE
AND MODULAR CD-RW/DVD-ROM COMBO DRIVE
(LX.T270E.029)
Acer TravelMate C314XMi
$1,999
INTEL
PENTIUM
M PROCESSOR 760 (2MB L2 CACHE, 2GHZ, 533MHZ FSB)

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP TABLET PC EDITION
1GB DDR2 533 SDRAM, 100GB
1
HARD DRIVE
AND MODULAR DVD-DUAL DRIVE (DVD+/-RW)
(LX.T870E.032)
CONVERTS HANDWRITING TO TEXT
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
- Intel
Pentium
M Processor
- Mobile Intel
915PM Express chipset

- Intel

Genuine Windows
XP Tablet PC Edition
4-in-1 card reader for optional
MultiMediaCard
, Secure Digital card,

Memory Stick
or Memory Stick PRO
14.1" XGA (1024 x 768) TFT display

NVIDIA GeForce
Go 6200 graphics
802.11b/g WLAN, Bluetooth
,
gigabit LAN, V.92 modem
Full-size EMR pen with eraser
2
Acer AL1717 Bbmd
$239
(ET.1717B.MD8)
$10 PRICE CUT!
Acer AL1716 b
17" TFT LCD
VGA signal connector
300 cd/m
2
brightness
12ms response time
Black color
Acer AL1716 b
$205
(ET.1716B.012)
$14 PRICE CUT!
Digital Light Processing
from Texas Instruments is an all-digital display technology for projectors and other
products that delivers the best picture in terms of clarity, brilliance and color.
Acer
Projectors with DLP
Technology
The AcerPower S280 boasts an impressive feature set in a stylish chassis at an affordable price. Ample power
means you can efficiently perform everyday tasks. Multiple expansion slots make the system easy to upgrade,
while the eight USB 2.0 ports give you the ability to connect to the latest peripherals. All in all, an excellent
choice for home, school or office computing.
Display sold separately.
Even if youre short on space, you dont need to sacrifice performance. The compact
Acer Veriton 2800 business desktop gives you an Intel
Pentium
4 Processor with HT Technology,

dual-channel memory and eight USB ports for connecting to a printer and other office peripherals.
Acer
Veriton
2800
Powerful but Compact
Acer Veriton 2800
$689
Acer
AcerPower
S280
Affordable Computing at its Best
INTEL
PENTIUM
4 PROCESSOR 521 WITH HT TECHNOLOGY

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(VT2800-U-P5210)
AcerPower S280
$429
INTEL
CELERON
D PROCESSOR 346
(256KB L2 CACHE, 3.06GHZ, 533MHZ FSB)
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
512MB DDR SDRAM AND
CD-RW/DVD-ROM COMBO DRIVE
(APS280-U-C4600)
Intel
Pentium
4 Processor with
HT Technology
Genuine Windows
XP Professional
512MB DDR2 533 SDRAM
80GB
1
SATA hard drive, 7200RPM
CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive
Intel

Gigabit LAN
Three-year limited warranty
2
Display sold separately.
Intel
Celeron
D Processor
Genuine Windows
XP Professional
80GB
1
hard drive
10/100 LAN
Integrated SiS Mirage
graphics
2
AcerPower S280
$369
INTEL
CELERON
D PROCESSOR 336
(256KB L2 CACHE, 2.80GHZ, 533MHZ FSB)
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
256MB DDR SDRAM AND
CD-ROM DRIVE
(APS280-U-C3600)
2000 ANSI lumens
XGA (1024 x 768) native resolution
16.7 million displayable colors
PC and Mac compatible
Acer PD120D
2000 ANSI lumens
SVGA (800 x 600) native resolution
16.7 million displayable colors
PC and Mac compatible
Acer PD100
Acer PD100
$669
(EY.J2101.006)
Acer PD120D
$899
(EY.J2201.012)
$100 PRICE CUT!
XP Professional.
Stability, ease-of-deployment and comprehensive management tools are the
hallmarks of Veriton, Acer's premier business desktop series. Each of these
features has been enhanced in the Acer Veriton 6800, with an improved
tool-less chassis design, fortified security tools, more powerful Intel
processors and Acer eManager software.

Acer
Veriton
6800
Optimized for Business
Intel
Pentium
4 Processor with HT Technology or

- Intel
Pentium
D Processor
Genuine Windows
XP Professional
Intel

Gigabit LAN
Three-year limited warranty
2
Acer Veriton 6800
$899
INTEL
PENTIUM
D PROCESSOR 830
(2X1MB L2 CACHE, 3GHZ, 800MHZ FSB)
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
1GB DDR2 533 SDRAM; 160GB
1
SATA HARD DRIVE, 7200RPM;
AND DVD-DUAL DRIVE (DVD+/-RW)
(VT6800-U-S8301)
Acer Veriton 6800
$799
INTEL
PENTIUM

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
512MB DDR2 533 SDRAM; 80GB
1
AND CD-RW/DVD-ROM COMBO DRIVE
(VT6800-U-P6400)
$100 PRICE CUT!
Acer Veriton 6800
$699
INTEL
PENTIUM

(2MB L2 CACHE, 3GHZ, 800MHZ FSB)
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
1
AND DVD-DUAL DRIVE (DVD+/-RW)
(VT6800-U-P6302)
Acer Veriton 6800
$879
INTEL
PENTIUM

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
1
AND CD-RW/DVD-ROM COMBO DRIVE
(VT6800-U-P6501)
$20 PRICE CUT!
160GB HARD DRIVE
Keep a Replacement Lamp on hand for the
Acer PD120D or PD100 projector. Expected
life in hours is 2,000 standard mode, 3,000
economy mode.
For permanent placement of an Acer PD525,
PD120D, PD116P or PD100 projector in a
conference room or classroom, youll want an
easy-to-install Ceiling Mount.
Ceiling Mount
$79
(EZ.PCM03.007)
Replacement Lamp
$199
(EC.J2101.001)
Acer Notebook/Tablet Service Upgrades Protect Your Valuable Investment
1
When referring to storage capacity, GB stands for one billion bytes and MB stands for one million bytes. Some utilities may indicate varying storage capacities. Total user-accessible capacity
may vary depending on operating environments.
2
For a free copy of the standard limited warranty end-users should see a reseller where Acer products are sold or write to Acer America Corporation, Warranty Department, P.O. Box 6137,
Temple, TX 76503.
2006 Acer America Corporation. Information and prices are subject to change without notice. Pricing is effective from April 15, 2006 through
June 1, 2006. Product images are representations of some of the models available and may vary from the model you
purchase. Acer, TravelMate and Veriton are registered trademarks and AcerPower a trademark of Acer Inc. Aspire is a trademark of Acer
America Corporation. Celeron, Celeron Inside, Centrino, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel SpeedStep, Intel Viiv, Intel Xeon, Itanium, Itanium Insi-
de, Pentium, Pentium Inside, the Centrino logo, the Intel logo and the Intel Inside logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Microsoft and
Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Quality is built into every notebook and tablet PC Acer makes, and each comes with a
one-year standardlimited warranty.
2
It includes hardware technical support via toll-free phoneplus
a concurrent International Travelers Warranty for travel outside the U.S. and Canada. Extra
protection is available with one of these upgrades:
2-Year Extension of Limited Warranty (146.AB820.EX2)
$99
Prepays freight to and from Acer repair depot.
Excludes extension of International Traveler's Warranty.
Its a tough world out there, and accidents do happensticky spills, dangerous drops, nasty
knockswhich is why you should consider the Total Protection Upgrade. It runs concurrently with
the limited warranty
2
and limited warranty extension and covers the cost of a replacement unit
if your covered notebook cannot be repaired.
2-Year Extension of Limited Warranty + 3-Year Total Protection Upgrade (146.AD077.002)
$199
Prepays freight to and from Acer repair depot.
Excludes extension of International Traveler's Warranty.
For the name of a reseller near you or further
information, please call Acer or visit our Web site:
800-571-2237
www.acer.com/us
$2,499
INTEL
CORE
DUO PROCESSOR T2500

(2MB L2 CACHE, 2GHZ, 667MHZ FSB)
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(LX.TAX06.034)
Intel
Centrino

- Intel
Core
Duo Processor
- Mobile Intel
945PM Express chipset

- Intel
PRO/Wireless 3945ABG network connection

Genuine Windows
XP Professional
2GB DDR2 533 SDRAM
120GB
1
hard drive, 5400RPM
Modular Super-Multi drive
(DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM)
5-in-1 card reader for optional
MultiMediaCard
, Secure Digital card,

Memory Stick
, Memory Stick PRO
or
xD-Picture Card
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) TFT display

ATI
Mobility
Radeon
X1600 graphics
Integrated, adjustable webcam
802.11a/b/g WLAN, Bluetooth
,
gigabit LAN, V.92 modem
2
Have a video
conference
almost
anywhere Integrated
Webcam
Intel
dual-core Processing
XP Professional.
Acer
TravelMate
8200
The Visible Power of Mobile Leadership
The Acer TravelMate 8200 includes all the new and high-end features you could want in a
notebook and earned the prestigious PC Magazine Editors Choice Award in January 2006.
Intel
Centrino
Duo Mobile Technology delivers superb dual-core mobile performance,

allowing you to easily run demanding applications simultaneously. Supercharged
ATI
Mobility
Radeon
X1600 graphics turn this notebook into a mobile entertainment

system and make the most of the wide-screen 15.4" WSXGA+ display. You also get the
Acer OrbiCam, an 1.3-megapixel adjustable webcam built into the black carbon-fiber chassis.
LL THOSE MULTIMEDIA TOOLS
IN Windows XP? Childs play. If
youre serious about PC audio and
videoabout watching TV, lis-
tening to music, making movies,
managing your digital photos, all
from your PCVista is the place to do it all. For
the rst time, Microsoft includes a bona de photo
managernot the skimpy photo viewer youll nd
in Win XP. In addition, you get beefed-up versions
of Windows Media Player and Movie Maker. And
with the Premium or Ultimate versions of the OS,
you even get an updated version of Media Center,
the home entertainment system that used to be a
separate operating system.
The moment I rst opened
Vistas new Photo Gallery
tool, I knew Microsoft had
gotten it right. Finally, a
single place where we can
organize, edit, and share our
digital photos. Win XP failed
to offer any editing or sharing
options, and its organizational
tools were almost an insult.
Windows Photo Gallery cant
quite compete with free pho-
to managers like Picasa (my
favorite) and Preclick, or with
Apples iPhoto, but its still a
big step for the OS.
With Photo Gallery, you
can organize videos as well
as photos, quickly searching
and sorting them via tags,
dates, and ratings. I love the
slider button, which lets you
instantly resize the thumbnails on your virtual light-
table, and the default Ken Burns slide-show effect,
which dynamically pans and zooms each photo.
And heres a little secret: Photo Gallery actu-
ally integrates with the updated Windows Movie
Maker, which means you can instantly, easily move
photos and videos from one to the other. You can
spice your movies up with all sorts of new effects
and transitions. Perhaps best of all, now that Movie
Maker takes advantage of your graphics processor,
it no longer limits movie previews to a tiny 320-
by-240 window. And when your movie is nished,
you can seamlessly burn it to disc using Microsofts
new DVD Maker tool; you can even add chapters
and menus.
Meanwhile, Windows Media Player 11 offers a
fresh interface, making it easier to organize, nd,
rip, and burn your audio les. My favorite perks:
You set up songs for burning with a mere drag and
drop, and you can add cover art with a simple paste
command. Im into browsing by album cover, too.
Media Player is also better at syncing portable de-
vices, certainly a welcome improvement. Check out
the random sync feature, which can turn any MP3
player into an iPod shufe. (Whether thats a good
thing is still up for debate.) And when Vista nally
debuts, Player will work hand in hand with URGE,
MTVs new online music service, which will offer
more than two million digital tracks. Make no mis-
take: Vista can excite the senses.Cade Metz
Because Its Loaded with
New Multimedia Tools
PHOTO GALLERY Vista adds basic photo organizing,
editing, and sharing tools to its photo viewer.
WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 11 WMP has a fresh new interface to help users
better organize their music, as well as sync their music libraries with portable
devices and, of course, burn discs.
Vista Secrets
Want to see what Vista
looks like with Aero Glass
disabled? Press Ctrl-Shift-
F9. (This will work in beta
releases only, not produc-
tion versions.)
You can control volume
levels on an application-
by-application basis
using Vistas new audio
control panel.
Having trouble installing a
hardware device in Vista?
Try using the Windows
XP version of the driver.
Press Windows-Tab to get
the cool Flip 3D view of
all your open applications.
VISTA PREVIEW
F YOU CAN READ THIS, YOU
PROBABLY run Windows
XP in administrator mode.
Theres no cause and effect
here. Its just that, while Win
XP allows and recommends
creation of Limited user accounts that
make many exploits impossible, a vast
number of programs and common
activities dont work under a Limited
account, so typically, everybodys an
Administrator. This is one of Win XPs
biggest security problems.
Vistas User Account Control (for-
merly User Account Protection)
should go a long way toward xing
this. Microsoft aims to allow the wid-
est possible range of activity in a Stan-
dard (dont call it Limited!) account
and handles legacy programs that as-
sume greater privilege. Any Adminis-
trator can grant one-time permission
when necessary. And now, even Administrators run
at Standard level, with a warning from Vista when
elevated privilege is required. Unfortunately the fre-
quent Windows needs your permission . . . warn-
ings can get pretty annoying.
The implementation of Windows Service Hard-
ening, a related feature, has been completed since
Vista Beta 1. It minimizes the impact of malware
that exploits Windows services by allowing each ser-
vice access only to the resources it actually needs.
These protections may make it harder for hack-
ers to take advantage of the OS, but today the bad
guys are just as likely to try to take advantage of
you instead. Thats why IE7 in Vista now imple-
ments Microsofts antiphishing scheme. I tried it on
known phishing sites and one with an invalid secu-
rity certicateit red-agged them and blocked ac-
cess. Sites with veried security are green-agged;
others get a yellow rating if analysis of their HTML
code reveals suspicious elements. Spyware protec-
tion from Windows Defender (for a review, see
go.pcmag.com/vista) is now built into Vista, and it
automatically scans any les downloaded through
IE. And as IE7 is a prime target, Vista safeguards it
further by having it run in Protected Mode, a still-
lower privilege level designed to thwart browser-
subverting malware.
In Beta 1, Vistas Parental Controls system could
limit access to games by name, content, or ESRB
rating. This was nice, but most parents are more
concerned about what their kids are doing online
and how long theyre spending soldered to their sys-
tems. Now that the Parental Controls system has all
its planned features it addresses these issues, going
much further than in Beta 1 and rivaling some third-
party products. The administrator can limit the days
and times each user is allowed on the computer and
establish a list of approved programs (denying access
to all others). Web-site ltering based on content,
whitelists, and blacklists is available on a per-user
basis. And Activity Monitoring will report a wealth of
details about the users actions, including the top ten
sites visited, blocked sites, les downloaded, applica-
tions launched, and more. I put a Standard account
under Parental Control and tried to hack the protec-
tion, but I couldnt break it.
Because You Need Better Security
PARENTAL CONTROLS Parents can limit kids Web
site access and game-playingand see detailed
activity reports (above). The clear, simple Time Re-
strictions grid (right) lets parents easily dene which
hours on which days which kids can be logged on.
Vista Secret
In any folder containing
image les, click Slide
Show in Windows Ex-
plorer to create a great-
looking impromptu slide
show, albeit one that
takes a decent amount
of graphics horsepower.
Windows XPs included
slide show is rudimentary
by comparison.
Red=Danger!
Green=Certi ed
Yellow=Suspicious
VISTA PREVIEW
Unlike the rewall in Windows XP, the Windows
Firewall in Vista protects against unauthorized out-
bound connections. New in the latest CTP, this
outbound protection has a conguration interface.
Its not for the faint of heart, but an expert user can
tweak dozens of existing exceptions or create new
exceptions to let specic programs do their job.
When I travel with my notebook, Im always
concerned that someone will swipe it and use the
many tools out there to get a peek behind the PC-
Mag curtain. Vistas BitLocker Drive Encryption
WHAT ABOUT LONGHORN SERVER? Though most of the ex-
citement in the OS world is focusing on Windows Vista, some
people may be even more anxious to see Longhorn Server,
scheduled to be released next year. I spoke with Microsoft about
its plans for the next Windows Server.
As with the client OS, the development team cites security,
management, system health, and reliability as chief concerns.
This new server release will have major improvements, starting
with the installation process, which includes a signicant proce-
dural change: The system remains in a shields-up mode until
it is sufciently secured. The Administrator can specify roles
with a system denition model, such as Web server or terminal
server, at install time, and the system will automatically search
for and apply the appropriate patches. It will also limit the at-
tack surface by disabling services and features not necessary for
the servers dened role.
To ensure good system and network health, Longhorn
Server adds NAP, or Network Address Protection. NAP can be
congured to require that computers attempting to connect to
your network comply with predened requirements. Adminis-
trators can create policies to validate each new computers sys-
tem health before any general communication on the network
takes place. Noncompliant computers can be automatically
updated or restricted until they become compliant.
Longhorns new error-reporting system is tied closely into
other administrative elements. It will allow for far greater log
data storage and help with analytical troubleshooting. Rather
than browsing miles of log entries in the log viewer, administra-
tors will have access to the data where they actually congure
specic system components.
Longhorn Server will also include a host of other improve-
ments and new features, including improved management
capabilities, a new version of Internet Information Services, and
a distributed cached-storage technology. In addition, Longhorn
will include Windows Communications Foundation, which will
aid in distributing applications over the network, and a self-
healing ling system.
Alongside the long-awaited Longhorn Beta 2 release, Micro-
soft will also release management improvements like Monad,
a new scripting shell that provides Unix/Linuxstyle command-
line administration.
Since the initial Beta 1 release last July, Microsoft has re-
leased some builds of the next Windows Server, but none were
classied as CTPs or betas. Before the actual release, we expect
to see another major beta, and I for one cant wait to get my
hands on it.Oliver Kaven
Vista Secret
If you accidentally over-
write a document, you
can use Vistas imple-
mentation of Volume
Shadow Copy to roll back
changesjust click on the
le and select Previous
Versions on the Win-
dows Explorer toolbar.
(formerly Secure Startup Volume Encryp-
tion) will help, making the drive unread-
able to all but me. In the earlier beta this
would work only on a system containing
a Trusted Platform Module chip. Merci-
fully, BitLocker now works on any system,
encrypting all but a sliver of the boot disk.
Systems can be decrypted at start-up after
you supply the password or insert a coded
USB drive. A laptop thus protected may
still be lost or stolen, but the data on it
wont be revealed.
Digging into the Group Policy settings,
I discovered two useful security secrets.
The new Removable Storage Access policy can deny
read, write, or execute status to removable devices
from CD drives to personal audio playersto
prohibit slurping les into an iPod or thumb
drive. And the Device Installation Restrictions
policy limits the types of devices that can be in-
stalled, though you need to know the Device ID
or Device Class.
Will hackers nd weak spots in Vista? Most de-
nitelybut from what I can see, theyre going to
have to work a lot harder at it.Neil J. Rubenking
Illustration by Alex Eban Meyer
Vista Secrets
In IE7, hold Control and
spin the mouse wheel to
zoom in or out on an en-
tire Web page, including
graphics.
To show all the shared
les and folders on your
computer, open File and
Printer Sharing from the
Control Panel and follow
the links.
You can detach gadgets
from the Sidebar so they
oat on your desktop.
SIDESHOW Splice
some ip-phone genes
onto your laptop and
you have SideShow.
PortalPlayer is working
with notebook vendors
on prototypes that sup-
port this very cool, in-
tegrated display, which
works even when the
laptop is off.
SideShow window (detail)
VISTA PREVIEW
SideShow may not be here today, but Vistas new
power management features are something you can
benet from right now. Notebooks running the new
OS at last approach the near-instant on-off switching
that weve come to expect from consumer electron-
ics devices. Vistas new Sleep mode replaces distinct
Standby and Hibernate modes. Press the power-
button icon on the Start menu and your machine
will fall into a slumber almost instantaneously. Vista
writes the contents of memory to disk so they wont
be lost if the battery runs out of juice; but it also keeps
that information in memory, so a typical restart is
very quick, since Vista doesnt need to read from the
disk. Although the sleep/resume sequence has been
crash-prone in the releases weve tested so far, I like
the direction Microsoft is taking here. The Control
Panel also includes a new Power Options applet with
easy-to-understand power plansproles that let
you select device timeouts and choose to favor faster
performance or longer battery life.
Be sure to check out the convenient mobility cen-
ter, which unies all your laptop-centric features in
one place. Try plugging in an external display; Vista
automatically detects it and helps you configure it.
Vista also includes improved options for conguring
wireless networking.
Another feature is an interesting performance-en-
hancement technique called SuperFetch. If you carry
around a USB key for storing data, you can instruct Vista
to use the storage on that key as a quicker alternative to
EYOND THE NEW AD HOC NETWORK-
ING and collaboration capabilities,
frequent travelersor really, any of us
who carry notebook computershave
some particularly compelling reasons
to want Windows Vista now.
To begin with, I really like the way Vista collects
key mobility-related features into a convenient Mobil-
ity Center. The new OS also improves power manage-
ment, includes better wireless-networking features,
and promises to enhance performance and security.
Vistas slick Aero Glass interface will even run on suf-
ficiently high-powered notebooksbut temper your
enthusiasm; using it on notebooks has presented nu-
merous compatibility and stability problems. Lately Ive
been traveling with a Vista notebook in my bagbut its
nestled in there alongside another notebook that runs
Windows XP and serves as an essential backup.
Vistas sexiest mobility feature is what Micro-
soft calls SideShow. Think of the external display
on a clamshell cell phone. A SideShow display can
perform a similar purpose, displaying for example,
a calendar, contact information, stock quotes, or e-
mail subject lines. The coolest part: The SideShow
display will work even when the computer itself is
powered down. That means no more waiting for your
machine to boot up just so you can get directions to
your next appointment. Now all that remains is for
hardware manufacturers to start designing devices
with SideShow-capable secondary displays.
Because Youre Mobile
JANUARY IS THE NEW DECEMBER Theres no doubt that Vista
will be a major upgrade, but its been clear for some time that,
even as its projected release date slipped, the OS wouldnt live
up to Microsofts original grand vision. (See Coulda, Shoulda,
Woulda, go.pcmag.com/couldashoulda.) And then, just as we
went to press in late March, Microsoft announced a delay in the
release of its new OS. Again. According to the company, busi-
nesses with volume licensing agreements will be able to get
their hands on the nal Vista bits in November, but everyone
elseincluding consumerswill have to wait until January 2007.
Previously, the company had said Vista would ship in time for
the December holiday season.
Microsoft claims the delay is because of quality concerns.
Product quality is the rst priority. We wont compromise on
that, said Jim Allchin, copresident of Microsofts Platforms &
Services Division, in a conference call with reporters and ana-
lysts. When asked for further details, Allchin said the compa-
nyand some of its partnershad concerns about performance,
drivers, testing, and security. (What does that leave out?)
The company downplayed the impact this delay might have
on retailers and PC makers counting on selling Vista-equipped
machines for the holidays. January has emerged as almost a
second Christmas, with gift cards, sales, etc. Its a new trend,
said Brad Goldberg, general manger with Microsofts Windows
Client Product Management team.
But not everyone agrees. I think that the delay is signi cant. . . .
Microsoft is missing a key time over the holidays in bringing Vista
to the most consumers possible at launch, said one Microsoft TAP
(Technology Adoption Partner) tester, who requested anonymity.
Microsoft preferred to emphasize that Vista will still be
available to some customers in 2006, as it has promised for
nearly two years. This is truethough it may not be as signi-
cant as the company would have you believe. While Microsoft
says software will be available to businesses through volume
licensing, said Joe Wilcox, an analyst with Jupiter Research,
the companys own nancials show that a small percentage of
customers purchase that way. Most businesses buy Windows on
new PCs, and these wont be coming until 2007.Mary Jo Foley
'D2 'D3 'D4 'D5 'D6 'D7
2DD3
1D/D1 4/D2 5/D3 8/D4 3/13/D6 3/21/D6
2DD4 2DD5
mid
2DD6
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2DD6
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2DD7
Microsoft says Vista wiII debut.
ANNOUNCED
PROJECTED
RELEASE
Are you a gam
bling m
an?
MOBILITY CENTER
Vistas Mobility Center
gathers settings particu-
larly useful for notebook
users, including bright-
ness, which affects bat-
tery life, presentation
mode controls, and wire-
less connectivity.
storing data in the Windows swap
file. The USB memory wont be
nearly as fast as the system mem-
ory on the motherboard, but can
potentially be far faster than ac-
cessing a mechanical hard drive.
(Even though a hard drive may
be able to stream data out more
quickly, its hampered by its need
to move mechanical parts every
time it seeks data.)
IT managers who have to cope
with a mobile workforce will nd
Vista offers a lot of advantages
as well. BitLocker (which is described in Because
You Need Better Security, page 74) will help secure
data. And because notebooks can also be a vector for
viruses and other malware to inltrate a corporate net-
work, Vistas Network Access Protection lets adminis-
trators segregate notebooks onto a restricted network
segment until they meet minimum standards for OS
patch levels and antivirus protection. Vistas Group
Policy Editor supports the ability to disable USB-
based storage devices to prevent people from copying
sensitive data onto a USB key.
For Tablet PC users, Vista also includes improved,
trainable handwriting recognition, and support for
gestures.
Because Vista is still in beta and has its share of
compatibility and stability problems, we wouldnt
recommend hitting the road with a Vista-only note-
book and no backup plan. Even so, its clear that
mobile workers have a lot of reasons to want to start
exploring it now.John Clyman
Why Vista Is Late
Vista Secret
When multiple instances
of an application are
grouped into a single
taskbar button, click-
ing the button and then
mousing over individual
instances of the applica-
tion previews each app
window independently.
WINDOWS CALENDAR
Finally, a simple calen-
dar app right in the OS.
Its not terribly sophis-
ticated, but its a very
welcome addition.
WINDOWS
COLLABORATION Walk
into a meeting and Win-
dows will help you work
with other participants,
sharing applications and
information.
VISTA PREVIEW
open the invitation and enter the password, and you
all then nd yourselves in a shared workspace. You
can share individual application windows or les,
transfer control to other users, and instant-message
other participants.
Vista also includes a Network Projection feature
that lets you connect to networked LCD projectors,
which are becoming more commonplace, either by
entering a specic known address or by browsing
the LAN for suitable devices.
In general, I like Vistas simplied facilities for
conguring and browsing networks. The new Net-
work Center applet in the Control Panel provides
a one-stop overview of all your network settings.
Vistas network map automatically discovers and
displays various devices on your network. And I was
psyched to nd that Vista maintains multiple net-
work proles (no more reconguring network set-
tings manually every time I visit a different ofce),
simplies connection to wireless networks, and pro-
vides additional network-troubleshooting tools. Vista
also simplies common tasks such as le sharing.
Theres more below the surface. Vistas People
Near Me API gives developers a suite of tools to
help build peer-to-peer applications that can auto-
matically identify people who are physically nearby
on the network. Similarly, a Network Awareness API
lets applications detect when a PC starts using a
different connectionand behave appropriately.
And Microsoft has largely rewritten the operating
systems TCP/IP stack; among other improvements,
it directly supports IPv6 and enables it by default.
As in Windows XP, Microsoft will include differ-
ent sets of networking features in different editions
of Windows. Remote Desktop, for example, will be
available in the Vista Business, Vista Enterprise,
and Vista Ultimate editions, but not in the Home
editions.
Calendar applications might not seem all that ex-
citing or importantuntil you need to schedule a
meeting between various members of a work team
or a family. Windows Calendars interface will be
familiar to Outlook calendar users. The app lets
you create appointments, including all-day and re-
curring appointments, and specify reminders with
variable lead times. You can invite other users to a
meeting via e-mail, publish a calendar to a WebDAV
server to share it over the Internet, and subscribe to
other users published calendars. Windows Calendar
(nominally) supports multiple time zones and task
tracking. Its not a substitute for Outlookit cant
sync with mobile devices, for examplebut it does
support the iCalendar calendar-sharing format and
certainly should fulll casual users appointment-
tracking needs.John Clyman
ITH ITS ROOTS IN DESKTOP
operating systems and appli-
cations, Microsoft hasnt al-
ways been rst to recognize
the importance of network-
ing and collaboration. Vista,
though, makes some signicant strides in this area,
with several new features built in. The changes ex-
tend all the way from the low-level TCP/IP stack to
the application level. Vista even includesat last!
a simple calendar application that lets you schedule
meetings with others.
The feature Im most excited about here is Win-
dows Collaboration. Now, when you walk into
a meeting room (or caf) full of other notebook-
toting users, Windows gives you an easy way to
work collaboratively. Windows Collaboration pro-
vides an impressively seamless way to share appli-
cations and supporting les ad hoc among a small
group of other Vista users. Vista is supposed to let
Wi-Fienabled notebooks establish a peer-to-peer
network in spots that lack Wi-Fi infrastructure or
even an Internet connection.
When you launch it,
Win dows Collaboration
asks if youd like it to en-
able le synchronization
automatically and set up
the required Windows
Firewall exceptions. You
then have an opportunity
to start a new collabora-
tion session or join an ex-
isting one. Choose peo-
ple to invitevia e-mail
or a le shareand set
a password. Invitees just
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Photograph/Illustration by Tk
Keeping Up
with the
TORTUGO
The Concept: Designed
by a mother to keep the
kids entertained during
long trips, this portable
DVD player/activity
center conceals a digital
scribble pad underneath
the digital camera (the
at circular component).
A child can pop out the
camera and snap some
shots. Photos are auto-
matically downloaded
and displayed on screen.
A retractable shoulder
strap and a soft pouch
for snacks are included.
Designer: Lunar Design
SANDRINE LEBAS
Senior Industrial
Designer,Lunar Design
We observed children
throughout their day
the way they use
technology and
what activities they
do. We came up with
the idea that a lot of
products are still to be
designed with existing
technology. Sometimes
you dont have to go
to advanced technolo-
gies for newness. My
daughter is 2
1
/2, and
I can totally see her
using this product.
E ASKED THE INDUSTRY S TOP DESIGN EXPERTS TO
reveal their most innovative ideas for future products.
Some of these concepts will become commercial prod-
ucts in the near future. For others, well have to wait
until the technology catches up with the imagination.
Freeing themselves from the real-life limitations of
bandwidth, processing power, battery life, and screen resolution, our de-
signers imagined a fascinating array of inventions, including a snowboard
that displays messages, a video postcard, a personal projection necklace,
and a networking pen. Here are some of their most inspired concepts.
A eet of concept designs that
propel tech gear into tomorrow.
BY CAROL L. GONSHER AND ERIK RHEY
DIGITAL
BRACELET
The Concept: The
high-tech hub of Nokias
always-connected Star
Trek lifestyle, this bracelet
contains a cell phone
and a remote to control
your personal content
and entertainment gear.
Through an indoor
positioning system it
will automatically sync
with whatever eco-
system you step into
(home, work, or the
mall). It also recognizes
voices and gestures and
has built-in RFID and
broadband. A great
idea for an all-in-one
convergence device
as long as you dont
misplace it.
Designer: Nokia
Jetsons
MICROMEDIA PAPER
The Concept: Bringing
the concept of moving,
talking photos from
Harry Potter to real life,
this paper-thin media
playercomplete with
display, battery, and
memorylets you
record video. Send it
as a greeting card to
Grandma and she
can watch it without
ddling with a PC or
DVD player. A ten-
pack will sell for around
$35. All the enabling
technologies are now
in development.
Designer: Lunar Design
MAX YOSHIMOTO
VP, Design,
Lunar Design
Our goal is to get
people to think
differently about
how to trade media
back and forth. Its
an idea based around
exible electronics
techniquesexible
printed circuit boards,
displays, and power.
Its almost like a
postcard of the future.
GELFROG
The Concept: For kids
only: This super-pliable
rubberized notebook
is not only rugged
and lightweight but
light-years ahead in
software design. The
gelfrogs smart skin acts
as a mobile mirror, a
photo slide show, or a
video projector. Using its
micro camera, it can run
a cloning algorithm that
scans the owners outt
and projects a match-
ing pattern on its own
surface. Students can
scan images from their
surroundings and can
study several topics
via a single interface.
Designer: frog design
SMART PILL
BOTTLE
The Concept: Electronic
ink is just the prescrip-
tion for this smart
pill bottle that does
everything but take
your pills for you.
Twisting the cap onto
the base activates the
label, which displays
information such as
when the last dose
was taken, when a
rell will be needed,
and warning messages.
The brains are built
into the cap, which
communicates wirelessly
with your pharmacist.
Designer: Design
Continuum
EXO OVERMOLDING
SYSTEM
The Concept: Prefer
your notebook in suede
or denim? Inclosia
Solutions, a spin-off
from Dow Chemical,
has developed an
injection molding
process that bakes
fabric, leather, wood,
or metal onto the
plastic housing of
notebooks. But luxury
trim wont come cheap.
In a consumer study
the company ran, people
said theyd pay an extra
$62 for a cell phone and
$143 for a notebook
with the new treatment.
Look for it initially in
Europe this year.
Designer: Inclosia
Solutions
MICHEL ALVAREZ
Industrial designer,
Design Continuum
In redesigning one of
the most misused and
prevalent products in
our society, I wanted
to improve the com-
munication between
consumers and their
prescriptions. Flexible
display technology
from E Ink lets this
product speak more
to the users necessities.
Photo (Top Left) Skylar Reeves
TRIBONS
The Concept: Guaranteed
to garner odd looks, the
Tribons is a wearable
laser projection system
that exists mostly in
the imagination of
frog design CEO Hart-
mut Esslinger, the leg-
endary visionary behind
early Apple computers.
Controlled by an
intuitive 3D interface,
the Tribons projects
educational material
and gives kids access
to environments they
would otherwise not
be able to experience.
An extra medical
module can monitor
the wearers health.
Designer: frog design
PAUL BRADLEY
Project Lead, IDEO
It really needed to be
compelling to kids so
that they could play and
learn. Spark doesnt say
education like a laptop.
We were going for a
much more personal
feel, for the way kids
relate to gaming devices
that become precious
to them.
SPARK
The Concept: Hatched
in collaboration with
Project Inkwell, a group
aiming to bring the tech
industry together on
a spec for educational
computers for the K-12
set, the ultraportable,
ruggedized Spark is
designed to withstand
abuse. It has always-
on real-time access to
the Internet, peer-to-
peer networking and
online journaling, a
docking station, a pen,
a headphone, and a
personalized cover. Its
also waterproof. Design
house IDEO gets an A+
for this one.
Designer: IDEO
Power for the
display is created
by tapping,
stomping, bending,
or riding the board.
Piezoelectric
power source
P-ISM
The Concept: If you
think the fanciest
pen you can buy is a
Mont Blanc, NEC has
one-upped it with the
minimalist personal
networking pen. Its a
cell phone with hand-
writing recognition, a
virtual keyboard, a tiny
projector, a camera
scanner, and a personal
ID key with cashless pass
function. P-ISMs can
connect to each other
wirelessly, and the whole
set is connected to the
Internet through the
cell phone.
Designer: NEC
TAG
The Concept: For
cell-phone klutzes or
techno-fashionistas, this
NEC soft-shell mobile
phone is de rigueur for
your wardrobe. The
phone is so exible it
can wrap around your
arm. Shape-memorizing
material and multiple
pressure sensors allow
it to change shape from
its phone mode to its
video mode.
Designer: NEC
MIKE TRACZ
Industrial Designer,
Design Continuum
The risks associated
with snowboarding, like
getting lost, equipment
theft, being separated
from ones group, or
losing track of time,
presented an interesting
chance to incorporate
design to improve the
experience or prevent
these potential pitfalls.
E- SNOWBOARD
The Concept: The next
phase of multitasking
for teens is checking
your stats while nailing
a frontside ollie or an
Andrecht. Your kids will
impress their friends
with this totally sick
snowboard that displays
reminders, real-time
directions, time, and
compass and altimeter
readings via an electronic
ink display that covers
almost its entire surface.
Power is created by
tapping, stomping,
bending, or riding
the board.
Designer: Design
Continuum
REAL-WORLD TESTI NG
Talk is cheapand so is Loyd Case. Our
man hits the stores for $20 keyboards.
Keyboards
For Less
Jim Louderbacks
Keyboard Tips
Im a bit of a keyboard
nut. Ive got a basement
full of old IBM PS/2
keyboards, because the
buckling spring action
delivers the best tactile
feedback of any Ive
foundway better than
those rubber domes in-
side cheaper models. If
you can afford a few more
bucks, check out my
favorite, from Unicomp
(www.pckeyboard
.com). Unicomp pur-
chased IBMs keyboard
technology and contin-
ues to make what I con-
sider the best keyboards
on earth. If you touch-
type and value
mechanical tactile feed-
back, these are the ones
for you. Even better,
theyre not too expen-
sivethey start at $50.
For a few more bucks
you can get an integrated
pointing stick, and the
space-saver model emu-
lates the best of IBMs
notebook keyboards.
T S TRUE. WE RE FINICKY ABOUT KEY-
boards. We write a lot of stories here at
PC Magazine, and the right keyboard
makes t ypi ng t housands of wor ds
a week much easier to bear. We also
play a few PC games. Its a shocking
idea, I knowafter all, its obvious that
were a very serious bunch.
Interestingly, the needs of PC gamers and the
wants of touch typists arent always the same. A touch
typist needs to be able, well, to typeoften at fairly
high speeds, with reliable key presses and tactile
feedback. A gamer needs a responsive keyboard with
a layout thats not too odd. Therein lies the problem
with dedicated gamer keyboards, like the Wolf Claw,
a mostly normal keyboard with a wacky circular gam-
ing area. Its great for gaming but impractical for most
anything else. Logitechs G15 is a good compromise,
or Microsofts Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000,
but these are pricey, and not everyone needs (or can
afford) a $50-to-$70 keyboard.
I wanted to help. Knowing the ideal solution was
out there somewhere, I grabbed a credit card and did a
little shopping. The keyboards I found werent one-
off, Internet-only specials, and none were special
sale items. Four were on the shelf at a local
Frys Electronics, and two were bought at
Central Computers, a white-box outt
in the San Francisco Bay Area. But
all were under $20, and three
were less than ten bucks.
Of the six items I found,
al l were essenti al l y
straight keyboards,
not split designs,
though the Micro-
soft model does add
a curve to the keyboard
row to relax the wrist po-
sition slightly. Oh, and none
are wireless. While you may
occasionally see deals on wireless
keyboards online, the cheapest one
I could nd was $29. All connected via
the PS/2 port except the Microsoft Com-
fort Curve 2000, which is USB.
I tested the keyboards by typing parts of several
articles on each one and gaming with Unreal Tourna-
ment 2004 for relatively extended sessionswork-
ing around here can be a tough job sometimes. With
these thoughts in mind, lets take a look at the individ-
ual keyboards. Well start with the lowest-priced key-
boards and work our way up. A nal thought: These
keyboards may not be available everywhere. And even
if you do nd them, they may not be as cheap in your
local store as they were in mine. It takes some hunting
to be a true cheap geek.
Smaller, Not Better
First out of the shopping bag: the Inland Pro Keyboard
Typematic, pulled from the shelves at Central Com-
puters for a mere $7.99. If you have a snug work area,
this may be a useful keyboard. It offers buttons for
Power and Sleep, plus a unique Turbo button. When
you press the Turbo button simultaneously with one
of the rst seven Function keys, you can increase or
decrease the speed of repeated keys.
The Inland feels cramped. The width of the home
key row is 2mm less than on most of the other key-
boardsa minute number but a big difference: It
felt small, and my ngers felt too close when typing.
And its a noisy keyboard, making lots of loose click-
ing noises and requiring extra force to press the keys.
Pressing the Turbo and F11 keys locks and unlocks
the keyboard. If you have cats or small children, this
is a useful feature, but its not for security, since you
dont need a password to unlock it. The only things
this keyboard really has going for it are its low price
and compact size. Everything else is something to
avoid. Next!
Cheap Frys Gear
In disgust I turned to my giant Frys shopping bag and
pulled out the $8.99 Labtec Media Keyboard. Labtec
is part of Logitech now, although youd never know
it from this keyboard, which feels nothing like most
Logitech keyboards.
The Labtecs keys feel mushy and take a fair
amount of pressure. Tactile feedback is also poor, and
often when I thought I had pressed the right key, I
found that I had made a typing error. I got better over
time but still made a lot more mistakes than I would
have on a good keyboard. Playing UT2004 was just
ne, although after the session my ngers were a bit
tired. Overall, this keyboard is hardly a joy to type on,
but it gets the job done. And some users may appreci-
ate the full set of customizable buttons. Ill pass.
Another Frys gem was next, from Key Tronica
brand thats been around about as long as the IBM
PC. The overall spacing, layout, and key depth of the
$9.95 Key Tronic KT800PS2 are actually reminis-
cent of the original PC keyboard, but the Key Tronic
doesnt offer that clicky key feedback that endeared
the original IBM unit to its users. In fact, the Key
Tronic required the greatest pressure of any keyboard
I testedan excessive amount, really. Nevertheless,
this keyboard is built like a tank, so if you need a rug-
ged model, this will serve you well.
BY LOYD CASE
MORE ON THE WEB
Looking for a fancier key-
board? Or something with
slightly more style? Go shop-
ping at shop.pcmag.com.
R E A L - WOR L D T E S T I N G
Next up: the BTC Multimedia Keyboard ($12.99),
which offers the same Internet and multimedia keys
as the Labtec, Logitech, and Microsoft models. The
transport keys are a full set, including a Skip Track For-
ward and Backward button, though the Up Arrow key
butts against the End key, which makes it too easy to
press the wrong one.
The keyboard ships with a oppy (!) that installs
a utility for redening the special Function buttons.
The keyboard is the only one I tested with multiple
height angle adjustments, but the process seems to
make for fragile results. Playing UT2004 worked well,
and the light key presses make game play easier. Your
$12.99 buys some nice amenities with the BTC.
Finally, at the bottom of my shopping bag, the good
stuff. At nearly $20, the Microsoft Comfort Curve
Keyboard 2000 is sort of expensive, but its the closest
approximation to a split ergonomic keyboard I tested.
Microsoft curves the main keyboard layout around an
invisible inverted arc at the top, which seems to relax
the wrist a bit.
Keyboard presses are harder than they should be,
though not as hard as on the Key Tronic or Labtec
boards, and the depth of press is a little shallow,
though not as shallow as on a laptop. Additionally, this
is the only USB keyboard I found. It was great to type
on but less useful for gaming. The raised top of the
function keys makes it easy to slide off and press an
adjacent function keya real nuisance for gamers.
Is There a Winner?
Frys merchandise was exhausted, and I hadnt found
the perfect cheapo keyboard, so I swung back to Cen-
tral Computerand found the full-featured Logitech
Media Keyboard ($19.95), all of four cents cheaper
than Microsofts Comfort Curve. Keystrokes are
pleasantly light, and the keyboard offers good tactile
feedback, although its a tad mushy. Media and Inter-
net buttons work without any need to install a custom
driver. I thought the rounded function keys would be
distracting during gaming, but this fear proved base-
less. The spacing between the buttons meant no in-
correct presses, and extended game sessions werent
overly taxing to my tired hands.
Logitech supplies a full version of their SetPoint
keyboard driver and utility software with the key-
board, allowing you to customize the buttons easily.
Setup will happily install extraneous stuff, like eBay
links and Musicmatch, so be sure you uncheck those
if you dont want them. This is a pleasant keyboard for
both typing and gaming, with some additional ameni-
ties. Then again, if youre mostly typing, the Microsoft
Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 is worth considering
for its wrist relief.
Keyboards are very personal choices, of course, and
your needs may differ. Consider the layout, the feel,
and your application before choosing one thats right
for you. There are some ne keyboards out there for
less than $20. All you need to do is a little shopping.
INLAND PRO KEYBOARD TYPEMATIC
Feels very cheap, and key spacing seems tight.
To be fair, it is wicked cheapjust $7.99!
MICROSOFT COMFORT CURVE
KEYBOARD 2000
Relaxes the wrist angle a bit
for easier typing. Raised curve
to Function keys is less than
ideal for gaming.
KEY TRONIC KT800PS2
Nicely sculpted keys and rugged de-
sign. Built like a tank, this keyboard is
so solid youll never wear it out.
LOGITECH MEDIA KEYBOARD
Nice set of amenities, including a useful customization
utility. Rotated Home/Page Down cluster may annoy
some. Physically large compared to other keyboards.
LABTEC MEDIA KEYBOARD
Good layout; very nice utility for cus-
tomizing special buttons. But keys feel
mushy, and presses take too much effort.
BTC MULTIMEDIA KEYBOARD
Direction arrows too close to
the Page Down cluster. Multi-
media transports laid out well.
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IGH-PERFORMANCE PERSONAL COMPUTERS ARE THERMAL
nightmares. As GPUs and CPUs have become more powerful, their heat
output has skyrocketed. AMDs top-of-the-line Athlon 64 X2 4800+
is rated at 105W, while Intels Pentium D 840 runs even higher, at
130Was Paris Hilton would say, thats hot. The typical way to dissipate
all that heat? Throw extra cooling at the systemin other words, add
more fans. Pretty soon, youve got more fans in your system than a B-36 bomber had propel-
lersand your system is as loud, too. You cant control the heat output (without moving to
lower-performing components), but you can control the noise. Read on to nd out how.
A Silent PC
B U I L D I T
When your gaming
PC is as loud as a
refrigerator, you know
youve got trouble.
Photograph by Bonnie Holland
BY LOYD CASE
1
Expose adhesive The
AcoustiPack kit has to
be installed in a certain
order. The thin manual
is surprisingly complete,
but it takes deciphering;
the key is to follow the
directions, but take extra
care. All the pieces are
sticky on one side, with a
thin layer of plastic back-
ing you have to peel off.
SILENCE THE CASE
Fix Fans To nullify
your noise problems,
rst identify the loudest
component in your
systemthen do
something about it.
If fan noise is a problem,
place a nger on the
center of each fan to
halt it and listen for
the noise drop. A
quick pause in any
one fan wont cause
the hardware under
it to overheat, but it
will let you nd out
which one is making
the biggest racket.
Silent and deadly
We went with the
Antec Sonata II because
it looks goodand
because we could get
an aftermarket noise
reduction kit. Inside,
foam bits adhere to
the cases panels.
Making a Quiet Case Quieter
HERE ARE A HANDFUL OF SMALL COM-
panies that will pre-mod a case for
you, adding noise-reducing panels,
extra-quiet fans, fan-speed control-
lers, and even vibration-reducing
grommets. The well-respected pre-
modder mnpctech produces a customized Thermal-
take Tsunami that does a respectable job (we should
know, having spent considerable time with one). But
we wanted to do it ourselves, using a case we liked a
little better. The Tsunami is a decent case, but were
not really into its heavy, full-length swinging door.
Besides, the Tsunami out of the box isnt really de-
signed for low noise.
We chose an old standby, the Antec Sonata II.
Its an attractive case and has room for expansion.
This case also has a sturdy but relatively accessible
interior, so its fairly easy to work on. (A large cool-
ing duct that vents air from the CPU cooler out of
the case gets in the way, but that part is easy to
remove.) Those are not the only reasons for choos-
ing the Sonata II, however: the AcoustiPack precut
noise reduction kit really won us over. You can buy
noise reduction plastic or foam materials, of course,
and you can cut them yourself for any PC case. But
anyone whos tried to cut a straight line through a
piece of foam with a craft knife or Dremel will un-
derstand the appeal of a precut kit. You can nd it
at www.acoustiproducts.com.
The AcoustiPack foam is a semi-open-cell mate-
rial that can absorb sound. Its backed by a high-
density layer of plastic that attenuates whatever
audio energy makes it past the foam. This plastic
is also the backing material for the adhesive layer,
which attaches the foam to the case. The kit comes
with 18 precut pieces.
Replace a Case Fan
If one of your case
fans is too noisy (and
it probably is), buy a
new one. Held in by just
four screws and two
wires, case fans are easy
to replace, and the new
ones are very cheap
and noticeably quieter.
We like Antecs popular
SmartCool fans: They
have internal tempera-
ture sensors, which let
them adjust their speed
second by second to suit
your PCs cooling needs.
SmartCool fans dont
require the generic
three-prong mother-
board connectors that
your current fans
probably have; they
use standard Molex
connectors for power.
Their temperature-
sensing technology is
internal and operates
independently of the
computer system. Each
fan costs around $18.
2
Wedge in the foam
In some cases,
you need to slide the
foamwith the adhesive
exposedinto crevices.
Orient the case so gravity
pulls on the nonadhesive
side. The good news: If
you make a mistake, the
foam pulls up fairly easily,
and its tough enough
not to tear.
3
Remove the bezel
For a complete job,
remove the front bezel.
The left-side panel cant
be removed, so carefully
lever the latches on that
side of the bezel out
by wiggling it back and
forthjust be careful get-
ting the plastic tabs out
of their holes, or youll
break them.
4
Reduce noise leaks
Carefully remove the
cabling from the interior
of the case. Youll need
to remove four screws
to detach the lower half
of the front bezel. Once
thats done, you can
install the foam thats
specially cut for it. The
precut sections should
adhere easily.
Buying precut
foam is easier
than making
your own
B U I L D I T
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SPECIAL
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Mother of all boards
The ABIT AN8 32X
supports the nVidia SLI
X16 chipset, with a full
16 lanes of PCI Express
to each channel. Thats a
lot of graphics goodness.
Power Supply and Motherboard
W
E WANTED A FAIRLY POTENT POWER
supply, on the off chance that
we might someday want to install
two graphics cards in the system.
Were not big fans of the two sys-
tems out there, CrossFire and SLIthe gain isnt
always worth the conguration pain. But if the right
game comes along. . . . So we ripped out the included
450W unit and sought something else.
Not all power supplies are created equal, of
course, as we discovered in recent power supply
testing (see go.extremetech.com/powersupplies). One
model that impressed us with its efciency and rela-
tively low noise is the 600W Seasonic S12. Rated at
better than 80 percent efciency (meaning it wastes
little power and generates less unnecessary heat),
the S12 is one of the quieter high-performance pow-
er supplies available. It even has two PCIe six-pin
graphics card power connectors, and it passed our
CrossFire and SLI tests with aplomb.
We wanted a leading-edge motherboard, and the
spanking-new ABIT AN8 32X motherboard seemed
just the ticket. The key is the passively cooled chip-
set, called Silent OTES (short for outside thermal
exhaust system, of course). ABIT uses a combina-
tion of passive heat sinks and a heat pipe to direct
the chipsets heat to the rear of the chassis, where
its exhausted out of the case. That removes a sub-
stantial source of annoying noise: the northbridge
fan. Two gigabytes of Corsairs Twinx2048-4000PT
memory and an AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor
rounded out the system.
Drive Noise Out
For many systems,
its easy to identify the
loudest part, even from
clear across the room: an
ancient (or, as we like to
say, classic) hard drive.
Molex makes a product
called SilentDrive, basi-
cally a foam-lined sleeve
that swallows most
standard-size IDE and
SCSI drives (recom-
mended for 5,400-rpm
drives only) while still
allowing them to
function normally. Itll
silence the high-pitched
whine of a noisy
hard drive.
Add a Drive Theres
a second solution for
loud hard disks: Buy a
new one. We bet you
can nd a faster, larger,
quieter drive for under
a hundred dollars. Use
Norton Ghost or a similar
tool to replicate the old
drives partition onto
the new drive, set aside
the old one, and its
business as usual. Youve
got a backup as well!
Samsungs SpinPoint
line is popular for its
quiet operation.
5
Foam the side door
Install the foam in
other parts of the case,
including the side door.
Note the thin strip just
below the latch. Remove
it so the Sonatas support
bar has room. The lowest
rectangle stays in place
on the Sonata II (it needs
to be removed for the
older Sonata I).
6
Open the air duct
The Sonata II ships
with a removable plastic
duct that directs airow
from the CPU out the
back of the case. The
AcoustiPack kit comes
with precut foam sec-
tions for the duct, but
youll need to disassem-
ble the duct. First, take
the cooling duct apart.
7
Add foam to it Then
install the Acousti-
Pack foam and reas-
semble the duct. When
youre done, it will look
mostly the same but
should run substantially
quieter. Grab your reas-
sembled duct and your
screwdriver and mount
the duct back into the
Sonata case.
8
Quiet your drives
Shove a couple of
foam blocks around the
hard drive area. Acousti
recommends not using
these blocks if you plan
on having more than two
drives. The foam is an
addi tional sound-absorb-
ing layer, but it also traps
heat, which could shorten
your drives lifespans .
Look! No
northbrid
ge fa
n!
Dont forget the
CPUs separate
12V power cable!
Foam goes
inside the
duct
Volume Control
How loud is our
super-quiet gaming rig?
To find out, we picked
up a sound meter and
compared our new
computer with a few
others in the office. We
include a few reference
points to set your
bearings.
Ambient room
26 dBA
Super-quiet
gaming rig
29 dBA
mnpc Modded
Tsunami PC
35 dBA
3.46-GHz P4EE-
based PC
42 dBA
Quiet office air
conditioner
50 dBA
Normal
conversation
60 dBA
BUILD THE COMPUTER
Bigger and Slower
As cooling fans get
bigger, they can turn
more slowly and
still move the same
amount of air.
CPU Cooler and Graphics
HE CPU COOLER IS A KEY COMPONENT
in reducing noise. And remember, we
didnt want to sacrice performance
to cut down on noise. Since we used
normal-prole DDR memory (unlike
the brightly lit but extra-tall Corsair
XMS Pro), and since the motherboard doesnt have
any tall heat sinks or other obstructions, we could
use a big cooler. So in went a Zalman CNPS7700-
AlCu cooler. This giant hunk of metal has a copper
core and a mixture of aluminum and copper ns.
More important, it uses a slow-rotating 120mm fan,
which keeps the CPU cool while generating little
noise. Tall coolers, like the Zalman CNPS9500, are
quite popular, but we couldnt t one in because of
the presence of the cases cooling duct.
If we were striving for a purely silent system, then
we might have hunted for a fairly high-performance,
passively cooled graphics card. After all, both ATI
and nVidia have spent quite a few dollars engineer-
ing fairly low-noise cooling solutions. The fans on
ATIs graphics cards tend to spin at full speed until
the driver kicks in, however, which can be a little
annoying. So we went with an nVidia-based card
and put a lone EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GTX into the
system. It uses a 92mm cooling fan and exhausts air
out the back of the case. The result is a surprisingly
quiet graphics solution.
Go Totally Passive
For the ultimate in
silence, look to Zalman,
which builds a line of
fanless cases that have
heat pipes distributed
throughout. Theyre
a bit limiting: Building
an overclocked,
7800GTX SLI system
is impractical, for
example. Still, you can
build a pretty decent
system using one
of these cases. The
downside is that theyre
enormously heavy and
extremely expensive.
1
Start with the power
For the most part,
assemble the rest of the
system as you would any
home-brew computer.
But do things in the right
order. Install the power
supply rst. Otherwise,
you may have to pull
the motherboard out of
the PC just to install the
power supply.
2
Afx the back plate
Make sure you attach
the special back plate
required by the Zalman
cooler before you screw
the motherboard down
permanently into the
case. The small nipples
on either side of the pro-
cessor above are for the
Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu
CPU cooler.
3
Lock in the memory
Route the wires
from the reattached
front bezel next, and
then attach the SATA
and drive power cables
before you slip the drives
into their bays. Install the
memory before the Zal-
man heat sink, since the
modules will live under
the heat sink ns.
4
Finally, the cooler
Two screws attach
the Zalman cooler to the
nut that holds the plate
to the motherboard.
Install the fan sensor con-
trol and set it for mini-
mum speed. The Sonata
II ships with a three-
speed 12cm rear case fan.
Set that to the minimum
speed as well.
W
e use a Milwaukee
power screwdriver
all the tim
e
B U I L D I T
For information on our GAP Program or to request a PC Magazine International
Media Kit please contact Suk Park, Ziff Davis Media International, spark@ziffdavis.com
GAP
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INTERNATIONAL
Read in 42 countries and 15 languages
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Parts List
Case
Antec Sonata II $100
Power supply
Seasonic S12-600W .$155
CPU
Athlon 64 FX-57.$811
Memory
Corsair Twinx2048-
4000PT .$217
Motherboard
ABIT AN8 32X $185
CPU cooler
Zalman CNPS
7700-AlCu ....$35
Hard drive
Western Digital
WD4000YR .$185
DVD drive
Pioneer DVR-108B ...$69
Graphics card
EVGA e-GeForce 7900
GTX 512MB$520
Sound card
Creative Sound
Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
..$72
Sound insulator
AcoustiPack Pre-Cut
Sonata Kit .$69
Total......$2,418
MORE ON THE WEB
Learn everything you ever
wanted to know about power
supply testing (but couldnt
frame into a sentence) at our
sister site: go.extremetech
.com/powersupplies
Sucks
heat from

your CPU
AN ALTERNATE SI LENCER For decades, the
Peltier effect has served humanity well. Fullling a
humble but indispensable service inside mankinds
second most important box (the ice chest), the Peltier
cooler has kept countless gallons of beer, soda, and
potato salad frosty and refreshing. It works thanks to
the miracle of thermodynamics: When a current passes
through dissimilar metals connected at two junctions,
heat also transfers between the two points, cooling
one area and heating another.
The much more common liquid cooling system
found in car radiators has issues. Most have reservoirs
that require lling and use hand-cut and mounted
plastic tubingpoints of failure that can result in
catastrophic leaks. Enter CoolIT Systems Freezone
CPU Cooler, the love child of Peltier and liquid cooling.
It employs a water block to transfer heat to a stack of
six Peltier coolers. At stock speeds, idle temperatures
seesawed from 16 C to 21 C, and this system was real,
real quiet. Spending a small fortune on this cooler is a
decision you should make with your nancial adviser
(it retails for $399.99). But youd blow that money
on beer anyway.Victor Loh, analyst, ExtremeTech
After: Case closed
Weve reinstalled the air
duct, now packed with
sound-absorbing foam.
Before and After
S
PEND A LITTLE TIME ROUTING CABLES
inside the case. The large, exposed fan on
the Zalman CPU cooler means you need
to make sure no stray wires fall into the
fan blades. And dont forget to reinstall
the CPU duct. Heres what it all looked
like, before and after installing the CPU duct.
But we know what youre waiting to hear: Just
how quiet was this rig? Overall, the system was
eerily quietthis in a quiet ofce with nothing else
running. It measured 29 decibels (dBA), quieter
than most systems and much quieter than the aver-
age gaming PC cum jumbo jet. At 1 meter from the
front, you had to strain to hear the system run, even
at full bore. (By the way, our system scored 5,206
on 3DMark 2006. Thats not bad for a system you
cant hear.)
Pricewise, our PCs not too expensiveat least
not for a bleeding-edge gaming system. Note that
the AcoustiPack kit costs only about $69; you can
nd dealers at www.acoustiproducts.com. The heat
sink adds another $35, and the power supply isnt
cheap, either. But youre still paying way less than
$2,500 for a very quiet PC.
Of course, you can use this approach with any PC
you build. All you really need is the Antec Sonata II
and the AcoustiPack insulation kit. Even if you dont
go with a higher-performance power supply, the
Antec 450W unit supplied with the case is pretty
quiet. And the AcoustiPack kit provides substantial
noise reduction, even with fairly stock CPU coolers.
If you want to use another case, AcoustiPack offers
sheets of sound-deadening material that you can
buy, but youll have to do the cutting yourself. And
as weve seen, some of the pieces can have fairly
eccentric shapes.
So go ahead, build a quiet high-performance PC.
Your ears and your housemates will thank you.
The radiator The water block, which CoolIT calls
the Fluid Heat Exchanger (FHE), comes with a layer
of thermal paste from the factory.
BD (before duct) All the
hardware is in. We just
have to add the cooling
duct and button it up.
Air ow
B U I L D I T
J UMP TO NEXT PAGE >>
CONNECTED
SAN FRANCI SCO
Photographs: (Top) Taxi/Getty; (Bottom) Metreon
Hotel Nikko San
Francisco
222 Mason St.
www.hotelnikkosf.com
All 510 rooms and 22
suites include high-speed
Internet, two-line speaker-
phones, bathroom phone,
fax machine, and CD
player. Theres even an
e-fridge that noties the
front desk the moment
you grab a beer, so theres
always another waiting
for you the next morning.
Hotel Triton
342 Grant Ave.
www.hoteltriton.com
This whimsical eco-
conscious hotel is so San
Francisco. Located just
off Union Square, this
unique and fun hotel
features celebrity suites
designed by Jerry Garcia
and Santana. The rooms
also feature iPod docking
stations, LCD at-panel
televisions, Wi-Fi and
wired broadband, and
in-room laptop safes.
Hotel Diva
440 Geary St.
www.hoteldiva.com
This ultramodern bou-
tique hotel has a sleek
stainless steel decor and
free wireless throughout
the entire hotel. Its adja-
cent to a Starbucks and
right across the street
from two movie theaters.
They even rent iPods to
hotel guests.
BEST WIRED
HOTELS
WORLDS BIGGEST HOT SPOT In 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom an-
nounced plans to blanket the entire city with free Wi-Fi Internet access. Thats right:
Three hundred kilobits per second, from one end of San Francisco to the other. And
you wont have to pay a penny to log on. Last October, Google made headlines
when it took up the mayors challenge, and the companys joint bid with EarthLink
is one of six under consideration. IBM and Cisco are also in the mix, but our moneys
on Larry, Sergey, and the rest of the crew from Mountain View. Expect work to start
sometime this year.
FREE WI-FI HOT SPOTS
Maxelds House of Caffeine 398 Dolores St.
Two doors down from Mission Dolores, where Jimmy
Stewart stalked Kim Novak in Hitchcocks famous
ick Vertigo.
Maggie Mudd 903 Cortland Ave.
Not only can you get lactose-free vegan ice cream,
you can get lactose-free vegan wireless. Youll have to
pay for the ice cream. But not the wireless.
Rockin Java 1821 Haight St.
The place to nd geeky Deadheads in the Haight.
The wireless is free, and the coffees organic.
TOP TECH
ATTRACTIONS
Central Computers
837 Howard St.
Where we go for all things
geek in a pinch.
The Metreon
101 4th St.
A new high-tech playpen
with an Imax theater,
a Sony Style Store, a
high-tech arcade, great
restaurants, and a Jillians
pool hall.
The Exploratorium
3601 Lyon St.
Offers high-tech exhibits.
Cable Car Museum.
1201 Mason St.
If youre in the mood for
some old-school 19th-
century technology.
WHILE YOURE IN TOWN Forget the tourist traps. Coit Tower, Chinatown, and the Wharf are all well and good, but if you want
something out of the ordinary, weve got two recommendations. First, head over to the Mission and grab lunch at La Taqueria (2889 Mission
St.)the best tacos, burritos, and quesadillas north of the border. And that might be an understatement. We recommend the carnitas burrito
with guacamole. Then head across town to the Castro Theatre (www.castrotheatre.com), one of the countrys great old-time movie houses.
Get there well before the show: They still play the organ before the curtain goes up . . .
FAST FACTS Google and local start-up Feeva already offer free Wi-Fi access
in Union Square, San Franciscos Tourist Central. After a trip to Saks and a
theater matinee, you can sit down at the Dewey Monument and log on to
PCMag.com Sure, the Giants are at AT&T Park in San Francisco (which also
doubles as an enormous hot spot). But if you wanna watch major league
baseball at a park named for an antivirus company, take the short BART ride
to McAfee Coliseum, home of the Oakland As and Moneyball.
SECURITY WATCH
1
Create strong pass-
words. Use multiple
words, mixed-case alpha-
numerics, and at least
12 characters to secure
your passwords. Change
your company policies to
increase minimum pass-
word character length
to at least 12 characters.
2
Use a different
password for each
system. If a mailing list
gets hacked, you dont
want your bank account
put in jeopardy. Use dif-
ferent passwords to pro-
tect all critical accounts,
such as company e-mail
and online banking.
3
Use a password vault
to store your digital
keys. Find a trustworthy
browser password man-
ager, such as those built
into Firefox, Safari, and
Internet Explorer.
4
If a service offers a
second form of au-
thentication, use it. Some
banks offer several forms
of authentication, such as
number generators and
smart cards. If your bank
doesnt offer them, con-
sider switching.
SMART
GUIDELINES
BY ROBERT LEMOS
ASSWORDS ARE QUI CKLY BECOMI NG
pass. For years, security experts have
warned that our reliance on passwords
leaves valuable data unprotected. Last year,
federal banking regulators approved guide-
lines urging the adoption of other forms of authentica-
tion for online banking, such as number generators or
smart cards. In February, Bill Gates told attendees at a
computer-security industry conference that Password
systems simply wont cut it. But switching to a more
secure way of doing business will require time, and un-
til then, users are left with password security.
The problem is that people are not good at remem-
bering secure passwords, such as a series of random
numbers, letters, and punctuation marks. A random
eight-character password of only lowercase letters and
numbers can be cracked within days by generating all
possible combinations of the character set. Dictionary
words that have some characters replaced with similar-
looking numbers can be broken faster.
Faster processors and improved attack tools are
shrinking the time needed to attack passwords every
year. For example, John the Ripper, a popular brute-
force password-cracking tool, can now crunch more
than one million password possibilities a second, com-
pared with only a few hundred a second a decade ago.
Cheap memory is also a catalyst for password
cracking. A technique known as rainbow tables precal-
culates a large percentage of all possible passwords and
creates multigigabyte lookup tables that can reduce
the time needed to nd most passwords to seconds.
Such techniques are particularly dangerous because
an attacker can use the password on a single computer
to nd the password of every user, including the admin-
istrator, who did not use a password with more than
eight random letters and numbers. Because most IT ad-
ministrators use the same passwords on many systems,
the compromise of one users computer can result in a
breach of the entire companys network.
The immediate solution to password security prob-
lems is educating users to generate better passwords
and giving them the tools to manage their digital keys.
Most browsers have password managers. Standalone
apps are also available, and many Web sites, such as
Diceware.com, have online forms and strategies for
generating secure passwords. For Mac users, Apple has
a system for generating passwords built into Mac OS
X. In the future, digital wallets for managing passwords
and credentials will be built into every OS. For example,
Microsofts InfoCard utility will be added to Vista.
The best solution is not to rely solely on passwords.
Companies should add a second method of authenti-
cation, and consumers should seek nancial services
that offer such security.
Robert Lemos is a freelance technology journalist
and the editor-at-large for SecurityFocus.
A simple password could be the weak link that leaves
your data open to attack.
Password Policies
KEEP YOURSELF SAFE!
Subscribe to our Security
Watch newsletter and get
up-to-date info on the
latest threats delivered to
your inbox automatically:
go.pcmag.com/
securitywatchletter.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
WHEN WORDS FAIL
Source: John the Ripper and Diceware, 2006.
Diceware-
generated
Mixed-case
alphanumerics Alphanumerics
Random
lowercase
letters
Dictionary
word
1
second
2
days
1
month
2
years
Half million
years
Password strength (In bits of entropy). Higher numbers are better.
Time to break
Dictionary words or letter-number combinations make passwords that are easy to crack, but passphrases
generated by advanced methods such as Diceware are virtually uncrackable.
ASK LOYD
A
You can use a SATA drive alongside an existing
parallel ATA (PATA, often referred to as IDE)
drive. This is a good option if the PATA drive is
still worth using. If its an older drive with a small capac-
ity (by todays standards), it may be best to remove it,
but Ive successfully run large PATA and SATA drives
simultaneously. One system was configured to boot
from a single PATA drive, and it had two SATA drives
congured as a RAID 1 array for the secondary drive.
Microsoft Windows booted from the PATA drive, but
critical data was stored on the SATA RAID 1 array.
You can set up the system to boot off either drive. If
you add a PATA drive to a system with an existing SATA
boot drive, you may need to go into the system BIOS
and reconfigure the SATA drive as the primary boot
drive. Many PCs will assume that a new PATA master
drive on the primary IDE controller is the boot drive,
even if youve been booting from a SATA drive.
A DISCONNECTING
WIRELESS NETWORK
Q
I have a combination
wireless/wired network
at home. One PC is
connected to a Linksys Wire-
less 802.11b routers built-in
Ethernet switch. The other PC
is connected wirelessly via a
Linksys WMP11 card. When the
wireless PC goes to sleep, or
even just goes to the screen
saver, the wireless network dis-
connects. I lose e-mail and Web
connectivity, though when I
wake up the PC, the tray icon
tells me I have an excellent con-
nection. Ive tried updating the
router rmware, and Ive disabled the hardwired
Ethernet port on the Asus P4P800 motherboard,
but that doesnt help. I always have to perform a
repair on the wireless card.Andy Craig
A
Despite all the work on ACPI and other power-
management technologies, power manage-
ment for desktop systems still tends to trail the
abilities of laptop computers in this area.
In standard home router setups, the PC automati-
cally picks up an IP address from the router through a
mechanism called DHCP (dynamic host conguration
protocol). The router maintains a pool of IP addresses.
When a system disconnects, it needs to issue a DHCP
request to obtain a new IP address. When you use the
repair function, the system re-establishes a connec-
tion to the router and requests a new IP address.
What you might try to do is to allocate the IP ad-
dress permanently from the PC. You need to do this in
the Internet Protocol control panel, which is reachable
from the Network control panel.
INTEL VS. AMD
Q
After reading the article on building a PC
(go.pcmag.com/buildyourownpc; March 7,
page 97), I was curious as to why one
would choose one processor over another. It
would appear that AMD has faster, more ad-
vanced, and less expensive chips than Intel does.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of
one chip over another? Mark
A
You ask a question thats been argued for years
on Internet chat rooms and Web sites. Each
processor has different strengths and weak-
nesses. For example, an Intel Pentium 4 will often per-
form software rendering on 3ds Max much faster than
an AMD Athlon 64 will. On the other hand, the AMD
CPUs generally beat Intels at PC games.
Recently, since dual-core processors became com-
mon, AMD dual-core processors have tended to out-
pace their Intel equivalents, and the Intel CPUs also
run very hot. It looks as if this will probably change as
soon as Intel shifts to its new architecture later this
year. But for now, AMDs dual-core CPUs tend to be
a bit faster and put out less heat than Intels, and they
cost about the same.
Its not just the CPU that comes into play. For ex-
ample, you may require a exible, high-performance
disk subsystem. In that case, Intel chipsets often
outperform the chipsets used on AMD-compatible
motherboards. But if you want to run dual graphics
cards for gaming, an AMD is better.
In the end, the average ofce computer user may
not be faced with these issues. The raw performance
of the CPU isnt as important as the overall respon-
siveness of the system, which often depends on the
memory, hard drive, and other factors.
SATA AND PATA HARD DRIVES
I am adding a SATA hard drive to a
computer with an existing parallel
ATA hard drive. Do I leave the PATA
hard drive on IDE 0, or should I ac-
tually remove the PATA drive and
use the SATA drive exclusively? Robert Cammack
NEED ANSWERS?
ExtremeTech.coms
editor, Loyd Case, tackles
your toughest hardware
problems each issue.
Send him yours at
askloyd@ziffdavis.com.
Disables DHCP
Typically the same
Specify your PCs
IP address
ASK NEI L
A
You may be thinking of much older versions
of Access, predating Windows. On a text-only
system it was possible to set an attribute that
would cause one or more characters to blink. Thats no
longer a possibility. If you want a blinking label, you
need to write a tiny bit of VBA code. Start by open-
ing the form in design view. Right-click the label that
should blink and choose Properties. Click the All tab
in the Properties dialog and change the labels Name
property to blinkingLabel. Check to make sure that
the ForeColor propertys value is -2147483630, a code
representing the default window text color.
At the top of the Properties dialog, select Form in
the drop-down list: Now youre editing the properties
for the form itself. Click the Event tab and scroll down
to the item titled Timer Interval. Here youll enter the
blink rate in milliseconds: 500 (one half-second) is a
good choice. Now comes that tiny bit of VBA code.
Click the box titled On Timer. A small ellipsis () but-
ton will appear at the right; click it and choose Code
Builder. The lines Private Sub Form_Timer() and
End Sub will appear in the Microsoft Visual Basic
window. Between them add these lines:
With blinkingLabel
.ForeColor = (IIf(.ForeColor =
-2147483640, _-2147483633, -2147483640))
End With
Press Alt+Q to save and quit the VB editor, then
select View | Form View from the menu. Your label will
blink on and off, alternating between its original color
and the default background color for forms.
MORE ON XPS FOLDER AMNESIA
Q
I ran across your article A Solution
for Windows XP Folder Amnesia (go
.pcmag.com/folderamnesia) and I think it
needs to be updated. The locations of BagMRU
and other subkeys have changed. The current
locations in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 are
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Win
dows\CurrentVersion\Shell and HKEY_CUR
RENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Cur
rentVersion\ShellNoRoam. The article does not
mention these locations; it omits the Current-
Version part of the locations.
I applied the x successfully using a value
of 5,000 for BagMRU Size around the time you
wrote the article, and since then have had no
problems.Geoff Walker
A
As explained in the earlier article, Windows
XP is supposed to remember your desired view
settings on a per-folder basis, but a glitch can
make it stop recording this information. The article
offered a Registry tweak that can sometimes cure this
problem. It spelled out changes in the Registry keys
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Win
dows\Shell and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\
Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoamspecically, it
recommended deleting subkeys named BagMRU and
Bags if they are present, and setting a larger number
for the value named BagMRU Size.
The keys were clearly found as described on our
test systems, and the Registry locations described
in the earlier article can be veried in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base article #812003 at support.microsoft
.com/kb/812003/EN-US. Yet this reader was just as
clearly successful using a different location. The main
difference seems to be that our test systems had all
BLINKING LABELS IN ACCESS
In older versions of Access you could
set the text/eld on a form to Blink,
but I cannot seem to nd anything
on how to do it now in 2000 or 2003.
Id like to draw attention to a eld by
having it blink. Do you have any suggestions as
to how to do this?Michael Mattingly
To create a blinking
label in modern ver-
sions of Access, you
need to write a snippet
of Visual Basic code.
NEED ANSWERS?
Each issue, PC Magazines
software expert
Neil J. Rubenking
answers your toughest
software and Internet
problems. Send yours
to askneil@ziffdavis.com.
Adds Code Builder
ASK NEI L
been upgraded to Windows XP SP2, but the readers
system had an original installation of SP2. We checked
with Microsoft, but it didnt have any information
about this difference.
If you attempt to apply the folder amnesia tip and
nd that the specied value and subkeys are not pres-
ent in the Registry keys we specied, do take a look at
the alternate locations listed above.
BIGGER THUMBNAILS IN WINDOWS XP
Q
I have Windows XP SP2 loaded. Is it possible
to increase the size of the thumbnail images
in Windows Explorers thumbnail view? I
know that you can choose the lmstrip view to get
a bigger preview of one image, but I want to see
all the thumbnails larger.David Senior
A
The easiest way to do this is with Micro-
softs free (and support-free) TweakUI util-
ity. You can download it from www.microsoft
.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys
.mspx. Launch TweakUI, open the Explorer item in
the tree at right, and click Thumbnails. Here you
can adjust the thumbnail size from 32 to 256 pixels
square (the default is 96). Do note that a 256 by
256 image has over seven times as many pixels as
a 96 by 96 image. You may want to also slide the
Image Quality slider to a lower setting, so you dont
expend too much disk space caching those extra-
large thumbnails. After youve made the change,
youll see larger thumbnails in both thumbnail
view and lmstrip view.
For those who just have to get their hands dirty (you
know who you are!), the size and quality settings are stored
in the Registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\
Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer, in
DWORD values named ThumbnailSize and Thumb
nailQuality. As always, if these values are absent,
youll create them. You can set ThumbnailSize from
32 to 256 (decimal) and ThumbnailQuality from 32
to 100. Changes wont take effect until you restart Win-
dows, so its really much easier to use TweakUI.
OPERA BROWSER IN DRAG
Q
I recently noticed that the Opera browser
offers the choice to identify itself as Opera,
Internet Explorer, or Firefox. What does that
mean? If I choose to identify Opera as IE, does it
mean the Opera browser would be as vulnerable
to attack as IE? Xinxin Dai
A
Every time your browser requests a page from
a Web site, it includes several pieces of infor-
mation, among them the browser type. That
gives the site a chance to return a page specifically
tuned for the browser in question, or at least to omit
features not supported by the calling browser. How-
ever, Web designers dont always handle this infor-
mation correctly. For example, they may assume that
every non-IE browser is Netscape or suppress more
features than necessary for non-IE browsers. In most
cases youll want to have Opera identify itself as IE (the
default). This does not in any way open up your system
to IE-specic vulnerabilities. All it does is lie to each
and every Web site you visit, forcing them to give you
the IE version of the requested Web page.
TURN OFF PERIPHERALS AT SHUTDOWN
Q
Our computers are connected to power
strips, so one switch turns everything off.
We intend to switch it off every night, for
reasons of energy efciency and security. How-
ever, our new computer shuts down automati-
cally without showing the It is now safe to turn
your computer off screen, so we often forget
to switch the power off. That leaves the monitor,
printer, and various Ethernet and FireWire de-
vices running and wasting energy. Is there a way
to get the computer to display the old message
at shutdown? Allen Stanbury
A
The old shutdown screen isnt going to come
backits a thing of the past. You need a solu-
tion for the future. I checked with PC Maga-
zine columnist Bill Machrone, who has written in
the past about wasting power (The Electron Leak,
go.pcmag.com/electronleak). Bill suggests a modern
power strip like the Smart Strip from BITS Ltd. (www
.bitsltd.net). When the computer stops drawing power,
the Smart Strip senses it and automatically shuts off
power to the other devices. Another possibility is the
Thumbnails in
Windows Explorer
default to 96 pixels in
their longest dimen-
sion, but you can set
them as large as 256.
96 pixels wide
256 pixels wide
Port Authority Mini Power Minder, from Cables To Go
(www.cablestogo.com). This one connects to the PC
through a USB cable. It has one always-on outlet and
another that turns on and off when the PC turns on
and offyoud plug your existing power strip into the
latter. One of these products (or something similar)
should solve your problem.
KEEPING U3 UNDER CONTROL
Q
Several companies now make U3-enabled
USB ash drives that let you carry appli-
cations with you and use them on any
computer without installing them and without
leaving any traces (see go.pcmag.com/u3usb).
The key is formatted into a read-only portion
containing the apps and a read-write portion
for your data. When you plug it in, Windows
sees the read-only portion as a CD drive and
launches the U3 software automatically. Yet
sometimes you just want your key to be a USB
drive. You may want to transfer a le without
waiting for the U3 launcher and applications
to load. Or the apps may conict with the host
system, which can make it impossible to prop-
erly eject the key. Some people have probably
bought U3 drives inadvertently when all they
wanted was a normal USB key. How can we help
readers disable AutoPlay when they dont want
these capabilities? Ben Z. Gottesman
A
You can suppress the U3 drives AutoPlay
functionality on a one-time basis by holding
down the Shift key while inserting the drive.
Wait for the audible indication that Windows has rec-
ognized the drive before letting go. You can now use
the drive simply as a storage device. You can still access
the U3 features on demand by right-clicking on the
drive letter representing the read-only portion of the
key and choosing AutoPlay.
To suppress automatic launching permanently on
your own PCs, insert the drive and wait for it to ini-
tialize. Right-click My Computer on the desktop and
choose Properties. Click the Hardware tab and click
the Device Manager button. Double-click the entry for
DVD/CD-ROM drives, right click the line representing
the U3 drive, and choose Disable. Now when you insert
the key, only the ash drive portion should be recog-
nized. The downside to this approach is that the U3
features arent available on these PCs until you reverse
these steps.
1 & 1 Internet
www.1and1.com
Acer America
www.acer.com/us
Acura Motors
Honda Civic Tour
www.hondacivictour.com
Alienware
Notebooks
www.alienware.com/mobile
Buffalo Technology
Routers
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OW THAT YOU HAVE A WEB SITE, IT S
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May 24, 2005

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SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
Capture Streaming Video
BY JOHN BRANDON
EB VIDEO AND AUDIO STREAMS ARE A LITTLE RESTRICTIVE,
arent they? We love streaming services like Reals Rhapsody and
the live ABC News stream, but they dont let you save les and
use them on an iPod, or burn media les onto a CD without pay-
ing. Sure, theyll let you transfer streams to a set of approved
devices like the Creative Zen Vision:M. But you can watch only when and how they
want you to.
You could get around these hurdles by recording streams to a home stereo or
VHS, and then rerecording back to a PC. Thats a convoluted process, though.
Instead, try Replay A/V ($49.90, www.applian.com), which records just about any
Internet stream, letting you save unprotected audio or video les and use them any
way you want. Recorded streams look super-clean at a high bit rate, although their
window size is typically only about 320-by-240. To watch shows when you want,
just browse the Replay A/V guide and click a few buttons to record and save your
les. Or nd a stream on the Web and do a quick record.
Now, we have to mention that, in some cases, this might violate the sites terms
of use agreement. Although its all for personal useright?youll want to check
and comply with copyright restrictions, and I certainly dont recommend sharing
Replay A/Vrecorded les, which could get you in a boatload of trouble.
John Brandon is a freelance writer based near Minneapolis.
1. GET REPLAY A/V
First, download Replay
A/V from www.applian
.com. To get the demo,
click on Products, then
scroll down to Replay
A/V, then choose Free
Demo. The demo lets
you save three streams
up to 15 minutes or 5MB
each.
3. CHOOSE A STREAM
Next, click on the Media
Guide icon. To record a TV
station stream, click the TV
icon. Find stations fast by
clicking Languages, then
English. Find the show you
want and click Add. Click
Record Now, then OK.
4. RECORD
Replay A/V will record an unprotected
stream as a 320-by-240 Windows Video le
at about 177 Kbps. If theres a higher- quality
download available, it will save that le in-
stead. Then you can play it on an iPod or
other media player or burn it to a disc.
Download the free demo
of Replay A/V
Click a
nd
record
2. CONFIGURE THE PROGRAM
Before you start, we recommend downloading the En-
hanced Sound Card Driver, available at www.applian
.com/downloads.php. Then, start Replay A/V and follow
the prompts to choose where you want your le saved
and to test your sound card with the new driver.
Test your sound
ca
rd
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G A MI N G + C U LT U R E
MORE ON THE WEB
Get the inside scoop on the
gaming world, as well as all
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sink your teeth into, at
www.1up.com.
T S EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHY GAMERS
dont know what to make of the Sony Play-
Station 3. Sony planned to release the next-
generation console this spring but recently
slipped its shipping date back to November.
Meanwhile, many aspects of the PS3 remain
a mystery. What will the system cost? How powerful
will it be? Some of the answers still elude us, but little
by little the picture is becoming clearer.
Sony seems to be promising the world with the
PS3, and while not everything about the console has
been finalized yet, many facts have been released.
We know what hardware powers the system, which
developers are making games for it, what types of disc
formats it will read, and even what the controller is
PS3:
What
We
Know
BY JAKE Mc NEI LL AND SAM KENNEDY, 1UP. COM
Details about Sonys PlayStation 3
console are nally arriving.
like. What follows is a summary of everything we know
about Sonys machine and our best guesses about what
we can expect later this year.
Under the Hood
The driving force behind the PS3 will be the 3.2-GHz
Cell processor, a multicore chip designed to handle
several tasks simultaneously and to scale to meet
the needs of its various duties. The graphics will be
powered by an nVidia-designed 550-MHz RSX GPU,
which nVidia claims will be more powerful than two
GeForce 6800 Ultra video cards combined. In addi-
tion, the PS3 will have 256MB of main RAM com-
bined with 256MB of VRAM. The console will sup-
port TVs running in 1080p progressive-scan mode,
and it will be able to run sound in Dolby 5.1, DTS, and
PCM. It will also have a 2.5-inch detachable, upgrad-
able 60GB hard drive with Linux installed.
Blu-ray
Sony is using the PS3 to push the new Blu-ray disc for-
mat; it believes the unit will entice consumers to adopt
in the same way that the PS2 encouraged adoption of
DVDs. Ironically, copy-protection is-
sues related to Blu-ray are also why So-
ny has moved the PS3s shipping date
to November. The company believes
Blu-ray will replace DVDs, which were
also dogged by content-protection
problems.
Though the Blu-ray drive is be-
lieved to contribute signicantly to the
PS3s cost, Sony sees the fast transfer
rate and larger capacity (initially 50GB
on dual-layer discs) as essential to the
upcoming generation of games. The
drive will also cater to older formats,
playing PlayStation and PS2 games,
DVD movies, and audio CDs.
Connectivity and Control
The PS3 will include gigabit Ether-
net and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi (the same
wireless technology the PSP uses), as
well as Bluetooth 2.0. It will also have six USB 2.0
ports (four in front and two in back) and ports for Sony
Memory Stick, SD, and CF cards. But it wont have
ports for the old PlayStation 2 controllers and memory
cards, so new PS3 accessories will be required. (Its
only fair to say that older Microsoft Xbox controllers
and accessories dont work with the Xbox 360 either).
The PS3 controllermockingly referred to as the
batarang or banana by criticswill be a great de-
parture from the DualShock-style controllers that have
previously been Sonys standard, with a look thats like
. . . well, like a batarang a cross between a baseball
bat and a boomerangor a banana. The console will
support up to seven of these standard controllers using
its wireless Bluetooth connectivity. The
other connection methods will also be
used to interface with the PS3 in vari-
ous ways, including the ability to inter-
act with the PSP via Wi-Fi. Sony has al-
so noted that the popular EyeToy device
will work with the PS3, and its actually
used for a few announced titles.
Third-Party Support
Much like the original PlayStation and
PlayStation 2, the PlayStation 3 will
have strong third-party support, with
most major publishers and develop-
ers already working on titles for the
machine, including Activision, Atari,
Capcom, EA, Konami, Midway, Nam-
co, Rockstar, Sega, Square Enix, and
Ubisoft. Almost a hundred Japanese
publishers are producing titles. Suf-
ce it to say that game companies seem
condent the PS3 will be just as successful as the PS2,
if not more so. The system will be backward-compat-
ible with the entire PS1 and PS2 libraries, and will play
their titles in high denition.
Stay tuned for more news. The PS3 promises to be
one of the biggest gaming attractions of the year.
AUCTION BLOCK MOD WORLD
Believe it or not, ex-
cluding the cost of the
PC parts inside, the
total price tag for this
slick see-through case
mod was $22. Reader
Frank Clark got a hold
of a free promotional
plastic case from E&J
Brandy, then used
drills, rivets, and a saw
to mount everything
from the drives to the
Intel-based mother-
board to blue LED
lights. (The E&J logo
is faintly visible on the
side of the case.) My
mother-in-law has
decided that it would
be a great eBay item,
quips Clark.
Xbox Air Moderator
Xbox to ice box with
this plug-in cooler.
eBay price: $4
TOP10
1
Tomb Raider:
Legend Due April
28, its far beyond buzz
among gamers.
2
Viva Piata What
happens when you
mix Pokmon with The
Sims? Weirdness.
3
FFXI: Treasures
of Aht Urhgan
The next step for Final
Fantasy. Due April 18.
4
Ghost Recon Ad-
vanced Warghter
The third game in this
war shooter franchise.
5
Rumble Roses XX
The vixens of wres-
tling are back.
6
The Elder Scrolls
IV The fourth title in
this best-selling fantasy
series.
7
Dead Rising
Third-person
zombie-killing fest.
8
Far Cry Instincts
Predator An en-
hanced version of the
rst-person shooter
game.
9
Superman Returns
Electronic Arts
revives the Superman
franchise.
10
Burnout
Revenge The
next generation of driv-
ing and racing games.
Source: 1Up.com. Ranked by
online buzz
GAMES ON DECK Alan
Wake, a psychological thrill-
er from Remedy, is one of
many PS3 titles in the works.
Jango Fett Water Maze
A rare Star Wars
gaming relic.
eBay price: $52.70
Mortal Kombat Goro
statue Perfect for any
mantle or bathroom.
eBay price: $26
MOST POPULAR
XBOX 360 GAMES
GEAR
TECHNICOLOR TUNES
F WHITE AND BLACK DIGI-
tal music players put you in
too somber a mood, check
out Toshibas racy Gigabeat
designs. The color-splashed
MEP-05FR ash MP3 play-
er costs $99.99, includes 512MB of
memory, and comes with several fea-
tures not found in the iPod, including
a voice recorder and a recordable FM
tuner. Both Gigabeat models seen here
have screen savers that can replace
your watch, with readouts viewable
in any of three modes. They have easy
Windows Media Player 10 interfaces
and are compatible with Napster To
Go. You can also view photos on any of
the Gigabeats.
The black MEP-10FK Gigabeat
player offers 1GB capacity and goes
for $129.99. Our nod goes to the jazzy
color designs, though. Music and
monochrome just dont go together.
Sebastian Rupley
MORE ON THE WEB
Read up on Edge Techs
Digital Picture Frame and MP3
player at www.gearlog.com.
Top view
(actual size)
Full-color
OLED screens
3
1
/4 inches tall
Voice-record
button
J OHN C. DVORAK
144 PC MAGAZINE MAY 9, 2006 Illustration by mariowagner/agoodson.com
MORE ON THE WEB
Cant get enough
Dvorak? A new rant goes
up every Monday at
go.pcmag.com/dvorak.
You can e-mail him directly
at pcmag@dvorak.org.
HE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY IS
l osi ng readershi p. So l ets
blame the Internet, right? In
fact, circulation began to de-
cline around 1970, with the
fading of the once powerful
evening newspapers. TV news
is to blame there. Circulation of
morning and Sunday papers was still increasing gradu-
ally, but according to Journalism.orgs The State of the
News Media 2004, By 1990 even the boost from a
growing population was not enough to maintain how
many newspapers were sold each day. Circulation be-
gan dropping at the rate of 1 percent every year from
1990 to 2002. The slide continues, and now the voice
of Silicon Valley, the once powerful San Jose Mercury
News, appears to be on the auction block.
It is hard to blame these declines, especially those
from 1970 to 1990, on the Internet. There are other
factors involved that nobody seems willing to discuss.
Syndication. Local papers have become cookie-
cutter products loaded with syndicated material, mostly
fromThe New York Times, The Washington Post, and the
Los Angeles Times. Filling space in the San Francisco
Chronicle with New York Times articles saves money,
but many people now just get the Times instead.
The New York Times pulled off a marketing coup by
syndicating essentially the whole paper to cheapskate
publishers across the country. As columns were includ-
ed, many local columnists were fired. This whetted
the publics appetite for the Times and created a mega-
brand; its one of the few growing papers in the U.S.
Boring professionalism. Joseph Pulitzer invented
the idea of the journalism school before 1900. These
institutions spread over time but didnt really take
hold until the 1960s. By 1970, newspapers had begun
to decline. Coincidence?
A sign quoting Pulitzer, posted at the Columbia
School of Journalism as a kind of mantra, epitomizes
the problem: Our Republic and its press will rise or fall
together. An able, disinterested, public-spirited press,
with trained intelligence to know the right and courage
to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which
popular government is a sham and a mockery.
The problem is the word disinterested. Its the
hallmark of journalism today and translates to bored
and boring. Besides not giving a hoot about the story,
the disinterested observer is often hoodwinked and
subject to public-relations manipulations. Apparently,
nobody sees this as a problem.
The disappearance of the paperboy. I was a
paperboy as a kid. It was good money, and my knock-
ing on doors seeking subscriptions or asking to be paid
put a human face on the paper. Circulation grew with
the population, but now newspapers must offer free
subscriptions to sucker the rubes to renew. These offers
come from Mumbai by phone, usually when youre at
dinner. The bean counters love it. Some middle-aged
man now delivers the paper out of an old Chevy.
No sense of humor. Todays papers have no col-
lective sense of humor or fun. This is partly because
of the J-schools and the need to be professional. I
havent seen anyone laugh in a newsroom for decades.
This may come from political correctness, or perhaps
from some public-guardian ego trip. Maybe too many
of the people working daily news beats are just duds.
While recently perusing 1950s-era San Francisco
Examiner issues, I was shocked to nd that the paper
was crammed with small and interesting stories, many
of which now would go into the reject folder. The
paper had real life to it thenlife that is now missing.
Lets not blame the Internet for this.
It is hard to blame declines in newspapers readership on
the Internet. There are other factors involved that nobody
seems willing to discuss.

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