Friday November 03, 2006 Wireless Optical Desktop 5000
You can’t accuse Microsoft of not understanding the power of an image – and Wireless Optical Desktop 5000 is designed to bring out the best from yours. Inside the box are Microsoft’s Wireless Intellimouse Explorer 2.0, Wireless Photo Keyboard and Digital...
Protect your privacy
The internet is a very public place, despite the myth that you can be completely anonymous online. Sure, you can hide behind pseudonyms, but when your computer’s location is broadcasted every single time you go online, it’s not hard to track you down. This...
Easy maintenance
Certain tasks need to be performed on a regular basis: scanning your system for viruses, defragmenting your hard drive, backing up key files and folders, and so on. It can be hard remembering to do this yourself, which is why the Scheduled Tasks tool is a...
Stunning slideshows
Taking photos with a digital camera couldn't be easier; simply point and click to capture that magic moment. Thanks to a scanner it's also exceptionally easy to expand your digital collection by scanning the photos taken on your film-based camera so you can...
Netgear DG834N
You might have heard of 802.11n. It’s the new wireless standard due to be launched in 2007. But new wireless standards go through a draft specification first, and products are released featuring the draft, unfinished specification. This is one such kit, which...
VoIP433 Messenger Phone
The first surprising thing about this phone is that nobody’s made one already. The base station for this wireless handset plugs into both your normal phone line and your PC, giving you the choice of normal calls or cut-price VoIP chat. The next surprise is how...
DVD Formats
There are, it's safe to say, too many different types of writable DVD. To remember and understand every single one would require a mind far in advance of history's greatest intellects. The odds of your DVD drive being able to write whatever disc format you...
Your biggest PC problems solved
No matter how carefully you use your PC or how closely you monitor its health, one of the greatest certainties you’ll have to face is that, sooner or later, a question or problem will crop up. It could be something small and easily solved via an online forum,...
Don't worry, be happy - 20 PC myths
When it comes to getting the heebie-jeebies, technology is at the top of the heap. You can't turn on a PC without being violated by viruses, spanked by spyware and conned by criminals, and if that doesn't put you off, you need to worry about sneaky sites and...
Digimax L85
There’s no shortage of slim silver compact cameras that are trying to outshine trendy phones in the style stakes. But if you’re after a good, old-fashioned looking camera offering some of the latest technology, this is a good choice. As well as a powerful 8...
SDM-E96D
Once upon a time, many years ago (well, about five) the humble PC screen was a secondary concern. Now, with flat-screen TFT monitors finally becoming affordable to most, the choice can finally go beyond ‘difficult to see or stupidly bulky.’ Manufacturers are...
My Book Pro
Five hundred gigabytes. We’ll say it again: half a terabyte. That’s how much space Western Digital provides with its My Book Pro – a big step up from the already capacious My Book Essential we reviewed back in issue 59. All right, so the formatted size is...
Hotmail secrets
There's no denying the versatility of a Hotmail email account – after all, you can access it from anywhere in the world. But no matter how long you've been using your account, there's a good chance that it has far more to offer than you realise. You may even...
Windows Briefcase
These days it's increasingly common for people to work with the same files on more than one computer. You may begin editing a document on your work PC, for example, and then take it home on disc to continue working on it. If you're transporting a single file...
50 Best Tips Ever
There's almost no end to the tweaks you can make to Windows XP – it's bursting with useful, if not always obvious, tools and features. But which are the best adjustments that you can make? Read on and find out... Our very first issue, arriving alongside...
Your wireless networking problems fixed
Time and time again, we hear from readers wanting to set up a wireless network. And no wonder – with more PCs in the home, it’s an ideal way to connect them up and share files. Not only that, but it’s also becoming an increasingly popular way for people to...
ViVa 940 CA
The Viiv Media Center technology from Intel is yet to deliver what we were promised. It was meant to mean more compact PCs and far lower power consumption. So far, we’re still waiting for the new dawn. This Mesh certainly isn’t in that category; it’s simply...
mDMS P60
As with any new innovation, it can take a while before the latest technology achieves the necessary exposure. Intel’s Viiv hasn’t yet enjoyed the warm welcome that the chip giant might have hoped, but if MP3 players are anything to go by, it’s simply a matter...
Understand your PC's wiring
Despite something of a revolution in the world of wireless connectivity, if you take a look around the back of your computer, you’ll still find a myriad of cables littering the floor. However, if you were to compare this collection of leads to those...
What's in your PC: Your soundcard
1. Internal connectors What is it? An analogue or digital connection to your optical drive. In the old days you’d need to connect your optical drive directly to four and two-pin plugs on the top of the soundcard if you wanted to listen to audio CDs....
Inspire T6060
Not so long ago, the prospect of listening to your games, music or films in surround sound was an exciting one – particularly to those of us raised on weedy stereo speakers that produced more static than sound. Now, it's a standard feature on all but the...
Make the connection
Networking can seem like a dark art. In fact, support for wireless
networking was sorely lacking in the first iteration of Windows XP, but
that’s only to be expected; when the operating system was released in
2001, few could have predicted just how popular...
