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NOTEBOOKS
TECHNOLOGY
The best budget
bargains with Wifi, big
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COLOUR
EFI: THE NEW INTERFACE THAT
LASERS
WILL REVOLUTIONISE PC DESIGN
Fast printing
for under £300
IFYOURCOVERDISCISMISSINGPLEASEASKYOURNEWSAGENT £3.95OVERSEASPRICE£3.75
MAY 2006
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Dell™ recommends 17"
Windows®XP Professional. Flat Panel 14.1"
Widescreen
Technology to take
your business forward
Now's a great time to profit from the
great Dell March Sale. We've gone to
extremes to offer your business fantastic Dell™Dimension 3100 Dell™Inspiron 630
value with massive savings on many
systems. Because we only deal direct, •Intel®Pentium®4 Processor 521 with HT Technology •Intel®Centrino®Mobile Technologywith Intel®
we don't have expensive store (2.80GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) Pentium®M Processor 740 (1.73GHz, 2MB L2
overheads or inventory. That's why you •Genuine Windows®XP Professional Cache, 533MHz FSB)
•512MB DDR2 RAM •Genuine Windows®XP Home
get high-quality, reliable computers at an
•160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM) •512MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM
amazingly good price. Remember, the
•17" Flat Panel Monitor •40GB Hard Drive
UK's number one PC company†deals •Integrated Intel®Graphic Media Accelerator 900 •14.1" Wide XGA screen
direct so call or go online. But hurry, •16x DVD+/-RW Drive2 •Intel®GMA 900 shared graphics memory up to 128MB
these extreme deals won't last long! •1 Year Collect and Return Service •Integrated 24xCD-RW/8xDVD Combo Drive
•Exploring the Internet e-Learning Lite Pack Europe •56K Data Fax Modem with up to 1 Meg Wanadoo
†IDC 2005 Q3 Vendor Ranking
Broadband from £14.99 a month1
ACCESSORIES3 •Intel®PRO/Wireless 2200 802.11b/g MiniPCI
NEW wireless LAN
Dell1907FP Monitor £529 £649
£399 £499
The Dell UltraSharp™1907FP 19" LCD Monitor £349 Save £470 £399 Save £529
incorporates many advanced features for £50 £100
great performance and ease of use. Sleek, Excl. VAT, Shipping & Excl. VAT, Shipping &
nspeewc idfiecsaitgionn asn edn ihtsa nimcep raonvye dvi epwaninegl experience. handling Incl.& V AhTa,n Sdhliinpgping handling Incl.& V AhTa,n Sdhliinpgping
£279 £328
E-VALUE Code: PPUK4-D03312
Excl. VAT Incl. VAT Further enhancements3 incl. VAT E-VALUE Code: PPUK4-N03631
Dell Photo All-in-One Printer 924 •3 Year Basic Services Package £98 Further enhancements3 incl. VAT
Enjoy colour printing, scanning, and photocopying. Produce •Microsoft®Office Small •3 Year Basic Services Package £153
professional looking documents and print fantastic borderless Business Edition 2003 £212 •Microsoft®Office Basic Edition 2003 £106
photos – with or without a PC •250GB Serial ATA Hard drive £47 •Belkin 6 Socket Surge Protector £17
£59 £70 0% Finance Available* Call for Details!
Excl. VAT Incl. VAT
www.dell.co.uk/business
For crazy prices on great systems click
0870 353 3017 0870 353 3020
Home PCs Business PCs
Re-inventing Value.
LE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE
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19" 19" 17"
Flat Panel Flat Panel Flat Panel
Dell™Dimension™5150 Dell Dimension 9150 Dell Dimension 5150C
•Intel®Pentium®4 Processor 630 with HT Technology •Intel®Pentium®D Processor 930 •Intel®Pentium®D Processor 820
(3GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) (3GHz, 2x 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) (2.80GHz, 2x1MB Cache, 800MHz FSB)
•Genuine Windows®XP Home Edition •Genuine Windows®XP Home Edition •Genuine Windows®XP Professional
•1024MB DDR2 RAM •1024MB DDR2 RAM •1024MB DDR2 RAM
•160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM) •320GB (SATA) Stripe Raid 0 Hard Drive •160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
•19" Flat Panel Monitor •19" Flat Panel Monitor •17" Flat Panel Monitor
•128MB PCI-Express™ATi®Radeon™X300 HyperMemory™ •256MB nVidia®GeForce™7300LE •Integrated Intel®Extreme Graphics
TurboCache™graphics card •24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive
•16x DVD+/-RW Drive2
•16x DVD+/-RW Drive2 •1 Year Collect and Return Service
•1 Year Collect and Return Service
•Media Card Reader Flash 13-in-1 •Microsoft®Works 7.0
£729 £999 £881
££456999 Save £646 ££679999 Save £881 ££569999 Save £764
£70 £100 £100
Excl. VAT, Shipping & Excl. VAT, Shipping & Excl. VAT, Shipping &
handling Incl. VAT, Shipping handling Incl. VAT, Shipping handling Incl. VAT, Shipping
& handling & handling & handling
E-VALUE Code: PPUK4-D03512 E-VALUE Code: PPUK4-D03912 E-VALUE Code: PPUK4-D035C2
Further enhancements3 incl. VAT Further enhancements3 incl. VAT Further enhancements3 incl. VAT
•3 Year Basic Services Package £141 •3 Year Standard Service Package £188 •3 Year Standard Service Package £188
•Microsoft®Office Basic Edition 2003 £106 •Microsoft®Office Basic Edition 2003 £106 •Microsoft®Office Basic Edition 2003 £106
•Logitech®LX700 Cordless Keyboard & Mouse £59 •Kensington®Slim Microsaver Lock £25 •Dell Photo All-in-One Printer 924 £70
HOT DEALS ON THESE AND MORE3
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£429 £504 £1999 £2349 £189 £223
£344 £404 £1499 £1762 25%
Off Excl VAT. Incl. VAT.
Excl VAT. Incl. VAT. Excl VAT. Incl. VAT.
Dell UltraSharp 30" Widescreen FP - Dell Laser Printer 1710 Dell Colour Laser Printer 3100cn This network colour
Dviieswplianyg 3a0n"g Rlee s1p7o8n/1se7 8t iNmaet i1v4em res sBorliugthiotnness 400cd/m2 contrast 700:1 NEW Icdoesat-l effofre chtoivmee p aenrsdo snmala (lUl oSfBfi cceosn nreeqctu)i rminogn oac fharsotm, deu lraasbeler and laafsfoerrd parbinlete, rh iigs hid qeuaal lfitoyr pmriendtiiunmg osri zperde sweonrtkagtiroonusp,s b tuhsaint eressquire
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hub, 9-in-1 multimedia card reader slots, enhanced graphics. £289 £339 Off
height adjustable stand,swivel & tilt From
£115 £135 £231 £271
£1249 £1468
Excl VAT. Incl VAT
Excl. VAT Incl. VAT Excl VAT. Incl. VAT.
0% Finance Available, Call for Details!*
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Dell recommends
Windows®XP Professional.
15.4" 17"
Widescreen Widescreen 17"
WUXGA
Dell™Inspiron™1300 Dell Inspiron 9400 Dell Inspiron 9400
•Intel®Pentium®M Processor 735A(1.70GHz •Intel®Centrino®Mobile Technology with •Intel®Centrino®Mobile Technology with Intel®
2MB, L2 Cache 400MHz FSB) Intel®Core™Solo Processor T 1300 (1.66GHz, Core™Duo Processor T 2400 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache,
•Genuine Windows®XP Home 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB) 667MHz FSB)
•1024MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM •Genuine Windows®XP Home •Genuine Windows®XP Home
•80GB Hard Drive •512MB 677MHz DDR2 SDRAM •1024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
•15.4" Widescreen WXGA (1280x800) •60GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) •80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
•Integrated Direct AGP Graphics •17" Wide Screen XGA (1440x900) •17" UltraSharp™WUXGA display with TrueLife™
•Integrated 8xDVD+/- RW Drive2 •Intel®GMA 950 shared graphics memory up to 128MB •256MB nVidia®Geforce™Go 7800 Ultra Graphics Card
•56K Data Fax Modem with up to 1 Meg •56K Data Fax Modem with up to 1 Meg Wanadoo •56K Data Fax Modem with up to 1 Meg Wanadoo
Wanadoo Broadband from £14.99 a month1 Broadband from £14.99 a month1 Broadband from £14.99 a month1
•90 Day Collect and Return Service5 •1 Year Euro Collect and Return Service4 •1 Year Euro Collect and Return Service4
•Dell Wireless 1370 802.11b/g MiniPCI Wireless Card •Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive2 •Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive2
•Intel®PRO/Wireless 2200 802.11b/g MiniPCI •Intel®PRO/Wireless 2200 802.11b/g MiniPCI wireless
wireless LAN card LAN card
£764 £917 £1410
££459999 Save £646 ££672799 Save £858 ££9119499 Save £1234
£100 £50 £150
Excl. VAT, Shipping & Excl. VAT, Shipping & Excl. VAT, Shipping &
handling Incl. VAT, Shipping handling Incl. VAT, Shipping handling Incl. VAT, Shipping
& handling & handling & handling
E-VALUE Code: PPUK4-N03133 E-VALUE Code: PPUK4-N03941 E-VALUE Code: PPUK4-N03943
Further enhancements3 incl. VAT Further enhancements3 incl. VAT Further enhancements3 incl. VAT
•3 Year Basic Services Package £94 •3 Year Basic Services Package £199 •3 Year Basic Services Package £199
•Microsoft®Office Basic •Microsoft®Office Small •Microsoft®Office Small
Edition 2003 £106 Business Edition2003 £212 Business Edition2003 £212
•Additional 6 Cell High Capacity
•Dell Leather Carry Case £47 •Kensington®Twin Microsaver Lock £42
Lithium-ion Battery £59
Dell PC Services
Dell 1100MP Projector + Screen + Speakers3
•If necessary after phone based trouble
A complete presentation solution
Dimension / Inspiron Recommended
shooting a next business day visit from
The Dell 1100MP projector offers great features with incredible value Upgrades
and allows you to perfectly see data or video on a large screen. This an engineer.
month we offer 20% discount on the projector, a 1500mm Nobo 3 Year Next Business Day On-Site
Screen and a speaker set. Get a complete presentation solution for a System Set Up and Installation
fantastic price! Service.
Protect against the cost of repairs and Busy? We can un-box, check and set up
get your system up and running faster. your system making sure it is optimally
Includes: configured. We can even connect it to
•Access to our award winning technical your network and transfer the data (up to
£603 £709 20% support hotline 1GB) from the old machine.
Off
•3 years of parts cover
£482 £567 Please ask our Sales Team to advise you.
Excl VAT. Incl. VAT.
Dell Products. c/o PO Box 69, Milbanke House, Western Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1RD. Terms and Conditions of Sales, Service and Finance apply and are available at www.dell.co.uk or on request. UK Business customers only. Subject to availability,
prices and specifications are correct at date of publication and may change without notice. Systems promoted above were advertised at the “was” price/specification (excluding promoted items) listed above on dell.co.uk for a minimum of 28 days ending
on 1/03/2006. Since then they may have been subjected to other price and/or specification altering promotions. One GB = 1 billion bytes; actual capacity varies with preloaded material and operating environment and will be less. Dell™Dimension desktops
and Inspiron notebooks include Microsoft Works 7.0 as standard unless otherwise specified. Promotional Offers apply to a maximum order size of 5 systems. Shipping & Handling charge is £49.50 Ex VAT (£60 incl. VAT) per system. Additional charges may
apply for credit/ debit card holders. 1.BT line needed. Existing line rental required. Fastest download speeds up to 1 Meg, subject to availability, compatibility and survey. 12 month contract. See www.wanadoo.co.uk/terms. 2Discs burned with DVD+/-RW
and DVD+RW drives, where featured, may not be compatible with certain existing drives. 3Delivery charge ranges from £3 Excl. VAT (£3.53 Incl. VAT) to £13 Excl. VAT (£15.28 Incl. VAT) per item depending on order size when purchased without a system. 4Euro
Collect and Return Service is available in limited countries and places. 5Dell service offerings do not affect customers' statutory rights. 6Processor upgrade offers apply to servers bought before the 15th March. 7Based on ANSI/NAPM 1T7 .228-1997 tests
(using new bulbs) of between 34-305 units in 2002-5 (dependent on model). Average Lumens at least 90% of max Lumens. Bulb brightness degrades with use – periodic changes recommended.
©2006 Dell Inc. Dell, the Dell logo, Dimension, Inspiron, PowerEdge, PowerConnect, UltraSharp and Axim, are registered trademarks or trademarks of Dell Inc. Dell disclaims proprietary interest in the trademarks or trade names of other entities used to
refer to them or their products. Microsoft, MS and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Celeron, Celeron Inside, Centrino, Centrino Logo, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo, Intel SpeedStep, Intel
Viiv, Itanium, Itanium Inside, Pentium, Pentium Inside, Xeon and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
*0% Finance is available from Dell Financial Services (CIT Group (UK) Limited). Credit is available only to UK body corporate and subject to status. All amounts exclude delivery and VAT. Prices shown may vary without notice. Terms and conditions and
written quotations are available on request. Credit scoring used. Those not qualifying for 0% may qualify for other finance offers. Documentation fee applies.
Servers Order before 15th March for free Processor Upgrade.6
DellTMPowerEdgeTMSC1420 SATA Dell PowerEdge 2850
•Intel®Xeon®Processor at 3GHz, 2MB L2 •Two Intel®Xeon®Processors at 3GHz, 2MB L2 Cache,
800MHz FSB for the price of single one6
Cache, 800MHz FSB (was 2.80GHz, 2MB)
•Dual Processor Support with 800MHz FSB
•Dual Processor Support with 800MHz FSB6 (Upgradeable to 12GB)
•256MB DDR2 SDRAM (Upgradeable to 8GB) •1GB ECC DDR2 (400MHz) SDRAM Memory
•80GB 7200rpm SATA hard drive •73GB 10,000rpm 1" U320
SCSI hard drive
•Optional CERC SATA RAID Controller
•Dual embedded U320 SCSI controller
•Embedded Gigabit NIC •Dual Embedded Gigabit NIC
•1 Year Next Business Day Service •3 Year Next Business Day Service
£WA3S59 SAVE £N2O5W9 W£A1S119 SAVE £N9O1W9
£100 £200
Excl. VAT, Shipping and Handling Excl. VAT, Shipping and Handling Excl. VAT, Shipping and Handling Excl. VAT, Shipping and Handling
E-VALUE Code: PPUK4-SC031421 E-VALUE Code: PPUK4-PE032851
Everything you need to print3
30%
Off
20%
Off
Dell All-in-One Printer 944 Dell All-in-One Printer 964 Dell Workgroup Laser Printer M5200n
Enjoy colour printing, scanning, photocopying and PC-based Enjoy printing, scanning, standalone faxing and copy- Networked Laser Printer for high-quality, high-volume
faxing plus advanced photo features with the new Dell Photo ing plus photo features with the Dell Photo All-in- and low-cost black and white printing for workgroups.
All-in-One Printer 944. Produce professional looking docu- One Printer 964. Print speeds up to 35 ppm and one year of Dell's Next
ments and print fantastic borderless photos - with or without
Business Day onsite service included.
a PC.
£93 £109 £110 £129 £499 £586
£88 £103 £349 £410
Excl. VAT Incl. VAT Excl. VAT Incl. VAT Excl. VAT Incl. VAT
Dell Premium Photo Paper Dell™Multi-function Laser Printer 1600n
Dell All-in-One Ink
With the Dell™Premium Photo Print, scan, copy, and stand 20%
3ca Prtarcidkg Iensk aCnadrt roindeg ehsi.gGhe ct a2p haicgithy ccaoploaucirt yfo br lyaocukr pPhaopteor,s yaotu h coamne p orirn itn h tihgeh oqfufaicliet.y aPlroinntee rf a1x6 0w0inth. Mthuel tDifeulnl cLtaiosne rper- Off
Dell 924/944/964. Available in A4 (75 sheets) or formance at a single-function
FFrroomm ££4576EInxccll.. VVAATT F4"rxo6"m (1 0££0 s19he1Eextsc)l. VAT slatsaenrd aprrdin.ter price. Network as
From Incl. VAT
£229 £269
£183 £215
Excl. VAT Incl. VAT
www.dell.co.uk/business
For crazy prices on great systems click
0870 353 3017 0870 353 3020
Home PCs Business PCs
Re-inventing Value.
93
Contents
£699 NOTEBOOKS
May 2006 Thebest budget bargains around
69
HASSLE-FREE SAT NAV
Affordable, easy-to-use in-car devices
REGULARS REVIEWS
INTERACTIVE
9 Editorial 43 Contents 55 DraytelVigortalkVoIPadapter
188 Reader offers 56 IpodAVConnectionKit
191 Competition Hardware LogitechWireless MusicSystem
192 Contact us &PCWon the web 44 AppleImacdesktopcomputer HelaPerificmouse; VoIPvoiceUconnect
193 In thenext issue 45 Elonex Prosentia800 BTXPC
194 Flashback DellDimension5150cMediaCenter PC Components
46 Asus W3VAMDnotebook 58 EVGA 7800GSCOSuperclocked
INTERACTIVE RockXtreme 64AMD 64notebook NECND-4551ADVDdrive
47 MeshTitanX1800 FireCrossfirePC Enlight EN-7473 HomeMediacase
AcousticEnergy WifiRadio Nexus Anti-VibrationMountingKit
26 Letters
30 TheAdviser Peripherals Software
33 GordonLaing–Insideinformation 50 SamsungPro815digitalcamera 61 Coreldraw X3 graphics suite
34 Barry Fox –Straight talking 51 EizoFlexscanS2110W 21inTFT 62 CAEtrust Internet SecuritySuite
36 Guy Kewney –Kewney @large ViewsonicVX922 19inTFT 63 Netobjects Fusion9 website tool
52 Sony VPL-HS50 HDprojector 64 RemoteDesktopfor Mobiles2
NEWS 53 ATIAll-in-Wonder AppleILife ’06 multimedia suite
X1900 graphics card
LogitechZ-5450 5.1 speakers Games
14 TV war as access hits 100Mbits/sec 54 MagellanRoadmate800 66 Psychonauts
15 Phonecam snaps before you shoot sat nav device 67 Stubbs theZombie
MacMinigoes Intel VonageUtstarcomWifiPhone And then there werenone
16 3GSM reports:first ‘11n’ Wifigear
17 DABTV starts up GROUP TESTS
20 Webcalls increase spitting
21 1.6TBnet storefor homes andoffices
22 E-paper ‘poweredby wireless’ 69 All-in-one sat nav devices 93 £699 notebooks
24 Providers defendemailcharges In-car navigation systems are As thecost of
WIN becomingmust-havedevices fordrivers. notebooks has
Completeour We road test some sub-£300 models dropped,now you can
£250 reader survey for spendless andget more.
AMAZON achance to win. 83 Colour laser printers Weput nine £699
Seepage 25
VOUCHERS Laser printers arenow moreaffordable portablesto the test
thanever.Weput eight through their
paces andexplain the runningcosts 104How we test
6 www.pcw.co.uk May 2006
83 1
For daily news
updates, reviews
COLOUR LASERS
and downloads
Fast printingfor under £300 www.pcw.co.uk
N
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E
P
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O
WIN
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106 191Your chance
to winacopy
ofSymantec
CAN YOU RUN VISTA?
NortonInternet
Findout what hardware you need Security 2006
FEATURES BUYER’S GUIDE
106Will your PC run Vista? 114Goodbye Bios, Hello EFI Alistingof thebest products PCWhas
Rumours and scare stories are rife TheBios has finally bitten thedust, tested,helping you tomake the right
thatolder PCs won’t beable to run tobe replacedby theExtensible decision whenplanningapurchase
Microsoft’s new operating system. FirmwareInterface.Weexplore this
Weput the record straight, with some new technology andfindout what it 149 PCs
practicaladviceon what you’llneed has tooffer users anddevelopers 150 Graphics cards; notebooks
151 Motherboards; soundcards
HANDS ON – Practical how-to advice 152 Harddrives; DVDdrives
153 Digitalcameras
Camcorders
119Contents 132Digital imaging & video 154 Printers; scanners
If you want tobe thefirst to try HD 155 Routers; speakers
120Question time videoediting,here’s someinsideinfo 156 Monitors; TV tuners
Our experts canhelpfind real-world 157 Digitalmusicplayers
solutions to your everyday problems 134Word processing Smartphones
Turnoff themost recently usedfont PDAs
124Hardware list; andcreatechorddiagrams 158 Portablemediaplayers
Throw away your marker pens andadd Personal video recorders
a touchof style to yourdiscs using 136Spreadsheets 159 Backup software
Labelflash technology SendemailfromExcel; and sort things Digitalimage-editing software
usingmacros Mediacreation software
126Performance PCmaintenance software
Findout just how muchjuice the 138Web development 160 PC security software
tinyPicoPSUATXproduced when UsePerlor PHP scripts toautomate Office software
weput it to the test tasks andimproveeaseof use Video-editing software
162 Product index
128Windows 141Networks
Prevent duplicateicons appearing Runamail server on your network COVER DISC
onyour desktop,and solveacouple
ofnetworkniggles 143Databases
Sizematters whenindexing tables with 11 & 181 Six full versions
130Linux/Unix millions of rows MotionArtist 2,Jaws PDFEditor 2.5,
How toaddand remove user privileges Registry Mechanic5,Ashampoo
withUbuntu; and set upaconnection 146Visual programming WinOptimizer andSerif 3DPlus 3,plus
toa remote server UsingVisualStudio 2005’sWebBrowser loads more tools,freewareand utilities.
May 2006 www.pcw.co.uk 7
EDITORIAL
Hats off to progress: hassle-free
technology really does exist
Rather than making our lives more difficult, some
technology can reduce the stress, says Dylan Armbrust
[email protected]
N
l
a ow that we’rein the 21st century there’sanever-increasingexpectation
thattechnology willmakeour lives easier and that technology shouldbe
easier to use.Ofcourse,anyone who’shadacrackat trying toprograma
i basicVCR, reset adigital watchor get togrips with understandinghow
r theirdigitalmicrowave works beyondpressing the‘start’ button, willknow this isn’t
thetruth.AndPC users will understand this situationbetter thanmost.
o Icouldgoonabout theoverwhelmingamounts ofinformation that is thrownat
usviaemail, voicemail,SMS text messagingand soon,but that wouldbe tooeasy.
Instead,I’mgoing to tipmy hat to some welcomeprogress.
t
Thefirst tipgoes to themuchanticipatedarrivalofMicrosoft’s latest operating
system,now knownas Windows Vista.It’s beenfive years sinceWindows XPlaunched
i
andIhave to say it was a relief whenit arrived.Yes, you had toactivateit, which was a
d pain.Naturally,it took upmoreharddrive space.Andofcourse,it wasn’tcheap.But it
was stable,especially compared toits Windows predecessors (andfor thoseUnix/Linux
advocates out there– yes,Iknow what you’regoing to say,but don’t worry as I’ve
E already conceded thepoint.I’mjust
talkingabout Windows here). ‘XP made Windows ME look as stable
I’mabsolutely positivemost of you
as an Italian government in the 1970s’
whomade the switch willagree that XP
madeWindows MElookas stableas an
Italiangovernment in the1970s.ME was tetchy, unreliable,barely coped withplug-
and-play andit crashedalot, thus throwing up theinevitable,dreadedBlueScreenof
Death.Today,andfor thepast five years,Ihave to say that in thegrand schemeof
things my XPPChas servedme wellandI’velost littledata whenmy PCdiddecide to
lock up, whichhasn’tbeen very often.
This brings meback toWindows Vistaandeaseof use.It willcome withalot of user
interfacechanges, 64bit support andmore.For amorein-depthlookat how Windows
Vista works and what it offers,havealookat our feature(Will your PC runVista?)on
page106.But onekey point tohighlight fromour investigations,is that it shouldbe
evenmore stable thanXP, whichis nobad thing.
My second tipof thehat goes to sat nav devices.They have takena while tomature,
but as technology devices go, they deliver.It’s not often that acomputer-powered
product is easy to useandmakes our lives easier,but I think sat nav does.
Anyone whohas made the transitionfrom the super-size roadatlas toapocket-
sizedor dashboard-mounted sat nav device willagree.Goneare thedays ofhaving
totakehalfanhour topre-plan your routeand, when you’rehalfway to your
destinationandlost,having topullover to re-orientate yourself,especially at night.
AndI won’tevenmention thedomestic strife they canhelpavoidonalong tripin the
car.Today,all you have todois punchapostcodeor street nameinto thedeviceandoff
you go.They aren’tperfect yet –no technology is –but they can save time,hassleand
peaceofmind.If this sounds like something to you’dbeinterestedin,havealookat
oursat nav featureandgroup test onpage 69 to seehow you canmake this technology
workfor you,and whichall-in-onedevice you shouldgofor.
Finally,I’dlike to thankall those readers who wroteinlast month toprovideme
with their views andfeedbackabout what they feelPCWis and shouldbe,and where
they want it togo.It was greatly appreciated.PCW
Wearealways happy tohear from you,email us at [email protected]
1 For daily news updates, EditorialTel 020 7316 9000 •Fax 020 7316 9313
reviewsanddownloads SubscriptionenquiriesOnline viaour secure website: www.subscription.co.uk/help/vnu
www.pcw.co.uk [email protected]•Tel 01858438881
Backissueandcover discordersTel: 01858438883 For fullcontact details seepage192
May 2006 www.pcw.co.uk 9
