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ISSUE #06
OCTOBER 2009 www.connect.co.za
FEATURES 10 Light up your life 8 home projector buying tips
14 Face-what? Twit-who? Whose Space? We take a look at the modern phenomenon known as social networks
20 Living Online The best Internet services to simplify your life
24 Word Perfect Tips and tricks to find your way around Microsoft’s handy word processing software
28 Secure your PC Be a step ahead of the most common threats to the average computer’s security
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Ever wish your world of entertainment could keep up with you? LG’s new stylishly efficient GP08 lite drive grants you the freedom you need. It’s the perfect companion to notebooks and it is even Mac compatible. Both easy to use and extremely portable, it can burn DVDs and CDs without having to carry around an AC adaptor or having to purchase any additional software. And with its wide range compatibility you can match your lifestyle perfectly.
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ow many social networks do you belong to? Do you have a blog? Have you heard of tweeting? There is so much happening on the Internet, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with trends. Facebook is one website that has taken the world by storm. To say that most people who are active online have registered for the social networking entity is an understatement. Did you know that Facebook has more than 250 million active users and about 120 million of these log on to Facebook at least once each day? Being social has never been this easy! From seeing friends’ photos to keeping in contact with school friends or family on the other side of the world, there are so many benefits to social networking. In the October issue of Connect, we look at three of the biggest social networking services, Twitter, MXit and Facebook and present a compelling argument for why you should get involved today. Being online the whole day has many benefits. You may not be able to drive over to the Licensing Department to pay your traffic fines, but you can do it online. In fact, there are many ways to save time (and money) using your computer. If you find out what is showing at the movies or do all your shopping online, you already know what we’re talking about. Read (on page 20) all about other ways that staying connected can simplify your life on. Offline, the World Cup is on its way and, provided you’re not at the actual game, what better way to watch the soccer than by investing in a projector? Although these devices were once a pricey investment used solely in the office environment,
4 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
today’s advances in technology means there could be a projector out there within your price bracket. And why not connect one to your gaming system for the ultimate big-screen experience? From HDMI to the LCD/DLP debate, Connect will help you pick the projector you need. Other interesting features to look out for this issue include updating your know-how in computer security. We’ve all heard the scary stories about the dangers lurking on the Web, but how necessary is a security package really? Are worms, spyware and Trojans actually that dangerous? Connect explains it all. We also look at four of the most popular security packages in a special review round-up that highlights what is new to each and why a switch or upgrade could be in your best interest. If you’re looking for more practical advice, this issue also explores handy tips and tricks that make using MS Word that little bit easier. Feel overwhelmed and confused no more! Read more on page 24. As you already know, Connect is all about choosing the right product: be it a laptop, printer, music player or software package. Read our reviews to find the perfect product or game, no matter which platform you own, PC, console or handheld. Our resident tech tannie, Tamsin, is also here to assist with any IT-related queries, shedding light on page 74 on those niggling nuances that have always bugged you. Another month, another chance to get and stay connected. Enjoy the issue, Tiana Cline
news
Apple gets cool with Snow Leopard Google Street View comes to South Africa South Africa will be the 13th country globally to feature on Google Maps’ Street View – the mapping service from the Internet giant that offers 360-degree street level images of major cities. Launched at the beginning of September, the mapping of parts of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria has already started and will be completed before the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup kicks off in June next year. This will be a major boon for tourists visiting the country for the soccer spectacular, while also making life a whole lot simpler for South Africans. When using Google Maps (maps.google.com), you can now navigate to a country or city that supports this feature. By dragging the yellow ‘peg man’ at the top of the zoom slider over the view of the Earth, countries that support this feature will be shaded dark blue. Once you’ve found the city you want to view and dragged the peg man onto the map, you will see views of any street that has been photographed. Stephen Newton, Google country manager for South Africa, says the introduction of this service is going to revolutionise
Intel introduces Core i7, Xeon 3400 and first Core i5 Processors
how people use the Internet to navigate to foreign cities, or simply parts of your own city that you don’t know well. Navigating around Street View is incredibly simple, with the cursor used to move forward, backward, swivel through a 360-degree view, zoom in on features and even view other users’ photos of that street. Businesses – particularly restaurants and the like – will be able to include their contact details on the view of their establishment, bringing a whole new world of convenience to users of this service. People with privacy issues or involved in criminal activity needn’t worry – Google has developed a technology that automatically blurs the face of any people in the photos, as well as the number plates of any vehicles in the streets. If you do still happen to come across a photo of yourself in a compromising situation, you can contact Google via the service to request for that image to be removed. As one participant at the launch said: “It finally feels as if we’re part of the First World.”
I Intel has brought the next level of ccomputer integration and intelligence with ttheir new desktop and server processors. TThe new Intel processor family is made of a whole range of processors (ranging from tthe low-end Core i5-750 to the top-oftthe-range high-tech i7-870) and the Intel XXeon processor 3400 series – these bring IIntel’s latest Nehalem microarchitecture to tthe market. Formerly codenamed “Lynnfield,” these new chips are designed for PC users who need top-notch performance for digital media, productivity, gaming and other demanding applications. All the Intel processors are lead- and
halogen-free and feature Intel exclusive Turbo Boost Technology. The top-of-the-line Core i7 processors also support Intel Hyper-Threading Technology. Combined, these features give computer users absolute “intelligent” performance when necessary and optimum power-efficiency when the computer is lightly loaded. Intel’s P55 Express Chipset will be the baseline building block component for motherboards worldwide, delivering great new levels of performance and scalability for everyone from the retail buyer to the technically savvy do-it-yourselfer.
Apple Mac fans are celebrating the arrival of the latest update to the Mac OS X operating system in the form of Snow Leopard, which was launched at the beginning of September. At an upgrade cost from Mac OS X Leopard of around R330, moving to the improved platform is both simple and attractive. Introducing “the most advanced operating system in the world”, RJ van Spaandonk, CEO of Core Group, the local Authorised Apple Distributor, said that installation of the operating system is up to 50% faster to install and frees up around 7GB of hard drive space. Mac OS X Snow Leopard offers a number of refinements on its hugely successful predecessor, including a faster-running system, thanks to it being able to run in both 32-bit or 64-bit configurations. There are no major changes to the user interface, so users will fined everything where it has previously been – just that little bit slicker. The Dock, for example, now uses some of the Exposé features such as viewing all open application windows by simply holding down the mouse button on the application’s icon in the Dock. One of the biggest talking points, however, is integration with the Microsoft Exchange mail server, which will be a bonus for Mac users in the corporate environment and is seen as one of the features that could see these machines becoming more widely used in the workplace. Some key enhancements to Apple’s multimedia player, Quicktime, include the ability to record video or audio, edit clips and easily convert files for iPod, iPhone and YouTube use. The already powerful Preview application has also been tweaked, offering greater selection and annotation tools, while the Finder now features even more ease-ofuse and customisation options. Listing the more than 100 changes to the system is practically impossible here, although Connect will be bringing you more in-depth reviews on this fantastic operating system in our next edition.
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techno jargon // BY DEON DU PLESSIS
TROUBLE-FREE
Technobabble 8 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
LED An LED is a light-emitting diode, with its high light output, small size and low power consumption making it a popular component of modern electronics. LEDs are used in many modern electronics from computers to screens, and have been around since the 1920s.
WATERPROOF While a very definite-sounding term, the word “waterproof” is more likely to mean “water resistant”. Any device described as being waterproof is probably only so up to a certain depth, or for a certain time or both, as with the Samsung B2100 on page 52.
DIODE A tiny electronic component consisting of two electrodes through which electric current passes. Current passes through diodes in one direction only.
ENCRYPTION This is a process whereby information is hidden – encrypted – in such a way that it can be revealed only by using a decryption process that corresponds with the way the information was encoded. In this way, the format of the encoded information looks like gibberish to anyone not in possession of the decoding key.
ELECTRODE An electrical conductor used to make contact with a circuit. ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR Material (usually metal) that allows the free flow of electrons from one end to the other. 3D IMAGE An image that appears to have physical depth, while actually being entirely two-dimensional. The image is put together in such a way that the brain is fooled into perceiving it as three-dimensional. LENTICULAR PRINTING A printing technique whereby a printed image appears to have movement when viewed from different angles. LENTICULAR LENS This is made up of several magnifying lenses, each of which produce slightly different images as if the photo’s subject was taken from slightly different perspectives all at once. GRAMS PER SQUARE METRE This is a term to describe the relative thickness of a piece of paper. The higher the number in front of this term, the heavier a piece of paper is and the more difficult it is to bend.
In trying to make Tech Jargon slightly less random this month, Connect has focused on defining words that relate to this issue’s reviews and features.
PHISHING This relatively new word is a play on “fishing”, relating to the soliciting of personal information for nefarious and fraudulent purposes. Like a girl will “fish” for compliments, cyber criminals will “phish” for personal details with which to fraudulently impersonate you. SPAM This delightful term was taken from a Monty Python skit in which the word “spam” is repeated so often as to lose its meaning. It was a natural choice as the word for the overwhelming amount of unsolicited and annoying e-mail messages advertising everything from body part extensions to the latest pharmaceutical wonders that all modern web surfers receive on a regular basis. “PUSH” E-MAIL Push e-mail is an “always-on” e-mail service that actively pushes updates to a device in real-time. This is commonly used to describe the messaging capabilities of a smartphone.
VIRTUAL WORLD Any imagined place that exists inside a computer that players can explore, usually by navigating a virtual representation of themselves around it, is called a virtual world. It’s a world because it can be explored, is populated with characters, probably has its own economy and mirrors real life in some ways. It’s virtual because it’s a simulation that is generated by a computer. VOICE RECOGNITION The process of having spoken words recognised by a computer and translated from sound into printed words, or recognised as commands that can then be executed. The biggest challenge faced by developers of voice recognition software stems from the varied ways in which people from different backgrounds pronounce the same words. This is why training the software, as seen in Dragon Naturally Speaking Standard on page 62, is so important. LIQUID CPU COOLING This is a technique that uses special liquids to cool a computer’s central processor. The liquid passes over a radiator that is cooled by a fan. It then gets pumped over a copper heatsink that fits over the processor where it picks up heat. Finally, it returns to the radiator where it’s cooled again, and the process is repeated. Liquid coolers are more expensive and bigger than their air-based counterparts, but they are far more efficient. NET TOP A net top is a very basic computer designed specifically for web browsing, instant messaging and e-mailing. Advantages of the net top design are much smaller boxes and low costs at both production and retail. DYNAMIC CONTRAST Instead of comparing the brightest a screen can go with the darkest (the conventional measure of contrast), spin doctors at the big screen producers have found a new way to measure contrast – by adding a time component. Hence we’ve moved from contrast ratios of around 2000:1 to the ridiculous proportions seen in the XL2370 monitor on page 41. IM This term stands for Instant Messaging, and encompasses all software that enables users to send messages to each other, instantly. Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and Skype are all examples of IM applications. WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 9
digital projector buying advice //BY CRAIG RITCHIE
LIGHT UP YOUR LIFE: [ 8 home projector buying tips ] Digital projectors are slowly growing in popularity, particularly in home cinema and gaming circles. After all, why settle for a measly 72-inch High Definition TV when your entire wall can be your screen? It is essential, therefore, to know which features you’ll be needing and which you can do without – and this guide will help you choose the projector that’s right for you.
10 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
What are the differences between LCD/DLP projectors? Leading the digital projector charge at the moment are LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and DLP (Digital Light Processing) technologies. LCDs have minute crystals that glow red, green or blue when hit by an electrical charge, with the brightness and exact colour depending on the intensity of the charge and which crystals are being lit up. DLP, on the other hand, uses a special chip embedded with thousands of tiny mirrors – with one corresponding to each pixel of the projector’s resolution. That light is then projected through the lens and onto the screen. In terms of performance differences, LCD generally provides better saturation and bolder colours that are closer to their real-world counterparts, while DLP can sustain an image for longer periods, often has less pixilation, and produces brighter images. PROJECTOR RESOLUTIONS
As with standard computer displays, a digital projector’s resolution is measured in pixels, with a higher number meaning a sharper image. Similar to LCD monitors, digital projectors have a ’native resolution’ such as 800x600, 1024x768 and so on. While they are able to display at other resolutions, results can vary, leaving users with anything from a slight loss in clarity to a very noticeable blur. Thus, you’ll want to try and keep your source’s output (usually a laptop, desktop PC or DVD player) set to the same resolution as the native resolution of your projector. WHAT IS THIS ANSI LUMEN THING?
A lumen is, most simply put, a unit of measurement for the light output of a projector. Lumens are calculated according to what is known as luminous flux, which is the output of a light source as perceived by the human eye. Because of the accuracy with which lumens can be measured, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) adopted lumens as the standard for comparing different projectors. Note that more is not always better, as the right lumen output is dependent on certain environmental factors, to which we turn now. BUT SURELY BRIGHTER IS BETTER?
Well, that depends, really. See, if you’re planning on using your projector only for home cinema in a darkened room, you may find that a lower overall brightness works just fine. On the other hand, if you are going to be showing PowerPoint presentations in
well-lit boardrooms, you will need considerably more brightness to compensate for the ambient light in the room. The overall brightness of the environment is probably your biggest concern, with the type of screen being used also a contributing factor. SO HOW MANY LUMENS DO I NEED, THEN?
It should be noted that brightness and picture size are directly related, with a simple rule of thumb being that each time you double the picture size, the lumen requirement quadruples. So, for example, if you currently have a 1 metre display (measured diagonally from corner to corner) that looks perfect at about 1000 lumens, if you were to up the display size to 2 metres, you would need a lamp capable of 4000 lumen output to yield the same results. RESOLUTIONS AND THEIR ABBREVIATIONS XGA eXtended Graphics Array
1024×768
WXGA Widescreen eXtended Graphics Array
1152×864
WXGA Widescreen eXtended Graphics Array
1280×768
WXGA Widescreen eXtended Graphics Array
1280×800
WXGA Widescreen eXtended Graphics Array
1280×960
SXGA Super eXtended Graphics Array
1280×1024
WXGA Widescreen eXtended Graphics Array
1366×768
WSXGA Widescreen Super eXtended Graphics Array
1440×900
UXGA Ultra eXtended Graphics Array
1600×1200
WSXGA Widescreen Super eXtended Graphics Array Plus
1680×1050
Full High Definition
1920×1080
WUXGA Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics Array
1920×1200
WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 11
digital projector buying advice
To prolong a projector’s lamp life, proper cool-down methods should be used after each use. These differ between projectors and are well worth looking into as good practice will result in many more hours viewing before a replacement is needed.
smaller size, are often the way for business users to go. Resolutions of 1024x768 (known as XGA) are also usually the best choice for commercial use as these can display PowerPoint presentations perfectly, yet are considerably cheaper than higher resolution alternatives. Some users will also find that their projectors work great in conjunction with a specially designed remote control. These small, cordless handheld devices include the functionality of a mouse for clicking or scrolling through screens, stop/start or ‘go dark’ mode (which temporarily shuts off the image so attention is focussed instead on the speaker) as well as a laser pointer for highlighting specific areas of a slide. A newer technology named LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) is also available, but is still in its infancy compared to LCD and DLP projectors. LCoS allows for higher resolutions than its older cousins have traditionally offered, with entry-level projectors supporting HDTV’s 1080p standard.
WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT THE TYPE OF SCREEN?
It is a common assumption that a plain white wall serves just fine as a projection screen, and while this is somewhat true, the results will be exactly that: just fine. If you’re serious about your image quality, though, you’ll want a specially designed projection screen. Their white material has been treated with special optical coatings that enhance how reflective they are, and this, coupled with their black frame, gives you sharper, brighter images with properly balanced colours. These screens can be wall mounted or supported by a free-standing fold-up base, with the latter perfect for business users, salespeople or travelling consultants who need to take their projector on the go. One more thing to consider is that while projector technologies and video standards may change, a good reflective white screen can last a lifetime. As such, investing in a first-rate screen is something you may not wish to hold back on. FOR BUSINESS USERS
Projectors intended for commercial use are generally designed to be smaller, lighter and hence more portable. As a result, DLP projectors, given their relatively
FOR HOME CINEMA AND GAMERS
First off, movie and gaming aficionados need to ensure that the projector they buy has the right input options for their consoles and digital video players. Playstation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 fans should try find a projector with HDMI input, as should those intending to watch Blu-Ray movies. Another primary concern is a projector’s contrast ratio. In brief, this measures the difference between the brightest white and the darkest black it can produce. Anything less than 5,000:1 will produce lacklustre results, and if you can afford 10 000:1, all the better. Exceptional contrast rations of 20 000:1 are available, but these are exorbitantly expensive. Finally, home cinema users should not be too put off by what appears to be a low lamp-life figure. Let’s say you buy a projector with a seemingly lower-end lamp life of 2 000 hours. This might not sound like too much at first glance, but consider that if you were to watch a two-hour movie on your projector every night, the lamp would still last for more than two-and-a-half years. Gamers, on the other hand, tend to spend many more hours burning their projector’s lamps, and may need to consider a pricier DLP projector that can boast up to 60 000 hours of lamp life.
12 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
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Features:
social networks //BY DEON DU PLESSIS
? T A H W E C A F TWIT-WHO? ? E C A P S E S WHO
14 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
If you’ve asked any of these questions recently, you’ve probably been living in a cave somewhere far away from electricity and computers for the past three years. Connect takes a look at the modern phenomenon known as social networks, with the focus on Facebook, Twitter and MXit.
A SIX DEGREES OF KEVIN BACON
Kevin Bacon has worked with so many people in Hollywood that a game sprang up around the actor’s connections called “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”. In it, participants must name Hollywood personalities and attempt to connect them to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less. The game is loosely based on the concept of “six degrees of separation”, which theorises that through the links connecting us with our friends, their friends and their friends’ friends (and so forth), everyone is a maximum of six connections away from every other person on Earth.
social network is a rather technical term for “the people you know”. It makes good sense, though, because through the people you know, you are connected to the people your friends, family and co-workers know too. While one person doesn’t know everyone, through the connections of the people they DO know, it’s possible to reach just about anyone on Planet Earth. The problem is it’s not always apparent who knows who. In the past five years or so, websites have sprung up that allow people to connect with one another online. These have been dubbed “social networking sites”, and have served to connect thousands of people together through the sharing of personal information and web-based social exchanges. At these sites, people can sign up and share any and all details of their lives with others. People can join their friends’ networks and watch their lives unfold by way of status updates and photos of recent events, shared web page links and many other small activities designed to bring people closer, tiny steps at a time. In a nutshell, you’re able to share your life with others in this way without actually coming into physical contact with them, which is a great way to keep in touch and up-to-date when friends live overseas or in distant cities. One of the greatest benefits of these sites is that they reveal the hidden links between people. When you add friends to your list, you can see who they know by looking at their friend lists. This speeds up the pace at which meaningful connections can be made, as, for example, you can approach person X who you found on your friend’s friend list, whose interests were revealed by a quick browse of their
profile, and tell them you know them through friend Y, which immediately makes the interaction that much friendlier. Well, for the most part – if person X hates friend Y, you’re in trouble. But you get the idea.
FACEBOOK For South Africans, the social networking site of choice is undoubtedly Facebook; as of August 2009, of South Africa’s 5 million-plus Internet users, 1.87 million of them were active Facebookers, evenly split between males and females. When its popularity exploded in 2007, Facebook was the subject of many articles highlighting its ability to turn productive employees into web-surfing time-wasters. This trend continues today, but as the phenomenon has become more mainstream, many companies have blocked access to the site to prevent employees Facebooking on company time, for the sake of both productivity and security. The site is even banned in certain countries (Syria, for example), but more for ideological reasons than productivity-related ones.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED? HERE’S HOW.
After signing up at http://www.facebook.com (it’s free) and entering some basic details about yourself, you have the option to flesh out your profile with as much detail as you care to share with the world. You can include your employment and education history, your interests, personal beliefs, date of birth etc. Some find the depth of information you are able to share a little worrying, but since it’s not compulsory to share anything you don’t want to, it’s nothing to be concerned about. The rule of thumb here is: If you’re not comfortable sharing certain details, don’t. Luckily you have the option of maintaining a limited public profile that does not automatically grant everyone and his dog access to your personal details.
WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 15
social networks
FACEBOOK FACTS:
The biggest appeal of Facebook is the ability to keep in touch with friends, keeping them abreast of any happenings in your life you care to share. The site is also packed full of applications that can be used to find out more about yourself and your friends; these are usually quizzes of some kind, the results of which you can share for a laugh. Facebook also features some irreverent activities like the ability to throw a virtual sheep at a friend, just for the fun of it. If you’re feeling flush, you can even purchase virtual gifts for your friends for a dollar apiece. COURTING DISASTER
Up to August 2009, the price you paid for the use of Facebook applications was the sharing of your details as well as those of everyone on your friends list with the developer of the application. In August 2009, a group of Canadian law students took Facebook to the Canadian Privacy Commission for violating the country’s privacy laws; as a result Facebook was given a month to implement privacy safeguards that allow people to enjoy Facebook applications without being forced to share their details. Facebook complied. IT’S A PEOPLE THING
Facebook is the kind of site that can really keep you occupied for hours, day after day. If you’re not updating your own status or throwing livestock at friends, you’re reading other peoples’ status updates and checking out the photos of their latest night out/evening with friends/kids’ doings etc, that they have posted to the site. Since humans are by nature social creatures, it is no surprise that this 16 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
• Facebook was originally a dorm-room project started by Mark Zuckerberg and three of his friends while they studied at Harvard University • In September 2006, Zuckerberg turned down Yahoo!’s buyout offer of $1 billion • In 2008, Facebook’s user base grew from 40 million people to a whopping 110 million • Official statistics on the site state that more than 120 million people log on to Facebook at least once each day • As of August 2009, there are more than 260 million active users on Facebook • There are 1.87 million active South African Facebook users • More than 30 million people access Facebook through their mobile phones. ON FACEBOOK YOU CAN:
• Communicate with people using text messages • Update your status with whatever is on your mind • Take fun quizzes and share the results • Send and receive virtual gifts • Upload and share your photos • Link to websites and videos • Organise groups and events • Advertise products and services Share any personal details you care to … and much more.
kind of online activity has gained such widespread popularity. Predictably, Facebook has led to some fantastic discoveries of long-lost relatives, friends, and high school sweethearts, as well as facilitated the odd stalking, firing and extra-marital affair. As with people, you have to take the good with the bad, sometimes. Our advice is to simply be sensible about how you make use of the service, and you’ll be just fine. Facebook is free to use and is only as dangerous or invasive as you allow it to become. It provides a free, easy to use method of staying in touch with friends and family; just be aware that it can consume quite a bit of your time, which is why we recommend you only get stuck in from home.
TWITTER Twitter is an online service centred entirely around Facebook-like “status updates”, colloquially referred to as “Tweets”. Users sign up, decide who they want to “follow”, i.e. whose Tweets they wish to read, and set about updating the world with whatever is on their mind. Tweets are sent to everyone who has chosen to follow you, and are limited to the length of an SMS – 140 characters. While anyone can choose to follow you, they can always be blocked, never to receive the benefits of your salient musings (or, as is more common, banal ramblings) again. Tweets are typically rather self-centred and involve the broadcasting of the uninteresting minutiae of people’s everyday lives, but every so often the service serves a greater purpose than simple selfgratification. When a plane crashed into the Hudson River in the US in January 2009, the story unfolded on Twitter, with eyewitnesses updating their Twitter feeds with events as they happened. When a plane and helicopter hit each other in August 2009, also over the Hudson River, Twitter broke the news long before the news agencies did in a very good demonstration of “citizen journalism”. Thanks to software that allows people to Tweet from mobile phones, Twitter is whereever people are. Integration with Facebook is also possible, meaning your Tweets can appear on your Facebook page too, going even further than just to whoever is following you.
Other reasons to sign up for a Twitter account include following the Tweets of famous people to who you’d otherwise not have access, as well as creating a way to ask a whole bunch of people whatever burning question is on your mind in 140 characters or less. Amazingly, people often respond to absurd questions, ideas and observations with their own take. Twitter is also a wonderful way to spread ideas. Popular posts get “re-Tweeted” by as many people as feel it is worthy of being passed on. Our advice is to sign up for a Twitter account and download a copy of “TweetDeck”, a handy (and free) application that helps you manage your Tweets and those of the people you follow. Register on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com, and download TweetDeck from http://tweetdeck.com (no “www”), and join the fun.
MXIT Pronounced “mix it”, MXit is a South Africandeveloped messaging service that can be accessed either via an Internet-connected computer or a cell phone. The application itself is free, and each message sent using the service is charged according to the data used in its transmission. Since MXit uses GPRS to transmit data, charges are quite low, with each message costing under 2c on average. This is vastly cheaper than a typical SMS, and each message can consist of up to 1000 characters.
MIX IT UP MXit fits into the “social networking” category because it allows people to connect with one another through a chat interface. In addition, they can exchange photos, files and music (although there is a restriction of 150kb per file). Accessible via mobile phone, MXit gives you the opportunity to chat with people on your contact list from anywhere in the world. In addition, you can integrate your contacts from other popular messaging services like Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, ICQ and Google Talk into MXit, giving you access to everyone to speak to 24/7/365. MXit is used by a lot of kids since it’s an easy and cheap way for them to chat to their friends; as a result, it‘s strongly recommended that parents keep a close eye on their kids’ usage of the service. It is also important that kids know to never give out their personal details over MXit, and that unsupervised real life meetings with chat partners is not a good idea. As MXit’s website points out, “there are a lot of weirdos out there”, and safe use of the service should always be in the forefront of users’ minds.
FO CON LLOW N T WI E C T O N T Look us TE R! u
IN CONCLUSION
There are a lot of ways to keep in touch with friends and network with people within your social al circles using cutting-edge online services. Facebook, ook, Twitter and MXit are only three examples of ways in which this can be done, but they are certainly among the most popular choices. We recommend you take part – social networking in a digital world can be very rewarding on many levels, from personal to professional. As always, we encourage sensible use of these services – if something feels like a bad idea, don’t do it. We are, after all, social creatures, and this new way of making contact and maintaining and creating relationships holds no more dangers than it does in the physical world. Be sensible, and you’ll likely find that social networking can offer you a great deal of fun. Enjoy!
MANAGE YOUR ONLINE SOCIAL LIFE –
p an “follow ”: our u d hit Connec sername is tOnline .
FRE E !
DIGSBY http://www.digsby.com
This neat little programme unites instant messaging with e-mail alerts and social networking sites and services. You can receive e-mail alerts, manage Twitter and Facebook and even use various instant messaging applications using only one application, making managing your online life that much more convenient.
POSTEROUS http://www.posterous.com
This original concept encourages people to e-mail anything to post@posterous.com which then gets turned into a webpage. The link is mailed to the address you sent the content from, and you can then view the automaticallygenerated page; send anything from videos to mp3s and photos and have it all appear “automagically” in blog-post format online.
FRIENDFEED http://www.friendfeed.com
FriendFeed takes the updates from social networking sites, RSS feeds, blogs and various other social media websites and assembles them in a single, easy to access application for your convenience. Its aim is to make social media “more relevant and accessible”.
If you’d like to sign up for an account, head on over to http://www.mixit.co.za and check it out for yourself.
WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 17
A PRINTER FOR EVERY
SEASON
T
echnology may always be moving on, but the time has never been better to buy new printer. The latest range of HP Laser and Inkjet printers offer the best of both worlds including modern aesthetic design, improved economy and the opportunity for consumers to care for the environment through environmentally friendly consumables that are fully recyclable. Many consumers are faced with the dilemma of soldiering on with an old and inefficient printer or taking the plunge and replacing it with a new device. Thanks to the advances that have been made in the design of HP’s printers it is possible to invest today in a printer that not only delivers better results, but also looks great and has a smaller environmental footprint.
HEAD TURNING DESIGN HP has made a commitment to keep the look and feel of both its Inkjet and Laser printers in tune with the needs of consumers. By ensuring that the latest technology is implemented without compromising the visual attractiveness of the printer, customers can get a printer that is both state of the art and visually appealing. Each printer is specifically designed to offer customers the best blend of quality, speed and affordability to meet their specific printing needs. For those who are running a small business the OfficeJet and LaserJet printers are optimised to
deliver prints quickly and efficiently. The All-in-One printers allow workers to scan, copy, print and even fax from a single device, saving space and cutting the cost of investing in the right equipment for the small business environment. For photo enthusiasts, the Photosmart range allows them to forgo the inconvenience of trekking down to the local photo shop to get their images printed by delivering professional quality prints at home. With integrated memory card slots and LCD displays it is possible to print those cherished memories without the need for a computer, reducing the time from taking the picture to getting the print. For those that have multiple computers at home, WiFi printing on some models allows all members of the family to print from anywhere in the house. At the same time, HP is aware that space is at a premium in the modern home and office, and this is why the issue of keeping the footprint of these printers to a minimum is at the forefront of the HP team’s minds during the design process.
AN ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS OPTION The one area that HP has continued to emphasise in all its designs is the intense focus on ensuring that all the new printers that it produces are built with a level of environmental consciousness that is unmatched in the technology industry. Even something as simple as the decision on how to
connect the various parts of a printer together has not fallen outside the ambit of the design team. In order to minimise the use of harmful chemical and build printers that are easier to recycle all of HP printers use common fasteners and snap-in features rather than glues, adhesives and welds to hold the printers together. This makes it easier to dismantle products and to separate and identify different plastics when it comes time to recycle them. Other design initiatives that the team has made to improve the recyclability of printers has been replacing metallic paint with polished plastic buttons to make it easier to recycle the printers when they reach the end of their lifespan. A key design focus for the HP team was understanding that customers don’t just want an environmentally sensitive option they are also looking for tangible benefits from the process of making printers greener. As a result of this the full range of HP printers are built to minimise the amount of power they consume while working as well as when they are standing by. All HP printers are EnergyStar certified, giving users the confidence that they get the job done with the lowest power consumption possible. The printers themselves are only half of the story when it comes to buying a printer. The other half of the story is the ink and toner that makes documents come to life. Part of the design strategy of HP is to ensure that each printer uses the right type of cartridges for the role that it needs to play. For everyday printers the single colour cartridge is adequate but for photo printing it is essential to use individual cartridges for each colour to ensure that the print is a perfect reproduction of the original.
LaserJet Ideal for high-speed, high-volume, high-quality printing
OfficeJet Professional colour printing, low cost per page
WHERE THE INK HITS THE PAPER In order to get the best out of your new HP printer it is advised that customers use only HP original cartridges as research shows that HP original cartridge provide 34% more prints than generic replacement cartridges and a massive 69% more prints than refilled cartridges, wiping out any potential savings that the customer might think they are getting. HP also has a well-established service for recycling old ink and toner cartridges. Already hundreds of millions of old cartridges have been recycled and in 2008 the company recycled more than 100 000 tons of cartridges and other products, an increase of 6% from its 2007 levels. By sticking to original ink and toner cartridges it is possible for consumers to get better quality prints as well as prolong the life of their printer, as people using generic cartridges or refills run the risk of damaging their printers. The relatively low up-front cost of a new printer as well as the benefits of having access to the latest technology make this an ideal time to invest in the latest technology and with options available to meet every need users are not going to be disappointed.
DeskJet Ideal for everyday text and simple photo printing
Photosmart Ideal for lab-quality photos and everyday documents
living online //BY JOHANN BARNARD
THE SIMPLER
In our unnerving pursuit of finding ways to make technology work for you, Connect uncovers some of the truly useful, and some indispensable, online services that will simplify your life.
20 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
8g onl reat res ine our ces
S
ome people still do it, but it’s largely unnecessary really: they go into their bank to do transactions! Why? In the context of modern communications, consider when last did you posted a letter compared to the number of e-mails sent and received over the past week. Mundane tasks can now be performed as efficiently, as safely and much quicker by using the Internet to your advantage. Let’s explore!
WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 21
living online
WHAT TELEPHONE BILL?
THE POSTMAN ONLY RINGS … WELL, NEVER
E-mail has been with us for so long already that it is now considered a necessity, not a luxury. Who remembers that strange little organisation with the perpetually-grumpy tellers called the Post Office. Aside from hearing rumours about them being on strike, the Post Office is largely irrelevant thanks to the joy and convenience of e-mail. As with many other Internet-based services, you now don’t even need an e-mail application because service providers like Google, Yahoo, MSN Hotmail and the various Internet and cellular networks offer a range of e-mail services. These web-based services have also been tweaked to be accessible from mobile phones, so there is no longer an excuse for not receiving important communication from people like the SA Revenue Service.
Who needs Telkom when you can make calls for free via the Internet? Voice over IP (commonly known as Internet telephony or VoIP) has been around for some time, with Skype the clear leader in connecting South African families with loved ones abroad. Another common service is Google’s GTalk, while some Internet service providers are also offering VoIP services. Best of all, you can make Internet calls while on the move. There are a number of mobile VoIP applications that either link into these existing services such as Skype, or that are dedicated mobile services. Skype can be accessed directly via Skype Mobile, or via services such as iSkoot for Skype or Fring. A local service offering mobile VoIP calls is Yeigo. NOTE: Quality of calls is directly dependent on the quality and speed of your Internet connection.
QUEUES ARE SO 20TH CENTURY
One of the greatest conveniences that the Internet has introduced is the joy of Internet banking. Forget queues, forget call centres and seemingly endless loops – online banking is the only way to go. Whether you want to check your bank balance, pay accounts or move money into your savings account, these and other transactions can can now be done quickly, easily and from the comfort of your lounge. Call your bank to find out what is required to set up this service and link your various accounts so you no longer have to scowl back at the face of the harried bank teller. Naturally you need to take the necessary security steps to make sure no unauthorised people have access to your account, but in truth these are little more than common-sense precautions.
SEE YOUR TAXES AT WORK
Speaking of the pleasures of life, the SA Revenue Service (SARS) has significantly upped its game and made online submission of tax returns – of practically any description – ridiculously simple. The downside, of course, is that again there are no excuses for not submitting your tax returns on time. Log in to http://www.sarsefiling.co.za/ to register and before you know it you’ll be praising the tax man for his efficiency and ease of use. While we’re dealing with some of the more disagreeable functions that form part of your household management chores, such as paying your rates and taxes, the Internet again comes to the rescue. The range of services and functionality available on provincial and regional government websites is constantly growing and residents can access the balance on their accounts, do payments and register for services and licences via online portals. The range of services varies according to region, although there is little reason for these types of services not to be available to all – and right now! SOME USEFUL AND FUNCTIONAL SITES INCLUDE: www.gautengonline.gov.za; www.capegateway.gov.za; and www.durban.gov.za.
22 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
FLASH THAT PLASTIC! STAYING CONNECTED
Moving away from the mundane to the fabulous, you can arrange practically your entire social life via a number of useful online services. From booking your favourite seat at your local movie house, to checking out the arts and culture scene, you can plan a whole weekend’s activities without having to move. Check the movie schedule and book your seat at www. sterkinekor.com or www. numetro.co.za, or find your favourite band, play or comedian and much more at www.nationalgigguide.co.za or http:// whatsonsa.co.za. A service that almost doesn’t bear mentioning because it’s so pervasive is facebook which connects more than 250-million people worldwide. e. Facebook represents the future re of social interaction and does away with traditional ways of socialising to a large extent. Find out more about applica-tions such as Facebook and Twitter in our social networking ng feature on page X of this issue. e.
A feature that was touted in the early days of the Internet was the unlimited online shopping options available to consumers. Whether the hype has lived up to the reality of the situation is debatable, although there are undoubtedly some great shopping portals in South Africa. Order your monthly groceries from www. pnponline.co.za or www.woolworths.co.za; grab special deals and bargain prices at www.
bidorbuy.co.za or our home-grown Amazon equivalent www.kalahari.net. Specialist retailers can also be found that cater to the needs of just about any type of interest, from technology gear through to flyfishing kit. Harness the power of your favourite search engine to track down the online stores that sell what you need.
PAYBACK
We all do it - at some point, knowingly or not. We break the road traffic rules and end up with the far more annoying task of having to pay the fines. Until www.payfine.co.za <http://www.payfine.co.za> came along though, it was always a mission to remember to pay on time, never mind dealing with traffic enforcement officialdom. Simply type in the fine’s reference number, check how much you owe, effect the transaction and you’re free to hit the roads again without fear of being locked up at a roadblock. The convenience of using online services cannot be demonstrated more effectively than in this great service.
MAPS AND (SUDDENLY A WHOLE LOT) MORE
Who W remembers the days of flipping frantically through a map book nestled in your lap while t looking for that elusive, but popular restaurant? lo While this still remains a reality for many people, this needn’t be so and with GoogleMaps p starting with their StreetView project in South s Africa, we will soon have access to some of the A most amazing and intuitive map services ever m imagined. im
WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 23
office advice //BY TIANA CLINE
WORD PERFECT Winning Word tips and techniques
24 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
T
hanks to Microsoft, word processing is no longer a complicated process. Microsoft Word, which is part of the Office suite of programmes, is one of the easiest ways to create documents. Connect looks at ways to make an already-easy application even easier with a slew of tips and tricks aimed at helping you become Word perfect.
SHORTCUT SHOWDOWN Shortcut keys make word-processing that much easier by simplifying the process of having to point and click and click and click… Learn some easy key combos and work both smarter and faster. Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V > Cut, Copy and Paste respectively. These work in virtually every Windows programme. Learn them and you’ll save time! Ctrl+B > Apply Bold to highlighted area
TURN OFF THOSE PESKY (AUTOMATIC) HYPERLINKS
You’re clicking your way through a document and all of a sudden you’re on the Internet thanks to a rogue click on a live Internet address. You didn’t want to go to the site; you just wanted to jot it down! Here is how to remove hyperlinks from a document: • Choose AutoCorrect (or AutoCorrect Options) from the Tools menu • Click on the AutoFormat As You Type tab • Under Replace As You Type, clear the ‘Internet and network paths with hyperlinks’ check box • If you didn’t turn off AutoCorrect before you started typing and now you have a document full of hyperlinks you don’t want, you can turn them off, either one at a time, or all at once. To turn off a link, right-click on the link, select Hyperlink from the pop-up menu, and then select Remove Hyperlink. To remove all links from the document, choose Select All from the Edit menu or press Ctrl+A, and then press Ctrl+6 to remove all hyperlinks.
Ctrl+I > Apply Italics to highlighted area
Ctrl+Y > Redo last change
Ctrl+Z > Undo last change Ctrl+spacebar > Remove all local formatting. If your text looks peculiar, it may be because you accidentally added something. This is a quick way to be consistent Shift+F3 > Toggles case – if you need to flip between UPPER, lower, and Initial Caps Ctrl+Home, Ctrl+End > Move to the top and bottom of a document respectively Ctrl+A > Highlight the entire document
Ctrl+M > Indent. GETTING ABOVE NORMAL
Templates are premade documents created by Microsoft to make your editing, presentation and overall consistency easier. The Normal template is the default template that is used when you start Microsoft Word or click the New Blank Document button. Some Word commands include an option to modify the Normal template. If you do this, all new documents you create will include those modifications. The Normal template file (Normal.dot) is stored in the Template folder (contained in the folder where you have installed Microsoft Office). If you delete the Normal template file, Word will create a new one with the standard document settings the next time it starts. WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 25
office advice
WHAT IS AUTOTEXT?
AutoText is a way to store and quickly insert text, graphics, fields, tables, bookmarks, and other items that you use frequently. Word comes with a library of AutoText entries (see the items listed under AutoText on the Insert menu or turn on the AutoText toolbar, then click on All Entries). You can create your own AutoText entries with either of the following methods: • Choose AutoCorrect or AutoCorrect Options from the Tools menu, then click on the AutoText tab • Type the text of your new AutoText entry in the ‘Enter AutoText entries here’ box, then click Add • Make sure the Show AutoComplete tip check-box is checked • Click OK • Word will show a tip on the screen after you type the first four or five letters that match the AutoText entry. Press Enter to accept the entry or keep typing to ignore it. If AutoComplete is turned off, you can insert AutoText entries with the AutoText toolbar.
8 QUICK TIPS AND TRICKS
1
Double-click on a word to highlight it; the MS Word editor selects the space behind the word too. The punctuation behind the word is ignored
2
Press CTRL and click on the sentence that you want to select
3
Triple click somewhere within a paragraph to highlight it
4
Paste plain text – when you copy the text from a Web page or another document, the text brings the source’s formatting into your document. If you don’t want the formatting, go to the edit menu, choose paste special and select one of the unformatted text options
5
Expand your vocabulary – if you’re not sure the word you’ve used is the best one, right click on it and select Synonyms from the menu that pops up. Word will offer you alternatives that mean something similar that may better fit your sentence.
6
If you work in multiple documents, press CTRL+F6 to jump to the next document. To jump back you’ll need to press CTRL+SHIFT+F6
7
Save your new styles – if you like the font/format of your paragraph, then select it and type the name in the style box on the formatting toolbar and press enter.
8
Save multiple documents at once – if you’re working in multiple documents, press SHIFT and go the file menu and above Save As you’ll now see Save All.
FILE FORMATS
Microsoft Word 2007 is capable of working with documents in different file formats, with the most recent format using the file extension ‘.docx’. Word 2007 is also capable of opening and creating documents using the ‘.doc’ file extension, which is used by previous versions of Word. Whenever a new Word 2007 document is saved for the first-time these three file format options are available in a drop-down menu labeled “Save As Type”. Unless you choose a different option, new documents will be saved with the file extension ’.docx’. If you’re sharing the document with a person using an older version of Word, it’s a good idea to make the document backwards compatible. In other words, save the file using the file extension ‘.doc’ so that earlier versions of Word can open it. 26 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
security //BY DEON DU PLESSIS
SECURE YOUR PC Physical theft, intrusions from the Internet and network attacks are all possibilities in our connected world; the big question, then, is how to protect against them. Connect takes a look at some of the most common threats to the average computer’s security, and advises on how to make sure you’re always a step ahead.
I
n today’s connected world, information is money, specifically information stored on our computers that includes everything from documents containing sensitive data to encrypted login credentials for banking websites and even credit card details. This makes your computer an enticing target to criminals specialising in informationrelated crime. You may already be familiar with the term “identity theft”, where a criminal steals someone’s personal information and then uses it to impersonate them. Fraudulent credit card purchases are the most common result, leading to charges that the account holder did not physically make, but according to “the system”, they did. As the 21st century progresses, this kind of information-crime is becoming disturbingly commonplace. Awareness of the problem is the first step, and the rest is actually quite simple. PHYSICAL DATA THEFT
The loss of a PC or a laptop can be devastating due to the amount of sensitive data that is stored on its hard drive. While it’s not possible to make sure your computer can never be stolen, it is possible to be 100% sure that even if it does go missing, the thieves will not be able to access your data. Software is available that creates encrypted “file vaults” on your hard drive; these are not accessible without a physical dongle (a memory stick-shaped device that plugs into a free USB port) and a password, giving you two-pronged protection against theft. Both are required in order to unlock that secure area of your hard drive that stores your important data, so even if the thieves know your password, they can’t do anything and vice versa without the dongle. 28 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 29
security urrit ritty ri ty Here are some tips that are sure to help keep your information safe: Only when both the dongle and the password are present does the encrypted section of your hard drive become visible to Windows. When the dongle is removed, it disappears. Even if someone knows that secure area is there they won’t be able to force their way in without a supercomputer to break through the 256-bit encryption. Even then, it’ll take years. Be sure to keep the USB dongle for the file vault separate from your notebook when it’s not in use. Do not, under any circumstances, store your dongle in your laptop bag.
LOCK IT DOWN For desktop computers, another option is to purchase metal cages that bolt onto a flat surface, surrounding the computer’s case (the “box”). Removing these cages requires more noise and effort than the average thief is willing to risk, and while this is not foolproof, it’s enough of a deterrent to make thieves think twice about tackling the challenge. Laptop computers are a little more difficult to lock down; they can be semi-secured by using a high-strength metal security cable linking the laptop’s body to a desk or similarly heavy object. Unfortunately, the weak point in this approach is that laptop bodies are typically made of plastic and are far easier to break than the cable. The best approach here is to secure your notebook’s sensitive data using an encrypted file vault and to also tie it to a nearby object using a security cable. At the very least, doing this should encourage a would-be thief to target a more accessible laptop.
INTERNET THREATS
There is a lot of harmful code wandering the Internet, just waiting to pounce on an unprotected PC. The intentions behind this “malware” (evil software) range from annoying people by making their PCs behave oddly, stealing data to planting code on hard drives that works without the operator’s knowledge. In the early days of computers these were referred to as “viruses”, annoyances put together by bothersome teenagers learning how to write software. Today, Internet threats are so varied that “virus” cannot categorise them all. Modern threats aim to do far more harm than to merely annoy you, and are programmed by very intelligent people who’d like nothing more than to steal your information and sell it on the black market for some quick cash. Your best defence against these is security software, and preferably one that offers more than just “antivirus” protection; consider grabbing a “security suite” as they typically offer more tools than a simple antivirus to keep your computer safe online. For a closer look at the latest offerings from some of the top security vendors, check out our reviews on page XX.
> MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOME FORM OF SECURITY SOFTWARE INSTALLED
New viruses and malware hit the Internet daily; your best defence against these is to keep your security software updated, and to run regular system scans at least once a week. > USE A FIREWALL Firewalls are built into all modern ADSL modems, and serve to protect your home network against outside attacks. Be sure you also have your operating system’s built-in firewall turned on for double protection. Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 all come with their own firewalls. > KEEP YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM AND WEB BROWSER PATCHED WITH THE LATEST SECURITY UPDATES
Vulnerabilities in Windows, as well as all popular Internet browsers that could lead to your system being compromised, are not unheard of; make sure you keep Windows up to date using Windows Update, and check for browser updates at least once a week. > NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, OPEN E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS SENT TO YOU BY PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW
Attachments can hide all kinds of nasty code that can be unleashed when the attachment is opened. To be absolutely safe, scan all attachments with security software before opening them, even when you know the sender. > PROTECT YOUR PASSWORDS A password is usually the first line of defence in the security world, but since so many services use them they are often targeted by miscreants. The best thing you can do to keep them safe is to never share them with anyone, and change them regularly. > BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP When all else fails, a backup of your data is a lifesaver. While implementing a backup solution can be a tricky, expensive and labour-intensive process, it is well worth the effort. Knowing your data is safe, no matter what, is a good feeling. Recommended methods are external hard drives and DVD backups, with the most essential of your files stored securely online. > IGNORE ANY POP UP WINDOW THAT OFFERS TO SCAN YOUR PC FOR FREE
This is more likely to infect, not cure, your PC of malware. To be safe, never accept what appears to be a kind offer. At best, you’ll get a “free” scan that will demand money to remove any threats it detects, and at worst, you’ll infect your PC with a really bad virus. CONCLUSION
When it comes to PC security, the best bet is to use your discretion and if something seems a little odd, it probably seems so for a good reason. Ask someone knowledgeable for advice or assistance in any situation that you’re not sure of, you’ll be grateful you did in the long run. The combination of smart usage and a security application are sure to keep your PC healthy and virus-free for a very long time.
30 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
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9/11/09 1:59:17 PM
PRODUCT REVIEWS // BY DEON DU PLESSIS
SECURITY UPDATE
T
his is the time of year that the big security vendors update their software. Symantec, Kaspersky and BitDefender all sent us their latest all-in-one security solutions, and I must say I am really impressed with what these guys are doing. In the past, customer feedback has centred on the performance of both the software itself and the PC it is installed on, with many people noting that their systems felt a little sluggish with the software installed. Not anymore. Modern security software is fast, unobtrusive, and it has very little impact on system performance. All three of the big packages demonstrated this principle very well, which of course makes choosing between them all the more difficult. We did our best to bring you the ins and outs of each, and to help you make up your mind, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve included links to trial versions of each product so you can try before you buy. I hope you enjoy this issue, and I look forward to bringing you more reviews next month. Until then, Cheers Deon
While we make every effort to ensure pricing is accurate before we go to print, sometimes through circumstances we have no control over, the prices in Connect may differ from those youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see on store shelves. In all cases, shelf pricing takes precedence.
32 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
REVIEWS 34 40 42 44 45 46 48 50 54 60 64
Top 5 PCs GPS Cameras Home media Printers Accessories cellphones Security software Books Reviews
TOP
5
PRODUCT REVIEWS
PERFECT COMPANIONS
Nikon Coolpix S1000pj NEED TO KNOW LowePro Rezo bag We’re definitely fans of LowePro’s ‘Rezo’ line of camera bags, and highly recommend that owners of new digital compacts give them a look. They’re made from strong materials, have a decent number of pockets and pouches for storing extras, and come at a great price too!
Sandisk SDHC 4GB Memory Card This 4 gigabyte SDHC card holds enough space to store around 1000 photos shot on the S1000pj, making this the perfect storage solution. You’ll be running out of battery long before you run out of space!
• Point-and-shoot camera with digital projector • Excellent lens • Small and compact R5 499.95
AS with all advancing technologies, the digital camera revolution has seen a boom in some industries and a dip in others. In one significant area, those losing out are traditional camera shops and photo printing services as fewer people make prints of their shots. Now, Nikon may well be cutting another swathe into photo developers’ businesses with the CoolPix S1000pj, the first camera to include a built-in digital projector for beaming stored images onto walls or speciallydesigned screens. Who’s going to want to see a boring old physical photograph when the nearest surface can be projected on to? Using the projector requires only the push of a single button; the image is then beamed onto a suitable surface and can display your photos at sizes of around 1 metre or so. In darkened or sufficiently dimmed rooms, the quality of the projected image is really impressive, with great colour reproduction and clarity thanks to a manual focus wheel. The S1000pj can project both digital stills as well as video, which we consider another nice plus. And what’s more, the projector has been neatly fitted into the body and does not add to the bulk or weight of the camera in any significant way. In fact, the S1000pj is just as small, lightweight and comfortable to operate as most digital cameras in its class. In terms of image quality – an essential consideration no matter how good the built-in projector may be – the S1000pj sports a Nikkor lens with 5x optical zoom, the 35mm equivalent of a 28-140mm zoom lens. As could be expected with that range, the lens is great for both extreme close-up macro photography and more traditional portrait and landscape shots. Photos are excellent on the whole, with sharp results and great colours in a host of shooting conditions. Potential buyers should note that the included battery only lasts for about 220 shots. For modest and conservative shooters, this is more than suitable. For the more snap-happy photographers out there, it will be easy to go through one charge in a busy social weekend or over the course of
34 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
a single sightseeing trip. Consider also that battery life when in projector mode is around 1 hour – long enough for even the closest of friends to have seen their fill of your holiday or baby snaps, but you’ll almost certainly be needing to recharge the battery after even much shorter showings. In terms of pumping up the point-and-shoot features, Nikon has included face-detection, image stabilisation through shake reduction technology in the lens, 16 different shooting modes and an impressive Quick Retouch feature that does a good job of automatically finding the best balance of contrast and saturation. On the whole, the CoolPix S1000pj is pretty darn impressive, really, on top of which it’s simple enough for beginners to feel comfortable with, yet sufficiently extensive for advanced users to feel satisfied with its feature list. It produces great quality images, has an easy to use and intuitive interface, and it has a great world-first digital projector to boot. Highly recommended as a point-and-shoot digital camera, and an absolutely essential purchase if you’ll make use of the projector. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • • • •
12.1 megapixels 5x optical zoom (equivalent to a 28-140mm zoom lens) Built-in projector is VGA quality at 10 lumens 6.85cm high-resolution LCD screen 16 scene modes ISO range from 80-6400 f/3.9-5.8 relative aperture lens Supports SD/SDHC memory card
PROS
CONS
• Projector works very well and is far from a gimmicky feature • Very good lens produces great results • Extensive list of features
• Some might find battery life insufficient • Only 16MB internal memory means purchasing a memory card is essential
OVERALL RATING
IOMEGA® SCREENPLAYTM PRO HD MULTIMEDIA DRIVE It’s showtime! Enjoy a high-definition theatre experience with the new Iomega® ScreenPlayTM Pro HD Multimedia Drive USB 2.0/ AV/Ethernet, available in 500GB and 1TB. This multimedia player connects to your home network to store & access your videos, music and photo collections. Record video from a camera, cable box, or VCR with a one-touch record button. The ScreenPlay Pro Multimedia Drive supports native HD and is compatible with the latest media formats such as MP3, AC3 (Dolby® Digital Encoding), WAV, WMA, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (AVI/VOB), MPEG-4 (AVI/DiVX 3.11, 4.x, 5.x, 6.x/XViD) and JPEG, plus supports USB WIFI adapter for wireless access (adapter sold separately). EMC® Retrospect® and MozyHomeTM Online backup software (2GB free) available via free download.
Iomega ® offers a suite of multimedia players to let you enjoy your media collections. ScreenPlayTM TV Link Multimedia Adapter
www.iomega.com
ScreenPlayTM HD Multimedia Player USB/AV
© 2009 Iomega Corporation. All rights reserved. Iomega, ScreenPlay and the stylized “i” logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Iomega Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Certain other product names, brand names and company names maybe trademarks or designations of their respective owners. For information on iomega’s current product requirements and supprot policies, please visit www.iomega.com. Product in photos may vary slightly from product in package. Product capacities are specified in gigabytes (GB), where 1GB = 1,000,000,000 Bytes.
TOP
5
PRODUCT REVIEWS
Not all cases will have enough space for the large radiator/fan/pump unit. Before purchasing the Domino, check to see that your case can accommodate a 120mm fan – if you don’t have the space, you’ll have to look elsewhere for your cooling, or choose a bigger case.
PERFECT COMPANIONS
CoolIT Domino Liquid Cooling Solution NEED TO KNOW
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 Intel offers four-core processing with the Q8200; rated at 2.33GHz, it’s rather fast, and if cooled by the Domino it’ll run for years.
Case with 120mm rear fan mount You may have to change computer case in order to accommodate this rather large cooling solution. When buying, ask your sales person to confirm that there is space for a 120mm fan mounted on the rear of the case.
• Cools your CPU • Very quiet operation • Simple installation for water cooling • LCD displays vital info R1 099.95
WHILE many people might not be familiar with the inner workings of their computers, most should be at least somewhat aware of that humming sound that comes from their computer when it’s turned on. This is made by the fan that keeps your system’s central processing unit (CPU or processor) cool; a cool processor is a happy processor because it will perform better and last longer. The only problem with keeping it cool is the noise that most CPU fans produce. This is where a product like CoolIT’s Domino Liquid Cooling Solution can come in handy. It completely replaces the standard CPU fan, can operate far quieter thanks to variable speed settings, and is much more efficient at reducing the heat of your CPU because it uses water, not air, to move heat away from the CPU’s surface. If this sounds very scary – who would want water anywhere near their sensitive computer components after all? – don’t panic. CoolIT’s implementation of a water-cooling solution is a very elegant, extremely well-engineered piece of kit that completely addresses the potential pitfalls of water cooling. It is supplied as a pre-assembled unit so there’s no possibility you might not assemble it correctly and flood the inside of your computer case, and includes audible alarms for problems like malfunctioning fans. A potential downside is that the installation can be somewhat tricky, as you will need to install a piece of metal called a backplate underneath your motherboard (included in the kit). This is so that you have somewhere to mount the Domino’s heatsink, and is an essential part of the installation. It requires the complete removal of your motherboard from your computer case, which is a little intimidating if you’ve never done it before. We advise
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you enlist the aid of a seasoned tinkerer if you’re unsure of doing it on your own. Once you’ve done that and secured the heatsink, however, the rest of the installation is child’s play; the Domino only needs power from your motherboard and plugging it in is as simple as “plug power cord into slot A”. From there, all you need to do is mount the rather large radiator/fan/pump unit onto an available slot on your computer’s case, choose how fast you want the fan to run using an easy-to-reach “mode” button, and that’s it. A useful screen shows you how fast the radiator’s fan is spinning, how fast the pump is turning and the surface temperature of your CPU. This is a fantastic product – it does what it advertises (keeps your CPU cool), it’s easy to install relative to a more expensive water cooling solution and it runs very quietly at its lowest speed setting while still producing better results than most CPU fans can at full speed. If you’re looking to quieten your computer while keeping your CPU cool, this is an excellent way to go. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • High contrast backlit LCD • Single push-button control for configuring operation mode and temperature scale • Audible status alerts • 50 000 hour lifespan • Fan speeds from 1100RPM to 2900RPM PROS
CONS
• Quiet operation • Cools better than most CPU fans • Excellent engineering • Variable speed settings
• Installation may require assistance • Pump is rather large • Not all cases can accommodate it
OVERALL RATING
TOP
PRODUCT REVIEWS
5
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XBOX 360 AND NINTENDO WII
Sony has not yet won the war against these two tough opponents. Nintendo’s Wii offers a more family-oriented group experience chock-full of fun and motion while the Xbox 360 packs a wallop with its exclusive games and a superb online component, Xbox Live. Both are valid alternatives to the PS3 Slim, and it’s really only your personal game preferences and online gaming habits that make any of them better than the others.
Playstation 3 Slimline (120GB) NEED TO KNOW • Smaller and lighter Playstation 3 • Great media playing functionality • Blu-Ray compatibility out of the box R3 799.95
FOLLOWING on the success of the original PS3 and that of the Slimline Playstation 2, Sony’s flagship console has seen the release of its own diminutive model: the PS3 Slim. This new piece of hardware is considerably smaller and more modest than its bulky big brother, with dimensions closer to a Wii than anything else. Also, while the older versions weighed around 5kg, the PS3 Slim comes in at just over 3kg. Granted, you’re not going to be lugging this thing around for any gaming on the go, but this gives you an idea of how much the new model has, literally, been slimmed down. Furthermore, the PS3 Slim is noticeably quieter than older models, which is great for avoiding distraction when deeply engrossed in your games, movies or music. Another attractive point about the PS3 Slim is that it now boasts a better cooling system and higher energy efficiency than any previous model. This is a two-fold bonus because not only does it cost you less in electricity bills each month, but because it uses fewer materials in production, it is also better for the environment. All of this comes without any knock to the underlying processing power, incredible graphics hardware and online functionality of the Playstation Network. But, while it is very much a praiseworthy console, it is not without a few drawbacks. First is the fact that the USB hub now only has two ports. This is a manageable downgrade that probably won’t be too serious a problem unless you’re the type who has a USB keyboard and mouse, memory stick, Guitar Hero Controller and Dance Dance Revolution mat all plugged in at once. Our biggest gripe, rather, is that the PS3 Slim is not compatible with
Playstation 2 games. While some models of the original PS3 also lacked this feature, we always favoured those versions that also opened up the entire PS2 back catalogue to us. Sure, it’s a small consolation that all PS3s, including this model, offer PSOne compatibility, but it’s safe to say that the lack of PS2 support is reason enough to turn away some potential buyers. And it’s enough for us to chop off an entire star in this review. Overall though, we’re still very excited to see the PS3 Slim hit the shelves. It’s a far more attractive-looking item to have on your TV stand than the older model, it’s available at a great price and will prove a worthwhile investment for those yet to embrace the current generation of console hardware.
PERFECT COMPANIONS
NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • • • • •
3.2 GHz Cell Broadband Engine CPU 550 MHz NVIDIA Graphics Processor 256MB system RAM plus 256MB video RAM 120GB Hard Drive Supports Blu-Ray, DVD and CD Full HD (up to 1080p) HDMI output Wi-Fi connectivity Ethernet port
PROS
CONS
• Excellent price • Extensive selection of available games • Great cooling and energy efficiency • Gorgeous new slim design
• No backwards compatibility with PS2 is a great disappointment • Only two USB slots
OVERALL RATING
PS3 Wireless Keypad This is a handy peripheral that clips onto a standard PS3 controller. It‘s perfect for anyone who will be making use of the Playstation Network’s interactive features, browsing the web, using text to chat to other gamers during online play, or those who don’t want to bother with a full-sized keyboard.
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TOP
5
PRODUCT REVIEWS
PERFECT COMPANIONS
Sony DCR-SX40 Sony’s SX40 standarddefinition video camera has 4GB of internal flash memory and a Memory Stick Pro Duo slot, allowing users to record to either.
Dazzle DVC-170 Video Creator Platinum Deluxe NEED TO KNOW
Xbox 360 Using the 360’s composite outputs, you can link it up to the Dazzle to easily record videos of yourself winning at Halo 3. Don’t forget the cable splitters, though.
Belkin PureAV Composite Cable For high-quality cabling between the Dazzle and your video source, consider Belkin’s PureAV Composite cable.
• Video capture solution • Transfer VHS to DVD • Video editing software included R1 799.95
PINNACLE Systems’ Dazzle Video Creator Platinum Deluxe is a package that lets you record video from various sources directly to your computer using a USB-based video capture card. It’s perfect for transferring old VHS tapes to DVD, and recording footage off a video camera and burning it directly to DVD (assuming you have a DVD writer, of course). You can even record footage from your favourite console games to the Dazzle. The process of recording from a video source is quite easy once everything is set up; this involves connecting your TV/video camera/game console up to the Dazzle, installing the software, and then finally inserting the USB cable from the Dazzle into your computer. Console recording, however, requires splitter cables if you want to see what you’re recording on your TV. Before you get going, we recommend you stop by the Pinnacle website and grab the latest Dazzle drivers for Windows Vista, as we battled initially to get Vista to detect the Dazzle. It also won’t hurt to patch Pinnacle Studio to its latest version. Once you’re all set up, select where you want to save your video, specify for how long you’d like the program to record and off you go. The quality of the resulting video is customisable, and of course the higher the quality the bigger the video file will be. The biggest downfall of the Dazzle is that there’s no way to capture HD video. This isn’t a train smash for most as HD is still out of the reach of the
38 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
average South African, but it is disappointing for those who’d like to capture footage from their game consoles in high resolution video. On the plus side, the package does come with video editing software (Pinnacle Studio) that enables people to edit their videos, turning a collection of clips into a single masterpiece. Transitions, music and effects are all available to spruce up your videos, which can all be burned directly to DVD. Best of all, you needn’t be a video editing pro to make good use of the software. In all, the Dazzle represents an easy way of transferring VHS directly to DVD, capturing video off a video camera and recording videos off a gaming console. While not without its negatives (no HD recording and software that needs to be updated out the box), it’s a worthwhile purchase if you’re not a power user. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • •
Video inputs: Composite video (RCA), S-Video (mini-DIN) Audio inputs: Stereo audio (RCA x2) PC connection: Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Output Format: DVD or DVD-image Compatible Video Sources: Any with Composite or S-Video outputs PROS
CONS
• Easy to archive video directly to DVD • Edit your videos using included software • Capture video from game consoles
• Driver issues with Vista • No HD video recording
OVERALL RATING
TOP
PRODUCT REVIEWS
5
Although Apple doesn’t allow you to upload your photos to photo-sharing sites right out of the box, the level of integration with 3rd party applications means you can upload to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr without too much trouble.
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Apple iPhone 3GS NOKIA X6
NEED TO KNOW • Voice control over contacts and music • Video recording and editing • Lots of storage for music and videos 16GB - R8299.95 32GB - R9499.95
SAY what you like about Apple’s iPhone, it has set the standard for what we expect from a phone and almost every other phone released since then is judged against it. Although the original iPhone 3G is still an awesome phone, the new kid on the block, the iPhone 3GS, lifts the bar just that little bit further. Physically, the GS looks exactly like its predecessor, but lucky for us Apple has done a decent job of replacing the insides with more state-ofthe-art electronics. The first change is the ever-increasing memory capacity – the GS tops out at 32GB. The processor has also been upgraded so that all applications run just that little bit faster. Apple has also switched the sub-par 2MP camera on the iPhone 3G for a 3MP snapper on the GS. The new camera is capable of recording video as well as letting you choose, with a tap on the screen, which area of the picture you want to be in focus. You can also do some basic editing on the phone before you upload the video of your friends’ embarrassing antics to YouTube for all to enjoy. The one feature that is probably the most useful is the new voice control. Simply hold down the home button or the call button on the headphones and tell it what you want it to do. From calling your mother to playing your favourite song, it works as if by magic. Be warned, however, that the system has as firm a grasp on non-English languages as an American on safari, so
words like Wilgeheuwel appear to be beyond its comprehension. The trick is knowing how to say words so that it will understand. For example Liza is pronounced Leeeza, but once you get your head around that it is truly remarkable, especially considering that it needs no training. Much of the GS’s other ‘new’ features are as a result of the upgrade to version 3.0 of the iPhone operating system and, as such, features like MMS and forwarding an SMS are supported by the iPhone 3G as well as the GS. With the hardware enhancements to the 3GS and the new software taking both the GS and the original iPhone to new levels of awesome, the challenge of beating Apple’s phenomenal design and execution is now tougher than ever.
Not available yet, but with a new touchscreen and access to the Nokia Music Store, this might just be Nokia’s first real chance to dethrone the iPhone in SA.
NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • •
16GB and 32GB of storage 256MB RAM 3.2 Megapixel Camera Faster processor (600MHz vs the original iPhone’s 412MHz) iPhone OS 3.0 3G up to 7.2 Mbps PROS
CONS
• Easiest-to-use touchscreen device by far • Thousands of applications on iTunes • All the features that were missing form the previous version now accounted for
• Battery life isn’t great • No physical keyboard • Mail still not as good as Blackberry
OVERALL RATING
SAMSUNG OMNI OMNIA IA
The Omnia has just been given a boost to Windows Mobile 6.5 and for those who like their smartphones Microsoft-flavoured this is your best bet.
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PRODUCT REVIEWS
Emachines EZ1601-01 NEED TO KNOW • Stylish all-in-one PC • Designed for home use • Integrated DVD Drive • Affordable, yet feature-rich R3 999.95
ACER’S acquisition of rival Gateway and their Emachines subsidiary in 2007 has meant affordable, yet stylish computing options for South African consumers. One of the newer Emachines products to emerge from the union with Acer is the EZ series of home PCs, a compact all-in-one product that looks like it consists of only a screen, keyboard and mouse. Emachines has cleverly hidden all the components behind the screen in a manner that is similar to HP’s TouchSmart IQ series. It’s easy to walk past the product and assume that all you’re seeing is a screen – it is truly that thin. It’s also encased in a highly polished piano-black bezel that makes it look more like a screen than a total PC solution. Inside, the EZ1601 is powered by a low-power and low-cost Atom processor that provides enough processing power to run Windows XP Home without breaking the bank. Unfortunately, this means it won’t impress on the performance front, either. It’s also outfitted with 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and a card reader; most interesting is the inclusion of a writeable DVD drive and multimedia memory card reader. These rather modest specifications are not a big problem, however – the tasks this PC has been optimised for don’t require the most powerful components. Being a family-centric PC intended for light use, e-mail, web surfing, word processing and the like are the kind of tasks the EZ1601 is most likely to perform each day. None of these will strain the machine’s components enough to affect performance too badly. Since it’s such a compact unit, the EZ1601 is perfect for placement in a kitchen, family room or even a crowded student’s room. Wireless connectivity options by way of 802.11b/g support means it can easily connect to the Internet via your home network and without the need for additional cables, so it won’t add to any existing clutter. One of the most appealing features is its totally fan-less design; thanks to the low-voltage Atom processor, no noisy fan is needed to keep the PC cool, resulting in whisper-quiet operation. 40 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
With the included DVD-RW drive (uncommon in such a compact design), integrated speakers and a bright, clear 18.5-inch widescreen monitor, the EZ1601 is also capable of DVD playback. The integrated 5-in-1 memory card reader further adds to the machine’s multimedia capabilities, allowing for the direct import of photos from other sources. Put all these features together, and it’s easy to imagine just how integral the EZ1601 can become to any family that actively generates and shares multimedia content. Best of all, it’s very affordable. At a smidgen below R4 000, this is an all-in-one PC that just about anybody can afford. With its stylish looks and ability to handle most basic home computing tasks with ease, the Emachines EZ1601-01 is definitely one to consider if you’re looking to add a cost-effective PC to your home. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Microsoft Windows XP Home Intel Atom Processor N270 (1.6GHz, 512KB L2 cache) 1GB DDR2, 533MHz memory Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 160GB SATA hard drive 8x DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti double layer drive Multi-in-one digital media card reader Integrated 802.11b/g Wireless Integrated 18.5-inch widescreen LCD with 16:9 aspect radio Embedded high-definition audio support Keyboard and optical mouse Built-in speakers 5 USB 2.0 ports PROS
CONS
• Affordable widescreen home computer • Compact all-in-one design • Multimedia features
• Entry-level hardware
OVERALL RATING
RELATED
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HP TOUCHSMART IQ500
HP has gone the opposite direction to Emachines’ low-cost approach with the TouchSmart IQ500. While it might be pricey, its specifications are higher than the EZ1601’s and it features a bigger, but very impressive touch-sensitive screen.
PERFECT COMPANIONS
Labtec 285 Speakers If you’re not happy with the EZ’s integrated speakers, consider an inexpensive pair of Labtec’s 285 2.1 speakers for a little more volume and bass.
Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 23” LED LCD Monitor NEED TO KNOW • Fantastically slim design • Powered by LED technology • Low power consumption • 23 inches of screen R3 999.95
SOMETIMES a piece of technology comes along that blows away all preconceptions we’ve ever had about the way things are done. Samsung’s XL2370 23-inch monitor is one such example. The XL2370’s screen uses LED backlighting to create a superior image to that which conventional LCDs which are backlit by Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lighting. LEDs, or Light Emitting Diodes, are far more power efficient and they last longer than other light sources; also, their ability to produce tightly controlled amounts of light is far beyond that of fluorescent lighting, resulting in screens that can more accurately display light and dark areas in games and movies. For this reason, Samsung’s official materials state the dynamic contrast ratio of the XL2370 to be a ridiculous-sounding 5 million to 1. We know that’s just a gimmick, but having seen the screen in action, we can almost believe it to be true. Because LEDs require less power to operate, there have been knock-on benefits in its overall design. The XL2370 is almost unbelievably thin (around the thickness of a large finger), it consumes 40% less power than other screens in its size class and it produces magnificently clear and beautifully bright images that have to be seen to be believed. Older LCD screens can’t hold a proverbial candle to the might and sophistication of this LED-backlit gem; to test this, we placed the XL3270 side by side with an older screen (we won’t reveal models to protect the guilty). Comparatively, the colours displayed on the older LCD screen looked washed out and dull (even though they weren’t really, they just looked that way next to the XL2370) and the LED screen’s image quality in terms of overall sharpness and brightness was far superior. Truly, LED backlighting is the way forward. Screen aside, Samsung has outfitted the XL2370 with an HDMI port, a regular DVI port as well as digital and analogue audio outputs. This combination makes the monitor absolutely brilliant for gaming and hidefinition movie watching as it accommodates everything from your PC to your next-gen video-game consoles while also supporting high-tech audio
RELATED
PRODUCTS solutions with its digital audio output. The design of the screen’s bezel is as pleasing and attractive as any of Samsung’s other “Touch of Colour” products, with the control buttons embedded in the plastic as opposed to being raised. When the screen turns on, these buttons light up and fade in a rather sci-fi fashion, which is a nice touch. Our only gripe with the screen is that the included stand is a bit wobbly; we noticed it is rather easy for small bumps to send the screen rocking alarmingly back and forth. Of course, new technology like this comes at quite a premium, and you’ll pay just under R4 000 for the privilege of owning this screen. Before anybody has a panic attack at the thought, however, consider that screens only slightly larger are in the same price bracket. Also, prices will inevitably drop, so it might be smart to wait a while before picking one of these babies up. But pick one up you must: the screen’s brightness, image quality and the butter-smooth look of the visuals are truly worth the asking price. Add to that the screen’s very thin profile, light weight and generous 22.4-inch widescreen surface and the result is the kind of technological innovation that not only warrants the PR hype that surrounds it, but far surpasses the expectations that it generated.
SAMSUNG ECOFIT P2370 23” LCD MONITOR
For 23 inches of good quality screen without the price premium, the Ecofit P2370 is one to consider. Think of it as the XL2370’s ugly sister.
NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • • • •
Native resolution: 1920 x 1080 Contrast ratio: 5 000 000: 1 (Dynamic) Brightness: 250cm/m2 Response time: 2ms Inputs: DVI, HDMI Outputs: Digital audio, 3.5mm analogue audio jack Power consumption: 28W (typical), 30W max Weight: 3.5kg
PROS
CONS
• Better image quality than LED screens • HDMI input, digital audio output • Low power consumption • Sleek looks
• Early adopters pay full price • Stand is a bit wobbly
OVERALL RATING
ACER X243H 24” LCD MONITOR
While an extra inch may not seem like a lot, apply it diagonally to a screen’s measurement and suddenly you’ve got a lot more space in front of you. Acer’s 24-incher from the company’s Excel series is a good choice in this size.
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PRODUCT REVIEWS
Did you know? Driving with a navigational device has shown to reduce driver stress by 74% with the risk of accidents 12% lower. Research has also shown that using a GPS can save time and money – not getting lost means an overall saving of 60 hours in the car every year!
TomTom HOME is free (downloadable online) software that helps you manage and personalise the content on your GPS. It’s a great way of getting more out, even if you looking at simply adding a fun voice to guide you, change the arrival sound or start-up image!
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GARMIN NUVI 205 WIDE
It may not be as pretty, but this widescreen GPS is user friendly and can be easily used as a handheld GPS due to its four hours of solid battery life. With a sensitive touchscreen and large menu icons, the Nuvi 205 Wide makes for easy navigation.
TomTom White Pearl NEED TO KNOW • A stylish GPS with a swirl design • Includes a EasyPort mount and matching bag • Easy to install and use R1 999.00
TOMTOM’S special edition White Pearl GPS was designed with the female species in mind. This is no ordinary car navigation system to take you from point A to point B, the White Pearl takes you in style. What you’ll first notice when unpacking this piece of technology is how pretty the overall packaging is. With a pearlescent design and a matching EasyPort folding mount, the White Pearl doesn’t look and feel like other GPS devices. The subtle swirl grey pattern not only extends to the start-up screen, it also adorns the luxurious silk drawstring bag – a great addition to the overall package. The cute bag not only keeps the TomTom clean, it keeps it safe from accidental knocks and bumps, and is perfect for carrying and storing the device in a handbag. The White Pearl offers more than just girly frills, however: its GPS functionality is top-notch. Using TomTom ONE IQ Routes technology, the White Pearl ensures that driving is safe and stress-free. This relatively new technology calculates routes based on the real average speeds measured on roads every day compared to speed limits. This also uses historical data that other TomTom owners have added to bring you the smartest route information hour-byhour, day-by-day, saving users time, money and fuel. This next generation technology is one step ahead of traditional routing methods that use maximum speed limits in their calculations. IQ Routes provide accurate routes for a faster and more economical journey. Over and above IQ Routes, the White Pearl includes the usual selection of TomTom pluses such as Map Share technology that lets you make instant
42 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
corrections to your map directly on your GPS. A road boomed off because of Gautrain construction? Mark it so other users know! The ever-useful Help Me! safety menus include local emergency phone numbers and a ‘Where Am I?’ function – essential if the car breaks down on a journey. Brand new (girly) features include special Points of Interest such as places to be seen and “Shop ‘til you drop”. These cover everything from restaurants, bars, cafes, coffee houses, cinemas and theatres to fashion and home decor shops. The best bit? As a GPS, the White Pearl is as easy to install as it is to use – like all TomTom devices, the driver can simply plug in and go. Finding your way around the interface is simple and the screen, although on the small side, is clear. It may be a little more expensive, but it would make a great gift for any directionally challenged member of the female species. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • •
IQ Routes technology Advanced Land Guidance 3.5” screen TomTom Map Share technology EasyPort mount
PROS
CONS
• Makes the perfect gift • Small and stylish • Clear screen • Fun Points of Interest like coffee shops
• Screen is on the small side • Noticeably feminine design
OVERALL RATING
PRODUCT REVIEWS
It’s not just a 3D camera; with the touch of a button you can switch to 2D mode for taking more conventional photos.
PERFECT COMPANIONS
Fuji FinePix REAL 3D W1 NEED TO KNOW
FinePix REAL 3D V1 Photo Frame Unless you plan on spending loads of money to have your 3D photos printed on FujiFilm’s fancy lenticular paper, splashing out on a specially-designed 3D photo frame seems a far better option.
8GB Sandisk SDHC memory card What with 3D photos and videos requiring double the storage of their twodimensional counterparts, a considerably larger memory card is a must-have.
• Amazing world-first technology • Dual lenses provide true 3D images • Shoots 3D video as well R5 999.95
FUJIFILM has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging its competitors with the introduction of the very first consumer-grade 3D camera. Its FinePix REAL 3D W1 digital camera uses a new concept that produces images that fool the brain into believing they have depth. It does this by using two lenses that are approximately the same distance apart as human eyes. It is this minor difference in perspective that produces what appear to be three-dimensional images. Each photograph is essentially one image taken by each of the two lenses, which are then combined into the finished 3D product. There is a great parallax control feature for when the 3D image appears blurry or not quite right. This allows you to adjust the relative perspective difference between the two images until it’s to your liking. Each of the lenses can be controlled independently, meaning you can play with different focus depths, exposures, colour settings and so on to produce some truly unique imagery. This, combined with the parallax control, is handy for fixing up shots taken in a moving car, composing unique 3D shots of faraway objects, and so on. The LCD display is another outstanding feature of the camera, and must be seen to be believed. The engineers at Fuji have developed what they call a ‘Light Direction Control System’, that fools the brain into seeing a 3D image on the large, bright 7.1cm LCD screen. It does this by alternating the images received by the left eye and right eye, switching back and forth very quickly (at 60 frames per second to be precise), to produce the illusion of viewing in 3D. Fuji is also developing a way for these images to be easily
44 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
printed thanks to a 3D film that is overlaid onto prints. This is currently only available from FujiFilm printers, and is exorbitantly expensive. This price will drop, though as the technology becomes more widespread. In terms of image quality, the W1 produces great results thanks to the high-quality 3x optical zoom lenses, which is the 35mm equivalent of a 35-105mm zoom. The flash has a variety of settings to accommodate indoor and outdoor lighting conditions to produce pleasing images and colours. On top of all this, the camera also offers 3D video capture that it opens up some awesome potential – and more than a little glimpse of what the future of video technology holds. Amazing. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • • • • •
10 megapixels 7.1cm LCD, displays in 3D 3x optical zoom lenses (equivalent to 35-105mm) Video recording at 640x480 or 320x240 at 30 frames/s Supports SD/SDHC memory cards ISO from 100-1600 18 shooting modes Self-timer Flash PROS
CONS
• The 3D is genuinely astounding • LCD screen is excellent • Lots of room for creativity
• Bulkier than average digital camera • 3D prints are very expensive at the moment
OVERALL RATING
RELATED
PRODUCTS
PHILIPS WAC3500 WIRELESS MUSIC CENTRE
Philips DCM230 Docking Entertainment System NEED TO KNOW • Multi-function docking station designed for iPods • Features CD player and FM/MW Radio • Supports other USB devices and MP3 players R1 999.95
SMART scientist types reckon that one of the key differences between humans and other tool-using animals is that we can conceive of one tool as having multiple functions. A famous example from Scientific American is that of a simple pencil – we can use it, obviously, for writing with, but also as a bookmark, an improvised hairpin, as a makeshift ruler for drawing straight lines, and of course the top is adorned with an eraser for fixing up mistakes. An orangutan, on the other hand, might use a big leaf as an umbrella, but that will be the extent of the tool’s function. Philips’ DCM230, then, is a device that sees us combining our tools as is the human wont, leaving older-generation docking stations looking positively primitive by comparison. The DCM230 Docking Entertainment System came about after what was in fact a forehead-slappingly obvious realisation: why stop at just iPod support? Why not add a CD player, support for USB devices as well as radio functionality too? And this is exactly what the DCM230 brings to the table. Add to this that it also sports a handy digital clock with an alarm feature, and you have yourself a great device that does considerably more than the average MP3 player docking station. The DCM230 is compatible with a fair range of iPods, including the iPod mini, iPod nano and iPod video. It’s a little disappointing that there is no TV out feature for the latter to be able to play digital video on your television. While not essential, this would have been very nice indeed. On the other hand, we really liked that thanks to the USB direct connection feature, the DCM230 allows support for other MP3 players – a great bonus considering that not everyone is an iPod devotee. The handy user interface allows one to browse the music on almost any USB storage
device (be it simply a flash stick or a compatible MP3 player) to play or export music content. One drawback did become apparent here, though, as the DCM230 only offers playback of MP3 and WMA music formats, meaning that Ogg-Vorbis and other slightly less mainstream file types would need to be converted before they can be played on this system. Sound quality is of course a major consideration in any MP3 player docking station, and we were very pleased with this device’s output. Music quality is great on the whole, with impressively deep bass performance, although there is a noticeable drop in quality if the volume is pushed a little too loud. Those concerned by this should note that it isnt’ intended to be a powerful Hi-Fi system suited to your thumping house parties, but rather a more modest system that will prove perfect for more subtledued use. When looked at from this perspective, we can only conclude that the Philips DCM230 Docking Entertainment System is an excellent piece of kit that will definitely satisfy the right audience.
Philips’ more featurerich docking system, the WAC3500, allows wireless streaming and copying of music directly from your PC, playback from USB flash sticks, and the ability to rip CDs straight to the included 80GB hard drive. There’s a lot on offer, sure, but it is considerably bulkier and costs somewhat more than the sleeker DCM230.
NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • •
Plays MP3/WMA-CD, CD and CD-RW FM and MW radio with digital tuner 30W RMS output speakers with Dynamic Bass Boost Auxiliary-in port 3.5mm headphone jack Digital clock with radio alarm and sleep timer PROS
CONS
• Sleek and attractive design • USB host allows support for more than just iPods • Good price for what you are getting
• Sound quality suffers when played too loudly • Slightly limited in terms of audio formats • TV-out functionality would have been great
OVERALL RATING
PHILIPS AJ301D DOCKING STATION
This device is primarily touted as an FM clock radio docking station and is a great bedside alternative to consider if you don’t need the CD playback functionality of the DCM230. The AJ301D, coming in at under R1000, is also a good choice for those who may want a cheaper option that still delivers great audio quality.
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PRODUCT REVIEWS
RELATED
PRODUCTS
HP OfficeJet 6000 NEED TO KNOW • Single-function printer • Fast prints in colour and black • Individual ink cartridges • No LCD screen R999.95
HP brings out many products each year, for many segments of the market. In June, we reviewed an OfficeJet 6500, a wireless multi-function office printer, but of course not everybody needs a printer that does everything. Knowing this, HP has brought out a single-function version of the 6500, aptly named the OfficeJet 6000. The biggest difference between the 6500 and the 6000 is that the smaller printer does only one thing – print. It does so without the use of an integrated LCD screen, wireless network connectivity or a multimedia card reader, but the trade-off is that it is slightly faster than its bigger sibling. For people interested in a printer for the sole purpose of printing images and documents quickly and neatly, this is a definite plus. The 6000 is so neat, in fact, that HP has given one of the quality settings the description of “laser”, implying that it is capable of laser-quality text printing. On comparing laser-printed text samples with that of the 6000, we have to concur with HP’s assertion that the 6000 can, indeed, compete with a laser printer when it comes to text sharpness and quality. In our speed tests, the OfficeJet 6000 surprisingly beat its bigger brother, the 6500, when it came to photo and general document prints. Not by a large margin, but just enough to be noticeable – in ‘Normal’ mode (black) it managed just over seven pages per minute, whereas the 6500 managed just over four pages per minute. This is surprising since the printer engines are largely identical; we put it down to the fact that the 6000 is a dedicated printer while the 6500 has more functions to integrate and manage. Photo printing tells a similar tale, with the same photo print taking more than 13 seconds longer on the 6500, putting the 6000 firmly in the lead. The photo quality output by the 6000 is very good, too, with plenty of detail showing in darker areas and colours appearing vibrant and lush. Unfortunately, with no other functions to speak of (not even a multimedia card reader for photo printing), an integrated LCD screen was 46 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
deemed unnecessary. As a result, all of the OfficeJet 6000’s functions have to be managed from your computer, using the printer’s driver to make any changes. The only indicators built into the 6000 are lights showing how much ink is left in each of the four cartridges. There is also no included USB cable, which is a return to the (bad) days of yore when neglecting to include the cable that connects printer to the computerselling printers without cables was standard practice. Not having to scratch around for a USB cable – or being forced to buy one – would have been nice. While not without its faults, the OfficeJet 6000 is a very capable single-function printer. Print quality and speed in both colour and black is excellent, and as a dedicated printer for an office environment, it will do extremely well.
• • • • •
Cartridges: 4 – Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow Inkjet Technology: HP Thermal Inkjet Connectivity Technology: Wired Interface: USB, Ethernet Max Resolution ( B&W ): 600 dpi x 600 dpi Max Resolution ( Color ): 4800 dpi x 1200 dpi Media Type: Labels, Envelopes, Index cards, Photo paper, Plain paper, Transparencies Media Sizes: A4, Legal, Letter A Size Total Media Capacity: 250 sheets Output Tray Capacity: 50 sheets Speed (Black): Up to 32ppm after 1st page print Speed (Colour): Up to 31ppm after 1st page print PROS
CONS
• Excellent print speed • Brilliant photo quality • Sharp text
• No integrated LCD • No included USB cable • Management via driver not ideal
OVERALL RATING
Featuring very similar print speeds and quality, the OfficeJet 6500 Wireless also throws wireless networking, scanning, faxing and copying into the mix.
CANON PIXMA IP4600
NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • • •
HP OFFICEJET 6500 WIRELESS
If you’re interested in a printer dedicated to excellent photo printing, consider Canon’s IP4600 from its renowned PIXMA range.
SAMSUNG ML1640 LASER PRINTER
This black-only laser printer from Samsung doesn’t cost the earth, but prints efficiently and neatly. Best for textheavy documents and the odd grayscale print.
Canon is taking mobility to the next level with the PIXMA iP100 by allowing the printer to work with a rechargeable battery as well as the option for a car charger if you purchase the required accessories.
PERFECT COMPANIONS
Canon PIXMA iP100 NEED TO KNOW • Mobile photo printer • Aimed at business users • Small and light build R2 799.95
CANON is aiming at a very niche corner of the market with this mobile photo printer. Capable of excellent quality and incredibly fast photo, colour and black & white printing, easy transport and even an option for a rechargeable battery, this really is an impressive device for those who need professional quality printing on the go.Being billed as a truly portable printer, the iP100 weighs only 2kg and folds up into a sturdy-feeling package with no cumbersome paper trays or other loose parts sticking out. If Canon had included a specially-designed carry-case, so much the better, but that’s not a major deal breaker as far as we’re concerned. What is more, the iP100 has a very professional look and feel to it thanks to a matte-silver finish accompanied by glossy black panels on either side. Not just professional in function, but also in form – good work, Canon. On top of photo print quality that easily rivals that available from photography shops or professional printers, speed is the other primary area where the iP100 excels. It prints a full colour photograph at high quality in just over one minute, colour presentations at a rate of around two pages per minute, and plain text at an excellent 20 pages per minute in black and 14 pages per minute in colour – speeds that exceed even those of some considerably larger office printers. The main negative point about this printer is how quickly it burns through ink cartridges: one can expect less than 250 pages from a colour cartridge and only around 190 from a black cartridge, meaning you’ll either need some spares with you, or easy access to a refilling service. The other downside to this printer is that it lacks Wi-Fi networking capabilities, a feature that is becoming ever more common on today’s printers. Still, if one bears in mind where this printer will generally be used
and hence that it will usually be connected to a laptop via a USB cable, the omission of wireless support becomes less of an issue. Potential buyers should also be aware that there is no multimedia card reader built in, but similar to the Wi-Fi story, such a feature is probably not of the highest importance to the target market. On the plus side, though, the iP100 has a PictBridge port and this, together with USB connectivity, should prove adequate. Overall, the unprecedented number of ink nozzles that Canon has crammed into this printer and the resultant high resolution and unmatched speed see the iP100 as the current king of the hill when it comes to mobile printing solutions. If it weren’t for the relatively poor number of pages each ink cartridge yields and the absence of Wi-Fi, it would be close on perfect. Even so, it is still the number one printer for business travellers and we give it a well-deserved stamp of approval.
Asus Eee PC If you’re looking to set up an ultra-mobile office then an ultra-mobile PC is the perfect machine to use as a base, and Asus’ line of tiny (around 22cm wide), but powerful, Eee PC’s prove a great complement to the PIXMA iP100.
NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • • •
Up to 9600dpi resolution Prints up to 20ppm in black and 14ppm in colour Weighs just 2kg 50-sheet capacity input tray PictBridge support Borderless printing Prints on plain paper, cards, envelopes, photo paper and photo stickers PROS
CONS
• Very fast printing speed • Photo quality is very good • Ultra portable design
• Ink cartridge life leaves much to be desired • No Wi-Fi connectivity option Lacks multimedia card reader
OVERALL RATING
Canon Powershot A1100 This powerful 12.1 megapixel digital camera has a great 4x optical zoom lens, a sturdy design and a professional finish, making it a great option for business users. What’s more, the fact that it features PictBridge support will see it easily interface with the iP100 for direct photo printing.
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PRODUCT REVIEWS
PERFECT COMPANIONS
HP Everyday Photo Paper (60 sheets) Considerably cheaper and is a great option for school projects or bulk photo printing.
RELATED
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HP Premium Photo Paper Glossy (60 Sheets) NEED TO KNOW • Intended for photo printing • Designed for inkjet printers • Glossy, with solid backing R149.95
HP SUPERIOR PAPER (50 SHEETS)
While the HP Premium we reviewed here is the top dog for photo printing, this doubleglossed paper is perfect for producing brochures, flyers or other material that requires printing on both sides.
HOME printing has improved by leaps and bounds in the past decade. It is now far from unusual for the average family or small office to own a photo printer that can produce results that rival even professional print facilities. To get these spot on, however, the right paper is needed, and this is where the HP Premium range comes in. Specifically designed for use with inkjet printers, the front of each sheet of HP Premium Photo Paper is covered in a specialised gloss similar to that found on conventional photos. It is this gloss that contributes to the brilliant colours and life-like images that printing to normal paper simply can’t match: hues are more vibrant, blacks are deeper and skin tones are noticeably more realistic. When choosing the right paper for photo printing, the weight and sturdiness of the paper is as important as colour reproduction. This is another area where the HP Premium Photo Paper shines, boasting the relatively heavy weight of 240 grams per square metre giving it a
48 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
satisfyingly sturdy and rigid feel. What’s more, HP Premium Photo Paper offers outstanding fade resistance, giving you long-lasting prints of your precious memories, all with the look and feel of conventionally-processed photographs. And while premium paper may come at a premium price, we feel it is well, well worth it. Indeed, once you’ve used this paper for your photos, you won’t be happy with anything else. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • Size: 10cm x 15cm • Weight: 240 g/m2 • Glossy finish
PROS
CONS
• Excellent printing results • Quick dry time • Good fade resistance
• It’s still far easier to get your photos done by a shop
OVERALL RATING
Record You Do you carry a song inside? Music that's just dying to get out? A well designed recording tool should help you take that music as far as you like, when you feel like it. Propellerhead Softwareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Record is that tool. With one-click audio recording and a straightforward interface, Record was designed with musicians in mind. Because capturing an idea should be easy. Turning it into great music should be inspiring. This is recording done right.
www.recordyou.com
PRODUCT REVIEWS Because the 5530 XpressMusic has the same screen resolution as the N97, although on a smaller screen, it should appear as if images and video on the phone look slightly clearer. The OS is practically the same as the N97, but in a cheaper device. This means that every application that runs on the N97 should run on the 5530. This makes it a cheap and cheerful alternative to a highend smartphone.
RELATED
PRODUCTS
Nokia 5530 XPressMusic. SONY ERICSSON AINO
NEED TO KNOW
Not yet on the market and a bit more uptown than the 5530, the Aino offers an all touch interface and full musicstreaming capabilities. Expect to hear it called an iPhone killer any day now.
• Low-end smartphone • Unlimited music for 12 months • Touch screen • 4GB Micro SD card (can use up to 16GB) Available on request
HTC DIAMOND TOUCH 2
HTC has fixed much of what was wrong with the first generation of Diamonds and implemented an improved touch overlay. It now behaves itself and takes a big step towards being a good phone.
NOKIA has launched its Comes with Music service in South Africa and one of the phones that accompanied the launch is the Nokia 5530 XPressMusic. The 5530 is Nokia’s latest foray into the touch screen phone market and is able to access the Nokia Music Store either by connecting the phone to a PC or directly over the cellular networks. The 5530 is, however, not a 3G device, which limits its ability to download music over the air. It would be much wiser to hook your phone up to your broadband connection, either directly via Wi-Fi or though your PC before starting to build up your music collection. This is even more relevant now that Comes with Music allows you to download as many songs as you like from the Nokia Music Store in the first 12 months, with the only additional cost being the bandwidth you need to access the store. Although this is a touch screen phone it is important to note that this isn’t an iPhone by any stretch of the imagination. The screen is not multitouch, making entering text on the phone to be a trying experience. The responsiveness of the phone is also a big issue as it is decidedly sluggish. This might not be a problem on a normal phone, but on a touch screen phone it is a bit of deal breaker. You found yourself bashing the screen without knowing whether your input had already been accepted. What makes this frustration worth it is the Comes with Music service. Although the music is protected by a digital rights management system that prevents you from copying the songs to all devices in your possession,
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you have unfettered access to around five million tracks. Consider the cost of buying all the new local and international music you want to listen to, without the legal implications of downloading it from the Internet and the value shows through instantly. The Comes with Music subscription is valid for 12 months, after which you get to keep all the music you downloaded, and can continue to listen to it on your PC or your phone. A battery rattle on Connect’s review unit was also an issue, and will prove annoying if this is a consistent issue over the two-year life of the phone. On the non-music side of the coin, the phone runs Nokia’s Symbian S60 operating system (the same as you would find on the N97), which means you get full access to its Ovi application store and can download an ever-increasing number of applications. You can also read your mail and synchronise your contacts to the phone, so if you are more of a professional person you don’t have to leave it at home when you go to work. If your key priority is getting lots of music at the lowest possible cost, this is probably the cheapest legal way to do it and if you aren’t bothered by the touch screen and the battery rattle you might just find yourself in music heaven. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • 2.9” screen (640x 360) • 3 Megapixel Camera • GPS PROS
CONS
• Light and easy to carry • Comes with Music • Ovi Store • Really nice headphones
• Touch screen needs work • Build quality • No physical keyboard
OVERALL RATING
BlackBerry Curve 8900 NEED TO KNOW • Feature-rich smartphone • Great choice for mobile e-mailing • Full QWERTY keyboard • Impressive 3.2 megapixel camera R6 499.95
THIS latest in the now long line of BlackBerry smartphones has seen a shift back to the wider-shaped devices many of us have come to associate with this brand. While the previous generation – the BlackBerry Pearl – saw a narrower model with a keypad sporting two letters per key, the Curve now features a full QWERTY keyboard once again. The keys are square, satisfyingly elevated and just large enough to allow much faster typing. Connectivity on the Curve has also been standardised, with a mini-USB port for battery charging and data transfer as well as a regular 3.5mm jack for ear- or headphones. As we have mentioned in previous issues, this shift away from proprietary connections is long overdue and Blackberry manufacturer Research In Motion gets two strong thumbs up from us. The user interface is another area where this phone deserves praise. Navigation is primarily controlled through the responsive trackball in the centre of the front panel, and the phone’s intuitive menu system and extensive options allow for very quick access to everything from the most standard functions to advanced options and features.
There is also great integration between different applications and functions, meaning adding contacts to text messages or adding information to the calendar is easy, streamlined and trouble-free. Those who want a phone capable of taking good photos will be pleased to know that we found the 3.2 megapixel camera’s image quality particularly impressive. From low-lit indoor conditions to bright, colourful outdoor shots, the Curve captured crisp images with excellent colour reproduction. There were occasions when maximum quality images viewed at full size showed noticeable grain, but when reduced to fit on a standard screen (for e-mailing, adding to Facebook and the like) we were hard pressed to fault them. The photo gallery browser is also brilliantly put together, with the trackball once again allowing smooth, quick navigation through photos as well as allowing very easy access to zoom, rotate, ‘Send as MMS’ and a host of other photo-viewing options. What’s more, users have the option to use GeoTagging for including GPS co-ordinates into the metadata of their photos, showing the exact geographic co-ordinates of each shot. Unfortunately, the BlackBerry Curve has a major drawback that significantly hampers overall performance in one key area: Internet connectivity. You’d imagine that being able to get online with ease and access websites, e-mails and the like would be something we could take for granted in a contemporary smartphone. It is strange, then, that Research In Motion made the design decision to only offer EDGE and GPRS support on the Curve. This is slightly countered by the fact that the curve has full 802.11b/g Wi-Fi support for connecting to wireless networks, but still… no 3G or HSDPA on a phone released in 2009? That one left us scratching our heads. It’s a pity, because were these supported, the BlackBerry Curve would be a 5-star device indeed.
RELATED
PRODUCTS
HTC TOUCH DIAMOND
The Touch Diamond has some advantages over the BlackBerry Curve, particularly in its higher resolution display, better GPS support and, of course, the fact that it boasts HSDPA connectivity. Considering that it also has a 3.2 Megapixel camera, this is definitely an alternative to consider.
NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • • • •
480x360 pixel screen Size: 109mm x 60mm x 13.5mm 802.11b/g Wi-Fi support 35-key backlit QWERTY keyboard GPS receiver with BlackBerry Maps Battery life of up to 5.5 hours talk time and 15 hours in standby SD/SDHC memory card support up to 16GB Native support for viewing and editing Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF documents • Digital media support for MP3, WMA, AAC, DivX, XviD and more PROS
CONS
• ‘Push mail’ feature means e-mails arrive automatically • Excellent user interface • Clear, high-quality screen • Very good media playback
• Not offering 3G or HSDPA support is a serious let down • Video recording quality could be better
OVERALL RATING
APPLE IPHONE 3GS
When can a new smartphone not be compared to Apple’s wonderkind? With the latest generation having been released in June, the iPhone has more features, more connectivity options, more downloadable applications and simply more more than anything else out there. Well worth a look.
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PRODUCT REVIEWS The menu system on the B2100 takes a while to get used to, but other features make up for it once you’ve become accustomed to the phone. Predictive number recalling means you cut out a few clicks when looking for a contact, and clicking on the ‘call’ button produces a single list of recent calls made and received – a quick reference when you’re on the move and haven’t got time to search a contacts list.
PERFECT COMPANIONS
Samsung B2100 Solid Extreme NEED TO KNOW • Tough and good looking • Noise cancellation technology • Handy extras: a torch and radio with super speakers Available on request
IF cell phones were people, the Samsung B2100 would be MacGyver (for those who remember the 80s) – good looking, innovative, tough, and with the surprising ability to come up with exactly the right solution just when you need it. What’s most appealing about the B2100, is its apparent indestructibility, which is made even more appealing by its slick two-tone good looks. It is shock, water, salt, fog and dust resistant, and has even met with the demanding standards of the European IP57 and the US Military 810F certifications – which means that if you’re heading off to be a soldier in a desert war zone, this is the phone for you! For a phone that can happily be labeled “affordable”, the Samsung B2100 comes packaged with some great features: Tri-band GSM connectivity (which means you can take it with you if you travel abroad), a respectable 1.3 megapixel camera, an FM radio, and 10MB of memory. However, despite these features, it remains a fairly entry-level option as it only has 2G Internet connectivity – but then, for those who expect a phone to offer the functionality of a phone and not a web-browsing super-device, it more than fits the bill. It’s also the phone for you if you’re a road runner, cyclist or any other extreme sportsman – if it falls out of your pocket in the heat of the action, it really will bounce and won’t shatter into a thousand little pieces. You can even take it snorkeling, if you’re expecting a call while bonding with the marine world’s finest – it is waterproof up to a depth of one metre, for 30 minutes. 52 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
Although the phone is being targeted at sportspeople and others who are active outdoors (on construction sites, for example), the B2100 is the perfect mommy-phone too. Drool-proof and tossing-of-toys-proof, this is one of the few phones that have survived the Toddler Test with flying colours. And the best surprise feature of the B2100? An amazingly bright torch, with its own switch that is not governed by the slightly over-eager keypad lock – because everyone knows where their phone is when there’s a power failure.
Bluetrek X2 Waterproof Bluetooth headset What better way to complement the waterproof B2100 than with a waterproof Bluetooth headset from Bluetrek? Talk in the rain with confidence
NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • •
Shock, water and dust resistant Waterproof up to 1 metre for 30 minutes Noise cancellation and dedicated microphone Torch, with its own on/off switch MP3 and MP4 player
PROS
CONS
• It’s tough and virtually indestructible • It’s good looking, lightweight, and comfortable to hold • The noise cancelling technology means you can hold a conversation in noisy environments • The torch is a brilliant extra for those unexpected power failures
• The keypad is a little ‘sticky’, probably due to the waterproofing • The screen is not the sharpest one could hope for • The B2100 is a 2G phone • The little flap that protects the charging port is attached by a fairly tenuous thread of rubber • The automatic key lock is activated far too quickly
OVERALL RATING
Classic Leather Case Get yourself a classic leather case that fits the B2100 perfectly for that extra touch of class.
Sandisk 16GB MicroSD Memory Card With 16GB of additional storage space, there will be plenty of room for your music, videos and photographs.
Web Blocking lets parents block up to 35 categories of inappropriate content including such categories as pornography, hate sites, and school cheating. Program Blocking helps parents steer kids and teens away from such programs as peer to peer file sharing programs that may compromise family PCs or games that may only be appropriate for certain age groups. Email Content Management allows parents to both pre-approve email addresses of kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; friends as well as block unknown email addresses via such programs as Microsoft Outlook or completely block web-based email programs (such as Gmail or Hotmail) so children or teens are not communicating with strangers. Social Networking feature records and alerts parents when inappropriate or personal information is posted to popular social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Instant Messaging lets parents monitor and record IM chats as needed to understand if kids are being communicated to by cyberbullies or strangers. IM clients include AOL, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo!, and parents can also block IM programs that are installed on the PC by using the Program Blocking feature. Time Limits enable families to select the amount of time children and teens can use the Internet. Reports provide parents with a complete view of sites visited, including banned sites, as well as recorded IM activity. Instant Alerts by email or text give parents a heads up when access to objectionable material is attempted and when confidential information is posted on social networking sites.
PRODUCT REVIEWS
For further security, a company called CoCoSys offers Endpoint Protector 2009, a package that lets you determine which storage devices (flash disks, iPods, mp3 players etc.) can be used across all of your business computers.
PERFECT COMPANIONS
USB extension cable Reaching the back of your PC isn’t always easy or convenient. We recommend bringing your USB ports closer with the use of an extension cable.
Verbatim USB Business Secure Flash Drive 8GB NEED TO KNOW • Secures business information • 256-bit encrypted password • Transfer sensitive information safely R299.95
Targus USB Hub If your USB ports are limited in number, a great way to increase the number of available ports is by using a USB hub. It allows multiple devices to connect using a single USB port.
Sandisk Cruzer Enterprise Flash Drives Put through a battery of tests to ensure compliance with US government standards, these secure flash drives can withstand immersion in fresh water without data loss.
EMPLOYEES who carry sensitive business information around with them on a flash drive pose a very real security threat to any business. The ease with which the average flash drive can be accessed and stolen or misplaced means that the information stored on them can be quite easy or lose. Or worse, fall into the wrong hands. Not so much anymore. Verbatim, the company best-known for its storage products has brought out a range of “Business Secure” USB memory sticks with built-in security features that will help prevent that sort of thing from happening. While they look like your garden variety flash drive, Verbatim’s Business Secure memory sticks are anything but. When first inserted, only one tiny section of the drive is accessible; this contains the software that prompts users to enter a password of their choosing and a password hint in case of future forgetfulness. The software will not proceed until a password of sufficient strength has been entered, one that includes at least one capital letter, one number and one symbol. This technique is commonly used to increase the number of possible passwords, making it far more difficult for hackers to determine what it is. Once this is done, the rest of the drive’s space unlocks, giving you complete access. From here, you can use it as a regular flash drive until it is removed. When reinserted, you are prompted for the password, and only once that is entered successfully does the drive become accessible.
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That password is the key to the device’s success. By using 256-bit encryption that even the military would be proud of, as well as the password specifications mentioned above, Verbatim has made it next to impossible – even with the assistance of a dedicated supercomputer – for people without the password to access its information. For business owners slightly paranoid about sensitive information going walkabout, it’s a really good idea to outfit employees with these drives. Apart from the security features, these drives have a retractable neck so that the possibility of physical damage is minimised, and are available in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities. Strangely, the plastic case they are housed in is rather flimsy. Despite this, we believe they’re still a solid addition to any company’s security measures and a very wise purchase for anyone conscious of data vulnerability while it’s in transit. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • • •
Comes in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB flavours USB 2.0 compatible Read speed: 28MB/s Write speed: 12.4MB/s Retractable neck 256-bit encryption PROS
CONS
• Powerful encryption • Almost impossible to crack • Secures data in transit
• Plastic casing is a bit flimsy
OVERALL RATING
Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 NEED TO KNOW • Comprehensive Internet threat protection • Excellent detection rates • New Safe Run and Gamer Profile modes R299.95 (Single User, 1-year license)
KASPERSKY Internet Security 2010 (KIS2010) is a fully-featured security suite that introduces new features over last year’s version, while mostly maintaining its excellent performance record. The features one should rightly expect in any security software package are all here, so users are protected with antivirus measures that protect their web-browsing sessions, their e-mail applications and also Instant Messaging programs and files. Last year’s version boasted a high detection rate with only a small number of false-positives (files incorrectly identified as threats) according to third-party testing body AV-Comparitives.org, and while this year’s results aren’t in yet, expect to see similar results from KIS2010. Other typical features include spyware monitoring, anti-phishing measures that warn if the website you’re visiting is on a list of known danger sites, and a firewall that closely monitors your Internet and network traffic for threats and parental controls. Parental Controls in KIS2010 allow for the creation of teenager and child profiles. Users can restrict time spent on the internet and access to sites that contain inappropriate material for youngsters. The option exists to either block access to those websites or log the event if you prefer to monitor your kids’ actions instead, which we felt was a nice touch. New to KIS2010 is the option to run suspicious programs in a “Safe Run” environment that allows the file to run, but in a virtual environment separate from your operating system. This completely prevents the application from doing any damage while still allowing you to execute it to confirm whether or not it’s harmful. The most exciting new feature for gamers is KIS2010’s ability to run in different ways when a full-screen game is being played. By activating KIS’s
“Gamer Profile”, the program uses less memory and disables all scans and warning pop-ups so that your gaming is not interrupted. There’s nothing quite as annoying as being deeply engrossed in a game only to have your security package pass on some arbitrary piece of information that either alt-tabs you back to your desktop, or displays a pop-up message that slows your game to a crawl. Well done, Kaspersky! This year’s version boasts a more streamlined and attractive interface over previous versions; it’s very simple to navigate, and contains the right balance between a “set and forget” approach and that of the power user who wants to tweak everything to his or her liking. Most options are easy to find, with the notable exception of the scheduling option, which requires some digging to locate. This time, Kaspersky has opted to enable manual scans by default, presumably on the feedback of users annoyed at being prompted to set a scan time when they first install the software. System performance isn’t too badly impacted by the software, adding only two or so seconds on to our test PC’s boot and shutdown times. Full scans will still challenge your computer, as will running applications in Safe Run mode, but this is acceptable as they are rather intensive processes. In all, Kaspersky has put out another winner. KIS2010 is available in a single-PC, 1-year license package as well as a 3-PC, 1-year license version. In terms of bang for buck, you’re getting a good deal for your money, as well as that all-important peace of mind. PROS
CONS
• Comprehensive Internet protection • Polished and streamlined interface • Smart approach to parental controls • Everyday system performance largely untouched
• Slightly longer boot and shutdown times • Full scans affect overall system performance • Scheduling option somewhat buried
OVERALL RATING
Security Tip # 1 All e-mails that appear to be sent by banks requesting that you update your personal details on their website are entirely bogus. Banks will NEVER under any circumstances ask you to do this; the closest they come to doing anything remotely similar is in demanding that you verify your physical address by presenting a utility bill in person at your nearest branch. Even if the e-mail looks completely legitimate and professional, call your bank first and ask about it; chances are they’ll tell you it’s an illegal attempt by some trickster to get you to hand over your Internet banking login details, which they would then use to put you in the poor house. When in doubt, don’t, and always follow that up with a call to your bank.
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY! Download a free 30-day trial of Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 here: http://www. kaspersky.com/trials
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PRODUCT REVIEWS Our concerns with the software extend beyond just the fact that tech savvy teens (or even little tweens) will be able to circumvent its protection mechanisms. There’s also the matter of invasion of privacy and betrayals of trust which can come about from having the software installed – one could easily use this software to read all of your kids’ or your spouse’s online communication, instant messaging conversations or track their browsing history without them even knowing. So while it offers many protective measures for safeguarding one’s family from the perils of the net, these same measures could well be abused.
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY! Download a free 30-day trial of McAfee Family Protection here: http://www.mcafee.com/us/ downloads
RELATED
PRODUCTS
NET NANNY
One of the longest established online protection packages available, Net Nanny can block access to video games based on their age restriction, and even allows for viewing your children’s activities on Facebook or other social networking sites – two features which McAfee does not offer.
ONLINEFAMILY. NORTON
One key feature that Norton’s similarlyfeatured package offers is age-specific access rules, meaning that it comes ready prepared to differentiate access for your 12 year old and your 16 year old. The annual subscription costs are double that of McAfee, however.
McAfee Family Protection NEED TO KNOW • Effective means of keeping children safe online • Very customisable levels of control and censorship • Even Blocks South African content R199.95
DESPITE all the benefits it brings us, the Internet is sadly still a dangerous place for impressionable young minds, and applications such as Net Nanny and OnlineFamily.Norton have answered many a concerned parent’s cries for help. Now the long-time Internet security specialists at McAfee have entered the fray with their own package, McAfee Family Protection. Family Protection is a thorough and extensive suite, boasting a host of security, censoring and surveillance features. These include website filtering with the ability to block or allow individual sites, prevention of personal data from being submitted to social networking sites, logging or outright blocking of instant messaging and real time alerts and reports when infringements are detected. Family Protection also helps manage the amount of time your children are able to spend online, filters YouTube videos and more. In our initial tests, McAfee Family Protection proved very efficient in blocking obvious as well as more obscure sounding adult sites which we tried to load (complete with a brief message explaining that McAfee had blocked it, and why). We then tested a number of e-commerce and auction sites, because hey, kids and spouses with spending problems seeking instant gratification should not be able to browse such dens of temptation. We were very satisfied here because every site we tried was blocked, even South African ones which we thought might not have been in McAfee Family Protection’s database. The system is not entirely foolproof, however, and we were still able to load a Wikipedia page which displayed content kids should not be exposed to as well as locate and load several other sites in the same vein. We then took another route to check if innocent education sites on sexual matters were filtered, and managed to access a site aimed at kids and teenagers about their growing bodies and the changes they experience at puberty.
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Fair enough, we thought, and were impressed that McAfee does not simply block all sites by a simple keyword search – there’s definitely more going on under the hood here. Next up, we followed links to sites about plastic surgery. Curiously, we were able to view some revealing before and after photographs. We then loaded up a medical research page which showed graphic images of the kinds of gory things that comprise medical research. This highlights one flaw in the software – it can sometimes overlook context, allowing access to academic or educational sites which contain exactly the kind of things we imagine most parents would want blocked. To block these too, parents would have to manually enter specific website addresses or entire domains into a blacklist of banned sites. Still, McAfee Family Protection does what it does relatively well, if not perfectly, and there is definitely a place for it when used conscientiously and in partnership with traditional, attentive parenting. The asking price is still a very reasonable cost for a program which, if properly managed, could be the perfect online protection software for your family. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • • • • •
Web-site censoring Application and game blocking Time limiting for each child Filters YouTube videos Real-time reports and alerts PROS
CONS
• Extensive feature list • Very easy user interface • Remote monitoring and access via mcafeefamilyprotection.com • Website filtering works for securely encrypted sites and even those accessed through proxy
• Not foolproof • Might require extensive individual blacklisting of sites • Some issues with pre-installed firewall software have been reported
OVERALL RATING
Security Tip #2
Norton Internet Security 2010 NEED TO KNOW • Similar look & feel to previous version • New reputation-based protection • Very light on resource usage R849.95
FOR users of Norton’s previous Internet Security 2009 package, changing over to the new 2010 version might appear to be a poor choice considering the already-solid protection offered by last year’s software. Given that Norton has added a new malware-detection technique to its already-impressive arsenal of security tools, it might be wise not to be too hasty in judging the software’s potential. Any “Internet Security” software package is going to protect users from the usual gang of suspects when it comes to Internet Threats, and NIS2010 is no different. Antispam, malware, spyware, identity protection and antivirus protection are all here, as well as Norton’s Insight feature which identifies known ‘safe’ applications, browser protection and download intelligence that warns if downloads are potentially dangerous. Norton is using all tools at its disposal to keep your system clean; both signature and behaviour-based mechanisms are in place to indentify harmful applications, much as they are in the other packages on review. On their own, they would be effective protection against malware, but Norton has another trick up its sleeve: a reputation-based system code-named ‘Quorum’. This part of NIS2010 analyses all running applications and rates them by factors like age, digital signature, download source and how common they are throughout the NIS2010 user-base i.e. by the number of people currently running them.A key strength of malware is its ability to do damage before it is detected and patches are deployed to stop it in its tracks. It is often during this window of opportunity that the most damage is done. Quorum actively prevents this through its ongoing analysis; now, a program that is only a few hours old which few people have on their systems is immediately suspicious, and can be shut down before it delivers its deadly payload. While not foolproof, when this technique is used in conjunction with more traditional methods like signature and behaviour-based protection, it adds
significantly to the overall security of any computer system. Norton hasn’t changed the program’s interface much, which is a good thing as it retains its clean look. It can be configured to a user’s preferences very easily, and can be treated as a ‘set and forget’ solution while also giving those that wish to, as much information and as many security options as they can handle. The company is still demonstrating its new approach to resource use by keeping a performance meter that monitors overall CPU usage as well as the load placed on the CPU by NIS2010. It’s a cheeky touch, but it highlights an important fact: Norton Internet Security 2010 will not slow your system down. We’re happy to say, this is more than an idle claim, and we noticed almost no performance impact from our evaluation copy. With a neat interface, strong protection against the vast majority of Internet-based threats and new reputation-based threat analysis, NIS2010 is arguably Norton’s best Internet Security product yet. It’s fast, effective, has all the features necessary of a modern security package, and one purchase will protect up to three PCs for a year. Symantec has got it right, making this is a security suite definitely worth shelling out for. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS • • • • • •
Windows XP (32-bit)/Vista (32-bit and 64-bit)/ 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) 300MHz or faster processor 256MB of RAM (512MB RAM required for Recovery Tool) 200MB of available hard disk space Standard web browser CD-ROM or DVD drive PROS
CONS
• Very fast install (less than 1 minute) • Clean, easy to use interface • Minimal performance impact • New malware detection system
• Interface hides advanced options • No online file backup option
OVERALL RATING
Consider an online payment service before you do any online shopping. Services like PayPal and Google Checkout are legitimate payment services with a solid track record and they are backed up by some big names in the encryption business. Once you’ve signed up at either of these, you can use the identity you’ve created to send and receive payments on websites that support the service you’ve chosen. The benefit is that you are not exchanging any personal information with the site other than your PayPal or Google Checkout username.
List of NIS2010 Features: • Antivirus & Antispyware • Anti-phishing • Antispam • Instant Messaging Monitoring • Free subscription to OnlineFamily.Norton • Firewall • Parental Controls • Reputation-based threat management
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY! Download a free 30-day trial of Norton Internet Security 2010 here: http://www. Symantec-Norton.com
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PRODUCT REVIEWS
Security Tip #3
BitDefender Total Security 2010 NEED TO KNOW • Total online protection solution • 1 year, 3 PC subscription • The most comprehensive BitDefender offering R549.95
BITDEFENDER Total Security 2010 (BTS2010) is BitDefender’s preferred protection solution as it encompasses all possible security solutions, including online backup and a “Tune-up” facility. All the standard options are also here: antivirus, antispyware, anti-phishing, antispam, firewall support, parental controls and Instant Messaging monitoring are all on offer. Consumer input, advice and requests have similarly been incorporated into this new offering as they have with all the other packages we have on review this month. Thanks to user feedback, BTS2010 now sports a new, far cleaner interface than last year’s version, and caters for every level of user from beginners to intermediate users (the best option for the average user) all the way up to power users and gamers. When starting the program for the first time, users are prompted to select their usage profile (Typical, Parent, Gamer or Custom) and familiarity level (Novice, Intermediate and Expert), and BTS2010 configures certain behind-the-scenes options to accommodate those selections. The Gamer profile that changes the application’s behaviour so as not to interrupt games looks like it’s becoming part and parcel of every security program. This is definitely a good thing. These user-selectable options are easily one of the best new features to BTS2010. Novice’ is the “set and forget” option that will only prompt the user when absolutely critical issues are affecting the PC, defaulting to the course of action determined by BitDefender to be the best when non-critical issues arise. Intermediate is the best balance between not being overwhelmed by alerts and managing issues as they arise, and Expert is for people that like to be in total control of their security software. This last option opens up all the program’s settings, and prompt users a lot more for input, but is ideal for troubleshooting. It is really nice to see how well BitDefender caters to users of all types; the new, streamlined interface is a real pleasure to use with everything neatly set out and information appearing at the bottom of the window explaining the feature your mouse cursor is hovering over. The biggest change to the way BitDefender analyses your PC’s activities in order to detect malware-like behaviour comes by way of what it calls 58 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
“Active Virus Control”. This monitors the behaviour of running processes (the programs that run in your computer’s memory) and keeps a score of virus-like actions; once this hits a certain point, the offending process is flagged as harmful and dealt with according to the user’s settings. This helps the software detect “in the wild” harmful behaviours even before a virus definition is developed and deployed. In terms of effectiveness and system performance, BTS2010 impressed. As is the norm, full system scans took up significant system resources, but this wasn’t enough to make the test system unbearably slow while it was underway. General performance with the software installed was similarly impressive, with no feeling that the test system had become slower than it was before the installation of BTS2010. Our only gripe is that while navigating the program’s various windows, there was a very slight delay before some opened. Our overall experiences with BTS2010 were very positive. No noticeable system slowdowns were detected, scans executed quickly and without bringing our PC to a halt. BTS2010 offers all the features necessary to keep your data and identity safe, and we recommend it rather highly. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (32/64 bit) or higher: • 800MHz or higher processor • 256MB of RAM (1GB recommended) • 170MB free hard disk space (200MB recommended) • CDROM/DVD Drive Windows Vista (32/64 bit) and Windows Vista SP1: • 800MHz or higher processor • 512MB of RAM (1 GB recommended) • 170MB free hard disk space (200MB recommended) • CDROM/DVD Drive
PROS
CONS
• Well suited to users of all levels • Streamlined interface • New protection measures against “in the wild” malware • Online and local backup options
• There is a slight delay when some configuration windows load
OVERALL RATING
With Internet security offered by many software packages, attackers are changing their tactics and trying to compromise users rather than the software itself. People are, unfortunately, the weakest link in any security ecosystem. They know all the passwords and actions necessary to get into protected areas, and it is far easier to socially engineer someone into giving those up than it is to break through the protective layers offered by security software. What you can do to prevent falling prey to such intentions is to simply be suspicious of everyone and everything – verify the identities of people that call asking for personal information, do not reply to e-mails that do the same and never send important personal details over the Internet without verifying the security of the site you’re entering them in to. Be aware, be vigilant and don’t trust anybody you don’t know without confirmation of their identity and authority.y
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY! Download a free 30-day trial of BitDefender Total Security 2010 here: http://www.bitdefender.com
List of BTS2010 Features: • Antivirus & Antispyware • Anti-phishing • Instant Messaging Encryption • Family Network Protection • Antispam • Firewall • Parental Control • File Vault (Online and local backups) • System tune-up utilities
PRODUCT REVIEWS
PERFECT COMPANIONS
Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 4000 This excellent cordless mouse is both stylish and comfortable, offers a 4-way scrolling wheel and boasts Microsoft’s patented highdefinition optical technology. Its snap-in wireless transceiver makes it a good choice for comfort on the go.
Aidata Gel Mouse Pad GL006B NEED TO KNOW • Soft-gel wrist support pocket • Perfect for office environments R129.95
Logitech MX1100 Not the cheapest mouse on the market, but easily one of the most ergonomically designed and hence comfortable to operate. Couple this with an Aidata Gel Mouse Pad and those 8-hour stretches in front of the PC will prove to be far less painful.
IT’S all too easy to underestimate the harm that can be done from prolonged time spent operating a mouse. In fact, a 2008 study in the UK showed that more than two thirds of office workers suffered from Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) due to cramped work spaces or operating their computer workstations in awkward positions. A primary cause is that our wrists are often elevated when holding a mouse, placing strain on either side of the forearm, which can lead to certain muscles in the upper arm and shoulder overcompensating and causing pain. Fortunately, a number of computer peripheral manufacturers have been exploring solutions to this problem; Korean company Aidata has developed a mouse pad with a pocket of soft, cushioning-gel that provides comfortable support for your wrists. The smooth fabric on the pocket causes very little friction and keeps the wrists in a neutral position for maximum comfort , thanks to being able to rest the forearm. In addition, the underside of the pad is coated with a
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non-skid polyurethane backing that helps keep it in place on a variety of surfaces. The Aidata Gel Mouse Pad is thus a great accessory for home or office users who spend most of their days at their computers. It’s probably not wide enough to be the mouse pad of choice for avid gamers and the gel pocket might get in the way during serious gaming sessions, but for everyone else, we highly recommend it. NOTEWORTHY SPECS • 260 x 230 x 25mm • Soft-gel wrist rest • Non-skid polyurethane base PROS
CONS
• Very comfortable • Classic look will suit most office environments • Polyurethane backing is very stable
• Not a mouse pad suitable for serious gamers
OVERALL RATING
RELATED
For an additional monthly fee, you can become a Jump Start member; this allows you to download additional games and enables Jump Start to send you a weekly e-mail detailing your child’s progress.
PRODUCTS
Using the included “Parent Centre”, you can customise holidays and birthdays that the game will celebrate. Imagine the surprise on your four-year-old’s face when the game says HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” on their special day.
JUMP START 3D VIRTUAL WORLD: MY FIRST ADVENTURE
Kids between 3 and 5 are given a virtual neighbourhood to explore in this friendly and engaging 3D adventure game.
Jump Start 3D Virtual World: The Legend of Grizzly McGuffin NEED TO KNOW • Large 3D environment to explore • Plenty of educational games • Teaches all manner of essential mental skills • For kids age 4 to 6 R269.95
THE Jump Start range of educational software titles has made the jump to 3D, and in so doing has somehow become even more awesome than it was previously. Offering players a huge 3D world to explore and learn in, the new series is packed full of educational and fun content that kids are going to absolutely love. The new 3D titles are also wider in scope than any previous Jump Start packages, covering a mind-boggling range of activities designed to help kids learn and develop many useful mental skills. As far as value-packed educational programs for very young children go, this series is without doubt right at the top of the list. In The Legend of Grizzly McGuffin for kids age 4 to 6, the educational experience takes place in a summer camp environment. Since this is an American package it’s very American, which is really about the only negative thing about it. If you can put that aside, however, the setting makes a lot of sense – summer camps are about making friends, learning new skills and having fun, and this is the focus of the game. Americans don’t have the monopoly on these things, so the activities are just as relevant to SA kids; after all, fun is fun. The aim of the game is to amass badges through activities, and to uncover the story of “Grizzly McGuffin”, legendary Camp Jump Start scout. McGuffin is the only Jump Starter to ever earn all the activity badges, and players get to follow in his footsteps, uncovering bits of his story as they progress through the game. Players walk through the 3D world (rather slowly, argh), uncovering the game’s nuances as they progress, giving a very real sense of adventure and exploration. Comprehension skills are built by way of sound, shape and word recognition mini games, while maths skills are honed by simple games that challenge players to identify numbers and patterns. There are 12 levels of each that get progressively more difficult; fortunately, the activities are quite varied and will easily keep kids occupied for hours.
Each of the educational mini-games offers gems as rewards that can be used to purchase in-game items. These items can be used to decorate the world, purchase pets and accessories at the ‘Zippy Mart’ and many other fun things, so players are constantly rewarded for the tasks they complete. The game takes the “encouragement, gentle guidance and reward” approach to teaching; since this is an excellent way to entice kids into learning, it gets top marks from us. Advice as to what to do next is also always close at hand, so players won’t feel lost at any point. There’s so much to explore and so many fun things to discover that they can’t possibly all fit into this review. Suffice to say that Jump Start 3D Virtual World packs in a humungous amount of value, offering kids many hours of exploration, skill-building and fun with a total of 360 games and missions to experience. Best of all, the reward system keeps kids motivated to complete all the various activities, meaning it will be a while before they get bored. For the amount of money you’re paying, you’re getting a serious amount of interesting, entertaining and above all educational content for your kids to explore and absorb at their leisure. From our perspective, that’s a win a ll around.
JUMP START 3D VIRTUAL WORLD: TROUBLE IN TOWN
Someone is causing trouble in Jump Start Town! Join the Jump Start gang and play cool skill-building games to uncover who it is! As long as you’re between 5 and 7, that is.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS • • • • • •
Windows XP/Vista/7 Pentium III 1GHz or faster 3D Video card with 32MB dedicated memory 256MB system RAM (512MB recommended), 1GB for Vista CDROM Drive 1.4GB Hard Drive Space PROS
CONS
• Huge world to explore • Engaging and skill-building activities • Motivational reward system • Excellent presentation • Fun, fun, fun!
• American actors and themes • Characters’ walking speed is sloooowwwww
OVERALL RATING
JUMP START 3D VIRTUAL WORLD: QUEST FOR THE COLOUR MEISTER
Older kids can enjoy the challenge of finding out who is behind the mystery unfolding in Camp JumpStart! More educational games, fun and adventure await!
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PRODUCT REVIEWS PERFECT COMPANIONS Dragon even accommodates the use of very South African words like “braai”, “boerewors”, “tekkies” etc. by inlcluding a vocabulary editor. Open the editor by saying ’edit vocabulary’ and create whatever new words you’d like, along with their audio counterpart.
Out the box, the programme is not going to immediately pick up everything you say with total accuracy, but with extensive training and use, it will become a powerful and highly accurate tool for seamless everyday use.
Logitech ClearChat Comfort Headset If you’re going to be dictating to your PC a lot, a comfortable, hi-fidelity headset is a must. This is a USB headset, so be sure to select USB audio from Dragon’s audio options.
Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard NEED TO KNOW • Accurate voice recognition software • Comes with a professional headset • Control your computer with your voice • Dictate documents R1 999.95
NUANCE Software has been in the voice recognition business for more than 15 years. In that time, the company has refined its flagship product, Dragon Naturally Speaking, into arguably the best voice recognition package around. This is no exaggeration, either – version 10, the package we had for review, simply astounded us with its accuracy and the number of ways in which it can be applied in the everyday operation of a PC. What Dragon allows you to do is control your PC with your voice. Everything from opening a browser window and searching a specific search engine for a specific search term to alt-tabbing between applications is possible, once you know the phrase required to make it happen. All that is required is a brief training session for the software to grow accustomed to the user’s accent, and voila, it’s ready to rock. Even better, there are various preset accent settings, further improving the chances that your particular pronunciations will be easily recognised. Unfortunately, there is no “South Africa” option; the closest available setting is English – Australia. For the best results, we highly recommend you spend some time with the “Accuracy Centre”, which trains the program mefurther towards recognising your specific speech patterns. A high-quality headset is included in the package, so there’s no need to go out and buy one. The programme is not limited to receiving audio input from microphones, either, as USB audio devices and even transcriptions from .MP3, .WAV or .WMA files generated by Dictaphones can be used as dialogue sources. Being able to directly import recorded dialogue makes transcription that much easier and a whole heap faster. In a test of 35000 people, Nuance found the average typing speed to be 35 words per minute; Dragon can capture dialogue at over 120 words per minute, the speed of a professional typist. Even though there is a very slight delay between you speaking and the words appearing on the screen, this is 62 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
perfectly acceptable and a lot quicker than in previous versions.The biggest improvements to version 10 have been made to the accuracy of the core recognition engine; Nuance obviously spent a lot of time getting it just right, as the claimed accuracy level of “up to 99%” is definitely achievable over time. This is due to the software learning from corrections the user makes to certain words as it is used more frequently. We strongly suggest you spend time initially on the training to get the programme used to your way of speaking before expecting a high degree of accuracy, as the ’out the box’ experience will probably disappoint. Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 represents excellent value, and thanks to the hard work of the folks at Nuance Software, this new version is the most accurate Dragon yet – even for us Sarth Effrikens. Its accuracy, ease of use and ability to let you take total control of your PC with your voice alone makes it an excellent buy for anyone looking to give their typing fingers a break. Extensive training, however, is the key to the programme’s success, and to skimp on that would be to undermine the software’s potential power and usefulness.
SoundBlaster Audigy Value If you’re concerned your built-in sound device is not clear enough, an add-on sound card from Creative Labs is your solution. The Audigy series is amazing both from a value and quality perspective.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS • • • • • • • •
Pentium 4 or AMD 1GHz processor or greater 2.4GHz Dual-Core processors recommended 512MB RAM (1GB for Vista, 2GB+ recommended) Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 2GB hard drive space DVD-ROM Drive Internet Explorer 6 or higher Web connection for activation
PROS
CONS
• More accurate than previous versions • Voice commands replace keystrokes • High-quality headset included • Very easy to use
• Works on Mac, but performance suffers • Intensive training required for high accuracy
OVERALL RATING
Microsoft Office 2007 Thanks to the combination of Microsoft’s Office 2007 suite and your newfound ability to control your PC and dictate documents with Dragon, being productive has never been so easy.
book reviews
WINDOWS VISTA QUICK STEPS
NEED TO KNOW
PHOTOSHOP SHOP CS4 FOR DUMMIES
• By Marty Matthews • 256 pages
NEED TO KNOW
ANYONE interested in taking a few quick lessons about Windows Vista and its everyday use will be happy to know that Marty Matthews has written just the book for them. In very accessible English that explains in detail the concepts surrounding Windows Vista, Matthews takes the reader through everything he or she needs to know to make full use of the operating system. He starts very basically with concepts like how to use the mouse, what a window is, what the task bar and Start buttons are, and works his way up to more difficult ideas that build on everything that came before. He creates a very solid foundation on which beginner users can build a better understanding of how Vista works and what it can do for them. Further on in the book he explains more complicated concepts like Vista’s new security, how to
UPGRADING AND FIXING A PC, 2ND EDITION
NEED TO KNOW • By Stuart Yarnold • 192 pages
THE idea of fixing or upgrading a PC can be rather daunting. There is so much to know and consider before even attempting such a thing that many people prefer instead 64 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
• By Peter Bauer • 416 pages
work with multimedia files and even networking, getting into quite some detail about how it all comes together. His style is very accessible and he makes very sure readers are not left feeling they are being spoken down to. This is an excellent and highly accessible book for those struggling to use Windows Vista effectively, recommended for beginners and intermediate users alike.
to refer the task to a professional. Stuart Yarnold’s book, Upgrading and Fixing a PC, aims to help anyone attempting the task by offering useful information and advice on how to go about doing it. At the start of the book, Yarnold goes into some detail about all the available options, even going so far as to evaluate the merits of buying parts from a retail store vs obtaining them through wholesale channels and even the Internet. He outlines the dangers of doing the upgrade yourself, too, and gives down-to-earth advice on how to avoid those dangers, as well as what to do should the worst happen.Yarnold covers everything a budding tinkerer needs to know about a PC’s components and how they all fit together. In plain, easy-to-read English he covers the different tasks computers can do and how to improve on each. Upgrading and Fixing a PC, 2nd Edition is a useful, accessible and sensible guide on the ins and outs of a home-baked PC upgrade for the beginner tinkerer.
PHOTOSHOP CS4 is the de facto standard of image editing software packages, and it’s a beast of a program with many nuances and features to master. Photoshop CS4 for Dummies by Peter Bauer aims to help hopeful designers understand the powerful package to the point where they can tackle any project with ease. Bauer opens with the basics, showing readers what he calls ‘the Chef’s tour of your Photoshop kitchen’ and then eases readers into some quick tips on how to make some easy adjustments to digital images. From there, Bauer gets progressively more technical, showing readers how to create digital art and work with Photoshop’s many filters. Throughout the book, he makes good use of tutorials that illustrate what each chapter is trying to convey; the only real issue is that the book does not come with a CD containing images for buyers to use in the tutorials. He devotes more than 40 pages to “Power Photoshop” that shows readers how best to streamline their CS4 workflow, and ends off with a “tips” section, covering subjects like “Ten Reasons to Own a Digital Camera” and “Pete’s Top Ten Photoshop Tips and Tricks”. Photoshop CS4 for Dummies is written authoritatively in concise, clear English, and the solid advice along with excellent tutorials make it a valuable purchase for anyone interested in getting to know CS4 better.
WINDOWS 7 STEP BY STEP
NEED TO KNOW • By Joan Preppernau and Joyce Cox • 544 Pages
GETTING to grips with a new operating system is a sometimes frustrating endeavour; old functions are not where they used to be or their location has changed altogether. New features are sometimes a bit obscure, and updates to the user interface can sometimes cause even veteran users momentary discomfort. Savvy authors Joan Preppernau and Joyce Cox have prepared a lengthy tome of step by step tips on how to make the most of Windows 7. Included with the book is a useful CD containing practise files that can be used in conjunction with the many easy-to-follow exercises. Windows 7 Step by Step aims to help new and veteran Windows users alike become familiar with Windows 7’s new look and feel. Lessons are presented in easy to read English, and a wide range of subjects are covered, from managing user accounts to the restructuring of the old “Quick Launch Bar”. Total newcomers are also catered for with an introduction to computers and Windows, while more experienced people can sink their teeth into more complicated subjects like how to synchronise data between computers and how to set up a Virtual Private Network. Preppernau and Cox have expertly crafted a book that will answer most of your queries about Windows 7, and kit you out with the knowledge necessary to use the operating system with confidence.
WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 65
game reviews //BY TIANA CLINE AND PETER DAWOUD
66 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
“You ddon’t’t have to be a pirate to love Monkey Island and you don’t have to be a metal-head to play Brutal hafer Legend.” Tim Schafer
BRUTAL LEGEND R699.95
NEED TO KNOW • A massive, heavy metal open-world • Devastate with your guitar! • Command savage armies in hand-tohand combat • Command blooddrenched action from above • Slay your friends and foes online • The ultimate heavy metal soundtrack ever assembled in a game
BRUTAL Legend is an action adventure game that takes place in a land inspired by cheesy heavy metal album covers. The game is written by legendary game designer Tim Schafer of Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle fame, and is funny, violent, and a respectful yet hilarious homage to heavy metal bands and fans everywhere. Players take on the role of Eddie Riggs, legendary roadie to the worst metal band of all time, who gets sucked into another dimension by his magical belt buckle when he accidentally gets some of his blood on it. Turns out, it was a magical talisman, destined to bring a saviour back to the metal-inspired dimension and it had been waiting for just the right owner to come along. And a saviour is most definitely needed. In this metal dimension, humankind has been enslaved by metal-hating demons, and is fighting for its freedom, but not very well. Upon Eddie’s arrival, his knowledge of music, his love of heavy metal and his supernatural abilities as a legendary roadie give him all kinds of combat abilities that allow him to fight the demonic overlords. He quickly discovers an old, discarded, yet magical (and huge) axe and a plain-looking electric guitar called Clementine. Ordinary objects under normal circumstances they become demon-slaying instruments of death in Eddie’s hands in this alternate dimension. Riffs played on Clementine become spell-like assaults against Eddie’s enemies, and the axe a weapon that can be wielded in ways that would make Conan jealous. Naturally, the soundtrack will burst your eardrums with heavy metal riffs, and the game itself features a very impressive song list by many big-name bands. In further homage to the metal genre, Brutal Legend is packed with a large number of in-jokes about bands, lyrics, and album covers that only major metal-heads will appreciate. It also features a cameo role by one of the most famous metal artists ever, but we won’t say who. If you’ve ever ridden the crazy train, though, he will be immediately recognisable. The metal cover inspiration for the game world means that every scene could actually double as a real-life metal CD cover, so expect to see a lot of skulls, hot rods, hot babes, molten lava and anything that looks ’bad ass’ – there are no rules except to keep things looking ‘cool’! All of this metal goodness doesn’t mean it’s for metal-heads only; for action-adventure fans, the game’s hack and slash gameplay will keep you occupied for hours, and fans of Jack Black’s comic performances will be delighted that he’s voicing Eddie. Considering his background and passions (he’s in a band called Tenacious D and, like Eddie, rocks it old-school), he is the perfect actor for the role, and his many one-liners are pure comedy gold. Brutal Legend will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 gaming systems. Given its content, it isn’t suitable for small children or people with religious sensibilities, but for anyone with even a passing interest in heavy metal and the subculture it has begotten, it’s a must-buy.
RETRO FL FLASHBACK SHBACK You may not know the nam ame Tim m Schafer e off-hand, d but this leg egendary American rican game designer is thee w writer riter and producer roducer for many games you’ u’ve probably played. yed. He is an icon in thee gaming industry – here are some of the he titles hee created: • 1987- Maniac Mansion • 1990- The Secret ret of o Monkey Island • 1991- Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge • 1993- Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle • 1995- Full TThrottle rott • 1998- Grim Fandango • 2005- Psychonau Psy honauts;
>>CONSIDER THIS<<
GUITAR HERO 5 With more than 80 of the hottest bands as well as the biggest classic acts (Kings of Leon, The Rolling Stones, The White Stripes, Santana, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan), GH 5 means you can also look forward to Party Play, where players can jump in or drop out of gameplay seamlessly.
WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 67
game reviews
FIFA 10
NEED TO KNOW
GET >>THIS<<
EA’s long-running football franchise has been a juggernaut of the gaming world for some time, but up until recently its lack of innovation has allowed the competition to get a grip on a market FIFA had originally dominated. FIFA09 was a return to form and FIFA10 promises to be another huge step in restoring FIFA as the king of the football sim. At a glance, many of you may assume nothing has changed since last year’s excellent offering, but you’d all be greatly mistaken. Sure the mandatory graphics upgrade is present, but the additions to the core gameplay have truly changed the experience, NBA 2K10 2K Sports’ next installment of its widely popular NBA series brings players even closer to the game. Everything from NBA players to mascots have been digitally recreated in what promises to be every basketball fan’s dream.
TEKKEN 6
NEED TO KNOW thereby making it far more fluid and much more dynamic. Goalkeepers now make reflex saves off rebounds and the off-the-ball physical play has resulted in a far more “real” football experience. Add the 360° dribbling and custom set-piece designing, the new training mode, and the FIFA experience has changed quite a bit. Combined with the great new online features that include adding your own face to your custom footballer and more interactive league options, this year’s edition of FIFA is by far the most complete football simulator available. If you love the sport, you’ll love FIFA10. R699.95 (Xbox 360)
COMING >>SOON<<
• New levels of control to experience the game like never before • The first-ever true 360° dribbling system • More intelligent players • A fully featured practice mode • Advanced animation warping technology
PES2010 The challenger is back! Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 promises fans another breathtaking football sim that not only includes more teams and players, but a greater sense of the football experience.
WHEN Fallout 3 was released last year, a lot of us were left scratching our heads trying to figure out what type of game it was. Sure it looked like a shooter, and for the most part it played like a shooter, but it had way too much role-playing depth to be really called a shooter. So we all called it a first person role-playing game and went to bed. Gearbox Studios on the other hand feel that the issue hasn’t really been resolved so it went about making Borderlands, a genuine mix of World of Warcraft and Mad Max, all wrapped up into an action-packed shooter. To call this game adventurous would be undermining its ambitions. It manages to cram all the loot that MMO and traditional RPG players love to collect with all the epic action FPS fans have grown to expect into one well-polished game. Add the class-based gameplay and finely tweaked skill trees and Borderlands delivers a truly exciting single and multi-player experience. The game has you playing as one of four vault hunters tasked with BORDERLANDS wondering the badlands of Pandora searching for alien technology. Yes, it sounds rather familiar, but the game does NEED TO KNOW a great job of incorporating your follow hunters into the • Choose from hundreds of tale and the addition of co-op play really makes this a tale thousands of weapons worth experiencing with friends. Borderlands may not be as • A revolutionary new, role-playing as Fallout 3, but it’s as exciting and enjoyable in content generation system every other way. If you are looking for a great, action packed • Exciting and intuitive co-operative role-playing shooter, you most certainly can’t go wrong multiplayer with Borderlands. R699.95 (Xbox 360) • FPS Action Meets RPG • Intense vehicle-to-vehicle combat
68 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
CONSIDER >>THIS<<
Fallout 3 Game of the Year One of the best games from ‘08, Fallout 3 GOTY offers players the original epic as well as the five downloadable content packs made available for Xbox and PC gamers – don’t miss another chance to experience Bethesda’s masterpiece.
• High-definition graphics and 3D animation technology • An online VS mode • 40 unique fighters representing the world’s top martial arts styles • 6 brand new characters with unique fighting styles and combo systems
THE Tekken fighting franchise has been around for a very long time. So long, in fact, we can’t remember a world without Tekken in our arcades. That said, many fans have been holding their breath for the franchise’s debut on the next-generation consoles. And the good news for all those fans is that Tekken 6 is unmistakably still Tekken. Everything that we all held dear about the previous games – the fun, the animations, the characters and the extreme combos – have all returned, but this time in a rather pretty shell. The first thing most players will notice is the amazing visuals. A lot of care and effort has been put into remaking all our beloved characters into glorious HD and all the effort pays off. The moment you see King or Law on screen, your jaw will drop. The explosive nature of the gameplay returns with ridiculous combos making a welcome return. Another noteworthy point is the ridiculousness of the roster. Most fighting games make do with a handful of fighters, but as we all know, more is something Tekken has been known for and this time round no less than 40 characters can be selected from in both arcade and versus modes. In the end the only thing that can be said about Tekken 6 is that it’s simply Tekken, and anyone who’s played the game before knows that a very good thing. R699.95 (PS3)
COMING >>SOON<<
CONSIDER >>THIS<<
Dragonball Racing Blast Offering a completely destructible environment, a huge roster of 70 characters and trademark Dragonball action. Any fan of the animated series would do well to pick up this fighter.
Bakugan Based on the longrunning Cartoon Network anime, in Bakugan you play Dan as you and your friends use their Bakugan brawlers to save the planet Vestroia and Earth from destruction.
COMING >>SOON<< Assassin’s Creed 2 Like the first title, Assassin’s Creed 2 puts you in the shoes of masterful assassin Ezio tasked with taking out important targets all over Renaissance-era Italy.
game reviews
CITIES XL HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT 2
NEED TO KNOW • Develop cities on realistic 3D maps • Different environments and climates • Create social services, leisure activities, special events and other job opportunities • Construct interconnected cities on virtual planets right out the box. Best of all, even these can be expanded further down the line. What makes Cities XL so special, though, is the game’s complete integration with the game developer’s website. Everything can be tracked online, from your city stats to build orders that may not have been completed since the last time you jumped into the game client - add this to a full set of community tools that allow you to make friends and connect with people through the game itself or the game’s website. As city-building strategy games go, Cities XL is by far the most ambitious example to-date. Although its overall success is dependent of how the game’s community comes together, it offers an excellent experience to any fan of the genre. R349.95 (PC)
>>COMING SOON<<
>>CONSIDER THIS<<
The Sims 3 World Adventures
The first expansion pack for the Sims 3 promises to be quite a wordly experience allowing you to take your sims to different locations including China, Egypt and France!
Modern Warfare 2 Prepare for the ultimate invasion! The radical Russian Ultranationalist organisation has returned to power. Travel to Russia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Rio de Janeiro and experience new COD features like the ability to dual wield handguns.
70 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
SimAnimals Africa
The sequel to Sim Animals, this title brings the spirit of Africa to your Wii and DS.
Tony Hawk: RIDE Featuring an innovative motion sensing skateboard controller, Tony Hawk: RIDE redefines the sports genre by offering a fully dynamic hands-free gaming experience – experience what it’s really like to skate.
THE first Hasbro Family Night collection for the Nintendo Wii won many awards (including a Parents’ Choice Silver Honour Award) for its ingenious family fun. The second Family Night game from Electronic Arts promises even more fun in the form of classic games the whole family can enjoy. New games added to the mix include Jenga, Connect 4x4, Bop-it and Operation. Over and above the traditional way you can play, the games have also been mixed up. Jenga, for example, can also be played with colourcoded blocks that make multiplayer a bit more co-ordinated. All the games use the Wii remote in interesting ways – Operation will have you testing your stress levels as
>>GET THIS<<
CITY-BUILDING strategy games have always been a rather challenging affair. Nothing can compare to juggling the tasks of city expansion with the management of current residents, while avoiding killing everyone with your poorly placed nuclear power station. These types of games have always been a rather godly experience, with most titles in the genre placing you in the position of mayor or overseer of the known universe. Cities XL challenges the norms by not only including a massive scale to your city building goals, but also a truly stunning 3D landscape not seen in this genre before. Although Cities XL offers the standard “paintbrush” approach used by previous titles in this genre, it includes more than 500 different buildings and 25 landscape maps
NEED TO KNOW • New games such as Operation, Jenga, Bop-It and • • Pictureka • 1-4 players • Use your Mii’s to compete with family and friends in an all-new “Game Show” mode • Customise Mr Potato Head with unlockable themes • Obtain new trophies to add to your collection
LEGO Rock Band A unique family-friendly music experience to “Build a Band and Rock the Universe.” Create your own unique rock star style and customise your own avatars, band members, roadies and managers.
well as your motor skills as you become a successful virtual surgeon. It works by locating the item you need to extract from a patient, such as a frog in his throat, then travelling into the body, grasping the object and twisting it out. One mistake and you’ll hear that devastating buzz sound… just like the original! Another new mode in the follow-up is the engrossing Family Game Show mode. Hosted by Mr Potato Head, playing the game unlocks fun, customisable items. All in all, this title is perfect to get the whole family together for some Wii fun. R549.95 (Wii)
Scrabble 2009
Enjoy the traditional gameplay and play fun mini-games such as Scrabble Hold’Em. Play against friends, family and online opponents or enter a single-player campaign to improve your lingo.
Need for Speed: Nitro Boasting support for all Wii and DS peripherals, Need for Speed NITRO lets players decide exactly how to dominate the competition. With a nearly limitless visual customisation system, design a unique art style to attach to their ride.
Buy Now. Get an upgrade. Buy a qualifying suite of Windows Vista® (Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate) starting 26 June 2009 and get an upgrade to Windows 7 when available*. Available only through Incredible Connection stores countrywide. For more details, ask a store sales assistant.
2IIHU DSSOLHV WR UHWDLO SDFNDJHG VRIWZDUH RQO\ )XOÀOPHQW IHHV PD\ DSSO\ 2IIHU DYDLODEOH IURP -XQH XQWLO WKH RIÀFLDO ODXQFK RI :LQGRZV
tech tannie
A technology tip cocktail made with a dash of honey, a spoonful of lemon and a whole lotta Klippies.. If you have questions, gripes or just seek some solace, e-mail Tamsin, our friendly tech tannie at techtannie@ connect.co.za Information like Achar – hot, spicy and moerse painful on the way out.
72 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
issue of the month: Q:
I intend to install Kaspersky antivirus on my laptop (Windows XP) after uninstalling AVG version 8. According to your review on page 54 of the May 2009 issue I may strike some hassles that can be fixed with a “quick registry edit”. Could you kindly tell me what this edit entails, in case I have to use it for a successful installation? Flummoxed Francois
A:
What a delightful dish of a question! You know how to make a girl smile, don’t you Francois? Well it is true, Kaspersky will not install correctly if you have even the faintest trace of any AVG products on your system and will repeatedly toss an error message at you until you cry. Before you invest in Gary Player tissues, there are a couple of options available. You can edit that registry or you can try and remove the AVG entries with AVG Cleaner. Now before you proceed, allow me to insert some red tape here. You are doing this at your own risk so please don’t send angry letters about total PC failure if you happen to delete the wrong
ones. Registry editing is a tricky business and can affect your computer’s performance if not done correctly. If you are uncomfortable about doing this yourself, ask a geeky mate or invest in a registry cleaner from your local Incredible Connection. If you’ve decided to go ahead and do the deletion all by your lonesome then open the registry by going to Start>>Run>>Regedit. Delete by right-clicking on each of the entries I have listed below (these are for a 32-bit machine, not 64-bit): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ AVG7Uninstall HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ AVG6INSTALL HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ AVG8Uninstall HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AVG\ Avg8 Restart your machine and install Kaspersky while enjoying a nice cup of coffee and a koeksister.
Q:
I’m about to upgrade my Windows XP computer to Windows 7 and it’s asking me for a custom install. What does this mean? Concerned in Cape Town
A:
If your current system is Windows XP or earlier and specific versions of Windows Vista (such as Windows Vista Business edition) then Windows 7 demands that it be custom installed onto your PC. A custom install essentially means that the new operating system will completely overwrite everything, leaving you with a sparkly, but completely blank, system. You can work around the thorny issue of losing all your lovely work, and that novel you’ve been writing for the past 10 years, by doing one simple thing – backing up your data. Frankly, you should do this even when you’re not installing a new operating system. If you’re reading this and thinking, “Oooh well, I have Vista so I can just do an in-place upgrade (i.e. all your files and settings etc. are kept intact and reinstalled automatically)”, stop right now. Back. Up. Your. Stuff. Things can go wrong and the last thing you want is for your lovely shiny new operating system to be the killer of all your lovely shiny work. There are several ways you can backup your PC and choosing
the right h one depends on how much d data you have, what your budgett is and how often you plan to do this h (at least once a month!). I’m going n to talk you through only one method as there isn’t enough h space here to do all the different n varieties. You’re going to need an n external hard drive with FireWiree (anything else will take way too o long) and lots of lovely space, backup software, and lots of b coffee/gin. Make sure you have all g your software application discs like f Photoshop or games – if you don’t h have the original discs you won’t be able to reinstall them. Connect your external hard drive to your system and copy everything on your computer across. Everything. This means programmes, saved e games, photos, files and so forth. You can’t n get around this. Even if you usee all sorts of fancy software you’ll have a to go through your system with a fine-tooth comb to make sure u you’ve got everything. Once it’s ’ gone, it’s gone for good. So ya, this h is going to take a moerse long time, but it’s worth it. When you get into the habit of doing it monthly you won’t have that much stuff to transfer each time so it does get quicker. Then format your hard drive, not the external one, install Windows 7, re-install all of your software and transfer your files back across. There are alternatives like burning to DVD/CD, using Windows Easy Transfer (www.microsoft. com/windows/windows-vista/get/ easy-transfer.aspx) and specialised software.
Q:
I’m going on holiday and I’m taking my netbook, a digital camera and some other bits and pieces I just can’t live without. Do you have any advice on how to travel with technology? Backpacker in Bloemfontein
A:
Are you sure you’re going on holiday and not just working from another place on the planet? Bokkie, I reckon you need to slow down and ease off for a while; even I leave the netbook behind when planning some snoozy sun action. But, if you can’t be persuaded to park off then you should consider packing some essentials to make your life that little bit easier. First check all your peripherals and make a note of their battery requirements. Get at least one to two extra packs for each. You’ll love that gorgeous sunset, but you’ll hate your camera shutting down as you take the perfect shot. If your gadgets run on chargeable batteries – like a DSLR camera or your netbook – then invest in an international plug adaptor kit – just make sure it includes the adaptor pins for your destination. Also pack a spare flash drive, SD card and SD card reader. They aren’t heavy and don’t take up much packing space and you’ll be grateful for the extra storage after your 1000th hi-res photograph. You may also want to consider packing some earbuds. Yeah. You are probably not travelling alone (hence your desire to take equipment guaranteed to drown out the incessant whining of kids or nagging of other half. My holidays have improved enormously ever since the invention of the iPod), so you may have to share things like earphones. You don’t, however, want to share the kak from each other’s ears, no matter how much you say you love each other. Just pack earbuds. They’re also great for removing nail polish, distracting toddlers and removing determined dust from the corners of your netbook screen. Your final list of bits that will be extremely-helpful-butyou-won’t-understand-why-until–you-need-them is: rubber bands, sealable sandwich bags, pen, notebook, spare blank DVD/CD and a children’s raincoat (small, perfect for saving equipment in sudden attack of rain).
WWW.CONNECT.CO.ZA | 73
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disconnect //BY ADAM OXFORD
DON’T
LOSE THE DISCS S
o Windows 7 is here, then. More than that, it’s so essential that anyone who’s bought a new PC in the past few months will have found a voucher in the box for a free upgrade from Windows Vista. Oh, happy day. Forgive me if I don’t sound too enthusiastic. You see, while Windows 7 is as good as they say it is, and by far the smoothest, most sophisticated operating system from Microsoft yet, I’ve come to regard any major change in the PC ‘experience’ with some trepidation. It’s not because it’s always a chore getting old peripherals, like modems, printers or web cameras, to work with new PCs or operating systems. Anything that worked with Vista should work just as well with Windows 7. My problem is lost discs. Like most of my friends, somewhere in my software arsenal is one essential piece of software that is now obsolete. The publisher has been forgotten, and the name of the original developer has long since been consigned to history. It came in a cardboard box of floppy disks, and it uses an archaic file format completely incompatible with anything now sold. For me, it’s an
accounting programme I use to bill magazines, like this one, for my work. For a kung-fu fighting friend, it’s the desktop publishing package that he used to design grading certificates for his students. One alarm salesman I know has a database of every customer he’s ever sold a bell to, stored using a programme and file type so obscure that he may be the only person in the world to have ever used it. It goes right to the top too’ I’ve spoken to network engineers bemoaning the fact that they can’t upgrade the core networks of international banking organisations, because some of the applications are more than 20 years old and are neither compatible nor can they be replaced. Now, the banks’ problems are numerous and this is the least of them. For the rest of us, the answer should be simple. Just install the old software on your new or upgraded PC. Except we’ve lost the discs. Or, just as bad, we have the discs, but the activation code went missing in the second to last house move. There’s no tech support line to call or mail address to write to, because the publisher doesn’t exist any more, and there aren’t any second-hand copies on eBay either. But with no way to get the information out of your key programme to use in another, newer alternative, what is there to do? You could, of course, never upgrade your PC again. Continue using your Windows 98 machine until 2098, if you want. Except at some stage that isn’t going to be an option, because no PC is designed to last that long. This is no trivial matter. I’ve been known to set up old PCs as virtual machines to run on a new computer in order to get around the problem of having to re-install software, and if you know what that means then you’re too geeky by half. Because I do know what that means, I’m the one who gets called whenever a friend buys a new PC and can’t play an old video file or reuse that birthday card design from last year he really liked. And I can’t help them. More often than not there is no simple way around the issue. You’re going to have to buy a completely new accounting programme, design package or database and start again from scratch. Either hope no-one ever needs your archives, or re-enter everything by hand. And that’s frustrating, thankless and painful work. Which is why, as much as I like Windows 7 and encourage you to upgrade, I shan’t be recommending my friends to do the same.
76 | CONNECT | OCTOBER 2009
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ON WEEKEND EVERYDAY
(PER MINUTE BILLING)
+120 OFF-PEAK MINUTES PM +FREE UNLIMITED EMAIL +FREE INTERNET BROWSING
+FREE ACCESS TO FACEBOOK, TWITTER & MANY MORE EXCITING FEATURES.
ALL THIS FREE ON THE BLACKBERRY INTERNET SERVICE WHICH IS INCLUDED IN YOUR TOTAL COST.
WAS
R194
R202
NOW
R149
REDUCED SUBSCRIPTION FEE PMX24
ONCE-OFF SIM AND CONNECTION
Remember to bring your ID book and proof of residence.
*TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY. PLEASE VISIT WWW.VODACOM.CO.ZA FOR FULL T&C E&OE. VALID UNTIL 6 OCT. 09 OR WHILE STOCKS LAST.
INCR119716 AD indd 1
9/10/09 11:45:28 AM
IL5565
Samsung Star The webâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just become your playground.
Samsung Star The Samsung Star touch screen phone lets you personalise your online interface with your favourite widgets. So now you can access anything you want, when you want. Add to that a 3.2 MegaPixel camera with Smile Shot and you have a phone that can be anything you want it to be.
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NOW AVAILABLE AT
NOW AVAILABLE AT