2002 12 The Computer Paper - Alberta Edition by The Computer Paper

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IN THIS ISSUE 6 From the Editor

50 Breaking the iCandy barrier

8 Letters

50 Apple News: Beta delivers promised syn« functionality

10 What's New

36 My egaysummerII: Learningto sellthe eBayway 55 Donation publishing Web sites surviring onthe kindnessof strongers

8 • '

12 Making the digital gift list 12 An iPodforthe unMacs— and we celebrate

14 Holiday sounds: digital audio gifts

56 Career Profile: Data search and rescue

16 Ring in the new year:cellphones and accessories

56 Book review: Hardware guide a must-read for PC DIYers

18 A present for your PDA 28 Keychain drives: the perfect stocking stuffer

January 2003

38 Your multimedia sidekick Handheldscome oboewith oud/o, graphics capabilities

CoverStory:Secure Computing Lab Test: Storage and Backup

43 Forgethome videos,DVD's the thing

Ad booking deadline................... Tuesday,Noo. 10, 2002

49 A laser printer workhorse for the small offfce

Distribution begins.................. Wednesday. Det. 4, 2002

• 4

February 2003 Cover Story: 15th Anniversary Lab Testl Digital Cameras, Accessories Ad bookingdeadline ...................Nonday, Dez. 30, 2002 Distribution begins................. Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2003

44 Assessing productivity Is your bus/nessmaking the most of its honlwore,software

44 IT power for Mr. Forklift

March 2003 Cover Story: The New Digital Home Lab Test: Colour printers Ad bookin g deadline...............Wednesday.Jan.20, 2003 Distribution begins................. Wednesday. Feb. 12, 2003

•

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View S o n ic' Seethe digerenee.'

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Still searching for that perfect handheld opened one of my junk drawers the other day, and pulled out L.what'sgenerally recognized as the first PC-compatible handheld com-

sense—the ultimate convenience package. By combining three devices into one, it promised to relieve me of having to carry a phone, a Palm, and a BlackBerry. In fact, it's done that, but some aspects of it have not been as satisiying as I thought they would be. First, the audio quality of the phone isn't great (although I wouldn't go as far as one tech

puter: the Atari Portfolio. It was introduced in 1989, but bears more than a

passing resemblance to more modern devices like t h e W i ndows CE damshells. I flashed it around the

journalist who declared to me that it was the worst phone

he'd ever used). In terms of messaging, the SMS is much more limited than the text messaging of the BlackBerry, while full email requires further setup — and cost. Accessing content from the Web, like CBC's news site, seems marginagy faster on the Treo, but the service also seems more unreliable. And battery life is days, like a phone, not weeks, like a Palm. It's not all bad, though. The Palm organizer portion is pure Palm —so no complaints there. And the integration of the phone and address book means you can speed dial any

office and i t w a sn't i m mediately

apparent to people that they were looking at a 13-year-old computer — at least not until they opened up the unit to see a tiny screen (gx40 characters) and somewhat dated keyboard. The unit still works (it's powered by three AA batteries)

users might arguethat it's all they need —never mind the Fancy colour screens, Web browsing, and MP3 playback. In the past, this attitude may have been one of the reasons sales of Palm devices trounced Windows CE (and

booting to a DOS prompt. It has a set of productivity applications in ROM, including a 127x255-cell spreadsheet that saves files in Lotus 1-2-3 .wks Format, calendar, address book, and text editor. I read somewhere on the Net

that the calendar will record dates up to 2049, while another site gives instructions on how to turn the Portfolio into a Linux terminaL It could still be used today, in the same way that an original IBM PC could —functional but without a lot of frills. Comparing the Portfolio to my current handheld, a Handspring Tron, the latter is lighter, smaller, and has more memory. It's also a phone, and —if you subscribe to a digital data service —a wireless Web and email appliance. Though insome respects there is no comparison, the Portfolio designers deserve credit for getting a lot of the important things right: applications in ROM that were compatible with desktop PC file formats, a utility to transferfi lesbetween the handheld and a desktop PC,expandability (the unit has a flash memory card slot), and modularity (separate parallel and serial port modules connect to the unit via an edge connector). These are still the mini-

more recently Pocket PC) devices—even though Windows handhelds had better colour displays, more power, and multimedia capabilities. Today, though, it's a different worldand handhelds arebeing marketed to everyone,not just business users and geeks. And if the handheld is to succeed as a consumer electronics device, it needs the pizzazz that colour screens, MP3, and other multimedia capabilities provide —in addition to the core handheld computing functions. M icrosof twasperhaps ahead of the market by packing

contact. Moreover, the basic concept of the Treo — phone,

organizer, and Web tablet in one —is the way future handhelds need to be. But, when I see that I might also have an MP3 player and a gorgeous colour screen, and maybe a video cern, the Treo becomes another step —albeit a big one — along the path, but not the ultimate destination.

this stuff into the Pocket PC

OS acouple ofyearsago.But recent Palm devices, notably

Sony's high-end CI!O.put that

platform onanequalfooting, and Palm OS 5 should have native support for rich multimedia and wireless Internet. When I first heard about

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Enjoy the issue! David Tanaka, Editor

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Comparibility problemsright on

home.This has become now so precious I have losttrack of my backups ofbackups! I am now terrified that future develop-

Having picked up a copy of the September issue of TheComputer Paper in passingat the end of my August holiday in Toronto, a nd read it with interest on the plane home to Manchester, I resolved to congratulate you on one particular article: "Is true compatibility achievable?" Written with style and panache by Or. Narvin Silbert, the article related to the kind of everyday problem which has even simple users such as myselfand my wife tearing our hair out with frustrabon. She screams in agony when finding that

ments may render all my labours unreadable. Please pass on my sympathies to Or. Silbert, who obviously relies even more than we do on software developers to maintain the usability of their products. Tony Burton

Re Nanrin Silbert's article dealing with the problemsfaced by those wearing trifocal lenses when viewing computer monitors (See"I «an see! I can see!" in the Nov issue): I have achieved similar results by using auxiliary add-on lenses. Ny first pair is similar to flip-up sun glassesand attach esto my regularglass-

es with hinged squeeze-open clips.

sheetto be printed out at school cannot even be opened when she gets there, hav-

They are constructed of a fairly thick acrylic-type material, are sturdy and well

ing spent hours in preparation: vice-versa

madeand cost approximately $10. They

ifshe wants to continue at home, work done on a PC in the workplace.

cover the top (distance) portion of my lenses and most of the centre lens.The name on the velcr o-fastened case is Accessibles.

Asformyself,Ihave putin mega-hours recording my family tree on a database at

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too late to be included in the November issue, but is running in the December issue (ond will olso be ovoiiobie ot TCP's online archive on ConodoComputes.corn).

nose bndge. This unit provides magniTication for all three portions of my trifocals. The cost was 550.Both of the above magnifiers came in a choice of various diopter strengths. Bob Massena

MoreontheCanadian reoncb beyboani Spedal thanks for promoting Canadian French keyboard in your November issue. This will help French Canadians outside

Quebec,where this type of keyboard is very hard to find. Jean Beaumier

More ontbecompnler gbtssesproblem

work she has saved on Roppy for a work-

The other pair is branded Rouglass. It is a wafer thin unit, which drops in behind my regular lenses and is gravity-suspended byan inverted L-shaped bracketon the

gsaysummer readerimpatient How could you leave your readers hanging

Cortocbon

by not including Part II of Jeff Evans' interesting article on his experiences with eBaythat appeared in the October issue? Theinstalment ended ata crucialmoment in Mr.Evans'experi ence,with the promise that"Next Month: itgets worse,and then better". I waited impatiently for the November issue,got itand was so disappointed the conclusion was not there. When will it be

Last month we reviewed t he Samsung 151P, which was designed by F.A. Porsche, but illustrated it with a photo o f t he 151MP.The latter is a nice-looking monitor but the Porsche-designed unit is defimtety nicer. Our apologies for the confusion. CJ

published? LIUian M. Marsden TCP replies:Weapologize, Port Tl come in

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wwwcanadacomputescom TWECOMPUTERPAPER CALGARYEDmON DECEMBER 2002 9

< NEW 5 N O T A B L E » he U.S. Army, which has recently garnered attenbon forits use of a computer game i n r ecruitment effor ts, continues to show its high-tech

•

stripes.The Army Research Laboratories (ARL) has signed a two-year cooperative agreement with Universal INsplay Corp. (www.universaldisplay.corn) to develop and produce Rexible organic light-emitting

device (OLEO) displays and communicationcomponents to be used in next generation mobile communicafion devices.

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hosedetermined not to spend even

NX60 have 200 Mffz processors, and can record voice memos, play MP3 files and

one minute of life bored or unoccupiedmay want to take a look the latest additions to Sony's(wwwsonpcom) Ciii

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videogames,and connectto the Internet with an optional wireless lAN card —all of which is in addition to the regular set of informationmanagement functions. The NX70V goes a step further,incorporating a built-in camera with 2X digital zoom thatcan capture VGA (640x480 pixels) size still images and «an MPEG-4 video clips. Both devices feature a 320x480-pixel colour screen and a slot for MemoryStick media. They weigh in at227 g (8 oz.) and measure 14x9.5x2.4 cm (5.5x3.75x0.94 in.). Boredom does have the price advantage.though: the NX70V and the NX60 come in at US$600 and US$500, respectively .Those who want the Wi-Ficard for Internet connectivity will need another US$150.

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lineof handheld computers.The Palm OS 5-powered Clie PEG-NXTDV and PEG-

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ties,according to the company, which plansto make thedevice availableto both military and commerdal users. The agreement represents a US$1.2 million commitment by the ARL

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om the you-mean-they-hadn' talready-done-that category: Waterloo, Dnt.-based Research in Motion (RIM, at wwwrim.corn) has finally

(which differ only in the frequencies they use)operate on GSM/GPRS networks and now offeran integrated speaker and miaophone as wellas an induded headset, allowing users to make and receive voice calls.

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service (SMS), Web browsing, and of course, the mobile email functionality thatmade early Blackgeny users a magnet for gadget-gawkers everywhere. rechargeable, removable lithium battery.

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The 6710 and 6720 both operate on a

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In addition to personal organization software .the devices supportvoice service features such as call waiting and caU

The Blackgeny 6710 is available in Canada from Rogers ATGT Wireless (wwwrogerscom) for $749 or $849 (linal price depends on service contract).

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Making the digital gift list By IaffEvansand David Tanakn t TheCompurer Paper, the annual Holiday Gift Guide has been a tradition for many years. It's the opportunity for our writers to sum up the past 12 months of new product releases, reviews, and hands-on testing, by picking the best of tbe year's digital offerings to recommend as gift suggestions for our readers. This year has seen a lot of development in digital products and services.

Ongneandconnected Many Canadians now have high-speed Internet service. The adoption rate of high speed internet in this country is one of the highest in the world and those of us who have bought into it understand the usuagy efi'ortlessenjoyment of streaming media. fast downloading of software applications, Internet voice and video phone calls, high-resolution photo sharing, and many other formerly "power-user" applications.

Recently, some C anadian c able providers have started offering special high-speed service sign-up discounts, or bargain priced bundles of cable TV plus high-speed Internet service to tempt more of us to sign on to broadband Internet access. The phone companies are also trying to make high-speed service more attractive. We were recently visiting friends in a small community in Southern Ontario, who showed us a !lyer from Beg Canada offering a "DSL lite" service —twice the speed of dial-up service for just a few dollars a month more, and with the benefit inherent in DSL of being able to use tbe phone and be on the Internet at the same time.

Ifyou have high-speed Internetaccess and more than one computer, you are probably interested in connecting them together. For the past couple of years, TCP has been reporting on 802.1!b and more recently 802.11a wireless networking. Wireless networking is attractive to many householders because it doesn' t

Condnued onpage 22

An iPodfor unwacs— and we celebrate By Sean Carrttthatv

henApple released the 5 GB iPod forthe Mac, you could hear oohs and aahs ag over the industry,

evenfrom Windows users. The iPod was not only the smallest hard drive-based MP3 audio player, it was the best looking

and mostelegantin terms of operation.

Appleapparently gotthe message that non-Macusem wanted to Bet their mitts on an iPod, because it introduced models that were compatible with Windows PCs when it revised the product lineup in July. The newmodels are available in 10 GBand 20 GB capacities. From the outside, the new iPod looks almost identical to previous editions except for the mini remote control unit thatplugs in through the headphone jack, a soli d state touch pad that replaces the scroll wheeL By eliminating the mechani-

momentswhen you just need to killsome time— you can even play the game while you' re listening t o y our MP3 files. Included with the player is a carrying case with belt clip. The iPod transfers data via a FireWire connection. The FireWire port also powers the unit and rechargas its internal battery. Though it functions as a mobile plug-andplay hard drive, allowing you to drag and drop your files from your Windows desktop, you need to use the Musicmatch

Jukebox client to get your audio files into the ri ght place on the iPod; it's a smallUy in the ointment, because it's a bit more diffi cult to use than the iTunes software thatcomes with the Mac version— on the other hand, it's more intuitive than previous versions of the Musicmatch software, so it's not too big a probiem. The bottom line is that the new iPod for Windows bringsthe smallest,and one ofthe nicest, MP3 players to the Windows universe... finagy!

cal component of a physical dial, probability of failure through extended use is reduced, though it also means scroging is

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now a bit touchier (especiagy if your fingeishave issues with touch pads,as mine

do).

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As before, the iPod also stores your calendarand contact list,so you don't need a PDA to look up addresses, phone num-

bers ,and appointments,The new iPodalso features a Breakout-like game for those

11 DEcEMBER 2002 THE coMPUTERPAPER CALG ARYEDITION wwwcawadacompulea.earn

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From:AppleCanada,www.apple.ca Esfimatedprice: 9629(10CB), 5799(20 GB)

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It' s easy to see why. Flat, space saving screens, brighter, high contrast images, low heat output and energy saving technology add up to increased sales and margins,Find out more at www.lg.ca

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Holiday sounds: digital audio gifts I

From:Creative, www.nomadworid.corn Estimatedprice:$650 Dukebcnonly)

Creative's Nomad line has included great MP3 players, and the Jukebox 3 is no exception. It has a 20 GB hard drive, but is physically smaller than previous jukebox versions. It connects to your PC via a speedy FireWire connection and a much easier user interface. While previous versions had an infrared sensor, the Jukebox 3 is the first to really follow through with the promised IR port. W hat makes theJukebox 3 even nicer, though, is the range of accessories available for it. The new Home Kit (US$60) adds several functions: battery recharging. syncing with your PC via USB or FireWire, and allowing your Jukebox to use your existing PC speakers. It also comes with an infrared remote control, allowing you to access the Jukebox 3 from across the room. Though you' ve always been able to hook Jukeboxes up to a stereo through audio out jacks, these extra features make the Jukebox 3 a nicer

addition to your home audio setup. The Car Kit (US$40) has two very simple components: a power cable that plugs into a car cigarette lighter, so you don't have to worry about running down the battery; and a cassette deck adapter that plugs into the audio out jack on your Jukebox (it can be used with any audio device with an I/8-inch audio jack). The power adapter can be purchased separately for US$30 if you don' t need the cassette component. With the Jukebox 3 Rechargeable Battery (US$50) you can finally take advantageofthe Jukebox 3'ssecond battery slot. It boosts the device's total run time to 22 hours. A great option if you' re planning to be away from your power cord for extended periods. A 40 GB version of the Jukebox 3 is available only on the Nomad World Web site, for US$500. If you' re a serious music junkie, the extra cost will be well worth it!

player that doubles as USB key; simply plug the MuVo directly into the USB port and you can transfer your MP3 fijes or otherdata.When you're ready to listen to music,you plug the MuVo into the external battery unit and away you go. Because the unit is so compact, it doesn't have an LCD window to display your track data, but with the limited capacity (64 MB or 128 MB) you' ll have a good idea of what's on your player anyhow.Because you don'thave to navigate on-screen menus, the button selection is fairly simple: track forward, track back, stop, and volume up and down.

elsewhere (the p)ayer also functions asa portable bard drive, after aB). That aside, it' s a reasonably good package for the beginner: it has everything you need to make your music collection mobile, and it also comes with a car adapter kit (cigarette lighter power and cassette player adapters) so you can use it while you're oii the road without running down the internal rechargeable battery.

From:MediafourCorp., www,medisiourcom Estimatedprice:UISM (download), U$$40(boi)

From:ThomsonMultimedia Inc.,www.rca.corn Eshmstedprice:$500

a-:.

From:Creative,www.nomadworid.corn Estimatedprices:US$130(64 Mg), US$170(128

MB)

Two of the hottest product categories todayare MP3 players and USB storage "keys," and true to its name, Creative has combined the two. The MuVo is an MP3

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Hard drive-based MP3 players are the big new thing, so it makes sense that Lyra would join the party. This RCA M P3 player has a few drawbacks, like a USB I.i connection to the PC (slower than the FireWire connection found on the Creative and Apple players) but once you' ve loaded your files onto your player,thetransferrate islessofa factor. The Lyra comes with Musicmatch software for uploading your files, though it should be noted that it uploads them in a secured format, which will prevent you ('r om playing them on another computer, if you try to download the fi)es

Mediafour first got noticed when it introduced Ma«Drive, a product that made it possible to use Mac-formatted hard drives on a Windows computer. It has used that same technology in XPlay, which allows you to use a Mac-compatible iPod with a Windows PC. When you install XPIay, you can simply drag-anddrop audio files into your iPod folder, and the software will make sure it goesto the proper place on your player,even if you drag whole folders over to the iPod. Though Apple has now intmduced a Windows-compatible version of the

Continuedonpage24

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Ring in the new year: cell phones and accessories From MotorolaCanadaLtd., www.motorola.ca Estimatedpnce:starts at SSOO

As cellular phones become a bigger part of our lives, Motorola feels design wi8 play a larger role in the purchasing decision. Why buya lump of molded plastic in the shape of a phone when you can get a "li festyle" accessory that does the same thing? While Motorola phones haven't been lacking in design in the past. the V70 is a

radical rethink. Instead of a one-piece or a clamshell flip design, the V70 has a rotatingearpiece thatcoversand protects the keypad when the phone isn't in use. Because it rotates around the display, there's no need to add a secondary LCD windowin the phone. The lack ofa hinge alsokeeps itvery compact The single-band (1.900 MHz) phone works on GPRSnetworks and is currently available from Rogers ATB,TWireless. Now the downside:straight-out purchase of

the phone wilisetyou back $749,though you can bring thatdown to $499 with the right subscription plan. After all, you have to pay forfashion! Because it uses a similar interface, it can use some of the accessoriesavailable forV series phones like the V60, V66, and V120,as wellas Motorola's 270 and 280. One such accessory is the Retmctable Hands-Free Car Kit ($160). The kit featuresa speaker component thatfits nicely into a cup holder,the baseofwhich has retractable cables that connect to your car's Lighter and the phone. There's also a microphone with a longer wire, so you can place the microphone closer to you (behind the steering wheel perhaps) as weU as a dashboard mount for your phone.

When Bell Canada rolled out its faster 1X digital network, Telus also benefited, as one of the companies that uses that network. While there aren't many cell phones out there with 1X capability, you can take advantageofthe network right now ifyou have a mobile computer with a PCCard slot, thanks to the Velocity Wireless bundle.

can geta bit expensive; the rate plans startat $30 per month for 5 MB transfer, up to$100 per month foratleast 100 MB transfer (theoretically unlimited if t he network demand isn't overwhelming), plus network usage and licensing fees. For businessusers who need to stay connected nomatter where they are,though,it's a great solution. —Sean Corruthers

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From:Handspring www. andspring.corn Available anth airbme package from; RogersATttT

Wireless,www.rogers.corn Pnce;Varies(depends on monthly airtimefees)

There' s also a Desktop Charger for the home or office ($90). Simply plug the phone'spower adapter into the back of thisaccessory.then drop your phone into the slot on the top to recharge. An upright support can be moved to accommodate your particular Motorola phone, depending on how thick it is. The charger

basealso hasa sloton the rearofthe unit that will simultaneously charge a second battery. Just in case you' re worried about how it will look on your desktop, Motorola has thoughtfully included a small analogue clockon the front ofthe base. —Seon Carruthers

From:Talus Mobiley,wwwtelusmobikty.corn Estimated pnce: Up to 1600 (hardware) plus air-

time charges

The package comes with a Sierra Wireless card that allows you to connect wirelessly at speeds roughly five times faster than earlier digital CDMA networks, as well as make voice calls. At present, 1X network coverage is limited to major urbancentres in most areas ofthe counby (Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax). Albertans are particularly lucky though, as vast sections ofthatprovince are already on the 1X network. The 1X serviceis scheduled to expand even further by theend ofthe year(maybe even by the time you read this)and undoubtedly even more in 2003. As with all new wireless technologies, it

It' s a cruelfactthatthe same peoplewho are busy enough to make heavy use of their cell phones are also likely to have a PDA they consi der indispensable. They quickly discover, however, that carrying two individually compact devices is in fact awkwardand frustrating. Now that Paim

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< DIGITAL GIFT GU ID E w OS-based PDA/cellphone combos are trickling into Canada (other models by Handspring and Kyocera with colour screens,forinstance, have yet to appear up here),the prayers of some of these busy folks are being answered. The dual-band, single-mode GSM/GPRS Treo Communicator is wonderfully compact,with a screen about the size ofone of the smaller Pabn devices minus the Grafliti handwriting area. (The space-saving aesthetic carries over into Treo's cradle:it doesn't have one. Charging and

synchronizing is accomplished through a simple USB connection.) The BlackBerrylike thumb keyboard is easy to use, but havingto switch between it and the stylus is a little troublesome—that is, unless you dial straight from the address application,in which case you don't need to use the keyboard. h

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From Kyocera,wwwkyocerawrlreless.com Available (rom:Bell Canada,www.bell.ca, and TelosMobilky, wwwlelusmobililycom Price:Varies(dependson monthly airtime fees) In contrast, the larger, tri-mode digital PCSKyocera Smartphone letsyou useitas a phone without activating the Palm OS; leaving the protective cover (which looks like a flip-out mouthpiece) on lets you usethe buttons on the exteriorand speak normally . Even though you can access all ofyour phone numbers without launching the Palm,it'stedious.Open the cover,and you have a full-size Palm handheld, complete with GraNU area. Unlike the Treo, you can't dial directly from the address app, but you can quite easily set up a speed-dial list. Otherwise, both handhelds have similar features. Both include wireless Webbrowsing software, a vibrating alert, and a hands-free option (though the Treo includesthe earphone and mic).The TB MB Treo has SMS capability, while the 8 MB Smartphone has a wireless fax. One tip: both phones include fullscreen dialers that practically beg for fingerprint smudges on their screens. Throw in a few clear protective screen covers and whoever receives one of these as a gift — even if it's you — will thank you later. —Emru Townsend

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< DI G I T A L G I F T G U I D E w

A present for your PDA his month's Lab Test report covers colour handheld computers, or per8 sonaldigital assistants as they are sometimescalled. Here are some suggestionsforaccessorizing these devices. i I

•

FromBeikinCorp, wwwbeltc/Leam Estimatedprice:: 5129(iromUS$80)

and longer than the standard design, but abouthalfthe thickness.To fold up,part ofthe keyboard drops down and the outer part stuck in neatly on top ofitwhen you puU the edges outand push them back in. It is available in three versions: for Palms (m125, m130, and m500 series), for HP Jornadas (520, 540 and 550), and for the

chunk of plastic around, consider a keyboard that wraps around your POA. Logitech' s KeyCase for Pabn devices does just that— a flexible keyboard, made of ElekTex fabric, that wraps around your PDA when you're not using iL The Palm device itself slots into a plastic bracket that tilts up when you're using the keyboard and lays tlat against the

SonyClie.As they say,good things come in small packages.

From: leg/techtnc. wwrxlcgitectLtom

Estimatedpri ce:SM and up

Case Logic will be a familiar name to anyone who has looked for computer accessories like diskette holders. New to its lineup are a couple of PDA cases.The

Strongman, a leatherette case, derivesits name from a Rexible plastic clip system thatholds your PDA securely in the case. The case opens like a daybook to reveal the clipped-in PDA on the right side.On the left Rap is an elasticized band that

In mostcases,the KeyCase doesn'tadd too much to the overallsize ofthedevice,

If you don't want to cany a separate

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ElekTex fabric senses which "soft" key you' re pressing,then relaysthatdata back to the Pabn.Ithasno moving partsand is spill resistant, meaning you simply wipe it offifyou get coffee orfood on it.

From:Logitechtnc, wwwfog/tech.corn Estimatedprice:SI60

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keyboard when wrap everything up. The

—SeonCanuthers

Most keyboards available for Palm or Pocket PC devices are already impressive: nearly full-size keyboardsdesigned to collapse or fold into a package only slightly largerthatthe PDA itself.Begdn's take is even more impressive,though.ItsG700 is a tidy little case that's only slightly wider

and isfar more convenient than canying a PDA and keyboard separately. —Sean Canuthers

s em

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D I GI TA L G I F T G D I D E P holdssticky notes and a couple ofpockets to hold credit cards, etc. While designed for the Palm 500 and Visor Edge lines,we found that it would accommodateToshiba's e310 PocketPC unit(about

thesame size asthe Edge). The PDA Slip Case is intended to be a universal case for a variety of devices. We found it was an ideal match for our Dornada 540 series. It's a top-loader design, with elasticized sides. An elastic loop over the top secures to a little hook on theback, preventing the device from slipping out. The case also has a belt loop on the back. —David Tonoko

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,ccrccc Forthe utamate protection foryourhandheld, encase your PDA in a hardshell aluminium or titanium case. We were introducedto the RhinoSkin line ofproducts at a trade show last year. These are rigid anodized aluminium and titanium cases that are lined with foam to keep your handheldout ofharm's way. While hardly form fitting — they add significant dimension to the handheldthese cases are designed to match the contoursofvarious devices,so forexample,the lower part of the case for the Palm m500 series is rounded to match that device's rounded bottom edge. We stoodon the titanium sample the «ompany sent us,and it held upjustRne. The company also makes a line of leather PDA cases.

Other bets While not new this season, we also still like the Stowaway folding keyboard for Palm and PocketPC devices (sold under

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•

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•

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wwwcanadammputes corn THECOMPUTER PAPER CALGARY EDITIQN

DECEMBER 2002 21

o D IG I T A L G I F T G U I D E >

In July, Microsoft unveiled Windows XP Media Center Edition, which purports to turn a PC into "a unified destination f or e n tertainment," a ccording t o

the Media Center Edition supports some kind of personal video recorder capability and that DVD playback controls will be a part of it. Even the regular version of Windows XP includes an audio player and a photo viewer, so we expect the Media Center PC will put aa the hardware parts that the OS needs into a neat bundle. Of course, do-it-yourselfers have long known that it's possible to turn your existing PC into a media centre — or a games machine, or a video editing suite, or a digital darkroom, or a music studio — just add the appropriate expansion cards and some software. This season, high-end graphics cards, typified by ATI's latest Radeon 9700 8X AGP cards will make the eyes of serious

Microsoft's press release. Hewlett-

garners sparkle —although, if they' ve

require the messy and expensive step of laying down network cabling. It also a llows tremendous flexibility in t he placement of computers throughout the house. We' ve reviewed products from 3Com, Belkin, D-Link, IBM, Intel, SMC and others, and can make two generalizations about 802.11b products: they are relatively easy to set up, and products from the various manufacturers work well together.

The et/er4tterphieg K

Packard Canada announced an implementation of the Microsoft vision in the form of the HP Media Center PC in October. What this unified destination concept seems to mean is that you can use your PC to store, view, and control (even by a remote control unit if you wish) all of your digital content. It's suggested that

seen the price tag (in the $500-plus range) that sparkle might be from tears of anguish. Another product demanding a similarly fat purse is the DVD recorder, with prices beginning in the $600 range. Combination CD- RW/DVD-ROM drives are available for around $200, while CD-RW drives have dipped to below $100 in many cases.

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pretty good snapshots —bauer than the $900 two-megapixelcamera of a few

years back. surround sound (5.1) on the

years ago.

PC has been an aflordable option. The latest Audigy 2 cards continue to expand the audio capabilities of the PC, with support for 24-bit DVD-Audio playback, Lucasfilm THX, and Dolby Digital EX 6.1 surround souniL

However, shopping for a digital camera can still be confusing. As a general rule of thumb, one-megapixel cameras should allow you to make decent 3x5in«h prints, a two-megapixel camera will give you 4x6-inch or even 5x7-inch prints, and with a t h ree-megapixel model you can probably get decent 8xlas. At four megapixels and beyond, you should be able to do with a digital camera everything you would want to do with a 35mm camera as a casual hobbyist. If you' re contemplating a digital camera purchase, you might also be in the market for a new inkjet printer. Canon, Epson, HP, and Lexmark aa make inkjets capable of generating 4x6 prints that are hard to distinguish from prints from the neighbourhood photofinisher. Some new printers don't even have to be connected to a computer — you either connect the printer and camera directly through something like a USB cable, or insert the camera's storage card into a

Digiiel ime(png While TCP has been writing about digital cameras for half a decade, it's just now that the photo industry is looking at digital photography as a mainstream category. Digital still cameras are coming in from afl sides: companies that are known mainly for equipment, such as Canon, Nikon, and Olympus, those known primarily for f i lm, such as Fuiifiim and Kodak, and digital upstarts like HP are fighting for the minds and pocketbooks of Canadian consumers. It used to be that the more you paid, the better digital images you could get, but the digital camera industry has reached a certain level of maturity. We can now say that even a two-megapixel camera selling for $300 will produce

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Canon//ed onpage 24

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you can do a wide range ol tasks with it just by adding some sofiware. The sky's the limit, from educational titles for children to genealogy trackers to amateur astronomy software.ln terms of safe computing, the continued proliferation of ever-stealthier viruses and other malicious code has made anti-virus and firewall software ever more important to Internet-connected home PC users as weU as corporations. The Canadian market leaders in consumer security software, Sym antec and McAfee/Network Associates, have both recently released new lines of security software for home and small office users in time for 2003.

card reader slot built into the printer. If you don't want to print your own digital images, photo retailers like Blacks, Japan Camera, and London Drugs offer digital printing services, either online or at in-store kiosks.

Mobilecompulng Notebook computers are popular with Canadian consumers: a 10 percent-plus annual growth in consumer notebook PC sales has made them the bright part of an otherwise sluggish home PC market. The new Tablet PC, which enables writing, menu selection, and drawing directly on a laptop LCD screen, will be on tbe market by the time you read this, while the handheld Pocket PC and Palm OS computing platforms have attracted hundreds of thousands more Canadian users in the last two years. The Lab Report in this issue looks at a spectrum of colour handhelds currently available.

•

From.XPSourxt wwwdfpsound.com Estimatedpnce:$179

If you' re a long-time music fan, there's a good chance you have a lot of vinyl records sitting around «ofiecting dust. The XPSound XP-201 makes it easy to hook your turntable up to your PC and

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iPod, that drag-and-drop capability is still a good reason to get XPlay; it's certainly much more straightforward way of loading files than using Musicmatch. You can order the boxed version from the Mediafour Web site for US$40, which includes shipping, or download it right away and save US$10.

Some of the best suggestions for digital gifts may involve computers only slightly, if at afi. MP3 players are an example. The computer might be needed to rip and load tunes onto the device, but not to enjoy it. Likewise, digital cell phones complement, rather than rely on the PC. On the following pages are some products our writers and editors would love to find under the tree. 0

One of the enduring benefits of the general purpose personal computer is that

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transfer your old records over to a diy'tal format for burning onto CDs or listening to on an MP3 player. The product is an external box that sits between your turntable and your PC'saudio inputs; the font of this unit has both a gain knob for level adjustment and a ground switch so you can easily switch between input sources requiring g r ounding (like y our turntable) and those that don't (like a cassette deck). T he XP-201 ships wit h a n A C adapter, but you can also use a standard 9V battery. The front of the unit also features a headphone jack so you can monitor the sound without having to hook your headphones to the rear of your computer. Once you' ve recorded your vinyl records onto your PC, you can use the included copy of Diamond Cut 32 to clean up the sound. This powerful software makes it relatively easy for you to remove pops and dicks, as well as other artifacts like tape hiss. Thanks to

Carr(r)rrrecflmm page 74

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Windows XP Home R J45 Cat 5e cable 25' $6 00 USB toRS-232 Serialcable S45 R J45 Cat 5e cable 50' $12 USB lo Parallel cable $45 RJ45 Cat5e cable 75' $20 W in ows XP Home Add $16 9 W indows XP Home Add $16 9 USB to PS2 Active type A $39 RJ45 Cat5e cable 100 ' $25 USB to Mobel phone Motorola $7.95 T TX 1774 17" Monitor Add $1 99 T TX 1774 17 Monitor Add $1 99 Network Accessory USB toMobel phone Nokia $7 95 V ide o C a r d s CPU USBtoMobelphoneEricsson $795 Ha r d D r i V e a R J45 Connector 100 PCs P4 1.7GHz 256K Box $225 IUhyOot' R J45 Connector 10 PCs ~ II )/ERC e)I:. R — USB Card Reader P4 1.8GHz 512K Box $247 30gb 5400 ATA100 $109 Geforce2 MX400 64mb TV/0 $ 95 RJ45 T Adaptor P4 2.0GHz 512K Box USB Compact Flash $275 $35 6 0 gb 5400 ATA 100 $145 Geforce2 MX400 64m b $85 R J45 Flush Plate 1 Port USB Smart Media $338 $35 8 0 gb 5400 ATAIOO $165 Geforce4 MX440 64mb DDR $ 129 P4 2.2GHz 512K Box R J45 Flush Plate 2 Port P4 24GHz 512K Box $345 USB 2in1 CF/SM $45 1 2 0gb 5400 ATA100 $265 Geforce4TI4200 128m DDR $269 RJ45 Flush Plate 4 Port P4 2.4GHz FS8533 Box $339 USB 6in1 Combo $69 1 6 0gb 5400 ATA100 $415 G eforce4 TI4600128mDDR $ 4 75 R J45 Flush Plate 6 Port P4 2.53GHz FSB 533 Box $41 5 20.0gb 7200 ATA133 SCSI Cable $120 PCATI750064MDDRPCI $14 5 P4/Celeron 1.7GHz SKT 478 $ 1 33 RJ45 Keystone Jack ScsillDBSOM/C50M6 ' $21 30 . 0gb 7200 ATA133 $125 PC ATI 7500 64M DDR TV/Out $109 P 4/Celeron I.BGHz SKT 478 $ 1 55 R J45 Coupler (ST) F/F ScsillDBSQM/DB25MB' $18 4 0.0gb 7200 ATA133 $132 PC ATI 9000 64M DDR TV/Out $119 C a/aron 1 3GHz 256K Box $12 5 RJ45 Crimp Tool ScsiIIIDB68M/DB68M 6' $3g 6 0.0gb 7200 ATA133 $165 PC ATI 9000 128mb OD R $165 RJ45/RJ12 Crim Tool Scsil)l DB68M/DB50M6' $32 80. 0gb 7200ATA133 $179 PC ATI 9000 pro 128mb DDR $215 XP 1700+ Box $139 50pinwith 3 connedions $ 6 .95 eagate S Network Cards XP 1800+ Box $149 C D-R O M ' s Dlink DFE-538TX/R 10/100 $23 50pinwith 5 connections $ 8.95 60gb 7200 RPM ATA100 XP 1900+ Box $165 $169 LG 52X CD-ROM $41 XP 2000+ Box 3Com 905CTX/Wake $69 68pin with 5 connedions $39 Bggb 7200 RPM ATAI 00 $185 $184 DVD 16X LG Tray Loa d $65 XP 2100+ Box Intel Pro 100+ PCI Management $60 $229 68pin with 6 connedions $45 DVD 16X Lite-On Retai l $69 XP 2200+ Box WeStern Digital $285 Intel Pro 1000T PCI $95 68P'i ~ 7~ ~ " $ $79 Duron 1.3GHz Box 40gb 7200 RPM $139 Pioneer 16X Tray Loa d $105 USB To Ethernet $69 SCSI Terminator 60gb 7200 RPM $169 CD - R l hPs Dvron I 2GHz Box $95 Hubs/Switchs Inter nal passive IDCSO M $9.95 Bcgb 7200 RPM $179 LG 40XIOX40 595 M ot h e r b o a r d s Eusso 5 Pori 10 Bas e $35 Inter nalAcbve IDC50 M $17 Bg gb 7200 BM Cache $189 Liteon 40XI)X48 595 Eusso 5 Port 10/100 H/Switch $59 Internal U160 (LVD/SE) DB68F $39 100gb 7200 RPM Asus A7V333 $179 $269 Liieon 48XI2X48 Retail Sl l 9 Asus A7SBX-Sound/Lan Eusso 8 Pori 10 Bas e $49 Extemai 03 rac (LVD/SE) MDMM $44 120gb 7200 RPM $235 $295 L iieon 24XIOX4O Retail USB 5 1 89 Asus P49533 DDR Eusso 8 Port 10/100 H/Switch $89 $205 Inte rnal Adaptor DB68F/IDC50M$25 120gb 7200 BM Cache $329 '5135 A sus P46533-Sound/Lan Ben/3 48X ISX48 Retail Eusso 16 Port 10/100 H/Switch$179 I nternal Adaptor 0868M/IDC50MS14 Sam s n n g $ 17 5 L G ISX 32X Combo Dnve 5 15 9 Asus P4SBX Sound/Lan Eusso 16 Port 10/100 R/Mount $195 IDE Cable $235 40gb 7200 RPM ATA100 $129 Eusso 24 Pori 10/100 RIMount $279 24' 40 pin 3 ends cable CR Z .")TIV $5 95 80gb 7200 RPM ATA100 Gigabyte $159 Surecom 9 Port Hub $59 35" 40 Pin 3 ends cable $8.95 QSBCIOStsre Sound Blaster 128 PC I $45 Gigabyte 6VEMLVISIL $99 S urecom 8 Port 10/100 Hub $ 9 5 24" 40 pin 2 ends cable $4.95 Sound Blaster Live Value 5.1 $59 Gigabyte 6VTXE-A $109 D4Jnk DSS+ 5 Port Hub switch $69 $79 36 BQ pl/i ATA1 OQcabl e $14 95 IOE to USB20 Ext 2.5 S ound Blaster Live Audigy $1 0 9 Gigabyte 7VKML DD R $129 D&nk OSS+ 8 Pori Hub switch $97 $119 24 80 pin Round cabl e $11 9 5 IDE to USB2.0 Ext. 3.5 Lava Gqabyte 7ZXE SDRA M $125 D-Link DSS+ 16 Porl H/ svntch $220 36 BQ pin Round cane $14 g s IDE tiiUSB2.0 Est, 3,5/5.25 $129 S peake r s Grgabyte TVAXDDR $139 ISUnk DI4)04 4 Port DSL/Cable $89 IDE to IEEE1394 ExL 2 5 $79 Amplified Speaker $15 Monitor Cable G igabyle 7VAXP Lan/Raid $16 9 L inksys 4 port DSUCable $11 9 IDE to IEEE1394 Ext 3.5' Lava $119 MLi 452 6Pcs $69 $8. 9 5 I OEto IEEE1394 Ext. 3.5/5.25 $129 Gcabyte BID533 SDRA M $13 5 L inksys wireless USB Adpt. $ 1 29 VGA Monrior Cable M/M 6' Altec Lansing AVS20 0 $29 $8 9 S U 3 SCSI Ext. BQW 2 Bays G igabyle BIEX 533 w/Lan $18 9 Linksys wireless access point $219 VGA Monitor Cable M/F 6' $159 A)tee Lansing AVS30 0 $55 VGA Monrior Cable M/M 15' $ ' 14 95 U3 SCSI ExL BQW 6 Bays GigabyteBIEXP 533 lan Raid $2 45 $245 Altec Lansing AVSSO O $85 Ada ptor VGA Morutor Cable M/F 15 $1 4 95 U3 SCSI Exl. 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it will automatically be recognized as an external drive. These devices are com-

From:SanD/sk,wwwsandkkcom Street price:339 li6 MB) io S339(236 MB)

The Sangisk Cruzer (available in 16 to 256 MB capacities) is the only model we reviewed that can'tactually be used as a

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pletely driver-free (unless you' re running Windows9$),and filescan be moved back and forth between DSes, transparently. Severalmanufacturers have come up with their own spin on keychain drives. Here are a few worth loolring at.

Retail 40x12x40x IDE CD-RW 884 . N I Retail 48x12x48x IDE CD-RW 800 . N I ' Rstail 40x12x40x USB 2.0 CD-RW 8214.00 I

r - - - - - - - - - + < - - - - -. -

ven though there have been many ways to store and transfer digital data over the years— from paper tape to rewriteable DI/Ds—two common problems have long plagued us. First was the need for specialized hardware or software (not everyone has a Zip drive or DirectCD) and two-way compatibility (while a PC-formatted Roppy disk can be read on a Mac, the same can't be said of Mac-formatteddisks on PCs). This is why I like USB keychain drivesthough referred to as drives, they use flash memory. They store anywhere from 16 MB to 1 GB ofdata,are smallenough thatyou can hold severalin your hand, and areincredibly easy to use: pop one onto the USB port of a Windows (98, Me, 2000, or XP), Mac (DS 8.6 or higher), or Linux (kernel 2.4 or higher) machine and

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~P,.' Le0t/igte<.

By Emnl Tswssesd

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Keychaindrives:the perfect stockingstuffer

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Who Buys from Us: Bsginnsm, Power Users, Consultants. Home Business, Small Business, Retail Outlets, Wholssalsm, Oil &

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Where: Sss below W hat. When and How: lt' s up to you

If you would like mom information on these or any other technologies please contact ue.

See some system specialeon page 2$ Checkourwebsiteformore modelsand spells

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( D I GITA L G I FT G U ID E p keychain,which kind of makes sense.At twice the volume of most other such drives, IYB a little too clunky to carry in your pocket. The clunkiness is due to the fact that it's also the only one that is expandable: it stores information on removable SD or MMCflash memory cards. Thismakes itone ofthe few upgradeable keychain drives out there. A three-position switch pops out the USB connection, ejects the flash memory card, or keeps both recessed in the drive body.Windows users can take advantage oftheCruzerLock security software,which encryptsselected Ales.They can only be decryptedby enteri ng your password in the software, so you' ll want to leave a littlespace onthe Cruzerforthe497KB executable file.

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From: IMTek,wwwjmlek.corn Eslimaledpnce range; Sl19to Sl,l 19

JMTek's USBDrive Professional (64 MB to 1 GB, with a 2 GB model promised for next y ear) is a souped-up version of i t s USBDrive—or rather, its software (included on the drive itself, taking up a little over 3 MB) is souped-up. USB-Lock turns the USBDrive Professional into a key: once you run it, your computer can only be used when the drive is plugged into one of its USB ports. USB-SecureZip automatically compresses and encrypts fiies dropped into the Secret and Zip folders, respectively. (One Aaw: the suggested password reminders areallthings careful users know not to use as passwords: birthdays, parents' names,etc.)USB-Backup provides a simple,one-button backup to or from the USBDrive. USB-Mail is a b are-bones POP/SMTP email client that stores your messageson the drive itself. Despite the " professional" moniker, none of t he included software is particularly polished —but they all work as advertised. To be Pair, this seems to be the rule for ag of these dnves.

Continued onpage 30

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212-0008

252-5777

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www.domamscanada ca Email. inforrvdomainscanada.ca

Bay C 2916 19 Street NE Calgary, Alberta Canada T2E-6Y9 Phone: 403.291.0666 Fax: 403.291.3850

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Mnnal Gno 3IMS Dual ..... . . . . . . . . . , $1st

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Pd 126 GHI 533

P4 2,40 GHz 533 lsl 2.53 GHz 533 P4 2.44 GHz 533 Pd 2.0 GHC 533

.. $ 1st Se msun s NL 1440.. . . . . . . . . . . 4 399 MQ Nxssessns DDRsx ....~ Sn aher 1070N laser ... . . . . .. . . . . $ 1199 Mn G4TI 4108 Ilsns DDRvwo ...... • Oan Ca non D440U Scanner.. . .. . . . . 5149

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$105 $120 $145 SISS $235 $245 $320 $320 $320 $390 $445 $015

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Neon Llgln . • USO 2.0 PCI Card • ATXAlumlaium Case .... . . . . . . . . . . . . • ATX 133 Raid Canl ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • Sammns ML Printer Toner Cartridge

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Cogs ¹sor Cssgs

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Canon 1320 BubbleJec Canon 5520 17PPM .. C anon 59000 ... . . . . NL 1210. 5

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Intel Ctgsaon 900NHK CPU WJFan PncicngeIncl.f IGAINBOARD, I 20NB SDRAH,ATX Case

P C 2100 PC27 0 8 120MSfism 4 54 .... . . . . . . . 254MS .... $95 .. . . . . . . . . .$105

PC I33

DURON - 1300

ATHLON XP- 1198153GHa

$95 $125

Cresuus Inspire 2.1 2400.. . . . . . . . • 450

XP- H081.4GHz

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XP -20N 157 Gua

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Intel Celeron 1.0 GHS CPUI AHD Dumn I.O GHS CPU • GAIECSMS Nouansdeoaauoa an bend ATX Casa

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LG 40xlox40 cDnw ... . . . . . . . . . 479 LG 32X IOX48I 16X DVD Combo .. 4139 SamsungOXDVD I ... . . . . . . . . . . . . .$42 a

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Hp - I no HP - 19N

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XP - 22N

$240

• •

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AOC 15" A OC 7F IT ' . . . . . . A OC 9GUC. . . . . . . AOC LN 520 LCD . AOC LM 700 LCD . Samsssng 753DF Smssmusg 955DF SnmasNsg 152T Samsssng 1720 .. . S nsnMNlg 172T .. . SnmMNlg 17IN

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Ofs reserve the right to li m it q u a ntity. A II p r I ces are for cashiinterac only aud are suhfect to change without notice.

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SYSTEMSPECS -10' AntesTowerw/agsson - AMDAthion atwgwt CPU - MwiKT4 Ultra KT400 Mainboarri . 256MDPC2200 4N ODAWl smory -00 007289 HaniDrive - Pacasonic 1.44Floppy - MSI Gforce4 TI42N 'l2&MDVideo AMDT - tgilgs Eihsmci -40x12a40 CDRWDrive • 10x DVD Drive

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EdmontonLccaaon: 10566- lghh Slrssi Phone:780.428.09a6Fax:780428.0456

Emaketmomcadpmacrcaccica.corn

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SYSTENSPECS

-AluminumCubeTower -AMO Athlon XP 1DOO+CPU or Intel Celeron 1.TGHz CPU -256 MB PC2100266 DDRMammy -4GGB7200RPMHard Dnve - Panasonic 1.44 Floppy - USB 2.0, 107100 LAH

- Lightweight6.6KG(Gross) - Built In AGPWdeo -16x OVD.ROM

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-NndowsKeyboardPSI2 • Optical Wheel IdousePSI2 • Limited 1 Year (111)Warranty

IH --'999

Cold Lake: 4817• 02Street Phone:760.594.003D

Email: ccldlakedpmacrcucnics.corn

Ho u rs: Mo n d a y to F r i d a y 2 10am t o g l o m Sa t swrday2 10am t o S p m Su n d a y : C l o s e d Ala prices are based on cash snd are valid between Nov 15 to De c 15 snd are subject to change without notice. C a b le snd/or sofiwsre anstsiistion on System packages are exars. S t o c k available while supplies last. Me c r otronics reserves the right to limit qusntitles. Trsdemsrks snd brand names are property of their respective owners. N o t responsible for errors snd/or omissions.

SINCE 1982 a~

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www. macrotronics.corn

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-126MB PC Card '99 -256MB PC Card '169

4300 UScanner

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R AD E OS6 90 0 0 126M B o159

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BenQ300mini '1 09 Digital Camera ~ I10 a linc "Scan tnWit'

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EdmontonLocation: 10568- IMIR sheet Phone780.4280916 Fax TN428.0468 Emaiadmomm lgmac/abates.com

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AO prices are based on cash and are valid between Nov t 5 to rbec 15 and are subject to change without notice. C a b le and/or software Installation on upgrade packages are extra . S t o c k available while supplies last. M a c rotronics reserves the right to limit quantities. Trademarks and brand names are property of their respective owners. N o t responsible for errors and/or omissions.

AIJECAC522...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..$29 ALTEC A15 m(3PL)........ . . . . . ...$59

3088 54N .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..$99 40GS5400 ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..SHB 60GBENO ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 134 DNB 5400 ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .S141 20687200 .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1N 3NS 72N ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $110 4O87200 ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $129 6NB 72N .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..$154 808872N ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $169 8008 WO8M0 72N..... . . . . . . . . . $109 100087200 .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $199 12NR BMB7200 Cache ...... . . . . . $299

ALTE C Asa BO (EFC) ............ ...$79 AUECAlP3 (3PCRAT) ........ . . . . .$109 INEPHIE5.1 53N (0PC) ...... . . . . ..$139

LBIMARK 233 ......... . . . . . . . . . .. $99 IBNARKXZ6SN....... . . . . . . . . . . $249 IBNABKX93 (4nl)..... . . . . . . . .. $249 5AINSUNG 1210 IA%6 .... . . . . . .. $288 EAINEUNG1250 IA%R............$329 5AMSUN G14N IA%R......... ... $2N 5AMSUN6 tom IA%R....... . . ... $449

AOC7EUI IT 27... . . . . . . . . . . . .. $189 AOCTFIT.25 ..... . . . . . . . . . . - . $225 AOC7GUI 19' 25.... . . . . . . . . . . . . $279 VIENBONICE70 ...... . . . . . . . . . .. $239 VIBNEONICETDF....... . . . . . . . . .. $2SB VIEWS ONICMe ......... . . . . . ... $149 VIEW50NICBOFS ........ . . . . ... $4N VIEN50NICPBDF ....... . . . . . . . .. $49$ NECPETTI ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..$220 NECFESB T5018 ...... . . . . . . . . . . $449 NECFE1250 2lr . •..... . . . . .. • . " $89$ NECFE211122' ....... . . . . . . . . . . . $990 AOCLM520...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $529 AOCLM700 17' .... . . . . . . . . . . . . ..$799

52XCDROM ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . .$38 16X DIID5TANBNG 0 ..... . . . . . . . . .509 PIONEBI10XOVD........ . . . . . . . .. $79 WE CARRYUIEON/ SONY/SAMSUNG I

4 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

UIEON 4512XM ..... . . . . . . . . , . . ..$99 UIEON 4517XN ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . $99 AOPBI•NIZX60RETAILBOX .......$109 PlEXIOR 4512X41 ....... . . . . . . ..$189

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DUNK4 POFR ROlffER .............$9S UNKSY54PORf ..... . . . . . . . . . . . ..SU9 056 4 POR TWBHPRSEXVBI ...... $125 UNKSYS VARELE55ROUIBI ........ $239 WEIBRB PCICAIW ........ . . . . . ..$145 NIC SIANNGB ....... . . . . . . . . . . ..$19 HUGE SfARHNGB ...... . . . . . . . . . ..$49 5 I • ' 'I GENERIC SIAXBNGB...... . . . . . . .. $19 UMBECH CORDLE55 ......... . . ... $59 IMBECHINBINB ......... . . . ... $% CORDIESE GIALRW/FOiNIN ....... $59 CORDLE5 5 KB/MSE COMBO. .....389

LG 543 'I 5' LCD..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$549

17' lOWBI(3NNSSfARBNGIB..... $49 OE51 6NERCASES(3BN) STARRNGdl $69 AIUMINIUMC155 (RIGHTUES) ......$149

MICROSOFf5TARTINGO ............$45

I ..-

DURON120D...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $79 DURON130D....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $89 ATHNN XP1600+ OEM ......... ... $S9

ATHNN XP Iuoi RETAIL BN . ..$149 ATHLONXP2000+ RETNL BN ......$104 NHLONXP2HO+ ...... . . . . , . . . ..$224 A'IHIDN io 22N+ OEM ........ ... $2$0 ATHLO NXP2200+ RET/EL BN ......$289 •

•

P 4 'I.76HZ ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$218 P41$0HZ .. $249 P42OGHZ ., $2N Pn 226 GHZ $339 P 42AGHZ ....... . $329 842$6HZ .... . .. ... . . $499

CRERON13N .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$119 CBBION 170050CKET 470 ........ $138 P EI 120IB.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..SIN P4 i.nGHZ(255mhcache) ...... . . . . .$199

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A505 lcu533 ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . ..$199 A305 P45333 ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$129 ASUS P4T-EIBRAM ........ . . . . . ..$279 Mll 84S UBBA ...... . , . . . . . . , . . . .$178 SIGABYIESBIQ3 .... . . . . . . . . . . ..$129 GISASYIESIEXP ....... . . . . . . . ., ..$229 GIGABYIEBIEK ....... . . . . . . . . . . ..$159

NIRADENNNBIMB ..............$129 AB INDEO NNEOPRD128MB ......... $21S ABRAOEDN9XO RB 128MS ......... $%9 hBIGF4H42IO129MB ..............$250 MAIROKGSNDEM ...................$155

ADPENAX45-533 ..... . . . . . . . . . . . .$129

MOIHBIBOAR DFOR73 GIGABYIE GANIMEL .......... . . ...$109 GIGABYIE 655VDB...............$109

' ' 1

la hour Gneral la!our per\/2 hr ....... ..537.5O RdiFhmlInsteKation.....,, , . . . . . . . .$75 HardDmmMiner ...... . . . . . . . . . .. $75

GBIERIC50UND5TARBNGO ........$19 58PCI128 ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .534

SSAUOIGYOEM ..................$99 58AUDIGYMP3/SAMER ...........$144 58 AUOIGY PLATINUM ........ . ... $280 56 AUOIGY RAIUNIUM N ...... ...$394

Rani Orlsc Rle Tiansfer ..... . . . . , .$37$0 Wnn Ramwat Sash ...... . . . . . . , .QTN Vina Remsssl CriNral....... . . . . ... $75 Netnmh Configurations ..... . . . . . ..CALL

59 AUDIGYEXTIGY ...... . . . . . . . . . .$2\9

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Learning to sell the eBay way In the October is sue of

I I'rantically sent emails to every tech help, sefier service, or other email address I could find on the egay Canada site. Over the next few days, many replies came back, all saying the same thing: my listings were deleted because the ad copy I had written for each item mentioned that I had a catalogue of the model collection in Adobe Acrobat PDF format available for download. This apparently violated eBay policies about sellers providing information that niight allow selling privately outside eBay. I was completely unaware that mentioning the catalogue, which was my basic document for managing the collection, was verboten, and astonished that eBay had taken this extreme action without any warning. Since I'd chosen eBayover other forms of online selling I'd checked out, it simply had never occurred to me that anyone at eBay might suspect me of wanting to sell around egay (and avoid paying

TCP,jeff Evans

describedhis decision Io spend the sumluer usingeBay (www.ebayco) fo sell a colIeai on of more than 1,700 vintagepkufic model kitsthat had belonged ro hisfather. Part I ou tlinedhow he researched the model kif nlarkef through Usenef news-

groups,organizeda method ro rara)ague, photograph,refearch,and write ad copy

for the collection, signedup as an eBay vendor,aud arranged online paymenf services withP<iyPal (wwwpaypa(com)and eBay'5 Billpoiafservice.

By Iei Evans

hings

seemed to be going swimmingly. Bids on the items being auctioned were pouring in, and the first few international sales went smoothly. Then, ag 140-plus of my CBay item listings, representing several days' worth of work, suddenly vanished without warning.

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I also decided that if I was going to do this right, I'd better set up an inventory and sales control proress to track the hundreds of international rustomers bidding on my wares, and to manage order fulfilment on the nearly 2,000 items I had in stock. With the aid of my wife, who is an expert with Microsoft Office, we took the original Excel spreadsheet of the collection, and customized it as a retail inventory control database, with fields to record unique stock numbers for each item, fields for the eBay listing number, buyer's name and address, date purchased, price paid, and shipping status. My days feU into a routine: In the morning I checked my eBay listings to see which items had been sold, emailed egay invoices to aurtion winners, and answered bidder and buyer questions about shipping costs, payment methods, and delivery status.

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< ONL I N E & C O N N ECTEDw I logged every online payment, money order, or cheque into the spreadsheet, and printed shipping labels on a Hewlett-Packard 4550DN colour laser printer for the items that had just been paid for. I found a colour printer extremelyuseful,as I'd colour coded the different fields to show «hanges in status: listed/not listed, paid/unpaid, shipped/awaiting shipment, and so on. The 4550 chugged away for months, without a hiccup. In the afternoon, I packed shipments and took them to Canada Post For mailing, and went to the bank to depositthemoney ordersand cheques I'd received that day. I transferred PayPal and Binpoint payments directly into my eBay account. EBay electronicaay transferred posting and selling charges and other chargesfrom my «reditcard account, and PayPal deducted its fees as well. In the evening, I pulled new stock from the boxes of model kits in the attic, identified and numbered them from the Excel catalogue, and photographed them with a Fuji 6900 FinePix digital camera. Using Adobe Photoshop Elements, I

cropped and sized the images to the format eBay accepted for auction item illustrations.

Then, using the Google search engine, I researched the histories of the ships and planes on which the model kits I was posting that day were based. . I wrote the ad copy in Word, then cut and pasted it into the item listings using the Selling tools on the eBay site.

blewrap, and plastic "peanuts"), and bought at quantity discount prices. My decision to pack with new materials and to do it right paid olf, with only a couple of items out of more than 1,000 shipments being damaged in t ransit. I referred constantly to the Canada Post i nternational m a i ling r a t e g r i d s (www.«anadapost.«om), and learned to pack orders as small and light as possible, to get the best rates, without risking the

At least, the above routine was the ideal that I tried to achieve. I also had to juggle my freelance writing deadlines, household chores, vacations, kids' summer activities, and family gatherings. In practi ce,I spent about 30 hours a week on eBay-rel ated activity. There were times when, due to travel or sheer fatigue„ I fell behind for a day or two, until the lash of impatient eBay buyers' emails got me going again.

Cast control My largest single expense was shipping (packaging and mailing costs). I was mailing models ag over the world, from Germany to New Zealand to Taiwan. I found a local company that sold quality shipping supplies (boxes, tape, bub-

fragile contents. The nextlargestcostwas enay's array of fees for listing, displaying, and seUing items. Also, the PayPal service deducted payment and currency conversion fees, while my bank also charged for currency conversion of U.S. money orders, and other bank fees. Tracking ag my costs with the Excel spreadsheet, I found I had a sell-through rateof over 85 percent,and my selling costs were about 40 percent of my gross sales.

Theegaycommunity: Where repntagion isgolden Of au the positive results of my eBay summer, perhaps the one I was most proud of was the feedback that was post-

ed on eBay by my «ustomers. I got more than 400 mostly glowing, positive reviews, and only one negative (I had deserved it, as I was slow with fulfilling that order and slow answering his emails). When I made mistakes, I admitted it, and provided some sort of compensation to the aggrieved buyer, in the form of a break on shipping costs,or a free or discounted item. At one point, I became too su«cessful, as I overran the new seller's limit of US$3,500 per month in Bigpoint payments. This time. easy was kind in its application of the rules: they checked my buyer feedback, and immediately raised my monthly payment limit to US$7,500.

The egayway My conclusion about eBay is that it is one of the insanely great things to have come out of the Internet, despite my gripe about the arbitrary deletion of my original listings. I am overwhelmed by the brilliance and smooth functionality of this thing. Ifyou're running a smallbusiness,you could laboriously set up your own online shop, probably with shaky securi-

Continued onpage 54 !

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In this report, we look at handheld computers with colour displays. Apart firom the screens, however, the models vary widely in both price and feature set —an indication of what you will con-

Com:Runsonly appliations designedfor BE-300 In North America, there are two main handhdd operating systems: Palm and

Windows (including Windows CE and, more recently, Windows for Pocket PC). Palm wasn't the first handheld, but it has been a runaway success, with Palm OSbased devices still comprising the lion' s share (about 70 percent) of the Canadian handheld market. In the past, Windows-based handhelds were bigger and more powerful but also more power hungry, while Palm-based deviceswere smager and less powerful, but could run for weeks on a single charge. However, that distinction is breaking down. Consider two examples: the latest

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Palm OS-basedSony Cfid models usea 200 MHz processor (lower end Palmbased devices, like the new Zire, use a Id MHz processor) and have full multimedia capabilities; while the new Pocket PC-based Toshiba handhelds are nearly the same size as Palm's own colour devices. One of the future directions for both platforms is the incorporation of cell

PocketManagerplatform (i.e., will not workwith ag a Iicalionswritten for WindowsCE3.0. Casio divides its Cassiopeia handheld products into two subgroups: the Pocket PC line, which uses the current-generation Pocket PC 2002 OS; and the Pocket Manager line (including the BE-300

reviewedhere), which usedWindowsCE

3.0. Although this OS issomewhat dated, a more significant issue is that it appears to be a non-standard implementation. In red letters on the Casio site is a warning phone technology. In terms of basic productivity features, that the BE-300 wiB only run software the Pocket PC devices come with tools designed for the Pocket Manager platthat match and are generally compatible form. This may or may not be a limitation with the desktop version of Microsoft's depending on what you need to do with Office suite. All Pocket PCs will have a handheld. The selection of available Word, Excel, Outlook, and Internet applications is not bad, and even Explorer. This would appear to give this includes a movie player. We recently saw platform an advantage for business use, the BE-300 advertised for $230,making but most Palm devicesaccomplish a similar kind of compatibiTity between office it a potentially excellent value. This Cassiopeia measures 12x7.5 an applications and handheld data by (4.7x3 in.), and has a hinged, translucent including Doaunents To Go or other conversion software. One of the benefits coverthat opens up to reveal a 7.7x5.1 an (3x2 in.) display. of Documents to Go in particular is that There are several choices of colour it w il l a lso w ork w it h C orel's palette, and adjustments for brightness WordPerfect and Quattro Pro, not just and contrast. One-tap application Microsoft's suite. launch buttons are along the bottom of For multimedia uses, Pocket PC devices include Windows Media Player, a the device. On the top is a Type II CompactFlash (CF) slot, which will voice recorder, and Microsofi Reader (cbook sofnvare), yving the Pocket PC accept add-on devices, such as a camera platform a de6nite advantage. Again, this with 640x480 resolution, wireless is changing with introduction of Palm Continued onpage 40

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are sold separately). An optional serial modem and externalpower pack can be attached to the synchronization interface on the bottom ofthedevicebetween the AC power and headphone jacks.

with a flexible hinge systemthat can be mounted on either side of the device, depending on a user's handedness. A

Secure Data (SD) memoryslot is ontop.

Interface:serial Warrsn . I ear next-business o tional I : C u d h ; Ch~ C h I~ Cons:Almnsl evetything is anoption, induding USB c cable.

(A CP slot can be added with an optional sleeve.) A serial sync cable is standard, but a "universal" cable with both USE and serial connectors is optional. The Record feature is available directly from the Notes section, allowing you to make voice memos rather than written notes. Pocket versions of Word and Excel are installed, as are Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. The backlight can be adjusted through software controls.

attachments and third-party applications for Palm handelds. The m130 —which measures 12x7.7 cm (4.7x3 in.) — is Palm's entry-level colour unit. (The company's premium colour model —the m515 — is thinner and a bit lighter, but with a larger display and more memory.) This device doesn't

Pelm M130

The four-way cursor is centered between the OK and Escape buttons, which proved convenient. Another button brings back the main menu. The size of the buttons and lack of side controls might make this unit easy to use while wearing gloves; handy when waiting for a bus or cab during certain months in Canada.

IPPNPeraIPPPPP •

Of all the Pocket PC brands. the most successful hasbeen Compaq's iPaq series. If you' re familiar with previous modds, this latest one will look familiar. Onetouch buttons and a four-way scroll rocker switch are directly underneath theoxo an (2.3x3.12 in.) display. The screen is protected by a translucent, plastic cover

©oooo

From:Palm,www.palm.curn Ptice:5399 OS:Palm4.1 Interface:USB Wsnan: I ear Pros:Price; easyto leam; plenty of options as

Palmhaslong history in handheldgeld. Cons:Lacksfeatures of other units; basenecesss for rechar 'n . Palm is the market-share leader in handheld computers, so there are plenty of

have a lot of fancy features, but is fairly easyto figure out. The tutorial, induding one for the Grafitti handwriting system, is always available from the main menu. A thorough tutorial is launched upon powering up for the first time. Like an current handhelds from Palm,

Cananued onpage 42

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the m130 comes with the AvantGo Web browser, MGI P hotoSuite Mobile Edition, and Palm Reader (e-book viewer software).

The display is4.8x4.8 cm (1.9x1.9 in.), with a 4.8x1.9 cm (1.9x0.75 in.) area below it for writing and one-tap task icons. An opaque cover has a smaB hole that allows you to see if the unit is on. The one-touch buttons below the displayareeasyto operate.The cursor only scrolls up and down, but the OS doesn't

Cons:Memory Stick media is not widely usedby other devices; r uires basefor rechar 'n bette . At 13.5x7.2x3.6an (5.25x2.8x1.4 in.) when downL the Qid (pronounced "kleeay") is slightly longer than most Palm devices. The basic design of this unit is a damshefi — the top half opens up revealing the display, while the bottom holds a

small QWERTY keyboard and familiar Palm

fu nction

bu t tons. The

tiny notebook computer with the lid open, the keyboard on a table surface and the screen facing you. This Qid also indudesa camera that is built into the hinge area of the deria. The lens mtates thmugh 300

wares s. Cons:Price tin oundin recordin

degrees(self portraitsanyone?). The rotating knob on the left side of the device can be used to scrofi through pull-down menus, and the Back button next to i t h elps with navigation. Earphones are induded for listening to MP3 and ATRAC3 format audio files. The Clid is networkable, and can even play video using the GMovie software.

require sideways navigation anyway.

For removable media, the C)id has a

When writing with the stylus you can choose between thick and thin lines. If you antidpate traveling longer than the expected battery life, be prepared to take the basewith you as the m130 doesn't have a separate AC power input for recharging the battery.

slot for Memory Stick cards. Recharging the battery is accom-

plished by plugging the Clid into tbe

b~ o, l ike the Palm ml30, be prepared to pack the base with you for

w t

longer trips. We like this Cid a lot and think it represents the most advanced development so far on a Palm-powered device. Earlier this year we gave the Clid a VIP award.

gea Qik PEMIRIBV From:SonyCanada, www.soITfstfde.a Price:5799 05: Palm 4.1 Interface:USB Wana . 3 months Pros:Built-in amera; multimedia apabilitf; built-

Interface:USB Warren . I ear Pres:Excellent display; versionsof popularsoft

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Forget home videos, DVD's the thing ST EmrnTownsend s the father of a two-year-old, I am duty-bound to record and cataogue every shining moment of his antics—all of which naturally point to his innate genius and likely future as a physici st, newosurgeon, rock star, or some combination thereof. And we can't rule out the possibility of ag three. The obvious choice was, of course, to make a DVD of his exploits. (Videotape is so 20th century.) With DVD recorders becoming ever more affordable, I put a few packagesthrough their paces, all with the same objective: to see if I could make a disc that looked so professional that people would think Max wasstarring in a HoUywood movie (until they saw the bit with him running through the house naked) using an application that costs under $500. To this end, I recorded 53 minutes of raw footage on a Sony MiniDV camera, and transferred the 6rst 35 minutes to my PC through a FireWire connection using Windows Movie Maker.

From:5onicSolulioas,www.mydvd.corn Bundledwith Hewlett-PackardDVD+RWdrives At the lowest end of the price spectrum was Sonic Solutions' MyDVD 3.5, which came bundled with the Hewlett-Packard 200i DVD+R)RW drive I used for my tests. (I should state at the outset that I chosethe 200i because when Ilooked at other packages earlier in the year, some manufacturers bad p with DVD+RW drives. I'm happy to report that all of the programs tested here write to DVD-lVRW and DVD+R/RW discs, and aD, except for DVD Workshop, write to DVD-RAM.) MyDVD doesn't offer anything too fancy (the goal is to convince you to upgrade to the more recent, featurepacked MyDVD 4.0), but it works fairly well. All you need to do is select a prefab menu background, then drag and drop AVI, MPEG, or QuickTime 6les onto it. You also have the option of recording a clip directly from a DV camera or through a capture board—you «an't edit the clip, however. You have to hope that

roblem s

your captureboardcankeep up, though; when I

t ried capturing fuB-frame

(720x480 pixel) video with an All-inWonder Radeon on a 733 MHz Pentium III system, the video stuttered along at a jerky 10 frames per second (fps) or so. The bene&t is that you can add chapter points while recording either automatically (at preset intervals) or manually (by pressing the spacebar as the preview video plays onscreen). Throw in the ability to replace a clip's soundtrack using any audio 6)e, and you' ve hit the limit of MyDVD's customization options. It's incredibly clear and easy to use, but you have to edit yow «lips beforehand and you can't insert chapter points unless you take a chance with capturing video.

Because my goal was a disc that was meticulously designed &om top to bottom, I favoured the control offered by Ulead DVD Workshop and Roxio VideoWave 5 Power Edition. Before starting, I worked out a rough idea of how I wanted the DVD to look I envisioned a black-and-white image crossfading into a colour one, with a short music clip playing; then the main menu would appear, with options to either play the disc &om the beginning or go to a title selection menu. Each title

would havesevers) chapters, starting with a short introductory screen and some music. I collected my raw materials—the downloaded DV dip, the DV camera, title images I'd created in Photoshop, and ripped CD tracks—and got to work •

•

From:Ulead,www.ulesd.corn Esbautedsir«et price:5459 With DVD Workshop, I almost got the job done exactly as I wanted. The title bar divides the authoring process into 6ve steps: Start, Capture, Edit, Menu, and Finish. Start de6nes the project parameters and Finish burns the disc, but once

you getstarted you can move between the other three stepsany way you please. O n the lower left of th e D V D Workshop screen is a lilirary of video clips, audio «lips, and still images. I Capture and went straight to edit, where I dropped a series of clips onto the Title list strip at the bottom of the screen,

skipped

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creating a sequence of thumbnails. The 6rst spot in the strip is the First Play clip —the animation that will be played when the DVD is first placed in the player. The rest are the video dips and still images that make up the titles on the disc. Double-clicking on a thumbnail brought it up in an editing window, where I could mark in and out points or replace the soundtrack with an audio clip. DVD Workshop is fairly intuitive, and I was able to get everything arranged in short order. (Things went even faster when I discovered I could play only the marked-o(f segments of a video clip by holding Shift while clicking Play. It would have been nice had that tidbit appeared somewhere onscreen, rather than ex«lusively in the part of the manual no one will read because they already know how to use VCR controls.) When I needed to grab some clips I hadn't downloaded, I captured them through DVD Workshop easily. There was one bit«h, though: I couldn't control how long still images would stay ons«teen. The control was ghosted no matter what I did. Everything comes together in the Menu step, which was a pleasure to use. The level of control was simply astonishing. I was free to have animated or still backgrounds and hotspots. For that matter, I could use a thumbnail other than the Brat frame of a clip for a hotspot —or just use text alone, if I was so inclined, which was awelcome change &om most programs I' ve tried. Copying styles (for example, text and

highlight colours, drop-shadow senings, and font size) between hotspots was simple and quick I could select different audio clips to accompany different menus. And menus «ovid easily be linked to each other with text or graphic hotspots, making intricate menu structures a snap to create. When I was 6nished, I used DVD Workshop's preview function to make sure the menus worked as planned. Oddly enough, I couldn't use the onscreen remote to skip back and forth between chapter points; in fact, I «ouldn't do anything but play, pause, stop, or return to the previous menu. Chapter points turned out to be the m ost frustrating aspect o f D V D Workshop. I'd forgotten that chapter points have to beset within a single video «Bp; becausethe titles I created were largely assembled &om ditferent clips, I couldn't set chapter points at scenebreaks asI'd intendesk ln elfect, I'd have had to put the chps together with a video editor before ever bringing them into DVD Workshop.

From:Rosie, www.roxio.com Estimatedstreet price: 5)49 Roxio VideoWave 5Power Edition (which is nearly identical to the earlier VideoWave 5) has the same limitation, but at least it has the bene&t of mdudmg a fairly powerful video editor —in 6tct, VideoWave is a video editor, which happens to indude a DVD authoring component.

You can appmach DVD authoring in one of two ways in VideoWavcc jump straight into the authoring module, which limits you to importing only a handful of video and image formats and allows no editing (except for setting chapter points); or edit your clips exactly as you want them— or just convert them,

Conttnuedonpage 40 wwwcsnadac ovsssesmm THE COMPUTERRIPER Cat«sar some DECEMBER 2002 03

— CompIIIAI ER

Seaall Office Tc~(ology S o l u t i o n s f o r S m a l l B u s i n e s s • C on n e c t i ng H o m e

Assessing productivity Is your business making the most of its hardware, software~ By raeefWheelwright

you probably don't know the answer to this question. AAer all, how are you sup-

much about productivity — it just says

posed t o k n o w a b out f eatures you

By BraediJasmine

B•

haven't used yet? Perhaps a little tale f'rom the soAware development industry will make the answer a little more dear. Back in ?996, when MicrosoA was designing the product that would eventually become Microsoft Office 97, the company was

• • •

figuring out what additional features it could possibly add to improve the capabilities of this popular suite of "produc-

he winner o f T h e Computer P aper-Microsoft Cana d a (wwwruicrosoit.ca) small business makeover competition, Mr. Forklift (wwwsnrlorkliit.corn/) of Concord, Ont., recently went through an extensive makeover process that promises to dramatically change the IT picture for the small company. Mr. Forklift seUs, servi«es, and rents forklifi equipment and ergonomic equipment, and offers custom material handling fabrication and design to major clients, such as Loblaws and BPB Westroc. In April 1993, Adam Columbus started the small company. which has grown to include a stafi'of 21. Like many small business owners,

t ivity" applications. As part o f

t h at

Columbus found he was spending less

process, the company took out newspaper ads seeking "wish lists" I'rom users about what new features they would like to see added to Office. t o s a y t hat t h e r esults

time on his core business, because he was forced to maintain his computer network without the benefit of an IT department — something larger companies take for granted.

revealed a lot more about how people

Continued onpage 45

thatyou have a degree of dependence on the technology. The second way of asking the question — and the one that is a lot more telling — is simply this: to what extent do I use the Adl capabilities of the hardware and software tools I possess?Chances are

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K, so you use email, run a Web site, do all of your financial planning on spreadsheets. run your company's books on a popular accounting package, and create your own flyers and business cards using your desktop PC and a high-end inkjet printer. But are you really getting a significant productivity improvement from the technology you use in your small business? There are two ways of answering this question. The first is to say: if all of this technology was stolen and I had to operate my business tomorrow without it, how would I do? The answer is that it would probably be pretty tough. as you likely have your business's entire financial life sitting on your hard drive (and hopefully backed up on floppy disks or CDs) along with a lot of yow correspondence. But that doesn't really tell you

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Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Microsoft

"I hoped that [the servers provided by the contest) would significantly reduce the time I spend battling with my net-

work and computers," says Columbus. "It demands far too much of my time, costing me a ton of productivity." Mr. Forklil't depends on its information technology to manage staff and resources, so a reliable, stable network is a priority. "It's aU about people management and delegation of responsibility," says Columbus. The prize package for the small business makeover competition included server hardware. software, and the services of a Microsoft Solutions Provider to handle the installation. GENX Solutions (wraagencca/) was chosen to set up the Mr. Forklift IT makeover. According to GENX Solutions operations manager, Eric Lo, the implementation went smoothly. "hlr. Forklift can now share Res and network resources reliably," says Lo. "This has reduced downtime and improved staff p roductivity. Most importantly, Adam can focus on his business without spending endless hours tackling network problems." The primary server installed during the makeover is a Compaq Proliant MU30 Generation 2 Server with a 1.2 GHz Intel Pentium III processor, 512 lvlB RAM, and two )8.2 GB hot-p)uggable mirrored hard drives, ag of which is protected by an APC Smartups 700 NET u ninterruptible power supply. The Virtual Private Network (VPN) is implemented with a Nortel Contivity 100 switch. On th e server, GENX i nstalled Microsoft Small Business Server 2000. Applications included in Small Business

Internet Security, an d A c celeration Server 2000. On the existing PC work-

stations, GENX installed Office XP with Outlook XP. The implementation took one and a

half weeks ffom start to finish, with only a few minor hardware glitches. Two consultants were assigned to the proiect, which took a total of 60 hours to complete. The biggest challenge was integrating Mr. Folklift's system w i t h

M i n i t rac

(www.minitrac.corn/), an application service provider (ASP) based in t h e L . S. hlinitrac's ASP Hosting Service infrastructure hosts, maintains, and protects

application sofiware and business critical data for lilt-truck distributors. Since Minitrac is Mr. Forklift's main business system, GENX had to provide a speedy, secure, and reliable connection working in harmony with the ASP. The new W indows 2000 Server authenticates afi user access and applies a ccexs control to the network so M r .

Forklift now has a uniform security policy that is applied to afi sensitive data. Mr. Forklift can now accomplish a lot more with the same amount of internal

r esources. Productivity s hould b e improved through reduced downtime, better cogaboration between staff members, better sharing of business information, more eScient external communications, and more responsive decision making. Remote access to Outlook's

whelmed with the daily responsibility of running their businesses. They tend to wait for a problem to arrive, fixing it on

the run, rather than looking ahead to

prevent problems. Often, they will install a backup solution after a data loss, install an anti-virus solution after a virus attack,orsetup power backups after an electrical disaster. They don't have the time or budget to investigate and plan out IT solutions in advance."

At the same time, service providers who focus on "corporate" solutions often fail to appreciate the unique challengesfaced by smaU business owners with limited resources in terms of time and money. One of the pressures on GENX during this makeover was the need for rapid implementation. GENX had to allocate sufficient manpower to bring in the solution on Mr. Forklifi's schedule. Limiting interruption to businesses during implementation was a related challenge. Nobody wants daily schedules interrupted, yet downtime is inevitable when implementing a new system. In Mr. Folklift's case, Columbus is busy and was rarely in the oSce. The GENX team had to be extremely flexible in fitting

email, and calendar programs now allows Mr. FoMift's mobile sales staff to

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Server are M i crosoft W indows 2000

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contact managenient, task management,

tion of this kind is coordinating with the o wner an d m a nagement," says L o .

• r~

into busy schedules of the entire oflice during implementation. A fact of life with many small businesses is that they almost never have inhouse IT expertise. Their support needs are frequent, short, and immediate. While not part of the makeover prize package, GENX offers an online support option and charges customers on a sixminute interval, avoiding unnecessary travel and minimizing costs. Microsoft Canada is confident its Windows 2000 SmaU Business Server package (SBS 2000) will be able to dramaticafiy change the daily workload faced by Mr. Forklift. "SBS 2000 provides small businesses with a comprehensive server solution to successfuUy Internet-enable their operations, manage and develop customer relationships and enhance employee productivity," says Scott Jackson, product marketing manager for Microsoft Canada's small business servers group. "It enables small businesses to take advantage of the Internet, strengthen customer relationships, and improve productivity. Providing small businesses with aU the necessary applications in one

•

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Microsoft.corn where you can access many more — including templates for restaurant menus, party invitations,

here are some additional questions you could ask yourselfi

employee dismissal notices (which have

' Doyouhaveaclearideaofyourbusiness' s current account balance at all

used its existing product than it did in helping craft a list of new features that should be added to Office. It turned out that 90 percent of the features requested by users already existed in the product! They were just so hard to find that most usersnever tried them. As a result, Microsoft put a lot of energy into the "discoverability" of its productfeatures in Offi ce97— and every version of the suite released since then. The idea was to make Office much more task based" than product based. As a result, when you open up a new docum entniOfficeXP,forexample,you see a set of options on the right-hand window pane that allow you to choose what type of document you want to create (a blank

document, Web page, email message. or one from a set of general or speci6c templates, for example). The templates are an i nteresting exampleofasoftware company trying to "think like a user." Of6ce XP's general templates inc)ude everything &om calendars to brochures to academic documents to letters to faxes to Web pages. And if that isn't enough, there's a link to

b een created specifically f o r th e Canadian market), and so on. I guess the key point here is that almost every piece of software you use can do a great deal more than you probably use it for. And that's where we return to the question of productivity. While it mi@t be fun to think that you could become massively more productive by 6nding a way to use the hundreds of features that are currently lying dormant and unused in every product on your hard drive, that would be like saying that your delivery business would suddenly become more productive because you read through the manual on your delivery vehicle and learned how to operate every option in the car in an expert fashion. So, instead you need to start by looking at what your business does —and what you would like it to be able to do. Where are you spending more money than you have to? Where are you giving up business that you could otherwise win? To help you think about this issue,

•

tlltles?

• Do you forgo bidding on some contracts because you don't think you' ll

be able to prepare a proper bid in time? Do you end up faxing or mailing documents that could have been emailed simply because you have problems working with email attachments? Do you know where you would look — right now — to 6nd out the history of your interaction with a given customer if they phoned? • Does your business's brochure look stale and dated because you haven't had the time or money to get a designer to create a new one for you? If you answered "no" to questions I, 3, or 4, or "yes" to question 2 or 5, then you could probably get greater productivity from the technology you are using in your business. With today's Web banking solutions, there is no reason why any business should not have instant access to current account information at all times. Well-designed templates for com-

•

ITpower for Mr. lorMIII

•

ContinuedJrom page 45 •

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Mr. Forklift's Columbus says the installation went smoothly, but he also feels that it's too soon to say how the new equipment wifi atfect his business. Still, he's optimistic, and hopes that the

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monly submitted bids should help cut down on the time needed to create them. And so on. You get the idea —making better use of technology can yield produ«tivity gains that relate directly to the operation of your business. Having said all that, it should be noted that technology can also hinder productivity if not used properly. IF employees get the idea that anything they do in &ont of a computer screen is "work," it can mean you have a room full of people checking their Hotmail accounts, playing Solitaire, and surfing Web entertainment sites. You may also find that some people get obsessive about making sure their computers are "running perfectly" and waste inordinate amounts of time chasing down problems they think are viruses or trying to decode a computerrelated problem that has no bearing at all on the operation of the business (i.e. the 156th pixel on the left hand side of my screen is a little faded, but I have spent lour hours on the phone with tech support and I think I know why). In short, common sense is the order of the day. Technology can be a great productivity tool for your business —but remember that it's there to serve the business, the business isn't there to feed the technology. CI installation wil) "expand the company beyond myself, and instill the ability for it to run without me being a key cog in the wheel." We' ll have another look at Mr. Forklift two months down the road and find out how dramatically the business has been changed by the makeover. LI BraadiJasmine is afreelancewriter, illustrator, photographer,andnew technology junkie. Youcan write to her at bjsnbrandijasmine.com.

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Forget home videos, BVIYs the Bring Continued frompage 43 if necessary — in the video editor before they can be incorporated into the DVD. Fortunately, working back and forth between video editing and DVD authoring is fairly painless, and re-rendering takes little time as the SrnartDV engine doesn't bother to recalculate unchanged frames. However, re-rendering will

quick)y eat up free hard drive space. Creating a menu and title/chapter structure is even easier than in DVD Workshop. Just create new menus on one of the strips along the top of the screen, then drag images, video dips, and audio clips from the library onto the preview screen to create menu back-

grounds, titles, hotspots, and background music. like DVD Workshop, setting chapter points is a matter of previewing a video clip, pausing on the appropriate frame, and setting a marker. But for ag the ease and convenience of the authoring module, it doesn't offer as many features as DV D W orkshop. Backgrounds and buttons can't be animated; there's no provision for an Introductory dip; you can't determine if the end of a title wiB automaticagy lead to another title or back to the menu; title thumbnails must be the first image of a dip.

Final cut In the end, ag of the DVDs I produced

looked quite presentable, though DVD Workshop's menus looked the most polishecL The three programs crested DVDs with about the same image quality (the duferences were so minor I had to repeatedly view the discs to see them), so it really comes down to your needs and preferences. As someone who likes drag-and-drop simplicity, MyDVD is a dream. As a prof essional n i tpicker, I lik e DV D Workshop's level of detail; the menus looked and sounded exactly as I'd planned. But by incorporating editing functions into t h e p rogram itself, VideoWave gave me more options for tweaking my clips — and since few (if any) DVD authoring programs give you

real editing capability, VideoWave 5 is a great bargain. So much so, that if you just have to have DVD Workshop but have some spare cash, I would recommend getting VideoWave as well. In fact, that's exactly what I did when I decided to make a fourth disc I used DVD Workshop and VideoWave together, passing data back and forth. The end result was the exact DVD I'd wanted from the start, from top to bottom. The total cost of both packages would pass my $500 limit, but isn't my kid's imminent superstardom worth it?

Explorer and Windows Media Playerwhich complement the character recognition software and other handheld programs. The e740 includes slots for both CF and SD media. Beneath the display is a four-way scroll button and one-touch buttons for Calendar, Tasks, Home, and Contacts. On the left side are additional s«roB buttons that can easily be pressed with the

thumb on the right hand or fingers on the left hand. For recording in a normal speaking voice,we found we had to be very close to the microphone for it to be audible on

CI EmruTownsend (emruggpobcxcom)wouldlike for his life to havethe director's cut

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A small office laser printer workhorse By DaveChactpecle he ML-1450 is the latest monoc hrome l aser p r i nter f r o m Samsung for the small and home office user. We found it versatile and small enough to fit practically anywhere.

le ULTNI ATESPYGEAR!

Monochrome laser printers are document workhorses. Sure, they can output

black and white photos, but they' re designed to print high-quality documents that look bauer than those that

come out of any inkiet. At 36x41x30 cm, the 1450 seemed a tad boxy, but it ht nicely onto a shelf under our desk, saving precious desktop space. Following the large-print diagrams and instructions on the Quick Setup Guide, we installed the toner cartridge and slid the 1450 on the shelf under the desk. We connected the cable, loaded the software, and were ready to print. The 550-sheet input tray slides under the printer at the bottom Front. A plastic

slide indicates paper level. Samsung engineers have eliminated the clumsy fragil e paper trays we frequently see extending out past the chassis on other printers. An optional second input tray can be installed directly beneath the printer. The printer top, next to the controls,

forms the 250-sheet output tray.Under our desk we had to bend over to see the buttons, but for the most part i t w as

usable. The three buttons are Cancel/Reprint, Demo, and Toner Saver. Above the buttons are four LEDs, indicating error, paper, manual, and data. When the rear output tray door is opened print jobs appear there first, face up. This tray is for t ransparencies, envelopes, labels, cards, and paper that is lighter or heavier than normal stock. The 1450 connects to Mac, Linux, and Windows systems via either USB or parawel ports. As our USB ports were full, we chose the parallel port. If you plan to use it on a network, Samsung ofFers an optional network interface card (NIC), and changes the model designation to ML-1451N.

From:SamsungCanada,www.samsung.ca Price:5499 Samsung claims this printer has a top speed of 14 pages per minute via a parallel connection, with a warm-up time of less than 40 seconds. That claimed warm-up time turned out to be conser-

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We found our 15-page document was completed in one minute and 22 seconds when sent from our Athlon 1000 system running Windows 2000. On average, only the first 22 seconds were required for warming up. Output quality from the 1450 was very crisp. If you' re used to printing documents on an inkiet, you' ll notice a significant difference in those same documents when you pick them up from the

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laser output tray.

Toner cartridges are supposed to last 6,000pages atfi ve percent coverage.The cartridge supplied in the box is good for approximately half that number of pages.

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We chose to print most documents

with Toner Saver enabled, as the difference in output quality was barely noticeable. T he ML-1450 arrives with 4 M B m emory standard. Fo r u s e w i t h PostScript at least 12 MB is necessary, which means you would have to install at least another 8 MB of m e mory. Resolution is 1,200 dpi with the optional memory instaUed. The Samsung ML-1450 is backed by a one-year warranty, which can be extended a second year for an additional

charge. C2

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Breaking the iCandy barrier With latest revision, Mac OS X becomes full-fledged OS By Iusfi n Siemens

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pple hasreleasedthe third major

revision of Mac OS X and it looks to be the final nail in the coffm for OS 9. Not only hasApple announced that OS 9 is no longer available as aretail product, it will not be supported on new hardware starting lan. I, 2003. More significantly though, with version 10.2, Mac OS X finally makes the leap from the iCandy category to becoming a fullfledged operating system. True, you could stay with Mac OS 9 and still be as productive as you are today, but looking ahead, more software now requires OSX and pretty soon there' ll be some application you want to use that will necessitate the jump to OS X anyway. To date, notable OS X exclusives are mostly from Apple, induding IDVD 2.0, iTunes 3.0, iCal, iSync, and Microsoft's Offic v.X. Many game developershave noted how much easier it is to port their titles to OS X, so expect many new games to be released in the coming months to be OS X only, including the much hyped Doom 3. In the meantime, let's take a look at 10.2 from start to finish and see how it

affe ctsthe Mac you use on a day to day basis.

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pple unveiled a public beta of iSync onSept. 28, just managing to ueak into the promised release window of "sometime in September." The iSync beta includes afl the promised functionality, but is not officially supported by Apple or guaranteed to work. In its ' current form, iSync ..) allows you to sync with Sony Ericsson Bluetooth-enabled phones, iPods, Palm handhdd,s and other Mac hardware. The calendar info is stored in iCal and the address info in the OS X Address Book. If you' re syncing with a Palm handheld, the notes and to-do lists are

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Work different What does Mac OS 10.2 do differently? It runs well on old hardware: we tested it

on a 233 MHz G3 iMac with 192 MB of RAM and it ran surprisingly wefl. It was fast enough to run AppleWorks, Mail, Internet Explorer, iChat, and FileMaker Pro. The iMac ran eight hours a day without a single crash with all the appli-

Beta delivers promised sync functionality

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Breakin g the ICendy hamer artrpageSQ fixed and Classic apps seem to run faster in general, although they wig still crash on occasion. The other big change in 10.2 is Quartz Extreme, which is not as fast as we would

have hoped. While it does make a difference in speed, it seems to benefit from 4X AGP more than 2X AGP. On a system

with a 100 MHz bus and 2X AGP, but with 64 MB VRAM, some Aqua effects still seemed slow. But on Macs with a faster 133 MHz and capable video cards it was a more noticeable speed improvement. Some people seem to think they can't run OS 10.2 on their Mac unless it supports Quartz Extreme, whirh is not true. If your Mac doesn't support Quartz Extreme, it will simply run regular Quartz as it did under OS 10.0 and 10.1. The difference in Quartz Extreme is that the entire GUI — including desktop, windows, and cursor —are afi passed to the video card and processed as OpenGL objects. Each window is a textured polygon, which in theory means that the video card can do aU the transparency and shadows much faster than the CPU

by treating it as a 3D scene. Quartz Extreme also makes a few visible differences, such as being able to see the DVD Player when transparent objects are placed on top, and the standard arrow «ursor now has a subtle drop shadow on Quartz Extreme machines. In general though, if you don't have a Quartz Extreme-capable Mac (16 MBplus VRAM and AGP 2X-plus), don' t worry too much this time around. Perhaps in OS X 10.3 it will make a bigger difference. Installing OS X 10.2 was painless, taking about an hour on most Macs and involving two install discs. The core OS is on the first disc, with additional programs and printer drivers on the second CD. The OS 10.2 installer has three options, one of which is brand new. Standard wiU install 10.2 on top of a previous version of OS X, or add the full OS if you don't already have it. Clean instaU erases your entire hard drive and installs a "clean" version of the OS. The new option, Archive and InstaU, puts ag of your previous OS X software in a directory'caged Previous System, then installs a clean OS X without erasing your appli-

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cations and documents. It also includes afiows you to import your old users' data when it's done. This is by far the preferable way to instaU OS X. You get clean System and Library folders without having to worry about any old kernel extensions or messed up preference files. As well, your home folder is reinstated so aU your usual applications and documents are stiU there. Most people who have had problems installing 10.2 have tried a standard install, which can leave behind traces of 10.1. In our testing, Archive and Install resultedin a more stable system, and inmany casesa snappierfeeling system. Without a doubt, it's the option we recommend for most users. The full 10.2 install requires 1.2 GB of harddrive space and 128 MB of RAM. Archive and Install requires almost 2 GB of hard drive space, and for best performanc«we still recommend, at minimum, 256 MB of RAM. Extensive testing has had us running OS 10.2 on literally a dozen different Macs for more than a month and in aU cases, it has been a more stable operating system and superior t o w hat was installed previously. The biggest problems occurred on Macs going from OS 9 to 10.2. In some cases, RAM that worked perfectly under OS 9 will not work under OS X. If you haven't tried running OS 10.0 or 10.1 on your Mac, you won't know if your RAM is goad until you try, but it's not 10.2 specifically that's at fault, just tighter RAM tolerances in the way OS X uses memory, as far as we can teU. Otherwise, things have been generally uneventful. Once you have 10.2 up and running, you will notice many small rhanges, but it takes time to catch them aU. Most of the networking functions are vastly improved, but the key points for many people are Windows network browsing, Rendezvous,and the return of software Airport Base Station. In OS 10.1 you could connect to PC servers, but you had to type the address in just right. In OS 10.2, you simply choose

WWWa TCP— Whether yau spell it Hanukkah or Ehanukah,the annual Jewish festivalof lightbegins on sunset,Nov.29.To learn more about lighting the Menorah, spinning Ureidels, or to hear audio clips o holidaysongs,check out this site. www.ho lidays.net/chanukah/

Connect To Server from the Go menu in the Finder, and the Network Browser will show you ag the Mar and PC computers on the network that have file sharing enabled. Rendezvous allows other Macs to show up automatically in the network browser, in much the same way Apple Talk used to work in the Chooser. If you are using Printer Sharing in OS 10.2, Rendezvous will automatically add the shared printer to the Print Centre of any 10.2 marhines on the network. Finally, Airport software Base Station has been missing since OS 9, but it's back in 10.2. From the Airport menu item simply choose Create Network and follow the steps. Other minor changes include new preference panes for most functions and a slightly refined look for Aqua, which we would call Aqua 1.1. It's not totally different but it does look cleaner and more elegant. The new progress indicator is particularly nice. In ag, it's not night and day, but you'U notice the dif'ference.After using OS 10.2 for several weeks, 10.1 just seems crude. O nce you' ve been running OS X for a while, there are a few things you can do to keep it r unning smoothly. Even though OS X is stable enough to run for months without restarting, we recommend restarting once every couple weeks so the system can perform its routine maintenance. When the system starts up it runs the built-in disc utility automaticafiy and repairs any problems it finds. It does ag this transparently to the user, although you'U notice it takes longer to start up if your computer was powered down inappropriately.

Theother thingyou can do to keep OS 10.2 running well is to occasionally (once a month) run the repair privileges routine built into the disc utility. You'U find it i n Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility. The command, under the First A id t ab , i s c a lled R epair D i sk Permissions. It's a good way to make sure ag your directories and files are set properly, as permission errors can cause big problems in a UNIX system. There's really nothing else to keeping OS X running. You don't have to worry about rebuilding the desktop or extensions conflicts, and if you can find OS X versions of aU your sofiware, OS 10.2

wiU be ajoy to use. 0 lustin Siemens,a MscIT specialist based in Vancouver,B.C,canbe reached at jsiemens@rnac.cam

< PLATFORM N EWS o

Eehdelivers promisedsyncfuadionality

types of and number of fish you can see on

Continued fromfxtge50 not backed up, although you can still do that in Palm Desktop if you wish. Also of

screen at a time, but it's enough to get you hooked.The fullversion is US$21.95— a

note for Palm users, we were hoping that

Apple would use the same sync engine to power afi platforms, but when syncing to a Palm device, you are still using the Palm HotSync manager, so to anyone who' s had p with HotSync in OS X, iSync is not going to help you. Otherwise itseems to work very weU so far. We have not been able to fi nd a Bluetooth USB adapter in Canada, but we' ve tested iSync with a Palm, an iPod, and between two Macs. In afi cases it worked much as expected. The best implementation, though, was for iPods: syncing is automatically performed every time you plug it into your Mac, which many people do regularly to charge the battery and update their music. Also, since people who own iPods

roblesm

tend to take them whenever they go, it

becomesvery natural to check your calendar and contacts on the iPod. We' re still looking forward to testing iSync with a cell phone whenever Apple can get the Bluetooth adapter released

up here. In the meantime, we recommend iSync for iPod users —and Palm userswho are feeling adventurous.

A fishtank for your desktop

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bit steep for a screen saver, but it is pretty slick. At the very least, it would make a

great Christmas gift or stocking stuffer for the Mac user who has everything. If you have a Cinema Display, you may find yourself leaving it running afi the time.

CoinputerPAPER This holiday

LCDpromo Apple has launched a new Power Couple promotion, with rebates for those who purchase a PowerBook or Power Mac G4 with a qualifying Apple LCD (17-inch Studio Display and 22-inch and 23-inch Cinema Displays) before Dec. 31. Unlike its previous Power Couple promotion, the rebate amount is based on the type of computer purchased rather than the display. This is also the first time Apple has extended the display rebate to reward PowerBook buyers. Purchasing a dual-867 MHz Power Mac and LCD earns a $300 rebate, with a $450 payback for a 6 6 7 M H z Powergook or dual-1 GHz Power Mac with an LCD, and $600 for a 800 MHz PowerBook or Power Mac dual-1.25 GHz with an LCD. Apple's rack-niount server also qualifies for the rebate, with $450 back for a single-processor and $600 for a dualprocessor Xserv. The 15-inch Studio Display is not included in the promo, which has started a new round of rumours that it' s being offi ciaUy end-of-life'd by Apple. There might actually be something to the buzz this time, since as of press time Apple had removed the 15-inch display from both its Canadian and American online stores. If the 15-inch is truly dead, Apple

Our new hvourite screen mver for OS X is called Marine Aquarium, from a company called Serene Screen (wwwserene. screen.corn/). The premise is similar to the fish tank module in the old After Dark except this fish tank in this implementation is so realistic that from a distance the inhabitants could pass for real lish. The requirements to run it are fairly high— a good video card isrequired for optimal results, as the fish are rendered with OpenGL (in the OS X version at least). We have only tried the OS X version, but the company also has versions for OS 9 and Windows. It runs perfectly as astand alone application or &om within the OS X Screen Klfects panel The demo version limits the

®1

must be preparing new niodels or price cuts on the entire display line —having the 17-inch LCD at $1,500 as the base model Apple-branded monitor seems crazy to ua Other companies such as Dell and IBM continue to sell sub $1,000 LCDs, although they are afi 15-inch. If Apple wants to drop the 15-inch model it should at least introduce a widescreen 17-inch LCD, like the one found on current high-end iMac G4s. Regardless, if you' re considering a Power Mac or PowerBook purchase betweennow and the end oftheyear,the promo could save you some money. You just have to keep in mind that it could also mean new displays are around the corner.

Continued onpage 54

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Compared to what's available in the Windows world, many PC users switching to Mac systems are surprised by the skimpy software bundles included with Apple hardware. PowerBook and Power M ac G4purchasersdon'teven geta copy of AppleWorks, while most PCs include at minimum a basic version of Microsoft Office or Corel WordPerfect. In response, there are now several software pmmotions for new Mac buyers. The first, Office Party, adds Micmsoft Office v3( to any new Mac system for only $299 —a very good deal mnsidering the suite retails for $750. The second, Design Fredy, Ipves new Power Mac G4 purchasers a full copy of Adobe InDesgin 2.0 for &ee. This mail-in ofier targets designers spedfically. which is why it is paired with G4 towersonly (we think PowerBook G4s should be eligible, too). InDesign retails for about $1,100. Both promos run until Dec. 31, which means there are no doubt surprises aplenty in store for Macworld San Prancisco onJan. 7. 0

C ~ p% 037 ty, and lots of work Or, in a few hours, you can be using eBay to get your products out to the world, with fast, secure p ayment through PayPal, or t h e Bfiipoint/efiay payments systems. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me was the beautiful self-policing mechanism of both buyers and sellers diTigently maintaining a spotless reputation on eBay. I was also pleasantly surprised to find so many interesting, honest, and decent people on eBay, &om all over the world: Taiwan, France, the U .K., Germany, Portugal, Poland, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Italy, Spain, Norway, Finland, as well as the

Schools have traditionally been one of Apple's largest markets, but they have also been amongst the slowest to transition to OS X. While Apple is already trying to shift its home user towards the new OS, it realizes incentives are necessary to get educators to move over, as their upgrade path is significantly more costly. To that end, Apple haslaunched a pmmotion in which educators can get a &ee copy of OS X 10.2 and a Getting Started With OS X CD. The offer is extended to educators at accredited K-12 institutions in the V.S. and Canada and is available

exclusively online throu+ the Apple Web site (wwwapp)e.cnm/a/etuatoiymKosrInitestheiso. Apple hopes that by introducing teachers to the new OS, they will be more likely to push for their school to upgrade the machines in the classmom. It seems unlikely to us that such a plan will be successfid,considering how underfunded most educational systemsare currently. At the very least, IYsa nice gift &om Apple to teachersand a good opportunity to intmduce OS X to more users.

)usenSiemens, aMacIT specialist basedin Vancouver,B.C, an bereachedat

jsiemen s@maccnm.

detail work, and a lot of organization. The saddest and sweetest part of the whole summer was that when I was handling the historic model airplane kits from Dad's collection, I was touching a part of my father's life, historic things that he had been keenly interested in ag his life, and that he had an expert' s knowledge of. In his working life, Dad had spent his whole career in the retail industry. He had been hired in 1949 when he graduated &om UBC, to run the bargain basement in the Vanmuver Hudson's Bay store. He spent a 40-year career with the Bay,eventually becorrung the president of the corn pany. By starting and running my own retail business onhne, and dosing fairly with hundreds of customers &om around the world, I felt that for the first time I was gaining some understanding of the work Dad had spent his life doing to support his family. During my eBay summer I tried to be an honest merchant. I found a great satisfaction every time I made a good sale, and a happy customer. Thanks, eBay. Thanks, Dad. E2

U.S. and Canada. I made my share of mistakes: I occasionally lost emails, and had a hard time tracking some buyers through a maze of many different online fake names and email addresses, and still keeping track of which item or items they had purchased. Would I do it again? Sure. It actually wasn't easy money, despite the gift of Dad's collection, which gave me &ee inventory. It took a mountain of fiddly

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Donation publishing Web sites surviving on the kindness of strangers By Pater T)tpper nt to make money with content on the Web? Try asking nicely. Now that ad banner rates have fallen and the future of subscriptions is uncertain, online content providers are struggling to lind a way to pay their bandwidth costs and hopefully have a little left over. A hand!'ul of online publishers are supporting themselves by requesting donations from fans. The creator of Web comic 8-Bit Theatre (www.nuklearpoweccom), Brian Clevinger, is an example. His comic, with two or three episodes posted each week, is made with low-resolution sprites from the Final Fantasy I computer role-playing game, and is sometimes combined with original art. The strip has strong geek appeal, sending up the conventions of f antasy fiction and gallies.

Clevinger's site features a meter displaying how much money has come in so far each month, usually between USSI,500 and US$2,500. Roughly onethird of this is from ad banners and Caff Press merchandise sales, but the majority comes from fan donations. Clevinger, who is based in Orlando, Fla., receives most of it in PayPal deposits of $10 or less, with occasional larger amounts. He estimates that about half of the money come &om regular, repeat donors. "Every month I see a lot of the sante names and e-mailaddresses giving me money. Even if it's just $1, that kind of loyalty month after month is appreciated." Clevinger supports himself through this work â&#x20AC;&#x201D; though not extravagantly. In his donation FAQ, he says he allows himselfonevideo game and one movie a month. His creation is an exceptional case, however; it was ranked number one on topwebcomics.com for four months and retired to the hall of fame, making Clevinger the Stephen King of Web comics. Other Web comics. even those ranked in thetop 10, receive less support. Zeek 2.0 (wwwzeekonlinenet), which is written and drawn by Isaac Hall in Illinois, only brings in about US$60 each

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month, which goes to hosting fees and art supplies. North Vancouver's own Broken Saints (www.brokensaiats.com), which was profiled in TCPNovember, is an even purer form of donation publishing. Broken Saints is a much more ambitious project than 8Bit Theatre, combining original art, Flash animation, and music into a epic story told in 24 monthly episodes, spanning two years. The site has no advertising or sponsorship, leaving the project to be funded by the creators'savings,sales of Cafe Press merchandise, benefit concerts, and donations. To date, more than

project, which they hope will be a portfolio piece leading to future work Donations can also be used to support publications on a contingency basis. Adsupported news Web site Low End Mac (www.lowendmac.com) was in financial difficulty in June 200!. Trafiic kept going up, but ad rates were falling faster. Readers pitched in about US$2,000 in donations to help offset the $2,100 deficit. The site also requests ongoing donations for its regular content and mailing lists. There's even a helpful chart that shows which of several transaction services is most efficient for the amount

$8,000 has come in, much of it from fans in amounts from $5 to $50.

donated.

Also, when Broken Saints gets major media attention from sources like U.S.based National Public Radio orEuropean newspapers, three-figure donations from arts patrons tend to roll in.

Most of this money goes to covering Web hosting, the venture's chief operating cost, which runs up to $2,000 a month. While Broken Saints began with support from Switch Interactive, it still uses the same hardware and software it did two years ago. Broken Saints is not a money-making venture. The three creators (Brooke Burgess, Ian Kirby, and Andrew West) are living on their savings and taking part-time jobs so they can finish this

Since most donations are small sums delivered by online banking companies, donations suffer the same problem as micropayments in that a significant portion is lost in overhead. Amazon Honor System transactions cost $0.15 each, plus 15 percent, and PayPal merchant accounts charge $0.30 for each transaction, regardless of the amount, in addition to 2.2 percent or more. Sites relying on donations may trade one dependencefor another.Instead of editing content to be palatable to advertisers, a donation-supported site would shy away from controversial content in order to keep the donations coming in. While a commercial content provider is supposed to please its readers, a journal-

istic publication is supposed to fulfil a particular public duty. It's hard to gauge the success of a publishing venture based on how much money people donate to it. Because 8-Bit Theatre gets more donations than Broken Saints, does it follow that it is betteri Broken Saints is a more labour intensive than 8-Bit Theatre, but people make donations on their own assessment, not how much the work cost to produce. There's also the problem that the more popular a site is, the more hosting costs. A site that grows in popularity without increasing in revenue can cost the creator money, with no way to shut it olt So, what makes a Web site inspire its audience to donate? Brooke Burgess, writer of Broken Saints, says, "At first I didn't understand why they were willing [to donate)... we were three faceless punks making a creepy little Flash thingie. After a series of passionate and expressive mails from fans, I started to get it. We are 'touching' people with the work.. giving them hope that there's somebody else out there in the vast, dark cyber-murk that understands what's 'wrong' with the world and yearns to lix it. I think they donatebecause we've devoted our time and energy to doing what they wish they could do, and they want to play a small but essential part in getting our message 'out there.'"

Clevinger is less philosophical about his success. "I'm just lucky. I happened to be at the right place at the right time and I'm milking it for all it's worth!" The examples here get most of their donations from small, dedicated followings. Burgess and Clevinger take the time to answer fan emails and post messages in online forums to build their fan bases, and the audience shows their appreciation through donations. The money isn't just a payment for information and entertainment; it's for something the giver feels persona))y involved with. It's also an investment, ensuring there wifi be more of the same in the future. It's difficult to understand what peo-

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Data search and rescue lmost every computer users has. at one time or another, lost inforation or documents stored on their hard drives or media. It's a frustrating, b!ood pressure-raising experience at the best of times, but it can be devastating to a small business that loses accounting records or intellectual property, or a graduate student who accidentally wipes out a year's worth of thesis research. That's where people like Doug Owens step in. Owens is a data recovery lab technician who spends his days trying to rescue important bits of information from drives and media that have been damaged, infected, or unintentionally erased. He took time out recently to speak with TCP about the daily problems and solutions of data recovery work Here is an edited version of that conversation. TCP: How did you becomeinterested iu working with computers? DO: It goes back to when I was in high school, taking the mandatory computer literacy course. It just opened up a whole new world — the things that you could do on a computer. It was just a course

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I enrolled in the programm ing courses and just continued to find myself deeper and deeper involved in them. Originally it was aB on a software level, programming, not doing any sort of repairs or none of the hardware side of it. Hpwdid you end up in the position you' re in now? After high school, I went to a technical school in San Jose, [Calif.,j again to learn pmgramming. At the time, they taught us afi the cutting-edge languages, which back then were Cobol, Fortran, Pascal. C was just coming out —that was the last course that we were insnucted in. After that I went to work for a small

company here in San Diego, and stayed with them for almost16 years. The company was a service provider, basically converting data &om incompatible computers, and eventuafiy turning into doingdata recovery &om damaged tape media. I' ve been with CBL almost a year. Tell meabout a typical workday. We'B have customers that have prob-

lans with their media, be it a hard drive, a tape, SmartMedia, floppy, CD, removable —just about any type of media that you can store data on, those are our potential customers. We'B normally get the projects in, they' ll be logged in, customers are notified. and then the project would be placed on our pending shelf to be processerL We would take each project and begin the evaluation of it to determine what the problem is, and what it would take to resolve that prob-

lem. After completing the evaluation, prior to performing the actual recovery, we provide the customer with an exact quote for what the recovery will cost them. We want to make sure, before going through the many hours of work to actually recover the data, that the cost of the recovery is going to be approved. There's no point in us spending three or fourdays to recover data and then the customer saying "Nah, it's not really worth that." Upon getting approval, we move to the recovery phase of th e project. Depending on the problem, that could mean sending the drive into the clean room to have components replaced in

order to be able to read the drive, such as ably going to be an internal problem. If the heads, or to see how extensive the they told us that they deleted the partiplatter damage is. tion, then we know we need to look at it It could mean that it goes into the as a logical problem. If upon visual logic lab, which is where problems with inspection, we see that there's burned viruses, partitioning, formatting, deleted out chips on the rircuit board, then we files, things of that nature are handlefL It know that it's going to be at least an elecjust depends on what the problem is —if trical issue to start with. it's a tape issue, then we take it into the Once we get beyond the physical or tape area of the lab and begin processing electrical problem, we start off by proit. The labs are segmented into certain ducing a mirror of their drive. That way, areas for certain types of projects. any of the processing that we do is on Once we get to a point where we can our drive, as opposed to theirs. Any recover the data, the data is [checkedl changes that we make to it are not catafor validity to make sure the target data, . strophic, because we always have their the data that was important enough for original that we can go back to. So after the customer to send it in, is recoverable. mirroring it, we fix the problem, whatevWe wantto make surewe're able to give er that is, and then start puBing the data them back what they want — if we can't, oif of the drive onto either another type thenwe don'tcharge forthe recovery. of drive, or onto CD-ROM to return it to the customer. How do you gp about Pguring out what Ypu'rea manager aswelL How many peotheproblem is? We have an excellent development p?edoyou supervise? stafi' in our home office that has written The San Diego and the New York a lot of our evaluation software. First of oifices—four. aB, we determine what type of problem How muchof yourj obis management? [it may bel based on what the customer has told us. If they say that the drive is A lot of it is just paperwork. I would clicking, then we know that there's probsay during the workday, very little, say 10

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Datasearchaudrescue Continued?routpqge59 sit there and are a robot and do the same thing every day.You need to look at challenges as a good thing as opposed to a bad thing.

recorded to it. But keeping up on those— when a new technology does arrive, knowing about it helps you prepare yourself for the time that a customer sends a project in that has that requirement.

to be a recovery scenario— and the volume of work increasing, so being able to manage that and still provide the quality service that we like. What'syour favourite thing ro do in your spare time? I enjoy spending time with my two daughters and my wife. I'm a volunteer at mydaughters'school.Ienjoy graph-

What do yo«do ra keep yo«rseif «p ro speed in yoiir job skillsand learning «csv technologies? I attend related seminars, courses. There's no school that you can go to to learn data recovery. The best way to keep up on this is to keep up on the latest technology. There are seminars and training courses that will let you know certain aspects of recovery, but it's not like taking Recovery 101. You can learn about tapes, you can learn about CDs, you can learn about hard disks, but it's either an overall view of how these technologies work or it's 0 specific view on how information is

Whatsortsof clragcrrgesdoyo«expect ro facein your position i«rhe next coupleof years? able to recover the increasing volumes of data that are coming out in the future in a timely fashion. I mean, if we' re dealing with terabyte [1,000 gigabytes) drives, it's going to take a while. Also, with the limiting speed of the Internet. being able to get data back to the customers online —we're trying to come up with a way of doing that in a much more efficient manner. The industry is increasing —the more equipment that is out there, the more likelihood there's going

sional, just in fun. I still enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons—I' ve been playing with the same group of people for over 20 years. j We don't get together as often as weused to, but once or twice a year we' ll have a weekend role-playing fest. Sort of geeky, huh'. Other than that, I'm on a bowling league, but right now I'm trying to focus; more on work and family than on doing a whole lot of other stuff. CI

Dardwapaguide a must-read ConfittuecfknmpageSg

strengthsandweaknesses.

thathad become too grungyto use by fol-

Perhapsthe best example ofthis isthe section on processors. I was looking for a new CPU toreplace one that died, and wantedto make sure I didn't and up with another dud. The chapter devoted to processors goes into great detail, looking atthe way Inteland AND processors have

lowing their cleaning tips (i.a. put it in a dishwasher ,dry in an oven fora couple of hours, let stand, then —voila! —it's ready

developed over the years, the practical

or board should be installed, and what tools you need. In short, if you are looking for a good

buy this book. The new edition of PC Hardware in a Ntrts?tell is easily the best of its type, and epitomizeswhat O'Reilly has come to be known for: publishing well-written books about technical subjects that users can easily understand and implement. WhatI think most readers ofthis book will apprariate is that the authors are "hands on" with their subject matter. This book goes beyond the relatively simple matter of how to do such things as adding in new memory cards, hard drives, video cards, and so on, but provides a solid grounding in the wide variety of such devices available, detailing their

Destafieu publishiug Cont inuedfiom page SS pie will donate money to. Dot-bomb casualty Karyn Bosnak, faced with a $20,000 credit card debt for designer clothes, created the Save Karyn Web site (vrou w.sauehaNn.com) where she unabashed-

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I would say the high capacity, being

differences between various processors (notjust speed, but the types ofapplications they are best suited for) plus the current and likely future trends for the market. This info helped me pick out the bestCPU and accompanying board availableformy meagre budget. The book also abounds in practicaltips. I was able to salvage a favourite keyboard

ly askspeople to bail her out. This would be laughable except for the fact that it works. To date, people have donated over US$17,000, in amounts as large as US$1,000. The Save Karyn Web site does, in effect, provide entertainment in the form of Karyn's telegenic persona, and also the participatory experience internet users enjoy. The Bosnak case may be an anomaly, however, as similar sites have not had anywhere near her financial success. Paying for content goes against the grain of online culture, which is used to getting stuff for free. However, Net!zeus may be willing to exchange money for content if they aren't coerced into it. For

ics, producing graphics, nothing profes-

(

to use.). The book has plenty ofpictures,so you can see how new memory cardsdifferfrom

older models, find out exactly how achip

guideforwhen you are underthe hood of yourPC,orwantto know what to look for in future upgrades,you can expectto save a lotoftime and hassle by getting a copy of this book first. Highly recommended. P.S.Hey Nr. O'Reilly, how about an equival ent book for Nac hardware? 0

this practice to become something content creators can bank on will require new developments in online society, an awareness that you can't take all of this for granted. Though a few online creators are subsisting on fan donations, it isn't prompting many other people to try it. As Clevfnger says: "Surviving on donations is not easy. If you want a taste for it, go into work tomorrow and give up your benefits, your insurance, your vacation, tear up your contract, give up the right to be guaranteed payment for your time, and demand toonlybe paid ifmanagement remembers to at the end of the week." 0

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