2005 04 HUB - The Computer Paper by The Computer Paper

APRIL 2005

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SE I.NG UPA WIRELESS E'NETWORK TEST LAB' 4 NETWORK

ATTACHED STORAGE DRIVES COMPARED HOME THEATRE

PROJECTOR BUYER' S GUIDE

SPLINTER CELL: CHAOS THEORY

CANON POM/ERSHOT S70-

MAXTOR SHARED STORAGE DRIVE

PHOTO CONTEST AND MUCH MORE 0

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Letter from the Editor Extral

Check out our new sections Digital Imaging Home Entertainment Personal Computing Wireless Total Gamer

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P er sonal Co m p u t i n g Income tax returns made simple, Four tax software packages reviewed

Test Lab

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Networked Attached Storage[NAS) solutions

l3!gital Imaging Digital Photograph!I Tutorial 15 . Learning to see as the camera "sees" Part 3

W ir e les s A network to call !lour own!

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i @tel Ga m e r Splinter Cell 3: Ubisoft's ascent into Chaos....... . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Handheld reviews: WarioWare Touched!, Klonoa 2 and more ..22

C ont e s t s Letter of the Month

Photo spree z

Oe '. In selecte d r e g i ons ... end online Not all stories run in all regions due to space constraints. Check our online archives for the full index of stories across all regions: www.hubcanada.corn/TheMagazine

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Upgrading brand name PCs PMA: The megapixel m!Ith Home theatre project primer Chewing the Core

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A pril 200 5

— H U B : Digital Living

Editor ia l If you listened to the hype of yesteryear, you may be wondering where the Ethernet port on your refrigerator is. Likewise the oven, microwave and p e rhaps even the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine(with plexiglass dome for warming hamburger buns, if so equipped]. To update the hype for currency, the above would likely be wirelessly connected to the home network. Meal plans are created in advance and shared across the network such that all the appliances run like a welloiled machine. Upon arriving home from work, the oven has preheated and once-frozen meat has defrosted and is ready for preparation. Meanwhile, the fridge has ordered the ingredients for next week's meal plan from an online grocery retailer. While some such networked appliances exist, they' ve hardly enjoyed wide-spread adoption as yet. TMIO's Intelligent Oven was on display in the Microsoft Digital Home, a concept home at CES with all manner of hidden and overt technology as a demonstration of what's currently possible. The Intelligent Oven is at its heart a refrigerator and oven hybdid. Hooked up to the network via CAT-5cable or wirelessly, the oven will keep food cool then turn itself on at a specified time so the casserole is ready when you arrive home. If plans change and you' re going to be later than originally planned,you can change the oven-on time via the Internet or a cellular phone. At about $9,000 (from US$7,50O], it's likely too expensive for widespread adoption but is proof positive of the fact that, despite some false starts and over-excitement, we' re inching

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ever closer toward a truly networked home. In the future, gettingappliance s installed or delivered could involve more than just a couple of delivery persons to lug the thing upstairs. Following close behind might be a network technician — perhaps even a member of Best Buy's Geek Squad making a tech support house call — to lead new appliance owners through the "plug and pray" installation process. And until technology reaches a point where it's completely reliable and literally plug and play, we' ll probably all end up trying to figure out why the fridge just blue screened. Anddropped packets willhave as muchto do with the Old El Paso TacoSeasoning Mix that spilled on the floor as they will the fact that the oven can't preheat because it's showing a 404 "page not found" error. The fully networked home of lore is still just a concept. However, with more and more devices in the home finding their way onto the network starting in the living room, perhaps it is only a matter of time before said network connects with every room in the house.

LWIIEDI Vsalumts i8 s Number 4

EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief

Andrew Moore-Crispin endrewSppubhshing.ca

Erin Bell

Editorial Assistant

erinSppublishing.ca

Contributing Editors S e an Carruthers Ray Richards, Lee Rickwood Merc Saltzman, David Tanaka Art Director

Steven Sloner

Advertising Sales V.P. Sales

Chris Cole chriseppublishing.ca

ONTARIO/TORONTO Corporate Account Managers

Ralph Ventriglia ralphappubliehingce

April Lensen epriluppublishing.cs

Enjoy the Issue, Andrew Moore-Crlspin Editor-in-Chief

Ad Sales

Karim Rizk keiimsppublishing.cs

Vik Deonanan vik5ppublishmg.ca

Heather Knight

Lastmonth,we asked:What gadgetordevice do you use most often?

hesihersppublishing.co

Sebastien Dernier sebesiienoppublishing.cs

Karim Sahnine

J.T writes: The gadget that I use most often is my computer for Adobe Premiere Pro. Video editing has come a very long way since I was in college back in the mid eighties, The creativity these days can rival what is shown on broadcast television in regards to effects, graphics, transitions, as well as general editing. Who would have thought we could produce Hollywood-style movies and videos without too much of a learning curve? Now, it takes me in one hour to produce what

would have taken ten or more just over ten years ago.

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WESTERNCANADA

Vivian Jin vivianSppublishing.ca

Jason Hay jssonsppubkshing.ce

Business Group President V.P. Finance

Scott Piccolo scon5 ppubhshing.ce Frank Diecidue

and Operations frankSppublishing.ce Production Coonilnator C h r istie Swail chnsiieoppublishing.ca

Production Assistant

L i z Van Der Wee Lizsppublishingce

Circulation Manager

D e bbie Johnston debbieS ppublishing.ce

L etter of the Mo n t h Our Letter of the Month comes from Graham Wilson who writes: After thinking of all the gadgets that I have in my life and trying to decide which one I use most often, it suddenly came to me that the piece of technology I use by far the most is: the battery charger. It seems all I do today is concentrate on the current battery level of my PDA [which I'm lucky to go 3 hours at work on without AC], laptops, cell phones, cordless phone, shaver, beard trimmer, drill, power screwdriver, flashlights, digital cameras,and the AAA's in the MP3 player,mouse and alarm clock. I' ve recently noticed the real meaning in the term "connected" lifestyle. Thanks for this opportunity to rant. If I am fortunate enough to win the S+arck mouse I have only one question; It isn't "cordless" is it?

For his letter, Graham wins a spiffy Microsoft 5+arck mouse, which he' ll be happy to learn is not cordless. Congratulations Graham. 4

H UB : D i g i t al Living — A pril 20 0 5

This month, in addition to general feedback on the issue, we' re asking for your thoughts on our question of the month: How networked is your home? Are you constantly bombarded with waves from your wireless network or do you live a luddite's life? Either way, we want to hear from you. Send your thoughts to: letters@ppublishing.ca

The Letter of the Month will win a retail copy of McAfee VirusScan 2005. McAfee's VirusScan prevents viruses when emailing, downloading and surfing, and automatically identifies viruses, worms, Trojans and other threats. It also provides defense against spyware and pop-up ad programs. www.mcafee.corn

• McAfee

AR Manager

Scott Robichaud sconrSppublishing.ce

IT Manager

Steve Duinney steveqsppublishing.ca

Piccolo Publishing Inc (HeadOffice] 20 DuncanSt.Suite 201 Toronto,ON,MSH 3GB

Teb416348 9666 Toll-free:B66.757-Ozzg Fax: 416.348.%53 CanadianPublication Mail, Sales ProductAgreement atl03p518, pnnied in Canada. ISSN V10 0143 HUB:Digital Living (Bio ed.)

IssN zzto 0151HUg: oigital Living [Calgary ed ) ISSN 1Z10.016XHUB:Digital Living [Edmonton ed.) ISSN Vio Ozzs HUB:Oignel Living (Eastern ed.l ISSN t710-0186 HUB:Oignal Living (Montreal ed.) ISSN 1710 0194 HUB:Digital Living [Prairie ed.] ISSN 1710 0268 HUB: Digital Living[SW Onc ed.) ISSN 1Z10.0216Hug: Digital Living [Toronto ed.) HUB: Oigoal Livmg is published monthly bg Piccolo Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reprodunion in whole or in part without the permission of the pub. •sher is strictly piohibited. Information presented here is compiled from sources believed to be accu rate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. The pubgsher reserves the nght to refuse ads. The opmions expressed in the articles end columns and ads are those or the writer/advertiser and not necessarily those of HUB: Digital Living.

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F ir a t -. & l a n c e A topic as dry as set. ting up, maintaining and troubleshooting a home network needs a lively style to keep gfifggt Ygm NameNgtwdlkfrom sliding into tech m«ufcuf«fru«u manual territory, and ccrc««M EMuu ffhurg ffh uu «ffu author Kathy Ivens delivers the goods with m «MIEMffffrfffEufm kuue. ««Mclff fee Home N e tworking lgur rrMI«M ffrhruf fugue Annoyances: How to uffrfftf. Icf uuf Fix the Most ANNOYING Things About Your H ome Netw o r k (O'Reilly, $36.95, ISBN: 0-598-00808-2). - '- > S y j tjt~s The book is essentially a giant FAOdivided into chapters like Software Annoyances, File-Sharing Annoyances and Network Printing Annoyances. In each chapter, common home networking issues are identified under a heading called "The Annoyance", followed by a section called "The Fix", which tells you how to deal with it. Covering everything from adding mailboxes, disabling the Windows XP firewall, configuring network adapters and routers, running cable between multiple floors of the house and configuring older computers to find a newer printer, Home Network Annoyances covers it all. To read a sample chapter, visit httpJ/www.oreilly.corn/ catalog/homenetannoy/chapter/index. html.

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Another month, another North American high-tech trade show. for March, it was CTIA(Cellular Telephone Industry Association), the show for cell phones, wireless and related technologies held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Rich data and multimedia applications like TV broadcast delivery seem to be the biggest points of pride as manufacturers released handsets with these purposes in mind and software / services companies let loose the appropriate applications. Similarly, camera phones with ever increasing megapixel ratings were displayed on the floor, eclipsed perhaps by video recording phones and digital audio player phones. Among some products at the show that will likely never make their way to North America — or if they do, they' ll be a while coming — was Samsung's SCH-V7'70,a 7-megapixelcamera phone using the manufacturer's own MMC Micro memory card available in capacities up to only 128MB thusfar.The SCH-V770 is thefollow-upto Samsung's SPH-S2300 3.2-megapixel camera phone (pictured). At a truly tiny 12 x 14 x 1.1mm, MMC Micro is designed for applications in shrinking cellular phones with expanding capabilities. Sony Ericsson's first Walkman phone, the WBOO was also on display, The phone has a 2-megapixel camera on board and will ship with a 512MB MemoryStick card. While the storage media used is a proprietary Sony technology, the music formats it supports surprisingly aren' t. Sony has bull-headedly stuck with its own ATRAC3 in the past vvvvw.hvbcanada.corn

Apple (www.apple.ca) recently rolled out the "second generation" of its colourful iPod Mini, including a brand new GGB unit for $319.99. Sitting between the mammoth 20+ GB standard iPod and iPod Photo and the tiny 512MB/1GB iPod Shuffle, the GGBiPod Mini can hold between 1200 and 1500 songs (depending on length and level of compression), and has a much-improved battery life of approximately 18 hours per charge. The new Minis have had some minor cosmetic surgery; the colours in the trademark metallic shells have been tweaked so that they' re more vibrant. The buttons on the scroll wheel now match the colour of the body as well. Second generation colours are silver, blue, pink and green, the gold model having been discontinued. The GGB Mini comes packaged with the standard white bud headphones, belt clip, USB cable and install disc containing iTunes 4.7.1 and iPod Updater software. Missing are the FireWire cable and power supply, the latter of which now has to be purchased separately for $49.99 -the alternative being to charge the Mini through USBwhile connected to your computer, or to use a docking station or speaker system.

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but has apparently realized that a format war when consumers have already decided upon the formats they use perhaps isn't such a great idea. Instead, the phone plays AAC and MP3 files. Nokia used the Cellular tradeshow to announce a substantial price drop for its second-iteration N-Gage the N-Gage 00. The drop applies to both the handset itself as well as games in the much-maligned game deck's library, existing and future. The unit itself can be had for US$99.99 without carrier discounts, and games for between US$14.99 and US$24.99 (Canadian pricing yet to be confirmed.). April 200 5

- HU B : D igloal Living

Personal Comp uting — Feature

Income tax r eturns made simpler Throw away the giant bundle of pink and blue forms, chewed up pencils and gigantic calculator. Completing and filing your income tax return electronically is a far more convenient way of doing things. Not only are the forms easier to navigate and all numbers calculated automatically, but upon completing your return you' re one click away from filing it electronically over the Internet using NetFile. So choose one of these software programs, do your taxes in a matter of minutes, and then go outside and enjoy the spring weather.

QuickTax $39.95 [standard version) www.intuit,ca 40MB free disk space Platforms: Win 95/98/Me/NT 4 SP Sa/2000/XP OuickTax is the most expensive tax software in our roundup, but the extra features, attractive interface and ease of use that it brings to the tax filing process justify spending the few extra dollars. When loading the software for the first time, the user is given the option of starting a new return or carrying forward information from a OuickTax 2003 return. You can also import financial details from Ouicken or OuickBooks software. OuickTax offers two methods of input depending on your familiarity with tax returns. The "Forms" method simply provides you with digital versions of the paper forms and lets you go to it, assuming you already have the necessary knowledge of how to fill out your taxes. The second method, called "EasyStep", is one that walks you through the

process step by step and offers the necessary guidance on what to fill out where — it's the approximate digital equivalent of walking into H 8: R Block. Using EasyStep, OuickTax will fill out your return by asking you a set of questions (for example, were you a student in 2003? Were you selfemployed?An employee> and so on]. It takes you through each section o f th e r e turn, prompting you i n a d vance a s t o w h a t documents you should have prepared and on hand forthe upcoming section. As information is entered into the return, OuickTax displays it on the bottom half of the screen as it would appear on the blue paper forms. OuickTax will also download and import tax slips such as T4s that you may h ave received through epost or certain banking i nstitutions • '+ • tI that have online document managing features. When it has finished calculating your return, OuickTax automatically scans it for errors or IF warnings — the company that makes OuickTax promises to C1WSk I • I IC$1 allNO pay any penalty caused by a re SarSWisr

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Quick Tax error — and even suggests potential tax-saving opportunities within the return that you may have missed based on how you responded to its questions. From there, you have the option of saving the return, printing it, arranging a direct deposit for your refund, or filing your return directly using NetFile or TeleFile. The QuickTax license permits you to fill out six individual returns, or unlimited returns if the tax payer's income is $25,000 or less. You can also file directly online(quicktaxweb.ca] without using software. This costs $19.95 per individual return or $24.95 for an individual plus spouse's return.

UFile / Im pot Expert $29.99 www.ufile.ca 25MB free disk space Platforms: Win 95/98/NT4/Me/2000/XP (online version supports Mac 05 running the latest version of IE, though UFile says it hasn't fully tested the product on all versions.) Not quite as elegant or user-friendly as QuickTax, UFile uses the interview method exclusively to fill out the tax return without actually giving access to the raw forms. Questions appear in the main box, with a dropdown menu on the left to navigate the various secl% TAÃ gtCCIIUiT lgg ag ~ tions of the tax return, Users may chafe at the fact that sections of the ey return only become available after you click them off in the "interview setup" phase. For example, if you SW\ IU MI answer that you are selfemployed, then the selfemployed tab and its relevant boxes will appear in the left-hand-side naviga0 tion menu, After the interview is complete, UFile calculates your return and, if applicable, provides a helpful summary of errors with a link back to the appropriate section of the return where the error is and suggestions on how to fix it. Help icons after each line of the return link to a comprehensive built-in help database. At any point during the interview, the user can navigate using one of five tabs across the top that lead to tutorial, interview, results, or a window where you can either print your return for mailing or file your return online

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If you know what you' re doing, you c an navigate around the forms and enter relevant information exactly as you would had you been filling out the paper versions. If you' re not as confident however, the virtual forms are just as confusing as the real thing. The interview method doesn' t hold the user's hand nearly as much as UFile or QuickTax. For example, when you answer what types of employment you have, it will simply produce a drop-down menu listing the various slips (T4, 75, and so on.], assuming you already know what they are and how to fill them out and essentially leaving you to wade through the forms yourself. Processessuch asadding new taxdocuments such as T4s and toggling between multiple documents are clearly marked and easy to navigate. Another advantage to repiicating the paper forms is that you can see how everything is being calculated on the fly, including what formulas the program is using, and so on. You can check the status of your refund at any time by clicking the "tax forms" tab displayed at the top, and tabs along the bottom helpfully display ongoing calculations of taxable income, taxes due, total credits, and refund/owing amounts. TaxWiz includes notepad and calculator applications, and a calendar drop-down menu for selecting dates — nice touches. ••

TaxTron $29.99 http: //www.taxtron.ca 60MB free disk space(40MB on Mac) Platforms: Win 98/ME/2000/XP; Mac OS 9.2/X with Classic In addition to the CD-ROMversion, TaxTron can also be downloaded for free from the soft,l(II(I ware's homepage at www.tax~ R tron.ca. If you then decide to complete your return and either file it h~( online or print and mail it, you "" ri. • w,~ I!g, then must pay a fee to purchase i 4 ~ gt ~ 4 ~. hot' the cornPlete version of the software. Like TaxWiz, TaxTron is another no-frills program with a spartan khaki-coloured display and simple tab-driven interface. When

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via NetFile. UFile can import QuickTax information, and UFile online can be used to prepare tax returns as far back as 2000, UFile can be installed on two computers and will prepare 10 returns, or you start a new tax return, you re unlimited returns for those with an income of $25,000 or less. Additional given a menu with five easily-navigable tabs of forms to fill out, organized

returns can be purchased online at $29.99 for 10 or $59.98 for 20(free by taxpayer information [address, social insurance number and so on], for people with an income of $20,000 or less). income and deductions, federal and provincial tax credits, summary of results, and filing your return. TaxWiz Functions such as adding a new T4 and juggling between multiple docu$24.95 ments are extremely intuitive, and the software provides help files on www.taxwiz.ca 14MB free disk space each box that contain basic information as well as links to a more comPlatforms: Win 95/98/NT/2000/Me/XP prehensive explanation from the detailed faq on the Canada Revenue Definitely not a program for beginners, TaxWiz is tailored towards those Agency's homepage. who are already fairly income tax-savvy. It offers two methods of com- The nicest feature of TaxTron is the prominently displayed box that pleting a return: the first basically provides an electronic version of the shows your refund as it is calculated in real time. actual paper forms with boxes to enter numbers into, and the second is TaxTron is free for those with a net income of less than $30,000. the option of completing the forms by answering questions. By Erin Bell vvNNv.hubcanada.corn

April PC305 -

H U B : Digital Living

Digital Imag ing

Oigital Pho t o g r a p h y T u t o r ial 16 Learning tosee as the camera "sees" Part 3 Focal lengths end composition Suppose you want the subject of your photo to be a particular size in the frame. You have two options: move the camera closer or further away from the subject, or change the focal length of your lens. Zoom lenses, which offer a range of focal lengths within one unit, make it easy to do the latter, and because zoom lenses are now so common, we often forget that the other option even exists. Rowever, moving the camera results in quite different compositions compared to zooming. Try the following: Set your zoom to maximum wide angle and then adjust the size of a subject by moving the camera itself closer or further away until it is about half the height of the frame. Once you take that shot, set the zoom to maximum telephoto and then move camera back until the subject in your second shot is roughly the same size as it was in the first. One of the accompanying photos was taken at 28 mm wide angle and the other at 450 mm telephoto(in 35 mm camera terms], The photos don't look much alike in spite of the fact that the main subject [Miss Bear) is roughly the same size in both. Telephotos offer a narrower angle of view, so you don't see much behind the bearin the telephoto shot. Wide-angle lenses offer a wider angle of view so more of the background appears in the photo. That's quite obvious. What's less obvious is the change in perspective. To make the bear the same relative size using a wide-angle lens, the camera has to be much closer to it, so the perspective changes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; perspective being a function of camera-to-subject distance. The perspective from a telephoto compresses the apparent distance between objects. Thus, rush hour traffic taken with a telephoto accentuates congestion by making the vehicles look even more jammed together than they actually are. Photo essayists of the 1970s and 19BOs used telephotos in this manner to make strong statements about mass culture and urban congestion. The perspective from a wide-angle lens expands the apparent distance between foreground and background. These lenses are often used to shoot interiors of homes because they allow a photographer to take in more of a confined space, and at the same time have the effect of making the space look bigger. The result can sometimes be seen in brochures of 300 square foot condos that look elegant and expansive. While not apparent in the sample photos, another significant difference between wide angle and telephoto focal lengths is their differing depth of field[zone of sharp focus). The bigger depth of field on a wide-angle lens makes them a good choice when you want a lot of your scene, from foreground to background, to be in sharp focus. A telephoto, with its relatively shallow depth of field, helps put emphasis on a single subject by throwing the background out of focus. By David Tanaka

H U 8 : D i g i t al Living - A p r i l 2 0 0 5

Below: Miss Bear's field trip, captured using a 45D mm telephoto lens. Below left: Miss Bear captured at 2B mm wide angle.

Questions and comments relating to the Digital imaging section of HUB: Digital Living, including David Tanaka's monthly Digital Photography Tutorial, can be sent to digitalimaginglppubgshing.ca. David Tanaka has covered digital technology as a writer and editor for more than a decade. Also an avid photographer, he became a digital convert in 199B.

Fun with Photoshop Elements 3 Foto-Fakery for Everyone Aatbar.Rhonda Grossman Publisher. Sams (www.samspublishing.corn) ISBN 0-672-32730-9 Paperback, 215 pages $34.99

The words "foto-fakery" in the subtitle of this book gives a good hint about the content. It's filled with examples and instruction on a wide range of Photoshop effects that move, remove, add, distort, tint oi otherwise put stuff into photos that wasn't orig inallythere. The result" can be somewhat juvenile â&#x20AC;&#x201D; doyou really want to know how to plant creepy-crawly things in food, or give someone a bad complexion? If you do, you' ll get p I ent y of heIp fr om this book. But even if you don't and can look I beyond the general -goofiness of the examples, you' ll benefit from the instruction on some powerful features of this junior image editor from Adobe. 1 vvvvvv.hubcanacla,corn

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F eat u r e : T ea t L a b

Teat Lab: File carving a go-gn NetworkedAttached Storage (NAS) solutions Network attached storage(NAS] solutions are gaining some ground in homes with a huge volume of data being stored and, in some cases, shared across home networks. No one seems to want to make upfront references to the NAS acronym for fear of scaring consumers off. The manufacturers that submitted solutions for this installment of the Test Lab each use their own descriptive buzz phrase: "Net Disk," "Shared Storage Drive," "Network Storage Center," and so on. The fundamental function remains the same. NAS gained some popularity in small and home-based businesses; in such office environments, email is often administrated off-site, as is Web site hosting and, where applicable, FTP[file transfer protocol) site administration. Thus, the need for expensive server racks for network storage is gone. Rather than drop several thousand dollars on rack-mounted servers, a small or even medium-sized office could get similar benefit from a much cheaper, smaller and more easily-administrated NAS drive. In the home, the value proposition isn't quite as clear. However, as a means of drive backup, sharing of large files(such as video] across the network, and as an accessible repository for digital images, home NAS (or whatever name you decideto use]hasa place in some networked homes amidst a steadily growing repository of data. The key factor to NASadoption is the growth of video on demand [VOD], say industry experts. When users can download high-resolution — even high-definition — video en masse and easily share it across the network so that any computer or networked entertainment device can access it, high-capacity network storage options will become all but a requirement. While a hard disk drive installed in a PC and offered as a shared drive across the network uses the resources of the computer it's installed in for file sharing across the network, NAS devices store and share data independent of a computer and its resources. NAS devices differ from external HDD-based backup solutions whose primary purpose is to archive a PC's contents should the unthinkable(read: inevitable] happen. In most cases, NAS drives offer network printing and other USB-connected device sharing across the network via USB ports. While NAS solutions cost more per gigabyte than external drives, and considerably more than internal HDDs, the fact that they operate independently and can share USBdevices across the network make the price premium much easier to justify.

Info Box Maxtor Shared Storage Drive Model: H01R300 www.maxtor.corn Capacity as tested: 300GB Estimated price as tested: $469 (fi om $US399.95) Estimated price per GB: $1.63 Dimensions: 271x140x41 mm Pros: -Veiy simple setup procedure -Good looking drive -"Drag and Store"

Cons: — No Mac or Linux support — Physically lai ge

drives tested, it's also arguably the coolest looking. This isn't a factor if the NAS is to be hidden away, but if it's going to be in plain sight, users likely want something that screams "high tech." A NAS is only as good as the software that ships with it, and to that end, Maxtor's solution takes the cake in our tests. Not only was the drive recognized within 15 seconds of plugging it in, attaching an Ethernet cable and turning it on, but the setup software pre-defined standard share folders and offered to set aside password protected,

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F eat u r e : T es t L a b administrator-only space on the drive. Simply put, Maxtor's setup utility was by far the easiest to navigate. Even with little networking experience, most users should be able to finish the setup procedure in less than 1S minutes. All that's required under Windows XP SP2 as tested is for users to plug an RJ-4S cable from the drive to an open port on an existing router or hub, plug in the power supply, turn the drive on, insert the included CD into a computer running Windows XP, 2000 or 98 on the network, and run the setup process. The Shared Storage Drive shows up immediately after the software completes basic configuration as a network drive behind the scenes under Windows. The drive can then be used as an installed drive and users can navigate and save files to it as they would an internal hard drive. A neat touch is Maxtor's own Drag and Sort feature. With it, any files dragged and dropped into the root folder will automatically be placed in the appropriate pre-conhgured folder. An MP3 file is automatically routed to "My Music" while an AVI or MPEG file will be routed to "My Movies" where it is accessible only to administrator account holders on the drive or those who know the administrator password. Dragging files into the shared portion of the drive will drop them in "Our Music" or "Our Movies" and so on, where they are accessible to anyone on the network. The Drag and Sort option can be turned off by toggling a checkbox in the drive's user interface. In this interface, administrator account holders have access to more advanced functions like setting access privileges for shared and private folders. Unfortunately the drive doesn't support Mac OS. Two USB 2.0 ports allow for network sharing of two printers, two USB drives or one of each. The drive is also fairly quiet when in standard operation. When idle, it clocks in at about the level of a soft whisper, even with the rear-mounted internal fan spinning.

Simple Tech SimpleTech's SimpleShare drive is clearly aimed at small or home office (SOHO}users rather than general home users. Its setup isn't as simple as

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the average home computer user might hope, and it would SimpleShare Office Storage Server look more at home in an ofgce Model: STI-NAS/250 environment. www.simpletech,com The browser-based configuraCapacity as tested: 250GB Estimated pnce as tested: $450 tion utilities offer more adminisEstimated price per GB: $1.80 trator control over shared foldDimensions. 225x140x34 mm ers, disk mirroring, striping and creating pools, which make it a Pre: viable option for savvy network -Advanced administrator options administrators. -Mac and Windows compatible Running "NASFinder," the drive was quickly discovered on the Cons: -Potentially confusing to average network and reported no probusers lems. However, the browserâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;USB parol too close together based application i nitially refused to move through its next steps, which allow users to set an admin password and map the SimpleShare to an available local drive letter for full integration with Windows. Some trial and error later, disabling software firewalls, trying different browsers, swearing and turning the thing on and off several times, the drive finally saw fit to cooperate. It's unclear what the problem was, alas. The SimpleShare also integrates with Mac OS X, but was only tested on machinesrunningWindows XP and 2000. Two USB2.0 ports mounted vertically and side-by-side allow printers and USB disks to be shared across the network. However, the physical layout of these ports is such that wider USBkeys have a hard time living beside each other. SimpleShare is unremarkable to look at and is fairly quiet, clocking in at around the level of a soft whisper. For home use, the SimpleShare's deep and potentially confusing customizabiiity is overkill. However, for SOHO applications where users have a better than average knowledge of networking, the advanced functionality of the SimpleShare make it a good bet.

Ximeta Ximeta's NetDisk is a NAS of a different ilk as it can connect to and be shared over a network via Ethernet or to a single PC via USB2.0 to act as a direct drive on one system. Hence it is afforded a slightly different acronym: NDAS for network direct attached storage. The Net Disk housing is attractive and its small footprint relative to other NAS drives tested gives it a leg up if it is to rest on a desktop. NetDisk's setup process is a little strange; rather than auto-detecting on the network and guiding users through a simple setup, the install process has users inputting a 20 character code and a five character "write key" found on the bottom of the unit. Once installed, the drive acts I1 0 OX exactly like an installed physical drive. The downside to this Model: NDU10-120 approach, however, is that by www, ximeta.com Capacity as tested. 12DGB functioning like an installed Estimated price. $240 (truss>sass drive, NetDiskdoesn'tlookafter Estimated price per GB: $2 setting up shared folders. Dimensions: 211x119x36mm I

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shared and users must use other methods to protect personal files on the drive from other network users. Where other drives in the lab use fans as a method of cooling,

April ROOD -

H L I EI: Digital Living

F eat.-ure: Test L a b

Net Disk uses its aluminum frame as a heatsink. The only moving parts in the NetDisk are in the actual hard drive. As such, it's the quietest of all drives tested — so quiet in fact that whatever noise it might make while idle is lost in the ambient sound of even a quiet room, making it impossible to get a proper dB reading. Ximeta claims a transfer rate that is faster than any NAS solution and speaks the truth. Transferring several test files —most notably, a folder of video clips just under 1GB in size — took under 2:30. Transferring the same folder to all the other NAS drives tested took just under 3:45 Since the Net Disk doesn't have USB ports beyond its USB type B port for direct PC connection, it can't share printers or other USB devices across the network. By purchasing a second NDASdrive, users can set up RAID for data safety in the form of redundancy or striping for faster data access.

Buffalo LinkStation Network Storage Center

utility — which in our best estimation is intended to find and/or assign an IP address to the drive on the network when multiple LinkStations are available on the network — repeatedly failed and resulted in the following strange and potentially amusingIif it weren't so frustrating] error message: "Firewall can be put into effect. If not being used correctly stop the firewall and preform setup again." Scanning through the 23-page PDF manual, we find out that since in this case the automated setup didn't work as intended and didn't launch the browser-based administration page, this utility must be accessed through a browser window using the address http//LinkStation name. Once discovered, the LinkStation's administration page proved worth the search. In this page, the LinkStation or a portion thereof can be set up as an FTP server, accessible from outside to authoiized users. Also, a utility called PCast allows the drive to be set up as a media server. Other options include automated backup of the LinkStation's contents to an attached USB drive and the standard options to set up shared folders, individual users and, a decidedly business touch, user groups. Two USB2.0 ports, one mounted on the front, one on the back, allow for the sharing of USBprinters and drives across the network. If users have some networking knowledge at the ready, Buffalo's LinkStation has the most to offer behind the scenes. However, it's certainly not the most user-friendly option.

The bottom line The NAS solutions in the lab were tested with an average home user in mind — a user without extensive networking knowledge who hopes for a simple setup process and easy administration thereafter. Maxtor's Shared Storage Drive is the clear winner when ease of use is the main criteria. Its overall good looks and intelligent network integration make it the best choice for non-Network Administrator users. Other options offer buyers more control and access to deeper functions of the drive, but lack the simple usability. By Andrew Moore-Crispin

It's not the most elegant solution, either aesthetically or functionally, but

Buffalo's LinkStation is a highly capable NAS device. Another drive more at home in a small office environment — preferably one with a network admin with a penchant for broken English — than in the typical home network setup, the LinkStation packs in some useful features like an automatic or user initiated backup process and FTP server setup and administration.

Info Box uffalo LinkStation Network Storage Center odel: HD-120LAN .buffalotech. corn apacity as tested: 12OGB strmated price: $300 rr rrsSa4ar stimated price per GB: $2.50 ireensros: 175x85x60

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The automatic detection utility that starts off the setup process was hit or miss in our tests, both on a corporate and home network with software Brrewalls disabled on the latter. The drive showed up in both cases in Windows' "My Network Places" folder, but LinkStation's own "Client Utility" reported only about 400MB of available space. Mapping the root of the drive as a network drive is a simple matter of choosing the appropriate menu option in the utility menu and reported about 110GB of available space. Attempting to use the IP setup

H UB : D i clrbal Living - A p r i l BOC36

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Digit-.al Imaging

D V, ar N o C D V An ongoing look at digital video tips, tools and techniques upon several years ago bymany of the leading manufacturers, describes

very precisely how video signals will be processed digitally. DV, for examDV products are getting smaller every day, but they' re getting bigger, too, ple, moves from a video camera along a special cable to a dedicated comThat seemingly contradictory statement is my way of introducing this new puter at 25 megabits per second — no more and no less, HUB column. It's all a bout video, large and small, digital and not. This column will look at the latest and greatest digital video products now or soon on the market — those are the ones getting smaller and smaller. Some oF today's digital video camcorders will Dt in your pocket, or on the end of a keychain. Maybe that's good, but whether they have the functions, features, capabilities and price points you want or need is another matter.

This column will also look at the huge impact that digital video is having on our world — one that is only getting bigger. No longer are video tools reserved solely for established media companies to use. As the state of the art advances, access to the tools of the trade is open to consumers, hobbyists and aspiring professionals. If you are new to digital video, this column will inform you and point the way to an exciting and creative new world. If you have some experience with the medium already, it will inspire you to greater heights with new insights and ideas. First though, another seeming contradiction: DV is always digital video, but digital video is not always DV.That affects how you use, and choose, your equipment. DV, as an acronym, is the proper name of a internationally recognized set of technical specifications. DY, originally a consumer standard agreed

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Digital Imag in g As a generic phrase, digital video includes DV, but also a number of other formats and technical specifications. For example, a high-end, high definition digital video format known as D-9 or sometimes Digita)-S, moves at 1DD Mbps — four times faster than DV, with a corresponding increase in

image uality. q DV, as a format, is recorded to tape — those familiar one-hour Mini DVcassettes, or longer lasting full. sized cassettes. But other types of digital video can be recorded to tape, memory cards, and now even DVDs or other optical disc-based media. There are significant differences, both technical and aesthetic, between DV and other digital video formats that will be explored and explained in future columns. For now, just keep that contradiction in mind: DV is always digital video, but digital video is not always DV. Because here comes another contradiction: you may have heard about HDV, or high definition video. In the consumer electronics world, HDTV is hot, hot, hot these days. Well, HDV is not HD. \ Not yet, at any rate. HDV is very exciting, Elf odn+ vs~ and a big deal in the consumer and professional media world. It opens a very affordable path for video makers to create and deliver video with the look, feel and quality

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P M& : Th e m e g e p i ~el my t h The megapixel battle is over, according to many of the digital camera makers at this year's Photo Marketing Association trade show in Orlando, Florida, which took place Feb 20 to 23. That's not to say that a particular camera maker has broken a barrier making it impossible for other manufacturers to follow suit. Rather, the megapixel is no longer perceived as the all-telling factor in digital camera purchase decision-making it was once was. Entry-level cameras on the show Roor started at about 4MP while the higher-end point-and-shoot digicams started off in the 7MP range. However, consensus seemed to be that many consumers, having already purchased at least one digital camera, have since decided that

while the megapixel count is an important factor in overall image quality, it's becoming second to a host of usability considerations — especially given the new defacto minimum megapixel count of four in even the lowend consumer cameras. Since running into the limitations of earlier generation digital cameras, consumers have realized the importance of factors like battery life, shutter lag/image processing and start up speed along with overall form factor and ease of use, says GregPoole, director of sales for FujiRilm Canada. It's a sentiment that's echoed by all the manufacturers HUB had a chanceto speakto atPMA. The shift from tech specs as the major influencing factor in digital camera purchasing can be attributed at least in part to the fact that women control a large portion of household spending, especially on bigger ticket items like digital cameras. "She doesn't want to know about the underlying technologies," says Nancy Carr, director of worldwide strategic brand alliances for Eastman Kodak Company, "she wants to take good pictures with a good camera at a good price." The loudest announcements on the show floor — those that feature hourly presentations with models, microphones and light shows — are for "lifestyle" or "wearable" cameras. While the "prosumer' contingent with its very specific and advanced requirements for cameras is being taken care of by Canon, Pentax, Nikon and Olympus, the SLRwasn't the star of this show. The SLR manufacturers made their new product announcements at Photokina in late 2004 and have little left to add except a few extra letters and numbers to existing models — the photographic equivalent of a "New and Improved!" starburst.

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The star of this show is found in the mid-range of digital imaging, where the retailer's margins are still reasonable and, says Rob Sturgess of Nikon Canada, where second-generation digital camera buyers are most likely to look after running into the limitations of their previous models. Kodak's EasyShare 27590 is a mid-range point and shoot with some more advanced features like manual control in among the EasyShare line's mandate of "sharing made simple" and the handholding shooting modes and actions symbolic of Kodak digicams. It breaks with recent Kodak tradition by sporting a huge 10x optical zoom that is graduated for fast or slow zooming, a slick black casing and a rotating LCOscreen. Shipping in May, the five-megapixel camera should go for about $550 in Canada [from US$450]. Casio showed off its Exilim 3.2MP EX-S100 around the neck of a female tether. The BBx57x16.7 mm camera incorporates clear ceramics in much of the optical assembly, allowing this ultra-slim device to include a 2.Bx optical zoom. One of few cameras that satisfy both the "wearable" or fashion market segment while incorporating mid-range camera features, the EX-S100 has a two-inch LCD screen and goes for an estimated $310 [from US$250]. Casio also announced two new additions to its Exilim line, the EX1750 and EX-Z757, two thin format cameras with large LCD screens at 2.5 and 2.7-inches respectively. Both are housed in slim brushed aluminium cases, and feature Casio's own extended battery life in the order of 325 shots on a single charge, measured to Camera and Imaging Products Association [CIPA, www.cipa.jp/english] standards. Both of the 7,2MP cameras are expected on the market in early April, prices to be determined. Fuji showed off several cameras from each of its lines at the show, including its newest addition, the "2" line of fashion cameras. Only one entry strong thus far, the Z series breaks with Fuji's traditionof sequentially alphabetizing its line with A being entry-level, E being about mid-rand, F being the higher end of its line while the 5 sedies tries to satisfy prosumers. The FinePix 21 is a 5.1MP "fashion camera" and features an impressive 2.5-inch LCD screen and a slick outer shell in black or silver complete with sliding lens cover. The camera has a 3x optical zoom and is the first Fuji camera without an optical viewfinder. Fuji says it has compensated for this lack by incorporating its own LCO anti-glare screen film — a technology commonly found in larger format LCD displays, according to Poole. Set to release in June, it's expected to carry a retail sticker of around $S50 [from US$450], Nikon meanwhile, a company already well-known in the SLR space, is growing its presence in the point-and-shoot entry-level and midrange by making some additions to these lines with the Coolpix 4600,5600 and 7600. As the numbering scheme suggests,price, performance and feature set increases accompany the higher model numbers. Coolpix cameras in the company's PMAline take a close look at ease of use for consumers, Sturgess says, by offering features like incameracropping and red eye reduction,about15 scene modes and a proprietary Nikon technology dubbed "D-Lighting" that evens out dark or light areas of an image after capture, saving the original image for future use in its higher end models. The 4600, 5600 and 7600 have1.B-inch LCD screens,feature Nikon's own ED [Extra Low Dispersion] optical glass and have 4, 5.1 and 7.1MP resolutions respectively. The cameras are expected in early spring, pricing to be determined. By Andrew Moore-Crispin

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C anada: Br ing nn t: he HDT V If anyone ever tells you Canada lags behind the LIS when it comes to adopting new technology, remind them that we were first to have highspeed Internet connectivity in the home, we bought MP3 players long before there were iPods, and the latest statistics show Canada is buying HDTV faster than our friends to the south. That's right — a new study conducted by Decima research for LG Electronics Canada found that Canadians are buying high-definition televisionsat amuch faster rate than Americans. Specifically, 16 per cent of Canadian households have already invested in an HDTV-ready television, which is a per capita rate more than SOper cent faster than Americans(who are currently at 11 per cent adoption). What's more, G3 per cent of Canadians surveyed knew about the video and audio benefits of HDTVover standard definition TV. The snag, however, lies in the availability of HDTVprogramming —or lack

thereof. Only 42 per cent of Canadians who own an HDTV-ready setare currently subscribing to high-definition service through their digital cable or satellite provider. "On one hand, these results are very encouraging" explains Steve Preiner, director for LGElectronics Canada. "Canadians are embracinH gDTV, which is promising for the industry." But Preiner believes the survey's secondary findings on the weak customer commitment to high-definition service should make the industry open its eyes. "The problem is the fact that many Canadians are unsure what the future holds when it comes to HDTV programming,' says Preiner. "There is a clear gap here between the consumers, the broadcasters, the CRTC [Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission] and the manufacturers. As manufacturers, there is only so much we can achieve. It is essentialthat an industry-wide timetable be established to ensure HDTV

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services keep up with the growing demand for HDTVprogramming.' Preiner says consumers would adopt HDTVeven faster if there was more high-definition programming to entice them to upgrade their set. Currently, Bell ExpressVUhas the most HDTVchannels at 25, fol â&#x20AC;˘ lowed by Rogers at 24 and Star Choice at nine. Some stations rotate between movies, sports and prime-time programming. In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has already established such a timetable: By July 1, 2006, 50 per cent of television receivers in the 25- to 36-inch screen size must include a digital tuner capable of receiving HDTV signals. The CRTC, on the other hand, is asking digital television broadcasters to ensure that two-thirds of their schedule is available in high-definition by December 31, 2007.

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A word on HDTV tt)pes Confusing as it may be, consumers today have a range of options when it comes to purchasing a new HDTV. Here's a brief look at a few of the technologies in the marketplace today, including pros and cons for each, Plasma televisions contain a mixture of neon and xenon gases that fills the small space between two sheets of glass. When this mixture is stimulated by an electrical current, the process creates a vibrant picture. These flat-panel TYs are thin enough to hang on a wall, though they should be mounted as they can weigh considerably more than LCD displays. Plasma TVs can be pricey, and they suffer from 'burn-in" should a static image be left on the screen too long, but their lifelike picture makes them a preferred big-screen technology among many home theatre enthusiasts. Also, there is some concem over a plasma TV's lifespan, but current generation models may last up to 30,000 hours(or between 13 and 20 years, depending on usage). While significantly smaller in screen size than plasma and projection HDTVs, LCD TVshave their advantages. They are extremely thin and lightweight and can be hung on a wall like a picture frame, and they are much more energy efficient compared to other TV technologies. These televisions also enjoy a bright, crisp display, with deep blues and rich reds, and do not suffer from burn-in, making them ideal for garners. That said, LCO televisions may have problems displaying fast motion(such as in games or sporting events), causing viewers to see "ghosts or "trails" that follows a moving subject. Therefore, look for a 1S ms (millisecond) response rate or lower (12 ms is ideal). Based on the Digital Light Processing technology from Texas Instruments, rear-projection DLPTVsoffer a big and bright display in a relatively lightweight cabinet (less than BS pounds). They' re still not thin enough to hang on a wall like plasma or LCO sets, but with some DLPcabinets asnarrow as seven inchesdeep,theywon'ttake up too much space in the family room either. DLP televisions can be 50 per cent cheaper than plasma televisions, or about two-thirds the cost of LCD.At the heart of every DLP projection TV is an optical semiconductor that can be considered the world's most sophisticated light switch. This chip contains more than one million microscopic mirrors [each one less than one-fifth the width of a huinan hair) that moves back and forth to create the picture on the screen, By Merc Saltzman Duestions and comments relating to the Home Entertainment section, including Merc Saltzman's monthly column, can be sent to homeentertainmentNppublishing.ca.

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Hom e theatre pr oject primer Projectors are capable of making the largest images you can buy. They can weigh as little as two pounds and make images as large as 20 feet diagonally or bigger. Costing on average between $1,300 and $2,000, projectors have come down in price to the point where even mere mortals can afford one, but it's still a large amount of money to spend on something you may not know much about. Hopefully, this article can take some of the voodoo out of buying a projector. No matter what type of projector you' re considering, creating a 20-foot image has its challenges. For instance, the light output from a projector competes with the ambient light within a room. The image can look dim and washed out or even disappear if the projector isn't bright enough. Light output is measured in lumens and you should get as many as you can afford, particularly if you use the projector for presentations. However, for home theatre, a projector doesn't need to be incredibly bright to do the job. Typically, home theatre units are no more than 1500 lumens since manufacturers assume they are used in a dark room. The most important specification to a home theatre user is contrast ratio. It is expressed as a ratio like 1000:1, where the brightest white is 1000 times brighter than the blackest black. The higher the ratio, the more greq levels and colours you can put between those high and low points. Well, theoretically anyway. More grey levels add detail to the picture so you would see, for example, black curtains instead of a big, black,nonde script thingy. Above a certain point, B00:1 for me, contrast ratio differences are hard to notice. Also, ambient light spilling onto a screen can quickly reduce contrast ratio, because the darkest part of the image gets brighter and this shrinks the ratio. Even a little ambient light can change an B00:1

contrast ratio to 80:1. This can be impossible to control if you' re on the road making business presentations but it is imperative that you make your home theatre as dark as you can. If you do have ambient light issues, it is better to get a brighter projector than a higher contrast one. The contrast you see will be nowhere near the capability of even the lowest contrast projector. Another issue of concern to home theatre users is fan noise, which can be distracting during the quiet moments of a movie. Fan noise is expressed in decibels(dB ) — the lower the number, the better. A person whispering is about 15 to 20dB, and a quiet conversation starts at around 40 to

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Horne Entertainment 50dB, with most projectors being somewhere in between. All-important to any type of projector is its "native resolution," the higher the better. If you are using PowerPoint or watching 0VOs, SVGA (800xG00) is usually enough. Every common type of digital projector uses a fixed-resolution imaging device. This means it must scale the incoming image to fit its native resolution. If you feed an XGA [1024xPGB) signal into a SVGA native projector, it comes out SVGA no matter what, The quality of that scaling is important, too. If a projector is good, it smoothly scales the incoming video with no noticeable errors or jaggies. Non-computer video is also decoded and de-interlaced, which can be an additional source of error. This is something that you must inspect yourself and is more important for horne theatre projectors than business ones, If the internal sealer isn't very good, you can always change the output resolution of your computer to match the native resolution of the projector, â&#x20AC;&#x201D; essentially bypassing the sealer - but you can't do that with the video sources in a home theatre. Finally, the last big issue for a projector buyer is lamp life. Replacement lamps are surprisingly expensive, starting at $400, and are typically rated to last 2000 hours. That works out to 20 cents per hour to run. Keep in mind that if you watch a two.hour movie a day, your lamp will still last you more than two-and-a-half years. It's still cheaper than going to the theatre. No matter what imaging technology the projector you are considering uses, if it is bright, high contrast, quiet, high resolution, a good sealer and has a cheap lamp, you' re doing well. By Andrew Carruthers

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Bit:s Ea Bytes: The changing face of convergence Industry mavens have been predicting convergence for years. Had the public actually bought in, we'd all be seated in front of our computers every time we wished to make a phone call, watch television, see a movie, check our messages or listen to music. Currently though, none of these have any significant basis in reality. We all seem, despite the inherent inconveniences, to prefer compartmentalizing our technology. VCR/television combo units, all-in-one stereo systems, combination telephonelanswering machines and the like have been around for years, and yet have never been as popular as their component-based competitors. While we may see the advantages of computer-based versions of our favourite tech toys, we simply don't purchase them as replacements. Are we just slow to change old habits? Are we perhaps concerned about the risks that single points of failure represent in potentially bringing all our technology to a gdnding halt? Or do wejust like having more shiny boxes around the house? Well, perhaps we can have our cake and eat it too. Companies are now turning to client server technology in aneffort to position computers as core repositories for all our digital content. The concept is that given the vast and inexpensive capacity available on today's hard drives, you can centrally store your entire music collection, record television shows, archive movies and photos — indeed anything you can create digitally — and stream this content to unobtrusive client devices throughout your home by way of wireless networking. For example, a new product called MP3 Beamer[www.mp3beamer.corn] targets consumers who want to store their entire music collection digi-

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like SMC's SMCWAA-B gate and even complete novices can undertake some of the traditionally (www.smc.corn). This more challenging computing tasks with ease. With the addition of a wireproduct enables you to less client box supplied by HP,Cisco or even an adapter for your Xbox, you enj oy a l l your computer-can enjoy your audio- or video-based digital content from anywhere in hosted tunes over the the home. The DS supports up to three video capture devices (one HDTV), home stereo with full digi- which allows you to record one programwhile watching another, or tal clarity — without ever simultaneously view different feeds on a variety of devices. Users can having to change a CD. also create photo slideshows complete with soundtrack, see who's callIncluding a full-featured ing on the telephone(or set to "do not disturb" while watching a movie), r emote control, t h i s author and edit DVDs or share photos with friends over the Internet. device at around $1SD While there is clearly a bright future ahead for digital media, it remains to [from US$125] not only be seen whether this new client server strategy will bear fruit for manufacilitates playback of facturers. Were I a betting man, I'd wager this equipment will not become your own audio collection mainstream for a year or two at least. By Ray Richards but allows you to stream thousands oi internet over the planet.

a a e Ie I IeeneIaeeeee Microsoft, not to be left

out of the action of course, recently launched Windows XPMedia Center Edition 2DDS [www.microsoft.corn/windowsxp/mediacenter]. This software is considerably more comprehensive than MP3 Beamer as k includes provisions for all digital media types. Media Center is a full desktop operating system (XP Service Pack 2) with tons of extremely easy to use applications housed in a completely redesigned user interface, Clearly focused on the home user, Media Center Edition is a snap to navi-

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PC M u a ic M a k in g R Last month I talked about how easy it is to record music into a PC by plugging your instruments and/or microphones directly into the computer's soundcard and using an inexpensive software program to edit. Now that you' ve got a barebones studio set up and have familiarized yourself with the basics of how audio input and editing works, you can start paying attention to the quality of the sound itself. While recording directly into a computer soundcard is an acceptable way of creating cheap and ditty audio tracks, you have limited means of controlling the

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quality of that sound. Common problems include a sound level that's too quiet, or so loud that it distorts, or has unwanted noise, popping and hum, or a collection of tracks that vary wildly in volume from one to the next. A good way to curb these problems and acquire more control over the way your tracks sound is to invest in a preamplifier. This external box acts as the middle-man between the instrument and the computer, and can be used to filter, clean-up and boost the initial audio signal to make for a better sounding recording, To use a preamp, simply connect your instruments and/or microphones to the device's inputs, and run a 1/4-inch cable from the box's output to the line-in of your PC's soundcard, Preamps typically have both an XLR input [for connecting certain microphones), and a 1/4-inch input for connecting instruments [keyboards, electric guitars, and so on). Microphones that have an 1/g-inch stereo mini connection instead of XLR can also use the 1/4-inch input via an inexpensive stereo mini-to- 1/4-inch adapter. The most basic advantage to using a preamp is that it will boost the volume level and strengthen a quiet audio source. When audio is recorded at a low volume level, it invites problems later on in the mixing stage; when you try to boost the level with your editing software, you' ll find that the level of unwanted background noise will be boosted as well, resulting in a dirtier signal. The louder and cleaner the audio is when recorded at the source, the easier it will be to manipulate it later on. A preamp can also add warmth toatrack by boosting the level of upper

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harmonics or "overtones" in a sound. Vocals will have more "presence", instruments will have more depth, and drums will pack a bigger punch, By the same token, preamps have LEO indicators to warn you when an incoming audio signal is too loud, so that you can reduce the input volume accordingiy in order to avoid clipping and distortion. You can also make use of the limiter and compressor tools to set and maintain the audio at a consistent volume and eliminate high and low peaks. Another handy function of the preamp is noise suppression — that is, getting rid of unwanted hiss and hum that can get in the way of a clean audio signal. White noise — the inherent noise produced whenever electricity flows through a component — is a common problem that can be

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Decodingthe jargon clipping — A kind of distortion that occurs when the input level of th audio is sa high that it exceeds the equipment's capacity ta hsndl rrjt. resulting in the peak audio levels being cut aff. ,cain - Refers ta the ratio at which the audio signal changes withi he preamp from input to output. Measured in decibels (dBI. Fo xample, if the preamp changes the audio signal from a power of on .stalt at the input to a power of 10 volts at the output, it's said t have a gain of 10 dB. 'Limiter — A setting that adjust the audio's output level to ensure i neverexceeds a certain threshold in orderta avoid clipping

'' Phantom panier- This conf iguration supplies the correctvoltage fo pawering microphones that generate their own electr ic signal, such s condenser microphones. hase reverse -This function inverts the audio signal, literally turn ng it upside down." You' ll only need to worry about this function i au planon recording your audio in stereo (across two channels s t comes through both the left snd right speaker,as opposed to mono recording,which is one channelthrough the leftspeakeronly. ' hase reversing a stereo audio signal helps you detect tf one of th hannels has accidentally been recorded aut of phase, which wil . esult in a blurry ar incomplete sound.

op —A pop occurs when there's a sudden spike inthe gain,typical y caused when vocalists make "k", "p" and "t" sounds int he microphone,

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Upgrading Brand N am e P Gs: Pare One For years I struggled with home-made PCs that had one software problem after another. Fed up, I bought a Dell. It arrived, I took it out of the box and plugged it in, and it worked! Unfortunatelg, a quick-starting brand name PC can cause gou headaches at upgrade time, especially if it's an older model. The reason: "There are some brand name PCs that are hard to upgrade due to their use of proprietary parts," sags Dan Chu, product development manager for Ottawa's Northern Micro.

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"Generallg, this problem only occurs with older brand name PCs — those using Pentiurn II-generation processors or earlier." Another potential issue with brand name PCs is motherboard limitations. To get a great price, you mag have unwittinglg restricted the system's upgradability. A case in point is the Dell Dimension 2100 sitting on my desk. Equipped with a Celeron 1.1 GHz Intel chip, its Intel CA801E motherboard onlg has two DIMM memory slots and four PCIexpansion slots for daughterboards. Add the fact that the case only has one 5.25-inch and two 3.5-inch bags, and there's not much I can add to this machine. Or is there? Let's find out what can be done to upgrade this machine and some other Dells as well.

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Finding out what's inside gour brand name PC is easg, right? You still have the packing slips and manuals, so all the statistics are at your fingertips,(Okay, enough silliness. We both know that all of this vital stuff is long gone.] No worries, gou can get the details bg searching through gour PC's Sgstem Properties in Windows. For instance, in Windows 2000 (which I use], the path is Settings, then Control Panel, then 5gstem. An easier method is to visit www.powerleap.corn and click on the ePowerLeap Online Upgrade Configurator" icon. (Powe r Leap makes CPU upgrades that can boost a 350 MHz Pentium II PC to a 1A GHz Educational Toys Celeron; we' ll talk more about Microscopes Telescopes Electronics them later.) This site will look Weather Instruments Binoculars at your system's innards, then Metal Detecto give you acomp lete report of Night what's inside. Vision Experiment Once the PowerLeap Online Kits GPS U pgrade Configurator has done Magnets its stuff, be sure to print the Lasers onscreen report. You' ll want Robotics L. Fiber Optics this as reference material Magnifiers when gou are looking for Gadgets upgrade parts. GPS Lab Equipment Next, go to Google and tgpe in Health & Biomedical the name of gour system's motherboard. This will provide Bring this ad to theSdanceRiAstronomySuparStora and gou with links that describe gour mobo's specifications, RECENE 5$ N OFFanypurchaseover 550, orshoponline ond requirements and limitations. getFREESIIIPptfttfwhenyouusePROiyIOCODE: HOB0405 Don't be concerned if you see a message onthe mobo manufacturer's Web site that sags (. your mobo is 'no longer being 3350 Dufferin St., Toronto, just south of Hwy. 401 supported". This just means

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that the manufacturer will no longer help with service sairmicro.corn) and clicked on their "RAM Guy" link, which let me search for memory strips to max out my issues,notthatyourm obo has become unusable. 2100. As it turns out, this unit can handle two?56MB DIMMs. By adding them {which I subsequently did] I Step Two: Oefine tlour Pt."s limits With a little bit of research, you' ve found out what quadrupled my system's memory! kind of parts your mobo will and will not accept. This The next item to upgrade is storage. If your older PC information is vital because you don't want to buy doesn't have enough space, add an extra hard drive. non-proprietary parts that won't work in your brand In some cases,you may only have the space inside name PC, Meanwhile,newer brand name PCs your case to replace the older drive with a newer one. {Pentium II and up) that don't have proprietary issues If so, be warned that you will have to install the operwill still have limits. For instance, the fact that my Dell ating system, drivers and all of your software on the new disc, so make sure that you have all the program Dimension 2100 only has PCI expansion slots — and only four at that! —severely restricts my ability to add discs you need before pulling your old drive out. a newer video card with its own onboard CPU. I' ve In the case of the 2100, it currently has a 19GB been thinking of doing this because this extra pro- Maxtor hard drive onboard. I have got a newer 300GB cessingpower would reduce the demand on my 1.1 Maxtor sitting on the shelf, ready to take its place. The third upgrade you can make is to add better GHz CPU. video and sound cards to your older PC, if the architecture allows it. Adding a video card with onboard Step Three: What can be upgraded processing can help an older PC play some of the Even with the limits of an older mobo, there are still newer, more system-intensive videogames being an amazingnumber ofchanges that can be made to released, In the same way,adding a new sound card boost its performance. can turn a stereo PC into a 5.1 surround system {once First and foremost is memory, If your brand name PC you add the right speakers). isn't as loaded with memory as it could be, then now A word of advice: Talk to the techs at your favourite is the time to max it out. My Dell Dimension 2100 was computer store before attempting this upgrade. Your only running 12BMB of SDRAMDIMM; surely adding older PC may not have the ability to accept newer more would help my performance. cards, or your system's inherent limitations {such as To find out, I logged onto Corsair Memory{www.cor- having a Celeron chip with a small onboard cache) may restrict its ability to handie new games even with a better video card onboard. A fourth option is a CPU upgrade. A CPU upgrade is a special module that fits into an older PC's CPU slot. Often this modulehas been designed to allow older PCs to run new CPU chips. A case in point is the upgrade I made to a Den 350 MHz Pentium II by installing a PowerLeap SiotWonder 1400 {1.4 GHz) Celeron CPU Upgrade. The installation is very simple, as I will explain in <~ 4 ~ r„ I ~l l a l S I OL Part 2 next month. Within min. utes, this PC has quadrupled Ilol o ~ .d its processing speed with no ill Also available at. • . effects! Best Buy I have also installed some The Bay Lollcloll DFLI95 Belkin USB 2.0 cards in my older PCs, increasing the data throughputon USB from 12 Mbps to 4BD Mbps. Next Time: We show how to install the i mprovements '%n • described above, and look at . %'E A n • nn w n c 'w w • w% & n m the cost of doing so as opposed to buying a new PC. By James Careless

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TO 3 S

Wireless

H it t h e R o a d What to say for the first entry in an ongoing column on mobile gear? I consulted with Andrew over lunch recently, and while menacing me with a dull plastic butter knife he said, "Just wing it, okay? I'm trying to eat, here. With those inspirational words in mind, I figured the best way to start would be with a greeting. So, hi! Over the last few years, there's been an explosion of personal technology — that is, gadgets designed to accompany you as you went from point A to point B, whether that's traveling between cities, or just heading to schooi or work for the day. Some of those gadgets are meant to keep you in touch with the people you love, or the people you work with. Others are there for personal entertainment, whether it's portable audio and video or

North Yorh Lawrence ( Re(ail ) 7 89 Lawrence West Tel: (41 6) 781-7738 Open 7 Days Now Dufferin

gaming. Still others are designed to keep all your data wherever you go. a second brain, as it were. This column will keep an eye on all of these areas. -

The changingface ofthe Canadian cellphone market When it was announced late last year that wireless carrier Microcell [better known as Fide] was being acquired by Rogers, some were worried, Though the company had been struggling somewhat in a difficult Canadian market, Fido had nonetheless been making a name for itself with lower pricing- something that Rogers couldn't claim — and the inno-

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Celeron 2AG $349 P4 2A G $4 15

Desktops

P4 2AG P4 3.0G

$4 35 $4 95

ASRock P4VSB Mainboard

256M I BOG 7200r / Floppy ATI R7000 64M / Modem ATX Case I 52X CD Writer Keyboard I Mouse I Spk

P4 3.0G P4 3& G

$84 9 $9 15

Asus P5GD1 Mainboard

•

selnpron 2400 $289 8elnpron 2600 $309

ASRock P4VMB Mainboard ASRock K7VM3 Board 256M I40G 7200r IRoppy 256M I 40G 7200r I Floppy ATX Case / 52X CD Writer ATX Case / 52X CDROM M odem I Sound /Lan Modem / Sound / Lan Keyboard / Mouse I Spk Keyboard / Mouse I Spk P4 3.0G $599 Athlon64 3000 $789 P4 3.2G $649 Athlon64 3200 $839 Asus P48800 Mainboard Asus ASV-Deluxe Mainboard 512M DDR400 / SDG7200r OCZ 512M Dual Channel ATI R9200SE 128M / Floppy ATI R9250256M IFloppy High Quality Case / Modem 160G SATA I 16x DVD-RW 52X CD Writer /16x DVD High Quality Case I DVD Keyboard I Optical Mouse Keyboard / Optical Mouse tutee Lansing Speaker Altec Lansing Subwoofer

P4 3>G

Athlon84 3200 $1169 Athion84 3500 $1259 Asus ABN-SLI Mainboard

$ 955

P4 3A G $9 SS Asus P5GD2 Mainboard

Athlon84 3000 $639 Athlon84 3200 $685

Asus M5ft $12$$ Cenbino 1.6G / DVD-CDRW 40G 5400r BM / 12" I Wireless -G

Asus KBN Mainboard 512M DDR400 / Floppy ATI R9200SE 128M! DVD CD-RW I 160G SATA HD High Qua8ty Case! 56K KeyboardIO pgcalMouse Altec Lansing Speaker

Asus 2$1N 5105$ Cenbino 1.6/15" / DVD-CDRW 4DG 5400r SM /256M / 802.11G Asus ZSOK $1349 AMD A64 3000+ / 15" SXGA DVD-CDRW I 60G 5400r SM Wireless -G I ATI R9700 128M

Laptops

Fujitsu laptops 58231: Centrino 1.6G I 13.3 512M / 40G I DVD-CDRW

Asus Notebooks

Wireless -G / XP Home $172$

Asus A5Me 5147 9 Centrino 1.6G I 15.4" WXGA

it351 OAI Centrino 1,7G ( 533 ) 512M DDR2 Dual Channel/60G 15.4" /802.11G / Combo / XP H ATI X300 64M PCI-E $1785

Bx Dual Layer DVD+/-RW

512M / 60G I Wireless-6 512M DDR2 Dual Channel OCZ 1G Dual Channel Win XP Pro I 2-yr Warranty ATI X600Pro 256M ( PCI-E ) ATI X700Pro 256M ( PCI-E ) 160G SATA HD /Floppy 160G SATA HD / Floppy A slfs M69N8 $15 7 $ High Quality Case / Modem High Quality Case I Modem High Quality Case / Modem Centrlno 1.6G I 15.4" WXGA 16X DVD Burner/16x DVD 16X DVD Burner/16x DVD 16X DVD Burner/16x DVD DVD-CDRW/ Modem/ Lan Keyboard I Optics I Mouse Keyboard I Optical Mouse Keyboard I Optical Mouse 512M DDR/ATI R970064M Altec Lansing Subwoofer Altec Lansing Subwoofer Altec Lansing Subwoofer 60G 5400r BM I Wireless-G OCZ 512M Dual Channel ATI X300 256M ( PCI-E ) 160G SATA HD / Floppy

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DVD Re-Writers

LG 16X ( 4161B )............$63 LG 16X ( 4163B )............$71 NEC 16X ( 3520 )............$73 Pioneer 16X ( 109 ).........$82

Hard Drive IDE I 7200rpm

40/BDG..$57 I 65 BOG /160 ( BM )........$72/96 20D I 250G ( SM )..$125/162 SATA / 7200rpm

80 / 160G (SM).........$78/ 109 200 / 250G (BM)....$135 / 167

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ATI PCI Express 25elg ( 1Sx ):

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NVIDIA Geforce

X600 I X700.......$133 / 227 XBDOXL I Pro.....$423/495 MSI 6600GT 128E.....$225 MS I 6800TD 256E.....$418 XFX FX5500 256M....$105

17" AOC Flat

CRT....$125 LCD 17" /19" ......$288/459

XFX 6600GT DualDVI 128M AGP I PCI-E...$270 / 243

Prices already 4% cash discounled S subject to change without notice

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9600 256M..„....,........$125 9800Pro 128M............$249

For 2.5" Laptop HD......$10 For 3.5" Desktop HD....$23 For DVD I CDRW.........$25

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7000 64M...$39 9200SE 128M..............$47 9250 256M...................$83

N5010A: P4-3.2G / XP Home 17" / Combo / BOG I 802.11G 512M DDR Dual Channel

•

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I)gain Board For AMD Cpus:

Inex Wireless& Network Card

ASRock K7VM3

USB / PCI I PCMCIA....$30

Asus A7VSX I A7NBX....$60 I 77 Asus KBN............................$106 Asus ASV-Dluxe..................$140 Asus ASN-SLI Deluxe.........$219

(w I Video)...$51

D-Link Xtreme G Wireless

PCI NIC ( G520 ).....„...$63 PCMCIA NIC( G650 )...$62 4-port Router DI-624....$85

For Intel CPUs:

ASRock P4VMB(w I Video)...$5S ASRock P4VBB ( BODFSB )..$58 ASRock 775VBB (LGA775)...$69

Case/Power Supply ATX Case with

Power Supply . ......From $26 .I r e Power Supply Generic 400W..............$13 Quality 450W (2-Fan)...$29

Asus P4SSOO MX(Video)..$73/ I 71

Asus P5GD1 I P5GD2..$129/168 Asus PSGD2-Deluxe..........$210 Asus PSAD2-E Premium....$279 r

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vative new City Fido service, which offered users the ability to transfer their home phone numbers to a Fido wireless plan, available at a rate similar to home phoneline service. Would the company just get swallowed up into the corporate behemoth? Though there were some adjustments to pricing, Fido still offers a $5D unlimited data plan — real a boon to people who like to surf the net using their phone — and still has competitive pricing for its other services. Better, Fido customers now have access to Rogers' wider coverage area all across the country. And Fido has also just rolled out the Hiptop2, the PDA/cen phone combo aimed at a hipper, younger crowd. {We can talk about Paris Hilton and the issue of the Hiptop's data security later.] With Fido heading over to the Rogers network, Microcell's GPRS transmission towers were freed up. Primus Wireless launched in Canada at roughly the same time that Fido was moving its doghouse into Rogers' yard, with the aim to offer a low-cost cellular alternative using the Microcell network. As l write this, Primus has three hand. sets and two mobile plans; time will tell whether people embrace the new service. While Primus' Canadian cell division had a fairly lowkey launch,the same can't be said for the new Virgin Mobility service, which 4 launched with... um, er... a splash. Potential customers eysead across the country received PARRIRO OI~EO a card with a tear-off strip that changes colour when you pee on it. If it changes, you have "the catch" — the catch being hidden cell phone fees. There are a lot of really bad jokes I could Dhemd Shee make here about a promotion that encourages people to pee on something, but urine luck... I'm notcoins to make anyofthem. ttht . V ( IIO 0 Lest you think that the e R momentum is s h i fting towards the GPRS networks, 5|e N M Virgin is making use of Bell' s odd rak cross-country CDMA 1xnet-

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- H UE j : Digital Living — Toronto Sectio n

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i Pcd acc e s s c r i es : beyond th e b u d s Voice Recorder Manufacturer: Belkin www.belkin.corn Price: $79.99 Note: not compatible with iPod Milni When connected to the iPod's headphone jack, the Voice Recorder automatically initiates the device's built-in voice memo software that allows admittedly rudimentary play/pause, record and erase functionality. There's no pass-through for headphones on the Voice Recorder, but to compensate there's a tiny speaker for playback — a feature that also allows you to take advantage of the iPod's alarm function on the move. A small green LED light indicates when the unit is in Record mode. The best results are achieved by standing at least eight inches away from the mic, otherwise it can distort. The Voice Recorder picks up voice clearly from across the room and could

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easily be used to record not only personal memos but lectures in small to mid-sized halls, although concerts would probably be a bit too much given that audio is recorded as super-compressed .wav files: 128kbps, 16-bit, and only 8 kHz[to put things in perspective, CD quality sound is considered to be 44.1 kHz). The Voice Recorder names each file with a time and date stamp, which makes it extremely convenient if you want to transfer them to a PC for archiving. The device draws its power from the iPod instead of using a battery, but the drain is negligible.

inwotion Manufacturer;AltecLansing www.alteclansing.corn Price:3199.99 Altec Lansing's sleek and compact inMotion portable speaker system comes close to matching the elegance of the iPod itself. The unit is a compact white rectangle that unfolds to reveal a docking station for the iPod with twin two watt left and right speakers positioned on either side, The iPod docks in an upright position between the speakers and connects to them using a standard stereo cable, which is included. The unit can plug into the wall[acting in this capacity as a convenient charging dock for the iPod as well), or can stand alone on four AA batteries. For their small size, the two watt speakers put out a surprisingly powerful and clear sound with good sound depth and bass frequencies. There is a tiny bit of hiss, however, that gets more pronounced as the volume is increased. Therefore the inMotion is at its best when servicing a small to medium sized room — which it does quite handily.

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N/ir elean iBoom Manufacturer: Digital Lifestyle Outfitters www.dlodirect.corn Price: approx $180 (From US$149.99) This medium-sized boom box, with a special front-positioned slot for loading the iP'od into, isn't built for subtlety. A sturdy white and gray plastic frame encases 20 watt speakers that emit a floor-thumping bass. The sound is decidedly bass-heavy, resulting in some muddiness and lack of clarity in the sound output given that some of the high end is lost — on the other hand, the other extreme(thin and tinny) is avoided completely and there's no noticeable hiss. The result is that the speakers can achieve a sound that is powerful and very loud without distorting. In fact, there really isn't a "quiet" volume setting on the iBoom, given that the lowest sound you can get before it cuts out altogether is still moderately loud. Without the iPod, the unit Functions as a pretty decent FM tuner with two station memory presents. The iBoom is powered by six Dbatteries, but can also run on an ACadapter that folds up into a compartment accessed through the banery bay. When the AC adapter is plugged in, the iPod will charge autamatically. Otherwise, the batteries only power the speakers and radio while the iPod operates on its own power,

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In order for it to work, the FM radio must be set to a weak frequency(one that isn't broadcasting any audio). Then the TuneCast — which connects to the iPod's headphone jack and automatically powers on as soon as it detects audio coming out of the iPod — must be calibrated to the same radio frequency. During our test, the TuneCast maintained its strength up to 15 feet away from the radio source, even with a couple of walls in between and several WiRi devices running interference. TuneCast11Mobile F)4Transmitter If you already have an FM tuner with decent speakers attached to it, the Manufacturer. Belkin www,belkln,corn Price: $59.99 TuneCast proved reliable enough to be seriously considered as a cheaper The TuneCast II can be used to broadcast the iPod's playlist over the radio alternative to buying iPod speakers; also, using the the TuneCast means frequencies broadcast by any device with an FM tuner — from alarm that the iPod isn't tied down. clocks to car stereos. By Erin Bell

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A netvvor k to call your o w n ! Home computing has certainly changed a lot over the past few years. Instead of dialing out to a modem somewhere else in the world, broadband networking pumps the Internet into your house at almost a hundred times the speed of that old dial-up monster. With all of that bandwidth just ready to be used up, it's no wonder that many people are setting up home networks to share their broadband connection â&#x20AC;&#x201D; either DSL or cable â&#x20AC;&#x201D;with multiple computers in the same household. With a home network in place, you can also share your files between computers and stream multimedia files to a multimedia adapter connected to a television or stereo. For the neophyte, the idea of setting up a network is a bit intimidating, especially since networking has long been considered the realm of tech wizardry. No longer. While you can mess about with multiple network cards and manually configure peer-to-peer networking connections between your computers with nothing more than a few Ethernet cables, it's really not worth the time, expense and effort, since the cost of broadband-sharing routers has dropped substantially. These routers, which handle all of the networking for you, cost about $75 to $100, even with 802.11g wireless networking onboard. Pick out the proper hardware The first important step in setting up your home network is making sure that your computers all have an Ethernet port onboard, or have a wireless adapter. For those not completely sure what an Ethernet port is, it's a jack on the back of your computer or notebook that looks like a phone jack but a bit wider, and with six pins instead of four. If your computer doesn't already have one onboard, it costs $20 or less to add one, but you' ll need a free PCI slot on your PC.[If you have no clue what any oF this means, ask a techie you trust, or talk to your friendly neighbourhood computer shop.)For a bit extra, you can install a wireless networking card into that PCI slot instead, allowing you to connect to the wireless router without having to string any cables. If you don't have a slot Free, or if you have a notebook computer, you can generally add wireless networking (also known as WiFi) with a USB adapter. This has a side benefit: with a long USB cable, you can easily re-

position the wireless antenna for best reception, rather than leaving it buried behind your PC under a desk somewhere. The third way to add WiFi applies to notebook computers with a free PCCard slot. Most wireless networking companies also offer WiFi cards for the PC Card slot, at a slight price premium over USB or internal versions.

The second part is hooking them all up together. This is where the broadband router comes in. The basic chain of connection: Broadband Modem <-(wired)-> Router <-(wired/wireless)-> PC Each broadband router comes with a number of Ethernet ports on the back. The ports labeled "LAN" connect directly to your home computers. One of these ports is labeled "WAN" for Wide-Area Network; this is the one you connect to yourbroadbandmodem. If you live in a small apartment, you might be able to make do with a simple wired router and a few Ethernet cables. As the size of the apartment or home increases, a wired router becomes less practical because the entirety of your living space will start to resemble a cable farm. Wireless networking definitely helps by creating a cable-free connection between your broadband router and wireless-enabled computers. The downside is that the maximum range for most wireless connections is a couple hundred feet, and any heavy building materials like concrete or steel will reduce the range substantially. BorG? Wondering which wireless networking standard you should go with?

802.11b and 802.1ig are the most popular wireless choices for the home, and they each have different capabilities. The 802.11b standard offers up to 11 Mbps data transfer rates, which is already faster than the fastest home broadband connections. You might think that 802.11g's 54 Mbps data rate offers way more bandwidth than you need, but remember that you can also use your home network for streaming your media files from the PC to a TV.The slower 802.11b just isn't fast enough to reliably transmit a video signal, but the faster 11g can handle video without too much problem. Because the price difference between 11b and 11g products tends to be minimal at best these days, it's really a moot point: go for the 11g option www.hubcanada.corn

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Getting secure It's something that should be drilled into every computer user in this

new era of rampant viruses, spyware, and other threats: you have to make sure you are as secure as possible. Unfortunately, adding a wireless network to your home without changing any of the default settings can be a pretty clear invitation to no-goodniks who want to take advantage. The very first thing you should do once you get your broadband router up and running is to change its default password, because anyone who has the password can change the router's settings. Unfortunately, this means that someone who winds up at your router from the outside world can also change your settings, if they can guess at your password. Once logged in, they can find out what machines are connected to your network and change the security

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and get the extra bandwidth. Just remember that even though 11b and 11g are interoperable — meaning that you can use an 11b router and 11g notebook, or vice versa — your connection speed will always default to the lower of the two, 11 Mbps. For maximum bandwidth, go 11g all around.

H U B : D i g i t al Living — A p ril 2OOS

tion (if you can bear to type it] is good. A combination of numbers and uppercase and lowercase letters is ideal, especially longer strings. A four character password is more easily cracked than a ten-character password. Twenty would be even better, The second thing to do is configure your wireless connection. If you only got the wireless router because the price was low, but aren't planning to use wireless networking component immediately, turn it completely OFF. If you' ll be using wireless, turn your wireless encryption ON, or people with wireless "sniffing" programs will be able to intercept anything you transmit, including usernames and passwords. There are two types of wireless encryption found on consumer routers: WEP and WPA. WEP comes in either 64- or 128-bit "strengths" — term a that refers to how long the alphanumeric key is. A 64-bit key translates to 10 hexadecimal characters, and 128-bit translates to 26 characters. You simply add your WEPkey into the appropriate location on the router and your wireless computers, allowing each end to decode the signal. If www.hubcanacia.corn

Wir eless your wireless network has a WEP key set up, computers that don'1 have the key won't be able to wirelessly connect to the network. Newer wireless networking products allow you to create your key by using a pass-phrase instead of a string of numbers and letters, which is more user-friendly. But if you choosetoo easy or obvious a pass-phrase, it will lull you into a false sense of security, since it can be easily guessed. Because the newer WPA encryption protocol only uses pass-phrases, you' ll definitely want to think up a good one if you use it. Once you have a good[i.e. suitably complex] pass-phrase in place, WPA will be even more secure than WEP. Another way to be more secure is to disable SSIO broadcast on the router itself. That way, your wireless router won't even appear in the list of available wireless networks. If you have the proper settings, you should be able to connect, however. This is not for everyone, though. Some computers may not be able to connect to networks they can't "see", and determined hackers with the proper equipment will be able to find the wireless router anyhow with a bit of work. At the very least, changing the default SSIOname will make it less obvious what type of router you have, which will add a touch more security against the hacker with less dedication. Drilling a hole through that firewall Once you' ve got your network secured, you' ll probably want to open up tiny holes in the router to allow certain applications unfettered access in both directions. This could include applications involving webcam conferencing, streaming media, or peer-to-peer file-sharing. ln general, wireless broadband routers ship with Network Address Translation [NAT] turned on. This feature acts like a firewall, blocking computers from outside your local network from walking right into your home network, while still allowing your local computers to communicate with each other. The NAT feature typically keeps open ports traditionally regarded as safe, like email or web access ports. Many other ports tend to be slammed shut; after all, why lock your doors to troublemakers, then allow them to enter through a wide-open window'? The problem is, some applications require specific ports in order to function properly. Many programs, such as AOL Instant Messenger and Bittorrent, that use specific ports are configurable, allowing you to see the port the program uses and change it to another one. Once you know which port you' re using, you can open that port up on your router, either by opening it completely, or by forwarding incoming traffic on that port to a specific computer, You may be asking, "Why not just use Universal Plug and Play (UPnP] to set up these connections?" UPnP is designed to allow your computer to make specific requests to your router to open up ports. This makes it very easy for UPnP-enabled applications to open up the necessary ports, but it also makes it very easy for unauthorized applications on your computer ti.e. Trojans or spyware] to do exactly the same thing. Secuiity-conscious computer users will want to disable UPnP altogether and open the ports manually.

Share and share alike One of the beautiful things about setting up a home network is the ability to move your files from one computer to another. The only thing is that before yourcomputers can see each other, you' ll need to set up sharing. With Windows machines, you can share specific folders or entire hard drives by right-clicking on them and selecting the "sharing and security" option. After ticking a box to "share this folder on the network", you can give it a special name to identify it to other users of the network, who will be able to access the folder or drive through the "My Network Places" icon. The great news about file-sharing is that you don't all have to be using Windows-basedmachines — you can also share files between Windows, vvvvvv.hubcansda.corn

Mac andLinuxmachines. ForMac OS X machines, you'd go to the System Preferences menu and choose "Sharing" from the Internet and Network sub-menu. With Linux, you can set up Samba for file sharing between machines; Samba generally comes standard with newer Linux distributions. By Sean Carruthers

WiFi Glossary If you' re just starting to look at theworldofwireless networking,you have to master a bunch of seemingly cryptic lingo, Here's a basic primer: Willi:Short for "Wireless Fidelity," WiFi is often used inter changeably with 802.11x but refers specifically to an adherence to a set of standards for those two wireless protocols, designed to allow wireless networking devices to work seamlessly with each other. SSS.11alh/S:"802.11" refers to the IEEE classification for wireless networking, and the letters at the end denote the flavour. 802.11b was the first out of the gate, and featured 11 Megabits (Mbps) per second data transmission speed. The 802.11a standard followed shortly thereafter, offering data speeds up to 54 Mbps, but its different radio spectrum I5GHz as comparedto the 2.4GHz)me antthe two standards weren'tinteroperable, and thus it's not widely used, The 802.11g wireless standard uses the same spectrum as 11b to facilitate interoperabilty, but bumps the speed up to 54Mbps. Withanyofthese standards,transmissionspeeds getslowerthefurtherawayyou go from the router. Channel:Wireless networking data is transmitted on channels numbered 'I to 11 iin North America). This is to ensure your wireless router and computers are only listening for data intendedfor them in areas where more than one wireless network is set up. The default channel is 6 or 11 in many routers. You can change this on the router's configurationWeb page. SSIQ:Service Set Identifier; this is the name for your router or network. The SSID allows users to identify different wireless networks that may be used for different things and different departments. These SSIDs can be changed by the router administrator for easy custom identification or to obscure easy identification... your choice.

SSEP/WPA eacryptiaa: Bydefault, wireless networking signals are sent over the airwaves without any protection... anyone that could listen in on the data stream cauld reconstruct it. Encryption creates a secure encoded channel between the wireless router and a wireless-enabled computer. The first standard, Wireless Encryption Protocol IWEP), is available in 64- and 128-bit strengths and requires a predetermined hexadecimal "key" to be set up at both ends. WiFi Pr otected Access (WPA) is a newer, more secure encryption protocol.

Wireless Notwork Checklist Sasic retiairements • broadband router with 802.11g or 11b wireless network • computers with Ethernet ports or wiralass adapters • Ethernetcables long enoughto reach your computers, if applicable • Broadband Internet connection (DSL, cable or even satellite)

Security • Make sureyou change your router's default password, • Change the default SSID to something more personally relevant. • Enable wireless encryption and choose the strongest encryption method available at both ends. • Use non-obvious passwords, preferably 8-10 characters or more, with both numbers and letter s. • Don't writs your pesswor ds down and leave them in an obvious place!

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— H U B : Digital Living

Fir at; &lance

High upon the middle ground: C anon P o w e r S h o t S V O In the vast middle ground of the digital camera world stand a fair number of cameras suitable for the photo enthusiast without a particular interest in digital SLRs. Canon's PowerShot S70, residing in the higher-end of the mid-line digicams, is an excellent example. The S70's key distinguishing feature is perhaps its design, simple in its rectangular shape but singularly good-looking. A black brushed metal lens cover slides out of the way to turn on the camera and fully expose the flash, which is slightly off-set to the lense's left. It's a shame that, given the wider than average face of the camera, Canon didn't And a way to put more physical distance between the 28-100 mm equivalent, 3.8xoptiCanon iyoworShotS1Q cal zoom lens to reduce flash www.cenon.ca glare and the dreaded red-eye when shooting straight ahead. Memory included, 32MB CompactFlesh type ll What sets the 7.1-megapixel 570 apart from others in its class is an extensive feature set that -High resolution allow users much more control -Excellent lens and print quality over composition. Users can turn Attractive off automatic aperture andshutCO00: ter selection to choose the best -High price possible shooting mode for a -Small LCD scene, or can set shutter or aper-

Info Box

ture priority and let the camera figure out the rest. Users can also turn off auto focus using the MF button to the left of the viewfinder. Manual focus has limited use in non-SLR digital cameras since using the LCD display to set focus is far from optimal. However, the MF button doublesas an auto focus lock.Userscan compose a scene,focus on a central object then lock the focus and recompose, putting the subject out of the direct centre of the shot for generally more pleasing results. The biggest complaint is its underwhelming 1.8-inch LCD display. With even some entry-level cameras sporting the same size LCD, one might think that the high-end of the consumer digital camera spectrum might step it up.

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Submityourphotagrsphs, alongwith thsinformstion fromIhe fons below, byApril 22nd, 2000.Tou cansubmitup to threephotographs,aU ofwhich mustbe accompanied by a submissionform. Fntrfes mustbe submittedvia email. Filesshouldbena bigger then500 KR aad ao smallerthat300 KU.Uoe photo pernmml. Contnst Roles: prizesmustbe claimedby May 20, 2000. yyinnersmast prmddevalid identncstionuponclaimingprize. Thsprizes awardedars not traasfnrshfsoodcannot be redeemedfor cash.Toenter andto be eligible to udn,persons mustbe residents of Canada, andnot emplsyeosar be damicigedwith an maployeaaf friccnte Poblisbing, its sfgliats companies, aradvarusinger pramotianslageacios. Thewinners wiUhoselect-

ed by UUU onApril20,2000 fram amongsg slidiblaentries received onarbefore contest closedate. Winnnrswill be comsctadbytelephena or email. Is thescant that they cannel hesaalactsdwithin tbe first week faUawiag tbe contest anatbor entrant will be select ed.AUenlrles bacemetbe properlyofUUU amlmsy heused in sabvegasatadvertisementsfor thecontest. AUentries mustbe submRted bytheir artist andmusthe origiaal work

HUB's PhotoSpree contest form. All submissionsmust contain this information. Send to contest@ppublishing.ca Age: Headline: April 22, 2005 Name:. Uccupation/Schooh Address:. Title of Entry: E-Nail: Gemara Used:. Phone Number: Snftware Used:. 16

HU B : D i g i t al Living - A p r i l 2D O5

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Total Ga m e r — Review s

S tar Fox A s s a u l t Publisher. Nintendo Developer: Nomen/ Nintendo Platform: Gamecube

Star Fox Assault begins promisingly — with a flying level. Flying, after all, is what arwing pilot Fox McCloud has done best ever since he debuted in the 1993 Super Nintendo polygonal rails shooter Star Fox. In this latest game, Fox and his squadron mates Falco, Slippy and Krystal are called upon to stop the invasion of the bug-like Aperiods. Their quest takes them to a few familiar places and they cross paths with a few old friends and enemies along the way as well. The graphics of the opening level are gorgeous, and Fox's arwing handles smoothly as all the familiar Star Fox elements come together. blast enemies with guns and bombs while spinning and rolling to avoid their fire, collect shield andweapon power ups,and help yoursquadronma teswhenthey get into trouble. Then Fox is dumped onto the ground to fulfill a lackluster ground mission,

D evil May Cr y S : D ante's Aw a k e n i n g Publisher / ffevefoper: Capcom

Platform: Pfnystation 2

Dante, the protagonist of the Devil May Cry series, has somethingofa checkered past. As a private investigator, our hero operates for the greater good, sometimes at the expense of the law. Dh, and he was sired by a reformed demon warrior named Spa rda, making him half-demon,

half man. As garners progress through the largely hack-and-slash gameplay, a patchwork story reveals itself. The story, told with short but action-packed cutscene sequences, gives fans of the series some insight into Dante's origins and the reason he's forced to eviscerate hordes of netherworld residents. Previous Devil May Cry games(named after our protagonist's private

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and the effect is like ice cold water being splashed on the face. Although Fox is eventually able to get back into the arwing — gameplay from then on alternates between flying, running on foot and piloting a tank-like vehicle called the Landmasterthe game struggles to build and

maintain any kind of lasting momentum. These ground missions are frustrating for a few reasons; one is the fetchquest nature of the goals(kill x number of enemies, disable x number of generators, and so on], and another is the mission map. Mission goals are represented by red dots on the map, which get smaller or larger according to how close to them Fox gets in relation to their depth. Unfortunately the flat map makes it impossible to gauge depth, so Fox might appear to be right on top of one of the dots when in actual fact the goalis several levels above or below him. Star Fox Assault is proof positive that Fox McCloud belongs in the sky. Here's hoping that the next franchise installment sticks to this instead of trying to be all things to all people. By Erin Bell

investigation agency ) satisfied themselves with fast-paced gameplay, slick visuals and imaginative monsters from the netherworld. The first in the series was heavy on the action, receiving critical acclaim as a result, but a true plot was hard

tofind.The second game still forewent the plot and slowed down and simplified the action somewhat. Bad idea. The third installment, Dante's Awakening, maintains the frenetic pace and high difficulty level of the first game and adds in an extensive story line. The difficulty level, dumbed down for mass consumption in Devil May Cry 2, has been raised by several degrees; too many degrees, some might argue. Even on the easiest setting — unlocked after dying twice in "normal" mode — inexperienced garners will find themselves routinely outnumbered, surrounded and dispatched. However, if players take the time to overcome the intense difficulty requiring a constantly evolving battle strategy, fast thumbs and a little luck, they' ll find one of the more rewarding hack and slash-style games with an interesting — if occasionally cheesy — story. Between epic battles, garners will have to solve fairly simple gameplay puzzles to progress, find new melee and ranged weapons, purchase new skills and proficiencies and upgrade weapons like Dante's two pistols, shotguns and even rocket launchers collected in the course of the game. By Andrew Moore-Crispin A pril BOOS — HL IB: Oigical Living

T otal G a m e r — Feat u r e

S plinter C e l l 3 : U b i s o f t ' s a s c e n t i n t o c h a o s Mathematically speaking, chaos theory refers to the concept that a small action made in the present can have large repercussions in the future — "a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas months later," goes the common description, Or, in the case of Splinter Cell protagonist Sam Fisher, breaking a lock or leaving a grate open early in the game can trigger a series of events that could have lethal consequences. It's fitting that Chaos Theory is the subtitle of the third game in the

Splinter Cell franchise, on store shelves this month for PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC and GameCube after more than two years in development at Ubisoft's Montreal studio. With it, game design has moved away from the rigidly linear structure of past games to create a playground that allows garnersto complete tasks in more than one way; to experiment and make mistakes and — most importantly — be able to stick around to see what long-term repercussions their actions may have. Ubisoft Montreal began developing Chaos Theory right after finishing the First Splinter Cell. [The second title in the series, subtitled Pandora Tomorrow, was developed in China by Ubisoft Shanghai]. While the first game was hailed for its technical innovations, particularly in the areas of light and shadow, it also had a reputation For doling out harsh consequences for garners whotried to deviate from the way the scenarios were "meant to be played." The game meted out swift retribution for mistakes, usually in the form of an abrupt Game Over that dumped the player back to the beginning of the scenario. It's an issue that Ubisoft acknowledges."There was a bit of trial and error in Splinter Cell One, and a lot of frustration and weird game over situations," said Chaos Theory producer Mathieu Ferland, who took the time to chat with us despite his hectic schedule; it was Feb, 25 and Ubisoft was in the process of submitting the Xbox version of Chaos Theory to Microsoft for their final approval. "At one point," he continued, referring to

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— Fe a t u re little details. Ferland is especially proud of what he calls the "organic" feel of the environment. When it rains, for example, you can see the water glistening off the rocks and walls. Sam's hair will become matted down and rain will start to soak his clothing. Puddles will slowly form on the ground. Sound effects like thunder occur in real-time and are generated within the 30 environment. In other words, when you go through a door you won't suddenly hear the ambiences of the next room because you' ve triggered them by stepping into the new area. Instead, from the moment Sam begins to open the door you' ll be able to hear the sounds from the other room, and they' ll get louder the closer Sam gets to them. "If you' re in a building and there's a helicopter on the roof, you' re going to hearthe bass;assoon as you open the door,you're gonna hearhigherfrequencies,and then as soon as you go outside you're gonna hear the whole sound," Ferland explained. The innovations in audio are especially interesting given the addition

the first game, "Sam Fisher is going to enter numbers on a keypad„he misses one,and it's gam eover.This doesn'tm ake sense." The goal with Chaos Theory was therefore to create a more flexible nonlinear structure that would encourage garnersto experiment, Players are now given primary and secondary objectives that they can complete in any order they choose by using a variety of different methods. In order to fully support the non-linear structure, Chaos Theory allows the gamer to save anywhere at any time, and load anywhere at any time. "Originally it was just to give more freedom to the player, but what we realized is that there's a lot of tension in this game, so instead of fighting to stay alive and reach the next checkpoint,[players] can save and then experiment with things they wouldn't otherwise do, and then they will learn more and experiment more, and they will enjoy the game much more." Another major decision was to get rid of traditional cutscenes. Rather than pulling players out of the action and forcing them to passively watch mini-movies to advance the plot, the goal was to develop some key dialogue situations that would appear inside the view of the character, leaving Sam free to move around as he watches the action unfold in of an ambient noise gauge, which works in the same way as the nowfront of him. If he wants to disrupt the action and shoot everyone, the familiar light gauge. Just as Sam could go undetected by using the natural shadows in a room to his advantage, now he must act below a certain game supports that as well. But again, there will be consequences... Sam alsohas a beefed up arsenal ofweapons — he's now more than threshold of noise as well. Various things can increase the noise gauge capable of shooting his way out of a tight spot using a rifle or shotgun. and work to Sam's advantage. Switching on a generator, for example, He hasa few neat new gadgets as well,such as a tweaked sticky cam adds more ambient noise to the area and might allow Sam to run undethat allows him to shoot multiple sticky cams and toggle between them, tected. Sam can also synchronize loud actions with loud noises that will creating his own personal surveillance system to monitor a specific mask the sound — gun a shot with a thunderclap, for example. zone. Ferland stressed that the experience is still much better if stealth Chaos Theory certainly represents some ambitious strides forward is used. You can hear the funny conversations of the guards and experi- technically and conceptually. It is, as Ferland explained, meant to serve ence the excitement created by the tension of sneaking up right behind as a bridge between the current and next generation of videogame consomeone.Nevertheless,"some garnerslike to shoot, so the game sup- soles, some of which are expected to come out as early as Christmas ports that too," he explained. 2005. It has also prepared Ubisoft Montreal for the demands of working At the same time, Ubisoft on a next-generation title. To put things in perspective, around 60 people wanted to continue to push worked on the first Splinter Cell; by contrast, 120 people worked on the the envelope technically, This Xbox and PC versions of Chaos Theory alone, with another 120 responsiinvolved scrapping large ble for the PS2 and GameCube versions. Ferland estimates that developparts of the existing architec- ing a next-generation game will require a team of 300 people. tures and developing more AII told, Chaos Theory looks to be for the Splinter Cell franchise what advanced t e c hnologicalResident Evil 4 was to the Resident Evil franchise — an attempt to structures that would carry address and remedy all the things arners g found frustrating about previover into the next generation. ous games, while continuing to push the series forward at the The end result is a game that same time. By Erin Bell pays a lot of attention to the vvww.hLibcanada.corn

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T otal G a m e r — Review s

S hadow o f R o m e PuhlisherI Developer: Capcom

Platform: Playetation 2

Picture it as Ridley Scott's Gladiator: The Game. Aswarrior Agrippa or candy-ass courtier Dctavianus, players must solve Caesar's murder through brute force and subterfuge, respectively. Divided into lengthy vignettes, play comes in two varieties: either you' re tearing through enemies and lopping off limbs using one of the finest combat systems ever seen, or slowly skulking around the Senate wishing the misery would end. Easily the most schizophrenic outing we' ve encountered, the title's all the more impressive as no matter how much you want to like it, the designers appear dead-set on defying even open-minded enthusiasts.

T he M o m e n t o f Silence Publisher. The Adventure CompanyI Digital festers Developer. House of Tales Platform: PC

The year is 2044. Ad executive Peter Wright is trying to get his life back together after losing his wife and son in an airplane accident — and not doing a very good job of it. His life takes an intriguing turn however when he gets drawn into the plight of his neighbour and her son after witnessing a dramatic scene through his apartment peep hole of a fully-armed SWAT team breaking down her door during the night and dragging her husband off without an explanation. Peter offers to make some inquiries on the wife's behalf as to her husband' s whereabouts, and soon gets caught up in a bigger conspiracy involving noncooperative cops, skid row gangs, freedom of speech laws, extraterrestrials, and the crazy homeless guy who lives in the nearby park. The game is standard point-and-click stuff that involves exploring the environment, talking to people to find out more information and clicking on

H UB : Di g i calLiving - A p r i l 2 0 0 5

Let's back up and get a few things straight first, however: Audio and visuals are sound, battles brilliant and the wealth of background settings satisfying. You' ll have a superb time slaughtering legionnaires and barbarians by the dozen, especially considering enemies go down in a hail of blood and gore. Using axes, swords and even severed arms as weapons, armchair assassins can't help but have a good time cleaving semi-intelligent foot soldiers and gargantuan bosses in twain. Where things fall apart, though, is during verbose storysegments,throughout which the title's cliched script and tepid voice-overs prove almost as painful as a glaive to the groin. And just when you think the agony is over, guess again... tedious and lengthy stealth sequences await. The situation's almost criminal; an amazing brawler is betrayed by its creators' need to offer items of interest for potential purchasers of all stripes. Rather than focus on one thing — specificaily, fighting — and doing it well, the development team instead presents pointless concessions for sake of adventure buffs, when all audiences really want is a good braining. Let' s hope someone gets its straight in the obligatory sequel... a little less talk and lot more action would put a lot more bounce into its sandaled step. By Scott Steinberg

objects to interact with them or occasionally add them to Peter's inventory. And with standard point-and-click comes the standard point-and-click complaint: that you can only interact with certain items in the environment and not others, which requires a degree of "pixel hunting" to figure out what Peter is supposed to do next. There's quite a bit ofbacktracking in the game, and the gameplay itself has its fair share of little glitches and quirks. For example, Peter seldom walks in a straight line to move anywhere; instead, he follows illogical, pre-mapped routes that can take far longer. The voice-acting is generally good, but the dialogue itself is hit and miss. There are some inspired moments, such as the comically waspish sniping that goes on between two of Peter's co-workers, however some of the lines are downright sketchy. My personal favourite: "No... better leave Brenda alone. She can get really crappy." The game is set in gritty downtown New York, and offers an interesting take on the near-future. Instead of going sensationally "sci-fi" or post-apocalyptic, The Moment of Silence opts for a more realistic portrayal that, while it does showcase some neat new gadgets and ideas, still gives the impression that it could all logically happen in real-life should our society continue to progress the way it currently is. The story is pretty intriguing as well, making The Moment of Silence a quite playable diversion for point-and-click fans — it likely isn't a strong enough game to be able to win over many non-fans of the genre, however. By Erin Bell

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Publisher / Developer:. Nintendo ESRB: Everyone Platform: Nintendo DS Star rating: 4,5 WarioWare's unique approach to gaming hasfound a new place to happen on the Nintendo DS. It's a home-coming of sorts; while other WarioWare titles were an excell ent new take on video garnes,cramming hundreds of five-second "micro games'ontoa cartridge or disc,the DS's unique play inter face is perfectly matched to War ioWare's unique style. Using the touch-screen interface, garners rub, chop, tap, rotate and drag their way to the top, unlocking special timed game modes, new characters and "souvenirs" in the form of extra games or cool widgets likea harmonica.One character's games and several souvenirs (the harmonica among them) require garners to use the m icrophone input; blowing into the mic will, forexample,make an on-screen character blow abubble gum bubble.Blow too hard and the bubble will pop. With the possible exception of the microphone-basedgames, WarioWare travels well. Players can get a quick gaming fix while on the bus.or sit down for an extended play session to run through the laborious and un-skippabla story, The only real problem, aside from the fact that garners are forced to watch as an insipid and lar gely pointless story unfolds, is that blowing into your DS is sure to garner stares if played in a public place. By Andrew Moore-Crispin Pres: -Fast gameplay -A per fact software / hardware match -Strong replay value Cons: -Laborious "stor y" -Potentially emba rrassing

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console snowboarding hit SSX 3 — 3D graphics and all — into the mobile environment. Recognizable fea-

tures are certainly there: ten snow-

boarders to choose from, prize money to purchase character attributes and new gear, and a Historically, handheld versions of console titles mountain divided into three peaks with racing, slopestyle (trick) and super pipe courses. have been drastically scaled-down 2D sideThe 3D works well for the simplistic super pipe scrolling or isometric affairs that share very litrun, but can start to break down in the other tle with their console big brothers except the same logo on the box.(Compare the handheld more free-wheeling modes. Basically, control gets sluggish, and it's unfortunately a fairly freand console versions of The Lord of the Rings quent occurrence to get "stuck" on pieces of and Prince of Persia, for example.) With SSX Dut of Bounds, on the other hand, the scenery or trapped inside an un-navigable maze of white polygons. The small screen doesn' t developers heroically struggle to cram EABIG's help matters either, lacking the ability to give a decent overall perspective of where the rider is in relation to where he or she should be going. By Erin Bell

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Publisher / Oeveiepeicnomen Platform: Game noy Advance

Following on the heels of the brilliant puzzle/action hybrid Klonoa: Empire of Dreams, Klonoa 2 thankfully sticks to the formula that made the first game so enjoyable. The series' hallmark is its simple yet ingenious level design. Although the levels masquerade as typical 2D platformer fare — complete with enemies, crates and collectible gems — they' re actually sophisticated puzzles that require the long-eared protagonist to jump, float, and manipulate the environment in various ways that require a mixture of reflexes and brainpower on the part of the player. Forexample,Klonoa can catch enemies and either toss them at other things(to activate switches or break crates) or use them to vault to greater heights and overcome his deliberately limited jumping ability. New level elements include flower pots that

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Klonoa can plant enemies in to cause vines to grow, a special wet suit for navigating new underwater environments, and a couple of new enemies; one Klonoa can use tojump superhigh, and another, when thrown at another enemy, absorbs it and changes colour before returning to Klonoa like a boomerang. Although Klonoa 2 is actually more than two years old [it came out in 2002 in Japan], the immaculate gameplay is more than enough to compensate for its slightly dated audio and visual aesthetic. By Erin Bell www.hubcanada.corn

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