2006-07 HUB Magazine

N j J u n e

2006

FREE

Volume 19 N u m b e r 06

Best betF, for HD garrflng

HU DIGITAL.

LIVING

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Security in t

nor-e office Go

Hit ram.,.

Learning Linux

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Getting content for

your HDTV Digital Imaging

Home Entertainment

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Best-of business projectors Personal Computing

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Editorial Pop- u p s a r e t h e g r e a t s t e a l e r

S o m e e x p e r t s s u g g e s t t u r n i n g o ff t h e d i g i t a l t o a s t e r. That

o f p r o d u c t i v i t y.

is t o s a y, d i s a b l i n g t h e c o n s t a n t p o p u p s t h a t , w h e t h e r

I'm n o t t a l k i n g a b o u t p o p - u p s

t h e y c o m m a n d y o u r full atttention o r not, can't help b u t

that c o m p e l

distract you. The little snippit o f text can be s o enticing,

here, y o u

you

a r e

t o "click

this site's

one-millionth v i s i t o r ! ! ! "

o r

l e a d i n g us to d r o p w h a t e v e r we're d o i n g and click t h r o u g h

V o l u m e '19: N u m b e r. OS

t o see the rest of the message.

Spyware has been detected

Everyone has his or her own c o m p u t i n g habits. I r e c e n t l y

on y o u r c o m p u t e r. Click h e r e

tried t o c h a n g e m i n e . I h a v e t u r n e d o f f all b u t e s s e n t i a l

to f i x t h e p r o b l e m . ' Clicking

notifications, m u c h to the chagrin of some coworkers who

EDITORIAL Ed Itordn-C hlef A n d r e w Moore-Crispin andrewliMpublishing.ca Editorial Assistant

E

r i n Bell erm@ppublishing.ca

on t h e s e t y p e s o f p o p -ups c a n s t e a l m o r e t h a n j u s t

a r e u s e d t o a n i n s t a n t e m a i l r e s p o n s e . U s u a l l y, t h e s a m e

y o u r p r o d u c t i v i t y. . .

ones w h o pop their head through the door and say "did

W h a t I a m t a l k i n g about are t h e various user-invited pop-

you g e t t h a t email I just sent?" t h u s defeating the

up w i n d o w s , s o m e t i m e s called "toast" for the w a y t h e y

purpose o f email. I disabled all IM notifications, s a v e

Advertising Sales

pop the b o t t o m of your desktop, announcing every n e w

t h o s e for an i n c o m i n g m e s s a g e ; p e o p l e s e e m g e n e r a l l y to

Sales Manager

piece o f email, e v e r y instant m e s s e n g e r contact t h a t

r e s p e c t a p e r s o n ' s IM s t a t u s it s e e m s , a n d t h e n o v e l t y o f

signs on, a n n o y i n g special offers from even reputable

instant text c o m m u n i c a t i o n is gone s u c h that m e s s a g e s

s o f t w a r e v e n d o r s t h a t y o u m a y h a v e o p t e d i n f o r.

are rarely c o n s i s t o f just a s i m p l e "hey" a n y m o r e , u n l e s s

In t h i s a g e o f d i g i t a l c o n n e c t i v i t y, f r i e n d s , f a m i l y a n d

it's a preface for s o m e t h i n g a little m o r e i m p o r t a n t .

c o w o r k e r s a r e o n l y a c l i c k a w a y. That's b o t h a g o o d a n d

The k e y to m a k i n g t e c h n o l o g y w o r k for you, as o p p o s e d to

bad thing.

f e e l i n g l i k e y o u w o r k f o r it, i s t o e x a m i n e h o w y o u w o r k . D o

M o s t a n y o n e that carries a cell p h o n e or BlackBerry-style

y o u really need to be instantly accessible at a m o m e n t ' s

d e v i c e h a s j o k e d a b o u t it b e i n g a d i g i t a l leash, w h e t h e r to

notice? Can checking y o u r inbox b e confined t o

h o m e o r to t h e office. H o w e v e r, s u g g e s t g e t t i n g rid o f t h e

h a l f - h o u r in t h e m o r n i n g , a h a l f - h o u r a f t e r l u n c h a n d w i t h

Contributing Editors

R

Sean Carruthers Lee Rickwood Marc Saltzman David Tanaka

a

Ad Sales

K

a

r i m Rick kamn@ppublisning.ca Dan Wojtkiewicz danw@ppublishing.ca Jack Fan rack i@ppublishing.ca Peter Otlesse percrOppublishing.ca

a MONTREAL

A n t h o n y Buttino anthonyCrppublisning ca

p h o n e o r PDA a n d t h e y a r e l i k e l y t o l o o k a t y o u a s t h o u g h

a final c h e c k before heading home in the evening?

y o u ' v e finally l o s t it for good.

It's a m a z i n g h o w m u c h m o r e y o u c a n g e t a c c o m p l i s h e d

The instant online connection to people we need to speak

when you make technology work for you instead o f

Business Group

t o i s s i m i l a r. W h i l e w e m a y c o m p l a i n a b o u t t h e c o n s t a n t

a n s w e r i n g its s i r e n s o n g e v e r y t i m e it b e c k o n s .

Pres Id ent/Publis h er

interruptions t h a t c o m e a s a result o f being available

Let u s

anytime a n d pretty m u c h a n y place at the click o f a

connection overload. Andrew@ppublishing.ca... just don't

button, the thought of taking a step back and unwiring

expect and instant response.

o u r s e l v e s is a l m o s t I n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e .

Enjoy the issue,

So h o w d o e s t h e a v e r a g e c o n s u m e r deal w i t h i n f o r m a t i o n

A n d r e w Moore-Crispin

and connection overload?

E d i t o r -in- C h i e f

know

how

l p h Ventriglia ralph8ppriblishing or

National Account Executive M a r i a Favot 'norm Pppublishing.ca ONTARIO/TORONTO

WESTERN CANADA

you cope with information and

V i v i a n Jin vrvon8amblishing co

S c o t t Piccolo scattOppublisning.ca

Director of Marketing A n g e l a Colizza angela0ppublisningza Art Director

S

t

e

v e n Stoner stevesOppublioning.ca

Production Coordinator C h n s t i e Swail christieCppublishing co Production Assistant

L i z Van Der Wee ppuolishing.ca

Distribution Manager

M a r k Backer rinariNPppublishinca

Office Administrator M a l e n i e Rajararn maleniceppublishing.ca

Contents

IT Manager

June 2 0 0 6

S

t

e v e Ouinney steveq@ppuolishing.ca

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ISSN 1710.0143 HUB: Digital Living IB.c. ed.)

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HUB: Digital Living is published monthly by Piccolo Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher is stnaly prohibited. Information presented a r c is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. The publisher reserves the right to refuse ads. The opinions expressed In the ankles and columns and ads are those or the writer/advertiser and not necessarily those of HUB: Digital Living.

DV, o r N o t D V

S e c u r i t y in the h o m e office

G e t t i n g c o n t e n t f o r HDTV

Learning Linux

M o v i n g to M a c

Te s t L a b : T h e p r o j e c t o r i n s p e c t o r

T h e E l d e r S c r o l l s I V: O b l i v i o n

Hit the Road

www.hubcanada.com w w w. h u b c a n a d a . c o m

June

2 0 0 6

-

H U B :

Digital Living

Digital Imaging

D i g i t a l P h o t o g r a p h y Tu t o r i a l : S h o o t i n g in t h e R a w Some cameras c a n save images i n a n advanced format called Camera Raw. Raw files are often called digital negatives and are clearly superior to JPEG or TIFF image formats in many ways, but they are also less friendly to deal with.

When a digital camera creates a JPEG image, a few things happen within the camera. The camera's built-in image processor assembles a raw image from the sensor points. It then applies t h e camera settings f o r colour balance, exposure sharpness, and s o on.

Using t h e settings f o r image s i z e a n d compression level, the camera will resample the i m a g e a n d a p p l y a compression algorithm, saving the processed file i n a JPEG image format.

JPEG files use a form of data compression called l o s s y, w h i c h means t h a t i m a g e information is discarded in the process. Once the camera saves t h e JPEG image, a n y unused data is gone for good. That's not as disastrous as it might sound because JPEG compression is very sophisticated and this trade-off between image fidelity and file size is usually more than acceptable, especially at high quality settings.

the Raw format appeals to photographers that want the highest possible

most situations as long as you don't set the sampling rate too low, but if you

image quality in their photos.

Raw files are the digital equivalent of a film negative. Many of the exposure

are an audiophile you want the highest fidelity possible. In the same way,

parameters haven't yet been applied to the image data, the image hasn't

There's a parallel situation with MP3 music. The quality is pretty decent for

been re-sampled to a different size, and no compression (or at least no destructive lossy compression) h a s been applied. Two immediate advantages of this are that you can change exposure settings after the fact, and you have all the image data since nothing has been discarded through size reduction resampling or lossy compression. To continue the music analogy, the Raw file is comparable to the pre-mixed session tracks.

Another advantage of Raw comes from the higher bit depth of the image data. JPEG images contain 8-bit information for each of the red, green and Quick, what's high-key lighting? What about Chiaroscuro? The former is a

blue colour channels but Raw image data may have 12-bit or 14-bit data.

bright and airy lighting style common in glamour photography. The latter

Higher bit images contain more colour and tonal data, so you can do

is a painting style characterized by dramatic contrasts, often called Rembrandt lighting since it is one of the master's signature styles What

more radical tonal shifting or colour correction without visibly degrading the image.

they have in common is the Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook. Here, author Tim Shelbourne shows you

bigger file size than i f it were saved as a JPEG. This means you can save

What's wrong with Raw files? One problem is that a Raw image will be a

how to create the look of these

fewer Raw files to your camera's memory card, images will takes longer to

and dozens of other effects using

transfer from camera to computer, and will also take up more space on your

Photoshop. Pure photographers

hard drive, CD or other archive. The files also have to be processed into a

will f i n d a f e w interesting

standardized file format like JPEG before you can use them. Finally, the Raw

techniques b u t t h e book w i l l

file format isn't an open standard. Each manufacturer's Raw format is unique

really appeal t o graphic artists

and proprietary so you must rely on the manufacturer to supply a converter,

and p h o t o illustrators. T h e

or trust third party image software makers to support them That may not be

easy-to-follow t e x t i s w e l l -

a problem today, but five years down the road, who can say?

illustrated with many photos and screenshots o f t h e relevant

By David Tanaka

Photoshop tools and dialogues 4

H U B : Digital Living - J u n e 2 0 0 6

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Te s t Lab

T e s t Laho T h e Cyr c l m o t o r ! i n s p e c t o r Sure, I used to have an "Official Bikini Inspector" T-shirt. Who didn't? In fact, I still have it but due to the creepiness of a middle-aged man with a

composite. Audio is input via RCA plugs but there is no pass through, which

beluga-sized midriff wearing it, I've decided to cross out 'Bikini" and add

likely won't be an issue for most users.

The remote is excellent with a flat joystick allowing scrolling on zoom-in

"Projector.* Projection inspection w a s d o n e u s i n g Oisplaymate

and moving an on-screen pointer, that can replace a laser pointer.

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Powerlite 76c Manufacturer: Epson www.epson.ca Estimated price: $1,200 Imaging system: LCD Brightness: 2000/1500 lumens Contrast ratio: 400:1 F a n noise: 36dB/30dB Weight: 5.8 lbs L a m p life: 2000/3000 hrs Estimated lamp price: $370 Features: ± 3 0 ' keystone correction, no cool-down time, mouse emulation, carry case The 76C is gun-metal grey with a host of controls on top. It has a help button along with full access to the menu from the projector controls. Some projectors force you to use a remote for specific functions, which means

Epson Powerlite 76c

that if you lose it, you're out of luck.

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June 2 0 0 6 -

H U B : 0 4 t a l Living - M o n t r e a l S e c t i o n

N AT 3

Te s t Lab top and bottom (pure white and black) during testing. I measured a contrast

Performa CP-RX61

ratio of 212:1. Use this ratio only to compare against the other projectors

Manufacturer: Hitachi wwwhitachi.ca Estimated price: $1,100

reviewed here as there was a touch of ambient light during testing, thus

Imaging system: LCD Brightness: 1600/1280 lumens

lowering the result. Finally, the 76C features very fast warm up and cool

Contrast ratio: 500:1 F a n noise: 38dB/33d8

down times that can be a real boon for guerrilla presenting applications

Weight: 5.1 lbs Lamp life: 2000/3000 hrs

such as speed dating or multi-level marketing.

Estimated lamp price: $300 Features: 2 x RGB in, RGB out, 3 year warranty The CP-RX61 is the smallest and lightest unit in the roundup making it a good contender for travelling. It comes with a full set of international power

Pros: Instant off/quick on, good controls, bright Cons: Short power cable

LV-X6

cords and an RGB cable, but no carrying case. The shiny black remote looked

Manufacturer: Canon Estimated price: $1,500

like it was from the1.980s and is hard enough to read in daylight, let alone

Imaging system: LCD Brightness: 1500/1100 lumens

a darkened room. The magnify and zoom functions are a bit cumbersome and really should be amalgamated, and remote mouse is not supported,

Contrast ratio: 500:1 F a n noise: 32c113/25dB Weight: 6.4 lbs L a m p life: 3000/4000 hrs Estimated lamp price: $600

merciful really.

The 050 menu has two settings, 'advance (sic) and "easy; which is

Features: Âą 3 0 ' keystone correction, wall colour correction, three-year wisely put to the lower right side and can be repositioned. The "advance" menu allows for storage of four user presets and has extensive gamma and warranty, carry case, 1.6:1 zoom Canon's contribution is an attractive but chunky unit. It comes with a VGA colour controls as well. Greyscale tracking was okay but the greyscale was and power cable and a very useable case is included. The main thing that uneven with a noticeable jump around 10 per cent. Near whites and near struck me was how quiet it was. It's not really suitable as a projector cum

blacks were clipped but not seriously. The Spyder measured its contrast

hair dryer, which I find rather irksome as I now need t o buy both.

Connectivity is good with a monitor loop through, S-Video, VGA, composite

ratio at a pretty good 275:1. Also, note that the lamp is warranted for a normal 90 days but only 180 hours of use, which is quite low. Still, the

and RCA jacks for audio. Component input is supported with a S70 breakout cable. Also, the remote mouse function requires the purchase o f an IR

CP-RX61 is cheap, portable and bright enough.

Pros: Reasonable price, lightweight, flexible inputs, cheap lamp Cons: Hard to read remote, low hours on lamp warranty, minor colour issues

receiver for the computer, which isn't very helpful. The long zoom coupled with the wall colour correction allows for a lot of flexibility to where it can project to and from. This preset colour correction allows you to project on a green blackboard, among other things. The menu system is straightforward with presets for movies, video, sRGB as well as full colour control. It allows no user-defined presets, but changes are retained for factory presets. I. measured a contrast ratio of 240:1 with very good greyscale tracking. The warranty includes a loaner unit for its duration and the 120 day lamp warranty is longer than average. Also, the lamp is rated to last longer than

t

o

n

.

.

1

;

1

1

1

1

average but this is mitigated by its high price. Also, the lumen output is adequate but not stellar and, well, the unit is expensive. If you need the unique features it offers, it is well worth the money as add-on projector lenses certainly cost more than the price difference and projectors this quiet are hard to come by.

Hitachi Performa CP-RX61

Pros. Very quiet, flexible placement Cons:Expensive, low brightness

PJ656 Manufacturer. Viewsonic www.viewsonic.com Estimated price: $1,300 Imaging system: LCD Brightness: 2100 Contrast ratio: 400:1 F a n noise: 38dB/33d8 Weight: 6.2 lbs L a m p life: 2000/3000 hrs Estimated lamp price: $430 Features: 3 year warranty, 1 year lamp warranty, 2 x RGB in or 1 x RGB out/in, component in, remote mouse, carry case Viewsonic's offering comes with a standard kit with power, RGB and WV cables. It's not a bad looking unit and feels solid to the touch. However, the birds embroidered on the rather excellent case would challenge the steely manhood of quite a few. Nothing scissors can't fix.

The remote looks suspiciously similar to the Hitachi's and the menu system is precisely the same. The remote is much easier to read, though, Canon LV-X6

M T 4 H U B : Digital Living - Montreal Section - J u n e 2 0 0 6

because it is matte not shiny. Inputs are generous with component video in and one RGB plug that can be switched from input to output. USB is used to

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Te s t Lab support remote mouse but you have to get your own cable.

regarding connectivity and warranty compared to the Epson, though the

The thing that grabbed my attention was the spot on greyscale tracking.

contrast was a bit low.

It has a bit of a jump at about 20 per cent grey but is generally smooth.

Pros: Good colour, extensive connectivity, bright

After calibration, this same area shows some tracking noise due t o

Cons: Expensive lamp, contrast on low side

compensation. The econo mode brightness i s not published but m y measurements suggest it in the region of 1700 lumens. Also, it measured a

X3

contrast ratio of 193:1. This projector is a good all rounder with a slight edge

Manufacturer: InFocus wvnv.infocus.com Estimated price: $1,100 Imaging system: DLP Brightness: 1700/1100 lumens Contrast ratio: 2000:1 F a n noise: 39dB/37dB Weight: 6.8 lbs L a m p life: 4000 hrs Estimated lamp price: 8390 Features: 1 year warranty, 1 x RGB out, remote mouse The X3 is a fairly bulky beast but not too hard on the eyes. I t comes with a n A N , power and InFocus's proprietary MIA to VGAand USB breakout cable. While this last cable supports mouse emulation right out of the box, it costs about S75 to replace. Likewise a DVI-0 to M I adapter costs S65 - ouch.

However, i t does come with a printed manual and surprisingly, a 12V DC output for triggering an electric screen. The lamp is relatively inexpensive too, which is a big plus. The menu system is logical, with three user-

Viewsonic R.1656

defined colour presets as well as video, cinema and many

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Te s t Lab more. Using anything other than the presentation preset causes light

these optical issues limit flexibility; however, it does win the big sound

output to drop noticeably.

The picture is high contrast, in keeping with OLP, but there are noticeable

award having a 2.5-watt speaker instead of a 1•watt. It's a good candidate to be a ceiling mounted boardroom projector or for gaming.

tracking errors through the greyscale. Contrast measured at 730:1 and

Pros: High contrast ratio, cheapest lamp, remote mouse without cable

games looked great. Unfortunately, the depth of field of the projected image

purchase Cons: Short warranty, no case, proprietary cables, bit bulky

was small enough so that either the top or bottom of the image was slightly out of focus in our testing due to tilting. It also needed more distance from

By Andrew Carruthers

itself to the screen than any of the others here for a given screen size. Both

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H o m e Entertainment

G e t t i n g c o n t e n t for your H D T V It was finally time to replace your television, so you opted for one of those sleek new widescreen HOTVs. The salesman explained that you can watch

Proper cables First, in order to see an HDTV image on your screen you must use the

your favourite TV shows, movies and sporting events in stunning detail, and

proper cables that run between your satellite or cable TV receiver and your

you likely got a taste of this jaw-dropping clarity at the store before you

television (the exception is over-the-air HD broadcasts, see below).

With standard definition programming, common connectors are the red,

pulled out the credit card.

But somehow the pictures at home don't look as good as promised. What's going on here?

yellow and white composite ("RCA") cords or an S-Video cable which has a round tip with little teeth inside. High-definition programming, however,

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Home Entertainment requires component cables (red, blue and green), DVI

Because both of these technologies can store more data on the same-sized 1.2 cm disc (read by a blue laser

Games and home movies too Your HDTV wasn't made just for TV shows, movies and sports - but also videogames and home movies.

cable, or the preferred HOMI ,

instead o f your DVD player's red laser), HD DVD and

which offers t h e highest

Blu-ray can deliver true HD video clarity, better-sounding

quality uncompressed video

audio tracks and other interactive extras.

and audio data between receiver and TV.

The Xbox 360 (8399 • 8499) can deliver HD content, which includes resolutions of 720p or 1080i and multi-

Both offer backwards compatibility so they'll play your

channel surround sound. Sony's PlayStation 3 will also

current DVDs, though this feature is not compulsory for

offer high-definition gaming when it debuts later this year.

Blu-ray machine manufacturers as it is for makers of HO

Finally, home video enthusiasts may want to ditch their

DVD players.

Tune In

aging camcorder for a new HD model in order to enjoy

t o

Products available a t the time of writing include two

professional-looking visuals and digital audio on an HDTV

HDTV

Toshiba HO DVD players- t h e HD-Al ($699) and the more

set. Sony, for example, offers the HORHC3 Handycam

programming f r o m y o u r

feature-rich HD-XA1 (8999) and Sony's first Blu-ray

Camcorder for $1,999.

cable or satellite TV provider.

player, the BDP-S1 ($1,300).

Next, y o u n e e d subscribe t o

By Marc Saltzman

This means you must rent or buy a receiver box capable

(-1 i p m y r

of accepting an HDTV signal, and then likely pay a little extra per month to pick up the high-def channels.

For e x a m p l e , B e l l ExpressVU, a satellite-based provider, offers more than 40 high-definition channels for i t s viewers. Rogers Digital Cable currently offers 24 HD channels in its lineup.

Depending o n

your

television, y o u m a y also receive a few free over-theair HDTV signals. That is, many new televisions have a built-in ATSC tuner that allows you to receive overthe-air HD broadcasts from Canadian networks such as CityTV, CTV, CBC and SunTV,

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you live, a handful o f U.S. stations too, including PBS, NBC and ABC. All you need to pick up is an antenna from your local electronics store.

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ripe for a new disc format.

Not unlike t h e Betamax versus VHS war in the early '80s, t w o competing and

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MT 9

P e r s o n r. C2,-),-nputing

S l i n g b o x o f f e r s cable T V t o go supplied in the event that no audio/video outputs are available.

We were happy to see video and audio thrus on the back of the unit,

0111 Loon.

meaning that the Slingbox isn't monopolizing the outputs of the device

-Easy set-up

-No built-in wireless connectivity

-Installs on unlimited machines

-Clunky appearance

it's connected to.

The Slingbox can also be connected directly to the cable source in the wall. (A coaxial cable splitter can be purchased separately for around

-No subscription fees

S10 i f needed; a bandwidth o f at least 5MHz — 1,000MHz i s already have cable television and high-speed Internet subscriptions, you

recommended by the company).

Then it was a simple matter of connecting the included Ethernet cable

can do that — and much more—with the help of Sling Media's Slingbox.

to our network router, and installing and configuring the software on

Watching Hockey Night in Canada from your hotel room in Japan? If you

The silver and orange power brick-shaped device connects to your home

the machine we intended to stream the video to.

entertainment system and streams content through your network to any

Unfortunately, the Slingbox isn't W i n -enabled, meaning users

laptop or PC with high-speed internet access. The benefits range from being

wanting wireless connectivity must purchase additional hardware. For

able to watch cable television in another room in the house, to the coffee

an extra 5129, the SlingLink will act as a bridge allowing the Slingbox to

shop down the street, to anywhere in the world (provided there's access to

be connected to the home network wirelessly (useful if the TV is in a

high-speed Internet).

different room from the Ethernet connection, or if you simply want to avoid wire clutter).

Installing the Slingbox process. First we connected the Slingbox to our TV source — in this case, a

VI Qv:Iry The SlingPlayer software needed to view the Slingbox's streamed

cable box — using the included S-video and audio cables. These cables also

content on a laptop or PC is included on an installation CD-ROM that

Getting the Slingbox up and running was a painless and straightforward

anntompu Li viong,Tsan accommodate satellite boxes and DVRs, and additional coaxial cable is

comes with the product, and i t can also b e downloaded from

www.slingmedia.com/support/downloads.php.

The first time we opened the SlingPlayer we were prompted to assign

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P e r s o n a l

C o m p u t i n g

a name, password and access code to our Slingbox network. When installing the SlingPlayer on any additional machines we had to enter the same information to gain access to our network.

After the Video Tuning wizard configured our screen for optimal viewing conditions, we were free to tune into our cable television channels, which streamed without a hitch and offered decent picture quality from the smallest resolution (320 x 240) up to full-screen display.

The SlingPlayer functions admirably as a barebones video playback application, where channel flipping is done using a virtual television remote control called - wait for it - the SlingRemote.

Favourite channels can be assigned to a quick-select tab, and channel logo icons can be assigned to them for quicker identification. The icons are U.S.-centric, unfortunately, so expect to see images for MTV instead of MuchMusic - although custom logos can also be uploaded.

There's no copy-protection to the SlingPlayer software; it can be installed on an unlimited number of machines, but the cable TV signal will only stream to one computer at a time - a nifty and light-handed way of addressing copyright and security issues. The 11" in the Slingbox logo lights up if the cable is already being watched by another user in another location. If another person tries to activate the Slingplayer when TV is already being streamed at another location, the first person will receive an error message with the IP address and login name of whoever is currently watching.

The Slingbox only works with Windows so far, but plans to develop a Mac

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client are in the works. According to the company, the downloaded software is compatible with Macs running Virtual PC and on the Intel Macs using Boot Camp or Parallels.

Thinking beyond t h e box

Besides cable television, the Slingbox has other applications, including streaming video from DVD players and VCRs, and even XM satellite radio.

The possibilities for the device seem limited only by the creativity of its owners. A restaurant manager in the U.S., for example, uses Slingboxes to monitor his entire chain of 12 fast-food stores remotely by connecting a Slingbox to each security camera and VCR, according to a company spokesperson. There's also potential for the Slingbox in the realm of video production - using the device to stream raw footage from the day's video shoot so that editors on the other side of the country - or even the world can provide feedback on it.

Final verdict

The Slingbox is a great idea if you're that much of a media junkie that you need to take your television with you. Although the decidedly un-slick package had us skeptical at first, the product won us over with its ease of use, decent-quality streaming and affordable price.

By Erin Bell

I I M M E R 611-jiip, -1-6\

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H U B : Digital Living - M o n t r e a l S e z t o n

N I T 11

Home Entertainment Rear-projection Rear-projection sets may still require users to replace expensive bulbs every few years, but advances i n core technologies have resulted in decreased set .depth and increased viewing angles (which means you no longer have to stand directly in front of the screen to properly view the image), as well as the capacity to deliver extremely high native resolutions without breaking the bank, which makes rear-projection an attractive option.

Sony's 60-inch KDS-R6OXBR1 Grand Wega is famous for its crystal clear images and silky smooth video. At $5,500 it's a fair bit pricier than a 720p display, but it might be worth the stretch for PlayStation3 owners who want to take full advantage of their console's power. . But it's not the only game in town. You can get live more inches for the same price with HP's MD6580, a 65-inch DLP microdisplay with a stunning contrast ratio that makes use of HP's 'wobulation" technique to virtually eliminate all traces of the so-called screen door effect (the black lines typically seen between individual pixels).

Front projection Front projection systems typically have all sorts of disadvantages, ranging from the need for a darkened room to the noise generated by the cooling us who enjoy games that feature a static heads-up display (HUD). Many Xbox 360 arcade games are notorious for their persistent HUDs.

fan. But they do have one unique benefit: the ability to deliver wall-sized images.

Last but not least, plasma screens typically have a lower native resolution.

In gaming terms, such massive screen sizes can let players see important

In fact, many plasma sets billed as HD aren't truly HO; they have the correct

background details they might otherwise have missed. Extremely large

number of pixels in each vertical row to support 720p, but fewer than the

screen sizes also provide an advantage in split-screen games — four people

required 1280 pixels in each horizontal row. That means source signal

playing a split-screen shooter can each have their own 50-inch screen.

conversion processing comes into play, and that's never a good thing.

There's currently one runaway favourite for garners on the front projection

If these issues don't concern you, then two of your best options are from

scene: Panasonic's PTAE900U LCD HD Home Cinema Projector. It has the

Panasonic and Hewlett-Packard. Panasonic's 42-inch TH42PX6OU is the

highest contrast ratio of any projector in its class and price range, handling

country's best selling plasma display, retailing at most stores for about

shadowy scenes in games remarkably well and rendering fast moving

$3,500. This award-winning television has received rave reviews from

sequences with hardly any noticeable lag. Priced at 53,000, you won't find

critics worldwide for its picture quality, longevity, and resistance to image

a projector that does a better job of displaying games for less.

burn-in.

HP's rival model, the PL4200N, delivers a picture that's nearly as impressive, but it comes with a slightly lower MSRP— $3,300 — as well as a

By Chad Sapieha

more complete suite of connectivity options for garners, including not only component jacks for game consoles but also a VGA port that may come in handy for computer gamers.

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- H U B : Digtal Livng - Montreal S e c t o r,

M T

13

M o v i n g t o ITVBso IVTLEDuMg to... Vti'Mdcnswe When Apple announced that it would be transitioning its Mac line to Intel processors, there was much speculation that these new machines would

C Almost immediately after the onmac.net solution hit the web, Apple did the

not only provide better performance when it came to Mac applications, but

unexpected: they released the public beta of a new software package called

that users who were so inclined would be able to install Windows on those

Boot Camp Assistant, which is a Mac OS X application that allows you to

same Macs. After all, the new Macs would be using fairly standard hardware

repartition your current hard drive without losing the data currently on it.

components, so the assumption was that getting Windows installed would

Then, you set up a new Windows partition and bum a CD with the vast

be a cinch.

In the world of computers, however, nothing ever really goes as planned, and there was one big obstacle standing in the way of cleanly installing

Parallels

Windows onto these new computers: the Extensible Firmware Interface

Both Boot Camp and Onemac's solutions require a reboot. However,

(also known a s the EFI), a technology that Intel has slated as the

there's a n o t h e r n e w p r o d u c t c a l l e d P a r a l l e l s Wo r k s t a t i o n

replacement for the trusty old BIOS. Ouite simply, the Windows XP installer

[www.parallels.corrq that looks promising for a few reasons. Unlike any

had no clue what the EFI even was, and without that understanding, there

other dual-OS system, Parallels allows you to keep Mac OS X running and

was no way for the installer program to actually get Windows onto Apple's

open up Windows XP in a virtual window. In other words, it's doing much

hardware, otherwise compatible or not.

the same thing that Microsoft's own Virtual PC did on older Macs, but by

This was an unfortunate bit of news for a lot of people, but specifically for one user who promised his boss that the new MacBook Pro notebooks

harnessing the power of the Intel processors it promises to do a much better job.

would be able to dual-boot between the two different operating systems.

Not only can Parallels handle XP, it can also handle all o f the older

After getting his hands on the MacBook Pro and realizing his mistake, he did

versions of Windows back to Windows 3, and it will allow you to run any

the only sensible thing possible: he started up a website and promised a

version o f Linux. It'll even handle GSM Of course, you'll need the

reward to whoever could find a legal way to get Windows onto Intel-based

installation CDs for every operating system you want t o put on the machine, and each of them will eat up hard drive space.

Apple hardware.

The bounty at that site (onmac.net) kept building until a pair of resourceful programmers posted a solution and collected a reward of over $13,000. The

As I write this, Parallels is still only available in beta form, but when it does become available as a final release product, it will cost US$50 (about

instructions for doing it yourself (as well as the downloads necessary to

$56). I haven't had the opportunity to try it out yet, but I will report back.

accomplish it) were posted on the site shortly afterwards.

The solution found on onmac.net was not exactly the simplest. In addition

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to having to get your hands on a Windows machine to burn a new, modified copy of the Windows XP installation CD, you had to do some command line modifications o f your Mac's boot files. Thankfully, they include a Nero project file and the instructions for modifying your old CO. If you already know the ins and outs of the Mac, it isn't quite so difficult, but for a relatively new user, scrolling through the four pages of instructions can be quite intimidating. That doesn't even cover the fact that to make this particular solution work, you typically have to erase your hard drive,

Mparallels

re-partition it into two drives and then reinstall Mac OS X on one of those partitions before you can even get started putting Windows on. Even then, you still won't have a fully functional Windows machine, because many of the drivers weren't available — and still aren't as I write this.

-n

If you're the owner of one of the new Intel-powered Macs, and were thinking of trying this particular method out because you'd really like to have access to some of your favourite Windows programs on the same machine, let me save you some time: don't bother with this solution just yet.

WORKSTATION

FORMAC 05 X a at

I recently took some time to step through the process and got Windows running on a 1?-inch iMac; in the end, I found that while there was definitely a bit o f a thrill finally getting Windows running, the lack of separatelyavailable drivers means that the machine won't be anywhere near the performance level you'd expect (especially with the lack o f proper graphics drivers).

Worse, I found the machine unreliable: more than once I had to completely

I

reinstall everything, because the machine started freezing up whenever I selected the Windows icon from the bootloader screen.

N I T 14 H U B : Digital Living - M o n t r e a l Section - J u n e 2 0 0 6

www.hubcaneda.com

Personal C o m p u t i n g majority of the drivers necessary for the hardware found inside the new

command line performing actions that could cause serious harm t o

Macs. The downside is that if you don't have a copy of Windows XP with

your system i f you g e t them wrong. Following t h e installation o f

Service Pack 2 onboard, you'll have to figure out a way to slipstream SP2

Windows XP itself, the driver installation is pretty smooth. As ever, there are

into the WinXP CD on your own. There are a number of sites available that

still a few issues.

can tell you how to do this. A web search for "slipstream windows xp sp2"

For one, while t h e onmac.net solution automatically gives y o u a bootloader every time you fire up the computer (complete with beautifully-

should net some useful tips and tutorials.

From a usability perspective, Boot Camp is head and shoulders above

designed icons), a machine treated with Boot Camp will force you to hold

onmac.net's solution: apart from updating your Mac's firmware, almost

down the Option key during startup i f you want to choose your boot

everything is automated. There's no need for messing around in the

partition. Otherwise it will simply default to the one you've specified. And if you're anything like me, you'll f i n d yourself regularly forgetting to hold down the key, and booting into the wrong operating system. Also, once you've held down Option during startup, you'll realize that Apple's version o f the bootloader is quite ugly; it's not a huge deal, but considering Apple's usual attention to the design of both its hardware and software, its surprising.

Second, after you install Windows XP you may end up automatically booting into XP every time you fire up the machine. Thankfully, this is a fairly easy . fix: you simply go into the System Preferences on the Mac side (hold down Option and then choose the Mac partition) and change your default boot partition under the Startup Disk option.

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June 2 0 0 6 - H U B : Digital L i n g - Montreal Section

NTT 15

W e b hosting services The net is largely anonymous. However, there's no need to exist in obscurity.

Assuming users jump through the appropriate hoops, they'll find a holder

Creating a basic personal or professional website is a relatively simple

page already set up for them at username.googlepages.com. Upon logging in

affair. Little or no knowledge of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or

to page manager, users are presented with a clean interface where they can

newer standards l i k e XML (Extensible Markup Language) and CSS

begin creating pages for public view.

There are a number of colour schemes available to choose from but few

(Cascading Style Sheets) is required to net decent results.

For the purpose o f this roundup, we'll focus on simple do-it-yourself

actual layout choices to make. Users are currently limited to four templates

website hosting and creation packages. Many of these services allow clients

that, while functional, are somewhat limiting. There's good news however, in

to use dedicated website creation software like Adobe's Dreamweaver

that templates and colours can be switched and immediately updated

(formerly Macromedia ). For creating more advanced websites with enhanced functionality, some of these software packages are excellent.

without losing page content.

Users are offered 100MB of web space, which is good considering the fact

However, for a relatively simple site whose intention is to disseminate

that there's absolutely no cost associated. While it's not as nice as having a

information rather than to specifically entertain visitors, the generally

yourname@yourdomain.ca personalized email address, your email address

simple drag-and-drop online interfaces and software included with most

and site URL are nonetheless tied.

Simplicity is the name of the game here, which is both a good and bad point.

hosting packages will suffice.

Good in the sense that designing a page is a very simple and gratifying affair, bad in the sense that even novice users will likely run into the

ree but limited

limitations of the "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG) page editor.

Not yet in full release, Google Pages is another of the recent slew of online apps to come out of the company's think tanks.

Important steps like uploading images or other files for hosting or display is simple and works very much like an email application. Linking to other

To trial the service, hopefuls must already have an active Gmail account.

pages—either on your own site or elsewhere on the web— is also very simple.

Online signup for Gmail is limited to invitations or SMS-based authorization where Google sends an activation code to a cell phone.

not impossible to accomplish and users can't create their own link tables

Catch is, while we use the same country code as the United States (+1), the

or page templates. In short Pages Beta requires that user adapt to it, not

SMS messages don't seem to come to Canadian carriers.

I have several invites kicking around. Email me at andrew@ppublishing.ca if you'd like one and I'll do my best to oblige.

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vice-versa.

That said, the end result of just a few hours work is a clean, professional looking if bare-bones personal web site.

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business web hosting plan.

While decidedly un-free at $12.95 per month, this may be a case where you get what you pay for. Namely, significantly more than any free site and all but required for creating anything more than a simple personal site.

A free starter CO (users pay $8 for shipping) includes NetFusion software, which is a fairly easy entry point to site creation for a sawy beginner. The software package grows with users as they gain experience and a 40-page

Family web site: Keep family in the loop by offering up a family home

' p a g e for relatives to see pictures, read updates, view family videos rid the like. reate your community: Creating a web site for your own small

,ommunity or community organization gives people a forum and opens ' t h e lines of communication.

"Web Hosting Reference Guide" can be intimidating, but offers fairly simple

Business: A web site is all but required for an independent business.

step-by-step guides for web site creation, file transfer protocol (FTP)

Potential customers or clients can interact and get answers to many of

uploading, email account creation, online store creation among others.

h e i r questions, even from a simple web site.

The service costs $12.95 per month for a .ca domain registration, which includes two domain names, 20GB of site storage and a monthly bandwidth

When two become one

allowance of 750GB that can be upgraded for a fee... if you're fortunate

Using Google Pages Beta, setting up a basic site is simple. However, the URL i t provides you with i s awkward and isn't very personalized (or professional) at all.

Many hosting services allow for simple registration o f an available domain name but hobbles users with a tiny amount of available web

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M a i l m e r g i n g : N o t j u s t bulk mail r Mail merge is an interesting tool. Even though it's been around in word processing software since the earliest days, it's still one of the program's most misunderstood features. It's also a very powerful one. It can assemble a bulk mailing for a handful of people or for thousands in as long as it takes to print the letters and fold them. It can also do much more than just type letters. This month. I'll lift the lid on Word's mail merge tool and show you

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already have your data somewhere else.

From inside Outlook, for example, open the Contacts area, select the contacts to mail and choose Tools, Mail Merge. Accept the default settings by clicking "Or and Word will launch ready for you to type your letter. Once the

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letter is typed you'll add the merge field codes by choosing View, Task pane and opening the Mail merge pane. In step 4 of the task pane, click where the address will go and click Address Block to insert it. Do the same for the Greeting line. Move to the next step to preview your letters. If needed, go

Quick start a Word mail merge by selecting the contacts from Outlook to send the merge letter to.

back a step and fine•tune them. In the final step you can print the letters or save them and edit them further, to add text to specific letters you select, for example.

Making letters isn't all that you can do with mail merge. In step I. of the Mail Merge task pane your options include envelopes so you can merge a set of

To use an Excel worksheet or a list you create yourself, start in Word and

names and addresses and print the results directly onto envelopes. If you

choose Tools, Letters and Mailings, Mail Merge and choose Letters and then

prefer, choose Labels and "print mailing labels" instead. If you're planning a

proceed through the next step. In step 3, choose "Existing list" to use a list

conference, choose the Labels option and merge just the first and last

from an Excel document or choose "Type a new list" to type a new list. If you type a list you can save it to your disk and then use it again in future when

names to create name labels for each participant in your list.

When you choose the E-mail messages option the completed merge will be

you need to create another merge to those same people (you can also edit it

sent to Outlook to be emailed to recipients. You will, of course, need to have

and add other people if desired). In future you would then choose the 'Use

email addresses for all recipients and you will be prompted to include a

an existing list" option as your list would have been saved in a Word .doc file.

subject line in the last step of the merge.

The Directory option is perhaps one of the most valuable. It lets you create

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instead of a list of names and addresses you will have a list of items for your

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merged catalogue could, i f desired, contain images o f each product alongside the product description. To learn more, there is an excellent article at www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=126 that explains

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The Z E N Vision:M can hold 120 h o u r s o f v i d e o , a n amazing 15,000 songs, tens of thousands of pictures and has a beautiful 2 . 5 " h i g h definition L C D screen. T h e ZEN Vision:M c a n a l s o b e . , used a s a portable store drive t o transfer docum and presentations.

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S O H O : Internet security A large number of teleworkers working for companies don't have to worry about Internet security since they are provided protection b y their employers. But, as trends indicate, there i s an increasing number o f

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self-employed teleworkers out there and they are in need of protection.

First of all, there is no such thing as a fool proof device or program to give you 100 per cent security and ensure peace of mind.

Some security solution developers may claim they can protect your computer against "unknown" viruses, but take this with a grain of salt.

Vulnerabilities are discovered every day and hackers only take a few hours to exploit them for whatever purpose they may deem fit.

The good news is that security solution vendors like Symantec and McAfee

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now use worldwide networks of security experts who are on the lookout 24/7 for any new virus attacks., However, the problem they face is that new viruses spread at incredible speeds around the world and the longer those experts take to come up with solutions, the more computers potentially get hit and the more businesses get damaged. But within hours, the new viruses are neutralized and a remedy is made available.

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So, it's a matter of luck, really...

Nonetheless, it is imperative for teleworkers to protect themselves for the simple reason that known viruses do re-appear from time to time.

Teleworkers should be more concerned with people getting into their computer through spyware or directly through intemet, and they are well advised to use a firewall application that will prevent anyone from the

unsubscribe requests on behalf of its users, who remain anonymous in

outside from getting into their machine. But an anti-spyware program

the process. Its website (www.bluesecurity.com), i s constantly being

should also be most welcome as it will prevent an intruder from getting

knocked offline by denial of service attacks believed to be perpetrated by

inside your computer, perhaps with access to all your personal files.

angry spammers.

Finally, teleworkers are also subjected to the onslaught o f spam, those

Often PC users have to rely on the anti-spam programs offered by their

annoying email messages that solicit your interest in all kinds of gimmicks

browser or email software, and frankly those programs are not very

and wonder crags while occupying a lot of space on your computer and thus reducing its performance.

effective in the sense that,'if they do separate spam from genuine email messages, spam remains on your computer until you get rid of it.

Mac owners are lucky in this regard: Blue Frog, a spam vigilante software of

Of course, there is always the danger of a genuine email message being

sorts, has raised the ire o f many spammers by sending automated

labeled as spam by the computer and set aside, but this can only happen if the address of the sender does not appear on your contact list.

The cost of protecting oneself is not a major problem. A complete kit from McAfee, for instance, costs 579.99. It includes a firewall, protection against viruses, spyware and spam, and a contract for an automatic update of all virus signatures. But you don't have to spend money to get protection there are several anti-virus programs available free o f charge o n the Internet. AVG (http://free.grisoft.com) offers a free edition that does quite a

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good job of filtering incoming and outgoing mail as well as downloads. It also offers a firewall if you need one, but at a price.

One of the most popular antivirus programs in Europe has been Kasperski (www.kasperski.com), a free Russian program which has only recently been edged out by a Czech program called Avast! (www.avast.com), which is also free.

One word o f caution: Those programs are only available free to private individuals. If you register as a company you have to pay.

An anti•spyware program is also a must for teleworkers. Unfortunately, all the good programs tend to have a price, but they are worth investigating in.

The best way is to simply try them out and pick the one that detects the most "foreigners" in your computer.

You'll be surprised how often intruders can get into your machine!

By Andre Salwyn

NTT 2 2 H U B : lag,tal Living - M o n t r e a l Section - J u n e 2 0 0 6

www.hubcanacla.com

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Earlier in the year, there was a bit of buzz about Microsoft's Origami project, with widespread speculation as to what form it would actually take. One leading theory was that it would be a portable version of the Xbox. Well, game fans, you're out of luck: Origami is actually part of the new Ultra Mobile PC initiative, and while it does have a mobile gaming component, it's more a general-purpose platform for mobile computing.

Just before the official launch of the Ultra Mobile PC, a video of the new devices leaked out to the world—intentionally, no doubt—to build up some hype. The video makes a point of using the word "free" several times, and goes on to show a variety of people using this new device to write notes,

draw sketches, pinpoint their location using GPS software, review photos, remotely control a Media Centre PC, play games wirelessly over the intemet, instant messaging, and perhaps most ridiculously, check a "hand-written' note for directions.

Onthe surface, the UMPC looks quite impressive. Full version of Windows XPand the ability to run standard Windows apps? Check! Integrated Bluetooth and WiFi? Check! Touch-screen for note-taking and sketching?

Check! Gaming? check! Video and MP3 playback? Check!

Now, I tend to be fairly cynical when it comes to marketing, especially when it comes to products that claim to be the solution to all of your needs. My

1- y o u r one-stop home page for technologynews, reviews and previews

www.hulacEnak]ok;onl •• • www.hubcanode.com

June 2005 - HUB: Digit al Living - Montreal Section

MT 221

•

Wireless general suspicion is that with any device that does so many things, the

Question 3: How do I interact with the device? As with the Pocket PC and

likelihood that it does all of them well (or any of them well, for that matter)

Tablet PC, there's a touch-screen built into the UMPC devices, but unlike the

is small. And with the UMPC, there are a few really important questions that

Tablet, you won't need a special stylus. The UMPCs appear to be keyboardoptional, which means you may be on the hook for a bit more money if you

need to be explored.

want to use a keyboard for data input. Ultimately, that will be up to the Odestion 1: How big and heavy is one of these new UMPCs going to be?

manufacturers. As with Tablet PC and Pocket PC, Microsoft i s simply

The device will be large enough to house a seven-inch LCD screen, and is

providing the operating system, and other manufacturers like Asus and

expected to weigh about two pounds. In other words, it'll be pretty much

Samsung will be the ones providing the actual hardware. There will be an

smack dab in between the size of a Pocket PC and a Tablet PC, which is

on-screen touch keyboard and button controls around the screen.

probably a reasonable size considering the variety of tasks the device will be expected to perform. The weight, on the other hand, is a bit much for a device

Question 4: The one question that everyone has really been pussyfooting

that's meant to be a constant companion; it's about five times the weight of

around is the same one that gets asked when any new piece of portable

a Pocket PC. Imagine toting around a two-pound bag of carrots all day — technology hits the marketplace: How long will the battery last? The answer, yeah, it's okay for a short haul, but if it's always in a handbag, it starts to feel according to Microsoft tech guru Robert Scoble, appears to be between two and three hours with the first generation of the devices. I repeat: two to three

heavier and heavier as the day goes on.

hours of battery life for a device that's designed to be a constant companion.

Ouf:stion 2. How much will it cost? Early reports claim that first generation

Battery life was one of the things that kneecapped the Tablet PC platform.

Origami devices will check in at a cool USS1,000 (about $1,120), perhaps a

After all, if something is designed to replace a paper notepad, you shouldn't

bit more. If you don't think that sounds like a lot for such a full-featured

have to plug it in every few hours. The fact that the UMPC doesn't appear to

device, it's worth noting that you can buy full-sized notebook computers

do any better potentially bodes ill for its chances.

starting at around US$599 (about $700), and those machines have many of

In the end, this looks like Tablet PC all over again, but in a smaller case.

the same capabilities and even have a larger, more costly screen — though

Before I'm truly sold on Origami as a device that will be a constant

they're also bigger and heavier, and not so much fun to tote around all day.

companion, it will need to be lighter, less expensive, and most importantly,

In other words, for the time being, you're paying for the UMPC's smaller size, feature a battery that will keep going as long as I do. relative t o a notebook. Of course, over the upcoming year, less costly

By Sean Carruthers

versions of the UMPC are expected to become available.

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X b o x Live A r c a d e The Xbox Live Arcade has proven to be one of the most popular features of the Xbox 360 videogame console, with more than three million downloads during the first two months of its launch. With an Internet connection and an Xbox Live membership, the Xbox Live Arcade gives users access to an ever-growing library o f casual games and retro classics, which can be downloaded for between 55 and 510 each.

Here's a taste of what's out there: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved Geometry Wars first saw the light of day as an unlockable mini-game in the Project Gotham Racing series, and has grown from its humble beginnings to become one of the hottest Live Arcade games thus far.

It's a deceptively simple old-fashioned 2-dimensional arcade shooter — left analog stick to move, right analog stick to aim and fire — where the enemies are various geometric shapes that are constantly refilling the game grid.

"Retro Evolved" mostly refers to the graphics and special effects, which are absolutely gorgeous and well-suited to displaying on a crisp HDTV screen.

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The original "Retro" version is playable as well.

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mainstay and notorious quarter-guzzler. There hasn't been much of an update to the game graphically speaking, and each annoying sound effect

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has been lovingly recreated, including the voice that petulantly remarks "Someone shot the food..."

A T A M P E R M E S

And yet there's something strangely compelling about crawling through a dungeon while methodically hacking and slashing thousands o f blocky baddies. Thankfully, too, health can now be replenished by pressing a button instead of donating another 5.25.

Up to three friends can plug in extra controllers to join in the fun, or hook up over Xbox Live.

Outpost Kaloki X A space simulation on speed is probably the best way to describe Outpost Kaloki X, where the goal is to build additions onto a space station to turn it from a humble outpost to a thriving mecca for space travellers of all stripes, completing various mission goals in the process.

Power supply, store revenue, technological upgrades, research facilities, and tourist attracts all have to be juggled successfully — and if that weren't enough, the clock is ticking down all the while.

There isn't a lot of time to sit back and proudly watch your station flourish, so don't get any delusions of Godhood. Rather it's dive in, fly by the seat of your pants, and move on to the next scenario.

Wik: Fable of Souls Picture Lemmings crossed with Lord of the Rings and you'll start to get an idea of what Fable of Souls is all about. The game snagged the grand prize at the 2005 Independent Games Festival on the strength of unique fairytale graphics, cool physics and a very weird premise. The frog-like hero, Wik, jumps, swings and spits his way through each level by snagging little green grubs and feeding them to a creature called the Slotham before it lumbers off the screen. There's actually a story in there too, believe it or not.

By Erin Bell 6 H U B : lagrcal LnAng - J u n e 2 0 0 6

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