Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
V O L U M E 1 2 ◆ N U M B E R 1 2
W W W . P C W O R L D . I N
F E AT U R E S
CAMERA PHONES
52 Best Camphones
With five megapixel sensors and DVD
quality video recording, camphones have
become objects of desire, we compare the
latest camphones in the market to clear the
cloud on which one should be on your
shopping list.
FREE STUFF
68 51 Fantastic Freebies
In our collection of the finest free
offerings available, you will discover full-
featured tools that can help you do just
about anything.
NETWORKING
xxx 52
32 Processors 11 Letters
Six latest processors priced Reactions to our Indian Web Awards.
below 10K put to the grind. 14 Up Front
36 Video Card Cellphones are morphing into devices
Budget DX 10 video cards that function as the best reflection of our
from Asus and MSI wired identity.
compared 24 Lateral View
38 Camera Complement your knowledge search on the web
Kodak V1003 32 with user generated content.
40 All-In-One 25 The Other Side
Canon MP450 We can see our future through video games.
42 Music Phone 26 Tech Tonic
Sony W200i Cutting edge technology does not necessarily
48 Imaging Software call for copious amounts of money.
Adobe Dreamwaever CS3 28 Bugs and Fixes
49 UMPC A Microsoft security component proves flawed.
Asus R2H 30 Hassle Free-PC
See page 32 for a complete list of Fight back against spyware hidden in your PC.
products reviewed. 116 Full Disclosure
49 Drowning in updates from chatterbox software.
W H AT ’ S O N D V D
Essentials
PC World Super Suite
1.7GB of software including N E WS & T R E N D S
Windows patches, codes,
multi-media players and 16 Vista Security
editing tools etc New operating system may be safer— but take care.
19 Hard Drives’ Failing Grade
Full Products Failure rates are higher than thought.
Ubuntu 7.04 ( for 32 bit 20 Cool Gadgets
and 64 bit systems ) Latest products and gadgets in the global
Kubuntu 7.04 ( for 32 bit market.
and 64 bit systems ) 22 Plugged In
16 iPhone , therefore I am; nicer Linux interface
Tech Videos and second-gen UMPCs.
10 Exclusive Tech Videos
Catch a sneak peek at products
and technology of today and
tomorrow with tech videos,
complete with a video review H E R E ’ S H OW
of Sony’s T100 8.1MP camera.
88 Network Storage Tips
Share files on a LAN via a NAS box.
Movies
91 Windows Tips
The Scene : Season 2
Find files and folders in the easiest ways.
Game Demo and Vids
92 Hardware Tips
Stonghold 2
Ease the transition to Windows Vista.
CC3 - Behind the scenes
88 93 Answer Line
Set your PC to filter cookies wisely.
See page 102 for a complete
list of software on DVD.
UPDATES ?
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Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bangalore 560 001, India.
Editor: N Bringi Dev. Printed at Rajhans Enterprises, 134, 4th Main Road, Industrial Town, Rajajinagar, Bangalore 560
044, India. Published at IDG Media Private Limited, 1202 Chiranjiv Towers, Nehru Place, New Delhi 110 011, India. REVIEWS | NEWS | FEATURES
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biles were considered as a sector for the Editor’s Reply: We’re so glad that you both
evaluation, but as mentioned by you too, saw value in our rating of Indian websites.
it may be very exciting in the coming few We’ll definitely keep your suggestions in mind,
months. We felt that the sector has not when we assess sites the next year around.
matured as much, so as to be covered
in the rankings at the present moment.
QUERIES
As for the future, it is for anybody to i recently made up my mind to buy a
predict. We would definitely consider 32-inch LCD TV. Can you please help me
it, if the sector is popular enough at choose between Sony and Samsung? I
the time of our next ranking. am really confused about which is better.
OVERWHELMING RESPONSE Kush Shah, By E-mail
i would like to appreciate your article on I really liked your cover story on the Editors Reply: Sony and Samsung are the
the Best Indian Websites of 2007. Our Best Indian Websites, I know some of top 2 brands in LCD TV market in India.
group runs IndiaProperty.com, BharatMat- the websites featured in the article but Samsung has more range in the 32-inch
rimony.com and Clickjobs, which have completely unaware of some like Tech2. LCD TV segment as compared to Sony. If
been extensively covered in your article. The article is quite informative and I you do not have any budget constraint you
Such kind of benchmarking was very much would like to see more Indian websites can opt for the top end Sony model that
needed as the DotCom industry is on the covered in your magazine. Also, as user supports 1080P and offers HDMI connec-
upswing. However, I would like to add on and volunteer; I would like to suggest tivity. If you have a budget constraint, the
that an important category i.e Automobile a website name CGIndia (http://www. Samsung LA32R81B priced at Rs 65,000 is
has been seriously overlooked upon where- cgindia.org/), which is about 3d Computer a good option.
as there are almost half a dozen websites Graphics and CGToolbar, which they have
in this category . These include the likes of created for connecting people in CG Recently I bought a Samsung 160GB
Indiaautomobile.com,carwale.com, drivein- Community. Keep up the good work. hard disk [SP1644N] and installed it
side.com, carsalesindia.com and autoindia. Tushar Chakraborty, By E-mail on my Compaq Presario PC SR1530IL.
com. This category is fast catching up and Due to my carelessness I didn’t notice
would see lots of excitement in the coming This is with regards to the latest issue of P C the capacity while the technician
months. Hope to see this category covered World, in which you have produced a list of partitioned. Next day it showed up as
in your next edition. the Best Indian Websites. I would request you 128GB. What could be the problem
Gurjot Singh, Marketing Manager for to consider adding a couple of new categories of the capacity barrier and please help
IndiaAutomobile.com, By E-mail - Equity Research & Financial Planning. I me out of this situation as I have less
Editor’s Reply: We appreciate your feed- hope you will consider this suggestion. knowledge of hardware.
back. We would like to share that Automo- Rahul Goel, By e-mail Eddie, By E-mail
Editors Reply: The best option in your case
ONLINE
is to repartition the hard drive but if you
LOG ONTO OUR WEBSITE want to have only one partition, you can
resize the existing partition and claim the
I would like to know if I can read any previous month’s issue from your lost space by using partition magic soft-
website www.pcworld.in. Please let me know if it is possible. ware from (http://www.softpedia.com/get/
Meenakshi, By e-mail System/Hard-Disk-Utils/Partition-Magic.
Editor’s Reply: There is no section as such where you can read the stories sorted by our shtml). We suggest you reformat and
print issues. But all the stories that appear in our magazine are posted online, in different repartition the hard drive with at least two
sections. You can search for them easily on the website using the search box or browse equal partitions, this will help you manage
through the sections of the site for relevant articles. your storage better.
market will top $3 billion over the next cell phones than PCs with Net access. of the shootouts in this issue is all about
three years! Understandably, cell phones and PCs / (Page 52) . Let me know what you think
But, if you think that craning your neck laptops do very different things and that about it.
trying to take in a cricket match on a cell too at very different price points. However,
phone is stretching it, how would you given their proliferation, as cell bandwidth Vijay Ramachandran is the Editor-in-Chief
react to using it in place of your wallet? begins to approach those that we’re used of PC World. Send him your comments at
Hold it close to a reader and voila, those to on PCs, things may start to change. vijay_ramachandran@idgindia.com
W H AT ’ S N E W A N D W H AT ’ S N E X T I N T E C H N O L O G Y
Vista Security
THOUGH WINDOWS VISTA MAY BE SAFER THAN XP, MICROSOFT’S FAR-FROM-IMPREGNABLE NEW
OPERATING SYSTEM IS ALREADY PROVING TO BE VULNERABLE. BY RYAN NARAINE
in late march, when securi- safer, but its users must still
ty researchers stumbled upon be on their guard.
drive-by download at tacks
exploiting yet another serious NAGGING DEFENSE
Windows hole, they had an user account control (UAC)
eye-opening surprise: The vul- has the best of intentions
nerability—caused by the way behind it. According to Micro-
Windows handled animat- soft’s own estimates, a whop-
ed cursor (.ani) files—didn’t ping 95 percent of all pre-Vista
affect just Windows XP. It also Windows users perform eve-
hit Vista, Microsoft’s new ryday tasks logged in with
security-centric OS. Administrator credentials that
Security experts still pro- let them make any kind of
claim Vista a major im - system changes—but that
provement over previous also allow malicious hackers
Windows versions, and read- to hijack a PC easily. By
ily say that its important new default, UAC requires a pass-
safety features—including word for such tasks, keeping
an improved firewall, a “Pro- users—or malware—from
tected Mode” for Internet haphazardly changing sensi-
ILLUSTRATION: PC ANOOP
Explorer, and User Account flaw (now fixed) is a major on shelves, the problem has tive parts of the OS.
Co n t r o l — m a k e i t m u c h black eye for Microsoft; tarnished Vista’s security But UAC is its own worst
more resistant to the most along with two other critical sheen (see “Vista’s Vulnera- enemy. Its frequent pop-up
common forms of spyware security patches issued for bilities” on page 17 for prompts seriously annoy
and malware. But this latest Vista in its first three months details). The new OS may be many users, particularly dur-
IN BRIEF
program installations full
system access whether
they need it or not. Product Pipeline
(Rutkowska’s report is at
http://theinvisiblethings.
blogspot.com/2007/02/
running-vista-every-day.
html .) Microsoft says
that it included the
potential weakness to
ensure a smooth user
experience, and it has not
announced any plans to
change UAC’s design.
VISTA’S BUILT-IN ANTISPYWARE app, Windows Defender, offers daily A second major addition
scans but missed a third of spyware and adware samples in tests. to Vista’s security arsenal
is Windows Defender, an
ing setup of a new machine. some older games that required antispyware tool that is availa- AD-AWARE UPGRADE:
The prompts appear less often additional user rights, but the ble at no cost for XP and is Lavasoft says that a new
after about ten days of heavy fear within security circles is baked into Vista’s guts. version of its popular Ad-
use, but some early adopters that many irritated users will Though not meant to be a full Aware antispyware program
have never made it that far. disable UAC and leave it off, or antivirus utility, it can easily due in June will feature
“These alerts just kept pop- else get into the habit of click- scan for spyware applications improved detection of ad-
ping up constantly and unnec- ing ‘Allow’ at every prompt, that suck up system resources ware and hidden malware, a
essarily,” says Sergio E. Yáñez, defeating the purpose entirely. and bombard you with pop-up scanning engine that goes
a Vista user who works as a “The average user will be advertising. Defender also easy on PC system resourc-
vice president at a New York programmed to click ‘Allow’ offers additional protection es, and an updated interface.
bank. “I would try to move a for everything,” says Roger when you download files via A personal-use version will
file between folders and have Thompson, chief technical Internet Explorer 7. remain free, while the Rs.
to deal with these prompts. officer for security vendor A great idea. But in inde- 1,800 Ad-Aware 2007 Pro
Very, very annoying.” Exploit Prevention Labs. pendent tests performed by will include advanced fea-
Like many other people, Also, security researcher the AV-Test security lab (AV- tures such as Ad-Watch
Yáñez responded by turning off Joanna Rutkowska says that Test.org), Defender detected TrackSweep, a tool that
UAC completely. In his case, UAC has a design weakness only 65 percent of 14,517 ad- clears the cache, cookies,
he had to turn it back on to run in that it requires giving all ware and spyware samples in and history in Internet Ex-
plorer, Firefox, and Opera.
END OF XP: In early 2008
RISKS
Microsoft will end shipment
an on-demand scan. By com- sis. However, it was not able browser by default runs in “People will still execute that
parison, detection rates for to filter incoming mail attach- Protected Mode, preventing file to see Paris Hilton’s next
eight antivirus programs with ments, as some firewalls do. IE—or any successful Inter- video,” says Thompson of
built-in antispyware ran Also, it failed a large percent- net attack that hijacks it— Exploit Prevention Labs.
between 73 and 99 percent for age of so-called leaktests, from changing sensitive Social-engineering techniques
the same test sample. which use a specially crafted parts of the operating sys- that send malware in the guise
“Windows Defender is not program to see whether a fire- tem. This defense tactic has of a game or a sexy video
very good in my eyes. Most, if wall will block outbound con- already been successful exploit people’s curiosity or
not all, stand-alone and inte- nection attempts. against current attacks that ignorance to get them to click
grated antispyware solutions Still, many security compa- target holes such as the ani- a tainted link or attachment. If
are performing a lot better,” nies and researchers, includ- mated cursor flaw. someone clicks, the malware
says Andreas Marx, CEO of ing AV-Test’s Marx, argue Besides these up-front de- has already evaded half of
AV-Test in Germany. that since these programs are fenses, Vista also includes a their computer’s automated
artificial (as op posed to the number of back-end protec- defenses, including the fire-
A BETTER FIREWALL real malware thrown at anti- tions. PatchGuard attempts to wall. “Vista is an improve-
vista’s improved firewall is virus products), they may not block rootkits, which can hide ment,” says Thompson, “but
another story. It offers the abili- provide accurate assessments virus infections. A technique it’s not the end of the malware
ty to block both inbound and of a firewall’s abilities. called Address Space Layout industry. Not by a long shot.”
outbound connections Another potential end run
(XP’s firewall blocks only around Vista’s defenses is
incoming traffic). Out- to attack programs rather
bound filtering provides a than the operating system.
second layer of defense in Media players such as the
blocking so phisticated Adobe Flash player and
forms of malware that Apple’s QuickTime have
make invisible connections suffered recent attacks as
from your system to hackers discover and exploit
remote hacker-controlled serious software vulnerabil-
servers—but as with many ities—with poisoned online
forms of secondary protec- movie files, for example. To
tion, deciding which apps keep your machine safe,
should and shouldn’t be patching your programs
blocked takes some techni- has become just as impor-
cal know-how. For that rea- tant as fixing the operating
son, Microsoft turned it off VISTA’S UPGRADED FIREWALL can block an unknown program’s attempts system they run on.
by default. But even with- to connect to the Internet, but that functionality is turned off by default. “The applications are sit-
out outbound filtering, the ting on every desktop,
firewall “is better than good The Vista firewall, along with Ra n d o m i z a t i o n m a k e s i t and they all have known vul-
enough,” says Ed Bott, coauthor many others, may do a good harder for malware to find nerabilities,” says Andrew
of Windows Vista Inside Out. job at blocking outside and infect running processes. Jaquith, a security analyst in
“It blocks all unsolicited attempts to infiltrate your Finally, several changes to the The Yankee Group’s Ena-
incoming connections and is computer. But Internet pro- kernel, the heart of any oper- bling Technologies Enter-
almost invisible in operation,” grams must go through the ating system, increase its re- prise division.
he says. And advanced users firewall to browse a Web page, sistance to hacker attacks. For PC users, the message
can configure outbound filter- access your e-mail, or carry on is clear: Though Vista may
ing for additional protection, an IM chat—and this itself HUMAN (IN)SECURITY make things more difficult
while nontechnical users— creates an avenue for attack. but while vista is safer than for crooks, it is far from
who would be just as likely to Because Internet Explorer XP, experts expect online impregnable. You will still
break something as to prevent opens up the door to your PC thugs to quickly look for ways need to apply patches to
an attack, Bott says—are not and has such a huge user to circumvent Vista’s protec- close the inevitable holes.
forced to set up any rules for base, the browser is con- tions. One increasingly com- And you must still use the
outbound filtering. stantly under attack. To mon method is to use social- same type of antivirus
The Vista firewall passed improve IE 7’s defenses, the engineering tactics to target protection that you needed
most tests in AV-Test’s analy- Windows Vista version of the the person, not the PC. with XP.
STO R AG E
in these reports to differing Carnegie Mellon report (typical sites) 2–4 percent drives cool and, most impor-
definitions of disk failure. Carnegie Mellon report (maximum observed) 13 percent tant, backed up so that if fail-
For vendors, it’s when a drive Google report 3 percent ure occurs, it’s merely an in-
fails on one read or write CHART NOTE: By definition, MTTF is the average lifetime of a hard drive. A year has 8760 convenience and not a financial
attempt within a set period— hours, so the probability of a hard drive failing in a given year, or the estimated annual or emotional disaster.
failure rate, is 8760/MTTF.
typically about 24 hours—on —Jon L. Jacobi
TEC H N O LO GY TR E N DS
COOL GADGETS
LATEST PRODUCTS IN THE GLOBAL MARKET.
It’s that time of the year when people get a chance to get out of
the city for their first big holiday with family. On the other hand,
for many companies the holidays also mark the start of the
build-up to the summer sales season.
—Martyn Williams
ERIC DAHL
HERE\NOW
positioned in a helmet or headset (Emotiv’s prototype looks a bit sung’s and Gigabyte’s UMPCs
like a deconstructed bike helmet—see below) to detect emotions The Buzz: Microsoft isn’t should have arrived in May;
or brain patterns and translate that data into actions in games done with Origami yet. Asus’s, later this year.
or software apps. By concentrating on a The first generation of Ultra Bottom Line: This is a step
word or emotion, your mind can actu- Mobile PCs were marred by in the right direction, but be-
ally interact with a game. Both compa- high prices and limited hard- tween powerful smart phones
nies hope that games tailored to their ware, but the latest ones aim to and smaller subnotebooks, I
technology will arrive in 2008. change that. Samsung’s nicely still can’t see where UMPCs
designed Q1 Ultra packs a split- are going to fit in.
dia further exemplifies the point. True, who are not necessarily experts. But,
W R I T E B AC K
non-influenced information is a bit dif- forums have the edge for authentic
ficult to find. So how do we get the right information since they are moderated What do you think about user generated
mix of information and user opinion? and attract counter views. content? Write to me and let me know
I have been looking to buy a new car, Wrong information is most often at feedback@pcworld.in.
and have been searching the internet than not spotted and countered well.
for these applications and hence I dared when you compare the fact that it is still for a lot more.
to compare the Classmate PC to the a better solution compared to any PDAs
W R I T E B AC K
ultraportables at the application level and that are twice as expensive and almost
not core performance capabilities. What competes head-on with the UMPC (Ultra- Share your views on the Intel Class-
works for the Classmate PC is the fact mobile PC) that costs close to a lakh , the mate PC, Write to me at feedback@
that it already incorporates some of the Classmate PC is truly perfect for its price. pcworld.in.
latest technologies which haven’t made The missing optical drive option does not
HASSLE FREE PC
STEVE BASS
The latest version—WinPatrol 2007— (and I promise you, it’s worth the use VLC or FLV Player—or convert the
has Delayed Start, a smart feature that money), but there’s a free version as videos into AVI files at the Online FLV
lets you delay launch of nonessential well. Compare the two versions at Converter site. All of these tools are at
programs for up to an hour after the http://www.winpatrol.com/whyplus. http://pcworld.in/downloads/index.
system boots, so Windows loads faster. html?index, and then download either jsp/dsecId=1477/dsubSecId=1491.
That’s ideal timing for applications one of them according to your liking.
— Steve Bass
REVI
VIEWS
WS &
38 SONY DCR-HC96 CAMCORDER
38 KODAK V1003 10MP DIGITAL
CAMERA
39 OPEN OFFICE 2.2
40 CANON MP460 ALL-IN-ONE
RANKINGS
ANKINGS
41 LH 20A1S LITE-ON 20X SATA
OPTICAL DRIVE
41 MICROSOFT NOTEBOOK
PRESENTER MOUSE 8000
42 SONY ERICSSON W200I
MUSIC PHONE
L A B -T E S T E D A NDDU H
MAONUDRS -EODNI TEEVA
D LU
B YATKI A
ONLP
S AONF AT H
EET T
LEAT
NESSOTNP &
R ORDAUM
COT SN
40 47
tor 150GB hard disk; Kings- WIRELESS ACCESS POINT PCW Rating Performance Features
be a fair amount to spend 3 Bottom line: This toned down Core 2 Duo with more cache than the X2 4000+ makes for a good choice at the Rs 5,000 mark.
on a CPU if you wish to
use your PC for anything
more than MS Office, Inter- 4
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+
Price: Rs. 5,000
82
Very Good
• WorldBench 5.0 Multi-tasking: Good
• PCMark05 CPU Test: Good
• Gaming Performance: Very Good
• Operating Frequency: 2.1GHz
• Total L2 Cache: 1MB
• Manufacturing Process: 65nm
net and music playback. At
3 Bottom line: Has a slight edge over the E4300 in some games, but otherwise equal. Lesser cache makes it the second choice in this budget.
this price point we have the
AMD’s entry level dual core,
the Athlon 64 X2 3600+ and
its counterpart from Intel
5
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+
Price: Rs. 3,400 78 Good
• WorldBench 5.0 Multi-tasking: Good
• PCMark05 CPU Test: Good
• Gaming Performance: Good
• Operating Frequency: 1.9GHz
• Total L2 Cache: 1MB
• Manufacturing Process: 65nm
the D820. The X2 3600+ 3 Bottom line: Great pricing and performance makes the 3200+ the best budget CPU for cash strapped gamers.
costs about Rs. 3,400 while
the D820 is costlier by Rs.
100 or so. 6
Intel Pentium D820
Price: Rs. 3,500 65 Fair
• WorldBench 5.0 Multi-tasking: Fair
• PCMark05 CPU Test: Good
• Gaming Performance: Fair
• Operating Frequency: 2.8GHz
• Total L2 Cache: 2MB
• Manufacturing Process: 90nm
The D820, though an
3 Bottom line: Intel’s entry level dual core fails to impress - not recommended, especially for gamers.
older architecture, is made
attractive by its pricing. CHART NOTE: The prices mentioned are street prices as on 17/05/2007 and are subject to change.
PERFORMANCE
WorldBench 5.0
800
600
Time in Seconds
400
200
0
Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Core 2 E6300 Core 2 E4300 Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Pentium D820
Adobe Premier Discreet 3ds max 5.1 (OpenGL) Multitasking: Mozilla and Windows
Media Encoder
Discreet 3ds max 5.1 (DirectX) Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0
3200+ or even its younger – a 90nm 2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Another point going against is a clear winner, with about
sibling, the 3000+ (cheaper cache and a newer 65nm the X2 is that it cannot make 20 percent higher scores in
by Rs 500) will make a for 2.1GHz, 1MB L2 cache which full use of the memory band- almost every benchmark and
good choice. we received. width. This 65nm 4000+ can game. This X2 is made using
The Intel E4300 and the only do DDR2 700 speeds 65nm process similar to the
The Price-Power Balance: AMD X2 4000+ are matched instead of the full DDR2 800 E6300 and both of them are
We scouted for the best evenly overall in the perfor- speed that the 90nm version efficient processors running
offerings at Rs 5,000 from mance charts. And, they are could manage. cool and have a power
both manufacturers and priced identically as well. This dissipation of 65W.
finally picked the Athlon leaves us looking up the fea- Best CPU at Rs 8000: AMD’s
64 X2 4000+ and the new tures table to see which of these recent price cuts have placed THE MODEL NUMBER
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300. will be more future proof. With their higher end CPUs at PUZZLE
The E4300 is a cheaper and a total of 2MB cache, the E4300 what was once the mid-range like many other AMD
mellowed Core 2 running is the winner here, but with price point. An example of CPUs, the 5200+ exists in
at 1.8GHz and having an only the slightest of margins. this is the winner, the Athlon different versions. Initially
FSB of 800MHz (the E6300 The X2 4000+ , with a cache 64 X2 5200+, that retails there was a 5200+ rated
runs at 1.86GHz and has handicap made up by only currently at just a little over CPU with 2MB L2 cache and
a 1066MHz FSB). The X2 300MHz lags one point behind Rs. 8000. When set against 2.6GHz clock manufactured
4000+ exists in two flavors in the final score. the Intel E6300, the Athlon on the 90nm platform. With
Scores
3000
AMD decided to increase with F.E.A.R. set at high
the frequency by a meager graphic details and 1280 x 2000
0
half the cache that is missing get 3200+ delivered an aver- Athlon 64 Core 2 Duo Core 2 Duo Athlon 64 Athlon 64 Pentium
X2 5200+ E6300 E4300 X2 4000+ X2 3600+ D820
(the X2 4000’s is also a age of 68 fps while the X2
PCMark Total Score PCMark CPU Score
similar case to note). An 5200+ was only slightly bet-
advantage of this approach is ter at 70 fps. Gaming tests
that the reduced production indicate what a CPU can do
PCMARK 2005 Video Encoding
500
costs with less cache can be provided the graphic card is
402
passed on to the consumer. up to the task. 400
343
If you look for gaming 320 320
Encoding kBps
300 288
GAMING performance, you are better
PERFORMANCE off with a faster video card 200 188
Thump is Here ?
M U S I C P H O N E S W200i includes menus for design is solid, if unspectacu-
e v e n a s m ob ile phones Now Playing, Artists, Tracks, lar and the unit is finished in
converge take on the function- Playlists and Videos. Any a matte black plastic with
ality of an increasing manifest tracks loaded onto the device orange trim, thanks to the
of devices, there is still a need are automatically sorted into Walkman branded design.
for the basics and Sony Erics- these folders, which makes The biggest let down in
son has come to the party with searching for a specific file design is the display, which
the release of their W200i. The simple and easy. You can cre- has outdated specifications
W200i is a standard GSM ate playlists by searching and lacks clarity and crisp-
handset, without the bells and through your files and mark- ness. The smaller-sized 120 x
whistles. Though it still offers ing which tracks you want to 160 pixel resolution means
the popular Walkman func- add to that particular list. the screen can’t emit as bight
tion, an FM radio and digital Unfortunately the W200i an image as we would have
camera, the lack of Bluetooth doesn’t allow users to rename liked. Thankfully, the
is a real negative. music files from within keypad is comfortable
the device. This and the raised keys are
FEATURES has to be done well spaced, so typing
the best feature of the using the PC long messages or e-mails is
W200i is the Walkman func- Suite software (which THE 3.5MM ADAPTER and a breeze. Controls are fairly
tion, although it isn’t the doesn’t support Mac). excellent ear phones compliment standard, consisting of a five-
newer 2.0 version of this soft- You can also send files to the Walkman phone. way navigational joystick, two
ware. A press of the orange another phone or computer selection buttons, and dedi-
‘W’ button on the left side of directly from the Walkman manually, as well as four pre- cated keys for back and clear.
the phone takes you straight application via e-mail, infra- sets including Sony’s propri- The navigation stick is a hit
into the music application, red or as a picture message. etary Mega Bass. and miss affair as it is too
which is both simple and The omission of Bluetooth is The W200i includes a digit- short and small and will
effective in its design. The disappointing, despite this al VGA camera with 4x digital cause discomfort for anyone
handset’s low-end placement zoom, but naturally, the qual- with large fingers. A power
in the market so infrared ity of VGA cameras means it’s button on the top of the
and USB are the only con- barely good enough for a few handset and a volume control
nectivity options. The W200i happy snaps. A more notable on the right side of the unit
also includes an FM radio feature is push e-mail, which round out the controls.
with 10 presets and features is a welcome surprise on a Sony Ericsson rates the
RDS (Radio Data System) handset with such a low RRP. W200i battery life at up to
which displays station broad- In addition to push e-mail, seven hours of talk time and
cast information. Sony Erics- the W200i supports standard 300 hours standby time. We
son hasn’t installed a 3.5mm SMS and MMS messaging averaged two days of moder-
headphone jack on the with T9 predictive text input. ate use before we had to
W200i, but they have boxed Other features include a loud charge the phone, which is
a headphone adapter with and clear hands-free speaker- done via either the included
the unit that allows connec- phone, sound recorder and a USB cable or the AC adapter.
tion of any standard 3.5mm host of personal information —Ross Catanzariti
headphones. Like most manager (PIM) features
Walkman phones, the sound including an alarm clock, cal- Sony Ericsson W200i
quality of the W200i is pretty culator, calendar, notes, stop- Sony Ericsson
impressive and the included watch and a timer. PCW Rating 76 Good
headphones are of a surpris- The W200i is a solid budget
THE WALKMAN BUTTON ingly good standard. Also DESIGN mobile phone, but the lack of
launches the music player and included in the Walkman t h e W 2 0 0 i m e a sur e s Bluetooth may be enough for
the volume can be controlled with application is a five-channel 101mm x 44mm x 18mm and some to give it a miss.
the dedicated keys on the right. equalizer that you can adjust weighs a very light 85g. The Price: Rs. 7,300
Talk to Your Computer with Dragon The software also learns with
time and it is advisable to run
VOICE RECOGNITION with each version that it has towards getting used to the the acoustic optimizer one in
speech to text has been a come out. Though, it may still software itself. As you have com- a while to make that learning
huge gray area when it comes be quite a while before the mands on the keyboard, that you even better.
to computing. The right computers understand what may need to remember while But, speech recognition itself
accents, noise, slurring, eve- you say, right away. With these using a software, you would has its pitfalls too. For instance
rything has an impact on the efforts you are deemed to think need to use similar commands you may not want to use it in
way the software interprets that the day is not too far. For here. Though, easily under- office as it may present privacy
your version of slang. instance, this version has an stood, they still present a learn- issues and there is bound to be
Dragon Naturally Speak- option for Indian English, that ing curve. Thankfully, this curve too much noise in the office
ing has been improving itself attempts at understanding the is not too difficult to master. that will impact the perform-
Indian accent which is substan- It understood most of the ance of the software. But, if you
tially different from the Ameri- words that I said. The ones that have a quiet workplace, without
can or British way of speaking. are not in the vocabulary can any close neighbors, the latest
With a simple 15-20 minute be easily added, all with caps update can prove to be a releif
tutorial, the software was easily in the beginning, with a simple for your wrists.
able to learn my style of speak- voice command. And it is quite —Geetaj Channana
ing and we were ready to go. easy to correct your mistake
Though with this version, using a series of easy to master Nuance
Nuance (the publishers of DNS commands. And when you Dragon Naturally Speaking 9
9) have made it quite easy to use compare the kind of errors you PCW Rating 76 Good
THE LATEST VERSION the software, negating the use make while touch typing with This improvised version works
IMPROVISES ON SOME key of the keyboard wherever possi- dictation; it clearly shows that well but requires patience
areas but isnt perfect. ble, you would still have to work it’s faster to dictate than to type. Price:9,000
B Y G E E TA J C H A N N A N A
P H O T O G R A P H Y: S R I VA S TA S H A N D I LYA
I M A G I N G BY P C A N O O P
CONTENT PAGE 53
CAM ERA PH ON ES
F E AT U R E S C O M PA R I S O N
IMAGING PHONES
THE N95 FROM Nokia is the king of video while the Sony Erisson K790i captures crisp stills with its 3.2 MP sensor.
MULTIMEDIA PHONE PCW Score Features and Specifications Performance Bottom line
• Camera Resolution: 5 megapixel A truck load of features, the highest camera resolu-
1 Nokia N95
Best Price: Rs. 34,872
74
Good
• Style: Slider (both side)
• Memory card type: Micro SD
• Still Camera performance(out of 10): 6
• Features (out of 100): 92
• Design and usability score (out of 100): 81
tion, great video capture quality, dedicated music
playback buttons, an intuitive new interface are some
of the things that make this one a winner. But for the
BUY • Auto Focus: Yes speed of the phone, Nokia has got it right this time.
• Camera Resolution: 3.2 megapixel The best performer when it comes to still pho-
71 • Still Camera performance(out of 10): 7 A potential killer phone by Nokia, that comes bun-
Nokia N73 - Music Edition • Style: Candybar dled with a 2GB memory card. But it is a bit of a let
3 Price: Rs. 22870 • Memory card type: Micro SD
• Features (out of 100): 81
• Design and usability score (out of 100): 76
down to use. The phone is too slow, but the camera
Good • Auto Focus: Yes is quite usable, and so are the music features.
71 • Still Camera performance(out of 10): 7 If you are on a budget for a camera phone, then
Sony Ericsson K750i • Style: Candybar there is nothing better than the K750i. A good
4 Price: Rs. 9307 • Memory card type: Memory Stick Duo
• Features (out of 100): 66
• Design and usability score (out of 100): 76
2 MP camera, with music features, EDGE and a
Good • Auto Focus: Yes radio at less than 10K is a killer deal.
5 Nokia N93i
Price: Rs. 32699
70Good
• Style: Clamshell - Swivel
• Memory card type: Micro SD
• Still Camera performance(out of 10): 6
• Features (out of 100): 85
• Design and usability score (out of 100): 69
the phone lost out mainly because of its size
and the sub standard still photographs. The
video though was something to marvel at.
• Auto Focus: Yes
• Camera Resolution: 2 megapixel The latest from the Sony Ericsson stable, it
• Camera Resolution: 3 megapixel The blonde in all the phones here, it looks the
7 Samsung SGH-D900
Price: Rs. 23499
61Fair
• Style: Slider
• Memory card type: Micro SD
• Still Camera performance(out of 10): 5
• Features (out of 100): 69
• Design and usability score (out of 100): 75
best of the lot, with exceptionally good indus-
trial design and a slim form factor. Compared to
the others, the camera is best used sparingly.
• Auto Focus: Yes
8 Motorola RIZR Z3
Price: Rs. 9899
57Poor
• Style: Slider
• Memory card type: Micro SD
• Still Camera performance(out of 10): 5
• Features (out of 100): 44
• Design and usability score (out of 100): 75
ers here. The picture quality is not too happening,
and nor the styling. It’s high time that the RIZR,
rises up to the competition.
• Auto Focus: Yes
CHART NOTE: * Prices mentioned above are indicative market prices as on 10-05-2007
C O M PA R I S O N
STACKING THEM UP
WHILE CAMERA PHONES aren’t exactly slim and sleek, the Nokia N95 is surprisingly small for its feature set.
i i 0i
750 00 550 K79
NK -D9 NK R ON
SSO SG H SSO RIZ i CSS
N95 ERIC U NG ERIC R O LA N93 ERI N73
KIA Y S Y TO KIA Y KIA
NO SON SAM SON MO NO SON NO
STOPPERS
Twenty years after the first one appeared, PC
virus-
es are more diabolical than ever. How do you
keep
them off your system? Read on for the results
of
our rigorous lab tests of the top antivirus progra
ms.
B Y r Ya n n a r a i n e i L L U S T R AT i O n S B Y U n n i K R i S
HnAn
trojan horses. rootkits. botnets. keyloggers. These terms might not mean
much to the average computer user, but to the average computer they’re the equivalent of
the bird flu and Ebola viruses. With money serving as the main motive, tech crooks have
turned these one-time playthings of maladjusted geeks into a serious business.
CONTENT PAGE
antivirus
To see which programs offer today’s best protec- choose our contenders, we selected from Vista-
tion, we tested eight stand-alone antivirus apps: ready popular sellers and best-of-breed programs.
Alwil’s Avast 4 Antivirus Professional Edition, BEST BUY KASPERSKY Alwil and Grisoft offer feature-limited free ver-
BitDefender’s Antivirus 10, Eset’s NOD32, Gri- Excellent virus detection sions of their programs—but to compare apples to
soft’s AVG 7.5 Anti-Virus Professional Edition, and speedy signature apples, we selected their paid versions. Wondering
Kaspersky’s Anti-Virus 6, Panda’s Antivirus 2007, delivery make it the tops. why McAfee isn’t on the list? The company no lon-
Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus ger sells a stand-alone antivirus
2007, and Trend Micro’s AntiVirus app (its VirusScan Plus programs
plus AntiSpyware 2007. These apps include a firewall). Another no-
allow users to pick and choose show is F-Secure, whose popular
their other security software (such app wasn’t Vista-ready in time for
as firewalls), and they cost less inclusion in our testing.
than security suites. All include
antispyware protection, and many
have antirootkit components to
defend against devious attempts to
1 Kaspersky
our best buy antivirus pro-
gram, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 de-
hide malware deep within a sys- livered top-notch success rates for
tem. To protect against unknown malware detection (96 percent) and
viruses, all of the apps we tested disinfection performance (86 per-
come with some form of proactive cent of all items). It was fastest at
protection to supplement more-traditional producing new signatures, too, with a response
Best
signature-based approaches, which must BUY time of 0 to 2 hours.
match incoming threats against a database You’ll pay for this stellar performance, however.
of known threats in order to block them. At Rs. 2,250 for the downloaded product, Anti-
After rigorous analysis, we awarded Kas- Virus 6 is the most expensive program we tested,
persky’s well-designed Anti-Virus 6 the Best though the renewal cost drops to Rs. 1,575 per
Buy. It ended up in a virtual dead heat with the year. In addition, its proactive protection was only
entries from Symantec and BitDefender for best middling, catching approximately half of the 200
malware detection honors, and it also did the best new malware samples it was exposed to when
job of cleaning malware infections. At Rs. 2,250, tested using a one-month-old signature database.
however, it’s relatively expensive. nORTOn The Protection Anti-Virus 6’s polished interface makes it easy
In partnership with security research company Center affords a useful for users to schedule scans. And clearly labeled,
AV-Test.org, we tested the programs under Micro- at-a-glance summary of one-click drill-down options make finding and set-
soft Vista Ultimate; all eight have a Windows XP system security status. ting up various advanced features a breeze.
version as well. By far the most impor- In dealing with e-mail and news
tant tests that AV-Test conducted pit- traffic, the program scans incom-
ted each app against a “zoo”—a collec- ing and outgoing data over the
tion of nearly 900,000 viruses, Trojan POP3, SMTP, IMAP, and NNTP
horses, bots, and other forms of mal- protocols. It monitors HTTP traffic
ware. After this, each app had to try to for Web-borne threats, too. It
detect current threats using one- and doesn’t set up a default scheduled
two-month-old signature files to simu- scan, however—you’ll need to set
late how well it could block unknown one up yourself.
malware. Our three best-rated apps Built-in antiphishing protection
were, not surprisingly, those that per- can block scam e-mail, and Kasper-
formed best in these critical tests. sky’s “proactive defense” module
We also rated each program on its design and looks for the hidden processes and Regis-
ease of use, including whether the application try changes that can signal malware hid-
installed with an appropriate default configura- den with a rootkit.
tion. We then factored in performance, support If you buy this program, do so online—
policies, and whether the app had features such as the download costs Rs. 450 less than the
Web-traffic scanning. Finally we rated cost. To retail box. If you want to get the Vista-
2 Symantec
symantec norton antivirus 2007 is a
solid performer, with an overall virus detection
but support
At Rs.1,800, Norton Antivirus 2007 costs less
than Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6, but Symantec offers
only a paltry Rs. 45 discount for yearly renewals,
rate of 96 percent, placing it firmly in the upper calls come at making it one of the more expensive antivirus
echelon of the test group. Like the other top-rated
products, it has an attractive and easy-to-use inter-
a price. options in the long term. Tech support is simi-
larly costly:
f e at u r e s c o m pa r i s o n
85
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 This effective but expensive program
Rs. 2,250 (Rs. 1,575 has solid malware detection and
1 renewal)
Superior 96% 51% 6 10% 0 to 2
the fastest outbreak-response time
Very Good among currently tested competitors.
Symantec Norton
84
Symantec’s solid program wins top
AntiVirus 2007 marks for antivirus detection and
2 Rs. 1,800 (Rs. 1,755 renewal)
Superior 96% 49% 3 10% 10 to 12
cleanup, but its renewal and support
Very Good costs are high.
84
BitDefender has excellent malware
BitDefender Antivirus 10
detection and a good price, but it
3 Rs. 1,350 (Rs. 990 renewal) Superior 96% 61% 14 124% 4 to 6
causes a noticeable (though not
Very Good show-stopping) system slowdown.
84
NOD32 provides the best proactive
Eset NOD32
Very protection by far, but its overall mal-
4 Rs. 1,755 (Rs. 1,215 renewal)
Good
90% 79% 6 5% 4 to 6
ware detection is second-tier, and it
Very Good has an overly technical interface.
79
This competitively priced option
Panda Antivirus 2007
Very offers good proactive protection,
5 Rs. 1,350 (Rs. 1,350 renewal)
Good
90% 56% 3 4% 6 to 8
average overall malware detection,
Good and a poor disinfection rate.
FOOTNOTES: 1 Tests conducted using AV-Test.org’s collection of 884,164 malware samples. 2 Tested using one-month-old signature files. 3 The number of harmless files incorrectly identified as
suspect, out of 20,000. 4 The amount of slowdown seen on a computer running Microsoft Office with the antivirus software installed, compared to the same computer without the software.
5
The number of hours, on average, that the company took to deliver signatures for new malware during the first part of 2007. CHART NOTES: Street prices are as of 3/31/07. The PCW Rating is
based on the program’s malware detection rate (overall and proactive), performance (including scan speed and system slowdown tests), price, specs, and product design.
Norton performed well in our disinfection tests, Though it excelled at detection, BitDefender was
finishing second only to Kaspersky. It cleaned up less adept at disinfection. It successfully cleaned
18 of 22 possible items, missing just one of the BiTDEFEnDER Glitches just 13 of 22 items, missing one malware file and
two changes to the Hosts network settings file with the Vista version’s both of the changes to the Hosts file.
and three less-important Registry items. performance sabotaged BitDefender also turned in the highest false-posi-
Symantec has incorporated the new SONAR the product’s ranking. tive rate, mislabeling 14 harmless files (out of a total
behavioral analysis technology for of 20,000 in the test) as malware.
proactive protection. The program On the plus side, BitDefender has a
scans e-mail and Web traffic, cov- well-designed interface, with a slider
ering the POP3, SMTP, and HTTP bar in the main window that lets you
protocols. In addition, it ties into easily modify protection levels, and
the MSN, Yahoo, and AOL instant clearly marked icons for launching
messaging programs (though it full scans or setting up custom scans.
protects only MSN by default). It was also the only product to offer
During our tests of Norton Anti- free 24/7 phone support, with easy-
Virus’s de sign and ease of use to-locate phone numbers and support
under Windows Vista Ultimate, the e-mail addresses listed in the app’s
program turned off the built-in Help section.
Windows Defender antispyware By default, the program runs a full-
utility without notice. This is not because system scan daily. It monitors e-mail traffic on the
the two utilities conflict, according to the POP3 and SMTP protocols, and integrates nicely
company, but because Symantec feels that with Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and Win-
“Windows Defender offers no value beyond dows Mail (on Vista) for antispam filtering. BitDe-
what Norton offers.” BitDefender was the fender provides a basic level of instant messaging
only other program that disabled Defender protection, but unfortunately it doesn’t scan HTTP
when it installed. traffic by default to identify Web-borne threats—
Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2007 was also the you’ll have to turn that capability on yourself.
only program that triggered multiple UAC (User A unique “privacy guard” feature detects when
Account Control) alerts when we changed settings; ESET nOD32 The personal information—such as a credit card num-
that behavior could easily annoy power users who company plans to revamp ber or Social Security number—is being stolen
might want to customize the app. its difficult-to-decipher from a computer, without your first having to tell
program interface. the program what those numbers are. On the other
3 BitDefender
bitdefender antivirus 10 nearly
took top honors overall. It did a fine job of
hand, BitDefender was one of only two programs
we tested that automatically disabled Vista’s built-in
Windows Defender antispyware utility, however.
detecting malware, with a 96 percent catch
rate. And it ranked second in our proactive-
detection tests (behind Eset’s NOD32) when
relying on one-month-old signature files,
4 Eset
when it comes to proactive protection,
Eset’s NOD32 clearly wins. In our tests it caught 79
nabbing 61 percent of new malware samples. percent of unknown malware samples when using
And at Rs. 1,350, with a Rs.990 renewal fee, one-month-old signature files. The next-closest app,
it’s one of the least-expensive apps we tested. BitDefender, was a distant second at 61 percent.
The program was badly hamstrung by NOD32’s overall malware detection rate wasn’t
serious slowdowns in our application per- stellar, however. Pitted against the huge AV-Test.
formance tests, however. One Firefox test, org zoo of Trojan horses, viruses, and
for example, which loads a large number of other malware, NOD32 spotted only 90
different Web pages, took three times long- percent of the baddies, compared to the
er with BitDefender than with any other top performers’ 96 percent rate. It fared
program we tested. The company attributes surprisingly poorly with 32-bit Windows
the slowdown to a known bug in the Vista viruses (which account for approximately
version and says that a future BitDefender 1 of every 11 samples in the zoo), catching
update will fix it. only about 75 percent of these. In disin-
fection tests, NOD32 cleaned up all malware files At Rs. 1,755 for a single-user license and Rs.
but missed any resulting changes to the Hosts net- 1,215 for yearly renewals, Eset NOD32’s pricing is
work settings file and most Registry changes, for a about average for the group. E-mail and phone
disappointing 55 percent success rate. support is free.
The program installed without a hitch, and the
5
PAnDA So-so malware
default settings were almost ideal for the average Panda
detection translated
customer. One annoyance: NOD32 doesn’t enable panda antivirus 2007’s middle-of-the-
into a middle-of-the-
the full-system scan by default; you have to sched- road detection re sults, inadequate default set-
pack ranking for Panda
ule it yourself. And when you try to set that up or tings, and uninspired disinfection performance
Antivirus 2007.
want to change other settings, you offset its strong features to pro-
may be turned off by an overly duce an unimpressive fifth-place
technical interface. For instance, ranking in our tests.
you’ll need to open up the ‘DMON’ The application discovered 90
interface module to figure out that percent of AV-Test.org’s malware
it’s responsible for scanning samples, a detection rate that was
Microsoft Office documents. Also, dragged down by a relatively poor
if you do need help, the program showing at catching Trojan horses
offers no guideposts for finding (87 percent) and back-door pro-
support; you must go to the com- grams (86 percent), two increas-
pany’s Web site. ingly common types of malware. It
The program ties into Out- turned in the third-best showing
look and Outlook Ex press for for proactive detection, however,
e-mail scanning, though it doesn’t catching 56 percent of new samples with one-
directly integrate with any IM applica- month-old signatures.
tions for scanning sent links or files. In Unfortunately, several important protective
addition, it offers integrated virus, spy- features of Panda Antivirus 2007 are turned off
ware, and adware scanning, where by default. You’ll need to enable e-mail scanning
other programs require two separate yourself in a complicated process that sends you
scans, one for antivirus and one for antispy- to the Windows Control Panel. Protection
ware. The multithreat engine can also detect against “potentially dangerous files”—a euphe-
malware-hiding rootkits. mism for adware and other annoying junk
p r oac t i v e D e f e n s e
that normally gets caught by antispyware in the malware. It spotted only 37 percent of the malware in
course of its standard operations—is also our proactive tests, the second-worst showing.
turned off, and you’ll need to schedule your In our disinfection tests Avast was about aver-
own full-system scan. age, cleaning all infected files but missing changes
Once you switch these features on, however, AVAST The basic layout to the Hosts network settings file and some Regis-
Panda Antivirus scans will cover a good range of option is easy to use try entries. Its catch rate was 78 percent.
e-mail and news protocols—POP3, SMTP, IMAP4, but hides advanced The program installed smoothly, with appropri-
N N T P — a l o n g w i t h We b t r a f f i c . I t configuration settings. ate default settings for the average person. It offers
flags suspected phishing two interface options: a dis-
e-mail sent over POP3 and tinct, media player–type
SMTP, and integrates with control panel that makes it
Yahoo, MSN, and AOL IM easy to figure out how to
applications. launch a scan or set a manu-
Panda Antivirus 2007 al boot-time scan; and an
scored poorly in our “enhanced interface” that
disinfection tests. It missed permits you to access and
one existing infection entirely, and failed to clean fine-tune more settings, but that seems far
up another’s changes to the Hosts and Registry less user-friendly than the first option.
files. Including Registry changes, it scrubbed up After installation, Avast runs one full-sys-
just 41 percent of all in fections. And after we tem startup scan. But in the awkward
uninstalled it, Panda left behind a stray .dll file advanced interface, we could not find a place
that some other antivirus programs then flagged to set up a regularly scheduled scan. One
as potentially dangerous. option enables scans whenever the screen
At Rs. 1,350 for two PCs (there is no single-license saver is running, but again, this program
rate), Panda Antivirus 2007 is among the most setting was difficult to locate.
affordable programs we tested, but unlike with The program scans a good range of e-mail and
most apps, you receive no renewal discount. news protocols, including POP3, SMTP, IMAP,
and NNTP. It also scans all Web traffic. And Avast
6 Alwil
the paid version of Alwil’s software, Avast 4
Professional Edition, finished a disappointing sixth,
4’s comprehensive instant messaging protection
fully supports a number of the most popular IM
clients—AIM, ICQ, MSN, Skype, Trillian, and
despite a decent, 92 percent success rate at detecting Yahoo Messenger—and even several lesser-
p r oac t i v e D e f e n s e
known chat tools, such as Gaim, Miranda, and paid Professional version is Rs. 1,350, and renewal
Pal Talk Messenger. costs only a scant Rs. 675 per year thereafter.
At installation, Avast 4 places on your PC a use- AVG This low-cost but
ful, built-in Virus Recovery Database, which you
can theoretically use to repair infected program (.
exe) files (we didn’t test this functionality).
clunky app performed
poorly in our proactive-
protection tests.
8 TrendMicro
the last-place ranking of Trend Micro
Antivirus plus AntiSpyware 2007 was primarily
The paid Professional version of determined by its lackluster perfor-
Avast 4 costs Rs. 1,800, with a Rs. mance at detecting malware samples.
1,260 yearly renewal fee. A free Home The program missed almost one in
version lacks some features such as every five samples, for an entirely dis-
the ability to run scheduled scans and appointing catch rate of 82 percent.
view previous scan results. Trend Micro did somewhat bet-
ter at proactively detecting
7 Grisoft
grisoft avg 7.5 Anti-Virus
Professional Edition was the least-
unknown malware, but even here
it had the third-worst showing. It
caught 43 percent of threats when
expensive option of the eight pro- tested with a one-month-old scan-
grams we tested, and its 91 percent ner. Weighed down by a relatively
malware detection rate put it in the expensive Rs. 1,800 price tag and
middle of the pack in that critical the lack of a renewal discount,
category. Unfortunately, the soft- Trend Micro’s antivirus product
ware’s last-place proactive protection performance left much to be desired.
and clunky interface dropped it to seventh place in On the plus side, the program
our rankings. installed smoothly, was easy to
AVG did a fine job in the disinfection tests, revers- use, and includes good default settings—such as
ing more than 80 percent of all changes made by an automatically scheduled full-system scan—for
malware. It was the only program that removed the average person. It provides a user-configurable
every malware file and reversed both changes to the TREnD miCRO The worst scheduled scan, and it checks for definition
Hosts network settings file, though like every other overall malware detection updates every 3 hours. These defaults are a snap to
app it missed some Registry changes. rate all but guaranteed change via an intuitive and smooth interface that
But in proactive protection, AVG ranked last, failing this package last place. will appeal to even the most nontechnical user.
to detect two out of every three new One particularly useful feature
malware samples. Also, the pro- scans for known Microsoft prod-
gram puts the user in charge of too uct vulnerabilities. If a machine is
many decisions that require missing an important security
advanced know-how. To schedule a patch, for example, the applica-
scan, for example, you have to wade tion guides the user to Microsoft’s
through a “test manager” and fig- Windows Update site to down-
ure out what the differences are be- load and apply the appropriate
tween a complete test, a detailed updates and patches.
test, a detailed user test, and a sim- Trend Micro’s AntiVirus scans
ple user test. Grisoft intends to e-mail traffic over the POP3 and
revamp the interface, but we found SMTP protocols, but unlike practi-
this one hard to manage. cally every other program we test-
Grisoft’s AVG integrates nicely with ed (except for Grisoft’s AVG), it does not scan HTML
Eudora and Microsoft Outlook to quaran- traffic. Also, it stands alone in being unable to launch
tine suspect e-mail messages, and it scans a manual file scan when you right-click within Win-
all programs’ e-mail traffic over POP3 and dows Explorer, a weakness in the Vista version that
SMTP protocols. However, it was only one the company says it will remedy in future updates.
of two programs (Trend Micro being the And finally, the application’s antispyware protection
other) that don’t scan Web traffic, and it doesn’t has an annoying habit of labeling tracking cookies as
directly support any specific IM clients either. The dangerous spyware.
50 PLUS
BY P R ESTO N G RA L L A
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANIL T
CONTENT PAGE
FREE ST UFF
Microsoft Windows Defender: Though not SpeedFan: This must-have for serious over-
FILE SHARING
everyone is a fan of Microsoft’s antispy- clockers touts itself as a monitor for your AllPeers: Need to share files? AllPeers,
ware program, we love some of its system’s temperature and fan speed. The which works from within Firefox (an
tools. We’re particularly fond of the real reason it’s worthwhile is that it lets you Internet Explorer version is planned, but
Software Explorer feature, which lets easily overclock your PC and adjust the fan not yet available), lets you set up folders
you disable programs that launch on speed so it doesn’t overheat. for file sharing. You can specify who has
Windows startup. M2 Information: This program performs a access to those files, and you can send
Spybot Search and Destroy: We still adore quick scan of your computer and lists details messages to those people to alert them
this perennial favorite. But remember — such as the processor type and speed, the when files are ready. In addition, you can
since no single antispyware program can amount of RAM, and disk information. share Web pages or images from Web
detect and kill all spyware, Spybot should pages, and you can view any media files
be just one piece of your security arsenal. you receive from other people right inside
Firefox. It’s the easiest way to share files
REGISTRY CLEANERS of any kind with anyone.
TweakNow RegCleaner Standard: The reg- Pando: This peer-to-peer software lets you
istry is a scary place and TweakNow Reg- easily send and receive large files through
Cleaner Standard is your virtual Virgil, a e-mail or instant messaging clients. The
guide into the depths of the registry. It utility is particularly helpful because
automatically scans your registry and most ISPs have size limitations for send-
reveals problems. After you examine the ing or receiving e-mail file attachments.
changes and tell the software to do its uTorrent: uTorrent is a standalone app
magic, it cleans the registry for you. and is extremely small in size. But that
Clean My Registry:This Registry cleaner does not compromise on features.
will not show you quite as much informa-
INTERNET UTILITIES Skype: Phone other Skype members for
tion as TweakNow does, but it is fast and it free, enjoy video calls, and make cheap
does a good job of sweeping away the junk. E-MAIL CLIENTS international calls.
Thunderbird : This e-mail client has a Yahoo Messenger: One of the earlier IM
SYSTEM INFORMATION nice, simple interface, spam filtering, services, this software has gotten more
Belarc Advisor: If you’re looking for an antiphishing features, RSS news-feed
exquisitely detailed audit of your hard- functions, quick search, and a spelling
ware, this is the download you need. The checker. It’s from the folks who brought
program starts with the basics, such as you the Firefox Web browser.
the computer manufacturer, installed Eudora: Sure, this freebie e-mail favorite
RAM, hard-disk size, and processor type has been around for quite some time. But
and speed. But it also shows you the there’s a good reason for that: Eudora
motherboard maker, hard-disk manufac- includes features like Mood Watch (which
turer, chassis serial number, PC service rates messages on a mood meter) that no
tag, bus type and speed, multimedia other tool has. People who suffer from e-
devices...the list goes on. mail overload (and that’s everyone, isn’t
it?) will treasure the
program’s unique
folders-based ALLPEERS LETS YOU share pictures, music,
approach to message and videos within Firefox.
organization.
Spamato : Tired of attractive with group videoconferencing,
wading through the emoticons, and sounds.
spam clogging your Trillian: Like Meebo, Trillian lets you log
inbox? This add-on for into multiple instant messaging systems
Outlook, Thunderbird, simultaneously. The difference is that it’s
and Mozilla Mail does a download, not a Web site.
WITH BELARC YOU can quickly take an inventory of your PC’s everything it can to Windows GAIM:This Windows version of the
installed hardware and software. eradicate the junk. open-source client lets you log into and
Irfanview: Yes, we know this one has been cial skins and dozens of color schemes
around a while. But it’s still one of the best keep it looking good.
free image viewers for just about any file iTunes: Amonst other things, iTunes offers
type, showing detailed information about MP3 and pristine-quality AAC-encoding
images, helping you create slide shows, and from audio CDs, smart playlists, burning
performing tasks like eliminating red-eye. custom playlists to CDs and MP3 CDs and
StudioLine Photo Basic: Here’s a great of couse, transfer music to your iPod.
program for archiving photos and for Audacity: If you want to create media, not
organizing your collection. just consume it, try this program, which
Microsoft Photo Info: This useful freebie, includes audio recording tools and sophisti-
which integrates directly into Windows cated editing functions. You can even create
Explorer, lets you preview an image and audio soundscapes from scratch. You can
MULTIMEDIA embed metadata into it by right-clicking it. add any of several dozen effects, use a sound
APPLICATIONS FastStone MaxView: This petite (1.3MB) mixer...in short, the app has everything you
image editor is
VIDEO small enough to
VLC Media Player: If you play a lot of video store on an old
and use Windows Media Player, you’ve prob- floppy disk! Don’t
ably come across a number of files that you let its size fool you,
can’t play — you’re told you need to have a though: FastStone
codec to handle them. Good luck finding that MaxView sports
codec. Instead, try the VLC media player. This lots of photo
software plays pretty much every media type manipulation
you can think of — and likely a few you tools, such as those
haven’t imagined. Not only will it play audio for rotating, flip-
and video formats, but it will also play DVDs, ping, resizing,
VCDs, and many streaming protocols. and blurring.
iTunes Foobar2000 : This straightfor- GIMP — GNU Image
ward audio player won’t take up much Manipulation Pro-
RAM or system resources, and plays a gram: This program
AUDACITY AUDIO EDITOR lets you record, play, convert, and edit
wide variety of audio formats. is a favorite of open-
various audio files.
source software fans
IMAGE everywhere. No, it isn’t the easiest to use, need. While you don’t have to be well-versed
Google Picasa Snapfire: Snapfire juggles but it’s nearly as powerful as Photoshop. in sound editing to use it, people with some
all your image editing, management, and Paint.Net: This surprisingly powerful experience will particularly enjoy its power.
sharing tasks with ease. image editing and manipulation pro- Free iPod Video Converter: This tool does
gram includes unlim- precisely what its name says: It converts
ited undos and spe- videos from a variety of formats so that you
cial effects, and even can watch them on your iPod’s screen.
provides the ability to PSP Video 9: Sony’s PlayStation Portable
work in layers. handheld makes a terrific video player.
The PSP Video 9 program converts PC
AUDIO video files (.avi, .mpg, DivX, etc.) into the
AOL Nullsoft PSP video format for playback.
Winamp : There are DVD Shrink: If you have ever attempted to
lots of MP3 players make a backup copy of a DVD movie to a
available, but this DVD-R, you’ve probably discovered that
popular program is you can’t do it because DVD movie discs
one of the best belov- are dual-layer and have more data than can
ed. Winamp saves fit on a recordable disc. DVD Shrink solves
playlits and equalizer the problem by compressing the DVD data,
GOOGLE PICASA MAKES organizing and editing photos easier. settings, and the spe- letting you make the copy fit on a DVD.
EASY
FIXES FOR YOUR
Network Problems BY BECKY WARING
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MM SHANITH
BREAKTHROUGH FIREWALLS
SECURITY
vista’s firewall is smart enough to
permit sharing within a workgroup. But
if that’s a problem with XP’s firewall, try Add a Second Network for Safety
a free third-party utility. ZoneAlarm’s IF YOUR KIDS open lots of ports on your router for games and video chats, or if you
Trusted Zone feature lets workgroup want to run a home Web server or public Wi-Fi network, consider setting up a sec-
computers communicate. ond router to isolate these risky activities from the rest of your network. In a nut-
Or sidestep XP’s file and printer shar- shell, you plug one router into the other, and assign each a different starting IP
ing complexities altogether by adopting a address (such as 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.2.1). Then you attach your servers—or the
program such as Network Magic . Like at-risk PCs—to the router that’s directly connected to your broadband modem, and
Windows Vista, Network Magic puts all all your other computers to the second router. Internet traffic to and from the
sharing and networking functions in one unsafe area will not reach your secure subnetwork at all.
place, and it simplifies sharing folders
and printers. A special mode even pro- Router directly Router indirectly
connected to connected to
tects shared folders when your laptop is Internet Internet
connected at a Wi-Fi hotspot, a major Internet Protected
(WAN) networked
security concern. A free version of Net- devices
work Magic provides Internet connection
repair and wireless network protection,
Devices with open ports
but only the paid version supports printer
and file sharing as well.
firewall is bidirectional, too, but you panies often run their own VPN servers
have to configure outgoing filtering for employees; or you can sign up for a
yourself in a screen that you reach by VPN service such as WiTopia Per-
typing wf.msc at a command prompt. sonalVPN or JiWire
Vista also comes with Windows Hotspot Helper.
Defender antispyware, but not anti- Next, in your Wi-
virus software. Fi settings, turn off
Keep things simple by using the ad hoc (computer-
same utilities on all your PCs (look to-computer) net-
for economical “family packs”). Then working and pre-
install them while signed in on an vent automatic
administrator account, or — if appro- connections to
priate — work with the parental con- non-preferred networks. In XP, you
trols found in many packages (and in can change both of these settings by
Windows Vista). Keep your password clicking the Wi-Fi icon in the system
secret: Remember, your network is tray and selecting Change advanced
only as secure as its weakest link. settings. Under the Wireless Net-
YOUR ODDS OF picking up malware decrease if you works tab, click Advanced, followed
COVER THE AIRWAVES deny automatic connections to unknown networks. by Access point (infrastructure) net-
firewalls and security suites are works only. Also, uncheck Automati-
futile against packet sniffers that capture (Media Access Control, a unique hard- cally Connect to Non-Preferred Networks.
wireless traffic on a given frequency. Use ware identifier) address filtering nor In Windows Vista, turn off the Vista
the strongest encryption standard your turning off SSID (service set identifier Network Discovery feature (which allows
Wi-Fi equipment supports: From stron- — basically your Wi-Fi network’s name) other computers to see you on a network)
gest to weakest, the options are WPA2, broadcasting is an effective security when you’re at hotspots. Vista will switch
WPA, and WEP. measure. Both are easier to bypass than it off automatically if you designate a con-
Intruders armed with readily available WEP, and they can create connection and nection as ‘Public’, but alternatively you
software can break into WEP in minutes, administration hassles. can disable it manually in the ‘View Net-
rendering it virtually worthless except as MAC address filtering, for example, work Status and Tasks’ control panel.
a method to prevent bandwidth hogging requires you to enter a device’s MAC
by your neighbors. We recommend that address into your router’s firmware to
you invest in new adapters if necessary to authorize it to connect to your network. Speed up transfers
ensure that you can make the switch to But anyone listening in can spoof your if your Wi-Fi downloads take forever,
WPA. To provide both your old and your authorized MAC addresses on their network backups bog you down, or your
new adapters with maximum security, own equipment. Similarly, sniffers can Slingbox won’t sling, give these tips a try.
choose a router that offers a simultane- detect even nonbroadcast SSIDs, so
ous WPA+WPA2 mode. turning off broadcasting only makes it
Regardless of anything you may have harder for legitimate users to connect USE WIRES WHENEVER
heard to the contrary, neither using MAC to your network. POSSIBLE
a wired network (ideally one based on
SAFE TRAVELS wired ethernet) is inherently more reliable
op e n hot sp ot s and usually much faster than the open air-
THE D-LINK DWA 142 USB
are notorious sourc- waves. There’s generally no reason for you
router gives an easy
es of infection. For to locate a network storage drive at a dis-
solution to creat wireless
true security on pub- tance from your router, so instead plug it in
network at home.
lic networks, use a to an available ethernet port. The same goes
virtual private net- for a network printer.
work to encrypt all
I n t e r n e t t r a f fi c GET GIGABIT
between your com- most recent PCs have built-in gigabit
puter and an inter- ethernet, which means that they can
mediate server. Com- transfer data at a whopping 1000 Mbps
— but only if your router also possesses a 2.4-GHz band that LINKSYS’S
gigabit switch. For network backups, the 802.11b, g, and WIRELESS-N Gigabit
extra throughput can mean the difference most new n gear Gaming Router
between an all-night operation, and one operates within prioritizes time-
that completes itself in a fairly short has only three sensitive multimedia
amount of time. nonoverlapping and VoIP data.
channels, net-
BUY MATCHING WI-FI GEAR works neighbor-
to achieve the top speeds promised ing yours are likely
by the latest Wi-Fi standard, draft-802.11n, to degrade your
every wireless device on your network throughput. In
must have a draft-n adapter. Be sure to fact, the latest
update the firmware on any draft-802.11n 802.11n draft
devices regularly, as vendors are now effectively man-
bringing the first products into compli- dates a 50 percent
ance with the second draft of the standard, reduction in per-
and this should help with interoperability. formance when your network is in the video, HomePlug AV was the least
presence of other active Wi-Fi networks. susceptible to interference from other
CHANGE THE CHANNEL To minimize interference, install and electrical devices.
the biggest obstacle to good Wi-Fi run a utility such as the free NetStumbler Products such as Linksys’s Power-
reception is no longer distance (since to determine the signal strength and Line AV Ethernet Kit, move data over
most MIMO and draft-n routers provide channel of each available network; then your home’s electrical wiring. Adapters
whole-house coverage), but interference set your router to the channel that is far- plug into standard wall outlets; to set
resulting from nearby networks: In any thest from those of the strongest nearby up the network, begin by connecting
urban area, you’ll probably see a long list networks. (A router’s automatic channel one adapter to an available ethernet
of available networks. And because the selection feature does this for you). port on your router. Then add other
In addition, you might consider get- devices by running cables from their
B AC K U P ting a dual-band draft-n router, such as ethernet ports to other plugged-in
the Buffalo Nfiniti Dual Band Router, adapters. You will not have to worry
which supports draft-n traffic on both about overloading your wireless net-
Multiplatform 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands. This lets you w o r k w i t h h i g h - d e fi n i t i o n v i d e o
Network Backups keep older 802.11b/g devices on the rela- streams, and performance will be far
tively crowded 2.4-GHz band, while more reliable than on a wireless net-
IF YOU HAVE several PCs run-
using the uncluttered 5-GHz band work, especially in a large home.
ning different operating
(consisting of some 20 non-over-
systems that you plan UPGRADE YOUR WI-FI
lapping channels) for your high-
to back up on one net-
bandwidth apps such as video if you still want to use wireless for
work drive, you may
streaming, as new 5-GHz draft-n streaming media, make sure that you get
run into a problem with
products arrive. draft-802.11n gear: Not only is it fast, but it
file names that work
has so-called quality-of-service (QoS) tech-
fine on one system but are
nology that prioritizes media streams, VoIP
illegal on another. If you trun- Get media-ready phone calls, online game play, and other
cate or change the names when you
when it comes to smooth video play- particularly time-sensitive applications.
back up the files, the backups won’t
back and voice-over-IP phone calls, speed And don’t forget to upgrade your firmware
be useful. So instead of using USB-
alone isn’t always enough. to Draft 2.0 of the standard; practically all of
attached storage devices, which usu-
the biggest Wi-Fi vendors are expected to be
ally can be formatted only as Win- TRY POWERLINE posting free firmware upgrades to Draft 2.0
dows drives, purchase a NAS drive
if you can’t install ethernet, consider by the time you see this.
that offers specific support for each
adopting powerline (rather than Wi-Fi)
platform you use; afterward you can INVEST IN A GAMING ROUTER
gear. Several powerline technologies
designate shares as appropriate (for
support near-ethernet speeds; in our does World of Warcraft rule your
instance, Windows or Mac).
tests with streaming high-definition house? For advanced gaming, a spe-
cialized router helps deliver maximum USB drives designed to attach either
performance for both Internet and local directly to the USB storage port included
multiplayer game play; this is especially on some routers or via an ethernet adapt-
important if several users access the net- er such as D-Link’s Express EtherNet-
work in your household simultaneously. work DNS-120 Network Storage Adapter
Gaming routers have QoS prioritization, ; and network-attached storage (NAS)
are tuned to reduce network latency, and drives that have built-in ethernet.
usually have faster processors, all of which If you go with a USB drive, you can
increase the responsiveness of PCs on the usually detach it from your router and
network. Linksys’s Wireless-N Gigabit plug it into a PC (say, at another loca-
Gaming Router supports draft-802.11n tion) if you like. USB drives tend to be
Wi-Fi, gigabit ethernet, and game tuning. easier to set up, and you may use an old
USB hard drive you already have as your
storage device. THE MAC OPERATING system carries all the
Make better backups True network drives, in contrast, have software it needs to join a Windows network
too often, people plan to use a net- their own processor and OS, and can be and use a network-connected printer.
work drive for regular hard disk back- attached only to your network. They gen-
ups, but never actually do so. Maybe the erally have many more features, and they Cobian Backup (free) can perform full
network share isn’t mounted (visible to normally allow setup of private user or incremental backups with or with-
your backup program) when backup accounts (“shares”) as well as public areas out compression, and can encrypt your
time rolls around (add it to My Network of universal access. The models topping data for better security on shared net-
Places to avoid this situation). Or the our Network-Attached Storage Devices work drives.
system to be backed up is turned off, chart are the Infrant ReadyNAS NV and
asleep, or on the road. Or the backup is the Maxtor Shared Storage II . KEEP YOUR PC AWAKE
interrupted. Here’s how to increase For best security and performance, use a the need to ensure that your PC is up
your odds of success. NAS drive that has gigabit ethernet (buy a and running at backup time may seem
gigabit router if you don’t have one) and obvious, but offline computers are the
CHOOSE NETWORK DRIVES RAID 1 or 5 redundancy. Don’t risk losing a most common cause of failed backups.
CAREFULLY 500GB music collection stored on a NAS Don’t turn off your computer at night
shared network stor age drives drive without any backup; the best way to — just let it hibernate. And make sure
come in two basic types: regular external maintain a copy of your NAS drive is to mir- that your backup software can wake up
ror it using a RAID array. your computer. If it can’t, use XP’s
Whichever type of drive you Scheduled Tasks wizard (under Pro-
choose, make sure that it’s grams, Accessories, System Tools) to
large enough to accommodate wake it up at backup time; for more on
future growth. Backups often how to set this up, see “ Schedule Your
fail because the backup drive System to Start Automatically .”
is full. We recommend setting
aside 1.5 to 2 times the storage
capacity of your current net- Add a Mac
work for your backup drive; okay, you’ve networked your Win-
double that if you intend to dows PCs. But now a new Mac is in the
mirror your network drive. family. How will it fit in? Will it work
with your printer? Will you be able to
PERFORM NCREMENTAL share files with it the way you can with
BACKUPS your PCs?
by copying only files that In most cases the Mac OS X operating
have changed since the most system provides everything you need to
recent previous backup, you’ll connect your Mac to your Windows net-
THE BUFFALO LINKSTATION PRO LS 250GL isn’t scary to set vastly reduce the load on your work and share files and printers. You
up, and is much cheaper and reliable network storage option. network, and the length of can plug your new Mac into your wired
time it takes to do a backup. network or access your wireless router,
SECURITY
just as you would with a new PC, by
selecting your SSID from a list of availa-
ble Wi-Fi nets and then entering your SECURITY CHECKLIST
wireless encryption key. All recent Macs
USE A HARDWARE router, even if you have only one computer. Change your rout-
support WEP, WPA, and WPA2.
er’s default password to ensure that intruders can’t fiddle with your settings. Use
In order to share files and printers,
a bidirectional personal firewall, such as ZoneAlarm. Turn on automatic updates to
the Mac cleverly assumes the guise of a
keep your Windows OS secure. Use both antivirus and antispyware utilities, and
PC. It does so by implementing the
make sure that you keep them up-to-date. Configure file sharing carefully if you’re
SMB/CIFS Windows file-sharing
sure you need it — and if you don’t need it, turn it off. Use the
s t a n d a r d a n d u s i n g Wi n d o w s
strongest Wi-Fi encryption scheme that all of your wireless
workgroup naming. The default
equipment supports. Turn off ad-hoc Wi-Fi networking
workgroup name for any Mac is
and automatic connections to networks you’re unfamil-
Workgroup; however, you can change
iar with. Install a second router to isolate at-risk PCs on
this name to MSHOME, for example,
your network (for details, see “Add a Second Network
by running the Mac’s Directory Access
for Safety”). Use a VPN when traveling, to avoid picking
utility, which also supports the
up a virus that could otherwise spread to other PCs on
Windows Active Directory (used by
your network when you get home.
corporate servers).
Next, turn on ‘Windows Sharing’ in the
Mac’s Sharing Preference Pane and ena- It’s required reading for the network
ble each of the user accounts that you’d Online resources administrator in your home.
like to be able to share. The new Mac are you looking for help with a net-
should appear as a member of your work- working problem? Chances are you’ll find SECURITYNOW
group when you browse your network. the advice or instructions you need at one great network security resource,
After selecting it and entering your user of these sites. with transcripts of Steve Gibson’s and Leo
name and password, you’ll be able to Laporte’s weekly SecurityNow podcasts,
navigate the Mac drive and copy or upload PRACTICALLY NETWORKED which translate complex security issues
files by dragging and dropping. This the leading home and small-busi- into plain language for a broad spectrum
works in both XP and Vista. ness networking site, with tips and tutori- of visitors.
Similarly, you can print from your als on everything from setting up file
Mac to shared Windows printers via sharing to using dynamic DNS services. SHIELDS UP
SMB, though the setup process is not The troubleshooting guides are invalu- also from Steve Gibson, a very popu-
obvious. In the Mac’s Printer Setup able, and an active peer-help forum is lar free Internet security test site. Go here
Utility, click Add. If your Windows another great resource. to find out about holes (such as open
printer does not show up in the result- ports) in your network that potential hack-
ing list of available printers, choose the WI-FI PLANET ers could exploit, as well as useful tips on
More Printers button, which brings up the place to go for truly deep wireless how to close them.
the Printer Browser. tutorials and testing. Don’t miss the site’s
Now select Windows Printing and articles discussing SSID spoofing and the PORT FORWARD
Network Neighborhood from the drop- use of VPNs at public hotspots . Has an ne ed h e l p r e m ov ing roadblocks
down menus. Your local workgroup will active discussion area, too. obstructing desirable traffic to and from
appear in the window; when you select your network? At this site you can exam-
it, you’ll see a list of shared printers to CERT HOME NETWORK ine a comprehensive list of ports used by
choose from. Thereafter, the Windows SECURITY Internet games, streaming video, and
printer will appear in the Mac’s Print a c om p r e h e nsi v e a nd unbiased other applications, with port-forwarding
dialog box. guide to home network security, main- setup guides for most popular routers.
If all of this sounds like too much of a tained by the Carnegie Mellon-based
hassle, consider buying Pure Networks’ Computer Emergency Response Team, a MACWINDOWS
Network Magic for Mac. A preview version federally funded Internet security your best resource for cross-platform
is available for download. It promises to research and development center. The problem solving, including details on
do for the Macs on your network what its guide also serves as a fantastic primer how to connect Macs to Windows servers
Windows counterpart does for PCs. on networking terms and technology. and vice versa.
Easy On
The Eyes
OUR GUIDE WILL HELP YOU PICK THE RIGHT LCD MONITOR FOR YOUR NEEDS.
everyone needs a good moni- 600 pixels, you’re hobbling lutions. Some professional- high-end LCDs, which
tor to get the most out of a PC. your productivity. level monitors include asset approach the color quality of
But which monitor you need Most monitor manufactur- control—to help IS managers CRTs yet consume half as
depends on several factors— ers offer entry-level LCD mod- keep track of their company’s much power or less. The
what applications you use, els that combine very low property via a LAN—and hard- development of color-calibrat-
how much room you have on prices with pared-down fea- ware calibration, which adjusts ing hardware and software
your desk, how much space tures. These monitors work the monitor and/or graphics specifically designed for LCDs
you need on a virtual desktop, well enough for Web surfing, card to ensure precise hues. has helped persuade many
and of course how much you e-mail, and other office (Third-party calibration pack- professionals to make the
want to spend. From standard- tasks—as long as they provide ages are also available.) switch to flat panels. Promises
issue 19-inchers to 24-inch adequate resolution and CRT vs. LCD of improvements in black level
monsters, here’s how to sort screen adjustment controls for historically, graphics pro- (perfect black—which is tradi-
out what you need. brightness, color, and other fessionals have preferred tionally somewhat soft or
settings. Midrange and profes- CRT monitors because they grayed in LCDs) and a wider
THE BIG PICTURE sional lines often provide bet- support a greater range of res- color gamut should make this
if you’ve replaced an old ter image quality and exten- olutions (including very high transition still easier in the
PC in the last few years, you sive features, such as superior resolutions) and show truer near future. Another bonus:
PHOTOGRAPH: SHRIVATSA SHANDILYA
may have kept your old moni- image-adjusting controls, colors and greater nuance in The greater brightness of
tor to use with the new USB ports (make sure you get color. However, manufactur- LCDs also frees graphics pros
machine. That’s okay if it’s in a monitor with USB 2.0 ers ceased making the aper- from the confines of their
good shape—most monitors ports—some models with ture-grille models—generally darkened studios.
have a life span of about five USB 1.1 hubs are still on the agreed to be the top-perform- People who work mostly
years—but if it’s a worn-out market), a larger set of ergo- ing type of CRT for photos and with text have always gravitated
15-inch CRT that produces nomic options (such as height general graphics work—in toward LCDs because pixels
barely legible text at 800 by adjustment), and higher reso- 2005. Many pros now use on an LCD have well-defined
edges, resulting in sharply users and companies are display will use only a por-
focused letters. Some gamers going for the slim form tion of the pixels it con-
still prefer CRTs because and low power usage of tains and will scale up the
LCDs redraw their screens the LCD. So from this resulting image to fill the
more slowly, which can point on, this guide will screen. Keep in mind that
produce blurring and motion discuss LCDs only. you can never exceed the
artifacts in moving images. Key Features native resolution of an
However, response time—the Native resolution: LCD monitor. So, for
spec that governs image Because an LCD uses a THE OSD (on screen display) for LCD monitors example, you will not be
motion in LCDs—continues matrix of pixels to dis- is similar to CRT monitors, allowing you to able to display 1600-by-
to drop, minimizing the ill play its image, it has a adjust image quality. 1200 resolution on an
effects. Modern LCDs can fixed (or native) resolu- LCD with a native resolu-
refresh quickly enough to tion at which the display looks 1200, and 30-inch wide- tion of 1280 by 1024.
make them game-worthy for best. A 15-inch LCD has a screens have a resolution of Though scaling technolo-
most users. native resolution of 1024 by 2560 by 1600. If you are using gies have improved in recent
Budget restrictions may still 768, while most 17-, 18-, or 19- Windows XP or earlier and set years, you’re still likely to be
drive some buyers to CRTs, inch models use a 1280 by the monitor to a lower-than- disappointed with their
which usually cost less than 1024 native resolution. Wide- native resolution—to upsize results. On Windows XP and
LCDs that have a comparably screen 23- and 24-inch wide- very small text, for instance— earlier, text most readily shows
sized viewable screen area. As screen models usually have a the image will almost certainly pronounced jaggedness at
LCD prices fall, though, more native resolution of 1920 by be less defined, because the nonnative resolutions. Win-
dows Vista may reduce this
S P E C TA B L E effect with its vector graphics,
but it’s still advisable to use a
AS WITH MOST PC peripherals, monitors introduce you to a ton of unfamiliar specs. While price
monitor at its native resolu-
or specifications alone shouldn’t determine what you buy—what you’ll use it for is important as
tion. So a particular LCD is a
well, and image quality is the most important thing to most users—here are some things to look
good choice if its native reso-
for to narrow your search
lution is one you are comfort-
able using for all applications.
FEATURE Low end Recommended High End
In the PC World Test Center,
1280 by 1024 1280 by 1024 to 1680 by 1050 1680 by 1050 to 1920 by 1200
all monitors are tested at
An important consideration. Images look best when displayed at an LCD’s native resolution. You can go native resolution.
Native resolution lower (and in some cases higher), but the image will appear blurry. Some models are better than others at
handling non-native resolutions. If you need to change your monitor resolution frequently, you’re probably Aspect ratio: Most LCDs have a
better off with a CRT monitor. screen aspect ratio of about 3:4,
17 inches 17 to 20 inches 20 to 24 inches much like a regular-format TV.
Panel size However, wide-screen moni-
An important consideration. Unlike CRT tube size, LCD panel size indicates viewable size as well. As with CRTs, the
measurement is made diagonally from one corner of the screen to the opposite corner. tors have an aspect ratio closer
to the 16:9 aspect ratio of
300:1 to 400:1 400:1 to 500:1 500:1 to 1000:1
Contrast ratio HDTVs. The wide-screen for-
Somewhat important. Contrast ratio can help you determine how rich the color will be in on-screen images. A
higher ratio is better, but vendor specifications are not always accurate. mat becomes useful for work-
120/100 to 140/120 degrees 140/120 to 170/170 degrees 160/160 to 170/170 degrees ing in large spreadsheets or in
Somewhat important. Indicates how far you can move to the side of (or above and below) the center of the screen programs that contain many
Viewing angle (horizon-
tal/vertical) and still see what’s displayed. This is important when you use the LCD to make presentations, or when you work toolbars or palettes. It’s great
with another person. Vendors use different methods to measure viewing angles, so make the final judgment
yourself by visual comparison. for watching DVDs as well,
although the image quality
12ms rise-and-fall 12ms to 8ms rise-and-fall 6ms or lower rise-and-fall
may not be as good as on a TV.
A minor consideration. Indicates the time required for a pixel to change from black to white (rise) and back to Many users see a wide-screen
Response time black (fall). A low figure in milliseconds should indicate a screen that will not display motion artifacts in moving
images during games or video. Gray-to-gray response time does not have a standard definition, and is a less monitor as an upgrade from
reliable indicator. smaller dual monitors. A dual-
250 to 300 cd/m 2 300 to 350 cd/m 2 350 to 500 cd/m 2 monitor setup is usually the
Brightness
Somewhat important. All LCDs generally provide more than enough brightness. less expensive proposition.
Tilt only Tilt and height Tilt, height, pivot, swivel One important thing to keep in
Physical adjustments An important consideration. Height adjustment lets you adjust your monitor to a comfortable physical level. Swivel mind: The screen size is mea-
is useful for sharing your work, and pivot is handy for viewing applications that are taller than they are wide.
sured diagonally, and the area
of a wide-screen monitor’s viewing angle. As a result, the look different if you adjust
display is smaller than that of numbers may not be compara- your chair or your posture. It
a regular-format display of the ble from one vendor to another, also makes it difficult to share
same size. In other words, a but they can indicate relative your work with someone who
21-inch wide-screen monitor performance among models sits next to you (although a
shows about as many pixels from the same company. physical swivel adjustment can
as you’d expect from a regu- The best way to judge view- help with this). A few years
lar-format 19-inch monitor. In ing angle is to see the monitor ago, TN panels appeared to be
the days of CRT monitors, for yourself, but you can elim- on their way out, but recent
vendors would state a tube inate some models from con- interest in TN’s fast pixel-
size, say 21-inch, but the diag- sideration if their vendor- response times has brought
onal of the viewable screen reported viewing angles are more new models to the mar-
would be from one to two below a certain value. The ket. Other panel types, such as
inches less. With LCDs, the larger the monitor, the more in-plane switching, multi-
stated diagonal is always the important a wide viewing domain vertical alignment,
true measurement from the angle is. On monitors measur- and patterned vertical align-
viewable screen. ing 17 inches or more, the ment, have wider angles of
Viewing angle: Measured in edge of the screen is at a great- view than TN panels can offer. WHILE BUILT-IN SPEAKERS save
degrees, an LCD’s viewing er angle to someone sitting Contrast ratio: This term space, the sound quality may suffer.
angle indicates how far you can directly in front of its center, refers to the difference in light
move to the side (or above, or and people are more likely to intensity between the bright- ers. High brightness can be
below) from the center of the be able to share the monitor est white and the darkest eye-catching for video and
display before the image quality when working or giving a black that an LCD can pro- graphics, but it can be uncom-
deteriorates to unacceptable group presentation. A viewing duce. Look for a contrast ratio fortable over time, particularly
levels. No matter what size angle of at least 150 degrees is of 400:1 or better—with any- for text viewing—and it may
monitor you use, a wide view- advisable for these monitors. thing lower, colors may wash cause certain photographic
ing angle becomes increasingly The choice of panel technol- out when you turn up the nuances to wash out. After
important the more you care ogy affects the viewable angle. brightness and may disappear using the monitor for a while,
about getting accurate, consis- Some LCDs use twisted nem- when you turn it down. How- you will likely want to turn the
tent colors for design work or atic panels, which have small ever, higher is only better up brightness down a bit to spare
for tweaking digital photos. viewing angles. On a TN to a point. Contrast ratios over your eyes. Many monitors
Each vendor determines its screen, brightness drops and 600:1 are unlikely to provide offer screen modes that change
own criteria for this, as no colors change as you move to any advantage, and monitor the brightness (and sometimes
industry-standard method has the side or up and down. This vendors are likely using color and other characteristics)
been established for measuring can mean that your work will “fuzzy math” to calculate to make certain types of con-
those values, anyway. tent look best.
Brightness: Expressed as can- Digital versus analog: If you
delas per square meter (cd/ have a graphics card with digi-
m2) or nits, this specification tal video-out—and if your
measures the greatest amount computer is less than two
of light that comes from a years old, you probably do—
screen displaying pure white. choose an LCD that has DVI
Nearly all LCDs have a bright- digital input. The image won’t
ness level of 250cd/m2 or have to convert from analog
greater, which should be more to digital and back again, so it
than sufficient. (In compari- will be clearer. Even if you
son, CRT monitors typically don’t have a DVI port on your
average about 100 cd/m2— system, choosing a digital
though you might see some LCD makes sense, because
high-brightness CRTs.) Ven- your next desktop PC proba-
dors usually set the brightness bly will have a DVI port—and
level to maximum on new most digital-capable monitors
SOME MONITORS LET you tuck away cables out of sight. monitors to impress custom- also have a VGA (analog) con-
nection. Digital inputs tend to slots; DVD aficionados may it from a comfortable dis- IN BRIEF
be found on more-expensive want to keep their eyes peeled tance. Just as you would with
LCDs. Very few notebook PCs for monitors with component a television, you want to sit at 4 CHECK POINTS
come with digital outputs for and/or composite inputs. a distance of about two times
external monitors. However, Response time: Pixel response the diagonal measurement SIZE
some notebooks can gain a time governs the time (mea- from the screen. A 17-inch monitor is ade-
DVI connection when they sured in milliseconds) Physical adjustments: Almost quate for most users. Look
attach to a docking station or required for a pixel to change. all monitors come with tilt for a widescreen.
port replicator. (Note that In theory, a low response time adjustment. If you spend a
there are two types of DVI signifies an LCD with mini- great deal of time in front of INPUTS
connections found on typical mal motion artifacts in mov- your monitor, you may want While analog inputs are
LCD monitors: DVI-D and ing images. This spec is espe- to find one that lets you adjust common, DVI is better.
DVI-I. DVI-D is a digital-only cially important to video the height of the screen as
port; DVD-I can accept either watchers and gamers. well. You may find that it’s ADJUSTMENT
an analog or a digital input. There are two main types of worth a few extra money to Check if the monitor has
You’ll need a special connec- LCD response time. Rise-and- get a monitor that will keep tilt, swivel and height
tor to hook up to your PC’s fall response time measures the the screen at a comfortable adjustments. Some can also
VGA analog port, however.) time it takes a pixel to turn from height instead of making be pivoted.
DVI-I obviously provides black to white (rise) and back to your neck do all the work. A
greater flexibility. black (fall). Gray-to-gray monitor with side-to-side RESPONSE TIME
Special inputs: As users do response time measures the swivel adjustment makes it Models with a response time
more video and photo editing at time it takes for a pixel to change easier to show your screen to of more than 12ms will
their PCs—and as more watch from one shade of gray to a nearby customer or cowork- exhibit ghosting with motion
DVDs on them—more moni- another. Each type has its uses. er. Finally, if you need to see video. Lower is better.
tors offer inputs we used to see Rise-and-fall response time view anything that’s longer
only on TVs or peripherals. has been clearly defined and than it is tall—a full-page played at an LCD’s native
Photographers and videogra- has been the industry standard document, a long Web page, resolution. You can go lower
phers may be interested in S- for years. As of yet, no such or a screen full of e-mail— (and in some cases higher),
Video ports and memory card definition for gray-to-gray you could get a lot of use out but the image may appear
response time exists. In theory, of a screen pivot function. blurry. The vector graphics of
gray-to-gray response time Just bear in mind that not Windows Vista may lessen
MODELS WITH TILT
could be a useful spec, since it every monitor with a pivoting this, but native resolution will
and swivel capabilities
can measure the time required screen includes image pivot- always look sharpest. Some
allow you to adjust the
to switch between shades (as ing software; you’ll need that models are better than others
monitor to suit
opposed to black and white). to make your screen adjust to at handling non-native reso-
your needs.
This should make it useful for portrait mode. lutions. (Remember that with
indicating how an LCD will LCDs the native resolution is
look showing the subtle shades THE SPECS EXPLAINED the maximum resolution you
of movies and games. However, as with most PC peripherals, can display.)
the lack of an agreed-upon defi- monitors introduce you to a Important: Panel size. Unlike
nition means vendors may use ton of unfamiliar specs. While CRT (which indicates both
different ways of determining price or specifications alone tube-size and viewable-screen
the spec. In short, response shouldn’t determine what you diagonals, LCD panel size
time specs are not always com- buy—what you’ll use it for is indicates viewable size as
parable from vendor to vendor. important as well, and image well. As with CRTs, the mea-
Size: Though it may seem quality is the most important surement is made diagonally
obvious, bear in mind the size thing to most users—here are from one corner of the screen
of your workspace when some things to look for to nar- to the opposite corner. Too
deciding on the type of moni- row your search. small a panel, and you’ll have
tor to buy. A huge monitor Flat-Panel LCD Displays: Fea- trouble cramming everything
may look appealing, but you tures and Specifications Guide you need to see on your
want to make sure your desk Important: Native resolution. screen; too large, and may
is deep enough to let you view Images look best when dis- have to crane your neck.
ments, images, videos, and other files. DEDICATED TO STORAGE ports, as well as other features that
A NAS device should be isolated in a the easiest way to add NAS to your make it an alternative to a dedicated
safe, cool, dry, out-of-the-way place to network is to buy a box designed for NAS box. The WRT350N sports a USB
make it less vulnerable to bumps, that task. I kicked the tires on two units: 2.0 port to which you can attach a nor-
spills, and other physical dangers. the Rs. 31,455 Maxtor Shared Storage II mal USB hard drive, effectively turning
(Plus, hiding your storage device keeps 1TB, and the Iomega StorCenter 500 the router itself into a NAS controller
attaching a backup device directly to the Once you’re in the BIOS, disable any
box, rather than having to go through unnecessary features: If you won’t be
your PC. Most people, however, will attaching a parallel printer, for instance,
store the backup of their NAS box on disable the parallel port. Other FIGURE 2: USE YOUR WIRELESS router as a
DVDs, or on a hard drive or tape drive candidates for deactivation are audio network storage device via its USB port, such
attached to their computer. devices, serial ports, secondary ATA as the one on the Linksys WRT350N.
drive, or the drive partition that holds reinstall it via your Windows
the operating system. Repartition the disc, but it’s a good idea to
drive to create a partition solely for the be cautious about removing
operating system; set the size at the Windows utilities.
minimum amount the OS requires, Adventurous and/or tech-
plus 1GB or so for a safety margin. n i c a l l y p r o fi c i e n t u s e r s
Since you won’t be installing many should consider a minimal
apps, this partition won’t need much Linux in stallation. Using
extra storage. Rule of thumb: 10GB is Linux to serve files to a
fine for Windows XP or Linux; 20GB Windows network ensures
will work for Windows Vista. Partition that your do-it-yourself NAS
the rest of your drive as you see fit for box won’t fall prey to a Win-
storing the actual shared data. dows-specific malware
After you’ve finished repartitioning attack. I like Xubuntu for
the drive, reinstall the operating system, its small footprint and
enabling as few options as possible. friendly installation.
FIGURE 3: ENTER YOUR ROUTER’S configuration program
Then remove the unnecessary apps and After you connect your
to set up your network storage device.
services running in the background that NAS box to your router with
you couldn’t opt out of during the instal- an ethernet cable, you’ll want to config- provide software utilities that walk you
lation, such as Windows Messenger. ure the unit via the HTML setup appli- through the setup process—or you can
This will save you some CPU cycles. If cation in its firmware, which opens in administer the unit directly. To do so,
you uninstall the wrong app, you can your PC’s browser. Most NAS boxes open your browser, type 192.168.0.1
into the address bar ( 192.168.1.1 for
some Linksys routers, and 192.168.2.1
GET YOUR PC-BASED NAS BOX READY TO SHARE for others), and press <Enter>. If you’re
IF YOU PLAN to convert a PC for your Windows 95 through 2000 as well; go to not sure of the IP address to use, open
NAS device, you must reconfigure it and http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ your router’s setup page and look in its
define an area to store files in. It will need details.aspx?FamilyID=80111f21-d48d- quick-start guide for the correct
a keyboard, a mouse, and a display, which 426e-96c2-08aa2bd23a49&DisplayLan address. Log in, locate your router’s
may not be practical to attach and use in g=en for the free download. DHCP table, and note the address of
a closet or other out-of-the-way location. If you installed your OS on a small par- your NAS box (it may be similar to
Windows XP’s Remote Desktop Connec- tition and created one or more other ‘192.168.0.120’; see FIGURE 3 ). The
tion lets you configure and administer partitions for data, XP lets you share entry name will likely give you a clue as
the machine remotely, so you can skip files by simply right-clicking a drive icon, to which device you’re looking for.
the peripherals—though the BIOS in some choosing Properties•Sharing, and check- (Hint: It’s the new device on the net-
PCs requires that a keyboard be attached ing Share this folder (see FIGURE 4; the work!) When in doubt, turn the device
unless you change this setting manually. option on some systems is Share this off, look at the table, turn it back on,
Remote Desktop Connection works with folder on the network). (The context and look for the new address in
menu’s ‘Sharing and Secu- the table.
rity’ option invokes an un- Next, type the address of your NAS
related Windows utility.) box into your browser’s address field
Most routers use the de- and press <Enter>. You may be greeted
fa u l t W i n d ows g ro u p , by a log-in screen demanding your user
named ‘MSHome’ or ‘Work- name and password, which you’ll find
group’. If you have renamed in your manual. More likely, you’ll have
yours, you must reset it: In to create a password. Use the configu-
XP right-click My Computer ration utility to handle such options as
and se lect Properties ; in formatting and partitioning the device’s
Vista right-click Computer drives, adding or deleting users who
and click Remote settings. can access the drive, making folders
In both versions, se lect public or private to individuals or
Computer Name• Change groups of users, joining a workgroup,
FIGURE 4: SET YOUR NAS DEVICE to share its files by and enter the workgroup and setting RAID levels.
enabling this option in its Properties dialog box. and computer names. —Jon L. Jacobi
The Fast Track to Your the new shortcut. For a bigger view, click
the down arrow next to Folders to col-
lapse the pane. Drag and drop to rear-
Block Spying Cookies, But Firefox 2 can accept, and regularly wipe
away, any cookie you haven’t explicitly
told it to keep: Click Tools•Options•Privacy,
Keep the Helpful Ones check Accept cookies from sites, and in the
‘Keep until’ drop-down box, select I close
ANSWER LINE ad networks never get a chance to track Firefox. To keep cookies from a few trust-
IS THERE A way to tell which of your surfing from session to session. ed sites, click Exceptions, and in the dia-
the cookies on my PC are help- Internet Explorer 6 and 7 and Firefox log box, enter the URLs of the sites whose
ing, and which ones are spying? 1.x and 2 have good cookie-handling pro- first-party cookies you wish to keep in the
a cookie is merely a small file that a Web cedures. IE lets you keep first-party cook- ‘Address of web site’ field. Click Allow for
site puts on your PC to identify you, or to ies (left by the site you’re visiting) but each, and when you’re done, click Close
store information about you or your com- block those from third parties: Select and OK. If you’re using Firefox 1.5, click
puter, such as your IP address. The good Tools•Internet Options•Privacy•Advanced. Tools•Options•Privacy•Cookies , check
ones save you the trouble of logging Allow sites to set cookies , and
on to the site on return visits, a big choose for the originating site only.
help if you use subscription news Many security programs, includ-
services such as that of the New York ing Norton Internet Security, PC-
Times (nytimes.com). Cillin, and Ad-Aware, also identify
The bad cookies are placed by ad and destroy known spying cookies.
companies that pay for the right to
place advertising on the sites’ pages DISABLE THE
(some sites also leave their own ad WINDOWS KEY
cookies). These files track your visits I’M A COMPUTER gamer. Acci-
to pages that display their clients’ ads dentally hitting the Windows
(or their own), and they may tailor key in the middle of a game
FIGURE 1: SET INTERNET EXPLORER to allow first-
the ads you see to your browsing his- is a disaster. Can I disable it?
party cookies but block all third-party cookies.
tory. Over time, cookies can reveal you c a n w i t h a little Registry
your browsing habits, though standard In the Advanced Privacy Settings dialog tweaking. But back up the Registry first;
ad cookies, like those that DoubleClick box, check Override automatic cookie han- see the boxed item at lower left for
uses, can’t attach a name to a specific dling (see FIGURE 1 ). Under ‘First-party details. Once the Registry is backed up,
surfing trail. Cookies’, select Accept; under ‘Third- select Start•Run (just Start in Vista), type
That means, if you wipe out your cook- party Cookies’, choose Block. Ignore the regedit, and press <Enter>. In the left
ies as soon as you close your browser, the session cookies option. Click OK twice. pane, navigate to and select HKEY_
LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Current-
MYTH BUSTER
ControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout (this
is not to be confused with the ‘Keyboard
Dual core CPUs are twice as fast as single core CPUs Layouts’ option just beneath it). Click
Edit•New•Binary Value, name the new
REALITY: DUAL CORE CPU does not necessarily mean double the performance
value Scancode Map, and then double-
over a single-core. Benefits from a dual core can be seen only with applications
click it. Enter the code below, which will
that support it. Today you can expect multimedia creation software to be faster
wrap automatically as shown here:
by up to 50 percent compared to similarly clocked single cores. Note that the
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
benefit is restricted to audio/video encoding and decoding and certain games.
03 00 00 00 00 00 5B E0
However, office suites, browsers, media-players (for non HD playback)
00 00 5C E0 00 00 00 00
will hardly make use of the second processor. Hence for most general use
Click OK , close the Registry Editor, and
as of today, a single core CPU should suffice. With multi-core support in
reboot Windows. Your Windows key will
the latest operating systems like Windows Vista, dual cores will yield smoother
be no more. If you want to disable the
multitasking as the OS itself will split tasks to the two cores. If you are upgrading
Windows key only for specific applica-
from an old platform or building a new system altogether, dual core is the
tions, try the free WinKey Killer utility
way to go.
( http://www.majorgeeks.com/down-
However, if you already have a single core CPU that is only about a year old or
load304.html).
so, an upgrade to a similar clocked dual core will not double your performance
overnight. Answer Line is anchored by contributing
—Soham Raninga editor Lincoln Spector. Send in your queries
to answeline@pcworld.in.
SOFTWARE 99 PREVIEW
■ Tech Videos
■ Ubuntu and Kubuntu Linux
REVIEWS
8GB of fun, freebies and
power tools
D U M M Y E D IHT A
END DBPYI CKKAELDP A
GNOA
O DEITETSEFNRSOOM
N T&HREADMVODN
getting increasingly plagued by intentional unlike viruses does updates on a regular basis, we be very handy)
spyware and trojans which can not make them any bit more suggest you upgrade them on Cobian supports FTP backup
harm your computer by merely desirable! We recommend a weekly basis or enable auto- in both directions (download
tracking your surfing habits using both these tools to scan update on them. Also, note and upload). The program uses
very few resources and can be Windows better and are ing software that are
running on the background willing to risk an abrupt included on the DVD.
on your system, checking your restart, you can even shut Most applications use
backup schedule and executing down system services. the registry to store
your backups when necessary. TweakVI: Microsoft’s configuration and
Cobian Backup supports several TweakUI for Windows XP other important data.
methods of compression and was and is still a hit with When you install an
strong encryption. users who wanted to fine application, new regis-
KillProcess: You would have tune the operating system try entries will be cre-
come across an application that including some perform- ated and not all of them
simply refuses to close, forcing ance related settings. And get removed when you
you to use the Ctrl+Alt+Del now a similar tool exists uninstall the applica-
option. Sometimes you see for Vista users in the name tion. In due course,
names of running processes that of, well, TweakVI, the V your registry will be left
you dont recognize and wonder presumably standing for SPYBOT S&D SCANS your system for malware with a lot of unneces-
if it belongs to a legitimate Vista. This time however and removes them after your confirmation. sary data which increas-
application or if it is a malware. the software is made not es the registry size and
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could by Microsoft, but a company for free while extra plugins can results in a slower PC. Use
google it up in one straight step? called Totalidea. Amongst sev- be purchased. This is a recom- these free registry cleaners
KillProcess is an application eral other things, you can cre- mended software for serious to remove invalid registry
which can do that, and a lot ate a RAM drive, clean up the Vista tweakers. entries. With either of the
more. You can even create lists registry and optimise RAM, TweakNow RegCleaner Stand- applications, make sure you
of processes that you want to etc. The main application and ard and Clean My Registry: back up your registry before
keep or delete. If you understand a set of 13 plugins are available These are two registry clean- doing anything else.
LINUX
TECH VIDOES
Stonghold 2
A RTS game set in the medieval age.
FULL PRODUCT
CC3 - Behind the scenes
MacWorld Some behind the scene footage of Command
The current and complete edition of MacWorld + Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars (you can find the
in PDF. For all you Apple fan game demo on the April 2007 DVD).
CONTENTS
June 2007
ON THE
OPINION
DVD
From the Editor’s Desk
I’ve been waiting for a device like the Apple TV for
years. Now that it’s here, here’s what I think.
Feedback
Readers respond.
ON THE
MAC BEAT
DVD
Hot Stuff
Check out the cool products we’re into right now.
ON THE
REVIEWS
DVD
Spam Fighters
What can you do about the junk e-mail that clogs
your inbox? We go out on a quest for software
that helps you fight the good fight.
macworld.com/reviews
We’re constantly reviewing the latest Mac hardware
and software on Macworld.com. Here are quick
summaries of this month’s online exclusives.
Top Products
Looking for a new printer, monitor, digital
camera, or other hardware? Check out our
current favorites, as well as a complete listing
ADD MORE STORAGE TO ANY MAC p. 60
of all current Macs and iPods.
ON THE
FEATURES
DVD
State of the Mac
How reliable are Macs? How happy are their owners?
We surveyed Macworld readers about what they
like—and don’t like—about their Macs.
ON THE
SECRETS
DVD
Working Mac
Being energy efficient isn’t just good for the
environment—it’s good for your wallet. Here’s
Apple TV: Ready
how to go green with your Mac. for Prime Time?
Playlist iG
ear
!
fitness accessories.
ina
l C1
6
Digital Photo
Ter
min
al C1
6
Mobile Mac
Get rid of—and prevent—screen smudges,
chipped paint, and other unsightly blemishes on
State of
your portable Mac.
the Mac
Geek Factor
Put your Mac Pro’s four hard-drive slots to use by
setting up a RAID array and boosting performance. MACWORLD.COM’S TOP 5
The top 5 stories on Macworld.com are:
ON THE
HELP DESK
DVD
Mac OS X Hints 1 France Bans Citizen Journalists from Reporting Violence
The French Constitutional Council makes it a crime for
people other than professional journalists to film acts of
Set Office zoom levels quickly, insert line breaks
into iTunes Comments field, privatize your PDFs, violence (macworld.com/2677).
and customize OS X’s alert sounds.
Mac 911
2 Apple to Hold Special Event at NAB
Apple announces plans to hold a special event at the National
Association of Broadcasters trade show (macworld.com/2678).
Clear out iPhoto’s trash, make Microsoft Word
multilingual, remove Spotlight from the menu bar,
and more.
3 Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.4.9
Apple rolls out its latest OS update for PowerPC and Intel-based
Macs (macworld.com/2679).
ON THE
DVD
BACK PAGE 4 Adobe to Release Two Versions of Photoshop CS3
Latest Photoshop update will come in two flavors: standard
and extended (macworld.com/2684).
Spotlight
Between Apple’s recent triumphs (the iPod, the Intel
transition, and the iPhone) and Microsoft’s stumbles 5 PC World: Apple TV Just Plain Works
Our colleagues at PC World take a look at the Apple TV and
find it easy to use (macworld.com/2680).
(hello, Vista), Christopher Breen feels that there’s
been a big shift in the way folks think about the Mac.
(Ranking valid as of April 4, 2007.)
I
n October 2005, Apple demonstrated its interest in selling video content
puter or—in very small form—on an iPod, most people prefer viewing digi-
tal diversions from the comfort of a couch. When the company augmented
the store’s catalog in September 2006 with full-length movies, it became clear that
Apple’s interest in the video business was no mere flirtation. That same day, Apple
committed to digital content with the unveiling of what’s now called the Apple TV,
a simple piece of hardware that gives your iTunes content— movies, TV shows,
music, photos, and podcasts—new life on your TV. Now that it’s finally here, we’ve
put the Apple TV through its paces to learn how you can make the most of this
intriguing digital device. Our hands-on guide walks you through setting up and
working with the Apple TV (and don’t miss the review on page XX).
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
By Christopher Breen PETER BELANGER
Also on
Resize Partitions
On-the-Fly
pause button. The router will establish a What You Need Resize Partitions
Also on
connection. If you need to enter an IP and For $299, you can buy Apple’s cool new digital
subnet address manually, choose that option device, but you won’t find many accessories in On-the-Fly
and a screen for doing so appears. You’ll see the box. Besides the Apple TV itself, you get a
12 blanks for the IP numbers: use the Apple power cable, the Apple Remote, and a user’s manual. So what else do you need to
Remote’s plus (+) and minus (–) buttons to start using—and getting the most out of—it? Here’s a quick checklist.
change the selected number, and then use
Wide-Screen TV The Apple TV is meant to work with certain types of TVs— specifically, wide-
the forward button to select other blanks.
screen EDTVs or HDTVs capable of at least 480p resolution with HDMI, DVI, or component video
Likewise, for secure networks, you’ll be
connections. So if you don’t have such a set, you may need a new TV (see “Picking an HDTV” for
asked to enter your password via an
advice and recommendations). Although Apple doesn’t really say so, you can use the Apple TV with
onscreen keyboard.
an SDTV (480i), as long as it has component video inputs. These TVs aren’t very common, but
In my case, I have a wireless 802.11n
several Macworld readers have reported that they own them.
network setup, using the latest AirPort
Audio and Video Cables You’ll need either one or two cables, depending on your particular setup. If
Extreme Base Station. It found the base
your TV has a free HDMI port, an HDMI-to-HDMI cable will carry both digital video and digital audio
station in just seconds. The Apple TV
signals from the Apple TV to your TV. Otherwise, you can use an HDMI-to-
displayed its name and the name of my
DVI cable if your TV has a DVI port, or component video cables (high-
older 802.11g AirPort Extreme Base
quality analog cables that split into three parts, colored green, blue, and
Station. I selected the 802.11n network, Analog audio
red). The latter two options don’t carry audio, so you’ll need separate audio
and I was in business.
connections. If your multimedia stereo system has an optical digital audio
port, use a Toslink cable. Otherwise, standard RCA-style red and white
Talking to iTunes Toslink digital audio
analog audio cables will do the trick. Even people using HDMI may want to
Once you’ve made the connection to your
use a Toslink audio cable to hear sound through a stereo (especially if they
network, it’s time for the Apple TV to speak
don’t have an easy way to route sound from their TV to the stereo). Apple
with its partner, iTunes. The Apple TV
has partnered with XtremeMac to sell each of these types of cables at very HDMI
initiates this process by displaying a screen
reasonable prices ($20 for each cable except analog audio, which costs
with a 5-digit PIN. Your job is to go to the
$15). The cables are available from Apple’s brick-and-mortar and online
computer that you plan to use to sync
stores (see mac world.com/2690 for more on the XtremeMac cables).
content with the Apple TV, select the Apple
HDMI Switchers Speaking of cables, many TVs that have the all- DVI
TV entry in iTunes’ Source list, and enter
digital HDMI connection usually have one or maybe two such ports. If
the Apple TV’s PIN in the space allotted.
you’re already using your TV’s HDMI ports for other devices (a Series3
Syncing You’re allowed to sync an Apple
TiVo or Playstation 3, for example), you’re not out of luck. Products such
TV’s internal 40GB hard drive (33GB of
as XtremeMac’s $100 HDMI Switcher will let you connect several HDMI
which is available to you) with one
devices to your TV and pick which one you want displayed at a given time.
computer, so the computer isn’t necessary Component video
Computer and Network You’ll also need a computer and a way of
for playback.
connecting the Apple TV to your network in order to transfer and stream content. That means a
Apple says that the Apple TV’s hard drive
Mac running OS X 10.3.9 or later, or a PC running Windows XP Home or Professional with Service
will hold as many as 50 hours of video
Pack 2 (currently, Vista is not officially supported) and running iTunes 7.1 or later. Then you can
(based on 1.5-Mbps H.264-encoded video
directly connect an Ethernet cable from a router or hub to the Apple TV’s 10/100Base-T Ethernet
at a resolution of 640 by 480, with 128-
port, or use its built-in wireless abilities (the Apple TV supports 802.11b, g, and n) to connect to a
Kbps stereo audio), as many as 9,000 audio
wireless router such as an AirPort Extreme Base Station. For music streaming, 802.11b might be
tracks (with an average of four minutes per
OK, but 802.11g or 802.11n are better for video streaming. And of course, the speeds of transfer-
song and AAC encoded at 128 Kbps), or as
CABLE PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER BELANGER
ring data to the Apple TV will depend greatly on your connection speed.
many as 25,000 pictures (JPEG, BMP, GIF,
Compatible Content Finally, you’ll need content. Once you pair the Apple TV with your
TIFF, and PNG images are supported, but
computer, you should be able to play most things in your iTunes library. That includes music,
movies, TV shows, and podcasts downloaded from the iTunes Store. It will also work with AAC,
Power Down There’s no
TIP power button on the Apple TV, MP3, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV files that you’ve imported yourself, as well as with MPEG-4
and H.264 video that you’ve encoded in QuickTime or similar programs, and that fall within the
but if you want to give it a rest, you
supported parameters (see the Apple TV tech
don’t need to pull the plug. Instead,
specifications at macworld.com/2685for
press and hold the Apple Remote’s
complete details). —JONATHAN SEFF
play/pause button to put the Apple TV
into a power-saving standby mode. The XtremeMac HDMI Switcher
dows PC, you can sync photos from a sup- see a picture of the Apple TV and a
ported photo application such as progress bar beneath. It will tell you what
Photoshop Elements, your My Pictures it’s copying and how much it has cop-
folder, or a folder of your choice. Note that ied—Copying 251 of 589, for example. If
when you connect to iTunes the first time, you move to the Apple TV’s main screen,
the Apple TV will need to connect to the you’ll see a turning gear icon next to the
Internet to become authorized to play that category of media it’s syncing— Movies
account’s protected content (the Apple TV or TV Shows, for example. You’ll see this
not Raw). The Apple TV can play video doesn’t count as one of the five computers same information when you choose
encoded as MPEG-4 and H.264, and it that can play such content, however). Syncing from the Sources screen. iTunes
supports the same audio formats that To help manage your media files, will show you what it’s doing in the infor-
iTunes does (AIFF, WAV, MP3, AAC, and iTunes provides shortcuts for choosing mation pane at the top of the window.
Apple Lossless). subsets of them. For example, you can Streaming As anyone with even a
Unlike with an iPod, you can’t manually choose to sync just TV shows, or request moderately sized iTunes library knows,
drag items from your iTunes library to that only the most recent one, three, five, 33GB isn’t a lot of space—especially
your Apple TV. You must or ten unwatched movies or TV shows when it comes to movies and TV shows
configure everything via the Movies, TV sync with the device. In such a scenario, (for information on upgrading your
Shows, Music, Podcasts, and Photos tabs once the movie or show has played Apple TV’s hard drive, go to macworld.
in the Apple TV preferences within through, it’s bumped off the list and delet- com/2686). Luckily, the Apple TV can
iTunes to determine how content makes ed from the Apple TV, and then iTunes also stream content from up to five com-
its way to your Apple TV. (The Apple TV adds the next unwatched video. Because puters. You can always stream content
prioritizes your media, first syncing mov- the Apple TV and iTunes are in constant from the Mac to which the Apple TV is
ies, then TV shows, music, podcasts, and, communication, there’s no need to press already synced. But to set up streaming
finally, photos.) You can ask the Apple TV a sync button to make this happen. Sync- for a new Mac, navigate to the Sources
to sync all your content or selected playl- ing is fastest via Ethernet but will also menu on the Apple TV and select Con-
ists, or to omit certain types (no movies, work wirelessly (for more on syncing nect To New iTunes. A new PIN appears
for example). For photos on a Mac, you speeds, see “Staying in Sync”). on your TV. Enter this PIN into the
APPLE TV PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER BELANGER
can sync JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and You can monitor syncing from the
PNG files from iPhoto, your Pictures fold- Apple TV’s Sources screen and select
FIND IT
ONLINE
Ports Galore The Apple TV has all the ports you’d expect from a modern digital device: from left to right, you’ll find power, USB 2.0, Ethernet, HDMI,
component video, analog audio, and optical digital audio connections.
HDTVs use many different technolo- To view HD content, a TV needs hardware Resize Partitions
gies to produce images. Tube HDTVs to convert the signal to something
Glossary On-the-Fly
4:3: The squarish
use CRTs (cathode-ray tubes), as do your television can display. Some TVs have
aspect ratio of SDTV broadcasts.
traditional TVs and computer monitors. Flat- HD tuners built in, which is useful for displaying
16:9: The wide aspect ratio of HDTV
screen TVs use either LCD (liquid-crystal display) digital content received over an
broadcasts.
technology (pixels in front of a light source) or antenna. But cable and satellite companies
480i: An interlaced-scan video mode with
plasma technology (cells filled with gases provide their own hardware for decoding
480 lines of vertical resolution and; this is the
between two panels of glass). Rear-projection their respective signals.
traditional format used for SDTV broadcasts.
TVs use CRT, LCD, digital light processing (DLP, As far as content from your Mac goes, the
480p: A progressive video mode with 480
which uses thousands of tiny mirrors), or liquid Apple TV is all you need to connect to an HDTV to
lines of vertical resolution and 704 or 720
crystal on silicon (LCoS, which uses liquid watch TV shows or movies downloaded from
pixels of horizontal resolution; this format is
crystals instead of mirrors) technology. iTunes. But note that Apple currently doesn’t sell
used on standard definition DVDs and
HDTVs also come in many shapes, sizes, and HD content in the iTunes Store. However, the
for EDTV.
prices, and each type has its pros and cons. Tube Apple TV will let you play HD broadcasts that
720p: A progressive-scan video mode with
HDTVs have excellent picture quality and wide you’ve captured on your Mac using compatible
720 lines of vertical resolution and 1,280
viewing angles, and they’re relatively inexpensive. hardware, although you may need to re-encode
pixels of horizontal resolution; networks such
But they’re bulkier and have smaller screens (34 the show first. And most (if not all) of the pictures
as ABC and Fox use this mode.
inches or less) than other types of TVs. LCDs are in your iPhoto library are high definition and
1,080i: An interlaced video mode with 1,080
thin and light; they come in large sizes (up to 46 should look great on an HDTV.
lines of vertical resolution and 1,920 pixels of
inches or so), and their prices have fallen. On the With so many HDTVs out there, how do you
horizontal resolution; networks such as CBS
downside, they don’t offer viewing angles as wide decide which is right for you? Once you have
and NBC use this mode.
as those of tube TVs. Plasma TVs are also thin an idea of what you’re willing to spend and how
1,080p: A progressive video mode with 1,080
and light, come in large sizes (up to 60-plus big you want your viewing experience to be,
lines of vertical resolution and 1,920 pixels of
inches), and have good picture quality and wide you’ll only be looking at a subset of the various
horizontal resolution; this mode is currently
viewing angles, but they’re more expensive than technologies. Then decide which features are
used only on Bluray and HD DVD movies.
other types of HDTVs at the entry level and don’t most important to you, and try to see a bunch
Component Video: A high-quality analog
natively support the highest HD resolutions. of TVs in action at a few different stores. (We’ve
connector that uses three separate plugs for a
Projection TVs (CRT, DLP, and the like) have very got some recommendations listed in “TV
video signal.
large screens (starting at around 42 inches and Picks”.) And if you don’t have a surround-
EDTV: Enhanced definition television;
going up to 65 inches), are relatively inexpensive, sound stereo system, it might be a good time to
sometimes wide screen, EDTV can display at
and offer high resolutions; they can also be bulky, check those out too.—JONATHAN SEFF
a higher quality than SDTV, but not as high as
and some technologies have viewing angle, color,
FIND IT
ONLINE
Apple TV Alternatives
What if instead of watching your Mac’s video on your TV, you’d rather watch TV on your Mac? Or what if you’ve
already got a Mac connected to your TV and you want to use it as a DVR or to view your media files?
Elgato’s $200 (presumably with a broadband connection, as media-center computers to stream content to
EyeTV 250 well). Using the SlingPlayer software, you can other devices around the home. Unfortunately,
( ; macworld watch whatever is currently showing on your there aren’t too many Mac products that support
.com/2411) acts like a home entertainment center on a Mac, Windows UPnP. However, if you’ve got a media receiver
computerbased TiVo; PC, PDA, or other compatible device. that supports UPnP, Elgato’s EyeConnect($50;
using its built-in TV For a combination of TiVo and Slingbox, www .elgato.com) can stream many types of
tuner (or by connecting there’s SageTV Media Center ($80; www media files—iTunes music and video, iPhoto
the 250 to your cable box), you can record TV .sagetv.com) and SageTV Placeshifter ($30). images, videos in your Movies folder, and even
shows for later viewing on your Mac or iPod. The The Media Center connects your computer to EyeTV-recorded TV shows—from your Mac to
EyeTV software and recording features aren’t your cable line or box and lets you record your your UPnP-compatible system.
quite as elegant as TiVo’s, but the EyeTV works favorite TV shows, in SD or HD, to your And finally, there’s always Apple’s Front
well and doesn’t require that you pay a monthly computer. You can even record multiple shows Row (www.apple.com), an attractive, easyto-
fee. If you can pick up over-the-air HDTV in your simultaneously, and then use Placeshifter to use interface for your photos, movies, music,
area, the $150 EyeTV Hybrid watch Media Center–saved programs from any and DVDs. If you’ve got your Mac hooked up to
( ; macworld .com/2317) lets you pull those networkor Internet-connected computer. your TV, you can browse your media files—
stations in and record them. Pinnacle’s TV for Unfortunately, although Placeshifter is including anything purchased from the iTunes
Mac HD Stick ($130; www.pinnaclesys.com) is available for the Mac, you currently need a Store and even content shared by other Macs
similar to the EyeTV Hybrid; it lets you watch Windows PC with a TV tuner card to use the on your local network— using the Apple
over-the-air HDTV channels, as well as analog main Media Center software. Remote. In fact, Front Row on a Mac looks a lot
TV, and uses Elgato’s EyeTV Lite software. Another technology, known as UPnP like the interface of the Apple TV. It doesn’t let
If you’re looking to watch content from your (Universal Plug and Play), lets computers and you sync your media with another Mac, but a
TV on your computer, Sling Media’s Slingbox other networked devices easily communicate Front Row–compatible Mac can double as a
(pictured right: Tuner, $180; AV, $180; Pro, with one another. When it comes to home DVD player and, of course, a computer. (For
$250; www.slingbox.com) is a unique system entertainment, UPnP is being used to allow feature stories on using the Mac mini and iMac
that connects to your TV, cable box, satellite as media centers, see macworld .
receiver, or TiVo and then streams video com/2284 and
and audio over your broadband macworld .com/2285,
Internet connection to wherever respectively).
you happen to be in the world —DAN FRAKES
Also on
Resize Partitions
Finding Your Way Around On-the-Fly
If you’ve used Apple’s Front Row or navi-
gated an iPod’s screen, you’ll feel right at
Staying in Sync
To get an idea of how well the Apple TV would
home with the Apple TV (for a video walk-
handle syncing content, especially over a
through of the Apple TV interface, go to
wireless connection, I connected a Mac
macworld.com/2688). Once you’ve con-
running iTunes via Ethernet to an Ethernet hub, a new
figured the device, you’ll see the Apple
802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station, and an older
TV’s main screen. In that screen, you’ll
see entries for Movies, TV Shows, Music,
802.11g AirPort Extreme Base Station. I then tested how
Wi-Fi Transfer Speeds
long it took to transfer a movie, an episode of a TV
Podcasts, Photos, Settings, and Sources.
series, and a single album, all of which were purchased 802.11g 7:45
You glide around the interface by select-
from the iTunes Store—a total of 1.57GB.
ing entries, pressing the Apple Remote’s 802.11n 3:40
In my tests, having the Apple TV connected via Ethernet
play/pause button, and choosing options
in the resulting screen. As with Front
resulted in the fastest transfers, while transferring wirelessly Ethernet 2:37
via the 802.11n base station was also quite fast. A switch to
Row, you move back through the com- Times are in minutes:seconds. Shorter is faster.
the 802.11g AirPort Extreme router, however, led to a serious
mand hierarchy by pressing the remote’s
slowdown; it took more than twice as long as transferring via the 802.11n router.
menu button.
Since every network is different, it’s hard to extrapolate hard advice from this data. But here’s my take: If
You’ll also find an iTunes Top Movies
you’ve got an Ethernet jack by your TV set, you’re living the good life. If you have an existing 802.11g network,
and Theatrical Trailers entry in the Movies
there’s a good chance that it will serve you well. Does a shiny new 802.11n base station speed things up? If your
screen. Just as in Front Row, you can watch
802.11g network suffers from speed or interference problems, a new router might help you out.
movie trailers streamed from the Internet.
At the same time, I had no problem playing back videos streamed over the network from my iTunes server,
And yes, just as in Front Row, they look
using the 802.11g base station. Only when I tested an extremely high-bitrate, high-resolution video did I see any
wonderful and load quickly over a typical
stuttering, and that particular file had some pretty outrageous specifications. My point is, if you’ve got an 802.11g
DSL or cable connection. Choose iTunes
wireless network, you may be able to stream video from another room without a lot of trouble. And since you can
Top Movies, and you’ll see a list of the ten
sync overnight, the speed of your wireless network may not be a big issue anyway. —JASON SNELL
top-selling titles available from the iTunes
Store. Select one, and a short description of
the movie and a picture of its poster Remote’s back or forward button while movie or take up where you last stopped (if
appear, and then you can play its preview. watching a movie or TV show, the Apple only my DVD player kept track so well),
Within TV Shows, you’ll find an entry for TV will move backward or forward, respec- whether the file is on the hard drive or
iTunes Top TV Episodes with 30-second tively, through the video at increased speed. streaming over your network. And because
snippets of the programs. And the Music During this fast playback, you can press the Apple TV is in contact with iTunes, you
entry contains iTunes Top Songs and iTunes the same button (back or forward) again to can begin watching a movie on your TV,
Top Music Videos entries, and it displays double the speed, and once more to further stop it, and then resume viewing it from
album covers when you select one. Again, speed playback; to return to standard play- your computer later, for example. It’s just
you get a 30-second preview (there are no back, press the play/pause button. Alterna- as smart about video played on an iPod.
podcast previews or recommendations tively, briefly pressing the back or forward Play part of a video on your iPod, sync it
available through the Apple TV). button will jump back or ahead, respective- with iTunes, and your Apple TV will offer
AIRPORT EXTREME PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF APPLE
The Settings screen is where you control ly, by chapter (for iTunes-purchased mov- to play it from the point where you stopped
how the Apple TV behaves: here, you can ies) or by a specific amount of time. For the watching it on the iPod.
control its screen saver (useful for latter, the exact length of this time jump
preventing burn-in on some types of flat- varies depending on the length of the video The Last Word
panel TVs), software update function, and you’re watching. For example, for a video Just as Apple broke ground in the
settings for repeating music, Sound Check, clip that’s only a few minutes long, each consumer electronics market with the iPod,
sound effects, and HDMI brightness. skip is ten seconds; for a feature-length it has entered the video market in elegant
movie, each click of the button jumps five fashion with the Apple TV. This product
Watching It All minutes. Apple TV is also clever about gives iTunes and your TV the language they
Viewing (or in the case of music, listening picking up where you left off. If you halt a need to converse amiably, and the result is
to) content is what the Apple TV is all movie midstream and later return to it the liberation of your digital content from
about, and it works well. As you might after playing, say, a song, you’ll be asked if within the confines of your computer’s and
expect, if you hold down the Apple you’d like to play from the beginning of the iPod’s smaller screens.
REVIEW
Apple
TV
Digital device provides
solid link between
computer and iTunes
By Christopher Breen
one you see when you attach a fifthgen- tures you select (from iPhoto albums or a
As Apple’s missing link between
eration (5G) iPod to your computer. folder of your choosing) and copies them to
the media files in your iTunes
You can sync content from only one the Apple TV’s hard drive. Once they’re on
library and today’s modern tele-
computer at a time, and you can’t add con- the Apple TV, you can view a selected album
visions, the Apple TV simplifies the daunt-
tent manually—for example, by dragging or your entire photo library as a slide show.
ing process of viewing computerbased
it from your iTunes library to the Apple TV As with iPhoto, you can choose from a varie-
content on a television. While limited in
icon on iTunes’ Source list, as you might ty of transitions, as well as determine the
several ways, the device is a solid first step
do with an iPod. If you choose to sync with display time for each picture.
in what I hope is a long line of increasing-
a different computer, all the data on the Playback of video files begins in a matter
ly capable Applebranded AV peripherals.
Apple TV will be replaced. of seconds. When you press the Apple
Ethernet syncing is fast and reliable— Remote’s forward button to fastforward or
Setup and Sync
your best option if you have a network cable skip to the next chapter, there’s a delay of a
Configuring an Apple TV is a relatively
running to your TV area. Wireless syncing few seconds while the Apple TV buffers the
simple process. Audio and video cables
can be slow, particularly over an 802.11b or incoming content— a progress bar shows
(not included) connect it to your TV, and
802.11g network, but also on an 802.11n you how far along in the process it is.
Ethernet or wireless networking links it
network. If you have a lot of content that you If you’ve ripped your own video at high
to iTunes. Then iTunes serves as the
want to sync to the Apple TV, it makes sense bit rates, streaming can be dicier. I ripped
gateway for syncing or streaming media
to start the sync before you go to bed. Make House of Flying Daggers at a resolution of
files. Once you’ve established this rela-
the first connection a wired one, then let 720 by 304, at 24 frames per second, encod-
tionship between your computer and the
iTunes update just the changes wirelessly. ed in H.264 format, and with an average
Apple TV, you’ll encounter an interface
data rate of 2,608 Kbps. Over my 802.11n
within iTunes that’s very much like the
Gently Down the Stream network, with a strong signal streaming
If you have a moderate to large iTunes from the Mac Pro, the movie briefly froze
APPLE TV
library, you’ll find the Apple TV’s hard after playing for about 15 minutes. It did so
drive too cramped to hold much of your again a couple of minutes later.
PROS: Streaming works remarkably well
content. This would be a serious drawback If 802.11b wireless is part of your network,
over moderate-to-fast networks; easy to set
if the device’s streaming capabilities glitches with high-bit-rate videos will become
up and use; solid picture quality; beautiful
PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER BELANGER
interface.
weren’t as good as they are. It can stream apparent even more readily. Apple says that
CONS: No support for 5.1-channel surround video and audio from up to five comput- the Apple TV requires an 802.11g or 802.11n
sound in videos; supports a limited variety of ers— from both Macs and Windows PCs. wireless network or a wired Ethernet connec-
video formats. With content purchased from the iTunes tion to stream video. I was pleased to find
OS X COMPATIBILITY: 10.3 (Panther), Store, video streaming is quite good over that I could successfully stream Pirates of the
10.4 (Tiger) 802.11g and 802.11n wireless networks, and Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (pur-
PRICE: $299 over Ethernet networks. You can’t stream chased from the iTunes Store) from an iMac
COMPANY: Apple Computer, photos. Instead, on the computer synced that contains an 802.11b AirPort wireless
www.apple.com
with the Apple TV, iTunes formats the pic- card over my 802.11n network. The Apple TV
Also on
fared much worse on the iMac with a ripped While watching Neil Young: Heart of Gold, And finally, I’d Resize Partitions
version of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World I particularly missed the kind of 5.1-channel dearly love to use the On-the-Fly
encoded as an MPEG-4 movie, at a resolu- surround sound you get from today’s DVDs. Apple TV’s USB 2.0
tion of 720 by 288, and with a total bit rate The Apple TV doesn’t currently support vide- port. Specifically, I’d like to plug my 5G
of 2,391 Kbps. Just eight minutes into the os with 5.1-channel audio—only stereo Dolby iPod into it so that not only could the Apple
movie, the Apple TV paused and stopped Pro Logic II audio—but some people have TV play content from the iPod but it could
to fill its buffer. It then continued playing, been successful at getting DTS-encoded sur- automatically sync purchased and rented
but a minute and a half later, it paused and round sound content to play through it. media to my iPod. And if I feel cramped by
refilled again. Apple clarified that some formats encoded at the Apple TV’s 40GB drive, why not allow
certain bit rates may work as 5.1 files, but slip me to connect a 500GB hard drive to the
Around and About outside those specs and you and 5.1 part USB port for additional storage?
Navigation via the Apple TV is easy. It’s ways. Apple has chosen to say that generally,
responsive to the remote, and the screens 5.1 audio is not supported. Macworld’s Buying Advice
look sharp on an HDTV. In typical Apple With its simple setup, superb streaming,
fashion, there are some lovely motion What’s Missing ease of use, and quality output, the Apple
effects—icons smoothly rotate into place Although the Apple TV packs a punch at TV is a great piece of gear, but it will have
when you choose a new main-menu com- a desirable price, there are several things more-limited appeal than the iPod, largely
mand, and the screen flips every so often missing that could make it an even because of the nature of digital rights
when you play audio files. better product. management and video (in other words,
This screen flipping is more than cos- First, I’d like to be able to buy and rent you can’t rip your own DVDs the way you
metic. Because screen burn-in is still a content through the Apple TV. In the case do CDs). Add to this the fact that DVDs
problem with some varieties of TVs, the of purchases, the device would need to be offer advantages the Apple TV doesn’t—
Apple TV takes care not to leave static a two-way street so you could transfer that 5.1-channel audio, higher resolution, and
images on the screen for too long. The material to your computer and an iPod for the kinds of extras that a movie purchase
screen saver serves a similar purpose and playback and archiving. through the iTunes Store doesn’t pro-
is very attractive, displaying a swooping Second, even though the iTunes Store’s vide—and it’s clear that the Apple TV isn’t
Apple logo, pictures from your photo H.264-encoded content looks good on my for everyone. However, if you prefer to
library (or from the device’s internal bank big-screen TV, I know it could look better enjoy nearly all your media files through
of floral images, if there are no images if it was offered in true HD quality. your TV and AV gear rather than splitting
synced to the device), or album Third, MPEG-4 is a very popular video time between the living room and the
covers from your iTunes library. standard and H.264 looks great, but there home office, or if you have more media
is a lot of digital video flying around that files in your iTunes library than you do
Watching TV uses neither. It would be lovely if Apple DVDs on your bookshelf, moving to the
Movies purchased from the iTunes Store built a Convert For Apple TV command Apple TV makes sense. You’ll certainly
look quite good when played through the into iTunes’ Advanced menu, or, dare I enjoy the quality of the experience.
Apple TV—almost as good as most DVDs say it, allowed the Apple TV to play addi-
you’d play on your TV. True, Apple sells mov- tional formats such as DivX, AVI, Flash, Christopher Breen is a Macworld senior editor. He
ies at a resolution no higher than 640 by and Windows Media. writes often about using Macs as media centers.
480—which is well below the HD mark. But
withhold judgment until you see for yourself
how the movies and TV shows look on
screen. I viewed Cars and both Pirates of the
Caribbean movies, and while I saw some sub-
tle artifacts in dark-to-gray passages, the mov-
ies looked remarkably good. I ripped several
movies, and they looked nearly as good as
watching them from the original discs.
On the other hand, if you have video at
low resolutions—for example, the 320-by-
240 TV shows once sold through the
iTunes Store—it’s going to look blocky on
your TV.
Top TV Apple TV can stream previews of top shows directly from Apple.
find it. The next great search frontier in- of flowers and a couple of odd nonfloral sion series and a columnist for Forbes. E-mail
volves things that aren’t text, like pic- illustrations from Japanese Web sites. Try him at feedback@pcworld.in.