Noverber 25, 2003 - to go back to the Index Page

Transcription

FIRST LOOKS: 4 NEW POCKET PCs
VIRUS ATTACK!
DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE
PRINT IT, FAX IT,
SCAN IT, COPY IT:
10 Do-It-All Printers
www.pcmag.com
POWERFUL
PORTABLES
BEST
VALUES
UNDER
$1,000
THE INDEPENDENT GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY
NOVEMBER 25, 2003
PC BUYERS’ GUIDE
39
Cool New
Machines
TESTED &
REVIEWED
ALL-IN-ONES
MEDIA
CENTERS
THE FASTEST
HIGH-END SYSTEMS
MICHAEL J. MILLER
Forward Thinking
T H E P C I N N OVAT I O N S J U S T D O N ’ T S TO P
LISTEN TO CONVENTIONAL WISDOM , AND
you’ll think the PC’s best years are behind it.
TV tuners. You won’t get the best TV picture quality,
but a Media Center PC is an incredibly convenient
But a quick glance at the machines in this issue’s
cover story (page 83) shows that PCs just keep getting better. And the innovations don’t stop at faster
processors, more memory, and
larger hard drives. Just
take a look at some of
the advances we’ve
seen this year.
n High-end gaming
machines Alienware,
Falcon Northwest,
Velocity Micro, and
VoodooPC have created a new category—PCs
for gamers. Gaming systems are equipped with customized fans, greater expandability, and special cases.
n 64-bit machines Since very few apps take advantage
of 64-bit processing, the AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 and the
new Apple/IBM G5 will be able to run not only future
64-bit apps but also today’s 32-bit apps faster than
ever. Some of the high-end gaming systems
use the AMD chip, while others employ the
new 32-bit Intel Pentium 4 with HyperThreading, which has improved support
for multitasking.
n Media Center PCs With a Media Center PC, you can manage your photos
and music as well as watch TV shows
from up to 10 feet away with a remote
control. The first Media Center PCs came
out last year, but this year’s models offer
better software, a new radio feature, and better
way of organizing all your media. I’m very happy with
the one I bought at the end of 2002. We review four
of them in First Looks, page 32.
n Wide-screen portables Now you can get a portable
computer with a 15.4-inch or even a 17-inch display.
They’re not the most mobile laptops, but they are
good for people who need to lug their notebooks
around only occasionally. DVD movies look superb on
wide-screen notebooks, and the extra screen real
estate is good for business apps. What’s most amazing
is how quickly prices have fallen for these systems.
Wide-screen notebooks are quickly becoming mainstream, and I expect to see many more of them in the
future. Some even have the latest desktop CPUs.
n Longer battery life For me, the key feature in a notebook isn’t the screen. Instead, I go for a lightweight
system with long battery life. Thanks to the Intel
Pentium M chip, we’re seeing lighter portables with
excellent performance and longer battery life. The
new Transmeta Efficeon chip may provide even
longer battery life than the Pentium M.
n All-in-one designs The Sony W series
desktops are smaller and sleeker than
most desktop PCs, and we’re seeing
other new all-in-ones designed
for both personal and business
applications.
Such advances are significant,
but there’s still room for improvement. In the next year, I look
forward to even faster notebooks
and tighter integration of consumer
electronics and PCs.
If you have
an Internet
connection,
consider yourself fair game
for computer
viruses.
YO U A R E U N D E R AT TA C K
IF YOU HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION ,
consider yourself fair game for computer viruses.
And the situation is only getting worse. In the past,
the only way your machine could be infected was by
you opening a malicious file. But with today’s
malware, you don’t even have to open a file or
attachment to become infected.
I’ve talked with lots of readers about these problems in recent weeks, and they are getting the mes-
sage: Antivirus software and firewalls are no longer
just options; they’re requirements. For reviews of the
latest antivirus and firewall software, see page 122.
Rather than wreaking havoc on information stored
on computers, worms have been using host systems
to launch attacks on other computers. Things will get
worse before they get better. So far, we’ve seen
really fast-moving viruses that have infected lots
of machines, and we’ve witnessed extremely
www.pcmag.com NOVEMBER 25, 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
7
Forward Thinking
MICHAEL J. MILLER
destructive viruses and worms. But we haven’t seen malware that incorporates both aspects. Imagine a fast-moving
worm with a payload that destroys data.
Most of the recent worms have exploited holes for which
patches have been available but people didn’t bother to
download. A so-called day zero worm, one that exploits a
previously unseen and thus unpatched hole, would be
even worse.
Some people blame Microsoft for the problem, since the
vast majority of attacks target Windows or Office.
Microsoft should take some of the responsibility: It chose
to create a very open system that leaves many open ports
on your system for connecting to other applications. As a
result, writing and running Windows is easier, but that
means life is also easier for virus and worm writers.
Microsoft needs to develop solutions for speeding
patches out to customers. Dial-up users are complaining
that downloading Windows Update patches takes too long
and includes too many nonessential fixes. Corporate managers want everything standardized, so they don’t have
individual employees running Windows Update. But managers often find that applying patches quickly and consistently is difficult. And some users complain that the fixes
actually cause other applications to fail.
I don’t buy the idea that other operating systems are any
more secure than Windows. We’ve seen some pretty
destructive Unix worms over the years, and antivirus software is just as necessary for Mac and Linux users as it is for
Windows users. Most hackers target Microsoft simply because Windows and Office are so popular. That’s why having a few non-Windows machines in the office makes sense.
The best advice I can give is to be prepared. Everyone
should be running—and updating—antivirus software and
personal firewall, at least the firewall that comes with Windows. Price is no longer an issue now that free antivirus and
personal firewall programs are available. Running
antispam and antispyware software is also a good idea.
Everyone needs to take responsibility for the epidemic.
You don’t want your machine to be the one launching
an attack, do you?
LOOKING BEYOND WINDOWS
ODDS ARE, YOU’RE
running Windows on
your desktop or notebook computer. I use a
Windows machine, as
do most of our writers.
(Our art department
uses Mac systems.)
Most PC Magazine
readers run Windows,
as do most computer
users. A recent IDC
study shows that 93.8 percent of new software licenses for
desktops are for Windows, with Mac licenses accounting for
2.9 percent, and paid Linux distributions at 2.8 percent. (Free
Linux downloads don’t change the numbers significantly.)
So why are we running a story on Windows alternatives
(“If You Don’t Do Windows,” page 137.) In showing you
the differences between Windows and other OSs, we
point out how Windows is far from perfect. Mac OS X
impresses me with how well it integrates its bundled apps.
They really do work better together than do similar
features within Windows. Mac OS X is turning out to
be more of an option for businesses, as new versions
work better within Windows networks. The complexity
8
P C M A G A Z I N E NOVEMBER 25, 2003 www.pcmag.com
of Linux has kept people away, but that’s all changing.
Many current distributions look a lot like Windows. And
Linux is both a lower-cost option and more flexible out of
the box, giving users more control.
As expected, Microsoft is planning some big changes in
the next major release of Windows, code-named Longhorn.
We expect a new user interface, new APIs for programming
graphics and presentation, more Web services functions,
a new way of tracking information, and greater security and
rights management through a trusted computing architecture. The changes sound good, but the new OS isn’t due to
release for another three years.
Another reason for exploring alternative OSs is the
so-called biodiversity argument: If all computers run the
same software, they will become targets for viruses and
worms. One really bad threat could take out all your
machines at once. Having machines running various OSs
diffuses the vulnerability.
Whether you’re considering a switch, the competition
from other operating systems encourages innovation in the
industry. And that’s good news for everyone.
MORE ON THE WEB: Join us online and make your voice heard.
Talk back to Michael J. Miller in our opinions section,
www.pcmag.com/miller.
䊛
Contents.1
NOVEMBER 25, 2003 VOL. 22 NO. 21
www.pcmag.com
Close to 12 million PCs were sold in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2003, according to Gartner Dataquest.
32
First Looks
32
Dell Dimension 4600C
33
Gateway 510XL
34
HP Pavilion
m370n K
34
ViewSonic
NextVision
M2100 Digital
Media Center
36
iBuyPower Gamer Extreme
38
Dell Axim X3i
38
HP iPAQ Pocket PC h4150
39
HP iPAQ Pocket
PC h4350 K
40
ViewSonic V36
41
Adobe Photoshop
Album 2.0
41
ScanSoft PDF Converter
44
Brother MFC-3820CN
46
Canon MultiPass MP370 M
46
Canon MultiPass MP730 M
48
Dell A940
48
Epson Stylus CX5400
48
Epson Stylus CX6400
49
HP PSC 1350 All-In-One
49
HP PSC 2510 Photosmart All-In-One
51
Lexmark PrinTrio Photo P3150
51
Lexmark X6170 All-In-One Office Center
C OV E R STO RY
The
Coolest
PCs
If you’re shopping for a
new home PC, you’ll be
dazzled by the many
options available. We test
and review 35 of the best
systems, including
high-end multimedia
desktops, value
desktops, all-in-one
systems, and desktop replacement
notebooks. Here’s what to look for when
choosing just the right PC.
ON THE COVER
PC Buyers’ Guide:
Powerful Portables
page 110
Best Values page 96
All-in-Ones page 104
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
55 Feedback
168 Backspace
83
4 New Pocket PCs
page 38
Virus Attack! page 122
10 Do-It-All Printers
page 44
Media Centers page 32
High-End Systems page 85
15
Contents.2
NOVEMBER 25, 2003
25 Pipeline
25
Xerox’s page design genie.
25
Apple readies its Panther OS.
25
The numbers behind the RIAA’s woes.
26
Mercora: A new spin on online music.
26
Meet Johns Hopkins’s robot doctor.
26
Nanotech drives brighter displays.
28
COMING ATTRACTIONS: Gateway 610 Media
ContextMenu Plus PC Magazine’s new,
premium utility will simplify, streamline,
and “pump up” your right-click menus..
(www.pcmag.com/utilities)
FIRST LOOKS
PC SECURITY
O P E R AT I N G S Y S T E M S
122 Under Attack
137 If You Don’t
Do Windows
More than 90 percent of
the world’s desktops
use Windows, but
Linux and Mac
developers are
working hard to
change that. We take a
close look at the two
alternative operating systems, comparing
them against Windows. We also review five
of the latest Linux desktop distributions.
66 Solutions
66
68
70
72
75
The Activation FAQ: Software
activation raises a lot of questions.
What are you disclosing? What are
your rights? We have the answers.
Security Watch: File sharing doesn’t
just raise legal issues; it can also
leave your computer open to
privacy and security threats.
Enterprise: CarFax is taking the
Web-based ASP route to run its
corporate software.
Internet Professional: Macromedia
Contribute lets everyone on your
team—or your clients—add content
or make updates to your Web site,
even with no technical background.
User to User: Our experts explain
the mysterious “tilde” file that shows
up on Win XP desktops, as well as
how to hide text in Word.
16
www.pcmag.com
UTILITY DOWNLOAD
Center, Vialta Beamer TV videophone, Dell W1700 LCD TV, and more.
Don’t become one of
the growing numbers
of victims of worms,
Trojan horses, and other threats to
computer security. We evaluate 12
software packages that protect you
from these threats and prevent you
from becoming a hazard to your fellow
PC users. In addition to standard
antivirus software, we test software
firewalls and security suites that
include privacy and filtering features.
Online
Opinions
New reviews
every week!
Coming soon:
• DVD CopyWare
• Pentax *ist D K
• SMC EZ-Stream
digital media hub
(www.pcmag.com/firstlooks)
N E W S A N D A N A LY S I S
The latest technology trends:
• 802.11n on the Horizon
• Beyond Wi-Fi
• Microsoft’s Security Stance
(www.pcmag.com/news)
TO O L S YO U C A N U S E
• Discussions: Log on and participate!
(http://discuss.pcmag.com/pcmag)
• Downloads: Check out our indexed list
of utilities from A to Z.
(www.pcmag.com/utilities)
EXCLUSIVE COLUMNS
7
57
59
61
63
Michael J. Miller: Forward
Thinking
Bill Machrone: ExtremeTech
John C. Dvorak
John C. Dvorak’s Inside Track
Bill Howard: On Technology
Personal Technology
162 After Hours
Make Beautiful Music: We evaluate the
latest in music creation software,
which is usable even if you don’t know
a C clef from a double sharp.
DVORAK ONLINE
K Each Monday, John C.
Dvorak gives you his
take on what’s
happening in high tech
today. Visit www.pcmag.com/dvorak.
ULANOFF ONLINE
K And each Wednesday,
Lance Ulanoff puts his
own unique spin on
technology. Visit
www.pcmag.com/ulanoff.
164 Gear & Games
Savage, from S2 Games; Mace Griffin:
Bounty Hunter; Sony PEGA-VR100K
portable TV recorder; NHT M-00
speakers; and a roundup of househunting Web sites.
Coming up:
• $1,200 speed demon
• Hyper-Threaded CPU reviews
• Wireless gaming
(www.extremetech.com)
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /p i p e l i n e
T E C H N O L O G Y T R E N D S & N E W S A N A LY S I S
GENOME ON A CHIP
The entire human genome
now exists on a chip. Agilent
Technologies and Affymetrix
have separately announced
so-called whole gene chips
(also called microarrays). The
chips, in conjunction with
specialized scanners, could
enable drug and disease
researchers to perform
genome-screening tasks at a
low cost. The chips may also
assist in comparisons of
tissue samples to known gene
sequences in healthy organs.
The Design Genie
Voilà! It’s a splashy document.
Xerox’s automated design
software generates many
page layouts and presents
the best ones.
be most effective—a document must be designed
specially for each medium.”
Toward that end, Xerox scientists are working with prototypes that do things like
repackage a set of pages on the
Web for delivery to PDAs.
Automated design software is still in the prototype stage, and Xerox officials are mum about
products that may incorporate the technology. But
they confirm that they are
talking to large businesses
about potential partnerships. Keep your eyes
peeled.—Sebastian Rupley
Mac OS
Overhaul
APPLE HAS DELIVERED A NEW Mac-
intosh operating system—faster
than expected. The company has
announced that Mac OS X 10.3,
named Panther, ($129 direct)
became available October 24. Panther is a major retooling of Mac OS.
Two of the most significant
enhancements in Panther are
improved compatibility with Windows networks and the introduction of Exposé, an innovative way
to display multiple open windows
concurrently. Support for Microsoft Exchange is built into the mail
and address book components for
accessing and synching Exchange
e-mail and address book entries.
Exposé visually organizes overlapping windows on the desktop into
a set of thumbnail views.
Apple claims that the new OS
offers speed increases, although
we have not yet tested it in PC
Magazine Labs. Look for a review
in an upcoming issue.—SR
n the U.S. a
di
n
l
o
(in millions)
1999
2000
2001
2002
754.8
785.1
762.8
681.0
nada
Ca
complex documents and flows
them into a series of sample
page layouts.
Rather than replacing
graphic artists, Xerox’s software works like a page layout
genie, looking over the shoulder of the person creating a
document. The software relies
on genetic algorithms to select
the best designs. Xerox programmers built the algorithms
to follow the example nature
sets in the way it picks the
fittest genes. Numerous possible page layouts are generated,
and then the possibilities are
sorted based on the best fit
and variation in the presentation of page elements. Users
can also provide rules for producing page layouts, such as
the preservation of logo colors
and restrictions on the
ALL THAT E-MAIL
d
PANTHER IMAGE COURTESY OF APPLE
H
amount of page overage.
Xerox is also exploring
applications beyond page layout. “One problem with documents is that it’s impossible to
say where or how a document
might be viewed over its lifetime,” says Lisa Purvis, a Xerox
research scientist. “A document may be printed, or it may
be viewed on a mobile device
like a cell phone or a BlackBerry. To look its best—and to
Album
ss
eads up, graphic artists:
A promising new breed
of software under development at Xerox could do
wonders for the artistically
challenged as well as graphics
professionals. At Xerox’s Solutions and Services Technology
Center in Webster, New York,
researchers are working on
automated document design
software that takes text, graphics, and other elements of
On the average, a typical
corporate user receives 81
e-mails and sends 29 messages per day, according to
a survey by researchers at The
Radicati Group. The data also
shows that the average corporate user sends/receives
9.6MB of e-mail data per day.
By 2005 that figure will skyrocket to 46MB of daily e-mail
data, the researchers predict.
ROSY RETAIL ONLINE
Online retail sales in the U.S.
have jumped in 2003, according to researchers at Retail
Forward. The firm is projecting total year-end online retail
sales to reach $17.5 billion,
compared with $13.8 billion in
2002. But their projection is
low compared with that of
eMarketer researchers, who
expect the 2003 total to be
$55 billion. Final 2003 figures
for online retail sales will
depend heavily on holiday
shopping. In 2002, the sales
numbers for online holiday
shopping jumped by double
digits over those of 2001.
The RIAA’s
Tune Troubles
As the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA)
continues its subpoena
campaign against alleged
online music file swappers,
market research figures
show that album sales are
declining. The decline in 2002
was particularly steep.
Source: Nielsen SoundScan, October 2003.
25
PIPELINE
The eBay of
Online Music
he game of musical
chairs in online music
distribution continues.
Srivats Sampath, former president and CEO of McAfee Security, has announced an alternative to peer-to-peer services like
Kazaa and Morpheus. Mercora,
due out early next year, will be
an online marketplace where
Internet users and businesses
can buy and sell digital songs.
Much like Apple iTunes Music
Store and RealNetworks Rhapsody—online services where
you can buy songs for a small
fee—Mercora will let you
T
download music without sparking the ire of the RIAA.
The difference between Mercora and current for-pay online
music services is subtle. iTunes
and Rhapsody license songs
from record labels and independent artists and then sell those
songs to users. Mercora will
simply provide the technology
so that the labels and artists can
do the selling themselves.
“The closest analogy I can
make with Mercora is that
we’re trying to be the eBay of
online music,” says Sampath,
“bringing together buyers and
sellers in a frictionless online
environment.”
Individual sellers will also be
able to use the marketplace.
Although they won’t be able to
sell digital songs (since they
don’t own the copyrights), they
will be able to sell used CDs,
concert tickets, and the like.
Whether Mercora will eat
into the 60-million-person audience that the peer-to-peer file
sharing services now command
remains to be seen.—Cade Metz
26
Paging Dr. Robot
giggling. Just as a phone
Hospital’s latest physiconversation is human
cian addition, Dr. Robot,
contact, this is an extenisn’t a real doctor, but he
sion of human contact.”
displays one on TV—
In the larger scheme,
well, sort of.
the robot is “just incidenDoctors operate the
tal,” Kavoussi says. Evenfive-foot-tall robot—a
tually he expects all hosswiveling video camera and
pital patients to interact
computer screen mounted
with doctors through
on a mechanical base—by
computer screens in
guiding it through patients’
their rooms. “I’m blown
rooms via a remote-conaway that I can run this
trol joystick. By communifrom my house,” he says.
cating through the hospi“Someday we’ll be able
tal’s virtual private
to examine patients in
network (VPN) and
their homes. Rather
802.11b wireless netthan wait in a doctor’s
work, doctors at home
office, little Johnny
or out of town can
can watch ‘Spongeteleconference with
Bob SquarePants’ at
patients and examine
home, and when his
them.
mother tells him the docInTouch Health, the
tor is ready to see
Physicians can
manufacturer of Dr.
him, he can belly up
control Dr. Robot
Robot, doesn’t expect
to a camera.”
remotely via a VPN
the robot to replace
In the meantime,
and an 802.11 wiredoctors, but the 30
InTouch Health is
Johns Hopkins patients less network.
already testing Dr.
who have consulted
Robot attachments
with Dr. Robot appreciate the extra that serve as a stethoscope and
attention. “Patients are more satis- a blood oxygen tester. Within
fied because we spend more time
three years, Dr. Robot will have
with them,” says Louis Kavoussi, a
an ultrasound probe and an arm
Johns Hopkins urology professor.
that can touch patients to trans“And it’s a novelty item. The robot
mit information. Talk about a
comes in and patients start
cold finger.—Alexandra Robbins
THE JOHNS HOPKINS
Brighter
Displays
fter years of development, nanotechnology
is finally bearing fruit.
Engineers at Omron have used
the science of manipulating
subatomic particles to design
extremely bright, low-power
LCD screens. It’s just one example of the promising potential of nanotechnology.
The company has combined
a very bright microprism array,
for pinpoint control over lighting, with a nanoprism array that
prevents reflection—and loss—
of that light. LCDs all use some
form of light-emitting diode
(LED) for illumination, whether
for a backlight (as in early Palm
handhelds) or a frontlight (as in
Pocket PC devices). Omron
uses a 200-micrometer prism to
straighten the path of light
beams from an LED, and then
diffuse it evenly across the LCD
screen to minimize light loss.
With the diffusion, light
beams can collide, reflect, and
refract through an LCD. To
counter this, Omron uses a
nanoprism array 3 micrometers
long to reduce reflection, brighten images and sharpen contrast.
It will take several years, however, for the displays to arrive in
products.—Jeremy A. Kaplan
A
The Thin-Air Display
Thin, flat-panel displays are the status
floating in space. You can watch several
symbols du jour. But the displays of
video examples of how the Heliodisplay
tomorrow may be thinner still—so
works at www.io2technology.com.
slim, in fact, that they’ll literally be
Although the images seem to hover
made out of thin air.
in the air, don’t expect to see huge
One such display already being testinteractive projections like those used
ed is the Heliodisplay, invented by MIT
in the movie Minority Report any time
researcher Chad Dyner and being develsoon. At the moment, the largest
oped by IO2 Technology. It projects a
Heliodisplay is 27 inches with a 1,024The Heliodisplay
video image—or any standard computer projects images
by 768-pixel display. But the company
image—that appears to float in midair.
that appear to float is working on several 42-inch protoNo special goggles are required.
types they hope will eventually be
in midair. No gogThe developers of the floating monipriced about the same as comparable
gles required.
tor are intentionally vague about the
plasma displays.
technical details, but they do say that the projec“Most commercial interest has come from
tor “modifies the properties of the air within a
trade show display firms, amusement parks, and
localized environment” to create a full-color video
the military,” says Bob Ely of IO2 Technology.
Products that use the technology are at least 18
picture. The image is two-dimensional and can be
months away.—John R. Quain
used like a touch screen by pointing at the objects
PIPELINE
Sleek Media Center
Gateway will be the first company
to introduce an all-in-one PC based
on the Microsoft Windows XP
Media Center Edition OS. Behind
the 17-inch widescreen flat-panel
display of the Gateway 610 Media
Center are the guts of the machine,
including an FM/TV tuner, DVD
player or burner (depending on the
model), and an Intel P4 processor.
It might make the ideal multimedia
machine for an office, den, bedroom, kitchen, or studio
apartment—anywhere space is a
premium.—Jamie M. Bsales
$1,499 direct and up. Gateway Inc.,
www.gateway.com.
Videophone Via the TV
Vialta will be rolling out its new Beamer
TV appliance, expanding its line of
video-enabled phone devices. Unlike
the original Beamer, which has its own
LCD screen, Beamer TV hooks directly
to your TV set, giving you a bigger view
of your loved ones. Simply plug your
phone into Beamer TV and plug
Beamer TV into a television’s RCA video jack.
Then call another
Beamer TV (or Beamer) owner and hit Start
to send live video of
yourself to the other
party.—JMB
$150 street. Vialta Inc.,
www.vialta.com.
Microsoft Smartphone on its Way
Dell’s TV/Monitor
Combo
The first phone based on
Microsoft’s Smartphone
platform will appear for the
U.S. market later this year.
AT&T Wireless will offer the
Motorola MPx200 with
Microsoft’s Windows Mobile
software. The phone will
synchronize Outlook data,
play music and display images via Windows Media
Player, and access AT&T
Wireless’s mMode service.
—Bruce Brown
The Dell W1700 LCD TV will combine a 17-inch widescreen monitor
with a TV tuner. For PC use, it offers
VGA and DVI inputs; the integrated
tuner delivers S-Video, component,
and composite inputs. You can
watch a DVD movie using the full
16:9 screen or shrink the TV image
with Picture-in-Picture (a handy
feature for keeping tabs on the game
while you work).—JMB
$699 direct. Dell Inc., www.dell.com.
Price not yet set. AT&T Wireless,
www.attwireless.com.
28
Dell’s MP3 Play
Cheap Printer
The Dell Digital Jukebox
will have Apple’s iPod
clearly in its sights when
the music player debuts this
year. With either a 15GB or 20GB
hard drive, the player will offer
intuitive controls and betterthan-iPod battery life, Dell
claims.—JMB
At just $60, the Epson
Stylus C64 gives you no
excuse not to have a
printer for each PC in your
home. It will deliver 5,760by 1,440-dpi output at claimed
speeds up to 17 pages per
minute for black text and 9 ppm
in color.—JMB
$249 direct and up.
Dell Inc.,
www.dell.com.
$60 street. Epson
America Inc.,
www.epson.com.
HANDS-ON TESTING OF NEW PRODUCTS
36 iBuyPower Gamer
Extreme
38 Dell Axim X3i
38 HP iPAQ Pocket
PC h4150
39 HP iPAQ Pocket PC h4350
40 ViewSonic V36
41 Adobe Photoshop
Album 2.0
41 ScanSoft PDF Converter
44 Brother MFC-3820CN
46 Canon MultiPass
MP370
46 Canon MultiPass
MP730
Media Center PCs: More Appealing
BY BILL HOWARD
Of the PCs you look at this and holiday season, many of the offerings in the $1,000 to $2,000 range will
be running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004. Combining all the features of a Windows PC with
a TV tuner, DVD player (and often DVD burner), personal video recorder (PVR), and media hub (to
store and play music, photo, and video files), Media Center PCs scream, “Buy me as the big family gift!”
And unlike TiVo, there’s no
subscription fee.
Except where noted, the four
test systems (from Dell, Gateway, HP, and ViewSonic) all
have sockets for digital-camera
memory cards, outputs for TVs
as well as monitors, inputs for
analog and digital video, adequate three-piece speaker systems, and remote controls for
accessing all multimedia functions. Our Editors’ Choice, the
HP Pavilion m370n, adds a camera dock (for HP cameras) on
top and front-mounted video
ports for capturing analog video
from a camcorder or VCR.
The Dell Dimension 4600C is the
most compact of the four Media
Center PCs we tested. At just 13
by 7 by 14 inches (HWD) and with
wireless keyboard, wireless
mouse, and 17-inch flat-panel display, it fits well in a small apartment, dorm room, or crowded
office. The rounded and hinged
front that hides the drive bays
make the case look less like a PC.
Overall, this is a Media Center PC in which the software is
ahead of the hardware: The software bundle is quite capable of
general productivity and multimedia tasks. Microsoft Works
PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOM O’CONNOR
THE MAGAZINE
The good news is that
of October 28, teleWORLD’S LARGEST
COMPUTER-TESTING
almost every major PC
vision picture quality
FACILITY
maker now offers a
remains the sticking
Media Center model,
point. The tuners in
and these machines
the four Media Center
PCs we tested for this
come with more feastory are better than
tures at lower prices
they were a year ago,
than they did a year
but we still found the
ago. It’s possible to
buy a Media Center PC for just images less crisp than is typicalunder $1,000 (complete systems ly delivered by a standard TV’s
that are more nicely equipped built-in tuner. The quality is like
cost about $2,000). That’s $500 watching a movie on VHS.
That said, DVD playback
to $1,000 cheaper than the fall
quality is comparable with a
2002 offerings.
As we said in the First Looks typical set-top DVD player, and
review of the Windows XP the PVR software built into the
Media Center 2004 in our issue Media Center OS is easy to use.
The Dell Dimension 4600C Media Center model comes
in a compact case ideal for cramped spaces.
32
Of the Media Center units here, the Gateway 510XL looks
the most like a traditional PC .
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /f i r s t l o o k s
48 Dell A940
48 Epson Stylus CX5400
48 Epson Stylus
CX6400
49 HP PSC 1350 All-In-One
Suite 2003 includes Microsoft
Word and PictureIt! 7.0. For
music, there’s Roxio’s Easy CD
Creator and MusicMatch Jukebox Basic; for photography (in
addition to PictureIt!), there’s
Sierra Imaging’s Image Expert;
for video capture/editing, Sonic
Solutions’ MyDVD and Roxio
Videowave Movie Creator. The
best app of the bunch is Sonic
PrimeTime, a classy tool that
launches from the Media Center
user interface and archives TV
shows to the optical drive.
Digital photographers wanting to upload images will need
to use adapter cards for the two
front-mounted PC Card slots;
other Media Center models
have dedicated slots for a range
of memory cards. Our test unit
included one hard drive, a
DVD + RW drive, AGP graphics
card, and a modem/FireWire
card, leaving no space for expansion inside.
That said, there’s little if anything you’d need to add, except
for maybe a larger hard drive if
WHAT THE RATINGS MEAN
49 HP PSC 2510
Photosmart All-In-One
51 Lexmark PrinTrio Photo P3150
51 Lexmark X6170
All-In-One Office Center
Multimedia
Content
Creation
Winstone
2004
3DMark03
Business
Winstone
2004
18.1
23.9
Gateway 510XL
N/A
N/A
HP Pavilion m370n
17.8
24.3
ViewSonic NextVision M2100
18.2
22.7
High scores are best.
Bold type denotes first place.
Anti-aliasing/Anisotropic filtering K
lllll EXCELLENT
llllm VERY GOOD
lllmm GOOD
llmmm FAIR
lmmmm POOR
Serious Sam: The
Second Encounter
Tom Clancy’s Splinter
Cell
1,024 x
768
(fps)
1,024 x
768
(fps)
1,600 x
1,200
(fps)
1,600 x
1,200
(fps)
1,024 x
768
1,600 x
1,200
2X/2X
4X/8X
2X/2X
4X/4X
2X/2X
4X/8X
827
296
43.3
16.4
16.3
10.4
653
193
28.7
5.7
15.3
9.3
1,182
573
67.0
35.0
28.4
18.5
1,819
550
66.3
23.3
24.2
16.0
RED denotes Editors’ Choice. Each machine came with a 2.8-GHz Pentium 4 CPU and 512MB of DDR SDRAM.
N/A—Not applicable: The product could not perform this test.
you’re a video-editing enthusiast. Our test unit came with an
80GB drive; Dell says a 120GB
drive will be offered by the time
you read this.
Since it’s about half the size of
most desktop chassis, the 4600C
must use a combination of desktop and notebook parts, which
raises its cost. This brings the
unit’s cost to about $500 more
than that of a similarly configured Dimension 4600 in a small
tower case. If you value a compact system but don’t want to try
a Media Center Edition notebook, however, the 4600C is a
good choice.
The HP Pavilion m370n features
a camera dock and front video ports.
With 2.8-GHz Pentium 4, 512MB DDR
SDRAM, 80GB hard drive, DVD+RW
drive, 64MB ATI All-in-Wonder 9000
graphics, 17-inch LCD monitor, $1,949
direct (E-value Code 6V411-46CMCR).
Dell Inc., 800-999-3355,
www.dell.com. OVERALL: lllmm
M: llllm P: llllm
V: llllm G: lllmm
Gateway 510XL
Remember Napster? The shuttered file-sharing service is back
as a legitimate business, and the
Media Center version of Napster 2.0 is an exclusive feature
on Gateway PCs through year
end. (A non–Media Center version for PCs is currently avail-
able as a free download).
Napster 2.0 coexists with the
Media Center My Music interface and, in our opinion, improves on it. It runs from Windows Media Center’s Other
Programs tab and consolidates
music that’s already on your
hard drive with streaming Internet radio, Napster downloads, and Napster-only music
channels. Napster helps realize
the vision of what a multimedia
PC ought to be.
The Gateway 510XL is Gateway’s midsize tower unit. The
company bundles the unit with a
17-inch LCD, inexpensive but
The ViewSonic NextVision M1200 is
a fine value among Media Center PCs.
33
FIRST LOOKS
decent Boston Acoustics BA-745
speakers, and wired keyboard
and optical mouse. Of the four
machines we reviewed, the
510XL looks the most like a traditional PC.
Welcome touches include the
multiformat DVD recorder along
with a separate DVD drive and a
160GB serial ATA hard drive. On
the other hand, the nVidia GeForce 5200 is a midrange choice
for a graphics adapter. Gamers
will want to upgrade, as the system was at or near the bottom
on our 3-D performance tests.
The 510XL lacks dedicated
memory card readers, and none
is offered as a built-in option.
And the Dell and HP multimedia
keyboards have a better feel.
The software bundle helps
Gateway’s scores on our multimedia tasks. It includes Microsoft Works Suite 2003 with
Word and PictureIt! 7.0. For
video editing, there’s Pinnacle
Studio 8 SE, and for burning CDs
and DVDs there’s Ahead Software’s Nero Burning ROM.
Overall this is a competent
Media Center PC, and the inclusion of Napster 2.0 makes the
510XL a good choice this year if
your primary reason for buying a
Media Center machine is music.
Gateway 510XL
SDRAM, 160GB hard drive, DVD+RW/RW and DVD-ROM drives, 128MB
nVidia GeForce FX5200, 17-inch LCD
monitor, $1,800 direct. Gateway Inc.,
800-369-1409, www.gateway.com.
OVERALL: lllmm
M: lllll P: llllm
V: lllmm G: lllmm
HP Pavilion m370n
In this field of four, the
well-rounded HP Pavilion m370n trumps
the Media Center offerings from Dell and
Gateway (albeit at a higher
price) and edges out the similarly priced ViewSonic NextVision M2100 Digital Media
Center. The HP unit is the best
combination of traditional PC
and multimedia center.
Our test unit came with dual
optical drives (DVD+RW and
34
Dell’s Media Experience
Author! Author! Take a casual glance at the Dell Media Experience (DME) interface on one of the company’s PCs and you’d
swear you’re looking at Microsoft Windows XP Media Center
Edition 2004, except that there’s no TV button. DME ships on
all Dell Dimension PCs (and some Inspiron notebooks) that
aren’t Media Center Edition (MCE) PCs—essentially meaning
those without TV tuners. Like MCE 2004, it’s an interface
meant to be used from across your living room, with large
fonts on a blue background. DME lets you play music and view
photos (including slide shows with music), DVDs, and PCbased videos, but not TV shows. For that, you need an MCE PC.
DME is free, though you’ll probably want to add a Dell remote
control and receiver for $30.—BH
CD-RW), and a front panel
bristling with every input/output connector you’d need for
any kind of multimedia: four
flash memory slots, analog
video and audio jacks, USB 2.0
ports, and FireWire. For fans of
the classics, there’s even a
quaint floppy disk drive.
The system’s front panel and
the comprehensive keyboard
have dedicated buttons, taking
you to the main multimedia features: photo, music, and video.
The front panel also has quicklaunch buttons for TV viewing
and a TV guide.
HP does a good job with the
software, especially the proprietary HP Image Zone photography suite, which lets you create
slide shows (complete with
music) and burn them to DVD
or CD, share photos, and much
more. There’s also ArcSoft’s
ShowBiz DVD for video editing
and DVD creation, MusicMatch
Jukebox Basic for audio, and
Sonic RecordNow! for CD and
DVD burning.
The most original aspect of
the m370n is the camera dock
atop the system unit. A cutout is
sized to fit either of HP’s two
docking modules; you can snake
the power and USB cables inside
the case for a clean look.
All in all, the m370n evolves
the field of what a Media Center
PC should be: A single place for
capturing, storing, creating, and
sharing multimedia content.
HP Pavilion m370n
SDRAM, 160GB hard drive, DVD+RW
and CD-RW drives, 128MB ATI Radeon
9200, 17-inch LCD monitor, $2,050 direct. Hewlett-Packard Co., 888-9994747, www.hp.com. OVERALL: lllll
M: lllll P: lllll
V: lllll G: llllm
ViewSonic NextVision
M1200
It’s about time ViewSonic got
some respect for its PCs as well
as its displays. The ViewSonic
NextVision M2100 Digital Media
Center is the sleeper in this
group. It’s a capable and affordable system that would be equally comfortable as a home PC or
living-room companion.
The system can stand vertically on the included 2-inch pedestal stand or lay horizontally in
an audio rack. A 2-inch-deep
panel clips to the rear and hides
much of the unsightliness of the
tangle of cables that congregates
behind every computer.
The front panel is uncluttered compared with those of
most other PCs. Two chromelipped slots accept the most
common memory cards; there’s
only one optical drive cutout;
and a door hides connections
for the various ports and jacks.
The back panel has coaxial as
well as optical digital out. The
wireless keyboard, just 15 inches wide with a built-in pointing
stick, is cute but awkward. It’s
fine for navigating from your
couch but begs to be replaced
by a more traditional keyboard
and separate mouse for normal
desktop PC duties.
Software is adequate, with the
most notable inclusions being
Sonic RecordNow! 6.5 and MyDVD. In our test unit, the 17-inch
wide-screen ViewSonic N1700w
LCD monitor/TV (16:9 contrast
ratio; 1,280-by-1,024) accounted
for about $800 of the total cost .
With its 128MB nVidia GeForce FX5600 graphics card, the
M2100 was first or second on
most of our graphics-intensive
tests. And given that you can get
such good performance and a
gorgeous dual-duty monitor for
pretty much the same price as
the others here—or pick a different display and get the price
down to around $1,500—the
M2100 is a compelling choice.
ViewSonic NextVision M2100
Digital Media Center
SDRAM, 160GB hard drive, DVD+RW/RW and CD-RW drives, 128MB nVidia
GeForce FX5600 graphics, N1700w 17inch wide-screen LCD TV/monitor,
$2,000 street. ViewSonic Corp.,
800-888-8583, www.viewsonic.com.
OVERALL: llllm
M: llllm P: lllll
V: lllll G: llllm
FIRST LOOKS
Intel’s P4 Goes Extreme
BY KONSTANTINOS
KARAGIANNIS
e were more than a
little wowed by the
performance we saw
from AMD’s Athlon 64 FX-51
chip (First Looks, October 28).
Even though we knew that running it as a true 64-bit machine
wouldn’t be feasible for a while
due to lack of OS, application,
and driver support, on 32-bit
apps the processor was a performance leader. Now Intel, still
unconvinced of the industry’s
readiness for a 64-bit consumer
platform, has answered the performance challenge with the impressive Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition.
Like its predecessor, the latest
P4 still runs at 3.2 GHz and on
the 800-MHz front-side bus. But
the new P4 EE chip boasts 2MB
of L3 cache memory—an advance borrowed from the Xeon
chip family and put to excellent
use here. As an on-the-die
cache, the new L3 runs at full
core frequency, which no doubt
helps it churn through operations in a way that rivals the
Athlon 64 FX-51 chip in some
applications. (For more on the
new chip’s architecture, go to
www.extremetech.com/p4ee.)
To determine how the new P4
stacks up against the stiff competition AMD provided, we got
in the first shipping P4 EE machine we could find: A unit from
iBuyPower. Besides comparing
it with an Athlon 64 FX-51–based
machine, we pitted the new P4
system against a standard 3.2GHz P4 to see how much of an
improvement the 2MB of L3
delivers. Once again, Intel and
W
Low scores are best.
Bold type denotes first
place.
figurations, some of our comparisons with the Athlon 64 FX-51
system we had on hand (with its
dual 10,000-rpm SATA drives)
are not as direct as we would
have liked. So note that some of
the Athlon’s performance edge
may be due to the faster drives.
Our test system for the P4 EE
chip was the brand-new iBuyPower Gamer Extreme. While the
price may seem high ($3,249
direct), it is still cheaper than
the machines in our Athlon 64
FX-51 roundup, while delivering
similar performance. The system even includes a decent 19inch ViewSonic CRT to show off
ATI’s latest and greatest 256MB
Radeon 9800 XT card. As the
numbers show, this is a powerful
machine that keeps up with the
competition, and it is well
worth the price.
AMD find their fastest chips in a
scenario we’re used to seeing:
Across our regular array of business, multimedia, and gaming
benchmark tests, the Athlon 64
FX-51 and P4 EE often score too
close to call.
The difference between P4
and P4 EE, however, is pretty
clear, with noticeable boosts to
Business Winstone and Multimedia Content Creation scores.
Some of the games got a small
boost, too—though not as much
as we had expected to see.
Since both our P4 and P4 EE
systems had two 7,200-rpm SATA
hard drives in RAID Level 0 con-
iBuyPower Gamer Extreme
With 3.2-GHz Intel Pentium 4 Extreme
Edition, 1GB dual-channel 400-MHz
DDR SDRAM, two 120GB 7,200-rpm
SATA hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration, 4X DVD+/-RW drive, 16X DVDROM drive, 256MB ATI Radeon 9800
XT, 19-inch CRT, Microsoft Windows
XP Pro, $3,249 direct. iBuyPower
Computer, 888-462-3899, www
.ibuypower.com. OVERALL: llllm
M: llllm P: lllmm
V: llllm G: lllmm
The iBuyPower Gamer
Extreme features top-notch
speed and a neon-lit
chassis.
Business
Winstone
2004 L
1
2
3
Overall
score
Multimedia
Content
Creation
Winstone
2004 L
L
M
Business Winstone 2004
Multitasking Scenarios L
L
Serious Sam:
The Second
Encounter L
Tom Clancy’s
Splinter Cell L
1,600 x
1,200
1,600 x 1,200
(fps)
1,024 x
768 (fps)
1,600 x
1,200 (fps)
3DMark03
Adobe Photoshop
7.0 (130MB file) M
4X/8X
4X/8X
Off/2X
Off/8X
Lighting
Effects
(sec)
2X/2X
iBuyPower Gamer
Extreme
P4 Extreme Edition Two 7,200-rpm
(3.2 GHz)
SATA (RAID Level 0)
23.0
3.0
2.7
3.3
3.0
31.2
2,079
69
54
38
16
54
Dell Dimension
XPS*
P4 (3.2 GHz)
Two 7,200-rpm
SATA (RAID Level 0)
22.1
2.7
2.5
3.1
2.8
29.8
2,061
68
52
38
17
54
Velocity Micro
Raptor 64*
Athlon 64 FX-51
(2.2 GHz)
Two 10,000-rpm
SATA (RAID Level 0)
26.3
3.7
3.0
2.8
3.0
34.3
2,061
69
55
38
17
53
Processor
Hard drive
Anti-aliasing/Anisotropic filtering K
* Reported for comparison.
36
The 3.2-GHz P4 EE chip is
backed up by 1GB of dual-channel 400-MHz DDR SDRAM. Having motherboard-based SATA
RAID 0 no doubt helps this core
along, even with the slower,
7,200-rpm SATA drives (which
deliver a total of 240GB of storage). We definitely approve of
the flexibility afforded by the
two optical drives—the 4X DVD+
RW/-RW multiformat writer and
the 16X DVD-ROM.
The Audigy 2 Platinum card
and 450-watt Logitech Z-680 5.1
speakers will give you plenty of
delightful reasons to shut the
doors and windows. Multimedia
software, however, is somewhat
light, comprising only the Sonic
MyDVD and RecordNow packages for creating discs.
In addition to being a cuttingedge PC the Gamer Extreme is
also a real boutique-looking
enthusiast box. The side of the
attractive case has a window,
revealing a neon light. On the
face is a set of cool-looking analog gauges that show you the
interior temperature, as well as
the states of the fan voltage and
internal noise. Below the gauges,
there’s a useful 6-in-1 media card
reader and writer. The whole
killer package is backed by a
three-year limited warranty,
with on-site service included
during the first year.
We tested each system with 1GB of dual-channel 400-MHz DDR SDRAM using Microsoft Windows XP Professional.
Resize
200%
(sec)
4X/8X
FIRST LOOKS
Pocket PCs Get More Versatile, Less Expensive
BY BRUCE BROWN
AND MARGE BROWN
he holidays must be just
around the corner: First
Palm rolled out a fleet of
new models for the end-of-year
shopping bonanza (First Looks,
October 28), and now each
major Windows Mobile 2003 for
Pocket PC (Pocket PC 2003 for
short) hardware maker is releasing new PDA models.
Here we review four of them
from Dell, HP, and ViewSonic
(Toshiba is expected to introduce new models later this
year). Each of the reviewed devices has a 3.5-inch transflective
display that delivers bright, crisp
colors. And all feature advances
in mobility and versatility at
ever-lower prices.
T
DELL AXIM X3i
When Dell debuted the Axim X5
last year, we thought it was a
well-priced PDA in a too-large
package. The company has
remedied that with the Axim X3
line. Three trim levels are available, starting at just $229
(direct). We tested the top-end
model, the Axim X3i, which features a 400-MHz processor and
integrated 802.11b wireless.
At $379, it’s the least
expensive Wi-Fi–
enabled Pocket PC
2003 device.
Noticeably thinner
and lighter than the
6.9-ounce X5, the X3i
weighs 4.8 ounces and
measures 4.6 by 3.0 by 0.6
inches (HWD). A highcapacity battery ($99) adds 1
ounce to its weight and about
0.2 inches to its thickness. The
X3i loses the X5’s CF slot but still
offers an SD slot for expansion.
Thanks to Pocket PC 2003’s
Zero Configuration wireless
networking utility, we were able
to connect to our home-office
Wi-Fi network within seconds
of powering up the X3i. The new
Pocket PC connectivity software
also eases Internet connectivity,
which means that you need only
38
a few additional seconds to
launch Pocket Internet Explorer
and start surfing the Web.
In addition to the usual set of
four launch keys and a five-way
navigation button, the X3i has a
separate button to turn the wireless network radio on or off—a
much quicker and more convenient way to do so than the usual
software control. As for software, don’t look for much beyond the standard Microsoft
Windows Mobile 2003 applications and utilities (although
since that set includes the Pocket Office suite, it’s not as though
you’re left wanting for primary
applications).
The wireless-equipped X3i is
targeted squarely at Toshiba’s
e750 PDA and at HP’s high-end
iPAQ Pocket PCs with integrated
wireless. The e750’s Compact
Flash slot will appeal to some—
and its larger screen (3.8 inches)
will appeal to everyone—but its
higher price ($450 street) won’t.
The X3i is just a bit larger and
heavier than the new HP iPAQ
h4150 (also reviewed here). It
lacks the HP’s Bluetooth connectivity but under-
cuts the price by $70.
All in all, the HP Axim X3i’s
trim size and appealing cost
make it a very good choice for
businesses where cost is a determining factor.
Dell Axim X3i
Direct price: $379. Dell Inc., 800-3888542, www.dell.com. llllm
HP IPAQ POCKET PC
H4150, H4350
HP’s iPAQ line has
maintained the highest profile among
Microsoft-powered
alternatives to Palm OS
PDAs. Previous models have
combined loads of features and
award-winning compact de-
The HP iPAQ Pocket
PC h4150 and h4350
are similar inside,
with 400-MHz
processors and
integrated Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth
radios. The
h4350 adds a
handy keyboard.
signs, albeit with concomitant
high prices. The new h4150 and
h4350, while not as inexpensive
as the Dell Axim X3i, still deliver
the features and fine design that
iPAQ buyers expect—and at pretty reasonable prices.
The h4150 and h4350 are
almost Sony-esque in their appealing style and functional
integration. HP continues to
include Bluetooth in its Pocket
PCs, even though real-world
Bluetooth use is lagging in the
U.S. These two models add
802.11b Wi-Fi in the same slim
cases, combining “must-have”
Wi-Fi with “maybe useful someday” Bluetooth. They also bundle HP’s useful Pocket PC utilities, including an image viewer
and a backup program.
The h4150 is a half-inchthick, 4.6-ounce device
that follows the
design theme of
the very popular
iPAQ h2210 series.
One large exception is that while the
h2210 has both CF and
SD slots, the h4150 has
only an SD slot. Since the
most common uses for CF
slots have been for memory
cards and network cards
(with some use for add-on
cameras and GPS radios), the
integration of Wi-Fi into the
h4150 answers one part of the CF
concern. And HP’s introduction
of new SD 1.3-megapixel camera
and GPS units (prices not yet
set) should answer the concerns
of everyone except those who
use specialized devices with a
CF interface.
Note that the h4150 does not
use the same connection interface as earlier high-end iPAQs.
HP is betting that lack of compatibility with the wide range of
iPAQ expansion sleeves out
there will not be a problem.
(The h5000 series will continue
to accommodate the legacy expansion sleeves.)
The h4150 looks good, and its
smooth-surfaced case feels
FIRST LOOKS
good. A rounded bottom lets the
h4150 slide easily into pockets.
The Zero Configuration wireless connectivity wizard supplied with all new Pocket PCs
made our network and Internet
connection effortless. The
bright screen adds to enjoyment
and productivity. You can use
both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth at the
same time, and a convenient
utility simplifies turning either
or both on or off.
The h4150’s toughest com-
PDA keyboard. For corporations
looking to deploy productivityenhancing devices, this is the
best Pocket PC we’ve seen to
date. There is just no comparison between using a keyboard to
reply to e-mail versus struggling
with a stylus.
Because the h4350 has a keyboard, HP assumed it would be
used more than the h4150 for
e-mail and messaging, as well as
for productivity applications.
The h4350’s standard 1,560-mAh
Because of its keyboard, the h4350 has no
direct competitor in the Pocket PC world.
petitor is the wireless version of
the Dell Axim X3 PDA. The X3i
lacks the h4150’s Bluetooth radio
and is a bit larger and heavier,
but at $379 direct costs about
$70 less. If you need Bluetooth,
the h4150 is a fine choice. If not,
the X3i may be the way to go.
The 5.8-ounce h4350 breaks
ground with HP’s first integrated
lithium ion battery is rated for 3
to 4 hours of use with the Bluetooth radio off but with the display backlight and Wi-Fi set to
default power levels. An optional ($70 street) 3,600-mAh battery
may be a required accessory for
heavy users.
We found the keyboard fine
for two-thumb operation. The
The Dell Axim X3i is relatively
sleek, and it’s the lowestpriced Wi-Fi–equipped
Pocket PC 2003 PDA around.
slightly rounded keycaps
make locating and finding
keys easier as you tap along.
We soon found we used the
keyboard and the five-way
Nav key instead of extracting the stylus from the
h4350’s case. The added
productivity afforded by the
keyboard is a good trade-off for
the h4350’s extra length.
Because of its keyboard, the
h4350 has no direct competitor
in the Pocket PC world. But a
clear comparison is possible
with the Palm Tungsten C,
which has the same 400-MHz
CPU and 64MB of RAM, integrated Wi-Fi, built-in keyboard, and
$500 street price. One advantage
of the Tungsten C is its higher-
resolution display: 320-by-320
versus the h4350’s 320-by-240.
The extra resolution matters
when reading documents or
Web pages.
The Tungsten C, of course,
doesn’t have integrated Bluetooth (if that matters to you)
and runs Palm OS, which makes
a world of difference. If you
FIRST LOOKS
want a Pocket PC
with integrated
connectivity and a
keyboard, the h4350
is your only choice
—luckily in a compact and reasonably
priced unit.
The ViewSonic V36 has all the usual Pocket PC
2003 goodies plus a built-in camera that captures
both still and video images.
HP iPAQ
Pocket PC h4150
Street price: $450. lllmm
HP iPAQ Pocket PC h4350
Street price: $500. llllm
Hewlett-Packard Co., 800-345-1518,
www.hp.com.
VIEWSONIC V36
ViewSonic hasn’t been a huge
player in the PDA market. But
with its integrated camera, the
ViewSonic V36 may help the
company gain a greater presence. The V36 is pretty much a
me-too, lower-cost Pocket PC,
equipped with a 300-MHz Intel
XScale CPU and 64MB of RAM,
but the added camera makes
all the difference.
You won’t find a lot of extra
bulk because of the camera. The
V36 weighs just 5.0 ounces and
measures 4.9 by 3.0 by 0.5 inches
(HWD), just a bit larger and
heavier than the Axim X3i. The
640–by-480 maximum-resolution camera doesn’t have a flash
but does have 2X digital zoom,
adjustable white balance, multiple color and brightness settings,
adjustable flicker control, two
continuous modes (three or six
shots), and a 320-by-240 video
mode that also
captures audio.
The setup controls are easy to
use, even without resorting to the manual. We had
good results with photos taken
both indoors (with adequate
room lighting) and outside and
were particularly impressed
with the video quality.
Although the audio quality
isn’t great, it’s certainly functional for interviews or family
songfests. And while 640–by480 cameras aren’t a threat to
multimegapixel digital cameras, the utility they give to a
PDA for business or personal
use is highly appealing.
If you’re considering the
ViewSonic V36 because of the
camera, the closest competitor
is the Palm Zire 71. The Zire 71
costs a bit more ($300 street). It
has a slower CPU and less RAM
than the V36, but it does have a
higher-resolution display (320by-320 versus the V36’s 320-by240), which matters when viewing digital images. And the Zire,
of course, runs Palm OS rather
than Pocket PC 2003.
Because no other Pocket PC
has an integrated camera—let
alone one with such good video
quality—the only other way to
measure the V36 against competing models is by price, where
it still holds up well.
ViewSonic V36
Street price: $250. ViewSonic Corp.,
800-888-8583, www.viewsonic.com.
llllm
FIRST LOOKS
A Great Program Gets a Minor Upgrade
BY MATTHEW P. GRAVEN
hen it was released
less than a year ago,
Adobe Photoshop
Album 1.0 quickly became our
favorite program for managing a
large library of digital images. So
it’s not surprising that the new
version, Adobe Photoshop Album
2.0, is a winner as well. If you’re
looking to purchase a photo
management application, then
this is an excellent choice. But if
you’re already running Photoshop Album 1.0, you probably
won’t need to upgrade.
For the most part, the interface of this new edition looks
the same. After you launch, the
Quick Guide wizard lets you
easily pick a task: Get Photos,
Organize, Find, Fix, Create, or
Share. Acquiring images is strikingly easy. The program can
automatically search your hard
disk for images, import photos
from a camera or CD, browse
through folders, and acquire
photos via a scanner.
Version 2.0 still has the fantastic timeline across the top, which
offers one of our favorite methods of browsing through images.
The timeline runs left to right
W
Simply mark an image with one or more Tags and Photoshop
Album lets you find all the photos bearing that Tag.
and, like a bar graph, displays
bars representing the number
of photos taken in a particular
month. Click on the bar and you
are taken to that group of photos.
The main part of the screen
displays thumbnails of your entire library, the images you’ve
searched for, or whatever you select. On the right of the main
window is the Tags pane. This,
too, is mostly the same as Version 1.0, with only a few tweaks
and additions. The Tags that you
specify to organize photos are
Turn Reader Files into Writers
BY ALFRED POOR
ometimes you don’t want a
huge program for a simple
task. For example, to extract the text and formatting from
an Adobe PDF file, you can use
ScanSoft PDF Converter, which
converts PDF files to Microsoft
Word documents.
After you install the utility,
PDF Converter adds a choice
under Word’s File menu that lets
you open PDFs. Simply choose a
PDF source file and the program
automatically converts it, preserving the text, graphics, text
formatting, and layout. You will
then be able to edit and save the
document as you could any
Word document.
S
That would be helpful enough,
but there’s more. Microsoft Outlook will show a PDF Converter
button if someone sends you a
PDF file as an attachment. And if
you find a link to a PDF in Micro-
now arranged into categories.
Although some preset categories
are included, you can create your
own. And you can now create
subcategories as well. This new
ability to create a hierarchical
structure for organizing tags is a
definite improvement.
You now can also create Collections. Collections are a way
of grouping images for a special
project without messing up your
overarching tag structure. For
example, if you are designing a
calendar and want to choose 12
soft Internet Explorer, a rightclick will also present the “Open
PDF in Word” option.
The program is simple to use,
and there are no configuration
settings or choices to make. It
does not have the proofreading
features offered by most OCR
programs, so you’ll have to find
ScanSoft’s
PDF
Converter
allows you
to open
PDF files in
Microsoft
Word.
various images, you can drop
them into a new Collection
rather than going through the
hassle of adding a new temporary tag to each image.
The image-editing tools are
first rate. You can crop images,
adjust color levels, and do much
more. The Auto Fix option does
a decent job of automatically adjusting such settings as brightness and contrast. Best of all, you
can now run Auto Fix on multiple selected images, which saves
you from tediously editing one
image at a time.
Adobe has put the most effort
into helping you share images.
For example, open the Creations
Wizard and you’ll find more options and templates for creating
projects such as calendars and
cards. The Share button offers
options for distributing projects
electronically. Select Share |
E-mail and a simple wizard will
resize and compress images for
you, as well as automatically
offering to generate a PDF-based
slide show. And the new Home
Media option lets you transfer
photos to Palm devices, mobile
phones, and certain TiVo Series
2 DVR systems.
Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0
$49.99 direct. Adobe Systems Inc.,
www.adobe.com. lllll
and change any conversion errors within the Word document.
The program easily handled
pages with moderate amounts
of formatting and graphics.
More complex pages resulted in
some tables or bulleted lists
being recognized incorrectly;
others were broken up into
many text boxes that could
make reformatting a chore. Text
at an angle was interpreted as a
graphic element. And the program won’t open files that have
been encrypted or protected
against content extraction.
Still, if you’re looking for an
easy way to edit or reuse the
contents of a PDF file, this is a
fine way to go.
ScanSoft PDF Converter
$49.99 direct. ScanSoft Inc., 888-3721908, www.scansoft.com. llllm
41
FIRST LOOKS
MFPs: No Longer an Afterthought
BY M. DAVID STONE
ust a few years ago, a printer
manufacturer’s multifunction printer (MFP) line was
the stepchild of the core
business, making do with previous-generation print engines
and scant marketing support.
Epson, a major player in both
printers and scanners (the two
core functions of an all-in-one),
ignored the market altogether.
That has changed. Sales of
ink jet–based MFPs are growing
fast and are expected to account
for 37 percent of total ink jet
printer shipments this year and
47 percent next year, according
to Lyra Research, a research and
consulting firm based in Newtonville, Massachusetts. But
popularity does nothing to help
define the category, which is
built around a flexible—and
changing—list of functions that
any given all-in-one may or may
not offer.
A top-of-the-line MFP today
can serve as your all-purpose
printer, photo printer, scanner,
copier, fax machine, and memory card reader. Less expensive
models forgo some of those features but at the minimum deliver printing, scanning, and walk-
J
44
up copying. The missing features vary from one MFP to another. Some, for example, offer
no fax support at all. Others lack
memory card readers. Still others offer almost every feature on
the list but lack an automatic
document feeder (ADF) for
scanning stacks of documents at
a time. In short, if you want an
MFP, you have to decide which
functions you need and then
narrow your candidate list to the
ones that include all of those
functions.
For this story we’ve gathered
ten new MFPs from the six leading manufacturers: Brother,
Canon, Dell, Epson, HP, and
Lexmark. We’ve narrowed the
field to ink jet models with
flatbed scanners intended for
personal use, as this is the most
popular class. There’s a whole
universe of laser-based MFPs
targeted to small businesses
(and individuals who won’t miss
color printing), which we’ll
cover in a future issue.
Almost all of these MFPs
scored well across the board in
image quality. When we tested
The Canon MultiPass
MP730 (left) is a fast,
full-function MFP.
The MultiPass MP370
is lower priced, with
performance to match.
each printer using the driver
settings recommended
by each maker, overall scores for quality on our Adobe
Photoshop 7.0
tests for seven of
the ten printers
ranged from 7.4 to
9.2—a difference
hardly noticeable
when you look at the
images at arm’s length.
Photos for six of the ten printers scored from 8.7 through 9.2
on our overall quality rating. And even the lowestscoring output, at 6.9 on the
graphics quality portion of our
Photoshop tests, still qualified as
near-photo-quality to our eyes.
Additional tests (not charted)
at the highest print quality available for each MFP showed even
less variation. There are certainly differences in output quality,
but any short description makes
them sound almost identical. In
almost every case, we saw crisp
edges and appropriately saturated color for graphics, text readable at 5 points or smaller for the
majority of fonts tested in default mode, and near-photo
quality or better for photos. The
exceptions are mentioned in the
individual reviews.
The Brother MFC-3820CN
delivers Ethernet
connectivity and an
ADF at a reasonable price.
BROTHER MFC-3820CN
The Brother MFC-3820CN is
one of just two MFPs in this
roundup that incorporates
every MFP function we list
above. (The other is the Canon
MultiPass MP730.) The Brother
printer is also one of two that
have built-in Ethernet connectivity in addition to the USB port
we used for testing. (The other
is the HP PSC 2510 Photosmart
All-In-One, which offers wireless, though at nearly twice the
price.) Both let you print, scan,
and fax over a network.
The MFC-3820CN’s front
panel has a numeric keypad and
lots of buttons for copying, faxing, scanning, printing photos,
and using the LCD menu system.
You’ll also find an ADF and
memory card slots for CompactFlash, Memory Stick,
Secure Digital, and SmartMedia formats, along with
menu commands to let you
print an index sheet and individual photos.
Setup is straightforward: Snap
in the four ink cartridges, then
run a manual alignment step. Installing the software is also easy
but takes a notably long time.
Among the manufacturers
here, Brother is the relative
newcomer to ink jet printing,
FIRST LOOKS
PRINTER TESTS
All timings are in minutes:seconds.
Low scores are best.
Bold type denotes first place.
EXCEL
ACROBAT
WORD
1 page,
text/table
1 page,
chart
4 pages,
text/ graphics
2 pages,
formatted
text
2 pages,
text/
photos/
graphics
2 pages,
multiple
fonts and
sizes
12 pages,
multiple fonts
and sizes
OVERALL
SPEED
1:13
2:58
0:25
0:17
1:48
3:28
0:37
1:17
1:33
3:23
0:54
0:28
1:16
2:57
1:02
2:42
4:04
3:18
17:36
31:24
2:03
5:54
4:52
5:18
1:05
3:20
2:50
0:15
0:17
0:29
1:25
3:49
3:19
0:30
1:19
1:18
1:30
3:10
3:36
0:34
0:30
0:59
1:17
2:59
2:35
0:59
1:25
2:28
2:08
2:05
8:13
13:40
31:03
35:32
3:04
0:43
3:35
1:31
4:19
4:02
2:28
0:42
2:57
1:12
3:59
2:57
1:19
0:35
2:55
2:26
2:49
2:13
9:14
3:10
39:47
27:01
3:18
10:40
6:10
3:04
9:58
5:50
1:56
5:34
3:17
0:31
0:15
0:13
2:17
6:24
3:46
0:56
1:33
1:13
2:10
5:36
0:37
0:36
1:50
5:15
1:32
2:47
2:42
3:18
20:52
51:58
3:06
0:26
2:55
1:21
2:02
30:19
4 pages,
text/
photos
2 pages,
text/
graphics
Brother MFC-3820CN
Canon MultiPass MP370
2:12
5:28
2:30
5:09
Dell A940
Epson Stylus CX5400
Epson Stylus CX6400
1:54
6:14
4:54
5:19
POWERPOINT
3 pages,
multiple
fonts and
sizes
4 pages,
text/
graphics
RED denotes Editors’ Choice.
and the MFC-3820CN’s print
quality scores were on the low
side on our 10-point scale. That
said, the output is good enough
for most purposes, be it color
brochures or photos of a vacation to France. The only issue
worth mentioning is that in default mode, colors on plain copier paper are less saturated than
they should be, yielding a pastel
look. For handouts, you’ll want
to upgrade to one of the higherquality ink jet papers Brother
recommends.
Our test scans showed some
artifacts. These barely show onscreen at 100 percent view, but
they are obvious if you zoom
much closer. The scanner is
good enough for capturing documents and images, but it’s not
ideal for archiving photos.
Whatever this MFP loses on
quality, it makes up for in speed.
The overall speed on our performance suite (17 minutes 36 seconds) is the second fastest for
this group. It also turned in the
third-fastest speed for printing
from Photoshop.
Ultimately, the MFC-3820CN
is not the MFP for high-quality
scans or the best possible photo
output. But for home and smalloffice users, it’s a good choice.
More important, it’s a good
value for the price, especially if
you need a full-featured MFP
and the ability to work over a
network.
Brother MFC-3820CN
Street price: $230. Requires: Microsoft
Windows 98, Me, 2000, or XP; Mac OS
8.6–9.2, OS X (Version 10.1 or later);
USB port or network connection.
Brother International Corp., 800-2844329, www.brother.com. lllmm
46
CANON MULTIPASS MP370,
MULTIPASS MP730
The Canon MultiPass
MP370 and MultiPass
MP730 share similar
installation routines,
drivers, and utility
software. Both offer high-quality printed output; slots for CompactFlash, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital, and
SmartMedia formats; and the
ability to print an index sheet
from a card, then choose which
photos to print.
The similarities end there,
however. The MP730 is a fullfeatured MFP complete with a fax
modem and an ADF. It was the
fastest in this group on most of
our tests. The MP370 lacks fax
and an ADF, and its performance
was middle-of-the-pack.
The MP370 earns the prize
for the best-looking MFP, with a
shiny black plastic case set off
with silver buttons and scanner
lid. Top-panel buttons let you
choose copy, scan, or
photo print modes,
and you can also use
the LCD-based menu.
Setting up the MP370 involves little more than installing the black and
tricolor cartridges,
then running a manual alignment routine.
Installing the software
is more of a chore. You
have to click your way
through installing the
drivers, then the Canon
Toolbox, then five separate
utilities, each with its own install routine. None of this is difficult, but it can get tedious.
On our tests, the MP370 man-
aged a respectable 31:24 overall
speed for the printer performance suite and 2 minutes 50
seconds on the Photoshop test.
It didn’t do as well on our scanand-copy tests. Scan quality was
on the low side, with a score of
7.0, primarily because of some
apparent dust specks and a
slightly blue cast. Scan speed
was adequate, at 36 seconds.
Oddly missing from the
MP370 is any fax capability.
There’s not even an option to
send a scan to someone else’s
fax program from your system.
If you don’t need to fax, however, it’s a capable MFP worth
considering.
If the MP370 is the best-looking MFP in this group, the MP730
looks most like it’s dressed for
business, with an ADF and a
front panel loaded with a numeric keypad; copy, fax, scan,
and photo-print mode buttons;
buttons for controlling the LCDbased menu, and more. Setup
and installation is essentially the
same as for the MP370, except
that the MP730 uses four ink
cartridges.
The MP730 turned out to be
the one to beat in this roundup.
Not only did it turn in the highest score (9.2) for overall output
quality on our Photoshop tests,
but it also managed the same
level of quality while printing
from Photoshop in just 1:18—50
seconds faster than the secondplace HP PSC 2510. It was by far
the fastest printer on our printspeed tests, taking 13:40 to complete the suite compared with
17:36 for the second-place Brother MFC-3820CN.
On our scan quality test, the
MP730, at 71 seconds, was the
slowest performer, but it tied for
The Dell A940 is a fine choice
for budget buyers willing
to sacrifice some
speed and
features.
FIRST LOOKS
highest quality score at 9.5, with
excellent scores for dynamic
range, noise and artifacts, and
resolution.
The combination of output
quality and performance dramatically outclasses the other
MFPs in this roundup. And it
doesn’t hurt that the MP730 offers the entire list of key MFP
functions. Unless the $400 price
tag is beyond your budget, this is
most likely your MFP of choice.
Requires: Microsoft Windows 98,
Me, 2000, or XP; USB 1.1 (2.0 recommended for the MP730). Canon
U.S.A. Inc., 800-652-2666,
www.usa.canon.com/consumer.
DELL A940
At $129 direct, the Dell
A940 is the secondleast-expensive MFP in
this roundup. You’ll
give up memory card
slots, an ADF, and built-in fax capability, but what the A940 does,
it does well. The unit includes
well-thought-out touches that
extend its capabilities—like fax
utility software and a fax button
on the front panel, so you can
scan and fax through your computer’s fax modem.
Built by Lexmark, the A940
offers the same two-tone gray
design that we’re used to seeing
on Lexmark MFPs. A small array
of buttons on the top panel lets
you copy, fax, scan, and set options using the LCD
menu. An unusual feature is a special set of
copy buttons for copying photos, with several
choices in standard photo sizes for the copy, such
as wallet size or matching
the original.
Setup is easy enough,
except that the lever for
unlocking the scanner is a
little hard to get to. Otherwise it’s standard fare, requiring little more than plugging in the black and tricolor
cartridges, then running the installation CD.
48
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 7.0 TESTS
L High scores are best.
M Low scores are best.
PERFORMANCE
QUALITY (on a scale of 1 to 10) L
(minutes:seconds) M
Photos
Graphics
Overall
quality
7.4
Brother MFC-3820CN
2:24
7.9
6.9
2:50
8.9
8.9
8.9
1:18
8.9
9.4
9.2
Dell A940
Epson Stylus CX5400
Epson Stylus CX6400
HP PSC 2510 Photosmart
All-In-One
4:30
3:31
3:36
6:57
8.9
7.5
8.1
8.9
8.4
8.3
7.8
8.9
8.7
7.9
8.0
8.9
2:08
8.9
8.6
8.8
11:43
8.9
8.6
8.8
4:35
8.7
8.3
8.5
Lexmark PrinTrio Photo
P3150
Lexmark X6170 All-In-One
Office Center
RED denotes Editors’ Choice. We ran the performance test using an 8-by-10 photo stored as a 20MB TIFF file.
We used the same file and a CorelDraw file for the quality tests.
Print speed for the A940 is
midrange for this roundup, at
31:03 on our performance suite
and 4 minutes 30 seconds for
printing from Photoshop. Photo
output quality was among the
best of the lot, and overall print
quality registered on the high
end of the range.
Considering its price, the A940
was also impressive at scanning,
with a solid second place at 21
seconds on our test scan. Scan
quality was good, at 8.0, with excellent resolution and dynamic
range. But we also saw some
minor artifacts in the form of
streaks.
The limited list of functions
may keep the A940 from being
your ideal choice of MFP, but if
you don’t need a standalone fax
machine or photo printer, it’s
certainly one of the better values.
Dell A940
Direct price: $130. Requires: Microsoft
Windows 2000 or XP, USB port. Dell
Inc., 800-915-3355, www.dell.com/
printers. llllm
EPSON STYLUS CX5400,
STYLUS CX6400
Epson is relatively new to the
MFP market, and it brings its
own vision of what an MFP
should be. For the Epson Stylus
CX 5400 and the Epson Stylus
CX6400, that vision is focused
on those who don’t need ADFs
or built-in fax features but
might want to scan to an already
installed fax program. Epson
The Epson Stylus
CX5400 (left) and the
CX6400 bring together
Epson’s printing and
scanning expertise,
though neither
is a home run.
also takes an unusual approach
to controlling an MFP from a
computer.
The CX5400 is the more limited of the two models, most notably lacking memory card slots
for printing photos. With relatively few buttons on the front
panel, it looks much like a desktop copier. A closer look reveals
a scan button as well as buttons
for copying. Setup follows the
usual route of snapping in the
four ink cartridges and running
the install program.
The Epson Smart Panel utility is notable for organizing commands by the document type
you’re working with, rather than
what you want the MFP to do.
For example, instead of looking
for a copy command and then
choosing what to copy, you first
select the type of original—
photo or document—and then
choose the action. We found this
confusing; there is, for example,
no obvious choice for sending a
photo as a fax.
Print quality from the CX5400
was both better and worse that
the competition. Text output
was slightly better than most,
with text easily readable at 4
points for most fonts we tested.
But photo quality was a touch
worse—surprising, considering
the company’s excellent standalone printers. We saw a consistent color shift that gave a faint
pink tinge even to a black-and-
FIRST LOOKS
white test photo. Print speed
was a touch slower than average
(35:32 total for our speed trials)
but not alarmingly so.
On the other hand, scan quality, at 9.5, was tied for best in this
group, with excellent scores for
resolution, noise and artifacts,
and dynamic range. Scan speed
was a midrange 29 seconds.
All told, the Stylus CX5400 is
a mixed bag. Consider it if you
need good scan quality and
near-laser-quality text. But if
your priorities lie elsewhere, the
CX5400 shouldn’t make it on
your list.
The Stylus CX6400 is similar
to the CX5400 in many ways,
with a nearly identical setup,
Smart Panel interface, and even
the same strengths and weaknesses in print quality. But it
does add some features. The
most obvious difference is a
larger front panel with a numeric keypad and additional
buttons, including one for
printing an index sheet
and photos from a memory
card. You’ll also find slots for
CompactFlash, IBM Microdrive, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital,
SmartMedia, and xD-Picture
Card formats.
Surprisingly, the numeric
keypad is not for faxing. It’s for a
security lock feature, which you
can set to require a four-digit
PIN code each time you turn on
the MFP. The security lock may
be useful in environments like
dorm rooms, where you may
want to keep other people from
using your ink.
Another surprise is that the
CX6400 wasn’t as fast as the less
expensive CX5400, even though
the two share the same engine
and we used the same driver settings. On our performance suite,
it was a bit slower than its sibling, turning in an overall speed
of 39:47. Scan quality and speed
were also lower than for the
CX5400, with apparent dust
specs. We timed the scan at 38
seconds.
That said, both of these Epson
models are good, not perfect,
MFPs at competitive prices.
Epson Stylus CX5400
Epson Stylus CX6400
Requires: Microsoft Windows 98, Me,
NT, 2000, or XP; Mac OS 8.5.1 or later or
OS X; USB port (USB 2.0 recommended
for the CX6400). Epson America Inc.,
800-463-7766, www.epson.com.
HP PSC 1350 ALL-IN-ONE,
PSC 2510 PHOTOSMART
ALL-IN-ONE
Contrary to what you might
guess from the difference in
names, the HP PSC 1350 All-InOne is as much a photo printer
as the HP PSC 2510 Photosmart
All-In-One. Both have slots for
CompactFlash, Memory Stick,
MultiMediaCard,
Secure Digital,
SmartMedia,
and xD-Picture Card formats;
both can print directly from the
cards; and both use a tricolor
cartridge along with either a
black or photo cartridge.
Designed for applications
where desktop real estate is at a
premium, the PSC 1350 looks like
a small, stylish box with a paper
tray sticking out of it. Buttons on
the extreme left of the top panel
let you copy and scan. There is
no support for faxing.
Physical setup is easy enough:
Snap in the ink cartridges and
plug everything in. Installing the
software is also easy when it
works, requiring little more than
inserting the CD. But the wait
between inserting the CD and
finishing the setup is the longest
we’ve experienced, with little
feedback about what’s going on.
We’d prefer knowing what’s
happening at each step, rather
than having to guess whether
the installation is in progress or
has failed (as it did on one of our
test-beds).
The PSC 1350 showed reasonably fast performance, with an
overall speed of 27:01 on our
performance suite. Printing
from Photoshop was on the slow
side, at 6 minutes 57 seconds, but
The HP PSC 2510 (left)
offers a color LCD screen
and built-in 802.11b wireless connectivity. The PSC
1350 sports memory card
slots for photo printing.
the photo produced
scored at the top of the
heap for photo quality. Scans
were also somewhat slow, but
acceptable, at 48 seconds. Scan
quality was good overall, with
excellent resolution. But dynamic range was a little subpar, losing too much detail in dark
areas. If you don’t need fax capability and can benefit from the
small size, count the PSC 1350 as
a reasonable choice.
The PSC 2510 is the only MFP
in this roundup with built-in
802.11b wireless support. That’s
in addition to its Ethernet connector, which means you can attach it to either a wired or wireless network to print, scan, or
access memory cards across a
network. (We tested using a USB
connection to ensure comparable performance results.)
The PSC 2510 has the look and
feel of a desktop copier. There
are more buttons, of course, primarily thanks to a numeric keypad for using the built-in fax.
Also on the panel is a color LCD,
which not only gives you more
readable menus than
most MFPs, it also lets you preview photos without an index
sheet. If you connect by USB, the
setup routine is essentially the
same as for the PSC 1350.
The PSC 2510 fared well on
speed, coming in third on our
performance suite, with an overall time of 20:52 and placing second for printing from Photo-
SCAN-AND-COPY TESTS
L High scores are best.
M Low scores are best.
PERFORMANCE
QUALITY
(seconds) M
(on a scale of 1 to 10) L
Brother MFC-3820CN
44
6.5
36
7.0
Dell A940
Epson Stylus CX5400
Epson Stylus CX6400
71
21
29
38
48
9.5
8.0
9.5
8.5
8.0
18
7.5
37
25
7.5
7.0
RED denotes Editors’ Choice. We ran these tests on an 8-by-10 photo scanned at 300 dpi using the Twain driver
in Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and saved in TIFF format.
49
FIRST LOOKS
The Lexmark
PrinTrio Photo
P3150 (left) is
a good value, given
the low price. The
X6170 faces stiff
competition in its
price class.
shop, at 2:08. Print quality
was very good to excellent.
Scan quality was on the low
side, however, with a score
of 7.5. On the bright side, the
PSC 2510 was the fastest
MFP on our scan test, at 18 seconds.
Given the PSC 2510’s performance and
output quality (certainly good enough for
most purposes), the connection options —
particularly for wireless networks—remain
the most interesting feature. If you have a
wired or wireless network or are thinking
about getting one, this alone may be enough
to put this MFP on your short list.
Requires: Microsoft Windows 98, 98 SE, Me, 2000
Professional, or XP; Mac OS 9.1 or OS X 10.1.5 or later,
USB port (or Ethernet connection or wireless access
point for the PSC 2150). Hewlett-Packard Co., 800474-6836, www.hp.com.
LEXMARK PRINTRIO PHOTO P3150,
X6170 ALL-IN-ONE OFFICE CENTER
Lexmark’s two entries are aimed at decidedly different target audiences, as hinted at
by their names. The Lexmark PrinTrio
Photo P3150 is aimed at home users, and the
Lexmark X6170 All-In-One Office Center is
aimed at small-business and home users.
Despite the differences, setup for both
MFPs is essentially identical: Plug in the ink
cartridges, connect the cables, and run the
setup routine from the CD.
The P3150 can use either a black-ink or a
photo-ink cartridge along with a tricolor
cartridge, and it offers slots for CompactFlash, IBM Microdrive, Memory Stick,
MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital, and
SmartMedia formats. This lets you transfer
photos to your computer—but oddly, not
print directly from the cards. It also comes
with a utility that lets you scan and fax
using your PC’s fax modem.
The top panel is supremely
simple, with buttons for power,
paper feed, scanning, color copies,
and monochrome copies. Alas,
the P3150’s defining characteristic
is a lack of speed. On our performance suite, it came in last, at 51:58. And it
was also last for printing from Photoshop, at
11:43, though its photo output quality scored
among the best.
The P3150 fared a bit better on scan speed,
at 37 seconds. But it earned only a 7.5 quality
rating for scanning, with subpar dynamic
range losing detail in dark areas. All told, the
P3150 is a reasonable value for the ultra-low
price, as long as you don’t expect it to match
the more expensive choices.
The X6170 offers something far closer to
a full-featured MFP, lacking only memory
card slots. It can work as a standalone fax
machine and looks much like a fax machine,
with a numeric keypad and ADF. It also
turned in reasonably good performance
scores across the board, at 30:19 for overall
speed; 4:35 for printing from Photoshop,
and just 25 seconds for our scan test.
Unfortunately, the X6170 we tested for
this story displayed an anomaly in output
quality that we didn’t see when we tested
this model earlier in the year. This time,
there was a dramatic color shift when we
changed ink cartridges—from a distinct
blue tinge with one cartridge to a more subtle green cast with another.
Scan quality was also on the low side,
with a score of 7.0 and merely satisfactory
scores for dynamic range, color, and noise
and artifacts. All in all, given the quality of
the competition here, it’s hard to recommend this MFP at the price.
Street price: $250. llmmm Requires: Microsoft
Windows 98, Me, 2000, or XP (or Mac OS X 10.1.5 or
later for the P3150); USB port. Lexmark International
Inc., 800-332-4120, www.lexmark.com.
51
“Thank you for finally telling the world
what the vendors won’t:
how to enable WPA.”
S EC U R E A N D W I R E L E SS
I ENJOYED YOUR SPECIAL wireless issue (Fall 2003).
Several stories discussed wireless security (Solutions,
page 48; Security Watch, page 52), and I would like to
see more of that in the future, especially in product reviews. So many different wireless-capable devices are
coming on the market, including PDAs, media, and
game adapters. But do these devices take advantage of—or even
work with—the security on existing wireless networks?
I have configured my access point and laptop Wi-Fi cards for
maximum security: I use 128-bit WEP (upgrading to WPA soon), I
changed the default SSID on the AP, and I turned off SSID broadcasting. I also enabled the MAC filter on my AP to permit only the
MAC addresses of my laptop cards. Now if I go and buy a new media
adapter and hook it up to my TV and stereo, will I be able to enable
WEP (or WPA) on it?
You’d be doing your readers a great service if you mention the
level of Wi-Fi certification and security capabilities when reviewing wireless devices.
DAMON FERGUSON
IN “WIRELESS SECURITY: WPA STEP BY STEP” (Fall 2003, page 48),
you finally tell the world what the vendors won’t: how to enable
WPA. I went round and round with Linksys about how to enable this
elusive feature, and not three days after I figure out that I need to
download the supplicant from Microsoft, PC Magazine comes to my
door explaining in detail how to fix the object of my frustration.
Bless you guys. Time and again you prove why I spend money to
read this wonderful journal of useful tips and information.
CHARLES BRULE
C E L L P H O N E S A R E W I R E L E SS , TO O
SOMETHING I DIDN’T SEE in your wireless issue (Fall 2003) is a cool
toy I found at Fry’s Electronics. It’s called a Susteen data cable (www
.datapilot.com/cables.htm), and it’s an inexpensive cable that connects my cell phone to my laptop. I use it when I’m on the road to
connect to my regular EarthLink dial-up access numbers. This really
lets me unwire anywhere I can get a signal. I typically get 115-Kbps
data connections, which are slower than a local Wi-Fi hot spot, but
How to Contact Us
We welcome your comments and suggestions.
When sending e-mail to Letters, please state in the subject line of
your message which article or column prompted your response.
E-MAIL [email protected]
MAIL Letters, PC Magazine, 28 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016-7940.
All letters become the property of PC Magazine and are subject to editing.
We regret that we cannot answer letters individually.
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /fe e d b a c k
there are no extra charges. Consistent, universal access
is more important to me than extra-cost, high-speed
connections in a limited number of locations, especially because most of my road work is just checking
and sending POP and SMTP e-mail.
DAN GOESE
STO P T H E D R I L L I N G
IN HIS COLUMN “Damn the Drill-Down” (October 28, page 61),
John C. Dvorak blamed the use of drill-down dialog boxes for the
confusion found in the typical Microsoft options dialog. The alternative, he proposes, is to put every option in one big dialog box.
Putting 100 options on one big page is hardly a solution. Such a
setup will intimidate the novice user, and advanced users will
find it too disorganized. There’s nothing wrong with hiding
options—just as long as the options you most likely want are the
easiest to find.
I suggest the following method: Instead of sorting options by categories (as Microsoft does), sort them from most to least commonly
used. Then put the most commonly used options in one dialog box
and hide the rest away, even in a drill-down. The more rarely an
option is used, the more tolerable it is for that option to be buried
deep in the drill-down hierarchy.
DAVE RAHARDJA
S E E I N G R E D OV E R I N K
THE COST OF PRINTER INK is unacceptably high. I use an Epson
Stylus Color 480SX ink jet printer, and ink cartidges cost me $20
to $40 apiece (depending on the brand). Being a bit of a geek, I decided to do a science experiment. The last time my printer told me
it was out of ink, I removed the empty cartridge and then put the
same empty cartridge back in. My printer and PC both thought it
was a new cartridge and let me continue printing! I got another
30 pages of output from that cartridge, and it’s still working as
I write this.
My ink cartridge wasn’t empty; the manufacturers wanted me to
think it was so I would buy more. This cannot continue. Reuse your
ink jet cartridges until you know they are empty. Keep your money
in your pocket longer, and maybe the manufacturers will get the
point and start to play fair.
ALAN FRANDSEN
Corrections and Amplifications
n In our recent First Looks roundup of AMD64–based systems (October 28, page 32), we
incorrectly identified the graphics cards in some of the products reviewed. All references
to the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro should have read ATI Radeon 9800 XT.
n In our First Looks roundup of new Palm-based devices (October 28, page 38), we state
that the Sony Clié TG50 lacks Bluetooth capability. In fact, the TG50 comes with built-in
Bluetooth.
55
w w w. ex t re m e te c h . c o m •
BILL MACHRONE
ExtremeTech
RFID: Promise and Peril
E
very new technology embodies new risks.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID)
tags are increasingly popular, having
made their debut in retail security tags for
high-dollar merchandise. Unlike the little
magnetic slugs in self-adhesive plastic packages (as
you might find on CD cases), RFID tags are nearly flat
and can do far more than set off an alarm as they
pass through a door.
RFID is fairly sophisticated as far as antitheft technologies go: A transmitter at the door “illuminates”
each tag, whose flat antenna picks up the electromagnetic or radio-frequency field. The energy from
the door’s transmitter then powers a tiny radio transmitter embedded in the tag. The tag’s transmitter
sends out an encoded stream of bits—in essence a
radio bar code—for as long as it receives power. So
not only can an item with an RFID tag alert store
managers that it hasn’t been paid for, but as you
check out it can tell the store’s information systems
its color, its size, how long it had been on the shelves,
and any other information the reseller or manufacturer chooses to put into the bitstream.
A scannable badge that lets you into your building
at work and an E-ZPass or similar device that lets you
drive on toll roads without stopping to pay are examples of RFID technology. But as the technology
gets smaller and less expensive, these applications
are the tip of a huge iceberg. We’re moving toward a
world where many semiconductor devices can be
printed instead of grown and etched in silicon by expensive equipment.
Imagine a future in which every food item has an
RFID and your refrigerator has a scanner. By knowing (or learning heuristically) how many times an
item goes out and back in before it’s exhausted, your
fridge can remind you to put it on the grocery list.
Imagine that RFIDs are woven into your garments.
Your washing machine could choose the best setting
for the clothes you put in it. Or it could refuse to
wash an item that requires dry cleaning.
Networks and noses. When the technology gets
even cheaper, new possibilities will emerge. Think
about those little tags on fresh fruit. Today they each
have just a number; 4016 is a Red Delicious apple.
Now imagine not only an RFID but a node for a selforganizing or mesh network. You could illuminate a
basket of apples, and they’d essentially count themselves. And if a rogue Granny Smith got in there, it
would quickly identify itself.
Let’s add a silicon “nose” to the chip: a sensor
that’s attuned to the unique gases emitted by a rotting apple. That bushel of apples could tell you
whether it contained any bad ones and even their approximate location (always at the bottom, of course).
Self-inventorying retail shelves and warehouses
will one day be commonplace. Not to dwell on the
food-shopping angle, but imagine the convenience of
bagging your groceries as you go up and down the
aisles, then having the checkout device interrogate
your entire shopping cart. You wouldn’t have to handle each item three times before you’ve even left the
supermarket.
The privacy angle. Now suppose that a market research company parks a van outside the supermarket
and uses a directional antenna to scan your cart as
you wheel it to your car. The grocery store has
already done its research, but are your purchases fair
game after you’ve left the store? Or what about an
extension of van Eck phreaking (reading electromagnetic emanations at a distance)? Could a highpowered illuminator and a high-gain antenna
inventory the contents of your home? It’s certainly
possible. If you’re wearing or carrying anything with
an embedded RFID tag, you could conceivably be
tracked wherever you go.
Of course, stores could disable RFID tags as a
customer leaves, as they do with today’s security
tags. That would ensure your privacy but would
render the tags useless for home recordkeeping and
convenience applications. It’s also conceivable that
homes could one day be built the way we build embassies and military installations, with screening
inside the walls to prevent RF snooping and inadvertent data leakage.
Come to think of it, with your home already bleeding Wi-Fi and wireless telephone signals, shielding
may be a smart idea. Without an external antenna or
repeater, though, your cell phone won’t work. But
perhaps that’s an unanticipated benefit!
Imagine a
future in which
every food
item has an
RFID and your
refrigerator
has a scanner.
Bill Machrone is VP of editorial development for Ziff Davis
Media. Visit his digs at www.extremetech.com. You can
also reach him at [email protected].
57
John C. Dvorak
Spam Reveals All
W
ith any luck, the end of spam is
imminent. In the meantime, I
look at spam for insight into
social trends. After all, the most
successful offerings will be the
ones you see over and over and over, since someone
is obviously buying whatever the spammer is selling.
Here’s what I’ve been seeing most recently.
Cheap drugs. Now I’m getting spam for Vicodin! I
guess spammers saw that since they could make
money selling tons of Viagra to lazy males, they
could sell just about anything. I’m waiting for Benzedrine to hit the market. “Low energy? Tired all the
time? Need pep?” That would do it. Spammers are
also now selling dubious antidepressants, with subject lines like “Too depressed to go to the doctor?
Buy Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft.” Geez. What’s wrong with
this country?
Natural drugs. I have to give this spam its own category. It includes solicitations for “natural” alternatives to the drugs sold by online pharmacies. In this
case, natural stands for “it doesn’t work.”
Enlargement of various body parts. This never
ends. I guess once you get some Viagra in you, you
may as well have something to show for it. God
knows anyone buying into these schemes must be
spending a lot of time looking in the mirror, all
Viagraed up, wondering why he can’t get a date.
“Maybe if I was bigger!” How about getting a personality? Or perhaps spam entitled “Win the war on
bad breath” would be more appropriate.
And of course, we’re also confronted with spam
that offers to give us bigger breasts naturally, although those solicitations seem to be lessening. Apparently, women aren’t as stupid as men when it
comes to being suckered by such promises.
Matchmaking schemes. I think this type of spam
also has something to do with Viagra. I’ve noticed
that the “Someone has a crush on you” spam has
disappeared, but I still see a lot of matchmaking
offers, typically with bogus subject lines. How does
anyone ever expect to be trusted if the subject line
itself is a scam?
Meanwhile, inside the message, I find out that
“SOMEONE WANTS TO MEET ME!” Wow, I must
really be special.
Get-rich-quick schemes. This category, too, is on
the decline—particularly the multilevel-marketing
offers. This is a cyclical business, though, so you can
be sure some new get-rich-quick scam in the form of
a chain letter will soon be upon us.
Free stuff. These offers are on the rise. Free movie
tickets are now at the top of the list, along with offers
for you to make money by taking a survey. “Your
money is here waiting!” I’m also seeing more dubious cash-advance offers. Up to $1,000!
Many free offers, such as the weird mousepad/
speakerphone (who dreamed up that oddball combination?) are attempts to build a mailing list. Always
figure that your name and address is worth from $10
to $20 to the list owner. And if you respond, you become a hot-list target. You’ll be inundated.
Spyware. “Spy on your friends!” I’m seeing less of
this crap for sale. The latest version was about how
you could spy on anyone by e-mailing that person a
greeting card. What sick person would even attempt
to do this? You are going to get caught. And what is the
point? This solicitation stopped suddenly, and I’m certain the spammers were sued by legitimate greeting
card companies. If they haven’t been, they should be.
I find these sorts of solicitations abhorrent. We
have enough paid snoops in our country without trying to turn everyone into an amateur spy. Who cares
if I have only $614 in the bank, anyway?
Money matters. The refinance schemes seem to
have stabilized, with numerous offers such as the
“60-Second Free Mortgage Quote.” Yeah, 60 seconds.
Right. Meanwhile, the debt elimination category is
skyrocketing. Great.
Sex spam. I don’t know how this happened, but
I’m getting a lot less spam trying to lure me onto
sex sites or into phone-sex scams. I have to assume
that most of these folks are spread so thin that they
are finally burned out. This is the only good news I
have to report.
Missing from the list altogether are stock-market
schemes. I guess that’s more good news, except for
the fact that they’ve been replaced by virus-laden
spam and pop-up spam that sells pop-up–blocking
programs. Ah, progress.
Apparently,
women aren’t
as stupid as
men when
it comes to
being suckered
by such
promises.
MORE ON THE WEB: Read John C. Dvorak’s column every
Monday at www.pcmag.com/dvorak. You can reach him
directly at [email protected].
59
Inside
Track
JOHN C. DVORAK
B
affling. Does anyone but me
find Motorola’s announcement
that it will spin off its semiconductor business a bit peculiar? How does a company
manage to create and pioneer early markets, dominate, and then give up on the
market? I’m talking about radios, TVs,
and microprocessors, including RISC
chips. When will the company bail on the
cell-phone market it largely created? This
is a weird business model. My advice to
Motorola is to change the name to Motorola Market Development Company. It
would make more sense.
Blown Hard Drives Dept.: I recently
visited with the folks from DriveSavers
(www.drivesavers.com), the Californiabased specialists who fix blown hard
drives. They told me some horror stories
about how a lot of big companies lose all
their data in a recurring scenario. A consultant installs a RAID array and an automated backup system. It works perfectly.
He leaves, check in hand.
The first problem occurs when it turns
out that the entire RAID array came from
the exact same lot number of hard drives.
As with light bulbs, if one hard drive
blows out they all tend to follow suit
shortly thereafter. The company then
mistakenly replaces the dead hard drives,
does a low-level format, and goes to the
backup unit to restore. The backup was
never checked for integrity, and the company discovers that only the trees or files
structures were backed up—not the data.
The company is totally in the tank since
it “fixed” the hard drive array.
A message from DriveSavers: First, do
not use hard drives from the same lot
number in a RAID array. Second, do a
complete disaster recovery exercise in
advance of a disaster to make sure the
backup has integrity. Third, do not mess
with the corrupted RAID array. Put in a
new one and keep the old one in case
DriveSavers needs to recover the data
from the array. Expect to pay somewhere
between $1,000 and $25,000 for dead hard
drive service.
Working on around 1,000 hard drives
each month, these guys are one of just
two firms that can get data off dead hard
drives. I’m told that mechanical problems
are increasing over bonehead accidental
erasures. DriveSavers believes that
today’s high-speed hard drives are simply
being allowed to overheat. Aim a fan at
that new 15,000-rpm Seagate unit!
DriveSavers has fixed a lot of celebrity
drives and apparently saved the bacon for
The Simpsons by recovering the “Who
Killed Mr. Burns?” episode, which was lost
to a crash before it was finished and aired.
What amuses me most about the company
is that it has on staff a full-time grief counselor who used to do suicide prevention.
Apparently, she is needed in a lot of situations, such as when the head of IT loses all
the corporate data and essentially the entire company. Tough business.
The other company specializing in this
business is Ontrack DataRecovery Services, headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota (www.ontrack.com). This company
is often called on to pull erased data from
corporate tape drives to see whether there
was a second set of books that a merged
company tried to erase. These guys look
for the background magnetic patterns.
This is not a cheap proposition.
Convoluted Logic Dept.: Patrick Mannion, writing in EE Times, recently discussed a new Sunnyvale-based company
called Meru Networks, which intends to
promote voice over Wi-Fi technology. The
company hopes to explore some new
ways to get better quality of service. This
may be possible, but what struck me was
a comment by the CEO: “Wireless LANs
have had slow growth in the enterprise;
voice will change that.” Wireless LANs
have had slow growth in the enterprise
because the enterprises are wired, and
wire is a lot faster than wireless. What
does voice have to do with anything? I’m
still scratching my head over that one.
There’s good
reason to
believe that
a jazzy new
Newton II
will be forthcoming,
perhaps in
January.
Rocky and Bullwinkle Dept.: If you’ve
been following Apple, you know that
every so often the company pulls a rabbit
out of its hat. The missing element in
Apple’s portfolio is the handheld computer. John Scully was a big promoter of
the idea, and founder Steve Jobs is still
galled that Scully came up with anything
at all. It was dropped. The Newton was
never a handheld anyway—too big. Now
that the category is wavering and tablet
computers are appearing, look for Apple
to jump back in. There’s good reason to
believe that a jazzy new Newton II will be
forthcoming, perhaps in January. I also
suspect a convertible laptop. Maybe
Apple would call it the Granny Smith.
I’m surprised that Apple hasn’t done
more with its product names. Since the
failed Pippin, the company has become
bland, even square, with its names. Cool
apple varieties include Baldwin, Cortland, Criterion, Empire, Gala, Gravenstein, Jonathan, Liberty, Macoun, Red Delicious, Rome Beauty, Spartan, Winesap,
and Yellow Delicious, among others. Instead we get the iBook and the iMac. If
you add European names to the scads of
Apple varieties you get Alkmene, Decio,
Herrnhut, Reinette Clochard, Renetta,
and Ruban. I could go on for days. So how
about naming a product the Apple Oberrieder Glanzreinette? Now there’s a name
waiting for a product!
61
B I L L H OWA R D
On Technology
Will Your Next TV Be a PC?
P
Cs are from Mars, TiVos are from Venus.
If you think men and women look at the
world differently, the same can be said
for how PC makers and consumer electronics manufacturers see their overlapping markets. These misunderstandings lead to
less robust products and missed opportunities.
Case in point: A fascinating high-definition (HD)
satellite tuner and personal video recorder (PVR)
from satellite TV provider DirecTV will be arriving
early in 2004 with a price of around $1,000. It won’t
be a mainstream product initially, although HDTV is
catching on quickly thanks to cheaper TVs and more
sports programming. And while a $2,000 HDTV
might be palatable, the $1,000 HD PVR is probably
not going to be as quick a sell as the HD cable or
satellite tuner you can get for free or $199, depending
on your provider.
Here’s the problem with the DirecTV HD satellite
tuner/PVR, which is built by Hughes: It doesn’t have
a built-in connection to the Internet via wired or
wireless Ethernet. On the back of the tuner are a
modem jack and a USB connector for adding a USB
Ethernet adapter. Thus Hughes can lay claim to
Ethernet connectivity—with an asterisk.
PC makers value the influencer: the early adopter,
gadget head, or geek. For example, Dell, Gateway, or
MPC builds a system with a zillion bells and whistles
and the hottest graphics card. The influencer buys it,
loves it, and tells his friends and colleagues, who buy
vanilla versions of that PC. It happens with cars, too.
The owner of the Subaru WRX or sport package
BMW 3 Series is asked by neighbors whether an
Odyssey or Sienna makes more sense. (Answer:
Odyssey for performance, Sienna for space-efficient
packaging. And have you looked at the Nissan Quest
with its amazing dashboard console?)
Consumer electronics companies, however, want
to move millions of units during the first year of
production, so they shoot for the LCD—the lowest
common denominator. Before they design convergence products, they look up the number of homes
with both Ethernet and broadband, decide there
aren’t enough customers to meet their sales
projections, and opt for the solution that everybody
has: a modem plus a cheap, inelegant workaround
link to broadband.
But early adopters don’t buy such products, because the right technology isn’t there. And the
mainstream consumers don’t buy, because they’re
not comfortable with unproven technologies at
high prices.
Want an example? The hard drive–based digital
jukebox is poised to replace the CD changer (ignore
for a moment that a CD changer is one-tenth the
price). But the first digital jukeboxes, circa 2001,
combined a modem and phone-line networking.
Only now are we seeing built-in Ethernet.
Some early jukeboxes and portable MP3 players
were designed with USB 1.1 for file transfers or for
an Ethernet adapter. If you wanted to load 128MB of
music onto your device before your morning run,
you were looking at many minutes rather than seconds for the transfer. At that point the market was
predominantly USB 1.1, but there was enough USB
2.0 technology in use to make reaching out to the
future worthwhile. The gurus knew this and were
annoyed.
If I designed an HD satellite PVR, I’d build it with
integrated Ethernet, a PC Card slot for adding Wi-Fi,
and yes, a modem as a fallback. Wired Ethernet is
nearly free and widely available, as are Wi-Fi cards
(often $10 each after rebates). I’d never inflict USBdongle Ethernet on people I respected. The early
adopters who bought my device would provide the
satisfied initial user base that would spread the word
for mass adoption by the next year.
Another reason for an always-connected set-top
box or receiver is so the next version can have a Web
browser. (WebTV wasn’t a bad idea; unfortunately, it
was sold as a first PC for your great aunt.) The thousands who subscribe to the NFL premium satellite
channels already spend Sunday afternoons sitting 24
inches from the PC and 10 feet from the TV, following the stats and the games. There’s no reason both
couldn’t go on a wide-screen HDTV.
If the consumer electronics side of the world
ignores how quickly the PC side progresses, it does
so at its own peril. Multimedia PCs with TV tuners
and PVRs are looking better all the time.
PC makers
value the
influencer:
the early
adopter,
gadget head,
or geek.
MORE ON THE WEB: You can contact Bill Howard directly
at [email protected]. For more On Technology
columns, go to www.pcmag.com/howard.
63
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /s o l u t i o n s
The Activation FAQ
As more and more programs require activation, it’s important
to understand what these schemes are all about. By Jay Munro
When Microsoft released Office XP, users were suddenly faced with having
to “activate” the product in addition to entering a valid product key. That proprietary activation scheme helped Microsoft cut down on piracy, but it raised
privacy concerns among users. Much of the fervor eventually died down,
however, until late 2002 when Intuit shipped its new version of TurboTax,
which also required activation. Outraged
users—including many who voiced their
anger on our sister site, ExtremeTech—
complained that this prevented them from
using the product as they had in the past,
that it interfered with their PCs, and that it
was an imposition in time and resources.
Adding fuel to the fire, Intuit’s tech support was hard to find and less than stellar
in its response. Intuit will no longer use
activation, but with household names
such as Adobe, Macromedia, and Symantec all incorporating some kind of digitalrights scheme into many of their latest releases, activation is clearly here to stay.
How will this affect your computing life?
We give you the answers below.
Q: Why are vendors turning to activation?
A: Software piracy became a lot easier once
ordinary users could easily burn CDs, and
file-sharing services are also contributing
to the problem. This has made companies
more willing to face the potential rancor of
users. Software vendors hope product activation will reduce mass copying by professionals, as well as casual copying—one
user passing on a CD to a friend, which is
actually considered the bigger problem by
many in the industry.
The Business Software Alliance (BSA),
a digital-rights enforcement organization,
has published a list of “best practices” for
companies using product activation.
Since a vendor’s implementation of activation can make or break a good user experience, BSA member companies try to
follow these best practices, which include
anonymity, full disclosure of information,
ease of use, and quality tech support.
Q: How does activation work?
A: Today’s activation schemes work by
creating a unique value or ID for each
user, based on the user’s hardware configuration and the product serial number,
though this is implemented differently by
different vendors. Microsoft, for example,
sends a single combined value, while
Macrovision, maker of the popular DRM
product SafeCast, sends two separate values: the serial number and a number representing the hardware. The user information is transmitted via the Internet (or
telephone) to a vendor’s activation server,
which receives the value, records it in a
database, and sends back a unique activation code that unlocks the user’s product.
Depending on the vendor’s implementation, unique hard drive or Registry identifiers are stored on users’ machines.
There is no way around this, since the key
to the process relies on checking user
licenses locally each time the application
runs. Macrovision’s SafeCast stores the
values in several areas to make cloning
more difficult and to protect legitimate
users from accidentally wiping out their
license files. One area is an unused portion
of a PC’s boot track 0. While this sounds
clandestine, an ID stored in that location is
less likely to be deleted inadvertently than
a file or Registry entry would be.
Q: If Macrovision writes to track 0, won’t
that mess up security software, partition
tools, and other disk utilities?
A: Yes and no. A simple high-level format
(Format C: /s) will not affect IDs stored
in track 0, but a low-level format (or
repartitioning) will. Utilities such as Norton Ghost can be used to back up a disk or
partition to an image—and restore the data
with activation intact. But restoring an
image that was made before a product was
activated will require reactivation. And
while SafeCast will not step on another
SafeCast installation, products using other
activation schemes could be affected if
they use the same location. In addition,
security products that watch for changes
to hard drives could be affected as well.
Q: I’ve paid those software vendors their
money. I own the software. They can’t make
me tell them who I am. Or can they?
A: As implemented by most vendors, acti-
vation is anonymous. Unlike product registration, which typically requires your
name, address, and e-mail, activation uses
How Activation Works
A user
installs
software
and
enters
the serial
number.
Serial number
xxx-yyy-zzz-123
000-111-222-xyz
Unique ID code
The software
creates a
unique ID
from the
serial number
and the user’s
hardware
configuration.
The ID is
sent to the
software
company’s
activation
server
over the
Internet.
Web
SOLUTIONS
q
accompanied by
HitBox tags.
,
3. The visitor’s browser
executes the tags and sends
tracking info to HitBox.
68 Security Watch: File-sharing
dangers.
70 Enterprise: Software
at your service.
72 Internet Professional: Update
content easily.
75 User to User:
Tips and tricks.
M A K I N G T E C H N O L O G Y W O R K F O R YO U
during the activation process. Once activated, a product stores its activation codes
locally and never needs to call out again. It
does not check with the server
unless you do something to
FIGURE 1:
invalidate the activation.
Norton AntiVirus
2004’s product
activation page.
only a product ID code and a unique value
derived from your hardware configuration. The hardware value can’t be reverseengineered to identify your machine. But
you don’t actually own the software.
Unlike hardware that is sold outright, software is a licensed product. You buy the
right to use a product based on restrictions, such as installing on one machine.
Q: Let’s get real: They know who I am.
A: Although activation is designed to be
anonymous, vendors can capture identifiable information such as an IP address
or caller ID (if you activate by phone).
BSA members agree, however, that end
user privacy should be respected. Check
the vendor’s privacy policy to be sure.
Q: I heard activation spies on you, reporting
back to the vendor often. Is this true?
A: An application contacts a vendor only
VENDOR
Activation code
Q: If activation is bound to my
machine, what happens if I buy a
new PC, or upgrade components? Do I have
to pay again?
A: Not typically. Most vendors allow lee-
Q: I heard that activation leaves a
program running even after I exit.
A: It depends on the how the ap-
media’s automated
Touch-Tone phone
activation page.
plication was installed. To let users with
guest permissions run a protected program
on a Windows 2000 or XP machine, the activation portion needs to be installed as a
service. This leaves a small system process
running so any user can log on and start the
app. Without it, only users with administration privileges can use the program.
This software
has already
been activated.
Q: Will activation affect licensing?
A: Now that licenses can be enforced,
Database
Activation
server
The activation server
determines whether
the product has been
activated before and,
if so, whether it was
activated on the
same machine.
If the ID has been used
before, the server sends
back a message.
gram does not contact the activation server
except when transferring a license. But a
vendor can choose to have the program
contact the server on uninstall. When a
vendor implements license transfer, the
product contacts the server, and the server
tags the activation as not in use. It reactivates with the new machine’s activation.
way in how their programs check hardware, so you can upgrade components
without reactivating. If you make substan- Q: What happens if I have several Macrotial system changes, you’ll have to reacti- vision DRM–protected applications and I
vate. Norton AntiVirus 2004 allows multiple activations, so you can just reactivate
the same program as you upgrade. Some
vendors, like Macromedia, have chosen to
implement activation so it may be uninstalled from one machine and installed on
another. Should you run out of activations,
you’ll need to contact the
FIGURE 2: Macrocompany and reactivate.
J0133KL0273H
If the ID has
not been used,
the server
stores it in a
database and
sends back a
unique activation code to
unlock the
software.
Q: When I uninstall an activated program, is
the activation portion also removed? Does
the program contact the activation server to
let it know I’m not using the app anymore?
A: That’s up to the vendor. Typically a pro-
companies can afford to relax their policies. Both Adobe’s and Macromedia’s
EULAs (end user license agreements)
allow licensed users to install their products on two machines.
Q: With companies offering multiple activations, do I have multiple licenses?
A: No. The number of PCs on which you
can run the software is defined by the
license, not by the activation restrictions.
uninstall one? Will the
others be deactivated as well?
A: No, each activation is separate and
doesn’t affect other products.
Q: Vendors say activation can benefit users.
What are they talking about?
A: While activation benefits vendors by re-
ducing copying, it lets them publish fully
working versions in try and buy or try and
die scenarios. This lets users try out the
real thing to see whether it’s worth paying
for. In the past, you could download and
install 30-day trial versions of products,
but you had to get a separate version if you
were buying. With activation, you simply
pay for the license and activate the copy
you have. Once users accept that software
must be licensed, they will probably find
that activation is a pretty painless process.
For more activation FAQs, visit our
Web site at www.pcmag.com/solutions.
Jay Munro is a freelance writer and consultant.
67
SOLUTIONS
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /s e c u r i ty wa tc h
T H E LO O KO U T
STAY AHEAD WITH
SECURITY SCOUT
File Sharers, Beware
With most popular file-sharing services, you could be sharing
more than you think. We tell you how to stay safe. By Leon Erlanger
P
eer-to-peer file-sharing networks
have come a long way since the
dawn (and demise) of Napster,
with LimeWire, Kazaa, Morpheus,
Grokster, and others offering everything
from MP3 files to movies, software, and
anything that can be exchanged across a
digital network. If you’re using or plan to
use such networks, you should know that
copyright infringement isn’t the only issue
to consider. You also open up your system
to a host of security and privacy threats,
including viruses, worms, Trojan horses,
snooping, data theft, spyware, and more.
The first thing to understand about file
sharing is that every user’s system acts as
a server for everyone else’s, so there is almost no way to control the content that is
available on a network. This makes it easy
for anyone to distribute a virus, worm, or
Trojan horse in a file you thought con-
22). Although providers are backing away
from this lately, millions of users have
unwittingly downloaded tons of spyware
along with file-sharing apps.
Even if you aren’t using your filesharing application, it’s usually up and
running in the background, providing
other users with access to your system—
and often to your IP address. Studies such
as “Usability and Privacy: A Study of
Kazaa P2P File-Sharing” (www.hpl.hp
.com/shl/papers/kazaa/index.html)
suggest that the majority of users don’t
know what files they’re sharing and may
inadvertently end up sharing private files
such as e-mail and financial information.
There are a number of steps you can
take to protect yourself. The most obvious
step is to turn off your file-sharing app
when you’re not actively searching or
downloading. This is not as straightforward as it sounds, however,
as many such applications
continue running in the
background after you think
you’ve closed them. You may
be able to right-click on an
icon in the taskbar and try to
shut your app down again,
USE THE Options screen under
Tools to set LimeWire to shut down
but this may not do the trick
immediately when you exit.
either. For example, unless
you change some defaults in
LimeWire’s Options dialog
box, it will not shut down
until a current transfer has
been completed. If your filetained your favorite song. Once that file is sharing app offers the option to disable
in your file-sharing directory, it’s usually sharing altogether, take advantage of this.
available to everyone, whether you’ve tried
The next step is to make sure you conto play it or not, so malware can spread trol which directories you are sharing.
very quickly. Some of the software itself Unless you really know what you’re
has been known to have Trojan horses and doing, choose the default directory the
other security problems. And a number of program offers and copy all the files you
file-sharing applications contain invasive want to share into it. Don’t enable sharing
adware that monitors your online behav- for any of your other directories; you may
ior and sends data back to a server (as dis- forget that you did, or that their subdireccussed in our spyware cover story, April tories have also become available.
68
The Internet is a battlefield, and your
computer is under constant bombardment. In such a dangerous digital world,
knowledge is your shield. But who has
the expertise—let alone the exhaustive
resources—necessary to scour the Web
for pertinent, accurate alerts, patches,
and the like? You do now.
Security Scout, PC Magazine’s latest
premium utility, hooks you directly into an
information pipeline rich with cutting-edge
security intelligence. And best of all, this
vital information is delivered directly to
your desktop—no browsing or searching
required. Read the complete article and
get download details at www.pcmag.com/
securityscout.—Robyn Peterson
Most popular antivirus programs, such
as those from McAfee and Symantec, are
effective against file-sharing viruses and
worms, so make sure you run yours, and
take advantage of automatic signature
updating so you’re protected from the latest threats. Even if you’re on a network
that has a firewall, you should run a personal firewall, and if your firewall tells you
that a program you don’t recognize is trying to make a connection from your
system, don’t allow it access. If you
encounter any problems running your
legitimate software after that, you can
always change your mind.
Run a spyware removal tool periodically to see whether you’ve downloaded
anything unwittingly. PepiMK Software’s
free utility SpyBot Search & Destroy (described in the spyware story mentioned
above) was a recent Editors’ Choice. And
make sure you keep your file-sharing
application itself up to date with the latest
patches and fixes. Finally, don’t forget to
perform regular backups in case an attack
cripples your system. You can also run a
system rollback utility, such as Windows
XP’s System Restore or Symantec’s GoBack, to ensure that you can return your
entire system to a previous state. As with
e-mail, you’ll never be completely safe
from file-sharing security threats, but if
you take the right steps you can greatly
reduce the odds of becoming a victim.
Leon Erlanger is a freelance author and
consultant.
SOLUTIONS
CASE STUDY
Carfax
The At-Your-Service ASP
Let someone else run your enterprise software while you do more
important things. By Brad Grimes
O
nly a few years ago, application
service providers (ASPs) promised to change the way companies bought software. An ASP would
run enterprise apps on its own servers
and would rent them out to customers
over the Internet.
IT departments didn’t rush to embrace
the concept, however. Most had already
invested in software and systems and were
not eager to entrust their critical data to
outsiders. Then ASPs started going out of
business, taking their applications with
them and leaving customers in the lurch.
But ASPs are back, and they’re stronger
than ever. America Online, Avis, Best Buy,
Canon, Cisco Systems, eBay, and Yahoo!
have turned over their enterprise software to Web-based ASPs that sell apps on
a subscription basis. Meanwhile, IBM,
Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP have begun
hosting software on their own servers for
customers. Research firm IDC expects
the “software as service” market to grow
more than 25 percent by 2007.
Carfax, a company that provides online
car histories to dealers and consumers,
was an early adopter of subscriptionbased ASPs. It started using WebSideStory’s HitBox in 1999 to analyze log files
of customer traffic. “We were processing
a lot of data and getting yelled at for not
processing it fast enough,” says Carfax
CTO David Silversmith. “HitBox reduced
an IT burden, and more important, it gave
the marketing department direct access to
information about our customers.”
As it became more comfortable with
the ASP model, Carfax began outsourcing
more apps. Currently it uses seven different ASPs, handling everything from spam
filtering to customer surveys.
Not all software is suitable for outsourcing, however. For instance, Carfax
decided not to use an ASP for its CRM
system because it wanted to retain control of its customer lists.
70
“We want to use our IT resources and
core competency in areas that are unique
to our company,” says Silversmith. “Web
analytics, customer service, and e-mail
are services that other people have more
expertise in. We’re buying their expertise
and lowering our overhead costs.”
Reducing overhead costs is a key reason
that businesses turn to Web-based ASPs.
SalesForce.com, which provides CRM apps
online, is among the most successful ASPs.
Depending on an organization’s size and
needs, it can subscribe to SalesForce.com’s
CRM, reporting and analysis, and other
tools. According to research firm The Yankee Group, businesses can save up to 90
percent of the cost of a traditional CRM
solution by using Salesforce.com. Companies save money on support and upgrade
costs, IT infrastructure, personnel, and
implementation.
It’s also important to have a contingency plan when you use an ASP. One
ASP that Carfax hired for customer
service e-mail suddenly discontinued its
service, leaving the company scrambling
for a replacement. Today, Carfax constantly evaluates ASPs that can quickly
step in and take over if another one shuts
down, changes it business plan, or otherwise doesn’t measure up.
The Web-based subscription model
isn’t for everyone, however. Many large
businesses don’t want to risk changing
ASPs, preferring instead to control their
own software. They also may require significantly more features than Web-based
software delivers.
“A lot of companies want to own that
software license for one reason or another,”
says Amy Mizoras, a program manager at
IDC. “They may want to bring the software in-house at some point. And it’s
usually not the cost of the software that
makes buying and running software costprohibitive. It’s the actual running of the
software.”
Such companies can save money by
purchasing full-featured enterprise apps
and letting a hosting service install, run,
and maintain the software. Hosting firms
like Corio and USinternetworking can
load and manage enterprise apps in their
own data centers and allow customers
that own the software to access it over
high-speed connections.
Ultimately, Web-based ASPs make the
most sense for small and midsize outfits,
while large businesses gravitate toward
hosting their software with third
parties—and that’s if they embrace the
ASP model at all. Judging from recent
growth in the ASP market, more folks like
Carfax’s Silversmith are seeing the
wisdom in outsourcing applications. And
ASPs are enjoying a rebirth.
Analytics Anytime
To focus more effectively on its core business of providing online car histories to dealers and consumers, Virginia-based
Carfax accesses several of its applications over the Web on a subscription basis. To track traffic at its Web site, Carfax uses
WebSideStory’s HitBox, which crunches all the numbers at a data center in San Diego and delivers traffic reports to Carfax.
1. A visitor to
Carfax’s Web site
requests a page.
3. The visitor’s browser
executes the tags and sends
tracking info to HitBox.
2. The Carfax Web
server responds with
the requested content,
accompanied by
HitBox tags.
4. Carfax staff logs on to
real-time reports to review
traffic analysis.
SOLUTIONS
Designing Web Sites for
Contributors
But too many editable regions can handcuff end users with an old-fashioned
forms-based approach to content editing.
A better idea is to create a number of logical, editable regions based on function,
such as headline, body copy, or product
specifications. If you identify each region
With Macromedia Contribute, even nontechnical users can hanwith a self-explanatory label, you can
dle routine Web site maintenance. By Luisa Simone
help users add content correctly, because
your labels appear whenever Contribute
he days of open-ended budgets it has organizational responsibility.
users switch into edit mode.
for Web site development are
Templates work synergistically with
When you grant editing privileges for
long gone. Today, thanks to a particular folder, Contribute automati- Contribute’s permission settings. For
Macromedia Contribute 2, developers cally extends those privileges to subfold- example, if you choose to disable a user’s
can offer their clients an easy, indepen- ers. You should therefore consider mov- ability to edit tables, be sure to designate
dent, and low-cost way to update the con- ing site-wide assets, such as navigational the rows of a table as a repeating region in
tent of their sites.
elements or externally stored scripts, to a the template. This lets a user expand or
Contribute, which retails for only $99, separate folder at the root of a site. This contract the table as necessary, but preputs a friendly, word-processor–style is an easy way to protect them from vents him from modifying the formatting.
face on HTML editing. It lets designers accidental changes.
In the same spirit, don’t use the admingive their clients the ability to add and
You should also place files and folders istration controls to disable an end user’s
edit pages, locking down overall designs where Contribute expects to find them. ability to apply fonts and point sizes.
and structures so clients can’t do signifInstead, consider disicant damage to sites. For more informaabling HTML styles
and requiring users to
tion about Contribute’s feature set, see
apply text formatting
the First Looks reviews “Take Back Your
using only your CasWeb Site with Macromedia Contribute”
cading Style Sheets.
(www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,716825
You can further pro,00.asp) and “Macromedia Contributes
tect sensitive areas of
Even More” (www.pcmag.com/article2/
your design by desig0,4149,1230113,00.asp).
nating only the text
Contribute isn’t suited for all applicaDREAMWEAVER templates let you control the ways that
between tags as an
tions, however. For example, Contribute
Contribute users add content to Web sites.
editable region in a
is designed to edit static HMTL, not datadriven content. Although Contribute can
template. This lets
add text, images, and Flash movies to For example, Contribute typically stores users edit the words, but makes it impospages built with server-side code, it can’t pictures in an Images subfolder located sible for them to override your carefully
interact with databases. So if your client within the folder that contains the constructed styles.
needs to edit data-driven content, you’ll editable page. If you don’t create this
As you build your templates, rememneed another solution. Furthermore, you folder structure, Contribute will do it ber that Contribute users typically aren’t
shouldn’t deploy Contribute without con- automatically whenever an end user familiar with the idiosyncrasies of HTML
sidering how best to design (or retool) a inserts a picture into a Web page from his code. So be sure to build pages that look
site that will be edited by end users. Here local hard drive. By anticipating Con- the same in both browse and edit mode.
are some tips that will help you get the tribute’s requirements, you can avoid That may mean using spacer images to
most out of Contribute.
cleaning up duplicate files and folders. prevent a table from collapsing or using
Restricting access is the key to conContribute works with sites created nested tables instead of DIV tags.
By planning a site using the power of
trolling how Contribute users interact with any HTML editor, including Adobe
with their sites. Contribute’s administra- GoLive and Microsoft FrontPage. But Dreamweaver templates, the flexibility
tion features let you place reasonable lim- developers using Macromedia’s Dream- offered by Contribute’s administration
its on end users to prevent them from weaver can create page templates with options, and the logical organization of files
making costly mistakes. As a general rule, surprising levels of granularity. On the and folders, you can empower your clients
for example, a Web site should employ a most basic level, you can designate which and protect the integrity of your designs.
For tips on how to use Contribute
folder structure that mimics the depart- areas of a page will be locked and which
mental structure of the company. With will be editable. As the designer, you more productively, visit www.pcmag.com.
Contribute, you can then create unique must find the right balance between flexpermission groups to allow each depart- ibility and structure. A single, free-form, Luisa Simone is a contributing editor of PC
ment access to only those files for which editable region is an invitation to chaos. Magazine.
T
72
SOLUTIONS
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /u s e r to u s e r
PC MAGAZINE’S COMMUNITY OF
EXPERTS AND READERS
Text That Doesn’t Print
{=34,582.13 \*DollarText \*Firstcap}
I would like to include text in a Microsoft
Word document that can be viewed onscreen but does not print. Can I do this?
SANDY HOCKEY
Right-click on the field and choose Update
Field. You should now see the number spelled
out in words: Thirty-four thousand five hundred
eighty-two dollars and 13/100. It isn’t precisely
the requested format; it ends with 13/100
rather than thirteen cents. But it’s close.
Word provides a number of other numeric
field codes. Here are a few of the
more useful ones:
To do this, highlight the text in question,
choose Font from the Format menu, and
{=42 \*CardText}
forty-two
{=42 \*OrdText}
forty-second
{=42 \*Ordinal}
42nd
{=42 \*ROMAN}
XLII
—NJR
Opening Attached Files
THE WORDS MARKED with a dotted
underline are hidden text that will not
print, even though they appear on-screen.
check the box titled Hidden. The text disappears—not visible either on your screen or in
print. To bring it back into view, select Options
from the Tools menu and click on the View
tab. In the Formatting marks area, check the
box titled Hidden text. Now the text appears
on-screen (with a dotted underline to let you
know something’s different about it) but still
will not print.—Neil J. Rubenking
Display Numbers as
Text in Word
Is it possible to make Microsoft Word 2000
automatically display a number in written
form? I’d like to be able to enter a number
such as $34,582.13 and have it display as
Thirty-four thousand five hundred eightytwo dollars and thirteen cents. Is there a
function that will accomplish this?
DEREK MARKS
Word will indeed format numbers in several
interesting ways, but only when they are
represented by field codes. The = field code is
exactly what’s needed here. Press Ctrl-F9 to
insert a pair of field-code delimiters, which
resemble boldface curly brackets. Between
the field-code delimiters, enter = followed by
the number. Then append the DollarText
field switch. The result should look like this:
Is there a way to make attachments in Outlook open in a folder other
than Temp? I want to change the default
so that Word and Excel attachments open
in the correct network path rather than
the Temp folder.
CINDY SZAFRANSKI
with dates, but it didn’t work.
For example, suppose cell A1 reads Total
Borrowing as of and B1 contains the date
12/31/2001. When I enter the formula in C1
as suggested in the tip, I get Total Borrowing as of 37256. Is there any way to get the
result to read 12/31/2001 rather than a
serial date?
TONY ACKER
The basic technique will work with dates, but
you must change the formula. To join the
information from two cells that contain text
or numbers, enter the formula =A1&" "&B1
into a third cell. This tells Excel to start with
whatever is in A1, add a space, and then
insert whatever is in B1. As you’ve discovered, however, Excel translates dates into
serial dates. Here’s a modified formula that
tells Excel to extract the month, day, and year
from the value in B1, and insert each separately, along with slashes, to give the format
m/d/yyyy:
=A1&" "&MONTH(B1)&"/"&DAY(B1)
&"/"&YEAR(B1)
What Outlook calls “opening” an attachment
really involves saving it to the Temp folder
and opening the saved copy in the Temp
folder. You can never literally open it without
saving, but because Outlook pretends you do,
the only way to change the location of the
temporary copy is to change the Temp folder
location—a bad idea.
Rather than trying to open the attachment, choose Save and save it to your preferred location. Then choose Save again. The
Save As dialog will open in the same folder
you just used. Find the already-saved file,
right-click on it, and choose Open from the
pop-up menu. This is a quick way to save an
attachment where you want it—rather than
where Outlook wants it—and then open it
right away.—NJR
Joining Columns that
Include Dates
I recently found a tip called “Merging Two
Columns into One in Excel” (www.pcmag
.com/article2/0,4149,33100,00.asp). The
tip shows how to add area codes in one
column to phone numbers in another. I
tried to use the same formula to join text
AFTER JOINING two columns, you can
convert the formula results to text.
The formula will read Total Borrowing as of
in A1, the date 12/31/2001 in B1, and produce
the result Total Borrowing as of 12/31/2001.
You can also get the same result by typing
the formula =A1&" "&TEXT(B1,"mm/dd/
yyyy") in C1.
As described in the original tip, if you need
to join two columns, copy the formula as far
Word will format numbers in interesting ways
if they are represented by field codes.
75
SOLUTIONS
Simply deleting the Links folder is pointless,
because Internet Explorer re-creates it.
down the third column as needed. To convert
the formula results to text, select the third
column, choose Edit | Copy, then Edit | Paste
Special, then Values, and OK. You can then
delete the first two columns.—M. David Stone
search Google for my name and display 80
hits starting at number 300: www.google
.com/search?q=neil+rubenking&num=
80&start=300. You may find that not all
values are accepted. For example, you can’t
set num= to a value greater than 100. By
default, Google omits results that appear
to be duplicates; you can turn off this
feature by appending &filter=0 to the
search URL.
Some additional sleuthing reveals that
AOL’s search lets you pick the starting
page, but not the number per page, as in
search.aol.com/aolcom/search?query=
neil+rubenking&page=2. Once you’ve
worked out which arguments to change,
BY EDITING the arguments in the URL generyou can click on Next and then simply
ated when you click on Next, you can control
edit the URL in the Address bar.
which search results are shown.
MSN’s search engine doesn’t lend itself
as easily to this type of
Jump into an Internet Search
manipulation. The starting
number and page count are
When doing a Web search using AOL, MSN or
buried in a string of hard-toanother search engine, is there a way to look
decipher information such as
at the results toward the end without going
search.msn.com/results
through the intermediate results 25 at a
.aspx?ps=ba%3d (0.30)
time? Let’s say I get back 285 results, can I
0(.)0.......%26co%3d (0.15)
jump to number 225, for example? How can I
4(0.1)3.200.2.5.10.1.3.%
skip to the middle or near the end?
DENNIS KING 26pn%3d1% 26rd%3d0%26&q=neil+rubenking&ck_sc=1&ck_af=0. Still, we were able to
determine that the number following ba (the
When you click on a link that goes to the next
30 in ba%3d(0.30)) is the beginning number,
page of results, you actually rerun the search
and the number after co (the 15 in
with additional arguments that specify
co%3d(0.15)) is the count.
where to start the reporting. You can often
You can apply the same kind of analysis to
determine which arguments are relevant by
other search engines.—NJR
right-clicking on the Next link, choosing Copy
shortcut, and pasting the resulting URL into
Notepad. The arguments take the form
Mysterious Tilde File
name=value, with ampersands separating
I run Windows XP on both a desktop and
them. You can experiment by creating modinotebook. I upgraded the desktop from
fied copies of the search URL and pasting
Windows 98, and the notebook came with
them back into the browser.
Win XP. I frequently find that after I have
Using this method, we determined that in a
been using a program or have been online, I
Google search, the arguments start= and
return to the desktop and see an icon that
num= control the starting result and the
looks like a generic page with a tilde (~)
number per page. The following URL would
under it. This happens on both computers.
What causes this and how do I stop it?
DIANA L. CLARK
HOW TO CONTACT US
E-MAIL K [email protected]
FAX K 212-503-5799
MAIL K User to User, PC Magazine, 28 East
28th St., New York, NY 10016-7940
If we print your tip, you’ll receive a PC
Magazine T-shirt. We regret that we
cannot answer letters individually.
76
Microsoft Knowledge Base doesn’t confirm
this, but users report that the tilde file you
describe is actually a misplaced backup of
your Outlook Express address book. The
main address book is a file whose extension
is .wab and whose filename is your user
name (for example, Neil.wab). Use the
Find/Search option in the Start menu to
locate this file. In the same folder, you
should find a file with the same name and
the extension .wa~. This is the address book
backup file. If the file’s date/time stamp is
relatively old, this suggests that it’s not
getting updated properly.
To confirm this, move the tilde file from
the desktop into the same folder as the main
address book. Rename it to Testing.wab and
double-click on it to launch it. Does it load
correctly in the Address Book applet? Does it
show all of your contacts, or at least all but
the most recent? If so, it is an errant copy of
your address book backup file. Delete the old
backup file (the one with extension .wa~),
and rename the file to the backup file’s name.
Repeat this process when the tilde file reappears. Sooner or later, Microsoft will fix the
TO GET RID of the Links folder, modify
its Registry entry.
bug that causes the address book backup to
be saved incorrectly.—NJR
Get Rid of the Links Folder in IE
How do I get the Links folder in Internet
Explorer’s Favorites to stop coming back
after I delete it?
STEVE A. MINDEL
As you’ve noticed, simply deleting the Links
folder is pointless, because Internet Explorer
re-creates it. To block the reanimation of that
folder, launch REGEDIT from the Start menu’s
Run dialog. Navigate to the key HKEY_
CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Internet Explorer\Toolbar. In REGEDIT’s
right-hand pane, find a String value named
LinksFolderName and rename it to
NOT_LinksFolderName (so you can easily
reverse this change if you wish). Now rightclick on the right-hand pane, choose New |
String value, and name the new value
LinksFolderName, leaving its data blank.
When you delete the Links folder one final
time, IE will not re-create it.—NJR
The
Coolest
PCs
By Stephanie
Chang
EACH YEAR , PC MANUFACTURERS TAKE THE IDEAS OF POWER , VALUE , AND DESIGN
to new levels. Add to those ideas media convergence and mobility and you have a good picture
of how the year shaped up.
B
Today’s PCs give the word multitasking new meaning. They sit in
living rooms—not just home offices—recording TV shows and burning home movies to DVD.
They sport glass panels and neon lights, making beige boxes a distant memory.
B
They offer bar-
gain hunters DVD burners and 2.8-GHz processors. And for those who compute on the go, they
offer even more ways to connect wirelessly, as well as significantly longer battery life.
B
The fol-
lowing pages showcase the latest high-end entertainment systems, value PCs, all-in-one computers, and desktop replacement notebooks. And for the scoop on the newest Media Center PCs,
check out First Looks in this issue (page 32). So whether you’re into over-the-top technologies,
cool form factors, mobile computing, or fantastic bargains, we have just the right system for you.
REVIEWED IN THIS STORY
A>High-End Entertainment PCs
ABS Awesome 6350 llllm
Alienware Aurora DDR llllm
Apple Power Mac G5 Dual 2 GHz llllm
Compaq Presario 8000T lllmm
Dell Dimension XPS llllm
Falcon Northwest Mach V FX-51 lllll
Gateway 710XL llllm
IBM ThinkCentre A50p llmmm
MPC Millennia 920i Creative
Studio llllm
94 Polywell Poly 900NF3-FX1 llllm
94 Velocity Micro ProMagix DX-W lllll
94 Voodoo F1 Liquid llllm
85
85
85
86
86
86
90
90
90
B>Value Desktops
96 ABS Awesome 3350 llllm
98 Apple eMac llmmm
98 Dell Dimension 4600 lllmm
98 eMachines T2865 llllm
102 Gateway 510S lllmm
102 IBM ThinkCentre A50 llmmm
102 Systemax Venture HU26 lllmm
B
D
A
C>All-In-One Desktops
104 Apple iMac llllm
104 Hy-Tek Tek Panel 300 llllm
106 MPC ClientPro All-in-One llllm
106 Sony VAIO PCV-W500GN1 llllm
108 WinBook FusionPC lllmm
D>Desktop Replacement
Notebooks
C
110 Acer TravelMate 290LMi lllmm
110 Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch) llllm
114 Dell Inspiron 5150 llllm
114 eMachines M5310 llmmm
114 Fujitsu LifeBook N Series llllm
116 Gateway M350 llllm
116 HP Pavilion zd7000 lllll
116 IBM ThinkPad R40 lllmm
118 Sharp Actius RD20 lllmm
118 Toshiba Satellite P25-S607 llllm
118 WinBook J4 300 3.06 lllmm
83
High-End Entertainment PCs
Screaming fast. Ready for action.
or some passionate
users, the PC has as
much to do with lifestyle as livelihood, and
if you’re on a quest for the ultimate entertainment system,
compromise is unthinkable.
F
Whether you’re an extreme gamer, digital
musicologist, video visionary, or pure
performance junkie, nothing less than the
best will do. Here’s a checklist of things
to look for when picking out the perfect
high-end system.
PROCESSORS For the ultimate ride, you
need to have the horses under the hood.
These high-end systems have power
aplenty, mainly thanks to either a 3.2-GHz
Intel Pentium 4 or a 2.2-GHz AMD Athlon
64 FX-51 processor. Some of these systems
have extra overdrive in reserve: The Athlon
64 FX-51 and the Apple G5 are the first 64bit processors available for consumer
desktop PCs. But their full force won’t be
fully appreciated until 64-bit operating
systems and applications are written to tap
into them. The first 64-bit PC games are
still in the pipeline, and adrenaline is already flowing at the prospect.
GRAPHICS SUBSYSTEMS If you’re a
gamer or you use your PC for tasks such
as image or video editing or 3-D modeling, you know the importance of a topflight graphics subsystem for smooth,
responsive zooms, panning, 2-D and 3-D
animation, and effects rendering. Most
high-end desktops in this roundup sport
256MB of high-speed DDR SDRAM
graphics memory and include either the
top-end nVidia GeForce FX 5950 or the
ATI Radeon 9800 XT.
Our contributors: Bill Howard is a contributing
editor and Cade Metz is a senior writer of PC Magazine. Jim Akin and John Delaney are freelance
contributors. Joseph A. Guilbeau IV and technical
analysts John Blazevic, Cisco Cheng, Omar
Cintron, Roy Goodwin, and William Pagan are with
PC Magazine Labs. Charles Rodriguez is product
testing manager and Nick Stam is PC Magazine
Labs director. Jennifer Harsany is an intern. Executive editor Stephanie Chang, associate editor Jenn
DeFeo and PC Magazine Labs project leader Joel
Santo Domingo were in charge of this story.
84
RAID Many high-end systems feature RAID
0 hard drive arrays, in which twin physical
drives are paired to form a single virtual
volume, and data is written to and read
from both mechanisms at the same time.
A RAID 0 configuration is indispensable for the hard drive demands of hi-fi
video capture and multitrack audio
recording. But it can also provide significant benefits for extreme gaming and
image-editing applications.
DISPLAYS The big-screen PC experience
continues with the emergence of sleek
20-inch LCDs at the high end. A pixel
resolution of 1,280-by-1,024 still predominates, but 1,600-by-1,200 is available on
some machines, and one, the Velocity
Micro ProMagix DX-W, offers a 19-inch
display with a whopping maximum resolution of 2,048-by-1,536. That’s a lot of
room for tool palettes, spreadsheet cells,
and opponents’ splattered entrails.
Serious gamers looking to ditch their
CRTs should consider an LCD with a fast
refresh rate. For example, the Falcon
Northwest Mach V FX-51’s 20-inch display
refreshes at an impressive 25 ms.
SPEAKERS AND SOUND Sound is critical
for the most well-rounded entertainment
PC experience, and these high-end systems
don’t skimp. For video game audio verité
or cinematic surround sound from DVD
movies, most of these products pack the
latest-generation Creative Labs Sound
Blaster Audigy 2 sound card, and many
offer six-piece, 5.1-channel home theater–
style speaker arrays. We especially like the
Klipsch and Logitech setups.
EXTRAS For thousands of dollars per
system, you’d expect certain perks not
found in lesser products. Extreme gamers
can get clear side panels, neon lights, and
paint jobs that rival a Porsche’s—not to
mention extensive cooling systems.
For the artist more interested in art than
PC case design, or the video enthusiast
who wants a TV tuner and gobs of hard
drive space to create and edit video, some
systems here fill that bill as well. And it
goes without saying that USB 2.0 and
FireWire ports are in abundance. (Make
sure your system has a few ports located on
the front for easy connectivity with MP3
players and camcorders.)—Jim Akin
Choosing our top picks from 35 different PCs wasn’t easy. For each category, we chose the most well-rounded system, so if you’re strongly into one
activity, say gaming or video editing, then be sure to look at the individual
music, photos, video, and gaming ratings of each system.
The Velocity Micro ProMagix DX-W is our top pick in the high-end PC category because of its powerful components, such as three hard drives and 3.2-GHz Pentium 4 processor, as well as its multimedia offerings. Music, photo, and video buffs as
well as gamers will be pleased with the software bundle and the hardware, such as
the Klipsch six-speaker set. The Gateway 710XL also impresses us with its multimedia
offerings. Aside from the software, the 710XL includes top hardware like a multiformat DVD recorder and a memory card reader on the front panel.
In the value desktop category, the stylish eMachines T2865 holds top honors for its
160GB hard drive, multiformat DVD recorder, CD-ROM drive, and memory card reader.
Choosing the top all-in-one PC was the toughest, but in the end, the Sony VAIO
PCV-W500GN1 crept past the rest with its inexpensive yet supercool design and
Giga Pocket software. The Hy-Tek Tek Panel 300, with its dazzling 30-inch LCD, is
certainly a niche product but earns an honorable mention for high performance
and features.
Desktop replacement notebooks are getting more powerful every day, and our
favorite, the HP Pavilion zd7000, wows us with excellent graphics performance, a
17-inch wide-screen display, and a 3.2-GHz Pentium 4 processor. The Toshiba Satellite P25-S607 held its own with a multiformat DVD burner and Microsoft Windows
XP Media Center Edition 2002, complete with TV tuner, though we recommend
upgrading to the newer Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004.
High-end
High-End PCs
PCs
configuration here, however, as well
as TV tuners/PVRs.
ABS Awesome 6350
MULTIMEDIA
OVERALL RATING: llllm
Music support couldn’t be
better, thanks to the superior sound
card and speakers, as well as several
pieces of common but useful software for music management and
disc burning (including MP3 and
WMA mixes).
2.2-GHz AMD Athlon 64 FX-51, 1GB DDR
SDRAM, two 120GB RAID 0 hard drives,
DVD±RW and DVD-ROM drives, 19-inch
LCD (1,280-by-1,024), six USB 2.0 (four on
front) and three FireWire ports (one on
front), $3,599 direct. 800-876-8088,
www.abspc.com.
This is a gamer machine worthy
of LAN parties, mainly because of the
clear window insert and interior illumination. The software bundle—particularly the music
and video programs—and excellent performance also make this system ideal for multimedia tasks.
The DVD±RW and DVD-ROM drives are handy, and multiformat optical
drives are best for high-end systems. The 19-inch LCD is impressive, and 7
of the 12 drive bays remain free for upgrades. This system performed a bit
better than the P4-based systems running mostly at 3.2 GHz and about
the same as the other four high-end Athlon-based systems, except for
the Voodoo F1 Liquid. The ABS unit will not disappoint, whether you’re
dueling it out in Splinter Cell or editing your latest video creation.—BH
MUSIC lllll
PHOTOS lllmm
The lack of front memory card
slots (in a system with seven bays
available) is a drawback. ABS includes
the basic Microsoft PictureIt! Photo 7.0
for image editing and management.
VIDEO llllm
All the ingredients are in place
for video capture and editing, including
three useful programs: Sonic MyDVD
4.5.2, ArcSoft ShowBiz DVD, and
nVidia’s NVDVD 2.2. Other high-end
systems have larger hard drives
than the combined 240GB RAID
MULTIMEDIA
llllm
The Aurora ships with Klipsch
ProMedia Ultra 5.1 speakers, which
sound crisp for music and gaming.
Four USB 2.0 ports in front make
hooking up MP3 players easy, but
users are limited to ripping and burning WMA files.
M U S I C llllm
In keeping with its black-ops
naming convention, Alienware has
created the Alienware Aurora DDR, which
presumably takes its name from the rumored ultrafast spy plane being
developed by the U.S. military. The sleek, high-speed Aurora ships with
the latest AMD desktop CPU, the AMD Athlon 64 FX-51. Two 160GB
Serial ATA hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration let you read and write
simultaneously to two different hard drives, improving performance.
In our testing, the Aurora was on a par with most of the nVidia GeForce
FX 5950–equipped PCs (except the Voodoo F1 Liquid) and is fast enough
for the newest games out there; though less expensive, simpler-looking
boxes with similar—if not better—performance are available.—JB
P H OTO S lllmm
Photo editing could be handled easily by the Aurora given its
expansive storage and 1GB of memory. Too bad it ships with only Microsoft Paint. Hey, it’s a gaming machine!
The Aurora has all the
necessary video hardware, including
320GB of hard drive space, three
FireWire ports (one on front) for
plugging in your digital camcorder,
and a DVD burner. But it has only
Business:
24.2
SUPPORT
The standard warranty for parts
and labor is one year and includes
on-site service. Toll-free technical
support is available from 11:30–8:30
eastern time M–F.
CyberLink’s PowerDVD 5 for
viewing but not editing video. Say
it with me again: It’s a gaming
machine!
G A M I N G lllll
The list of included hardware
would make any gamer drool, and
the Aurora did not disappoint on our
tests. Running your favorite games at
the highest-quality settings with little
impact on performance is what this
machine is all about.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
24.1
SUPPORT
The standard warranty for parts
and labor is one year, including
on-site service. Toll-free technical
support is 24/7.
DVD-R write speed, and a fast widescreen display.
MULTIMEDIA
llllm
With USB 2.0, FireWire 400
and 800, iTunes, and JBL Creature
speakers, the only thing keeping the
G5 from a perfect music score is the
omission of flash memory card slots.
The silver Power Mac G5 Dual 2
GHz is Apple’s latest Über-computer.
The dual 64-bit G5 processors run on a blazingly
fast 1,000-MHz system bus, giving the G5 performance comparable
with—and sometimes better than—the other systems in our roundup.
As a music playback machine, the G5 is almost overkill, but you
can hook it up to 5.1 speakers or an AV receiver via a TOSlink optical
cable for surround sound. As a multimedia PC, the G5 rivals high-end
Windows PCs and entry-level workstations. The FireWire 800 port is
a boon for video enthusiasts, allowing faster transfers of those multigigabyte home movies
There is ample space for memory upgrades, and you can install
another SATA hard drive in the available drive bay.—JSD
PERFORMANCE
Multimedia: 32.7
V I D E O llllm
Apple Power Mac G5 Dual 2 GHz
Two 2-GHz PowerPC G5s, 1GB DDR SDRAM,
160GB SATA hard drive, DVD-R/CD-RW
SuperDrive, 20-inch wide-screen LCD (1,680by-1,060), three USB 2.0 and two USB 1.1
ports (on keyboard), two FireWire 400 and
one FireWire 800 port, $5,126 direct. 800692-7753, www.apple.com.
It doesn’t get any better than
this for gamers, thanks to the THXcertified Logitech Z-680 speakers
(five speakers, subwoofer, and wireless remote), Creative Labs Sound
Blaster Audigy 2 card, and 19-inch
display. Wireless Ethernet makes
this system easy for gamers to hook
up at LAN parties.
Multimedia: 33.6
Alienware Aurora DDR
2.2-GHz Athlon 64 FX-51, 1GB DDR
SDRAM, two 160GB SATA RAID 0 hard
drives, DVD±RW and CD-RW drives, 19inch CRT, eight USB 2.0 (four on front)
and three FireWire ports (one on
front), $4,649 direct. 800-254-3692,
www.alienware.com.
GAMING lllll
M U S I C llllm
P H OTO S llllm
iPhoto is the standard all
other beginner-level photo packages
must measure against. The G5 has
generous hard drive space, and 1GB of
RAM is a solid amount of memory for
working with large images. A flash
media reader would be welcome, but
if you have only one camera, the
built-in USB ports are enough.
V I D E O llllm
The G5 is a Mac-head video
enthusiast’s dream: a 160GB SATA
hard drive (with room for one more),
FireWire, dual G5 processors, support
for up to 8GB of 128-bit RAM, 4X
G A M I N G llllm
The G5 has the hardware to
run 3-D games well. The ATI Radeon
9800 Pro is a respected high-end
card, and Apple’s AGP Pro version
does away with the extra power connector found on the Windows version.
Companies like Aspyr Media continue
to port games to the Mac platform.
PERFORMANCE
For the Apple Power Mac G5 test
results, log on to www.pcmag.com/
applescores.
SUPPORT
The standard warranty for parts and
labor is one year, including on-site service on the AppleCare Protection Plan.
Toll-free technical support is available
from 9:00–9:00 eastern time daily.
85
High-End PCs
TKTKTDUMMY TEXT
Compaq Presario 8000T
MULTIMEDIA
lllmm
MusicMatch Jukebox,
Veritas RecordNow, and dual optical
drives, combined with the massive
Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 surroundsound speaker system, make for
a great music-making and listening
experience.
3.2-GHz Pentium 4, 1GB DDR SDRAM, two
120GB RAID 1 (mirror) hard drives,
DVD+RW and CD-RW drives, 17-inch LCD
(1,280-by-1,024), six USB 2.0 (two on
front) and two FireWire ports (one on
front), $3,296 direct. 888-999-4747,
www.hp.com.
P H OTO S l l l m m
Less sexy than its peers, the Compaq
Presario 8000T is still a capable machine. The hard drive configuration on our
test system was a bit unusual—the two
120GB hard drives were mirrored using RAID 1, giving you a total of
120GB of storage, rather than 240GB across the two hard drives.
Aside from that, the 8000T has a 17-inch LCD, as well as DVD+RW and
CD-RW drives. While the matte gray and black tower case stands 18
inches high, there are no bays available for expansion; other PCs with
cases three inches taller have up to seven free bays. Overall, this is a solid
system that is dulled by the company it keeps. For an extra $103, you can
get the higher-performing, fuller-featured Dell system.—BH
The core platform is solid,
but you’ll need to add your own
image-editing software to keep up
with some of the other systems
here. Microsoft Paint is included
for basic photo tasks.
Dell Dimension XPS
MULTIMEDIA
llllm
Dell has all the bases covered
with Dell Jukebox (a relabeled
MusicMatch Jukebox Basic) and the
Digital Media Experience interface
and remote control.
VIDEO lllmm
For playing DVDs, the
8000T, with InterVideo’s WinDVD
and the Klipsch speakers, is fine.
But the smallish (for this roundup)
120GB hard drive capacity and
MUSIC lllll
250GB SATA hard drives (RAID 0),
DVD+RW and CD-RW drives, 20-inch LCD
(1,600-by-1,200), eight USB 2.0 (six on
front), $3,399 direct. 800-388-8542,
www.dell.com.
Not everyone is convinced the TV
tuner/PVR component of Microsoft
Windows XP Media Center Edition is ready
for prime time. For such people, Dell offers
the Dell Dimension XPS with Digital Media Experience—software with
the same kind of interface as Windows XP Media Center Edition but
without the TV tuner and PVR software. (Dell offers Windows XP Media
Center Edition on the Dimension 4600, 4600C, and 8300.)
Other attractive features include the 20-inch LCD, the generous
number of USB 2.0 and FireWire ports, and the multimedia software
bundle, which lets you edit, rip, burn, and play to your heart’s delight. The
Dell system handles itself well as a gaming system and excels at multimedia. Just be sure to load your own photo software.—BH
Falcon Northwest Mach V FX-51
lllll
2.2-GHz Athlon 64 FX-51, 1GB DDR SDRAM, two
250GB RAID 0 hard drives, DVD-RW, CD-RW,
and DVD-ROM drives, 20-inch LCD (1,600-by1,200), six USB 2.0 (two on front) and five
FireWire ports (one on front), $6,245 direct.
888-325-2661, www.falcon-nw.com.
First and foremost, the Falcon Northwest Mach V FX-51 is a gaming system, so naturally it also has the hardware
to handle almost any multimedia job. If
you’re into video editing, the included software and
two 250GB RAID 0 hard drives will let you hit the road running.
Living up to its name, the Mach V delivers the speed, scoring first or
second on virtually all of our performance tests. The Mach V has the new
AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 CPU and the nVidia GeForce FX 5950, a configuration it shares with the ABS, Alienware, Polywell, and Voodoo units.
If cost is an issue, lose the paint job or check out one of the less
expensive systems that rival the Mach V’s performance, like the
Velocity Micro ProMagix DX-W.—JB
86
MUSIC lllll
P H OTO S lllmm
The Dell system is weakest in
the photos category. Although it
comes with Adobe Photoshop Album
for cataloging, viewing, and minor
image-correcting, as well as Jasc
Paint Shop Pro 8, they are only 60day trial versions.
V I D E O llllm
The Dimension XPS is
a very good option for video
fans: It includes the editing software Dell Movie Studio, which consists of Roxio’s VideoWave Movie
Creator 4.0 and Sonic RecordNow!,
as well as two huge 250GB hard
MULTIMEDIA
M U S I C llllm
The Mach V ships with beatthumping Logitech Z-680 5.1 speakers. Having three optical drives
eases disc-to-disc burning, but the
lack of any included music-ripping
software beyond Windows Media
Player is a drawback.
P H OTO S lllmm
With no addditional photoediting software beyond what comes
with Windows XP Professional, the
Mach V leaves users with Microsoft
Paint for very basic editing.
entry-level software (Microsoft
Windows Movie Maker 2) aren’t
competitive in this category.
GAMING llllm
The Klipsch speakers give
a big boost to your game playing,
and the system’s underpinnings
are just as sound, though a larger
monitor would improve the immersion experience.
PERFORMANCE M U LT I M E D I A : 27. 6
Business:
19.5
Multimedia: 27.6
SUPPORT
labor is one year. No on-site service
is available. Toll-free technical support is 24/7.
drives to store hours of video
and a 20-inch high-res LCD. But
we wish the system had a multiformat DVD-recordable drive.
G A M I N G llllm
The Dimension XPS has
all the hardware in place for
gaming, with kickin’ speakers
and a massive display, which, for
an LCD, showed little smearing.
But its high-end ATI Radeon 9800 XT
graphics card needs a bit more
optimizing.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
22.1
Multimedia: 29.8
SUPPORT
The warranty is two years for parts
and labor, including on-site service.
Toll-free technical support is available 24/7.
Studio 8, so users can jump right in
with editing.
G A M I N G lllll
Gaming is an immersive
experience. The Mach V’s sound,
graphics, and speed are awesome,
as is the massive 20-inch LCD,
which has a fast 25-ms refresh rate.
The system’s overclocked GPU
helped it achieve top scores on our
gaming tests.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
25.4
Multimedia: 34.0
V I D E O llllm
While not aimed at the
video-editing crowd, the Mach V
easily handles the task with its ample
hard drive space configured in RAID
0, its fast processor, and lots of RAM.
Bundled software includes Pinnacle
SUPPORT
The warranty for parts and labor
is one year, including on-site service. Toll-free technical support is
available from 11:00–9:00 eastern
time M–F.
High-End PCs
Hear It, See It,
Experience It
W
ant to burn your favorite jazz CD? Get rid of the
red eye from your son’s last birthday party pics? If
so, you’ll need more than just hardware, and
many manufacturers offer software bundles with
your new PC to satisfy some of your hobbyist needs. Below is a
list of multimedia programs that are often included.
MUSIC
EASY CD & DVD CREATOR BASIC EDITION
This is a dedicated CD- and DVD-burning tool that can
help your new CD burner reach its highest speed potential.
MUSICMATCH JUKEBOX
Our Editors’ Choice for the past several years, this program lets you
rip MP3, WAV, or WMA files and burn audio CDs (not data CDs). You
can also upload playlists of your digital music to your portable music
player. Upgrade to rip and burn at higher speeds and get more features for volume control and organization.
NERO EXPRESS 6
Whether you want to make an audio CD or back up your data, this
program will burn quicker than most free music applications. The
bundled version you receive with your PC is a lite version of Ahead
Software’s Nero retail package. To rip MP3s you’ll need to buy a separate encoder, and to burn them you must download a free decoder.
REALONE PLAYER
Use this basic software to organize and play your MP3, WAV, and
WMA files. You’ll be able to rip to MP3, RealAudio, and WMA (with
a free plug-in), as well as burn MP3 and RealAudio files. Unless you
upgrade to a premium version for better burning speeds, leave the CD
creation to a speedier program like Roxio’s Easy CD & DVD Creator.
SONIC RECORDNOW!
This program won’t organize your music files into nifty playlists,
but it will burn music and data CDs quicker than most basic media
players. It also burns video to DVD.
WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER
Windows Media Player, which is preinstalled on all Windows machines, plays and rips WMA files and can burn audio CDs. It can play
MP3s, but you’ll need to find a third-party plug-in to rip MP3s.
PHOTOS
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ALBUM
An Editors’ Choice for image management software,
Adobe Photoshop Album provides a clean interface for uploading and
organizing digital images. The simple correction tools aren’t meant
for heavy editing, but they offer the professional results of Photoshop.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 2.0
A recent Editors’ Choice, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 takes the
sophistication of Adobe Photoshop and, keeping new users in mind,
blends it with some excellent easy-to-use editing tools. Features
include Web publishing, easy photo resizing for attaching pictures to
e-mails, and PDF slide shows.
88
JASC PAINT SHOP PRO 8
Although this photo-editing program has some quick-fix beginner’s tools like adjusting red eye and fixing sharpness, you’d be
missing out if you didn’t take advantage of the full toolset. Advanced layer technology allows editing to be done separately
from the original image.
MICROSOFT PICTUREIT! PHOTO 7.0
You won’t find this version of Microsoft PictureIt! anywhere else
except bundled with your new PC. It offers solid image-editing tools
that are easy for beginners to use. But for higher-caliber features,
you’ll need to upgrade to Microsoft Picture It! Photo Premium 9.0.
ULEAD PHOTOIMPACT 8
Ulead PhotoImpact 8 is not for newbies. It has an extraordinary range
of features, from image editing and enhancement with vector tools
to special effects and Web publishing. It can take some time to learn.
VIDEO
ARCSOFT SHOWBIZ DVD
This program is best for beginners looking to convert
their VHS tapes to DVDs, although it can also serve as an easy solution for more advanced users looking for a no-fuss burning tool. You’ll
have full control over choosing your chapter titles, borders, and
colors, and you can even insert slide shows into your DVD movies.
PINNACLE STUDIO 8
Pinnacle Studio 8 provides a great mix of film editing and DVD
authoring, earning an Editors’ Choice last year. There is some room
for you to grow with this software; many of the features have simple
solutions coupled with more advanced options.
SONIC MYDVD
This program, part of Sonic MyDVD Video Suite 4.0, offers a troublefree way to transfer videos from VHS to DVD. You can use this software to import video footage onto your machine (provided you have
the right hardware). You can then set specific chapter lengths and let
MyDVD do the rest of the work on its own.
ULEAD DVD MOVIEFACTORY 2
This solution’s wizard-style interface makes capturing and editing
video and authoring and burning DVDs simple. You can transfer
video directly to DVD using preset chapter definitions and very
little skill. This direct capture is especially helpful if your hard drive
isn’t large enough to store large video files.
ULEAD VIDEOSTUDIO 7
This software has enough editing and authoring tools to keep intermediate videographers happy, but it won’t go over the heads of motivated beginners, either. The program can easily write DVDs, VCDs, and
SVCDs with basic menu and chapter items.
WINDVD 5
This is one of the most popular DVD players around because of its
extra features and clear interface. You can capture video and bookmark your favorite moments. Time-stretching capabilities let you
watch movies at half or double speeds.—Jennifer Harsany
High-End PCs
Gateway 710XL
MULTIMEDIA
llllm
MusicMatch Jukebox 8.0 and
Roxio’s Easy CD & DVD Creator 5 are
included for music ripping and CD
creation. The system comes with the
popular and superb Creative Labs
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card
and better-than-average speakers.
250GB RAID 0 hard drives, DVD±RW and
CD-RW drives, 18-inch LCD (1,280-by1,024), eight USB 2.0 (two on front) and
two FireWire ports (one on front), $3,599
direct. 800-221-9616, www.gateway.com.
The Gateway 710XL is one of the
most well-rounded systems for video
editing and a top system overall for
multimedia. Aside from the impressive
hardware—two 250GB RAID 0 hard drives,
DVD±RW and CD-RW drives, and a 3.2-GHz CPU—the system comes
with Gateway Movie Creator VCD/DVD, which includes Pinnacle Studio 8.
We just wish the system’s performance was a bit more noteworthy.
Feature-wise, the 710XL has virtually everything a Media Center PC
has except a TV tuner and big-screen Windows interface. Most notable
is the memory card reader on the front.
The 710XL doesn’t have much expandability; there is only one free
drive bay. But for your media needs, Gateway delivers.—BH
P H OTO S llllm
A front-panel memory card
reader lets you upload photos from
cameras using CompactFlash,
Memory Stick, MMC/SD, SmartMedia, or xD-Picture Card (via an
adapter). Microsoft PictureIt! 7.0
handles basic photo tasks.
VIDEO lllll
Aside from the high-end
hardware, the inclusion of Pinnacle
Studio 8 helps push the 710XL to
the top among video-editing sys-
IBM ThinkCentre A50p
MULTIMEDIA
llmmm
The inclusion of Sonic
RecordNow! 5.1 ripping and CDcreation software makes the A50p
reasonably well equipped for music.
The integrated SoundMax Cadenza
chipset drives the respectablesounding (but aging) Level 9 Monsoon PlanarMedia 9 three-piece
speaker system.
M U S I C lllmm
2.8-GHz Pentium 4, 1GB DDR SDRAM,
120GB hard drive, DVD/CD-RW drive,
17-inch LCD (1,280-by-1,024), eight
USB 2.0 (two on front) and three
FireWire ports (one on front), $1,648
direct. 800-426-4968,
www.ibm.com.
If you want an IBM label on a
high-end consumer PC, the IBM
ThinkCentre A50p represents the station
stop nearest your destination. Just understand that
it’s still pretty far removed from the other systems here. The A50p is
more of a capable (but not blazingly fast) home-office machine to
which you can add multimedia apps at your own expense. But it’s also
about $1,000 less than the others here. The A50p comprises a small
tower PC with modest hardware (a 2.8-GHz P4 and a 120GB hard
drive), a single optical drive, and a 17-inch LCD. If your computing mixes
business with pleasure and you don’t mind buying your own apps, the
A50p is worth considering; otherwise, look elsewhere.—BH
MPC Millennia 920i Creative Studio
llllm
3.2-GHz Pentium 4, 1GB DDR400 SDRAM,
two 160GB RAID 0 hard drives, DVD±RW/
CD-RW and DVD/CD-RW drives, 19-inch LCD
(1,280-by-1,024), eight USB 2.0 (two on
front) and three FireWire ports (one on
front), $2,999 direct. 888-224-4247,
www.buympc.com.
Comparatively speaking, the MPC
Millennia 920i Creative Studio is a
steal—just under three grand for a
blazing-fast system with 320GB of
hard drive storage, a 19-inch display, first-rate
graphics and sound cards, and superior multimedia apps. The only less-than-leading-edge pieces of equipment are
the Creative Labs speakers and the 19-inch LCD.
Upgradability of the 18-inch-tall tower suffers a bit from having
just one free drive bay and one free PCI slot. (One bay is taken by an
Iomega Zip 750MB drive, and another holds the floppy drive.) This
system appeals to enthusiasts who don’t need a see-through side
panel and neon lighting.—BH
90
M U S I C lllll
tems in this roundup. Gateway
even throws in a few blank DVD-Rs
and CD-Rs and a jacket, as well as
a disc label-printing kit.
G A M I N G llllm
Top-drawer components—
such as the nVidia GeForce FX
5950G Pro—make for a very good
gaming experience. The Boston
Acoustics BA7900 5.1 speakers, custom-built for Gateway, are an older
design but are still high-quality.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
23.0
Multimedia: 29.5
SUPPORT
labor is one year. On-site service for
one year costs $148.99. Toll-free
technical support is available 24/7.
DVD/CD-RW drive, however, keeps
you from burning DVD movies.
G A M I N G llmmm
The mainstream ATI Radeon
9600 Pro is a solid graphics card, but
the IBM ThinkCentre A50p shouldn’t
be considered a gaming system.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
18.9
Multimedia: 24.4
P H OTO S llmmm
IBM doesn’t include any
software other than Windows
XP’s rudimentary view and print
capabilities. The 17-inch LCD, 1GB
of RAM, and front USB ports give
the A50p solid basics.
SUPPORT
The standard warranty is three
years for parts and one year for
labor. On-site service is $75 for two
years. Toll-free technical support is
available 24/7.
V I D E O llmmm
The only real positive here
is Sonic RecordNow MAX, which lets
you burn VCDs or SVCDs. The
MULTIMEDIA
M U S I C lllll
MPC goes well beyond the
typical MusicMatch Jukebox Basic
offering for audio, with Ahead
Software’s Nero suite, which
comprises ripping, editing, coverdesigning, and burning tools.
P H OTO S llllm
Roxio’s PhotoSuite 5 provides
decent photo-editing capabilities
and lets you burn photos to CD.
V I D E O lllll
Pinnacle Studio 8 (editing,
authoring, and burning) with
Pinnacle Hollywood FX (3-D effects
and transitions) should satisfy
most video enthusiasts. Ahead
Software’s Nero Express provides
additional ways to burn your
movies to DVD and CD. 320GB of
storage space holds a lot of videos
and home movies.
G A M I N G llllm
The screen is large, and
the graphics and sound cards
are first-rate. The Creative Inspire
6.1 6600 surround speakers are
decent (the sixth speaker is for
rear-center surround), but photon
torpedoes don’t sound quite as
explosive as they do on Klipsch
or Logitech speakers.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
21.7
Multimedia: 29.1
SUPPORT
The standard warranty is three years
for parts and labor, including on-site
service. Toll-free technical support is
24/7 for three years.
High-End PCs
New Technologies, Better Performance
The high-end desktop
category is the home of the
newest technology, including
five Athlon 64 FX-51s and a dual-processor
G5 desktop, the new nVidia GeForce FX
5950, and the ATI Radeon 9800 XT.
FX’s GPU and on-board memory for the
Serious Sam and Splinter Cell tests.
On the 3DMark03 tests, the Velocity
Micro PC (with a P4 and an nVidia
GeForce FX 5950) was competitive with
the PCs powered by the Athlon 64 FX-51
and the same graphics chipset. It surpassed them at 1,024-by-768 resolution and
tied for first place at 1,600-by-1,200.
The Dell machine’s Serious Sam score
at 1,024-by-768 resolution lagged behind
the other PCs except the IBM ThinkCentre
A50p. But when we cranked it up to 1,600by-1,200, this desktop was once again
competitive, showing that it can run
OpenGL games well at high resolution.
We included Splinter Cell among our
tests for its use of DirectX 8.1. We had to
turn off anti-aliasing to run this test, because it is incompatible with DirectX. The
Dimension XPS scored right at the average
among the high-end Windows-based PCs
with 256MB video cards (this excludes the
IBM desktop, which has a 128MB card).
All of those high-end systems scored 30
fps or better on both game tests, which
means they can run these games with
smooth video. The IBM unit, with its more
mainstream video system, had playable
results at the lower resolution but choked
at the higher resolution and filter setting.
ABS Awesome 6350
Athlon 64 FX-51 (2.2 GHz)
2.6
2.7
2.6
2.6
P4 (3.2 GHz)
3.2
1.6
2.7
2.3
2.6
2.8
2.7
2.3
NEW MULTITASKING TESTS
With this issue, PC Magazine Labs introduces a new suite of Business Winstone
2004 Multitasking tests, which measure
the performance of simultaneous tasks in
scenarios simulating day-to-day duties
(see the table below).
A Hyper-Threading–enabled P4-based
system, the Gateway 710XL, tied for first
place overall and led the pack on scenario
3, which uses the most applications and is
the most stressful. The P4-powered MPC
Millennia 920i Creative Studio and the Dell
Dimension XPS also earned high scores on
the new tests, tied for the second- and
third-highest numbers overall. The Athlon
64 FX-51–based Voodoo and Falcon Northwest PCs (tied for first- and second-highest
scores) were in the same league as the best
of the P4 systems, partly because the
Athlon is more efficient at the branchy
code found in office apps. In addition, the
overclocked nVidia GeForce FX 5950 GPU
helped off-load some of the screen redraws,
which are a factor in the scores.—Analysis
written by Joel Santo Domingo
Dell Dimension XPS
Gateway 710XL
P4 (3.2 GHz)
P4 (3.2 GHz)
2.7
3.9
3.4
2.5
2.9
2.5
3.1
2.7
3.2
2.8
2.9
3.0
J We used three different multitasking test
P4 (2.8 GHz)
1.9
1.8
2.4
2.1
MPC Millennia 920i
Creative Studio
Polywell Poly 900NF3-FX1
Velocity Micro ProMagix DX-W
P4 (3.2 GHz)
2.9
2.6
3.1
2.9
P4 (3.2 GHz)
3.1
2.9
2.9
2.6
2.6
1.2
2.8
1.6
Voodoo F1 Liquid
3.6
3.2
2.7
3.0
THEY’VE GOT GAME
The Falcon Northwest Mach V FX-51,
with its overclocked nVidia GeForce FX
5950, achieved the second-highest
3DMark03 score at 1,024-by-768 resolution. Yet when we subsequently updated
to the latest nVidia Detonator 50 drivers
and started taxing the system’s 3-D capabilities, the Mach V started crashing. As
an experiment, we clocked the GPU
down to the reference 475-MHz clock
speed, whereupon the Mach V achieved
3DMark03 scores of 5,277 and 2,347, consistent with the other Athlon/
GeForce FX combos. Although our table
shows the 3DMark03 scores achieved
with the overclocked GPU, we used the
slower reference speed on the GeForce
BUSINESS WINSTONE 2004 MULTITASKING TESTS
PROCESSOR
SCENARIO 1
SCENARIO 2
SCENARIO 3
OVERALL
scenarios. Scenario 1: Internet Explorer and Outlook
run in the foreground, while files copy in the background. Scenario 2: Excel and Word run in the foreground, with WinZip archiving in the background.
Scenario 3: Access, Excel, FrontPage, PowerPoint,
Project, and WinZip run in the foreground, while
Norton AntiVirus runs in the background.
RED denotes Editors’ Choice. We tested the Pentium processors with Hyper-Threading enabled.
HIGH-END CONSUMER DESKTOPS
Processor
Graphics chipset
Business
Winstone
2004
Serious Sam: The
Second Encounter
1,024 x
786
1,600 x
1,200
1,024 x
1,600 x 1,200
786 (fps) (fps)
1,024 x
1,600 x
786 (fps) 1,200 (fps)
2X/2X
4X/4X
2X/2X
4X/8X
Off/2X
Off/8X
33.6
32.7
27.6
5,072
5,049
4,331
2,291
2,177
1,857
150
132
118
65
56
51
47
58
49
38
39
35
Anti-aliasing/Anisotropic filtering K
ABS Awesome 6350
P4 (3.2 GHz)
nVidia GeForce FX 5950
24.2
24.1
19.5
Dell Dimension XPS
P4 (3.2 GHz)
ATI Radeon 9800 XT
22.1
29.8
4,917
2,061
113
68
52
38
Gateway 710XL
MPC Millennia 920i Creative Studio
Voodoo F1 Liquid
P4 (3.2 GHz)
P4 (2.8 GHz)
P4 (3.2 GHz)
P4 (3.2 GHz)
nVidia GeForce FX 5950G Pro
ATI Radeon 9600
25.4
23.0
18.9
21.7
24.3
23.6
27.5
34.0
29.5
24.4
29.1
33.5
30.8
34.0
5,503 2,425
4,662 1,992
2,534 1,129
5,290 2,350
5,251 2,368
5,547 2,425
5,264 2,284
150
119
53
129
125
133
146
89
52
21
66
67
70
62
61
49
31
53
53
62
54
43
38
21
RED denotes Editors’ Choice. We tested each machine with 1GB of RAM. The Apple Power Mac G5 Dual 2 GHz is not compatible with our Windows-based tests.
92
Tom Clancy’s
Splinter Cell
3DMark03
Multimedia
Content
Creation
Winstone 2004
38
39
40
35
High-End PCs
MULTIMEDIA
llllm
This is one of the few systems
here that doesn’t use the Creative
Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound
card, opting for the nVidia nForce3
with the integrated SoundStorm 5.1
audio solution. The difference is
noticeable, especially when paired
with Creative Inspire 5.1 5200 speakers. The software bundle includes
MusicMatch Jukebox and Ahead
Software’s Nero.
2.2-GHz Athlon 64 FX-51, 1GB DDR
SDRAM, two 36GB RAID 0 hard drives,
removable 200GB hard drive, DVD±RW
drive, 19-inch CRT, six USB 2.0 (two on
front), $2,999 list. 888-708-6636,
www.polywell.com.
The Athlon 64–based Polywell Poly
900NF3-FX1 isn’t as flashy or expensive
as the Alienware, Falcon Northwest, or
Voodoo boxes. It’s loaded with top components
and a balanced configuration for both gamers and multimedia users.
Photo buffs will appreciate the built-in CompactFlash, Memory Stick,
Secure Digital, and SmartMedia slots. TV lovers will enjoy the included
TV tuner and decent PVR software. And video makers will be pleased
by the multiformat optical drive and excellent video software.
At under $3,000, there are a few trade-offs, like reduced-quality speakers, audio card, and monitor. Yet Polywell’s understanding of the price/
performance ratio shows in this solid system at a justifiable price.—NS
P H OTO S lllmm
Although the system doesn’t
come with photo-editing software,
the memory card slots are a plus.
V I D E O lllll
Most users will be quite satisfied with the included DVD-authoring and burning capabilities, as well
as the the TV tuner and PVR. A multi-
MULTIMEDIA
lllll
Like several of the high-end
desktops here, the ProMagix comes
with the top-end Creative Labs
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card
and awesome-sounding Klipsch
ProMedia Ultra 5.1 speakers.
36GB RAID 0 hard drives, one 200GB hard
drive, DVD±RW and CD-RW drives, 19-inch
CRT, eight USB 2.0 (one in front) and one
FireWire port, $3,240 direct. 800-3037866, www.velocitymicro.com.
Bring it on. The Velocity Micro
ProMagix DX-W is a high-end machine suited for multimedia enthusiasts and gaming junkies alike. Its powerful components and aesthetics make it look
like a gaming system: The system sports a seethrough case, a 3.2-GHz Intel Pentium 4 CPU and the new nVidia
GeForce FX 5950. Add to that three hard drives—two in a RAID 0 configuration—and the temperature reader on the front panel, and it’s easy to
see why gamers love this system.
Photo and video enthusiasts will be ecstatic with the bundled software combined with the high-end hardware. The ProMagix can handle
whatever role you choose for it with aplomb.—JB
Voodoo F1 Liquid
llllm
2.2-GHz Athlon 64 FX-51, 1GB DDR SDRAM,
two 36GB RAID 0 hard drives, one 250GB
hard drive, DVD±RW drive, 22-inch CRT, six
USB 2.0 and one FireWire port, $5,495 list.
888-708-6636, www.voodoopc.com.
There’s never a dull moment with the
Voodoo F1 Liquid—an insanely configured, canary yellow high-performance
gaming system. The similarly insane (yet
not the highest) price is due to top peripherals,
a custom paint job, a CPU/GPU liquid-glycol–based
cooling system, and a lifetime component upgrade plan.
Based on an AMD Athlon 64 FX-51, an overclocked nVidia GeForce
FX 5950, two 10,000-rpm 36GB RAID 0 hard drives, and a 7,200-rpm
250GB hard drive, this unit delivers excellent gaming performance.
One annoyance: Our unit did not include front USB 2.0 ports (expected in upcoming models). But if you have the bucks and the need for
extreme gaming or content creation speed, the Voodoo F1 Liquid can
work its magic for you.—NS
94
M U S I C llllm
M U S I C lllll
P H OTO S llllm
Not all systems come with
photo software, yet Velocity Micro
smartly includes the midlevel Jasc
Paint Shop Pro 8 for managing and
editing photos.
V I D E O lllll
The inclusion of videoediting packages, including Pinnacle
Studio 8, makes this system attractive to videophiles. And with ample
hard drive space, you won’t have to
worry about room for your raw video
files for a while.
MULTIMEDIA
MUSIC llllm
With the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra
5.1 speakers, an Audigy 2 Platinum eX,
and Zalman 5.1-channel headphones,
the hardware side of the equation is
very strong (though presently, you
must unplug the speakers to install the
headphones, something Voodoo is
fixing soon). InterVideo’s WinDVD
combines with Ahead Software’s Nero
Express to handle multiformat ripping
and burning needs.
PHOTOS lllmm
The F1 is configured as an
extreme gaming system: No special
photo-editing software or memory
card readers are included.
VIDEO lllll
A 72GB RAID 0 array and a
separate 250GB hard drive provide
ample video storage space for the
format DVD±R drive adds flexibility
that not all the systems here provide.
G A M I N G llllm
You can’t go wrong with
an AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 and nVidia
GeForce FX 5950 combination.
Polywell chose not to overclock the
5950 as aggressively as Falcon
Northwest, Velocity Micro, and
Voodoo did.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
24.3
Multimedia: 33.5
SUPPORT
for parts and five years for labor.
On-site service costs $75 a year for
up to three years. Toll-free technical
support is from 10:30–8:30 eastern
time M–F.
G A M I N G lllll
Gamers might be tempted to
buy one of the labeled “game”
machines, but this system runs
games very smoothly—even at highquality settings—for less money and
with the same level of performance.
It even took first place on our
3DMark03 tests.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
23.6
Multimedia: 30.8
SUPPORT
labor is three years. On-site service
is included for one year, and you
can purchase optional two- or threeyear service. Toll-free technical support is 24/7.
casual video producer. The DVD±RW
drive delivers media flexibility, and the
22-inch CRT is wonderful to use with
InterVideo’s WinDVD suite and Ulead
DVD MovieFactory.
GAMING lllll
The F1 was built for extreme
gaming and stresses the stability
afforded by its custom Cool IT chilling
solution. The nVidia GeForce FX 5950
and the large 22-inch NEC SuperBright
CRT add to the graphics immersion.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
27.5
Multimedia: 34.0
SUPPORT
The warranty for parts and labor is
three years. No on-site service is available. Toll-free technical support is 9:30–
8:00 eastern time Monday–Saturday.
Value Desktops
These days, $1,000 goes a long way.
esktops that cost under $1,000 are white
hot in the marketplace, probably
because these PCs aren’t just
for bargain hunters, first-timers,
and school kids anymore.
D
True, these systems aren’t breaking
performance records, but their everincreasing processor speeds, graphics
card updates, and hard drive improvements take these systems beyond
respectability. They can handle generalpurpose or recreational computing in
the home, office, or dorm. That’s not to
say affordability doesn’t come at a price.
Each value PC features cost-containment
compromises, so one approach to choosing the best system is deciding which
trade-offs you can live with. Here are a
few things to consider before buying.
PROCESSORS AND GRAPHICS For
typical computer use, you don’t need
the fastest processor; 2.4 GHz is a good
starting point. An integrated graphics
system works fine for most people, but
if your workload is graphics-intensive,
opt for a solution like the nVidia GeForce
FX 5200, or if you can swing it, the nVidia
GeForce FX 5600 Ultra.
MEMORY Many PCs—especially value
systems—come with either 256MB or
(gasp!) 128MB of RAM. But to get the
most bang from your system without
breaking the bank, consider an upgrade to
512MB before buying. It’s the least expensive way to get more performance—and
life—from your value system.
OPTICAL DRIVES Don’t attempt to save a
few bucks by skimping on your system’s
optical drive. We promise you that you
will want the capabilities of a DVD±RW
drive and a CD-ROM drive, or at the very
least a DVD/CD-RW drive. (The added
bonus of the multiformat drive is that no
matter what media standard you choose,
you’re covered.)
DISPLAY Increasingly affordable LCDs
have become viable alternatives to CRT
monitors in sub-$1,000 systems. Low bulk
and small footprints make them well
suited to tight spaces, and their sleek
physiques are a bit cooler-looking than
the traditional tube displays. In the value
price range, however, the LCD’s cachet
and convenience means a trade-off in
screen real estate, in terms of both active
screen size and pixel resolution. If you
routinely crunch large spreadsheets, do
desktop publishing or image design, or
just want to play games on a big screen,
forego the cool—you’ll wish you had a 17inch (1,280-by-1,024) CRT.
PORTS If you don’t own one yet, chances
are good that your future holds a digital
camera, DV camcorder, MP3 player,
handheld device, or another still-
ABS Awesome 3350
unheard-of gadget that you’ll routinely
plug in to your PC. To accommodate
such devices along with printers,
scanners, and game controllers, look
for plenty of USB 2.0 ports (not the older
1.1 technology). Also, try to get at least
one FireWire port for digital video.
For quick plug/unplug convenience,
you can’t beat front-panel access.
SPEAKERS If gaming or digital music is
important to you, you’ll be glad to hear that
several value-priced PCs offer impressive
speaker and sound card combinations. You
won’t find home theater quality on systems
priced below a grand, but some dualsatellite speaker setups provide a pleasant
earful, and three-piece satellite/subwoofer
combinations can rock your world.
SOFTWARE If you’re shopping for your
first PC, pay close attention to the collection of preinstalled software. You can save
big bucks if the bundle includes essentials
such as virus protection utilities or specialpurpose programs, such as audio recorders
and image editors. Even if you’re replacing
(and recycling) an older PC and plan to
reinstall all your favorite programs, consider comparing bundled programs that
handle activities your old system didn’t
offer, such as DVD authoring. And make
sure those old programs can run on your
new OS. Utilities, in particular, need to be
upgraded if you’re moving from Windows
98 to Windows XP.—Jim Akin
MULTIMEDIA
MUSIC llllm
llllm
2.08-GHz Athlon XP 2800+, 512MB DDR
SDRAM, 120GB hard drive, CD-RW and
DVD-ROM drives, 17-inch CRT, six USB 2.0
ports (two on front), $999 direct. 800876-8088, www.abspc.com.
This not your typical ho-hum value
system. Its metallic silver and aqua
case sports a clear side panel, flashing
blue neon lights, and a glowing purple
cooling fan. Even better than the stylish accoutrements is its high-end graphics card, the nVidia GeForce FX 5600
Ultra, which helps it dramatically outperform every value system in this
roundup on our 3-D tests.
This ABS unit is highly upgradable, with room for four additional hard
drives and three open PCI slots. The only thing missing here is a DVDrecordable drive—two systems in this value roundup have one. Though
excellent for games, it also has top audio capabilities, as well as solid
photo and decent video features. No matter what your hobby is, the
ABS Awesome 3350 has the power to please.—JD
96
The ABS unit has the best
sound system in the value roundup,
thanks to the Logitech Z-640 5.1
speakers. And the Nero CD-burning
program and MusicMatch Jukebox let
you easily burn, rip, and organize
audio CDs or convert your favorite
audio tracks to MP3s.
video editors may want to look to the
eMachines or Systemax PCs.
GAMING llllm
This is the best gaming system
you can get for the money: The highend nVidia GeForce FX 5600 Ultra
graphics card combined with 5.1
surround-sound audio and the 17-inch
NEC monitor make playing Tom
Clancy’s Splinter Cell a blast.
PHOTOS lllmm
The two USB ports in front are
convenient for plugging in a camera,
and the tools that come with Ulead
PhotoExplorer 8 are powerful and easy
to use, with step-by-step on-screen
instructions. But its small CRT and lack
of memory card slots are drawbacks.
VIDEO llmmm
The ABS Awesome 3350
lacks a DVD recorder and a midrange
video-editing program, so aspiring
www.pcmag.com NOVEMBER 25, 2002
PERFORMANCE
Business:
19.9
Multimedia: 24.5
SUPPORT
The warranty is one year for parts and
labor, including one year of on-site
service. Toll-free support is available
11:30–8:30 eastern time M–F.
96
Value Desktops
Apple eMac
llmmm
1-GHz PowerPC G4, 128MB SDRAM, ATI
Radeon 7500, 60GB ATA hard drive, DVD/
CD-RW drive, 17-inch CRT, three USB 1.1
and two FireWire ports, $999 direct. 800692-7753, www.apple.com.
While we are typically fans of the
Apple eMac, iMac, and PowerBook
designs, a look at the current eMac
compared with its Windows competitors left us scratching our heads and
asking, “Why can’t Apple produce a great
computer for under $1,000?”
Hard drive space totals 60GB, while most
other systems here offer 80GB or more. And if gaming or multimedia
tasks are important to you, you’ll need to upgrade to 512MB of RAM;
only 128MB is included here. (We tested the system with 512MB of
RAM, so it was comparable across platforms. But with the additional
memory, the eMac is priced at over $1,000.) The DVD/CD-RW combo
drive is a must-have for any home PC user.—JSD
MUSIC lllmm
Like all Apple computers, the
eMac has iLife preinstalled, which
includes iTunes and a link to the
Apple iTunes Music Store. With 60GB
of hard drive space, FireWire, and
iTunes, the eMac makes an adequate
yet unexceptional base station for
your iPod.
iPhoto is the standard all other
beginner-level photo packages must
measure against. You will probably need
to buy a USB card reader if you use
several memory card formats. But if you
use only one camera, iPhoto recognizes
many cameras out of the box.
VIDEO lllmm
lllmm
The included Dell Jukebox is
great for burning, ripping, and playing
MP3s. And the tiny desktop subwoofer gives the speakers a much
needed bass boost, but if you
crank up the volume too much
the sound gets a bit distorted.
Unfortunately, Sonic RecordNow!
requires an upgrade to convert CD
audio to MP3s.
MUSIC llllm
eMachines T2865
llllm
2.2-GHz Athlon XP 2800+, 512MB DDR
SDRAM, 160GB hard drive, DVD±RW and CDROM drives, 17-inch CRT, five USB 2.0 ports
(one on front), $928 direct. 801-401-1419,
www.emachines.com.
If you thought you’d never buy an
eMachines PC, now is the time to
change your mind. The leading lowcost vendor offers high style and top
performance in the eMachines T2865,
placing first on Business Winstone and a
very close second on our Multimedia Content Creation Winstone tests, and securing our Editors’ Choice.
It is the only value PC, aside from the Systemax unit, to include a
DVD±RW drive, and it has the largest hard drive (160GB) in the value
roundup. Another top feature, the memory card reader on front lets you
use all types of media and makes up for the unit having only five USB
ports. If you’re looking for a system that packs a lot of punch and
features—and saves you a lot of money—this is the clear winner.—JD
GAMING lmmmm
While games like Jedi Knight II
and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 run
adequately when loaded, the relatively
small 128MB of RAM led to long game
load times.
PERFORMANCE
For the Apple eMac test results, log on
to www.pcmag.com/applescores.
SUPPORT
labor. Toll-free technical support is
available 9:00–9:00 eastern time daily.
The DVD/CD-RW drive gives
the eMac DVD playback capability, and
the intuitive iDVD and iMovie give you
MULTIMEDIA
There’s nothing fancy about the
Dell Dimension 4600, but for basic
music downloading and recording,
word processing, and Internet searching, this system won’t let you down. It
includes a big 120GB SATA hard drive, and the
three-piece speaker system (including a subwoofer) beats the typical
desktop offerings. A drawback for multimedia types is the software
bundle: Most of the photo and music programs are trial versions.
With an nVidia GeForce FX 5200, the Dimension 4600 scored a
distant second to the ABS Awesome 3350 on our 3-D benchmark tests.
The flat-panel monitor—usually a nice addition to a value system—was
fairly dark and difficult to view from any angle except head-on. So if
you’re into gaming, graphics, or video, consider a different monitor.—JD
the opportunity to prepare a DVD from
home movies, but you will have to
transfer the files to a Mac with a
SuperDrive if you want to burn a DVD.
PHOTOS lllmm
Dell Dimension 4600
2.6-GHz Pentium 4, 512MB DDR
SDRAM, 120GB hard drive, CD-RW and
DVD-ROM drives, 15-inch LCD, eight
USB 2.0 ports (two on front), $999
direct. 800-999-3355, www.dell.com.
98
MULTIMEDIA
PHOTOS lllmm
Dell bundles Jasc Paint Shop
Photo Album 4 and Jasc Paint Shop Pro
8, but they are trial versions that expire
after 60 days.
VIDEO llmmm
The lack of a DVD-recordable
drive or any type of video-editing
software makes the Dimension 4600
hard to recommend to digital-video
MULTIMEDIA
MUSIC lllmm
Roxio’s Easy CD & DVD Creator 6
is easy to use, but the two-piece
speaker set that came with our system
was so tinny that it was useless for
listening to music. You’ll have to spend
a little more on an adequate speaker
system if music is your thing.
PHOTOS lllmm
You’ll have to supply your own
software, since the T2865 does not
include a photo-editing application. But
the multiformat card reader makes it
easy to upload images—a huge plus.
enthusiasts, but Dell includes a
copy of CyberLink’s PowerDVD for
watching DVDs.
GAMING lllmm
Compared with the ABS
Awesome 3350, which blows away all
the value PCs on 3DMark03, the
Dimension 4600 finishes a distant
second and can handle 3-D games like
Splinter Cell. The monitor, however,
isn’t ideal for gaming.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
18.7
Multimedia: 23.9
SUPPORT
labor, including on-site service. Toll-free
technical support is 24/7.
import still photos and scanned
images into your video project. And of
course, the multiformat DVD-recordable drive helps, too.
GAMING llmmm
While the T2865 did an
adequate job of running Splinter Cell
in low-resolution mode, it lacks the
video and audio components needed
to be taken seriously as a gaming
machine.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
20.1
Multimedia: 24.1
VIDEO lllmm
The DVD Builder in Easy CD &
DVD Creator 6 lets you transfer video
directly from your camera to a DVD, or
you can add music, scene transitions,
and other effects before you burn. The
program is fairly simple and lets you
SUPPORT
The warranty is one year for parts
and labor. On-site service costs an
additional $99 for two years. Toll-free
technical support is available
9:00a–1:00p eastern time daily.
Value Desktops
O U R T E STS
AT A G L A N C E
eMachines and ABS
Score Big
The clear pedal-to-themetal performance leader
among the value PCs was the ABS Awesome 3350. With its AMD Athlon XP 2800+
CPU, 7,200-rpm hard drive, and nVidia
GeForce FX 5600 Ultra, it scored highest
on our Multimedia Content Creation
Winstone and 3DMark03 tests, while
placing a close second on Business Winstone. Its speed, combined with other
features like surround-sound speakers, a
relatively large 120GB hard drive, and a
well-rounded software bundle, make the
ABS Awesome 3350 a powerful all-around
PC right out of the box.
A less obvious but still exceptional
solution is the Editors’ Choice–winning
eMachines T2865. Also outfitted with an
Athlon XP 2800+, it garnered the best
score on Business Winstone and placed a
close second on Multimedia Content
Creation Winstone. Only its integrated
graphics kept it from a respectable
3DMark03 score. 3DMark03 measures a
PC’s ability to play DirectX 7, 8, and 9
games; systems that get high scores here
are good 3-D–gaming machines. If you
are looking for a system that is expandable and capable in 2-D, look hard at the
eMachines T2865. You can always upgrade the 3-D graphics later via the available AGP slot.
If your plans include playing 3-D
games in the future, make sure the PC you
buy has an 8X AGP slot on the motherboard. Among the desktops in this
roundup, only the Apple eMac and IBM
ThinkCentre A50 lack AGP expansion
slots—the eMac because of its all-in-one
design and the A50 because of its smalldesktop form factor.
Of the seven Windows-based value
desktops we reviewed, four have integrated graphics subsystems. While integrated graphics work fine for 2-D tasks
like spreadsheet creation and Web surfing, the sub-200 scores these systems
earned on 3DMark03 suggests that their 3D performance is not up to snuff. The
high-end PCs we looked at (page 84)
generally got 3DMark03 scores in the
neighborhood of 5,000 points at the same
1,024-by-768 resolution.
Most of these value desktops would be
a good basis for a gaming machine; they
just need high-end video cards, larger
monitors, and possibly sound cards and
speakers. For more on upgrading your
video card, look for a PC Magazine story
on this topic coming early next year.
IBM makes stable, reliable PCs, and
the IBM ThinkCentre A50 is that kind of
machine. More of a corporate/smalloffice PC than a consumer model, the A50
is a midrange performer; the first-place
eMachines unit surpassed it by 31 percent
on Business Winstone, and the ABS system surpassed it by 20 percent on Multimedia Content Creation Winstone. Its
nonupgradable 3-D graphics chipset is
another sticking point. But if all you ask
of your computer is reliability and 2-D
capability (Web browsing, e-mail, word
processing, and spreadsheets), the A50 is
good enough. In this case, you are paying
for the company behind the product
rather than the hot performance scores
you find with the other PCs.—Analysis
written by JSD
The ABS Awesome showed an impressive
3DMark03 score thanks to its graphics chipset. M
VALUE DESKTOPS
Processor
Graphics chipset
Business
Winstone
2004
Multimedia
Content Creation
Winstone 2004
ABS Awesome 3350
Athlon XP
2800+ (2.2 GHz)
Ultra
19.9
24.5
2,431
Dell Dimension 4600
P4 (2.6 GHz)
18.7
23.9
659
eMachines T2865
Athlon XP
2800+ (2.2 GHz)
nVidia GeForce4 MX
(integrated)
20.1
24.1
98
Gateway 510S
P4 (2.6 GHz)
Intel 82865G
16.8
22.8
121
IBM ThinkCentre A50
P4 (2.4 GHz)
Intel 82865G
15.4
20.4
131
Systemax Venture HU26
P4 (2.6 GHz)
Intel 82865G
16.2
22.5
69
3DMark03
1,024 x 786
2X/2X
RED denotes Editors’ Choice. We tested each machine with 512MB of RAM. The Apple eMac is not compatible with our Windows-based tests.
100
Business Winstone 2004 measures a
PC’s overall performance while running
Windows-based business apps like Microsoft Office, Norton AntiVirus, and WinZip.
Multimedia Content Creation Winstone
2004 measures a PC’s overall performance when running Windows-based
content creation apps, like Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia’s Dreamweaver MX,
and Steinberg’s WaveLab.
3DMark03 is a synthetic test that runs
through different scenes using various
DirectX calls, including the new DirectX 9,
to derive a score reflecting the graphics
card’s hardware and driver performance.
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
is a game we run using the OpenGL renderer; the scores (in frames per second)
reflect a graphics card’s hardware and
OpenGL driver performance.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell is a covertaction army game with complex graphics
and visual effects used to test a graphics
card’s hardware and DirectX 8 driver.
Business Winstone 2004 Multitasking, our newest test suite, measures how
well a PC operates while running separate
tasks in the foreground and background.
Business Winstone 2004 BatteryMark
measures a notebook’s battery life between charges, using the same workload
as in Business Winstone 2004. It mimics
real-world usage by mixing “work” time,
where the PC is running apps, and “think”
time, where the PC is waiting for input.
Wireless throughput tests measure
802.11x throughput at various distances
from an access point. We test in an RFfree area, placing each system on a table
that rotates at 20 rpm.
Music: We look at hardware such as
speakers, sound cards, USB 2.0 ports,
memory card slots, multimedia controls,
and volume controls, as well as the ability
to rip, burn, copy, and play audio files.
Photos: We focus on USB 2.0 ports, memory card slots, and CD and DVD burners, as
well as the ability to crop, eliminate red eye,
create slide shows, and manipulate color
and brightness. We also look for basic
filters and photo library functions.
Video: We take into account FireWire,
hard drive size, RAM, DVD burners, processors, video and TV inputs and outputs,
monitor size, and speakers. We also look at
DVD playback and authoring, PVR software,
and video-editing packages.
Gaming: We look at USB 2.0 ports, hard
drives, graphics cards, processors, and
speakers. Cosmetics like windowed cases
and lights are cool additions.—RF
Value Desktops
Gateway 510S
lllmm
SDRAM, 80GB hard drive, DVD-ROM
and CD-RW drives, 17-inch CRT, eight
USB 2.0 ports (two on front), $999 list.
800-369-1409, www.gateway.com.
The Gateway 510S is a typical,
middle-of-the-road PC in performance, features, and appearance. Gateway stuck with the
essentials here, including an
integrated Intel graphics solution,
DVD-ROM and CD-RW drives, and an
80GB hard drive. Like the Dell Dimension
4600, the Gateway unit has eight USB ports, and like all the systems
except the Apple eMac, it lacks a FireWire port. This system works
best as a general-purpose or secondary home system. But if you’re
looking to do more than word processing, spreadsheet building, and
Web browsing, or if your multimedia needs go beyond burning CDs,
look elsewhere.—JD
IBM ThinkCentre A50
MUSIC llmmm
The desktop speakers are
mediocre at best. And although you
get NTI CD & DVD Maker Gold, if
you want to rip MP3 files, you’ll have
to upgrade to NTI CD Creator Platinum
or buy a plug-in.
PHOTOS llmmm
Other than the two USB ports
on the front of the system, the 510S
provides little in the way of photofriendly features. In comparison,
ABS offers more useful, full-featured
photo-editing software.
2.4-GHz Pentium 4, 512MB DDR SDRAM,
40GB hard drive, CD-ROM drive, 15-inch
LCD, eight USB 2.0 ports (two on front),
$999 list. 888-746-7426, www.ibm.com.
IBM’s strength is in the corporate
market, and as we see here, the
IBM ThinkCentre A50 is lacking in
nearly every consumer category;
it’s not a home PC, it’s a business
system. The system’s 2.4-GHz
processor and 40GB hard drive fall
short of the offerings of many of the other
systems in this roundup. The A50 sorely lags behind the others in
performance, lacks a recordable optical drive, and is very limited in
terms of upgradability, as it cannot accept an additional hard drive or
an AGP video card. There are eight USB ports but only one free PCI slot,
as well as two total memory banks. Clearly, the A50 is not meant for
gaming, music, or digital-imaging purposes, and we wouldn’t recommend this system to a typical consumer PC buyer.—JD
Systemax Venture HU26
lllmm
120GB hard drive, DVD±RW drive, 17-inch
CRT, six USB 2.0 ports (two on front),
$999 direct. 888-845-6225,
www.systemaxpc.com.
The Systemax Venture HU26 has all
the right components and software
to satisfy most digital-video and
photo-editing fans. Its single optical
drive is an excellent choice—a DVD±RW
drive—and its 120GB hard drive provides plenty
of storage for video. Unfortunately, its performance isn’t so impressive.
The Venture comes with a hearty assortment of DVD-authoring and
editing tools, as well as photo-editing and CD-burning programs. The
multiformat memory card reader lets you easily transfer images from
your digital camera, but we found it odd that the FireWire port on the
front of the case was not enabled. The 17-inch monitor offers bright,
sharp colors. Overall, the Venture is well stocked and ready for almost
any multimedia project, but its poor performance holds it back.—JD
creation/editing programs.
GAMING llmmm
The 510S’s integrated Intel
82865G solution is adequate for
2-D and low-resolution 3-D
gaming. It is not recommended
for high-resolution 3-D games,
however, such as Splinter Cell,
which was playable but a bit rough
around the edges and out of sync
with the sound track.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
16.8
Multimedia:
22.8
VIDEO lmmmm
DVD playback was decent
despite the appearance of occasional
artifacts on the video. Aspiring
videographers should look elsewhere, because this system lacks a
DVD-recordable drive and DVD-
SUPPORT
and labor. One year of on-site service
costs $99. Toll-free technical support
is 24/7.
MULTIMEDIA
for video editing. And IBM doesn’t
include any video-editing software
whatsoever.
MUSIC lmmmm
llmmm
102
MULTIMEDIA
The two included Infinity
speakers are nice, but there’s no
music application beyond Windows
Media Player. And there is no CD-RW
drive—something we think should be
standard on a value system.
PHOTOS llmmm
The 2.4-GHz Pentium 4 processor will get you through basic photoediting tasks, but unfortunately there’s
no additional photo-editing software
on this system beyond Microsoft
Paint. The two USB ports up front,
however, are convenient for plugging
in a camera.
VIDEO lmmmm
Video editors won’t get
far with this system. The lack of
FireWire ports and the small hard
drive don’t make this system good
MULTIMEDIA
MUSIC lllmm
The Venture includes a subwoofer and two satellite speakers that
sounded full and clear even when we
cranked the volume up. NTI CD & DVD
Maker 6 Gold is an adequate burning
program, but you’ll have to upgrade to
the Platinum version to create MP3s
and WMA CDs.
PHOTOS lllmm
Capturing and downloading
photos is easy thanks to the memory
card reader, and Microsoft PictureIt!
Photo 7.0 provides basic image-editing
capabilities.
GAMING lmmmm
Don’t even think about it:
This isn’t even your grandfather’s
gaming box.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
15.4
Multimedia:
20.4
SUPPORT
The system comes with a limited
three-year warranty on parts and
one year on labor. On-site support
for two years costs $75. Toll-free
technical support is 8:00–5:00
eastern time daily.
instructions for editing video clips, as
well as adding titles, music, and
special effects to your home videos
before you burn them to DVD.
GAMING llmmm
As we found with other systems using integrated video controllers, the Venture was somewhat
sluggish and out of sync when running
Splinter Cell, but the game
was still playable.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
16.2
Multimedia: 22.5
VIDEO lllmm
The Venture comes with
a DVD burner and Ulead DVD MovieFactory 2 SE and Ulead VideoStudio 6
for DVD authoring and editing. Both
programs provide step-by-step
SUPPORT
technical support is 24/7.
All-in-One PCs
F
ans of design should
not miss this category.
The all-in-one desktop
system used to be akin
to a Volkswagen Beetle—unspectacular,
adequate technology and clunky packaging that some users learned to love but
few found inspiring. Today, thanks largely
to affordable, low-profile LCDs, all-in-one
PCs have become the new and cool Beetles people seek out rather than settle
for. Clever engineering and elegant designs squeeze useful features into attractive, compact cases. Though not a ragingly
popular category, the all-in-one PC usually
finds its niche in small apartments, dorms,
and office cubicles—anywhere desktop
real estate is scarce. The Apple iMac, MPC
ClientPro All-in One, Sony VAIO PCVW500GN1, and WinBook FusionPC all
offer ample 17-inch LCDs, but each occupies only about a square foot of desk
space. The Hy-Tek Tek Panel 300 is also
compact in its own way: As it’s just 5
inches deep with a vast 30-inch LCD, you
can use it as your television and wallmount it to save room.
The greatest weakness of all-in-one
hardware is limited upgradability, so make
sure the system you choose has all the
features you need—or at least the trade-
Apple iMac
MULTIMEDIA
OVERALL RATING: llllm
The speakers are just as stylish
as the iMac chassis and just as efficient. They’re the perfect complement
to Apple iTunes, which not only lets you
download songs from the Internet (for
99 cents each) but organizes your
songs and burns them to CD.
1.25-GHz PowerPC G4, 256MB DDR SDRAM,
80GB hard drive, DVD-R/CD-RW
SuperDrive, 17-inch LCD, three USB 2.0
and two USB 1.1 ports, two FireWire
ports, $1,799 direct. 800-692-7753,
www.apple.com.
The beauty of the newest
Apple iMac, with its 17-inch
display rising up proudly from
an alabaster-white, domeshaped base, is how easily even
a novice can dive straight into its
wonderfully broad collection of
multimedia applications, such as
iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, and iDVD, which
are all well integrated.
We do however, suggest upgrading to 512MB of RAM, for optimal
digital multimedia performance. (We ran our Photoshop tests with
512MB of RAM for parity with our Windows-based test units.)—CM
MUSIC llllm
PHOTOS lllmm
Few photo management apps
are as powerful and easy to use as
Apple’s iPhoto. You can rotate pictures,
crop them, switch from color to black
and white, and eliminate red eye. Just
in case, the app also saves a copy of
your original image. What’s missing is
a multiformat memory card reader.
iMovie and iDVD, you can easily import
video, edit it, and burn it to DVD. Still,
the iMac’s 80GB hard drive and the
base 256MB of RAM are just not enough
for video editing.
GAMING lllmm
Playing the new 3-D game Tony
Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 on the iMac, we
were awed. Graphics were sharp and
quickly rendered, and thanks again to
those speakers, sound effects and
music were properly reproduced.
PERFORMANCE
For the Apple iMac test results, log on
to www.pcmag.com/applescores.
The iMac’s 17-inch display
provides a clear image that’s perfect
for watching DVD movies. And with
SUPPORT
labor is one year. No on-site service is
available. Toll-free technical support is
9:00–9:00 daily.
Hy-Tek Tek Panel 300
MULTIMEDIA
the system had a FireWire port.
llllm
The system’s Bose speakers
don’t quite live up to the 30-inch
display. Windows Media Player, which
rips and burns WMA files but not MP3s,
is your only bundled software option.
250GB hard drive, DVD/CD-RW drive, 30inch LCD, four USB 2.0 ports, $6,795
direct. 800-835-7278,
www.tekpanel.com.
No, it’s not a plasma TV, it’s a PC—
and a superb one at that. The guts
of the PC are built around a 30-inch
LCD, which is just 5 inches in depth
and wall-mountable.
Beefed up with a 2.8-GHz Pentium 4, a 250GB hard drive, and 128MB
of dedicated graphics memory, the Hy-Tek Tek Panel 300 scored highest on our tests. The ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro graphics card with TV
tuner makes the most of the big screen. And thanks to a wireless
mouse and keyboard and the ATI remote control, you can navigate the
system from your couch. We just wish it had a FireWire port and
DVD±RW drive to burn DVDs as well as watch them.
We’re wary about new systems from first-time PC makers, but the Tek
Panel wowed us. For money-is-no-object types it’s the best choice.—CM
104
offs you can accept. Consider DVD
recorders, dual optical drives (with a dedicated CD-RW drive, which burns faster than
a DVD-RW/CD-RW combo), video input
and output capabilities, a PC Card slot, and
support for FireWire and USB 2.0.
Hard drive capacity also varies: The
minimum, 80GB on the Apple iMac, is
hardly cramped quarters for most users,
but befitting its video orientation, the
wide-screen Tek Panel can store a lot
more movie clips on its 250GB hard drive.
Some all-in-one machines ship with external speakers including a separate subwoofer for enhanced audio. If you opt for
such a system, make sure you have room.
The following five systems run the
gamut in terms of design, technology,
and price.—JA
VIDEO llllm
MUSIC llmmm
PHOTOS lllmm
The system comes with Microsoft Paint. But if you load your own
software, you’re sure to enjoy viewing
family pictures on such a large display.
VIDEO llllm
The Tek Panel is designed
specifically to double as a television
and DVD player. Its picture quality is
surprisingly good—though not quite at
the level of a plasma television. And
ATI’s bundled software and handheld
remote control lets you use its multimedia tools with relative ease. The
250GB hard drive is big, but we wish
GAMING lllmm
The 30-inch display and the
ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro graphics
subsystem make this a capable
machine for casual gaming. Serious
online gamers, however, won’t like the
natural lag time with the keyboard (and
you do have to sit 6 to 8 feet away).
PERFORMANCE
Business:
16.5
Multimedia:
23.3
SUPPORT
The standard warranty is one year for
parts and labor, including on-site
service. Toll-free technical support is
available 24/7.
All-in-One PCs
TKTKTDUMMY TEXT
Hy-Tek Scores Big
Usually all-in-one PCs
max out with mediocre
performance, but the Hy-Tek
Tek Panel 300 bucks that trend. A 2.8-GHz
Pentium 4 and a 128MB ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro video card led this desktop
to top marks on the Winstone and
3DMark03 tests.
Since the MPC ClientPro All-in-One’s
1,280-by-1,024 resolution means more
image area than the other panels offer (all
with 1,280-by-768 resolution), it has to draw
more pixels with each refresh. Not surprisingly, despite a faster 3.06-GHz P4 processor, it lagged the Hy-Tek model on Business
Winstone. The Sony VAIO PCV-W500GN1
achieved Winstone scores almost identical
to the MPC results.
When we ran our Photoshop tests,
using our standard 59MB TIFF file, the
ALL-IN-ONE DESKTOPS
Processor
Graphics chipset
Business
Winstone
2004
Hy-Tek Tek Panel 300
P4 (2.8 GHz)
ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro
16.5
23.2
3,861
MPC ClientPro All-in-One
Sony VAIO PCV-W500GN1
P4 (3.06 GHz)
P4 (2.66 GHz)
Celeron
(2.2 GHz)
ATI Mobility 9000
SiS651 (integrated)
15.9
15.9
20.2
20.9
1,150
N/A
10.9
N/A
WinBook FusionPC
3DMark03
1,024 x 786
2X/2X
S3 Graphics ProSavage DDR 8.2
RED denotes Editors’ Choice. We tested each machine with 512MB of RAM. The Apple iMac is not compatible with our Windows-based tests.
N/A—Not applicable: The product’s integrated graphics chipset is not compatible with 3DMark03.
llllm
120GB hard drive, DVD-RW and CD-ROM drives,
17-inch LCD, one USB 1.1 and four USB 2.0
ports, one FireWire port, $2,399 direct. 888224-4247, www.buympc.com.
The MPC ClientPro All-in-One looks like an
ordinary 17-inch LCD monitor, but it is so
much more. It includes a 3.06-GHz
Pentium 4 CPU, a 120GB hard drive, and
two optical drives. The system even has its
own TV and FM radio tuners, with an accompanying wireless
remote, as well as a wireless keyboard and mouse. In addition to offering
built-in speakers and woofer, the ClientPro ships with an enormous Altec
Lansing external speaker system, complete with five small speakers, a
woofer, and a wired remote control.
The ClientPro is uniquely backed by a warranty that covers parts, labor,
and on-site service for three years. If necessary, MPC can even replace a
faulty system within 24 hours.—CM
MULTIMEDIA
MUSIC lllmm
The ClientPro’s 5.1-channel audio
subsystem—complemented by the
six-piece Altec Lansing speaker set—
provides clear, nuanced sound. If you
don’t want the Altec Lansing speakers
taking up space, you can switch to the
unit’s built-in speakers, which are more
than adequate. It also ships with a
built-in FM radio and Ahead Software’s
Nero Express 5.5 for burning CDs.
PHOTOS lllmm
Roxio’s PhotoSuite is not the
best of the photo-editing and -archiving
tools—among other things, it lacks
brightness, contrast, color, and grayscale controls—but it does the job.
VIDEO lllmm
The ClientPro is average for
video playback, but it’s well equipped
Sony VAIO PCV-W500GN1
MULTIMEDIA
llllm
The VAIO’s built-in stereo
speakers provide surprisingly true
sound, and with bundled copies of
Sony’s SonicStage Mastering Studio
and ACID, you can easily manage and
edit your music files.
SDRAM, 160GB hard drive, DVD-RW/CDRW drive, 17.5-inch wide-screen LCD,
four USB 2.0 and one FireWire port,
$1,999.99 direct. 800-877-7669,
www.sonystyle.com.
From the masters of multimedia
and design comes the Sony VAIO
PCV-W500GN1, our Editors’ Choice.
This silver-colored desktop offers a
built-in 17-inch LCD and many multimedia
offerings. When not in use, the VAIO’s keyboard folds up neatly onto the
LCD, clearing a fair amount of room on your desk.
Equipped with a TV tuner and Sony’s Giga Pocket PVR, the VAIO can
completely replace your television and VCR. It gives you everything you
need to edit music, photos, and videos. And it lets you easily burn to CD
and DVD. The system isn’t quite as fast as some of the other machines
reviewed here, but it has enough juice for most tasks. At only
$1,999.99, the VAIO is undoubtedly a very cool bargain.—CM
Multimedia
Content Creation
Winstone 2004
MPC ClientPro All-in-One
106
Apple iMac’s G4 processor yielded relatively slow results (charted online at
www.pcmag.com). The iMac took 50
percent longer than the Hy-Tek unit on
the Gaussian Blur test, at 9 seconds versus
6 seconds. We saw similar results on the
other Photoshop tests except the Image
Resize test, where the iMac was the faster
of the two.—Analysis written by JSD
MUSIC llllm
PHOTOS lllmm
Sony offers myriad ways of
importing photos, including Memory
Stick and PC Card slots, several USB
ports, and a FireWire jack. You edit
and manage them with Sony’s
PictureGear Studio. We’d prefer a
few more editing tools and the ability
to export slide shows.
VIDEO llllm
Recording TV shows with
Giga Pocket is simple, though watch
out how fast you fill up that 160GB
hard drive. Sony’s handheld remote lets
to serve as a video studio. It includes
video-in and -out ports. It ships with
Pinnacle Studio 8.5, as well as Nero
Express for burning DVDs and VCDs—
not to mention audio CDs. The TV tuner
is a fun bonus.
GAMING lllmm
With an above-average LCD—
providing a bright, sharp image—and
outstanding speakers, the ClientPro is
a surprisingly good gaming machine.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
15.9
Multimedia:
20.2
SUPPORT
for parts and labor, including on-site
service. Toll-free technical support
is available 24/7.
you watch from the comfort of
your couch. With bundled copies of
Adobe Premiere LE and Sony’s DVgate
Plus, as well as a full complement of
video I/O ports, you can do your own
video editing.
GAMING lllmm
The integrated chipset isn’t
great for gaming and couldn’t support
3DMark03, so for high-end games,
look elsewhere.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
15.9
Multimedia: 20.9
SUPPORT
The standard warranty is one year for
parts and labor. Toll-free technical
support is 24/7.
Notebooks
TKTKTDUMMY TEXT
MULTIMEDIA
WinBook FusionPC
MUSIC lllmm
lllmm
2.2-GHz Celeron, 512MB DDR SDRAM,
120GB hard drive, DVD/CD-RW drive, 15.5inch wide-screen LCD, four USB 2.0 and
two FireWire ports, $999 direct. 800-7253426, www.winbook.com.
If you want a cool design and have
limited desk space and a tight budget,
consider the WinBook FusionPC. This
PC/entertainment hybrid is built around
a nice 15.5-inch wide-screen display in a
slick black-on-black color scheme. The display is
bright and vibrant and is driven by an S3 ProSavage video controller.
The 2.2-GHz Celeron processor keeps the price—and performance—
down. That said, the FusionPC’s PVR, TV tuner, and FM radio features are
impressive, and you can activate them by remote without booting up
the system. The integrated speakers are okay, but you’re better off using
the optical S/PDIF port to connect to an external sound system.
If you’re looking for power and upgrade potential, the FusionPC is
not for you. But it’s a cool and inexpensive alternative to a traditional
desktop.—JD
Desktop Replacement
The sound quality is adequate
for an all-in-one system, and there’s
a built-in FM radio tuner. The only
included music software is Windows
Media Player, which is fine for ripping
and burning WMAs but not MP3s.
The multimedia controls on the keyboard and S/PDIF digital audio output
are pluses.
PHOTOS lllmm
You’ll have to add your own
photo-editing application to resize
and manipulate images, but the
PC Card slot, removable memory
card slots, and USB 2.0 ports make
it easy to grab content from any
digital camera.
VIDEO llmmm
DVD playback was a bit
choppy, and the TV tuner had trouble
handling the cable signal, resulting in a
grainy picture in full-screen mode. The
FusionPC has two FireWire ports for
plugging in your camcorder but lacks a
DVD burner and DVD-burning software.
GAMING lmmmm
Most 3-D games require at
least a Pentium III processor, but
the FusionPC has a Celeron chip and
could not run Splinter Cell at all. We
suspect the integrated 32MB S3
ProSavage chipset is the culprit.
Obviously, this is not recommended
as a gaming system.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
8.2
Multimedia: 10.9
SUPPORT
and labor. Toll-free technical support
is 8:00a–9:00p eastern time M–F.
Notebooks
Portables that rival your desktop.
A
re you tired of being
tied to your desktop? Whether your
PC is stationed in
the bedroom, kitchen, or basement office, you may long for
the ability to compute from the
family room, where the fireplace crackles and the game
is on (or for those of you in warmer
climates, where the air conditioning roars
and the game is on). Thanks to the widely
popular desktop replacement notebook,
you can—without sacrificing the power of
your PC. These notebooks are loaded with
the same components you’ll find in desktop
PCs, so it’s not surprising that they’re high
performers. Because of their many features
and their large displays, they tend to be
heavy—as much as 10.4 pounds—so they’re
not meant for frequent travelers. Still, they
can easily be moved from room to room,
and with wireless connectivity becoming
prevalent in the home, it’s now even easier
to set up shop in the family room one day
and move to the patio the next.
108
Of course, the luxury of portability has
its trade-offs—fortunately not too many.
Below are guidelines to help you peruse
the following reviews, so that the next time
the game is on and you have work to do—
or you want to check out the latest stats on
ESPN’s site—you’ll have the perfect notebook to accompany you to the couch.
PROCESSORS Some of the desktop replacement notebooks in this roundup
employ low-power processors like the
1.3-GHz Pentium M. Such processors are
best known for extended battery life as
well as solid performance and are better
suited to the lightweight ultraportable
notebook category, which emphasizes
portability over powerhouse computing.
Many desktop replacements use Pentium
4s—either the 3.2-GHz desktop version
with Hyper-Threading or a Mobile Intel
Pentium 4 Processor-M to get the most
bang from the system. Odds are, this is
more power than your current desktop
has. If you have the need for multitasking—or are going to be working on multimedia applications—and want the ultimate performance, then choose the P4-M
or the Pentium 4 for the desktop.
HARD DRIVES Though these notebooks
can, for the most part, replace your desktop system, when it comes to hard drive
size they can’t compare. Video enthusiasts
need larger hard drives to support their
habit; the largest one we saw was 80GB.
The best solution, if you’re into video and
you want a notebook, is to make sure your
system includes a DVD±RW drive so you
can off-load your content.
OPTICAL DRIVES When it comes to optical
drives, you should choose a multiformat
drive (DVD±RW) when you can. It will
alleviate the annoyance of figuring out +
and - media compatibility.
WEIGHING IN Ranging from 6.3 to slightly
over 10 pounds, these portables are clearly
not meant for road warrior duty, but they
do offer some portability. If your plans
include consulting blueprints on-screen
from across a workbench, the largest available screen (a 17-inch-wide screen) might
make sense for you, regardless of weight. If
you plan to carry your notebook around a
lot, look for one of the lighter systems, even
if it means giving up screen real estate.
BATTERY LIFE No one would expect
portables as packed with features as these
Notebooks
to be battery endurance champs, but
some actually are. The notebooks powered by the Intel Pentium M chip offer
the longest battery life, so if you’re planning on lugging your system around the
home or office, consider one of these.
You can typically get more than 4 hours
of juice. If you know your workhorse
is staying put most of the time, battery
life is less of an issue, though you should
still make sure your system’s charge lasts
at least 2 hours.
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY All of the
desktop replacement notebooks we
tested include wireless capability—using
either 802.11b or 802.11g technology.
Equipment based on the 802.11g standard
costs a bit more, but because it can transfer data twice as fast as 802.11b gear, “g”
is the way to go. It’s also the most versatile option; if you’ll be adding your machine to an existing 802.11b network,
such as those found in many offices,
homes, and wireless hot spots, “g” equipment will work just fine but won’t provide any speed advantage.
Following are reviews of 11 desktop
replacement notebooks. If these systems
are too big for your taste and portability is
your top priority, check out these manufacturers’ Web sites for the many different
notebook options.—JA
on the Web
To see in depth how the Apple systems fared, go to www.pcmag.com/
applescores. For further explanation
of our benchmark tests, go to www
.pcmag.com/benchmarks2004. For
more reviews and commentary, visit
www.pcmag.com
Acer TravelMate 290LMi
MULTIMEDIA
lllmm
The bundled NTI CD & DVD Maker
lets you create audio, data,
and photo CDs along with DVDs, but
to activate features that support
burning CDs from MP3 and WMA
files you have to visit NTI’s Web site.
The speaker sound is a bit dull
and muddy.
1.3-GHz Pentium M (Centrino), 512MB DDR
SDRAM, 40GB hard drive, DVD-RW drive, 15inch XGA display, three USB 2.0 and one
FireWire port, 802.11b, 6.3 lbs. system weight,
$1,499 list. 800-733-2237, www.acer.com.
The Acer TravelMate 290LMi is a desktop replacement notebook that you can
actually take with you. At 6.3 pounds, it ties
with the IBM ThinkPad R40 as the lightest
system we reviewed. The system also boasts
outstanding battery life, thanks in part to its Pentium M processor.
Aimed more at business-oriented consumers, not gamers or graphic
artists, the TravelMate did well on Business Winstone yet was below
average on Multimedia Content Creation Winstone and 3DMark03. The
TravelMate sports a DVD-RW drive, which is a handy feature, though we
think a multiformat DVD burner is ideal—seen here only on the Toshiba
system. The TravelMate’s main drawback mobility-wise is its weak
wireless performance; for your multimedia needs look to systems from
HP and Toshiba.—JAG
MUSIC llmmm
PHOTOS llmmm
You might want to splurge
for a dedicated graphics-editing
program like Adobe Photoshop Elements, since the TravelMate comes
bundled with only Microsoft Paint.
VIDEO llmmm
There is an S-video TV-out
interface on the back of the unit, as
well as a FireWire port, which every
notebook here has. The DVD-RW drive
makes up for the smallish 40GB hard
Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch)
MULTIMEDIA
llllm
Music sings from the built-in
speakers, and iTunes is a solid program
for ripping and storing your music. Like
other Macs, the PowerBook makes a
great base station for your iPod, if you
are lucky enough to have one.
1.33-GHz PowerPC G4, 512MB DDR SDRAM, 80GB
hard drive, DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive, 17-inch
wide-screen display, two USB 2.0 ports, one
FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800 port,
802.11g, 6.7 lbs. system weight, $2,999 direct.
800-692-7753, www.apple.com.
Apple is known for creating cool designs at
premium prices, and consistent with that trend,
the Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch)—at $2,999,
the most expensive system in our roundup—did not disappoint.
The PowerBook is thinner than the other 17-inch wide-screen notebooks in this review, the HP Pavilion zd7000 and the Toshiba Satellite
P25-S607. Built-in Bluetooth and 802.11g add to the myriad connection
possibilities, which also include Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 (the first time
we’ve seen this in an Apple notebook), and FireWire 400 and 800. The
new FireWire 800 port uses a different plug and has a theoretical
bandwidth of 800 Mbps, which allows faster data transfers.
If there ever was a notebook that combines drool factor and function, this is it.—JSD
110
MORE
MUSIC llllm
PHOTOS llllm
As a mobile photo-editing
station, the PowerBook can definitely
work on the fly and is a decent performer compared with the Windowsbased notebooks. The 17-inch 1,440by-900 screen also gives you a bit
more room to view large images.
drive, which offers limited space for
storing raw video.
GAMING llmmm
The TravelMate’s integrated
graphics chip wasn’t made to support
an intense gaming habit, and its subpar
scores on our gaming tests prove this.
The 15-inch XGA screen isn’t exactly a
gamer’s dream, either.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
15.8
Multimedia: 16.4
BatteryMark: 4:56
SUPPORT
The standard warranty on parts and
labor is one year. On-site service is not
available. Toll-free technical support
is 24/7.
integration among members of the iLife
suite (iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, and iTunes)
is top-notch. Though the 80GB hard
drive is the largest in this notebook
roundup, it’s limited for video work, but
that’s true of any mobile platform.
GAMING llmmm
The ATI Mobility Radeon 9600
and wide, bright screen are
good for playing 3-D games. Game title
releases for the Mac OS platform still
lag behind Windows versions.
PERFORMANCE
DVD playback:
2:42
Wireless distance: 160 feet
VIDEO lllmm
The PowerBook remarkably
has two flavors of FireWire (the 800 is
perfect for video transfer), USB 2.0, and
a wide screen, which gives you extra
room for a toolbar. And as always,
SUPPORT
The standard warranty on parts and
labor is one year. No on-site service is
available. Toll-free technical support is
9:00–9:00 eastern time daily.
Notebooks
TKTKTDUMMY TEXT
HP Bests the Competition on 3-D
The Pentium M/Centrino–powered notebooks—the IBM ThinkPad
R40 and the Acer TravelMate 290LMi—
are under 6.3 pounds each, and both
lasted about 5 hours on a charge, though
they use relatively small 4-Ah batteries.
(The other notebooks we tested, except
the eMachines model, have much larger
5- to 6-Ah batteries.) The Centrino plat-
form, using the Pentium M processor, is
specially tuned for optimal battery life
and very good performance. For more on
Centrino and everything unwired, visit
wireless.pcmag.com.
The Acer and IBM units can serve well
as commuter notebooks, especially for
salespeople who need 15-inch LCDs for
presentations. At the other extreme, the
Sharp Actius RD20 and WinBook J4 300
Dell
WIRELESS TESTING
eMachines
802.11g
Tested at maximum strength (a distance
of 1 foot), the Acer and IBM notebooks—
both with full Centrino (802.11b) solutions—had the lowest wireless throughput.
Yet both held onto the signal better than
most of the other “b” systems at the fringe
of the test area, 160 feet (the Toshiba
notebook still surpassed them in throughput). The “g” systems are far stronger at up
to 60 feet, then scale down to about the
same performance as “b.”
We could not gauge specific throughput
on the Apple PowerBook G4, but it did
access Web sites via the router in both “b”
and “g” modes, up to 160 feet.
eMachines
Fujitsu
HP
25
20
15
BETTER
Dell
Gateway
THROUGHPUT (Mbps)
10
5
1
DISTANCE (feet)
Acer
Fujitsu
Gateway
HP
60
IBM
120
Sharp
0
160
Toshiba
WinBook
7
802.11b
THROUGHPUT (Mbps)
6
5
BET T ER
4
3
3.06 are relatively heavy, at 10 and 8
pounds, respectively. Both have Pentium 4
processors, and both lasted between 1 and
2 hours on our BatteryMark test. They
have large (roughly 6-Ah) batteries, but
their desktop-based processors and
chipsets are power-hungry, lacking Centrino’s SpeedStep capabilities. Users of the
Sharp and WinBook notebooks should
stay near a wall outlet.
Two of the 17-inch wide-screen notebooks, the HP Pavilion zd7000 and the
Toshiba Satellite P25-S607, while bulky,
would work well as all-around multimedia
notebooks. The Toshiba’s Multimedia
Content Creation Winstone score was
about average, but the HP’s score was
tops—18 percent above the average. Both
got more than 2 hours of battery life, but
the HP’s nVidia GeForce FX Go 5600
graphics (compared with the Toshiba’s
GeForce FX Go 5200) make it the better
choice for mobile gaming: Its 3DMark03
score was 81 percent ahead of the nearest
competitor—the WinBook—and a whopping three times the average score.
The Dell Inspiron 5150 and the Gateway
M350 are fine as mobile 2-D graphics
workhorses. The former, with its GeForce
FX Go 5200, and the latter, with integrated
Intel 852GME graphics, were not top 3-D
performers. But both have large highresolution screens, and both achieved good
battery life (4 hours plus) and solid graphics application performance, as shown by
our Multimedia Content Creation Winstone tests.—Analysis written by JSD
2
1
1
DISTANCE (feet)
RED denotes Editors' Choice.
60
120
0
160
The Apple PowerBook G4 is not compatible with our Chariot tests.
We tested all our Windows notebooks using a
Linksys WRT54G, an 802.11g router with “b”-only
and “g”-only modes. We used NetIQ’s Chariot utility
and server to measure throughput under 802.11b
and, where available, 802.11g.
J
DESKTOP REPLACEMENT NOTEBOOKS
Processor
Graphics chipset
Business
Winstone 2004
Multimedia
Content Creation
Winstone 2004
Business Winstone
2004 BatteryMark
3DMark03
(hr:min)
1,024 x 768
Acer TravelMate 290LMi
Dell Inspiron 5150
Pentium M (1.3 GHz)
Mobile P4 (3.06 GHz)
Intel 855GM
nVidia GeForce FX Go 5200
15.8
15.1
16.4
21.4
4:56
4:44
91
863
eMachines M5310
Athlon XP-M 2400+ (1.8 GHz)
ATI Radeon IGP 320M
12.5
14.6
3:01
42
Fujitsu LifeBook N Series
Gateway M350XL
HP Pavilion zd7000
P4 (2.8 GHz)
Mobile P4 (3.06 GHz)
P4 (3.2 GHz)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9000
16.3
19.8
2:13
951
Intel 852GME
16.0
15.2
20.4
22.6
4:23
2:12
118
1,823
IBM ThinkPad R40
Pentium M (1.3 GHz)
13.5
15.8
5:06
205
Sharp Actius RD20
Toshiba Satellite P25-S607
WinBook J4 300 3.06
P4 (3.06 GHz)
P4 (2.8 GHz)
P4 (3.06 GHz)
nVidia GeForce4 440 Go
17.2
15.7
15.6
21.6
20.5
18.0
1:06
2:49
1:39
176
812
1,006
2X/2X
RED denotes Editors’ Choice. We tested each machine with 512MB of RAM. The Apple PowerBook G4 is not compatible with our Windows-based tests.
112
Notebooks
Dell Inspiron 5150
llllm
3.06-GHz Mobile Pentium 4, 512MB DDR
SDRAM, 60GB hard drive, DVD+RW drive, 15inch UXGA display, two USB 2.0 and one
FireWire port, 802.11b/g, 8 lbs. system
weight, $2,272 direct. 800-388-8542,
www.dell.com.
The Dell Inspiron 5150, weighing in at 8
pounds, is a hefty yet portable powerhouse. With a 3.06-GHz Mobile
Pentium 4 and a 60GB 7,200-rpm hard
drive (the fastest among the notebooks we
reviewed), it can truly replace a desktop. On our benchmark
tests, it performed adequately across the board.
Like the HP Pavilion zd7000, the Inspiron includes a DVD+RW
drive, which is a useful addition. Dell could have been more helpful
by mounting the USB and FireWire ports on the side for easy access,
instead of in the rear.
This system is ideal for someone who wants the power of a PC and
every now and then needs the mobility of a notebook.—RG
MUSIC llllm
The sound quality is more than
adequate, whether through the front
stereo speakers or your own external
speakers, which can be plugged into
the headphone jack. Dell’s branded
version of MusicMatch Jukebox Basic
is very useful for creating, burning,
managing, and listening to MP3s and
other digital media.
PHOTOS llmmm
For editing and managing your
digital photo collection, Dell includes
Jasc Paint Shop Pro and Jasc Paint
Shop Photo Album. Storing, editing,
and burning to CD, as well as creating
slide shows, are fairly simple with
these two easy-to-use software
packages. Too bad they are both 60day trial versions; after that, you have
to buy the full versions.
eMachines M5310
MULTIMEDIA
llmmm
You can rip, burn, and play
music using Windows Media Player
but only with WMA files, not MP3s.
A DVD/CD-RW drive is included for
ripping and CD burning, although
many of the other systems also
include a DVD burner.
MUSIC llmmm
1.8-GHz Athlon XP-M 2400+, 512MB DDR
SDRAM, 40GB hard drive, DVD/CD-RW
drive, three USB 2.0 and one FireWire
port, 15.4-inch WXGA display, 802.11g,
6.6 lbs. system weight, $1,199 list. 801401-1419, www.e4me.com.
The least expensive notebook in
our roundup, the 6.6-pound eMachines
M5310 is ideal for students looking to IM
friends from around campus or for home
roamers looking for some flexibility. This is more of a standard notebook
than a desktop replacement system.
Though the M5310’s features are solid, its performance was nowhere
near optimal, because of the system’s slow processor and hard drive,
which were the slowest of the bunch. The M5310 finished last on our
benchmark tests, although its wireless performance was respectable,
scoring above average in “b” mode and average in “g” mode.
A multimedia powerhouse the M3510 isn’t, but as a well-priced unit for
basic mobile computing it’s worth checking out.—OC
Fujitsu LifeBook N Series
llllm
60GB hard drive, DVD-RW drive, 15-inch
SXGA+ screen, four USB 2.0 and one
FireWire port, 802.11g, 8 lbs. system weight,
$1,899 list. 877-372-3473,
www.fujitsupc.com.
With notebooks, many people
are first drawn to the screen.
Fujitsu acknowledges this with its
cutting-edge MVA (Multi-domain Vertical
Alignment) LCD technology, which provides viewing
angles of up to 160 degrees, both vertically and horizontally, as well as
high contrast. Not only is the viewing experience pleasing but the
sound from the speakers is clear and bright.
Cutting no corners, Fujitsu has included both floppy disk and DVD-RW
drives, a scroll button below the touch pad, programmable application
launch buttons, and a volume knob. The ATI Mobility Radeon 9000
pairs well with this screen for faster-moving graphics. If there is a
downside, it’s the system’s mediocre battery life.—JAG
114
MULTIMEDIA
PHOTOS llmmm
All the requisite ports are
here, but other than Microsoft
Paint with its limited features, the
bundle doesn’t include photo-editing
software.
VIDEO lmmmm
The lack of a DVD burner is
a serious drawback, and the only videoediting software available
is Microsoft Windows Movie Maker.
That said, DVD movies look good
on the M5310’s wide-screen display.
MULTIMEDIA
MUSIC llmmm
Burning MP3 and standard audio
CDs is a cinch with Veritas RecordNow,
though you’ll need another music
package to create MP3 files. Music
plays with little distortion through the
two built-in stereo speakers.
PHOTOS lllmm
Too bad the notebook doesn’t
have photo-editing software beyond
Microsoft Paint. The crisp screen and
other features provide a good base for
a photo-editing notebook.
VIDEO llmmm
For viewing DVDs, Dell has
included InterVideo’s WinDVD, which
makes movies look crisp on the 15-inch
UXGA screen. The DVD+RW drive is
useful in view of the small hard drive
and Sonic MyDVD software.
GAMING llmmm
Although not designed for
gaming, the nVidia GeForce FX Go 5200
chipset helped the system achieve an
above-average 3DMark03 score.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
15.1
Multimedia: 21.4
BatteryMark: 4:44
SUPPORT
The warranty is three years on parts
and labor. Toll-free technical support
is available 24/7.
GAMING lmmmm
The M5310 is certainly
not a gamer’s rig. Because of its 15.4inch display and the on-board ATI
Radeon IGP 320M graphics adapter,
playing Serious Sam or Splinter Cell
was impossible.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
12.5
Multimedia:
14.6
BatteryMark: 3:01
SUPPORT
The warranty is one year on parts and
labor. On-site service costs $99 for two
years. Toll-free technical support is
9:00a–1:00p daily.
GAMING llmmm
The MVA screen technology
enhances the gaming experience.
Driving the screen is the high-end ATI
Mobility Radeon 9000 with 64MB of
dedicated video memory—not bad
for casual gaming. But like most of
these notebooks, it’s not a dream
machine, either.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
16.3
Multimedia: 19.8
BatteryMark: 2:13
VIDEO lllmm
The MVA display with its
native 1,400-by-1,050 resolution
makes watching movies even more
pleasurable. InterVideo’s WinDVD 4
comes bundled with the unit, and
burning to DVD is easy with Veritas
RecordNow and the DVD-RW drive.
SUPPORT
The standard warranty is one year
on parts and labor. On-site service
costs $49.95 for one year or $149.85
for three years. Toll-free technical
support is 24/7.
Notebooks
Gateway M350XL
MULTIMEDIA
llllm
Gateway has preinstalled
MusicMatch Jukebox with added WMA
support, as well as the standard MP3
and WAV support. Also included is
Roxio’s Easy CD & DVD Creator 5,
rounding out a hardware solution that
includes handy multimedia features,
like front audio controls.
3.06-GHz Mobile Pentium 4, 512MB DDR
SDRAM, 60GB hard drive, two USB 2.0 and one
FireWire port, 15-inch SXGA display, DVD-RW
drive, 802.11g, 7.5 lbs. system weight, $1,900
direct. 800-555-2088, www.gateway.com.
This is one sturdy system, standing 2
inches thick and weighing in at 7.5 pounds,
with a 3.06-GHz Mobile Pentium 4, a 60GB
5,400-rpm hard drive, and a DVD-RW drive.
The 15-inch SXGA display is bright and crisp,
and the one FireWire and two USB 2.0 ports are
smartly placed on the side for easy access. We applaud Gateway for
including two memory card readers for plugging in CompactFlash
memory or MMC, SD, or SmartMedia cards directly into the laptop.
We also like the hardware audio controls located on the front, making
it simple to play and stop music or adjust the volume.
The M350XL will appeal to college students, home users with
limited space, or those who are just in the market for a second or third
system.—RG
PHOTOS lllmm
Gateway has included two
flash memory card readers, which
photo enthusiasts will appreciate most
when they’re off-loading digital photos.
But no photo-editing or photo management software comes with this system
except Microsoft Paint.
V I D EO llmmm
The DVD-RW drive combined
with Pinnacle Expression is a big plus
for burning and editing your video. But
HP Pavilion zd7000
MULTIMEDIA
lllll
You can rip your albums to
the hard drive and burn MP3 files to
standard audio CDs. MusicMatch
Jukebox creates and stores playlists
of your favorite music. The built-in
Harman Kardon speakers make for a
pleasant listening experience.
MUSIC lllmm
60GB hard drive, DVD+RW drive, four
USB 2.0 and one FireWire port, 17-inch
WXGA display, 802.11g, 9.3 lbs. system
weight, $2,618 list. 800-752-0900,
www.hp.com.
Not only did HP design its desktop
replacement notebook in true desktop
style—with a 3.2-GHz Intel Pentium 4
processor, a 17-inch LCD, and a weight of
9.3 pounds—but it also kept multimedia in mind.
The HP Pavilion zd7000, our Editors’ Choice, came in first on our
multimedia tests and on 3DMark03, undoubtedly thanks to its nVidia
GeForce FX Go 5600 card with 128MB of local graphics memory. (All
the other systems here had 64MB of graphics memory.)
The notebook’s 17-inch wide-screen LCD is a plus for watching
movies or editing photos or video. And the DVD+RW drive lets you burn
your home movies. Just be sure to do all this while plugged in; the
battery life won’t let you compute for long untethered.—OC
PHOTOS llllm
Imaging enthusiasts will really
like HP Image Zone. Though not as
advanced as some titles, Image Zone
has the common functions most users
need, like the ability to crop photos
and adjust for brightness and color
correction. Photo albums intuitively
organize picture collections.
VIDEO lllmm
Creating DVD videos from
family movies is a snap. The DVD+RW
drive, a FireWire port, and Roxio’s Easy
IBM ThinkPad R40
MULTIMEDIA
lllmm
The R40 isn’t a multimedia
machine, but it comes with a CD-RW
drive and Veritas RecordNow, which is
good enough for all your music-ripping
and -burning needs.
1.3-GHz Pentium M (Centrino), 512MB DDR
SDRAM, 40GB hard drive, DVD/CD-RW drive,
15-inch XGA display, two USB 2.0 and one
FireWire port, 802.11b, 6.3 lbs. system weight,
$1,549 direct. 800-426-4968, www.ibm.com.
The IBM ThinkPad R40 doesn’t have the
flash and cool design of other consumer
notebooks here, nor does it bundle any fun
multimedia software, but it does bring to the
table impressive value and reliability. At $1,549, it’s
one of the least expensive notebooks in the roundup.
Tied with the Acer unit as the lightest system, the R40 includes a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium M processor, along with an integrated 802.11b Centrino wireless solution, which yielded less-than-desirable throughput. The
battery life, 5 hours 6 minutes, was the best in the roundup. Add its light
weight and you have a notebook well suited for people on the go.
If you’re looking for the Ferrari of notebooks, the R40 isn’t for you.
But with its dependability and reasonable price, it will provide longevity
and solid computing.—CC
116
MUSIC llllm
MUSIC lllmm
PHOTOS llmmm
The two USB 2.0 ports are fine if
you occasionally need to plug in a
peripheral, like a camera, to your laptop.
But beyond Microsoft Paint, there’s no
photo software to edit your pictures.
VIDEO llmmm
how much video editing do you really
want to do on a 15-inch screen?
GAMING lmmmm
Gateway shoots more
for multimedia than games. The
M350XL’s integrated graphics
card and low 3DMark03 score are
strong indicators that this is not for
true gamers.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
16.0
Multimedia: 20.4
BatteryMark: 4:23
SUPPORT
technical support is 11:00–9:00
eastern time M–F.
CD & DVD Creator 6 make it easy to
capture and render footage to DVD–
recordable media. But the 60GB hard
drive will fill up fast.
GAMING lllmm
Equipped with an nVidia
GeForce FX Go 5600 graphics adapter
with 128MB of memory, as well as a
wide screen, this is the best notebook
we saw for gaming—and the
3DMark03 score proves our point.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
15.2
Multimedia: 22.6
BatteryMark: 2:12
SUPPORT
labor. A two-year warranty upgrade
costs $99. Toll-free technical support
is available 24/7.
GAMING lmmmm
The R40 isn’t a gaming machine, and IBM isn’t trying to market it
as one. With its ATI Mobility Radeon
7500 graphics card and 15-inch XGA
screen, it will more or less play today’s
hot games. But it will be overtaxed to
play tomorrow’s games like Half Life 2
and DOOM III.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
13.5
Multimedia: 15.8
BatteryMark: 5:06
Like all the systems here, the
R40 has a FireWire port, which is handy
for downloading video files directly
from a digital camcorder. But with only
a 40GB hard drive, no video-editing
software, and no DVD burner, the only
thing you can really do is watch the
footage.
SUPPORT
The standard warranty is one year
on parts and labor, including on-site
service. Toll-free technical support
is available 24/7.
Notebooks
Sharp Actius RD20
lllmm
60GB hard drive, DVD-RW/RAM drive, 15inch XGA display, four USB 2.0 and one
FireWire port, 802.11b, 10.4 lbs. system
weight, $2,099 list. 800-237-4277,
www.sharpsystems.com.
The Sharp Actius RD20 is a powerful
machine, and at 10.4 pounds it
should be. Not designed to be
portable (its battery life was disappointing
and its wireless performance mediocre), the RD20
packs in the features, such as a multiformat memory card reader, four
USB 2.0 ports, and a DVD-RW drive.
Equipped with a desktop 3.06-GHz Intel Pentium 4, the RD20 scored
an impressive first place and second place on Business Winstone and
Multimedia Content Creation Winstone, respectively—though its
802.11b wireless card left us unimpressed, at 5 Mbps from 1 foot away.
Still, for the price, the Sharp Actius RD20 would make a solid
choice as a sedentary desktop replacement.—WPS
MUSIC lllmm
For ripping and burning WMAs
and MP3s, the RD20 comes with a
DVD-RW drive and Sonic’s Drag’n Drop
CD+DVD.
PHOTOS lllmm
The notebook’s slots for
CompactFlash, Memory Stick, Secure
Digital, and SmartMedia cards make
downloading images a breeze. And
there are four USB ports. But no
software for editing photos is included.
VIDEO lllmm
For your video needs, the
RD20 comes with a FireWire port and
a DVD-RW drive for burning your
home movies, as well as Sonic
MyDVD 4 for simple editing. Also
included is InterVideo’s WinDVD 4
for viewing and Drag’n Drop CD+DVD
for burning.
Toshiba Satellite P25-S607
MULTIMEDIA
llllm
The Satellite includes a front
multimedia control panel with CD
playback functions and a pair of
Harman Kardon speakers for highfidelity sound. Unfortunately, it has
only Windows Media Player for ripping
and burning WMAs (not MP3s).
60GB hard drive, DVD±RW drive, four USB
2.0 and one FireWire port, 17-inch WXGA
display, 802.11a/b, 9.9 lbs. system weight,
$2,699 list. 800-867-4422,
www.csd.toshiba.com.
The Toshiba Satellite P25-S607 is a
very good notebook, and thanks to
the inclusion of Microsoft Windows XP
Media Center Edition 2002, it has many multimedia bells and whistles.
The stylish Satellite sports a 17-inch-wide screen and is the only notebook in the roundup with a DVD±RW drive. Add to that a strong multimedia software bundle and the TV tuner and remote control that come
with Windows XP Media Center and you have a portable multimedia system. (By the time you read this, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004
will be available; Toshiba will offer an upgrade to the new OS for this unit.)
We wish Toshiba would upgrade to the 802.11g or 802.11a/g wireless
standard, as others have. And although the system is the most expensive
Windows notebook, it’s also one of the most feature-rich.—WPS
WinBook J4 300 3.06
lllmm
60GB hard drive, DVD-RW drive, 15-inch
SXGA+ display, four USB 2.0 and one
FireWire port, 802.11b, 8.4 lbs. system
weight, $2,024 list. 800-254-7806,
www.winbook.com.
The WinBook J4 300 3.06, with its
black-and-silver color scheme and
nicely rounded edges, is stylish and boasts a
crisp 15-inch SXGA+ display driven by an ATI Mobility
Radeon 9000 graphics card.
On our 3-D tests, the J4 earned second place, though its performance on other tests was disappointing. And if you plan on taking this
system on the road, you’ll need to keep the AC adapter close, as well as
your wireless access point: The J4 maintained a battery life of just 2
hours 4 minutes on our test, and the signal on its 802.11b wireless
solution started degrading at around 40 feet.
The J4 falls a bit short of an optimum desktop replacement solution,
yet overall it is a decent system.—CC
118
MULTIMEDIA
MUSIC lllmm
PHOTOS llllm
The Satellite has a slot for
Secure Digital cards and bundles
ArcSoft’s PhotoStudio 5, which offers
an easy interface for users to customize their photos.
GAMING llmmm
The nVidia GeForce4 440 Go
graphics chipset isn’t the most desirable card for a gaming system. (Other
notebooks in this roundup came with
ATI Mobility Radeon chipsets.) But for
casual gamers, the unit comes bundled with James Bond 007: NightFire,
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2, and
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003, which
aren’t graphics-intensive and will run
on the nVidia chipset.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
17.2
Multimedia: 21.6
BatteryMark: 1:06
SUPPORT
labor. No on-site service is available.
Toll-free technical support is 24/7.
your home movies. True videophiles
will fill up the 60GB hard drive fast.
GAMING llmmm
More of a multimedia system
than a gaming box, the Satellite’s
nVidia GeForce FX Go 5200 graphics
card with 64MB of RAM is good enough
for some of today’s games,
and the speakers are better than those
that come with most notebooks.
PERFORMANCE
Business:
15.7
Multimedia: 20.5
BatteryMark: 2:49
VIDEO lllmm
The unit comes with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002,
which lets you watch live TV, browse
the Program Guide, and record shows.
You can plug your MiniDV camcorder
directly into the FireWire port and burn
SUPPORT
The warranty is one year on parts
and labor. A three-year warranty
extension with on-site service costs
$248. Toll-free technical support
is 24/7.
MULTIMEDIA
drive, since the 60GB hard drive won’t
store much video.
MUSIC llllm
The J4 comes with Audio DJ, a
feature that we love; it lets you play
audio CDs when the unit is turned off.
(The Gateway and Toshiba units offer a
similar feature.) Roxio’s Easy CD & DVD
Creator 6.1.1 can rip and burn MP3s
and WMAs.
GAMING llmmm
The 15-inch screen is a bit
small, but the ATI Mobility Radeon
9000 that came with our unit makes it
viable for users to run games occasionally on the notebook. The J4 scored
second-highest on 3DMark03.
PHOTOS lllmm
The superb Adobe Photoshop
Elements 2.0 and Roxio’s Easy CD &
DVD Creator are bundled here. The DVDRW drive and four USB 2.0 ports let you
plug in, download photos, and burn
them to CD or DVD.
VIDEO llmmm
Roxio’s Easy CD & DVD Creator
lets you burn all those video memories,
but there’s no video-editing or authoring software. It’s a good thing
the system comes with a DVD-RW
PERFORMANCE
Business:
15.6
Multimedia: 18.0
BatteryMark: 1:39
SUPPORT
The warranty is one year on parts
and labor. On-site service is not
available. Toll-free technical support
is 8:00a–9:00p eastern time M–F. E
UNDER
ATTACK!
Running software that protects your PC is no longer optional.
If you don’t, you’re part of the problem. BY KONSTANTINOS KARAGIANNIS
T
he largest virus outbreak in history hit millions of
computers around the world this past August. Even
before Microsoft Corp. and millions of victims
could find a way to cope with the Blaster worm and
a spate of imitators and mutations, Sobig began to
live up to its name—with a vengeance.
Headline-making malware—viruses, worms, and Trojan
horses—have managed to find a surprising number of unprotected PCs, despite the computer industry and media repeatedly
urging people to use antivirus and firewall software. Some of
the computers Sobig attacked had outdated antivirus software
installed or none at all. A May 2003 study for the National Cyber
Security Alliance conducted by America Online concluded that
62 percent of broadband consumers were not running up-todate antivirus (AV) software.
But AV software alone isn’t enough these days: You need a
firewall, too, and privacy controls and spam filtering can further
protect you. The AOL study also showed that 67 percent of broadband consumers did not have properly configured firewalls.
All manner of malware has been spreading via
friendly e-mails and—more irritating—through mail
no one wants in the first place—spam. Using the
latest method of infection, worms send themselves
out to the Internet from infected systems. Where do
the worms end up? They end up in machines without
firewalls or AV software. Worms either include a tiny
e-mail server to send themselves out—usually with a spoofed
sender address obtained from address lists—or search for unprotected shared network drives where they can unload themselves.
Once malware hits your PC, the damage can take many forms.
A true virus attaches itself to a file and replicates itself when you
launch the file. A Trojan horse hides on your system to do its
damage, which may involve sending private data to its creator.
One particularly obnoxious type of Trojan horse is a dialer, which
uses your modem to call a pay number, sticking you with the bill.
A worm will often send mail to everyone on your e-mail address lists or propagate itself on shared network drives. Even
viruses that don’t destroy your data can wreak havoc by slowing
Internet service to a crawl or hogging system resources.
Some people couldn’t care less about malware and Internet
security, claiming they have nothing personal or valuable stored
on their hard drives. But such attitudes actually contribute to
the larger problem, as these people let their machines become
overrun by malware. Although you may notice only a
slowdown in performance of your unprotected PC,
you could actually be helping to cause massive
damage on the Internet: Many viruses take part in
launching denial-of-service attacks on prominent Web sites.
Silently, unprotected systems in homes and offices are doing
the bidding of malware that works alone or is controlled
remotely by its miscreant authors, attacking other sites and
systems in the process.
Personal Internet security software is more than just a tool
for keeping your data safe and your machine humming; it makes
you a decent and responsible neighbor in the online world. To
help you protect both your online experience and that of the rest
of us who share cyberspace with you, PC Magazine Labs has
evaluated 12 software security products.
Antivirus software has made strides in ease of use, thoroughness of default protection, and automatic updating. But cleverly
designed viruses can behave like legitimate applications, making a decent software firewall a must. The firewalls we review
can detect when even unknown malware is trying to send information out from your PC, in addition to preventing attempts to
enter your system through the Internet. Just install one and
you’ll be amazed how often hackers are testing your PC for
openings. But we’d still like to see better information from these
products, including details on the nature of an incident and how
you can track down the perps who bug your machine. Finally,
we review three suites that bundle AV, firewalls, and a variety
of other security and privacy tools.
Running AV and firewall software is no longer just about
protecting your own PC. It’s also about being a good online
citizen—part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.
REVIEWED IN THIS STORY
123 Antivirus 125 Personal Firewalls 130 Security Suites 125 Editors’ Choice 126 Performance Tests
122
PC SECURITY
Antivirus
McAfee VirusScan 8.0
Subscription version, $34.95 direct; download
version, $49.99; boxed version, $59.99. Network
Associates Inc., 800-338-8754, www.mcafee.com.
OVERALL RATING: l l l l l
McAfee VirusScan 8.0 matches the features found in Norton AntiVirus by
including both inbound and outbound
e-mail scanning, worm protection, and
spyware/adware detection. Its new silent
updating and simple scan scheduling are
actually easier for novice users than Norton’s. The subscription version lets you
submit an unknown virus to McAfee’s
labs with just one click. But Norton still
bests McAfee in reporting on your virus
history and in independent virus labs’
testing results.
If you’re upgrading, you may be surprised that firewall software is no longer
included with VirusScan. But McAfee
offers bundled specials at prices comparable with the single AV product. The subscription version is cheaper than the
boxed version, but your subscription copy
stops working if you don’t renew yearly.
With its new, simpler, nonthreatening
interface, VirusScan puts two icons on
the desktop: Scan for Viruses, which
brings up locations to scan and a few
options, or the more comprehensive McAfee Security Center. Connecting with
McAfee’s site, Security Center gets alerts
and advisories, shows your “security
index” graphically, and gives access to
basic and advanced configurations.
VirusScan is set for maximum protection
and automatic updates by default.
Better late than never, McAfee adds
POP3 (inbound) and SMTP (outbound)
e-mail virus scanning, and its WormStopper feature can block unidentified worms
from sending e-mails from your system.
When worm behavior is detected, such as
sending more than five e-mails within 30
seconds, VirusScan asks whether you
want to block them. Since VirusScan
Our contributors: Konstantinos Karagiannis is a
senior editor of PC Magazine. Edward Mendelson
is a contributing editor. Jay Munro is a freelance
technical writer. Daniel S. Evans is a staff editor.
Associate editor Michael W. Muchmore and PC
Magazine Labs project leader Sahil Gambhir were
in charge of this story.
alerts you on every message exceeding a
set limit of addressees, you’ll want to disable this feature before sending your next
BBQ invitations.
Like Norton AntiVirus, VirusScan
scans for nonvirus spyware, adware, and
dialers. On our tests, we found that it did
find and delete some of the malware we
installed, but you’ll probably want to back
it up with antispyware software.
McAfee VirusScan and McAfee Security Center are easy to use, easy to install (either from disc or as a download), and provide good default protection.—Jay Munro
Norman Virus Control 5.6
$60 per year. Norman Data Defense Systems Inc.,
888-466-6762, www.norman.com/us. l l l m m
editor group is for basic antivirus settings, and the utility group lets you see
more esoteric details, such as component build dates and the contents of your
quarantine. If you want to scan your hard
drive every Friday night, you must go to
the separate task editor to create a task
file. The scheduled task can run automatically or can just pop up a window
for you to start. One task setting lets you
pick normal or low resource usage,
though we were unable to see a difference in our testing.
As with ViRobot, technically inclined
people will like Virus Control’s precise
control over scan targets, log file settings,
and update scheduling. Although the help
system isn’t very helpful, Virus Control
provides plenty of documentation on its
site, including two white papers about its
sandbox technology and a comprehensive
review of viruses. Norman has an impressive track record withVirus Bulletin’s VB
100% award (especially since 2000), but
Norman Data Defense Systems, a name
that’s more familiar in corporate circles,
offers protection for both
known and unknown viruses. With an interface only a
techie could love, its centerpiece, Norman Virus
Control 5.6, is an advanced
virtual “sandbox” environment for catching new
viruses and worms. Including both workstation and
server-specific features,
Virus Control offers generous options. But with its
multimodule interface and
sometimes jargony help
system, it is not a good Norman Virus Control 5.6’s configuration editor prochoice for home users who vides most of the antivirus settings for its on-demand
want to “set and forget” and on-access scanners.
their antivirus software.
Virus Control’s sandbox technology features that scan for adware, spyware, and
fakes viruses into trying to wreak havoc dialers are still a few months away. It’s a
within a safe, isolated virtual Windows good choice for those in the know, but typenvironment. While other companies use ical home users are better off with the
virtual machine technology to ferret out McAfee or Norton AV products.—JM
polymorphic and other viruses, Norman
claims that its sandbox is richer, including Norton AntiVirus 2004
network, Web, and e-mail simulation to $49.95 direct. Symantec Corp., 408-253-9600,
www.symantec.com. l l l l l
catch e-mail and network threats.
With Norton AntiVirus 2004
Virus Control installs quickly, and
(NAV), Symantec adds new
as with ViRobot Expert 4.5, you can check
touches to a familiar face, keepfor updates during installation.
ing NAV atop our A-list. It can
Unlike the competitors, which each
now scan your system for inhave a single control panel, Norman presents various interfaces depending on the stallation-stopping viruses before instaltask. For example, the configuration lation, instead of using the old DOS boot
123
CD and a slow command
dation tests, though the hit wasn’t significantly worse than VirusScan’s 5.9 percent. We think this minor performance
impact is a good trade-off for the protection you get. As with VirusScan, NAV has
conservative defaults that provide excellent protection. With better defaults and
easy updates, Norton AntiVirus once
again gets our Editors’ Choice nod.—JM
line scanner. It also prescans at setup and scans
within ZIP and other
archive files by default.
Keeping up with the
times, NAV now finds and
removes spyware, adware,
and dialers. Also new is
protection for instant message–borne threats in
Yahoo! Messenger, MSN/
Windows Messenger, and
AIM. NAV performs automatic updates by default, Norton AntiVirus 2004 flags all categories of scanning
and you get a systemwide when the virus definition file is out of date, showing
warning when your virus that while it’s still working, you are at risk.
pattern files are out of date.
Installation now includes a product- that NAV will stop incoming spyware and
activation scheme that the company adware received via instant messaging or
hopes will keep illegal copying of its soft- e-mail but not from Web sites.
This version of NAV has improved
ware under control. This requires you to
connect with a server at Symantec to get default settings. The installation wizard
an activation code to use NAV. Activation walks you through the options, which
is anonymous, and registration is not re- include automatic updates, a full initial
quired. You can reinstall as many times as system scan, weekly system scans, and
you like on the same machine, and you real-time scanning of compressed files.
have the flexibility to upgrade to a newer The status screen shows green, yellow, or
red icons to indicate your protection
machine without buying a new copy.
Spyware, adware, and dialers, while not level. In previous versions, if you let your
technically viruses, are threats to your pri- updates lag, only the Update icon turns
vacy and finances. Like McAfee Virus- yellow or red. In NAV 2004, if you bypass
Scan 8.0, NAV now scans and removes an update, the program displays yellow
these threats. In our testing, NAV found and red icons across the board, indicating
most of our adware, though it missed that auto-protection is out of gas.
With a 6.4 percent slowdown, NAV
some spyware and dialers and had difficulty removing others. Symantec claims came in last on our performance degra-
ViRobot Expert 4.5
$39.95 direct. Global Hauri Inc., 408-232-5463,
www.globalhauri.com. l l l m m
A newcomer to the U.S. market, South
Korea–based Global Hauri has introduced its trilingual ViRobot Expert 4.5, an
easy-to-use, flexible antivirus package
that will soon include spyware defense.
ViRobot is a resource-thrifty scanner that
lets you do a full scan quickly while you
work. Scheduled scan and update wizards make it easy to keep your PC clean
and your antivirus protection up to date.
But testing by PC Magazine Labs and independent labs (Hauri has garnered only
one pass and five fails on the VB 100%
awards) reveals that ViRobot’s virus
detection needs improvement.
Like Norton AntiVirus, ViRobot has a
single control panel to view status, scan
hard drives, configure options, and perform updates. ViRobot’s elegant interface is easy to understand, despite some
odd label language, and you can quickly
switch from English to Korean or Japanese. ViRobot’s tree structure lets you
drill down and scan at the whole com-
ANTIVIRUS SCORECARD
To get a good rating for setup, a product should
require minimal supervision and should provide excellent protection at its default settings.
For the help rating we expect an easy-to-understand manual, online help, Web site support,
and telephone technical support.
We prefer an interface with easy-to-find settings and
status reporting. A single control panel is best. You
should be able to configure on-demand and on-access
scanning easily, specifying files, folders, e-mail attach–EXCELLENT
–VERY GOOD
l l l –GOOD
l l –FAIR
l –POOR
ments, and downloads. Scheduling should be easy to set
up and should support multiple scan configurations.
Updates should be automatic, frequent, and unobtrusive.
The management rating is based on how well the program lets you handle found viruses. You should be able
to view, restore, or delete quarantined files easily; send
suspect files to the antivirus company; and view past
infections. For threat detection, we evaluate the product’s ability to detect and eliminate adware, spyware,
and dialer programs.
n
lllll
et
at
d
lll
lll
lllll
Norman Virus Control 5.6
Norton AntiVirus 2004
lll
lll
ll
llll
llll
llll
lll
N/A
lll
lllll
llll
llll
lllll
lll
llll
lllll
lll
lllll
ViRobot Expert 4.5
llll
lll
lllll
ll
llll
lllll
ll
N/A
lll
N/A—Not applicable: The product does not have nonvirus threat-detection features.
Th
lllll
M
lllll
Up
llll
Sc
a
llll
In
te
llll
He
re
an
ag
s
da
te
ec
en
t
em
g
in
ul
Sc
he
d
nn
in
g
ce
rfa
lp
up
llll
Se
t
OVERALL
McAfee VirusScan 8.0
124
tio
llll
PC SECURITY
puter, drive, or folder level. You can
right-click on the menus to scan from
Windows Explorer, and unlike with
other products here, you can turn this off
in the configuration.
ViRobot’s e-mail support is more detailed than that of any product we reviewed. It’s the only program that lets
you limit virus scanning to specified
e-mail folders—a feature more often
found in mail server virus scanners.
ViRobot also adds icons in your Outlook
(but not Outlook Express) client for scanning, configuration, monitoring, and help.
Though ViRobot aced our performance
tests (see www.pcmag.com/antivirus) with
less than 0.5 percent slowdown, speed
isn’t everything: It had a hard time detecting some well-known viruses within
nonexecutable files, and its history on independent labs testing is less than stellar
(see page 126). The company explained
that unless a file is in executable form, it
isn’t really a virus. While that may be
true, we’d prefer to see the scanner detect
all viral code wherever it lurks, as VirusScan and NAV do. ViRobot also overlooked a backdoor Trojan horse program
we inadvertently downloaded and installed during testing. But it performed
well at finding and cleaning infected
Microsoft Office files.
ViRobot is easy to set up, with flexible
configuration, but its default settings
were not as protective as McAfee’s and
Norton’s, scanning only Office and executable files with the real-time scanner.
By the time you read this, the software
will include scanning for spyware and
adware, but the feature wasn’t ready for
us at the time of testing. Though it’s still
catching up with the rest of the pack on
detection and security of default settings,
ViRobot is ahead with its clean interface,
fast scanning, and low resource use, making it a product to watch.—JM
Personal Firewalls
n Norton AntiVirus
2004
n Norton Personal
Firewall 2004
ZoneAlarm Pro 4.0
n Norton Internet
Security 2004
Symantec’s Norton brand
gets the triple crown in
personal security software
this time around, joined
only by ZoneAlarm Pro 4.0
in the firewall category.
n Antivirus
In the antivirus arena, NAV surpasses
McAfee VirusScan 8.0 for its simpler
and more thorough setup procedure, the
ability to report on your virus infection
history, and a stronger record on independent virus lab testing. But VirusScan—
which deserves honorable mention—has
moved within spitting distance of Norton
AntiVirus. We found McAfee easier than
NAV when it came to scheduling scans
and updates.
McAfee Personal Firewall Plus 5.0
An installation wizard asks you what
level of alerting you prefer, the kind of
network and connection you have, and
McAfee Personal Firewall Plus 5.0 has a whether you’ll trust the program’s reccheerful, rich interface, and its default ommendations or require confirmations.
settings give home and small-office users Knowledgeable users can choose three
a high level of security. But some unin- levels of protection in addition to total
formative dialogs and needlessly alarm- openness and total lockdown. You can’t
ing pop-up messages make it less than customize the three levels, and Internet
perfect for nontechnical users.
access for individual applications can be
customized only to block, permit, or permit only outbound
access. There’s no way to
specify that an application can
use one port but not another.
The program’s control
panel recommends that new
users view a summary screen
that reports which applications are running and shows
the most recent security
event, with an option to find
the physical location of the
remote machine or trust it in
the future. Remote machines
McAfee’s brightly colored control center has a
are identified only by IP adfriendly face, but it can’t help you decide whether
dress, and the dialog doesn’t
to trust the remote machine under Last Event.
explain whether or not you
$39.95 list. Network Associates Inc., 800-338-8754,
www.mcafee.com. l l l m m
n Personal Firewalls
No surprises in the firewall department:
This time ZoneAlarm Pro joins Norton
Personal Firewall 2004 for the distinction.
Both provide excellent protection, are
highly customizable, and work with little
fuss. Both also give you a decent adblocking feature. Norton’s firewall adds
protection for specified data, while
ZoneAlarm is more tightly integrated.
n Security Suites
In suites, there was really no doubt about
it: Norton Internet Security 2004 beats
the other two contenders on just about
every level. Its ease and integration are
unmatched, and, of course, it contains
our Editors’ Choice–winning antivirus and
firewall software.
MORE ON THE WEB
FOR ANTIVIRUS software performance
results and more security product
reviews, point your browser to
www.pcmag.com/antivirus.
125
PC SECURITY
PERFORMANCE TESTS
Independent Antivirus Testing
To determine the effectiveness of the five antivirus
products we reviewed (including the Trend Micro
suite PC-cillin), we compiled test results from February 2001 through September 2003 from four
respected independent antivirus testing organizations: AV-Test.org, ICSA Labs (www.icsalabs.com), the
University of Hamburg’s Computer Science Department
(http://agn-www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/vtc), and Virus
ANTIVIRUS ACCURACY
AV-Test.org
ICSA Labs
University of
Hamburg
Virus Bulletin
Bold type denotes the best score.
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Hauri
N/A N/A
N/A N/A
N/A N/A
McAfee
Norman
1
5
5
1
21
19
0
1
20
3
Norton/Symantec
6
1
22
0
13
Trend Micro
3
1
21
0
N/A N/A
Fail
Fail
Fail
Fail
1
5
4
8
6
11
5
2
2
9
0
5
1
N/A—Not applicable: The organization did not test this company’s products.
Firewall Tests
Our testing revealed that personal firewalls are still vulnerable to some types of security threats. To detect hacking
attempts, we used the Port Scan test from Gibson Research’s
ShieldsUP! service (www.grc.com). This test tries to establish TCP connections to typical ports and their associated
services—such as FTP, HTTP, POP3, telnet, and Finger. We
tested each product at its default medium-security setting.
A stealth result is the safest, since it hides the existence of
your computer. We awarded a pass to each firewall that set
PERSONAL FIREWALLS
ShieldsUP!
Port Scan
TooLeaky
PC Flank’s
Quick Test
Pass
Fail
Unsafe
Norton Personal Firewall 2004
Pass
Fail
Pass
PC-cillin Internet Security 2004
Sygate Personal Firewall PRO 5.5
Pass
Pass
Fail
Pass
Unsafe
Fail
Tiny Personal Firewall 5.0
Fail
Pass
Unsafe
ZoneAlarm Pro 4.0
Pass
Fail
Pass
RED denotes Editors’ Choice. We tested all firewalls at their default security settings.
should worry about a ping from that address, for example.
The pop-up warnings include links
to more detailed advice on whether to permit or deny access. One potentially alarming kind of warning message appears
when McAfee wants to alert you to a new
virus detected in the field. It’s easy to mistake this for a warning saying the virus was
found on your system. Clearly, McAfee has
some catching up to do on its personal
firewall.—Ed Mendelson
126
Bulletin’s VB 100% award (www.virusbtn.com/vb100).
AV-Test.org publishes its results as percentages rather than
certifications; we counted anything below 100 percent as a
fail. ICSA Labs gives each vendor of a failed product seven
days to provide an update; as a result, the ultimate success
rates from ICSA Labs are high. The University of Hamburg
rates the products on a point system, but we focused on just
one aspect, issuing a pass for each product that caught 100
percent of tested in-the-wild viruses.
Over the 32-month test period,
Symantec
and Trend Micro performed
Total
Total
Percent
passes
failures
passes
best overall, each with a 94 percent
1
5
17%
pass rate, but Trend Micro’s score was
48
14
77%
derived from a much smaller number
38
12
76%
of tests. McAfee and Norman were
50
3
94%
29
2
94%
nearly tied, at 77 and 76 percent.
—Analysis written by Daniel S. Evans
all ports to stealth mode, and we’re happy to report that all
but one product did so. (Tiny Personal Firewall 5.0 left ports
445 and 1025 open.)
The results of the TooLeaky test (http://tooleaky
.zensoft.com) were less encouraging. This test simulates an
application’s attempt to commandeer Internet Explorer and
transmit data to a remote address. Only Sygate Personal Firewall PRO 5.5 and Tiny Personal Firewall alerted users and denied access to this Trojan horse.
PC Flank’s Quick Test (www.pcflank.com) determines
whether your browser reveals personal or technical information when you’re browsing. Sygate failed, revealing personal information. Less severely, Quick Test reported a result
of unsafe for McAfee Personal Firewall Plus 5.0 and Tiny’s
firewall, because the browser sent information about visited
sites. Only Norton Personal Firewall 2004 and ZoneAlarm
Pro 4.0 passed this test completely.
We tested each firewall under Windows XP Professional
Edition on a 2-GHz PC with 512MB of RAM, running Internet
Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 1. The computers were connected to a DSL network outside our corporate firewall.
—Analysis written by Sahil Gambhir
$49.95 direct. Symantec Corp., 408-253-9600,
Few programs successfully
balance the needs of beginners
and experts, but Symantec’s
gets it exactly right. The software offers thorough and easyto-use protection out of the box and easyto-manage fine-tuning of security and
privacy settings.
An effortless installation followed by
online product activation (required within the first 15 days of use), sets up the firewall for medium-level security. This level
puts all ports in stealth mode and pops up
an easy-to-understand alert when intrusions occur or applications first try to access the Internet. A configuration dialog
has a slider for switching from medium to
lower or higher security levels, and each
level has custom settings for allowing
Java and ActiveX applets.
PC SECURITY
A network detector feature automatically switches a laptop between customized profiles for home, office, and
mobile use. Expert users can dig deep
into option dialogs for total control over
the way specific programs connect to the
Internet or how specified Web sites connect with their PCs.
Privacy control features prevent data
like credit card and Social Security numbers from being uploaded to nonsecure
sites. An intrusion detection system purposely reports only the most common
types of intrusions to avoid cluttering the
screen with messages, but the firewall
silently protects against intrusions that
the detection system doesn’t report. New
intrusion and software signatures can be
automatically or manually downloaded
via Symantec’s LiveUpdate service.
Norton’s ad- and pop-up–blocking feature is more easily customizable than
anyone else’s. A Web Assistant toolbar
added to Internet Explorer lets you
selectively block or allow ads and popups from individual sites, and an optional Ad Trashcan lets you drag ads from the
browser so that they’ll be blocked in the
future. Combining the best in ease of use
and protection, Norton Personal Firewall
2004 shares our Editors’ Choice with
ZoneAlarm Pro 4.0.—EM
$39.95 direct. Sygate Technologies Inc., http://smb
.sygate.com. l l l l m
Sygate Personal Firewall PRO 5.5 is an
elegant, compact program that doesn’t
get in your way and provides a good balance of power and customizability. But a
Norton Personal Firewall 2004’s
configuration wizards are smart
enough to set up your security
settings, and they display all
the information for fine-tuning.
PCs. Unlike McAfee, Norton,
lack of information in its pop-up warnings, a smaller feature set, and some failures to protect in our testing keep it out
of the top ranks in this roundup.
A straightforward installation leaves
you with a cleverly designed tray icon that
lights up to show outgoing and incoming
data (similar to ZoneAlarm Pro 4.0), with
color-coded indications of whether the
firewall is currently blocking traffic. An
exceptionally easy-to-understand options
dialog lets you adjust the strength of the
firewall, limit the size of log files, and finetune your programs’ access to the Internet. The firewall optionally sends e-mail
alerts about specified types of intrusions.
The firewall’s default Normal level
stealths almost all ports and pops up a
warning message when a port scan tries
to access others. You can modify the Normal protection level by applying custom
rules, but you can’t switch easily between
protection levels aside from total lockout
and total access. You can, however,
export and import sets of rules with various protection levels for use on other
and ZoneAlarm, the Sygate
firewall doesn’t offer advice
about whether a specific program can safely access the Internet, which may make it less
suitable for beginners.
A freeware version called Sygate Personal Firewall omits the intrusion detection system, advanced configuration
options, and VPN support.—EM
$49.95 direct. Tiny Software Inc., www.tinysoftware
.com. l l m m m
Don’t be fooled by the name. Tiny Personal Firewall 5.0 builds massive defenses around your files, with safeguards to
satisfy the most paranoid user, but only
experts will understand how to control
its myriad options. With its default settings, the program failed to protect adequately on two of our tests.
After a simple installation, the package
launches four separate modules that you
can enable or disable individually from a
tray icon: a traditional firewall, a Windows security system that limits other
programs’ access to data files, the Registry, and the Internet. This system also
controls whether they can launch other
programs, including an intrusion detection system and an integrity guard mod-
PERSONAL FIREWALLS SCORECARD
Setup and installation is a rating of how easily
you can get firewall to start protecting your
PC effectively. For the control settings rating,
we consider a product’s breadth of configuration options, such as security levels and rules.
The usability rating is based on the ease of
–EXCELLENT
–VERY GOOD
l l l –GOOD
l l –FAIR
l –POOR
managing Internet security settings and alerts. A solid
interface should have a clean, integrated console with
access to all modules. Advanced privacy features should
include extensive updatable banned categories and IP
addresses, as well as the ability to block spyware and
cookies, protect personal information, and block ads.
lllll
y
iv
ac
rfa
In
te
Pr
y
lit
Us
ab
i
ro
l
nt
Co
up
Se
t
OVERALL
llll
lll
lll
llll
lllll
lll
lllll
lllll
lllll
lllll
lllll
lllll
lllll
llll
llll
lllll
ll
llll
llll
l
ll
l
l
ll
ZoneAlarm Pro 4.0
lllll
lllll
lllll
lllll
llll
lllll
128
ce
llll
PC SECURITY
ule that detects changes in applications
that may be signs of Trojan horses. A blizzard of warning dialogs assault your
screen as the program asks you whether
to allow one application to run another or
access the Internet but offers no advice
about whether an obscurely named program is dangerous or standard.
Don’t expect any user-friendly sliders
for adjusting the firewall. Instead, you
have to modify every rule in a spreadsheet–style interface with 20 different
tabs for controlling ports, intrusion signatures, programs, and Registry and file
access, with nothing but a terse help file
to explain it all.
As installed, the program left two ports
open, and our attempts to close them
failed because of a bug we uncovered. A
fixed version should be downloadable by
the time you read this. A separate monitor
window has an activity tab in which events
scroll too quickly to be readable, as well as
a connections tab that shows which network connections are active.—EM
ZoneAlarm Pro 4.0’s advanced
options include conveniences
such as a setting that lets you
list programs that change often
so that the firewall won’t bother
you with repeated warnings.
systems was effortless, and the program
asked us whether to include specific
networks in an Internet zone or a localnetwork Trusted zone (with more
lenient security settings). The control
panel lets you specify high, medium, or
firewall-off security levels for both the
Internet and Trusted zones, with
options to customize the high and medium levels. The default high-security setting stealths all ports, while the medium
setting leaves them visible but
closed. When you upgrade or
uninstall the program, a
prompt asks you whether you
really intend to turn off its security in order to prevent uninstallation by rogue software.
Ad blocking is almost as effective as
in McAfee Internet Security Suite 6.0 or
Norton Internet Security 2004 , but it
distorted the display of some non–ad
banner graphics. A version with Web filtering based on blacklists and algorithms costs $59.95; a reduced ZoneAlarm Plus version ($39.95) lacks
ad-blocking and cache-cleaning features; a freeware version includes only
the firewall.—EM
ZoneAlarm Pro 4.0
$49.95 direct. Zone Labs Inc., www.zonelabs.com.
lllll
Zone Labs’ ZoneAlarm Pro
4.0 is a one-stop security
package that combines an easily customizable firewall with
program control and adblocking features. It also includes e-mail security, which quarantines dangerous attachments and
prevents worms from sending mass
mailings from your machine. It’s almost
as friendly and feature-packed as Norton Personal Firewall 2004, but it lacks
Norton’s privacy-protection features.
ZoneAlarm’s options are clear and
highly customizable, with every control
accessible from a single tabbed interface, with none of the obscure detours
found in less integrated packages. A tray
icon displays a bar graph of current
inbound and outbound traffic. Warning
messages include links to detailed
advice on deciding whether to let an application access the Internet. If you frequently download new versions of your
favorite software and don’t want to be
warned about each new version, you can
tell ZoneAlarm that an application
changes often, and it won’t bother you
with such warnings.
Installation on our multinetwork test
130
Security Suites
McAfee Internet Suite 6.0
$69.95 list. McAfee Security, www.mcafee.com.
lllmm
McAfee Internet Suite 6.0 includes
McAfee Personal Firewall Plus 5.0, McAfee
SpamKiller 5.0, McAfee VirusScan 8.0, and
McAfee Privacy Service 6.0—a comprehensive ad-blocker, personal information
protector, cache cleaner, and spyware
detector. But the package is inconsistent.
For instance, SpamKiller includes expert
features, but the firewall offers limited
controls. You can launch control panels
for all components from a security center,
but they run as separate programs with
different interfaces. By contrast, Norton
Internet Security 2004 offers integrated
interfaces.
McAfee SpamKiller works only with
POP3 and Hotmail accounts, not with
IMAP4 accounts. By default, the program
hides messages tagged as spam in a mailbox accessible through SpamKiller’s control panel. From this you can restore anything that’s not spam, so parents can keep
obscene spam away from a child’s mail
account. Another option sends spam
directly to your mailbox with Spam
added to the subject line. On one of our
test accounts, almost half the messages
tagged as spam were false positives;
McAfee acknowledged the problem and
is working on a fix.
McAfee Privacy Service is the most
comprehensive offering we’ve seen for
hiding personal information such as credit card numbers from remote sites, blocking ads and pop-ups, controlling browser
cookies, detecting spyware, and setting
parental controls. File access protection
lets you control which applications can
open specific file types.
Beware: The McAfee suite caused serious problems on our heavily loaded test
machine, sometimes blocking mail until
parts of the suite were temporarily disabled, sometimes locking up entirely.
When informed of the problems, a
McAfee representative said the company
is working on fixes for a new release due
by early 2004.—EM
PC SECURITY
SECURITY SUITES: SCORECARD
–EXCELLENT
–VERY GOOD
l l l –GOOD
l l –FAIR
l –POOR
co
nt
ro
ls
lllll
nt
al
Pa
re
Pr
iv
ac
y
ng
bl
oc
ki
Ad
An
tis
pa
m
l
re
w
al
Fi
at
io
n
ru
s
An
tiv
i
OVERALL
McAfee Internet Suite 6.0
Norton Internet Security 2004
llll
llll
llll
lllll
lll
lll
llll
lllll
lllll
lll
lllll
lllll
lllll
lllll
lllll
llll
lllll
lllll
lllll
lllll
llll
llll
llll
lllll
lll
lll
N/A
lll
ll
lll
N/A—Not applicable: The product does not perform ad blocking.
Norton Internet Security 2004
$69.95 list. Symantec Corp., 408-253-9600,
Symantec’s Norton Internet
Security 2004 combines the
power and configurability of
(including its ad-blocking and
privacy controls) with Norton
AntiSpam (available separately for $39.95),
Norton AntiVirus 2004, and a parental
control feature that can set different levels
of privacy and site-blocking for individual
users. The whole package works smoothly together, letting you control all features
from an uncluttered and well-organized
control center.
AntiSpam is effortless to use and
requires no customization. It automatically integrates with Eudora, Outlook,
and Outlook Express by adding menu and
toolbar options for tagging messages. It
then moves tagged messages to a Norton
AntiSpam folder in the mail client.
Experts can alter the rule to delete spam
from the server, but the default setting
only quarantines messages. AntiSpam
uses pattern-matching and user-customizable blacklists and whitelists to tag
messages, and it performed reliably on
our informal tests. We only wish the
AntiSpam interface were more tightly integrated with the main suite’s interface.
Parental controls create separate levels
of Web site, newsgroup, and
program access for individuals,
with preset default settings for
children, teenagers, and adults.
Web and newsgroup filtering is
based on a slow-to-load list of
sites. Site categories that can be
blocked include tobacco, travel,
Norton Internet Security
2004’s easy-to-use ad-blocking
feature includes a toolbar
and an options window to
configure ad-blocking to catch
specific text on certain sites.
132
In
te
gr
of
Ea
se
Se
tu
p
us
e
llll
and real estate in addition to standards like
gambling, drugs, and pornography.
With the best integration of its components and the best security components
themselves, Norton Internet Security
2004 is the suite you should buy. It’s our
Editors’ Choice by a wide margin.—EM
$49.95 direct; with $25 competitive upgrade (1 year
of updates) Trend Micro Inc., 800-228-5651, www
.trendmicro.com. l l l m m
No longer available as a standalone
antivirus program (only as part of Trend
Micro’s value-priced PC-cillin Internet
Security 2004 suite), PC-cillan now
includes spyware detection, URL filtering,
privacy features, spam protection, and a
firewall. It’s a comprehensive, integrated
security solution, but Norton Internet
Security 2004 beats it for firewall configurability, spam protection, privacy, and
parental controls. Like McAfee Security
Center, PC-cillin has a control panel that integrates all aspects of your PC’s protection.
Targeted at the home set-and-forget
market, PC-cillin scans your drive for
show-stopping viruses even before it
installs. Once you set it up, you can close
and forget it, and your antivirus needs are
covered, though you will need to spend
time setting up the other features. The
spam-catching feature prefixes suspected e-mails’ subject line with SPAM. Spam
filtering can be set to low, medium, or
high, depending on your preference.
Allowing messages through that were
incorrectly marked as spam (we got a
lot), or adding addresses to block requires manually entering them rather
than simply right-clicking as in other
antispam software. Web filtering is accomplished using good or bad URL lists,
though it comes with no preset lists of
bad sites. You can, however, import
favorites or cache links.
Privacy protection requires simply
entering info you want to protect: credit
card numbers, names, addresses, and so
on. The feature works well, but its case
sensitivity limits its effectiveness. PC-cillin
can also scan for spyware in real time.
Taking a chapter from their corporate
products, Trend Micro’s Outbreak Alert
automatically prompts users to update
when a virus outbreak occurs in the
wild. You can also set PC-cillin to check
for updates and install them as often as
every 3 hours.
New with PC-cillin is better network
worm protection—Enhanced Network
Virus Protection. Working in concert
with its firewall, PC-cillin watches for
network virus activity, like that produced
by Sobig, and can shut down your Internet connection if there’s a problem. The
firewall is easier to understand now, with
profiles for direct connections to the
Internet and wireless, home, or office
networks. Profiles come with preconfigured security levels and rules so that you
don’t have to think about it. But changing
the defaults is less straightforward than it
is in ZoneAlarm. For a home network, you
may find some experimentation with
settings is needed to get the shares to
work. You can edit and change these
settings or create custom profiles.
PC-cillin offers a lot of protection for
the money—with network virus protection, an easy firewall, and expanded
threat scanning—but several of its components aren’t up to those of the Norton
suite.—JM E
If You Don’t
Do Windows
Linux developers have polished their
desktops, and those at Apple have
created their richest OS to date, making both OSs more appealing than
ever to the mainstream PC owner.
steadily toward luring users away from Windows and toward
their operating systems (OSs). In the following pages, we take
an in-depth look at both desktop environments, paying particular attention to how they stack up against Windows XP. We also
review five desktop distributions of Linux: Lindows, Lycoris,
Red Hat, SuSE, and Xandros.
BY BILL ULRICH
THE BASICS
Most people use the operating system that’s included when they
There’s no denying it: We live in a Windows world. Microsoft’s buy their computers. Windows has become the standard on
operating system dominates over 90 percent of the current in- most Intel- and AMD-based systems, but Linux can run on the
stalled desktop market worldwide, while most of the remaining same hardware. And like Windows, Linux is frequently used on
servers and special-purpose hardware.
users run either the Apple Mac OS or Linux.
These renegade users can be quite loyal and
The story of Mac OS is quite different: It
Reviewed in this story
comes installed on Apple Macintosh comquite vocal. What do they know that Win137 Macintosh OS X, Microsoft
dows users don’t?
puters; Windows can’t run on Macs, and
Windows XP, and Linux
The Mac has always enjoyed a reputation
Linux can be run on Macs only with considcompared
for having a great user interface, and it has
erable expert configuration. Those with
142 Flavors of Linux: How 5
older versions of Mac OS can upgrade to Mac
become only more powerful and feature
Distributions Stack Up
OS X 10.2 Jaguar ($129 direct, www.apple.com)
rich in recent years. Linux has existed most142 LindowsOS 4.0
and
the recently released Mac OS X 10.3 Panly in the domain of programmers and tin142 Lycoris Desktop/LX Deluxe
ther. (This version was unavailable in time
kerers but has recently become easier to in143 Red Hat Linux 9 Professional
143 SuSE Linux Professional 9.0
for our review, but see Pipeline, page 25.)
stall and use, achieving a look and feel
144 Xandros Desktop 1.1
Like the Mac OS, Windows comes insimilar to Windows.
stalled on the hardware of numerous manuLinux and Mac OS developers are working
ILLUSTRATION BY FERRUCCIO SARDELLA
137
facturers. You also can buy the OS separately. Microsoft Windows XP is available
both in a Home version ($199 list; upgrade, $99) and a Professional version
($299; upgrade, $199).
Linux is open-source, so the software
is available for free. Most end users, however, can get it through a commercial
distribution, such as Red Hat, which
includes a manual and support.
ELEGANCE VS. FLEXIBILITY
Linux users have always emphasized the
operating system’s openness and flexibility. Mac users, on the other hand, have always focused on the elegance of Mac OS
and touted its ease of use.
The flexibility of Linux has been coupled with complexity and a range of options often confusing to those approaching
the OS for the first time. Multiple window
managers, shells, and a bewildering array
of applications have made the learning
curve hard for the point-and-click crowd.
In fact, using the generic term Linux is
somewhat misleading, since each distribution actually combines a Linux kernel
with tools developed by the open-source
community and another layer of tools and
applications added by distributors such as
Red Hat, SuSE, and others. Linux can easily be compared with an orchestra—a vast
collection of interworking tools that becomes greater than the sum of its parts
when directed by a skilled user/conductor.
Mac OS has taken a very different path.
It is monolithic, unified, smoothly surfaced, and seemingly controlled by a single designer. As a result, Mac users never
TOP: MICROSOFT
HAS ADAPTED
its Office for Mac suite
to the look and feel
of OS X’s Aqua interface.
APPLICATIONS FOUND
IN MAC OS X have
a distinct and elegant
look—as most longtime
Apple users expect.
perienced. With some
of the latest Linux distributions, however, this
barrier has been eliminated. For example, Red
Hat Linux 9 Professional
worry about which file system to choose
or the best way to partition their drives,
mostly because they often don’t have
choices. And with Mac OS X, users have
experienced better performance and stability than with previous versions.
The developers of each OS have started
to find more appeal among the masses by
adopting the best aspects of the other versions. Various distributions of Linux now
have the veneer of user-friendly GUIs,
while Mac OS already has an attractive interface now supported by a FreeBSD Unix
microkernel, itself an open-source project.
INSTALLATION
Until recently, the Linux installation
process was a significant barrier for all
but the most patient and technically ex-
($149.95 direct, www
.redhat.com) has an easy installation
process that comes complete with preconfigured settings and a graphical overlay that looks downright commercial.
Fortunately, more experienced users
can still get under the hood and customize every aspect of the installation.
Alternatively, the Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) system makes it reasonably
easy to add new software after the OS installation (similar to Windows’ Control
Panel feature Add/Remove Software).
Still, Mac and Windows users have it easier by comparison.
Upgrading from an earlier version of
Mac OS to a later one is probably the only
time you’ll ever see the OS’s installation
process. There’s no peeking under the
covers here: When you install Mac OS X,
you get it as laid out by the folks at Apple.
But once the OS is installed, experienced
Unix programmers can write directly to
the OS, using the Terminal utility.
SUPPORTED HARDWARE
The gulf between the Linux world and
those of Windows and Mac OS becomes
more apparent when it comes to hardware support. With no control over the
MICROSOFT OFFICE is the office productivity suite by which all others are measured.
FAR LEFT: ALTHOUGH WINDOWS XP
is more polished than past Windows OSs,
it still has much in common with its ancestors. Some 90 percent of PCs worldwide
run some version of Windows.
138
D E S K TO P O P E R AT I N G SYS T E M S
hardware manufacturers, the Linux
community strives to adapt to as many
platforms and hardware components as
possible. Most of the emphasis has been
placed on Intel’s venerable x86 architecture, but Linux is also available for the
PowerPC, as well as IA-64–based architectures, and others.
In particular, Linux has made enormous strides in peripheral support. Linux
drivers are currently available for most
common peripherals. Many of the drivers
have been written by the Linux community, but increasingly, hardware manufacturers are starting to release drivers or at
least providing significant information to
make creating drivers much easier. Still,
almost every peripheral ships with a
Windows driver; finding Linux or Macintosh drivers is often harder.
Apple is obviously in much more control of the hardware that uses Mac OS X
than other OSs. As a result, it can achieve
a level of support that neither Linux nor
Microsoft can. In some cases, Mac systems may be more expensive, but you
know everything will work together and
be supported by Apple.
In the past, Mac users have needed
adapters to use off-the-shelf, third-party
hardware. They still do in some cases, but
Apple has standardized its machines so
that users can buy the same peripherals
as Windows users.
APPLICATIONS
While pragmatists can find appealing
features in both Linux and Mac OS X,
they’re still unlikely to switch from Windows for one simple reason: There are far
fewer commercial applications available
for Mac OS and especially Linux. This has
begun to improve, but the lack of such
applications remains the Achilles heel for
both Linux and Mac OS.
One major advantage Apple has over
Linux is its relationship with Microsoft,
which continues to make Mac OS versions
of some of its most popular software
packages, such as Microsoft Office and
Windows Media Player. Microsoft Office
for Mac OS is a bit different from the Windows version. It includes Word, Excel, and
PowerPoint, but it uses the Entourage
mail/calendaring package instead of Outlook (more on Entourage below). Other
Microsoft applications (notably Access
and Visual Studio) are not available for
Mac systems. But Microsoft continues to
release new versions of its Virtual PC
($129.99 direct, www.microsoft.com) emulation software.
Just as important, Apple has created its
own suite of consumer multimedia software called iLife, which is extremely easy
to use and much better integrated than its
Windows counterparts. Apple has also
made a special push in the digital-video
world, offering its Final Cut Pro 4 ($999
direct; upgrade, $399) applications for
professional and prosumer digital-video
editors, as well as other professional
third-party tools, such as Shake 3 ($4,950
direct), Logic Platinum 6 ($699), and DVD
Studio Pro 2 ($499), all available at
www.apple.com.
Such moves have limited the interest of
some third-party companies to develop
applications for Mac systems, but in areas
like graphics and design, developer interest remains strong. Adobe Systems,
Macromedia, and Quark all produce versions of their well-known products for OS
X at the same time they do for Windows.
Linux boasts a huge catalog of software, most of it written by the opensource community. That often means that
the software requires skill to find and install, and documentation is often sparse.
Though most commercial applications
don’t have Linux versions, the continual
buzz surrounding Linux has convinced
quite a few developers of hardware drivers and software to release Linux-friendly versions of their products. Examples of
such hardware developers include HP,
Lexmark, and nVidia. Also, many Unix
applications run on Linux, and larger
companies such as IBM and Oracle are
pushing Linux development, offering
new tools and server software.
Since Microsoft does not offer a Linux
version of its popular Office suite, Linux
SCORECARD
m
sy
st
e
Co
st
te
g
he rat
lp ed
In
ig
u
nf
Co
In
st
al
la
tio
n
ra
tio
n
llll
Of
–EXCELLENT
–VERY GOOD
l l l –GOOD
l l –FAIR
l –POOR
lllll
patibility reflects how well each OS communicates
with other systems and applications. The manageability rating is based on remote-access features.
Application installation, menu layout, user directory structure, and application bindings were evaluated for ease of use. For integrated system help, top
scores went to systems tailored to solving OS-specific user
problems. The overall rating is an aggregate based on analysis by PC Magazine Labs staff and reviewers.
fic
ap e p
pl rod
ic u
at c
io tiv
n it
M
su y
ul
pp
tim
or
ed
t
ia
su
pp
Co
or
m
t
ap me
pl rci
ic al
at io
n
Ha
su
rd
pp
w
or
ar
t
e
su
pp
o
Cr
rt
os
co s-p
m lat
pa fo
tib rm
ili
M
ty
an
ag
ea
bi
lit
y
Ea
se
of
us
e
For our installation rating, we evaluate initial setup
and component configuration. The ease of completing subsequent system maintenance and setup was
considered for the configuration rating. Each OS’s
ability as an office productivity and multimedia platform was also judged, as was commercial-application
support based on the amount of available business-related
commercial software. Hardware support involves the availability of drivers for different devices. Cross-platform com-
OVERALL
THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Macintosh OS X 10.2
llll
lllll
llll
lllll
ll
llll
llll
lll
lllll
llll
lll
lllll
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
llll
lllll
lllll
llll
lllll
lllll
lll
llll
llll
lllll
lll
lllll
LINUX OPERATING SYSTEMS
LindowsOS 4.0
llll
lll
lll
lll
ll
lll
llll
lll
llll
lllll
ll
lll
Lycoris Desktop/LX Deluxe
lllll
lll
lll
lll
ll
lll
llll
lll
llll
llll
llll
lll
Red Hat Linux 9 Professional
llll
lll
lll
lll
ll
lll
llll
lllll
lll
ll
lll
lll
SuSE Linux Professional 9.0
lll
llll
lll
lll
ll
lll
llll
lllll
lll
lll
lll
llll
Xandros Desktop 1.1
lllll
lll
lll
lll
ll
lll
llll
llll
llll
llll
llll
llll
139
users must choose from a number of alternative office productivity applications.
In a homogeneous environment, such applications work perfectly well, and beyond that, many can both open and save
files in Microsoft Office file formats using
import and export filters. For example,
Sun is pushing its alternative Office suite,
StarOffice (priced per configuration,
www.sun.com). StarOffice provides many
of the same features as Microsoft Office
for Linux and Solaris users. There is also
an open-source version of StarOffice
available, called OpenOffice (free download, www.openoffice.org).
None of the Linux office productivity
suites, however, provide support for Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications
(VBA), which many companies use to
create templates or to add specific features
to various Office applications. The only
way to use VBA with Linux is through an
emulation program like CodeWeavers’
CrossOver Office ($49.99 direct, www
.codeweavers.com). CrossOver was created out of the Wine open-source initiative,
which was started in 1993 specifically to
make Microsoft applications run on Linux
without the use of Windows.
INTERNET APPLICATIONS
Both Mac OS and Linux users can find a
host of compatible Internet applications.
Until recently, Mac OS shipped with a
version of Microsoft Internet Explorer,
but Apple recently replaced IE with its
own browser, called Safari. Safari offers
some nice features IE doesn’t, such as
tabbed browsing, which lets you jump
back and forth between multiple Web
pages from the same browser window.
The pages are anchored as tabs at the top
of the browser. Safari also has easy-toconfigure pop-up window blocking.
Although Microsoft recently discontinued development of IE for Mac OS (because of Safari), the company says it will
make IE 5.0 available for the Mac indefinitely. That’s good news, because there are
still some sites that display best in IE. Mac
users have yet another option:
Mozilla (free download, www
.mozilla.org), an open-source
browser also used as the basis
for the most recent versions of
Netscape.
In the Linux world, Netscape
(free download, www.netscape.com) was
the browser of choice for Linux users for a
long time. But the maturation of Mozilla in
the past 18 months has given Linux users a
stable, full-featured, open-source option
that supports most plug-ins (although installing plug-ins can be challenging). Additional support for Windows-centric
plug-ins, called CrossOver Plugin ($34.95 direct, www.codeweavers.com), is available
from CodeWeavers.
The situation is similar for e-mail
clients. Mac OS X users receive Apple’s
native Mail e-mail client, and Microsoft
Office for Mac OS comes with Entourage
X, which provides some compatibility
with Microsoft Exchange Server.
THE STAROFFICE 6.0 WRITER and
Calc interfaces should look familiar to
Microsoft Office users.
A TYPICAL RED
HAT LINUX 9
system running
the Mozilla Web
browser, XMMS
MP3 player, and
Gaim instantmessaging client.
All Linux versions lack Outlook altogether (though again, you can buy Outlook and run it using the CrossOver Office emulator). But there are many e-mail
clients available, from the free and barebones Pine (www.washington.edu/pine)
to Ximian’s feature-rich Evolution suite,
which includes Ximian Connector 1.4
($69 direct, www.ximian.com) and Ximian Desktop 2 Pro Edition ($99) for making
a Linux machine act as a full Exchange
2000 client.
Finally, instant-messaging clients are
available for both Linux and Mac OS X.
iChat comes with Mac OS X and is compatible with AOL Instant Messenger
(AIM), so you can chat with AIM users.
iChatAV is a new version that also includes support for videoconferencing and
works with iSight, a FireWire video cam.
On Linux systems, Gaim http://gaim
.sourceforge.net) is the most prevalent IM
client, despite its lack of file-transfer capabilities. But it’s compatible with other
IM programs, including AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, or iChat.
Yahoo! Messenger provides a Java-based
client that will run on Linux and OS X, too.
MULTIMEDIA
Both Mac OS X and Linux have significant credibility when it comes to multimedia. Mac OS X users can choose from
third-party music apps or use Apple’s
iTunes, which provides connectivity to
the popular Apple iTunes Music Store
(an online download service). Linux
users have a plethora of options for playing MP3s, including X MultiMedia System’s popular XMMS client (free download, www.xmms.org), an open-source
multiformat audio player capable of
playing MP3 as well as WAV, AU, MOD,
and MID files.
By contrast, Windows XP comes with
Windows Media Player 9, which is a solid,
basic player with many useful features,
but it can rip only WMA files. To rip MP3
files, you must buy a third-party plug-in,
though many free, Windows-compatible
music players include the
ability to rip MP3s.
Mac OS X and Windows have a distinct advantage over Linux in the
realm of private cinema.
While software is avail-
Our contributors: Bill Ulrich is a freelance writer. Associate editor Davis D. Janowski and PC Magazine Labs project leader Oliver Kaven were in charge of this story.
140
Desktop Operating Systems
THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Download this table at
www.pcmag.com.
LINUX OPERATING SYSTEMS
y YES o NO
Macintosh
OS X 10.2
Microsoft
Windows XP
Professional
Direct price (boxed)
$129
$299
$59.95
$40.00
$149.95
$79.95
$39.95
Customer support
E-mail, Web
y
E-mail, Web
y
E-mail, Web
o
E-mail
o
E-mail, Web
y
E-mail, Web
y
E-mail
o
10.2
o
5.1
o
2.4
y
2.4
y
2.4
y
2.4
y
2.4
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
None
None
Click-N-Run,
$14.95 a month
Koffice
Koffice
OpenOffice
OpenOffice
Default desktop
Virtual desktops
Macintosh
y
Windows
o
KDE
y
KDE
y
Gnome
y
KDE
y
KDE
y
File browser
Finder
Windows Explorer
Konqueror
Konqueror
Konqueror
Konqueror
Network browser
Finder
Konqueror
Konqueror
Konqueror
Konqueror
Default Web browser
SYSTEM
Safari
Windows Network
Connections
Internet Explorer
Mozilla
Mozilla
Mozilla
Konqueror
Xandros file
manager
Xandros file
manager
Mozilla
Automated system update
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
System update can be scheduled
y
y
o
o
y
o
o
Journaling file system
Firewall/VPN wizard
CD-RW support
HFS+
yy
y
None
yy
y
ReiserFS
oy
y
EXT3
yo
o
EXT3
yo
y
ReiserFS
yo
y
ReiserFS
oo
y
DVD-RW support
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
MP3 playback
Wireless configurator
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
o
y
y
y
o
y
y
Directory service
Authentication credential
management
Can act as a router
Application removal tool
Open Directory
Local
Active Directory
Local or via
passport
y
y
LDAP
Local or via PAM
LDAP
Local or via PAM
LDAP
Local or via PAM
LDAP
Local or via PAM
LDAP
Local or via PAM
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
Software RAID support
y (non-boot
drives only)
o
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
o
o
o
o
o
yy
o
oy
yy
y
oy
yy
y
yy
yy
y
yy
yy
y
yy
yy
y
yy
yy
y
yy
Installation support by phone
Kernel or version
Source code available
Installation wizard
Bundled office suite
LindowsOS 4.0
Lycoris Desktop/
LX Deluxe
Red Hat Linux 9
Professional
SuSE Linux
Professional 9.0
Xandros
Desktop 1.1
DESKTOP/GUI
System rollback for recovery
USB 2.0/FireWire support
Remote desktop sharing
SSH/telnet access
y
o
able for playing DVDs on Linux, legal issues stemming from Linux’s open-source
roots prevent unqualified support for
playing commercially produced DVDs,
mainly because of fears of theft and
widespread sharing of the content.
Linux fares somewhat better with multimedia creation than with multimedia
playing, but it’s still outpaced by Mac OS
X, which includes iMovie, for editing digital film, and iDVD, for authoring DVDs.
Apple also sells Final Cut Pro and Final Cut
Express ($299 direct) for Mac users who
need more advanced video-editing capabilities. A variety of packages is also available for audio editing, as well as many
2-D and 3-D graphics packages.
In Linux’s corner, there are numerous,
admirable open-source efforts for graphics creation, including the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP, free download,
www.gimp.org), and Blender (free down-
load, www.blender3d.org) for 3-D image third-party application such as Sony’s
creation. A handful of commercial pack- Screenblast Movie Studio ($99.95 direct,
ages are also available, including Alias www.sonystyle.com).
Systems’ Maya Complete 5 ($1,999 direct,
www.aliaswavefront.com) and Pixar’s CHOICES, NOT ALWAYS EASY ONES
RenderMan Pro Server 11.5 ($3,500, As Linux desktops become increasingly
https://renderman.pixar.com) and Render- slick and easy to use—and as more comMan Artist Tools 5.5 ($2,000), which also mercial software for Linux generally beoffers versions for Windows 2000
comes available—the OS might finally start to take off as a
and XP. Most of these high-end
applications, however, are
desktop alternative. With its
MORE ON
THE WEB: For links
used by special-effects stumany new features, Mac OS
to all the products
X 10.3 (Panther) may finally
dios. For the most part, the
discussed in this story,
gain
the lift it needs to add
lack of off-the-shelf software
visit us online at
for amateurs remains a turnsome pep to the company’s
www.pcmag.com/
market share.
off for multimedia buffs.
osalternatives.
It would be foolhardy to claim
With Windows, you again
that these changes tip the scales
have a simple, no-frills video-editing tool that comes free with Windows against the 800-pound gorilla called WinXP: Windows Movie Maker 2. But to get
dows, but they are sure to nip at its heels
the same level of features found native and perhaps persuade a few more souls
to the Mac platform, you must buy a to convert to the alternatives.
141
Flavors
of
Linux
How 5 Distributions Stack Up
CHOOSING A LINUX DESKTOP
distribution has become significantly
easier in the past year. With previous
versions, the minutiae involved in configuring one made many people give up. But
today, several commercial Linux distributors (and those using variants of Linux)
have tailored their products, with help
from open-source, noncommercial organizations such as the K Desktop Environment (KDE) (www.kde.org) and the
Gnome Project (www.gnome.org).
New users will find familiar Windows
elements, such as a My Documents
THE LAYOUT FOUND in LindowsOS
mimics Microsoft Windows, providing
a network browser as well as the
familiar My Computer icon.
folder and a network browser that lets
you browse folders and shares on your
own system or your network,
even if they are Microsoft-based.
Although adding setup and configuration wizards may be anathema to hard-core Linux enthusiasts, this procedure goes a long
way toward extending the platform’s viability in the consumer
and small-business markets.
Following are reviews of five
Linux-based alternatives to Microsoft Windows. We focused on
each product’s out–of-the-box
experience, including the ease of
installation, setup, and ongoing configuration, as well as usability of business and
multimedia applications. The prices cited
are for the basic OS packages, and of
142
course, no one is limited to the applications supplied in any of these systems.
Open-source software allows for consumers to download most
applications under the GNU
RED HAT
General Public License and use LINUX 9
them without charge.
uses several
roundup: It conveniently loads
any program that has a shortcut
in the Autostart folder. The OS
also recognized DVDs and MP3s,
among other more common
formats. Bear in mind that to use
most of the associated applications, you
must maintain the monthly subscription.
But the included on-board essentials,
such as a CD player/burner and MP3
player, are what make LindowsOS good at
multimedia tasks. Such features, along
with its Internet connectivity and mail
tools, are supplied for free. If you run into
problems using LindowsOS, one of the
Audio Assist Tutorials will probably get
you past most obstacles.
The LindowsOS distribution model is
twofold: Consumers can buy the software and install it on their systems, or
they can purchase a complete PC with
Lindows preinstalled for less than $300
at Wal-Mart or through a variety of PC
resellers’ Web sites. ($59.95 direct; Lindows Office, $49.95. Lindows.com Inc.,
www.lindows.com. lllmm )
utilities for
system and
network
configuration.
LindowsOS 4.0
LindowsOS is a significant
departure from the classic
idea of Linux as a “seat of your
pants” open-source operating system. Its
Click-N-Run subscription model offers a
large library of up-to-date software
for $14.95 per month (a bit steep, we
think). The benefit is convenience:
Though open-source software is
free, finding the most up-to-date
versions usually requires tedious
searches across the Web. And each
time you log on to Lindows.com,
your desktop is scanned for the
latest updates and patches. We had
no difficulty installing the OS on our
Micron Millennia P4 test system.
The LindowsOS interface is based
on an enhanced version of KDE, which
should make former Windows users feel
right at home. Network and file browsing
is handled by Konqueror, and the default
Web browser is Mozilla-based.
The Autostart feature, similar to the
Start menu in Windows, is unique in our
THE APPEARANCE of the Linuxbased Lycoris desktop—also known
as Redmond Linux—resembles Windows XP in many aspects.
LYCORIS DESKTOP/LX DELUXE
Lycoris is owned by Redmond
Linux Corp. and shares the same
home town with Microsoft. Even
more humorous, Lycoris extends
the open-source KDE desktop
environment in a way that makes
it appear virtually indistinguishable from Microsoft Windows in
many uncanny respects. Just
open the Control Center and you
will find yourself immersed in
subtle blue tones and bold, colorful icons. Not even the button to
switch to the Classic environment is missing.
Graphical customizations and pretty
colors aside, our installation experience
was somewhat disappointing. The OS
seemed a bit dated and lacked some
drivers. (Our nVidia GeForce4 graphics
card, for example, was not recognized.)
But all our multimedia files, Office files,
and even our DVD files were recognized
flawlessly. We also ran into some trouble
with our on-board, Intel-based Ethernet
controller and needed to acquire a driver.
Lycoris offers the Iris Software Gallery,
a software and driver library similar to
that of LindowsOS and Xandros. Although
it is free, its scope is much more limited,
with only a few dozen applications. More
impressive, however, is the Desktop/LX
Update Wizard. This wizard provides
system updates at the click of a button.
Should you run into problems, the system’s remote assistant application
launches another application for desktop
sharing that allows Lycoris’ technicians to
access your system.
A spiffed-up edition of Konqueror, as
well as the Mozilla Web browser, ensures
that you have access to your files and
Web resources. Again, as with Lycoris’s
desktop interface design, the similarities
between the look of Konqueror and Microsoft Windows Explorer are amazing.
The network browser configuration could
RED HAT LINUX 9 PROFESSIONAL
Though normally focused on Linux products for business, Red Hat takes another
stab at simplifying its OS for mainstream
users with its newest iteration. While not
as elegant or refined as its chief competitor—SuSE Linux Professional 9.0—Red
Hat Linux 9 Professional is nonetheless
perfectly serviceable. Distributions such
as Lycoris Desktop/LX Deluxe and Xandros
Desktop 1.1 might appeal more to
home users, however, because of
their similarities to Windows, while
Red Hat and SuSE distributions
less cluttered. The use of Ximian’s excellent Evolution as a calendar and e-mail
application is also very welcome. As for
office applications, Red Hat, like SuSE
Linux, includes only the open-source app
OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) instead
of CodeWeavers’ CrossOver Office
(www.codeweavers.com). And the default package selection offers no support
for playing DVDs or MP3s.
XANDROS’s interface—including
its SMB file browser—is easy to
use, even for the uninitiated.
remain the most well-rounded
business products of the bunch.
From the start, simple, straightforward configuration screens
effectively hide the sometimes-intimidating Linux mechanics under Red Hat’s
hood. But Linux enthusiasts need not
worry; they can still pass instructions to
the kernel before the graphical installation tool takes over.
Red Hat is the only distribution in
our roundup that bases its default
interface, named Bluecurve, on the
Gnome graphical desktop environment rather than KDE. Bluecurve
eliminates many obvious differences in look and feel between
Gnome and KDE.
Red Hat’s interface provides a
clean layout, though Red Hat’s
menu structure is less organized
than SuSE’s. In addition, Red Hat
uses many different small utilities for configuration, making it
more difficult to locate the right
tool for any given situation;
SuSE PROVIDES extensive, distribution-specific
SuSE’s YaST2 is more intuitive.
help, as well as an intuitive configuration tool.
Though not new, the product’s seamless integration with
the Red Hat Network—for application
use a little more polishing, however; we
updates and patch management serwere stuck for a while trying to access
vice—is still its standout feature. While
our Windows network shares. You can
many distribution vendors offer similar
also extend the standard offering with
services, none can match Red Hat’s price,
the Lycoris ProductivityPak, which adds
breadth of features, or speed.
office productivity applications to your
system, compatible with formats generFor Web browsing, Red Hat uses Mozilated by Microsoft Office XP. ($40 direct;
la as its default. Though we like KonProductivityPak, $49.95 direct. Redmond
queror’s integration of a file and Web
Linux Corp., www.lycoris.com. lllmm )
browser, we find Mozilla to be faster and
Overall, we were impressed with the
maturity of Red Hat’s release, but we
hope that the plethora of configuration
utilities will be condensed in a future
version. ($149.95 direct. Red Hat Inc.,
www.redhat.com. lllmm )
SuSE LINUX PROFESSIONAL 9.0
With an attractive interface and a unique,
comprehensive configuration tool, SuSE
Linux Professional 9.0 offers rich features
and simplicity for mainstream users and
small businesses alike.
SuSE Linux maintains a corporate
focus, but with this release, it has added
many features that make the OS easy to
use and navigate. The interface is at least
on a par with those of the Lycoris Desktop/LX Deluxe and Xandros Desktop 1.1,
though those might still be more appealing to users who want to abandon Windows yet maintain its look and feel.
At SuSE Linux’s core is the YaST2control center, which is one of a kind. The
configuration utility handles everything
from software and system updates to
hardware and peripheral configuration.
In the 9.0 release, access to the YaST2
control center has been added conveniently to the KDE configuration panel,
which centralizes configuration options
in one intuitive interface. With YaST2,
users can manage a wide range of settings, including network profiles and
security features (like the built-in firewww.pcmag.com NOVEMBER 25, 2003 P C M A G A Z I N E
143
wall). YaST2 even contains a partition utility, so if your system
has Windows, you can resize your existing Windows partition
to make room for Linux.
The integrated xine media player did not include the necessary codecs to play our DVD, but we had no problems with any
other file format. SuSE Linux also had no problems recognizing and configuring our USB printer. For office apps, SuSE
ships only with OpenOffice.
Comprehensive Help Center resources are available here,
both as a local application and as a free online service. The
online portal provides extensive help databases, including
patch support, and it lets you fill out a help ticket to receive
call support. And like the Lycoris distribution, SuSE allows end
users to share their desktops in real time with administrators.
Compared with its main competitor, Red Hat Linux 9 Professional, SuSE strikes a better balance between its wealth of
configuration options and usability for both the end user and
administrator. In fact, we didn’t see such a balance in any of
the other Linux products. (SuSE Linux Professional 9.0, $79.95
direct. SuSE Inc., www.suse.com. llllm )
New features include: Open Office 1.1
+ Drag & Drop DVD Burning
+ Kernel 2.4.21 and 2.6.0-test
SUSE LINUX 9.0: An Operating
System with 1,000 possibilities,
not 1,000 vulnerabilities
With SUSE LINUX 9.0 you get a complete Desktop Operating System with
all the Productivity and Multimedia
applications you need. In addition, its
secure system architecture and builtin firewall will free you from the annoyances you've come to expect from
the Windows world of viruses, worms
and crashes.
For the first time in a 64bit version for
AMD64 processors. Available at Fry's,
Best Buy, CompUSA, Amazon.com,
FutureShop.ca – Order Today!
(888) UR-LINUX
Shop.suse.com/pm
XANDROS DESKTOP 1.1
Although Xandros Desktop 1.1 is a relatively new product, it
can certainly claim access to a large talent pool of developers.
Why? Most of the developers at Xandros worked together on
the now-defunct Corel Linux distribution. It’s obvious that
they have built on the heritage of the easy-to-install and easyto-use OS: Installation of Xandros Desktop was painless.
A pared-down, cleaned-up KDE interface, which contains a
My Documents–like folder, as well as folders for music, pictures, and videos, will make Windows users feel right at
home. CodeWeavers’ CrossOver Office and the open-source
OpenOffice add to the well-rounded package. Xandros will be
further improved through a soon-to-be launched subscription
service, similar to the LindowsOS model, which provides
security updates, updated drivers, and applications (pricing
and launch date were unavailable).
Within Xandros Desktop, we found the First Run Wizard
very appealing. It lets you repeat initial configuration steps
after you’ve completed the overall installation—a handy tool,
especially when installing printers. Although our Epson C80
printer was identified correctly, the OS settings needed some
subsequent tweaking beyond the wizard’s capabilities to get
the driver to work. Although file associations and application
bindings did not pose a problem, Xandros Desktop did not
recognize our sample DVD.
Xandros Desktop supplies a host of applications, ranging
from image viewers to instant-messaging clients that can
interact with AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. The Xandros Connection Wizard helps inexperienced
computer users connect to their networks or to the Internet
and takes care of PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) and modem connections as well as direct LAN links.
We would like Xandros to provide a little better multimedia
support, so that DVD enthusiasts can enjoy a movie now and
then, but we were impressed with the look, feel, and integration of the product overall. (Xandros Desktop 1.1, Standard
Edition, $39.95 direct; Deluxe Edition, $99. Xandros Inc.,
www.xandros.com. llllm )—Oliver Kaven E
144
w w w. p c m a g . c o m /a f te r h o u r s
T E C H N O L O G Y O N YO U R T I M E
Make Beautiful Music
BY EMILE MENASCHÉ
Y
ou’ve probably heard this refrain: Those new- these programs’ advanced time- and pitch-stretching capafangled musicians don’t play like the old mas- bilities, you can combine audio clips that originated in difters. With today’s desktop tools, though, you ferent styles, tempos, and keys—with less degradation of
don’t need a lot of training to make satisfying sound quality than ever before—and blend them into your
music. The applications we tested demonstrate own eclectic brew. And when you combine audio with sophisticated software synthesizers and
the continuing improvement in the
GLOSSARY
effects, you can impose your creative
sound, look, and feel of interactive music
will on the proceedings and make persoftware. Each lets you assemble music DXi A DirectX-compatible software instrusonal, unique audio art.
from prerecorded elements. Thanks to ment (a synthesizer or sampler) which can
be used with compatible applications such
as ACID Pro 4.0 and Cakewalk’s Sonar.
ACID Pro 4.0
ACID was the first multitrack program to
let you manipulate the tempo and pitch of
prerecorded audio in real time. And despite looking a little utilitarian, ACID Pro
4.0’s interface is intuitive and effective.
The program’s MIDI features have been
enhanced, and it now has powerful videoscoring tools and better compatibility
with third-party software. Version 4.0
includes VST plug-in support (including
support for VSTi), ReWire, direct CD and
DVD burning, and surround mixing.
The heart of the program is the dragand-drop arranging of audio files. When
you drag a file from ACID’s Explore window to the Arrange window, the program
creates a track. With both audio and MIDI
files, you can set a loop’s length by drag-
162
ReWire A streaming protocol that enables
the routing of audio, timing, and MIDI
signals directly between two software
programs. With ReWire, you can patch the
sending device’s audio output into the
receiving device’s software-mixing console.
export to multiple audio formats, ACID
enters the territory of full-featured workstations such as Cakewalk’s Sonar.
$499.95 list. Sony Pictures Digital Inc.,
www.sony.com/mediasoftware. llllm
VST (Virtual Studio Technology) An audio
Adobe Audition 1.0
plug-in format developed by Steinberg and
used by third-party applications. A VSTi is a
software instrument that can be used with
any VST-compatible application, such as
ACID Pro 4.0 or Steinberg’s Cubase SX.
Adobe Audition 1.0 sounds like a new
program, but this multitrack recorder/
editor is the offspring of Syntrillium’s Cool
Edit Pro 2.1. Audition’s interface can be
intimidating to newcomers, and the program offers plenty of features targeted at
pro users, such as resolution up to 32-bit, a
built-in waveform editor, video support,
and the ability to read and write a wide
range of audio formats. But composers of
all levels will like Audition’s seamless time
stretching of encoded files, with ACIDstyle loop arranging.
Adobe offers a library of thousands of
license-free audio files, and the content CD
we used—lounge and reggae loops—had
well-played parts and superior sound. Just
as impressive are realWHAT THE RATINGS MEAN
time effects and
lllll EXCELLENT
powerful editing tools
llllm VERY GOOD
that let you manipulllmm GOOD
llmmm FAIR
late prerecorded
lmmmm POOR
audio beyond recog-
ging its boundaries. But you can place only
one file per track, which is inefficient
when you’re dealing with multiple variations of similar material. When you record
your own audio, ACID encodes the file so
that it can follow real-time tempo changes,
and it creates a new track. Version 4.0
offers enhanced time-stretching performance, yielding fewer audio artifacts
when you’re making changes to an audio
clip’s tempo.
Because the ACID format has become an
industry standard for time-encoded audio,
you can find many compatible libraries to
choose from—and not just in the dance
and hip-hop genres. With its enhanced
video and MIDI features and the ability to
AFTER HOURS
nition. Though Audition does not support
direct MIDI recording, it can import and
play back standard MIDI files.
Audition offers excellent interaction
with Adobe Premiere video software, making it a solid choice for media pros, film
and video composers, and sound designers.
$299 list. Adobe Systems Inc., www.adobe.com.
llllm
FL Studio 4 Producer Edition
FL Studio 4 Producer Edition offers a suite
of powerful software sound generators,
editors, and effects, which you control via
an easy-to-use step sequencer. It can run as
a standalone application or as a VSTi or
DXi plug-in. In FL Studio, you can use the
sound generators via MIDI or via your
computer’s keyboard.
FL Studio boasts a spectacular bag of
audio tricks. You get analog and samplebased drum machines, analog synths,
sample players, and more. FL Studio also
offers audio recording and a built-in audio
file editor.
Like most step sequencers, FL Studio
lets you program patterns by activating
buttons on a grid. You can go deeper by
calling up the Piano Roll display, where
you can edit chords and work outside the
boundaries of the grid. When you select a
track, an editing window opens, showing
more mixing and sound-editing parameters for its instrument. The internal mixer
lets you add effects to output channels,
but this is the one area where FL Studio
is less than intuitive.
FL Studio lets you output your work as
a WAV, MP3, or MIDI file, among other
formats. With a friendly price, this program offers an exceptional combination
of fun and value.
$209 list. Image-Line Software, www.flstudio.com.
llllm
Groove Agent, Virtual Guitarist
Groove Agent and Virtual Guitarist are
interactive VSTi plug-ins, providing prerecorded performances by live musicians.
You can manipulate them in real time,
which you can’t do with static loops.
Groove Agent covers drum styles ranging from early rock ’n’ roll to hip-hop. The
CD would not install on our HP Pavilion
laptop because of copy protection, which
Steinberg says conflicts with some DVD/
CD-R drives. Once installed on another PC,
Groove Agent sounded impressive. The
program’s ability to export MIDI note data
based on internal performances lets you
customize the loops to fit your music and
dissect the patterns.
Virtual Guitarist offers 29 rhythm guitar
“players,” with up to 8 performance variations each. When you play a note on a
MIDI keyboard, Virtual Guitarist plays the
corresponding chord in a rhythmic pattern synced to your sequencer’s tempo.
The guitars are well recorded, and the
plug-in includes a powerful guitar-effects
pedal board for additional sweetening.
Each, $249 list. Steinberg Media Technologies
GmbH/Pinnacle Systems Inc., www.steinberg.net.
Live ships with an impressive array of
dance-oriented loops to get you started,
and it can open and encode prerecorded
audio files from other sources. Once you
get the hang of triggering the clips, you
may never go back to traditional arranging.
lllmm
$399 list. Ableton, www.ableton.com. lllll
Live 2.1
Reason 2.5
Live 2.1 is an interactive multitrack recorder and arranger with
a split personality: It operates
both as a traditional multitrack
audio recorder (with real-time
time stretching and pitch shifting) and as
a remixing tool that lets you arrange and
trigger individual audio clips.
In the Arrange view, you record and
assemble audio as you would with any
sequencer. Like ACID, Live lets you drag
and drop files from a browser into your
arrangement and then encodes the audio
files you record, so that everything stays
in sync as your project’s tempo changes.
The Session view looks and behaves like
a standard software mixer (complete with
real-time effects) and also doubles as a
Reason 2.5 has a powerful arsenal of
software instruments, drum machines,
step sequencers, mixers, and effects. It can
stand alone or interact with programs
such as ACID, Cubase, Live, Pro Tools,
Sonar, and others, via the ReWire
audio/MIDI protocol. This version comes
with a library of modern and orchestral
sounds and impressive new processors.
Reason’s Virtual Rack interface is both
elegant and intuitive. All modules feature
hardware-style controls. The Tab key
shows you the back of the rack, where you
can route audio and control signals. You
can drive the modules with one of the
internal step sequencers, the linear MIDI
sequencer, or both. Reason also accepts
MIDI from external sources, but it does
not transmit MIDI externally.
Reason’s outstanding sound quality and
powerful synth engine have made it popular among professional composers, but its
clean interface makes it equally appealing
to newbies. And
the included Dr.
Rex player offers
MORE ON
real-time stretching of specially
T HE WE B
encoded audio
www.pcmag.com/
afterhours
loops.
Go to our Web site
$449 list. Propellerfor more Quick Clips
head Software AB,
and Gear & Games
www.propellerhead.se.
reviews.
llllm
Music Creation Software
y YES o NO
Included content
Audio
recording MIDI support
ReWire
send/receive
ACID Pro 4.0
More than 350 music loops
y
Recording and playback
yy
y
oo
FL Studio 4
Producer Edition
DreamStation DXi analog
synthesizer
y
yo
Groove Agent
More than 50 drum styles
o
Input via sequencer, output to
sequencer (VST 2.0)
oo
Live 2.1
400MB of audio clips
(boxed version only)
y
Real-time parameter control,
triggering audio clips
yy
Reason 2.5
Two CDs of sounds
and patches
y
Recording from external sources, y y
playback of internal sounds only
Virtual Guitarist
29 guitar styles
o
Input via sequencer
Adobe Audition 1.0 Clips from the Loopology library
launching pad for audio clips. Each column in the Session view represents one
track in the project, but the columns contain clip-holding slots, arranged in rows.
You can trigger individual clips or a row of
clips with the mouse or via user-assignable
keyboard commands, then store the results
as part of an arrangement.
oo
ONLINE
163
AFTER HOURS
Under Control
Still coping with too many
remote controls for your
consumer electronics
gear? The Universal One
For All Kameleon 8 can
handle up to eight devices.
The remote has an electroluminescent
display that turns on when you pick it up, customizable buttons and button groups, and an impressively deep
library of more than 300 device controller codes—with free
upgrades by phone. The One For All continues UEI’s tradition
of easy setup.—Bruce Brown
$100 street. Universal Electronics Inc.,
www.mykameleon.com. llllm
Versatile Phone
The single-line Plantronics
CT12 2.4GHz Cordless
Headset Telephone combines a two-mode headset
(wear it over your head or
on one ear) and a phone
with 5.5 hours of continuous talk time per battery
charge. The flashing red
usage indicator light
should cut down on “Are
you on the phone?” questions. With this lightweight two-piece setup,
you can make and take
calls hands-free while
you work, walk, or play.
The 2.4-GHz radio lets you
maintain a wireless connection with the
phone base, which is plugged into a
landline phone jack.—BB
$130 street. Plantronics Inc.,
www.plantronics.com. llllm
Super Sound
With much of the PC speaker market focused on thunderous
surround sound for gamers, here’s a pair of high-end stereo
speakers targeting those who want the most from their music.
The 75-watt NHT M-00 is beautifully engineered, with a 1-inch
ferro-fluid-cooled fabric dome tweeter, a 4.5-inch paper-cone
woofer, a near-field/midfield switch, and an aluminum zinc alloy
case that acts as a passive heat sink for the integrated power
supplies (so each speaker needs its own wall outlet). The components are as solid as rocks, and at 14 pounds each, about as heavy.
You can add a matching subwoofer and a silky-smooth passive
volume control.—Bill Howard
$249 direct; S-00 subwoofer, $499; PVC volume control, $99.
NHT, www.nhtpro.com. llllm
164
TV to Go
A cutting-edge
gadget for the person who
has everything Sony, the Sony Clié
Video Recorder PEGA-VR100K is a set-top box
that hooks into your TV and records programs onto
Sony Memory Sticks for playback on a PC or on a
Sony Clié handheld running Palm OS 5. You can use
this device to program timed or recurring recordings.
For a decent-quality program (320-by-240 resolution,
15 frames per second), you’ll need about 2MB of
space per minute. We tried the PEGA-VR100K with
music videos, dramas, and cartoons, all of which
looked terrific. Lower-quality settings are acceptable
for news.—Sascha Segan
$299 list. Sony Corp., www.sonystyle.com. lllll
THERE’S MORE DUST INSIDE YOUR PC THAN YOU THINK—MUCH MORE
J
Edited by Don Willmott
Laura, you’re looking simply fabulous!
(MSNBC online)
J
J
That’s one scary hard drive. (AOL.com)
J
Here’s the kind of
public-opinion poll
you might find in
North Korea.
(Orbital Mods site)
J
J
It’s easy to hate a
pop-up ad when
it says you have
no problem yet
tries to sell you a
solution anyway.
J
(ArmorIE ad)
Our guess: You’ll increase your odds by buying something.
(Buy.com)
J
J
It looks as if 50 Cent is selling himself short.
(WindowsMedia.com)
w w w. p c m a g . c o m / b a c k s p a c e
If your entry is used, we’ll send you a PC Magazine T-shirt. Submit your entries via e-mail to [email protected] (attachments are welcome)
or to Backspace, PC Magazine, 28 E. 28th St., New York, NY 10016-7940. Ziff Davis Media Inc. shall own all property rights in the entries.
Winners this issue: Kent Bridwell, Carlos Gonzales, Willy Lawton, Barclay Prescott, Atif Shamsi, and Darryl Stumpf.
PC Magazine, ISSN 0888-8507, is published semi-monthly except 3 issues in October (10/14/03 is the Fall 2003 issue) and monthly in January and July at $39.97 for one year. Ziff Davis Media Inc, 28 E. 28th St., New York, NY
10016-7940. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY 10016-7940 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Address changes to PC Magazine, P.O. Box 54070, Boulder, CO 80328-4070. The Canadian GST registration
number is 865286033. Canada Post International Publications Mail Product (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 266477. Printed in the U.S.A.
168
AFTER HOURS
House Hunting Online
By Troy Dreier
You can research the home-buying process online and even view a few pictures, but is the
actual purchase still too hands-on to be left to the virtual world? The answer: Probably.
Little has changed since we last reviewed real-estate sites (“Open House Online,” April
24, 2001). Most sites do a better job of providing moving and mortgage information
than property listings, and virtual tours are still virtually nonexistent. Hunting
online is a smart way to begin, but it can’t yet replace a traditional search.
Homes.com
A pleasure to use, RealEstate
.com offers useful advancedsearch options, plenty of results,
and full addresses for most
listings. You start by running a
general search on an area, but
you can tailor the results by
looking for special options, such
as walk-in closets and hardwood
floors. Most results have one
picture each, although that varies by location and realtor. For some cities, almost no
listings have pictures. Multiple pictures or
virtual tours are scarce. You will also find
the standard links for mortgages, brokers,
and moving information. MSN House &
Home (http://houseandhome.msn.com)
uses RealEstate.com as its listing database.
Homes.com Inc. lllmm
Realtor.com
HomeSeekers.com
HomeSeekers.com seems to have one of
the better advanced searches of the sites
we reviewed, but it didn’t work well in our
testing. You start by specifying an area;
the site then gives you a list of possible
special features for homes in that area. We
were surprised that selecting even one
special feature usually made our search
come up empty. We found some virtual
tours when we clicked on listings, but the
search results page didn’t point out which
listings had them. The site offers fewer
results than others, but nearly all of them
contain full street addresses.
Realigent Inc. lllmm
166
RealEstate.com
This is a simple, elegant site worth visiting
for anyone doing serious house hunting. It
delivers plenty of
results—many with
pictures—in an attractive and readable
format. But the site is
hampered by a limited
search engine that doesn’t allow advanced
searches. For example, you can’t search
for homes with fireplaces or pools, so you
must comb through listings to find them.
Also, this is the only site here that doesn’t
give full street addresses for listings. It
does, however, offer an apartment search
(with few listings) and a broker search.
One interesting link provides market
conditions reported by local realtors.
HPCi Realty Inc. llllm
Realtor.com should be the first stop for
home buyers, since it provides the best
search options and the most listings of
any site—fitting, since it’s the official site
of the National Association of Realtors.
It’s the only site in our roundup that lets
you jump directly to an advanced search,
where you can specify detailed house and
lot requirements. The search results page
shows which listings have multiple pictures or virtual tours. Also, Realtor.com
lets you call up a map with the locations
of multiple homes shown at once. It also
contains apartment-finding and homefinance links.
National Association of Realtors and Homestore Inc. llllm
QUICK CLIPS
Savage: The Battle for Newerth
To our knowledge, Savage: The Battle
for Newerth is the first game to combine the real-time-strategy and firstpersonshooter
genres—
and it
works
very well.
Players
clash online in a
battle that pits barbaric humans who
are slowly rediscovering technology
against highly evolved animals wielding magic weapons. Each side’s commander decides what structures to
build and issues orders to team members, who play in first-person mode
and can choose whether to obey the
orders. This creates a spontaneous
and tremendously fun multiplayer
experience.—John Blazevic
$39.99 list. S2 Games LLC,
www.s2games.com/savage. lllll
Aquanox 2: Revelation
In this sequel, you are dropped into
the world of Aqua, where the people of
Earth seek refuge from disasters. The
underwater world is convincing thanks
to handsome graphics, and controls
respond well. Even on the easiest setting, though, you might need some time
to warm up unless you’re experienced
in first-person shooters.—Sonya Moore
$40 street. Encore Inc.,
www.encoresoftware.com. llllm
Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter
Play as Mace Griffin, released from jail
to serve as a bounty
hunter. The only
game mode is singleplayer, and though
it’s fun, multiplayer
mode is more exciting in first-person
shooters. A cool element is the ability
to get in and out of
vehicles on the fly;
unfortunately, this doesn’t really benefit you. Real-time lighting and crackerjack weapon animations set this game
apart. We reviewed the Microsoft Xbox
version.—Matthew D. Sarrel
$50 street. Vivendi Universal Games Inc.,
www.vugames.com. llllm

Noverber 25, 2003 - to go back to the Index Page

Transcription

Similar documents

Computer

Windwood Studio is offering a DVD of Theatre on Main`s production

- Lab for Media Search - National University of Singapore

SPEAR Processors Presentation by Amir Sherman

Technical specification

ADVANTAGE 1.0

SDC Personal Favorites