PC World February 2004 contents

What's On the CD

COVER STORY

Hot shots! Take better digital snaps

Digital photography is a rewarding pastime but it's frustrating when pictures don't turn out as you imagined. PC World looks at how to set up particular effects and cope with different lighting conditions, and at what to do when either your camera or your photo goes horribly wrong.

FEATURES

Web and you: Sites for serious (and not so serious) study

Ah, the first day back at school: heaven for parents, hell for kids. Help your children make a great start to a new school year with these sites for students.

Software secrets: Insider tips

However good you are at some aspects of computing, it's impossible to be an expert at each and every application. We asked industry insiders to share their most useful workarounds and shortcuts, designed to save keystrokes and recoup your time.

Best unused software: Hidden features

35+ ways to get out of the (Microsoft) Office and make the most of your PC, from under-appreciated system enhancers and business tools to graphics and audio editors.

Build your own robot

Can't afford an Aibo? Robotics has broken out of the research lab and is gradually insinuating itself into our lives - and you can build a robot that you can control via your PC. We show you how.

Latest digital cameras tested

Even if you put money before megapixels, you can find a digital camera that takes great shots. All digital cameras do the same thing: when you press a button, they capture a picture. But if you really care how your pictures come out, invest in the best digital camera you can afford. We tested 17 cameras in three categories, and one is sure to suit your needs. Advanced: Canon PowerShot G5, Nikon Coolpix 5700, Kodak DX 6490, Olympus C-5060, Fujifilm FinePix F700, Sony DSC-V1 Point-and-shoot: Canon A70, Nikon Coolpix 3100, Kodak LS 633, Sony DSC-P10, Olympus Mju 400, Samsung V4 Budget: Fujifilm FinePix A310, HP Photosmart 435, Canon PowerShot A300, Kodak CX 6230, Sony DSC-P32

FIRST LOOKS

Hardware

Toshiba Portege M200
Sanyo VPC-C1EX Xacti, ASUS K8V Deluxe
Epson Perfection 3170 Photo, Hewlett-Packard Scanjet 5530, AOpen B165V Desknote
Creative Prodikeys

Software

Microsoft Digital Image Suite 9.0
CorelDRAW Essentials 2.0, Audiotrieve InBoxer 1.0

Quick Takes

32 Hardware: 02 XPhone and XDA II, Motorola MPx200, Palm Handspring Treo 600, Apple 20in iMac, Toshiba TLP-S10, LaCie Big Disk 400GB, SMC8505TX Auto-Sensing Gigabit Switch, Creative SoundBlaster Audigy2 NX, CMV CT-723A 17in LCD monitor; SOFTware: Vivi Desktop Pro, SecureClean 4.0

BEST BUYS

Tech.Files
All the news that fits on screen: news aggregators

Sweet Spot
CPUs
Graphics cards
Motherboards
System RAM
Optical drives
Hard drives
Monitors

PCs: OVER $3500
Plus Corporation Inspire P32
Acer Veriton 7600G
Plus Corporation Astra A641
ARC Computers P4 3GHz
Plus Corporation Astra H31

PCs: $1500-$3500
Trinity International AMD Super Power Pack
APUS Universe Pro 2800
Pioneer Power PC
Dell Dimension 8300
Trinity International P4 Power Pack
Infocom Gaming Beast 1.2
PC eXpress Invader 2800C Deluxe
Plus Corporation Advantage P32
ARC Computers 3000+ XP AMD
Plus Corporation Inspire A36

PCs: sub $1500
Plus Corporation Aspect V27
Trinity International AMD Deluxe Pack II
APUS Universe 2500 Avx
PC eXpress Avatar 2600
Beam Micro Systems Power Solution

Notebooks: OVER $4000
Acer TravelMate 803LCi
Hi-Grade Notino C6700
Fujitsu Lifebook P5010
QDI Alacritas 529-K8
Sony Vaio PCG-Z1VGP

Notebooks: $2500-$4000
Hi-Grade UltiNote M6600
Dell Inspiron 8600
Mitac MiNote 8060B
Fujitsu Lifebook S6120
Hi-Grade Notino R5400

Notebooks: Sub-$2500
Mitac MiNote 8080
Targa Traveller C50
Twinhead efio 141i
Stone M3700
Targa Visionary XP

HERES HOW

UPGRADER: Improve your memory
IN DEPTH: Get more from your monitor
WINDOWS XP: Back up with Offline Files and Folder Redirection
LINUX: Using a DVD writer
AUDIO: Mixxxing digital music
GRAPHICS: Preparing digital images for printing
MAC OS: Panther's useful utilities
PHP: Pattern matching with PHP: Part II
DIGITAL VIDEO: Effects to the rescue
HELP SCREEN

DEPARTMENTS

• EDITORIAL
• NEWS plus Broadband
• LINUXWORLD.COM.AU
• READERS' FORUM Plus Dilbert
• BACKBYTES: Book Review, Skills, Web Review, Gadgets and Gizmos, Games,
• Bytesback
• ADVERTISERS INDEX

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