PC World - May 2000
- — 01 April, 2000 16:32
COVER STORY
78 NEW STUFF ON THE NET FOR NIX
Guide to the best free stuff online
So much free stuff, so little time. It's no secret that a tremendous number of freebies - applications, services and sites - are available on the Web. But to find the good giveaways, you often have to waste time rummaging through heaps of ill conceived, poorly executed and just plain useless stuff. For this year's round-up of the best, we searched for innovative or little-known free stuff that leverages the Net's strengths of interactivity and multimedia capabilities.
79 Free sites & services
82 Free support
92 Free e-mail
94 Free PIMs
96 Free Web hosting
97 Free Web storage & backup
FEATURES
65 WEB AND YOU
Surfing for nix
Connecting to the Net has never been cheaper than it is today, but there is one price you just can't beat, and that's "free". If you are considering connecting to the Net for the first time, or changing your current ISP, perhaps the first question you ought to ask yourself is whether you really need to pay for your online time at all. We bring you the ways to connect your PC to the Net and pay nothing for the pleasure.
70 READY, SET ... GST!
Accounting software to tackle the GST
With the implementation of the GST just around the corner, the time has come to get your books in order. Whether you are just starting out or already have an established accounting system, our annual accounting software review has what you need to take the stress out of moving to the new tax system.
NEWS
16 CONSOLES GET WIRED, GAMERS GO WILD
Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft X-Box and Sega Dreamcast - the new games consoles are going online16 IBM, TOSHIBA MAKE DIGITAL MUSIC PACTThese companies are to collaborate on the secure distribution of digital music16 HUTCHISON AND ONE.TEL CLEAN UP ON SPECTRUMNew licences were granted in the recent bidding war for mobile phone spectrum17 DELL EXCITED BUT NOT SPOOKEDHand-helds and PDAs pose no threat to desktop PCs, says Dell18 IBM WEARS BLACK IN NEW NETVISTASIntroducing a new line of smaller, sleek PCs, Internet access devices and thin clients18 SKYNETGLOBAL SIGNS UP HARDWARE AND SERVICESNortel and Unisys are contributing to development of a global wireless broadband network18 MALAYSIA OPENS CORRIDOR TO INDONESIASoutheast Asian high-tech economic zone to extend its reach18 IE5 PATCH COULD LOCK OUT WIN2000 USERSA security patch can prevent users from logging in to their computers20 ANDERSON AND MICROSOFT UNITE TO CONSULTJoint venture is launched to help enterprise customers build e-commerce systems20 XEROX INKJETSFaster, more affordable inkjet printers may be on the way21 Click wars: how to count Net users?
Market research study suggests "clicks" and "hits" are meaningless21 KING RIDES THE E-BULLETNewest novella to appear only in e-book format21 US EXPORTS HIGH-TECHHigh-tech products make up the largest export segment in the US24 MICROSOFT BUYS A PIECE OF REALNAMESInvestment in Internet keywords brings access to huge audience24 COLOUR CONTROLApple and Daewoo in court over PC colour schemes26 alt.netNapster - software for mass distribution of MP3sFIRST LOOKS30 Corel Custom Photo31 MediaStudio Pro 6.032 Canon BJC-3000, Tektronix Phaser 85034 Epson Expression 1600 Pro FireWire, Umax PowerLook 110036 System Commander 200038 Palm IIIc40 NetObjects Fusion 5, Drumbeat 2000 e-commerce edition41 Electronics for Imaging EBeam, Virtual Ink Mimio42 Sony SDM-N50, TView Gold Pro44 EditLive!, Adaptec ReZOOM45 Adobe PressReady46 Sega Dreamcast48 Gateway Select 100050 Nomad II51 SoundBlaster Live! Platinum Drive IINEW SECTION!!
LINUXWORLD.COM.UA
128 LinuxWorld.com.au
A review of the recent Linux Open Source Expo and Conference, and a round-up of the software on this month's CD129 Using LinuxWin4Lin: the latest Windows emulation tool for Linux130 TechnologyXFS: the open source SGI extended file system132 Putting Linux to workBackup and storage under LinuxHERE‘S HOW134 UpgraderDigital video editing: how to get started.
138 Windows 9x
Dual-booting Windows 98 with Windows 2000.
140 Windows 2000
Improve your view in the Web View pane.
142 Mac OS
Create your own custom icons.
Help Screen
144 Windows 9x
Create instant folder trees; clean up your desktop clutter; use keyboard shortcuts to find files; eliminate duplicate graphics.
146 Internet
Master the Usenet universe.
148 Word Processing
Make e-mail documents hard to alter; jump to where you stopped working; run spelling checks selectively.
150 Spreadsheets
Round Excel dollar amounts to the nearest 25 cents; change the formatting of cell annotations; foil AutoSave's accidental sabotage.
152 Hardware
Back up or die; get full sound from your four-channel audio card.
153 Bugs and Fixes
Windows 2000 critical update; PhotoImpact 4.2 upgrade and patch.
DEPARTMENTS
12 EDITORIAL
Music to my ears
52 OPINIONS
52 The true cost of communication
By Beverley Head
54 Competition will keep Linux whole
By Nicholas Petreley
56 Tampons and virtual sit-ins
By Mark Stafford
56 Shop till you e-drop
By Ian Yates
62 READERS FORUM
62 DILBERT
BACKBYTES
185 SKILLS
The answer to usable Web sites is trainingCourses on offerWorking in the Web wonderland186 BOOK REVIEWThe Internet Marketing PlanBuild Your Own Pentium III PCnewmedia.com.au187 WEB REVIEWAcronym Interaction, Expansion and Extrapolation EngineInternet TrashTheFreeSite.comCoolText.com188 GADGETS AND GIZMOS3M Professional Wrist RestGolf Ball Sweet Spot FinderPoetic Technology AuraFlirtyCreative Nomad JukeboxTux & GeekoCasio PC UniteMouse Tablet190 GAMESNoxHalf-Life: Opposing Force192 BYTESBACKBEST BUYS100 PCSHOME PCsPeripherals Plus Athlon 700Dell Dimension XPS B-800rDell Dimension XPS T-700rPeripherals Plus Athlon 800Digital Star Power Pro P3-600Peripherals Plus Intel Pentium III 600Dell Dimension XPS T-550IBM Aptiva 85AHP Pavilion 8610Compaq Presario 7500BUSINESS PCsGateway E-4400Acer AcerPower 8404Dell Dimension L-500cxSUB-$2000 PCsDell Dimension L600rCompaq Presario 7500Peripherals Plus Athlon 600Packard Bell Club 533C114 NOTEBOOKSPOWER NOTEBOOKSGateway Solo 9300xl DeluxeCompaq Armada E500Dell Inspiron 3800Acer TravelMate 734TLIBM ThinkPad 600XToshiba Satellite Pro 4300NEC VersaNote VXVALUE NOTEBOOKSIBM ThinkPad iSeries 14AMAcer TravelMate 730TXDell Latitude LSNEC Versa Lite FX120 17IN MONITORSAcerView 79gADI MicroScan E75Auriga ColorPro 17DHitachi CM643ETKDS AV-7TMAG Innovision XJ796Philips 107P
