Oct 20th, 2005 - Yes, it's finally out of Beta and into final release. New features are plentiful, and add both functionality and improved MS Office compatibility. Discussion of this upgrade to the excellent and well known freeware office software suite has been plentiful during the period of Beta release, so... (Read More)

Oct 20th, 2005 - The battle between Sony’s Blu-Ray and Toshiba’s HD-DVD has been a drawn out one, with nary a sniff of resolution in sight, and has seen likely to plunge consumers back into a situation similar to the VHS v BetaMax videotape battles of the 1980s. But a recent move by HP seems likely to bring some... (Read More)

Oct 19th, 2005 - We try to find the interesting news and developments to report to people, but sometimes the industry just doesn’t help us much. Sometimes, it all just seems “ho-hum�. Like now! I’ve just returned from a few days at the lake relaxing, and eagerly I scan the news channels for interesting items to... (Read More)

Oct 12th, 2005 - To the average consumer the ‘Digital home’ has little to do, really, with internet-connected intelligent refrigerators that do the grocery ordering for you, or robotic valets who ready the ‘pipe and slippers’ when you walk through the door. It simply means a way to manage the home entertainment... (Read More)

Oct 11th, 2005 - Now that the ATi R520 cards – the X1xxx series – has been officially announced and released there are tests and reviews of them popping up all over the place. The picture emerging is quite a clear one, with performance matching the Nvidia counterparts in all respects except for high levels of... (Read More)

Oct 4th, 2005 - A quality power supply unit is a ‘must’ in a modern, high performance PC system. Cheap, generic units don’t supply stable enough voltages for highly demanding components, and introduce greater risk of failure which can put expensive PC components at risk. Choosing the unit to use can be a... (Read More)

Oct 3rd, 2005 - The Inquirer has just published their recommendations for the ‘value points’ in processor purchasing. Their recommendations are quite similar to those promoted by a number of reviewers, but closer inspection leaves me quite unconvinced. The assumptions they make fall somewhat short of the mark in... (Read More)

Sep 29th, 2005 - There will doubtless be a lot of disappointed gamers, but it seems the Nvidia 6800 Ultra and the ATi Radeon X850XT are the 'end of the road' for AGP gamers. Those who have been waiting for updated and improved cards to arrive have been waiting in vain, it appears. Although Nvidia announced a... (Read More)

Sep 22nd, 2005 - It is tempting to think that, as technology improves and access because less expensive, the use of fast internet access will become more widespread. Research, however, shows that this is not happening, and that broadband uptake has slowed dramatically. John Horrigan, Director of Research with... (Read More)

Sep 21st, 2005 - A plague has swept the online universe of popular game World of Warcraft! Cities have been wiped out. Travel became a dangerous activity indeed. Online gamers returned from a nature call to find themselves amidst desolation! When Blizzard Software released the version 1.7 Patch for the... (Read More)

Sep 20th, 2005 - Microsoft is currently reorganising itself into three main divisions, in an effort to streamline the processes of decision making and bringing products to market. The three divisions will be: Microsoft Platform Products and Services Division Responsible for Windows products, corporate server... (Read More)

Sep 20th, 2005 - Along with the increased availability and use of fast internet, the popularity of onlline, browser based games has risen dramatically in recent times. Millions of Games is a new website designed to make the task of finding games an easier one. 'Millions' may be an overstatement, but at the time... (Read More)

Sep 20th, 2005 - Gateway currently holds about a 6% to 8% market share of PC sales in the US, and derives about 80% of its income from PC sales. After a lengthy period of unprofitability, the company has recently shown improvement, but is it enough to maintain its independence as a corporate entity? Cheryl Mayer... (Read More)

Sep 19th, 2005 - Are you running out of room on that notebook's hard drive? Hitachi Global Storage Technologies have released an 'upgrade kit' that just might be the answer you're looking for. It wouldn't surprise me to see other manufacturer's offer similar kits in future. ... (Read More)

Sep 15th, 2005 - Windows Workflow Foundation, Microsoft's framework for managing workflow, is reportedly ahead of schedule and could well be available for Windows Vista next year, rather than not ready until Longhorn Server is released in 2007 as previously believed. WWF will also be made available for Windows XP... (Read More)

Sep 15th, 2005 - Recently, the video games industry has been subject of more scrutiny than ever before. Pressure is mounting which threatens innovation within and surrounding the industry, yet 'rogue' games developer Rockstar Games, the catalyst for much of the negative opinion, continues to thumb it's nose at... (Read More)

Sep 12th, 2005 - Things don’t get easier, do they? Windows ‘prophet’ Paul Thurrot suggests that there are going to be no less than seven different versions of Windows Vista! Vista will be offered in ‘Home’ and ‘Business’ varieties, with three ‘Home’ versions and four ‘Business’ versions: Windows Vista Home ... (Read More)

Sep 7th, 2005 - Struggling to understand what all the SLI and Crossfire hubbub is about? Care to have it explained in plain English? Read on, because here’s your chance. Display card basics The display card is, quite simply, another computer all of its own. The main processor and system memory in your... (Read More)

Sep 5th, 2005 - A new virus has been found and it is targetting all you porn purveyors out there! The trojan named Yusufali-A seeks to help, not harm people by interrupting their depraved activity. On an infected system, window titles are scanned for keywords such as: sex teen xx Phallus jegger Priapus (Read More)

Sep 5th, 2005 - Nigel Page, strategist for Microsoft Australia, has clarified the hardware needs for effectively running the upcoming Windows Vista. Speaking at Microsoft’s TechEd conference, he indicated the following in response to questions asked. Vista, we are told, is much more graphics focused. There... (Read More)

Sep 4th, 2005 - Nikon seems poised to be the first company to bring 'cordless' digital still cameras to consumers, it seems. The Coolpix P1 and Coolpix P2 cameras will use 802.11 Wi-Fi technology to transfer images to your PC or printer. The cameras are due to arrive in retail later in September. The 8... (Read More)

Sep 3rd, 2005 - A little discussed feature of the upcoming Windows Vista is called 'Freeze Dry', and it's sure to be a blessing for all of us who leave our PCs running rather than shutting everything down when we move away from the keyboard. Have you ever come back only to find that an update has rebooted the... (Read More)

Sep 3rd, 2005 - The next version of Microsoft's graphics API DirectX will definitely be different to its predecessors. To be included in the upcoming Windows Vista, DirectX 10 will be the programming interface previously called Windows Graphics Foundation by its developers. Those people who follow... (Read More)

Sep 1st, 2005 - Popular file compression program WinZip is soon to be available in a new and improved version. Gone is the nag screen fin comes a new 'Professional' version with added automation features. That's right. Two versions! The new 'Standard' version of WinZip has no nag screen, and also has a new... (Read More)

Aug 31st, 2005 - In between Service Packs a lot of 'Hotfix' updates are developed and made available. A number of them get made available via Windows Update as Critical updates because they relate to security issues, but most don't. Instead, the 'Hotfixes' which relate to specific problems get mentioned or... (Read More)

Aug 30th, 2005 - When the words fail In the aftermath of this natural disaster surely even the most staid and conservative amongst us are beginning to see the inadequacy of the terms which litter media reporting. "LOOTERS!" scream the headlines, yet when we read the text we see images of people desperate to get... (Read More)

Aug 30th, 2005 - Alternative Web browser Opera is celebrating 10 years of existence in grand style. Pay a visit now to the MyOpera Community while the party lasts to join the revelry and obtain free online registration which will convert the popular browser to the full, advertising free product. A full featured... (Read More)

Aug 29th, 2005 - Many people dismissed the promised next generation Windows Filing System when it was announced in August last year that the feature would not be included in Windows Vista as previously suggested. But it seems that WinFS is very much back on the agenda, and we can expect to hear from Microsoft... (Read More)

Aug 29th, 2005 - The BBC’s Director General Mark Thompson has announced plans to introduce a BBCPlayer service, which will enable viewers to download and play seven days of programs, and also to simulcast one of the BBC channels. The simulcast will only be made available to UK viewers. It is quite likely that... (Read More)

Aug 26th, 2005 - The search engine specialists have been the subject of a fair bit of attention over recent days but this story takes the cake for sure. US men's magazine 'Perfect 10' is suing Google, claiming that the company is not really performing a search service at all. Instead, they claim, Google is... (Read More)

Aug 25th, 2005 - " In only two days, the company has already completely reshaped the IT community’s perspective of the company. ‘Tis amazing." writes DaniWeb 'newsie' Danny. Does that mean we should flock to use the new products? Perhaps not. I've been trialling the Version 2 (beta) of Google Desktop for a... (Read More)

Aug 22nd, 2005 - “Can I have that in English, please?� could well have been the reaction of those pondering a dual-core processor purchase on reading my previous article. In this follow-up we’ll explore a bit more closely the situation confronting programmers when dual or multi-core processors are introduced into... (Read More)

Aug 17th, 2005 - Since the Electronic Entertainment Expo held in May this year we’ve heard increasing levels of concern about the capabilities of multi-cored processors to be included in soon to be released game consoles. Now PC hardware developers are raising concerns about the multi-cored processors included in... (Read More)

Aug 16th, 2005 - For many people, the trend in desk décor recently has been to reclaim the desk space. Flat panel monitors and small form factor cases or the placement of the system unit down off the desk top has given us room to spread all the paper computers were intended to eliminate. But it seems the change... (Read More)

Aug 12th, 2005 - In my previous article on this topic I made mention that.... It is unfortunate that much of the recent debate has concentrated on sexual content in games rather than the increasingly realistic violence to be found in some games which are targeted towards younger gamers. It is unfortunate that... (Read More)

Aug 12th, 2005 - The battles between Microsoft and Google have been widely discussed, and recently hit the courts again when Microsoft claimed that Google had unlawfully lured Kai-Fu Lee to work for them. The defection, Microsoft claimed, was in violation of a ‘non-compete’ clause which was included in Lee’s... (Read More)

Aug 10th, 2005 - Rockstar Games has released a game patch to counter the problemattic 'Hot Coffee' mod which landed them in hot water! The version 1.01 patch not only corrects a few game bugs, it also adds display options to suit its use on HD display devices and completely disables the 'locked' offensive... (Read More)

Aug 9th, 2005 - Only a couple of weeks have passed since Microsoft announced that its 'Windows Genuine Advantage' program had been put in place and was in effect. Already, Microsoft has bowed to the pressure of 'hackers' and admitted it is shirt of adequacy. According to a statement made to the Fairfax... (Read More)

Aug 7th, 2005 - Hardware development is starting to throw up new technologies to us as the arrival of Windows Vista draws closer. The next ‘shake-up’ is in the area of integrated graphics. High definition media content is the spur, and current solutions simply don’t handle it. Only a small number of high end,... (Read More)

Sep 15th, 2005 - Windows Workflow Foundation, Microsoft's framework for managing workflow, is reportedly ahead of schedule and could well be available for Windows Vista next year, rather than not ready until Longhorn Server is released in 2007 as previously believed. WWF will also be made available for Windows XP... (Read More)