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The article evaluates several high definition (Hi-Def) televisions and Blu-ray players including the 40-inch 6 Series LA40B650 television from Samsung Group, the 40-inch Bravia 40V5500 television from Sony Corp., and the BD370 Blu-ray player from LG Electronics.

The article evaluates several portable laptops, HP Pavilion dv2 from Hewlett-Packard Co., Thinkpad X301 from Lenovo Group Ltd., and Sony Viao Z36GNB from Sony Corp.

The article evaluates several multimedia-enabled notebooks including HP Pavilion DV7 from Hewlett-Packard Co., the Thinkpad SL500 from Lenovo Group Ltd., and the VAIO VGNAW15GH from Sony Corp.

The article evaluates several in-car global positioning systems (GPS), including Go 930 from TomTom NV, S200 from Navman Wireless and Nuvi 265W from Garmin Corp.

The article evaluates several motherboards and video cards including the TPower 145 from Biostar, Radeon 4870 from ATI Technology Inc. and the GeForce 260GTX from MSI Corp.

The article evaluates several multimedia players including the Apple TV, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3 and Emprex MR1H.

The article evaluates several laptops including the Asus U6SG, Lenovo ThinkPad X300, Toshiba Portege R500 and Dell XPS 1330.

The article presents a discussion on high-definition television. The author discusses the future of televisions and the launch of the television platform Freeview HD which will provide improved picture quality and more channels for viewers. The author also describes the services of broadcasting companies for the Freeview platform.

The article provides a comparison between several global positioning system units, including the Navman S30, the TomTom One XL, and the Garmin Nuvi250.

The article evaluates several projectors, including the Panasonic P1SD business projector, the ViewSonic PJ658 business projector, and the JVC DLA-HD1 home projector. INSET: SHOPPING TIPS FOR HOME THEATRE PROJECTORS..

The article offers a guideline to consumers in New Zealand on choosing between the competing high-definition formats, Blu-ray and HD-DVD. It is pointed out that both technologies are still expensive, even for those who plan to add a Blu-ray or HD-DVD drive to a PC or a home theater PC. It is also pointed out that current DVD burners will continue to be dominant in the optical/removable storage market until 2011.

The article evaluates several MP3 players, including Creative Zen's Vision M, Apple iPod Nano, and Sony NW-A800 MP3 Walkman.

The article presents an overview of LCD screens for personal computers which are available in New Zealand. Included are: Dell's 1907FPT 4:3 model with a price tag of $649; LG's L194W flat screen with a price tag of $466; and Hewlett-Packard's W1907 flat screen with a shiny black and silver two-tone finish and a price tag of $599.

The article highlights the Core 2 Duo dual-core processors from Intel. According to the author, benchmark tests have shown that the Intel chips are faster and more energy efficient than their AMD equivalents. The chips are built on Intel's 65 nanometer technology which allows more transistors to be squeezed onto a wafer of silicon, thus reducing manufacturing costs and increasing processing power.

The article offers tips and information on how to purchase and install a new personal computer.

The article features several notebook computers. The A6B00U notebook from Asus, has a 40GB hard drive which provides a reasonable amount of storage capabilities. Vaio VGN-FJ56G notebook has one year warranty service from Sony Corp. Satellite M50 notebook from Toshiba Corp., has a 14-inch widescreen display.

The article presents the characteristics and roundup of the best equipped PCs on the market of today. Though high performance PCs and workstation does not come cheap, these cutting-edge technology will become affordable in a matter of time. System builders replace the ACP and PCI slots used for graphic cards with higher-bandwidth PCI Express slots.

Introduces several different models of laptop computers. Features of the computers; Dimensions and video RAM capability; Retail price.

Evaluates various flat-screen computer monitors. Features of the AOC LM925 monitor manufactured by AOC Monitors; Details of the LG Flatron L1930SQ from LG Electronics Inc.; Performance of the HP Pavilion F1903 from Hewlett-Packard Co.

Evaluates several notebook computers. Comparison of key features and specifications; Key applications; Manufacturer information. INSETS: EDITOR'S CHOICE by Scott Bartley.;ANATOMY OF AN ULTRAPORTABLE..

Evaluates several graphics boards. Performance; Price; Bundled software; Cooling capabilities; Albatron GF6800 AGP; GeCube Radeon X800XL PCIE; Asus AX800XT AGP; MSI Radeon X700 Pro PCIE.

Features several flat panel displays. AOC LM929; HP Pavilion F1903; Hyundai ImageQuest L90D.

Evaluates personal computers that were assembled in New Zealand. Computer Direct; Insite Technology; JDI; Quay Computers; TMC; TL Systems; Ultra Intel; Ultra AMD; Prices; General benchmarks.

Focuses on conversion of video tapes into DVDs. Video editing and DVD authoring software packages; Tips on the selection of a digital camcorder; Editing and authorship techniques; Top four DVD drives. INSETS: HOW TO CHOOSE A DIGITAL CAMCORDER.;STEP 1: IMPORT.;STEP 2: EDIT & AUTHOR.;STEP 3: WRITE.

Features several digital cameras. Price of the Photosmart 720 from Hewlett-Packard; Design of the Nikon CoolPix 3100; Specification of the Sony CyberShot P72. INSET: NEW SENSOR TECHNOLOGY..

Presents selecting and installing wireless networking devices. Importance of using the random numerical codes to identify the standards; Assessment on the links and capabilities of the devices; Compatibility with internet connections and other electronic devices. INSETS: ANSWERS TO COMMON NETWORK PROBLEMS.;HOOK UP YOUR SOUND AND VIDEO.;802.11 ALPHABET SOUP by Dennis O'Reill..

Evaluates peer-to-peer applications with file sharing programs. Kazaa Media Desktop 2.02; Kazaa Lite; Direct Connect; Grokster. INSETS: KNOW YOUR SPYWARE.;RISKY BUSINESS..

Provides an overview on the Internet service provider (ISP), Xtra's dial-up Internet connection operation and equipment. ISP modems; Customer access routers; Duelling routers; Speeding up of web pafe delivery through the cacheflow.

Provides guidelines on developing a wireless home network. Numbering scheme used by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers; Main components of a wireless network; Types of network; Universal Serial Bus (USB) wireless adaptors; Accton Cheetah EW 3001.

Surveys the services offered by various Internet service providers in New Zealand. Details of the Internet penetration levels; Popularity of the service provider Xtra; Prevalence of consolidation activities within the internet industry. INSET: ISP CONNECTION PLANS..

Focuses on the viability of home video capturing and editing. Specifications a range of video capture and editing software tools; Chart depicting the comparative ranking of the software tools; Focus on the Ulead VideoStudio 6 and the Pinnacle Studio 7. INSETS: EDITORS' CHOICE.;FINDING THE BEST TOOLS.;WHAT FORMAT DO YOU WANT?;PRODUCT CONTACTS.

Focuses on the quality of the Windows XP operating system. Strategy of Microsoft in bridging the compatibility gap between Windows XP and drivers; Upgrade experiences of users with Windows XP; Advantages of Windows XP. INSETS: WINDOWS XP: XPECT HASSLES.;YOUR THOUGHTS ON WIN XP..

Evaluates several digital video cameras. Sony's DCR-PC110e; Canon's MV 4301; Panasonic NV-DS38. INSET: FROM CAMERA TO PC..

Evaluates various Internet content filtering software that can keep children safe online. CyberPatrol; NetNanny; CyberSitter2000; Keyword blocking; Usage scheduling; Multiple users; Activity logging; Chat blocking. INSETS: CHILD FRIENDLY ISPS?;ONLINE SURVEILLANCE..

The article evaluates the Apple iPhone 3G from Vodafone.

The article addresses issues concerning the new Phenom processors and Spider platform for desktop system from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) in New Zealand. It reveals that the new AMD's processors have a lot of work to do after it was tested in the laboratory. Moreover, it is cited that AMD has focused the media's attention on its graphics board and chip set technologies in order to regain the performance of its processors.

The article highlights the top digital music players offered in the market. The author has chosen Creative Zen Vision-M 30GB, Apple iPod 80GB and the Sony PSP as the top three digital devices available commercially. The author also enumerates the factors that should be considered by consumers before purchasing a digital music player.

The article evaluates the Core 2 Duo CPU from Intel Corp.

Introduces the Mac OS X version 10.4, a computer operating system manufactured by Apple Computer Inc. Features of the operating system; Performance application; Retail price.

Suggests approaches in upgrading microcomputers. Importance of budget limitation in upgrades; Significance of the random access memory capacity; Enumeration of other considerations in upgrading microcomputers.

Provides guidelines in installing a small home and office network in New Zealand. Description of cross-over cable network; Details on the hub based network; Use of DSL router in installing a networking; Presentations of hardware and devices used for networking installation. INSET: DO-IT-YOURSELF OFFICE NETWORK..

The article evaluates several digital television recorders including Zinwell ZMT-640PVR Freeview Ltd. JC Matthew DVR-320T from JC Matthew Inc. and Magic TV MTV3600TD from Pixel Magic Systems Ltd.

The article evaluates the personal video recorder TiVo from TiVo Inc.

The article evaluates the Panasonic DMR-BW850 video equipment from Panasonic Corp.

The article evaluates the new Adamo series of electronic notebook from Dell Computer Corp.

The article evaluates the TomTom Go 730 global positioning system (GPS) from TomTom NV.

The article evaluates the HTC Magic smartphone from HTC Corp.

The article offers tips on how to create a home theater personal computer. It includes the proper choice for computer cases, particularly considering the amount of space allocated for the power supply. Another, it suggests that when buying a motherboard, it should match also the choice of central processing unit. Also, it recommends that when purchasing a video card, one should look for those that supports H.264 hardware acceleration and has an HDMI socket.

The article provides information on how to build a home theater personal computer (HTPC). It discusses the considerations to be made in choosing mediums that can be integrated to HTPC. It notes the digital rights management (DRM) schemes of content makers including high-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP). It states that electronic program guides (EPGs) are difficult to integrate in HTPC and suggests the use of Xbox 360.

The article evaluates the GeForce GTX 295 video card from Nvidia Corp.