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This article reports that digital video cameras have been a hot item for a few years now. They have become commonplace, but what's the point of capturing footage if you can't easily edit it? APC Labs has taken four high-end video editing suites and five more basic applications and put them under the microscope. Flexibility is the main difference between high- and low-end software. High-end suites aren't locked in to using a single video track, and separate video and audio threads can be woven together to create different effects and transitions. One of the more compelling reasons to shell out over $1,000 when there are free suites available is licensing. The more expensive packages include fully licensed versions of the MPEG and AC-3 codecs, allowing retail sale of video in this format. Background rendering makes video editing easier. Waiting for a clip to render when you're making a final preview or master is usually slow. Background rendering takes footage that isn't being worked on, renders it using idle CPU cycles, then reassembles it. This reduces the wait when you click the render button at the end of editing.

This article focuses on Microsoft Xbox, a media playback device. The user can play halo on it although some would say that's a reason to avoid it. Able to be converted to a more useful media playback device with some subtle hardware and software changes. It's still available brand new with a warranty. forking out US$ 100 for a lame game is a definite risk One can't get SpeedBall II. Xbox games typically have a 10 to 30 hour play time, whereas months of your life can be wasted playing Super Pong.

This article focuses on Sony PlayStation 2, a digital game to be played on computer. One can experience a ram-raid without getting arrested. Around 1,000 other games to keep one occupied. A full range of add-ons, such as steering wheels, microphones, cameras and plastic weaponry adds a little interest. a plastic box and USB, a computer bus Webcam reveal just how "groovy" ones singing and dancing are. Reliability issues plagued earlier versions, yet APC's Corp., pet Atari 2600, a computer game is still going strong almost 20 years on.

This article reports that it is not necessary to buy an old console or computer to relive those great moments in gaming. Many platforms have been emulated by fans to resurrect machines of a bygone era. Among the most popular platforms are the Atari with z26 for Windows and Linux and PC Atari. For Amiga emulation, UAE is king. Linux version is available at Windows port at www.winuae.com. The Spectrum is represented by the very professional Spectaculator for Windows. A demo version is free, while a full version costs US$ 27.99.

This article reports on Sinclair ZX Spectrum, an electronic device. It contains classic games, including Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy and Battlefield, make the Sinclair ZX Spectrum hard to go past for retro gaming action. The rubber keys may have been difficult to type on, but the availability of 9-pin Kempston adaptors and joysticks made for frantic gameplay. Hugely popular in the UK, these vintage machines blow the Commodore 64 out of the water for classic cool. unfortunately, the ZX wasn't very durable, with most early units suffering the same problem: one chip on its motherboard regularly gave up the ghost.

This article reports on Atari 2600, a master computer. The unit is sleek black wedge case, a super-powered 1.19MHz 6507 CPU and a whopping 4KB of Random Access Memory. It is combined with the" Stella" 16 color video chipset, the Atari 2600 was a masterpiece of gaming goodness. Super Pong, Pitfall, Ghostbusters, Kung-Fu Master, California Games... Shipped with two paddles and two joysticks that kept the wrists of an entire generation supple. cartridge-based systems just love the dust.

This article reports stereo sound spectator, a blue ant bluetooth stereo headphones. The article analyzes that these Blue Ant stereo headphones cram all four functions of bluetooth headset of mobile, a mic for PC-based voice over IP, headphones for PC gaming and a 128MB flash music into one device, although at a comparable price. A Bluetooth USB, a computer bus dongle and two rechargeable battery packs are supplied, so one needn't stop listening while a battery is recharging. The user does have to switch manually between phone mobile headset and wireless headphone mode, though.

This article focuses on Amiga 500, a home computer. It has been declared home computer of the Year 1991. Its powerhouse 7.14MHz Motorola 68000 microprocessor supported games that still hold up today, with advanced graphics for its time, and four channel sample-based music. Satisfy ones blood lust with the violent SpeedBall II, while Xenon II Megablast is Space Invaders on steroids and Super Twintris is the best Tetris game ever. And if user searches Google, an Internet search engine for Amiga games he can find hundreds more retro-tastic titles for the platform. Workbench is a pathetic operating system. Most of the games are booted directly from disk.

This article reports on Panasonic NV-GS400, a ultra-clear and crisp video and stills at 4 megapixels. It can take stills while recording video, albeit at a lower resolution. It contains Big 3 Sin display which means less squinting. Swanky Leica Dicomar lens for the optics toffs. Wide-screen mode lops the top and bottom off the image.

This article reports on quality happy snap moments with 3.3 megapixel video and stills from Sony Corp.. Nice touchscreen viewfinder with menu and review functions. It comes with USB, a computer bus docking station, video and power connections. It is slow to focus, especially at higher zoom levels. Only gets 10 still pictures on the supplied 16MB Memory Stick at high resolution. Details of the product is available on www.canon.com. It is priced at US $ 2,399.

This article focuses on Canon MVX35i, a digital camera. Digital video cameras aren't just for video anymore. The author seeks to analyze at three that add high-res still photos to the mix. " Network" mode enables video conferencing via Messenger. Compact battery, which are used in the camera means 75 minute life span. Can't extract video to PC via the USB 2.0 connector. Supplied 8MB SD card isn't large enough.

The article presents guidelines for purchasing of multifunctional computer devices. Purchasing a separate printer, photocopier, scanner and fax machine can cost you thousands of dollars. If there's one clear trend that's emerged in the last decade of computing, it's the move towards converged devices. As such, for small business, home offices and single users wishing to reduce the number of peripherals attached to their personal computers, the multifunction device revolution has proved a godsend. All units in this roundup are capable photo printers, combined with a high-resolution scanner and copying functions. The employment of a high-resolution color reproduction test target image from Photodisc Inc, incorporating color tables from Kodak Co. and a huge number of objects with varying textures and shades, will give any printer a thorough workout. The challenge in choosing a multifunction device lies in balancing requirements for the different functions available, and weighing the ongoing cost of printing against the initial price of the machine Testing multifunction devices entails assessing a range of technologies.

The article focuses on the popularity of MP3 players for personal music on the go. The Apple iPod is synonymous with MP3 players. Not only was it the first hard drive player on the market, its small size, neat design and easy control quickly ensured its popularity. However, a number of companies are now pushing the iPod for the hard drive player pole position. At the top end of this market, devices are mobile entertainment units rather than just places to store your music collection. Digital Rights Management is a hot issue with portable players. A number of players on the market include built-in FM radio tuners, and a few allow recording from the FM tuner for later playback.

The article focuses on laser printers which offer quality and speed advantages over ink and wax-based printers. Though colour models can be pricey, both in initial outlay and replacement toner costs, monochrome laser printers offer the best value for money for high throughput printing. With the price of smaller laser printers and consumables continuing to fall, more small businesses and home offices are switching to laser to gain the benefits of cheaper per page costs and higher quality text output. Compared with the running costs of inkjet printers, the price per page for lasers is much lower.

This article presents information about PowerShot A75, a camera. There are places — the bush, the beach, the Bronx — where you want to take photos but don't want to take a $2,000 digital camera. Nick Race looks at three high quality sub-$500 alternatives. Plenty of vibrant colour; you'll think you're in the Bahamas!

This article presents information about computer software game. Opening a beer and settling in behind the wheel for some fast driving is the ultimate thrill. But only in the safety of your home, of course. Nick Race takes three rival steering wheels for a spin.

Evaluates the Shuttle XP17 LCD monitor from Shuttle Inc. Design of the monitor; Features of the product; Utility of the monitor; Components of the monitor.

Choosing a desktop computer to suit a small business or corporate environment is a difficult task The business desktop space is very competitive, with manufacturers battling tooth and nail to win large contracts. And no wonder when corporate rollouts can make or break a system provider. This article focuses on PCs that offer a balance of value and performance. The latter is a subjective term, and business users measure performance using a slightly different yardstick to home users — the most important factor is worker productivity. The criteria for selecting business desktops varies from buyer to buyer, but the following considerations remain universal. The warranty is of crucial concern to business buyers and it pays to closely study the terms and conditions offered by each company. Downtime winds up on the bottom line, so it's imperative to keep machines running. Some systems ship with management software that saves administrators from manually updating each machine with patches, virus updates and other upgrades. Systems which enable a hard disk image to be remotely deployed over a network, so an administrator can manipulate a client machine without leaving their office, are also very useful. INSET: How we tested.

Reviews FileSphere Professional 2004 document management software from Filesphere.

Evaluates ATI Radeon X800 computer hardware video card, from ATI Corp. Features of the video card; Major components of the video card; Software supported by the video card.

DVD writers are getting faster and more reliable while supporting an increasing number of formats. Most of the new generation of 8x DVD writers support all the DVD standards available. DVD-R and -RW is championed by the DVD Forum and offers wide support for playback in standalone DVD players. The DVD+ R and+ RW standards were created in competition to DVD-R/RW by the DVD+ RW Alliance, to create a more robust and typical DVD-Video. The DVD Forum also maintains the DVD-RAM standard. Acting less like a CD or DVD than a slow, removable hard disk, DVD-RAM is not as popular as DVD+ RW or DVD-RW. Historically, DVD+ and DVD-have been fighting for dominance in the DVD writing market. DVD-RAM offers the benefit of being a Random Access Memory storage device, as the name suggests. This means data can be written on any blank part of the disk, similar to the way a hard disk drive or system RAM stores data. The differences between the units became apparent when running through a set of standard DVD and CD benchmarking tests using Ahead Corporation's Nero CD-DVD Speed application. INSET: How we tested.

Wireless networking has become increasingly popular in both offices and homes. With the growing interest in wireless "hot spot" access in coffee shops, libraries and other public places, an increasing number of networking product manufacturers have been working hard on their next set of 802.11g wireless access points. The 802.11b standard was the first to market, offering 11Mbit/s transfers over a "long distance" The 802.11g standard also added a new security feature, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). WPA is a constantly changing key that prevents wireless snoopers breaking into a network by monitoring traffic and decoding the Wired Equivalent Privacy key.

Evaluates the MP3 media player S-Media CoCoPod, from S-Media. Features of the player; Size of the hard drive, used in the player; Methods used to create and edit playlists on the player.

The VPC-1000 Multimedia Hub is a surprisingly good mix of standalone stereo, DVD-ROM and audio processor designed for the lounge room PC crowd. Functioning as a standard DVD drive when the PC is turned on and a stereo while the PC is off, a flip-down fascia hides the DVD-ROM tray with a four-colour vacuum fluorescent display. The comprehensive remote controls CD/MP3 playback, sound processing adjustment and track programming. At the rear of the unit one can find 3.5mm connectors for audio in/out, a socket for the supplied 12V power pack and a connector for a thin wire radio aerial. The VPC Hub is installed in a 5.25in drive bay, connected to the PC's IDE bus. A ribbon cable and standard Molex connector power the unit, but as the current flows from the 12V adaptor, the drive can run with the computer switched off. The VPC-1000 Multimedia Hub is well-designed, without any major drawbacks. The 128Kbit/s limit for MP3s is the only complaint, but the WOW and TruBass technologies compensate sufficiently.

Personal computers' (PC) are becoming increasingly popular in living rooms, right next to DVD players and VCRs. Hauppauge has responded to the trend by developing a multimedia player that delivers PC-based video and music without keyboards and mice. The MediaMVP is a standalone unit designed to plug into the home, or business, network and play music, video and show pictures through the AV setup, with a PC running Windows 2000 or XP acting as a server. The MVP runs a Linux-based embedded system and specialised hardware which decodes the video and audio data from digital, the network, into an analog signal for the TV. Video output on the MVP box is via composite or S-Video, and audio via stereo RCA cables. The video playback of MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 files is almost flawless. Cheaper than the most basic computers and without the nuisance of fan noise and keyboard/mouse control, the MVP is a great home entertainment device that could also be useful in schools or offices to serve video-or audio-based material.

The article presents information related to the DVD X Copy, a DVD management and backup software from 321 Studios LLC. 321 Studios' DVD X Copy family of products is like an insurance policy for your DVD collection, enabling quick and simple backups to cheap DVD discs. The movie studios fired back with a cross-claim seeking a permanent injunction to prevent 321 Studios from selling DVD X Copy. Three software packages that make up the range as Xpress, Gold and Platinum, are differentiated by the tasks they can perform and the method used for fitting a full-length movie onto a normal disc.

One of the leaders in third-party Flash applications has brought to market a solid contender to the Flash MX-creation throne. SWiSHmax combines usability with a powerful new scripting language, allowing developers to bring new interactivity to their web content. The scripting language developed by SWiSHzone brings a new element, letting you create complex objects in Flash movies and making games and interesting menu systems a cinch for those with programming or scripting experience. The Flash projector executable creates a movie that will run on a Windows computer as a standalone application, making the distribution of a presentation simple. The software runs quite smoothly on a Pentium 4-class machine with 256MB of memory, though the minimum specification of a Pentium II with 64MB of memory could be a little ambitious, as Flash effects quickly tax a processor both in creation and playback. SWiSHzone has released a solid, feature-packed program that will appeal to beginners and Flash developers alike.