[| eS roundup | BT | ie The technology lifestyle magazine ENTERI THIN INE jae 8 gAEIAT a Te SECULooking for the Best\Value in Internet Access? Dial-Up Access Aes Special! ERE Look No Further! Residential DSL Access Pe LR EE ILe Ue TT RRS 201, Aleta (Ror eta Ine. All Rights Reserved. Pri Cr | d | 416-385-0459 http://www. ce ca OnLine Serving the GTA shies i Ee TeE a)Reto uae GE Seed Bright: vibnant cisplaye-with enethird the weight end footprint of typical picture tube moriters. As a leading developer and manufacturer of active matri« TFTH.CO monitars, LG Electronics 1s riot only aé the height of newer and greater display tachnology, also brings efficiency in design, performance “and” rellabily. LGFLATRON.LED:.. for bottor viewing experiance at your workstation. Find out mare at ww. fstron.com nt) eae [fe elslisblen GO, 22, 18, 17 and 15 inch soneen Sizes! = ‘reedom of mind eRe ee @ LG \22ee0u TSS0LGCANADA Digitally yoursC-0-n ft ec Features 1“ 2 2 36 a The PC emerges as a 3“ home entertainment server Home theatre audio on the cheap 3s Turing students into info scavengers Text messages come to car radios 37 Good times at Mac love-in Macworld post-show report 38 Multi-egion DVO players ‘open up a word of movies Reviews Seeess t Frivolous, fur and just beter ‘A cacophony of convergence at CES Moving from paper to Palm See Stuffing Windows Locking the vitual front door FashDio offers secure storage oronto CreativeTech Musical Odyssey: Bang the drum electronically ‘Adventures in digital video: Golden rules and mean screens Digital Words: Adobe POF and a printer's paradise Digital Shots: Figuring out fash page 54 for details on a new Photo Spree Assignment. Enter our annual al Design Contest. See page 62 for details. n tis R 6 8 10 a" a ” 4s a7 «2 c 50 s 52 3 54 55 56 egulars Letter, News Briefs New Products Kids: Baby Einstein comes to the PC Kids: Kidproot your computer fles ‘The World is My Cubicle by Alan Thwaits Let's Line by Kevin Linelé Mac Chronicles by wayne R. Brown Profle: Josh Avery yberplay cyber Fink airing heeven fatten fe port eine Take on Tiger in PCA Tur 2003 Gamn Onl by Mare Salen Do you hve Need for Seed? Sate at Procyon continues adventures of jim Hawkins ‘At Play by Sharlene Myers PC gaming: What's coming computes !Pena) We can take you where you want to be, ia | Sympatico) sie High Sp ite Denna ena aida Se et ae Mee AML Leer ACL first month’ | 1 month of MUSICMATCH Mx service | Visit www.bellsympatico.ca/gotast erat ert CORR Lee ee asyou are ike me, there i a ton of technological fotsam and jetsam in you life Teemology has a way of advancing ‘and leaving alot of debris in its wake “This editorial column i Inspired by the desth of my Mac Plus. The face tt i ved so long a wonder The fact that Teare is another one. like the orginal Macintosh shape It thas this classic industrial ook that not surpassed ~ even hy the ubiquitous ia, The orignal Mac looked grea with, its boxy shape and tiny Back and white screen 1s the display that has bought the fam, The monitor on those Macs was always the Achilles heel My monitor lasted 4 Tong time but Rally packed it nm looking a with its external 120 MB hard drive, and think to myself that its the end haven’ used it for along wil, so 1 won" miss in terms of productivity. However, ther isthe sentimental 'y. Told on to thewe machines even though they ae slsolutly useless. [sll have every computer Ihave had but | one My brother has 2.350 Miz PC that I bought when 2350 Mis was fst) My Amiga 1000 sits forlorn in my mom's basement Right next to itis the 386 PC, with 4 (MB of memory, which as had some pars cannibaieed the Floppy deve and hard disk are missing, Ona shel above these two computer eis is my old 286 laptop ~ my computer ‘mainstay through thie yeas of travel. The hard ive refs to \ bootup and I have not goten ire payments: More Canadian options ‘Be: Smal sins sil waiting for ‘micro-paymeat systems, TC January In your informative and cal ike ‘on micro-payment for small busines YoU mise one of dhe best (in my opin fon) provides namely lntemet Secure (ow: iternetecur com) Ta Canadian company providing wo its member-bisineses the ability. accep! online payments via the major ‘ret cads i ether Canadian or US {olla for anyother satrency, without eulngs customers wo esas titonal count such “wallets” Is rit ca dicount rates eompar De to the rates banks veto tees rd tong were Ltn ne pe gece eae met i p sae opt es {poate erates compo pen ‘Sree mst ya lane an rmember-merchant hs been very post tive A case for responsible upgrades ‘es Entry-level Nat panels, TC! Jnr. In your article about fist nel displays Dave Chapelle makes a food arguetent for making the upgrade from a cathode ray tube (CRT] monloe toa more ace and enegy efficent liquid crystal display (LCD) model However is important for your readers Yo note that in making the parade, something has to be done wit the outdated CRT monitor: Ire can “Wade fora case of bever= So much the beter ing round o fixing it~ there ae some important files on the hard drive. think. At my place of abode {have my old Mac Pi, whose seen just died, and a Mac Powerbook: whose battery won't hold 3 charge ‘The Mae Powerbook’s sree sae is nearly the same size 2 the one on the Mac Plus If would be nce tobe able to sab the one fom the Poweook and put i into the Mac Ps, but they are nat compatible with each other. {was ‘thinking of emptying the gus of the Mac Pls and fiting the Fowetbooks guts Into the Mac Pus ease, but ae play- ing with my Powerbook, after years of neglect, | realized ‘that eing a pre-Power PC Mac, itis not very good for any- thing that I would want to do ~ it won' play MP3s or Don't be confused ~ 1 have leading-edge tu tht I use to test mew software and peripherals. els just that | have never disposed of any obsolete equipment. Ive always believed that lean somehow make wse ofthese absclete eis of technology. own tee dot-matrix printers for eying out Joud. 1st have hope for dhe The death of my Mac Pus's monltor has changed my sti- tue, Im not going to esp any ofthese technological cadavers around me any more, If you watt the Amiga 1000, Atop me a line. The 386 PC is going tothe recycling bin “The 286 lptop will have one last shot of redemption just 0 set the les that may or mey not be there, before ft heads to recycling as well The Mac Pls’ case wil be converted to speaker for my sireo once a similar cze I found. The Mac Powerbook wll hang around for ite bit longer ~ for en {imental reson, Nesor Gls cn beaded byemaingnestaipa ‘some sort of ress, arrangements have {o be made for proper dass! a the monitor and the hazardous mtr I Contains ost notably, between sever Sd oite pours cf fad fa Your sn ‘ard 15-inch CRT Teaving 3 monitor o languish land isnot st option, Rat, ade ce shoul seek out proper dsosal outes, though this wil sal cost the eon geting rid of the monitor, as fhe covered materials dont cover the est of groper disposal Please ak yout reader on just dump thelr outdated is tonto {elevisin oF oterwise) bt to arange for proper and les hari dspost George Artemenis Themes Anno For his leer thls month, George Artemenis wins a copy of No One Lies Forever 2° Spy In LACM Way. NOLE2 is the sequel tothe award-winning, The Operative: No One Lives Forever ad continues the story of Cate Archer fs she oes up against ILA.RA! minions Players must ely on stealth and wits and occa sionally sheer brute force to aver a muclear holocaust ny | i 1 eet ene Pesce terme Sane Rates mie seer Mi ceetiatny elena, eee on 0WE MAKE At Pathway Communications, we work hard to ensure that downloads, ever. When you sign on with Pathway, you your connection is always up and that you have access to receive affordable and reliable service with prompt, your vital information all day, every day. And, unlike some friendly, and knowledgeable technical support whenever ‘other providers, there are no extra charges or limits to you need it. Guaranteed! a DIAL-UP INTERNET SERVICES i ron nore permenth PLANT 50 PLAN 1 (Fail 10 PCM ley SaaS melas Ua ee nore Paras ment Reet control, - all for only $34.95 Pau 150, ‘nl FOR ro TST SS) WEB & EMAIL HOSTING POR os Wes nail Monthly Ee ee Space Aidresses Fes Rear S Cy aoe $1985 cnt See cg Oar errr a i OL Reed 1995 d ete Ce ee Cea en oreo een) PR CPS Che eynNewsSbriefs By ANDREW MOORE-CRISPIN. levy increase wil hiner Independent A not-for-profit organization called bands using. CD-R I approved, the the deal, but those willing to speak to current levy of the news media that h we been Bitzing $1.23 on MiniDisc the town since the sale was announced the Canadian Coalton for Fair Digtal_and ther media to and.CD-R audio wil have been generally happy about the Aces (CCFDA, a wae) setting dstibute ther Increase 60. per sale, saying changes tothe town could ite up to oppose the proposed hike in music and will only ‘cent, the $.29 the only realy be postive ven It cument the levy on recordable met Benefit established € collects on dlapiation The CCFDA isa coalition of Canadian Canadian musicians audio casetes wil ‘The sale included pretty well every retiers including Del, Staples Business like the oft mae Increase 107 per thing in the town withthe exception of Depot, Radio Shack, Intel and Wal-Mart examples of Cline sent and CD-R. the roads and school, which are owned (Canada, among ther, Dion and Bryan media will have by the state s well asthe town bridge The Curent levy & applicd to CD>, Adams, another 181 per which has heen declared national his recordable media and asete tapes, “Performers and ent added to the toric ste with the money collected theoretically other copysght, Current $.21" per The bidding topped out at going to recording artists and record older shoul be Ase levy USS1,777.87, more than double the ‘companies to compensate them forpir- compensate. fay ‘minimum asking price of USS750,000. Y oftheir intelectual propery forthel work.” said For sale: Small No information is avaiable on the Asitstands, the CPCC has callectedin Diane Brscbolg California town winning bidder at time of writing, and | excess of $2 milion which has yet tobe president "of the While eal estate © the sellers, a brother and sister team, Aispersed and sil sis inthe collectives Retail Council of sales on eBay are would be advised not to get thelr hopes coffers, the CCFDA says. (Canad, "but not on nothing. new, an up Just yet as big ticket sales, mut The expanded levy Will be imposed on the backs of people ‘American family‘ yped Bay auctions ae often subject media not exclusive MPS players such who are ot pirate achieved an eBay bogus bids The sles of hiphop star fs fissh Media, CompactFlash and and don' even use these products to first by putting the town of Bridgcvil, Eminem's childhood home fovea this Microdrive cards, found in many con- copy music California on the viral auction block, out the hard way, abiding on that sume digital camer. The cument levy scheme won't help The 8z-acre town sis about 550 hm action skyrocketed into the mult-mil- jn independent band, Montreal-based young bands like {the Datson Four]: north of San Francisco, The suceeafl_ lion dollar range; Bul turned out to be The Datson Four, (womndasonioucon) will only be a windfall for established bidder received the town, complete with tiich ado about nothing the highest layed atthe CCDFA press event in an artists and ther record and publishing four cabins nine hous and acemetery, legate id didnt even aoe the soe attempt to demonstrate how the proposed _ companles- she sal The town's 300 resents aren't part of imum reserve, set at US$120,000, ING 3 L Od LEM eet RP eyes Your Valentine is Here! NOTEBOOK ACCESSORIES ANGEL 2200 SMARINOTE Seetoretee Swen = ~4s8e lt ‘a. os disease ee een Su NOTEBOOKS Sieh ecu cmeey ey hs AS naySuper Fast: took Uirafos 051 gvesyou nen Bal fa ence wold folie exchomet Donnie otracive gman, music ond video up Utne ener non owen maden Always On cet nine high speed net cou who ling 0 comesing Doesn't Tie Up Your Phone Line You con make rcv call wha yu on the Ita. Self Install Noinloion ees. Mes! comers intl Look UfoFot DsLihemsaves, Wak Loo’ simple ‘outedntlltion Kita our og & play igh peed ‘todem you wil bs up ond rnring inno nel UT HURRY! THIS MLCH EXCTEMENT SAVALABLEIN 24 TPA Feo ee eae ee esa eeeGates’ SPOT p Spot on? By ANDREW MOORE-cRisPiN ‘ates PT predictions spot on? Bill Gates"unveled Microsofts new Smart Personal Objecis Technology (SPOT) implemented nto wristwatches In is 2003 Consumer Electonics Show (CES) keynote address in Las Veges, Wile the watches are an RF rio shy ofthe Dick Tracy watch the gadget lover has long desire, Citen ‘Waleh Co, Fossil ne. and Suunto were on hand to showcase watch lines that use SPOT technology. Aside fom being ale t0 Keep accurte time through network time seting, SPOT watches diver pre Sonulized content tothe screen, sch a5 the ubiquitous weather, headlines, tal fic, sports scores and stock quotes as wells personal messages, The information these smart watches receive will be sent over ireeBand hick has been cent specifiy for SPOT. DirectBand uses FM. subcariee ‘technology tht transmits data over the frequency modolation FM) band of the radio fequency. In other wor, SPOT technology wil ietion in mach the Same way’as enhanced car radios, which show an equipped ratio station's al et fers and in some eases, song or segment titles on the display, though Micros Says the information dlsplayed on the ‘watch wll be context relevant, SPOT technology wil be rolled out in 100 American ets ceo 50 states and “the largest cites in Canada,” nthe fall according o-4 Microsoft press release, Mandheld battle heating up? The handheld game segment has been dominated by Nintendo ever since it release its GametWatch series almost 25 years. ago and with subsequent releases like the Game Boy, Game Boy ue ee Color and more recently the Game Boy. Advance, Competitors have come along (Sega's GameGeas, Nomad; NECs Turboxpres. and Ataris Lyx to name a few) but were qulchly toppled by the Japanese ean Nok Is hoping to buck this trend withthe Fist enty Jn it mobile game feck line The N-Gage handheld is set for 2 February release, and concept photor Sugeest the unit wll borrow. Mealy ffom the Game Boy Advance’ honzon. tal layout, witha D-Pad othe let ofthe screen, shoulder buttons above. and action batons on the rghit As the N ‘Gage will double as cellphone, there fare considerably more butions 10 be Worked nto the fant ofthe unt. The game deck will run on the Symbian OS, the same operating system ound in many Nokia phone, inlaling the 9210 Communieator line A partnership hasbeen struck with Sega to develop somes forthe system, though no other game publishers have Formally announced. plans £0 support the system with software, Games will not be downloaded or bundled as they ‘are on other cell phon hu rather ds tnated on memory cars, which wil be sold at real outlets, Handheld battle heating up ... more? Speaking of Game Boy “Advance, Nintendo's newest porable game sje fem, the Game Boy Advance SP, is st for’ March 22 Canadian launch. ‘The GBA SP responds to gamer’ com- plains that the ual TET LCD sreen on {he existing GBA makes the system too ical to pay in anything but the best lighting conditions Until now, the only way to light the Sereen was with add-on igh ‘hatsit above the sercen and reate late or with after market mdf ‘ons, lke the Afler Bumer. However, installing the light modification requies ‘hat the GBA be opened, at risk ois Ait innards. The GBA SP ses a front lighting Screen that sts on top of the existing CD, rather than the badlghing con ‘monly fond in digital camera. and handheld computer serene Wiile- che system specs and sereen sle are the seine asthe esting model GBA, the GBA SP Seems tobe reverting back t the days of the GameniWatch gemes ‘of old The SP opens up clamshell Style and closes down to about 2 3.25-inch square with a depth of Just under one inch, Not tobe confused with Pcp ‘Among the products with signif leant wow factor at CES In Las Vegas, many companies showed off their own versions of the Personal Video Payer (PVP) Most of the PVP devices en display followed the form factor of cutent hard drive-based MP3 players, with the notable addition of colour LCD eiplays of varying size Microsoft and intel have teamed up to design the Media2Go, 1 PVP. based around Te’. Xscale’procesore and Microsof's Windows CE- Other mane factrers that have announced plans to create PVP. products include Archos ‘with is 40 GB Video AV340 with 3° Inch LCD sere and slick form facton Pe tee) Ce ae eae aE see eee eed land ViewSonic, with its tentatively tiled ViewSonic PVP (let's hope they manage © come wp with something 2 lite bt more creative sich, when i launches inthe fl, il have 4 10 6B hard drive anda. 25-inch, 220x240 piel dspay ‘Archor was slrealy showing off is Video AVI40 model, which also has 2 40 GB hard drive’ and can encode MPEG. video at 30 frames per second on the ly, but which has any 2374234 Piel LCD sere, &Infrastructure Management E-Business Solutions The right connectivity solution for your business is all wrapped up. 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CO- muy com ORE +e a5 Vise 1 40s8, Teo +0 iP Sun, «Bulan Spates Mie non xP Blo UmetsAL tenet Sere ‘REE oes Spt Cogen nit at ater ‘CORPORATE & GOVERNMENT CLIENTS ‘905.829.3538 ‘MowOAY TO FRIOAY :00aN - 000M or | smu ane ot Sift es ey 7124151] 298-772 | an 42S | ns 66.841 i) 155.9348i ‘By DAVID TANAKA ‘mercial soures, tothe creation of pro- play the MP3 muse collections residing equipment. But behind the from panel is : Jessional-quality home movies and slide 90 the hard drives of computers on the 42.33 Gir Pentium 4 processor, 800 MB ‘When comes to home eaertainment, shows capred with inexpensive ca= local area network or play Inte-et radio. oF RAM, 120 GB hard ervese stxin-one convergence salve and well with the goes and stil cameras and edited ona stations if the home network had. an memory ca reader, DVD-RW recorder personal computer making it way t Windows PC or Macintosh or the ce~ always-on connection through DSL ot and USB 20 and FireWire ports. agar ‘eit sage The CES 2003show held in atlon of pre-qualty music with inex- cable modem. Onkyo says that upto 12 says Ina news release that its media carly January is the show for consumer pensive sofware Net-Tune recivers ean operate on one "center PCs will be available across ‘econ but on the show floor wert "At Macworld, which took place the network. The scenario this portays Canada in Radio Shack and The Brick ‘many companies with names very fail> same week as CES, Apple announced that diferent family members could li outlets fart us computer enthusiasts ‘ie, an incegrated suite of media pro- ten to thelr own playlists fom diferent Software toad addtional fanctional- The resson is simple: allenteainment duction applications. Apple rewrote reoms.ontheir own Onkyo receivers but ity tothe media center PC is also stat- programing in he home ist becom- —iPoo,Mfovie, Tues and 1DVD so that have a centralized muse brary on the ing to Wile out. Sonic Solutions of ing digital. This includes purchased the separate applications would work PC tat everyone could acces. Perhaps Novato, Calif (wmusociom) announced forms such as music and movies, sub- eter together and named the bundle the biggest Imitation to this Kind gf Sonic PrimeTime at CES, which allows seripon-based forms such as digital (Life tn hs keynote addes, Apple CEO product, at east in he short tem, isthat__ the eonsumer fo burn a TV program to 8 Once programming becomes digital, it also becomes data, and what better device to handle any and all forms of digital data than the personal computer. able nd HDTV and home-grown pro- Steve Jobs sid iLife isto digital meiis’ not many homes have heen cabling DVD die with one touch ofthe remote dctions such as digital video, digal productivity what Microsoft Office Isto Installed o every room. SnapStream. Media (wnesapteam tn) ‘photos and music Integrated oie productivity “I's going announced similar fanctionaity mts ‘Once pogramming becomes digital, to do. wonders for our new digital APC for your stereo cabinet Personel Video Station 3.0 at Comex in also becomes. data, and what etter lifestyle” said Jobs From the FCside ofthe industry comes November, device 10 handle any and al forms of Interestingly, at CES, ScreenBlas a the vision of the PC either eliminating or tigi data than the personal computer. division of Sony Pictures Digital atleast co-existing with traitinal home In the middle, bridges ‘As Crag Bart, CEO of Inlaid n is Entertainment inc, was showing Movie enterainment equipment. Microsoft is Between the PC tying to be & home GES keynote ates, “The PC In my Studio and Music Stadio, which promise obe company that has wed o push this enetainment sytem at de one extreme ‘mind is the moet versatile pice of the sime kindof easy meda production vison and is lates foray into his space and stzeo receivers with IP adresses at fauipment in the house; tf the most for Windows wsers that iL docs for is Windows XP Media Center Edition, the other, is lively dance of products interactive piece of equlgment in te Mac users The slogan for the wo Sony This special version of Windows, XP, trying «0 bridge the two worlds. One Tous. Iecan hendle all of the ich data, applications "dream i rag i drop it, available only to equipment maker, example isthe Audion ATZCO, which fnd't can also create that ich data” done.” Sllows them t integrate consimercie- Voyetea Tue Beach Inc. anounced at Barrett was slang the persona tronic sypes of features fincleding a TV the show. The ATZO0 looks like home computer asthe ntimaterecoring and_AN IP address for your stereo tuner anda remote control uni that will stereo component. It has analogue and Playback cvice, But he also taled Coming fom the consumer lectronics be supported in Windows, Hewlett- sgl ouput connestors that work wth Shout the third flank of convergence: side some mumafacurers are making Packard Canada was the fst 1 offer 2 receivers and home theatre audio equip ‘The Internet. 1s often been seid tht simpler for thel CE equipment to com- MediaCenter PC to Canadian consumes, ment, plus network connectors that lig Computer, communictions and content mnfste with the computer. One such ut isl looks lke a tower PC {nto the PC. The device hasan Ethernet form the ‘hnee Cs of comergence” and company is audio equipment maker On display in Microsofts booth were port pls «phone jack, and wil commu fiom this pont of view, the computer Is Onkyo, which has added an Ethernet designs from other makers that ty to ncate wih the PC using ether Ethernet fone of the primary enablers of digital port to some of it receivers, Including svlze the beige box. One ofthe coolest orexising phone wiring wing HPNA 20. home entertainment ‘he high-end TX-NROOO that sels for designs was fom Richmond 8.C-based Another example is eo, a San Diego, 1USS1.500 andthe budget prced NCSOOTagar Systems, a subsidiary of Calif. company that intoduced line of The create si {USS400 MSRP), Hoth come with Net- McKinnon Micro Dstdbuting. Tagar’s network MP3 players which bride the "TC! Tears already know some of the Tune PC softwace that tums the ecelver high-end DeZinordoest eves look like PC and home stereo with both network ‘tory of persona digital creation. which Into a network client ‘SPC: With its horizontal case and black, and stereo connections. The «200 and {foe from simple roll-your-own MP3 From a Ner-Tune enabled recive «brushed aluminum ficepate.{¢ could €300 models include an 802.11 wireless omplatons of musi ripped from com: consumer would be able fo access and easly be mistaken fora piece of stereo network interface, ®are you connected? or well connected? 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I's pposed to give you a feel for iirostt’s ew Media PC. which i fos, But It also males you feel like ro're watching an a fr The, because Jo much of this new plece of tchnolo- gy has to do with the concept of space ind home If you're a college Kid In need of every kind of medi aging be, then ran ovt and purchase ihe HP MediaCenter PC with Windows XP Media Center Eton now. Ifyou alteady own a TV, PC, DVD or CD player, you probably vt be buying one ofthese goodies in the ner ftir, but i's something worth dreaming sbost until you do. But back to the video. Four college bide get together watch movies, make videos and dance fo musie~ al in the confines of one very small room. And that’s precisely who the HP. Meda Center ‘PC with Windows XP Media Center Editon is stended for, students and people with limited space. ‘The fact I, this parieular pice of technology 0 appealing that it wll blend into your life in so time, and become impossible to part with. T can honestly say.othat ven ange seven hard ime sBipping this baby away. Whatcha get The HP Media Center PE with Windows XP Media Genter Edition (call, ie Media Center for shor) sa complete enterainment een tre, Its a PC together with 2 CD payer DVD playerfecordes, Mash cart and ‘memory slots, TV remote and of course. Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Software, Fr the price you also et two. fxtemal spraker, ut the very neces Sary LCD monitor and extra sub-woofer fre ational (dough you can connect {o the TV or monitor you already own. ‘The problemi it sl Jooks and fees Ikea PC forsomeone ike me, place= ment vrais ante. ike having tin the family “oom forthe TV, vide, DY and pictures aspect, but ther’ tally no oom to place a desk inthe TV ares, and that’s what you ned for standard com eany puting. Moreover. Ws a problem fone person wants toplay a fameand fanther wants f0 watch TV at the While the best thing shot the package is the frash-safe remote, ‘which es you Frivolous, fun and just better switch beeen My TV, My Musi, My Ptures, My. Videos, Play DVD and Settings with ese, the designers have Fongeten to fashion in» cordless mouse an keyboard, meaning sry standard PC tetivity as to be done ap close ad per Sonal — hich in_my case means Crouching in font of 2 small monitor Stand. Not exactly ergonomically bene- fea and cerainly-noting. close to what is recommended in the user's tide Theoter thing keeping me from rash ing out to purchase his the price If needed new TV or a DVD fecorder, ‘specially flat screen TY then L would fonsier tis tem: The the price stants to even out. But since falreaiy own ‘vera computers, feo CD players and a television tht wars, sheling out tis rch eas for something that makes it all just etter an more fun woud real- ly te fives. ‘Although I nota big TV fan, one of the top things the Media Center does is improve the TV. viewing experience With cable and a broadband Internet conection, you cen dowload the TV {ide (Bo tance and you'e Set search for shows and pret “record” to tape favouies No messing with Vek programming, no. money spent on VHS castes, and once {You watch show, Just press delete to remove it rom the hard drive For the ate being, the Meal PCs for people who work and ply in one oom. Buf Miroso and HP can figure out how to get the preduct out of the wel= tovdo sdent niche an come up with 3 Solution for the rest of us, you can bet CanadaSys(Retail Division) _ EverChannel(wnolesale)__ ECS Laptops ‘North York 789 Lawrence West ‘To: (616) 781-7738 Tuesday: Closed Duster ial Intel Pa.70 $1270 Lawrence ‘Scarborough: 2951 Lawrence East Tal: (416) 268-7738 Wednesday: Closed_Brimiey ‘DvD & CORWs NOV LG 4x COR. 379 awrence Richmond Hill #08, 560 Huy 7 East Tel: (605) 708-5799 Lesitech Devices Intel 4.2.06 $1330 Intel P4246 $1380 Merri aigHo OVO ‘er gon Nose! spor eae FE ewer too. 5479 after 2a ovo Network Related HievI Lan osm ‘ener 000-810 Stiatiancone. ge 0 [exeonwnienv6 sre OgkCam he Emo $20.99 Siena ‘S189 2. eo pavenso2 ‘fz SOR teu! pare $329 eypooe Como $593. saw pet Baud ‘Samsung Dita Camera SourPooe 5 Digimax 340 Mara Drives 72000, 07003 suss98 0) foo = st0823 Ronen ee “08Echo Means Business. Sree eee en eee ete ee ee eee ne Pe ee eR ee Pena ten ee oe eg ee knowledgeable Corporate Account Representatives, and some unbeatable monthly arog Ne Be) eee oe (orp aCe RS ef eg eS nn a ea rete a ae Possess Graze 18. ,t ae {10__froowe]sa rime n_ [sisocel sees | a Tsocs. 10} rooms 00 He oui 60 $150.00] $190.95 a a EET ‘Sunnas Galt ioe ra Pe ee cae Witenes int hare ier a ni tae af ae ae Se oo cra ae [oN [UNDINT Core INET ean | soot Serer eiessee 700 {rapa nu oa |Z aan ean [eb | an SUNDA 20 aches aa a i [315.0] So is |= n= ee ae UE Mem Ue oe Te ee roe Ue) REE rey Please call our Corporate Sales Department for details. 416-385-0459 http://www.eol.ca OnLine Serving the GTA since 1995! 2600 Skymark Ave., Building 9 Suite 201, Mississauga, Ontario L4W 5B2 (€) 2002 Echo Online Internet Inc. All Rights Reserved. Prices subject to change without notice, Taxes NOT included.Ieee TORNATO_ Us] (Su $487 @ LIGHZ ST) oer, ist MS68 MOTHERBOARD | | ZESSLISS PANGLVNGL SUPER PLAY oa sa| |$659 q Srccmimesar | [seusrcsmsorae” | (Cour scan lammeaauresns | [mm vonrczie | lnc niatsdts ok eae | DUA on Dok acunseectmowsa | |wueuecme anes, | [conn cri ontop tee Passat cca cmon EB! | [arvoret pave fname Ped ac fxwcrepsom secre ATX MID TOWER WITH FRONY | ATX MID TOWER WITH FRONT | ATX MID TOWER WITH FRONT Ree ieee nena a 2, ee ener, le es Resramocowraouen | |isumaretoons can | [OSES TONE spa omnn Harr scixD Cano 0am 10/100MB NETWORK CARD |16BIT SOUND CARD mee [16BIT SOUND CARD |10/100MB PCL NETWORK CARD Huweanerwonccany’ | Jienrsouxncasn | Wwrowsnrvbonts | STARS, | ferme raxzrwon uirecH2BtrroNMouse | |rurrecnsurros Mouse | {ELITECH MOUSE WITH WHEEL] |eLirEcH MOUSE WITH WHEEL [ELITECH Enoms SPEAKER | |ELITHCH EBs SPEAKER | [ELITECH HBOS HIF SPEAKER) [rB-cow SPK WSUBOOFER RECOMENDED UPGRADES, RECOMENDED UFGRADES,| RECOMMENDED UPGRADES, RECOMENDED UPGRADES] RECOMMENDED UPGRADES {in SAMSUNGISAMTRON | }2s6MB DDR PC-2100__ +534 }17In SAMSUNG 753D¥ 20h] |256MB DDRS33D__ +519) |2s6mp DDASSSD +519) 76V (6inVAL8) +8165] |40GB MAXTOR HDD Gl J& FLATSCREEN +4197] |40GBWD HDD @ T200RPM| |40CB MAXTOR HDD @ Bsonn Po-133 482i [7200RPMATAA133 +531) [16x LG DVD-ROM _ +529] |sMB CACHE +519] [200RPM ATA-133 +531) MB ZA +109) |G s2xt0xa0 CD-RW & 16x] |0GB MAXTOR HDD At] [48X12X48 CD-REWRITER | |XFX G4 M440 64MB DDR lasxiaxas co.ew +539] [pvp-rom Compo 4849) [00RPM & AtA.133 1529] [SOFTWARE +839] [WITH TV-OUT +539 GRAND P4 $1529\(POWERP4 $1079 INTEL P4 2.83GHZ. FSBS33 INTEL P4248 GHZ FSB 533, IMSI 648MAX 8XAGP. |GIGABYTE SPE667 (845PE) }512MB DDR-266 & 40GB 7200RPM 2565 DDASSS> XPX GF MIX440 64MB AGPEX XX GF4 MX$40 64MB DDR Sow ATX MiD TOWER FRONT a) icon nbb ata 1400 feat pp & 6X DVD-ROM Siw atx wb TOWER FRONT gS roawa pct Nic a jexizxasco.Rw 1S LCD MONITOR IAC 97SOUND& 10100NIC I6BIT PCI SIC (ON sOARD) 117 FLAT SCREEN MONITOR K/B & OPTICAL MOUSE& 600W SPK W/SUB] |K/B & SCROLL MOUSE & 600W SPK W/SUB IELITECH MOUSE WITH WHEEL \#ow SPx WSUBWOOFER GRAND XP $1509 ‘AMD ATHLON XP 2400+ AMDa te bao tus BoRSSS>. APN Gra Maa iN AGPOX Mestunonrat arc ioe AL PDD 8 GCTANNEL SIC xs {tx Mtb TOWER HONE USH 0 ‘suiauss Cow a aex DvD 10/100 NIC & 18 LCD MONITER KIB & OPTICAL MOUSE & FB-600 Ste RECOMMENDED UPGRADES: P RECOMMENDED UPGRADES: RECOMMENDED UPGRADES: Tin SAMSUNG LCD TET +8241| |isin SAMSUNG LCD $3u1 in SAMSUNGLCD TFT 3235] XEX GI 114200 128MB AGP 8X JS2X24X52 LITEON CD-RW +539 IXFX Gt4'Ti4200 128MB AGPSX. +21 Csiat 12MB DDR PC-2700 ‘say Seatrm | IMisTK7N2 aFORCE2 AGP&X DDR4OO +5155} (eafausreser nore ie ‘euseucas ceux norsk 38) SOFTWARE: USE MICROSOFT WINDOWS xP AS YOUR 08, WINDOWS xP HOME EDITION ] WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL EDTON OFFICE XP SMALL BUSINESS EDITION IOFFICE xP PROFESSIONAL EDITION IRORTON ANTIVIRUS 2008, 18 1508, ‘5s amaxbux wronce2 aceon AetrtorabasteacIcal Ratha a aczobeoo use2 05x00) ee Suuemorse fe INTEL INSIDE OR AMD INSIDE ‘DDRSSE> AGP8X. ICT IS ALWAYS ON YOUR SIDE PINTERS: AND ENJOY THE LATEST FEATURES, | | HP DESKJET 3320 a HP PHOTOSMART?150, HELASERIET 1000 LEWaRK 25 SIL) Ses 21 MAX INTEL PERFORMANCE BeAr Aeon, i, UAL GiGA LAM, omnchae He LASERJET 1200N (NETWORK PRINTER) LEXMARK 235 (690 MAILING REBATE)By DAVID TANAKA The Consumer Electronics Show has become the must attend venue for aay sel Fespecting digital cechnology enthusiast. Consumer electron les covers a huge array of prod= ues, but the effets of digital convergence could be seen nearly everywhere, ftom MPS ‘ar stereos, © ful-blown PCS ‘camouflaged ¢ stereo compo nents, to. Internet-enabled appliances, ‘One indicator that the com- puter industry and the con sumer electronics sector are partying together that both Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, and Intel CEO, Craig Barres, were CES. keynote speakers ~ and. predictably both were taking about the. cent role that git date and PCS have in tomorrow's Consumer electronics develop- tents Another indication was the number of companies evhibiing that would be just as comfortable at «computer spe cific show like» Comdex, Following are some of the prod- ucts we noted during our floor crawl ood sound from Axiom ‘Axiom Audio, an’ Ontarlo= based speaker “manufacturer, won an Audio Product of the Year award for its home theatre system, the Epc Grand Master, The award was presented during CES and was given by ‘onhomethestersom, “an online publication catering to sudo, ‘The Grand Master speaker sys tem comprises right, left and cee speakers, two. suround speakers anda” subwoofer, Suggested etal price is under $2.40. PowerCoe: When neatness the aea around your com- puter system is angle of wires nd connectivity devices the {GoldX PowerCore Syste from IDI Technologies (write com) Imight help you relaim_ your work sya. I's stackable modular connes tion system. The base unit is small Eas wide open at creative Labs In the heyday of the Comdex computer trade shows, Creative always had one af the loudest and CeCe x 1) buses booths, and at this year's (CES, twas clear that the compa ny was at i agin, announe ing Several new products, With the acquisition of high-end audio and. speaker Companies a few yeas ago Creative set out 10 eliminate the gap Deoween PC sound and audiophile sound, and its latest SoundBlaster Autigy 2 Platinum eX takes another step towards that. The Platioum eX version i aw piece system ~ the Audigy 2 PCI sound card and an exter nal break-out box with ase ‘of connections (FireWire, optical SPDIF, MIDI, and analogue) that resembles the company's Extgy extemal. SoundBlaster for note: books The Audigy 2 fs THX-cer tied, and aso. supports 64 Dolby Digital EX movies with rear centre speaker. Creative claims the Audigy 2s the Mest PC Sound card to. support DVD= Auli, and we were tated 10 4 Side-by-side comparison of the Eagles! “Hote California” on CD tnd DVD-Audio. I sounded like a Completely diferent recording, but Creative said it was the 24-2 96 KHz of DVD-Audo, which delivers more audio dat. Other "announcements by Creative: 4 Prodikeys, which combines & ‘computer keyboard and @ 37-key musical keyboard, The music ey board located below the ASCIL Ieyboard, and when doing com- puterrelated ash, the wer ca put a cover on the musta! Key= board, te cover ating also a5 veri suppor = Travelsound MP2, 2 portable Speaker system that asp includes an MP)" player and. a. vole recorder The unle has 22 MB of onboard memory plus a Smarafedia ead slot. JukeBox Zen with USB.20. The previous hardrive based Zen roel rectangular design like the and draw ele IPod ony bigger, in contast to trical power the CD-player shaped Nomad) had fiom the base USB 1.1 and FieWite, and that mode unit, so. that wil be joined by a 20 GB model with they do not USB 20. lunintemuptble power supply, but the have to be powered by sepcratebrcie, Graphs Blaster Picture Perfect. This ‘unusual past of is that it also contains reducing eable etter The company product won" be shipping unt ater 8 S6-watt DC power suppl. Other con- claims that the base unit wil supply thi spring, but Creative & working nectivity hubs (USB, FireWire, Ethemet, power for up to 16 USB or 12 FireWire. with AreSot to develop image eding [ set be stacked ono the base unt. pons Applications that use’ the graphicsprocessor on the card, or what Creative calls the “visual processing unit” to speed up tasks such as stich ing together a series of images into @ panorama, [Awesther sation in your home you think the weather chanel does- int Go 4 good enough job of reporting fon the tleociate around your hum= ble abode, why not Se. up your own weather sation? Weatherlawk (veneshetaakcon), Based In Loge ‘Utah, was showing is line of wired and witless weather salons designed for hhome and. educational wie. The unit requires mounting on a tower or pole ‘ni inches sensors for wind speed and restion, air temperature relative humidity, solar radiation, barometric pressure and ralnfal Included software Feep a log ofthe sensor readings, and leo will calculate variable like wind hill and heat index. Optional sofware rll also allow users to ink thelr owe ‘weather station ona fre (fr nov) Web hosting site, and en check on thet ‘weather from any Web browser. "The wired version connects to com- puter though the serial (RS-232) por, tnd the wireless versions operate on 916 Miz, 922 Mile ot 2.4 Gla radio bands MARKHAM 505 Hood Road, Unit 13 Markham, ON CSR SVB Tetrate-a10-5481 FAX: 905-308-6607 Let the sun shine on Game Boy ‘Winner of «CES 2003 "roost innovae tive product of the year” award is Sunpower Systems Inc {wasapoercon) of Canoga Park Cli, for its Solarpak solr rechargerfbatery pack forthe Nintendo Game Boy. The ompany also makes & PDA case with 2 builein sole panel changing ont cell one batteries with an embedded solar Charger, and small stndalone solar panels witha modular connector system wth plugs for specific deve. Palm your wrist Fossil vausicon) had a tine of Mon-Fri 10:00-7:20 0:00-5:00 Pines @ Xtreme 302 Aeneas ase ristatbes that havea Palm organlz- builtin. The West PDA, a Fosol falls has 2 33 Mz Dragonball VZ rocesor builtin, which uses Palm OS 4, The screen will display 160x160 Diels and supports 16 grey levels, but rather than showing a full Palm screen fon the tiny dspay, the watch shows Fewer cons and les screen information, but at see close fo what you'd get on 4 regular Palm device. The watch has 2 MB of RAM, and wil comet to PC through USB. It also includes an Infrared port so users can beam infor mation back and forth with other Palm fever. @ MISSISSAUGA FE ee Pol neal Lo ERAT re) any per 4 Poems {otal 8 TBAGH 2 Sita mile Zoncia$118s eaSa EPG ae ie i ' ER ere) eee Fete) Pvc Mi ece ereHome theatre audio on the cheap By ANDREW MOORE-CAISPIN Getting home theatee sound into the living room has tadionally been an | expensive afar that the average user ‘would need an electronics engineering Alegre to Faure out ‘A record number of ome theatre auio systems were Sold this holiday Season, which means some of our ea likely found one under the tee oF Pevhaps in larger-than-life stocking or those of us that weren't that hicky, all isnot lost. A simple home theatre ‘audio setup 8 cheaper than ever before, ‘ringing the total price of a dedieated DVD ome theatre ensemble 10 bout the price of your average 24inch CRT television, and you don't need a full home theate setup complete with a ‘masive television gran elaborate stereo syste lo enjoy home theatre ai. | "More and more DVDs. and console video-games are working. surround | found into their products, making the time ripe to start aking advantage of the more immersive experience that comes with being surrounded in a wah Of high fidelity sound as 8 movie ot ideo yameis beng payed. White the very top of the tine home | meave would ndoubtedly be nice to | have, most of us don't need many ofthe options or the hasle at oes along with seting up and matntlning the ul mate and setting up an inexpensive 5.1 speaker set can give your cument home entertainment area 3 new lease on life Points to consider Before considering a home theatre audio system, potential audiophiles need to think about how it wll beset ‘up. 5: systems, which are the most revalent ight now, come with one sb- Woofer and five speakers, called ste- tes. The satelite are define 5 centre font lef font righ, rear left and reat right. Im other word, in setting up full 5 speaker set so a8 10 get the truest and most movle-heatr-ike sound, the Speaker setup and room acoustics would determine the plaerent of the furl- ture. Be prepared to either suffer with Tess than perfect scoustles or" 0 rearrange the furniture ‘Also, seting up a full 5.1 system Involves a lot of wires, some of which have to be laid across to the other sie ‘ofthe room to cay the audio signal to Kecaneeaerernk ory the rear speakers For this reason, it Important wo look for speaker: that offer Jong enough wires make it nconspe- ously all the wy across the room, Doing it on the cheap The simplest option for relatively Inexpensive home theatre audio 8 10 purchase a DVD player hone theatre ‘Combo. Thee have been heavily pushed ‘over the holiday season, and. cost approximately $500, The bigiest bene Mts ofthese all-in-one system ae that they Include everything you ned t st up home theatre audio right aut of the box, and everthing is controled with ererrerr (rues a8 rears fin nreanane ‘nec Lansing 251 ‘one remote They als give more contol ‘over volume and equalization of the individual speakers However, for those ‘of us who already own 3 DVD player or Video game console and Just "want to hook some bette speakers up to the ‘hing, there ate a numberof inexpensive 5.1 speaker es available tata ustal- Iy marketed for PC use, bt that can also te hooked up to a DVD player, video ‘ame console or anything ese with AV, mini plug, or, on unually more expen sive modes optical or coaxial aude The biggest drawhack of hese speak- rs is that there is usully no way to contol the volume of individual speak fr, a8 tho fonction it fs astned, ‘would be taken care of with sofware on the PC ‘Anote on switching between sources Hooking eventhing up to. 4 main receiver that controls the volume ine” pendent of the source ithe best option or home theate applications, But nother option io et an AV switcher. These boxes usually acept four ot five AY Jack inputs, depending on the make fand model The speaker system wold Fax: (Crore sec)Om ATE Te CoM ce [one www.pcvillagecanada.com a ieee See AEA ae ue ac ‘SUPER SPECIAL NEW RELEASE DIAMOND SYSTEM INTEL CELERON 1168 PU, 128NS SORAM 4g AMOXP 1700+ CPU,256MBPCIS2SDRAM g _INTELP4206 CPL(S124. 256 MB DDR AOPEN HB, 2068 HOD 47 ECS KTS5AMB, 3068 T200RPMHOD ASUS PASE MB, 4068 7200RPM HOD “ALL SYSTEMS WITH FIVE YEARS LABOUR & ONE YEAR PARTS WARRANTY * BEST DEAL MONTHLY SPECIAL MAGMA SYSTEM INTEL PA 7G CPU, 256 MB PC138 SORAM 15" TETLCD $365 _INTELP424G CPU(633 FSB), 2558 DDR. 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Deston (gazes 12tmb-2096- inet. eD-10/10 ate Mouse 128mb-30gb RIL SD SL SID BMS MS I RSLS conten $16- | 33 10/100 POMCIA enna 81% Congo 8 Sicorionn ts 25COnS er LINKSYS ‘PCI 10/100 1. 10100. $19: USB External 12.3Com 10100 §29- $19- Bi $4 ‘SQp0ck ‘s0.pack 48X 80min 48X 80min CMCMEDIA Pioneer OFF ese cbr ot 17" ese Grade A “~Saspit GIGTC cen ex T6XDVD $99c3 248 rand Now : See esos B Sound HARD Teehoneto Ho pie 3090 chal 88 Saati fig, 400pm..§99- a EEE Drive 1B 3096 (NEW) 0p. $149- WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS BNC Systems Ime Www-bnccom.com Ws TL BS $499) NEARS me vaawes088 D-10/100 $459 ‘SOUNDMDED SS. ps2 $3- new) 2 $6- Mouse serot $12- USB or Ps2 Opti Scroll 6INIS39- Memory Card Reader, sai, peel $7- pack 48X 80min JewelCase ogi”? eo oi rae sh Sg rewpaancy Micro ATK Case & PIS Bear ie new $25- WELCOMED acs ine ee ee choudtompen tse then be Hooked op ae pimay toot wth he vio sgl a nin sect the TV ortho an AF modulo depending on wheter | yous televisions equipped with AV ins coaxial in Ten t's jst 3 mater of Switching between the diferent co [ponents in Your entertainment centre ‘sing the buttons on the frat ofthe [Altec Lansing 251 $1898 Taal Stem Pome: 35 24S Frequency Response: S542 ete Siglo Noe Rao > 708 Satelite peers: Diver powe:s Wats RUS (oe cssne) Submafe Diver power 20 ats RUS This isthe best and worst of the ys tems tested: The best because i gives sera number of options and work sounds which maker tthe most ver satle of the speakers we had in the flee, the Worst beeuse the ies are too short and too fat to make for an Inconspicuous and. effective home Rather than put inputs on the back ofthe subwooter, which {standard practice in PC 5.1 set, the 251 gives tsers@ Tong cord with thre mint jack Inputs onthe end, as well the nec= cssary adapters for using AV cables, ‘which i the most common output on ‘ideo game consoles and DVD players alike. The sound is ich and ful, giving very nuance of the 51 sound being piped through on 2 DVD movie (tested fon all systems using the extended c= tion of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) or video game (ested on all systems using Splinter Cal forthe Xbox. "The 251 system suffers fom the same drawbacks as most speakers in this ‘lass namely, there leno way 1o adjust channels without using some sor of The leh font speaker controls the power, cente balance surround. and lume with small Keobs on the font ofthe unit For $149.99, these speakers count in as some of the least expensive ones, aking their drawbacks more Forgi tie Yamaha 155-1 3288 Teal Ser Poe 8 Wats RS Syste Fequncy Response aoa 2k ‘Sopa Nae RasaENnunnn Or = i= | aHome theatre audio on the cheap signal In. The sjsiem gives a fll rch (Gommued om page 24 oY sound, which a8 with al ofthe systems ‘Sele Sees: Diver ower WHISRIS tested, won't impress the true home the- (perce fre aflcionados, but i more than ‘Sibwooer Drier power 1 Wats US nough to enhance 2 movie or video fame. (Of the four systems ested, the TSS-1s the only one witha separte receiver 38 Logitech 2-540 par ofthe package $99.99 (eit set pre) None of the systems comes with. a Toa Sem Power 0 Wats RS remote, 8 they ae mostly intended for Ser Fecuency Response #2202 tse wih a PC where everything would Salt Nobe Rao: 7548 be on the desk anyway tegting the Sale Speaks: Diver over 5 Wa RMS need fora remote crane “The TSS-1 i also the only system tht Sunol: Die power:20 ts RMS arent satelite speaker and cen repro- though you woulda’ know it 10 listen takes advantage of optical in, 2 high duce a wide range of sounds, both base through Your PC. The sturdy subwoofer fidliy’ audio source found on higher This speaker set is actually a 4.1 j9- and treble has a power buon, volume and bass evel DVD players and standard on the tem, lacking a cente speaker Instead, However, the relatively shor: and fat_ knobs on the fron, and thats as far as P52 St signals are converted with the cenie speaker cables, along with the fact that fine-tuning goes without the included ‘The biggest advantage the TSS-1 signal coming through on both the le’ many. adapters and converters mould softwar hols over is competitors isthe afoe- and right font speakers fave to be ased aes it unsuited to The five satelite speakers are made of mentioned receiver with volume, bal- The Z-540 fs also much more for PC home theatre audio use plastic but doa good jo of reproducing fee, sutround and. subwoofer (bass) use, which means to sett up for home hlgherend sound, while the subwoofer ontolson the front and the fact that thente use would requie 2 Lot oF jury Wercules XPS 510 takes ood care ofthe bas. its cables are thin with extra length asin $13 Grom USe29) Wile the Hercules setup has female {ven fo the ear speaier, making them Rather than having female inplogs, as Totem Poner: Wats US sound inputs, the system is designed Shout scven metres in length; enough to are usually found on home theatre Splem Freon Response: 40he-204l2 with only PC use in mind, The tree ins be able to hide the cables under a Tug speakers, the Z-540 has two male 1/8- ‘Spalto Nase Ra. fun to a 51 sound cand and would land cary the signal othe rearspeakers Inch ack, one Yo carry the front signal Site pete: iv power 8 Wats MS require a Lot of work and many adapters ‘ehind the couch without tipping any- and one forthe ear signal. Aa desktop (prune) to conver to home theatre use; too bad ‘one that tries to walk hough Sfstem, the Z-540 gives balanced Subvctr Over poner 20 ats RUS realy, given that this system's rear "The TSS-1 wat also designed with Sound with good surround. The speakers stele spenkers have the thinnest and home theatre applications im mind, and are aso the bet looking and most bal- The Hercules sytem is the most bare-- longest wiing of any of the systems ives users plenty of eholees for andio anced of the lot, asthe four speakers hones of the four unis we checked! out, tested. @ Computer Square Inc. _ Wholesale & vis Specialist _ We also ‘make this logo eee for wholesale eis Cie ene) Allkinds of SCSI cable & adaptor Zs P Anes PCs eee =e Utra 2’SCSI LVD available Enquiries =(905)415- 0229 Mon-Fri:10-7 Sat:10-6 Sunday Close. »"\") 901 Huy 7 Ent, Unt 38 4 Markham, Ora, Canada LOR 1MI » itaeor ten ery) aHL eT LT TT] Feit CATA a edMoving from paper to Palm By NESTOR GULA I have a very eclectic way of staying organized. (Some people would chal- Tenge this stitement, saying that Tm tunorgenzed, but that's just outside ‘pinion now, aint i) 1 used to rely manly om my brn. My back-up was & day-timer ~ (which I Frequently used 0 vere things info but rarely used to heck) and notes writen on vere Scraps of pape, bts of envelopes, torn ‘omer of sheets of paper, and when T Sl smoked, pieces of cigarete pack- fas and matchbook covers. Since Ive teen marred, I ely on my wife to remember the really erica things. For the most pat Twas on time and never Forgot to do thingy About a year a1 started having more and more things on fy plate and 1 began carrying more notes around and having btn ses Sons with my wife. Rellzng that was probably never going to use paper fay-timer the way it was intended, | decided ogo elect and ty out PDA. ‘There are two meanings othe acronym PDA ~ personal or portable digital sistant. Whatever the cas, I decided MIC COMPUTERS ROPOINT [Ati Ast 5 Goh Da Sot age Nao ce | = | to try out the Palm m130 for several reasons the bigest of which 5 that itis filly expandable witha host of acces- soris (ike keyboards, wireless modems for Bhactoth adapters) and expansion ands ike the_Dictionary/Taessuras (Crd, Travel Cards of cites in the US. rope or Asla-Pacfiand_ memory cards) There's only ne Pal that sess ‘expensive and has all theexpandably the monochrome 125, 1 inital wanted monochrome Palm because {he batteries ast longer than ina colour Palm, But afer abit of thought {rcal- fael that the colour Screen gives & ot more fanctionaliy «0 the PDA. The and weighs 153 g (6.402). Ie has IMB of memory and displays thousands of colours at a reso Ion of 160160. pixels Is processing speed i 33-MEz at you ae not buying this typeof uit for i number ranching capably. Tt connects to. computer with 2 USB cable and is Compatible with both PCs and Macy, which I goeat because 1 see both, I¢ has some Intersting Software included: MGI Photo for Viewing pete fs and resting slide ‘hows, as well as Documents to. Go, Realizing that I was probably never going to use a paper day-timer the decided to 1120 ako offers 4 $100 rebate unt Feb 2 that makes is price a more ‘Mfordable $299.98, ‘The m130 Is one ofthe bigger Palms, at 12287952 cm (660-1209 in} =) THORNE “Wionthiy $439 aa STEELS AW Soe) way it was intended, I go electric whlch es the user manipulate Word, [Eel of PowerPoint les on Se Palm. Colour will come in handy for these applcations. There's also” zn eBook reader and some other software that lets i ]E RICHMOND HILL, i ‘Special $699 ] com + gaol ‘you use the Internet and mobile services on your Palm You need the optional modem for this though Tye been using the Palm for about month nom, Tm sal in the honey soon phase of Hs experiment. carry it just about everywhere and 1 write most everything down, T also check t quite often It even has an alam, which you can activate for events ‘nyu date Book ~ it tells you to lok ati Iti very eary fo use ~ Twas using efor a while Before I decide to look at the manual I find Grafh (he special ‘way to enter text into you, Palm if you flo want to hunt and peck for leer) prety easy to se. I have yet to sat Using the additonal software packages fand fo enter all my addresses and con- {act Ino, 1 can say i has revolation- ized my fe, but thas ven i a ew dimension. © 7 ARKHAM Co) ae | Esse | Sue se4o | SEBS | BE ae Eiucioce™ | Grmppwmcs” | Stuotowadie | Gieienctotoun | Saimuienase | Sims ct mune Suton (SAMSUNG pareve reset "TFT INTEL 17 Gh | Eis errs. Seomrsaesein, [quatiry nor |tesemiSi3 oT ree aa) ‘ Bente z zTurning students into info scavengers By HAROLD LASS distance isnt an issue, you could inves that make up te Canadian mosaic. Are steps required to. complete the ‘ash tigate the possibility Of homesteading you aware ofthe valuable contribution resources (ast of Wer pags te vine Ever been on a scavenger hunt? You Mars in 2030 (sudensiecssuedy/ Fist Nations people made fo the con- help complete the tashjya concusins now, wiere you have to race all over fe ncesdsnqldecinh struction of roads and railways In eatly reminder of whats been learned on he the place to be the first to grab al the Hut you don't have to lewe planct Canada? ‘ques and an evaluation (Gor teacher Iunatic oot on your list, Well, Earth “or a worthwhile Wenluest, WebQuests have recently become a ucvesth ‘MebQuess are the ber equivalent of 1 Canada’s good place to sta. Many of popular tool for teachers and parents oI youve baving trouble coming. up Scavenger hunt. While thers no racing us know litle about people of Chinese, guide student learning on the Intemet, with mm lntoducton ot tsk tthe loot involved, that doesn't mean it European and Aboriginal background ° and theyte caxy to construct once eluded checliy kar need “Bates ‘anit ‘be fun and (here comes that “e” and their contributions to Canadian cul-- you've Identified atopic of interest awwarline comjuchquestyjhecist ie Word) educational. The Web is the tur. AtPresrvng, Understanding and quest consists of an introduction (io- Teachers wl ind a toast for bald Worlds largest virtual community, and Transmicing Canadian Culture” vides some background information ing. ther. very_ ows, WebGuee {thou the use of WebQuess teachers (ghodssBDccacapfaat), you can about the subject otal task (what WwnspaSiI2scieMabovestenpltscbon and varents can help students nd and patlpate in quests almed at reducing, you hope partcpants will accomplish estenpa. Sinply comple vcd hy explore Its treasures ‘acism through knowledge of cultures by going on the quest, a process (the the quest bein. © Interested in leaving Earth? How about an otltal WebQues? At "A. City in Space" (projecsecech sendin ison), WebQuests have recently become a popular tool for teachers and parents you begin your quest as coioniston the eee ene GR Or to guide student learning on the Internet ‘must undergo a rigorous orientaiion program to familiarize you with space. Up there, just opening de wrong hatch could prove fatal. By researching ‘answers to questions ina series of actv= ies, you lear alot shout life on the 1S — even down to what meals aston nuts et (ke “thermostablized chicken and iradiated beet enchiladas" Or it a = = REIT Computers. - e 10.00 Ra us sa49) (Lacie ey Suouasies F202 aimastatat as ane Ses ‘sates EERE aie Cai! sul Recomeeerauy entac Se ere eon: asMaidan Griiotares | CO M PU TE RIN MoN.-F. 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Al esa ads ane aw Hyon ag ais an res ofthe pecs A ars ‘conte repeater peering ees Spat pres may change a to markt cations a component.Musical Odyssey: Bang the drum electronically By NESTOR GULA system evolved fom the early recording tally grew ed ofthe constnt setup the drum Techniques and the standard home had to-do to record a track end traded machine wing In last months column 1 mentioned recording four-channel tape mixer ~ them in fora drum machine your comput that recording a great sound fom s bass you would be able to recor the drums ers rearing ular was the hardest thing wo do. Aon three tracks and then ounce the rum machine software, ‘lose second is geting » drum sound drums onto the one remaining tack) used to be morally opposed to dram recorded propery. A good drummer The easiest way to get half-decent machines | thought that it was musi- Loops really makes the band work. Interesting, sound is to lsien to the two overhead Cal cheating and provided inspired Loops are percussion will turn a relatively lame mikes frst repositioning them as ned- and repetitive drumming for aus {pattems that Biece of music into brillant ar. ed fora good sound. Once you have an checked my pride in one day and played are. repeated Percussion i the heartbeat of the gols, ceptable sound you can tur up the sound witt one ata store. and then in music Far capturing this extremely icky. mike In the kick drum to a level you faded the above-mentioned Roto-Tons fram being find decent. Ifyou are blessed with ain to buy such a machine. new. concept, looping was used by Live drums Tange mixing board and a plethora of Drum machines ae great for the home experimental musica for many yeas, Live drums present a standard prob- mies, you should point one atthe snare recorder Not only do they not make any The difference was they sed ape loops Jem for the home recording studio ~ and then ty to point the others a the noise (unless hooked upto an anh they and complex technology. Loops now ae they are loud and the various ffequen- toms. This all depends on how mary require no complex microphone setup. ery to rocord and store on your Com= ‘les put out by an energete drummer mikes you have and how many channels Some of them have indivi! outs 30 puters hard disk. You can bay literally will have the whole house shimmying your mixer has. When mixing. with you can vary the mix between inv thousands of dram loops that you can nd shaking. f you are tnssting on many mites you should stare with the drum sounds. This i similar to miking a incorporate into your music Each drum ecording a live drummer, or perhaps overhead mikes as well, bringing up the real drum se, except that you vil not loop is like a dum after. You can Justsome percussion tracks, then exper- individual mikes for lavour fet the overbeod mikes giving you the repeat i a infiaitum of blend with Jmentation is the key Ifyou are just recording Some rhythm ich sound af the complete drum kt. another drum loop or loops to create ‘The standard yout for a drum kits patterns onset of bla, bongos djem- When using drum machine, you will reall col syacopatons. {o pat one microphone in the kick drum be or even Tupperware then you wil have to play with effect ike equalize "As with miking alive drum ki and two microphones positioned above spend a lot of time experimenting wih aio, reverb and choristo gett warmth recording electronic drums, either from the drum Hit Because you are using proper mike setup to geta ice ound for of the sound. These eects wll come a drum Kit of loopy, is an experimental ‘more than ont mike, you vil need @ your recording had set of Roto-Toms fom extemal effect units or fom your process. Approaching this as fan mixer to blend the sound of the drums fora while ani I had a devi of atime recording software isd. Most-drum leaning experience Is the best way 10 ropery. Unckentaly tis tree-mike geting ood sound owtof them. even machines have MIDI so you can wigger get excelent rel, © FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE NsAdventures in digital video: Golden rules and mean screens 8y LEE RIcKWooD serves the purpose, the one that meets your neds, the one that feels right In our Tast adventure, some “rules” But f nothing ecs Just Fight that were described that can help you make when remembering the Rule ean lp I more attractive and engaging digital docs have solid foundation, one that ideo images foes hack centuries The Hea motto blindly adhere tothe “That foundation sealed the Golden nile ofcourse, but fo understand I, apply Mean, of Golden Section, and it refers to itwnen needed and to break It when you those proportions or ratios most pleas havea creative reason to do so, ing othe uma eye, whether For emo The Rale of Thins, described lst time. tional, aesthetic or cosmological ex sets down guidlines for image compo- sons in constructions that fo shion, that’s all. It poims out that cer- low the Golden Mean are ininsaly tain areas of any image provide strong pleasing. and artists and architec's since anchor pont for our eyes, one that can ancient Greek and Roman times have 1 iznored or implemented at will The sought to capiaize ‘on. the visually rule is based on cenures of aistc~ comfortable natu of the Golden Mean and mathematic — precedent should TV sereens have not. They sem sized be ignored, TV screens can't be divided pe ar cra mat a tried and tue, cant be flowed exactly, ficgsa tas 3 Which is good ~ again the rule 16 hese? 1852 really a guideline. Ifyou have a good |S reason for no following it, wel, don. The best image fs not only the one that follows the rls: often the one tha seen ording to criteria other than “con- ‘ist 0 you know, the Golden Mean is represented by the Greek letter phi, and ‘he decimal representation of phi is ‘6100229887435 Tt’ los, but not exactly the decimal representation for ou ald fend the TV screen: 43 = 4/3. oF 1.939 i ite aspect io. Widescreen of "ieter-boxed images, alsa known a fn the Web about the Golden Mean, spect ratios, television sree formats land by implication, how absolutely Unrelated TV is fo any aesthetic consid tration of visual proportions, Next time, promise, no histon, no sath ~ just more adventures in dg video, and how creativity can beat bad bats no ga Ilo = 1747 Gr court! visa ny como QCD 8) NF) cates matters Is teshnial specications (TTU-60, formes CCI) designate a DV pixel format of 7204490, ora ratio of approximately 1.5. The standard CCIR Or specication, 720x486, works out to roughly 1.481481 Interesting, with so. many popular media display formats not conforming to the Golden Mean, there some spec ulation that because we so rarely se it these days, we may in fact losing our alfnity forthe perfect rate, I you'te not numbered-out by now, theres plenty of additonal information ECS Desknote 90g. REE Eee Re (Check details on soa = putea es JOS 00 COeOM l2Me+DVD $949 2GHz $1079 “$1219 $1449 Intel Pa 3.7GHz $1649 mieereanrcis Battery AMD Athion1GB_- $1299 er met arma hu the Clie Mew, fhe ltoning ee me ‘A. cet OV Reon Ape So Norse nema nd Dat eens Beemer Thelen Me ad te reed pc Mbsdemahenemscon: rrr ere amp xP1700 ||auo'xps300 (raxcinctad Intel Pa-2.08Text messages By SUE BOWNESS Iryoure the typeof driver who appre- lates wafic reports on the radio but Swould rather latent rock than tall you may be intersted in radloText Iroodotat), 2 new technology tht provides an. alternative to Mipping Between tations By taking over the ds play sreen on your cat ratio, where sta ‘on cll eters sway appea, adloText technology turns this Important dash- board space into an information hub proving breaking news about trafic ‘neater, eadnes and even song tis. With 200,000 cars in the. Greater Toronto Area already equipped to receive the radioText signal and General Motors curently pre-installing the spe- ‘alized eceiverin 75 pet cen of Is new far reTent hs seen tne pope larg in Canada over the as ew Yeas Yet the technology ists hardly ew — ty now the reeiver required 10 acces ‘alofext is almost standard jn Europe bere the technology was developed Simost 20 years ago to convey wae informstion Tn Canada, radioText owes its advancement and growing popularity in Targe part ta Toronto-based company called Erato. Founded In 1999 by Jackson Wang and Jason Chang Eradio. has spent the past four years promoting radiofext not only to consumers, but tlso to broadcasters. The company has managed to persuade several Toronto ations to support the ew technolo. with Q107, Edgeloz, CHUM FY, Y108, Kiss 92, CHFL, Energy 93.1 and County 953 all carving radloText messages Reyond the GTA, Hare's 101-1, CHAY and Windsor, 93.9 ate also involved ome to car radios ‘Thetr participation means that railoText receivers wil splay staton-spciic information about the current song's tile ad artist, im addin to the latest headlines and weather reports Getting a closer tok Ste rioText screen isangerthan you right imagine, certainly with. more oom than the standard redo’: splay Space. In fact, the raiofext screen ca ‘ary in dimension from a smaller ver Sion measuring 2812.7 em (185 in) the more delane 89x1227 em (5x5 In) ‘splay With touch seren programming ‘Though the messages are continuously ‘undated, the driver mast press Buton fom the display i order acess them, So that the text does not accidentally fiver the divers atention fom the fond. As you fight imagine, the dso tion factor hasbeen one ofthe greatest Sources of heaton fer installing the ‘System in an aiready busy dashboard TAs far a content goes, the messaging sequence Is consistent between both dis Dy sizes and statlon-specie as well Each ot-characerradoText message Is splayed for one minste continuously, And rotates through a cycle of four con Santly updated segments: A “Now Playing” segment containing att and tile information onthe current son 2 “Breaking News" segment contlaing information Ike headlines or sports scores, a “Pullc Service” segment with ‘weather and trai det, and ofcourse Sone minute advertising segment Besides the rotating messages, raioext adjusts the standard tao dls play #0 that the proper station name ppear fr example, 102.1 wl display at "Tue age) as well a6 the (ype oF muse, och, which handy for dec pherng the genres avaliable when visit Ing a new ely. When traveling from tone city fo another, the receiver wil aso jst the station eeeption bas on the feographic location. For example. if frver listening tothe CBC in Toronto fan diving towards London, the sation ‘will switeh over to the Lonion CBC ‘when the Toronto signal becomes weak. The receivers geographic sensitivity ann other features rely on an uaderying technology called Radio Dats System (RDS), which efecvey piggybacts on the FM band in onder rect signals. Yee in both Europe and North America, the Industry is sendy advocating @ mmove towards the more aufonomous Digital Ado Broadcast (DAB) technolo {whlch operates on a frente ‘iene and Uses MPEG2 data reduction ‘Mowing fora faster signal uaasmision (you may recognize DAB asthe Fequen ps you might imagin ‘oy generally touted to replace PA. E- radio and other advocates anticipate that this technology wil ston become the standard for ratioText, and Indeed DAB recevers arc st to be istaled In 2000 vehicles Witnessing radioText for the Fist time, you realize iis one of those “why did Ite think ofthis before” technologies Not only does the Now Playing display fd the guesswork in trying 10 find out the name ofthat great ew song playing fo your way to Work, Dut having te ‘option to. access practical, relevant {information at the touch of @ button {ust makes sense in Leeping wih the theory that a more Informed “driver ie a better driver, fadigtext fe definitely a technology ‘worth considering. Rati itself now oflesreofiting of the radigText reeivers onto exiting systems. @ e, the distraction factor has been one of the greatest sources of. i hesfatfon for installing the:system in an == already busy dashboard. +7 27.5 MI TRIP A ae ee) ~ SHELL @ QUEEN &Digital Words: Adobe PDF and a printer's paradise By JEFF CHAPMAN Until quite receny, publishers and printers were accustomed to dealing with “hard copies” of doc mens. While the desktop publishing technology ofthe 05 and '90s had allowed many independent publish- eto prepare and printout der orginalsthemseves, the whole business was decidedly primiie. Small pub- Tshes printed out ther publications at home, using whatever printers were svalable, and then stuffed ‘those predous originals into envelopes and cared them over to the print shop or copy shop, where their ‘originals were entrusted to the strangers behind the ‘ounte, whe would do their best o produce reasonably ‘Add flaws here and bene and here Every non-digital step ofthe process introduced new opportunities for imperfection. Since few home uses ad access to high-resolution laser printer, the publ- cation’ image quality was often halved by the time it twas transferred fromthe screen tothe page. In those Sistooscommon cases where the would-be publisher was compelled to rely on some half-dea, low-res tio, lowon-ink buble jt printer produce the orig inal, the publication that had looked s0 good on the screen might be barely legible on pape. Any smears, Stalin, fos, tears, eat hls of tonerstained finger: print the publication happened o pick up om is way from the printer to the print shop were there to stay. And ifthe precios originals were torn in the process of eopyng ~ and they always were ~ the hot cycle ‘would begin again, asthe publisher was compelled (0 Produce and deliver anew st of origi "Those who could afford te. use profesional print shops instead of heading oer to Kinko's ha the option fof tying to supply their material in digital form as 3 masse collection of document fs and images. Tis worked, providing the publisher and the printer were Doth using the same version of ‘the same publishing program, running on the same platform, thd all the same versio ofthe same typefces installed and the publisher's monitor was perfet- Iy calibrated tothe print shop's ouput device, Unfortunately, this never happenel, particular ly-since most home wer use PCS and most print shops use ‘Macs, and since home users tend to use fee or cheap typefaces and print shops tend © use professional, expensive type- aces. The results th pent shops came up with often Tooked lie afferent from vehat the small publisher had in mind, necestating time-consuming and some- times expensive rounds of proas and conections. POF to the rescue ‘While most people probably stl think of ft as an noyingly slow browse plug-in forced upon them by lazy webmasters, Adobe Acroba's Portable Document Format (PDF canbe put to ood use by small publish cs. Adobe's format fs basally @ highly compressed Encapsulated Post Seip (EPS) Ale — it sips ot all the {information that isn't needed and leaves only the mathematical Instructions necesary 10 reproduce a fiven document on a specified output device — and it ‘can be viewed and outputted by bth PCand Mac users ‘wih the fee and widely avalable Aerobat Reade wl Fy from Adobe. While one does need to purchase and inal the fll version of Adobe Acrobat order to re- ste PDFS, it isn't necessary to use Adobe desktop pubs Tishing software ike PageMaker or InDesign; any pro~ gram that can outpot EPS Mes (hati, almost every ‘eshtp publishing or technical lustaton program on the marke canbe used o make PDF fies. Adobe isn't ecping this very useful technology to ite indeed, to Adobe InDesign, has a POF export command bult Fight into it le men. ‘Tp create PDF files, one simply loadsa component of Adobe Acrobat called "Dstlle,” specifies certain basi output settings (resolution, colour or black and white, fe) and feeds it an EPS fle, which is che stripped to its bare essenals and converted into 2 PDF Mle. The cote publication ~ lneluding all formating. txt, Images'and typefaces ~ is then rendered a5 single PDF fle, which fits ona single CD-R and might even be-smal enough co simply e-mail to the print shop. “The beauty of PDF fils is that what appears on the creator’ scren wil bear avery song resemblance 0 ‘what comes out Of the print shop's Ngk-resoon out: put device. Colour matching sil isn't awles,unfor- Tunatey, ut the embedded fonts, images spectal ch fcters, margin and s0 forth will ll be reproduced ‘exactly the same on two eifferent machines, even on ‘oro different platforms, nd what appears on paper wll match what i on te screen as cloeely a posible By ting of the conversion ofa document into analogue Format unt he lst possible moment the creation of the finished product by the high-quality output devies ‘mall publishers can achieve much higher respons land more professona-looking results. To ah he FT Nao Not emiocktcarpusicom 7 enn 08] wt EE NEW LEGEND eK Ween: sane gH Ay Ba [WE FIX AND UPGRADE OLD COMPUTER | SRP ces Cunice Coca. Foe newest maces LsDigital Shots: Figuring out flash The biggest problem to overcome with consumer level digital cameras is usually the on-board flash. Unless you're willing to drop over a ago, digital cameras in options for using flash. ‘By ANDREW MOORE-CRISPIN Most digital cameras with on-board flash give menu options for Rash fring ‘mode, but given the location a the Mash ‘sally, drt above the lens or of- Seto the left or right above the lens — ‘here is lite flexibility. even-with the fash mades camera offer. “hat sai, the Mash modes contained ‘within the memos can help you fo take beter pictures without buying. extra ‘quipment or upgrading your digital grand on a prosumer model digital camera, or to sacrifice overall image resolution by buying a prosumer model from a few years the consumer realm don’t give you many Auto “This mode is best for snapshots and petures where the subject matter is ‘more important than the composition: for example quick photo of family and fiends taken to document time spent together rather than Tor vital impact. ‘These are the kinds of photos we've all seen In countess family photo albus ‘Auto flash mode takes most of the _sveswork out of faking plete and 45 the name implies. wil aucomatially miske the sletion of the best possible flash_mode for a given situation. However pays tobe famine with the other Mash modes, as Auto mode decides how to fire based on overall lig, the ey subject's distance from the lens and Shutter peed and aperture. The key sb Jeet in mos digital eamerss seine a8 the object in the centre of the frame, tnhich, as we have diseased in conver= Satins abou the rule of third (viding the rame ico thirds vertically sd hoe Teontlly and placing subjecs. where these lines Intercept as opposed to cen~ tering them in the ame, dost lend islf to very interesting images. ‘Auto ash usually works wel to sive 2 balanced overall image, but doesnt have the capability for judgment that the peson behind the leas has. Fil flash il lah sted in harsh ighting con- Aitons where the ight source, most often the sun, is casting harsh shadowsCn the sublet ike a fae. ash will cast light in dat areas. ike under the rose, eyes and mouth, and Is Intended to give a more even light tothe image. "The mistake many amateur photogra- pers make Is to asume that Mash Is ‘used brighten up a scene that lacks su ficient light. While this is a Key function of flash, Its not he only application, “ry using fll Mash to give pictures a more even light quality and soften up Shadows In harsh lighting conditions. Sow Synchro Siow Synchro flash mode is muchas it Sounds: the shutter wil say open longer (usually around 1/4 second) to. gather ‘more ambient light ffom the bock- round, while te flash fies to ume ‘Bate objects inthe foreground. Tank of faking 2 picture on a baleony at night, overlooking a ety syle. The fash wi do nothing to illuminate the bock- ‘found elements, so a fast shutter speed would lose. ali background. detal Instead, the ash acts a5 the shutr for the foreground, while the background sets it longer to expose. Red-eye reduction Red-eye occurs when the ight from fash bounces off the blood vessels in the retina and gives your subject that ‘demon look thats sometines hard to avoid. Red-eye redueton ash wil re ew shore bursts before actualy taking ‘the plture, to diate the subject's pup and minimize the light bouncing back to ‘the camera ry to avoid this Sting, 35 itis ony a band-aid soltion and wale ly creates more confusion with people ‘moving out ofthe frame before the pie ture & taken. Instead for at well 9), ‘avoid having the subject look directly at the les fand ence the fash), or pos tion slave Nash at either sie of the camera, which brings me to my next point ‘shoe or fash synchronization por, ll isnot lost. Offscamera. flashes canbe, bad in many dedicated photography siores for bout $150 for an intermediate level flash that can grow with you and pro- ‘vide the ash flexibility that consumer Algal cameras often sorely miss, These adjustable lashes give users much more ‘contol on how the light from the Mash Is tobe delivered, but also require a bit more attention in order to fet 2 good fend produc. We won't go into the details of sting up a slave lash inthis Since we don’t have to pay for our mistakes in figital photography, keep experimenting until you get a result you're happy with Save flash Some more advanced consumer level Aigal cameras have either hot shoe ‘mount or flash synchronization port ‘hat can be used in conjunction with of Inst of the eamera-mourted ash Having am adjustable fash ean belp 4 Tot in geting a balanced and even pic- ture that on-camera flash just doesn't have the flexibility to provide However, IF your aga cameras without the hot column, as this Information is usually ‘wal explained In the Mash tnstucion mamal online and in many beginner- fand.intermediate-level "photography books. ‘Assuming your dial camera doesn have a hot shoe or Mash synchro por, you wil also nced a photo slave. The ‘smaller of these light sensitive diodes sre ustlly no bigger han 3 clink — often called peanut slaves ~ and fit on el:4 sales ye SS (Sie Gey the end of Mash synchronization cord ‘The save senses witen your on-camera flash fires ad will tigger the second, of camera ash to ire Slave fash presents a special case in gia, asthe primary fash will tempt to illuminate the whole scene, which ‘means photograpbers. must pay. mare attention to getting the setup comet: Using a subdued slave flash sting wil ‘ive a balanced light quality in most sit- tations. Another option Isto use light asking tape (lectreal tape works well {o position peanut slave aight in font fof the on-camera fash, This wil avokd many of the problems with overexpo- ‘sure and is essentially a hot shoe orsy- ‘hroniaton port alterative. Aer set {ng up a slave Nas, Is Just a mater of oniguring it corey fo the situation. ‘As with al photography, much ofthe Tearing proces is lal snd ero: using a slave to fire a second flash can poten- tally result in an overt, washed. out Image, snila to the lighting effects tse in the musi videos of ageing divas {hide wrinkles and other “imperfec- tions” ofthe sin Since we dont have to pay for our mistakes in digital photography, keep experimenting until_you get a result ‘you're happy with ial part of the fin Sd prt ofthe reason we went git in fhe ist place. ©COMPUTER 53 | COMPUTER. COMPUTER COMPUTER 3; | COMPUTER UNTIL SUPPLIES Se ata Slatetald UNTIL SUPPLIES LAST SALE! = Is Spe SURE UES ICELL_PHONE EAR] MICROPHONE j] CM AUTO SOAN J 3X3" CASE FAN |! 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And dh, in effec, fs what this Baby Newton Fu Mth Shapes takes the talk shout the interacive CD- interactive CD-ROM is all about A'TV ted and tive clement ftom te ater OM in ems of isl, docs llow kids to do anything but prods ~ the books the eos sd the The game begins with an install watch and listen. The PC version lets CDs as wll es the conning aren process that lets you ‘choose ifs vate, listen and ick that New Age pares go for and pus them hetween English and French When ou st child it the age of one, eget nitric CDROM, Curiously, tbat only apps tothe we were very keen to let her have ago You can take hn medium or leave i Install process fuel, because the at the computer. anda shareware pro~ But once eur hld has had 4 ye ot game's in English only fram similar to Bey Newton Fun With Bey Newton. you beter bet it be hard Once inthe oie comes on and Shapes provided colours and. shapes to stop them fom todling tomar he says “Beky Eten” (almost that explo on the screen Bat the computer chening Ensen @ ee st ern hal Sm when my 20 mie Wes he sop ger word “Eincin® car as bell, tuniy to bang away atthe keyboera ‘pero comes to the PC iain "Akela enews O Eecas then gues kis through various other hand, has unobinisive Vial fn ‘colour Tandscapes, including the background. Vivaldi, like Mozart the seashore and. downtown, aS mos likly bas the same maya, mah By MARA.GULENS. various objets (piza and. chest, for ematical properties that stimulate learn example) popup to inrdice kids to ei~ —_Ing and development. But most paren Although 1 have thee kis under the ces, squares tings and retangcs. already Know tt, and thats ie oe eof ve Baby Newion Fan With “ire ids Just sit by the computer, the dont put kids to bed with heavy sie ‘Shapes is my fist introduction 0 the mages sort of move around, but the musi, continue buying ll hove cody massively success Baby Einstcin story doesn't progres. Ifthe) tap the ralnbowscoloued. baby. prodecs aed (Company produc ine ‘The line coves everything you can gaietosinineicenecn ot Kid proof your computer files dren four years old and under, inclading Viteos, books, ausio CDs, alacovery By MARA GULENS For people parol oftheir children system CDs and major office suites Cards, puppets and now, « PC “game deleting fe Kesen recommends the onto CDs and put dhe copes na ban | {That's game in quotes, since i's intend- Tike ayia doth computes allowing Safer deposit bon for kis one and) and Kids i all sa with the two P's: © Rorio “GoBack: This uty mitros Register al lcences and keep bard AS the companys Website cplsins. Proper. FC Usageiand. Farenal bard dakactivyandallowsuscata copies the eres) dopst bot Baty Einscn Products expose Kids to Superson, Listen tothesage advice of go backin ime if major leon, «Ifyou uslog Intemet is-up,por- “music, am language, science and jes Kesten president ofthe CD-ROM. Compton orveus has occured chase antes software. I youre nature in playful, enriching ways” MY Slope + Norton Ghost This uty minors and using high-speed Tne, ge ant sir’ kids have te Baby Mozart video. Ope ofthe new features of Windows backs'upthehard disk Ona sepaste _virursoftwatt and 4 Grewal Fanny, given all the sucess that we've which comes wih new FCS) isthat_ back upmedia sich as astcond hart Reed the Read Me les Wat accompa acre viewed it during the numerous i allows individual uses tobe setup de nip dv ora CD-wner ay new software. They often come ils ther house f with paswords and protects all the set~ Her’ the ave Kesten gives people with useful ast minute Information, But bck oth game From what eath- ings of ber use anya Kesten This who have weeny puna mew yale encountering pntlens with ets very sma o the oer routs in eens that Lite Joe Wil ima sense be ester ames youve purchased, checkout | ea ae lake mole shapes and con _yoitingon hs own version ofthecom- Immediately make a Windows sat Kesten’ tps at wwconsorecom (go ‘ls and mays hem to mus to provide utgeand wont He able to mess with updihete Incase of system Talus; to Software and’ Mardware the youngest of ids with «rich eaming Bur gmamont BE 4 Copy all system driver CDs, operating Tps/Reviews. @ experience Sinem nt fai with he Fy HIGH PERFORMANCE pil FAN GRILLS PANAFLO oe ou c Fan 80mm, Each $22-24 ‘over-clockers and Each Only $14.00 pe enthusiasts! co ODE als com By Each Only $44.00 change theisystem Aluminum Cases - Cooling - Lighting - PSU's - Split Loom - Wind etmekGood times at Mac love-in Macworld post-show report pcg By DAVID TANAKA ‘couple of brand-new products sur- eZeMotion i a plug-in for Movie, faced: Safar, which isan OS X-only and allows user fo animate elements tees, according toa fellow Canadian Web browser and Keynote, a pesents~ such a5 text and graphics slong a Journalist we bumped into anda sea ton package tat Jobssalde'@used for path and layer It over video, ‘onc wlr on things Apple prety all his keynote presentations In 2002. eZediaQTT isa QuickTime authoring food Macwork. Wel concur In'a post. We've downloaded the bela verslon of environment that allows a developer Show news reese, oganizerIDG World. Saf, and Inal impressions ae that tt establish foteraction points or Eggo sated that 90479 people attended is speedy, although we cant confirm object animation paths and. then fant moe than 330 companies partic- that fs thee tes as fst as Infemet export the production to an interac pated inthe Jan. 6-10 event now in is Explorer, which Apple claims i is. But tive QuickTime movie format 1th yer the simplified interface & very atuac- ThnkPree Corp, of Cuervo Calif ‘During his keynote adress to 2 full sve. Notable features im Soferi are x (wwtikeecom), was, showing its howe at te Moscone Center in San builcin Google, « SnapBack button that MS. Oice-compatble ThinkFree Fransisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs give takes you back to the original enty Office sult, which can be dow his usual Apple vers that other pla~ point ofa search (also works with the loaded for US$48.95. The form ttc of the union ade, butthen URL navigation ba) and a customizable suite has Write, Cale and faunched into a series of new product favourites bar that youcan load up with Sow, which are compai- ‘announcements covering both hardware your favourite Web site addresses. ble with Word Exe! and and software, With the announcement” Pocketbok-halenged video profuc- PowerPoint. The unustal Gtiwo new PowerBiooks heclaimed that ers will be happy to know that Apple feature of this product is ‘Apne has the biggest and smallest fll- also introduced Final Cut Expres. This that itis written in Java 50 featured notebooks on the planet Ina is Fhnal Cat Pro with some of the thatitwllrun on OSX, 0S Separate rifing, TC! met with Apple advanced professional features 8.6 or above and Windows. product managers who let us. play removed, and with a price tag of $450. Wettied the sofware on an ouchi-fecle with a couple of units ‘Book and found 1 more Our impression of the 17-Inch On the floor sluggish than Word, but we PowerBook: Wow! We initially Feared The 300-plus exhibitors tht took part could go back and forth on that the 17-inch widescreen display in the trade show portion covered the the same document with Led. women co) was ‘would make the unit Iicheavy, but it fill gamut of pesonal computing. As the two. word processors B | showing an 05 X desktop pul Seemed to be well balance, and at onc might expect thre were alot of with no problems lishing and Mustain package ‘Sout 2g Gust under 7 Ti), very light products devoted to Internet and mult-. "When we asked repre~ called Works (US$99). five its dimensions hiedia production, sithough on the sentative fom MacSpeech Rain Design of San Francisco ‘Among. the new software Jobs flight bick we talled to one chap who Ine, of Bedford, "New Hampshire (wwaigp¢naccom), showed two wotksta- announced during his Keynote were a works fora Markham company that has (awumaspeethcon), what distinguished ions dedicated tothe new iMac. These Tepsckaging of iPhoto, iTunes, Movie developed a CRM (customer relatons i iListor voce dictation software from are very cool designs, looking a bit Tike fand iDVD into a product called if, management) application for OSX. IBM ViaVoice, he laughed and said plant stands, with chrome legs conver ‘hich wil ship with ll new Macs. But "Winnipeg: based Mac. developer, “iListen works” Listen allows dictation Ing toa smal pedestal just big enough this is not mere cosmetic repackaging, eZedia Inc (nuenedacom), announced directly into most applcaions, plas to hol the ercla IMac base A sepa- ‘ii Jobe, The applications haveall beens couple of new products 2 the show: command and contol rat lator hos the keyboard, mouse evrten to be more interoperable CZehotion for tMovie and. eZedlaQMl. 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Ce AOE eee ee ee es Eau 50 CD CD-RW ER he oxi, ns ae 2S Bena aD ELUTION ‘cm Wireless Networking] | [CASE MODs] pete ashy Velie (recractent i irenonet Fos Cas! $790.83 Co) aed ReeWorld an spams ben geting lot of press for gue a while now Not suprising | gues Tact happene all of us been one ofthe unlonked-for consequences of the biguy of the Interet Sure, we can &= ‘mal Grandma in Hoboken, conmet with ‘Sddivink ses in Japan and download ages thr ae grape nore ways than ‘ne, A let's na forget that he Nets one ‘ofthe tools tha used othe fst by the rly moeky-machs of maton-sats al ‘ound the gabe both the White Hat ad the Black Hats The Interest Tut who would have thovght that the miracle of global communication would have brought spam to everyone's viru al doorstep? Its here, though, and i's ‘our, s0 we might aswell gett know it Herewith some history, some reflection and a buming question or two from Your friendly corespondent onthe sul- Jeet of spam Spam, the real sul, was invented in oar in Minnesoa,"The “distinctive ‘chopped pork shoulder and ham mix Some Spammish thoughts ture" was developed by Jay C. Hormel, son of George A. Horm, the founder of ‘he Hormel Company, and was orginal- |y marketed as “Hormel Spiced Ham.” The name vas changed to “Spam” after a contest wat iniGated by Hormel © Sounter the efforts of imitators. Tn 1937, a version of Spam was devel- oped that newed no efigeration. Thats hen sales really took off Spam became fn essential part_of the rations of ‘American solders in Woeld Wa I Years Tater, Nikita Kruschey edited. Spam with the survival ofthe Ruslan Army ‘haring te same confit, Not content with invading the stom: acs ofthe pl, Hormel ls sw oi thatthe stu got into people's heads. In 1940, Spam was the sbject ofthe fst. singing commer! heard on radio. The Jingle was sung to the tae ofthe cho- rs of-My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.” For those whose curiosity i insatiable, the Iyres were "Spam, Spam, Spam) Hormel's new miracle meat in s can) Tastes fine saves time If you. want something grand Ask foe Spal” ast forward s couple of decades. In the second series of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the Pythons “cecbrated™ fhe famous hinchcon meat in their now legendary Spam sit. The skit takes place in a eafe At one table are « number of Vikings. all wear Ing horned heimess. Aman (Eric Tale) and his wife Graham Chapman, in dag) center the cae and it ata neighbouring table. The waitress (Ter Jones, als in sag) offers various menu choles all of which involve Spam, Wherever she ‘chant in response. Typical Python ran ress, bu it sucess hinged on Spa's notoriety, (You can heat the orginal Skit via streaming RealAudio, at vn des cepa “Te line fom the skit that echoes In the minds of presentday Interne users isthe wife's plaintive cry,“ ont want ANY Spant™ ‘No maa, and nor dow. But it pours Ingo our mailboxes, day after day. Its tout morgage rates and inet printer tatiage offers that cant be bent Is Shout offers to modify the sizeof var: fous body parts. Tt even cores in the form of flaring messages clrect from Nigedan banker, or the wives of recemty-deposed_ dictators, who need ‘ur elp to get back on their fet agai, Ws anoying, time-consuming and sometimes downright offensive. {you know what? Tntemet spam isnt realy very different from alot of the other nonsense that comes into my posonal space. I didnt ask the Land- cape tobe litered with billboards fut ing the latest and baddest SUV or the ha colour thas going to optimize my soc. dt ask that ome near-2d0 Teacet telemarketer interup my peace- ful evening with his unctuous, grasping questions. I'S all an invasion of my Space, and is al repugnant So why all he fuss Belg made on spam? Because its new? Because it ‘comes via the Internet, the meda’s favourite whipping-boy? Oris simply because spam hasn't — yt ~ become the vehicle of bg, socily-approved corp Tatons? its the ater, then heaven ep 1s things are oni ing to get worse ra uk wi sat omit emma, “apicinan « Read Total Gamer Canada's premiere gaming magazineer Kevin Linfield The joys of the trailing edge you wait for Falm and Pocket PC to ev- Honest reviews abound Windows 96 may have been in for & ‘lutinize the industry? Love my Palm Another advantage of ‘the trailing suprise when they learned that some of le. Sure, not as flashy asthe test edges you can get.a exer fel forthe their hardware. was not suppored Paim Tungsten or the Sony NR7D, and I performance and reliably of products Besides, | dont care if Windows XP don't get to brag. to my friends. based on others’ experiences By talking doesnt support my hardware because [ 1 ike being on the raling edge of However, it does the Job very well and t fends reatves oF reading postings am tl running Windows S8SE without technology. Back when I fst stared know what acesores are available. on the Intemet, itis fly straghtfor- any. problems. and don't need to with computes, I loved being on the Wward to obtain reviews and opinions. upgrade, leading ee There i a big iffrence Save money Need help geting that older accessory between the two, and cach positon has Abi reason for sticking with the working? A quick vst fo Google may Triling-edge thoughts its advantages and disadvantages. —tralling edge is that your purchase pices be all you need to ensue happiness AT sed foe on the leading edge and However, Tve now decided that the ae always tower, problem I find with the leading edge Is poked fun at people who were stuck on ralling edge efor me picked up a digital camera atach- that much ofthe media wants fo sugar the traling edge Bu time went om ment for iy Palm for less than 40 pet coat how great a product is End-user have found myself mite on the tating Go with a winner cent of its regular retail price, and’ a reviews are always the way fo go, and edge of technology, If you focus on Ifyou areon te trailing edge of ech~ Palm folding Keyboard for my wifes you only get those once a product hes slightly. older technology, you don't nology, you already know ‘what has Palm for only §25.lreently doubled teen onthe matt fora whe need the up-to-date software support lien succesfil and what has crashed the RAM In my old 486 notebook for that comes With the Ines and-prestes. fn bummed History shows that walling- less than $40. Sure the Palm lls se 0 Support ‘Yu have 2 Tot of support from other cslgers can save alot of headaches and longer being made and my notebook . "Yau also have an advantage ofexcel- saute such a fends and the Interne, ‘moneys just real the famous VHS ver~ was discontinied years ago, but surplus ent hardware andor software suppor and. most computer users are smart sus Beta wars of the early 1980s. Did stock abounds Ifyou have the time and and you can almost always ensure com eno to handle any lie problems on yu rush out and buy Beta or did you patience to ind it atiity wih caling edge technology. ther own ‘alta put yourmoney on VHS? Aer "If you've persed the ads in this issue For example, if you bought the leading: Italy like being ale to buy surplus 4 good chunk of tie, my family went of Toronto Computes, you will notice edge Palm ‘Tungsten PDA, you wil items at (what Ivconsider a0) great With VHS. And just before Christmas that many stores now focus on cear- quickly find that you can only acquire a prices and T personally can afford 0 last yea, I nally joined the 1990s and ance items or older stock. Some items few accesories for fy and ot mach purchase anew PC every 6 months oro. bought a DVD player. ae avaiable at an incredible bargain, software is available © take advantages ‘Or how about a handheld computer? Ever wanta notebook? You can buy one of is new features. Fes em fen eg a te Dd you buy an Apple Newton or did for less than 00, “Those who installed Windaws XP over _lofésgrceaon © POWERFUL INTERNET SOLUTIONS... "Serving Canada since 1997" W SPECIALS We vsesnt arcysisiz0: TEM art ets ae crs) wwe NEED A WEBSITE ? & $10.95 | enone Website Design & Development See Le Website Re-design e-Commerce Solutions Custom Applications Database Integration Maintenance & Updates Corporate Identity 16 Manan, Oro, 38-54 recess $29.95 | (samc 20 Amber StS Call Today! hi rs Se | www.mycybernet.net ta web.soiversAti * 6 1 % The easiest mien 2 YoU fis ‘Transferring large les, especially huge audio and video Mes, is some times difficult And if the uansfer i between Mac and. Windows systems, beware, While Mac users bave been ‘sing St) for years, Windows folks have been compressing vith Winzip. Stuf Deluze for Windows has been around fora while, and the new version Features new components ani works for other operating systems too, California-based Aladdin Systems makes this fle. compresion and nerypion application. Stuf ts avall= fable #83 downoad over the Web or &Doxed C. The intrction manual is prety thin, = nly with installing the application. To find out how to use the rogram you could stumble sround it ‘on your own, but we found the bp le fo be beter than many. Even if you've test WinZip before, Youll appreciate the tutorials youre unfamiliar with terms Iie archive and compres, defini- ‘os ae also in the help secon When you open ‘Stuf Delure, automatically wants to open an Interet ‘connection. Like many programs we're familiar with, explanatory tips. ako open in a separate window. More tps tam be viewed or accessed st any time from the hep mens ‘Stuf designers have made the nter= face with tree panes, sini fo that oF Windows Explorer. You can choose (0 archive fey archive and. mall, | achive and encoyt, and cleose what ormat to save your fein Tr you prefer to navigate ia Windows Explore, the drageandedop funtions vl also work there, Perform commands Simply by right-clicking on a Ifyou choose to load I Ofce Ready Stuff works dict with 0 mens A toolbars paced in your ofce Application, allowing you te compres, expand and e-mail compresed office Stuffing Windows Sure, you can FIP (Fle Transfer Protocol lage les, provied the rei ent setup with an FP server But © malig large attachments int good ides, because most mall systems have attachment ste limits usually set at 2 to 5 MB. Cramming huge fs ino 2 ‘manageable sz for malig 3 prac ‘eal use of compression technology ‘A good way 0 send a compresed le {sas a SeleEtracting Archive SEALS ‘he recipient can open it without having to install any software. Alo, you can specify an email be sent t0 04 con Firming extraction You can use tuft vo automate your backups, and save_ yourself sptee on backup media: Many people use CD-R drives to backup data. It doesnt take Tong to fil 650 or 700 MB CD. No, Blank CDs aren't expensive, but iF you back up dally, over ie that costal up. We compressed relatively. small 304 MB folder into 155 MB, Your rests wil depend on the type of Hes {you're archiving. However, on 2 larger feale, results simile #0. ours. could decrease your storage costs significant Iy over along time period. Also Sat fers the option of automatically send ing your backups over a network 10 3 system used for off-site storage, cither 'So why should @ Windows users buy Stag if Winzip s re? Winzip only works with Windows, while Stafit works with other operating systems ike all but documentation indeates Seu reads more filetypes than WinZip. And. Winzip doesn’ env fle. ©Planes, trains and AirPorts nines, wings all ~ and everytime 2 the hardreset was found at Apple's sup- Realty, 1 stilted to stick near Jes within age of nother aipory its port sic on the Web. When tha wis my ofce area. But now I can sit ina ‘recognized by tht sontol tower done, Lhd only to follow afew simple more somfurtae cha wth my fee up. Seting up an Apple AiPort can be a Setup steps and suddenly my wireless Ply once you have connection, Wt breeze, but like all walks in the park, network connection was lie and wel. stays. haven't losa download ye, And A thought struck me as Iwas setting there can occasionally be some rough When going through an alyort most Ws Jusas fate ¢ wiied omcecaog: plan AlrPort network with my laptop terrain. Apple has gone to great lengihs of us have a hassle fe experience. How far can an-aiplane go? Alt fa {ie ter day ~ did Apne call tt eveate a tue plngandplay word. Onceina while you get oneloud mow ther than te Apc Aufan, ht ees {AnPor” because it is a networking The AlPort got was a demo unlt that st the security station and suddenly have to get out of your char to at to ‘Pon that magically lies data trough had been setup previously na working, everybody isa suspect. Sure, they smile. ane: And planes ae pets cliake tos {he “al” to and from your computer? Or environment. Fst, Iwas password por 48 they go through your begs with «It aceme te we that Alor ee ne i they cal that Because of the strik- tected Now I suppose the upside to this__magnifying glass and let the drug dogs pors scully lave a lo ie conncon T ing similarities that can be scen when is tht pasowordprotecion does work IF ick the chocolate you bought fr your dak very suse bat Angle at a this white mushoom-cop-shaped device you have friends o family tat are con--__ wife but lt doesn mae ittetcg ports in mind. when designing. their ‘s-compared to an actual apor? Let's stantly using your AirPort connection "Apple claims thatthe AiPore good wireless wonder but hey. a eecd den sce we can fire this mystery out, for fee Inemet acces ~ black ‘emt for distances upto 50 metes T suppose good leas hy whtnf& ‘When you purchase an Apple AiPor And don'tunderesimat the importance that could be tue ir you Ive in« one 200 really have no choices to make. of password protection witha wireless with no walls and no elec interfer, fomes in one colour one shape and one network. A send of mine demonstrated ence. don't know about you bi thats Configuration, In this cas, one size fits how he could sit in Ms living room and not my house. Cement and plaster wall all.You dont have to wory about com- log_onio the wireless nctwork of hs are Ihe biggest problem for these types Patility either. ust make sure your next-door neighbour of wireless eviews Mac has an Alort wireless card A soft reset clears the password and is As soon as you get a cement wall and Installed and it wil recognize any in the toubleshooung section of the 20 eet between the computer and he ‘AlsPor within range manual. After doing that, | ound that Airort base, you lose the signal. That’ ‘The sume i tue when you go to an access. to this particular unit was why placing the base station cose to igport to catch a Might. You don restricted to the Computers that were wher you will be working is exenia T chose your terminal nor the type of Usted in its memory. A hardreset was had visions of working wires every- sieplane you are going to fy on, Theyre” the only way to ckar everything and where In my house ~ in the kitchen, all prety much the same ~ couple of jet_stat fiom scratch. Information about bedroom, ouside and on the sar Worl!s CHEAPEST SS9#? Computer Warehouse AMAZING P41.4 with 17" & CORW a | “Union Computer & Electronic” : =aaES me3, DAYS ONLY! APC and Mac show ‘computerfest.ca i Computer co s ouper Ton Sion ds 2 DUNNON Siow our rices 100 EXHIBITORS New, Used, Closeouts & Overstocks + Free Expert Advice “PC Games Arcade + Freg Sominars COMPUTER FEST NATIONAL TRADE CENTRE, EXHIBITION PLACE Friday 10am-Spmy; Saturday & Sunday 10am-Gpm 22a CHILDREN 10 & UNDER ADMITTED FOR FREE iain sume By ALAN ZISMAN. Have you noticed? Lately th Internet doesn't sem to be as much fun a5 Ht sed toe. What, «Few years go, Was hnveveking way to communicate and fet ews and information “now bas become Increasingly painfl to we. ‘With an increased umber of viruses, hack attacks, pop-up Web pages and more, online has changed From the sot of community where people Ie their front door unlocked to place where fveryone needs #0 invest in multiple fkadbots and bars, and peek out ca ‘dusly when anyone kaos. Symantec's Norion Teterter Security 200%, now in eed ein, promises tu reduce the risks and inconveniences of being online Like previous versions, the 2003 ei tion (109) bundles the atest versions of the company's Norton Avtvins and Noron Personal Frail eich neailabe separately for $69) Last year, NAV dae the option to seam outgoing € fall to catch any vines before they Infect others. New this year ite option to watch several instant messaging eo- irams — though not the popular ICO program, Is easier than ever to update the vnis definitions autorsaticall, 90 ter Intervention is needed (A one-year Subscription to Sjmante’ Live Update Is ind with the purchase of NAV oF TIS: afferwards, you wil need to renew ‘Altemately, you can manualy download the latest virus definition fl for fe) Like other software few, Norton Personal Firewall hides your computer fiom hackers randomly probing. the Internet for vulnerable ystems, AS well, ‘keeps tack of programs cn your com When itis fist installed, it searches yoursystem and presents yi with a ist ff Tntemer-capabe programs, It makes | recommendations that It thinks are “frend Resist temptation to simply allow everything listed fe and easy Net access instead, grat aces to your ‘Web browser and e-mail software When other programs ty to go online the Breall will inform you, ssking for ‘A new privacy conte feature Books astempls to send credit card, bank account and ater Sensitive information ftom your computer without your Knowledge Also ne and very weleome isthe option to screen out standard Web fis and annoying pop-up and pop= lander browser windows. This feature works etter than some others that 1 have tried, which offen keep the main age from lading Tike NAV, Personal Firewall uses symantec live Update to maintain an Uupetodate ts of online hazards. You tlko gets one-year subscription when you instal the software. "Norton Intervet Security offers a sin- ide interface for access to atv and Firewall festures, As wel ncudes a number of extra features. You may ‘Choose 10 use it to label e-mail mes Saas with the phrase “Spam Alert” By ‘my informal count, it caught about 80 per cent ofthe unwanted e-mallatv= Ingon my system. I's up to you to cede. were to go from there the ‘manual diseases how to st up rls in Outlook Express or fers in Eudora to futomatialy send labeled messages to the Tash f desired Parents may choose to allow different levels of Internet activity fr different thers of the computer editable profiles fe inched foreilren and eens, gv Ing parents contol over what thei children are able o do online. (Once aga, lists of blocked sits are updated regularly via the Live Update subserp- ton. A'$149 Pro version ofthe prodvet is designed to allow emplayer to block tints employes can sur during work. T woul have liked to se the program monitor 10Q 36 well as other sinilar Programs, and some ofthe options ae tial to dscover: But Norton internet Security 2003 goes along way to mak ing the internet safer and more fen place to spend tine. @By TOM VENENS Being @ movie buff In the age of DVDs can be frustrating Such fms as Pasoin’s Salo, Wenders Wings of Desire, Lynch's Eraserhead and Fulasaku’s Baile Royale are commer cially avalable on DVD in Furope and ‘Asian, and there site indeston ‘when these pictures will become aval- Able in North America. What i even ‘more frustrating is that fone were to Purchase the European DVDs ofthese letures, they would not be playable on North American DVD players because the region encoding. Region encoding s the system crest ed by movie studios to. protect the worldwide copyright and. dserbuton mechanisms of their movies on DVD. Slace movies are released on diferent Schedules around the wold, the studio wanted o make sure hat evens were not lost by people buying DVDs from Afferent regions and thereby diminish ing the revere generated by the local release of DVD Because of the dese ofthe stulios to protect rverns, ferent pats of the ‘wold now have diferent region codes Festicting the playability of DVDS (se Sidebar for the diferent region codes. A DD purchased in Europe as & Region 2 code, and only Region 2 capable DVD tachins can play the dss. BVDs fom Noth. Americ, with the Region 1 ‘colin. ae unplayable on Region 2 or ther region-specific machines, just 8 fnon-Resion 1 DVDs are unplayable on [North American DVD players. So even if 2 fli elesed in North America fst Eorsumers in Europe or Asia wl have © walt forthe studios to release regon Specie versions ofthe movie So what someone t dif ey have ss non-Region | DVD and want to watch itor irthey want to purchase move fon DVD that sony availabe in Esope or Asia? The best way to get around the region encoding is to use mil region OVD player. [A player that doesnt discriminate Nal-region players are designed to ply all DVDs, regards ofthe region encoding, The problem is that most of ‘these machines are not generally aval- Instead, dey ae im toes that spec jae exclusively In seling video and Of stores around North America tht Multi-region DVD players open up a world of movies speciale ih sling nothing but mul region DVD players and accessories (ee More Ifo box for store) Shane Gorman, wholesale and afl ate manager with the Montel, Que based Merconnet, says that sales have been ston for their NextBase 2 mal region/muli-tuncton DVD player ($264), The company bas been seing the NextBase mult-region/mulifune= tion plier for about two years "Some of the sles ae dilly to movie buffs that are looking to wate hhad-o-Fnd fms from different pats ofthe worl" Gorman say “Others ae Frequent traveler overseas who ofen pick up a movie while travelling and ‘want to se it when they get home" ‘Gorman says that malregion EVD players are am outgrow of the muki- egion video player mae that exited in the 1980s. In Europe, many houses had ideo playback machines that ‘ould handle tapes recoded in diterent reson standards = NTSC, PAL and_SECAM. up. with several ways. to make watching movies, much more dif cult Recently, the Motion Picture. Association of ‘America (MPAA) developed the Regional Cede Enhancing (RE) system that is-now being” placed on many Region 1 DVDs The RUE is made to pre- vent Region 1 DVDs fom beng played ‘on multi-region DVD player, and there sre talks uneneay to ince ths tech nology on DVDs relessed around the ‘ror Stil, many multhregion, DVD. layer are now starting to be released With technology that gets around the ACE system Some consumers may be concerned ‘By DAVE CHAPPELLE Buopcans used these machines | There are plenty of small USB devices onthe tovwatch movies that were only | market that store encryption keys and passe ‘walla fn Nor Americ cr | words. However, the FlshDio llama the {o watch tipes made by rela- | encryption ofan entre drive and als stores tives living ovenens. Many in| encrypted les and folders North America wanted those |” Inserting the FlashDio nto a ‘machin, and when DD play- | system prompts a pasowon acively demand siniar mult. | installed on Windows 98 and ‘gion machines for henselves. | Mac OS 8. computer Enter “That is why you are staring | password tice and its ready to seebhere In North America| fo se Make sire you remem Region Codes: "Canad, nied Stes, Us Teor 2 apn, trope, Sou src, Mile Et (acy sy). 4 Scthesst a8, Asa |} Asta, New Zend, acc | Genal” Ames, Menke, South eerie Canby Sui, nl, Paki, Aria (rap Egypt Noth Kors, Nengola hes 7 Nt ernie Specimens aes (lan erasing ee) that since DVDs from around the word ae encoded on different tcevi= Sion standards they sill may" not be Playable on North American tele Sons. Not to wory, a8 many of the Players come with built-in mechani that convert the television information for North American televisions If there are sill problems, there are vide con ‘vers Hat ean conver the sig Now, one cin impress fends with ‘hose hard-to-find ims and uncut seme that unl only these living ou Side Nor America can enloy. # the physical se of eich Hes remain ‘ens 1x28 om and 15 A pat ep ih poekt lip caver the USD comme ‘ot. A small hole at the other end ean be used ‘ott ails belgie ce Jace or a key chain for safekeeping. “ "Soc abe nce mening Sou onty have ora USB ports found on the sear pane, “Tis technology offer several possibilities, ‘ound tathe back of you fs came along they began to | windows Drivers” mist be Stem once to conneet real boom for multi-region | ber your passwonk beease DVD players" says Gorman. | without it the FlasDIo ad “People now want to gether | whatever s stored om Become uss hands on a wider variety of | "Folders, subfolders and Ties eam be emery releases and materi than are | ed by cght-clicking on a folder or lle and ‘cent avaiable: You saw | Selecting the encryption option. To eead an this with movie collectors and | fneryped fle, your password must be enter those intrested in sch hinds | “Sections ofa hand ne or an ene dive ‘a5 Japanese animation. Now it {s becoming more of man stream thing” can be encypted. When the Fs removed, the drive is safe unl the device is reinserted into the USB por. hbo Folders and les can oliywood fights back with the growing popularity of tmult-egion DVD - machines ako be sed (0 the ashDio aif were | 3 removable disk, ‘show iting dpe on tengecmty ee inhaling fences sch swhich While Wis aot legal wo sat | Which iso Such machines in Nowh | gear Im fe MY et Americ the major studios we | Cympute section not happy abou the potent Tes revenue. To ty and damp cn ther growing. popular te studios have been coming capacities from ie Raplgmert MB up t 512 MB Movie Sg canbe purchased, Important information can ber stored offsite, away from disaster and prying eyes. Simply ev. Ig the unlt fom the USB port render ay ceneryped data unreadable. I large aunt ‘of data-on the system must De encrypted, Temving the FashDio is an easy method of doing so, without the hasle and. potential flanges of physically removing he system Ind dike Tt occurred tome that the porabiliy “Steen epi ai GERWAD! N FO fae iaa coy the toolkit ofthe spooky char 55 CSIS, the ROMP, the IA or TCM mang can meseas | the FB Representatives oF Canadian estebutor (Paratech Trading in Burnaby, AC) would nether confirm nor deny my ello Wne and 0584 | Basicons,By GEOFF MARTIN. ‘According 10. Arsh, the “world tailing” game that’s St to ht sore shelves sometime 2008 wil sim Inte the life of Hugh Hefner, com- plete with hanging, out in. the Playboy mansion with his half dozen live-in giends. and an ‘Toroatos own Groove Games (wiigoorezames ever-changing cast_of Playboy com) hasbeen given the nod to develop a ult-plat- Bunnies, aswell s hosting the man- form game following Hefner's day-to-day activities sions ifamous parte. The game won't simply bea after adel as receniy worked out between Anish simulation of Hets life of lesure, however, a play> Enertainment (wenarshgamescon, an Arlzona~ es wil also heve to manage the busines sie of the 1 was bound to happen sooner of later. Many a young man hs dreamed of living the life of Ployboy magazin funder Hugh Hefner, and hel Soon be let sep ito viral lipers, with the help oF ‘Toronto video game developer. BMX bicycles and visting strip joints 10 the con- sHcmation of pavents and moral guardians every where bused video game distributor best known forthe Duke Dutew: franchise of games, and Playboy Enterprises ‘magazine that makes hi Iiestye posse. ‘According to Arsh, the game wil Ikely cmy & Mature rating and will more than likely feature 2 topless woman, oF thee, but the focus will be on Teall par of a growing trend of games marketed tovards adule game players, 8 evidenced by the Succes of Accaim's BMX XXX ~ a game Despite the storm of protests Groove Games test vente sUikely fo eet, i's going fo be an almost. sre-fre homerun, since Playboy's 3.1 million sub Seribers spent {ota of USS300 milion on video ames lat year Nove that the average dame s rap aly approaching his or her hires, it seems they te Tooking for female characters sighly more racy than Ms. Pac Man, and like oF not, we can only that somehow manages to combine riding expect to see more games ofthis type in he future, John Poindexter isthe brains ofthe Total Awarenes Network, @ projec of the US gov ‘mment that is aiming to agaveate data on all ts citizens from various sources, inorder to Meniy “potential terrorists but lately, he's the one who's being watched “The latest brainchild of the Poindexter Information Awareness OMe in the Pentagon } has privacy advocates justifiably worried to the point of net-panc, since it wil combine f data fom ered cards, travel activites school records, meical records and other sources ‘of information, Not content to take this perceived assault on thelr privacy lying down, sev- ‘ral activists have taken to turning the watchful eye of Big Brother on Poindexter himsel The trouble for Poindexter started when a columnist for SF Weely, a San Francisco based magazine, published Poindexter’ e-mail addres and home phone number, which he sid were in the public domatn, and therefore fee for anyone to dstbute Te info quick Iy began popping up at hundreds of other Web sites and Poindexter was fore to have the ‘umber changed Privacy advocites continued thet Web-based campaign and posted ste! Ite photographs of Poindexters house that are avaliable for purchace fom satelite nag ing company GlobeXplore wasgebeloer com), aswell = maps dealing how to get thers 4 Taking the fight out of football As the vdeo game industry sinks to new depths with increatngs ly realistic an sordid depictions of ex and vloleace, not everyone with a stake inthe industry is blindly going alongwith I, most ‘otal the National Football League ‘As the 2003 football plays were tm fll swing, the league Ssemi-quiely approached Midway Games (wmimiiveycon) and aes! that i the company wise to retain the future rights the NFL cence, he violent content ins NFL Blitz 2003 should Pred tore grt ee ee a ot altogetet Midway's version of NFL football i what i clls an Yarenaline- soe” sports video game, wher dhe focus son action over reli Ta NFL Bl, ass inererence in te orm of tacling.pledriving ‘or clotesining opposing players snot an offence punishable by & Denalty, ast would be n'a realistic portrayal af NFL ootall~ In fact is wholehearedly encouraged as an essential clement ofthe tame. Fighting with other player aera white Blown aso fencouraged. and payers can even adjust ther stings to allow ‘more “fighting time" after each whistle, making the console ame ‘cartoonish hybrid of football nd profesional wrestling Gene Goldberg, the NFL vice-president of consumer products, {old the media recently that the over-the-top ation ro be found in [NFL Blues "ot what yoeson when players are on the Bld Next ‘year we wl dil this bac Ite more. We're going to err on the ide of conervatia” he ‘Some Web sits have taken the campaign a big step further and are urging people to simulate Future Facial recognition system, which some say I the next logical step in the Total Information Awareness Network, by distributing Poindeter’s Photograph. Should’ they ever recognize Poindexter in thei presence, everyone from ser ing statin restarts tll booth collectors ae being encouraged to post deals of his ctv fon the Web oreven to deny hit services, ling him simply that he's Been ented a potential security rk John Gilmore, one of the co-founders of the Eleettnic Frontier Foundation (waveform clectronie privacy group, posted a message detall- Jing his suppor forthe exp and si that he {oo had pasted Poindexters detals because he ele “it would be good to have an early public demonstration of os how bad life coud become for such tageted individuals” # ealBy WiKtIAM &, WOOD Traller Park Tycoon takes the now- familiar “tycoon” model and plops i “colourful” world of ~ wait ove i ay you ret) and then adding amenities (restaurants, laundry fillies and s0 to Kep Youe residents fed and eter- tars Barbeau pis and the key to sucess ond rove fox of ef). Keeping residents happy land paying flamingo heaven requires that you satisfy ther prec ions represented by colour-coded ‘number vales So Ble Joe kes Stool, you keep her happy by making sure that er taller (which includes her home and the surounding ste) has a high enough old alve the most ae relat and come 15” LCD © 17” LCD petri F erro Now $399 NTT Peres EDN ‘ Ovi ame Sees el er] Aye Fone cansna con} aes high rating in one or both styles, re used t© moi the two syle values, Generic trailers are also upyradeable (to single-wide mg more ora ye vais ailers are warth a lot more bat the expanded yards neighbouring alles into syle conficts. For example, if ili Toes taller is upgraded and no Tabla tragedies particular = jour trier ark (00 trashy, sy) or squeezing dents before a tne limit nts out Tn the end, though, TPT stems more ‘amusement than Most of the ter places thin rads and meteor showers are occupa: tional hazards There's aso a “frs-person” option that lets you take contol of resents (and cats, dogs and prety much any thing else that moves). You can move ice 10 others (or o demselves wich make sal 3st play: Just fur stan ‘lallengs, four open-ended “sandbox (aster ak or ine Sil GEID:NFo Be a oe petey Soaeeraaniewe teampa ba) 48x16x48x ee Tox RW 48x CDR 80Gb HD Ind P¢ 24H 0S. IGbH Dee * 25°F NB 88 v20* Supper: DORS33 = rit Salt Seperate * 5899 LOR RELL) EY ea Bintel Pd 1.7GHz Oe RELL)I ‘by ANDREW MOORE-CRISPIN. hie he oi sil om Bp ews “ont gate Wh Boras owe any te wine see Sd week By Faw uso gf ete These of ete 0 BoE indy a pe Se ting iS ereecaatins Foray, int 2003p i ae ae ib ao ter es pa es ae coy ee gages wh fie oe ree tilts atlas metre tee orien termes Tiny 2003 sina te hack Sing Pye pal tick ee eck rg “ao Gecenen pul ape towel osu and down he eee eee | Re oays cond me oe Geter ie eee ae weacball mthe 6 sce the last Links sting 0 2001 ae new and ‘much. improved 9 30 seller anima fons which sda improved Arteld: Pater Course Designer whic Himith) of hipme For those intimidated by the nw com tool scheme, Microsoft Game Studios also Included the cay swing which is designed so younger kids can gt in on the action, so well ts the cate vee ‘lick ring from previous Links games. Hoeven once goles hit few drives with the Real Time Swing, there’ no folng back tothe old way. There fs an ‘tensive tutorial that covers using the new owing age a3 well a8. gore] sameply Aside fom the improvements 10 the contral scene, ther notable addons Country Club Web sie Folikscney bom) oF through Links fan ste fesgner is well featured and allows pi thr ur la addon fo i ionablef reste their “own course, Sparing ftom past version the 1987 version ofthe game The graphics in Lis 200 se ing short of spectacular, While the lool and motion of the players has been trey improved over past versions, the ‘courses themselves are equally pres sive. The course scenery Is tue 10 life water looks pristine, the crowed looks ‘ute believable, even the sand bunkers Show individual rake marke and foo ante Daline play i also improved in this Jats version of Links. Golfers have the ‘option af golng head-o-head in online touramens agains up wo seven ater Playing the Links Tour, we the Links Eounay Club Web sie matches gamers ff scative sil fn lourainents where ‘he results are posted tthe site oral NEXT WESHOSTING ‘vara Fem UL Looking for technology or computer related Ua ces