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 PRESARIO 5700T-700
INTERNET PC

COMPAQ Intel' Pentium' Ill Processor, 700 MHz

128MB 100 MHz SyncDRAM expand3ble to 384 ~
27.0 GB (7200 rpm) UltraDMA Hard Drive'
1OXDVD·ROM Drive
Crealive l.;ID;3D Blaster32 MB TNT·2Utra Grai;ilics~
Sound Blaster"' L~e' Valtre PCI Audkl
6.0Mb Max Digital Modem'
JBL Pro Am~ified Speakers
Digital Creafr11ty Imaging Center
Microsolt' Featured HomeCollection

Free lnte111urt J\(;cess Microsofl Word'

Microsoh Windows'98
From NetZern· Compaq CV915 19" Monitor (18 O" 'llA)

Nor on ly do rh esc Compaq Presa rio ln rerner $2549* As low as

$71 per month'
PCs g ive yo ur fami ly fast, easy lnrernec
4XCDRW (ReadN/riteab!e) Drive': Add $199
access, now rhcy give ir to yo u free . You'll PRESARIO 5700T INTERNET PC 250 MB Iomega Zip Built·ln~ Drive + 1 disk:
gee unlimited lncerner service courresy of Add $149
Klipsch v.2·400 Wall Speaker System:Add S224
NecZero* and Compaq. No fees. No gimmicks.
No lo ng-term commirmcnrs.

Compaq Financing
PRESARIO 1800T-Plll 500
From insranr applicarion processing ro flexib le INTERNET NOTEBOOK PC
pay ment oprions, rhe Co mpaq Consumer Intel Mobile PentiumIll Processor, 500 MHz

Financing Progra m makes ir easy to ger rhe 15.0" TFT Active Matrix Display
128 MB SyncDFIAM
larest Compaq rech no logy. Ca ll now to
10.0 GBUltraOMA Hard Drive·
arra nge a low monrhl y paymenr.1
6X OVD·ROMDrive'
PRESARIO 1900T
A Thin and Light Next-GeneraUon
~
]! ATI Rage LTPro HardwareAccelerated 30 Graphi1
Mobile Internet PC.
with 8 MB Video Memory
56K ITU V.90 Modem (PCO'
Ultra Hi·Gapacity Lilon Baltery
256 KB Integrated "On -chip" cache
IJ900 Printer (shown) ..... .......... ......$169.99 3.5" 12011.44 MBHi-Capacity SuperDisk;' Drive
IJ300 Printer ...................... .......... .$99.99 101100 Baser Ethernet Nenvork Card
A900 Printer ......$349.99 Microsoft Femured Home Collection + MS' Wind01·r.;

$3299* As low as
$92 per month'
PRESARIO 1800T
Powerful Desk1op Perfonnance Mobility Auto Adapter Add S99
in a Mobile Internet PC.
18.0 GB UltraDMA Hard Drive': Add S300
QuikDock: Aed S99

Y2K I COMPAQ PRODUCTS ARE YEAR 2000 HARDWARE COMPLIANT."

~~~~='~ ~eF~~.~~ ~~~~i: ~9a~~;;~~r:t"i~~~~:b~~~ ~a':':.;,~''t;~~ ~~W9it,:i,~~o~ :WRu~ayo;;~ ;1~:,rw~~~ u~~~~1~~~~~-s\~°"~;>;icfeeN~~~~~·c

1 1 0 1

' Requires sharing subscriber profole infomiauon and ~ewing wgeE<l ads. Olher terms and conditions also a po~ . See Netlero User Al)reeirent for <letails. 'For hard drC.-es. GB=b1ll<>n b\'le'. ;10X DVD·F
current~ unknown. may not reach 56 Kbps. and will vary v.ilh line condrtions. 'The 6.0Mb Max Digital l~odem u'es uie ADSUG Lrte protocol. ADSVG.Litel56K V.9J updates may be d0111'oaded from •
Service PrO\ider QSP). and may dotter from V.90 ISP ser.:ices. Maximum achievable oo.-mload transmission rates •111lh ADSVG Lite156K V90 are curr ent~ unknovm. maynot reach 6.0Mbps, and \'/ill vary
transfer rate may •tary lrom 150 10 600 Kops: for vmti"9 to CD·RW media. lhe data transfer rate may vary lrom ;50 IO 300 Kbps: for readmg to CD med•a. the data transfer rate may va ~· from 150 ·
· Home Phoneline Ne~~rl<ing and Ethernet Por1 cannot be used s<-nultaneously. Additional PC must have a ne ~:1or1< adapter. sold separatey. AOL is a single user system and 1~11 not anow murtlple use
notebook systems Is oick·up service. Compaq. the Compaq Logo. and Presario are registered in the U.S. Patent andTrademark Office lom09a and Zip are reqis1ered trademarks and Zrp Built-In IS a tra
company names mentioned herein may be trademarl<s ancl/or r09istered trademarks ol olher companies.Gall CompaQMonday -Friday. 7:00am-11.00pm (CD. 0 1999 CompaQ Computer Coiporation.
 PRESARIO 5700T-650 PRESARIO 5700T-600E PRESARIO 5700T-500 PRESARIO 5700N-500
INTERNET PC INTERNET PC INTERNET PC INTERNET PC
Intel Pentium Ill Processor. 650MHz Intel Pentium Ill Processor. 600E MHz Intel PentiumIll Processor. 500 MHz Intel Celeron··i Processor. 500 MHz
128MB100 MHzSyncDRAMexpandableto384 MB 128MB 100 MHz SyncORAM expandable to 384MB 128MB tOO MHz SyncDRAMexpan dable to 384 MB t28 MB i 00 MHz S\~cDP.Akt . 4MB Sharedfor Video
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

13.4 GB (7200 rpm) UllraDMA Hard Drive· 130 GB UltraDMA Hard Drive ' 13.0 GB Ult raDMA Hard Drive . 10 0 GB UIUaDMA Hard Drive '
10X OVD·ROM Drive· 10X DVD-ROM Drive 32X .1ax CO-ROM Drive 32X Max CD·RDM Drive'
xe~ratoc Creati.~ 12bs30 61asier32 t~B lNT-2 urrra Grap/1tsktelerate< Voodoo 3 1000 2X AGP Graphics Card 1·11th 6 118 Voodoo 3 1000 2X AG? Graph cs Card vnth 16 ~tB 2X AGP 1·~:h 64-til Panilrare N:ceaa:ed 30 Grqjlcs
~~~~~~~~~-

Sound Blaster Lr.~! Va'1.1; PCI Aud-0 Sound Blcster L~~' Value PCI Aucio ~ b~~ ~ ~ ~~

56K ITU V.90 ~\odem · 56K ITU V.90 Modem 56K ITU V.90 Modem' 56K ITU V.90 \1odem'
JBL Pro Amplified Speakerswith Subwoofer JBL Pro Amplified Speakers JBL Pro Amplified Speakers JBL Pro Amplnied Speakers
Digital Crea tiv1r1 ImagingCenter' Digi tal Creati ~ty tmagmg Cen ter'· Digital Crea tivity Imaging Center Crea\ivrty Action Center
Microsoft Fea tured Home Collection 100 ME Iomega ZrpBuilt-In'" Drive+ 1disk Microsoh Featured Home Collection Microsoft Fea tured Home Coltec ion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-

M1crosott Word Microsoft Featured Home Collection+ MS ' WorJ Mcrosott Word M~rosoh Word

h\ crosolt Wmdows98 h 1crosoi1 Wrndo"s98 h\ crosort \'lmdons98 Microsoft Winda11598

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Compaq Cl/715 17" Monitor (16.0'' VIA) Compaq CV715 17" Mom1or (13 o· VIA) Compaq CV515 t5" Monitor (1 3.8" VIA) Compaq CV515 t5" Monitor (13.8" VIA)

$2049* SSS ::r I month' $1799*I $51 As low as

per month' $1299* As low as
$37 per month' $1099*I $31 As low as
per month'

4XCDRW(Reml!Writeabl e) Drive·:Add S199 6OM bMaxDigital Modem' AdJ $99 IJ750Color Inkjet Printer Add$149 1OX DVD·RDMDrive':Add $59
---­
250 MBIomega Zip Bui lt·ln'' Drive+ 1disk: 4X CDRW (Read/Vlriteable) Dri1 e·: 4XCDRW (Read/Writeable) Drive ': APC Back·UPS Pro Ottice280:
Add S149 Add $199 Add $199 Add $89
---­ ~~~~~~~~- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~-

Kl rpsch v.2·•100 Watt Speaker System Add S175 Kl rpsch v.2·400 Via 1Speaker S1~tem: Add $224 Intel Crea te and Share Camera Pack:Add S99 6.0 lb Max Digital Modem' Add S99

PRESARIO 1800T-Plll 450 PRESARIO 1900T-Pll 366 PRESARIO 1800T-Plll 450 PRESARIO 1800T-466
INTERNET NOTEBOOK PC INTERNET NOTEBOOK PC INTERNET NOTEBOOK PC INTERNET NOTEBOOK PC
Intel MobilePentium Ill Processor, 450 MHz Intel Mo-!J1lePenDum II Processcr. 366 h Hz Intel .1obilePentium Ill Processor. 450 MHz Mobile Intel Celeron Processor. 466 MHz
t5.0" TFT ActiveMatri:<Display t3.3"TFT Active Ma rix Display 14.1•· TFT Active Matrix Display 14.I " TFT ActiveMatrix Display
96 MB5yncDRAM t28 MB5yncDRAM 64 MB SyncDRAM 64 MBSyncDRAM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6.4 GBUltraDMA HardDrive' 6.4 GB UltraDMAHardDrive· 6.4 GB UltraDMA HardDrive' 4.8 GB UltraDMAHard Drive'
6XDVD·ROM Drive' 6X DVD·RDM Drive· 24X Max CD·ROM Drive· 24X MaxCD·RDM Drive'
ATI Rage LT Pro HardwareAccelerated 30 Graphics ATI Mo lrty Hardware Accelerated 30 Graphics ATI Rage LT Pro HardwareAccelerated 30 Graphics ATI Rage LT Pro Hardware Accelerated 30Graphics
v11th 8 MB Video Memory with 8 MBVideo Memory 1-.i th 8 118 Video Merrory with 8 MB Video Memor1
56K ITU V.90 Modem (PCQ' 56K ITU Y90 Modem tPCIJ· 56K ITU V.90 Modem (PCQ· 56K ITU V.90 Modem iPCQ"
U1ua Hi-Capacity Lilon Battery U1ua Hi·Capacity Ulan Battery U1ua Hi·Caoac11y Lilor Banery Ultra Hr-Capa ci ty Lilon Battery
~--- -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

256 KBIntegrated "On ·chip" cache 256 KB lntegraied "On -ch ip" mhe 256 KB Integrated ·on-chip" cache t28 KB Integrated"On·chip" cache
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~- -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-

MicrosoIt FeaturedHomeCollection Microsoft Featured Horne Collection Microsoft Featured Herne Collection Microsoft Featured HomeCollection
Microsoft Windows98 Microsoft Windilws98 Microsoft Windows98 Microsoft Windows98

$2599* $73 As low as

per month' $2399* As low as
$67 per month' $2199*I $62 Aslowas
per month' $1999*I $56 As Iowas
per month'

192 MB SyncD RAM:Add 5300 OurkDock with Integrated Ethern et Add St29 96 MB SyncDRAM :Add $100 128 MB SyncDRAM: Add 5200
DiamondPhonelineNePllOrk USB Add S69 Extra AC Adapter:Add S49 ExtraAC Adapter:Ade S49 6.4 GB UltraDMA HardDrive·: Add $100
CompaqValue Case: Md 539 Extra Ultra Hi-Capacity LilonBal1ery:Add S129 6X DVD-ROM Drive':Add5150 6X DVD-ROMDrive': AddS150

i ava1laole m 1e1a I stores. 'lllvs:ralions may rot accurate~ rcpresc1t exact c:onhguations pnced. ComDJQ 1s not liable for editonal, pcmrial, or typograo ical errors in this aavems·~mem ·r111s produc1 1s prcr11ded and administered by r,.1BNA
omoaQ pu1chases b1!1ec1di:ec tty 10 your account ... System tested using NSTL YMA.'IK2000 hardware tes r~ oo - compllam lh,rd -part1 softw:arelhardNare pro:fucts may affect rollover results Fer more delaJI:;, see \'l\'.'w.compaq com/year2000.
01\1 Orwes read a m1ni11u111 5545 Kbps and a maximum a! 13525 Kbps . lTU V.90 modems are designed rnly to allow laster d0':.11 oads from K5611ex· o; V90·compliant dtgit.3.I sources. Maximum achieva?le download transmission rates are
:Ompaq's '.-'1ebs1 to ~·:hen avmlable. The ADSUG.Ll teJ56K V.30 protocol ls designed to al!0':1 faster downloacs from ADSUG U:e./56K V.90·compllant d191tal rnurces. A·1ai 1a:Jihty of AOSUG.L1te/56K V90 ser.1ces \\ill vary b~· region and lnterne1
with line cond1t1ons and distance. '32X Max CD·AOM oata uanslei rates may vary from 1800 to 4800 Kbps fWor1<s with most tl11rd-party de11ces CO·RWdrive data transfer rates may vary as folloins. fer recording to CD·R media, the data
1

l to 3600 Kbps. An appropriate license may be requlrea. 24X Ma• CD-ROM data ~ansfer rates may vari from 1500 ta3600 Ktjls '6X DVD-ROM Orne t1ansfer rate is up ta St15 Kbps compared to :352 Kbpsfor tX DVD-ROMDrives.
·s ta access simultaneously under the same account. Other Internet Service Providers may have tile same restrictions. Oneyear partsand labor. Labor lor desktopsystems isp:ck-up ser<rce during the first 90 days ol ownership. Labar tar
lemark of Iomega Corporntion. Microsoft. MS. and VVindows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corr.iorat1on Intel. the Intel lnsice Logo. and Pentium are registered trademarks and Celeron is a trademark of Intel Corporation :>reduct and
\Urights reserved.
PRESARIO 5700N-466
INTERNET PC
Intel" Celeron" Processor, 466 MHz
COMPAQ
64 MB 100 MHz~ 4MB Siared foc Vlloo
6.0 GB UltraDMA Hard Drive'
32:< Max CD-ROM Drive'
2XAGP w/64-bit Harcl.vare kcelerated 30 Grap/Ji:s More choices. More technology. More fun.
ESS Solo PCI Audio
You remember the feeling. You'd rake one step into your favorite candy srore and your jaw
56K ITUV.90 Modem'
would drop at the sight of all kinds of delectabl e treats . Well , it's abour to happen again,
JBL Pro Amplified Speakers
thanks ro the Compaq Presario In ternet PCs you see here. Because when it comes ro a variety
Creativity Action Center
of models, features, and prices, we really know how ro sarisfy rhe compurer junki e in yo u.
Microsolt' Featured Home Collection
The srandard features alone are enough ro make your mouth water. Rocker-like lnrel" Celeron';
Microsolt Word
Pentium" II , and Pentium Ill processors, at speeds of up ro 700 MHz. Our unique Easy
Microsolt Windows' 98
Access Internet Keyboard for one-rouch access ro t he Ne r. Free Inrernet service, for as long
Compaq CV515 15" Monitor (13.B" VIA)

$799*I $23 As low as

per month'

10.0 GB UltraDMA Hard Drive': Add $50

100 MB Iomega Zip Built-In"' Drive+ 1disk:
Add $79
IJ300 Color Inkjet Printer:Add $99

We're the candy store.

PRESARIO 1900T-400
INTERNET NOTEBOOK PC as you want, from NerZero~ A choice of how to buy, whether from your favorite rerailer, or
MotJileIntel Celeron Processor. 400 MHz direcr from Compaq, via phone or the Web. You can even choose from a variety of financing
12.1" TFT ActiveMatrix Display options through Compaq consumer financing:
64 MB SyncORAM And that's nor counring all rhe goodies you can add on. Like Home Phoneline
4.8 GB UllraDMA Hard Drive' Networking:' which lets rh e enrire family surf rhe Ner at rhe same rime. Sup er-fast DSL
24X Max CO-ROM Drive' modems, so when DSL service comes co your area, you'll be ab le co surf ac li ghrn ing speed.
ATI Mobility Hardware Accelerated 30 Graphics Plus, you can add an Ethernec porr co make your PC cable and sarellire mod em ready.
with 8 MB Video Memory
56K ITU V.90 Modem (PCfJ'
Yet rhere's even more ro wher your apperire.

Ultra Hi-Capacity Liloo Battery If your wish lisr includes playing games wich mind-blowing 30 graphics, you can upgrade

128 KB ln legrated 'On-chip' cache co a nexr-generacion DVD-ROM drive. Caprnre, edir, and publish high-qualiry digital movies

Mi:rosoft Fealured Home Collertion and srill images with rhe Digiral Creariviry Im aging Cenrer~ Ger rhc laresr in removable
M~rosoft Windows98 storage with an Iomega Zip Builr-ln'" Drive or CD Read/Writeable Drive? In fact,
wharever you want o ur of a com purer, we can put in to ir.
The icing on rhis cake is char you can bring home all chis fabulous sruff wirhour
$1799* I s51; month'
spending your last penny.
Extra AC Adapter: Add $49 Which is probably more rhan you could say about your visirs ro rhe corner candy store.
APC Notebook Surge Protector: Add $29
Compaq Backpack:Add $69

1-800-892-6608 www.compaq.com
Buy direct from Compaq , or purchase yours at your favorite retailer.

Compaq RetaileflS ABC warehouse, American Appliance, American TV, Big City Express. Brandsmart USA, Buy.com,
CDW, Circuit City, CompUSA, CompUSANET.com, Computer Town, Conn 's, DataVislon , Fred Meyer. Fry's El ectronics ,
h.h. Gregg, J&R Computer World, Micro Center, MicroWarehouse, Multiple Zones, Nationwide Computers & Electronics,
Nebraska Mega Mart, Office Depot, OHiceMax. Onsale.com, Outpost.corn, PC Connection, PC Mall, PC Richard & Son, PC Warehouse,
RadioShack, RCS Computer Experience , Sears , Shopping.com, Staples, State Street Discount, The Wlz, Tiger Direct,
pentium®/// Tops Appliance City, ValueArnerica.corn Visit a Compaq Built For You Custom PC Center at select retailers highlighted in bold above.
 Speed Quality
Takes printing to a
new level. Up to 8 ppm in
black, 5 ppm in color.
+ Rich, laser-quality black
printing, plus 1440 x 720 • dpi color +
printing for lifelike images.
 Prints great. Prints fast.
With money-saving individual ink tanks,
this could very well be the perfect printer.

INDIVIDUAL INK TANKS. The Canon BJC-6000 Color Bubble Jet'M printer is perfect in

every way_ This smart printer has the Canon Think Tank System;" featuring individual ink tanks

that allow you to replace only the color you need when it runs out. And with an optical sensor

that warns you when a color is low, you 'll never run out of ink in the middle of a job again.

BRILLIANT RESOLUTION. Need extraordinary printing? Well , expect nothing less than

perfect 1440 x 720 dpi• output thanks to our unique Drop Modulatlon Technology."'

PHENOMENAL SPEED. With a perfect balance of form and function , the BJC-6000 prints at

a blazing 8 ppm in crisp, laser-quality black. Or 5 ppm In beautiful color. For more information, visit

our Web site at www.ccsl.canon.com/ 6000 or call 1-800-0K-CANON. Canon

Ink Va I ue
Large, individual ink tanks save you All this for only $149,*'
money, and the optical ink sensor indicates including our exclusive Canon
when a color is running low. Creative Pro Software.

>1999 Cuon Complittr ~ltlfll, Inc. CaOOi'I and BK: ere rttlilfftd trademarks and Bu!ibte Jtt, Orop Modulation Ttellnoloo and C31'G.1 Hunt Tar.• Sr\ltm are tndcm.uMof Canon In:. In CJnadil call 1·800-263·1121.
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 It will change the way you work.
Heck, it'll change the way you drive home from work.

Introducing Digital Dashboard, powered by

Microsoft" Office 2000. Digital Dashboard helps you
make better business decisions by letting you see
everything from revenue goals to rush-hour traffic on a
single screen. It also lets you integrate and filter e-mail,
key documents, real-time data, and even Web -based
information to suit your business needs. Plus it gives you
one-click access to Office applications like Word 2000,
Excel 2000, and Outlook• 2000 so you can quickly drill
down to the details to see how they affect
the bigger business picture. To find out
how Digital Dashboard can sharpen your
business reflexes, visit our online demo at
www.microsoft.com/ go/DigitalDashboard

Where do you want to go today? Microsoft·

~ 1g99 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft. the Offlco 1020. OuUook, and Where do you wnnt to go today? are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Co1porallon in the Unltccl Stotes and/or other countries.
 VOLUME 17 + NUMBER 12

158 ULTIMATE BUYERS GUIDE: HOME PCs

l :&WM4'.'i Glamorous new models
teJ ranging from an iMac look-alike to a
E sleek LCD-equipped unit from NEC
may turn your head, but boring-looking
beige boxes from Dell and Micron still offer
the most computer for your money. Our
review helps you find the system you need,
whether you're after a PC for the kids or a
home-office powerhouse.

181 ULTIMATE BUYERS GU IDE:

COLOR PRINTERS
1 :841AM4 1,11 With the holidays just
fOl around the corner, should you add a
E color ink jet to your wish list? Prices
are lower than ever and print quality is soar­
ing. We pick two that will tickle you pink­
one for the home, one for small business.

(crucial, improbable, or downright absurd)

that changed our lives, opened our eyes, or
134 THE DIGITAL CENTURY made us smile. Next month, we'll gaze into
w,• •·• ·• !W :W,wa:a A lot has our LCD ball at computing's future .
18'1 changed since "portable" computers
m weighed more than your desk, or 201 POSTMASTERS
even since Pong was fun. As Y2K rears its l!M•W,'WA·i Overwhelmed by e-mail?
overhyped head , Here's how to control your in-box and spiff
we remember 10 0 up your messages in AOL, Eudora, Outlook,
Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, and
Hotmail and other Web-based mail services .
18 1

134
223 ATTENTION , SHOPPERS !
Shopping bots promise to gather the best
Additional ma ter ia l
bargain s on the Web-but do they rea lly
available on PC World work? We sent out dozens of automated
Online: www.pcworld.com
shopping assistants to collect books. toys,
IOl•ifJ'i :I Photography clothing, and a camcorder. Find out which
by Stan Mu silek bots brought home the bacon.

6 . , . ,••, .•• t. D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 lj~lltliiHIHfli\,
58 700 MHZ ... AND BEYOND 266 PICK THE PERFECT
Intel and AMD continue their dizzying duel NOTEBOOK
to produce th e fastest CPU-and this lime, AM·AWM•M•i The new
you can feel the performance difference. fftl midrange notebooks cat­
·- egory expands our port­
63 Piii NOTEBOOKS: SPEED AND POWER ables list to a Top 15. Meanwhile, on
The mobile Pentium 111 processor brings the desktop front , AMD 's Athlon
near-desktop performance to portables. processor gives computers power-but
will vendors give it a chance?
64 BCENTRAL.COM FOR WEB BUSINESS 223
Microsoft wan ts to teach small businesses a 268 POWER PCs
thing or two about succeed ing online. &M·MWM·M We' re seeing double. Two
AM O Athlon machines-a new 650-MHz
66 OFFICE APPS MOV E ONLINE Polywell and a 600-MHz Sys- break the
Rent an office suite in cyberspace. monotony of wall-to-wall Pentium Ill s.

68 FREE ON LI NE STORAGE 274 MIDRANGE PCs

Keep your files on the Web. &M·MWM·M In a category dominated
by Pentium IIIs, Celerons occupy third and
72 COREL SWEETEN S LI NUX fourth place. The only new PC to crack the
A Windows-esqu e Linux version the Top 10 is a PIII-600-based Micron.
installs easier than any other.
280 BUDGET PCs
74 FASTER HOM E NET WORKS &M·AWM·M Almost half the systems
New LANs boost speeds tenfold. on this month's chart carry three-digit price
tags . Among them are a couple of $999
newcomers: the Sys TaskMaster 500 and the
Premio Apollo II CSi.
102 Compaq Deskpro EP 500, Dell OptiP lex
GX110 desktop PCs 288 NOTEBOOK PCs
74
103 Paint Shop Pro 6 AM·MW8""1 The sleek, snappy
104 Compaq Presario 305 ultralight notebook; Gateway Solo 9300LS earns top
Corex CardScan 500 scanner honors on our power list, whi le
106 Epson Stylus Scan 2500, Xerox WorkCentre returning contenders from Mi­
XK35c multifunctions; SmartOnline.com cron and Toshiba snap up Bes t
108 Gateway Astro desktop PC; Matrox Ma1vel Buys in the midrange and bud­
G4oo-TV graphics card get divisions.
112 Encarta 2000 Reference Suite, Year 2000
Groli er Mu ltimedia Encyclopedia 2-CD 293 SCANNERS
Deluxe Edi tion; Wow TI1ing sound booster, AM·MWMol Scanning gets easier
Labtec LCS-2514 4.1 s pea ker system this month-most units on the chart have at
119 L&H Voice Xpress Personal Finance; Com­ leas t one quick-start button for launching
paq Aero 1500 PDA their multiple functions.
102
122 DoughNet, ICanBuy, Rocke tCash e-wa!Iets;
Acer WarpLink Communica tor Card 295 19- AND 21-INCH MONITORS
126 Canvas 7, PhotoDraw 2000 version 2 AM·MWM·i Nine of th~ ten best di s­
plays are new this month. Our top picks: a
19-inch Samsung and a 21-inch Mitsubishi .

299 GRAPHICS BOARDS

aM·MWM·i On our AGP list, the af­
fordable n ew AT! XPert 2000 captures a
share of the Best Buy honors.

D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 .,.,j,jjj;,; 7
 304 WINDOWS TIPS 19 UP FRONT Internet shoppers of the world,
faJ Use Thumbnail View to see many unite! Here's your chance to help keep
E:miiiiJ
fil es at once, make My Documents Web merchants in line.
your own, life after Active Desktop. 23 LETTERS Readers sound off on alternative
308 WINDOWS NT operating systems and the messaging bat­
Maste r NT's command lin e interface, tle between America Online and Microsoft.
35
power-off by shutting down. 35 CONSUMER WATCH Who's been naughty
310 ANSWER LINE and who's been nice? Check our list of the
~ Bypass pa ssword requests, share a best and worst companies of 1999.
biii:Jprinte r be­ 41 ON YOUR SIDE Free-PC scams , tl1e down­
Lwe n two PCs. side of e-commerce, a clarification on ISP
314 INTERNET TIPS 800 access numbers.
~Fig ht Oaky 45 GOT A PROBLEM? Dismayed that Win­
- freeze-ups dows 98 doesn't include a fax utility' Here
in America Online are two simple solutions.
4 .0, customize the 51 HOME OFFICE Steve Bass reveals why
printing of Web ~ he's paranoid about hackers and
pages, ban banner ~ explains how to safely share your
advertisements. computer and Net connection with others .
318 WORD 55 BUGS AND FIXES Y2K hoax viruses, im­
PROCESSING ~ proved Communicator encryption,
Automate often ­ U the latest Internet Explorer security
pe rform ed tasks flaws, and a Eudora upgrade.
with supermacros, 376 FULL DISCLOSURE As the millennium
correct your cus­ approaches, Stephen Manes reflects on the
tom dictionaries. control hyphenation . unforeseen strides computers have made.
327 SPREADSHEETS
Safeguard your data in Excel 97 and Excel
2 000 using built-in protection options; dis­
play a permanent count of AutoFiltered rows.
328 HARDWARE TIPS CHAT ROOMS FOR GROWN-UPS
~ Use Direct Cable Connection or other 1:a.a11wa.1 Take a guided tour of
'm methods to transfer fi les to and &om Internet Relay Chat, the Net's original real­
your notebook with ease, get your re to re­ time chat system.
dial your ISP automatically. www.pcworld.com/dec99/irc
334 UPGRADE GUIDE
Give your computer a new motherboard for THE BEST REWRITABLE CD DRIVES
the ulti mate performance boost. 1;84884118 Find out which of the
334
new breed of speedy and cheap CD-RWs
represents this month's Best Buy.
www.pcworld.com/dec99/rewritable
304
14 HOW TO CONTACT
PC WORLD TIPS FOR WORD 2000
14 COMING UP (AND MORE)
338 MAIL-ORDER SHOPPING M!M•K',1WK•M Check out
GUIDE our compendium of tips and
342 PC WORLD tricks for all Word versions
MARKETPLACE since 6 .o, plus special pointers
367 PRODUCT INFORMA­ for Word 2000 users.
TION CARD www.pcworld .com/dec99/word2k
369 ADVERTISER INDEX
370 EDITORIAL PRODUCT PC WORLD ONLINE
INDEX www.pcworld.com

8 144fi.l;ii·F 0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Introducing the Sprint PCS Wireless Web.
Who wouldn't appreciate an easier way to get online? With the Sprint PCS Wireless Web
Connection. employees can now use their laptop PC and any wireless Internet-ready Sprint PCS
Phone to connect to the company's network. Wi reless is no longer just about voice. Now
people can send and receive e-mails. retrieve files. get rea l-time information off the Internet
and more. all without having to find a phone jack. Of course, calls are still crystal clear, thanks
to the only all-digital, all-PCS nationwide network, serving more than 280 major metropolitan
areas. including major airports. So don't be surprised if everyone gets in line to thank you.
·- . -- ------ ----­
The Sprint PCS Clear Wireless Workplace"' 877-255-9008 or www.sprintpcs.com/clear

~Sprint® The clear alternative to cellular:" Sprint PCS'"

Sprint PCSWireless Web Connection and browser applications require a wireless Internet-ready phone. Connection application requires urn purchase of a Sprint PCS Wireless Web Connection
Ki t. !See kit for computing devices supported.) This service is not avai lable while roaming off the Sprint PCS Network. Subject to credit approval. Sprint PCS Wireless Web"' option is only
available wi th service plans of $29.99 or more. Not available to Prepaid customers. Overage rates vary by plan or option. A rate of $0.39 per minute applies to all Wireless Web usage without a
plan or option. See the Clear and Simple Facts Guide for conditions on voice-only plans. Customers with Account Spending Limits or Sprint PCS Add-a-Phone"' are eligible only for the $9.99 option. A
complete statement of the terms and restrictions for Sprint PCSWir eless Web services are available in theWireless Web brochure. © 1999 Sprint Spectrum L.P. All rights reserved. Sprint, Sprint PCS
and the diamond logo are registered trademarks of Sprint Communications Company L. P., used under license. Sprint PCS Phone is a trademark of Sprint Communications Company L.P.
IBM, Gateway, HP,
and Apple buy our
memory direct.
[ They don't take risks. Neither should you. ]

Compare the Savings . . .

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64MB Upgrades
Compaq Kingston Crucial largest memory manufacturers in the world.
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Micron Electronics Kingston Crucial direct savings - Crucial Technology,
Millennia 400 $214 .00 150.29
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a Division of Micron.
ClientPro VXE 200/233 $214 .00 152.99
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Ga t e way Kingston Crucial

G6-300 $214 .00 150.29
P5-200 $314 .00 152.99
GP6-300 $214 .00 150.29

IBM Kingston Crucial

Aptiva (2140) $214.00 150.29
PC 300GL (6591) $243 .00 150.29
PC 300PL (6892-50U) $243 .00 152.99
"Thanks for " qua/if) product at a great
price. Everything is working with a noticeable
HP Kingston Crucial
BRIO 8338 $214.00 150.29 increase in speed, and the price was a full
Vectra VL Series 8 $214 .00 152.99
50% offthe price from tlze OEM. You
Apple Kingston Crucial definitely ltave a winning web .\·ite for
IMAC $214.00 158.39
Power Mac 6500 Series $222 .00 161 .99 memory upgrade purchases! "
Power Mac G3 $214 .00 150.29
Power Mac G3 PC100 $214.00 152.99 Roy Turnbull, Principal Engineer
Cru ci a l p ri ces r efl ect a n a utomat ic 10% d iscount
fo r ordering o nllne. Prices we re taken from Crucial and Kingston
Web sites on 9/30199. however. they ca n (and do) change daily. Prices
may vary according to specific system requireme nt.
1
f
i
 get
your warm,
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T his y ear, when you do yo u r onlin e shoppin g thro ug h o u r ShopCenter "
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Not to mention t he Cashback Bonu s' award you earn w ith your Discover
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saving on th ose warm fuzzies . Th ere's always so methi ng mo re to Discover.

SH PCENTER .,
COMING UP IN JANUARY PUBLISHER, PC WORLD ONLINE Steve Fox
MWa. . ww... :~--~--• VP, CIRCULATION Shawne Burke Pecar
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Cathryn Baskin
THE FUTURE PC MANAGING EDITOR Luis Camus
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ART DIRECTOR Robert Kanes
Eye of newt and wool of bat. PC Wo rld EXECUTIVE EDITORS Tracey Capen, Yael Li·Ron. PC WORLD GLOBAL PRODUCT LINE Na ncy L. Jacobs
consults industry soothsayers and ex­ Bill Snyder, Daniel Tynan
FOUNDER David Bunnell
ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR Kimberly Stein
am ines telltale portents. What changes FOUNDING EDITOR Andrew Fluegclman
SENIOR EDITORS Brad Grimes. Harry McCracken,
may befall PCs, the Net, our very lives? Karl Kocssel. Laurianne McLaughlin . a411 :~-111 :111111.1~&"1il :A1:aaw I: ~
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What shall be the next Microsoft? The Karen Silver, Alan Stafford PC Wo rld Subscriber Services. P.O. Box 55029,
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••
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14 i&f#.f.,.. o E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
PerfectFlat® technology looks better with ...

Intel Inside®... Selecting your PC is only half the battle.

Today, how you top it off is just as important.

Viewsonic®
Innovations like multimedia monitors, flat
panel displays and large screen CRTs are
changing the old phrase " Monitor Sold
Separately" to "PC Sold Separately ".

on top! Take the new Viewsonic PF790 19" (18 .0"

viewable) monitor with a .25mm - .27mm super
fine aperture grille pitch and a maximum
resolution of 1600 x 1200. Or the PF775 17"
(16.0" viewable) monitor with an ultra fine
.25mm aperture grille pitch and 1600 x 1200
maximum resolution. Both monitors utilize
PerfectFlat techn ology designed to provide
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At Viewsonic, we offer the #1 best selling
monitors and flat panel displays in the USA*.
Buy with confidence from the company that's
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For more information on the company that's
won over 550 industry awards, visit our
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(PC Sold Separately)

, .. 1,1•1W>

1800) 881·8583 • Spcc1lrtaiJOl1S Sltllecl 10 change 1•r.lllou1 nooce. • Cqiyngl1t© 1999. ~te'11Soo~ C«poralton • C«pora1e names and
tradema"5 stated herein are Ille prcpe11y ol lhelr 1espec-""' ccmpan.es. • Intel and Uie ~lei <1side logo aie 1eg1Ste1ed t1ademarl:s ol lnlel.
• ·s1anl0ld Resources, Inc. ~!onlirai< US. Oesk!op PC Moor.01 Sh;r.<nents 02 ·gg and Disp~y Sea1ch, Ouane<ly S11pcfy "· Oemand S11n1
Desktop '.io<1~ors 03 '99. • NI nghts 1esm'e!J. www.Viewsonic.com
11

,.

- '1

... \ ~ .
..
··.· .

.. ....
'· ·.

. "

. '
 Adding graphics can help bring your ideas to life.
Microsoft"' PhotoDraw'" 2000 business graphics software is the easiest way to give your
work a visual edge. This al l-in-one program has all the photo-editing and drawing tools you
need to create more impressive Web sites , documents, and presentations. And because
PhotoDraw 2000 was designed to work seamlessly with Microsoft Office, it's simple
to save your graphics directly into yo ur FrontPage"' or PowerPoint"' fi les. What 's more,
Photo Draw 2000 has a fam il iar Office interface, so it's easy to use right out of the box.
To find out more, visit www.microsoft.com/ photodraw/ go/ and order the tria l CD.

Microsoft·
Where do you want to go today?"'

L999 Mcosoft Cotporation. All rif)'lts reser\"cd. t.taosofi, Front Page, f>rotoQnr,.•. PowcrPo.n1. Ule orrce klgo. and m iere do .>W v.utlt ro,p tod.JY'} <lrc cltncr rC!gisterro ~a 1raoerr.arks cf Microsoft Cotporatloo .n tne Un ted States ard/or other countries.
 The proposed guidelines address more than
60 policies and practices. Their broad range of
focus includes the following categories:

E-Shoppers of the
Basic merchant and product information
· A central information center, easi ly accessi ble
throughout a site, Listing a physical address and
contact information

World, Unite! · Specifics about product availa bility, includin g

estimated shipping date and notification about
back orders
FOR MILLIONS OF CONSUMERS, technology has wrought • Clear itemiza tion of charges, including esti­
mated shipping and handling fees
profound changes in that great American pastime: shopping. For­
• Info on product warranties, support, and ser­
get the mad rush to the mall, trash that stack of catalogs. Instead, vice, including a description of coverage, whom
to contact, and duration of support or warra nty
fire up the modem, load up the shopping cart with a few clicks of
• Clear disclosure ofa site's policy on accepting
the mouse, and-voila! The packages an-ive on your doorstep a few payment from an advertiser or sponsor for con­
tent not easily identified as advertising
days later. At its best, online shopping can ' t get much easier.
Measures to ensure privacy and secur it y
By yea r's end , some 17 million households • Disclosure of what customer data the site ga th­
will be shopping online, up from 10 million a ers, how it uses that data, and if and how cus­
year ago. During this holiday season, consum­ tomers can limit the use of that data
ers will log on to the Web in record numbers, • Encryption throughou t the buying process,
racking up over $6 billion in online purchas­ along with encryption of customer data
es- more than double what they spent last year Order handlinq and status
at this time. Consumer expec tations are high, • Notificatio n that a customer order has been
with Web-savvy shoppers looking for easy-to­ received, along with shipping information and
navigate sites, secu re credit card transactions, the merchant's credit-card charging policy
effi cient customer service, and fast site perfor­ • Access to information on the status of an order
mance. But at the same time, rece nt surveys
With record Web • Specifics about cancellation, return, and
show, consumer satisfaction is s inking. with sales expected refund policies
fewer online shoppers as sati fied with Web • A mechanism for submitting feedback, com­
shopping as they were a yea r ago.
this season, the plaints, and questions
The statistics are hardly surpri si ng. Think potentia l for • Respon se to complaints or questions within a
about the bungled orders that plagued all too specified time
many shoppers during last year's holiday fren­
unhappy holidays
YOUR CHA NCE TO WE IGH IN
zy. Many saw Web shop ping at its worst. as re­ is stagge ring.
tailers failed to maintain overl oaded serve rs, fill FOUNDING MEMBERS WHO ARE involved in
orders on time, or deliver minimal customer developing the Standard for Internet Com­
service. With twice as many sales expec ted this season , the po· merce are currently voting on the second draft. The final vers ion
tential for unhappy holidays assumes staggering proportions. of th e guidelines will include all practices and policies approved
by at least 60 percent of voting members.
RULES FOR RETAILERS
The hitch? More than 70 percen t of those voting represent e­
WITH BILLIONS OF dollar in Web sales dancin g like visions of commerce merchants. With Web bus in esses makin g up th e
sugarplums, more than 300 online business. government, and larges t voting bloc, it's hardly a stretch to imagine that when the
community leaders ban ded together ea rlier thi s year to devise a final votes are tallied, profits will outweigh consumer interest.
set of e-commerce guidelines. TI1e goal: to increase consumer If you 're among the 17 million households expected to shop on
satis faction and trust and, ofcourse, boost profits for merchants. tl1 e Web this holiday season, we urge you to let founding mem­
Due to be released in December, the Stand ard for Internet bers know your preferences and vote on the proposed guidelines.
Commerce aims to cod ify the best e-com merce practices. Mer· Voting on the second draft ta kes place from mid-October until
chants will be able to use this code as a s pecification for co n­ November 22- simply log on to www.commercestandard.com
ducting business online, while consumers can be assured of Web and cast your vote before you shop.
re tai lers' reputability . Pay attent ion-now's you r window of
opportunity to have a voice in shaping this document. Catliq1n Baskin is editorial di recto r of PC Wor ld .
•
D E C E M B E R I 9 9 9 •4•§Hii•i 19
 The pinnacle of performance. To get to th e One consistent image . A single platfo rm. A
top you've got to have th e goods. Like a searingly sing le system software im age . And a consiste nt
fast Intel® Mobile Pentium® Il l processor, up to chipset. memory subsystem, system BIOS. g raph ics
SOOMHz, with 256KB integrated Level 2 cac he. and audio / vid e o con trol lers. That means when
and 1OOMHz front side bus . And wi th hard you qualify one Tecra ® 8000, you qua lify t hem all.
drive s up to 18 billion bytes, and razo r-sha rp Thi s p o rta o le deliver s true ve rsatility through
14 .1 " d i a. TFT act ive -matrix co lo r di spla y, th ere commitment to a single stable platform that saves
are no excuses for less th an stell ar pro du cti vity. yo u b o th time and money.

0 1999 Toshiba America lnformatmn S ~ 1 ems, Inc All rights reserved. Tccr.i •s a rcg1s tt>1cd lr.1dc rn;uk o f Tosh1 :>.:i Co1por,)11on. The 111101 lmade logo and Pe11 11urn a1e 1cg1sterod tr1tdem;u ks of Intel Corporarion
All other products and names ment ioned are the property of their respective comp<inics. All speclOcnt1011s .rnd ava 1lab1h1 y ar subject to c hang~ Licensed oport1 11ng system installed .
"Download speed s are limited to 53Kbps. Uplo1>d sptiods <uo lesi (1n the JOK bps rnngo) :md m;iy v;:iry depending on lrr'lc connuction,
· · o attt 1ransfer ra1es: (4X DVD-ROM) S,408KB/s m1u .., 2,238K D/s mm.; (24X CO-RO M) 4, 104KB/s m<1)( ., 6001< 6/s nlln
Thousands of configurations.
Just one image.

Ov e r 22 ,680 w a ys to me e t your needs . A p it stop for busy portables. One way to

Satisfy diverse use r requi rements with a sin g le expand is wi t h Network Dock, an optional p ort
platform in a sca leable design. Select from va rious repli ca to r that p rovides quick netwo rk and
processors and a range of memory and hard disk peripheral connections. With bui lt- in 10/ 100 Base T
drives. Also available with a \/.90/K56flex modem* Eth erne t, fu ll expans ion ports, an d a stable
and an optional 4X max. speed DVD-ROM or 24X platfor m, t he quick-paced world of business­
CD-ROM.'' The Tecra 8000 is the one platform with computing is a breeze. Expand your possibilities.
the build-to-order versati lity to meet all your needs. Call 1-800-TOSHIBA or stop by www.toshiba .com.

TOSHIBA
The World 's Best Selling Portable Computers.
 We' re Handspring. And th is is Visor'", the

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slot. By simply inserting a module, your Visor

will convert into an MP3 Player. a pager,

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the price is just as revolu tionary. Visit

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Hi.

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C:lc¥ (*JCl 999 H&'th;::r "l.l"lt k. ~• ~ ~"'"-""'~. \ D.1-. Hr~"l~,....J! °'t'~~J ""tr.:.-.,, 1 :.il
"Modu les sold s.cpa ral ~ly, ava1lab1hty may vary Hll'-"\l>t•"l(.IN: Jt'ld• .,. t.••f'l:\l,...J · , - ...... ,,.;:~ '° O\•\~l'•,,._.. , C'°~ • PIC~;><.!'l"t lCOTc;o.;. :IC O'lll' ~K.:O. :.rn
 YOUR TAKE ON: The AOL-Microsoft slugfest • Operating systems • Backing up
IS AOL BECOMING demanding , and arroga nt. What's so AOL is one company that would truly
ANOTHER MICROSOFT? \\TDng \vith other services coming up with love to take control of the Internet and
YOUR EDITORIAL on the Instant Mes­ their own version of Instant Messenger plaste r an ad on eve ryt hin g. Like Steve
senger battle [Up Front, October] was con­ and linking them? Case says, "We took a look at the Internet
cise and eve n-handed, but it missed the 1know that there are still battles ahead and said, 'What a wonderful oppo rtuni­
delicious irony of Microsoft-king of do­ for AOL and Microsoft, and I hope we, the ty.' " If AO L succee ds, In tern e t u se rs
it-my-way proprietary software and oper­ cus tomers, are not caught in tl1e m iddle. everywhere will be th e lose rs.
ating systems-whining about AOL "pre­ But it wou ld be won der fu l if all cu s­ Jeff Wilder, Sirnrise, Florida
ven ti ng peo ple wi th different. ..systems tomers were able, in some way, to IM
from communicating with each other." each other. I have so m any fr iends on Y2K CHAOS?
Microsoft's mental operating system my Buddy List, it's frustrating when INTELLIQUIS RESPONDS
won 't let the company do the obvious: Buy I can't JM them. So, fight on YOUR RECENT article on Y2K soft­
into the licensing until a standard. open Microsoft! I' m in your cor­ ware tools disappoints me ["Get
system is deve loped. So , big. brawn y ne r-with the stool , the Sma rt! Con tro l Your Y2 K
Microsoft is trying to hack its way into towel , the banda ges , and the Chaos," September).
AO L's servers? It's downright hilarious, smelling salts! You slammed IntelliFix 2000
and I wish you'd do yo ur part to make Duane D. Brodnick in such a way that I suspect most of
sure Redmond hears all of us laughing. Jersey City, New j ersey th e products you looked at were not
Milo D. Folley, Nicholasville, Kentucky thorough ly tested. lntelliFix
!T' s SCARY that AOL might 2000 has been completely test­
I 'M ON THE SIDE ofM icrosoftandaUof gain a Microsoft-like monopoly ed by Key Labs and certified to fix the
us. AOL is quickly turning into the "diva" on Internet software. Its acquisi ­ fil es it fi nds. Your reviewe r' s
of on li ne services. It's become pushy, tion of Netsca pe an d ICQ points •""' statement that ou r fi x didn 't
to this possibility. - .- ---:;.•~ remedy anything is com- ....

.
.. '

SEEING ·A MAINSTREAM magazine cover Linux is fo inst all and update. I spent two Y0U NEGLEC:TED to ment ion VMWare
11lternat ive operating systems In such depth wee.ks frying to install and run one Linu x (www.vmware.co1T!.),. which allows you to run a
["Windows vs. Windows vs. the World,'' O.cto­ clone. BeOS does prefer higher-end hard­ Win 95/98/NT virtUal machine inside Linux.
ber) i s great! However, contra ry t o y.0 ur wart?, but that is being changed. Also, BeOS This tactic basically crashproofs Wi ndows
statement, BeOS does have a fu ll-featured runs fin'e on j ust 200MB of disk space. If peo­ and lets you run Linux apps right alongside
office suite. In fact, it has two: AbiSource is p{e try it._ tlie vendors will come. them'-ideal for someone who already has
an open-source suite originally written for Paul D. Yost Windows but wants to ev.entually move to
Linux .that also runs on BeOS. Gobe Produi:- · Prospect, Pet~ns ylvania Linux to achieve a more stable system.
t ive is a fast, full- featured Be- il at i v~ suite . . . Bernard Mikowski
.with adva.nced features. It will soon be· able · Y OU ·coRREC.TLY reP.ort th.at IBM is more . .. Traverse City, Michigan ,
·to import Word and Excel flies'. ' · .• · th~ rt:-a !)It sri\ about. OS/2 . Nonetheless.
Adam Milner, So(orro, New .Me:x;ico ,: ' near~y~~ery Fortune 500 cornpa~y·h~s OS/2 LINUX HAS MOR,E software than any other
Author's response: Neither Gobe Produt- ,. run~J~g s9mewhere. OS'. Aniong ICQ c~at programs, for example,
tive nor AbiSource is a full-blown suite a la Yo u sf ate that Wa i p 4 .0 hasn ' t been Windows users
I ~
have only a few choices: the
• • '

Microsoft Office,.SmartSuite, or WordPerfect upg'raded fa years, tiut you must never have standard ICQ, Ja·valCQ, and maybe one or
Office. Gobe is an Integrated package akin to -vislte~"IBM~s 0S/ 2 site's and seen the array t wo Visual.Basic clones. Linux has about 12
Microsoft Works; AblSource-currently avali­ of FixPacks for Warp 4.0 and even Wa rp 3.0. different ve rsions, plus Java ICO, plus t he
able j ust in "experimental" form for BeOS­ IBM r.ei;en.tly reported tha l so far it has ability to run all t he Windows and Mac ver·
is a word processor only. -Harry M~Cracken sold 34 percent more copies of OS/2 than it sions through emulation. And about 90 per·
proj ected for this year. Apparently, we OS/2 cent of all Linux soft ware is free. Not share·
BeOS BLEW ME AWAY! I defy any other oper­ u ser~ are alive and well. ware, not Microsoft crashware, fre e.
ating system to outperform it. I don't th ink Nicholas Avery Jim Kehoe
your article clearly covered just how difficult Irvine, Califomia Hanover Park, ll!inois

O E C E M B E R I 9 9 9 •4Wfi.i;#l•i 23
 Take Control of Your Space!
Configure your AnthroCart to fit your space and
pletely false. You al so downplay th e
hardware . We'll be happy to work with you so
importance of our hardware tes t, a nd
you have just the right solution. Call us! claim that we are trying to sell an unnec­
essary fix. It must be because both Norton
and GMT don 't offer-nor do they have
the technology to build-an ISA card
solution. The reviewer also fa iled to men­
tion that IntelliFix repairs Y2 K hardware
problems without installing a TSR ffer­
minate and Stay Resident program ]. TS Rs
are dangerous m emory hogs, can acc i­
dentally be removed, and are at best tem­
porary fixes.
Most of th e programs you eva luated
offer information at best, and can't be
called Y2K solutions. Solutions fi x prob­
lems: they do not review or explain issues.
lntelliFix 20 00 is recommended as a
solution by many organizations, includ­

u
ing EDS , America Online , and Microsoft;
the U.S., Canadian , Briti sh, Japanese, and
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia governme nts;
and many others.
It amazes m e that you review Y2K prod­

0
ucts that give only advice and not products
that fix the problem. They are out th ere:
they jus t can't afford yow· ad costs.
Mark Tippets
VP of Sales and Marketing, lntelliqitis

a:
Author's response: lntelliquls paid for Key­
Labs' tests , which were conduct ed in the
summer of 1998. These tests were limited to
issues involving hardware and Windows 95 's
DOS module. There wa s no testing of appli­

z
cat ions or data f iles (unless you consider
autoexec.bat to be a data f ile). By contrast, I
tested lntelliFix on a computer wi th a large
number of Y2K software and data problems,
ranging from recent popular software with

t-
LIFETIME WARRANTY • DOZENS OF SHAPES AND SIZES • minor issues, to old DOS programs that were
OVER 75 ACCESSORIES •TOUGH AS NAILS in no way compliant, to badly entered data.
All are common problems on Windows-based
CALL FOR A FREE CATALOG! desktop systems. lntelllFix didn't find a sin­
gle one. I agree with Mr. Tippets about TSRs,

B~~:M~~a~:~,~~ 1
2
but I did not f ind any TSR solutions in the
programs I reviewed. -Lincoln Spector

OSHA ERGONOMICS
ANTHRO CORPORATION ~
REGARDI NG YOUR article "OSHA Seeks
TECHNOLOGY FURNITURE ~
TUALATIN, OR 97062 Cure for PC Pain" [Top of the News, Octo­
® FAX: 800-325-0045 ber] : Every bu s in ess owner , large and
small , should closely watch OSHA's over­
ANTn~
~a JAPAN: 03 (TOKY0)-3947-2735
www.anthro.com . sight of ergonomics. As a practicing den­
ti s t, I have li ve d through OSHA's .....
Lifetime Warranty Dozens of shapes and sizes, o ver 75 accessories.
Since 1984. Prices from $299. GSA contract. Available for OEM applications.
24 i)#ii.i·$4•F o E c EMBER 19 9 9
It's time to mOV8 Up
e
int ewor
" . .. its many new features will translate into real
produdivity gains for the loyal installed base,
which shouldn't hesitate to upgrade."

PC Week, February 1999

"Upgrading to Corel's WordPerfect Office 2000 is a

no-brainer for WordPerfect users ."

ComputerWorld, March 1999

It's tough to get experts to agree on anything , so when they do, you

know they're on to something good. And that something is upgrading

to WordPerfect" Office 2000. It boasts all the power, performance and

ease of use you 're used to, plus many new features-including

enhanced compatibility with Microsoft" Office 2000. So take a little

expert advice, and upgrade to WordPerfect Office 2000 today.

WordPerfect
OFFICEf ~·X•X•J
www.wordperfect.com Today's Office. Undeniably WordPe1fect:'"

COIJYfl'lht c 1999 Corci Corporalion. All nghts reserve<!. Cm~. W1Xdf'ertec1 and Ifie "10day"s Office. Undeniably Wor11Perfotl • b~ine are lrademat1<s '" regiSlered lrademaru of Ccxci Coqroration or Corel Coqroralion Umile<I. All 01ller proruct. torn and
company names and looos are trademaas or registered trademan:s of the11 respettl'Vf companies.

Circle 70 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/productinlo

 YOU'VE GOT TO SEE IT IN COLOR.

Anyone can show you the flowers . But the te xtile company that created
this catalogue cover wanted to show you more . Like the incredible
fabric s worn by the 38 women you see here . Sheer enough to pa ss for
petals. In a palette only nature could ima gine. So what did th ey choose
to capture all this color and detail ? An Epson printer. The only one
they could trust to separate the beauties from the blossoms. Which,
when it comes to printers, is what separates the men from the boys .

THE ONLY PRINTERS WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR ALL THE DETAIL YOU WANT.
To capt ure the world's most brillia nt images, only Epson· co lor ink jet printers have the
PerfectPicture· Imaging System for: 1440 x 720 dpi · Micro Piezo· technology, for a clea ner,
smaller droplet - as small as 3 picoliters • Fast print speeds - up to 12 PPM black/10 PPM
color· Quick-drying inks • PC/Mac/ USB compatib ility. And remember, only Epson supplies
Epson Stylus Color Ink Jet Primers.
guarantee Epson quality. For more information, call 1-800-GO-EPSON or visit www.epson.com. Shee r br illiance starting at 5129:

• 'j, 29 011 lhe EPSON Stylu• Colo• 660 atte• a 530 mad <n reba te Up to 12 PPM black/JO PP!' colo• ''" th the EPSON St; lu• Color 900 Pnce may va ry Epson. EPSO Stylus
and t.hcro P1ezo are 1r;idema1ks registered tracemat~. s of Seiko Epson Corp Perfec 1P1ctu re ts a reg istered tradena rk of Epson l~me ri ca , Inc C l 999 Eoson Ameoca, Inc
Eitheryour daughter wants micromanagement of my profession and
have had to deal with paperwork jungles
your son1s computer much more suited to a large industrial

or they both wam yours facility than m y two-chair practice.

As quoted by you, Neal Taslitz [of the
National RSI Association] is dead wrong
Your next home system should be extremely affordable, absolutely in his comments abou t those of us who
reliable and assembled with the finest components in the industry. would keep a tight rein on OSHA. We are
It should be apowerful, no-nonsense machine that provides: not "the same groups that lobbied against
seat belts." We are people who have been
• Fast Internet access burned by expensive, inaccurate, and ,
• Word processing frankly , dishones t government regula­
• Spreadsheet analysis tion s in the past, and have no desire to
• Games deal with such strictures in the future.
• Educational programming Robert K. Thompson Jr., D.M.D.
Cohasset, Massa chusetts
You need the Kaypro 2100, featuring the Intel®Celeron ™Processor
433 MHz. It will end the daily squabbles, provide great educational BACKING UP BACKUPS
benefits and free your computer for the important work you need to do. THERE I S ABSOLUTELY no such thin g as
a "hassle-free" backup ["The Easy Way to
The Kaypro 2100 Hassle-Free Backups," October's Got a
Problem?]. I speak from experience when
Mini-tower case
lnte!Ob Celeron™ Processor 433 MHz I say that mirroring your drives is not has­
6.4 GB Hard Drive sle-free. Recently our main server crashed
32MB SDRAM over the weekend. The cause: Both of the
48X CD-ROM drives mirroring each other fried. After
PC! v.90 Modem
successfully replacing them with two
1.44 MB floppy Drive
Integrated Sound and Video spare drives from another server and
Mouse and Keyboard restoring the data from tape backup, I was
Microsoft Windows 98 SE able to get our network up and running.
Microsoft Works - Money, Mirroring is a good tool , but it is not
Word , Encarta enough. Any company that does not do
Monitor Sold Separately
regular tape backups each night is plain
MSN Internet Service (Check
our web site for details) · irresponsible and deserves what it gets. It
takes only a few seconds to pop a tape into
a drive each morning.
Robert Pounders, via th e Internet

PC World welcomes your letters. Send e­

mail to [email protected]. •

i!f.J:i:iAJM!ii!1h.ISU:iiJUd.f.J;tc
,·"{

. IN oc:rOJ3ER'S "Living Without Windows"

(pages 128 and f29), we should have stated
that users of the StarOffice suite can drag
celeron" and drop text
The MaxTech XPV56P NetPacer V.90
Internal PCI Data/Voice/Fax Modero (Top 10
888·3-KAYPRO
Modems, October) does not come with a
speake.rpho,ne.

1999 Kaw<o ano ll'< K>,,,..o 1oCJO arerqWcred

September's Consumer Watch should.llave
omnaoo 01Kayp<o Tcd'ooleoy, Inc ~- U• said that Senator Frank_Murkows'k.i repre: ·
!nlel lnsii:!e IOQO are reo1steted traOOnns
and Celeron is a traaemark al Intel Capora1100 sents Alaska.
PC World regrets the error~. '

28 14111.1-14.p 0 EC E M B E R 1 9 9 9
"'C ©1999 Sooy E.0:-tror.o Inc_ All righ~ iesei'Md. Repoducho•1 111 whc)if. 0t 1ri 1.:011,..,1!1r:.. t1 'Nr1'1ef1 ~rn• SMlfl i~ p-oh1bi:ed Pnc~. sp00fro1om and J.YcmdlOrl!'. rne "°Id on)- in :!'r. US P1 1C~. ~peoficohom and prO'ldt0mdo no11ndude cppl..c.oblc r.ob lox or shipping or.d OOndlrng, ond ore wbjed IO dcnge widlOUl ndice. 'Xft./,
CD 'INO. 1.UNK, N'er:ory Stick. DO~ Suf:eSl1m Pio, Pidu:eG!'C.11, l)V~JCllO, ri lO VAXJ Icy:>. 3Nm+ and ril€! Sony bgo ere rrodeoorks al Scny Sony VA.O 0.100 is c !>e!\'..::;e rrw:.11~ cl !x;tiy ~1tel ord Pent:um c1e lttxiemo1 k.5- cl !ntel Corporo:IOn t~"vaosch cm;:I V\/incb...-:. me b~101kl ol M<:roooh Co1poroho11 J\11 cthet 1roderro1G are

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trcdcrrorh cl their resp£'CfM? o.vner... Note: ltrog-:! on '.:iCJcerl is ~imub!OO " lco~ng O.(Ji!oblc rhroogh Sor:y fincmcia1 Services b qix:!Jied CClf1')flX1Cial cu~s. :...rl:+xJ IO c1cd1 cpprc.d ard ~ c} lec!.e do:::umemaron. fv'ord1~· ~~ts ore !~I on 36 rrn'l!h k)ll mc.irh:t \\-,1.ic l-o!ie and do ncA 1ndvde ~. f~
er ~.hipping cho ~ge!>. Ofl.er :.ubjeo IO dhef r~idioo~ 11l..a ro fCC lim•b11~, ~f>..'Cd~ d 53~ oie rl'IE'! rrc.11(mum i:errn~1ble lr0f00l1t IX'-'~ le-.eh ck..mg OO....Obocl t:oflSm ,~~ A.cu:! cldci ~peed~ w1I \'Cry clt-endrng on trne condi!icns. 1f.1V-iz ck-'OOleS mKroproc~ inlt'fnoi d:x:k ~ I . Olhet foo:=-s may al\e-.:J opplicatico
~11'C".nce ~ rre:Jm ore b.!lion i:t-.~ v.f~ r~rirg b lud drr.-e ro;xx:1ty kx®il:k copooly IT'C'/ \Cry 4Wtth ~ 5-:1\'t!f m ~ d:r,ie 001 ~~ opic:rol 2nd ~ in ~ dil\-e OOy 'Req..ir<~ IX',.menl cl add1•IOOOI fees Of .subsaipirn b u::.c lr.ct~ db ~p.r~ }::;l'M..Ory 3 1, :>CO() Oher ieslldl()'1S apply
lat(:< ...aid 'Nl:O :he p:.irchc<...e cl F3t.OC1 f3 00 no!-~ Oher rC<-..'10~ oW,. Sec w...w.~1.C-001/8freed.1'.l lor d?t:l:b. a.fer explre.s.)oouory 31. 2CCOon etgblc VAO PC and D.g1d Hard..,.com coroccxd:?< mxl.:-b. O:hef teslncbc::m cw'-1 Secww•···!O'· iyo::m/C01¥".ectl1~hOOX! b dc~11!~ 10\SP so·v1ce ~.red

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 SONY
The Sony VAIO All-in-One packs some big features into All·in-One now boosts o bigger, brighter display, plus
a compact package. With built-in DVD-ROM, hard and extended bollery life wit~ dual ba11ery capability. All this
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new Sony VAIO All-in-One Notebook hos everything you with Sony accessories, you con expand its capabilities
need, a ll in one place. So you never have to carry even fu rther. So order your customized All·in·One
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Your built-to-order All -in-One Notebook can further expand

its capabili ti es with a fu lly integrated line of Sony products .

4 Mtt!ft@i!IUJ
• Highwpocity Lithium-loo Battery, dual battery COJXl~1ity •Supports lwo Type II Cords or one Type Ill Cord
• Alttn-One de~gn with Aoppy drive, hord drive and CordBus SuPJXJrt
OV[}ROM drive • 3Programmable PowerKeys (PPK) for eosy access • MaxScreen: Upto 15' XGA TFT
• Floppy disk drive bay also supports second rechorgeob~ to key applications such as the Internetand e1!1oil10 • MaxBattery: 2X boltery lifeS
battery w!ien floppy drive is removed •256-bit graphics chip • MaxMobility: Approx. 7 lbs. light, Approx. 2" thin 4
• 4X max. OV[}ROM drive with OVOmovie •Builtin stereo speakers Plus:
ploybock capability •Digital touchpod • All-in·One design
•i. LI NKa (lm-1394) interface for DVediting and data •llticrasoft" Windows" 9B second edition • i.l! NK (IEEE-1394) interface
ttonsfer between computers •llticrosoft Word 97
• Integrated V.90/56K modem 1
F360 F390 • Network Port Replicator PCGA-PRFl: $199.99.
• Intel Pentium II processor 400 MHz1 •Intel Pentium Ill processor 500 MHz1 Builtin Ethernet l 0 Bose-T. USB,
parallel, serial VGA, DCin,
• 14. l' XGA TFT screen •15• XGA TFT screen
PS/ 2" keyboard and
• 64 MB SDRMI (exJX!ndoble to 192 MB mox.) • 128 MB SDRMI (eXJXJndoble to 256 /AB max.) PS/ 2 mouse pails.
• 6.4 GB1 fixed hard drive •12GBJfixed horddrive
• 6.8 lbs., 1.6' thirr •7.3 lbs., 2.1" thin~ • AC Adopter PCGA-ACXl: $99.99. Get on additional
AC adopter and keep one at home andone at work.
$2,599.99 $3,699.99
(withSl 00 rebote1) 36 month business lease only Sl 16.55" • All-in-One Carrying Cose
36 month business lease only 590.45' Customizewith: PCGA-CCF: $99.99.
Customizewith: Upg11x!e to 192 MB FJJ,\ ADD $150.00 Easilyholds notebook
LilX.lrode to t2B MB RMI ADD S150 00 Li 1XJ100e to tBGB ADO $400.00 and accessories.
Li1XJrode to 192 MBWA ADD $500.00
UjXJrodeto 12 GB AOO $300.00 • Rechargeable Lirt1ium-lon Battery PCGA-BP71:
$249.99. Upto 7 hours with two batteries. Note:
Battery life may vary based on usage.
Operating System Applications
• Microsoft Windows 98 second edition • Adobe Acroba Reader
• Adobe PhotoDeluxe" Business Edi tion
Online Center • lntui~ Qui(ken" Basic 99
• America Online®6 • Mediomotic DVDExpress
• Apple Quicklime" • Microsoft Mook" 98
• AT&TWorldNet" Service 6 • Microsoft Works Suite 99 8 FREE DVD rentals from Netflix.com with the purchase
• CompuServe" 2000 Miaasoft Word 97 of on F360 or F390 VAIO Notebook.'
• EorthLink Sprint Tota1Access'" 6 Micrasoft WO!ks 4.5
• Microsoft Internet Explorerfor Windows 98 Microsoft Money 99 Bosic
• MindspringInternet Service' Microsoft Encarta" Encydoperfro 99 Receive a S100 rebate with the purchase of aSony VAJO
Microsoft Grop1iics Stu<fro Greetings 99 PC ond aSony Digital Hondycom• camcorder (Digita!B or
• Netscape~ Communicator
Microsoft Exped"ro'" Streets 98 MiniDV).'
• Prodigy Internet'
• Softlink" in Chorus"'
• Sony OVgote'" Motion
Tool Center
• Sony OVgote Sti ll
• McAfee VirusScon~
• Sony Media Bar
• Sony BotteryScope
• Sony PictureGeor"'
• Sony PowerPanel
• Sony Smart Capture
• Sony Notebook Setup
• Sony PPK Setup
• Sony Smart Connect
• Sony Smart label
SonyVAIO:Jirect"'
• Sony Application Recovery CO
• Sony Smart Publisher
• System Recovery CD BUY DIRECT
• Sony Smart Write
• Symantec Winfax" Basic Edition
1- 888 ­ 756-VAI O
111-1299-1'1/J www. s o n yd i rect.com / pwj
 • l/2' CCD incorporates 2.1 million pixels •3X Optical/6X precision digital zoom lens VirtuoOy flat, h~h controst, h~h resolution
for incredible detail with AutoMacro copobiity 17' (16"VIS) display with builtin multimedia speakers.
•2.SX Corl Zeiss8 Pro ~olity lens •lnte1poloted mega-pixel HMD·V200/L {slate blue as shownabove)
•LCD Color Monitor 2' hybrid, l22k pixeb •SXGA Resolution (1216 x9121 HMD·V200/P (ado be)
• UGA Resolution (1600 x 1200) •4X highipeed floppy disk drive
•Camero he<Jd swiveb 180°
• BuilHn Memory Stick· medic ~ot MVC·FD83 $699.00 $499.99
DSC·FSS $799.00

. .. ' ..
·"
. .
.
.
'
, .'..:..

4111iJ,1i.!fiDtilQttl!.
Introducing the next generation of dig[ol doto storage, Memory Stick media. The Sony ICChip Recorder captures every word with digitol clarity
Smo~e1 !Mn ostick of g.m but with up to 22 fuoos the storage copocity d o ond links right to your Sony PC. This palm-sized device (just 85g.)
s!ondord 35' flowv itisk. provides oswift, effortless woy to sove, downlood ond e-moil your audio
messages. H ~hlights include: up to 2.5hours d recording time (LP mode).
• 4 MB Memory Stick meOKJ MSA·4A $29.95 digital VOR for start-stop spee<h ond ploybock control for seomless editing.
• 8 MB Memory Stick medio MSA·SA $39.95
• 16 MB Memory Stickmed°KJ MSA·l6A $69.95 ICD·RIOOPC $199•95
•32MBMemoryStickmedio MSA·32A $109.95
· 64MB MemoryStickmooKJ MSA·64A $189.95
(ovoiloble in Dec. 99)

•Lightweight 8.2lbs. Ab~ screen dis~oy that's portable? The PC Glosstron monitor creoles o
•Smon size: 4.2' Wx8.58' 0x11.63' H virtuol 30' higlttesolution image, for )llur eyes only. It's heocl-rnounled
•Accepts composite, RG8ond component video signo~. 5-<.ideo ~gnols, to offer you the most in mobility ond privacy. And its builtin heodphones
VGA, SVGA, XGA and Macintosh~ 16• mode signals make your multimedia experience even more amazing. Perfect forworking
on privote documents when troveling. Compatible with your notebook
• BuilHn stereo speokers and other video sources.'
•Quick ond easy setup
•Magnesium di~ost bc~y PLM·S700 $2,599.00
36 mon lh bu1ine11 leo1e on~ S90.48"
VPL·XCSOU $6,990.00
36 monlh bu1in~1 leo1e only $220.19'

SH-1299 -PWJ
 SONY

• 14XOpticnl lens with Auto Mooo copobifily

• XGA Resolutioo (1024 x768)
•MPl:Grrovie m captures up to 60 secoros
of fUI rootioo video ooto ostondord3.5" floppy
•Optical StoodySho l'rue Stoli1Zotioo system
• Po!HJp intelligentflash
• 4Xhigh-speed flowv disk drive

$999.00
Do More. Much more. MVC·FD91
36 month business lease only 534.80'

Connect to o world of possibilities with o complete line of fully integrated Sony

products and accessories. In the race toward true digital convergence, Sony leods
the way. And with Video. Audio and Integ rated Opera tion (VAIOJ. there's no end
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lo creole exciting new possibilities . From digi tol cameras lo displays lo innova tive
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 @
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ZSOS SuperS/im Pro" Nolebook Dig11ol /Aovico ' Comero FO f1inition:" Oispluy LCO Onln P1ojeclo1 Alli n·One Notebook

Introducing Sony BusinessDirect. The easy way to finance bus iness equipment for your office .
N ow smoll ond medium·sized businesses con g el custom business solulio ns a ffa rdabl y lhrough Sony B11sinessDirect. W e offer a variety o f
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SonyUAIO:Jirect"'
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SN·r299-PWJ

©1999 Sony E 11on1cs Inc All righh rescr'-1:"d Fepmduc1on m \•,lioic 01 in 0011 ...-;rhout w11nen ocrm1~.cn 1~ oh bit.xi Pm:'~. :ipec 1ftco:1cm o VOlOhOO~ c1e valid on1l 1n the US orld are !iub 1e<l IO
chon a w1lhou1nohce Sony VAJO 01fC'CI is o Sl'!1vico mark cl Sony Sony, V.AIO. Mc.v·cc. Z505 Supc1Slim Pro. FD T11nirron end rh•! Sony logo uu• 1rmft·rnorls c f Sony N ole lmog<'s on x1eens rne '>llnulu1Pd
 And how do the saints (few though they be
this yea r) earn their lofty title? In a word-ser­
vice. Service to customers, to fellow consumers,
to the community of Net users.

Saints and Sinners: It should come as no surprise that Web-relat­

ed companies and organizations dominate tl1is
yea r's listing. As e-commerce and e-mail-based

The Year in Review commtmica tion figure increasingly in our lives,

the Inte rn e t ha s become the source of both
opportunities and potential dangers for con­
As the millennium draws to a close, who is looking out sumers. With few exceptions, this year's saints
and sinners ea rn their title for policies, prac­
for consumers? And who is ignoring them?
tices, or activities in the online world.
Read on, and then vote for yo ur own saints
and s inners at www.pcworld.com/dec99/
consumer_watch.
Better Business Bureau Onli ne. This is
the BB B's second consecutive year on
the saints' list. The reason: its ongo­
ing commitment to safe, res pon sible e-com­
merce. Two years after introducing its Online
Reliability program, BBB Online took another
step and went live last year with its Online Pri­
vacy Seal, aimed at providing Web-based busi­
nesses witl1 guid el ines for res ponsible collec­
tion , s tor age , and distribution of pe rsona l
info rmation. Otl1er groups have attempted sim­
ilar programs, but none carry the clout of th e
BBB . Consumers who visit a si te carrying the
sea l G ill rest ass ured that tl1eir perso nal infor­
mation will be kept confidentia l. The BBB has
also devised a version of the seal gea red specif­
ically for Web sites for children. Good work!
The Cable Industry and AT&T. In the
race for high-speed In ternet access,
cable companies are no fri e nds to
co nsum e rs-or to competition. Rath e r than
rushing to deliver cheap, fast access to the
masses and building a following tl1a t way. cable
com panies are scrambling to retain control over
SAINT O R SINNER? Sometimes the distinction isn't so clear.
ca ble lin es. Seve ral leadin g Inte rn e t service
One day a company can be riding high, basking in the glow of favor­ providers have been urging th e Fede ra l Com­
munications Commission to open up access to
able press, satisfied customers, and steady revenues. The next day,
cable lines, much as was done with phone lines
its reps are working overtime, fielding angry phone calls and issuing some 30 years ago. Failure to do so, they argue,
limits consumers' choices to one company.
refunds. Bad news travels awfully fast in the Internet Age.
Geocltles Homesteaders. When Yahoo
Just ask Microworkz or Intel or InfoNet, three foms that share the bought Geociti es las t s umm e r , it
atte mpted to introduce draconian
dubious distinction of being named to Consumer Watch's 1999 sin­
changes to tile Tenns of Service agreement for
ners list. Though the reasons for their fall from grace vary, each of the many tllousands of individuals hostin g Web
sites on the fre e service. Unde r th e changes,
these companies (along with the other 1999 sinners) were guilty of
Web site publishers would have been required
one common mistake: They neglected their customers. to gra nt Yahoo a "royalty-free, perpetual, ....

0 E c E M 8 E R l 9 9 9 •IMfi.1;14.1 35
FamilyCircle irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully su bli­ World identified two other ISPs with links
to lnfoNe t: th e now defunct We s tern

& I~~~lll:U I]
censable right and license to use, re pro­
duce, modify, adapt, publish , translate, North Carolin a Interne t, and l nTech ,
create deriva tive works from, d istribute , ba s d in Frisco, Colorado (see "Web
perform and display such content. " 1n Scam! How One ISP Took the Money and
PRESEHT other words, Yahoo wanted rights to pub· Ran," Top oftlie News, June, \vww.pcworld.
lishers' content. com/jun99/webscam).
But Geocities membe rs weren't going Intel. When Intel's Pentium Ill
for it. Practically overnight they launched processor debuted last January,
a very public and very effective Yahoo boy­ it met with more than the usual
The PC cott. demanding that the portal company round of cha lle nges from competing
ForVOU reconsider the proposed changes. The ir CPUs. Why the pu blic outcry? Chalk the
10 Super
Systems cause was helped in no smal l par t by no ise up to th e chip's unique Processor
Priced Right
Yahoo-Geocities competitors. which used Serial Number. Likeni ng the PSN to a
Shape-Up
Software the blunder as an opportunity to lure away "super cookie" that Web masters can use
• Your Mo!1eY
• YOUrl!Qdy once- loyal members to to h·ack consumers' every
• Your Life
40Games!
their We b hosting ser· Privacy advocates move on line, privacy advo­
All Kid-Tested, vices. In a Little over a week
Parent-Approved ca tes called upon In tel to
Great Gifts after launchi ng its new site
liken Intel's disab le the feat u re. Inte l
g:::r;.,r:·~'""'"'- and in s ti tuting th e new Processor Serial refused, claiming the PSN
-·-·.uE· Terms of Service, Yahoo· would make e-commerce
Geocities rewrote the TOS
Number to a "super more secure by e nab ling
AUSER-FRIENDLY consumer to address all the home­ cookie" that can Web si tes to authent icate
steaders' demands. consumers' iden tity. To
guide to making SMART CHOICES IBM. This is Big
track consumers' lesse n ob jections, the com­
in buying and using hardware, Blue's first ap­ every move on line. pany annou nced it would
pearance on the instead provide a utility to
software, and the Internet
list. It earns the d istinction for assuming let consumers tum off the ID number and
for your FAMILY! leadership in the area of respo nsi ble elec- offered to work with Web sites to promote
Ironic commerce. As a membe r of the "responsible uses of the new feature ."
Online Privacy Alliance, Big Blue has ad­ Critics say Intel didn't go fa r enough to
The 1999 Holiday Issue vocated dear, concise, consumer-friendly protect consumer privacy. I agree.
includes: privacy policies. Last yea r it took the bold Mlcroworkz. When I put ou t the
(i f largely sym bolic) step of refusing to ca ll to m y PC Wo rld colleagues
Total Home Computing Coverage! advertise with any site that did not have a for sa ints and sinners nomina­
•Web 101 for the Family posted privacy policy. tions, this maker of low-cos t PCs was the
• Bee;t Gamee; for Kide; JnfoNet. InfoNet's professional· hands-down winner in the sinner catego­
•What Your Home Office Wante; for looking Web s ite (complete ry. The Lynwood, Washington, company
Chrl5tmae; wi th a phony PC World Bes t was th e ob ject of much fanfare when it
• Digit al Camerae; and Morel Buy logo) , cross-country dial-ups, and low­ bega n taking orde rs for its u ltrac hea p
cost Internet access caugh t the attention Webzte r com pu te r las t sp ring. Even be­
• Bee;t PCe;, MACe;, and Laptope;
of u nsuspecti ng con sumers th roughou t fore the product's official launch, the com­
Plus: Extended Web Coverage! the country. But the company appears to pany had received more than 400.000
• Comparie;on Shopping on t he Web have been playing a high-tech version of orders for the $299 PC, but then it strug­
an all-too familiar con game. Consumers gled for months to ship units. Along the
• Home Improvement, Family Hl5tot)',
reported to PC World that they signed up way. company founder and CEO Rick Lat­
Travel, and Morel
and paid for the service, only to quickly man stepped down to let "more seasoned
find the ir Internet connection cut off­ management" take the helm; the compa­
OH SALE and th e com pany at One lnfoNet Way (a ny was sued by (a nd then co untersued )
non existent address) was nowh e re to be former partner Earth Link; an d the Better
NOVEMBER ~3! found. lnfoNet and its owners are under Business Bureau rated the PC maker as
investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspec­ "un satisfactory. " After months of bad
tor's Office in Charlotte, North Carolina. press and com pl aints from ang ry cus­
Get the latest issue at your During its own independent inquiry, PC tom e rs, Microworkz announced it was
local grocery store now!
36 Hl\H;ii.p D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 I

discontinuing the Webzter. At this writ­

ing, the Federal Trade Commission is Buy what
investigating Microworkz to determine
whether the company shipped orders and
paid refunds in a timely manner.
you want
Spam Fighters Everywhere. In
the seeming ly never-ending
war against spam, some groups
deserve special praise: l t's hard to think of
a single organization that has done more
to draw consumer, media, and political ·• 'Neb9\~p;>cr

attention to spam than the Coalition

Against Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail.
CA UCE has been particularly active on
the legislative front, working tirelessly to
promote responsible, effective legislative
solutions to spam. At this writing, the
CAUCE-supported Can Spam Act, span·
sored by Representative Gary MiUe r (R·
Calif.) , is the most promising federal bill .
Kudos also go to Brightmail, developer of
a uniqu e-and singularly effective­
spam.fighting technology (which is now
available to consumers directly at www.
brightmail.com), and to opt-in e-mail mar­ • No standing in line
keting companies like Choose Your Mail
and Postmaster Direct that take a respon­
sible approach to e-mail marketing and
• No waiting on hold
avoid unsolicited spamming.
• Secure order on the web
SWAN SONG
FINALLY, A PERSON A L NOTE: After a

run of nearly ten years and more than 100 • Select from 19 product • Compare your favorite
issues, this is my last Consumer Watch col­ categories well known brands
umn for PC World. Over the years-and
with considerable help and encourage­ • Check reviews, article • Check for the latest price
ment from readers willing to share stories awards, news reports and availability
and advice-I've tackled topics ranging
from mail-order rip-off artists and rebate • Read advice from the pros • Order from well known
scams to th e re liabi lity and service of from publications like PC reliable resellers in a
hardware and software companies.
World, PC Games, InfoWorld, secure environment
It's bee n fun, challenging, and one of
MacWorld, Publish, and
the best jobs a writer could hope to have.
ComputerWorld • Great prices
Increasingly, though , my interests have
moved to the impact of tec hnology on
children. I have decided to focus my atten­
tion on this important area, leaving Con­
sumer Wat ch with Christina Wood, who
currently writes the On Your Side column.
1
When you want
Coritributing Editor Roberta Furger is th e
author of Does Jane Compute? Preserv­
ing Our Daughters ' Place in tlte Cyber
Revo lution (Warner Books, i998). •
www.WebShgpper·:com
oEc EM aE R 19 9 9 •4Mfi.i;ii•i 37
~ 1lDl, 1lDl, ~lOl .
::;i coMPlQ 11lPs
=
~
t 8lt l\N
l COORSl Ol'l\Sl./KllOJG
n .3 5 \
l!ill l! l om• h"'· Wa\"'n:· The immortal wo<ds of Ale"nder G,aham Bell . The wo<id ha;n·1 been able 10 ,.,1,
up ,f)Outit'""
<inoe. E"" dav billion< and billion< ot phone call< a" oonoected . smoothly. Elfortle«ly. '1
Th"''5 in no sroall oarr to Compaq. TeloOS depend on Como•O NonSl<>P'"eBu<ine<< Solut""' to• bOlli
"l\abllitY and <eatability. Tua •, '""ed• y ,mp0rtant by the WOY· EnoU&h "'that"'" "'oan·t <hut up

about it. To ti d out more. cli Kon www ompaq .com/NonStop .

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 Heads Up...

Get Your Charges

OffMy Card
JIMMY BO Y DIAL of Chesapeake, Virginia, writes describing a prob­ NOT FREE, NOT A PC: You see some fan·
tast ic deals out there for so-called free
lem that I've been hearing a lot lately. He ordered a DVD m ovie for $i4
PCs. Wh ile few are t ruly free (you usually
from a Web site he wasn' t familiar with. The risk was low, because the have to sign up for Internet service), oth­
ers are outright scams. The Better Busl·
price was low, so he gave it a try. Dial received his shipment, and at
ness Bureau (www.bbb.org) has issued an
fi rst all seemed well. But the next month a they never authorized or ge tting over­ alert about one " research firm," for exam·
charge for $114 appeared on his credit charged on their credit card bills." pie, that offered free PCs for a $20 enroll·
card statement from that Web site, Grant advises Net shoppers to review ment fee. Yep, you got it. You send the
Moviesaver.com. When he tried to contact the ir statements carefully. If two peo ple money; the company runs with it... Expen­
th e com pa ny, he no ti ced u se one account, both sive 800 numbers: One reader writes
that the site was gone. should study the state­ compla ining that his ISP "robbed" him
He'll never know if the ment as soon as it ar­ when he logged on using Its 800 access
charge was an accident or ' rives. "Fortunately, fed· number. He assumed that because it was
a sh rewd muggi n g, but era! law protects you an 800 number, access was free. But that
Dia l did th e right th ing: from res ponsibili ty for is rarely-If ever-the case. Typically, 800
He immediately contact­ unauthorized d 1arges," access numbers are offered as a conve­
ed his credit card com pa­ 1 she says. "If you notify
nience for travelers; when you log on from
ny and dis puted the bill . your credit card compa­ home, however, it 's actually expensive.
According to Susa n ny right away of ltnau­ Though you don't pay a toll, your ISP will
Grant, director of th e In­ th orized charges , it's usually cha rge you $5 to $6 an hour for
ternet Fraud Watch (www. unlikely that you 'll have access... Hercules Computer Technolo­
fraud .com), "We did a sur­ to pay them." But it's still gy, maker of graphics cards, filed for vol·
vey on consu mers' experiences in e-com­ up to you to police your statement in a unt ary Chapter 7 bankruptcy In Oakland,
merce, and one of th e problems peo ple timely fas hion. Find details about the law California, in August. Even so, the compa·
encounter is getting charged [for th ings] in the Cons umer Resource Handbook, ny's Web site still appears to be up and
available at www.pueblo.gsa.gov. selling, and the phones are work ing.

. . . ~ .
):~o MADE THE MICroworliz faux pax. Lured by tile opeor·
t t;!nity to replace' my .wife'. s ancient 386 desktop cfone, I
jumped at the chance to.purchase a, PentJum·base~ mini·

sands of'Otl\ers, I discovered when I called Microworkz in late April

that the order I placed in March had bee.n "misP,laced." When I
(ecelved the syste(Tl in t\-lay, it ,was useless due to a range.of probl~rnsi
Including an Inoperable keyl:iQard, an lria~llify to c9nnect fo'f he"lnter·
net via EaftliLink [an Internet service provider], and a broken, CD-ROM

••.•... ..!· ;·!•',•··!·-­

dr ive. AfteT undertaking many at· com when our service is launched by

~
mid-November." At press t ime, Duff
Or a great one? E-mail the details to onyourside@
pcworld.com . We'll investigate complaints and
publish items of the broadest interest. Christina
Wood is a contributing editorfo r PC World. offer to replace his broken system. •

o E c E M e E R t 9 9 9 •[email protected];11.1 41
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 " I knew other peo ple with Windows who
cou ld fax from their computer, so I thought I
would be able to as well," says Bieber. But after

The Lost Art of buying a new PC with Windows 98 loaded,

Bieber searched in vain for the fax capabilities
she thought were a given. "My techie friends
were telling me what to look for over the phone,

PC-Based Faxing and it simply wasn't there," she says.

Bieber fell victim to a Windows 98 short­
comi ng that affects millions of PC users . Unlike
WW:W W:WWW£W You want to use your PC to send
0
Windows 95, Windows 98 doesn't include fax
softwa re as part of its regular installation; nor
and receive faxes, but Windows 98 lacks a fax utility.
does it make available a fax module within Win­
dows Setup. But as Bieber discovered, there is
aw.aa1aaa.&!W Install the Windows 95 fax applet still a way to send faxes from within Windows
from the Windows 98 CD, or try a Web -based fax service. 98; yo u just have to work a little to find and
insta ll it. And if digging around for software
modules isn't your forte, you can tum to other
options-including some free ones-that will
help you send and receive faxes without shelling
out money for a separa te machine.

MICROSOF'T GIVETH
I F YOU SEARCH for "fax" and "Windows 98"

on Microsoft's Web site, the site wi ll tell you

that Windows 98 includes no fax applet, and
that you must purchase fax software to send or
receive documents. But as Bieber learned after
a little digging, the fax applet that came with
Windows 95 works just fine with Windows 98.
Furthermore, it's free for the taking on the Win·
<lows 98 CD-ROM , if you know where to look.
To install the applet, browse your Windows
98 CD and go to tools\oldwin95\message\us.
Double-click on ivmsfax.exe, which installs the
Windows Messaging components that the fax
program needs. Reboot your system and return
to the same location , then doubl e click on
aivfax.exe, which loads the applet. You'll need
to reboot again to make the applet available.
Sending a fax with the applet is a breeze, and
BUY ING A NEW SYSTEM WAS hardly an impulsive act for you can initiate the process in several ways. To
fax a text file, for instance, you can use the Print
Laura Bieber, who sells vintage and used designer clothing over the
menu option from within your word processor,
Internet from her home office in Portland, Oregon . Although and choose Microsoft Fax as your printer. The
fax applet will then ask for the recipients' names
Bieber's 386 PC and monochrome monitor met all of her personal
and fax numbers, allow you to choose a cover
word processing needs just fin e, once she decided to go into busi­ page, and even let you schedule the transmis­
sion for off-peak hours. You can also configi.ue
ness on her own, she needed a PC that would be more in tune with
the software to have your modem receive faxes
her home-office tasks. One of Bieber's key requirements was a sys­ either temporarily when you're expecting a doc­
ument to come in, or around the clock. Avoid
tem with fax capability, to help her avoid the expense and space
the latte r option if you'll also be using your
requirements of a stand-alone fax machine. modem line for voice calls. ....

o E c E M e E R 1 9 9 9 •4Wfi.i;ll•I 45
 The biggest drawback to using the ic all y forwards them to your e-mail
applet is tha t Microsoft doesn't su pport address. And , as its name implies, EFax
the Windows 95 fax module under Win· Free won 't cost you a cent, though it does
<lows 98, so you're on you r own if you subj ec t you to a bit of advertising on its
encounter problems with it. splash screen .
You may not need the Windows mod· faxes; EFax.com; 877/ 332-9266; www.efax.com EFax uses a proprietary file format that
ule if your system or m odem came with a PROOUC1 INFO HO. 601 compresses files and lets you view them
third-party communications package. If Winf'ax Pro 9 with the EFax viewer that you download
that's the case, you may already have a fax St reet price : $120; Sy man t ec; 800/441-723 4; upon signing up. If you pay $3 a month
module that comes with at least a mod­ www.symantec.com for EFax Plus , you can choose the area
icum of support. Or yo u can op t for a P RODUCT INFO NO . 60Z code of your EFax number, and also send
stand-alone fax program , such as Syman· faxes for an additional 5 cents per 30 sec·
tee's venerable Win Fax Pro. While fax software is great for sending onds of transmission time.
Win Fax Pro 9 lets you send faxes much documents, PC users have always faced Like any good e ntrepreneur, Biebe r is
as you do with the Microsoft applet, but problems with receiving faxes . Most users keeping an eye on emerging technologies,
WinFax Pro boas ts a slicker interface and balk at having to leave their PC on 24 but for the time being Microsoft Fax gives
adds other feah1res. For instance, you can hours a day to receive faxes or dedicating her the capabilities she needs with mini·
build a fax from diffe rent sources-such a second modem and phone line to tha t ma l fuss and expense. In the end, that's
as files or open applications-and preview function. Now a growing number ofWeb­ what the best technologies are about.
the document before sending it. The pro· based fax services offer an appealing solu­
gram also has features for receiving faxes, tion to this dilemma. Mitt Jones is a cont ributing editor for PC
such as notification to you r pager when a One of the best, EFax Free, assigns you World. If you have a solution to a PC·
fax comes in. The chiefdrawback of Win· a dedicated phone number to which your related hardware or software problem, send
Fax Pro is its $120 price. incoming faxes can be sent, and automat­ it to [email protected]. •

Keep it for your eyes only!

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46 i)Wfi.i;iitp D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Compaq. Top choice
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• 64MB SDRAM (expandable to 192MBI • 64MB SDRAM (expandable to t92MB) • t28MB 'OOMHz SDRAM (exp. to !GB')
• Wlcle·Ultra2 SCSI Controller
• t2 .1" CTFT (800 x 600) Display • t4.t" CTFT (1024 x 768) Display • No'lell' MerNare 5.0 (5 users)
• 9 !GB Ullra2 Had Dri1-e
• 24X 1ax CD-ROM Drive ' • 24X Max CD-ROM Duve • 9.tGB Ultra2 Hard Drive
• 5 Bays: 3 Removable. 2 Hard Dnve • Max Internal Storage or 72.8GB'
· Compaq 56K V.90 Data/Fax Moclem • Compaq 56K V.90 Data/Fax Modem
• 32X Max CD-ROM Drrve • 8 Bays: 4 Removable, 4 Hard Drive
• Compaq PrernierSound'" • Compaq PremierSourd
• 10/100 TX UTP NIC • 32X Max CD-ROM Dnve
· Integrated AC Adapter • Integrated AC Adapte•
• 10/100 TX UTP NIC
• 1 Lr-Ion Ba11ery • t LI-Ion Battery • 6 slots: 3 PC!, 1 PCl/ISA, t ISA, t AGP
• 6 Slots: 2 PC!, 4 PCVISA
• Microsolt Windows 98 (2nd Edition) • Microsoft Wmdows 98 (2nd Edition) • Server Seiup and Management Scf~.vare
• Server Set Up and Management Soltlvare
• Microsolt Office 2000 Small Business • Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business · Pre -Failure Warranty' . · Pre-Failure Warranty':
• Free' Trial at Compaq Online Services • Free• Trial or Compaq Online Services Processor/Drives Memory/Drives/Processors
• 3-Year Limited Warranty' • 3-Year Limited Warranty' • Hear Limi:ed Warranty' • 3-Year Limited Warranty'

s1799· s2599· s19ag· s3159·

Lease for: $60/month' Lease for: $90/month' Lease for: $67 /month' Lease for: $106/month'
Customize with these options: Customize with those options: Customize with these options: Customize with these options:
• APC Surge Arrest: S19 • Tripplite SMP Surge Suppressor: $16 • Compaq UPS T700: S343 - Compaq UPS T1000: S509
• Value Garryrng Gase: S39 - Gklbal II Garryrng Case S69 • 418GB DAT Tape Drrve. S7 4 • 12/24GB DAT Tape Dr" e: S957
• 3-}-ear, Pans and Labo1. Marl-In • 3·year. Pans and Laber, Mail-In • 9x5. ex -eusiness-Day. • 9x5. ·1-hour. On·Site Service: S640
Warrant) Upgrade: $79 Warranty Upgrade: S79 On-Site Service: $199

COMPAQ
·Prices ~\11 :m· Co111p.1q prices: t('1.Cllcr :tnJ 1cu1lcr prico may '•ry. Prict1.shown ;u c subjc:cc [0 -=-hJngc Jn,f Jo not include lpplic.ihk· .. me .;1nd loc;il sala ax or 5hipping
to rteipinu's de.s,in.rnon. 'AJ.,.cn iscd configur.ttmn~ nt3}' \ k.l1}' fro m 3w.ml-\\i11ni11g configur::niom. For h.ml Jri\CS om d nor.ig('. GB:s billion llyu::s. :cD-RO~ I cb1J u-.msfcr
rJ1cs 1113y \'lry: 24X M.u: from l '0 Kl\/s 10 .lt.00 Kl\/..: .l::!.X Max from 150 ~U/, to ~800 KBls: 52 TrucX (rum (1750 Kbps to 780 1'1' 1~ · 'rl U V.90 modems (;a.,-;ai lJblc on
)dcu models) .11 r: dc..iv,ncd on ly 111 Jllow f;u1..-r ~lownloa d s from KSGtlcx · ur V.90· u ni pli.m c digira l wu11..n. 1' 1.tximum ac h i~-..-:1blc duw11 lo.1J 1t.msmi<i.sion r:n o arc cu rrC'ruly
unknown, m:iy noi rrl~h 56 Kbps. :md wi\1 Vlry wi th line conditiom. 'StH lll' n.·i.1ri..:1iom :ind cxclwion' .1pply. C.11\ (800) OK Oi\1 1'1\ Q fur w.u r.tn1y dn:iil;. ' Fi n:mcing
JVlil.ibh: 1hrough Comp:hl Fin.mci:il Sl'r\'iet~ (Cl·S) 111 •p1:llifie<l U.S. h u ~i n c~~s • .\uh jec1 10 credit .1pp1 0\'.1 I :11ul t·xccui ion of CFS Juc.u 11u_.. 111:11ilm. Mo111hly fl3)'1l\c:ms a.r e
h.t\.("(I 011 j(.,.. momh Fair ~1 .1 rkc 1 V.1l11c lt·.l\c, .1ml du n<it incl ude r:ucs. fees. or shippini; ch:ugcs. Oil1l·r frn .1111 l 11..·,1riciic11h nuy .1 pplr :inJ CE rr.scrvcs ch(' riglu to cha nge
111 uncd thi~ progr;im :it .tnr time wi1hou1 nu 1i1..c. ( 'ump:lq O nline Scr.•it."t.'.S: 1:1cc .Hl·day tri:i.I m.1ui1c' 1111('11\t:l .icc.css cip:i.bili1)'. © I 1~)') Comp:HI Com pu1cr Corpor.nion.
All rif.IH.) rC"SCr.nl. Comp:i.q, 1h(' Comp.llJ l 0~1}, ,tnd Pm ~ig niJ. :ire n..-gi~rct('d tr;iJcmarks. ~luliiH..1y ;rnd l'rcrni c~!'lou m.t ;in: trJJ(·m;i1ks of <."um p.hf Cumpu1cr .nrJ"lt.11ion.
lnid , 1hc Imel lihi<lC' l o~o. ;111J Pn11i11111 uc IC(!l'lc1cJ tradem:uks .md Cdrmn is .1 rr.iJt"m.uk uf lntd l "rnpor.uum. Micro~of1 is .t rCl!.im:rc:J 11.J.dC'nurk of ~licro.sofr
pentiuml?J/// Corpor.uion. No\·cll Nc1\X'uc j5 .i rq:isrcml rr.nl cnurk of No\'cll. Inc. Oclm pr1A.lucu mcmionc<l hC'rcm nuy be 1r.idem1rks o r rc~t s 1cml 1r.ulcrn.H~ of their ropt"Cti.,·c
com p.mies. Opcn1ing .\~''i.tcm prc-imullt·J on .1 11 por1.1hlc products. CompJq i) nm liJ.bl: for cdi1o ri.1l . pk1miJI. or l)l»grJphicil error' 111 thi~ . 11ht·fti,cmcm. 227511 ::!/99
 Think 'Ink
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 But wait, you're not done yet. Every PC
has thousands of ports-virtual openings
that let you send e-mail, browse the Web,
Stop Hackers download files, and so on-that hackers
can use to gain access to your system. To
find out if anyone is snoo ping aro u nd
Before They Attack your ports, grab a free copy of Port Detec­
tive from www.portdetective.com (it's also
available on FileWorld).
LISTEN CAREFULLY : If you use
a cable modem or DS L to con­ SPREADING THE SPEED
~ • I
nect to the Net, someone could BELIEVE ME , you don 't want to
be snooping around your hard share your PC with s trangers.
drive right now. This jerk could But yo u can still split a fast e t
get on to your PC, delete files, or connection among all your sys­
reformat your disk-an d you tems-and keep hackers at bay.
won't know you've been hacked If you have a home network,
until it's too late. WinGate Home lets up to three
Think it can't happen? Well , PCs share one Net connection
I've done it. (Don't worry, no PCs for only $40. Those allergic to
were harmed in the writing of LAN s can use StarTech's $40
this column.) What scares the Internet Splitter to share the Web
dickens out of me is how easy it between two stand-alone PCs.
is to hack someone else's system. Then spend $40 on Blacklce
Fortunately, there are steps you Defender, the best firewall I've
can take to safely share your PC found at that price. The program
1r1r.
and Internet connection with body-blocks intruders by proto­
others on your home network . -­ col. IP address, and port. It even
I'll explain how to batten down your PC's skips all the fi le and printer sharing rig­
hatches to make it an uninviting target.
Security rule numero uno: marole-you can configure this on the fly.

DIARY OF A MAD HACKER

No matter how paranoid For a higher level of security, you'll need
hardware. I tried BeadleNet's SOH02000,
1 F YOU HAVE cable modem or DSL ser­
you are, you aren't a $349 hub that lets four users share a
vice, chances are good that you have a sta­ paranoid enough. high-speed connection over a LAN. (Up to
tic IP address. Because you use the same 25 users can be added, but not in my
IP address every time you log on , you're you are, you aren't paranoid enough . office, thanks. ) The firewall is fail-safe.
more vu lnerab le to attack. Security rul e Using readily available tools, I was ab le and installation took just 10 minutes-no
numero uno : No matter how paranoid to invisibly log on to a dozen PCs on the lie. A cheaper, 16-user version called
Net. I could examine their hard disks, futz Home2000 should be available by the
Blacklce Defender with fil es, even format any drive. No foot­ time you read this.
S40 list; Network Ice; www.n~tlce.com print, no detection, no kidding. For more details on how to share a Net
P'R.O 0 U C T I N F 0 H 0 • ·6 0 3' Of course, J did it with the other users' connection safely, check out T im Hig­
Internet Splitter permiss ion ; real hackers won't bother to gins's terrific site (www.timhiggins.com/
540 list; StarTech; 800/265·1844; ask. So before you do anything else, log on ppd/sharing.htm). And for a glimpse into
www.start ech.com to Shields UP , Steve Gibson 's Internet hacking, check out TI1e Guide to Mostly
PRODUCT INFO NO . 604 security site at grc.com/ShieldsUP. What Harmless Hacking at www.happyhacker.
SOH02000,Home2000 you see the re may scare you bitless. org. Just don 't te ll them .I sent you.
List prices: SOHO $349, Home $250; 8eadleNet ; The site examines the protocol that con­
877/232-3531; www.beadlenet.com nects your PC to the Net. If file and print­ Find files from this article at
P R ODUCT INFO NO . 605 er shari ng is enabled, your system's wide www.fileworld .com/magazi ne.
WlnGate Home open. To secure your PC under Windows Contributing Editor Steve Bass is
$40 list; Deerfiel d.com; 517/732-8856; 9x. you 'll need to change your network a licensed marriage and family therapist
www.winqate.com file and printer sharing settings. Gibson's and president of the Pasadena IBM Users
PRODUCT INFO HO . 606 site has a handy tutorial on how to do it. Group. See page 14 for contact info. •

0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 .,.,j,j;jj.j 51
17000 r-..1..-.1.00~'C So.:ct. l wn1.1111 \Jll' > (,./\ ~.lWH IJ!\I\ (7 1<f) <f }).2t(.'(l f ;o; (7 \ -')·iJ:'.>-l O'N () IWJ Klnf;\IOn lr. knoloio mp.u1>- All 11P.1~ mcm:~I
\II 1~t~d lr.td<tm rb 1ll'd ln(k1n..M o\l t tht fHupcuy 11f 1hm r~lt\.'< l!\'C ovmers
 You CAN ' T BUILD THE NEXT GENERATION

OF MEMORY OVERNIGHT. FIRST, YOU HAVE

TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK. And for Kingston ' thaLStal15 with a

powerful infrastructure. By the year '2000, we will ha,·e invested

I00 million to support high-volume prod\Jc1ion for all

emerging standards of m emo!')~ We've al deditated tremendous

manpower- increasing our engineering staff py 300% to focus

o n maki ng new mem< r techn lbgy p ible. [ <'.!o urse, we~

I I I (
can'1 deliver on that pr mis • al ne. Thct's why we've developed

partnerships with major seri'11conduc1 r manu a turers and

mdu try lea ers such as Intel and Rllmbus . The result .

Premium qualil')· modules at the Ill SI a rdable prices : To rmd

Olli m re abo t new m m ry tc hnologies. visit us at

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We'll be sure 10 hammer Olli • KI. W'Ston

TEC ~ OLOG Y
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Orde 128 on cord or go to www.pcworld.com/produdlnfo

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 Better Communicator encryption • Rocky IE • Telnet security fix
N B

Don't Sweat Y2I<

Virus Rumors workhorse. Check elJdora.qualcomm.com/pro_
emall/updaters.html fµr the final version, which wi ~ •
· include free ·i.ipgrade)S frqm versions 4 ,0 ani:t14 .l,
and a file that describ~s version 4:2·s new features.·
AS THE HOUR OF DOOM approaches, it's start­
ing to look like the big bad Y2K problem will be Windows 9x Telnet Client Patch
no big deal after all. As long as we all remain
calm, leave our money in the banks, and spend
Saturday, January 1, sipping cold beer and
watching football, tranquility will undoubtedly pages can exploit a flaw In this program to do just
prevail on earth. The Dalai Lama has even de­ about any thi ng on your computer. Go to www.
clared that 1/1/2000 will be a day like any other. ty/bulletlns/MS99·033.asp
Of course, that hasn't stopped the antivirus
software industry from discovering an insidi­
ous, and potentially lucrative, new threat: Y2K
hoax viruses. Hackers are cooking up viruses that use millenni­ IE 5.01? ANY DAY NOW
um bug warnings as a ruse to trick users into infecting their sys­ THE FLURRY 0 F SECURITY FLAWS reported in last month's col­
tems. A Symantec antivirus researcher sta ted publicly that as umn continues. Microsoft has released a patch for what it calls
many as 200,000 such viruses could aillict us by the turn of the the "ImportExportFavorites" vulnerability. This flaw in IE 4.01
century. And Network Associates dedicates a Web page to Y2K and 5 allows carefully scripted Web pages (and HTML e-mail
viruses at www.mcafee.com/centers/y2k/y2k....viruses.asp. messages) to "take any action on the machine that the user could
Don't get your knickers in a twist over this one, though. Sure, take," including creating or destroyi g files, or even formatting
Y2K hoax viruses and trojan horses will tum up- Microsoft has the hard disk. For details visit www.microsoft.com/security /
already reported an e-mail trojan horse at www.microsoft.com/ bulletins/MS99-037faq.asp. Microsoft has promised to post the
yzk/hoax/hoaxz.htrn. But these viruses are no different from any IE 5 patch to windowsupdate.microsoft.com, but ifit's not there,
others. One antivirus vendor, Sophos, declares its competitors' get it at ftp.microsoft.com / peropsys/ ie/ ie-public/ fixes/usa/IE50/
Y2K virus warnings "scare-mongering" (see www.sophos.com/ ImportExportFavorites-fix/x86/q24136i.exe. You can find the
pressoffice/pressrel/uk/19990917y2k.htrnl). Common sense n5KB IE 4.01 patch at ftp.microsoft.com/peropsys/ie /ie-public/
also prevails at virus curmudgeon Rob Rosenberg's Computer fixes /usa/I E401 / Im portExportF avorites· fix/x86 / q24136i.exe.
Virus Myths site (kumite.com/myths/myths/mytho35.htrn). Browser security researcher Georgi Guninski has found yet
To avoid infection from Y2K hoax viruses (or any other kind), another hole, this time in IE's ActiveX scripting subsystem. The
take the same actions you normally would: Keep your antivirus defect allows a Web page or HTML mail message to upload text
software up-to-date, avoid sharing floppy disks with others, and files from your PC to a remote one. The patch is available for
don't launch executable files or scriptable documents (like Word download at windowsupdate.microso ft.com.
or Excel files) until you've scarmed them for viruses. If you 're having trouble keeping up with all the IE 5 patches,
things may get easier soon. Microsoft plans to release an IE 5.01
Communicator 128-Bit Update update by year's end. IE 5.01 will also be the browser that ships in
WHEN IT COMES to online security, strong encryption is the key. Windows 2000, the company reports.
Netscape's browser has long lagged behind Internet Explorer, offer·
ing only 56-blt encryption while Microsoft offers a 128-blt option. Find fil es mentioned in this article at www..fileworld.
Though neither encryption st ren gth is crackproof, many online com/ magazine. Scott Spanbauer is a contributing edi­
commerce sites will only do business with you if your browser tor for PC World. •
sports the larger encryption key. At last, Netscape is offering a 128·
bit version of Communicator (still version 4 .61, at press time). To
update your copy, choose Help•Software Updates and select the
12MB browser 128 update in SmartUpdate's Select Software step.

0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •iWJl•#-#4.i 55
 I • ~•· ( " "'"
''"''•1•
0b1 Ht lll• I .\ J• "'< •
•1 : 1, .r1., • .,•.:
1.- i.•• , . •• • o · ~· •

h - ·· . ,. . . ...... ....... ~ .... ,.•••• ' ...... · · - . ...1 .. ....... , . . . . . ... , 11 ' " . I' ' ' 1........ . 1 . .. J
"'' .. ~ ... , r• . •• 1 . .. .. ,. ... . ,,.,, ' " ' .1 • • , ... •• l •~ · ,...... ~ ,, .... , " ' " .... ,., , ...... " ,
''" ,.. ~·· '" ' "'" ,., '"' •' •" I•
,,, , .. .... ~ .... . .. 1. ,,,, .., ............... .
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.....................-. . .. ...
•· .,,,. , ... ,, , ,. , .., ,_, r•• . , .,, ,., • ••• " ••' " •• •-· ..... ,,,,., -. .. r • ~· '!,. , .,, •••

,._.......,.......
~
... ,. .... " ... ....

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 te,
T.
~

~~-
(
)'•
.:
'• BY DAVID ESSEX

-MHi
MORE FOR YOUR MEGAHERTZ: Intel's newest Pentium Ills make your applications fly.
58 i)W§i•l·#i,p D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9
68 Free Online Storage 72 Corel Makes Linux Easy 74 No-Hassle Home LANs
i JUST IN ­
SEVEN IS THE lucky tion , the new PI!Is recapture Micron speed champ costs just
number for power PC the speed crown from AM D's $2377- a price we'd call lucky
buyers: Intel Pentium Athlon processors. even if it didn' t end in sevens.
IIl-733 and AMO Ath­ Th e new PIII processors ,
lon-700 processors fuel the which are code-named Cop­ A NEW GAME
fastest systems we've seen. permine, come in a confusing WHAT D I STINGU I SHES the
But the megahertz jump tells variety of mix-and-match op­ new Coppe rm ine Pill ch ips
on ly half the story. tions, from 733 to 500 MHz, from their Pentium III prede­
In recent months, Intel has with 133- or 100-MHz system cessors? Wi th Co pper m ine New Palms, Lower Prices
roll ed out some Piii s peed buses and several main mem­ Piii s, Intel uses a .18-m icron GOOD NEWS for Palm PDA
increases that looked good in ory options. We tes ted a Mi­ man ufac tu rin g process tha t shoppers: 3Com has added new
the advertisements but didn' t cron PIIl-733 home machine squeezes more ch ips out of models and slashed prices. The
make productivity apps work with 133-MHz virtual channel each silicon wafer. The engi­ Palm VII, with built-in wireless
much better. Case in point: SDRAM , and an HP Pll l-667 neers do it by using smaller, Internet access, Is now available
Plll-550 systems ran those corporate desktop with PC­ closer circui t lines and tran­ nationwide for $499-$100 less
apps just 5 percent faster than 800 RD RAM . For a peek at sistors. The smaller chips run than it cost during a limited roll­
the average Plll-500 machine, AMD 's best, we evalua ted a faster and throw off less heat. out last spring. The new $449
whi le Pll l-600 systems ran Compaq hom e system carry­ The process also lets Intel put Palm Vx Special Edition resem­
them just 4 percent faster than ing the 700-M Hz Athlon and a 256KB level-2 memory cache bles the sleek Palm V ($369) but
a typical PIII-550 PC. Neither PC-100 SD RAM. on the chip to pump up your has 8MB of memory instead of
gain was noticeable. Thanks to We saw some eye-popping mos t-used software. 2MB. The Palm lllx now sells for
a design improvement, how­ performance gains . What's Lz cache plays a key role: A $299, down from $369. And the
ever, the newes t Pl 11 chips more, Micron's and 1-1 P's new processor uses it to avoid send­ entry-level Palm Ille, available In
give everyday apps a poten t power mac hines are surp ri s­ ing requests via the slower sys­ either a translucent case or the
shot of ad re n ali n e. In add i­ ingly good values. The loaded tem bus to main memo- ..,_ traditional gray one, has an
updated price of $179-the same
as t he Handspring Visor, Palm's
hot new rival.

Easier E·Purchases?
MICROSOFT'S PASSPORT ser­
v ice already lets you create a
single password and profile for
signing Into MSN sites like Hot­
m a11 and MoneyCentral. By
November or December, Pass­
port's e-wallet feature will add a
similar conven ience for online
purchases. Once you 've entered
Infor mation such as credit card
data and shipping address in
your e-wallet. you won't have to
retype It during purchases at
participating sites. Microsoft has
recruited about 50 partners­
barnesandnoble.com, dell.com,
and omahasteaks.com among
them. We expect many of ..,_

GET UP-TO-THE·MINUJENEWS aboyt com·

puter products and lnternet_happenings
from PCWorld Online's News area. Just
~int your browser to www.poworld.com/pcwtoday.

0 E C E M 8 E R 1 9 9 9 .,.,,,j;y,; 59
 How Intel Added Oomph to Its New Pentium Ills
Intel's .18-micron manufacturing process, used to produce the new Coppermine Pentium Ill chips, paves the way for subst antial
performance gains. An optional 370-pin, socket-style chip package (right) for the Coppermine units also gives desktop PC vendors
more design flexibility than the traditional cartridge-style package.

New Coppermine Piii desktop chips

contain an on-chip L2 cache that
runs at full processor speed. In our
tests, this Improvement energized
Microsoft Office and similar apps
that cache a lot of data.

Older Piii desktop

chips work In The .18-mlcron process's smaller
tandem with an off­ transistors and more tightly
chip LZ cache that packed circuit lines yield a chip
runs at one-half the nearly two-thirds the size of the
original Pentium Ill chip. The
result: lower voltages, lower
temperatures, and faster speeds.

ry. Level 2 cache guesses what run at only half the processor's 100-MH z bus. (Intel plans to the sys tem bus at a time.
data an applica tion will need speed . The fas t cache especial­ push processor speeds past The Plll-GooEB, -667. and
and keeps it on hand, nea r the ly boosts Microsoft Office and 800 MH z next year, at wh ich -733 des ktop s use a 133 -Ml-l z
CPU . A Coppermine Pil l' s similar apps that stash many point a 100-M Hz bus won't be bus; PIIl-6ooE, -650 and -700
on-chip L2 cache (or Advanced pieces of information there. able to keep up.) Intel upped machines use a standard 100­
Tranfer Cache, as Intel te rms Some new Pill machines the Coppe rmine PI I I' s effi· MHz bus. (An E suffix m eans
it) works at full s peed-which also use a 133-MHz system · ciency, too, with a technology an on-chip Li cache, while B
today m eans as fast as 733 bus, though our tests indicate called advanced sys tem buffer­ indicates 133-MHz bus s up­
MH z. Older PHI chips rely on it does n' t offe r much bene fit ing. This lets the CPU se nd a port. These names distin guish
off-chip Level 2 cach es that yet, compared to the standa rd fe w more requests throu g h Goo-MHz Coppermine ch ips

.,. .1t1t11.1w:s:am:; :1!1:s:11aw!1~1•2111w111:.1.1t11~E • • •4&:11&.1:11

HP's Vectra VL600 Tops the Multitasking Test...
· I
II I . '. " 3DMark CPUMark

Compaq Presario 5900Z Athlon-700 J28MB PC-100 SDRAM 323· 859 8 .90 64 5904 11204
!• ,

HP Vectra VL600 Pentium 11 1-667 128MB PC-800 RDRAM (® 841 7.06 59 56

Micron Millennia Ma x Plll-733 Pentium 111-733 128M8 133-1,IHz VC SORAM. 276 741 6.89 35 7182 11371

AMOAthlon-650' Alhlon-650 128MB SDRAM 929 68 33 6 268 11031

Average of two systems Athlon·600 128MB SDRAM 282 988 9.59 654 33 596.2 10402

Average of three systems Pentium 111-600 31 9 s 1195' 8 .9 5 59 26 53 6 4 8 92 0

HOWW£ TEST The multilaskln9 test limes tasks in Microsoft Word, Horton Anlivlrus. and Adobe Photoshop as the PC extracts a file In the back9round; for most of the test, two apps are
active and a third is oper but Idle. The Aul oCAD2000 test times Autodesk User Group lnlernalional's AUGIGau9e benchmark, which runs computer-aided draflin9 tasks. In Adobe Photoshop
• 5, we time a sequence ol 9raphics file manipulations. In Ra9e Expendable, we measure a self·runnin9 demo frame rate. In Cali9ari TrueSpace 4.1, we measure the frame rate of a tutorial
usin9 AGP textures. The JDMark test uses ruturemark's 30Mark 99 Max benchmark to 9enerale acomposite score based on lma9e quality, ima9e renderln9, and CPUcapability. Tested apps do not use the
AGP 4X bus. Oala based on teslin9 conducted by the PC WorldTest Center. All ri9hls reserved. Numbers hiqhli9hted in red represent best scores on each test. 'Test failed to run. ' Demonstration PC made
by AMO. ' Data not avallable. •one PCfailed to run test. sThese PCsused different chip sets andmemory types, and produced multitaskin9 results from 243 to 388 seconds.

60 i$#f#.i;ii•F o E c E t/ e E R 1 9 9 9
 I JUST IN
from the original Pl I l-600 .) cia bl y faster th a n th e 650­ la rge numbers for months.)
AMO Athlon systems like our MHz Ath Ions , which average Of co ur se . g raphi cs cards these sites to offer e-wallet pur­
Compaq Presario boast a 200­ 283. Howeve r, ot her Ath lon­ affect these scores. HP uses cha si ng in time for t he holiday
MH z bus. But they won't fully 700 machines migh t de live r Ma t rox 's fine 32MB G400. shopping season. For details see
capita lize on th e bus s peed more zip. Diagnostic and key­ Micron and Compaq use the www.passport.com.
unti l faster memory arrives . board utilities slow th e Presar­ 32 MB Creat ive Lab s NV10
CT6940, with Vidia's pow­ ISP Makeovers
Pentium II ls at aGlance erful Ge Force 256 chip. EARTHLI NK AND CompuServe
H P's Vectra hand ily won the are putt ing on f res h faces for
Le vel 2 cache
multitask in g test; we attribute the new millennium. Earthlink 5,
Plll-733 4 -667, -600EB. 256K8, on-chip, lull CPU speed 133 MHz th is to its RDRAM (Rambus) deb uting i n late November or
and -53JEB
memory. Thi s m e mory type, December, wi ll give its e-mail,
Plll -700, ·650, ·600E, Z56KB, on·chip. full CPUspeed IOOMHz which debuted in September, browsi ng, and Web site crea tion
-550E, and · 500E
is desig ned to transfer infor­ capabili t ies a more int egra t ed
Plll -600, -550, and -500 512KB, off-chip, ha lf CP Uspeed 100 MHz mation throu gh the memory look. Version 5 will also include
bus at up to twi ce the rate of detai led wiz ard s and t i ps for
ios down a bit. (We hoped to PC-100 SD RAM. For business nov ices. CompuServe 2000,
ACE IN THE HOLE rev iew a Plll-700 mach in e , users, this PC's mu ltitasking available now, adds more con ­
so 1 F YO u wa nt th e fastest but none were ready in tim e. speed is a big plus. tent channels, integrated IE 5
system o n the b lock, what's Look for testing in later issues. But one ca ution: At press browsing, enhanced e-mail func­
th e new stand a rd? Micron ' s Also watch for AM D' s next ti me in mid-October, Intel was t ions t hat let you restore previ­
Millenn ia Max Pl!l-733 tore move: Athlon chips will pass still addressi n g a gl itch that ously deleted mail, and improved
thro ugh our PC WorldB ench 700 MHz ea rly next year. ) delayed s hipm ent of sys tem s search and shopping features.
98 s ui te o f bu sin ess app s. In ou r g ra ph ics tests, the with RDRAM a nd the 820 CompuServe plans to offer Web­
With a sco re of 309, it' s th e Micron pos ted the best score chip set, li ke o ur HP Vectra based e-mail later this fall.
speediest Windows 98 system we've record ed on AutoCA D (see "Motherboard Foul-U p
we've see n-23 percen t faster 20 00. whi le the HP zoomed Delays Pll 1 System s").
than th e average Pl l l-600 PC. through mod e lin g tasks in
HP 's 667-M Hz Vectra VL6oo Caligari True Space 4.1. Both
LOADED CONFIG S
earned a core of 28i. did well wi th Adobe Ph oto­ ANYONE WHO'S shopped for
Compaq's 700-MH z Athlon sh op. (Both suppo rt the 4X a power desktop knows tha t
system , th e Presa rio 5900Z . AGP graphi cs sta ndard , but outstandin g s peed doesn 't
checked in at 284-not appre­ optimized apps won't arrive in come cheap. But th e HP ....
Tidbytes
1¥-IW:li:i·l:ll "DSL Goes Retail : 3Com and Bell
Atlantic will offer DSL modems
...But on Office Apps, Micron's Pll 1-733 Dominates and service through reta il st ores
such as CompUSA st arti ng i n
RAM I PC WorldBench 98
score
~ November. The modems shou ld
I
cost about $229; Bell Atlanti c
Compaq Presario 5900Z Athlon-700 1Z8M8 PC-100 SDRAM 284
will offer a $130 rebate if you
HP Vectra VL600 Pentium 111·667 1Z8MB PC-800 RDRAM 281 order Its DSL and Web services.
Serv ice prices will range from
Micron Millennia Max Plll-733 Pentium 111-733 1Z8MB 133-MHz VC SDRAM
$50 to $190 a month. Track UPS
Average of 3 systems Athlon·650 128MB SDRAM Packages Online: You can now track
parcels, deliver electronic docu ­
Average of 4 systems Athlon·600 128MB SDRAM
ments, and use other UPS Web
Average of 10 systems Pentium 111-600 128MB SDRAM services for free. UPS Online
World Li nk service provides lim­
Average of IZ systems Pentium 111-550 128MB SDRAM 241
ited dial-up internet service

m HOW WE TEST All systems are tested with PC WorldBench 98, PC World's application·based benchmark. A hl9her PC WorldBench 98
score is better. for more details on our benchmarl< and how we run it, see PC World Online (www.pcworld.com/testinQ). Data based on
testinQ desi9ned and conducted by the PC World Test Center. All ri9hts reserved.
and a special version of Internet
Explorer that allows acc ess
j u st t o UPS Web sites. See
www.ups.com for details.

D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •4W{li.i;#Y•• 61
 TOP OF THE NEWS
and Micron systems manage terns (mostly because RD RAM Compaq's Pre­
to offer plenty of overall val ue. costs more th a n SDRAM ). sario 5900Z costs
HP desc rib es th e $z648 includes a 17-inch monitor, a $3300-almost
Vectra as strong on manage­ 27 GB hard dri ve, an d a CD­ $1000 more than
a bility-but its multitasking Rewritable drive. Given its ad­the $z377 Micron.
abilities seem equally impres­ vantages, this machine is well Granted, our Pre­
sive. The configuration, priced worth the extra cost. sa rio came wi th
on ly about $zoo more than TI1e difference between the nearly every con­
sim ila r Pentium 111-600 sys- two home systems is striking: nectivity and stor­
age option that a
home use r could
Motherboard Foul-Up need or want: a
20GB hard dri ve, HP Vectra VL600
Delays PIII Systems a 10X DVD-ROM
drive, a CD-RW drive, a com­ However, the 733-MHz Mi­
THE ADVERT ISEMENTS HAD been mailed. The first systems were bination DSL/56-kbps modem, cron Millennia will be hard to
bullt. But on September 23-four days before a scheduled product and a cable- modem-ready pass u p. You'll probably see
launch-Intel told PC vendors to hold off shipping Piii systems with its ethern et card. (If you later buy many other PIII-733 sys tems
820 chip set and Rambus DRAM (RDRAM). A problem causing appli­ a ca ble mod e m , you' ll need that cost about $z8oo . Micron
cation and system crashes could not be resolved . For the first time in one of th ese cards.) Two other contin ues to offer extrem e ly
years, Intel scrubbed a major product introduction. features to note: TI1e Presario aggressive pricing, trying to
The prob lem has delayed ship dates for hot new PCs that vendors has front- and rear-mounted win market share. The com­
had planned to sh i p in IEEE i394 and pany also saves a bit by using
.....
late October. Plll-733s? USB ports for th e Via Apollo Pro133A ch ip
You won't see many of easy hooku p set, which is much like th e
~
those until the 820 de­ to compliant In tel 820 but does n't support
lay ends. That's because devices such Ram bus memo1y.
the 820 and 810e are MOTHERBOARDS with three slots for RDRAM (Rambus) as digital cam­ For corporate users, H P's
the only Intel chip sets memory, as shown above, can crash 820 systems. eras and scan· Vectra VL6oo proves that you
that support a 133-MHz ners. It also in­ don't have to pay $3000 to get
system bus, but the 810e's Integrated graphics won't suit many power cludes a 17-inch monitor. a great business PC.
desktop buyers. Micron, however, avoided the problem with its Mil­ The Micron comes with a Conservative shoppers will
lennia systems by using Via Technologies' Apollo Pro133A chip set. 19-inch mon itor, a 20GB hard find even lower prices on PIII­
At press time, Intel intended to announce the Plll-733 and the other d1ive, an 8X DVD-ROM drive, 650 and Plll-6ooEB des k­
new Coppermine Pill processors on October 25. But industry sources a 56-kbp s modem, and two tops , w hich also de li ver th e
told PC World that systems with the 820 chip set and RDRAM would USB ports. Though you could new on-chip L2 cache. All in
not ship before mid-November. lower th e Compaq's price by all, th is seems a fine time for
skipping some options, th e power desktop buyers to roll
THROW OUT THE BOARDS
Micron 's blistering s peed, th e dice on a new system .
THE GLITCH AFFECTS 820 systems with motherboards holding three solid configuration, and fair
slots for RDRAM modules, called RIM Ms. The simplest solution: Ditch price give it the winning hand.
the three-slot motherboards and use boards with two RIMM slots, says List.price: $3300;.Compaq; ' ~ .,,
analyst Peter Glaskowsky of MicroDesign Resources. (Today's Ram­ PLACING YOUR BETS
800/345-1518; www.compaq.com
bus systems support a maximum of 512MB of memory, regardless of E VER y NEW PC generation PRODUCT INFO HO . 727
the number of slots. Future memory technology will allow more.) has "sweet spots" that offer the HP Vectra VL600
Glaskowsky estimates that at most, 100,000 three-slot boards were bes t combination of price and List price: $2648; Hewlett-Packard;
built, some by Intel, others by PC and component makers. PC vendors performance. Typically, these 800/752-0900; www.hp.com/desk­
will probably refuse to pay for the Intel motherboards they received. systems don't include the ab· tops
Given that each board is worth perhaps $100, the error could cost In­ solute fastes t processor. As a PRODUCT INFO NO . 7ZB
tel several million dollars. But Intel earned about $1.7 billion last quar­ res ult, it's often wisest to pick Micron Miilennia
ter alone. "It's hours of Intel's profit," Glaskowsky says. a power desktop that has the Max Pill-733
· Bottom Line: Because the 820 is running late, you' ll see a confusing second- or third- fastest chip, List price: $23n; Micron; 800/642·
array of Piii PC cho ices in October and November. Read the advertis­ which is still qu ite zippy, and 7667; www.micronpc.com
ing fine print, and time your purchase carefull y. -Laurianne Mclaughlin save a few hundred dollars. PROOUCI INFO HO . 7Z9

62 ijW}i•j;ji,p 0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 TOP OF THE NEWS
7500 with a Celeron-466 CPU
and 64MB of RAM . And the
PllJ-500 marks are nearly 20
Pentium Ill Notebooks: Speed, Power to Spare percent better than th e aver­
age of 197 for the nine Pen­
INT EL' S NEW EST Piil er and thinner, so even ultra­ are feature-packed desktop tium II-400 notebooks we've
processors are grea t portables can ta ke advan ta ge replaceme nt units: Traveling tested. The Solo 9300, with a
news for notebook of them. In fact , Pl Il-4oos are weights range from 6.9 to 9.4 Plll -450 and 96MB of RAM ,
users as well as for the intended primarily for ultra­ pounds , an d pri ces go from also broke the old record with
desktop crowd. The first mo­ portables, but none were avail­ $2799 to $4209. All three a World Bench score of 216.
bile Pentium Ill s, running at able in time for our review. units turned in outstanding These units don't just sprint
400 MHz to 500 MHz, drive and die, either. The shortest­
HP OmnlBook 4150
the best-performing note­ li ved of the bunch, th e HP
books we've seen to date. OmniBook, lasted 3 hours and
We looked at three of the 50 minutes on its 9-cell bat­
first Pill notebooks: Dell's te ry. The Dell, with a 12-cell
In spiron 7500 R5ooVT and li thium ion battery, ran about
HP's OmniBook 4150 (with half a n hour more. And th e
Pentium III-5oos) , and a Gateway's 12-cell battery kept
Pen tium 111-4 50­ the power going for a whop­
based Gateway ping 5 hours and 13 minutes.
Solo 9300.
Although they FEATURE SET

sti ll trail the top des ktop FOR TOP POWER

CPUs (see page 58) , these in a desktop alter­
De ll lnspiron 7500 R500VT
muscular though rather heavy native, Dell's $4209 lns piron
portables are more than ready The new mobile CPUs ben­ performance on our PC World- is hard to beat, starting with a
to replace your deskto p. And efit from the 100-MI-lz system Be nch 98 s uite o r bus iness hu ge 25 GB disk. A cri sp, vi­
battery life doesn 't suffer, nor bus , which rep laces th e old applications , with the two PIII­ brant 15-inch 1400 -by-1050
do these machines run hotter: 66-M Hz bus and supports the 500 units-each also carrying sc reen makes DVD movie
The .18-micron process used same PC-100 memory used in 128 M B or RAM-finishing viewing a pleasure (though we
to make these chips lets them most of today's desktops. AGP neck and neck: The lnspiron noted some pixelation in full­
deliver bette r performance at speed has remained at 2X ver­ 7500 R500 VT scored 236, screen mode). In addition to
the sa me voltage used by their sus the 4X of new desktops , whi le the Omni Book 4150 the comb ination DVD-ROM
predecessors. but most business users won't racked up a 235 . That tramples and floppy drive, the unit had
The new process has also notice the difference. the 202 set by the previous a 100MB Iomega Zip drive
allowed the chips to get sma ll- The notebooks we looked at notebook champ, an lnspiron module and a built- in 56-kbps
modem. But hauling the 9.4­
..a!1.111;1.1.1!a:1aa;w11!12•w!1:s1• 124a.111.1.11 pound ln spiron around will
give you a real workout.
Piii Portables Race Past the Competition Frequent flyers will pre fer
the $4149 OmniBook 415o's
NOTEBOOK
6 .9-pound traveling weight
and 1.5-inch profile.111e Omni·
Dell lnspiron 7500 Pentium 111-500 128
Book 415 0 s ports an am pl e
Gateway Solo 9300 Pentium 111-450 96 12GB disk a nd a sharp, 14.1­
inch, 1024-by-768 display. Jar­
HP OmniBook 4150 Pentium 111-500 128
rin gly, however, color depth
Dell lnsp/ron 7500 Celeron·466 64 128 automatically bumped down
197
when we opened more than
Average of nine Pl/·400s Pentium 11-400 128 256
one window with the display

m HOW WE TEST All systems are tested with PC WorldBench 98, PC World 's application·based benchmark. A hi9her PC WorldBench 98
score is better. For more details on our benchmark and how we run it, see PC World Online (www.pcworld.com/testin9). Data based on
lestin9 desi9ned and conducted by the PC World Test Center. All ri9hts reserved.
set to 256 colors. DVD play­
back was smooth. H P supplies
both a pointing stick and a ....

0 EC E M B E R 1 9 9 9 . , . ,,, ;; ;.; 63
 er an d at high e r clock s peeds
a~f.ili :l•i·l!&J:a& :l~ilii .Niiii IV4W:iifi·i•ii when us ing AC power. The

New-Generation Laptops Keep the Power On Longer first SpeedSte p systems will
probably run al 600 MHz
wh en plugged in . But if you're
NOTEBOOK CPU
bu yin g now and portability
oei"l lnspiron 7500 Pentium 111·500 128 256 isn't a prime concern, the Dell
l nsp iron 7500 is th e most
Gateway Solo 9300 Pentium 111·450 96 256 robust choice. Frequent flyers
HP OmniBook 4150 Penth.rn 111·500 128 256 3:50 should give th e more mobile
Omni Book a close look. And
HOWWE TESTWe drain <nd fully recharge the battery twice and set power-saving options lo match a consistent profile where possible. the Gateway Solo is a real bar­
Office workers use Windows 9x applications, periodically saving and allowing regular idle time. Notebooks are rotated among workers.
• we report the time elapsed when the notebook shuts itself off. Data based on tests designed and conducted by the PC world Test gain , especially if you don ' t
Center. All rights reserved. need to have a top-of-the-li ne
machine. Desk top power has
touchpad, which opera te con­ op tion s, including a CD-RW COMING UP never been more mobile.
currently. Bay drives on both drive. Oth er nice touch es WHAT'S NEXT for notebooks? -Anti sh Yegyazarian
notebook are hot-swappable. include front -m ounted CD ­ Intel's SpeedStep technology.
TI1e S2799 price tag ofGate· ROM controls, four one-toud1 due to appear by mid-2000 , Gateway Solo 9300
way's Solo 9300 will attract launch buttons for tasks like e­ will allow mobile CPUs to op· Street price: $2799; Gateway;
more bud ge t-minded power­ mail and Web browsing, and e rate at lowe r clock s peeds 800/846·2000; www.gateway.com
seekers. You ge t a blilliant 15· easy-to -s ee ba ttery gauge when rwmin g on battery pow­ PR ODUC T INFO HO . 720

inch, 1024-by-768 screen, and lights. We didn ' t ge t a DVD­ ·~ ~.~ .".'}:~~: HP Omni Book 4150
at a minimum 7.7 pounds the ROM drive, but the IEEE 1394 Den lnsplron 7500 Street pr_ice: $4149; Hewlett·
unit is fairly portable. Th e port should come in handy for R5 00VT Packard; 800/752·0900;
6-4GB hard disk is a bit small. new periphera ls suppo r tin g Street price: $4209; Dell; www:hJ).COm/omnlbook
but you get more bay modu le this fast connection. 800/388·8542; www.dell.com P R 0 D U.C i I Hf 0 N 0 • 7 Z,1

ads on your own. (BCent ral

BCentral.com Puts Your Business on the Web de buts with more membe rs
tha n most-450.000 si tes. )
. . .;&a•MfA'i'W M0t±fttd5iflM1 IUl!I dWMl,i.11I .l!tMNUhf.Ml§hf. ii
I , lolxl Finally, for as little as $20 a
ON TH E NET, small business­ month, you can buy a market·

f~ Mbosoft ~~----a1c
__rn_i_@~_-_'_L_1n_
nde_
a.ow '1'- 1__
<Exc11ange•~
es have be come big news. ing package that includes ads
~ __ your small DoltMM..
Now a rea ll y big bu s iness, on s ites such as Yahoo and
bCentral
Microsoft, wants a piece of the Excite, and gel help with direct
action. The company's n ew ;§. Premium Membership e-mail campai g n s. You can
-CY ­ Grow your onllnt tramc
BCentra l Web portal (www. track all activities on your per­
Thi Ultlm•l• Tr affic D1tvln; Solutions
bcentral.com) is the latest in a W YN S.t, M'tr!ru, 0tM Rtvf'a! Bv'l1MH sonal 'my business' page.
flurry of sites offering advice OptJon 1.: P'Nmium Dusi11i.·s.c ~ /j" BCentral also addresses such
A ~pttlt 1olut10f't for bnn']in9 """" customt11 to your bv1inau llte · Jnd ,,... .. lh<oo •hlf• k uh
and se rvices for s mall bu s i­ to htp thtm Comtn9 btck. C§t'r Htri For M911 !olg htn ti'\• .... lOtJ•ftln9 basics as finding an ISP (MSN

-........
f~onth••• b-

nesses movin g on line. Most Prlc.: j t9.99Jmonlh • Starch e~ •ubmtssion 10 l!Rls

1/fii. Access being the first option)
S..-w 1>TW1Sa:>f
• St•eh 1nqine monhomw 10 URL.a
fea tures, whether free or paid , • T1111t9d Banrwr Adt 5Jlll imptnsicn1 .......
""_ °""_' an d registerin g your domai n
are what you'd expect: lots of • Oirtd fl"IUil marti:ttinv Wllh Ull9ol: Goid
.......... na me . Unlike Bigstep .co m,
links and informatio n alon g ECongo, an d other competi­
the lines established by Excite's MARKETING 101: Microsoft's BCentral portal helps small bus inesses tors, BCe ntral doesn ' t offer
Work.com. BCentral. howev­ qet qoinq on the Web with low-cost advertisinq and marketinq deals. auto ma ted e-commerce s ite
er, stands out for its affordable creation; th ese and other ser­
advertising and marketing ser­ But the advertising services from click-througbs and sales. vices are slated to appear late r
vices. And with online ve r· are worth visit in g now. One As on other sites, a banner ad on. For now, BCentral is worth
sions of such apps as Office in program all ows yo u to put exc hange program le ts yo u a browse if you want some
the works, th e si te should banner ads on oth er sites in place one ad on a member site help marketing yom business.
become increasingly useful. exchan ge for co mmis s ion s in exchange fo r displaying two - A11 usf1 Yegyazarian ....

64 ii41•••;•i•F 0 E C E M 6 E R 1 9 9 9
 'P<luai ·oeiol'IMimess rr<IJ ViJfl d.e ll verdo< oomponeots. marullclutilg P<ocess <nl C!lmS- VleiQ!ll n:!Wes bar-eiy 'SuplJorts 111. ro1 P<ellade<i blinaled resel!e! Oli:I! b rrodel 24021 u. ~I P<Us rr'1f 111ry. rmz deno!es miaOP<oces!OI
~' ckld< speed only. otta 0tllrs rr'1f aflecl i!ll!lfica:ion ~PCs rmed io "l!lis ad m.oe an apera!inQ ~ IBM PfO<ll;i names are lradomal!s ol lrlm1a1mll Business Mad1iles Coqxraf.<n M icrtslll. wmi... ;m 1v....,.,
e
NT are lrallemal\s cl Mi::rosoli Caporaooo " !he lh:ed Stales and/OI Diie amnes. ml and !he Intel WlSlde logo are n1g.s12red l1ademar!o am Ceenn ~ a tJademaJ1c ~ IJiel CoqxraOOn. 1999 8M CapcraOOn. AR rig!ts resernd

celeronN

---­
----­
____
--­ ­­- -­ -­
--- -- - -­
--­ , _ ()

the new thinkpad 240.take note

real light, about 2.9 lbs~ real thin; about one inch. real ThinkPad' keyboard. real ports. real power. it's a mini-notebook. it's a real notebook. it's a ThinkPad.

real facts : Windows' 98 (also supports Windows NT" Workstation'). mobile Intel' Celeron™ processor 300'Tlhz. from $1,999~

www.ibm.com/thinkpad 800 426 7255. code tp230 @ business tools

 Su ites for Rent:
Office Apps Move Online
Other suites may be offered by
OFFICE SUITES are bloated, ISP s, teleph one companies,
costly, and a pain to support cable TV companies, or a new
and upgrade. But we can't Live ty pe of In ternet com pa n y
without them. Within the next ca lled a n appli ca ti on se rvice
six months, however, we'll see provider, such as FutureLink,
a new way to Live with them as based in Irvine, California.
vendors introd uce online ver­
THE GOOD, THE BAD
sions with fewer hass les and,
maybe, lower costs than their ON LI NE VERS I ONS of offi ce
shrink-wrapped counterparts. suites wilJ offer users several
Ma ny m inor a n d m ids ize advantages over the shrin k­
ve nd ors already offe r sma ll wrapped behemoths of today.
apps via the Interne t, either In the first place, you' ll escape
for ren t or for free. But now tedious and at times demand­ base d ap ps will h ave some SACRED CASH COW
some very big names are get­ ing installat ion and m ainte­ drawbacks. To obtain perfor­ THE KEY un an swered qu es­
ting into the act. Most notably, n ance chores. Upgrades an d mance approaching that of a tion in volves prici n g. Som e
Microsoft says it's working on bug fixes will be handled on boxed package, you'll want a portals and IS Ps will probably
a rental version of Office that the provider's server. high-bandwidth Internet con­ offer basic office appl ications
could be available in 12 to 18 Usin g a n online pro du ct nection . I tri ed FutureLin k's for free. But analys ts say that
months. Sun Microsyste m s should also free up hun dreds demo versions of Mic roso ft Microsoft derives more than a
expects to offer its recently of megabytes ofdisk space fo r­ Word, Outlook, and Corel third of its revenues from
acqu ired StarOffice suite on ­ merly devoted to suite applica­ Word Perfect in a Citrix win- Office an d is un li kely to be
Line within the next six months. overly generou s wi th its cash
And Corel's WordPerfect Suite
should be avai lable about the
The Inside Scoop on Online Suites cow. Best guess: You'll have to
pay monthly or as-you-go fees,
Minimal system requirements: Runs In browser or small client; accesses appsfrom or a combination of the two.
same time.
any PC. Good for people who have older PCs or don't want to carry a notebook.
+.,.....,._.,... ,. •., ,., • ,.. •••,.._. • I •••• .. · ·~ ou•o• • - .. • • ••V'''"
Being abl e to ru n spread­ · ...,·• ~· H•t• , ,., . . . •• •
Eventua ll y, you co ul d spe nd
Fewer hassles: Installation, maintenance, and upqrades l!frformed by providers.
sheets, wo rd processors, and Good
..... for nontechnical
~ .. .1......... usersand
~ . . ... companies
. .. with m
..inimal:..IS
~ . staff.
......•. . .....-... .......
~...... ~ ~
more on month ly rentals than
other basic business applica ­ Sluggish performance: Slowon standard modems or overloaded networks. Bad for the $200 to $300-plus cost of
ti on s over th e In te rnet will people who use suites constantly and expect speedy desktop performance. today's shrink-wrapped Office.
change th e way we buy a nd
-i~~~11tY;·5~it~;~~~ ~~;;1bi;~·~ i;:~ti~;·v~~;~~ ~~1i~~: ·a~d·;~; ·i~~;i~~~ .... · · · But you mi ght be able save
a.:~.?.~!~ ton~!~in9 aw.~r.!~~'!' l')!_eme! a~~!~~;___ _...... ~ ..,.
use software. But many key money other ways. For exam­
Rental pricing: Monthly rental or fees based onusage. Good for casual users or those
details (including pricing) re­ wishing to limit up-front expenses, but could cost more over time. ple, you migh t be offered dif­
main undecided. Here's where fere nt a pplica ti o n bundles,
th ings s tood at p ress tim e: tions. Don 't want to bu y a dow over a 56-kbps modem. much as you get to choose lev­
You' ll run Web-based suites notebook? Onli ne suites will Typing was fine, but frequent els of cable TV service. A low­
with a sta n da rd browser, a be accessible through any PC screen refreshes m ade using cost bundle might have word
browser equipped with a spe­ th at's co nn ected to the Inter­ features that in vo lved graph· process ing a nd perso n al fi ­
cial plu g-in , or a sma ll pro­ net. You'll probably be able to ics- such as a wizard for cre­ nan ce apps, while a premium
gram such as Citrix's Program store your documents on the ati n g a documen t-te dious. bund le m igh t throw in pre­
Neigh borhood. Some suites vendor's server, where ana­ You'll want at leas t a 56-kbps sentation packages and spread­
will pro bab ly be offered by lysts say they'll be more secure hookup and preferably a cable sheets. Occasional users could
Web porta ls: Microsoft has than on your desk to p. But or DSL connection. Ofcourse, be offered the option of paying
already identified its new some providers may give you if your connection is unava il­ on ly by the day or m in u te.
BCentral small business po r­ the option of sav ing fi les to ab le- because yo u 're on an And in workgro up situations,
tal (see page 64 ) as a li ke ly your hard disk if you pre fer. airplane, say, or your IS P is people who n ow h ave th eir
source of Office apps online. O n the other ha nd, We b­ down- you' re out ofluck. own copies of a desktop ....

66 ij#fi.i;ii.p o E c E M e E R 1 9 9 9
 from $1,069" Now available with up to a Pentium' Ill processor The new IBM PC 300GL. The most affordable IBM business pc.
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pentium®///
 li1li1llllll :ti'if"
suite may be able to share few­
er re ntal accounts. Your Rent-an-App Could Look Like This
Office suites bring u p the TO RUN THE INTERNET vers ion
rea r in a long parade of appli­ of WordPerfect 9, you first download
ca tions h eaded on line. We b­
based e-ma il came fir s t, a nd
mor e recent ly we 've see n
AddlCA
Web-based utilities, calendars. c.n-
and contact mana gers . Still ,
tradit iona l sh rink -wrapp e d THEN RUN
packages won 't disappear any­ the Add ICA
time soon . On line software Connection portion
savings probably won't suffice of the proqram, the Net Is Identical In
to discourage larger business­ which uses a simple appearance and
'l,,. l\'lod'alect-0'*'
es from purchasing packaged wizard to create the 'I,,. l\'lod'sf9'tWebO°""'" features to the shrink­
'1,,.......-.io
software. Corporate IT depart­ WordPerfect 9 'l,,.........,R_ wrapped version. In
'l,..APAReport
proqram Icon.
ments already handle upgrade ....'t..., .__
Anetll'M!ntar
this preproduction
and ad m ini strative hassles . TO START ........_'.fH''1i. ;. ~""':-s"'"' .:.J version, you can save
Meanwhile, smaller business­ WordPerfect 9, =--,.,.:",........... dclo<upoill~'!O"'- lo files either to the
es a nd individua ls with low- simply connect to Internet or to your
bandwidth connections won 't the Internet and hard disk.
1aae -
tol erate the performance hit. click the Icon.
But occasional users will
wan t to consider online alter­ current software without buy­ online option appealing. Even online s uites s hou ld give
natives . In terne t-based suites ing n ew hardware. And if the peo ple who don ' t use online Microsoft Office competition
also make sense for owners of price is r ig h t, bud get-con ­ business apps will have reason it hasn't seen in years.
o lder PCs who want to run scious businesses will find the to ch ee r : A pro li feration of -Yardena Arar

site . Th e n ew )u stOn Files

Free and Easy Online Storage (www.juston.com) has similar
sharing options and offers
&aM :WWW•·•··~- features li ke fil e encryption . More am bitious services in· 50M B of free storage.
A NEW CLASS of fr ee, \Veb­ Two types of services are of­ elude group editing and docu­
based services lets you store fered. Virtual hard drives like ment sharing options, making TH E CAV EAT S
fil es , retrieve them from any FreeDrive (www.freedrive.com, the m us e fu l for sma ll work THE SERVICES do have draw­
PC with a browser, and allow 20 MB fr ee storage) . I-dr ive groups. NetDocuments (www. backs . Uploading large fil e s
oth e rs to view or edit them . (www.idri ve.com, 25MB free) netdo cum en ts.com) , one of over a dial-up connection takes
The services offer online stor­ our favorites of this type, lets a lot longer than saving to, say,
age space (around 25MB, typi­ you crea te an address book of an Iomega Zip di sk. And free
call y) at no ch arge, giv ing online s torage sites dema nd
you a cheap, easy way matica ll y by e-mail registration info. so you m;iy
to shuttle big mes be­ anytime a particular become a target for spam­
tween PCs or share docum e nt is modi­ mers. Finally, no one guaran­
fil es with others. fied. NetDocuments' tees you r fil es will be safe in
and Free Disk Space (w-vw. synchroni zat ion system lets the event of a system snafu.
THE OPTIONS
freediskspace.com, 25MB free) you a lte r on lin e docum e nts Online document storage is
INTERNET-BASED document are designed for ease of use. without down loading them to a developing arena, with more
storage services resemble Net­ They' re a imed at students or you r PC, sa ving time and di sk op tions likely in th e fut u re .
based e-mail: You sign u p for travelin g business peo ple who space. So if you edit a Word Nex t year, NetDocuments
a free account and then access need access to fil es and don' t docum ent stored on Net Docu­ plans to expand its se rvi ce to
your on line documents with a want to hassle wi th (or pay for) m e nts, th e service will store include remote printing and
browser and a password. Ser­ floppy di sks or other types of your changes to the version of sh ippin g of hard copies.
vices may also include security removabl e storage. the fil e it kee ps on the W e b -Glwn McDonald .....

68 1$#§1.i;il•P o E c E M e E R l 9 9 9
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from Pentium• 111 processor (up to 733mhz) zi p drive I cd rom Imagine PCs you control from virtually anywhere - over the network or the
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integrated ethernet & audio 300PL. It's the ultimate in remote control. www.ibm.com/ibmpc
800 426 7255. code pc140

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• EstJma1ed reseller pnce for model 6862·V1U (CPU) and 65•160AN (15' mornlor) Ac1uat p11ces may vary MHz denotes microprocessor in1ernal cfock speed. othor lacre<s may affect appll­
pentium~/// ca11on pc1f0tmancc GB= 1 b ~lion bytes to.- hc11d dnvo cepuc1f¥ AU PCs 1n this ad shrp w11h an opora11ng system. IBM p1oduc1 names are registered trademarks ol 1n1u1na1 ional Business
Machinos Corpora11cn. Imel, the Imel Inside logo and Ponhum ore registorod 1radomorks of lniel Corporauon. ~ 1999 IBM Corpora11on. AU lights reserved
 (6~ ~!~.Zi~6®
I Expanding Possibilities I

True to the original.

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Printouts most like your original photos.
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The new HP DeskJet 970C. Up to 10 ppm color.
Just $399: Assure perfect printouts with HP supplies.
www.hp.com/go/original.
 li1)i1111111:111,ig\,,
nel still lacks support for such
common PC devices as USB,
Corel Makes Linux Almost Nice DVD, interna l lSDN ca rds,
and Winmodems . USB sup­
With Quick Install and aFamiliar Face port is likely to arrive some­
time next year; there's no time­
steps: Type in a user name, co re) , and installs the Win­ line for the other devices.
IS LINUX READYfor the choose a default installation, dows-like KDE graphical inter­
face by default. But Corel has FREE STUFF
masses? Until rece nt ly the decide where to install it, and
answer was a resounding no. dick an Install button. In min­ made many small improve­ COREL LINUX has the usual

No matter how fervently con­ utes, you're nearly ready to ments to KDE that wi ll make free applications, including
sumers wished for a Windows thumb your nose at Bill Gates. it eve n more familiar to Win­ Netscape Navigator and Cor­
alternative, Linux was s imply dows aficionados. Besides el's WordPerfect 8 for Linux.
NOT SO FAST making the Control Cente r But it will ship sans Sun 's fr ee
too difficult for the average
user to get up and running. BUT FIRST YO u have to con­ changes, Corel has rep laced StarOffice p . tl1e office suite
But at long last, a new ver­ figure things like printers , the KDE file manager with bundled with most shrink-
sion of the operating system is dial-up connections, and net­ • Ip) x
changing all that. Unlikeco m­ work ing-just as you wou ld
peting versions-and despite when in s talling Windows.
its unfinished state-the beta Getting these essentials work­
~~*"' ··~,....==-~~~~~~~-'-'c::::'--_c;~
:.::::.:..~iiiiiiilk::::::~m'--~~I
version of Corel Linux installs ing under Red Hat Linux or
"9 °'QMy-1
'">!> dNOa'- >a ­ x4/Zzr.l'.i NA AM
nearly hands-free. And if the almost any other competing c:Jo11t1op dr.ioq- N-X 7n3199 1Z:37 PW

features Corel promises for version means us ing Linux's I Clntt

9! §,MyC011pu'.IT
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th e final product (due in mid­ collection of arcane com ­ S Q ,_. J/ftp.COttltom GIA! Artga oiv.oo-xr-x913199 1:511 PM
Ill O bin CJ Ainley Marctnyt. dl'AOO-xr·xZIZ719S 0:00 AM
Novem ber) come true , this mand-Line utilities and config­ ma ttt a;ay~ Clr.r.oo-xr-x81111'99 1:01 PM

new flavor of Linux may be uration fil es, a task that has I Clpvb
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nearly as easy to in stall and driven more than one Linux I f1tiap Jl\lt1!,DtCOltle
8 rtiNFSNt~f'\
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dl'vM· >CT-xZ/ZS/99 0 ZO AM
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configure as Windows 98. newbie back into Microsoft's .!.1zo.1.zue5 ClAleUtlR ClrMQ'•)l•X8/Sf'99 a:so AM
.!.1zo.1.z1.zie 0Ale'Xln<ltlM CllW){l•)Q'•X7fll5/99 559M4
Unlike most other Linux arms. Corel says its Control 1
.!.1Z0.1.4ll_ZIO OAIVWldlvp d1WX1'•7J•XZ/1219e 11)'.25 AH
products, Corel's version does Cen ter utility will consolidate 'l' .t.1zo.1.sus 0Alm. dr.ina'·n- xSll91'9e 9.30 AM

not require you to test and most of th ese tasks in a cen­ NOT WINDOWS: Th is looks a lot like t he fam iliar Windows Explorer, but
tweak video settings for the tralized. Control Panel-like It isn't. You 're looki ng at the Ill e m anager in Cor el's vers ion of Linux.
graphical interface. You don't interface. Despite some glitch­
need to plumb the de pths of es , Control Center let me con­ Corel File Manage r, a uti lity wrapped Linux products. Cor­
drive partitioning ei ther, an d figure Samba , Linux's Win­ that displays drives, desktops, el plans to release its own of­
poring over the numbing cat­ dows n etwork ing clone , in and network resources much fice suite for Linux next year,
alog of installation options is only a few dicks. as Windows Explorer does. but that one won't be free, and
strictly optional. Like many other flavors of But while Corel is doing its it won't be included in Corel
You can progress from a Linux, Corel Linux is based on best to smooth the move from Linux. In a unique role rever­
bare hard disk to a graphical the 2 . 2 .1 0 Linux kernel (a ker­ Windows to Linux, it can't sal, the suite will come with a
Linux desktop in four easy nel is an operating system 's work miracles. TI1e Linux ker- free copy of Corel Linux.
What neophyte Linux users

Lots o' Linux-And Not Just for Geeks need is tech support whi le
installing and configuring
their soft\vare. Corel, like com­
petito rs Red Hat and Caldera ,
will bundle limited technical
$49' support. But even if that sup·
llnux.corel.com
Ci~u x:~ia.nd~a.ke-6:1 .. port is stellar, customers who
www.llnu x-mandrake.com 725 pick up a copy at the loca l
R"eci' liafGilux­6T ..,...... GNOME and KDE Interfaces. 90 days free installation tech support, computer mart should be pre­
www.redhat.com SJO WordPerfect 8 for Linux, Netscape Navigator, StarOlflce 5.1
pared to sweat before they say
' All producersof Linux versions, by license, are required to make the OSavailable for free downloading; commertlal versions may Include
additional appliutions, utllltles, and sourte code. • $79 deluxe version Includes fuller edition of WordPerfect and more tools.
goodbye to Windows.
-Scott Spanbauer ....

72 ''**'·f*Y·F D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Get on with it.
Get onto a computer, get online, and
get on with your life. Faster.

Gateway Astrb™·',

1~ Gateway
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Gateway Astro PCs make getting onto the Internet qulck ·and:,easy.
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Gatewax Connect wi t h us .

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through independent lender. Payment based on 48 months and a 14.9% APR. Your payment may be higher based on your actual APR. APR range
from 14.9% to 26.99%. Minimum FINANCE CHARGE S.50.
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Gateway Essential 400c Gateway Essential 450 Additional Upgrades

Intel" Celeron'" Processor 400MHz Inte l ~ Pentium"' Ill Processor 450MHz Printers
32MB SORAM 64MBSDRAM Epson• Stylus• COLOR440 Ink Jet · $129
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EV500 15" Monitor (13.9" viewab le) EV700 l 7' Monitor (15.9 ' viewa ble)
EpsonStylus COLOR 660 USB Ink Jet · Sl59
8MB AGP Graphic s 8MB AGP Graphics Ca rd (Sl 29 after S30 mail-in rebate)
l OGB Ultra ATA Hard Drive lOGB Ultra ATA Hard Dri ve HP"' DeskJet 8I 2C Color Ink Jet · $1 59
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HP Sc anJet® 3300Cse Flatbed - $149
GCS-200 Speakers by Cambrid ge SoundWorks ~ GCS- 200 Speakers by Ca mbrid ge So undWorks
Monitors
56K' Internet/Fax Modem 56K' Internet/Fax Modem Upgrade from 15' EV500 (13.9 " viewable) lo
Micro-Tower Case Mid-Tower Case 17 ' EV 700 (15.9' viewable) - $90
MultiFunct ion Keyboard. Mou se MultiFunction Keyboard. Mouse Upgrade from 17' EV700 (15.9' viewable) to
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Microsoft"' Windows 3 98 Second Edition Microsoft Wi ndows 98 Second Edition
MS" Works Suite 99 Software MS Works Suite 99 Software Miscellaneous
Intel PC Camera Pack · $79
I-Year Lim ited Wa rran ty w/On-siteService* 3-Year Limited Warranty w/l-Yea r ($69 after SlO mail-in rebate)
Yea r 2000 Compliance' On-site Service· Upgrade lo Boston Acoustics• BA735.,
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or as low as S28/mo.
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through our You r:)Ware™
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1-Year Gateway.net Internet Access'
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Upgrade to DVD-ROM Drive· $80

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~
pentium®!!!
Get in touch with us for more information, and for the most current pricing.

GatewayConnect with us .
 Gateway's Solutions
and Your:)WareSM Program:
Choose any Gateway1" Essential or Gateway Performa nce PC , an d you can custom ize it with the following solution packages.
We test out software titles an d accessories to find the best products, and package them for better val ue.

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Microsoft Reference &
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Rand McNally TripMaker" Deluxe 1999
Stud io Picture It '" 99, Bookshelf3 98,
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Gateway location for warranty servia. See agraements forspecific terms and limitations. *"Prices exclude shipping and handling and taxes. Financing available on approved credit through
in~ependent lender. Payment based on 48 months and a 14.9% APR. Your payment may be higher based on your actual APR APRs range from 14.9% to 26.99%.
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EV 700 .2a Screen Pitch 17" Monitor EV9 IO .26 Screen Pitch 19" Monitor VX900 .26 Screen Pitch 19" Monitor VX900 .26 Screen Pi tch 19' Monitor
(1 5.9" viewable) oa· viewable) 11a· viewable) o a· viewa ble)
16MB AGP Graphics Card IGMB AGP Graphics Card 32MB NVIDIA'" RIVATNT2'' 32MB NVIDIA RIVA TNT2
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20GB Ultra ATA 66 7200 RPM 20GB Ultra ATA 66 7200 RPM
Hard Drive Hard Drive 27.3 GB Ultra ATA 66 7200 RPM TV/FM Tuner Card
Hard Drive
ax DVD-ROM Drive & MPEG-2 Decoder ax DVD-ROM Drive & MPEG-2 Decoder 27.3GBUltra ATA 66 7200 RPM
8X DVD -ROMDrive &MPEG-2 Decoder Hard Drive
SoundBlaste ~ Live!Value Card SoundBlaster Live 'Value Card
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Boston Acoustics« BA735'" Di gital Boston Acoustics BA735 Digital 4X/4X/24X CD-RW (CD ­
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a-Bay Mid-Tower Ca se a-Bay Mid-Tower Ca se Boston Acoustics Digital Med ia
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MS ~ Works Su ite99 Software MS Works Suite 99 Software Microsoft Windows 9a PCI Voice WinModern
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MS Works Sui te 99 Software 10-Bay Tower Case
Microsoft Windows 98
Of J~ lmv .1~ S7J tnw
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Upgrade any desktop PC: $2599 1,\l'R l-19 '.' loi l8mos··
llu ou~:h ow Ylll ll )\\'arr
11ro,·r.1111
Microsof t Office 2000 Sma ll
All Gateway Performance Bu siness Software
PCs include: Upgrade from an 8-Bay Mid-Tower
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3.5" Diskette Drive
Mu lt ifunction Keyboard . Mouse
Phi lips 4X/4X/24X CD- RW 1-Year Gateway.net'" Internet s3199 low ,JS t 89tmo
til .H
1hPRl ·lq,Jf11148mc,··
llHtltl~h ('llJI folll )W;Hr.
w/Media - $1 99 Access '- $129 j)IO !?l,tfl:

Year 2000 Complia nce ' lOOMB Iomega" ZIP BUILT-IN'" Upgrade from 17' EV700
3-Year Limited Wa rranty wi th Internal Drive w/3 ZIP Disks- $99 (1 5 9" vi ewable) to I 9" EV910
I -Yea r On -site Service * Upgrad efrom Boston Acoustics Monitor (ta" viewable) - $130
BA735 Speakers lo Med iaTh ea ter Upgrade from t 7" EV700
Dolby Digital Speakers - $100 (15.9" viewa bl e) to 19" VX900
Monitor (la" vi ewable) - $220

Ask us for details about software training offered at our Gateway Country®stores.
 Gateway.com
Hi-tech photo gallery? Intergalactic arcade? Multiplex
movie theater? Turn your computer into absolutely anything.
Sit down, log on and pay a visit to our technology superstore - www.gateway.com - great PCs and more. Over 30,000
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Philips"' CD-Rewritable Drive
2 Recorda ble CDs Hewlett ~ Packard ScanJet ~ 3300Cse - $149 Intel PC Ca me 1a Pro Pack· $1 29
($99 after $30 ma il-in rebate)
I Rewritable CD E pson ~ Perfec t io n~ 636U - $199
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Get in touch with us for more information, and for the most current pricing. ~
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'Call 1-800-GATEWAY or WTire Ill Gateway Te1ms &Comfrtions. P.O. Box 1951. North Sioux City,SO 57049-1951fo1a hl!e copy of ourlimited warranties and on-site ll!IV~e agreEments. On-~te custome1s: II Gateway detennines on-sire seJVice ~ nea!ssary. it will
1e provided for p1oduct inthe continental UnitedStares.Alaska. Hawa". Pueno Rico andCanada (exdudin[ mice. keyboanls. ponable dociinJ1 statio11.1•.exremal peripherals andmonito11). )'uu may be ask!d It takeyuUJ PC toa Gal~ location fo1 warranty seivi:8.
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Gateway" Portable PCs: Ga t•~• Y SO:O 9JOOCL

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32MB SDRAM (expandable to 160MBI 64MB SDRAM (expand able to ! 60MBJ 64MB SDRAM (expa nd able to 288MB) 64MB SDRAM (expandable to 288MB)
2X AGP 3-D ATI Mobility- M 2X AGP 3-DAll Mobility-M 2X AG P 3-D ATI Mobility-P 2X AGP 3- D Al l Mobi lity-P
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Integrated 16-Bit Sound Windows 98
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&Conditions.P.O. Box 1951. llor1fr Sioux City. SO 57049-1951lor alree copy of our limitedwanantiasandon-site se~u agreaments. On-site customers:II Gateway delerminl!l on-site service is necessary. ii will be provided lot fl!Odoct in Urn continental LliitedStates.Alaska.
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 Home LANs: Faster, Easier,
and Cheaper Than Ever
Ho ME network­ jack near every PC, you'll soon
ing isn't just for have other options . By year's
turbogeeks. Some end, expect to see a new gen­
17 million house­ eration of10-mbps wireless
holds in the U.S. now have networks that use radio fre­
multiple PCs. And network quencies instead of wires and
kits that enable users to share carry family-friendly prices.
printers, files, and (most im­
HOME LAN HANDS-ON
portant) Internet connections
without first having to acquire WE INSTALLED a Phoneline­
a degree in network adminis­ 10X card in each of two old
tration have been on store Pentium-75s and found that

l OX PCI ca rd s

shelves for more than a year. the resulting network func­

But few people are buying tioned as advertised. Like the
those kits. One reason: They first generation of home net­
are slow . With a maximum working kits, NetGear's comes
throughput of l megabit per with software intended to let
second , the first home LAN networking neophytes set up a
products were pokier than LAN without worrying about
their office counterparts. Buy­ IP addresses, gateways, or
ers savvy enough to want a other arcana . After installing
home network are likely to the cards, we simply popped
look askance at 1 mbps. in the accompanying CD­
For these skeptics, the new ROM , clicked OK a few times,
lO-mbps home networking and voila, we had a network.
kits warrant a look. NetGear's Once both Phoneline10X
Phoneline10X PC! Adapter is cards were up and running,
the first to hit the market. Like we could open Windows' Net­
their 1-mbps predecessors , work eighborhood on one of
these products transmit data the PCs, locate the other sys­
over existing phone lines in tem, and start transferring
the walls of your home. files . Sending a 30MB image
If you want a 10-mbps home file from one machine to the
LAN but don't have a phone other took about 50 seconds,

74 i)Wfi.Ui·F D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
versus 10 minutes with a first­ the middle of next year. While
genera tion 1-mbps product 11-mbps wireless networking
and 10 seconds using an up­ is nothing new, the prices of
to-date office IAN (which uses these next-generation wireless
a mix of 10- and 100-mbps cards (roughly $200 per node)
hardware) . And you can still should be about half those of
use your phones when the wireless options today. Mean­
phone lines are sending data. time, 3Com and Microsoft
Sharing a printer is nearly as offer the HomeConnect Ether­
easy: In the preproduction ver­ net kit, designed to make set­
sion we tested, we used the ting up a 10-mbps LAN with
Add Printer Wizard (from the traditiona l ethernet cabling
Control Panel) to handle this feasible for home users.
task; NetGear says a desktop As home networks, broad­
icon in the shipping version band connections, and intelli­
will automate the process. To gent devices proliferate in
share an Internet connection, homes nationwide, even 10
you just tell the NetGear app mbps is like ly to fall short.
which PC has the modem (the That's why Broadcom (a co­
product supports standard author of the 10-mbps phone­
dial-up connections as well as line spec and a key chip sup­
DSL and cable). plier) is at work
Thereafter, the Phonellne10X PCI on a 100-mbps
modem auto­ Adapter chip set. Prod­
matically dials Street price: $80; NetGear; ucts should be­
when you fire 800(638-4327; gin appearing
up your browser www.netgearlnc.com in 2001.
from any PC on PROOUCT INFO NO . 719 Do you need
the IAN. more than a 1­
NetGear plans to sell the mbps network? If you want
Phoneline10X kit, consisting your home PCs to share a
of one PCI card and the nee­ high-speed DSL or cable con­
essary software, for $99 list nection, the answer is yes.
(about $80 on the street). Ditto if you want to network
As noted, NetGear is not more than three PCs in your
alone. 3Com, Diamond Multi­ house, or if you plan to shuttle
media, D-Link, and Intel are huge files between computers.
introducing 10-mbps kits of Otherwise, 1-mbps products
their own; expect their pricing should suffice-especially at
to be similar to Netgear's. Dell the lower prices they're likely
plans to offer a $69 10-mbps to have after th eir 1o-mbps
phone-line networking option counterparts hit the market.
on its Dimension desktops in Several vendors-Intel among
time for the holiday season. them-say 1 mbps will remain
the standard, and 10 mbps will
BETTER HOME LAN s
be pitched as the premium. If
THESE NEW phone-line prod­ you're amo ng the holdouts
ucts are part of a miniboom in who snubbed wimpy i-mbps
faster home and small-office home networking products,
networking. The next big de­ you may want to consider the
velopment will be fast, cheap new 10-mbps offerings that
wireless IANs. Compaq and deliver more muscle, albeit at
3Com plan to offer 11-mbps a higher price.
wireless networking cards by -Dmt Miller •

DECEMBER 1 9 9 9 •l•i•·•;1;.1 75
TU R N S L I G H T I N T0 P I X E L S.

I M A G ES I N T0 N U M B E R S.

C Y N I C S I N T0 B E L I E V E R S.

WE TME THE WCP.lD'S

GREATEST PICTURES' YCUP.5

Welcome converts to the house ofCoo/pi 950. A place where two megapixels ofresolution, a 3x Zoom Nikkor
lens, Matrix Metering, program/aperture/shutter exposure control and TTL flesh converge to create stunning
images. The Coo/pix 950 is a true photographer's camera. Developed to take amazing pictures that just
happen to be digital. One click and you, too, will believe. Visit us atwww.nikonusa.com orca/11-800-52-N/KON.
 Special Adverti sing Supplement

DICjITaL FOCUS Th e Dig i tal Photog r a p hy Series

Bringing it
together

Chances are that every prod­

uct, conviction, or strategy
that's part of your personal
or professional life started as
basic conce pt and improved
over time. Digital imaging,
T h e b e a u t y following that same course,
has likewise matured . Over
the past three years , prices
0 f d g t a have declined wh ile ease of
use, resolution , and image
p h 0 t 0 g ra p h y quality have improved so
dramatically, you may no
The Kodak OC290 Zoom
longer need to own a fi lm Digital Camera has two- ·
e s n w h a t camera . megapixel resolution.
" Now is a reasonable
time to get involved with dig·
c a n b e d 0 n e ital photography; it has
come of age," says Michel le
w t h y 0 u r Lampmann , a market re-

w 0 r k a f t e r t h e p i ctur e s t a k e n

search analyst with In­

foTrends in Boston . Citing
statistics , lnfoTrends pre­
dicts that vendo rs will sell 1.8
million cameras in 1999
worth $i.1 billion . "By 2003 ,
unit sales wil l reach 7 million
units annua ll y, worth $2.6
 Speci al Adverti sin g Suppl ement

Oiy I TaL FOCUS The Digital Photography Series

billion ," says Lampman n, who predicts a 38% average annu· pe rformance, and
SUPPLEMENT SPONSORS
al growth rate for the entire digita l imaging industry. image quality. Dye·
CANON U.S.A. INC. www.usa.canon.com
As do all successful new technologies , digital photogra­ subl imation photo EASTMAN KODAK CO. www.kodak.com
phy reta ins the best attributes of its predecessor, film -based printers , say ana· HEWlETT·PACKARD CO. www.hp.com
photography, and min imizes the limitations. Digital photog· lysts, best approxi· IMATION CORP. www.imation.com
IXLA USA INC. www.ixla.com
raphy captures photos using a solid-state image sensor. Im· mate the original JASC SOFlWARE INC. www.jasc.com
ages are held in memory instead of flashed onto silver halide subject's true col· LEXAR MEDIA C.ORP. \VWW.lcxr.com
film as with traditional cameras. Once you capture images dig· ors, more so than MAXELL CORP. OF AMERICA www.maxcll.com
itally, you have many more options on how to show and share any other color pho· HIKOff,JHC. www.nikonusa.com
OLYMPUS·AMERICA INC. www.olympus.com
them . You can transfer them to a computer, view them on a to printing method .
television, post them on a Web site, or e-mail them to indi­ The CD-300 supports the new industry standard, the Digital
vidual friends and family members anywhere in the world. Print Order Format (DPOF) , enabling it to work with or with·
"In today's society, families and friends are spread out; they out a PC. This newly developed standard allows a camera 's
want ways to help them stay connected," says Lampmann . "With (such as Canon's PowerShot S10) built-in LCD display to be
digital cameras they can see their pictures instantly. That allows used fo r tagging images with printing instructions, such as
people to share them over the Internet just minutes later." quantity and size. Other advanced features of the S10 include
If your family and friends, or business associates, are usu· a dual interface that allows users to connect the camera di·
ally in the same room, even if the room is the size of a foot· rectly to a PC's USB or RS-232C serial port, and five picture­
ball field, cameras with a video out port make good sense. This taking modes.
output connector, sometimes called an "NTSC" port, is con· Combine instant gratification with high-quality output and
venient for showing your photos to a larger group of people a way to avoid chemical photo processing, and you have sev­
than can comfortably gather around a monitor or a photo al· eral other persuasive reasons to "go digital. " Likewise, you can
bum. Video out ports enable you to dis·
play images on a television, VCR, or cer·
tain kinds of powerful projectors without "Now is a reasonable time to get involved with digital
a computer.
photography; it has come of age."
INSTANT QUALITY - Micllelle Lampmann, market researc/7 analyst, InfoTrends, Boston
Most people will agree that instant grat·
ification is one of digital imaging's most attractive benefits . also say good-bye to buying rolls offilm and waiting to expose
Others prefer to make an ecological statement and seek to the entire roll before processing it. Say good-bye, too, to any
avoid the cost and impact of chemical processing-without hesitancy about taking pictures that you're unsure about.
compromising the print's quality. Consider the agony of indecision that plagued the famous
The CD-300 dye-sublimation digital printer from Canon photographer William Henry Jac kson when he took a photo·
U.S.A. Inc., La ke Success, N.Y., delivers high printing speed , continued on page B

SHUTTERBUGS BEHOLD. Canon's PowerShot Aso (left) and new PowerShot Sro offer shirt·
pocket convenience. The 2.1 megapixel, 2X zoom Sro has a USB Interface and Type II
CompactFlash compatibility. Kodak's DC215 (center) offers 2X optical zoom, a 1.8" color
LCD, and a 4 MB Picture Card. Hewlett-Packard's HP PhotoSmart Digital Camera C200
(right) with 2X digital zoom has an 8 MB CompactFlash card.
2 DIGITAL FOCUS
 Special Adve rt ising Supp lem ent

DiyITaL FOCUS The Digital Photography Series

Ivy Ha Ils, Cora IWa Ils

tutes an eclectic combination of re­
search and pleasure. The all-inclusive
cost for the voyage, including food
and the educational programs, is
$3,580. Students live aboard the cata­
marans for the length of the voyage.
"Students will make about 35 dives
each over the three weeks," says Buch­
heim , "ranging in depth from i5 to 110
feet." Each of Odyssey's catamarans
comfortably accommodates 10 stu­
dents. Odyssey offers three voyages
each summer.
Most underwater photographers
use film cameras. Odyssey's technical
, staff successfully resolved some un­
~ usual challenges when adapting digi­
~ tal cameras for marine use. "Flash ii­
~ lumination was a problem ," admits
HEN ODYSSEY Expedi­ to take underwater photographs. Fol­ Buchheim. "We had to adapt the cam­
tions rigs one of their 50­ lowing a dive, they just plug the cam­ era's housing to reflect the flash up­
foot catamarans for an era into the on-board laptops and view wards, instead of forward , to elim inate
ocean cruise, they dedicate their photographs immed iately. They light diffusion and reflections. The
themselves to satisfying their guests' get instant feedback." camera 's flash triggers an external
appetites for food and fun on the In addition to the underwater pho­ secondary strobe which actually lights
three-week voyages. They also pack tography and an emphasis on marine the subject." Other specialized tech­
laptops and digital cameras to satisfy science, the program teaches the niques include adapting special color
their guests' intellectual appetites. mostly college-age students the finer correction filters to compensate for
Operating out of the island ofTor­ points of sailing as well as scuba div­ the water's bluish hue.
tola in the British Virgin Islands, the ing. Many students receive college-lev- · The thorn iest technology resulted
five-year-old Odyssey Expeditions of­ el credits for the research done at sea. from the camera's helpfulness. "The
fers a marine science program that in­ "The students who are completing first digital camera we tried powered
cludes college-level research of reef specific research projects in marine bi­ itself off after a couple of minutes of
ecology, wreck exploration , and ma­ ology often incorporate the pictures non-use," says Buchheim. "Since we
rine life studies. into reports or pre­
Part of the curriculum includes sentations that they
digital photography. The school uses deliver when they
D-340 cameras from Olympus Amer­ return to school, "
ica Inc., headquartered in Melville, notes Buchheim.
N.Y., outfitted with custom-made wa­
terproof housings. HOPE FLOATS
Program Director Captain Jason Even when the un­
Buchheim says they migrated to digi­ derlying reason is
tal imaging for some very practical primarily education­
reasons . "As part of our marine sci­ al, floating around
ence program we have digital cameras the Caribbean on a
on board the yachts to al low students catamaran consti­

4 DIGITAL FOCUS
 TAK E PI CTURES. FURTHER."'

For more information visit one of the retailers listed below or visit www.lcodak.com/go/dc2901c

~ mm
 Special Advertising Supplement

DICjITBL FOCUS The Digital Photography Series

could not open the case underwater,

we had to surface. The 340R doesn't
have that problem. Ifit goes into sleep
mode, we push a button remotely and
it wakes up immediately."
Buchheim says they plan to up­
grade the cameras but their problem
is in finding the waterproof housings .
Unlike film cameras where designs are
fairly static, the shape of digital cam·
eras changes often, and the compa·
nies that make the housings are re·
luctant to introduce new models.
That's unfortunate, considering how
the advances in digital imaging tech·
nology, especially in automating the
shutter speeds and lighting, could
help all photographers above and be·
low sea level.
An example is Olympus ' upgrade
from the 300 series, the 9.5 ounce
point-and-shoot D-450 Zoom. Olym·
pus offers a special edition Millenni· million pixel resolution (1152 x 864), ables consumers to request that
um model recognizable by its stylish the D-450 generates sharply defined processors transfer their film-based
champagne-colored metallic body. 5" x 7'' pictures and can print directly pictures onto a CD-ROM . It's as easy
The D-45o's 3X optical-quality zoom
lens , through-the-lens-focusing, com­
bined with a high-contrast, wide-angle "We use digital photography on-board for two
LCD display that's easier to see even
in brightly lit areas, help ensure that
reasons. First, it provides immediate feedback
you get the picture you want. At one for the students. Second, there are no one-hour
photo stores on the ocean."
-Captain Jason Buchheim, Odyssey Expeditions Program Director
to the Olympus P-330 Instant Photo as checking a special box on the film
Printer. deposit envelope. The service typical­
Because of limited space and pow· ly costs about $io.oo.
er aboard the catamarans, students Consumers and professional pho·
store the images. At the end of the voy· tographers who do not own a com·
ages, Odyssey's staff transfers all the puter can still take advantage of the
underwater photographs taken by the added benefits of digital imaging. For
students onto a CD-ROM as a perma· example, they can transform Picture
nent reminder oftroplcal days, serene CD images into greeting cards by us·
seas and, no doubt, good times. ing special editing kiosks Kodak is
And students who use film-based placing in retail locations nationwide.
cameras can share the memories of Through services provided by
the summer seafaring with friends . NextCard, consumers can create per­
Kodak Picture CD service bridges the sonalized Visa cred it cards with their
traditional gap that existed between pictures on them . So much the better
film and digital cameras. The service to pay for that next Odyssey voyage.*
from Rochester, N.Y.-based Kodak en- www.odysseyexpeditions.org

6 DIGITAL FOCUS
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continued from page 2 to correct all-too-common imperfections, such as the demonic­

graph . Jackson, astride his mule Donna, captured the earliest looking "red-eye" (which is actual ly a photograph of the cap­
black and white images of majestic Rocky Mountain land­ illaries inside of the subject's eye) . Photo editing programs en­
scapes and the harsh reality of life throughout the American able you to cleverly crop the images, change someone's hair
West during the late 1800s. Every photo he took required ex­ color (or give someone hair) , modify brightness, and change
posing a specially coated two-foot square glass plate that he the contrast. Add special effects and transform your Clark Kent
laboriously lugged through sage and sand . Yes, it's a fair guess into Superman with a few clicks and helpful image manipula­
he carefully planned each scene. tion tools.
You have no such indecision inhibiting your creativity. Ex­ A good place to begin sampling the full range of digital pho­
periment with lighting, framing, angles, and filters . Then eval­ tography's many benefits is with Photo Easy from IXLA USA
uate the results immediately in the LCD screen and decide if Inc., Danbury, Conn. For an amazingly low price of$100, Pho-
it's a keeper or a discard .
While entry- and mid-level snap­
shooters have embraced digital imaging, Combine instant gratification with high-quality output
its adoption by professional photogra­
phers is more leisurely. That, despite the
and away to avoid chemical photo processing, and
image quality of digital cameras exceed­ you have several persuasive reasons to "go digital."
ing two megapixel (optical) and three
megapixel (interpolated) . According to lnfoTrends' Lamp­ to Easy provides an all-in-one-box solution that contains a 640
mann , professional photographers are still hesitant to adopt x 480 digital camera plus a su ite of editing, delivery, and im­
digital technology and migrate from a century-old technology. age man ipulation software.
Depending on their current familiarity with computers and Photo Easy is designed and priced to meet the specific
digital technology, expert and professional photographers may needs of entry-level photographers . Experienced photogra­
face a somewhat steeper learning curve than beginners. Iron­ phers seeking more professional features have an ever-wider
ically, before they can achieve the time and cost savings ben­ choice of cameras with features that rival those once found
efits available to help them, they need to learn how to use a only in top-of-the-line 35mm cameras.
digital camera's advanced features . Once they learn how to Leading the charge to displace 35mm cameras are the
maximize these new fea tures, they will reduce their costs, save mega pixel cameras from Melville, N.Y.-based Nikon. The com­
time, and potentially open up new revenue streams such as pany's 2.1 million pixel Cool pix 950 and Coolpix 700 cameras
image enhancement. create superior, sharp, and sassy images that can satisfy pro­
fessional as well as serious amateurs . Both models feature
THE WORLD AS YOU SEE IT Nikon's 256-element matrix metering system and high-preci­
Just as the world of photography is no longer black and white, sion auto focus . Of special interest to sports photographers
neither are you locked into an either/or choice. Once you 've are the cameras' two-second boot time and a continuous high-
captured your image, photo editing software easily allows you continued on page 18

~ Jase Paint Shop Pro

• o-•,_,.,.b*f!O,,,.,,..
I ~
•

CREATIVITY TOOLS. Lexar Media's "Digital Film" CompactFlash (left) is available in capaci­
ties from 16 to 80 MB. The r.3 megapixel Olympus D-340R (center) features 3.3V
SmartMedia 4 MB, Olympus aspherical glass lens, and h.8/f5.6/h r aperture. And Jase
Software's new Paint Shop Pro 6, which includes Animation Shop 2, offers a complete
solution for creating Web graphics and enhancing digital images.
8 DIGITAL FOCUS
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DI CjITaL FOCUS The Digital Photography Series

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COLOR CODING. Maxell's "Rainbow 10 Pack" of
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SuperDisk diskettes, which match the iMac
For example, a single 800 x 600 un­ bonus, it reads and writes case colors, can help catalog your work.
compressed image can consume 1/2 data up to five times faster
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floppy disk. Bob Amatruda , an analyst wi th connect via their mach ine's PC Card
The solution is to offload the im­ Framingham, Mass. -based Interna­ slot. Purchasers of new PCs, or handy
ages and free up the limited space on tional Data Corp. (I DC) , particularly upgraders, can gain the benefits ofex­
your PC's hard drive. One ofthe more values this backward compatibility. "If tra storage with the internal model. All
popular products for extending the you have a closet full of floppies , the models provide convenient, safe and
storage capacity of your laptop or SuperDisk is a clear winner for you," fast extended storage, and ease the
desktop is the LS-120 SuperDisk. Ima­
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offers both the SuperDisk drive and "If you have a closet full of floppies, the SuperDisk
the high-capacity diskettes. The
diskettes are likewise available from
is a clear winner for you."
Maxell Corp. of America, based in Fa ir -Bab Amatruda, analyst, /DC, Framingham, Mass.
Lawn, N.)., with a special distinc­
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colors" as do the Apple computers. ing popularity and utility of removable tween mach ines or colleagues.
Both Maxell's and lmation 's diskettes media drives, IDC predicts that sh ip­ Imitation has announced a special
each hold 120 MB , the equ ivalent of ments of all drives will rise from 15 mil­ hardware bundle for Mac users, many
lion units in 1998 to 36 million by of whom prize the Mac for its excep·
2000, and 75 million by 2002. tional graphics handling ability. Hot­
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of 83 flo ppy diskettes.

10 0 I GIT AL F 0 CU S
Introducing the world's first USB Enab!ed Include the JumpShot™ USB cable. Now
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DiyITaL FOCUS The Digital Photography Series

Digital Camera Resources

,.. WWW.DIGICAMPAGE.COM
This independently operated, consumer resource Web site
is dedicated solely to providing the latest news and infor­
mation about digital cameras and software. This highly rec­
ommended site offers a wealth of information about a
I"
comprehensive variety of digital cameras. Buyers will ap­
preciate links to competitively priced sellers and advice on
determining the best camera selection to fit your needs.

..
You will also find easy reading information about periph­
eral hardware and add-ons, such as memory cards. Final­
===~~~~-=-~~
ly, when you' re ready to trade up, the site offers a classi­
fied section where you can buy or sell used equipment.

CLI CK THE CASTLE for three favorite projects of Cyber­

,.. WWW.DBUSCH.COM
Bohemia's Mikkel Aaland, including his search for a per­
This site opens with a tongue-in-cheek parody of The Blair fec t sweat. www.cyberbohemia.com
Witch Project Web site. In fact, humor and self-deprecat­
ing parody permeate the site. Beginning on the main page, descriptions of the hardware he uses, along with a sam­
you will find helpful hints and suggestions for using digi· pling of vacation photos that ill ustrate his specific tech­
tal cameras, software, scanners, and other related hardware niques. Taylor also provides a selection of free software for
and software to create top-of-the-line digital images. Ifyou, use with digital cameras.
like Dave, have a particular fondness for using Kai's Pow­
er Tools and Photoshop, click into his Astonishi ng Web ,.. WWW.MEMBERS. HOME.NET/JON ESPM/PJ DIG
Graphics page for some tips to create dazzling special ef­ PHOT. HTM?lSTART
fects . Searching for stock digital images? Check out the free Web site-meisters, operators, and wannabes take note:
clip art, much of it a cut above the ordinary. "This site is about how to select, understand and use dig­
ital cameras, image editors, pri nters, and scanners, and use
,.. WWW.CYBERBOHEMIA.COM the result to build Web sites," states the Digital Photogra­
What do digital photography, Shinto, county fairs , and phy Reference site. And they deliver on the promise. Here
saunas have in common? Well, at one time or another they you'll find scads of information on hardware and soft­
have all caught the attention of Mikkel Aaland , whose Cy­ ware-including an easy test to calibrate your monitor's
ber-Bohemia Web site seems to be a testament to these no· color and brightness settings. But what's more, th is Web
ble (and occasiona lly unusual) pursuits. This is an author site offers an encyclopedic selection of tips, suggestions,
who has written about digital photography (his books are and strategies to integrate all of the products and ideas to
available at his site), and completes digital photographic create attractive and technically fascinating Web sites.
projects which are updated at Cyber-Bohemia. For exam­
ples of the wide breadth, click into his latest imaging ef­ ,.. WWW.JASC.COM
forts, which he calls Sumi-e photography. Odd and inter­ Jase Software offers insights and tutorials on how to max­
esting. imize the use of their top-notch image editing and manip­
ulation software, Animation Shop 2. and Paint Shop Pro 6.
,.. WWW. DAV IDTAY LOR. FREES ERVE.CO. UK In addition, the Jase home page has some extra goodies,
David Taylor is not the owner, CEO, or president of a com­ such as a chat arena where users can exchange tips, in­
pany, just your average digital imaging aficionado who sights, get help, or even air gripes, plus you can advise them
seems occasionally obsessed with digital photography. on features you would like included in future releases. The
While his technical skills at creating Web pages are ex­ Jase Digital Studio page wh isks you to a virtual gallery where
tremely modest (by his own admission), Taylor does seem you can view artwork, ranging from beautiful to bizarre, cre­
to know a lot about digital cameras and related products, ated with Jase's software-and submit your own for all the
and is quite willing to share his insights. He offers detailed world to admire! *
12 DIGITAL FOCUS
 Special Advertising Supplement

DICjITaL FOCUS The Digital Photography Series

Harry Potter Meets Digital Cameras

I T IS COMMON TO see digital The fact is, research has shown that "No matter what you 're teaching,
technology in various forms in the when children use visual aids when you have to appeal to the kids' visual
classrooms of American schools preparing writing assignments, such sense today, that's just the way it is,"
today, including digital cameras. as essays or other written class pro­ notes Fran Ashe, who has taught in the
They have become particularly useful jects, the pictures stimulate and mo­ Holliston , Mass., school system for 14
in science classes , where the cameras tivate the creative part of the brain we years . "You need to find ways to hook
are used to record and study nature usually associate with endeavors like kids in and get them excited about
and in-class experiments. art and music. That is, pictures can writing. That's what digital cameras
But what about using digital cam­ arouse that creative sense, and out can do. "
eras in a middle school language arts pop the words . And words are what Ashe got her own start us ing digi­
setting? Could there be any real use for language arts are all about. tal cameras last summer when, as a
them beyond keeping kids entertained In a suburb west of Boston, one Fullbri ght Memorial Fund recipient,
with what is an inherently "fun " medi­ teacher is finding digital cameras to be she spent several weeks in japan .
um? an exciting add ition to her language There, using the Sony Mavica digital
The answer is a resounding yes, arts curriculum. As one recent visit to camera from Sony Electronics , Park
and the reason is simply this: Every­ her classroom showed, her sixth-grade Ridge, N.J ., given to her by a parents
one is famil iar with the old maxim, "A students are embracing the use of dig­ group, Ashe took some 850 digital im­
picture is worth a thousand words." ital cameras with enthusiasm and zeal. ages, far more than she would have

SMILING FOR THE CAMERA. It's much ado about learning in Fran Ashe's sixth grade class
as students get their first lesson in using digital cameras. They will be used through­
out the year to enhance the language arts curriculum.

14 DI G ITAL F 0 CU S
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 Special Ad ve rt is ing Suppl eme nt

DICjI TBL FOCU S The Digital Photography Series

taken with a conventional camera . children take pictures to illustrate "It's great seeing your picture right
She immediately began e-mailing books they create; the photos can also away and being able to take another
images to her class and also created a be used as the visual basis for writing one ifyou don't like the first one," says
Web page where the other 200 teach­ poetry, and for writing about nature. Meredith Stone, one of As he's sixth
ers she joined in Japan were invited to The students will be able to display grade students. "It's really easy."
view and download the images. their work on monitors or print it on "I want to be able to play with the
"I was surprised how easy it all is," the Hewlett-Packard color printer. pictures on the screen and change
says Ashe. "You see your work imme­ them , maybe put my dog's head on
diately and can retake the shot until A FIVE-MINUTE EXERCISE top of my friend's shoulders," says
you get it the way you want it. You Meanwhile, teaching the children how Perry Laberis, thinking ahead to doing
can't do that with a regular camera." to use the camera was a five-minute some photo manipulation .
Back in the classroom this fall, exercise, not one minute more. With With Ashe, it's a lot more than fun
Ashe began exploring the digital cam­ this minimal instruction, Ashe had her and games, though she is not averse
era as a language arts development class taking a variety of shots of one to having fun in the classroom either.
tool. Her fifth grade class has estab­
lished a pen-pals relationship with a
school in Australia and will begin When children use visual aids with writing assign­
sending digital images of their class­
room, their town, and themselves.
ments, pictures stimulate the creative part of the
The sixth grade class will do so with a brain usually associated with art and music.
school in New Zealand.
Ashe notes that the children will be another, as each group of kids tried to "I've shown the digital camera to
far more motivated and excited to "ham up" their poses more than the other teachers and at first they are just
write when they are charged with de­ previous group. like the kids," Ashe says. "But they
scribing the very photos they took and Then it was back to the classroom quickly grasp the benefits in whatev­
which they are transmitting. where they displayed their images and er teaching setting they are in , whether
Other uses of digital cameras in began printing out their work. The thrill it's science or math or whatever. I feel
Ashe's class will include having the of their activity was all too apparent. we are just scratching the surface."*

INSTANT GRATIFICATION. Kids thrive on the

instant results they obtain with digital cam­
eras, rushing back to class to display and
print their work. Photos from this Holliston,
Mass., classroom will be e-mailed to their
pen-pals class in New Zealand.

16 DI G ITAL F 0 CU 5
 . -:,.-_
Copy ~

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~ Or, just one SuperDisk.

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OICjITBL FOCUS The Digital Photography Series

continued from page 8 "CompactFlash will become the standard for storing images
speed two-frames-per-second capture mode. Images captured in digital cameras and data in handheld devices," he says.
in the new models can be saved in an uncompressed TIF for­ Not all CompactFlash is created equal. Look for cards with
mat plus a choice of three JPEG compression formats that high-speed transfer capabil ity. Fremont, Calif-based Lexar Me­
will maximize the storage capacity of the camera 's 8 MB Com­ dia Corp.'s "Digital Film" CompactFlash del ivers a blazing
pactFlash storage card. Other cards are available in capaci­ host-to-card data transfer rate of about l Mbps. Ava ilable in
ties up to 64 MB- capacities that will appeal to photographers capacities ranging from 16 to 80 MB, the cards flt.into Lexa r's
who prefer not to compress their images. JumpSHOT Universal Serial Bus to create a high-speed con­
Strictly speaking, compression and image format are not nection to a PC or a Mac. Lexar's USS-enabled CompactFlash
camera features . Most of the time they're
decisions the photographer makes. The
equation is a simple one. The greater the "Compactflash will become the standard [among to­
degree of compression, the smaller the day's many storage options] for storing images in
file's footprint- but image quality suf­
fers . The reverse also holds true. digital cameras and data in handheld devices."
JPEG , along with GIF, are two of the
- Gerry Purdy, analyst, Mobile Insights, Mountain View. Calif.
most popular image formats because
they can reduce an image file's footprint by as much as 90%. cards adhere to industry standards, enabling you to use them
If preserving image detail is paramount to you , use the in any compatible device such as cellular phones and MP3 play­
Tagged Image Format (TIFF or TIF) . The downside of using ers . Another primary appeal of CompactFlash , as ide from its
TIF is that it will only reduce a file 's footprint by about 15%, featherwe ight and ultra-compact size, is the el imina ti on of
and in some cases, not at all. An uncompressed megapixel im­ moving parts. It is also inherently shock-resistant.
age can consume between 3 to 5 MB. Compressed, it will shrink If your primary interest is casual snapshooting, you may
to a mere shadow of its former self, as little as 400 KB. As a not need a top-of-the-line camera like Nikon's Coolpix mod­
result, experts suggest that you store only those images that els. For you, Hewlett-Packard Co., Cupertino, Calif., offers an
you intend to enlarge beyond 5 x 7 inches or plan to publish attractive alternative designed for entry-level photographers .
in a print medium . Generally, JPEG and GIF compression can HP's next-generation PhotoSmart C200 digital cameras and
reduce an image's footpr int to as little as 5% of its original size. printers enable cost-conscious consumers to capture and print
Removable storage options such as CompactFlash , Smart­ high-qual ity digital photos directly from their cameras, elimi­
Media 1, plus several other emerging solid state memory card nating the need for a computer. The printer generates richly
formats can competently solve the storage problem by offer­ colored images in resolutions up to 2400 x 1200 dots per inch .
ing what amounts to infinite capacity. It accepts input from an infrared signal generated by H P's
Gerry Purdy, an analyst with Mobile Insights, Mountain View, C200 and higher-resolution C500 cameras, as well as from
Calif. , understands the confusion the many storage options can data stored in Compact Flash and SmartMedia removable
create in the minds of consumers and has a simple answer. memory storage cards. *

DIGITAL ON DISPLAY. Photo Easy (left) from IXLA is an all-in-one-box solution that contains a
640 x 480 digital camera plus editing, delivery, and image manipulation software. The HP
PhotoSmart C500 digital camera (center) is a 2 megapixel (1600 x 1200 pixels) solution
that features 3x optical and 2x digital zoom (6x total zoom). And Nikon's Coolpix 950
offers Nikon's 256-element matrix metering system and high-precision auto focus.
18 DIGITAL FOCUS
Advice to anyone getting
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More than just video conferencing, the Intel"
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eady to grow? The IBM Netfinity 3000 server is the affordable solution for Are you moving to a UNIX environment?
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Perfonnance, reliability and value is
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All products sold by CDW are th ird party products and are subject to the wa rranties and
representalions of the applicable manufacturers, including but not limited to Y2 K
compliance. Accordingly, CDW makes no representation or warranty with respect 10 tho
Computing Solutions
Y2 K compliance of products sold.
56K modems are capable of 56Kbps downloads. however, current regulations limit
Built for Business™
download speed to 53Kbps.
lntemet connectivity requires access services from an Internet access provider. Con1act
yo ur local access provider for rates. terms and conditions.
www.cdw.com
<01999 CDW' Computer Centers. Inc.
200 N. Miiwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061 PCW51770 12/99 800-306-4239
Circle 46 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo
 (hp] ~!~~!~6·~
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HP OmniBook 4150
Notebook computer
• 400MHz Inlet• Pentium• TI processor
• 64MB RAM
• 10.1GB hard drive
• 2X Max DVD-ROM drive
• Windows 95 and 98
• 14.1 ' active-matrix display
• 1.4' thin
• 6.6 lbs.

S3899.89 ~~~~~~=======.:...---~M:sep l orratsolelyd

o:n ia
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HP Brio BA200
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• 433MHz Inlet• Celeron- processor
• 32MB RAM
• 4.3GB hard drive
• 40X CD-ROM drive
• Microsoft Windows• 98
5
499.00
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HP NetServer E 60
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• 450MHz Intel• Pentium• II processor
Palm-size PC
• 512KB Level 2 cache
• Access information with the touch of a button or the sound of
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your voice
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• 3-year limited parts and labor wa rranty
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$1829.87 s49s.oo
CDW 159604
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0 1999 CDW-Computer Cente rs. Inc. 200 N. Milwaukee Avenue. Vernon Hiiis. IL 60061 PCW5177E 12199
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Microsoft Office 2000 Professional
Microsoft' Office 2000 Professional is rich in capabilities and
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• Fully compatible with CompactFlash specification
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All products sold by COW are third party products and are subject 10 lhe wa rranties and
representations of tho applicable manufacturers , including bu! no1 limileo 10 Y2K
compliance . Accordingly, CDW makes no representation or warranly w ilh respect to the
Computing Solutions
Y2K compliance of product s sold.
56K modems are capable of 56Kbps downloads, however, current reg ulations limit Built for Business™
download speed 10 53Kbps.
lnternel connectivity requi res access services from an ln1ernct access provider. Contact
your local access provider for rales. terms and conditions. www.cdw.com
© 1999 cow• Computer Centers, Inc.
200 N . Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061 PCW5 177 F 12199 800-306-4239
Circle 44 on cord or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo
 106 Low-Cost MFDs 112 Encarta 2000

outpu t; these se parate con­

Intel's 810e Gives Business trollers contribute to its multi­

taskin g mu scle. A t 33-M Hz
pipe between the chip set and

PCs Multitasking Muscle the processor-replacin g the

old 100-MHz bus- helps, too.
Fin all y, the 81oe integrates
DON'T Fl X IT If It ain't broke: The Compaq Deskpro EP 500 (left) graphics as the budget 810
and the Dell OptlPlex GX110 keep their familiar, easy-to-service does, in a scheme Intel
cases but slip more efficient chip sets under the hood. calls Direct AGP. This
se tup helps ven­
dors reduce costs,
but it mean s that
you'll need to add a
PC! card if you
want to up grade
your graphics, a so­
lution th a t delive rs
questiona ble perform­
ance benefi t.
Both systems'
cases come off
without tools ,
revealin g unclut­
tered interiors. Both
also bundle e thern et cards ,
• ·•hK• ~·-·•:a:.• ware for your money from in severa l popular a ppli ca· 17- inch monitors, and We b­
EXTRA PERFORMANC E in a other vendors, but the man · hons. The Compaq earned a based management software
solid, well- known package-at ageability and s tability th ese score of 311 , and the Dell post­ suited for workgroups of up to
no extra cost. Sound too good syste ms provide makes th eir ed a 301 (lower figures are bet­ 500 people. As you' d expect
to be true? In the case of the cost worthwhile. ter)-both abou t 20 percent with corporate systems, both
latest versions of Compaq 's superior to the scores of Pen­ are DMI 2.0-compliant.
Deskpro EP 500 and Dell's Opti- WHAT'S NEW tium 111-600 PCs using either Our OptiPlex's low-profile
Plex GX110, it's not. 111ese tried- s HI pp I N G u NITS of th e two the old 440BX chip set or the cha ss is had three fr ee PC I
and-true corporate systems are systems performed almost new VIA chip set. slots but no IS A support, and
a mon g the first PCs to use ide ntically in our PC World- The 810e chip set is the sim­ its three bays were all occu­
Intel's new 81oe system chip Bench 98 tests: the Compaq pier and cheaper sibling of the pied . Dell does provide a
set, which boosts multitasking scored 223, the Dell 23i. Those troubl ed 820. Designed fo r 13.5GB hard disk, and cables
pe rformance. But each PC' s marks, about average for this mainstream business systems are color-coded.
pri ce remains unchan ged at processo r class, indicate be· s uch as these , the 810e does The Deskpro EP 5oo's mini­
sligh tly less than $1450, which yond-adequate speed for sta n· not s upport RDRAM , a fa s t tower offers more expansion
gets you a Pentium I I I-500 dard business tasks. But both new flavor of memory tllat ere· room and has a couple of IS A
CPU , 128 MB of RAM , a nd PCs tru ly aced our new multi· ated problems for tile 820. But slots. If you 'd ra th er have a
Windows 98 Second Edition . tasking tes t, in which systems like th e 820, th e 81oe s up­ des ktop, yo u don ' t h ave to
Botll units are terrific values- do file extraction in the back­ ports indi vidua l controller change cases: Simply slide out
you may get a bit more ha rd ­ ground while performing tasks hubs for memory and input/ the drives, rotate tllem 90 de­

102 14ifl.j!ii,p D E C E M 8 E R 1 9 9 9
119 Aero PDA Flies Right 122 E-Wallets for Teens

102 Compaq Deskpro EP 500, Dell

; D~skpro EP 500 ' OptlPlex GX110 hard disk is skimpy, but an ex­ OptiPlex GXl10
., PRO; ~texlble, easy~tq'5ef'vlce case. PRO: Good performance, compact, tra $io4 buys a 1} 5GB drive. 103 Jase Paint Shop Pro 6
CON: Sllqhtly slower' pertOrm~nce easy to service. Both systems fu lfi ll their in­ 104 Compaq Presario 305;Corex
.than the Dell, small hard drive. CON: No free bays and no ISA slots, tended roles as business work­ CardScan 500
VALUE: Solid manageable PC for less versatile than the Compaq. horses . Th e Des kpro is the 106 Epson Stylus Scan 2500,
mainstream business use. VALUE: eargain for offices with lim· more ve rsati le of the two, of­ XeroxWorkCentre XK35c;
Street price: $1449 lted desk space and no legacy cards. fering severa l components SmartOnline.com
Compaq Street price: $1430 that can be sca led to fi t the 108 Gateway Astro; MatroxMarvel
800/345-1518 Dell size of you r bu siness, whi le G400·TV
www.compaq.com 800/388-8542 the OptiPlex is best suited for 112 Microsoft Encarta Reference
PRODUt r IK FO K0 . 7 I 4 www.delt.com a smaller office or department Suite 2000, Year 2000 Grolier
and gives you a bit more ha rd­ Multimedia Encyclopedia; Wow
to help you find most key parts ware for your money. Buyin g Thing, Labtec LCS-2514 4.1
• THESE PROOUrn have been
waluated using tests designed and levers (but not the drives' an 81oe-refreshed PC in either 119 L&H Voice XPress Personal
by the PC World T
est Center.
power connectors). Compaq of these lines is a no-brainer: Finance; Compaq Aero 1500
grees, and lay the unit on its color-codes all external cables You get more, but you don 't 122 DoughNet. iCanBuy,
side. The process is easy and and ports to ma ke hookups pay extra for it. RocketCash;Acer Warplink
quick, with bright green tabs painless. The system's 6-4G B - A1rnsh Yegyazarian Communicator Card
126 Deneba Canvas 7, Microsoft
PhotoDraw2000

Paint Shop Pro 6Goes Beyond the Basics FOR MORE PRODUCTnews
and the Jatest announce·
ments, checkout the P.C
TW EA K ING PICTURES is fun , World Daily News Servi.ce ·at www.
but novice-oriented image ed­ pcworld.com/news.
itors ca n grow sta le. For a
more ca pable program , con· Gra ph ics pros will want
sider Jase Software's Paint Shop fi ne r color controls , vertica l
Pro 6. At $99· it packs some of type, and the abili ty to record
the sa me powerful tools found steps taken to create an effect
in Adobe Photoshop but at a (for replay on other projects).
sixth of the price. But fo r mos t novices , Paint
I in stalled the full 75MB Shop Pro 6 is a smart step up.
shipping version. Once share­ Befo re fo rking out big bucks
ware, Paint Shop Pro now
boasts m ore than 15 million
u sers, and has pi led on fea­ PAINT SHOP PRO 6 sports more Web tools and typoqraphlcal tricks
tu res such as image layers and and a better-Integrated animation tool, but It remains easy to use.
au tomated s pecial effects.
Paint Shop Pro would be a maintained a clear view of my For Web sites and presenta­
maze of options if not for l:\vo work because idle tool palettes tions, the bundled Animation grap hics. more toots and effects
clea rly worded manuals, free now roll up to the ti tle bar au­ Shop , no w in ve rsion 2 , is than earlier versions.
technical support, and a Web tomatically. And with the new more integrated-when I re· CON: No vertical type tool. can't
site wi th tips and tutorials. vec tor tools, I drew obj ects, tooled a graph ic in Paint Shop recordediting sessions.
With version 6, l could opti­ typed along their path s, and Pro, corresponding images in VALUE: Powerful picture editing for
mize JP EG and GI F graphics resized them freely on screen, my Web animation fil es also a low price.
fo r the Web; embed or read somethi ng you ca n't do even updated. From a single frame, List price: $99, upgrade $39
waterm ark s on documents; in Photoshop. Also new: clrnr­ I could crop an entire movie's Jase Software
and work with more file types, acter-level text fo rmatting, a dimension s or d isplay regis­ 800/622-2793
scanners, and digital cameras multicolor gradient tool, and tration marks so I could place www.jasc.com
than in previo us versions. l more special effects options. elements precisely. PRO DUCT INFO KO . 716

D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •1a;1,1;1;.1 1Q3
 The Presa rio 305 's touchpad
Versatile New Presario Lightens Your Load is particula rly res ponsive, but
some of its keys are tiny. TI1e

- ~ ····· :· ····~-
COMPAQ'S PRESA RIO fo r a total of i.75 inch­ directional arrow keys and the
W HEN YOU'RE hu s tli ng to es. Leave the slice at prog ramma ble ones for ac­
make a flight or hauli ng you r­ home when you don't cessing the Intern et will be
self from class to the li brary, need the CD-RO M irksome fo r those wi th large
more than a fe w choice curses drive; you can detach hands-I had to push the pro­
spring to mind- you feel ev­ and us e the flopp y grammable keys with a pen .
e ry las t on e of yo ur clun ky dri ve externally with Neverth eless, th at see ms a
portable's 9 pounds. But ultra­ the includ ­ sm all pri ce to pay for su ch
lights are either too expensive ed parall el portability.
or lack features you need. En­ port cable. -Ca meron Heffernan
ter the new Compaq Presario The Presa­
305. Adapti ng an Armada de­ rio 305 has two Presario 305
sign, the Presa rio 305 can be USB ports (one is PRO : Ultrali.ghtweight noteboo.k
co nfi gu re d to 0. 9 inches on the slice), an doesn't skimp on features.
thi ck and an amazi ng 3 infrared port, and one CON : Undersize keys may take·
pounds 5 ounces- yet it costs features and portabili ty by let­ PC Card slot. It als o comes some getting used to.
just $2199. This is no scaled­ ting you configure it fo r your with Works Suite 99 . VALUE: Great price for those who
down Wi ndows CE device or needs. To play a CD game or You don't sacrifice speed for need maximum portability.
bare-bones corporate system . install software, just attach the the low weigh t. The Presario Street price: $2199
It 's a full-fun ction Windows multimedia expansion unit, or deli ve red a PC WorldBench Compaq
98 noteboo k, powered by a slice, which co ntains the fl op­ 98 sco re or 16 7, par for its 800/282-6672
Celeron-333 CPU and sporting py and CD-ROM drives. The ch ip class. The 4.8 GB hard www.compaq.com
a bright, rich 1q-inch ac tive­ slice fits n e ~tly und e r th e dri ve should suit m os t, and PRODUC T IHfO HO. 7 17

matrix screen. And it's avail­ main body; with it, the svelte our shippi ng unit had 64MB
THIS PRODUCT has been evaluat­
able now at a store nea r you. 305 gains just 2.5 pounds and of RAM. We fou nd the exten­ ed using lests desiqned by the
The Presa rio 305 ba lances becomes 0.85 inches thicker, sive docu mentation helpful. • PC World Test Center.

call y doesn' t like to talk to any­

CardScan 500: The Secret Is the Software thin g. Sca nnin g acc uracy is
still imperfect, but it passes
based business ca rds into an particularl y helpful. The fi rst the to-hell-with-i t test: Maki ng
UN L ESS YOU are obsessively on-screen di gital card file. Ver­ lets you scan both sides of a corrections is nearly effortless
organ ized , that co llection of sion 5 adds a num ber of im­ ca rd-especially ha ndy if you
• com pared to typing the infor­
business cards you've amassed provements, two of which are used th e card as a notepad. ma tion in by hand.
over the yea rs is about as use­ CardS ca n ca n't convert your The CardS can has evolved
ful as an 8-trac k ta pe. A ca rd scribbles into text, but you can from a frnmpy, rounded gray
scanner can turn a sloppy pile dredge them up at any time by box to a more stylish, sculpted
into orderly info rmation. One loo kin g at the card 's ima ge blac k box. Its bes t new hard­
of the bette r mode ls on the view. (Unfo rtu nately, the im­ wa re feature is a USB port that
ma rket, Corex 's Card Sca n, feed cards one at a time. ages aren' t stored in a fo rmat joins the sta nd ar d para ll el
just got better still , thanks to a VALUE: Amust for anyone who col­ that you can convert into text port. The USB port makes it
coupl e of ha rdware tweaks lects boatloads of business cards with other applications.) m uch easier to conn ect th e
and a softwa re upd ate that and wants to actually use them for The second boon: better up­ unit and doesn't require daisy­
adds several useful featu res. something. dates betwee n my PIM and chaining your printer. Corex
The scanner itself does not Street price: $299 Ca rdS ca n . Th e application has also added a simple, effec­
exac tl y display bl azi ng tec h­ Corex Technologies now automatica lly syn chro­ tive ca rd catcher, but I'd still
nology, but the software does. 800/942-6739 nizes yo ur CardScan with ratl1er not have to feed cards in
Clean, simple, and quick. the www.cardscan.com most PI M databases, includ­ one by one. Maybe next time.
CardScan 500 tu rns paper­ PR O DUCT I N f O NO . 7 1 8 ing Lotus Notes, which typi- -Tracey Capen ....

104 i)Mi•·•;•i·F D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
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Grcle 6 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo
tO l 999 American Power Conv01 s1on. All Trademarks ate 1he property of 1t1 e1r owners SYJA9EF-US • Powo1 i=ax; !800l3·17-FAXX • E·ma11 apcin fo@apcc corn • 132 Fairgrounds Road. Wesl Kmustori. Al 02892 USA
 choose the Xe rox. Although
Epson and Xerox Pack More for Less th e perfect MFD remains elu­
s ive, Epson and Xerox have
M!llJCaliiJ~[:;;c.Hi ·J:t'lt4:tW
costs $1 oo more th an th e are rarely intuitive.) However, made progress.
MULTI FUNCT I ON Xerox, but it's more comple te.
d ev ices setting up my unit was con­
combine a printer and a sca n­ The preproduction unit I tes t­ fusing; a forthcoming guide
ner (and sometimes a fax) in ed included a faxing mecha­ will h elp . The Stylu s Scan Stylus Scan 2500
one box , but you pay for th e nism as well as the new Epson 2500 is ba sed on an engine PRO: Handy one-stop software con­
convenience. Two new MFDs, Smart Pane l software . The fro m a m ed iocre printer, so its trol, includes fax.
Epson's Stylus Scan 2500 and innovative Smart Panel acts as output is a bit fuzzy. For im ­
Xerox's WorkCentre XK35c, are an on-scree n control cente r portant co rres pondence or re­
the fir s t to provide platen­ from whicl1 you can begin any sumes, invest in ink jet paper.
based-not sheet-fed- scan­ process-a compelling plu s The unit is also rather loud . Integrated software makes the cost
ning at a reasonable cost. Bothfor begi nn e rs. (The se para te At $349· th e Xerox Work­ worthwhile.
also offer color ink-jet prin ting controls other Centre XK35c is the cheapest ·Street price:·$449
~
but with trade-offs. devices use for platen- based MFD around. Epson Amer)ca

At $449 · the _..,.._---.r--1.1 each functi on This shipping mode l is also 800/463-TI66
Epson qui eter, shorter, an d slightly www.epson.com

·' slimmer than the Epson. And Wo rkCentre XK35c

because it uses th e same e n­ PRO : Strong output q u ali ~y. least
g in e as a rece nt Bes t Buy expensive platen-based MFD, quiet.
pri nter. it d elive rs top-notch CON : Does not include fax; co~fus­
output. The downside: It bas ing control panel.
no fax m ec hanism. Its control VALUE: A steal for those who don't
pane l, des ig ned for inte rna­ need t o fax-an d who demand t op­
tio nal u se (rea d: it has no notch output.
words). is utterly baffling. And Street price: $349
its sofhvare isn't integrated. Xerox
XEROX'S Epson's fax capa bility an d 800/832-6979
WORKCEN TRE XK35c has Smart Panel weigh in its favor. www.xerox.com
gre at print qua lity but can't f ax. b ut for top print quality, PROOUCT I NFO HO . 697

.....
updated to stay cu rrent and is
SmartOnline.com: Small-Business Resource ava ilable an y time you need it,
at a relati vely mod es t charge.
M 11M?8:
l 500 customi zab le bu s in ess and marke tin g plan ge n e ra­ It's one way for a small busi­
WHEN START ING a s m a ll le tters, cove ri ng eve rythi ng tors and th e Smart lncorpora­ ness to stay com petitive with
business, you need all the help from hirin g a new employee tor, which guides you through the big guys.
you can get. Crea ting a busi­ to apologizing to a supplier for the steps requ ired to incorpo­ -Richard Morochove .....
ness plan , fi guri ng out a mar­ a late paym e n t. Simply ente r rate your business in any state.
ke ting strategy. and incorpo­ deta ils such as your name and Navigatin g Smart Online's SrriartOnllne.com
rating can be daunting tasks. ad dress into the temp late ; applicatio ns can be tricky . If PRO: small-business mar~eting ~~d
Sma rt Onll ne.com is an on line Sma rt O nlin e gene rates th e you deviate from their normal administrative help available on call.
business ce nter that can help complete letter. which you can progression ofs teps (to searcll CON: Navigation is a tittle awkward.
guide a start- up company in down load to yo u r com pu te r online help, for insta nce), they VALUE : A real bargain for occa ­
eac h of th ese a reas . The site and print on your letterh ead. don't always ret urn to exactly sional use.
can be a bi t tri cky to navigate The business letters are free where you left off Price: Services range from free to
and isn't as fast as a hard-disk­ to registered Sm art Onlin e You can buy programs tha t $25
based applica ti on, but it is members (regis tTa tion is free), will opera te faster off yo ur Smart Online
inexpens ive a nd you pay onl y but you ' ll pay up to $25 fo r d1ive and do many of the sa me 919/765-5000
fo r what you use. oth e r Sma rtOnline. com se r­ thin gs as SmartOnline.com . www.smartontine.com
You can se lec t from some vices . s uch as the bu s in ess However. Sm ~rtOnline.com is PRODUCT IN F O H O . 698

106 1$4 fi.i·IY·F

1
o E c E M a E R 1 9 9 9
 YOU WON'T FIND THE
FASTEST GROWING
DOCUMENT OUTPUT
COMPANYUNDER X.

(You won't find it under Cor Mfor that matter, either.)

Here's an interesting fact. The name of the fastest growing major document output company
isn't Xerox, Canon, or Mita. It's Savin. That's right, Savin.
After all, Savin not only has the award-winning, multi-functional digital imaging systems
today's networked offices require, we're also committed to becoming the fastest, most responsive
name in the business. With smart, energetic, highly-trained Savin professionals willing to do

5 a Ill n
whatever it takes to give you the satisfaction and service you deserve.
To find out more about Savin's full line of black & white and full-color
digital imaging solutions, as well as (!!)
our unshakable commitment to
service, contact us at 1-800-234-1900
or www.savin.com. Or look in your
card file under s. WE'VE GOT WHATIT TAKES TO WIN YOU OVER"'
SAVIN CORPORATION . 333 LUOLOW SI.. STAMFORD. Cl 06904

'-D'TA ~1999 CHANNEL'S CHOICE AWARD~

-a 1#1 ·''·'''·''+M 'ii'i-'A·'·Hllfif C 1999 Sovfn Corporal on
Circle 130 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo
 are no seria l or parallel ports.
Gateway Launches All-in-One PC so if you want to use older pe­
ripherals, you'll have to buy an
adapte r. Gateway sells a USB­
to-parallel adapter for $45·
Performance and multime·
one PCs (yet another trend to dia are not the Astro's strong
lay at iMac' s feet). It should suits. It integrates Inte l 810
appeal to Windows junkies graphics that draw upon the
who can live without design er PC's 64M B of system memo­
colors, or firs t-time computer ry. Our preproduction system
users looki ng for a no-hassle lagged at some tas ks like play­
way to connect to the Internet ing 3D games. Forget about
or use a word processor. The DVD movies-the unit comes
beige Astro , boasting a sleek, with a 17X-40X CD-ROM
curvy shell that enca ses a 15­ dri ve and has no DVD option.
inch CRT monitor, a 56-kbps TI1e Astra's integrated sound
modem , speakers, and a 400­ and speakers produce a tinny,
clock-radio sound wi th pre­
AstrQ GATEWAY'S NEW ASTRO won't win any racing trophies, but first-ti me ciou s littl e bass . And the
: .( ·.· :·'
· ~RO : \.-OW price, easy setup, lots of bu yers will appreciate its ease of use and low price. 4.3 GB hard drive is sma ll by
USB pqrts. toda y's stan da rds; yo u can
CON: Tinny sound, limited graphics, MH z Celeron CPU, sells for co ntrols , and help menu s. swap it out yourself, but Gate­
small hard drive. S799 (S400 less than a sim i­ Four USB po rts, two on th e way expects most users wi ll
VALUE: Best for PC novices wh o larly configured iM ac). side and two in the back, sim­ get help for this upgrade.
won't be playing the latest games or A sturd y built-in handle plify hookup. The USB scroll Gam e rs an d multim edia
listening to loud music . makes the Astro a snap to lift mouse, which accomm odates bu ffs s hould stay away, bu t
Street price: $799 out of the box. The company either right- or left- handers, novices or those seeking an
Gateway includes an illustrated setup fits into the keyboard's USB in ex pe nsive second PC are
800/428-3929 poster, as well as icons on the port, leaving three USB ports likely to be sa tisfi ed.
www.gateway.com desktop for easy access to a fr ee for addin g a printer or -Mic'1 e//e Campat 1ale­
PROO U CT I H ro HO . 699 system tour, sound and video cligital camera. However, there Surka11

Many Graphics Functions, One Marvel Card Marvel G400·TV

PRO: Excellent hardware compres·
Mti ;f !i:i!il4tW:4!i :l •M each of these functions. lets you edit video clips on a sion, ultrahigh resolution.
MATRox 's Marvel G400-TV is The Marvel is the only all -in­ monitor and wa tch the result CON: You can't connect two displays.
an excell ent value for users one AG P ca rd , and th e 011/ y on a connected television at VALUE: Saves money if you perform
who want to do more with card in th is price range, to pro­ the same time. But you ca n't multiple graphics and video tasks.
their graph ics c:ird than pump vide high-quali ty Motion /P EG attach two mon itors for one Street price: $299
signals to a PC display. The hardware video compression. big tiled display. Matrox Graphics
G400-based Marvel comes Our shipping ca rd ca ptu red In our 3D-game testing, the B00/361-1408
with 1GM Bof RAM plus a con­ 704-by-480-resolution video at Marvel produced acce ptable www.matrox.com\mga
nector box that yo u can hook 30 frames per second with no res ults. We saw min or band­ PROOUC T I H ro HO . 700

up to a VCR or a ca mcorder to dropped frames and excellent ing and blockiness in Turok,
capture video. You get a built- image qual ity. Unfortunately, and slightly cha lk)' contrast in IBIS PRODUCT has been evaluat­
in TV tuner and the expected the resulting 2.5-minute video Quake IJ 's darkes t scenes. ed usillQ tests desiqned by the
• PC World Test Center.
3D acceleration for the latest took up 268M B. An included However. the card shows good
game s, all for just $299­ app co nverts JP EG fil es to 3D text ures, a nd it s hou ld ities and good performance
considerably less than you'd more com pact M PEG-2 fil es. please all but fan atical gamer . make it a genuine bargain .
pay to buy a separate card for TI1e ca rd's dual-head design TI1is card's multiple capabil­ -Ala11 Stafford ....

10 8 IJMi•·•;•i·P D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
At MindSpring, our award-winning support s taff wi I I answer any Internet questions
you have, whether you're a techhead or a first-timer. And with our easy se t- up
and reliable network, we'll make your Internet experience virtually proble m-free.

~all1-888 - MSPRING or visit us at www.mindspring.com and get

3 months for the price of 1. Hurry, offer expires 12/31/99!

' ' ,,,.

~
Yo u 'd be happier us i ng MindSpring·
INTERN ET SERVICES
Circle 57 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo
 Special Advertising Supplement

PERFORMANCE
INNOVATIVE HEIGHTS
LG Electronics' monitor expertise has reached new
heights in innovation and design with its line of Flatron
monitors. Perfectly flat from edge to edge and corner to
corner, the Flatron is virtually free from the usual dis­
tortions and reflection typically found in conventional
curved screens.Using LG Electronics' unique technolo­
gy,the Flatron eliminates the subtle gray lines that run
across many conventional monitors. And, the Flatron
screen has an unmatched brilliance and clarity. It is the
Ideal monitor both for professional designers and for
serious Internet users.
The expertise of LG Electronics extends across many
different products. That CO ROM drive you've come to
HE INTERNET ANO WORLD WIDE WEB HAVE depend on? It may well have been manufactured by LG
opened up ahighly graphical world of images Electronics, as the company is the world's leading
and multimedia to computer users. As users maker of high-performance CO ROM drives.
today are often very demanding, it stands to reason LG Electronics' new DVD drives take multimedia per­
that nothing less than ahigh-quality, accurate, and formance to an entirely new level. These drives meet
pleasing display is as essential to today's systems as the demands of end users who require drives
any other peripheral. offering maximum performance and the flex­
The quality of the display reflects the design, engi­ ibility for use with various media formats.
neering, and manufacturing excellence that go into pro­ How is it that one company can pro­
ducing it.That's why when tens of millions of computer duce so many technological advances
users worldwide boot their systems, they are starting and innovative products? Part of the
their day with monitor technology from LG Electronics. answer lies in the fact that LG
That's right, even if your monitor Electronics is apart of LG, the giant

'f'
doesn't say "LG Electronics" on it,
;::::,.. there's agood chance that

·:~::;;;:;:.7::~£~:~:;:~:
D Korean conglomerate with more than
$80 billion in revenues. This means that
LG Electronics is well-supported in all
its continuing research and develop­
ment efforts.
That's because LG As atruly global manufacturer, LG Electronics taps
Electronics manufactures into its deep pool of human resources- some 35,000
monitors for some of the strong-for world-class designers, microelectronics
biggest names in the business. engineers, and technology innovators. And LG
There are good reasons why users and Electronics is no newcomer to the computer technolooy
manufacturers alike have flocked to LG Electronics for party, having been in business for 41 years now.
monitors. LG Electronics' top-line Studioworks 995E It's true, that light coming from the LG Electronics
garnered PC Magazine's coveted Editor's Choice monitor really does reflect the genius,tremendous
recent ly,According to the editors there,"The jury gave resources, and dedication of acompany that is aglobal
the 995E near-perfect marks for both general business technology leader.
and graphics applications... It represents an excellent
bargain."
LG Electronics' monitors also took Top 10 honors
twice in recent months in PC World magazine,while PC
Computing awarded LG Electronics' 910SC monitor the
prized 4-Star rating.
www.lgeus.com
1-800-243-0000
 www.lgeus.com

• T E CHNO 0 Y What exactly can 35,000

....,._ - - l

~~i
~~oR: people in over 120 countries
:-~·&9'i·~~·~v

(omputor /,lonitors do? Just about anything

they set their minds to . Such as create the next generation of TFT-LCD flat panel displays.

J Or develop tomorrow's DVD and CD ReWritable drives. Today's LG

is all of this and more. As one of the world's largest

PC Camera s

electronics companies, we are using our knowledge and resou rces to

~ LG push the li mits of what's possible. Making the things that make every

CD REWRITABLE
DRIVES . .;::;, 0 0
new day a little better than the day before.

PC CAMERAS LG is innovation. LG is performance.

DVD - ROM • =
DRIVES Optirol Oise S101oge LG is technology.

MONITORS
Juno 1999 July 1999 October
COMDEX BOOTH # L5846 AuguSI 1999 1999
CD - RO M
DRIVES
(800) 243-0000
Circle 96 on cord or go to www.pcworld.com/produ<tinfo
 Sound Effects
Encarta Ready for the New Millennium A NEW sound-enhancement
product based on audio power­
• :a~ 1:aoa:ac.1flfi ·••:.• house SRS Labs' new 30 tech­
NO CO NTEST th is year: Micro­ nology makes wimpy, muddled·
soft's Encarta Reference Suite sounding PC speakers sound like
2000 is the best all -aro und the big boys' blasters. The hard·
multi media encyclopedia on ware version of Wow Thing costs
the marke t. Even at a pricey $30 and works with your PC's
$ioo (for fi ve CD-RO Ms or a speakers or headphones, or with
si n gle DVD -RO M), it' s a your portable stereo, compact
sma rt choice fo r first- time disc, or MP3 player. It plugs into
buyers or anyone who's look­ your sound card, but you'll need
ing to upgrade. to purchase a separate cable to
The suite contains Encarta plug it into your speakers . If
Encyclopedia Deluxe 2000, as you ' re plann ing to use Wow
well as the Encarta Interactive Thing just with your PC, opt for
World Atlas 2000 and new MICROSOFT'S ENCARTA ENCYCLOPEDIA DELUXE 2000 Is packed the $10 shareware software ver­
Encarta World English Dictio­ with pictures and has a graphical tlmellne to help find related Info. sion, which sounds just as good.
nary. I tested an advance copy It curre ntly works only through
of the new suite on DVD ­ you perform a single search search Starte rs section is nice­ the WinAm p player, but the com­
ROM and hearti ly reco m ­ across all three products. ly revamped, grouping content pany plans to add support for
mend that format. DVD-RO M The encyclopedia is the cen­ in to seven overarclling subject the Windows Media Player by
provides more and better mul­ terpiece of the reference suite, fi elds likely to be relevant to the time you read this. Though
ti media than CD-ROM , elimi­ featuring 42 ,000-plus articles th e seco nd ary-sc hoo l stu ­ we heard some distortion at high
n:i tes disk-swapping, and lets with a ge nerous assortment of dent- geography, social stud­ volumes, Wow Thing is a good
multimedia supplements. En­ ies, U.S. history, and so fo rth . alternative to new speakers.
carta's superb design offers a This yea r's de rigueur Millen­ SRS Labs; 800/243·2733; WWW.
variety of n avigation too ls, nium timeline feature in the wowthing.com
including interactive timelines sh ipping version we reviewed PRODUCT I NFO NO . 711

and research organizers. The prov ides another engaging -Camero n Heffema11
CON: Expensive. atlas is much im proved over "front door" for students seek­
YALU£: The best all-around ref­ last year's version, letti ng you ing information. High-End Labtec?
erence title on the market, for all zoom from a virtual spinning Grolier lacks the depth of BEST-K NO WN for bas ic, inex­
age·groups. globe all the way down to Encarta-it has fewer articles pens ive PC spea kers, Labtec
.Str.eet price: $100 street grids of major world (around 37,000) and substan· aims a no tch higher wi t h the
Microsoft cities. And the dictionary is lially less multimed ia fire· LCS-2514 4.1speaker system while
800/426-9400 actually an integrated set of works. However, Gro lie r is keeping the price low-the four
www.encarta;com reference wo rks, including a prepar in g a bu lke d-u p $99 speakers and subwoofer cost
P R. 0 D'U C T I N f D N D . I D 1 thesaurus, an alma nac, and a DVD -ROM re lease with 50 just $79. But Labtec skips some
Year 2000 Grolier style guide. percen t more video conten t details, such as hardware bass·
·Multimedia Encyclopedia If yo u're lookin g for a less than the CD version and that level control and AC3 support (it
2-CD Deluxe Edition expensive alternative (and one will include AC3 sound su p­ uses Its own 30 emulator}. We
PRO: t:ess expensive; simpler inter­ that is especia ll y good for port. The DVD version should endured boomy bass and dis­
face; great homework helpers. younger students). consider appear in stores before the torted sound at high volumes on
CON: Lacks the depth of Encarta. the $49 Year 2000 Grolier Mul­ end of the year. a sh ipping un it. Aud ioph iles
VALUE: A good option for younger timedia Encyclopedia 2-CD De­ If you need a first-class en· won' t be im pressed, but less
students. luxe Edition. TI1is two-CD set is cyclopedia now, opt for Encar­ picky users will like the Surround
Street price:$49 aimed squarely at junior-high la 2000. For those \vi th tighter Sound feel and low price. Labtec;
Grolier Interactive and younger high-school stu­ budgets or who don 't ha ve a 360/896-2000; www.labtec.com
203/797-3530 dents and features a less com­ DVD-ROM drive, Grolier is a PRODUCT INfO NO . 710 .

gi.grolier.com plex design , with friend ly good c:hoice. -Mich elle Campanale­
PRODUCT INFO N O. 70Z ho m ework helpers. The Re­ -Gle1111 McDonald .... Surkan

112 15414,;.;;,p D E C E M B E R l 9 9 9
Ouantex is a registered trademark of Ouantex Microsystems. Inc. Gateway is a trademark of Gateway, Inc. Compaq is a registered trademark of Compaq Compu tei Corporation.
 DESKTOPS
OVERALL USE

O Quantex And we did it by engineering you a

Dell
IBM better PC from the ground up.
Q Apple
Hewlett-Packa rd "In the desktop category... Quantex, continuing its impressive improvement since debuting in our survey three years
Micron ago, breaks into the ·A· category: PC Magazine, Ju ly 1999.
Sony
In PC Magazine's 1999 Desktops &Notebooks Service and Reliability Survey', Ouantexwas one of only three vendors to earn an "A"
G AT&T
CompUSA
Digital rating in the Desktop Category. Scoring significantlybetter than average in all 5test categories- units needing repair over the past
Gateway
NEC 12 months, satisfaction with reliability, satisfaction with repair, satisfaction with technical support, and buyagain- PC Magazine
Toshiba
praised, "/ts technical scores are firs t-class."
t:) AST
Compaq ~ Resu lts based on a PC Mag;rnne (July 99J ·ocskrops and Notebooks Service and Rel1ijbi ti1y.. survey in v1hich Ouantex received an ..4... ra tin g in the deskto:>s­
MidWest Micro Overall Use category. bea1ing ou1Gate\vay and Compaq which received ratings of -c and ·o- respectively. Ouantex received an .A.. ra ting by scoring signi ficantly
higher than average in all 5 test categorie~ See PC Magazine July 99 101 detail s.
~ SJO BJC-1000 print~1 rebaie avai'abte d1rec:ly from Canon Offe1 e>.p11es 1/29/00 i $80 BJC.2000 printer rebate available direct~( from Canon Offer expires 1/29/0J
 Quantex desktops give you cutting·edge performance and the power to tackle advanced 20 & 30 graphics,

power·hungry multimedia applications, ever·evolving Internet technology, OVO movies and games.

Designed for the sawy professional. these desktops combine leading technologies with

Ouantex's award·winning service and reliability at prices that fit well within your budget.

~~ SOFTWARE ESSENTIALS FOR DESKTOPS

• AudibleManager 2.0 • Enfish Tracker Pro • E·Mail VOICELINK

• Grolier Multimedia • McAfeo Antivirus • WebFerrot
Encyclopedia • CyberSnoop 3.0 SE

v i sit w w w .qua nte x.c om/ essenti als

POWER DESKTOPS Comm on Features : o1 3 5· I 44M3 floppy Drive o1 US Rcbo 1cs 56~ V9 0Winmocem w:Telephon 1 o1 1USS port s o1 l/S Wmdo"'·' 98 Second Edrt1on
o1 New Ouantex ATX f.lrd 01.er Case o1 lnterneHeady, Aulti·funct1Jn Keyboard o1 Mrcrosoh Mouse o1 J.Year l!mrted Warranty o1 1417 folf.free Tee nrcal Suppon

NEW QUANTEX · SM733 NEW QUANTEX SM667 QUANTEX SM650 QUANTEX SM600
NIM Intel• Pe11tium• 111 Processor 677MHz·733MHz NIM Inter• f'enll~ Processor 6008Mlj£-ii67MHL NIM Intel• EfillU um~r ocesso r 600MHz-650MHz 1,n~ Penllum• Ill Processor 550MHz.6QOMHz
J18MB~256MB .fillRAM Memo ;_fC133 R~d 12BME!.:£56MB ~M Memory; PC133 Ready 64MB·128MB High· Pcrlor~nce SDRAM ~ 64M8-128MB High·Pertormance SORAM Me!!)Q!Y
ll_GB·JOGB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 20GB·27GB 720Qnl_m Ultra ATA Hard Drive_ _ 13GB·20GB 720Drpm Ultra ATA Hard Driv_e_ 13GB·20GJU200rpm Ultra ATA Har[_[)rive_ _
}9' Monitor w/Diamon®_on NF CRl (! ~is) _ 19· Monilor w/Diamonduon NF CRT pa· vis)_ _ 1r ~.1o n r !QU.1.[ vrs 25dp, 1600x 1200 max resj_ 1T Monrtor (!£vis. 25!J>, 160Dxl200 max res)
<).Vidia Riva TIH2 AGP Griljlhics w/32MB__ 30lx Voodoo3 3000 AGP G~ ~ / 16MB ; JV. IM_ nVidiaRrv£.l!:!l AGP Graphics w/ 16MB nVrd a Rrva TllL!\GP G r aphi~ w/ 16MB
~D · R cw ri t eable Drive __ __ _ New Bx Max Variable Speed D D·ROMDrive Internal 100!.IB z, Otivc ~ew 8x Ma. Varraogeed DVD-ROM Drrve
~ 8x Max Va'!!QILSpeeo DVD·ROM Drive Aureal Vortex2 Sound. A30_W Technology New 8x Max Variable Speed OVD·ROM Drrv!._ Au'W_Vortex2 Sound, A30 1.0 Technology
Aurml Vo ex2 Sou. , A30 20 Tee/'_oll()logy___ ~Mx~r>;JAf:S.33Pu.laC~Sp?ai<e<s S<bl.tl'.ia Aurea! Voil5_4_ Sound A30 20 Tecnrcl ogy _ I.av Allee Lansrng ACS·2 1 1~~
Al tee AOA·305 Dolby Surrourd Sound SpeakersLSub Corel Wo<QPerlect Qlfi ce 2000 ~ ltcc1MJsing ACS-2 IW Speakers Corel WordPerfect Ollice 2000_ __
Microso!!._Olf1ce 2000 SB_
E_ _ _ New_Sottv.are Essentials TiUes Included! C~ Word?erfec Olfrcc 2000 New Sollware ~nlla~ Titles lnclu®l!l__
~ So~e Essentials lilies Included! 1111er A"J!.'.Qinf' Home Nenvorking Kit. add 5119 _ M11¥ Sollware Essenllals lilies Included! _ Intel' Create and Share·· Ca•nera Pack Jl!21), arJrj Sii9

Sl•rtlng •1$2499
Business lease starting at$91/Mo., 36 Mos.
St•rtlng•l$1899
Business lease startingat$69/Mo., 36 Mos.
Sl•rtlngat$1699
Business lease starting a1:$62/Mo., 36 Mos. Business lease starting at:$54/Mo., 36 Mos.
~'- QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12s34 ~ I . QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12s32 ~ I . QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12s29 ~ I . QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12s16
WINNER! CotlUr &¥r's G.iil & flTdxxic Best Bt.y, 1li'll

VALUE DESKTOPS

QUANTEX M600
Intel• Pentium • Ill Pr ocessor 550MHz.OOOMHz
§4Ml!:1 28MB SO RAM Memory 32Ml SQRA/,1Mem<>ry
17GB·20GB UltraATAHard 0.!.!L_ I3GB UIJ@_ATA Hard Drrve 8GB-13GB ljllra AIA Hard Orrve BGB Ultra ATA Hard Orrve
1~· Monrtor w/on-screen J1!?pliy 11a· vrs) Ir Mani or w/on·screen display ( I ~· vrs) 1r Monitorw/on·screen cMplay (15 a· v1s_l_ 15· Q_igrt_al Mon1!0: (13 a· v'.?L__
lfllel 2DQD Graphics Acc~ati_
r _ _ Intel 20/30 Graphics Acceleralor Intel 20/JD Graphics;\.cfelerator Intel 2Di3DGrapl11cs Accele@!QC__
3rd Gencratron DVD·R_DM Dr ve M.Gene@llon DVD·RDM Drrvc 3rd Genera1ion OVO-ROM Orrve 48x Max Varr~e Speed CD:B_OM Drive
Dynamic Wa1~l ablc Stereo Sound.,;>~rs w/subwool ~ il'@J11ic Wa1~1Jble Stereo Sound, Speakers w/subwooler Oy"AflliC Wavelable Slereo Sound~S[!ake rs Oymmic WavelableSlereo So~ Spe~
NIM Software Essentials l ilies Incl~! Canon BJC·20'.Xl CoJQ! Prin!Er w/IS12 Scanner lrduded! New Software Essentials Titles lnclu~ Canon BJC· tOOO Color Prlnt?r l_ncluded_I_ __
Epson Slfl!!I Color 440 Printer add $149 lexMark 1l(X) Color_)!fPrinter add $89 Camn CanoScan rB 620P S:.nner. add S99

$1299 Starting at$999 $899

~ I - QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12m14
Business lease starting at$54/Mo., 36 Mos. Business lease:S47/Mo.. 36 Mos. ~ - QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12m06
~ I . QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12m17 ~ I . QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12Jrll8 WINNER I PC World Best Buy-Home PCs, 1! 1'39

1•800•646•9259
I SHOP AT I pcworld.quantex.com I
f"- l Goto www.quantex.conv'qquote and enter the .! I. QUOTE number
t;;:.. to get th e latest pricing and technology on the system you want.
INTRODUCING THE QUANTEX®W-SERIES NOTEBOOKS:
FULL-FEATURED POWER YOU CAN'T IMAGINE IN ANEW LIGHTWEIGHT NOTEBOOK.
 Now you can arm yourself wherever you go with
unimaginable power that's also easy to carry.
New Mobile Intel®Pentium®Ill proces­ Active Matrix Displays up to 15" deliver
sor 500MHz provides the fastest portable brilliant multimedia performance and a huge
performance available for "power-user" viewing area for excel lent on-the-go computing.
capabilities like 30 graphics, financial mod­
el ing, multitasking and more.
ATI Mobility PGraphics w/8MB RAM
provides razor-sharp reso lution and visually
Up to256MB of fast SDRAM boosts over­ stunning performance on all interactive
alI system performance and gives you the 30/20 applications, games and more.
room to keep pace with growing
applications and operating systems. • An integrated modular drive
accommodates a CD/DVD­
Aversatile all-in-one notebook design ROM Drive lor maximum
includes an integrated 3.5" diskette drive. convenience when working
(or playing) on the road .

NEW W-SERIES NOTEBOOKS Common Features: v 1$6 < ~r~J"l: ed Or ·C •e Ci!die t1 rte;ra1~ 3 5· Flopfrt Dnve t1 Odt .nSimoSourd ar\l Speal.ers t1 S'T1a1t lrtl'..1.n !on 33llery t1 lrl~rated Pe rs orJl Hwc.~,pld
t1 USB. f3 sf IAPerts ti TV·Out ti 3-Year l.Jm;!ed Warranty on C?U &M emo r~ " I-Year Pa ri sar;d laborlim.tcdWa-rantv onall other CCr"'PGnena t1 1 ~/7 To ll-free hdinica! Suopol't

QUANTEX W-1511 QUANTEX W-1510 QUANTEX W-1410 QUANTEX W-1400

New Mobile Intel* Penlium• Ill Processor 5-00MHz llew MotJjle lnlel' Penlium• Ill Processo.!j ~MHz llew M obi~ lnieJ• Penlium• lll_Processor 450MHz t.4 o b ll ~el'_Eent i um•II Processor 366MHz _
15· XGA 1FT Aclive Malrix Display 15. XGA TFT Ac~Mairix Display 14 1· XG~FT A~Jive M~lrix Dispay !:1 1" XGA TFT Aclive Malrix Display _
128MB SORAM M~ or y 64MB SDRAM Me_mo ry 64MB SDRAM ME_mory 32MB SDRAM MetllQl}'
lOGBUllra ATA Ha!![ Drive IOGB_Ullra AfA Hard_Drive 6GB Ullra AJA Hard Drive 6GB Ull@ Ali\_l:lard Drive
lntegratOO Modular 4X Max Varl<ille ~ jl_VD-ROM Drive lnlllgrated Modular_4x Max Variable ~ DVD-ROM Dr~ lnlllgrated Modular 4x ~Variable ~_QVD-R_DM Drive lfilegraled MOdular 24x Max VariableSpeed CD·ROMDrive
llewMini ·Pl;lj_6K E__a.!Modem New Mim·PCI 56K fW~de m N~\' Mini·PCI l§_K Fax)Modem _' llewMir!i: PC1_56K Fa xJModem'
New AI! Mobilily P11.@phics w/8MB _ NewATI Mobilllyj'_Graphlcs w/8MB NewATIJ@bllily P GraQhlcs w/8MB llewAT! Mobilily P.J!@phlcs w/BMB _
MSWrndoNSJ§..2nd_Ed MiciosQll Ollrce 2000 SBE MS Wrndows 98 2nd Ed, Corel WordPerlea Gl1ice 2000 M~l r ndows 93 2nd Ed_,J;orel l'lordPerlecl Dttice 2()()() MS Wind o-•>~2nd Ed , Corel WoiQPer1ect Office 2000
Ouanlex D el~ Carrying CaseIncluded'_ _ Ouanlex Deluxe C![t}'ing_c:ase lncludeQ!_ Ouanle• C2rryinqj:ase Ouanl~ar~g Case

$2999
Business lease:$109/Mo., 36 Mos.
$2599
Business lease:$94/Mo., 36 Mos. Business lease:S87/Mo., 36 Mos.
$1999
Business lease:S731Mo., 36 Mos.
.!I. QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12v.@ .!I. QUOTE NUMBER: pcwt2'MJ2 .! I. QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12'MJ1 .!I.QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12'Ml4

T SERIES NOTEBOOKS
0
CommonFeatures: ti 155 1. Ert~ rceC 01-0ie Gach• ti Mo1ia13 s· f'c : ~r Qr\: ti 9i;u:.rn SttitO~curd ar o Sc-ea\e1s ti SmJI '. lt:htiJ'Tl iJn Sanerf ti 1n:es1ated Ptfsonal Tct.:~h ~d
t1 USS f.m IMPcm t1 OuanteJCauy;rg Ca~e t1 J.Y::a1l1ii1ted\'t;irrant) enCF1J &,,lem-Or)' ti i-'fear ?acts .JM labor l rm1te1 Warra'I!) en anottie1 component s t1 2'f7 Ton f1ee Tec hnic.al Suppon.

QUANTEX T-1410 OUANTEX T-1401

f./e"N Mobile Intel• Penlium• Ill Processor 5-00M_Hz New M ob il~tel * Penlium• Ill Processor 450MHz Mobile lnlel' Pe~um•JLf'rocessor 366MHz
Ullra· IhmQesrgn (12A4 "x!L8'1" 143" ) Ullla·Thrn Design l 12 •ID.984" 143") lJl!.r!· Thin Desrqri_f12 44"x9 84"I 43] Ullra- Thin 0~(12"44"•984])7") _ _ _
14 1· XGA TFT ACllVE_Malm Drsplay ­ 14 I" XGA TFT Acr rveMatrrx Display 14 1· XGUFT Ac_11ve Ma1rrx Display 13 3· XGA TFT Aclrve Malr.!!.Prsplay
6~AB SDRAM Memory 6_4MB SORAM Mem or y 64MB SO~\I Memory 32MB SD RAM_l;temory__
tftiv lOGB Ulira ATA Hard Drrvc 6GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 6GB Ullra ATA Hard Ori~ 1lilJ Ullra ATA Hard_!1!l.vc
Modular 4x Max Variable Speed Q_VD·ROM Driv.L__ Modular 4x Max Vari2ble Speed DVD·ROM Drive Modular 24x IA ax Varrable Speed CD·ROIA D_rive Modular 24x Max Variable Speed CD·ROM Drive
56K V.90 F~odem · 56K V.90 FaxJModem· 56KV.90 Fa>/Modem' 56K V.90 Fax/Modem' lncludedl
l/ew AT!_Mobilily M Graphifs w/4MB New&1 Mobilily M§raph ics w/4MB _ New ATl Mobillly M Graphics w/4MB NI!" ATl_Mobllily M Graphlcs_ w/4MB
IAS V{lrldows 98 2nd_ld . Mrcrosolt Oil~ 200QliBE l,1Sl'lrndo•> 98 2nd Ed . Corel WordPe~I Qfl ce 2000 MS \Vrndo·•~ 98 ~o na Edrlron MSWrMQ-llS ~Seco nd EdllOn

Business lease:S94/Mo., 36 Mo~

$2299
Business lease:S83/Mo.•36 Mos.
$1999
Business lease:S73/Mo., 36 Mos. Business lease:$62/Mo., 36 Mos.
.!I. QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12125 .!I. QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12t24 .! I. QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12t28 .!I. QUOTE NUMBER: pcw12127

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QX5000NT Web Server
New Intel~ Pentium• Ill Processor 500MHz-700MHz
Dual Processor Upg.~radeab=
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Intel 440GX+ Server Board

128MB ECGSDRAM 2GB Max)_ _ __
9GB 10 Ultra2/LVD SCSI Hot
Dual Channel Ultra2/LVD SCSI Controller _ __
Dual Pe]!J'C I l)_uses;_6 PQ 1 I ~ Slo_ts
5 Hot-Swap Drive Ba s;_')Jans _ __
Windows NT Server 4.0, 10-Cllent Access
Microsoft Front~~ Web Creation & Management Too.L l-li!~":-!~--
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Intel• EtherExRress· Pro 100 Ethernet Ada ter

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Common Features: v Sll<B fCC Secvndary Cade v 3.5 I 44M8 ttc:i:i1 Drl'. e " ~o~ Ma( \'.:mable Spee~ CD -ROMOme v Emergencv llaNyement Pert v Inlet Ser.er Cor.uol
PERFORMANCE SERVERS 1,1 lf'J~~ ,..tr ! C r. rs: ~ "" lC.! <~, ( !:(:-.:;.a·,j "" 'A:· ~s~ ': ~.' O J st "" J Year l r lf-1 ',',JJ!Tiil r;-. "" ] .! '] Tell rr~ DE-C. c..; : ~ s~r.e1 HYd.'.""alt - ~ h:J S1.im:n

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Intel• Pentium• Ill Xeon· Processor 550MHz New Intel• Pentium• Ill Processor SOOMHz-700MHz New Intel• Pentium• Ill Processor 5SOMHz-700MHz Intel• Pentium• Ill Processor 500MHz-600MHz
Oual_l'rocessor Upgradeable Dual Pr o:e s ~r Upgradeable Dual Pro c e sso~pgrad oab l e 1~4 40BX Ch1pse1 ­
l n lelj;_4~0GX• S;·ver Board Intel L440GX+ Ser;er Board Intel L440GX- Server 2oard Intel N440BX Server Board
256MB ECCSORAM (2GB Max) 128MB ECC SDRAM (2GBMa<) 12BMB ECC SDRAM (2GB Ma<) 64MB ECC SDRAM (768MB Ma<)
9GB10,!XXJrpm U'tra2/lVO SCSI Hot Swap HardDrM! Thr ee 9GB 10,000<pm Ultra2/LVD SI SI Hot Swap HD 9GB10,000rpmUltraZll,YD SCSI Hot Swap _ti¥dDrive ·15GB U_llra·Wrie SCSI Hard Orrv_e
Dual Chanl!tl_Ullra21LVDSCSI Conlr oller_ AMI MegaRAID 466WSUllra£!WOController, 16MB Dual Channel Ullra2/LVDSCSI Controller l~ ra l ed Ullra-Wi de SCSI Controller
DuaL_f'eer PCI Buses 6 l'Q. I ISA Slols Dual Channel Ullra2/lVD SCSI ConJrQller Q<Jal Peer PCI Buses. cPCI, 1ISA Slots _ 3 PCI Slots, I ISA Sloh_l Shared PClllSA
2· ~Ow Redundanl Power Suppl res Dual Pw PCI Buses: 6 PC1_ I ISA Slots 5 HOl·S11ap Dr!ve Bays. 4 Fans Mid Tower Server Case· 4 Internal 3 5· Bays.
6 iiQ!:Swap Drr vo Ba1s..B£aundan1Fans 5 Hot·Swap Drive Bays, 4 Fans _ Intel' EmerE<pr£SS · Pro 100 Etneme1Adapter 4 External 5.25 • Bays _
Imel' El erEg>resr_Pro IQQE1herne1Ada,ler Inlet• Elter ~ess- Pro 100 Ememel All.lp1e1 Chass is · ln t rus~ Switch, DriveBay Lock Intel' Ethe1E,p·ess· Pro 100 Ethernet Adapter
Cha~s-l nt ru s i on Sw11ch;_Qfiloe Bay Lock Ct1assis-lnlrusion Switch, Drive Bal'J,Qck Qpliorral AMI MegaRAIO 4/i6WS, add $399_ _ Opliorral l<f'_C Smar/UPS 700VA, add 5349 _
Upgradi! la Rack-mounl kil, add $99 Oplronal 12/24GB SCSI OAT~c'<up, add 5749 Windo11s NT SeMr 4 0. 10-Clien/ Access, add !199 Note/I lie/WareSmall Business SurleS at!d $899__

st..11ngat $4299
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Corpor.it lon . 1\ ll otht'r comp:i ny n:tmrs :in d p ro dur t ~ :1 r1· 1irope r t1e~ of iht•i r r1·s prc ti\ t' comp:inr.
 an inexpensive voice naviga­
Voice Xpress Lets You Talk to Your Money tion and dictation tool just for
Windows, or really don 't want
register and other tasks with me talking to my com puter, to continue typi ng all of your
MA NAG I NG your mo n ey nary a mistake. But it was slow said that I sounded as if l were checking information into
won' t ever be as much fun as, to recogn ize commands, such speaking to our dog, who re­ your finance application, Voice
say, a Quake I I tournament, as "pay my bills" or "go to quires a command to be re­ Xpress is a good buy at $30.
but personal finance software banking center," and when it peated a minimum of three The rest of u s are better off
such as Intuit Quicken and did recognize them, it took its times before deciding whether waiting for the next-hopeful­
Microsoft Money have helped time digesti ng th em. At o ne or not she will obey. ly speedier- version.
make it considerably easier. A point, my wife, who observed If you are a new user, want -Jolin P. Me llo Jr.
new speech recognition pack­
age from Lernout & Hauspie
goes one step further.
The package-the fi rst spe­ Aero 1500 Aims Straight for Palm V
cia ll y made to work with per­
sonal finance software-lets W •W ; egory, logging up THE SVELTE
users of Quicken and Money COMPAQ LIKES to compa re to 20 hours.) Aero 1500 packs
employ voice comman ds to its half-inch-thick palmtop PC, The Aero offers features and a
nav igate around e ither soft­ the Aero 1500, to Pa lm Com­ other advantages. qood battery Ille.
ware product and convey infor­ puting's best-sel li ng Palm V. Un like the Palm
mation to it. As a bonus, the While the two look remarkably V, it can handle e­ ni ently lengthy,
application lets you command alike, appearances, as they say, mai l with attach­ too. But is the
and control Windows with can be deceiving. Still, Com­ ments and can Aero 1500 a bet­
your vo ice as we ll as d ictate paq has made the right com­ function as both ter bet than the
text into most Windows appli­ promises, and though its fea ­ an MP3 pla yer Pa lm V? Th at
cations. However, it's slow. ture-packed Aero 1500 is no and a vo ice re­ all depends on
I test-drove a shipping ver­ match for the Palm , it is the corder. And how simple
s ion of L&H Voice Xpress Per­ best Windows CE-based palm it's more ex­ you prefer
sonal Finance with Quicken device we've seen. pan da ble, a PDA to
2000 on a PC with 128MB of The $349 Aero does match thanks to be. The
RAM and an AMO K6-2-400 or surpass the $369 Palm Vin its CompactFlash Card slot. Pal m bea ts th e Aero hands
processor. (A Pentium MMX­ several respects. 1t is as sleek Now for the negatives: That down on ease of use, but the
200 is the minimum; the app as the Palm V, and it packs famil iar Windows 9x-like in­ Win CE-based Aero has more
gets a boost from CPUs with much more RAM-16MB ver­ terface means you're dealing features. If you want a Palm V,
Intel's SSE and AM D's 3D­ sus the Palm V's 2M B. The with Windows CE, and Com­ acce pt no substitutes. If you
Now extensions.) TI1e product Aero has a crisp 240-by-320­ paq's enhancing it is still like want a Windows CE machine,
let me fill in Quicken's check resolution screen with 16 gray putting earrings on a pig. The this is the best of the lot.
scales. compared to the Palm's new QUtilities and QMenu do - Michael S. Lasky .....
bright, 160 by 160, 2-gray­ help you qu ickly find, close,
scale screen. I have used ear­ an d toggl e between applica­
PRO: Vol ce command and aontrol of li er generations of Windows tions. Previously, to close an
Windows, dictation within most Win­ CE handhelds and Palms and app in Windows CE, you had tery and robust features.
dows applications. was delighted by the extended to click five tim es (and know CON : Saddfed with Window~ C~,
CON : Sluggish performance, incon­ battery life of my s hipping where in the Start menu to do which Is still too complex for palrn­
sistent recognition of commands. Aero 1500. Previous Windows that) . With a Palm , one click size hand~elds.
>.
VALUE: A good price for a speech CE palmtops-especially the takes care of the same task. VALUE: If you want a Win CE 1>alm·
recognition program. heavier, resource-hungry color Compaq 's introduction of size devlce, this one's the best yet.
Street price: $30 devices-pooped out after 6 the sleek Aero means that you List price: $349
Lernout & Hausple hours or less. The Aero 15oo's can now have a Windows CE Compaq Computer
781/203-5000 rechargeable lith ium ion bat­ palm-size device that, like a 800/345-1518
www.lhsl.com tery lasted 12 to 14 hours. (The Palm , actual ly fits in your www.compaq.com
PRODUCT IHfO HO . 703 Palm V still beats it in this cat- pocket. Battery life is conve­ PROOUCT IH FO . NO . 704

0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 .,.,,,,jjy,; 119
 Meet the first carry-on desktop.
Introducing the revolutionary Sony VAl01l XG9 notebook computer, the first system to offer the row power of adesktop computer
within on amazingly sleek design. Only 6lbs.1 and 1.75 inches thin, the Sony VAIO XG9 fits in astandard carrying case. Yet it offers
many innovative and powerful features. The hot-swappable multi-boy includes DVD, floppy and weight saver capabilities plus options such
as asecond hard drive, on extro battery and a(l}-RW drive. The convenient jog dial provides customized accessto your files and programs.
And the Sony VAID XG9 hos arobust Intel!! Pentium®Ill processor 500 MHz', aroomy 18.1 GB 1 hard drive and aunique intercooler
system design. There's even on optional multimedia docking station that offers full port replication, digital optical out, Control A1, NTSC
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36 month business lease only Sl 10.25"
• IntelPentium Ill processor 500 MHz' Customize with:
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Receive a S1DO relxite 111th the purchnle of
capability oSony VAID PC orxf Sony D~itol Hondycom~
•i.LJN:<!I (IEEE-1394) interface for OV editing and camcorder (OigitolB or MiliDVJ .•
data transfer between computers
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•Microsoft$ Windows!! 98 second edition

pentium~!!/
 SONY

The hol-lwoppoble multfliay is perle<t

fo1 DVDs, floppie1 and on optional
CD-RV/, o se<ood ho1d drive and exno
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The c011Venient jog dial offeis easy

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Swap the stondmd sueen Im on

optional privo<y screen with o 48' field
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An optional nnitimOOJO dociing sllltion

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optical out, Canhol A1, UTSC video
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muchrno1e.

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 Acer Goes Wireless

LAST DECEMBER ,
......
E-Wallets: Safe Online Shopping for Kids
hundreds
o f thou s an d s of s h oppe rs
ACER IS finally hopping on the
wireless networking bandwagon .
Its new Warplink Communicator
Card, a imed at the home and
SOHO marke ts , connec ts t wo
bou ght their holiday gifts on­ PCs or notebooks located up to
lin e using credit ca rd s. This 500 feet apart and supports data
yea r, scores of tee na ge rs are transfer speeds up to 1 mbps
expected to join in the sho p­ (typical for products at this
pin g fre n zy, b ut in s tead of level). The shipping unit comes
paying with plastic, many wi ll with filtering soft ware and t he
u se electronic wallets-on li ne SyGate program, which lets mul­
spending accounts. And many
...__.,, _
BROK ~.!.~e
tiple PCs share a single ISP con·
parents will breathe easier. .......
~
..... -.,...~
nection. It even works with AOL
DoughNet, ICanBuy, and Rock­ sa~k..w-. 4 . WarpLlnk makes the most
etCash are th ree such e-com ­
... sense when you need to connect
m erce si tes where parents can PCs In different rooms away
set up special online shoppin g DDUGHNET HAS A MORE TRADITIONAL INTERFACE and allows kids from phone jacks. (If access isn't
acco u nts for th e ir kid s. All to save their money and donate to charity If they want. an issue, phone-line alternatives
three are easy to naviga te, but tend to be cheaper and faster.)
Rocke tCa sh has th e la rges t itoring varies; parents can con· Each service displays users' Pricing is on a par with the com·
numb e r of s hops to c h oo se trol a child's access to certain bala nce while they shop. With petition's: A kit wi t h two ISA
from and the slickest interface stores, limit purchases to cer­ Rocke tC as h a nd DoughN et, cards lists for $199; $224 gets
fo r its target audience. Dough­ ta in h ours, or e ve n req ui re cus to m e rs can go directl y to you one ISA card and one PC
Net' s interface has th e mos t par en tal a pprova l for e ac h me rcha n ts' Web sites; ICan­ Card. A USB version is due in
traditi ona l look (read : bu s i­ pu rcha s e . Se ttin g up a n ac· Bu y provides its own virtual early 2000. Acer NeWeb; 408/
n ess). All three of th e sites do cou n t (via credi t card or d e­ mall, controlling the shopping 467-7400; www.acerneweb.com
busines s with bra nd -n a m e posit) is free at each site, and ex peri e nce more tightly th an P R O DU CT I NFO N O . 71 3

m erchants, selling everyth ing accoun t minimums vary from the oth er sites. As expected in -Dan Mill er
from clo thin g and s ports $i to $i5 , de pe ndin g on th e business involving children on
equi pment to the hottes t CDs Web site. All three of the sites th e Ne t, e ac h compan y ha s can h e lp them lea rn a bout
an d vid eos . Dou ghN e t and offe r d e bit accou n ts, w hi ch str ict privacy and security poli­ money m an agement. You can
I Can Buy also work with some means pa rents deposit m oney cies . All the sites have Trust-e also transfer money from th e
nonprofit organizations to let up fr ont. Dou gh Ne t ca n also ce rtifi ca ti on; lCanBu y add s debit shopping account to sav­
kids donate money. use the parent's credit card­ th e Be tte r Bu s iness Bureau ings. DoughNet partners \vi th
Parents can set up accoun t which the chil d never sees­ On line's as well. USAccess Bank, a brick-and ­
limits, deposit allowances au ­ for cha rges as purchases a re On ly Dou gh Net lets you set m ortar institution, to offer this
tomatically, and moni tor each made, up to the parents' spec­ service. ICanB uy plans to add
tra nsaction . The level of mon­ ified limit. a similar service.
Undoubtedly, some kids wiJl
ICanBuy . continue to favor an old-fash­
PRO: $1 minimum to set up account, io ned cas h allowan ce (fewe r
certified by Trust·e and 8880nLine, qraphlcs, most places t o shop. pa re n tal s trings ). If yo u rs
plng/bankl nq account option. best pri vacy protection policies. CON : $f 5 mi ni mum to set up ac · yea rn to fill up their own elec­
CON: May not be snazzy enouqh t o CON : No option for an lnt eq rated count, no onllne banking options. tro nic shopping carts, Rocket­
attract teens. shopping and banking account. VALUE: Hippest look but empha· Cash will give them th e most
VALUE: ~est banking features for VALUE: Privacy,pollcies make it a _sizes spending, not donating or re· cho ices . For extra protection
teaching teens money management. good choice to.r younger ch ildren. sponslble saving. and control for youn ger ki ds,
Price: free Price: free Price: free vis it ICan Buy. And if you want
DouqhNet ICanBuy.com RocketCash to instill a little fiscaJ responsi­
415/561-0500 415/575·3520 650/ 938·6078 bility, try DoughNet.
www.doughnet.com www.icanbuy.com www.rocketcash.com - Richard Jantz ....

12 2 14111,IU.p 0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 .,w----1)!

WARNING! --..... -·
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tM

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How to put your design team together.

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easy to use, and with 100% AutoCAD•

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light editing, viewing, and other less

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can put your design team together.

Call your preferred software reseller,

visit www.autodesk.com/b23 or call

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0 1999 Aulodesk Inc.., Autodesk. t~ Au1odesk logo.AutoCAO and AutoCAD LT are r~is tered t radcmarks and Ot'slgn Your World is a trad em.ark o f Autodesk Inc.in the
United Statts and/or oth er counHies. "Suggested rttal price.

"
tlAutodesk. :
ob
..0 R Lo'
 Graphics Apps Add Web Muscle
Most of the new feat ures
M I CROSOFT's PhotoDraw 2000 either ease Microsoft Office
version 2 and Deneba Systems' integration or beef up the Web
Canvas 7 are am ong th e few tools. You can now za p graph­
gra phics packages that handle ics directly into Power Point
both vector drawings (such as 2000 and Fro ntP age 2000,
clip art) a nd bit-m ap im ages and load a Web gra phic sim ­
(li ke photos) wi thin a si n gle ply by opening an HTML page
application. But ultimately, the an d cl icking on the element.

APPLYING FANCY GRAPHICS TRICKS Is a snap with PhotoDraw

2000's extensive qallery of ready-to-use special effects.

two programs are more diffe r­ Bu t some of the l ntemet [ea·

ent th an th ey are alike. Wi th tu res see m ha lf-baked. For
sale
#25400 $89.99 PhotoDraw, Microsoft aims to exa mple, while th e package
le t ordin a ry bus iness peo ple can create flas hy animations,

Ill create eye-ca tchin g graphics

for prin t and the Web. Canvas,
yo u m ust exp or t them to a
browser to see your work.
meanwhile, is a be tter fi t for The program's interface ....
advanced use rs wi ll ing to in·
vest some time in m asteri ng PhotoDraw ~000 version 2
its powerful tools. , PRon ons o .great speal~ret(ecf~ f .
Improved lntegrafIon wit h' other'
SECOND TIME AROUND
Office programs, reasonable price.
I TESTE D A ship ping copy of CON: Some new Web tools are cum­
the $109 Photo Draw 2000 bersome, Interface remains clut ·
vers ion 2 (MS Office u sers get tered, performance can be sluggish.
Thousands of items to choose from a $zo rebate). The program 's VALUE: Enormo11s potent la l for
for your home and office. greatest strength rem ai ns its business and casual users, still
s lick s pecia l effec ts. Wi th a marred by rough spots.
Log 0 11 & shop today! cl ick or two, yo u ca n extrude Street price: $109
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 TOOLS TO
CONNECT YOUR
BUSINESS

AVAILABLE
DIRECT
FROM IBM

YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE

EVERYONE'S IN TOUCH.
With each other and with the outside
world. You need the tools to do it right.
Like e-mail. Intern et access and the
machine that can go anywhere - the
IBM ThinkPad" notebook. With ready-to­
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an integrated 56K ' V.90 modem, the
ThinkPad is made for businesses that
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ONTHEROADANDINTHE
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talk to an IBM small business advisor or contact an IBM Business Partner.
Go to www.ibm.com/smallbusiness/sb795 to find out more. =="=1:'=e---
'll "Estimated reseller prices to end users fo r PC 300 Model 1626816U. Monitor Model 165460AN. Mon tor Model i65470AN, CD-ADM Drive Pan 133L500 t; PC 300 Model #6564S6U.
l
pen ti Um®,!/ Monitor Model #65460AN. Adapter Part 134L1201 . Zip Drive Part i'20l0544 : ThlnkPad Model '26 11 ·512. Pon Replicator Pan i05K5591. Memory Pan i20L024 t: ThinkPad Model
•261 1-552. Pon Replicator Part •05K559 1. Memory Part 120L024 1: ThinkPao Model '2609-21 U. Dr ve Bay Part 137l151 t. CD-ADM Dnve Part 105K9122. ·successlease is offered
and administered in the US and Canada by F1d eh~/ Leasing Inc . an ap proved provider of business financing for IBM Globa Financing. All terms are provided by F1dehr1 Leasing Inc.
Featured six-month deferral option 1s a 42-month full payout lease. wi th the lust six payments at S0.00 and remaining 36 payments calculated at 537.80 per Sl .000 financed. to qualified business customers only.
installing in the US. Minimum amount financed under this deferral option 1s 55.000. Final month"s payment as security deposit and documentation fee requited at lease inception. Offer may be 1·11thdrawn at any time.
All taxes are additional. Other terms and financing structures are available. Options must te leased with system unit. "These modems are designed to be capable of receiving data up to 56Kbps from a compatible ser·
VlCe provider. and transm1ning data at up to 31 .2Kbps Public networks currently limit maximum downloao speeds to about 53Kbps. Actual speeds depend on many factors and are often less than the maximum
possible. 'Oller valid in US only. Customer must purchase an IBM small business program product to becomeeligible fo r promotional ra te. Requires customer to enter into a separate agreement with AT&T. Price
effective October t. 1999. throu gh March 31 . 2000. Price sub1ect to change wi thout notice AT&T is a registered trademark of AT&T Corporation. All rights reserved. 'MHz denotes microprocessor internet clock speed;
ot11er factor s may affect application performance. 'GB means one billion bytes when referring to hard drive capacity. Accessible capacity may vary. 'Variable read rate. Actual playback speed will vary and is often less
lhan the maximum possible. All p1oducts shipl'/lth an operating system. Successlease and all product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Intel. the Intel
Inside logo and Pentium are registered trad emarks and Celeron is a trademark of Intel Ccrporat1on. Microsoft and Windows are reg istered tradema1ks 01Microsoft Corporation. Other company. product and service
names may be tr ademarks or service marks of others. © 1999 IBM Corp. All rights reserved
 remains cluttered , with a ing System, and produce sep­
grand total of 20 men us. And arations for professional print­
although speedier than its pre­ ing. I looked at a beta version.
decessor, this upgrade bogged Among the most notable of
down as I applied more ef­ Canvas 's more th an 150 new
fects - previewin g a complex features are SpriteEffects, a
image in a Web browser took series of image filt ers that you
several minutes on a Pentium can apply to any vector or bit­
II-300 with 64 MB ofRAM. map e le m e n t in la ye rs, and
then turn on or off at any tim e.
MORE POWER TO YOU The package's tools for creat­
THE NEWEST upgrade to the
venerab le Canva s a pp pro­
ing complex vec tor illu s tra­
tions fr o m sc ratc h are now PC W ORLD is
vides m an y more heavy-duty more flexib le and eas ier to
the perfect gift that
lasts all year.
Each issue will serve as a monthly
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CANVAS 7 LACKS PHOTODRAW 'S point-and -cli ck simplicity, but it's
packed with features that will empower serious users.
Just give us a call at 1-800-678-1278
featu1·es th an PhotoDraw. The use, and Canvas is now more ext. 25 and mention this ad or go to:
S375 product comes with a ful l adept at outputting graphics­ www.pcworld.com/gift
set of tec hnica l-ill u s tration even animat ions-for th e
tools and precise ty pographi­ Web. An d in an age of bloated Send no money now. We will bill
cal controls. You can use color graphics applications, Canvas
you later.
tools like the Pantone Ma tch- 7 requ ires a m e re 8oMB of
hard disk space.
Canvas 7 Like Core!Draw and othe r
PRO: Professfonalcstrength~(ools, high-end packages, howeve r,
i, ... ' ·'. . ·: 'iJ"..~.:-~. .
·fast performance'. · Canva s offers few canned ef­
CON: A challe ng e t o lear.n; few fe cts for casual users. And its
cann'ed effect s. · lea rning curve can be daunt­
VALUE : Wort hwhile cont ender fo r ing, in part beca use its inter­
advanced users. face strays considerably from
Street price: $375; upgra de for Can­ Windows conventions.
vas 6 users $100, for users of previ­ But if you 're wi lli ng to put in
ou s ve rsi ons and com peti ng prod­ the time and crea te your own
uct s $200 effects, Canvas is worthwhile.
Deneba Systems For less se rious graphics us­
305/596-5644 ers , PhotoDraw wi ll be a better
www.deneba.com fit, despite some fl aws .
P RO D UCT I N F O NO. 706 -Han)' McCracken •

D E C E M 6 E R 1 9 9 9 •Jlihii•• 12 9
 WHERE WILL You TAKE IT?

~Rocket eBook is the wo rl d's first electronic book. About th e size of a paperback,
U ~he Rocket eBook holds up to the equivalent of 90 novels or 36,000 average paperback
pages of text and graphics. Books , documents, Web sites: yo u can take anything you want
wherever you go!
The

~<et .
For a special holiday otter. visit:
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• Book
PLANET '" CITYSYNC '"
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 Analog
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Digita
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• The OVl standard is compaublc wuh lMOS base<i digr1al technologies lrke OFP and P&D. NEC provides out·of·thc·box DFP compatibilily by rncludrng aDVl 10 DFP adapler. P&D adap1cr sold scpara1oly.
MulliSync is a rcgislered 1radcmark. Ambix. LCD 1525X, LCD tBIOX and !he NEC Technologies icon are lrademarks ol NECTechnologies. © 1999 NEC hchnologies. Inc.
 NEC

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Grcle 180 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/produdinfo

 100 of the best, worst, and
weirdest events in computing history.
 ET' S JUST SAY IT: The personal computer is the greatest invention of the 20th century. No
other device has had a greater impact on the way we live, work, and communicate. Coupled with the
Web, the PC has changed the economy of the world, created vast fortunes , and done what few
thought possible-it's made geeks chic. If the Y2K doomsayers are right, it could also wreak havoc
when the big clock hits 2000 a few weeks from now. How did we get here, and where are we
- • headed? Our two-part series will provide some answers.
This month, PC World looks back at the highlights and low points ofour digital century- from the bilth ofthe
ENIAC in 1945 to the introduction ofthe World Wide Web in 1989 to the IPO mania ofthe 199os-and unearths
the real story behind some of the greatest innovations and biggest blunders in computing history. Our editors
and writers also name the best products ever made, as well as the biggest flops (anyone remember Microsoft Bob
or IBM's PCjr?); a list of buzzwords we'd like to see retired; Web sites
we'd take with us to a deserted island (along with a notebook, wireless
Net connection, and tons ofbatteries); and ten ways to tell ifyou're a Y2K
wacko. Next month, we'll peer into the future to see how PCs, the Net,
and our lives may look in the next century.
It's been a bumpy ride, and there's no telling what's around the bend.
T's NO SECRET that IBM was initially Unless, ofcourse, the world really does go dark on January 1- in which

I reluctant to participate in the personal

computing fie ld. Only after Apple
released its Apple II in 1977 did maverick
case you may be reading this issue in a bunker, by flashlight.

IBM workers cobble together a comparable Greatest PCs of All Time

machine, which contained no IBM parts
an d ran on a Microsoft operating system.
But IBM executives weren't the onl y
ones questioning their investment in per­
sonal computing. In i981, when Big Blue
(Q) 3 IBM PC AT: Set stan­
dards still in use today.
4 Compaq Deskpro 386:
Pioneered a new Intel
7 Amiqa: Did multimedia
tricks in 1985 that today's
PCs still can't do.
e Commodore 64: Possi­
introduced the IBM PC, Apple took out a processor before IBM did, bly the most beloved com­
now-famous Wall Street journal ad imply­ inspiring a horde of other puter of all time.
ing that IBM presented no real threat. 1 Altair 8800: The clone vendors. 9 IBM ThlnkPad 560:
In only six months, however, IBM sold machine that inspired a s Radio Shack TRS-80 Thin, liqht, and durable: our
50 ,000 machines, and within two years it generation. Model 100: The first sue­ pick for the perfect traveling
had surpassed Apple in sales . Big Blue 2 Apple II: The definitive cessful notebook. companion.
had put its sta mp on personal computing, PC-at least until IBM joined 6 Apple Macintosh 512K: 10 Palm Piiot: Small ls
and PC becam e the de facto term ofa bur­ the party. The first truly useful Mac. beautiful.
geoni ng industry. -Yael Li-Ron

3000 B.C.E. An early slide rule, forerunner of

COMPUTING
will remain in use until
form of the bead-and­ the electric calculator. the mid-20th century.
wire abacus is used in
Asia. 1642 Blaise Pascal 1694 Gottfried
From Abacus designs the first func­ Leibniz builds a
876 C.f. First t ioning mechanical calculating machine

THROUGH
to Armageddon
recorded use of the
symbol for zero
occurs In India.
calculator, which can
perform the work of
that uses binary repre­
sentations of numbers.

1812 Factory worker

they fear will take over
their jobs; Luddite later
11620 Edmund "" Ned Ludd Inspires comes to refer to

THE AGES
0
Gunter of than over­ other workers to anyone who opposes
England whelming, but destroy "labor­ technology.
Invents the the Pascaline saving" machines that

13 6 ijiWi.#;8!.p D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 LASH BACK 25 years to March

The Mother
of All PCs
F 1975. Picture a two-car garage in
Menlo Park, California, where
32 hobbyists are staring at a box with
flashing LEDs . Jump ahead a few
TRACE THE llneaqe of that meetings and you might find one of
PC portable on your lap, and them using the machine, an Altair 8800, to
you'll find the Electronic play "Fool on the Hill" through a radio.
Numerical lnteqrator and Think Homebrew. No, not sudsy beer, but
Computer at the base of the the Bay Area Amateur Computer Users
famlly tree. The first hlqh­ Group, also known as the Homebrew Club.
speed dlqltal computer, the The dub was a techno-dweeb magnet, attract­
ENIAC slqnaled the start of ing, among others, Apple's Steve Wozniak
the computer Industry. and Steve Jobs. It even got the attention ofBill
Developed at the Univer­ Gates, who wrote the dub in 1976, accusing
sity of Pennsylvania 53 the hobbyists of pirating
years aqo, the machine housed over 17,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors, Altair BASIC, his first
and 6000 switches In Its 3·ton bulk. It calculated 5000 additions per second. operating system.
Orlqlnally conceived to compute ballistics tables for U.S. Army qunners In Homebrew set the
World War II, the computer wasn't completed In time to help the war effort. But standard for user groups
It broke new qround In scores of ways. Its deslqners pioneered the use of low· such as the Boston
level power and the concept of "burnlnq In" components. And It was probably Computer Society and
the first computer to use the conditional IF'-THEN statement. the Capital PC group in
A stralqht line runs from the ENIAC to the UNIVAC of 1951 (one of the first Washmgton , D.C. To­
commercial computers), to the IBM PC, to the Palm Piiot In your pocket. The day, some 2000 clubs
ENIAC Is the mother of all PCs. -Greqq Kelzer meet worldwide. For a
list, check out www.
apcug.org. -Steve Bass

The Birth of the Internet computer design firm in Cam­ the National Science Foundation created
bridge, Massachusetts, to NSFNet, linking regional networks over a high­
GET ONE THING STRAIGHT: The Internet was build ARPAnet, a network that would link speed national backbone.
not developed to withstand a nuclear blast. research computers around the nation. By fall But the commercial Net we know today did
Urban legend has it that the federal gov­ 1969, the company had connected computers not form until the mid-nineties, with the devel­
ernment created the Net as a communica­ at the Stanford Research Institute, UCLA, UC opment of Web browsers and the attendant
tions network that could survive any attack Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah. As user-friendly content those browsers sup­
the Russkies could throw at us. In fact, its protocols and switching technologies devel­ ported. Soon onllne service providers like
genesis was wholly peaceful. oped, the network expanded. In 1973, design­ CompuServe and AOL connected to the Net.
In July 1968, the Defense Department's ers united separate nets in a project dubbed Today 150 to 200 million people worldwide
Advanced Research Projects Agency con­ the "lnternetting problem." By 1983, some use the Internet-a number that's expected to
tracted with Bolt Beranek and Newman, a 400 computers were connected, and in 1986 grow to 300 million by 2005. -Dan Miller

ITIIDTITTOTITilTIIllTITI 111 1111111111111111111111111 l]ITITI 11111111111111111 nm 11 11111111 11111111111111 11111111 >­

18JZ Charles Babbage 0
1876 1Alexander 1896 Herman later merge and become 1918
Two Inventors
designs the first Graham Bell, 27 years Hollerith founds the known as IBM. build a calculating
computer driven by old, files a patent for Tabulating Machine machine based on the
external Instructions; the telephone. Company, one of three 1897 Karl Braun binary numbers 1and 0.
due to lack of funding, companies that will develops the cathode-
however, he never 1890 Herman Hollerith ray tube. 1937John Atanasoff
builds It. designs the punch- begins work on the first
1857 Sir Charles card tabulation electronic digital
1854 George Boole Wheatstone Introduces machine, allowing computer but neglects
publishes his thoughts continuously feeding the U.S. Census to take out a patent;
on symbolic logic, which paper tape that can be Bureau to reduce its almost ten years later,
decades later will form used for storing and data calculation the ENIAC will be based
the basis of computer reading data. time from ten years on his pioneering work.
science applications. to two and a half. Georges Stibitz de-

OECEMBER 1 9 9 9 "'lliEl·lil!l·I 137

 T HAS BECOM E the sh1ff ofleg· How the Web Was Spun munica ti ons device that he

I end . College dropouts Steve

Jobs and Steve Wozniak (be­
low) sold a VW bus and a ca lcula­
dubbed a memex, which in retro­
spect sounds amazingly like a
browser-equipped PC. In 1960, Ted
tor to bankroll a tin y company Nelson, the father of hyperte xt,
nam ed Apple Computer , which conceived a Weblike informat ion
bri efly operated from a family network called Project Xanadu (a
garage. But when Apple began on project he's st ill working on
April 1, 1976, hardl y anyo ne had today). And of course, th e Web
fa ith in the fledgling enterprise-­ sits atop t he infrastructure esta b­
ind uding Apple's forgotten third lished by the ARPAnet in 1969.

0 founder , Ron Wayne. But the Web really got going in

Two weeks later, Wayne backed March 1989, when Tim Berners-Lee
out and sold his share for $800­ (left) , a Brit ish software engineer
eaming him a place beside sucb at the European Laboratory for
other early departers as drummer Particle Physics in Geneva, devised
Pete Best, who left the Beatl es at a system that would allow the
the cusp of stardom in 1962. Not lab's researchers to share dis­
that W ay ne 's deci sion was parate documents in hyp er ­
groundless. The hobbyi sts who paid iinked, browsable form. By 1992,
$666.66 for th e Appl e I didn't get a his project-dubbed the Wor l d
ca se , di splay , or k eyboard- only a IT MIGHT SEEM as though the World Wide Wide Web-had begun to catch on among
motherboard. But two yea r s l ater Web burst on the scene fully realized in the the Internet's then-exclusive populace of
another computer would com e from mid-1990s, but it was a long time abornin'. scientists and researchers. Among its fans
the gar age : th e legen dary Appl e II. In 1945 a government scientist named Van· was Marc Andreessen, an undergrad wit h a
And soon Atari , HP , and other com­ nevar Bush theorized about a futuristic com- job at the National Center for Supercom-
panies would be hustling to hop on the
Apple bandwagon. -Harry McCracken Web Sites We'd Take to a Deserted Island

(tD 3 Yahoo: The original

Web directory, and still
the best.
4 EBay: The world's
daily dose of reality.
s Mapquest: Even on an
Island, you wanna know
where you are.
greatest swap meet; 9 Official Gilligan's
weirdly addictive. Island Fan Club: In case
1 Amazon.com: Want it? s Spinner: Get down, you want to build a radio
They've got it-or at least boogie oogie oogie. from coconuts.
they'll have It soon. 6 Deja.com: All the news- 10 Druqstore.com: One
2 Salon: Sometimes groups fit to print, and a word: sunscreen.
crass, sometimes silly, lot more. (See www.pcworld.com/
always worth reading. 7 CNN Online: For your dec99/century for URLs.)

velops the first binary Number Computer, 1946 Engineers at the 1949 John Mauchly first high-level
circuit at Bell Labs. which has 400 tele· University of Pennsyl· develops the Short programming language.
phone relays and Is vania demonstrate the Code, the world's
connected to three EN IAC, the first 1951 Mauchly and
teletype machines­ general-purpose John Eckert build the
form HP in a garage in precursors to the electronic computer. UNIVAC I, the first
Palo Alto, California. modern-day terminal. commercial electronic
Konrad Zuse produces 11947 Two workers at computer, which is
the first computer that 1944 Engineers at Bell Laboratories
0
Installed at the U.S.
uses binary code. Harvard build the Mark I experiment with the Census Bureau. Grace
computer, but the first transistor. Murray Hopper devel·
1939 Georges Stibitz machine breaks down ops AO, which trans­
and Samuel Williams repeatedly. lates programming
build the Complex code Into binary code.

138 ii¥1i•i;i!•P O E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 puting Applicat ions. In 1993, working with Biggest Hardware Flops

c
NCSA programmer Eric Bina, Andreessen
designed a highly graphical point-and-click years ahead of its time. 7 Newton MessagePad:
browser, named NCSA Mosaic. The Web's 3 Apple Lisa: Suffice it to Lookd kool, two bad It
popularity began to skyrocket-especially say that 2700 of them never learnd tous pell.
after Andreessen and Bina joined a start-up were buried In a landfill. s Pentop compute rs:
called Netscape in 1994 and spearheaded 4 IBM PS/2: Failed to Write idea; wrong time,
the creation of an even be t ter browser, take PC market away from price, and size.
known as Navigator. t IBM PCjr: Orphaned at the clones. 9 PowerPC: Once seen as
How fast has the Web grown? Put it th is an early age; famously s The Net PC: Dumb and an Intel killer; never more
way: It took five years for the number of awful keyboard. dumber terminals. than just another Mac.
servers on the Web to go from O to around 2 NeXT machine: Sleek, 6 The network computer: 10 Xerox Alto: Can you
1500. Another five years later, the number black, and Unix-based; ten No Java, just jive. say "blown opportunity"?
of servers has surpassed 7 million, and the
figure keeps growing. -Harry McCracken

-..... T
u
u
n:I
H E S OFTW A RE indus try's
Hol y Grail is the killerap~a

Intel Misses the Points WHAT'S A FEW decimal (IJ program so esse ntial th at
points between friends?
A lot, as Intel learned when it qot bitten by the Pentium math buq In Novem·
>
.....
consumers buy computers just to use
it. The archetypal killer app is Visi­
"'O
ber 1994. The problem? In doln9 some calculatlons, the chip produced errors
beyond eight decimal places. Intel dismissed the buq as trivial. Then CNN > Cak , the first digi tal spreadsheet.
Toiling in an attic in Arlington ,
picked up the story, and attorneys qeneral In eiqht states flied llablllty suits Massachusetts, Dan Bricklin and Bob
aQalnst Intel. It quickly became the blqqest PR blunder In computlnq history. Frankston devi sed the program in
"It was a classic case of how even Incredibly smart people can do Incredibly 1979. By adding up columns and rows
dumb thlnqs," says Lou of numbers on the fly, their software revolu­
Hoffman, principal of the tionized number-crunching and completed
Hoffman Aqency, a PR firm in seconds tasks th at would take an accoun­
In San Jose. California. tan t hou rs to fini sh. More than 7 00 , 000
Intel finally aqreed to re· copies of the $9 9 program sold, making it
place all Pentium chips on re· the most popular software ofits time.
quest-at a cost of $475 mil· But Bricklin and Frankston never patent­
Hon. The company apparently ed VisiCak, and by the mid-eighties Lotus's
learned Its lesson. In 1997, more sophisticated 1-2-3 had eclipsed it in
when flaws were uncovered In sales. That program was in tum surpassed
the Pentium II, Intel promptly by Microsoft's Excel.
Issued fixes. It now publishes Bri cklin and Frankston 's design days
an errata sheet of known buqs weren't over. Bricklin wen t on to create the
for every chip It builds. -Daniel Tynan Trellix We b-publi shing program , a nd
Frankston pioneered home networking via
phone lines. -Harry McCracken

illlilITITI 111111111111111111immm11111111111111mrrrrmwi1111111111111111111111111111111111mrrnmri11111111111111111111111111111111 >­

1952 The UNIVAC I first mass-produced 1955 Narinder Kapany Programmers at IBM the first computer 1958 Texas Instru­
successfully predicts a computer; the company develops the optical write the computer program to defeat a ments builds the first
landslide presidential sells 1500 units before fiber. American language FORTRAN. human opponent in a integrated circuit. Bell
;"IJ··~victory for candi­ taking it off the market Airlines installs the first The MANIAC I becomes game of chess. Telephone introduces
date Dwight in1969. large database the first modems.
Eisenhower network, built by Researchers at Bell
over Adlai IBM, connecting Labs invent the lase~
1200 teletype­
writers. 1959 Using an abacus,
Lee Kalchen, a Chinese
cont rary. 11956 1BM professor, performs
0
develops the first calculations faster
1953 IBM manufac­ hard drive, called than computers in
tures Its model 650, the RAMAC. Seattle, New York, and

D E C E M B E R I 9 9 9 4'j1Mfi•i;j9•i 13 9
 I T H 0 UT standard pro­ The Unhappy Hacker brings the world to the brink of

W gramming languages,
computing would be a
Tower ofBabel-style mess. Much
THE FIRST MAJOR electronic break-in
occurred in 1982, when a group of hackers
nuclear destruction, that launched the
career of many an adolescent hacker.
Like graffiti artists, hack­
of the credit for m aking order out from Milwaukee infiltrated the Los Alamos ers hack to leave their
of the chaos goes to Grace Murray National Laboratory computer network via mark-and occasionally to
Hopper (below right)-a Vassar modem . Calling themselves the 414 Gang make a political state­
math professor, a rear admiral in after their area code, the culprits embarked ment, too. Motivated by
the U.S. Naval Reserve, and one of on a nine-day spree, hitting 60 computing curiosity, boredom,
the first women to make a mark in the systems before being caught by the FBI. and hunger for a little
world of computing. But It was the 1983 movie War Games, in power, they range
Hopper questioned conventions all which Matthew Broderick's character breaks from the mildly an-
her life. By 1955, prompted by a desire into the Pentagon's computer system and
to write programs that would allow non­ Hacking for Girlies
sdentists to use computers, she'd devel­ group that brought
oped Flow-matic-the first computing down the New York
language to use words such as "count" Times site on the
and "di spl ay." In 1959 that program day the Starr Re·
grew into Common-Business-Oriented port came out)
Language, which Hopper wrote with
colleagues at the Eckert-Mauchly Com­ " crackers" (such as
puter Corporation. COBOL revolution­ Vladimir Levin, who
ized the way computers operated, mark­ allegedly transferred
ing the first time they responded to was comple tel y enamored with [h er ]
words rather than numbers. teaching,'' remembers Winifred Asprey ,
Former students remember H opper the fou nd er of the computer sci ence computers to accounts
as a colorful and dynamic character. "I department at V ass ar. " She al so taught in Finland and Israel).
was a freshman at Vassar in 1934 and I me how to smoke." -Aoife McEvoy The most famous
hacker is still Kevin Mitnick (above). Now 36
Greatest Software Packages years old, Mitnick was arrested In 1995 fol­
lowing a two-year FBI manhunt , and sen­

G>
3 Microsoft Excel: The 7 VislCalc: Proof that the tenced to 46 months for hacking Into corpo­
last truly innovative pro­ PC meant business. rate computers. He languished in prison for
gram from Microsoft. s Myst : We're still trying four years before sentencing, making him
4 dBASE II : Brought pro­ to finish it. the Mumia Abu -Jamal poster boy for the
grammlng to the masses. 9 PC-Talk: Communica­ hacker/slacker generation.
s HyperCard: Created l ions package invented Whether you call them hackers, crackers,
1 Netscape Navigator: hypertext-the glue that the shareware concept. or computervredebreuk (Dutch for " dis­
Changed the Web forever. holds the Web together. 10 DOS 1.0: Bill Gates turbers of the peace of a computer"), there's
2 Electric Pencil: Father 6 XyWrite: The last great does CP/M for IBM- and no doubt that as long as computing systems
of all word processors. DOS word processor. the rest is history. exist, people will be looking for-and finding­
ways to break into them. -Andrew Brandt

_.::::...
>-_lilj...l.W.l.illW.ll.WJu_____,~~r---~~~~~~~~~~-~~~~~..u..w...u...'TffITT!II 111 >- Ii
Taipei. Grace Murray warbles: "Daisy Bell create the first 1965 Digital Equipment
Hopper and Charles (Bicycle Built for Two)." video game. services become a fad. Corporation builds the
Phillips Invent COBOL Zenith develops the first minicomputer; it
John McCarthy and 1962 The People's 1963 Douglas first commercial costs $1B,OOO. The
Marvin Minsky form the National Bank in Engelbart develops product that uses
Artificial Intelligence Gouster, Virginia, the mouse at the an integrated
Lab at MIT. Xerox installs the world's Stanford Research circuit-a
introduces the first computer equipped with first ATM; it isn't a Institute; two decades hearing aid.
commercial copier. a keyboard and monitor. success, however, and later, the Macintosh The American
Its maker eventually Standard
1960 Digital Equip­ 1961 John Kelly at Bell goes out of will Association adopts
ment Corporation Labs programs a business. make It a ASCII as the standard
develops the PDP-1, the computer to sing a Program· standard code for data transfer.
first commercial sonq; the tune it mers at MIT

140 i#fM1i•i ·i9 tiiP 0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9

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 ENTION a dormitory and

SOME FOLKS SAY Steve Jobs

M m os t people think of
room s litte red with
books , bottle caps, and pizza ca r­
ton s. But if you vi s ited Michae l
pulled the heist of the century
De ll 's dorm room in 1983, yo u' d
when he struck a deal with Xerox
have found CPU s and flopp y
In 1979: The firm could Invest $1
dri ves. Wh ile De ll 's cl assma tes
mllllon In Apple If Jobs could
were cramming for midterm s, he
visit Its Palo Alto Research
was crammin g ci rcuit cards into moth ­
Center. Xerox said yes, and a
erboards and sell ing PCs via m ail order.
Pandora's box swum;i open.
Be fore completing hi s fi rs t yea r at the
At PARC, Jobs spied the Alto,
U ni versity of Texas in Austin , th e e rst­
an experimental PC with a 9r11phlc11l
wh ile prem ed s tuden t had abandon ed
user Interface. Within minutes, It's been re·
sc hool and found ed PCs Limited , pre­
ported, Jobs realized that In the future, all computers would use 11 GUI.
cursor to Dell Com pu ter.
Acconllnq to conventional wisdom, Apple then cloned the Alto with Its Macln·
Michael Dell 's days as a dorm -room
tosh-before Microsoft, In tum, mimicked the Mac with Windows. But Apple's work
tycoon are part ofcomputer indu stry lore.
on the Mac had already bequn when Jobs toured Xerox. And Jef Raskin, an Apple
Bu t h is real innovation was the direct­
employee, had been explorlnq qraphlcal Interfaces as early as 1967. "The only
sales model. By cutting out the retailer, he
thlnq [Apple] took," says historian Owen W. Unzmayer; "was Inspiration." Indeed,
revolutioni zed the way PCs we re sold .
the company was solely responsible for many elements of the modem GUI, lnctud·
"They're not just the company that m ade
lnq the cllpboanl, trash can, and draq·and-drop file man11Qement-maklnq the visit
the box, they're the people that sold it to
to PARC seem like somethlnQ less than qrand larceny. -Harry McCracken
you," says Roger Kay, research manager
for International Data Corpo­
ra ti on in Fra min gha m ,
Massach usetts.
Biggest Software Flops Now with $1 8 billion in
reve nu e , De ll (ri ght) is a
RAM doublers: Nice long way fro m UT's Dobie

<n>
3 05/2: Smothered by its 7

half brother, Windows. idea, if they worked. Ce nter dor m itory. But
4 WordPerfect for Win· s MCI Mall: Could have
dows 5.1: Slow and buggy; been e-mail king, but hit n y continu es to
helped hand word proces· the Web way too late. lead th e wa y in
sor market to Microsoft. 9 Apple EWorld: Remem· direct compu t­
1 Microsoft Bob: Windows' s Lion King CD· ROM: The ber this online service? er sales, most
half-wit cousin, now vaca· nightmare after Christmas Neither does anyone else. recen tly by
t loning with Jimmy Hoffa. for many Mouseketeers. 10 Windows CE 1.0: Win· pioneering
2 Apple Copland: Like Big· 6 Microsoft Outlook 1.0: dows on a palm PC? Kind of direct sales
foot, this Mac OS has never So big and slow, even like stuffing a moose into a
been seen in public. Microsoft was embarrassed. matchbox.

-?TI iTIII!WOIITil I1111 IIWilli IIIIII111 ~JI

simplified compu ter sinqs " Daisy Bell 1970 IThe floppy disk is matrix printers appear.
language BASIC is (Bicycle Built for Two)" - releases its H316 introduced. Intel de- Nlklaus Wirth develops
developed; it will later the same tune John " Kitchen Computer," the velops t he first memory PASCAL. The first
become the standard Kelly's computer had f irst home computer; chip, which st ores 1024 speech-recognit ion
language for PCs. sung seven years earlier. priced at $10,600 in the bit s of data. Xerox software, Hearsay, Is
Neiman Marcus cataloq, establishes It s Palo Al to developed In India.
1968 Intel is formed. the computer can plan Research Center. The
for the first time, a menus and take care of daisy wheel printer
computer (HAL 9000) other household memor y" makes Its appears on the market.
costars in a movie, business. ARPAnet, debut , allowing Bell Labs develops Unix.
Stanley Kubrick's 2001: precursor to t he compu ters t o re tain
A Space Odyssey; as Its Internet , debut s. ATMs 11971 Texa s lnstru­ •

-·
memory after being
0
memory is unplugged, it become more widely shut off. ment s introduces t he
used in banks. " Bubble pocket calcu lator. Dot

142 •:awga.1-11.p D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
-a
=
=
0
en
 Start Me Up SEVERAL ORTABILIT Y is relative.

hours be­
fore midnight on August 23, 1995, hordes of
consumers lined up outside computer stores
P Consider IBM 's Model
5100. Introduced in 1975 .
the portable system tipped the
across the nation. Their purpose? To be the scales at 50 pou nds and cost
first PC users to buy Windows 95, the much­ $19 ,975 fully loaded. Certainly it
heralded follow-up to Windows 3.1. was a behemoth by today's stan­
After three years in production, numerous dards. But in a day when main­
false starts, and massive hype, the operating frames took up an entire room,
system was unveiled in a circus tent on the 5100 seemed positively petite.
Mic rosoft's Redmon d, Washington, campus.
Onstage, ringmaster Bill Gates listed some of design team- while a Rolling Stones recording
the production stats-362 "builds" of the urged the crowd to "Start Me Up."
software, 77 babies born to members of the The new version catapulted Windows into
the mainstream, and sold more than 3 milli on

~
C::
IN 1972 , FEW PEOPLE had seen
a computer up close. Ma ybe
copies in five weeks. But Gates's real genius
lay in marketing. His $200 million publicity
campaign (i ncl uding $12 milli on for rights to
~ that's why Atari 's arcade ga me the Stones song) created a hysteria never
<:; Pong wa s such a huge sensa ti on. before seen in computing.
~ The graphics and concept were fan- But while Wind ows 95 did improve on Win­
C:: tastically primitive: A vertical white dows 3.1-with a revam ped interface, Plug and
~ line divided the screen, separating Play compatibility, and Internet connectivity­
two smaller vertical bars (the pad­ at its heart It was still basically DOS. And its
dles) on either side. A distinctive "ping" awkward mix of 16- and 32-blt code made It
sounded whenever the ball hit a paddle. hopelessly crash-prone. Computers didn 't get really small until
Pong wasn't the.first video game or even As one analyst noted in credulou sly, "They the early 198os­ and even then, the first
the first with a Ping-Pong theme. (Some spent all that money to promote the fact that popular portable, 1981's Osborne 1, was
say it wasn't a computer game at all, since there's a Start button in Windows 951" as big as a sewing machine and weighed
it used hardwired circui ts instead of a Other observers wo ndere d if Gates knew 24 pounds. The first notebook, Epson's
microprocessor.) But the addictive game the refrain to his $12 millio n tune: "You make HX-20, crammed a built-in printer and
gobbled up quarters in record numbers a grown man cry." -Yael Li-Ron tape drive into its 3-pound case but dis­
from the minute it debuted at pla ye d just four lines of
a California pub. Such vari­ tex t at a time. In 1980 ,
ants as Super Pong. Quadra­ Radio Shack's Pocket Com­
Pong, and Puppy Pong (in a puter debuted. With a tiny
doghouse-shaped console) QWERTY key board and
followed. Eve1y digital di ver­ i.9KB of RAM , it was a
sion since, from Pac-Man to primitive foreb ea r of to­
Tomb Raider, owes a debt to day's h andhelds-call it
the electronic table-tennis the pre historic digital
game. -Harry McCracken assistant. -Harry McCracken

the first arcade game, 1975 I First widely at Xerox develops duces the laser printer.
Pong. Programmers at marketed personal Ethernet. The first word- Microsoft, the unofficial
Bell Labs develop the computer, the Altair processing software, partnership of Bill Gates
computer language C. 8800, debuts. Liquid the Electric Pencil, is and Paul Allen, achieves
crystal displays are developed. The federal sales of $16,000.
1974 Congress passes marketed. Bob Metcalfe government's antitrust
the Privacy Act, which suit against IBM goes to 1976 Data General
gives the public greater trial; the government unveils Its computer
control ove r th e will drop the case in chips in the navel of a
1972 Ray Tomlinson collectio n and use 1982, but not belly dancer at the
invents e-mail. The first of personal before producing National Computer Con­ ink jet printer. Steve
home video games are information. some 30 mil lion ference in New York. Wozniak and Steve Jobs
designed for use on the pages of documen­ Gary Kildall develops form Apple Computer.
TV, and Atari releases tation. IBM intro- CP/M. IBM develops the

144 liflMj•i;ii•P D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 ,
; ~~p
...~~
Cover Girl
here!" crowed the January 1975 issue of Pop­
"THE HOME
computer is
Manufactured by
MITS, a tiny com-
pany in Albuquerque,
~
""
v
/'~
,,;'P~
d~~~~ ~
~~~~~
~
..~r·!··;­
~~~~~·
(!}"'$ ~~~
..·
.~-~< ·~:.{-. ~
via paper tape and then via floppy
disk). It also spawned a micro-
computer operating system
ular Electronics magazine. The cover story on New Mexico, the Altair .,... '~.r~~-t~·; hf? (CP/M), and a little software
a mail-order computer kit called the Altair sold for $397 as a kit or ~~.&'~~/ vendor named Microsoft.
8800 sparked the imagination of thousands $498 fully assembled; it came ,® RJ~ After eyeing the cover girl in
of readers. " I got all excited," recalls Russell with Intel's 2-MHz 80 80 proces- .~~~ a Harvard dorm, Bill Gates, with
Banks, now a cartographer in Arlington, Vir­ sor and a whopping 256 bytes of · _ ' Paul Allen, cobbled t ogether the BASIC
ginia. "And it wasn't a couple of days before I mem ory, but no keyboard or display. programming language and dropped out of
put a check in the mail." "All you cou ld do was flip switches and college to parlay it into an empire.
The Altair wasn't the first PC; among its for­ make lights blink," recalls Banks, who was Gates and Allen went on to become multi-
gotten predecessors were the Kenbak (1971), nonetheless so taken by it that he opened one billionaires, of course, but MITS founder Ed
sold by a one-man company, and the Miera! of the country's first computer stores. Roberts sold his company in 1977 and became
(1973), a French product. But it was the Altair The Altair soon acquired a display, key­ a country doctor. The Altair ceased produc­
that launched the microcomputer revolution. board, more memory, and mass storage (first tion within two years. -Harry McCracken

N 1947, AS HA RVA RD researd1­

Computers
Get Personal
I ers we re tes ti ng th e Mark 11
computer, the machine sudden­
ly stopped . In side its cabinet, the
sc ie nti sts fo u nd the carcass of a
THE FIRST PCs required some m oth. The insect had
pretty daunting skiffs, such as been beaten to death
a knack for pro9rammln9 and by th e unrelenting
knowledqe of binary math. That current-ki ll ed, one
chanqed In 1977 with the first could say, in a caku·
prepackaged PCs. The Apple II lated way. The corpse
sported snazzy color graphics; was th en taped to a log­
Commodore's PET 2001 (named after the Pet Rock) had a bullt·ln monitor. book wi th the notation: "First actual case
Unlike the first microcomputers, these PCs were useful right out of the box. of bug being found ." But contrary to leg­
"You turned the TRS-80 on and It did something," remembers composer Den­ end, this was not the birth of the term bug.
nis Bathory·Kltsz, who bought one In 1978. Not that they were perfect. Early ''Bug, as it applies to a flaw, dates back to
TRS·80s-the first computer sold by a dealer (Radio Shack) tended to ran­ Thomas Edison," says Dr. Peggy Kidwell,
dommly rrepeat charracters as you typpedd; the PET's calculator-style keys mathematics curator at the Smithsonian
made touch·typlnq Impossible; and the original Apple II could handle only lnte· and an expert on th e word's etymology. A
gers, not decimals. Once these flaws were fixed, all three systems prospered. bug's life in computing began not long
By the mld·elqhtles, however, the IBM PC and Its clones had qobbled up most after computers were born. In the early
of the market. Today, a cult of nostalqla freaks use emulation software to turn 1940s, IBM tech s brought th e term to
today's PCs Into virtual Apple lls, PETs, and TRS·80s. -Harry McCracken Harvard as they helped troubleshoot the
Mark I. The little buggers have been with
us ever since. -Gregg Keizer

'":::--:-:-:-:----,.,,...-.,.-..,,- - - , personal computer; the creates the first optic link. Apple
Paul Allen offlclally Apple II will lead the PC Xerox PARC. Dan Brick· shareware, PC-Talk . Introduces the $9,995
found Microsoft. Apple market until the IBM PC lin and Bob Frankston Compact disc players Lisa, the first computer
Introduces the Apple II, appears in 1981. Tandy introduce VlsiCalc ("vis· are Introduced. Osborne to use a graphical user
the first preassembled and Commodore ible calculator"), the builds the first PC
release PCs with built- first killer app. portable. The first IBM
In monitors-no need for PC clones are
a TV hookup. 1980 dBASE II appears marketed. Time
on the market. 1982Dr. Barney Clark magazine names the
1978 Wordstar Is receives the first PC "Man of the Year."
released and quickly 1981 i BM Introduces artlflclal heart; a
becomes the most the IBM PC with an MS­ microprocessor 11983 Workers lay the 0
popular word process­ DOS operating system. controls its functions. Boston/New York/
ing program. Andrew Fluegelman Washington, D.C. fiber ­

146 1£1¥11•#;#! ,p D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9
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 URING the third quarter Greatest Internet Hoaxes
D of Super Bowl XVIII in

•
1984, CBS went to a 800 to crash into the program, Bill Gates suppos·
commercial break, and millions ocean in July 1996. But for- edly sent an e-mail promis­
of viewers en route to the refrig­ mer ABC correspondent ing to pay $1000 to anyone
erator stopped cold in their tracks. Pierre Salinger's reputation who forwarded a copy of
On screen, a woman in running got shot down when he the message. We're still
shorts and tank top sprinted into a "broke" the bogus missile waiting for our checks.
dank hall filled with futuristic 1 The Good Times virus: theory weeks after It had 5 The Net virgins: In July
workers and swung a sledgeham­ Can an e-mail with the swirled around the Net. 1998, two California teens
mer into the televised face oftheir words "good times" in the 3 Kurt Vonnegut's MIT announced plans to lose
Big Brother-type oppressor. "On subject line damage your commencement speech their virginity in front of a
January 24th." a voice intoned, PC? No. but thousands of (aka "Wear sunscreen"): worldwide Web audience.
"Apple Computer will introduce gullible users thought so- Wise, whimsical, and con- Then it was revealed that
Macintosh. And you'll see why endlessly recycling warn· vincing enough to fool even the teens were really
1984 won't be like 1984." Direct­ ings about this and other Mrs. Vonnegut. but actually actors involved in a money-
ed by Ridley Scott, the stylish ad virtual viruses. penned by Chicago Tribune making stunt. The event
drew on the bleak images of George 2 Navy missile shot down columnist Mary Schmich. was canceled, and a grate·
Orwell's novel to eclipse another famous Flight 800: No one knows 4 The $1000 e-mail: To ful nation went back to
Super Bowl pitch-for IBM . what caused TWA Flight test a new e-mail tracking watching Ally McBeal.
Where Apple' s ad was moody, the
perky IBM spot featured Charlie Chap­
lin's Little Tramp wheeling the PCjr in
a stroller. The tag line read, "The bright
IPO Mania WALL STREET'S tinue to ignore quality," says Ben Holmes,
little addition to the family," and infatuation with all founder of IPOPros.com, a Boulder, Colorado,
seemed to say, "We're not a big, bad things Internet began August 9, 1995, the research firm. "Rather than looking at a
corporation. Even the champion of the day Netscape went public. The 15-month·old company's earnings, they're still looking at
toiling masses loves us." start-up opened at $28 per share and hit a hype and market potential."
Nobody bought the message-and high of $74.75 that day. The world had its So why hasn't Internet IPO mania petered
few bought the PCjr, with its first glimpse of one of the late 2oth out? "It's the revolution of our time," Holmes
limited functionality and century's wildest phenomena: asserts. "The Internet is entertainment,
$999 price. In 1985, the Internet initial public commerce, and information all rolled into
IBM pulled the plug on offering. High-profile com· one." Side effects of the phenomenon have
its offspring. panies like Yahoo, Ama­ included day trading and the birth of the 24·
But while Apple won zon.com, and E-Trade fol­ hour stock exchange. Though Holmes re­
that battle, IBM and PC lowed with IPOs of their mains confident that we'll continue to see
clones won the war. own, racking up outra · Internet IPOs in the future, he believes that
The "1984" pitch was an geous price/earning ratios. significant market consolidation is inevitable.
act ofhubris that helped to Today, investors large and "Three to five years from now, half these
fuel Apple's spectacular rise small continue to bank on Web Internet stocks won't exist," he predicts.
but also set the stage for its start-ups, with little regard to "They'll be eliminated by acquisition or attri·
eventual fall. -Karen Silver profitability. "Investors con- tion.'' -Michelle Campanale·Surkan

interface and a mouse. Packard markets the John Sculley sign a con- Science Foundation
IBM launches the PC·XT, LaserJet, the first per- fidentlal agreement approves funding for
the first computer with sonal laser printer. granting Microsoft the the Internet backbone.
a built-in hard drive, and Novelist William Gibson right to use aspects of
also introduces the PCjr. coins the term cyber· Apple's graphical inter­ 1988 Microsoft
space. face in its software, while releases Windows
1984 CD-ROM debuts; acknowledging the Mac 2.03, whose overlap-
Apple releases the 1985 America Online is OS as the Inspiration for ping windows resemble introduces NeXT. The 1989 Tim Berners-Lee
Macintosh. founded. Microsoft Microsoft Windows. Nin· the Macintosh's, and Internet Worm, a piece invents the World Wide
2400-baud develops Windows tendo arrives in the Unit· Apple files suit; six of self-replicating Web. Xerox files suit
modems 1.0 for the IBM ed States. years and some $10 software, wriggles against Apple for
are intro- PC. Bill Gates million later the court through the Internet. stealing its graphical
duced. and Apple CEO 1986 Microsoft goes will decide in Micro- interface designs for
Hewlett­ public. The National soil's favor. Steve Jobs the Lisa and Macintosh

150 +a+u·•;••·P 0 E c E M B E R i 9 9 9
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 ..
Do You, Uh, Yahoo? IN APRIL 1994, two Stanford
qrad students cauqht a break
when their professor left town on sabbatical. Enqlneerlnq students David Fiio
and Jerry YanQ (below) had little to do but surf the Web. It didn't take lonq for
them to compile a hefty bookmark list, orqanlzed by subject. Eventually they
thouQht: Why not put It on the Web? They slapped toqether a database proqram
to handle the job,
posted the results
online, and the rest
NCRYPTION has long been is history. The book­

E used by governments to
secure th e ir correspon­
dence. But in 1991, when pro-
mark collection, now
known as Yahoo, re·
ceives some 80 mll·
grammer Phil Zimmermann lion visitors a month.
wrote his Pretty Good Privacy freeware As for Fiio and Vang?
to do the sa m e thin g, U.S. officials They're gazilllon·
swooped down with an inj unction. PGP aires, qivlnq hope to
was the first public-key encryption utili­ grad students every·
ty; it allowed users to send coded e-mail where. -Dan Miiier
that snoops couldn't decipher.
When the program was posted to a
newsgroup and distributed worldwide,
Zimmermann found himself on the
wrong end ofa federal criminal investi­
As the Worm Turns Morris's program wasn't the first worm or
virus ever spawned. Pranksters probably
gation. The posting ran afoul of a U.S.
wrote self-replicating programs on main­
law prohibiting th e export of strong THE NATIONWIDE Internet was only a cou­
frames as early as the 1960s. But the Worm
encryption outside the United States. ple of years old when it suffered its first seri­
powerfully demonstrated the Internet 's
The event augured th e privacy issues ous security breach. In 19BB, 23-year-old
potential as a viral bre eding ground.
that currently dog the digital age, and Cornell University graduate student Robert
In 19B9, t he U.S. Department of Energy
marked the beginning of the govern­ T. Morris, Jr. (whose father happened to be
formed the Computer Incident Advisory
ment's battle to police the Net. ch ief scientist at the government 's National
Capabi lity to combat significant threats to
Following public outcry, the govern­ Compu t er Sec urity Center), let loose his
the Internet's infrastructure. But advances
ment dropped its case in i995. But the now-infamous Internet Worm on t he f ledg­
in operat ing systems have sped the creation
future of encryption is far from secure. ling Net. With in two days, the out-of-control,
of new viruses.
Legislators view the technology as a tool self-replicat ing program spread to more
Expert s have ident ifie d around 40,000
for spies and terrorists and want encryp­ than 6000 university, military, and medical
strains of computer virus. Reports from the
tion software to include a back door for research computers, shutting down major
viral underground, however, suggest that
federal authorities to decode mail. Nev­ In t ernet nodes and leading to Morris's
virus writers are working furiously to raise
ertheless, PG P is still available free for arrest. He was later convicted of computer
that number to 200,000 by the
downloading at web.mit.edu/network/ fraud and abuse, sentenced to three years
year 2000. -Andrew Brandt
pgp.html. -Scott Spanbauer probation, and fined $10,050.

>- Ill 1111111111 11 11 11ITillllLWllLWJillU111ITITI11LI111111111i1111111

1990 I Intel introduces Bina design Mosaic, available In U.S. Intel
the i486 chip. The U.S. the first graphical Web ships 2 million flawed
Federal Trade Commis­ browser. The Apple Pentium chips. Iomega
sion begins its investiga­ Newton debuts. introduces the Zip drive
tion of Microsoft. and disks. Marc
comput­ Microsoft sales hit $1 1994 GPS auto navl- Andreessen helps found Jeffrey Bezos founds
ers; after sellfng only blIlion; Windows hits 3.0. gation systems Netscape. Amazon.com. Netscape
60,000 or so Llsas, become goes public.
Apple discontinues the 1993 Personal digital 1995
Flat-screen
model and buries the assistants (handheld TVs Introduced. 1996 Set-top boxes
remaining units in a computers) introduced. Microsoft releases allow users to surf the
landfill in Utah. HDTV Intel releases the Windows 95. Pixar the first full-length Web through their TV.
appears in Japan. Pentium chip. Marc Animation Studios and computer-generated Palm Pilot debuts.
Andreessen and Eric Disney release feature film, Toy Story.

152 •:awgc.#;#1.p 0 E c EM B ER 1 9 9 9
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 Computers 1, Humans O per second-twice as many as T WAS LURID. It was hot. And
before. Over nine days In May
1997, the chess titans met again. This time
Kasparov took the first game, but victory
I anyone could get it with the
dick ofa mouse. On September
1 1, 1998, Net media came of age

ultimately eluded him. Two losses and three when the House of Representatives
draws later, the exhausted human conceded released Independent Counsel Ken­
'victory to the stoic machine, 3.5 to 2.5. neth Starr's 445-page report over
In game two of the match, Kasparov the Web. Pundits pred icted that
grew obs essed by a move the machine demand for the report would bring
made that seemed eerily human . The the Internet down. Indeed, servers
move, which indicated a level of forward crashed as millions raced to read
thinking not usually exhibited by com· the salacious details of the White
puters, spooked Kasparov and House intern and her cigar­
ru ined his focus. But Kasparov aficionado president.
refused to see his For good or ill, the In ternet
FEBRUARY 1996: World chess champion had arrived as a mass
Garry Kasparov (above) squared ott against medium. The public
IBM's Deep Blue in a slx·game match. The inance in chess: "I have could now get some
computer won the first game, becoming the no doubt," he said, "in a of its news fr om
first machine to beat a reigning world champ. prope r...[match] this ma· the source, instead
But Kasparov rallied to win three subsequent chine will be beaten." of through the fil­
games and draw twice, giving him a 4 to 2 We may never fi nd out. Perhaps wary ter of newspapers
overall victory. For the moment, humankind's of the hostility Deep Blue might incur if and TV. What's more, the
dominance over machines remained intact. it continued to beat human opponents, In ternet reported it more
Anticipating a rematch, IBM took Deep IBM pulled it from competition, claiming quickly. It was Web co lum­
Blue back to the lab and bulked up its that its scientists wanted to move on to nis t Matt Drudge who
"other challenges." -Steven Gray broke the scandal that
Newsweek was reluctant to report. Nerwork
news took another three days to catd1 up.
But the event didn't exactly presage the
end of Dan Rather and Rupert Murdoch.
The Starr Report was cumbersome and
loaded with legalese: Most readers just did
keyword searches for "cigar" and "the
Gap." And the pubLic continued to look to
conventionaI media for independent veri·
fication of the facts. - An us hYeqyazarlan

For complete author credits and

li11ks to other computer histo­
ries, visit PC World Online at
www.pcworld.com/dec99/century. •

11111: Im 1111111111111111111111111111ITIIIIIII1111111 IIIIIIIIIDOIJJJ] 11111111111111mmm111111111111111111111111111

0
1998 I Diamond Multi· households are pur· Microsoft, with
media int roduces the chasing goods over the 27,320 employees,
portable MP3. The Starr Internet. Clarion and reaches $14.48 billion in
Report is released Microsoft Introduce the sales. E-Trade experi­
onll ne; wit hin hou rs, the Auto PC. Share prices of ences outages three
Hacking for Girlies group Yahoo and lnfoseek days in a row.
breaks Into the New stocks skyrocket.
York Times Web site and
brings It down for nine 11999 The Linux 0
hours. Apple releases its OS hits the big
1997 DVD players candy-colored iMacs. time. AOL
become available in the E-commerce explodes as completes its
United States. a new shopping medium acquisition of
and some 30 million Netscape.

15 4 lifllM'ti•i ;if 1 # D EC E M B E R 1 9 9 9
ULTIMATE BUYERS GUIDE
BY KIRK STEERS & JOEL STRAUCH

Finally, PCs are breaking out of the beige doldrums, with choices rang ing
from sub-$1000 bargain boxes to $2000-plus dream machines. Here's our
list of the 15 best.
l/)
u
 ome of today's PCs will not only rank the best of t11ese in our newly updat­ Viper V770 Ultra graph ics card, an 8X
help you tally your credit card ed Top 15 Home PCs chart. Taking a cue DVD-ROM drive, and a 250MB Zip drive.
bills and design your smash­ from the Top 10 desktop PC charts, which Another Dell, the Dimension XPS
ing Web site, they'll also hand­ focus on computers for businesses, we've T5oo, takes top honors on the midrange
somely accentuate your home divided the home PCs section into three chart with good performance, easy setup,
office. Thanks to a wave of categories: powe r (machines that cost and a bundled 100MB Zip drive.
snazzy and luscious boxes, you $2000 and u p); midrange ($1200 to A Micron gets the spotlight in the bud­
can choose from a num ber of offbea t $1999); and budget (under $i200). get category. The Millennia C466 is the
machines, such as IBM's Aptiva S Series While most models here offer an appeal­ fastest budget home PC we've seen, and
865, NEC's all-in-one Z1, and the Ema­ ing blend of speed, hardware, and price, its handy keyboard has a volume control
chines EOne-a PC that looks so much one system in each category stands out. and customizable buttons.
like the iMac that Apple filed a lawsuit. Of And though we looked at some jazzy PCs, "Slow home computer" is getting to be
the three, only the pricey, relatively slow the top choices still come in beige wrap­ an oxymoron. Two Ath lon-based systems
Z1 failed to crack our Top 15. pers. Our power Best Buy, the Dell Di­ on our power chart, IBM's Aptiva S Series
In this roundup, we put 25 of the latest mension XPS T6oo, is one such unit that 865 and Compaq's

w
systems through a battery of hands-on puts substance ahead of style. Its boring Presario 586i , estab­
an d real-world performance tests. We box packs such top features as a Diamond lish new PC World-
Bench performance
98 records for sys ­

c_r)
TOP DOG: Dell's powerful
tems runni ng Win­
Dimens ion XPS T600
dows 98. Most pow­
comes with a

z
er PCs also boast
huge hard drives,
blazing 3D graphics,
17- or 19-i nch mon1­
tors, and more RAM
than you'll probably
ever need. So if you
<(
er:
work with formula­
laden spreadsheets,
large multimedia
files, or high-resolu­
tion graphics- or if

"'"
r,,..
you just want to play
the hottest comput-

f'OR $BOD LESS,

Dell's Dimens ion XPS
0
TSOO (below) has a
sm aller mon itor but

Best Buys
_ Dell's Dimension XPS T600 earns our
power Be st Buy, with blaz ing perfor­
mance, lots of st orage space, and a rea­
sonable price tag of $2459. Knock some of t he
T600's fe atures down a notch and you get our
midrange Best Buy, t he Dell Dimension XPS
TSOO (and you poc ket $800). The low-cos t
cham p, Micron's Miiiennia C466 is t he spe edi­
est budget system we tested, and it featu res a
multimedia keyboard.

160 IJW\11.IU.p D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
er games-consider buying one of the bit dark. The scanty software bundle con­
systems on our power chart. sists of Microsoft's Works Suite 99 and
Some midrange PCs we reviewed also Encarta. Finally, the XPS T6oo's plain
offer more than enough speed for run­ beige box does n't exactly brighten a room.
ning office ap plications and playing
games, though they tend to have slightly
1) Del l Dimens ion
XPS T600
WHAT ELSE: You can use the included
250MB Zip drive to back up fi les on the
slower 450- to 500-MHz processors and
smaller hard drives.
The five budget systems on our chart
WHAT'S HOT: Th e Dimension
XPS T6oo is a great all-around • ~
I'' enormous 20-4GB hard drive. Addin g
new cards is a sna p; the Dimension XPS
T6oo's easy-to-remove cover gives you
come with fewer features, but tlley're per­ machine. Although not the fastest hassle-free access to the roomy interior,
fectly adequate for day-to-day tasks such system in this roundup, it earned a rela­ where you'll find three available PCI slots
as Web browsing and word processing. tively high PC WorldBench 98 score of and one open drive bay.
Mos t come with a 400 MHz or faster 256-that mea ns it's more than speedy BEST USE: An excellent hedge against PC
Intel Celeron processor and have a bare­ enough for standard business app lica­ obsolescence, this sys tem comes with
bones configuration: half the system tions such as Microsoft Word and Lotus room for expansion and enough horse­
memory ofmidrange and power systems, 1-2-3- This system also provides first-rate power to hand.le any small-office/home­
a dinky 15-inch monitor , a small hard graphics performance, producing smooth office application.
drive, and integrated graphics. Because AVI video playback and good-looking
most budget systems lack an AGP slot, images in 3D games. The documentation,
you'll have to buy a PC! graphics card if
you want better graphics or 3D-gaming
which includes a well -written manual
covering beginner and advanced topics as
2) >
Compaq Pre sario
5861
performance. All th ings considered, bud­ well as basic troubleshooting guides, WHAT'S HOT: It's been a while since we've
get machines are ideal for tl10se who are comes in a handy box for easy storage. seen a reasonably priced muscle machine
looking for a low-cost family system or a Color-coded connectors ease setup fur ­ from Compaq. At $2178, the Presa rio
second, basic PC. ther. To top it all off, the XPS T6oo's bun­ 5861 packs a 600 -MHz AMD Athlon
Whether you're buying a top-of-the-line dled Altec Lansing speakers and sub­ CPU and a tlmndering K1ipsch Promedia
system as a holiday gift or seeking a more woofer generate rich, full sound. sound system tha t comes with four satel­
modest system that'll help you track your WHAT'S NOT: Although our test system's lite speakers and a huge subwoofer. The
bills witl10ut doubling them , our compre­ 19-inch monitor displayed sharp text and Compaq earned a PC WorldBench 98
hensive review of the best home PCs will good color, DVD movie images looked a score of 267, trailing only the Athlon­
help you find tile 650-based IBM Aptiva. But the Presario's
right one for your 3dfx Voodoo3 3500 video card helped pro­
needs , and hope­ duce better-looking 3D images in games.
fully shave a few WHAT'S NOT: A removable plastic door
hours off of your that covers two externally accessible drive
bays may irk those who frequently access
the drives. The Presario 586i doesn't have
any open ISA slots, and its paltry software
bundle consists entirely of Microsoft
Works and Word 2000.
WHAT ELSE: USB and IEEE 1394 ports on
the front of the case make plugging in
compatible periphe rals hassle-free. On the
back, a video-out connector enables you to
view DVD movies and other video on a
television screen. Inside, you have clear
access to the three open PCI slots and
three available drive bays.
BEST USE: This system has tlie makings of
a deluxe home-entertainment system. But
its impressive per­
FAST AND CHEAP: formance means
Micron's SlOOB that it can pull
Miiiennia C466 double duty as a
out performs other powerful home­
budget PCs. office PC. ....

DE C E MB E R 19 9 9 161
 ~\ Son y
ing video editing tools, a video compres­ WHAT ELSE: Thanks to a we ll-written
VAI O Digital (though somewha t basic) manual and
,_,..I/ Studio PC V-R539DS
sion utili ty. and a program for crea tin g
and refinin g audio tracks. labeled , color-coded cables and connec­
WHAT'S HOT: This stylish lavender PC is WHAT 'S NOT: Though thi s 550-M Hz sys­ tors , setting up this PC is quick and easy.
armed with accoutrements suitable for tem offers plenty of punch fo r bus iness The Di gital Studio's sma ll Son y SRS­
gra phic artists. A generous 17GB hard disk applications , casual gamin g. and vid eo Zo50V speakers so und good, but digital
an d a CD-Rewritable drive provide ample editing, it's the slowest home sys tem on video enthusiasts may want to invest in a
space for storing immense digital video th e powe r list. Our test unit 's 17- inch more sophisticated audio system.
files. IEEE 1394 ports enabl e speedy fil e monitor di splayed colorful gra phi cs and BEST USE: High-capacity storage and rid1
downloads from a video camera to the crisp text but had a limited contrast ran ge. digital video fea tures suit this system well
computer. The Digital Studio also comes As a result, so m e of the sce nes in our for multimedia buffs and for fami lie s
with a generous software bundle, includ­ DVD movie playback test looked dark. who 'll be sharing a computer.

81

Ami91: Celeion-400, 32M8 of RAM, 128~8 L2 cache, 6.5GB himt

~
Gateway Essential 400C 78
8.00/:l!§-2536 www.111teway.com $1068 drive, 11lnltower case, J5-inch monitor, Wll!dows 98

Emachines EOne Inexpensive:

4 877/ 566·3463 www.e4me.com @ 75 $849
Celeron·433, 64MB of RAM, 128KB l2 cache, 6.4GBhard
drive, all·in·one case, 15·inch monitor, Windows 98

Cyrlx MII·366, 64M8 of RAM, 512K8 L2 cache, 4.3G8 l\ard

5 67
drlVe, 111lnltower cas,, 17-inch monitor, Wlndolis 98

162 HW#•NM•F 0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 4)
system also has room to grow. Beneath its WHAT ELSE: Music CDs and DVD movies
AB S All In Wonder ·
easy-off panel, you have unobstructed ac­ sound clear and full , thanks to the sys­
System 1
cess to two free PCI slots, two open ISA tem's Altec Lansing ADA305 speakers.
WHAT'S HOT: ABS's All Jn Wonder Sys­ slots , and three available drive bays. AB S also throws in a no-frills scanner, a
tem 1 li ves u p to its nam e: 1t prov ides WHAT'S NOT: Since both the fl op py and digital camera th at mounts on the moni­
good speed and comes with a soup-to­ the Zip drive are located near the bottom tor for teleconferencing, a fou r-port USB
nu ts list ofcomponents, including a 27G B of this mids ize tower's case, they can be a hub, and a Microsoft Natural keyboard.
hard disk and a 250MB Zip drive, plus a little difficult to reach, especially if the sys­ Software includes Corel's WordPerfect
mind-boggling 256M B of RAM- all for tem is on the floor. Some scenes in our Suite 2000 and Grolier Multimedia.
$z699. Its Matrox Millennium G400 DVD-movie playback looked too dark , BEST USE: This is an incredible deal con­
graphics card produces vibrant graphics even after we made several b1igh tness and sidering all the stuff you get. It's ideal as a
and boosts gaming performance . Th is contrast adjustments. gaming machine or second PC . ....

Good: inteqrated Intel 810 9raphics with IMSof UMA, 6X OVO-ROM Good/
625
drive, V.90 modem, IOOMB Zip drive Very good
' ~"-----~.....,,... ,,...~......~~~~.....-.·~---'""""~~~~-T-.....~......."°"'"""'~~~ ~..,,.~ .....
~~~~ .......... .......... .....
~ ~ ~~~~--r-~ .....--iim
Good: Jdfx Voodoo3 3000 qraphics·board with 16MB of SDRAM, 6X
OVl>-ROMdrive, V.99 modem

Satisfactory: lnteqrated Intel 810 9raphics with 4MB of UMA. BX Outstanding/ Good/ PRO : Least ex pensive in mid ranq ecateqory, software in clud es Word
Satisfactory 627
OVD·ROMdrive, V.90 modem Very good Fair and Adobe Ph otoOeluxe. CON: Ha shal f the RAM of co mpe titors.

Very fOOd: Apollo Sav*4 Qf~ board with 16118 ol SORAN, PRO: Good speed f« the prke, terrifK sJ)ffke,s and monitor,
628
4.8X DVl>-ROM drive, Y.90 modem; IOOlilB Zip drive toll: Slow witll 30 Qames, ~ color"<Oded ports.

Satisfactory: lnteqrated Intel 810 9raphics with 4M8 of SDRAM, PRO: Good price, small but expandable case, bu llt·ln ethern et port.
17X·40X CO·ROMdrive, V.90 modem CON : Limited ranqe of so ftware titles.

Good: Integrated All RaQe IZ8 grajlllics With 8M8 or SOHAM, PRO: Clearly marWed ~ make for easy setup. price includes inli jet
630
MNOX CIHIOll drive, Y.90 mOdem, ink jet printer prjnler, COii: Scanty l2lll8 otRAM, messy Interior.

Satisfactory: lnteqrated ATI Xpert XL 9raphits with 8M8 of SORAM, PRO: Cool, all·in·one desiqn; cheapest PC on Top 15; built-inethernet
631
24X CO·ROM drive, V.9 0 modem port. CON : Unimpressive performance on 30 games, tiny keyboard.

D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •4•11.•·ii·• 163
 5) IBM Apti va
S Series 865
WHAT'S HOT: If we gave an award for best­
865 delivers very smooth AVI video play­
back , its ELSA Erazor 111 T T2 Ultra
graphics card led the sys tem to a sl uggis h
finish in our 3D gaming tests using Red­
~iaitan}Q
line Racer and Incoming. Our test unit's

1)
looking PC, the Aptiva S Series 865 would
Dell Dimensio n
win in a heartbeat. It sports a styl ish black fancy 15-inch digital LCD screen (which
c.hassis with a matc.hing LCD display and
keyboard. Under th e hood is AMD 's
superfast Athlon-650 CPU , whic.h helped
accou nts for a big chunk of the price) dis­
plays only average-quality graphics and
text. Expa ndability is limited: The Aptiva
XPS T500
WHAT'S HOT: l11is Dell uses a 3dfic
Voodoo3 3000 card to deliver •·
11
the Aptiva blaze past all other home sys­ has on ly two free PC I slots and no ISA stro ng gra ph ics, an d a Tu rtl e
tems we've seen. Beginners will find this slots. You have to fi ght your way through Beac.h Montego II sound card and Altec
mac. hine easy to set u p, s inc.e it c.omes a tangle ofcables to add more me mory on Lan sing ACS 340 s peakers to produce
with an illustrated instruc tion sheet and the PC's motherboard. cris p sound. An easy- to-u se CD playe r
color-c.oded cables and c.o nnec tors. The WHAT ELSE: Hardware extt·as include a interface makes adjusting audio settings
sturdy, sc.ulpted keyboard has a palm rest, built-i n ethernet port fo r home network­ a breeze. The Tsoo also has a 100MB Zip
a volume contro l, handy arrow keys for ing and a mouse wi th a small eraserhead drive- ha ndy for backi ng up files or shut­
naviga ting bac.k and fo rth through Web for sc.rolli ng through pages. Bundled soft­ tling data be t\vee n work and home.
pages, and several customizable buttons. ware includes Lotus's SmartSuite Millen­ WHAT'S NOT: At $1659 , it's the pricies t
WHAT'S NOT: At $3748, the Aptiva is by far nium and a 3D game, Mech Warrior III. midrange home PC in this review. Video
the priciest PC in this review. Though the BEST USE: Th e BMW of PCs, this fast, playback is good, but the DVD-RO M drive
glamorous sys­ on our test PC wouldn't automatica!Iy play
tem is a grea t our sample movie because DVD drivers

The Highs and choice for power

users wi th deep
pockets.
hadn't been preinstalled. Dell supplies the
DVD software, but setting the player up is
still a drag. The scanty software pack- llll­

(.f) of PC Features SHOPPING FOR A NEW PC IS MUCH EASIER if you stay on top of the latest hardware trends. Here's the scoop.

S
lomega's stalwart lOOMB Zip drive still offers plenty of storage and a handy way of shuttling data from one PC to anoth­
er. Five of the systems among our Top 15 include a Zip drive, and two of them, Dell's Dimension XPS T600 and ABS's All In
Wonder System 1, come with a 250MB version of the drive. But If you need to store or back up immense files (such as data­
bases, digital photos, or MP3 audio), choose a system with a built-in CD-Rewritable drive; CD-RW discs hold up to 650MB

~
I ::;;;:,~:~:;:;.~:::,~:;:::~::::~:;:~::::.:;~:~~:::~::.:::;:;:h::~~::::;::::::::::,:,.:::::,::·
rate PCs, but the emergence of home net­
work ing products and, more importantly,
high·speed DSL and cable modem Internet
access, have made ethernet ports more com·
mon in home machines. Five of our Top 15 provide ethernet capability.
The IEEE 1394 interface Is another kind of high-speed connection,
but one that very few PC vendors have adopted. Its biggest advantage
remains providing swift downloads of data from a digital video camera to
a PC's hard drive. Of the systems we evaluated, only Compaq's Presario
5861 and the two Sony VAIO models include IEEE 1394 connectors.
On the flip side, open ISA slots In computers are disappearing because
fewer components support this standard today. Some internal modems
and SCSI hard·disk adapters, however, still use ISA.
On the software front, we're seeing fewer titles bundled with home PCs.
But the good news is that you can purchase optional software or hard·
ware when you buy a new computer. Gateway and Dell offer Microsoft's
Office 2000 Small Business Edition for $130-that's a big discount from
its regular price of $249. Dell also offers Epson's Stylus Color 770 ink jet
printer for $165. Most vendors sell scanners and digital cameras, as well
as software tools, at a discount. -Kirk Steers

16 4 HMfi.l;ii·F D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
Re_gen
Regen 811

through
work
Aerial View
-
~iewports

-Named Views...
30
- Views
30 Orbit
-

·~:th/on·
PNOCD S. $0111
 age consists of Microsoft Works Suite 99 the experience is marred by mediocre card. A Sound Blaster Live audio card and
and Descent FreeSpace (a game). sound from the Altec Lansing ACS90W a pair of Boston Acoustics BA 735 speak­
WHAT ELSE: The PC WorldBench 98 speakers. On the software side, the Quan­ ers generate full-bodied, bass-rich sound.
score of 228 means that it's plenty fast for tex Msooc/810 comes with Corel's use­ WHAT'S NOT: Our test PC's 17-inch moni­
most office applications. ful WordPerfect Office 2000. This com­ tor produced slightly blurry text and
BEST USE: The Dimension XPS Tsoo is puter offers room for growth as well, with mediocre graphics in our tests and was
a good all-around workhorse for office two open PC! slots (but no ISA slots) and further marred by a constantly scrolling
tasks and games, but the thin software five free drive bays. horizontal line.
bundle may disappoint first-timers. BEST USE: The Quantex Msooc/810 is a WHAT ELSE: An included ethernet port
fine, inexpensive choice for light to moder­ enables you to set up a home office net­

?)
~
Ouante x
M500c/810
ate home-office duty. work. The generous software bundle
includes Microsoft Works Suite 99 ,
Quicken Basic 99, and Streets 98.

3)
~

This Quantex is affordable

Gateway
WHAT'S HOT: BEST USE: Fast overall performance, home­
at $1379, and that price includes a Zip
Performance 500
networking capabilities, and a usefi.tl soft­
drive and a 19-inch Quantex AT1097F WHAT'S HOT: The Performance 500 ware package suit this machine for both
monitor that displays sharp text and scored 230 on our PC WorldBench 98 home-office work and occasional gaming.
vibrant colors. tests-slightly higher than any other Plll­
WHAT'S NOT: Its Achilles' heel is graphics.

4)
500 system we
Sony VAIO Digital
With an integrated Intel 810 chip , the reviewed here.
Studio PCV-R532DS
Quantex performed slowly on games and It also performs
yielded some well on games, WHAT'S HOT: At $1249, the VAIO Digital
flawed images thanks to its Studio PCV-R532DS is the cheapes t

0
in our Incom­ 3dfx Voodoo3 midrange PC here. The tiny Sony SRS ­
ing game test. 3000 graphics Zo50V speakers produce sound that .....
WHAT ELSE:
DVD movies
look great, but

NEC'S SVELTE
$2499 Zl (riqht and
below) saves space
and looks qreat but
runs too slowly for
0 )

not an IM ac? When it 's

t he Emachines EOne
(above). The all -In-one
case has ports handily
located on one side.

166 DE C E MB E R 19 9 9
Q4 ~ ot 1
;Jj Bookl

-
Size
-
- Minimize
-
r·.·1.3 -~< irnize productivity
~~~ti
Ctrl+,

sor. It runs at speeds up to 700 MHz. Which means you can

multi-task, render 30 images, even create Microsoft · Excel THE WORLD'S
spreadsheets in a flash . And get more done. So do something PC PROCESSOR ..thlori PR OC /&580 "

productive right now-visit our website for more information.

www.amd.com/fastest

n 19991\ilv.inrr!1 M1cm Devices. Inc. Ar.10 . the /IMO logo . Ar.m Alhlon j\ll(I com!1 11u!rons !hr.1rc1f ;uc t1;ul cm;u ~~; of Ad·J,lflCell Micro (kv.rr'.,, Inc r.11rrnr,oll 1~••1 fC\11 ~;1e1l' cl lr;1dcnwk ul M1cro'.>Oft Corpm.iton SGrcw,fmt 1rp11nlt'cl Ir; pe1t1ll '_/;mn lro111 r.~:CIU',(•11 Co qwr;111nn
 belies their size. The stylish PC sports a
fancy lavender case with silver trim and
ma tching i7-inch monitor.
WHAT'S NOT: The Sony's integrated video
5) CyberMax
Enthusiast 450N
WHAT'S HOT: Multimedia features galore:
chip holds back 30 game performance , The 19-inch monitor displays crisp text

1)
and its Celeron-466 CPU helped ea rn it a and colors , and the Altec Lansing ADA
Micron Millennia
mediocre 195 on our PC World Bench 98 305W speakers and subwoofer delive r
C466
tests. Expans ion room is limited to just powerful audio. The system also has room
two open PCI slots and no ISA slots. to grow, with two open ISA slots and two WHAT'S HOT' W;th' Ce lern,.466 1~1
WHAT ELSE: Our test unit's monitor gen­ free PC! slots. And at $1499, it won't trim CPU and an integrated NVidia ·.:­
erated legible text and colorfu l graphics. your bank account too much. RIVA 128ZX grap hics ch ip , Mi­
The system comes with two I EEE 1394 WHAT'S NOT: TI1e 450N's PC WorldBench cron's Millennia C466 is the fastest sys­
por ts for fast digital video down loads. 98 score of 206 is low for a PC with an tem in the budget ca tegory, earning a PC
Software includes Adobe PhotoDeluxe, AMO K6 -III-450 CPU. The system also World Bench 98 score of2o} Its keyboard
Quicken 99 , and Microsoft Works Suite performed a bit sluggishly in our graph­ sports a handy volume knob, CD player
99 . Word , and Money. ics tes ts. The Jack of color-coded ports control, and Internet access buttons.
BEST USE: This Sony's not superfast, but could make setup a chore for beginners. WHAT'S NOT: You need a screwdriver to
it has fin e mu ltimedia features. including WHAT ELSE: A 17.2GB hard drive provides rem ove th e cover to get to its one free
DVD and good speakers, for a low price. ample room for internal storage, while a memory slot, one open PC! slot, or one
Zip d rive hand les removable­ open ISA slot. The power supply restricts
media storage and backup. access to the CD-ROM drive and available

Home Free... BEST USE: The Enthusiast is a

solid home-office PC, but its mul­
external drive bay. The Advent AV009
speakers sound a bit tinny and fl at.

Quite timedia capabilities also make it

an idea l home entertainmen t
machine for watching movies.
WHAT ELSE: Well-marked cables and con­
nectors aid setup. The manual provides
instructions and specifications on sys- ....
OFTE N MALIG NED and some­
times pra ised, free and nearly
free PCs have become difficult to ignore. "I lucked out," says Laura Goderez, an infant-development specialist from Oak­
land, California. Last September, she bought an £machines computer with a 15-inch monitor and a Canon BJC-1000 print­
er for $720. The 366-MHz Celeron machine came with $240 worth of rebates, plus anothe r $400 of CompuServe rebates
if she signed up for three yea rs of its online service at $21 per month, cutting her cost for the system down to about $80.
"Some deals do represent value to the end user," says Roger Kay, research manager at International Data Corporation,
but others, he suggests, just stretch out your payments over a long time. "The idea of free is there's no up-front pay,"
Kay says. "Tha t's the illusion of getting a free PC in a world where nothing is free."
How does a vendor recoup the cost of a "free" PC? That depends on the company. The
major players providing free or nearly free PCs include start-ups (such as Gobi, ldealab,
and lnterSquid), major original equipment manufacturers (Dell, Hewlett-Packard,
Micron), retailers (Best Buy, CompUSA, MicroCenter), and ISPs (CompuServe, Direct
Web, MSN, Prodigy). Most deals entail one or more of the following trade-offs: signing
up with a fee-based ISP for a specified period of time, viewing content and advertis­
ing, or promising to buy goods on the Web.
While Goderez is happy with her nearly free PC, hundreds of others who've gotten
free or supercheap PCs have logged complaints with Better Business Bureaus
(www.bbb.org) around the country. According to Tiffany West, a spokesperson at the
Washington state BBB, prospective buyers should check out a company's customer
service history before they buy. "The Better Business Bureau can tell you if a com­
pany has had complaints and if It has responded to them." The Federal Trade Com­
mission is also examining the free-PC phenomenon. According to an FTC spokesper·
son, "Anytime a company claims they're doing something for free, it's going to bring
up some questions. It's a huge area, and we're looking into the issue."
How long will the free-PC movement last? Not much longer, says Kay. "People will be
disappointed with being locked Into ISP deals when broadband [cable and DSL con­
nections) comes into play in the next year. And bailout costs are fairly high." Prospec­
tive PC buyers take heed: Read the fine print. -Michelle Campanale·Surkan

16 8 HWU.i;i•·• D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 .Color Range...

-Feather... Alt+Ct
Modify

your
business
Transfarm
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processors in major benchmark categories. Meaning you THE WORLD'S

can run even sophisticated programs such as Adobe · PC PROCESSOR ..th/on f•uocr'\.'\.UR

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can help your business grow. So what are you waiting for?
Learn more on our website. www.amd.com/fastest
Basecl on tJrnct1m1ii.. <l,1!J ilv.1d,1htc a•; of ~l'/199 cornrw11111 lughcst .wJil,1blc sncc11 rir;ioc M.10 1\lhlon Jml Pc11t111m Ill 1Hoces-:or', V1',1t ~·;,•r:: .11111! uirn tor P111 1.Hr.s! tw11rhm.11k 1c\11lt:. 1999 Arl·:.1•u <.>!1 r.h ro 1l•".'(•··. h11 M,1(1 II·· l\Ull lu'.; 1 fl' Hl ;,"
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Wouldn't it be great if every PC came
The Syst em ax Perfect PC Seri es.
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Business 400C Business 466C Corporate 450 Corporate 500
Intel" Celeron"' Processor 400 MHz Intel' Celeron'" Processor 466 MHz Intel" Penti u m~ Ill Processor 450 MHz Intel' Pentium 3 Ill Processor 500 MHz
.. .....····· ... ....... .............. .......... . ........... ................... ..... ........ ..... ......•....
·54~xa· soRA~f ······· .................. 64M8. Sb'RAi~ ······ · · · · · ·· ..·······..···············
32MB SDRAM 64MB SDRAM
4.3GB Ultra ATA HardDrive 8 GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 8GBUltraATAHard Drive 13 GBUltra ATA Hard Drive
···· ······· ··········· ··· ··· ···· ····· ············· ········· ..........................................................
Intel 3D Direct AGP Integrated Graphics Intel 3D Direct AGP Integrated Graphics CreativeLabs 3D AGP Graphics Card (16MB) CreativeLabs 3D AGP Graphics Card (16MB)
. . . . . . .. . . •... . . . .. ••••. . .. . . . ...... . . . . .. . •.•.••••.•• •• ...
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Microsoft Ottice 2000 Small Business Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business
17', .26 Dot Pitch Monitor (15.8' viewable)
ln!el and theIntel Inside logo and Pentium areregis1ered trademarks and Celeron is a 1rademark of 1he Intel Corporation in 1he Unted States and other countries. Miaosoh', MS and Windows are registered trade­
marks of theMicrosoft Corporation.All produru are trademarks of their respect~>e manufacturers. All registered and unregistered trademarks are the sole proper1'( of their respective companies. Prices do no indude
shippingor applicable sales tax. Copyngh1 1999, Systemax, Inc. Prices and configurations are subject 10 change without notice.

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. ....... . ........ .... ... .·· ··· .. ······ ··· . ••• ... ... . .. .... ................ ·-··········· ······ · ..... .... ... ... ...... ............... .... ...... .....................

II
64MB SDRAM 64MB SDRAM 128MB SDRAM ple committed to first-call solu­
13 GB Ultra ATA 7200 RPM Hard Drive 20 GB Ultra ATA 7200 RPM Hard Drive 20 GB Ultra ATA 7200 RPM Hard Drive tions. It's a level of 24/7 dedica­
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~ ltr~ _A~~ -~~ . in_t~g_r~t~_d ~on_t_r_olle:.............. _U!tra.~!A. ~6. !n_t_e~_r_at~~ . ~-o~~r?!l~r................ ~lt:a. .~!A. .6~_ int_eg_r~te_d~~nt!.o !ler..............
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~~1-~1~y~n_t_a _4_X(2~A.~P. .~rap~i.~~ -(~_6M..6.l.. _nyl_D_IA..V_an_ta. _4>:!?~ _A_GP..G_~a~~!cs. _(_16_~ ~)....... !~!2. ~~2.x__A~~- ~r.ap_hic_s . ~ar_d _ (~2-~_B )_ .... tomer support in .· :
1_7_'_._:?6..D .o~ . P.i_tc~ -~~~i.t_qr_ (1_ 5. .~:. vi~Yi~ble). . 17', .26 Dot Pitch Monitor (tS.8' viewable)
.... ... ..... ...... ····· ····· ············-······· ·· ······ ··
_1_9.':. :26· ~-~t. P.it_c~ -~~n_i_t_o r_(_18_'__vie~1.a~l.e) ____ this industry. • •· • ·
~~X._(rna.x)_ ~~-.R_O_~- ~ri~~'. ... ... ....... ..... ..... 48X (max) CD·ROM Drive'
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250MB Zip Drive (!DE)
Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business ...-........ · -
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®

Don't just buy a computer,

Midwest Micro: 800-404-0136 buy a partner.""
http://pw.mwmicro.com www.systemaxpc.com

Circle 243 on cord or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo

 tem maintenance but is written for expe­ fussy about bass tones, you'll love the rich text on our test system's 15-inch monitor.
rienced users. Microsoft Works Suite 99 sound this pair pumps out. An illustrated setup sheet, clearly labeled
is the only notable bundled software. WHAT'S NOT: Though $939 gets you a cables and connectors, and a comprehen­
BEST USE: With above-average speed, the Celeron-400 PC from Dell, just $69 more sive manual will help simplify the process
Millennia C466 is a good choice for cost­ buys the notably faster Micron Millennia of getti ng the machine up and running.
conscious users who need a basic work­ C466 . So if performance means more to WHAT'S NOT: The Essential 400C is the
horse for standard office applications. you than a company's reputation for sup­ only system in this review equipped with
port, you're better off.,.,ith the Micron. just 32MB of system memory; all the oth­
WHAT ELSE: The ethernet port enable s ers have at least 64MB . (That shortcom­

2) L400c Dell Dimension you to attach a DSL or cable modem (as­

suming you have DSL or cable access).
ing do es n ' t severely hamper the PC's
ove rall performance, however.) Upgrad­
WHAT'S HOT: For less than a thousand BEST USE: This budget PC is great for ing the system may be a challenge fo r
bucks, you can get a PC backed by Dell's famili es or home-office users who will nonexperts. The cover could be easier to
superb reputation fo r reliability and sup­ want to add hardware down the road. remove, and a power supply blocks access
port. The 4ooc is easy to set up, thanks to the CPU, memory slots, and drive bays.
to color-coded cables and an illustrated WHAT ELSE: The Essential 400C's key­
poster. Its power supply swings out of the
case to give access to three free PC! slots
3) 400( Gateway Essential
board has buttons for volume, CD playe r
control, and Internet access. The Cam­
and one drive bay. The included Har­ WHAT'S HOT: Gateway's minitower gives bridge SoundWorks speakers produce
man/Kardon HK-195 speakers are a cut you a lot of PC for your buck. For starters, crisp, clear high tones, but the bass is a bit
above most budget PC speakers: If you're the $1068 price includes a Canon BJC­ murky. Gatewa y bundles Micro so ft 's
2010 ink jet printer. Works Suite 99 and Encarta.
(By the time you read BEST USE: More than adequate speed, a
this, Gateway may be low price, and hassle-free setup make the
bundling a different 400C a good deal for
but comparable printer first-time and inter­
with the system.) The mediate users .
. . ( r't
Essential 400C is fast
enough for day-to-day
computing, and its in­
GATEWAY BUNDLES
a Canon BJC-2010 ink
v
_JJ
tegrated AT! Rage 128 jet printer (below) with
graphics chip delivered the Essent ial 400C
respectable video with

<:r:
w
EXTRAS such as a
scanner and a PC
camera (left) come
with the $2699
ABS All In Wonder
System 1 (above).

172 DECEMBER
 •
this is your
hard drive

this is your
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l?artitionMagic®5.0

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ParririonMagic 5 .0 lets you :
• Qu ickly merge partitions as well as create, resize
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With Parririo nMagic 5 .0 , o n rhe same machine
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NEC

Our approach to our newest Multi Sync®CRT Series is simple.

Make it functional. Make it affordable.
And make it flat.

We didn't simply modify the screens on our new Mul tiSync FE Series of CRTmonitors. We flattened them. Because it's our flat screens combined wi th

NEC's leading-edge technology that give the moni tors a clear advantage over ordinary CRTs. The advanced design doesn't simply improve the image

quality, it ensures significantly less glare. refl ection and distortion than traditional curved screens. And that means reduced eyestra in. less fatigue and

improved productivity. While we were at it, we flattened one more thing: the price. In fact. you can put the lv1ultiSync FE Series to work for you at a

price point as low as $299· . It all adds up to acombination of NEC Technologies innovation, reliability and val ue tha t wi ll change how you look at CRTs.

And help you rol l right over whatever your job puts in you r way. To find out more about our new MultiSync FE Seri es monitors or to request a test drive.

visit us at http://flat.nec tech.com or call (800) NEC-INFO.

MultiSync Monitor Size IV1ewableJ Gr ille Pitch Maximum Resolulion Release Dale

MultiSync FE700' 11" 116"1 0.25mm 1280 x 1024 @ 66H z Avai lable Now
MultiSync FE700M ' 11" 116"1 0.25mm 1280 x 1024 @ 66H z Avai lable Now
lwith multimedia)
MultiSync FE750" 17" 116"1 0.25mm 1600 x 1200 @ 73Hz Ja nuary 2000
Mult iSyn c FE950" 19" I 18") 0.25 • 0.27mm va riable 1600x 1200 @ 77Hz January 2000
MultiSync FE1250" 22" 120· 1 0.25 • 0.27mm variable 1920 x 1440 @ 73Hz January 2000

NEC Technologies MultiSync FE Series. Flat screens for everyone.

http://flat.nectech .com

• Estimated street price 101 the MultiSync FE700

MultiSyrn: is a registered uadema1k fE Se1ies and the NECTechnologies iron a1e uademarks of NEC Technologies.© 1999 NEC lechnolog1cs. Inc.
Introducing MultiSync FE Series flat screen
CRTs. Starting as low as $299*.

NEC Technologies

Circle 203 on cord or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo

 "4) Ema chines
EOne Exc lusive Reviews on • Axis Systems Orion IOOX DVD
• Compaq Presario 5834
WHAT'S HOT: The EOne has turned a lot
of heads, including those of Apple's law­
PCWORLD.COM • Emachines ETower 400ix
• HP Pavilion 8500

u
~

yers. With its monitor and PC enclosed in WE EVA LU AT ED these ten new home com put- • HP Pavilion 8590C
a translucent peacock blue case that takes ers along with the models that appear on our • IBM ESeries 595
' l l llll :J
up abou t the same amount of desk space Top 15 Home PCs chart, but they didn't score • NEC ZI
as a 15-inch monitor, it looks like Apple's high enough to make the list. For complete write-ups of • NexTrend NexStar-600H
iMac. But at $849 , the EOne costs less these systems, point your Web browser to PC World Online • Micron Millennia C500
than the iMac or any model here. Marked at www. pcworld.com/dec99/homepcs. • Packard Bell Multimedia 7951
ports and comprehensible documentation
make setup a breeze, and ports for such
components as a modem and speakers hues around the edges of the screen. Its speakers are also a cut above what we'd
are located on one side of the system. built-in speakers sound terrible, but plug­ expect with a sub-$1000 PC.
WHAT'S NOT: To upgrade components, ging in optional speakers is easy and auto­ WHAT'S NOT: The Presario's Cyrix M ll­
you may have to send the EOne to a repair matically disables the internal ones. 366 CPU cuts the cost but shortchanges
shop- access to the interior is that diffi­ BEST USE: Casual users on a tight budget, performance. The Presario is the slowest
cult. Its mouse and smallish keyboard especially those who have limited desk PC here by a long shot.
seem a bit chintzy. The Better Business space, may fancy this low-cost machine. WHAT ELSE: This Compaq is easy to set
Bureau has received service complaints up, thanks to well-written, illustrated
about supercheap-PC vendors, including
Emachines. We'll look into these potential
~) Compaq Presari o guides. And it's easily expandable, with
two free PC! slots and one free ISA slot.
~ 53 04
problems in an upcoming issue. BEST USE: Basic tasks such as word pro­
WHAT ELSE: The monitor displays vibrant WHAT'S HOT: Compaq has made a com­ cessing and Web surfing are well within
colors, but you'll see a hint of uneven mitment to lower prices in order to com­ the 5304's capabilities, and it's surpris­
pete wi th other ve ndors, and the ingly expandable given its price.
Presario 5304 is a shining example
The Goods of its efforts. At $898 it's a great Kirk Steers is a contributing editor for PC

0:::::
buy, considering the easy-to-use, Wo rld. Joel Strauch is a freelance writer
high-quality 17-inch monitor. (You
Gamers will save $100 if you settle for a 15­
inch model. ) The JBL Pro Premium
based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Andrew Brandt and Michelle Campanale­
Surkan are PC World associate editors. •
SERIOUS GAMERS customize

0l-L­ their computers the way hot­

rodders trick out their cars. For starters, a souped-up machine
should have the fas test CPU available and at least 128MB of
RAM. Then it's time fo r the detailing. You can choose from an
ar ray of graphics boards, sound cards, speake rs, and inpu t
devices. Here's our guide to the best.
Graphics boards: If you have an AGP-equipped PC, choose Dia mond's $179 Viper V770
Ultra or Creative Labs' $200 3D Blaster RIVA TNT2 Ultra.
Sound cards: Your best bet is a card that supports Surround Sound audio, which uses
four speakers and subwoofer. Consider the $185 Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live
or the $80 Diamond Monster Sound MX300.
Speakers: The Cambridge SoundWorks PCWorks fi ve-speaker system Is one of t he
finest available, and it wi ll set you back only $50.
Input devices: A keyboard and a mouse are okay for firs t-person shooter games, but
fo r more precision, t ry Eve rGlide's comfortable $17 Large Attack Pad mouse pad. If
you play sports games, pick Gravis's $40 Xterminator game pad, which comes with
a variety of controls. Virtual pilots can fly high wit h Logitech 's $40 WingMan
Extreme Digital 3D, while car-rac ing fans might shift to Guillemot's $100 Thrust­
Master NASCAR Pro steering wheel and pedals.
For complete information on where you can buy any of these products, visit www.
pcworld.com/dec99/homepcs. -Andrew Brandt

176 H41i.i;ii·F D E c E M B E R I 9 9 9
ULTIMATE BUYERS GUIDE
BY DAN LITTMAN

Priced as low as $99, color ink jets cost less than ever. But print quality
ranges from crisp to fuzzy, and speeds run from fast to glacial. Here's
our list of the ten best.
 e humans crave colo r Th e top perform e rs on this tes t are placea ble eleme nts that run out or wear
the way we crave food . marked with an icon indicating "Recom­ out. You may be surprised how much you
We started brightening mended for printing photos" (see fea tures can spend using a printer enthusiastically.
our bodies, clothing, comparison chart below) . (See "The True Cost of Cheap Printers ,"
and wa ll s long before Whatever your needs, you 'll find plenty page 19 2, for our findings.)
record ed history , with of options from which to choose. For this
article, we tested 15 color ink jets, ranging

1)
homemade extracts from
cru s hed berries and boiled leaves and in price from $99 to $399. The ir speeds
HP DeskJet
bark . Over time, tints evolved to include nm the gamut from slow to sizzling, and
812(
mass-produced synthetic paints, inks, and their print quality e>.1ends from barely tol­ WHAT'S HOT: jus t about eve ry- 1 ,:._
dyes for industrial processes and fin e arts. erabl e to bright and stunningly cri sp. thing. Th e Desk) et 812C prints " :.!=
Now we're bringing color back into the Some of the printers we evaluated have text at 3. 7 pa ges pe r minute­
home, courtesy of small , in expensive, been around for a few months, so we re­ that's 33 to 66 percent faster than other
awesomely capable color ink jet printers. tested them using more recent versions of $149 models we've see n-and it keeps up
But not just into the home. A color ink applications. Some showed much better with the pack on graphics with a speed of
jet ofte n makes sense for a small office, pe rformance this tim e around-often 0.5 ppm. It prints even , black text and
too. Eve n a little color can make an other­ thanks to new software drive rs (proving dean line art and handles color and gray­
wi se bland brochure or flyer, for example, that it pays to keep an eye on the manu­ scale photos, too, with subtle shading, fin e
stand out. How does a home-office color facturer's Web site so you can download detail, and smooth transitions. And that's
ink jet differ from one designed for home new drivers). Prices also dropped, espe­ just on plain paper. Throw coated ink jet
use' In the home-office model, speed and cially on older models. Printer makers are stock into tl1e mix, and everything comes
th e ability to deliver a professional look chopping prices in preparation for intense out cleaner, subtler, and simply gorgeous.
matter most. In a home ink jet. versatili ty, competiti on at the holiday shopping sea­ WH AT' S NOT: As with most HP ink jets ,
ease of use, and good-looking output of so n. The res ult: Half of the printe rs we you have to empty the output tray to ac­
photographs are key. looked at are 10 pe rce nt to 25 pe rce nt cess the s ingle-envelope feed er. (Alterna­
Our extensive performance tests and cheaper now than they were a few months tively, you can slap a stack of envelopes in
stringent judging of print quality should ago. It's a good time to buy. tl1e inpu t trny.) The software bundle lacks
identify the products best suited for busi­ Though ink jet prices have sunk to all­ some of the basics, like a photo-editing
ness use. To help home users decide, we time lows, maintenance re mains expen­ program. The high cost of consumables
now test the image quality of high-resolu­ sive. We looked dosely at the price of con­ (see page 192) makes this pri11ter less ofa
tion photos printed on the best media . sumables-ink, printheads, and other re­ bargain than its low price suggests.

2400 x1200 150/50

$199 1440 x720

$249 Good/Very good

Good/GoQd

Lex mark Z31Co lor Jetprinter Good/Good 1200x1200 100/50

800/539-6275 www.lumark! om

Epson Stylus Color 900 $399 TT Good/Good 1440 x 720

800/463·77~ Wl".11­fl'SOO.COll
. ~

76 Good/Good 1200 x 1200 100/25

Good/Adequat~

Good/Good

182 . , . ,....., . 0 E C E N 6 E R 1 9 9 9
 HP Takes Top Spots
I
HP' S DESKJET 812C takes Best Buy honors for home use
on the strength of Its $149 price and its good speed for the
cost. The $399 HP DeskJet 970Cse is our SOHO choice,

HP'S QUICK
DeskJet 970Cse
cranks out hlqh­
qua llty text and
Includes a duplexer.

WHAT ELSE: Its color-photo output rivals BEST USE: An equal­

that of more expensive units-images ap­ ly good investment
peared rich and deta iled . The printer is so for the home office (to make profess ion ­ THE HP DESKJET
easy to set up and use, you probably won't al-looking business letters, say) or th e 812C won't bankrupt
m ind that the gen e ric manua l cove rs home (for vivid photos or greeting cards). your budqet but still

~
other models as well. Also, flaps inside the delivers decent
tny assembly pop out automatically to

2)
output quality.
catch fresh prints and suspend them for HP De skJet
a few extra moments while the previous 970Cse out having to remove

0
print dries; this delay reduces the risk of WHAT'S HOT: TI1e duplexer, for starters. It th e pape r and turn it
pages sticking together or smudging. lets you print on both sides ofa page with- over. And the whole
printer, with duplexer,
costs $J99-as much

I
as you'd pay just to add
a duplexer to your
monochrome laser.
The qui e t DeskJet
970Cse cranks out text at an impressive
4.3 ppm. Text qua lity is the best of the
bunch , too, with crisp black letters,
smooth italics, and type that is legible all
the way down to 2 points. The 970Cse
also produces breathtaki ng, detailed gray­
sca le photos with clean transitions.
WHAT'S NOT: It prints photos with good
detail and textures, but colors appear a bit
faded whe n printed on plain paper. Up­
grading to coated ink jet paper improves
outp ut dramat icall y, maki ng color an d
gray-scale images palpably realistic and
crisp. TI1e Desk/ et 970Cse alerts the user
to errors by moving the ink-head carriage
so that it stops below obscure markings
on the inside of the case. Unfortunate ly,
you 'll fi nd littJe indication as to what the
markings stand for. ....

D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •4•ii•Ni•• 183
 Best &Worst
WHAT ELSE: The 97ocse has the ability THE HIGHS and lows of our color
(uncommon in an ink jet) to print na rrow photograph output tests.
para llel lines without making them look
like well-worn corduroy. Th e 9 70 Csc HP DeskJet 812C
1 Good transitions, rich
looks as if it was designed to sea rch fo r
rocks on Mars-its sleek, slightly bulbous color and good detail. Images
shape, cast from three shades of gray plas­ loo kvery similar to the originals.
tic with dark purple highlights, appears a Canon BJC-6000
2 Very sharp detail; handles
bit futur istic.
BEST USE: A luxu ry fo r the home, but def­ difficult shades well and doesn't
initely a competitive adva ntage in a busi­ lose detail; strong on transitions.
ness envi ronment, particularly if you need Epson Stylus Color 900
3 The lightest color-photo
doub le-sided printing.
output of any printer here; colors
are washed out and lack punch.
Canon BJC­ HP DeskJet 895Cse
I
6000 4 Darkest output sample in
WHAT'S HOT: For a co mpe titive $19 9 , the revi ew. Colors are terribly
Canon' s B)C-6 000 provides the fa stest ove rsaturated , and the entire
perfo rmance of any in k jet in its price image is weighted down by dark
range. In fact, at 4 .4 ppm on text, it's tones and shadows.
speedier than all but two oth er models
here- the S399 Epson Stylus Color 900 Text quali ty is im pressive. \vi th a strong. on high quali ty pa per witl1 the photo ca r­
and the $299 HP Desk) et 89 5Cse. Simi­ solid black and clear letterform s, even on tridges in place yielded li feli ke, photo-real­
larl y, the BJC-6 ooo's 11 -ppm graphics italic, bold, and small type. Similarly. the istic images and terr ific colors.
speed puts it ahead of all but the Epson. BJC- 6000 did an impressive job on our WHAT'S NOT: Na rrow parallel lines ove r­
lap, color graphi cs wash out and lack de­
tail, and gray-scale images display a coarse
dot texture. Even pri11ling in high-resolu­
tion mode on ink jet paper doesn't help
much. l11e soft\va re dri ver is packed with
features, but poor design makes navigat­
ing them a chal lenge.
WHAT ELSE: The BJC-6ooo's design is
un usually sturdy for an ink jet, witl1 tough
yet flexi ble paper trays. Unli ke any other
2 model in tllis review, the Canon has sepa­
rately replaceable in k tanks, so you don't
3 Canon BJC-6000
ha ve to disca rd all the color ink when one
4 tank runs out (a great des ign that other
printers should emulate). This effici en9 •
5 contributes to the BJC-6ooo 's low total
6 Lexmark Z31 Color Jetprinter cost of ownership- it's far and away the
"1. ' ~ •
mos t affordable in this roun dup. An eth­
7 Epson Stylus Color 900
em et adapter is availa ble fo r about $130.
8 Le xmark3200 Color Jetpri nter BEST USE: Small-office users who need
clean , quick text output and have limited
graphics demands will like this printer.

Lexmark Z51
HOW WE TEST Pri nters are tes ted in default mode under Windows 98 on a Gateway Pll l·450 with 128M8 of RAM. Color Jetprinter
Te sts are timed from the issuing of the print comma nd until the last sheet is out of the printer. Te st doc um ent s
• include ten pages of plain text and a two·page newsletter in Word 2000; a five ·pag e plain spreadsheet and a two· WHAT'S HOT: Lexmark cranke d up the
page spreadsheet with a color pie chart in Exce l 2000; an HIML page printed from a Web site in Netscape 4.61 ; a five ·page color
presentation in Lotus Freelance Graphics Millenni um Edition 9.5; a color photo and a qray-scale photo in Ado be Ph otoshop 5.5; Z51's perfo rmance since we first looked at
and a color photo in CorelDraw 9. Data based on tests designed and conduc ted by the PCWorldTe st Center. All rights reserved. it a few months ago. Tweaks to the soft­
wa re drive r accelerated text speed by ~

184 i)MIJ.i;li·F 0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Your hea rt beats like on overheated jackhammer. Sweat forms on your forehead . Your dilated left eye
twitches. It's just another normal a fternoon sitting in fron t of your Dimension" T-Series Desktop. It's normal
because this system offers 700MHz of processing power. The result : slunningly impressive streami ng
multimedia and awesome 3D graphics. And when you log on , everything will seem fas t, smooth and
incredibly intense. It's just one more benefit of the De114me total ownership experience. A complete
resource for products and services that make it ea sy for you to get the most out of technology.

DELL4 me~

I YOUR THOUGHTS EXACTLY.

N EW DELL • DIMENS IO N • XPS TIOOr

The M ulti· M edla Wo rko ut
• Intel• Pentium• 111 Proce ssor at 700E MH2 • 128M8 SDRAM at 100MHz
• 27.3GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM) • 17 " I 16.0" vi ewable, .28dp) M770 Monitor
• NEW32MB NVIDIA geForce AG P Graphics • NEW BX M ax" Va ri able DVD-ROM Drive with FREE DVD M ovie Offer"
• NEW SB Livo l Value Dig ital with M usicMatch' J ukebo x Enhanced Ve rsion
• NEW Harm an Ka rdon HK-595 Surrou nd Sound Speakers wi th Subwoofer
• 3Com• V.90 56K" PCI Telephony W inModom • M s • Wo rks Suite 99 with Money 99 Basic
• McA! ec Vi ru sSc ~n 4.02 • M S' Windows• 98, SE
• N EW l -Yoor Doll net~ Interne t Access" with 20MB O nline Backup"
• 3·Yea r Limi ted Warran ty1 • l · Year At ·Home Service1
A!J low as S74/Mo .. 48·Mo. Plann
$2699 E•VALUf CODE: 03698·50 1126x BE DIRECT'"
Dell" Reco mmend ed Upgrade.:
• NEW17" !16.0" v iewabl e, .24 -. 25AG) P780 Trinitron• M onitor • 250MB Iomega Zip
BUILT-IN Drive with Ono Disk • NEW MS" Natural Keyboard Pro, Dell• Edition
Ad d 5299 E•VALUE CODE: 03698-5011 29x

1. 8 0 0 . 3 8 8 . 1 5 1 0 MON ·SU N: 7A· l tPCT

Del.I:
www.dell4me.com
DMonthly payments based on sales price depicted for 48-mo. term at 13.99% APR. NOT ALL BUYERS WILL QUALIFY FOR THIS
APR. APR for qualified customers varies by creditworthiness of customer as determined by Dell Financial Services L.P.
Payments exclude taxes and shipping charges that vary. Taxes & shipping charges due with 1st payment unless included in
the amount financed, in which case your monthly payment will be higher. Purchase Plan offered through Dell Financial
Services LP., 14050 Summit Dr.. Austin, TX 78728, to U.S. state residents (including D.C.) with approved credit, excluding AR
and MN residents. Availability may be limited or offer may vary in other states.
" limited time offer. Includes one (1) DVD title (max. S20.00 total value, including tax and shipping charges) with purchase ol a new Dell system with a DVD-RO M drive.
Internet access required to register for the otter. see details et W\\W.dell.com/dellzo ne. Offer must be redeemed within 60 days from the da te of syS1em invoice.
pentium®///
THELATEST OF THE LATEST
FROM DELL.
lnspiron tM Notebooks Include . • MS• V-/o rks Suite 99 Software
• M oAfM Vii usScan 4.02 • MS·' Wmtlows· 98. SE
• Li1hituu lo11 Buttery • lnspiton 1 1-'l Se1 ~ t i p Video
• 3·Year Limited Warranty'

NEW DE l L"' INS PI R0 N '" 1soo

Mobi le Deskto p
• NEW Intel • Pentium• 111 Processor at SOOMH z • 15· XGA Active M atri x Display
• 64MB 100MHz SDRAM • 4.8GB' Ultra ATA Hard Dr ive
• Removable Combo 24X Max' Variable CD·ROM and Floppy Drive
• 2X A GP 8MB ATI RAGE M obility ·. p 3D Vide o
• 30 Po sftionul So und wit h Wavetab lc
• Interna l PCI 56K Capable" V.90 Fax Modem

$ 2 6 9 9 ,;;;,,,. As low as S7 •~1 Mo .. 48-Mo . Pinn·

. _ E·'IALU: COCE: 03697· 8011 26h
Dell ' Recomm en d ed Upgrad es:
• Removable Combo 6X Ma x" Variable DV D· ROM and Floppy Dr ive with
FREE DVD M ovie Offer" , add $ 169
• Dell n e t~ l ·Year Intern et Ac cess " wi th 20MB of Online Back up" . add 5 129
• Upgrad e to 6. 4GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive, add $99

NEW DELL e I NS Pl RON '" 3100

Light Weight, Light Price
• N EW Intel ' Pent ium 11 1Processo r a1450M Hz • 14 . l " XGA Act ive M atr ix Dispin y
• 64MB 100MH z SDRAM • 4.8GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive
NEW DELL INSPIRON "' 1soo • M odular 24X Max' Variabl e CD-ROM
Mohrlu 01'·~ 1c>p • 2X AGP BMB AT! RAGE M ob ility '"·M1 3D Video
• .'Vt=t1'1ntul Pnm1t11 1 Ill Pro..:r.ssm at 500MH1 • 30 Posi tiona l Sound with Wav etabl e
• 15. ;· SXGA Ac l iv<' Mollro Display 1No!P. t 280 x 102.: res.I
•
•
6Jl\1B IOQMH' SDRAM • ti..!GB' Ul11.1 ATA Hord Dm
Remuv11lllu Combo 2..: X ~hx Vari\1bh• CD·ROM an ci Flopny Dri ve
$2 3 4 9
Dell• Recommen ded Upgrad es:
As h'w ns $68/Mo.. 48-Mo. Plnnu
~ [ · V/,[UE CODE: 03697·801123

• 2X AGP 8MB AT! RAGE ~1ohdtty .p 3D \/idea

• Ko dak DVC 325 Digital Video Cam era, ad d $129
• 30 ro~•lti nol Sound Wllfl \Vtivetoble
• HASBRO ' Intera ctive Garn o Pack" . add $79
• lnll!t1111! PCJ 56K Capi:tbl1· V.90 Fax Mri<Jtmt
L~' ,\, "seM.1o ,, i.to. Pion
$ 319 9
Dell
.,,... ·
Upru t1de.s
IM.
l e x ·:0 Jr.~1 . so 1 1 J 1
Rl.-C111t11ll£!Pded
LA TE BREAKING NE WS,
• D ollnr~ l Yc:ir lntt"'I ill A... ress'·
~-:1th 20~.1 8 o i Online Backup adci S129 r.
• HASBRO lntcractiv G1m1<. Peck·, .1<JU $79 HIGH SPEED INTERNET ACCESS : 1n1erested i n h ig 11 spee d intern et
• Ro111ov;ii>lt Combo 6X M<1x Variable DVD· RO M and Floppy Drive wi th access? Th inkin g about a ca bl e m odem or DSLI Before ym1d o an ything check out
FREE DVD M o'lie Offur , .1dd $ 163 ou r solu tio ns at www. dell.co m /broa dba nd.

NEW DES KTOP TECHNOLOGY: ou r newes1Dimension· product

fea tures processo r speeds u p to 700 MHz and the next g enera tion of Pentium &Ill
tec linology.

NEW NOTEBOOK TECHNOLOGY: Take a vi rtu al 1our of our new est

l nspiron ·.. no tebooks, fea t u rin g Intel'· Pc ntiu rn s- 111 procc !> sors, a 15.4 " screen, Jnd
M ega Bay - whi ch allows up to 4 bays to be filled wi th hard drives. ban eries. DVD,
CD·ROM. Zi p Drives, etc. Vi sit wvm. del l.com l7 500tour or wv.rw.dell .comlJ7001ou r
to b eg in y o ur tour.

SPECIAL OFFERS: Lea rn about the latest d iscm1n1s and promo tions at
w \ vw.de ll11m e.com

" Monthly payments IJased on sales price depicted for 48-mo . term at 13.99% APR . NOT ALL BUYERS WILL QUALIFY FOR
THIS APR . APR for qualified customers varies by creditworthine ss of customer as determined by Dell Financial Services
LP. Payments exclude taxes and shipping charg es that vary. Taxes & shipping ch arg es due with 1st payment un less
included in the amount financed, in which ca se your monthly payment will Ile higher. Purchase Plan offered through Dell
Financial Service s LP., 14050 Summit Dr., Austin.TX 78728, to U.S. state residents (including D.C.) with approved credit,
excluding AR and MN residents . Availability may be limited or offer may vary in other states.
P11c1ng not discountable Puces and specifications va lid in U.S onty nnd subiect to chan ~ e without nouce ·For a complete cop of Guarantees or Limited Wa rr anties. write
De!\ USA LP. Ann: Warranties. One Dell W~ . Round Rock. TX 786S2. At·home or on-site service pro'/ld ed via service contrac t between cusiomer and th ird-party provider,
pentium"... and 1s no1ava ilable in certain remote areas Technician dispil tched 1f necessary pursuant to phone·based trounleshoonng vmh techrical suppon personne1. Other cond1 ·
tions apply 'For har d drives. GB means 1 billrnn byt es: total accoss1ble capac ity vnri s depending on orie1aung cnvrronmo nt. ·nx Min. ' IOX Min. ' 20X Min. ' 2.5X Min.
 Olmensionc systems include:
• Keyb oard • Ms• Works Suite 99 So f1wn re • Mou•u
• M cAf oo Vlru•Sc on 4 02 • 3.5" Flopp y • MS• Windows 98, SE
• 3-Yoa r Limi t ed Wa rran ty' • 1-Yoar At ·Home Servlco'

NEW DELL • DIMENSION" xPsnoor

Cutting Edge Technolog y
• NEW Intel' Pentium • Il l Proces so r at 700E MHz
• 128MB SDRAM al 100MHz
• 13.6GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM )
• 17' (16.0" viewable, .28dp) M770 Monitor
• NEW32MB NVIDIA TNT2 M64 AGP Graphics
• NEW 48X Max' Variabl e CD -ROM Drive
• NF.WSB Livel Va lue Digital wltl1 MusicMatch' Jukebox Enhanced Version
• All ee Lansing ACS-340 Speakers with Subwoo fer
• 3Com• V.90 56K" PCI Telephon y Win Modem
N E W D El L D I m en s io n XPS noor • NEW1 -Year Dellnel Internet Access" with 20MB Online Backup"'
Ct:tttng Edge Tochnology
• NEW Intel ' Pan 11 um· Ill Procf)ssor ~t 700E M H7. • 128MB SDRAM n1 lOOMHz
• 20.4GB' Ul tra ATA HAid Driva (720 0 RrM ) • 17" (16.0" vi ewab le, .28d p) M770 Mon itor
$2 3 9 9
Dell• Recommcncled Upgrade:
L >- As low es S66{Mo.?48 ·Mo. Pinn•
.,...- t · VAlUf 01)[: 03697-501123

• NEW32MB NVIDIA goFORCE AGP Grapli lcs Cmd • NEW32MB NVIDIA TNT2 " Ultra " AGP Graphics
• NEW·lSX f\l ax Verla lo CD·ROM Drive • 100MB Zip Drive with One Disk
• NEW SB Live! 1aluo Digital with MusicMatch Jukebox Enhanced VQrt.1on • NEW M icrosoft• Natu ral Keyboard Pro, Dell' Edition
• NEW Harman Karrlon HK-595 Surround Sound Speakers with Subwoo fur Add S259 E· ALU~ CODE: 03697· 50 1126y
• G.Lito+V.90 56K Modem
• NEW 1-Ye• r Dollnot'" Internet Access " with 20MB Online Backup"
· DELL " DIMENSION XPST450
$2 6 9 9
Dell Rcco mmondnr! Upgrade:
/ i_ As low ill' Si'Mfl.fo., 48 Mo. Pl<in
,... E· vALUECODE : 03G97 ·5011 26 h High Performa nce, Great Value
• Intel' Pentium • Ill Processo r al 450MHz • 64MB SORAM at 100MHz
• 17" (16.0' viewable, .24 ·.25AGl P780 Trinitron ' Monitor • Sony 4>1i2Xi2'-x CD-RW Drive • 6.4GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive • 17" (16.0" viewable, .28np) M770 Monitor
• NEWMS ' Natural Keyboard Pro , Doll ' Edi tion, add 5349 • 16MB 3DFX Voodoo3 3000D AGP Graphics Card
'- VAL•JE CODE: 03697 50113011 • 40X Max' Va1iable CD-ROM Drive • Yamaha XG 64V Wavetable Sound
• harma11/ka rdon HK-195 Speakers • V.90 56K" PCI DataFax Modem
• NEW 1-Year Dellne1 .. Internet Access" with 20MB On line Backup"

I
DELL4 The De ll dme totol ownersh ip o pcrionce; a • Canon BJC 2010 Printer with Coble
camplele resource fo r products and services J '_ _ As low•• $39/Mo .. •B·Mo. Pion"
tho l make ii osy lor you to get the mos t out $14 2 9 ~ E· VALUE COOf.: 03697-5011141

of technology. Dell ' Recommended Upgrade:

• 13.SGB' Ullra ATA Hard Drive • G.Lite+ V.90 56K Modem"
SOFTWARE : Dell offers a variory of software mullipacks d esig ned for work. • NEW BX Max" Variable DVD ROM Drive with FREE DVD Movie Offer»
education or play. • Fast Track Game 5-Pack". featuring Star W•rs Rogue Squadron. $99 Add S219 E· VALUE CODE: 03697 -50 11161
• Quicken Power 3·Pack 1, $89 • Choose from on e of four Education Pocks" , $79

PRINTERS : Dell simplifies your life and ensu res compatibility by pre- ins1alling drivers DELL " DIMENSION " L400c
for select printers" on you r new Dell PC. • HP 895 Printer. S299 • Other brands and models Affordable Des'<top Solution
available, starting at 5129 • Intel' Celeron · Processor at 400MH z • 32MB SDRAM ol 100MHz
CAMERAS A ND SCANN ERS: Dell offers you the toots you need to take • 4.3GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive • NEW 15• (13.8" vi ewable) E550 Monitor
pictures and archive images on your hard drive instend of in a shoebox. Send pictures and • Inte l ' 3D AGP Graph ics • 40X Max' Variable CD-ROM Drive
vidoo to fr iends and fnmlly via o-mni l. • HP~ 4200 Cso ScanJ et, $ 199 • Int el• PC Camora • So11ndBlas1er 64V PC! Sound Card • harman/kardon HK-195 Speakers
ProPack, $129 • Fuji MX1200. 5299 • V.90 56K" PC! Dato Fax Modem
• NEW 1-Year Oellne t"" Int ernet Access,, vvith 20MB Online Backu p u
SERVICE AND SUPPORT: Dell otters you the help you need when you need it,
via phone or online. • 24 x7 phone and on lin e tech support • Dim ension Premier
3-Yoa r Al-Home Sorv1ce', add 599 • lnspiron 3-Year On-site Service', add 599
$8 9 9 ,,LJ..._ As low as S25fPv1o.• 'B·Mo. Planu
._.. £.VALUE CODE: 03697-501108

Dell ' Recomm ended Upgrade:

• Support.dell.com for innovative on/inc support too ls
• 6.•GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive
INTERNET ACCESS AND SERVICES: Dell offers you accoss 10 the Internet • 17" ( 16.0" viewable ..28dp) M770 Monitor
as w ell as online services and resources des igned to help you m okc th e most of your Adel 5159 E· VALUE CODE: 03697 -501110
PC. • Dellne t"u lntorn ot accessi. with 20MB Online Backup 1' • Simpl e drag and drop
wob5ite creation t ool with 12MB stor age • Over $100 worth of spec ial offers for D ell
cus torn e rs w ith popu lar on line retailers.

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS : Dell offers seve ral payment op1ions designed 10

fit a 'l.vid e rang e o f custome r needs. • Dell Platinum Visa • Card • Purchase Plan "
• E-Check (au tomatic check ing withdrawal)

I • 8 0 0. 3 8 8 • I 5 I 0 MO N· SUN: 7A· ll PC T
1
'0ownloa d speeds limrted to 53Kbps Uploud speeds are less (tn the 30Kbps range) and vary by modem manufacturer. Spe eds also vary depe11ding on !me condi·
lion s. Anal og phone line and compatible server equipment required. " Includes lSO hours Internet access per month, with Sl.50 per how charge for each hour (or
1r.ac1ion thereofl over 150 hours. Remote subscribers subject to additional charge of $4.95 for each hour of Oellnet service. Excludes applicable taxes and local/long
BE DIRECT'"
d1 stnn cc telephone accnss ferns or charges. Additi onal Sl .00/hour sw charge for Dullnm sorv1ce in HI and AK. 1\0nline backup se rvices aro providct.l hy a third pnrty,

Del.~
and such services aro provided subject to ierms and conditions between such third pony and the custornor. limited to 20MB 0111ine storage; :idditionnl storage
space available at additional charge. Dell disclaims any resp onsibility for lost customc1 data. •·Software, pnckaging and documentation differ from retail ve rsions.
' For sole ct Hewlett Packard printers. :itModem is designed to allow max. download rote in G.Lite mode ol 1 SMbµs, but will vary with line condltlons and distance.
Activaticn of the G.Liti:! lenlure on this modem reQu irns a software update via Internet. G.Lite service is not cur rently deployed. and once dep'oycd. availability of
G.Lite servic e \•1ill vary hy rc9ion and Internet Service Pro der (ISP!. and may d1ffer from V90 ISP services Simullaneous use of a smgle phone lme for access and
re gular \IOiceffax usage m G Lll!? mode may require a I ne sp lrtter o; fi er undar certain cond1t1ons. Installation of a hne splh:er must be performed by and is subject to
adrJruona1 Ices charged by your local wlephone company. ~l1m!ied me offer. Includes one 11) DVD ntle lmax. 520.00 total valu e, includmg tax and sh rppmg charges)
with purchase of a new Dell system wtth a DVD -ROM duve. Internet access required to register for the o ff e r~ see details at \V\WJ.dell.com/dellrnne. Otter must be
ro<leemud with in 60 days from the date of system invoice. Intel, the Intel Inside Jouo and Pentium are reg istered 1. radem~rks ond Celoron is n tr ademark al Intel
www.dell4me.com
Co1pora1ion. MS, Microsoft, lnial1iMouso and Windows am regi stered trademark s of Micro soh Corporation. 3Com is a reg1sternd trademark of 3Com Corporation.
HP and OcskJet <Hf! registurnd tradem arks of Hewlott Packard Corporation.© 1999 Doll Comp uter Corporn t1on. All rights reserved.
 Your stereo has reason for concern. Because we can customize you r Dell'· Dimension"' PC into a true music monster.
The pre·testecl and factary·installed Jukebox software let; you download MP3 file; off the net, a nd convert your
CD collection. The 512 Voice sound card, combined with enhanced Jukebox software provide; CD quality playback.
And you can stare your entire CD collection on a roomy hard drive and create play lists; no more fum bling for
that CD you ju;t knew you hod yesterday. Ws one mare benefit of the De114me total ownership experience.
A complete resou rce for products a nd services tha t make it easy for you to get the most out of technology.

I
DELL4mew YOUR THOUGHTS EXACTLY.

N EW DEL L• D I M ENS I O N " XPS noor

The Audiophile's Nirvana
• Intel' Pentium • Ill Processor at 700E MHz • 128MB SDRAM at l OOMHz • 13.6GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive
• 17' (16.0" viewable . .28dp) M770 Mon it or • NEW32M B NVIDIA TNT2 " Ultra " AGP Graphics
• NEW48X Max' Variablo CD-ROM Drive • NEWSB Live! Value Digital with MusicMa1ch• Jukebox Enhanced Version
• NEW Harman Kardon HK-595 Surround Sound Speakers with Subwoo!er • 3Com' V.90 56K'' PCI Telephony Win Modem
• MS' Works Suite 99 with Money 99 Basic • McAfee VirusScan 4.02 • MS ' Windows• 98, SE
• NEW 1·Year Dellnet• lntornet Access" with 20MB Online Backup"
• 3-Yea r Limited Warrantyr • 1-Yea r At-Home Sorvico>
M low as S71/Mo.. 4B· Mo. Plan"
$2599 F•V/11U~ CODE: 03699·5 011 25
De ll ' Recommended Upgrad~o :
• New MS' Natura l Keyboard Pro, Dell ' Edition, arid $59 BE DIRECT'"

Dell
• Sony 4xJ2x/2 4x CD·RW Drive, add $199
• Rio 500 Portable Digi1al Aud io Player. add $269

I. 8 0 0 . 3 8 8. I 510 MON· SU N: 7A·l l P CT www.dell4me.com

" Monthly payments based on sales price depicted for 48-mo. term at 13.99% APR. NOT ALL BUYERS WILL QUALIFY FOR
THIS APR. APR for qualified customers varies by creditworthiness of customer as determined by Dell Financial Services
LP. Payments exclude taxes and shipping charges that vary. Taxes & shipping charges due with 1st payment unless included
in the amount financed, in which case your monthly payment will be higher. Purchase Plan offered through Dell Financial
Services LP., 14050 Summit Dr., Austin, TX 78728, to U.S. state residents (including D.C.) with approved credit, excluding AR
and MN residents. Availability mav be limited or offer may vary in other states. ,

pentiumcr;/ !/
almost 20 percent, to 3.9 ppm, making it

5)
finished print jobs cover the s lot into
HP DeskJet
a solid SOHO contender in the perfor­ which you would feed single envelopes.
mance stakes. It prints clean, even black
882C
WHAT ELSE: With botl1 paralJel and USB
text and attractive graphics with bright col­ WHAT'S HOT: HP's Desk)et 882C scores ports, the 882C comes ready to connect to
ors, smooth shading. and clear detail. The high. thanks to its quick 4.3-ppm text per­ most PCs. It also features the same print­
Z51 features a hand-fed slot for printing a formance and relatively fast o .8- ppm drying flaps found on the 812C.
single sheet or envelope without empty­ graphics speed. A $50 price cut sweetens BEST USE: SOHO users will like the
ing the main paper tray. And if you need the deal, bringing the cost down to $249. 882C's speed, while its top-notch graph­
to print banners, you' ll appreciate th e Text shows a hint of unattractive shadow­ ics and ease of use will please families.
Z5i's extra paper flap , designed for feed­ ing, but letterforms are perfectly weight­
ing fanfold banne r paper. Fina ll y, th e ed and accurate, eve n at small sizes . On
Z51's driver offers numerous special fea­
tt1res. For example, you ca n print booklet
pages in the order and position in wh ich
graphics, the 882C produces handsome
color and gray-sca le images. In fact, tlie
882C is probably the bes t of the printers
6) Lexmark Z31 Color
Jetprinter
WHAT'S HOT: In many ways Lexmark's
you'll fo ld and staple them later; the dri­ on tl1 e chart for printing graphics, partic­ Z31 Color )etprinter resembles the Z51­
ver also delivers a page of instructions. ularly on ink jet paper. Another plus: Its it comes with the latter's fanfo ld paper
WHAT ' S NOT: Ugly, disorganized docu­ great collection of flap and fully enclosed shell , for exam­
mentation awaits you with th is ink jet. home-oriented soft­ ple-but costs $50 less. Its $199 price tag
Every page has a running sidebar of ran­ ware includes Mi­ is right on the money; performance and
domly scattered troubleshooting tips, glos­ crosoft's Picture It output quality are good but not great.
sary entries, and other tidbits that should Express, Print Mas­ WHAT'S NOT: The Z31 prints text 31 per­
be organized into discrete sections. Worse ter Gold Publishing cent slower than the Z51 , at 2.7 pages per
still, at $249. this printer may be due for a Suite, and Professor minute, and graphics 40 percent slower,
price cut. Gray-scale graphics and line art Franklin's Instant at a decidedly poky 0 .3 pages per min­
look surprisingly poor, considering how Photo Effects. ute-quite a sacrifice for a $so savings.
well the Z51 handles text and color. Also, WHAT'S NOT: Some Also, the driver does n't have some of the
be aware that some ea rl y Z51 units had people may dislike Z51 's job-finishin g controls. Text output
defective paper-handlin g controls th at th e 882C's bulky could be better: Letters come out slightly
could affect print quality. power supply. Also, jagged, and narrow lines look crowded.
WHAT ELSE: With the Z51, you get a great WHAT ELSE: Color and gray-scale graph­
software bundle that includes Corel 's CANON'S QUICK ics exhibit very good detail and shading,
Print House Magic 4 and ArcSoft's Photo $199 BJC-6000 goes but colors and tones look weak.
FunHouse-Lexmark definitely inten ds light on the wallet, BEST USE: Its relatively leisurely text
people to have fun with this printer. thanks t o reasonably printing relegates the Lexmark Z31 to the
When no t in use, the Z51 conveniently priced consumables. family fun room or den. ....
folds up, resembling a turtle in its shell,
to keep out dust and cats' paws.
BEST USE: This
solid , versatile THE LEXMARK ZS1
printer will be a prints text and colors
welcome add i­ sharply and per·
tion to a sma ll -

DECE MBER 19 9 9 189

MORE
POWER
TO
YOUI

Slimnote-GX features:
• Intel® Pentium® II
Processor 366MHz
• 14.1 "TFT screen with
4MB SGRAM
• 256 MB of RAM
• AGP support
• DVD, LS- I 20

Grcle 240 on card or go lo www.pcworld.com/productl

 exchange warran ty covers you . It's the consumable you 'll have to pay fo r is ink.
' / ) Epson Stylus only such policy among the printers here. BEST USE: Take this one to th e office.
_ Color 900
/ WHAT'S NOT: The $399 price, fi rst of all. With its high price and great speed. it' ll
WHAT'S HOT: If you really need speed and That ki nd of money could buy you a fast, feel Like overkiLJ in tl1e home.
don't mind shelling oul nearly $400, you reliable mo nochrome lase r. Second , the
might like Epson 's Stylu s Color 900 . 9 oo's paper in put tray sits precariously in
Printing text at 6.8 ppm. it beats aLJ the
others here handily, and it tears through
its slot and has th e annoying habit of
falling off when you ad just it. Lastly, for
8) Lexmark 3200
Color Jetprinter
graphics as fast as some models print text. anyone worki ng in tight quarters. the WHAT'S HOT: Lexmark 's 3200 produces
The 900 comes with paraLJel, USB, and printer's space requ irements may prove a great output fo r just $149 . Text is a crisp,
serial ports to accommodate either a PC problem: With out put trays extended, it even black. and li ne art looks better than
or a Macintosh. And ii the printer breaks sh·etches 25 inches from back to front. with mos t ink jets. Colo rs are bright and
down , don' t wo rry: Epson 's overnig ht- WHAT ELSE: The Stylus Color 900 pumps realistic, especia ll y on ink jet paper.
out good text qua l­ WHAT'S NOT: Text drifts out at 2.2 ppm
ity, and gra phi cs and grap hics at 0-4 ppm, so you 'll have
look adequate, if a plenty of time to wonder if you should

The True Cost of little bit grainy. Its

printheads are per­
have bought someth ing faster . And it's
noisy: The rollers squeak and screech as
.....
Q_ Printers mane nt; the on ly paper moves through Lhem.

IT'S HARDLY news that printer manufacturers make their money on ink and other consumables rather than from the sale

<( of the printer itself. That's why vendors can afford to sell Increasingly inexpensive models, and that's why printer makers
are suing aftermarket companies trying to cash in on the profits by selling ink refill kits and refilled cartridges. (For more

w
on using third-party supplies, see June's Got a Problem?, www.pcworld.com/jun99/gap.) But how much does running your
printer really cost you over time? To determine that, we designed scenarios to represent occasional, moderate, and demand­
ing users and added up the prices of cartridges, inks, and printheads for each printer in this article.
Remember that many factors will affect the amount of Ink you use. For example, in some printers you can replace each

I
color cartridge or ink tank separately, but in others they're all part of a single unit, meaning you'll have to replace the
whole cartridge just to replenish one color. Fortunately, almost all printers have separate black ink. Paper also makes a dif­
ference. Ink jet paper holds ink much better than normal paper does and so burns through less in k.
So how will these considerations affect your printing
costs? Say you own an HP DeskJet 970Cse and have
modest printing needs. Each month you print 100 pages
of black text and 20 pages of color graphics, which adds
up to 1200 pages of text and 240 pages of graphics per year. The 970Cse has
only two replaceable parts-the black ink tank/printhead combo ($29), and
the color Ink tank/prlnthead combo ($34). Given that the black combo lasts
for about 850 pages, if you've used it to ma ke 1440 prints (remember, graph­
ics also use black)-you're on your second tank of black in k. Meanwhile, the
color combo lasts for about 450 prints, so In the first year you don't have to
buy another. This puts the cost of maintaining the 970Cse for year one (not
including paper, electricity, or repairs) at about $29-not a wallet buster.
But what if you really put the
970Cse to work, printing 1000
text pages and 250 graph ics
pages a month? You'll spend
Canon BJC-6000 $26 about $700 in ink for the first
year's use-far more than the
HP DeskJet 812C $87 printer's $399 purchase price.
Average of 15 tested For a chart projecting costs for
printers $57
t he printers in th is review, see
"Printer Consumables' Costs Add
Up" at www.pcworld.com/dec99/
color_printers.

19 2 1$4{11.l;ii,p 0 E C E M B E R I 9 9 9
 ' ' 0 I 0 0 0 I 0 0 01001001

01000111 01001001 01010100

01000001 01001100 ''

(FUNNY, WE'VE BEEN SAYING THAT FOR YEARS.)

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sel lin g noiebook compmers in lhe indus1ry a nd award-

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wilh a proven rep ut at ion in both co mpute r technol ogy Multifunclion products like 1he DP6570 which ca n digita lly

and office process documen is at 600 x 2400 dpi - th e hi g hest

producls, it's reso lu 1ion in 1h e industry. The resuh? Th e 1999 Business

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Circle 234 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo

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NI prices shown ere Compaq Direct selling prices and do not include applicable sales tax and shipping. are valid 1n Ille U.S. only and are subject to change or cancellation witnout notice. Not all morlets available in
retail slorcs. 'lllusualions may nol accurately represent exact conligurations priced. Compaq is not liable lor editorial. pictorial, or tyoographical errors In this advertisement. 'Financing available on approved credit
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Buy direct from Compaq ,or purchase yours at your favorite retailer.
Compaq Retailers
ABC Warehouse,American Appliance, American TV, Big City Express, Brandsmart USA, Buy.com , CDW,Circuit City, CompUSA, CompUSANET.com, Computer Town, Conn's,
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allow faster downloads fromK5611ex· or V.90-compliant digital sources. Maximum achievable download uansmission rates arc currently unl<Jlown , may not reach 56 kiklbits per second (Kbps),
and will vary with line conditions. '4X DVD-ROM Drives run at a higher maximum transler rate of up to 5400 Kbps compared 10 2nd generation DVD·ROM Drives which run at a maximum
transfer rate of up to 2705 Kbps. One year parts and labor. Labor for notebook systems is pick·up seriiee. ConlJaq, t11e Compaq Logo, and Presaio are registered in !he U.S. Patent and
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Micro Devices. Inc. Product and company names mentioned herein may be tradem arks and/or registered 1radem a 1 ~s ot other companies. Call Compaq Monclay- Friday, 7:00am- 1t :OOpm1cn.
~1 999 Compaq Computer Corporation. All rights reserved.
 WHAT ELSE: The softwa re bu ndl e in­
cludes two home graphics applications,
American Gree tin gs' CreataCard a nd
Windows Draw from Micrografx.
Beyond the Top 10
BEST USE: This inexpensive ink jet and its WE TESTED FIVE other printers that scored too • Canon BJC-2000
print quality-good but not outstanding­ low to make the chart. For write-ups, visit www. • Canon BJC·5100
will suit the less-demanding home user. pcworld.com/dec99/color _printers. An expand­ • Epson Stylus Color 440
ed chart on line details the cost of consumables-see • Epson Stylus Color 750
" Printer Consumables' Costs Add Up." • Xerox DocuPrint C11

9) Lexmark 211
Color Jetprinter
WHAT'S HOT: For $99, the Z11 's print the same messy manual as the Lexmark 895Cse could also do a better job on lines;
quality is nowhere near as bad as it could Z31 and Z51, but it has no USB port. narrow parallel lines run in together.
be, a nd it prints text at a to le rabl e 2.2 BEST USE: Designed for budget-conscious WHAT ELSE: Th e 895Cse offe rs both a
pages per minute. Plus, it costs $50 less users who don't need high-volume printing. USB port and well-organized, thorough
than th e n ext-cheapes t printe r in this documentation . The package includes
review. Despite its s ingle-cartridge design
(it can hold either a black or a color car­
tridge, but not both at the sam e time), you
won't see the u sua l weird greenis h text
10)Ji HP DeskJet
895Cse
WHAT'S HOT: HP whacked $100 off the
so me good software: KMT's Office in
Co lor (templ ates for Microsoft Office
applications); HP Instant Deli very, which
aut omates ret ri eval of Web pages tha t
and dull colors. With the Z11, Lex mark 895Cse's price, bringing it to a more rea­ change, such as online newspapers; and
delive rs believable colors and solid text sonable $299. Tiiis HP performs swiftly, Photo Reca ll , a dig­
that can pass for black. pumping out text at 4.6 ppm and graphics ital-image database.
WHAT'S NOT: Black ink is an option-fig­ at 1 ppm . Gray-sca le and color gra phics The 895Cse has a
ure another $30 if yo u wa nt really black consist of subtl e textures, sm ooth transi­ boxy, no -nonsense
text. Eve n with the black cartrid ge in­ tions, and bright colors. The 895Cse also look li ke the 812 C
stalled, though, the Z11 doesn 't do a great features HP 's trademark dryin g fl a ps, and 882C.
job on narrow lines. Also, a minor annoy­ found also on tl1e Desk)et 812C. BEST USE: This HP
ance: Every time you swa p ink cartridges, WHAT'S NOT; We expect a li ttle better print model is best sui ted
you have to run the alignment utility. quality from a nea r-$300 printer. Letters to those who print a
WHAT ELSE: The Lexmark Z11 includes s h ow a s li gh t hint of fu zz in ess. The lot of photos and
illustrati ons.

Dan Littman re­

views printer·s for
PC World's month­
ly Top io chaii. •

LEFT: LEX MARK'S EPSON'S Stylus

Z31 Co lo r Jetprlnter Color 440-just
delive r s acceptable $99 - ls hampered by
subpar speed and

196 0 ECEMBE R I 9 9 9
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pentium~/11 •
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B E D I REC Trr.1

ML&; .~
 >> Get the message <<
Our 75 tips will help
you l<eep your e-mail
under control.

JUDY HEIM,

GREGG KEIZER ,

MATT LAKE, AND

SCOTT SPANBAUER

IT'S HARD TO REMEMBER how we ever

managed without e-mail, wi th its effortless
sending, the instant gratification of a prompt
respon se, th e ease of attaching large docu­
ments, and not having to worry about the right
postage. And because e-mail also encourages
brief, off-the-cuff messages, we're now in touch
with long-lost high school friends and second
cousin s, twic e removed-those people we
wouldn' t othe1wise have time to write.
But with th e conve ni ence com e th e h ead­
aches. We start signing up for newsletters ~

I L LU STRA TIONS BY S TEVE N SALER NO

o E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9 • ) W/1.i;ij,i 201
 and we make our presence knovm on dif­ • AOL First, the bad news. "Closed com­ • Outlook 98/2000 By default, Out­
ferent parts of the Internet And voila , in munity" that it is, AOL's rich text features look sends your mail as an HTML file,
no time our in-box fill s up with junk we are proprietary and work only when you even ifyou don 't add fancy formatting. To
have no time to sort out, let alone read. send e-ma il to other members. Converse­ make plain text the default, select Tools·
Things will on ly get worse as Internet ly, AOL readers won't be ab le to see the Options, choose the Mail Format tab, select
use continues to increase and spammers' fancy messages you send them from Plain Text in the 'Send in this message
tools for finding your address and demo­ Eudora, Hotrnail, or other e-mail program. format' d ro p-down list, then click OK.
graphic profile grow more sophisticated. To send rich text e-mail to other users Even though you've made this change,
But no matter what e- mail program you of AOL 3.0 or later versions, select AOL's Outlook will still reply to HTML and rich
use, you can cut both the clutter and the Mail Extras button to add colors and pho­ text messages in their own format. To
time it takes to read and send messages.
We've assembled 75 tips to help you mas­
IN01111~ £J1Variable Width 1 llE] AAA
ter a dozen tasks in America Online , MESSENGER'S CONVENIENT formatt lnq t oolbar lets you create rich text messaqes easily.
Eudora, Outlook 2000, Outlook Express,
Netscape Messenger, and even free Web­ tos to your message. Note: Mail Extras is convert your reply back to plain text before
based e-mail services. And for those times active only when you are online. sending, choose Fonnat· Plain Text.
when you want to send a quickie message • Eudora Relying on HTML Eudora can • Outlook Express Like its sibling pro­
without bothering with e-mail, we offer an send both plain and rich text messages­ gram , Outlook Express sends mai l in
introduction to Instant Messaging. j us t format rich text with th e toolbar HTML format by default. Unless you real­
immediately above the To: field in ly want recipien ts to get this version ,
the message window. But since you which is bigger and less secure than plain
can't guarantee that all of your text, choose Tools· Options, select the Send
recip ients are able to display tab, click ilie Plain Text radio button under
HTML, select Tools· Options, scroll Mail Sending Format, then click OK. Also
down the Category icon list to find like Outlook, OE will ignore this setting
and click Styled Te xt, and then when you reply to an HTML message. To
ensure that Send both plain and send all mail as plain text by defaul t,
styled is selected. Click OK. Now choose Tools· Options, select the Se11d tab,
Eudora sends both versions, insur­ and uncheck Reply to messages using the
ing readability (and a dash of format in which they were sent.
duplicity) on the receiving end.
• Messen9er If yo u don't see a Q >> Wh a t's the best way to
formatting toolbar above the mes­ add m ul ti media elem ents?
sage text window, choose Edit· Pref PHOTOS, VIDEO CLIPS, and other multi­
eren ces, and under Mail & News­ media objects can travel either as attach­
groups, click Formatting. Under ments (which your recipients detach from
Message Formatting, check Use the the message and view) or inline, as part of
HTML editor..., then click OK. Use the message itself. Here's how you can
th e formatting toolbar or th e vari­ handle these tasks:
ous commands on the Inse rt and
Format menus to compose simple • AOL With AOL 5's You've Got Pictures
messages with HTML characteris­ service , participating film processors
tics. To ensure that recipients can develop your fi lm and e-mail you di gitized
Q >> Whe n s hould I use rich view tl1e message, head back to the For­ copies. You can e-mail the photos to other
tex t, plain lex l, or HTML- and matting section of Prefer­ AOLers (wh e n you're
hovv should I use it? e nces and check Send the writing the message,
THESE DAYS MOST E-MAIL programs message in plain text and dick the Insert a Picture
support "rich text" (different fonts, colors, HTML. Want to send a button that looks like
and embedded images). But not aU users full Web page? Bring it up binoculars). Or use your
are set up to read it, so your colorful note in Navigator, choose Fi/e. AOL master account to
may look like myste rious code on your Srnd Page, th e n address create a new screen
recipients' screens . Before you follow the and se nd th e resu lting name, have the develop­
tips below, you need to know your recipi· message (thi s will also ers send the images to
ents' text-style preferences. Note: Most e­ work if your default e­ that address, and share
mail programs that su pport rich text use mail client is other than its password with your
the Web standard , HTM L Messenger) . AOL intimates.

202 DECEMBER 1999

 If your des ignated re­
Yl~ic~.J.!Dultimedia add plug-ins that wi ll do Edit• Preferences, then click the Copies and
ci pients aren 't on AOL,
files are the best the trick. Objective Voice Folders item under Mail & Newsgroups.
you'll ne ed lo send the
candidates for; Email fo r Windows is Under ' Wh en sendin g a mail message,
pictures as e-m ail attach­
corri~fessing? one sud1 plug-in that lets au tom atically', clear all the boxes to pre­
ments. When writing the ome multimedia files, like you record and attach vent Messenge r from retaining any at­
message, click the Attach ­
ments button.
• Eudora Eudora Pro
S JPEG and Glf pictures
and MPEG movies, are
already compressed, so space
highly com pressed voice
mail to your Outl ook
Ex press messages. You
tachments-and also , unfortunatel y,
copies of any sent messages.
• Outlook 98/2000 Outlook doesn't
can send and play highly gained from zipping them is can dow nload th e free offer a settin g that saves a copy of your
compressed voice-mail negligible. But zipped BMP pie· i4-day trial version of mi ssives in the Sent fo lder sans attach­
attachments . When you tures and word processing and th e $30 plug-in from ments. That does n' t mea n you have no
are compos ing a m es­ spreadsheet files can shrink as www .obj ec tiv evo ic e. control over th e Sent fo lder. If you know
sage, choose Message• much as a whopping 75 per· com/pu b/ovew6 t.exe. It you don't need to keep copies of messages
Attach PureVoi ce. Pure­
0 cent. If you want to send docu· a lso work s with AOL, you send , choose View· Options, uncheck
Voice's tiny control panel ments without compression, Eudora, H o tm ai l, Ne t­ tl1e Sa ve sent message to option, and click
pops up . The message convert them to rich text for· sca pe Messenger. and Close. To stri p attachments from a mes­
will be compressed as mat before sending. Outlook 97/98. sage already in the Sen t fo lder, open the
you record. To reduce the message, right-click the Attachment icon,
size of the attached audio file even further, Q >> How can I save copie o[ and d1oose Remove.
select Options•SmartRate befo re record­ my sent messages withoiit the • Outlook Express As with Outlook ,
ing. Reci pien ts not using Eudora must attachments? there's no simple way to keep Outlook
download and install the appro priate (and EVERYBODY WANTS to keep a paper tra i.l Express from saving copies of all th ose
free) PureYoice Player/ Reco rder software of e-mail co rresponde nce, whid1 is why attaclunents you've sent out. To sto p sav­
from www.eudora.com/purevoice. most e-ma il programs g ive us the Sent ing copies of any ou tgoing messages­
• Messent)el' Although Messenger does folder. But not a ll o utgoin g m essages with or without a ttachmen ts-cho ose
not integra te tools for creating and send­ s hould be saved-a t leas t not in th e ir Tools· Options· Send and uncheck Save copy
ing compressed audio , you can add that entirety. For exa mple, you probabl y don't
capab ility. Qualcomm's PureVoice Play­ want to arch ive hu ge documents attached
er/R ecord e r (see previous tip). whil e to your mail, since you've likely got them
designed to plug into Eudora, also func­ on your hard disk, anyway. Here's how to
tions as a stand-alone tool. Download it keep a lean Sent folde r:
from www.eudora.com/purevoice and
install it. Plug a mike into the microphone • AOL When readin g a message with an
port, record, and then click the Attach but­ attachment, click the Download Later but­
ton to add th e resulting file to a message ton to add the file to your Download. Then
in Messenger. Recipients need the free drag the message's heart icon to a folder
Playe r/ Recorder to listen to your audio. in your filing cabinet (access it by select·
• Outlook 98/2000 MicroEye's Zip­ ing My Files•Personal Fili ng Cabinet) to
Out is a $15 Outlook 2000 plug-in that save it with your incoming mail. Just the
Ready
automatica ll y compresses mail attach­ message wi ll be saved, and you can down­
ments for all types of Outlook item s (the load the attachment separately later. THE PUREVOICE recorder bu ilt Into Eudora
company does n't offer an Outlook 97/98 • Eudora First, make sure you're saving lets you embed highly compressed voice
version, but the add-in mentioned below copies of outbound mail: Choose Tools· recordings In you r message.
for Outlook Ex press works with Outlook Options, click th e Sending Mail category,
97/98) . You create attachments normal­ and check the Keep copies box; click OK. of sent messages i.n the Sent It ems folder.
ly, and ZipOut packs the file into a .zip Then , periodically open the Out box and Then, to save individual messages in tl1e
archive when you send the message. You double-click any message with an attach ­ Sent Items fold er, just before you send a
can control which kinds of attach ments ment (marked with a paper clip). Click the message, choose File°Copy to Folder, select
get co mpressed , and skip com pressing file name in tl1e header's Attached line to the Sent ltems fo lder, and click OK.
attac hmen ts to certain kinds of docu­ hi gh light th e file , the n press <Delete>.
ments, such as tasks and appointments. Answer Yes to th e next dialog. Q >> How can I encrypl mes·
Down load the free tri al version from • MessencJer Messenger can't delete an sages to keep Lhem private?
www.microeye.com/zipout/Zi pOut.exe. attached file without also del e tin g th e WHETHER YOU ' RE USING youremploy­

• Outlook Express Whi le Outl ook message. To de lete both , click the Sent er's e-mail account for pe rso nal use
Express does not include any multimedia fo lder, highli ght the message, then press (c' mon , admit it-everybody does it) or
embellis hm e nts for messages, yo u can <Delete>. Your on.ly other option is to select are conducting confidential busi ness ~

0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •1•11.1;1;.1 203
 over your ISP's mai l server, privacy is a PG P will then add severa l icons to the • Outlook 98/2000 Outlook doesn't
great concern. Here's how to u e encryp­ toolbar and several commands to the have its own encryption tool. To encrypt a
tion to ensure your privacy: Edit· Message Plug-ins menu. Be sure to message, select its window's Vi.ew 0ptio11s,
0

share your encryption code or "public key" check Encrypt message contents and attach­
• AOL The quickest way lo encode e-mail with yo ur recipients. ments, and d ick Close. You will also need
on AOL is with BPS Sort Ware's $20 Pow­ • Messen9er Built-in encryption is one to purd1ase a digita l ID from a thi rd-party
erMail, an AOL mail add-on. In order to of Messenger's attractions, but you must certificate authority; choose Outlook' s
decode the messages. your recipients will first obtain a digital ID in order to use it. Tools· Opt.ions· Sewrity and dick the Get a
need to use the free PowerMail Decoder, Select Co1111mmicator•Tools· Security Info. Digital ID button. It's a direct link to
which you can e-mail to them with a pass­ Click the Yours link under Certificates and Verisign, which offers a free 60-day trial
word. To download a trial version of Pow­ foUow the on-screen instructions. (The 1D digital ID certificate. A ful l-year regis tra­
erMail. use the AOL keyword BPS. costs $i5 per year. ) You must also retrieve tion for this enctyption tool is $i 5.
• Eudora Since Eudora Pro s u pports the d igital I D of each recipient to whom • Outlook Express To encryp t an Ou t­
plug-ins, you can add the popular encryp­ you 're sending encrypted messages. Once look Express message , your recipient
tion too l PG P (Pretty Good Pr ivacy). that's don , click the Message Sending must have a personal digital ID. Once that
Download the PG P freeware package at Options tab (the last item in the column at party sends you a digitally signed mes­
web.mit.edu/network/pgp.html and in­ the left of the To: field) , and check the sage, you can send them responses using
stall it in your Eudora-equipped computer. Enc1ypted box. the ir encry ption key by click ing the

schemes don't reveal much-so pick one and click the preview button

we mail- to get an Idea of what it looks like. For your designs to come through
properly, the recipient's e-mail must support HTML messages.

ree and easy Incoming alert

WEB-BASED E-MAIL ACCOUNTS are all the Hotmail, Net@ddress, Yahoo Mall, others
rage. For one thing, they 're free. Also, they Checking your Web-based e-mail account
allow you the flexibility of having an ad ­ and find ing no t hing is a real nuisance­
dress where friends can send you mail especially if you maintain several accounts.
even when your work or primary address A $20 downloadable program-Ristra Mail
is no longer valid (because you've changed Monitor-solves this problem. It can poll
employers, say). Even happy owners of reg­ multiple Web e-mail accounts and alert you
ular POP3 e-mail accounts check their e­ when new mail arrives. It also provides
mail on the Web when they travel, by visit ­ links to the log -in page of any account that
ing Hotmail, Net@ddress (with its popular has new mail, so you can open it in a new
usa.net domai n), Yahoo's free e-mail ser­ browser window with a mouse click. A 14­
vice, or a welter of domains administered by IName-including Alta Vista, day trial version is available from welcome.to/ristra.
Excite, and technolog ist.com. But these Web-based services have
issues, snags, and problems that their POP3 cousins never dreamed Web e-mail, 'real' e-mail
of-many of which can be handled with the help of a well -t imed tip. Yahoo Mail Yahoo Mail provides a free service that enables you to down­
load e-mail to read in POP3 e-mail software such as Eudora or Outlook.
I'm not here right now... To turn on this option, click Optlons• POP Access ond forwording.
Net@ddress, Yahoo Mall When you 're away from the office, there's no Choose the POP Access option and click Submit. Then configure your e­
excuse for keeping your correspondents on tenterhooks. Set up an mail software to po ll pop.mail.yahoo.com and smtp.mai l.yahoo.com for
autoresponder to explain your absence. For usa.net subscribers, click incoming and outgoing mail.
Bosic Services, then Vacation Reply. Set the dates you 'll be away and
your autoreply message. Yahoo Mail subscribers, follow the Options and Hotmail in Outlook Express
Vacotion Autoresponder links and fill out the form . Hotmail can work like a POP3 account for Out look Express 5 users. To
turn on this ability in OE 5, select Tools•Accounts . In the Internet
Fancy stationery Accounts dialog box, select Add, then Mall. Follow the instructions, and
Hotmall, Net@ddress Feel like gussying up plain e-mail? That's an at the appropriate time, enter your Hotmail address and password.
option in Hotmail and usa.net messages. These services provide a fist­
ful of decorative borders you can select from the Stationery list boxes. Sync up address books
These are located at the bottom of Net ~ ddress 's addressing options Hotmall If you 've added Hotmail as an account in Outlook Express, you
and underneath Hotmail's message form. The names of these stationery can synchronize the address books you maintain between the two

204 HM#di·F D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Encrypt button in th e message the not-so-urgent? Here are
window's too l bar. However, if some tricks for doing this.
you don ' t have an ID of your
own , you won't be able to read • AOL AOL doesn't let you set
encrypted messages in your Sent up rules to filter m ail; instead,
I tems folder or receive encrypt­ prioritize e-mail b)1 setting up a
ed mail. To purchase yours (or to separate screen name to receive
download Verisign's free 60-day • • busin ess mai l. Head to My
trial version) , sel ect Tool s•Op­
t.ion s, choo se th e Security tab,
rece1~ ng AOL· Screen Nam es and click
Create a Screen Nam e. Use the
and dick the Get Digital ID but­
ton. Next, choo se a certificate
ma1 - keyword Mail Controls to restrict
the account to e-mail from
ven dor and fo ll ow i ts in struc­ selected co rrespondents only.
tions for downl oading and i ns talling the Q >> Can I prioritize messages • Eudora Select Tools· Filt.ers, click New,
I D. It's l ikel y, however, that th e other in my in-box? and select the appropriate H eader criteria
party is using PGP. For details on down­ WITH DOZENS OF ENTRIES to read.how ('From: contains gkeizer @ pcworld.com',
loading, installing, and using this free util­ can you find th e one s you n eed to dea l for example, prioritizes that se nder' s
ity, see web.mit.edu/ network/pgp.html with right away and ignore the spam and mail) . In the Action section, choose 1111­

services. In Outlook Express, select Tools • Address Book. Click Syn ­ Can the spam
chronize Now, and the address book entries will sync up. Hotmail, Net@ddress, Yahoo Mail Web-based e-mail ls, let's face it, slow
to load and process. You must also count kilobytes to stay within your
Jump-start contact lists mailbox allowance. These factors make unsolicited mail even more lrri·
Net@ddress Don't manually key in all the contact info for your e-mail tating than it already is. To block spam, look for key phrases in the sub­
pals into your address book. You can export and import contact lists in ject lines or body of messages ('take Credit Cards' and 'ACT NOW', say)
.csv and .ldif formats . First, export you r e-m ail software's contact list and note the e-mail addresses. Then follow these instructions:
into one of those formats, then log in to your usa.net account. Cilek the Hotmail: Under Filters, select either Block Senders List or lncominq
Address Book link, then t he Import/Export button. Next to the Address Mail Filters. Under Block Senders, enter suspect e-mai l add resses.
Book form, click the Browse button, and navigate your hard disk till you Under Incoming Mail Filters, send messages conta ining up to ten sus­
find the .csv or .ldif file that you've exported. Select that file and click pect phrases to the Trash Can. Click the Apply Filters button.
the Import Address Book button. e b·lra:ud E·m• 1I · Mic ro sull I... ~~EJ ! Net @ddress: Under Basic Services,
select Junk Mail Blocker. Check the box
Clear space Stationery Chooser next to Also use the Net@ddress pre ­
Hotmail, Net@ddress, Yahoo Mail With Stationery compiled list of known junk mailers. Then
space at a prem i um under these ser­ [None] filter suspect messages and move them
Chess
vices, it's wise-even a necessity-to clear to either the deleted or Junk Mall folder.
your Web-based e-mail folders often. Dads Shirt Yahoo Mail: Select Options, and in the
Fun Bus
(Your limit : 2MB at Hotma i l, 3MB at Hotmeil Classic Mail Management column , choose Block
Yahoo, and SMB at usa.net.) in Hotmail, Ivy Addresses or Filters. Under Block Ad­
Jasmina
files in the Trash Can folder don't count Judge dresses, enter the addresses of repeat
Jungle
toward your space allowance-and Mabel .:::J offenders. Under Filters, select Spom­
t hey're cleared automatically severa l Guard and enter optio ns for Body (the
© t 999 l<lc:rooon CO!porellon. >1. rlgtile ra.erved. I rons 01 my!ce ~
times a week; usa.net empties its trash contents of an e-mail message) t hat
Slaletnerl ..:::!
after three days. But if you want to free ~---------------------.~ delete messages conta i ning phrases
up valuable space in a heavily trafficked HOTMAIL'S Stationery Chooser allows you to dress up your such as 'take Credit Cards'. Repeat these
mailbox in either Yahoo Mail or usa.net, e-mail with a variety of decorat ive borders. steps for other addresses and phrases.
just click the Folders link and then click
the Empty option next to the Trash folder. Read Web mail without a browser
ZlnCheck Mail allows you to access Web-based e-mail accounts, such as
From Hotmail to hard disk Hotmail, AngelFire. Mailcity, Goplay, and Yahoo, without using a brows­
Hotmail If you 've added Hotmall as a service to Outlook Express (see er. It allows you to log in and check for mail and read, reply to, forward,
tips above), you can archive messages from your Hotmail account to and delete mail. It can sit in your system tray and monitor mu ltiple
hard disk. To do this, drag messages from the Hotmail in-box into any accounts for new mail simultaneously. ZinCheck 2.4 beta is available
other folder in Outlook Express. for free at FileWorld and at www.zinchak.com. -Matt lake

o E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •4•ii•l:i4•i 205
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 Make Priority from the drop-down list, and flag status. Outlook Ex­
in the field that appears, select from High­ press 4 lacks this mes­
est to Lowest. Close the Filter window and sage-flagging feature.
answer Yes to the 'Save changes to Filters?'
dialog. To sort any mailbox's messages by Q >> How can I
priority, click the Priority column. control spam?
• MHHllCJer To prioritize messages as HERE'S HOW to man­
they arrive, select Edit· Message Filters, dick age th e single most
New, and set up the appropriate criteria irritating aspect of e­
(subject con tains PC World Tips, for instance). mail-call it junk mai l,
In th e next sequence, choose Change pri­ unsolicited mail, or even
REPLACE THE GENERIC "you 've qot mall " alert in AOL with the
ority and select from th e six ranking op­ digital luncheon meat.
sounds of Mike Myers, David Letterman, or other celebrities.
tions. Name the filter (top field ) and click
OK. You can now sort on Priority by click­ • AOL There's a reason AOL gives you • Outlook 98/2000 Select Tools•Otga­
ing tha t column in the header display. four to six aliases in addition to your main nize, choose j unk E-mail, dick both Turn
• Outlook 98/2000 screen name (or handle). on buttons, then close the Organize panel
The "message flags " tool Use one screen name for to di spl ay junk m ail in gray. When yo u
in Outlook prevents im· receiv ing e-mail, and encounter offending mail in your Inbox,
portant messages from another for posting on right-click it and choose junk E-mail, th en
langui s hing at th e bot­ message boards and select one of the junk mail subcatego ries
tom of yo ur l nbox . To han ging out in chat to put tl1e sender on your junk list.
flag a message for follow­ rooms. Kee p the screen • Outlook Express To turn away mes­
u p or other action, right­ name you use to receive sages from a particular se nd er, open a
click the message, choose mail out of th e AO L message from that person, right-click the
Flagfor Follow Up , and direc tory. That par t is addres following From, and d10ose Block
then in th e 'Flag to' lis t, easy since AOL does not Seu der. ext time a message arrives from
select the action you want autom a tically list your the sender's add ress, OE 5 will automati­
to remember to take and screen name. Only if you cally move it to the Deleted Item s fo lder.
click OK. Set a due date fill in all or part of the My In 0 E 4, choose Tools· In box Assist.ant,
for th e follow-up ac tion Member Profil e in the click Add, then type the soon-to-be- ban­
in th e sa me dialog bo x, My AOL menu will your ished e-mail address in the From fi eld .
and Outlook will give you screen n ame a ppea r in Check Delete off se1ver and click 0 K twice.
a pop-up reminder. th e directory. To block e­
• Outlook Express mail from specific Inter­ Q >> How can I customize
Though Outlook Ex press 5's mes sage net addresses , domains, or AOL m em ­ alert for incoming mail?
flags lack Outlook's reminders and fo llow­ bers, type the keyword Mall Controls. Click MOST E-MA IL PROGRAMS let you decide

up categories, they nevertheless call atten­ on Set Up Mail Controls at the bottom of how they announce the arr ival of n ew
tion to important mail. To flag a message the screen and follow the screen prompts. mail. Many people prefer their own sound
for fo llow-up, first select it, then choose • Eudora For any received spam , right­ effects to the defa ult alerts that come with
Mes sage•Flag Message. To view fla gged click the message header and select Make the programs. Here's how to set those:
messages at th e top of yo ur Inbox, click Filter from tl1e pop-up menu. In the Ac­
the Flag column heading to sort the list by tion section, check Delete Message (Tra nsfer • AOL Type the keyword celebrity voices
r.::::==================== to TI·a s!t). Leave all other to make AOL announce new mail using

Uie Mei Conltol: to dcdie Mh whomycu can excherige !'Mi..

Chooso • •eUing;
(" Alow 11 .......
(" Alow ...... on\llranADlm•nboo
r Block 11......i
­options as you see them.

,_ ..... .........,
Click Create Filter.
I~gelo@oedible. co!T'l I • Messef19U To create
an antispam mle. d1oose
th e voices of celebrities like Mike Mye rs
(as "Austin Powers"), David Lette rman, or
Reba Mcintire, among others. Or u e the
keyword files and type you've got mail to
Edit· Message Filters. Click search the music section oftl1e library for
(" Alowe-maif>omllAOL-1. ....Son!;
hom the hted lriomet domeint and adch r•e.t New, name the filter, and alternate sounds. Once you download the
r. Alowe-fMihomhhtedAOlmerrbecJ.
Internet dorMini ard adcte.nei set the filter mle to read ones you want, ins tall them by going to
(" Block,_., ilom lhe hied AOL menbeu.
lrternet dctrwiN- Md adctenes 'the sender of th e mes­ Windows' Control Panel (select Start· Set­
Allechaents: sage is', followed by the tings• Co11 trol Panel). Doubl e-click th e
r Bloek fie attacknenU «ld picluet in mail boJ eonnol send or teceive fiat nm¥)
complete e-mail address Soiinds icon. In the Sound Properties di a­
of the spammer. Set the log box's Events list, scroll to tl1e America
AMERICA ONLINE 'S Mall Controls window has sett ings to help action (after ' th en ' ) to Online section. Select an event, click the
you block spammers or allow mail only from spec ifi ed addresses. Delete and click OK. Browse button , a nd navi gate to th e ~

208 14411.l-IY·P D E c E M B E R I 9 9 9
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of Mint»Ofi Corpor.111011in the Uni1c<l St:i.tcs aml/or other w u11 1rics. A ~ tD- KG is :i n:-ginC" rC"d rr.ldt'm.l rk of Ach·'"l ncc-J Micro D.:-vircs, Inc. ( :omp.1q ;~ no1 l i~ bl c fo r editorial. pie1uri.1I. or 1ypogrJ1lhic.:il criors in this adveni.s.cmcn1. 2272112/9')
 •
AOL folder. Click a .wav file to link it
m ing press <Ctrl>·K. You're given a chance

the1 ~
to th e selected event. Click OK. to rename the listing before the name
• Eudora Eudora can tell you in sev­
eral ways that maiJ's arrived; the most
SS is added to the address book.
• Messen9er Right-dick the mes­
noticeable is its audio alert. Choose
Tools· Options, scroll down the catego­
uoo sage header or click anywhere within
the message body in the preview
ry li st, and click the Getting Attention pane . Select Add Sender to Address
ico n. Uncheck all boxes exce pt 'Play a Book from th e pop-up menu. Verify
sound '. Click the unnamed gray rec­ the information you've inserted, add
tangle below th at option, and pick any any extra info of your own (including
.wav me currently on your system . any details on the Contact and Notes
• Messen9er Messenge r plays an tabs) , and then pick the address book
audio alert wh en new mail arrives, in which to insert this item (the top
but for more advanced ale rts, open field) . Click OK.
the Communicator Utili ties folder (in • outlook 98/2000 Open a mes­
tl1e Netsca pe Communicator folder in sage, right-click the name or e-mail
the Start menu ) a nd click Netscape address that appears in the From line,
Mail Notification. Configure tllis utili­ and choose Add to Conta cts. Enter any
ty by ri ght-clicking the Envelope icon additional information you can glean
in the system tra y. Choose Options from the message in the Contact dia­
and work your way through the tabs log box, then click Save and Close.
for its various settings. Finally, drag a • Outlook Express Right-click a
shortcut of Mail Notification to the Start Q >> What's the easiest way message in the message list and choose
menu's StartUp folder so it runs each for me to add contacts to my Add Sender to Address Book. In OE 4 you
time yo u start your computer. addres book? must fir st open the message, then righ t­
• Outlook 98/2000 To have Outlook so 1T's T I ME to convert the little black click the From address and choose Add to
notify you of important incoming mes­ book to an electronic version. Do you have Address Book. You can also fill your
sages, choose Tool s· Rules Wizard, click to do all that data entry? Not necessarily. Address Book with names and addresses
New, select Notify me when importaiit mes­ listed on public servers. To do so, select
sages arrive, and click Next. Check the con­ • AOL When you open a message, click Tools· Address Book, choose Edit°Fi11d Peo­
diti ons you want the rule to look for when tlle Add Address button to add the sender's ple (Edit· Find in OE 4) , select the service
it scans incoming mail , click Next again , contact information to the address book. you want to sea rch from the ' Look in' list,
then check the actions you want Outlook You can also drag and drop names from enter search criteria in the fields provid­
to take. Click Next again to add any rule the AOL address book into the Send To ed, and click Find Now.
exceptions, click Next one last time, name box to address messages.
the rule, and click Finish. • Eudora To ad d th e sender's contact Q >> How do I create groups?
• Outlook Express Outlook Express info to your add ress book, hi ghligh t the E-MAIL GROUP LISTS are handy if you
plays a sound by defa ult each time a new message header or open the message. regularly send messages to more than one
message arrives in your in-box (to turn it Select Special· Make Address Book En.try or pe rson-the i5 people in yo ur depart­
off, choose Tools· Options, click the Rule: \tltl'tltd ment, for example. And don't you have a
Ge11eral tab, and uncheck Play sound group of fri ends you always forward jokes
w'1e11 neiv messages arrive). To change extept f sent ort't to tr-e to? (111ey're not called spam when you're
::J oxteCJt where: ttr/ name Is n the Cc box
th e so und, doubl e-cli ck Sounds in except t my oame is ht.ho To or Cc ho,; tlle one sending tllem.)
except where mt name ts not n the To box
th e Windows Control Pane l, scroll exttOt i from ~ Q' sktrp«m Ht

down to New Mail Notification and • AOL Create a mailing list by clicking
&Uo ~(<fd\on.,, llnclemed •.,. ta ed< ~:
click browse to find th e sound you Acf/11 ttis nJe ¥Ut the ti'~ erriYe1 Mail Center· Address Book. In tile pop-up
whets mr name Is n the To box
want. Click OK when done. To flag ""'"""Mod .. ~ box, click Neiv Grollp. Name the group,
ft.to messaoo fer Fobt w nttti 1 Mn
importa nt incoming messages in then ty pe the addresses in the address
O E 5, choose Tools· Mes sageRides• box, separating each one by a comma­
Mail , scroll to and check tll e condi­ la11rie@ ti1ecompa11y.com, pete@ isp.com, for
tions th e mle should look for , check instance . An icon fo r the group wil l be
tll e action you desire, describe and created . To add ress a message to th e
name the ru le if you want, and tlJen group, click its icon in the address book.
click OK. OE 4 's l nbox Assistant TO HELP ENSURE THAT only Important messages- • Eudora Open the address book (select
doesn't offer such additional alert not spam-find thei r way Into your Outlook ln·box , Special·Address Book or <Ctrl>·L) and click
options for incoming mail. specify rules for all Incoming mall In Rules Wi zard . New. Enter a name fo r the li st, then .....

210 Ha 1a.;.a;.p
1
D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 "Supernova desktop performance"
October 1999

"Fastest system ever"

PCComputing
October 1999

Sure, CyberMax has established quite a reputation for building PCs of unsurpassed performance , but a PC is only as good as the
company that stands behind it. PC World reported that, "94% of CyberMax users say they would buy another CyberMax based on
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and reliability. Why else would Computer Shopper award us their coveted Direct Channel Industry Achievement Award.

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Order • 01 ~04
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+ 64MB SDRAM + 128KB Cache w/ A3D 2.0Technology + Altec Lansing ACS21 Speakers proud to feature
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+ V.90 56K Internal Fax/Modem + 3 Year Limited Warranty * Call About Our Holiday
+ Corel WordPerfect Office 2000
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+ Fast IR Port + S-Video Out
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+ Internet Programmable Keyboard
+ Carrying Case
+Canon Bubblejet BJC2000 Printer
+ Microsoft' Windows• 98 2"' Edition + 1 Year On-site Service w/ Color Image Scanner Cartridge
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Visit us at www.cybermaxpc.com for a complete listing of our product line.

CyberMu Computer, Inc. 133 N. Sth St rttt Allentown. Pa. 11 102 v (610) 770-1 1 01 Fax 800-599~7576 In Cllnada,cL.il 800-695-4991 Buyer's rights In t h•lr • nt lr•ty
We fit your life.
are contAJnad Jn Cybe,M.u's Umlt.d Wunnty, a frff copy of which may be obtained by writing CybuMax at CyberAUx Comput er, Inc. 133 N. Sth StJ'fft
Allentown. Pa 11102 o'calllng I00-519-J62l. Prkn and prod\Kt dtscriptk:wu are su~t to c.hange without notice.All periphetals ate covertd undet t ~ rNnufitc ·
turer's warranty. not CyberMax.. Some CybttMax ptOducu are CU1tom englnttfed to CyberMn specifk a ons which may vary from the retan \'e1s1ons oft~ wftware
and/or hardw.lre In fu nctionalfty, petformance. ot compitibll1ty. JJI rtturntd items must h.ave an RMA number and must be in original pac.kaging. The cost or rc1u1ned
www.cybermaxpc.com
freight b not Included wfth any money bac.k guarantee; shlps>'ng dwges are not refundable. Producu m.ly differ from image shown.All other brands and product namt>1
are trademarks or r~ lstered uademarlu of the;r r ~pec t ~ comp.?nifl.Oo·slte SttVfce is at the discretion o f Cy~rM.lx and is available for hard-Na1e repfaccmcnt only and
may not be available in certain remote area.No on-site ietvice Is avan.iblc ouu!dt of the contig uous 48 sutel. On-site ~rvice is not available fOf CyberMax Notebooks.
On·site service Is not avillable for diagnostic purposn. a dlagnGstfc determlna!lon must fir st be made by a CyberMax technician. leasing terms: 36 mon1hl lO'Mi FMV
option. taxes and shipping additional.Leasing arranged by lndeptndent leasing companies to quallfied commercial customers.
1-800-437-4596
' PC World Cove r Story: Spec la I Report on Reliability and Service - 11 /98.
 . ..
click OK. Make sure that the
Address(es) tab is front and center
an1z1n • Outlook 98/2000 To create a sub­
folder in your Outlook Inbox, choose
at the right, and then enter either
the complete address or the Eudo­
es sage File· New· Folder, enter a name for the fold­
er, and then click OK. Outlook will ask if
ra nickname of each recipient. you would like a shortcut to the fo lder
Separate each entry with a added to the Outlook bar. If you click Yes,
comma or press <Enter> after each Outlook will add the shortcut to the My
name or address. The easiest way Shortcuts section. If you'd like to move a
to add addresses is to copy and shortcut to a different section of the Out­
paste them from individual nick­ look bar, dra g it and hold it over the target
name entries in the address book. section's label until the section expands,
• Messenver Open the address and then drop it where you want it in the
book (<Ctrl>-<Shift>-2 or Communi­ section's list of s hortcuts.
cator·Address Book) and click the • Outlook Express To create a new
Create a New List icon. Name the folder, select Local Folders (Outlook Express
list; you can leave blank the fields in OE 4) or any of its subfolders in OE 's
list nickname, or alias , and list Folders pane, then choose File· Folder· New
description. Move the Mailing (Fi/e. Folder· New Folder in 0 E 4). Name the
List window aside so you can see new fold er, select the existing folder you
the address book, too , then sim· want to put it in, and then click OK. .....
ply drag names from the latte r
and drop them onto the former. Click OK. Q >> How can I sort m y mail?
• Outlook 98/2000 and Outlook YOU WEREN ' T planning to kee p all those
Express To create a mailing List, choose messages in your in-box for eternity, were
Tools· Address Book (or <Ct rl>- <Shift >-B), you? The best way to organize messages
then File· New Group (or <Ctrl>-G). To add is to put them in separate fold ers. Keep
group members who are already in your
address book, click Select Members, high­
your in-box lean-it'll make scanning for
new or urgent messages a lot eas ier.
~~
light member names in the resulting dia·
log box, click Select to add them to the list, • AOL To set up folders in which to orga­ instan •
then click OK. To add someone to the list
and your Address Book , click the New
Contact button, then either fill in the fields
nize AOL mail , click Mail Center a nd
select Read Olfline Mail. Click ei ther
ln comi11g/ Sa ved Mail or Copi es of Mail
messaging
rue, e·mail messages provide more
on the new contact's Properties dialog box
tabs and click OK, or simply enter a name
and e-mail address in the provided fie lds
at the bottom of the group's Properties
That. You've Sent. Click the Add Folder but­
ton and type a name for the folder. You
can drag and drop messages into appro­
priate fold ers while you're offiine.
T immediacy than snail mail. But for more
instant gratification, check out an "in·
stant messaging" program, which offers real­
t ime "conversations." The most widely used
dialog box and click Add (or OK in OE 4). • Eudora Watch ou t for mi sleading
IM programs are ICO and AOL Instant Mes­
Enter a name in the Group Name field labels. Eudora can be confusing with its
senger, both owne d by Ame rica Online and
and click OK to finish . two kinds of storage categories: mailbox­
each boasting upwards of 40 million users.
M1nol11I es , which can contain messages, and
Then there's Microsoft's MSN Messenger,
folders, which cannot. Folders only
which is gaining ground but lags far behind
further organize mailboxes by col­
ICO and AIM . Other IM programs keep pop·
lecting several under one label. Cre­
ping up, too. See below for a list of some of
ate a new mailbox by selecting Mail­
our favorites (they 're all free downloads). For
box· New. Enter a name and click OK.
more information about IM programs, visit
~ P.nlfW:e
' ~ Ku.by Tahl
• MessencJer Right-click any exist·
www.pcworld.com/nov99/chat.
~ X..U:..b r.rull ing folder in the Explore r-like list
&;) Sel~y llat...aan
PROGR A M URL
E JU.cb s~..iua found at the far left of Messenger's
display, and choose New Siibfolder
from the drop-down menu. Give the
subfolder a name and then click OK
to create a new folder nes ted und er
the original. You can shuffie folder
NETSCAPE MESSENGER let s you create malling organization in this view by dragging
ll sts easlly, based on names In your address book . and d.ropping.

212 144#.i;jj.p o E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
WHAT'S
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 for incoming mail (page 210), (www.locutuscodeware.com), a shareware
rules d and choose either Move new utility that generates automated respons­

an messages from someone or Move

messages based on content as the
es. Register this $15 program, and you can
set it to respond to incoming mail from

filters type of rule you're creating.

• Outlook Express To move
certain incoming messages to a
up to five POP3 accounts.
• Outlook 98/2000 Take a deep
breath. First, choose File· New· Mail Mes­
folder , choose Tools· Message sage, enter the autoreply text, then select
Rules•Mail, check the condi­ File· Save As and enter a file name. Choose
tions you want the rule to look Outlook Template (*. oft) in the 'Save as
for, and check Move it to the type' drop-down list, click Save, and close
specified folder in the list of the message window without saving the
actions . Click the specified link message again. Next, choose Tools· Rules
in the Rule Description list, and Wizard and click New. Select Move new
browse to the folder of your messagesfrom someone, click Next, uncheck
choice. Click OK three times to from people or distribution list, check where
finish. In OE 4, choose Tools· my name is in the To box, and click Next
Inbox Assistant, click Add, select again. Now uncheck move it to the specified
and/or type in the criteria you folder, scroll down to and check reply using
want to look for, check Move To, a specific template. Click the a specific tem­
Q >> How do I forward mes­ click the Folder button, select the folder plate link in the 'Rule description' win­
sages to specified folders? you want messages moved to, then click dow, select User Templates in File System
YOU SAY YOU'RE tired of moving mes­ OK three times to finish. from the Look In drop-down list (in Out­
sages to their appropriate folders, one by look 98, you'll have to browse to the \Pro­
one by one. So let your e-mail program do Q >>How can I create an auto­ gram Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\
it for you as soon as the mail arrives. matic reply when I'm away? Outlook folder), select the template you
WHILE YOU'RE GEITING that nice tan in just created , and click Open. Click Next
• AOL AOL doesn't automatically let you Tahiti, your friends and colleagues think again and select any exceptions to the
sort mail with filters into fo lders. you're ignoring them or you 've disap­ rule. Click Next once more, name the rule,
• Eudora Use Eudora's filters to deposit peared. Here's how to set them straight: and click Finish, then OK. Whew!
some messages in sepa­ • Outlook Express Choose File New· 0

rate mailboxes. Create a • AOL Unfortunately, Mail Message (Compose New Message in OE
0

filter (choose Filters from AOL does not offer an 4) and enter the autoreply text. Select
the Tools menu, then autoreply mechanism. File· Save As, enter a file name, ensure the
click New); specify the cri­ • Eudora To respond 'Save as type' drop-down list has Mail
teria in the Header: field automatically to mail, ('~.em!) selected, click Save, and close the
(From:, or perhaps Sub­ create a message holding New Message window. In OE 5, choose
ject:); complete the next a stock reply and leave Tools· Message Rules· Mail and click New if
two fields; and under the To: field empty. Select this isn't your first rule. Check the condi­
Action, select Transfer To. File· Save As Stationery to tions for autoreplies, check Reply with mes­
Click the gray rectangle name and save the mes­ sage as the ru le's action, then click the
to the right and pick the sage. Choose Tools· Filters message link and browse to select the out­
destination folder. and click New. Select To: going .eml message file you just created.
• Messen9er Select in the Header drop-down Click OK twice. In OE 4, choose Tools·
Edit· Message Filters, then list and is in the next Inbox Assistant, click Add, enter or select
click New and specify the field; type your e-mail the criteria for autoreplies, check Reply
match criteria for the rule ('the sender of address in the third. Select Action· Reply With, browse to and double-click the .eml
the message [email protected]', for with; from the drop-down list that appears file you created, then click OK. •
example). Set the next line to read 'then to the right, then pick the stationery file
Move to folder' followed by the desired fold­ you just built. As long as your PC is on Find files mentioned in this arti­
er from the drop-down list. Name the fil­ and Eudora is open-and you've set up cle at www.pcworld.com/maga ­
ter in the top field. Click OK. Eudora to retrieve mail automatically­ zine. Judy Heim and Scott
• Outlook 98/2000 Once you've cre­ the reply is sent to all inbound messages. Spanbauer are PC World contributing
ated additional folders, it's a snap to move • Messen9er Messenger can't generate editors. Gregg Keizer is a Eugene, Oregon­
incoming messages to them automatical­ automatic replies, but a third-party tool based writer. Matt Lake is a Ridley Park,
ly. Follow the steps for customizing alerts can do the trick. Download AutoReply Pennsylvania-based writer.

214 HWij.1;14.p D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
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© 1999 M icron Elect ronics, Irie . All rig hts reserved. M icron Elect ronics, Inc. is not respons ible for omissions or errors in typography o r photog raphy. All purcha ses
are subject to availability. Prices and specifications may be changed withou t no tice: pr ices do not include shipping and handling and any applicable taxes. Seller's
re turn policy does not include return freigh t and original sh1pp1ngthandling charges. and atl return and warran ty periods begin fr om t he dat e a pr od uct is
shipped, not when •t arr ived. A re sto cki ng fee may be cha rged up o n th e return of a p rod uct. All sa les are con tro lled by Sell er 's cu rrent term s and conditions of
pentium®/// sal e which are availa bl e on sel ler's websi te or frorn its sales rep res entati ves . O n-sit e serv ice is provided at s:> le di scret ion o f Micro n Comp uter Services, Inc. A
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configurat ions. oAll hard drive sizes calculated with 1GB equal to 1 billion bytes. cco.ROM speeds: 40X max./1 7X min.; 32X max./1 7X min.; 24X max./12X min. ooMicron Leasing arranged by an
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celeron'M reg istere d tradernmks llrd Celeron is a tradom a1k of Intel Cor porntion. Microsoft an d Windows are registered trademarks o f Microsoft Co rporation. Product names
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PJlOCESSO I\ mon ths, FMV ter ms and do no t inclu de taxes, fe os or shipp ing charges. Leasing subject to credit approval and ava ilab ility. Listed !ease terms subject to change withe
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Celeron is a trademark of Intel Corporation MS. M icrosoft and Windom are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Product names of Micron products are trademar
Adven iscd configurations may differ from award-winning configurations. ~All hard drive sizes calculated with lGB equal to 1 billion bytes. ~For all M icron PCs configuu
pentiumeJ!/ vary. °CD-ROM speeds: 40X max./17X min.; 32X fT"ax./17X mm.; 24X max./12X min.0 Ava1lable only in some cmcs. Orig inal system replaced with a reconditioned system beam
or shipping charges leasmg subject to credi t approval and availability. Lis1ed lease 1erms subjca to change withou t notice or obligation.
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CALL NOW 1.877.FLASHCOM (352.7426)

* On selected plans. Connection speeds depend upon regional network

equipment installed in your area . T H E
0 5
L
5
P e c 1
A L
1 5
T
5
Circle 73 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo
 ous. Some comb the entire Web on the
l'M NOT THE WORLD'S MOST ENTHUSIASTIC SHOPPER. fly; others search their own databases of
I can never bring myself to buy anything because I always worry that products. Bots that fall into the first group
actively sea rch merchants' sites and
somebody, somewhere, has the identical item on sale for less money. attempt to deliver up-to-the-minute prices.
On the other hand, bots like CNet Shop­
So I Jet my clothes tum My list of goodies per (www.shopper.com) rely on more lim­
into rags before going to covered books , ited databa ses for which participatin g
the store to buy new electronics, music companies include and update (when they
ones. Heck, I've been and video , toys, and remember to) their product information
known to se nd people clothing. I looked for and pricing. These bots tend to be faster
IOUs at Christmas. It's widely available items because they draw from a centralized well
like 3Com's Palm V, of data; and their merchants may be more

S·TART
a problem I need to tack·
le, which is why I jumped at at the beginning. and rarer quarry like reputable, since the bot controls wh ich
the chance to comparison­ J I For a full range an early edition of J. merchants appear in its database. This
shop the Web for PC World. D. Salinger's Catcher type of bot may return fewer matches,
of shopping bots, check out
As yo u 've undoubtedly in the Rye. Finally, l however, and the prices it finds may not
hea rd, online shopping is BotSpot (www.botspot.com/ shopped at brick-and­ be the latest and greatest.
heating up. According to a s-shop.htm) or SmartBots.com mortar stores to see if
recent survey conducted by (www.smartbots.com) . bots really found out­ HOW THEY WORK
Jupiter Communications , a standing deal s. Ex­ SOME BOTS, SUCH AS the Yahoo-owned
research firm in New York City, 74 per­ cept with regard to apparel, they did. Shopfind (www.shopfind.com), will ask
cent of people who shop online said that TI1ere are, as you might expect, several you to type keywords in a single field (talk­
better prices would drive th em to spend different kinds of shopping bots clanking ing teletubby) . Others, like MySirnon, have
their dollars on the Web instead of around the Internet. The general-purpose you click through categories to find the
through stores and catalogs. shopping bots, such as Bottomdollar.com product area you want ("Toys and Col­
Ken Cassar, an analyst in Jupiter's Dig­ (www .bottomdollar.com) , MySimon lectibles") ; then you start the search in that
ital Commerce Group, says "81 percent of (www.mysimon.com) , and Yahoo Shop­ category. After you punch in your com­
this group went onJine with an intended ping (shopping.yahoo.com) , span a vast mands, bots scurry off to search the Web
purchase [in mind]." But what's really range of shopping categories-apparel,
interesting, he adds, is that "80 percent of books, home and garden, music, health

Consumer
the same group went to more than one and beauty, PCs, gifts , and more. Other
site before making a purchase." bots are product-specific. For example,
l can relate to that-going from site to
site looking for th e bes t dea l so I don 't
BookF inder (www.bookfinder.com)
finds only books-lots of them. For more
{ Electronics
have to worry that I paid too much. But about bots that focus on computers, see
typing in those URLs and keeping track of "'Where to Get the Best PC Deals Online,'' THERE'S NO SHORTAGE of shopping
prices can be a drag. That's where special www.pcworld.com/sep99/pc_deals. bots covering consumer electronics. Bot­
search tools come in handy. Shoppers seeking collectibles or used tomdollar.com, CNet Shopper, DealTirne,
goods can use bots like MySimon , Planet Re­
A WORLD OF BOTS Bidder's Edge (www. tail, and WebMarket all
SHOPPING BOTS (short for robots) are biddersedge.com) and maintain separate Con­
software agents that prowl the Web in Bid Find (www.vsn.net/ sumer Electronics cate­

­
search of bargains. You plug in the name af) to scour online auc­ gories. How you searcli
of the product you want, an d the bot tions . Some general­ varies from bot to bot.
returns a list of the best prices it finds. If purpose bots such as At Bottomdolla r.co m,
bots do their job properly, you won't have Bottomdollar.com, Ya­ for instance, you enter

TRY
to go digging through different sites com­ hoo Shopping, and Deal­ try again. Perform a keyword, whereas at
paring prices . And like reg ul ar search Time (www.dealtime. r the search again after MySirnon you may spec­
engines, they're free to use. Whatever you com) let you search auc­ about 2 minutes if you don't find ify the manufacturer, the
want- a laptop, a CD , an ai rlin e ticket­ tions and classifieds, too. model name, and the
what you 're looking for the first
bots claim they'll sniffout the best prices. Another important dis­ minimum and maxi­
To test how well bots worked across dif­ tinction between shop­ time. The problem might be the mum prices you 're will­
ferent product categories, l went shopping. ping agents is less obvi­ se rver, not your search words. ing to pay. CNet Shopper

224 HM\1414·• 0 E c E M B E R I 9 9 9
or their databases and come back with a and Planet Retail (www.planetretail .com) matches. If you're looking for a hard-to­
list of matches, including prices and links among them-list matches gleaned from find gizmo, you may have a hard time get­
to merchants' sites. You can then com­ sponso ring merchants before any other ting any match es at all. In general, I'd
pare the prices to find the best deal. matches: othe r bots list only matches have preferred to receive accurate ship­
During my shopping spree, I searched from sponsors-some­ ping costs and the skinny on product
for deals on two or more items in each of tl1i ng to be aware of. avai lability up front. Regrettably ,
five categ01ies. The accompanying charts Yahoo Shopping and most shopping bots provide neitl1er.
show results for one product in each cate­ Excite Shopping (www. No single agent can do it all. Some
gory and list only the shopping bots that excite .com/shopping) bots are better at finding one type of
gave me the most matches and options. work differently. Ya­ product than another; and a bot that
TI1e verdict? Shopping bots don't always hoo initially searches had a terrible time finding what I
find exactly what you want, nor wanted might strike gold for you.
do they consistently uncover By the time you read this, several cus­

WHEN
bot s fail. No matches? Don't give up. Do a
tl1e best deal. They streamline tomized services will do more ilian stan­
nonbot search on a shopping site (say,
the process of finding goods dard bots can. Visit Active Research
online, but you shouldn't Amazon.com) or on your good old search engine to make (www.acti veresea rch.com), Frictionless
expect too much. I started out absolutely sure that what you're looking for is not availabl e. Commerce (www.frictionJesscomme rce.
using 20 bots and by the end com), Price Alliance's Shopping Lan e
of my mission, I found three to be the only the companies in its own mall. If it (www.shoppingln.com), ShopServe.com
most useful: MySimon, Bottomdollar. can 't find what you want th ere, it gives (www.s hopse rve .com), and Soliloquy
com, and Yahoo Shopping. you the option of turning it loose on the (www.soliloquy.com).
Unfortunately, most bots don 't include entire Web. Excite lets you choose from Active Resea rch , for instance , is the
tax and shipping charges in the prices the get-go whether to search Excite's mall force behind MySimon's Buyers Guides.
they list. So the lowest price isn't always or the Web. On an all-Web search, these You indicate how important various crite­
the best deal. And when sites do include bots often produce overwhelming lists of ria are to you-price, brand, dual tun er
shipping information, it's not always ac­ hits. But if yo u stick with the mall, you (for buying a TV, say). The service then
curate. WebMarket (www.webmarket. can 't ensure you're getting the best price. searches for matches based on your spec­
com), for instance, goofed twice. If you 're looking for a widely available ifications. However. th ese sites' features
Some bots-CNet Shopper, MySimon, product, you should generate torrents of were not available when I went shopping.

m~~~~~s Price ' Comments

Bottomdollar.com S380 PRO : Identifies number of sites searched and total number of matches.
www.bottomdollar.com ($9) COH: Sinqle·keyword searches can produce an avalanche of mismatches.

exclusively handles OBJ ECTI VE MySimon • $348 PRO: Slick interface, lots of product subc1tegories, lets you set price specs.
18
www.myslmon.c:om ($11) COH: Some sites listed aren't online merchants, heavy on sponsor listings.
computer products 3Com Palm V
Shopfind 27
$380 PRO : Supereasy search tool, colored Icons Indicate accuracy of matches.
and electronics, so Of'f'LIHE PRICE www.shopflnd.com CSIO) CON: Not so great for electronics, no indication of how many matches were found.
its results are ex­ S449 at The Good Guys
Web Market S360 PRO: Good range of electronics categories, matches sorted by relevance.
13
tremely focused. It www.webmarket.com (free) COH: Produced lots of matches for things I didn't need.

provides s hipping costs, in-stock details , Yahoo Shoppinq 13 S380 PRO: Tons and tons of subcategories, lets you browse by brand.
shopqulde.yahoo.com (SIO) CON: Doesn't identify number of matches found on the Web, many mismatches.
and even a column for noting whether the
merchant's site ships internationally. But • Best Bot in t uleljorv. ' lowest price found by each bot; sh ipp ing cost appears In parentheses.
because the site reli es on a database of
products and prices updated by partici­ Bottomdollar.com, MySimon, Shop­ ofunrelated matches: buried among these
pating m e rchants , th e offerings and find , WebMarket, and Yahoo Shopping were 12 listin gs for ilie PDA itself.
prices may not be up-to-d ate. each delivered some accurate match es for I also tried a few shopping bots tl1at troll
I hunted for a Hitachi l-li8 650A cam­ the Palm V. But every bot also reh1rned online auctions, including Bidder's Edge
corder and a 3Com Palm V. The searches matches for Palm V accessories I didn't (www.biddersedg e.com ) and BidFind
produced radically different results . For need. Yahoo Shopping found 9 matches (www.vsn.net/a0. Both of these, however,
starters, the Palm V is ubiquitous, so the within its own mall , only one of which retrieved so many matches for ilie Palm
bots returned lots of matches; finding the was for the unadorned Palm V. When it V that wad ing through all of them would
rarer Hitachi proved more ofa challenge. combed the Web, the bot found hundreds have taken hours. I couldn't even tell Ill-

D E C E M B E R I 9 9 9 •4•iMii•• 225
 your words carefully. Don't qet too specific when you enter search ing merchants, whose fast-sell look and

CH00SE words. Sometimes merchants don't list products by exact model

name. So if you try to find your item us ing a specific na me,
feel reminded me ofan electronics empo­
rium in a tourist hotbed.
I purchased the lowest-priced Hitachi
,1'i\ such as Hitachi Hi8 650A, you may get fewe r hits; in this case, 650A I found ($387) through 1-877-CAM­
0 0
UJ you might have better luck using Hitachi Hi8. CORDER (www.877.camcorder.com) , a
merd1ant MySimon uncovered. Unfortu­
how (if at all) the re­ searched for Hitachi Hi8 650, and picked nately, the company began hounding me
sults were organized. up a few. Widening the search to Hitachi on the phone, insisting that I call to dis­
MySimon found Hi8 let me see other available models and cuss my online order. I had to verify my
the cheapest price allowed me to compare features in detail. credit card number. and I discovered that
on a Palm V-$348 plus $u sh ipping. the company had strict return policies: I
THE PLACES BOTS GO
That deal saved me almost $too over the couldn't return the camcorder unless it
retail price quoted by The Good Guys. A SITE LIKE MySimon , on the other was defective; and even in that case , I
The Hitachi camcorder was more elu­ hand, is ideal for extremely specific would only be permitted to exchange the
sive. Bottomdollar.com, Excite Shopping, searches. Follow the links, from Con­ product for something else.
MySimon, and Yahoo Shopping each un­ sumer Electronics to Camcorders, and The bots ultimately saved me a few dol­
earthed a few matches. Shopfind located then from the resulting li sts choose the lars off retail-I could have bought the
one merchant, while CNet Shopper, Info· type (Hi8), manufacturer (Hitachi), and camcorder at a local store for $399 plus
space (www.infospace.com) , Planet Retail, model (650A) of camcorder you want. tax. But I also learned a lesson: A bot's
Roboshopper (www.roboshopper.com), Many of the matches the bots returned results are just the first step. After you iso­
and WebMarket struck out. were links to seedy-look- late some good prices, check out the mer­
Using a specific model name can prove chants. If a bot churns out unfamiliar sell­
OB.J ECTIVE
ineffective at sites that seek only exact key­ ers, you might want to do more research
Harry Poller and the Chamber
word matches. To increase your odds of before you buy. Or ignore the no-name
at Secrets, hardcover
success, try broadening your attack. After stores from the outset and go with a ven­
OFFLINE PRIC E
Hitachi Hi8 650A returned no matches, I dor you know something about.
$13 at Barnes &Noble

SHOPPING BOT m~t~~~s Price ' Comments

Rare Books and

{ Best BookBlvd 4
$9 PRO: Gives book price, shipping cost, and overall total. CON : Searth field accepts
only 25 characters, so you must abbreviate longer titles.
ellers www.bookblvd.com ($4)

Book finder 17
$15 PRO: Superb search options, presents results by list or table, lots of matches,
www.booktlnder.com ($5) CON: Tends to find superexpenslve copies, no way of reorganizing results.

Bottomdollar.corn $9 PRO: Allows searching by title, author, and format; permits re-sorting of results
All THE GENERAL-PURPOSE bots have www.bottomdollar.com ($4) by price or merchant. CON: Distracting banner ads, tewer merchant sites searched.
categories devoted to books. Both Bottom­ MySi mon • $9 PRO: lets you search by author, title, ISBN, and format; offers re·sort options by
13
dollar.com and MySimon permit you to www.myslmon.com ($4) price and site. CON : We couldn't locate promised reviews and author biographies.

search by author. title, and format (hard­ PriceScan 12 $11 PRO: lists base book price, shippin9 costs, and total price; allows you to sort by
www.prlcescan.com (free) book price or total price. CON : Search procedure isn't intuitive.
cover, paperback, or audio) ; and MySimon
also lets you search by ISB N number. ' Best Bot In this cate9ory. ' lowest price found by each bot; shipping cost appears in parentheses.
Besides these do-everything bots , there
are a handful of book-specific bots, includ­ Jar Harry Potter volume on my list) . time delivering results. Such bots tend to
ing BookBlvd (www.bookblvd.com) and But if you're looking for a rare book (like search only major booksellers, which
BookFinder (www.bookfinder.com). my early-edition Catcher), the general­ don't carry rare. used, or collectible books.
I shopped for). K. Rowling's best·seller purpose bots are likely to have a harder The Harry Potter book I wanted was

To
Harry Potter and the Chamber bid or not to bid? If you're shopping for available virtually everywhere,
ofSecrets and for an early edi­ and most bots found prices
something popular and current, don't
tion of I. D. Salinger's Th e that fell within a couple of dol­
Catcher in the Rye. I found bother looking at bots that search lars of each other. BookFind­
that shopping with either the auctions: You'll be swamped with er, MySimon. and PriceScan
general·purpose bots or the results. If you 're after something old had the most hits (17, 13, and
book-specific bots is a breeze 12 res pectively). If you want to
if you're hunting for a widely and unusual, auction site bots may pinch pennies , check all the
avaiJable book (like the popu- be a good starting place. bots' offerings. Every price lill­

226 HMfl.i;ii·P D E c E M B E R I 9 9 9
The HP Mopier network multifunction peripheral-copy, print
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Add a modular design you can custom-configure for optimum workplace
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To see how the HP Mopier network MFP can connect you to a new level of
functionality, go to www.mopier.hp.com or call 800-527-3753, extension 4186.
 PRESARIO 5700N-C466 PRESARIO 5700N-C500 PRESARIO 5700T-500
INTERNET PC INTERNET PC INTERNET PC
Intel' Geeron· Processor. 466 WJiz ln!el Celeron Processor, 500 MHz Intel Pentium' Ill Processor. 500 MHz
64 MB 100 MHz SyncDRAM, 4 WB Shared tor Video 128 MB 100 MHz SyncDRAM, 4 MB Shared for Video 128 MB 100 MHz SyncDRAM expandable 10 384 MB
6.0 GB UluaDMA Hard Drive' 10.0 GB UltraDMA Hard Drive' 13.0 GB UllraDMA Hard Ot1ve'
32X Max CO-ROM Drive' 32X Max CO-ROM Drive' 32X Max CO·ROM Drive'
2X AGP wl64-blt Hardware Accel:rated 30 Graphics 2X AGP wl64·bit Hardware Accelerated 3D Graphics Voodoo 3 1000 2X AGP Graphics Card with 16 MB
ESS Solo PCI Audio ESS Solo PCI Audio ESS Solo PCI Audio
56K ITU V.90 Modem' 56K ITU V.90 Modem' 56K ITU V.90 Modem'
JBl Pro Amp'ified Speakers JBL Pro Ampf "ed ~ JBL Pro .\mplified Speal(ers
Creativity Action Center Crea · ty Action Cen er Oigilal Creativity lmag ng Center'
Microsoft' Featured Home Collection & MS- Word' Microsoft Featured Home Collectfon &MS Word Microsoft Featured Home CollectJon & MS Word
Microsolt Win©1is'98 Microsoft Wimx11·is9B Microsoft Windows98
Compaq CV515 15" Monilor (13.8" VIA) Compaq CV51 5 15• Monhor 113.8' VIA) C-OmpaqCV51515' Monitor(13.8'VIA)

$799*1$23~m.' $1099*1$31~m.' $12991$37 ~m.'

Personalize 10.0 GB UIUaOMA Hard Drive': Add $50 1OX DVO·ROM Drive': Add $59 IJ750 Color Inkjet Printer: Add $149
by choosing:
100 MB Iomega Zip Built-In" Orire + 1 disk:Add $79 6.DMb Max Digital fhldem': Add S99 4X CDRW (Read/Writeable) Drive': Add $t 99
IJ300 Color Inkjet Printer: Add S99 Af'C Baek-UPS Pro Office 280: Add S89 Intel Creale arid Share camera Paek: Add $99

Compaq Innovations Compaq Financing

Compaq, Kl ip~Ch . and Lucas Arts have joined torces From instant application processing to flexible

II
to bring you Klipsch v.2-400. the first and only payment options. the Compaq Consumer
professional PC sound system with THX With 3-0 Financing Program· makes it easy 10 get
sound and 400 walls ol power. Kllpsch speakers the latest Compaq technology. Call now to
bring games. music. and the lnlernet to life. arrange a low monthly payment.

Take advantage of Compaq values at any of these qualllled retailers: ABC Warehouse, American Appliance, American TV, Big City Express, Brandsmart USA,
Buy.com, COW, Circuit City, CompUSA. CompUSANET.com, Computer Town, Conn's, DataVision, Fred Meyer, Fry's Electronics, h.h. Gregg, J&R Computer World,
Micro Center, MicroWarehouse, Multiple Zones, NationY.ide Computers & Electronics, Nebraska Mega Mart, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Onsale.com, Outpost.com,
PC Connectioo, PC Mall. PC Richard & Son, PC Warehouse, RadioShack, RCS Computer Experience. Seals, Shopping.com, Staples, State Street Oiscoun~ The Wiz,
pentium®/// Tiger Direct, Tops Appliance City, VaJueAmerica.com Visit a Compaq Built For You Custom PC Center at select retaflers highlighted In bold above.

'All prtes sho,vn are Cooipaq D•ect serUllJ p,;ces and do 001 irdxle applicable sales tax end shWlng. are valid in tile U.S. on~ and are subjEct to c:llange rx cancellation 1>111lout nolice. Not aH rrOOets availabli! In re1aJ1 stores. lllustralions may
001 acn.ralefy represent exac1 tooflQ\J31XlnS Jn;ed. CtmpaQ is 001 lia!Jle !tr edittl"ial. piclonal. tr typogra;11i:al eni:rs In !Ills advertisement 'Foiarcing availa!Jle on appro.00 aBdit tlVoogll MBNA Amerl::a Bari<. NA. by arrargement 1Yittl
C<Jmpaq Capital i'a)m!;rllS basOO on a 48·momh term at a fixed Amual Pen:entage Rate as low as t 4.99%. Vol.- APA may be higher. The!e is no fee ft< Cooipaq Jll>11lases billed dinlc!ly to 1ru aa:wnt iboleve', 11Jere is an access chOO<
fee ol 2% cl mo U.S. Dollar amount rJ each a!Mlnce Check ts2 mmJ$ 15 max.). ·~cm ieSted uslig NSTL YMAAK2000 hardware leSt Non-rompllant lhird·pany soflwarel11ardware proclllS may alfect ronover resuts. RJr mo<e delails, see
1'1\w1.compaq coml)'Car2000. 'Requires Sharing subscriber profi~ lnftrmallon and vielWig targeted ads. Otner tem-s and coodllXXls also apply. See NetZero user Agreement for details. 'Rlr hard drives, GB=billion bytes. '32X Max CD·ROM
data translCf rates may vary lrom 180010 4800 Kbps. 'fTU V.90 modems are designed anti 10 allow lasl!l< OOM11oads horn 1<561iex· or V.90-compliant d9ilal sources. Maximum acl1 1lvabie OOMlload transmission rales are cunontly unk00.111,
may no! reach 56 klklblts per scconcl (l<lJps). and 1·"11 vary with lne cooditions. ' IOX DVD-ROM Dims read a minimum ol 5545 Kbps and amaximum ol 13525. 'Tte 6.0Mb Max Digil!tl Modem uses tt\O ADSUG.Lite protocol. AOSUG.Lilo
upck1tes may bo downloaded from Compaq's ,,,>!JSite v~lefl available. TiieADSUG.Llte protocol~ designed to allow laster dOlvnloads lrom AOSUG.Lile· oomplianl digital sources. Availability ol AOSUG.Llte SC!Vlces vAll va1y by iegion anct lnternel
We're making everything
about computers easier.
Including buying one.
The Compaq Presario 5700 Series Internet PC.
lncern ec access a c ch e rouch o f a bu eco n . USB and IE EE 1394 po res locaced on th e franc of the PC
for easy co nn cc cion ro di gica l camco rde rs a nd o ther p erip h erals. And ch e opci o n of H o me Ph o neline
N ecworkin g' for sim ul can eous l ncern e r conn ec cions fro m eve ry PC in you r ho use.
Ac Compaq , we've m ad e o ur rep u ta tion by m akin g co mpurers eas ier and m o re fun ro use. N ow
we're even m aking chem eas ier ro buy - and we're no r ju sc ra lkin g pri ce. We're ca lkin g cho ice. G er
yours a r yo ur favo rite rera il er, call us d irec tl y, o r visit o ur websice. W e eve n offe r a numbe r of
fi nancing opri o ns!
Sp eakin g of options, how abo ut a faster processor? A b igger mo ni ro r? M o re m emo ry? No prob le m.
We ma ke cusro m izi n g yo ur PC easy, coo. In face, there's o nl y o ne rhin g ch a r's d ifficult abou c buyi n g
one o f ch ese PCs. C hoosi ng o n e.

PRESARIO 5700T-600E PRESARJO 5700T-700

INTERNET PC INTERNET PC Free Internet Access
Intel Pentium Ill Processor, 600E MHz Intel Pentium Ill Processor. 700 MHz
128 MB100 MHz SyncDRAM expandable to 384 MB
13.0 GB UllraDMAHard Drive'
128 MB 100 MHz SyncDRAM expandable to 38 4 MB
270 GB (7200 rpm) UllraOMA Hard Dnve'
From NetZero*
l OX DVD-ROMDrive' lOX DVD·ROMDrive' Noc only do these Compaq Presario
Voodoo 3 1000 2X AGPGraphics Card with 16 MB Creative Labs 3D Blaster 32 MBTtff.2 UllraAccelerator
ScundBlaster'" Live! Value PC! Audio
Inrerner PCs give your family fas r, easy
Scund Blaster Live! Value PCI Audio
56K ITU V.90 Modem' 56K ITU V.90 Modem' 1nrcrncr access, now they give it m yo u
JBL Pro Amplified Speakers JBL Pro Amplified Speakers
Digital Creativity Imaging Center'
free. You'll gc r un limited lnrerner service,
Digital Creativity Imaging Center'
100 MBIomega Zip Built-In· Dove+ I disk Mrcrosott Featured Home Collection &MSWord courrCS)' ofNerZero' and Compaq. No fees.
Microsoh Featured Home Collec1ioo &MS Word Mrcrosott Ylindows98
Microsoft l'lirdows98 Compaq CV915 19' M011rtor (18.0' VIA)
No gim micks. No long-term commi cmenrs.
Compaq CV715 17' MOllrlor (16.0' VlA)

$1799*1$51~m.' $2399*1$67~m.'
6.0Mb Max Oigilal Modem': Add $99 4X CDRW (Readll'lriieable) Drive;: Add S199
4XCORW (Read/Wrileable) Drive': Add $199 250 MB Iomega Zip Bu1IHn . Drrro + I disk: Add $149
Klipsch v.2-400 Wall Speaker System Add S224 Klipsch v.2·400 Wan Speaker System: Add $224

1-888-678-9614 www.compaq.com
Buy direct from Compaq , or purchase yours at your favorite retailer.

COMPAQ
Y2K COMPAQ PRODUCTS ARE YEAR 2000 HARDWARE COMPLIANT."

SeM:e PrrMder (JSP). and may differ from V.00 ISP serlices Madmum achievable 00.-.nlcaO tr.VlSmissloo rates "'1n ADSUG Lile rue cmrml!y uri<roMi. may 001 reach 6OMbps, and ";a vary vmh ine corx!i1ir6
and dislance. 'WOO<s vli1!1 mosl lh!rd·p;,rty deJ'ces. 'CD-RI'/ Drive dala transfer rates rroy 'fil!'/ as lollaoo;s: tor roo:ning ID CD-Rn'Mlllla, Ille dala lranSfer rale may vary from 150 ID 600 Kbps: ltr Mili'g ID CD·RW
media. tile data transfer rate rroy vary from 150 to 300 Kbps: for reading to CD rrroa. tile dala transfer rate may 1'3f'I from 1500 ID 3600 Kbps.Ni ~le raise may be required. 'Pane Ptooeline Netv.ot<Jng
and Eth€mel Pon canno1 be used simul!aoorusly. Additional PC musl have a - adapter, S<i1 separately. AOL Is a single USO' system and "1!1 not a!low multiple users ID access sirnultl!1eousf under tile same
occo.mt Other Internet SeMce PrMJe<s rroy l•M! the same resuk:tioos. One year pal1S and labor. Labor tor desl<top systems Is pick-up SCfvlce during the first 90 days of o..-mership. Compaq. Ille Compaq Logo,
and Presario are registered In the U.S. Patent and Trademal1< Offb!. Microsolt"Windcw.s'9B installed. Microsoft, MS. and l'llnd<7Ml are registered l/lldcmar1<s of Microsott CorporatJon. Intel. Ille Intel Inside Logo, and
Pentium are reg~tered 1rademar1<s and Celemn Is atrademal1< ol lntet Corporation. Iomega and Zlp are registered trademarks iUllt ~Jl &nlt ·n Is 0 lradcmark of Iomega Corporaloo. PrOOuct a"<l company names
mentioned herein may be tradema!1<s an<l'or reglslered tradernar1<s of oll1er companies. Gall Compaq MoOOay-frlday. 1.ooam- t 1:OOr•n ICl]. O t 9!l9 Compaq Compuler Corporation. All righls rese~'ed.
 Base price
Includes: Mobile Intel' Geleron- Processo'. 400 MHz Mobile Intel Geleron Processor, 466 MHz
12.1" TFT Active Matrix Display 14.1" TFT Active Matrix Display
64 MBSyncORAM 64 MB SyncORAM
4.S GB UltraOMA Hard Drive' 4.BGB UltraOMA Hard Drive'
24X Max CO·ROM Drive' 24X Max CO-ROM Drive'
All Mobility Hardware Actelerated All Rage LT Pro' HanJware Accelerated
30 Graphics wilh SMS Video Memory 30 Graphics 1~1h Bt.18 Video Memory
Free Internet Access SliK l11J V.90 Modem (PCij' 56K ITU V.90 Modem (PCij'
Ultra Hi·Gapacity lilon Battery
From NetZero· Ultra Hi-Gapacity lilon Battery
12s KB Integrated ·on·chip" cache 128 KB Integrated ·on-chip" cache
Not only do these Compaq Presario MicroSGff' Featured Home Collection Microsoft Featured Home Collection

Internet PCs give yo ur fa mily fast, easy MicrOSGll Windows'98 Microsott V~ ndows9S

Internet access, now they give it co you

free. You'll get unlim ited Internet service,
courresy ofNetZ cro• and Compaq. No fees.
$1999*1$56~~
Personalize Compaq Baci<pack: Add $69 12S MS SyncORAM: Add $200
by choosing:
No gimmicks. No long-term co mm itments. Extra AC Adapter. Add $49 6.4 GB UlfraOMA Hard Drive': Add $100
APCNotebook Surge Protector: Add $29 6X OVO·ROM Drive':Add $150

Y2K I COMPAQ PROOUClS ARE YEAR 2000 HARDWARE COMPLIANT."

PRESAR IO 1800T PRESARIO 1900T

Powerful Desktop Performance A Thin and Light Next-Generation
pentium®/// in a Mobile Internet PC Mobile Internet PC

'Ail prices shown are Compaq Dire:t selling prices and do not include applicable sales tax and shipping. are valid in the U.S. only and are subject to change or cancellation v•lhout notice. Not all models available in retail stores.
lllusuations may not accurately represent exact coofiguratrons priced. Compaq is not liable for ednorial. pic1orial, or typOgraphical errors in this advertisement. 'Financing available on approved credtt tllrough MBNA America
Bank, NA. by arrangement with Compaq Capitaf. Payments based on a 48·month term at a fixed Annual Percentage Rate as low as t4.99%. Your APR may be higher. The<e is no fee for Compaq purchases billed directly to
your acr:oont. However. the<e Is an access checl< fee of 2% of the U.S. Qc;Jar amount of each advance check ($2 min./S15 max.). " System tested using NSTl YMARK2000 hardware test. Non·oonpflant thlrd·party
software/hardware products may affect rollover results. For more details, see w11w.ccmpaq.comlyear2000. "Requires sharing subscriber profile information and •1iewlng targeted ads. Other terms and conditions also apply.
See NetZero User Agreement !or !Etails. 'For hard drives. GB=billion bytes. ' 6X DVD·ROMDrivetransfer rata is up to Bl 15 Kbps compared to 1352 Kbps for t XDVD-ROM Drives. 'ITUV.90 moclems are designed only to allow
Attention all modem-plugging,
drive-swapping, peripheral-obsessed
notebook users:
Your all-in-one notebook is ready.
The Compaq Presario 1BOOT Series Internet Notebook PC.
While it may be impossible to be all things to al l peo ple, there now exists a notebook which is al l things
to certain people.
People whose pulses race at the mere mention of features like Accelerated 3D Graphics, JB L Pro Audio,
and a fiftee n-inch display. People who have been itching for bo nuses like one-touch Internet access, DVD ,
and a superfast 56K modem! People who get an extra charge our of knowing th at they can get al l thi s stuff bui lt
into one sleek notebook.
This little powerhouse also comes with your choice of a blazing-fast Intel"' Celeron'M or Pentium"' III processo r,
making it one of the highest performance PCs to ever h it the road.
The all-in-one Compaq Presario I SOOT Series Intern et Notebook PC. The only thing missing from ir is you.

PRESARIO 1800T-Plll 450 PRESARIO 1900T-Pll 366 PRESARIO 1BOOT-Piil 450 PRESARIO 1800T-Plll 500
INTERNET NOTEBOOK PC INTERNET NOTEBOOK PC INTERNET NOTEBOOK PC INTERNET NOTEBOOK PC
Intel MobilePentium• Ill Processor. 450 MHz Intel Mobile PentiumII Processor. 366 MHz Intel Mobile Pentium Ill Processor, 450 MHz Intel Mobile PentiumIll Processor, 500 MHz
14.1" TFT Active Matrix Display 13.3. TFT Active Matrix Display 15.0' TFT Ac ive Matrix Display 15.0' TFT Active Matrix Display
64 MBSyrn:ORAM 128 MB SyncORAM 96 MBSyncORAM 128 MB SyncDRAM
6.4 GB UltraDMA Hard Drive' 6.4 GB UltraDMA HardDrive' 6.4 GB UltraDMA Hard Drive ' I 0.0 GB UllraDMA Hard Drive'
24X Max CD·ROM Dr~·e' 6X DVO ·RDM Drive ' 6X DVO·RDM Drive ' 6X DVO·ROM Drive'
ATI Rage LT Pro Hardware Accelerated ATI Motilily Hardware Accelerated ATI Rage LT Pro Harct~iare Accelerated ATI RageLT Pro HardviareAccel erated
3D Graphics with 8 MB Video Memory 3D Graphics vnth 8 MB Video Memory 3D Graphics with 8 MB Video Memory 3D Graphics with BMB Video Memory
56K ITU V.90 Modem (PCQ' 56K ITU V.90 Modem (PCQ' 56K ITU V.90 Modem (PCQ' 56K rru V.90 Modem (PCI)'
Ultra Hi·Capaciry L1loo Banery Ultra Hi·Capacity liloo Battery Ultra Hi·Capacity liloo Banery Uttra Hi·Capacity lilon Battery
256 KB Integrated'On·chip' cache 256 KB Integrated 'On·chip' cache 256 KB Integrated 'On·chip' cache 256 KB Integrated 'On-chip· cache
Microsoft Featured Horne Collection Microsoft Feat\Jred Home Co tec1ion Microsoft Featured Home Co'lection 3.5· 12n'l .44 MB Hi· Capacity Supenlislt Drive
Microsoft Vrindows98 Microsoft Windows98 Microsoft Windows98 10/100 BaseTEthernet Nenl'Ofk Card
Microsoft Featured Home Collection + Windows98

$2199* $62permo.' $2399*$67per mo.' $2599*$73P«mo.' $3299*$92P«nm.'

6X DVD-ROMDrive': Add $1 50 Extra AC Aclapter: Add $49 192MB SyncORAM:Add $300 18.0 GB UltraDMA Hard Drive': Add $300
96 MB SyrcORAM:Add $100 Ouik!lo::k w/lntegrated Ethernet. Add $129 Diamond Phoneline Network USB:Add $69 Ouikllock:Add S99
Extra AC Adapter: Add S49 Extra Uitra Hi·Capacity lilon Battery:Add $129 CompaqValue Case: Add S39 Mobility Au1o Adapter: Add $99

1-888-549-9782 www.compaq.com
Buy direct from Compaq, or purchase yours at your favorite retailer.

Compaq Retailers
COMPAa
ABC Warehouse, American Appliance, American lV, Big City Express, Brandsmart USA, Buy.com, CDW, Circuit City, CompUSA, CompUSANET.com, Computer Town,
Conn 's, DataVision, Fred Meyer, Fry's Electron ics, h.h. Gregg, J&R Computer World, Micro Center, MicroWarehouse, Multiple Zones,
Nationwide Computers & Electronics, Nebraska Mega Mart, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Dnsale.com, Outpost.com, PC Connection , PC Mall, PC Richard & Son,
PC Warehouse. RadioShack, RCS Computer Experience, Sears, Shopping.com, Staples, State Street Discount, The Wiz, Tiger Direct, Tops Appliance City,
ValueAmerica.com Visit a Compaq Built For You Custom PC Center at select retailers highlighted In bold above.

faster downloads lrom K56flex- or V.90·compllant digital sources. Maximum achievable download transmission ratesare currently unknown.may not reach 56 kilobits per second (Kbps). and will vary with
line condrtllns. '24X Max CD·ROM data transfer rates may vary from 1500 to 3600 Kbps. One year parts and labor. Labor for notebook systems is pick·up service. Compaq. the Compaq Logo, and Presario
are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademarl< Office. Microsoft' Winda.Ys'98 insialled. Microsoft. MS. and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Intel. th~ Intel Inside Logo. and
Pentium are registered tra dernarl<.s and Celeron Is atrademark of Intel Corporation. Product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks arxl/or registered trademarks of other companies.can
Compaq Monday-Friday, 7:00arn-1 t:OOpm (Cl). C 1999 Compaq Computer Corporation. All rights reserved.
 SHIP
happens. Shipping and handling costs can dra matically ra ise 25; and it offers no way to re-sort
a seemingly low price. If shipping info is not listed some­ results (by price, for example) , so
you have to scroll through all the
where obvious, like next to the price of the item, you may be able to find
results to find the best deal.
the cost by clicking "Customer Service" or "Informa tion" on the mer- After browsing BookFinder's
chant's site. If you still can't find it, go th rough the order process until matches and losing a lengthy
you get to the shipping prices, then cancel or proceed with the order. deba te with my better judgment,
I passed up the $6800 first·edi­
quoted, even with shipping and handling or new; set price limits; select how many tion hardback and instead bought an early
costs included, was a couple of bucks results you want per page; and enter extra edition for $so plus $5 shipping. For me,
lower than the independent bookstore keywords. If you're picky about the condi­ the online experience beat the used book­
price from the brick-and-mortar world. As tion of the book, you can use this last fea­ stores in the real world, too: I called half a
for Amazon.com , the bots found the dis­ ture to limit your search to copies listed as dozen local shops and none of them had
count cybergiant all right, but never with being in fine or very fin e condition. an early edition of Catcher in s tock.
the lowest price. Thanks to MySimon , I If you' re looking for a widely available
paid two bucks less for my hardback copy THE RIGHT BOT FOR THE JOB book, you should shop around usin g the
of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets BOO KF INDER HAS three main down­ general-purpose bots as well as the book­
than I would have at Amazon.com. sides: It organizes results into seven sub­ specific sites. But if you're on a quest for a
As for The Catcher in tlie Rye, only Book­ divisions re fl ec ting the seven search rare dass of book, skip the general bots
Finder fotmd an ea rly edition- the others engines it uses to and go s traight to
found mass-market paperbacks and relat­ look for matches; BookFinder. As is
ed publications. Like any other book bot, it cuts off results the case with most
BookFinder lets you search by title and/or from any of these bots and in most
author and to specify hardback or paper­ as soon as the product categories,
back, but it also allows you to check boxes matches in that finding s hipping
for first edition or signed copy, and used subdivision reach costs is up to you.

Toys and
{ Collectibles a wide net. No one magic shopping agent can find

l NEVER F 0 u ND A toy-specific shopping

CAST the best deals on everything. Use several bots to
The bots delivered lots of find what you 're looking for, then compa re the information.
bot, but Bottomdollar.com , Excite Shop­ matd1es, and with the ex­
ping, MySimon , Planet Retail, WebMar­ ception ofWebMarket, they did their job cisco during early fall. As this story went
ket, and Yahoo Shopping all have sections well-though it took me a while to hone to press. however, Talking Tinky Winky
devoted to toys and collectibles. My mis­ my search queries. In t11e case of my Talk­ Teletubbies are jammed cheek by jowl on
sion? To tra ck down a Talking Tinky ing Teletubby, the bots found an item I the shelves of my local Toys 'R' Us.
Winky Teletubby and a Flamingo Barbie. couldn't get at any retail store in San Fran- Bottomdollar.com and Planet Retail let
you do a ge neral
keyword search
SHOPPING BOT m~i~h~s Price . Comments
once you arrive at
Bottomdollar.com • SZS PRO: Searches lots of toy merchants, lets you sort by price or merchant. the Toys and Col­
www.bot tcmdollar.com (free) CON: Way too many mismatches, lacks information on promotions.
lectibles area. My­
Planet Retail $25 PRO: Nifty narrowing-down process, allows you to specify a maximum price. Simon and Excite
www.planetretall.com ($5) CON : Found lots of other Teletubby items-all from one store.
·shciiiflnd Shopping list sepa­
SZS PRO: Easy to navigate; searches many toy merchants. CON: No way of organizing
www.shopflnd.com ($11) list, so I had to dig to find the exact toy I wanted. rate s ubsections
OB.JECTIVE
Web Market $25 PRO: Lets you sort results by merchant, toy category, or availability. with in Toys for
Talking Tinky Winky www.webmarket.com ($5) CON: Some Inaccurate pricing and shipping costs listed, no way to sort by price. Ba rbi es, Bea ni e
Teletubby Yahoo Shopping $30 PRO: Extensive subcategories; exact match found in Yahoo mall. CON: Churned Babies, Furby, Star
shopgulde.yahoo.com ($7) out pages and pages of links to various Teletubby merchandise I didn't want.
OFFLINE PRICE Wars, and the like.
$30 at Toys 'R' Us - Desi Sol mthis caleqor,. ' Lowest price found by each bot; shipping cost appears in parentheses. These options ca n
really help you ....

232 H•fHIY·• 0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Whether you operate
aut of a dusty b~sernent or
the janitor's broom doset,
Egghead. com's computer
product prices apd cu_stomer
serV>i.ce will make you feet
like a corporate monolith .
We·kn.ow that savin.g
mDney is always a priority.
So we provide the lowest
prices, tiered-pricing on
volume orders and hree
different shopping venl.1e"s.
But price- means noth1ng
\Vithout service. That's why
we also offer purchase oroer
processing, leasing programs,
extended warranties and
account representatives. And
if yourre searching for the
best in brand m~me computer
suppliesr Egghead.com carries
Sony, IBM, Compaq, Hewlett
Packard and r any more.
We're waiting.A:o help you

For a quote on your next order:

Phone: BOO-EGGHEAD
E-mail· [email protected]
tax: (360) 816-7320
 DROWNING
by numbers. If your search turns According to Heather Young, WebMar­
up a flood of matches, use what­ ket's public relations specialist, th e com­
pany strives lo make the prices it delivers
ever sort options are available to organize them-usually you
consistent with m erchants' prices. How­
can sort by price or by vendor. If the bot doesn't have sort eve r, WebM arke t does n 't take res ponsi­
options. start over and refine your search to limit the results. bility fo r an y di screpancies that turn up
during sea rch es. "We refer the custom er
zoom in on the item you 're looking for. my Teletubby fo r just $25 at KBkid s.com to Inktom i. the company res ponsible for
Bots found a narrower range of prices (www.kbkids.com). Shipping was free and WebM arke t's und erlyin g search engine
for toys th an for other products. Without I got a free Furby Buddy to boot. technology," says Young.
access to shipping costs, I had no way of While s hopping for Barbie , I ent ered In any ca se, I circl ed back to Excite
knowing which match was the best deal. Flamingo Barbie in Excite Shopping's Toys Shopping's list of merchants and bought
(WebM a rket listed shipping prices , but category. instructing it to search the entire the doll for a total of $107 (with tax and
the actual charges turned out to be a dollar We b. Big mi stake. My search pulled up shipping)-$12 better than at Toys ' R' Us.
hi ghe r.) Jn this case, burrowing into mer­ two sto res and way too m a ny EBay auc­ In ge ne ral , sho pping bots find a fair
chan t s ites paid off. My Teletubby pur­ tion lis tin gs. My hopes rose when \Veb­ number of matches for popular toys and
chase was s purred by fr ee ex tras and a Mar ke t fo und th e doll a t EToys (www. well-known brands. But as al ways, fi na l
brea k on shippi ng-ne ith e r o f which etoys.com) fo r $80, but the site itself list­ pricing depends on the shippin g costs, so
s howed up in my search res ults. Using ed the item a t $10 0-lowe r th an at m y be prepared to go from site to site to cal­
Bottomdollar.com to get th ere, I bought local Toys ' R' Us, but not a steal. culate the fin al tally.

GET
past advertisers. Big bot sites like MySimon pull up search results by

{ Clothing and .
listing their sponsors' sites first. Re -sort the results by cllckinq on the

appropriate column heading-such as Price or Vendor.

Accessories ... ,
-o­
CLOTHING ISN ' T AMON G the consumer lot are MySimon
,' First I homed in on its Gloves area; once
goods best served by shopping bots, so and Yahoo. My­ th e re I keyed in th e word leather. I got
don't be surprised if you ge t no matches Sim o n le ts you m atches for work gloves, baseball gloves,
for see m in gly co mm on a ppare l (like tunn el down to leather wall e ts , a nd a few leath e r dress
Levi's). Many bots th at have product cate­ m e n ' s cl ot hin g gloves . Botto md oll ar. co m fo und sports
gories omit apparel altogether. MySimon, and select the kind of apparel you want­ and medical gloves, but no regular ones.
Pl a net Re ta il , We bM a rk e t, and Ya hoo shirts, shorts. T-shirts, whatever. Yahoo Sho ppin g se nt m e throu gh its
Yahoo's m en's section is eve n better. It typical Russian nes tin g doll of categories:
offers undenvea r, tall sizes, young men's, Apparel & Accessories 0Women°Acces­
08.JECTIVE shoes, and more. sories0Gloves· Lea th er. The n it retrieved
Women's blac k leather gloves The fir st clothing item on m y shopping matches for seven cos tly pairs of gloves it
OF FL INE PR I CE li st was a pair of wome n's black lea ther discovered in its own mall , followed by
$56 at Nordstrom gloves . 1 s tarted m y quest at MySimon. over 200 match es for lea th er and glove
drawn from the Web at large.
I
Next 1 tri e d Shopfind. Afte r ge tting
Comments
eight accurate matches, all I had to do was
MySlmon $79 PRO: Many men's and women's clothing subcategories. CO N: Returned matches choose between fur-lin ed and acryLic-lined
www.myslmon.com ($8) for all kinds of gloves, despite being asked for "black leather gloves."
gloves at si milar prices. That's a decis ion
Planet Retail S79 PRO: Good search options within apparel category. CON: listed multiple I could handle-for $Jo (plus $8 s hip­
www.planetretail.com ($8) instances of each search result , making for 13 paQes of results instead of 1.
pin g), I we nt with th e fur. But ju st be­
Shopfind • 8
$30 PRO: Easy to use-no need lo wade through categories. CON : No way to refi ne a
www.shop ftnd.com ($8) search, so you get lots of mismatc hes. cause the bot fo und a good deal does n 't
Web Market S79 PRO: Nice interface, good range of subcategories; search by men's/women's, m ean I li ved ha ppil y eve r afte r: I neve r
www.webmarket.com ($8) price, and specific brand If available. CON: Ridiculous number of repeat matches. received the gloves. According to the m er­
Yahoo Shopping S3Z PRO: Matches for gloves were riQhl on when searching its own mall. chant, m y order didn't go throu gh, so I
shopgulde.yahoo.com CS5) CON: Doesn't let you spec ify price, so it found some very expensive matches.
canceled my purchase. In any case, Nord­
• 8Hl Bot mthlscat"ory ' Lowest price found by each bot; shipping cost appears in parentheses. strom had a similar pair for $56 plus tax.
Next on m y shoppin g list was a pair ....

238 . , . ,....... D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9
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 of Levi ' s 501 jeans. For thi s part of the I was pu zzled , so I we nt to AltaVi sta's But if you 've bought jeans recently, you
apparel hunt, I tried all the bots that had regular sea rch en gine and typed in 1-evis already know that the lowest online price
clothing categories. I sea rch ed for Levi's jeans 5 0 1 11 ew for sa le. Within minutes 1 didn't bea t the lowest offline price by a
and found Levi-related products but no found three sites selling new 501s, one of long sho t. The same 501 jeans were adver­
501 jean s: Levi's 501 yielde d on ly a few which proved to be my bes t cyberdeal. I tised for $32 plus tax at a local di sco unt
matches. I also tried two auction sites, Bid ordered the jean s from Levis 501 Ware­ d epa rtm e nt s to re. For now , it seems,
Find and Bidd er's Ed ge , wh ich found hou se.co m (www.levi s 501wa rehou se. sh opping bots may not get you the best
used Levi's, but not new ones. com) for $46 (with tax and shippin g). deal on jeans or clothes in general.

'S a stock boy when you need one? Most bots won't
WHERE tell you whether the product you want is actually

{ Music.and
in stock. So don 't assume t he product is available just because a bot

Videos lists it. The only way to find out is to go to the merchant's site.

THE WEB IS LOAD ED with mu sic and ing a uction bots mon 's list, $11, turned out to include sh ip­
video sites, so l figured that finding old or we ll-known ping. 1 saved $3 off th e retai l price at m y
sci-fi movies or well-known CDs would be auction h ouses, local Tower Records.
fair ly easy with the help of bots. And it like EBay (www.eba y.co m) or On sa le 1f the bots had trouble findin g rare doc­
is- as long as you wan t a popular recent (www.onsale.com). um entaries , th ey had an eve n thornier
item . Bottomdollar.com. MySimon, Plan­ I wanted to get copies of the classic sci­ tim e findin g Olivia 1 ewton-/ohn's third
et Retail, WebMarket, and Yahoo all have fi movie Th e Day the Earth Stood St ill, the grea test hits co ll ection (yes, th ere are
video/movie categories. To search, go to Apocalypse Now docum e ntary Hea rts of tl1ree) . MySimon and Planet Retail let you
the category you want; enter the title of the Darkness , and Olivia Newton-John 's Great­ select th e Music category and then sea rch
desired movie title, album name, or al bum est Hi ts, Volum e 3 CD . by title and/or artist. When I sea rcl1ed for
performer in the sea rch field; and hit Go. Oli via N~ivton-Jolin Greatest Hits Vo /1~.me
But when it comes to low-cost items like BOT MILEAGE MAY VARY // 1. bots couldn 't find it because at som e
current CDs and videotapes, bots can save ALL T H E BOTS found Th e Day th e Earth m erchants ' sites, it was li sted as "Vol. 3."
you only a few dollars at best. And as \vith Stood St ill eas il y, at prices around $12 . At Planet Retail, when I seard1ed for New­
books, if you want som etl1i ng rare, gener­ Yahoo Shopping, once it let me broaden ton-John 's grea te t hits I got no matches,
a l-purp ose bots are not th e way to go. my search to encompass th e entire Web, but when I searched by her name alone 1
They usually troll big online stores, whid1 pulled up the largest number of matches got plen ty. includin g so me of her grea tes t
don ' t s tock man y out-of-the-o rdin ary and the best price, $10. hits albums. MySimon found a great $15
items. For rare music and video, Hea rts of Darkness proved harder to find. price, but after I walked through the entire
you might have better luck try- MySimon did bes t, s potting five si tes an d ordering process , the merchant added tax
the lowest price. Yahoo located three, an d at the last click, sending the price above
Bottomdollar .com bottomed out. Once $18-higher than I had anticipated. Still, I
The Day the Earth Stood Still videocassette
again, 1had to figure out the shipping info saved abou t fo ur bucks off Tower Re­
OFFL INE PRIC E
myself, but the lowes t price on MySi- cords' $22 price tag.
My advice: If yo u 're searching for popu­
lar movi es and artists and yo u want to
Comments
save a little money over the regular street
Bottomdollar.com Sl3 PRO : lets you search by VHS , DVD. or laserdisc; finds exact matches and qood price , shop around using various bots. If
www.bottomdollar.com (S3) prices. CON: Not qreat at findinq less·popular items, distractinq ads.
th e item you want is less common , you
Planet Retail SIZ PRO : Great movie search tormat; includes details on availability. CON : Some m ay be better off browsing auction bots
www.planetret ail.com (S3) results were dead links; inconsistent product information.
and auction sites- if you're willing to take
PriceScan SIS PRO : Uncluttered search field, lists all stores it tried. CON : Searches only by
www.pricescan.com (SS) movie title; search process isn't very intuitive. the tim e to monitor their progress.
Shopfind Sil PRO : Checks adecent number of merchants. CON : Doesn 't sa y how many total
www.shopfind.com ($4) matches it tound, searches pulled up some nonmovie results. Elizabeth Cran e, a San Fra11 cisco- ba sed
Yahoo Shopping * SIO PRO : Snappy interface, divides searches into 13 qenres. CON: lots of matches, freela11 ce writer, is considering usi11g bots
shopguide.yahoo.com ($1) but it doesn't always fin d the lowes t prices.
for her f1oliday shopping this year-but site
• Best Bot tn this caleqory. ' lowest price found by each bot; shippinq cost appears in parentheses. can't promi se frie nds and family that
th ey'll stop seeing IO Us. •

240 HWfi.1;14.p D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
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(h~ ~!~Ki:~6·
I Expanding Possibilities I
B) JORNADA 430se COLOR, PALM.SIZE PC
There's more to life than just work. That's why the HP
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software.
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• 240 x 320 pixels LCD
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CASIO.
C) PV-200 POCKET VIEWER
Featuring 2MB of memory, this pocket viewer has everything
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•Drop-in PC synchronization
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CASIO.
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COLOR PALM.SIZE PC
Put a lot of color in your pocket with the big color
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D G N I T E E M
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 Special Advertising Supplement

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 Special Advertising Supplement

With the huge number ofWeb retailers crowding the

Internet, ir's no wonder that today's immediacy-addicted
online shoppers are rurnin g to porcal-style sires to reduce
wear-and-re;u- on their clicking fingers. After all, such sires
promise to eliminate a lot of inefficient cruising while
ensuring shoppers of the best buys available. Model of Independence
So how do yo u differentiate yo urself in Bur mySimo n's biggest competi tive advantage is rhe sheer
th e battle fo r purchase-ready eyeballs? number of retail and auction sires ir collects irs informatio n
Ask the people at Santa Clara, Cali f­ from - over 1600 ar last counr. T har's a fur greater selec­
based mySimon inc., and they'll tell you tion than th e two or three hundred most other co mparison
rh ar it takes three ingredients: th e right sites offer.
business model , superior technology, and a One reason myS imon can connect shoppers wirh so
keen sense of what on line buyers are really many supplier sires is irs busi ness model. The company is
looking fo r. independent, so ir doesn't have the close contracrual rela­
"We give shoppers what they want: a tionships that bind other "shop-bots" to their parent com­
complete shopping destination that lets pany's srraregic partners. More imporcancly, mySimon
them shop the way they do in th e physical world, bur in a does n't restrict itself only to th ose merchants with whom ir
fract ion of the rim e," says myS imon CEO Josh Goldman. has a partnering agreement. Me rchants who want to partic­
According ro Goldman , that means being able to ipate in myS imon's special program can ante up ro do so,
compare deals on more than just price. "Other sires just bur mySimon continues ro add sires whether o r not th ey
give you the numbers," he nores. "We give you the other "pay to play."
information that typically affects th e decision to purchase "Our revenue isn't dependent on big- ticket deals wirh
from one sou rce or another - how soon th e retailer ca n a limited number of partn ers," says Goldman . "We can jusr
ship it, what th eir return policy is, whether the product was keep signing on more merchants and delivering more value
made in the USA, or whatever else is pare of rhar mer­ to th e customer."
chant's value proposition." Technology also plays a big ro le in mySimon's ability
The rich content of myS imon .com also includes to grow irs merchant base. MySimo n has parents pending

guides to hot product categories, personalized shopping for a va ri ety of parallel search and arrificial intelligence
histories, and ongoing price tracki ng. In addition, th e si re techniques. By using these proprie tary roo ls, mySimon can
provides links to a wide range of consumer and merchant rapidly incorporate new merchams' \Xleb content into the
in form atio n resources. si re - including accive bidding prices from real-rime Web
auctio ns - and presem ir in a way rhar's easy for users to

"The bigger the Web gets, the more understand. And with o ne click, rhey can get ri ght to the
merchant's " BUY" butto n.
buyers and sellers are going to need "The bigger the Web gets, rh e more buyers and sellers

aggregation services like ours." are going to need aggregation services like ours," observes
Goldman. "So we're very bullish about what the furure
Josh Goldman, CEO, mySimon inc.
holds fo r us." ~

I• :i·Mlj11fol!N myS irno n inc. lwww.mys imon.com 1408-330-4400

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gifts you wont to give this holiday season, so you con instantly compare brands, prices, and retailer o~ers-like overnight
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 Special Advertising Supplement

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on quality RAM? the right memory
Micron Technology division Crucial Technology, upgrade for their needs, Crucial's site provides even the
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largest DRAM manufacrurer in the country and one of the exact memory they need for nearly 8,000 different desk­
top three in cl1e world. Jn addition to providing memory tops, notebooks, servers, printers, and routers. The site also
modules for their own mghly respected brand, Mkron provides a complete reference library on memory technolo­
Technology is also a top supplier for other industry leaders, gy, manufacturing processes, and upgrade considerations.
including Compaq, Dell, Gateway, HP, and IBM. "We've really created one of the most informacive and com­
That makes Crucial a very dif­ prehensive si res on the Web related to memory," declares

cruc1ar
T E C II N 0 I. 0 G \'
ferent source from the typical
reseller operation, which either
VanDenBerg. "Even if you're nor buying from us, it's a very
educacional place to browse."
ADivisionofMiCJrJfi• slaps someone else's d1ip on a In addition to maintaining irs full-function Web site,
board, or simply re-labels pre­ C rucial- which has been selling online since
assembled modules with their own logo. 1996---offers roll-free phone, fax, and e-mail
"With our approach, the customer is assured ordering. Same-day shipping and overnight deliv­
of getting the same qualiry as the PC manu­ ery are also available. Consumers get free technical sup­
facturers themselves demand," states Rafe porc and a limited lifetime warranty on all producr.s, as well
VanDenBerg, Crucial market­ as a full 30-day money back guarantee.
ing direcror. "That's somecl1ing "With our approach, the Just as important as the
you can't find anywhere else on customer is assured of qualiry and service C rucial offers
the Web." getting the same quality are ics discounts for ordering
VanDenBerg poinrs out as the PC manufacturers online. Consumers can now save
that such quaiiry has become an additional 10% by orde ring
increasingly critical as processor
themselves demand."
through C rucial.com. Crucial also
Rafe VanDenBerg, marketing director,
speeds increase, since manufac­ provides additional value to its
Crucial Technology
turing tolerances have become enterprise customers c.hrough its
proportionally tighcer. 'The new cmpsers and processors have online purchase programs.
critical timing and circuit requirements that mandate preci­ "With memory pricing increasing, our online dis­
sion manufacturing and design ," he observes. "Since Micron counts provide an even greater savings opporruni ry for our
works directly with the top PC manufacturers, we can assure customers," says Van DenBerg. "And the more busi ness we
our customers that our upgrades march cl1e exacti ng specifica­ conduct online, the more savings we'll be able to pass on to
tions they need to boost their system performance." our cuscon1ers." ~

6 I
Crucial Technology www.crucial.com 1888-363-3065
IBM, Gateway, HP,
and Apple buy our
memory direct.
[ Th~v don 't take ,.;sks. N eUher .,houltf yon. ]
Buy your m omory direct from on e of th o large st
memory manu fa cturers In tho world . Performance,

reliability, soloctlon and factory direct savings ­

Crucial Technology, a divis ion of Micron .

"T/1t111A' for" quality p rml uct at a ;.:re111 price.

J::rerything 1:\ u·orMng 1t•frh a 11vtic:cablc in crease in

.\ jlt:t•rl. anti tir e prict• h 'fa "full 50% off 1/u. prict' 1

/ram th e OJ::.\/. fou tfrfinitt•(r hm·e a 1ri1111i11g H't•b

\itc for mt•mory 11p,i.:ratlt• purchases! "
Roy Turnbull , Pnr'lt.1 ?'! ~ EnJ "hf'

Compare t h e Sav i n gs •••

64MB Upgrades
Compaq Kingston Cru cial
Presario 5070 $286.00 143.99
Presario 1255 Laptop $286.00 148.49

Micron El octron lcs Kingston Crucia l

Millennia 400 5286.00 141 .29
Millennia MME P200 5286.00 141.29
ClientPro VXE 2001233 5286.00 143.99
Tran sPort Trek2 Senes S286.00 148.49

Gateway Kingston Crucial

G6-300 5286.00 141 .29
P5·200 5314 .00 152.99
GP6-300 5286.00 141.29

IBM Kingston Crucial

Apt iva (2140) 5286.00 141 .29
PC 300GL (659 1) 5286.00 141.29
PC 300PL (6892-50U) $286.00 143.99

HP Kingslon Crucia l
BRIO 8338 5286.00 14 1.29
Vectra VL Series 8 5286.00 143.99

Ap p le Kingston Crucial
iMAC 5286.00 148.49
Powe r M ac 6500 Suliu!> S222.00 161 .99
Power Mac GJ 5286.00 141 .29
Power Mac G3 PC100 5286.00 143 .99
Cruclnl price s reflect nn automatle 1 0 •;. dlacount
for ord e ring onllno . Pr>cos wore ta~en from Crucial anci Kingston
we ~ ~ea on 10/ 11199. t10WOV01. m.y can (lllOCI do) Change daity Pnees
may vary 3CCOl'd ing to spoor.c 11ys1om rCQv•1Gmen t.
 Bob Pullman knows a thing or rwo about lmerner video
software. As a Webcasring pioneer, Pullman first incorpo­
rated video inco his company's Web site by making images
captured on a hiUrop in Rencon, Wash., available co
viewers via FTP. In those early days, he recalls, "we were
limired to uploading the camera images co the server
every 60 seconds. "
Even roday, Pullman says, "many applica­
tions for streaming video are coo undependable
"lnetcam will do for streaming video what Ford
for the money." There is one package, however, did for automobiles, by providing high-quality
that Pullman likes: "Inetcam will do for stream­ streaming video at a low price."
ing video what Ford did for auromobiles," he Bob Pullman, Pullman Inc.
says, "by providing high-quality screaming video
at a low price." Inercam can emu.late standard securi ty video switching sys­
Pullman calls lnercam "the cleanest-looking software I tem functionality: Ir lees you view four attached video
have seen in the past I 0 years. It gives me a better picture sources on one screen simultaneously, o r periodically sv.·irch
than other systems, ar a frac­ between active video sources.
E CAM" tion of the price. " Today, his
Adjustable Features
live...FromAnyuberer electronic publishing compa­
ny, Pullman Inc., uses "Bur rhe real beauty of Inercam," Pullman says, ' is that it
lnercam co stream live video over the Inrerner from each of supports video in three fo rmats: Java, JPEG , and FTP. " To
its four regional e-zine sires in Renton, Covingron, scream live video from your Web sire, you can embed both
Kentucky, Vicroria, B.C., and Kingston, Jamaica. Inetcam's Java applets and "push JPEG" images inco your
fnercam , from San Diego-based Inetcam Inc., is a sys­ Web pages, or upload them from any "Video for
tem char can srrean1 video to any viewer on the lncerner. Windows" compatible camera or video grabbers via FTP.
lnercam offers rwo complete, turnkey systems for transm it­ Viewers can adjust virtually all aspects of rhe images they
ting live video from as many as four sources. lnercam's receive, fro m brightness and concrasr co saturation and
VTS 4001 system includes the Inercam server software, compression levels.
4-Porr Video Switcher, transformer, and a black-and-white lnercam's Java applets run seamlessly on virtually any
camera. For full color and audio capabilities, you can opt operating system, including Macintosh and Unix.
for Lnercam's VTS 800 I package, which includes Inercam's Viewers need only a standard, Java-compatible lmernet
4-Porr Video/Audio Switcher and a color camera. The browser-such as Microsoft lnrernet Explorer or Netscape
Inercam server software-which runs on Windows 95, 98, Navigaror- ro directly view screaming video from your
and NT platforms-sends video co your viewers without sire. "I cried several Web camera systems bur they were all
the need for plug-ins or remote viewing software. very heavy with viewing sofrvvare and larger applets, " says
Unlike ordinary digital cameras, Inercam's cameras can Eric Goiser, a Web sire developer based in Monrreal .
be sec up hundreds of yards away from the host without "Jnercam's Java applets, on the other hand, are very light.
losing image quality. This makes Inercam more useful fo r Ir's one of the reasons I think Lnercan1 is the best screaming
event coverage or security applications. For example, video package I have seen." ~

Inetcam Inc. Jwww.inercam.com J858-558-7200

 7:21 PM

IN ETCAM is... Acomplete turnkey system of live video transmission

to ­ over the Internet. There is nothing else like it! INETCAM requires
... acid live video feed to your own Website no camera operator, no videotape, and no mo-way soft>Nare.
... view your home or business anytime Cameras can be set up hundreds of yards away from the host
... improve security around remote locations computer, and the video stream can be viewed live from any Web­
... bring.together the Whole family ... yisit accessible device - PC, Mac, Unix workstation ... even an LCD phone.
with distant friends or relatives ... deliver
te<ihnicarsupport or customer service •.. flha .~ I NETCAM systems include everything you need to start
out what's been.eating your roses ... provkje broadcasting, and awhole range of customizing accessories is also
real-time monitoring ofshop orsehool... available. There is no limit to the number of cameras that can be
keep an eye on the pooch while you're away
... watch the construction progress en. y.our attached to the system. lnetcam soft>Nare is also available separately
new house ... educate and inform your and can be purchased on-line at www.inetcam.com.
audience with live real-time imagery
... broadcast your grandson's football game Try our software FREE for 10 days-
... analyze traffic patterns, production For more information, visit our Website today!
bottlenecks, factory operations ... admire the
TM
sculptor at work in herstudio
... monitorATM machines 2~hours aday ...
check the surfcondftions at your favorite
break ... take alook inside that vacation rental Live..•from AnyMiere!™
.•. transmit Sally's live dance Ccp-.'rig1'11 1999 IMteam. Al ngt1u rcu~. lnetaim, thll lnetr.am logo n a! inetum JWoducts referred 10 herein we rogls:rrec:t to N1.carn. Inc. Windows. Java. Ind
recital back home all othor t1ildmn1rbcltod 5bove 11:t the propeftY of ttie:r respective owners. Al systems assembled in USA frtm «>fnl)Or'IMtS mldeworldvio4de.
 11 1,,,,1,,'

BOOTBOXm COMPUTERS, INC .

... ...... ,.
lln:~ f.. . . r lh.:: ~tohctl ho~I up

·--­
Do you seek a powerful compucing experience for under ·-·-­
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upgradeable systems with high-quality componencs-all ac
·-­
unbearable prices. BoocBox's compucers, according to com­
pany CEO Joshua Feinstein, are ready to go right our of ~77) 600T NOW
' I ' I o • , ', , \ , " •," , ;~ t ! )" <

the box. "We wane to make the consumer feel good about
buying a low-cost PC," says Feinscein. Program, BoocBox Compucers Inc. is only releasing che
Most of the other low-cost computer systems that are BoocBox 2000 configuracion. After December 31, 1999,
on che marker for consumers today are propriecary, consumers will be able to purchase the entire line of
Feinstein says. This holds crue even more for the world of BoocBox compucers.
ulrra-low-cosr compucing. Systems from many other com­
panies do not include monitors, network cards, or robust Online Support and Learning
processors. Bur each BoocBox system ships with a 15-inch BoocBox provides additional resources through ics online
Samsung Sam*Tron 55E monitor and a 10/100 network support and learning center. Buyers can visit che BoocBox
interface card for use with a cable modem, asymmetric dig­ sice to browse support documents, and download drivers,
ital subscriber line (ADSL), or home/office networking. updaces, and pre-inscallation kics to keep their compucers
Each ofBootBox's base systems also spores an Intel running smoothly. And they can troubleshoot any software
processor, 56Kbps v.90 internal modem, 32-bir sound card and hardware problems 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
and speakers, 8MB ofAGP video, 42X CD-ROM drive, a through BoocBox's online diagnoscic cencer.
PS/2 keyboard and mou~e. and Microsoft Windows 98 SE To gee the most our of cl1eir BoocBox systems, buyers

l l t
TJ () () . TJ () X
TM
installed. Each system also
comes with 618 software
rides, including che award-
can rake advantage of a 30-day free trial of BoocBox
University, an online learning cencer for firsr-cime or
advanced computer users. The trial, which includes a
winning Ability Office Suite beginners course in Windows 98 SE, allows users to experi­
98, 1999 ~bsters Multi-Media Encyclopedia, Kids ljping, ence all of the screaming media and inceracrive learning
Print Mastel; Animal Kingdom, and 600 shareware and free­ BoorBox University has to offer. Each topic area has begin­
ware games, applications, and ucilities. And each BoocBox ner, incermediare, and advanced course levels. BoocBox
comes with a free, Web-based e-mail account. University is set to debut around the second half of2000,
The BoocBox 2000 syscem features a 400MHz Imel bur don't worry, all BoorBox customers will get their 30­
Celeron processor, 32MB of RAM, and 8.4GB of hard day crial at no charge as soon as it is available.
disk space-all for $799. BoocBox's mid-level syscem, che Newcomers and power users alike can grab a BoocBox
BoocBox 3000, has a 433MHz Imel Celeron processor, Computer system today! With the processor upgradeable
64MB of RAM, and I0.2G B of hard disk space, and costs to a Piil 600MHz and the RAM to 768MB, the BootBox
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boascs an Imel Celeron derful compuring experience. And
466MHz processor, I28MB BoocBox wanes to grow with its
RAM, 13.IGB of hard disk
"We want to make the customers, by providing a low-cost
space, and coses only consumer feel good about upgradeable compucer that will
$1,049. For the GO buying a low-cost PC." ensure ics customers investmencs for
DIRECT! For The Holidays! Joshua Feinscein, CEO, BoocBox Computers Inc. years to come. tt;

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BOOTBOX~ COMPUTERS,•INC
"' . .._... ; '
·~
TIME FOR THE GLOBAL BOOT UP
 Amonthly update of the best desktop PCs, notebooks, printers, scanners, monitors, and graphics boards

kth FROM
268 Power PCs

•
P1c e SOLOS TO
SAT ELLITES
274 Midrange PCs

PERFECT
Notebook
280 Budget PCs

288 Notebook PCs

293 Scanners
 f.

FOR MOS T OF US, purchasing the right PC involves a tough negoti­ POINT YOUR browser t o WWW.
pcworld.com/t op400 for late­
ation between what we want-scorching speed and tons of features­
breaking reviews of desktop com­
and the cash we're willing to shell out. That's especially true with note­ puters. In PC World Onllne's Top 400 section,
you'll find comprehensive reviews and rat­
book PCs, where having it all comes at an agonizingly high price. We
ings for products in 16 categories. You'll also
ofte n end up with a compromise, something between a power notebook find reviews t hat are not available In print.

and a bare-bone. budget model. With this six mac h ines based on it. "We want to iber of processor, you're buying it for
in mind, and taking a cue from our work have the highest quality solutions at the speed. Our systems are gea red for speed,
PC charts, we've added a m id range note­ best price," Dalgetty says. "Sometimes it's speed, and noth ing but speed."
book section . It covers lap tops costing Intel; sometimes it's AM O."
$1700 to $2699 , a price range that ac­ Hewlett-Packard spokesperson Ray RAM PRICES ROCKING
counts for the bulk of notebook purchas­ Aldrich tells us that HP has been using THE EARTHQUAKE that hit Taiwan in late
es. The typical portable in this group has a AM D's K6 -2 d1ips for more than a year, September dealt a devastating blow to th e
13.3-inch screen, a 6MB hard and that eventually the compa­ country's economy, and its ripple effect
drive, 64M B of RAM , and a ny will employ Athlons. has hit our desktop PC charts. Though
basic CD-ROM drive. No FOR THIS month's "We want to make sure only a fraction of the worl d's DRAM is
15-inch displays-yet. coverage of the top 15 [AMO) can supply us manufactured in Taiwan, the production
If price is no object, home computers and the 10 with the quantity we shutdown accelerated already rising RAM
conside r Gateway's best color ink jet printers, check need," Aldrich says. prices. As a resu lt, several system manu­
impressive new Solo out our "Ultimate Buyers Guides" In contras t, Dell , facturers have ra ised prices of their PCs.
9300LS laptop, which on page 158 and page 181, Gateway, and Micron Prices ofsystems listed here were accu­
at $3374 packs a Pen­ respectively. inform us that they are ra te in early September but may fl uctuate
tium Il -400 CPU , a 15· sticking with Inte l pro­ un til RAM prices stabilize. - Joel Strauch
inch screen, and a jack for cessors. Dell 's Maria Krin­
connecting a Dolby Sur­ sky states, "At this time, we Joel Strau ch is a f reelance writer based in
round Sound stereo system. have no plans to offer sys- the San Fran cisco Bay Area. Grace
A less costly alternative is H ewlett­ terns with the Athlon chip," but says that Aquino, Andrew Brandt, Michell e Cam­
Packard's Omni Book XE2 . Debuting at Dell is always evaluating its options. panale-Surka11, Mi ck Lockey, Kalai
number four on the new midrange list, Whereas the big dogs may be slow to Murugesan, and Alan Stafford contributed
the XE2 is a PJI-366 system with a 13-J· adopt the Athlon, scrappier hounds are to the Top ioo this month. Testing wa s
inch screen and a friendly $2399 price. If ready to play. Tom Bea rdmore, online done by Ulrike Dieltlmann, Robert Jam es,
your company's not footing the bill but evangelist for IDot.com , explains , "No Elliott Kirschling, Jeff Kuta, and Nancy
you still need a solid system, check out knocks against Intel, but this time AMO Mill er of the PC World Test Center. See
Tosh iba 's Satelli te 2595CDS. ranked reall y did its job. If you're buying this cal- page 14for contact information. ....
number one in the budget category. It
costs just $1499 yet finds room for a
Celeron-400 chip and a 13.1-inch screen.
YOURGUIDETOTHE TOP 100
QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR CHARTS? The following information should_answer most of them.
ATHLON INSIDE? · How·do the charts work? Eacti month we t~st a large number of PCs, printers, scanners,
OVER THE PAST couple of years, AM O monitors, graphics boards, and modems, and compare them with previously reviewed
has made significant inroads into the bud­ produds. Only the best products land on the Top·10 cha'r'ts, whi.ch are refreshed monthly. Sys­
get desktop PC market with its K6, K6-2, tem configurations are shown as tested. Vendors may have since changed components.
and KG-Ill processors. AM D's latest d1ip, What does the overall rating mean? This 100-polnt ·scale reflects results from our hands­
the Athlon, takes on the performance PC on evaluations and performance tests. A score in the 90s Is exceptional, while one In
market, where s peed takes precede nce the 70s is above average.
over price. But are computer makers ready What does the PC WorldBench 98 score mean? It's a measure of how fast a PC can run a mix
to use this faster-than-Pentium processor? of common business applicat ions as compared to our baseline machine, a Gateway
IBM and Compaq tell us they will offer PMMX-200 configured with 32MB of RAM, a 2GB hard drive, and 512KB of secondary cache.
both chip brands. Brian Dalgetty, director A PC that scores 200, for instance, is twice as fast as t he baseline system.
of product marketing for IBM 's consumer Where do the scores for reliability, support quality, and support policies come from? Reliability
division, says IBM is very positive about and support quality scores are based on surveys of PC World readers and anonymous
the Athlon and notes that Big Blue offers support calls made by PC World staff. The policies score is based on vendor support policies.

D E C E M B E R I 9 9 9 •Jlfi.l;ii•• 2 67
 Very good: Pentium IJl-600, 128MB of )lAM, 512KB LZ cache,
Nov99 90
20.4GB hard drive, midsize tower case, Windows NT 4.0 ·

2 511 Compaq Prosignia Desktop 33D Sept 99 85

Very good: Pentium 111 -550, 128MB ol RAM, 512KB LZcache,
16'1 800/345·1518 www.comp!q.com 18GB hard drive, midsi ze tower case, Windows98

Dell OptiPlex GXlp 550 Very good: Pentium 111·550, 128MB of RAM, 512KB L2 cache,
3 800/388-8542 www.dell tom
Nov99 85
ZOGB hard drive, mid.size tower case, Windows NT 4.0
...... .. .. ••••· . ..... ·~ •••. •• •• • .... u -.................. ·······'"'·'""' '•

4 Ouantex SM600 SE Nov 99 84

Very Inexpensive: t::== :-:--- -.,. Very good: Penlium 111·600, 128MB of RAM , 512KB LZ cac he,
800/896·4898 www.quantex.com $2099 18GB hard drive, midsize tower case, Windows 98
.... . - . ,. ..........,................. .,. ,.....u,. •> •••••••,..... .... ~ ••

Sys Performance 600A Very good: AMO Alhlon·600, 128MB of RAM . 512K8 L2 cache,
Hov 99 Bl
800/6U·9%3 ww.sys.com two 9.IGB hard drives, midsize tower case. WlndoWS NT 4.0

Inexpensive: Very good: Pentium 111·550, 256MB of RAM , 512KB LZ cac he,
81
$U07 UGB hard drive, midsize tower case, Windows 98 SE

79
..... . ... .-! ~··· ••.

8 NexTrend NexStar-550 Nov 99 17

Very good: Pentium111 -550, 128MB of RAM . 512KB L2 cache,
8n/833-8833 www.nextrendpc.com 22GB hard drive, midsize tower case, Windows 98

9 Polywell Poly 800K7-650 76

Very good: ANDAthlon-650, 128MB of RAM, 512KB l2 cache,
800/999-lpB '#WW.pQlywell.com ~GB hard drive, midsize tower case, Windows 98 SE

Good: Pentium 111·500, 128MB of RAM, 512KB L2 cache, 13GB

10 Auq 99 76

' Asystem's performance word score Is relative to the scores ' We define vertical cases as towers (taller than 20 Inches), midsize towers ' For more Information about all of Ille products listed l
eamfd by other PCs runnlnq Ille same operallnq system. for (15.5 to 20 Inches), or mlnltowers (shorter than 15.5 Inches); and horizontal this table, select number 904 on the product lnfonna·
more details, see " Your Gulde to the Top 100" on paqe 267. cases as desktops l.5 Inches or taller) or compacts (shorter than 5 Inches). tlon card or visit www.pcworld.com/productlnfo.

THR EE PENTIUM 111-600 systems, including Cyber­ 2 COMPAQ PROSlGNlA

DESKTOP 330
Max's new Enthusias t Plll-6ooN , make thi s month's
WHAT'S HOT: A score of 246 on
power list. But Intel had better watch its back Joining an
Athlon-600 PC on the Top 10 is the new Athlon-650-based Polywell
I our PC Wo rldB ench 98 tests is a
little above average for a Pll l-550
machine runni ng Windows 98. The sys·
Poly 800K7-650, which charges onto the chart by virtue of pure speed. tern includes great multimedia extras: an
Iomega Zip 250 drive, a Diamond NVidia
1 DELL DIMENSION XPS T600 replace correctly. Inside, some long ca bles Va nta graphics boa rd, and a Sound Blaster
WHAT'S HOT: 'The Dimension XPS parti ally block access to the RAM and ex­ Li ve card. T he 19 -in ch Co mpaq S900

[I T6 oo ea rn ed a PC WorldB ench
98 sco re of 323, m aki ng it one of
pansion slots . The sound qua li ty of the
Altec La nsing ACS340 s ubwoofer-and­
monitor offers im pressive d isplay quality:
Tex t an d images rema in crisp e ve n at
th e fa s tes t Win dows NT bo xes to pass sa telli te system is merely adequate. 1600by 1200 resolution.
through our labs. The T6oo offers both a WHAT ELSE: Dell's tl10rough documenta­ WHAT' S NOT: Some fro nt bezel pieces­
CD-Rewritable drive and an Iomega Zip tion includes a well-orga ni zed user man­ th e flopp y drive faceplate and the eject
100 drive, and it com es ne two rk read y ual and excel.lent online help. Color-coded button, es pecially-were loose on the unit
with a 3Com network card. The extremely ports and matching cables make setu p a we saw. Along witl1 one open dri ve bay.
Oat Dell Ul tra Sca n P780 Trinitron screen breeze. Dell 's QuietKey keyboa rd an d the you'll find just one free ISA, one open PC!,
d isplays sha rp text and images. Microsoft lntelliMouse are quiet and easy and one open com bination slot inside.
WHAT'S NOT: Case design and interior lay­ to work with. The PC ships with Microsoft WHAT ELSE: The Prosignia Des ktop 330
out could be better: The case's side panel, Office 2000 Small Business Edition. sh ips wi th Microsoft Office 97 Small Busi·
secured by thumbscrews and squeeze BEST USE: The T6oo makes a solid , pow­ ness Ed ition and Norton An tiVi ru s De·
la tch es, requires fiddlin g to rem ove or erful ce nterp iece fo r any small office. luxe software and a vast 18GB hard drive

268 H411.UY·P D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Vendor's I Tech support Tech support Warranty for Product
Extra features Design and expardability system quality/ (hours/days, parts/labor info
I I reliability policies charge) (years) I number '

Very good: Diamond Viper VT70 graphics board with 3ZMB of SD RAM, 17·inch Good: network ready, flal·screen monitor; 24/7,
monitor, ZX CO-RW drive, V.90 modem, network card, Iomega Zip 100 drive 3 open drive bays, 3 open slots toll·tree

Good: Diamond NVidia Vanta graphics board with 16MB of SDRAM, 19-inch Very good: easy·on·the·eyes monitor; Fair/ 24/7,
Fair
monitor, 12X-52X CD·ROM drive, V.90 modem. Iomega Zip 250 drive I open drive bay, 3 open slots Good toll·free

Good: STB ~Vldia TNT graph(cs board with 16MB of SDRAM, 17·lnch monitor, Good~ can detect Ch~Ssls Intrusion; 2 Good/ 24/7,
Outstanding
17:X"40X CD·ROM drive, network card open drive·bays, 6 open slots Outstanding toll·free

Very good: NVidia RIVA THT2 Ultra graphics board with32MB of SDRAM, 19·inch Good: well la id out interior; 6 open drive Good ' / 24/7,
Good' 3/1 646
monitor, 6X OVD·ROM drive, V.90 modem, network card bays, 4 open slots Good toll·free

Outstandi119: Matrox Millennium G400 OH graphics board with 32MB of SGRAM, Good: impressive fit and flnlSh; 4 open Fair'/ 24/7,.
Varies '/5 647
17·inch monitor. 17X-40X GD·ROM drive, network card, UltraDMA RAID card drive bays, 3open slo\s · Good toll·free
.~· · ·••4~.. '"" ./. •. , • I. ..... ...•• • ,. • •-'•'• · •'-·••••••·""~• ..... ,.,:. __

OutstandlllQ! Diamond Viper mo graphics board with 32MB of SDRAM, 19-inch Very good: big, sharp monitor; 2 open Good'/ 24/7,
3/3 648
monitor. 6X DVO·ROM drive, 4X CD·RW drive, V.90 modem, Iomega Zip 100 drive drive bays, 4 open slots Outstanding loll·free

Very IJOOd; 3db Voodoo3 3000 AGP graphics board with 16MB of SDRAM, Good: well-desiqned interior; 5open Good'/ 24/7,
2Hnch monitor, 6X DVD·ROM drive, V.90 modem, lojllega Zip 100 drive drive bays, 4 open slots
Fair'
Good toll-free 3/1 649
••• ••-··""'•••u••••••••••• • oo'ooo•.... •OU•••••••ri ••••~•·•~ ••• ···-••--'•••••~ ,,.,,_._....,,_.,,,.-,,,,'I..,, ••"'•o o'o i'o .... ,, .. '••• ~ ..... ··~- ......... ,,.

Very good: Diamond Viper mo graphics board with 32MB of SDRAM, 17-inch Good: tooHess, thoughcryptic, case Poor., 24/7,
3/3 650
monitor. 6X DVD·ROM drive, V.90 modem, Iomega Zip 100 drive removal; 1open drive bay, 2 open slots Good toll·free
• ,.,, ,,_ . .,,,,, ''.' • '., "-'·''''' •• •••'' •••••• ''.J'"'' • ~- h•••.-••-;••• ····~~ •• • •• .. _,_ •• • o·~·.• · ''" ••••·~~·~• \' .,,..,_. . •• • •-•••• •• . , . . . . • • • •••• • • . . ...,....•••• •• , . , . . . . . . . . . . •••. . . . . ,.._. . . . . . ,.,_ ......... . . . . , ,. "'!'f'O" .. .

Vtry 900d: Diamond Viper mo qraphics board with 16MB of SDRAM, 19-inch Good: case
comes off easily withouttools; Fair'/ 24fl. '
monitor, 6X DVD·RO!il drive, V.90 modem, Iomega Zip 100 drive .. 3 open drive bays, 4 open s1ols Fair toll·free 3/5 651
_.,., '°'-' " • •o . . . . . . . , •• • '"°' .. _.,." o o • • .~ . . . . . . . . . • : ..... _ohOO . . . . . . . . >,,o, >f<w ....·, . .. ,,_;,,,.,:~ .:~ JV••-• , . . ~ ...... ~0•00.,-,•, , o O • o o \.o " o/o:.i ...... h •• ,.~ • •• o oO °' •, o o-.'•o•~- o, . . . , ;...., . , , . , • n • O • o~ , , . , , , _ , oo . . . ~......... < , .. , . . . . , ·~ ,., , . , , . .

Very good: 3dfx Voodoo3 2000 graphics board with 16MB of SDRAM, 19·inch
3/1
monitor. 17X-40XCD·ROM drive, network card, Iomega Zip 100 drive

• Insufficient data to give a rating, or the ratlnq is derived froll\the vendor'!' ' Reduced to 9 hours on • Six years on CP.U and ' Reduced to 10 hours on weekdays,
Reliability and Service survey scores for Its home PCs. For tech support quality, weekdays after the main·RAM, three years 4 hours on Saturday after the
this rating may also depend on our anonymous support·quallty calls. flrst year. on other parts. first year.

that will hold them-and just about any­ hard-copy m an ual lists only basic system
th ing else you want to install . The solidly info. The speakers, mounted on the dis­
constructed keyboard is a pleasure to use. play, sound thin and brassy, though you
BEST USE: The Prosigni a hits the target can control volume with a wheel built into
for small-business users who won 't se ttle the mon itor's side.
for inferior, integrated com ponents. WHAT ELSE: A button wi red to th e moth·
erboa rd and loca ted under the side panel
J DELL OPTIPLEX GXlP 550 de tects chassis intrusio n. The Microsoft
WHAT'S HOT: The OptiPlex is tops in case key board is comfortable, once you ge t
design. A button on the front of the PC re­ used to the ergo nomi c design. There's no
leases the s id e panel. wh ich swin gs up removable s to rage beyo nd the floppy
and off. A removable daughterboard chas· drive, but expa nsion room is plentiful.
sis at th e bottom of the tower contains the BEST USE: The OptiPlex is an ideal work­ WHO GOES THERE?
system's ex pansio n slots, a nd th e power station for power users, especially if easy A button under the Dell Optl Plex GX1p SSO's
supply rotates up and out of the way to pro· interior access is crucial. side panel detects panel removal.
vide access lo RA M slots. The GXlp 55o's
PC WorldBench 98 sco re of 305 is slight­ 4 QUANTEX SM600 SE RAM and hard disk space, a DVD-ROM
ly above average for a PIIl -550 system nm· WHAT'S HOT: Achieving a PC WorldBench drive, and an NVid ia RIVA TNT2 Ultra
ning Windows NT. The STB NVidi a TNT 98 sco re of 260 , th e Quantex whizzed video card tha t can handle MPEG decod­
graphics card also packs loads of power, th rough our benchmark tests as th e ing. The Altec Lansing ADA 305W sate!·
and images on the Dell M77oMM display fastest Pentium l l l system we've tes ted Lite-and-subwoofer system su pports Dolby
look sharp at all resolutions. runnin g Windows 98. It comes fully ProLogic Surround Sound controlled via
WHAT'S NOT: Unlike the online help, the loaded at an attractive price, with lots of a USB cable, and th e combo m akes ....

D E c E "' B E R 1 9 9 9 wew 269

 both music and movies sound great. The head) video ca rd and yo u can view
case interior is spacious and well laid your deskto p across both disp lays.
out- all cables are tucked out of the way, Creative Labs ' Sound Blaster sound
and components are easy to access. card delivers premium audio. Sys's
WHAT'S NOT: Technically, you don't need five-year labor warranty is one of the
tools to open the case, but three thumb­ longest in the business.
screws plus an old-school, all-metal wrap­ WHAT'S NOT: Faded col­
arou nd enclosure don't fac ilitate entry. ors and fuzzy text on
Labels fo r th e rear po rts are inconve­ the Sys Technology
niently located on a separate diagram pad. SPM17 MS di s play
WHAT ELSE: The clear documentation in­ sandbag the com put­
cludes a helpful setup poster, but no hard­ er's graphics poten­
copy software manuals. Although the Dia­ tial. A s ingl e, laser-
mondTron mon itor yielded razor-sharp printed setup sheet and BURN, ZIP, OR JUST WATCH: Along with
text in our tests, colo rs looked slightly component manuals for the a hard drive, Axis Systems' Orlon 100A DVD
faded and we noticed a dark patch in the CD- ROM drive and monitor make gives you severa l storage options, Including a CD· RW
lower left comer. The system offers three up the minimal hardware documen­ dri ve, an Iomega Zip 100 drive, and a DVD-ROM drive.
open inte rnal and three open external tation . After the first year, Sys cuts
drive bays, but it has few options for addi­ tech support from 24 hours dail y to 9 WHAT ELSE: The ergo nomic Microsoft
tional adapter cards, with only one free hou.rs on weekdays. Natural Keyboard allows smooth typing.
PC! slot and three open ISA slots (three WHAT ELS E: You need a screwdriver to Rear ports are labeled but not color-coded.
PC! slots are filled with a modem, a net­ get inside the all-metal case, but the side BE ST USE: The Orion would make a great
work card, and a sound card). panel detaches quickly and easily slides presentation system, thanks to its formi ­
BEST USE: The SM6oo SE would make a back on- the fit and finish are impres­ dable multimedia featu res.
solid addition to just about any office. sive. The soft-touch keyboard comes with
a removable wrist rest. 7 CYBERMAX ENTHUSIAST
5 SYS PERFORMANCE 600A BEST US E: With a better monitor (or two), Plll-600N
WHAT ' S HOT: The Sys uses a 600-MHz the Sys would make a ki ller 20 graphics 48 WHAT'S H OT: Though midd le-of·
AM O Athlon chip to rack up a record­ workstation-you can keep your work on the-pack for a Plll-600 mnning Windows
breaking PC World Bench 98 score of 345, one monitor and your tools on the other. 98 , the Enthusiast's PC World Bench 98
easily bea ting comparable Pentium Ill score of 252 is still impressive. The spa­
systems running Windows NT. Two 9.1· 6 AXIS SYSTEMS ORION cious, well-desigried interior offers expan­
GB hard drives connect to a Promise lOOA DVD sion room galore, with four open slots and
UltraDMA 66 PC! card in a RAID con­ 48 WHAT'S HOT: The Orion packs a five free drive bays (a Zip 100 drive takes
figuration to speed up certain disk-inten­ Zip 100 drive, a 6X DVD-ROM drive, and up an already filled bay). The Altec Lans­
sive opera tions. Plug two monitors into a 4X CD-RW drive. The Viewsonic G770 ing speakers crank out respectable sound,
the Matrox Millennium G400 DH (dual 19-inch monitor dis plays clear text and and if you hook th em up to the system's
graphics even at 1600 by 1200 reso­ USB port, you get easy-to-use on-screen
lution. Driven by a Creative Sound­ controls. The PC ships with a compre­
Blaster Live audio card, the classy hensive system manual.
Cambridge SoundWorks lOOo WHAT'S NOT: The solid metal case comes
s pea ke r system provides off as one piece, and replacing it can be
terrific surround sound. hard. In our tests, tl1e 6X DVD-ROM drive
DVD video playback is with software decoder wouldn 't play mov­
great, even with other ies until we changed the resolution to 800
programs running. by 600 (most players change resolutions
WHAT'S N OT: T he automaticaUy), and playback slowed a bit
syste m 's PC World­ when other applications were running.
Bench score of 241 is a WH AT EL SE: The Cyber Ma x AT 398 21­
few points below avera ge inch monitor, powered by a 3dfx Voodoo3
HOOKED A BIG ONE: CyberMax's Enthusiast for a Pentium III-550 system 3000 graphics card, blurs at the maximum
Plll-600N comes with a 21-lnch monitor, so it requires runn in g Windows 98. To re move 1600 by 1200 res olution , but text and
a graphics card with a heaping helping of video RAM, the case, you must take th e top ofT images look cri.s p at lesser resolutions. At
such as 3dfx's Voodoo3 3000 (Inset). first, th en the side panels. this price, CyberMax bundles Corel ~

270 HMii.l;il·F 0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
pentium®///

complete
Even so, it packs the most

Our elegant combination CD-ROM/floppy drive is included at no additional cost.

For Web

The TravelMate 340 starts below $2

At
TravelMate 340 Series
• Mobile Intel• Pentium• Ill processor (450/ SOOMHz) •Integrated 10/ 100 Ethernet
• 1OOMHz front side bus • Integrated 56K (V.90) modem
• Up to 256MB RAM • Easylink- combo CD-ROM/FDD included
• Up to 9GB hard drive (DVD/ FDD optional)
• 12.1" active matrix display • USB color video camera (optional)
• Full-size keyboard • Preloaded with Microsoft- Windows• 98

Call 1-800-SEE-ACER or visit www.acer.com

Come see Acer America at COMDEX/Fall '99, Booth #5552
Copyright 1999 Acer America Corp. Specifications sub{ect to change withou1 notice. Ace<. the Acer logo, and Travel:Mate arc rogr.>tcred tr3doourlcl of Al:.0t
America Corp. Md N;,or, Inc. Intel, lhO Intel Inside Logo. and PenUum Ml registered ltadcmatks of Intel Corporahon. M1aosoft and Windows nm registered
trademarks ol Micro$011 Corp. Af other company and/or plOdUCI names aro !ho propMy al tho respoc!MI trademart( owncrs.
 __.TO:P_J.OJI~
WordPerfect Office 2000 with the PC.
BEST USE: Thi s powerful multitaske r
suits small offices requiring a big screen.

8 NEXTREND NEXSTAR-550
WHAT'S HOT: With a PC WorldBench score
of 249, the NexStar is the fastest Plll-550
running Windows 98 that we've tested.
NexTrend supplies Microsoft Office 97
Small Busin ess Edition and an Office train­
ing CD-ROM so you can get the most out
of the suite. The Microsoft IntelliMouse
and ergonomic keyboard are easy to use.
WHAT'S NOT: The interior is cramped and
messy; cables block access to RAM slots.
NexTrend offers only a sparse user man­
ual and no software help. The QIC JS-600
satellite-and-subwoofer package musters
mediocre sound. Text is fuzzy at hi gh res­
olutions on th e Cybervision C70 monitor,
with some distortion at the edges ofimages.
WHAT ELSE: You can remove the case with­
out tools, once you figure out how to do it
(neither the manual nor the case gives any
clues). The curved top prevents you from all components. The Poly offers ample tern's PC World Bench 98 score of 232 is
stacking peripherals on it. The PC comes expansion room, too, with four open slots be tte r than average for a Pe ntium 111 ­
with a Zip 100 drive, and discs slide easi­ and three open drive bays (one ofthe filled 500-based machine running Windows
ly into the trayless DVD-ROM drive. bays holds a Zip 100 drive). 98. Big Blue bundles its own ViaVoice
BEST USE: It' s a ve rsatile home office WHAT'S NOT: Th e 19-inch DecaVi ew dictation software a nd Lotus SmartSuite
machine with power for business and G400 monitor produces fuzzy text and with the system.
multimedia for pleasure. dull colors at all resolutions but is fine for WHAT'S NOT: We had varying degrees of
most tasks. The silver case looks like it was success reaching representatives durin g
9 POLYWELL POLY 800K7·650 painted at Uncle Bubba's Body Shop. our ano nymous ca ll s to tech support.
49 WHAT'S HOT: The Polywell earns WHAT ELSE: The one-piece cover opens When we did get through, the technicians
an excellent PC World Bench 98 score of without tools, but you mus t remove the were generally knowledgeable but some­
277, though that's a few points shy of the entire thing to gain access to the interior. times impatient.
scores ofother Athlon-650 systems we've The Aiwa TS-CD40 speakers aren't con­ WHAT ELSE: T hi s midsize tower from
looked at. The case interior features neat­ structed of the fines t materials, but they IBM includes a built-in ethernet connec­
ly bundled wires that allow easy access to delive r adequate sound . Video playback tion. It offers two open bays and five open
on the 6X DVD-ROM drive is expansion slots.
smooth, even when opening other BEST USE: The PC 300PL would work
applications, but movies would not well as a presentation PC or multimedia
s tar t automatically in our tes ts . development system for business users in
Polywell bundl es Lotus Sm art- a networked office. ~

suite 97 with the 800K7-650. •~••~S~ii!J&i!llMI&~;s:a

- .
BEST USE: Even with a mediocre - -;i

monitor, thi s powerful sys te m

should be able to drive any small
office for quite some time.

1Q IBM PC 300PL
WHAT'S HOT: An Iomega Zip 100
POLY WANTS POWER: Polywell's Poly 800K7-650 drive facilitates hassle-free back­
toasts a few Pentlums with Its Athlon-650 CPU. ups and fil e tra nsfers . The sys­

272 144\11.IU.p D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 It Will Make
YOU Shine!

ORB CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Realize your full potential TODAY with ORB 2.2GBI creative ideas on it. And, your practical
si de will be happy too - because each
ORB 2.2GB is the first removable media drive ~RS ™
that lives up to your wildest expectations 2.2GB ORB disk is only $29.95! (that's
of super fast access to vast amounts of less than 1¢ per megabyte!) The OR B drive
storage - at a price you can afford. ORB itself is only S199.95 ($249.95 for USB).
is as fast and reliable as a fixed hard Price - Performance - Capacity - Reliability
drive - allowing you to save all your * It all comes together brilliantly with ORB.
 •We deftne vertJCal cases as towers lf;llle~ than Z01nchesl, iiililslze towers ' for lllO{e Information 1bdut·a11111t prOcl~cts llsteil In
•(15510 ZO Inches), or rillaltowers ('1iorter' tban 155 lnclles); ind hotlzontll this table, select lllllllbtr 905 on tJie productlnforma­
cases as d~ (5 lnchts or tlllfrl or compac.ts (shorter thail 5 lnclles). tlon card or Ylslhww,pCwortd.coril/productlnfo.

IT TAKES A BRAWNY Celeron system to crack the and an illustrated setup guide make get­
ting up and running a snap.
midrange Top 10 these days. Four Celeron-equipped sys­
BEST USE: The Dell Dimen s ion XPS
tems battled a phalanx of well-entrenched Pentium III­ Tsoo is a terrific choice for growing busi­
nesses that require excellent service.
5oos for positions on this month's chart. They even jousted with one
powerful Pentium III-600 machine that dove under the $i999 price 2 MICRO EXPRESS
MICROF'LEX·SB
limit. Two of the Celerons, a 500-MHz model and a 466-MHz unit,
WHAT'S HOT: Text and images on
emerge victorious, capturing third and fourth place.

1 DELL DIMENSION XPS TSOO drive makes storing large files a non issue.
I th e excellent 17-inch Impress ion
7VX monitor remain crisp all th e
way up to th e maximum 1600 by 1200
WHAT'S HOT: The XPS Tsoo 's PC WHAT'S NOT: The Dell M78o 17-inch resolution. Software-decoded DVD video

[I World Bench 98 score of 234 is a

couple of points above average for
monitor maxes out at 1280 by 1024 reso­
lution , where smaller text appears some­
plays smoothly, even while other applica­
tions crank away in the background. Like
a PIII-500 system running Windows 98. what blurry. (Text looks sharp and legible the top-ranking Dell, the MicroFlex ea rns
The easy-open case conceals a tidy interi­ at lower resolu tions.) a PC World Bench score of 234, compara­
or. Dell received an Outstanding rating for WHAT ELSE: Thi s reaso nabl y priced ble lo that of a Top 10 power PC.
reliabi.lity in our latest reader surveys. The Dim e nsion comes with an Iomega Zip WHAT'S NOT: Though Micro Express may
8X DVD-ROM drive comes with a hard­ 1o o drive and Mi croso ft Office 2000 have intended the MicroFlex's corrugated
ware decoder card and plays movies very Sm all Bu si ness Edition . Color-coded, side panel to make th e syste m easier to
smoothly. Don 't worry about running out labeled , and icon-marked ports plu s a open, it has tbe oppos ite effect. Poorly
of space, ei th e r: The Tsoo's huge hard good assortment of component manuals label ed co nn ec tors on th e rea r of th e

274 , , . ,••.• , ,. 0 EC E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Good: lnterirated Intel 810 graphics with AMB oldlsplaycache, 17-inch Good: small interior, but power supply swings
OutstandlnQ
monlt~. 11X-40X CD-ROM drive, V.90 modem, network card out; I open drive bay. 3 OIM!O slots

Good: integrated All Raqe 128VR qraphics with 8MB of SDRAM , 17-inch Good: motherboard too small for case; 4 open Good/ Z4/7,
Good 3/3 653
monitor. 6XDVD·ROM drive. network card, Iomega Zip 100 drive drive bays. 2open slots Outstanding toll-free

Vtry good: Joytech S3 Savaqe4 9raphlcs board with 16MB of SDRAM, Outstandift9! sturdy.case with roomy Interior; Good'/
19-lnch monitor. 6X1lVD-ROM drive, V.90 modem, lomeqa Zip 100 drive Sopen drive'bays, 5 optn slots
Good' Good
3/1 654

Good: Diamond Viper vno qraphlcs board with 16MB of SDRAM, 17-inch Good: uniquerail locks down cards; 5 open
Good
Fair/ Z4/7,
Varies '/3 655
monitor. BX DVD-ROM drive, V.90 modem drive bays, 4 open slots Outstandln9 toll-free

Good: STB Velo.c!tJJ400 graphics board with~6MB of SORAM, t9-in~h

monitor, 6X DVD-ROM drive. V.90 modem

Good: integ rated Intel 74D qraphics with 8M8 of SGRAM . 17·1nch monitor,
6X DVD·ROM drive, V.90 modem

Good: DiamonH Vi~fV550. graphlcs board .with 16MB of SDRAJ,l , 17-inch

monitor, 14NOX C0:ROM drive, V.90 modem

Good: APAC Voodoo Banshee graphics with16MB of SGRAM, 17-lnch moni·

tor, 17X-40X CD·ROM drive, V.90 modem, network interface, LS-120 drive

'Insufficient ~ta to give a r1tlnq, or the ratrnq Is derived from the vendor's Rellablllty and
Service sumy scores for Its home PCs. For tech support quality, this ratfng may also depend
on our ano11YJ11ous support-quality calls.

ge neric manual in print and on CD­ 810 graphics processor restricts the mon­
ROM , a quick-start setu p guide, and itor to 24-bit color and 1280 by 1024 reso­
adequate documentation for the 5X lution, where text becomes a bit fuzzy. If
DVD-ROM drive and monitor. you want to upgrade the gra phics, you'U
BEST USE: Offices th at make heavy be limited to PCI cards.
use of multimedia for presentations, WHAT ELSE: The L5ooc's extensive docu­
videoconferencing, or training will mentation lacks hardware information.
appreciate the system 's great sound The keyboard suffers from minor flexibil­
and video. ity, though ke)'Strokes are solid. TI1e inte­
rior is small , but the power supply swings
J DELL DIMENSION LSOOC out so you can access motherboard com­
WHAT'S HOT: T he Dell L5ooc's PC ponents easily. The easy-to-configure Har­
World Bench 98 score of 214 is just 3 man/Kardon HK195 speakers reproduce
IT'S A STRETCH: The Gateway GP6-466c's bottom points shy of the highest Celeron score inost sound faithfu ll y.
three slot openlnqs don't extend to any slots. we've seen. We had no trouble gettin g BEST USE: A good workstation for a small
inside this mini tower's stiff plastic offi ce on a budget, the $1349 L5ooc is
madtine may frustrate fust-time comput­ case. and ports on the rear are color-coded. enhanced by Dell 's excelle nt reputation
er owners during installation . WHAT'S NOT: The L5ooc's use of integrat­ for reliability and service.
WHAT ELSE: The sys tem offers a large ed components saves space but limits the
interior th at provides ample expa nsion perform ance of its otherwise solid periph­ 4 GATEWAY GP6·466C
room , including four open drive bays, six erals. For instance, the 17-inch Dell M78o WHAT'S HOT: The GP6-466c ships with
free card slots, and th ree open memory monitor displays dear text and images at many corporate accoutrements but sell s
socke ts. The MicroF lex-58 ships with a most resolutions, but the integrated In tel for just $1264, a remarkably low price ....

D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •JM\ii.1;14•• 275
 for a business-oriented system. Gateway small to medium-size businesses an
doesn't scrimp on hardware and software inexpensive net\vorkable alternative to
to arr ive at that price, either: Hardware premium systems.
extras include an Iomega Zip 100 drive
and a network card, and its above-average 5 QUANTEX MSOO
software bundle consists of Microsoft WHAT'S HOT: You'd be hard-pressed to
Office 97 Small Business Edition and sev­ find a bette r-a ppointed m ul timed ia
eral utilities. The GP6-466c's PC World­ powerhouse. The 6X DVD-ROM drive,
Bench 98 score of 207 is a touch better Aureal Vort= sound card, and )oytech
than average for a Celeron-466 model. S3 Savage4 graphics board make the
WHAT' S NOT: Inside the midsize tower's M5oo a capable authoring station. And
case, we were surprised to find relatively after work it's fine for watching movies, IT'S A FLAT WORLD:
limited room for expansion. The mother­ thanks to the accompanying 19-inch Quantex's $1499 MSOO sports a 19-lnch flat­
board Gateway uses fo r the GP6-466c is DiamondTron flat CRT monitor. screen DlamondTron CRT monitor.
far too small fo r the surrounding space. WHAT'S NOT: Quantex's warranty on
Consequently, the mothe rboard doesn't the M5oo covers labor for just one year. 6 MICRON MILLENNIA MAX 600
extend to the bottom of the case, and the In our anonymous calls to Quantex's tech 48 WHAT'S HOT: The Mi llennia's
bottom three expansion slot openings support Line, representatives frequently mammoth case opens easily-push down
don't lead to any slots. gave incomplete answers. a handle on the back, and the side panel
WHAT ELSE: Gateway's excellent docu­ WHAT ELSE: The M5oo's PC WorldBench slides off (just push the handle again to
men tation and setup guides offer solid 98 score of 230 is exactly average for a reattach the panel). The 8X DVD-ROM
troubleshooting info and many useful dia­ Pentium III-500 system running Win­ drive starts mov ies automatically and
grams. The high-quality 17-inch EV700 dows 98. Quantex throws in an Iomega plays them smoothly, even with other
monitor supplies on-screen controls, and Zip 100 drive. applications running in the background.
Cambridge SoundWorks SBS52 speakers BEST USE: The M5oo makes a fast pre­ Micron includes a well-illustrated user
pump out rich sound . sentation system or a choice executive manual and CD-ROM-based reference
BEST USE: The Gateway G P6-466c gives workstation for the Big Cheese. materials with the system.
WHAT ' S NOT: The case's concave top

CPU Prices: The High Cost of Performance . ~ .

makes it tough to set items on top of it.
And despite the huge interior, cables
SUPERC~ARGING YOUR PC doesn't come cheap,; AMD's ne'W 650· obstruct access to the RAM slots. The 17­
inch Micron 700VX monitor produces
Intel's Pentium 111·600 costs tour times more than the Celeron~SOO, bu't runs commo{I bright colors but slightly blurry text, and
business appflcatlons only about 14 percent faster. Here•s a sampllnQ of recent CPU 'prlces. it can attain a maximum resolution of
only 1280 by 10 24-at a very low 60-Hz
AMO Athlon-650 --0 refresh rate. (Upgrad ing to a sharper
Trinitron monitor costs $99·) The Advent
AV009 three-piece speaker set musters
Prices on older, slower only weak volume-that's especially true
lnt•I Pentium 111-600 - 0
processors drop quickly as
faster, new ones come out. AMO Athlon-600 - ( ! ) of the satellite speakers.
WHAT ELSE: The Millennia's PC World­

Intel Pentium 111· 550 - 0 Bench 98 score of 250 is plen ty fast,

AMO Alhlon -550 --0 though average for a Plll-600 machine.
Despite the keyboard's flimsiness, you
Intel Pentium 111· 500 \ can type smoothly and quietly on it. The
system ships with Microsoft Office 2000
AMO K6· 111·450 - ( ! ) ° " - ­ AM O Athlon-5 00 Small Business Edition. Accessing expan­
AMO K6·111·400 ---(')

Intel Celeron-466 - 0
~ Intel Celeron-500 sion cards for upgrades is a breeze: just
Int el Celeron-400 --0­ AMO K6·2·400
loosen a thumbscrew on the metal rail,
and you're in.
BEST USE: The Millennia Max 600 easily
fills the bill as a powerful, bare-bones mul­
timedia system that you can upgrade pain­
lessly as your needs change. ~

276 H•i·UY·P 0 E c E M B E R I 9 9 9
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CitySync PDATravel Guides from Concept Kitchen . For more in formation or to place your order, go to
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Copyngnt C 1999 Conupt Kitchtn. All nghts restrvtd C1tySync Is a trade'llJ.rk ano tf'le Concept Klld'len logo IS a reorstered lrtllfmark ol Conetpl Klttl'ltn AU otl'ler trademarks art tne property ol tneir re.spectJ\'t! O\·me~ .
 7 CYBERMAX ENTHUSIAST 500 nals. The 17-inch ADI CM700 moni­
WHAT'S HOT: The Enthusiast posts the tor dis plays crisp images. Excellent
second-highest PC WorldBench 98 score documentation includes detailed dia­
on the midrange chart. Though it lacks a grams and a thorough trou­
dedicated MPEG decoder board, th is bleshooting section .
powerful sys tem renders DVD movies WHAT'S NOT: With a score
smoothly and vibrantly-even with sever­ of 210 on our PC World­
al applications running simultaneously in Bench 98 tests, the Orion
tl1e background. The Altec Lansing ADA 100C DVD is considerably
305 Digital PowerCube speakers and sub­ slower than many compa­
woofer lend li felike sound effects to ra ble Pentium III -450
games and DVD movies. machines. Manipulating the
WHAT'S NOT: We waited and waited-up case cover requires manual dex­ MY HORSE FOR A KINGDOM :
to 55 minutes-for tech su pport and had terity and the removal of four screws. Kingdom's Pinnacle 500 comes equipped with an LS­
to call three times before reaching a live WHAT ELSE: The Orion's $1278 price 120 drive, wh ich accepts both 120MB disks (made for
technician. When we finally got through , tag might appeal to budget-conscious the drive) and those ubiquitous floppy disks.
the staffers, though courteous, tended to buyers searching for an expandab le
miss our tougher questions. multimedia machine. But if you want 10
KINGDOM PINNACLE 500
WHAT ELSE: The Enthusiast comes with audio, you'll have to spend more-the sys- WHAT' S HOT: The Kingdom 's manuals
a large bundle ofoffice and reference soft­ tern doesn't include speakers at this price. include a thorough glossary and trouble­
ware, including Corel's WordPerfect Suite BEST USE: The Orion 100C DVD makes a shooting section . The attractive software
8, Compton 's World Atlas, an d Comp­ solid presentation system. bundle co nsists of Corel's WordP erfect
ton's Encyclopedia. Its case cover is a bit Suite 8 , Compton 's 99 Encyclopedia
tricky to remove and replace. 9 NEC POWERMATE VT 300 Deluxe, National Geographic Trip Plan­
BEST USE: At $1499 , the CyberMax WHAT'S HOT: Thi s PowerMate is a hair ner Deluxe, and a de mo game pack to
Enthusiast 500 is a great choice for bud­ faster than most comparably equipp ed complement the capable gra phics boa rd.
get-oriented small offices that use multi­ Pentium 111 -500 systems running Win­ At $1247, the Pinnacle is the least expen­
media applications frequently. dows 98, as evidenced by its PC World­ sive PC on the midrange chart.
Bench 98 score of 231. The VT 3oo's WHAT'S NOT: Despite tl1e stellar video card,
8 AXIS SYSTEMS ORION minitower case features a front-mounted text on the 17-inch Kingdom 77i monitor
lOOC DVD USB port, and the 17-inch NEC Vista Scan looks fuzzy even at 1024 by 768 resolu­
WHAT'S HOT: Though the Orion comes 7000 monitor provides USB controls an d tion. The case requires tools to open, and
without an MPEG decoder card, its 6X a USB port on its base. The monitor dis­ the keys on the ergonomic Microsoft key­
DVD-RO M player works well , automa ti­ plays clear text and graphics at resolutions board tended to stick in our tests.
cally changing tlle monitor's resolution to up to 1280by1024. WHAT ELSE: This Pll l-5oo 's PC World­
the best setting for video or computer sig- WHAT'S NOT: The monitor's USB connec­ Bench 98 score of 231 is average for sim­
tor occupies one of the system's USB ilarly configured systems running Win­
ports; thus, while you gain the conve­ dows 98. Although it ships with a V.90
nience of having a USB port within modem, tile Kingdom offers an integrated
easy reach on the display, you don't ethernet connector for networked offices.
increase th e total number of An LS-120 drive is also included.
free USB ports. The inte­ BEST USE: The WordPerfect Suite, three­
rior is cramped. piece MLi 450 speaker set, and excellent
WHAT ELSE: NEC in­ graphics acceleration suit the Pinnacle to
cludes a V.90 PC! mo­ a small office environment. .....
dem with this system.
Highlightin g the ex­
U!ilt.i!lllJ&i!il4£1.J!ii!i
cellent documentation WE EVAWATED the following systems along
are an in-depth trouble­ with the others, but they didn't score high
shooting section and many enough to make the Top 10 Midrange PCs
LIFE ON THE RAILS: Micron's Miiiennia Max 600 illustrations and diagrams. chart. For write-ups, visit PC World Online (www.
allows easy access to expansion slots. A unique metal BEST USE: The PowerMate VT 300 pcworld.com/t10pcs).
rall holds down all the expansion cards at once; just is an excellent office system for the + Amax MlcroPlex 5000 Celeron 500
loosen a thumbscrew and therall pops up. power hungry and multinledia savvy. + IBM PC 300GL Celeron 500

278 1441/l,i;ii.p D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 • '""'"...
+~ ±H !'" -. grit,.:
•• ,1>.u~~'+
•• • • ~f--·

tHE most' .Q n f iciPATE,D GAlTlE OF t ;tn ' vE ~ . is -lfi'i\,E.

+'...:•._ r ·$-.' • • .t...~~ ,t
:i::O:I:l::tttd ::t.'.!:t!1:!:! .. ..- r . ' • '

°Qi A KJ; iii E~ A CO!JlBinES ALL - !H E .EXci1-Emrn'f. '}. DI)_._

Jh ..
CARJIAGE YOU EXPE.Cf FR.Onf io SO..FtW.AR.E Witff' GR._OV'TID .
BR..EAK.iilG AR.tiFiciAL iD T EL LiGEilCE Ail D T H E most .POWEIQ'V4
.3D EnGiD E EVER..COIJCEiVED FOR.A GAmE. WHEtHE'R_YOV ;~Aaf
'to PLAY A cLAssic FR..AGmA'tcH in THE sinGLE PLAYER...Jit'oo ~~ oR.
TRY YOUR.. LVCK... AGAinsT TH E ontinE PR.OS , - ~ARE i A~a.A' . fi
DELiVE~ TH E BESf GAm E PLAY YET BACIQ:D VP wi1:B STVIlilinG '
GR£1P H ics 1:1no .30 CHALLEnoi aG mA.rs:- -i.t s GOT somE A M AZIDG t · ·
_aEw 'tR!cK.S :to s H ow OFF. t He orrLv o.yEstion is : oo you? ·

Quake Ill Arena'" @ 1999 Id Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by Activision under license. QU~KE®, the
O® logo, and Id® logo are registered trademarks of Id Software, Inc. QUAKE Ill Arena™ , QUAKE 11 ~. theQll™ logo, tl)e
Qlll™ logo, and the .Id Software'" name a!e trademarks of r~ . Software, Inc. A_ctivision® is a (egi~t e r ~.J alftmarKof ·
Actlvjsion, l ~c. All allier trademarks, trade names. and Images are properties oflheir r~speqllve owne rs. '·1 j;! · • ~: i, y
t ' ' • ·: +~-..::_
 -Micro Express Microflex·40B
.BQ0/989·99~0 ~.microex~ss11et
:· ;.. . ....: , •• • ~11 ., 1).:, ,,,,..,\ •• •·. ,·~ . . ..... ~· ··

Ouantex M466·2c
800/896·4898 www.quantex.com

Axis Systems Orion LX/CVE Celeron 400

B00,1378-9014 www..x1ssv$.com

Very 9ood: Celeron·400, 128M8 of RAM, 128KB LZ cache,

14GB hard drive, midslze lower case, Windows 98

C!ood: Celeron•366, 64MB of RAM. 128KB L2 cac~e;'s,4GB

bard drive, midsile !OWN- c~. Windo\vs 98

Good: Celeron·SOO, 64MB of RAM, 128KB L2 cache, J0,2GB

hard drive, midsize tower case, Windows 98 SE
>- ·· ...·7· ~ · ·- ·· .-· . > " ':'\'··~·:··~"··;: • · ··· ..· - :

Good: Celeron·500, 6.4MB of RAM, 128KB 12,.t.ache, 1~.6GB

hard drive. mldsile tower case, Windows 9B·SE ' '. • :

' Asyst)!m's performance word score Is relative to !lie scores 1

We define.vertical cases-as.towers (i'J;uer fh; n 2b Inches), ~ldslze toW.rs •For more Information about all the products In this
earned by other PCs runnl119 the samt ojieratln9 system. For (is.s to 20 Inches); or mlnltowers (shorter thin 15.S Inches); and horlzorital table, select nu111ber 906 on the product Information
more details, see #Your Gulde to the Top 1oon on page 267. cases IS deslltops (5 Inches or tal~rl of compacts (shorter tlian 5 Inches). card-or visit www.pcworld.coni/productlnfo.

PRICES ON THE Top 10 Budget PCs chart continue to manner abrupt and somewhat standoffish.
WHAT ELSE: The AT! Rage 128G L graph­
creep down, with almost half the system s on this month's
ics boa rd can se n d video from a DVD
list now costing less than a grand. Two new machines­ m ovie to a television set via the included
S-Video or RCA cables-without any need
from Sys Technology and Premio-slide in under that limbo stick and
fo r a separate decoder card.
still manage respectable showings on PC WorldBench 98 tests: The BEST USE: Th e $11 99 Micro Fl ex-5 0C
makes an excellent prese ntation system
Sys TaskMaster 5oo's and the Premio Apollo II CS1's scores of 2 09 and
for small-office users on a budget.
211 , respectively, are right at average for Top 10 budget systems.
2 DELL OPTIPLEX GX100
1MICRO EXPRESS comes ready to rock. With four open drive WHAT ' S HOT: Th e Dell Op tiP!ex
MICROFLEX-SOC
WHAT'S HOT: Reta ining its num­
bays and six open slots, the sys tem offers
pl e nty of s pace fo r expan s ion , a nd the
[I GX100 , one of th e few Ce leron­
based Wind ows NT sys tem s to

[I ber-o ne positi on o n th e bud ge t

cha rt fo r th e fo urth s tra ight
rugged case slides open easily without the
aid of tools. Micro Express wa rrants its
49 arrive in the PC World Tes t Cen·
ter, exceeded expectations in our lab tes ts.
month, Micro Express's Penti um I l-450­ parts and labor fo r fo ur yea rs. Eq uipped with a Celeron-500 processor,
based Micr0Flex-50C did well enough on WH AT ' S NOT: Mos t of the Micro Flex's th e Opti Plex tu rned in a PC World Bench
our PC World Bench 98 tests to beat some in ternal components sit within plain view 98 score of 260 , which is above the aver·
systems on the m idrange chart Comple­ o n ce you ope n the hood , bu t th e hard age for Plll -450 systems running NT. The
ment th at perfo rmance with a good 17· drive bays could be eas ier to access. In our solidly co ns truc te d Quie t Key keyboard
inch m on ito r a nd great Altec Lans ing anonymous calls to Micro Express's sup· permits smooth, soft typing. With an in te·
ACS44 speakers, and Lhe MicroF!ex-50C port li ne, we fo u nd the represe ntatives' grated network interface, a case lock, and

280 IJ4i#.1-14•F D E C E M B E R I 9 9 9
 Good: inleqrated Intel 810 Qraph ics with 4M8 of display cache, 17·inch Good/
Outstandlnt
monitor, IOX-Z4X CO-ROM drive,networ1t interface Outstanding
-~.,..,,

SlllslactorY:'oiamond Monster Fusion.9raph(cs board with 16MB of SGRAM, Good: spacious interior, puullno case; 4 Fair'/ 24/7.
15·1nch monitor. 12X-40X.CO-AOM drive, V.90 modem open drive bayS. 4 open slots toll-free 4/4
Outstandl119
'" ,.,.., ,,..,..,.,...,,,...,..,I '"" ', '"' ,.,.~... •> oY\ ... " ' "' '' ' ' ' ... ..-.. . ' • ~ .. , ./" "

Good: Jdfx Voodoo3 2000 graphics board with 16MB of SGRAM , 17-inch Outstanding: loads of expansion room; 6 Good'/ 24/7.
Good'
monitor. 6X DVD·ROM drive, V.90 modem open drivebays, 6open slots Good toll·lree

Satisfactory: Intel 740 l)faphics with 8MB ofSGRAM. 17-lnch 1110nitor. Good., 24/7,
17X-40X CO-ROM dri'/e, V.90 modem Outst11141i119 toll·IRe

Good: Matrox Mystique 6200 graphics board with SMB ol SORAM. 17·inch Fair'/
monitor, 6X DVD·ROM drive, V.90 modem Good

Good: ATI Xpert98 9ra~ ~with SMB of SbRAM, 17-lnch ~itor; Good.,
14X-32X,CO· R~M drive; netwoJk c~rd Outstanding

Satisfactory: integrated Intel 810 graphics with 4MB of SDRAM, 17·inch

monitor, 17X-40X CD·ROM drive, V.90 modem

• Insufficient data·t9 give aratlnq, o~ the rating ls derived lrom the vendor{s
~ellablllty and-s&rvlce survey scores for Its home P.Cs. for tech support
quality, this rating may also depend on our an.onymous support-quality calls.

formation on the OptiPlex hardware nor 3 MICRO EXPRESS

any for components other than the moni­ MICROFLEX-408
tor (documentat ion on all of these are WHAT'S HOT: Powered by an AMO K6-III­
online) . The system uses a notebook-style 400 processor, the MicroFlex-408 posted a
CD-ROM drive; though excu sa ble in a PC World Bench 98 score of215, one of the
portable, weight-saving environment, it's fastest fini shes we've seen from a system
too flim sy for a desktop system. usin g that chip. The spacious, easy-to-nav­
WHAT ELSE: Gaining access to the in teri­ igate midsize tower chassis houses 128MB
or of this s mall is h desk top case is a of RAM (most budget PCs ha ve only
breeze--press a button on ead1 side of the 64MB) . The Impression 5VX monitor dis­
fl im sy, plastic case, and lift off the top. plays sharp images at all resolutions.
The case goes back on s moothl y, too, WHAT'S NOT: You don't need a screwdriv­
though it doesn't flt snugly. Dell's i7-inch er to crack the case, but the box is still puz­
THE MICRO EXPRESS MlcroFlex-SOC retains M77o monitor di s pla ys cri sp te xt a nd zlin g to o pe n . And th e included docu­
the top spot for the fourth straight month. bright colors at the standard 1024 by 768 mentation offers us ers littl e h elp-it
resolution , but the integra ted video re­ provides a setu p poster, an adequate
Wake-on-LAN management features, this quires you to d1 oose between resolution (though som ewhat generic) system man­
machine ships business-ready. and color depth-you can't have both. ual, and a CD-ROM version of the manu­
WHAT'S NOT: The system offers little BEST USE: With its compact size, inte­ al. The reset button looks confusingly like
expa nsion room: no available drive bays grated ne twork interface, and manage· the wake-up button.
and only one open RAM slot and two free ment features, th e s pee dy OptiPl ex WHAT ELSE: Only Norton AntiVirus
PCI slots. Its system manual covers Win­ GX100 seems destined to fill a stall in a comes bundied with the system; all other
dows NT minimally and includes no in­ corporate cubicle farm . applicabons are sold a la carte. For ....

D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •44\11.i;IY•• 2 81
 gaming, you'll get acceptable sound and 5 AXIS SYSTEMS ORION LX/CVE
video from the Altec La n sing ACS44
speakers and Diamond Monster Fusion
CELERON 400
WHAT 'S HOT: For the terrific price of$878,
Integrated Graphics
video card, though the latter amounts to
overkill for the 15-inch monitor.
you get a Celeron-400 system that outper­
formed most similarly configured PCs on
Versus Expansion Cards
BEST USE: This Micro Express system our PC World Bench 98 tests. This budget .idl'J!&i;Htii'.M ll'H Et is 810"CKIP
offers small offices lots of power. Consid­ system also leaves you plenty of room to set h s accelerated a t rend toward compo·
er it if you're looking to replace an older, grow, with three open drive bays and four nen_t lntegration'"-the combination of'sepa·
slower machine and you already have all free slots. The Altec Lansing ACS43 W rate motherboard components i nto .one.
the software you need. speakers pump ou t res pectable sound . -Whlle PC manufacturers bave iilteq,~.~t~. d
WHAT ' S NOT: The 17-inch ADI VD-697 ·graphics processors onto their motherboards
4 QUANTEX M466·2C monitor disp lays adeq uate pictures at res­ for years to save space and mirilmize. cos~ St' ·

WHAT'S HOT: This Celeron-466-based olutions up to 800 by Goo , but at 1024 by Intel's integration of a graphics proeessor
Quantex earned a 209 on our PC World­ 768, text fuzziness causes discomfort. Our . inside t~e 810 cfiip set gives computer mak·
Bench 98 tests, the fourth-highest perfor­ tes t unit didn't come with much in the er s another way to save mone'f'., Bu ' what
mance score for a Windows 98 mach ine way of bard-copy manuals. Documentation cJ:oes an integr-at,ed graphics pr,acessof.mean ·
on ou r budget chart. Insi de, yo u get a is available on the PC's bard drive, but
who pping six open slots and six open you're out ofluck if the drive fails (unless DIAMOND
drive bays, and the cables are bundled you've printed everything in advance).
together and pulled out of the way. WHAT ELSE: l11e Orion's interior is spa­
WHAT'S NOT: The 17- inch Quantex cious , but you need a screwdriver to ge t
AT897C monitor that accompanied our there, and you have to manhandle the all­
test system suffered from badly blurred metaJ housing to remove and replace it.
text at its 1600 by 1200 setting and looked Stamped icons clearly identify rear ports.
somewhat fuzzy even at a less strenuous The Keytronic keyboard flexes more than
1024 by 768 resol ution . we'd li ke, and th e keys rat tle a bit but
WHAT ELSE: The 6X DVD-ROM d rive allow smooth typing.
that comes wi th the M466-2c provides BEST USE: The Orion LX/CVE is a little
smooth, uninterrupted video playback, rough around the edges , but it would
even when other applications are open. make a competent small-office system. department, the, graphics card is t he com po·
BEST USE : A small office with bud get nent t ha t can gj ve [systems.] .the p;rtor­
constraints could do much wo rse than 6 XI COMPUTER 400A MTOWER mance edge," Wicher says. He adds, " It Is a
this quick. multipurpose system . WHAT' S HOT: Wi th a PC WorldBenc11 98 Jot eas.i er to add a graphics card lf1 a slot
score of 199. this Celeron-400 machi ne than to redesign a motlierboard.''
ranks as the fastest computer we've tested
with that processor. The MTower comes
we ll configured , with high-end compo­
nents like a 14GB hard disk,
a 6X DVD-ROM driv e,
and a bright 17-incb h·e says-referring to computer systems
monitor tha t di splays ,tgprl ced,at lesS<tb an $1200:
crisp and vivid im­ In the end, whether Integrated graphics
ages. The Altec Lans­ ·,will ad ersely affect your produ~tivi_ty de·
ing ACS45 s peakers pends on the kind of work you'll be doing on
and subwoofer deliver your machine. For Instance, if your- dail~ com·
fu ll -bod ied so und with putlng tasks consist primarily of basic word
real punch . The Keytronic processing, giving presentat ions, and brows·
keyboard feels comfortable to use and is Ing t he Web, integrated graphics should work
qui et. Added into th e mix is Microsoft well enough. As Mike Felbus, aprinclpal ana·
LOCK AND LOAD: Office 97 Small Bu sines s Edition- a lyst at Mercury Research, explains, "Unless
Dell's OptlPlex GX100 packs small components boon at this great sticker price. you 've got a rabid Interest In qames~(y~~;
Into a short case, lncludinq a notebook-style WHAT ' S NOT: This ta llish m idsize tower have work Interests that demand the highest ,
CD-ROM drive that makes you press the CD looks like an y other beige computer level of performance, you're fine with inte·
firmly onto t he spind le. exce pt fo r its s lidin g plastic cover . .... grated graphics."

282 Hi1i.1;14·F 0 E c E M B E R 19 9 9
 SAYE $400 with...
View onic® on top!

Octolxr 1998 Auxusr 1999 Ja111urry 1999 April 1999

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completion of all necessary paperv/0!1< by the customef. aoo receipt of the same by MSN. prior 10 Janual)I 31 , 2000; (2) selection of a36 month membership lo MSN Plus Internet k!1lss ($400 rebate), 24 month membership (($225
rebate), or 12 mJf1th membership ($100 rebate) at the rate of $2 t .95 per month plus applk:able taxes; (3) maa-ln or onllne signup (as applk:able) prior to January 31, 2000; (4) avalid major credit card of the 1ype generally accepted by
MSN; (5) lhe O<iginal purchase receipt; and (6) acceptance of Ille MSN Internet Access member agreement. You are not ollligated to coollnue as a MSN Plus Internet Access member for any particular length of lime; however, If for any
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Stales and the Clsliict of Columbia. You mus1 be 18 years old or Older to quafrfy for the MSN Rebale program. MSN Internet /li:ress is available in connection with the MSN Rebale program only 10 users of tne WinOO.·IS® 95 above.
MSN Internet Access iS available only for personal non-commercial use. Local phone aJll/or long distance loll charges rnay apply. It is the customer's responsibifny 10 check 1•nth a local phone company to determine ff access numbers arc
°'
local. Local maikel netv/0!1< activny am capacity may attect access availabilily. MSN is a trademark of Microsoft Corpornlion. MSN Internet Access minimum system requirements: 48&'66 higher processor vmn 16MB MM.
°'
Wrndc7.'is 95 or WinOOYis 98 operating system, al least 25MB of available cflSk space, 14.4 Kbps m00em tiqie<, l.bJsa (req'd) and Some! Card (recomnnerded).·· Stanford Resourtes, Ire. Monitrak U.S. Desktop PC indeperdef1t
Monitoc Shipments 02 ·99 and Display Search. Ouarterty Supply vs. Demand Study: Desktop Monnors 03 '99. Copyr1ght C 1999 Viev.SOOic Conp. All rights rnserved.
 wh ich oste ns ibly p rotec ts the fl oppy, 8 SYS TASKMASTER 500 processo r class. The large Premio 636A
DVD-ROM , and ex pansion drives from CI3> WHAT'S HOT: For $9 99· the Task· speaker set is easy to set up but not very
dust. Unfortunately, this innova tio n Master 500 is a solid system. Its well laid powe rful. The motherboard offers only
proved to be more nuisance than nicety: out interior aLlows unobstructed access to t\vo open PC! slots and two open drive
Ours was difficult to open when we need­ components. The soft-touch key board bays for future expansion. Premio bun­
ed to access drives; and because the cover (which allows crisp keys trokes) and the dles Microsoft Office 2000 Small Busi­
does not lock, leaving it ajar proved more two-wheel Sys mouse make
convenient than closing it. an excellent input device
WHAT ELSE: We had to undo a couple of combination.
screws to loose n the case's side panels, WHAT'S NOT: The TaskMas­
but the n the panels slid off easily to reveal ter 5oo's PC WorldBench
a clea n, tidy interior with readily accessi­ 98 score of 209 lags slight­
ble slots and bays. ly behind those of other
BEST USE: Small-office denizens with a Cele ron -500 systems run­
penchant for speed will like this system's nin g Windows 98 . At a
power-to-price ratio. time when many machines
offer tool-less entry to their
7 NEC POWERMATE VT 300 cases, the Sys makes yo u
WHAT'S HOT: The PowerMate VT 3oo's remove two tiny screws to JUST UNDER A GRAND:
case opens eas il y- jus t loosen a few get inside. The bundled Prem lo's Apollo II CSl offers a
thumbscrews to get inside. Setup is pain­ Axio n CL-177 0 17-inch Celeron-500 processor for $999.
less , th anks to a well-designed chart, monitor blurs at its maxi­ Its bullt-ln case lock helps secure
color-coded cables, and labeled connectors mum 1024 by 768 resolu - Interior components from prying hands.
on the back. NEC's crystal-dear 17-inch tion, and the integrated
monitor displays sharp text and graphics, video 's limited di s play cache supports ness Edition in this configuration .
even at 1280 by 1024 resolution. only i6-bit color at that resolution. BEST USE: With decent power and Office
WHAT'S NOT: Though its PC WorldBench WHAT ELSE: A case lock helps safeguard 2000, the Apollo could make a solid land·
score of 181 is average for a Celeron-366 against system theft. The keyboard con­ ing on a sma ll-office desk.
PC running Windows 98, th is system is nects to the system via an old-fashioned
the slowest member on our budget chart. PS /2 adapter. 10 POLYWELL POLY 810CW-433
WHAT EL SE: In our anonymous ca lls to BEST US E: A budge t-conscious hom e WHAT'S HOT: This afford able $1025 sys­
the company's tech support lin e, we office wou ld do well to e mploy the te m pos ted a sco re of 204 o n our PC
found the reps knowledgeable on every­ TaskMaster 500. World Bench 98 tests, becoming one of
thing from FAT32 to screen savers. the fastest Celeron-433 machines we've
BE ST USE : With its sha rp di s play, the 9 PREMlO APOLLO II CSl evaluated. It s h ips with an excellent
PowerMate is good for offices where CI3> WHAT'S HOT: Cabling in the Apol­ bound man ual full of compreh e n sive
someone will stare at the screen all day lo's orderly interior is bundled out of the computing data, and Polywe ll provides
long but not need much speed. way to give you easy access to compo­ decent online help.
nents. A case lock keeps intruders WHAT'S NOT: Accessing the interior of the
out of the midsize tower. The key­ tiny case can be a pain: Yo u have to
board allows for smooth typing. remove three screws and fiddle with the
WHAT'S NOT: The 17-inch Premio cover to get it off. Th e s mall ke yboard
TE770B monitor produces fu zzy seemed Himsy, and the keys felt cramped
images at all resolutions, but the when we typed. Pol yweLI uses integrated
blu r is worse at hi ghe r sett ings . video an d sound to achieve the compact
You mu st re move two screws size; if you want to upgrade the graphics,
before you can get inside the flim sy you'll have to buy a PC I board.
plastic case. One of th e two serial WHAT ELSE: The Poly leaves two s lots
ports inside is located awkwardly open for future upgrades, but it has no
on a bracket near the expa nsion free internal drive bays and only one avail­
slots (it does n"t take up a slot). able externally accessible bay.
WHAT ELSE: The Celeron-500 CPU BEST USE: If space and m oney are con­
BOW TO THE TASKMASTER: The Sys Technology boosts the ApoUo's PC World Bend1 strai nts, this system fi ts nicely into a bud­
TaskM aster 500 costs j ust $999. score to 211-average for this get office environment. ~

284 IJM\i#.l;ii•F D E C E M B E R I 9 9 9
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Circle 138 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo

 Very vaod: Pentlwn 11·400, IS-inch active screen, touch·
pad, 128MB of RAM, 12GB hard drive

Good: Pentium11·366, 133·inch active screen, touchpad,

64MB of RAM, 6.4GB hard drive

3 Dell lnsplron 7500 C466VT 84 202

Good: Celeron-466, 15-inch active screen, touchpad, 64MB
of RAM, 25GB hard drive
800/388·B54Z www.dell.com
......... ' ••• • • •• •••••• ,,. ... ,·, .... ' ••• ~.. •• .... ........... • .... .. ......,;;. • ••• . · · ·····••\ ' .• •·•• •• •• ,, ••••••• ' ••• • • r:.; ...... ..... ...... . ' •• ' ,.,.,. ... ... ,..... ...... . ~ - ... . ... ..... . ....... ..... ......... ... . .. 1 ~- ... . . . . . . . . . .. ................. :.... ••• J.. h ' .. . . ............. . ' ,.,, • ••

4 Micron TransPort NX Pll-400 Oct99 83

Anraqo:
202
Very IJOOd: Pentium 11·400, 15.Hnch acllve screen, touch·
800/64z.7667 www.mlcronpc.com $3399 pad and eraserhead, IZBMB of RAM, 14GB hard drive
...... . .. u•o•· · · ·•••.... •u• ·····.. ······~····--·•o-...••······· . . . . ···­ ..-· ....· ,. .....,......................... ... ................. ,............ H••• •.Ot • • M••· .. · ········· · · · ·U M• O• . . ... ...........,... . . . . . . . .,. .. . .......... . .... ..................... . ,

5 Compaq Armada M700 80 191

Good: Pentium 11-400, 14:Hnch active SCl!tll, eraserllead.
800/345-1518 www.compaq.com 64118 of RAM, 6.4GB hard drive

MIDRANGE UOTEBOOK: 51700 TO SZ699 Percent of overall ratmQ ... Price: 14 P•rc•al I Perfonnance: ZO pera?nt Ba>oconfiquratlon: 5 perc•nt

!ta Micron TransPort Trek2 Anraqo: Good: Celeron-400, 14.Hnch active screen, touchpad and
1 !al B00/64 z.7667 www.micronpc.com Sept 99 89
$2299
184
erasertiead, 64MB of RAM, 4.3GB hart! drive
.. ....... v;:r •P• 0 ¥ ......... ... OUOO.• •••"90.. 0 ... 0 0 0 . . 00,0.. '\._... ... ,.,~ .... · · · : • • • <•O oO... . , , , , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . :...~· '"~.:~:, . . · · · • , • • . .. :··i··· ··v........... ..
~; - • OPt0 ••000 00•.00• •U•O,O< . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . ,.,..,.:·•A•••OOO .....: •• .... f0: •·"·::·"''"•• ·, · ·· ··· ··

2 Ouaittex 1-1410 · ~
99 87 · Awenivr. ·· Very IJOOd: Pentium 11·366, 14.1-inch active screen, toueh·
800/896-4898 www.quanlu.com ~2199 pad, 128MB of RAM, BGB haril drive

3 Fujitsu LlfeBook ESerles Pll-333

888/466·84).4 www.lujitsll"J>C.COffi
Auq99 B6
lnupensln:
$1900
Good: Pentium 11·333,13.3·inch active screen, Erqolrac
pointillQ device, 64M8 of RAM, 6.4G8 hard drive
,........ ~ .· ·• .-•'\• • .,. ....... 1· ••..._..,....... -

HP OmnlBook XE2 Good: Pentium II·366, t.3'3-inch active screen, touchpad;

85
800/32H77i www.hp.com 64MB of RAM, 6.4GB hard drive

Very IJOOd: Pentium 11·400, 14.Hnch active screen, touch·

Oct 99 84
pad, 64MB of RAM , IOGB hard drive

Base configuration: 5 percent

Good: Celeron·400, 13.Hnch dual·scan screen, eraserhead,

Nov99 87
64118 of RAM, 4.3GB hard drive
........ ..... r. ••••• , ...........

IBM ThlnkPad I Serles 1480 Satisfactory: Celeron·366, IZ.Hnch active screen, eraser·
2 800/426-7255 ext. 4751 www.lbm.com/pc/us/lhinkpad
Nov99 84
head, 3ZMB of RAM, UGB hard drive
. . . ..... • ,....,_,,,,.,,.,.,..,.,.._,., h"••u1.,.•••"''0-''"
Chem USA ChemBook 7200 Good: Celerow333, IZ.hlnch active screen,,touchpad,
Au~99 82
800/866·1436 "1fW.Chemusa.com 64MB of l!AM. 4.BGB hal'd drive .
,,\,.,. .... ··--•--+•• ......
··-···•'-•••"'""' ~- , i . • .-

Compaq Prosfgnla Notebook 150 Nov99 82

Good: AMO K6·2·380, 12.1-inch active screen, touchpad,
800/34.5·1518 www.compaq.com 64MB of RAM, 4GB hart! drive
••• •• .+ •v•••••••.... •••• r• •- •• • • ·~._· .. ~ •·•• .. ••••••u .. o.•o.••• • ..-. ..... ,,.._,..._,--:••• ~, , ..... .,

5 Gateway Solo 2500SE Nov99 80 154

Satlsflctory: Celerow366, 12.Hnch acllve SC/l!efl, toUch­
800/315-2536 WWW.IJ'leway.com pad, 32MB of RAM, 4.3GB hart! drive

~ Best Buy Percent of overall ratinq ... ~~"."~ce: 14 percent Base confiqurallon: Spercent ·

'Includes "computer; adapter: power cord; and.floppy, , ·I For more Information about all Ifie products listed ln'.thls table, select number • Five ~rs o~ CPU and m~ln memory,
DVD-ROM, or .CD·ROM d.rlve. " 903 on the product lnfo11111ilon card or visit www.p(worid.coni/productlnfo. one;year on other parts.

NOTEBOOK VENDORS often claim their portables are as a::a.a:;a:aa:&!1.aa:aa,a.1.w:a

powerful and versatile as desktop PCs, quipping, "Now you
1 GATEWAY SOLO 9300LS
can take your PC with you," or calling their laptops "desktop WHAT'S HOT: Its thin , slee k

replacements." Some of these vendors deliver: Note the massive 25GB

hard drive in the Dell Inspiron 7500 C466VT on this month's power list,
I design. Plus, th e Solo 9300LS' s
12-cell lithium ion battery outlasts
cm'> other laptops' power packs. With
a second battery in its multipurpose bay,
the 128MB of RAM in the Quantex I-1410 on our new midrange chart,
the Gateway should be able to run as long
and the Celeron-400 CPU in the budget Toshiba Satellite 2595CDS. as some Windows CE devices. It fasted 5

288 i)#f#,j;jy,p o E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Very good: 4X·DVD·ROM drive, Y.90 modem, lithium ion
battery, multipurpose bay takes second battert

Good: IOX-20X CO·ROM drive, lithium Ion battery, multi· Satisfactory: Avm91: Good/ Z4/7,
Very good: easy to upgrade Outstanding
purpose bay takes s&ond battery 2:15 7 Good toll·free
00000000000 • O O i - • O• L o">0. . . . 0.o••0<••·~··-••0000000•oOOo~~··-···~•o< o oo, O H f O ' OoOOO O O .. OOO OOo •· · ~ ~~··-·L·
• • ••1•••••• ··•··-· ••• ···-···~v•r .,. ····-•r··
Exctlllllt: 4X'DV!>-ROM drive, V.90 modem, litlllum ion Emlleat: vast storacie pos­ Good/ Z4/7,
battery, mulUp~rpose bay take~,second battery, ·Zip drive sibilities. screen overbite. Good toll-free

Very good: 4X DVO·ROM drive, V.90 PC Card modem, lilhl· Average: accepts many Satisfactory: Heavy: Good/ 24/7,
Good
um Ion battery, multipurpose bay takes second battery add·ln devices 2:26 9.9 Fair toll·free

Good: 12X-24X CD·ROM drive, V.90 modem, lithium ion bat·

tery, multipurpose bay takes second hard drive top replacement
••u.••• ; · · ..... : ~·~· . :,'!;. ·:···~· '"'t<t-~· ··~··· • . ,H.,, '--·~ · •,•, ·.··• .. , •.. ·· · ·••' · ~ ··r...··· ·· •:1;_·.. ·-°""-... · . ,·. •..-;t; • • • •• ...,......_,,.

Sat'1s1ac1G¥;4x OVO·ROM drfvt: v.90 modem, lithium Ion A QOOd di • Very good:.
battery,,11\uttipurpose bay taker.second battery ~ au 0 3:15
•••">•••..••) • .,,, ...~..... ~ • .,..N,•• ~_..:.i;,• ..-,.• ..,,,..-, ,,...,...... ,,..,,,_.,.n,~ .. ~•• ,,,,, . .. ,.~·;.,.,, ,,,. , .~ .. N?",,,:-.,.,~. '<•-'WA.\'o .... ~:n,,

Excttltnt 12X-24X CO·ROM drive, V.90 modem, lithium Ion Very qood: two versatile Good: Avera9f: Poor/ 24/7,
Good toll·free
battery, two shared bays (one holds second battery) bays 2:25 8.2 Fair
'"./'.'"" ....}..,.._,.:"" ~'"\.,,_,_..,I•_ ... , ···..-··-········..-- ...... •••··--·····.·····•·v ..
Good: Anr.,e:
Gilod
·Good., 24/7,
111
2:45 '1.6 •Poor toll.dree'

Good: 12X·24X CD·ROM drive, V.90 modem, lithium Ion bat· Excellent best built-In Satisfactory: Heavy: Fair/ 24/7,
Fair 3/1 640
tery, multipurpose bay takes second battery audio available 2:09 8.9 Fair toll·free

Ext<• feotur..- 5 percent

·---------------­ · -·­ .. ·--­ _
Desl9n and ease of use:
_ IO_ pertenl _ __ B_P!!~cnl_~ent_
I
Batlery life: L'' Weloht: · :I Reliability: . ·~· ~· Supp~; 1 and warranty· lo percent~
. •

Sll~Dr(i12X-21X-CD·R,OM d~lve..Y.90 modem~ lithium Very QOOc!;•.• ·24/7;

Ion b'atlery , 3:12 toll·free tlt 641

SltlsfKtory: 10X-24X CD ·ROM drive, V.90 modem, lithium AYtfl9e: comfortable key- Very good: Good] 24/7,
Ion battery board 3:07 Fair toll·free 1/1
· ·r •• 04 • • ._ • . , • • , -..-. • • • • _.,,. . . , • • ~ • . , . . . . , . , ··,-. · ~:· · · • · · • • • • • .,,. •••• • · · ~· , . . , , . . . •t:••" •• ••···· ,.,. .... •• • ""' ....... ~···r •·1.....,_..,• ,,.,,, •• •• •OOO•~OO••HOO ~\-M . . . .., . ... ......... . . . . . . . . .oo 0 0 ....0 0 1 0

Satt11actorf,.10X.-24X CD-ROM driVe, V.90 modem, lithium A~ best fe.ature Is , Very QOOCj:
Ion battery qreat keyboard 3:20
1,,,,, j.(1~ ......,,.., ,;':',n •.;• ...., ,' ,,, •lo ol>j.,., ,,:,,.1.-. , ~~-- h h­ •-«I•••• , . :• .,.,....... ;. • ..;,.. ,,,. ••..,,,, , ,

Sltlsfactory: IZX-24X CD·ROM drive, V.90 modem, lithium Very good: superb built-in
Ion battery sound

· 1· J).~e>t!> . lnsufflctent)l1t1 fri!m,surv,v.:scoral s ba~,d 011

~sponse~ to anonymous calls for I&~ support.

hours and 6 minutes in our tests, 31 min­ the 9300LS sports TV-in and TV-out ports LISTEN WHILE YOU
utes longer than the second longest last­ and a Dolby jack for connecting a sut" WORK: Toshiba
ing notebook, Compaq's Armada M?oo. round-sound stereo system . Oth er fea ­ builds stereo
WHAT'S NOT: At $3374, the Solo 9300LS tures include buttons to make playin g speakers Into Its
is on the expensive side. Its PC World­ audio CDs more convenie nt, an IEEE Satellite
Bench 98 score of 193 is quick for a note­ 1394 port for capturing digital video (you
book, but below average for a Pil-400. supply th e editing software) , and pro·
WHAT ELSE: The 9300LS has many of the grammable shortcut buttons at the top of
discontinued 9150LS's audiovisual extras the keyboard for launching apps. Anoth·
yet weighs a pound less. Like the 9150LS, er nicety: A charge indicator on th e .....

0 EC E MBE R 19 9 9 289
 outside of the notebook lets you check on produce loud sound (al­
leftover juice without removing the battery. though not as rich as that
BEST USE: Presenters and digital editors generated by Compaq Pro­
with relatively deep pockets will ap preci­ sign ia lap top s). Like the
ate this beautifully designed notebook_ Quantex I-1511 and new ven­
dor Impression's 4315 (two
Wi.ii·l:l ,i!lfl&!l·ilti:i •i •il& also-rans nearly identical to
the lnspiron) , the C466VT
1 MICRON TRANSPORT TREK2 suffers from a half-inch
WHAT'S HOT: Removing devices screen overbite. TI1at could
for upgrading is a snap, because make the 15-inch screen
you can access memory slots, the take the brunt of the impact
CD-ROM drive. and the hard drive with­ in case of a fall.
out tools. You can connect multiple mul­
NEC VERSA SX
timedia devices for recording and playing Compaq's streamlined Armada
KILLER?
sound. The multipurpose bay supports a M700 Is just a little over an Inch thick with the screen closed.
second hard drive. Despite Its svelte form, It delivers the multimedia goods. FOR THE LAST two years,
WHAT'S NOT: Thin-sounding speakers NEC's Versa SX has reigned
don't do justice to the Trans Port's impres­ &,;1;.;;;a&!l.&&a,; .1.1ta as the only ultrathin, full-size laptop capa­
sive audio and video components. ble of accepting a wide range of add-in
WHAT ELSE: Upgrading the CD-ROM 1TOSHIBA SATELLITE 2595CDS accessories. That sovereignty comes to an
drive to a DVD-ROM drive (for $i99) lets WHAT'S HOT: The Toshiba's 1J.1­ end with the introduction of Compaq's
you take advantage of the Treb's S-Video ind1 screen is big for a $1499 lap­ new Armada M7oo, a $3799 Pentium II­
port so you can watch movies on a televi­ top. In our tests, its battery lasted a 400 notebook that debuts in fifth place on
sion . The system runs a shade faster than long 3 hours and 12 minutes. The system the power chart this month. Like the SX,
other Celeron-400 portables we've tested, also sports programmable shortcut keys. the M7oo measures only a little over an
and it offers average battery life of about WHAT'S NOT: A cursor trail. the only give­ inch thick with the screen closed and
2.5 hours. The Treb has both a touchpad away that the screen is dual-scan, may weighs less than 5 pounds with a space­
and an eraserhead, but the latter's use as a annoy some users. The hard drive goes holder plugged into its modular bay. It
primary input device is limited because back to the manufacturer for upgrading. can hold almost as many different types
you can't configure it (out of the box) for WHAT ELSE: This all-in-one unit offers of removable drives as the SX (though
tapping. The eraserhead is also too far few upgrade possibilities. The keyboard Compaq doesn't sell an internal Zip
away from the two mouse buttons, which and crescent-shaped mouse buttons (ar­ drive), performed just as well as the SX in
are located in front of the touch pad. ranged vertically) are comfortable to use, our benchmark tests, and outruns the SX
BEST USE: A desktop replacement with and Toshiba bundles lots of software. in battery life: 4.6 hours compared to the
some top-notch audio and video features. BEST USE: With its long battery life, the N EC's 2 hours. On the other hand, the
Satellite is a good choice for M7oo costs more than the NEC (an SX
travelers on a Motel 6 budget. with a 6GB hard drive goes for $3349), its
all-gray case looks drab next to the two­
New This Month tone SX, and it forfeits some of the SX's
slicker touches, like an external battery
IF YOU ' V E BEEN waiting charge indicator. -Carla Thornton
for a laptop with 75GB of
s torage , put Dell's n ew Contributing Editor Carla Thornton regu­
$3501 Inspiron 7500 C466VT larly covers notebooks for PC World. .....
on your holiday wish list. This
10.4-pound desktop re place­
W!ikf.ijii!J&i!ii4!1.IJll!i
ment , ranked third on our WE EVALUATED T.HE following systems
power list, can hold three 25G B JP.ii~~ · .along with the others, but the~~didn't
PORTABLE BLUES: hard drives at once if you score high enough to reach the Top ·IS
Hewlett-Packard's all-In-one remove the battery and DVD- Notebook PCs chart.Forwrite-u11s. visit PC Worf<LOnllne
OmnlBook XE2 doesn't miss a beat. The laptop offers colorful ROM/floppy drive combo. (www.pcworld.com/top400).
external controls that permit users to play music CDs Unlike the speakers in previ­ + Impression 4315
wlthout having to power up the notebook first. ous lnspirons, the C466VT's + NEC Versa LX Pll-400
290 H•l/l·i;IY·P D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Welco me to the realm of world­ PROSIGNIA NOTEBOOK 150
AMD-K6" -2 380/100 MHz Processor
wide comp uting. Fo r rhose of yo u 4.0 GB SMART Hard Drive'
32 MB SDRAM (expandable to 160 MB)
who rravel arou nd rhe world ro 12.1" CTFT (800 x 600) Display
24X Max CD- ROM
mecr wirh business clients, rh c 1.44 MB Floppy
Compaq V.90 Data/Fax Modem'
Co mpaq Prosigni a Notebook 150 Microsot Windows" 98 , Word 2000
Free Trial of Compaq Online Services•
offers the mobile professional the perfect so lution. With a powerful AMO KG -2 processo r and 3-year Worldwide Limited Warranty'

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•AJI price.s shown ;;ire Co mpaq pricc:s. Rct:iilc:r 2nd ~sdkr prices may v:Jry. Adn~rri sed configurn1io n5 m:iy v:uy from aw:ird·winning confi gur.uions. 1Pricc.s shown arc subject to d1:111gc :rnd do not include :applicblc: state :111d
local nla tax or shipping to recipient's destination. ~ Finm ing ;i~i lablc through Compaq Financi~ Services (CFS) to <1ualified U.S. businc:uo:. subject to credi t apJ.lrov;i.I and a:ecution of CFS documcnt:nion. Monthl y p:t)'­
mems arc based on 36-mont11 fo1ir Market VaJuc: lease, and do 1101 include: t:txcs, fc:a. or shi pping charges. O ther fees :and restrict ions m;1y apply ~ml CFS reserves 1he righ1 tu change or canCC'l thi1 program Jt any time wi th ·
om notice. 'f-or hard dri\'CS, GB. billion bytes. -24X Max C D-ROM d.at:a 1.r.msfer r:ucs m2}' \'"J J)' from 150 to 3600 KB/s. ' V.90 Protocol: V.?O modenu :trc designed on ly to :illow faster downloads from K5Gflex- or V.90.com­
pliant digit:i..I sourt"cs. Ma.x.imum ac:himble download 1mumWion rates arc currently unknown. may not rc4ich 56 Kbf». and \lo'ill V2I)' with line conditions.. 'Compaq Online Scr'\'iccs: Fr« 30-<lay 1ri:;il rt"CJ,Uircs lntcrnct acccu
cp.lbiliry. • Ccn ain restrictions and exclusions apply. D.U (800) OK COMPAQ for w:unnty dc1:1ils. e 1999 C.Omp.lq Compu1er CQrpon.ticm. All righLs n:sc:rvcd. Comp:aq, the Comp:aq logo, and Prosigni:1 :arc rq;is1crcd 1ndc ­
marks of Comp:1q Computer corpor::arion. Micrn.so fc is ci1hc:r a rq;i.nercd madcm:uk or lr:adcmuk of Microsoft Corpor-.uion in the Unit('d Sr:atcs :andlor ocher counlrici. AMO-KG is :a rcgUcered 1r:ademark of AdV":anccd Micro
Devices, In c. Compaq U not liable for a foorial, pictorial, or typognphia:.I errors in 1his :advcrti.K'ment. 2260/ l l/99
Gnle 28 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/produdinfo
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 FUTURES: use. 600 bt2400 dpi, 11.Hr/·t6.8·by-3.5·inch unit.'
9.9 pounds, 8.5·by-11.7·inch scanning area, optlo11<1I transparen·
$199 98 Very ljOOd 12/74 cy adapter. ~UMMARY; This use unit ~elivers the same great
features as jts SCSI twin.,the Epson Perfection 636,.for SIOO less.
Easy installation and lifetime support wi~Jt the SOHO Sest Buy.
•••••"._. • • • • •~ • <•i'• ~. • • • • •••'-•••••••••'-• ,. ••• ~ .... ,., , ._,\,,,,,,., , ,,,,u,.Or o.. 0 ..-1 •r• >-.i~·~••o,..ol,j..

FEATURES: USB, 600 by 1200 dpi, I0.4-by-16.4-by·t.7·1nch unit,'

Microtek SlimScan C6 7.7 pounds, B.5·by-11.7-inch scanning area, no transparency
800/654·4160 $90 89 Very Qood 36/81 adapter. SUMMARY: This low·cost, lightweight unit ls the only
www.microtekusa.com CIS (non·CCD) scanner on the chart. Impressive scan quality,
choice software, and good support keep ii high on the list.
-••••• • '"•(••J'>J• •• ·•~"H"•~• ouq . . • •••.• """'~I'! O• "''""'"' ,,.,, ••• "' ,,,.,., ,...,,, •• ,....,...,,, • .....,.,~. • • n)V .HV.

FEATURES: use,600by1200 dpi, 1t ,5·by·17.~·by'3.2·inch unlt,1

Microtek ScanMaker X6 ti pounds, B.5-by·tt.7·irich scanning area, optional transparencV
800/654·4160 $100 88 Good 34/50 adapter. SUIUW!Y: Solid scan quality and overall performance 670
www.microtekusa.com · make this model a cootender. AS20 price cut. stron9 software,
and well·rouoded features sweeten the deal.
•.. ,_.,~·-· d... .... _x ......... ••• .u ...... . ~ ~··

FEATURES: Parallel and USB, 600 by 1200 dpi, 12-by-19.l-by·4.9·

HP ScanJet 5200Cse inch unit.' 12.5 pounds, 8.5·by-tt.7·inch scanning area, optional
800/722·6538 $299 87 Vtry Qood 24/80 35mm slide adapter. SUMMARY; Versatile but pricey scanner 671
www.scanjet.com delivers admirable scan quality, Includes useful software, and
has an easy-to-use design.
• • ••• •••• • • ''"'''•uoooo• •• •• • •,~"'""'.0'''.'":•._. .. , " ' ' ' • 11 , , ... , ,, '-' -'""'/ ,,..._,,,,.,,,..,,,,,.,/ •I'''"'"-"'''' ' "' . . . :-;-,... . . . . . . . . . .o't'

FEATURES: use, 600 ~Y t2oo dpi, 12-by-18-by-4·incti unit.' 9.5

0
Ac~r.·Acer. Scan ,Prisa 620UT pounds, 8.5·by·1J.7-inch scanning ar,a, includes transparency,
?f00/37f-2237 : $149 86 adapter. SUMll!ARY: Beyond good scah qu'ailty1'thisall·purp0se
www.acetperlpherals.com unit scans transparent and reflective materials. W'rthout ~ trans·
parency allapter, $99 AwScan Prisa 6200.isalso go~ value. a
FEATURES: Parallel and USB, 600 by 1200 dpi, 16.7-by·ll.7-by­
Visioneer OneTouch 3.7·inch unit.' 6.4 pounds, 8.5·by-11.7· inch scanning area, no
8600
6 888/229·4172
$299 85 Good 18/96 transparency adapter. SUMMARY: Relatively high-priced new­
comer lands on the chart with zippy performance, handy seven·
www.vlsl oneer.com button front panel, and a sleek design.

FEATURES: use. 600by1200 dpl, 12.-by-18-by-4.13-inch unit.' 14

Agfa 5napScan Touch @ pounds, 8,5-by-1t7-inch scanning area, no transparericy adapter.
7 888/281•2302
www.a_qfahoriie.com
$129 85 Very ljOOd 35/85 SUMMARY: Impressive.scan quality, easy·to·u~ push·buttons,
alld toll·free tech support make this newcomer awise choice for
entry-level scanninq tasks.

CORPORATE SCANNER

1
I Umax Astra 24005
800/562·0311 $299 95 Good 12/67
FEATURES: SCSI, 600 by 2400 dpt, 13.2-by-23.3-by-5.9·1nch
unit.' 14.6 pounds, 85·by·14·inch scanning area, optional trans·
parency adapter. SUMMARY: fast performance and outstandinq
support earn this legal document-capable unit a Best Buy. Scan
675
www.umax.com
quality, software. and price are other stronq points.
\ ,, , .. .. .., .. ,............ . . ,..•:··"• ' "-"' ...............,-. ....:· ·
FEATURES: SCSI and use. 1200 by 2400 dpl, 12.3-by·t9.6·by·
HP 5canJet 6350C 7.6·1nch unit~' 15.8 pounds, 8.S·by-tt:?·inch.scannlnQ 'area,
2 800/722-6538
www.scanjet.com
$499 94 Very ljOOd ll/76 Includes transparency adapter and ADF. SUlilMARY: A great
choice for OCR, this speedy model Includes an automatic docu·
rT)ent feeder, scans 35mm slides. and proCluces top'quallty scaos.
1fo,,U,._n _.;...- ''"

FEATURES: SCSI, 1200 by 1200 dpi, tt.5-by·18.1-by-3-lnch unit,'

Canon Cano5can FB 12005 8.8 pounds, 8.5-by-11.7·inch scanning area, optional transparen·
800/652-2666 $499 93 Very good Z0/74 cy adapter and ADf. SUMMARY: Hlgh·resolution corporate &71
www.ccsi.canon.com model boasts great color and detail, plus lifetime support, but
it's a tad slow, and comes priced at apremium.

~ Best Buy ~ for expanded reviews of this month's scanners, visit www.pcworld.com/dec99/scanners. All products: 907

HOW WE TEST All scanners are tested with default settings under Windows 98 on a Dell Dimension V333(Pentium11·333) PC with 64M8 of RAM, using each scanner's bundled software. Overall score is
based on scanned Imagequality (28percent), scanning speed (25 percent), ease of use (17 percent), features (15 percent), support (10 percent), and price (5 percent). Speed tests are timed from the start
of scanning until cursor control is regained. Data based on tests designed and conducted by the PC World Test Center.
' Dimensions are listed in the followingorder: width, depth, and height.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD of push-button Agfa SnapScan Touch features four and the $299 Visionee r One·
scann ing. Nearly every model on this month 's Touch 8600 , a whopping eight. If you're lookin g for quick­
SOHO chart has at least one quick-start button , launch buttons on a beefier unit, check out HP's Scan) et 6350C
but two new units pull out all the stops: The $129 and Canon's CanoScan FB 1200S on our corporate chart. •

o E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •JWij.i;ii.i 293
 JUST
THIN K OF IT.

all it a productivity

chine if you want,

new ERAZOR Ill

ccelerator card can

help you er ate an avalanche of

business materia ls in a fraction of the time .

PowerPoint"' presentations, charts, spreadsheets,

~
0

~
,­ reports - speed through all of them wi t h

ERAZOR Ill. The secret is the astonishing

I tec hnology of ELSA combined with the

hyperfast NVIDIA - processor.

St op waiting, find us on the web or call
800-272-ELSA for a dealer near you .

IELSRI
888.560.ELSA or www .
 19-INCH MONITOR
.. th
••On
Street
price 0vera 11 0ua i·t
1 Y 0•f Comments
I Product
Info
tested 191151991 rating text/graphics number

FEATURES: 17.9·inch view~ble area, .Z6mm dot pitch tube, up to

Samsung SyncMaster.950p
I
119·Hi refresh rate.' Plug and Play ready, TC0'99 compliant, thre.:·
1 800/ 726-7864
ww w.sariisungmonltor.com
S392 88 year warranty, 24-hour toll·free support. SUMMARY: Adirt-cheap
price, razor- sharp text, fine colors, and generous suppor( gamer
688

this handsome model top honors: BNC connect Dis• are a nice extra.

FEATURES: 17.S·inch viewable area, .25mm FD Trinitron stripe

Dell UltraScan P991 pitch tube.' up to 134·Hz refresh rale.' Plug and Play ready, TC0'99
Excellent/
800/289-3355 $559 86 compliant, three-year warranty, 24·hour toll·free support.
Very good
www.dell.com SUMMARY: Bright colors and high refresh rates overshadow hum·
drum case designand somewhat high price.
• • • . , . . . ....... . . . _, . 4
. _~· ··" ' ' :' ~"' ' . . . . . . . . ~" -" -·•.tt- ''"I' ' '<~., . ••• ..,. •. _
. .. ... ··· ··••1• · ~····· ........,.. ..... .. ", '' "''''?! ~ ... ~,·:· " ' ','·'' ' ' , ... ........ ............ . ...... , ..... .. . . ... . . . ........ . 4 . ._ . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . :_· · , . ..... _ . . . . . . . . .

FEATURES: 18·1nch viewable area, .25/.27mm Diamondtron HF

Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 900u retested variable stripe pitch tube,1­ up to 117'Hz refresh rate.' Plug and Play
800/843:2515 " this $659 85 ready, TC0'95 compliant; three·year warranty, IZ·hour daily toll· 689
www.mitsubishl·display.com month free support. SUMMARY: Pricey, but pllers lovely colors, sharp
text, front use port, and SH~_connectors.' Shortish support hours.

FUTURES: 17.5·inch viewable area, .25mm dot pitch tube, up to

Sampo AlphaScan B12SR Very good/
130-Hzrefresh rate.' Plug and Play ready, TC0'92 compliant three­
877/467-2676 $429 year warranty, IO·hour daily toll·free support. SUMMARY: Com· 690
Very good
www.sampotech.com petitlve price, space-saving design, and strong text and graphics
overcome short support hours and relatively small vi ewable area.
,,,,.., • • •• , ... ..._•••• •• ~·•••• • """"" "l"C ..,.. • · ·--·· •·• u• "' r•·-• ·-·•••• • • ••• •·•-.•••• , ..•••• ., .•. , .. .

' ........:"':·
~!.. :. ~ FEATURES: 17.9-inch vie1¥able area, .26mm dot pitch tube, up to
MAG lnnoVisiOfXJBOOV 112-Hl refresh rate.' Plug and Play ready, three·year warranty, 11:
.5 800/82fo998 S399 82
Very 900d/
Excellent
hour daily toll·free sup·p orl SUMMARY; Low price and terrific 691
www.maginnovislon.com. a
graphics quality reap spot on the chart. but tech support hours
lag behind mosl, and on·screen controls are hard to naViqate.

21-INCH MONITOR

FEATURES: 19.7·inch viewable area, .25/.27mm Diamondtron NF

Mitsubishi Diamond variable stripe pitch lube,' up to 112-Hz refreshrate.' Plug and Play
Pro 2020u $1169 90
Very good/
ready, TC0'99 compliant, lhree·year warranty, 12-hour daily toll· 692
800/ 8 43·2515 Very good
free support. SUMMARY: Graceful desiqn, large viewable area,
www.mltsublshl·dlsplay.com
nuanced colors. sharp delail; front USB port and BNC connectors.'
.,._. .... . . .., ····:'·1 ·~···•·.t .. •··: " ...........,....
FEATURES: 19.6·inch viewable area, .25mm dot pitch tube, up to
Panasonic-PanaSync P1101 Very good/
llS·Hz refrt'$h rate.' P1u9 and Play ready, TC0'95 compliant, three­
2 B00/742·8086
www.panasonlC.com/allve
$1049 89 Very good
year warranty, 12·hour weekday toll·free support. SUMllARY:
Crisp text, saturated colors, and afine array of intuitive on·scree:n
693

controls. Tech support hours aren't as generous as some.

r
.-1...i •• .... . ......... ·· ···~ · ......, ... " " ···~ . ...... .. ... . ........ ,... .......... • ·······~·"·(· . . . . . ........ ~ ................... .............. : ....

FEATURES: 19.7·inch viewable area, .25mm dot pitch tube, up to

Cornerstone Peripherals 88-Hz refresh rate.' Plug and Play ready, TC0'99 compliant, five·
Technology c1001 Very good/
3 800/562·2552
$945 88 Very good
year warranty, 24-hour weekday loll·free support. SUMMARY:
Moderately priced, displays lively colors and solid text. Advanced
694
www.blgmonltors.com controls and color-correction utilities add to overall value.

FEATURES: 19.6·inch viewable area, .24mm FD Trinltron stripe

Sony CPD-GSOO Very good/
pilch tube; up to 97-Hz refresh rate,' Plug and Play ready, TC0'99
4 800/352-7669
www.sor.iy.com/dis~lays .
$1199
Good
compliant, three-year warranty, Z4·hour toll·free support. SUM·
MARY: Crisp, dark text and logically orqanlzed on-screen controls
compensate for high price and relati'l!ty weak graphics scores.

FEATURES: 19.B·inch viewable area, .25mm dot pitch tube, up lo

Viewsonic PB15 Good/
IOS·Hz refresh rate.' Pluq and Play ready, TC0'99 compliant, three­
5 800/888· 8583
www.vlewsonlc.com
$899 84 Good
year warranty, 24·hour weekday loll-free support. SUMMARY:
Comprehensive on-screencontrols, BNC connectors.' and low price
are pluses. though colors and text pale next to competing brands.

[['] Best Buy All products: 909

m HOW WE TEST Ten judges rate a monitor's text and graphics qualily. We evaluate each unil on how well It displays typical business letters, a newsletter, spreadsheets, Web pages, and scanned
images. The overall ratinq is based on text and graphics quality (25 percent each), features and ease of use (25 percent), price (20 percent), and service and support (5 percent). The best pos·
sible overall rating is 100. Data based on tests designed and conducted by the PC World Test Center. All rights reserved. ' Hiqhest refresh rate at 1024 by 768 resolution. ZSpecialized connec·
tor used with some hiqh·endgraphics cards. ' Usesan aperture grille tube with avariable slripe pitch of .25mm at the center and .27mm at the sides. •Highest refresh rate al 1280 by 1024 resolution.

NEWER MODELS with lower prices fl ood our fe ss ional docum ents and graphi cs . Amon g 21-inchers , Mit­
chart this m onth. Samsung 's SyncMas le r 9 5o p, subi shi 's cla ssy Diamond Pro 202o u co mbines great colors with
our top 19-inch pick, o ffer s th e bes t all-a round advanced rea t1.1rcs like handy USB port s and BNC connectors to
value- a fin e low-cost choice fo r producing pro- s nag a Bes t Buy. Next month: the latest 17-inch m odels. •

D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 . , . ,••• j;;,; 295

 First, we helped give families the Internet.
Internet access for everyone in the house, from every PC in the house.
The Compaq Presario 5700 Series Internet PC with Home Phoneline Networking.

Call it Murphy's Law: Every rime you try to get online, someone sneaks on before you.
Bur now, Compaq brings you Home Phoneline Nerworking.8 It allows the whole famil y to
access the Net from their PCs at the same rime. No additional phone lines, and no waiting.

And that's not rhe only way Compaq makes the Net more accessible. These Compaq
Presario Internet PCs fearure NerZero; which gives you free e-mail and free, unlimited Internet
access. Nor just for a month or a year, but for as long as you want. No fees. No gimmicks.
And no long-term commitments.

Now, let's talk speed. These PCs are available with super-fast digita l DSL modems. So
when DSL service comes to your area, you'll be able to surf at lighming speed. In addition,
these PCs are also cable and satellite modem-ready for ultra high-speed access.

Ger one today. Bener yet, get one for everyone in the house.

tompaq Technology Netzero*

If you can plug In your phone, These Compaq Presario Internet PCs give yo ur fo mily
you can network your home. easy and fas L lntcrncr access. And now they give it to
Share Internet acctss. princcrs, fi lc.:s. ;111d you free, counc:sy of NctZcro' and Compaq. No fe es.
ga mes with Home Phonclinc Nccworki ng. 1
No gi mmicks. And no long-ccrm commicmcnrs.
h's as C35)' as plugging in ' pho ne.

Y2K: COMPAQ PRODUCTS ARE YEM 2000 HARDWARE COMPLIANT."

pentium(f)!!/
'All prices shown are CompaQ Direct selling prices and do not incl ude appllcabk? sales tax and shipping. aro valid In the U.S. only and arc subject to change or cancella tion
without notice. Not all models available In retail slOres. Illustrations may not accura tely represent exact conliguralions priced. Compaq Is not liable !or editorial, pictorial, or
~pagraph 1cal errors In this advertisement. 'Financing ava1labl€ on appro'led credit tnrough MBNA America llaJlk, NA . by arrangemeni with COl11paq Gapital. Payments based
on a 4B·monlh 1erm al a fixed Annual Percentage Rate as low as 14.99%. Your APR may be higher. There Is no Ice lor Compaq purchases billed direclly 10 your account.
However, there ts an access clwi:k Ice of 2% ol the U.S Dollar amount ol each advance check (S2 min.IS15 max). 'System lesled using NSTL YMARK2000 hantNare lest.
Non-ainpiiant third·party soltwarelhardl·me P10Cl.JC1S may affect rollaier res For more details. see w..,w.compaq coov)'W2000. 'ReQu:res sharing subscriber proH!e
informaoon and viewing 1argeted ads. Other terms and cor.dilioos also apply. S<e Netlero User Agreement !or details. 'For haro drives. GB=billion b)1e>. '32X Max CO·ROM
dala uansler rates may vary trom 1800 to 4800 Kbps '11U V.90 modems are designed only 10 allow laster downloads lrom K5611ex· or V.90·compliart digital sources.
Maximum achieva le d<wmload transmission rates are ::-uirently unknown, may not reach 56 Kbps. and will vary with line conditions. "\.Yorks with most third·party devices.
'CO ·RW drive data 1ranslor rates may vary as follows: !or recording to CO·R media. the dala transler ra to may vary lrom 150 10 600 Kbps: !or wriling to CO-RW media,
 COMPAQ

Now we're making sure everyone gets to use it.

Compaq
Retailers
ABC \Yarehouse
American Appliance
American TV
Big City Express
Brandsmart USA
PRESARIO 5700N-466 PRESARIO 5700T-500 PRESARIO5700T-600E Buy.com
INTERNET PC INTERNET PC INTERNET PC cow
Circuit City
CompUSA
ComplJSANET.com
64 MB I 00 lv'liz SyncORAM. 4 MB Shared la- VKIOO 128 100 lv'liz MB &,1x:OflAM ei<paI'dable ID 384 MB 128 MB 100 fl'jiz SyrcORAM expalXlallle ID 384 MB Computer Town
6.0 G8 lJ1raDIM Hard D!Ne' 13.0 G8 lJlral>\'A Hard Drive' 13.0 G8 tJtraOMA Hard Drive' Conn 's
DataVision
32X Max Cll·ROM Drive' 32X Max Cll·ROM Drlve' IOX !Ml·ROM Drive' Fred Meyer
Fl'('s 8ectronlcs
\lm100 3 I 000 2X AG' GraphlCs Card wilh 16 MB \lm100 3 1000 2X AG' Graphles Card 1'11h 16 MB h.h. Gregg
J&R Computer World
ESS Solo PO Audio ESS Solo PO Audio Micro Center
56K ITU V.90 Mxlem' 56K ITUV.90 Modem' 56K ITU V.90 Mxlem' MlcroWarehouse
Multiple Zones
NationwideComputers
& Electronics
Croa!Mty focOOc1 Ce111er Oigilal Crea!Mty lmagil>;i cenier Oigilal Croa!Mly lmagi"g Cerler' Nebraska Mega Mart
100 MB lomcoa ZipBu~·ln" Ort.oe + 1 disk Office Depot
OfficeMax
Mlcrosoo• Wad Microsdl F9allnd fbne ~ Onsale.aim
Outpost.aim
PC Connection
PC Mall
Compaq cvs15 15· Mam (13.B"VIAl PC Richard & Son
CompaQCV7 15 17" Mooi'.a-(16.0"VIAj Compaq CV715 17" Mlnitor (16.0" VIAj PCWaiehooso
RadioShack
* As low as * Aslowas As low as RCS Computer Experience

$799 $23 per month' $1399 $39 per month' $1799* $51 per month'
Seats
Shopping.com
Staples
10.0 G8 Ull!a)MA ftlrd !me': Ml S50 4X Cffifl ~) OriK. Ml $199 Microsoft Offce 2000 Protessional Upgrade: Ml S199 State Stree Oiscount
TheW12
100 MB Iomega Zlp Built-In" Onw + I dsk: Ml $79 U750 Color lnlqel Prfn!llf:Ml $149 4X CllRW (ReaWWrtteable) Drive': Add S199 Tiger Direct
Tops Appliance City
U300 Color lnkf.t Pnn:er. Ml $99 1n1e1 Crane aro Sllare camera Padc Ml S99 6.0Mb Max OliJ1ai Modem': Ml $99 ValueAmerica.com

VISlt e Compaq Buiff For

1-800-819-9531 www.compaq.com You Custom PC Center at

locations highlighted in bold.

Buy direct from Compaq, or purchase yours at your favorite retailer.

lhe dala lransler rale may vary from 150 to 300 Kbps; for reading 10 CD media. lhe clala transfer rale may vary from 1500 lo 3600 Kbps. An appropriale license may be required.
' I OX DVD-ROM drives read a minimum of 5545 Kbps and a maximum of 13525 Kbps. 'The 6.0Mb Max Oigilal Modem uses the AOSl/G.L11e prolocol. AOSl!G.Lile updales may be dol'lnloaded from
Compaq's website when available. The ADSUG.Lile pro1ocol ls designed 10 allow laster dol'lnloads from AOSVG.Llle-complianl dlgilal sources. Avallabll11y o' AOSUG.Lile services will vary by region
and ln1eme1 Service Provider (ISP). nnd may dltter from V.90 ISP services. Maximum achievable download uan;mlsslon mies with AOSUG.Lile are cunenUy unknol'ln, may nol reach 6.0Mbps, and 1'1111
vary with line condilions and dlstance. 'Home Phonetine N;m...nlng and Elherne1 Port canool be used simultaneously. AddJllonal PC must ha•'8 a network adapler. scld separalel)'. AOI. Is a single user
syslerm and 1'1111 nol allow mulliple users to access s1mul1aneously under the same account Olher ln1erne1 Service Providers may have the same reslriclbns. One year pans and labor. Labor for
desktops syslems Is pick-up service during lhe first 90 days of ownership. Compaq, the Compaq Logo. and Presnrio are registered In lhe U.S. Pa1en1 and Trademail< Office. Microsoft" Wmdol'ls•9a
inslalled. Microsoft MS. and Windows are registered lrademarl<s of Microsctt Corporation. Inlet. the lnlel Inside Logo. and Pemlum are reglslered uademarks and Celeron IS a uademarl< of Imel
Corporation. Iomega and Zip are rcg ls10red trademarl<s and Zip Bulll·ln Is a trademark of Iomega Corporalion. PrOducl and company names mentioned herein may be lrademerl<s end/or regislered
trademarl<s of olher companies. call Compaq Monday-Friday, 7:00am-l I :OOpm (CT). Cll 999 Compaq Cornpuler Corpornllon. All rlghls reserved.
 . l,latrox.Millenn1um FUTURES: 3ZM8 of SGRAlf, 300·MHz f!AMOA6,

I G400 32MB
800/361-1408
www.matrox.com/mqa
Sept 99 $199 9il .Excelleal. ; Exeelllat Excellent
Matto~ G~OO c~IP. bundled image editor, 3Dmild·
eli1!9 tool, and 3D game. SUMMARY: S~y card
lets you run apps sl111ultaneously·on two·displays.
Aslightly slower 16118 vt1Slon com $50 less.
678

FEATURES: 3ZMB of SDRAM, Z50·MHz RAMOAC,

ATI Xpert 2000
2 I 905/882-2600
www.ati.com
$99 90 Excellent Excellent Excellent
ATI Rage lZB chip, bundled 3D game. SUMMARY:
Affordable price and excellent all-around perfor·
mance make it a terrific buy for basic graphics
tasks and occasional 3Dgaming.
679

FUTURES: 16~8 of SDRAM, 35.0' MHz R~MDAC,

3dfx Voodoo3 3500 TV 3dfx Voodoo3 chip, bundled video editing tool \md
3 800/234-4334
www.Jdfx.com
Nov99 $249 89 Exctll"'1 Excellent Excellent 3D 9am~s. SUMMARY: Extremely fast iri 3D ·and
procfuced good-looking graphics in our 3D-9aminq
tests. It also lefs you view and capture video files.
--· n•I< • -• ....
FEATURES: 16MBof SORAM, 250-MHz RAMDAC, ATI
All Xpert 128 Rage 12BGL chip, bundled graphics plug-in and 3D
4 905/882-2600
www.at l.com
Aug99 SB9 89 Good Good E1cellent games. SUMMARY: Lowest-priced AGP board here.
An affordabl e choice for !hose who use standard
681

office appsand play qames.

•.1 ·: • • • \"c. .)'.. •• •• • • • " • 1·~,. •u o ..p u " • ••· • -.·.-~•· • • • • ..,.•• , •. • • " ' • , . , • • •J • •• , , , • " ·~r• • ·.-~~-.Ho..>•• ••.~ .. ,, .. • ·~~' : •: • • •" • ,, "• • • .. • ,,.,..<: • •-• •~L•, •• • ••• • ~· • ·•~· • 1• ,, •••~• • ... ••., ••.H••, ....... __.. .....

FEATURES: 3ZMB' of SGRAM, 300-MHz RAMDAC,

Matrox Millennium G400 Max Matrox G400 Max chip, bundled lmage edltor; JD
5 800/361-1408 ..
www.matrox.com/ mga
Sept 99 _ $Z49 88 Elcelleat Excellent modeling ~ool, and :ID game.SUli!MARY: fastest at
ml.xed-rnedia business 9rap~ics; but ranks below
68Z

.
. <·..............,, .._ .........
~-
G400 3ZMB sibling due to high price:

FEATURES: 16MB of SDRAM, 350-MHz RAMDAC,

3dfx Voodoo3 3000 3dfx Voodoo3 chip, bundled 30 games. SUMMARY:
6 800/234-4334
www.3dfx.com
July 99 $150 8B Excellent Excellent Good Speedy card costs $30 less and regains a seal on
lhe chart. But unlike Its peers, It doesn't support
683

32-bit color for displaying more realistic effects.

···~••'-"''.''' ,. -~····•1,•• 0 ......,.,,.••• -r;:-:-.~·,.tot: .' __,,.,..-.-:~"'>'!'\' ..,--·•~>,·•• • ••"''"~ -•{"' '-'.""MOO.,.-..•••••''""""''" ......,. ... .............. . . ~· · ~·..-··
' FUTU!IES: 3ZMB of SDRAM, 300-MHz RAMOAC,
Creative Labs 30 Blaster RIVA NVidia RIVA TNTZ Ultra chip, no bundled applica·
TNT2 Ultra
7 800/998·1000
Sept99 $ZOO 88 Good Good Good !Ions. SUMMARY: Solid ~rformaoceln office apps
and very fast In games, although it.'s still a tad slow­
684
ww w.creatlve.com er than some of its com~titor:s.

PCI BOARD

1
[I 3dfx Voodoo3 2000
800/ 234-4334 Oct 99 $100 96 Good Excellent Good
FEATURES: 16MB of SDRAM, 300-MHz RAMDAC,
3dfx Voodoo3 chip, no bundled applications. SUM­
MARY: Top upgrade choicefor avid gamers has the 685
www.3dfx.com fastest 30 performance among tested PCI cards
and nowcosts $30 less.
·~· · ... --·--~·· ..... ~i

FEATURES: 16MB of SDRAM,.ZSO-MHz RAMDAC,

ELSA Erazor II­ NVldia RIVA TNT chip, no bundled applications.
800/272-3S72 $89 86 Excellent SU"!MARX:. Cheapest PCI card on the chart thanks
www.elsa.com to $20 price drop. Performs welt in.day-to-day
graphics jofis. but Ws a little slow In 3D gam_es. ~
·" ...... ·- '.-·~.;..i.. •...:

FEATURES: BMB of SGRAM, ZSO·MHz RAMDAC,

Matrox Millennium G200 MGA·G200 chip, bundled 3Dmodeling tool, image
SO PC! Feb99 $119 86 Good Good Good editing application, and 3D game. SUMMARY: 687
800/361-1408 Speedy in both business graphics and 3D games
www.matrox.com/mga and offers useful software extras.

~ Best Buy W For reviews of other new graphics cards that we tested this month visit www.pcworld.com/tlOgraphlcs. All products: 908

m HOW WE TEST We test boards under Windows 95. Business tests include PC WorldBench 98, a PowerPoint test, and a Macromedla Director script. Our 3D score is based on four games, each
evaluated on frame ra!e and.Imagequality. For AGP ca~ds we ad~ a texturing test using Caligari's TrueSpac~3. We lesled AGP boards in an NEC Direction333 with a Pll-333 and 64MB of RAM.
We tested PCI boards in a Micron Miiiennia Mme PC with a Penhum MMX-233 and 3ZMB of RAM. Overall rating Is based on performance (AGP 55 percenl, PCI SO percent), features (ZS per·
cent), price CAGP 10 percent, PCI 15 percent), and support policies (10 percenl). For all scores, hiqher is better. Data based on tests designedand conducted by lhe PC World Test Center. All rights reserved.

GR A PHICS BOARD prices plunge. You can ly. Matrox's Millenni um G4oo 32M B and ATI's Xpert 2000 lie
buy ELS A's Erazor JI (PC!) fo r as little as $89 or fo r AGP Bes t Buy, tl1a11ks to breakneck speed in business ap pli­
yl.fX's Voodoo3 300 0 (AG P) fo r $150 . Both re join cations and 30 games. TI1e 3dfx Voodoo3 20 00 wins the PC! Best
the chart after $20 an d $30 price cu ts, res pective­ Buy-i t's speediest in its class and very affo rdable at $100. •

D E C E M 8 E R I 9 9 9 •Jlli.1;14,; 299
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Set Set
_J Office \ Titles Price _/Networking\_ _ _ _ _ _ _T_it_le_s_ _ _ _ _P_ri_c_e_

Word 2000 7 $279.95 Networking Essent. 3 $249.95

Excel 2000 9 $349.95 IE Administration 2 $169.95
Access 2000 5 $199.95 Windows NT 4.0 14 $899.95
Powerpoint 2000 3 $129.95 115 4.x 3 $249.95
Front Page 2000 3 $249.95 TCP/IP 4.x 3 $249.95
Outlook 2000 3 $129.95 Netware 5 9 $699.95
PhotoDraw 2000 3 $129.95 SQLSeNerZO 8 $599.95
Windows 95 6 $239.95 Red Hat Linux 6.x 5 $599.95
Windows 98 7 $279.95 Cisco (CCNA) 4 $399.95
Project 98 5 $399.95
Access 2000 Develop.
Office 2000 The Works 36
6 $499.95
$1299.95
0
Office 2000 Premium 24 $899.95
Office 2000 Professional 13 $499.95
Office 2000 Standard 9 $349.95

Todd Lammie
Cisco (CCNA) Instructor

nl tQ®. l :IJl!ll!<l®.lll l:.IL'mlll:®.lr"'®.bW!!).illlll!> .,,..,,...,.,,,!!uls""'•"•'l' ...u

~ l. o rllot. l'lmlll!n. l oo1 1!""-C.,. ! 111iljlllnJ:<llilll . IUAl!o[Q , ra;!<1!n!i

Circle 131 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo

 AMO• Athlon­ with 30 Nowl AMO• Athlon­ with 30 Nowt
...th/on
700MHz .....~2,499 SOOMHz ......~1,299
8 NEW AMO • Alhlon- Processor A11D '1 •NEW AMO ' Athlon·· Processor A11.D
'1
• ATX Midlower Cose • 2 USS Ports • • AIX Mldtower Cose • 2 USB Ports
8 128MB 133MHz SDRAM 8 64MB 133MHz SORAM
8 20.4QB Ultra · ATA/66 7200RPM Hard Drlvo • 1000 Ultra· ATA/66 7200 RPM Hard Drive
• 1.44MB Floppy Drive • l.44MB Floppy Dtlve
ti' Creative Lubs Riva TNT2 Ultr a 32MB
t/ ~~w:~pt :fd!!sO~~P~1~!'Ca~d200.o 32.MB
AGP Vldoo Qr;iphlcs Card
es.JJK
I I
8 6.2X DVD·Rom Drive • 48X Mox Vorioble CD·ROM Dtivo
• 3Com USR V.90 PCI Telephony WinModem • 3Com USR V.90 PCI Telephony WlnModem
• A3D 2.0 Supe1Quod Sound Co1d • AJD 2.0 Vorlex2 PCI Sound Cotd
• NEW PC '98 107 Key Keybootd • NEW PC '98 !07 Key Keybootd
• MlcroSott lnfelllmouse & Mousepod ' · • MicroSott lnlellimouse & Mousepod · ·
• MS-Wlndow1 '90 2nd Edition • MS·Wlndows '98 2nd Edition
• Corer WordPertect Office 2CXXl • Corer WordPerfect Oft ca 2CXXJ A
(lncfudos Wo1dPe1 1oc 1 9, QJ01110 Pro 9. 1-~
(1ncluaos WordPe1 foc 1 9. Quonro Pio Q,
Presonlalloru 9. and Cote! Central 9) P:osontclions Q , end COfel Con11rn 9) r:r:.:
1
• 19" ( t8 .0" vlewabl• , .25dp) Monitor • 11 • 11 e.o• •l • w•bl•, .27d pJ Monitor MU
• Cyber Accoustlcs CA-3300 Subwooter • Cyber Accoustlcs CA·3050 Subwooter
Solellile Sound System Sofellife Sound System
• 5 Year Limited Ports Warranty • 5 Year Limited Ports Worfo nly
w ifh 1 Yea r On·Sife Setvlce wlth 1 Year On-Siie Service
AMO• Athlon .. wllh 30 Now! AMO• Athlon· with 30 Nowl $
650MHz ... ...... .... ..... ..... .. ~2,249 600MHz...........................1,599
600MHz... ...... ......... ...... .~2,099 SSOMHz................ ..... .... ~.1,399

lnlel"Penllum-111
600MHz.....
$1 , 899
• Intel• Penti u m - Ill Process o r ~ Intel' Celeron­ Proce1.sor
• ATX Mldlowor Case • 2 USS Ports ~ mlcroATX Towel Case • 2 USB Port(
• 1 28 MD 133MHz SDRAM -a 64MD 100MHz SDRAM $,'I
•
8
20. •0B Ulln1·ATAll6 7200RP M Hud Drive
l.44MB Floppy Dtive ~ .::"J'a
8 .4GB Ullra·ATA H ard Drive ®
t/ Powere d by ATI Xpert 2000 c:_
~ .,....,m l.44MB Floppy Dtlve "'~

I
:JZMB :JD A.OP Video Oraptllcs C.,.d inleg101ed SMB AGP Video Cotd
• 3Com USR V.90 PCI Telephony W111Modem 56K V.90 Fox/Voice WanModem
• NEW 6.2X DVD-Rom Drive 48X Mox Variable CD·ROM Drive
• A3D 2.0 SuperQuod Sound Co1d
• NEW PC '98 107 Key Keyboard · 1n1eg1oled PCI 3D Sound C ord
• MlcroSol1 inl elilm ouse & Mousepoo A NEW PC '98 107 Key Keyboard
• MS· Window• '98 2nd Edlllon
• Cor et• WordPer fect Office 2CX)() cm.
/ ~-CD PS-2 Mouse & Mousepad
MS·Wlndow• 198 2nd Edition

•
~";~~,~~l~~~~~~~~~e~~~~:Q~ 9.
17 " (18 .0 " vlowable, .27dpl M onitor
C!l1J Corel' WotdPerlecl Ortlce 2000
(tncludos WotdP01fec1 Q. Quanro Pro Q,
C upgrade to 19', .25dp...add $180) Prosentollons 9. and Corel Control 9}
• Cyber Accoustics CA·3300 Subwoofer • 1'1" tHl .0 " vlewahle, .27dp) M o nito r
So1ellile Sound System • 6 ~M'B 100M:Hz ECC SDRAM
• Deluxe 200W Stereo Speakers
• 5 Vear Limited Ports Warranty
wl1h 1 Vear On-Site Serviee
Inter- Pentium· J/f
SSOMHz.......!1,699
• 5 Yeor Limited Ports Wouanty
with 1 Ye0< On-Site Servfce
• Three OQB Ultn·Wlde
scs1~2
Hard Drives
(upg1ode lo Hot S\vop...add $299)
I . .
•
•
8.4MB Ultr.a·ATA Hard Drtwo
48X Mox Variable CD-ROM Drive

8 48X Max Vortobfe CD·ROM Drtve • lnlegraled Ult<a ·IDE/Floppy Controners

SOOMHz .......~.1,549 " O:l&lwd'
8 infeg1oled 8MB AGP Video Ca1d
• 3COM USR V.90 PCI Con troller Modem • 15" (13.8 viewable, .26dp) Monitor
• 15" (13 .8 vlownble, .25dp l Monitor • 5 Boys Totol: 2. 5.25' & 3 · 3.5·
• Dual Channel Ultra SCSI Conlroller
• 5 Slots Toloi: 4·32·bif PCl/ 1·ISA
• ATI BMB AOP Video Graphics Card
• 14SW UL Usled Powel Supply
• Super-Towe< AIX Cose
• I Cooling Fon. and 1 Processoi Fon
• 2 Redcndonl :!JXJN UL Listed h--~
Hot SVrop Powe< Supplies ~,5/ID • Mfcro$oft• Wlndow5 NT -1.0
• Mlcrosofr" Windows HT Sorver 4 .0 or Windows '98
( 10 Client Accoss Licenses) • 104 Key Keyboard and PS-2 Mouse

order toll free 1•800•287• 1319

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 7 inches

Even with this much empty space...

you can install a Backpack CD-Rewriter.
When we say anybody, we mean ANYBODY can attach and detach the drive
can Instantly write, play and re-write CDs without restarting your computer!
at home or on the road. And from any The backpack cd-rw writes
IBM-compatible Pentium desktop and rewrites at 4x, just as fast as Internal
or notebook. Our brainy parallel models, so you can make a full CD in 20
port technology offers both minutes . It comes in two sleek versions.
superior performance and measuring about the same width as the
universal flt. Simply plug the average human head: the classic desktop
backpack cd-rw Into your parallel model and the portable bantam. Our
printer port. Then plug your printer new PC Card adapter gives you the
into the backpack Cd-rewriter. As if versatility of dual port connection
that weren't easy enough, we're and faster read-back speeds.
now the first and only to offer parallel Your biggest dilemma will be
port "hot pluggabillty," which means you choosing which one to buy.
See us at Fall COMDEX
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Best Buy - 800.369.5050 • Cr::NI - 800.736.4239 • CompUSA - 800.COMPIJSA • CompUSA Direct - 800.514 .4727 • Fry's Elechonics • Global Compu1er SUpplies - 800.845.6225
Micro Center - 800.743. 7537 • Micro Wa rehouse - 800.367.7080 • Midwest Micro - 800.413.9856 • Olflce Depot - 888.463.3768 • PC Connection. Inc . - 800.800.5555 • PC Zone - 800.258.2088

Circle 1S9 on card or go to www.pcworld.com/productinfo

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 Right-dick an empty area again, and this
tim e choos e Refresh. If you don ' t see
thumbnails at once, choose View•111umb·
nails. (If you don't see a Thumbnails com·
mand on the menu, dose and reopen the
folder.) Unless you recently visi ted the
sites, your thumbnails may appear as a
series of nearly em pty boxes. To fix that,
connect to the Internet and press <Ctrl>-A
to select all thumbnails within the folder.
Right-click one of these thumbnails and
choose Refresh Thumbnail. (If you use this
technique on a folder ofGIF or JPEG files,
you don't need to connect to the Net. )
What's up with Thumbs.db. Ifa fo lder's op­
tions are set to let you view all fil es, you
may see a new file called Thumbs.db in
that folder. This is the folder's thumbna ils
d ata ba se. 1f you don't see Thumbs.db.
choose View· Folder Options, click the View
tab, select Show all fil es in the Advanced
settings list , and click OK. Each folder

See Many Files at Once with a thumbna il view will have its own
Thumbs.db fi.le; and the more files a fold·
er contains, the larger its Thumbs.db file

With Thumbnail View will be. So if you're getti ng tight on disk

space, it pays to keep track of how much
space these files occupy. To see their cu·
mulative size, choose Start Find°Files or
0

BOTH WINDOWS 98 and Windows 95 with the Desktop Folders, type Thumbs.db in the Name field ,
choose Local hard drives for ' Look in', and
Update portion of Internet Explorer 4.x installed provide a
click Find Now. Press <Ctrl>-A to select all
handy way to take a quick peek at the contents of files in com­ the found files , and press <Alt>-<Enter> to
display a Properties di alog box that shows
mon Web formats (HTML, GI F, JPEG, and so on): Just make sure As
the total disk space consumed.
Web Page is checked on the View menu of any Explorer or folder win­ If thumbnails are crowding your hard
drive, consider d1anging the View menu
dow. Then select a file to see the preview in the column on the left.
setting to something other than Thumb­
Using this Web-view mode does require FIGURE 1). If only Microsoft hadn 't made nails. Then display the Properties fo r the
you to select one file at a time. Fortunate· this fea ture so hard to find. folder as explained above, and uncheck
ly, you can make all the files in a fo lder Navigate to one of the folders in your Enable thumbnail view. Doing this deletes
appear as previews to help yo u qui ckly Favorites fold e r (it's located in the Win­ the Thumbs.db file for that folder. Repeat
find what you need. This feature is espe· dows folder by default) . Right-click a va· for as many fo lders as desired.
cially useful if you work with multiple cant area of the folder \vindow and choose Try to remember. Forget which folders you
graphics files or want to visually identify Properties. Check the Enable thumbnail enabled for thumbnail viewing? Search
the Web sites in your Favorites folder (see view box at the bottom, and click OK. for Thumbs.db as described earlier. The

30 4 ij#f#.l;lltF 0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 318 Automate With Supermacros 328 Transfer Big Files in aSnap
CONTEN IS
folders listed in the Find window provide a PUT 'MY DOCUMENTS'
quick reminder. (The Find window won't, IN ITS PLACE WI NDO WS TI PS
however, show fold ers that have the fea­ WHEN YOU INSTALL Windows 304 See many files simullaneously with athumb·
ture enabled but contain no thumbnails­ 98, it creates a folder called My nail view; refind your lost Active Desktop.
such as an empty folder or one con taining Docwnents and creates a desktop
only un su pported file formats.) icon of the same name for quick access to WIND OWS HT
Accide nts will happen. 1f you accidentally that folder. (You may already have such a 308 Get the hang of NT's fast, powerful command
delete a Thumbs.db file, don't worry. Win­ folder if yo u 've installed certain other line; power off automatically at shutdown.
dows will re-create the file and the thumb­ Microsoft products, such as Office 95.) By
nails the next time you view the fo lder. If default, all Microsoft applications (includ­ AN SWER LIN E
th ey don't appear th e n, use th e Refresh ing Paint and WordPad accesso ri es as 310 Tell Windows you don't need no stinking
Th1~mbnail command explained earlier. well as Microsoft Office apps) tum to that passwords; close multiple programs at once.
Wrapping woes. Often , folders with thumb­ fo lder the firs t time you choose File· Open
nails align improperly across the fol der or File· Save As. In addi tion , choosing INTE RNET T IPS
window when you resize the window. Start•Documwts•My Documents opens a 314 Overcome AOL 4.0 freeze-ups and crashes;
Align them properly by pressing <FS>. window for the My Documents fo lder. print Web pages; zap banner ads:
Kee ping your work files separate from
yo ur applica tion files is all well and good, WORD PROCESS I NG
but why s hould yo u keep th em wh ere 318 Automate frequent Word tasks with easy
Microsoft dictates? supermacros; fix custom-dictionary errors.
Fortunately, th ere's a quick an d easy
way to tell Windows where you want to SPREAD SHEET S
store your work files . Right-click the My 327 Protect your numbers four ways in Excel;
Documents icon on the deskto p , and activate cells used In a formula.
choose Properties. In th e 'Target folder
loca tion ' box , type the path to th e d rive HA RD WARE T IPS
and fo lder of your choice (see FIGURE 2). 328 Transfer big files with little hassle; fix Win·
Or simply dick Browse, select the folder of dows crashes coming out of Standby mode.
FIGURE 1: CHOOSE A WEB paqe by scanning the your choice from the drive-and-folder tree
contents of your Favorites folder In thumbnail view. diagram , and click. OK. Next, click OK to UP GRADE GUIDE
close the My Documen ts Properties dia­ 334 Install anew motherboard.
Deleti on dilemma. In Win 98. if you delete log box. From now on, your Microsoft ap­
a folder containing thumbnails an d then plications wi ll default to the location you DON'T MISS ADDITIONAL HERE'S HOW
em pty the Recycle Bin , you may get a n specified, and you'll see that folder when Information at www.pcworld.com/
'Access denied ' error message saying that you choose Start· Documents· My Docu- hereshow.
the disk may be full or write-protected, or 111e11ts. If you previously stored some files
that the file in question is in use. Micro­ in th e My Documen ts folder, you can PEEK ING T HROUGH WINDOWS
soft con firms this bug in its Knowledge- move them and dele te the origina l My THERE YOU ARE , minding you r
Base (su pport.microsoft.com/search) . To Documen ts folder. As a final touch, you g,K own business, trying to use your
avoid th is error, dose Windows Explorer can right-click the My Documents icon on networked Windows 95 or NT 4
before emptying th e Recycle Bin. th e desktop , choose Rename, type the new machine (with Internet Explorer 4's Desk-
Go pro. Though the thumbn ail view great­ name of your choice, and press <Enter>. top Upd ate insta lled) to look at th e Pro­
ly simplifies the task of managing image gram Fil e s fo lde r on a Wi nd ows 98
fil es, anyone who handles lots of images Target I m achine elsewhere on the network. If
should consider getting a dedicated utility you have Vieiv·as Web page checked , you
The My o - . . - folilet ea :llO'tCltlo lhe 1.,ge1
for handling the job. PolyView, my favor- folde<localionshown~. ~lhotaroet may be treated to a scary warni n g
c:
ite, maintains the 1amiliar Exp1orer- Ii ke iocaionwilnolmoYe~s... 1 e t I1e one in FIGURE 3. If you
screen l"k
interface but lets you choose the size of the
thumbnail s, gives you more options fo r
sorting and managing files. and includes
r Targetfoldorlocadcn
Iaroet: IE:\Ooc
I enlarge the wi ndow, you may be able to
see some of th e fo lder's contents, bu t
si nce the window lacks scroll bars, you
many basic image-editing features. Poly- _ It a'°""° fn! Targot... I won't get very far. What to do?
View is available as $25 shareware. Down­ You get stuck with this undesirnble
load it from PC World Online's File World FIGURE 2: USE THE MY Documents Properties box view because the Windows you're using
site or from www.polybytes.com. to make any folder your default documents folder. to look a t Win 98 doesn ' t kno w ....

0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •1wv1.1;1;.1 305
 where to find a certain file (Webview.css).
Fortunately, the fix is pretty easy. Ju st
select View•as Web Page, and uncheck that
Of course, replacin g the de­
fault Folder.hit in Program Files
\vill affect everyone's view ofthat
•.....•.•.•
WallMaster Pro:
,

option. For a more permanent fix, replace folder. If that's a problem, follow All Pictures Great and Small
Folder.htt-the Web view settings file in these steps: First, make sure all l'VE TRIED A LOT of wallpaper managers, but WallMaster
the Windows 98 PC's Program Files fold­ fil es show as before. Then copy Pro is a cut above the competition. Like most utilities in
er-with another settings fi le that doesn't the Win 98 system's Windows\ this category, WallMaster (the free version) can change
care about Webview.css ; or copy Web­ Web\ Webview.css the background
view.css to Program Files, and edit Pro­ file to the Progra m ""·--~
on your desktop
t- V..S l'sJ*G I E!W'PS\PMl\J~t~ . .
gra m File's Folder.htt file to tell it Web­ Files folder of the 6G 1l1f.I 1C:4Dlt :4\*..,ft'G at preset intervals
-+ 'rf~,...,..
view.css's new location. same system. Next, and save custom
• J ~~~
First, the simple method, which disables with the Windows + r~p:11111171 collections. But
<"',..,•
the warning. Start by choosing View· Fold­ 98 PC' s Program WallMaster also
er Options in Windows Explorer or in any Files fold e r show­ resizes Images to
fo lder window. Click the View tab. Under in g on your PC , fit your screen,
' Hidden files', make sure Show all .files is choose View· Cus­ without your hav­
selected, and then dick OK. Next, locate tomize this Folder. ing to use Micro­
Folde r.htt in Program Files on the Win­ Click Next twice to soft Plus and with­
dows 98 system. Rename it som e thin g open the fol der's Folder.htt in out distorting image proportions. The $25 commercial
like Folder.old.htt (you may not see the .htt No tep ad. Find the line begin­ version, WallMaster Pro, adds file management functions,
if extensions are hidden) . Now find Fold­ ning with '<link rel=' (it's near better image resiz ing, the ability to make icon labels
er.htt in the Windows\ Web fo lder of the the top of th e file) . In that line, transparent (so your wallpaper shows through), and
Windows 98 machine. Copy it to that sys­ delete '%TEMPLATEDIR%\'; more. Download WallMaster or a trial version of WallMas­
tem's Program Files folder. The next time when you 're finished , the line ter Pro from FileWorld or from www.tropicalwares.com.
you access that folder from a networked will read '<li nk rel=s tyl es heet
PC run ning Windows 95 or NT using IE href="webview.css" title="Windows" >'. 5 (and pres umably its s uccessors) will
4. you 'll get a plain-Jane Web view- with Choose File· Save and then File· Exit. In the focu s more on Web browsing and less on

-
scroll bars and no warning. On the other 'Customize this Folder' wizard, dick Fin­ modifying Windows.
ish. You'll still see a warning in Web view, But don 't des pair. If you want a few en­
but yo u' ll have sc roll bars for working hancements to IE, check out "A Be tter
with the files or fold ers in th e Win 98 Way.to Explore Your Hard Drives" (www.
PC's Program Files fold er. pcworld .com/jun99/wintips_explore) .
Program File• But if you wa nt to put Web data on your
WHERE'S MY ACTIVE DESKTOP?
desktop (or jus t u se animated G 1Fs as
I RECENTLY INSTALLED Internet wallpape r) , you can either up grade to
w~ml1111
Explorer 5, but Active Desktop Windows 98 or find a copy of In te rnet
Modifying lbe con.lents ofthis folder may cause your
programs to stop woricing correctly. either hasn't been Installed or isn't Explorer 4 .0 1 (for free). To be on the safe
To ndd or remove progroms, click Start, point to Sett~
working properly. Can you give me any ad­ side, uninstall Internet Explorer 5 before
click Control Pone!, and then click Add/Remove Progrmns. vice on how to make it appear? you install IE 4.01. When setting up 4 .01,
Select on item to view ils descriptiol'L Clifford Collings, via th e Internet be sme to install the Windows Desktop
AS YOU KNO W , Active Desktop is the part Update option if you want th e Active
of Windows 98's or Intern et Explorer's Desktop and o th e r inte rface e nhance­
c.im..... Fll.. Desktop Update fea ture th at lets you view m ents. Then instaU IE 5 over IE 4.01. You
~~J(plu• 2 "1ddt.> ""'>'°'""""" -~ content from Web sites on th e desktop can find both browsers at FileWorld .
FIGURE 3: A WARNING appears when you access a and employ common Web file formats as
Win 98 Proqram Files folder from Win 95 or NT 4. wallpaper. However, users didn 't like the Find fil es f rom this article at
idea of "push" technology, whereby infor­ www.fileworld.com/magazir1e,
hand , if you'd rather strengthen the warn­ mation is sent to the desktop at the whim and find additional tips at www.
in g-a nd hide a ll fil es until yo·u click of the Web site owner instead of being pcworld. com/fi eres_lio1v. Windows Tips
Showfiles (as normally happens when you specifically "pulled" in (sought and cho­ pays $jo for published tips and questions.
view the Windows and System folde rs in sen) by the user. And as a Microsoft pub­ Scott Dunn ([email protected]) is
Windows 98)--copy Folder.htt from the licist told m e, use rs didn ' t wan t a Web a contributing editor for PC World and a
Windows 98 PC's Windows fold er (or its browser that overhau led their Windows principal author of The PC Bible, 2nd
System fol der) to its Program Files fold er. interface. Consequently, In ternet Explorer Edi ti on ( Peachpit Press, 1995) . •

306 HMM.UM·• D E c E M B E R I 9 9 9
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 Power Down When You Shut Down "
Command Line Is Alive WINDOWS 9x can poweMff your PC ·aut_o•,~
matically at shutdown. NT can't. But from
Service Pack 4 on, NT includes a file that
and Well and Living in NT lets users get power-off at sliutdown on
many syst ems. To try it on your PC, rename •
iii!iir=t=r.:;~~~· the file hal.dll In your WINNT\System32 fold.·
WHEN YOU BECOM E familiar with a municate with
er as hal.dll.old. Copy hal.dll.softex from the
com plex tool's advanced features, it's easy NT's Console. To
Service Pack CD to that folder, rename It
to fo rget about the basic ones. Win dows co py an d pas te
hal.dll, and reboot. Now select Start•Run,
NT is no exception. Though you can use text into a com­
type regedlt, press <F3>, and search for Rower·
and configure almost a ll of th e O S by mand prompt
downAfterShutdown. Change its value to 1, ·
us ing menus, dialog boxes, and graphical \vindow (to avoid
!!!!~~~~~~~ .exit the Registry editor, and reboot.
applications, NT's command line often typing a long file
provides a faster, more powerfii1 interface. n am e and path, for example), open th e the Control Panel, type control; to launch
To open a Command Prompt (or Con­ system menu, choose Edit Mark, and high­
0 Solitaire, enter sol. This approach won't
so le ) win dow, choose St.art· Programs• light the text you want to copy; then re ­ work unless the program appears some­
Command Prompt. By open the system menu where in NT's Pa th setting (enter path to
defau lt, the Console and choose Edit· Paste see the curre nt settin g). You can add spe­
window is 80 characters to paste th e text on to cific fo lders to NT's Path variable by open­
wide by 25 lin es long and the command line. I f ing Control Panel's System applet, clicking
displays white text on a black you want to save yourself the En vironment tab, selecting Path in the
background. You can modify the step of selecting Edit• System Variables scroll list, and adding a
these and other defau lt settings, Mark before selecting text fo r semicolon and the folder's path to the end
however, by us ing th e Conso le copying, sim ply check the Quick­ of the Va lue string at the bottom of th e
applet in the Contro l Pane l or by Edit Mode on the Properties dia­ page. Or at the command prompt, type
ope ning a command prompt win ­ log box's Options tab. the full path to the program.
dow. pressing <Alt>-<Space> to Once you master the com­ Done with the Console? Type exit to
open the system m enu, and mand line interface itself. close the Command Prompt window.
choosing Properties. To en­ you ' ll ne ed some co m ­
large the default con sole mands . Most (thou gh Scott Spanbauer is a co ntrib1di11g editor
window, select the Lay­ not all ) of the commands familiar to MS ­ for PC Wo rl d . Send your questions and
out tab in the Properties OOS and Windows 9x users are available tip s to [email protected]. We pa y
d ialog box, an d increase th e Height set­ in Windows NT 4.0 . For a list ofavai la ble $5ofor published items. •
ting under Window Size-I find a setting commands, ty pe the com ­
of 50 roomy enough. If you'd like to be mand help and press <Enter> at
able to scroll back through your command the prompt, or enter help I more
li ne session, boost th e Height setting in to see the list a page at a time.
the Screen Buffer Size area, as we ll. NT offers several unique com­
T he Option s tab is anoth e r story. To ma nd s, incl u ding the string­
make NT remem be r mor e th a n th e search ing too l find str, the fi le
de fault 50 commands, boos t th e Buffer and fo lde r access/control uti l­
Size setti n g under Command His tory, ity cacls, and the file-as socia­
and check the Discard Old Duplicates tion editor ftype. For instruc­
option to eliminate extra copies of remem­ tions on us ing a particula r
bered commands (see FIGURE 1). To scroll command. enter th e com­ Do&••""'
r_..,..
r
though your command his tory in a con­ mand name followed by /?.
sole win dow, press <Up Arrow> or <Down These aren't th e on ly com­
Arrow> ; pressi n g <F7> di s pla ys a pop-up mand s ava il ab le in Console
window containing a numbered list of all mode. You can launch ju st
commands in the history, and hitting <F9> abo ut any Windows a pp by
lets you cl10ose a command by number. e nte rin g its file nam e at th e FIGURE 1: INCREASE THE default number of remembered
The keyboard isn' t the only way to com­ prompt. For example, to open commands for NT's Console (background), and omit dup licates.

308 IJ4§1°1;ii•F 0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 r,
0

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YOUR QUESTIONS ON : Closing multiple programs at once • Defective CD-ROMs

Stop Oftrce Slowdowns

You Don't Need No .: IF YOU HAVE Outlook 97 or 98, it's proba­
bly slowing down your other Office apps by

Stinl<ing Passwords . keeping a log of what you do in them.

Thomas Plante of Seattle explains how to
stop the logging. In Outlook, select Tools•
<·Qptions. Click the Journal tab (If you 're
EVERY TIME I LOAD Windows 98, it Don't bother to
·.uslhg Outlook 97) or click the Prelerences­
asks me for my password. I'm the knock. As long as
''J ab and then the Journal Options button
only person who uses my comput­ you have a pass­
~Outlook 98). Uncheck all the Items In the
er, and I'm not paranoid. Is there any way I word , Windows
'Also record files from' box, and click OK
can load Windows without this annoyance? will keep asking
until you're back in Outlook. On Office 2000,
Bob Ri1ggles, Dayton, Ohio for it. To get rid
.such record keeping is turned off by default.)
SEVERAL SEITINGS will cause Windows of your "open
to ask for a password, for logging on to a sesa m e ," select Start·Setti ngs· Control installing a new application, or eve n play­
n etwork or to Windows its elf. If you are Panel. Double-click the Passwords icon , ing a demanding ga me. Unfortunately.
on a network, your administrator proba­ and click first the Change Passwords tab Windows offers no easy way to close all
bly wants you to enter a password. But if and then the Change Wi ndows Pa ssword running apps simultaneously but I've
you 're not, this step is just a nui­ button. (If there is n o found a program that does. It's called Kill
sance. To bypass the password Change Passwords tab , Win, and it's free. You can download it
request, try the following tricks. you don 't have a pass­ from www. borgking. de/bk-soft or from
Just say no. When W indows word to delete. ) In the FileWorld. It requires the Visual Basic 4.0
asks fo r your password, do ' Old password ' field, run t ime , another freebie th at you can
you hit <Esc>? If you do, en ter your pa sswo rd , download from either site.
you may not h ave in­ but leave the other two Like many ot her program s, Kill Win
formed Windows that fi elds blank. Click OK. puts an icon in your system tray for shut­
there is no password . Hide the password flle. ti ng down W indows-not a job wort h
Next ti m e, type in a user If the previous tip does doin g, in my opinion. But it also all ows
name (if o n e isn ' t th ere not work for you, it you to create a shortcut that will close all
already), leave the Password m ay be because your of your running a pplication s. My advice:
fie ld blank, and hit <Enter>. password log fil e is cor­ Download and install the program , and
Tweak your user profile rupted , mak in g it im­ create thi s shortcut, but don 't set the pro­
setting. If Windows possible to get rid of the gram to run automatically.
detects more than old password. l11e solu­ To create the shortcut, open th e fold er
one user name fo r your computer, it asks ti on? Find the file in your C:\ Windows where you 've installed Kill Win and drag
for a password by defau lt even if you don't folder-it'll have a .pwl and the fil e name the file Exits95.exe to your desktop. Right­
have one. To change this setting, select will probably be your name-and rename cl ick the s hortcut, select Prope1iies, and
Start• Settings•Control Panel. Double-click it, cha ngin g its extension. To be on the add a space and /w to the end of what's
the Passwords icon, then d ick the User Pro­ safe s ide , don 't delete it. T he next time already in the Targe t fi eld , turnin g th e
fi les tab. Select All users of this PC use the Windows asks for a password , leave the command into somethin g like 'C:\kill­
same preferences and desktop settings, and field blank and press <Enter>. win\killwin.exe /w'. Click OK, rename the
then click OK. shortcut Close Apps, and move it to a loca­
Change your Windows log -on. Windows CLOSE MULTIPLE PROGRAMS tion on the desktop, the Quick Launch bar,
may think you're on a network eve n
SIMULTANEOUSLY
or the Sta1t menu.
th ough yo u 're not. To see if this is the IS THERE ANY easy way to close all
ca u se of yo ur proble m , selec t Sta rt· Set- , of my programs at once instead of SHARE A PRINTER
t.ings°Cont.rol Pan el. Double-click Con trol one at a time? I HAVE TWO PCs, but only one
Pa ne l's Network icon and then d ick the Kenan Casey, Jeffersonville, Indiana printer. If I netwo rk them via Win­
Configuration tab. If Windows Logon is not n ' s A GOOD IDEA to close a ll of your dows' Direct Cable Connections or
selected as the Primary Network Logon, a pplications before defragging , scanning another means, how do I share that printer?
choose it now and click OK. your drive , backing up important fi les, Jam es Skinner, Woodland, California ....

310 HM14.04.p D E c E M B E R I 9 9 9
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Circle 91 on card or ga to www.pcworld.com/productinfo

 ANS WE R~LlN:E __
ON C E T H E DI RECT Cable Connections Either way, clean it fi rst-dust on a good
are installed (see Hardware Tip s, page CD-ROM may fool you into thinking it's
328), go to the hos t compu ter and select a bad one. You can buy CD-cleani ng ki ts
Start•Settings•Control Panel. Double-click at any music s tore. If yo u cl ea n a disc
the Netwo rk ico n. On th e Con.figuration manually, use a soft, lint-free cloth (avail­
tab, look fo r 'File and printer sharing for able at compu te r and audi o stores) an d
Microsoft Networks' on the list ofcompo­ wipe from center to oute r ri m in straight,
nents. lf it's not there, click Add, double­ never circular strokes.
click Service, and double-click Fil e and A quick way to tes t a CD-ROM is by
printer sharingfor Microsoft Networks. copying its fil es onto your hard dri ve­
Next, click the Configuration tab again, that is, if you've got enough of free hard
then File and Print Sharing. Check l want drive space. Create a new fo lder on yo ur
to be able to allow others to print
to my printer(s), and click OK
liiiiii=.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii[;iij
twice. You may have to reboot.
Succeeding in Once you 're back at your
desktop, select Start•Settings·
the New Economy Printers. Right-d ick the printer
you want to share and select
Sh ari ng. Check the Shared As
option , and then fi ll in th e
addi tional fi eld s as appropri­ ....
C)';/'o
ate. Click OK, and then close {D:)
the printer window. e tE:J
• ~ 09o<mcdJ1 !F:J
Now move over to the guest Gil F\ron
- ~ Comol Ptnel
computer and check to make
sure File and plinter sharingfor FIGURE 1: YOU CAN TEST A CD -ROM by simply copylnq Its
Microsoft Networks is ena bled files to another location. If the copylnq falls, the disc Is bad.
on that PC as described above.
Then reboot and log on to the network. hard drive. Then go to the CD-ROM 's root
When you log on, a My Computer-like directory and press <Ctrl>-Ato select all of
windo w will di spl ay all of the hos t's the fil es and folders there. Drag the select­
shared resources. lfi t doesn't, go to the ed fil es and folders to the new folder on
Direct Cable Connections dialog box and your hard drive. If all the fil es copy over
click View Host. In the resulting wi ndow, fi ne, the CD-ROM i okay. If you get an
you should see icons for all of the host's error message (see FIGURE 1), it isn't.
June 4-7, 2000 shared drives and fo r th e printer. Right­ If you don't have enough hard drive
Hotel Del Coronado click the printer icon and select In stall . space, or you wa nt a full report on what
This will launch a wizard for installing the fi les are damaged . download CDCheck, a
San Diego, California printer. Once you've stepped through the free CD-ROM diagnostic utility ava ilable
wi za rd, th e printer will be available on from www.bigfoo t. com;- Mi tja . Perko/
both computers. apps_eng or from FileWorld. But be pre­
pared for a long wa it- if a CD -RO M is
IDENTIFY A DEFECTIVE CD·ROM
seriously damaged, the com plete test ca n
IF A CD-ROM has bad sectors, how take 2 hours (you 'll know somethi ng is
can I tel l? I'm worried about those wrong much sooner than that).
inevi table eme rgenc ies tha t force
you to reinstall Windows and all of you r appli­ Fi11d fi les from thi s article at
cations. I do n't wa nt to discover then that ivww.fileworld .com / magnz i 11 e.
that the CD-ROM for a major application has Sel'ld your qu estiol'l s al'ld tips to
a scratch and its files can't be read. a11swer@pcworl d.co111 . We pay $50 fo r
Don Tapscott: Art. Myat.t, Pleasant Ridge, Michiga 11 pu blisl1ed items. PC World Co l'l tribu ti11g
Moderator and Keynote YOU CAN C H ECK the viabili ty of a CD­ Edi tor Lil'l col11 Sp ector's col.1.01111 Gi gg le­
ROM with or without special software. bytes appea rs iii 13 pu blica ti o11 s. •

312 HM1/4.1;14.p D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 CONVERrYOUR
DJVA INTO DECISION
MAKING POWER.
~~ .... A l
I DID!!J
UNR\\JALED
01;t.\A SPSS HELPS YOU...
fj.CtV;,SS\
I PICK 'THE RIGHT
iYPEOFANALVSIS
INTE~PRET YOUR
RESULTS
 INTERNET TJP_S

Protect your history • Print Web pages • Use IE and Hotmail together

Combat AOL 4.0 Crashes MATT REYNOLDS of S1>artanburg, So'Uth

Carolina, writes that opening a,new br9wser
window can help you prevent URLs you've
and Freeze-Ups typed into Navigator's Netsite bar (or Loca· ·

AM ERICA ONLINE users are no strangers encing frequent

to crashes. Freeze-ups and lockups on the freeze-ups when
service have numerous causes, but here using AOL 4.0 ,
se.cond window. When you're done surfing,
are a few things you can do either to pre­ consider return­
close the second browser and then the fl
vent them or to recover gracefully: ing to AOL 3.0.
. You'fl retain URLs In the history file, but
Resume operations. If an hourglass freezes Use the keyword
~;;;;=;=:;::!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~ - these·won•t appear I the 'drop-down box.
on your screen, too many people may be upgrade. - .
logged on to AOL-or perhaps the sys­ Empty your cache. Clean out AOL's cache Use compressed graphics. Then click OK.
tem's server has crashed. Wait a minute weekly by clicking the My AOL button Remove the AOL adapter. Select Start•Set­
or two. If the hourglass doesn't go away and th en selecting Preferences• WWW. tings·Control Panel, and double-click the
(and doesn 't respond Open the General tab, and click the Delete Network icon. Under the Configuration tab,
to your mouse move­ Files and Clear History buttons. highlight AOL Adapter and click Remove.
ments), press <Ctrl>­
<Alt>·<Delete>, click
the line that reads
-- Turn down your video. AOL's
software might be pushing
your video card to its perfor­
Click OK. Restart Windows, sign on to
AOL, and the software will reinstall an
updated version of the adapter.
America Online mance limits. Right-click an DI sable lntelllMouse. If you're running
[not responding], empty spot on the desktop Microsoft's lntelliMouse, try disabling its
and then click the ..._....,..;:~ and then dick Properties. software. It may conflict with AOL 4.0 .
End Task button •lllll!mi'JF Under the Settings tab, Try calling a different number. The server
(see FIGURE 1). change the Colors entry you're calling may be busy or even down.
to 256 and click Apply. To test this possibility, try calling a differ­
Under the Performance ent access number (they're listed under
tab (you may need to click ·My AOL· Access Numbers).
the Advanced button to find Get your system In order. Run ScanDisk
this) , move the 'Hardware and Disk Defragmenter to clean up your
acceleration' slider down hard disk: Select Start 0Programs 0Acces­
a notch. Click 0 K. sories0System Tools. To make sure you're
ware). Besides being a Disable your antivirus software. Some running the latest version of whatever
resource hog, the AOL 4.0 software does virus monitors conflict with America browser you use with AOL, check the
not get along with Internet Explorer 5, it Online. To see ifsuch a conflict is respon­ appropriate Web site for Microsoft ....
loathes lntelliMou se, and it may tan gle sibl e for your troubles, try tem­ Close Program
with any number of utilities you may be porarily disabling your system's
running. If AOL 4.0 keeps crashing, try antivirus software. Ifthat solves the K-Free
some of the following strategies. problem, you'll probably need to EMPlorer
lcq
Upgrade your AOL software. Some versions switch your antivirus software. RS1cmtr
Dc:cman
are flakier than others. To find out which Turn off compression. AOL's graph­ Realplay
species of AOL you're running , select ics compression-which speeds up
Help·About America Online. When the image rendering on your screen­
WARNING: Prenilg CTRL./11.T+DEL egaii wi1 reatlllt ,11111.1
America Online window pops up, hit tends to cause trouble for some ~- You wl lose lmaved illi:JrmalXln in al programa
<Ctrl>·R. If you're running a version of Internet Explorer 5 users. To tum thal - n.ming.
AOL 3.0 earlier than 131.75, you need to it off, fust click the My AOL button £ndTask ~tu Down
upgrade. If you have AOL 4.0, upgrade if and then select Preferences• WWW.
your version is older than 134.224 . If Next, under the Web Graphics tab, FIGURE 1: WHEN AOL CRASHES beyond repair, press
you' re running Windows 95 and experi­ remove the check in the box beside <Ctrl>·<Alt>·<Delete> and close the alllnq proqram.

314 HM\11.HY·P 0 E c E M B E R I 9 9 9
MY DAD IS A
VICTIM OF BAD
· GRAPHICS.
 INTER N.E.TJJlP~~
11 :x ads, pop-ups, and even animated GIFs as does arrive in your in-box consistently:
, P-•Hi~~~-"'-~--r you su rf. Configure it to remove only cer­ • Don' t rely on free e-mail services like
Sjiil:,
tain types ofcommercial pitches, like ban­ Hotrnail or Juno for business purposes.
PIMw11 ner ads, or set it to eliminate ads com­ They don't store many messages and lack
pletely or to display them as empty frames many of the features that "rea l" (POP3)
or links. The tool works with both IE and accounts offer.
Navigator. Download a trial version from • Find out how much space your ISP gives
PC World Online' s FileWorld or from you on its mail server for mail (this num­
www.intercantech.com. ber is not to be confused \vith the space it
gives you for your Web page). The most
SET IE TO FIRE UP HOTMAIL

'~J r =-~
common size is 10MB, but some ISP s
allocate less. When you expect a large file
I r~ L:.. ~ WANT TO USE yo ur Hotmail account as
your preferred e-mai l program (and attachment to arrive by e-mail, make sure
address) when you're using IE? In the it doesn't exceed your allotted space. If it's
c::JLl"--------' er-- I browser, select Too/s.Jnternet Options. too large for your in-box, advise the sender
FIGURE 2 : CUSTOMIZE THE HARD COPY of your Head to the Programs tab and select Hot­ to FTP the file to you r site so you can
Web paqe by specllylnq headers and looters. mail in the E-mail box. Click OK. download it to your hard disk. (Note: If
Check your fre e Web mall accounts wi th you take this approach, you' ll have to
(www.microsoft.com) or Netscape (www. Mall Monitor. Free Web mail sites like Hot­ divulge your user name and password to
netscape.com). It's also a good idea to visit mail are useful , but running your brows­ the sender, so be sure to change your
the Web sites of the companies that made er just to check for mail can be a grind. password immediately after tl1at transac­
your PC and your video card, and down­ Ristra's $20 Mail Monitor will check all tion is completed.)
load any updated drivers. your free e-mail accounts for new mail • Some ISPs store only a certain number
and sound a chime and flash a letter icon of e-mail messages-100 , say-before
PRINT WEB PAGES in your Windows tray when it finds some. they start bouncing your mail. Find out
FRUSTRATED BY your browser's inability You can set it to log into multiple ac­ whether your ISP imposes such a limit; if
to print URLs? Wish your browser would counts at scheduled times. It works with the limit is a problem, switch ISPs.
refrain from printing a Web site's • For security reasons, some ISPs-like
background images? Here's how to many corporate mail servers-forbid
customize what-and how-your users to receive file attachments larger
Web browser prints. than 1MB or 2MB. If your ISP has a size
Navigator 4.5: From the File menu, limit, you may be able to get an extension
select Page Setup and specify in the simply by asking for one. Note that some
dialog box whether you want your providers may charge you for providing
browser to print backgrounds, Web that additional service.
page titles, URLs, page numbers, • If a daily deluge of e-mail comes your
and other elements. way, download your mail at least once a
Internet Explorer 5: To get rid of day so it doesn't overrun your mailbox.
background colors and images, FIGURE 3: SURE, THEY'RE CRYPTIC, but these Unsubscribe from mailing lists before
select Tools•Intemet Options. Click headers and looters add value to your Web printout. you go out oftown.
the Advanced tab, and scroll down to • Make sure your e-mail software is set to
the Printing section. Remove the check Hotrnail. Yahoo, Excite, RocketMail, and "delete mail from server" once it down­
beside Print background colors and images. Net@ddress. You'll still need to use your loads the messages. Otherwise, old mail
Click OK. To set other options, select browser to retrieve mail, however. Down­ will stack up on your IS P's server until the
File· Page Setup (see FIGURE 2). Under the load a trial version of Mail Monitor from ISP starts bouncing incoming mail.
Header and Footer lines, you can add any File World or from welcome.to/ristra. •Finally, if your ISP repeatedly bounces
of the variables shown in FIGURE 3 to get Guarantee that Important mall arrives In your mail, by all means sign up with a
IE to print URLs, Web page titles, the your In-box. Your professionalism may be new provider.
date, the time, and the number of pages. called into question when a client sends
you an e-mail message and it gets re­ Find files from this article at
ZAP BANNER ADS
turned as undeliverable. Though the www.fileworld.com/magazine.
IF YOU'RE FED UP with banner ads and cause is quite often out of your control Contribiiting Editor Judy Heim
windows popping out of your browser, (your mail se.rver may be down) , you can is coauthor of The Quilter's Computer
use InterCan Tech's $16 AdsOff to filter take steps to ensure that important mail Companion (No Starch Press, 1997) . •

316 1441;.;.;y,p 0 E C E M B E R I 9 9 9
www.ctxintl.com
 Correct your custom dictionaries • Customize hyphenation

Remove Line Numbers

Easy Supermacros From Blank lines
WREN LINES are ·numbered in word, even

Automate Frequent Tasl<s blank !Ines are·numbered. There's no way to

force Word not to number blank lines, so you
must remove. the num~ers manually. To do
SURE, AUTOMAT I NG some Word func­ as Wo rd's View :. t~is, switch to Page/Print Layout view, 1=flak
tions has always been possible. It's easy to mode-Wo rd ' just left of the blank line to seleot It, a ~d '
set up macros that automate a series of ot he rwise can­ then select Format•Paragraph. Cilek the i
commands or even type a block of text. not be preset to Line and Page Breaks ta ~ (Text Flow In Word
But beyond these prosaic instructions lies start in a particu­ 7) in the Paragraph dialog box, select Sup­
an order of special Word macros that run lar mode. P,ress Line Numbers, and click OK.
automatically, requiring no action on your AutoClose goes
part. You create the macros yourself, but into operation each time you use the Fileo Select a temp late or document for the
you mus t name them in accordance with Close command or the Close but ton to macro in the 'S tore macro in' drop-down
the list below. They have the power to con­ close a document. This macro, stored in List. If you wish, type a brief description of
tro l Word in a number any temp late , is han dy the macro in the Description fie ld. Click
of particular ci rcum­ for s aving a document OK. Perform the tasks you want to record.
stances . And if you automatically when you Double-dick REC on the Word status bar
know how to program in close it, avoiding Word's to stop rec'o rding and save the macro.
th e macro language tha t save-prom pt dia log box.
yo u r ve rsion of Word u ses, AutoExit functio ns on ly CORRECT ERRORS IN CUSTOM
you can ho n e them to do when you exi t Word. You SPELLING DICTIONAR IES
even more. Here's a list can use it to save the cur­ IT HAPPENS ALL too often: During a
of Word ' s automatic rent document or even spelling chec.k, you accidental ly dick the
macros , with descrip­ to save alJ documen ts Ad d command on a misspel led word.
tions and a step-by-step before exiting. Note: To Your word processor dutifully adds the
guide to customizing access Word's Save All erro r to its custom dictionary. From then
them. They work in command-which will on, the spelling checker ignores that mis­
any ve rs io n of Word, save all your open docu· spelling. Here's how to conect such errors
from 7 through 2000. ments-you must hold in you_r program 's dictionary:
AutoExec runs whenever you start Word. down <Shift> while you select File. Word 7 through 2000: Select Tools·Options,
It can automatically load a template other Disabling auto macros. Sometimes you then click th e Spelling or Spelling and
than the default normal.dot, set page mar­ may want to temporari.l y disable an auto­ Grammar tab in the Options dialog .....
gi ns, load a specific document you edit matic macro. To do so, hold down <Shift>
every day, or carry out any set of opera­ while you execute a command that would
tio n s you no rmally perform when yo u cause the macro to run, and keep holding
first sta rt Word. You must store thi s it down un til th e operation is com plete.
macro in the normal.dot template. For example: To prevent an AutoExec
AutoOpen run s whenever you open an macro from running, hold down <Shift>
existing document. You can use the ma­ while you click the Word icon in the Start·
cro to do several things: to save a tempo­ Programs menu or on the desktop, and
rary backup copy of the file before you edit continue to hold it down unti.l Word opens.
L~: Rnone>
it, to jump to a bookmark within it, or to Recording an auto macro. If you' ll be sav­ ----"--=-----'==;,o
"" path:
select a particular document view. You ing the macro in a specific template, select
ttew...
can store this macro in any template or File· New, and choose that template to cre­
even in a specific document. ate a new document. Double-click REC on
AutoNew starts whenever you use the the Word status bar. Type one of the five
File· New command to create a new docu­ Auto macro names in the Macro name FIGURE 1: ONCE YOU CLICK EDIT, correctlnq
ment Use it to automate fimctions such field of the Record Macro dialog box. errors In Word's custom dictionaries Is easy.

318 HMfi.l;li·F D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
5 pounds

500 lumens When you're presenting, the only thing more painful than the sound of silence, is the sound of
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 box. Click the Dictionaries or Custom Dic­ Word 7 thro ugh 2000: To hyphenate an
tionaries b\ltton. Choose CUSTOM.DIC existing document or to hyphenate auto­
from the Custom Dictionaries list, then matically as you type, first make sure no
dick Edit (see FIGURE 1). Once Word opens text is selected, and then cl10ose Tools· Lan­
the dictionary, locate and delete the entire guage· Hyphenation (Tools· Hyphenation in 0.25"
line containing the misspelled word or Word 7). Select Automatically hyphenate
No limit
words, then select File.Close and click Yes document, then click OK (see FIGURE 3) . To
when prompted to save the file. hyphenate a particular block of text, select OK 1!l¥1Ue1...
WordPerfect 8: Select Tools•Spell Check, the text that you want hyphenation to ap­
and click No if asked to close the Spell ply to, and then follow the same steps. FIGURE 3: US E THIS WORD dlaloq box to control
Checker. Click Options in the spell check • Word hyphenates words within a specif­ the hyphenation zone and lines hyphenated.
dialog box and select User Word Lists from ic distance from the right margin. To
the pop-up menu. In the resulting dialog adjust this zone, change the setting in the block of text, position the cursor at the
box, choose Wt8ous.uwl from the Word Hyphenation dialog box (see Figure 3). beginning of the block, then select Tools·
Lists list. Locate the misspelled word in Larger measurements allow hyphenation Language· Hyphenation , clear the Turn
the 'Word list contents ' list, then select it farther from the margin, which creates Hyphenation on check box and click OK.
and click Delete Entry (see FIGURE2). Hint: extra space at the ends of lines. Word's Turn it back on again where you want hy­
You can jump to a word by clicking any defaults are usually just right, except in phenation to continue.
entry in the list and then beginning to circumstances such as narrow columns. • WordPerfect will automatically prompt
type the word you want. After deleting all The same dialog box lets you control the you when it isn't sure where to hyphen­
erroneous entries, click Close in both dia­ number of consecutive hyphenated lines. ate. When the Position Hyphen dialog box
log boxes to return to the document. • To exclude particular paragraphs from appears, use the cursor keys to select a
hyphenation, or to remove hyphenation, location for the hyphen, then click Insert
CONTROL HYPHENATION select the text, then select Format· Para­ Hyphen or another option (see FIGURE 4).
PROPER HYPHENATION can improve graph . Click the Line and Page Breaks tab • You can control WordPerfect's hyphen­
the look of many documents, particularly (Text Flow in Word 7), select Dolit Hyphen­ ation prompts. Select Tools•Settings, then
those where text is justified, or flush on ate, thPn rlick OK. double-click the Environment icon. Click
both the left and right sides- it helps pre­ • To hyphenate a document manually, the Prompts tab in the Environment Set­
vent unsightly gaps in word spacing. select Tools· Language· Hyphenation (Tools· tings dialog box. Select one of the 'On
Today's word processors come with built­ Hyphenation in Word 7). Click Manual .
in hyphenation dictionaries and do a When the program proposes a hyphen­
decent job ofhyphenating, but sometimes ation point, click Yes to accept the hyphen­
you need more precise control. Here are ation, click No to skip that word, or use the
some tricks to help you get a handle on cursor keys to shift the hyphenation point;
hyphenation. then click Yes.
[Piiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~x1JI · To indicate, while typing, where you
Wonlillr--:0':=;:;:===::-1fi r.;:~~:;:;:i want a word to break, press <Ctrl>·<Hyphen> FIGURE 4 : IN WORDPERFECT, move t he hy phen
~ Engioh-U.S. {US) at the desired hyphenation point. point with the arrow keys or by cllckl nq.
M'onfb!i • While typing in a document, you can
prevent a hyphenated word such as self hyphenation' choices from the list, then
reliant from splitting at the end of a line click 0 K and Close.
by putting the cursor after the hyphen and • To remove hyphenation, select View•
pressing <Ctrl>·<Shift>·<Hyphen>. Reveal Codes or press <Alt>·<F3>. Place the
WordP er fe ct 8 : To turn WordPerfect's cursor just to the right of the Hyph:On
hyphenation on, position the cursor at the button at the beginning of the hyphenated
point where you want hyphenatio n to text, then press <Backspace>.
begin, then select Tools· Language· Hyphen­
ation. Select Tum hypheiiation on to mark Find additional tip s at www.
the check box, then click OK. pcworld.com/heres_how. Send
• To adjust the size of the area in which t%imlla que stions and tips to george_
WordPerfect hyphenates, change the per­ [email protected]. We pay $jofor
centages to the left and right of the mar­ published items. George Campbell is a PC
FI GURE 2: WORDP ERFECT 8 let s you delete gin in the Hyphenate Line dialog box. World contributing editor. Reach him on
erroneous ent ri es f rom Its user dictionary. · To turn offh>'Phenation for a particular his Web page at www.osomin.com. •

320 HM\:i.l;ii·P 0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 Say hello

to the business technology partner

that helps you do your job.

Gatewa~
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Gateway™E-Series Managed Desktops

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64MB SDRAM I 28MB lOOMHz SD RAM 128MB IOOMHz SDRAM
EV500 .28 Screen Pilch 15" Monitor (1 3.9" viewable) EV700 .28 Screen Pitch 17" Monitor (15.9 viewable) VX700 .26 Screen Pitch 17" Monitor (16 " viewable)
Integrated Intel Direct AGP Graphics w/4MB ATI RAGE '" 128VR 2X AGP w/8MB ATI RAGE l 28GL 2X AGP wll 6MB
6.8GB 5400 RPM S.M.A.R.T."' II Ultra ATA Hard Drive 6.8GB 5400 RPM S.M.A.R.T. II Ultra ATA Hard Drive 13.GGB5400 RPM S.M.A. R.T. 11 Ultra ATA Hard Drive
12X min/24X max CD-ROM Drive I 7X 111i11/40X max CD-ROM Drive I 7X min/40X max CO-ROM Drive
3.5" Diskette Drive 3.5" Di skette Drive 3.5" Diskette Drive
Integrated Intel 101100 Ethernet Integrated 3Com., 10/100 Ethernet 3Com 10/100 Ethernet Adapter with
with Wake-up On LAN with Wake-up On LAN Wake-up On LAN
3-Bay Highly Serviceable, Convertible Desktop 5-Bay Highly Serviceable. Convertible Desktop 7-Bay Mid-Tower Case
2 PCI Slots I 04 • Keyboa rd 104• Keyboard
l 04• Keyboard MS lntelliMouse & Mouse Pad MS lntell iMouse & Mouse Pad
Microsoft"' lntelliMouse" & Mouse Pad MS Windows 95 MS Windows N Workstation 4.0
MSg Windows' 95 Wired for Management (WfM) Compliant Wired for Management (WfM) Compliant
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In tel LANDesk" Client Manager 3-Year Parts Limited Warranty with 3-Year On-site Service' 3-Year Parts Limited Warranty with 3-Year On-site Service'
3-Year Parts Limited Warranty with 3-Year On-site Service' $1299 or $45/mo. $1649 or $57/mo.
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Gateway™ ALR® Series Servers
Scalable servers that make
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ALR -Series 7300 High -Performance
ALR 0 -Series 7200 Workgroup Server Workgroup Server ALR-Series 8200 Departmental Server
Intel" Pentium"' Ill Processor 450MHz Intel®Pentium" Il l Xeon'" Processor 500MHz Intel Pentiu mIll Processor 450MH z
with 512K Cache wit h 5l 2KCache with 5l 2K Cache
(Dual Pentium Ill Processor Capable) (Dual Ill Xeon Processor Capable) (Dual Pentium Ill Processor Capab le)
64MB PC 100 ECC SDRAM (expandable to !GB) 64M BPC 100 ECC SD RAM(expandable to !GB) l28MBPC 100 ECC SDRAM (expa nd ab le to ! GB)
9GB Ultra 2 SCSI 7200 RPM Hard Drive 9G B Ultra 2 SCSI 7200 RPM SCA Hard Drive 9G B Ultra 2 SCS I 7200 RPM SC A Hard Drive
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In tegra ted Intel 10/100 Twisted Pair Ethernet
Integ rated Intel 10/100 Twis ted Pair Ethernet l 7X mi n/4 0X max CD-ROM Drive
l 7X min/40X max CD-ROM Drive
l 7X min/40X max CD-ROM Drive ln forManager Server Management Software
ln forManager" Serve r Management Software
lnforMana ger Se rver Ma na geme nt So ftware 3-Yea r Parts & Labor Lim ited Warranty
3-Year Part s & Labor Limited Warranty
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32 MB SDR AM (ex pandabl e to 192MB) 64M B SDRAM (expandable to 288MB ) 64MB SD RAM (expa ndabl e to 288M B)
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V.90 Modem ' V.90 Modem ' Lithium Ion Battery
Li thium Ion Battery Lith ium Ion Battery MS · Windows 98
Ms~ Windows 98 Microsoft ~ Windows' 98 MS Office 2000 Small Business Ed ition
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111t ·11m Hatlwaro Tute4 y.., 1000C.•pli111" 1t10 ..,.,.. doey 11m ..,...hilly ""'~"I !lit risn YMARKlOOO llll TW• bl1dmre mr~111tieos Im Ilse paued !lit Mimlscft Milletoi1111 Yw 1000 1tll llite. Ga!!Wly QWI be 1u,wil~ lot l!lird pany sehwm
11111ill property iell. mm." caltul1lts dal!l. Tl!!lt ;,.,., ,,. no1"111ed11 1ht haidwaie ud '''""be con!<!d by 6'1tW1). Ce•p~ll d!lails on 6111w11'1Ym 1000 11111on aa be r...dat www.g'1!1'131.t0m/yw 1000. 6. Tetlno~rr ,.1ru1 p11pam pailicipanll. p1ovided
ol!lain rtquil!m,.11 "' meL inclolini t11di1ap ~ov•l. =•r cltoose IO rnlnlth lheil Basa UniL as C.flned in lease Agl!emenL d~ing Iha peiindlsl designaled io 1he lease Asmllll!nL Eijui1meR11vill ba rafn•shed wilh 1h1 t.1ut mit.ble asalafin iu P1adutt Om ,as detmminl!d
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l!ase b!1lls sollfrtl ta <hi!' wilhtct aali<t er ollipliu.
 manufacturers can actually deliver on the promise? At Gateway, we put
you want technology to do for your business. We can also assist you with
click or come in.

Gateway GP-Series Professional Desktops

Powerful , professional PCs that simply let you
open the box and get right to work.
GP6-400c Value Oesktop GP7 -450 Business Performer GP7 -600 Power User
Intel ~
Ce leron'" Processor 400MHz Intel®Pe ntium ~ Ill Processor 450MHz with 5l 2KCac he Intel Pentium Ill Processor 600MHz wi th 512K Cache
32MB SDRAM (expandable to 256 MB J 32MB SDRAM (expandable to 384 MBJ 64MB SDRAM (expanda ble to 384MBJ
4.3GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 4.3GBUltra ATA Hard Drive 1OGB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
EV500 15" Color Monitor (13.9" viewable) EVSOO 15" Color Monitor (13.9" viewable) EV700 17" Color Monitor (15.9" viewa ble)
8MB Integrated Graphics 8MB AGP Graphics 8MB AGP Graphics
l 7X min/40X max CD-ROM Dri ve l 7X min/40X max CD-ROM Drive l 7X min/40X max CD -ROM Drive
10/ 100 Ethernet Network Card l Oil 00 Ethernet Netwo rk Card 10/100 Ethernet Network Card
Integrated Busi ness Audio Mid-Tower case Mid-Tower case
Mid-Tower case MS" Windows 98 MS Windows 98
Microsoft" Windows" 98 MS Office 2000 Small Business Editi on MS Office 2000 Small Busin ess Edition
MS Office 2000 Small Business Edition $1079 or $37/mo. $1499 or$5 1/mo.
$899 or $3 1/mo. 36 mos. business lease 1 36 mos. business lease 1
36 mos. business lease 1

LIMITED WARRANTY UPGRADES:1

Extend your Gateway GP-Series desktop standard one-yea r limited wa rranty wit h on-site parts replacement to three yea rs. . . $99

CA LL CLICK 0 R C0 ME IN TO A GATEWAY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 1 " CENTER

1-800-846-2796 www.gateway.com Gateway Country®

C> 1999 G1ttmy.lnc. All righll ruerved. Gal!Way. G1l!way Coamtry. IAlt11UH!f!L HelpSpet andthe Gitrwiy stylized loao 1111Ui1duu11h 01 resister£! tr1d111:ia1h of G111my: lnc.. AU other brnds ;u1d pradacl aa111 ~s.ar1 li1den111U or 1~ istl!1rd badei11~1U ol l~eir 1s~ec1iv1 companies.
Th1ln11l Inside logo, Intel and Peotium are 11~stered trademmls,ind Celson and Peotium JU Xeon "' uadem11ls ol ln~I C.~0~1i... 1. Call 1-800-GATEWAY or wnto to Gateway Terms 8 Cond1Uons. P.O. Box 1~51, North Sioux City. SU 57049-1951
for a free copy of our limited warranties end on-site service agreements. On-site customers: If Gateway determines on-site service is necessary. il will be Jlrovided for product in the continental United States.Alaska.
Hawaii, Pueno Rico and Canada (excluding mice.keyboards. portable docking stations. external peripherals end monitors).You may be asked to teke your PC to a Gateway location for warranty service.See agreements
for specific terms and limitations. Z. leasing provided by independent leasing companies to qualified commercial customers. lease payments based on a36-month term.lease terms subject to change without notice or
 Gat eway'" ALR ' Se11es servers. GPand E-Seri es desktop s
and Solo port ables contai n Intel" pr ocesso rs.

pentium 0
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 SP RE AD.S.H:E:EJ S

Activate Cells Used in Formulas

Count Them: Four Ways to IN EXCEL, double·clickiiig a cell puts the cell
, Into,edit mode. If Y,~u disable ln·ceil editing,
doubfe·cllcking<a fo rm ula cell selects th~ ,
Protect Your Numbers cells used by the formula, even If they're on
a different sheet. TQ di.sable ln·cell editing,
choose Too/s•Options. In the Edit tab of the
EXCEL OFFERS many ways to protect your Sheet dialog. and
Options dialog box, uncheck edit directly in
data. But understanding the differences make su re Con­
cell. When this option ls'disabled, you .must
between the methods and the limitations tents is checked.
do·your cell edltlng·ln fhe'formula bar. To d'o·.
of each of them can be daunting. Here's You can enter a
this, select the appro~r.iate cell, and click in .
a quick review of four protection options password to pre­
the formu la bar pr pr.ess <FZ>. Double·cllck·
in Excel 97 and Excel 2000, plus explana­ vent others from
Ing a nonformula cell has no effect.
tions ofhow to use them. Note: These pro· unprotecting the
tection features aren't foolproof. Pass­ sheet. Locked cells in a protected sheet tab, place a check mark next to Lock pro­
word-cracking utilities exist, and anyone cannot be ed ited, and other worksheet ject for vieiving, and enter the password
who wants to defeat your protection badly d1anges are disabled. For example, no one twice. Click OK and save your workbook.
enough probably can. The exception: VBA can insert rows or columns, change col­
project protection in Excel 2000 seems to umn wid th, or create embedded charts. COUNT AUTOFILTERED ROWS
defeat password-cracking utilities. Workbook window protection. The Tools• WHEN I USE Excel's AutoFiltering,
Cell protection. Every cell has two key Protection• Protect Workbook command the status bar displays the number
properties: locked and hidden. A locked enables you to protect a workbook so no of qualifying rows. But for no appar­
cell can't be manged, and the contents of one can add or delete sheets or resize or ent reason, that number often vanishes. How
a hidden cell don't appear in the fonnula move the workbook window. do I keep this number visible while I work?
bar when the cell is selected. By default, Workbook file protection. Here's how to Luis M. Meade, Centerville, Virginia
every cell is locked and not hidden. Locked save a workbook in such a way that you AUTOFILTER ING A LIST hides rows iliat
and hidden attributes have no effect un­ must supply a password to open or modi­ don't meet your filter criteria. After apply­
less the worksheet is protected. To mange fy it: In Excel 97, select File· Save As to dis­ in g filtering criteria, Excel shows the
these attributes, select the appropriate cell pla y the Save As dia log box; then click record count on the status bar-but this
or a range and then moose Format· Cells. Options in that box to call up the Save Op- value disappears when the sheet is calcu­
~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil~oc tions clialog. In Excel lated. To display a permanent count of the
B D E F JiS 2000, select Tools· visible rows in an AutoFiltered list, create
Tony Gwynn'• Flrsr 1.000 Hits ""'
General Options when a formula using Excel's SUBTOTAL func­
the Save As dialog tion. The first argument for SUBTOTAL
box appears. If you specifies the type of operation (an argu­
CHl
SF enter a password in ment of 2 displays a count of the visible
CIN
HOU th e ' Password to cells in a range) . FIGURE 1 shows a list in
lA
CIH open' field, the user rows 6 tJ1rough 3006. The formula in cell
must provide the D3 is: =SUBTOTAL(2,A6 :A3006). It
FIGURE 1: THE FORMULA IN CELL 03 uses the SUBTOTAL function to co rrect password to counts the number of visible cells in the
count the number of displayed rows In the Au to Fiitered list. open the file. 1f you range (minus the header row). Apply dif­
enter a password in ferent filtering criteria, and the formula
In tJ1e Format Cells dialog box. click the the 'Password to modify' field, the user updates to show the new count. The SUB­
Protection tab and select Locked or Hidden. must give the right password to make TOTAL function only works for AutoFil­
Unlock cells that accep t user input, and changes to the file. Without the correct te ring an d outlining. lfyou hide rows
lock form ula ce lls and other cell s that password, the file opens in read-only mode. manually, it won't return the correct result.
should stay unchanged (sum as titles) . To VBA project protection. 1f your workbook
prevent others from seeing your formulas, contains VBA macros, you can use these Send your qu estions and tips to john@
lock and hid e the formula cells-the to prohibit others from viewing or modi­ j-ivalk.com . We pay $50 for published
results of the formulas will be visible, but fying them. Press <Alt>·<Fll> to activate tJ1e items. Contrib14ting Editor Joh11 Walken­
the formulas will not. VB Edi tor window, and select your project ba ch is the author of Excel 2000 Bible
To protect a sheet, moose Tools•Prot.ec­ from the Project window. Choose Tools· (JOG Books, i999) and maintains Th e
tion · Protect Sheet to bring up the Protect VBA Project Properties. Click tJ1e Protection Spreadsl1 eet Page (ivwwj-walk.com) . •

0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 . , . ,, , . . .,, 327
 HARDWARE_TJP-S

Use Direct Cable Connection • Fix standby-mode hassles • Redial automatically

Dial Efor Enough Already

Transfer Big Files With DO YOU HAV E t rouble connecting to your
ISP via Dial-Up Networking? Because phone

Little Hassle lines were designed for voice communica­

t ions, line quality inadequate for data may
be causing busy sign als or otherwise pre­
=n;::;:;;::=:::::r::::;;;:::::;=r.iil venting you from connecting. Instead of.con­
M OVING A DOCUMENT or s pread sheet cos tly and takes
• stantly cllcklng the Connect button,: l~t. your
be twee n your PC a n d your la pto p h as too much work.
compute r do the red ialing. Open My Com­
a lways been easy- just pop in a flopp y But if both your
puter; then Dial Up Networking. Select Con­
disk and copy the fil e, right? But in these compute rs have
nections•Settings. Check t he Rediolbox, and
days of gargantuan ha rd di sks and ele­ USB po rts a nd
your PC will automatically redial if it encoun·
phan tine amounts of RAM , fil e sizes have use Windows 98,
l!!i:::::=::!::!!::=:=~ ters a busy signal or falls to connect.
swelled . And if you need to move la rge yo u ca n set up a
fil es- or a lar ge num be r of fil es- be­ simple n etwork betwee n th e m th a t's spen d for the USB ca ble. La pLin k also
tween two PCs, the old s tandby i.44MB extrem ely fast and quite easy to use. wor ks with slowe r pa rallel-port connec­
floppy just isn't convenient. Both the $80 USB Direct Conn ect fro m tions (the cable u sed in such a setup costs
Attach ing both PCs to a network would, Belkin and th e $90 EZ-Link from Anchor aro u nd $i 5) and with m uch slower seria l­
of course. solve the file tra nsfer problem, Chips let you set up a Windows network port connections (a erial ca ble is included
as would buying bigge r- ca pacity s torage connection between two PCs. Each comes free with th e softw are).
devices like an external Zip drive or a CD­ with a ca ble th at lin ks two sys tems via Go direct. The above solutions are fin e if
RW drive. But those are expensive solu· th e ir USB po r ts-no netwo r k ca rd s you move lots of data on a regula r basis
tions. Here are some cheaper alternatives. requ ired. Bu t yo u 'Nill have to perform a and you don 't have a network. But $i 49­
Compress It. For movin g fi les that are only few W indows Ne twork confi g u ra tio n or even $80-is a lot to spend if you trans­
marginally bigger th an i. 44 M B, th e J.5· tas ks, such as ins talli n g p ro tocols a nd fe r data on ly occasiona ll y. Windows 9x
inch flopp y is s till you r m os t e ffective e nab li ng shar in g, d irections fo r wh ich offers a fun ctional, if clumsier, free alter­
solution. Try squeezing the file onto a sin­ co m e with the product. native: Direct Cable Connection .
gle flo ppy by using a fil e compres­ T he Direc t Cable Connection
s ion u ti li ty like WinZ ip 7, a $29 utili ty included in Windows 95
shareware program availa ble from a nd 98 es tablishes a ne twor k
www.winz ip.co m or from File­ co nn ection betwee n two com·
World. Som e fil es will compress puters using Windows' Dial-Up
better than others: those with lots Ne twork ing s oftwa re. On ce a
of text and n umbers often ca n be lin k is es tablished, a shared drive
reduced by 50 percent or more. A or fo lder on lhe hos t compute r
JPE G image fil e, on the o th e r Select an item to vi ew appea rs on the guest system as a
its descripti on . 1999-07 1mos
hand, is already compressed and network fo lder with the name of
wo n't sh rink appreciably. FIGURE 1: A VIRTUAL FOLDER appears on the quest system with th e host and the nam e the host
And eve n if you ca n 't s h rink a the host's name ("Mini-me") displayed first In the title bar. gave to the shared drive or fo lde r
fil e or files to fit on a s ingle floppy , (see FIGURE 1). Via this network
WinZip and similar u tilities can s tore If th e thought of mucking around wi th fold er, the gues t can move, co py, create,
their comp ressed content on a series of an y Windows' network setti11gs appeals to delete, and even open and save files in the
fl oppy di sks. That makes chea p floppi es a you as much as swallowing chalk du st, try hos t PC's shared drive or folde r. You can
convenien t solu tion for trans fers u p to La plink from La plink.com . La p Lin k lets also use th e DCC u til ity to instaUsoftware
several megabytes. you transfer fil es via a USB ca ble without on a guest PC , us ing a CD-RO M dri ve
Buy your own cable network. If )'O U move an y ne two rk setup . It also has a simple located on (a nd s hared by) a host PC­
bi g fi les often, you' ll wa n t s om e thing interface that's loaded with ha nd y one­ whi ch ca n co m e in ve r y ha ndy if your
faster and easier than a fl oppy. You r best click fea tures for moving da ta and allows notebook lacks a CD- ROM drive.
bet: Con nect your PCs with ca bles. remote co ntrol of your co m pu ter over th e Before you can launch DCC, howeve r,
Settin g up a tradi ti ona l ethe rn et ne t­ Intern et. Unfortun ately, it costs a stee p yo u ' ll need to co nnec t you r PCs with a
work just to transfer fil es is obvious!)' too $1 49, not including the $40 you'll have to cable. DCC does n' t suppor t USB, so ....

328 i$4lhii•F o E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 ,~~~ .....
, b r.ltJ.\r,;ir Lr•
Emulsion DJrect Imaging Tlchnology'"
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 you'll need either a special serial cable­ sa m e m a n ne r as yo u ins tall DCC. To You m ay have to insert your Windows 98
called a null modem cable- or a fas ter ins ta ll Clie nt fo r Microso ft Networks, CD-ROM to load the program files.
parallel cable, also known as an interlink right-cl ick Network Neighborhood (on the DCC starts with a wizard program tl1at
or La pLink cable. Both are ava ilable for deshop or in Windows Explorer) , select must run on both mach ines. It asks you
less than $20 at your local computer shop. Properties, and then click the Add butto n. to designate one computer as the host and
Also, before you can start DCC on either Now select. in sequence, Client, Add, and th e oth er as the guest (see FIGURE 2). In
PC , you must outfit both machines with Microsoft. and fo llow the prompts. Repeat this setup. tile guest PC has access to tile
Dial-Up Networking, Client fo r Microsoft th ese ste ps to in stall !PX/SPX in Win­ host PC, but not vice versa.
Networks, and the 1PX/ SPX network pro­ dows, choosing Protocol instead of Client. See eye to eye. You can avoid the hassle of
tocol. DUN can be installed in exactly tl1e Wh e n prompted , make s ur e that you plugging and unp lug ging cables ir you
assign eacl1 system a uniq ue name, in s ta ll an in fra red con nection betwee n
Died.,..,.. «mOClion ........... ID ~and . . . or else DCC won't work. your PCs. Windows 95 an d 98 support
etlallWI a chd ierial a parelol.,..,.. ""'1Ndion
To launcl1 DCC, select Start· Pro­ trans fe rs between IR ports, and most lap­
-"'°~
To CQm!ICllwo_.,. ,_, qiedjl..ticl>0118JQU
018'-"'1J
gra ms•Accessories•Co mmunications. tops come with an IR port insta lled. But
Ir you don 't see a li sting for Direct you'll probably need to buy an IR port that
Ca bl e Co nn ection in th e me nu , attaches to your desktop PC.
dou ble-click the Add/ Remove Pro­ One such option is tile $99 )etEye PC,
·~
Tna_...wilbeuoedto_........,. grams icon in Control Panel. Then an IR port from Extended System s that
Cl!llheholl """"""'.
click the Windo ws Setup tab, select attaches to a desktop PC's seri al port. It
Co mmunication s in th e Compo­ li mits your tra nsfer speeds to the serial
nen ts list, click the Details button, port maximum of115 kbps, but tilat's also
c.nc.i I
and check the box next to Direct th e m axim um rate supp orted by ma ny
FIGURE 2: DIRECT CABLE CONNECTION designates one Cable Conn ection . Click OK twice laptop IR ports.
computer as the host and another as the guest. a nd fo llow an y furth e r pro m pts. To create a n infra red conn ection ,

SAMANTHA ELLIOTI, CATASTROPHE TEAM & KEVIN YATES, AGENT

330 HWM;•i·F D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 LC 2 J -­

launch Windows ' Infrared Mo ni to r on system completely fr eezes. Any ideas on To resolve these conflicts , your best first
each machine: Click the 111.frared ico n in what's lurking behind t his probl em? step is to upgrade your system's BIOS to
Control Panel, and follow th e on-screen Lee Rah11, Dalla s its lates t ve rsio n. Check wi th your PC's
prompts. Next, place the two computers T HI S CO M MON problem has several pos­ vendor fo r ins tructions on how to do this.
so that their IR ports are within 3 to 6 feet sible cau ses, but bas ica lly one or m ore And tl1e same goes for most of the device
of each other with a d ear Une of sight. The components of your PC-some software, dri vers used by Windows- make sure you
red indicator Ught in Infrared Monitor will a ha rdware drive r, or even th e BIOS­ have tl1 e lates t ve rsions. Of course, locat­
tum green when you have established an isn't fu nctioning in perfect harmony with ing all th ese could take days, depending
IR link. Windows 9 8 comes with its own your PC's power m anagem ent schem e. on how many devices you have. For help
IR file transfer program , Infrared Trans­ Hard to believe, eh ? When it comes time fi gurin g out whi ch component m ay be
fer. Window 95 users will need a separate for your PC to wake, one of these compo­ ca using the conflict, run the Windows 98
fil e tra nsfe r package th a t s upports IR nents is down for the count. Power Management Troubleshooter utiU­
communications (a program of this type Your system uses one of two possible ty, pmtshoot.exe. You' ll find it on the Win­
comes with JetEye PC) . power ma nagement standards , the older dows 9 8 CD-ROM in the tools/m tsutil/
Adva nced Powe r Manage m e n t or th e pmtshoot fo lder.
HEAVY SLEEPER more recent Advanced Configuration and
WHEN I WAKE my year-old desktop Power Interface. Most newer systems like Yo u'll ji11d details about products
PC (wh ich run s the Windows 98 yours use the latter. (Ignore the Advanced discimed in this article at www.
operating sys t em) f r om standby Power Management title in the warning pcworld.com/ dec99/ hw_tips
mod e, I am greeted with a dialog box tell ing dialog; it's not an accurate reflection of and fi les me11tioned at wwwfileworld.com/
me that my system has stopped responding which standard a system uses.) As in the magaz ine. Se11d yo i~r questions and tips to
and asking me whether I want to di sable t he early days of Plug and Play, lots of systems kirk_steers@ pcworld.com. We pay $so for
st andby feat ure in t he f ut ure. Often, I can't have sUghtly imperfect implemen tations published items. Kirk Steers is a PC World
even respond to the question because my of ACP I, resulting in conflicts. contributing editor. •

-
ales
S;:k, Vnl.J<JC
..ry 1111\1 19-tO'i:
1,vrics Fri 4:JO,
017 Special Notices 017 Special Notices

Ooa1 dyl, 11 04
~
,.. Words of Thanks ,..
GA. M.l)' I
~ 8 ~U'SI.~ With sincere thanks to all who have
\.E1111m helped us during this unforgettable
".!t-nG.ittt
time. Th ank you to Jackson
i­
). MAfl<ET
'<~<"#S. \J Madison County General Hospital ,
th e Police Dept. , American Red
,'Tltn ,,.Cl'lw::nl

· ~a~;~ Cross, Salvation Army, and Allstate,

especially Samantha Elliott, Kevin
SALE*
J l\, f " f'
Yates and the entire Allstate family.
AT WORK l ->"'"""'"'
, .,..,1.1
.f',11 ~,,., , ~
Pete & Elaine Rogers & Family
""'
• \.'~·~ ·.

• FROST FREE • f"O)' w,,..n.... 1

Orytr Sl30 E.xn w .1n.wo1 , f.
D<.• "f'IY ,...,'!! .;,~ ....

Allstate~
You're in good hands.

o E c E M B E R I 9 9 9 .,.,,,1;11,j 3 31
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Install a New Motherboard

MII ) tl1an you will AT motherboards that

··=·········)·~-
SU R E , YOU CAN UPGRADE various parts
of your computer , but for the ultimate support Slot 1 processors (such as Intel's
Benefits:
performance boost, a new motherboard­ Pentium II and Ill). If your PC is newer, it
Dramatically
which , in turn , usually requi res a new improved probably requ ires an ATX motherboard,
processor and new memory modules- is performance and you can use one of the latest Slot 1 or
the answer. Cost: $350 to Socket 370 processors . In the unlikely
The 100- and 133-MHz system buses on $500 event that your PC case takes neither an
today's motherboards ease the bottleneck Time required: AT nor an ATX motherboard, you'll prob­
4 to 6.hours ·
between the CP U and other internal com­ ably have to replace your system's power
Equipment reqlJ.lfed: Phillips screwdriver.
ponents, such as system m emory. Built­ needle-nose pliers, masking tape, antistatic supply and case.
in extras, like high-speed parallel and USB wrist strap Upgrading your motherboard is an ad­
ports , unclog the arteries leadi.ng to ex­ Expertise level;·Advanced ·· vanced-level project. Figure on devoting
ternal peripherals. Motherboard reviews: PC Guide half a day and plenty of patience to the
If you want to keep your total cost down (www.pcguide.com),,Tom's Harcfware Guide. project. If you're reasonably com fortable
.(-."'>~.t ;,\· .;1' :t-6.,
t (www.t~rn shard_wi;i re.c;om). ··. f · .,
•

to about $350 , look for a motherboard out­ with multiple intricate steps and working
Vendors: Mofherboards Super. Store
fitted with an AM O K6- II l-400 processor (wWW.Cl)Otherbqard~:~om), Motherboar(ls
with basic tools, you can probably pull it
and 64MB ofS DRAM. If you're willing to · Direct(www,motl}erboard~direct.com).. off, though having a hardware-savvy
spend as muclt as $500. look for a moth­ Asus (www.asus.coni), SoperMicro Cwww. friend on hand (or at least available by
erboard with an Intel Pentium 1II-450 or Sl!permicro.comf'(Yan (www.tyan.com) phone) is good insurance.
/'· •'
-500 CPU and 128MB ofSDRAM . Of course, before you install your new
Before you buy, find out whether your probably has an AT motherboard . In that motherboard , back up your hard disk.
PC case requires an AT or an ATX moth­ case, you' ll find a m uch greater selection
erboard (see diagrams on facing page). If of AT mo therboards that support Socket Stan Miastkowski is a co1itributing editor
your system is more than two years old, it 7 processo rs (l ike th e K6- III and Cyrix's for PC World .

0 Remove cards and cables. Prepare a large and

uncluttered space on which to work. Turn off your PC;
unplug It from the electric outlet; and disconnect the
mouse, keyboard, monitor, and all external cables.
Take off the PC's cover, look the Interior over careful­
ly, and figure out exactly what you must remove to
reach the motherboard. Sometimes you have to re­
move a hard drive or other hardware.
Before you begin work Inside your PC, put on an
antistatic wrist strap and clip It to a grounded metal
obj ect (such as a screw-slightly loosened and prefer­
ably unpainted-that holds the faceplate on an AC
outlet). Remove t he screws holding each add-In card
(A), and carefully remove each card.
Use masking tape to mark cables as you remove
them. Unplug the motherboard power connectors (8),
floppy disk cable, and IDE connectors (C), noting
which cable Is attached to the primary channel and
which to the secondary channe l. Unplug the small
connectors attached to the front-panel switches and
LED Indicators (0). If you're working with an AT moth­
erboard, as shown here, you must also remove cables
for the serial and parallel ports, and (somet imes) ca·
bles for the mouse connector or USB ports.

334 H•fi.IU.p 0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
AT motherboard
A new AT motherboard
can have features based
on such new technolo­
qles as an AGP slot and
11 100-MHz system bus,
but It needs to support
some old features too,
lncludlnq an AT-style
keyboard port and power
connector, ani1 separate
mouse, serial, and paral­
lel ports that pluq Into
connectors on the moth­
erboard. Most llkely, It
will have 11 321-pln CPU
socket (Socket 7).

ATX motherboard

A new ATX motherboard

lnteqr11tes a wider array of
ports, lncludlnq use ports
and PS/2-style keyboard
and mouse ports, and It
standardizes their place­
ment on the rear of the

It will probably have 11

Slot 1 CPU slot, but It may
have 11 370-pln CPU sock­
et (Socket 370), too, as
shown below the CPU slot

0 EC E M B E R 1 9 9 9 q;p1.1;14,; 335
 f) Remove the old motherboard. 0 Install the new motherboard. An
Most motherboards are held to the ATX motherboard should slide easlly
case by six to nine screws. Careful­ Into the case. lnstalllnq an AT mother­
ly remove the screws and set them board may involve movlnq some of the
aside In a container. mountlnq posts that hold It to the case
After you take out the screws, so that the mountlnq holes on the moth­
you can remove an ATX mother­ erboard allqn with the posts. You nor­
board by slldlnq It sllqhtly forward mally don't need to reuse the plastic
and pulllnq It upward. AT mother· brackets (if any) from your orlqlnal AT
boards are sometimes secured with motherboard.
plastic brackets, and you must After you line up the mountinq holes,
sllde the motherboard sideways to mount the motherboard with the screws
release these brackets from the you removed In step 2. Don't screw them
(hidden) slots underneath. In too tlqhtly-just snuq them up.

C) Install the RAM and CPU In the new motherboard.

Insert the DIMM memory module (or modules) Into the
slots, beqlnnlnq with the slot representlnq Bank O, as ,
Indicated In the motherboard manual or on the board
itself. The mod­
ules flt only one
way. Slide them
in firmly until the
tabs on each side
of the socket
snap In place. If
you're lnstalllnq 11 CPU that fits Into a flat socket, lift the lever on the S(!cket, carefully Insert the CPU
Cmaklnq sure that Pin 1on the CPU !Ines up with Pin 1 on the socket), hold It In place firmly, and lock the
lever down. If you're lnstalllnq a CPU that fits Into a slot, carefully Insert It until It's firmly seated.

Q Reinstall t he cards and cables. Reattach all the 0 Start up your new
cables and connectors you removed In step 1. Work slow­ system. Turn your com·
ly and carefully (don't bend any pins), and remember that puter on. If normal start­
the connectors probably won't be In exactly the same up messaqes appear on
place they were on your orlqlnal motherboard. Check and the screen, you're halfway
double-check that everythlnq Is connected correctly. home. Be prepared for a
IMPORTANT: Don't forqet to connect the CPU fan's number of restarts In Win­
power cable to Its jumper on the motherboard (E). If you dows 9x, thouqh. The op­
fall to connect It, your new CPU may overheat. eratlnq system will Initial·
Reinsert your PC's add-In cards, and screw them down ly be confused by the. new
with the same screws that you hardware It finds and will
removed earlier. need to reconflqure Itself
Reconnect the moni­ (It should take care of this
tor, mouse, keyboard, automatlcally).
and any other ex­ If nothlnq happens, or If
ternal peripherals. your PC starts but locks
Pluq In the·power up in Windows, tum off the
cable to your PC power. unpluq the PC, and
and AC socket, but recheck all connections. If
don't put the cover that doesn't help, swallow
back on the system your pride and contact the
until you're sure that ev­ motherboard maker's tech
erythlnq Is worklnq properly. support.
•
336 HMfi.i;ii.p D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
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Gold Diagnostic Adapters From:$99
Styles : Gender Changoo - Benefiu :
• Both 50 pin and 6B pin ' • Models fa all SCSI types
(aD a:mOOations) PS Inc • f°tXel SCSI Cable Probiems
f<atue : • DOU>es cable L<ngth (up to 18')
• Active TenninatJon and Signal Purifocatlon
• Ultra Fas: Pcrlormance fOf Added Capabilities
• Diagnostic Capa)J;l;ties • 3-0u" Gold Contact>
Internal Repeater
tf you inttgrate SCSI R1lids or
Arrays a nd .lrc having problem
making it 'NOrk. the Granite SCSI
Repeater will make it work. Designed to fit
Inside any computer or external case. These
repeat ers will double the cable length o f a ny
scsi bus allowing you to achieve the needed
distance to make your system opera te. Up to 2
repeater can be used per channel.

SCSI C.able Tester -LED Readout

Q P11Ql'j~ ;
This Digital SCSI Cable Teste r can test a ll the
• Ultra SCSI Cablo Kit popu lar cable style\ fo r opens, shorts, and
• Dual Redundant Power Supply unreliable operation. Battery
14 & 29 B"Y · The Ultimate Large SCSI Stora ge Solutions • Bay Coolers w I Bro1ckets
Shown wi th optional Bay Coole rs and Dual Redundant Power Supply. powere d for eJsy use
• Tempera ture Alarm System anywhe re you need it.
Multiple SCSI Cha nnel Support and Modular Designed Expa nsion, • Slide Out (400lbs rated) Rails
Three models to
choose from :
Temperature Alarm Systems /Cool Dual Fan SCSI Cases • 50 p inlOC
I. • :O Temperature 1s th e ~umber one Fnn SCSI Dnves get HOT. bu t d on't worry we • 50 pin Centronics
• 68 pin MlcroD
ca use for dr1~e failure Keep· trD have the perfect solution.
llC::;;.!!!!!::..J::::t'l:'.7} ing the drives monitored ~ CSI Our new Dual Fan SCSI
The Book ofSCSI -An Adventure
I. · can nov.: eas1ty be done . Cases keep any d rrve
• Systems 1nclud~ ~utpuu for cool. Temperature is a Considered "'The Bible· of
Styles : ConYerts the ao pin SCA : • - _ _ _..., emergency a~d1t10.na l fans COMMTl• L& drives worle enem , SCSI Books, it includes chap­
type dri\'15 to be used '""1h J• and compute r notification. I Y ters o n SCSI Basia thru
either 50 ot 6B pin SCSI &Jles. Advanced SCSI. Wr itten so
Tlvee modeis avaiab&e. Fro m: that all of us can understand
Granite Cables Are The Best Because They're Engineered Right it. this Is a reference guide
Drive Bracket Kits- 3.5" to 5.25" Granite Cables were designed by SCSI Eng ineers to
that can be used by anyone.
Its the best SCSI we ha~ .
From: We carry a variety of Bradceu that allow be the Bes-t Cables On Th e Ma rke t . Everything
$ 10 yoo to tnO\lnt a 3.5" drive into a
5.25' bay. They include
about them means better performance and Mgher
·eliability. Ou r design incorporates an exclus ive
SCSIPRO Utilities - SCSI Repair
all screw and hardware shield tha t protects the Acknowledge and Request
lines from noise. Large Ferrite beads a re innalled
on all cables to protect them from sta t ic and noise.
Every cable incorporates a LEO indica tor that lets
yo u know it is opera ting properly. We also use
Hot Swap Powered Terminator more GOLD on every cable. Add to this o ur impe d· ~_!..--~_-:..._-::
$69
~
Now you can safely remove any
SCS I device from a SCSI chain by
ance matching techniques and you have most of
"Nhat makes us THE BEST !
. sim ply cl ick ing a swllch . The Hot
· Swa p Powered Te rminato r also Utra 2 (L VD)-TFO InternalC.ables
has an optiona l Powe r Supp ly
so that it can supply Benefit> :
termin.ltio n power to portable • le<s Errm. Ultimate Perf""""""
setups o r when termination • TPO ShiEld mprnves Signol
power Is not being supplie d. Ft."iftures :
• Perfect 132 Ohm lmpcdonco • Custom In 1 Day
• Triple Pronged Conne<tot · Gold CXlOlil<tl SiM!r W..
What is Ultra 2 (LVD) ? • How fast is Ultra 2 (LVD) ?
Ultra 2 (LVD) Wide Terminator This is the fastes t SCSI available/ Twice as fast as Ul trJ I SCSI and without any of
f"1t-'.,JV.1" •fl
~ . r,lffml t>"~ c
.,. c , .
This is the ultimate terminator on the market. It
offeD both Ultra 2 (LVD) operation and standard its limi tations_ If yo u want true horsepower th is is th e Ultra SCSI system to buy_
ttra Wide or Fast Wide opera­ Completely backwa rds comp atible wi th U/ tr.i I SCSI, Fast SCSI, and SCSI 1& l!
t ion, all In one unh. Au1omat i· The key to this new SCSI Standard is th e use of Low Voltage Differential Technology_
cally ~nies which type of bus Also known as (LVD) and Ultra 2 SCSI, we can now achieve speeds that far exceed
you are using and configures even the fastest computers data thruput capabili ties _
itself to that bus. 6B Pin Internal LVD Cables, custom or stock,
• from l to 15 SCSI device?j per cable. The perfect
$99 Ultra 2 (LVD) - SCSI Repeater I Converte cable for LVD. We uiualty take jutt 1 to 2 days
Now you can take all you r SCSI devices .lnd run them any d istance to process all orders, Including custom cablesl
lAtra 2 (L VD)SCA Drive Converter
Converu an 80 pin SCA LVD
~~~-;;i~t~!~~~~sa!!~~)~~~~=~~~r;:ff ~~:e~~~ ~;~~~Yu~~n~his standard. There is no ""d to have two SCSI
cable distance, but alro complete compatibi lity w ith the Oe\'V Ultra 2
(Ultra 2) drive Into a standard Adapters taking up pre<ious PCI slots.. Two
68 pin LVD. Has J Power models are available, th e Internal model that
mounts into your e nclosure, Raid/Array c.ase,
Connector and SCSI ID. $199 $249 and the exte rnal that can be used anywhere.

Online Catalog at... www.scsipro.com The SCSI So lu t ion Company D•l•G•l•T•A•l 3101 Whipple Rd. Union Gty, CA 94587 Ph: 51C>-471-6442 Fax 51C>-471-6267
CI RCLE 454 ON CAR D DR CO TO WWW.PCWORLD.CDM/PRODUCTINFO

0 E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •aw1.1;••·* 3 5 3
 BOTH SINGLE AND DUAL EXTERNAL SCSl·ll PORT WORKS
DRIVE MODELS AVAILABLE. LIKE A STANDARD CD WRITER
FOR CREATING CUSTOM DISCS.
INTERNAL A/V HARD DRIVE
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CD DUPE · IT? STAND Al.ONE CD DUPLICATO R

SOUIC E CD ­
TMGET • 0
• ISi -;;:;· -.:.~· c:::J
- - -- - --- - -----
.
II
COPY co
0
WlllE co
• C'
.
ur
lAAGO • 1

CJ( COllfl'OU'R ITl"TIMI CIN'fta

- •- ---- - -- -- --
c:::J
-
TOTALLY SELF CONTAINED, ADVANCED FORMAT DETECTION
NO ADDITIONAL HARDWARE ······································ PRODUCES PERFECT DUPLICATES
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Instantly copy music and
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100 BLANK CDs $169! will work overtime as your
personal CD design system .
Make backup copies of your
favorite music and software
408 330·5539 Just attach a SCSI cable to
your PC or Mac, and yo u're
on rugged, permanent CDs. Just plug in the power ready to design and create
Produce compact discs cord and p ress "start"-it's your own original CD's.
quickly and economically . that easy. Similar systems used in
No mastering or multimedia You can even make your
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experience is requ ired. own custo m music CD w ith­ $5,000. Now you can easily
Insert your original CD out a PC! Insert your origi nal
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copies any disc to the inter­ t hem to the internal hard
nal NV hard drive . Insert drive . B ui lt in a m plified
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many copies as you like. preview the music before

-·
You'll produce perfect d up li­ recording a CD. Then insert
cates. The system is totally a blank CD, and you'll have CORPORATE SYSTEMS CENTER
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~
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::c Nlusicians - ask about our pro-audio CD recorders. Software publishers -ask about our high-volume multi-drive duplication systems.
Dupe-It is sold and intended for backup and in-house design purposes only. Copyright laws must be observed.
Dual 8x20 model is pictured above.

354 iijMi•i ;i! p1 0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9

 $695!
FREE SCSI ENCLOSURE
408 330·5559
Open Windows instantly. A special volume purchase Get the speed you need and the
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The 47GB Seagate Elite is the match this deal! n·... . \·: · ~i .}' : ·uLO. · -; /L'b 1 11... . ~ Le1·
drive you need for serious per­ Buy just one drive cmd build rh'­ htv r.:! :.:;h. -L-:.. ::.
1

formance. It features 14 disks ultimate vvorkstation. Or add sev­

and 28 heads for b lazi ng per­ eral to tal<e advantage ofNT R/\1 D
formance 3.5" drives can't perfonnance. Let us custom-build
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Seagate ST446452\V drives are PC, J\<bc, SC I, an d S un co mpa tible. 5 l/.fn Elit e drives ~u-e sold o nly in O E1\·\ enclosures and disk array trays. CSC c<irri cs low­
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price {less shipping ) if y ou're nol completely satisfi ed within 15 cbys . Ci.II fo r your free catalog of hard clri,·cs. du plica1ion equi pme nt. and accessories.

D E C E M 8 E R 1 9 9 9 4'ijM)'i•i ;#!,# 355

 APlug·n·Go Prepackaged Computer System<!> all you need to do is
select a CPU and Fan, Hard Drive and Memory, that's all.
tilii~t.(11 ll~ii~l3~!~;\•l~lftiiMI 11~1Ml~~~iitl!Ql!r:11!!((•l11.1411o;liliitM
Includes same as System 11 System Includes EVERYTHING In System 11
All systems include
CPU CPU
the following:
Celeron 433 Mhz (128K), add . .. . . .. .99 Pentium Ill 550 Mhz, add . . . . . . . . .679
Dual Slot 1 & Socket
Celeron 400 Mhz (128K). add .. .. . . . .79 Pentium 111 500 Mhz. add . . .. . .. ..... . . . . .. . ...369
370, 1OOMhz Moth er­
Ce leron 366 Mhz (128K), add . . . .... .69 Pentium II 450 Mhz. add . .... .... . .... . .•.... . .229
board , supports Intel
Fans, add . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . .10.95 Pentium 11400 Mhz, add . . .......... . .. ..... .. .199
Pentium II & Ill up to
Fans, add .. . . .. .. . . . .. .. ......... .. 11 .95
550Mhz and Ce leron up
to 433 Mhz. Supports up HARD DRIVES
HARD DRIVES
to 768Meg PC- t 00 4.0 GB. add .... . . ... . . . . .........109
6.4 GB, add . . . . _. _.. _____ . ___.. . .119 4.0 GB, add . . .. . . • . . . • .. . . . . . . . . . .. . • .. .... .109
Sdram, 52x CD Rom .
6.4 GB, add ..... . . ... . .. ...... . ..... . .......119
1.44 Meg Floppy. 8.4 GB, add ... . . .. . .......... . . ..129
8.4 GB. add . . . . ................ . ...... . .. . ..129
RemovableHOD Rack. 10GB, add ... .. . •. . . . . •. .. • . . . . .159
Has 1-32-bit PCI Slot. 1 - 8/16-bit ISA Slot, 2 - 5-1 /4 Drive Bays. 10 GB. add ... . .... .. .......................159
13 GB, add .... • .•.• . ..•.•.... . . .179 13 GB. add . .. . . . . . . .... . ..... . ...... . .. .. ..179
2 - 3-1/2' Drive Bays, Built in Graphics System. Onboard 64-bit 18 GB . add . . _.. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . .239
30 AGP Graphics Accelerator, Supports up to 1600 x 1200, Onb oard 18 GB . add ...... . .. . .. . . . ... .. . . .. . . . . . .. .. 239
25 GB , add . ... ... . . . . . •. . ... .. ..299 25 GB. add . .. . . . . . . . •. . . .. ... . . .. . •... .. . . .299
PCI Sound and GameSystem , 56.6 V.90 Win Fax/ Modem, 10/100
Ethernet LAN Adapter. Built-in Virus Protection, 16550-compatible
PC-100 MEMORY PC -1 00 MEMORY
Fast UART Serial Ports. 1 - EPP/ECP Parallel Port, 1 - Infrared Port,
2 - USB Ports and 2 - PS/2 Ports, Audio Ports and Game/MIDI Ports. 32 Meg, add . .. . . .. . . . . . ..Market Price 32 Meg , add . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . ......Market Price
Micro An< form factor. 107-Key Keyboard. PS/2 Mouse. Software 64 Meg, add . . . . .. . . .. . . . .Market Price 64 Meg . add . . . . • . . . • . . . . . . . ..Market Price
includes Corel Suite 8 and PC-Gillian. 128 Meg , add . . .. . . . . .. . ..Market Price 128 Meg, add . . . • . . . . . • . . . . . ..Market Price
256 Meg , add . . .. . • . ... . ..Market Price 256 Meg, add . . . • . • . . . • . • . . . .. . . ..Market Price
Sys1em Price 512 Meg, add . . . .. ... .. .. .Market Price 512 Meg, add . . . . . . . . . • . • . . .Market Price
768 Meg , add . . . . ..... . ...Market Price 768 Meg , add .. .. .. .. . .. • . • . . . . ... . ..Market Price

The Memory Liquidators now has an overstock of excess inventory from

Major Computer Companies. These products move quite rapidly, please visit our Website at
www.memoryliquidators.com/excessinventory
Below is a list of current products as of 9/28/99.

2X2X6 CD RW DRIVE IBM 15GIG IDE

HARD DRIVE

MEGA PIXEL
1000 x 800
DIGITAL CAMERA
As low as 149.95 As low as 139.95

JOYSTICK 1.7GIG 56K V.90 PCI MODEM 40X MULTIMEDIA KITS

IDE As low as 14.95
HARD
~'k U.Lt."""JlUl..w;;.~~
As low as DRIVE
tih:· ~~! ~:. =~:c.::. \·~l~~~
=
14.95
.: f§.. ~..-
i ;;: , ·::-­ -­ As low
as 49.95
"• ~~ As low as 49.95

VIDEO MMX MOTHERBOARD IBM SCANNER

24X CD ROM DRIVE
CONFERENCING As low as 29.95 IDEASCAN 600X1200

A • ~ i?A )(~ ~~ Cft:6f:~~}

. .._,

As low as
29.95 As low as 24.95
As low as 54. 95

CIRCLE 520 ON CARO OR CO TO WWW.PCWOR LO.COM/PROOUCTINFO

356 IJMYl•i;i!•# 0 EC E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 CPUCHIPS
SIZE SDRAM 1132'mg 11
.... "" """'2 2 256136
.... ""' '""1 1
lftn
,.,._11-!i»
1- l lfO!~
Jt:-'l~~UI
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PC·66 PC·66ECC PC-100 PC-100 ECC PC·133 PC-133ECC 21328mg 22 512136 2 2 ,.._.,_~ S lb"l ~'gi ,_..WJAO
"-J:D'r.i; l&ll
l);g "7-~­

32M•g 69 79 4x3216mg 44 256132 2 2 ,.... . QI'~ Nl'tm12t ,.._,~ll.i:io f\U11 G-).Q.lif-~

71 79 79 89 813232 mg 74 512132 4 3 '"*" a ~·<i;litll mrm ,...,.. !0011>'1'5 . )l·~n U-HlQCll),'$ .
,...., . ~....., 11'-liS"'O:U... ~·1110 .
64M•g 129 139 139 149 149 159 16132 64 mg 139 1x364mg 14 s ,..,. , ~~\lPl l!r.)i
1»1 (5.-l-lll~

12BM•1 279 219 289 m 299 319 11324mgEDO 10 21368mg 34

2~M•I m 519 519 529 529 549 21328 mg EOO 22 4I3611mg 59 DELL MEMORY
*C11/ lor RambaJ Dlmm * 4x 3211 mg EOO 44 813632mg SB ~X.PSOlll. D:M. Dn:l. OlJJISOAAMJ .. .ll.·M.'125.u.; ......... . . ..wl'W1t1
*EDD / MACCal/SSS*
B13232mgEDO 64
16132 64 mg EDD 119
1613684 mg
32136
145
269
~onXPS02ll.026fi. Ol00, 033l(fc.tl
~on ll:PSl33S, 1 &U,700.$. Pl3.!V.P2COY {stlRAAll
OllrltnlonXPSIWO, RllO, A'5C {PC· 100)
···-·-· .lMll'IZ~
.1"3211.to
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..... . .5i'Wlrf
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. . .JllU9
D.lwlst111l.PS~'»l..V3llC ~!rO (PC·lc.l) J 2M'115Mf: .. ,4¥1\'1t9
HARD DRIVES HARD DRIVES ew-cinl:PS U1564.~lll'XIS IS3UM
~.IJl'SPtn:u1m tQ661Eoo,..., ..
I~
1111i.12in; •
. . -~I
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(UDMAIDE) (UWSCSI) ~JPSP l~. 1 20C. J:ilC. UK {lDOr..iin) 41\'15/32.\lr;I •. 1t/IS'li6'
~:G'S™. Pl !P10.P Ttrl tffM~ t .. ..... UVIW""". 1[;f1"31-'SI
3.2GB ....98 4.SGB IBM 7200 rpm .......199 ~ 1Q.1,GMT'15,1'0.PIOO P1i'Jitlll,,1Mt(00pan) , ...• , ,, 4.'!116'l2Mt~ .• . . . 11/15.1»69
C)Qllplt1G)(l', llStr1t1 tfOODmtnl ll.'1·4f12!Mt1 .• 7"13~'li9
4.0GB . .•.109 9.IGB IBM 7200 rpm .289 ~ 1GXfll) l802'00i SOfWol) 3~WM1 547''1 '9
6.4 GB .. .119 9.IGB IBM 10K rpm .. .. .. ...509 ~Q'J{tOO lt'Cl liM/12!U.1 W13t.771
Ot>cclc1Gl1 (tC(.PCltlO) . .l2.M11lL&l1 ••. til1'171
B.4GB .....129 18GB IBM 7200 rpm .559 Oce~1G.lli:Jnf1U.10Jlll(!00~ 1 .nt..f.i a,,,.1 mnm
~• .CU••'il .o.I T1fl'M ~"1') l'l&Wh; . 1""9
I OGB . .159 IBGB IBM 10K rpm . .789 ~lOQc2HXUnJ t 100. •lOO(UlO lC-CJ l!'U'12&'2S5Ut1 .W13t.17W1

•
IJGB Pv-tsl~ll.Sf', SP?(f l'U~i~ .......PJIWJW.1) . .. . .. .2Afl!Jon
. ....179 18GB Seagate 7200 rpm .589
17GB
IBGB
.199
...239
18GB Seagate 10K rpm. .799
MOD( l
~'·i ¥3f :?ol o) ;I fi\ ti i•l a '~ I ?'~' (1) ;\'M
AMT . UPGIU.0[0 MCMOllT f"ftlct IAOl'.J!;Y
25GB ....299 Mllntll\.1·011
w1w1 n .. . . .n\1t1
' "'"lli ..... . 1ZIJ­
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Thinlpail lStnn .
AMT. UPGRADED MEMORY PRICE

, l2/M'\2~ Mt;
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Thltlk.111a 600.170. £0 !SDAAMj . 1&32/Wl2!MrQ . . Jil££'8912~ 9 .•• -n u ••· .. t . . . U V­
~11700 no
750. CU1S'J: , '-Vf6''3W~ .$~'9t12i'2 19 .. 1W­ • 111,1­
th.nkii.a1701 7'01C. 1DICS "1!11&."JW.f!;l . 19/34.919 11tJ­ U ..,H
Thr,~d 7S5C,C£.CD,CS.COV,CSE.CV .•. 41S/1&-12Mieg . • sgmr,8'219 ... 1)&/2.tl
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Th:nlue 75!0. if.!.l. ill&'l2.i&lv.tQ . . ~i/7W1~ ... 1"'241

GATEWAY MEMORY
Ott.1 &.g5ctN110S· SOAALl
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'1 I ,II JI~ 0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 'WiMl #;#! i 1 1 3 57

.I 1:.... 1'
 I NTRODUCI NCi
F//~ HEWLETT®
The Most Advanced Hand Held ~/.!a PACKARD CD-Writer Sweepstakes
Duplication Tool on the Market I Expanding Possibilities I Official Rules
for MIS Departments!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
SWEEPSTAKES BEGINS AT 12-01 AM PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME!PDTI ON 811/99. SWEEPSTAKES
ENDS AT MIDNIGHT PACIFIC STANDARD TIME !PSTI ON 1/31/00. SPONSOR: HEWLITT­
~ Light-weight and durable PACKARD, INFORMATION STORAGE AMERICAS. 81514TH STREET SW. LOVELAND, CO 80537.
~ Easy to transport in custom case
There are two ways 10 enter 1he sweepslakes. Melhod •1: Online: Access lhe Hewletl­
~ Can be turned into a diagnostic Packard web sile by typing www.hpcdwri1er.com/go/pcw. follow all instruclions and complete
-testing device with an optional the onLine enlry form. Incomplete entries will nol be eligible. Melhod •2: By Mai~ Hand-prinl
diagnostic software application your name, address. telephone number and e-mail address (if you have one) on a plain
piece of paper. Insert your mail·in entry in a •10 business envelope and mail via First
~ Expanded capability through
Class Mail 10: Hewlett-Packard CD-Writer Sweepstakes. P.O. Box 9203, Medford. NY 11763·
various software options 9203. Limit one enlry per per.;on or e-mail address. In lhe case of mulliple enlries only
~ Transfer da ta e ither through 1he fir.;t entry will be accep1ed. In the event of a dispute over 1he idenlity of an online
IDE interface or through entrant entry wi ll be deemed submitted by the holder of the e-mail account Use of
para llel port aulomaled devices not valid for enlnj. All enlries become the property of the Sponsor
and will not be returned. All entries musl be received by or between 811/99 and 1/31/DO.
~ Bi-directional data transfer
capability Random drawings lo award all prizes will be conducted on or about 2118/99 under lhe
supervision of an independent judging organization whose decisions are final and binding in
all matter.; related to 1he sweepslakes.

Prizes: Eight (8J Hewlett-Packard CD-Wri ler Plus M820e's (approximate value: $599 each).
Tolal value of all prizes guaranteed lo be awarded: S4.792 Prizes are not lransferable or
red eemable for cash. Sponsor reserves lhe right to su bstitute a prize of equal or greater
Fo r information on orde ring or on oth e r value in the event a prize is unavailable. Winners are responsible for all taxes on prizes.
Greystone products including: Digital Limit: one prize per household. By participating in this sweepstakes all participants agree
Ca mera Products; PCMCIA Produ cts; Other 1hat all prizes are awarded upon the condition that 1he Sponsor and their respeclive
150 Knowles Drive, Ha rd disk Duplication Products; Sm a rt agencies or employees will have no liabiLity whatsoever for any injuries, losses or dam­
Los Gatos, CA 95030 ages of any kind resulting from lhe acceptance, possession or use of any prize. The
Ca rd Products, please se e our web-site.
0 Tel: 408-871-4000
Fax: 408-871-4100 Sponsor does nol make, nor in any manner will be responsible for. any warranty. repre­
www.grystone.co m

~
[email protected] sentation or guarantee relati ng to each prize provided; however, each prize will be sub­
ject 10 Hewlet1·Packard's standard warranly.
CIRCLE 506 ON CARD OR GO TO WWW.PCWORLD.COM/PRODUCTINFO
Winners will be notified by mail Win ners may, at the sole discretion of the judges, be
required to sign and return an Affidavil of EligibiLi1y/ Liability/ Publicity Release within 14

cijlElllY
days of date prinled on notificalion or he/she will be disqualified. Any prize or prize noti­
fication returned as und eliverable will result in disqualification, and the corresponding
prize will be awarded to an alternate winner in a random drawing. Acceptance of prize
constitutes pennission (except where prohibited by law) to use winners' names, prizes
won, voices, hometowns and likenesses for purposes of advertising. trade. online posting.
promotion and publicity wilhoul additional compensalion.
The Best Memory Prices & Guarantee Open to legal residenls of the 50 United Stales and the Districl of Columbia age 18 and

800.-662-7466 older. Odds of winning a prize depend on the Iota[ number of entries received.
Estimated sweepstakes distribution: 3,050,000 plus mail-in entries. Employees of the
Sponsor, their parent companies. affiliates, subsidiaries. dealers. government employees,

·­'ClJ­ Secure online ordering: datamem.com

Lifetime Memory Replacement Guarantee
OMS will meet or beat anyone's price!
advertising. promotion and production agencies. and the immediate fa milies. including
bu t not Limited to those living in the same household, of each are not eligible to enter or
win. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by
law. Sweepslakes is governed by US. Law.

MEMORY UPGRADES No photocopied or mechanically reproduced entries accepted. Sponsor is not responsi­
ble for error, omission, interruption, deletion, derect. delay in operations or transmission,
Computers • Printers thert or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations or entry materials, or for
technical, network. telephone equipment. electronic. computer. hardware or sortware
Notebooks • Digital Cameras malfunctions or any kind, or inaccurate transmission of, or failure to receive entry infor­
mation by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the
' CPU Upgrades Internet or at any web site or any combination thereof. Sponsor is also not responsible
• Hard Drives & CD-ROM Drives for any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person·s computer related to or result­
ing from playing or downloading any materials in the sweepstakes. or for mail-in en tries
• Modems for Mac & PCs lhat are lost [ale, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, illegible or poslage-due. CAUTIO N:
• Monitors-Std. color to Pro Mods. ANY ATIEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE
• UMAX Color Scanners THE LEGmMATE OPERATIONS OF THE SWEEPSTAKES IS AVIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AN D

-·~ • EPSON Stylus Color Printers CIVILLAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATIEMPT BE MADE. THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE
VIKIN G
COM'°NIHll RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH ENTRANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PER­
• Networking Connection Prods. MITIED BY LAW. IN THE EVENT THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS COMPROMISED OR BECOMES
Pentiunl@Computer System Specials TECHNICALLY CORRUPTED IN ANY WAY. ELECTRONICAUY OR OTHERWISE. SPONSOR
RESERVES THE RIGHT TO WITHDRAW THE ONLINE TRANSMISSION OF THIS SWEEP­

cu USB•• USB Scanners/Printers & Accessories STAKES AND TO SELECT WINNERS FOR THE PRIZES BY RAN DOM DRAWING FROM
AMONG AU ENTRIES RECEIVED. INCLUDING AU THOSE MAILED-IN.

:c OMS ACCEPTS GOVERNMENT, EDUCATIONAL & CORPO­

RATE P.O.s WITH PRIOR APPROVAL
For a ti.st of winners !available by 4/18/00J send a self·addressed, stamped envelope by
1/31/00 lo: Hewleu-Packard CD-Writer Sweepstakes Winner.;, P.O. Box 9204, Medford, NY
a. FAX P.O.s 24 HOURS TO OMS @ 603.898.6585 11763-9204.

0 Open M-F 9a.m. 'til 9p.m.

,.c CIRCLE 519 ON CARD OR GO TO WWW.PCWORLD.COM/PROOUCTINFO

Cl) 358 13Mfi•i·j!•P D EC E M B E R 1 9 9 9

 '
,,
.
•
Memory IS Crucial
The memory experts.
Compaq 128MB 64M B 32MB IBM (Continued) 128MB 64MB 32MB
Presari o 4660 $300.59 150.29 88.19 ThinkPad 1411 (i Series) $315.89 158.39 96.29
Presario 4808 $300.59 150.29 88.19 ThinkPad 365X D 58.49
Presario 5140 $305.99 152.99 89.99 Thinkpad 390 Series $315.89 158.39 96.29
Armada 7710MT Laptop 116.99 58.49 ThinkPad 560 116.99 58.49
Armada 11 30T Series Laptop 116.99 58.49 ThinkPad 770 $31 5.89 158.39 96.29
Presario 1610 Laptop 158.39 96.29
Presari o 1620 Laptop 158.39 96.29 HP 128MB 64MB 32MB
Presari o 1622 Laptop 158.39 96.29 Pavilion 6350 $300.59 150.29 88.19
Pavilion 8240 $300.59 150.29 88.19
Micron Electronics 128MB 64MB 32MB Pavilion 8390 $305.99 152.99 89.99
ClientPro 766XI $300.59 150.29 88.19 Vectra VE Seri es 7 $300.59 150.29 88.19
ClientPro CP 450 $305.99 152.99 89.99 Vectra VE Series 8 $305.99 152.99 89.99
ClientPro MRE P200 $227.69 152.99 68.39 Vectra VL Seri es 7 $332.99 167.39 88.19
ClientPro P200 136.78 71.98 Vectra VL Series 8 $305.99 152.99 89.99
ClientPro VX E $300.59 150.29 88.19 Kayak XA PC Workstation
Home MPC P200 440BX Chipset $305.99 152.99 89.99
w/ M54Hi BIOS 136.78 71.98 Kayak XA PC Workstation
Magnum Pro Plus P200 $264 .58 143.98 82.78 440LX Chipset $305.99 152.99 88.19
Mi llennia 450 $305.99 158.39 89.99 Kayak XU PC Workstation
Mi llennia MAX 450 $305.99 152.99 89 .99 440LX Ch ipset $332.99 167.39 101.69
Millennia MME P233 $300.59 150.29 88 .19 Kayak XW PC Workstation
Millennia Transport P133 80 .98 440BX Chipset $340.19 170.09 103.49
Millennia Transport XKE Ominbook XE Series $315.89 158.39 96.29
P233(A) 116.99 58.49 Omnibook 2000 155 .69
TransPort Trek Series Omnibook 5500CT 155.69
Notebooks 11 6.99 58.49 Omn ibook 800CT
Transport Trek2 Series $315.89 158.39 96.29
Apple 128MB 64MB 32MB
Gateway 128MB 64MB 32MB iMAC $315.89 158.39 96.29
G6-266 $305.99 150.29 89 .99 Performa 5200 71.99
G6-300 $305.99 150.29 88 .19 Performa 6115CD 143.98 82.78
G6-300XL $300.59 150.29 88 .19 Performa 6200 Series 71.99
G6-350 $305.99 152.99 89 .99 Performa 6300 Series
G6-400 $305 .99 152.99 89 .99 (except 6360) 71.99
G6-450 $305 .99 152. 99 89.99 Performa 6400 (5400 models) 161 .99 80.99
GP6-266 $300.59 150.29 88 .19 Power Mac 5500 Series 161 .99 89.09
GP6-300 $300.59 150.29 88 .19 Power Mac 6500 Series 161.99 89 .09
GP6-350 $305.99 152.99 89.99 Power Mac 8500 Series 80.99
GP6-400 $305.99 152.99 89.99 Power Mac G3 (Yosemite) $305.99 152.99 89.99
GP6-450 $305.99 152.99 89.99 Power Mac G3 Desktop Series
P5-90 143.98 82.78 (M6141LUA , M6202LUA)
P5-133 XL with SIMMS 136.78 71.98 Gossimer $314.99 158.39 88.19
Solo 2300 Series PowerBook G3 Wall Street 250 179.99
Solo 2500XL $315.89 158.39 96.29 PowerBook G3 Wall Street 266 179.99
Solo 5100S E 158.39 96 .29
Solo 5150XL $315.89 158.39 96.29
Solo 9100XL 158.39 96.29
View our full line of memory
IBM 128MB 64MB 32MB
Aptiva (2 134) Model 351 136.78 71.98
upgrades and pricing at:
Aptiva (2140) Model L5H
Aptiva (2153) Model E2U
Aptiva (2168) Model A40
$300.59
$305 .99
150.29
152.99
143.98
88.19
89 .99
82 .78
www.crucial.com/bb2
PC 300GL Series Model 6282 150.29 68.39 Prices shown here reflect a 10% discount
PC 300PL (6862-27U) $305.99 152.99 89.99 for placing your order online.
PC 365 Series Systems
(6589xxU) $255.59 143.99 79.19 Prices were current as of 9-30·99, however they can (and do) change daily.
ThinkPad 1410 (i Series) $315.89 158.39 96.29 Individual prices may vary according to your specific system and memory type.

0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 WjM\?i•i;ii•i 359
I I
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Choose Amount of Insurance 1 Yr. Premium'
D Up to $2,000 S 49 .. Restdonts ot
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or retallers for conplete reba te and other details. Reta\ler price'S may vary.
llZIP)lll
~1999
2JfJlfE ~ad flntsourw.mm ~%=.
'"""'""""'
1-'.ega Wortd. lnc. All rights reserved. Tradenames & marks properties of respecttve owners. ADIPCW l l99
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• • • • • • • • • •
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1000 2000
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ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS: : LASER CHECK ORDER FORM IMPORTANT: PLEASE LIST YOUR SOFTWARE
1) WHEN ORDERING CHECKS, please Important! Please 1ea d the ordering Inst ruct ions before completing.
enclose a voided check from your Software: _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ Version :_ _ _ __,,
existing supply. Indicate any printing N am e:
changes on that voided check . - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - -- - -- IMPORTANT: Starting Check No: _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ -;
2) WHEN ORDERING DEPOSIT SUPS, Company: _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ __
be sure to enclose a deposit slip
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Check Design #: Qty: s
3) COMPLETE THE ORDER FORM and
Include It with you r order.
Shipping Address : (If different from the imprin t on yo ur checks) Deposit Ticket #: Qty: s
4) DELIVERY: If you w ish your checks Window Envelope #: Qty: s

-·~ to be delive red to the address

Imprinted on your checks, you need
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However. we cannot ship to a P.O.
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For payment by credit card:

II III III I II II I II II
0 V ISA E 0 MasterCard Ot
SHIPPING &
HAN DUNG
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Up to S69.99 .......... add S6.00
S70.00 - S124.99 ........ add S16.00
S 125.00 and Over ........add S26.00

SU BTOTAL
s
s
cu S) PLEASE ENCLO SE YOUR PAYMENT
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BG9004

SALES TAX (AR Res. add 6.125%, MO Res. add 5%) s

:c payment by credit ca rd, complete
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Co ntinuo us Feed Checks also availa b le.
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All S\'!tems refurblshed. Avaibb!e cor.IJ91.1alions may v31y. :tOJ a copyol l!lnlt!d wanantltS, v.nte to Del.I Reft.r"bished. 1Dell Way- Soi 8621. Roood Aoclt. TX 70082. Attn : Wauarnies. 4.11 sales FOB Austin StJoi:ihes lmted l:l s1tck on hand Nora:n checks. Prices and
specifications subjecl to mango without noOO! ard valid in the LI.SA crit 'fur turd drr.-ts, GB ine¥tS 1 billion b'f1es Tm:al ac:a!SSible cap.1C1ty varies deper.ding on operating envwmnent 117X Min. 'l&X Min. "Dell Purchase Plan offered lhrwjl Dell F~al SeMce.s
LP.. I~ Surm111 Drive. Aus1m, TX, 18728, to U.S. slate residents fn:lud.ng 0 C.J v,,lt\ approved credit. excluding AR and MN re:siden!S. AV3ilability may be limited 0t otter may vary m!Off'le states. OesUet is a 1eg1s1ered uadematk ol the Hewlett Padard Coqxnoon
lo1el, the Intel In.side IOIJO and Pomiun a1e 1egisteted 11attemarks ol lmol Corporation Dell d1sclains Jl(oprietoiy in1eiest in tho lflalk:s and names of others. Cl'l her 11adem<i1b and !lade names may be used in this document to 1efer 10 either lhe entities claiming the marks
end names or their products. ¢11999 Dell Coml>Utet Corporation. A1l 1igl1ts reserved. Punted in the USA ReD1odlxtion in any manner v.hatsoever wilhoo1 the 'Millen pe1mis.sioo ol Dell Computf!f Cofpom ioo is s111ct1v lorbidden. Dell CZJt'IOOt be responsible Im enOfs in
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0 E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 4ij¥21 1 #;ii 1i 363

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ADDRESS 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660
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461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 47t 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 953 Windows software 958 Printers 963 Web products/serilm
481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 ·1 96 497 498 499 500
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CITY STATE ZIP 68 1 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700
701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720
PHOllE I FAX I 721 722 723 72-1 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740
741 742 743 74•1 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760
[·MA IL 76 1 762 763 76•1 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780
781 782 783 78•1 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800
INFORMATION FROM ADVERTISERS 80 1 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 8!5 8 16 817 818 819 820
821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840
I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 lO 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 IB 19 20 8·11 842 843 844 845 8<6 847 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 859 9·10 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 7'I 75 76 17 78 79 80 88 1 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900
Bl 82 BJ 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
IO I 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 Ill 112 113 114 115 116 117 llB 119 120 PRODUCT CATEGORY INFORMATION
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140
141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 For information on all of the products men tioned in an article or an entire category of adver·
161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 tised products. circle the appropriate number below.
181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 2 11 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 Editorial Features (see arti cl e for numbers)
22 1 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 23 1 232 233 23-1 235 236 237 238 239 240 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 9 11 912 913 9 14 915 916 917 918 9 19 920
24 1 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260
40 1 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 •115 416 417 418 419 420 Advertised Products
421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 43•1 435 436 437 •138 439 4.10 951 Oesklop compul m 956 Graphics software 961 Mail order compdnies
4•11 442 443 444 445 •146 447 448 4.19 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 952 Notebook compulm 957 Network/sharing producls 962 Storaqe deYices
461 462 463 46-1 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 47 3 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 953 Windows software 958 Prin lm 963 Web produc ts/strvKes
481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 -194 .195 496 497 498 499 500
501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520
954 Monilors and video boards 959 Multimedia products
955 AccountinQ soft ware 960 Utilit ies

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 PUBLISHER Jeff Edman Sales Assoclat• Joyce Clarke CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST MARKETINGMANAGER Cheryl Allen
Texa s/Lower Midwest Tina Phelps
Ad Sales Business Manager Patricia Owen AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT COOROIHATOR

W:.i •l'iill:iitiUl&.!f!iiZW
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ADVANTAGE MARKETING
Harvey Diamond. Senior AccoL1 nl
M anager (972/398-2608)
Sales Associate Janine Copsey
••:•···· ······•!•
MANUFACTURING DIRECTOR
Nadia Maudslcy
Traci Shcfcyk
MARKETING AHO ADVERTISING SALES
COORDINATOR Adria na Cecch ini
Sout hern California (San Dleqo)/
Rob Ostrow (;08/370-0844) Colorado/Idaho/Nevada/Utah/ PRODUCTION MANAGER Nancy Jonathans PRODUCERS Matt Donham.
SALES ASSOCIATE/OFFICE MANAGER New Mexico/Arizona Patrick Herms
DIGITAL ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER
Ellen Sanderson Susan Green , Account M3nagcr
Lewis Lee SENIOR APPLICATIONS DEVELOP ER
EAST (949/250-8081)
ADVERTISING TRAFFIC COORDINATOR Simon King
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EAST Sales Assoc iate Sheila Morales
Yvette B. Joplin APPLICATIONS DEVELOPERS Newton
Wayne Silverman (201/ 587-7318) CONSUMER ADVERTISING SALES PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Bailey, Al ison King. Karen Windus
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ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/WEST SENIOR CONTENT ENGINEER
Sale s Assoclat• H eather Shanley Eastern U.S.
John McAteer Nick Van Cleve
New York State/New Jersey/ Edman & Company )21 2/5)1· 11 21)
Connecticut/Pennsylvania Mlchlqan/Pennsylvanla/Ohlo NATIONAL ACCOUNTS MANAGER DIRECTOR or MIS Mary Zones
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New Enqland/Ohlo/Mlch lqan Hutch Looney & Associates Patricia McMahon
Michael Carroll, Seruor Account EXECUTIVE EDITOR, TIPWOR LD Jim Welp
(323/931-3444 x227)
Manager (508/370-0842) SOUTHWESTERN DISTRICT ADVERTISING SALES
COPY CHIEF. TIPWORLO Cecilia Crosby-
PC WOR LD MARKETPLACE/ MANAGER Eugenic Bra\\11
Sal" Assoc iate Luanne Kiley Lampkin
PC WORLD ACTION CARDS NORTHWEST DISTRICT ADVERTISING SALES
Mid-Atlantic/Southeast
Judy Sutter. Senior Account
Neal Mandel (212/655-5157) MANAGERS Melissa Gruber. W:W 1W!ii~ I .... • :•;·····~-
.., Manager (770/394-0758) PC WORLD REPRINTS Sean Murphy HUMAN RESOURCES AND
Mike Shober )717/399-1 900 x129 ) ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EAST INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Sales Associate Charyle Gandee
Midwest M!W:W :& .WWW&£&41 Don Cabmaro VICE PRESIDENT Rid1ard Willoughby
Kathy McKay, Senior Accoun1 DISTRICTACCOUNT MANAGER, EAST DIRECTOR Katherine Coldwell
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Sand)' Wong
Manager (847/827-4477) Charles Pilzer HR ASSISTANT Julie McKic
PR MANAGER Ant)' Dalton
Sal" Al!oc late Tammy O'Sulli van
PRE SENTATION SPECIALIST David Grayson w:r:a1.•1.1;11.w:a.1!a4»i:tia VICE PRESIDENT, CID H enri Froissart
Peter Spande, Account DIRECTOR, INFORMATION SYSTEMS
MARKETING SPECIALIST H arric1 Newman VI CE PRESIDEN T, FINAN CE AHO OPERATIONS
Represen tative (20 1/;87-7342) Nonnan Noble
Madeleine Buckingham
NORTHWEST & :&WW:W:W :& a!& DIRECTOR. AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT, SENIOR NETWORK ANALYST
NORTHWEST ADVERTISING DIRE CTOR VI CE PRESIDENT, RESEARCH Bettina Eichel MARKETING AND RESEARCH Walter Clegg
Mld-S.F. Penlnsula/Oreqon/ RESEARCH MANAGER Sandra O"Boyle oel McLaughlin CLIENT SERVICES MANAGER
Washlnqton/Montana/Wyomlnq/ Mariaelcna Robles
Western Canada RESEARCH ASSISTANT Karen Edson DIRECT OR. AUDIENCE DEVELOP MENT
Ellen DiMattco NETWORK MAN AGER Rodney Barnes
l!oy Kops (41 5/24J-0500)

---•:••···:·····~- DIRECTOR, APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT IT DEVELOPER/ANALYST Slan Erhort

South Bay
Alicia Langer. Account Manager VICE PRESIDENT, CIRCULATION Matt Turner INFORMATION SYSTEMS SPECIALIST
(415 /243-0500) Shawnc Burke Pccar Eileen Quon
DESIGN MAHAGER Grace Woo
Sales Auocl1tt ASSOCIATE CI RCULATION DIRECTOR FINANCE
David Cobb PRODUCT MANAGER Carl• Lieberman
Alison Fennings Wetherall COO/CFO Vicki Peilcn
San Francisco Bey Area DIRECTOR, SINGLE COPY SALES PRODUCT MANAGER. ONLINEHEWSLEIT ERS
Cher)'I Stephenson Declan Fox EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR or ACCOUNTING AND
Colleen Hi mer, Account Manager
OPERATIONS Pat Murphy
(415/24 3-0500) MANAGER, SINGLECOPY SALES INTE RACTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER
Patrick Bonslcad Mark Grccn ACCOUN TMANAG ER Michelle Reyes
Ad Sal" Coordinator Ladie Malek
SENIOR MANAGER, RETENTION MARKETING DIRECTOR, ADVERTISINGACCOUNT SERVICES
Northwest/rremont, CA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE
Lisa Radler Kevin Greene
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Rcprcsent:r tivc (41;/243-0500) SENIOR PROMOTION MANAGER ADVERTISING SERVICES COORDINATOR
BUSINESS MANAGER Ul!J McGee Yuliya Korcntsvit
Shira Wcisbach
SOUTHWEST BUSINESS OPERATIONS MANAGER
PROMOTION MANAGER Judy Aposlol
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/WEST KateAgrell
Bill H anek (3 10/312-8008) PROMOTION COORDINATOR Su sa n Klawiter
SENIOR ONLINE BUSINESS ANALYST
Los Ang eles/Oranqe County CIRCULATION ADMINIS TR ATIVE ASSISTANT Tobias H arting
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(310/312-8118) ONLINE BUSINESS ANALYST Charles Lee

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OECEMBER 9 9 9 . ,• • • •;; ;,; 369

 -
.. ~ ,i

IBM Corp . .
II Ill 234 Toshiba EID .... • .
II
" " . 1 93

IBM Corp .. 236 Tripp Lite .... '' 333

IBM Direct .... . ....... 127·128 240 Twinhead Corporation .. . ... 190
JDC .net '' 332 250 Uma.' Technologies . . .... . 47

It 's quick and easy! For free prod uct informat ion, vi sit iGO . '138 - Vega Tedmologies . . . .. 73
119 Ima tion Corporation " .. 83 - Viewsonic .. . 15
www.pcworld.com/productinfo
lnctcarn '263 - Viewsonic . . . ... 283
Or you can mail or fax the PC World rea der ser vice card no IXL.A ... "" · 95 - Wal-Mart Stores . . . . 50
in cluded in this issue (fax: 503/ 684 -5370). 101 Jase Software ' '''' 91 254 WinBook . . . . . . . . 285

-
120 Kaypro .. . . . . . "28

-
170 Ke nsington Technology
Group... 191
Advertiser Index by
II -
Com paq Consumer. . ... 194-195
II 131 Keystone Leaming

128
Systems . . . .
Kingston Technology..
. 300
. 52·53
Product Category
Get more Info rmation-c ircle the
product info number on the
Advertiser Index A-Z Compaq Consumer . . ... 228·231
133 Ki ngston Technology. . . . 309 reader service card.
Get more Information-circle t he Kodak Digital Camera ....... 81
product info num ber on t he - Com paq Consumer .. . . 296-297
Lexar Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
reader service card. Compaq Direct Plus . ..... 48-49 Boards/ Cards/C hi ps
96 LG Electronics USA Inc. . . . . . 111
3COM /Pa lm . . " 18 - Compaq Direct Plus ..... . . 209 - AMD ................ .. .i65
148 Li ghtware ..... . ...... . .... 319
3M Optical Systems . . ...... 46 - Compaq Direct Plus .. . ..... 239 - AMD. " ' 167
Linux World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Acer America Compaq Di rect Plus . . "' 257 - AMD ''' 169
Corporation .... Matrox Graphics Inc. ...... 124
' 149 Compaq Direct Plus ..... . .. 307 - ATI 177-180
Ace r America Maxell Corp. of
Computers Made Easy . .. .... 36 14 Aurea!
Corporation . . .. 271 America . . . . ..... . . . . .. . .. . 93
Concept Ki tchen .. . ... . .... 277 Semiconductor.
- Activision .. 231 Micro Warehollse . . .... 340-341
'. 279 62 Council on Computing
10 Corel .... . .. . .. . ..... . . .. . 25
Adaptec Inc. '' .40 Micron Electronics ..... . 215-221 Power ................. .. . 155
62 Counci l on Computing
Allstate Insurance Microsoft Corporation ..... .. 4-5 54 Creative Labs .. . ' ' 1 43
Powe r . . . . .. . 155
Co. ......... . ' ' 330·331 Microsoft Corporation .. ... 16-17 69 Creative Labs . .
54 Creative ll!bs . . . . . 143 " " 45
Alta Vista ..... . . ... ... .. 42·44 Microsoft Corporation ....... 74 50 Crucial Tcdmology ...... . 10-11
69 Creative Labs. . . . . . . . . . . .. 145
- AMD .. ...... . .. . ........ 165 Microsoft Corporation ..... . . 75 - Cnicial Technology . . . . 261
50 Crucial Tech nology . . . . . . 10 -11
AMD "" 167 159 Microsolutions . .. .. . ...... 30 2 ELSA . . 294
Crucial Technology ....... : 261
- AMD ' " . .. ... 169 Microtek Lab
11 crx ..... .............. .. 3,7 . "3 29 133 Kingston Tech nology . '309
Ameritrade 57 Mindsp ring Matrox Graphics Inc.
CyberMa.' Com puter. '' 109 '' . 124
Holding .. . '' '233-236
Inc. . . . . . . . . 211 138 MI PS Datali ne . . . '287 216 NVidia ....... . " ' 315
Anthro Corporation . '24
176 Dataviz, Inc. . . 1_41 mySimo n.com . . . . . . . . . .. 259
6 APC " ' 105 Communicat ions/Fax/
Day·Timcrs, Inc . . ' ' 254 180 NEC Tech nologies ... . . . 132-133 Modems
45 APC " ' " " • " ' . ' • " ' " . 1 53
Dell Computer 203 NEC Tedmologies ' . 174-i75 39 BoolBox Computers. 265
20 APC ........ . .. . . . . . '. ' 29 t Corp.. . . . . .
Nikon '76 120 Kaypro . . 28
- ATI ............ . ..... 177-180 Dell Computer
216 NVid ia "3 1 5 Pacific Bell 292
14 Aurea! Corp . . . ' 197·200
Sem iconductor. '' 156·157 Office Depot, Inc.. 241.z53 - Quante>: Microsystems,
Dell Computer
Inc. . . 113-118
Autodesk. Inc. . .... 125 Corp. . . . . . . .. . C5-C8 Olym pus America . "" "79
Sprin t Spectnun. . . . . . ..9
19 Avcntec Direct .. . .•. ,JOI
71 Dencba Software.. . . . . 213 Pacific Bell . .
39 Boot Box Computers. . ... 265 Discover Card .. 12 -13 195 PC America ··H9 Computers
Egghead.com .. . .. . .. ...... 237 41 CDW Computer Centers,
91 Caere Corporation . . .. 311 PC World Conferences ...... 312
Inc.. .. 96-97
65 Canon Computer ELSA . . . .. 294 152 Plextor .. . .. , . . . . . . .. 298
46 CDW Compu ter Cen ters,
Systems . ........ . '. 2·) Epson '26-27 PowerQ ues t .. Inc........ . ..... 98·99
' ' ' 173
68 Canon Computer 84 Executive Software . . . . 303 185 Proxirn. . . .. 286 44 COW Computer Centers,
Systems............ . . . . . 56-57 Inc... . ....... . ... . 100-101
73 Flashcom ............ .. . . 222 197 QMS . . . . .. 123
Canon USA ..... . ... . . .. 89 Compaq Consumer .... .. C2·P1
30 Furniture Online.com ...... t26 Quantex Microsystems,
52 Castl ewood ............. .. 273
Gateway .... . .. . ..... . . 72 A-F Inc. . . . .. .......... . . .. 113·118 Compaq Co nsumer. .... 194-195
41 CDW Compu ter Centers. Samsung America . . . . 151 Compaq Consumer. .. . . 228-231
Inc.. .... .. .... . 96-97 - Gateway .. .. . . . .. .. 321-326
Hands pring .. . . . 130 Savin Corporation .. .. . 10 7 Compaq Consumer . ... 296·297
46 CDW Computer Centers, . 22
Inc.. .... 98·99 Hewlett Packard .. . .. . .... 70-71 SonyVAIO Direct. .. 29·34 Compaq Direct Plus . . . . .. 48"49
44 CDW Compu ter Centers, Hewlett Packard ..... . ... . . 227 - Sony VA IO Direct ...... 120·121 Compaq Direct Plus . . . . . . 257
Inc. . . . . . . . . . 100-101
Hewlett· Packard . . ...... . . . 337 Sony VA IO Direct. '147 Compaq Direct Plus . . . . .. 307
- Chrysler 300M
Hewlett Packard Digital Sprint Spectrum. " " '9 CyberMa.' Computer,
Compaq Computer Imagi ng. .. 85 Inc. . .. .. . .. 211
SPSS .... '' 313
Corp.... '' '38-39
97 Hugh es Network Dell Computer Corp .. . .. 185-188
243 Systemax .. ' ' '. ' .170·171
Compaq Consumer . . . . . . C2-P1 Systems . . . . . . 206-207 Dell Computer Corp .... 197·200
229 Tiger Direct ' . '374-375
IBM Corp . . ............ .. . 65 Dell Computer Corp...... C5-C8
- Toshiba America .. ....... 20-21

370 HWl#.i;ii·F D E c E M B E R t 9 9 9
 II Ill II Ill II II II
- Ga teway . . . 32q26 - Compaq Cons u mer. .. . 19 4-195 203 NEC Technologies .. . . 174-1 75 Enter t ainment
Gateway .. . 72 A-F Com paq Cons um er .... . 228-23 1 Sa m sun g Am eri ca . . 151 - Activi s io n . .. .. . .... 279
IBM Co rp .. . 65 - Compaq Cons um er ... . 296-297 - Viewsonic ...... . 15 Graphics
IBM Corp . . . . .... . .. ... 67 - Compaq Direct Plus ... 209 Viewsonic ...... . . .. .... 283 71 Deneba So ftware. .. . ... .. 21 3
IBM Corp .... . 69 Compaq Dir ec t Plus. . . . . 239 101 Jase Software . . . .... .. ... 91
Multimedia
IBM Direct .. . . 127-128 - Gateway . .. . .. .. .. . . .. 72 A-F Ada plec In c. . .40 Microso ft Corporation . . . . . i6-1 7
231 Micro Warehou se . . . . 140-341 Gateway . . . . • . .. . . . . 32 1-326 54 C realive Labs . . . 143 Management
Micro n Electro nics .. . . . . 215 -221 IBM Co rp .. .. 6 5 69 Creative La bs .. . ... . 145 195 PC Am erica .. ..•.. . . 339
- Quantex Mic rosys tem s, IBM Co rp ... 6 7 148 Ligh tware . . ... 319
Inc. . . .. . 113-118 Multimedia
IB M Co rp .. .. 6 9 Ol ym pus America .. .. 79 11 0 IXLA. . . . . . . .... . . . ..... 9 5
243 Syste max ..... . . .. .. . . . 170-171
IBM Di rect .. . . ... 127-128
229 Tiger Di rect .. J74·J75 Ot her Optical Character
231 Micro Wareh ouse . . 340·34 1 Co m paq Co m puter Recognit ion
- Vega T echno logies . . .... 73 Co rp. ...
Son y VAIO Direct. . . 29 -34 91 Caere Co rporation . . . 311
Hand Held Devices So ny VAIO Di rect . 120·12 1 H ewl etl Packard Di git al
Imagi ng . .. .. . .85 Ot her
- 3COM f Palm . .. . 18 Son y VA IO Di rect. "47 10 Co rel . . . .... 25
- Conce pt Kitch en . .. 96 LG Elec1ro nics USA Inc .. .... 111
.z77 Toshiba Am erica . . . 2 0· 2 1
Han ds prin g . . . . 22
Microsoft Corporation . . ... 74 Present at ion Graphics
240 Twi nhcad Corporation. . . . . 19 0
Microsofl Co rpo ration . . 75 148 Lightware... . . ... . . ... J t 9
Input Oevlces 254 \VinB ook . . .. 285
152 Plexlo r . ..... 298 Software Suites
170 Kens ingto n Tech nology
G roup. . . . ... 191 Local Area Networks 130 Savi n Corporation . . . io7 176 Dataviz, Inc.
97 1-1 u gh es Network
Laptop/Notebook Sys tem s. .. 206-207 Peripheral/Sharlnq Statistics
- Acer Am erica 185 Proxi m. . . . .. . 286 Devices SPSS ... ..... .. .. .. .. ..... 313
Corporation ... 271 170 Kensin gton Tcchnolom·
Monitors/Displays Group . . . 191 Ut ilities
46 CDW Co mpute r Cen ters.
CTX 84 Executive Software ... . . .. .. 303
In c.. . ...... . 98-99 77 .. . 317 234 Tos hiba EID 193
180 NEC Technologies . . .. 1J2-1JJ Powe rQuest ..... . .. .. .. . .. 173
Compaq Cons ume r .. .. . . C2-P1 52 Castl ewood . . . .. . . ... 273
Hewle t1-Packard . . . . . .. 337 Video
Statement of Ownership, Manaqement, and Circulation Required by 39 u.s.c. 3685 119 Imation Corpo ralio n . . .... 83 lnetcam .... 263
131 ~eys tone Leam ing Sys tem s . 300
I. PC World
120 Kingston T ech n ology .. .... 52-53
2. Pub. No. 07378939 Maxell Corp. of Ameri ca ... 93 Web Authorlnq Tools
3. Date of filing: September 30, 1999
4 . Published monthly 159 Micros olutions . . . . . .. 302 138 MIPS Datalin e . . . . . . .. . . .. 287
5. No. of issues publ l shed annually: 12
6. Ann ual subsc r iption price: $29.90 Power/Prot ect ion
7. Known office of publication: 501 Second St. #600, San Francisco, CA 94107
6 A PC . . . . . . . . ... . . . .... 105
8 . Complete mailing address of the headquarters or the general business office of the pub·
lisher: PC WOR LD COMMU NICAT IONS, INC., SDt Second St. "600, San Francisco, CA 45 APC . .. . ... . . .. .. . .. .. ... 153 Aut omobiles
94107
9. The nam es and add resses of the publis her. ed itorial director. and managing editor are 28 APC . . . 29 1 Chrys ler 300M .. 54
Publisher: Jell Edman, PC WORLD COMMUNICATIONS, INC., 501 Second St. 11600, San 236 Tripp Li te . J3J
Francisco, CA 94107; Editorial Director: Cath ryn Baskin, PC WOR LD COMMUNICATIONS, Books/Periodicals/
INC., 501 Second St. #60D, San Francisco, CA 94107; Managing Editor: Lu is Camus. PC Subscriptions
WORLD COMMUNICATIONS, INC., 501 Second St. 11600, San Francisco, CA 941D7 Printers/Plo tters
Co mputers Made Easy . . . . 36
10. The owner is: International Data Group, Inc., Patrick McGovern, 5 Speen St.. 65 Canon Comp ute r
Framlnqha m, MA 0 1701. The names and add resses of stockho lders ow ni ng or holding 1% Syste ms. . . . . Z.J Computer Accessories
or more of the t ota l amount of stock are llsted below.
None.
68 Ca non Computer J M Optical Sys /ems . . . . . . . 46
11. There are no known bondholders, mortqaqees, or other security holders. Sys te m s .. . .. .. .. 56-57
12. n/a. Epso n . . 26- 27 furniture
t3. PC World. Anthro Corpora lion ... ... . .. 24
14. Avg. 11/98-t0/99; Issue 10/99. Hewlelt Packard. . 70­ 71
15. Extent and nature of circulation 30 Furniture Online.com .. .... i26
Average no. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: A. Total Number of Copies (net H ewl etl Packard . .227
press run) t,553,820; Pa i d and/or Requested Circul ation 1. Outside-County Mall 197 Internet Services
Q MS . 123
Subscript ions 1,164,727; 2. Paid In-County Subscriptions N/A; 3. Sates Through Dealers and
- AltaVi s la . . . .. . 42-44
Carrie rs, Street Vendors, and Counter Sales 159,681; 4. Other Classes Mailed Through the \Val -Mart Siores . . 50
USPS O; C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation (Sum of Bt,82,83,84) 1,324,40B; D. 73 n ash com . . 222
Free Di stribution by Mail l. Out side-County 7,689; tn·County N/A: Other Classes Malled Scanners/Dlqit lzers
Through th e USPS O; E. free Distribution Outsid e the Mail 2.042; F. Total Free Distribution Microsoft Co rpo ration. . . . . 4-5
(Sum of D and El 9,731; G. Total Dist ribu ti on (Su m of C and f) t,334,139; H. Copies Not Mi crotek Lab . . ... . . J2 9
Distributed 2t9,682; I. Total (Sum of G and H) t,553,820; J. Percent Paid and/or Requested 250 Umax Technologies. . . .... 47 Mall Order
Clrculation (C divided by G multiplied by 100) 99.27. 19 Aventec Direct. . . .. .. . .. . .. 301
Server Machine 41 CDW Compuler Centers,
No. Copies of Slnqte Issue Publlshed Near est to Fiiing Date: A. Total Number of Copies (net
press run) 1,488,314; Paid and / or Requested Circu latlon 1. Outside-County Mall - Acer America Inc..... ... . .. 96-97
Subscriptions 1,104,853; 2. Paid In-County Sub scriptions N/A; 3. Sales Through Dealers Corporation . . . .. .. . .. . · 149
and Carriers, Street Vendors, and Counter Sales 167,105; 4 . Othe r Cla sses Mailed Th rouqh
44 CDW Computer Centers .
the USPS O; C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation (Sum of 81,62,83,84) 1,27t,958; D. lnc. . .. . . . .. .. 100-101
Free Distribution by Mail 1. Outside-Count y 7,879; In-County N/A; Other Classes Mailed
Eggh ea d.com . . .. . 237
Through the USPS O; E. Free Distribution Out sid e the Mail 0; F. Total Free Distribution
<Sum of D and E) 7,879; G. Tot al Distribution (Sum of C and f) t,279,837; H. Coples Not Account lng/f'lnanclal 229 Tiger Direct ... . . .. 374·375
Distributed 2DB,477; I. Total CSum of G and H) 1,488,314; J. Pe rcent Paid and/or Requested 138 MI PS Datalin e ... 287
Circulation CC divided by G multip lied by 100) 99.38. Onli ne Services
16. December 1999.
CAD/CAM - Ameritrade
17. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. - Autodesk. Inc. . . . . . 125 Holdin g . .. . 233- 236
Jeff Edman, Publish er Eggh ead.com .
71 Dencl.K1 Softwa re . . . .. 2 13 . 2 37

D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9 •1••••;1;.1 371
 II 1111
1111 II II II m
Ill II
IDG .net .•...•...•.... JJ2 Dell Optil'l cx GX11 0.. . !OJ 687 1atrox Millennium G 200 639 HP OmniBook XE> . . ...... 288
SD l'C I ........... - . . .. 299
57 Mindspring ......... . .... 109 Dell Opt il'lex GX1 p 550..... 268 IB M TI1inkPad I
678 M atrox M illen nium G400 Series 14 80. . . . . . . . . 288
mySimon.com ............ 259 631 Emachines Eo ne . .. ..
32Mll.. .. .. .. . . .... 299
634 Micron Trans Port NX
699 Gatewa)' Astro. . . . . . .... 108 682 PJJ.400 .................. 288
Othe r Matrox Millen nium G4oo
Allstate Insurance Co... . JJO·JJ I 630 Ga teway Essen tial 400C .. . . 162 Max. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 299
636 Micron Trans Port Trek> . ... 288
Canon USA ........ . . . ... . 89 653 Gateway GP6·466c .... .... 274 Graphics Software 637 Quantex l-1410 ... .. . . . . ... 288
Da)'·Timers. Inc. .... • ...... 254 626 Gateway Perfo rmance 706 C.1nvas 7, Oencba ...... .... 129 64t Tosh iba Satellite
500... ......... . . . 162 2595C DS . ... . .... ........ 288
Discover Ca rd ..... .... . .. 12-IJ 705 Photo Draw 2000 version 2 .
728 HP Vectra VL6oo ... . .. 6 2 Microsoft . . . . . . . . . 126
iGO . . .. . .. ... . ........... JJ8 Operating Systems
IB M Aptiva S Series 865 ... . 162
Kodak Digital Camera ....... 8 1 Image Editor 723 C.1 ldera O pe n Linux 2.J . . . 72
llJM PC JOO PL. ... . .. .. ... 268 716 Pa111t Shop Pro 6 ,
Lexa r Media ........ . ...... 87 724 Corel Linux ... . .. . .. .. ..... 72
659 Kingdom Pin nacle 500 .... . 274 Jase Software ..... .. ....... IOJ
Nikon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 725 l inux·Mandra kc 6.t . . . ...... 72
66t Micro Express Internet Sharing Utillties
Office Depot. Inc ........ 241-25J .. 280 726 Red Hat Linux 6.1...... . .... 72
MicroFlex· 40B .. . . 604 Inte rn et Spliucr. StarTech .... 51
Sprint Spectmm .. . ..... ... . . 9 660 Micro Express POA
606 \VinG a te Home.
M icroFlex-;oC .. ... 280
Deerfield.com . . . . . . • . . . .. . 51 704 Compaq Aero 1500 ..... . ... 11 9
Supplies
\Val .Mart Stores ............ 50 652 Micro Express
Micro Flex-;B ....... . ...... 274 Monitors Printers
694 Cornerstone Peripherals 609 Canon BJC.6000. .... 182
Trade Shows 629 Micron Millenni a C466 .. .. 162
Techn ology C100 1. . ... 295
Linux World ............. . . J7J Epso n Stylus Color 900. 182
655 Micron Millennia
Max Goo ........ . .. . .. 274 Dell UltraScan P991 .... - .. 295 607 HP Des k) et 8 12C.... . 182
PC World Conferences .. . ... J12
729 Micron Millennia Max 69t MAG ln noVision
61! HI' Des kf e t 882C . . ....... . 182
Training Plll·7JJ ... . . . 62 XJ8ooV . ...... . .......... 295
131 Ke)'stone Leaming 6t5 HP Dcskfel 895Cse ........ 182
692 Mitsubishi Diamond Pro
Srstems. . . .......... . . 300 665 NEC PowerMatc
.. .... . 280 202011 ........ . ....... . . - 295 608 HP Dcskfet 970Cse ..... ... 182
VT300 . ...
689 Mi tsubishi Diamo nd Pro 613 Lexmark J200 Color
658 . EC PowerMate
9oou ... ... .. . Je tprint er.. . . .. . .. ... 182
Products Featured 650
VT 300 .. ......... ... ..... 274
NexTrend NcxStar·550 ... .. 268
693 Panasonic PanaSync 614 Lexmark Z11 Color
in Editorial 6St Polywell Poly 800 K7·650 ... 268
P11oi . ... .. ......... . . . .. 295 fe tprinter ... .. - . - .. 182

Get more informatio n- circle the 690 Sampo AlphaScan 812SR . .. 295 6t 2 Lexmark ZJ I Color
668 Pol)Well l'oi)' 8 10CIV·433 . . . 280 Je tprinter ........... . ..... 182
product info number on the 688 Samsung SyncMaster
reader service card. 667 Premio Apollo II CS1 .... 280 l'95o p · · · · · · · - · · · - · · · 295 6t0 Lexmark Z 51 Color
)ctprinter. . ... . 182
Card Scanner 662 Quan tex M466.zc.. . . 280 69S Sony CP D·G 500. . ... 295
718 Ca rdScan 500. Corex 654 Quantex M50 0 .. ..... . . .. . 274 696 Viewson ic P815 ... 2 95 Scanners
Technologies . .......... . .. 104 672 Acer AcerScan Prisa
625 Quantex M5ooc/8to ....... 162
Mul t ifunction Devices 620UT.... . ...... .. . ... . . 293
Desktop Computers 646 Quan te.< SM Goo SE ...... . 268 Epson Stylus Scan 2500 .... 106
624 ABS All In Wonder 674 Agfa SnapScan Toucl1 ...... 293
627 Sony VA IO Digi tal Studio 697 Xerox IVorkCentre XKJ)C ... 106
System 1.. . . . . . . .. 162 6n Canon CanoScan FB
PCV·R532 DS ... .......... 162
648 Axis S}·stems Orion 100A 1200 S..... ... ... .. . . . .... 29J
623 Sony VA IO Digital Studio Networking Hardware
DVD .. . . .. . .. . .......... 268 719 Epso n Pe rfec ti on 6J6U . . . . 29J
rcv. R539 Ds .. .. ... . ... .. . 162 i'honeline 10X !'C l Adapter.
657 Axis Systems Orion 100C NetG~ r . .... . .. ... . ... ~ 671 HP Sca nf et 5200Csc. . . . . . 293
647 Sys Perform ance GooA ... . . 268
DVD ...... . ... .. . . ....... 274 605 SOI-102000. Ho111e2000. 676 HP Scan fet 6350C . .... .... 29J
666 Sys TaskMastcr 500 . . . 280 BeadleNet. . . ...... . ........ 51
663 Axis Systems Orion
l.XCfVE Celeron 400 ...... 280 664 Xi Com pute r 400A 670 Microtck ScanM akc r XG . . .. 29J
713 WarpLink Communica tor
MTower .......... . .. . 280 Card, Acer e\Vcb. . . ... 122 669 Microtek SlimScan CG ..... 29J
714 Compaq Des k pro El' 500 ... IOJ
632 Compaq Presario 5304 ...... 162 Encyclopedias 67S Umax Astra 2400S ........ 293
Notebook Computers
622 Compaq Presario 586 1...... 162 70t Encarta Reference Suite 2 000 . 642 Chem USA ChemBook 673 Vis ionccr OneTouch
Microsoft ........ . ....... . 112 8600 . . . . . . - - ........ 293
727 7200 ....... . - .. - 288
Compaq Presario 5900Z . . . . 62
702 Yea r 2000 Grolier 635 Compaq Armada M7oo . . .. 288
645 Compaq Prosignia Mulrimed ia Encyclopedia Security
Desktop JJO ... . . 268 »C D Deluxe Edition . ... .... 11 2 717 Compaq l'resario 30;. .. 104 603 Black Ice Defender.
Ne twork Ice . . .... . . ..... ... 51
628 C:ybcrMax Enthusiast 643 Compaq Prosigni::J.
450N ...... . . .. 162 Fax Services Notebook 150 . . .. 288
60t EFax Free. EF.x Plus ........ 46 Sound Enhancement
656 CyberMax Enthusiast 500 ... 274 640 Compaq Prosign ia 711 \VowTI1ing. SRS Labs .... .. 11 2
649 Fax Software No tebook 165 ... 288
CyberMax Enthus ias t
Pll f·GooN ... . .... . ..... . 268 602 \V in Fax Pro 9 . Sy111a111cc. .... 46
Speakers
Dell lnspiron 7500
C466VT ..... .. 288 710 l.abtcc LCS.z514 4.1. ... . 11 2
Dell Dim ension 4 ooc . . . .. 162
Graphics Boards
Dell 1nspiron 7500 Speech Recoqnitlon
Dell Dimension L5ooc ..... 274 685 i<lfx Voodoo3 2000... . ... 299 R5ooVT...... . ....... 64
703 L&H Voice Xpress
Dell Dime nsio n XPS 683 Jclf., VoodooJ JOOO ... .. ... 299 Dc ll I.ot itude CPi Personal Finance,
T500 .... ... .. .. ......... 274
680 3dfx Voodoo3 3500 TV . .. . . 299 A366XT . . . .. 288 Lemout & Hauspie .. ..... . . 11 9
Dell Dimensio n XPS
681 AT ! Xpcn 128 ....... .. ... 299 638 Fujitsu LifcBook E
T5oo.... . . . .. 162 Web Sites
Series l'll· JJJ . . . . .. 288
Dell Dimension XPS 679 AT I Xpcn 2000 ......... . . 299 Dough Net . .. .. . ... ... .. . . t 22
644 Ga teway Solo 2500SE . ..... 288
T6oo... .... . .... . . . ... 268 684 Creative Labs J D Blaste r ICanBu)'. . .... 122
RIVA T 'T 2 Ultra ..... . ... 299 720 Gatewar Solo 9300 .... ... .. 64
Dell Dimensio n XPS RocketC.sh ............... 122
TGoo .. . . .. . ... 16 2 686 ELSA Era zo r 11. .. . .... .. .. 299 633 Gateway Solo 9300 LS ...... 288
698 SmartOnline.com ........ . 106
Dell OptiPkx GX100 .. . ... . 280 700 Matrox Marvel G4oo·TV . . .. 108 721 HP0111 nillook4 150 .. . .. 64

37 2 ijMfi.i;ij.p D E c E M B E R 1 9 9 9
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 cost more than the car I owned-and that's
without counting the $2000 dot matrix printer,
wh ich churned out pages with the sooth ing
rhythm of a machine gun.

The Machine That It was a bargain. That PC and commercial

sofnvare changed my life in more ways than I
can count. Word processing freed my '-"Ti ting

Changed My World from the constraints of pen, typewriter, and

Wite-O ut. A s preadsheet made managing my
financial life easy. Database softwa re helped me
THIS IS MY LAST chance to pontificate on the computer busi­ organ ize my tax records. A 2400-bps (no kilos
here) modem moved my documents across the
ness before the year 2 000 arrives, so a look backward is in order.
country faster than FedEx.
Where we end up in the coming decades may well be wonderful, Hard drives, CD-ROMs, fonts , color graphics,
and public e-mail all came later, along with ever­
but the distance we've come in my lifetime is dazzling enough.
increasing speed. Today's PCs run more than a
The first time I ever interacted with a computer was 35 years ago hundred times faster, carry a thousand times
more memory, and cost less than half as much
in high school; the machine was a Control Data model at Carnegie
{not even allowing for inflation).
Tech that took up a huge room but possessed Yet the differences benveen my first comput­
less processing power than what's inside the 3· er and current mode ls are nothing com pared
pound subnotebook I'm using to write this . with the improvemen t from th e world of
User inte rface? Type ALGOL code on an "before PC" to "after." ll1e hard drive may make
infernal keypunch machine to program a deck storage simpler, fonts may make pages pretti·
of Bo-character punch cards. (There was even a er, ink jets may make printing quieter, but my
name for the confetti punched out of the cards: most important uses of th e computer today
diad.) Input? Shove the ca rds containi ng your remain much the same as they were in 1983.
pathetic little program thro ugh an opening to a The major exception: the World Wide Web, the
guy behind a window. Output? Check back days ultimate who-would-have-guessed surp rise.
later to collect a couple of wide, fol ded sheets of
The IBM PC and
SEEKING ASYLUM
paper revealing that your program couldn't run commercial
beca use you'd left out a semicolon somewhere. WHAT HASN 'T CHANGED is softwa re's com­
Memory and storage were so precious that
software changed plexity, unreliab ility, and ability to suck up
programmers did eve1ything they could to pare my life in more cycles. Don't expect information appliances to
down their code. Who would have guessed that unshackle u s; my new TV and VCR seem to
th eir byte-saving two-digit year fields would
ways than I have as many functions as Microsoft Word, but
come back to haunt the world as the Y2K bug? can count. without the help system. As Alan Cooper points
out in his excellent book, The Inmates Are Rrw­
THE INTERACTIVE AGE
ning the Asylum, everythin g digita l tends to
BUT " w Ho wo u LD have guessed?" has been the them e of com· devolve into a computer, with the same poor design. When it
puting ever since my first frustrating encounters. When tim e­ comes to usability, the industry's mantra is "It won't be easy."
sha1ing machines came ofage and teletypes supplanted punched We ca n make sensible guesses about the coming marvels of
cards, the age of interactive computing began. You cou ld write a the digital millennium, but it's harder to predict which ones will
program, nm it, and debug it withou t having to deal with that become indispensable and which will be merely interesti ng fads.
guy beh ind the window. The program could ask users fo r input, Ifyou suspect they will be the same kinds of surprises as the Y2K
process it, and answer with almost no delay. Who wou ld have bug or th e Web, you've probably guessed right.
guessed that interactivity would be so powerful?
In i9 82, my rirst I BM PC came with a green-on-black moni· PC World Contributing Editor Stephen Maim is th e cohost of Dig·
tor, two 320KB floppy drives, 64KB of memory, a quasi-16-bit ita l Duo, a series appearing on p11blic television stations nation­
processor that plodded along at 4.77 MHz, and no hard drive. It wide. For progra n1 information, see www.digitalduo.com. •
~-=ID
_- __:
G Volumt 17. numbff 12 of PC World• USSN0737·6939) is published monthly at S29.90 for oM year (12 hsues). S59.80 for two yea!'l (24 issues). S89.70 for lf\ftt yellrs (l6 Issues) by PC World Communication!.. Int., SOI
SMond St. n600. San francisco. CA 94107. forei~n orders must be prtpaid in U.S. fund"> with additional posta9e. Md SZO per year f« Canada and M~iko; ai:Jd S46 ~ ytar for alrmait fOf all other coontriM. Canadian
111
'N 'rn°'"H iw • c.•ot' GST R~btration tiR124669680. ~riocf~ls pcm~ paid at San frand~o. Cahfomia. and idditional naUinq otficH. Cdnada Post International Publiations Mail Product. (C.inadlan Distribution) Salts AQrttment No.
046JS66. POSTMASTER: ~nd addrPU than~es to PC World. Subscription Dept.. P.O. Box 550Z9, Boulder. CO BOJZ8·50l9. (d t lor~ and business olfices: 501 Setond St. i:!600, San rrancisco, CA 94107, 415/Z43-0500. Copyrl9hl C> 1999, PC World
Communications, Inc. All rJ9hls reserved. Th~ trddemark PC World is owned by International Data Group and used under license by PC World Communications, Int. PC World top ZD". Top 20', PC Wot1d Top 10'. Top 1011• PC World Top 100". fOfl 10011•
and Conwmtr W•tch.. ire lrademarks of lnttmational Data Groop, ln~ and~ under rKenst by PC World Commonkations. Inc. Printfif In the United Slates.

376 i)#}i,$;jy.p D E C E M B E R 1 9 9 9
 LIFE IS FULL OF TI MES WHEN YOU CAN 'T HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO . THIS
ISN 'T ONE OF THEM. IN FACT , TH ERE ' S QUIT E A BIT OF CAKE HERE . BASICALLY WHAT
YOU CAN GET I N THE NEW DELLi!l INSPIRON '" 7 500 IS UP TO A 15 .4 INCH SXGA
SCREEN - PLUS A PENTIUM Il l PROCESSOR - WHICH MEANS YOU ' LL HAVE All THE
MULTIMEDIA . M EMORY , SPEED AND RAW POWER OF MANY FULL -SIZED DESKTOPS
IN THIS HANDY TRAVELING SIZE . AND WIT H THE 4- SPINDLE CAPABILIT Y YOU CAN
HAVE UP TO 75GB ' OF STORAGE , OR YOU CA N RUN YOUR ZIP , FLOPPY AND CD
DR IVES RIG HT OFF YOUR BATTERY . All AT TH E SAME TIME . YES , COMPROMISE IS FOR
THOSE WHO CAN 'T DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT.

NEW DE LL • I NSPIR O N .. 7500 Notebook

M obilo Desktop
• lntol' Celeron • Procossor at '33MHz (up to Intel • Pontium• 111 sooMHz)
• 15· XGA Active Matrix Display
• 32MB SORAM (up to 51211181
• 4.BGB' Ultra ATA HD (up to 25GB'l
• Removable Combo 24X Max' Variable CD·ROM and Floppy Drive
• 2X AGP 4M B ATI RAGE Mobility"P JD Video lup to BMB)
• JD Positional Sound with WavetBble, lithium Ion Battery
• MS' Windows• 98 SE
• MS' Works Suito 99 with Money 99 Basic
• 3·Year limited Warranty'

$1999 Busine.ss Lease"': S67 1o.. 3G Mos.

E• AlUE COOE: 03694-891119
Dell ' Rec~ mm e n dcd Upgrades:
• Upgrade to NEW Intel' Pentium' Ill Processor at 450M Hz . add S300
• CompleteCant"'u Service for Accidental Damage, add $ 179

WWW . DEL L. C O M• 1.800 . 433 . 668 7

US f THE PO W ER O F T HI E· VA l Uf 9 CODE .
Match our latest technology with our latest prices. B E D I R E CT™

Del.I;
Enter the E· VAlUE code online or g ive it to your sales
rep over the phone. w w w . o l L l. c o M/ l v A L u l

celeron·
l'RO CE SS OH
Phone Hours: M·F 7a·9p •Sat 10a·6p •Sun 12p·5p CT
In C1nad1,' call 800·232-6978 •In Mexico.' call 01 ·800.021 ·4531 ·GSA Controot#GS·JSF-40760 www.dell.com
 MPLETE SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
: LL ., OPTIPLE x ~ Gx 11 0 DE LL "' DIMENS/ON ®L Series
rormancc M anaged pC ate Great Volu o Aff ordable Desktop So lutio n
1tel' Pcmiurn' Ill Processor at SOOMH z (up 10 600MH z) • Intel ' Celoron '" Process o r at 400MH z (up 10 500MH zl
6M B SDRAM lup to 512-MB ) • 32MB SDRAM (up to 384M BI
3.6GB' SMART Ultra ATA HO, So und & Internal Speaker • 4.3G B' Ultra ATA HD (u p to 13.6GB')
7' (13.8" vi s) M770 Monitor (u p to Flat Panel) • 15' (13.8" vis) E550 Monito r (up to Flat Panel)
Itel ' 30 AGP Graphics, 40X M ax' CD·ROM, OptlFram e' " M ini· Tower • Intel' 30 AGP Graphics, 40X M ax' CD-ROM
ool-less Chassis. 3Com• 10/1 00 NIC w/ACPI • Sound & Speak ers. Network Interface
IS' Window s NT' 4.0 <MS' Offi ce 2000 Option al) • MS' Win dow s• 98 and W o rks Su ite 99
-Year Next-Business-Day On-site' Service • 3-Year Limit ed Warranty/ 1-Year Next -Bu siness- Day On ·sito 1 Service

14 9 9 ~- Busi ness l&l's~O: SSOrMo .• 36 Mos.

~ E· ALUECODE: D3695·39111•

I' Rec ommended Upgrades:

$79 9 _., _, ._ Busi ness Le ase'"': $27/Mo., 36 M os.
._.. E•VALUE CODE: D3695·59 1101
Dell• Recomm ended Upg rad e:
lpgrade to 17" 116.0' v is) P780 Trinitron • Monitor, add $ 100 • Upgrade to 6.4GB ' Ullra ATA HO. add 519
pgrade 105 x 10 Same Day" 4-Hour Response 3-Year On-site' Service. add $159

: LL ., PRE C IS 10 N '" Workstat ion 210

D ELL "' INS PI R 0 N '" 3500 Not eboo k
1anced Performance. Speciali ze d Graph ics
Designed for Valu e
itel' Penti um ' Ill Processor at 500M Hz (up 10 600MHz);
• Inter• Celeron ·· Process or at 400MH z (up to Intel • Pcntium • 11 Proce ssor at 400M Hz)
tual Processor Capable
• 14.1" XGA Act ive Matrix Display • 32MB SDRAM i up 10 256M BI
4MB ECC SDRAM (up to 512MBJ
• • .SGS ' U lt ra ATA HD lup to l OGB')
GB ' 7200 RPM Ultra-2/LVD SCSI HD (up to 18GB' 10Kl
• Modula r 24 X M ox' Varia b le CD ·ROM and Floppy Dr ive
7" (16.0" vis ) M780 Monitor l up 10 Flat Panel)
• Neo M agic ' MagicM edia " 256AV AGP Vicleo
2MB M otr ox G400 Max Graph ics Card
• 3D Surround Sou nd wi tt1 W~vcrnbt c, Lithium Ion Battery
1te9ratod NIC & Sound; 40X M ax' CO -ROM
• MS" Wo rks Sui te 99 with M o ney 99 Ba sic
~ s · Windows NT' Workstation 4.0
• MS;J W indows • 98, SE • 3-Year Lim ited Warra nty 1
-Vear Next-Busines s-Da y On -site' Service; 7x24 Tech Su pport 1•

2 2 8 9 _,, , ._
L'-.. Business l ea se 't: S60'1v1o .. 36 Mos.
Business l e <tso'': S77lMo ,36 Mos.
._.. E·V.. tUECOD£: DJ695-A91t22 $179 9 ._.. E· VALLl:CODE: D3695·89 1117
De n> Recomm ended Upg rad es:
I' Reco m mended Upgrade:
• Deluxe Nylon Carrying Ca se, add 53 9
leconcl Pentium' Ill Processor at 500MH z, adcl $347
• CompleteCa re'•"rn Servic e fo r Accidental Dam age, odd $179

ELL 0 POWEREDGE 0 1300Server

:ry-Love l Server D ELL ., l A TIT UDE ~ CPI Notebook
otel• Pentium ' Il l Processor at 450MH z (up to 600MHz); Netwo rk-Optimized Not ebook
lual Pr ocessor/RAID Capabl e • Intel ' Celeron - Processor at 466M Hz • 14.1" XGA Active Matrix Displa y
i4MB lOOM Hz ECC SDRAM (up to lGB) • 32MB SORAM !up to 512M8) • 4.BGB' Ultra ATA HD lu p 10 tS GB')
GB' 7200 RPM Ultra-2/LVD SCSI HO lup to 36GB'); 108GB' Internal Capaci ty • M odula r 24 X M a><' Va ri able CD -RO M and Fl o pp y Dr ive
IPOpen\llew• NNM Special Edition; NIC and Integrated SCSI Controller • NeoMagic' Mag icM ecl ia'" 256ZX AGP Video
.ox Max' Variable CD-ROM • 30 Slirro un cl S ound w it h Wave to b lc
I-Year Next-Bu sines s-Day On·si te' Serv ice: 7x 24 Tech Su pport.. • Lit hi um Ion Battery w / Expres sC harg e·'" Technology

14 9 9 ;,.._
• MS 2 W indows NT 1 Works tation 4.0
Business Leese "': SSO/Mo.• 36 Mos.
I ~ E•llAlUE CODE: 03695-29111A • 1-Yea r Next-Bu sinoss ·Oay On-si te1 Service
Busi ness l ease·•: S64/Mo .. 36 Mos.
11· Reco mmended U pgrade:
>m all Bu siness Upgrade Bundle, adcl $1897
$18 9 9 ~ E·VALUE CODE: 03695·19 111 8

ncludes: MS' BackOffice Small Business Server 4.5. M odem. Dell • Recomm onclocl Up9rade:
-ra ining on CO-ROM and System Su pport • Upgrade 10 6.4G8 ' Ultra ATA HO, ad d 599

EW DELL POWEREDGE@24oo server

•rkgro up Sarv er N EW D E l l INS PI R 0 N ... 1:,00 Now boo<
ntel ' Pentium' Il l Processor at 533MHz (up 10 667MH z): Mohile Dasktop
)ual Pro coss orCapab le • 128MB 133M Hz ECC SDRAM (up to 2GB) • Intel t Cclcron Pro cessor at -t33Mrl1
rhree 9GB' 7200 RPM Ultra-2/LVD SCS I Hot-swap HDs (u p to 36GB' 10K); (up to NfLV ln101 · Punt1um Ill Processor ut 500M H 7)
ISOGB' ln tG rn al Storage Capacity • 15" XGA Act ivo Matrix Oisµ !ay
: mbedded Single-Chann el RAID w ith 64MB Cache • 32MB SDRAM lun to :,12MBI
iP' Op cnView ~ NNM Special Edition; Integrated NIC and SCSI Cont rollers; • J 8GB' Ul1 1a ATA 110 lup I~ 25GB'I
:ox M ax• SCSI CD-RO M • Redund ant Hot-Swap Power Supplies • R.::movahh.: Combo 2i1X Mnx VaoahJe CD-ROM <1nd
I-Year Next- Business-Day On·site' Service; 7x2 4 Tech Support " Floppy Drive
• 2X AGP J M 3 J\TI f1i\GE Mobility -P 30 V1ueo (up to 8~. t BJ
I 415 9 Ousin oss Lc o:su" : Sl 39/Mo ., 36 Mos .
~ E· ALUE COD : 03695·2911'1 • 30 P os1t i on~1I Sound with V\-'ovc l Jhlc, Lrt111um Ion Battery
• M S Win d ows 9H SE
11• Recomm ended Upg rade:
• M S• Works Suite 99 with Money 99 8a~1c
1<1s• Windows NT' Server 4.0, ad d 5799
• 3·Year L1m1 tnc1 Vv';Jrr~ml)
Ou'l1net.!i l•·•l!>P S•.i7.Mo .36 Mo:;
$19 9 9
J _ _
USE THE P OW ER Of T HE E · llALU E C OD E . ~ f . .- •·. • - 03 695-89 11 19
,..\.itch our lates1 !< hnolo•)v \''Ith 1:i111 latest pnc.:>.!:>. Dtll Reromrnt~ntlcd Urnrndcs .
EnrBr the £·VAtUf ;:odf: onhni- 01 v~ 11 to vour sah!S
• Upgrad11 t o Nfl·V Pon11um· Ill Proct:sso1 ·150MHl, ~dd S300
rt'!J over th<' phnm~ w w w . o ELL • <: o M E v A Lu E
• Upgrade to 3-Ye.H Nn)(t Bus1ness-O"y On·s1to SPrv1cn . •u.ld $99

11
Monthly payments based on sales price depicted for 48-mo. term at 13.99% APR . NOT All
BUYERS Will QUALIFY FOR THIS APR. APR for qualified customers varies by creditworthi­
ness of customer as determined by Dell Financial Services LP. Payments exclude taxes and
shipping charges that vary. Taxes & shipping charges due with 1st payment unless included
in the amount financed, in which case your monthly payment will be higher. Purchase Plan
offered through Dell Financial Services LP.• 14050 Summit Dr., Austin. TX 78728, to U.S. state
residents (including D.C.) with approved credit, excluding AR and MN residents. Ava ilability
may be limited or offer may vary mother states.
pentium;'···
BRING I NG GREAT VALUES HOME
NEW DELL " DIMENSION " x Psnoor NEW DEL L" INSPIRON ™ 7500
Cutting Edge Technology Mobile Desktop
• NEW Intel' Peniiurn ' Ill Processor at 700E MHz • NEW Intel' Pen tium' Ill Processor at 500MH z
• 128MB SDRAM al tOOMHl • 15.4' SXGA Active Matrix Display
• 256KB lnlegrated Advance Transfer Cacho • 64MB 100MHz SDRAM • 6.4GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive
• t 3.6GB' Ultra ATA Hord Drive (7200 RPMI • Removable Combo 24X Max' Variable CD-ROM
• 17" (16.0' viewable, .28dp) M770 Monito r and Floppy Drive
• NEW32MB NVIDIA TNT2 M64 AGP Graphics • 2X AGP BM B ATI RAGE Mobility ~. p JD Video
• NEW 48X Max Va ri able CD·ROM Drive • JD Positional Sound wi th Wovetable
• NEWSB Live' Value Digital wi th MusicMatch' Jukebox • lntarnal PCI SGK" Capable V.90 Fax Modem
Enhancocl Version As low as $87/Mo., 48 Mo. Plan 11
• Allee Lan sing ACS -340 Speakers with Subwoofor
• 3Com ' V.90 56K " PCI Telephony WinM odcm
$3199 E·VALUE CODE: 03695-8011 31

lu low as S66 Mo., .SS ,..10 Plan ' 1

$239 9 E· , Al.UE CODE: 03695-50t 123
NEW DELL" IN SP/RON "' 1500
Dell' Recommended Upgrade:
• NEW BX Max " Variable DVD-ROM D,;ve with Mobile Desklop
FREE DVD Movie Offer"' • NEW Intel• Pentium• Ill Processor at 450MHz
• Sony 4X/2x/24x CD· AW Drive • 15" XGA Active Matrix Display
• NEW Harman Kardon HK-595 Surround Sound Speakers • 64MB 100MHz SDRAM
wi th Subwoofer. add S31 9 E· VALUE CODE: 03695·501 t26 • 4.8GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive
• Removable Combo 24X Max' Variable CD·AOM
and Floppy Drive

DELL4meSM DELL 9 DIME NS ION" XPST450

High Performance, Great Value
• Intel' Pen tiu m' Ill Processor at 450MHz
• 2X AGP BM B ATI RAGE Mob ili ty ~. p 3D Video
• 3D Posi tional Sound with Wavetabl e
• Internal PCI 56K" Capable V.90 Fax Modem
• 64MB SDRAM at 100MHz A3 low as S68/Mo., 48 Mo. Pia nu
• 6.4GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive
• 17" (16.0" viewable •. 28dpl M770 Monitor
$2499 E•VALUE CODE: 03695·801124C

• 16MB 3DFX Voodoo3 3000D AGP Graphics Card

• 40X Max' Variable CD-ROM Drive
• Yamah a XG 64V Wa vetable Sound NEW DELL • tNSPIRON "' 3100
The Dell4me total ownership experience; • harman/k erdon HK-195 Speakers Light Weight, Light Price
a complete resource for products and • V.90 56K" PCI DataFax Modem • Intel ' Celo ron ~ Processor at 433MHz
• Canon BJC 2010 Printer with Cable • 14.1" XGAActive Matrix Di splay
services tha t make it easy for you to get the
• Intel' PC Camera Pack • 32MBSDRAM

$14 9 9 -..
most out of technology. • 4.8GB' Ultra ATA Hard Drive
As low es $4 1/Mo..48 Mo. Plan»
~ E•VALUE CODE: 03695·501114 • Modular 24X Max' Variable CD-ROM
SOFTWARE AND • 2X AGP 8MB AT! RAGE Mob lll 1y ~- M1 3D Video
PERIPHERAL UPGRADES: • 3D Positiona l Sound with Wavetable
• HP' 895 printer. $299 A1 low ns SSS/Mo.,48 Mo. Pion»
• Fast Track Game S·Pack" , featu ring Sta r Wars NEW DELL ® DIME NS I 0 N ® L400C $1999 E•VALUE CODE: 03695-801119C
Rogue Squ ad ron , $99 Afford able Desktop Solution
• HP' ScanJe t• 4200Cse, $199 • Intel ' Celoron - Processor at 400MHz
•Intel' PC Cam era Pro Pack, $129 • 32MB SDRAM at 100MHz
• 128KB Integrated L2 Cache lnspiron™ Notebooks include:
• 4.3GB" Ult ra ATA Hard Drive • McAfae VlrusScan 4.02 • MS' Works Suite 99
DELLN ETINTERNETACCESS:
• NEW15" (13.8" viewable) E550 Monitor • M S' Win dows• 98, SE • lithium Ion Battery
• Dell net'" Internet Accessu wi th 20MB
• Intel' 3D AGP Graphics • lnspiron"' Set-up Video • 3· Year Limited Warranty'
Online Backup"
• Simple Ora g and Drop website crea ti on too l • 40X Max' Variable CD·ROM Drive
Dimension• Desktop systems Include:
with 12MB storage • SoundBlaster 64V PCI Sound Card
• Keyboard • Mouse • MS' Works Suite 99 Sohware
• Over S100 worth of special offers for Dell' • harman/kardon HK· 195 Speakers
• McAfae VirusScan 4.02 • MS' Window s• 98, SE
consumers with popu lar onl ine ret ail ers • V.90 56K" PCI DataFax Modem
• 3.5"" Floppy • NEW1 -Yoar Dollnat • Internet

PAYMENT SOLUTIONS: $8 9 9 As low as S25/Mo., 48 Mo. Pia nu

~ E•VALUE CODE: 03695·5011 08
Access" with 20MB Online Backup"
• 3-Year Uml1od Warranty' • 1-Year At ·Home Service'
•Dell' Platinum Vi sa' Card
• Purcha se Pi on"
• E·Check (au tom atic checking withdrawal)

1. 800 . 4 33. 6687

Phone Hours: M·f 7a·9p • Sat 10a.qi • Sun 12p-5p CT· In Canada! call lm-232-6978 • In Mexico! call 01.m-021-4531 • GSA Contract #GS-35f.40760
Pricing not discountable. Prices end specificatons valid in U.S. only and subject 10 change without notice. 'For a complete copy of Guarantees or Limited B E D I R E c TTM
Warranties. write Doll USA LP.. Attn:Warranties. One Dell Way, Round Rock. TX 78582. ' On·site service may be provided by athird -party provider under contract

Del.~
with Dell, and is not available in conain areas. Technician will be dispatche d if necessary following phone-based 1roubleshoo1lng. Other conditions apply. 'For
hard drives, GB moans I billion bytes; total accessible capacity varies dependingon operating environment '17X Min. ' 1DX Min. " 2.5X Min. "Download speeds lim·
itedto 53Kbps. Upload speeds are less (In the Jt»<bps range) end vary by modem manufacturer. Speeds also vary depending on line conditions. Ana log phone
line and compatible server equipment required.''Maximum RAM configurations require a factory installed t 28MB SoOIMM. which must be installed al
time of initial purchase. "Business leasing arranged by Oen Financial Services LP., en Independent entity, to qualified customers. Above lease payments based
on 38-month leese, and do not include taxes, fees, shipping charges; subject 10 credit approval and evailebility. Abo'lo loaso terms subject 10 change without
notice. "20x Min. "For 7x24 service, Dall will dispatch a service technician within 4 hours or determining the hardware problem. =software, packaging and
documentation differ from retail versions. v-campleteCaro°" Service excludes theh. loss. and damage duo to fire or intontional damago. CompleteC ares!.I is
www.dell.com
currontly not ovelloblo in tho following stales: llew Mexico end Montana. CompletoCare•• is not available to indivduaVhomo users of Dell notebooks pur­
chased through Doll Home Systems Co. For complete details please visit www.dell.com. "Includes t50 hours Internet access per month with a Sl.50 per hour
cha rge for each hour (or fraction thereof) over t50 hours. Remote subscribers subject to an additional charge of S4.95 for each hour for OollNe service.
Excludes applicable laxes and locaVlong distance telephone access fees or charges. Additional Sl.DCllhr surcharge lor Oellnet Service In HI and AK. •Limited
time offer. Includes one 111 DVD title (max. S20.00 total value. including tax and shipping charges) with purchase of e new Oen sys1em with a OVO-ROM drM>.
Internet access required to register for tho offer, see details at www.doll.co:Wdollzone. Offer must bo redeemed within 60 days from the deto of system invoice.
•Ontino Backup services are provided by athird party, and such services ere provided subject 10 terms and conditions between such athird party and the cus·
tamer. Limited 10 21JMB online storage space; additional storego space available for additional charge. Dell disclaims any res ponsibility for lost customer data.
" Service may bo provided by a third-pony provider under contract wi th Ooll. Technician will bo dispatched if necessary following phone -based trou·
bleshooting. For Sx10 service. if a customor ca lls in before 4:00 p.m. local time. Dell will dispatch a technician to the customer site within 4 hours of deter­
mining th e hardware problem. Intel. the Intel hside logo and Pentium are registered trademarks; Pentium Ill Xeon and Celeron ere trademarks of Intel
Corporation. MS. Microsoh. BackOffice , lntelli).1ouse. Windows NT and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoh Corporation. 3Com is a regis·
tered trademark and Fast Etherlink is a trademark of 3Com Corporation. HP and OeskJe l are registared trad emarks and OpenView is a trademark of
Hewlen Packard Corporation. Trinitron is aregistered trademark of Sony Co1poration. © 1999 Dell Computer Corporation. All rights res erved.
 ',
\

USING SOME PC'S IS LIKE FLYING FIRST CLASS. THEN THERE IS THE SENSATI O N OF FL YIN l
IN ONE OF THE MOST ADVANCED . LOADED. HIGH -TECH PLANES ON THE PLANET. THAT'S KIN I
OF WHAT IT'S LIKE USING THE LATEST DELL' DIMENSION" XPS T-SERIES DESKTOP WITH ,
PENTIUM ' Ill PROCESSOR UP TO 700MH l AND NEW INTEGRATED FU LL-SPEED CAC H E. WHA
DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU ? FASTER OVERALL PERFORMANCE. BUT TO REA LLY UNDERSTAN C
YOU ' LL HAVE TO FLY IT YOURSELF . PLEASE FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS. AND PUT YOUR TRAY II
THE UPRIGHT POS ITI ON .

NEW D E LL 9 DIM E N 5 I 0 N XPS T Se11es

Cumng Edge Performance
• Intel' Pentium' Il l Processor nt 600E MHz (up to 700E MHz)
• 96MB SDRAM (up to 768MB ECC>
• 13.6GB' 5400 RPM Ultra ATA HD !up to 37 .5GB'}
• 11· I 16.0" vis } M770 Monitor (up lo Flat Panel}
• SMB ATI AGP Graphics, •BX Mnx'' CO.ROM, Sound. 3Com • 10/ 100 NIC
• MS' Windows• 98 and Office 2000 Small Business
• 3-Vear Limited Warranty' • 1-Yoar Next-Businoss-Oey On-shel Serv ice

$1599 Buslnoss loRso '": $54/M o., JG M os

[ · VAi LIE CODE: 03696-59111 5

Dell" Recommended Upgrodos:

• Upgrndo to is· Flat Panol ns shown. ndd S729
• Upgrade to harman,lmrdon HK-195 speakers as shown. odd S1 9

WWW . DELL.COM • 1. 800 . 433 . 6687

US E TH E POWER O F THE E · VAL U E" CO D E. 11

Match our la tes t technology wi th our la tost prices. B E D I RE CT
En ter the E· VALUE coda onlinc or give it to your sales

• . pentium~///
rep over the phone. w w w . o l LL . co M t v A L u E

Phone Hours: M·F 7a-9p • Sal 10n·6p •Sun 12p·Sp CT

In Canado, ' coll 800·232·6978 ·In Mexico.' coll 01 ·800·021·4531. GSA Conlract#GS·35F·40760
Ml.I
www.dell.corr