index ■

■ digit interactive

ON THE CD
WORKING WITH J ump start your way into the most
APP OF THE MONTH
MICROSOFT
popular productivity suite with Fast
Forward, Working with Microsoft Office XP. WordPerfect Office 2002
Find everything you need to know to Size: 170 MB Section: Office

OFFICE XP start using Word for creating documents

such as memos, letters, faxes, etc. Get a
primer on Excel, the powerful
HIGHLIGHTS
Photoshop 7.0
spreadsheet software for all kinds of
calculations, from basic additions to Size: 163 MB Section: Multimedia
complex scientific formulas. Learn how
ICQ Lite
to create impressive presentations Size: 1.7 MB Section: Internet
with PowerPoint, to get the right
communication across to your clients. Gmax
See how you can use Outlook to manage Size: 35.8 MB Section: Developer
not only your e-mail, but also your daily Tools
activities, schedule, appointments,
meetings and much more. Read Plus
Size: 7.47 MB Section: Home
Plus, look out for a bonus chapter on
using Mail Merge with Office XP to PowerVCR II Pro 3.0
quickly and easily create personalised Size: 8.6 MB Section: Multimedia
letters and e-mail for invitations,
announcements, product launches, etc. FaxWizard 2000 7.2a
Microsoft Office is a very powerful Size: 11.5 MB Section: Office
suite and here’s an equally powerful
package to help you start working FreeRAM XP Pro 1.22
Size: 547 KB Section: System
with it.

100+ Y GAME OF THE MONTH

our ‘slow’ computer is capable of
much more. Fast Forward, 100+ Tips
& Tricks brings you a cool package of Unreal Tournament 2003

TIPS & TRICKS over a hundred reasons to not upgrade

your PC. See how you can use your PC
more efficiently and get it to work faster
Size: 98 MB Section: Games

HIGHLIGHTS
with these tweaks and secrets.
No One Lives Forever 2
Windows is the most common
Size: 158 MB Section: Games
operating system and is usually the first
culprit in slowing down your PC. Learn Brixout XP
how to tweak this OS to pull out all the Size: 4.47 MB Section: FunZone
juice from your hardware and hog lesser
resources for better performance. Quake III Arena Patch 1.32
Check out cool tips for Microsoft Size: 28 MB Section: Extras
Office to get your work done in fewer
Epic Games Pinball
clicks. Be careful not to show that you Size: 872 KB Section: FunZone
have a lot of free time though, or your
boss may just give you more to do. Gift America’s Army: Operations
this Fast Forward to your boss instead! Patch 1.30
Frustrated with your Net connection? Size: 28 MB Section: Extras
Tired of spam? Speed up your modem,
do more with Internet Explorer and WWF Raw
work smarter with Outlook and Outlook Size: 64.8 MB Section: Games
Express with these great tips.
Gunocide 2
Go ahead, become a power user. Size: 7.37 MB Section: FunZone

8 DECEMBER 2002
index ■
■ colophon

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 12 ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

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16 DECEMBER 2002
 pulse ■
■ news

hypethesis Internet on the roof Playing a new tune

Pixie Dust
■ What is it?
Pixie Dust is an indigenious
technology that IBM uses to
S oon, a hundred lucky
households in Cardiff,
Wales, will live the broadband
antennas that lock onto other
antennas, each mini base sta -
tion achieves nearly a 100 per
F or all MUSICMATCH fans,
here is a reason to rejoice—
MUSICMATCH Jukebox 7.5
pack data on a portable dream and, perhaps, a glimpse cent cover. If a station goes (www.musicmatch.com) has just
hard drive. IBM developed into the broadband future— down, recovery is easy— been released. The latest ver-
this new technology a year movies on demand, come back on and sion brings with it new online
ago, and all IBM notebooks broadcast quality lock into the jukebox technology that
integrate this technology video chats and neighbour’s allows for effortless transfer to
into their hard disks. d o w n l o a d antenna. portable devices, lesser time to
speeds at 4 M o s t create custom CDs and
■ How does it work? Mbps. This broadband advanced music tagging and
IBM uses a home grown data new service is users in India labelling that will help you
storage technology called based on suffer because quickly and effortlessly add
the antiferromagnetically- Mesh radio, a there are too track information for digital
coupled (AFC) media. Pixie high capacity wire- many sub- audio files using the compa-
Dust is a three-atom-thick less network. Unlike scribers and too little ny’s Radio MX subscription
layer of the element Rutheni- conventional wire - bandwidth. In this service. It also comes with a
um. The Ruthenium element less networking services, radical new system, Mesh sleeker, easy-to-use interface.
forces adjacent layers to ori- this one turns every end user’s radio will not slow down Though MUSICMATCH
ent themselves in magneti- house into a mini base sta - when a lot of people access it decided to stop supporting the
cally opposite directions. This tion. With four directional at the same time. Mac version late in October,
makes the structure appear this one carries support for
much thinner than it actually quick-syncing the Apple iPod
is—so small that high-density
bits can be written easily on SMS causes divorce for Windows operating sys -
tems. It still has syncing sup -
it, while retaining the mag- port for all the popular
netisation due to the media’s
overall thickness. W ith the rapid accept-
ance of cell phones by
the Indian middle
With all the heat on the ill
effects of wireless telephony
being focussed on the radia -
portable MP3 players, includ -
ing the Nomad Jukebox. Ver-
sion 7.5 also lets you create
■ What can it do? class, the newest cause tion emitted from mobile full-colour CD labels and
IBM is now packing five lay- for concern is marital devices, this is one of the jewel case inserts for all of
ers of Pixie Dust, allowing disharmony, claims the first protests of its your custom CDs.
up to 70 billion bits of data National Human kind against the
to be written on each square
inch of disk space, up from
Rights Council. The
group burned a cellu-
spread of SMS. The
Council argues that
snapshot
40 billion bits. IBM predicts
that it will achieve 100 billion
lar phone in
protest in a
the brief, yet
effective language
89% of internation-
bits per square inch in 2003. demonstration in used in SMS sparks al e-commerce users
The Travelstar 80GN series of New Delhi on discord among base their buying
mobile hard disks have November 11, married couples.
proven reliability with high 2002. Subhash Gupta, Perhaps cause for decisions on transac-
shock robustness and low the group leader, concern rises from the tion security, while
power consumption. 8 MB
cache makes it the world’s
alleges that SMS is
against Indian
nature of SMS, where
one can chat with just
59% base theirs on
highest performing 4200- culture and has about anybody price
rpm mobile hard drive. resulted in a rather using a mobile
large number of divorces. phone. Source: WorldPay eCommerce Survey

■ New research proves computing causes strain and lethargy ■ Mitch Kapor, co-founder of Lotus Development, to build a free, open-source equivalent of MS Outlook

20 DECEMBER 2002
101 reasons to switch to Mozilla redalert
W ord on the street is that
there are 101 things
that Mozilla can do
community, Mozilla is a
standalone open
browser created by
source
multiple windows through
tabs and the inability to block
popup ads. Other grievences
Roron
A new worm called Roron or
Oror.B could help hackers
that Internet Mozilla.org. Deakin include the lack of people- control home computers. It
Explorer 6 can- though cautions friendly tools such as the abil- can spread through e-mail,
not. The list against reading too ity to zoom text, save plugins shared drives and the KaZaA
that has been much into his list— while saving a Web page, network. Each copy of the
filtering through quite a few of the adding detailed information virus contains several hacker
programmer news- items on the about bookmarks and the abil- tools that let an infected
groups and discussion list are long ity to block images from third- computer be controlled by
forums was created by time grouses party sites. There is also addi - messages from Internet Relay
Neal Deakin, a 28- against Inter- tional mention of user-friend- Chat (IRC). Once Roron
year-old resident net Explorer, such as ly cookie management, easy infects a system, it spreads by
of Toronto, the lack of password management, form creating e-mail messages
Canada. Popu- being able to filling, better security and the with different subject lines
lar with the navigate claim of being able to run and names for the attached
open source through straight off a CD or a network. file. Once opened, Roron
copies itself to several folders,
including those used to share
Philips joins the DVD format war Mac-ing it easy files on the KaZaA network,
as well as to any shared hard

E arly in November 2002,

Philips Electronics annou-
nced that it has developed a
speeds of up to 8x. Philips
holds the key patents and
stands to obtain significant
I f you are a PC user moving
towards a Mac, this is just
the software
drives on a network. Finally,
Roron installs a backdoor into
the PC that lets remote
new DVD Writer in an revenues from licens - and hardware attackers run attack tools.
effort to promote the ing, should DVD+RW combination Though Kapersky Labs
DVD+RW format. become a dominant for- that could ease attaches high risk to the
Philips debuted the mat in the near future. the transition. virus, Symantec rates Roron
main meat of a pro - The company will Move2Mac as only two on its threat scale
posed DVD+RW drive license and sell compo - comes with a of five. Updating/ your anti-
that has an integrated nents for the drives and lot of software and a cus- virus software should take
chipset, optical pickup unit hopes to see manufacturers tomised USB cable that lets care of the virus.
and a reference design. The making them available in the PC users move many of their
drive claims to record at first half of 2003. files and settings into a Mac- Fishy on Linux
intosh running the new OS Backdoor.Bofishy.C is a Trojan

statattack INFOGRAPHICS: Jaya Shetty

X. The software will also let
you keep your background
that affects the libpcap packet
capture library and the tcp-
pictures, by transferring them dump sniffer on Unix and
onto the Mac. Linux systems. It comes as
Detto Technologies, the modified source packages
developers of this software, that create a backdoor during
reportedly received no fund - their installation that gives the
ing from Apple, though attacker access to a shell on
Apple intends to carry it into the local computer. Users and
their retail store. Apart from administrators are advised to
Internet settings, files and turn off unnecessary services,
contacts, the other things patch all running software
such as pictures and music with the latest updates, espe-
are automatically moved into cially Internet services and
the right location on the new configure e-mail servers to
Mac, without much tinker- block or remove e-mail that
ing. With Apple’s new cam - contains file attachments that
paign focussing on luring PC are commonly used to spread
users to the Mac platform, it viruses, such as vbs, bat, exe,
appears that the scales may pif and scr files.
just have been tilted!

■ AOL offers instant messaging servers and clients to businesses ■ Japanese firm develops technology to transfer data via handsets at 10 Mbps

21 DECEMBER 2002
 pulse ■
■ news

A leaking keyboard followup heroes

Symantec deletes more than spam
I n what looks like an amaz-
ing security goof up, an HP
wireless keyboard user in Nor-
Users of Symantec’s Norton
Internet Security 2003 have
ory allocation errors that lead
to e-mail deletions. For such
Supercomputing
On November 4, more than
1,000 computers across
way discovered that what he discovered that the software e-mail, all that appeared in Canada were wired up to
typed into his screen appeared causes e-mail to be deleted the inbox was a cryptic create a huge networked
on a friend’s monitor, some before it reaches the message with supercomputer, used to
150 metres away—supposedly user’s inbox. ‘Symantec E-mail model the interaction of two
far out of range and blocked Symantec says Proxy Deleted molecules in 20,000 different
by at least two solid walls. that the flaw Message’ in positions and measure the
With HP and the user initially comes from the the subject energy bonds which this cre-
anti-spam fea- line. ates—a single desktop would
ture in the The prob- take over six years for this.
software that lem faced by
tags suspect- Norton’s cus- Tablet PC
ed spam, and Illustrations: Farzana Cooper tomers is simi- Microsoft has signed deals
has fixed the problem with lar to what many Hot- with top publishers Forbes,
a patch. If the user had a large mail account users face, with Financial Times , New Yorker,
volume of mail arriving or if strict spam filters in place. Slate, France’s Les Echoes and
the client was frequently Hotmail follows a very strict Germany’s Wirtschafts Woche
checking e-mail, then Norton policy of blocking all the mail to help make the Tablet PC
assuming that this was a one- Spam Alert would cause mem- from offending ISPs. more popular. A trial set of
off fault with that particular the magazines should be
keyboard, they settled on a available for download in
replacement. Even
replacement, the keyboard
after
Blockbusters on the Net 2003.

signals still reach across 150

metres! HP is now considering
doing field tests to ascertain
Y ou could soon be buying
and legally downloading
movies from the Internet, or
the movie is. Once down -
loaded, it will remain for 30
days on the hard drive, though
zeroes
the reasons behind it. so hope five of the major stu- once you have started to play
Digital voting
HP has sold some 65,000 dios in Hollywood. Sony Pic - the movie it will remain only
wireless keyboards in Europe for 24 hours. Moreover, it can- America is pioneering digi-
and a smaller number in not be transferred to any other tal voting, but security chal-
North America. What is wor- device, and this they hope will lenges seem far too many.
rying is the fact that such a curb trading of movies over Large-scale fraud, like vote-
strong signal gives the users the Internet via P2P networks buying and selling, are sim-
no control over who receives tures, MGM, Paramount Pic - such as KaZaA and Morpheus. pler on a computer that is
it, compromising on their tures, Warner Brothers and This service is operational only vulnerable to hackers and
security. Already, it is possible Universal Pictures have joined in the US right now and dial- viruses. Moreover, the soft-
to illegally intercept signals together and announced tech- up users are strongly discour- ware used for voting pur-
emitted from them, but in nology partnerships with aged. While it is an interesting poses is proprietary and the
this case, the device is literal- Microsoft and RealNetworks to concept, it does have its prob- vendors control it, leaving
ly beaming the signals far jumpstart movie-rental servic- lems. Firstly, you could rent its accuracy to question.
and wide, singing away to all es on the Net. Industry execu- DVDs and keep them for at
and sundry! tives are ecstatic at what they least two nights for the same Philanthropy
call the bounty of video-on- price. Moreover, even with PowerUp, a three-year-old
demand. Moreover, distribu- broadband connections, it project that gave away
snapshot tion is planned to be secure could take up to 4 hours for a computer equipment to
and unbreachable. You can single download. On the other schools and community
$4 billion worth now download over 175 new hand, code hackers aren’t centres across the United
of Linux servers and old movies from keeping quiet—pirates are States has been shut down.
movielink.com . The movies, of already talking about circum - The weakening economy
expected to sell in course, don’t come for free— venting these measures. They has forced its founders to
2003, shipping about you are required to pay any - claim that unless the movie close down the program
8 lakh units where between $1.99 (approx
Rs 100) and $4.99 (approx Rs
‘self destructs’, there is every
possibility that a solution
aimed at bridging the great
digital divide..
Source: Gartner Dataquest 250), depending on how new could be found! ➜

■ Nokia to launch N-Gage, a-game-console-and-cell-phone-in-one, by February 2003 ■ Shockwave.com launches GameBlast, a new subscription game service

22 DECEMBER 2002
 pulse ■
■ news

Buy 1, get 1 virtually free Don’t fight P2P

I ntel has just released the

fastest ever Pentium 4
underlying software into
believing that there are in
OS and so on. With Hyper-
Threading, this overhead will
T he last bastion of P2P is
under threat—realising that
university networks offer stu-
processor, that clocks a cool fact two CPUs. The software be negligible. Tests by several dents high bandwidth and the
3.06 GHz and is the first to can’t make out the differ- enthusiast sites on the Inter - opportunity to swap music and
feature Hyper-Thread- ence, so it works as though net have revealed that this movies, the Recording Industry
ing. However, there were two chip does score very well—in Association of America and the
Windows a c t u a l fact, it is not incorrect to call Motion Picture Association of
XP is the CPUs. It this mock-SMP (Symmetric America sent letters to more
only Windows w o u l d Multi Processing), a setup than 2,000 colleges, warning
OS that can take mean, for where more than one CPU is them that their networks were
advantage of this. example, used. All this is expected to used to trade illegal file copies.
Hyper-Threading technology that while come at an expectedly heafty The Electronic Privacy Infor-
should yield between 14 to playing a game, frame rates price and the CPU has mation Centre (EPIC) sent let-
26 per cent improvement in are slightly lower because of already caused an immediate ters to universities asking them
performance, claims Intel. the processing done by the price war with AMD halving to consider before installing
The technology ‘tricks’ the CPU for the soundcard, the prices of its older CPUs. tools to monitor the file swap-
ping networks, as increased
network surveillance could

Hitman 2 publishers apologise dilute the already scarce uni-

versity resources.

R eleased last month, Hit-

man 2: Silent Assassin ,
from the UK-based publisher
released by the company,
Eidos and IO Interactive, the
has apologised to the Sikh
community for the depiction.
Eidos claims to have reached
snapshot
Eidos, had come under fire an amicable position with the Online music sales
from members of the Sikh Sikh Coalition and will now $545
drop to
community for having depict- edit all offending content. million in the
ed the religions’ adherents as All the relevant content
first three quarters
members of an evil cult. from the Hitman 2 official
In the final mission, Hit- Web site will also be removed of 2002, from
man 2 features a violent show- and changes will be made to $730 million
down in a gurudwara and the the forthcoming GameCube in the first three
player is encouraged to enter version of the title, which was
and kill a group of fanatical developers, have stressed that scheduled for release early
quarters of 2001
believers. In a statement no offence was intended and next year. Source: ComScore Networks

Looking better Musical directory

I ridigm, a San Francisco
based company has devel-
oped a new reflective screen
tal displays, while consuming
less power. The display is
made of two conductive
P hilips may soon help you
place a song you can’t
remember. All you will have to
narrow frequency bands and
the energy of each band is
measured. When
technology using a micro - plates—one is a thin film stack do is dial a number a tune is
electromechanical system on a glass substrate, and the and place your cell played, the
(MEMS) called an Interfero - other is a metallic membrane phone near computer
metric Modulator, or iMoD. suspended over it. The gap the speaker cross checks
This device can yield screen between the two is filled with when the it with the
brightness as much as three air. The basic principle is the track is existing database.
times that of other liquid crys- idea of light interference—the played. A com- Philips hopes to
same principle puter tallies it have a database
found within against a database of over a
shimmering but- and sends you a text message 1,00,000 songs
terfly wings that with the relevant information. and estimates that just three
give it the irides- Hashing, the technology used seconds of playtime should
cent colours! here, breaks the tune into 33 give you an accurate match. ➜

■ MS memo claims its efforts to disparage open-source software may be backfiring ■ Apple to add DVD writer to PowerBook ■ IBM to push mobile HDDs to 80 GB

24 DECEMBER 2002
pulse ■
■ news

Privacy at stake Acting digital quoteworthy

I n a hard blow to the fight for
right to privacy on the Net,
the Virginia Supreme Court
I f it wasn’t enough that com-
puters are being used to cre -
ate special effects in movies,
flip a switch. Intelligent lights
change colour, focus and fade
right on cue with smoke pour-
“Breaking into Mac
isn’t something that
ruled against America Online’s Broadway has now embraced ing through ports on the floor
gets a hacker kudos
plea that a subpoena calling the PC passion- and music in his or her com-
for revealing a subscriber’s ately. p u m p s munity. Breaking
identity be quashed. Califor - In a new through Microsoft gives that
nia-based Nam Tai Electronics m u s i c a l , speakers person the ego
filed a complaint in January Dance of the monitored
2001 alleging that 51 Vampires, the by a com-
dollars that they
unknown individuals, includ- entire set puter-assist- depend upon”
ing an AOL subscriber, had made up of a ed keyboard,
Dan Kusnetzky, Vice
posted false and unlawful mes- six-ton ceme - g i v i n g
President of systems soft-
sages on a discussion board. tery, changes in enthusiasts
ware research at IDC,
Claiming under a minute. The the perform -
explaining why Microsoft
trade libel and entire arrangement, from the ance of a life-
systems are more often
violations of lighting effects right down to time. One does won -
hacked than other OSes
California’s shifting the six-ton graveyard, der though, if the show
unfair busi- is governed by a computer would go on, should the com-
ness practice needing a supervisor to just puter crash! “All legitimate busi-
statutes, Nam Tai requested nesses online have
the California Supreme Court an incentive to fight
to subpoena the AOL user. Pri-
vacy and democratic rights
No XXX in BMX XXX piracy, obviously as
this study shows. It
groups are appalled at the rul-
ing, as courts all over the US
protect the individual’s privacy
A cclaim Entertainment’s
BMX XXX will not contain
topless nudity in
as the refusal by big retailers to
stock the controversial game
have finally led
affects everyone”
A representative for the
and anonymity rights. its PlayStation2 to an edited ver-
Recording Industry Asso-
AOL filed a motion argu- version. The sion for the
ciation of America, on the
ing that it cannot reveal sub- game’s trailers PlayStation 2
need for anti-piracy meas-
scriber information as it featured strip - release. The
ures, in view of a study by
would infringe on the First pers, coarse lan- XBox and Game -
ComScore Networks that
Amendment rights that guar- guage and the tag Cube versions,
showed a drastic slump in
antees an individual the free- line ‘Keep It however, will
online music sales this year
dom of speech and the right Dirty’. However, protests from not be ‘sanitised’, said the
to anonymity. AOL now has various parents groups as well company.
10 days to appeal to the Vir -
ginia Supreme Court or turn
over the name. If the Virginia
tomorrow’stechnology
court rules against AOL, then Organic Light Emitting Diode
AOL can appeal to the US
Supreme Court.
A technology using devices
called Organic LEDs
OLEDs to be fabricated at sig-
nificantly lower costs, giving
tric Global Research Center in
New York, will allow multiple
snapshot (OLEDs) might just end the
quest for a more cost-effective
them higher brightness, con-
trast levels and resolutions. It
colours. Through this process,
an OLED is placed face down
Reliance is targeting alternative to TFT displays. will also eliminate the need for on a glass substrate and the
40-50 lakh While this new technology a backlight, thus greatly saving opposite side of this substrate
initially used an expensive fab- power requirements—ideal for is deposited with particles of
customers, and
rication process where multi- mobile display applications. dyed polymers. When light
expects to make ple layers of light-emitting Also, while OLEDs were from the OLED enters the

Rs 4,000 crore materials had to be deposited

sequentially in the devices,
originally capable of emitting
only a single colour, a newer
polymer layers, some of the
photons are split or down con-
in the first year of its recent breakthroughs have process called down-conver- verted by the phosphor parti-
WLL service allowed them to be fabricated sion created by Anil Duggal, a cles into two longer wave-
using a single layer. This allows researcher at the General Elec- length photons.
Source: Economic Times

■ BMG to manufacture only copy-protected CDs henceforth ■ Tablet PCs from Acer, Toshiba and ViewSonic range from $2,000 to $2,500

26 DECEMBER 2002
pulse ■
■ letters

Dear Venkatesh,
Your belief that 40 GB hard disk drives have a greater tendency
to develop bad sectors is a fallacy. A simple case of bad luck might
have more to do with your friend’s drive crashing, than its 40 GB
capacity (we’ve got a substantial number of similar capacity
drives that are running completely trouble-free in our offices). The
best way to avoid bad sectors is by taking necessary precautions
such as refraining from moving the drive while it’s in operation
and providing clean, uninterrupted power to your computer.

Your vote counts

Q. What do you think about Digit’s unique This month’s question:
half-flap covers?
For Against Gimme Models “Would you replace Backbyte with a
34% 33% 33% monthly technology quiz?”
Since you are this undecided, we’ll stick with the tried and
tested for now.
Log on to www.thinkdigit.com and vote on it

28 DECEMBER 2002
 Short Bytes
Miss October
Hi Vinit,
Your October edition was a
real treat; the centre-
spread workshop on
‘Reviving your Dead PC’
was especially outstanding.
I am a hardware student
and I found that piece to
be of great help.
Shiva Kumar
Via e-mail

Spread the good

word
Dear Vinit,
I have been reading your
magazine since its incep-
tion and I love the articles
and reviews. Lately I’ve
run out of storage space,
but I simply cannot get
myself to give away Digit
to the raddiwalla. Can you
please suggest an alterna-
tive means to give the old
issues away?
Chirag
Via e-mail

Since knowledge and wisdom are

best shared, you could donate the
old issues to your local library
and give countless others an
opportunity to learn about the
wonderful world of technology.

Goof Ups
■ The Walking Gigabytes story
on Page 74, Digit November
2002, incorrectly mentions that
the Zip 250 and 750 do not fea-
ture a manual eject button.
Both the Zip drives have the
said button.
■ In November issue’s Bazaar
section, the contact informa-
Hi Srinivasa,
tion provided for Busy Lite 3.0
You are absolutely right. Falling speeds as
on Page 89 is incorrect. The
a result of an increase in the subscriber
correct contact is Busy
base is a primary problem affecting
Infotech Pvt Ltd, Phone: 011-
broadband services in India. Service
7375062, Price: Rs 1,500.
providers need to strictly enforce Quality
■ The Drive-in Bytes story on
of Service and ensure that their bandwidth
increases in proportion to the number of Page 56 in the same issue
subscribers. mentions that the LG 8320B
contains 8 MB of buffer. It in
fact only has a 2 MB buffer.
Thanks for pointing this one
Send your letters marked ‘Readers Letters’ to the Digit office: out, Vishwanath.
D-222/2, MIDC, TTC Industrial Estate, Om Sagar Building, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400 706,
Phone: 022-7629191/9200 Fax: 022-7629224 Notice any goof-ups? Write to
E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

29 DECEMBER 2002
Feature-Tech next option final.qxd 4/28/2004 5:23 PM Page 32

features ■
■ technology next

?
Popular culture has always been bombarded
Sleek, black, fast and talkative. Riding
autonomously on all fours with an indestructible
with the thoughts of science fiction writers and
body to boot. This was KITT, a Pontiac Trans-Am
pop directors. Whether it is mass-hysteria cre- and the star of the 1982 television series Knight
ated by the radio transmission of H.G. Wells' Rider. Can we ever hope to own a car that drives
War of the Worlds, or the drones of fans that itself?
religiously subscribe to the worlds of Star Trek
and Star Wars, fiction has always teased and
appeased the human mind. Cars that can talk T he bad news is that KITT is still
years away—as of now, you cannot
hope to control your car with a cell
trucks and pedestrians are all accumu
lated within the database. Mounted i
front of the car are cameras that tak
and drive themselves, buildings that fly, robots phone. The good news is that there are snapshots of the surrounding environ
that help around the house, androids that are autonomous systems that allow some ment and send them to the processo
amount of back seat driving. Typically nestling within. The processors the
almost human, universal translators, aircraft such systems, such as the Distronic use the AI routines to compare the pic
that do all the flying for us…joining all these found in the Mercedes S Class of cars, tures to the ones within the database
seemingly disparate dots is the common thread do little but regulate the distance The car will thus ascertain its positio
between vehicles, speeding and slow- and speed with respect to the othe
of Artificial Intelligence. The concept that we, ing as and when required. The better vehicles, the road and pedestrians. Th
as humans, will one day create entities that will news is that something a little more processor then steers, accelerates an
evolutionary, that can cope with the decelerates as needed. The system
be non-differentiable from us in thought and in
urban traffic, where lane rules and road not perfect since the decisions ar
action. Will the line between fact and fiction be regulations are easily forgotten, is in based on ideal road widths and it pe
always a thick bold one? Are we doomed to the making. This new car contains two forms best on slow speeds.
microprocessors that figure out where Future cars could share a collecti
conjure up things larger than life whilst we the car is in relation to others and to consciousness of sorts; a distribut
struggle to cure the common cold? Let us see the boundaries of the road. The vehicle software environment reminiscent
whether science today has succeeded in ren- is driven by software AI techniques of the Borg collective. Akin to the swarm
shape recognition and comparison. It’s ing behaviour of birds, AI routines w
dering some of our fondest dreams into reality, based on a database consisting of three- render this collective to act in uniso
even as we look further, into the brave new dimensional models of roads and road keeping distance, maintaining spe
world of the future. elements. Thus, facets of road intersec- .and ensuring that you reach your de
tions, types, typical road-widths, cars, tination safely and effectively.
AHMED SHAIKH

32 DECEMBER
Feature-Tech next option final.qxd 4/28/2004 5:23 PM Page 33

?
"Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose any Automated Help
more. Goodbye." Thus ran the chilling conversa- Mechanised wheelchairs
tion between the AI program HAL 9000 and the that help the disabled are
space explorer Dave, moments before Dave already a market reality.
breathes his last. Are software programs smart These futuristic wheel-
chairs can take
enough to be compared with HAL from Stanley the form of
Kubrick’s Space Odyssey 2001? motorised,
gyro-controlled

M aking up for the lack of a brain

in Dr Frankenstein’s monster,
scientists are busy tinkering with cre -
biologists: the analysis of protein
structure. In one such scenario, the
programs successfully ‘self-discov-
vehicles that offer
stability and an abil -
ity to climb stairs.
ations that can think. A computer ered’ a previously unknown carcino - They also sport pres-
program that closely mirrors the gen. They were also able to extrapo- sure-sensitive manoeu-
manner in which humans learn in late and extract new rules that gov- vring systems that can be
the social menagerie of life. These ern the manner in which a three- used to steer the machines
new portents of intelligence use a dimensional protein structure is with the faintest of blows
technique called inductive logic pro - formed. Success has not been restrict- from the mouth. Experts at the
gramming—knowledge supplied by ed to the field of biology—mathe - Osaka University in Japan have
the scientists in the form of rules and matics was gifted a new sequence of used AI techniques to take the
rule-execution criteria. The programs integers called refractorables, by a current-generation of wheel
use this information to learn from similarly thinking software routine. chairs onto a higher level of
their system in what can be termed A thinking piece of software is automation. You can call the
as ‘experience’; and for their own well in demand in various fields, rang- chair towards you, for example,
benefit, tweak and change the base ing from military—a smart bomb that by simply gesturing with your
rules. It is an evolutionary process designates and destroys enemy targets; hands. Video cameras mounted
that relies on feedback from the envi - to medicine—a smart pill that finds on the machine along with facial
ronment. home in your body and delivers drugs recognition and motion detectio
So what are the benefits of such based upon the feedback it receives software allow just such behav
programs? Researchers have already from your immune and circulatory iour. The chair can be steered
assigned them the role of molecular system. with sideway head motions—

?
The 1986 Disney film, Flight of the Navigator, showcased the story of a young boy
taken on an interstellar ride by a sleek silver spacecraft that called itself MAX.
When can we expect our current modes of flight to go sentient and fly us around
the universe?

U sing a combination of data collected from radars, satel -

lites and wireless networks, an airplane is more aware of
itself and its airspace than it has ever been. These systems act
something awry is detected by the control system, the
neural net kicks in and takes control. The network sifts
through the alarming data six times a second to work out th
as early-warning alarms, automated co-pilots, navigational aids best means of using the operational systems of the plane t
and even landing assists. For instance, when a rudder or the maintain normal flight. For example, if it detects a useles
wing flaps of an airplane malfunction, there is precious little wing-flap, the net would guide the airplane into a pre-dete
that a pilot can do to avert disaster, since these systems do not mined manoeuvre, maybe banking the entire structure to com
have fallbacks. AI routines developed by NASA have been used pensate for the flaps. The neural net was able to keep a te
to keep a plane flying even when it otherwise wouldn’t. The plane in control even at a supersonic speed.
software is based on a neural network—an AI routine that A neural net, along with surface recognition algorithms an
enables a program to perform a series of tasks by learning data gathered from satellites can theoretically, fly and land
through trial and error. A flight control system keeps an eye on aeroplane. Although such a system might never find everyd
data such as the plane’s airspeed, heading and the forces expe- use, scenarios wherein the pilots are not available would not en
rienced by its elements such as the wings and the tail. This in disasters, like they currently do. Hostage situations, in part
data is then compared to a safe set of numbers, which would ular, could be foiled, as a neural net would guide and land t
be encountered when things are working optimally. When plane in a safe territory without needing human input.

33 DECEMBER
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features ■
■ technology next

?
edsters We grew up with the Jetsons family and half
expected the wonderful world of flying cars, auto-
mated sidewalks and the floating buildings to
come alive. Will robotics bring Rosie the robot
maid out of the television screen and into our
homes?

P robotics, a small company, has

developed Cye—an answer to
domestic woes that took 10 years in
interpolates the data from its treks and
conjures up a map of the space in
question. Once mapped, the machine
the making. Cye resembles a dustpan navigates using a pair of wheels that
on wheels and is designed to serve you double up as rudimentary sense
dinner and clean the carpet. It uses a organs. Whenever the wheels

?
personal computer as the hub of its encounter resistance to their motion,
tasks. The user defines the chores that the force is translated into electronic
need to be performed, by dragging and signals that the machine can under- Go back to the
dropping icons within a computer stand. Cye can therefore detect obsta- 1986 hit movie,
program and Cye takes over from cles in its path using these wheels. Short Circuit, star-
there. Before bending its back though, Thus aided, the robot will arm itself
the robot needs to know the lay of the with a vacuum cleaner and attack the
ring an emotionally
land. This task requires the owner’s carpet with the vigour reserved for wrought, self-
input, so that the robot is guided from mechanical nuts and bearings. When aware, existential
one extreme of a room to another it runs low on power, it stops what it robot, Number 5.
using a mouse. It then explores is doing and heads to the nearest
between boundaries thus defined, recharging pod for a breather.
Can AIBO, Sony's replace
ment dog, ever hope to b
as emotive and expressiv
as that movie’s star?

? K
The inimitable series by Douglas Adams, The ismet is a robot, complete with
eyes, eyebrows, ears and lips—
Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, had a peculiar ele- an experiment that is destined fo
ment to it—an alien fish, which when appropriately adorable, if not great things. Creat
inserted could instantaneously translate between ed by a Massachusetts Institute o
Technology (MIT) team headed b
any and every language. Termed Babelfish, will the Rodney Brooks, the robot is mean
real world ever hold it with its ear? to self-learn just like a two-year-old
human toddler. Traditionally, AI ha

T he German Research Center for

Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) along
with IBM and Siemens has jointly
sentences, cross-lingual information
access, linguistic analysis and grammar
checking. The system has been com -
been about implementing softwar
algorithms that define a set of rule
to replicate the world and anothe
scending remark. developed an AI system that aims to mercially implemented in the form of set to define the robot’s behaviou
bridge the language gap. Language Verbmobil, a cellular phone service within the simulated world. Brooks
resources such as lexicons, grammar, that can translate spoken English, Ger- thinks differently. Rules are neve
and test suite form the foundation of man, Japanese and Chinese in a few defined, but are emergent. Kismet i
the technology. Built upon this are milliseconds at an accuracy rate of built on a tree-structure of simpl
components for the design and imple- close to 90 per cent. components; the complexity o
mentation of a language such as word Better AI routines are all that stop behaviour is only visible on an over
‘taggers’, sentence parsers and sentence speech synthesizers from becoming uni- all scale—the robot can communi
generators, along with tools for the versal translators. Spoken words are a cate its desires using a range o
maintenance of terminologies and dic- part of the communication process, expressions that cover interest, sad
tionaries. Finally, AI routines that help which includes gestures and body lan- ness, surprise and anxiety. Simila
in speech analysis and synthesis are guage. The ultimate translator would techniques can equip us with th
brought to task. The entire system thus be one that analyses not only words tools to implement complex emo
performs a bevy of tasks including but also the slight tilt of the head that tion and feedback systems into th
information extraction from spoken separates a comment from a conde- robots of tomorrow.

34 DECEMBER
Feature-Tech next option final.qxd 4/28/2004 5:23 PM Page 35

? ?
Precogs: Humans with the ability to predict a “Agent Smith”, say
crime even before it is committed. Thus went the it in the soporific
premise of the 2002 hit movie, Minority Report. drone of the vil-
Can science ever develop a piece of software or lain that plagued
hardware to predict the future? Neo and the crew
in The Matrix.
Smith was created
H umans bring with them cognitive
biases: they rely too much on one
set of information without looking at
tions can also be introduced in the
progeny by toggling the 1s and the 0s
involved. The resultant offspring are
as a figure to police and
the entire picture formed, often with similarly evaluated on their successes
maintain hegemony ove
disastrous results. To minimise errors and the process is repeated till a the humans in the virtua
and to eventually produce a silicon healthy ecology emerges wherein soft- network that enmeshed
stock market capable of simulating the
lows and ups of the real thing, AI tech-
ware agents of repute move up the lad-
der while the faulty ones fade into
the fictional world. Can
niques are pitched together. Rule sets extinction, taking the associative rule
scientists come up with
are created with data extracted from sets with them. To add to the heady software codes that will
market snapshots of the past. Software mix are fuzzy logic elements that can serve the Internet in a
agents are then hired to simulate buy-
ing and selling decisions based on
base decisions on a range of data,
rather than discrete values of the same.
similar fashion?
these rules. These decisions are then
passed on to a human who does the
actual transactions. Each decision
Such cocktails have been used to con-
struct expert systems—software pow-
erhouses designed to replace a human
H ow are viruses, bacteria and th
Internet inter-related? Sex. Th
Net is a mass of connections, strun
made by such an agent is accorded a professional such as a market analyst. together at nodes that physicall
weightage based on the degree of suc- Built upon the power of supercom- manifest as routers. These router
cess of the choice. Successful agents are puters, an expert system can perhaps one have a fixed buffer capacity tha
then ‘bred’ together—a snippet of code day answer the age-old questions about determines their ability to accept
from here, a snip from there and you ‘Life’. Nirvana, via your friendly neigh- store and re-route data. Sometime
have birthed something new. Muta - bourhood computer! the data arriving at these nodes ar
lost by the router. What is neede
then, is a mechanism by which th

?
buffers monitor themselves, analys
the incoming packets and adjus
Bicentennial Man, the 1999 film starring Robin their lengths accordingly. So wher
Williams told of Andrew Martin, a household does sex come in? Bacteria repro
android who begins to feel genuine human emo- duce in a very efficient, albeit non
exciting manner: when two such
tions. Will a robot ever reach a level of intelligence cells come in contact with each
to be considered sentient and maybe, even human? other, genes snippets are exchanged
Successful genes are propagated

M ove over AIBO,

Robokoneko. Proving compre -
enter

hensively that cats are indeed smarter

neurons. Since the task of program-
ming a bank as complex as the kitty’s
brain seems illogical, the scientists
while ineffective ones fade away
Software codes behave similarly—
strings of data imitate the gene snip
than dogs, the robot kitten is all set to turn to genetic algorithms for respite. pets that are then collated and inte
take centre stage with a brain powered Codes of software will be let to brew, spersed between the software. Thes
by the electrical firings between some intermingle and share snippets code snips let the buffer adapt and
40 million artificial neurons. The amongst each other, eventually lead- evolve as per the needs of the data
brain will consist of 72 programmable ing to the creation of a neural network This could be put to use acros
silicon chips whose connections based on the best-of-breed software phone lines, making dropped call
between constituent transistors can be snippets. and busy lines a thing of the past.
electronically rewired. To maximise Take a brain as complex as
their potential, connections will Robokoneko’s, add in the expressions
repeatedly be reconfigured to repre - and the emotional ability of a Kismet and
sent 32,768 different modules. As the stir vigorously. Blend in face recognition
brain cycles through these modules at software, speech analyzers, speech syn-
a rate of 300 times per second, the thesizers, a healthy dollop of automated
effect will be akin to a singular entity limbs and voila, a fully functional
with a virtual bank of 37.7 million android is at your service. Happy living.

35 DECEMBER
features ■
■ droolmaal

Panasonic DVD-LV65
For your viewing pleasure
This portable DVD player offers 2.5 hours of
viewing time. Its 5-inch widescreen LCD
monitor can be adjusted for a wide range of
viewing positions and allows you to view
DVD movies in the 16:9 widescreen format
or conventional 4:3 format. The DVD-LV65
can play a variety of audio and video disc
formats such as DVD-Video, DVD-RAM,
DVD-R, Video CD, Audio CD and CD-R/R.
You can also view JPEG images and MPEG4
video, and listen to MP3 files. There are out-
puts for optional DTS and Dolby Digital sur-
round sound decoders, providing six dis-
crete audio channels. So switch on the DVD
player, bring out the popcorn and enjoy!
Web site: www.panasonic.com

Digital accessories to match your attitude

HP Jornada 928 WDA Pocket PC

Two-in-one wonder
Voice, data and personal information management integrat -
ed in one device? That’s what the 928 WDA offers you. It is
based on Microsoft’s Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition software
and combines a PDA with a GSM/GPRS-enabled phone.
Thanks to its dual screen design, you can access the phone
and Pocket PC functions independently of one another—the
PDA applications on a 16-bit colour reflective TFT screen,
and the phone functions on a blue-backlit phone display.
The 928 WDA features voice-activated dialling and a dual-
battery system that includes a rechargeable lithium-polymer
battery which gives you an estimated 3 hours talk time or 12
hours PDA usage and 120 hours standby time.
Web site: www.hp-expo.com

38 DECEMBER 2002
 Archos Jukebox FM Recorder 20 GB
Your entertainment centre
A 20 GB hard drive, USB 2.0 compatibility, data transfer rate
of up to 480 Mbps, 300 hours of CD quality MP3 music at
128 kbps, 450 hours of radio recording at 96 kbps, 700 hours
of voice recording at 64 kbps, continuous playback time of
up to 12 hours or 20 GB of data. No, we are not listing out
the specifications of a PC. This tiny little pocket-sized MP3-
player-cum-recorder-cum-FM-radio allows you to record from
any analog or digital source and to port your recordings back
to the PC without any specialised software—just drag and
drop MP3 files from Windows Explorer. This versatile device
can also be used as a voice recorder.
Web site: www.archos.com

Casio Exilim Wearable Card

Camera EX-M2
Slim is in!
This little device has a 2.0 megapixel CCD, 4x
digital zoom, and the ability to record up to 30
seconds of video. For memory, it has an SD
Memory Card, a MultiMedia Card and 12 MB of
Flash memory. The camera supports Print Image
Matching II and comes with a USB cable and
software that simplifies image management—all
in a package that is 11.3 mm thin and weighs
just 88 grams. Oh and did we mention that it
acts as an MP3 player also? You can get nearly
five-and-a-half hours of playback on a full charge.
What more could you want in a camera?
Web site:
http://world.casio.com/exilim/en/ex_s2/style

MadPlayer
Tunes for you
An MP3 player is an MP3 player, is an MP3 player.
Right? Take a look at MadPlayer and you just might
change your ideas. This MP3 player can store music in
all the popular file formats, including MP3, WMA and
MIDI. It has a karaoke functionality, an FM radio and
uses a soundbank of over 550 instruments and sounds so
you can create tunes in a huge range of styles and gen-
res. Besides, it lets you be your own DJ—you can choose
the music style, add samples and effects and even share
your creations. There’s a standard 32 MB Smart Media
card, upgradable to 128 MB. A built-in audio output jack
lets you connect it to practically anything—your home
stereo or any other device that can record MP3s or burn
them on CDs. So if you’ve got a tune, just play it!
Web site: www.madplayer.com

39 DECEMBER 2002
Firsthand_disabled.qxd 4/28/2004 5:21 PM Page 40

features ■
■ firsthand ILLUSTRATION: Atul
Deshmukh

COMPUTING FOR

Absolutely Everybody
“ Our vision when we started the company was a computer on every desk and in every
home.
In this setting, I think the word to emphasise is ‘Every’. The PC can be a tool for everyone

H
ari Raghavan, aged 24, between hiring an able-bodied per- methods. This is especially difficult
comes across as your reg- son and a blind one is already made. for those who have lost their sight
ular MBA yuppie, sport- In this kind of economy, especially gradually or by an accident.
ing a clean shave and an in a developing country, it is quite a K. Ramakrishna, a general man -
endearing twang. What makes his struggle for the disabled to acquire ager at IDBI bank, found that
colleagues take a double take as he jobs. In order to amend this, it is Braille was inadequate for his
marches into his office is the red essential that they are educated by mathematical and statistical
and white stick he uses. ‘Chal- the same standard and have similar requirements. “Not that the teach-
lenged’ by retinal degeneration skill sets as others so that they can ers at the National Association for
since the age of 17, Raghavan is a easily fit into existing work envi - the Blind didn’t try their very best
marketing executive with one of ronments. to teach me Braille,” says he with a
India’s leading publishing houses. The need then is for chameleon snigger, ‘I think I was just too lazy
His job profile involves two like devices and applications that to learn.”
extremely sight-centred activities— blend in with the already existing Also, the introduction of, say a
computing and travelling. Thanks environment. Fortunately, there Braille printer or keyboard in a
to special tools built into common are plenty of tools available that functional workplace spells addi-
applications and some add ons, he allow this. tional effort, which few are ready
is able to do his work remarkably to undertake. However, this same
well within the same setup that is Inherent support crack lets in the light for comput-
used by the rest of the office. The source of input and feedback is ing—since Braille has such limita-
In the overall employment and the most crucial part of an applica- tions, we have to fall back upon
market scenario, where every half a tion for those who are incapable of regular alphabet reading. For those
degree separates the employed from receiving conventional feedback. who already have the concept of a
the unemployed, physical impair- This naturally points to Braille, the PC and its navigation, OCR and
ment can be a big drawback—espe- tried and tested medium of com- screen reading software are ideal.
cially so if it is of the visual nature. munication. However, a basic Visual disability can be classi
In a workplace, the employment of drawback with Braille is the learn- fied as either partial or complete
any differently abled individual ing curve involved, not to mention blindness. The former obviously
means extra investment in terms of the ‘unlearning’ one has to do of lends a certain degree of independ-
infrastructure and hence, the choice conventional reading and writing ence compared to the latter. A

40 DECEMBER 200
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features ■
■ firsthand

transparent architecture to support either ability, a boon for users with weak or fail-
of the disabilities is inherently present in ing eyesight.
Assistive Devices
most technologies. Simple magnification However, both the Magnifier and
methods present in Windows such as the Narrator are but assisting tools that Karishma Enterprises, run by Ram
increasing the font sizes and using spe- can not offer the user complete inde- Agarwal, who is also visually
cial, high-contrast colour schemes help pendence. The Magnifier helps only impaired, specialises in importing
the partially blind. those with failing vision, while the Nar - assistive devices. The company’s
Among the enhanced accessibility rator, by its maker’s own confession, Web site, www.brailleworldindia.com
features in Microsoft’s Windows 2000 and “allows only a minimal level of func - lists the different devices that can
XP are two utilities called Narrator and tionality for users with special needs”. be ordered, and also has a job
On-Screen Keyboard, which along with The situation demands utility programs directory and a space for those
the previously introduced Magnifier, are with advanced features that let users
installed by default with the operating perform day to day tasks with complete
systems. They appear along with the independence.
Accessibility Wizard and the new Utility
Manager in the expanded Accessibility A glimmer of light

“
Many a surprised colleague has
stopped by Raghavan’s desk, kindly Brailleworldin-

Braille was letting him know that his monitor is

switched off as he types furiously away
dia.com has
an exhaustive
inadequate at his keyboard. Raghavan explains directory of
for my patiently that he doesn’t need the assistive
mathematical monitor to be switched on since he
uses a software called Window-Eyes. interested in setting up computer

”
and statistical Developed by GW Micro, this is a and electronic training institutes
K. Ramakrishna needs screen navigating software that reads and projects. Karishma Enterprises
GENERAL MANAGER , IDBI out explicitly what is presented on undertakes the setting up and
your monitor display—default but- installation of these centres as well
tons, spaces, line breaks and punctua- as the training and orientation of
menu, found under the Start button. Such tion included. A series of configured keys the staff. It also provides consultan
utilities provide a minimum level of func- let you choose a particular line to be read
tionality for many people with disabili- out slower or even spelt out. The rest of the
ties, without requiring additional soft- functions, such as file saving, changing its out the words. Since Raghavan was alread
ware and hardware. location, and maximising and minimising accustomed to using the PC before he los
While Magnifier, Narrator and On- a window can also be configured as per the his sight, the screen narration emanatin
Screen Keyboard do not replace full-fea- user’s convenience and preference. The in an American drawl from his speak
tured accessibility aids, they allow users pace of reading can be set to a speed com- ers/headphones as he used Window-Eye
with disabilities to effectively use a com- fortable to the user. was easy to decipher.
puter running Windows. Narrator is par- Raghavan got through his BCom years While the thought of travelling acros
ticularly useful to the visually impaired as with the help of traditional human readers two continents to learn computing ma
it is a text-to-speech program that can and writers during examination and by seem impractical to most visuall
narrate as a user types. The On-Screen studying with the aid of audiotapes record- impaired people, help is available close
Keyboard displays a virtual keyboard on ed by his mother. The vacations preceding to home. Karishma Enterprises in Mum
the screen, enabling users with limited his final year took him to the US where he bai is the master distributor in India
mobility to input text using a pointing was introduced to various OCR software JAWS for Windows (w ww.freedomscientif
device like the mouse. The Magnifier, as and to Window-Eyes. By the time Ragha- ic. com), a popular and user-friendly scree
suggested by the name, enlarges sections van returned, he was happily rattling away reading software. It enables the visuall
of the computer screen for increased read- at his keyboard while the speakers prattled impaired to learn and operate computers
independently.
JAWS for Windows, developed b
Hardware Solutions Freedom Scientific USA, has the credit o
Apart from software enablers, there aimed to provide such an experience. being a pioneer in its field. Ramakrishna
are hardware devices that let a visually But such devices are not easily avail - one of the early users of JAWS for Win
impaired person use the computer in able and may not match the budget dows, used a DOS-based version as early a
as natural and effortless a way as pos - and preference of the user. Adapting 1986. The software reads informatio
sible. Devices that give the users the them to an already set infrastructure from the computer screen and speaks i
‘feel’ of the screen through various like say, a work place where the basic back via a speech synthesiser. The USP o
products such as refreshable Braille work devices such as the printers and the software is its intuitiveness and eas
displays, touchpads, screen reading PCs are connected to each other, of use. This is further enhanced by the fac
software or speech synthesisers, are all becomes quite a task—to install a that most of the people working on th
project are visually impaired. The speec

42 DECEMBER 200
Firsthand_disabled.qxd 4/28/2004 5:21 PM Page 43

Tool Shop
Bobby: A Web accessibility software tuguese, French, German, Italian, and
that is compliant with existing acces- Spanish.
sibility guidelines. It Web site: http://www-
enables visually impaired 3.ibm.com/able
people to access and enjoy the same /hpr.html
information available on the Internet
that is available to the rest of the JAWS 4.5: Job Access With Speech is
world. designed to add speech output to
Web site: http://bobby.watchfire.com/ applications. It uses configuration
bobby/html/en/index.jsp files to record speech parameters
such as volume, rate, pitch and frame
Focus: The Focus series of Braille dis- and macro definitions. The latest ver -
plays come with keys sion supports Windows XP and Inter -
that allow the user net Explorer 6.
to navigate any soft- Web site: http://www.free-
ware without reach- domscientific.com
ing for the computer keyboard. They
also have two audio inputs and one
output for maximum usability. Two /fs_products/software_jaws.asp
USB ports and programmable but-
tons further enhance its usefulness. PAC Mate BNS: A handheld designed
Web site: exclusively for the visually impaired.
http://www.freedomscientific.com Running JAWS for Windows, it pro-
/fs_products/displays_focusinfo.asp vides the same applications that have
been built for devices such as the
IBM Home Page Reader 3.0: This soft- Compaq iPaq. The PAC Mate BNS has
ware utilises IBM’s ViaVoice text-to- Braille in and speech out capabilities
speech synthesizer for reading out and the PAC Mate BNS has a QWERTY-
text, frames, images, text links, data style keyboard with speech output.
input fields and other details on the Web site:
Web. It is available in Brazilian Por- http://www.freedomscientific.com

synthesiser offers support for seven lan- with Windows, which means that any
guages—US English, British English, Ger- enhancement in the OS, such as XP will
man, Italian, French and Latin Spanish. be adapted to JAWS for Windows.
The latest version incorporates fea -
tures such as Smart Screen Technology to Filling the void
provide flexibility with menus and dialog So are these tools restricted to a privileged

“
few? Not at all. The makers of
the technologies themselves are
Technology is instrumental in spreading it to
what technolo- the intended audience. Most
gy does, and it NGOs that set up computer
has made it training centres for the visually
impaired consider only the costs
possible for me of their sighted teachers—the

”
to have a main- equipment is sponsored by evan-
Hari Raghavan stream career gelist NGOs and developers of
CONSUMER MARKETING , the technology. The Indian
Association of the Visually
Handicapped (IAVH), an associ-
boxes. A speech pad enables single-hand - ation dedicated to informing, counselling
ed operation and voice configurations. It and aiding the visually impaired, was
possesses enough intelligence to analyse built on grants from IDBI Bank, Microsoft
the screen content and then speak, mak- and the HDFC bank. It has training cen-
ing it easier for the user to work unfamil- tres in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Hyderabad
iar applications. It also works in tandem and Thiruvananthapuram. The Victoria

43 DECEMBER 200
test drive ■
■ start up

How we Test
It looks good and the technology is glitzy, but does it do the job?
In Test this Month

T
After having tested and
he Digital Media The Awards reviewed 588 hardware and
Test & Research Digit awards out- software products during
Centre (DMTRC) standing products the course of this year in
conducts a series by selecting a Best Digit, we bring to you the
of elaborate tests to eval- Performance and Zero1 Awards, the defini-
uate the merit of each Best Value winner in tive award for excellence in
hardware and software each comparison performance. If you want
product. To ensure that test. The winner of to find out who’s the best-
our readers have all the the Best Perfor- of-class in the various
information they need to mance Award will be product categories, turn to
make an informed buy- the product that the Zero1 Awards feature
ing decision, engineers at scored the highest in this month. From 3D
DMTRC evaluate and the performance seg- graphics cards to games,
review the latest hard - ment of our tests. laser printers and scanners,
ware, software and technology services in accor- This award represents the best performing prod- we bring you the products
dance with the most up-to-date evaluation uct in our tests and doesn’t factor in any other that have excelled in tech-
processes and methodologies used around parameter such as value for money, features, sup- nology, innovation and
the world. port, etc. The winner of the Best Value Award performance.
will be the product that scores the highest in We also bring you a crop
Comparison Tests our value for money parameter which is derived of some of the most bleed-
We use a dual rating system, the first of which is taking into account the ratio of ing-edge products in our
applied to the Comparison a product’s performance and fea- Bazaar section. Reviewed
Tests in which we compare tures to its price. The product here is the formidable Her-
the performance of products winning this award offers good cules 3D Prophet 9700 Pro
within a particular category. performance at a great price. graphics accelerator—to
Each product is evaluat- date, the fastest graphics
ed under different parame- In Bazaar card in the world for gam-
ters such as performance, The second part of the rating system is used to ing. The product that could
value for money, features, evaluate individual hardware and software prod- just make the sub-Rs 20,000
warranty and support, etc. ucts in the Bazaar section. The evaluation covers PC become a reality. Find
Weightages are then parameters such as performance, ease of use, out also how the new Mini-
applied to the various test value for money and the build quality/features of ITX form factor mother-
parameters according to the product in question and then arrives at an board from VIA stacks up in
their importance for overall rating. our tests.
that particular category of Here each of these parameters is given a There are also a host of
products. weightage of 25 per cent and is rated on a scale droolable peripherals such
These weightages are of 5, which is represented by arrows ( ). as the Logitech Cordless
then used to arrive at an The greater the number of arrows, the better Freedom Optical keyboard
overall grade for each indi- the product. This simple five-point rating system and Microsoft’s new wireless
vidual product. An overall is designed to give you an easy-to-interpret Intellimouse Explorer optical
grade of A+, therefore, indi- assessment of a product. For example, a product mouse.
cates that the product is that receives an overall score of five arrows sig- On the software front,
close to perfection. nifies an outstanding buy! we review the newest itera-
tion of Red Hat, version
8.0, and also a couple of
The 5-point Rating System used in Bazaar
great tools such as Norton
Excellent: a brilliant combination of price, performance and features—far AntiVirus 2003 for combat-
beyond expectations ing the threats posed by
Good: a good buy, better than most products in its category the increasing army of
Average: reasonably competent but nothing spectacular about the product viruses, and Adobe LiveMo-
Mediocre: does not live up to expectations, needs improvement in many areas tion 2.0, which will help
Poor: has serious drawbacks and needs improvement before it can be you add pizzazz to your
used for its target application Web sites.

44 DECEMBER 2002
01 Award final.qxd 4/28/2004 5:39 PM Page 46

46 DECEMBER 2
01 Award final.qxd 4/28/2004 5:39 PM Page 47

L ike with passengers on a speeding train, our perception of

technology is but a fleeting blur—technology is constantly
changing, sometimes faster than you can grasp! And this year
has seen some of the most influential arrivals in the field. With
advancements in processor fabrication processes, quantum
leaps in 3D graphics hardware design, and smoother and mor
efficient application software, our experience of technology ha
evolved from working with toolbars to getting the maximum ou
of our beige box.

Be it games, communication or office tasks, the combination o

today’s bleeding-edge hardware and feature-rich software has
raised our levels of interaction, efficiency and experience to
higher peaks. We have been witnessing these changes
throughout the year in our labs, so we think it only fitting to
bring you the best on a platter at the end of the year.

In the never-ending quest for the faster, higher and stronger,

we bring you the Zero1 Awards 2002.

IMAGING: Swaroop B

47 DECEMBER 2
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3D GRAPHICS

A
rdent gamers are not used to settling for anything lower Nominees
than the best when it comes to their favourite games, Name Contacts Comments
be it a first person shooter or a racing simulation. But Xserve India Pvt
GeForce4 This GeForce4-based card has 64 M
at the rate that graphics technology advances, what’s hot Ti 4600 Ltd, of DDR memory. It logged a com
today is stone cold a few months down the line. This year has Ph: 080-5202915 mendable score in our gaming bec
seen some of the most formidable technologies, where more marks, making it an idea complem
to a fast gaming system
pipelines, and faster core and memory speeds have allowed
GeForce4 Xserve India Pvt With a 250 MHz core and a 444 M
cards such as nVidia’s GeForce4 and ATi’s Radeon 9700 to blur
Ti 4200 Ltd, memory speed, this 64 MB DDR
the line between high performance gaming and cinema-like Ph: 080-5202915 memory-based card packs the hor
graphics. power to get you through your ga
ing escapades comfortably
Behind the polygons
Forthcoming games will use larger, more detailed textures. These factors will ensure that you won’t have to live thro
Game developers are already going all-out in creating high- your first DOOM 3 experience like it was a slideshow!
polygon count models and game characters. These games will
demand Programmable Pixels, at least 64 MB of DDR video And the award goes to…
memory and of course, faster core and memory The graphics card that impressed us this year with its best-of-c
speeds. Programmable GPUs allow game processing power and stunning frame rates in games was
developers to create custom effects in Gainward GeForce4. Sporting a 300 MHz core speed and 128
models and environ- of DDR memory (effectively running at 640 MHz), the c
ments—all this spells delivered the highest frame rates we have ever see
the need for the fastest gaming: in Quake III Arena, even with the r
video memory you can Gainward lution cranked up to 1024x768, with 4x a
afford on your graphics GeForce4 aliasing, 32-bit texture depth and with all o
card and faster AGP Gainward Co Ltd, quality settings kept at their maximum values,
Ph: 886-2-26966777
interfaces such as AGP card pushed out over 100 fps on a test system c
The verdict: This card has a massive 300 MHz core
8x. Also remember that you and 640 MHz of DDR memory. It shattered all record prising of a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 processor! W
will need a powerful system on our gaming benchmarks, proving to be the fastest this card, you will be able to enjoy the latest ga
processor to run these vehicle for a killer gaming experince! at butter-smooth frame rates without sacri
graphics powerhouses. on graphics quality.

GAMES
Unreal Tournament 2003 Incorporat -

S
moke streaming through floor gratings, a flickering blue ing a very Unreal
light reflecting off a steel door, rusted girders looming powerful set Tournament
through a murky corridor—Unreal Tournament 2003 is the of level edit- 2003
Milestone
path-breaking game that set new standards for realism in 3D ing and cre-
Interactive Software,
gaming. It sports a radically new game engine that allows for an ation tools, the Ph: 022-28381614
intensive level of detail and environmental splendour, which playability and The verdict: With a new game
can be enjoyed even on a mid-range machine without slowing the level of varia- engine that allows greater detail, Unreal
down to a slideshow. Retaining all the classic elements of a tion in this game Tournament 2003 sets new standards for
realism
winning First Person Shooter, the game has vast and playable can be supple-
levels, radical weaponry and modes of gameplay to keep an mented with
enthusiast riveted for hours. It also features one of the most user-created add-ons and enhancements, ensuring that
realistic physics engines where bodies and elements move and Tournament 2003, like its predecessor, will continue to enj
react to external stimulus more realistically. long life.

48 DECEMBER 2
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CD-WRITERS

O
nce upon a time, CD-Writer drives were so expensive Nominees
that they didn’t feature on most people’s upgrade list. Name Contacts Comments
But the technology behind these drives has developed
ASUS Neoteric This 48x CD-Writer boasts of very
rapidly and simultaneously, the cost of manufacture has Infomatique,
CRW- good write speeds and features te
dropped, resulting in a range of very affordable drives. 4816A Ph: 022- nologies that let it write disks even
Today, prices of CD-Writer drives equal those of DVD-ROM 24172600 data is temporarily suspended, allo
drives and most budget processors. Most CD-Writers (in similar ing it to take off from where it
speed ranges) are priced in the same range, making it difficult to stopped
choose one. However, keeping in mind the parameters that do LITEON Mediatech India, This CD-Writer drive did well in th
48x12x48 Ph: 022- write and re-write tests and given
affect the performance and reliability of these drives, one can 56396696
CD- its performance, it is also very
decide which is best suited to a particular task. While different Writer affordable
CD-Writers support varying speeds for write and re-write tasks,
there is a point beyond which the effective speed of CD-Writers RW drives are such that the variance is not more than a th
does not make any real difference. sand rupees between the slowest and the fastest drives
there. If your work involves occasional CD-writing where
The burning decision would not need to burn many CDs on an ongoing basis,
A year ago, CD-Writers supported speeds such as 12x write, 4x an entry-level 40x drive would be a good choice. Howeve
re-write and 32x read. Then a 650 MB CD-R written at an 8x speed is critical, especially in professional applications w
speed, for example, would take about 15 minutes. In compari- quality is also paramount, then it would make sense to in
son, today’s fast 48x20x48x drives can write a 700 MB CD in in a 42x drive that features at least an 8 MB buffer with s
under 4 minutes at the fastest setting. However, every disk has form of buffer underrun protection so as to prevent any
a lead in and lead out which takes about a minute to CDs while other applications are also running du
complete. Therefore, even with faster CD-Writer the burn process.
drives, you would not be In the case of external CD-Writers
able to tell the difference most important parameter is the in
in speeds as you would face. While external CD-Writers
between, say, a 12x and a Iomega functionally similar to internal CD-W
24x drive. Also, you need CDRW55296INT-B ers, their performance is maximised
Neoteric Infomatique,
to have media that is if your computer sports an interface sim
Ph: 022-24172600
compliant with such high The verdict: This 48x write, 24x rewrite drive boasts of to that of the external drive. Therefor
write and re-write speeds. best-of- class speeds and also performs very well while you plan to buy an external drive base
Hence, your choice of CD- reading CDs the new USB 2.0 standard, it exploit
Writer should not be dictated fullest potential only if your computer
by speed alone, but in con- has a USB 2.0 port. Otherwise, it woul
junction with other parameters such as the buffer size and the limited to the significantly lower 12 Mbps bandwidth of
buffer underrun technology. The larger the buffer on your drive, 1.1 and you won’t be able to write CDs at more than 4x. If
the lower are the chances of facing buffer underrun errors while are going to be taking the drive with you between compu
writing a CD even if you are performing other tasks on your it would also be advisable to invest in one that is lig
computer. This becomes very crucial, as most of us tend to yet built sturdy so that it can withstand a rigourous life
multitask. the road.
Along with faster write speeds, today’s CD-Writers also try
to write more reliably even with other applications running in And the award goes to…
the background. In order to take full advantage of these tech- The Writer that came out a winner this year was the Iom
nologies, you need to look for similar support in your drive’s CDRW55296INT-B 48x24x48x drive. It boasted of high w
software for creating various types of CDs such as Video CDs speeds and very good data transfer performance, even
and for creating Audio CDs directly from the MP3s on your CD drive. Despite the fact that it featured just 2 MB
hard disk. With most internal drives pushing the 48x write buffer memory, its SMARTBURN technology ensures th
speed mark and the lowest drive beginning at 32x, the limits reliably writes CD-Rs and CD-RWs even at the highest sp
of speed have been redefined. Also, prices for most internal CD- setting.

50 DECEMBER 2
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CELL PHONES

T
his year has witnessed a host of new technologies in the Nominees
cellular cosmos. While the beginning of the year saw a Name Contacts Comments
lot of improvement in the basic GSM cellular services,
Nokia Nokia, Boasting of a keyboard for easier
towards the latter half of the year, many of the big service Ph: 011-6779000
5510 SMS entry and an in-built MP3
providers introduced new, more advanced functionality in player, this cellphone integrates a
cellular services such as always-on Internet connectivity and of functionality
new standards such as CDMA and MMS. While we are Nokia Nokia, With trendy looks, a large contact
gripped at the cusp of this explosive growth, it is only testa - 8310 Ph: 011-6779000 memory and an integrated FM ra
ment to the fact that the forthcoming year will put the world this phone delivered very good
performance and functionality
in your palm, via your cell phone. With service providers
ramping up their technology, it follows naturally that
the Indian market will be flooded with new cellular devices experience when used with other Bluetooth-capable devi
that support these technologies and services—we are already GPRS compliance and MMS functionality should also be
seeing the first trickle with GPRS and MMS-capable in mind for a better multimedia experience and for enab
cellular phones. access to information on the Web. To facilitate all this, y
phone will need a good screen with a relatively high resolu
Make the right call and preferably with colour support. Last but not the le
Various factors are instrumental when you go out to buy a cel- consider parameters such as weight, size and looks—th
lular phone. At its very basic level, every cellular device in the would, of course, depend upon your individual preferen
market lets you make and receive calls, work with SMS and pro - and personality!
vides basic scheduling and contact management functionality. If you want exclusive boasting rights, search for fu
Depending on personal preferences, one would either need as features such as backlit displays with many colours, p
many functions and features the phone has to offer with the phonic ring tones and full-colour screens. Finally, always
price being no bar, or one would require basic functionality, with the phone and ask the vendor to demonstrate a
the price being a crucial aspect. of the features of the phone to you. Use it f
If you intend buying a new cell phone in the new year, while and see if it is comfortable to hold
look for a combination of basic functionality and support for operate, especially if you have large or sm
future standards and services. Along with considering the tra- hands. Make and receive calls and see that
ditional factors such as memory for contacts and messages, volume of the speaker is loud enough for
long battery life, scheduling, calendar and PIM functionali- to hear clearly without having to str
ty, you should also demand yourself.
higher specifications in
each of these. Set your And the award goes to…
sights on a phone that Sony Ericsson T68i The cell phone that stood out head
Ericsson
offers storage for at least Ph: 022-24962142 shoulders above this year’s crowd in te
250 phone numbers, The verdict: With features of functionality, features and performa
greater memory for storing like MMS and GPRS capability, a was the Sony Ericsson T68i. Fusing te
SMS, and standby and talk large phone and message memory nology with great looks, this pho
and a full colour screen, this tiny
time in excess of 15 days and supports various standards such as GP
cellphone packs a lot of technol-
5 hours, respectively. Even in ogy into a small size MMS and Bluetooth, and is a true pion
the lower end phones, you of cellular phones to come. It keeps
should ensure that there is busy on long trips with eight games
some form of basic PIM functionality such as scheduling and can hold 510 contacts, 150 messages and 30 calls. With
remider capabilities. Also, it is a wise choice to go in for a phone advanced Lithium Ion battery, it delivers a standby time o
based on Lithium Ion batteries as they feaure long talktimes and to 15 days and a talk time of over 6 hours on a single ch
useable life. session.
On a higher plane, you should also look at more advanced With its 256-colour screen, joystick menu navigat
features that will let the phone adapt to newer technologies. system and lightweight form factor, this phone gives
Bluetooth compliance is one such feature to look for. This a surprisingly wide array of technology in a very sm
wireless standard promises to deliver a transparent wire-free package.

52 DECEMBER 2
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DESKTOP PCS

T
he type of computer you buy is largely decided by the Nominees
choice of its components and your budget. At the outset, Name Contacts Comments
there is an array of system components and even platforms
HCL HCL Infosystems With a 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 CPU and
to choose from. The best way to approach this decision is from Beanstalk Ltd, DDR RAM, this computer delivered v
the point of view of the applications you have in mind for your 4455 Ph: 0120-4555219 good performance and also came wi
machine—are you going to use it for gaming or to surf the Net? good set of connectivity options and
peripherals

Name your brand HCL HCL Infosystems Running on a 2 GHz Pentium 4 CPU
Beanstalk Ltd, DDR RAM, this computer fared com
A Pc for gaming and entertainment would need a robust multi-
4458 Ph: 0120-4555219 mendably in the tests
media subsystem. For gaming, buy the fastest processor, the most
RAM and the best graphics card your wallet permits. Also invest
in a 17-inch monitor at the very least and a good sound system. and using e-mail, word processing and spreadsheets, a sati
The latest motherboards integrate full 5.1-channel sound and tory choice would be built around an 800 MHz to 1.2 GHz-c
Dolby Digital soundcards are also pretty affordable now. Team up processor, 256 MB RAM, a 40 GB 5,400-rpm drive and a 15-
one of these sound systems with a good speaker system—go for monitor. A motherboard with integrated sound, video and
at least a four-channel speaker system. A good system for enter- working subsystems would be quite economical here.
tainment would be one based around a 1.5 GHz processor or
higher, 256 MB to 512 MB of RAM, at least a 40 GB 7,200-rpm And the award goes to…
hard disk and the best 3D accelerator card you can afford. The computer that delivered the
For Web and multimedia authoring, or system-intensive soft- performance during 2002 was the V
ware such as page layout and image editing applications, your sys- alan Lavish. With its best-of-class
tem should allow you to systems, it showed excel
multitask effectively, with performance in all our tests. R
ample room for running ning on a 2.53 GHz Pentiu
and storing your applica - Visualan processor, 256 MB of DDR RAM
tions and data. Go for a sys- Lavish a 40 GB 7,200-rpm Seagate Barrac
tem with a 1.3 to 1.5 GHz Visualan hard disk, this PC did very well in the o
Technologies,
processor, 256 MB RAM, at least Ph: 022-27686817 productivity tests. When coupled with
a 40 GB hard disk and a 17-inch The verdict: Powered by a formidable 2.53 GHz ATi Radeon 7500 and a 17-inch LG E700S
monitor to give you enough Pentium 4 CPU, DDR RAM and an ATi Radeon 7500 tron monitor, its gaming performance
real estate to work the applica- graphics card, this computer performed brilliantly— also quite commendable. This system imp
ideal for processor and graphics-intensive applications
tions at higher resolutions. ed additional functionality with its wire
For simply surfing the Net mouse and its 32x CD-Writer drive.

SYSTEM SUITES
Ontrack SystemSuite 4.0 partitions! Anoth-

T
he system suite most worthy of the Zero1 Award this year er tool backs up
was Ontrack SystemSuite 4.0. This software comprises a critical system
Ontrack SystemSuite 4.0
wide array of tools and functionality to keep your system files—an invalu-
Ontrack,
operating at its peak levels. Its good performance can also be able feature for E-mail: [email protected]
attributed to its effective firewall and registry cleaner. This reg - users who install The verdict: With plenty of functiona
istry cleaner provides a power interface that lists duplicate and numerous applica - such as an integrated firewall and the
ability to recover files from even forma
null entries from where you can delete specific entries. The fire- tions and expose their
ted partitions, this suite is a must-have
wall not only protects your computer by blocking ports but also critical files to rogue
includes functionality that makes it suited to home users. programs. All these
This software presents a unique tool called EasyRecovery, which protective and innovative measures are available at a very aff
recovers permanently erased data as well as files from formatted able price tag, spiralling Ontarck to the top pedestal.

54 DECEMBER 2
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DIGITAL CAMERAS

O
nce things get into the digital realm, it naturally gains Nominees
advantages such as portability, ease of archiving and Name Contacts Comments
most importantly, no loss of quality even after duplica -
Fuji Jindal Photo films Boasting of a 6x optical zoom, thi
tion. Though digital cameras have been around for some time Ltd,
FinePix 2.1 megapixel camera sported ma
now, their technology and functionality has come to the fore 2800 Ph: 022- controls for great photography ev
only in the recent past. With denser CCDs, smaller form factors, Zoom 28514441 for amateurs
more features, exhaustive options, longer battery life and, most Nikon Aver Software Sporting a 2x optical and 2.5x dig
importantly, a fall in prices, digital cameras are slowly but sure- CoolPix Technologies, zoom, this 2.11 megapixel camera
ly creeping into the price bracket of the amateur shutter-bug. 800 Ph: 022- boasted of a large number of cont
26320472 options for creative photography w
many controls over manual setting
Getting in focus
The optical parameters of a digital camera are identical to those
of conventional cameras. This includes the focal length of the storage. Opt for at least 8 MB of Flash memory or higher—
camera, the optical zoom, the exposure modes, the manual and more you can afford, the better. Optical zoom gives clearer cl
auto focussing methods and metering modes. However, more up shots compared to digital zoom. Digital cameras are also n
important than these are parameters such as the CCD sensor, rious for chewing up batteries. Opt for Lithium Ion batterie
the amount of memory for storage, the LCD viewfinder, battery they are lighter and offer greater capacities; the next best
type and menu navigation system. NiMH batteries.
A camera with a 1.3 megapixel CCD sensor is a good place to
start for beginners—their resolutions go up to 1280x1024 at 72- And the award goes to…
dpi. Though not suited for printing, it is adequate for viewing The camera that shone bright in our tests
and sharing them year was the formidable Olympus Camedi
online. For basic print 2100 Ultra Zoom. With its 2.11 megapixel
photo needs, you need Olympus Camedia sor and various modes for metering, flash
at least a 2.1 megapix- C-2100 Ultra Zoom white balance, the camera captured stunn
el CCD—this allows a Komal International, images. The icing on the cake was the 10x o
resolution up to Ph: 022-22614015 cal zoom and class-leading 27x digital zoom
The verdict: This 2.11
1600x1200, which is ade- megapixel camera, with its outstanding 10x optical allowed you to get really close and personal w
quate for postcard-sized zoom and 27x digital zoom, delivered unbeatable pic - your subject. With a wide array of features, ex
prints. ture quality with plenty of features for creative digital lent build quality and brilliant imaging
All digital cameras photography formance, this camera turned out to be
use some form of Flash undisputed winner.

IMAGE EDITING
Adobe Photoshop 7 mand is an effective

T
he most-loved image editing software has just become bet- one-click colour
ter. Adobe Photoshop 7 has enriched the user interface with correction tool.
Adobe
smoother buttons and inherent cosmetic enhancements. With numerous Photoshop 7
Your workspace and the arrangement of palettes and toolbars can additional func- Adobe Systems India Pvt Ltd,
now be saved and used later by different users. Underneath this tionalities such as the Ph: 914532026
new interface is a range of new tools such as the intuitive visual improved Liquefy tool The verdict: With plenty of enhance
ments such as the visual image man
image management system. You can browse through your image and the Pattern Maker, agement interface, many new custom
files here in a thumbnail view with an intuitive Explorer-like nav- the creative possibili- brush settings and tools that simplify
igation interface, which also displays a preview and information ties are widespread, commonly used tasks, Photoshop 7
about the image. Another enhancement is the bloated number of making Photoshop 7 a still remains the best in image editin
over 50 brush presets. The newly incorporated AutoColor com - clear winner.

56 DECEMBER 2
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DVD-ROM DRIVES

D
VD-ROM drives are here to stay. Armed with complete Nominees
backward compatibility for CD-ROM drives, enhanced Name Contacts Comments
functionality in terms of larger data storage and the fact
Liteon Mediatech India, A very commendable performer
that you can watch Dolby Digital movies on them, these enter- LTD-165H Ph: 022-56396696 this 16x DVD-ROM drive deliv
tainers are on everyone’s wish list! A lot has changed over the ered very good performance an
past year with DVD-ROM drives—most importantly, the speeds is also very competitively priced
and the price. Till recently, users dismissed DVD-ROM drives as Pioneer Mnemonic With its slot-in interface, this
an unnecessary expense. But due to the spread of DVD movies DVD- Systems, DVD-ROM drive boastd very
106S/2 Ph: 022-28010871 good performance with excellen
and the fact that their price has been plummeting for the past
build quality.
one year, DVD-ROM drives are now considered an essential
upgrade from the CD-ROM drive. Even though there aren’t too
many applications made for the DVD, it still makes sense to Also, it is always adviseable to go for a DVD drive that
invest in this drive as it warrants higher speeds and total packages a good bundle of software which can be used on
compatibility with CD-ROM drives, especially if you are a drive such as DVD playback applications. Since the prim
movie buff. use of DVD-ROM drives is for DVD movie playback, go for
that bundles an application such as PowerDVD or WinD
Under the lens Some of the less popular drives do have an advantage
When considering a DVD-ROM drive, there are a few parame - being better-priced, but they might not have a corporate
ters that you should consider. These are not very different from site that feautres things like regular updates to the dri
the things that you would examine when buying CD-ROM BIOS to take care of possible bugs or adding functionaly
drives—the read data transfer speeds, access time and interface performance.
still need to be considered. Most 16x DVD-ROM drives available Finally, if you create a lot of MP3 files, you should chec
today boast of sequential read speeds in the range of 6 MBps to see if the drive supports Digital Audio Extraction (DAE) and
8 MBps. The access times of these drives range from 70 ms to does, see that it is able to do so at speeds of at least 12x if you
150 ms—the lower, the better. Don’t buy a drive that is rated looking for performance.
to run lower than this speed and stay far away from sub- There are standards like DVD-RAM, D
16x DVD-ROM drives. Drives with access times lower RW, DVD-R, DVD+R and all of thes
than 70 ms will be not necessarily supported by
slow when you work drives—if a drive does not suppo
with CD and DVD- particular standard, you will no
BenQ DVP-1648A
based applications, BenQ India Pvt Ltd, able to read from that media. E
especially if those Ph: 022-25705230 though most users stick to DVD disks, there
applications cause the The verdict: This 16x DVD drive come a time when other DVD media formats
performed brilliantly in the read tests over various
drive to read in a random be available. Therefore, it makes sense to in
types of data, making it the best suited to applications
fashion. needing frequent CD and DVD access in a drive that supports as many standa
As with any optical as possible.
drive, make use of its DMA Finally, make sure that the drive is abl
(Direct Memory Access) support by enabling the DMA mode play all the DVDs available in your region. Most DVD drive
from your operating system and from the BIOS. Your machine region locked, that is, they can only play DVD movies f
may show symptoms of degraded performance during DVD regions that match their own. You can change the region co
playback if you run the drive in PIO (Programmed Input/ a maximum of five times, after which it stays locked at
Output) mode. last setting.
Most drives are based on the ATA/33 standard though there
are a few that support ATA/66. However, this standard isn’t And the award goes to…
very crucial, as optical drives never reach even half the band - The drive that really shone in performance this year was
width offered by this interface. Finally, look for a drive that has Benq DVP-1648A 16x DVD drive. With blistering performa
a large buffer—512 KB is standard but some drives are built in the read tests and an excellent access time, the d
around 256 KB buffers—stay away from these. Apart from per- crunched through all the applications it was subjected to.
formance, also consider support for as many standards as pos - icing on the cake is that it is also one of the most afford
sible to ensure that it can be used with a vast spread of media. drives in the market.

58 DECEMBER 2
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EXTERNAL STORAGE

W
ith the barriers between our professional and per - Nominees
sonal lives blurring, the need of the day is some - Name Contacts Comments
thing that will let you transport your data efficient- JIngram Micro
Iomega This sleek 20 GB portable hard dis
ly and reliably between computers. At one time, all we had HDD 20 India Pvt Ltd, provided quick access times and d
were the trusty CD-R and Zip drives. But today, there is a vast GB Ph: 022- transfers, making it highly suited t
variety of external storage devices tailor-made for our many 25202901 transporting large multimeida files
requirements such as the storage capacity, speed and most Freecom J.S Equipments, Boasting of a 60 GB size, this hard
FHD-1 60 Ph: 022- disk sports a USB 2.0 interface and
importantly, adaptability with the wallet. As a result, we have
GB HDD 23810713 suited to transferring large amoun
portable CD-Writers based on the USB 2.0 standard for fast
of data between computers
write speeds and even portable hard disk drives that can with -
stand physical shock and rough treatment. capacities comparable to CD-RW drives, they are not suite
situations that require transfer of large volumes of data, quic
Choosing your backpack The most suitable performance devices for external data
The ideal external storage device for you is largely dependent on age are the external hard disk drives. They offer high-speed
your applications. There are three basic kinds of portable storage transfer and plenty of storage capacity. Also, since they are b
solutions available today—portable CD-RW drives, portable hard around high-speed interfaces such as USB 2.0, data transfe
disks and Zip drives. Each of these are characterised by different and from these devices is faster than any other external sto
performance levels, capacity, compatibility and cost. device. The USB 2.0 standard connects them to any comp
The performance characteristics you need to consider are the that has a USB port, though you would see the maximum tr
read and write data transfer speeds between the drive and your fer rates only when used on USB 2.0 compliant computers.
host computer for different file types. Also consider the latency only downside is that they are expensive.
and the access time when transferring and reading data. Exter-
nal CD-RW drives are known for the low cost and univer- And the award goes to…
sal compatibility of their media and are therefore most The external storage device that gets kudos for s
suited to home users and performance this year is the Freecom FHD-
applications that involve file GB external hard disk drive. It is based on
sizes under 700 MB. Zip drives USB 2.0 standard and delivered susta
are suited only to applications Freecom FHD-1 20 GB data transfer rates of 17 MBps when rea
where the installed base of the J.S. Equipments, data sequentially. With blistering perfo
Ph: 022-23810713
drives among users is large ances in both read and write tests for a
The verdict: With USB 2.0 functionality, this drive pro-
enough to warrant you to buy vides the fastest method to get large amounts of data ety of file types, this drive is ideally suite
one. Since they are not known ported from computer to computer applications that required gigabytes of
for their speed and have storage to be transferred between locations.

VIDEO EDITING
Adobe Premiere 6.0 ly for full-quality

A
dobe Premiere brings with it a host of added function - previewing. You
ality and a very powerful set of features for working can create video
with digital video. It includes FireWire support for the Internet in Adobe Premiere 6.0
Adobe Systems India
through which you can hook up a DV cam to your computer a variety of opti -
Pvt Ltd,
and transfer high-quality video for processing in NTSC or PAL mised formats Ph: 914532026
format. Many parameters such as the frame size and rate, such as QuickTime and The verdict: With a host of features
compression ratio, colour depth, audio, etc can be config- RealMedia. Premiere 6.0 like FireWire support for DV cameras,
export to web-based video fomats,
ured. also contains a complete
added effects and robust audio sup
There is also support for the widescreen (16:9) format. A DV 99-track Audio Mixer port, this a brilliant digital video edi
editing mode enables the program to send captured and rendered for professional-level ing tool for professionals
digital video through the FireWire port to an external device direct- audio mixing.

60 DECEMBER 2
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HARD DISK DRIVES

O
ver the past year, hard disk drives have evolved from the Nominees
Name Contacts Comments
entry-level standard of 5,400-rpm to 7,200-rpm and
capacities now dictate that hard disks of 40 GB are the Wales This hard disk has a 2 MB buffer an
IBM
bare minimum for any application. With further enhancements IC35l080A Technologies, 7,200-rpm spindle speed. It is idea
in fabrication processes, manufacturing costs have been low- V VA07-0 Ph: 022- suited to applications that require
ered and this has resulted in a drop in prices. This is the primary 23828100 response from the storage subsyste
reason why some 7,200-rpm drives today are only marginally Western ACI Infocom, Sporting a whopping 200 GB capa
Digital Ph: 022- this hard disk delivered astonishing
more expensive than their 5,400-rpm counterparts.
WD2000 28266031 speed in various types of data trans
applications
On the right track
When looking for a hard disk drive, the best way to decide maximum potential, they have to be supported by your m
which one is ideal for you is to evaluate the technology used, erboard and the resultant speed gains are only noticed w
along with the capacity it offers. The parameters that influence the rotations speed of the hard disks are higher. There
the performance are the data transfer rate while reading and 7,200-rpm drives use these interfaces more efficiently
writing different types of data, access time, amount of buffer 5,400-rpm drives. Finally, the buffer on the hard disk play
memory and finally the interface. important role in holding information temporarily when
The 5,400-rpm drives naturally deliver lower data transfer rates is being written to or read from the hard disk—the large
compared to the 7,200-rpm drives. For example, 5,400-rpm drives buffer, the faster is the response of the hard disk. Nearly al
generally offer sequential read data transfer rates in the region of hard disks available today have a 2 MB data buffer.
32 to 42 MBps, while 7,200-rpm drives offer 48 to 54 MBps. The
access times specified for 5,400-rpm drives should not be more And the award goes to…
than 12 ms, while for 7,200-rpm drives it should not exceed 9 ms. The drive that has the honour of being
Faster access times will result in fastest drive of the year is the Western
speedier access to distributed sets ital WD1000. This 100 GB mons
of data across your hard disk. based on a 7,200-rpm spi
Today’s hard disks sport Western Digital speed. It blazed through our
ATA/100 interface and the WD1000 and clocked some of the fa
newer ones are just beginning ACI Infocom, data transfer rates we’ve seen
to feature ATA/133 interfaces. Both Ph: 022-28266031 IDE hard disk drive. With exce
The verdict: Boasting of a 7,200-rpm
these interface feature maximum data transfer rates in both seque
spindle speed and a 100 GB storage capacity, this hard
data transfer rates of 100 MBps and disk drive shattered all records for data transfer speed and random reads and writes, this d
133 MBps, respectively. However, over various applications is ideally suited to applications
in order to utilise them to their demand the best in storage bandw

OPERATING SYSTEMS
Windows XP Professional uring new peripher-

A
proven operating system in a swanky new dressing, als and technologies
Windows XP Professional still rules with its powerful fea - is intuitive with
Windows XP
tures, security and added functionality in a good-looking most of the manage-
Professional
and intuitive interface. It incorporates features such as ClearText ment tasks being Microsoft Corporation
and the integration of hardware-accelerated graphics for the GUI. wizard driven. This India Pvt Ltd,
The re-worked Start menu gives access to often used applications OS even works well Ph: 011-26292640
and can be customised to individual preferences. On the security with older programs as The verdict: With a host of function
ity, great looks and a robust architec
front, it incorporates the robustness and stability of Windows they can be defined to ture, this operating system still shine
2000 and has a firewall for added security. With a redefined layout run in an environment for even the most demanding office
for applications and system settings, controlling and accessing the that mimics older applications
settings and components of the OS is easy. The process of config- Windows OSes.

61 DECEMBER 2
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INKJET PRINTERS

I
nkjet printers bring all those visualisations, documents, Nominees
presentations and pictures to vivid life on paper. While Name Contacts Comments
most high-quality printers in the beginning of the year
HP Hewlett-Packard This printer sports a print resolutio
touched resolutions of 1440-dpi, towards the end of the year India Ltd,
Deskjet of 2400-dpi and features a 2 MB
we saw the best of the pack boasting print resolutions of up to 920C Ph: 011-6826000 buffer. It delivered excellent result
2400-dpi—and there seems to be no signs of this rise in photo printing
resolutions stopping. Canon Canon India Ltd, Based on a 1440-dpi print engine
S4500 Ph: 011-6806572 this bubble jet printer delivered go
Read the fine print results when printing graphically
detailed images
When talking about the performance of a printer, there are two
parameters that should be kept in mind—print quality and
printing speed. In print quality, the primary factor that deter - understandably be lower than while printing plain text. A g
mines the clarity is the resolution of the printer—the greater inkjet printer should have a text printout rate of about 9 p
the resolution, the greater is the number of dots it can pack into per minutes (ppm). In the case of colour photo printouts
a unit of area on a page. The latest printers support print reso - time taken will vastly vary according to the type of print
lutions of up to 2400 dpi, which results in photo-quality prints the quality chosen.
when using the correct paper. Before buying a printer, always While looking for speed, print using draft or econ
analyse a sample print under best quality mode and make sure mode as this uses less ink and subsequently takes less tim
it meets your quality needs. print. Finally, the interface plays an important role, espe
If you are looking for quality, the type of paper supported and ly if you print in large quantities or if you print graphic-in
the setting of the driver are two very important factors. For the sive files. A faster interface such as USB allows the comp
best possible prints, make sure that your printer to spool print information much faster than an older inte
prints on special kinds of paper such as coated, such as a parallel port. Finally, choose a pri
glossy or inkjet paper, as this results in superior with a print buffer of at least 64 KB. The gre
quality printouts. Also see that the printer has spe- the amount of buffer memory, the smoo
cial modes of printing images and photographs. the printing of larger files s
Secondly, analyse the print speed—this is as photographs.
largely depen-
dant on the And the award goes to…
type of docu - HP Deskjet 970CXi The best inkjet printer this year was the HP Des
ment being Hewlett Packard India Ltd, 970CXi. With its formidable 2400-dpi print resolu
Ph: 011-6826000
printed. In the capability and support for a variety of papers, this p
The verdict: With an astounding 2400-dpi
case of graph- print capability and 4 MB of buffer memory, this print- er produced truly stunning prints and delivered g
ics-intensive er delivered stunning results in photo printing and performance when it came to print speeds over text
documents, the graphically demanding applications graphics. It even managed to impress us in the pr
speeds would sional print domain.

PAGE LAYOUT SOFTWARE

Adobe InDesign 2.0 tables can be Adobe

I
InDesign 2.0
n the battle for the perfect page layout software, Adobe imported directly
Adobe systems India Pvt Ltd,
InDesign 2.0 proved its mettle. With its extensive support for from Word and Ph: 914532026
text and image handling, it makes working with complex Excel files. The magic The verdict: Adobe InDesign 2.0 ha
files such as brochures and magazines a snap. InDesign has spe - of layers has been very powerful text and picture han
dling capabilities, and gets top hon
cial support for working with image files from within the pro - exploited well. It can
ours in the page layout software cat
gram itself, therefore, you don’t need to resort to a separate also open files from gory. For users of Adobe products, t
image editing software. Its ability to handle text effects and other applications such application sports a similar interface
tables is far superior compared to other page layout software and as Quark Express.

62 DECEMBER 2
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INPUT DEVICES

T
he ubiquitous mouse and the keyboard are our real inter- this decides the smoothness of the response. Choose one w
faces into the digital world. Though there have been rating of at least 1000 dpi and a sampling rate of at least 80
numerous suggestions for more advanced forms of get- Avoid mice based on a serial interface as these support very
ting information into the computer all through the years, there sampling rates. Look for additional buttons
is no device that has quite matched the convenience that the for added func-
keyboard and mouse offers—even after the arrival of such tools tionality in
as speech recognition. working with Microsoft Wireless
IntelliMouse Explorer
applications. For
Microsoft Corporation
Pushing the right buttons performance, India Pvt Ltd,
Input devices are broadly characterised by their interface, func- choose an opti- Ph: 011-26292640
tionality, ergonomics and the technology used. In the case of cal mouse over The verdict: Using the tried and proven
keyboards, the best kinds are those that offer good features and a roller mouse as optical sensor, this mouse takes on the
wireless advantage with a very contoure
are comfortable to type on. If you use many multimedia appli- the former is far
and comfortable styling
cations such as audio and video players, look for a keyboard smoother and
that offers many function keys with programmable buttons for requires less main-
specialised tasks. Go for one with a USB interface. tenance. Finally, try it out for feel and make sure that it is
Wireless radio-frequency (RF) or infrared keyboards elimi- fortable in your hands and offers enough tactile response.
nate the tangle of wires on your desktop. Opt for
the RF kind since they offer the freedom of And the award goes to…
being anywhere in the room, and not nec - Sporting a great looking design and colour combination,
essarily in the line of sight of the computer Logitech Cordless Freedom Keyboard is easily the keyboar
to be able to the year. It has an array of buttons to control your multim
use them. Logitech Cordless applications and has shortcut keys and application key
The most Freedom Optical Keyboard accessing specific features of your programs. The keys
important Logitech, Ph: 022-26427501 ergonomically placed and are tactile and responsive.
performance The verdict: Using a wireless RF The mouse voted to be the best in its category is the Micr
technology, this keyboard offers a
characteristic Wireless Intellimouse Explorer. Using optical sensor techno
hassle free interface to your computer. It
of a mouse is the sports a good design, with responsive keys this mouse features programmable buttons that can be use
resolution (in and plenty of shortcuts for accessing often- navigate through applications and control various featur
dpi) and the used applications games. It gives you accurate control without the hassle of w
sampling rate— on your desktop.

VECTOR GRAPHICS/ILLUS- created as ‘symbols’, which can then be saved in a library

CorelDRAW 11 recalled on later projects. A bundled application called R

O
ne of the best illustration software has just got better— lets you create cool rollovers and 3D vector extrusions to
CorelDRAW 11 has some amazing new features and pizzazz to your vector-based animations. With
functionality, making it one of the most powerful vec- numerous new intelligent tools, CorelDRAW 11
tor drawing applications. Its numerous drawing tools let you is the best illustration application you can work
create a variety of elements, and the customisable toolbars with for fast and professional results.
and menus with individual macros can be saved to specific
workspaces. The cross-platform functionality lets you work
with files from different sources and the import/export filters CorelDRAW 11
make this task simple. The three-point drawing tools let you Triffin Technologies, Ph: 011-6486447
The verdict: Integrating powerful new vec-
create a variety of curves and shapes with a minimum num-
tor image manipulation capabilities, support for user-created symb
ber of clicks. Tools such as Weld, Trim and Intersect allow speed and macros for accessing often-used commands, this is the most
and efficiency when working with a variety of objects in a sin- comprehensive and powerful software for vector illustrations
gle drawing. You can also save shapes and drawings that you’ve

63 DECEMBER 2
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LAPTOPS Nominees

L
aptops let you take your work home, your home to work Name Contacts Comments
and your play to the road—and today’s laptops do this
ACi Allied Computer This laptop features a 1.5 GHz Penti
better than ever. Now the name of the game is immense Impression International (Asia) 4 Mobile processor, 256 MB of DD
functionality in terms of integrated peripherals and connectiv- Pvt Ltd, memory and even a DVD-ROM driv
ity, with no compromise on processing power. Ph: 022-26366800 ideal for the power-hungry professio
Zenith Zenith Computers Sporting a 1.6 GHz Pentium 4 Mob
One for the road Portable Ltd, processor and 128 MB of DDR mem
Desktop Ph: 022-28377300 ry, this laptop is a suitable desktop
The most important question to ask when buying a laptop is
replacement and offers many route
what application is it going to be used for? This will help give configurability and peripheral supp
you the parameters to judge it by. For example, a laptop replete
with features and processing power but slightly heavy and on
the larger side, would suit users who plan to carry it between tooth connectivity. Also keep an eye out for integrated perip
places but the bulk of the usage would be at a desktop and in als such as a CD-RW drive or a DVD-ROM drive.
transit. On the other hand, those who want portability over all If portability is your main requirement, go for the smallest
else, should look for the smallest, thinnest and lightest device lightest laptop you can find, though you might have to trade
they can find, even at the cost of a slight loss on the processing on processing power and integrated functionality. Finally, con
power and perhaps on the functionality front too. er the battery life—since the device is primarily meant for the r
This gives us a few characteristics that need to be evaluated search for a laptop that specifies a standby time of at least 4 hou
before buying a laptop. Firstly, the processor is very important anything less would require you to carry around y
since it gives you the power to run all your applications. Go for charger and stay on a constant lookout for power sou
one that complements your applications and needs. The same you can charge it from.
applies for the amount of RAM and the hard disk capacity.
Next, evaluate the number of connectivity options you And the award goes to…
need. If you make The laptop that screeched with sheer performance
many presentations, the ACi Emerald. Boasting a 2 GHz Pentiu
you need video out - ACi Emerald processor, 128 MB DDR RAM and a 20 GB h
puts for displaying on Allied Computer disk, this laptop has the power to keep you w
a projector, integrated International (Asia) Pvt Ltd, ing smoothly while on the road. In terms of c
Ethernet and modem Ph: 022-26366800 nectivity, it featured four USB ports, a FireW
The verdict: Built around a 2 GHz Pentium 4 mobile
for connectivity. In newer port and integrated Ethernet and modem. W
processor with DDR memory, this computer is a very
laptops, you can even get viable desktop replacement, even for the most graphi- adequate power and plenty of connecti
features such as 802.11b cally intensive tasks options, this device blurs the difference betw
WiFi compliance or Blue- a desktop and a laptop.

ANTI-VIRUS
Norton AntiVirus 2003 tial for safety. It packs

O
ne of the most trusted names in the industry, Norton’s the trademark compul -
newest version strives to give you higher security. sory scheduling agent
Norton
Norton AntiVirus 2003 incorporates a new scanning and auto-update feature. AntiVirus
engine; it even scans your instant messenger for any harmful With a wide array of 2003
programs that might sneak in through file transfers during chat features, easy interface Symantec, Ph: 022-26570658
conversations. Norton AntiVirus 2003’s new, smoother engine and the ability to track The verdict: Norton AntiVirus 200
boasts of a new scanning engine
is both light on the system and fast at scanning, making it less even your instant mes -
that is significantly lighter on the
tedious to scan large volumes or entire hard disks. senger, Norton AntiVirus system, newer and up-to-date viru
The software protects your computer against SMTP-based 2003 wins top honours definitions and the ability to even
worms, Trojans, etc. It is extremely user-friendly, with numerous for protecting your restore files damaged due to viruse
wizards for configuring and setting the various parameters essen- systems.

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LASER PRINTERS

L
aser printers have always been the machines of choice for Nominees
applications that require large volumes of printouts with - Name Contacts Comments
out sacrificing on print clarity. As a technology, it is more
Samsung Samsung Electronics This printer returned very good pr
expensive than any other print technology, but when it comes India Information & quality in text and graphics. It has
ML-1450
to dealing with text, no other comes close to delivering the Telecommunication some interesting features such as t
speed and quality of a laser printer. This is why they are the de Ltd, ability to print documents on 6 by
facto standard for mass printing in the corporate environment, Ph: 011-6322517 sheet sizes for posters
where the workflow is heavy. Hewlett- Hewlett-Packard This printer offers very good print
Packard India Ltd, quality for monochrome document
Laserjet Ph: 011- 6826000 and fared very well even in speed t
Look sharp 1200se when printing large documents,
When evaluating the performance of a laser printer, two param - thanks to its 8 MB print buffer mem
eters need to be considered—the print quality and the print
speed. The resolution of the laser printer defines the clarity of the icantly higher amount of buffer memory compared to inkjet
printouts and is usually in the range of 300 to 600 dpi for most dot matrix printers. Entry-level laser printers should feature at
laser printers. High-end printers boast up to 1200 dpi resolution. 2 MB of buffer memory. Depending on specific needs, this spe
While this is significantly lower than inkjet printers, it is ade - cation can go all the way up to 64 MB. Some enterprise-class p
quate for printing text and graphics with reasonable clarity. ers even have dedicated hard disk drives for sto
Most laser printers have speeds ranging from 15 to 25 pages print jobs while they are being processed.
per minute (ppm) and some others built for enterprise appli-
cations go all the way up to 40 And the award goes to…
ppm. This is the primary spec- The laser printer of choice for the
ification that defines the cost Canon LBP1210 2002 is the Canon LBP1210. This d
of the printer. Another very Canon India Ltd, top printer sports a 600-dpi print en
important component is the Ph: 011-680 6572 and has a USB as well as parallel interf
buffer, which is the memory The verdict: Based upon a With a 250-sheet paper tray, it packs the cap
600-dpi print engine and sporting both a
that holds the print jobs before USB and a parallel interface, this laser print- ty to handle most medium load print jobs. It
they get printed—since laser print- er boasts of commendably high print has a 2 MB print buffer and delivers swift prin
ers are meant to handle large print speeds in the text as well as graphics modes speeds while printing both text as well as mo
volumes, they must have a signif- chrome graphics.

OFFICE SUITES
Microsoft Office XP paste options that

T
he arrival of Microsoft Office heralded a new age of sim- let you choose from Microsoft
plicity for tasks such as word processing and working a variety of copied Office XP
with spreadsheets. Even though Microsoft Office XP has objects, from differ- Microsoft
Corporation India Pvt Ltd,
been around for a year, it is still the best office suite in terms ent formats. You can also
Ph: 011-6292640
of functionality and features. With a range of intuitive and perform multiple selec- The verdict: Still the reigning bes
task-simplifying tools, getting work done in Office XP is tions from documents, Office XP integrates wizards, the
easier than ever. which helps you manage task pane and extensive tools,
offering you the greatest function
New features such as the task pane give you a dashboard view formatting options and
ality and features for working with
of everything from wizards to settings and options for the vari- editing tasks with much Office tasks
ous tools. This arranges all your tools in front of you so that you greater ease. Incorporat-
don’t have to dig deep into the menus to look for a particular ing a greater number of
formatting setting. Small enhancements such as the Smart Paste features such as formatting, fonts, etc has also enhanced
function let you choose whether you want to copy text along right-click menu. With excellent functionality and intuitive
with formatting options or if you want to discard them and use methods of accessing configuration menus, this applica
new formatting options. Along with this, it also has multiple incorporates features that let you get more done, faster.

65 DECEMBER 2
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CRT MONITORS

W
hile the basic functioning of a CRT monitor has not Other Winners
changed much over the years, there have been Name Contacts Comments
tremendous advancements in the way CRTs are 14- AND 15-INCH MONITORS
manufactured. Resolutions have increased, and technolo- Viewsonic Priya Ltd, This high-performance 1280x102
E53 Ph: 022-22663611 capable 15-inch monitor features
gies used to fabricate the picture tubes have been improved, 0.28 mm dot pitch and even inte
resulting in image quality far greater than what we were grates a USB hub in the base—exc
used to even as recently as a year ago. lent for office and home applicatio
where quality it a must
17-INCH MONITORS
The big picture Viewsonic Priya Ltd, Sporting a 0.25 mm dot pitch, th
CRT monitors range from the lowly 14-inch screens to the 22- G73f Ph: 022-22663611 one of the few 17-inch monitors
delivered a screen resolution of
inch big screens. If most of your work is centred on word pro- 1600x1200. This was accompani
cessing, spreadsheets, the Internet and e-mail, a 15-inch monitor with brilliant imaging and geome
will serve you adequately. However, with the fall in prices of 17- performance
inch monitors, it would be a wise decision to invest in a 17-inch-
er in view of the higher resolution and refresh rate it supports. This the-line specifications and features. With support for a stunn
greatly enhances the experience in the gaming and entertainment 2048x1536 resolution, this 21-inch monitor is a designer’s dre
areas. Also consider the resolution. With a 17-inch monitor, you toy. It performed brilliantly in our tests and delivered outsta
should be able to run your display at a resolution of 1280x1024 ing image quality in the colour and screen geometry tests.
and a refresh rate of at least 75 Hz to reduce eyestrain. In the 14- and 15-inch category,
Finally, look for a monitor that lets you adjust the colour and Viewsonic E53 performed brilliantly
resolution settings for finer picture and image quality. This would terms of colour reproduction and espe
include support for modification and tweaking of parameters ly in resolution support—this was the o
such as focus, colour correction, along with screen geometry 15-inch monitor that supported
control such as raster size 1280x1024 resolution.
and shape—all this will let In the 17-inch monitor category,
you tailor your monitor’s Sony Multiscan G520 Viewsonic G73f delivered brilliant
display to suit your applica- (19- and 21-inch category) formance. It was one of the few 17-in
tions and needs. Rashi Peripherals, montiors to support a resolution
Ph: 022-28260258
1600x1200. This flat monitor delive
The verdict: This 21-inch true flat CRT monitor sports a
And the award goes to… resolution of an astounding 2048x1536 with a stripe good colour and geometry reproducti
The Sony Multiscan G520 pitch of 0.24 mm, resulting in truly brilliant image quality making it an ideal choice for demand
impressed us with its top-of- professional applications.

WEB AUTHORING SOFT-

Dreamweaver MX editable list of all tags

D
reamweaver offers WYSIWYG functionality to Web site and their attributes in Macromedia
creation. In its new MX incarnation, the familiar multi- the current document. Dreamweaver
MX
window, floating-palette interface is replaced by the new UltraDev—an
Wipro Infotech
MX look and feel. It takes some getting used to, but the dockable invaluable tool for Enterprise Software Group
panel groups and tabbed document windows prove far more effi- high-end Web developers Ph: 080-8440011
cient. Other welcome changes include the new tabbed Insert working with ASP and JSP The verdict: With a brilliant com
toolbar, integrated file browsing and the revamped context-sen- to produce data-driven nation of WYSIWYG functionality
coupled with powerful HTML edi
sitive Properties panel. HTML coding has also been brought to Web sites. Overall, ing capabilities, this application i
the fore with enhanced functionality while working directly with Dreamweaver MX shines ideally suited to authoring basic
code—Code Hinting suggests appropriate alternatives to your with its ability to author well as advanced database-driven
code as you type it. Greater stress is laid on the tag-based nature hard-hitting Web sites Web sites
of Web authoring with the new Tag Inspector showing an with the greatest of ease.

66 DECEMBER 2
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LCD MONITORS

T
here is something inherently futuristic about LCD dis - Nominees
plays—their sleek form factor makes them every PC own - Name Contacts Comments
ers dream peripheral. While LCD-based displays boast of
LG Flatron LG Electronics, This whopping 22-inch LCD mo
lower space requirements, higher contrast and brightness levels 295LM Ph: 0120- tor features a widescreen aspect
compared to their CRT counterparts, they still lag behind CRT 4560900 supports a resolution of up to
monitors when it comes to performance. The best LCD moni - 1600x1024 and is ideal for view
tors offer resolutions of up to 1600x1024, but this is still lower ing DVD movies and demanding
page layout and graphics applic
than that of a CRT’s 2048x1536 resolution on a similar screen tions
size. This is attributed to the fact that the pixel size of LCD
Sharp Sharp Business This 15-inch TFT monitor suppo
monitors is lower than that of CRT technology. LL-T15V1 Systems India a resolution of up to 1024x768
Ltd, Ph: 022- and delivered sharp and stable
The flat truth 2884452 images
At this point in time, however, the main reasons why one would
choose an LCD monitor is not for its performance but for conven- where their higher brightness and contrast levels allow them t
ience and for staying ahead of the technology curve. When look- viewed from a distance. Many LCD monitors support special
ing for an LCD monitor, besides the specifications of resolution tures such as integrated USB ports. Finally, since LCD monitor
and pixel size, note its response time—this specification decides inherently digital, some of them offer
the speed with which a pixel can be switched on and off. The lower port for special kinds of input such as a
the response time, smoother will be the display and this will be connector—this allows the monitor to
apparent while viewing fast-moving content on your screen such driven by a pure digital signal, resultin
as games and video. The area significantly greater image clarity.
where LCD monitors score
over CRT is the inherently And the award goes to…
Samsung SyncMaster 171MP
higher contrast and bright- Samsung Electronics India The LCD monitor that excelled in
ness levels—these specifica- Information & formance proved to be the Samsung Sy
tions should be at least 300:1 Telecommunication Ltd, Master 171MP. With stunning image q
and 150 cd/m2 to ensure sharp Ph: 011-6322517 ity and a resolution support of up
The verdict: Supporting a maximum resolution of
images even with bright ambi- 1280x1024, this TFT monitor delive
1280x1024, this TFT monitor features an integrated TV
ent light. This characteristic Tuner and at 250 cd/sq.m, it is one of the brightest very good results when evaluated
makes LCD monitors ideally LCD monitors around colour reproduction and response tim
suited to a public display system real world applications.

WEB GRAPHICS
Adobe LiveMotion 2.0 doing so by frames.

A
dobe LiveMotion 2.0 matches and even exceeds the This makes it a snap
capabilities of Flash. Users already familiar with the to change element Adobe
Adobe suite of products will find the interface of properties without LiveMotion 2.0
LiveMotion very comfortable to work with. It provides a com- editing its attributes Adobe systems India Pvt Lt
prehensive set of tools for editing bitmaps and ties seamlessly in each frame. Ph: 914532026
The verdict: This software packs i
with Photoshop for more advanced pixel editing. Armed with a power- numerous capabilities for handling
LiveMotion packs some very effective vector-handling tools, ful set of tools, LiveMo- virtually every aspect of Web anim
by allowing basic vector shapes to be effortlessly converted into tion provides a lucid tion. All in all, LiveMotion provide
buttons. Like Photoshop, it also allows you to place special and effective platform a lucid and effective platform for
creating dynamic content for you
editable effects to your elements such as drop shadows, bevels to accomplish Web
Web site.
and embosses. A unique feature built into this application is the graphics and animation
ability to plot changes to object attributes over time, instead of with the greatest of ease.

67 DECEMBER 2
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MOTHERBOARDS

T
here have been continuous advancements in desktop tech- Nominees
nologies ranging from display to storage, to processors, Name Contacts Comments
stretching even to the RAM. All of these advancements are For AMD CPUs
reflections of the new, futuristic motherboards. DFI AD70- Zeta Technologies, Built around the KT266 chipset, thi
SC/SR Ph: 022-24102288 motherboard features a bus speed
Across the board port of up to 266 MHz and suppor
For Intel processors, check if your motherboard supports either DFI AD73 Zeta Technologies, DDR memory
RDRAM or DDR memory. RDRAM offers greater bandwidth, PRO Ph: 022-24102288 Sporting the KT266A chipset, this
while DDR is a good cost-effective solution and with the advent motherboard also supports PC2100
DDR memory along with ATA/133
of DDR II memory, its performance is close to that of RDRAM. IDE drives
For Intel CPUs
However, availability of this new memory is scarce and the full Nebula Technologies This motherboard is based on the i
Intel
potential of these motherboards will not be realised until they are D850MD Pvt Ltd, Ph: 022- chipset and supports PC800 RDRAM
used with the compliant memory. The second most important 2673 0567 along with integrated Ethernet and
factor is the type of processor supported. While the Pentium 4 audio functionality
Northwood is still Intel’s most popular processor, there are oth- MSI 845E Priya Ltd, Built around the i845E chipset, this
ers on the anvil that will support even greater clock speeds such Max2-BLR Ph: 022-22663611 motherbaord supports a bus speed
up to 533 MHz, supports DDR mem
as the new Pentium 4s with HyperThreading technology. Check
and also integrates Bluetooth suppo
if the motherboard supports these new processors, especially if
you want to upgrade later. Even with AMD processors, evaluate
whether the motherboard reflects the technology sup- bus speed support and the inclusion of Bluetooth complia
ported by the new processors, especially the this motherboard provides the fastest platform for your
Opteron. AMD processors and has a host of connectivity and
peripheral options.
And the award goes to… The Intel motherboard that shone this
The AMD mother- year was the Gigabyte GA-8ITXE, based on
board that shat- the Intel D850GB
MSI KT4
tered our records in chipset. With sup-
Ultra Gigabyte
performance and Priya Ltd, port for PC800 GA-8ITXE
utility was the MSI Ph: 022-22663611 RDRAM, this imple- Nebula Technologies Pvt Ltd
KT4 Ultra. With a The verdict: Based upon the for- mentation of the Ph: 022-2673 0567
host of features such as midable KT400 chipset, this motherboard i850 family of The verdict: Built around the
features support for DDR memory, has i850 chipset that supports a bus speed
the new VIA KT400 six USB ports, six-channel onboard audio chipset lets the North- of 400 MHz and RDRAM support, this
chipset, support for and serial ATA, making it the highest per- wood P4 processors see motherboard proved to the be the
DDR/333 memory, 8x formance platform for AMD processors their maximum per - fastest platform for Pentium 4 processo
AGP, a 200/266 MHz formance levels.

LINUX DISTRIBUTIONS
Mandrake Linux 8.2 ware and installing Mandrake

A
Linux 8.2
n immensly easy installation and an attractive interface drivers. If you want
G.T. Enterprise,
makes Mandrake Linux 8.2 an excellent Linux distribu - to switch to Linux, Ph: 080-6606093
tion. Its ability to install to different profiles of applica- Mandrake Linux 8.2 is a The verdict: With very
tion areas makes it ideal for users who don’t want to install brilliant place to start for comprehsive support for vir-
components of the OS they don’t really need. This means that professionals who need tually every type of application
and usage area, this Linux distribu
you can tailor your installation to a specific need such as gam- an OS that offers tweak- tion is highly configurable and is
ing, Web server, e-mail server, multimedia authoring, office ability, as well as for first- suited well to amateurs and sea
applications, etc. There are numerous wizards to help you with time adventures into the soned users alike
everything, from installation to loading and configuring hard- world of Linux.

68 DECEMBER 2
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MP3 PLAYERS

W
hen MP3 players first came out, the very thought of Nominees
carrying along a part of your 500-track MP3 collec- Name Contacts Comments
tion sent a surge of excitement through every audio-
Creative Compuage Capable of reading CDs, CD-Rs an
phile’s spine. The primary components that these devices are DAP- Infocom Ltd CD-RWs, this MP3 Audio CD playe
built around a signal processor to decode the MP3 tracks and CD0001 Ph: 022- supports ID3 tags and boasts of p
Flash memory to store the tracks. Since these ingredients 23842200 ty of song control features
accounted for a major portion of the cost of the player, accept - Napa Moon Computers Capable of reading CDs, CD-Rs an
ance was not very high initially. However, with the drop in DAV316 Ph: 022- CD-RWs, this MP3 Audio CD playe
22653390 features NiMH batteries and also h
Flash memory prices over the latter half of this year, MP3 play-
ID3 tag support
ers are coming closer to every music lover.

Hear the right notes at their highest capacity, can store audio equivalent to ab
MP3 players are characterised by the features they support in a 2,000 CDs worth of music!
given form factor and by their price tags. Also, since they are If you want reasonable storage capacity but are on a bud
meant to be used while on the move—while exercising, com- CD-MP3 players are your best bet. With the ability to play b
muting or walking—the effective audio quality of most MP3 about 120 songs on a single CD, they are a good solution w
players hardly differs. It is only when the audio signal is closely compared to solid state and hard disk based MP3 players. Be
scrutinised that differences begin to emerge. However, these dif- all, this genre of MP3 players are the most inexpensive.
ferences are too minute to be noticed when these devices are When on the road, another very important factor wi
used in everyday situations. Therefore, one of the most impor- portable device is power—you have to have enoug
tant considerations in buying an MP3 player is the number of fea- it to run through your journey. Look
tures they offer in a given size. Also, look for an intuitive navi- for an MP3 player that has a longer
gation system that lets you locate and play your tracks quick- time and one that uses an easily avail
ly and easily. The controls of the player should also be eas- battery format such as the AA or A
ily accessible and the batteries.
bundled software There should also be an adequate numbe
must be easy to under- modes for your tracks such as looping, shuff
Creative PA-20
stand and work with. Compuage Infocom Ltd, and programmed play. Look out for players
Enhancements to Ph: 022-23842200 offer special support for digital audio proces
digital audio codecs The verdict: This little player on the player itself—an MP3 player that supp
and standards keep packs plenty of performance into a very small package. a graphic equaliser or specialised bass and tr
With 32 MB of memory and support for formats such
emerging and it is there- as MP3 and WMA, this MP3 player is the ideal com- controls with preset audio profiles is alw
fore important that your panion during those morning jogs preferred.
player has robust driver Finally, since you might have to carry the
support on the company player around with you, make sure that it is c
Web site for newer digital audio formats. fortable to hold and navigate through. CD and hard disk ba
Arguably, the most important component of an MP3 player MP3 players are larger in size and also involve moveable p
is its storage system and capacity. Since the MP3 player is meant that could be prone to damage due to rough treatment or p
for being used while on the move, it is important that you have ical shock. Therefore, if you are going to tag your MP3 pl
enough room for your songs. Most entry-level MP3 players come along for your workout or morning jog, it would be advise
with 32 MB of memory and this can store about 30 minutes of to opt for a solid state MP3 player as it will be significantly m
near-CD quality audio. Therefore, it is recommended that you robust compared to other kinds.
choose one with at least 64 MB of memory—the more the mer-
rier. Also, if you happen to have another device with Flash mem- And the award goes to…
ory, such as a digital camera, go for an MP3 player that supports The MP3 player that wins this year is the Creative PA-20
a similar format of memory so that you can exchange memory account of its great audio performance, a small size and feat
between the two devices. If price is not a bar, then the best you Built around a very small form factor, this MP3 player boast
can opt for when it comes to storing all your songs would be an superior audio quality and the ability to support MP3 and
MP3 player that features a hard disk drive in it—these are avail- formats, in addition to the range of audio control capabil
able in capacities ranging from 8 GB all the way up to 40 GB and such as shuffle and programmed playback.

69 DECEMBER 2
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PROCESSORS

T
he processor landscape changes more frequently than the Nominees
seasons. Every few months, the megahertz war reaches a Name Contacts Comments
culmination and begets a new breed of processors to be
Intel Nebula Reaching still higher with faster clo
born of AMD and Intel. With each family of processors, these Pentium 4 Technologies Pvt speeds and with support for a 533
chips feature lower power consumption and heat dissipation for 2.8 GHz Ltd, MHz bus, this processor is highly s
greater reliability and lower operating costs. Also, as processors Ph: 022-2673 0567 ed to processor-intensive applicatio
advance at a frantic pace, other system components sprint to Intel Nebula Based on a 0.13 micron core, this
keep up with them, resulting in a healthy situation where you Pentium Technologies Pvt processor delivers brilliant perform
2.53 GHz Ltd, without drawing on too much of
have faster overall systems.
Ph: 022-2673 0567 power

The power trip

When choosing a processor, the most important factor is its appli- ensure it is supported by the motherboard as well. Also, in
cation. Once you’ve defined your application area, look at suit- Intel Pentium 4 or an Athlon XP, it is important to choose o
able specifications such as the processor speed, the brand and supporting components such that they complement the pro
other factors such as the L1 and L2 cache, fabrication process, etc. sor and do not slow it down. Therefore, if you are looking
If your needs centre on non-intensive tasks such as word pro- pure performance in, say, a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 processor, c
cessing, surfing and e-mail, then your processing requirements ple it with an RDRAM-based system and a fast hard disk dr
will be satisfied by a 1 GHz-class processor. However, if you like Similarly, pair up an Athlon XP processor with the fastest D
to live on the cutting-edge with 3D games and 3D rendering and RAM you can afford, along with a complementing m
multimedia authoring software, then you will need a proocessor erboard.
with enough horse power to efficiently run these applications.
The cache on the processor is crucial in applications such as And the award goes to…
image-editing and gaming, The processor that wins kudos for be
where there are repetitive the fastest one as per our lab tests
routines and frequent access AMD Athlon 2600+ year turned is the AMD Athlon 26
of data sets. AMD Far East Ltd, With the 0.13 micron technology,
Ph: 011-6238620
Newer processors have integer and floating point units, this pro
The verdict: Armed with six processing
moved to the 0.13 micron units and a high clock speed, this processor turned out sor is ideally suited to applications
fabrication process. When con- to be the best overall performer across applications involve streaming data such as audio
sidering such a processor, video encoding.

3D AUTHORING TOOLS
3ds max 5 realistic effect. Once

T
he 3D rendering application that scaled new levels of utili- a separate package, 3ds max 5
Discreet,
ty and enhancement, 3ds max 5 is a bubbling cauldron of Reactor is now bun- Ph: 022-
functionalities, ranging from the interface, modelling, ren- dled with 3ds max 5 26952000
dering, animation and special effects features. In the interface, the and allows you to add The verdict: With an array of new
menus have been re-ordered such that similar tasks are grouped in dynamic properties to features such as advanced animatio
controls, environment effects and a
more logical and intuitive task groups for easier access. Tools such objects such as water
improved menu layout, 3ds max 5
as the Dope Sheet make it easier to change animation characteris- droplets, explosions, bags top honours for 3D animation
tics, without worrying about the animation curve, while the smoke, etc. The Toon applications
Bones tool greatly simplifies skeletal animation. When used in Shader function provides
conjunction with the IK Spline solver, the connected elements in far smoother control
complex models move much more realistically and far greater over the colours and textures in cartoon animation.
control has been affected over them. In tasks such as realistic lip- With a plethora of added functionality and a far greater
synching, the Progressive Modifier gives animators control over trol over complex tasks, 3ds max 5 provides an unbeatable p
the morphing stages in steps, providing a much smoother and age for 3D animators and modellers.

70 DECEMBER 2
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SCANNERS

I
n today’s age of free Web sites and Web-based image hosting Nominees
services, it would be great to port all your memories to a last- Name Contacts Comments
ing digital format to be viewed by your relatives around the
Microtek Rashi Peripherals, Built around a 1200x2400, 48-bit
world. Scanners enable this and with increasing resolutions, ScanMaker Ph: 022-28260258 scanning engine, this Legal-size fla
vivid colours, smaller form factors and low prices, it is easier X12USL scanner is ideally suited to applica
than ever to embark on your digital imaging journey. where large documents need to b
scanned at the highest quality
Get the picture HP ScanJet Hewlett-Packard Featuring a 2400x2400 resolution
5400 India Ltd, 48-bit colour support, this scanner
Since scanners are used to convert photographs and printed
Ph: 080-5216121 exhibited very good performance
documents into digital format, their performance is largely acteristics in photo and text scann
dependant upon the resolution, the colour depth and the speed
offered. The primary factors that affect the quality of the scan-
ner are the resolution along with the colour depth supported. of a scanner is its scanning speed. This is decided by two
For most entry-level scanners, a 600x1200 dpi resolution is a tors—the motor used to advance the scanning element and
good start as it can scan with a maximum optical resolution of interface of the scanner to the computer. Some brands h
600 dpi. inherently better implementations of the scanning assem
The most crucial scanner specification is the optical resolu- allowing them to scan faster without sacrificing on qual
tion—this is the true resolution with which the scanner oper - Therefore, before purchasing a scanner, take a couple
ates. Second comes the interpolated or software resolution—this scans using different modes such as photo quality, te
is the resolution at which the scanner increases its resolution monochrome, etc.
and creates the in-between scan points by ‘guessing’ their value Finally, the other factor that affects the scanning speed is
using algorithms in software. Therefore, the interpolated resolu- interface—choose a scanner with a USB interface as this feat
tion will not necessarily have the same clarity as an optical scan. much higher speeds compared to parallel port scanners.
The scanning resolution decides the size of your scanned image
as well as the size it is converted to as a graphic file. And the award goes to…
The other important parameter that decides the image qual - The scanner that delivered outstanding im
ity is the colour depth. As a rule of thumb, the higher the colour ing quality was the HP Scanjet 547
depth, the greater is the scanner’s ability to reproduce true-to- With its support for true 2400x2
life colours. Go for a scanner dpi resolutions and a 48-bit co
with a colour depth of at least depth, this scanner showed ex
48 bits. During the scanning HP Scanjet 5470C lent results in colour and clarity.
process, information is general- Hewlett-Packard India Ltd, added functionality, it has 11 butt
ly lost and therefore, if the scan- Ph: 080- 5216121 that can invoke a range of tasks, let
The verdict: With its robust
ner can sense a greater number you use the scanner as a copier if
2400x2400 scanning resolution, coupled with a 48-bit
of colours, the greater is its ability colour depth and a host of intuitive controls, this scan- have a printer connected, along w
to capture the original colour. ner delivered stellar performance a range of other cross-applica
Another important parameter shortcut keys.

OCR SOFTWARE ABBY FineReader

6.0 CE
ABBY FineReader 6.0 CE application created Net Spider, Ph: 022-286335

I
n the OCR software segment, ABBY FineReader 6.0 CE an editable docu - The verdict: This OCR soft
logged 96 per cent accuracy in identifying words. This ment that retained the ware offers unmatched capabilites
in recognising documents. It is
application is a brilliant solution for getting all those hard - columns, images, for-
also able to retain formatting
copies and newspaper clippings into editable document for - matting and even the faithfully, and is your best bet
mat. The factor that set it apart from others was that it man - fonts in the original for digitising your printed docu
aged to retain even the formatting in the document—even document with unpar- ments
newspaper and magazine pages were correctly reproduced. The alleled accuracy.

71 DECEMBER 2
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SOUNDCARDS

U
ntil recently, system integrators and branded comput- Nominees
ers alike, did not pay much attention to the audio sub- Name Contacts Comments
system. As long as one could attach stereo speakers to
Creative SB Compuage With brilliant performance in hand
the computer, that was all the audio needed. However, things Live! DE 5.1 Infocom Ltd, multi-channel audio for movies and
have changed—with the integration of advanced audio pro - Ph: 022-23842200 gaming, this sound card is a great
cessing in most motherboards, entry-level users can enjoy for home theatre systems
multi-channel sound, with some budget cards even boasting Zoltrix Kunhar Peripherals Sporting 4-channel support and ve
Nightingale Pvt Ltd, low CPU utilisation scores, this sou
Dolby Digital compliance. This is corroborated by the fact that
PRO 6 Ph: 022-22345758 card delivers plenty of performanc
most entertainment applications such as games and movies even at a low price
are now authored using more than two channels of audio.
Due to this convergence, most sound systems today are inte - CPU’s power while in operation. Go for a card where the CPU
grated directly into the motherboard in the form of a codec. isation is not more than 5 per cent. Though the difference isn’
The main processor handles the audio processing and in some significant with newer processors, it could be noticeable if you
cases, discrete audio processors are built into the mother- the soundcard into an older machine.
board. While this has been consolidated by a number of The features that a soundcard supports are just as importa
soundcard manufacturers, some prefer to go with dedicated choose a soundcard that supports at least four channels of so
external soundcards. and a standard such as EAX or A3D, as these standards are u
in many of today’s games.
Are you listening? Finally, make sure the soundcard can drive your spe
Numerous factors affect the performance of a soundcard, such as speakers—some high-end speakers have a provision for di
the frequency response, S/N (signal-to-noise) ratio and the MIDI input and your soundcard sho
implementation. Good soundcards have a frequency response of have a similar output for the hig
20 Hz to 20 KHz with an S/N ration of 80 dB. The wider the fre- level of audio quality.
quency response and the greater
the S/N ratio, the better the sound- And the award goes to…
card. Another important charac- Creative Audigy Platinum The soundcard that shattered
teristic is the extent to which the Compuage Infocom Ltd, records in performance and clarity
soundcard depends upon the main Ph: 022-23842200 the Creative Audigy Platinum. Thank
The verdict: This soundcard
processor while in operation. Ide- its support for true 5.1 channel D
has 24-bit digital audio playback,
ally, a soundcard should be able to robust audio interface support and 5.1-channel Digital support, 24-bit audio quality a
handle all audio requirements inde- support. It hits the highs in gaming and movie very low CPU utilisation, this sound
pendently. However, in reality, the performance performed excellently in all the ta
soundcard uses some part of the main applications.

SOUND EDITING
Sound Forge 6.0 precious bits of your

W
Sound Forge 6.0
ith digital audio, very few tools come close to the capa- time. There is also a
Sonic Foundry,
bility and power of Sound Forge. This robust audio set of 35 preset effects E-mail: customerser-
editing software incorporates a vast range of tools to such as flanging, cho- [email protected]
let you perform basic audio editing on digital audio such as copy- rus, reverb, etc, that The verdict: One of the most robu
ing, pasting, and lengthening and shortening audio files. In addi- help to add a dimension Wave editing tools around, this
application boasts unparalleded fea
tion, it offers full 32-bit file support, with sample rates from 2 of depth to your audio
tures and functionality for creating
KHz to 192 KHz, giving very high-quality audio. The zoom ratio tracks. effects and processes with audio fil
for working with audio has also been increased to 24:1 to let you With professional-
edit the waveform on even a sample level. The new multitasking quality audio editing fea-
environment allows the application to render in the background tures and a host of controls and effect capabilities, Sound F
while you are editing other files in the foreground, saving 6.0 is your ticket to mastering audio at the home or in a stu

72 DECEMBER 2
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SPEAKERS

C
omputer speakers used to be humble boxes spreading the Nominees
sound in a 50 cm radius. Now they’ve grown into mam - Name Contacts Comments
moth sound blasters. It all started with the advent of 4.1 and 5.1 SPEAKERS
Artis X8 Kunhar Peripherals This speaker system boasts of a larg
multi-channel audio support on the computer. Ever since the
5.1 Pvt Ltd, and powerful subwoofer with punc
quad channel and 5.1 soundcards hit the scene, manufactures cre- Ph: 022-22345758 satellites, making it a very good co
ated speaker systems that were complemented these systems. panion for a 5.1-channel home the
Thus was born the 4.1 and the 5.1 speaker systems we know today. system.
Labtec Aditya Infotech Ltd This quad-channel speaker system
Hear the difference Arena 530 Ph: 022-26338555 foms very well, especially when rep
ducing sound effects and is ideally
PC speakers are specified by the audio characteristics of frequency
ed to movies and really loud gamin
response, Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), Sound Pressure Level 2.1 SPEAKERS
(SPL) and of course, power rating. However, the specified charac- Artis S320 Kunhar Peripherals Boasting of especially good perform
teristics often belie the true capability of the speakers. Thus, always Pvt Ltd, ance during DVD playback, this spe
judge the speaker quality after you have heard how they sound. Ph: 022-22345758 system also provided very sharp hig
Always consider the RMS rating—the PMPO rating, though larger Labtec Aditya Infotech Suited very well for gaming, these
Pulse 325 Ltd, Ph: 022- speakers delivered excellent respon
in value, is misleading and should not be relied upon.
26338555 in reproducing sound effects and
In a four-channel speaker system, ensure that the power rat- out impressively even at high volu
ing of each satellite and the subwoofer is at least 4 Watts and 15
Watts RMS, respectively. The higher this rating, the greater is
the power delivery of your speakers. For THD, the acceptable music you specifically listen to—carry a CD of your favourite m
levels are 0.3 per cent. The frequency to test the speakers’ quality. When testing, set the bass and tr
response should be between 20 Hz and controls to a mid point and see how loud the speakers get be
20 KHz. SPL should be 75 dB. the sound begins to distort. This will help you decide whether
‘room-shaking’ power of the speaker is
Artis S880 actually present or if there’s just a tinny
(4.1/5.1-channel category) cacophony!
Kunhar Peripherals Pvt Ltd,
Ph: 022-22345758 And the award goes to…
The verdict: Though diminutive in size, this quad-channel speaker
The 4.1/5.1-channel speaker system that
setup boasts crisp highs and defined bass, making for an excellent
speaker system for performance gaming and immersive movies delivered outstanding performance in the
categories of gaming as well as

Consider buying digital speaker systems—these have a Sumoku Alpha 4R

decoder that encodes multi-channel encoded sound such as (2.1-channel category)
Dolby Digital. These speakers produce the highest sound qual - Palesha Electronics Industries, Ph: 9520-6355702
The verdict: Sporting a separate amplifier unit containing
ity, but you need to have a soundcard that features a digital-out
the controls, this speaker system delivered sound quality and powe
to drive them. At the upper end of the scale, speaker systems fea- that belied its size
ture dedicated multi-channel amplifiers that can decode four-
channel and 5.1-channel audio signals from your games and
movies, amplify them and send them to the matched speakers. movies was the Artis S880. This speaker system was also abl
These are ideal for a PC-based home theatre system, where you handle high volume levels with ease and is therefore ide
need power and compliance with multi-channel standards. suited to users who like to play audio at blaring volumes.
Newer breeds of four-channel and 5.1-channel speaker Among the 2.1 speaker systems, the Sumoku Alpha 4R d
systems have taken audio power levels to new heights with sup- ered very good response in our tests, especially during DVD p
port for industrial-strength audio standards such as THX. These back where the response was very sharp. This was also refle
speakers boast of power ratings in the realm of 300 to 500 watts in its superior treble response.
RMS—enough to bring the roof down! Such speakers are best suit- The speakers have a separate amplifier that contains all
ed to home theatres—there is virtually no difference between controls, so they can be placed in a convenient location with
watching a DVD movie in your home and in a movie theatre! bothering to keep them within arm’s reach. If it’s stereo so
Make sure that you hear how the speakers sound with the that you’re looking for, this one offers superior sound qualit

73 DECEMBER 2
test drive ■
■ reviews

We test the latest and the best hardware and software products available in the market

Hercules 3D Prophet 9700 Pro VIA EPIA Mini-ITX motherboard

Good things come in small packages
When speed matters

T he Hercules 9700
P r o
T he VIA EPIA series mother-
boards are based on the
EDEN platform and are intend-
able to four) present.
When used with the fan-
less EDEN ESP 5000 processor,
graphics ed as low-cost, ultra low-power the CPU heats up a bit during
card boasts and compact platforms for intensive operations, so a
of an 8x AGP mobile and compact systems fan is recommended—when
interface and that are mainly used for surf- using the optional CPU with
128 MB of 310 ing the Net, watching movies the fan, it was always at
MHz DDR RAM (DVDs), or working with office below-room temperature.
with a 256-bit inter - with 256 applications. The motherboard system
face. With a maximum MB DDR RAM. In the provides you with more power
of 256 MB of RAM onboard, 3DMark 2001 SE test, the than you’ll need for running
it can reach a bandwidth of card achieved an impres - your everyday business pro-
19.2 GBps! It has a 325 MHz sive score of 12,085. The grams. Try to give it
core, eight rendering Unreal Tournament 2003 something even
pipelines, dual 400 MHz benchmark was also very remotely graphical
RAMDAC for high—130 fps when though, and it suf-
dual-monitor support and played at 1600x1200 in the fers—it performed poorly
DirectX 9.0 support. flyby demo, with all set- The in all our graphics bench-
The 9700 Pro nicely tings at maximum level. EPIA Mini- marks. To be fair, this mother-
blends form and function. If you’re looking for ITX is an all- board is aimed at the average
It features an all-copper fan the fastest video card inclusive board budget user and not at gamers
assembly and heat sinks on around, then this is the that features an embedded VIA and graphics professionals
both sides of the card, one for you. All this good - Cyrix C3 E-series processor and it’s powerful enough to
which gives it a very pow- ness comes at a high price, with an optional fan-less smoothly run DVDs and DivX
erful look. For the very first though—Rs 34,750 to EDEN ESP 5000 processor movies. At Rs 4,500 for the
time, it actually packs a be precise. (these cannot be upgraded), 533 MHz variant, you really
floppy-type power connec - support for up to 1 GB of shouldn’t be asking for more.
tor on the card, because the SPECIFICATIONS 100/133 MHz SDRAM, AGP 2x The motherboard sup-
AGP bus cannot satisfy this ATi’s R300 GPU, 128 MB DDR Trident Blade graphics con- ports processors ranging from
power-hungry monster. So RAM, dual output, DVI to D- troller with up to 8 MB of 533 MHz to 933 MHz, and
unless you have a power sub connector included, The memory with a TV Out option, variants that support DDR
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
supply of at least 300 watts, game CDs AC ‘97 sound codec with memory are also available.
don’t even consider own- System Requirements: S/PDIF output and a 10/100
ing this graphics card. Pentium 4/III/II/Celeron or Mbps integrated Ethernet. SPECIFICATIONS
We tested the card on a compatible with AGP There’s only one PCI slot Embedded 533 MHz processor,
2.2 GHz Pentium 4 proces - 8x/4x/2x slot, 128 MB RAM, and one serial port, but this onboard AGP 2x graphics, inte-
300 watts power supply, grated sound, 10/100 Ethernet,
sor, on the 845-based MSI Windows XP/Me/2000 shouldn’t be a problem, as its mini-ITX form factor, ATX-com-
Max2 BLR motherboard, intended users will not need pliant power supply
Hercules 3D Prophet B+ the extra expansion slots, and
Performance VIA EPIA Mini-ITX
Price: Rs 34,750 new devices can make use of B+
Build quality Performance
Contact: MediaTech India the two USB ports (expand-
Phone: 022-2396696 Value for money Build quality
E-mail: sales@mediatech Features Price: Rs 4,500 Value for money
india.com OVERALL Contact: Via Technologies Features
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.via.com OVERALL

74 DECEMBER 2002
MSI 845PE Max2
A feature-rich and stable performer

T his motherboard features

a DDR 333 solution based
on Intel’s latest 845PE
applications such as floating
point computations. In the
Business Creation and in the
chipset, which supports Content Creation test, the
Intel’s HyperThreading tech- scores were well above your
nology. This allows software average P4 motherboard.
The board is armed
to the teeth with fea -
tures. It has six-chan-
nel sound capability
with an onboard
AC’97 5.1 sound
decoder. The mother-
board supports a
maximum of 2 GB of
DDR RAM with three
DIMM slots. A Giga-
applications to exploit the bit Ethernet controller is also
processor’s resources to the integrated. Another interest-
fullest by running threads ing feature is the presence of
belonging to applications in
parallel. However, it requires
a CPU that can perform
HyperThreading, and Intel
has just launched its first
an onboard Promise RAID
controller with RAID 0 as
striping and RAID 1 as mir-
roring. The board comes bun-
dled with a USB 2.0 module
1/2 p AD
such CPU—the P4 3.06 GHz. with diagnostic LEDs. This
Also, applications need to be helps in debugging system
written to take advantage of problems without opening
this technology, so it might the case. Also included are an
be some time before its bene - IEEE 1394 module, an S/PDIF
fits are actually visible. (Sony/Philips Digital Inter-
The board was tested on a face) module, four detailed
P4 2.8 GHz, with 256 MB of manuals and a driver and
266 MHz DDR RAM along software CD that contains
with a 7,200-rpm hard disk, Live Update, a BIOS updating
and a GeForce4 Ti 4600 graph- software for Windows and
ics card on Windows XP. The PCAlert4, a diagnostic utility
board performed well in indi- that gives information about
vidual tests, though, the over- various system parameters
all performance was slightly and displays a warning when
less than an RDRAM-based the threshold limits are
motherboard. One area where crossed.
it showed excellent perform-
ance was in the video encod -
SPECIFICATIONS
ing test, where it encoded a 55 845 PE chipset with
MB MPEG file to the DivX for- HyperThreading technology,
mat in just 58 seconds—this DDR 333 support, onboard AC
means we can expect a better ‘97 5.1 channel support, IEEE
performance when used with 1394, Gigabit Ethernet,
Promise RAID controller, 4x
the upcoming 333 MHz mem- AGP, 6 PCI slots, 1 CNR slot,
ory module. This board is USB 2.0 module
excellent for CPU-intensive
MSI 845PE Max2 B+
Price: Rs 9,000 Performance
Contact: Priya Ltd Build quality
Phone: 022-22663611 Value for money
Fax: 022-22664154 Features
E-mail: [email protected]
OVERALL
Web site: www.priyagroup.com

75 DECEMBER 2002
test drive ■
■ reviews

Canon LBP 1210 laser printer smooth and silent, and the smoothly. The Logitech
layout and shape of the key- MouseWare Control Centre
In black and white
board makes for very com- lets the user porgram func-

I f you are scouring the mar-

ket for a workgroup laser
printer that can take care of
dled with a power cord, inter-
face cables, manuals, a driver
CD and also a quick start
fortable typing.
The keyboard, when used
from 20 feet away worked
tions for the extra button as
well as the middle button.
With great looks, plenty
guide. quite satisfactorily, but the of functionality and comfort,
In the test, the LBP 1210 bundled mouse (Logitech this keyboard-mouse combi-
delivered good results, Cordless MouseMan Optical) nation is a good deal for users
printing a text and graph- was not as responsive—it for whom price is not an issue.
ics document in under 17 missed the signals at times, SPECIFICATIONS
seconds. The tonal varia - making it unsuitable for Radio frequency communica-
tion and greyscale applications such as presenta- tion, 20 hotkeys, PS/2 interface,
reproduction in tions, where you would be at 6 feet range, package includes
keyboard, mouse and radio
monochrome a distance from the base com-
receiver
images was smooth. puter. The mouse is also a bit
Even when taking a large heavy but works quite Logitech Freedom B+
number of printouts, the Performance
your daily office print jobs, printer did not cause any Price: Rs 3,380 Build quality
Contact: Rashi Peripherals Value for money
then look no further than the paper jams.
Phone: 022-28260258 Features
Canon LBP 1210. With a good set of fea- E-mail: [email protected]
The front panel has a sim - tures, fast speeds and sharp OVERALL
Web site: www.logitech.com
ple interface design; the back and defined prints, this
panel features a USB and a monochrome printer is the
parallel port interface along best bet for office applications ACID PRO 4.0
with the power connector. that need a combination of Music on the rocks
This printer is provided both speed and quality.
with a 250-sheet paper tray,
which is sufficient for most
daily printing loads. There is
SPECIFICATIONS
600 dpi maximum resolution,
A CID PRO 4.0, the latest
version of
Foundry’s music cre-
Sonic
matic fades. It also supports
16-bit and 24-bit Audio for -
mats, as well as
2 MB buffer, 250-sheet paper
also a provision for manual tray, parallel and USB interface ation tool, has a importing of
paper loading and the paper- very clean interface WMA and
in tray can be detached. Canon LBP 1210 B that might take a WMV files.
The printer comes bun- Performance little time to get The package
Build quality used to, but it’s includes a CD
Price: Rs 21,192 Value for money
Contact: Canon India Ltd powered to create containing more
Features
Phone: 011-6806572 professional-grade than 400 music
OVERALL
E-mail: [email protected] music. The new loops from Sonic
version has a lot Foundry’s ‘Loops
more features for ACID’ collec -
Logitech Cordless Freedom than its prede- tion.
optical keyboard cessors, such as ACID PRO is
Auto-save, Crash most definitely rec -
Freedom from wires
Recovery and 5.1-channel ommended for professionals

T he Logitech Cordless
Freedom Optical
uses radio frequencies
mixing to enable great music
creation. One particularly
new, useful feature is the abil-
and is priced as such—ama-
teurs will probably be put off
by its Rs 19,551 price tag.
and doesn’t even ity to rip CDs, edit the music
require you to files and burn them. SPECIFICATIONS
be in the line of ACID PRO saves to a vari - System requirements:
sight of the receiver. ety of formats such as WAV, Windows 98 SE/Me/2000/XP,
300 MHz processor, 64 MB
The keyboard-mouse com - WMA, RM, AVI, and MP3. It
RAM (128 MB recommended),
bination is good looking allows you to add effects such Windows-compatible sound-
and packs a lot of features as Resonant Sweeps and dra - card and DirectX 8.0
such as 20 hotkeys for Inter -
net, multimedia and so on. comfortable tactile response Price: 19,551 (local taxes extra) ACID PRO 4.0 B
The receiver has two PS/2 and feel, it is ideally suited to Contact: PRO-MUSIC Inc Performance
connections for the keyboard those who need to type a lot Phone: 91-44-8261445/ Ease of use
8213607 Value for money
and mouse. such as programmers and lay- E-mail: [email protected] Features
The keyboard has an out artists who use a lot of Web site: www.promusic-
excellent layout—given its hotkeys. The keystrokes are online.com OVERALL

76 DECEMBER 2002
Adobe LiveMotion 2.0
Animate your world

L iveMotion 2.0, Adobe’s lat-

est offering, is pitted
against Macromedia’s Flash
MX. It allows object-based
animation—instead of frames
as seen in Flash, there’s a
TimeLine that displays a list
of layers within which you
can make changes to the
objects and also control how
an object’s attributes will
change over time. Layer
groups appear as a collapsible and TIFF formats.
list of objects, so you can ani - It brings along with it a
mate individual objects as library with predefined styles,
well as the complete group. textures, sounds and shapes.
Changing the frame rate does You can store presets in the
not involve re-doing the tim - Styles palette and apply them
ing of the movie—a 10 sec - later to objects in the same or
ond animation will take 10 in other compositions.
seconds irrespective of the The Export panel allows
frame rate it is played at. you to set global quality
Version 2.0 has a new fea- options for all bitmapped
ture called Time Scaling—by objects in the document, as
pressing [Alt], you can resize well as specific settings for
segments on the timeline and particular objects. Hence, by
the key frames within those reducing the quality of all
segments are automatically
repositioned so that the exist-
ing animation is scaled to fit
in the new time period. This
bitmapped elements in the
object, you can cut down on
the size of the animation.
In version 2.0, the sup-
1/2 p AD
feature allows you to make port for scripting has been
last minute changes without beefed up. The scripting lan-
having to alter any of the guage is based on JavaScript.
animation. The script editor is extremely
LiveMotion offers you a functional and relatively easy
great set of tools. The draw- to use. Plus there are a num-
ing tools offer four shapes— ber of sample scripts to make
circle, ellipse, rectangle and your task simpler.
square, to help you draw the To sum up, Adobe has
basic layout of your anima- brought LiveMotion to a
tion. You can then play level where it can be thought
around with the advanced as a serious alternative to the
alteration tools such as opac - Flash authoring environ-
ity, size or distortion to give ment.
it any look you like. The soft-
SPECIFICATIONS
ware includes image editing System requirements: Pentium
features and integrates well III 600 MHz or faster processor,
with Photoshop and Illustra - Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, 64
tor, so you don’t have to MB RAM, 50 MB free hard disk
space, CD-ROM drive, 800x600
invest in a separate image
or greater monitor resolution
editing application. It sup-
ports BMP, JPEG, PSD, ES, AI Adobe LiveMotion 2.0 A-
Performance
Price: Rs 20,700 Ease of use
Contact: Adobe Systems India Value for money
Pvt Ltd Features
Phone: 0120-4444711
OVERALL
E-mail: [email protected]

77 DECEMBER 2002
test drive ■
■ reviews

Red Hat 8.0

Hat full of goodies

A first look, Red Hat 8.0

might fool a Red Hat user
into thinking that it’s a brand
packages pertaining to it are
selected by default.
A standard Personal Desk-
the same configuration tools
appear again and again under
different headings.
patenting issues, this causes a
major setback in the multi -
media performance. It also
new distribution. The graph- top installation consists of Integration is another lacks some games that were
ics have changed quite a bit, 369 basic packages (these are user-friendly design aspect. present in the older version.
and the images and characters non-deselectable compo - Red Hat integrates some In order to see just how
look clear and bold. This new nents) plus 132 additional applications such as Open Red Hat 8.0 performs under
look has been dubbed by Red packages such as Gnome, Office 1.0, Mozilla Open ‘stress’ tests such as hardware
Hat as ‘Blue Curve’. games, etc. This installation Source Browser and Ximian changes (this has always been
type will need 1,558 MB of Evolution (an e-mail client, a thorny issue in previous ver-
space and takes about 20 min- calendar and contact manag- sions), we decided to change
utes to install. A Complete er, all in one) as part of the some hardware. The Intel
Personal Desktop, with all the installation process. It pro - motherboard used in the test
packages, takes 4,680 MB of vides an alternative to Star bed had an onboard GPU, so
hard disk space and 50 min- Office with the Open Office we decided to remove the
utes to install. These times package. GeForce2 card. When we
were logged on a system using The most important fea - started the machine, Linux
the Intel 1.7 GHz CPU, Intel ture for developers, the GNU properly detected the change
D845GBV motherboard, 256 Compiler Collection (GCC), and prompted us to remove
MB DDR (266 MHz) RAM, has also been the GeForce drivers and add
nVidia GeForce2 Ultra graph- upgraded to ver- the Intel onboard graphics
ics accelerator, a 40 GB Sea - sion 3.2. How- adapter to the system config -
Looks aside, gate Barracuda hard disk and ever as a result, uration. The following instal -
version 8.0 offers several a 48x LG CD drive. Since a lation was successful. The
enhanced features. For majority of potential Linux problems started with X-Win-
instance, there’s a new users may not have such a dows—it wouldn’t initialise.
option to check the installa- high system configuration, We then tried the XF86Con-
tion medium for problems installation times can be fig. It started in text mode and
just before installation expected to be significantly asked for all sorts of details
begins—quite a thoughtful longer. such as the horizontal scan
addition given that less-than- The Boot Loader Configu- rate and vertical refresh rate
flawless installations are a rator, which sets up your sys- and so on.
sure-shot recipe for disaster tem to boot Linux or shares it Even after
in Linux. with other OSes, has upgrad - giving all
A new installation type, ed features. You can now spec- The Red Hat 8.0 features a neat and clean new interface the details,
called Personal Desktop, has ify the boot sequence (for X-Win-
also been added. This is in example: CD-ROM first, then the GNU C++ compiler has dows wouldn’t start. This is
addition to the usual Work- floppy, then hard disk). For a some compatibility issues one area where the user-
station, Server and Custom single-boot system (only over the type of object code it friendliness needs to be
installation types. The pack- Linux), installation is quite produces. GCJ (GNU Compil- enhanced.
age selection and installation simple but for a dual-boot er for Java) has been upgrad - Overall, Red Hat 8.0
has been given a new look system (say, Linux and Win- ed, as also the GDB (GNU promises to be pretty good
and has been grouped into dows), experience in creating DeBugger). The C and C++ but if something fails, it’s
five categories: Desktop, and assigning partitions is libraries have also been quite difficult to amend
Applications, Servers, Devel- required. enhanced and the overall things.
opment and System. The The first time Red Hat compiler performance has
Desktop group contains KDE starts, a new agent activates been improved.
SPECIFICATIONS
and Gnome, the Application itself and configures system The bundled MP3 players
System requirements:
group contains various edi- date, time and sound settings. present in version 7.3, Pentium-class CPU or better, at
tors, calculators, games and The Setup Agent also helps in mpg123 and XMMS, are not least 650 MB hard disk space,
applications. The Servers installing any other packages included in version 8.0 due to 128 MB RAM
group contains FTP, DNS, from the additional CDs.
Red Hat 8.0 B-
SAMBA and other protocol Red Hat 8.0 also has a bet- Price: Rs 8,750 (Professional),
Rs 2,200 (Personal) Performance
servers, while the Develop - ter control panel—the entire
Contact: Red Hat India Pvt Ltd Ease of use
ment group has compilers menu structure is well-organ-
Phone: 022-22853452 Value for money
and several Software Develop- ised. Repetition, an essential Features
Fax: 022-22845343
ment Kits (SDKs). When you element of user-friendliness, E-mail: [email protected] OVERALL
choose the installation type, has been achieved by making Web site: www.in.redhat.com

78 DECEMBER 2002
Norton AntiVirus 2003
The ultimate protector

A nti-virus software contin -

ually strive to reach high -
er levels of effectiveness to
worms and blocks infected
mail. It notifies the user of
such attachments and also
keep pace with viruses that suggests an appropriate action
evolve to find stealthier and for the situation.
more devastating ways to The software allows you
attack our data. Norton to password protect the access
AntiVirus 2003 is one such settings. This is helpful if sev-
software that has earned plen- eral people use your PC, as it
ty of respect and confidence prevents others from access -
for protecting computer sys - ing your data.
tems from virus attacks. Norton AntiVirus 2003 is
Norton AntiVirus 2003 easy to use and sports the
has some additional features same interface as the earlier
compared to the previous ver- one; but even if you haven’t
sion. It has an used any of the previous
expanded file repair versions of the
and deletion fea - software, you
ture, which helps will not have to
in restoring and struggle with its
repairing files interface and con-
infected with figuration. The
worms or Trojans icons and captions

1/2 p AD
with the possibili- are self-explanato -
ty of even saving ry and the Scan,
the original doc - Live-update and
ument. Like in Option setting tasks
the older ver - are very easy to get
sions, if the virus cannot to and perform from
be removed from the file, Nor- the convenient front
ton offers to delete the file. interface.
In today’s connected age, The Live-update feature is
small files can be easily trans - very transparent and one of
ferred through instant mes - the best implemented
sengers and these could con - amongst anti-virus packages.
tain viruses—the instant mes - If you are updating the pro -
senger support option safe- tection updates daily, the
guards the system from these. download size will not be
Norton automatically detects more than 80-90 Kb.
the messengers installed on If data protection under
your system and enables the any circumstances is your
protection mode by default priority, then Norton
during installation. It scans AntiVirus 2003 will put your
MSN, Yahoo! and AOL mes - mind to ease.
sengers for possible malicious
files—all files received through
these messengers are scanned SPECIFICATIONS
for viruses and then passed System requirements: Win-
forward. Users do have the dows 98 SE/Me/2000/XP, 300
option of enabling or dis - MHz processor, 128 MB RAM,
abling this feature. 70 MB hard disk space, IE 5.0
Norton AntiVirus 2003
scans all outgoing mail for Norton AntiVirus 2003 B
Performance
Price: Rs 2,025 Ease of use
Contact: Symantec Value for money
Phone: 022-6570658 Features
Fax: 022-6570671
OVERALL
Web site: www.symantec.com

79 DECEMBER 2002
test drive ■
■ reviews

Lindows 2.0 Antec Performance Plus 660 AMG

Stepping stone to Linux Sturdy and cool

L indows, as the name sug-

gests, tries to bridge the
gap between Windows and
configure settings for display,
sound, etc.
The interface is extremely
W hat are the specifica -
tions for a top-class
cabinet? The basic require -
designed such that the drive
has to be fitted to a clip and
then slid into the bay—nice
Linux. simple to use. If you’ve cho - ment of any cabinet and easy. The hard
The installation is pretty sen a dual-boot configuration, is a capable power disk can be fitted
smooth. You can let Lindows Lindows automatically supply, proper ven- into the internal
take up the whole hard disk, mounts the partitions belong- tilation system and 3.5-inch bay cage,
or, if you’ve already installed ing to the other OS so that it sturdy build. which can be
Windows, it can share the is accessible directly from the The Perfor- removed just by
partition and set up your ‘My Computer’ icon in Lin - mance Plus 660 sliding a clamp.
dows. If you’re on a LAN, AMG from Antec is The bay is provid -
you will get an icon called awesomely rugged. ed with a clamp
‘Network Browser’, simi- The 5.25-inch drive for a fan; useful if
lar to ‘Network Neigh - bay front cover is you use one of the
bourhood’ in Windows. made of plastic and faster drives which
On the applications can be removed just dissipate a lot of
front, Lindows is mini - by pushing the two heat. Just next to
mal, but these are suffi - side buttons. Below the hard disk cage
cient for a non-power these bays are the is a washable filter
user. One feature that 3.5-inch bays. On the front for ensuring clean airflow.
stands out is the Click- bezel, a small plastic spring- Finally, there is space for a
N-Run. It allows you to loaded flap opens to give stock fan just below the hard
computer to boot to either download an application, access to two USB and one disk cage.
OS. If you have some experi - install it and run it with a sin- FireWire connection. The Being a mini-tower, it’s
ence in partitioning hard gle click—a definite improve - power and reset buttons are slightly cramped, especially
disks, you can perform the ment over the RPM package present on the front bezel, near the CPU region, due to
whole process manually. management software used with two LED indicators and an irritating cross metal rib
Lindows 2.0 eliminates all by other distributions. How- two extra LEDs in case you that serves as the lateral
applications it considers ever, to use this feature, you want to monitor the status of strengthening device. Also,
unnecessary for a first-time need to register with the Web any other device. The only the power supply needs some
user. That would include over site for a fee of $99. sore point is the reset sort of support, since it was
50 per cent of the applications Lindows uses WINE (Win- switch—it’s too small and a seen to tilt a bit due to its own
normally found in other dis - dows Emulator) to run many bit hard to reach. weight and due to the dan-
tributions. It might make no Windows-compatible applica- The cabinet comes with gling cables.
difference to a new user, but tions such as MS Office. 330 watts power supply with Overall, we were pretty
is certainly a disadvantage for One cannot deny the two fans—one normal impressed with the build qual-
a veteran. extreme simplicity of use, the exhaust at the back of the ity and the smart thinking that
Like most new distribu- freshness of the interface, the case, while the other is placed went into making this cabinet
tions, Lindows automatically ease of configuring hardware right above the CPU. This user-friendly. But then all good
configures a wide variety of and the various settings pres - design really provides some things come for a price—at Rs
hardware, including the ent in Lindows—an excellent heavy-duty cooling and is rec- 7,650, it’s priced way too high
network card and the net- stepping stone for those who ommended for people using by Indian standards.
work connection—a definite want to venture into the the AMD Athlon CPU. The
SPECIFICATIONS
advantage for the new user. world of Linux. quality of wiring used inside
Mini-tower, 17.25x8.1x18.6
After the startup, you’re is splendid, with the mother- inch (HxWxD), seven expan-
taken straight to the graphical SPECIFICATIONS board power supply connec- sion slots, three 5.25-inch bays,
System Requirements: Intel or five 3.5-inch bays (two of them
interface, which is very simi - tor wire wrapped in nylon net
compatible CPU at 400 MHz, convertible), P4 compatible
lar to Windows. With nearly 128 MB RAM, 2 GB free hard and all the peripheral power
330 W power supply, net
the same layout, this is noth- disk space, broadband Internet connectors you will ever weight approx 10 kg, two USB
ing but a Lindows version of connection recommended for need. The drive bays are and one FireWire front connec-
KDE. Exactly like Windows, in Click-N-Run tors, washable air filter
the left hand corner is an L- Price: Rs 7,650
Lindows 2.0 B Antec Performance Plus B+
shaped icon that serves as a Contact: Cyber Space Abacus
Performance Pvt Ltd Performance
start button. From here you
Ease of use Phone: 044-4464468 Build quality
can access any program or
Value for money Fax: 044-4915490 Value for money
Features E-mail: shunmugavel@theitde- Features
Price: Freeware OVERALL pot.com OVERALL
Web site: www.lindows.com Web site: www.antec-inc.com

80 DECEMBER 2002
Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse
Explorer
Smooth operator

T his wireless mouse is con-

toured so that it fits snug-
ly into your palm, making it
The mouse is good for
gaming as well as regular
office applications. The
easy to use even over pro - smooth response will make
longed periods. During instal- for very accurate aiming
lation, the mouse was detect- when playing Quake sessions!
ed and automatically con- The additional buttons are
figured in Windows XP. especially suited to gaming
The buttons are since they can be configured
easy to click and to perform special tasks.
the two Overall, it’s a great com-
hotkeys panion to applications where
are just you need accuracy in your
under pointing device.
t h e
thumb SPECIFICATIONS
Two AA batteries, a receiver,
for faster access to commonly
software CD and manual
used tasks that they can be
programmed to activate. IntelliMouse Explorer B+
Price: Rs 3,380 Performance
Contact: Microsoft Corporation Build quality
India Pvt Ltd Value for money
Phone: 011-6292640 Features
E-mail: [email protected] OVERALL
Web site: www.Microsoft.com

Kodak Digital Camera CX4230

Sharp shooter
1/2 p AD
T he CX4230 is fully Plug-n-
Play compatible, with USB
connectivity for downloading
to properly set the target area.
Indoor photographs with
flash capture all the details,
photos to your computer. but the ones without flash are
During the test, the installa- not too clear. Outdoor photo-
tion graphs come out pretty clear.
The Macro Mode option for
close-ups captures even finer
details. The colour composi-
tion is truly excellent in this
mode. However, this camera
is costly for the 2 Megapixel,
16 MB mid-range segment.
was auto-
matic with Windows XP SPECIFICATIONS
detecting the device and 16 MB internal memory,
installing the drivers on its MMC/SD slot, 2 Mega pixel
own, without requiring the resolution, 3x optical, 2x digi-
tal zoom, 1.6-inch TFT colour
driver CD. A 1.6-inch LCD LCD screen, weight 220 gm,
screen enables even a novice JPEG/EXIF v2.2 compression

Price: Rs 19,900 Kodak Digital CX4230 B-

Contact: Neoteric Informatique Performance
Pvt Ltd Build quality
Phone: 022-4172600 Value for money
Fax: 022-418 5294 Features
E-mail: [email protected]
OVERALL
Web site: www.neoteric-info.com ➜

81 DECEMBER 2002
test drive ■
■ reviews

Samsung ML-1210 laser printer

Print baby, print

T he Samsung ML-1210
offers speedy printing at
an affordable price. The print-
just 26.73 seconds for the
image print test. However, it
took a slow 280 seconds to
er supports a maxi - print 50 pages of the
mum resolution test word docu -
of 600 dpi, has a ment. It logged
USB as well as some good
parallel interface results in our
and comes with print quality
8 MB of onboard tests, especially
memory. The when printing
paper-in tray can hold text and was able to
150 sheets of paper. The print even small sized text
printer also supports manual with clarity. All in all, this
paper feed. printer is a good choice if you
The build quality of the need a value solution.
toner flap, the paper-in and
SPECIFICATIONS
the paper-out tray is quite 600 dpi resolution, USB and
impressive. As far as perform- parallel interface, 8 MB
ance goes, this printer took onboard memory
Price: Rs 14,500
Samsung ML-1210 B
Contact: Samsung Electronics
India Information & Telecommu- Performance
nication Ltd Build quality
Phone: 011-6322517 Value for money
E-mail: marketing@samsungin- Features
dia.com OVERALL
Web site: www.samsungindia.com

DeDupe 1.0 duplicate file finder

Copy cat
1/2 p AD
D eDupe 1.0 is designed to
search and eliminate
duplicate files that clutter up
drives). However, each time
you need to look for duplicate
files or change your
your hard drive. DeDupe preferences, you have
provides enough to save them with a
safeguards different file
against los- name.
ing files in Though
the process of a feature-
eliminating rich appli-
duplicate files and cation, it’s
by default protects expensive if you
the system files and consider similar freeware
folders. utilities available on the Net.
DeDupe can also carry out
an automated process of find- SPECIFICATIONS
System requirements:
ing duplicate files based on
Windows 95 or higher,
scheduled tasks. It also checks Pentium or compatible proces-
for duplicates in multiple sor at 100 MHz, 32 MB RAM,
drives (removable and network 20 MB hard disk space

Price: Rs 1,419 DeDupe 1.0 B-

Contact: TechnoPundits Systems Performance
Pvt Ltd Ease of use
Phone: 044-6524326/27/28 Value for money
Fax: 044-6247847 Features
E-mail: [email protected]
OVERALL
Web site: www.technopundits.com

83 DECEMBER 2002
test drive ■
■ undercover

I
t was not a particularly dark night and to buy a set of speakers…Armed with cash
the weather was especially upbeat. I and a spring in my step (new gadget up ■ If you are into music only, a
leaned over Atul’s shoulder as he ahead!), off I went. good 2.1 speaker set will serve
flicked open the sleek, black case and tri - I started with a small shop that had you well
umphantly exhibited the six-stringed the knack of disappearing into its sur- ■ Always test the speakers you

beauty. It was a Fender! It took a dedicat- roundings when viewed at a particular buy on your music—take a CD or
ed application of my secret agent training angle. The keeper was adamant that I buy tape with you and test the speakers
to muffle my excitement and broadcast it the Adcom 660 W Multi-media Speaker— using your music
as a nonchalant grin. “Plug it into the a 2.1-channel speaker set. The asking price ■ When you buy a multi-channel speak-

amp”, said he. I plugged the beauty into was a shade over Rs 600 and I was er system, make sure that your sound-
the home-made 400 W beast, which drove intrigued. The set had reasonable bass out- card has the correct outputs
my Sony speaker set, the showpiece of my put, but the treble lacked the aural nuance ■ There are some THX and Dolby Digi-

computer system. A riff, a strum and away I was looking for. My next run-in was with tal certified speaker sets available in the
it went, taking the speakers with it. “Must an even cheaper unit, a Mercury 440 W market—look for these if you want to
have been the OP-Amp, I had to compro- that alas was only stereo. Mercury speak - set up a home theatre
mise with its specs”, the wannabe engi- ers are affordably priced and are hot sell-
neer put in. Right. To market, to market, ers and I could tell that the set would be
an ideal buy for a desktop setup where

Speak easy
music makes a sporadic appearance. The
shop also exhibited a two-piece Philips
system, rated at 600 W and priced at Rs
699. An elder sibling from the same com-
pany packed a 1000 W punch, called itself
the Philips Fun Power Plus and was Rs
1,295 away from a purchase. None enticed
Agent 001 goes out on a hunt for a replacement set of speakers me however, not even the Rs 750 Creative
after blowing up his original set SBS15, another stereo set. These were all
good systems, with output ranging from
very decent to pretty good, but the punch
that I was looking for was missing.
So on I went, bravely venturing into
the my-wallet-feels-lighter territory. Three
sets greeted me on this side of the market.
The Aztec (rated at a cool 2000 W), the Cre-
ative Inspire 2.1 (12 W RMS subwoofer and
4.5 W RMS satellites) and the Cambridge
SW320 (12 W RMS subwoofer and 4 W
RMS satellites). Priced equally at Rs 2,500,
my vote went to the Cambridge set for its
wonderful sound reproduction (the bass,
especially) but the set lacked the multiple-
channel support and the inputs that I was
looking for. Dejected, but neither shaken
nor stirred, I pointed to the Creative 4.1
speaker set that nestled in the corner. At Rs
4,150, the set seemed like a nice compro-
mise between price and performance.
Logitech is doing great things in the
speaker segment, a vendor told me, point-
ing to the Soundman Extrusio DSR-100, an
800 W, 4.1 set that was priced Rs 12,000.
He also told me that the Z560, a 400 W,
THX certified, 4.1-channel speaker set was
expected to arrive any time soon. Patience
was never my forte and I settled for a Jet-
way Artis 5.1 unit, a Rs 12,000 set code-
named X8L/5. It has discrete inputs for all
the channels and the requisite plugs where
the Fender could find port—all in all, a per-
fect fit. Though my wallet is lighter, my
ears ring with pleasure.

84 DECEMBER 2002
insight ■
■ MMS

C
olours. They rule our lives. We Partnership Project (3GPP), which is also sages. At some point, additional services
enjoy them. But all along, on a collaborating with other standards bodies are envisaged, such as receiving messages
one-and-a-half inch by one such as the WAP forum to assist in certain with rich multimedia content from com -
inch screen on a mobile hand- areas. The Global System for Mobile Com- mercial content creators. These services
set, all you could see, receive and share munication (GSM) association is active in may be commercial transactions, where
were monochrome text-based messages collecting operator requirements to users would have to pay for them, much
interspersed with the odd emoticon. address to 3GPP to help advance these like the Web sites that allow users to pay
Then, there’s the 160-character limit. standards. for and download ringtones and logos for
While SMS has had its share of the lime- MMS itself will emerge in two phases, their phones.
light and was once the killer app in cellu- the first phase being 2.5G, right now, fol - With the newer mobile devices, peo -
lar technology, there was something lowed by services on the 3G networks of ple will soon be sharing small video clips
missing—SMS is fun, but it isn’t colour- the future. In practical terms, it means or slideshows (complete with audio). In

You aren’t satisfied simply saying it with words? How about adding some colour and pictures?
MMS makes all this possible on your cell phone

ful. You can send short messages but you

still cannot send pictures, videos,
audio clips. Creativity is still lim -
ited to sending monochrome
pixellated emoticons.
And it grossly under
utilises the band-
width offered by
technologies
such as GPRS,
which promise
desktop-level
Internet access
speeds on your
mobile handset.
Well, not any
longer. Multimedia
Messaging System (MMS)
is the new buzzword in mobile
communications. You have heard of
it. It promises the ability to send colour
pictures, video clips, audio clips and even-
tually, a whole lot more—a quantum step
up from the text-only SMS service and a
shift into rich multimedia content on that at present, under the
mobile handsets. This shift isn’t far in 2.5G standard (which includes
coming; in fact in parts of the world, GPRS networks), your MMS messages
PHOTOGRAPH: Jiten Gandhi,
including India, this is already happening. would look like an animated slideshow or
IMAGING : Neeta Wadiker
From North America to Japan, telecom- like the Flash files you see on the Internet.
munication companies are integrating With 3G, MMS would be available as
MMS services into their network. streaming video and audio and more short, MMS is all
bandwidth-demanding downloadable about dynamic messages.
What it means multimedia content. Even if the phone may lack
For MMS to be deployed, the network MMS will allow for several elements a proper true life colour screen,
operators have to upgrade their infra- within the message. Immediately, we can with shades of greyscale one can
structure and devices supporting MMS expect messages with rich text content, still enjoy a dynamic message. Using
must be available. photographs (in JPEG, PNG and GIF for - this technology, you could send picture
The principal standards setting organ- mats), sound and animation. As with SMS postcards with phones that feature imag-
isation for MMS is Third Generation messages, users can create their own mes - ing capabilities, animated greeting cards,

86 DECEMBER 2002
 Connecting People
In order to implement MMS, it needs to be connectivity standard the user is using, loaded. Once the receiver has successfully
enabled on the side of the service provider which could be GPRS (which is 2.5G) or a downloaded the message, a confirmation is
as well as the user. When you send an newer 3G standard like UMTS. On receiv- sent by the MMSC to the receiver—some-
MMS, it is sent through the existing cellular ing the message, the Multi Media Service what like what happens when you down-
Centre (MMSC) sends the load a file from the Internet.
Setup of MMS Network sender a confirmation that On the side of the network operator,
the message is received. The the user’s MMS handset (the MMS client)
MMSC then sends the talks to a central MMS server. This is the
receiver a notification that a core component that handles the technol-
new message is waiting. ogy behind the MMS service where mes-
Since MMS messages are sages are stored and transmission proto-
larger than SMS messages, cols are implemented. This server works in
service providers have intro- tandem (and is sometimes even integrated
duced an option where the into) an MMS Proxy-Relay. The Proxy-
user can choose to down- Relay is the intermediary between the user
load the message immedi- and the MMS server. It works to grant
ately or download it later. access to the messaging and storage serv-
On downloading the ices, which could be as varied as cellular
message, the receiver gets phones, tablet PCs, PDAs, etc. It also pro -
an acknowledgement from vides access to the messaging services on
the MMSC that the mes- other messaging systems such as e-mail,
sage is successfully down- SMS and paging.

scribbles and doodles to other handsets that) and yes, they are
that support MMS. meant for more than
The fun doesn’t stop with just mak- punching numbers
ing and sharing movies, audio and pic - and exchanging mes-
ture clips. MMS is just the beginning of a sages. They don’t talk
whole slew of services. In its present form, back (yet!) but the
2.5G networks let you access the Net on newer phones are
a mobile device at between 20-70 Kbps more than just phones.
(the theoretical speed is 144 Kbps), equiv - With Java enabled
alent to a regular modem/phone line functionality, you can
access. An average MMS is 5 to 15 KB in actually download and
size. Hence, most new MMS-compliant play games, whenever
devices have at least 30 KB of memory to and wherever you
suport them. want and create richer
When 3G, the next level, finally turns
up, you could experience speeds anywhere
MMS messages.
Mobile phone
1/4th AD
from 144 Kbps right up to 384 Kbps. Your manufacturers are
MMS messages would then take on the making newer phones
form of high-quality streaming video and into colourful, fun
audio. Services like these are already being devices. There are
seen in the new 3G networks in Japan and going to be quite a few
South Korea. technological innova-
tions in the near future
The gear as manufacturers
To use and enjoy this multimedia-rich scramble to integrate
service over a mobile device, you need an more into a phone.
MMS-enabled mobile device or an MMS- The Sony Ericsson
enabled PDA (see box, ‘Phones that Make you T68i, for example, has
Go Mmmm!’). Though older handsets that built-in support for
do not have support for MMS will not be POP3 e-mail. The T68i
able to use this services, already mobile as well as the upcom-
phones are getting smarter. Phones now ing Sony Ericsson P800
offer PDA like functionality (the Sony Eric- and the Nokia 7650 all
sson P800 comes very close to doing just feature cameras.

87 DECEMBER 2002
insight ■
■ MMS

Of course, your cellular network oper- problem. Realising that the penetration of
Phones that Make you Go ator should offer MMS services. Compa- MMS-enabled phones is going to be slow,
Mmmm! nies around the world are jumping into the standard setters have a simple strate -
Sony Ericsson P800: With a 208x320 this. In Japan NTT DoCoMo is a leader, gy: use e-mail to send and receive MMS
pixel, 4,096-colour display, built-in camera having been in this business for some messages.
and Bluetooth connectivity, this is time now. DoCoMo offers next-genera - Don’t expect to do this overnight,
one power-packed MMS tion services such as high-speed ‘always though. Implementation and functional -
device. It features the Sym- on’ Internet access at an astounding 384 ity depend upon the network operators.
bian 7 OS and can down- Kbps—true 3G services. Another emerg- Industry insiders such as the Mobile
load Java applications. ing market is South Korea, where the Streams believe that this is going to be a
There is an internal 12 DoCoMo’s Japanese success story has primary driver for the MMS services to
MB and an external 16 MB inspired local carriers to implement 3G- take off, so once rivalries kick in, every-
Memory Stick. It comes with view- level services. In Europ, service providers body should be offering it. Those with
ers for numerous formats, including Word, such as Orange and Vodaphone have just SMS enabled phones should receive a
Excel and PDF documents, and you can introduced MMS services. In the US, all URL pointing to where the message has
send and receive e-mail, surf the Net and the big players have introduced or are been stored.
do just about everything a PDA can do. introducing a whole range of services.
Closer home, BPL Mobile is the first off The future
Nokia 7650: The 7650 features a tiny the block having introduced these services Now that users will get a taste of what
camera and comes with in India. The full range of MMS services multimedia messaging offers, the need for
the Symbian OS. The available is dependent on the network greater support for audio and video in a
screen is 176x208 operator. Compatibility issues may exist handheld device is only going to increase.
pixels and the phone initially, but as the standards are finalised, Perhaps the single most influential driver
has Java applications support. one can expect these to get resolved. that would facilitate true multimedia and

“
This MMS-capable camera-phone advanced forms of interac -
features several modes, and images can tive messaging will be a cel-
be captured at a 640x480 resolution. lular service network that
The step up from allows for greater band -
Sony Ericsson T68i: This is a curvy MMS- SMS to MMS is as width. We’ve already heard
enabled phone. It features Blue- important as the of 3G networks like NTT
tooth and has a plug-n-play
transition was from DoCoMo, which offers

”
camera. The screen is a bandwidths of up to 384
80x201 pixels, capable of dis- DOS to Windows Kbps on a mobile device.
playing 256 colours. This Simon Buckingham for your PC Tomorrow’s 4G networks are
phone packs in a number of CEO OF MOBILE STREAMS going to boast of wireless
features and boasts of being bandwidth like most people
one of the first to feature MMS. It can only dream of. In Octo -
supports POP3 e-mail and also has 80 KB The costs ber, DoCoMo announced the impossible:
of internal memory. The rate structure for MMS traffic is con- under experimental conditions, with a
trolled by the operator, so costs are going working prototype of a 4G mobile system,
Nokia 7210: The 7210 weighs in at a to vary from region to region. Within the an incredible 100 Mbps downlink and 20
mere 83 grams, features same region, expect the costs to be more Mbps uplink conditions. This, DoCoMo
stereo FM radio, and or less identical once all the operators claims, is the fastest data transmission
comes with some rather implement MMS. Internationally, cus- achieved to date over mobile links. DoCo-
wild colour options and tomers get charged either on a per mes- Mo itself is looking at the key technology
exotic styling. It also features sage basis or by the amount of data trans- being developed by 2005 and possible
a high-resolution screen, is set ferred in the MMS message. There are also commercial deployment of the 4G archi-
as a triband world phone and is some tariff plans that charge a flat rate for tecture by 2010. The possibilities that this
Java enabled. Internet access (this would include MMS), kind of bandwidth, coupled with the slew
over a fixed period. As a basic guide to the of more advanced mobile devices, is going
Panasonic GD87/88: This phone boasts cost of an MMS message, the Mobile to bring is only limited by one’s imagina -
of a high-resolution 65,536-colour TFT Stream’s MobileMMS forum at tion. However, MMS will become popular
screen, and an elegant clamshell www.mobilemms.com suggests a rate equal only when prices come down and servic-
body design. Did we mention the to three times the rate for one SMS mes- es and devices become easily available.
built-in camera and IrDA support sage. Ultimately though, the rates will be Analysts predict that it would be a couple
to connect to your PC? The set by the operators themselves. of years before MMS reaches the same
110,000-pixel CMOS cam- level of acceptance and reach as SMS. But
era also has a built-in I don’t wanna be left out! for now, MMS holds promise and is a def -
timer to take those Maybe you don’t have a mobile phone or, inite step towards pictures, sound and
priceless group pictures! even more frustrating, your device does video on your mobile device.
not support MMS. So you feel left out? No SRINIVASAN RAMAKRISHNAN

88 DECEMBER 2002
Insight_Palladium-Dec.qxd 4/28/2004 5:33 PM Page 90

insight ■
■ palladium

Microsoft’s Palladium is all set to secure the computing world in ways unimaginable…we find out how

S
ecurity has been reduced to an the content on the Internet. user from the pitfalls and challenge
‘all talk and no show’ buzzword The trick apparently, is to make secu- that an all-pervasive network such a
that is so typical of today’s fast rity ubiquitous—like the buzzword that the Internet poses. A drastic change in
and furious world. You can keep it is, but only practically implemented the PC hardware is not feasible due
your virus definitions updated, config - and not verbally announced. If everyone largely to economic reasons. What Pal
ure your favourite e-mail client such is secure and every computer ‘trusts’ ladium hopes to introduce is a minima
that it does not automatically execute every other machine, there is little rea- change that will serve the dual purpose
attachments and hope that your chil - son to be afraid of a malicious hack or of granting a computer user security
dren do not stumble onto adult Web attack. Thus goes the thinking behind even as it maintains backward compat
sites while surfing. You can try to some new-fangled initiatives that are ibility with existing applications.
avoid spam by using a number of meant to bring together the seemingly These changes will be reflected in
whitelists, blacklists and mail filtering dichotomous boons of security and pri - the key components of the centra
services. You can hide your personal vacy within the same computer. We take processor, a motherboard chip, inpu
data within encrypted partitions and a close look at one such initiative, devices and output components such a
folders to save it from the prying eyes Microsoft’s Palladium, with the intent of the graphics processor. Palladium is no
of spyware. With all these measures, offering an insight into both the work- a separate operating system; rather, it i
things ought to be fine and secure in ings of the technology involved and the based on low-level changes to the Win
the computing world. But reality dic - implication that it will have on the way dows kernel itself. Secondly, it is mean
tates otherwise; security and privacy we work and communicate. as an enforcer of security measures—
are community-derived—you cannot measures that will either be defined by
hope to be secure even if one person on Think different
your network does not take the same Palladium is a content-protection con -
defensive measures that you do. You cept that has spawned from the belief
cannot afford to pretend that your that the PC, as it currently stands, is not
server is safe when all it takes is just architecturally equipped to protect a
one mouth to utter a vital password.
You certainly cannot pretend that your
kids are safe from the social scum that
seemingly influence a large chunk of

IMAGING: Solomon Lewis

90 DECEMBER
Insight_Palladium-Dec.qxd 4/28/2004 5:33 PM Page 91

an end user or a content generator. Think potentially malicious, pieces of code. This cations do not trespass into restricte
of Palladium as a policing system whose micro-kernel dictates the rudimentary memory or file systems. Thanks to th
actions are guided by laws set by a third security policies that the rest of the system way a CPU works, it is not possible for an
party, akin to the judiciary. must follow. Under Palladium, a Nexus can software to modify the Nexus or subver
be changed, thus changing the security the policies laid down by it.
Think secure parameters and guidelines. Under Palladi- The Nexus is thus protected by th
Palladium is meant to cultivate a comput- um, these rudimentary policies can be hardware, while it protects the softwar
ing environment, termed as ‘trusted space’, changed by using a different Nexus. that forms the applications and data. Whil
which a user can rely on for security and The Nexus is the manager of trusted the Nexus maintains a low profile, mana
privacy. At the heart of the system lies a memory and an arbitrator of access to the gerial stance, entities known as Truste
secure cryptographic co-processor, that is, cryptographic co-processor. When a Palla- Agents (TA) do the legwork of interactin
a tamper-resistant embedded smart card, dium PC is booted for the first time, an with the user. A TA can either be a Palladi
which contains unique keys and a variety inventory of the system hardware is taken um-enabled application or an add-on to an
of cipher implementations. It thus acts as and authenticated. If a part of the hard- existing program, imparting Palladium

“
a unique identifier of a par- awareness to it.
ticular system and is the base Although existing applica
on which Palladium’s security Palladium is a new tions will run on a Palladium
measures are implemented.
Additional changes made to
hardware and software system, they will not be able to
use the security features with
the CPU (in terms of exten - architecture that will run out TAs. To better comprehen
sions, similar to 3DNow!) will applications in a memory the relation between a Nexu
allow the central processor to
run in a special mode. Finally, John Manferdelli
space that is highly and TAs, consider the analog
of a language. If the Nexu

”
to enable secure communica- GENERAL MANAGER , resistant to tampering defines the rules of grammar fo
tion over a motherboard’s MICROSOFT PALLADIUM
and interference the language, the TA uses thos
data buses, the chip too will UNIT rules to construct sentences a
have to be modified. a means of communicating
Built upon this hardware foundation ware is later changed or replaced, the sys- securely with other systems and users.
and extending its functionality is a tiny tem will have to be re-authenticated via a
piece of software termed the Nexus. It rep- central authority. Assuming that the sys- Think trust
resents a change in the kernel of the oper- tem’s hardware is recognised as legal, the The Nexus and TAs together provide trus
ating system and takes the form of an inde- Nexus is then loaded in an encrypted state ed data storage, encryption services fo
pendent micro-kernel. The Nexus is run in into the restricted memory space. It will applications and facilities to enable hard
an ultra-privileged mode of the CPU where then reside there as long as the system is ware and software to authenticate them
certain areas of memory are strictly up, all the while dictating the system’s selves and each other. Central to th
reserved for it and are restricted to other, security policies and ensuring that appli- Palladium concept are ‘Spheres of trust’
wherein a user can not only define which
program to trust but can also ask it to us
Storage Vaults only a certain set of data. Its like trustin
your doctor with very sensitive health
information. You are unlikely, however, t
share with him the particulars of you
bank account—details that your broker i
aware of. The broker, in turn, is in the dar
about the details of your health. Thus, th
trust you lend to your physician does no
extend into your financial life, just as you
broker’s ‘sphere of trust’ does not encom
pass information on your health.
Similarly, Palladium divides user dat
into separate spheres or vaults. Each
trusted application is granted access t
either a section or an entire vault. Th
user thus controls what is revealed an
to whom. This policy is akin to the Zone
that can be set within Internet Explore
and it can be used to grant you a high
security environment while working an
a low or zero-security space while play
ing games or movies—all on the same PC
and in the same user session.

91 DECEMBER
Insight_Palladium-Dec.qxd 4/28/2004 5:33 PM Page 92

insight ■
■ palladium

Think information
Using the Nexus and the supporting hard- Securing your Data
ware, a Palladium system is cryptographi-
cally verifiable to the user and to other
computers or services. The system can
ascertain that other computers are trust-
worthy before engaging them in a transac-
tion involving sensitive data. This is
termed as attestation and it forms a cor -
nerstone of successful security and privacy
measures. Take the instance of a bank oper-
ation. Banking software has to be highly
trusted and moreover, it must be ensured
that the computer dealing with it does
indeed belong to you and not to some
malicious party masquerading under your
identity. You hardware should thus trust
the banking software and vice-versa. This
virtual handshake to exchange and verify
credentials is made possible by attestation.
Once attestation is done, exchange of
data takes place. It is important that data is
only accessible to applications that have
been identified as trusted. Once your per-
sonal data is transmitted to the bank, you
could so arrange the transaction that only
particular software can read your informa- graphic co-processor. To seal a piece of data, encrypting a file, you will have to go bac
tion. Such control is made possible by a it is appended with the hash of the system’s to the older one to read the file.
mechanism called sealed storage. Nexus identifier (a 160-bit number). It is Thus, your applications can onl
Sealed storage is done by encryption or then encrypted with a private key—a secret decrypt sealed data if they run on the sam
decryption techniques using the crypto - key unique to each system. When a sealed hardware and under an identical softwar
data is given to a Palladium system, the co- environment (as dictated by the Nexus
processor attempts to decrypt it using its under which the data was sealed. Thi
A Nice Thought
platform-specific private key. If successful, ensures that under a trusted Nexus, an
Palladium is widely touted as a system the hashed Nexus identifier is extracted and application can decrypt and process th
that will put an end to virus attacks and decrypted to determine which Nexus is per- data but cannot subvert a TA’s policy. I
spam. Can it hop to achieve those lofty mitted to receive the data. If the Nexus that you’re not running under a trusted Nexus
goals? currently resides on the computer is the you could run software that undermine
How does Palladium hope to stop same as the one that was present while the the policy set by a TA, but the applicatio
viruses? data was sealed, the data is unsealed and will no longer be able to decrypt the sealed
Trusted code runs in memory that is read. Two things emerge from this: data since the Nexus has changed (see info
physically isolated, protected and inacces- 1. You cannot take a sealed file and transfer diagram, ‘Securing your Data‘).
sible to the rest of the system, making it it to another machine to be unsealed there
inherently impervious to viruses. since the platform-specific key will change Think implications
Most viruses exploit the way software and the process will fail at the first step. Such Palladium does not require user informa
applications use scripting. A virus can thus a measure is essential if you wish to store sen- tion for authentication purposes; instead, i
infect a trusted application and use it mali- sitive data on a non-trusted hard disk or over secures the hardware and software envi
ciously without infecting memory space. a network. Since this is an inconvenience to ronment. The Nexus identifier is no
You will still need antivirus software. most users who demand transportability of unique to a system, since it is likely that th
How does Palladium hope to stop their data, Microsoft has defined wrappers, majority of people will use the same Nexus
spam? which are software extensions that will The only identifier unique to your system
A Palladium enabled e-mail client will implement one of three migration policies: will thus belong to the cryptographic co
only download mail from ‘trusted’ (a) migration is entirely prevented by default processor. Although Palladium discourage
machines and servers, thus spammers are setting, (b) migration is permitted upon the transmission of any private informa
automatically blocked. entry of a valid password, (c) migration is tion, Microsoft has defined the concept o
Spamming is a very lucrative business. allowed with the consent of a third party, for identity servers. These are third-party serv
To get around the security measure instance, permission is required while down- ices that will grant you a unique identit
imposed by Palladium, all a spammer had loading an MP3 file from a music company. credential using Palladium, and may o
to do is use a trusted machine to do the 2. The same Nexus must be present while may not reveal personal information.
dirty work. sealing and unsealing the data. If you The implications of using Palladium
have changed the micro-kernel after are many and not all scenarios make

92 DECEMBER
Insight_Palladium-Dec.qxd 4/28/2004 5:33 PM Page 93

rosy picture. To begin with, although you a price. The way that software and hard - ket-grabbing tactic. If a leading office suit
could write and use your own Nexus, or ware work together under Palladium refuses to read files created by other appli
trust a non-Microsoft party to service you could ensure that while running the cations, what can you do?
one, chances are that like the Web brows- movie, screen capture hardware and soft-
er, most users will stick to the micro-ker- ware can be disabled as part of the con- Think about it
nel that ships with a Palladium PC—a tract, dictated by the content provider and Thanks to product activation, Microsof
Microsoft one. If Microsoft emerges as the enforced by the TAs and the Nexus. While has already prevented Office XP and Win
sole or the most used identity server, the this may slow down piracy, it could also dows XP from working if parts of you
system could place the company as the mean that your TV tuner and video com - computer are changed or if you do no
gatekeeper of identification and authen- bination card has been disabled, render- divulge some personal information. A cen
tication, a powerful role to say the least. ing one section of your system useless. tral security repository has been imple
Finally, if the Nexus and TAs served by A TA, in combination with a Nexus mented in the form of the MS Passport and
Microsoft take a monopolistic market can also define expiry dates for data. E- its Wallet system—if your Wallet account i
share, the company could ask application mail can be automatically and perma - cracked, all the sensitive information wil
developers for royalties while granting nently deleted after a period of 30 days, be visible to any malevolent user. The Pass
them use of its enabling software. doing more harm than good. While port system has already shown some weak
Palladium is also a good Digital Rights national security might demand such a nesses. Security patches for Microsoft’
Management (DRM) solution. Content system, market manipulation, shady server, OS and even its mail clients regu
can be granted or denied to a computer accounting or other anti-trust policies of larly feature in our download queues.
based on its identity and the level of trust companies might very well go unaccount- The cornerstone of the Palladium sys
tagged to it. Consider content renting, ed for. Finally, a security policy defined by tem is trust. It is a philosophy that i
where a content provider can release a a TA can ascertain that only a particular reflected across its architecture via truste
movie to your PC in return for a contract pair of application and data goes hand-in- spaces, trusted agents and spheres of trust
(implemented by TAs) that dictates your hand. While such a system can provide The question to ask is then, ‘Can we trus
application to collect Rs 50 from you enhanced security to a user—your e-mails, a single monopoly to manipulate our per
every time you view the movie. This is for example, can only be read by a propri- sonal data and communication under th
understandable till the content provider etary application developed in-house, thus pretext of security? Is this really securit
insists that you download its trusted soft- minimising corporate espionage and infor- and at what cost?’
ware at a price to watch the movie, also at mation leaks—it can also be used as a mar- AHMED

1/2 page H AD

93 DECEMBER
Building software robots
K
aul, the logistics manager at the with the same tools, doing the same things template. Macros stored just in the file are
head office of the courier compa- over and over again. Not only does this get available only while that document is
ny, walks into office and boots up thoroughly boring, it also turns out to be open. If the macro is stored in the template
his PC. It’s the end of the month quite time-consuming. Microsoft has for that file, it will be available to all doc-
and he has a lot of work today—managers included support for macros that can
from all regions have sent him reports automate a lot of repetitive tasks and, con-
which he has to compile and pass on to trary to popular belief, the feature is Macro Viruses
the accounts department and his boss. He extremely simple to use. Since macros are actually executable code,
fires up his mail client, saves all the attach- they can be malicious, just like viruses.
ments into neatly organised folders and Personal robots Viruses are also executable code and can be
starts compiling all the data into one doc- A macro is a series of commands and executed independently, or via another
ument. Having worked hard at it till a instructions grouped together, which, program (an infected EXE). Similarly,
much-delayed lunch, he gives the entire when run, execute these instructions auto- macros are executed via Office documents.
document one final glance before sending matically. They are used to perform repeti- A simple block of code that selects all text
it off. It wasn’t a slow PC, the copy-paste tive tasks in Microsoft Office. Thus, they on the document, deletes it, saves the file
operations or the two cigarette breaks that are actually software robots that are ‘taught’ and closes it can be the worst nightmare
took him five hours to make the final a specific set of instructions once and these for most people.
report—he was busy changing the format- are mimicked in the exact same manner Microsoft has included a very crude
ting of each document from the various every time you ‘switch them on’. Struc- virus protection technique in Office applica-
regions to one consistent look and cross- turally, a macro is a block of program script, tions. Click Tools > Options and enable
checking the data in the Excel sheets. using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Macro Virus Protection. With this, whenever
Microsoft Office is by far, one of the VBA is a modified version of the popular you open a document containing macros,
most common Office suites in use today. programming language, Visual Basic. the software will ask you whether you want
Whether it’s for writing letters, making You don’t need to understand a single to enable them or not. If its a document
project reports, managing balance sheets line of code for creating basic macros. In all that is not supposed to have macros, or if
or making presentations, it is used as much Office applications, you can literally you are unsure of its source, you can dis-
at home as it is in the office. All applica- ‘record’ a macro—the software tracks your able macros and thus prevent infection.
tions in the suite highly simplify the actions (mouse clicks and keyboard entries) However, you should always have a good
processes of creating, updating, managing to generate the macro for you. anti-virus software running that can trap
and, to some extent, even sharing content. Macros are stored in the file you are and warn you of macro viruses.
However, often we find ourselves playing working with, its template, or the default ➜

94 DECEMBER 2002
insight ■
■ workshop

uments that are based on that template.

Macros stored in the default template (for One-click Fix
example, Normal.dot for Word) are always Assigning macros to toolbar buttons or key- list of macros that you can drag to any tool-
available while the application is open, board shortcuts makes it very convenient to bar you want. Once you place the button
irrespective of where and from what tem- access them. One way to assign these on the toolbar, click Modify Selection to
plate the file is created. These robots can shortcuts is when creating the macro rename the button and change its image.
also be shared with other users, either by itself—just click the relevant button. If you If you click the Keyboard button, simply
sending them the file containing the click the Toolbars button, you will see the type in the key-combination that you want
macros, or by saving the macros to a sepa- to assign to it. If the combination is current-
rate script file. ly assigned to some other action, it will be
You can use macros for virtually any displayed. Make sure you check this before
task in an application, such as formatting, clicking Assign—you may not want to over-
stylising, replacing text, printing, sorting, ride one of the existing keyboard shortcuts.
filtering, etc. If you are comfortable with Another way to assign macros to tool-
scripting, you can even stretch the func- bar buttons and keyboard shortcuts is to
tionality of the application to do tasks that right-click on any toolbar and click Cus-
are not readily available in the software. For tomize. Click the Keyboard button to
example, many dotcoms and content man- assign a keyboard shortcut, or select
agement systems use macros to automati- Macros in the left pane and drag the rele-
cally generate XML from Word documents. Assigning macros to toolbar buttons vant macro to any toolbar.
The XML documents can be directly
uploaded to their Web site. Thus, convert-
ing existing content is just a matter of ing the Organizer button. If you have
opening a document and clicking a button. assigned a toolbar button or keyboard short-
Also, writers can continue writing in the cut to the macro (see box, ‘One-click Fix’), you
confortable Word environment, instead of can also use these to run the macro.
having to work with clunky HTML forms. If you want to save a macro to an exter-
nal file, say, to distribute it to all the region-
Recording macros al offices, open Tools > Macro > Visual Basic
To begin with, we’ll use Word. Before you Editor. On the left pane, you will see the
start you need to decide where you want templates and documents that are open.
to save the macro—in the document or in Name your macro and choose where it should Double-click each item to open the code
a template. If you want to save the macro be saved stored in it. Locate the code you want to
in a template other than the default tem- save, right-click the module on the left
plate, a document based on that template You will be asked for a name for the macro pane, and click File > Export . The recipient
or the template itself must be open. and where it should be stored. You can also would have to follow a similar procedure
Plan the steps you want the macro to enter a description for the macro and assign to import the code. However, it is easier to
perform. List them down if required. A it to a toolbar or keyboard shortcut (see box, simply send over a document or template
macro will perform each and every record- ‘One-click Fix ’). Click OK and containing the macros and use the Orga -
ed action, exactly as it is executed, so this Word will record every action nizer to copy the required macros.
is important. If you make an error while henceforth. It will also show
recording a macro, the error and correc- the Stop Recording toolbar, Removing unwanted text in Word
tions will also be recorded. If you are com- from where you can pause or stop record - When you get Word documents from sev-
fortable with scripting, you can edit the ing the macro. Click the Stop Recording eral sources, or even when you collect infor-
macro later to remove the extra lines of button once you are done. It is best to undo mation from the Web, you may get a lot of
code, otherwise it is best to start over. all the steps you recorded in junk that you spend hours
If you want to use the macro in other the macro, then run the cleaning. The most typical
documents, ensure that it does not depend macro to test it. Next, test the When you replacements are for double
on the current document’s contents. If you macro with another similar record a spaces, multiple paragraph
record a macro to embolden and italicise document if you intend to macro with a name marks, manual line breaks,
some text in the document, Word will use it across documents. You that already exists, acronyms, etc. Let’s create a
assume that it has to stylise whatever text are now ready to use the the existing one will macro to remove these from the
is currently selected. If you need to stylise macro and let it do all the be overwritten document and apply some for-
a particular string in several documents, it tedious, time-consuming without warning matting to the text.
would be better to use the Find function to work for you. To list out all the steps, we
find that text, then stylise it, so that the To use a macro, click Tools want to Find and Replace all
Find action is also recorded and only the > Macro > Macros . From here, you can run, double spaces with single spaces (doing
matching text will be formatted. delete, edit and debug macros. Editing and this several times over will take care of
To record a macro, click Tools > Macro > debugging will require at least basic knowl- multiple spaces), then do the same for
Record New Macro . Alternatively you can edge of VBA. You can also copy macros paragraph marks and remove manual line
click the area marked REC on the status bar. across documents and templates by click- breaks. Next, we will replace ‘&’ with ‘and’,

96 DECEMBER 2002
‘%’ with ‘per cent’ and ‘, etc.’ with ‘ and so on.’. Finally, we need
to format paragraphs to include 12 point spacing after them and
format the entire document with Garamond, black, 12 pt.

1 1. Text copied off the

Internet

2. The document after

running the macro

Click Tools > Macro >

Record New Macro and
name it CleanupDocu -
ment (macro names can-
not have spaces). Since
we would be using the
macro with several docu-
ments, save it in the Normal template. Click Edit > Replace and
click the More button. Ensure that the search direction is set to All
and enter double spaces in the Find box and a single space in the
Replace box. Click Replace All and repeat this for paragraph marks
(you can access special characters by clicking the Special button).
Next, choose to find Manual Line Breaks and replace it with a

1/2 page Ver AD

blank; replace the symbols and acronyms too. Use [Ctrl] + [A] to
select all text and click Format > Paragraph. Set the Spacing After to
12 pt and click OK. From the Formatting toolbar, set the font to
Garamond, font size to 12 and the colour to black. Hit the Stop
Recording button and you are done.

Printing in Excel
When printing from Excel, usually, we would want to change
the scale at which it is printed, specify headers, footers and mar-
gins, change the print quality, etc. This is true with several kinds
of documents in Word too. All you need to do is create separate
macros for your different printing needs, and run the right one
when you need to print.
Let’s create a macro in Excel that prints three copies of the
worksheet in Landscape format with gridlines, scaling the sheets
to 70 per cent. The pages should be centred horizontally and ver-
tically and must be numbered. Click Tools > Macro > Record New
Macro to begin recording. Name the macro Print3CopiesNum-
bered and click OK. In Excel, macros saved in the Personal Macro
Workbook will be available to all sheets. Click File > Page Setup
and choose Landscape for the Orientation and 70% for the scal-
ing under the Page tab. Under the Margins tab, check the boxes
to centre the worksheet horizontally and vertically. On the Head-
er/Footer tab, choose ‘Page 1 of ?’ for the footer and enable Grid-
lines on the Sheet tab. Click the Print button and set the number
of copies to 3. Hit Print and stop recording the macro. To allow
for further customisation, you may want to skip the last step and
just stop recording. Now, whenever you want to print a work-
sheet with these settings, simply run this macro.
Macros provide a very powerful and efficient way to perform
repetitive tasks, so why spend your time doing mundane, time-
consuming tasks when you can have the software do it for you?
VEER KOTHARI

97 DECEMBER 2002
insight ■
■ workshop

Your PC as a VCR!
Tired of hunting for blank video cassettes every time you want to record your favourite soap while you
are away? There’s a better way if you look towards the digital realm

T
he hottest thing about TV today ba RD X2, with an 80 GB hard disk and
isn’t TV anymore. With access to DVD burner retails for around $1,499 The Shopping List
virtually every type of television (approximately Rs 75,000). The Panason -
programme, the challenge is in ic DMR-HS2 comes with a 40 GB hard disk Hardware
taking charge of seeing what you want, and a DVD burner and retails for $999 n A standard PCI TV Tuner card (available

when you want. Enter Personal Video (approximately Rs 50,000). Devices like for as little as Rs 2,550 to Rs 3,700). For
Recorders (PVRs). the TiVo let you program the device so this workshop we chosen the Pinnacle
These devices are incredibly utilitari- that you can see any show by download- PCTV Plus (Aditya Infotech Pvt Ltd, Phone:
an—just plug your cable TV line into them ing listings from the Internet. Again, they 022-26338555)
and you can record straight to the built-in don’t come cheap. n Pentium III 500 MHz processor

hard disk, then burn all of it onto optical But here’s the cool thing—you don’t n 128 MB RAM

media through a built-in DVD-RW or CD- have to spend serious money to get most n At least 1 GB of free hard disk space for

RW drive. They get even better. You can of the features that commercial PVRs give the replay buffer and additional 1 GB
program them to avoid recording adver- you—a little hardware and software space for saving video footage—the
tisements. They also have timer facilities tucked into your PC will give you almost more free space, the better
so that if you don’t want to miss The Simp- all of this functionality! n A normal coaxial cable that is hooked

sons while working, you can set the clock into your TV to provide cable and satel-
and the channel and the device does the Putting together the bits and lite TV channels. The RF connector that
rest. You can then watch it whenever you pieces goes into your card is the same one that
want. Besides, having it in a digital format You should have the TV tuner card and its goes into the TV set
gives you the advantage of enjoying clear driver CD. There may also be additional n If your budget permits it, add a CD-RW

digital quality video and sound, and easy CDs containing software—it’s time to get drive. You can archive your recorded
distribution through the Internet, P2P them all out. You may be prompted for shows without filling up your hard drive
networks and other means of sharing. some Windows components, so get hold
So where’s the catch? Well, the catch of your Windows installer CD. Don’t for - Software
is that they cost an arm and a leg. A Toshi- get the screwdriver. n PVR software—for this workshop, we

Install the TV Tuner card and drivers: are using Cyberlink PowerVCR II 3.0
DirectX 8.1 Ground yourself of all static charges by Deluxe.
Cyberlink PowerVCR II touching a metal object and open the casing n The latest versions of your graphics

Find them on the of the cabinet. Locate an empty PCI slot in card drivers and DirectX 8.1 on your
Mindware CD the motherboard and insert the TV Tuner system
card into it. Apply even pressure along the

98 DECEMBER 2002
 PowerVCR: What’s Where?
Main Panel The Main Interface
Live/Digital Recorder

Instant TV Replay

PowerDVD

File Player

The Pinnacle PCTV Plus Recording Scheduler

File Converter

Video Trimmer
DV Tape Transcoder
(DV to MPEG)
iPower
Channel surfing Video Panel

PowerVCR Panel Volume Control TV tuner control

Inserting the TV Tuner card ON/OFF switch

whole card and lock it down with a screw. Settings Help Indicates time recorded / Playback
You can now close the computer. space usage on the hard disk controls
Connect the equipment: Before you
load the software, hook up the cables into minute replay buffer to view 10 minutes of
the card. There will be directions for this real time TV. You should optimally keep at Tweak Me!
in the card’s manuals, but here’s general - least 1 GB for this working directory and
ly what you have to do. Connect the coax- additional space for saving video footage. Capturing, encoding and storing video
ial cable (from the cable TV line) into the After this, the software will run a couple of footage is quite stressful for your com-
cable/antenna socket. Also, connect the diagnostic tests and recommend some set- puter. These are the tweaks that will help
cables from the card to your soundcard. tings based on it. Since capturing video you on your road to PVR bliss.
The external interface is easily connect- feed is a stressful exercise on the subsys - DMA: Enabling DMA (Direct Memory
ed—hook up the 3.5 mm jack into the tem, we suggest you tweak your hardware Access) for hard disk drives and CD-ROM
Audio Out on the TV Tuner card and on settings to get the best out of it (see box, drives results in freeing up the CPU dur-
the other end, into the Line In connector Tweak Me!). ing read/write operations. To enable
for the soundcard. PowerVCR comes bundled with Pow- DMA, right-click on My Computer and
Having done this, boot up your com - erDVD. This is very useful if you have a choose Properties. Open the Device
puter. As Windows loads up, it will detect DVD-ROM drive, as PowerDVD is one of Manager tab and expand the Disk drives
your card and prompt you for the card the best DVD playback tools available. The tree. Choose your hard drive and click on
drivers. Insert the driver CD and follow install program will also give you the Properties. Under Settings, check the
the instructions on screen. option of installing the Intel Indeo codecs. DMA option. Windows 98 may have a
Configuring the software: Before start- small warning popping up. Don’t worry
3, 2, 1… PVR! ing the software, make sure that the cable about it and select close. Repeat the
A PVR software may be bundled along line is plugged in firmly. Also check and see same with your CD-ROM drives. Restart.
with the card, but it would be better to use if the audio connectors are in place. DMA should now be enabled. If DMA is
a dedicated third-party PVR software for PowerVCR is made of three primary ele- not enabled, check if your BIOS, hard
higher control and functionality. Cyber- ments—the main panel, the video display drive and CD-ROM drive support DMA.
link PowerVCR II has an attractive inter- and the PowerVCR panel. The main panel Drivers: Get the latest drivers for your
face, is highly configurable and the codecs will let you switch between PowerVCR, graphics card from the vendor’s Web
that come bundled with it are fast and PowerDVD, Recording, Editing, and site. Most PVR software require DirectX
deliver good quality video. Before instal - Live/Replay as well as File play modes of the drivers, which you can download from
lation, check for any known conflicts (see software. The Video display panel shows Microsoft’s Web site. Also, check with the
box, ‘Tweak Me!’). the video feed as is received by the TV Tuner TV Tuner card’s manual and Web site to
Install the software: Install the PVR card. Finally, the PowerVCR panel comes see if there are any known conflicts with
software and follow the directions on with controls to switch between channels, your graphics card drivers, and install
screen. The installation program will then play and stop the video (buffered or on file) patches for these. Also install the codecs
locate a working directory on the drive and increase and decease volume levels (see for converting raw video footage into an
that has the maximum free space. You will ‘PowerVCR: What’s Where?’). appropriate format.
need a minimum of 500 MB for a 10 When you start PowerVCR for the first

99 DECEMBER 2002
insight ■
■ workshop

time, the system settings menu opens up Under the TV Replay tab, set the
and allows you to enter the settings. Replay Buffer Time/Disk Space options.
To check and see if the card is correct- Remember, the minimum amount of
Jargon Buster
ly recognised by the software, go to the space required is 500 MB for 10 minutes Television standards: Televi-
System Settings menu and under the V/A of replay time. Set the Replay Buffer Time sion standards used around the world
Devices tab you should be able to see the /Disk Space to the highest possible, sub- vary. Unfortunately, video recorded in
TV Tuner card in the Video capture device ject to the free disk space available. You one particular format is not normally
menu. V/A Devices sets the configuration may also want to change the Replay compatible with another format. The tel-
for all video and audio devices. Set video Working Directory. evision standards are:
source as Composite Video, and click on The Profiles tab allows you to set the n PAL: Based on a 50 Hz power system,

Cable. Also check the audio settings. quality of encoding raw video footage PAL (Phase Alteration Line) is the stan-
coming in through the TV Tuner card. dard format for television broadcasts in
There are several default profiles and you Asia and Western Europe. By reversing
can also define your own. the relative phase of the colour signal
You should apply a profile that best components on alternate scanning lines,
suits the hardware you have. A rule of it avoids the colour distortion that occa-
thumb is to use MPEG-1 for low resolu- sionally appears in NTSC broadcasts.
tions (normal usage) and MPEG-2 for n NTSC: NTSC (National Television Sys-

high resolutions. For example, if you have tems Committee) is a standard format
a machine that is not too high in pro - adopted by the FCC for television broad-
cessing power and system resources, settle casts in the United States, Japan, Canada
for the Average profile—at MPEG 1, the and Mexico. This is commonly referred
picture quality is still reasonably good. to as Composite Video because of the
V/A Devices tab shows the TV Tuner card Likewise, if you have a machine that’s convergence of luminance and colour
absolutely state-of-the-art, go ahead and into a single analog signal.
The Channels tab lists available sta - choose the Superior profile, at MPEG-2. If n SECAM: SECAM (Sequential Couleur a

tions in your area and allows you to name you want to further specify the quality of Memoire or Sequential Colour with
specific channels. Under Video Signal For- the encoding, you can do so by trying out Memory) is the video format used in
mat Setting, select India. This would the other options under Advanced and France, Eastern Europe and some Middle
automatically set the Video Signal Format DVD Profiles. You could also set custom Eastern countries. Like PAL, SECAM is
for India, which is PAL B. You can then values for video and audio compression, based on a 50 Hz power system. Colour
choose the Cable option and click on Auto bit rates, frame rates, frame sizes and signals are transmitted sequentially.
Scan. The application will scan across all other parameters. Remember though, for MPEG: MPEG (Moving Picture Experts
available input signals and list them out recording at resolutions such as 640x480 Group) is a compression technology for
in the Channel Listing table. As the auto and upwards, you need to have at least a digital video and audio signals. It includes
scan proceeds, you will be able to see the Pentium III 700 MHz-class processor. the following standards: MPEG-1
video feed in the main viewer panel. Once (Audio/Video), MP3 or MPEG-1 Audio
set, you can view the video, but hold on— Layer 3 (Audio), MPEG-2 (Audio/Video),
you haven’t set the other options yet. MPEG-4 (Interactive Multimedia System).
MPEG is responsible for multiplexing and
synchronising one video stream with a
single or multiple audio streams. MPEG-1
was designed to reproduce VHS/VCR
quality in digital format, while the MPEG-
2 concept, similar to MPEG-1, is intended
Set the profile that best suits your hardware to cover a wider range of applications
with DVD quality and broadcast TV.
Although you can leave the settings Composite Video Signal Format:
at their default values, you should con - Generally used for less expensive types of
sider experimenting with some cus- video devices, it produces a single video
tomised options to take advantage of your signal. Used in VHS camcorders or VCRs.
Auto Scan detects available video signals hardware and get better results. Digital Video Format: Digital video
signals are split up into three compo-
Under the Video tab, you can change Director’s cut nents: luminance, luminance minus red
the options for brightness, contrast, hue Ever seen something on TV that you and luminance minus blue. The compo-
and saturation. Now you can also set the wanted to see again? Like a football goal nent video signals can create a picture
snapshot and TV replay options. Go to you just can’t believe? Or maybe a catch free of common distortions that result
Snapshots and set the options for where that you just missed seeing? Those are the from combining and then separating the
you want the screen captures to be times that you wished you could replay video signal components. This technolo-
stored—these can be used later to sort ‘live’ TV! Your PVR can actually do that! gy is used for DVDs.
through archived videos. Switch to the Instant TV Replay mode and

100 DECEMBER 2002

insight ■
■ workshop

you can pause, rewind, play in slow To delete a task, click on Delete or press
motion, replay live TV feeds and also skip Saving for the Future [Delete] on your keyboard after selecting
those pesky commercials! All this can be MPEG files occupy a lot of space on the the task in the display area.
easily achieved with the keys on the Con- hard drive. To counter this, there are So there it is. You have unleashed the
trol Wheel of the PowerVCR Panel. other formats such as DivX that have awesome PVR capabilities of your com -
Of course, there is even more that the higher compression. You could also puter with just a little software and hard -
PVR software can do—refer to the manu - convert your MPEG files into VCD
al and see the facilities offered by it. Some format (DAT files) and write them
of the functions include unattended video onto CDs. Most CD writing software
recording (by scheduling it), DVD Play- has built-in tools for this. You could
back, playing and editing video files and also convert your MPEG files into DVD
trimming video files. files. This can be done by DVD author-
ing tools such as MyDVD and others,
Set it and forget it when used in conjunction with a
You can use the Scheduling Wizard for DVD-R drive.
recording programs when you’re away
from your computer. So there will never
be a show that you will miss! ing Mode, you can choose between
To start the Recording Scheduler, click recording daily, a particular day of the
Recording Scheduler on the main panel to week or on just weekends or weekdays.
launch the wizard. The wizard can also be You can also set a date and choose to Scheduling recordings in PowerVCR
started by clicking on the Sched- record only on that date.
uling Wizard icon located in ware tucked in. No more scrounging
the Recording Scheduler Remember to Editing scheduled tasks around for mouldy old tapes and messing
panel. Select Enable this keep your For editing scheduled tasks, with arcane VCR settings! So hop into a
Schedule, verify and confirm computer on during the switch to the Recording nice, comfortable armchair with a king
the video settings and choose period for which the Scheduler mode and double- size bowl of popcorn and enjoy. And
the channel from the drop recording is scheduled! click on the task in the don’t forget to junk that VCR!
down menu. For the Record- Recording Scheduler panel. SRINIVASAN RAMAKRISHNAN

1/2 page H AD

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insight ■
■ netreturns

Blog
in!

ILLUSTRATION : Mahesh Benk

Blogs offer a little private space in the public domain of the Internet. Are blogs just another
fad or will they be the biggest offering since Napster?

T
he Internet has become a domi - are meant to hold more text content than otherwise may not get published until th
nant means of communication images. publishers of traditional media like them
across the globe. It has enabled Blogs are quite similar to Web forums.
highly successful services such as On a forum, the creator sets the mood and Personally speaking…
e-mail and chat for direct conversation, topic for the discussions, and people post Blogs provide the ideal medium for shar
and newsgroups and forums for publish - their views and ideas for others to see. The ing your daily activities with others. You
ing ideas and thoughts. People share not forum may be moderated to allow only can jot down all the interesting events
only opinions over the Internet, but also certain content to be made public, to new things you learnt, the little foolish
photographs, video, music and money. maintain the quality of the forum. A mod- things you do, the pranks you play, virtu
The Internet has evolved into a huge erator can also ban malicious users from a ally anything you want. It’s an easy wa
graffiti board where anyone can stick up forum. Think of a blog as your own per- for others to keep up with you, so the nex
their creations, for feedback and com - sonal forum, where you are the creator time you meet a friend, your conversatio
ments from people from all walks of life. and moderator. The topic of discussion is can go a bit further than, “…so what’s
The Internet has also produced its you and your activities. You can invite sev- been up with you?”
share of fads and failures. One phenome - eral people to view and comment on your The most important attribute of blog
non that ranks high on the hype meter is posts. If you wish, you can control what is that they are personal. In a vastly pub
Web logs, or blogs. Being free and with - they post. When you sign up with a blog- lic medium such as the Internet, the idea
out the burden of requiring additional ging site, it creates a personal space for you of personal space can be very compelling
infrastructure, they may just become as that is completely under your control. Not only is it quite addictive for thos
popular as forums, attracting large, like- Over time, people tend to discuss spe- who maintain these diaries, it has a simi
minded communities. cific threads on their blogs and lots of lar effect on visitors too. Also, persona
blogs have evolved into valuable discus - blogs by nature are attached with a lot o
Scientifically speaking… sion chains of topics as diverse as tech- credibility—a person tends to write th
Essentially, at the heart of it, blogging is nology, sports, art and even kung fu. Peo - bare truth, so a first-person view of the fa
just a personal online diary that you can ple concentrate more on the quality of the of the Twin Towers on a blog holds muc
share with your friends and family. They content than on writing styles and punc- more value than a similar write-up in th
are quite like the online photo albums you tuation—in fact, blogs enable a lot of local newspaper. Readers know tha
can create at various Web sites, only blogs ingenious essays to be published, which behind the blogs are people who are no

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“
(www.livejournal.com).
My work involves a lot In fact, the site has Blogging Etiquette
become so popular Blogging is a form of communication and
of research and I use that the developers publishing on the Internet. It involves
blogs to find relevant have put up restric- several communities, from various walks

and reliable informa- tions for signing up.

If you have a friend
of life so it’s wise to follow a few guide
lines so that you don’t end up offending

”
tion on a particular who’s already blog - anyone.
Jacob Joseph
MARKETING PROFES-
topic at one location ging on it, he or she ■ Don’t use abusive language on public
can invite you to blogs. Though it may be common
SIONAL, SYNAPSE
join LiveJournal for among your friends and peers, there
free, otherwise you could be several others reading your
restrained by industry or social pressures. will have to blog at a price. LiveJournal, blog. An alternative is to keep your blog
Blogs can be completely personal, that like many other sites, takes blogging very completely private, allowing only friends
is, the writer may not allow anyone to see seriously and provides excellent security to read it.
what’s on it, but this is not the idea of the features so that bloggers can freely dis- ■ Be discrete with the pictures and don’t
Internet. One of the primary reasons why cuss whatever they want to, without wor- use revealing ones—they might offend
material is published on the Net is the rying about intruders. LiveJournal is even friends.
unhindered wide audience it automatically open source and has been used as a base ■ Respect all bloggers. Be polite when
offers. However, a person can dictate what by many Web sites to provide free you post comments on someone else’s
appears on his or her blog and what does- blogging services. blogs, be it in tune with or against what
n’t. This increases the respect and trust a At LiveJournal, you can configure they have posted. Blogging is no different
blogger gains because unlike forums, your account so that you have complete from conversation. Don’t say anything on
though the blogger allows others to post control over the content posted in your your blog that you wouldn’t say to a face.
messages on the blog, it is still his or her space. You can choose to display your ■ Healthy blogging is for the open-mind
personal space. No blogger would allow any contact information, location and birth- ed. Don’t ban a user because he or she
violation of this personal space even though day with your blogs, and whether every- has a differing opinion. Opinions should
he or she may try hard to get together the one can view it or only the users listed in be welcomed, or disabled completely.
ideas of several people to get as open an your Friends list. As a measure against ■ Don’t hesitate to ban mischief-makers
opinion or as real a truth as possible. spam-robots, which harvest e-mail from your blog. You will be doing a great
Blogging can also be used as a means addresses from Web sites, LiveJournal can service to your fellow-bloggers.
of direct communication with your peers, display your e-mail address differently, so ■ If you are referencing items from other
building a thread of conversation and an that it is not recognised by such software. Web sites, provide a link to them. This
ever-valuable archive of intelligence. Whether your space is indexed by search not only helps readers, but also tremen
Omar Javaid, Chief Technology Officer engines or not can also be controlled by dously increases the credibility of your
and founder of the mobile-computing you. You may even choose to hide your blog. Also, remember to give due credit
consulting firm, Mobilocity, used to regu- Friends list from your online profile with to the original source of content, be it
larly e-mail interesting URLs to colleagues the site. articles or quotes.
and clients. Now he just maintains a Web To ensure high quality of content on
log, which he updates frequently. your blog, you can enable or disable vari-
ous restrictions. You can choose to disable even help towards the development of th
Window shopping message boards completely, which means service.
There are several free blogs on the Net. that no one can post any replies to your Another service, Blogger (www.blog
One of the most popular is LiveJournal posts. You can allow anyone, only users ger.com), has an impressive Web log offer
registered with LiveJournal or only users ing, ideal for those who don’t want to
from your Friends list to post messages on
your blog. The service can optionally log
IP addresses of people who post messages.
This can sometimes be useful in deter-
mining whether the message was actually
posted by that person, especially with the
growing number of cable Internet con-
nections, where a lot of computers have
static IP addresses.
Being open source, LiveJournal gives
you complete access to the code. Thus,
advanced bloggers can simply understand
the LiveJournal structure and take better
LiveJournal is one of the most popular control of their blogs. For example, you Blogger is a simple, no-frills site, where you ca
blogging sites, offering excellent features for can override the stylesheet your blog uses post your thoughts, opinions, ideas and
amateur and seasoned bloggers by modifying the header information or happenings of the day

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“
At Blogroots
(www.blogroots.com ), you
Writing HTML, can easily create your
uploading and man- own blogs and other
aging archives for my users can reply to your
posts. Blogroots keeps a
Web site was tedious. track of news about the

Mahesh Shantaram
Blogging allows me Web logs. Here, you can
AN INDEPENDENT
WRITER , REGULARLY
to concentrate on suggest a post by provid-
ing its URL, title and a

”
UPDATES HIS BLOG AT what I do best—think short description. You
and write
www.techrose.org
will find a dense jungle At Blogroots you can post your views and
of information here, but comments on articles posted on the Net unde
this site is not quite like three categories: News, Technology and
many frills. You can simply sign up with the traditional blogging sites. More of a Culture
the site and start blogging. When you cre- collection of blogs and a discussion board,
ate a blog, you can specify whether the this service is not about personal diaries in environments and vocation. Then
blog is public or private. Next, you choose online. This is great if you want to discuss again, there are people across countrie
whether you want to host the blog with issues, but not if you want to share a part that have similar interests and informa
BlogSpot (www.blogspot.com), or FTP it to of yourself with the world. tion needs. NASA researchers, for exam
your own server. With the former, your ple, need the same information that spac
blogs will be attached with advertisements, Here to stay? observatories in Australia and Russia do
though you can pay to remove these. Final- Are blogs a trend that will transform the Bloggers typically read up news, journals
ly, you choose the colour scheme for your way people use the Internet or just a fad discussions and blogs from variou
blog and you’re done. All you have to do that will run its due course and die quiet - sources. If they find value in what the
now is keep posting messages. The site puts ly in some corner of the massive World read, they may link to it from their blogs
up fresh and noteworthy blogs right on the Wide Web? Thus, they are a filtering system for infor
homepage, so you can browse through the Today, everyone’s information needs mation, and people with similar interest
ones you find interesting. are quite different, dictated by differences can further contribute to their research o
benefit from their postings.

Starting your First Blog On the personal front, blogs are

much more efficient way of lettin
Let’s create a blog at LiveJournal, one of the here, save your changes and you are done. everyone keep in touch with your lif
most popular blogging sites. If you want to You may want to download the desktop and staying in touch with others’. It’s
blog for free, find someone who already has software for uploading messages, or do it also a great way to make new friend
a blog there and ask him or her to invite from the Web directly. Now you can keep with the same interests, experiences o
you. Your friend can create account creation posting messages as you see fit. even expertise.
codes, which you can use to get in. Once If you want to use a different style for However, the primary advantage o
you enter the code, simply sign up with the your journal, you can change the look and blogging could turn out to be its own
site and you can begin. downfall—blogging is completely person
LiveJournal will send you an authorisation al, so bloggers must update their blog
e-mail, to make your blog live. You can now often enough for them to stay alive. Also
edit your personal information, which helps the content on blogs determines their life
people identify with you or find you based Good bloggers tend to develop bloggin
on your interests. You can also enable or dis- as a discipline and take great pride in th
able various security features for your blog on quality of their blogs. In fact, blogging i
this page. With a new blog, when you are now giving rise to some professional blog
just building your community, you may want gers. Andrew Sullivan (www.andrewsulli
to display your e-mail address and instant van.com) makes as much as $6,000 (appro
messenger details with your online profile. Configure how your blog is used and by whom Rs 3,00,000) every month from just dona
Also, make sure your biography and interests tions from readers. The Poynter Institut
are as descriptive, yet concise, as possible. feel as and when you like by clicking Modify (www.poynter.org), a journalism school
You can even upload your photograph here. Journal. You may not want to bother with hired Jim Romenesko, an early blogger to
If you already have a group of friends whom the advanced options yet, until you’ve seen produce the MediaNews Weblog
you want to share your journal with and can the source code of LiveJournal from the (www.poynter.org/medianews/), as early a
do without additional people, you just need Developers’ section. 1999. These and many more examples go
to build up your Friends list. Now choose If you have restricted your blog only to to show the value that people find in
who can view your contact and personal friends, remember to add other users from blogs and bloggers. If nothing, its still
information, who can reply to your posts LiveJournal to your Friends list by clicking great way to publish your mind on th
and other content security options from the Your Friends link. Internet.
VEER KOTHAR

104 DECEMBER
insight ■
■ quick start

Follow the Tune!

Y
ou know the problem all too well— MoodLogic and click on the ‘Activate’ but- TagMaster, MoodLogic,
all those years of sourcing MP3s ton. The trial version allows you to acti- MP3db v1.40
from friends, the Internet and your vate only 25 songs for free, beyond which Find them on the
personal CD collection has left a mass of you have to activate additional songs by Mindware CD
music that is difficult to sort through. The logging credits or by paying for it.
problem with MP3s is that most of them play it—you can easily customise a playlist
don’t use any particular system of classi- Configuring MoodLogic to suit your mood by choosing songs from
fication as they are created from numer- Navigate to the My Active Music various artistes and albums. But Mood-
ous sources—you probably have songs section from the main interface to find Logic takes you one step further—you can
with their names misspelled, under the 25 songs that MoodLogic has sorted view your music based on a number of
wrong band or artiste names and they are by genre, category, artiste, etc. Here you parameters such as tempo, year of the track
probably placed in random folders on can fix the ID3 tags and even the song and even the mood of the particular piece.
your hard disk. names for sorting the MP3s by clicking So you can choose songs by tempo such as
But take heart. With tools that help on the ID3 & Files button at the bottom romantic, party, relaxing, etc. You can also
you rename, organise and even categorise of the interface. MoodLogic has a large view them by genre.
your MP3 files, there is still hope of intro- database of music on its Web site
ducing some sanity and organisation into (www.moodlogic.com), which you can
your 8 GB music collection. Let’s take a access to fix your MP3 track’s naming and
look at MoodLogic, one such tool that ID3 information.
helps bring order to your MP3 chaos.

Getting started
MoodLogic incorporates a suite of
MP3 management tools that let you
organise, fix and playback your MP3s in
a more intuitive and orderly manner.
You need to activate the MP3s on your Activated and recognised music shows up in
hard disk so that MoodLogic can recognise the My Active Music screen
them and process them further. Simply
select your songs from the song listing in Another very interesting feature is the
Instant MusicMix tool. This tool lets you
group songs that ‘sound’ like each other,
taking into account musical phrasing,

Fix and format ID3 information using the

ID3 & Files button

MoodLogic can even move the

renamed songs into specific folders for
each artiste. Once you hit the Fix All but- Generate playlists of your favourite music by
ton, you’ll have all your MP3 files organ- sound, tempo, genre, etc
ised, renamed and properly tagged. The
time taken to complete this process is, of tempo, etc. Finally, with MoodLogic you can
course, dependant upon the number of also transfer your MP3s to a portable MP3
MP3 files you have on your hard disk. player and refer to and categorise your music
from other sources such as CDs or Zip disks.
Let’s get rocked Now that you finally have command
The main interface of MoodLogic lets you The real benefits of organising your over all your MP3 files, play away!
activate songs music come through when you want to MARCO D ’SOUZA

105 DECEMBER 2002

insight ■
■ troubleshooting

From problems with Web cam drivers to AGP compatibility issues—find your answers here

XP incompatible Web cam There are a few things you’ll need to

I have a PC with a Pentium III 933 do to enjoy the full benefits of your sound
MHz CPU and 256 MB RAM running two system. Once you’ve bought the 5.1 chan-
OSes—Windows Me and Windows XP. nel soundcard, in Windows XP, go to the
Now the problem is that Windows Me Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices .
runs my Web cam (D-Link’s DU-C300) but Click Advanced under Speaker Settings
XP doesn’t. Whenever I try to install it and set your speaker setup to 5.1 chan-
from the Scanner & Camera section in the nel. You will find extra settings in the
Control Panel, it gives a list of different Control Panel, depending on your sound-
brand names but D-Link is missing. When card, which will let you set up and test
I try to install it from the driver disk, a your speaker system. We’re using Windows
message appears saying, ‘The specified Downloading Hotmail messages into your XP as an example, since the closest options
location does not contain information Outlook Inbox available in
about your hardware’. What could be the Windows 98
cause of the problem? chances are you won’t be able to create SE are Quadro-
Rajesh Iyer a Hotmail account. To download your phonic and
Secunderbad Hotmail messages, go to Tools > E-mail Surround
Accounts > Add a new account and click Sound. You
It looks like your driver disk does not Next. When asked which protocol to will also have
contain the drivers for Windows XP. use, select HTTP and click Next. Now to ensure that
All you have to do is download the rele - type your Hotmail login name for User your MP3 and
vant drivers from http://www.dlink.co.in/ Name: and ensure that Hotmail is dis- CD player sup-
dlink/Drivers/WindowsXP/dsbc100whitecase__XP_ played in the top right box. Click Next port 5.1 out-
driver_b2.exe to get your Web cam up and and then Finish. The next time you click Set up your speaker system put. Check
running. on Send/Receive, Outlook will download to receive 5.1 channel your audio
the mail from your Hotmail account. sound player’s Web
Transferring Hotmail to Outlook site for any
I want to know how to transfer Dolby Digital from the soundcard available plugins. However, since you
Hotmail messages to Microsoft Outlook I have a discrete 4.1 channel speaker have a 4.1 speaker system, you will miss
(not to Outlook Express). I have tried to system. If I buy an AC-3 5.1 channel PCI out on the centre channel. Fortunately,
configure Outlook but have not been suc - soundcard, can I enjoy Dolby Surround most applications such as software DVD
cessful. Please help me. Sound while playing Audio CDs and players are able to send Dolby Digital
Preetinder Virk MP3s? Will there be much difference sound streams into your four-channel
Via e-mail between a Dolby Pro-Logic Surround speaker system.
home audio system and my PC sound As far as your second query is con-
You can set up a Hotmail account system? cerned, Dolby Pro-Logic is far inferior to
only if you have Outlook 2002. If your Sumanta the Dolby Digital 5.1 channel system, so
version is earlier than 2002, then Via e-mail stick to the latter.

106 DECEMBER 2002

Dial-up networking
In the Quickstart section of Digit, Buying a new computer ible, that is, it will be capable of run-
September 2002, you demonstrated how I’m contemplating buying a new P4- ning older games. However, the latest
to connect to another computer through based machine, primarily for entertain- card is the latest only till a new game
a dial-up connection. Is it possible to con - ment purposes. But after going through pushes the graphics higher.
nect to a computer in another country some comparisons, I have a few doubts: 2. Yes, any AGP card marked thus will
too? My husband wants to connect to my 1. Is it true that with a GeForce2, 3 or 4- support both kinds of games and the
system in India and he is in the UAE. Will based AGP card, I can play the latest as newer the Direct3D/OpenGL version
the calls be charged by ISD rates? Please well as older games? supported, the better. The newest
let me know. 2. If an AGP card is marked cards are DirectX 9
Abha OpenGL/Direc- and OpenGL 1.3
Via e-mail tX compatible, compatible.
does it mean 3. The CD for -
The Quickstart primarily dealt with that it has both mats supported
connections established over a telephone capabilities and by DVD drives
line and though connections can be can play both vary according
established across the globe, one of you types of games? to the manufac-
will have to call the other to establish 3. What types of turer, but gener -
them, inviting international call rates. An CD formats are ally, they
alternative is to set up a dedicated point- supported by a support CD-
to-point connection between your com- DVD-ROM drive? Is it ROM, CD-ROM XA,
puters, but the costs of such an operation also capable of writ- CD-R, CD-RW, Photo-
for home users is too prohibitive to even ing CDs? CD, Video-CD, Multi-
discuss. So if you need to transfer files to 4. Is it true that in order to play Session, CD TEXT and CD Extra. A
each other, the best solution is to use games I must have the same type of RAM DVD-ROM drive, as its name suggests, is
instant messengers such as MSN Messen- for my processor and AGP card? only able to read DVDs and CDs. DVD
ger (www.msn.com ) or Yahoo! Messenger Vishal Arora R/RW drives are able to write DVDs and
(www.yahoo.com ). The Windows XP Mes- Delhi CDs, but again, the exact formats sup-
senger gives you far greater control over a ported depend on the manufacturer
remote computer and the file transfer Let’s tackle your questions point by and the model. Check the specifications
application is also very user-friendly. point: of the writer before you buy one.
1. Yes, you will be well equipped to play 4. The RAM types of your system and
Post removal hard disk problems new and old games with any of these your AGP display controller have
When I connect my 20 GB hard disk to cards, particularly the GeForce4 Ti 4600 absolutely nothing to do with each
a friend’s PC, both our computers work or the ATi Radeon 9700. Please note other and do not affect one another in
fine. But after I disconnect my hard disk, that any new card is backward compat- any way.
my friend’s machine shows two CD drives,
one of which does not work. The system
also slows down a lot. Please give us a facturer, you can go to www.motherboards.org completely de-allocated until some other
solution for this. to identify the board type. program requests it. Check to see that too
Taral B. Khasiya many programs aren’t loading themselves
Via e-mail Problem with free memory during startup—ensure that your System
I have a 466 MHz Celeron CPU, Intel Tray is not too filled with running pro-
Unfortunately, you haven’t mentioned 815 motherboard, a 40 GB hard drive, grams. To free up more RAM, remove
your system configuration, so based on 52x CD-ROM, 320 MB RAM and onboard unnecessary programs from the Startup
your information, do the following. graphics with 1 MB of shared memory. program group in your Start menu. Any-
Reboot the PC and enter the BIOS by press- When I run and then close a lot of pro - way, as long as you don’t get any ‘Low vir-
ing [Del] or the appropriate key for your grams, Windows’ System Monitor shows tual memory’ messages—which,
BIOS. In Standard CMOS Setup, set the 244 MB of RAM utilised. Is this reading considering your RAM, is highly unlike-
drive type for all the IDE drives to Auto. harmless or do I have to do something ly—you have nothing to worry about.
Then go back to the main menu and enter about it? Please help.
Integrated Peripherals. Change the PIO Raviteja Virus problems
and UDMA modes to Auto. Now save your Via e-mail I have two computers running
settings and reboot. It’s also a good idea to Windows 98, which are connected to
examine the IDE cables to see if they’re Since you have 320 MB of memory, you each other through a LAN card. The main
properly connected. The long end should should not have any problems with low computer is plagued with the
go to the motherboard, while the two con- resources for most applications. The rea - Win32.Worm.datom virus and gives the
nections close by on the other end go to son why System Monitor shows this high following error messages: ‘Cannot find file
the devices. Finally, download the latest reading is because it probably takes some MSVXD.EXE. Could not load or run
drivers for your motherboard’s chipset. If time to refresh its information or because MSVXD.EXE specified in the WIN.INI file.’
you don’t know the motherboard’s manu- the memory used by these programs is not Is there any software to remove this virus?

107 DECEMBER 2002

insight ■
■ troubleshooting

selection. Go to Start > Settings > Control

Unstable motherboard PC, call a service technician to exam- Panel and double-click on Regional Set-
When I turn my PC on, it boots per- ine your processor to see if the tings. Make sure that the language list-
fectly, but it goes blank after 20-25 min - heatsink is properly seated on the CPU ed here is English (United States). If the
utes. The LED on the monitor flickers and that the cool- problem still persists, reinstall the fonts
on and off too. When I switch on ing fans are operat- in your system from another Windows
the power switch on the LED, ing correctly. Your 98 computer. If all else fails, the best
the monitor goes on and off CPU fan may be (but most time-consuming) solution
nearly 10-12 times blocked by a wire would be to re-install Windows 98 on
before it boots. or might have your computer. This will restore the
Why does this hap- accumulated required fonts, as well as other system
pen? dust; or your cabi- settings that might have been corrupted
Vaishali net might not be due to a malfunction.
Via e-mail able to ventilate
and air the sys- Hidden free space
Your problem tem enough. I have a Pentium III 700 MHz CPU with
seems to be possi- Also, observe if 196 MB RAM and 20 GB hard drive running
bly heat-related. certain actions Windows Me. The hard disk has six parti-
It’s possible that ILLUSTRATIONS: Mahesh Benkar trigger the crash. tions, allotting the C: drive with 2,532 MB.
the CPU or the This should help you pinpoint the I have a tough time formatting and rein-
motherboard chipset is generating too cause of the problem. Also, enter the stalling Windows Me at least once a month.
much heat for the system to handle, system’s BIOS during power-up by I have set the swap space manually to 196
resulting in the crash. In case you pressing [Del] and select the Load Fail- MB. The problem is that the C: drive gets
aren’t comfortable with opening your safe Defaults option. filled up and a message appears saying,
‘Warning: Low disk space. Would you like to
uninstall any programs to free up disk
Another virus called BKDR_NEWBIERO has the Windows directory. Delete all refer- space?’ But since I did not install any appli-
infected a file in my C:\WINDOWS\SYS- ences to these files in the ‘load=’ and cations on the C: partition, uninstalling pro-
TEM\LVMGI.EXE on the other computer. ‘run=’ lines (the second and third line) in grams from other partitions would not
Shaikh Mohammad Wasi the file. Save the file and close it. Alter- make any difference. The strange thing is,
Via e-mail natively, download a free removal tool when I select all the files and folders of C:, it
from http://www.bitdefender.com/down- shows 1.14 GB and a free space of less than
Viruses can be removed automatically load/download.php?file=AntiDatom.exe. 100 MB. Nearly 1 GB of disk space is miss-
by most anti-virus software with updated To remove the BKDR_NEWBIERO, a ing! How do I retrieve this disk space?
Trojan, open regedit and go to the key Where is this 1 GB of space?
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Micros Vyjesh
oft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. In Via e-mail
the right panel, search for the registry key
that contains the registry data value There are several reasons why the disk
‘Microsoft Diagnostic=”%Windows%\ space might be reported incorrectly. Fore-
[random filename].exe’ and delete it. most among them is the possibility of an
Close regedit and restart your PC. error in the filesystem, which results in
incorrect reporting of disk usage. Run Scan-
Font despair disk from Start > Programs > Accessories > Sys -
When I tried to install Norton AntiVirus tem Tools > Scandisk and choose the
2002 on my computer (based on a P-III Thorough option. Scan all your partitions
The ‘load=’ and ‘run=’ lines should be empty 933 MHz CPU, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB hard for errors. If that doesn’t throw up any-
drive running Windows 98 SE), the setup thing, check your disk’s actual allocated size
virus definitions such as Norton AntiVirus initialisation box showed some square and available space. To do this double click
and McAfee. To remove them manually, boxes instead of English letters and I could- on My Computer and then right-click on
do the following: For Win32.Worm. n’t complete the installation. I also could C:. Check the capacity and ensure that it is
datom, restart Windows in Safe Mode by not install Office 2000. I find these square actually 2,532 MB and see how much of it
pressing [F5] during boot-up. Now to boxes in some other applications too, for is being used. Click on Disk Cleanup to
eliminate the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE instance, in the left pane of the help win- start the wizard and remove unwanted files
\Software\Micr-osoft\CurrentVersion\ dow of Outlook Express 5.0. Please tell me from your computer. Finally, consider mov-
Run\MSVXD registry entry, go to Start > how to get rid of this problem. ing your permanent swap file to another
Run and type regedit . Then press Kamal Kishore partition to free up space on the C drive.
[Enter]. Delete all the MSVXD.EXE, Via e-mail
MSVXD16.DLL and MSVXD32.DLL files Backing up virus definitions
in the Windows\System folder. Finally, The problem could lie with missing I run Windows 98 SE on a PC with a
using Notepad, open the win.ini file in system fonts or the system language Pentium III processor and 192 MB of RAM.

108 DECEMBER 2002

 FAQs I use Norton AntiVirus 2000 for protec-
tion. I update the virus definitions every
month and as a result, I have updated 13
Unable to search in Windows XP virtual memory management to ‘System times in the last 13 months. Recently, I
I have a Celeron 1 GHz with an Intel managed size’—if this option was already upgraded my hard drive from 20 GB to 40
810-based motherboard and a 40 GB chosen, then it means that you’re low on GB. So now I have to transfer all my data
hard drive running Windows XP and hard disk space. You’ll need to restart your to this drive and install a clean copy of
Windows Me. When I run the Search Windows 98. How do I back up my virus
function from Windows XP, it gives an definitions so that I don’t have to update
error saying, ‘A file that is required to run them again?
Search Companion cannot be found. You Namrata
may need to run setup.’ The search win- Via e-mail
dow appears, but there are no fields in
the pane on the left. When I click on the Updates of Norton AntiVirus include
character, it keeps repeating the same virus definition updates as well as updates
action—even right-clicking on it has no to the scanning engine. Although you
effect. Please help me. won’t be able to carry over your engine
Chandru upgrades, transferring the virus definitions
Via e-mail is a simple task. You can find these defini-
tions in the C:\Program Files\Common
This is a documented error that hap- Files\Symantec Shared\VirusDefs folder.
pens with some installations of Windows Just copy this folder and paste it in the
XP—download the patch for it from same location in the new installation.
http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/Release.as
p?ReleaseID=39318. After downloading, fol- ‘System managed size’ suits most users Compatible AGP slot
low the on-screen instructions. I recently bought an MSI 845E
computer for the changes to take effect. MAX2-BLR MS-6398E motherboard. I
Flickering screen and low virtual Note the drive in which the swap file intend to buy a GeForce4 graphics card.
memory resides and free up at least 250 MB in that In the motherboard manual, it says ‘AGP
I have a Pentium 4 1.6 GHz processor, drive by deleting unnecessary files. 4x slot (1.5V only)’. Will I be able to use
Intel 850 MV motherboard with 128 MB the GeForce4 GPU on my motherboard?
RDRAM and a 17-inch monitor that flick- Restoring file associations Is there any way I can increase the 4x to
ers around the edges. Also, very light My PC has MS Office, therefore MS anything higher for future use? How
curves appear on the display when I set Photo Editor is installed with it. Hence, I long can I use 4x to play the latest
no wallpaper. I normally work in cannot open JPG and GIF files in Internet games?
Windows XP. What can I do to solve this Explorer. How do I uninstall it? Leejo
problem? Another problem is that after Samar Via e-mail
playing Duke Nukem, when I exit, some- Via e-mail
times an icon appears in the system tray To answer your second question first,
showing the message, ‘Your system is low Rather than uninstalling Photo Edi - you cannot upgrade your AGP slot’s
on virtual memory.’ I had the same prob- tor, which is rather an awkward process capabilities as this will involve changes in
lem with Real Player until I uninstalled it. requiring you to re-run the Office instal- the circuit and power requirements. How-
What can I do to solve this problem? lation, you can restore file associations ever, you have no cause for concern as
Yash back to Internet Explorer. To do this, your motherboard will support even ATi’s
Via e-mail locate the JPG or GIF file you want to Radeon 9700 and other new graphics
open. Click on it to select the file and cards. Regarding the relevance of 4x, as
To solve your first problem go to then, while pressing [Shift], right-click the latest cards have just begun to sup-
Desktop > Properties > Settings > Advanced . on it. In the popup menu, choose ‘Open port the 8x mode, rest assured that you
Go to the Monitor tab and set the with…’ You will then be presented with can use your board for quite some time
Refresh Rate to 75 Hz or more. You a list of applications that can be used to to come. Your 4x AGP interface has
could set a higher refresh rate but make open the file. Scroll down until you see enough bandwidth to run the present
sure your monitor supports it. the entry ‘iexplore’. Select it and make crop of games, giving you no reason to
Your second problem lies with the sure that the checkbox titled ‘Always use fret for a while.
operating system’s virtual memory set- this program to open this type of file’ is
tings. A permanent solution would be to checked. Click OK and the setting will
Send your computing
upgrade your memory to 256 MB. Anoth- be finalised. Repeat this procedure for
problems to
er solution would be to go to Control Panel all the other file types that you wish to
[email protected]
> System > Advanced > Performance and click open with Internet Explorer. The proce-
or write to Digit,
on Settings. Click Advanced in the new dure is approximately the same with all
D-222/2, Om Sagar, MIDC, Nerul-400
window and go to Change. Here set you versions of Windows. 706, and we may answer it here!

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Add pizzazz to your images

using Photoshop contents
90 Increasing productiv
91 Image editing
92 Text effects
Photoshop 7 trial 93 Working with layers
version 94 Web graphics
Find it on the 94 Filters
Mindware CD 94 Special effects

ILLUSTRATIONS : Mahesh Benkar

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insight ■
■ tips and tricks
tricks

INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY Preview pane: In the size options such as Small,

Preview pane, you can view Medium, Large, Large with
Manage multiple images and avoid repetitive a larger image of the selected Rank and Detail. The Large
tasks through simple actions thumbnail. with Rank displays a large
Metadata pane: The thumbnail along with the
Gamma correction together and edit them. To Metadata pane provides the image’s rank while Detail
Often what you see on tile the images, open all the user with detailed informa- provides information about
screen does not match what images you require and then tion about the current selec- each image shown such as
you get in print. The gamma select Window > Documents > tion such as the image file name, date created and
correction setting calibrates Tile from the menu in Pho - filename, date when creat- modified, copyright, file
your monitor so that it toshop 7 (Windows > Tile in ed, image format, along format, colour mode, image
remains in synchronisation with any additional size (in pixels), file size, and
with your printer and your information entered rank.
scanner. Under Windows > Set - in the File Info dialog The Rank By and Sort By
tings > Control Panel, select the box. It even displays menus help to create a rank
option Adobe Gamma and EXIF (Exchangeable for your images, such as
the wizard will guide you Image File) data (that proof or final, and sort your
further. Choose the step-by- is, information about images according to their
step wizard option and then images created with a stage of completion.
proceed accordingly. digital camera), if it’s The File Browser lets you
available. sort images by file name,
Changing scratch disk Working with multiple images is easy Thumbnail pane: file width and height, file
Scratch disk refers to the loca- The Thumbnail pane size, file type, resolution,
tion on your hard disk where Photoshop 6). The images displays thumbnails by size, colour profile, date created,
the data is stored while you get arranged in tile format— rank and text detail. They date modified, and copy
are working in Photoshop. you can toggle between can be viewed with different right.
This will be a lifesaver when them using [Ctrl] + [Tab]
you are running out of disk and edit the images.
Actions Speak Louder than Clicks
90 space in the current drive. Go
to Edit > Preferences > Plug-Ins & Managing your images Here’s how you can use the Load Actions. Now locate
Scratch disks and under First, (Photoshop 7) Actions feature to save time your action and click OK. The
Within the File Browser and effort: action will now appear in the
menu, you can open, select, ■ To open and save multiple Actions palette under its own
name, rotate and view files of the same size, resolu- section from where you can
images. You can even man - tion and mode in one step. run it.
age your files and folders— ■ If there is a folder of images ■ When you create actions,

create, rename or delete that you need to convert to Photoshop runs them so
them. You can rename mul - Web graphics and if the quickly that you would gener
tiple files using the Batch images are somewhat similar, ally not be able to track a
The scratch disk dialog box Rename feature or even then don’t do it individually— missing or wrong step. To
rotate one or multiple images choose Actions. slow down or even put a
fill in the path where you with the Rotate feature. ■ If you downloaded an pause between each step,
would primarily want all your The File Browser displays action from the Web but Pho- choose to play your action
data. Under Second, Third four panes: Tree, Preview, toshop doesn’t seem to Step by Step in the Playback
and Fourth, fill accordingly. Metadata and Thumbnail. recognise it, then first make Options dialog box in the
Tree pane: The Tree pane sure that the action has the Actions palette’s drop down
Working with multiple shows the files, folders and file extension .atn. Then go to menu. As an alternative, enter
images drives of your system, mak- the Actions palette and from the number of seconds for
The Tile feature allows you ing it easy to navigate and the drop down menu, choose which you’d like it to pause.
to view a number of images locate images.

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IMAGE EDITING
Patch it u
Crop them, skew them, play with them. Give When working wi
your images the perfect look the Patch tool, you need n
make your initial selection
Image modes: RGB, Removing noise from with this tool. Instead, sel
CMYK, Duotone, Tritone digital camera images it with any selection tool a
Before you begin editing an Images taken from a digital A low resolution image drag the selection with th
image, save it in the correct camera show noise when Patch tool to the portion
mode, else it won’t show accu- opened in Photoshop, usually the image from which yo
rate colours. If you are going in the Blue channel. To correct want to clone, and then
to use the image on the Web, this, go to the Channels release your mouse butto
save it in RGB mode; for print, palette and make the Blue
save it in CMYK. You can also channel active. Now click
save the image as Duotone Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur) and Creating gradients f
(two colours) or Tritone (three add a slight blur to the photos
colours)—these modes impart image—start with 0.5 and The low resolution image after Seen a nice combinati
interesting effects to an image. increase the blur by using the brightening and sharpening background somewhere?
If you want to use an image Up Arrow key. When the noise neat little trick will show
for the Web as well as for has pretty much disappeared, Layer > Flatten Image and see how you can use it in
print, make sure that you have click on the RGB composite the difference between the own creation. Open the im
two copies, one RGB and the channel and continue with new and the original image! and select the Gradient
other CMYK. the regular image correction. In the Gradient Options
Working with the Heal - click on the Gradient sam
Perspective in cropped Fixing stray pixels ing Brush and Patch tool to bring up the Gradient
images Many a times when we use With the old Rubber Stamp tor. Click on the first C
The Cropping tool offers a Magic Wand or Color Range, tool, you can clone pixels Stop button on the left o
wide range of options. For Photoshop leaves some stray from a sampled area and Gradient bar. Now move
instance, you can skew the pixels unselected. To select apply them to an area need - cursor outside the Grad
cropped image by selecting these, under Select > Modify > ing correction. However, it Editor, onto your image
Perspective in the Options bar. Smooth, enter a sample radius does not take care of the click on the first colour
You can even resize the of 1 pixel and click OK. shadows and highlights of
cropped image by expanding the flawed area. The new
the cropping edges beyond the Making a dull image Healing Brush tool in Photo -
brighter and sharper shop 7 clones by using the
Need to make a low-resolu- texture from the sampled
tion image sharper and area and then using the
brighter? Duplicate the layer colours around the brush
which has your image and stroke as you paint over the
under the Filter menu, flaw. You can sample and The original photograph
choose Filter > Other > High heal between two images but
Pass. In the example shown you need to make sure they
The Perspective option lets you here, the radius is set to 2 are in the same mode.
skew cropped images (choose the radius according The Patch tool is similar
to the resolution of the to the Healing Brush but
image size. Use the [Alt] key to image). Now in the Layer’s instead of painting with brush
maintain the centre and the palette, choose the Hard strokes, you select the flawed
borders when you click and Light option under Blend area and apply the patch to it.
drag the mouse. Use [Shift] to Modes. You could further It can be useful for selecting The gradient created from t
maintain the proportions. flatten the image by choosing larger flawed areas. photograph

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insight ■
■ tips and tricks

you want in your gradient. erases back to how the mouse away from the text, it
Your Color Stop will take on image looked originally. changes into the Move tool.
this colour. Add another You can now move the Type
Color Stop by clicking just to Changing colour and in the Edit mode too. The
the right of your first stop luminosity effects moment you bring the
under the Gradient bar. Open your RGB image and mouse nearer to the text, the
Again, move outside the make a copy of it. Now press cursor blinks again and you
Gradient Editor into your can edit the text again. Get your curve to look like this
image and sample the next
colour. Keep adding stops You [Enter] only once
and sampling colours until In the edit mode, when you
you have the required gradi- press [Enter], the cursor goes
ent effect. Give the gradient to a new line. When you fin-
a name in the Name field ish editing, press [Enter] on
and click on the New button the Numeric keypad. This
to add this to the Gradient You can will finish the editing task
picker so that you can access add cool and the cursor will turn into ‘Steel’ made of metal and chrome
it easily. effects by a Move tool.
changing Go on to the Channels
Erasing back to your the image Metal and chrome palette and click on Alpha 1.
original image luminosity effect Next, under Filter > Blur >
When editing an image, to Open a new document in Gaussian Blur, enter 1 pixel.
revert to an earlier stage, [Ctrl] + [I] to invert your RGB mode and type in Steel . Select the background layer
select the Eraser tool image in the new layer. Go to Hold down the [Ctrl] key and and under Filter > Render >
(instead of File > Revert , the Layers palette and change click on your Type layer in Lightning Effects, go to Texture
which will revert to the orig - the blend mode from Normal the Layers palette to put a Channel and choose Alpha
inal image). Press down [Alt] to Difference in the inverted selection around your text. 1; click OK.
and start erasing the areas layer mode. Now make a copy Now under the Select menu, Now press [Ctrl] + [A],

92 you don’t want to keep.

Usually the Eraser tool eras -
of the original background
layer and place it above the
choose Save Selection. Press
[Ctrl] + [D] to deselect and
[Shift] + [Ctrl] + [J] to put this
entire image on its own layer.
es the image, but when you inverted layer. Finally, change then delete the Type Layer. Under Image > Adjust
hold down the [Alt] key, it the layer blend mode from ments, choose Curves, create a
acts like a history eraser and Normal to Luminosity. curve like the one shown
above, by clicking on the
lower left hand side of the
TEXT EFFECTS curve and dragging
Some shortcuts and effects that will make upwards. Release the mouse
button and then click on the
your text stand out
right hand side and drag
Kerning text the leading changes by 10 This is the text without the effect down to give it a chrome
The kerning effect is used to points. To increase or decrease effect. Once you get a curve
crunch or expand words while the font size, press [Shift] + similar to the one in the fig
retaining even spacing [Ctrl] + [>] or [<]. ure, click OK. Now choose
between letters. Just select the Load Selection from the
word you want to kern and Moving Type in Edit Select menu. Make sure
press [Ctrl] + [Alt] + left/right mode Alpha 1 is selected under the
arrow. This will increase or Haven’t you always wished Channel popup. From the
decrease the spacing by 100 to be able to move the text to Select menu, choose Modify >
points. On pressing the [Ctrl] its proper position while you The Lightning Effects dialog box Expand. Here you need to
+ [Alt] + up/down arrow key, edit? As soon as you take the with the angle setting for the light evaluate how many pixels to

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put in so that it will select all deselect. Add a soft drop Applying the same style Bevel and Emboss to a la
of the text. We’ve put in 3 shadow by choosing Drop across layers everything you do on
pixels as the value. Press Shadow from the Layer You have a style which you layer will have this e
[Shift] + [Ctrl] + [I] and press Style. That completes the want to apply to all the layers applied to it. If you wan
[Delete]. Press [Ctrl] + [D] to metallic effect. but the thought of doing the avoid this, create a
tedious action is bugging blank layer by clicking
WORKING WITH LAYERS you? Simply link all the lay- the New Layer icon,
ers to which you want to drag this new layer ben
Managing layers more efficiently
apply the same style. Then your Bevel and Emboss la
Grouping: an excellent previous or next Blend under the Layer menu, go to Click on your Bevel
bridge mode. Layer Style and choose Copy Emboss layer and press [
Grouping layers essentially lets Layer Style. Go back to the + [E] to merge it with
you move one object within Organising related layers Layer menu and choose Paste blank layer directly ben
another. Press [Alt] and in the If you need to work on sever- Layer Style to Linked, and it. This will remove
Layers palette, click between al layers simultaneously, you your copied style(s) will active effect from the l
can keep them in sync by instantly be applied to all the so it no longer appl
clicking the ‘Create a new set’ linked layers. Bevel and Emboss to
button in the Layers palatte new things on that laye
and dragging and dropping Selecting a letter after
the related layers in Set Layer. the Type layer has been Creating your own
Else, you can link the layers— rasterised styles
hold down the [Alt] key and To do this, just make a loose If you have created that
from the Layer palette’s drop- selection using the Lasso terpiece of art and wan
The two objects before grouping down menu, choose New Set tool around the letter. Hold use it in your future proj
From Linked. down the [Ctrl] key and you can do so by saving
You can also keep related press the Up Arrow key once a Style.
data in a more accessible for- Open the Layer Style
mat by pressing [Alt] and log box (double-click on
double-clicking on the layer.
In the Layer Properties dialog
box, choose a colour and
click OK. This will colour the
The two objects after grouping left side of that layer in the
Layers palette and make it The selected letter can be
the layers you want to group. easier for visual identifica - tweaked as required
In the figure, first and second tion. Apply the same colour
layer are shown individually to all related layers. and then the Down Arrow Using your own styles as an
and after grouping. key once. The letter will be when you want
Moving multiple layers selected without disturbing
Rotate through the between documents anything else on the layer. effect on that layer in
Blend modes To move more than one layer Now you can play with this Layers palette) and clic
It is a test of your patience at a time from one document letter as it is now a ‘floating the New Style button. A
when you try to get the right to another, link your layers selection’. Style dialog box will ap
effects in the layer Blend and make sure you drag your where you can name
modes because you have to layer from within the docu - Preventing Layer styles style. To apply this styl
go back to the Blend mode ment itself rather than drag- from affecting your new to the Window menu
drop down menu every ging from the Layers palette. If work choose Show Styles.
time. There’s a simpler way you drag it from the Layers Layer styles apply to all the style you just created
to do this: simply press palette, you can only get one elements in the layer. For appear as the last style in
[Shift] + [–] or [+] to go to the layer at a time. example, if you apply a palette.

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insight ■
■ tips and tricks

WEB GRAPHICS
Smart ways to get sharp, yet small images for Portable Network Graphics (PNG)
use on the Web PNG was originally designed they contain more colours and
Reducing file size for Web and slice it too by using to replace the popular Gif for- don’t compress like JPEG. The
Web images layer-based slices. If you cre - mat. It supports 24 and 48 bit biggest disadvantage is that
To save images for the Web, ate a layer-based slice, when images, while gif supports only they are not supported entirely
preferably save them as you move the layer, Photo - 8 bit. PNG also supports RGB, by the browser world. Though
transparent images so that shop will automatically Grayscale and Indexed colour they are natively supported by
they take up less space. Go to adjust all the slices to accom- image modes as well as vary- Microsoft Internet Explorer
the Layers palette and simply modate your move and it ing levels of transparency, for and Netscape Navigator, their
delete the Background layer. will also create a new slice example, soft drop shadows, 32–bit RGB transparency is not
This leaves only transparent layer for your layer. From the which are not supported by supported by Windows Inter
layers above it. Now when Layer menu, choose New GIF and JPEG. The downside is net Explorer. So they are ideal
you click on Save for web, Layer Based Slice in case of that in PNG files, the colour ly suited only for small images
the checkbox for Trans- changes in the layer. Also, if images are often larger than in such as buttons and thumb
parency is no longer grayed you let Photoshop do the GIF or JPEG images because nails with details.
out. slicing, you don’t have to
drag out slices—Photoshop
Clean Type for the Web does the slicing exactly at the selection border gets for mobile devices such as
For use on the Web, a type the size of your layer. annoying, press [Ctrl] + [H]. cell phones and PDAs. This
size below 12 points The new Slice options in By doing this, your selection format supports only 1-bit
becomes blurry. To maintain Photoshop 7 allow you to remains but the marching colour, that is, either the
the visibility, do not reduce link and unlink your slices. ants disappear. This com- pixel is black or white. You
the type size further. Instead, Linking the slices allows mand is known as ‘Show can use masks from Type lay
increase the positive tracking them to share the same Extras’. ers, Shape layers and alpha
and try to keep the tracking colour palette and dithering channels to vary the Dither
anywhere between 20 to 50 options, which prevents vis - Using the WBMP percentage across an image.

94 points. This will not only

keep the size small, but will
ible seams that occur
between the lines due to
format
Photoshop 7 supports a new
This technique produces
higher-quality results in crit
also maintain the visibility changes. file format called WBMP. ical image areas without sac
of the type. This is designed specifically rificing file size.
Get rid of those annoy -
Trim for the Web ing marching ants
Another way to keep file There are times when the FILTERS
sizes small is to use the Trim selected portion in an image
Filters can give you some amazing effects,
function from the Image shows annoying lines called
menu. It will crop your Web selection border, popularly provided you know how to use them correctly
graphic as tightly as possible known as ‘marching ants’. If Straighten those
for the smallest possible file jagged Lasso tool selec-
size. It does this by looking tions
at the pixel colour in the Can a Lasso tool give a
upper left hand corner of smooth selection? Draw the
your image and it keeps area you want to use as your
cropping down until it hits selection and press [q] to Getting smooth selection edges
another colour. enter Quick Mask mode
(your selection will now be you raise the radius of the
Layer-based slices The selection still remains even surrounded by solid pink). Median filter, the edges
Photoshop can automatical- after removing the selection From the Filter menu, under smoothen out. When you
ly flatten your image for the border Noise, choose Median. As find it satisfactory, press [q]

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again to return to Standard a copy of your existing maker, highlight the portion hold 20 patterns in its h
mode. light. of the image you want to use ry, so you can always
in the pattern and click on back and play around
Placing lens flares Extract and Liquify the Generate button. A ran - the controls. You can
The location of the lens commands in Photoshop 7 dom pattern is made from trol the size and layou
flare centre can be con- In Photoshop 7, the Extract your selection, which will be the pattern tiles too. Fin
trolled precisely. Go to the and Liquify commands tiled to cover the whole can- when you get the patter
Info palette and click on the have been shifted from the vas. If you don’t like the your choice, click the
cross hair in the lower left Image menu to the Filter result, simply generate it icon to save it as a pat
hand side of the palette. In again. Pattern Maker can preset.
the screen for measurement
values, insert values in pix - SPECIAL EFFECTS
els or inches. Place your
Make your design work stand out
cursor over the exact spot
where you want the lens in the crowd
flare to appear. If you look Creating a motion
in the Info palette, you will effect
see the exact position in The Liquify filter in Photoshop 7 This is a simple example to
inches. Note this value and has many options show the motion effect of a
go to the Lens Flare dialog moving vehicle. As shown
box; press [Alt] and click menu. The enhanced in the image, select one
in the Lens Flare preview Liquify filter gives you wheel with the help of the
window. greater control over image Elliptical Marquee tool. Press The effect seen on the imag
In the Precise Flare Cen - warping with zoom, pan [Shift] to get a circular selec - after moving the image in t
ter dialog box, enter the X and multiple undo. You can tion. From the Filter menu, opposite direction and reduc
and Y coordinates that you also save your meshes, choose Blur > Radial Blur and the opacity to 50%
have noted. Click OK and which lets you return to an enter the number of pixels
you will see the lens flare image after experimenting as 50 (select the pixels
right where you wanted it. with the Liquify tools and according to the file size).
start where you left off. You Now repeat this process with
Working with the can even apply the same the other wheel. Next, select
Lightning Effect filter mesh to different images or the car using the Polygonal
Here are a few things you experiment on a low-resolu - Lasso tool and use Filters >
must remember when using tion image before applying Blur > Motion Blur with a value
this filter. the mesh to a high-resolu - of 50 pixels. Copy and paste The car in rapid motion
■ Press [Tab] to jump from tion version. Create effects this layer by using [Ctrl] +
one light to another. such as smoke or fire with [C] and [Ctrl] + [V]. Select motion. Reduce the opa
■ You can create your own the new Turbulence brush. the Move tool and move the to 50 per cent. Make a c
styles (presets) by configur - You can also use the new replicated image in the of this layer and drag
ing the Lightning Effects backdrop option to view direction opposite to the image further behind in
and clicking on the Save individual layers or a flat- opposite direction
button at the top of the dia - tened version of the file so reduce the opacity to 25
log box, just below Style. that you can see your dis- cent.
■ To delete a light, simply tortions in context as you
click on it and press [Back - create them. Reflection in water
space]. The Pattern Maker has effect
■ To add another light, click been introduced in version Here is a special effect
and drag the Light icon into 7, which is also located will create the reflectio
the preview, or hold the under the Filter menu. In Radial selection of the wheel in water effect for an ob
[Alt] key and click and drag order to use the Pattern the image of a stationary car Take the Lasso tool

117 DECEMBER 2
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insight ■
■ tips and tricks

select the objects in the

image. Copy and paste the
Must-know Shortcuts
Fill selection with foreground colour . . . . . . . . .[Alt] + [Backspace]
selection using [Ctrl] + [C]
Fill selection with background colour . . . . . . .[Ctrl] + [Backspace]
and [Ctrl] + [V]—this cre -
Display Fill dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Shift] + [Backspace]
ates another layer. In the
Free transform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Ctrl] + [T]
Transform again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Ctrl] + [Shift] + [T]
Increase brush size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The plain text without any Decrease brush size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
effects New layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Ctrl] + [Shift] + [N]
Cut selection to a new layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Ctrl] + [Shift] + [J]
Clone selection to a new layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Ctrl] + [J]
Scroll image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Spacebar] + drag with the mouse
Scroll left or right . . . . . . . . . . . .[Ctrl] + [Page up] or [Page down]
The original image Cancel operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Esc] or [Ctrl] + [.]
Close image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Ctrl] + [W]
Save Image for Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Shift] + [S]
Brushes palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[F5]
The text when rotated by 90 Color palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[F6]
Layers palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[F7]
degrees CW
Info palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[F8]
Actions palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[F9]
Just palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Shift] + [Tab]
All palettes, status bar, options bar and toolbox . . . . . . . . . . .[Tab]
Align the vertically flipped image
View rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[Ctrl] + [R]
with the base of the original

degrees CW. From the Filter Image menu and under

menu, choose Stylize > Wind. Mode, choose RGB.
The ‘flaming’ effect on the text In the Wind dialog box, Switch to the duplicate

96 mode with the background

make sure your chosen
method is Wind and that
of the text layer. Once
again, go to the Layer menu
layer kept black and the your direction is From the and choose Duplicate Layer.
foreground layer white. Now Left. Press [Ctrl] + [F] to run In the dialog box, change
The final image showing the create your type and ras- the same filter again with your destination to the
reflection in the water terise the type using Layer > the same settings. name of your main docu
Rasterize > Type. Create a copy Now go under the Image ment (the one in which
new layer, press [Ctrl] + [T] of the layer by going under menu, under Rotate Canvas, you’ve applied the effects).
to bring in Free Transform the Layer menu and choos- choose 90 degrees CCW. The text layer will appear in
selections. Right-click and ing Duplicate Layer. In the Choose Filter > Stylize > exactly the same position as
select Flip Vertical from the dialog box that appears, Diffuse and make sure it is set it was, before the duplica
options. Bring down this change the destination to to Normal mode. Again tion.
flipped image by keeping New. This will duplicate choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Finally, press [d] to set
the [Shift] key pressed and your text layer to a new doc- Blur and enter 2 pixels. your foreground colour to
dragging it. Now scale the ument. Now go under the Image black and then press [Shift]
image to a lesser width and Go back to your origi- menu and under Mode + [Alt] + [Backspace] to fill
decrease its opacity. nal document and merge option, choose Indexed your text with black. Lastly,
your text layer with the Color. Go back to the Image go to Filter > Distort and
The flame effect background layer by press- menu and under Mode, choose Ripple. Choose 27
In order to get the flame ing [Ctrl] + [E]. Under the choose Color Table and for amount, and choose
effect on text, open a new Image menu, choose Rotate Black Body in the Table Large for size. Click OK to
image in the Greyscale Canvas and choose 90 popup menu. Go to the complete the effect.

118 DECEMBER 2002

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arcade ■
■ tactics

Unreal Tournament 2003

much more; follow this guide and exercise your right to frag!

Under the HUD

Adrenaline
Rank/Spread Shows how much
The first number indi- adrenaline you hav
cates your position in the
current competition, the
second tells you the
number of participants.
The Spread is how many
places behind the leader
you currently are

Ammo Indicator
Shows the amount
Health Indicates your ammunition the ac
health points weapon contains

The Cheats of the Trade

The tools of the trade
Press [Tab] key to bring down the con- BioRifle ondary fire
sole and then type: The BioRifle is an excellent defence and shoots out a
retreat weapon—shoot where your oppo- slow-moving
- Makes you invulnerable nents are likely plasma ball
ghost - Lets you walk through to walk and use that can cause
walls
its bio sludge as major damage.
loaded - Gives you all weapons
allammo - Gives you infinite
a mine. A few The balls are
ammunition for your good shots more useful in close combat. The ta
weapons from this gun master with this gun is shooting the
skipmatch - Lets you win the are good ma balls with the primary fire of th
current match enough to kill that is the laser. This combination r
behindview 1 - Changes to a third anybody. The secondary fire charges up in a huge and deadly explosion th
person view (0 will turn the sludge and a maximum fill is enough clear multiple targets.
it off) for a one-shot kill. Ensure that you are not
invisible 1 - Makes you invisible
too close to the opponent to avoid splash Link Gun
(0 will turn it off)
damage. The weapon should be used to The gun spews green balls at a d
amphibious - Lets you breathe
underwater
booby-paint surfaces such as walls and speed that are pretty accurate and
stat fps - Displays the FPS rate floors of your base, while guarding a flag. a healthy dis-
stat net - Displays the network tance. The sec-
status Shock Rifle ondary fire is
stat all - Displays various The Shock Rifle shoots a laser beam that where the gun
statistics covers great distances accurately. Keep shines, firing a
mental track of the charge-up time taken steady stream
by the weapon between shots. The sec- which is more

132 DECEMBER
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accurate and easier to control, albeit not grenade that does an awesome amount of Double Jump: An excellent techniq
as damaging. Keep a close eye on the damage—it can be a one-shot killer when get on to ledges and high nooks, a
ammunition while in this mode. The used accurately. The secondary mode for effective as an escape move when s
secondary fire reveals the true power of long distance firings and the primary rounded. To execute a double jump
this weapon: during team matches, the mode for short distance shootings is how jump once and when at the peak, p
guns can be linked together with devas- the Cannon likes to be used. the jump key once more to gain m
tating effect. A teammate can fire a beam Backward Leap: This leap can be
onto another carrying a Link Gun and Rocket Launcher to quickly retreat to a safe spot. A
when the second member secondary- The Rocket Launcher shoots a single, invaluable if you have a long-rang
fires his weapon, his beam will cause straight rocket weapon in hand and are being ch
twice the damage. that travels at by someone equipped with a clos
a good speed ranged weapon. Double-tap on th
Minigun and has a large back button to perform the leap.
This is the bread and butter gun of blast radius. Strafe Leap: Rockets can be a rea
UT2003. Its rapid-fire action ensures that Always aim at in UT2003, ditto the Shock Rifle a
you need not your oppo- the Link Gun. The key to reducin
be a good shot nent's feet to ache is dodging—double-tap the
to get a kill. It maximise the effect of the splash damage. keys to perform this miracle in eit
is the ideal Also try to lead the foe a bit with the rock- direction.
weapon to et: predict where your target is likely to be Elevator Leap: Use the elevators t
harass some- and then aim your shot on that spot. extra air. While on an elevator, if y
one with at Hold the secondary-fire button to load up jump as it stops, inertia will impart
long dis- to three rockets that shoot simultaneous- jump a significant boost. The eleva
tances—it’s more effective than the ly—a good strategy to cover a large area, leap is particularly good in combin
Assault Rifle at slowly eating away at although accuracy thus decreases. You with the double jump.
armour and health. The secondary mode can lock on to a target by tracking it with
takes a longer spin-up time to fire shots the aiming cursor of the Launcher for a your position, so those fine campin
that cause greater damage, at a higher rate few seconds. Rockets fired post-lock will are numbered. The secondary fire le
of fire. You can safely stick to this mode home in on their target. Finally, hold sec- zoom in and frag someone. Headsho
as long as you keep an eye on the ammu- ondary fire to load multiple and then a breeze in this mode and the gun
nition. immediately press the primary fire but- becomes a great defender of flag
ton, followed by releasing both the but- domination points.
Flak Cannon tons simultaneously—the Launcher will
This gun is mighty powerful. The primary fire swarming missiles. Ion Cannon
mode fires off The primary fire of this gun is us
a diverging Lightning Gun paint a target area, whereupon an o
array of hot This is the sniper gun of UT2003. The pri- satellite anni-
flaks that are mary fire shoots lightning bolts that are hilates the
extremely one-shot killers if on target but the tagged area.
effective at recharging Paint enemy
close range. time between areas for maxi-
These shots shots is quite mum effect.
can be bounced off walls and around cor- long. Also note The secondary
ners, thus making this gun an ideal one to that the blue fire lets you
possess while retreating to a safe spot. The arc is a dead zoom, very much like the Lightning
secondary mode fires off a single flak give away of
Redeemer
The primary fire shoots a nuclear
The Moves of the Trade head that causes insane damage
good nuke
When you get 100 adrenaline points, you can perform a special move for a set amount of
should. Note
time. To increase the adrenaline points, gather the pills strewn around a level or bag more
kills. that the mis-
sile can be shot
Key combination Move What the move does down, where-
Forward, Forward, Berserk It increases your attack speed by about 40 per upon it harm-
Back, Back cent lessly blows
Back, Back, Back, Back Invisibility You turn invisible up.
Left, Left, Right, Right Regeneration You regenerate health points and shield points The secondary mode lets you
Forward, Forward, For- Speed Booster Movement speed and jump height are the missile to its destination, such
ward, Forward doubled enemy base.
AHMED

133 DECEMBER