============================================================ -------- INSIDE PCMAG.COM -------- -------- for October 13, 2004 -------- ============================================================
============================================================ ********** Sponsored by MPC ********** THE LATEST LOOK: Are you looking for something new in a desktop PC? You'll like what you see in MPC's new ClientPro(r) 414 All-in-One(tm). It sports an attractive, space-saving design--and delivers on power and performance, too! Great configurations start at just $1799. Look into it now at: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110804-1 ************************************************************ ============================================================ Welcome to today's edition of Inside PCMag.com. Laptops get lighter every day (we just reported on a 2.7-pound Sharp), but is weight always the most important consideration when buying a portable? We thought we'd take a little informal survey to see which models and what weights you're carrying. Let's commence The Great Laptop Weigh-In in our forums. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110807-1 IN THIS ISSUE: * Dvorak Online: Good Riddance Spyware, So Long Cookies! * Review: MSN TV--Round 2 * Review: A First-Class Audio Microsystem * Review Roundup: Killer Graphics Cards * Special Report: Your Digital Home, Phase 2 * Review Roundup: Apple's Finest Fruit * Solutions: Hack Your Gadgets ============================================================ Dvorak Online: Good Riddance Spyware, So Long Cookies! Columnist John C. Dvorak is ecstatic. The House has passed an antispyware act that takes control out of the hands of the tech industry. Why is this good? Dvorak says the industry is incapable of policing itself. Of course, Dvorak can't be happy without shooting his invective like buckshot. He takes on spyware, cookies and even the iPod. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110810-1 ============================================================ Review: MSN TV--Round 2 We all know people who used WebTV, and even some who have continued using it after it was transformed into MSN TV. The set-top device has been providing dial-up internet access to televisions across the U.S. for years. Now MSN TV 2 is poised to take the service with the slightly stodgy image into a new realm. Adding broadband readiness and media-hub capabilities, Microsoft hopes to keep this box atop Grandma's television for years to come. But has the device reached an impassible crossroad? Is it now too difficult for Grandma to use, yet still too outre for the tech-savvy? We have the details and review results in our report. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110813-1 ============================================================ Review: A First-Class Audio Microsystem When the boom box grows up, it'll probably want to be something like the new Philips Streamium MC-i250. This portable music player not only handles boom box duties, it adds connectivity features like the ability to play Internet radio stations and stream music, wirelessly, from your PC out through the unit's formidable speakers. The portable is sexy and worth virtually every penny. Learn more in our full review. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110816-1 ============================================================ Review Roundup: Killer Graphics Cards Graphics cards have gotten so powerful that, for some time now, it's been a rare computer game that could take advantage of their high-resolution, 3D, rich-color prowess. Now the top-tier games are catching up, which means that it's time to take another look at the GPU inside your system to decide if it's up to the task of the latest Doom. No? Then take a look at our review of nine of the leading graphic cards from ATI, nVidia, Leadtek, PNY, VisionTek, and others. They're not cheap ($400 to $500) but let's face it, sometimes you have to pay for a really good time. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110819-1 ============================================================ Special Report: Your Digital Home, Phase 2 Here's the next step in building your digital dream house from the ground up. It's all about tying together audio and video and delivering it throughout home sweet home. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110822-1 ============================================================ Review Roundup: Apple's Finest Fruit So Apple's stock took a little hit this weekend because the fortunes of products like the iPod might have been a bit overrated. We think that people may have forgotten to take a close look at the best this company has to offer. Apple's products tend to be consistently designed and excellent performers. In some areas, they're even market leaders. Is it time to re-evaluate Apple again? Read our collected Apple reviews and you decide. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110825-1 ============================================================ Solutions: Hack Your Gadgets Ready to take your tech toys to the next level? We have the details on how to re-invent everything from your TiVo and Microsoft Xbox to the cute Roomba robo-vac. It's crazy fun. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110828-1 ============================================================ Contest: Win the Ultimate Workbench Our daddies always told us, "the right tool for the right job." Of course if you don't have any tools or a place to work with them, you're out of luck. Our sister site Syncmag.com is ready to come to the rescue. It's offering tool-starved site visitors a chance to win a workbench and all the tools to go with it (including an X-Shop workbench, Milwaukee 10 Amp Sawzall, Craftsman 19.2 Volt Cordless Drill-Driver, work light and more). Check out the site and the contest. Remember, you've got to be in it, to win it. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110939-1 ============================================================ The PCMag.com Bookstore PC Magazine's Windows XP Solutions Ever wish they'd consulted you before they designed Windows XP? Sure, it's a great system, but there's this one feature that makes you crazy. Or that annoying problem that keeps occurring. Well, you can rely on Neil Randall and your friends at PC Magazine to correct that oversight. Here's the complete compendium of solutions to the things that bug you, threaten your security, slow you down, or other-wise prevent Windows XP from running like it should. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110831-1 PC Magazine Guide to Home Networking Ready to plunge into creating your own home network? Reading this book is like having PC Magazine contributing editor Les Freed drop by and set the whole thing up for you. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110834-1 More Books http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110837-1 ============================================================ Tech Jobs http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110840-1 ============================================================ Ziff Davis Channel Zone http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110843-1 ============================================================ DevSource http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110846-1 ============================================================ Free White Paper Downloads Brought to you by HP ============================================================ Click on a link below to download one of the following FREE White Papers: Small Business Puts Data Migration Tools to Work http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110849-1 Tips and Tricks for Optimizing Microsoft Windows Server 2003 on ProLiant Servers http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110849-1 Implementing Microsoft Windows Server 2003 on ProLiant Servers http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110849-1 ============================================================ Upcoming Events ============================================================ Test Drive the Latest Personal Technology! Come to DigitalLife, Oct. 14-17, Javits Convention Center, NYC. Test drive and compare today's hottest cell phones, digital cameras, flat screen TVs, PDAs, video games, PCs and laptops, MP3s, home networking solutions and more. Get coupons and win prizes. For 50% off tickets go to www.digitallife.com. Enter promo code ZDM2004 at checkout. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110852-1 ============================================================ 10/13 Getting Ready for Grid: Tapping the Juice In Underused Servers FREE eSeminar! Not until the recent introduction of 10g technology has grid computing's usability and manageability been made so streamlined and user-friendly that it is accessible to commercial enterprises. Grid computing is promising to deliver the ability to tie low-cost, commodity hardware together so as to utilize currently underused enterprise resources. Join this eSeminar with Lisa Vaas, associated editor and Database Center manager at eWEEK.com, and a panel of database experts as they discuss the what, why and how of grid computing. Register now. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110855-1 ============================================================ Elsewhere on Ziff Davis Internet ============================================================ DigitalLife: "Fashion Week" for Geeks Kicks Off http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110858-1 Worm Hits MSN Messenger as Service Falters http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110861-1 Media Center Edition 2005 Arrives! http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110864-1 A Very Good Midrange Pocket PC http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110867-1 ============================================================ eNewsletter Information ============================================================ You are subscribed to Inside PCMag.com with the e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe to this newsletter, click below: http://www.pcmag.com/unsubscribe_newsletter/0,4223,,00.asp?n=01&type=u&[EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your e-mail address, change your text/HTML preferences, or to subscribe to other FREE PC Magazine Online e-mail newsletters, visit: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110870-1 If you'd like to advertise in our eNewsletters, visit: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110873-1 ============================================================ PC Magazine Print Subscriptions ============================================================ Start or Renew a subscription: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110876-1 Give a gift subscription: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110879-1 Help with your subscription: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1178-1-1-371668-110882-1 Copyright (c) 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. 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