PC Magazine Tips and Solutions
Quick tips and step by step guides for getting the most out of your system and software.
• Program Your Own Keyboard Shortcuts
We'll show you how to save time, keystrokes, and mouseclicks by making your own customized shortcuts.
• Thwarting Identity Theft
Identity theft has been a federal offense since 1998. But are we getting any better at dealing with it? Actually, we are.
• Install an Ancient Printer in Vista
How to make an older printer run with Vista.
• Vista Folders Always Start at 800-by-600
What to do if Vista's stuck you with 800-by-600 windows.
• Can't Enter Dates in Excel
• Create Floating Definitions in Word
PC Magazine Office Tips and Solutions
Useful tips covering all Microsoft Office applications.
• Program Your Own Keyboard Shortcuts
We'll show you how to save time, keystrokes, and mouseclicks by making your own customized shortcuts.
• Can't Update?
A repair/reinstall of Windows XP can be the last resort when you've got a really persistent problem.
• Those Colors Clash
Excel 2007 handles colors differently than Excel 2003 does.
• That Ringtone Sucks!
Make sure to find out how to silence your phone quickly.
• Share Your AutoText Entries
If you use AutoText to save time retyping the same phrases or even entire messages in Microsoft Word or Outlook, you may be interested in saving even more time by transferring your AutoText settings between the programs—or to other PCs.
• How Is Printer Ink Like Milk?
The expiration dates on ink cartridges are not a scam.
CNET Reviews - Most Recent Desktops
CNET Desktops Reviews are the most comprehensive resource for unbiased personal technology advice.
• Gateway DX4200-UB001A
We can forgive Gateway for cramming the DX4200 with more memory than it needs simply because its specs and overall performance are the best in its price class. Of the various do-it-all lower midrange PCs out there, this one gets our nod.
• Apple iMac (20-inch, 2.4GHz)
Apple's smaller-scale iMac remains our favorite all-in-one. And while its looks, its ease of use, and its performance are all selling points, Windows PCs are starting to catch up (at least with the latter). A few components could also stand an update, but in general you'll find the 20-inch iMac a remarkable computer for its price.
• Gateway FX4710
The Gateway FX4710 provides enough performance to get you through most of today's games and multimedia software, but the ahead-of-its time memory is wasted on current applications. You can make your PC dollar go further today on a desktop with a more balanced configuration.
• HP Pavilion Slimline S3330f
The HP Pavilion Slimline S3330f delivers a remarkable combination of features, value, and flexibility. It excels as both a traditional desktop, and a full-fledged living room PC, complete with a Blu-ray and HD DVD drive. Any nongamer in the market for a sub-$1,000 PC should put this system at the top of their list.
• Dell Inspiron 530
PC vendors have very few tricks remaining to differentiate their systems from the competition, which makes the built-in Bluetooth in the Dell Inspiron 530 unique. There's little else that makes this system stand out, but if you need Bluetooth in your budget desktop, we can recommend no other.
• Dell Studio Hybrid
If you're considering all of the computers in the $700 to $1,000 price range, the Dell Studio Hybrid is not very compelling. However, if you limit yourself to the very specific niche of small PCs, you'll appreciate this system's clever design and its relatively powerful hardware.
The Register - Personal: PCs
Biting the hand that feeds IT
• Acer to integrate 3G into notebooks
HSDPA too, for even faster downloads
Acer is to embed 3G mobile-phone technology into its future notebook PC products, kicking off with a pair of Centrino Duo-based machines, the company said this week.…
• ATI R580 GPU benchmarked
Sample graphics board leaks out
ATI's R580 graphics chip will appear in three Radeon X1900 configurations: the XT, the XTX and a CrossFire Edition.…
• AMD looks to quintuple CPU cache capacity
Capacitorless memory could be the key
AMD has licensed a memory chip technology that could allow it to increase its processors' cache sizes fivefold without changing the size of each chip's die.…
• Laptops continue to drive PC shipments
Europe out-ships US
Worldwide PC shipments rose by 17.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2005 to 61.1m, according to new figures released by IDC.…
• Dell offers dual-core desktop replacement rig
Monster Core Duo-equipped Inspiron 9400 goes on sale
Dell has unveiled its first Core Duo-based notebook, the Inspiron 9400. The 17in-widescreen monster is a Centrino-branded machine, and ships with either a 1.83GHz Core Duo T2400 CPU or a 1.67GHz Core Solo T1300 chip. Upgrades to the Core Duo T2300, T2500 and T2600 processors are available on a build-to-order basis.…
• Third XP Service Pack slips to boost Vista sales tools
Delayer becomes delayee
Microsoft is planning its third Windows XP Service Pack (SP) for release in 2007, three years after the last SP, in order to concentrate engineering resources on Windows Vista.…
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The Register - Comms: Networks
Biting the hand that feeds IT
• Google stretching underwater comms cable?
To Guam and beyond
It looks like Google is prepping another underwater comms cable.…
• US utilities plot remote switch off
I'm sorry Dave, I can't turn that kettle on
HomePlug, the networking standard for sending data over mains wires, is to implement ZigBee's Smart Energy protocol, allowing utilities to reach out and the thermostat turn down, or up, when power is short.…
• Mobile broadband: What's it for?
Don't ask the operators
In the next few weeks (hint: CTIA is in three weeks) I'm expecting mobile operators to be offered a new tool, which will allow them to work out what on earth their mobile broadband customers are doing.…
• BBC iPlayer upgrade prompts new ISP complaints
High definition network freezes out the little guy
The BBC is facing more criticism that the way it delivers iPlayer traffic will make it harder for smaller ISPs to survive.…
• FCC pelts Comcast with rotten veg
Order, order
Having put the company in the stocks two weeks ago, the FCC heaped a load of rotten vegetables over US cable giant Comcast yesterday.…
• Watchdog hits 070 swindlers with big fine
'Hello, hello, can you hear me? Give me £200,000'
Regulators today signalled a crackdown on scammers who use 070 numbers to con people into calling premium lines in the belief they will be charged at the normal mobile rate.…
