Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Top DVD Recorder – Philips DVDR3455H 160GB Hard Disk/DVD Recorder

Are you still using a VCR? Well, it may be time to switch to a DVD recorder – the perfect Christmas gift for yourself or your family. The benefits of DVD recorders are obvious. Some DVD only recorders have dropped to NZ$300 (approx) recently. Today, I’ll introduce you to a good as well as affordable option – the Philips DVDR3455H 160GB Hard Disk/DVD Recorder.

Firstly, the Philips DVDR3455H has a very stylish, sleek and super-low-profile looking. Its 160GB hard drive will let you record more than 250 hours of TV, and you can also pause the live TV and take a break. The recording quality and the remote control are great.

However, not all good - it does lack some features, such as the commercial-skip function (which usually jumps 29 or 59 seconds) and the ability of simultaneously recording one program while playing back previously recorded materials. Although it can archive from hard disk to DVD, it cannot copy video from the DVD to hard disk.

Overall, the Philips DVDR3455H 160GB Hard Disk/DVD Recorder is a stylish and ease-of-use basic DVD hard drive recorder.

For more information and pricing, please click the link - Philips DVDR3455H 160GB Hard Disk/DVD Recorder

Who are the biggest server vendors for Q3, 2006?

According to Gartner, the worldwide server sales grew by 4.4% to US$13 billion in Q3, 2006, and they’re still growing, although not quite as much as last year. Because of the virtualisation technology, people don’t have a need to buy as many servers as they used to.

IBM was still the market leader with 33.7% market share and $4.3 billion revenue. HP followed with 25.3% market share in revenue $3.2 billion. Dell ranked third with 10.8% market share and $1.4 billion revenue. Sun Microsystems ranked fourth with 10.1% market share and $1.3 billion revenue. Fujitsu Computer Systems ranked fifth, with 4.9% market share and $634 million revenue. The other vendors combined for the remaining 15.3% market share and $15.3 billion revenue.

Which MP3 Player should I buy?

As Christmas is coming, some of us may be considering buying a MP3 player for ourselves and/or families/friends. There are generally three kinds of MP3 players in the market. The first category is the pure MP3 players. They’re flash memory based, small, cheap and can only play music. The memory size is often from 512MB to 2GB, such as an iPod shuffle. The second category is also flash based, but they normally have a colour screen for playing pictures and/or videos, in addition to music. The memory size is usually from 1GB to 8GB, such as iPod nano. The third category is hard drive based. They’re much bigger in terms of storage space, physical size and screen size. They normally have 30GB, 60GB or 80GB models, such as the iPod and the new Microsoft Zune.

I personally prefer the second category of MP3 players. They have small enough bodies for carrying around and colour screens for displaying pictures and/or videos when you need them. Although the storage space is not as big as the hard drive models, it’s enough for music. Each GB of memory can normally store around 13 CDs.

Apart from iPod nano etc., here’s another very popular model in this category – the Cowon iAudio F2. It can do all the jobs you want from an iPod nano, plus some other functions which the iPod nano doesn’t have.

The Cowon iAudio F2 is a super compact flash-based player, which looks like a mobile phone. It’s one fifth shorter than iPod nano (72.9 mm vs. 90 mm), but is more than twice as thick as the nano (16.7mm vs. 6.5mm). It’s slightly narrower than the iPod nano (34.8mm vs. 40mm). The F2 has a 1.3” TFT screen with resolution of 128x160, while iPod nano’s display is 1.5” (176x132) and there are nine red-backlit buttons beneath the bright and colourful screen.

The Cowon iAudio F2 supports a variety of audio files, including MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC and WAV. It also has a decent line-in, voice and FM recorder, which the iPod nano doesn’t have. Although the FM radio doesn’t have an auto scan option, the 24 presets work well and you can also schedule the player for FM recordings. For radio fans, this function will be a great bonus.

Same as the iPod nano, the Cowon iAudio F2 can play JPEG photos. Furthermore, it can also play video files up to 160x128. The iPod nano is lacking in video support. Your video clips do have to be converted using the bundled JetAudio VX software.

The battery life is 22 hours for audio playback, which is brilliant. The package includes the iAudio F2, earphone, USB 2.0 cable, line-in cable, simple USB connector, quick guide and installation CD.

Currently, there are three models of the Cowon iAudio F2 available.

• Cowon iAudio F2 – 1GB
• Cowon iAudio F2 – 2GB
• Cowon iAudio F2 – 4GB
  

Who're the Biggest Mobile Phone Makers in the World?

Do you know who the biggest mobile phone maker is in the world? Yes, you’re right - it’s Nokia. Nokia is still the No.1 cell phone manufacturer with 35.1% worldwide market share, which increased from 32.5% last year. Motorola is in second place with 20.6% market share, an increase from 18.7% a year ago. Samsung has kept its third position with 12.2% market share, but it fell from 12.5% last year.

Sony Ericsson is in 4th place. Its market share has increased from 6.7% last year to 7.7% this year. The 5th place is LG Electronics. We don’t see many LG mobile phones in New Zealand but its Chocolate series is quite popular overseas. The following one is BenQ, the biggest mobile phone maker in Taiwan. Its market share dropped to 2.4% from 4.7% last year.

In the third quarter of 2006, Nokia has sold 88.1 million units worldwide and Motorola has shipped 51.9 million units. The full-year sales forecast of the worldwide mobile phone shipment is 986 million units. The estimated demand for 2007 is 1.1 billion cell phones.

Who're the Most Popular Search Engines?

Which search engine do you use most? I use Google New Zealand more than 90% of the time but let’s have a look what the American’s are using.

According to comScore, in October 2006, Google captured 45.4% of the U.S. search market and Yahoo! kept its second place with 28.2% market share of U.S. searches. Followed by MSN (11.7%), Ask Network (5.8%) and Time Warner Network (5.4%).

According to Nielsen//Netratings, Yahoo!’s searches have increased by 30% from last year, while Google only increased by 23%. MSN/Windows Live Search fell 8% and Ask.com jumped 25%.

BTW, do you want to know what are the most popular search queries on Google in New Zealand? Here’s the result for September 2006 (Data Source: Google Zeitgeist)

1. trademe
2. steve irwin
3. nzdating
4. air new zealand
5. high school musical
6. nz herald
7. jessica alba
8. rockstar supernova
9. richard hammond
10. paris hilton
11. national bank
12. kiwibank
13. peter brock
14. crocodile hunter

PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or Wii?

It’s approaching the end of the year and some of you may be thinking of buying a new game console for yourself or your kids. However, which one should we choose - the long waited Sony PlayStation 3, the available Microsoft Xbox 360 or the new Nintendo Wii?

Sony PlayStation 3

Sony has sold over 111 million units of PlayStation 2 worldwide, so there’s no doubt that PlayStation is the most popular game console in the planet. But PlayStation 3 has taken so long to come. It has only just released for sale in Japan and U.S. and sales are very good so far. For our poor Kiwi gamers, we need to wait until March 2007.

The console will cost around NZ$1,200 when it gets here. It has very strong graphics, supporting resolutions up to 1080p, Blu-ray drive and 60GB hard drive. Will it be worth the wait and the high price tag? If you’re a serious gamer and PS fan, the answer will definitely be “yes”.

Microsoft Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 has been in the market for a while now and it may be the best option for now. The complete system costs around NZ$720, which is much cheaper compared with the soon-to-be-released PlayStation 3. It only comes with a 20GB hard drive and doesn’t have the high-definition DVD player, although you can add the HD-DVD add-on in the future. One more thing to note, PS3 will have HDMI connection, but Xbox is only using component video. The graphic quality is good though on Xbox.

Nintendo Wii

Who’s the Nintendo Wii for? It’s for people who have kids, are on a budget or not super gamers. But it could also be for those super gamers who want it as an addition to the other consoles. The graphics of Wii are not that impressive, but it has a very good price tag – NZ$500. It will be available on 7th December 2006.

The Wii feels more like a toy than a video game console and its innovative controller will give you a different gaming experience. The TV remote-like controller has motion-sensor abilities and you can swing it to play tennis games.

Another Option?

Want a great gaming experience for Christmas? You can buy an Xbox core system for NZ$550 and a Wii for NZ$500. That will cost you $1,050 in total - which is cheaper than a single PlayStation 3. Of course, you can add another PS3 next year if you have enough money left in your pocket.

Intel Launches Quad-Core Chips

Intel has released the quad-core chip family. The family includes the Xeon 5300 and Core 2 Extreme QX6700 for the server market and the gaming PC segment respectively. According to Intel, the Xeon 5300 will be 50% faster than Intel’s own Xeon 5100 chip, and the QX6700 is 80% faster than the X6800.

The quad-core Xeon 5300 CPU has four versions. The 1.60GHz E5310 (selling for US$455 - NZ$690); the 1.86GHz E5320 (selling for US$690 - NZ$1,045); the 2.33GHz E5345 (selling for US$851 - NZ$1,290) and the 2.66GHz X5355 (selling for US$1,172 - NZ$1,775). The quad-core gaming chip Core 2 Extreme QX6700 2.66GHz will cost US$999 (NZ$1,510).

Up to now, server vendors including Dell, HP and IBM have announced systems using the quad-core processors, and others including Fujitsu etc. will join the list soon. Gaming desktop manufacturers including Alienware, Dell, Gateway and Voodoo Computers etc. plan to use the QX6700.

Will the quad-core CPUs make a big impact on the performance? For servers and workstations, the answer is “yes”. However, normal desktop and notebook users won’t see a big difference between dual-core processors, unless they’re running high-end video games or editing high quality videos and photos.

Actually, there is not many application software in the market that can support multithread processing yet. Adobe’s Premiere Pro is one of the few desktop multithreaded software. We’ll also need operating systems which can support multi-core processing and Microsoft, Novell, Red Hat and Sun Microsystems are developing versions of their current operating systems so that they can utilize the full strength of the new chips.

Intel will launch two more quad-core Xeon chips and mainstream Core 2 Quad processors in the first quarter of 2007, and AMD is also planning to introduce its quad-core Opteron server chip in the middle of 2007.

Zune Officially Launched

Microsoft's MP3 player Zune officially launched today in the U.S. It's sold for US$249.99 (NZ$380) on Amazon.com.

Let's have a close look of its images (above) and features (below).

Size and Weight

• 11.2 cm. x 6.1 cm. x 1.5 cm. (h x w x d)
• Weight: 159 grams
  

Battery

• Music, up to 14 hours (wireless off), up to 13 hours (wireless on); pictures, up to 4 hours; video, up to 4 hours
• Charge Time: 3 hours; 2 hours to 90%

Display

• Size: 3.0 inches
• Orientation: Vertical and Horizontal
• Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels

Audio

• Windows Media® Audio Standard (.wma): Up to 320 Kbps, CBR and VBR, up to 48-kHz sample rate
• MP3 (.mp3): Up to 320 Kbps, CBR and VBR, up to 48-kHz sample rate
• AAC (.mp4, .m4a, .m4b, .mov): Up to 320 Kbps, Low Complexity (LC), up to 48-kHz sample rate

Pictures

• JPEG (.jpg): All resolutions (desktop software will automatically convert to 640x480 at sync time)

Video

• Windows Media Video (.wmv): Main Profile, CBR or VBR, up to 1.5 Mbps peak video bitrate, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per sec., with Windows Media Audio up to 192 Kbps, 44.1 kHz, stereo audio; Simple Profile, CBR, up to 736 Kbps video bitrate, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per sec., with Windows Media Audio up to 192 Kbps, 44.1 kHz, stereo audio.

Wireless

• Connectivity: 802.11 b/g
• Range: Up to 9.1 metres
  

Language

• English

Another Revolution from Logitech – Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard

Logitech announced its world’s most advanced mouse a few months ago – the Logitech MX Revolution. But where is the world’s most advanced keyboard? Logitech have announced the launch of it and it won’t disappoint - the Logitech diNovo Edge.

At this stage the arrival date in New Zealand is 10 December 2006 – we’ll keep you updated as this time comes near. This new flagship keyboard has an ultra-slim design with a vertical charging base, plus touch-disc scrolling and Bluetooth wireless connection.

Some of its key features are:

• PerfectStroke key system
• Stylishly sleek
• Elegant charging base
• TouchDisc scrolling
• Backlit stealth controls
• Bluetooth wireless technology

However, it doesn’t come with the area for the normal right hand side numerical keys so it won’t be very convenient for accountants, will it? But if you’re used to notebook keyboards, it won’t be a big issue.

Click the link for more information and pricing – Logitech diNovo Edge keyboard. BTW, if you combine it with the Logitech MX Revolution mouse, they will bring to you, a premium desktop experience! A perfect Christmas gift for yourself.

A Little Story about Computer Security

My friend asked me to re-install her computer during the weekend, as her computer had been badly affected by a virus. She said her computer always got virus and asked me how she could stop them. It’s quite simply actually. I’ve never had major virus attacks on my computer, because I do the following three things:

1. Update your windows regularly
2. Buy a decent security software
3. Update your security software and run complete system scan weekly

The above actions won’t cost you a lot – the only cost actually is the purchase of the security software. They also won’t take you much time, most of them can be done automatically or by clicking a single button.

Windows is like a house and all the software and applications are furniture inside the house. Windows is not a perfect house, although Microsoft always said it’s the best house it ever built. Windows XP is house with lots of holes (hope Windows Vista will have fewer holes). All the unwelcome guests may come in, small guests like flies may annoy you, and big guests like burglars may steal from you or even threaten your safety. You may also encounter water and fire. They may destroy your house completely.

Virus, Spyware and other computer threats are those unwelcome guests - water and fire. How can we stop them? Firstly, fix your house with those free updates from the house builder (Microsoft). If you turn on your automatic update, the house will try to fix itself. However, even a perfect house won’t stop things like flies. So secondly, you’ll need an effective insecticide. I recommend the newest Norton Internet Security 2007 for normal home users. It will try to kill flies every time they see one and protect you from every possible threat.

Unfortunately, there are new species of flies every day and some of them are hiding in your house. So thirdly, update your security software regularly and run a system scan weekly. They will find out the hidden virus and kill them. Most of the decent security software can do automatic updates and you can schedule the weekly system scan.

It’s not that hard, right? So if you do the above three steps properly, your computer will probably be safe from those viruses.

Top Hard Drive MP3 Player – Toshiba Gigabeat S30

A couple of days ago, I reviewed the Creative ZEN Vision:M hard drive based MP3 player. Today I’ll introduce you to another hard drive MP3 player – the Toshiba Gigabeat S30 Portable Media Centre.

The reason Toshiba calls it a Portable Media Centre rather than an MP3 player, is because that it not only plays music, but is also able to download and play TV shows, as well as displaying photos. Same as the other players, it uses 30GB hard drive for 7,500 songs maximum.

The Gigabeat S30 has a beautiful 2.4” TFT LCD screen. It’s thin and lightweight – a similar size to an iPod but slightly thicker. The audio quality is great, and the playback time is approx. 12 hours. It comes with an FM radio tuner, but cannot recode the programme and make voice recordings.

Unfortunately, not as the Creative ZEN Vision:M’s three colours, the Gigabeat S30 only has the piano white colour available. It uses Microsoft’s Media Centre navigation and can also steam your music library to your Xbox 360 (if you have one of course).

Overall, the Toshiba Gigabeat S30 is a hard drive media player with a beautiful screen, good sound and great features. Click the link for more information and pricing – Toshiba gigabeat S30 Portable Media Centre. BTW – Toshiba makes the new Zune music player for Microsoft.

Windows Vista Will Be Available To Consumers on 30 Jan 07

Microsoft confirms that Windows Vista will be available to consumers on 30 January, 2007. Microsoft also plans to launch Vista to business customers on 30 November 2006. Office 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 will be launched at the same time.

Apple Ships Core 2 Duo MacBooks

Starting at AU$1749 inc GST, MacBook uses Intel Core 2 Duo — the latest generation of Intel processors — and other features including a built-in iSight camera for video chatting on the go; iLife ’06; Front Row; a glossy 13-inch widescreen display and dual-display support.

Top Photo Printer – Canon PIXMA iP6700D

In the previous weeks, I have introduced one of the best (in my opinion) photo printers from HP – the HP Photosmart D7360. But HP is not the only brand who produces good photo printers. As we know, Canon also makes great ones, so today let’s have a look at the Canon PIXMA iP6700D.

The iP6700D has many good features, such as the big 3.5” colour pop-up LCD screen that allows basic printing work without the need for a PC. It can also print on CDs and DVDs, and can do two-sided (duplex) printing as well. Apart from the USB 2.0 connection, its infrared interface can receive images from supported mobile phones.

The iP6700D’s maximum resolution is 9600 x 2400 dpi, comes bundled with some Canon self-branded software, including Easy-PhotoPrint, Easy-WebPrint, PhotoRecord and CD-LabelPrint.

The print quality is good, but the speed is average, printing approx. 18 ppm for B&W pages and approx. 17 ppm for colour graphics.

Overall, the Canon PIXMA iP6700D is a good quality six-ink photo printer for photo and CD/DVD print jobs. Click the link for more information and pricing - Canon PIXMA iP6700 Colour Bubble Jet Printer

Top Hard Drive MP3 Player – Creative ZEN Vision:M

Have you ever thought about purchasing a hard drive based MP3 player? If your answer is ‘yes’, what’s your first choice? I think many people may say Apple’s iPod, because that’s the one they know best, but iPod is not the only player in the field, and it’s not the best one either - although it is the most famous one. If these hard drive MP3 players are students in a class, iPod will be the class rep, but it’s a student who can only get 85 out of 100. Who’s the student who can get 95? The answer is here – Creative ZEN Vision:M.

Creative has been producing MP3 players and competing with Apple for a long time. Although they have never exceeded Apple (no one has), they do make excellent machines. The Creative ZEN Vision:M will be the one which can beat iPod on features and functionalities.

The Vision:M uses 30GB hard drive, which is the same capacity as the 30GB iPod video. It can play music, photo and video. For music, it supports MP3, WMA and WAV. The playable video formats include DivX 4 & 5, XviD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG4-SP, WMV9 and Motion-JPEG. In addition, it carries an FM tuner/recorder and a voice recorder (iPod doesn’t have these functions).

The Creative ZEN Vision:M has the finest colour screen and sound quality we’ve ever seen and heard on a portable player. It also has an additional colour option than iPod – the green one in addition to black and white.

Unfortunately, the Vision:M does have a few drawbacks compared to the iPod video. It’s about 1.5 times thicker than the iPod. You’ll also need to use the included adapter to charge the player and sync with your computer. And it’s MediaSource application is not as good as Apple’s iTunes. If you don’t mind these flaws, it will be a perfect one for you.

Click the following links for more information and pricing:

• Creative ZEN Vision:M MP3 Player – Green
• Creative ZEN Vision:M MP3 Player – Black
• Creative ZEN Vision:M MP3 Player – White

Windows Media Player 11 Is Now Final

The final version of Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 has become available. I think most of us have Windows Media Player 9 or 10 on our Windows machines, now it’s time to upgrade – it’s free.

You may ask “what’s new in version 11?”. I think the biggest change is the interface. It’s more user friendly and easier to use. It also integrates the MTV Network’s Urge music store, where you can buy 2 million songs from more than 110,000 artists. It’s definitely a competitor to Apple’s iTunes and costs are similar – only disadvantage is that the Urge doesn’t work with iPods.

Media Player 11 also has a few new features for Windows users - better search capabilities, an easier-to-use navigation system and it includes an audio fingerprinting capability that can recognize mislabelled media files.

Download it free from Microsoft website, click here.

Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Watch

I think we’ll be able to wear our mobile phones on our wrists sometime in the near future – but not just yet. If you’re already thirsty for a mobile phone watch, Sony Ericsson does have something for you. Although it cannot replace your mobile phone yet, the Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Watch MBW-100 does work with your current mobile phone. It’s a classic premium analogue timepiece with built-in wireless call handling and phone music player control.

Stay with the music - by touching the crown of the watch, you can steer your phone’s music player to play, stop and skip to next track.

Stay available – The OLED display on the watch shows the caller ID and SMS/MMS alter.

Stay within reach – The watch will vibrate when your phone gets too far away and also has a battery indicator.

Stay focused – Too busy to talk? You can press a key on the watch to reject or mute an incoming call.

Very cool!!!

Top Colour Laser Printer – Oki Printing Solutions C3400n

I believe colour laser printers will become the mainstream for office and home printings in the near future, and will replace most of the current B&W laser printers and colour inkjet printers. Let’s have a look at the Oki C3400n colour laser printer today.

The Oki C3400n Desktop Colour Laser Printer is an entry-level colour laser printer with network ability. It deliveries high quality text printing and fast colour speeds. It can print colour at 16 pages per minute and do mono printing at 20ppm. It is a compact size and will easily fit your working area.

In short, the high-quality text printing, fast colour printing and compact size makes it stand out. However, it does have some drawbacks as the operating costs may be high and there is no optional paper tray available.

For more information and pricing, click the link – Oki Printing Solutions C3400n Desktop Colour Printer.

Top Point-and-Shoot Camera – Canon PowerShot A540

My personal favourite camera brands are Canon and Sony. Today, I’d like to introduce you to the entry level Canon PowerShot A540 which was announced in February 2006. Let’s have a look at its specs:

• 6 Megapixels
• 4X Optical Zoom
• Zoom Range: 35mm – 140mm
• Media Slots: SD Card
• 2.5 inch LCD monitor
• Movie recording and playback with sound
• DiG!C Imaging Processor
• Print/Share Buttons allows easy “one push” printing of images straight from the camera (of course, you’ll need a compatible printer)

The A series of Canon PowerShot has always provided value for money, and the A540 is one of the few cameras in this class that offers full manual control as well as the useful 13 automatic modes.

The camera body is small, but a little bit thick – it’s not a slim model. The 4X zoom lens are also better than most of its competitors as they normally have 3X zoom lens. The A540 allows you to crank up the ISO setting to 800, but the images do get a bit noisy at any level above 200.

One interesting option of the A540 is the wide-screen mode, which shoots an image with a resolution of 2816 x 1584 pixels. That has a 1.8:1 aspect ratio, which is close to the typical HDTV wide-screen image.

The PowerShot A540 can shoot 191 photos on two AA batteries. For more information and pricing, click the link – Canon PowerShot A540 Digital Compact Camera.

Microsoft Offers Free Accounting Software

Microsoft is offering free Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007. Download from www.ideawins.com

Microsoft Offers Discount Coupons for Upgrade to Windows Vista

Microsoft is offering an upgrade coupon to shoppers who buy a Vista-capable PC between 26th October and 15th March 2007. They will be able to redeem the coupons for a free or discounted upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

Generally, customers will get free upgrade from Windows XP Home to Windows Vista Home Basic, XP Media Center Edition 2005 to Vista Home Premium, or XP Professional to Vista Business, but it may vary depending on the PC vendors.

Only Vista-capable PCs will be eligible the coupon. When we’re talking about a Vista capable PC, there are two kinds of them - one is with “Windows Vista Capable” label and the other one is with “Windows Vista Premium Ready”. Here’s the criteria for those labels:

A Windows Vista Capable PC includes at the minimum:

• A modern processor (at least 800MHz).
• 512 MB of system memory.
• A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at the minimum:

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
• 1 GB of system memory.
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum), Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
• 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
• DVD-ROM Drive.
• Audio output capability.
• Internet access capability.

In short, a Vista Capable PC will run Windows Vista’s core experiences at a minimum. Vista Premium Ready PC will allow you to run advanced features – like the new Windows Aero user experience.

If you’re not sure whether your current PC can run Vista or not, you can download the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor RC from Microsoft - click here to download. It will evaluate your PC and give you advice of which edition of Vista will be best for your PC.

If you’re not aware of the editions of Windows Vista yet, here’s a recap.

Windows Vista Business
(My work desktop PC will be best for this edition according to the Vista Upgrade Advisor)
Regardless of the size of your organization, Windows Vista Business will help you lower your PC management costs, improve your security, enhance your productivity, and help you stay better connected.

Windows Vista Enterprise
(If you’re in a large organization, you will probably use this edition. However, according to some industry surveys, most large organizations won’t deploy Windows Vista until 2008.)
Windows Vista Enterprise is designed to meet the needs of large global organizations with highly complex IT infrastructures. Windows Vista Enterprise can help you lower your IT costs while providing additional layers of protection for your sensitive data.

Windows Vista Home Premium
(Microsoft will be pushing this edition very much.)
Whether you choose to use your PC to write e-mail and surf the Internet, for home entertainment, or to track your household expenses, Windows Vista Home Premium delivers a more complete and satisfying computing experience.

Windows Vista Home Basic
(This edition is not recommended by Microsoft, but will be good for users on a tight budget)
Windows Vista Home Basic is designed to deliver improved reliability, security, and usability to home PC users who just want to do the basics with their PCs.

Windows Vista Ultimate
(I’ll buy this one for my home PC)
If you want all of the best business features, all of the best mobility features, and all of the best home entertainment features that Windows Vista has to offer, Windows Vista Ultimate is the solution for you. With Windows Vista Ultimate you don't have to compromise.

Top Photo Printer – HP Photosmart D7360

If I’m looking for a good photo printer, what are the features that I’m after? I think it should have memory card slots and a colour screen for photo printing without a PC. It should also carry more than two ink cartridges (not only black and colour ink cartridges). It should be fast and produce a good quality print finish. Lastly, it must be a quality brand and have an affordable price tag.

Well, if you think your criteria matches mine, the HP Photosmart D7360 will be a good choice. It has a 3.4-inch colour touch screen and memory card slots to ease photo printing without a PC. It uses the six-individual-ink system for quality printing as well as being a money-saving feature (you only need to replace the cartridges that run out). It’s super fast and has an excellent print quality. A 4 x 6” photo can be printed within 12 seconds. In addition, it’s very easy to use. Unfortunately - nothing is perfect. In the printing test, the skin tones looked a little too bronzed and the text output was a little light. Overall – with everything taken into consideration – a pretty good photo printer!!

Here are some specs for the HP Photosmart D7360:

• B&W Pages Per Min.: 32
• Color Pages Per Min.: 31
• Max. B&W dpi: 1200-by-1200
• Max. Color dpi: 4800-by-1200
• Tray Capacity, pages: 100

Click the link for more information and the latest pricing – HP Photosmart D7360 Printer

Want an Apple for Your Computer?

We have been discussing lots of ‘serious’ products, but today let’s have a little break and look at some cute speaks from LASER – the USB APPLE speakers.

They’re powered by USB port, so no extra power or batteries are needed – ideal for notebook PCs. The total output is 2W and they come in three colours – red, white and green. Click the links for more information and pricing.

• LASER USB APPLE Speakers – Red
• LASER USB APPLE Speakers – Green
• LASER USB APPLE Speakers – White
  

Top PC Vendors for Q3, 2006

Dell has, for a long time now, enjoyed the reputation as the largest PC vendor in the world. However, HP has overtaken Dell’s position and become the No.1 in global PC shipments in the third quarter of 2006. HP has shipped 9.652 million units (16.3% market share) while Dell has shipped 9.541 million units (16.1% market share).

HP’s growth was 15%, while Dell only grew by 3.6%. Lenovo Group was in the third place with 7.8% market share – a growth of 10%. Acer takes the fourth position with 6% of market share (increased by 34%) and Toshiba holds the fifth place with around 4.2% of market share, increased by 20%.

Click the link for the latest personal computers.

Top Power Laptop – HP Compaq nx9420 Business Notebook PC

This powerful business notebook from HP offers top performance and better-than-average battery life. It replaces the old HP Compaq nx9600 laptop. The new flagship notebook uses a 17” WXGA LCD screen and weighs 3.36 kgs - so it’s one of the lightest laptops in its category.

The nx9420’s keyboard is fabulous and comes with a separate numerical keypad. The battery life is above average – lasting for 3 hours and its speed is excellent. It’s equipped with Intel’s Core 2 Duo T7200 2GHz processor (4 MB L2 cache), 1 GB memory, 120 GB hard drive, DVD writer, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 video card with 256 MB dedicated video memory, 802.11 a/b/g, Bluetooth 2.0+, 4 USB 2.0 ports, Firewire and a 7 in 1 media reader.

Overall, it’s an excellent power notebook PC for professionals who want a great presentation laptop on the go. Click the link for pricing and more information - HP Compaq nx9420 Business Notebook PC.

Top All-Purpose Laptop – Lenovo ThinkPad R60

Are you a ThinkPad fan? I personally am not fond of the all-black covers of ThinkPad, they seem a little old- fashioned to me. I prefer the Sony VAIO which are much better looking. However, for business use, the look of the laptop is not important - the robustness and reliability are. In terms of business features, reliability, security and performance, the ThinkPad is always on the top of our list. So let’s have a look at the ThinkPad R60 (94554QM) today.

Features

• Operating System: Windows XP Professional
• Memory: 512 MB (1 GB recommended)
• Hard drive: 80 GB
• Processor: Intel Core Duo processor T2300e 1.66GHz
• Display size: 15.0"
• Resolution: 1400x1050
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Weights (kgs): 2.95
• Bay type: Ultrabay Enhanced
• Optical: DVD Recordable
• Ethernet: Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
• Modem: 56K V.92 designed modem
• Wireless: Sierra Wireless MC8755 PCI Express MiniCard, Bluetooth
• Warranty: One year parts and labour (system battery: one year)

The highlight of this model is the embedded 3G wireless card. By having this, you can use Vodafone 3G broadband anywhere in the country (and in some other countries linked to Vodafone) without any additional hardware. It saves you a Vodafone 3G broadband connection card which normally costs around NZ$400.

The ThinkPad R60 replaces the old R52. As well as the features I’ve listed above, it also includes a modular bay with one-handed device swapping, the animated user manual, and the ThinkLight that illuminates the keyboard in dark rooms.

Overall, the Lenovo ThinkPad R60 is an all-purpose notebook PC for mainstream users on a budget. Click the link for more information and the latest pricing – Lenovo ThinkPad R60 (TopSeller Program) Notebook PC

Top 24” Wide-Screen Monitor – Samsung 244T

If you’re looking for a big LCD monitor and have enough spare money, then one of the 24” widescreen models would be a good choice. I’ve mentioned the HP LP2465 before, but today I’ll introduce you to an even better one – Samsung 244T. Let’s have a look of its features first along with pros and cons.

Features:

• 24" Viewable Area
• 1000:1 Contrast Ration
• 178°/178° horizontal/vertical viewing angles
• 6ms (G to G) Response Time
• Exclusive MagicTune™, MagicBright™ and MagicColor Pro™ technologies
• Picture in Picture (with video)
• Picture by Picture (with video)

Pros

• Slim and sleek looking
• Lots of extras
• Excellent image quality

Cons

• Lock makes it hard to adjust height

Overall, it’s a cool looking monitor with great image quality. The connection inputs include DVI-D, analogy connection, component, composite and S-Video for picture-in-picture features. Click the link for the pricing – Samsung 244T 24” LCD Monitor.

Top Advanced Digital Camera – Fujifilm FinePix S5600

Although it’s not a new model (it was first introduced in July 2005), the Fujifilm FinePix S5600 is still on the top of our list for an advanced digital camera. This bargain priced camera is well designed, takes attractive shots and is easy to use. Let’s have a look of its features along with the pros and cons.

Key Features

• 5 million pixel Super CCD
• Real Photo Technology
• Integrated 38-380mm lens
• Fixed lens for fast startup
• Full manual control with RAW
• Full movie mode

Pros

• Top image quality
• Fast autofocus

Cons

• Images shot at ISO 1600 look noisy

The Fujifilm S5600 is fast in terms of both startup speed and autofocus. It’s also well designed and easy to use. Although the LCD screen is a little small (only 1.8”), the viewfinder is excellent.

Though the camera only shoots 5 megapixels, the image quality is superb. The 10x optical zoom (38-380mm) should satisfy most people for most situations. Moreover, the S5600’s battery life is great and can take a maximum of 500 shots on four AA batteries.

Overall, the Fujifilm FinePix S5600 is an advanced digital camera, which takes great pictures and offers a good range of advanced features for a low price. Click the link for more information and the latest pricing - Fujifilm FinePix S5600 Digital Camera.

Breaking News - Google Buys YouTube

As rumored last week, search engine giant Google buys popular video site YouTube for US$1.65 billion (NZ$2.5 billion).

Refurbished Vodafone!

There are some very exciting things happening around Vodafone lately. Firstly, Vodafone has launched its HSDPA 3G broadband service along with two new broadband devices – the Vodem and HSDPA Mobile Connect Card. The new HSDPA service provides much faster connection speed than the previous Vodafone 3G broadband. It can reach a peak speed of 3.2Mbps with average speeds of 800kbps – 1.4Mbps.

The new Vodafone Vodem is a small device that connects your computer over the Vodafone 3G broadband network, so you can access the web or collect emails at broadband speeds. Its USB cable connects to any laptop or desktop, giving you total plug-and-play simplicity. It also looks good with a white cover and is very light - only weighing 50 grams. Click the link for more information and pricing of the Vodafone Vodem.

Vodafone has also updated its mobile connect card. The new Vodafone HSDPA Mobile Connect Card is a smaller size and works with the new HSDPA service. Click the link for more information and pricing of the Vodafone HSDPA Mobile Connect Card.

Now, you may be wondering how much the new service costs. It is $29.95 per month on Broadband Starter Plan (200MB per month) or $49.95 on Broadband Everyday Plan (1GB per month) if you sign a 24 months term contract. Alternatively, you can pay $10 more each month for a no-term contract.

By offering faster and cheaper broadband, Vodafone can really compete for broadband users with Telecom. Although Telecom’s landline broadband offers much more data allowance for the same price, Vodafone broadband is much more flexible and removable, especially for laptop users. Question - is Vodafone going to walk into the broadband market seriously? Yes, it is!

The second big news just announced is that Vodafone is buying the national internet provider ihug for NZ$41 million. Vodafone not only wants to dominate the mobile broadband market, but also wants to take part in the fixed-line territory. Currently Vodafone is the leader in the mobile market, however they only have 20% share of the overall telecommunication market. The purchase of ihug may just change this situation.

Nokia Concept Phones - Aeon

Nokia Mobile Phones

Norton 2007 Products Have Arrived – Norton Internet Security 2007 & Norton AntiVirus 2007

What product are you using for your computer security? Many people in the world, including myself, are now using Symantec Norton Internet Security 2006. However, the new 2007 product line of Norton security products has arrived so let’s have a look at what’s new about them.

Symantec Norton Internet Security 2007 can run in the background to detect and block spyware, viruses, worms, crimeware and other risks. Here are the features of Norton Internet Security 2007:

• Blocks online identity theft
• Detects and eliminates spyware
• Removes viruses and Internet worms
• Protects against hackers
• Automatically detects and blocks viruses, spyware, and worms
• Advanced phishing protection identifies and blocks fraudulent websites
• Rootkit Protection finds and removes hidden threats in the operating system
• Smart firewall blocks hackers and stops spyware transmitting unauthorized information
• Intrusion Prevention automatically shields newly discovered security vulnerabilities
• Network protection configures security settings when logged on at home, or on public networks
• Full System Scan performs a deep scan to remove existing viruses, spyware and other threats
• Norton Protection Centre provides a central place to easily check overall security settings
• Includes protection updates and new product features as available throughout the renewable service period

It is available in single, three and five users packs. Click the following links for more information and pricing.

• Symantec Norton Internet Security 2007 – 1 User Pack
• Symantec Norton Internet Security 2007 – 3 Users Pack
• Symantec Norton Internet Security 2007 – 5 Users Pack

I consider Norton Internet Security to be the best security suite in the world, however, if you don’t want an expensive suite, you may want to consider the cheaper anti-virus software from Symantec – Norton AntiVirus 2007. Let’s have a look at its features.

• Detects and removes viruses and spyware
• Blocks spyware automatically
• Prevents virus-infected emails from spreading
• Automatically detect and block viruses, spyware, and worms
• Rootkit Protection finds and removes hidden threats in the operating system
• Internet Worm Protection blocks viruses, spyware and worms without specific signatures
• Email and instant-message scanning detects, removes or blocks infected attachments
• Full System Scan performs a deep scan to remove existing viruses, spyware and other threats
• Norton™ Protection Centre provides a central place to easily check overall security settings
• Includes protection updates and new product features as available throughout the renewable service period

Click the following links for more information and pricing.

• Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2007 – 1 User Pack
• Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2007 - 3 Users Pack
  
• Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2007 – 5 Users Pack
• Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2007 – 10 Users Pack

One thing to note: both Norton Internet Security 2007 and Norton AntiVirus 2007 only work on Windows XP, and they are also eligible for a free Windows Vista compatibility update.

If you are a Mac user (Mac OS X version 10.3.x or higher), Symantec also provides the solution for you. You could consider any of the following products:

• Symantec Norton Internet Security 3.0 For Macintosh
• Symantec Norton AntiVirus 10.0 For Macintosh

Unfortunately, if you are still using Windows 98 or some other platforms, the Norton 2007 won’t work on your machine. Your choices are that you can stick with your current antivirus software, buy a new desktop or laptop PC or consider upgrading your operation system.

Top External DVD Writer – Samsung SE-S164L Super-WriteMaster

In a previous post, I introduced you to the Samsung SH-S182D internal DVD writer. If you’re a laptop user, or if you don’t have a spare expansion bay for another internal drive, you may want to consider one of the external DVD writers that are available. Again, Samsung will be on the top of this list – here’s all the information about one of their best:

Samsung SE-S164L Super-WriteMaster External DVD Writer

Specifications

• Drive Type: DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/-RAM
• PC/Drive Interface: USB
• DL DVD+R Write Speed: 8X
• DL DVD-R Write Speed: 4X
• DVD+RW Write Speed: 8X
• DVD-RW Write Speed: 6X
  

Pros

• Sleek, black and silver design
• Can stand vertically or horizontally

Cons

• DVD-RAM transfer speed rating is low
• USB-only drive

Furthermore, it uses Samsung’s WriteMaster technology which combines some great features including the Direct Disc Labelling. The bundled software is Nero Express 6.6 (with BackItUp and VisionExpress).

Click the link for more information and pricing - Samsung SE-S164L Super-WriteMaster External DVD Writer

Microsoft Announces Zune Pricing and Ship Date

According to PC World, Microsoft’s digital media player Zune will be available in the US from 14 November 2006 for US$249 (NZ$378). The first Zune player will come with 30GB of storage and allow users to play music, videos and photos on a screen. In order to differentiate from the iPod, the Zune player will include wireless technology and a built-in FM radio tuner.

The accompanying music store will be called Zune Marketplace. Unlike Apple’s iTunes, which lets users buy individual songs or entire albums, Microsoft will offer a monthly subscription service called Zune Pass. For US$15 (NZ$23) per month, users can have access to millions of songs – but only while your subscription is valid. Alternatively, you can buy the song at the cost of US$0.99 (NZ$1.50) each.

Very sad though - Microsoft didn’t provide any information for outside of the United States.

Click the link for all other available MP3 players.

Intel's New Mobile Platform Coming Next Year

As many of you might know, Intel’s current notebook platform is called “Centrino”, and combines a low-wattage processor and wireless ability with an efficient chipset. Intel has had very strong sales with Centrino, but now Intel is going to replace it with the all new mobile platform called “Santa Rosa” in the first half of 2007.

The new platform will bring improvements in processing power, battery life and wireless connectivity over the current Centrino architecture. The Santa Rosa notebooks will start up and load applications twice as fast as the current Centrino laptops. For wireless connectivity, the new notebooks will use the 802.11n standard (five times fasters than the current 802.11g) and deliver embedded 3G wireless WAN technology from Nokia.

Once Intel starts to use 802.11n in its platform, the standard will become popular very soon. If you’re thinking about updating to or purchasing a new wireless router, you may want to consider one of the Wireless-N gears, such as the Linksys WRT300N Wireless-N Broadband Router.

Click the link for all current notebooks models from Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo, HP, Acer and ASUS.

Super Slim – Sony Cyber-shot T10

Do you have a digital camera? I personally like Canon and Sony digital cameras most. If I want a buy a DSLR camera, I’ll go for Canon EOS series, but if I’m looking for a compact digital camera, I’ll definitely choose a Sony. Sony’s T series is my favourite - they always have big screens and satisfying CCD and optical zooms. Most importantly, they also have very slim bodies and now they have added sexier colour options in the new T10 range. It has almost been 3 years since Sony introduced its first Cyber-shot T1. Let’s have a look at the product timeline of the Sony T series:

• October 2003 - Sony DSC-T1 (5.0 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom)
• March 2004 - Sony DSC-T11 (5.0 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom)
• August 2004 - Sony DSC-T3 (5.0 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom)
• January 2005 - Sony DSC-T33 (5.0 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom)
• March 2005 - Sony DSC-T7 (5.0 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom)
• July 2005 - Sony DSC-T5 (5.0 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom)
• October 2005 - Sony DSC-T9 (6.0 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom)
• March 2006 - Sony DSC-T30 (7.1 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom)
  

After the T30, Sony recently launched its newest T10 into New Zealand. It comes with 4 colours - black, white, silver and pink, and uses 7.2 megapixel CCD, a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 3x optical zoom and it has a 2.5” LCD screen. Plus, it employs double blur reduction function.

Click the following links for more information and pricing.

• Sony DSCT10S Cyber-shot – Silver
• Sony DSCT10S Cyber-shot – Black
• Sony DSCT10S Cyber-shot – Pink
• Sony DSCT10S Cyber-shot – White
  

And, don’t forget, it can also work with the Sony GPS unit!!

Intel Quad-core Chips are Coming

If you’re still using a single core processor, this is to let you know that the quad core chips are coming soon. According to New Zealand Reseller News, Intel will ship the quad-core processors in November 2006 for servers and gaming PCs. Thirteen vendors have already committed to selling quad-core processor based PCs for the high-end market, including Dell and its Alienware division, Gateway and Voodoo.

Why do we need so many cores? Because adding extra cores to a chip allows the PC to split up heavy workloads. It’s like adding more arms, eyes and brains to our body. By having those extras, we’re able to work on computers, drink coffee, clean tables, watch TV and play games all at the same time. How good it will be! Intel has said that the new quad-core processors will deliver a 70% performance boost compared to Intel’s own current dual-core gaming processor.

The desktop chip will be called “Core 2 Quad”, following the current “Core 2 Extreme”. But be warned - it won’t be cheap when it first comes out. I’m guessing that it will cost more than NZ$2,000. Expect a mainstream four-core desktop chip to be shipped in the first quarter of 2007. Just for your info as well - the server quad-core chip will be called Xeon 5300.

Intel has been successful with its Core 2 Duo family so far and has shipped an incredible 5 million Core 2 Duo processors since they launched 2 months ago. They will also start moving from the current 65-nm core micro-architecture to 45-nm technology from the second half of 2007, and into 32-nm by 2010.

However, I think Core 2 Duo processors will still be the mainstream for the next 18 months. Click the link for the complete list and latest pricing for Intel Core 2 Duo processors.

New Xtra Broadband Plans

After Telecom announced its wholesale plan for new broadband services, Xtra has released its new retail broadband plans which will be available from 26 October 2006.

There are two highlights in the new Xtra plans. One is the maximum download speed for all plans. Second is the new “Go Large” plan which offers an unlimited amount of data. Yes – you read it here - you can use as much as you want! 100GB per month? No problem! And with no more extra charges or slowing down of speed. The only thing is, it is subject to a ‘fair use policy’ which means that access to some programmes, such as peer-to-peer networking, will be limited. The “Go Large” plan will only cost $49.95 per month.

All old Xtra users will be moved to the new plans progressively from 26 October. Let’s have a look of your new plan, if you’re an existing Xtra customer.

Basic Plan:

• Current download speed: 256 Kbps, Current upload speed: 128 Kbps, Current data cap: 200MB, Current additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• New download speed: Max, New upload speed: 128 Kbps, New data cap: 200MB, New additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• Price: $29.95 per month
  

Go Plan

• Current download speed: 2 Mbps, Current upload speed: 128 Kbps, Current data cap: 1 GB, Current additional data usage: Slowed to dial-up
• New download speed: Max, New upload speed: 128 Kbps, New data cap: 200MB, New additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• Price: $39.95 per month
  

Explorer Plan

• Current download speed: 3.5 Mbps, Current upload speed: 128 Kbps, Current data cap: 5 GB, Current additional data usage: Slowed to dial-up
• New download speed: Max, New upload speed: 128 Kbps, New data cap: 200MB, New additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• Price: $49.95 per month
  

Adventure Plan

• Current download speed: 3.5 Mbps, Current upload speed: 128 Kbps, Current data cap: 10 GB, Current additional data usage: Slowed to dial-up
• New download speed: Max, New upload speed: 128 Kbps, New Data Cap: 200MB, New additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• Price: $59.95 per month
  

Pro Plan

• Current download speed: 3.5 Mbps, Current upload speed: 512 Kbps, Current data cap: 10 GB, Current additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• New download speed: Max, New upload speed: Max, New data cap: 15 GB, New additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• Price: $79.95 per month
  

Pro Advanced Plan

• Current download speed: 3.5 Mbps, Current upload speed: 512 Kbps, Current data cap: 20 GB, Current additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• New download speed: Max, New upload speed: Max, New data cap: 30 GB, New additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• Price: $99.95 per month
  

Pro Ultra Plan

• Current download speed: 3.5 Mbps, Current upload speed: 512 Kbps, Current data cap: 40 GB, Current additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• New download speed: Max, New upload speed: Max, New data cap: 50 GB, New additional data usage: $0.02/MB
• Price: $149.95 per month

Looking for a broadband router, click the link.

Sony Launches GPS Unit for Cyber-shot, Alpha DSLR & Handycam

Sony has developed a pocket-size GPS device and software that helps us identify the location of every picture taken. It can hold up to 31MB data, equivalent to about one month of tracking and recording for 12 hours per day.

The device must be used in conjunction with Picture Motion Browser and only works with JPEG images with Exif 2.1 or later. All the Sony Cyber-shot/Handycam launched after August 2006 are supplied with Picture Motion Browser and supports JPEG Exif 2.1.

How it works

The GPS-CS1 doesn’t connect to a digital camera. Instead, it tracks data from the device and transfers the data to a Windows PC via a USB cable. Camera images are also downloaded to the same PC, which then matches the image data with the GPS tracking data.

The Picture Motion Browser allows users to view JPEG images with the location information. If you want a more visual view of the location, you can click the “Map View” function, which uses the Google Maps to show the geographic location.

Have you ever taken hundreds of pictures on a trip, but when you get home, find you can’t remember where you shot them? Using this GPS-CS1, you can identify the location within a few metres. Are you getting excited? Click the link for more information and pricing - Sony GPS-CS1 GPS Unit.

Top Internal DVD-Writer – Samsung 18X Double Layer Super-WriteMaster

Don’t have a DVD writer yet? Or are you looking for a new DVD writer for your desktop PC? Then this 18X Double Layer Super-WriteMaster DVD-writer from Samsung is an excellent choice. Although we cannot really buy the 18X DVD disc yet, it does write up to 18X on DVDs and support up to 12X DVD-RAM. The Double Layer capability will let you write up to 8.5GB on a single disc and it comes in both black and beige covers. Click the following links for more information and pricing.

• Samsung SH-S182D DVD Writer – Black
• Samsung SH-S182D DVD Writer - Beige
  

Telecom Has Revealed New Full-Speed DSL Plans

According to Computerworld, Telecom will change its entire range of DSL broadband plans and remove the speed-limit for downloading. The new plans are named after cars and the more expensive plans feature unconstrained upstream also. Here are the expected features of each plan.

• Coupe – Full Speed Download, 128k Upload, 200MB Data Cap, Estimated price: $33 per month
• Berlinetta - Full Speed Download, 128k Upload, 1GB Data Cap, Estimated price: $43 per month
• Cabriolet - Full Speed Download, 128k Upload, Unlimited Data Cap, Estimated price: $53 per month
• Speedster - Full Speed Download, Full Speed Upload, 2GB Data Cap, Estimated price: $53 per month
• Pro - Full Speed Download, Full Speed Upload, 15GB Data Cap, Estimated price: $82 per month
• Pro Advanced - Full Speed Download, Full Speed Upload, 30GB Data Cap, Estimated price: $101 per month
• Pro Ultra - Full Speed Download, Full Speed Upload, 50GB Data Cap, Estimated price: $149 per month
  

Overall, I think the downloading speed looks satisfying. However, the upload speed is still too slow for the entry plans, which will be used by most home users. No matter how fast the download speed will be, some tasks, such as VoIP voice and video calls and online games will still be limited due to the slow upload speed.

Looking for a broadband router? Click the link.

The New Ghost – Norton Save & Restore

As many of you know, the famous backup and PC-cloning utility Ghost is a New Zealand-developed product, brought to life by Auckland developer Binary Research. Symantec bought the product in 1998 for US$27.5 million (NZ$42 million) and now sells it worldwide as Norton Ghost.

However, the new version will have a name change and be re-labelled as Norton Save & Restore. Although it’s a little sad, the new product is more than twice faster than the older Ghost versions. Highlights and main features of the Norton Save & Restore are:

• Backs up files and folders
• Creates full backups of your PC’s contents
• Restores individual files or entire hard drive
• Monitors and optimizes backup disk space
• Encrypts backups to help keep them secure
• Safeguards photos and important files
• Schedules automatic backups
• Restores from system failures
  

Click the link for more information and pricing - Symantec Norton Save & Restore.

Top Power Laptop - Acer TravelMate 8204

This Acer TravelMate 8204 is a powerful desktop PC-replacement notebook. Let’s have a look at a summary of its features:

Pros – Includes a built-in 1.3 mega pixel webcam

Cons – Disappointing battery life of only 3.5 hours

Highlights

• Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology
• DASP+ and Smart Card security & protection system
• Hot-swap MediaBay & multi-memory card reader
  

It is equipped with an Intel Core Duo T2500 2.0GHz processor, 1GB memory, 120GB hard drive, a unique built-in webcam, Windows XP Professional and both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. For convenience, it also comes with a five-in-one memory card reader, audio ports, FireWire port, DVI-D connection and wireless communication buttons on the front of the laptop.

It has a 15.4” TFT widescreen with 1680 x 1050 resolution. Its powerful ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics card with 256MB dedicated memory will handle games well.

The only drawback is the 3.5 hours battery life. Otherwise, it will be a perfect desktop replacement notebook.

Click the link for more information and pricing - Acer TravelMate 8204 Portable PC.