The heat is on and this time it has literally reached the pinnacle. Well, the competition in the world of designer mobile phones has never been like this, as every leading handset manufacturer is coming up with some exquisite handsets — surely deserve all the accolades. After hitting the headlines with Chocolate phone, LG once [...]
The Leica digital camera reviews will include the C-LUX 2, which runs about $450. This camera has 7.2 megapixels with three times optical zoom. This camera is very similar to Panasonics DMC- FX30. It is a very easy-to-use camera is lightweight, compact and has image stabilization. The only downfall to this camera is it uses [...]
Microsoft said it wanted its new advertising campaign featuring Jerry Seinfeld to “spark a new conversation”. And it did, provoking hundreds of news stories and thousands of blog posts. Whether it was the kind of conversation Microsoft wanted is another matter. My own blog post began by asking: “On which planet does this advert make any sense?”
For the benefit of the handful of people who have inexplicably missed the viral, “Shoe Circus” features Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates buying a pair of shoes. Jerry Seinfeld is passing by the store and pops in to help. It’s not a “soft sell,” it’s a “no sell”: an ad that is, like the long-defunct Seinfeld TV comedy series, about nothing.
I watched the ad again, looking for subliminals, and noted the message repeated on signs and posters: Why pay more? Gates is famously tight with money, and perhaps this is a veiled response to Apple, which doesn’t even compete in the mainstream market for PCs costing £250 to £500. But if that’s all Microsoft wanted to say, it could have said it better for less.
Nonetheless, there are a few points to be made. The first is that “Shoe Circus” is just a teaser for a $300m campaign. There are more to come. After years watching wretched TV advertising, I have no trouble believing that the ad agency is screwing it up, but really it’s too soon to say.
The second point is that the campaign is not about selling Windows, or even Vista, which is is already at least four times bigger than anything else except Windows XP, which is actually its main competition.
It’s true that Vista wasn’t delivered on time or with many of the features that were promised. It’s also true that Microsoft was let down by driver writers and that some PC manufacturers sold Vista poorly set up on barely adequate hardware. (There’s a US class action lawsuit about Microsoft’s use of the “Windows Vista Capable” label.) But those things should no longer be problems. When correctly installed on suitable hardware, Vista is now very good indeed, and better than XP at a similar stage in its life.
Remember, Microsoft had to devote 18 months to fixing XP’s woeful security with the release of XP SP2. Vista doesn’t have that sort of problem, and Vista code will provide the bulk of the next version, Windows 7. Much still needs to be done, and Microsoft is running a programme to improve installations. Basically it runs PCs through hundreds of standardised tests that measure things like boot time, compatibility, reliability and security, to show manufacturers where their systems aren’t as good as they could be.
Microsoft has also experimented with a mocked-up retail outlet, and some of the $300m investment in “Shoe Circus” will be spent providing US dealers with more than 150 in-store assistants. These won’t be like Apple “geniuses” and will provide no support. It’s an attempt - perhaps a foolish one - to improve the sales process.
Ultimately, then, the Shoe Circus project isn’t about selling kit, it’s about improving infrastructure - drivers, software compatibility, installation and sales quality. Given Windows’ advantages in the range of PCs from handhelds to supercomputers, the massive volumes of hardware and software available, the peripheral support, ease of use and price/performance, more than 90% of people are probably going to buy Windows anyway. Microsoft just needs to make moving to Vista a feel-good experience instead of, for some, a slightly scary one.
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I recently bought a new quad-core desktop machine, but I am considering increasing the amount of Ram from the 3GB now installed. Would I have to upgrade to the 64-bit version to increase my memory? I want to use my PC for gaming, but I have a fondness for my back catalogue of games.
Jez Robinson
JS: As you know, 32-bit Windows can only use 4GB of memory, which means about 3.25GB after you’ve allowed for graphics and system use. The 64-bit versions can access more memory than your motherboard can support. However, the upgrade path from your 32-bit Packard Bell version is not smooth. Although Microsoft sells “in place upgrades” (hence the 15GB of disk space devoted to Vista), you can’t upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit Vista without reinstalling it as a new operating system.
Also, you will have to pay for your new operating system. If you buy a boxed copy of Vista, you can run either the 32-bit or the 64-bit version, so the upgrade is free. (There may be a charge for shipping you a new disc: only Vista Ultimate includes media for both.) But if you have a manufacturer’s pre-installed version, what you’ve bought is all you get. Unless Packard Bell can offer you a deal, you may have to pay £70 or more for a retail or upgrade version. See Microsoft’s guide at bit.ly/aj0023
Whether it’s worth it is a difficult question, but gamers were among the first to move to 64-bit Vista so you should be able to check for compatibility and performance of specific games online. In general, 64-bit Vista is faster and more secure, it runs 32-bit software, and cheap Ram means sales are now growing rapidly. However, it does not run old 16-bit software, and that unfortunately includes 32-bit programs with 16-bit installation routines. Two obvious solutions are to set up your PC as a dual-boot system, so you can switch between versions, or to install 32-bit Vista in a “virtual PC”. There are several free virtual PC programs including Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, VMware and VirtualBox (version 1.6.2 or later). There are lots of demos and tutorials on YouTube.
I have Microsoft Office Professional 2000 and would like to know the cheapest legal way of upgrading to Office Professional 2007. I am not a student.
Bob Baker
JS: Microsoft’s website says you can upgrade to Office Pro from Microsoft Works 6.0-10 or any 2000-2007 Microsoft Office program or suite except Office XP Student and Teacher (bit.ly/aj0028). You could therefore shop around for the Microsoft Office 2007 Professional Edition (Upgrade), which you can install on two computers - normally your desktop and your laptop. A slightly cheaper option is the OEM version coded MSOEM162. This is designed for original equipment manufacturers and PC system builders to sell with machines, and can only be installed on one PC. It is not necessarily suitable for consumers, bearing in mind that the OEM (in this case, you) also has to provide the support. OEM versions of software may also come without boxes, manuals, or even discs.
I need to update Adobe Acrobat/Reader to read bulletins, but my attempt to download version 9 has been blocked because AVG Anti-virus (Free Edition 8.0.169) has detected Trojan horse Generic11.PWW.
Cyril Braganza
JS: Adobe says AVG has acknowledged that this is a “false positive” and it will be fixed in an update: bit.ly/aj0027. Avast is also correcting a false positive.
My laptop has started to show steady data input and output as soon as it connects to the web via a wireless router. This continues for as long as I leave the machine connected. AVG 8, Ad-Aware and Spybot have revealed nothing.
Robert Caldicott
JS: You are right to be concerned because the unknown data traffic could be spam or worse, if your PC has been hacked. However, the most likely cause is Microsoft’s Windows Update, which dribbles away in the background so as not to interfere with normal usage. Otherwise, your firewall should tell you which applications have your permission to access the internet, and which ones are active. Active processes should also be visible in the Windows Task Manager or the superior Process Explorer, a free download (bit.ly/aj0029). In your case, the culprit may be setupxv.exe, which could be malware or fake anti-spyware (bit.ly/aj0030).
The web is another common source of unknown data traffic. Some pages refresh adverts or update their contents periodically without telling you, but this should stop if you close down all browsers.
If you can’t see what’s sending traffic, you can try using a packet sniffer to capture and examine the data being transferred. Sadly, I use Wireshark (wireshark.org), which is not a simple option for beginners. There are alternatives listed at bit.ly/aj0031 and bit.ly/aj0032. SmartSniff looks easier to use (bit.ly/aj0033).
Is there an external hard drive that is really automatic?
Michael Abraham
JS: Clickfree external hard drives are promoted as offering the “first out-of-the-box automatic backup” and can handle up to 10 PCs. I’ve not used one, but the 160GB model was warmly recommended by a reader who bought it from QVC.
· Chris Berg wanted to help donate a computer to a village that has no electricity, and I suggested Aleutia (aleutia.com/). GreenNet, an ethical not-for-profit ISP based in London, says: “We work closely with Mike Rosenberg and are Aleutia’s official reseller to the charity and not-for-profit sector. If you could put Chris Berg in touch with us, we’d be happy to give him some more information and tailor a solution to his needs.” See gn.apc.org
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2008 is definitely Sony Ericsson’s time to shine they unveil their new G series mobile phones, which currently consists of the Sony Ericsson G900 and it’s budge size little brother, the Sony Ericsson G700. The G700 is currently being under appreciated due to the critical acclaim being given to the G900, resulting in the G700 [...]
Cameras on mobile phones are getting pretty advanced these days, with more megapixels than you can shake a tripod at and bundles of image processing technology to boot.
Did you read about the mobile phone with a camera so advanced it can see objects as small as red blood cells though? Of course not, because it doesn’t exist. But you may well be able to buy a microscope attachment soon that’ll do just that.
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Sony Ericsson recently announced a total of five new handsets to the market, spanning the range from budget throwaways to feature-packed behemoths.
We’ll choose one of the latter for this particular report since it offers what we believe is the highest resolution camera on a mobile phone in Europe to date.
The C905 sports no less than 8.1 megapixels, which is set to be the new standard for existing 5MP models to follow. Whether or not we’re getting into ’silly’ territory now is for the consumer to decide. Personally we think that if you’re a good enough photographer to need more than 5MP you’ll also know that you’ll need a proper camera to get the best out of the pictures.
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Fujifilm has launched a bag full of digital cameras this week, including the new FinePix F100fd, a 12MP compact.
The F100fd not only pushes the up the pixel count but features a Fujinon 5x wide angle optical zoom, wide dynamic range, dual image stabilisation, face detection 3.0 technology with automatic red-eye removal and ISO settings of up to ISO 12800.
The face detection technology promises speedy face focusing, detecting up to 10 faces in a scene in .035 seconds, and automatically correcting focus, exposure, and white balance.
David Troy, senior product manager, Consumer Digital Cameras, Electronic Imaging Division, Fujifilm says: “The features packed in to this camera like ISO ranges and wide dynamic ranges are unprecedented for a compact consumer model – they first appeared in our Professional line. Combine these advances with our new Face Detection 3.0’s faster, 360 degree detection ranges and Dual Image Stabilisation and you have the ultimate consumer digital photography experience.â€
The camera will hit the US first in March with a price tag of around £160. Jump now for the full feature set.-Martin Lynch
FinePix F100fd key features:
* 12 megapixel Super CCD HR VIII and RP (Real Photo) Processor III: Ultra high resolution for razor-sharp results and unrivalled dynamic range
* 5x Fujinon zoom lens: Powerful and versatile shooting options
* Face Detection Technology 3.0 with intelligent red-eye removal: Even more capable, even faster than before
* Dual Image Stabilisation: Combine mechanical image stabilisation with the effects produced with higher ISO (up to an amazing ISO 12,800)
* Continuous Shooting: Top/Final 3 at 1.7 frames per second at full resolution and Top/Final 12 at 5 frames per second at 3 Megapixels
* Full manual photographic control: Gives users total control with full manual adjustment of numerous camera functions including resolution, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, etc, a desirable feature for the photo enthusiasts/advanced photographers
* High speed playback: No waiting for high-resolution images to load during play back. The FinePix F100fd can display images at full resolution at 10 frames per second
* Portrait Enhancer Mode: Mimicking a professional photo studio setting, by using Face Detection and preset camera settings, Portrait Enhancer minimises fine lines and small skin blemishes for smooth, natural looking portraits
* Dual Shot Mode: In this selectable mode, the FinePix F100fd quickly shoots two images in rapid succession – one with the flash and one without – and saves both. This convenient function lets users perform a comparison at their convenience and select the most pleasing image
* Special scene modes: The FinePix F100fd has 16 pre-programmed scenes, including a special underwater scene mode for use with a special underwater casing and a Blog mode that automatically reduces the size of copied images for easy posting to a Blog, Web page or email attachment
* Micro Thumbnail: A playback feature that allows for viewing an index-style print on the LCD. The FinePix F100fdwill show up to 100 images in micro form, then the control buttons are used to select specific images. An innovative wheel navigation dial makes it easy to quickly find a single image by being able to jump to particular segments of images in the time sequence
* IrSimpleâ„¢: Infrared communication via IrSimpleâ„¢ technology for fast, easy wireless image transfer to a compatible device
* xD/SD/SD-HC compatible slot: The FinePix F100fdfeatures a xD/SD compatible slot which accepts not only Fujifilm’s traditional xD-Picture cards but also Secure Digital (SD) and SD-High Capacity/SD-HC cards too
Panasonic has launched a new, compact digital snapper with a whopping 12.2 megapixels and the unusual ability to record high-definition video.
The new Lumix DMC- FX100 arrives in July and significantly boosts the company’s current high-end offering, which tops out at 7.2 megapixels. It can take photos in 4:3 mode and there are also four 16:9 widescreen modes with image resolution up to 4000 x 2248 pixels.
Video can be recorded at up to 1280 x 720 at 15 frames per second, but don’t expect to fit much on the 27Mb of internal memory. You will need some decent SD Cards to make the most of this feature. The camera boasts a brand spanking new and “exclusive†28mm wide-angle LEICA DC lens features, with 3.6x optical zoom, f/2.8 brightness, 1/1.72-inch large CCD and Intelligent Image Stabilisation with Mega O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO Control.
There’s also an impressive high speed burst mode that will let you shoot 8 photos per second at full resolution. The FX100 has a 2.5in LCD screen, weighs 0.33lb and will be available in silver and black.
Jump now for a peek at the black version. No prices yet. - Martin Lynch
Sony is claiming the honours of the smallest HD camcorder today with the introduction of the back-in-black cool, Handycam HDR-CX6EK.
It is quite small and Sony is saving weight – but making money off you – by making the storage medium its own Memory Stick technology, which tops out at 8GB. This is enough for an hour of 1080i video at top quality or almost three hours at the lowest quality setting. It takes photos at up to 6.1megapixels. There’s a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens which is good for 10x optical zoom and the whole thing weighs in at 370g, excluding battery. Frankly, that last bit is marketing nonsense to make the weight look good. After all, we don’t know what the battery weighs and, more importantly, who’s going to use it without the damn battery?
Hell, the Sanyo Xacti HD2 weighs just 235g, with battery.
There are lots of funky features thrown in, not least of which something called Face Index, a face detection technology for highlighting your little Johnny when playing back the school play.
Due in July but no UK prices yet. The US price though is around £600.-Martin Lynch