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`Computing
`Really Do Work
` THE INDEPENDENT GUIDE TO PERSONAL COMPUTING AND THE INTERNET
`.
`-
`1
`l
`-‘.-ev
`l
`.
`.,
`
`
`
`Tests 51 of
`
`
`Realtime 2028
`Page 1 of 4
`
`

`

`I Contents
`
`mpmgm DECEMBER 1,1999 Vol.18 No.21
`
`TRENDS
`
`SOLUTIONS
`
`“‘0 mnd‘m'd “WWW ma" ----------32
`Personal Web shopping advisors....33
`
`HARDWARE .................................. 240
`PC Magazine Lebs' new benchmarktests.
`
`little-c ctrerhaul ...................................34
`Dlgltal Identity cards ........................ 36
`The multicultu rel Web ...................... 36
`
`INTERNET.....................................2‘7
`09mg: and protect your system lrom
`'memm intruders-
`
`OFFICE ........................................... 257
`Collaboration in Office 2000.
`
`FIRST LOOKS
`Pentium III Notebooks ...................... 45
`
`DESKTOP ......................................261
`U
`'
`'
`h rd d' k.
`"mm“ W” '
`'3
`
`9‘? TECH ------------;---------------------------265
`FileMaker Pro 5 ................................. 49
`ACT! 2000 .......................................... 49 M“ °"°°‘°'V “WWW”
`
`UTILITIES ......................................270
`5"”32 39"“ ""9" m“-
`
`Apple iBook ....................................... 53
`30 Studio MAX R3 ............................ 57
`3D Studio VIZ R3 ............................... 57
`I ER HOURS
`DocSpace Drive ................................60 Al
`FreeBack ............................................ so
`Photo-sharing Web sites are fun. easy
`idrive ................................................ 61
`to use. and free ...............................315
`derive ............................................... 61
`
`
`
`
`
`ON THE COVER:
`
`I Amazing graphics breakthrough
`
`[um :01
`I lmidc pr Lam, pup» 34
`I Web mc hmlinat Page 212
`I spot-ch rccnunilitm. Put'r In?
`I New technologies crcelc fast
`W
`("t-n pmimmphi- by "mm ()Twmm
`8 K" \IAGATINF DFCFMRFR l. I'J'N
`
`Sony Cyber—shot DSC-F505 .............. 64
`
`Epson Perfection 1200U ................... 64
`AOL 5.0 .............................................. 66
`
`Microsoft Works Suite 2000 .............66
`HP CD-Writer Music ..........................68
`Easy CD Creator 4 Deluxe ................ 68
`
`La Link 2000
`.....................................
`p
`Delphi 5 Enterprise ........................... 73
`
`73
`
`OPINIONS
`
`Michael J. Miller ................................. 4
`Jake Kirchner .................................... 34
`Bill Mechrone ...................................81
`John C. Dvorak .................................83
`John C. Dvorak's inside Track ..........85
`Jim Seymour ....................................89
`Bill Howard .......................................93
`
`_
`Check PC P0993.
`Use PC Mm}!!! Onllne 5 once quote
`system to mt uo-to-trio—m'mtc onions on
`
`Mime htslPQsmlmltodmthns tssuc's
`cover sun
`
`New-Product Alerts
`Sign up and get But Mactwone's personal
`take on the hottest new products three
`times a week
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`JOJ 604 . 7145 elsewhere
`
`The Daily Download
`mm M” a“ an outstandm nick m,"
`ZDNM'S Software Umw
`PC Magazine Extra 0" CD
`32 utilities may to install: searchablc
`21::3:31:Iz'frzdmiz'g‘mfimm
`
`”s" “W a! w" ”mount”
`Io order. mum 55.5 "96 in the U 501'
`
`Realtime 2028
`Page 2 of 4
`
`

`

`Bill Howard
`
`Standards Time
`
`You can ptit a shoe in the oven, but that doesn’t make it a biscuit, folk singer
`
`Pete Seeger once noted. In the same vein, proclaiming your new technology
`
`to be an industry standard doesn’t make it a standard. Here's my take on who's
`
`likely to emerge on top in a couple of standards battles brewing in wireless
`
`networking and removable storage.
`In" (Militia thunllfwintcanotworttim
`Most of 1998's bit players in wireleo networking have
`lolded their tents and we‘re down to 802.]! HR
`(802.1! stands for wireless Ethernet. and HR stands
`for high-rate or I LMbps) versus HomeRF. The
`llomch: crowd cautiously says that 802.] 1 makes
`sense in the corporate olfice but claims llomeRF will
`be cheaper and therelore will win out in the home or
`small office for P(‘ networking. as well as for things
`like game consoles and cordless phones Trouble is I
`see the early adopters of wireless home networking
`being the people using wireless Ethernet cards in the
`office notebooks they bring home: they already have
`half the cost covered and don't need the hassles of
`
`balancing, two technologies The verdict Being cheap-
`er won't be enough to cam the day for llomeRE
`Walt VI.Wis These. are the squat
`ish.nonvolatile memory card fomiats used in digital
`cameras MP3 music playerxand the like. Compact-
`Flash (CF) is the thicker one. with more capacity;
`SmartMedia is credit card—thick and slightly flexible.
`Although they started out neck and neck. I‘m seeing
`more hardware using ('F. (‘F is currently up to
`96MB capacity (3230 street). with IZRMB on the
`horizon.while SmartMedia is at 32MB (SlOOHho
`verdict CompactFlash. Losing more than hall your
`storage capacity is a stiff price to pay for Smart-
`Media's slightly thinner form factor.
`Sony Marlow Stick. 'lhe Memory Stick is non-
`volatile memory that looks like a gray stick of Den-
`tyne gum and competes with (‘ompactl—lash and
`SmartMedia. It has roughly the same capacity as
`SmartMedia; 32MB (Sill) street) is the largest com-
`merctally available Memory Stick. it's used so (at
`only by Sony. in digital cameras. in video cameras for
`grabbing stills. and in Sony‘s new digital-music mem-
`ory stick Walkman (9430 list). Only recently has Sony
`announced that others will license the Memory Stick.
`The Memory Stick's strength is also its weakness; It
`can incorporate rights-management controls that
`artists and recording companies will love. but it these
`
`are tixiorie-sideduu'rs will rebel'lbe Memory Stick
`also feels more like a product for individual cons
`sumers and that's bad. because a lot of technology
`gets popular by being bought for business and
`brought home for weekend duty The verdict Sony
`Comes up with more brilliant ideas than just about
`any other company. but so far. the Memory Stick has
`the scent of Betamax.
`
`IBM MicmDriVI. ‘lhis is a tiny hard disk about the
`size (ii a squared-oil poker chip. It's not cheap. at
`3‘00, but capacity is excellent: RNIMB now and
`headed for (NIMB next yearfl‘he Microl)me could
`help burld a market in tiny appliances that need on-
`board storage. The verdict: Looks like a winner. at
`least for specialized uses. with no real competitors
`toting. Clikl 'lhe lomega (ilk! is a 405413.."- by 2-
`inch disk that showed up earlier this year alter being
`noisily introduced in {all IW7.1hc Flick? Dose was
`intended to be removable storage built inside. say.
`digital cameras. but [omega now cites it as a cheap
`way to back tip data from your notebook or to off-
`load images from your expensive CF or SriiartMedta
`cards using Clik! Dnves or adaptcn that cost $31] ) to
`$300. Trouble l\. there are now plenty of (T and
`SmanMcdia readers that connect directly to your P( ‘
`or notebook (bum gives one away with its memo-
`ry ). So Clik! would make sense only for. say. people
`who take lots of digital pictures on extended trips but
`don't bring along laptops for oit‘loading them?!"
`verdict'l‘echnically intngutng.(‘likl may be the an-
`swer to a question not enough people are asking,
`Floppy dislt ropincmntx.‘lhe [omega Lip Dru e.
`lmation Superl)isk. and Sony Hit-l) all want to re-
`place or supplant the much-maligned 1.44MB floppy
`disk. 'lhe lip Drive has decent capacrty with its
`150MB version [or the ltlthB original i. but it can't.
`of course. read floppy disks'lhe Supchxsk (air a Is-
`120) can. but it‘s still 120MB. So can the HiFl). at
`9113MB. but Sony has been slow to deli\ er in Volume.
`The verdict No knockout winner. Each has adherents
`each will survive at least near-term. and all should
`watch out for C'D-RW and then DVD-RAM.
`
`
`
`Although CF
`
`and SmartMedia
`
`started out neck
`
`and neck, I’m
`
`seeing more hard-
`
`ware using CF.
`
`More on the Web:
`Inn: in onhm‘ and make
`
`your i nice hrtml. [Mk
`hark in Hill Howard at
`
`mu ()pmimit u't‘mm
`
`
`
`iii: I new ;. m» H sutuvmt 93
`
`
`
`Realtime 2028
`Page 3 of 4
`
`

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