Editorial

2006: Delivering On Dreams

Bangalore. Forget about info parks. For
the urbanites amongst us, it’s easy to
forget that the real India lives in the
villages. The implications of these new
developments are immense. Imagine
what happens when rural computer
education is recognised for what it is: a
billion-dollar industry. Imagine what
happens when WiMax and pedal-
powered laptops bring the Internet to
villagers who don’t even have access to
power. Imagine when suddenly, we as a
country have a chance—and it is,
admittedly, just a chance—to bridge the
digital divide.
On the other side of the planet, we
are witnessing profound changes that
go beyond Moore’s law. Google indexing
Maulik Jasubhai Publisher libraries. 64-bit personal computing
taking off. VoIP phones everywhere.
HDTV livening up the home. The arrival
of Internet TV. Nanotechnology creating

L
AST MONTH, Nicholas Negroponte products you and I can use. High-density
of the MIT Media Lab, with Kofi optical discs coming to store shelves.
Annan, unveiled a prototype of the Intensely immersive multi-player
much-awaited $100 laptop. In an gaming, incredibly powerful and
interview, Ajay Chowdhry of HCL versatile personal assistants, truly
discussed his plans to develop a PC that digital workplaces! It all seems to be
can be powered by pedalling—meaning happening now!
you’d no longer need to worry about My personal favourite is the
regular electric supply. possibility that newer games with
In the past twelve months, we have increased complexity and the ability to
also seen new stories about the create truly immersive experiences will
Simputer—an extremely economical make us more intelligent. One theory
handheld computer—and the e-Choupal goes that games such as SimCity and
initiative, which places Internet-enabled Grand Theft Auto actually teach us new
computers in rural areas. E-Choupal is skills, without us realising that we are
used by farmers to get better weather learning them. They teach us to make
forecasts and better prices for their simultaneous decisions which are
grains. Then there’s Intel’s “community obvious to the situation as well focus on
PC” initiative, as well as their WiMax the macro issues of the overall objective.
Imagine what initiative in Uttaranchal. Think about Surely these are skills that are not the
Project Shiksha, for that matter, which exclusive domain of simulated environs.
happens when aims at making the masses IT-literate. On both sides of the planet, 2006
What happens when you have an entire could well be the tipping point in mass
WiMax and pedal- new generation that is tech-savvy? rollout of tech.
These sound like interesting stories,
powered laptops and they pique common urban
curiosity. However, one can’t dismiss
bring the Internet such news as merely interesting. These
to villagers events are the rumblings of something
seismic waiting to happen. Forget about
 Tell Us What You Feel About Digit Advertisers’ Index
Each month, Digit walks through the
YO U R T EC H N O LO GY N AV I G ATO R technology maze to bring you the most Client Page
relevant, most researched stories. If you have
December 2005 • Volume 5 • Issue 12 Acer ................................168,169, 171
an opinion about anything published in Digit,
Chairman or about technology in general, please write to
Adline..............................................91
Jasu Shah [email protected]
Printer, Publisher and Editor Altec................................................21
Maulik Jasubhai Product Testing
President and Publishing Director Canon ............................................59
L Subramanyan
Want your product reviewed by Digit?
Contact our Test Centre at: Citizen ............................................13
Editorial [email protected]
Associate Editor Deepak Ajwani Cricket Today ................................159
Deputy Features Editor Aditya Kuber
Copy Editors Robert Sovereign-Smith, Software On DVD/CD DB Power ......................................165
Ram Mohan Rao, Renuka Rane To submit and suggest software for Dell ............................................14-15
Writers Mithun Kidambi, Preethi Chamikutty
inclusion in the Digit DVD or CD, contact us
Test Centre at: [email protected] Enjay ..............................................37
Deputy Head Deepak Dhingra
Reviewers Sanket Naik, Jayesh Limaye,
Gayatri ............................................57
Anup Nair Help! HCL ........................Inside Back Cover
Coordinator Gautami V Chalke For any subscription or copy-related issues,
Design send an e-mail to [email protected] Hitachi ............................................63
Creative Head Kabir Malkani You may also contact the following
Head - Editorial Design Solomon Lewis executives for local queries: IIT Kharagpur ................................161
Senior Designer Shivasankaran C Pillai Bangalore: Marshall S (09341809286) Intex ..............................................79
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Photographers Jiten Gandhi, Sandeep Patil Hyderabad: Norbert Joseph (09396229281) Kunhar Peripherals ..................71,73
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Multimedia (09331829284) LG ............................................Cover
Content Coordinator Robert Sovereign-Smith Mumbai: Arpita Ganguli (022-27629200) Man’s World ..................................155
Sales Pune: Sachin Kamble (09372429280)
Vice-President, Sales Vijay Adhikari Microsoft ........................................69
GM, Consumer Sales Saurabh Pandey
Head, Non-IT Sales Bhavesh Thakor Endorsements/Reprints NEC ................................................74
Interested in ordering article reprints, or
Marketing using our logos? Neotech ..........................................23
Brand Head Nabjeet Ganguli
Brand Executive Rohini Krishna Contact: [email protected] Nikon ..............................................7
Marketing Communication Mona Talati,
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Audience Development Sony................................................45
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Apple iPod nano 95 Webex ......................................93,108
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Printed and published by Maulik Jasubhai on behalf To Advertise

of Jasubhai Digital Media Pvt Ltd,
26 Maker Chambers VI, 2nd Floor, Nariman Point, Bangalore Kolkata Phone: (022) 56310515/14 Phone: (022) 56310515/14
Mumbai 400 021, India and Published from Mumbai Vasuki Kashyap Jayanta Bhattacharyya New Delhi Secunderabad
Editor: Maulik Jasubhai, 26 Maker Chambers VI, E-mail: E-mail: jayanta_bhat- Vinit Pandhi Sahayaraj Prabhu
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COVER Manas Mishra Mumbai Pune
Design Solomon Lewis E-mail: manas_mishra@ Manoj Sawalani Manoj Sawalani
Imaging Pradip Ingale jasubhai.com E-mail: manoj_sawalani@ E-mail: manoj_sawalani@
Photographer Sherwin Crasto, Fotocrop Phone: (044) 28235186/88 jasubhai.com jasubhai.com
Model Sania Mirza

6 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228
 Enter Digital Passion

25 Concocting Dreams
Much of what they depict in
the movies these days—
including those from
16 Bollywood—doesn’t come
What does straight from the camera. Find
singer Shaan out what goes in between!
have to say
about gadgets
and 32 The Future Is Paper
technology? Forget about the paperless office. You’re
Find out in going to see more and more paper around
Celeb Geek you—only, it’ll be electronic
22
Yet another
browser, you’d
say, but Flock is
our buzzword
for a reason

24 38 The Battle Of The Blue

Get the When, You’ve probably heard about the battle over
What, Where, next-gen, high-capacity DVD formats. But
Why, Who and
How of Web 2.0 what are the differences? Who will rule? We
answer these questions and more

Contents Magazine
46 The ZERO1 Awards Digital Tools
117 Buyer’s Guide
Spanning 22 categories of products, our
Buyer’s Guide tells you what you need to
judge your new hardware/software by and
what to look out for. It also gives you insights
into the products themselves

75 Towards Comfort
Back aches, hurting fingers, etc. due to
computer use means you haven’t paid
attention to ergonomics. We show you how to
enhance your productivity by getting the
basics right

The votes are in, it’s time to applaud the winners of the coveted
ZERO1 awards. Find out what hardware and software figure in
our definitive list of the best tested products of this year

8 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Business

163 Shifting Spaces

Here’s about dotcoms that decided to get down
on the ground to reach a wider audience. Why
did they do it? What has this done for them as
online brands?

166 Wiki At Work

The wiki is a new, fast way of collaborating at work
and sharing information. Get the why and how of
setting up your own office wiki. The best part is, it
won’t cost you anything!

173 Trend
Integrated security solutions is what many offices today 170 Face Off
are opting for. We spoke to a few companies to take The Linux versus Windows debate continues into
stock of this trend the server space in this month’s Face Off

December 2005
Digital Leisure 200 Tech Critique Escape
It’s easily the most awaited game of the
193 Accelerating IT Literacy year. Quake 4 will surely have you asking for 205
Can India become a nation of computer more. A blockbuster yet again!
literates? Project Shiksha plays catalyst by
training teachers in basic computer skills

A brief
introduction to
Brin and Page,
creators of the
world’s best
search engine

195 Hi-tech Products 205

Take a look at these drool-worthy Would you want
a technology that
electronic goods, and you’ll rue the makes sure that
fact that you’re not a millionaire a you see no skin?
few times over!

Three Incredibly Useful Sites ..........18 Tips & Tricks ....................................81 Bluff Your Way Through ................206
REGULARS

The Digital World ............................18 Q&A ................................................96 Digit Diary ....................................206

Beat That ........................................20 Tech Quiz ......................................198 Blogwatch......................................207
Gender Benders ..............................22 Tech Critique ................................200 Digit Forum ....................................222
Buzzword Of The Month ..................22 Mediawise/Adwise ........................202 Inbox ..............................................222

DECEMBER 2005 DIGIT 9

DVD

DIGITAL PASSION DIGITAL TOOLS DIGITAL LEISURE

NetBeans IDE + JDK 5.0 Macromedia Flash

Update 5 Professional 8 INTERNET
Design, develop, n Yahoo Messenger 7 Build 7.0.0.437
and maintain n MSN Messenger 7.5
interactive online n mIRC Power Pack 7.10 RC5
experiences with n Windows Live Messenger 8.0.0328
the latest release n SysUtils LAN Administration System 1.1
This distribution of the J2SE Development
of Dreamweaver, n Spyware Hospital 1.0
Kit (JDK) includes NetBeans IDE, which is
Flash Professional, n TurboFTP 4.60 Build 432
a powerful integrated development
Fireworks, n SpamExperts Home 1.0 beta
environment for developing applications Gun Trailer #6
Contribute, and n Mantis 1.0.2090
on the Java platform. A Western shooter mixing first and third-
FlashPaper. person viewpoints, this simplistically
J2EE 1.4 SDK 2005Q2 UR2 SYSTEM entitled game is far from a simple
Contains: Sun Java System Application Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 n SiS UniVGA Drivers shooter in chaps and a holster. This
Server Platform Edition 8.1 2005Q2 Developer Edition n Realtek AC'97 Audio CODECs 3.79 original story follows the life of Colton
Design, develop, and maintain n nVidia ForceWare 81.85
UR2; J2SE 5.0; J2EE 1.4 SDK Samples White, reared as a mountain man in
interactive online experiences with the n Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0
2005Q2 UR2; J2EE 1.4 API Montana close to the headwaters of
latest release of Dreamweaver, Flash n VMware Player 1.0.0 Build 18007
Documentation Missouri. The game offers free-roaming
Professional, Fireworks, Contribute, and n Catalyst 5.10 Windows XP
exploration as well as set story missions
FlashPaper. n Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2
DEVELOPER TOOLS and side missions.
n Windows XP TheHotfix.net Pack
n SQL Manager 2005 for SQL Server
2.0.5 CyberLink DVD Solution n Panda Titanium Antivirus 2006
Mini Golf Tournament 1.0
CyberLink DVD Solution consists of over n Norton Internet Security 2006
n Pronto Survey 1.0.5 Mini Golf Tournament puts you on the
n Web Questionnaire 3 10 software programs integrated in one greens and challenges you to make a
application: CyberLink PowerStarter; DIGIT IN PDF
hole-in-one. Have fun beating par on
CyberLink PowerDVD 6 Express; By popular demand, archives of the
GAMES creatively
CyberLink PowerDirector 4 Express; past 12 months are back!
designed
Age Of Empires III CyberLink PowerProducer 3; CyberLink courses. Chip
Power2Go 4; CyberLink LabelPrint; and putt the
CyberLink ball in true 3D
InstantBurn; and experience
CyberLink remarkable
PowerBackup; real-world
CyberLink physics.
PhotoNow!;
CyberLink E-BOOKS
MediaShow 3; Including:
CyberLink n The Last Journals of David Livingstone
PowerDVD Copy n “Unbounding the Future: the
Serious Sam 2 Demo 2 Nanotechnology Revolution”
Ulead Photo Express 6 n J2ME & Gaming
Ulead Photo Express 6 is home photo DIGITAL BUSINESS
creativity software that makes it easy 1495 WALLPAPERS
to edit and share digital photos and OpenOffice.org 2.0
OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and n Our Pick: 431 Wallpapers we liked
create fun photo projects. Edit and n 79 Movie Wallpapers
enhance images, browse your photo multilingual office suite and an open-
n 45 Anime Wallpapers
collection and express your creativity source project. You may need Java
n 11 Island Wallpapers
with stunning special effects and Runtime Environment installed, if you
n 52 Lake Wallpapers
creative photo projects. Ulead Photo do not have it, install it from the
n 143 Miscellaneous Wallpapers
Express puts you on the fast track to Developer tools section on the CD.
n 110 Motor Wallpapers
photo fun. n 72 Mountain Wallpapers
n 26 Music Wallpapers
n 63 National Park Wallpapers
X-Men II: Rise Of Apocalypse n 36 Nature Wallpapers
n 35 Ocean Wallpapers
n 11 Rainbow Wallpapers
n 83 River Wallpapers
n 15 Rock Wallpapers
SpeechToolsCenter 2.0
n 61 Sky Wallpapers
Recover and reuse your PDF content
n 62 Space wallpapers
with Solid Converter PDF to Word
n 34 Sunset Wallpapers
n 47 Tree Wallpapers
PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS n 41 Vista Wallpapers
n Window Eyes 5.5 Beta 2 n 10 Volcano Wallpapers
n OpenOffice.org 2.0 n 28 Winter Wallpapers
n Excel Invoice Manager Express
2.1.1007
Pro n Sydock XForms 2.5.4.4
Evolution n iMediaCONVERT 3.3.12
Soccer 5 n SpeechToolsCenter 2.0
Demo MULTIMEDIA
n Nero 7.0.1.2 Premium MOBILE APPS
n iTunes 6 n Oxygen Express 1.1
n AVS Audio Tools n Nokia PC-Suite
PLUS n Blender 2.40 alpha2 n Sony Ericsson PC Suite 1.7.10
n Sunrise Extreme Demo [Single & n mosascii m2 2.0.053 n Cell Phone Manager 5.4
Multiplayer] n bcTester 4.0 n MOBILedit Lite 1.99.0.3
n Age of Empires 3 Update 1.01 n My Pictures 3D 0.9

10 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Contents Interactive

CD
DIGITAL PASSION DIGITAL TOOLS DIGITAL BUSINESS DIGITAL LEISURE

Java Runtime PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS 3D Chess 1.0

Environment n DocTagger 1.0 For over a thousand years, people
5.0 Update 5 Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 n DocYouMeant Hound 1.2.0 throughout the world have been
The latest, complete n Transparent 1.1 seduced by chess. Here’s a realistic 3D
Design, develop, and maintain
Java Runtime n XML Viewer 2.3 version of the computer chess game.
interactive online experiences with the
Environment that n Batch Text Replacer 2.0
latest release of Dreamweaver, Flash
contains the core n CT Quick Spell 1.0
Professional, Fireworks, Contribute, and
executables and files n Formulator Pro 3.0
FlashPaper.
that constitute the n OfficeToExe Converter 1.0
standard Java n Online Functions - Exchange Rates 2.0
MULTIMEDIA
platform n Powerpoint-PPT to AVI-GIF Converter
n Babya Logic 1.0
1.10
n Babya Photo Workshop 10.5
MyGeneration 1.1.4.1 n Digital MC 1.0
n Softinabox Paste Fast 1.2.0 Build 30
MyGeneration generates code from n Total Doc Converter 1.01
n Lalim MP3 Player 3.0.0
templates that can be written in C#, n XLS Converter 1.5.9
n MyPixelVault 1.0 Beta
VB.NET, JScript, and VBScript. n Rip Wiz 2003 2.4.0
MyGeneration is for generating ORM n ShotGenius 1.0
Outlook Anywhere 1.01
architectures or O/R Mapping files for n SKMP3 3.3.3
The anywhere service lets you easily Foosball Frenzy 1.0
architectures such as Gentle.NET, and share files with others under your Foosball Frenzy's colorful graphics,
n t@b ZS4 0.946
NHibernate. control. It offers private and secure realistic sound effects and true-to-life
n VH Screen Capture Driver 1.2.0
management of shared files to only those physics.
n WinMP3Shrink 1.1
people you designate.
n Audio Edit Magic 7.5.9
n AVS Audio Editor
n HyperSnap-DX 6.00 Beta 3
NXPowerLite 2.0
Automatically reduce the size of your
n Industrial Audio Editor 1.0.0.15
DEVELOPER TOOLS PowerPoint presentations!
n InterVideo DVD Copy 4 Platinum
n Microsoft Application Compatibility n JPEGtoASCII 1.0.0
Toolkit 4.1 MOBILE APPS
n Jriver Media Center 11
n AWinstall 4.0.1 n IceCendol Mobile Phone Instant
n CyD WEB Menu Creator 2 Messenger 1
INTERNET
n Pageflix 1 n Magic Button 2.0 build 51023
n IceChat IRC Client 7.0
n PDF Split Merge ActiveX 1.0 n Card House 2.4
n MegaIRC 2.85
n Create Ringtone 3.1
n Opera 9 Beta 1Build 8031
Galacticards 1.002 n Portable FileZilla 2.2.17
n Keep Track (Smartphone) 2.0 SMALL GAMES
In Galacticards, five players start out n ListPro 4 n Backgammon Lite 5.0
n Staff-FTP 2.85
with a home world, some defensive n MetaTrader CE 1.52 n Blocks Annihilator 1.0
n Syncnotes
ground units, and a hand of five cards n MP3 To Ringtone Gold 3.15 n Castle Constructor 1.0
n MetaProducts Integra 1.0.63
with which they begin their struggle to n Numberz 3.4 n Elite Gomoku 1.0
n MetaProducts Mass Downloader 3.2
become the largest species in space. n P900Themer 1.0.1 n Just Sudoku 1.0
n mIRC 6.16
n Pragma PocketVT n Royal Sudoku 1.0
n SmartFTP 1.5.991.7 Beta
n SaveBackup 2.0 n Switcheroo Deluxe 1.0
n Web Lightning XP 3.0.1
n Top of the League 1.6.1 n Air Hockey Adrenaline 1.0
n WeatherGuide 1.0.1 n Checkers Ultimate 1.0
SYSTEM
n Crystal Lines II 1.00
n APO USB Autorun 1.0
n Attribute Editor Wizard 1.0
WOWScreens Standard 1.5 n Mahjong: Journey of Enlightement 1.0
WOWScreens places lively animated n Pangea - Conquest For Fun 1.5
n Central Brain Identifier 7.7.0.1
characters and backgrounds at your n Rainbow Web 1.1
n Chaos MD5 1.0
LINUX fingertips providing you with a fully n Shuffleboard Showdown 1.0
n Cpu-Z 1.31
n CreditCruncher 0.8 beta interactive 3D interface. Zoom in or out, n Starcars 1.1
n EaseUs Disk Copy 1.0
n DSPAM 3.6.1 move left or right, and even rotate 360
n nLite 1.0 RC3
n GeoServer 1.3.0 RC5 degrees. E-BOOKS
n ReNamer 2.20
n gvSIG 0.4.2 n Hackers, Heroes of the Computer
n SpeedFan 4.27
n mechanoid 0.5.21 Revolution, by Steven Levy
n Tony Arts EasyCleaner
n Newega 0.6b1 n MEN OF INVENTION AND INDUSTRY -
n Unlocker 1.7.4
n Play What I Mean 0.08 Samuel Smiles
n SiSoftware Sandra 2005.1.10.69 SR3
n Simput 0.4 n Nonsense Novels by Stephen Leacock
n Big Faceless Report Generator 1.1.28 n TAMBURLAINE THE GREAT
ESSENTIALS
n THE THEORY of NUMBERS
n Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.5
File Beamer 0.1.5 n AntiVir Definition Updates n Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K.
File Beamer is an easy to use file n Avast Home Edition 4.6
Jerome
transfer tool. The programm is platform n AVG Definition updates
independent. That means it runs with n Kaspersky AV Definition Update
505 WALLPAPERS
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, Linux, Unix n Kazaa Lite Mega Codec Pack 1.40
Sony Ericsson SendFile 1.2 n Wallpapers provided by our reader
and MacOS X. With SendFile you can send any support- and forum member Jayant Kaul (aka
n Kerio Personal Firewall 4.2.2
ed file to an Ericsson mobile phone, “Ice” on the forum). We thank him for
n Norton AntiVirus Definitions Update
incuding: E-Melody (*.emy), I-Melody sharing his personal collection with
n Spybot S&D detection updates
(*.imy) and MIDI (*.mid) melodies, GIF our readers.
n Spybot Search & Destroy 1.4
and JPG pictures, and more
n WinRAR 3.51

In the Digital Tools > Internet section

of the CD, a software called High-
Octane Skrypt II was found to contain
a virus during replication. This file was
removed, but the link for it remains in
the interface. This link will not work,
and there is no threat to your system.
Inconvenience is regretted.
For any queries regarding the CD or DVD, e-mail [email protected] with “CD/DVD” as the subject.
If the subject is not mentioned, your mail might not reach the right person. DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 11
 Online Digit Patrons
By Demand It really does
December 2005

You get to choose what goes in Digit pay to be loyal!

Interactive. This month, you chose: Find out more
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Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 thinkdigit.com

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infographic Vijay Padaya

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12
 Another First For Samsung Microsoft Says Yes To Supercomputing
Samsung unveiled the world’s first wireless broadband Software giant Microsoft has released the second beta of its
handsets—called WiBro mobile handsets—at the Asia Pacific mainstream technical computing software or supercomputing
Economic Co-operation Summit. WiBro prepares to be fully software, Windows Compute Cluster 2003. This is the company’s
implemented and utilised next year. Samsung put on display first foray into supercomputing software, where it is up against
both the mobile phone-type H1000 and the PDA-type M8000. open source competitors such as Linux.

Enter
SHOULD WE CALL IT ‘SONYWARE’?
Shaan
Singer

S haan gave a new

dimension to Indipop with
Windows Labels XCP
his songs, right from his first
release Q-Funk to the hugely
popular Tanha Dil. Is the
Spyware
singer tech-savvy too?

S
Read on… ony thought they were in computer viruses to hide updates of its anti-spyware
just protecting their itself on users’ machines. kits would have XCP
What does music from being Specifically, XCP uses a ‘root removal tools!
technology mean ripped and stolen, but a kit’ to conceal itself deep According to Microsoft,
to you? Windows programming inside Windows. the XCP software qualified
Technology means expert by the name of Mark A root kit is a set of tools as spyware under the
progress. It helps us Russinovich recently used by an intruder after “objective criteria”
achieve what would unearthed something dirty. hacking a computer. These Microsoft uses to assess
otherwise be beyond our Used as a protection system tools can help the attacker potentially malicious
reach. It enhances the way we for their audio CDs, Sony’s maintain his access to the programs. The company, in
live and work, and it has also XCP system has turned out system and use it for its corporate blog, also
made us dependent on it—and to be the darling of a malicious purposes. It could recently said, “Root-kits
life sans technology is now number or spyware and also be a hacker security have a clearly negative
unthinkable. Gadgets such as virus writers. This support tool that captures impact on not only the
the mobile phone that were to malware provided by the passwords and message security, but also the
earlier a luxury have now copy protection system, traffic to and from a reliability and performance
become a necessity—such is the albeit inadvertently, has computer, or a collection of of the users’ systems.”
growth of technology in our life resulted in Sony staring tools that allows a hacker There also has been news
and society. at a number of class enter into a system. of virus writers taking
action suits and other Subsequently, Microsoft advantage of the XCP system
How do you use technology in legal hassles. labelled the system as to hide their malicious
your daily activities? The XCP system is malware, and has pieces of code. The resulting
I primarily use technology for controversial because it uses announced that further negative publicity has meant
calling people. I also use e-mail. techniques more often seen that Sony has suspended
However, I prefer to maintain a the manufacture of audio
fine balance between using and CDs with the XCP
over-using technology. protection system.
To add to Sony’s woes,
What gadgets do you own? amateur sleuths have
I own a number of gadgets, but I claimed that the code used
rarely have the time to use to create XCP, which guards
them. A Motorola Razr is the cell CDs against copyright
phone of my choice—it’s neat infringement, itself has
and sleek. My earlier phone been culled from the code
tried my patience. I also have a written by Jon Johansen to
Hitachi DVD camera which can circumvent DRM (Digital
record directly onto DVDs. Rights Management) on
DVDs! Sony had outsourced
How has technology the coding work for XCP to
influenced your career? First4Internet, a British
Technology hasn’t played a big software firm. Now the
part in my career. Admittedly, it sleuths claim that
has made recording and First4Internet lifted pieces
playback convenient. of code that are covered by
Personally, I would never use the Free Software
devices such as pitch correcting Foundation’s LGPL, or Lesser
machines for recording. General Public License. This
Illustrations Harsho Mohan Chattoraj
license covers the author’s

16 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Security Watch
right to chunks of code explicit permission from
Macromedia Flash Player rather than a complete the books’ authors. DVD-Writers
Vulnerability program. Google began the These can burn
The Problem With this new twist to library-scanning project DVDs and CDs and
the tale, it looks like Sony late last year. The company also play back
A vulnerability has been almost all
reported in Macromedia Flash has a number of new battles had postponed the
formats. Most
Player, and has been described to contend with, and their scanning of copyrighted come for about Rs 3,000,
as “highly critical.” Many users copyright protection codes books in August to give including high-quality ones.
have Flash Player 6 or 7 will be off the CDs for a writers and publishers We think DVD-Writers should
currently installed, and the while. So, it’s a field day for more time to opt out of the be part of standard
music pirates? program; the scanning of equipment on any computer!
vulnerability has been reported
in Flash Player version 7.0.19.0 copyrighted material
and prior on Windows. COPYRIGHT ISSUES AGAIN resumed early last month
with a larger emphasis Combo Drives
Damages Google Print on books that were no
longer in print.
Combo drives
were huge sell-
The bug could be exploited by
using specially crafted Faces Google claims that since
only excerpts of the books
outs when they
hit the market.
However, we think it’s time
(malformed) SWF files to
execute arbitrary code on Roadblocks will be made available to
anyone who searches them,
to say goodbye to them!
Who needs a Combo drive
the machines of users induced when you can get a DVD-
into visiting sites under the they are not violating any Writer for just a few
control of hackers.
T he Authors Guild, an
association of published
authors, and five major
copyright laws. However,
the copyright cases being
filed by publishers may
hundred rupees more?

Solution
To find out what version you publishers—including still prove to be an obstacle photo sharing services, a
have installed (if you have Penguin and McGraw-Hill— in the company’s new service from Redwood
different browsers installed, are suing to prevent Google gargantuan copying and City, California, which
you’ll have to check each from scanning copyrighted indexing project. automates the tagging of
browser independently), use material in libraries For us, of course, the pictures using artificial
your browser to access without explicit permission. project is good news—do intelligence and face
www.macromedia.com/softwar But Google seems keen on visithttp://print.google.com recognition technology, is
e/flash/about. If it’s below thumbing their face—they and tell us what you think! hoping to stand out and
version 7.0.19.0, you’ll need to have launched Google Print, grab some market share.
update to Flash Player 8 a service that provides users AI AND FACE RECOGNITION The service, called Riya,
with entire texts of books has developed software that
(8.0.22.0) or apply the Flash
Player 7 update (7.0.61.0 or and government
documents, scanned and
Automatic can recognise who is in a
picture, and tag it with
7.0.60.0). The Flash Player 8
download is at www. indexed from five major
libraries in the US.
Photo their names. Photos can be
uploaded to Riya from hard
macromedia.com/shockwave/d
ownload/download.cgi?P1_Prod_ These books, according
to Google, are in the public
Tagging! drives, photo-storage sites
such as Yahoo! Photos, and
Version=ShockwaveFlash.
The Flash Player 7 update is domain, which means their from e-mail attachments in
at http://www.macromedia.com/
go/d9c2fe33. Note that the
copyrights have expired
and that anybody can
access them and use them
T here are a number of
photo sharing and
image management
Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo!
Mail. The service will soon
be including uploads from
only reason you’d want to
apply the Flash Player 7 update for copying and publishing. software to suit your Flickr, Outlook, Friendster
is that Flash Player 8 is not But Google also plans to specific requirements. and MySpace.
supported by Windows 95, scan and index many other Flickr and Picasa are the The results of this new
Windows NT, or classic books that aren’t yet in the most preferred, and the rest service have been said to be
Macintosh operating systems. public domain. The groups of the field is struggling to very impressive: testers have
suing Google are accusing keep up with them. said that the software was
it of not having obtained Amidst this crowd of even able to differentiate

One Silly Question “What would you rename ‘Windows’ to?”

“The ‘Sea’, sin

ce it’s unfathom ows’!” s’?”
able” i-Wind “I feel ‘Peep-out’ is
t ‘Door
Mudasser Mu “I don’t know. ‘Furniture’ maybe?” call it ‘Min fine.”
else bu
“I would “What
lla, Mumbai Nirja Gandhi, Mumb
ai bai
Gujara
t i, Mum
Pooja Chipalia, Mumbai Doshi, anghv
Bhavik Heer S

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 17

 Pulse
The Digital World A Round-up Of Technology News From Across The Globe
UNITED STATES CHINA
FINLAND
Despite support from only 1 per The number of Internet users in China JAPAN
Too many mobile phones are turning reached 103 million in June of this year.
cent of the public, the State up in the sewage system of the Helsinki Tokyo offers the cheapest
Department has finalised plans China's Internet sector is now the world’s
metropolitan area. At the sewage plant second largest. This despite Chinese broadband amongst major
to go ahead with passports in Viikinmäki, a thousand tons of solid world cities, and Japan
containing RFID chips. It plans to authorities doing their best to control
junk is collected every year, a lot of this the medium. claims its broadband is the
have all passports RFID-enabled being in the form of mobile phones. cheapest. Flets ADSL in
by October of 2006. Talk about e-waste! Tokyo charges just ¥4,850
per month (Rs 1,850).

UNITED KINGDOM
The British Library, which holds 13 million
books, will begin digitising its collection and
make 25 million pages of it available online.
These will be available for free on Microsoft
Web sites: Microsoft has pledged $1.7 million
a year to pay for the project, probably in
response to Google Print.

AUSTRALIA
Australian telecom major Telstra recently
announced it will roll-out a W-CDMA network
that will cover 98 per cent of Australia’s
population! This bolsters the idea that
mobile can play a prime role in providing
rural broadband connectivity.

between identical twins and viewable by friends in the

spot family members! In photos or by the general Three Incredibly Useful Sites
addition to this, the public. Friends may search
software can also read street each others’ images and Et Cetera
signs in a photograph and even add their own tags.
thus identify a location. The Riya plans to make the www.bplans.com Bplans.com
service’s context-based images and metadata Are you looking for information to
approach looks at 50 exportable to ‘any help start your own business? First of
variables in a photograph, application.’ all, chalk a business plan. And a visit
including hair, eye colour, to Bplans.com will do you a whole lot
shirt colour, height, sex, etc. HARDWARE VIRTUALISATION of good. It has it all—legal information,
Munjal Shah, CEO of business plan software, 500 sample
Riya, says the software’s
mission is to make every
As Good As plans—you name it.

photo in the world

searchable.
Two
www.avantGo.com AvantGo.com
Of course, to tag a photo If you’re tired of the way Web pages
by identifying its contents,
the software needs to be
trained. The training
E arlier last month, Intel
launched two Pentium
IV chips—the Pentium IV
look on your handheld device, AvantGo
is the answer to your prayers. The
company offers customised Web
software is available on the 672 and 662 processors— content from Reuters, Wired,
Internet and is currently which will support a AccuWeather and The New York Times.
offered for Windows-based technology that allows You just need to sync your handheld
computers. A user would computers to once beforehand daily, and your
train the software by simultaneously run several favourite sites will travel with
identifying, or tagging, operating systems, and also you all the time. And yes, the service
individuals in their photos. tools such as anti-virus and is free!
As the software learns other high-end applications
who’s in your pictures, it such as image processing Grokker.com
begins to auto-tag the and video editing software. www.grokker.com Grokker returns query results
photographs, quickly The technology, called organised into a visual map. What this
scanning the rest of your ‘virtualisation’, is said to means is your search results are no
photos and identifying each impact the multitasking longer mere hyperlinks on a white
person it can recognise. capabilities of a PC page: they’re colourful and cross-
Photos uploaded to this tremendously. Intel claims referenced. And how good are the
free service for tagging can these processors are the search results? Well, it depends on
be made private, or users first desktop processors to what kind of search you’re conducting.
can choose to make images have these capabilities. Go ahead, give Grokker a shot!

18 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Pulse

Digit Caption
‘You shoot me, I shoot you!’

Last Month’s Winner!

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Qr.No.AP-11,Atlanta Point,
Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar
Islands-744102
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and win Fundamentals of
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by Eric Maiwald
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Photograph Jiten Gandhi m at their own gam
and beat the Digit tea

Formally, the 672 and the the new Pentium IVs. More EFFICIENT MULTICORE aimed at the server market.
662 will feature Intel manufacturers are expected The Ultra Sparc T1 chip,
Virtualization Technology.
They are priced at $605
to begin selling machines
with the chips in early 2006.
A New code-named Niagara,
promises to be more than
(Rs 27,000) and $401
(Rs 17,500) respectively, in
With virtualisation in
desktop computer chips,
8-Core Chip just a chip off the old,
umm, chips! Powered by
1,000-unit quantities. Intel can claim an area eight cores on a single chip,
Virtualisation will be
extremely beneficial in a
business setting, where the
where it’s beaten AMD. Intel
had a big setback earlier this
year when they lost the race
I s this the rise of a new
Sun? Well, Sun
Microsystems surely hopes
the T1 at 70 watts
consumes less than half the
power required to run
system administration can for coming out with the first it is. The company has just similar processors.
carry on with their dual-core processor for launched a new processor
maintenance duties without servers. In this respect, Intel
interfering with any was over six months behind
workers’ PC use. AMD. With the current pace
Virtualisation could also of developments, Intel will
isolate virus attacks to only make virtualisation available
the setting in which the for its Itanium and Xeon
attack takes place—this will server processors as well as
ensure that the virus will the Pentium M chip for
not spread and infect the laptops by next summer.
entire system or even Intel also plans to introduce
a network. these in dual-core Pentium
The virtualisation processors for desktop
concept and technology are computers by mid 2006.
themselves not new. Several Intel is making
software-based virtualisation technology
virtualisation solutions available now, even though
already exist in the market. software makers have not
However, when yet introduced operating
implemented in the systems that can take
hardware, virtualisation advantage of the technology.
could become more Intel expects the software to
efficient in terms of space be available by the middle of
and speed. next year. However, analysts
Computer makers such are of the opinion that these
as Acer and Lenovo, will be software may be available as
the first to offer PCs with early as January 2006.

20 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Pulse
and eco-responsible way.” mobile phones. These chips
Nachiket Mhatre vs Urmila Rane According to Sun,“The are slated to cost not more
GENDER Enabling A Tone Alert For Num
impact on our environment than Rs 250 a piece. This is a
is real: if half the entry major cost reduction from
Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock servers sold in the last three the current levels of over
years were replaced with Rs 1,000 per chipset.
the UltraSPARC T1 By undertaking moves
processors, over 11 million that will help the general
tons of CO2 emissions, or masses, especially those
BENDERS the equivalent of that who haven’t yet benefited
emitted by about a million from the boom in the
SUVs, would be eliminated technological advances and
each year.” innovations, of the past few
years, Philips is attempting
5 sec PHILIPS EYES INDIA to become a truly global
corporation that can meet
A computer engineering student, Nachiket was excited
about Gender Benders. On being told his task, he just said, Mobiles for consumer demands
anywhere in the world.
“That’s in the Accessibility Options, right?” We were kind of
taken aback. He went the window to do the changes by
typing the following command on the Run window -
Less SKY-HIGH WI-FI
access.cpl. And next he enabled the ‘Use ToggleKeys’ option.
There, the job was done in the blink of an eye. And he didn’t
Balloon
even have to think much! Very impressive Indeed!
P hilips, the electronics
giant, sees India as a
testing ground for its Beams
products. Speaking to
reporters in Bangalore, CEO
Gerard Kleisterlee said
Broadband!
India’s large population
makes it the best testing
ground for solutions that
address the unmet needs of
A balloon floating 24,000
metres above the earth
has been used to test, for
3 min the four billion people at the first time, a lightning-
22 sec the bottom of the global fast data downlink (read
economic pyramid. broadband!) from the
Urmila was at ease, though she wasn’t sure about the solution.
She went to the right place anyway—the Control Panel. She In a bid to address a stratosphere, one of the
considered ‘Sounds’ and ‘Audio Devices’ first. But nothing number of technological topmost layers of the
there! Next, she looked at other options including ‘System’, concerns, Philips plans to atmosphere. The helium
‘Keyboard’ and ‘Accessibility’. She felt she couldn’t nail it here, increase both the staff and balloon was tested on 31
so she exited that window just as fast as she had entered it.
When she did realise that the answer actaully lay within manufacturing and research August for several hours.
‘Accessibility options’, she went back there and zeroed in. Good capabilities in the country. Analysis now shows the test
line of thought, girl, but be quicker next time! Among many of the was a success, and that it
initiatives undertaken by sent data to the ground at
The T1s will be the brain With an energy crisis Philips are the DISHA 1.25 Gbps—which is a
behind the Sun Fire servers looming on the horizon, (Distance Healthcare thousand times the speed of
that the company plans to albeit distant, any move Advancement) programme, a a typical home broadband
launch later this month. towards energy telemedicine initiative that it connection.
Sun claims that this chip— conservation will be met began in July 2005 to provide The test craft was
with eight processing with applause. Sun is healthcare to rural developed by the Capanina
cores—is a five-year leap hoping that this applause communities, and the Consortium—14 European
over its existing turn into sales figures and endeavour to manufacture a academic and industry
competitors, namely IBM’s lift sagging profits. At Sun's sub-Rs 1,000 mobile phone. partners funded mainly by
Power chip and Intel’s Xeon Summit on 21st Century To achieve this, Philips is the EU. They hope such
microprocessors. Sun hopes Eco-Responsibility on 14 currently developing the craft may be able to provide
this energy-efficient chip November, CEO Scott Nexperia cellular system, low-cost internet access in
will drive customers to buy McNealy said Sun would which will develop and mass- the developing world, or
Sparc-Solaris servers. make money in a “socially produce low-cost chipsets for perhaps communications in

Flock
B logs of a feather Flock together—that seems to
be the idea behind a new browser that will soon
hit the average Internet user. Flock, the browser,
and-drop blogging tools.
Advertised as a ‘social browser,’ Flock
incorporates very well with ‘social’ things on the
looks very similar to Firefox, which isn’t surprising Web such as Flickr and del.icio.us. With the mission
considering both share the Mozilla core. The best of integrating all our Web activities—blogging, photo
part about this browser is that it lets you add blog sharing, wikis, maps, podcasting and video blogging
posts right through the user interface: it has a blog included—into a one-system-one-UI product, Flock
tab, and features widely-compliant WYSIWYG, drag- sure is the buzz in the tech world!

22 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Pulse
areas stricken by a disaster. launching Internet computer to watch her
David Grace from the television as early as 2006. daily soap you know
University of York, one of In a bid to beat Internet which plug to pull!
the project scientists companies such as Yahoo!
behind the test, says and Google, who are CHEAPER PRINTS NOW GET
stratospheric planning to use DONE QUICK
communications balloons computers and the

Web 2.0
can indeed provide wireless
alternatives to fixed
Internet to relay television
shows, Time Warner is
HP’s New
What is Web 2.0?
Internet infrastructures.
The main concern with
readying to launch In2TV.
This ad-supported
Printing
Web 2.0 is a term often applied
to the perceived ongoing balloons as communications
hubs is ensuring they don’t
Internet TV model will
have six channels,
Technology
transition of the World Wide
Web from a collection of Web interfere with commercial comprising the comedy,
sites to a full-fledged
computing platform serving
Web applications to end users.
aircraft. Controllers on the
ground can alter the
altitude of the balloon,
drama, animation, action,
classic and
superhero/villain genres.
L ate last month, HP
launched the Officejet
Pro K550 colour printer.
Ultimately, Web 2.0 services but they can’t steer it—as With 4,800 episodes of This, HP claims, is the
are expected to replace of now. various shows and over fastest printer in its
desktop computing
The consortium is also 3,000 hours of category. HP also
applications for many
purposes. If Netscape was the looking to develop other programming, the launched a photo printer
standard bearer for Web 1.0, types of communications Internet TV model has a for home users—the HP
it’s Google for Web 2.0. craft that can fly at very huge bank of ready Photosmart 8238, which
high altitudes. Craft such content to go live. The can print high quality
Where is Web 2.0? as airships could be useful company plans to show colour photographs in 14
Web 2.0 is not a physical entity, when heavier already-aired episodes to seconds.
but is, rather, the way the Web
will be used in the future. For communication equipment start off before conceiving What’s interesting
instance, Google started its life such as radio antennas original content for here is that both ranges of
as a Web entity and has need to be carried to the this medium. printers incorporate
remained so ever since. It skies. Time Warner also technology that HP claims
never created any products hopes to sell Microsoft a is revolutionary as far as
that could be shipped SOAPS ON YOUR PC stake in this venture. The the printing and imaging
physically. Its income was move to non-traditional industry is concerned.
generated through users—
directly or indirectly—and will
Net TV As media for airing television
shows has been on the
Designed using what HP
calls Scalable Printing
continue to do so. Moreover,
the integration of its services is Early As anvil for a couple of years
now, and the advent of
Technology, these printers
have print heads that have
a good example of what the
Web 2.0 definition
encapsulates.
2006? the Video iPod and
podcasting has only
been created
photolithographically.
quickened the pace of This process of creating
Who is running Web 2.0?
Web 2.0 is not a piece of
software; it refers to the way M edia giant Time
Warner has
announced they will be
development in this area.
So the next time your
mom tunes into your
nozzles in the print head
has been borrowed from
the chip fabrication
an application or service or
domain exists on the Web. process. It ensures that
the cost of printing comes
Why do we need Web 2.0? down by almost half.
Web 2.0 is about ‘glocalisation’ HP has designed a kind
—making global information of common core for all
available to local social print heads, thus making
contexts and giving people the sure that the cost for
flexibility to find, organise, manufacturing them in
share and create information in bulk comes down—and
a locally meaningful fashion
that is globally accessible.
thus the price of the
printer, too, comes down.
When will Web 2.0 be The photo printer
available? features six separate ink
Look at Web 2.0 as a set of cartridges. The printer
compliance guidelines. There also incorporates a smart
already exist sites that comply
printing technology that
with these, for example, Flickr.
ensures no print job is
How is it different from what left half done.
we have now? Digit is yet to test HP’s
The technology infrastructure claims, and we’re hoping
of Web 2.0 is complex and to get our hands on one of
evolving, but includes server these printers soon!
software, content syndication,
messaging protocols,
standards-based browsers, and Compiled by Aditya Kuber,
various client applications. Mithun Kidambi, Ram Mohan Rao
and Renuka Rane

24 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Passion l Lead Feature

Digital

30 Geneva
System
Sound
32 The Future Is
Paper 38 The Battle Of
The Blue
Passion
Fuelling the pursuit of technology knowledge

Lead Feature

Concocting
Dreams editing technologies, but we’re certainly catching
Aditya Kuber up. We’re quickly learning the new art of creating
When it comes to things that cannot be shot through the camera.
technology in ustre, Flint, Smoke, Combus- There was a time when movies were made

movie-making, L tion, Fire, Flame… no, we’re not

talking about making a bomb!
with a camera, a lot of lights and a great deal of
sweat. They still are, but now, they have help from
India is, These are the software used today to technology. A nip here and a tuck there… it’s all
digitally enhance a movie—or create in a day’s play! Movies today are being shot digi-
admittedly, just scenes for one. The way it’s done is tally, with live voice (no dubbing), online editing
catching up. But quite marvellous, and very often (deciding the edit points—where a shot will be
we’re getting you don’t notice that there’s a edited and joined—as one shoots), and are being
computer at work behind the processed digitally.
there pretty fast scenes, literally. We take a look
here at where India stands in the The Old Days
adoption of the computer as a Let us first understand, though, how it happened
tool in movie-making. earlier. It was relatively simple. A film would first

Shrikrishna Patkar
Imaging Vikram Kathare and
India lags behind Holly- be ‘canned’, meaning it would be shot on film
wood (or for that matter, most stock in negative format. Then, it would be
technologically-advanced processed; this meant converting the negative
countries that make movies) format into positive, which could be projected.
in implementing advanced This is quite similar to the film processing we do
 Digital Passion l Lead Feature
(or used to) for our photos. After this, the canned But DI is going beyond post-production: it is
and processed film would be edited to create the now being used in pre-production. “Dhoom 2 will be
movie, which would be output and duplicated for using a pre-viz (pre-visualisation) technique that
projection at movie theatres. will create a blueprint of all shots. This will mean
While some parts of this process still remain, that everyone on the set knows exactly what is to
there are new stages that have been added to this be done before they even reach the location. The
workflow, if you will, which are dramatically alter- cost saving and clarity of job responsibility this
ing the way a movie looks. offers is phenomenal,” says Pankaj Kedia, Regional
Take, for example, the recent blockbuster Manager, South East Asia and India, Autodesk
Black. The entire soft, dreamy look the movie has (Media and Entertainment Division).
could not have been possible using just the Indeed, one of the greatest advantages DI and
camera. Enter the post-production experts. Using other such processes have offered is the cost
software such as AutoDesk Lustre, the entire savings. At the same time, these have also resulted
movie (after editing) was given a look and feel that in increased creativity and better planning—
was consistent throughout, and did not cause the which has, in turn, has meant that less time is
viewer to think there was something ‘special’ spent wondering what to do when on the sets.
going on. This, however, is a special case. What is “Tools such as pre-viz are finally being used.
not a special case, though, is the Digital Interme- These allow the director to decide where everyone
diate (DI) that virtually all movies today undergo. in the unit will be for a shot. Everyone involved,
too, is aware of this, and that makes for less time
Digital Intermediate spent on the sets,” says Pankaj Khandpur, Creative
DI is an ever-evolving process. In a nutshell, it is Director Visual Computing Labs, Tata Elxsi.
the middle one-third of the operation loosely
termed ‘Digital Film’. The other two-thirds of Digi- So Will Tech Take Over?
tal Film consist of acquisition (the obtaining of Some time ago, myths circulated as the use of tech-
the source material through some form of nology increased: for example, that cinematogra-
capture) and presentation (the distribution, phers might go obsolete, or that they would not
projection and/or transmission of the final result). have to work as hard. But these were never true.
But before DI comes acquisition and editing. “Yes, there were a lot of ideas that now cine-
The entire movie is usually transferred to a matographers will not have to work as hard, when
computer and digitised, making it easier to edit. these processes were gaining popularity in the US
In some cases, though, filmmakers prefer to edit around 1990. But this is definitely not true,”
in the linear format—from tape to tape, without assures Sibille Cooney, Senior Trainer, Autodesk
transferring it to a computer or digitising it. M&E Division, US. Cooney is, in fact, engaged in
In either case, the DI process begins after training upcoming Indian editors in the art of DI
editing is complete. The transferred film is and post-production effects.
colour-corrected, ‘cleaned up’ (more on this Agreeing with Cooney is one of India’s leading
later) and composited (put together again as one post-production and Visual Effects (VFX) artists,
package). The final product is then output to Huzefa Lokhandwala of Prime Focus Studios.
either analogue (film) format or digital format “Each aspect of the post-production process some-
for projection. times requires varied specialised training. Hands-
What happens in DI is, colours are made on experience thereafter definitely helps. Not
consistent, edit jerks are cleaned, and special speaking technically, however, we could safely say
effects—even the basic ones—are added. Remem- that the basic requirement would be the ability to
ber the multiple screens in Dhoom where four observe and visualise. The ability to combine man
different shots were visible at the same time? All and machine in the most effective and aesthetic
four were shot separately and were made to look fashion is what makes a good post-production
consistent using DI. artist in this technological age,” he says.

Gayab

Mughle Azam

26 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Passion l Lead Feature
VFX
Computer Graphics (CG) encompasses all there Scanned Data Data conformed to
Data Scanner with heads and
is to Visual Effects (VFX). CG is, in fact, the timestamp
output norms
engine that drives this train. There are various
sub-branches under CG—such as animation, 3D
character animation, creation of inorganic 3D Processed
Archive HD
objects, and even mixing and compositing them negative SD o/p
all. (original input Additional
To explain these terms a little, 3D character media) form VFX etc if
required
animation would refer to movies such as Shrek
and Ice Age, where the characters were entirely Final film
created using a computer, and lived out their output to data
lives right there! In the case of 3D inorganic Final network and
Output Arrilaser archive and
objects, these are things such as hurricanes and media recorder output
smoke, and sometimes live action. Remember
the twister in Twister? The process above is the Digital intermediate that involves scanning the film, processing
In India, though, there is not much of a it, adding FX and releasing the final output for presentation
market for either. If anything, there is a small
market for 3D inorganic objects. “The problem want to hide! A blast has to be bigger, better and
is that not too many filmmakers in India more realistic. This is where we are trying to
include this as part of their budget. They are still create experts by working on a mentor-protégé
unable to quantify the results of using these system,” adds Khandpur.
technologies. By that, I mean they cannot trans- Some of the other forms of effects that are
late it into monetary benefits,” says Khandpur. commonly done include wire stamping. This
Lokhandwala agrees to some extent, but is just involves cleaning out the wires by which
sure that India will catch up. In fact, India has actors hang during stunts. “Not just us, but most
already started using these technologies. people involved in this work hate wire stamp-
“Creatively, the number of filmmakers employ- ing. But we can’t help it. If only the director
ing and getting aware of digital tools is increas- involved us earlier, I think we could do some-
ing. VFX has become an integral part of Indian thing about it,” laments Khandpur.
filmmaking. It could be features, advertising An example of this much-hated stamping
commercials, music videos, documentaries. would be the climax scene of the recent
From subtle enhancements, to crucial correc- Salman Khan-Fardeen Khan-Anil Kapoor star-
tions, to seamless compositions, to in-your-face rer No Entry. When all three leading men are
computer generated imagery… we use them all,” hanging on to dear life on what is shown as a
he says. cliff, in reality, they couldn’t be safer, standing
Differentiating between the two basic types on terra firma at Khandala. But the actual shot
of VFX—the subtle and the in-your-face—reveals shows them on a cliff overlooking the sea. The
that the covert form is tougher to execute simply sea, the cliff and the actors, too, were added
because no-one should notice it. “These are the using a computer. The entire scene (and the
subtle effects that need to be in a movie, but if film) was then processed to maintain the same
they’re noticed and someone says, ‘Hey, that’s a colour temperature, and composited to look
nice effect’, it’s actually like telling us we didn’t like they were hanging over a cliff. The only
do a good enough job of integrating it into the thing that was real here was the hanging!
movie,” says Khandpur. To complete the entire sequence, the safety
The other form, the obvious one, requires rope they were hanging by had to be
blasts, pyrotechnics, prosthetics, robotics and stamped out later, as well as any traces of
even miniatures. “These are the ones you don’t harnesses and hooks.

TV Commercial Darna Mana Hai

Promo

DECEMBER 2005 DIGIT 27

 Digital Passion l Lead Feature

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Hollywood To Bollywood we show them what is possible, they realise their

It took over a decade for post-production and mistake of not having involved us earlier. It’s a
special effects technologies to cover the distance one-time thing we have to do with all directors,
between the western coasts of the US and India. but it’s starting to pay off,” says Khandpur.
And during this time, the technology
leapfrogged. “We in India will catch up, though. The Professionals
We are always playing the same game even What directors lack today is the presence of VFX
when it concerns other technologies or aspects supervisors on the sets. “It’s important to get the
of technology. It will not be too different here logic right when planning or executing effects.
either,” says Kedia. Unfortunately, the concept of a VFX supervisor is
Acceptance of the technology was not absent in India. There is activity, though, to create
overnight in the US either, says Cooney. “There such specialists,” says Namit Malhotra, managing
were doubts about the abilities of these software director of Prime Focus.
and technologies and then, of course, there were While filmmakers struggle to come to terms
the sceptics. But eventually, when the first big with the possibilities before them, those behind
hit that used technology extensively was deliv- the scenes making things happen are already
ered, everyone wanted to do it,” she says. having to grapple with problems of their own.
Precisely what Khandpur thinks is required “DI and VFX are two totally different aspects. To
for the Indian film industry to completely realise get into either, though, you need knowledge of
the potential of these software. “One big hit and editing,” says Cooney.
the whole industry will be making special effects There seems to be an abundance of editors
oriented movies,” he assures. But for now, it’s willing to learn the tricks of the trade, but there
mostly clean-ups and corrections. “When direc- hasn’t always been a place they could go to learn
tors come to us today, what they are looking for it from. So most end up learning on the job. “It’s
is to mainly clean up some grey areas. But once a good thing and a bad thing too… while the new

28
 Digital Passion l Lead Feature
guys can see what the real needs are, they don’t
always get enough time to fathom the possibili- Upcoming Movies
ties. We do put them through the paces and
handhold them for some time, but eventually, we Life Ho To Aisi: India’s first HD (high- Bluffmaster: Abhishek Bachchan
have to tell them it’s time they started on their definition) movie. Shot on HD is led into the computer and the
own,” says Khandpur. cameras, this children’s film will film gets a slick new look and feel.
include some great quality visuals. Dhoom 2: Including pre-
Cases In Point Ek Ajnabee: Watch out for the fight visualisation, this film will be
There has been a wide range of movies that have sequence. Stars Amitabh Bachchan planned to the last detail before
either undergone the DI process or had a great and a little boy! the shooting even starts. As a
amount of VFX in them. Some of these you know Home Delivery : One of the most matter of fact, a couple of scenes
about, some you don’t. Presenting an exposé: talked-about films of late, this film using pre-viz and including VFX
Kal Ho Na Ho: A love story with virtually no has a range of effects and of course, specialists and supervisors have
action scenes, you must wonder where the VFX DI. Spot the effects if you can! already been canned.
were. “There are a couple of scenes where it
was required that VFX step in. The movie was
shot on location in the US and there was a special effects… a fact that is not often realised
scene when snow was required. The director when you watch a movie, and that, perhaps, is
ordered only one snow machine thinking it the best compliment for the creators!
would be enough, but when they started shoot- Mangal Pandey - The Rising: A period film and
ing, it was less than adequate. After talking to an epic, this movie has it all: DI, VFX and a great
us, we gave a solution: just make sure the two deal of wire stamping!
main actors in the scene were covered with Assuming you’ve watched the movie, let’s
snow, and we’ll take care of the rest. You could- jump right into the scene when Aamir Khan has
n’t even tell that the snow was added later,” challenged the might of the British regime. The
reveals Khandpur. Rangoon regiment is on its way to handle him
Dhoom: Here was a movie with loads of SFX. and his group of revolutionaries. Now, the very
Not just VFX, but plenty of special ones! “This reason this regiment was called in was because it
was an out-and-out action thriller, and there had 50,000 soldiers. Hiring as many people had
was plenty of scope to work on it. Take for monetary and logistical implications… actually
example the stunt scene where the motorcy- nightmares. So just about 200 people were shot
cle rider has to jump over a rake… we were on and then replicated to make the regiment look
the set when they shot it and everyone was like like it was attacking in all its glory.
‘Wow’. But when we saw the scene a little more Right after this scene is the part where Khan
objectively, the thrill was missing. The scene is tried and is about to be hanged. Again, the
showed the motorcyclist jumping over an problem was the number of people that could be
empty rake between two bogeys. What we realistically had on the sets. Once again, replica-
realised was that the rake was too long and tion was done. This time, though, some ‘creation’
this took the thrill away… so we reduced the was also done—and not through the camera. A
length of this! The effect was superb,” says tent, an elephant and some villagers behind the
Khandpur. lead actor were added. Also cleaned up was some
“Another scene where we got the chance to lighting equipment that had crept into the shot!
add some special effects was the one after the Over the years, as the Indian film industry
title song-and-dance sequence. In this one, there matures and gets more professional, there is a
are lines of petrol spill along the ramp, and these good possibility that a special effects film could
are supposed to be lit by the actor. He is supposed well come out of Bollywood. “We might be a long
to fling his Zippo lighter into the petrol. When way away from making our own Matrix-like tech-
his close-ups were shot, it hardly looked appeal- centred movies, but the signs are positive.
ing. But we took this onto the computer and Who knows, but soon, we could…” says
made it dramatic,” says Khandpur. Eventually, Khandpur. Amen.
this movie ended up having over 20 minutes of [email protected]

29
Digital Passion | Geek Dreams

The Geneva Sound

System redefines P assionate about music? Here’s a sound
system that not only packs in powerful
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The Geneva Sound System can also work
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with its refreshing single, stunning piano lacquered wooden the computer, TV, game console, turntable,
design and singular cabinet, the Geneva Sound System uses and more, through its line-in port. An LED
audio output advanced, patented algorithms to digitally display shows the source and the currently
adapt the left and right sound signals to playing track.
ensure a balanced sound output, regardless of Sleek and contemporary, the Geneva Sound
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Geneva Sound System

Imaging Sivalal S

DECEMBER 2005 DIGIT 30

 Digital Passion l Tomorrow

The Future Is Paper

capabilities to make devices powerful yet small.
The future of Robert Sovereign-Smith Again, the problem has always been displays: a
display that’s too large not only results in an
displays could

I
n Gadgetopia (Digit, July 2005), we designed unacceptable form factor, but also eats up
see a radical the theoretical Gadget of Our Dreams battery power by the watts.
shift in (GOD)—basically, a single gadget most of us But what if there was a technology that
would like to have, provided someone put it could provide you with a large display screen
technology. together and marketed it. It was conceptu- which could be rolled, folded and manipulated
Coming soon: alised using existing technologies, one of to fit into a tiny space when not being used?
which was the paper/foldable display. And at the same time it used less battery power
displays as thin Thus far, gadget sizes have been defined by than the backlight of your cell phone?
as a human hair! the size of their screens. Too large a screen and Amazing, right? Well, not quite: this is old
the gadget cannot be sold as a ‘portable’ device; news now. The problem is that the black-and-
too small, and the screen becomes barely read- white era is behind us, and we’re not interested
able, ruling out full-fledged computing on it! in going back there—most such displays are
This, perhaps, is why there’s still a market for only monochrome capable yet, with the opera-
PDAs, despite the fact that mobile phones— tive word being “yet”!
which have a much more compact form
factor—have enough processing power to The Legacy
Illustration Pradip Ingale

accomplish the tasks of a regular PDA. The idea of paper displays, or ePaper as it’s also
We may not yet be at the stage of bringing known, is hardly new. Back in 1975, Nicholas
high-end 3D gaming to a mobile phone, but we Sheridan, a physicist working at the Xerox
certainly have the technology and hardware PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), started his

32 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Passion l Tomorrow
The list of companies that are actively

Infographic Shrikrishna Patkar

Xerox PARC’s SmartPaper researching paper displays is even longer.
Needless to say, the market is waiting impa-
tiently to see some significant progress in this
field, and researchers are working overtime to
meet this demand.
E-Ink’s technology is similar to what Sheri-
dan came up with at Xerox PARC, but is defi-
nitely not the same. Instead of using
microcapsules that are coloured half-black and
half-white, E-Ink uses microcapsules that
contain granules of a positively-charged white
Here you can see that the spheres are coloured half-
pigment and granules of a negatively-charged
black and half-white, and are contained between black pigment.
thin plastic films These capsules are suspended in a clear
fluid that lies between thin layers of a plastic
research on ePaper. To give you an idea of how material, which is, in turn, laminated on a
ahead of his time Sheridan was, the novel idea layer of micro-circuitry and electrodes. The top
back then was to replace paper with portable plastic layer is a transparent electrode, whereas
flat-panel displays, which, as we all know, were the bottom layer contains the control elec-
not exactly portable back then, were very trodes.
expensive, and had terrible contrast—you could Now, in order to draw a display, the elec-
hardly make out the screen in a lit room, forget trodes are charged either positive or negative,
about outdoors! according to the image requirement. The
Sheridan’s dream was to make a flexible
paper-like sheet that could not only display How E-Ink Works
text and images, but also be re-written by using
Source: E-Ink
an electrostatic charge. The solution he came
up with was to use tiny electrically-charged
spheres, enclosed in the oil-filled cavities of a
thin layer of a transparent elastomer.
Incidentally, this is the technology Xerox
PARC still uses in its research of ePaper, which
they call SmartPaper. Each 100-micron sphere
is coloured half white and half black (or
another dark colour). The spheres contain a
dipole—like a magnet, with positive and nega-
tive charges on opposite ends.
Thus, when an electric charge is passed over
certain pre-designated areas of the elastomer
film, the spheres in those areas rotate to show
their dark side, colouring the area. A chip can This image explains how E-Ink works, and you can clearly see the advantages it
offers over Xerox PARC’s texhnology
control the charges at different areas to
produce a sort of advanced, electronically-
controlled etch-a-sketch! micro-circuitry is small enough for two elec-
Since the spheres are reflective in nature, trodes to be placed under each microcapsule,
they are extremely high-contrast, making them and if both electrodes are charged positively,
readable even under direct sunlight. This tech- the positively-charged white pigment granules
nology has already been used to make some in the capsule directly above them are pushed
interesting products. We will talk about those to the top, thus forming a white dot, or pixel.
a little later. Needless to say, this technology, Similarly, a negative charge causes the nega-
though easily implementable, has the draw- tively-charged black pigment granules to be
back of being monochrome. Still, it’s a step in pushed up, thus forming a black pixel.
the right direction. Now, the two electrodes under each micro-
capsule can be polarised differently as well,
The Leaders thus forming a half-white and half-black pixel.
Say the words “paper display” and the name This is how E-Ink’s technology achieves higher
that springs to mind is E-Ink Corporation—the resolutions and apparent shades of grey. All
Xerox or Discman of paper displays! A pioneer this circuitry forms a screen with a calculable
in this field, E-Ink is consistently working resolution, which can then be controlled by a
towards building better and slimmer displays. display driver or graphics chip.
E-Ink currently provides technology and Moreover, the “E-Ink” is reflective in nature,
paper displays to many corporates—not just to and it looks just like print on paper, has a read-
help them build prototypes, but also for full- able angle of 170 degrees, and is clear even in
fledged products. E-Ink’s investors include direct sunlight.
Toppan Printing of Japan, Intel Capital Corpo- But enough on costs and technology
ration, Motorola Corporation, Philips Compo- briefs—let’s get on to the actual prototypes
nents (a division of Royal Philips Electronics) that have been developed to further illustrate
and Vivendi Universal Publishing (France). the road ahead.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 33

 Digital Passion l Tomorrow
Prototypes this means is that, say, you prefer The Times Of
Here we’ll take a look at some products that India for their sports news, The Indian Express for
are currently in development, and which, their political news and The Hindustan Times for
hopefully, should reach the markets, and you, general news, you could program your paper
within the next few years. Instead of looking display to show you the relevant news from the
at the available prototypes individually, we’ll desired news source. This is akin to using a
look at some of the possible implementations news site that allows you to personalise the
of paper displays, and see what products are way your news appears, except that using the
being developed to fill those gaps. paper display you could be anywhere at all—
travelling in a train, standing on a street corner
Electronic Newspapers / Books waiting for a bus, or even while in the loo!
This is the very first implementation that the So what products have been, or are, being
world thought up, which, unfortunately, is still developed in this context?
only in the prototype stage. The most obvious
implementation of a paper display is to replace Sony LIBRIé
paper! Since the most common interaction Though only available in Japan right now, this
people have with actual paper is perhaps the is an e-book reader that uses a paper display. It
newspaper, it is only natural that paper can store up to 10 MB of e-books, and boasts of
displays try and find their way into this space. an impressively sharp resolution of 170 pixels
How can a paper display replace your news- per inch. The display, unlike all other displays
paper? The answer is simple. Consider this: you available on readers or PDAs, is absolutely
probably go out and buy a newspaper everyday, clearly readable even in direct sunlight.
or wait for the delivery boy to drop off one at Though the screen has a dull plastic look, it’s
your home. What happens if you have to leave almost as readable as newsprint.
home early on certain days? What about the
news that happened after the paper was
printed? What about those of us who like to
read three and four different newspapers?
Though TV and the Internet have fulfilled
some of these needs, it’s still not enough!
Now think of a paper display that’s the
same size as your newspaper. It’s foldable, for
easy storage, just like your newspaper, and isn’t
40 pages thick! Now imagine if you could
connect this paper via Wi-Fi or WiMax to news
servers. Essentially, you would just need the
single paper display to read all the news from
all your favourite news sources. Obviously,
news distribution would have to become
subscription services, much like iTunes.
Not only do paper displays in this form
solve the problem of storage and mobility, it The Sony LIBRIé is not exactly the perfect e-reader, but
also means that this sort of a system would it has a great contrast ratio for reading e-books, even
enable you to access news as it happened, under direct sunlight
much like RSS feeds do for you right now. The
added advantage here would be that you can The reader runs on four AAA batteries,
sit and read it like a newspaper, which beats which can last for as much as 10,000 page
peering at a monitor any day! changes. Thankfully, the option of AAA batter-
Another advantage is that you could essen- ies means that you can just pick up a fresh set
tially sort your news according to taste. What at almost any general store across the world,
and not have to rely on a power outlet to
recharge any internal batteries!
There’s a memory stick slot to add addi-
tional memory to the LIBRIé, and a small
speaker and headphone outlet to play any
embedded audio in your e-books. It also
features a keyboard that lets you use the
inbuilt dictionary, so that you can translate
words into English. We’re hoping to see a fully
English version soon!
There are drawbacks though, namely
screen refresh rates—or the lack thereof! When
you click to turn a page, it takes a second to
refresh the screen. While it may seem that
we’re being unreasonably harsh by complain-
ing about this, try entering text on a display
This is a wall-sized paper display that was set up at an exhibition in Japan. It that takes a second to show every letter you
used E-Ink’s technology to display newspaper articles on the paper display, type! Hopefully, these kinks will be ironed out
while images were displayed on the smaller LCD soon—perhaps when a “LIBRIé 2” is launched!

34 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Passion l Tomorrow

The Philips READIUS has a rollable display that lets you carry around a
much larger screen in a pocketable form factor

Philips READIUS
This is a really cool gadget! It features a rollable paper display
in a device that can best be described as a “mobile e-reader.”
The display is capable of four monochrome shades, that can
be rolled up to a radius with a curvature as little as 7.5 mm.
The contrast ratio displayed is 10:1 (bright to dark), more
than sufficient to be able to read it in direct sunlight. The
screen resolution is 320 x 240 (QVGA) pixels at a diameter of
five inches. When closed, the device measures a mere
100 x 60 x 20 mm, obviously making it extremely pocket-able.
We’re not quite sure about battery power, but reports say
that the consumption is minimal.
Being a mobile gadget, it should be able to receive news
and updates of various kinds (traffic, weather, and so on)
quite easily, through Wi-Fi, WiMax, or even cellular
networks. All this has still not been finalised, of course, but
we’re hoping for the best!
This product is still a prototype, and its makers, Philips’
Polymer Vision, currently have no plans to mass-produce it—
unless popular customer demands say otherwise. Basically,
what this means is that they built this prototype to give us a
glimpse of what’s possible, and should we decide that we just
have to have one, some manufacturer or the other can lease
the patent rights and provide us with products! A tall order
indeed, but if you would like to support the “Build me a
READIUS” cause, go to http://www.polymervision.com/
contact/Index.html and demand that Polymer Vision start
mass manufacturing some!

Everyday Life
Apart from the standard uses of paper displays in e-newspa-
pers and e-readers, paper or rollable displays might have an
important part to play in everyday life as well. The simplest
example would be hoardings, where space can be sold as per
the time of the day. So you could have animated advertise-
ments that are just as visible in the day as in the night—
current neon signs are useless in the day! There are also huge
power savings that paper displays offer over neon signs. As
for standard painted or printed billboards, they’re no compe-
tition to cheap paper display billboards that can be animated.
Apart from this, you could also see ultra-thin watches
being made, which could be possible of displaying news or
traffic updates at the push of a button.
Then there’s the whole print advertising industry to be
thought of. Imagine if you got a copy of Digit that was just two
pages thick, yet contained 10 times more content than it does
currently! After all, all print magazines are limited to a certain
number of pages due to printing and handling costs. But that’s
still the content—what about the advertisements? Imagine if,
instead of flipping pages, all you had to do was press a button,
and as things are even now, there would be advertisements

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 35

 Digital Passion l Tomorrow
placed at strategic points between text. The were flexible monochrome displays. So, when
difference here is that advertisements could be E-Ink’s technology was recently used to produce
animated, and perhaps even supported by colour paper displays, it resulted in a great deal
sound—sort of like the Flash advertisements you of excitement. However, E-Ink is still working on
come across online! making these displays flexible or rollable.
If connectivity improves, you could Let’s look at a few products that have been
perhaps use the (imaginary/future) WiMax made using this colour paper display technology:
public network to avail of a special offer that
was advertised! Of course, we’re getting ahead Microsoft Xbox’s Point-Of-Purchase
of ourselves here… or are we? Jade Empire Game Release
Let’s take a look at a few ways rollable Yes, we realise it’s a mouthful, but that’s what
paper displays have started to revolutionise a it’s called! A Point-Of-Purchase (POP) promotion
few areas of everyday life. Expect to see a lot is basically an advertising or promotional
more of these examples in the near future! gimmick that’s undertaken in stores (the
points of purchase) to attract customers to a
Seiko’s “Future Now” E-Paper particular product.
Display Watch Those of you into Pink Floyd might remem-
This watch looks like a stylish wristband, and ber that their album Pulse utilised a revolu-
is incredibly slim and sleek. The watch’s tionary method of attracting attention—the
display is made up entirely of a paper display, Laser Disc of the album had a red LED on the
and offers, as usual, a high-contrast screen. box that would blink “Pulse” every couple of
seconds. This actually increased sales!
Neolux Corporation, a leader in the field of
POP promotions, devised a plan which could use
E-Ink’s paper display technology to create a revo-
lutionary POP promotional method called the
“Ink-In-Motion”. Basically, they could use paper
displays to attractively animate the packaging of
a product!
Apparently, someone at Microsoft thought
this was perfect for the launch of the new Xbox
game Jade Empire. Shown here are three images,
one with all displays off, the second is the next
step in the animation and the third is an even
more enhanced animation. You can also see the
GIF file at: www.eink.com/press/images/
image_release_82.html/ to get a better idea of
how the animation appears .
Considering all this was done, affordably,
using paper displays, you can well imagine how
Seiko’s watch displays the time using a paper display. stores are going to look in the future. Perhaps
The flexibility of the paper display allows for some low-cost products may not employ such tactics,
innovative designs but game distributors are surely going to be
looking into this technology.
Since the display has pure black and pure As the paper displays improve, we may even
white particles, it offers almost the same read- be able to preview actual screenshots from
ability as printed paper, and about twice the games before buying them. Or even turn the
contrast of an LCD screen. Since the display is box over and read reviews of the game, from
flexible, it helps Seiko use only curves in the our choicest Web sites, which can be down-
design, which is why the watch looks so sexy! loaded off the Net! The possibilities are well
This also opens up a whole new world of and truly limitless!
outlets for the creative juices of watch design-
ers: they can now achieve designs that were
not possible earlier, due to the inflexible
nature of previous faces and displays.
Because the paper display is so small, and is
a simple implementation, it has virtually no
power consumption, at least when compared
with any other existing display technologies.
You can hope to see the “Future Now” watch to
hit stores somewhere in mid-2006, since release
dates have been set for spring 2006 for Japan.

Colour?
So far, we’ve only seen products that offer
monochrome displays, as those were easier to
produce. However, this does not mean that It’s impossible to show you animation in Digit... yet! Somewhere down the line,
colour displays were ruled out. Till date, all the perhaps, even we can use paper displays the way Microsoft did—to help draw
aforementioned products and technologies attention to their new Xbox release. Notice the changing colours!

36 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Passion l Tomorrow
The Return Of Paper
If, or rather, when, these displays are success-
fully made flexible, perhaps all of us will be
able to enjoy gadgets that don’t keep running
out of battery life, and have screens we can
actually read easily in the daytime.
Although we normally cover technologies
of the near future in this section, this time we
focussed on paper displays, which were first
invented in the ‘70s. The reason for this is:
within the next two years, we see paper
displays being used a lot more, and becoming
a part of everyday life, thanks to their reduced
manufacturing costs and battery use.
Since every development that’s happened
Shown here is the new colour display in the past few years has revolved around
that has been produced by E-Ink and mobility and the ease of information flow,
Toppan Printing. The image above shows paper displays seem to fit right into the
you the device’s capability of displaying mould for the future. They’re cheaper, less
text, while the image on the right shows fragile, offer better readability, are lighter,
off the decent image resolution offered— and use less battery power. Now, if only manu-
all in 12-bit colour of course! facturers and researchers can find a way to
rival LCD and CRT refresh rates, we’re set to
see the return of the paper era, albeit in the
E-Ink And Toppan Printing’s new form of e-paper!
Colour Paper Display Would you be interested in buying any of
We foretold the coming of this product in the products talked about in this article, as
Gadgetopia in the July 2005 issue, and just six and when they’re available? Does the idea of
months later, here it is! an interactive Digit printed on e-paper excite
This is a colour paper display screen that you? Write in and tell us—we’d love to hear
was developed using E-Ink’s display technology your take on the subject.
and Toppan Printing’s flat panel colour filters. [email protected]
Incidentally, Toppan Printing is the world’s
largest supplier of colour filter arrays for flat
panel monitors.
The display offers a sharpness of 83 pixels
per inch at a resolution of 400 x 300, and
achieves 12-bit colour! The custom-made colour
filter array, provided by Toppan, uses high-
brightness colour (RGBW) to maintain paper-
quality contrast. Basically this means that the
white is as good as paper, and the black and
other colours are shown up in high contrast to
give the display a proper magazine page look!
The screen is six inches in diameter, which
is the size of an ordinary paperback novel. This
step forward by E-Ink and Toppan now makes
the dream of colour paper displays in mobile
devices an achievable reality!
1/4th AD
Since the display uses minimal power and
has a readability angle and contrast on par
with paper, it’s already got conventional
mobile displays beat. The colour display report-
edly uses as much as 100 times less power than
a conventional LED, which means that battery
life on existing mobile products can easily
double if this technology is used—not to
mention a sizeable reduction in weight!
Perhaps the first adopters of this technol-
ogy will be everyday devices such as electronic
sign boards, digital cameras (for the preview
screens), ATMs, GPS devices, and kiosks,
thanks to the amazing readability under
direct sunlight. Later, we might see the display
being used in mobile phones, PDAs,
laptops, and other mobile devices that
need to save on battery power. The product is
said to be able to hit production lines soon—
by the end of 2006.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 37

 Digital Passion l In Sight

The Battle
Of The Blue Ram Mohan Rao
BD will be capable of holding up to 50 GB. HD-
DVD offers about 15 GB on a single layer. Dual
Your new DVD- and triple-layer discs of this format have been

W
e don’t need to tell you that technology manufactured.
Writer will soon moves at a fast pace, do we? But we have Again, for those who came in late, there’s a
be obsolete. But here an indicator of just how fast: in format war of unprecedented proportions taking
which blue-laser September of 2004, in Space: The Final Frontier, we place. The Internet is abuzz with discussions,
talked about the DVD format wars. Back then, we news, views, and speculation on which format—
technology will just mentioned Blu-ray and HD-DVD in passing. which camp, so to speak—will emerge the winner
replace it? Just about a year later, the DVD format wars have and become the standard, whether there will be
been all but forgotten. Blu-ray and HD-DVD are a peaceable co-existence, and a host of other
already upon us, and we need to talk about them things. What follows is a W5H of sorts on Blu-ray
in much more detail than we did last year. and HD-DVD, followed by the much-asked ques-
For the uninitiated, Blu-ray and HD-DVD are tion, “Which format will win?”
the next generation of optical storage, though
there do exist several competing formats as So What Are Blu-Ray And HD-DVD?
well. Blu-ray offers about 25 GB of storage on a The Blu-ray standard was developed by a group of
single layer, but a Blu-ray Disc (BD) can and will companies called the Blu-ray Disc Association
host more than one (BDA). Blu-ray gets its name from the “blue-
layer—hence violet” laser used to write the data to disc. (Differ-
a typical ent laser wavelengths have different colours.)
dual-layer The blue-violet laser has a wavelength much
shorter than that used to write conventional
DVDs, which happens to be red. The shorter
wavelength makes it possible to read and write
smaller “pits,” meaning that data can be
packed more densely.
Ones and zeroes are stored on opti-
cal media—CDs and
DVDs included—in
the form of
3D Modeling Vikram Kathare and
Pradip Ingale

38 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Passion l In Sight
area of illumination, which allows for the focus-
Some Blu-ray And HD-DVD specs Where the ing of the beam with higher precision—and
Parameter Blu-Ray HD-DVD technical specs therefore, the possibility of a reduction in the
Capacity (ROM SL) 23.3/25 GB 15 GB are concerned, track pitch and pit length.
Laser wavelength 405 nm 405 nm the main Where the technical specs are concerned, the
Numerical Aperture 0.85 0.65 main difference between Blu-ray and HD-DVD is in
Read power 0.35 mW 0.50 mW
difference the disc structure itself. HD-DVD uses specifica-
Protection layer 0.1 mm 0.6 mm between Blu-ray tions similar to DVD: the base disc is 0.6 mm thick,
Track pitch 0.32 µm 0.40 µm and HD-DVD and the protective layer is 0.6 mm thick. Blu-ray
Minimum pit length ~150 nm 204 nm is in the disc uses a 1.1 mm base disc, with a protective layer
structure itself only 0.1 mm thick. This “small” difference means
bumps and pits. A bump is an area of the substrate a lot: in Blu-ray, the recording layer is closer to the
(the material on which the data is written) where disc surface. This means the laser has to pass
there is no pit, so the pit is what is taken into through less material to read from and write to.
consideration when one talks about burning data This in turn makes for a higher NA for the laser
onto optical media. It is definitely not as simple as lens (see figure The Effect Of NA On Lens Focusing). A
“a pit is a one and a bump is a zero,” but one can higher NA, as we said, means a lower track pitch
think of it that way to simplify things. and a smaller pit length. And the lower track pitch
HD-DVD, too, uses the shorter-wavelength blue- and smaller pit length mean more data can be
violet laser. The name “HD-DVD” itself stands for, packed onto a BD than an HD-DVD.
of course, High-Density Digital Versatile Disc. So why does HD-DVD use a thicker protec-
Both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD camps say they tive material, and how come a BD won’t get
will initially be providing “hybrid discs,” with a scratched easily?
high-definition disc on one side and a regular DVD
on the other—so that consumers will be able to Track Pitch And Pit Length
play movies on their DVD players for now, in a
measure of future-proofing.

How Are BD And HD-DVD Different?

We need to explain three terms here—numerical Track Pitch Smaller Track Pitch
aperture (NA), track pitch, and pit length.
The light-gathering capacity of a lens is indi-
cated by its NA. It is dependent on the diameter Smaller
of the lens as well as on the quality of the optics. Pit
The higher the NA—meaning the lens can gather Length
more light—the better.
The track pitch (see figure Track Pitch And Pit
Length) is the distance between the centres of two
successive rounds of the spiral track on which
the pits are burnt. The smaller the track pitch,
Pit
the more the number of tracks on the disc, and Length
hence the more the data that can be stored on
Regular DVD HIgh Density DVD
the disc as a whole.
The pit length (again, see figure Track Pitch
And Pit Length) is simply the size of the burnt pit. At left is the pits and bumps on a DVD substrate. The bumps are the areas where
Now, the NA and the wavelength define the there are no pits. The pit length, and the track pitch—the distance between two
consecutive rounds of the data spiral—are marked. To right is a high-density (blue
size of the laser beam. A higher NA and a shorter
laser) DVD; the pit length is smaller, and so is the track pitch
wavelength means a laser beam with a smaller

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 39

 Digital Passion l In Sight
HD-DVD went with the thicker protective layer with a capacity of 100 GB had been developed. It is,
so that, by virtue of its similarity to DVD, no hard Data transfer of course, the most advanced optical media
coating was required; this also meant it was easier speeds, though developed to date.
to make future drives backwards-compatible not as important What about speeds? Data transfer speeds,
Indeed, backwards-compatibility with DVD is as capacity, are though not as important as capacity, are still an
one of the things HD-DVD proponents frequently still an important important factor in the adoption of any storage
state. However, it might well turn out that Blu-ray factor in the adop- medium. Here, Blu-ray is ahead again by virtue of
drives will be forced to be backwards-compatible tion of any stor- the specifications themselves—specifically, the NA
with DVD as well. age medium and the wavelength. Blu-ray needs a lower disc
Early BDs were indeed susceptible to scratches, rotation speed than HD-DVD to reach the same
so much so that they had to be enclosed in plastic data transfer rates. 36 Mbps (1x) is the base speed
caddies. But in January of 2004, TDK introduced a for BDs, but BD-ROM movies will require a 54 Mbps
proprietary clear polymer coating under the name data transfer rate—so the minimum speed the BDA
‘Durabis’. This made BDs even more scratch resist- is expecting to see in drives is 2x (72 Mbps).
ant than DVDs! Now, BDs with the coating can also Blu-ray also has the potential for much higher
withstand attack by a screwdriver. according to a speeds. While the media itself limited recording
release on CNET News.com: “Researchers at TDK speeds in the past, the only limiting factor for Blu-
have developed a tough coating that will make ray is the capacity of the hardware. The upper limit
scratched DVDs a thing of the past. In a test of today’s drives in terms of constant rotation
conducted by CNET News.com, a DVD treated with speed is about 10,000 rpm. This speed would result
TDK’s coating survived a determined attack with in a 12x (400 Mbps) transfer rate for a BD, and
a screwdriver with no effect on playability.” “only” 9x for an HD-DVD.
It’s true that such high speeds are not required
Layers And Speeds today, and HD-DVD proponents are likely to point
A single Blu-ray layer holds 25 GB; a single HD-DVD out that 9x or 12x should make no difference to
layer holds 15 GB. But it’s not as simple as “Blu-ray the end user—you. In reply, Blu-ray proponents
is higher capacity than HD-DVD,” as you’ll find out. would say that the 9x/12x difference showcase the
In March of this year, at the Media Tech Expo superiority of their technology.
2005 in Las Vegas, the two camps demonstrated
their current disc production capabilities. A stan- Where And When Can I Get Them?
dard two-layer HD-DVD-ROM is 30 GB. Toshiba We can provide a few indicators here: for the
showed off a three-layer HD-DVD-ROM, which is general consumer, 2006 seems to be the year. Play-
45 GB; this was essentially their response to the ers for Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs should arrive in
criticism of HD-DVD’s lower capacity. Now a dual- stores in the US, Japan and many other countries
layer Blu-ray disc is 50 GB, but with 45 GB possi- sometime in 2006. BD-ROM pre-recorded media
ble with three layers, HD-DVD had narrowed the will probably be available by early 2006. Recorders
difference to a mere 5 GB. should become available later in 2006 or in early
The capacity game itself is indicative of what’s 2007. It’s not clear how much of a delay there will
going on in the format war. For instance, in be in terms of availability in India.
response to Toshiba, TDK, a member of the BDA, Pioneer might soon introduce a Blu-ray writer
said it was working on a four-layer Blu-ray disc, for PCs. Toshiba might soon introduce drives for
which would have a capacity of 100 GB. And in reading HD-DVDs in laptops. Imation, a member
June, it was reported that TDK had delivered on of the BDA and a name familiar in India, is final-
their promise—a prototype recordable Blu-ray disc ising the development of both HD-DVD and Blu-
ray media, utilising a protective disc coating for
The Effect Of NA On Lens Focusing both formats. During 2006, Imation plans to
launch BD-RE (rewritable) and BDR (recordable)
25 GB (single-layer) and 50 GB (dual-layer) media.
At around the same time, the company also plans
CD to launch the HD DVD-R (recordable) and HD
DVD-ReR (Re-recordable) 15 GB single-layer and 30
DVD
GB dual-layer HD-DVD formats.

Laser
Lens
Blu-ray Who’s On Whose Side?
There’s news every week or so about someone
having joined one camp or the other. Here are
some of the more important or interesting facts.
The first consumer Blu-ray device in the US is
expected to be PlayStation 3. In October, Para-
mount became the first studio to lend its support
Infographic Shrikrishana Patkar

to both sides—earlier, it was part of the HD-DVD

camp. Closer home, Moser Baer, interestingly, is on
Recording Layer the HD-DVD side.
Prominent companies on the BDA (Blu-ray
At left is a laser lens focusing the laser onto a CD substrate. Note that the distance Disc Association) include Sony, TDK, Dell,
between the lens and the top of the CD is quite large. Next is the DVD case; the NA Hitachi, Apple, HP, Philips and Samsung. The
value is larger, and the beam is more sharply focused. Finally, in Blu-ray, the NA is
even larger, the lens gets even closer to the disc surface, the amount of material the
list of consumer electronics companies on Blu-
laser has to go through is the smallest, and the beam is the most tightly focused. ray’s side is long—from Panasonic, Samsung,
Sharp and Pioneer to LG Electronics and more.

40 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Passion l In Sight
Video game maker Electronic Arts is with Blu- Managed Copy is a guaranteed feature in HD-
ray, as are the entertainment companies Twen-
In the case of DVD that enables consumers to make legiti-
tieth Century Fox, Vivendi Universal, Walt Blu-ray, new mate copies of their discs to a hard disc.
Disney, and, of course, Sony Pictures. facilities will be Proven low-cost, high-volume manufacturing.
HD-DVD is being promoted by, amongst required in all HD DVD-ROM discs will offer dual-layer 30 GB
others, NEC, Sanyo, and the Wintel duo—Microsoft areas—disc and discs at launch, compared with BD-ROM discs,
and Intel. Toshiba leads the HD-DVD consortium. which will be limited to (single-layer) 25 GB.
Entertainment companies backing HD-DVD are
player production, The compatibility of HD-DVD with DVD facili-
HBO, New Line Cinema, Universal Studios Home and movie-disc tates development of slim drives for integra-
Entertainment and Warner Home Video. replication tion in notebooks.
HD-DVD supports the iHD interactivity stan-
What Do HD-DVD Proponents Say? dard, that uses XML—and Vista uses XML. Blu-
Blu-ray boasts of higher capacities, and that’s ray does not!
enough to make one wonder, “Why HD-DVD?” It
appears that Blu-ray has everything going for it, So Which Format Will “Win”?
including a lot of support from hardware makers. We’re as unsure as anyone else out there! Here’s a
But HD-DVD has one key advantage for now: disjointed set of facts that could possibly have a
cost. In the case of Blu-ray, new facilities will be bearing on the issue.
required in all areas—disc and player manufac- First, a word about hybrid discs. We mentioned
ture, and also movie-disc replication. Since the that both camps will initially offer hybrid discs
physical specifications of HD-DVD have a lot in that can be played on existing DVD players. That
common with DVD, most manufacturing plants was a simplification: the truth is that Microsoft
currently making DVD players, discs and movies and others claim hybrid discs will be a reality with
can also be used for HD-DVD. HD-DVD, but probably not so for Blu-ray.
Proponents of the two camps say different In late September, Richard E Doherty, program
things, and sometimes quote obscure sources. manager in Microsoft’s media entertainment tech-
We can’t be sure who’s accurate, but we know nology convergence group, stressed the matter of
that Microsoft and Intel have joined the HD-DVD timing in delivering a solution. Saying that “HD-
bandwagon, thus lending some weight to the DVD has shown that hybrid discs will be a reality
HD-DVD camp. Here are some things that HD- for consumers at launch,” he indicated there was
DVDers (if we can call them that) are likely to say: “no roadmap for the development and availabil-
ity of a BD hybrid disc”!
“HD DVD has a proven 30 GB capacity, while Some say Microsoft will eventually support
currently, Blu-ray has only delivered 25 GB Blu-ray due to its inherent capacity advantage—
outside of the lab—this is half of what its there might not be native support for Blu-ray in
proponents promised.” Vista, initially, but it will be there! Vista is, of
“Both formats said they would develop a stan- course, something one must think about when
dard that supports playing of both, DVDs as talking about technological storage and enter-
well as their next-generation standards, but so tainment issues these days.
far, only HD-DVD has delivered.” Who will get to the market first with higher
“The capacity for volume production of HD capacities? It’s not obvious that it will be Blu-
DVD discs is already in place.” ray. Remember, we spoke about Blu-ray being
limited to 25 GB (single-layer) at launch,
And as to Microsoft and Intel backing HD-DVD, compared to HD-DVD that would be 30 GB (dual-
they cited the following requirements of “any layer) at launch.
successful next-generation optical format for high Here’s an example of the kind of bickering that
definition,” which HD-DVD can deliver right now. seems to be going on these days: two months ago,

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 41

 Digital Passion l In Sight
the above claim was refuted by Blu-ray, which said license Betamax to OEMs, while JVC and
that BD-ROMs will be 50 GB at launch, although no
When VCRs were Matsushita licensed VHS to whoever wanted it.
launch date was mentioned. Doherty had this to introduced, Sony VHS became the standard. Sony is now pushing
say about the 50 GB launch: “The 50 GB claim for was pushing Beta- the technologically superior Blu-ray…
BD-ROM discs is unproven and will not be avail- max, considered Talking about Betamax, one of the reasons
able for many years to come, based on discussions technologically your old video cassettes are VHS and not Betamax
with major Japanese and US replicators. Replica- is because pornographers took to VHS and not
tors not only do not have test lines running, they
superior; JVC and Betamax. Like it or not, much of entertainment
cannot even pre-order the equipment to begin Matsushita were technology has been driven by “The Other Holly-
evaluating this disc. They cannot judge the cost of pushing VHS. VHS wood.” The porn industry releases over 11,000 new
these discs, or even whether they can be manu- became the titles on DVD every year, compared to about 400
factured at all. Major replicators can mass- manu- standard. Sony is by Hollywood. In which case, we don’t know
facture 30 GB HD-DVD discs today…” anything right now about whether HD-DVD or
There are more computer manufacturers
now pushing the Blu-ray will win—the fate of the format wars
backing Blu-ray, again because of the storage technologically might lie in the hands of the pornographers.
capacity aspect. Blu-ray is ready to go with 50 GB, superior Blu-ray It may not even be Blu-ray or HD-DVD at all: it
and the theoretical limit for a four-layer HD-DVD may be EVD, China’s next-generation DVD format!
disc is only 60 GB. The present might be in favour EVD is a red-laser format, and promises capacities
of HD-DVD, but remember that a 100 GB BD has of 16 GB. So what’s so great about EVD? Not much,
already been developed! except that China wants it. That country produces
In terms of the security and anti-piracy 70 to 80 per cent of the world’s DVD players, and
features that will be offered by the two formats, manufacturers pay a large amount in terms of
Blu-ray has BD+ and ROM-Mark, which HD-DVD licensing fees to the international owners of the
doesn’t offer (see box Enhanced Security In Blu-ray). intellectual property patents for DVD players.
That means in theory, Blu-ray discs will be China is not happy.
tougher on pirates than HD-DVDs, which is good According to the state-owned news agency
news for the studios. Xinhua, China will put EVD on the market “before
News of hardware support for Blu-ray keeps 2008.” Hollywood is behind much of the develop-
coming in. Just last month, it was reported that ment that’s happening in the high-definition stor-
Panasonic would soon begin sampling what it age arena, but what about China’s thriving movie
claims is “the first optical drive control chipset industry, and Bollywood as well—considering that
capable of writing to any recordable or re-write- China’s biggest potential export market is India?
able disc format”—except HD DVD. Not much of a Things could change as 2008 comes by.
surprise, since Panasonic’s parent company There is some weight behind the idea that it
Matsushita is backing Blu-ray. The chipset speci- will be the consumers who will ultimately decide
fications list format support, and amongst these what format will rule. So if HD-DVD is initially
are CD-ROM, CD-R/RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, cheaper, which it might well be, it could gain the
DVD±R/RW, BD-ROM, and BD-R/RE. No HD-DVD advantage—and take over from there.
here, definitely! Panasonic said mass production This opinion is, in fact, shared by a large
of the chipset would begin in January next year. number of people: that they would upgrade their
One could look to history and see that this is DVD players when the alternative became cheap
just another format war. Case in point: when enough—so it makes sense to think that
VCRs were introduced, there were two compet- whichever format becomes “cheap enough” first
ing formats. Sony was pushing Betamax, consid- will obviously be “the winner.”
ered technologically superior; JVC and It could even be something as silly as a name!
Matsushita were pushing VHS. Sony refused to Historically, consumers have been more likely to
adopt a new product when it comes as a natural
Enhanced Security In Blu-ray progression from what it is replacing. HD-DVD
seems the natural progression of DVD, in terms of

C opy-protection schemes on blue-laser discs are more advanced. BD+ and ROM-
Mark are specific to Blu-ray; the scheme called AACS will be used by both HD-
DVD and Blu-ray.
the name. “HD-DVD” sounds like something to do
with DVD, and, admit it, “Blu-ray” sounds like the
name of a dangerous fish!
BD+ is an encryption scheme that allows for dynamically changing encryption
schemes. If the encryption scheme is hacked, as happened in the DeCSS, it can be In Conclusion
updated and used on all new discs. The blue-laser DVD format war has been on for
Why is this required? Content-Scrambling System (CSS) is an unsuccessful some time now, and will be on for the foresee-
encryption system used on some DVDs. When the contents of a DVD are encrypted, able future. There are far too many aspects to it
“keys” are required to unlock the content—more technically, “key sets” (because to have explored here, and we can only hope
there is more than one key involved). These key sets are licensed to manufacturers, you’ve gained a foothold on what’s going on in
who incorporate them into DVD drives and movies. As a matter of fact, the CSS this space. 2006 will be an exciting year in the
algorithm was reverse-engineered in 1999, and a program called DeCSS was unfolding of this drama, what with mass ship-
released onto the Internet. And from then on, all DVDs became crackable! BD+ will ments of drives and studios and other companies
avoid such a scenario. switching loyalties.
ROM-Mark is a watermark that players need to see before the disc can be played. On the other hand, some people are tired of
Only licensed parties will be able to produce the watermark, and when you copy a the deluge of news coming in about HD-DVD/Blu-
disc, the watermark, which is undetectable, will not be copied—so piracy is, in theory, ray. It might be just as well that you sit back and
defeated. In addition, if the watermark is detected by any means, the ROM-producing wait for a 50 GB (should that be 45 GB?) drive to
devices, into which the technology will be built, will not reproduce the content. ship to a store near you—and then go upgrade!
[email protected]

42 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 THIS MONTH’S CHALLENGE

You have the original Office 2003

CD, and also the Service Pack 2
Slipstream Service
CD. How would you integrate them
onto one installer?
Write in with the subject ‘Take a
Pack 2 Into An Original
crack’, and your postal address, to
[email protected] with your
solution
Office 2003 CD
LAST MONTH’S CHALLENGE To change the background and foreground colour of the text in the
command prompt
To change colours in Hex Value Colour
the command prompt 0 Black

Win! Open the Registry Editor.

Navigate to HKEY_CUR-
RENT_USER\Software\Micros
1
2
3
Blue
Green
Aqua
oft\Command Processor. 4 Red
Locate the DWORD value 5 Purple
Take a Crack and Win “DefaultColor”. If it does not 6 Yellow
JAVA and XML exist, create the value. 7 White
By Brett McLaughlin In the right pane, modify 8 Gray
Published by Shroff Pulishers & the “DefaultColor” value, put- 9 Light Blue The command prompt with green
Distributors Pvt Ltd ting in a hexadecimal num- A Light Green text on a grey background
ber, say “82”. The first digit of B Light Aqua
LAST MONTH’S WINNER
this value determines the C Light Red ware\Microsoft\Command
Rajul Anand
background colour, and the D Light Purple Processor, locate the exact
S-99, Sector -12, NOIDA,
Gautam Buddh Nagar second digit determines the E Light Yellow same values as above and
U.P. PIN-201301 foreground colour of the text. F Bright White make the same change. Finally,
Rules and Regulations
In this case, “8” corresponds to exit the Registry Editor.
Readers are requested to send grey, and “2” corresponds to Command Processor. Locate All changes will be visible
in their answers by the 15th of green. The result is a com- the DWORD values when you open the com-
the month of publication. mand prompt window with “CompletionChar” and mand prompt the next time;
Employees of Jasubhai
green text on a grey back- “PathCompletionChar”; if there is no need to restart
Digital Media and their relatives ground. Similarly, the value they do not exist, create them. Windows.
are not permitted to participate. “1E” would yield yellow text “CompletionChar” is for
on a blue background. autocomplete of file names Disclaimer: Modifying the
Readers are encouraged to
send their replies by e-mail.
Here is a table that shows what and “PathCompletionChar” Windows registry may cause
Jasubhai Digital Media will not hexadecimal value corre- is for autocomplete of folder serious problems that may
entertain any unsolicited sponds to what colour: names. Modify each of the even require you to re-install
communication. above values to “6”. The value Windows. Hence, you should
Jasubhai Digital Media is
To change the “6” corresponds to [Ctrl] + [F], use the Registry Editor with
not responsible for any damage Autocomplete key which is what we wish to set extreme caution. While edit-
to your system that may be in the Registry Editor, navi- it to. ing the Registry, there is no
caused while you are trying to gate to HKEY_CURRENT Next, navigate to way to undo any changes
solve the problem.
_USER\Software\Microsoft\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Soft you make!

DECEMBER 2005 DIGIT 43

 Digital Passion l 30 days with...
Digital Passion l 30 Days With...

MSI MEGA VIEW 588

Deepak Dhingra

P ortable media playe

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it with my PC, the pla GA VIEW 588. I could
detected as a removab yer wa s the m view
le drive. File transfer thr wherever I was, and als
USB 2.0 interface was ough the o view them at home
fast and I copied videos con ne cting it to a TV and ru by
photos in seconds. , music, and nning a slideshow with
music.
Day 28: For The Reco
Day 3: Now The Fun rd
Starts! There was a cricket ma
The press of a button tch between India and So
brought its 3.5-inch TF and I wanted to captu uth Africa,
life. Using the 5-way T dis play to re som e of the action. I conne
navigation key, made pla yer to my TV using the AV cted the
menu child’s play. Al handling the rem cable and used the wi
l I had to do was scroll ote controller to record rep reless
the desired function, and select ar lays from the comfort
click the file I wanted mc hair. This is one gadg of my
was all set! to play, and I et I don’t want to let go
of!
Day 30: All Good Th
Day 5: My Personal ings…
Movie Theatre It was end of the road for
I had to fly to Delhi for me and my MEGA VIEW
some work. During the And I was sad to see it 588.
flight, I tried out my tw o-hour go . I sure hope another on
new personal movie the comes along soon. Sig e lik e it
plugged in my earpho atre! I h!
nes so as not to disturb
passengers and starte my co- deepak_dhingra@thi
nkdigit.com
d the action flick I ha
Video playback on the d loa de d.
gizmo was decent and
movie ended just as the the
landing was announced
.
Day 10: Play It Again
When I played some
music, the MSI MEGA

Imaging Sivala
l S Ph otograph Jiten
Gandhi

44 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005

Citius, Altius, Fortius

Illustration and Imaging Pradip Ingale

3D modelling Vikram Kathare
46 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005
The Olympic motto perhaps comes closest to describing
Digit’s Zero1 awards this year. With hundreds of the best
products in each category vying for Gold, victory has never
been sweeter for the winners than this year

I
n technology, more than in any terabyte! And that’s not all—SATA was
other market, the race for the new to the race last year, but is
laurels is as hotly contested as in omnipresent this year, and is already
the Olympics. Races are won by a being challenged by SATA II. This has
hairsbreadth, scores are often tied to brought amazing amounts of storage
the very end, and when in competi- at terrific read and write speeds.
tion, even superb products may fall by As with real-world sportspersons,
the wayside, losing to the mighty. our contestants, too, got numerous
The difference between the face lifts. Manufacturers have
Olympics and Digit’s Zero1 awards is suddenly begun to take the looks of
that we encourage competitors on several products—including mother-
steroids and welcome performance boards and graphics cards!—seriously.
enhancers with open arms! This is, And when it comes to lifestyle prod-
after all, technology we’re talking ucts, looks are just as important as
about, and performance is a key chal- performance. The drop in LCD prices
lenge here. Of course, reliability and has helped large-scale adoption of the
reasonable costs also play a big role in TFT-LCD monitor. Printers have curves
our recommendations to our readers. and all-new space-saving designs.
As the year draws to a close, we Speakers are more powerful and
recap which products have survived smaller, not to mention a lot prettier!
our gruelling tests, shedding the digi- The year has also seen devices
tal equivalent of sweat and blood to compete inter-category, most notably
emerge as the 2005 champions. the mobile phone. Today’s smart-
There has been a fair share of phones contend head-to-head with
upsets this year, as you will see. PDAs, entry-level digital cameras and
However, nothing pleased us more MP3 players as well. MP3 players have
than finding out that the predictions morphed into portable media players,
we made last year were spot on! adding video to their list of features.
Just a year ago, AMD stole the lime- And all the while, prices have fallen
light with its 64-bit processors, and we drastically, so it’s now not ridiculous
predicted that this year would see a to think of owning a device that will
shift towards 64-bit CPUs. As you read let you watch hours of movies on the
this, both Intel and AMD are now grad- go—or one that will let you click
ually shifting towards 64-bit comput- megapixel-resolution images, listen to
ing. What’s more, there are already music, FM, record video and audio,
dual-core CPUs from both companies surf the Internet, check your e-mail,
in the market. while still letting you make and
This fever hasn’t hit only the CPU receive phone calls!
industry—the GPU community has We’ve seen the same trend in the
seen nVidia’s SLI and ATi’s CrossFire digital camera segment, so much so
dual-GPU technology really begin to that it almost makes no sense to even
take off. ATi and nVidia have battled it look at a film camera anymore. Entry-
out in the graphics card champi- level cameras boast of features that
onship this year, and the result is were only available on the expensive,
graphics that make you squeal with “high-end” cameras of just a couple of
delight. Not only did this battle bring years ago.
us high-end gaming products, it also Almost every urban Indian home
increased the options for those of us bought a technology product in the
who play in the lower leagues— past year, and this has prompted
onboard graphics. Graphics chipsets multinationals to flood the markets
from ATi and nVidia that can be found with a seeming embarrassment of
even on lower-end motherboards, are choices in every category. Perhaps this
better performers than the best graph- is what makes this year’s Zero1
ics cards available just a few years ago! Awards most significant.
Competitions were fought not just Let’s take a look at the crème de la
in the silicon arena, but also between crème of technology products that
the champions of “iron oxide valley”. have won the Gold medals in our
Hard disk capacities doubled this year, tests. Remember, no prizes for second
and we actually saw sizes of half a place here!

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 47

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
CELL PHONES Walkman branding is justi-
Sony Ericsson W800i Walkman fied by a couple of unique fea-
Specs: 262K Colour Screen, Tri-band, tures: the ability to use the
Bluetooth, Infrared, 2-mp Camera with device as just a music player
Flash, GPRS, Stereo FM radio, Expandable when the phone is switched
Memory, 512 MB Memory Stick Duo off, and the provision of a
standard 3.5 mm jack on
Our Verdict: The best cell phone we’ve seen the headset, which lets you
in the year, the Sony Ericsson W800i is the connect your own head-
first mobile phone to sport the Walkman phones—or even connect the device
branding. It weighs just 99 grams, but to a home theatre system.
packs in some mean features! In terms of Whether you’re a music lover, a shutter-
memory, the 512 MB Memory Stick Duo bug, or just want to make a style statement,
card is decent. this is a great cell phone to own!
Frequent SMSers will love the joystick
and the keypad on the W800i. The Runner-Up: Sony Ericsson K750i

DIGITAL CAMERAS shape with slight-

Low-End ly curved edges,
Canon PowerShot A400 this camera has
Specs: 3.3 Megapixel CCD Sensor, Maximum sound build qual-
Resolution 2048 x 1536, 2.2X Optical Zoom ity; it also has an
With Additional Digital Zoom, 1.5-inch LCD inbuilt lens cover.
Display, Integrated Flash, SD Memory At purchase, the camera relies only on
Support, USB 1.1, Video-Out, AA battery 16 MB of SD memory, which obviously can’t
store too many snaps. A notable aspect of
Our Verdict: In this segment, a combination the A400 is its wait time of only two sec-
of over 3 mp with a 2X optical zoom lens onds between two shots, which is good!
would make for an good camera—and that’s Good performance, a decent feature set
where the Canon PowerShot A400 stands. and sensible pricing makes the Canon
Colour reproduction is remarkable. PowerShot A400 stand tall in the competi-
The camera is comfortable to use, and the tive entry-level segment.
menu navigation buttons are ideally
placed and sized. Very rectangular in Runner-Up: HP PhotoSmart M307

Mid-Range
Sony CyberShot DSC-W5 tion capabilities.
Specs: 5.1 Megapixel CCD sensor, Featured on this cam-
Maximum Resolution 2592 x 1944, 3X era is the Carl Zeiss
Optical Zoom With Additional Digital lens—a lens that has
Zoom, 2.5-inch LCD Display, Integrated partnered with Sony
Flash, MS Pro Memory Support, USB 2.0, in its success. 32 MB of internal memory
Video-Out, AA Battery lets the camera hold a few snaps without an
Our Verdict: We felt this camera could have additional memory card, but that is defi-
done with a higher optical zoom rating nitely not an alternative. The camera’s size,
than 6X, but the Sony stands tall with its build quality and ergonomics make it an
excellent and unmatched picture reproduc- ideal choice for travel.

HP PhotoSmart 945 The 945 can only

Specs: 5.3 Megapixel CCD Sensor, captures 60 sec-
Maximum Resolution 2608 x 1952, 8X ond movie
Optical Zoom With Additional Digital clips, and
Zoom, 1.5-inch LCD Display, Integrated the resolu-
Flash, SD Memory Support, USB 2.0, tion of this
Video-Out, AA battery capture is
unusually
Our Verdict: Somewhat on the bulkier side, low, at 288 x
this camera houses a rather small LCD 208. Excellent
screen. The HP 945 looks and feels like an ergonomics and
SLR; the huge lens zooms to 8X. This is one good performance puts the HP
feature-rich camera; you can use the print- PhotoSmart 945 in the winners’ category.
er USB attachment to directly print the
snaps on a compatible HP printer. Runner-Up: Sony CyberShot DSC-S40

48 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
High-End
Sony CyberShot DSC-P200 nator—this
Specs: 7.2 Megapixel CCD sensor, emits light to
Maximum Resolution 3072 x 2304, 3X facilitate focus-
Optical Zoom With Additional Digital ing when the
Zoom, Manual/Auto Focus, 2.0-inch LCD subject is in
Display, Integrated Flash, MS/MS Pro dark surroundings. 3X optical zoom may
Memory Support, USB 2.0, Video-Out, Li- sound a little low, but the camera’s high
Ion battery megapixel rating and excellent print and
image quality make up for it. Low image
Our Verdict: The DSC-P200 is sleek and noise and excellent low-light perform-
compact, and the Carl Zeiss lens provides ance make the CyberShot DSC-P200
amazing picture clarity. The ergonomics a winner.
of the camera is perfectly designed for
travel. The camera features an AF illumi- Runner-Up: Nikon Coolpix 5900

GRAPHICS CARDS
AGP cards - Budget
XFX GeForce FX 5200 256 MB
Specs: nVidia GeForce FX 5200, 256 MB
DDR Memory, 4 Pixel Pipelines, 250 O u r
MHz Core Speed, 400 MHz Memory tests showed
Speed, DirectX 9 and OpenGL 1.4 that the card
Compliant, AGP 8X, Dual-Monitor allows for moderate
Support and S-Video TV-Out gaming at low resolutions.
The XFX GeForce FX 5200 256
Our Verdict: Support for DirectX 9 means MB attempts to give you high-end fea-
this card supports Pixel Shader 2.0 and tures at rock-bottom prices, and in many
Vertex Shader 2.0, so most games using ways, it succeeds in doing just that.
these will be playable on this card,
although at low resolutions. Runner-Up: XFX GeForce FX 5200 64 MB

AGP Cards - Low-End

XFX GeForce 5700 Ultra 128 MB
Specs: nVidia GeForce FX 5700, 128 MB
DDR Memory, 4 Pixel Pipelines, 425 MHz well as
Core Speed, 550 MHz Memory Speed, OpenGL 1.5.
DirectX 9 and OpenGL 1.5 Compliant, You can get
AGP 8X, Dual-Monitor Support and big-screen gaming at a
S-Video TV-Out considerably low price via
the S-Video TV-out. This card is for those
Our Verdict: If 1024 x 768 is the gaming who still have an AGP system and are get-
resolution you never breach, the XFX ting warmed up for a bit of gaming with
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 128 MB is the card decent visual quality.
for you. This card can deal with most
games with the eye-candy turned down. Runner-Up: Gigabyte GeForce FX 5700
There is support for Shader Model 2.0+ as 128 MB

Bose Wave Music System

If you’re looking for a shows the time and other informa-
music system that will fit tion such as ID3 tags. All the func-
on the corner table of your tions to run this device are packed on
Showstoppers!

bedroom, your search the remote control, which explains

ends here. The retro-looking Bose Wave Music why the thing is devoid of buttons on
System is packed with current-generation features, the front panel.
including an audio CD player, an MP3 player, an Other nifty features include automatic night-
AM/FM radio tuner and an alarm that can wake time dimming of the display, gentle increments in
you up to your favourite radio station. That’s not volume to avoid sudden bursts in sound output, and
all; the sound quality of the System will make a the power cord that doubles up as an antenna.
high-end 2.1 surround system sound ordinary. And, of course, the sound output is pure
These features are packed in a trapezoidal Bose—pristine, clear and vibrant, with hardly a
casing with a green display on the front panel that trace of distortion.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 49

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
AGP Cards - Mid-Range
Gainward GeForce FX 5900XT digi-
128 MB tal dis-
Specs: nVidia GeForce FX 5900XT, 128 MB play can be
DDR Memory, Pseudo 8 Pixel Pipelines, connected to this
420 MHz Core Speed, 700 MHz Memory card.
Speed, DirectX 9 and OpenGL 1.5 In our gaming tests, this
Compliant, AGP 8X, Dual-Monitor card gave more than acceptable frame
Support, TV-Out rates at high resolutions and high set-
tings. The performance is more than sat-
Our Verdict: This card has the core and isfying and it gives you more bang for
memory overclocked so you get the high- your buck.
est performance possible at its specifica-
tions. The DVI connector means that a Runner-Up: None

AGP Cards - High-End

Gainward GeForce 6800GT such as
256 MB Doom 3
Specs: nVidia GeForce 6800GT, 256 MB and appli-
GDDR3 Memory, 16 Pixel Pipelines, 350 cations
MHz Core Speed, 1000 MHz Memory such as
Speed, DirectX 9 and OpenGL 1.5 3DMark
Compliant, AGP 8X, Dual-Monitor at the highest of
Support, TV-Out resolutions with all settings
cranked up to the max. It is priced very
Our Verdict: The Gainward GeForce high, but for those with a real passion for
6800GT 256 MB is the big daddy of all the gaming, price never does matter.
AGP cards we’d tested. Its unique dual- Those insane frame rates at the high-
fan heat sink is designed to provide extra est resolutions ensure this card is our
cooling to the 6800GT core. Zero1 Award winner!
The card churned out frames at blind-
ing speeds in resource-hungry games Runner-Up: PowerColor Radeon X800 Pro

PCI Express Graphic Cards - Low-End

Gainward GeForce 6200 256 MB card, albeit
Specs: nVidia GeForce 6200, 256 MB at lower
TurboCache, DirectX 9.0c Compliant, DVI resolutions.
Connector, S-Video out The card per-
formed pretty
Our Verdict: The Gainward GeForce 6200 well in our
256 MB graphics card is targeted at the game and syn-
budget segment of the graphics market, thetic benchmark
and it gives you access to high-end fea- tests, and the price
tures that you generally see only on high- is just right.
er-version models. It features Shader
Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0, which means Runner-Up: PowerColor X300 256 MB
you can play every current game on this

PCI Express Graphic Cards - Mid-Range

XFX GeForce 6600GT 256 MB scores in its cat-
Specs: nVidia GeForce 6600GT, 256 MB egory in games
GDDR3, DirectX 9.0c Compliant, Dual such as Doom 3
DVI connectors, S-Video Out and FarCry, and
it also scored
Our Verdict: The XFX GeForce 6600GT, the highest
which is based on nVidia’s GeForce 3DMark points.
6600GT chipset, features 256 MB of fast This card is
GDDR3 memory at 1 GHz. It supports priced a bit on the high side for the mid-
Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0, so all range segment, but its superb perform-
current games should be playable on this ance more than makes up for that.
card at a fluid pace even at high resolu-
tions. The 6600GT posted the highest fps Runner-Up: XFX GeForce 6600GT 128 MB

50 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
PCI Express Graphic Cards - High-End
XFX GeForce 7800 GTX 256 MB technique that
Specs: nVidia GeForce 7800 GTX, 256 MB improves upon the
GDDR3, DirectX 9.0c Compliant, Dual DVI older technique—
connector, ViVo Capable IntelliSample 3.0—
and yields better-
Our Verdict: The core of the XFX GeForce quality anti-aliased
7800 GTX is clocked at 430 MHz. The card textures. There’s also
features 256 MB of high-speed GDDR3 UltraShadow II, using which the card ren-
memory running at 1.25 GHz. It’s a card ders highly realistic shadows for a fuller
in a class of its own. 3D experience in games such as Doom 3.
It supports DirectX 9.0c—which essen- Then there’s HDR—High Dynamic Range—
tially means Shader Model 3.0—and it’s imaging, which is used to render real-
also 100 per cent OpenGL 2.0 compliant. world scenes that contain light ranges
This means gaming on this card will be a exceeding the normal dynamic range. This
veritable feast for your senses—expect is visible in effects such as realistic glares
lightning-fast performance even in the lat- in games such as FarCry.
est games such as Quake 4 and Call of Duty Of course the XFX GeForce 7800 GTX is
2. This card treated the games in our tests expensive. But if you’re a hardcore gamer,
like office applications, even with all the go get this card right now—this is the best
eye-candy turned on. there is!
The card sports exotic features such as
IntelliSample 4.0, which is an anti-aliasing Runner-Up: MSI NX7800 GTX 256 MB

HARD DRIVES
Western Digital Caviar SE Like the any
250GB WD2500KS other SATA
Specs: 250 GB, SATA II, 16 MB Data Buffer, drive, the
7200 rpm Spindle Speed WD2500KS has
hot-plug support,
Our Verdict: The WD2500KS turned out but the added advan-
impressive real-world test scores and tage is the high shock
decent scores in the synthetic tests. Data resistance figure. This drive is ideal if
transfer rates were good, but the drive is you want a capacity as high as 250 GB at
tailored for intra-drive transfer perform- an affordable price.
ance, thanks to the large data buffer.

Hitachi Deskstar 250GB II). The good aver-

HDT722525DLA380 age read and write
Specs: 250 GB, SATA II, 8 MB Data Buffer, speeds did trans-
7200 rpm Spindle Speed late into good inter-
drive transfer speeds.
Our Verdict: The Hitachi Deskstar 250GB The Hitachi Deskstar
tied with theWD2500KS. The Hitachi 250GB is a performer despite
Deskstar hard drives are SATA II, but the smaller 8 MB data buffer (as opposed
they are shipped as SATA I; to enable to the 16 MB of the WD2500KS).
SATA II, there’s a feature tool utility—a
bootable floppy to change the drive set- Runner-Up: Western Digital Caviar RE2
tings (if the motherboard supports SATA (400 GB) WD4000YR

Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display

Apple this year came up with yet another one-of-its- image correction
kind product—the Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display, control such as hor-
Showstoppers!

which has a native resolution of 2560 x 1600, which izontal/ver tical

translates to four million pixels! This top-of-the-line position and size.
display is also the world’s largest desktop screen. The broad 170-
Couple it with a framework made of anodised alu- degree viewing
minium that feels divine to the touch, and you have angle and
a product that’s truly awe-inspiring. the crystal-clear
There are just three soft-touch buttons along hi-res images should leave you awestruck.
the right-hand side, one for power/sleep, and two Considering the price, this display seems ideal
for brightness control. The interface to this LCD is for multimedia centres and such—it’s out of the ques-
via a dual-link DVI connector, so there is no need for tion for the typical home user.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 51

 ZERO1 Awards 2005

EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES run the drive. The drive’s

Portable Hard Drives splendid speed in our
Seagate 100 GB ST9100801U2-RK data transfer tests
Specs: 100 GB, 5400 rpm Spindle Speed, 8 is a noteworthy
MB Data Buffer, USB 2.0 (no FireWire), mention.
Power Over USB Interface, Blue-LED
Visual Indicator

Our Verdict: An external portable hard drive

with a large data buffer size of 8 MB and
high spindle speed of 5400 rpm is without
doubt an exceptional product. The USB
interface also supplies the power needed to Runner-Up: Western Digital Passport 40 GB

Desktop External Hard Drives

Maxtor 300GB One Touch II data buffer. The
Specs: 300 GB, 7200 rpm Spindle Speed, 16 drive can be con-
MB Data Buffer, USB 2.0 and FireWire, pow- nected via USB or
ered externally by adapter, power button FireWire, and also
single press initiates backup. includes backup
utilities. Maxtor has
Our Verdict: External desktop drives are tar- also priced this
geted as backup solutions. The Maxtor One product affordably.
Touch II with 300 GB of storage space had
everything going for it. It performs like a
dream, thanks in good part to the large Runner-Up: Seagate 400GB Barracuda

INPUT DEVICES
Logitech G7 Laser Cordless Mouse and fea-
Specs: 2000 dpi Laser Engine, 6 buttons, tures by
USB dongle, 2.4 GHz Wireless, Sensitivity adding
Switching Buttons, Battery Level programmability to the
Indicators, 2 Lithium Ion batteries. various buttons and
adding the option to access
Our Verdict: The Logitech G7 laser cordless sensitivity levels other than
gaming mouse delivers extreme gaming the three presets available in hard-
performance and control with its 2000 dpi ware. Even without drivers, the sensitivity
high precision laser engine. The bi-direc- switching buttons offer the option of
tional USB connection sends a blazing 500 changing the mouse sensitivity in-game
reports/seconds over 2.4 GHz wireless. The allowing you to quickly adapt to various sit-
twin “hot swappable” Li-ion battery packs uations at the press of a button. This one
help reduce “downtime”. gets a well deserved Zero One award.
The Setpoint software that accompanies
the mouse augments the G7’s performance Runner-Up: Logitech MX-1000

BUSINESS NOTEBOOKS
Workhorse Notebooks Radeon
MSI MegaBook M510C 9700 on-
Specs: Pentium M 1.5 GHz, 256 MB RAM, b o a r d
ATi Mobility Radeon 9700, 15.4-inch LCD, ensure that
80 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive, 802.11g, this notebook
Gigabit LAN is ready for a
fair amount of
Our Verdict: TThe MSI MegaBook M510C has gaming. The
an ergonomic keyboard and touchpad, ample 80 GB hard
which are desirable in a Workhorse laptop. drive was the highest-capaci-
The 15.4-inch LCD has a native resolution of ty drive in this category. Battery life is a
1400 x 1050, the highest in its category. decent two hours.
This, along with the large viewing angles it Overall, this is a good buy, especially
provides, makes it easy to work on without considering the moderate price tag.
straining the eyes.
The fast processor and the ATi Mobility Runner-Up: ACI Emerald C2

52 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
Ultra-Portable Notebooks
well in most of
Fujitsu LifeBook S2020 our performance
Specs: Athlon XP-M 2100+, 256 MB RAM, benchmarks.
ATi IGP 320M, 13.3-inch LCD, 40 GB Hard This happened
Drive, Combo Drive, 802.11b+g, 10/100 to be the only laptop
Mbps LAN in our comparison
test with a serial as
Our Verdict: The S2020 is a good looker, with well as a parallel port, for
its small form factor and polished styling. support of legacy devices. Overall,
The integrated graphics provide for some a good, affordable ultra-portable.
moderate amount of gaming. Despite
being an ultra-portable, it scored decently Runner-Up: Dell Latitude D410

LIFESTYLE NOTEBOOKS
Workhorse Notebooks an external digital
Acer Ferrari 4002 display. Connectivity
Specs: AMD Turion 64 ML-30, 512 MB DDR options include
333 RAM, 15.4-inch Widescreen LCD, 80 Gigabit LAN, a 56
GB Hard Drive, DVD-RAM drive, ATi X700 Kbps modem,
PCIe 128 MB Graphics infrared, and
Bluetooth. The 4002 can
Our Verdict: The Acer Ferrari has the ulti- also read most types of
mate in flaunt value. It is literally memory cards and PC cards.
crammed with features. The DVD-Writer Whatever was thrown at it—
happens to be a multi-writer: it can even games, real-world or synthetic bench-
read and write DVD-RAMs, which is a type marks—this laptop returned solid perform-
of DVD good for applications such as video ance. A cool bundled accessory is a
capturing because data can be directly Bluetooth mouse with the Ferrari logo sim-
edited on the DVD. ilar to the one on the notebook.
The 15.4-inch widescreen display pow- Now here’s something that doesn’t
ered by the PCIe ATi X700 is sure to just look good—it’s got plenty on the
delight, whether you’re a gamer or a inside as well!
movie buff. And if that weren’t enough,
there’s even a DVI connector to connect Runner-Up: Fujitsu LifeBook LBN3510

Ultra-Portable Notebooks VGN-S46/GP

Sony VAIO VGN-S46/GP performed
Specs: Intel Pentium M 1733 MHz, 512 MB very well in
RAM, 13.3-inch widescreen LCD, 60 GB all our bench-
Hard Drive, Dual-layer DVD-Writer marks and
emerged as a
Our Verdict: This VAIO has the elegance of top performer.
a Porsche and the ruggedness of a We don’t have any
Mustang! The 13.3-inch widescreen display doubts about award-
is the best in its class, with unmatched ing it the Zero1 in this
picture quality and very large viewing category.
angles.
The nVidia GeForce Go 6200 PCIe card Runner-Up: Acer TravelMate 3002WTCi and
means decent gaming capabilities. The Fujitsu LifeBook LBS6240

Palm LifeDrive Mobile Manager

The LifeDrive is one of those rare handheld devices from a 4-way navigation key
to exclude cell phone features. However, it does with a centre button.
Showstoppers!

have excellent features, so you won’t mind carrying In terms of connec-

two devices in your pocket. The LifeDrive is pow- tivity the LifeDrive has it all-
ered by a 416 MHz Intel XScale processor, 64 MB of Wi Fi, Bluetooth, USB 2.0,
RAM and a 4 GB hard disk (a micro drive) running no infrared though but you
Palm OS 5.4 Garnet. won’t miss it. It is a brilliant
Sporting a 320 x 480 TFT LCD touchscreen, the organiser and portable
device is sleek. The gorgeous 65k screen is a god sent entertainment centre
for the eyes and the image quality is extremely crisp which will make your life
and clear. The four buttons under the screen are for synchronised. This pocket PDA is worth the buy,
music, photos, home menu and file browser, apart though, of course, if it’s only a PDA you’re looking for.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 53

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
MFDs
Office Inkjet MFDs
Lexmark X7170 highest in its
Specs: 1200 x 4800 Optical Scan Resolution, segment.
PictBridge-Ready, Input and Output Tray Though this is
Capacities of 100 and 25 Sheets not the top scorer
Respectively, Flatbed and Sheet-fed across all segments,
Scanning Elements it does have an edge over the others when
you take the whole picture into account. It
Our Verdict: The first thing you’ll notice is competitively priced, ink consumption is
about this printer is the great user inter- the lowest in its class, and it’s a great per-
face. Print quality is decent; optical scan former to boot!
resolution, one of the highest in its seg-
ment; and scan quality, again, is one of the Runner-Up: HP PSC 2310 All-in-one

Photo Inkjet MFDs

HP Photosmart 2608 All-in-one and resolutions
Specs: 2400 x 4800 Optical Scan Resolution, as high as 2400
PictBridge-Ready, MMC Reader, Input and x 4800.
Output Tray Capacities of 150 and 50 Print speeds
Sheets Respectively, Flatbed CCD Scanner are blazingly fast
with all types of doc-
Our Verdict: The 2608 has an MMC card uments, without print quality being sacri-
reader, and is PictBridge-compliant—so you ficed. Scan quality is no less amazing.
can print without the need for a PC. The Stunning performance together with
print unit uses traditional Black and very competitive pricing make the HP
Colour cartridges. Photosmart 2608 a winner.
The scanner unit supports scanning
of A4-size media at 24-bit colour depth Runner-Up: None

SoHo Laser MFDs

Canon MF 3110 depend on the
Specs: 1200 x 600 dpi x dpi Print computer to
Resolution, 1200 x 2400 Optical and 9600 send the docu-
x 9600 Interpolated Scanning Resolution, ment in chunks—
250-Sheet Input Tray Capacity, Flatbed which is the way
CCD Scanner complex print
jobs are handled
Our Verdict: This unit’s printing resolution— by printers with a
1200 x 600 dpi—is the highest amongst the smaller buffer.
MFDs we tested in its category. It also boasts This MFD gives decent-quality scans,
of the highest optical scan resolution of and is one of the lowest-priced MFDs in
1200 x 2400 dpi. The 15,000-page duty cycle, this category. Canon has 130 service cen-
again, is the highest in its class. tres where you can avail of service and the
The 64 MB of buffer memory means one-year on-site warranty.
the printer can accept large and complex
document print jobs at one go; it doesn’t Runner-Up: Lexmark X215

Workgroup Laser MFDs

Brother MFC-8440 This unit has
Specs: 1200 x 600 Printing Resolution, 600 the highest print as
x 2400 Scan Resolution, 250-Sheet Input well as scan resolu-
Tray Capacity, Flatbed (CCD) and Sheet-Fed tions in its category.
(CIS) Scanner The unit features fax
with broadcasting and
Our Verdict: The Brother MFC-8440 is one scheduling features, and
rugged MFD, which bundles in a fax unit. the fax memory stores up to 600 pages.
The printer duty cycle is huge—20,000 This MFD was reasonably fast in text
pages! There is a flatbed CCD scanner as printing, and the print quality, in general,
well as a sheet-fed CIS scanner to handle was much better than that of other MFDs
various types of scan jobs. The presence of in its class. Brother has a decent network of
an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) service centres across India and offers a
means you won’t have to keep manually three-year on-site warranty.
feeding in sheets to be scanned—the ADF
does the job for you. Runner-Up: Samsung SCX-4720F

54 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
MONITORS
CRT Monitors (17-Inch) common feature
Acer AF715 among 17-inch
Specs: 0.25 mm Dot Pitch, 1600 x 1200 tubes. The anti-
Max Resolution @ 75Hz, 200 MHz Video reflective coat-
Bandwidth ing reduces glare
and enhances
Our Verdict: The fine dot pitch of 0.25 picture viewing.
mm, and the outstanding video band- The good picture
width, makes this CRT the most remark- clarity and these
able 17-inch tube in its class. Clear colour excellent specifications come at an
image reproduction on a naturally flat affordable price.
screen with a highest resolution of 1600
x 1200 at a refresh rate of 75 Hz is not a Runner-Up: ViewSonic E71f

CRT monitors (19-Inch)

ness settings for
Samsung SyncMaster 997DF various viewing
Specs: 0.20 mm Dot Pitch, 1920 x 1440 @ conditions such as
64Hz Maximum Resolution, Shadow dim ambient light.
Mask, 250 MHz Video Bandwidth The flat-screen
997DF is reason-
Our Verdict: This Samsung 19-inch CRT ably priced, and is
showcases consistent overall perform- an attractive option for
ance. Graphics professionals and gamers those looking to migrate
should take a look at this one, since it did to a quality big-screen monitor.
not display any ghosting or streaking in
our tests. Unfortunately, there are no fac- Runner-Up: Samsung SyncMaster 957MB
tory-preset colour, contrast and bright-

LCD Monitors (15-inch) Common fea-

Acer AL1512 tures such as
Specs: 450:1 Contrast Ratio, 350 cd/m2 a VESA wall
Luminance, 23 ms Response Time, Inbuilt mount and
Speakers D-Sub and
stereo pin
Our Verdict: The Acer AL1512 blends good input types
performance with great features at a are present.
decent price tag. Other than the price It’s also PC
advantage, the AL1512 sports good view- and Mac
ing angles. Colour reproduction is excel- compatible!
lent, the picture is sharp, and the high
luminance assures screen visibility even
in bright ambient light. The 23 ms Runner-Up: CMV CT-529A
response time may not be the best for
gaming and movie watching, though.

Netgear MP101 Wireless Digital Music Player

If you want the music on your computer to be LCD panel on the front to display the song details,
playing in your bed- and no buttons; all functions are controlled via the
room or living room— feature-rich remote.
assuming the PC is in Setting up the device is not a problem, but
Showstoppers!

some other room—and you need to have a Wi-Fi card on your PC.
you don’t want to The MP 101 comes with an audio RCA jack,
create audio CDs or stereo-in pin for speakers, and an RJ45 LAN
MP3 CDs for your music port to connect to a LAN switch if you
system because your song are using one. Set up an Access
collection is too large, then Point on your PC running server
you’re looking for the Netgear software that configures DHCP con-
MP 101 Wireless Digital Music Player. nections for its clients, and the MP101
The MP101 is a wireless device that can stream will look for a server, and gain an IP
music from your PC, sending the output to the address and subnet mask by itself… all you
speakers connected to the device. There’s a large have to do is choose your music and hit ‘Play’!

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 55

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
LCD Monitors (17-inch)
Acer AL1714sm duction at high reso-
Specs: 350:1 Contrast ratio, 370cd/m2 lutions is comparable
Luminance, 14 ms Response Time, Inbuilt to that seen on high-
Speakers end LCD screens.
The unit itself is
Our Verdict: The combination of features compact with an oval
and performance was just about right, but base—it is approxi-
the Acer AL1714sm is also unbeatably mately two inches
priced. Even the response time, among thick. Unfortunately,
other features, matches the necessary the inbuilt speakers
standard. The viewing angle of the screen, are not good enough for music.
and the colour reproduction, are remark- We must emphasize that the Acer
able. The screen also showed low ghosting AL1714sm offers amazing value for money!
effect while playing movies—thanks to the
14 ms response time. Crisp colour repro- Runner-Up: CMV CT-712A

MOTHERBOARDS All our

With Onboard Graphics For AMD tests without
Processors (Low-End) exception saw the
MSI RS480M2-IL RS480M2-IL posting
Specs: Socket 939, PCI-Express, Onboard high scores. It scored well
ATi Radeon XPress 200 Graphics, 10/100 in our gaming tests as well,
LAN, FireWire, SATA With RAID, Four on account of the onboard DirectX 9 graph-
USB 2.0 Ports ics. This motherboard is dual-core ready,
and can accommodate the X2.
Our Verdict: The MSI RS480M2-IL is based on Though it is priced considerably higher
the PCIe architecture and has an x16 slot than other motherboards in its category,
for PCIe graphics cards, but the onboard its excellent features and performance
graphics is decent enough for moderate fetch the MSI RS480M2-IL our Zero1 Award.
gaming. It supports up to 4 GB of 400 MHz
DDR memory in dual-channel mode. Runner-Up: TUL A480A7-VF

Without Onboard Graphics For AMD

Processors (Low-End) DDR memo-
Winfast NF4K8MC ry in dual-chan-
Specs: Socket 939, Supports AMD nel configuration.
Athlon64 X2, PCI-Express, 8-channel A score of 30.3 in ZD-
Onboard Audio, Gigabit LAN, SATA With Bench Business Winstone
RAID, Four USB 2.0 Ports 2004 means this is a motherboard that can
handle office applications much better
Our Verdict: This motherboard is based than other ‘regular’ motherboards can.
on the nVidia nForce4 chipset usually Couple this with the fact that this is one of
found on high-end motherboards, which the lower-priced boards in this category,
simply translates to high-end perform- and we have a Zero1 Award winner!
ance. This motherboard is AMD dual-
core ready. It supports 3 GB of 400 MHz Runner-Up: Winfast NF4K8AB

For Intel Processors (Low-End)

Mercury PI915GVM The scores
Specs: Socket LGA775, PCI-Express architec- this board post-
ture, Onboard Intel graphics, Four SATA ed in our stock
ports, 10/100 LAN, Four USB 2.0 Ports. benchmarks were all
very good, and it is
Our Verdict: The Mercury PI915GVM is based decent for moderate gam-
on the Intel 915GV chipset, and has onboard ing requirements and effortless handling
graphics in addition to the PCIe graphics of day-to-day applications. It is a little
slot upgrade option. It supports up to 2 GB expensive for an entry-level motherboard,
of both DDR as well as DDR2 memory at 400 but it showed good enough all-round per-
MHz and 533 MHz respectively. The six- formance to win our Zero1 Award.
channel onboard audio is sufficient for
home theatre use, gaming or music. Runner-Up: Gigabyte GA-8TRS 350MT

56 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
For AMD processors (Mid-Range) PCMark04
MSI K8N Neo Platinum proves the
Specs: : Socket 754, AGP 8x Port, Four SATA prowess of this
With RAID, Gigabit LAN, Eight-Channel motherboard in han-
Audio, Four USB 2.0 Ports, FireWire dling day-to-day office
applications such as word
Our Verdict: The MSI K8N Neo Platinum is processors, spreadsheets, etc. Being a
based on the nVidia nForce3 250Gb chipset. Platinum series motherboard, it comes
It has the best component layout in its with a generous bundle of goodies in addi-
class, with a processor area free of capaci- tion to its features, yet it is reasonably
tors and perfectly placed storage ports. priced. Add everything up and what we
Scoring a very healthy score of 32 in have is the winner of the Zero One award.
the real world benchmark Multimedia
Content Creation 2004 and 3640 in Runner-Up: Asus K8N-E Deluxe

For Intel processors (Mid-Range)

Gigabyte GA-8I915G Duo gamer; the
Specs: Socket LGA775, x16 PCI-Express, 4 hard-core
SATA Ports, Supports DDR and DDR-II gamers can of
(400/533), On board Video and 7.1 course add-in the
Channel sound fast PCI express
graphic card. Since
Our Verdict: Based on the Intel 915G 915 chipset board use ICH6 Southbridge,
chipset, this motherboard is skilfully the support for SATA storage media is
designed with pack of features – sup- excellent especially for I/O intensive
porting both DDR and DDR2, 7.1 channel work that needs higher data transfer
sound, Gigabit LAN and it also sported rates. Although this board isn’t an
x16 PCI express slot when most AMD outright performer, it is a value for
motherboards were reluctant to imple- money product.
ment it. The on-board video satisfies the
light gaming experience for a casual Runner-Up: Gigabyte GA-8I915G MF

For AMD Processors (High-End)

Gigabyte 8S Series GA-K8NXP-SLI ga m e :
Specs: Socket 939, Supports AMD Athlon64 this
X2, nVidia nForce4 SLI Chipset, Eight SATA- mother-
2 Ports with Hot PnP, Dual Gigabit LAN, board sup-
Dual BIOS ports the dual-
core AMD Athlon64
Our Verdict: This motherboard comes X2, and even has very good overclocking
with a lot of bundled goodies such as the features if you really want to push it to
U-Plus DPS power system, an 802.11b+g the limits.
Wi-Fi card, and lots of cables and con- If you’re looking to invest in a moth-
nectors. The board posted very high gam- erboard for an AMD processor that’s
ing scores, and it returned excellent packed to the gills with features and that
scores in the Content Creation and offers top-notch performance, look no
Business Winstone benchmark applica- further than the Gigabyte 8S Series GA-
tions, which are indicative of real-world K8NXP-SLI!
performance in office applications.
Future-proofing is the name of the Runner-Up: Asus Proactive A8N-SLI

MSI MegaView 561

The MegaView 561 is MSI’s answer to the iPods cables,
Showstoppers!

and iRivers in the media player segment. This MegaView

player has a respectable 3.5-inch TFT LCD screen, can record
and 20 GB of storage capacity. The device sup- from and
ports viewing and playback of the DivX, MPEG-4, play back
WMV, WMA, GIF, TIFF, JPEG and BMP formats. to a TV.
Other features include voice recording and A little more horsepower to play video of
an FM tuner programmable up to eight stations. higher bitrates without stutter would have made
The microphone is very sensitive; it records the MegaView 561 truly impressive, but the 561
ambient sounds with good clarity. Using AV is still a very decent portable player.

58 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
For Intel Processors (High-End)
MSI P4N Diamond T h e
Specs: LGA775, Supports Intel Dual-core board returned
Processors, nVidia nForce4 SLI Intel very high scores in
Edition, DDR2 667 MHz, Dual Gigabit LAN the ZD-Bench Business
Winstone 2004, which is indicative of real-
Our Verdict: The P4N Diamond has Creative world performance in office applications.
SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit on-board, an exter- The P4N Diamond is steeply priced, but
nal SATA port, and a Bluetooth/Wi-Fi its exceptionally good feature set and great
combo card. It aslo has MSI’s Core Cell chip performance make it a winner.
which allows real-time dynamic overclock-
ing, power saving, and diagnosis of temper- Runner-Up: Asus Proactive P5ND2-SLI Deluxe
ature and CPU fan speed. and MSI P4N SLI

MP3 PLAYERS
Flash-Based MP3 Players - 1 GB
Samsung YP-T8 stand out as a unique
Specs: Flash-based 1 GB, Internal Li-Ion solid-state MP3 player.
Rechargeable Battery, 262K TFT LCD Colour The 262K colour
Screen, Supports Audio (OGG, MP3, ASF, TFT-LCD screen gives
WMA) and Text Files, Photo Viewer, Video vibrant video playback. Data transfer
Playback, USB 2.0, Voice Recording, speeds between a PC and the YP-T8 is the
Firmware Upgradeable, FM Tuner, Direct fastest amongst the solid-state MP3 players
Line-In Recording we saw. Bundled accessories include a neck
strap, a USB cable, earphones, a line-in
Our Verdict: The ergonomics and ease of use cable, a pouch, and an installation CD.
of the YP-T8 is superior to that of any of the There are many preset equaliser modes
flash-based players we’ve seen so far. Not on the YP-T8, but we felt the sound quality
only is it portable, the placement of the lacked some punch. Overall, however, the
menu buttons is very comfortable. The Samsung YP-T8 is a feature-rich product at
video playback feature makes the YP-T8 an affordable price.

Flash-Based MP3 Players - 256 MB

Yes YMP-910 The YMP-910 can be used
Specs: Flash-based 256 MB, Internal Li-Ion as a TV remote control
Rechargeable Battery, 65K LCD Colour (IR) . Bundled acces-
Screen, Supports Audio (MP3, MP2, WMA, sories include a
ASF, WAV), Text and Photo Files, USB 2.0, USB cable, a neck-
Voice recording, Firmware Upgradeable, lace ear-phone, a
Direct Line-In, FM Tuner and Recording, 5- carry case, a line-in
Preset Equaliser, A-B Repeat cable, an arm-band, and an install CD.
Audio quality is very good—it can
Our Verdict: YES… it is a sturdy YMP-910! play heavy bass and extreme treble with-
Longitudinal in shape, the portability of out any distortion or noise. IR remote
this player is remarkable, but the place- control ability is a feature unique to this
ment of the menu and navigation buttons player, and it also records a high battery
is just about satisfactory. life.

Hard Drive-Based MP3 Players

playback perform-
Samsung YH-J70 ance; it can play
Specs: 30 GB, 262K TFT LCD Colour Display, heavy bass and
USB 2.0, Supports Audio (MP3, WAV, WMA, extreme treble
OGG), Video, Photo and Text Files, FM without noise.
Tuner and Recording, Line-In Encoding, 11- Bundled acces-
Preset Equaliser, A-B Repeat sories include a case, earphones, a line-in
cable, a USB cable, a docking cradle, and
Our Verdict: “Now watch movies on the the installation CD. Menu and naviga-
move”—that’s the message the Samsung tion buttons are well-placed on the sleek
YH-J70 is giving out, with 30 GB of storage dual-tone casing. Top all this up with
capacity and video playback capabilities dashing looks!
on a 262K colour TFT LCD colour screen.
Samsung has not compromised on audio Runner-Up: iRiver H10

60 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
PDA PHONES sheet and presenta-
Nokia 9500 Communicator tion applications.
Specs: 65K Colour TFT, Tri-band GSM, The device fares
GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi (802.11b), Bluetooth, well on several fronts—
Infrared, VGA Camera contact management,
calendaring, and e-mail management fea-
Our Verdict: The 9500 Communicator’s tures. The Communicator 9500 offers fea-
65K colour display is nice, crisp, and per- tures even the most choosy business execu-
fectly legible even in outdoor lighting. tive would be pleased with. It lives up to its
The screen is horizontally oriented, and name, sporting the ultimate in connectivi-
is perfect for reading documents and ty options—even offering a proprietary Pop-
browsing the Net. A sufficiently spa- Port for USB connection with a PC. All this
cious QWERTY keyboard makes data makes the 9500 Communicator an ideal
entry a breeze. The 9500 Communicator device on a business trip.
features a full QWERTY keyboard, and
includes a word processor and spread- Runner-Up: O2 XDA II Mini

PRINTERS
Home Inkjet Printers cartridge is drained.
Canon Pixma iP 1000 This, along with the
Specs: 4800 x 1200 Interpolated Printing lowest cartridge
Resolution, 150-Sheet Input Tray Capacity price, meant this
printer has the lowest
Our Verdict: The Canon Pixma iP 1000 is ink consumption per
quite a performer. This lightweight device printed page.
is capable of printing at interpolated reso- Print quality, too, is better than that of
lutions as high as 4800 x 1200. When it the others in its category—and the price,
comes to print speeds, the iP 1000 is faster surprisingly, is also amongst the lowest.
than any other in its category. In fact, in With everything going for it, the Pixma iP
our tests, it excelled in printing every type 1000 had to win the Digit Zero1 Award in
of document. It printed the highest num- this category.
ber of pages in the drain test, where we
print documents until all the ink from the Runner-Up: HP DeskJet 3745

Office/Photo Inkjet Printers print quality without

Canon Pixma iP 3000 compromising on
Specs: 4800 x 1200 Interpolated Printing speed. PictBridge
Resolution, PictBridge-Ready, Dual Paper facilitates connecting
Feed (Total Capacity 300 Sheets) directly to PictBridge-
ready cameras, so you
Our Verdict: This photo printer is really can print photos with-
fast even at the default settings, making out an intervening PC.
it ideal for office use. The dual-feed This printer was the best in its category
paper tray means paper can be fed from in terms of print speed and quality, while
the top and the bottom. It also supports also being one of the lower-priced ones. The
duplex printing, as well as CD/DVD face Canon Pixma iP 3000 is, overall, the best
printing. office inkjet printer available in its class.
The iP 3000 uses the CMYK system
employing four cartridges, to enhance Runner-Up: Canon Pixma iP 4000

Sony PlayStation Portable

The glossy black exterior and the large display be recharged using the
sporting 16.77 million colours are what first bundled AC adaptor.
Showstoppers!

strike you when you get your hands on the Sony The PSP is somewhat bulky for a pocket,
PSP. The package bundles quality PSP ear- measuring 17 x 7.4 x 2.3 cm. It can play MPEG-4
phones, a 32 MB MS duo pro card, the AC movies and MP3 songs apart from the gaming
adapter, and the PSP battery pack—apart from action it’s meant for. The gaming experience is
the case, hand strap and user manual. amazing, as the PSP feels perfectly well-balanced
Communication interfaces include USB, when held in both hands; the graphics quality is
infrared and Wi-Fi—yes, it has 802.11b wireless so outstanding you can even see the reflection of
integrated, which lets you play multiplayer games a bridge and trees on the roof of a car! The 4.3-
with another PSP! The unit is powered by a inch 16:9 TFT LCD screen provides you with a
replaceable 1800 mAh Li-ion battery, which can wholesome gaming experience.

62 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005

Mono Laser Printers (SoHo)

Canon LBP 2900 This was
Specs: 600 x 600 dpi x dpi, 150-Sheet Input one of the
Tray Capacity, Additional Paper Tray, Toner fastest printers
Duty Cycle 2,000 Pages, USB 2.0 and we’d seen, and
Parallel Interfaces we found the
print quality
Our Verdict: The LBP 2900 is a small, styl- the best in the category. Remember, also,
ish printer. It features an additional that this is a Canon, and Canon has a good
paper tray, and you have the option of number of service centres all over the
adding a network card if and when you country. The price of this printer is
feel the need to use this printer on a net- amongst the lowest in its class.
work. The printer supports both
Windows and Linux. Runner-Up: Lexmark E230

Mono Laser Printers (Workgroup)

Brother HL-6050D amongst the
Specs: 600 x 600 dpi x dpi, 500-Sheet Input printers it was
Tray Capacity, Additional Paper Tray, compared with.
Toner Duty Cycle 7,500 pages, USB 2.0 and A duty cycle
Parallel Interfaces of 7,500 pages is
considerably
Our Verdict: The HL-6050D is targeted at high, and the
small- to medium-sized offices. You won’t printer yields the
complain about the input tray capacity, lowest cost per page among all the printers
nor about the additional paper tray! There in its class. Throw in a three-year on-site
is support for printing languages such as warranty with 105 service centres across
PCL6 and PS3, which means it consumes the country, and factor in the low price—
very little system resources. and you’ve got a sure Zero1 Award winner
This wasn’t the fastest printer in its in the Brother HL-6050D.
category, but it was still very fast; in
terms of print quality, it was the best Runner-Up: Brother HL-5140

Colour Laser Printers

Epson AcuLaser C1100 This colour
Specs: 600 x 600 dpi x dpi, 180-Sheet Input printer was
Tray Capacity, Dual-Side Printing, the fastest of
Windows and Mac ready, Network Port, them all, be it
USB 2.0 and Parallel Interfaces text docu-
ments, combi-
Our Verdict: The AcuLaser C1100 has a documents or
unique, boxy look. It supports dual-side colour photo
printing, which allows you to print printouts. The
something like a book or a manual with- price is also
out the need for human intervention. lower than that of most in this category.
There’s an LCD screen that displays the Epson has a network of 211 service cen-
status of the task being carried out. It is tres across the country.
network-enabled, which is especially
useful in offices. Runner-Up: Samsung CLP-500

PROCESSORS This is a 64-bit

AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+ processor, but
Specs: 2.4 GHz, Dual-Core, 1 MB L2 Cache remember that
per Core, Socket 939 to experience
the extra power
Our Verdict: Based on the low power con- afforded, a 64-bit OS
suming Venice core, this dual-core must be used. As you
processor has a stock clock speed of 2.4 might expect, this 64-bit
GHz. It supports various instruction sets dual-core returned superlative perform-
such as 3DNow!, MMX, SSE, SSE-2, and ance in every single benchmark that was
SSE-3—minus the hyperthreading compo- thrown its way. There is simply no other
nents, which are Intel specific. It works processor today that can come close to the
with all the 939-pin motherboards avail- Athlon 64 X2’s lightning-fast performance!
able, provided the BIOS is updated to
recognise this new processor. Runner-Up: None

64 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
PROJECTORS
Desktop Projectors
Acer PD113 movie
Specs: DLP, 800 x 600, 1600 Lumens, tests, in
2000:1 (Full On/Off), 4:3/16:9, 27.5” - 330” both 4:3
Projection Range, 200 Watts / 2000 and 16:9
Hours, 2 Kg aspect ratios.
Moreover, it sports
Our Verdict: The Acer PD113 sports a great the picture-in-picture
set of features, prime amongst them mode, for when you need to
being a healthy 1,600 lumen brightness showcase a movie presentation alongside
and a zoom ratio of 1.2:1. It also has a graphs. The remote has features that
high image display size of 330-inch diag- afford flexibility and style. To top it all
onal, which is big enough to address an up, the Acer PD113 is priced just right.
audience over 50.
The PD113 fared very well in our Runner-Up: Sony VPL-ES2

Mobile Projectors
Panasonic PT-LM1E-C lightest projector
Specs: LCD, 800 x 600, 1200 Lumens, in its class, carry-
4:3/16:9, 33” - 300” Projection Range, 130 ing it around
Watts / 4000 Hours, 1.6 Kg shouldn’t be too
much of an issue.
Our Verdict: The Panasonic PT-LM1E-C—an We present the
LCD projector—returned good results in PT-LM1E-C the Digit
our presentation tests, with good colour Zero1 Award for 2005 because it’s a great
reproduction and faithful animation. In all-round performer.
our movie test, though, it only returned
watchable results. Though it’s not the Runner-Up: BenQ PB2120

SURROUND SPEAKERS
2.1 Speakers
Bose Companion 3 mounted on a
Specs: Acoustimass Module (Subwoofer) monitor with
and Two Satellite Speakers With a Control speaker brackets.
Pod, No Bass and Treble Controls, Volume The control
Control With Feather-Touch Mute pod houses a vol-
ume control and
Our Verdict: Bose calls its subwoofers also provides a
‘Acoustimass’; whatever that means, the connection for a
Companion 3 definitely comes with a won- second audio
derful subwoofer, so much so that we felt source. If you are an audiophile, and if
the satellites didn’t match up. The two tiny money is no object, you can’t do any bet-
speakers deliver amazing sound quality ter than the Bose.
when playing anything, be it MP3s, CDs,
DVDs or games. The speakers can also be Runner-Up: JBL Creature II

Archos AV400
The 3.5-inch display may not make a spectacular songs took all of three seconds—astounding!
impression on you, but the Archos AV400 is bun- The Bookmark feature allows you to resume
dled with tons of features: video playback a movie or song from where you left off. Virtual
(including AVI and MPEG-4 in DivX format), audio dub and front-end proprietary software ensures
Showstoppers!

playback (MP3, WMA, WAV), and image viewing that encoding settings are auto-corrected, so it
(JPEG and BMP). Well, that sounds commonplace can play a non-optimised video file without
these days, but hang on: the Archos AV400 also framing (jerky playback).
has a CF card reader inbuilt, and it also supports The AV400 also allows you to record from a
a 4-in-1 adapter to read from dif- TV and play back movies or images
ferent memory cards. And that’s to a TV. The feature list seems to go
not all: you can use Windows on and on: the thing can also be
Explorer to copy media files onto used as a Dictaphone! Creating,
the device and when you unplug it, deleting and renaming of files,
it automatically scans and classi- folders and playlists can be done
fies the files under Artist, Genre, within the player itself. This is one
Album, and Title! Updating a GB of amazing, feature-packed player.

66 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005
4.1 Speakers deliver awesome tre-
Altec Lansing 641 ble and bass. Even
Specs: Subwoofer 109 W rms, Satellite the DVD audio qual-
Speakers 32 W rms, Frequency Response ity was
27 Hz - 20 KHz, Wired Remote Control for unmatched
Bass, Treble and Volume by the other
quality
Our Verdict: The sturdy build quality and speakers such as the Creative Inspire 4400
classy looks of the Altec Lansing 641 PC and the Cyber Acoustic CA 4100. The 641s
speakers strike you right when you open never gave up even at high volumes.
the box! This set is power packed with tons In one sentence, the Altec Lansing 641
of watts to blow you off your seat: the tall has excellent bass reproduction, extreme-
subwoofer houses dual drivers in its mas- ly good treble, and unmatched clarity. If
sive casing. The satellite speakers come you happen to have the money, this is the
with a mid-range driver and a Mylar tweet- way to go!
er, delivering crisp sound. The quality pair-
ing of the subwoofer and speakers helps Runner-Up: Cyber Acoustic CA 4100

5.1 Speakers
Artis X10 much more
Specs: Subwoofer 90 W rms, Satellite expensive.
Speakers 28 W rms, Frequency Response 25 The X10’s
Hz—20 KHz, Wireless Remote Control subwoofer
system is
Our Verdict: The design of this speaker set slightly dif-
seems to have been inspired by Bose: the ferent—it
Artis X10 consists of really sturdy and top- encases a
quality speakers. In our tests, the bass and driver facing the ground, and has separate
treble were both good, but the sound dis- knobs at the back to assign output levels for
torted a little at high volumes. The Creative centre, rear and treble. This is a feature
5.1 Megaworks 550 THX deserves a mention rarely seen in 5.1 speaker systems.
here: it delivered top-quality bass and tre-
ble even at high volumes, but that set is Runner-Up: Creative 5.1 MegaWorks 550 THX

TV-TUNERS
Internal PCI TV-Tuner Cards
Compro VideoMate PVR/FM detection
Specs: Based on the Philips SAA7134HL test. We
Chip, MPEG 1 and 2 Capture Support, FM found
Radio, Full-Function Remote Control the FM
tuner, too, quite
Our Verdict: Exceptional clarity in TV powerful—it could tune
image quality is the biggest plus of the into almost every station there was.
Compro VideoMate PVT/FM. The accompa- Another great thing is the full-fea-
nying Personal Video Recorder (PVR) soft- tured, 32-button remote; an FM aerial
ware supports capturing video in the comes bundled as well. The card is priced
MPEG-1 and 2 formats, and also supports moderately for its features, and is there-
the Timeshift feature. fore a must-buy.
This TV-Tuner could tune into most of
the weak signals in our cable TV channel Runner-Up: Mercury TV-Tuner Card

Mitashi DivX-999 DVD Player

Mitashi’s DVD players have caught up with the
gaining popularity of the DivX format. The new
Showstoppers!

DivX-999 DVD player is sleek and has a trayless movie, it provides a explorer-like
slot design. It can play DVDs, VCDs, audio CDs, interface that lets you browse and
and the MP3, WMA, XviD, and DivX formats. The play compatible media files.
playback quality and the setup menu are better Did we forget to mention that the device plays
than those of the earlier model, the DivX-555 HD-CDs as well? The Player also offers 5.1-channel
player. Setup options include audio, video, and a audio through both analogue and digital connec-
password option to prevent kids from operating tivity. You can even connect it to a standard PC mon-
the device when the parents are away. When you itor. This is a great all-round player, and since it is
insert a disk which is not a standard VCD or DVD region-free, you can play any DVD without hassles.

68 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005

External USB TV-Tuners trol over every

Pinnacle PCTV MediaCenter function of the
100e TV-Tuner.
Specs: External USB 2.0, Full-Featured TV picture
Remote Control, Coaxial In, Composite In, quality was also
S-Video In, Pinnacle MediaCenter very good, and
Software when we tested
it, it detected 73 of
Our Verdict: The Pinnacle PCTV 97 of cable TV channels,
MediaCenter 100e with its cool blue LED which is decent. The capture quality was
and curved shape is the most elegant-look- the best in its class, and it didn’t drop a
ing of all the USB TV-Tuners we’ve seen. single frame during our capture test.
Bundled with it was one of the best PVR This TV-Tuner is priced much higher
software we’ve seen, as well as the Pinnacle than the others in its category, but it’s a
MediaCenter software, which gives your winner by virtue of sheer image quality
Windows XP PC functionalities similar to a and great performance.
Windows XP MediaCenter PC. The feature-
rich remote allows you to exercise full con- Runner-Up: Tech-Com SSD-TV-811

External Set-Top TV-Tuners This

Tech-Com SSD-TV-712 TV-Tuner
Specs: VGA In, VGA Out, S-Video In/Out, gets the
Audio In/Out, Coaxial In, VGA-to-TV Box Zero1
Cable, Stereo Cable Award
because of its
Our Verdict: The Tech-Com SSD-TV-712 is the rock-bottom price
only no-frills TV-Tuner in this category, con- as compared to the
centrating instead on pure functionality. other products in its category.
The image quality is excellent. It detected
all available TV channels in our test. Runner-Up: AVerMedia AVerTV Box 9

SOFTWARE
Accounting Software
T++
Our Verdict: The interface of the T++ pack-
age is a cross between that of a Web brows-
er and Windows Explorer. It has a profes-
sional layout, with the menu laid out on
one screen, so you don’t need to hunt
around for the various options. almost identical to Tally’s, with a few
The software’s home page provides all extras thrown in. All in all, this is an easy-
accounting data at a glance, and this can to-use software rich on features, available
be configured. Data entry forms are also at an affordable price.
very user-friendly. Navigation through dif-
ferent forms is a snap. T++ has a feature set Runner-Up: Tally 6.3

D-Link MediaLounge DSM-320

The slender MediaLounge has many connecting network to access the DSM-320 either wirelessly
ports at the back. Most of these are for outputs or via Ethernet.
such as optical and coaxial SPDIF, S-Video, com- Once the installation process is done you are
posite video and RCA stereo audio; the two ready to test the streaming capability. The
Showstoppers!

input ports are for Ethernet and 802.11g MediaLounge can play back the MP3,
(Wi-Fi) to interface with the PC. WMA, AIFF and also playlist
OK, there’s no need to worry (M3U and PLS) formats; it
about so many connections: supports five photo image
they are provided so as to sup- formats and popular video
port a full-fledged home theatre playback formats (MPEG 1/2/4, Quicktime,
system’s requirements, and you won’t AVI and XviD). There is only one button on the front
need them all. Of course, if you do have a full panel, the On button; the remote is what you’ll be
fledged home theatre system, the manual using all the time. You can browse through your
should make it clear what goes where. PC with the TV as the display, and run any sup-
Connecting to a TV is very simple—just install the ported media on your home theatre system. Now,
necessary software on the PC and configure the forget about watching movies on your PC!

70 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 ZERO1 Awards 2005

IMAGE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 facilitating easi-
Our Verdict: Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 is er search and
an image manager with a neat and simple retrieval. There
interface for importing photographs. It are many touch-up
allows for creation of your own albums, options that allow
slideshows, VCDs, eCards, calendar, and you to manipulate
photo book. It provides you with more images and straighten
templates than you would need for creat- out rough edges. Adobe Photoshop Album
ing that special album or calendar. 2.0 also gives you the option to back up
Photoshop Album 2.0 does all the neces- your photos to CD or DVD or to another
sary optimisations for printing an album machine on your network. It also has
on your desktop printer. options for incremental backup.
Images can be hierarchically tagged
and segregated into different categories, Runner-Up: Picasa 2

LINUX DISTRIBUTIONS
Linux For Power Users comes good is the way
SuSE 9.3 Professional it customises individ-
Our Verdict: Most Linux distros have accept- ual packages to look
able user interfaces, but SuSE has always and work better.
been different. Now they have even mas- The notable
tered the art on X.Org, which replaces the upgrades in the distro
XFree86 X-server. are Linux Kernel 2.6.11,
The KDE of SuSE 9.3 has such a pol- GCC 3.3.5, glibc 2.3.4, X.Org
ished look and feel that even the best- 6.8.2, Open Office 2.0 and Eclipse 3.0.1.
looking Windows is no match. The five- The new Linux Kernel plays a major
CD installation pack contains everything role in hardware detection. We recom-
you can dream of. You can set up various mend SuSE 9.3 as a complete package for
servers just as with any other power user any user.
based distros such as RedHat. Well, that’s
no big deal in itself, but where SuSE Runner-Up: Asus K8S-MX2

Windows Replacements
Xandros Desktop OS The partition manager
Our Verdict: Linux as a desktop OS is gain- of this distro is so good
ing a lot of attention. The trend to make that Microsoft can proba-
this pro server OS penetrate more and bly take a lesson or two
more homes as a user-friendly desktop OS from the folks at Xandros!
has forced it to clone the Windows inter- The elegant file manager
face. Xandros is one such Linux distribu- provides the user with
tion: it apes certain Windows interfaces so easy access to the PC’s drives,
the migration becomes easier for regular CD/DVD drive, network shares, etc. Xandros
Windows users. comes loaded with the Mozilla and Firefox
The striking feature here is the graphi- browsers, CodeWeavers CrossOver Office
cal installation procedure, with a very 4.1, and ‘Xandros Network’, which is a tool
helpful partition manager that makes sure that helps you organise installed software
even a novice can create successful Linux and download newer ones.
partitions without disturbing the existing
FAT and NTFS partitions. Runner-Up: Linspire 5.0

Contour Design’s Roller Mouse

Contour Design’s Roller Mouse consists of a If you are still
roller bar that lets you move the cursor around wondering why
Showstoppers!

and click on icons. It works in conjunction with this product is unique,

a keyboard and can also act as its base; the then here’s the story: a reg-
roller bar and button then falls within easy ular mouse makes you move one
reach of your thumbs. The roller bar doubles hand away from the keyboard, putting
as the left-click button. your shoulder in an awkward, stress-inducing posi-
Sensitivity can be easily adjusted—by tightening or tion. The Roller Mouse is an innovation by which
loosening the knob at the base. Windows ME and you can have the function of your mouse right
later editions of Windows install the necessary under your keyboard: you won’t need to move your
drivers, so all you need is a free USB port. arm any more to reach out for a mouse!

72 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Tools l Jumpstart

Digital

94 New &
Notable 100The Display
Dilemma 117 Buyers Guide
Tools
Technology For Personal And SoHo Productivity

Enhance

Working Comfortably
Work Forces
Do you suffer Robert Sovereign-Smith It’s still a popular misconception among many
that only those who do manual work need to
from backaches?

E
rgonomics is the science that studies the consider ergonomics. This just isn’t true—a
Eyestrain? relationship of humans to their working worker who daily loads heavy packages on or off
Fingers hurting? environment. It seeks to improve working a truck is exposed to the same level of risk to his
conditions and increase efficiency. or her back as is a call centre employee. And
No, this isn’t an The human body is fragile, more so as one chances are, the manual worker and the call
ad for a balm or grows older. Those of you above the age of 30 will centre employee will suffer from back pain as
have realised this. Those below that age will the years go by!
spray! Those are come to realise it soon—you just don’t seem to The same applies to a teacher who spends
the cures—we’re be as flexible as you were when younger; and hours a day grading papers, as well as the
here to tell you niggling aches and pains creep in. students who spend hours writing them. When
The problem is compounded when you intro- it comes to ergonomics, there’s no difference
about prevention duce the work factor. Today, many Indians spend between a journalist writing articles for hours
more time working than doing anything else, on end on a computer, and a gamer mesmerised
and this is where ergonomics comes in—at least, by the latest title for hours or days!
it should.

3D Modelling Vikram Kathare

Imaging Chaitanya Surpur
 Digital Tools l Enhance
The problem lies in a condition called repet- ture does not mean you’re safe—you also need to
itive stress injury (RSI), where you can injure know how to use it.
your body by doing the same thing in the same
posture day in and day out. RSI can attack Chairs
anyone, from the manual worker to the gamer. The major cause of back and neck aches, a bad
In what follows, we stick to the dangers posed chair can really mess up your spine, especially if
to us by long hours spent on the computer. To you are sitting in it eight hours a day.
find out how to protect your body while doing As a rule of thumb, a good chair is one in
absolutely any type of job, refer to the box: which you feel comfortable. This may sound
The Ergonomic Web on page 78. vague, but our point is that comfort is a very
subjective matter—one person’s comfort could
The Aches be another’s pain. So to begin with, just make
People have been known to suffer from backaches, sure your chair feels comfortable.
neck pain, eye strain, finger and forearm pain Most chairs today have adjustable parts, so if
after exceptionally long computer use. Of these, your chair just doesn’t seem right, try adjusting
eye strain and finger and forearm pain are direct the height. The proper height is achieved when
effects of using a computer (of course, it’s the you can sit in the chair and comfortably rest the
monitor, keyboard and mouse that are to blame). soles of your feet on the ground. A low height
Backaches and neck pains are a result of the way would be if you find that the backs of your thighs
we sit. Let’s take a look at these side-effects one by are raised above the chair seat, and too high
one and figure out the best practice in each case. would be when you cannot comfortably place
your feet flat on the ground.
The Back And Neck The next thing to look for is an adjustable
Those of you who have suffered severe back pain seat. Since our heights differ, a shorter person
or slipped discs will surely vouch for the impor- would need less seat space, and may need to
tance of looking after your spine. This is not just move the seat backwards towards the backrest.
another ache, and not just another part of your On the other hand, a tall person would need to
body: injuries to the spine can be debilitating, move the seat forwards.
and even life-threatening in extreme cases. The An adjustable backrest is also important—not
body just cannot function without the support just in terms of height, but also in terms of the
of the spine, so you need to make sure you take angle at which it meets your back. The more
every little backache and muscle spasm in the adjustable the backrest, the more the chances of
spine region very seriously. you feeling comfortable in various positions.
At work, the spine is put to risk by the type Leaning back on an adjustable backrest helps
of chair you use, and how you use it. A chair that to take weight off your lower spine, and that’s
hasn’t been designed with ergonomics in mind very relaxing. Contrary to popular belief, a
can cause back pain. But even if you have a good straight-back chair is not exactly ergonomic—not
chair designed to take weight off your back, are unless you’re strapped to it. It’s better to have a
you sitting the correct way? We’ll soon talk chair with an adjustable backrest that allows you
about chairs with good ergonomic design. to bend your back a little from time to time, in
order to shift the weight.
The Eyes Apart from the design of the chair, you need
Eye strain is almost always associated with the to remember to keep shifting your weight about
type of monitor you use, the distance and angle at regular intervals. This helps improve the blood
at which it is placed, the screen resolution you
work at, and also whether you remember to
blink and take focus away from the monitor
from time to time. More on this later when we
look at monitors.

The Fingers And Arms

Very often, discomfort in these areas is not
caused by using the keyboard and mouse the
wrong way, but simply by not positioning them
properly. A chair can also help the arms by
providing good padded arm rests, as can placing
the mouse at the correct location and height.
The most common complaint is the Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), a disorder that affects a
nerve in the wrists, causing tingling, pain and
weakness in parts of the hand. CTS is perhaps
the most well-known RSI, and is beginning to
affect more people worldwide—all because of
the bad placement of a mouse or keyboard!

Office Furniture
Here we show you how you can decide whether
the furniture you’re using is ergonomically right Well-designed chairs can make life at work much easier,
or wrong. Remember, just having the right furni- and can also bring relief to your aching back

76 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Tools l Enhance

Monitor Placement
Infographic Chaitanya Surpur

As shown in the figure, the monitor needs to be placed lower than

the line of sight. The top of the viewable area should be at least 15
degrees below the line of sight and the bottom of the monitor’s view-
able area should be no more than 50 degrees below the line of sight

flow to your back and buttocks, and ensures that

you do not suffer from RSI. You should try not to
slouch in your chair, and take short breaks by
standing up and walking about to help the blood
circulate. Stretching, more so, after a long stint
of sitting, is a beneficial practice.

Monitor Placement And Lighting

Lighting? Yes, even lighting is a factor when
deciding monitor placement. You’ll often see
someone at your workplace twisting and contort-
ing when trying to read a particular area of their
monitor. So also, you may place your monitor in
an equally awkward position, just to be able to
view it properly.
When deciding where to place a monitor, it’s
best to make sure there’s no light source behind
the user, as this causes a glare on the screen and
makes areas of the screen unreadable. Also, in
larger offices where the workforce is seated in
cubicles, rows and columns, such as in a call
centre, diffused lighting is a good idea. This cuts
out the one bright source of light and reduces
the glare on the monitors.
The second most important aspect is the
distance of the screen from the eyes. The closer
the screen, the more the strain on the eyes. This
is easily demonstrated by doing a simple test:
hold up your index finger at a full arm’s length
from your face. Now focus on your nail and grad-
ually bring your finger closer to your eyes. You’ll
notice that the closer the finger gets to your eyes,
the more strain you’ll feel while focussing.
So what is the correct distance at which your
monitor should be placed? The answer is more
complicated and involves more than a simple
measurement in inches. Though it is widely
suggested that you place the monitor at least
two feet away from the eyes, this doesn’t account
for the other variables you come across when
dealing with computer monitors.
For instance, placing a 14-inch monitor two
feet away from your eyes is good, but what about
those with 19 or 21-inch monitors? Then there’s

DECEMBER 2005 DIGIT 77

 Digital Tools l Enhance
rule of thumb, try and work with dark text on
The Ergonomic Web light backgrounds. Keep in mind that correct
ergonomic placement of the monitor requires
There are plenty of online resources that will give you all the information you
need about ergonomics, and more. Most of these Web sites are dedicated to
the monitor to be tilted away from the eyes, so
that the bottom of the screen is closer to the
the science of ergonomics, and you can be sure that the information provided is
body than the top of the screen.
correct. Here’s a list of a few sites you should visit:
To better understand why a tilt is needed,
notice the way you’re holding this copy of Digit.
The Ergonomics Society (www.ergonomics.org.uk)
You’ll see that the magazine is tilted away from
This is a society of people dedicated to the study of ergonomics. You can find
you, just as when you hold anything else, say, a
everything from information to job vacancies for ergonomic specialists here.
newspaper or book. This happens because we’re
used to objects being further away when at the
Office Ergonomics (www.office-ergo.com)
eye level and closer when below our line of sight.
This is a site that’s dedicated to providing you information on how you can be
If you sit down and look straight ahead, you
more ergonomic at work, from tips for employees to guidelines for employers.
will notice that the objects at and above your
line of sight are further away, and the objects in
Ergonomics: Posture Movement and Ergonomics (www.ergonomics.org)
your field of vision that are below this line of
This site covers all the do’s and don’t’s of office behaviour, including the correct
sight are much closer. It’s only obvious that if
postures and monitor placement.
you tilt your monitor away from yourself to
reflect a more real-world sight, you will strain
Cornell University Ergonomics Web (http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/)
your eyes less.
This site has information from research studies and class work by students and
faculty from the Cornell Human Factors and Ergonomics Research Group.
Keyboard And Mouse Placement
The next step towards protecting your body
International Ergonomics Association (www.iea.cc)
when working with computers is to protect
Pethaps the largest ergonomics society, the IEA site will give you details on
your hands—your fingers, wrist, forearms and
conferences and technical contacts in case you want to get your products
elbows. As we mentioned earlier, the most
certified as ergonomic-friendly.
common injury resulting from computer use is
the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, caused by exces-
the problem of resolutions. Placing a 19-inch sive use of a keyboard. Though a keyboard that
monitor three feet away from the eyes might solves this problem has not yet been invented,
seem like a good idea, but when you’re running especially for those who have to type hundreds
at a resolution of 1600 x 1280, this could make of thousands of words a day (data-entry opera-
the text on the screen look minuscule, and force tors and the like), there are models that try and
you to strain your eyes anyway! reduce the risks.
A good practice is to keep the monitor at Split keyboards: These are keyboards that
least 25 inches away from the eyes, and adjust to are broken into two parts. Some designs feature
the resolution that causes the least eye strain. a single keyboard with the keypad split in two—
Instead of using a 19-inch monitor running at a and each half is positioned at a different angle.
resolution of 1600 x 1280, placed at 25 inches
away from the eyes, consider placing the moni-
tor three feet away, and running it at a resolu-
tion of 1280 x 1024 or 1024 x 768.
The next consideration is the monitor tilt,
and the height at which it is placed. Here’s
where your table comes into play. Since you’ve
already decided on the height of your chair, you
need to make sure the tables are low enough to
keep the monitor at the correct height. Remem-
ber, it’s a lot easier to increase the height of a
monitor by placing something under it than it
is to decrease the height.
Since heights are very subjective, monitor
placement is always decided by angles. Studies
have found that in order to protect the neck, a
monitor’s viewing area should be 15 to 50 Split keyboards attempt to let you place each hand as comfortably as
degrees below horizontal eye level. This means you want to, and at whatever angle you desire
that if you sit in your chair and look straight
ahead, focusing on an object at the same height This style of keyboard tries to solve the problem
above the ground as your eyes, the top of your of unnatural angles for the wrists.
monitor should be at a minimum of 15 degrees To illustrate the problem, look at your regu-
below your line of sight, while the bottom of the lar keyboard. It is flat and has the same angle
monitor screen should be a maximum of 50 towards your body for all keys. Now place your
degrees below the line of sight. This is illustrated hands over the keyboard as you would when
in the diagram alongside (see Monitor Placement). beginning to type. You’ll notice that your wrists
A few other things to consider are the results are bent slightly outwards (towards your little
of studies that have shown that white text on fingers). This posture is not natural, and we often
black backgrounds seem to strain the eyes more find ourselves rotating our keyboards in one
than black text on white backgrounds. So as a direction or the other to ease the stress on our

78 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Tools l Enhance
Here’s another simple test. Hold your hands out
in front of you, palms facing the floor and
fingers straight. Now bend the hand downwards
from the wrist so that your fingers point at the
floor. Now do the same thing in reverse and try
and point your fingers at the ceiling. You’ll see
that it’s much easier to bend the hand down-
wards than upwards. What negative slope
keyboards do is try and ensure that your wrists
bend upwards as little as possible, and even
favour a bend downwards.
It’s widely acknowledged that placing a
keyboard low is desirable so the arms can
straighten as much as possible. Unfortunately, a
standard keyboard placed low will cause you to
further bend your wrists upwards, thus risking
harm. So if you like to place your keyboard as
low as possible, a negative-slope keyboard could
help ease the tension in your aching wrists.
Taking tented keyboards even further, some manufacturers offer Ergonomic mice: Though many manufactur-
vertical keyboards. They claim to offer as much as 50 per cent less ers make ergonomic mice, all of which are
muscle stress, but the bigger question is what is the learning required? designed differently and can be really expen-
sive, it’s perhaps only gamers and those who
wrists. This typing posture is in sharp contrast to use the mouse for extended periods of time
the way we place our hands on, say, the dinner without breaks, who might need them. The
table. You’ll notice that at the dinner table, your designs of ergonomic mice are decided in
hands are placed much further apart than when pretty much the same way as that of the afore-
at the keyboard. This is the specific problem that mentioned keyboards.
split keyboards attempt to solve.
Palm rests: Most keyboards today come
with palm rests. The simple reason for a palm
rest is that it allows your hands to be placed on
a firm surface rather than being held in the air
by your muscles. This reduces the strain on your
muscles and helps relax your arms a lot more.
Tented keyboards: These keyboards look
very funny at first, until you understand why
they’re made that way. Another simple exper-
iment: stand up and leave your arms loosely
by your side. Now bend your arms at the elbow
and bring your hands up, perpendicular to
your body. You’ll notice your palms are facing
each other (inwards), and not the floor. This is Here are just a few of the
in sharp contrast to the way they are placed alternate mice available
when using a normal keyboard, where your that are ergonomic
palms are resting on the table or palm rest,
and facing the floor.
Even in the previous dinner table example,
if you notice that when you put your hands up
on a table, comfortably, the palms are never
facing the table: they face each other. This is
the natural position for your hands. So
although split keyboards solve the problem of In Short
angles, they don’t solve the problem of natural From what you’ve read thus far, it should be
palm placement. obvious that good ergonomic design means
This is where tented keyboards try and kill keeping your body in as natural a position as
two birds with one stone—the keyboard is split, possible, reducing strain on the muscles and
and also angled like a tent, to keep your hands tendons. This is why ergonomics is often called
in as natural a position as possible when typing. the science of fitting a job to the person, rather
Of course you will make a good many typos than fitting a person to the job.
trying to get used to this style of keyboard, and No matter how stressful your work or
you’ll also slow down your typing speed, but as how busy your schedule, always remember to
with everything else, you’ll get used to it. take a break, shift the body, stretch and relax—
Tented keyboards are an option only for all this will help make you more productive,
touch typists, for those of us who look and type, and also eliminate the unwanted costs of
the split keyboard is as good as it gets! balms and sprays! If nothing else, by following
Negative-slope keyboards: These are these guidelines, you might just start to feel a
keyboards that have height-raising feet at the little younger!
front, instead of at the back like most keyboards. [email protected]

80 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Speeding up IDE-based
Linux drives
Linux being an open source This tip is useful for just
OS gives you the power to about any Linux desktop
alter the system to your machine using IDE-based
needs. But this power must be drives. By default Linux uses
utilised with caution. As the conservative settings for IDE
‘root’ (Administrator) user of for instance the DMA mode is
your machine you must take disabled. This is done to
care that you do not corrupt achieve stability at the cost of
the config files and scripts speed. But there is no cause
otherwise you may end up for concern, as you can
with a malfunctioning change the settings through a
system. command line utility called
hdparm. Do #man hdparm
Speeding up boot process for details regarding this
Most new users install a feature.
particular distro and Out of the many options
use it with all the default SECRETS THAT KEEP YOU AHEAD IN THE RACE
it suggests we will look at
process running. Processes only a few that will help us
such as pcmcia, nfs, sshd etc. improve performance of the
are not required on a home GENERAL TIPS 30 MINUTES EXPERT system. Before we start
desktop machine; these Linux 81 Use VirtualDub To Split 83 making changes to a drive’s
processes are mainly used on PowerToys For Windows XP 82 Movie Files setting we should look at its
a server and some can be Windows XP General Tips 87 Keep Your Registry Clean With 86 deafult setting. If you are
used on a desktop if you have Windows Keyboard Shortcuts 88 RegCleaner 4.3 logged in as a user, then
a small network running a logout and log back in as
Squid proxy. The normal boot root. Now, type #hdparm -v
process of Linux will start command is #chkconfig -- will disable the respective /dev/hda and hit [Enter]. This
most of these unwanted level <levels 3 or 5> <process process. command will display the
processes resulting in a long name> on|off Some of you may wonder current device setting of your
wait. It is easy to turn these eg: # chkconfig --level 5 what a level is. Level 3 boots hard drive. For those who are
unwanted processes off, kudzu off the machine in text mode not aware: hda = primary
especially on a Redhat-based For Redhat users this task while level 5 is the GUI mode master, hdb = primary slave,
system. is extremely simple; thanks that directly starts X-server hdc = secondary master and
Use the command the nifty use of ncurses. and the X-windows hdd = secondary slave. On our
#chkconfig --list to display Typing the command ‘ntsysv’ environment (KDE or system running Redhat
the list of process and its on a konsole prompt will list GNOME). (Shrike) on Seagate 40GB HDD
status for levels 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 out all the process with its Once the necessary (IDE) we got the following
and 6. Of all these levels only status indicated in ‘[*]’ box processes are set, reboot the output:
3 and 5 are concerned with preceding the process name; system, you will see a marked [root@aryan rc.d]#
desktop user operation. use spacebar button to difference in the boot up hdparm -v /dev/hda
Instead of suggesting that you remove the ‘*’ in the box, this time. /dev/hda:
disabled these processes, we multcount = 16 (on)
would rather tell you what IO_support = 0 (default
processes are necessary for 16-bit)
ideal operation. The essential unmaskirq = 0 (off)
processes are anacron, crond, using_dma = 0 (off)
echo, gpm, keytable, network keepsettings = 0 (off)
(enable this if the PC belongs readonly = 0 (off)
to a network), random, readahead = 8 (on)
sendmail, sshd, syslog and geometry =
xfs. You may enable other 4865/255/63, sectors =
process that you think are 78163247, start = 0
necessary, say, for instance, Most of the new hard
kudzu is a hardware drives will display
detection process that takes ‘using_dma = 1’ which is
considerable time in the boot good and that’s exactly what
process; most of us don’t we will do here.
open our machines and To enable DMA mode on a
replace the PCI cards too hard drive use the flag ‘-d 1’
often so kudzu can be command along with the
disabled. To disable a process command hdparm. Similarly,
you will have to use we will add flags viz. -a, -A, -d,
‘chkconfig’ command -X, -m and -u. Before we
repeatedly for every process continue, let us warn you
that needs a change in its that manipulating drive
status. The complete settings can cause problems if
your chipset is not supported

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 81

 Digital Tools l Tips & Tricks
or the drive doesn’t support in order to reduce their noise the following command in
the setting fully. That is the output, so the flag ‘-M’ is used konsole or xterm #convert -
reason for choosing only a to change the acoustic level depth 8 -colors 14 -resize
PowerToys For
few flags as listed above and of a drive, the numeric value 640x480 /root/grub-
Windows XP
the -u flag is a crucial one, used with this flag is between pics/photo.jpg /root/grub- The Windows XP PowerToys is
use it only if you are 128 and 254; the silent and pics/photo.xpm assuming a set of applications you can
confident that your chipset hence the slowest is 128. Use that your image is in a folder download for free from
and kernel can handle it. 0 is disable or to use the called ‘grub-pics’ under /root. Microsoft. They are not
Let’s test speed of the drive: default drive setting. We Needless to say that convert officially part of Windows XP,
[root@aryan 00-anup]# prefer a value of 192. command converts the image but Microsoft makes them
hdparm -t /dev/hda The flag ‘-A 1’ enables the in the necessary format but available as enhancements to
/dev/hda: auto read-ahead feature of we still have to compress it to it. One could say that the
Timing buffered disk the drive and ‘-a 64’ tells the ‘gz’ format; so under functionality the PowerToys
reads: 64 MB in 24.30 drive how far to read ahead. /root/grub-pics do #gzip provide is something that
seconds = 2.63 MB/sec The ‘-m 16’ flag is a courtesy photo.xpm. The output of the should have been available in
We got a speed of 2.63 as most modern IDE drives command is the file we need Windows all along, but for
MB/sec as the DMA was have this feature enabled; ‘photo.xpm.gz’. Now, copy the some reason is not. As such,
disabled. You may try the this feature reduces operating image to /boot/grub several of the PowerToys
command again to recheck. systems overhead on a drive’s #cp /root/grub- could be considered essential
Now, let’s use the flags to I/O. Now, let’s test for any pics/photo.xpm.gz /boot/grub to the OS.
change drive settings and then difference in speed of the The last step is to edit The XP PowerToys site is
look for any performance drive using #hdparm -t GRUB’s config file. Open the www.microsoft.com/window
difference. The ideal /dev/hda command. grub.conf file in /boot/grub sxp/downloads/powertoys/xp
command option is: #hdparm [root@aryan 00-anup]# using any of the command powertoys.mspx
-d 1 -X 69 -c 1 -M 192 -A 1 -a 64 hdparm -t /dev/hda line text editor such as vi. The following is a list of
-m 16 /dev/hda hit [Enter] to Output: Look for the line the PowerToys you can
execute the command. The /dev/hda: ‘splashimage= ‘ change the download from there.
output of the command shows Timing buffered disk path of splash screen image
the change in settings. reads: 64 MB in 1.67 from /grub/splash.xpm.gz to Color Control Panel
For Example: seconds = 38.32 MB/sec /grub/photo.xpm.gz (as in Applet For Windows XP
[root@aryan 00-anup]# You can see from the our example). Professional-level
hdparm -d 1 -X 69 -c 1 -M 192 output that the speed has Reboot your system to see the photographers and
-A 1 -a 64 -m 16 /dev/hda gone up from 2.63 MB/sec to change in GRUB’s screen. You can designers know that getting
Output: 38.32 MB/sec. avoid the task of converting consistent, accurate colour
/dev/hda: image to xpm format by using from file to screen to print
setting fs readahead to Changing the GRUB readily available splash-screen and beyond is a requirement
64 Splash image images from the Net. Just save for great results. On XP, the
setting 32-bit IO_support GRUB (GRand Unified the image in /boot/grub and means to obtain great colour
flag to 1 Boot loader) is change the path of splash image is built into the OS via Image
setting multcount to 16 commonly used to boot OSes in the grub.conf file. Flaunt the Color Management (ICM) 2.0.
setting using_dma to 1 by almost all Linux new look! ICM 2.0 is an International
(on) distributions. If you are Color Consortium (ICC)-
setting xfermode to 69 bored seeing the same blue
(UltraDMA mode5) GRUB screen every time, then
setting drive read- take a break—you can change
lookahead to 1 (on) the GRUB ‘splash’ image by
multcount = 16 (on) editing GRUB’s config file.
IO_support = 1 (32-bit) Before we proceed to replace
using_dma = 1 (on) it with another image, let’s
readahead = 64 (on) understand the image
setting acoustic requirements.
management to 192 The image has to be 14
acoustic = 192 colours with a maximum
(128=quiet ... 254=fast) resolution of 640 x 480, and
We have discussed ‘-d’ flag in the xpm format. The
to enable DMA earlier, so lets immediate question is “how
look at the other flags used do I make such an image?”
in the above command. When Well, some distributions like
enabling DMA, the ‘-X’ flag is Redhat 9 have a command
used to set the drive to a line utility called
particular DMA mode. Here: ImageMagick. Do #man
the numeric value 69 means ImageMagick to know more
64 plus the value of DMA about it. Let’s consider that
mode 5 is UltraDMA mode 5 you have an image in jpeg
ATA100, add 6 for ATA133) (*.jpg) format that you want
and ‘-c’ flag enables/disables to load as your splash screen.
32 bit I/O support (the default To change ‘photo.jpg’ into a
is 16Bit). Modern hard disks splash screen image switch to
have the ability to slow down root (administrator) then use

82 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Tools l Tips & Tricks

Use VirtualDub To Split Movie Files

Now, fit high-quality DVD rips on CDs!

Adjust Audio/Video frame number and the elapsed time.

Anup Nair Settings Move the slider to the last frame,
The most important point to note the total number of frames,

W hat do you do when you want

to resize or cut a large movie
file—say an AVI file—into two or
remember is that we’re not
encoding a file, so go to Video >
Direct Stream Copy. Failing this,
and divide it by two if you think it
will result in appropriate split file
sizes.
more parts, so that they can be VirtualDub will re-encode the movie
written onto CDs? DVD ripping tools to its default format.
have inbuilt splitters, but one often
ends up with problems such as
sound lag and low volume in the
ripped output file. The ideal method
would be to let the DVD ripping tool
rip the entire DVD movie to a single
AVI file, and then use VirtualDub, a
tool for splitting such files into
smaller chunks - and if need be,
correct the volume and sound lag
problems.
VirtualDub is freeware licensed
under the GNU General Public The selected length of the moive turns blue
License. You can download it from indicating part
http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtu
aldub. Now move the slider back to the
Choose the package named Ensure that you select ‘Direct stream copy’ in first frame and press [Home]. This
VirtualDub-1.6.11.zip (i386 type) for video menu will create a starting point. Keeping
a computer running a Win32 OS. [Shift] pressed, move the slider to a
Unzip the package to a folder with The default audio settings are frame number that is close to half
preferably the same name. Just preferred, but if the original ripped the total number of frames. At this
locate the file named file is lacking in audio volume, you point, press [End]; the selected time
VirtualDub.exe and run it. The can increase the recorded volume by length turns blue.
process does not involve choosing ‘Full processing mode’ Click File > Save as AVI, and
installation; just accept the GNU from the ‘Audio’ menu. This enables provide a file name such as
license, and the main window of more audio settings. Now go to back “movie_name_ part 1.avi”. The
VirtualDub pops up. to the ‘Audio’ menu and choose progress indicator dialog box
You can also split files of other ‘Volume…’, enable ‘Adjust volume of appears, displaying the progress,
formats using VirtualDub. If you’re audio channels’, and increase or projected file size, and other related
splitting a DivX file, note that decrease the volume bar as per your information.
problems have been reported with judgement. For the second part of the movie,
splitting older versions of DivX- If you leave the audio settings press [Home] to set the last frame of
encoded video (DivX version 4.02), so here, you’ll get a rather large output part 1 as the first frame of part 2.
it is advisable to upgrade to a newer file, since the audio will be in PCM Drag the slider to the last frame of
version of the codec before format (WAV). So, we need to do a the movie (remember to hold down
proceeding with VirtualDub. step or two more. Go to [Shift]) and hit [End] to select the
‘Compression’ in the ‘Audio’ menu second part of the movie. Follow the
Open The Video File and choose ‘LameMP3’. A set of same file-saving procedure to save
Select File > Open Video formats appears on the right. the second half. Remember, if the
File, and choose the AVI Choose ‘44100 Hz, 256Kbps, CBR movie is very long, you might even
video file you want to split. Click stereo’ and then click ‘OK’. (If this want to split the file into three or
‘Open’. You’ll see the movie file option is not available, go to more parts - which you can easily do
opened with two previews, and ‘Conversion’ under the ‘Audio’ menu using the above procedure.
under it will be a timeline with a and enable 16-bit audio.) VirtualDub can also be used for
slider showing the length of the other audio/video editing processes
movie. The left window is the source Split The Movie File such as changing a movie from
file and the right one is a preview of The timeline has a slider portrait to landscape view and vice-
the same frame of the output file. that you can move along the versa, which comes in very handy for
Both will be the same until you tell length of the movie. While moving videos shot using a mobile phone.
it to make a change.” the slider, note that the frame count
just under the timeline shows the [email protected]

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 83

 Digital Tools l Tips & Tricks
compliant colour RAW Image Thumbnailer
management system exposed and Viewer
through Win32 API If you’re a serious
functions, so it is readily photographer, you can
available to any application, now organise and work with
device driver, device digital RAW files in Windows
calibration tool, or Color Explorer, much as you can
Management Module (CMM). with JPEG images. This tool
Windows itself, and many provides thumbnails,
Windows-based software previews, printing, and
applications, use ICM 2.0 metadata display for RAW
‘under the covers’ to improve images.
the appearance of pictures
and graphics. [Alt] + [Tab] Replacement
Until now, Windows has If you constantly run
lacked a central Control several applications,
Panel interface for the [Alt] + [Tab] application
managing ICC colour switching functionality in
profiles and ICM 2.0 colour Windows would be one of
settings across the system. your most often used key
The new Microsoft Color presses. This PowerToy
Control Panel Applet for replaces that functionality
Windows XP addresses this using a thumbnail preview XP has always lacked a way to fine-tune ClearType, which is a neces-
by adding a Color tool to the of each window in the task sary feature, since different displays and different people’s eyes prefer
Control Panel, making it list, displayed in a manner different types of text display. Now, ClearType Tuner gives you the
easier for you to manage consistent with XP’s look freedom to do this successfully
Windows colour settings. and feel.
Here’s how it works. Once
SyncToy you have two or more
These days, files come applications running, hold
from every direction: down [Alt] and press [Tab].
digital cameras, e-mail, cell This displays the first
phones, portable media application window in the
players, camcorders, and task list, using an attractive
PDAs. Increasingly, computer thumbnail image. Release
users are using different [Alt] and [Tab] to select that
folders, drives, and even application, or hit [Tab]
different computers (such as repeatedly until you find the
a laptop and a desktop) to application to which you’d
store and retrieve files. like to switch.
Managing hundreds or This PowerToy could be a
thousands of files is still pain to use. The problem is
largely a manual operation. speed—generating and
In some cases it is displaying the thumbnails
necessary to get copies of could bog down the system.
files from one place; in
other cases there is a need to CD Slide Show Generator
keep two storage locations This tool is great if technology, which effectively Advanced mode where you
exactly in sync. you’re into digital triples the horizontal modify sample text until you
SyncToy is a free photography. It generates a resolution of text displayed get the effect you desire.
PowerToy that provides an slideshow of digital photos or on your LCD display. However, This PowerToy is even
easy-to-use, highly other images. The CD Slide XP has always lacked a way to more recommended if you’re
customisable program that Show Generator integrates fine-tune ClearType, which is using ClearType on an LCD
helps users to do the heavy into XP’s CD Recording a necessary feature, since display.
lifting involved with the Wizard, providing an extra different displays and
copying, moving, and step when you’re trying to different people’s eyes prefer Slide Show Wizard
synchronisation of different burn image-only CDs. There’s different types of text display. The Slide Show Wizard—
folders. Most common even an option that asks With the addition of the previously called the
operations can be performed whether you’d like to add a ClearType Tuner, XP users can HTML Slide Show Wizard—is a
with just a few clicks of the picture viewer to the CD; if get OS-level ClearType tuning standalone application that
mouse, and additional you choose ‘Yes’, you can capabilities. generates a Web-based
customisation is available bring the CD to a non-XP PC ClearType Tuner installs slideshow. You can add
without added complexity. and still view the slideshow! as a Control Panel applet individual pictures and
SyncToy can manage called ClearType Tuning (the folders—though the ‘Browse
multiple sets of folders at the ClearType Tuner applet itself is called for Folder’ dialog it uses
same time; it can combine One of the biggest ClearType Settings). You can begins in ‘My Documents’
files from two folders in one usability improvements run it in two modes—either as rather than ‘My Pictures’.
case, and mimic renames and in Windows XP was the a wizard that steps you In the next step, you can
deletes in another. inclusion of ClearType through the process, or in an name the slideshow, provide

84 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Tools l Tips & Tricks
an optional author name, Pictures’ dialog will appear, lets you manage
determine the location to giving you options to resize the Desktops.
which it will be saved (by the images at 640 x 480
default, it saves your (Small), 800 x 600 (Medium), Taskbar
slideshow to a folder named 1024 x 768 (Large) or 240 x Magnifier
‘My Slide Show’ under ‘My 320 (Handheld PC-sized, for This is
Documents’), the picture Windows CE-based Pocket PC similar to
sizes, and so on. You can and other handheld devices). the Magnifier
choose between a simple When you resize the images, tool that comes
slideshow and a more new versions are created with with XP (Start >
advanced one that offers slightly different file names Programs >
thumbnails. You can also by default. For example, if Accessories >
determine whether the you resize an image called Accessibility),
slideshow plays in a normal “Digit Magazine” to Large, it providing screen
browser window or in full- will be renamed “Digit magnification
screen mode. The finished Magazine (Large)”. capabilities. The
product is good, but with two There is also an difference is
serious flaws: ‘Advanced’ button you can use that the
First, you must be to enable more options. This PowerToys
running IE to display the includes a choice to make version sits in
slideshows correctly. Second, images smaller during the Taskbar and,
if you’ve upgraded to SP2, conversion, but not larger, as a result,
then the slideshows you and one that will replace the offers a smaller
create with this tool generate original rather than make a The Power Calculator gives you many more viewing area.
a lot of Active Content copy. options than the standard Windows calculator To activate this
Protection errors. PowerToy, right-
Command Window Here click the
Image Resizer This PowerToy adds an calculations, but you might Taskbar and select ‘Taskbar’,
This little PowerToy ‘Open Command often find yourself looking then ‘Taskbar Magnifier’. If
allows you to resize a Window Here’ item in the for additional functionality. you right-click the PowerToy,
picture or group of pictures right-click context menu. You The Power Calculator you get options for following
without changing the just need to right-click a provides those
originals. It works in a folder and choose ‘Open additional features
manner similar to the ‘Send Command Window Here’, including functions,
Pictures via E-mail’ and a DOS command window graphing, precision
functionality that’s inbuilt will open in that folder settings, and basic but
into Windows XP, but with rather than in the root, useful conversions.
easier control over the sizing which is the default. This
options, and with the PowerToy is a must-have if Virtual Desktop
batching functionality for you use the command line Manager
resizing multiple images at often! Windows NT has
the same time. always had the
To use this PowerToy, Power Calculator ability to generate
select any image or group of The calculator app that multiple desktop
images, right-click, and select ships with Windows XP displays. Now you can
‘Resize Pictures’. The ‘Resize is adequate for basic maths get one free for XP.
The PowerToys version The magnifier helps those with vision
of this tool lets you problems to clearly make out text and icons
work with up to four
virtual desktops, each of
which contains a copy of the the mouse cursor and
Start Menu, Desktop, and keyboard focus, and a
Taskbar—each virtual desktop setting for the zoom level
can be running different (1x to 8x; 2x is the default).
applications. So if you’re a TweakUI for Windows XP
serious power user, you might The XP version of
separate groups of running TweakUI is the best
applications into their own version yet (it was a standard
Desktops. Control Panel applet that
To launch the Virtual came with Windows 95).
Desktop Manager, right-click Basically, TweakUI for
the Taskbar, choose Windows XP brings up a user
Toolbars, and then Desktop interface for numerous
Manager. This will add a system settings that are not
new toolbar to the Taskbar normally exposed through
that lets you switch between the default XP interface. Most
the virtual Desktops, of these options would have
The Image Resizer will let you easily resize images into predefined sizes numbered 1 through 4. It previously required you to
such as 640 x 480 or 1024 x 768 also provides a button that edit the Registry.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 85

 Digital Tools l Tips & Tricks

Keep Your Registry Clean With

RegCleaner 4.3
You don’t have to know what the registry is and what it does… just use
RegCleaner4.3!
Anup Nair Cleaning The Registry
The task of cleaning the

M any Windows users are not aware

of the Windows Registry. Even if
you’ve heard about it, you may not
Registry has never been this
easy. Just go to Tools > ‘Registry
Cleanup’; this will display four
know what it does and why one needs options - ‘OLE cleaner’, ‘Orphan file
to get rid of unwanted entries. reference finder’, ‘Automatic Registry
Windows maintains a log, in the Cleaner’ and ‘Do them all’.
form of the Registry, which records an ‘OLE cleaner’ cleans unused and
entry for every software installed and invalid Object Linking and
being used. It even stores information Embedded entries. (Object Linking
such as each user’s profile and and Embedding allows objects from
hardware devices. This information is one application to be embedded
continuously referred to by Windows. within another, for example, taking
If you regularly install and You can use Uninstall menu to display those
uninstall applications, you’ll have a applications that are not listed in Add
lot of unwanted entries in your Remove program
registry that will adversely affect the
functioning of your PC. Menu’, ‘File Types’, ‘New File’, ‘Shell
RegCleaner4.3 helps you with the Extensions’ and ‘Backups’. ‘Uninstall
task of cleaning the registry by Menu’ can be used effectively to
scanning for irrelevant entries. remove unwanted applications not
listed in ‘Add and Remove Programs’
Download and install in the Control Panel.
RegCleaner4.3 is freeware. It Clicking on the ‘Uninstall
can be downloaded from Choosing ‘Do them all’ option in ‘Tools’ Menu’ tab will display a list of the
http://www.worldstart.com/weekly- registry cleanup will scan the registry for software installed on your system.
download/archives/reg- irrelevant entries Drop down the ‘Options’ menu, go
cleaner4.3.htm/. to ‘Uninstall…’, and select ‘Show
Double-clicking the executable an Excel spreadsheet and putting it only hidden software’. This will
file will start the installation into a Word document.) Entries display only hidden applications
process. You can deselect ‘Language pointing to non-existing files are such as NetMeeting, Outlook
removed by the Orphan file Express and so on, programs
reference finder. ‘Automatic that are not visible in ‘Add and
Registry Cleaner’ scans the Remove Programs’. Just select the
registry for old and invalid ones you don’t need and click
entries. ‘Uninstall’.
All the options display a Be careful when you click
list of invalid entries that you ‘Remove Selected’, as this will not
can select and remove. If you uninstall the software - it will just
want to clean the entire remove the entry. This option is
Registry at one go, select ‘Do useful only when a software is
them all’. This option scans already uninstalled but the entry is
the registry for irrelevant still there in the ‘Add and Remove
entries and lists them out. Programs’ list.
The RegCleaner4.3 with various tabs displaying the You can now select them all, We’ve talked only about cleaning
action to choose from and then click ‘Remove the Registry and getting rid of
Selected’. Make sure you’ve unwanted software. RegCleaner has
enabled ‘Create only one backup file’ additional utilities that can alter file
Packs’ from the setup options. When before you remove entries without types. It can also remove unwanted
the process says ‘complete’, there’s checking each one. shell extensions. We do not, however,
still something left: you need to want to get into that, as deleting an
double-click the desktop ‘RegCleaner’ Using The Uninstall Tab extension without knowing in detail
icon to finalise installation. Accept The main menu of about what you’re doing can crash
the disclaimer, and RegCleaner4.3 RegCleaner shows up tabs - your PC!
pops up. ‘Software’, ‘Startup List’, ‘Uninstall [email protected]

86 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Tools l Tips & Tricks

functions, use this hack—but Perform A Boot

only if your system has 256 Defragment
MB or more of RAM. There’s a simple way to
Change the value of speed up XP startup:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE make your system do a boot
\SYSTEM defragment, which will put
\CurrentControlSet\Control all the boot files next to each
\Session Manager\Memory other on your hard disk.
Management\DisablePaging When boot files are in close
Executive to “1” to disable proximity to each other, your
paging and have the kernel system will start faster.
run in RAM. Set the value to On most systems, boot
“0” to undo the hack). Exit defragment should be
the Registry and reboot. enabled by default, but it
might not be on yours, or it
Alter Prefetch might have been changed
Parameters inadvertently. To make sure
Prefetching (the boot defragment is enabled
reading of system boot on your system, run the
TweakUI has hundreds of hidden tweaks that you would never come files into a cache for faster Registry Editor and go to
across when working normally with Windows XP. You have to install it loading) is a commonly HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOF
to believe the customisability that it offers overlooked component that TWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\Boo
can have a significant impact tOptimizeFunction. Edit the
Unlike previous versions whether to resize the images, on system boot time. This “Enable” string value to “Y” if
of TweakUI, TweakUI for the local or Internet tweak allows you to select it is not already set to this.
Windows XP is a standalone destination for saving the files, which components will make Exit the Registry and reboot.
executable. This means you and other options. use of the prefetch
should delete any old copies parameters. To see which Don’t Empty The Prefetch
of TweakUI before installing files are gathered using each Folder
this version. The PowerToy Windows XP General setting, clear the prefetch Many people
features a cascading tree view Tips cache located at recommending a way of
of options on the left, and C:\Windows\Prefetch, and speeding up boot times that
selecting any option will Change The Start Menu then enable one of the might in fact slow down the
display configuration options Speed settings listed here. Clear the amount of time it takes to
on the right. You might want to cache and repeat for each boot up, and will probably
You can do all kinds of change the delay you setting. slow down launching
things with this PowerToy. notice when you click the Set the Registry key applications as well: the tip
You can configure various UI Start menu. The default HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE recommends going to your
effects, such as menu fading, speed can be adjusted with a \SYSTEM C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch
error beeping, cursor shadow, quick Registry hack. Go to \CurrentControlSet\Control directory and emptying it
and the like. You can the Registry key \Session Manager\Memory every week. Windows uses
configure the mouse, the HKEY_CURRENT_USER Management\PrefetchParam this directory to speed up
taskbar, and the desktop. You \Control Panel eters\EnablePrefetcher to “0” launching applications. It
can edit common dialogs, \Desktop\MenuShowDelay. to disable prefetching, “1” to analyses the files you use
and determine the location of The default value is 400. Set prefetch application launch during startup and the
special shell folders, such as it to 0 to remove the delay files, “2” to prefetch boot applications you launch, and
the CD burning cache. You completely, but if you do files, or “3” to prefetch as it creates an index to where
can also do things like that, it will be nearly many files as possible. those files and applications
preventing drives from impossible to move the are located on your hard
showing up in Explorer. mouse fast enough not to Disable 8.3 Name disk. By using this index, XP
TweakUI for Windows XP is activate ‘All Programs’ if you Creation In NTFS can launch files and
definitely something that mouse over it while going to Files that use the 8.3 applications faster. So, by
should have been inbuilt in XP! your selection. Pick a naming convention can emptying the directory, you
number that suits you, make degrade NTFS drive are most likely slowing down
Webcam Timershot the change, and test it until performance. Unless you have application launch.
This is a good Web you find a good compromise a good reason for keeping the
camera tool that offers a between speed and usability. 8.3 naming convention intact Hack Your BIOS For
lot of functionality. It can (such as if you’re using 16-bit Faster Startups
capture images from the Place The Windows Kernel programs), a performance Most people don’t
camera at specific intervals Into RAM gain can be achieved by realise that you can also
and automatically save it to a Anything that runs in disabling it. speed up the time your
location, even an FTP or Web RAM will, of course, be Set the Registry DWORD computers to get to Windows.
site. The sheer number of faster than something that key Quick Power On Self Test
options is impressive: when has to access the hard drive HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYS (POST)
you hit the expand button, the and virtual memory. Rather TEM\CurrentControlSet\Co When you choose this option,
window opens up four-fold, than have the kernel that is ntrol\FileSystem\NtfsDisabl your system runs an
with options for choosing the the foundation of XP using e8dot3NameCreation to “1”. abbreviated POST rather than
picture-taking interval, the slower Paging Executive Exit the Registry and reboot. the normal, lengthy one.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 87

 Digital Tools l Tips & Tricks
Boot Up Floppy Seek ClearPageFileAtShutdown to
Disable this option. When it’s “0”. Exit the Registry Editor The
enabled, your system spends a and restart your computer. accessibilit
few extra seconds looking for Whenever you turn off XP y options
your floppy drive, a relatively from now on, the paging file will let you
pointless procedure, especially won’t be cleared, and you customise
considering how infrequently should be able to shut down how your
you use your floppy drive. more quickly. keyboard
Boot Delay behaves
Some systems let you delay when
booting after you turn on
Windows Keyboard certain
your PC so that your hard
Shortcuts keys are
drive gets a chance to start You know of the obvious pressed
spinning before bootup. Most keyboard shortcuts, such as
likely, you don ‘t need to have [Ctrl] + [V], and [Alt] + [Tab].
this boot delay, so turn it off. You probably don’t know
If you run into problems, them all, however.
however, you can always turn Experiment with them all -
it back on again. most of them which we’ve
listed here - and see which
Fine-Tune Your Registry ones you’d like to adopt!
For Faster Startups
Over time, your Registry [Windows] + [E] opens My
can turn bloated with Computer in Windows
unused entries, slowing down Explorer
your system startup because [Windows] + [Pause/Break] Manager When enabled, this
your system loads them every opens the System Properties [F2] will rename an item function causes modifier
time you start up your PC. dialog box [F3] opens the ‘Search for keys to ‘stick’ until they are
Get a Registry clean-up tool to [Windows] + [U] opens the files and folders’ window either manually released, or
delete unneeded Registry Utility Manager [F6] cycles through the until a keystroke
entries and speed up startup [Windows] + [R] opens the different types of elements combination is complete. In
times. ‘Run…’ prompt that can be selections on a other words, it makes
After you clean out your [Windows] + [F] opens the screen or window modifier keys behave more
Registry, you might want to ‘Search for Files and Folders’ [F10] selects the menu bar like locking ones. There are
try compacting it to get rid of window in the active program (usually a number of settings to
unused space. [Windows] + [Ctrl] + [F] ‘File’) so you can use the allow options like
opens the ‘Search for arrow keys to navigate confirmation sounds, to
Shutting Down Faster computers on the network’ through the menus and automatically turn it off
For security reasons, window [Enter] to select when no longer needed, and
you can have XP clear [Windows] + [M] [Shift] + [F10]: for a so on.
your paging file (pagefile.sys) minimises all windows selected item, this does the FilterKeys: This feature can
of its contents whenever you [Windows] + [Shift] + [M] same thing as a right-click be considered the opposite of
shut down. Your paging file maximises all windows (after with the mouse the typematic feature; it
is used to store temporary you’ve minimised them) [Ctrl] + [Esc] opens the causes Windows to suppress
files and data, but when your [Windows] + [D] Start Menu or ignore bursts of keystrokes
system shuts down, minimises all windows to the Clicking [Shift] five times that are sent too quickly -
information stays in the file. desktop, and then restores all turns StickyKeys On or Off either fast streams of the
Some people prefer to have Windows Holding down the right same key or clumps of
the paging file cleared at [Windows] + [L] locks the [Shift] for eight seconds turns different keys sent all at once.
shutdown because sensitive computer FilterKeys On or Off Such bursts might, for
information, such as [Windows] + [B] selects Holding down [Num Lock] example, be made by
unencrypted passwords, the first item in the System for five seconds turns someone who does not have
sometimes ends up in the Tray; use the arrow keys to ToggleKeys On or Off perfect control of his or her
file. However, clearing the cycle through the items and fingers due to a tremor. A
paging file can slow use [Enter] to open a selected StickyKeys, FilterKeys, number of settings let you
shutdown times significantly, item in the System Tray ToggleKeys control how long a key must
so if extreme security isn’t a [Alt] + [Enter] opens the StickyKeys: This feature be held down for it to
high priority, you might not ‘Properties’ page of a selected changes the way register, set audible
want to clear it. item modifier keys work. Normally, confirmations and other
To shut down XP without [Alt] + [Esc] cycles between keys like [Shift] and [Ctrl] are options.
clearing your paging file, open programs in the order only ‘active’ while they’re ToggleKeys: This feature
run the Registry Editor and they were opened held down. When you release causes Windows to provide an
go to: [Alt] + [Spacebar]: in the them the system forgets they audible indication when any
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYS active window, this brings up were ever pressed. This causes of the permanent (locking)
TEM\CurrentControlSet\Con the corner dialog box for problems for some users who modifier keys is pressed. In
trol\Session Move, Size, Minimize, can’t, for example, hold down essence, this is like an
Manager\Memory Maximize, or Close three keys at once to enter audible version of the
Management. Change the [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Esc] certain combinations like indicator LEDs on the
value of Opens the Windows Task [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Tab]. keyboard.

88 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 OLD
WAY Reading A Book Physically vs
TECH
WAY Reading It Online
The one book Renuka Rane ([email protected])
I have read in
physical form
and also online is
Wuthering Heights
authored by
Emily Brontë.
This novel is one
of the greatest
masterpieces of
English literature.
Why did I read
the same book
online as well as
offline? Just to
see which of the
two offered me a
better reading
experience—
honestly, just
for kicks!
The Physical Book... ... And The Softcopy

First of all, I had to get my hands on a copy of To get Wuthering Heights online, I straightway headed
Wuthering Heights. I dropped into the nearby to the Mecca of free online text downloads on the

1
bookstore that I usually frequent. And there it was— Internet—Project Gutenberg. I nailed it in no time. To
the complete, unabridged version. Published by Rupa be precise, it was at www.gutenberg.org/etext/768.
Co., it cost just Rs 70. I could scarcely believe my luck! Of the two choices offered, the HTML and the
And the book was truly delightful—its cover, design plain-text version, I chose the former. I could now
and layout had a singular Victorian charm. read the text in the font I like!

Time taken: 20 minutes Time taken: 3 minutes

The book had it all—an introductory note, the After a couple of hours of reading, I realised that
prologue, and the pages filled with the story of the reading your favourite novel on a computer is not

2
doomed lovers, Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. such a good idea. Unless you can deal with a stiff
I curled up in bed, picked up a packet of munchies neck and watery eyes. Somehow, I managed to
and started reading. As the story unfolded, I read finish a third of the novel.
the first half late into the night.

Time taken: 2 hours Time taken: 2 hours

The next day, I carried the book with me as I had to I proceeded with my reading online. One good thing

3
go out of town. The to and fro journey took nearly was that whenever an unfamiliar word cropped up, I
two hours. And there I was, reading in the train, quickly looked up the online thesaurus (I prefer
oblivious to the world. As the journey ended, I only Hyperdictionary.com). It’s quite tiresome to lug the
had some 50-odd pages left. Hurrah! heavy Oxford Dictionary around!

Time taken: 2 hours Time taken: 2 hours

As I read the last few pages, I re-read certain Being online, it was easy to locate a precise word

4 passages in the text. No distractions here! I

completed the book, finally!

Time taken: 1 hour

or para. Also, I couldn’t help visiting other Web
pages to read reviews and other studies. Lots of
distraction online, nevertheless, very informative.

Time taken: 2 hours

Total Time Taken: 5 hours, 20 minutes Total Time Taken: 6 hours, 3 minutes
Total Cost: Rs 70 Total Cost: Rs 0

While reading e-books is becoming more

And
The D espite the extras the Tech Way has to offer, I have to
say that for me, the Old Way was infinitely better. In
terms of portability, I could read the book wherever I
commonplace, nothing beats the experience of
reading a book the way it should be read—the good
Winner wanted—like I did on the train. And it’s still some time old-fashioned way. The feel of paper is indeed a
Is... before I can afford a laptop or a handheld! tangible thing!

90 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 DVD Burning
Lots of people have started buying DVD-Writers, but problems abound

1440 minutes (24 hours). Now you can

Robert Sovereign-Smith leave your computer unattended while
burning DVDs or CDs.

M aking the Digit DVD every month, we

come across problems we never
knew existed. Some we’re able to solve,
Problem: You use your DVD drive to back
up important system data. Even though
some just leave us perplexed. We also get you burnt the data successfully, you find a
a lot of questions from our readers. Let’s lot of it is corrupt when trying a restore.
take a look at a few. Run the “net stop wuauserv” command to stop Solution: This problem is common with
the Windows Update service older DVD-Writers. As the lens gets dirtier
Problem: The drive says it can burn at and the laser weaker, errors start to creep
16x, yet if a DVD is burnt at anything second one is the one that will reboot your in to your discs. Burning a DVD with Nero,
above 4x, the drive spits out a coaster. system automatically, so leaving your you might see the “Burn completed
Solution: This sounds a little like the system unattended when burning discs is successfully” message and think all is
following joke: a no-no. well, but this isn’t always the case.
Patient: Doctor, it hurts when I do this. You could just turn off the Auto- The problem lies either in an
Doctor: Well, don’t do that then! Update feature, but then you might miss underpowered system, or a faulty DVD
The simplest solution is to burn at slower out on something critical. We don’t drive. Try and close all other
speeds. The problem is generally caused recommend this. applications when burning a DVD. If your
by bottlenecks in your hardware—a slow You can temporarily disable the computer has been on for a long time,
CPU, older and slower hard drive or too restart option by going to Start > Run, turn it off for 15 minutes and then start
little RAM can cause problems when and typing in “net stop wuauserv”. This it. Then end all unnecessary applications
burning at higher speeds. Yes, new is a good temporary solution, as it and burn the DVD. If you are on a
generation drives are supposed to use enables the Windows Update service at network and have a lot of frequently
error correction and caching to avoid next reboot. This solution is the only accessed shared folders, you might want
producing coffee-cup coasters, but choice Windows XP Home users have.
they’re only machines! You can’t Windows XP Professional users can
seriously expect a drive to burn at 16x on use the Group Policy Editor: go to Start >
a system configuration of a 700 MHz Run, type in “gpedit.msc” and press
CPU, a 5400 rpm hard drive and 256 MB [Enter]. Find your way to Local Computer
of SD RAM. 1x would be the safest option Policy > Computer Configuration >
in this case! Administrative Templates > Windows
Components > Windows Update. Here you
Problem: This actually happened when will see many options that should be self-
we were burning the current month’s Digit explanatory. The most important ones
DVD master! The Windows XP Auto- are: “No auto-restart for schedule
Update feature rebooted the computer Automatic Updates installations”, which
when no one was looking, and there was a can be set to “Enabled”, or set “Re- Check the ‘Verify Written Data’ checkbox
DVD being written! prompt for restart with scheduled
Solution: There are quite a few solutions installations” to something like to disable the network connection while
to this problem, and none of them involve you burn.
the DVD drive or your burning software. For important data, it is imperative
It’s a Windows problem. There are two that you check “Verify Written Data”,
types of reboot warning bugs that appear— which is at the bottom left when you
the one that asks for a confirmation and start the burning process. This function
pops up every 10 minutes, and the one is available on all major DVD or CD
that automatically reboots in five minutes. burning software, but may be named
Both are just as deadly, because if you are differently. What this option does is
typing something when the first one pops match the data written on the DVD, byte
up, hitting [Enter] or [Y] will reboot your by byte, with the data on the hard drive
computer, and you will lose anything you that you burn. If the data verification
didn’t save—DVDs or CDs currently being succeeds, you have successfully written
burnt will be of no use except to adorn the DVD without corruption.
auto-rickshaw rear-view mirrors! The You can permanently disable the restart feature [email protected]

92 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 MSI NX7800 GTX 256 MB Kodak EasyShare V530
Little Wonder
T he NX7800 GTX is a spanking new graphics card from
MSI. It is based on the nVidia GeForce 7800 GTX. The
card has 256 MB of GDDR3 RAM and dual DVI outputs. It T he V530 is a shiny little 35 mm digicam. It's not tiny on
features though, and boasts of 5 megapixels with 3x optical
is also ViVo capable. It performed on par with the 7800 and 4x digital zoom and auto-focus. What's more, it can even
GTX-based card from XFX which we record video at 640 x 480.
had tested earlier, but fell a little The Kodak EasyShare V530 connects to a Kodak
behind in 3DMark03 and 3DMark05. EasyShare dock for file transfer and printing. It uses USB 2.0
Still, the card is blazingly fast— for PC transfer, and features
faster than almost all cards PictBridge. The photographs we
currently available. took were crisp, and the colours
The card supports Shader perfectly reproduced. Thanks to
Model 3.0 and has 24 pipelines—the the powerful inbuilt flash, the
highest yet in the graphics industry—so photographs were just as
all the latest games can be played on this brilliant even when we shot in
card in their full glory. The bundled game is total darkness.
Chronicles of Riddick: Butcher’s Bay. At Rs 36,000, this card Unfortunately, internal memory is a paltry
is out of the reach of most, but die-hard gaming addicts 16 MB—which means that the cost of an SD or MMC card should
should start saving! be added to the price tag.
Company Micro-Star International Company Kodak India Pvt Ltd
Price Rs 36,000 Price Rs 15,999
Phone 011-51758808 Phone 1600-224949
E-mail [email protected] Web site www.kodakindia.com
Web site www.msi-india.com Rating
Rating 1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5

Logitech G7 Laser Cordless Mouse

For When You Want To Win two days, which consisted of eight hours of daily use,

T he G7 mouse, which is the top-of-the-

line mouse from Logitech right now, is a
remarkable product. It is arguably the only
of which three were specifically for gaming at 800
dpi. There is a five-level battery indicator which lets
you know when the ammo, umm, the battery, needs
gaming mouse with features that make to be reloaded.
ordinary mice look like relics. The only patently bad thing about this
The G7 features a super-high resolution 2000 mouse is that the middle mouse button,
dpi laser engine that processes an which also has side-scrolling, is
astounding 6.4 megapixels per second. particularly hard to press and can
To add to precision, it features a full- cause fatigue. The workaround for this
speed, bi-directional sampling rate of is to use the Setpoint software from
500 reports per second. Logitech to program the thumb button as
A 2.4 GHz RF USB dongle connects the middle button and get used to it.
the mouse to the PC, and it can plug into Another weakness is that it is aimed at
either a USB port or a battery charging right-handed people: left-handed people
station that in turn connects to the PC’s USB will have a hard time getting
port. The instant access to the three comfortable with it.
sensitivity levels of 400, 800 and 2000 dpi while Even with these weaknesses, the G7
gaming allows easy shifting between pixel-precise is a formidable weapon for gamers, who
targeting and fast-twitch manoeuvres. The cool thing is will probably not mind the price tag of
that all this is done without any need to install drivers! Rs 6,495. After all, the mouse, like we said,
The polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) gaming feet facilitate can make all the difference in a deathmatch!
smooth gliding, which add to the ergonomics.
The sleep mode in this mouse has been deliberately Company Logitech Electronic India Pvt Ltd
disabled to avoid even a split-second delay between the Price Rs 6,495
mouse switching On from the Off state, which can make a Phone 022-26571160
difference between fragging and getting fragged. This E-mail [email protected]
obviously means that the batteries drain quickly, and here Web site www.logitech.com
is where the bundled twin Lithium-ion battery packs Rating
come in handy. We found that the batteries drained in 1 2 3 4 5

94 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Tools l New and Notable
Apple iPod nano
Samsung SGH-E530
Thinner Than Thin!
I n keeping with its lifestyle image, Samsung
has introduced the SGH-E530, a clamshell
GSM phone targeted primarily at women.
Sporting lavender pink shades and an
H ere comes another iPod—the iPod
nano. It uses Flash memory, is
available in 2 and 4 GB versions, and
extremely compact, elegant oval design, the comes in black as well as white.
phone will fit perfectly even in skin-tight Measuring 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 inches (yes,
jean pockets. It weighs just 85 grams and it’s a quarter of an inch thick!) and
measures 86 x 43 x 26 mm, so it can also weighing 42 grams, the nano is
be strung around your neck. something like a credit card. Pictures
The internal LCD is 262K, while the just do not do it justice—you have to
external OLED screen is 65K. Other key hold it to believe it!
features include an integrated 1- Features include a 1.5-inch
megapixel camera with flash and 4X backlit colour 176 x 132 LCD, touch-
digital zoom, an MP3 player, 64- sensitive click wheel, and support
polyphonic ringtones, 1-hour video for a variety of audio formats. It
recording, and a phonebook capacity also supports photos, but no video,
of 1,000 contacts. Connectivity options FM or voice recording.
include GPRS and Bluetooth. The internal 90 MB memory is The interface is typical iPod—extremely intuitive.
shared between applications and, sadly, there is no option to As with the other iPods, the audio is excellent. The bundled
expand this. Another feature lacking is FM radio. ear buds produce crystal-clear music with good bass and
Other aspects that will appeal to women are calculators almost no distortion at high volumes.
for biorhythm and height/weight ratio, a calorie counter, a The colour screen is brilliant for menus, but too small for
pink scheduler, and shopping list functions. viewing photos. The battery is great—it lasted us about 12.5
The screen is extremely crisp and vibrant. Voice clarity is hours of continuous playback at full volume.
clear, but network reception needs improvement. Images Overall, there is really no need to upgrade to the nano if
captured in good light turn out pretty decent. Overall, the you already have a Mini, but it’s a great buy otherwise.
E530 will surely appeal to the fashion-conscious.
Company Apple Computer International
Company Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd
Price Rs 15,200 (2GB), Rs 18,200 (4GB)
Price Rs 15,299
Phone 1600-4254683
Phone 011-51511234
E-mail [email protected]
E-mail [email protected]
Web site www.apple.com
Web site www.samsung.com/in
Rating
Rating 1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5

Adobe InDesign CS2

A Fabulous Package! have to be the Ink Manager. By specifying

O ne of the biggest advantages with

using this package is how well it
integrates with Photoshop and
the maximum percentage of ink your
printing paper can absorb, you can scan
your entire layout to see which areas will
Illustrator, which, for all practical have excess ink, thus preventing the
purposes, are the de facto tools of glossiness it causes. Control freaks have
graphic designers today. PSD files can be never had it better.
directly imported into page layouts, and The package comes with a video
although Quark Xpress 6.5 has the same workshop CD that quickly takes you
feature, InDesign seems to do this better. through the steps of creating
Its toolbar closely resembles Adobe a document and using the
Illustrator’s, so veterans of these programs salient features.
should feel right at home from the word go. Before you grab a
InDesign’s flexibility can be experienced copy, however, make sure
by the way you can create your own keyboard you have a powerful PC,
shortcuts to quickly access commonly used because the system
tasks. As an added bonus, users switching from requirements on the
Quark can opt to use the latter’s shortcuts in box are a blatant lie.
InDesign, greatly easing their transition time. To avoid pulling your hair out
Other notable features include a full-fledged in frustration while you wait for the
implementation of layers, including letting you set the program to do its thing, make sure you have a
transparency of each layer to give you a whole new degree of CPU upwards of 2 GHz, and at least 512 MB of RAM. Not to
control over your layouts. The ability to add effects such as mention, bucketloads of money for the program itself!
drop shadows and feathers straight from within the program
further adds to the feeling of completeness. Company Adobe Systems
Talking about depth of user control over the page layout Price $699 (Rs 32,000)
process leads us to the Separations tool, which lets you see Phone 0120-2444711
the CMYK components of your page without having to E-mail [email protected]
undergo the pain of creating a PDF file and viewing the Web site www.adobe.com
output separately. The icing on the cake, though, would Rating
1 2 3 4 5

DECEMBER 2005 DIGIT 95

 install it using Add/Remove Programs >
Install/Uninstall tab”. How do I restore my
Windows disk defragmenter?
R Vivek, Assam

This problem is caused because O&O

Defragmenter set itself as the default
Windows defragmentation tool when it was
installed. After it was uninstalled, the default
disk defragmenter was not re-instated. To
correct this problem, open the Registry Editor
and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
Your Questions, Our Answers SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVers
ion\Explorer\MyComputer\DefragPath”. In
the right pane, double-click the string
Mandrake Black Magic ‘Default’ and set its ‘Value Data’ to
My system has 768 MB of RAM, a Hitachi “%systemroot%\system32\dfrg.msc %c:”. The
40 GB SATA hard disk and a Samsung DVD Windows defragmenter should now be restored
drive. I tried to install Mandrake Linux 10.1 which as the default disk defragmenter tool.
came on the Digit February 2005 DVD. After boot-
ing from the Installation CD 1, I get a message:
“Detecting USB Devices.” After this, an error pops
Mad Monitors
up—“No CD-ROM device found.” When I click ‘OK’, I bought a new PC with a Samsung SyncMaster
a notice comes up—“Please insert the Additional 591s 15-inch monitor. My problem with the
Drivers Floppy.” I don’t have any such floppy. monitor is, it starts flickering in no time; some-
However, all the devices work fine in Windows XP. times it works fine, but sometimes it starts to
Sandeep Rohtak, via e-mail flicker at random. I tried changing the
resolution, but it doesn’t work. My PC is
The most probable cause of your just two months old.
problem is that your installation Imtiaz Khan, via e-mail
CD has not been burnt properly. Burn
the CD again and this time, make First check if you have loaded
sure the written data is verified. the latest drivers for your display
adapter as well as for your monitor. If
the problem you’re experiencing is
Age Of Problems limited to Windows, then it’s likely
I am running Windows XP. I tried that your monitor’s refresh rate is
to install Age of Empires 3 from a not optimal. You can set this using
CD, but the installation stopped ‘Display Properties’ in the Control
midway and I had to restart. Now Panel. Go to the ‘Settings’ tab and
whenever I start my computer, the click ‘Advanced’. Now click ‘Monitor’,
Windows installer starts up and tries to set the refresh rate at anything above
install Age of Empires 3, and asks for 70 Hz, and click ‘Apply’.
CD 1. Why does this happen? If the selected refresh rate is not
Ashmit, via e-mail supported by your monitor, wait for
15 seconds, after which your earlie
The program launches itself when refresh rate will be restored. Then choose
Windows boots because it’s been placed in another refresh rate to see if it is supported. This
the Windows startup. The reason could be a way, set the highest refresh rate supported by
corrupt installation CD, and this problem can your monitor for the resolution you’re using,
be easily solved once you install the game again and the flickering should go away.
from the original CD (assuming you made one In addition to this, degauss the monitor
legal copy). If the original CD is damaged, you using the controls on the monitor, and move
can probably get it replaced. any items that have a magnetic field (such as
If you just want to get rid of the program speakers) some distance away.
being loaded at startup, run “msconfig”. Go to If the flickering persists and if it is not
the ‘Startup’ tab and look for entries that limited to Windows, then the problem is most
pertain to the Age of Empires 3 setup, and probably that the monitor is faulty and needs
uncheck those entries. The problem should not to be replaced.
occur the next time you boot up.
Hibernating Mouse
F-r-a-g-m-e-n-t-e-d I have Windows XP installed. Whenever I try
I was using Windows XP SP2 with O&O the hibernate or standby feature and then
Defragmenter 4.0 Server Edition. Now that I restart my computer, my mouse doesn’t work.
have uninstalled it, I am not able to use the Aman Jain, Rourkela, via e-mail
Windows defragmenter. When I press “Defragment
now” after right-clicking my hard disk icon, I get Your mouse with its current drivers does-
the error: “There is no defragmenter. Please n’t support the power management

96 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

features of Windows XP. The solution to your order to play the videos you created, you need
problem is to download and install the latest to install Windows Media Player 10, which
drivers for your mouse, and if the drivers includes Windows Media Codec 10.
support power management, your mouse
should work after hibernation or standby.
Please send us the full configuration details
Access Gone Awry
of your system when writing in to us so we can I was working on Microsoft Access when there
be of more help. was a sudden power failure, and all my data
got deleted or corrupted. Is there a way to restore
data from corrupted Access files?
Camera Prefers 98 Sajan Mishra, via e-mail
I am using an icam Robo - 351 Web cam. I have
Windows 98 SE and Windows XP (dual-boot- There are several utilities that attempt to
ing). In Windows 98 SE, the cam works fine, but in recover corrupt MS Access files. One such
XP, when the cam is started, the video stops within utility is AccessFIX from Cimaware Software,
10 seconds. Then I get an error message: “Error which can restore damaged database files and
80070450: cannot preview graph.” I tried re- rebuild table data even if the files are password-
installing the driver from the Web site, but the protected. You can download a free demo from
problem persists. I also happen to have a Pinnacle www.cimaware.com.
TV-Tuner card.
C S Laxmi, via e-mail
Sticky Windows
First, install the latest version of DirectX I’ve got keyboard problems. When I press [D],
for your version of Windows. You can get all open windows get minimised. When I press
this from the Microsoft Web site or from one of [M], the active window is minimised. When [U] is
the Digit DVDs. You will also need to install the pressed, the utility manager opens. On pressing [L],
latest drivers for your TV-Tuner card my computer gets locked. I have these
from www.pinnaclesys.com. problems even when several applica-
tions are open. I even formatted my
hard drive and re-installed Windows,
Swap OSes but I’m still facing this problem!
I have installed Windows XP Bhabatitdev Das, via e-mail
Professional on both my hard
disks. Can I reverse the order in which The only possible cause of your
the OS choice is displayed in the OS problem is that the Window key
option menu? of your keyboard is stuck. This
Hemant Sahi, via e-mail happens because of dust accumulat-
ing in the keyboard, and the
All you need to do is edit the keyboard getting dirty in general. Try
boot.ini file, which resides in to release the key, and if possible,
the root of your system drive. Enter clean and service your keyboard
“%systemdrive%/boot.ini” into the because this problem may occur with
Run dialog box. Boot.ini will open in the other keys as well.
Notepad. The file is divided into two
sections—“Boot loader” and
“Operating Systems”. The two OS options for
LAN Woes
your PC will be mentioned under “Operating I have a Pentium IV on an Intel 915 mother-
Systems”, in two lines. You can edit this and board with onboard LAN (Intel Pro VE
reverse the order of how the OSes are 10/100), and I’m using Windows XP SP2. The driv-
displayed. In order to change the default OS, ers for the LAN were successfully installed from
change the text in the line next to “default=” the motherboard’s driver CD, but XP always
to that which matches the OS into which you shows that the network cable is unplugged.
wish to boot first. Rajiv Chopra, via e-mail

This can happen

Codec Issues when there is a link
I used Windows MovieMaker 2 to create some speed mismatch between
movie files. When I copied the files to a Compaq that set for the network
Presario laptop, the files I’d created played on the adapter and that avail-
laptop as audio files instead of as videos. All I could able on the network. If
view were some visualisations. They’d worked you do not know what
perfectly on my computer. The Compaq laptop had the speed of your local
Windows Media Player 9 installed on it. area network is, you can
Swathy Sudarsanan, via e-mail try setting various speeds
for your network adapter.
Windows MovieMaker 2 uses Windows To do this, open ‘Network
Media Codec 10. The Compaq laptop which Connections’ from the
had WMP 9 installed could not play your files Control Panel. Right-
because these codecs were not installed. In Set the link speed of the network adapter click on the network

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 97

 Use Gimp 2 For Windows

The Gimp is advanced image software for Unix/Linux. Here’s how to use it on Windows
Installation’ under ‘Select Components’,
Anup Nair and do not associate any file type with
The Gimp. Both the above-mentioned

M
ost of those who work on a Win- choices are the default.
dows-based machine use Adobe After the installation is done, Gimp
Photoshop as their primary will start a customisation process by
photo editing software, while others are which it will create a temporary folder
satisfied with simple editing software for its files and a swap space—just follow
such as IrfanView. Those who use the instructions and you are done with
Unix/Linux-based OSes use ‘The Gimp’— setting up The Gimp 2. The folder browser of Gimp is unlike Photoshop
GNU Image Manipulation Program. This
software on a Windows machine can Familiarising Yourself ting such as brush size, opacity, colour
mean the power of Photoshop for free! With The Gimp etc. if the paintbrush is selected. The
The Gimp is free, so anyone can A regular Photoshop user will tools can be categorised into ‘Selection
download, install and use it. The source get accustomed to The Gimp in no tools’, ‘Sizing tools’,
code is also available for those keen on time. The Gimp starts by loading two ‘Content tools’ and
recompiling the software. Let’s not dig floating windows—one is the main ‘The ‘Other tools’.
into the intricacies of open source and Gimp’ window and the other for ‘Layer, The ‘Hand-drawn’
recompilation, and concentrate on get- Channels…’ selection tool is sim-
ting The Gimp to work on a Windows Closing the main ‘The Gimp’ ilar to Photoshop’s
machine! window will close all other associated Lasso tool. Choose this
This workshop will also introduce windows, but you can close the ‘Layers, tool from the Gimp
you to the Gimp’s *nix interface. We Channels…’ window without affecting tool panel and,
can’t cover the entire process of editing any other Gimp windows. Do [Ctrl] + [N] keeping the left mouse
an image, but we’re sure you’ll be able to to open a new file, or [Ctrl] + [O] to open button pressed, draw a
do it yourself once you’ve understood an existing file. The workspace with a selection on the
the purpose of the tools in The Gimp. new file or a chosen one opens in a sep- working image. The
arate window; as all these windows are selection is marked as
Why Do I Need GTK+ When detached from each other, they appear a dotted border.
Installing The Gimp? to be floating on your desktop. Many other tools
Every operating system has its The folder browser of The Gimp is such as ‘Fill with
own native graphic library. For new to Windows users, but it’s not com- paint/pattern’ (iden-
example, Windows is based on the plicated. The left section shows the root tical to Photoshop’s
Win32 API, Linux’s KDE is based on the (the parent folder); the central section The Gimp tool Paint Bucket tool) can
Qt graphic library, and Gnome is based displays all the files and folders present options be used in conjunc-
on Gtk+. It therefore becomes difficult under a selected root partition/folder; tion to alter the
to implement a software that will have and the right section shows a preview of selected area.
the same user interface on different an image if any is selected. Using ‘Fill with paint/pattern’ and
operating systems. opting for pattern fill from the ‘Tool
Keeping this in mind, many software Options’ panel, you can change the
such as Gaim, Dia, OpenVPN-Admin, etc. black background to a pinstripe pat-
are compiled to run with Gimp Tool Kit tern. Almost all the tools work similar
(GTK+), which is a multi-platform tool kit to those of Photoshop, making a migra-
for creating a graphical user interface. tion to this free and powerful utility
GTK+ creates a runtime environment for a cakewalk.
such software so that they can run on
Linux and Windows-based OSes with Saving an image
negligible changes to its compilation. To save an image, use File > Save
It is important to check which ver- in the image window, and then
sion of GTK is ideal for the software you choose ‘Save as’ or ‘Save’. If the image is
want to install. You can download both The Gimp windows are detached so they being saved for the first time, select a
GTK and The Gimp for Windows from appear to be floating on desktop destination folder to save your work to.
http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/ By default it saves in the current loca-
stable.html. tion; notice the ‘Browse for other loca-
After downloading the two executa- A Demonstration tion’ and ‘Select file type’ options,
bles, install GTK first and then proceed Let’s move on to the tools sec- expand boths options and experiment.
with the installation of The Gimp. The tion. ‘The Gimp’ window con- Now that you have a brief idea
installation wizard will guide you tains the main ‘Gimp tool’ panel and the about ‘The Gimp’ for Windows, let
through a simple installation procedure, ‘Tool options’ panel. The ‘Tool options’ loose your creative talents to explore
but make sure you’ve selected ‘Full panel allows a user to change a tool’s set- this free software!

98 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 My Computer Is Deaf! even be muted.
Before you use any
While recording a program on a TV-Tuner card through third-party PVR
cable on my PC, it only records video and not audio. software, ensure
However, while watching TV, both video and audio work this is not the case.
properly. My PC configuration is as follows: Windows To find out if this is
XP with SP2, P IV 3.2 GHz, 1GB of RAM, a Samsung the problem,
tion 160 GB hard disk and an Asus TV FM Tuner card. I use double-click on the
Quefsthe InterVideo WinDVR to capture. volume icon in the
o nth
Mo Dipak Pimple, Via e-mail system tray. See if
the Line-In is low or
While using video capture software such as muted. Now click
InterVideo WinDVR, you need to specify the audio source Options >
if it is not automatically detected. To do so, open Properties >
InterVideo WinDVR, right-click anywhere in the video Recording and
window and click 'Setup'. Navigate to the 'Record' tab. click OK. Check the
Here, you will be able to select the audio source. Select box next to Line-In, and raise the volume to a comfortable
'Line-In' as the audio source. level. Close it and launch the PVR program, and under
The second thing to check is whether the Line-In Options, check if Line-In is selected as the audio source. Also
volume of your sound card might be set to zero, or it might check its volume level there, if it exists.

adapter and click ‘Properties’. Now Download the Windows 2000/XP

click ‘Configure’. In the window that version of Multimounter from
opens, click ‘Advanced’. Against ‘Link ftp://ftp9.nero.com/attach/
Speed/Duplex Mode’, select different Multimounter_2k_xp.zip. Run
speeds one by one to see which works. Multimounter, and open the proper-
Set the highest speed at which the ties of your CD drive. Select the
network adapter works. ‘Volumes’ tab. Each burn session will
show up as a separate volume, with a
checkmark indicating the volume
BIOS Gone Boom presently active and accessible.
I got the latest BIOS for my mother- Select the volume or session you
board—an Asus P4S800-MX/s—from want to access, and click ‘Apply’.
the Asus Web site, and used the Asus EZ You may need to refresh your
Flash utility to flash it. Everything during Explorer window before the change
the flashing process went well, and the shows up. You’ll only be able to
computer said it was successful. But access one session at a time, not all
when I tried to reboot, I was unable to, the files at once.
and I had to use my support CD to try and
recover my BIOS.
After erasing the BIOS while flashing it, it
Password Prompts
suddenly said there was a “data compare failure”, I have Windows XP Pro installed. Every time
and it stopped. I tried even older BIOS versions, but I log into Windows, I get a username and
the same problem occurs. I used the Aflash utility, password prompt even though I haven’t set a
but nothing seems to work. Do I actually have to get password. As a result, I need to press [Enter]
a new motherboard? The error message that shows every time I boot into Windows. Is there a way to
up on my screen is “BIOS ROM CHECKSUM ERROR.” eliminate the username and password prompt?
Vinay Krishna, via e-mail Ashish Rana, via e-mail

Though this is a rare case, chances are your You will need to edit the Windows
BIOS chip has developed a fault, and it Registry. Proceed only if you know what
needs to be replaced. If your motherboard is you are doing, because one wrong step could
under warranty, you may avail of this, or else Get Help Now! make Windows unbootable.
you can try to get the BIOS rewritten by a BIOS In the Registry editor, navigate to
writer. Rest assured, there is no need to buy a E-mail us about your “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft
computing problems
new motherboard! along with your contact
\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon”. In
details and complete the right pane, double-click on the string
“DefaultUserName” and change the Value
Sessions, Volumes, Tracks system configuration to
data to your username. (If the string is not
[email protected] ,
My system is running Windows XP Pro (SP2). I and we might answer present, create it.) Similarly, change the
want to know how I can access different them here! Since we get strings “DefaultPassword” and “Default
volumes/tracks on a CD—that is, after creating a more mails per day than DomainName” to your password and domain
multisession CD, how can I access a previous we can handle, it may name respectively. Finally, delete the string
session on the disk? I know the method in take some time for your “AutoLogonCount”.
query to be answered.
Windows 98, but that method doesn’t work Rest assured, we are
The next time you start Windows, you
with XP. listening! will not be asked to enter a username
Nishank Gupta, via e-mail and password.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 99

 Digital Tools l Agent 001
Agent 001

The Display Dilemma

When it comes to monitors, CRT or LCD is the biggest decision, but there are tonnes of brands
and models out there too. So what did Agent 001 settle for?

T
here are two things on my office desk I Samsung and LG LG has an expansive line of monitors. The
absolutely adore—my Eizo monitor and 15-inch 500G CRT retails at Rs 4,300, whereas
my Creative 4.1 speakers. Both these have
are the most the 17-inch 700E retails at Rs 5,200. (If you’re
a special place in my heart because of their popular brands, looking for a 19-inch LG model—well, they’re
antique value and the performance they deliver followed by not available any more.) The full-flat CRT
despite their age. Philips and Acer. models cost nearly Rs 500 to 1,000 more. LG has
That monitor has been on that desk for ViewSonic has some value LCD monitors too—their 15-inch
nearly 10 years now, and is probably the only 17- L1515s is at Rs 10,500, and their 17-inch L1720B
incher I’ve come across that scales up to 1600 x
made an retails for Rs 14,750. LG doesn’t have any
1200 @ 60Hz. Unfortunately, age is catching up appearance. models in the 19-inch LCD category, either.
with the Eizo, and much as I hate it, I have to Sonys are ViewSonic has both CRT and TFT monitors
switch to a newer monitor before the display difficult to find; ranging from the 15-inchers to 19-inchers, and as
artefacts render me visually challenged. so are NECs. expected, they looked splendid. The 15-inch E50
You’ve got to put a lot of thought and CRT retails for Rs 4,400, and the 17-inch E70 goes
research into buying a monitor, because once
BenQ is coming for Rs 5,600. The 19-inch E90, too, looks stunning.
bought, it tends to stick around on your desk up with some Do look out for sub-models in the 19-inch series—
for a really long time—and also because there good models they’re priced according to features; for example,
are so many choices. And with just Rs 15,000 in the base model retails at Rs 12,000, and the flat-
my pocket, which was alotted by the accounts screen model goes up to Rs 16,000.
department, I had to make an informed choice. In the LCD panels, you can get a 15-inch LCD
I was tired of using a 17-inch monitor, so my for as little as Rs 10,250. A 17-inch retails at Rs
initial thought was of going in for a 19-inch 14,500, and a 19-inch will set you back by Rs
CRT, since I was sure of finding one within my 21,500. (Availability of ViewSonic monitors,
budget. However, with LCD prices falling, I was however, can be a problem in smaller cities.)
also somewhat sure of getting a nice LCD at Philips and Acer compete in the value
around the same price… segment, and offer great value if you are on a
Samsung and LG over shoestring budget. The 15-inch CRT from
the years have grown to Philips—the 105s—and the Acer AC511 retail at
be the most popular Rs 4,500 and Rs 4,299 respectively. Similarly, the
brands, followed by 17-inch CRTs, the Philips 107s and the Acer
Philips and Acer. AC711, come for Rs 5,200 and Rs 5,299
After a period of respectively. 19-inch CRTs will set you
dormancy, View- back by Rs 11,000 and Rs 12,999 for
Sonic has again the Philips 109E and Acer AC915
made an appearance. respectively.
Sony monitors are diffi- Acer’s 15-inch AL1500 LCD
cult to find; so are NECs. comes at a palatable Rs 10,500; so
BenQ is coming up with does Philips’ 150s. When it comes
some good models in its TFT to 17-inch, Philips beats Acer on
line-up. the pricing front by a small
No matter what shop you margin—the 170s from Philips
enter, you’re sure to be retails for Rs 14,500, Rs 500 less
presented with a Samsung or an than Acer’s AL1900.
LG when you ask for a monitor. Samsung Keeping in mind my limited
seems to be the standard with almost all desk space, I opted for a 17-inch
vendors; their CRT range starts from Rs 4,500 LCD. This offers nearly the same view-
for the 15-inch model, and goes up to Rs 25,000 ing area as a 19-inch CRT, but I won’t
for the 21-inchers, the most popular ones being be able to run it at very high resolu-
the 17-inch SyncMaster 793 S/DF that retails for tions. I wasn’t able to wangle a deal,
Rs 5,500/6,500 (DF models offers the full-flat though, and settled for the list price of
tube). The 19-inch SyncMaster 997DF was Rs the Philips 170s.
14,500, and I was tempted for the first time.
LCDs from Samsung still sell at a premium,
and a 15-inch LCD will set you back by Rs Want more of Agent 001? Turn over to read his
18,500; similarly, a 17-inch Samsung LCD retails answers to your buying questions
for Rs 26,000. Illustration Pradip Ingale

100 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Ask Agent 001 Digital Tools l Agent 001
MP3 Player: Flash Or HDD?
Pondering Printers I want to buy a MP3 player with a minimum capac-
I’m planning to buy a laser or economic inkjet As far as ity of 1 to 2 GB from a reputed brand. My budget
printer. Can you suggest one? The printer should ergonomics is is a modest Rs 10,000. Also, please give me some
have a card reader and networking capabilities. concerned, general information on MP3 players.
K Mugilan Shantanu Mishra
mechanical
First ascertain the role of the printer. Do keyboards cannot There are two types of MP3 players avail-
you need a high-volume printer or a casual be said to have able—Flash-based and hard drive-based.
printing solution? Laser printers will keep running any advantage Flash-based players are compact and have a maxi-
costs down, but they’re devoid of features such as over membrane mum capacity of around 5 GB. Hard drive-based
card readers and LCD screens. You will, however, MP3 players offer larger capacities, but are gener-
find network capabilities on laser printers. keyboards ally more expensive and won’t fit your budget.
A mono laser printer will cost you anywhere The iRiver iFP-799 is a 1 GB Flash MP3 player
between Rs 10,000 and 15,000 depending on the that retails for around Rs. 11,000. Samsung’s YP-C1
features it offers. Look for the Canon LBP-2900 or will set you back by Rs 7,900 for 1 GB.
Lexmark E230. A colour laser will set you back by Apple has officially phased out the iPod mini,
at least Rs 40K; we suggest the Samsung CLP-500. but these are still available in the market. If you’re
Card readers allow you to print photographs lucky enough, you might get one for a good price.
without the need for a PC; however, they are avail-
able only on photo printers, which in my opinion Too Much Typing
won’t suit high-volume printing needs. If you do I’ve been experiencing a lot of pain
want one, we’d suggest the Lexmark in my wrists, and I think it’s because
P915 or the Epson R310. of the eight hours of typing I do daily. I’m
using a Logitech membrane keyboard; I
The Cheapest Possible PC? want to know what keyboard suits my
I need a PC just to run tutorial soft- work best. Do mechanical keyboards have
ware for an exam, and I want to an advantage over membrane keyboards
assemble the cheapest possible PC for this as far as ergonomics is concerned?
purpose. Configuration, please... Toney Jacob
Sidharth Sen
You should first mend your
You might want to consider a sitting position. Your arm—
Celeron 2.53 GHz processor, a starting from your fingers to the
Foxconn 865M01-G-6LS motherboard, elbow—should rest on a flat table so
256 MB of DDR RAM, an 80 GB hard that the wrists are not strained. Have a
disk, a 15-inch monitor, a Sony CD-ROM look at the Towards Comfort article in
drive, a Logitech keyboard and mouse this issue for more on ergonomics.
combo and an ATX cabinet. This config- As far as ergonomics is concerned,
uration will cost you around Rs 19,000 mechanical keyboards cannot be
while giving you decent performance. said to have any advantage over
If you need the cheapest deal, I’d membrane keyboards.
suggest the Mercury PVCLE266M-L, which has a Try out the ergonomic keyboards from
VIA C3 Samuel 2 CPU onboard. It supports DDR Microsoft—they might just ease the wrist pain.
RAM and has on-board graphics, sound and even
LAN. I would like to remind you, though, that In Quest Of The Latest Games
you’ll get very low performance from this system— I want to buy gaming titles such as UT 2004,
so buy this only if you want to spend not a penny Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay,
more than necessary. This motherboard-CPU Swat 4, and more. Planet M stocks quite a few titles, but
bundle, along with the other components I’ve not all. Where in Mumbai—apart from Planet M—can I
mentioned, will cost you about Rs 15,000. find new gaming titles?
Mandar

Have Money, Will Upgrade You can purchase gaming titles from the
I have a Celeron 1.7 GHz CPU with 128 MB of DDR Crossword stores, which are spread
RAM. I want to upgrade. Should I go for a DVD across the suburbs. You could also try online
player and 256 MB of RAM, or for 2.1 or higher speak- stores such as fabmall.com, rediff.com, and
ers with 256 MB of RAM? I have to choose from one Ask Away indiatimes.com.
among these two options. Want a tech product, but Here are the names and contact information
Rocky don’t know how to go of the big game distributors in India.
about buying it? E-mail
Your PC just doesn’t have enough memory. [email protected] Indian Game Distributors
You should first go for the 256 MB memory with your complete
upgrade—a single 256 MB DDR memory module contact details and get Name Phone Web Site
will cost you about Rs 1,450. As for the option your queries answered. Milestone Interactive 022-28203319 www.milestoneinteractive.com
between a DVD drive and a 2.1 speaker set is Please mention your PC’s Sujata Softech 022-22846574 www.sujatasoftech.com
detailed configuration Worldwide CD-ROMs 022-56973894 www.wwcdrom.com
concerned, it depends entirely on what you want! to ensure consideration Gayatri Impex 022-56973895 www.gamemasti.com
A good 2.1 speaker set from Creative or Artis would for this section E-Xpress 022-28870017 www.e-xpressindia.com
cost Rs 2,000, and a DVD drive would cost Rs 1,700.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 101

 Digital Tools l Net Gain

Righttoinformation.gov.in
Before you head to a Public Information Office to exercise your right, visit the homepage of the
Act to gain a better perspective

Notification’, and ‘List

Renuka Rane of Public Information
Offices’, among others.

T
he enactment of the Right to Simply access each link
Information (RTI) Act was a and you’re bombarded
turning point in the history of with information.
Indian public life. It came into force The body of the
on 12 October, 2005. page displays what
RTI Act gives citizens the right appears to be six
to access information held by or prominent speech bub-
under the control of any public bles that deal with RTI
authority. This includes a right to in detail—‘What does
inspect public authority’s work, RTI mean?’, ‘Who are
documents, records, and take the Officers and what
notes, extracts or certified copies are their obligations?’,
of documents/records and certified ‘What information is
samples of the material, and also available?’, ‘How to
electronically stored information. request for informa-
Any citizen can request such tion?’, ‘What are the
information by making an applica- i n f o r m a t i o n Righttoinformation.gov.in has comprehensive information on the RTI Act
tion in writing or via electronic Commissions?’, and
means in English or Hindi, or in the ‘What is the role of the The left side of the page is inter-
official language of the area, and Central/State Governments?’. esting—it has 10 or so links. These are
paying the prescribed fees. The As an example, if you click on ‘Preliminary’, ‘Public Authorities’,
application has to be sent to the the ‘Information Commissions’ ‘Central Information Commission’,
concerned Regional Head—the link, it will take you to a page with ‘State Information Commission’,
Public Information Officer of the a list of FAQs. These range from ‘Powers And Functions’, ‘Protection
region to which the information per- the constitution of the Central of Actions’, ‘First Schedule’, ‘Second
tains, and who shall dispose off the Information Commission, their Schedule’, ‘Circulars’, ‘GOI
request within 30 days of its receipt. service conditions, functions and Dept/Offices’, ‘States of India’ and
reporting procedure. ‘Districts of India’. If you were to click
Your Right To Information on ‘States of India’, you will straight-
Now, when you actually want to visit Useful In Its Entirety away be taken to the online directory
the RTI Act’s Web site, understand- All the above is just what the user of the GOI.
ably, you can’t expect a jazzy site would be looking for. You can also In the FAQ section are 30-odd
loaded with graphics. The home download the complete Act in HTML questions that deal with reporting
page is choc-a-bloc with numerous of PDF (English as well as Hindi). procedures, penalty provisions,
links such as ‘Home’, ‘Appeal Rules’, This certainly earns the GOI brownie jurisdiction of courts and so on.
‘Circulars’, ‘Feedback’, ‘Disclaimers’, points—the site lives up to its name!
On The Whole
If we were to focus on the layout,
and other aesthetic details, the less
said the better. Seen in that context,
this site seems a very amateurish
attempt; even in terms of other
nuggets of information scattered
across the site.
But, we’re looking at the bigger
picture here. Perhaps, streamlining
all the facts and details would have
made it easier on the users. Well,
let’s not forget that the site has been
recently launched and will improve.
But the fact is that despite this,
the information you’ll find is com-
prehensive and extremely useful to
all citizens. This is what makes a
visit to Righttoinformation.gov.in
worth the while.
Users also have the option of downloading the RTI Act in HTML format [email protected]

102 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 How Disk Defragmentation
Works
One platter of a hard disk
expanded here to show a sector,
the smallest unit of storage (in
red). Several sectors taken
together (in yellow, orange, green
and blue) form a cluster, the
smallest unit addressed by the
filesystem.

1 A 2D view of the cluster

1. When you freshly install your

OS, your files are arranged 2. When you add a file (represented
nicely, starting at the beginning by the green space above) the OS
of the drive. The blue and places it wherever it finds space.
orange areas are occupied. The The OS could have placed it
grey area is free space. contiguously, but it didn’t.

Fragmentation

3. Over time, this is what your

hard disk begins to look like,
with files scattered all over the
place, placed non-contiguously.

Imaging Chaitanya Surpur

Text Ram Mohan Rao

106 DIGIT OCTOBER 2005

 Digital Tools l Visual Explanation

1
1. We have a blue file and an orange
file. Both are fragmented. The first
part of the orange file has data in it
that points it to the next part, and so 2. When you begin defragmenting the
on. The OS can thus figure out how to drive, the defrag program calls the
access the entire file. filesystem API (Application Program
Interface) to move the first part of the
orange file to a different location. It
makes a best effort to place it such that
the orange file will eventually become
contiguous.

Defragmentation

3. The OS knows which part of the

orange file belongs where, as mentioned
in step 1. Eventually, all of the orange
file is accessed and placed contiguously.
The same happens with the blue file.
There needs to be enough free space for
this to happen successfully.

The earlier example showed what

happens with, say, Windows
defragmenter. Better defragmenters
such as PerfectDisk would arrange
the orange and blue files this way,
beginning at the start of the drive—so
they can be accessed faster.
 A Complete lowdown on 22 categories to help you make that crucial buying decision

INDEX Laser MFDs . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 RAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

LCD Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . .132 Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Accounting software . . . . . .118 Motherboards . . . . . . . . . . .134 TV Tuners . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Digital Camera . . . . . . . . . .120 MP3 Players . . . . . . . . . . . .136 UPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Optical Disc Drives . . . . . . .122 Multifunctional Copiers . . . .138 Graphics Cards . . . . . . . . . .154
Flash Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . .124 OCR Software . . . . . . . . . . .140 Inkjet Printers . . . . . . . . . . .156
Hard Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126 Optical Media . . . . . . . . . . .142 Laptop Accessories . . . . . . .158
Laptops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128 Projectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144 Laser Printers . . . . . . . . . . .160

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 117

 Digital Tools l Buyer’s Guide Imaging Shrikrishna Patkar

ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
E
very entrepreneur has productiv- and/or viewing financial data. Is such a bly check for it yourself when you get
ity in mind and using technology feature available? the bill for the new software!
to achieve it is definitely a not a This can be very important, and will Will the software run on my current
bad idea—but if the choice and imple- help you prevent unauthorised access to hardware, or will I need an upgrade?
mentation is not done wisely, the financial information of your company. Enquire if any kind of additional hard-
same idea can be detrimental to busi- Access control can only be applied if the ware or software is needed for the
ness goals. package supports it. A dealer and the accounting software you want to buy.
Use of accounting software to manufacturer’s support staff are the This need can be upgrading the operat-
enhance your business is one such right people to ask about this feature.
implementation. There are many soft- Can the new accounting software
ware available in the market for this import data from the existing software?
purpose, but it is not necessary that a While migrating to a new accounting
particular package meets your needs. software, you cannot afford to waste
For example, a package could lack time copying reports and data manually
expandability. Similarly, the most from your existing software. Hence,
expensive package may not be the right confirm with the dealer, and if possible,
choice either. There are several ques- verify with experts or the manufac-
tions you need to ask the software turer’s support team about this feature.
vendor before you decide on a software. This can save you a lot of time.
Ensure that the product you buy is
Questions to ask the dealer ‘VAT ready’, as this will be a very impor- ing system from Windows 98 to
I want to employ access control to tant inclusion. VAT has been enforced in Windows XP, or a hardware upgrade for
prevent certain users from editing the Indian market, and you will proba- better processing capability.

Points To Ponder
What are the features or factors of accounting or exporting data/reports into Microsoft Excel manufacturer, first cross-check the availability
software that I should assess before making and Adobe PDF formats would be the icing on of professionals for it, or just be sure that
the decision to purchase one? the cake. An Indian-style accounting software the learning curve for the new package is not
You are expected to have good idea of your could make your accounting experience easier. too steep.
business accounting needs, based on which I have a dotcom business. Are there any Interface usability… how important
you can analyse the capability, flexibility and packages that have ‘Web store’ should that be?
expandability of a package. If you are selling a integration? If you are very dependent on the user interface
product, it is important that your software be Most packages support offline business struc- and want everything at the click of a mouse,
able to track inventory. If you are selling serv- tures, and there are a few that facilitate inte- you should check demos of the product before
ices, the software should have a good client gration for a dotcom business. This feature will you buy it.
tracking system. help you keep track of your online business Should cost be a criterion?
Other than basic accounting required to transactions and generate the necessary As a businessman, this can be one of your
monitor sales and balance sheets, the rest of reports with absolute ease. main concerns. There may be a battalion of
the package should include tax reporting, Are there enough professionals cheap and perhaps free accounting software
invoicing and pay roll needs. Similarly, the soft- proficient in the software? available, but they may not support your
ware should also have the feature of expand- People involved in this kind of work are trained needs. Compromising on this means compro-
ing with the future needs, for instance, adapt- to use the most popular software packages— mising on your productivity. It is advisable that
ing to VAT. Keeping this need in mind, some those that are installed in most companies, you spend the money that your needs demand.
software manufacturers design their products and tutorials for which are easily available at Most feature-rich accounting software cost
to include support for upgradation. Features your nearest computer education centre. So, if approximately the same, so you can decide
such as supporting ASCII dot-matrix printers, you are migrating to a package by another based solely on your needs.

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DIGITAL CAMERAS
Usage Tips

T
he digital camera was developed over the quality of the photograph,
after the invention of the CCD which you might sometimes need. Do not expect too much from digital
(charge coupled device) which What memory card formats does the zoom; the photo quality deteriorates
replaces replace film as the light sensor. camera support? when you start using it.
A CCD is much more sensitive to light Try and avoid cameras that support When using zoom, see if you can
than film is, though it lacks the ability proprietary memory card formats. mount the camera on a tripod, because
to accurately capture the entire range of These usually tend to be expensive. even mild shakes are amplified when
the electromagnetic spectrum. Digital They’re also usually hard to obtain. taking a zoomed shot.
cameras give you the convenience of Prefer cameras that support popular
clicking away without worrying about formats such as SD, MMC, and CF
film, and the ability to print directly to (Compact Flash).
a printer is sheer convenience. Does it support recording of video?
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the Video recording capability is fairly
sheer range of digicams available today, common now. Check for this.
but you need not be. What you really
need to do is to thoroughly familiarise Interesting Facts
yourself with the details common to all Prior to 1973, Texas Instruments had
digicams, such as optical zoom, designed a filmless but analogue-based
megapixel rating, and so on. electronic camera, but that, of course,
cannot be categorised as a digital camera.
Questions to ask the dealer In 1973, Steven Sassoon developed the Always remember to carry extra
What is the maximum resolution first solid state digital camera. The batteries with you while travelling.
supported by the camera? camera weighed in at eight pounds and While photographing with a long
The higher the megapixel rating of the had a sensor in the form of a digital exposure time, use a tripod to steady
camera, the higher the resolution the cassette tape at 0.01 megapixels. CCDs the camera.
camera supports. had only just appeared at that time, and Turn off the flash when not required
How much optical zoom is available? their application in this field hadn’t been to conserve battery power.
Optical zoom is especially important explored. Remember that often, shooting at
outdoors to be able to take close-ups of Sassoon’s digital camera consisted of the highest quality is not necessary,
faraway subjects. an analogue-to-digital converter, a and a lower-quality photo will look just
Does the camera support manual mode? movie camera lens, and CCD chips. 1981 as fine—and it will occupy less space.
The ability to manually set the exposure saw the launch of the first commercial This, of course, translates to more
and shutter speed means more control digital camera. photographs before you need to do
a transfer.
Points To Ponder In many cases, you should do fine
using the viewfinder instead of the LCD
Should I consider a high-end camera? How much memory should it have? screen for previewing. This will
Select a high-end digital camera only if you There should be at least 16 MB of memory to conserve battery charge.
are very serious about digital photography - accommodate a decent number of photos. Of
an amateur might never use some of the course, this depends on the resolution at The Future
features of such cameras. which the photos are shot. Film is on its way out, and it has been
Is the weight of the camera important? What about connecting directly to a predicted that by 2008, digital cameras
If you travel a lot with your camera, you might printer to print photos? will completely replace film cameras.
want to get yourself a light-weight camera. Look for a digital camera that supports stan- CCD technology, which is currently
On the other hand, a heavier camera is stead- dards such as PictBridge—this standard allows used in most consumer digital
ier to hold and reduces the problem of you to print photos directly to a compatible cameras, is being challenged by CMOS
camera shake. photo printer without using a PC. (complementary metal oxide semicon-
ductor) technology.

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DVD-WRITERS
Interesting Facts

T
he fastest growing segment in the What accessories come bundled?
storage industry today is, without Many manufacturers bundle writing The analogue optical disk was developed
a doubt, the DVD-Writer segment. software with the drive. Some also way back in 1958 by David Paul Gregg
In fact, they’re the best thing to have bundle data cables and bezels. and it was primarily meant to record
happened to the storage industry after video. The Laserdisc standard for movies
CD-Writers a few years ago. Usage Tips was later developed from this standard
DVD-Writers have raised the optical Make sure that the PC is not over- in 1978, and suddenly Laserdisc video
backup capacity of desktop PCs to a mini- clocked before you plan a CD/DVD burn- players started appearing in the market.
mum of 4.7 GB from the 700 MB of a CD. ing session. Overclocking affects the
Users can now create high-res digital speed of IDE devices too, and this may
video content using DVD-VR technology, lead to the DVD not writing properly.
which allows the capturing of video to a Some media have capacities above
DVD on the fly. the standard. In order to write to such
Though there were a lot of initial media, the DVD-Writer as well as
compatibility issues between the DVD the writing software must support
formats supported by various companies, overburning.
the differences have since mostly been Videos from a DV-Cam can be
ironed out. captured directly to certain DVD-Writers,
but for this, the DVD-Writing software
Questions to ask the dealer must support the DVD-VR format. This is
What are the different formats available on the DVD+R specification, so The world saw the launch of the CD drive
supported by the drive? drives supporting DVD+R can be used in 1982, which was a milestone, and the
Look for drives supporting DVD+R, DVD- for this. CD drive became a piece of household
R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R DL, and Some DVD-Writer manufacturers equipment. DVD players made their
DVD-R DL. An older-generation drive may specify that certain brands of media may appearance in 1996 in Japan and in 1997
not support anything double layer, since have some problems with their drives. in the US. Creative Labs, Diamond Multi-
they existed at a time when DL was only Referring to the DVD-Writer’s manufac- media and Hi-Val released PC DVD-ROM
on the drawing board. turer’s Web site is a good thing to do. drives bundled with hardware decoder
What is the form factor of the drive? Check if DMA mode for the drive is cards in 1997.
Most optical drives today are available in enabled in Windows XP. This will enable
the half-height form factor. Such a drive quicker data transfers at minimal load The Future
is much shorter than a traditional full- to the CPU. Instead of a 40-conductor The DVD was thought to be humon-
height drive. Installing such a drive is cable, use an 80-conductor one. gous, capable of storing a minimum of
easier as it fits in almost any cabinet and Check for firmware updates for your 4.7 GB and up to 17 GB of data. As tech-
is less likely to interfere with the moth- optical drive on the manufacturer’s Web nology manages to squeeze in more and
erboard. This also leaves the interior of site. These can contain bug fixes and more data into the same dimensions,
the PC with more breathing space. address other issues. the hunger for storage space only seems
to have increased! This has driven the
Points To Ponder development of newer standards such
as Blu-ray and HD-DVD, which are a hot
Does my PC meet the minimum system you’re buying an external drive. topic of discussion these days.
requirements for a DVD-Writer? Should I buy an internal drive or an Few people doubt that one of these
A DVD-Writer will work with any PC with a external drive? two will dominate the optical disc stor-
minimum of a 400 MHz processor, 32 MB of For a home user, an internal drive is the best age industry in the near future. The
RAM, and hard drive space enough to store choice from every angle, be it cost, perform- only question is, which of the two will
the data to be written. In addition to this, ance or features. An external drive is useful for it be? It’s difficult to say. Refer The Battle
there should be a free IDE connector, unless people such as PC hardware professionals. Of The Blue in this issue for more on HD-
DVD and Blu-ray.

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FLASH DRIVES
H
ow many of us use floppy drives mount the partition if it is not auto- year 2004, WIZO (pronounced Vee-Zoh),
and floppies? We wouldn’t be too mounted. a German punk-rock band, was the first
presumptuous in saying that Is the Flash drive bootable? artist to release music in MP3 format on
people don’t even think of buying one For booting through a Flash drive, the a USB drive titled the “WIZO Stick-EP”.
today. People mostly transfer files via BIOS must have the option to boot such
the Internet using e-mail. If you do not a device—check your motherboard Usage Tips
have an Internet connection, you should manual. Moreover, the device itself Always cover the USB connector of
consider investing in a Flash drive should support ‘bootability’; consult the your Flash drive with the cover provided
instead of using floppies or even dealer before you assume this support.
rewritable CDs. If this option is supported, the manu-
Flash drives are not only convenient facturer will provide the necessary tools
to use, but also much faster, more reli- to make the drive bootable.
able, and have far greater capacities What type of warranty, if any, is
than floppies. ‘Chewing gum stick’- preferable?
sized pen drives are durable (if used Warranties differ between manufactur-
properly), and large capacity drives (1 GB ers. Local manufacturers may or may
and above) can be used to store personal not provide a warranty, but the known
information when using a shared brands do. If price is not an issue, opt
computer. Current generation BIOSes for a good brand that offers a replace-
also support booting from a USB ment warranty of at least one year.
Flash drive. by the manufacturer in order to protect
Interesting Facts it from damage.
Questions to ask the dealer A USB Flash drive is made up of a NAND- When removing the Flash drive from
Will the Flash drive work on Windows gate circuitry-based Flash memory (a the USB port, always un-mount the
98 and Linux? form of EEPROM) integrated with USB drive, that is, use the ‘Safely remove
Flash drives require a mass storage class 1.1 or 2.0 interface. A Flash drive derives device’ option that Windows provides.
driver. This driver class is included in the power for its operation from the Use write-protect, if available, with
Windows ME, Windows 2000 and host USB port. A USB Flash drive has your drive to avoid accidental overwrite
Windows XP by default. So, users will several names, including “Pen drive,” or deletion of data.
have to download the driver for “Thumb drive,” “USB key,” and more. If you are using some kind of secu-
Windows 98 from the manufacturer’s IBM invented the Flash drive way rity tool, be careful not lose your
site. The USB Flash driver will work in back in 1998 as a replacement for floppy password.
the Linux operating system running drives in their ThinkPad line of prod-
kernel 2.4.6 and above. You may have to ucts, but they never patented it! In the The Future
In order to reduce the overall cost of
Points To Ponder Flash drives, semiconductor corpora-
tions are working on integrating many
Do I need a Flash drive? forth between, say, work and home. Again, if features into a single chip. Lower capac-
Flash drives are meant for those who work you don’t have a reliable Net connection, ity Flash drives are being phased out.
regularly on two or more computers. These consider buying a Flash drive! The U3 platform has been designed
drives come in a variety of capacities. The Are there many manufacturers for this to transform a simple Flash drive into a
primary need of a Flash drive is to transport kind of product? USB smart drive; for this, the applica-
data from one PC to another. Choose one Yes. Of the companies that sell Flash drives, tions used also have to be U3 compliant.
considering the maximum size of data that there are some who contribute to the devel- A U3 smart drive enables a user to carry
you may have to carry around. If you only opment of the technology, and some are local not only his or her data, but also appli-
need to carry around a few small documents, marketing companies. It is advisable to buy a cations that can be used on any
you could, of coure, e-mail them back and Flash drive from a recognised brand. machine, without the need to actually
install those applications.

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HARD DISK DRIVES

T
hose who have been associated titioned. If possible, perform a disk check Do not keep the hard drive loose or
with computers for the past decade using a drive-check utility. vertical within your cabinet. Tightly
would recollect the 32 GB limit—an What is the warranty type? screw in the drive to the cabinet, and do
indication of how early motherboard Prefer drives that come with a replace- not cover it with any insulating material
manufacturers underestimated the ment warranty. such as plastic. A hard drive, like most
development of storage media. Since other components in a PC, needs to dissi-
then, storage capacities seem to have Interesting Facts pate heat and needs ventilation.
skyrocketed; even the speed of data trans- IBM’s ‘Drum’ epitomises the amount of
fer has increased steadily. The interfacing research that has gone into developing
technology between the motherboard what is probably the most important
and the disk drive has seen a major component of a PC—the hard disk. You
improvement as well. can replace your processor; all it takes is
money. But if your hard disk were to
Questions to ask the dealer crash, what happens to your data?
What models do you have? IBM’s Drum was a rotating cylindri-
Although you have a model in mind, you cal device on which data was stored as
should ask the dealer for any new models magnetic patterns. It was replaced with
that have arrived, and compare the hard drives that resemble the ones we
features with the one you’ve decided on. use today, except that they had much
Is the drive brand new? lower capacities and slower speeds. Only use cables that are recom-
Don’t let the dealer con you with a used mended by the manufacturer to inter-
product. Many users are not aware of bad Usage Tips face the hard drive with the
sectors and they use the drive with the Internal hard drives are fragile and motherboard. For instance, if an ATA133
defect—some dealers may try their luck. are not designed to be repeatedly hard drive is interfaced using an ATA66
So check the disk at the dealer’s outlet attached and detached from a system. It IDE cable, data transfer speeds are
by attaching it as a slave to their test is advisable that you be extremely careful affected.
machine and see that the drive is unpar- when transporting your hard drive. If you are using Windows, an occa-
sional disk defragmentation would not
Points To Ponder only clear cluttered data, but will also
improve the performance of the operat-
How large a hard drive do I need? in much larger capacities—as much as 500 GB. ing system.
A good way to decide this is to see the amount The rpm factor is very important as well, as is
of times you have burnt CDs to shift data off the buffer/cache size. Look for a hard disk The Future
your drive. If you do not have a CD-Writer, try with a buffer/cache size of 8 MB or more, and The growing need for space and speed,
and remember how many times you wished you an rpm speed of at least 7200. especially at server levels, has brought
had one, and buy a hard drive accordingly. This What type of hard disk will my researchers back to the drawing board.
question, though, is often decided more by the system support? The need of the moment is, quite simply,
budget than by space requirements. Still, if you Understanding your system is the most impor- higher data densities.
can afford it, buy the largest hard drive you can tant requirement, because if you buy a SATA The single most exciting develop-
afford—you won't regret it! hard drive and your system doesn't support it, ment we see happening is Perpendicu-
What do I look for in a hard drive? you will be forced to upgrade your mother- lar Recording (PR). PR offers much
Currently, hard drives are available in two board or exchange your drive for an older higher storage capacities. In PR, data
different interfaces—Parallel ATA (PATA) and PATA one. bits will be stored “one above the
Serial ATA (SATA). If possible, buy the newer Read through your motherboard manual for other” as a stack of bits, rather than
SATA drives, provided your motherboard SATA support, or open up the cabinet and look “side-by-side” as they are today. We’re
supports these, of course. SATA drives are for the model number and then search the keen to get our hands on a drive that
faster than PATA, and are generally available Internet for the model specifications. uses this technology—and we’re sure
you are, too!

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LAPTOPS
Interesting Facts

L
aptops today are powerful enough Use the power-saving features of the
to take on their desktop counter- The laptop computer was invented by laptop and of the operating system to
parts. They come with features such Adam Osborne of Osborne Computers, a extend battery life.
as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and sport fast book company, in 1981. It was called the Viewing the laptop’s small screen for
processors—some even come with 64 bit Osborne 1 and cost $1,795 (Rs 18,000 in prolonged periods can be very taxing on
processors. Battery life is increasing. And those days). It weighed 24 pounds. Epson the eyes. Consider using a monitor while
the price gap between desktop PCs and later released the HX-20, which had a 20- working in office or at home - many
laptops is reducing at a quick pace. character by 4-line LCD display and an laptops come with a D-Sub connector to
inbuilt printer. In 1989, the NEC Ultralite connect a monitor.
Questions to ask the dealer was released. It weighed just five pounds,
Is it upgradeable? and this is considered by many to have
Though not all the components in the been the first notebook-style laptop. The
laptop will be upgradeable, some Macintosh Portable was also released
major components such as the CPU that year by Apple Computer, which later
and RAM should be. A hot-swappable evolved into the Powerbook.
drive bay will allow you to upgrade the
optical drive. Usage tips
What is the battery life, and is there an Laptops have air outlets to let out
extra battery pack? heated air. Place the laptop in such a way
Ask the dealer if the stated battery life is that there is no obstruction to this outlet.
accurate, in his experience. An extra When you’re using the laptop at
battery pack is a big plus. home or office, consider using a USB To conserve battery charge, turn off
What connectivity options are there? mouse and keyboard—these are more the Wi-Fi when you’re not using it.
Look for USB 2.0, FireWire, a memory ergonomic than the touchpad and the
card and a PC card reader. laptop keyboard. The Future
nVidia has introduced MXM modules,
Points To Ponder which are replaceable graphics cards.
Future laptops will use this approach to
What kind of a notebook do I need? Do I need a processor with power saving upgrade the graphics subsystem, just like
Home users and students should opt for features? in desktops. Laptops with OLED displays
moderately powerful laptops paying less The latest processors from both Intel and AMD are not far off. This will result in
attention to the portability factor. Business come with power saving features. These have an improvement in battery life—OLEDs
professionals should look for connectivity and better battery lives. consume much less power as compared
removable drives in a moderately powerful Do I need DVD reading capabilities? to LCDs.
laptop that is not only portable but also DVD reading has become a must: DVDs have 64-bit processors have already made
rugged. Power users such as gamers and become fairly common, and many programs an appearance in the laptop segment.
multimedia enthusiasts should get a laptop will soon be available only on DVD. In fact, look Dual-core processors, too, are making
with the fastest possible processor and a 3D for a Combo drive or a DVD-Writer. their way into laptops, guaranteeing
graphics card, ignoring portability. What communication options should I considerably higher performance than
How much battery life should it offer? look for? their single-core brethren.
If you will be using the laptop while on the You should look at Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, infrared, Laptops capable of playing multime-
move, high battery life should be given prime Ethernet, and a modem. dia content off CD and DVD without
importance. Two hours is the minimum you What kind of pointing device should booting into the operating system are
should be looking at. Also, look for an addi- it have? already available.
tional battery pack. Choose the pointing device you’re comfortable With the price difference between
Is the hard drive capacity enough for me? with. While a touchpad is preferred by some, laptops and desktops fast closing, you
Most people should be happy with 40 GB. some swear by the pointing stick. shouldn’t be surprised to soon see
laptops entirely replacing desktops!

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LASER MFDS
Questions to ask the dealer
A
n MFD or multifunction device Is the MFD upgradeable?
combines the features of copy- What type of PC interface does Pay attention to upgradeability and
ing, faxing, printing and scan- it have? scalability. Upgrade options will
ning into a single unit. This is a Most laser MFDs support the USB 2.0 extend the functionality of the device
sought-after commodity by small and interface. However, if you are going to as your needs grow.
medium offices because space is of connect it to an old PC, you should What type of warranty is being
prime importance, and since an MFD look for a parallel interface, which will offered?
packs in the functionality of so many most likely be the only interface avail- Laser MFDs are heavy—lugging them
devices in a single unit, it saves that able on that PC.
much space and cost. What is the toner and printer
Laser MFDs are more expensive duty cycle?
than their inkjet counterparts, but The printer duty cycle is the number
they offer superior print quality and of pages the printer can print in a
are much faster. They also require month at default quality settings. The
lower maintenance, and boast of a very toner duty cycle is the total number of
low cost per printed page. As a result, pages that the toner can print. Need-
the popularity of laser MFDs is on the less to say, look for a higher number.
rise. These are basically printer-based Does it support duplex printing?
MFDs, and hence have a higher cost Duplex printing means the ability to
per page and lower page per minute print on both sides of the paper. This
than copier-based MFDs. But they cost eliminates the need for manually flip- around is not feasible; make sure
a lot lower than their copier-based ping the paper and putting it back in. your model is covered by an on-
counterparts. This is useful for printing booklets, site warranty.
A copier-based MFD is nothing but manuals and such.
a digital copier with added function- Does it have networking support? Usage Tip
ality, and has a separate toner Small and medium businesses gener- Not all MFDs have the fax feature. If
cartridge and drum—whereas a ally have a network consisting of you’re not planning on using fax, or if
printer-based MFD is less complex, and a small number of computers, so you already have a fax machine, you
has these two integrated into a single you should look for an MFD with can save a little by investing in an MFD
toner drum. network support. without the fax feature.

Points To Ponder The Future

The next few years will see a lot of
What are the advantages of a laser MFD? printer engine-based MFD. If fax is your main exciting innovations in the laser MFD
Laser MFDs print at the most economical rate concern, opt for a specialised laser fax, which segment. LEP (liquid electro-photo-
and have the lowest running cost. They are very doubles as a laser printer and scanner. graphic) technology used in high-end
fast and their print quality is also very high. What other features should I look for? digital printing presses has the poten-
Are there any disadvantages of an MFD Look for features such as paper capacity, buffer tial to revolutionise office and home
over discrete devices? memory, duplex printing, toner save, etc. Make printing alike. Other innovations such
Yes. If, for example, the scanner of the MFD sure the MFD can print on the kinds of paper as printing over wireless are already on
stops working for some reason, the copier also products you use, such as envelopes and their way to market. Direct printing
will not function since it depends on the index cards. from cell phones is another possibility
scanner. Does it have a user friendly interface? that is being explored. Similarly, there
What type of an MFD should I buy? Try the console interface to figure out how to are advancements being made in the
Consider your usage pattern. If you print less operate the device. Check out the control panel. field of scanners. And with Wi-Fi gain-
and copy more, choose a copier engine-based It should have a good LCD panel to display ing popularity in offices, Wi-Fi capable
MFD. If you print more and copy less, opt for a status messages and warnings. MFDs are something to look forward
to in the near future!

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LCD MONITORS
L
CD monitor prices have dipped in ets that are compliant with the VESA Dead pixels are normally manufactur-
the past few months, and now mounting standards. Enquire if the LCD ing defects, and usually go unnoticed.
even budget home users can afford you are buying has this feature or if you
one. Apart from the cost of the LCD, need to spend extra money to get it done. Usage Tips
there has been remarkable improve- Can I connect a VCD/DVD directly to Do not keep an LCD monitor On when
ment in the quality of colour repro- my LCD? the system is idle—this will reduce its life.
duction. Manufacturers are Some LCDs have an S-Video connector, An LCD screen is made up of fine crys-
introducing screens with lower which allows you to connect VCD/DVD tal sheets, and you may notice a change
response times, wide-screen displays, players directly to your screen.
anti-glare coatings, etc. However, Can I use the LCD on both Mac and PC
choosing an LCD over a CRT monitor systems?
must be done after understanding the There are some LCDs that support both
advantages of each. Mac and PC systems.
Does the manufacturer support the
Questions To Ask The Dealer product with warranty and service
What is the native resolution? centres?
LCD screens, unlike CRT monitors, have Make sure that the manufacturer
a fixed maximum resolution called the supports their product with a good
native resolution, which is set by the warranty period, and also check for serv-
manufacturer. This resolution will vary ice centres close to your home.
depending on screen type (such as SVGA, in colour as soon as you touch it. Use non-
XGA, WXGA etc) and screen size (12 inch, Interesting Facts static cloth or cotton cloth to clean your
15 inch etc). Not many of us are aware of dead pixel LCD screen. Protect the LCD from any
Does the LCD monitor support wall- phenomenon in liquid crystal displays. kind of jerks, because any damage of the
mounting? A dead pixel is a pixel on an LCD screen liquid crystal alignment is permanent.
You can mount an LCD on a wall using that doesn’t light up when it should be Some LCDs have memory card read-
certain wall mount patterns and brack- active and displaying some colour. ers using which you can run movies or
clips or see photos without having to
Points To Ponder start your PC.
If open windows do not fit properly
Will LCD monitor suit all PC users? black; it is simply an indication of the colour on the screen, you can use the auto reso-
The technology involved in CRT is different representation of LCD. A contrast ratio of lution set button—which is available on
from LCD; each has its own advantages. The 400:1 and above is a good choice. most LCDs—to automatically resize the
LCD immediately impresses an onlooker or Luminance is an indicator of how bright a screen to fit within the LCD.
buyer for its sleek ‘lifestyle-like’ look, power surface—here, the LCD Screen—will appear
consumption and the soothing effect it lends when looking at it from a particular angle. The Future
to the eyes of a user. Therefore, LCD suits For a PC, an LCD screen with a luminance Usage of LCD is gaining popularity—LCD
users who are into documentation, program- factor between 320 cd/m2 and 400cd/m2 TV entered the Indian market some time
ming, and other non-moving graphics-inten- is ideal. ago and is now making its presence felt
sive work. CRT is a better option for gamers Response times give us an idea of how fast with 17- and 21- inch screens. There is still
and frequent movie goers since LCDs do not an LCD can respond to fast-moving images. a long way to go for them to enter every
respond fast enough when displaying moving An LCD with a high response time results in household. Just like the LCD monitor,
graphics. the streaking effect, which is, basically, slight LCD TVs are expensive to begin with.
What are the important parameters to blurring of the image. To avoid this, look for These new sets can be interfaced with a
consider when buying a LCD? low response times. The recommended PC, VCD/DVD player etc. and also sport
Contrast ratio is the measure of light intensi- response time for gaming and movies is memory card slots. Before it can chal-
ty between the brightest white and darkest 10 milliseconds. lenge plasma TVs, LCD technology is yet
to overcome poor viewing angles!

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MOTHERBOARDS
T
he motherboard is one of the most Express graphics card at a later date. factor gained prominence duding the
important of all the PC compo- Does the motherboard have overclocking era of the Intel 80386 processors. The
nents—it handles all the compo- features? ATX form factor, a miniaturisation of
nents and their interactions with each While most motherboards have over- the AT, was next, and this was again
other. System performance depends to a clocking features of some sort, miniaturised into Mini ATX and Micro
large extent on the motherboard. Today, some manufacturers offer extensive ATX which are in use today.
we see motherboards that come with a overclocking features on their premium The architecture of the motherboard
host of features such as RAID, SATA, boards. evolved from the ISA to PCI and now to
WiFi, SLI, etc., to name a few. The archi- Does the motherboard support faster PCI-Express.
tecture has also evolved from the slow CPUs and memory?
ISA bus to the faster PCI bus and now on You should verify that the motherboard
to the even faster PCI-Express bus. supports faster processors than what you
are currently purchasing. It should have
Questions To Ask The Dealer support for memories with speeds faster
Does the motherboard have dual-core than what you have right now. This is
processor support? important for upgrades in the future.
This can be usually determined from the
chipset on which the motherboard is Interesting Facts
based. But certain chipsets are known to Motherboards have been available in a
partially support or require a BIOS variety of form factors designed mainly
update to support dual-core processors. keeping the size of the computer cabi-
Is the motherboard graphics net in perspective. IBM created the Usage Tips
upgradeable? PC/XT for the IBM PC in 1981, and soon Check the motherboard manufac-
If the motherboard you’re looking at it became the de facto standard for moth- turer’s Web site periodically for updated
purchasing has onboard graphics, check erboards. Then came the AT form BIOS, chipset and other integrated
if it has a PCI-Express graphics slot. This factor—also known as full AT—which component drivers. These updated driv-
will enable you to upgrade to a faster PCI- succeeded the PC/XT, and this form ers provide bug fixes and enhance system
performance.
Points To Ponder If you are overclocking, use a power
supply of at least 400 watts for stability.
Should I opt for a PCIe- or AGP-based than a full ATX motherboard, which will not CD and DVD writers are likely to
motherboard? fit. It should be noted that a full ATX produce coasters when a system is over-
AGP is all but obsolete. PCIe has almost motherboard generally comes with better clocked, so you should not overclock if
replaced it. And if you plan to upgrade the features, and is priced higher. you need to do tasks—such as disc
graphics of your PC at a later date, PCIe What type of power supply connector does buring—that are dependent on the
would be your best bet. the motherboard require? system’s FSB.
Is the onboard graphics capable of There are two types of power supply While mounting the processor on
running Windows Vista? connectors—20-pin and 24-pin. Make sure the motherboard socket, take care to
In order to be able to run Windows Vista, the that you check this if you are upgrading the properly align the notch on the CPU
motherboard’s onboard graphics must be motherboard. with that on the socket to avoid damage
DirectX 9 compliant. What are the frills that I should look for in to the processor or motherboard.
What form factor should the motherboard a motherboard? A motherboard needs housekeeping,
have? Buy a motherboard that has features such as and you should periodically clean it to
If you are upgrading, buy a motherboard with FireWire, USB 2.0, SATA, RAID, and support remove the dust that gathers. This
the form factor that can fit inside your PC for 64-bit processors and dual-core reduces accumulation of heat and static
cabinet. If you have a small cabinet, a Micro processors as well as dual graphics card electricity, and lengthens the life of the
ATX motherboard should be purchased rather configurations such as SLI and CrossFire. motherboard along with that of
other components.

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MP3 PLAYERS
P
ortable cassette players became How long will the battery last, and what This victory was almost the turning
history when MP3 players were type of battery is it? point; more and more companies came
introduced. Initially, there were Most people like rechargeable batteries, up with products… competition rose,
only a few models to choose from, but while some prefer AA or AAA cells. and the rest is history.
now they’re crawling out of the Make sure you confirm that the battery
woodwork! is user-replaceable! Usage Tips
Does the manufacturer have service Quite often, the earphones bundled
Questions To Ask The Dealer centres and how long is the warranty with the player may not be top-notch. If
What is the storage capacity, and are period?
there any additional features? It is important to check for warranties.
Even if you know what the capacity of Also, confirm that the manufacturer
a particular model is, it is better to has service centres across the country.
cross- check with the dealer. Also bear
in mind your growing music collec- Interesting Facts
tion—you certainly don’t want to be Digital Audio Player (DAP) is the
disappointed about your purchase a ‘formal’ name of MP3 player, but due
few months down the line. Ask about to the ubiquity of the format, the name
additional features in a model. These ‘MP3 player’ still exists. Early DAPs
additional features include video play- were CD players and mini disc players.
back, varied format support, and The first non-mechanical DAP was
the number of colours the LCD introduced in the summer of 1998, and you think the sound quality isn’t great,
screen supports. had 32 MB of memory. The second DAP try changing the earphones before
Does it record? was released in September 1998 and returning the player.
If your job requires you to record voice was a big hit; the popularity of the Some manufacturers provide special
when at meetings or press conferences, player was followed with lawsuits that casings for their players to protect them
you will need this feature. If the player were won by the manufacturer. The from scratches and dust; if you have
has FM radio, you should ask if it can lawsuits, however, alleged that the something like this, use it.
record FM as well. device aided illegal copying of music. Some players need specific applica-
tions to transfer music files to and from
Points To Ponder the player, whereas some are just plug
and transfer (via the USB port).
What are the types of MP3 Players? however, expensive if cost per MB of storage is
There are two basic types of MP3 players, considered. The Future
Flash-based and hard drive-based. Flash- Which one fits the bill? Mobile phones have started including
based players have memory made up of solid- It’s just a matter of the right combination of the MP3 playback feature. This, as a
state semiconductors, while hard disk drive- features. The supported audio formats may matter of fact, has pushed MP3 player
based players, as the name suggests, have not be too important to you, but if you have manufacturers into a corner, demand-
memory units mostly made of 1.8-inch files in other formats, say OGG, then you have ing more out of them at affordable
hard disks. to look at the supported formats very care- costs. Flash-based drives will come
Which type of player suits me? fully. Once you’ve narrowed the list down to a with higher capacities of up to 8 GB by
Hard drive-based MP3 players are usually few players that have the features you’re look- the end of 2006, and 16 GB by 2007.
more feature-rich than Flash-based ones. ing for, it’s time you chose a player based on More and more MP3 players are
They normally have larger screens and a your favourite brand. Brand name becomes a turning to video playback capability to
larger capacity. If you among those who listen factor because certain manufacturers have gain a market advantage. In the
to music while jogging and such activities, attained popularity based on the excellence of future, we’ll see almost all portable
hard drive-based players are not for you. their products, and so you are assured of qual- players playing back video—even
Flash-based players are very robust. They are, ity without a doubt. DivX—and perhaps then we’ll have to
drop the ‘MP3 player’ name tag!

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MULTIFUNCTIONAL COPIERS
Usage tips

T
he multifunction copier is an available with multifunctional
MFD based on a copier-based copiers? Power users or high-production
engine. Being copier-based Some of the upgrades available are departments should be put on a sepa-
implies that the cost is much higher as below: rate network segment to minimise LAN
than that of a printer-based MFD, but Puncher: This enables punching of congestion in case of networked
the duty cycles are much higher. The holes in the print medium after print- devices.
multifunction copier is very rugged, ing. This is useful for binding purposes. Use the software tools provided with
and its cost per page is also much lower Binder: Sheets of papers can be trans- the device to manage printer resources
compared to that of its printer-based formed into booklets using this
cousins. It is also capable of standalone feature.
operation. Duplex Automatic Document Feeder:
The multifunction copier usually Most MFDs come with an ADF, but
caters to corporate users such as enter- a duplex ADF can also be added to
prises, DTPs and the legal industry, some MFDs.
where high-volume output is the need. Stacker: If you need additional output
capabilities, a stacker augments the
Questions to ask the dealer output paper capacity.
What is the maximum possible scan The above features and more are
and print size? available on some models, but these
Look for a product that can scan and can be added any time after purchase
print documents large enough for your to most of the models that don’t come across the network and reduce support
particular needs. with these frills. time and maintenance expenditure.
What are the toner and printer duty What is the warranty offered? Certain devices provide clustering
cycles? Given the heavy-duty usage of this class capabilities, where the print job is
The printer duty cycle is the number of of products, warranty is of the utmost spanned across multiple devices, thus
pages the printer can print in a month importance. Every player in this arena increasing the page output per minute.
at default quality settings. The toner offers on-site warranties. Therefore,
duty cycle is the total number of pages what you need to for is how good the The Future
the toner can print. Needless to say, service network is, in addition to, of Quite a few innovations are underway
look for a higher number. course, how many years the warranty in the field of multifunction copiers.
What are the additional upgrades is for. Some already have features similar to
computers, such as a CPU, RAM and
Points To Ponder hard drive.
Upcoming technologies include
Why should I buy a multifunction copier in What are the advantages of a copier- Canon’s Multifunctional Embedded
the first place? based MFD? Application Platform (MEAP) J2ME
Opt for an multifunction copier when: Copier-based MFDs have a separate toner and Java-based technology, which enables
You wish to save office space, and/or want drum. This means that when one of them is customised business applications to
to replace your copier with a better solution exhausted, you need to replace only that. This be created and installed on the device.
Your print volumes are very high reduces the overall running cost as compared These can be controlled via the MFD’s
You want to be able to purchase add-ons as to printer-based solutions, where the toner— user interface. As an example, using
your needs grow which is not separable from the drum—has an MEAP application installed on a
You require advanced features such as to be discarded and replaced when it’s device, a bank could train the device
advanced document management exhausted. to differentiate between a home loan,
You wish to eliminate the time lost in moving In addition to this, the printer duty personal loan and credit card
documents from one device to another—such cycle is very high, and print speeds are also application, and the device could elec-
as printer to fax very high. tronically route scanned paperwork
for processing.

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OCR SOFTWARE
O
ptical Character Recognition useful when there are a large number order to increase the OCR’s accuracy.
(OCR) is the process of transla- of documents to be scanned. Using this While scanning text documents,
tion of optically scanned feature, you can just stack up the docu- use 300 dpi, and scan in line art mode.
bitmaps of written or printed text into ments in the ADF (a scanner with an This will greatly reduce the size of the
character codes such as ASCII—mean- ADF is necessary in this case) instead scanned file without any loss in accu-
ing you scan a newspaper clip (or of sitting in front of the scanner and racy. The scanning speed will also be
anything else) and extract the text feeding in one paper at a time. faster.
from it. OCR software is used to
convert a scanned document into a Interesting Facts
document understandable by a word David Shepard, a cryptanalyst at AFSA,
processor. the forerunner of the National Secu-
Such software is not limited to rity Agency of the USA, along with Dr.
offices; it can even be used at home. As Louis Tordella and Harvey Cook, built
an example, you can scan a form, use ‘Gismo’—a machine that could convert
OCR to convert it to a document, and printed messages to machine language
fill it in electronically, thus eliminat- for computer processing, in 1951. Shep-
ing the need to fill in a new form in ard then founded the Intelligent
case you make a mistake. Or, say you Machines Research Corporation, or
want to send someone a newspaper IMR, and went on to deliver the world’s
clip. Instead of cutting up the newspa- first OCR systems used in commercial If the OCR software allows you to
per and then relying on snail-mail, you operation. The first IMR scanner was control the threshold (brightness), try
could scan the paper and send off the installed at the Readers Digest in 1955. using different threshold levels to scan
content as an e-mail attachment! Postal departments around the world a document that’s giving you a high
OCR software really does seem have been using such equipment for a number of errors. You could be able to
amazing the first time you use it—good very long time now. improve the accuracy.
OCR software will recognise fonts, Keep the glass pane of the scanner
pictures, formatting, and much more. Usage tips clean—this, too, improves the OCR
The document to be scanned must accuracy.
Questions to ask the dealer be free of wrinkles, ears, smudges or
Does it save in a variety of formats? creases in order to increase accuracy. The Future
Most OCR software save documents in Keep a white paper sheet behind Advances are being made in the field
Word format. Apart from this, look for the document to be OCRed, especially of OCR, such as the Predictive Optical
support for saving in other formats when you are scanning a newspaper or Word Recognition algorithm from
such as PDF, HTML and Excel. thin paper. Scansoft Inc. Research is being done on
Does it support batch processing? Keep the edges of the document document recognition in which the
The batch processing feature is very aligned with that of the scanner in software will use knowledge of parts
of speech and grammar to recognise
Points To Ponder individual characters. OCR software
today offers an accuracy of 90 per cent,
Is it accurate enough for me? mistakes during previous OCR sessions, and but with the introduction of software
This will depend on the importance of the adapts so as not to repeat the same mistakes. being able to train, this is expected to
documents you are OCR-ing: if you will not be Is the price justified? improve. Similarly, efforts are under-
OCr-ing critical documents, go for a cheaper In OCR software, very often, the price doesn’t way to improve script and handwritten
OCR software. correlate with how good the software is. You’ll recognition. Improvements are not
Does it have a learning mode? need to get an informed opinion on this. Try only being done on the software algo-
Many OCR software come with a learning and ask those in the know, and don’t rely rithms, but also in the hardware
mode. In this, the software learns from its entirely on what the vendor says. aspect, using better quality CCDs in
the scanner elements.

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OPTICAL MEDIA
C
omputers rely on optical storage speed. Check this, and buy the one that lint cloth. Do not clean the CD/DVD in a
media such as CDs and DVDs to supports the highest speed. circular motion—clean across the radius,
back up and store data because of Is it scratch-resistant? moving from the centre towards the edge
the sheer speed, the huge storage capaci- There are some media available which in a straight line.
ties, and also convenience and cost. The have a protective coating that reduces its Store optical media in a cool place
booming video CD, audio CD and movie susceptibility to getting scratched. away from direct sunlight and other
DVD industries are testimony to the Though such media come at a premium, sources of heat, as this is likely to damage
success of the optical storage medium. As go for them if the data you are writing is the medium.
important as the optical media writers very important.
may be, the optical storage media is no What is the maximum capacity of
less important. the disc?
There are some discs available whose
Questions to ask the dealer sizes are a cut above the regular media,
Is the media compatible with all for example, 800 MB CDs. These can be
optical drives? useful if you have files whose sizes exceed
Some brands of CD and DVD media have 700 MB. Again, your CD/DVD writer
known compatibility problems with should support writing to such a disc.
certain brands of CD and DVD drives. What is the warranty, if any?
Some encounter problems burning in a Some manufacturers provide a replace-
specified brand of optical writer, whereas ment warranty for their media, and you
other media can be burnt perfectly in the should check which manufacturers do so. While creating an audio CD, burn it
same writer. Such problems are usually at a slow speed, such as 8x, so that older
specified on the drive and/or media Usage tips CD players with poorer lasers will be able
manufacturer’s Web site, and before While labelling on the CD/DVD media to play the disc thus created.
purchasing the media, you should do face using a marker pen, use the lowest Do not rely solely on optical media for
some research about whether it will work possible pressure so as to avoid damage. data storage and backup, as they tend to
in your optical drive. If burning at the maximum speed degrade over a period of time and become
Is it certified to burn at a specified almost always produces a coaster, try unreliable.
speed? lowering the speed.
Every optical media is certified to be able Avoid touching the surface of the disc. The Future
to be written to at a certain maximum While cleaning a CD/DVD, use a soft Optical media have evolved from CD to
DVD and now to Blu-ray and HD-DVD. This
Points To Ponder has been possible with technological
advances that make it possible to use
Will the particular type of media work in Are there compatibility problems with lasers of higher frequency and shorter
my drive? various DVD formats? wavelength, which makes it possible to
This problem is regarding DVDs. There are There are certain incompatibilities in certain store a larger amount of data on a disc of
many different types of DVDs, including DVD-R, types of DVD media. As an example, a the same size.
DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-R DL, DVD+R DVD+R/RW drive can’t write a DVD-R or DVD- Blu-ray, with storage capacities of 25
DL and DVD-RAM. Most drives support almost RW disc, and vice versa. or 50 GB, and HD-DVD, with capacities of
every type of media these days, but there are Does it support overburning? 15, 30 or 45 GB, are almost here, and are
some media such as DVD-RAM which very few Overburning is the process of writing to an opti- set to replace DVD. These make it possi-
drives support. Also, some drives may read cal disc beyond its specified capacity. As an ble to record over two hours of HDTV—or,
dual-layer DVDs, but may support writing only example, using overburning, 715 MB of data for us, over 13 hours of standard TV
to DVD+R dual-layer media. Also find out if the may be written to a 700 MB disc. This has to be broadcast. Some way in the future is 3D
specified media capacity (such as 800 MB CDs) supported by the media as well as the drive, Volume Optical Storage Nanotechnology,
is supported by your optical drive. and also by the CD/DVD writing software. which promises to be able to cram 100
terabytes of data onto a single disc!

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PROJECTORS
V
ideo projectors come in two separate connector or adapter. Ask about semiconductor chip known as the DMD
flavours—tubed and LCP (Liquid this connector. (Digital Micromirror Device), which is
Crystal Projection). Tubed projec- What extra features are available? made up of millions of tiny mirrors that
tors are widely used in cinemas and Look for features such as power zoom, a can rotate at an angle of 10 to 12
public displays. The LCP type of projectors remote control, and input ports such as degrees. These mirrors can be switched
are again classified as standard LCD, poly- DVI, BNC, and S-Video and audio. on and off thousands of times per
silicon LCD and DLP (digital light process- second, and direct light towards and
ing)—the latter is fast gaining Usage tips away from the pixel space.
prominence. The image quality of tubed Avoid using an LCD projector at a
projectors is better than that of LCP, but stretch for more than 10 hours. The heat
tubed projectors are much heavier. will cause the quality of the LCD to dete-
riorate, and may even cause permanent
Questions to ask the dealer damage to the LCD.
Does it have a zoom lens? In order to achieve optimal viewing
A zoom lens allows you to adjust the size quality, increase the brightness of the
of the projected image, which is very projector in places where total darkness
convenient and allows you to project on cannot be achieved.
screens of various sizes and at varying Always remember that the projector
distances. will do its job best when its resolution
What are the video formats supported? matches that of the computer you're
The projector should support a minimum connecting it to. So, if you're using a DLP projectors are generally believed
of three video formats—NTSC, PAL and projector with SVGA resolution, set your to provide smoother images and better
SECAM. computer to 800 x 600 resolution. colour accuracy, and have lower power
Does it have ceiling mount support? Never rely on the Internet connection consumption as well as higher contrast
Verify if the projector can be mounted on for presentation of a Web site! Download and brightness than LCD projectors.
the ceiling, and also if it is capable of the pages beforehand, or take screen- CRT projectors aren’t very often used,
projecting images upside down. shots of the Web pages and make slides and we haven’t even mentioned them
Can it be used with a Mac? from these. thus far. As it happens, the image quality
PC and PC compatibles should not have offered by a CRT projector is tough to
much of a problem in this regard, but if Interesting Facts beat! The problem here is that the cost is
you are using a Macintosh, it requires a DLP technology is based on an optical very high, the projector is too large, and
the calibration needs expertise.
Points To Ponder
The Future
How bright should the projector be? going to use the projector for. XGA is suitable Various new types of projector technolo-
The brightness of a projector is specified in for projecting finer images such as spread- gies are being developed or are nearly
ANSI lumens. Typically, small conference rooms sheets, where numbers and letters need to be available. LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon
or classrooms require less than 1000 lumens. legible. For very fine images such as engineer- wafer) is a combination of the LCD and
Large conference rooms, say, may require 2000 ing drawings, and high-resolution maps, you DLP technologies. It has high pixel
to 3000 lumens, whereas auditoriums, theatres might need SXGA or even UXGA, depending on density, which results in high-resolution
and the like require projectors with a bright- the resolution of the image to be projected. projectors that are especially good for
ness above 3000 lumens. What about the weight and portability? multimedia applications. LCOS resolu-
What should the resolution be? If you travel, and make presentations on the go, tion starts at SXGA. Then there is holo-
The various resolutions available are SVGA the projector should be light enough to carry graphic projection, in which a projector
(800 x 600), XGA (1024 x 768), SXGA (1280 x around. If you only intend to make presenta- shines on a thin holographic screen
1024) and UXGA (1600 x 1200). SVGA is tions at your office, for example, a heavier attached to a semi-transparent surface
perfectly OK if presentations are what you are projector should be just fine. such as plexi-glass—and the image
appears to float in mid-air!

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RAM
T
his era belongs to DDR RAM. DDR content. Static RAM is faster than SDRAM, like most logic circuits,
started with a speed of 266 MHz, Dynamic RAM for this reason, but is very responds only to the low-to-high transi-
and now has clocked speeds of expensive. tion of a clock pulse. This led to the evolu-
1066 MHz (DDR2). The market has DRAM is used for fabricating system tion of DDR (Double Data Rate) RAM,
recently witnessed changes such as the memory as it is cheap. The RAM we use which reacts to both the low-to-high and
implementation of dual-channel RAM. today is an evolution of DRAM. The earli- high-to-low transitions of the clock
est of this family was FPM DRAM (Fast pulse—so it can read/write data twice in a
Questions to ask the dealer Page Mode DRAM); it was designed to single clock pulse.
What type of packaging does the enhance system performance when read-
module come in? ing or writing bursts of data. Later came
Prefer RAM modules that come in EDO (Extended Data Out) RAM, which
tamper-proof packages. Also check with had a feature by which it could start a
the dealer about the hologram, if any, new access cycle while maintaining the
to verify the originality of the RAM data output of the previous cycle.
module. The demand for more speed and
Does the RAM come with a warranty? If performance led to the development of
so, how long is the warranty period? SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM). DRAM is
The warranty is manufacturer-depend- asynchronous; SDRAM synchronises with
ent. Some manufacturers give a three- the clock pulses when responding to the
year warranty, and others give only one incoming commands. This changed the
year. It’s therefore important to ask the method of functioning of DRAM by
dealer about the warranty. enabling more complex patterns of oper- Usage Tips
ation. But the pipelining involved here In the BIOS, select the highest clock
Interesting facts led to a slight delay termed latency, which setting supported by the system. Prefer
Static RAM maintains its data for as long means that data is accepted even before it a low-latency memory module if you
as the memory chip is supplied with is actually written to the address. Simi- intend to overclock it for a better
power. Dynamic RAM needs continuous larly, requested data is read a few clock gaming experience.
re-writing of data so as to maintain its pulses after issuing the read command. A lower CAS latency setting leads
to a slight improvement in perform-
Points To Ponder ance.
While inserting a RAM module,
What type of RAM is supported by my ing and such, you shouldn’t need more than match the notch on the RAM chip with
system? 256 MB. Graphics professionals should look for that on the motherboard RAM slot.
You need to first figure out what basic type of at least 512 MB of RAM. 512 MB will also result Hold the RAM at the ends and use your
RAM (SDRAM, DDR RAM or RDRAM) is in a slight performance increase for those thumb to push it into the slot. You will
supported by your system. This information is with moderate computing requirements. hear the lock on the motherboard slot
available in your motherboard’s manual. Gamers, of course, should start with nothing snap, which indicates that the RAM is
Second, find out the speed of the RAM less than 1 GB. fixed. If you are not able push it in,
supported by your motherboard. The speed What should I consider when upgrading don’t force the module—instead, cross-
may be 266, 333 and 400 MHz for DDR, and 533 RAM? check the position of the notches and
or 800 MHz for DDR2. For RDRAM the speeds It is very important that the new RAM module also make sure you have opened the
are 533 and 800 MHz, and the older SDRAM’s match the older module(s). That is, if the clock locks of the slot.
clock ticks at 66, 100, 133 and 166 MHz. speed of the new RAM module is different from When cleaning a RAM module, do
How much memory do I need? that of the older one(s), the mismatch will not use cloth—especially artificial
Our answer is “as much as you can afford.” If result in frequent reboots. The POST screen fabric such as nylon—because it causes
that doesn’t make sense, look at your needs. If displays the clock speed of the RAM below the static charges that may damage the
you use your system mainly for Internet brows- memory count. module. Use an eraser to clean the
system bus interfacing pins.

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SPEAKERS
R
emember when a branded PC you’re familiar with. To test the bass is not fixed properly by the engineers, it
came with two speakers with a output, turn the volume high and play will result in poor sound output. Thus,
simple On/Off button and a a song that produces bass (drum beats a replacement warranty is preferred.
volume control knob? Today, most and bass guitar); listen carefully to the
branded PCs bundle sub-woofer speaker sound from the sub-woofer and check Usage Tips
systems. The reason is mainly because for cracking or jarring. It is appropriate to place the sub-
newer motherboards feature onboard If it passes this test, play a song that woofer below ear level and on a solid
sound with up to 7.1 channels. This has stringed instruments such as platform. If the woofer fires in horizontal
means we’ve moved into an era where violins or lead guitar and check the
the PC has become an affordable alter- output from the speakers at high and
native to a home theatre system—thanks low volumes. If the sound doesn’t crack
to the advancement in the technology at high volumes then the speakers have
of PC sub-woofers and speakers. passed the test. Finally, if at low
You will find multiple and affordable volumes the sound is clear and distinct
choices for PC sub-woofer systems in the enough for you to be able to distin-
market, and most often, you’re not sure guish every note variation, you have a
which one would be the right choice for real winner.
your machine.
What sort of warranty do I get?
Questions To Ask The Dealer Don’t forget to ask the dealer about
Can I listen to the system? replacement warranties because direction, with the hole on the woofer
Ask for a demonstration and test the woofers are delicate things to repair. For being parallel to the ground, place it
sample sub-woofer system using music instance, if the cone of the sub-woofer facing a wall for good bass.

Points To Ponder If the room is large, angle the speak-

ers towards yourself, and if the room is
What are my requirements? which is not a true measure of the amplifier, small, face them towards the walls to get
The type of music you listen to is a crucial and so you must check the RMS power rating. uniform surround sound.
parameter: it helps you decide on a two- Any rating above 20 watt RMS is very good.
speaker or sub-woofer system. If you are not Also, prefer a speaker set with a wired The Future
very particular about the quality of sound or wireless remote control for the sake Computer accessories are getting a
output, and the music you listen doesn’t of convenience. lifestyle angle, and so are speakers. Big
produce too much bass, you can settle for a Are there any physical considerations? brands in sound system technology
two-speaker system; otherwise, you will need Yes. Wood is an ideal material for sound have entered the computer speaker
a sub-woofer system. systems, and so a sub-woofer with a wooden market, challenging the big compa-
What else should I know before I buy? casing is a good choice. Gold-plated nies by providing high-quality Dolby
Check if your sound card or on-board sound connectors are preferred because gold plating Digital systems.
supports more than two channels. If the eliminates oxidisation of connectors and The future will see more advance-
sound card is two-channel, then a 5.1 sub- provides low resistance, thus improving the ments in THX technology, and the
woofer will not produce actual 5.1-channel output quality; the heat dissipation also development of separate, powerful
output. You can override this problem by improves due to gold plating. Gold-plated amplifiers that can be interfaced with a
employing a good sound card with 5.1-channel connectors may not be part of the pack, so PC sound card producing output in
(or above) sound. This will add to the overall you may have to buy them separately. The excess of 150 watts rms.
cost of a sub-woofer speaker system. A size of the sub-woofer should be proportional Now is perhaps not the right time to
speaker set’s manufacturer specification is to the RMS power; small size and high output invest in a home theatre, especially if
all-important. Most manufacturers specify the power will result in cracking of sound due to you’re buying a top-of-the-line PC and
output as PMPO (Peak Music Power Output), quick and multiple sound reflections. speaker system! Also look for wireless
speakers with THX certification.

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TV-TUNERS
C
onsumers expect their PCs to not broadcasts in India. If you happen to have riorating the quality of reception.
just be a computing machine—they encrypted cable services such as DTH, For optimal quality reception, select
increasingly want it to perform as then you will need a digital TV-Tuner, the proper TV system for your region in
an entertainment device. The TV-Tuner is which might not be available. the PVR software.
one of the prime components that add Does it feature FM radio? Install third-party codecs such as DivX,
this functionality to the PC. Feature- FM radio is a feature is not worth miss- because videos in this format offer good
packed TV-Tuners these days are giving ing, considering the little extra you’ll quality in smaller file sizes than formats
TVs—or for that matter, standalone home have to pay. such as MPEG 1 and 2.
theatres—a run for their money, given What kind of driver support is there for
their extremely low prices. the particular model of TV-Tuner you
There are three types of TV-Tuners intend to buy?
available in the Indian market—internal Driver support is very important for a TV-
PCI cards, external USB 2.0, and external Tuner in order to keep up with newer
set-top tuners. While the first two support operating systems. Considering this
recording in addition to viewing, the aspect, buying a TV-Tuner card from a
latter connects directly to a monitor, and known brand is advisable.
does not support recording.
Usage tips
Questions to ask the dealer Check for updated drivers for your
Does the card come with a remote? model on the manufacturer’s Web site
A TV-Tuner with a remote control will because newer drivers generally contain Interesting Facts
offer you the same convenience your TV many bug fixes. In 1989-90, VCA frame-grabber cards were
remote offers you, and much more! In many cases, you might want to launched. These were capable of single-
Does it have the ‘Pause live TV’ feature? install third-party PVR software for better frame capture. Shortly afterwards, the
Many TV-Tuner cards allow you to pause functionality and features than what IBM M-Motion Adapter was launched on
live TV and continue where you left off! comes bundled. the IBM PS/2 workstation, and this was
Do I need to install any drivers for While capturing, background later replaced by the IBM Action Media II
the TV-Tuner? programs including the Anti-Virus card, which could capture video at 30 fps.
For set-top TV-Tuners, there is no need to program should be shut down, as these It was in 1992 that Animation Studios
install any drivers to be able to view TV. may affect the capture process. (LifeView) and Hauppauge introduced the
Will it work at my place? Minimise the number of joints in the first TV-Tuner cards for the PC
You should check the TV standards the co-axial cable that brings the signal to
TV-Tuner supports. It should support the your TV-Tuner card. Each joint causes a The Future
PAL standard to be able to receive TV drop in the magnitude of the signal, dete- Microsoft’s launch of the Windows Media
Centre PC, of which the TV-Tuner is prob-
Points To Ponder ably the most important component,
signals the beginning of the transforma-
Will the TV-Tuner be able to capture TV What does a TV-Tuner need in order to tion of the PC into a full-fledged enter-
broadcasts with decent quality? capture content from any video source? tainment centre.
This depends more on your system configura- Check for ports such as S-Video and Composite Much of India can only receive
tion and the video format in which you intend In, which facilitate capture from video sources. analogue television signals, but with the
to capture than on the TV-Tuner itself. A 2.0 Some TV-Tuners have a FireWire port, and so appearance of digital encrypted services
GHz processor, a 7200 rpm hard drive with can even capture video from digital video such as DTH starting to make their pres-
enough free space, and 512 MB of RAM will sources. A TV-Tuner can capture video at a ence felt, this will change.
generally yield good quality video capture. decent quality, but you should consider getting Many countries are already shifting
Capturing in MPEG2 is more taxing on the a dedicated capture card for professional- to Digital Terrestrial Transmission. Digi-
system than capturing in DivX or XVID. quality capture. tal TV-Tuners will become commonplace
in the near future.

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UPS
W
ith the power situation in India Does the UPS feature modem and surge reduces PC downtime while the UPS is
showing no signs of improving, protection? dysfunctional.
it’s the UPS market that’s Most UPSes—but not all—come with
getting better! The UPS (Uninterruptible modem and power surge protection, Usage Tips
Power Supply) provides a PC with a grace which can be a lifesaver for your PC Periodically check the UPS by deliber-
power backup time in which open appli- in extreme scenarios such as thunder- ately stopping the power supply.
cations can be saved and closed and the storms. Completely discharge the batteries
PC shut down normally. More home users What kind of warranty does the dealer about once a month—this enhances the
than ever before are investing in UPSes. provide?
While there are many different types You should look for an on-site warranty
of UPSes, the common ones are Standby for the UPS, since the UPS is likely to be
UPSes, which become operational in the heavy. Similarly, look for UPSes from
event of a power failure; Online UPSes, manufacturers that provide a support
which power the PC all the time; and number and have a good support
Line-interactive UPSes, which are the network.
same as Standby UPSes, but which Does the UPS produce a sine wave
provide limited voltage regulation. output?
Generally, cheaper UPSes produce a
Questions to ask the dealer square wave output, and those producing
Does the UPS feature any sort of voltage a sine wave are more expensive. A sine
regulation? wave UPS is much more efficient than the life of the batteries and increases the time
Some UPSes come with AVR (Automatic square wave type, and the power it for which they stay On when powering
Voltage Regulation), which reduces the supplies is closer to normal AC power. the PC.
damage caused by brownouts. A Does it have a manual bypass switch? The monitoring software that comes
brownout is a period when the electrical With a bypass switch, the UPS allow will bundled with the UPS can automatically
voltage is reduced below normal level— pass power to through it to your equip- shut down the PC when there’s a power
you see this when the lights get dim. ment if it is broken or being serviced. This failure and the battery charge becomes
critically low.
Points To Ponder Do not overload the UPS by connect-
ing equipment such as laser printers
What type of UPS do I need? How should I decide on the power rating of which draw heavy power, unless the
A Standby UPS is the most commonly available the UPS? manufacturer has specified that you
type. This type of UPS charges when the AC To decide on the power or VA rating of the UPS, can do this.
power supply is on, and springs into action in you need to take into account the power rating of Don’t subject the UPS to temperature
the event of a power failure. your PC’s power supply, the size of the monitor, or humidity extremes, dust, or static
The issue here is that when the power goes and any extra accessories connected to the PC electricity. Keep the area around the
out, the switch to battery power happens almost that you may want the UPS to power. As a simple UPS clean.
instantly, but not quite; and though it’s rare, rule, multiply the power rating of your PC’s power Make sure the UPS is properly earthed
there’s a chance that the switching might not be supply in watts by 1.4, and add it to the product all times.
fast enough, in which case the PC could get of the volt and ampere ratings of the monitor, to Never mix new and old UPS batter-
reset. An Online UPS powers the PC all the time, decide on the power rating of the UPS. ies. This will cause more power to be
even when AC power is on, and so doesn’t do any drawn from the new battery, and will
switching when the power goes off. It charges For home use, how long should the UPS reduce its life.
on the AC power. battery backup last? Sealed Lead Acid batteries contain live
A Standby UPS is less expensive, and is The UPS battery backup time should be at least electrical current and can be extremely
preferred by home users. Corporations prefer 10 minutes, so you can save your work and prop- dangerous. When changing the UPS
the more reliable Online UPSes. erly shut down the PC in case of a blackout. battery, never touch the battery terminals
directly or with metal objects!

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GRAPHICS CARDS
T
he graphics card (aka display card bundled with a TV-Tuner. Such extra facilitate efficient cooling.
or video adapter) plays a very features require extra accessories such There are many utilities available to
important role in bridging the as cables, a remote control, etc., and overclock graphics chips and memories.
communication gap between a computer you should check if the necessary This will give a small performance boost
and the user by helping display the accessories are bundled. Most graphics in 3D games.
computer’s output information on a cards also bundle a free game.
monitor. At least that was what graphics Is there proper driver support? The Future
cards were meant to do when they were Proper driver support will keep the It is an undisputable fact that today,
first invented. Today, though this is the graphics card in tune with the latest the gaming industry is the driving
primary function of a graphics card, applications and operating systems.
there are many other things that depend Certain vendors provide special features
on it, such as 3D capabilities, multiple in their drivers such as support for 3D
displays, TV-out, etc. A graphics card goggles, which are not available in
today can be one of the most expensive generic drivers.
components of a PC.
Usage Tips
Questions To Ask The Dealer Check for updated drivers periodi-
How many years is the warranty period? cally on the manufacturer’s Web site.
While most vendors offer a three-year These address many bugs, and some-
warranty, some don’t. Check for this. times provide such a performance boost
What interface does the card have? that you may liken it to a free upgrade.
There are two types of interfaces avail- Keep the graphics settings to the force behind the graphics card indus-
able, AGP and PCIe. You should make defaults to improve system performance. try. Graphics cards have evolved into
sure what type of graphics card you need. Change the display settings in-game much more than display adapters.
What accessories come with it? where possible. Already, there are systems with multi-
Some graphics cards have a video Keep the space near the air intake of ple graphics cards—the technologies
capture facility, whereas some are the graphics card clear of obstacles to for this are SLI from nVidia and Cross-
Fire from ATi. These claim to almost
Points To Ponder double 3D graphics performance. Then
there are some who put two graphics
What type of graphics card will my high-end system. Also, some high-end chips on the same graphics card to
system support? graphics cards consume a great deal of achieve similar results.
Consult your motherboard manual to find out power, and the system’s power supply Looking at the many similarities
if you need an AGP or a PCIe card. must be powerful enough to cope with with the CPU, GPUs, as graphics chips
What type of applications do I run? its power needs. are known today, will move on to
If you primarily run 2D applications, any What should be the compliance require- newer fabrication processes, and more
graphics card will be good enough, but for 3D ment of the 3D graphics card? transistors will be packed onto the
applications and gaming, a 3D graphics card Newer games require an OpenGL 2.0 or chip. The chip will therefore consume
will be required. DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics card to run. less power, and will run at cooler
How powerful a graphics card will my Buy a graphics card that supports the highest temperatures. Newer cards will ship
computer support? version of OpenGL and DirectX. with the amazingly fast GDDR6, which
A high-end graphics card will work with any What type of outputs should the graphics will provide a humongous bandwidth
compatible system, but in order to get the card have? increase.
most juice out of it, a powerful CPU and a If you have a digital display, the graphics card Microsoft will soon be moving on
good amount of memory has to complement should ideally have a DVI-Out. Similarly, if to DirectX 10, and Shader Model 4 will
it. Similarly, a low-end card will not give you are keen on big-screen gaming, you’ll be the next frontier that graphics chip
great performance even when used with a need a TV-out. makers will keep in mind when design-
ing their next-generation chips.

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INKJET PRINTERS
T
he newer inkjet printers we’ve photograph. Trust your eyes—what you What about warranty and service?
tested have surprised us with their see here is what you’re going to get. Don’t forget these details—such periph-
compact sizes, feature-rich printing What about the cartridges? erals often need expert attention.
and affordable prices, which wasn’t the It is crucial that you have an complete
case until even a year ago. This hints that picture of the costs you are going to Usage Tips
the printer market is becoming even incur. It’s the running cost of a printer Do not print on an empty cartridge—
more competitive—the big players are that matters, and you need to find out this may damage the printer. The ink in
waging price wars, while still maintain- how long a cartridge lasts and how much the cartridge also acts a coolant for the
ing quality control. a new one is going to cost. Remember, heat sink of the print head.
entry-level printers can actually be
Questions to ask the dealer cheaper than the cartridges themselves.
Can I print a test page? What else do I get?
Never assume the quality of a printer Confirm the accessories that you will
without testing it. Stats on paper might get along with your printer; these may
not reflect true values. Carry a document include printer cables, a power cord
that you made yourself and demand a and even some photo paper. Make sure
test page print. The document should to check the package contents
contain simple text of different font mentioned on the box before you leave
sizes, graphs ,and a quarter-page colour the store.

Points To Ponder
You can refill an ink cartridge, but
When do I choose an inkjet printer? slower than other printers. The ideal this is not advisable. Stick to manufac-
Inkjet printers are typically suited for home resolution for a photo printer is between turer-produced cartridges as far as possi-
users and small offices. They are cheaper 1200 x 1200 and 4800 x 1200 dpi. ble. Some manufacturers also have
and have enough features bundled for home The speed of printing will be a factor for provisions to collect used cartridges for
users, such as PictBridge support to print those who aren’t bothered about the quality recycling. Also, visit the manufacturer’s
photos directly from a camera. Some of the printer output. The manufacturer will Web site to find out how to identify orig-
printers also include memory card support have listed ppm (pages per minute) figures inal cartridges, as you may get ripped off
and an LCD display, which allows the printer in their specification sheet, but remember by dealers selling refilled and repackaged
to work without connecting it to a PC. that real- world performance is always a duplicates. This happens a lot in India—
What options do I have? little lower. A printer with a resolution of so beware!
inkjets may be classified as general purpose 600 x 600 to 1200 x 1200 dpi and 20 Do not keep your printer idle for too
and photo inkjet printers. Do not confuse pages per minute for a draft printout is long (over two to three months)—the ink
photo inkjets with photo printers: the latter a decent buy. may dry up inside the cartridge!
are designed specifically for printing 4 x 6 If your printer is shared on a network Some printer drivers can automati-
(or smaller) photo-quality prints. and you expect the printer to be accessed by cally optimise a printout by detecting the
What specs should I look for? many users at once, then a printer that has content type for printing. This helps save
Print quality can be inferred from the more memory and a good processor is ink—use it!
resolution, which is given in dots per inch. If preferable. For a single user, a processor- Windows XP users can use the print
a printer can print more dots per inch, it will based printer isn’t an important criterion. wizard to print pictures—the wizard lets
print a sharper picture. But with the Paper can be fed from the top or from you choose different layouts and album
precision and increase in resolution, the the bottom of the printer. It is up on the sizes (such as 4 x 6) with an embedded
speed will be compromised. If your purpose user to decide what suits him, but a bottom preview window.
is to print photos, then you should consider (horizontal tray) feed is generally preferred, You can print images onto iron-on-
a good-quality inkjet printer with a high since papers can be left in the tray without transfer sheets and then iron them on
resolution, even if it is more expensive and worrying about paper folds. to any clothing. Make sure you print in
Best mode when doing this.

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 Digital Tools l Buyer’s Guide

LAPTOP ACCESSORIES
D
esktop computers today happen What is the warranty available on the to get warm. Those with poor ventila-
to be some of the most powerful product? tion can run really hot. Laptop coolers
computers ever made! Unfortu- Some dealers are reluctant to give any generally consist of large cooling fans
nately, they aren’t portable! But laptops warranty at all on products such as that run really quiet and provide effi-
are now rivalling desktop computers in Bluetooth dongles, USB hubs, cheap cient cooling. Power consumption is
terms of processing power. And we’re headphones, etc. very low, at a max of 110 mW, with the
not just talking about working with If the product goes bad, will it be cooler drawing power from the laptop’s
spreadsheets or word documents; it’s replaced, or will it be repaired? USB port.
also about multimedia and gaming. Replacement is the option you should
However, since laptops are meant to be looking at.
be carried around, there are some issues What is the turnaround time for the
they all have to contend with. These product if it has to be repaired?
include issues such as cooling, battery Will you be provided with a stop-gap
life, and more. With rising laptop sales solution during this period? Most deal-
everywhere, manufacturers have been ers will be reluctant to answer this
made to sit up and take notice. This has question.
brought about interesting innovations
that improve your laptop computing Usage tips
experience—which is what we’ll talk Accessories available for the lapto-
about here. prange from batteries to exotic-cooling
systems that keep a laptop running cool Connectivity dongles: In today’s age
Questions to ask the dealer for hours on end. of Bluetooth and FireWire, it is a draw-
Does the product come from a well- Extra Batteries: If your work involves back to not have these connectivity
known company? a lot of hours with the laptop, you options on your laptop. Off-the-shelf
There are plenty of no-name companies should definitely consider getting your- USB devices are available that connect
in the market that make laptop self an extra battery pack. to the USB port on the laptop, and offer
accessories; the quality of these isn’t Laptop Cooler: This is a must-buy for you the power of using both Bluetooth
great, and some can actually harm any laptop user. Irrespective of how long and FireWire devices on the go!
your laptop. they are used, laptops have a tendency Speakers: So you’re in this hotel
room far away from home, and want to
Points To Ponder listen to some music. But you’d rather
listen to silence than your tinny laptop
We’re here assuming you already have a laptop Does your laptop consume a lot of power? speakers! Well, there happen to be
and are looking to purchase accessories for it. Calculate the amount of time your laptop speakers available for just this kind of
Now, it’s only you who can determine your battery runs. If it doesn’t run long enough for situation. Laptop speakers connect to
usage pattern and identify issues related to it. you, consider a battery pack. the laptop’s sound card, and in most
Here’s a list we think should be foremost on Does your laptop have the necessary cases are self-powered. Some manufac-
your mind when you’re buying an accessory for connectivity options for you to remain turers also offer USB connectivity,
your laptop. truly mobile? where the speakers connect to the
What is the number of hours you use your By connectivity options, we mean Bluetooth, laptop using the USB port and draw
laptop for at a stretch? FireWire etc. power from the port.
As you’ve probably experienced, laptops have Do you use your laptop mostly for work and USB mouse and keyboard: Not many
a tendency to generate a lot of heat, more so for some entertainment, or vice-versa? people are comfortable with the touch-
with poorly-designed laptops that have little This is important since if you are looking for pad, or with the pointing stick for that
or no room for ventilation. Also, are you entertainment on the move, your priority of matter. Laptop keyboards are cramped
doing yourself harm by working so long at laptop accessories will be different from that of in most cases, and are un-ergonomic. A
the laptop? users who use the laptop solely for work. USB mouse and keyboard can provide
considerable relief.

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LASER PRINTERS
P
rices of laser printers have fallen most, so take a typical document that What interface and operating system
significantly over the past few you would print and test the printer’s support is available?
months, but they are still more output before you lug it all the way to Almost all printers support USB 2.0, but
expensive than their inkjet counterparts. your home or office. If you like what you you should check for additional connec-
Laser printers have the advantage of see, buy it; if you don’t, remember that tivity options such as parallel and
speed and running costs over inkjets, this is the output when it’s new—it’s only FireWire. Also check the operating
but it is still a considerable initial going to get worse with time. systems supported by the manufacturer,
investment. What is the duty cycle for the bundled and whether they provide the drivers for
The technology involved in printing toner as well as a new toner? all supported OSes.
is different in the two cases, therefore The bundled toner normally has
the nature of output and media type for a lower duty cycle than a new toner.
printing will merit some consideration. Also enquire about the cost of
Consider your needs, features and toner cartridges, as they vary between
specifications, the volume of usage and printer brands.
the content you need to print—after all, Is the printer network-ready?
you’re buying the printer to print! Some printers are network-ready and can
be directly connected to a LAN. Some
Questions to ask the dealer printers offer optional networking capa-
Can I test the printer? bility, allowing you to add a network
You know what you need to print the card later.

Points To Ponder Interesting facts

The laser printer’s roller pulls in a sheet
Does a laser printer suit my purpose? it to flip the page. This saves a lot of time and of paper from the tray; the charged
Laser printers are fast and give crisp text and also printing costs, as you can utilise both roller causes the paper to stick. The print-
graph printing. They can print page after page sides of a page. ing drum is given the opposite charge. A
with ease and accuracy. This suggests that Networking is a very important option for laser scans the surface of the drum and
laser printers are great for high-volume business and SoHo environments, where discharges it, leaving only those points
output with their high speed and low cost per multiple uses access the same printer. You can that correspond to text and graphics
page. If you are a photographer and your share the printer directly on the network and charged. The charged toner particles on
work involves printing on photographic allow users to directly print on it! the drum stick to the oppositely charged
sheets, stick to inkjet printing. If you are in a It is good to have an LCD display on the printer; paper. Finally, the fusing rollers heat the
business that requires a large number this helps you better interact with the printer. In paper and melt the toner, permanently
documents to be printed on a daily basis, some situations, the printer just doesn’t act as fusing it onto the paper’s surface.
laser printers would be a good choice. you would like—this is when an LCD comes to
What type of laser printer should I buy? the rescue and tells you that the printer is low Usage tips
Mono and colour are the two basic types of on toner or that the paper is jammed! Occasionally turn the printer Off to
laser printers. If your work involves more of If you are looking for a network printer, reduce the downtime and provide
B&W text, opt for a mono-laser printer. ensure that you have enough memory buffer. cooling time to the heating elements
What are the specifications for a laser Sufficient memory buffer means speeding up of and laser.
printer? the printing process, because many users will To share a printer on a network,
Let us not discuss specs that are available on access the printer simultaneously. attach it to a computer that acts as a
the leaflets of every printer. Let’s look at those Although size is not as important as the above server. Provide an alias and auto installa-
that are present in one printer and not in the features, it does matter if your office is small tion of drivers on the remote computer.
other; the ones that make all the difference. and space is at a premium. Bigger devices Do not use special media such as iron-
Automatic duplex printing prints on both sides handle more workload; so decide what is on transfer sheets and thin photo-qual-
of the paper. You do not have to stand next to more important. ity paper—these may cause severe
damage to the printer.

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 Digital Business l Case Study

Digital

166 Wiki At Work 170 Linux vs

Windows 190 Integrated
Security
Business
How Technology Can Help Your Organisation

Case Study

Shifting Spaces
In what follows, we have tried to analyse
Preethi Chamikutty why companies that were once entirely dot-
coms are focussing on offline areas of work as
Online businesses n a cutthroat market, it’s essential for well? And why do they feel the need to look at
also need to I businesses to think of different ways to
hold their own. As the Web space sees
offline methods at all.

engage in offline increasingly ruthless competition, businesses The Need For Change
activities to that were hitherto exclusively online, are now Over the past couple of decades, methods have
establishing an offline presence to ensure their been developed to precisely rate the effective-
supplement their survival and growth. In fact, Web sites such as ness of various marketing platforms. And mar-
business and Monster.com, Timesjobs.com and Shaadi.com keting on the Internet is not the same as
among others are now vigorously supple- marketing offline.
facilitate growth menting their business with offline activities. JuxtConsult, a research firm based in New
Shaadi.com attributes as much as 60 per Delhi, conducted a survey in April 2005 of
cent of its growth to its offline initiatives. Internet usage in India. They found that
Timesjobs.com attributes its tagline—“fastest Internet penetration in India stands at a mere
growing jobsite”—to its offline activities as 2 per cent. The Internet in India is, for the
well. The media plans of most large online most part, limited to the metros, with the per-
businesses now include offline advertising centage of rural Internet users being practi-
and promotions as an integral part. However, cally negligible. Also, over 50 per cent of Web
this is not limited to advertising—offline users in Indian metros are between the ages
events, too, play an important part. of 19 and 30, and another 22 per cent between

Illustration Chaitanya Surpur

 Digital Business l Case Study
the ages of 31 and 40. “Young and urban”, Omprakash Hassanandani, business head of
therefore, is quite accurately the demographic Shaadi Point, says, “In India, even today, par-
of the Internet user in India. ents are the decision makers, and they tend not
If, as an online business, you limit your to use the Internet. So apart from the Web site,
marketing to the Web, you restrict yourself we had to come up with an idea to reach this
from reaching prospective customers who are segment. Shaadi Point enables us to do that.
mostly patrons of traditional media—those We also conduct three to four Swayamvars
who are not young and do not live in urban monthly in different cities. This gives a plat-
areas. Offline advertising helps reach out to form to people to see, meet and talk with each
people who may not be Internet-savvy. While, other in person.”
newspapers have been the preferred medium Fropper.com, a People Interactive (I) Pvt Ltd
to advertise, exhibitions and TV advertise- initiative, is a friendship, dating and net-
ments are also being used. Our presence in the working site all in one. Started in 2003,
newspapers is a Fropper.com has a one million-strong member
Methods Of Promotion result of base, and it also has a gamut of offline activi-
Dhruvkanth Shenoy, VP, marketing, relationships built ties to supplement its online presence.
Monster.com, says, “Offline activities, espe- over the last few Navin Mittal, business head, Fropper.com,
cially TV and newspapers, help us build a years, which says, “Conducting offline, live events is chal-
stronger brand salience over a long period. provides offline lenging. Apart from online promos, we hold
Actual results in terms of visits to the site are readers as well as public events such as shows, concerts, and
faster through Internet advertising, though, online users exhibitions that are open to the public, and
as we are an Online brand. Apart from news- more choice advertised in other media. We also promote
papers, we have exclusive alliances with some in job search” Fropper.com by sponsoring college festivals, as
popular magazines.” Dhruvkanth Shenoy the youth are the main target audience.”
Timesjobs.com, too, uses a blend of offline Vice President, Marketing,
mediums. R Sundar, director corporate and Monster.com Sign Of The Times
head, Internet initiatives of Bennett Coleman Offline media events encourage customers to
and Company Ltd, says, “Each medium, offline go online, become members and then avail of
or online, has its own strengths, and any media more benefits. As with Timesmatri.com, the
plan is incomplete if both are not taken into idea is not to branch out into some kind of
account. We aim to reach the audience in every offline enterprise. However, in the case of
medium. There are millions of highly-skilled Fropper.com, people who attend their offline
unemployed or underemployed youth across event need to eventually go to its site—which
India. Like any FMCG marketing company, we’d helps to cement the online brand.
like to reach our target audience through an Shaadi.com plans to increase the number
effective combination of various media.” of franchises for Shaadi Point to 500 across the
It’s clear that ignoring offline media is no globe. International expansion, prospect
longer an option. Even a dot com has to think grooming programs, pre-marital workshops,
like any other brick-and-mortar company for wedding planning and lots more is on
effective market. the cards. Fropper.com wants to enable people
Apart from job portals, matrimonial sites to connect to each other in every possible way.
such as Shaadi.com and Timesmatri.com are Brand building in the form of promotions
also increasingly concentrating on offline pro- on mobile phones, hiking trips, singles-night-
motions and events. The former holds Shaadi out programs etc. is what Fropper.com has
Point, which has been a great success. While, planned for.
Timesmatri organises the Timesmatri.com
Swayamvar. In these events, prospective brides Offline Is Essential In India
and grooms can meet each other along with Only when the majority starts looking at the
their parents. Internet as an alternative to newspaper classi-
However, the primary objective of these fieds, will there be a real breakthrough for
Swayamvars, according to Sundar is, “to build online businesses in India.
the Timesmatri.com brand and increase usage Internet use is mainly limited to the met-
of the site.” While these events were not ros—so while Monster.com, Shaadi.com,
designed to be purely offline undertakings; the Timesjobs.com, Fropper.com are primarily
need to cement the presence of the site is an online businesses, they need to ensure that
important factor. people also see them elsewhere—at least for the
For instance, Shaadi Point is a network of coming decade. Offline activities act as value-
centres—retail outlets—across India. Every additions for online businesses by building
Shaadi Point is connected to a central database brand awareness, and encouraging people to
of prospective brides and grooms through a go online.
specific proprietary technology. This creates a Physical presence, for these businesses,
pool of all prospective brides and grooms all helps them gain the credibility and trust of the
over India, and is available to Shaadi Point masses. By and large, Indians still prefer a
members from any Shaadi Point Centre. touch-and-feel approach when it comes to
Shaadi Point Centres offer people buying, investing or match-making! So, for
the facility to add their bio-data to the central online businesses, offline activities—be it set-
database, search for a suitable match, ting up shop in remote areas to organising
and communicate with them, regardless of glitzy events—are here to stay.
their location. [email protected]

164 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Business l Smart Business

A lot of
businesses today
spend good
amount of
money on
Wiki At Work
Wikipedia.org, the most well-known user of this
software that Mithun Kidambi tool, and this connection often results in people
offer basic assuming that ‘wiki’ and Wikipedia are synony-
ne of the key processes in any office is mous. As a matter of fact, ‘wiki’ in Hawaiian
information
sharing, but O that of managing knowledge resources.
It could be a small publication or Web
means ‘quick’ or ‘fast’.
In computing terminology, it is the revolu-
we’re here to tell site with a bank of articles and features to tionary tool that is talking matter from Atlanta
manage, or a BPO that takes care of client infor- to Zambia. Over time, the ‘wiki’ definition has
you how a Wiki mation. It has become imperative to come up come to mean the act of creating a wiki as well.
can do the same with an easy solution for knowledge manage- By Wikipedia’s own definition, the wiki is a sim-
ment (KM), courtesy its growing awareness plification of the process of creating HTML
thing for free! among companies. The solution would be per- pages. This results in a very effective way of
fect if it were to feature a high degree of trans- exchanging information.
parency while being collaborative. How does this happen? A wiki can be used to
Looking at this growing demand, companies co-author documents on the Web, documents
are churning out software that fulfils this need. that will eventually look and act as a Web page.
There is a catch, however—that of price. Never- And this will not need any programming or dab-
theless, wherever there is proprietary and expen- bling in any code from your side. All you’d need
sive enterprise software, you’ll find open source is the software and a Web browser. The flexibility
and freeware replacements. Many a time, these afforded by the tool makes it easy to maintain
work better and offer far more flexibility than records or any form of database.
their pricey counterparts. To quote again from Wikipedia, “A single
Collaborative software is something that page in a wiki is referred to as a ‘wiki page’,
allows several users to concurrently create and while the entire body of pages, usually highly
manage information on a Web site or network of interconnected via hyperlinks, is ‘the wiki’; in
pages. A wiki is a strong example of such software. effect, a very simple, easier-to-use database.’
Everyone associates the word ‘wiki’ with

166 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 3D Modelling Vikram Kathare

 Digital Business l Smart Business
The Origin Of The Wiki
In layman’s The first wiki site was developed by Ward
terms, a wiki can Cunningham, who received a Master’s degree
create a Web in computer science from Purdue University in
page for you 1995. He was working at the Portland Pattern
without you Repository, and he called his idea the
WikiWikiWeb.
having to fiddle In the late 1990s, wikis were seen as a very
around with efficient way to develop and maintain both
any code public and private knowledge bases. This lead to
a number of online collaborative ventures
opting to use this tool. Most notable among
these was Wikipedia.
Enterprises soon followed suit, looking at the
advantages provided by the tool. Very soon,
tasks, project schedules and documentation,
office intranets and other forms of internal com-
munication in offices were managed using
wikis. The spurt in the use of wikis saw com-
mercial versions of the tool being offered.
The most widely used wiki software was
SocialText, by a company by the same name. Based
on the Kwiki software, it was one of the earliest
enterprise wikis, and was available as a hosted
service from the company’s server, or as a package
that could be installed on the client server.
Free, open source downloads of wiki soft-
ware, too, were available. A few of them, such as
MediaWiki, were customised to handle specific
tasks including hosting video clips and audio
files. Others such as Twiki and Kwiki could be
customised to a large extent and worked much
like a Content Management System. These tools,
when installed on an office intranet, would be
sufficient to take care of all resource manage-
ment and knowledge management needs.

Wikis: The What And The Why

Now what exactly does a wiki do, and why is it
beneficial to implement it on an office network?
Putting it simply, a wiki is a tool that allows
anyone to contribute, edit, and browse through
content on a network or Web site. In layman’s
terms, a wiki can create a Web page for you
without you having to fiddle around with any
code. All you need to do is enter the required
text after selecting the template format (just like
in a blog), create links, and you have a site ready.
To create a new page or a link, most Wikis have
an “Edit” or “Create” tab at the top. You click on
this tab and enter the link name. Most wikis
require you to enter the link as a WikiWord.

The Advantages Of Collaborative Tools

Collaborative management tools facilitate and manage group activities.
These include:
Electronic calendars (also called time management software)—schedule
events and automatically notify and remind group members
Project management systems—schedule, track, and chart the steps in a
project as it is being completed
Workflow systems—collaborative management of tasks and documents
within a knowledge-based business process
Knowledge management systems—collect, organise, manage, and share
various forms of information
Social software systems—organise social relations of groups
Collaborative software can be either Web-based, such as UseModWiki and
Scoop, or desktop systems such as CVS or RCS.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 167

 Digital Business l Smart Business
Most wikis on the Web have a non-linear navi-
Newer search gational structure, which means that the links
engines such as to other areas in the wiki are found in the body
MetaWiki allow of the text. This leads to massive cross-linkages,
users to search and can be too confusing at times.
In the case of an office wiki, however, a hier-
across a number archical navigational structure is preferred. This
of wikis looks and acts in the same way as a Web site
with sections and sub-sections.

Creating a new page in WYSIWYG, HTML or XML format

WikiWords are two or more words written in

title case without any space between them, for
instance, NewLink. The Wiki recognises these
as links and no HTML is required to link to
these words.
Alternatively, you can also use normal words
and hyperlink it to the required URL. This how-
ever is just a roundabout way of doing things. Links and place holders are differentiated by their colour
Creating a link in Wiki using WikiWords is a
two-step process. After you finish entering the Searching for content on a wiki is similar to
link name in the template and saving it, you doing so on any other intranet. Because of the
have created what is called a place holder. This nature of most wikis—that of being a repository
is essentially a link to an empty page. or database of knowledge—search is a very
These place holders (see screenshot on the important aspect. The basic search options of
right) are shown as a link with a question title search and full text search is the norm in
mark at the end. To convert them to full links most setups.
all you need to do is click on them and type in Newer search engines such as MetaWiki
the required text in the template provided. allow users to search across a number of wikis.
This converts the place holders to links like This comes in handy if each department in your
any other link on the Web. This ensures that workplace were to have its own wiki.
adding a new section on a wiki or scheduling Unlike regular intranets, which require a
a new task which requires creating a new page large amount of installation on the internal
is as easy as editing content. This mechanism server, a wiki can run efficiently with minimal
of creating pages by using links makes sure installation on a server or even on individual
orphan pages (pages that lead to and from computers. The content in any wiki is stored on
nowhere) are not created. the server as plain text. This makes sure that
The links could be within the body of the very minimal server space is needed to store any
text, or the section heads on your site could be data.
links as well, just as with any regular Web site. The wiki engine is the only code that is
stored on the machine. The wiki thus acts as a
Wikis For Free! very basic HTML server that translates plain text
into a page that can be accessed over any net-
Name of Wiki Website Type work with all the required formatting. Because
TWiki www.twiki.org Download from the Net of this minimal use of hard-disk space, the wiki
JotSpot www.jot.com Hosted on the Net can be setup on any computer connected to a
Xwiki www.xwiki.com Hosted on the Net network and not just a server as with other Web
TiddlyWiki www.tiddlywiki.com Hosted on the Net sites. Thus the Wiki can be classified into two
Quake Wiki www.wiki.quakesrc.org Download from the Net different types as per their installation: server-
MediaWiki www.mediawiki.org Download from the Net side wiki and client-side wiki.
SeedWiki www.seedwiki.com Hosted on the Net Most establishments prefer a server-side
wiki, as it makes sure the content is located on

168 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Business l Smart Business
The Change Challenge
The biggest According to Cunningham, wikis are designed
hurdle in with the philosophy of making it easy to correct
implementing a mistakes, rather than making it difficult to
tool like the wiki make them. The most common grouse against
the use of wikis is also its biggest plus—anyone
is convincing can open and edit or create a page in a wiki.
people about To keep vandals away and to verify the
the feasibility of validity of an addition or editing, wikis provide
the software for a ‘Recent Changes’ link. This gives a list of all
the additions and changes done to a particular
wiki within a certain timeframe.
Some wikis can also filter this list and
A wiki can handle a number of different tasks remove minor edits as well as changes made to
the document by bots that crawl the Web. This
a central server and not spread across a number feature is very useful when your wiki is open to
of terminals. Also, centralised handling and the Internet. A typical case would be for docu-
storage of content makes sure no data is lost if mentation of software or program development
one of the local terminal crashes. with developers strewn across the globe, as is the
The most common operations on a wiki, case with development of most open source tools
such as editing and creating pages of content, and application software.
and managing schedules including the control In addition to the ‘Recent Changes’ link,
functions on a wiki page, are on the server. The every wiki has a Revision History, which shows
engine that forms the core of the software— previous page versions, and where the
also called a wiki engine—renders the content differences between the two versions are
in the same way a Web browser renders pages. highlighted. This enables any person accessing
In a client-side wiki setup, individual com- a particular page to make note of the change,
puters act as servers, only the data files are and this comes in handy for processes that
located on the central server, which acts as a change frequently and need to be documented.
database. All the execution needed to convert A regular wiki user can view the differences in
the wiki text into a normal display page is an edit listed on the ‘Recent Changes’ page and, if
found in the browser used by each terminal. something is an unacceptable edit, he can consult
Similarly, all the tools for creating, editing, the history and restore a previous revision.
saving and managing documents and schedules, Apart from this, the tool has various other in-
or for taking any other action, are present in the built customised filters, that provide high levels
browser as a plugin. Such plugins are available as of content control. Some Wikis use login and pass-
downloads for most browsers such as Mozilla and word authentication and can thus track which
Firefox; other browsers such as Flock have these user made changes and when. This type of Wiki is
plug-ins bundled with the installation files. used in offices. Other tools include ones that mon-
This flexibility afforded by the application itor a page quality, and send alerts to the admin-
makes it highly customisable. You can decide istrator whenever modifications are marked on a
where to host the application, depending on page. This feature is useful for pages that detail a
the size of the wiki and the number of users. particular method to do a process or to house case
studies, where changes are not frequent.
The Easy Wiki Way
Wiki Syntax HTML Rendered Output
The Collaborative Game
The biggest hurdle in implementing a tool
A simple WYSIWYG <p> A simple WYSIWYG
like the wiki is convincing people about the
format makes typing A simple <em>WYSIWYG</em> format format makes typing
feasibility of the software. Training and incen-
out a text in a wiki so makes typing out a text in a wiki so out a text in a wiki
tives are very important to get people accus-
easy. What are the easy. What are the advantages? so easy. What are
tomed to, and contribute to, the system. A
advantages? </p> the advantages?
major shift in the mindset of the company,
Using Wiki does away <p> Using Wiki does
however big, is necessary to implement the
with the cumbersome Using Wiki does away with the away with the
wiki; the move will have to be from corporate
HTML codes. cumbersome <em>HTML</em> codes. cumbersome HTML
to co-operative.
</p> codes.
[email protected]

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 169

 Enterprise Servers: Linux vs Windows
The common perception is that Linux is more secure than Windows.
How does that translate for enterprise servers?

The Linux server makes for a Performance-wise, Windows

stable and robust choice server is one of the fastest

A S
n FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) atNav develops hi-tech, computer-aided facilities man-
company, Eveready Industries India Limited has agement (CAFM) products, and provides facilities
a portfolio comprising dry cell batteries, management to industries. It conceptualised an in-
flashlights and packet tea. The world’s third-largest car navigation system, an in-house routing engine, and a
producer of carbon zinc batteries, Eveready sells more vehicle tracking system amongst others.
than a billion units a year. In India, Eveready’s carbon “While developing our business infrastructure man-
zinc batteries dominate the market, with a complete agement system, we decided to go for a server that had a
range for all equipment types. user-friendly interface and would be easy to deploy and
“We chose a Linux server due to many factors. The administer. We didn’t want to compromise on the reliabil-
primary reason being our ERP package, which is the ity, scalability and performance of the server. We found
Oracle e-business suite. Since Oracle also supports the Windows server to be suitable for our requirements.

“One factor that put “Microsoft IIS 6 is the

Linux hugely in our platform of choice for
favour was the issue business-critical
of security” enterprises”

Arup Choudhury Selvamuthiah Somasundaram

GM, IT Associate VP,
Eveready Industries Ltd Business Development, SatNav

Linux, we felt it would be ideal for us to use a Linux “The Windows server is one of the fastest, and also an
server. Also, as opposed to Windows, Linux offers industry leader in performance and scalability. Be it file-
better security and stability. server throughput or serving static or dynamic Web con-
“It cannot be denied that Linux servers are tent, Windows servers are fast and reliable.
certainly affordable vis-à-vis Windows servers. In our “Microsoft IIS 6, the Web server for Windows Server
case, we have been using Linux for more than a year. 2003, is the platform of choice for business-critical enter-
And so far, we haven’t encountered any difficulties prises. It provides the sophistication vital for today’s Web
with its functioning. Moreover, we are yet to server. With it we could build a highly secure environ-
experience any downtime with it! Even the cost of ment, manage application pools and create clusters to
usage for the Linux server is considerably lower than achieve maximum uptime.
that of Windows. “As far as site hosting capabilities of the Windows serv-
“Another major factor that put Linux hugely in our er are concerned, sites developed using different tech-
favour was the issue of security. As opposed to nologies such as ASP, .NET, and PHP can be hosted. The
Windows, it cannot be denied that only a few viruses Windows server includes Enterprise UDDI (Universal
have cracked the Unix kernel till date. Description, Discovery and Integration) Services and a
“We have a very convenient setup when it comes to dynamic and flexible infrastructure for XML Web services.
maintenance and support. As a matter of fact, we have This standards-based solution enables companies to run
a three-tier support. We are using the Advanced Server their own UDDI directory for intranet or extranet use,
3.0 provided by Red Hat, which also takes care of making it easy to discover Web services and other pro-
implemeting new concepts. Our performance issues grammatic resources.
are handled by Oracle, and our day-to-day downloads “Our intranet is developed on .NET and with an MS SQL
by Tata Consultancy Services. Server backend. And as regards service, being members of
“From experience, we can declare that a Linux the MS Empower Program, we could access the support
server makes for a stable and robust choice. Moreover, team for any technical queries. The support we get is excel-
due to its affordability, Linux enjoys a huge popularity lent, with an unbelievable turnaround time.”
in the Asia-Pacific region. It is a sign of times to come.” As told to Renuka Rane
[email protected]

170 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Trend

C
isco’s security approach stems from its
self-defending network strategy.
Essentially, we integrate security in every
aspect of the network to create an end-to-end
integrated system. This helps the network
identify threats, react accordingly as per risk
levels, isolate infected endpoints, and
reconfigure the network resources in response
to an attack or anomalous behaviour. This
enables networks to deal with threats on their
own, with minimal human intervention.
All enterprises look at lower total cost of
ownership (TCO) for any product or solution.
Jagdish Mahapatra Security is no exception. Comprehensive
Regional Manager, security solutions are cost-effective and easy, as
Channels, opposed to separate security devices that are
Cisco India and SAARC resource-hungry, and difficult to manage.
Comprehensive security solutions integrate
various functionalities like IDS, VPN, anti-virus
and authentication into a single device, with
provision for scalability and compatibility.

Integrated
Companies are increasingly opting for integrated security solutions vis-à-vis varied
point-to-point options. Digit tries to examine the reason for this trend...

O
ur integrated security solutions
comprise Firebox X Edge, a line of
firewall and VPN endpoint security
appliances. They deliver network protection to
small businesses, remote offices and
telecommuters. For instance, the Firebox SSL
Core VPN Gateway is a product designed
specifically for growing enterprises that allows
authorised users to connect through an auto-
updating, Web-deployed client, among
other features.
Customers are fed up of piece-meal
solutions and would like one vendor to take
care of all the threats, and hence would prefer
Ajit Pillai an integrated appliance. We also provide Live
Country Manager, Security Service (LSS) to registered customers.
WatchGuard This includes software maintenance, technical
Technologies Inc support, hardware warranty, LiveSecurity E-
mail Alerts, Broadcasts, and related
editorial content.
We mostly cater to the growing enterprise
segment, which would have anywhere between
100 and 2,000 users. Earlier, different vendors
offered different solutions. Now, customers get
an integrated appliance and can hold one
vendor responsible for the complete solution.
Imaging Vikram Khatare

We have been able to eliminate a lot of

compatibility issues as well. Even globally,
organisations are increasingly using integrated
security solutions.

190 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 B
asically, a mix and match of various products make up our
integrated security solution. We use WatchGuard’s firewall
products, McAfee’s anti-virus solutions, Trend IMSS is our e-mail
scanning product and so on. We use the best and integrate them all
at a common place that’s centrally managed.
Earlier we used point-to-point solutions. We shifted to using
integrated security solutions around 16 months ago. And in
retrospect, it was a good decision for us. Ever since the
implementation of the integrated solution, performance has
improved considerably. There has been a phenomenal increase in the
uptime of systems, and the loss in man-hours has declined. Other
related problems have also been solved (up to 95 per cent) as
compared to the point-to-point solution.
An integrated solution is better than a point-to-point solution as
Subhasis Gupta the latter has innumerable points of failure. Moreover, the
AVP, Dept of IT, maintenance cost of each and every node is rather high when
UTI Technology Services Ltd compared to an integrated solution. The future of integrated security
solutions is promising, as they offer customers a good bargain.

Spells Security
T
WS doesn’t use a fully integrated security suite. We use an
integrated security platform incorporating the best of breed
components from Cisco, Symantec, F-Prot, Foundry Networks as
well as Open Source solutions such as Spam Assassin, Snort and Nagios.
TWS’s integrated security platform covers firewalls, all intra-site traffic
via private line or IPSec IP VPN, inbound and outbound e-mail for both
viruses and SPAM, and more.
When TWS’s primary business was related to dotcoms in the 1990s,
we focussed on external threats. As we entered the BPO space in early
2000, we started to look out for internal threats. This system will
continue to evolve and is a central pillar of our IT infrastructure. By
leveraging the best of breed commercial solutions with Open Source,
we delivered significant value in terms of cost-effectiveness for IT
security. We’ve never faced a violation on any of our core servers,
John Cumming routers, firewalls or telecom equipment.
Senior VP and CIO, TWS In the future, integrated security solutions could be integrated
(Tracmail, Webhelp & considering site-specific needs, as opposed to the current one-size-fits-
Spherenomics) all approach. As interoperability increases, the costs will also decline.

P
ointsec mainly deals with endpoint security. We develop secure
encryption solutions to protect enterprise information on
computers and mobile devices against intrusion and data theft.
For organisations who want to store confidential or classified
information on mobile computing devices, we have a solution for
automatic data encryption that extends enterprise security to the end-
points of the network.
We cater to a wide range of customers ranging from Wipro, ITC
Infotech and Syntel in India to Ericsson, TeliaSonera, Telenor, Astra
Zeneca and CapGemini abroad.
We think it is important for companies to concentrate on securing
enterprise data, more so, considering the increasing requirements for
enterprises to comply with security regulations such as the India
Information Technology Act, and globally, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the EU Data Protection Directive.
Sascha Beyer
Managing Director, As told to Preethi Chamikutty
Pointsec Middle East & India ([email protected])

DECEMBER 2005 DIGIT 191

 Digital Leisure l Touched by Tech

Digital

200 Quake
Reviewed 202 The Body Bots 205 Searchmeisters
4 The Rise Of The
Leisure
Technology Beyond Work

Touched By Tech

Accelerating IT Literacy
mum of three lectures to explain Project Shiksha is part of
Tech-savvy Renuka Rane photosynthesis; now, with Microsoft’s Partners in Learning
teachers computers, I can do it within 20 Programme, which includes

A
class of 50-odd students is minutes! And the students’ atten- empowering students, educators,
make for eagerly listening to their tion is guaranteed!” the developer community and IT
tech-savvy biology teacher explain the professionals by providing
students. action of photosynthesis. She uses Project Shiksha greater access to the latest tech-

Illustration Chaitanya Surpur

a PowerPoint presentation with Yadav is one of the 42,000 teachers nologies and locally tailored
Project numerous images to elucidate the who have undergone IT training training content.
Shiksha synthesis of compounds. Sound for teachers as part of Microsoft’s Launched by Bill Gates, chair-
like a typical elite English-medium Project Shiksha, which aims at man and Chief Software Architect
brings school? Well, the teacher is inter- “Empowering the future.” of Microsoft, during his visit to
technology acting with the students in Telugu,
and the location is the Govern-
to the ment Boys High School at Mustaid-
masses pura near Hyderabad.
The teacher, Sunita Yadav,
claims that ever since she started
using technology in the class-
room, learning has become accel-
erated, more enjoyable, and more
interactive for students. She says,
“Earlier, I would require a mini-
 Digital Leisure l Touched By Tech
India in November 2002, the proj- wherein we are working closely training at the Microsoft IT acad-
ect addresses critical challenges of with academia, universities, the emy at Banjara Hills. We were
Information and Communication developer community, as well as coached on many aspects—right
Technology (ICT) access in educa- the education departments of the from learning how to operate a
tion in India. State and Central Government, to computer to using it for academics
Project Shiksha is designed to ensure IT adoption in the educa- and administration. This has
deliver affordable software solu- tion process at various levels.” helped me tremendously.”
tions, and comprehensive train- Microsoft also has a tie-up Yadav further shares, “The
ing and curricula—for students as with the Navodaya Vidyalaya students in my school come from
well as teachers—in the Indian Samiti (NVS) schools, which are Early access to underprivileged backgrounds, and
government schools. under the Ministry of Human technology work in their spare time. Learning
The Project entails an invest- Rerource Development. In addi- can with, and about technology instils
ment of $20 million (Rs 92 crore). tion, Microsoft is also extending contribute a great measure of self-confidence
It seeks to reach out to over two the reach of IT to students and significantly in them. In fact, they now
lakh school teachers and one crore teachers in the schools that come towards complete most of their assign-
students—within a period of five under the Municipal Corporation creating an IT- ments online. Knowledge of
years. The key deliverable of the of New Delhi. proficient computers has improved their
project is, indeed, the teacher Kumar mentions, “Our objec- next- overall grasp of the subject, and
training programme. tive is to take IT to the grassroots generation they now do better in exams.”
Thus far, Microsoft has signed level. We believe that early Rohit Kumar
Memorandums of Understanding access to technology for students Country Head Promoting IT Know-How
(MoUs) with the State Govern- can contribute significantly Public Sector, So far, Project Shiksha has reached
Microsoft
ments of Andhra Pradesh, towards creating an IT-proficient Corporation India
out to over 21 lakh students. Under
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, next generation.” the programme, the Innovative
Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Teachers Leadership Awards were
Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal, and Ensuring Tech-Savvy announced in 2004. This year, 15
West Bengal to implement the Pedagogy teachers were selected from a
Project Shiksha programme. Under Project Shiksha, teachers nationwide contest; who will now
are trained at Microsoft IT acad- attend the Microsoft regional
Bridging The Tech Divide emy centres in Andhra Pradesh, event in Korea. This will help
Rohit Kumar, Country Head, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttaran- Indian educators get exposure to
Public Sector, Microsoft Corpora- chal, Lakshwadeep, and even in global teaching methods.
tion India, says, “Project Shiksha is the Andamans. The Project has Kumar adds, “In an Internet-
a nationwide initiative, wherein helped build an online commu- dominated era, we have to ensure
Microsoft is collaborating with nity for teacher collaboration, best- that the younger generation has
state governments across India to practice sharing, and honing of the ability to access, use, and
reach students and teachers. skill sets. adapt to the tools of our time, to
“We have a comprehensive Yadav says, “In June of 2004, I enable them to compete at a
India education programme underwent ten days of intensive global level. This has to be across
the spectrum of population, no
matter what part of the country
they live in. We believe educators
are essential to making this
happen, and they need to be
recognised for this.”
Technology, it is clear, facili-
tates the enhancement of teacher
and student skills. Hence, it is
essential that technology
becomes an innate part of the
learning process for students in
all corners of India—not in A and
B grade cities alone. Such initia-
tives are the need of the hour, and
may help turn India into a nation
of computer literates.
A teacher training class in progress. The subject—Computers! [email protected]

194 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Consumer Durables

Sony Handycam DCR-DVD403

This Sony Handycam looks like any normal MiniDV camera; the only
difference is that it records directly on to a DVD. Superior video quali-
ty, a 5.1 surround sound recording and amazing still photography capa-
bilities make this a very good buy. As is typical for Sony camcorders,
most functions are accessed via menus on the LCD touch screen. The
menu is programmable, so you can put your most-used functions on the
first screen. For casual shooters, there is an “Easy mode” that puts the
camera in a fully automatic mode. All you need is a rewritable DVD, and
you’re ready to go and shoot your first DVD film. The camcoder’s
Rs 50,000 (approx) price tag seems affordable for all the jazz!

uber Cool Here’s a look at the latest gizmos—droolmaal that’s

out of your reach. But, it never hurts to know!

Alienware Aurora ALX

Every self-respecting gamer knows that apart
from the specs of his beefy machine, the looks
also count. Most would go in for a special gaming
case to hood their system, but there are those
who would just pick up an Alienware.
This computer manufacturer specialises in
high-end, nay, extreme desktops and lap-
tops. Take a look at the Alienware
Krell HEAT Aurora ALX, this machine is pow-
If you thought Bose made the most expensive home the- ered by an AMD 64 processor, 1 GB
atre systems you need to refine your search RAM, dual nVidia GeForce 6800 GT
criteria. Krell, a home theatre manufacturer from 256 MB DDR3 graphics cards, a
Louisiana, US, is known for their super-expensive high- Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
fidelity equipment. The latest from their stable is HEAT 7.1 audio card that supports
or the High End Audio Theatre. The set of HD Audio.
16 speakers contains 2 tower speakers, 7 amplifiers, a In addition, the system also has a
center speaker, 4 surround speakers and 2 sub woofers. 250 GB hard disk. Alienware also
If its watts that you’re looking out for, then hold your offers to customise your system. And
breath, the output is an earth shattering 11,500 watts! just so that you don’t hear the sound
Now comes the hard part. The Krell HEAT would set you of the system fans Alienware did away
back by around Rs 1.5 crore. Talk about home theatre with them altogether and instead opted for liquid
systems costing more than your house. Time to turn on cooling. Just for the record the Aurora costs
the HEAT! around $4,500—roughly Rs 2 lakhs.
 Consumer Durables

Touch&Glide
The following product
isn’t exactly what
you’d call a gadget. At
least, it isn’t some-
thing any geek would
drool over. Still, the
Oliso-Touch&Go is
an iron with a dif-
ference, or rather
an iron that can carry
its own weight. It’s one smart iron that won’t let you burn
your shirts even if you leave it switched on and unattended. Nuvo
The Touch&Glide has a sensor in the handle that can sense
Is a made-to-order robot the hallmark of a futuristic
whether it is being held or not. The moment you leave it
society? If you think so, then be glad for the future
unattended, two heat resistant plastic stilts extend and lift
is here. Meet Nuvo, an English speaking humanoid
the iron over an inch clear off the cloth. If you want to get
robot for home usage. Designed by the same person
back to ironing just grab the handle and it drops back on to
who designed the Ferrari Enzo, Nuvo is a
the cloth. It costs around $130 (Rs 6,000 approx).
formidable piece of technology with four sensors, a
dual-microphone, speaker and wireless LAN. It can
understand and respond to many different verbal
Sony KDE-P61MRX1 commands and can be controlled via any Web
browser. It can walk up and extend its hand when
The Sony KDE-P61MRX1 is sure to rivet your attention. meeting someone, play MP3s on demand. Because
Take the sheer sheer size of this Plasma Panel TV—at these babies are made to order it is sure to burn a
61”, it is one of the largest televisions available today. hole in your pocket. Drool worthy indeed!
This high-end marvel is integrated with all the latest
media features. These include a Memory Stick recording
device, a PC input so that you can watch the
latest Internet TV episodes on your
widescreen at a resolution of 1365 x 768.
And of course, it is HD-TV enabled. The
sound department is well equipped with a
Virtual Dolby surround sound and BBE
digital sound processing. Of course that
size needs adequate support so Sony gives
you a choice of either a wall mount or a
stand.
Now, you may wonder why would Sony
give any accessory as part of the unit?
Here’s the answer. This flat panel wonder
costs £14,000 a piece. Converting it into
rupees doesn’t quite cut the ice as the price
would double with all your taxes and
duties. Suffice to say, could buy a Mercedes
for the same price.

196 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Countries, Companies, And Cellulose
of mechanisms
1 What is the 4 Which country has the highest c) An undocumented bug
online term for per capita rate of broadband
books that originate connectivity—70 per cent? d) A bug, a fix for which the
from Web logs? a) Norway c) The UK developers are willing to pay
b) South Korea d) The US
a) boogs
b) blogbooks 9 Which is the first country
c) blooks d) webooks 5 Which of the following is that has allowed its citizens
not reported to be amongst to vote over the Internet in
the list of the most common national elections?
passwords? a) Estonia c) Germany
2 Which of the following has a) “Love” c) “Hate” b) Finland d) The UK
not been offered as an b) “Sex” d) “Lucky”
explanation for the origin of the 10 Which of the following is not
term ‘bug’? 6 Which country recently known for being a
a) The cellulose in early computers expressed concern that the microprocessor manufacturer?
attracted larvae, which attacked United States could cut off its a) Transmeta c) Logitech
the storage media Internet access anytime it b) SiS d) Centaur
b) A certain programming pioneer wanted to? Technology
had the habit of exclaiming “I’ll a) Iraq c) Iceland
be buggered!” whenever an error
came up
b) Iran d) Ireland
I BM’s first hard disk,
introduced in
1956, was the Did You
c) In the 19th century, telegraphy 7 Name, in order, the top three
keyers had a graphic of a beetle players in the international RAMAC. It had a Know?
on them hard disk market. capacity of about 5
d) A moth was responsible for the a) Samsung, Maxtor, WD MB. And the storage cost
Harvard Mark II computer being b) Samsung, WD, Seagate per MB—mind you, not GB—
shut down for a while c) Seagate, WD, Hitachi was about $10,000!
d) Seagate, Hitachi, Fujitsu Answers
Got an 3 How many English pages do 10. c) Logitech 5. d) “Lucky”
interesting Google, Yahoo! and MSN 8 What is an ‘Easter Egg’ 9. a) Estonia 4. b) South Korea
question? respectively index, based on a in software? of mechanisms lion, 2.5 billion
3. a) 8.5 billion, 11 bil-
Send it in with search for the word “the”? a) A hidden virus that emerges
a variety
can be unlocked by er an error came up
the answer to a) 8.5 billion, 11 billion, 2.5 billion when the user executes certain feature that be buggered!” whenev-
[email protected] b) 20 billion, 11.5 billion, 8.5 billion keystrokes 8. b) A fun, hidden habit of exclaiming “I’ll
Hitachi ming pioneer had the
Mark “TQ” in the c) 86 million, 120 million, 2 billion b) A fun, hidden feature that 7. c) Seagate, WD, 2. a) A certain program-
subject area. d) 10 billion, 1 billion, 500 million can be unlocked by a variety 6. b) Iran 1. c) blooks

Crossword Send in your answers to

the crossword with
ACROSS complete contact details
1. E------ sending and receiving of to [email protected] on
messages(5)
4. ------ Vista-search engine(5)
or before December 15.
10. Bug-free code(5) One lucky participant will
11. Tanatos virus worm(7) win Beginning Cryptography
12. Unicode and double-byte ------ With Java
software modification(8)
13. ------ or credit card(4)
by David Hook
published by Wiley Publishing Win!
15. ‘S’ in ‘bps’(6)
17. ASCII character ‘=’(6)
19. Chat acronym ‘Oh No, Not Again’(4) November 2005 Solution
20. World’s largest mobile company(8)
23. European Forum for Open
Systems(3,4)
24. To enter data in a computer(5)
25. Alternate or pen name(5)
26. Alignment of text inside the
margin(6)

DOWN
2. ------ Multimedia-a division of Aptech
Institute(5)
3. Traditional wired telephone
service(4,4)
5. Company emblem(4)
6. ‘A’ in ‘AOL’ (7)
7. User passwords (6,5) 16.‘Ctrl’key(7)
8. Short for Active Backbone(5) 18. Audio or ------ card(5)
9. Two edges of a graph next to each other(10) 21. Order Code Processor(abbr)(3)
14. Maths statement using equals sign(8) 22. Data Processing Management Association(abbr)(4) Sushant Kumar of Allahabad wins the prize
for the November 2005 crossword
Crossword by Nitta Jaggi

198 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Quake 4 is the latest id software release; we
take a look at what all the hype is about

You start off having to accomplish tasks—get a medic

2 3

Then the monsters attack Kane...and die You get a lot of help from fellow marines

4 5

You help them too—stay away from my friend freak! Use a cannon to blow stuff up, then blow up the cannon

Software’s Quake 4 is the follow- and an XFX 7800 GT and it played at 12

up of the popular multiplayer FPS! I had to select a saner resolution
deathmatch game Quake III of 1024 x 768 with 2x AA and the ‘High
Arena. However, the single-player cam- Quality’ graphics setting to be able to
paign story is a direct sequel of the get an acceptable 35 FPS!
older Quake II. The story is simple: you It was a little annoying to see the
are Matthew Kane, a corporal fighting Autodetect function choose 640 x 480
alongside a human army against aliens with no AA and the Low Quality set-
called The Strogg. This alien race ting! “I have a 7800 GT for christsakes,”
reminds us of the Borg from Star Trek, I screamed!
but are much uglier looking. Anyway, it was all worth the wait and
Although majority of the gaming initial frustration. The game has good
world was waiting for Quake 4 mainly gameplay, decent AI and an entertaining
for its multiplayer gameplay, since that’s story line. The graphics were amazing,
what Quake has become, personally, I’m even at the mere High Quality mode.
not a big deathmatch fan. I need a story, I decided that rather than write a
and some purpose to want to run long review of the game, saying all the
around for hours on end, shooting every- things that have already been said
thing in sight! Sure, perhaps ridding the before by gaming magazines and Web
solar system of alien scourge isn’t exactly sites, it would be better to show you
new or exciting, but it’s reason enough how the game looks, courtesy loads of
to pop in a game that needs GBs of space screenshots! We hope you like our take
and boasts of the best graphics to date! on Quake 4. Our Recommendation: buy
There’s a shock in store for those it! The multiplayer rocks, and the sin-
who even think of running this game gle player will remind you of Doom 3—
on ‘Ultra High’ quality! I used a FX-53- not as scary, but just as entertaining!
based system with 1 GB Corsair RAM [email protected]

200 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 Digital Leisure l Tech Critiqe

6 7 8

You return to your mothership for new orders Then it’s back to making scrambled Strogg Some good lighting effects

9 10 11

Marine Technicians will help improve your firearms Then you ride in a tank, and kill some spiders on the way Look! Better lighting

12 13 14

Spider attacks; spider eats BFG shell and chokes Captured! A laser anally probes me, and, voila, I’m Strogg! Strogg women still hate me

15 16 17

I take a tram ride and solve a few puzzles That’s a big monster flying; then a big monster dying Strogg’s such a pretty place!

18 19

I kill the Big Boss and then blow up the controller brain Thank’s buddy; Earth is safe

Publisher: Activision
Minimum System Configuration: Pentium 4
2 GHz or AMD Athlon 2000+, 512 MB RAM,
64 MB DirectX 9.0c compatible card
Price: Rs 1,299 20
Distributed in India by World Wide CD ROMs
Hey... wait... who the hell is going to date me if I look like this?
Tel: 022 - 56973894

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 201

 MediaWise
IEEE Spectrum, October 2005 Wired.com, November 9, 2005

The Rise Of The Body Bots Battling Bugs: A Digital

EXOSKELETONS ARE STRUTTING out of the lab—and they Quagmire
are carrying their creators with them. Erico Guizzo and
Harry Goldstein of the IEEE Spectrum give us an insight HOW EFFECTIVE ARE our computer bug battling techniques?
into this future possibility Why is it that we slip up in the same areas all the while? This
article by Simson Garfinkel tries to find the reasons
Science-fiction fans have long become accustomed to the idea
of steely commandos clad in robotic exoskeletons taking on In 1976, computer pioneer Edsger W. Dijkstra made an observation
huge, vicious, extraterrestrial beasts, shadowy evil cyborgs, or that would prove uncanny: “Program testing can be quite effective
even each other. Supersoldiers encased in sleek, self-powered for showing the presence of
armor figure memorably in such works as Robert A. Heinlein’s bugs,” he wrote in an essay,
novel Starship Troopers, Joe W. Haldeman’s The Forever War, “but is hopelessly inadequate
and many other books and movies. In A Good Old-Fashioned for showing their absence.”
Future, for example, Bruce Sterling writes of a soldier dying Thirty tears later, Dijkstra’s
after crashing in his “power-armor, a leaping, brick-busting, words have the ring of
lightning-spewing exoskeleton.” prophecy. Companies like
Today, in Japan and the United States, engineers are finally Microsoft and Oracle, along with
putting some practical exoskeletons through their paces outside open-source projects like
of laboratories. But don’t look for Mozilla and Linux, have all
these remarkable new systems to bust instituted rigorous and
bricks or spew lightning. The very first extensive testing programs, but bugs just keep slipping through.
commercially available exoskeleton, Last month, Microsoft’s monthly drop of bug patches included fixes
scheduled to hit the market in Japan for 14 security holes that escaped prerelease testing, four of them
next month, is designed to help rated “critical.”
elderly and disabled people walk, On Tuesday, the company fixed three more Windows bugs, and
climb stairs, and carry things around. all three were the same basic genus of bug—the “buffer overflow”—
Built by Cyberdyne Inc., in Tsukuba, that helped spread the first Internet worm in 1988. It seems
Japan, this exoskeleton, called HAL-5, programmers and software architects manage to make the same
will cost about 1.5 million yen (around mistakes generation after generation. Even back in 1988, many of
US $13 800). the bugs that haunt us today were already old hat.
Meanwhile, in the United States, “We solved buffer overflows and the Y2K problem with Multics
the most advanced exoskeleton projects are at the University in 1975,” says Peter Neumann, a senior scientist at SRI International
of California, Berkeley, and at Sarcos Research Corp., in Salt who has been researching bugs and their impact on society for
Lake City. Both are funded under a $50 million, five-year more than two decades. But while Multics—the first secure multi-
program begun by the Defense Advanced Research Projects user operating system—addressed some thorny problems, bug
Agency, or DARPA, in 2001. During the past several months, history keeps repeating itself.
each group has been working on a second-generation The reasons for that are both simple and complex, experts say,
exoskeleton that is a huge improvement over its predecessor. having to do with the programming languages themselves or with
Little information about the new models had been officially programmer psychology and the environment in which software is
released by press time, but IEEE Spectrum has learned that the developed. To understand why bugs occur, it helps to start by
Berkeley unit was successfully tested in a park near the looking at the general classes of faulty code.
campus this past summer and the latest Sarcos model was Bugs can be broadly divided into two categories. Typographical
demonstrated to a panel of military observers at Fort Belvoir, bugs and errors in reasoning are one type. Then, there are the
VA., last April. deep, conceptual bugs that make a program malfunction even
http://webench.national.com though all the code is more or less correct.
HAL-5, in Japan, and the systems by Berkeley and Sarcos, Memory misdeeds
in the United States, appear to be the first of a platoon of Buffer overflows and race conditions are examples of the first
considerably more capable exoskeletons aimed at real-world kind of bug. A particularly tenacious beast, the potential for a
uses that may soon, quite literally, be walking near you. buffer overflow is created when a programmer allocates a certain
Most of these systems are designed to help physically weak amount of memory to hold a piece of information—for example,
or injured people gain more mobility or perform rehabilitation nine characters to hold a Social Security number. But then the
exercises. But researchers are quick to mention other program tries to store more data in that space when it actually
commercial possibilities for their creations: rescue and runs. The rest of the data overflows the pre-allocated buffer and
emergency personnel could use them to reach over debris- overwrites something else in the computer’s memory—frequently
strewn or rugged terrain that no wheeled vehicle could with disastrous results.
negotiate; firefighters could carry heavy gear into burning The 1990s saw buffer overflows reach near-epidemic
buildings and injured people out of them; and furniture proportions in programs written in the C and C++ programming
movers, construction workers, and warehouse attendants could languages, because these languages require coders to manually
lift and carry heavier objects safely. manage the memory used by their programs. Like driving a
performance car, control of the memory might let a skilled
For the entire article go to http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/oct05/1901 programmer eke a bit more out of the computer, or accomplish
neat tricks and stunts. But the danger of a stall or a crash is
ever present.
For the entire article go to
http://wired.com/news/technology/bugs/0,2924,69369,00.html?tw=wn_16techhead

148 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 AdWise
Fortune, November 28, 2005

From Megs To Riches

MULTIPLAYER GAMES ARE taking off, and with them a vast
and unexpected new market. People are trading imaginary
things in imaginary worlds yet making real money. Roger
Parloff of Fortune analyses this fast growing trend

“Paul” and I are seated on a plush couch in the atrium-style living

room of his starter mansion north of Dallas. A 71-inch flat-screen
HDTV dominates the far wall. His Porsche 911 Carrera and his wife’s
Lincoln Navigator nestle in the garage. It’s a good life and would not
be a surprising one for a 33-year-old corporate litigator like Paul,
except that he quit his law partnership two years ago. Since then,
he’s been self-employed at an even more lucrative calling: He plays
a medieval-themed online videogame called EverQuest.
Because so many young people now spend so much of their lives
immersed in the simulated 3-D worlds of games like this one, the
noncorporeal emoluments they accumulate in these environments—
virtual swords, cloaks, gauntlets, in-game currency etc—acquire real
value to them, and they will pay real US dollars and euros, yen,
won, and yuan to acquire them. So Paul buys and sells virtual items
and currency for a living. “The
valuation is always difficult,” he
concedes. “When you think about
people paying real cash for
something you can’t even touch,
smell, taste-that’s tough.”
Launched in 1997 and now
owned by Sony Online Sony’s Fan Club
Entertainment, EverQuest is one of Sony would like to rub its competitor’s face in grime. “We’ve
the increasingly popular computer got the superior technology”, they’d say. But is the superior
games called massively multiplayer technology restricted to just high-end televisions and are
online role-playing games (MMO for the rest still part of the Wege Fan Club?
short). Though EverQuest has
about 300,000 player-subscribers
worldwide, a 2004 entry into the market called World of Warcraft
(made by Vivendi subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment) has become
the industry’s transformative, breakthrough blockbuster. WoW, as
it’s known, has already garnered 4.5 million subscriptions
worldwide and is expected to gross $500 million this year alone-
more than most hit movies ever earn at the box office.
Paul is one of a growing number of people who either make
their living or supplement their income through businesses
catering to needs that arise only in virtual worlds. Anshe Chung,
for instance, is the in-game character, or “avatar,” created by a
German woman who teaches school near Frankfurt. Since March
2004, Chung has accumulated more than $200,000 worth of in-
game currency and “land holdings” by conducting businesses
inside a serene synthetic world called Second Life. Chung buys
“land” there, builds communities using tools provided by the game
developers, and then rents or resells plots to other players. Second
Life is a world simulated by 1,400 servers run by a San Francisco
company called Linden Lab. The money Chung earns is convertible
to dollars over an exchange run by Linden Lab.
Estimates of the size of the nascent market in virtual
property range widely-from about $200 million to $1 billion
worldwide-but most industry observers agree that it is increasing
at a breakneck pace, possibly 100% year over year. Because it
involves commerce between imaginary worlds and the real one
(known to some gamers as “meat space”), it raises knotty
questions. The things Paul and Anshe trade, for instance, are
Reverse Engineering
merely the graphical manifestations of data entered into
Really, why change things from the way they were easy
spreadsheets owned by Sony and Linden Lab. Do they constitute
and simple? All you had to do was holler for anything. In
“property” recognizable by US courts? If so, whose?
fact, some people think that getting down from the trees
For the entire article go to was a big mistake in the first place!
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,1130814,00.html

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 149

 Most Expensive Cellphone $100 Laptop Closer To Reality
The most expensive mobile phone is being crafted in MIT Media Lab head, Nicholas Negroponte has unveiled the
Austria. Costing over £500,000 the phone has sections design for the $100 laptop that will go into production early
of pure gold and 2950 blue diamonds embedded on next year. The laptop is powered with a wind-up crank, has
the cover. Peter Aloisson, the creator, makes around very low power consumption and will let children interact
three phones a year with most retailing at £200,000. with each other while learning.

First
Escape
HE DIDN’T EVEN DO IT!

The MPAA Strikes Again

The Firefox Plug-in
Finder Service

W
hen will the RIAA infringement in early Bernards, VP of corporate
(Recording Industry
Association of
America) and the MPAA
November against 67-year-
old Fred Lawrence, seeking
$600,000 (Rs 2.64 crore) in
communications for MPAA,
claimed illegal downloading
costs the movie industry an
F irefox is a good browser.
Still, there are instances
when one would be better off
(Motion Picture Association damages. This was after estimated $5.4 billion a year. using good old IE (or any other
of America) stop suing Lawrence refused an offer It would be interesting browser for that matter). So
innocent people? No, we back in March to settle the to find out how they come what do we
mean really innocent matter by shelling out up with such figures. Would have here? An
people—those who haven’t $4,000 (Rs 1.76 lakh). someone who downloaded a awkward
even downloaded illegal Lawrence said his movie necessarily have situation of
stuff at all? grandson, who was then 12, bought it if they hadn’t having a single
There was a case some downloaded the movies in been able to get it for free? ‘great browser’
time ago of a grandmother December 2004, “out of What about people who installed, and at
being sued for downloading curiosity,” and that he had actually go to the theatre the same time No embedded
music, but there, well, you deleted them immediately. after seeing what they liked the necessity video in Firefox!
could have pinned it down He also said the family on their PC screens? of resorting
to something like already owned three of the The $5.4 billion figure to another browser for
“ignorance of the law is not four titles on DVD. probably assumes that certain sites.
sufficient grounds for Now, we’re guessing movie pricing is correct and OK, some sites aren’t
pardon.” This time it’s a that’s what his lawyers told fair: what if it’s not, and it coded with Firefox in mind,
grandfather who doesn’t him to say—why should the turns out people think but we also have the situation
even “like watching grandson have deleted them DVDs are priced too high? of missing plugins. For
movies.” He’s been sued immediately after The debate will rage for instance, check http://
because his grandson downloading them? And some time. Only two things snipurl.com/digitdec1, a
downloaded all of four why would he have are for sure: first, P2P is typical blog. Try it in IE and
movies on their home downloaded movies they here to stay, and second, everything’s fine. You cannot
computer over the P2P already had on DVD? that suing a 67-year-old say the same for Firefox.
service iMesh. In any case, the $500,000 grandfather for something Moreover, Firefox talks
The MPAA filed a federal suit is, of course, in order to his 12-year-old grandson did about a missing plugin, offers
lawsuit for copyright set an example. Kori is plain stupid. to find a plugin, and then says
it isn’t able to find one. Worse
still is the case with http://
My Desktop snipurl.com/digitdec2.
There’s an embedded
T hink you have the most beautiful, most
innovative desktop around? E-mail us
with subject ‘My Desktop’ and your postal
video on the page, and Firefox
shows up nothing, not even
address to [email protected], and the video Window! The plugin
Digit will publish the most eye-catching of finder doesn’t even pop up. To
them each month. activate the plugin required
(Windows Media Player), and
Next month’s winner to make the video window
appear, you need to mess
will receive a copy of
around with a .dll file.
Local Area Networks Even after that, the plugin
Management Design finder service doesn’t detect
And Security WMP as the missing plugin!
By Arne Mikalsen and And we’re talking about the
Per Borgesen
There is no winner for this month. The majority of latest version of Firefox—1.0.7!
Published by John Willey & Sons Ltd entries we received used desktop theme packs. This is As you might expect, the same
not allowed! site works just fine in IE.

204 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 People Who
Changed
Triple-core? Computing

This month’s winner is The Searchmeisters

Manju Nath
JP Nagar Larry Page and his partner
Bangalore Sergey Brin have changed the
way people use the Internet—
they co-founded Google.
He wins Page and Brin were just
SAMS Teach computer science grad
Yourself EJB students at
by Ragae Ghaly Stanford
and Krishna when they
Kothapalli
Published by
came up with
Pearson a search
Education, Delhi algorithm.
That was back
Page and Brin in 1995. The
two were not
WIN! a made-for-each-other pairing:
Send in your entry and you could win an exciting gift just by sharing an amusing picture with a tech their first meeting was
angle to it. The picture should be shot by you, and should not have been published anywhere earlier. anything but cordial, and has
E-mail your picture with the subject ‘DigiPick’ and your postal address on or before 15th of this month become part of Google lore.
to [email protected]. One prize-winning picture will be published each month. Their opinions differed so
much they frequently had
showdowns. One thing they
MOBILE TV COMING SOON? The new category will putting up a mobile-only did agree on, however, was
recognise “outstanding version of their hit TV show technology—technology that
Emmys For achievement in content for
non-traditional delivery
24. Other channels and
networks such as MTV are
powered searchability.
By early 1996, Page and
Mobile platforms.” To be eligible
for the awards, the shows
also developing content for
this platform.
Brin had begun to collaborate
on a search engine called
Content have to be created
specifically for mobile STAMP OUT THE SMUT!
BackRub. Their algorithm
created a buzz at the Stanford
devices, and cannot be spin- campus, and the duo decided
The Pixels
T
he US National offs of existing TV shows. to put their PhDs on hold to
Academy of Television The shows must be less than set up Google and take it
Arts and Sciences,
which gives out the annual
20 minutes in length.
“What we are seeing is a
Say It All mainstream. There was one
problem though—money. But
Daytime Emmy Awards, has burgeoning rise in this type soon enough, they were in

P
introduced a new category of programme making,” ixAlert is an Irish smut- talks with Andy Bechtolsheim
to reward creators of Peter Price, president of the busting firm, and the of Sun. Bechtolsheim was
content for mobile phones Academy told the BBC News name, as you’ll see, has impressed and wrote a
and other portable media Web site. It certainly does rhyme and reason to it. $100,000 cheque to “Google,
devices such as the Video seem that way. It has developed Inc.” Google didn’t exist yet,
iPod and the Sony PSP. Apple has inked a technology which, it claims, so Brin and Page promptly
deal with ABC, the “completely prevents incorporated their company.
largest broadcaster in pornographic images being Page and Brin managed
the US, and Disney, to displayed and viewed on the company until it grew to
offer legal downloads computer screens” by more than 200 employees in
of TV hits such as Lost blocking “illegal or 2001. They then handed over
and Desperate inappropriate images as they the CEO position to Dr Eric
Housewives for the Video are rendered.” Schmidt. Page still plays an
iPod. In addition to this, PixAlert says they important role in running the
Apple is also planning manage to do it using “high- company, along with Schmidt
to offer brand-new speed image analysis and Brin.
animation content software” that can detect After Google’s IPO in
from Pixar. “images actually being September 2004, Page and
Rupert Murdoch’s displayed on any screen and Brin have become multi-
News Corporation originating from any billionaires: Forbes Magazine
that owns the Fox computer source.” ranks Page as the 55th-richest
network, and a Understandably, there’s a man in the world. But the
number of good market for the two still haven’t earned their
Hollywood studios— technology, because as PhDs—they’re both still
including Twentieth PixAlert marketing manager technically on leave from the
Century Fox—is also Andy Churley explains, doctoral program at Stanford!
Illustration: Harsho Mohan Chattoraj

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 205

 Escape
All In A Month’s Work
E ach month—this month being no
different—the story idea meeting is
where it all begins. Brainstorming soon
closing has already crept upon us. It’s
during those late nights that we all turn
into armchair theoreticians, raving and
gets us locking horns. Substitute ‘man’ ranting about all things under the sun
with ‘idea’ in “May the best man win!” over icy-cold cola and hot pizzas
and you’d know what we’re talking dripping with mozzarella! Such a
Apple Mac OS X about! To give you an example, just try perfect setting!
Tiger and point fingers at Opera—it brings out For Raaabo and Ram at this time of
There are operating systems the gladiator in Raaabo. month, Digit is a home away from home.
and then there’s Tiger. In its And receiving the ‘Loudspeaker of Ram, hypochondriac that he is, keeps his
latest avatar, Mac OS X is the Year’ award at our Diwali party has pill-box handy, not to forget his beloved
faster, better and as graphically only reinforced ed Deepak’s resolve to pillow—apart from a jar of powdered
appealing as ever. Chances are, use his lung power to get us all cracking! caffeine and a ladder of cigarette packs.
though, that you’ve never used Then follows the story board And you can safely trust Mithun to
it. There are times when you meeting, where we tell the design team juggle tasks, big or small—the nearer the
want to stand out of the crowd about our stories. The design team— deadline, the faster he delivers!
and throw jargon, but with a Pillaiji, Solomon, Vijay, Pradip, Film aficionado Renuka will share all
Mac, it isn’t straightforward. Chaitanya, Vikram and Brother Zivalal that she’s learning in her script-writing
But that’s what we’re here for! (real name: Zony Ericsson)—have made course with anyone who will lend an
Tiger includes a lot of new life here more colourful, literally! ear! Sadly, it was also Preethi’s last
additions such as Widgets and They’ve put up lifelike sketches and month—with the Don of Digit gone, it’s
the Spotlight. Spotlight is the caricatures of Digit team members on time we get someone to fill in her shoes!
lightning-fast search their pin-up boards. And indeed, In fact, we’re eagerly awaiting
technology that displays results passers-by do gaze, admire the new members soon to
as fast as you can type them!
and even smirk! come on board. Watch
You can search everything on
And then before this space for more
your system—files, e-mails,
contacts, images, movies, we know it, issue- on them next month!
calendars, and even
applications. Just say “I’m images have in GET USED TO THEM
throwing the spotlight on some common: skin,
files” when you want to talk
about searching your desktop!
and lots of it. And
when it comes to
Splogs: Spam
The new Dashboard (a.k.a.
Expose) hosts a ton of mini-
porn movies,
there’s skin-
Reaches
applications called Widgets,
which appear instantly and
coloured
textures that
Blogs
keep you up-to-date with
information from the Net. View move, without

I
stocks, check weather the overall t had to happen sooner or
forecasts, track flights, convert amount of later, and now it’s upon
currencies, even look up the colour us. Spam has reached the
businesses in the phone book. changing much. blogosphere, and in a big
Think of it as the inbuilt Google According to way. As always, it’s all about
Deskbar. Usage: “Let me check PixAlert.com, money, of course.
the Dashboard for the latest “PixAlert Since there are so many
price of Digit stock”. Of course, Auditor’s Image blogs around, there must be
there is no Digit stock—so Analysis Engine spam-related ways to make
substitute for that wisely! has been proven to money off the idea—and
And since we’ll be bluffing “Inappropriate images in the provide results which are spammers seem to have
anyway, remember that the workplace are becoming a 95-98% accurate. The found at least three such.
Mac OSes are built around the real threat to business software has been tested on “Splog” doesn’t have a
UNIX platform. Here’s some operations. Their presence millions of images.” concrete definition yet, but
worthwhile info you could pass on corporate PCs and Actually, the FAQ itself think about them as spam
along as you make small talk:
dissemination through a provided us with quite a blogs, or spam postings on
“Under the hood, the easy-to-
use interface and rich graphics
network can have severe few laughs, including, as it blogs, or as anything that’s a
are powered by Darwin, an consequences for an does, stuff like the combination of spam and a
open source, UNIX-based organisation and its officers, following: blog. Splogs push the same
foundation built on including exposure to civil “Can PixAlert (also) kind of stuff most spam
technologies such as Mach and litigation, brand and detect illicit cartoon does: Viagra, organ
FreeBSD.” reputation damage, images?” enhancement products, get-
Also, Tiger has significantly financial loss and breach of “PixAlert Auditor is rich-quick schemes... you get
improved support for dual- corporate policies.” designed to detect all images the idea.
processor performance when Now for the burning but is optimised to detect It’s a relatively new
reading and writing files to disk question: how does it work? pornographic images. As a phenomenon, and most
and when using Mac OS X with They won’t tell, but we can result, PixAlert Auditor will people who visit blogs don’t
NFS file servers. make a good guess. It detect life-like cartoon expect anything irrelevant—
A suggestion: memorise! doesn’t take an Einstein to images as being of an so there’s been a lot of
figure what all pornographic illicit nature.” confusion amongst those

206 DIGIT DECEMBER 2005

 E sc ape
whatweretheythinking.com who encounter splogs.
Search results have been
The second form of
splogging involves creating a
That ’70s Show! dramatically affected, fake blog filled with links to
especially on services such other sites. People using a

T he late ’70s and early ’80s were a tumultuous time and one when
not many knew what was happening. This fact is also reflected in
“The Past Passes By”. ’
as Technorati’s, which focus
on blog tracking. “It’s the
#1 problem for search
search engine to find a blog
on, say, breast cancer, would
get to a site full of ads for,
This, of course, we’re guessing, is the title of this site, since engines,” says Matt and links to, porn sites.
‘Crystal Machine info’ is the title of the page. Mullenweg of WordPress, a And third, you could use
“In 1971 Tim Blake met the French Light show artiste blog-software service. blogs’ feedback fields.
PATRICE WARRENER. The first way to make Sploggers can post totally
When Tim left GONG in 1975, they formed the money off splogs is this: off-topic comments,
“CRYSTAL MACHINE”. find a topic—say Servers— including a sales pitch.
Who these folks are is explained in the text that follows: that draws consumers who Jason Goldman, Product
they were “The first group in the world dedicated to electronic may be valuable to Manager for the Blogger
music and light show, featuring, advertisers on big search division of Google says
Lasers, for the first time ever”. Our engines. Then, register for they’ve tightened up the
point of concentration, though, is their the programs that let those blog-creating process—
site, which is as colourful as their shows search companies place ads Google now offers a quick
perhaps were. With each line of text in a on the blog. way to report bogus pages so
different colour, it’s indeed a visit back in Next, set up a blog that they can be blocked from
time to the days of Web page design in takes in news items via the search engine.
the early ’90s and the spirit of the ’80s. feeds about that subject. If Other blog hosts and
Some of the group’s achievements all goes well, the search search engines are fighting
include shows in Spain, Japan, Holland engines will identify your splogs. Goldman admits that
moonweed.free.fr/crystal_intro.html and Gladstonbury Festival. For some rea- blog as a prime place for like with spam, splogging
son, we decided we should Google that ads. Now all you need to do could take on the “arms-
last, and it turned out they’d actually performed at the Glastonbury is find (and pay peanuts to) race” aspect, with the
festival—although there does exist a Gladstonbury festival too! someone who’ll keep baddies always trying to be
Did we mention the blue background on which a fuzzy, clicking the ads! one step ahead. Well, we’ve
blurred, pink-tinged photograph is placed? That is the only visual Programmes such as got used to spam—and if you
relief on this entire page. There are all of three links—one of which Google’s AdSense pay out read blogs, you’d get used to
displays no text—and these lead to some photos. Very 1976! Let’s each time someone splogging as well.
just keep it in its time—accept our apologies for bringing this site responds to an ad, so a Compiled by Aditya Kuber,
to your notice! splogger could make big Mithun Kidambi, Ram Mohan
money this way. Rao and Renuka Rane

India Uncut Don’t trust the Indian media

http://indiauncut.blogspot.com/2005/10/question-of- http://presstalk.blogspot.com/2005/10/ponytail-and-
principles.html legal-notice.html

A Question Of Principles The Ponytail And The Legal Notice!

A few months ago Jam Magazine, edited by Rashmi Really like Desipundit, not only because they have
Bansal, did a story exposing some of the claims made brought a whole lot of new readers to this site—even
This time round our by IIPM, the educational institute run by Arindam though few of those new readers leave comments—but
selection is all about Chaudhuri. After that happened, some of the IIPM staff also because these guys can sometimes uncover some
the IIPM blog barged into the Jam office. They “did not offer any new gems of hilarity from the Indian blogosphere. Blogger
controversy, which or material facts, other than argument.” Then Rashmi Gaurav Sabnis has been served a legal notice by the
began with a story got a legal notice from them. ponytailed management (maybe) guru (joke) Arindam
written by Rashmi A number of blogs sprung up overnight defending Chaudhari. Now, I know giving space to this person is a
Bansal in the IIPM and defaming Rashmi and Gaurav Sabnis, a waste of server space. But this letter is too hilarious!
popular blogger who had linked to Rashmi’s article… Digit note: The letter—at the Blogspot page mentioned
JAM magazine
above—is worth a read!
Desipundit.com
www.desipundit.com/2005/10/08/lies-damned-lies- Vantage Point
and-fake-blogs/ http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/10/update.html

IIPM Blog Wars Redux An Update

This time it is personal. Rashmi Bansal has been I have resigned from IBM.
attacked by so-called IIPM graduates. Gaurav has been I got a call from a Senior Executive of Lenovo.
served a legal notice (via e-mail) asking him to retract Apparently, IIPM called him up, complaining about my
his statements against IIPM. Couple of days later, posts… The next day, I got a call from him again.
another blogger Varna got an identical legal notice Apparently, the Dean of IIPM wrote him a mail saying
from IIPM. More importantly, this attempted that the IIPM Students Union had decided that if my
suppression of freedom of speech shall not be blog posts were not deleted, then they would gather all
tolerated. Kaps has issued a call to join the fight the Thinkpads they had been given by the institute,
against IIPM. Bloggers all around the world have and burn them in front of the IBM office in Delhi. Yes,
responded magnificently. that’s right. Burn laptops!

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 207

 Digit Forum
Can you legally Download TV Serials?
crazybutt
Analogue Novice
Location: The 5th dimension
I am a Beri Beri Big follower of d Simpsons,
I would desperately like to get the
episodes. Is it legal?
****************************************
Nemesis
Digitized Moderator Dear Hitikant,
Location: New York
Registry Fast Track?
Thanks for your appreciation; it is such words
Let's say you missed a couple of episodes of Your Fast Track is “paisa wasool”! Tips &
that motivate us to work hard and give you the
Lost when they were aired. Would it still be Tricks has made me popular amongst
latest and the best technology news and
legal to download them? You didn't even my friends. Why don’t you bring out a
analysis month after month. Regarding in-
see them so how would you claim any fast track that gives comprehensive
depth information about mobile technologies,
rights to the content? knowledge about Registries?
well, we have been writing about them from
As far as I see, recording and keeping Arnab Kumar Mondal
time to time in different articles for the last few
copies is perfectly legal—TiVo wouldn't have Allahabad
years. But yes, we could do one big story on it,
existed otherwise. But it is the distribution Dear Arnab,
or even a Fast Track. Thanks for your
that I think is illegal. Especially since DVDs I am glad to know that Fast Track is proving to
suggestions—keep them coming!
of entire seasons and recently single be a good knowledge resource for you.
— Associate Editor
episodes for the iPod Video are being Regarding an entire Fast Track on ‘Registries’,
retailed, I wonder if there is any way well, let us see whether there is enough
downloading episodes can be legal. material for it to merit a book. Otherwise, we In Love Since 7th grade
can definitely carry a series of articles on it. I have been reading Digit since I was in
**************************************** —Associate Editor the 7th grade. Now I am in the 10th. Digit
iinfi
Digitized! has convinced me that I should build a
Location: Navi Mumbai career as a software expert. I would like
I think its is illegal to download/save using to thank you for inspiring us young
PC (with TV tuner card), even if u have paid readers. It’s only due to you that I’m the
ur cablewallah for viewing the serial or most tech-savvy person in my class. Your
movie on TV... hardware and software tests have helped
Coz u have paid only to see the serial or me and my dad a lot while deciding on
movie once i.e when it was aired on the TV what new hardware to buy. My
at that particular time and not whenever collection of past Digit issues and CDs
you please. help not only me when I need certain
I feel once you record it LIVE, no one software, but also my friends.
can stop u from distributing it. Amritanshu Kar
Delhi
**************************************** Dear Amritanshu,
netarget
Analogue Novice Back in 7th grade, you were probably one of
Location: A small room in a big house in a the youngest readers of Digit! It is avid
small street in a big city learners like you who will further the fame of
I wholly accept there is a hairline difference our IT industry, and on whose shoulders rests
between legality and illegality such is the our nation’s IT potential. I am glad that Digit
case in most questions of law. The exact has been your choice to step up your
study of this is called Jurisprudence. No technology quotient. Keep reading and giving
wonder lawyers (like me) interpret it as us your feedback as well!
they want to claim Justice. It is upto the —Associate Editor
More About Mobile Phone
Court to interpret it, which of course would
be final. Technologies Philippines Calling
I have been a keen reader of Digit for Your mag is one of the few I keep on
**************************************** the past two years, and find it the best buying not only in India but also in my
KHUBBU
Resident Techie computer magazine, enlightening us on country, the Philippines. In that country,
Every Music channel airs video songs. One the knowledge of science and where there are many techies, and
can simply record it, save the sound from technology in a very simple way. The where software and Internet
the file, convert it to MP3 and u have a most interesting part is the cover story proliferation is common, I find a big
good MP3 collection of your fav songs—no of the month, covering GPS, vacuum on Indian Internet hi-ways! Can
need to buy or download. Now is this legal? comparisons of motherboard and cell someone tell me what the official Web
Of course if one shares it then its illegal. phones, etc. site of India is? I asked for help from Mr
It would be great if you were to Genius Yahoo! and the tech- savvy Ms
**************************************** cover mobile technologies in detail, Google, but they can’t figure it out. It
srijit
Analogue Novice such as GSM, CDMA, TDMA, 3G, etc. You seems that India, a country I consider an
Very important point in all this is that could also answer questions about the oasis of techies, is left far behind on the
Microsoft is coming out with the Media various spectrums, tell us something Net. Someone told me the Indian site is
Center PC. So even if it is illegal to do these about WAP, and so on. I feel that your yet to be launched.
things the companies might not want to be magazine believes in spreading and Noel Arellano
in a legal battle with MS who is promoting sharing knowledge, and it does have the The Philippines
Media Center PC left and right. potential to change people’s lives! Dear Noel,
Idea: get a Media Center PC and blame Hitikant Sahoo It makes us feel proud to know we are being
everything on MS :) Cuttack read and appreciated as far as in the

220 To post your comments on the Digit Forum,

visit http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum
 Write to the Editor Digit will publish the best letters on these pages.
Letters may be edited for clarity. You must include
E-mail: [email protected]
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Inbox
quoting the 16-digit patron code mentioned on
Philippines. As far as the “official Indian site” is the last page of your November issue, and we
Games Companies Play
concerned, it is www.india.gov.in, which is the will replace it for free. It should take less than Let me congratulate your team on their
official portal of the government of India. It has two weeks to reach you. superior performance! I'd like to share
recently been completely revamped and spruced —Associate Editor some issues with you.
up to tell you all you need to know about India. I installed the Serious Sam 2 demo on
—Associate Editor my Compaq PC with Intel Northwood
Faulty DVD 2.4 GHz, 1 GB RAM, DVD-Writer, GeForce
Searchable Index On CD/DVD I’m a regular newsstand reader of Digit 4 MX etc. But the demo didn't work. The
I am a regular reader of Digit for the last for the last four years. I think there’s readme file recommends GF 5900
two years, and have all the CDs and DVDs. something going wrong with your DVD. and even GF 7800 for optimal
One day I wanted to locate a specific For the last three years I have never performance! I tried out the
software—Advanced Notepad. I knew it received a faulty CD, but I did get a demo on my friend's PC
was on one of the DVDs, but which one? I faulty DVD five or six months ago. I’ve (GF 6600), and frankly, Letter
had to insert all your DVDs and CDs one again received a faulty CD this month. even two year old games of the
by one, which was quite frustrating—the Could you do something about this? like Unreal Tournament 2003 Month
whole operation took two hours! Please Also, in terms of content, your DVD has or Painkiller easily rank
include a searchable index of the CD and more demo games and Linux software ahead in terms of graphical
DVD contents, so that we do not have to than regular software. Please give us quality. What is more surprising
physically search through our collection— more of system software, multimedia that my GF 4 MX (highly overclocked)
and please don’t ignore this letter! and system essential software, since not can play UT 2003, Painkiller, and Call of
Nitin Kumar many of us use Linux or have the latest Duty 2 (on the latest Digit DVD) at 1280 x
Patna configuration to play intensive games. 1024 with 4X AA very easily.
Dear Nitin, Shatrughan Prasad We might have a lot of firepower
We do not, and never will, ignore any of our New Delhi today, but are we getting enough
reader’s letters! On the point of a searchable productivity in return? Especially
index, we certainly are working towards considering the 1 lakh+ cost of high-
developing a search program that will give you a end PC, which soon turns out to be
database of not just the existing, but also of all obsolete?
our past CD/DVD software. This will take some I really liked the article on modding
time, but once done, I assure you it will save you the PC cabinet. Many of us have never
lots of time and effort. handled such high-speed tools and
—Associate Editor expensive lights, fans etc., so a detailed
guide from Digit is highly welcome.
Fast Track On PDF? One more suggestion is, people at
First off, I would like to congratulate your Digit always play with the latest
entire team for the fine work they do for gizmos, and we're excited too. Why
Digit. We eagerly wait for the next issue, don't you give a live video (on the DVD)
every time. But I have some suggestions about the actual testing procedure,
and a complaint. installation, etc. done at your Test
One, how about dividing each issue Centre? You could also give demo
into separate areas of IT information? Dear Shatrughan, recordings the games you test for
Second, how about putting up PDF Regarding faulty DVDs, yes, we are taking your readers.
versions of Fast Track on your special definite steps to ensure this doesn’t happen. I hope the Digit team is listening!
issue DVD or even a separate CD? Now for There have been a few cases when our DVDs
my complaint: my copy of the November have either got damaged in transit or have Bhavesh N Momaya
issue came with cracked CD/DVD pack. been stolen en route. We have since laid Jalgaon
Please send me an additional pack and down stringent measures to track the
tell me what I need to pay. culprits and also to further improve upon
Sehaj Kang our transportation means. Still, if you do get Dear Bhavesh,
Hoshiarpur a faulty CD or DVD, please feel free to return Serious Sam 2 is one of the latest games, and
them, quoting the 16-digit patron code on requires a DX9.0c-capable card. The review of
Dear Sehaj, the last page of that month’s copy of Digit, the game in the same month pointed out that
We cannot separate our articles merely on the and ask for a free replacement from our this game does not have Doom 3-like
basis of the information they contain, because customer service help desk. graphics, and is known for funny- looking
there are umpteen categories that these articles Coming back to your request for more characters and bosses.
can be slotted into. Fast Track on PDF… well, we software, we always need to balance Some card vendors have had problems
are currently debating on that; maybe once a increasing demands for game demos, Linux with DirectX and OpenGL games, but all that
quarter or every six months we can give you the software and system software. Satisfying is slowly being resolved.
past issues of our Fast Track on PDF. everyone does become a difficult task. But yes, As for the videos, we have planned this,
And no, you don’t need to pay to get your we will bear your request in mind. and you should see it happen in the next
faulty CD/DVD replaced. Just send it back to us — Associate Editor few months.

DIGIT DECEMBER 2005 221

 An Online Funeral To Mourn
A Gamer’s Death
C
hinese players of the other, and sit with their heads
MMORPG hit World of bowed for a while. OK, if you still
Warcraft (WoW) held an don’t get it, check out the
online funeral service last month picture at http://snipurl.
after a gamer—a young girl—died com/digittabloid1.
playing the game. ‘Snowly’ died On that page, Joi Ito, another
in October after playing WoW for avid WoW player, writes: “Players
many days during a national often play until they pass out,
holiday, in preparation for a especially when they are
particularly difficult stretch questing in a group, where their
People And Events That Grabbed Headlines—For Better Or For Worse of the game, in which she participation is required... There
would have to kill the Black is also a lot of pressure to catch
Dragon Prince. up if you drop behind in order to

Kelly Brook’s Members of the online

community remember her to be
“a diligent and dedicated player.”
play your role.”
This comes just a little while
after another gaming-related

Pics From Three So what exactly is an online

funeral? Do members get on a
chat board and offer
death, and the Chinese
government is planning to
introduce monitoring tools that

Leaked Online condolences to the bereaved? No

way! An “online funeral” is just
what it sounds like—people get
will prevent players from
logging on and gaming for long
hours. Gamers are already
on the game, come towards each protesting, of course.

IT Firm Bans Whinging!

G
ermany-based IT company work official after one female
Nutzwerk Ltd has added employee refused to subscribe to
whinging (informal the company’s philosophy of
disapproving) to a list of things always smiling.”
that can get an employee sacked: Employees who wake up
employees have to constantly be grumpy need not come to office
in a good mood as part of their and can stay at home rather
employment contract! than spoiling the work
Manager Thomas Kuwatsch ambience. However, employees
said, “We made the ban on who take too many leaves may
moaning and grumpiness at also be sacked!

The First Amendment,

Explicit images of Brook from her upcoming film are already online
Now For Schoolkids
B
rit actress Kelly Brook is shows a topless Kelly in the

W
getting free publicity for ocean writhing around with hen Ryan Dwyer built Dwyer was suspended for a
her upcoming movie some dude, with a tom-peeper his Web site in 2003, week, banned from playing
Three, courtesy the Web site in the bushes watching them. little did he know it baseball for a month, and
What Would Tyler Durden Do? Brook has objected would become a profit-making even barred from going on a
(WWTDD). In public, however, strongly to the “explicit” venture! His school in New class trip.
Brook is acting furious. nature of the scene, but the Jersey has promised to pay And the school didn’t even
Apparently, the site posted actual reason, according to $117,500 (Rs 5.17 lakh) as have a rulebook with such
nude scenes from Three for the commentators at WWTDD, is compensation for punishing disciplinary action—or any
benefit of the general public. because it is pure “crap”. him on critical statements guidelines to handle such cases—
WWTDD said, “Kelly is The site has also remarked, about his middle school. One of mentioned. OK, the amount
suing because she felt certain “If that second dude was there the entries in the guestbook might seem too much, but
scenes were too explicit and she to judge the bikini contest, section of his site, too, was remember that the First
didn’t want them to be seen.” he’s gonna be pretty considered unacceptably Amendment is taken, well, very
The scene we’re talking about disappointed.” critical by school authorities. seriously in America.

222
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