============================================================ -------- INSIDE PCMAG.COM -------- -------- for September 24, 2004 -------- ============================================================
============================================================ ********** Sponsored by Toshiba ********** Satellite A60-S1662 for $799. The reliable, easy-to-use Satellite A60 offers the engineering and innovations that are trademarks of Toshiba - and now at an unbeatable value. It's just $799 after a $200 mail-in rebate if you order by 9/30/04. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104717-1 ************************************************************ ============================================================ Welcome to today's edition of Inside PCMag.com. Search engines are, it seems, the new battleground of the high-tech marketplace. We know you use them, often many times a day. Yet we wonder why companies like Microsoft and Amazon are suddenly so hot on the topic. Are those text ads that Google runs on every result so compelling? Do you follow sponsored results links on search engines and other sites? If so, are you satisfied with what you find and why? Help us understand the commercial power of search in the forums. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104720-1 IN THIS ISSUE: * Review: Apple iMac G5--An iPod Writ Large * Opinion: 10 Things Wrong with PC Technology * Review: Amazon's A9 Search Evens Out * Special Report: Kerry and Bush's Technology Platforms * Review: The Panasonic VDR-M50 Camcorder * Review: Panasonic Gets This One Right * Product News: Faster, Cheaper Memory Cards Coming * Holiday Preview: Cameras, Phones, LCDs to Stock Holiday Stockings * Security Watch: Beware the Bots * Plus: The Host File is the Key ============================================================ Review: Apple iMac G5--An iPod Writ Large spectacular design. This is probably the most splendid-looking all-in-one PC we've ever seen, and it will double as a powerful desktop and a true conversation piece. As the iMac G5 awaited our full suite of tests in PC Labs, it was not unusual to see people crowding around it, cooing, touching, and, we think, wishing they could have one. But this system is not just about design. There are other smart and useful elements to it, all of which are detailed in our must-read review and slide show. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104723-1 ============================================================ Opinion: 10 Things Wrong with PC Technology When executive editor Lance Ulanoff uses technology, he's comfortable with it and prepared for whatever roadblocks and pitfalls he encounters. Most technophiles are the same way. But what about everyday users? Are they satisfied with their computing world? Lance uses his wife as a case study to help him build a list of the top 10 things wrong with PC technology. Does this list match yours? Read the column and then comment in the forums. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104726-1 ============================================================ Review: Amazon's A9 Search Evens Out Amazon's new search interface (the engine is still Google's) pulls together a wide array of reference information from Google, IMDB, and, of course, its own library of books. There are some issues: A9's best features are only available to site members and Amazon records much of what you do while in the interface. Can someone say "huge privacy concern"? http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104729-1 ============================================================ Special Report: Kerry and Bush's Technology Platforms Editor-in-chief Michael J. Miller set off on a quest to learn where the two leading presidential candidates stand on a raft of technology issues that matter to their constituents. Senator John Kerry's campaign responded directly. President George Bush's campaign told Miller to peruse their Web site for the answers. The results are both fascinating and illuminating. It's required reading for registered voters in the U.S. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104732-1 ============================================================ Review: The Panasonic VDR-M50 Camcorder One of the growing trends in digital-video camcorders is recording directly to DVD media. This is appealing on many levels, but there are some limitations. If the camera is good enough, however, you can probably overlook them. The Panasonic VDR-M50 Camcorder is not quite that good. It offers a strong 18X optical zoom, but couples that with so-so image stabilization. At $799, is this device worth your consideration? Read the full review and decide. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104735-1 ============================================================ Review: Panasonic Gets This One Right For $100 less, the PV-GS120 MiniDV succeeds where the VDR-M50 did not. It uses three CCDs to produce good video and throws in a 1.2-megapixel still-image capture capability for good measure. Read the full review for more details. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104738-1 ============================================================ Product News: Faster, Cheaper Memory Cards Coming Some say there are too many memory-card formats on the market, and no one wants or needs another one. Still, the new MultiMedia Card (MMC) format is worth noting. It'll be faster and cheaper than its predecessors and will offer more storage space. The best news of all, though, is that the new cards will be entirely compatible with existing MMC slots. We have all the details in our product announcement report. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104741-1 ============================================================ Holiday Preview: Cameras, Phones, LCDs to Stock Holiday Stockings We know. It's only September! Of course, high-tech manufacturers have been thinking about this holiday season since the end of the last one. Now they're ready to start showing off some of their best gift candidates. We got a look at dozens of potential "stocking stuffers" at a recent preview event in Manhattan. We saw a bunch of powerful digital SLR cameras, new games, thin and affordable LCD TVs, and more. You can see it all, too, in our slide-show report. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104744-1 ============================================================ Security Watch: Beware the Bots Bots are being used to hijack systems and turn them into zombies that do virus authors' bidding. It sounds like an old B-movie horror flick, but unfortunately, it's the stark reality facing many users. This kind of attack is on the rise and you need to know how to protect your PC. We have the answers. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104747-1 ============================================================ Plus: The Host File is the Key Your Host file is a favorite attack target, but you can learn how to use it and regain control over your browser. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104750-1 ============================================================ The PCMag.com Bookstore PC Magazine's Windows XP Solutions Ever wish they'd consulted you before they designed Windows XP? Sure, it's a great system, but there's this one feature that makes you crazy. Or that annoying problem that keeps occurring. Well, you can rely on Neil Randall and your friends at PC Magazine to correct that oversight. Here's the complete compendium of solutions to the things that bug you, threaten your security, slow you down, or other-wise prevent Windows XP from running like it should. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104753-1 PC Magazine Guide to Home Networking Ready to plunge into creating your own home network? Reading this book is like having PC Magazine contributing editor Les Freed drop by and set the whole thing up for you. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104756-1 More Books http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104759-1 ============================================================ Tech Jobs http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104762-1 ============================================================ Ziff Davis Channel Zone http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104765-1 ============================================================ DevSource http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104768-1 ============================================================ Free White Paper Brought to you by Diversified Software Ensuring Your JCL Batch Process is Protected Your IT Disaster Recovery plan might look great on paper - but does it cover all the bases? What is often overlooked are the batch components of the critical applications. When you're reviewing your critical components list - are you including the batch environment? Click to download this free white paper! http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104771-1 ============================================================ Upcoming Events ============================================================ Test Drive the Latest Personal Technology! Come to DigitalLife, Oct. 14-17, Javits Convention Center, NYC. Test drive and compare today's hottest cell phones, digital cameras, flat screen TVs, PDAs, video games, PCs and laptops, MP3s, home networking solutions and more. Get coupons and win prizes. For 50% off tickets go to www.digitallife.com. Enter promo code ZDM2004 at checkout. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104774-1 9/27 On-Demand/Utility Computing FREE eSeminar! As enterprises keep growing, the provisioning of hardware, software and network resources becomes more complex and thus more difficult and time consuming for IT staff. On-demand computing aims to automate parts of IT management and configuration, reducing the costs and time needed for expansion or re-allocation of network, storage and database resources, enabling clients, departments and even divisions focus on their business. This eSeminar will help information managers and IT directors understand the basic principals of on-demand/utility computing, examine the cost benefits and discuss the training needed for implementation and administration. Register now. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104777-1 9/29 Enterprise Application Delivery: Driving Business Automation Despite WAN Latency FREE eSeminar! Global enterprises must provide real-time application delivery to remote offices in order to successfully increase business automation. Enterprises should take a comprehensive view of all aspects of application delivery: performance, monitoring and security and get the most out of their infrastructure. Register today and learn more about the requirements of Application Delivery Solutions for the Enterprise. Registrants will receive a Gartner whitepaper by Mark Fabbi titled: Latency: The Silent Killer of Application Performance. Register now. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104780-1 10/12 Hack Your Own Network FREE eSeminar! There are products and outside services that can scan your network for vulnerabilities, both from the inside and outside. As new vulnerabilities are discovered you need to see how exposed you are, and provide immediate security adjustments. Register now. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104783-1 ============================================================ Elsewhere on Ziff Davis Internet ============================================================ 10 Things Wrong with PC Technology http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104726-1 Build It: When I'm 64 http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104786-1 PeopleSoft Customers Rally Round the Deal http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104789-1 Security Watch: Bots March In http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104747-1 ============================================================ eNewsletter Information ============================================================ You are subscribed to Inside PCMag.com with the e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe to this newsletter, click below: http://www.pcmag.com/unsubscribe_newsletter/0,4223,,00.asp?n=01&type=u&[EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your e-mail address, change your text/HTML preferences, or to subscribe to other FREE PC Magazine Online e-mail newsletters, visit: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104792-1 If you'd like to advertise in our eNewsletters, visit: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104795-1 ============================================================ PC Magazine Print Subscriptions ============================================================ Start or Renew a subscription: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104798-1 Give a gift subscription: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104801-1 Help with your subscription: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1123-1-1-371668-104804-1 Copyright (c) 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. 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