============================================================ ------ ProductWire ------ ------ First Looks Update ------ ------ for October 12, 2004 ------ ============================================================
============================================================ ********** Sponsored by Dell Home Systems ********** Free Flat Panel Monitor Upgrade with select new Dell Home Dimension desktops. Offer ends 10/13. Click for details. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110540-1 ************************************************************ ============================================================ Top experts bring you hard-hitting, hands-on labs reviews. IN THIS ISSUE: * First Looks Roundup: Perfect Home PCs * Editors' Choice: Audiovox SMT 5600 phone * Dell Axim X50 * MSN TV 2 * Product Bulletin: Sharp Actius MP30 ultraportable For more stories, log on to http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110543-1 ============================================================ First Looks Roundup: Perfect Home PCs After extensive testing, our PC Labs experts are calling Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 "the perfect OS for a home PC." Intrigued? Even better, media centers utilizing the new operating system can be had for as little as $500. We've tested five systems based on Media Center 2005, and evaluated them for their media-savvy features, price, and home-PC performance. Read the reviews and see the slideshows online. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110546-1 ============================================================ Editors' Choice: Audiovox's Multimedia Smart Phone Not only is Audiovox's SMT 5600 the first smart phone to work with Windows Media Player 10, it's the best multimedia phone we've seen, period. Sync with Outlook, snap pictures, play MP3 or WMA files, and even watch recorded TV and video. And with a price tag of $199, what's not to like? See our online review for full details. (4 stars) http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110549-1 ============================================================ The Power's In The Dell The peppy 520-MHz processor isn't the only thing to like about Dell's Axim X50 Pocket PC. The Axim X50 includes Windows Media Player 10, Bluetooth, 802.11b networking and even a CompactFlash card slot. Media Player 10 gives it full video and audio capabilities, and the 3.5-inch screen is big enough to actually make out what you're looking at in video mode. For more info, check out our review. (4 stars) http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110552-1 ============================================================ PC-less Web Access MSN TV 2 takes the old Web TV idea and improves on it dramatically, but there's one hang-up: While we recommend it for non-PC users who want to surf the Web, the service works best with broadband--and how many homes have broadband but no PC? Still, the commercial-free radio feature is a big plus, and the ease-of-use is perfect for the computer illiterate who want to give e-mail and Web-browsing a try. Find out more in our online review. (3 stars) http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110555-1 ============================================================ Product Bulletin: Newly announced tech offerings Here are just a few of the items you'll find in our current Product Bulletin. Sharp Actius MP30 ultraportable Looking more like an Apple iBook than another Actius notebook, the Actius MP30 weighs in at just 2.7 pounds. The ultraportable features no-boot music and DVD playback, DirectHD sync technology, and the ability to act as an external hard drive. Find out more in today's Product Bulletin. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110558-1 For the full listing of Product Bulletins, go to: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110561-1 ============================================================ Contest: Win the Ultimate Workbench Our daddies always told us, "the right tool for the right job." Of course if you don't have any tools or a place to work with them, you're out of luck. Our sister site Syncmag.com is ready to come to the rescue. It's offering tool-starved site visitors a chance to win a workbench and all the tools to go with it (including an X-Shop workbench, Milwaukee 10 Amp Sawzall, Craftsman 19.2 Volt Cordless Drill-Driver, work light and more). Check out the site and the contest. Remember, you've got to be in it, to win it. http://www.syncmag.com/article2/0,1759,1651188,00.asp ============================================================ 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=81-1176-4-4-252229-110564-1 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=81-1176-4-4-252229-110567-1 More Books http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110570-1 ============================================================ Tech Jobs http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110573-1 ============================================================ Ziff Davis Channel Zone http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110576-1 ============================================================ DevSource http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110579-1 ============================================================ Free White Paper Brought to you by Raindance How to Select a Web Conferencing Solutions Provider: Confused about what web conferencing is and why you should care? Is lead generation a priority and a challenge? Are you planning large web seminars? Do you want to meet remotely, real-time with your team, your partners or your customers? With so many options, you need help determining what's right for you and your business. Download this Free white paper! http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110582-1 ============================================================ 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=81-1176-4-4-252229-110585-1 10/13 Getting Ready for Grid: Tapping the Juice In Underused Servers FREE eSeminar! Not until the recent introduction of 10g technology has grid computing's usability and manageability been made so streamlined and user-friendly that it is accessible to commercial enterprises. Grid computing is promising to deliver the ability to tie low-cost, commodity hardware together so as to utilize currently underused enterprise resources. Join this eSeminar with Lisa Vaas, associated editor and Database Center manager at eWEEK.com, and a panel of database experts as they discuss the what, why and how of grid computing. Register now. http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110588-1 ============================================================ Elsewhere on Ziff Davis Internet ============================================================ The Biggest LCD: Samsung's LT-P468W 46" http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110591-1 Kiss Apps Goodbye http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110594-1 MSN TV -- Round 2 http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110555-1 Hack Your Gadgets http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110597-1 ============================================================ eNewsletter Information ============================================================ You are subscribed to ProductWire: First Looks Update with the e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe to this newsletter, click below: http://www.pcmag.com/unsubscribe_newsletter/0,4223,,00.asp?n=71&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=81-1176-4-4-252229-110600-1 If you'd like to advertise in our eNewsletters, visit: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110603-1 ============================================================ PC Magazine Print Subscriptions ============================================================ Start or Renew a subscription: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110606-1 Give a gift subscription: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110609-1 Help with your subscription: http://eletters.pcmag.com/zd1/cts?d=81-1176-4-4-252229-110612-1 Copyright (c) 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. 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