Monthly Archives: January 1999
LaCie – USB hard disk
USB devices are appearing thick and fast after several years of slow build-up. Most of these devices are peripherals such as scanners, mice, speakers and so on, but LaCie has introduced something a bit different; an external USB hard drive. Available in capacities ranging from 2GB to 10GB, this drive features a distinctive, shock-proof case…
FastTrak – Patrick Moore’s Guide to the Universe
Patrick Moore’s name is synonymous with astronomy. Host of the television programme ‘The Sky at Night’ for what seems like several hundred years, he’s also a prolific author and former head of the British Astronomical Association. One of Britain’s greatest characters, he even managed to maintain his respected reputation after a stint on Gamesmaster, which…
Pace – TV & Radio Card
“Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours”, apparently. But you can’t get your daily dose if you’re stuck in front of a computer all day. Luckily, TV-PC integration works both ways. With set-top boxes the TV can do PC-type things, but with a card like this your PC can pretend to be a TV. The Pace TV…
SCI – Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now
Most driving games expect you to race around a circuit several times, staying on the track, avoiding other cars and generally behaving properly. Not Carmageddon II. Just like its predecessor, this game gives the driver total freedom. You can, if you wish, drive around the circuit and race against other cars. Or you can drive…
Draytek – ISDNVigor128
ISDN originally stood for ‘Integrated Services Digital Network’. After a few years it became ‘It Still Does Nothing’. But it seems that UK businesses, and even a few home users, are catching on to the idea that high speed digital communications knocks the socks off even the fastest 56K analogue modems. And, in turn, the…
Europress – DIY Home Improvements
Television programmes on interior design seem to be all the rage at the moment. Wednesday evenings are blessed with no fewer than three of the things, all claiming to be able to transform your squalid Bermondsey bedsit into a thing of paradise and wonder. “Yes! It’s a new series of Home Destruction, the TV program…
CenturionSoft – Steganos
Over the ages, people have cunningly hidden secret documents inside other items – paintings, boxes, trees, that sort of thing. It’s been a common theme in spy thrillers, too. Steganos allows you to do the same thing with the data stored on your PC. Most people have documents that they consider to be secret. Whether…
Caere – OmniPage Pro 9.0
Anyone who’s bought a scanner and attempted to use it to convert printed documents into editable text will no doubt have been sorely disappointed. The majority of the ‘lite’ optical character recognition products supplied with scanners are useful only for processing plain, unformatted text. Show them a table, form, columns, italic font or picture and…
Maxtor – 17.2GB DiamondMax 4320
Upgrading PCs isn’t quite as popular as it used to be, mainly because prices have dropped so much that in many cases it’s easier and cheaper to buy a new PC and sell the old one. There’s one exception to that rule, however. Where hard drive capacity is concerned, too much is never enough. 4GB…
Microsoft – Pinball Arcade
Pinball games have been around on the PC for donkeys’ years, getting prettier and more realistic as time goes by. The PC’s two shift keys lend themselves quite naturally to flipper control, and although you can’t ‘accidentally’ nudge the whole table with your leg, the space bar is an adequate substitute. Microsoft’s Pinball Arcade is,…