Monthly Archives: December 2003
Canon – Ixus i
We’ve got this theory that technology will destroy the world. It’s not a particularly original thought and we’ve certainly watched Terminator a few too many times, it’s true, but it seems inevitable to draw only one conclusion from the inexorable miniaturisation of gadgets that is the natural flow of technological evolution. You see, in distant…
PowerQuest – V2i Protector
One of the problems with traditional backup programs is that they copy files individually, usually to tape, making them slow. Plus you need special agent software to backup databases and other applications while they’re working. Recovering lost files can also take a long time, as can disaster recovery following a system crash. It’s these and…
Digilux – SuperDrive 4-in-1
Apple’s iPod has demonstrated that MP3 players based around hard drives can offer a great deal of capacity for the money. But those based on flash memory are smaller and lighter. One example of the latter is this SuperDrive 4-in-1 from Digilux. The ’4-in-1′ bit relates to this device’s functions. First, it’s a 128MB USB…
HP – Integrity zx2600
It’s taken a while for vendors to start shipping systems based on the latest 64-bit Itanium 2 processor, but they are now starting to appear. One such is the rx2600 from HP, the entry-level member of the all-new HP Integrity range of servers. Entry-level is, in fact, a bit of a misnomer here, as the…
Rockstar – Max Payne 2
The common prediction when Max Payne shot onto the scene back in 2001 was that it would spawn a slate of imitators, not least for its slo-mo bullet time gimmick, itself a loving testament to the film The Matrix. And yet those imitators didn’t really happen. Save for a sloppy attempt in the official Enter…
ActivePDF – Composer
Adobe may have invented the Portable Document Format (PDF) standard, and its free Acrobat reader is, without doubt, one of the most downloaded tools on the Web. However, it doesn’t have a total monopoly on the PDF market and several vendors offer alternatives to Adobe Acrobat creation tools. One such is ActivePDF, whose recently released…
NetGear – GSM7324
It may not look much from the outside, but Netgear’s GSM7324 is an important new product in two respects. To start with, it’s the first Layer 3 switch to come from the budget networking vendor, added to which it sets a new price point for such products at just over £90 + VAT per (Gigabit…
Sharp – Actius MV1214
Sub-notebooks, or ultra-portables, or whatever you want to call them, are as varied in their way as full-sized notebooks. There are, however, certain generalities to which the majority tends to conform: two-spindle design, sub-2kg weight, 12.1-inch screen, overpriced. Once the Sharp Actius MV1214 emerged from its packing, it was immediately clear that physically it was…
Electronic Arts – FIFA 2004
At long last, EA Sports’ all-conquering football game is going to get some serious competition on the PC. With Konami confirming that the game generally regarded as the best footie title in the world – Pro Evolution Soccer 3 – is coming to the PC a month after FIFA 2004, EA’s cash cow has never…
HP – Photosmart 7960
Sitting at the top of HP’s range of photo printers is the Photosmart 7960, an 8-ink colour inkjet – the world’s first for a desktop environment – designed for the professional user or the home user who prints a lot of photos. You’ll also need a fair bit of desk space for this monster. It…