The most recent articles from What PC?

The most recent articles from What PC?http://www.whatpc.co.uk/The most recent articles from What PC? (Generated on Thursday 8 January 2009 at 08:59:45)VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKCopyright © 1994-2009 VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKhttp://www.whatpc.co.uk/2009-01-08T08:59:45.317Z

The most recent articles from What PC?http://www.whatpc.co.uk/images/rss/wpc_logo.gifhttp://www.whatpc.co.uk/Ositis WinProxy 4http://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/software/2132647/ositis-winproxyKyle MacRae, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Monday 25 March 2002 at 14:56:47A smart solution for small networking needs.<content page="1"><html><body>If you have more than one PC at home, chances are you've thought about networking. The benefits are immediate and obvious: why buy two printers when several systems can share the same one?WinProxy applies the same logic to internet connectivity. Just by installing the software on any one computer with an active link to the web (via a dialup modem or cable modem, ADSL, IDSN or whatever), all other computers on the network can share the connection without additional wiring or hardware.What better way to share a broadband connection or side step the need for additional phone points dotted around your home?WinProxy acts as a transparent proxy, meaning you get all the advantages of seamless internet sharing combined with protective measures like a firewall and antivirus software, as well as website filtering which can be used as a parental control.There's also automatic logging of web activity, the option to block the use of chat rooms, newsgroups and email, and even time restrictions that put the internet out of bounds after, say, 7pm.WinProxy is something of a hybrid between a professional-level tool and a domestic utility. This is apparent during installation: despite the software's semi-automated set up routine, there's really no escaping the dense language of protocols, ports and IP addresses.We'd suggest you try the free 30-day trial version (available as a download from the developer's website below) to see how you and it get on before making a commitment.Small businesses may prefer the added resilience of a hardware router - after all, if the host computer crashes or WinProxy has a turn, your entire network will be forced offline - but five, 10, 25 and unlimited user licences are also available.Specifications:<ul><li>Shared internet connectivity for networked computers</li><li>Transparent to other PCs on the network firewall, antivirus protection, security alerts</li><li>Website filtering with white and blacklists</li><li>Works with virtually all networks and web connections.</li></ul>Price: $59.95 for a three-user licence.Contact: Ositis (Belgium) 0032 3380 0890 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ositis.com">www.ositis.com</a></body></html></content>http://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/software/2132647/ositis-winproxyKyle MacRae, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Monday 25 March 2002 at 14:56:47A smart solution for small networking needs.<content page="1"><html><body>If you have more than one PC at home, chances are you've thought about networking. The benefits are immediate and obvious: why buy two printers when several systems can share the same one?WinProxy applies the same logic to internet connectivity. Just by installing the software on any one computer with an active link to the web (via a dialup modem or cable modem, ADSL, IDSN or whatever), all other computers on the network can share the connection without additional wiring or hardware.What better way to share a broadband connection or side step the need for additional phone points dotted around your home?WinProxy acts as a transparent proxy, meaning you get all the advantages of seamless internet sharing combined with protective measures like a firewall and antivirus software, as well as website filtering which can be used as a parental control.There's also automatic logging of web activity, the option to block the use of chat rooms, newsgroups and email, and even time restrictions that put the internet out of bounds after, say, 7pm.WinProxy is something of a hybrid between a professional-level tool and a domestic utility. This is apparent during installation: despite the software's semi-automated set up routine, there's really no escaping the dense language of protocols, ports and IP addresses.We'd suggest you try the free 30-day trial version (available as a download from the developer's website below) to see how you and it get on before making a commitment.Small businesses may prefer the added resilience of a hardware router - after all, if the host computer crashes or WinProxy has a turn, your entire network will be forced offline - but five, 10, 25 and unlimited user licences are also available.Specifications:<ul><li>Shared internet connectivity for networked computers</li><li>Transparent to other PCs on the network firewall, antivirus protection, security alerts</li><li>Website filtering with white and blacklists</li><li>Works with virtually all networks and web connections.</li></ul>Price: $59.95 for a three-user licence.Contact: Ositis (Belgium) 0032 3380 0890 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ositis.com">www.ositis.com</a></body></html></content>VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKCopyright © 1994-2009 VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKKyle MacRae2002-03-25T14:56:47.000ZSoftware Reviewshome-networkingConnectix DoubleTalk 1.1http://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/software/2132645/connectix-doubletalkCliff Joseph, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Thursday 14 March 2002 at 13:10:09Handy software for getting Macs and PCs to talk to each other.<content page="1"><html><body>There are quite a few people who use a PC at work, but have a Mac desktop or notebook at home.Getting Macs and PCs to talk to each other can be a bit fiddly at times. There are some useful cross-platform networking products, such as Dave from Thursby Software, but you really need to know a fair bit about networking to use them.DoubleTalk is designed for the less technically minded Mac user who works in a PC-dominated environment. It's not a large-scale networking system, and is primarily intended to help users connect a single Mac to a PC network.The software is installed on the Mac and creates a new control panel where you can specify the various network settings. If you're not too sure about this the program includes a Startup Assistant that will guide you through the initial set up procedure.The Startup Assistant provides two main options for setting up DoubleTalk. You can connect to a large server-based PC network, in which case the Mac can login to the server as just another client and access file servers and network printers.If you've got a smaller peer-to-peer network then DoubleTalk allows the Mac to be recognised as a member of the network group so it can access shared directories or printers attached to PCs. You can also create a direct connection between a single Mac and a single PC by using an Ethernet crossover cable.Setting up DoubleTalk on a Mac is no problem at all and we were soon able to start swapping files between our iMac and PCs on a small network. The manual skims over the Windows side of things, though, so it may be handy to have a PC user available to help if you get confused by Windows' networking options.Specifications:<ul><li>Allows a single Mac to connect to PC networks or to a single PC</li><li>Can connect to client-server or peer-to-peer networks</li><li>Provides automatic or manual log-in options</li><li>Password protected log-in.</li></ul>Minimum requirements: Mac running OS 8.1 or later with Ethernet interface; one or more PCs.Contact: Computers Unlimited 020 8358 5857 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.connectix.com">www.connectix.com</a></body></html></content>http://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/software/2132645/connectix-doubletalkCliff Joseph, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Thursday 14 March 2002 at 13:10:09Handy software for getting Macs and PCs to talk to each other.<content page="1"><html><body>There are quite a few people who use a PC at work, but have a Mac desktop or notebook at home.Getting Macs and PCs to talk to each other can be a bit fiddly at times. There are some useful cross-platform networking products, such as Dave from Thursby Software, but you really need to know a fair bit about networking to use them.DoubleTalk is designed for the less technically minded Mac user who works in a PC-dominated environment. It's not a large-scale networking system, and is primarily intended to help users connect a single Mac to a PC network.The software is installed on the Mac and creates a new control panel where you can specify the various network settings. If you're not too sure about this the program includes a Startup Assistant that will guide you through the initial set up procedure.The Startup Assistant provides two main options for setting up DoubleTalk. You can connect to a large server-based PC network, in which case the Mac can login to the server as just another client and access file servers and network printers.If you've got a smaller peer-to-peer network then DoubleTalk allows the Mac to be recognised as a member of the network group so it can access shared directories or printers attached to PCs. You can also create a direct connection between a single Mac and a single PC by using an Ethernet crossover cable.Setting up DoubleTalk on a Mac is no problem at all and we were soon able to start swapping files between our iMac and PCs on a small network. The manual skims over the Windows side of things, though, so it may be handy to have a PC user available to help if you get confused by Windows' networking options.Specifications:<ul><li>Allows a single Mac to connect to PC networks or to a single PC</li><li>Can connect to client-server or peer-to-peer networks</li><li>Provides automatic or manual log-in options</li><li>Password protected log-in.</li></ul>Minimum requirements: Mac running OS 8.1 or later with Ethernet interface; one or more PCs.Contact: Computers Unlimited 020 8358 5857 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.connectix.com">www.connectix.com</a></body></html></content>VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKCopyright © 1994-2009 VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKCliff Joseph2002-03-14T13:10:09.000ZSoftware Reviewshome-networkingSceptics lay into Bluetoothhttp://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/news/2132580/sceptics-lay-bluetoothMartin Veitch, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Thursday 6 September 2001 at 23:00:00Compatibility and usability problems hinder uptake<content page="1"><html><body>The much hyped Bluetooth wireless link technology has begun shipping in mobile devices but sceptics are warning of compatibility and usability problems.The technology for connecting PDAs, PCs and peripherals is shipping in Sony's Vaio notebooks, Ericsson's T39 mobile phone and headset, Red-M's network access points, and many other devices.IT Week tests of two Sony Bluetooth notebooks showed that the connections for accessing the internet and file swapping were straightforward.However, critics have maintained that interoperability may not be so easy when different brands of products try to link.Nick Hunn, managing director at TDK Systems, a maker of Bluetooth PC Cards, predicted that Bluetooth systems will often fail to work together. He also believed that competition could drive 80 per cent of Bluetooth product makers out of the market by 2003."If you look at mature technologies like ISDN, GSM or television, the businesses don't support the current number of players in Bluetooth: about 2,500 in total," he said. "I believe Bluetooth will be immensely successful but it will be endemic in five years, not sooner."Hunn said that the number of producers of silicon and software stack suppliers, about 20 and 30 respectively, meant that problems are certain."The number one issue is interoperability," he said. "There's another 12 months needed before it all works." He added that the software was not easy for non-technical users to operate.The comments have upset many Bluetooth supporters. Vince Holton, the publisher of Incisor, an online publication for the Bluetooth camp, said: "I can't understand what Hunn is saying. Bluetooth is really happening and, even if four-fifths of companies go, that will still leave more supporters than [infrared supporters group] IrDA."However, Holton admitted that Bluetooth still has to be improved. "The out-of-the-box experience isn't as good as it should be for non-technical users. It's with the early adopters and propeller-heads at the moment," he said. "It's like PC Card in the early days, but not as bad."Despite the doubts, Bluetooth products continue to arrive. Fujitsu Siemens plans to have a version of its Lifebook product available on 20 August, and TDK itself plans to launch PC Card and USB adapter products in the next two months.However, other vendors are having second thoughts. Psion this month postponed plans indefinitely for Bluetooth products, and Korean technology giant Samsung is also pondering whether to release a notebook PC with Bluetooth this year.Peter Lunn, Samsung notebook marketing manager, commented: "There are interoperability issues in the current Bluetooth 1.1 standard and 1.2 is not due until early next year, so we're undecided."Hunn has long been a thorn in the side of Bluetooth marketeers. In January, he said: "If we ship now we will be prostituting ourselves. But commercial imperatives mean that the industry will probably end up on street corners flashing its legs."</body></html></content>http://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/news/2132580/sceptics-lay-bluetoothMartin Veitch, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Thursday 6 September 2001 at 23:00:00Compatibility and usability problems hinder uptake<content page="1"><html><body>The much hyped Bluetooth wireless link technology has begun shipping in mobile devices but sceptics are warning of compatibility and usability problems.The technology for connecting PDAs, PCs and peripherals is shipping in Sony's Vaio notebooks, Ericsson's T39 mobile phone and headset, Red-M's network access points, and many other devices.IT Week tests of two Sony Bluetooth notebooks showed that the connections for accessing the internet and file swapping were straightforward.However, critics have maintained that interoperability may not be so easy when different brands of products try to link.Nick Hunn, managing director at TDK Systems, a maker of Bluetooth PC Cards, predicted that Bluetooth systems will often fail to work together. He also believed that competition could drive 80 per cent of Bluetooth product makers out of the market by 2003."If you look at mature technologies like ISDN, GSM or television, the businesses don't support the current number of players in Bluetooth: about 2,500 in total," he said. "I believe Bluetooth will be immensely successful but it will be endemic in five years, not sooner."Hunn said that the number of producers of silicon and software stack suppliers, about 20 and 30 respectively, meant that problems are certain."The number one issue is interoperability," he said. "There's another 12 months needed before it all works." He added that the software was not easy for non-technical users to operate.The comments have upset many Bluetooth supporters. Vince Holton, the publisher of Incisor, an online publication for the Bluetooth camp, said: "I can't understand what Hunn is saying. Bluetooth is really happening and, even if four-fifths of companies go, that will still leave more supporters than [infrared supporters group] IrDA."However, Holton admitted that Bluetooth still has to be improved. "The out-of-the-box experience isn't as good as it should be for non-technical users. It's with the early adopters and propeller-heads at the moment," he said. "It's like PC Card in the early days, but not as bad."Despite the doubts, Bluetooth products continue to arrive. Fujitsu Siemens plans to have a version of its Lifebook product available on 20 August, and TDK itself plans to launch PC Card and USB adapter products in the next two months.However, other vendors are having second thoughts. Psion this month postponed plans indefinitely for Bluetooth products, and Korean technology giant Samsung is also pondering whether to release a notebook PC with Bluetooth this year.Peter Lunn, Samsung notebook marketing manager, commented: "There are interoperability issues in the current Bluetooth 1.1 standard and 1.2 is not due until early next year, so we're undecided."Hunn has long been a thorn in the side of Bluetooth marketeers. In January, he said: "If we ship now we will be prostituting ourselves. But commercial imperatives mean that the industry will probably end up on street corners flashing its legs."</body></html></content>VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKCopyright © 1994-2009 VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKMartin Veitch2001-09-06T23:00:00.000ZNewshome-networkingXircom Portstationhttp://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/hardware/2132687/xircom-portstationJulian Prokaza, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Tuesday 1 February 2000 at 00:00:00Xircom has devised an easy way to plug in all the peripherals you need for your notebook or PC.<content page="1"><html><body>Although a notebook PC can be used instead of a desktop machine in situations where space is at a premium, it is not an ideal arrangement.It's not that a notebook isn't powerful enough, rather that few offer enough sockets to plug in the things that make most desktop PCs so usable, such as keyboard, mouse, printer, Zip drive and network. Worse still, peripherals have to be unplugged when you want to take the notebook away, which isn't convenient.PC card specialist Xircom has designed a product to solve such problems. It's called Portstation and it lets you add all the ports you ever wanted to a notebook or even a desktop PC.Portstation is a modular expansion system that capitalises on the fact that all new PCs have a USB port, even if they have nothing else. The main module consists of two end-pieces, one with a USB port and mains adaptor socket, the other with a USB-to-PC port. Other modules then clip between these two ends to provide sockets for everything from a PS/2 keyboard to a RJ-45 Ethernet adaptor. The modules can be clipped together in any order and there are LEDs on the front panel of each for appropriate status messages.With peripherals connected to the various modules, the Portstation connects to the PC through a single USB cable.The bandwidth of USB means that using a parallel port and a network adaptor and a modem module at the same time may cause some slowdown, but in practice such situations are not common.The minimum requirements are Windows 95 OSR2, USB port, CD-ROM drive, 1Mb of free hard disk space.Contact Ingram Micro 01908 260422</body></html></content>http://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/hardware/2132687/xircom-portstationJulian Prokaza, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Tuesday 1 February 2000 at 00:00:00Xircom has devised an easy way to plug in all the peripherals you need for your notebook or PC.<content page="1"><html><body>Although a notebook PC can be used instead of a desktop machine in situations where space is at a premium, it is not an ideal arrangement.It's not that a notebook isn't powerful enough, rather that few offer enough sockets to plug in the things that make most desktop PCs so usable, such as keyboard, mouse, printer, Zip drive and network. Worse still, peripherals have to be unplugged when you want to take the notebook away, which isn't convenient.PC card specialist Xircom has designed a product to solve such problems. It's called Portstation and it lets you add all the ports you ever wanted to a notebook or even a desktop PC.Portstation is a modular expansion system that capitalises on the fact that all new PCs have a USB port, even if they have nothing else. The main module consists of two end-pieces, one with a USB port and mains adaptor socket, the other with a USB-to-PC port. Other modules then clip between these two ends to provide sockets for everything from a PS/2 keyboard to a RJ-45 Ethernet adaptor. The modules can be clipped together in any order and there are LEDs on the front panel of each for appropriate status messages.With peripherals connected to the various modules, the Portstation connects to the PC through a single USB cable.The bandwidth of USB means that using a parallel port and a network adaptor and a modem module at the same time may cause some slowdown, but in practice such situations are not common.The minimum requirements are Windows 95 OSR2, USB port, CD-ROM drive, 1Mb of free hard disk space.Contact Ingram Micro 01908 260422</body></html></content>VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKCopyright © 1994-2009 VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKJulian Prokaza2000-02-01T24:00:00.000ZHardware Reviewshome-networking