PC World December 2009 US

CONSUMER ALERT:HOW TO AVOID SNEAKY FEES p.
99
100
Laptops, Cameras, Sites,
Software, Phones, TVs, and
PCs We Can’t Do Without p. 74
BEST
PRODUCTS
OF THE YEAR
$6.99 USA ¨ Printed in USA
The Best Big-Screen TVs Kindle and Beyond

Lab Tested: A Perfect Gift?
We Pick 10 Hands On With
Hot High-Def 5 Top E-Book
DISPLAY UNTIL DECEMBER 15, 2009
DECEMBER 2009 PCWORLD.COM
Flat Panels p.89 Readers p. 44
¨
www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com
99 DECEMBER 2009
OLUMEËÐÜMBERÊË¨PCWORLDCOM
» FEATURES » DEPARTMENTS
74 PCWorld PC World 100: 7 Techlog
100
BEST PRODUCTS OF
The Best Products
of the Year
11 PCW Forum 69
2009
A lot of outstanding 124 The Back Page » REVIEWS AND
hardware, software, and services RANKINGS
passed before our eyes this year. » FORWARD 44 E-Book Readers
Here are the very best ones—the
14 Wireless Wars A stack of better-quality readers
products we most wanted to keep
As carriers and the FCC tussle, vie for shelf (and luggage) space.
after testing and reviewing them.
users are caught in the middle.
57 Top 10 Cell Phones
89 The TV You Want Today
18 Beta Watch
HDTV features continue to evolve 58 Digital Photo Frames
rapidly, in areas that range from 20 GeekTech
60 Top 10 Multifunction Printers
motion-smoothing technologies
to 3D. We look at the changes and » CONSUMER WATCH 64 iPod Nano, Zune HD
rank the best 40- and 47-inch sets.
25 Avoid Wireless Gouging 66 Top 10 External Hard Drives
99 Sneaky Fees Minimize your phone service fees
69 HP TouchSmart 600
Slipped into phone bills, tacked by scrutinizing five crucial areas.
on to triple-play packages, or 72 Download This
26 Skeptical Shopper
added to financial transactions,
hidden fees are everywhere. Read 28 On Your Side
how to identify and avoid them.
» BUSINESS CENTER
31 Build a Social Network
Ning makes customization easy.
32 Net Work
64
34 Tech Audit
» SECURITY ALERT » HERE’S HOW

110 Privacy on Social Networks
37 Phishers Dangle New Bait
Rules for protecting your personal
Information thieves devise new
data on Facebook and Twitter.
ways to steal your personal data.
116 Answer Line
38 Bugs and Fixes
120 Rick Broida’s Hassle-Free PC
40 Privacy Watch
89
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT CARDIN DECEMBER 2009 PCWORLD.COM 3

VP, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Steve Fox
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Strohmeyer ONLINE Stephan Scherzer
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4 PCWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2009

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Techlog STEVE FOX
We’ve Got a Little List, and a Surprise Winner

HUMANS ARE LIST-MAKING animals. The PC World 100—a compilation of the year’s top products—
Sure, plenty of other traits set us apart generates healthy debate and even an argument or two.
from the beasts of the field and stream
(opposable thumbs and the related abil- HDTVs (pages 91 and 94), and Top 10 love. In contrast to our conventional
ity to use a TV remote spring to mind). charts of cell phones (page 57), inkjet reviews-based rankings, the list of best
But the willful desire to categorize, multifunction printers (page 60), and products is subjective, with editors
prioritize, and sequence stuff—making external hard drives (page 66). We cre- arguing, wheedling, and horse trading
that satisfying list as a means of bring- ated these lists, and dozens more at over the course of a long debate. We’ve
ing order to chaos—is a defining char- PCWorld.com, after putting scores of been doing some form of this megalist
acteristic of Homo sapiens. products through extensive hands-on for 27 years now, and it never gets dull.
As members of the species, and card- evaluations and lab testing. In a political context, you could com-
carrying tech editors to boot, we cobble But one big list in this issue—“PC pare the process to a smoke-filled room.
together our fair share of lists, ranking World 100: Best Products of the Year” As no one smokes in offices anymore,
products within their respective cate- (page 74)—departs from the methodol- the entire editorial staff gathers instead
gories in an attempt to help you make ogy we use to create our Top 10s. A in a smoke-free room, where editors
sense of all the high-tech wares released compendium of the hardware, software, recommend their favorite products,
every year. In this issue you’ll find Top and services that made a difference in offering reasons why each nominee is
5 charts of e-book readers (page 46) and 2009, the PC World 100 is a labor of worthy of consideration. Passions run
high, particularly over which gear will
SPRUCING UP THE CHARTS...AND MORE make it into the top 20. No one leaves
until we’ve reached a consensus.
SPRING CLEANING comes very early to
PC World’s Top 10 charts this month. In Number 1 Not in Doubt
order to display more product informa- Surprisingly, our choice for the top slot
tion, we’ve widened the chart to take over on this year’s list was a slam dunk. I say
the entire page. This added space means “surprisingly” because (1) it doesn’t
we can include photos of all 10 products, involve a technological breakthrough,
plus more data about their performance, (2) it’s a product only in the broadest
features, and specifications. sense of the term, and (3) it’s an Apple
We’ve also changed our scoring sys- creation, and we’re named PC World.
tem, converting our ratings from a 100- Still, we all agreed that the App Store,
point scale (0–100 score) to a five-star after 2 billion iPhone app downloads,
scale (including half stars). Behind the was the story of the year, turning for-
scenes, the new scores are based on the merly uninterested civilians into highly
same rating methodology we’ve always involved tech geeks. The iPhone has
employed. Now, however, they’re on the arrived: Thanks to an army of app fans,
same scale as all the reader reviews at it is now seen as a legitimate comput-
PCWorld.com (which have always been THE NEW TOP 10 charts feature photo- ing device, not just a cool cell phone.
based on five stars), allowing for head-to- graphs and a five-star scoring system. Ultimately, that recognition should
head comparisons. Plus, as much as we’d rub off on other smartphones, with
like to believe that PC World is the only place to go for reviews, we know that people BlackBerrys, the Palm Pre, and Android
consult a variety of sources when seeking product advice. These days, the five-star phones jockeying to steal market share
system has emerged as the industry standard, and we want you to be able to compare from Apple. If that happens, we’ll be
our reviews head-to-head with the competition’s—without having to do any math. there to cover the phenomenon.
Finally, I’d like to introduce The Back Page. You can find it…well, you know where to Even better, we’ll make a list.
look. Each month The Back Page will take the pulse of the tech world, and have some
fun in the process. Check it out, and tell us what you think at letters@pcworld.com. Steve Fox is editorial director of PC World.
DECEMBER 2009 PCWORLD.COM 7

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every day. But the article exaggerates Bruce Andersen
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Hank Jeffries, San Pedro, California Ű Mobile
Computing ŲŨŲ Ų
Printer Cartridges Expire ŹůŻfind.pcworld.com/63946żŴ?ť

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Ų OmniUni, PCWorld.com forums
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PC World welcomes your feedback. We re-
one magenta cartridge. serve the right to edit for length and clarity.
Gaye Lowe, Milford, New Jersey Share your thoughts in the Comments area
under each story on our Web site, or visit our
Video Program Hard to Use Forums (find.pcworld.com/55165). Send

e-mail to letters@pcworld.com.
Ų
so I was glad to see Steve Horton’s CORRECTION
Ű
(Reviews and Rankings,żų
ť IN NOVEMBER’S “Go Virtual for
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Forward
Wireless Wars:
Will Consumers Be Collateral Damage?
As the mobile Web
grows in popularity,
carriers and the gov-
ernment struggle
over who controls
the wireless ‘pipes.’
BY JARED NEWMAN
A BATTLE IS brewing be-

tween wireless carriers and
the feds—and caught in the
crossfire are all of the smart-
phones, netbooks, and
bandwidth-hungry mobile
applications that users are
increasingly enjoying. Both
camps claim to be doing
what’s right for consumers:
One side says that it is head- Mobility customer, someday allow its customers to stress neutrality—the idea that ser-
ing off a mobile meltdown you might be prohibited its cellular network through vice providers must give
by enforcing rules on the from visiting certain Web- downloads of mammoth equal treatment to all uses of
types of devices and services sites or using competing media files via BitTorrent. the Internet—as it might be
that can access their net- voice and television services The fight is about who applied to the wireless indus-
works, while the other says on your iPhone or on a controls the wireless pipes try. And just as the topic has
that the priority should be 3G-enabled netbook. Or, in of tomorrow, and whether caused a ruckus among cable
on giving users unfettered an alternate scenario, the emerging wireless services providers, which have lob-
access to the wireless Web. Federal Communications will bloom or wither as a bied against FCC neutrality
Depending on which side Commission might be able result. In other words, the rules, in the wireless indus-
wins, if you’re, say, an AT&T to force Verizon Wireless to conflict concerns network try the debate is heating up.
PCWORLD.COM
For more on AT&T president and CEO Ralph de la Vega’s comments

about managing customer data usage—and for an analysis of what
they might mean for iPhone owners—see find.pcworld.com/63957.

Wireless Service 3G as an alternative to tradi-
Comes With Warnings tional cell phone minutes
The problem, wireless pro- isn’t possible. All of this
viders such as AT&T say, is could change in an open
that wireless bandwidth is a wireless network, says King,
finite resource. AT&T and who sees a proliferation of
other carriers, as a result, VoIP services in an age of
restrict bandwidth-hungry regulated wireless Internet.
services from running on Is AT&T really worried
their networks. One exam- about bandwidth, or is it
ple is the mobile version of just trying to keep a lid on
SlingPlayer, the streaming competitive services? That
software for the Slingbox remains under debate.
place-shifting device: AT&T
says that if everyone could AT&T MOBILITY PRESIDENT and chief executive officer Ralph de la Bring in the Feds
stream SlingPlayer data over Vega says the carrier needs to manage its network’s most-intensive Enter Julius Genachowski,
AT&T’s 3G network, the data users “to make sure that the few cannot crowd out the many.” chairman of the Federal
network would grind to a Communications Commis-
halt. Currently, users can use each month to around on the iPhone, AT&T has sion. In a speech at the CTIA
run SlingPlayer only over 5GB for the 3G data service found itself at the center of show, he acknowledged that
Wi-Fi; 3G is off-limits. offered to laptop users. this issue. Though Apple has with regulation one size
AT&T says that it wants to (AT&T doesn’t cap data taken complete responsibil- doesn’t fit all—but he also
keep a tight grip on its big- usage for iPhone custom- ity for rejecting the app, it’s reaffirmed his commitment
gest bandwidth hogs. At the ers.) If you go beyond the not hard to see how Google to an open Internet, regard-
CTIA wireless-industry trade 5GB cap, the carriers either Voice’s free text messaging less of how people access it.
show held in early October, throttle your network and cheap international Under Genachowski, the
AT&T Mobility president speeds or charge overage calls could ruffle AT&T’s FCC has been playing a more
and chief executive officer fees. What’s less clear is feathers. The company has active role in the mobile
Ralph de la Vega remarked how they manage specific shown a change of heart on industry’s business. When
that AT&T needs to manage uses of their mobile net- Skype and other VoIP ser- Google Voice was rejected
its network’s most-intensive works before customers vices, allowing them to run on the iPhone, the feds
users, alluding to the Apple reach that bandwidth limit. over 3G on the iPhone in demanded answers from
PHOTOGRAPHS: EVAN AGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES (DE LA VEGA); MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES (GENACHOWSKI)
iPhone subscriber base. Matters are even less exchange for AT&T talk- Apple, AT&T, and Google
De la Vega claims AT&T straightforward when it time voice minutes—but (find.pcworld.com/63962). Al-
research shows that 3 per- comes to services that could even so, using Skype over though Apple has said
cent of AT&T’s smartphone be competitive with carri-
customers (likely iPhone ers. “The number one con-
owners) use 40 percent of all cern any telecom has is
the smartphone data on its about seeing their margins
network. He estimates that get eroded by new entrants
this 3 percent consumes 13 with a different cost struc-
times the data of “the aver- ture,” says Joshua King, an
age smartphone customer,” industry veteran who has
yet represents less than 1 worked for AT&T Wireless
percent of AT&T’s total post- and Clearwire. That new
paid customer base. Is this entrant might be a service
disproportionate usage a like Google Voice or Skype,
harbinger of problems to piggybacking on AT&T’s
come for other carriers? network. And the pricing
AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon for Google Voice or Skype
all deal with bandwidth hogs is, in many cases, free. JULIUS GENACHOWSKI, CHAIRMAN of the Federal Communications
by limiting the total amount Recently, with Apple’s Commission, says that the Internet should be open, and that con-
of data that a customer can rejection of Google Voice sumers should be able to decide how to use their smartphones.

Forward
that AT&T was not involved questions…that remain open antennas or femtocells. He CTIA vice president of regu-
with the decision, both com- and will be considered in the also discussed reallocating latory affairs, says that even
panies had to admit that FCC’s proceeding.” He did unused or obsolete frequen- such tiers won’t help when a
they do have a deal to block make it known, though, that cies, but acknowledged that lot of users are consuming
VoIP apps (which Google wireless carriers won’t escape “there are no easy pickings bandwidth at the same time,
Voice is not, technically). his vision of an open Inter- on the spectrum chart.” causing congestion although
The FCC then announced a net, which allows consumers Max Hailperin, professor they are staying within their
broader probe into the wire- to decide how to use their of computer science at individual limits. Other ex-
less industry that will entail smartphones and 3G cards. Gustavus Adolphus College, perts wonder whether strict
an examination of everything What do wireless carriers says that as both sides con- bandwidth caps will repel
from billing to competition want from the FCC? First, tinue to push for their inter- potential customers; Pablo
to coverage in rural versus they want the ability to man- ests, the definition of wire- Perez-Fernandez, a senior
urban areas. The probe age their networks as they less network neutrality will wireless analyst for MKM
marks a major shift from the see fit. “We have to manage become quite narrow. “The Partners, says that the rea-
policies of the George W. the network to make sure FCC will prohibit a few very son data has become so pop-
Bush administration, which ular on smartphones is that
took a hands-off approach in users don’t have to meter
enforcing regulations on the themselves with it as they
wireless industry. do with voice minutes.
Things really heated up in It’s more likely, analysts
September, when Genach- say, that carriers will receive
owski announced his desire some leeway to throttle
to turn existing network- bandwidth-intensive uses.
neutrality principles, plus What remains to be deter-
two new ones, into hard- mined is how much control
and-fast rules. He added that carriers will have over specif-
the Internet should be open ic services, such as VoIP.
however users reach it, sub- A few recent develop-
tly suggesting that the wire- ments have seen carriers
less industry would come that the few cannot crowd narrowly defined, egregious embracing openness volun-
under scrutiny. At the time, out the many,” said AT&T’s behaviors, such as Comcast tarily. Google and Verizon
Genachowski was vague de la Vega at the CTIA show. was found to have engaged announced in early October
about what wireless network Second, carriers want the in,” he says, referring to that they will collaborate to
neutrality would look like. feds to free up more wireless how Comcast was caught develop apps on the Verizon
In October the FCC took spectrum; the CTIA trade blocking peer-to-peer file network, including Google
its first step toward creating group has formally requested sharers over wired Internet. Voice. As for AT&T’s allow-
formal rules, despite a huge that the government provide ing of VoIP apps on the
lobbying effort from oppo- it. Spectrum, the array of Wireless’s Future iPhone for use over 3G, “I
nents. Under an FCC pro- radio frequencies that mobile Some industry watchers, think that’s exciting for con-
posal, wireless broadband Internet uses for transmis- such as Alex Winogradoff, sumers,” says Michael Tem-
services would be included sion, is the key factor in de- a wireless expert with the pora, Vonage senior vice
in the rules along with cable termining how much data a market research firm Gart- president of product man-
providers. The FCC is still carrier can handle at a time. ner, see the feds’ meddling agement, adding that he
months away from voting on Opening spectrum widens bringing an end to flat-rate expects AT&T to become
the final regulations. the “pipes,” allowing more pricing. As applications more open on its own.
However, what these rules bandwidth-reliant services become even more band- These are baby steps, but
might mean for wireless car- through. Even Genachowski width hungry—and if the they put carriers in a tough
riers is still not clear. Speak- has acknowledged that with- FCC forces carriers to offer position: They’ll either have
ing at the CTIA conference, out freeing up more spec- new apps—the carriers will to continue opening up net-
Genachowski acknowledged trum, a crisis looms. At the switch to tiered billing to works or face an FCC that is
that congestion issues and CTIA conference, he pro- discourage bandwidth hog- not shy about imposing reg-
the competitive landscape of posed offloading traffic onto ging, the argument goes. ulation. Either way, it seems
wireless pose “some difficult Wi-Fi networks via smart Chris Guttman-McCabe, to be a win for consumers.

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Forward
Will Streaming Video Put an End to DVDs?

WATCHERS of streaming- only one DVD to be out (find.pcworld.com/63971),
video trends have been at a time but still offer which Swasey confirms
buzzing ever since Netflix unlimited streaming. is still fairly accurate,
CEO Reed Hastings re- Steve Swasey, Netflix Blu-ray is attracting
marked in an early-October director of corporate only about 10 percent
Motley Fool podcast that communications, clari- of subscribers.
DVDs may lose their num- fied his boss’s com- Netflix will continue
ber one spot in the compa- ments a few days later. to ship both DVD and
ny’s video-distribution ser- The reality is that all of Blu-ray media far into
vice after two years. Netflix’s services are the future, Swasey says.
Although Hastings didn’t growing—including DVD subscribers can instantly The company’s approach is
explicitly say what he thinks rentals, Swasey says. watch videos on their com- to continue offering bundled
will replace DVD, a few of “Streaming video is grow- puters, broadband-enabled service, in which subscribers
his statements seem to agree ing fast because there is no HDTVs, Xbox 360 consoles, can choose how they want
with what many other ex- base for before two years and set-top boxes. After all, to watch movies.
perts have been declaring ago [when the service de- the convenience beats a few Besides, putting an exact
since the end of the format buted],” he says. “You can’t days of waiting and multiple date on DVDs’ demise would
war: It won’t be Blu-ray. say one format is going out trips to the mailbox. be like putting a date on
Hastings said many Netflix or down, all are growing.” Where does this leave Blu- when hybrid cars will out-
subscribers are switching to Still, an increase in stream- ray? According to a March number regular ones, he says.
lower-priced plans that allow ing video makes sense when post on the Netflix Blog —Paul Suarez
BETA WATCH EDWARD N. ALBRO
Fuze Meeting: Elegant Collaboration Web). One of the fun things about the free service is that you can
One of the last hurdles for remote workers is how to collaborate choose both current shows and classics like MacGyver and Perry
on visual projects such as artwork and videos. Merely talking about Mason. You can sign up for the service through Facebook Connect
something visual can be frustrating, and trading versions is time- and can discover what your friends are watching. twirltv.com
consuming. With Fuze Meeting, you can invite someone to a meet-
ing immediately and upload the picture or video you’re working on. Local Dirt: The Cabbage Next Door
You can draw and write on the artwork, pass that power to attend- The local-food movement preaches that eating food from farms in
ees, or share your desktop. Attendees don’t need to download soft- your area is better for you and for the environment. But once you
ware; they just enter a URL. You leave the supermarket behind,
can meet with two other parties how do you find your food?
online and store 1GB of data for Local Dirt, which is free for con-
free. fuzemeeting.com sumers, allows you to search
for suppliers of any kind of food
Twirl TV: Create the in your area. When I tried the
You Network service, it clearly needed more
I’ve never yearned to run a TV participating farmers—my
network—but I’ve frequently search for apples yielded no
thought that if I did, there results, even though I’m next
would be a lot less crap on the door to a great apple-growing

boob tube. With Twirl TV, you region. But if you don’t find
can create your own network results, you can set an alert,
with only your favorite shows and Local Dirt will e-mail you
(as long as those shows are FUSE MEETING ALLOWS you to upload photos, videos, or other visual when it locates the food that
available to stream on the projects, and to collaborate on them simultaneously online. you want. localdirt.com

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Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Forward

5*14'03
(&55*/( GEEKTECH
461&3*03406/% Need a Graphics Card? Here’s Some Advice
'30.:063 THE GRAPHICS PROCESSING unit A graphics processor has a huge
&"31)0/&4 (GPU) in modern PCs is responsible

for everything you see on screen.
impact on your computing expe-
rience. Follow our tips to pick the
Both Windows 7 and Vista, for right board or integrated GPU.
example, can take advantage of the
GPU’s 3D-acceleration features to high-end boards are for hard-core graph-
create smooth window movement, trans- ics fans who don’t require basic advice.
parency, and other effects. A GPU also How much memory do I need? You’ll see
renders all of the 3D graphics in games, a lot of cheap boards with 1GB of memo-
educational titles, and other apps. (For ry. But cards in the $100 range that have
more details, see the full version of this more than 512MB don’t offer much extra
article at find.pcworld.com/63935.) Those benefit; a faster GPU chip on the card is
reasons make finding the right graphics more important. In the $149-and-up
card for your needs critical. Here are a range, however, pick a card with 1GB of
few things to consider before you buy. RAM. If you choose integrated graphics,
Discrete or integrated? This is probably that technology will use system memory
the biggest question you’ll have to answer. and you don’t need to think about it (but
Do you go with a discrete graphics board this memory sharing is one of the rea-
(in either a desktop or a laptop) or inte- sons integrated GPUs are so slow).
50&/463&5)&#&45406/%'30. grated graphics? If you want to play
:063406/%*40-"5*/(&"31)0/&4 games, even just a little, you’ll have a Recommended Picks
'0--085)&4&4*.1-&5*14 better experience with a discrete board. Which board is for you? Here are some
If you just want to browse the Web and suggestions (current at the time of writ-
1PTJUJPO$BCMFT1SPQFSMZ
##!# #
!" work on some light word processing or ing): Among low-cost options, consider
"!###!!#!$! e-mail, integrated graphics should
#"$"#$"###$ be enough. Intel’s offerings aren’t
as good as ATI’s or nVidia’s; if you
*OTFSUUIF&BSQIPOFT
$($!!$&!$#&!# care about video quality (say, for
"#!#$##! $" viewing DVDs or downloaded video),
"%"#(!""# get an ATI or nVidia chip. And if lap-
IRDPZLWK\RXUÀQJHUVDQGLQVHUWWKH top battery life is your top concern,
!
go with integrated graphics, or at
$SFBUFB1FSTPOBM'JU least buy a notebook with “hybrid”
"%"$"#!#" or “switchable” graphics that use an
###"#"$ $#(!(# integrated GPU to save power, but
YDULRXVVOHHYHVL]HRSWLRQVWRÀQGD
FRPIRUWDEOHÀW can change to a discrete board for
improved performance in games. ATI’S RADEON HD 5850 board is a top choice.
$POOFDU5P-JTUFOJOH%FWJDFT$BSFGVMMZ How much should I spend? As a
$!&#%$($!"#
rule of thumb, don’t spend less than the ATI Radeon HD 4850 or nVidia Ge-
%##$!($!
!"##%*"$#$# $100. Boards in the $99-to-$149 range Force GTS 250. If you’re an enthusiast,
"!#!"#($!!"$" offer a lot of bang for the buck and can try the Radeon HD 4890 or GeForce GTX
VXJJHVWHGÀWWHFKQLTXHV6ORZO\UDLVHWKH run almost all modern games well. At 275. And for top results, there’s no sub-
%$#!#"#% prices lower than that, the performance stitute for ATI’s DirectX 11 cards, the
.BJOUBJOJOH:PVS&BSQIPOFT drops rapidly—if you buy such a board, Radeon HD 5850 and 5870, which offer
($!"%"!(% you’ll just need to upgrade sooner. unmatched performance and features.
##"#$!#)) If you’re a gamer, look for cards priced —Jason Cross
#"#!!!#$## at $179 to $229, which offer great perfor-
))"$"#&'!%#&
mance. You don’t need to spend more Visit the GeekTech blog at go.pcworld.com/
$$"#
than that if you’re reading this article; geektech for more hacks and tweaks.

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Forward
Hot Holiday Handsets

Whether you’re shopping for someone on your gift
list or looking to treat yourself to a phone, here
are the most promising models of the season.
Samsung Moment
(Sprint)
The 3.2-inch AMOLED dis- HTC Tilt 2 (AT&T)
play of the Android-based The Windows Mobile 6.5–based Tilt 2 ($300 with a two-
Moment ($180 with a two- year contract) has a terrific full-QWERTY keyboard.
year contract) offers bright Other perks include a 3.6-inch widescreen WVGA display,
and accurate color, smooth dual speakers and microphones for extra noise cancel-
animation, and crisp details lation, and HTC Straight Talk for conference calling.
during video playback. Its
wide viewing angle will let
you view distortion-free
video, even when you put Samsung Behold II
the phone on a flat surface. (T-Mobile)
Sporting a 3.2-inch AMOLED
screen, the Behold II (pric-
ing and availability not yet
announced) has a slick-
looking cube menu with
HTC Pure (AT&T)
shortcuts to multimedia.
The sophisticated HTC Pure
The Android-based phone
($150 with a two-year contract)
provides Samsung’s Touch
has only a few physical buttons.
Wiz interface, Wi-Fi, and a
A gorgeous 3.2-inch WVGA
5-megapixel camera with
touchscreen dominates the face.
autofocus and a flash.
The Pure runs Windows Mobile
6.5 with HTC’s TouchFLO 3D
overlay, and its 5-megapixel
camera snaps great-looking
images both indoors and out.
HTC Imagio (Verizon)

Offering a 3.6-inch touch dis-
play, the Imagio ($200 with a
two-year contract) is an attrac-
tive handset. It’s Verizon’s first
smartphone to support the V
Cast video and music services,
Motorola Cliq (T-Mobile)
as well as V Cast Mobile TV.
The Cliq ($200 with a two-year contract) has both a key-
This Windows Mobile 6.5 phone
board and a touchscreen. It’s the first model from Motorola
also comes loaded with assort-
to showcase Motoblur, the company’s skin for Android.
ed business-focused features.
Motoblur has a lot of cool features, such as a Happenings
widget that gives you instant access to your social net-
works from the home screen. —Ginny Mies

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Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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Consumer Watch
Five Ways Wireless Carriers Try to Gouge You
BY YARDENA ARAR contract). To everyone else: Consider how much value you’re
getting on a new phone when you sign that deal with the
ARE YOU PAYING too much for your cell phone and servic- wireless-telco devil—you’re making a two-year commitment
es? Even if you stick to your monthly allocation of minutes in exchange for a couple hundred dollars’ savings on the
and messages, you might be paying more than you have to. handset of your dreams. Are you sure you’re going to want
The only way to tell is to take a cold, hard look at your plan, that handset at the end of one year, much less two?
and how you actually use it. The solution, of course, is
Here are five ways your carrier either to choose a shorter con-
Carriers are notorious for slapping consumers
might be milking you for extra tract (shop for one that offers
with unexpected fees. But a few simple tricks
bucks—and what you can do prorated handset subsidies) or
can help you keep your monthly bill down.
to stop it. Also, check out the to avoid a contract completely
“Sneaky Fees” feature on page and pay top dollar for an un-
99 for more tips on how to locked handset. You might
fight unwanted charges. also want to look at some of
Texting fees: I’ve never under- the prepaid services, which are
stood why these are broken starting to offer some very
out from the data plan, but slick handsets; with a prepaid
that’s the reality. Two obvious service, be sure to check out
possible overcharging scenari- its area of coverage first.
os: Either you’re not using If you’re trying to get out of
anything close to the number an existing contract, note that
of messages that your plan carriers will prorate it based
allows, or your carrier is hit- on how long you stuck with
ting you with overage charges the company. Learn about a
because you underestimated carrier’s early-departure policy
how often you’d use text mes- before you sign up.
saging. If you’re sending tons Overseas calling charges: An
of one-word messages, you’re AT&T or T-Mobile handset can
building up your monthly mes- accompany you to Europe and
sage count with a lot of empty other regions that support
air. Try to send fewer messages GSM/GPRS smartphones. But
that actually say something— if you don’t plan ahead, you’re
you might find that you really don’t need an unlimited plan. likely to be blindsided by a huge bill for roaming charges.
ILLUSTRATION: JASON SCHNEIDER
On the other hand, if text messaging is the communica- AT&T customers can bring down their rates for voice calls
tions medium of choice in your circle, then perhaps it’s time by paying $6 a month for the company’s World Traveler Ser-
to move up to a plan that includes unlimited texting. While vice. Voice calls overseas vary in price, but AT&T normally
you’re at it, look at your voice plan—if you’re doing all that charges $1.29 per minute for calls made to and from France,
texting, maybe you don’t need so many voice minutes. whereas its World Traveler subscribers pay 99 cents a minute.
The two-year contract: iPhone lovers can skip this section One tip to minimize voice roaming charges: Power down
(since no one can buy an iPhone without signing a two-year your handset, or put it into airplane mode, when you can’t
PCWORLD.COM
See page 28 on how Microsoft subsidiary Danger lost Sidekick users’

data. The data is returning (find.pcworld.com/63941), but victims
have yet to learn exactly what happened (find.pcworld.com/63942).

Consumer Watch
pick up calls. Once an incoming call SKEPTICAL SHOPPER GINNY MIES
hits the overseas network in pursuit of
your handset, you’ll be charged at over-
seas rates even if the caller just winds
Get the Most Out of Black Friday Bargains
up leaving voicemail. In fact, you could THE WORDS “Black Scoring the best tech buys on the big-
incur a double charge: When the unan- Friday”—referring to the gest shopping day of the year requires
swered call bounces back to voicemail day after Thanksgiving—can a little preparation and research.
in the States, the overseas carrier may trigger different emotions in
charge for sending the call back. But if people: excitement, fear, anxiety, or just the weeks leading up to Black Friday or
the network can’t find your phone, the plain indifference. But with our shopping just afterward on Cyber Monday.
call will go straight to voicemail, incur- tips and some planning, you should find To get an inside scoop on when deals
ring no foreign roaming charges. this year’s bargain bonanza a breeze. will hit stores, visit dedicated Web sites
Making calls using Skype or another such as BlackFriday.info, Dealnews.com,
Voice-over-IP service can save you Prepare Your Shopping List FatWallet.com, and GottaDeal.com, and
money if you can find a Wi-Fi network. First, you need to know what to look for. check them frequently up until the big
Overseas data charges: Unlimited data According to Dealnews.com CEO Dan de day. Many of these sites have newsletters
plans from U.S. carriers don’t apply to Grandpre, this year’s best deals will be or RSS feeds you can subscribe to.
data services on overseas networks: found on low-end netbooks, 15- or 16-inch BFAds.net archives Black Friday ads
AT&T’s basic charge for international laptops, Blu-ray players, HDTVs of vari- back to 2004 and organizes them by
data roaming is 1.95 cents per kilobyte ous sizes, external hard drives, and store. It’s a great tool for seeing histori-
of data sent or received. That’s (almost) brand-name LCD monitors. cally how much certain products
a whopping $20 per megabyte! Be aware of trade-offs, have dropped in price. You
Fortunately, AT&T offers internation- however: Bargain prod- can use that information
al data roaming packages that, while ucts likely won’t have as a guideline for this
still expensive, significantly undercut the specs and per- year’s sales.
the pay-as-you-go rate. Consider buy- formance of more With all these
ing one before you leave if you plan to expensive models. sites, however, use
use your smartphone for e-mail and Though de Grand- some caution. So-
Web browsing. The packages range in pre predicts that called “leaked” Black
price from $25 for 20MB to $200 for some 15- or 16-inch Friday ads that some-
200MB—and even if you exceed your laptops will hit stores times show up on them
allotment, the overage rate of half a for under $300, don’t may be inaccurate or in-
cent per kilobyte is still cheaper than count on such a machine having complete, so don’t jump the gun
the usual rate of 1.95 cents. a powerful processor or a lot of memory. on those purported bargains.
iPhone users who want to keep an eye If you’re looking for a secondary comput-
on data use while roaming should go to er, however, that would be a great deal. How to Tackle the Mall
Settings¨GeneralÜsage and look under Black Friday and the holidays are the If you decide to brave the brick-and-
Cellular Network Data. Do this when time to buy a new TV. De Grandpre advises mortar stores, go to sleep early on Thanks-
you first arrive at your overseas destina- shoppers to look for budget 46- to 47-inch giving night so that you can hit the stores
tion, and you can reset all the stats to 1080p LCD sets on Black Friday; prices first thing in the morning. Double up with
start tracking your use from then on. are about 25 percent lower than a year a family member or friend to divide and
The fine print: When was the last time ago. For a discounted high-end set, how- conquer larger stores, and communicate
you scrutinized your phone bill? This ever, wait until a few weeks before Christ- via text messages on what deals are
exercise can help you see if your usage mas. Retailers generally don’t put higher- where. Look for unannounced discounts;
is in line with your plan. You might find, end products on sale during Black Friday in previous years, stores haven’t adver-
for example, that you’re not even close because they know customers are look- tised every product that’s on sale.
ing for the cheapest products possible. Final word: Resist the temptation to
to using the number of minutes you

pay for. Also, look carefully for little sweep something up just because the
charges at the end for things you never The Web Is Your Friend vendor says it’s a good deal. It doesn’t
wanted. A few years ago, a lot of people Getting up at 4 a.m. and waiting in line is matter how much you saved on a dud.
complained about unsolicited roadside- no longer your only option for the big day, Know what you want, do your research,
assistance service charges; who knows as many sales will be online. Be aware, and you’ll survive the experience stress-
what other charges lurk in the bill? however, that the best deals might be in free. And have a cool new toy or two.

Consumer Watch
ON YOUR SIDE MARLA MIYASHIRO
MY DAUGHTER CARLEY called Hewlett-Packard for a free replacement

part for her HP Pavilion dv6700 laptop, which was still under warranty.
The HP representative told her that she had to give a debit or credit card
number to ensure processing of the shipment. Despite the rep’s assur-
ances that her account would not be charged, HP debited $69.15, which
overdrew her account. We called HP the next day and faxed copies of the Sidekick Fiasco
receipt showing that the laptop was under warranty. HP says that it will
refund the charge for the replacement part, but won’t do anything about Shows Need for
the bank’s service charges, now $143. Can you help us?
Sue Waser, Cherry Valley, Illinois Mobile Backups
OYS responds: Shortly after we contacted AN APPARENTLY MASSIVE loss of per-
HP about the Wasers’ issue, a represen- sonal data that Sidekick users in the
tative called them to say that the company United States recently suffered (find.
would be sending Carley Waser a check pcworld.com/63939) shows how important
for the $143 in bank service charges. He data on mobile phones has become.
also offered an additional rebate to use in A service disruption in early October
a future purchase of an HP computer. at Sidekick provider Danger (a Micro-
HP’s records showed the laptop’s date soft subsidiary) caused the company to
of manufacture rather than the date of lose customers’ data; Microsoft was able
purchase, meaning that the company to restore the data a few days later.
mistakenly thought the warranty had While the company was at fault, few
expired. Fortunately for the Wasers, they people take precautions to protect the
had saved the original receipt. data stored on their own phones, notes
We recommend keeping receipts and sold cable was out of stock. She was, Nick Jones, vice president at market
service contracts for major purchases for however, able to find one at her office, research firm Gartner. “You really have
as long as you own the item. You might and she sent it to Sipperley for free. to treat a smartphone as a PC, and you
need the papers to make a return or an If you’re counting on a product to per- have to be prepared to back up the in-
exchange, or to have repairs done or form a particular function, we recom- formation on a regular basis,” Jones says.
parts replaced (especially if the product mend that you find out before buying Both mobile phone manufacturers
is under warranty); you may also need to whether you’ll need a separately sold and carriers have seen the need for
refer to those records for income tax or accessory and if you can easily obtain it. backup services, and they have accord-
property insurance purposes. ingly started to offer a number of such
One easy way to keep track of receipts Wal-Mart Durabrand DVD services—but users have largely been
for big-ticket items is to tape them inside Player Recall ignoring them, according to Jones.
the user manual for each product. Wal-Mart, in cooperation with the U.S. It would help if mobile phone manu-
Consumer Product Safety Commission, facturers started to build better PC con-
Mystery Cable
ILLUSTRATIONS: HARRY CAMPBELL (LEFT), JASON SCHNEIDER (RIGHT)
is recalling about 4.2 million Durabrand nectivity, observes Carolina Milanesi,

Keith Sipperley of Levering, Michigan, DVD players. The units’ circuit board can research director at Gartner. A lot of
contacted us after discovering that he overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard. people don’t back up their data be-
was unable to connect his new Fujifilm Wal-Mart has received 14 reports of cause it is too cumbersome, she says.
FinePix Z30 digital camera to his TV set. DVD players overheating; in 7 of the One catch to mobile backup services:
The FinePix user manual shows an reported cases, resulting fires caused They may become a way for carriers and
optional audio/video (A/V) cable that property damage. As of this writing, no mobile phone vendors to retain their
would allow such a connection. injuries have been reported. Consumers users and increase loyalty, according to
Sipperley asked representatives in Fuji- should immediately stop using the re- CCS Insight’s Paolo Pescatore. Once a
film’s accessory, parts, and customer called DVD players and return them to user stores a tremendous amount of
service departments about the A/V cable, the nearest Wal-Mart store for a full information with a particular carrier,
but no one could help him. After we con- refund. For more information, visit the that user may find it hard to move to
tacted Fujifilm, a rep checked into the company’s Web site at walmartstores.com another carrier, he points out.
issue and learned that the separately or call Wal-Mart at 800/925-6278. —Mikael Ricknäs

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
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Business Center
Build a Social Network for Your Business
The Ning social media platform can help you
create a community hub for your customers.
BY ZACK STERN
UPGRADE FROM THE break-room bulletin board and one-

way customer e-mail lists—your business can take advantage
of its own Facebook-like social network. You might try Face-
book itself, of course, but the clash of business and personal
communications could leave your vacation photos mingling
with company news, and could lead to goofing off on compa-
ny time. Instead, turn to a social network platform to make
your own site. Many services offer functionality similar to
that of Facebook; but here I’ll focus on Ning, which has been
established for a few years and offers customization tools
that can make your site behave almost any way you want. NING LETS YOU choose which features to add to your social network;
Within your company, you could rely on a Ning social net- you can place the elements by dragging them to any position.
work to maintain schedules for anything from managing proj-
ects to organizing an office softball team. Calendar tools, recapping meetings, and otherwise keeping the office in sync.
blog-style posts, comments, and other systems could help Best of all, nearly anyone can run the setup process, so you
connect people. You could post photos and videos to recap won’t have to waste tech or design resources.
events. You could also use Ning to collaborate, updating But Ning is especially powerful for building a space in which
everyone on a project’s status, leaving ideas about new goals, to interact with customers. Think of it as a companion to your
company’s Website. Your Ning social network can live at its
own URL, as in mycompany.ning.com, or you can integrate it
as a subdomain of your site, as in community.mycompany.com.
Using Ning’s Basic Features

Ning’s core functionality is free; you can create a site with a
mycompany.ning.com URL in minutes. Such sites should be
fine for most intra-office situations.
For customizations, you need to pay a monthly fee. Remov-
ing Ning’s ads costs $25 per month (you could replace them
with your own, if you want to); using a custom domain name
is $5 a month; and removing all Ning branding from your site
costs $25 a month. A free account includes 10GB of storage
and 100GB of bandwidth per month, but you can pay $10 a
month to double both capacities. (And each $10 you pay
WITHIN NING’S MANAGE screen, you can alter settings. Click Premi- after that adds another 10GB and 100GB per month.)
um Services, for example, to map your network to a custom domain. To get started, visit Ning.com and walk through the
PCWORLD.COM
For more practical advice on putting the power of microblogging and

social networks to work for your business, point your browser to
“Nine Twitter Tips for Business” at find.pcworld.com/63949.

Business Center
prompts to set up your site. Enter a NET WORK MICHAEL SCALISI
name for the network and a URL prefix
(the mycompany in mycompany.ning.com).
Click Create, and the screen will prompt
Guard Your Network With a Free Firewall
you to either sign in to an existing Ning IF YOU EVER find your- Need robust protection on a nonexistent
account or create a new one. self in need of a decently budget? Try this open-source option.
On the Describe page, enter a suc- robust and full-featured
cinct tagline, a description, and key- firewall but your budget is approaching You then need to configure your network
words. Use these fields, especially the zero, I have just the solution for you. interfaces, which will be labeled Green,
keywords, to help people find your net- SmoothWall Express 3.0 is an open- Red, Orange, or Purple. The Green inter-
work; consider using product names or source, security-hardened GNU/Linux face is your trusted LAN. Red is the evil
other popular terms that relate to your firewall. With minimal hardware require- and dangerous Internet. Orange is your
site. Use the radio buttons to make the ments and a small footprint, it should DMZ, and Purple is your wireless LAN.
network public or private. Click Next. work with nearly any Pentium-class PC Next you select which network card to
that has at least 128MB of RAM and a assign to each role. SmoothWall will
Adding Features hard disk of 2GB or probe for and detect
On the Features page, click View all fea- greater. You should most cards. You’ll need
tures. Each module represents a feature have at least two net- to specify IP configura-
for your network, such as blogging, work cards installed tion, and optionally the
video posts, and an event calendar. for basic use—three or DNS and gateway set-
Drag them into your layout, and order more if you want to tings. You may also
them within the columns. To remove incorporate a wireless configure Web proxy,
items, drag them out, to the left. Click network or to have a ISDN, ADSL, and
a question-mark icon to get a descrip- DMZ (a demilitarized DHCP. Lastly, you need
tion of that function. Click Next. zone, or a host that to set a Web-interface
On the Customize Appearance serves as a buffer password and a root
screen, pick a template, and then scroll between your private network and the password for command-line access.
down to make further changes. You can outside). Keep in mind, though, that your You’re done with setup. From here you
swap in colors and fonts as you go; it’s firewall’s reliability is limited by the hard- can leave your “Smoothie” as is, and it
a good idea to match them to the look ware on which you install it. behaves as a fully functional firewall.
of your company’s existing Web site. However, you can configure the most in-
Click All Options to customize even Installing SmoothWall depth features only through the Web
more and to upload your own images. Don’t worry if you don’t know much about interface. Point your browser to https://
If you know how to manage CSS, click Linux. Though the geeky can get down SmoothWallGreenAddress:441 and enter
Advanced to import or change the style and dirty at the command line, Smooth- the admin password you made earlier.
sheet, which gives you complete con- Wall is easy to install and configure. It’s For a free product, SmoothWall is
trol over your site’s appearance and lay- meant to be managed via an integrated remarkably full featured, including proxy
out. Click Launch when you’re satisfied. Web interface, as well. To install, first servers, IDS, logging, traffic graphs, DHCP,
After building your social network download the 81MB ISO file at find. VPN, dynamic DNS, port forwarding,
site, you can return at any time to make pcworld.com/63892 and burn it to a CD. If server health, and access control. It also
updates. Visit your site page—log in if you need disk-burning software, try Img- provides an interface for backing up and
needed—and click the Manage link. You Burn (find.pcworld.com/61194). restoring your configuration, so when
can adjust the site features, layout, and Boot to the CD and run the installer, your Pentium II PC kicks the bucket, you
other aspects. For example, be sure to which will wipe the hard disk before it can get SmoothWall up and running again.
click Manage¨Network Information to find installs. Accepting the installer’s defaults SmoothWall Express is limited to a sin-
the prompt to upload a network logo is a good start. The first “hard” question gle CPU and 1GB of RAM, but that’s not
involves the security policy for outgoing likely to be an issue for even a network
to overwrite the generic Ning one.

For more tips, including advice on requests. The default is Half-Open, which with a couple hundred users. The real
importing addresses and inviting par- permits outgoing traffic except for any limitation is the lack of support: While
ticipants to your network, using a cus- that is potentially harmful. You may also you can consult the robust user commu-
tom domain, taking advantage of Ning choose Open, which doesn’t limit outgo- nity, you’re mostly on your own. Of course,
Apps, and fighting comment spam, ing traffic, or Closed, which requires that the commercial arm of SmoothWall sells
browse to find.pcworld.com/63956. you configure what traffic is permitted. paid and supported products, too.

40% of businesses pay their cards
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40% of businesses with credit cards pay them off in full each “If I can knock off
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huge benefit over
The savings are automatic and in addition to whatever discount
a lot of dollars.”
you negotiate on your own. Plus the Plum Card lets you defer
payment for up to 60 days, interest-free. That kind of flexibility
can be useful when cash flow is less than predictable.
Does that make the Plum Card right for you?

We can’t say for sure. What we can say is that all kinds Chris Zane
of business owners are using it to get better terms — Zane’s Cycles
no matter who they do business with. Find out how at Member Since 2000
plumcard.com/who or call 1-866-620-PLUM.
Is the Plum Card right for you?
Pay your balance in full within 10 days of the statement closing date and get a 1.5% discount on eligible purchases made that
month. The discount will appear as a credit on the following billing statement. Pay 10% of the balance from new activity on your
billing statement plus the entire amount of any previously deferred payment or amounts past due by the “Please Pay By Date”
on that statement and you can extend payment on the rest until the closing date of your next billing cycle without penalty.
Visit plumcard.com for details. ©2009 American Express Bank, FSB. All rights reserved. P01

Business Center
TECH AUDIT
Nonprofit Overhaul Assists Families of Ill Children
IN RECENT YEARS, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mem- Memphis-based IT pros give Ronald McDonald
phis (www.rmhmemphis.org) has experienced its share of techno- House Charities an extreme-tech makeover.
logical growing pains. The business staff of ten serves the families
of children receiving medical treatment for cancer and other seri- FIFTEEN CISCO AIRONET 1200 access points ensure reliable wire-
ous illnesses by providing a home away from less connections throughout the Ronald McDonald House facility.
home while the children receive treatment
at the local St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. to the task of securely allowing guest families to
To help visiting families keep in touch with connect to the network and access the
family and friends back home during their Web services they required.
time of need, the Ronald McDonald House We replaced the BSC-400 with a new,
desperately wanted to upgrade both its more powerful Bluesocket BSC-2200
computers and its network. Executive Direc- Bluesecure Controller and connected it
tor Caron Byrd turned to my team at GHT to 15 Cisco Aironet 1200 Series wireless
Technology Group for assistance. access points, significantly improving
wireless reception throughout the facility.
Outdated Equipment We then redeployed the Cisco Catalyst
Before we stepped in, the charity had offered switches to segregate the wireless net-
to its guests a small number of shared com- work from the wired network, keeping the
puters in a common area. These aging Win- charity’s mission-critical internal systems
dows 98 systems provided an essential link to safely separated from the PCs of its guests.
loved ones via Web-based e-mail, but they performed
sluggishly and required frequent maintenance. Increasingly, Managing Guest Access
families had begun bringing their own laptops along, but the facili- To further secure the network, the Bluesock-
ty’s data network was inadequate to handle the guest PCs. et BSC-2200 allows us to create and define user roles for guests
Ronald McDonald House needed a manageable way to distribute and administrative personnel, to define Internet access security,
Internet connectivity across an entire campus of users so that the and to control the settings of all of the access points. It also per-
families of patients could take their own personal laptops any- mits a designated network user to manage the guest access
where in the facility and access their e-mail, chat, browse the through a simple utility on their own computer.
Web—whatever they wanted to do—in a secure and dependable Finally, we scrapped the outdated Windows 98 computers in the
wireless environment. To make that happen, we focused on lobby and replaced them with three Windows XP–based Dell work-
upgrading the heart of the charity’s network. stations, which we connected to the wireless network. This setup
The facility’s existing network consisted of a Bluesocket BSC- allows families who do not have their own laptops to safely enjoy
400 Wireless Controller linked to 11 Proxim AP-700 access points round-the-clock Internet access.
through four Cisco Catalyst switches. This aging controller was an Parents and other relatives of the kids at the childhood cancer
obstacle to fulfilling the client’s needs because it clearly wasn’t up institute depend on their laptops and Internet connectivity to stay
in contact with the family members they’ve left back home. The
MEET THE PROS consolidated wireless management system that we installed pro-
vides secure and easy-to-use wireless technology to everyone
who visits the Ronald McDonald House facility.
GHT Technology Group —Bill Thorsberg, GHT Technology Group
MEMPHIS-BASED GHT TECHNOLOGY Group was founded
in 2004 by three former IT managers. Partners Rozell If you’re an IT solutions provider serving the small to midsize
Henderson and Bill Thorsberg worked as systems manag- business market, and you’d like to learn how you can contribute to
ers, network administrators, and IT directors—as well as PC World Tech Audit, send mail to techaudit@pcworld.com. We’re
in every sort of IT position over 20 years’ time—gaining always looking for more talented pros.
hands-on experience in all aspects of information technolo- Tech Audit is written and produced in cooperation with IT
gy management and operations. Contact them at 901/373- professionals in the field. All recommendations and opinions
4058 or via their Web site at www.ghtllc.com. expressed represent the independent judgment of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect those of PC World or its editorial staff.

IBM, the IBM logo, Lotus, Quickr, Smarter Planet and the planet icon are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions
worldwide. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. © International Business Machines Corporation 2009.
Smarter software for a Smarter Planet.

whenever and wherever you need them.
you put that file.
Lotus® Quickr™ file library stores your files
securely online so you can always find them,

Lotus knows where
lotusknows.com
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Security Alert
Phishers Dangle Some Brand-New Bait
BY ROBERT VAMOSI Fake Antivirus Software an Emerging Problem
Rogue antivirus products are among the latest phishing in-
IN SEPTEMBER 2009, some unlucky visitors at the New York struments to appear, and many are quite convincing. Bearing
Times Web site clicked on an ad that attempted to install mal- names like Antivirus 2009, AntiVirmin 2009, and AntiSpyware
ware. The advertisement displayed a popup window informing 2009, they have interfaces similar to those of real antivirus
readers that their computer might be infected with a virus; apps. Some rogue antivirus products have their own key-
only by purchasing a new anti- words on search engines and
virus product could they be Just when you thought it was safe to shop cite fake reviews recommend-
sure of having a clean system. or bank online, criminals have invented new ing them (see find.pcworld.
The Times later acknowledged ways to steal your personal information. com/63915 for one that I sup-
the scam in a posting on its posedly wrote).
Web site: “Some NYTimes.com The rogue antivirus product
readers have seen a pop-up box that showed up on the New
warning them about a virus and York Times site installed mal-
directing them to a site that ware that, if executed, would
claims to offer antivirus soft- have lowered the security set-
ware.…If you see such a warn- tings in Internet Explorer, run
ing, we suggest that you not executable files, and altered the
click on it. Instead, quit and system Registry. Such actions
restart your Web browser.” by phishing malware are fairly
Phishers and scammers use common. The real security
this and other new tactics to apps knew it, too: Legitimate
deceive unsuspecting victims. antivirus vendors AVG, Como-
do, Kaspersky, McAfee, Micro-
Phishing 2.0 soft, Nod32, and Sophos,
Phishing refers to an attempt to (among others) detected this
collect usernames, passwords, particular piece of malware
and credit card data by posing within the first few hours.
as a legitimate, trusted party.
Often the deception involves Customer-Service Fakes
using e-mail sent from a trusted Another phishing gambit is a
address. Originally, phishing variation on an old scam: The
applied to the banking and payment industry only, but now it crooks mass-mail a seemingly personalized e-mail message,
also covers theft of log-in credentials to games, and personal ostensibly from a bank, containing a fake online chat option.
ILLUSTRATION: THOMAS FUCHS
passwords to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. In this “chat-in-the-middle” attack, as soon as the victim en-
Most people wouldn’t reveal their social security number ters a user name and password at the designated online site,
or mother’s maiden name at a strange site. Modern browsers a chat window opens up and a scammer posing as a customer
and security software flag such content and ask you whether service rep at the bank requests additional personal informa-
you’re sure you want to send it; some block it with a red-and- tion to confirm the identity of the account holder. By provid-
black warning label. So phishers have adopted new tactics. ing these details, the victim gives the thief crucial data.
PCWORLD.COM
Floppy disks may be obsolete, but you can give your old floppies new
life by using them as a convenient, inexpensive, and portable way to
store your passwords. Learn how at find.pcworld.com/63916.

Security Alert
Small Potatoes BUGS & FIXES ERIK LARKIN
Roger Thompson, chief research officer
at AVG, says rogue antivirus products
are common: “The bad guys are clearly
Stymie Malicious Media, Network Attacks
making money at it.” Besides benefiting ESSENTIAL OS fixes are Fix media-file flaws on PCs and Macs,
up front by selling the rogue antivirus big this month. And fans of and block Vista network attacks.
product, they collect credit card infor- free software need to up-
mation for future identity fraud. date their Firefox and OpenOffice copies. Two more Microsoft patches correct
Jon Miller, director of Accuvant Labs, Apple’s QuickTime 7.6.4 update revises critical flaws that might let code hidden
a security consulting firm that works the program’s handling of .fpx, .mov, and on a Web page run commands on a vul-
with Fortune 500 companies and sever- .mp4 files on Windows XP, Vista, or 7, or nerable PC. One, in the JScript Scripting
al U.S. government contractors, says Mac OS X (not Snow Leopard). In Quick- Engine (find.pcworld.com/63922), affects
that the New York Times incident isn’t Time, click HelpÜpdate Existing Soft- Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista,
unusual. Further, he notes that he has ware to ensure that you have version 7.6.4 and Server 2008. The other involves the
seen an upsurge in the use of malware (for details, see find.pcworld.com/63917). DHTML Editing Component ActiveX con-
tailored to customers of particular Microsoft’s patch plugs a security hole in trol (find.pcworld.com/63923), and is criti-
banks and other financial institutions. the way Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, cal for Windows XP and 2000 only. Win-
Vista, and Server 2008 (but not Windows dows Update has both fixes, as usual.
Protect Yourself 7) process .asf or .mp3 media files. Micro-
AVG makes a free product called Link- soft’s bulletin (find.pcworld.com/ Fixes for Free Software
scanner (find.pcworld.com/63911) that 63918) lists many vulnerable If you use the OpenOffice
blocks new phishing attacks, yet allows combinations of Windows productivity suite, update
users to safely view any site. For phish- Media Format Runtime to version 3.1.1 or later
ing attacks such as fake chat sessions and OS versions; run to avoid a critical prob-
and fake keywords, AVG’s Thompson Windows Update to con- lem in how OpenOffice
says, users need to develop a healthy firm you have the fix. handles Microsoft Word
dose of skepticism, and learn how to documents. If you open
kill the browser using Task Manager. Network Flaws a tainted .doc file, an at-
That won’t stop Web-based exploits, Windows Vista and Server tacker could take over your
but it will give you a way to defeat 2008 are vulnerable to several PC. Click Help¨Check for Updates
social engineering attacks. network-based security flaws. One, an to see whether you have the latest version
Accuvant’s Miller recommends several SMBv2 file-sharing hole could let a re- (read more at find.pcworld.com/63924).
common-sense antiphishing strategies: mote attacker take over a machine. Micro- Firefox versions 3.5.3 and 3.0.14 correct
¨ Use a strong browser. According to soft hasn’t yet released a patch, but at three critical flaws. Click Help¨Check for
Miller, Internet Explorer is the weakest find.pcworld.com/63919 the company has Updates, and see Mozilla’s Firefox 3.0
browser, while Firefox and Google posted a “Fix It” for disabling SMBv2. File (find.pcworld.com/63925) and 3.5 (find.
Chrome are relatively strong. sharing should work, but it may be slow. pcworld.com/63926) security advisories.
¨ Use a malware-resistant platform Microsoft did patch a flaw that malicious Firefox 3.0 and 3.5 include a security
such as Mac OS or Linux. Though nei- TCP/IP packets sent across a network feature that warns you to update Flash if
ther is impervious to attack, each is less might exploit. On Vista and Server 2008, your version is vulnerable; they also pro-
likely to be targeted than the main- that could mean a full takeover; on Win- vide a link to the Flash download site.
stream Windows operating system. dows 2000, Server 2003, and XP, a sys- If you use Mac OS X versions 10.4
¨ Use antimalware software; Miller tem crash is likelier. Microsoft won’t re- through 10.5.8, fire up Software Update
says that his program of choice is Web- lease a patch for Windows 2000 (see find. to pick up Security Update 2009-005,
root Internet Security Essentials. pcworld.com/63920) or XP (which by de- which fixes image file, PDF file, or Web
¨ Update your software promptly and fault doesn’t accept the perilous packets). site holes (see find.pcworld.com/63929).
A network problem in the Wireless LAN
regularly, but don’t depend on updates

as the sole way to guarantee your sys- AutoConfig Service (find.pcworld.com/ BUGGED?
tem’s security. As Miller observes, “mal- 63921) could let remote attackers “own”
ware tends to be ahead of the curve.” vulnerable Vista or Server 2008 systems. FOUND A HARDWARE or soft-
¨ Be cautious and vigilant when using PCs that lack wireless cards or run other ware bug? Send us an e-mail on
high-profile social networking sites Windows versions are safe. A firewall will it to bugs@pcworld.com.
such as Facebook and Twitter. help block such Web-based assaults.

Security Alert
Banking Trojan PRIVACY WATCH ERIK LARKIN
Horse Hides Its Are Flash Cookies Devouring Your Privacy?

Money Mules EVEN IF YOU delete nor-
mal tracking cookies regu-
Small Flash files can track your online
movements, and they don’t vanish when
TROJAN HORSES SUCH as Zeus and larly to evade tracking by you delete normal tracking cookies.
Clampi have been emptying bank ac- snooping sites and eager
counts for years, but a devious new advertisers, little-known Flash cookies (find.pcworld.com/63931) that displays a
program tries to deceive investigators may be making an end run around your summary of your current LSOs and lets
about where the money is going. attempts to preserve your privacy. you arrange to delete Flash and regular
First uncovered by Finjan Software, Flash cookies (also known as local cookies automatically whenever you stop
the URLzone Trojan horse rewrites bank shared objects or LSOs) can save certain or start the browser. It works well for me.
pages so that victims don’t know their Adobe Flash–related settings—storing
accounts have been emptied. Its sophis- preferences for watching Flash video on Flash Player Settings Box
ticated command-and-control interface a certain site, for example, or caching a If you don’t use Firefox, you’ll have to dig
lets the bad guys preset the percentage music file for better playback. into the settings box at find.pcworld.com/
of the account balance to remove. But Flash cookies can also store unique 63932, which lets you change settings for
RSA Security researchers say that URL- identifiers that track the sites you visit, the Flash Player on your system.
zone uses several techniques to spot much as regular If you want your
machines run by crime investigators. tracking cookies do. computer to prompt
Researchers typically create programs Deleting the regular you for permission to
that mimic the behavior of real Trojan cookies on your ma- proceed whenever a
horses. When URLzone identifies one chine via a standard site wishes to store
of these, it sends it bogus information, browser option such a Flash cookie on the
says Aviv Raff, RSA Security’s Fraud- as Clear Private PC, move the Global
Action research lab manager. Data¨Cookies (in Storage Settings
Security experts have long published Firefox) or Tools¨ slider bar all the way
research on the inner workings of ma- Delete Browsing to the left (from
licious computer programs such as History¨Delete cook- ‘100KB’ to ‘None’).
URLzone, according to Raff. “Now the ies... (in Internet To disable LSOs,
other side knows that they are being Explorer) doesn’t affect Flash cookies, check the Never Ask Again box (doing so
watched, and they’re acting,” he says. which are stored elsewhere on your PC. is likely to prevent many sites that use
When URLzone spots a researcher’s Flash content from working correctly).
program, rather than just disconnect- Flash Cookie Research Likewise, unchecking the ‘Allow third-
ing from the researcher’s computer, the A recent study (find.pcworld.com/63930) party Flash content...’ option could pre-
server instructs it to transfer money— of Flash cookies and their use reports vent advertisers from storing Flash cook-
but not to one of the mules recruited that even the private browsing modes in ies on your PC, but it may also prevent
to move cash overseas. Instead, it the latest browsers won’t hamper LSOs. Flash video from working correctly on
chooses an innocent victim—typically Students and researchers at the Uni- some sites (including 9 out of the 100
someone who has received legitimate versity of California, Berkeley, and at sites in the research report).
money transfers from other hacked other universities found that a number of To delete all existing Flash cookies—
computers on the network, Raff says. sneaky online actors use Flash cookies good or bad—click the Website Storage
So far, more than 400 legitimate ac- to re-create regular tracking cookies that Settings tab at the far left of the Flash
counts have been exploited in this way, users delete. According to the study, settings interface, and click the Delete
according to RSA. The idea is to confuse more than half of the top 100 Web sites all sites button at the tab’s base. To de-
used Flash cookies, and third-party lete them individually, highlight an entry
researchers and to prevent discovery of

the criminal’s real money mules. advertisers tended to be behind the and click Delete website.
According to Finjan, the URLzone underhanded cookie re-creation effort. Altering these settings once will cover
Trojan horse infected about 6400 com- If you don’t want your privacy prefer- any browser on that PC, according to
puter users last September, clearing ences to be ignored, you can try a couple Adobe. Longer term, the company is
about $17,500 a day during that month. of options. If you use Firefox, you can looking into allowing Flash cookie con-
—Robert McMillan install an add-on called Better Privacy trols from the browser menu itself.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
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You want the iPhone. ®
IT needs to protect
your enterprise.
It’s all Good.
Protect. Connect. Collaborate.

With Good for Enterprise you can securely connect and collaborate on the mobile device you want and
IT will be able to manage and protect your company’s most proprietary and sensitive data. Find out how
we can help your enterprise. Visit us online at good.com/iphone or call 1-866-7-BE-GOOD.
©2009 Good Technology. The Good logo and Good for Enterprise are trademarks of Good Technology, Inc. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. All rights reserved.

Reviews&
Rankings
The E-Book
Explosion
As consumer interest in e-book readers
approaches critical mass, the number of high-
quality models available is mushrooming.
THE E-BOOK universe is ex- ble as music players,

panding rapidly. Amazon’s and some even read
Kindles still offer the ulti- books aloud.
mate in wireless-transfer Unfortunately, the
convenience, but other read- world of e-books is
ers and e-book resellers are Balkanized, with
starting to compete on price multiple incompatible
and content—including hun- file formats and digital rights produces some of the classi- A STACK OF e-book readers (top
dreds of thousands of free management (DRM) tech- est e-book readers around, is to bottom): Astak’s EZReader
books Amazon doesn’t offer. nologies, and devices with abandoning its proprietary PocketPro, Sony’s Reader Pocket
E-books have numerous varying support for both. BBeB e-book file format and Edition (PRS-300), Sony’s Read-
benefits. Eliminating paper Books in the public domain shifting protected content in er Touch Edition (PRS-600),
saves resources. E-book are widely available in PDF its e-book store to Adobe Foxit’s eSlick Reader, Interead’s
readers take up little room and other standard formats. ePub, an e-book file format Cool-ER, Amazon’s Kindle 2,
in travelers’ backpacks and But copyrighted material is that book publishers and re- and Amazon’s Kindle DX.
purses, while storing the another story. Amazon’s sellers have widely embraced.
equivalent of a whole book- current Kindles can obtain Whereas Adobe’s PDF repro- commercial titles in ePub/
shelf. You don’t have to go commercial e-books in Ama- duces a fixed image of a page, ACS4 format, and some
anywhere to buy or borrow zon’s AZW file format via ePub permits reflowing of libraries let patrons check
an e-book title. For the wireless download only in text to accommodate differ- out ePub books. As of early
PHOTOGRAPHS: ROBERT CARDIN
vision-impaired, the ability the United States (in early ent fonts and font sizes. October, 17 e-book readers
to adjust font size can make October, however, the com- Adobe offers a DRM tech- supported ePub and ACS4,
the difference between be- pany announced a Kindle nology called Adobe Content making that combination
ing able to read a book and capable of downloading con- Server 4. Sony and a number the closest thing the indus-
having to hope for an audio tent in most countries). of other online bookstores— try has to a standard for
version. Some readers dou- Meanwhile, Sony, which most notably Borders—sell DRM-protected books.

INSIDE
59 TOSHIBA DMF82XKU 62 HP ENVY 13 64 APPLE IPOD Nano 69 HP TOUCHSMART 600
Aside from the Amazon Kin- Amazon Kindle DX version of the Kindle 2 lets
dles and Foxit’s eSlick, all of The Kindle DX looks surpris- you download content else-
the e-book readers in this ingly lean and elegant. On where). Though the DX’s
review support ePub/ACS4. the device’s front is a spa- spacious screen and skinny
cious 9.6-inch E Ink display profile are big pluses, the
Sony Reader Touch that can show 16 shades of device is unlikely to succeed
Edition (PRS-600) gray (as can the Kindle 2). as a newspaper or magazine
Sony’s new flagship e-book At 7.2 by 10.4 by 0.4 inch- replacement; it’s too heavy
reader offers something we es and 18.9 ounces, the Kin- for that, and its E Ink display
haven’t seen in previous dle DX is the largest and lacks the color and visual
Sony Readers: a touchscreen heaviest of today’s e-book appeal that modern print
and stylus for navigating and readers. Like the Kindle 2, it publications possess.
for creating drawings and THE TOUCH EDITION of the Sony has a keyboard (for annota- The DX’s high price is like-
handwritten notes. Whether Reader lets you handwrite notes. tions and for searching for ly to turn off some potential
this innovation enhances the books in Amazon’s Kindle customers as well: At $489,
e-book experience is open buttons for turning pages store through the built-in it costs more than some full-
to debate, but the overall and accessing menus. wireless connection), but featured laptops.
quality of the product is not: The Touch Edition lets you typing on it is awkward.
Except for its lack of wire- create text memos (via an In the United States you Amazon Kindle 2
less connectivity for pur- on-screen keyboard), listen can shop for and download The Kindle 2 is a sleek, curved
chasing books without con- to unprotected MP3 and books from the device with- tablet that you can hold easily
necting to a PC, the Touch AAC music, view images, out connecting to a PC (only in your hands. Like other
Edition is a worthy competi- and set up a slideshow. The the just-announced global Kindles, it offers easy
tor to Amazon’s Kindles. MP3 player was the best on
This reader looks like a re- any e-book reader I tried,
fined version of Sony’s pre- with reasonably strong audio
vious reader, with a 6-inch, through earphones plugged
8-grayscale E Ink screen into the Touch Edition’s
framed by a metallic case standard headphone jack. It
(available in silver, black, or includes repeat/shuffle op-
red). Beneath the display are tions, and you can play the
five thin silvery bar-shaped music while you read. The
reader comes with a diction-
MORE ONLINE ary and lets you annotate
your books and documents.
For further details about some The Touch Edition is a top-
e-book readers that will vie for notch e-book reader. Though
consumers’ attention next year, pricey at $300, it’s well de-
see find.pcworld.com/63963. signed and feature-rich. THE KINDLE DX’S 9.6-inch-diagonal screen shows 16 shades of gray.

Reviews&Rankings
access to Amazon’s Kindle slim gadget with a 5-inch, nology), and PDF files. The
store through Sprint’s 3G 8-grayscale E Ink screen. It Pocket doesn’t support
wireless network (at no extra lacks extras that some com- image or HTML files, and
cost to users), so shopping petitors offer, but its top- you don’t get a dictionary.
for books is a breeze. But flight design and usability Reading on the Pocket
Amazon doesn’t make avail- more than compensate for Edition is easy and intuitive:
able the hundreds of thou- the missing features. Pages looked good and
sands of free e-books you Like previous Sony Read- flowed neatly, and page
can get from other stores. ers, the Pocket Edition has a turns were responsive—
Its polished design looks metal case (most competi-
great, as does its 6-inch, tors use some sort of plas-
600-by-800-pixel E Ink tic), which may explain why
screen. Text is sharp, and it tips the scales at nearly
images are crisp. But the AT 0.4 INCH, the Kindle 2 is half half a pound. But the silvery
Kindle 2’s stumpy five-way as thick as the original Kindle. case felt great in my hands,
navigation joystick feels stiff and the reader’s controls are
and sits awkwardly near the er, and a Web browser, the simple and intuitive.
right bottom edge. Still, the Kindle 2 stands as a good Document file format sup-
QWERTY keyboard below reader’s companion overall. port is limited to unencrypt-
the display is surprisingly ed BBeB, ePub, PDF, TXT,
usable, with circular keys Sony Reader Pocket RTF, and Microsoft Word
that are easy to press. Edition (PRS-300) (.doc) files, plus (on com-
Even though its extras are The Pocket Edition is about mercial books) encrypted
limited to a text-to-speech as inexpensive as e-book BBeB, ePub (with Adobe THE POCKET EDITION of the
capability, a basic MP3 play- readers come: $199 for a Content Server 4 DRM tech- Sony Reader costs just $199.
PC WORLD TOP 5 E-BOOK READERS
Commercial
MODEL Rating Dimensions Display Features
e-book formats
Sony Reader ¨ 4.8 by 6.9 inches ¨ 6.0 inches ¨ Adobe ePub, Sony ¨ Wireless: No
Touch Edition ¨ 0.4 inch thick ¨ 800 by 600 pixels BBeB ¨ MP3 player: Yes
1 $300 VERY GOOD ¨ 10.1 ounces ¨ E Ink, 8 grayscale ¨ Touchscreen: Yes
find.pcworld.com/63964
u With its elegant design and ePub support, the Sony Reader Touch Edition shapes up as a formidable competitor to Amazon’s Kindles.
Amazon Kindle DX
¨ 7.2 by 10.4 inches ¨ 9.6 inches Ämazon AZW ¨ Wireless: Yes
¨ 0.4 inch thick ¨ 1200 by 824 pixels ¨ MP3 player: Yes
2
$489
VERY GOOD ¨ 18.9 ounces (1.1 ¨ E Ink, 16 grayscale ¨ Touchscreen: No
pounds)
u The DX impresses with a large screen and wireless connectivity; but it’s heavy and pricey, and it locks you into Amazon’s ecosystem.
Amazon Kindle 2
¨5.3 by 8.0 inches ¨ 6.0 inches Ämazon AZW ¨ Wireless: Yes
3
$259
VERY GOOD ¨ 9.6 ounces ¨ E Ink, 16 grayscale ¨ Touchscreen: No
u The second-generation Kindle improves on its predecessor with a slimmer design and significantly better image quality.
Sony Reader ¨4.2 by 6.2 inches ¨5.0 inches Ädobe ePub, Sony ¨ Wireless: No
Pocket Edition ¨ 0.4 inch thick ¨ 800 by 600 pixels BBeB ¨ MP3 player: No
4 $199 VERY GOOD ¨ 7.8 ounces ¨ E Ink, 8 grayscale ¨ Touchscreen: No
u This reader delivers mainstream e-book features in a highly portable, well-designed package—and it has a great price, too.
Interead Cool-ER
¨4.6 by 7.2 inches ¨ 6.0 inches Ädobe ePub ¨ Wireless: No
5
$249
GOOD ¨ 6.2 ounces ¨ E Ink, 8 grayscale ¨ Touchscreen: No
u The Interead Cool-ER’s usability doesn’t match its iPod-esque looks, but it delivers solid e-book features at a midrange price.
CHART NOTES: Ratings are as of 10/5/09.

Reviews&Rankings
on a par with those of other unnecessarily arduous. available library isn’t huge)
devices. Overall, the Pocket The Cool-ER’s display em- or at other sites that support
Edition is appealing, not just ploys the same E Ink tech- ePub and ACS4.
for people on a budget (after nology that Kindles, Sony The built-in MP3 player
all, the Kindle isn’t a lot Readers, and other e-book lets you play music while
more expensive), but for readers use. The Cool-ER you read, but it’s a bare-
anyone who wants a small, adopts the 8-grayscale ver- bones audio player. Annoy-
no-frills e-book reader to sion, operated by a 400MHz ingly, the headphone jack
carry in a purse or backpack. Samsung ARM processer. port doesn’t accept standard
You can transfer content only mobile 3.5mm jacks. You’ll
Interead Cool-ER via the USB cable, but a wire- have to get a 2.5mm adapter
The $249 Cool-ER strives to less model is due next year. to use it with most current
distinguish itself from the HIP, TINTED metallic casing sets The Cool-ER supports headphones or phone head-
black-and-gray competition, the tone with Interead’s Cool-ER. about a dozen file formats, sets (the Cool-ER comes
and for the most part it suc- including ePub, HTML, without earphones).
ceeds. Skinny (0.4 inch low the 6-inch screen are the PDF, Rich Text, and three A little polish (and a better
thick), lightweight (6.2 device’s logo and a round, popular image formats; four-way navigation wheel)
ounces) and available in iPod-esque four-way naviga- ePub with Adobe Content would improve the Cool-
eight cheery colors, this tion/selection wheel, which Server 4 digital rights man- ER’s usability. But for the
e-book resembles an over- you use to navigate through agement software is the pri- price, it’s not a bad deal.
grown iPod—not a bad role menus and turn pages. Un- mary format for commercial
model for industrial design. fortunately, because the but- e-books, which you can buy Jason Cross and Melissa J. Per-
The only items visible be- ton is quite stiff, using it is at CoolerBooks.com (its enson contributed to this story.
B E YO N D T H E T O P 5
Two New Readers With Some Catching Up to Do

FIVE E-BOOK READERS made our chart on page 46. Two others ‘Small’; the others were either
fell short: Astak’s EZReader PocketPro and Foxit’s eSlick Reader. ridiculously large or optician-
chart tiny—a far cry from the
Astak EZReader PocketPro more evenly graduated font
The EZReader PocketPro (find.pcworld.com/63970) is about the same sizes on most other readers.
size as the Sony Reader Pocket Edition and costs the same ($199).
But its limited, impractical font size options are a serious drawback. Foxit eSlick Reader
The EZReader PocketPro is light and comes cradled inside a Known for its popular alterna-
handsome flip-open leather cover. A built-in MP3 player lets you tive to Adobe’s PDF reader,
play music while you read. Also, Astak’s reader supports Adobe’s Foxit has produced an e-book
DRM technology—Adobe Content Server 4—giving you access to a device that works solely with
fair amount of commercial content. the PDF format. Thanks to this
But the PocketPro’s navigation capability, the eSlick Reader A FOUR-WAY controller (at lower
controls are neither convenient nor (find.pcworld.com/63969) can right) on the eSlick turns pages.
particularly intuitive. For instance, handle the thousands of free vol-
there’s no cursor for scrolling umes available in that format; but it lacks support for commercial
through lists of options (you have content incorporating DRM encryption, ruling out access to the
to use the numeric keypad under- best-sellers that you can read on most competing devices.
neath the display instead) and no The $250 eSlick Reader is small, thin, and lightweight, with a
status bar on the page to indicate rubberized finish. The screen is easy to read, but illustrations don’t
progress through the book. And the look as attractive on its 4-grayscale display as they do on the 16-
built-in text-to-speech feature for grayscale and 8-grayscale screens of other readers we reviewed.
PDF content is pretty bad. We couldn’t change the font size in any PDF book we tried; the
CLIPS SECURE the EZReader Worst of all, the only usable font menu option for that operation was grayed out. Zooming in works,
PocketPro’s cover in place. size option of the five offered was but then you may have to scroll left and right to read across a line.

Reviews&Rankings
Top 10 Cell Phones

The new HTC Hero from Sprint offers a big advance in the innovative Android platform.
MODEL Rating Features and specifications Performance
Apple iPhone 3GS ¨ Carrier: AT&T ¨ Sophisticated design

¨ Form factor: Candy bar ¨ Extremely responsive touchscreen
1
$300
SUPERIOR ¨ Weight: 4.8 ounces ¨ Excellent video and audio playback and
¨ Camera resolution: 3.0 megapixels features
u Performance enhancements distinguish the 3GS—an otherwise evolutionary step up—from the iPhone’s previous iterations.
T-Mobile myTouch 3G
¨Carrier: T-Mobile ¨ Lightweight and slim design
¨ Form factor: Candy bar ¨ Touch keyboard isn’t perfect
2
$150
SUPERIOR ¨ Weight: 4.1 ounces ¨ Excellent video and audio features
¨Camera resolution: 3.2 megapixels
u The T-Mobile myTouch 3G is a big improvement from its predecessor, but the physical keyboard is sorely missed.
T-Mobile G1
¨Carrier: T-Mobile ¨ Design is a bit clunky
¨ Form factor: Candy bar ¨ Roomy, comfortable keyboard
3
$130
SUPERIOR ¨ Weight: 5.6 ounces ¨Good video and audio capabilities
u The G1 offers great call quality and does a good job of melding its hardware with the Android operating system.
Palm Pre
¨Carrier: Sprint ¨Sleek, ergonomic design
¨ Form factor: Candy bar ¨ Keyboard is small and flimsy
4
$150
VERY GOOD ¨ Weight: 4.7 ounces ¨Gorgeous video and audio applications
u The Pre’s WebOS software is touch-friendly and fun, but the cramped QWERTY keyboard detracts from the phone’s usability.
RIM BlackBerry Bold

¨Carrier: AT&T ¨ Most stylish BlackBerry to date
¨ Form factor: Candy bar ¨ Ergonomic keyboard
5
$200
VERY GOOD ¨ Weight: 4.8 ounces ¨Good video and audio quality
u The BlackBerry Bold almost lives up to its name with a stunning design, but its mediocre call quality and camera hold it back.
HTC Hero
¨Carrier: Sprint ¨Solid construction
¨ Form factor: Candy bar ¨ Touch keyboard is just okay
6
$180 NEW
VERY GOOD ¨ Weight: 4.5 ounces ¨ Not all Flash videos play
u The HTC Hero marks a giant step in the innovative evolution of the Android platform; nevertheless, it isn’t without flaws.
RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630

¨Carrier: Verizon ¨Slick design
¨ Form factor: Candy bar ¨Superb keyboard
7
$200
VERY GOOD ¨ Weight: 4.6 ounces Ökay multimedia features
u The BlackBerry Tour entices with an ergonomic keyboard and a gorgeous display, but its lack of Wi-Fi disappoints.
Nokia E71
¨Carrier: AT&T ¨ Ultraslim design
¨ Form factor: Candy bar ¨Small but easy-to-use keyboard
8
$300
VERY GOOD ¨ Weight: 4.4 ounces ¨ Underwhelming multimedia capabilities
u The Nokia E71’s sleek design and multitude of useful features make it ideal for both personal and business use.
Apple iPhone 3G
¨Carrier: AT&T ¨Gorgeously designed phone
¨ Form factor: Candy bar ¨ Very responsive touch keyboard
9
$100
VERY GOOD ¨ Weight: 4.7 ounces ¨ Excellent multimedia quality
u With a lower price (the lowest on the chart), a 3G radio, and GPS capability, Apple’s older smartphone is in a class by itself.
Nokia N97
¨Carrier: n/a (unlocked) ¨ Bulky design
¨ Form factor: Slide ¨Good hardware/software keyboards
10
$700
VERY GOOD ¨ Weight: 5.3 ounces ¨ Unique multimedia features and solid
¨Camera resolution: 5.0 megapixels playback
u The N97 (unlocked, hence the price) has great multimedia capabilities, but its operating system lacks the refinement of other OSs.
CHART NOTE: Ratings are as of 10/8/09.
MORE ONLINE Visit find.pcworld.com/63260 to see in-depth reviews, full test results, and detailed specs for all cell phones.

Reviews&Rankings
New Photo Frames That

Look Best on the Desk
TWO NEW DIGITAL photo incorporates wireless sup-
frames pack wireless features, port for popular apps such
for a price. Here’s a look. as Facebook, Pandora, Snap-
fish, and HP’s own packag-
HP DreamScreen 100 ing of Net radio stations.
With its new DreamScreen, Sleek and shiny black, the
HP expands the digital photo DreamScreen 100 is better HP’S DREAMSCREEN 100 offers wireless support for Internet apps.
frame concept to include ap- suited for sitting on a desk-
plications normally associat- top than hanging on a wall, program that lets you drag was a strong point: Though
ed with stand-alone tablets. due to its weight and the and drop audio, photo, and you won’t get booming bass
This 10-inch, $250 model need to keep it plugged in. video files from your PC into or extreme clarity, the frame
Setup was easy, even with the frame’s 2GB of internal cranks out better audio than
the labor of entering pass- memory. As other frames most laptops do.
VERY GOOD
words and network keys via do, the DreamScreen lets The Facebook app lets you
DreamScreen 100 | HP the remote. The interface is you program on and off view friends’ updates and
Does more than most photo attractive, intuitive, and times, and it has both clock photos, while the Snapfish
frames, but the price is steep. highly readable. In addition, and calendar functions. app shows online albums.
List: $250 a CD provides video tutori- The screen’s display was HP’s radio feature is neat,
find.pcworld.com/63954 als and an intuitive desktop impressive and crisp. Sound but navigation is limited—

and music. It supports SD/ a lot of pressure—or the
SDHC, MultiMediaCard, touch-sensitive controls on
XD-Picture Card, and Mem- the frame’s right side. Unfor-
ory Stick or Memory Stick tunately, the menu’s cryptic
Duo, and it will play content icons make operation diffi-
from an inserted card. cult, and the frame is slow
As we now expect from a to respond to commands.
wireless frame, Toshiba’s The unit offers calendar
model allows users to access and clock views. Slideshows
online content from various can display with or without
THE TOSHIBA DMF82XKU has a sleek design and wireless features. Web sites, streaming that music. Images appeared
content via a FrameChannel punchy, with high contrast,
adding stations to your icons are difficult to deci- account that you set up. and photos generally looked
favorites list is a chore that pher, and the interface can Like most of its Wi-Fi sharp, with good detail.
involves lots of drilling. be sluggish, making for a brethren, the unit must —Kathleen Cullen
frustrating user experience. remain tethered to an AC
Toshiba DMF82XKU The chic-looking black adapter. The frame is heavy,
VERY GOOD
This 8-inch digital picture frame is accented with a nar- too, with a chunky protru-
frame ($180; a 10-inch $230 row acrylic border (it is also sion on the back, so it really DMF82XKU | Toshiba
model is also available) has a available in white as the looks best on a desk. The interface is the main short-
sleek design and some useful DMF82XWU). The frame’s To access the frame’s menu, coming of this digital photo frame.
wireless features. But looks 1GB of internal memory lets you can use the included List: $180
aren’t everything: Its menu you store plenty of photos remote—its buttons require find.pcworld.com/63953
He was a hardworking farm boy.
She was an Italian supermodel.
He knew he would have just

one chance to impress her.
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Reviews&Rankings
Top 10 Inkjet Multifunction Printers

HP’s new Photosmart Plus takes second place with impressive quality and a terrific price.
MODEL Rating Performance Features and specifications
Canon Pixma MX7600 ¨Text quality: Superior ¨28 ppm text
$400
¨Graphics quality: Superior ¨
23 ppm graphics
1 find.pcworld.com/60874
VERY GOOD ¨
Tested speed (ppm): 9.8 text/ ¨
4800-by-1200-dpi maximum
3.7 graphics true color resolution
u Good speed, great print quality, and features galore make this printer worth its fairly high price; it lacks only Wi-Fi.
HP Photosmart Plus
¨Text quality: Very Good ¨ 30 ppm text
¨Graphics quality: Very Good ¨28 ppm graphics
2
$149 NEW
VERY GOOD ¨Tested speed (ppm): 14.0 text/ ¨4800-by-1200-dpi maximum
u A true bargain, the Photosmart Plus offers impressive speed and print quality for its cost—plus Wi-Fi and autoduplexing.
HP Photosmart C8180 All-in-One

¨ Text quality: Good ¨ 34 ppm text
¨Graphics quality: Good ¨33 ppm graphics
3
$300
u The complete digital photo processing features of this Photosmart include a LightScribe drive for etching and burning.
HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless ¨ Text quality: Very Good ¨ 35 ppm text
All-in-One ¨Graphics quality: Good ¨34 ppm graphics
4 $400 VERY GOOD ¨Tested speed (ppm): 15.6 text/ ¨4800-by-1200-dpi maximum true
find.pcworld.com/62494 4.5 graphics color resolution
u A small office that wants everything can get it here: The Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless has features galore, and really cheap inks.
HP Officejet 6500 Wireless

¨ Text quality: Very Good ¨ 32 ppm text
5
$199
u The Officejet 6500 Wireless is a midprice model that offers solid performance, features, and print quality, with few compromises.
Canon Pixma MX860

¨ Text quality: Very Good ¨ 8.4 ppm text
¨Graphics quality: Good ¨5.6 ppm graphics
6
$200
u With the Pixma MX860, you get nice print quality plus Wi-Fi and automatic duplexing, but speed is just average overall.
Canon Pixma MP490

¨ Text quality: Superior ¨ 8.4 ppm text
¨Graphics quality: Good ¨4.8 ppm graphics
7
$100
u The inexpensive MP490 is a surprisingly decent machine; however, high black-ink costs are the trade-off for its low initial price.
HP Photosmart C6380 All-In-One

¨ Text quality: Very Good ¨ 33 ppm text
8
$200
u This model, designed for home and school use, prints good-looking text and photos quickly, and ink costs are reasonable.
HP Photosmart Premium Fax ¨ Text quality: Very Good ¨ 33 ppm text

All-in-One ¨Graphics quality: Good ¨32 ppm graphics
9 $300 VERY GOOD ¨Tested speed (ppm): 11.3 text/ ¨9600-by-2400-dpi maximum
find.pcworld.com/62498 3.1 graphics true color resolution
u Well equipped for both photo printing and light office use, with lots of connectivity options, this MFP is capable—but expensive.
Epson Stylus NX515

¨ Text quality: Good ¨ 36 ppm text
¨Graphics quality: Good ¨36 ppm graphics
10
$130
u Students and home users will like this model’s speed, but not its ink costs, flimsy trays, and skimpy documentation.
CHART NOTES: Ratings are as of 10/6/09. Speeds are in pages per minute (ppm); resolutions are in dots per inch (dpi).
MORE ONLINE Visit find.pcworld.com/63938 to see in-depth reviews, full test results, and detailed specs for all MFPs on this chart.

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representative or IBM Business Partner for the most current pricing in your geographic area. © 2009 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.

Reviews&Rankings
HP’s Slickest Laptop Is

Designed to Stir Envy
THE HP ENVY 13 is a PC laptop is 12.6 by 8.5 by 0.8
answer to Apple’s inches and weighs 3.1
MacBook Pro: It’s pounds. It earned a nice
similarly sleek but WorldBench 6 score of 94.
costs a bit more, You can play HD video on
starting at $1699 (our review the crisp, glossy 13.1-inch
unit is $1799). It comes with backlit LED screen—but
a 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo reflections on it will be dis- THE ENVY 13 is HP’s stab at a sleek and cool—but pricey—laptop.
SL9600 CPU, 3GB of RAM, tracting. The Envy has high-
and an ATI Mobility Radeon tech Beats audio, but you’ll and a headphone/mic jack. We give HP nods for smart
HD 4330 discrete GPU. The need headphones or earbuds Missing are ports for wired design overall, and a prom-
to appreciate it. Though the ethernet and VGA (you do ise of premium support.
touchpad’s multitouch func- get Bluetooth and 802.11n (You even get a 2GB SDHC
VERY GOOD tionality works, the mouse Wi-Fi). And it has no optical card that holds the manual.)
Envy 13 | HP buttons are poorly placed. drive—you must buy an ex- The Envy 13 has a lot of eye-
It has eye-catching touches, but The keyboard is fine. The ternal one (starting at $100 catching touches and is a
you’ll need some cash to burn. notebook has a couple of for a DVD-ROM version). A good machine for people
List: $1799, as reviewed USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI- helpful six-cell battery slice who have money to burn.
find.pcworld.com/63945 out, an SD flash-card reader, goes for another $100. —Darren Gladstone

Second-Gen Flip

Video MinoHD:

The Best Pocket 1.+0#%. 0#" + %#*#+0,"1)#
-.,2'"#/ 10,* 0#"-., !0'2#
Camcorder '+0#))'%#+0* + %#*#+0,$4,1.
/#.2#./0,(##-0&#*.1++'+%
THE SECOND-GENERATION Flip
Video MinoHD doesn’t represent a
huge jump in specs and features,
although changes in the new model
from the previous version include a
doubling in storage capacity (from 4GB
to 8GB), revamped video software, an
HDMI-out port, and the end of the line
for the Pure Digital brand (Cisco pur-
chased the company in March, and
“Flip Video” is now the brand name).
The stars of the show are the vastly
improved build quality, the unit’s best- THE NEW MINOHD is one of the most appeal-
in-class low-light video, and the sheer ing, and functional, pocket camcorders.
aesthetics of the device. Unlike the
plasticky, cheap feel of previous Flips, tor, which pops up, switchblade-style, &$

from the top of the device. (It also

this one feels a whole lot sturdier and

looks a whole lot better (the brushed- sounds more like a switchblade in this
metal faceplate and redesigned USB version, since the redesigned connector
connector even make the new MinoHD is now entirely metal.) # 01.'+%1-0, +0#)6#,+6-.,!#//,.
look like an Apple product). This is one of two connectors on the /#.'#/
device; the new MinoHD has a mini- /,!(#0/
5

Video quality has improved, as well.
/ * 3
Like the first-gen MinoHD, the new HDMI port on the bottom of the unit
model shoots 720p high-definition for watching videos on an HDTV set,
MPEG-4 video at 30 frames per second; which is another addition over the pre-
clips are smoother and sharper than vious MinoHD. (You get no HDMI
those produced by its competitors. Flip cable in the package, however.) !%!"!#
cams have traditionally smoked the The revamped FlipShare software,

competition in taking low-light video, which installs and launches when you
* #&&
and the new MinoHD ups the ante even plug the camcorder into your PC, now .'()) ,%* /)*$
further: The footage it takes in low-light supports direct-to-Facebook uploads *&( % /)*$ . (
( )*( *($(") &(
conditions is clearly at the head of the and adds a feature called MagicMovie *($(") & %*(%* &%#
+) %)) %) &('&(* &%
pocket-camcorder class, rivaling and that lets you enhance your footage with
% * % * **) %&(
even surpassing the low-light video of transitions, music, and more. &*(&+%*( )&(&$'#*
# )* & *($(") )
$1000-and-up HD camcorders. The sum of all these parts is arguably --- $&$ ##
Similar to earlier models, the new the best HD pocket camcorder you can &'/*()*$# %*# *
%*# #&& &% % &%
MinoHD has a flip-out USB 2.0 connec- buy now. Although Kodak’s 1080p- %) (*($(")&%*# &('&(* &% %*%&*(
shooting, digitally stabilized Zi8 is still &+%*( ) ## &*( '(&+*) $/ *($(") &( ( )*(
*($(")&* (()'* ,&$'% )##'( )%), %)
a notch above the new Flip in bright- )* $*) ( )+!* *& % - *&+* %&* $/ ,(/
SUPERIOR &( %*&&% +(* &%()+'&%1))* $*(* #
light video quality, frame-rate controls, )## % '( ) ) &
% $/ %&* %#+ )*&( (
Flip Video MinoHD | Cisco and overall features, it has some nag- ( , &'(* % )/)*$ &( &*( *+() )##( '( ) %
), %) *& % +)() $/ ,(/ (&+*) ( )+!* *& , #
The most attractively built pocket camcorder ging usability issues. The new Flip # */ )&+$%*-),#&'&(&( %) %*% *
we’ve seen yet, with very good video quality. MinoHD beats it in low-light footage, **) $/ %&* &( * '(&+*) *+() &( )(, )
)+)) %* )&+$%* %&*(&+%*( )( )()+!*
List: $230 usability, durability, and design. *&%- *&+*%&* *(* %'( $/%&* %#+(
( , &'(* % )/)*$ &( &*( *+() &%** /&+(
find.pcworld.com/63948 —Tim Moynihan ('()%** ,&(+) %))(*%(&(*$&)*+((%*
'( % %/&+(&(' (0
&('&(* &%##
( *)()(,

Reviews&Rankings
iPod Nano and Zune HD: Capable Media Players

OTHER THAN THE ability Audio sounded clean but while it is priced competi- 720p HD files, so you can
to play music and somewhat tinny through the tively ($220 for 16GB, $290 play videos via the dock on
video, the new included earbuds. In the PC for 32GB), you’ll have to pay your HDTV. Video on my
iPod Nano and the World Labs’ audio-quality more to take full advantage HDTV had bright and accu-
Zune HD share few tests, this Nano scored simi- of all of its features. rate colors, smooth transi-
similarities. The iPod Nano larly to its predecessor, re- Physically, the Zune HD tions, and little pixelation.
is more of a secondary play- ceiving a rating of Superior. represents a complete make- Video playback on the Zune
er for commutes or the gym, The video camera is a posi- HD itself was impressive, too.
and its new video camera tive addition. The lens place- Audio quality was good,
makes it ideal for YouTube ment is awkward, however, but you’ll want to ditch the
clips. The Zune HD, in con- and I found that holding the included earbuds. With bet-
trast, is for the media junkie, sliver-thin Nano by its edges ter headphones, songs
offering a higher capacity was difficult. Gripping it at sounded rich and clean.
and HD video playback. the bottom doesn’t work Microsoft has optimized
well either, as the lens sits at the interface for the multi-
Apple iPod Nano the bottom of the device touch display. The new
Measuring 3.6 by 1.5 by 0.24 when you hold it vertically. Quickplay item displays
inches and bearing a 2.2-inch Video shot outside was your most recently added
display, the 1.3-ounce fifth- bright and sharp. But since content and history, and lets
gen Nano ($150 for 8GB, the Nano has no contrast or you pin your favorites.
$180 for 16GB) comes in a brightness controls, my The Zune 4.0 PC software
rainbow of colors, encased indoor clips were fuzzy, has its own splashy Quick-
in polished anodized alumi- dark, and grainy. The mic play page. You can’t sync
num. The finish is attractive, picked up sound adequately. the menus, however; favor-
but susceptible to smudges The 640-by-480-pixel VGA ites you add to your Zune
and fingerprints. footage is compatible with won’t carry over to your PC.
Among the new features is streaming-video sites, and it Another new software fea-
an FM radio tuner (at last!). works natively in iTunes. ture is SmartDJ, which, simi-
Though the FM radio isn’t Watching video on the lar to Genius Mixes, creates
particularly innovative (we Nano itself is surprisingly a playlist from songs in your
saw this feature on the first- enjoyable. Still, viewing vid- THE ZUNE HD’S Quickplay menu library and on the Zune Mar-
gen Zune), it can pause and eos on a device this small holds your favorites and history. ketplace. You have to buy the
play radio, and it works well. takes some getting used to, Zune Pass ($15 per month),
Thanks to its integration and the rounded screen over. It measures 4.0 by 2.0 however, to enjoy the Zune
with iTunes, the Nano has attracts quite a bit of glare. by 0.3 inches and weighs 2.6 Marketplace content.
unbeatable audio and video ounces. A gorgeous, 3.3- —Ginny Mies
features. Genius Mixes, Microsoft Zune HD inch, multitouch OLED dis-
which group your music by a The Zune HD marks a huge play dominates the face.
common characteristic, gen- improvement from last year’s Microsoft has added an VERY GOOD
erate directly on the Nano model in speed, video quali- HD radio receiver. HD radio iPod Nano | Apple
when you sync from iTunes. ty, usability, and design. But delivers cleaner sound than Still a great media player, the Nano
analog FM does, and lets sta- can now take casual video clips.
tions broadcast extra chan- List: $150 (8GB), $180 (16GB)
nels; you can also tag and find.pcworld.com/63897
download songs from the
Zune Marketplace. VERY GOOD
To fully enjoy the Zune Zune HD | Microsoft

HD’s high-def video capabili- With HD features and a slim shape,
ties, you’ll have to pay $80 the Zune HD is a standout player.
for the HDMI docking sta- List: $220 (16GB), $290 (32GB)
THE IPOD NANO’S video camera is suitable for taking casual clips. tion. The Zune HD supports find.pcworld.com/63898

I]Z]ZVYe]dcZhi]Vi
e^dcZZgZYVcZci^gZ^cYjhign#
CdlZkZcWZiiZg#
Fj^ZiZgi]VcZkZgWZ[dgZ# Since we introduced the world’s
NEW first noise cancelling headphones over 20 years ago, we have

conducted continuous research to improve this technology.
Now, we have engineered significant advances in noise
® ®
reduction to make the QC®15 headphones our quietest ever.
7dhZ Fj^Zi8db[dgi &*
Exclusive Bose technologies electronically sense more of the
6Xdjhi^XCd^hZ8VcXZaa^c\®]ZVYe]dcZh#
sounds around you, reducing more noise across a wider range
of frequencies. And we didn’t stop there. We developed
a new ear cushion that further reduces unwanted noise. It
works in harmony with the electronics to deliver a better
listening experience and a comfortable fit.
IgndjgWZhi]ZVYe]dcZh[dgndjghZa[!g^h`[gZZ#When you
fly, the engine roar fades even further away. When you listen
to music at home or at work, fewer distractions get in the
way. Less noise, along with our acclaimed lifelike sound, a fit
that stays comfortable for hours and the quality you expect
from Bose. It all adds up to a combination of benefits
unmatched in the industry. So now you can relax and
appreciate music, movies or just some serenity
more than ever before. We invite you to try
QC15 headphones for yourself, risk free, for
30 days. Shipping is free, and when you call,
ask about making &'ZVhneVnbZcih! with
no interest charges from Bose.* We’re so
sure you’ll be delighted, we’ll even pay for
return shipping if you’re not.
LZaXdbZidVcZkZcfj^ZiZgldgaY#
IddgYZgdgaZVgcbdgZ/
&"-%%",'."'%,(!Zmi#F,*%+dg7dhZ#Xdb$F8
*Bose payment plan available on orders of $299-$1500 paid by major credit card. Separate financing offers may be available for select products. See website for details. Down
payment is 1/12 the product price plus applicable tax and shipping charges, charged when your order is shipped. Then, your credit card will be billed for 11 equal monthly install-
ments beginning approximately one month from the date your order is shipped, with 0% APR and no interest charges from Bose. Credit card rules and interest may apply. U.S.
residents only. Limit one active financing program per customer. ©2009 Bose Corporation. Patent rights issued and/or pending. The distinctive design of the headphone oval
ring is a trademark of Bose Corporation. Financing and free shipping offers not to be combined with other offers or applied to previous purchases, and subject to change
without notice. Offers are limited to purchases made from Bose and participating authorized dealers. Offer valid 8/20/09 – 12/31/09. Risk free refers to 30-day trial only
and includes return shipping. Delivery is subject to product availability. C_007915

Reviews&Rankings
Top 10 External Hard Drives

Any of the fast, roomy drives here would be ideal for storing large media files and backups.
LaCie 2Big Quadra 2TB Överall performance: Superior ¨ 2000GB; rpm not reported
¨Copy files: 65 seconds Ëxternal SATA-300, USB 2.0, FireWire
1
$330 NEW
SUPERIOR ¨ File search: 106 seconds 800/400
¨Cost per gigabyte: $0.17
u LaCie’s 2TB external model is a stylish and sturdy direct-attached RAID box that offers great performance.
Verbatim Quad-Interface Överall performance: Superior ¨ 1000GB; rpm not reported

Professional Hard Drive ¨Copy files: 76 seconds Ëxternal SATA-300, USB 2.0, FireWire
2 $170 NEW VERY GOOD ¨ File search: 103 seconds 800/400
find.pcworld.com/63904 ¨Cost per gigabyte: $0.17
u This handsome, rugged Verbatim hard drive provides flexibility through universal connectivity options.
WiebeTech RTX400 QR
Överall performance: Very Good ¨4000GB; rpm not reported
¨Copy files: 233 seconds Ëxternal SATA-300, USB 2.0, FireWire
3
$1515 NEW
VERY GOOD ¨ File search: 110 seconds 800/400
¨Cost per gigabyte: $0.38
u WiebeTech’s RTX400 is a versatile, multibay direct-attached RAID array with tremendous storage capacity.
SimpleTech Duo Pro Drive

Överall performance: Superior ¨ 1000GB; 7200 rpm
¨Copy files: 69 seconds Ëxternal SATA-300, USB 2.0
4
$290
find.pcworld.com/62155 VERY GOOD ¨File search: 112 seconds ¨Cost per gigabyte: $0.29
u Terrific design, speedy performance, and multitalented backup software make this SimpleTech drive a strong choice.
Apricorn 1.5TB Aegis Överall performance: Superior ¨ 1500GB; rpm not reported
Desktop ADT-1500 ¨Copy files: 69 seconds Ëxternal SATA-300, USB 2.0
5 $200 NEW VERY GOOD ¨File search: 99 seconds ¨Cost per gigabyte: $0.13
u Apricorn’s 1.5TB model is a basic direct-attached box, with solid imaging software (and bundled software for Mac users, too).
CMS Products ABS V2 Plus 1TB

Överall performance: Superior ¨ 1000GB; 7200 rpm
6
$233 NEW
find.pcworld.com/63927 VERY GOOD ¨File search: 106 seconds ¨Cost per gigabyte: $0.23
u This handy drive is speedy over e-SATA, and it comes with CMS BounceBack Ultimate 9, a flexible backup application.
Seagate FreeAgent X-Treme 1TB

Överall performance: Superior ¨ 1000GB; rpm not reported
¨Copy files: 78 seconds Ëxternal SATA-300, USB 2.0, FireWire 400
7
$180 NEW
VERY GOOD ¨File search: 112 seconds ¨Cost per gigabyte: $0.18
u The FreeAgent X-Treme is a more versatile, triple-interface version of models in Seagate’s popular direct-attached line.
CMS Products V2 Desktop Överall performance: Superior ¨ 1000GB; 7200 rpm

Backup System 1TB ¨Copy files: 71 seconds Ëxternal SATA-300, USB 2.0
8 $181 VERY GOOD ¨File search: 100 seconds ¨Cost per gigabyte: $0.18
u This top-flight performer provides a software/hardware combination for creating a bootable backup drive.
Seagate BlackArmor WS 110

Överall performance: Superior ¨ 1000GB; rpm not reported
9
$160 NEW
VERY GOOD ¨File search: 105 seconds ¨Cost per gigabyte: $0.16
u In the BlackArmor WS 110, you get a basic 1TB direct-attached storage product with imaging software.
Apricorn 1TB Aegis Desktop Överall performance: Superior ¨ 1000GB; rpm not reported
ADT-1000 ¨Copy files: 69 seconds Ëxternal SATA-300, USB 2.0
10 $130 NEW VERY GOOD ¨File search: 101 seconds ¨Cost per gigabyte: $0.13
u Like its 1.5TB sibling, Apricorn’s 1TB offering has basic direct-attached storage plus imaging software and bundled Mac apps.
CHART NOTES: Ratings are as of 10/5/09.
MORE ONLINE Visit our Storage Product Center at find.pcworld.com/62973 for hard-drive reviews, news, and how-to articles.

Meet Susan...
a 42 year old man posing
as a 15 year old girl online.
“Susan” and your 13 year

old just made plans to
meet at the park.
Your child is online now. Sadly, so are the bad guys. Each day, more than 50,000
predators are striking up conversations and trying to set up personal meetings
with unsuspecting children through Facebook, MySpace, chat rooms and Instant
Message services. How much do you really know about your child’s online
“friends” and what they’re planning?
Monitor and Protect your Children Online with Spector Pro
Make sure your child is safe with Spector Pro, the best selling software for
monitoring and recording every detail of their PC and Internet activity. Spector
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emails, the web sites they visit, what they do on Facebook and MySpace, the
pictures they post and view… and much more. Plus, with Spector Pro’s advanced
screen snapshots feature, you not only see what they do, you see the exact order
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Is there a “Susan” online with your child? Find out with Spector Pro, the most
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© Copyright 2009 SpectorSoft Corporation. All rights reserved. PC Magazine Editors’ Choice Award Logo is a trademark of Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. Used under license.

Reviews&Rankings
SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash Card Is Speedy

THE SANDISK EXTREME As a photographer, I wedding, daily happen-
Pro CompactFlash Card, never want to miss the ings, sights out of a car
available in capacities of shot. You know the one: window, and more—and
16GB to 64GB, can achieve an athlete’s elation at a I captured every moment
read/write speeds of up to successful play, a gym- that I intended to.
90 megabytes per second in nast’s gravity-defying This card makes it clear
a digital SLR camera that midair flip, a couple’s that real differences exist
supports UDMA (mode 6). first kiss at their wed- among flash memory
I’ve taken the $336 16GB ding. Burst modes were cards, and not every card
card out for shoots, and I’ve made for such shots— will take full advantage of
been impressed with how it but even with SLRs that WITH SUPERFAST WRITE speed, the your camera’s capabilities.
handles in the field. offer burst modes, the Extreme Pro is worth its steep price. If you have a newer digi-
ratings have been for tal SLR that supports the
shooting JPEG, not RAW. I Extreme Pro, I don’t feel UDMA (mode 6) interface, a
SUPERIOR can fill a camera’s buffer in a constrained when I shoot card like the Extreme Pro can
Extreme Pro CompactFlash Card heartbeat using just JPEG; RAW, or even when I use my be well worth the high cost.
Sandisk the more-sluggish write camera’s RAW + JPEG Fine It’s a small price if it means
Impressively fast memory card speed for shooting larger modes. Using an SLR rated at capturing moments—in the
lets you capture every moment. RAW files has been, for me, 7 frames per second for JPEG best quality possible—that
List: $336 (16GB) too much of a sacrifice. (and 5 frames per second for you typically missed before.
find.pcworld.com/63896 Until now. With the RAW), I shot a parade, a —Melissa J. Perenson


HP’s TouchSmart 600 PC
Offers Responsive Interface
HP HAS THREE years of ex- can also stream shows over
perience in making 802.11n, and pull in photos
multitouch all-in- with the multicard reader. A
one PCs. It shows. remote control is included.
The 23-inch dis- HP’s custom touch soft-
play of the TouchSmart 600 ware really shines. Version
supports a resolution of 3.0 offers variations of Hulu,
1920 by 1080 (1080p)—ideal Netflix, Twitter, and other HP’S ALL-IN-ONE supports
for watching high-def mov- apps that have oversize but- touch in Windows 7 and apps.
ies and TV via its Blu-ray slot tons and that understand a WorldBench 6 score of 92,
drive and HDTV tuner. You gestures. And the HP apps Our $1600 test unit had right in the middle of our
now multitask, letting you Windows 7 Home Premium top all-in-one PCs. In gam-
hop back and forth by slid- (64-bit), a 2.13GHz Intel ing, however, it struggled to
PHOTOGRAPH: ROBERT CARDIN
VERY GOOD ing them around. Core 2 Duo P7450, 4GB of reach a playable frame rate.
TouchSmart 600 | HP As touch remains best for DDR-1333 memory, a 1GB If you’re ready to reach
Windows 7 all-in-one provides casual interaction with the nVidia GeForce GT230M out and touch Windows 7,
impressive multitouch software. PC, HP also throws in a GPU, and a 750GB hard the TouchSmart 600 makes
List: $1600 wireless mouse, plus a low- drive. Those components it both fun and effective.
find.pcworld.com/63940 profile wireless keyboard. helped the system achieve —Harry McCracken
"$&
&" #&

WWW
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%$ %$ $$"#'#"!$# &"$!# ! $ #
'!"## $# & #$$ $ #"$
"## $$ ( %"!!"%$$" "#

Reviews&Rankings
Adobe Elements 8 Apps

Acquire a Suite Flavor
ADOBE HAS LONG offered software, gives 20GB for $30.
Photoshop Elements and Aside from Organizer, the
Premiere Elements in one two apps are integrated in
box, but until recently they that a slide show can now
have been little more than include video, while movies
two separate apps. Now, can now incorporate stills.
with the release of version 8,
they are far better integrated, Editing Made Easier
and are starting to show signs Among Photoshop Elements’ THE ORGANIZER, PREVIOUSLY limited to Photoshop Elements, now
of becoming a true suite. new or extended tools is Pho- lets you view, tag, and manage both still photos and videos.
Previously Photoshop Ele- toMerge, which has added
ments had an Organizer for an Exposure tool that can the tool away from static, clip art that you can drag
photos, but now the tool lets combine two nearly identi- blurred, or otherwise unde- and drop into a video. After-
you view, keyword-tag, man- cal photos to obtain the sirable clips) to automatical- ward, you can use the new
age, and search both stills and optimum exposure. While ly make a movie, with music Motion Tracking to move
videos. For keywording, it the auto mode works nicely and transitions, based on the objects within the video.
uses Auto Analysis of image on some images, others need your selected Flash tem- A small button on each
content and Smart Tagging manual tweaking; in the lat- plate. The results tend to be tabbed screen in both apps
of image quality, starting inter case, you need good hand- pleasant, but they are some- links to Flash and Acrobat
stantly when you import files. cursor-eye coordination to times rough, with the clip tutorials. Few are open to
The Organizer can use the achieve the best results. order not always logical. the general user, however.
Photoshop.com site to back A less finicky new tool is To access the larger library,
up, share, and archive your Recompose, which lets you More New Tools which Adobe will add to
database and media files, as selectively redefine a photo You’ll find other new auto periodically, you must buy a
well as to sync them with to fit into another size or tools in Premiere Elements. Photoshop.com Plus mem-
your other PCs, if they have orientation by choosing par- Smart Fix tries to correct bership. Extra templates and
at least one of the apps in- ticular subjects or portions the imperfections that Smart transitions will be available
stalled. A Basic one-year of the background. Tags have flagged. Smart Trim only to Plus members, too.
membership with Photo- Premiere Elements has un- uses Smart Tags to find por- The bundle of Photoshop
shop.com, including 2GB of dergone more-extensive im- tions of a video to cut, as Elements and Premiere Ele-
storage, comes with the provements. Instant Movie well as to weigh the interest ments is a good value in
package. A Plus membership, can use the new Smart Tags of various sections. Smart terms of power, ease of use,
when you buy it with the (which are intended to guide Mix balances sound sources and price. We only wish that
so that background music Adobe didn’t require a Pho-
doesn’t drown out narration toshop.com Plus member-
or dialogue. In our tests, ship for access to tutorials.
both Smart Trim and Smart —Sally Wiener Grotta
Mix worked seamlessly, tak- and Daniel Grotta
ing the drudgery out of im-
portant video editing pro-
cesses. Smart Fix tended to SUPERIOR
do well on the most obvi- Photoshop Elements 8 and

ous, correctable problems. Premiere Elements 8
Premiere Elements’ new Adobe
content generally outshines A good bundle for anyone who
Photoshop Elements’. For works with still photos and videos.
instance, the video app’s List: $150; $180 with a one-year
PREMIERE ELEMENTS’ INSTANT Movie function can automatically new effects, transitions, and Photoshop.com Plus membership
create a movie from your clips, based on a selected Flash template. graphics include animated find.pcworld.com/63958

Reviews&Rankings
KeepVault DOWNLOAD THIS

Offers Easy Tools for Web Pages, Sharp Photos, and Fun
Backups WE’VE SEEN COLLABORATION tools and Web
design software, but a Firefox add-on that lets
THE KEEPVAULT service can people troubleshoot a site together is pure
back up data from multiple genius. Into taking candid camera-phone
PCs, both to a local destina- shots? A freebie we found keeps them sharp
tion and online. It also offers when you enlarge them. And if you’ve yearned
continual data protection, for the ball-blasting fun of a classic casual
backing up files in near real puzzler updated with high-res graphics, that
time as the data changes. game has arrived. You may not have known
Version 3.16 of the client that these programs existed—but now that you
works quite well: It backed do, you’ll probably download at least one.
up my 200MB of data so
THE BALL-SPITTING FROG is back—with gor-
quickly online that I missed Notable
geous graphics—in Zuma’s Revenge.
it when I turned away for a Anyone involved in designing Web pages will
minute or two. That said, want to give this Firefox add-on a try. Notable ups: Laser lets you blast individual balls into
the program sometimes lets you capture and annotate Web pages and nothingness, Lightning eliminates all the balls
seemed to bog down my sys- the underlying code, and then post those pages of a single color, and Tri-Shot gives you one
tem for a few seconds after I and notes to the Web, where colleagues can massive shot that clears out anything in its
had tweaked a setting. For- see the markup and respond. path. The granddaddy of casual gaming has his
tunately, the continual data groove back. find.pcworld.com/63952
protection performed with- —Steve Horton
out slowing down my PC.
The plan rates hover SmillaEnlarger
around $1 per gigabyte per If you’ve ever tried to work with small images,
year, starting with 40GB for like the kind that camera phones generate, you
$48 and topping out at 5TB THE NOTABLE ADD-ON for Firefox lets you anno- know how frustrating it can be to turn them
for $4460. Since few people tate Web pages and their underlying code. into something printable (or in some cases,
will need more than 40GB, easily viewable). SmillaEnlarger’s algorithm
that makes KeepVault a bit Using Notable is exceedingly simple. After does a remarkable job of turning even an
cheaper for the average user you install it, click the icon in the Address Bar incredibly minute bitmap into something close
than Fabrik, Mozy, and oth- when you want to annotate a Web page. You’ll to a blurry snapshot. While that is the full
ers (excepting those servic- see an image of the page, shown full-screen. extent of its abilities, you might want to keep it
es’ free 2GB plans). You can then add your notes and save it. After- in your digital imagery toolkit for a photograph-
The continual protection ward, you can upload the item to a workspace ic rainy day. find.pcworld.com/63951
alone is a reason to consider on the Notable site and share it with others, —Andrew Brandt
using KeepVault, but I’m who can make their own com-
also betting you’ll like the ments. find.pcworld.com/63950
features and speed. And if —Preston Gralla
your backup needs exceed
2GB, you’ll like the price. Zuma’s Revenge
—Jon L. Jacobi Zuma’s Revenge continues the
lineage of the original Zuma:
highly addictive ball-blasting,
VERY GOOD color-matching gameplay. The
KeepVault | Proxure high-res graphics and new fea-
Affordable backup service is easy tures of this iteration bring it in
to use, effective, and speedy. line with its casual-game con-
List: $48 (40GB, one year) temporaries. New to Zuma’s
find.pcworld.com/63894 Revenge are additional power- SMILLAENLARGER MAKES LOW-RES photos bigger, not blockier.

Clockwise from top right: Synology DS209+ II storage device,
Lexmark C734dn color laser printer, Palm Pre smartphone,
Dell Latitude Z600 laptop, Microsoft Windows 7 (on the Dell’s
screen), Nikon D300s digital camera, Microsoft Zune HD media
player, Kodak Zi8 digital camcorder, Lenovo IdeaCentre A600
all-in-one PC, FanSnap.com (on the Lenovo’s screen).
For More Information VV You can read PC World’s expanded reviews—and in some cases, test reports, model specs,

PC World 100:
Best
The
Products
Year
of the
PCWorld
100
BEST PRODUCTS OF
A laptop that recharges
wirelessly; a CPU that
2009
leaves the competition

in the dust; and a top
pick that’s changing the
face of computing—these
are just 3 of the 100
products that our editors
can’t live without.
BY THE PC WORLD EDITORIAL TEAM
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT CARDIN
and ratings—for each of the products that earned spots on our PC World 100 list at find.pcworld.com/63960.

#1 The App Store
(iPhone apps, prices vary) What can
4 Nikon D300s (digital camera;
$1770, body only) The first enthusiast
model to include high-def video
capture, this camera is a joy to han-
dle. Changing focus points on the
D300s is quite easy—and the camera
takes excellent photos, too.
5 Twitter (social media service,

free) We loved Twitter enough last
year to include it on our Top 100
you say about a store that moves list; since then, it has only grown
stronger. Its uncomplicated API has
2 billion products in just 16
led to an explosion of cool client
months? This year, Apple’s trail- apps and media sites that continual-
ly expand what it can do, including
blazing App Store put the word
robust photo and music sharing.
app on the map, as customers
6
flocked to download iPhone applications by the shopping bas-
ketful. The iPhone is hardly the first smartphone to run third-
party software. But by creating one easy-to-use marketplace for
85,000 free or (in most cases) inexpensive programs, Apple
sparked unprece-
Dell Latitude Z600 (laptop,
dented interest in prices start at $1999) This super-
slim 16-inch laptop combines
phone software from
fashion-forward design and high-
both iPhone owners tech extras—with no cords. A
14mm-thick metallic/rubbery
and developers, re-
case, a touch-inductive panel
sulting in thou- alongside the screen that lets
you summon on-screen short-
sands of innova-
cuts, and an inductive-charging
tive, well-designed base station highlight this status
symbol for business travelers.
apps (and lots of
junk) to enhance
your iPhone with.
7 Microsoft Bing (search engine,
free) Whereas Google emphasizes a
quick-loading design and a list of
highly relevant search results, Bing
presents its results in Search Cate-
2 Google Voice (telephony service, 3 Intel X25-M Solid State Drive gories that it creates dynamically in
free) Google Voice gives you a single 160GB (internal storage drive, $500) A new response to the user’s query.
number for all of your phones to use, manufacturing process and a signifi-
e-mails you transcripts of your voicemail cantly lower price combine with great 8 Canon PowerShot SX200 IS
messages, and sports a host of sophisti- performance in this top-notch SSD. (digital camera, $350) It’s pocket-size
cated calling features. Set up conference This model’s speedy test results put it only if you have really big pockets,
calls for free, record calls, even switch at the top of our chart; its price and but the 12X-optical-zoom SX200 IS
phones in the middle of a call. And it’s performance make it a compelling flash justifies its size by delivering aston-
all free. Ma Bell, eat your heart out. upgrade for notebook or desktop users. ishing versatility. With full manual

9“
I love this game because
finally my wife—and even
controls plus a Smart Auto mode, 720p HD
video recording, great image quality, and the in-laws—want to get in
that powerful lens, the SX200 IS is a on the game action. I need
budding photographer’s best friend. to wrestle
10 for a turn
”
Samsung LN46B750U
(HDTV, $1670) This 46-inch television to play.
turned in the best motion-handling
performance we’ve seen yet in our
Darren
tests. Its 240Hz refresh rate certainly
Gladstone,
helped, and the LN46B750U offers
Senior Writer
solid Web service connectivity, too.
11 Microsoft Windows 7 (operating sys- The Beatles Rock Band (game,

tem, prices vary) Windows 7 smooths out $140 with instruments) This gaming
various Vista annoyances and makes the experience isn’t just a setlist; it’s a
interface cleaner and easier to work with. musical history lesson. You retrace
key steps in the progress of the Fab
12 Intel Core i7 (processor series, prices Four, rocking out the entire time.
vary) No wonder these processors rule our
power-PC charts: Core i7 chips have a big-
ger cache and a Turbo Boost mode that
automatically overclocks the CPU when your system needs an extra burst of speed. 18 Samsung LN40B650 (HDTV,
$1700) This 40-inch TV earns high marks
13 AMD Phenom II (processor series, prices vary) AMD’s latest CPUs can’t outrun for its image quality and ease of use.
Intel’s Core i7 line, but they offer features (like overclocking) that enthusiasts love.
19 Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200
14 Palm Pre (smartphone, $150 with two-year Sprint contract) Its WebOS soft- (Wi-Fi card, $100 or $150 with a two-year
ware, responsive multitouch screen, and intuitive gesture-based controls wowed us. Sprint or Verizon plan) With this credit-
card-size gadget, five users can share
15 Amazon Kindle 2 (e-book reader, $259) It fell to third on this month’s e-book bandwidth from a single mobile account.
reader chart (see page 46), but the Kindle 2 was the category’s breakthrough product.
20
17
Kodak Zi8 (digital camcorder,
16 Facebook (social media service, free) A cross $180) Here’s the first ultracompact HD
between a personal digital scrapbook and a running pocket camcorder to record at 1080p.
discussion forum with friends, Facebook has changed
the way human beings interact in the 21st century. 21 HTC Hero (smartphone, $180
with a two-year contract from Sprint) HTC’s
Android OS–based smartphone has lots
of features and customization options.
HP Mini 311 (netbook, 22 Microsoft Zune HD (multimedia

prices start at $399) The player, prices start at $220) The Zune HD
first netbook to sport (see page 64) is the only player to sup-
the nVidia Ion plat- port HD video playback and HD radio.
form, the Mini unites
an Intel Atom proces- 23 G-Data Internet Security 2010
sor and a discrete (security software, $30 for one PC) You get
GPU, producing a fair- excellent, low-cost malware detection.
ly powerful combo
that lets you run 24 Lenovo ThinkPad T400s (lap-
high-def video top, $1999) For frequent business flyers,
and games. this laptop is a trusty sidekick.

“ I especially loved how I
26
could easily shoot JPEG
25 Boxee (online video service, free) and RAW files using this
The Internet offers many great sources
of video these days, and Boxee’s soft- card without missing crit-
ware for Windows, Mac, and Linux ical moments I wanted
”
pulls them all together—for free. to capture.
27 Apple iPhone 3GS (smartphone;
Melissa J. Perenson,
$200 for 16GB, $300 for 32GB, with two-
Senior Editor
year AT&T contract) A faster processor, an
improved camera, and software for re-
cording video and uploading it directly
to YouTube highlight the iPhone 3GS.
28 HP Envy 13 (laptop, prices start SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash

at $1699) The Envy 13 (see page 62) is Card (memory card; $896 for 64GB, $560
a sleek, slim laptop with a neat metallic for 32GB, $336 for 16GB) With read/write
frame and a raft of high-end hardware. speeds of up to 90 megabytes per second,
the Extreme Pro card (see page 68) is
29
wicked fast. Though a bit pricey,
it’s worth it for photographers
who want to take full advan-
tage of their digital SLR’s
UDMA (mode 6) interface.
Atebits Tweetie 2 (iPhone app,

free) On the iPhone, it’s hard to beat 33 AirCell GoGo (in-flight Wi-Fi service, prices vary by airline) We’ve been using
Tweetie 2’s clean interface and sim- GoGo extensively, and it has delivered rock-solid performance throughout the year.
ple execution of Twitter’s essential
features. This charming mobile app 34 Seesmic Desktop (social media software, free) Seesmic Desktop consolidates
connects replies to the tweets that your Facebook and Twitter accounts into a single interface that transforms all of
they’re responding to and lets you the tweets and status updates your friends send you into a continuous stream.
manage multiple Twitter accounts
easily. Tweetie 2 is a birdie to watch. 35 Avira AntiVir Personal (security software, free) This was the best free anti-
virus program we tested in 2009 for detection rate (98.9 percent) and scan speed.
36
30 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
iGo Netbook
(digital camera, $900 in two kit variations)
Anywhere (char-
It’s not a digital SLR, but this model has
ger, $70) Though
the best blend of features and portabili-
it is smaller and
ty of any Micro Four-Thirds camera yet.
lighter than a
31 Xmarks.com (Firefox add-on,

standard power
brick, the Netbook Anywhere adds a USB port for
free) Xmarks is a must-have for anyone
charging additional devices, as well as airplane and
who wants to keep a consistent, auto-
AC adapter connections. And if you have another
matically updated set of Firefox, IE, or
iGo charger (for your full-size laptop, say), you can
Safari bookmarks on PCs and Macs.
share this device’s tips with that charger.
32 Alienware M15x (laptop, prices

start at $1499) Thanks to its Core i7 CPU,
the M15x gaming laptop matches the
panache and power of its huge prede-
cessor, the M17x, in a smaller frame.

37 3M MPro120 (digital projector, $349) One of the
best miniprojectors we’ve ever looked at, the
MPro120 delivers superb image quality and
such impressive features as 2 lumens of brightness, a 20,000-hour LED light source,
VGA resolution, 2- to 4-hour battery life, and stereo speakers. When you attach it
to a laptop, a digital camera, or another device equipped with video output, the
projector excels in displaying colorful photos, videos, and presentations at small-
screen size on any light-colored surface, in darkened or subdued light.
38 Twitpic.com (photo-sharing beat Firefox 3.5. Firefox 3.5’s new fea-

software, free) Twitpic allows you to post tures include private browsing, geo-
and share photos to Twitter from your location, and improved session restore.
Website (using the Twitpic API), from
your phone, or from the Twitpic site. 43 Clickfree Traveler (storage de-
vice; $70 for 16GB, $130 for 32GB, $220
39 Qik.com (online video service, for 64GB) A lightweight, credit-card-size
free) This Web service allows you to device, the Traveler combines a gener-
stream live video from your mobile de- ous amount of storage space with easy-
vice to your friends via Qik’s Website. to-use backup software (and a cleverly
Afterward, the video remains archived concealed full USB 2.0 interface), mak-
at the site for future viewing. ing it perfect for people on the go.
40 Canon PowerShot G11 (digital 44 HP Officejet 6500 Wireless 46 LastPass.com 1.51 (password
camera, $500) The PowerShot G11 is a (inkjet multifunction printer, $200) Com- manager, free) LastPass 1.51 automatical-
portable powerhouse. It shoots RAW pact yet loaded with features, this MFP ly fills in saved log-ins and forms with
images, comes with 5X optical zoom offers good performance (suitable for a the click of a button. This handy Web
that can extend from 28mm to 140mm, small office with moderate output needs) freebie and browser plug-in also syn-
has a flip-out LCD screen, and offers a and ease of use at a tempting price. chronizes your data to any computer
full range of manual settings. that you use regularly. Finally—a more
45 Noval Development Parallels reliable password manager than a work-
41 Canon Vixia HF S10 (digital cam- Desktop 4 (virtualization software, $75) station littered with yellow Post-its.
corder, $1300) This camcorder has robust Run Windows apps on your Linux PC
manual controls and captures sharp or Linux apps in Windows with Paral- 47 Panasonic HDC-TM300 (digital
1080p video and 8.6-megapixel stills. lels Desktop 4. Unlike other virtualiza- camcorder, $1300) Capture good-quality
tion apps, this software integrates the 1080p video and 10.6-megapixel still
42 Mozilla Firefox 3.5 (browser, guest OS directly into the host, so you images with this versatile camcorder,
free) In our 2009 tests of Web page load- can launch a foreign OS seamlessly from which provides deep manual controls
ing speed tests, only Google Chrome within your native desktop, hassle-free. as well as useful automated settings.
48
Grooveshark
(online music
service, free)
Find a song on
this online ser-
vice, and play it
immediately. It’s that simple—and since Groove-
shark has plenty of music and can be accessed at
no charge, it’s pretty cool, too. Grooveshark offers
a premium service in addition to its free option;
either way, no audio ads will interrupt your tunes.

49
Aliph Jawbone Prime (Blue-
tooth headset, $130) This sleek,
54 Sonos Controller 200 (remote
control, $349) iPhone users would be in
texting heaven if the on-screen key-
boards on their smartphones worked as
well as the one on the Controller 200,
textured headset offers im- the sophisticated remote for Sonos’s
pressive call quality and noise high-end digital music system.
cancellation, and you can wear it with or without an over-the-ear loop. It’s avail-
able in seven colors. A slight dip in the surface conveniently marks the Talk button. 55 Seagate Replica (backup hard-
ware, prices start at $130) The Replica
50 Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1TB (portable storage drive, $199) backs up your entire computer, includ-
Western Digital’s stylish, compact portable hard drive packs 1 terabyte of storage ing system drives, and protects data in
on a 2.5-inch drive inside its chassis. WD is the first hard-drive maker to migrate to real time for as long as it’s connected.
micro-USB for connections, too—making more-streamlined designs possible.
56 Blip.fm (music service, free) Sort
51 Belkin Powerline AV+ Starter Kit F5D4075 (networking kit, $180) This kit of like Twitter for music, Blip.fm lets
lets you extend your home network over your electrical wiring system. Multiple you share and discuss tunes. Scroll a
ethernet ports, a convenient desk-mount option, solid performance, and plug-and- list of people’s song choices, plus the
play setup put this kit at the head of the powerline networking class. short comments (or Blips) posted about
the music. Listen to “blipped” songs as
52 Valve Steam (digital game-distribution service, free) With 20 million user ac- they come up, or skip to ones you like.
counts and 837 games from publishers like Activision, EA, and Ubisoft, Steam is
the place to buy everything from casual time-killers to enthusiast-caliber thrills. 57 Retrevo.com (shopping service,
free) A page on this consumer electron-
53
ics shopping site (a former PCW part-
ner) analyzes how close a product is to
Duracell MyGrid (charger; $80, some accessories retirement, how good the current price
extra) Duracell’s MyGrid is a wired pad that can re- is, and whether reviewers and other
juice up to four mobile devices simultaneously—and users like it. Another option helps you
wirelessly—via conductive charging. It’s not perfect: get copies of long-lost gadget manuals.
You have to slip your BlackBerry or iPod into a sup-
plied PowerSleeve, charging takes just as long as with a wired charger, and the device 58 Google Chrome (browser, free)
is incompatible with some phones. But it noticeably reduces recharging clutter. Google’s streamlined Web browser is
fast and crash resistant: If a Web page
hangs up, Chrome closes it instead of
bringing down the whole browser.
59 Synology DS209+ II (storage

device, $440) With a stable, reliable OS
and more features than you can shake a
stick at—RAID striping and mirroring,
DLNA media serving, video surveillance,
and integrated backup, to name a few—
the handsome DS209+ II is network-
attached storage in a class by itself.
“
60 Google Picasa 3.5 (photo soft-
I always carry my cell phone,
ware, free) This photo-management pro-

smartphone, and iPod, so the gram adds impressively accurate face-
fewer wires I have to deal with, recognition features and uses Google
Maps to add geolocation information
the better off I am. The MyGrid to photos. The scanning and tagging
really helps untangle my life. provide a quick way to find your snaps.
Nick Mediati, Assistant Editor
www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com ”

stickers with unique ID numbers and instructions for returning your gadgets to you.
If someone honest finds your smartphone, you could get it back in a day or two.
65 Digsby.com (message service, free) This simple program lets you communicate
with people using different IM clients or social networking sites such as Facebook.
66 Motorola T305 (Bluetooth car speakerphone kit, $70) The T305 mounts on
your sun visor, and delivers above-average call quality for a good price. It ranks at
the top of our current car-kit chart. In our tests, incoming voices sounded crisp,
and audio quality at the other end was brighter than with competing units.
67
Sony PlayStation 3 (game
61
console, $300) The 120GB
PS3 bundles the earlier PS3’s
top-notch features into a smarter,
sleeker, less-expensive package. The
result is a first-class, BD-Live-capable Blu-ray
player with 1080p HDMI output, integrated Blue-
tooth and 802.11g, an upgradable 120GB hard drive, giga-
RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 (smart- bit ethernet, 7.1-channel Dolby Digital audio support, and powerful CPUs.
phone, $200 with a two-year contract from
Verizon) This smartphone puts the best 68 Dropbox (online storage service, getdropbox.com, basic service free) Dropbox
features of RIM’s Bold and its Curve makes online storage, including file syncing and sharing, as easy as saving to a local
8900 into one slick package. You get a drive. Just save or drag files—up to 2GB for free, or up to 100GB for a fee—to a
superslim design, a gorgeous display, folder on your Windows, Mac, or Linux system, and Dropbox’s software will
and one of the best keyboards we’ve promptly transfer them to the service’s secure online servers.
seen on a BlackBerry—but no Wi-Fi.
69
62 Google Books (online service, Evernote.com (online content manager, basic ser-
free) This service gathers 10 million vice free) This site gathers e-mail messages, busi-
scanned, digitized, searchable books ness documents, Web clips, memos, and images in
from libraries and collections all over a sortable format that lets you find everything
the world. Those in the public domain fast. It even reads text in your pictures, so you can
are available to download and read. search a snapshot of a whiteboard by keyword.
63 UStream.com (iPhone app,

free) Use UStream if you or your business 70 Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 (photo editing software; $90 separately, $150
wants to broadcast an event live to an bundled with Premiere Elements 8) Elements delivers Photoshop’s imaging power to
Internet audience. The UStream player nonprofessional photographers in an accessible, tabbed interface. Version 8’s Auto
is well designed and intuitive for first- Analyzer assesses the content of your pictures and applies special keywords to iden-
time users. And the only other things tify images by focus, level of contrast, exposure, number of faces or objects, and so
you’ll need for your live broadcast are a forth. See page 70 for our review of the Photoshop/Premiere Elements 8 bundle.
camera and a broadband connection.
71 Samsung SP-P410M LED (digital projector, $749) This stylish compact pro-
64 Sendmehome.com (identifica- jector can handle PC-free slideshows and videos, but its low brightness suits it for
tion service, free) With Sendmehome, you small groups. Businesspeople who want to travel light will appreciate its ability to
may get your lost gear back. Print out manage presentations without having to work in tandem with a PC.

72 Lexmark C734dn
PC Tools Threatfire
(printer, $875) This color laser
4.5 (security software,
model offers the print speed
free) This antivirus
(27.6 pages per minute for text
application is designed
and 4.4 ppm for graphics), fea-
to supplement your
tures (roomy trays, automatic
existing security soft-
duplexing), and expandability
ware. Unlike traditional
that a mainstream office is like-
antivirus programs that
ly to need—and it uses inex-
primarily use malware-
pensive toner to boot.
signature files to de-
77
73 D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme N
tect baddies, Threatfire
identifies malware by analyzing its behavior. In
Gigabit Router (networking hardware,
our tests, Threatfire 4.5 caught all 15 malware
$73) D-Link’s high-performance router
samples we threw at it. The software works well
supports drive and printer sharing, and
alongside most current antivirus programs, but it
offers a Wi-Fi guest zone. A USB port
has shown some conflicts with AVG products.
on the rear accommodates flash drives,
hard drives, and printers (including
multifunction devices). One drawback:
The gear does not support Macs. 78 Adobe Premiere Elements 8 (video editing software; $100 separately, $150 bun-
dled with Photoshop Elements 8) The new Organizer lets you view, keyword-tag, and
74 SlideRocket.com (presentation manage videos and photos. You can also drag and drop tags onto a video while pre-
service, basic service free) This striking, viewing it. See page 70 for our review of the Photoshop/Premiere Elements 8 bundle.
browser-based presentation software
works with any OS and is accessible 79 FanSnap.com (online ticket service, free) This online aggregator searches tick-
from anywhere at any time. It may not et scalping services to find the best prices on seats for your local sports team or the
drive a stake into PowerPoint, but its latest arena rock concert. Cool graphics show you how much tickets are going for.
80
versatility poses a significant challenge.
Dell Studio One 19 (all-in-one PC, prices start at $699)
A step above a budget all-in-one, but by no means
75
high-end, the Studio One 19 is ideal if your needs and
budget fall somewhere in the middle. It’s one of the
few multitouch all-in-one PCs available with a 19-inch
(or smaller) screen—and it’s one of the fastest. You’ll
either love or hate its fabric screen-trim (available in
white, navy blue, gray, pink, or red).
Navigon MobileNavigator
(iPhone app, $90) If you have
both an iPhone and Navigon’s
MobileNavigator, you can get
turn-by-turn directions without
having to use a stand-alone GPS
device. And with a new $25 traf-
fic add-on from Navigon, you can
avoid commute jam-ups, too.
76 Lenovo IdeaCentre A600 (all-

in-one PC, $750) The combination of a
sharp, angular design and an ultrathin
chassis helps Lenovo’s good-looking
all-in-one PC stand out from the pack.

© 2009 eBay Inc. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. All items subject to availability.
on last season’s HD TV.

This season’s shows still look great

“
81
Glide makes my life
easier because it lets
me collaborate and
share documents with
other people regardless
of what OS they’re on.
”
Samsung TL225 (digital camera, Transmedia Glide OS 3.0
$330) For sheer (content access service, basic
wow factor in a service free) Glide gives you re-
compact camera, mote access to your data—from
the TL225 is hard photographs and music to word
to beat. Besides processing and spreadsheet
including dual LCD documents—via a Web browser
screens (the one on over a smartphone, cell phone,
Mark Sullivan,
the front is designed for self-portraits), PDA, or other device. Glide is OS-
Senior Associate
Samsung provides a touchscreen-only, and device-neutral, and users don’t
Editor
gesture-sensitive interface. have to move between siloed apps to
modify and share various file types.
82
87
Asus Eee PC 1101 (netbook,
$430) The slim, well-designed Eee PC
1101 has a great keyboard and touchpad
and a clear, bright, 11.6-inch screen. Its
battery life rocks, too, at over 8 hours.
83 Wolfram Alpha (search engine,

free) This unusual search engine returns
information—neatly formatted with
graphs and images—not Web pages. It doesn’t come close to the scope of Google, 88 Acronis True Image Home
but for well-presented data on serious topics, Wolfram Alpha is a great resource. 2010 (backup software; free trial, $50 per
license) This powerhouse backup soft-
84 Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition (operating system, free) Ubuntu Linux has beware has a revamped interface and new
come the gold standard in free OSs. Version 9.04 has the best hardware support in features such as one-click backup and
Linux history, including tools to manage displays and wireless network connections. continuous data protection.
85 89
PHOTOGRAPH: ROBERT CARDIN (TOP RIGHT)

LG BD390 (Blu-ray player, $250) The LG BD390 delivers outstanding Blu- Wordnik (online reference, free)
ray images, and it supports BD-Live, CinemaNow, DLNA, Netflix, Wi-Fi, and You- With detailed definitions, synonyms,
86
Tube. Picture clarity is amazing, though the quality audio pronunciation guides, and usage
of upconverted regular DVDs isn’t as good. data, Wordnik is great for word nerds.
90 Intuit Mint (accounting software,

free) Mint continues to add nice features
at the same unbeatable price. A ro-
Hillcrest Labs Loop Pointer

Remote (input device, $100) This styl-
ish device is an oddly shaped wire-
less mouse for pointing and click-
ing your way around the dial. It’s
tell us
You’ve seen a year’s worth of
also adept at navigating various set-
top media hubs. To input text into tech, too. So tell us what you
your PC without a keyboard, you must
loved, liked, or even hated
use the Loop in conjunction with Win-
dows’ on-screen keyboard feature. at find.pcworld.com/63959.

© 2009 eBay Inc. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. All items subject to availability.
Last year’s music player at half price

still plays this year’s music at full volume.

we just can’t wait for
bust yet streamlined iPhone app takes The Apple Tablet: Speculation has it that Apple is working on a
Mint on the road, and you can integrate
souped-up tablet PC with (maybe) a 10-inch screen, iPhone soft-
it with your Yahoo Finance account.
ware, and the ability to display books, magazines, and HD video.
91 HP W2558hc (monitor, $600) Google Chrome OS: Google’s new OS will target netbooks at first
This feature-rich, 25.5-inch widescreen
LCD delivers fantastic image quality and will be open-source-based (good for speed and security).
and comes with a host of extra features.
Google Wave: Google Wave is said to be part e-mail, part IM,
92 Western Digital Caviar Green and part document, with real-time collaboration functionality.
WD20EADS (hard drive, $250) How
Project Natal: Microsoft’s motion-sensing device will let users
about 2TB of space on a single drive?
The WD20EADS combines vast storage play video games with their bodies instead of with controllers.
with lower power consumption.
93
96 Slacker.com (streaming music apps, free) Slacker’s mobile apps let you listen
to the streaming-music service on your BlackBerry or iPhone/iPod Touch. And with a
BlackBerry, you can store music for times when your wireless reception gets wonky.
97 Kensington Auto Power Inverter With USB Power Port (charger, $35) This
inverter provides both an AC outlet and a USB port for charging (so you can top
FileHippo.com up your cell phone or iPod while on the go), all from a single power connection to
98
face Update Checker your car or airplane seat with DC power.
book
FAN 1.035 (update-
FAVORITE managing service, HP Dream-
free) PC World’s Facebook fans Screen 100
recommended this practical tool, (Internet touchscreen,
which scans your PC and identi- prices start at $250)
fies software updates you need. This slick moni-
You can download the updates tor uses wireless Internet service to display
with FileHippo, but downloading weather and Facebook friend updates, stream
won’t occur automatically. Pandora music, and play videos. The screen has
2GB of memory, two USB ports, stereo
speakers, an ethernet jack, and
94 Linksys Dual-Band Wireless- an 802.11 b/g wireless antenna.
N Gigabit Router WRT320N (networking
hardware, $91) The WRT320N did well 99 Nintendo DSi (game console, $170) The world’s bestselling
in our tests, and it can operate at either games handheld introduces a matte finish, larger TFT-LCD screens, two
the 2.4GHz or the 5GHz Wi-Fi band— 0.3-megapixel VGA cameras, Facebook support, and an online game and app store.
100
handy flexibility if neigh-
boring Wi-Fi networks sur-
round your office.
95 NinjaVideo.net
(video-playing service, free)
NinjaVideo.net is the place
to watch newly released Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (game,
movies and just-aired TV $60) Created for the PS3, Uncharted 2:
shows. Content ranges Among Thieves trumps its predecessor
from episodes of Lost to by offering a superlative cinematic romp
documentaries and other full of clever 14th-century apocrypha
long-form news programs. and dazzling exotic venues.

A note on 70 years in car
insurance from one of the
giants in the industry.
(Well, not in terms of
height, of course.)
What the Gecko lacks in stature he certainly makes up for in ability. In fact, under the ownership of
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., he’s helped GEICO rise to become the nation’s third-largest car
insurance company. Of course, the fact that GEICO has been helping people save money on car insurance
for over 70 years hasn’t hurt either. And when it comes to financial security, GEICO is consistently ranked
“excellent” or better by independent experts. But even though it’s not common practice to have geckos in the
highest levels of business, this one inspired three million drivers to switch to GEICO last year (and never
missed a day of work). Perhaps proving that you can be both big and small at the same time.
a subsidiary of berkshire hathaway inc.
GEICO is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States based on 2008 market share data as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners,
March 2009. At December 31, 2008 Government Employees Insurance Company had admitted assets of $12.5 billion, and policyholder surplus of $4.1 billion (including $33.4 million
in paid up capital stock). Total liabilities were $8.4 billion, including $7.7 billion in reserves. Additional information is available at: http://www.geico.com/about/corporate/financial-
information. Government Employees Insurance Co. • GEICO General Insurance Co. • GEICO Indemnity Co. • GEICO Casualty Co. These companies are subsidiaries of Berkshire
Hathaway Inc. GEICO: Washington, D.C. 20076. GEICO Gecko image © 1999 – 2009. © 2009 GEICO

LAB
TESTED
The
TV You
Want
Today
BY ALFRED POOR ¨ TESTING BY TONY K. LEUNG
HDTVs are evolving fast.

From new smooth-motion
technology to the latest on
3D, we’ll tell you the features
you’ve got to have on your

next set. And we’ll recom-
mend the best TVs we’ve test-
ed between 40 and 47 inches.

When you stroll into your local store to of revenue, flat panels now account for more than 90 percent
of the worldwide television market. The Consumer Electron-
shop for a new TV, dozens of big, glossy screens
ics Association says that 52 percent of U.S. households have
will greet you, each one trying to draw you in an HDTV today. And now that the digital transition is com-
plete, HDTV adoption continues apace.
with its bright, colorful pictures. And a bewilder-
For many shoppers, this year’s television purchase may
ing bevy of new features promise a multitude of bump a previously purchased HDTV down to some other
area of the house, such as the kitchen or a bedroom. But
benefits. Which ones will make a difference in
whether this is your first HDTV set or your third, it pays to
what you watch and in how it looks on the screen? get a model that’s packed with all of the latest features.
You’ll likely find some eye-popping HDTV deals this holiday
We’ll help you sort out what’s important.
season, but don’t expect prices to plummet, even if HDTV
prices today are 20 percent lower than they were last year.
The Changing World of Television According to DisplaySearch analyst Paul Semenza, the LCD
It’s official: The (television) world is flat. The market has just panels used in HDTVs are actually getting more expensive.
about completed the transition from the So far, prices of models on store shelves
large, heavy, cube-shaped, standard-defini- haven’t reflected this shift—but it could
tion CRT (picture-tube) television set to 40" Samsung inhibit the deep discounts that often
the sleek, thin, light, high-definition flat- LN40B650T1f It’s the appear during a holiday buying season.
panel set. According to market research priciest 40-inch model on Another recent trend is full-resolution
firm DisplaySearch, worldwide shipments our chart (by $600), but HDTVs: All but a few entry-level, low-cost
of flat-panel televisions shifted from about this television offers first- models with screen sizes greater than 40
5 percent of all sets in early 2004 to nearly rate picture quality, along inches have the 1920-by-1080 resolution
75 percent of the total last spring. In terms with a slew of ports for of “full HD” (1080p). At smaller screen
Internet features and other sizes, 720p remains common: On Best
network connections, all Buy’s Web site, I found that 18 of the 35
while being very usable. sets between 30 and 39 inches were 720p,

LAB
TESTED
top 5: 40- to 42-inch HDTVs Though it’s pricey, Samsung’s

LN40B650T1f earns the top spot.
Samsung LN40B650T1f ¨ HD broadcast: Very Good ¨ Display type: LCD

¨ DVD: Very Good ¨ 1920-by-1080-pixel screen
1
$1700
SUPERIOR ¨ Blu-ray: Very Good ¨ Inputs: 4 HDMI, 2 component
¨ Design: Superior ¨ Refresh rate: 120Hz
u Samsung’s LN40B650T1f is an excellent all-around TV, thanks to its very good picture quality, Internet extras, and user-friendliness.
LG 42LH50
¨ HD broadcast: Very Good ¨ Display type: LCD
¨ DVD: Good ¨ 1920-by-1080-pixel screen
2
$1100
VERY GOOD ¨ Blu-ray: Very Good ¨ Inputs: 4 HDMI, 2 component
u The LG 42LH50 provides great connected features, above-average image quality, and good looks for a moderate price.
Sony Bravia 40W5100

3
$1100
¨ Design: Very Good ¨ Refresh rate: 120Hz
u The Sony Bravia 40W5100 isn’t just an HDTV with very good picture quality; it’s a 40-inch window to the Internet.
LG 42LH55
4
$1100
¨ Design: Good ¨ Refresh rate: 240Hz
u The LG 42LH55 displays solid picture quality and is reasonably priced, but it is far from generous with extra goodies.
Vizio SV421XVT
5
$900
VERY GOOD ¨ Blu-ray: Good ¨ Inputs: 4 HDMI, 2 component
u Though it put up good numbers all around, this 42-inch, 240Hz set had a hard time displaying the fine details we expected to see.
CHART NOTE: Ratings are as of 10/16/09.
including models from LG, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony. Note the emphasis here on LCDs (versus plasma screens):
Beyond entry-level sets, today’s HDTVs differentiate them- Since LCDs have the lion’s share of the flat-panel market at
selves with features that can enhance your viewing experience more than 90 percent, it makes sense that they get most of
and improve the TV’s performance. Several capabilities—such the attention. But LCD technology has a known issue with
as fast-motion response times and LED backlighting—that fast motion: The technology relies on moving tiny molecules
were once exclusive to super-pricey high-end models are now around to block or to transmit the light from the panel’s
showing up in more-affordable mainstream units. But what backlight. And these molecules need time to move from one
do these new features mean, and will they make a noticeable position to another. As a result, traditional panel designs ran
difference in your viewing? Which features are merely nice to into a problem with motion blur. Commonly, the leading and
have, and which ones are worth paying extra money to get? trailing edges of a fast-moving object in an image looked soft,
an unwelcome artifact—and not just for hockey fans trying to
Rising Refresh Rates follow a speeding puck on the screen.
According to DisplaySearch, about half of all LCD HDTVs with Panel manufacturers found that changing the cell structure
40-inch or larger screens now have refresh rates of 120Hz or and the formulations of liquid crystal material wasn’t enough
higher. It took a couple of years for 120Hz to reach the main- to overcome this problem: The trick was to refresh the image
stream, but today only entry-level and economy models at twice as often, doubling the refresh rate from 60 to 120 times
these large sizes have the standard 60Hz refresh rate. The pic- a second. In addition, manufacturers improved their televi-
ture changes for sets under 40 inches, though: DisplaySearch sions’ controlling circuitry so that it would look at the two
says that among all such LCDs shipped in the second quarter original frames in the 60Hz image stream, and interpolate a
of 2009, only 14 percent were capable of 120Hz. The company new frame to provide an intermediate image.
expects that figure to grow to 24 percent by the year 2013. This approach produced a marked improvement over tradi-
Some manufacturers have made a full-on push to 120Hz. tional 60Hz sets (see “Movement: The 120Hz Difference” on
Sony, for example, has only one series—the Bravia S5100— page 92), one that’s well worth the extra investment in a set
that doesn’t have 120Hz or 240Hz models. with a minimum of 120Hz. The price difference has nar-

rowed, but you can still expect to pay approximately $100 to large premium compared with the step from 60Hz to 120Hz.)
$200 more to step up to an HDTV set with this feature in the LG approaches 240Hz by a different path: Its models with
40- to 42-inch range. It’s a must-have feature if you plan to 240Hz performance generate one interpolated frame for each
watch sports, but any content that includes panning scenes of the standard 60Hz frames, just as 120Hz models do, but
and fast action will benefit from this technology. they flash their backlights twice for every frame. Thus, 60
If 120Hz is good, then 240Hz must be twice as good, right? original frames plus 60 more interpolated frames make 120
The answer is a lot murkier than that (see the box below). frames, and then the backlight flashing twice for each frame
The manufacturers that offer 240Hz refresh technology are yields 240 flashes per second. Like a strobe light in a disco
divided into two camps, each with a different approach. Sam- dance hall, the flash of the backlight helps freeze the action
sung and Sony use a true 240Hz technology, in which (as in on the screen and reduce motion blur. But this eye trick still
120Hz sets) the controller starts with a pair of frames from presents only 120 frames per second, so asserting that its re-
the 60Hz content stream—but then creates three additional fresh rate is faster than 120Hz rests on rather shaky science.
intermediate frames, not one. This means that for each of the Panels with 120Hz (or faster) refresh rates have one addi-
original frames, the set actually displays four frames. tional benefit: Most television programming is recorded at 30
Adding these extra frames causes the liquid crystal material frames per second (fps), which is easy to double for the 60Hz
to move more quickly than it otherwise would, which in turn refresh rate that most HDTVs used. Movies, however, are
reduces the blur effects. The difference may be noticeable com- filmed at 24 fps, which poses problems for technicians seek-
pared with 120Hz, but in our tests it wasn’t as dramatic as ing to digitize them for DVD or broadcast use. To fit the 30-fps
the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz, even when we looked timing, every four frames of movie film must be stretched to
at the sets side by side. As such, 240Hz is probably not worth fit five frames of video. The process employed to achieve this,
paying a lot more for over the cost of a 120Hz model. (Right called “3:2 pulldown,” uses two interlaced fields of the first
now, the jump from 120Hz to 240Hz is about $300 to $600, a film frame and then three interlaced frames of the next frame
to produce the stretch.
This awkward conversion
can create a motion artifact
movement:
called “judder,” a jerkiness
AS PART OF PC World’s revamped HDTV test or slight stutter visible in
methodology (see find.pcworld.com/63979 for the finished image. But since
the 120hz details on how we test HDTVs), we’ve introduced

a series of motion tests that take into consider-
120Hz, unlike 60Hz, is an
even multiple of 24, these
difference
ation the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal panels can display 24-fps
movements of images across the screen. These material without requiring
tests are designed to push HDTVs to the brink, any conversion; each frame
and to separate the winners from the wimps. just gets shown five times.
HDTVs whose LCD panels had at least a 120Hz refresh rate generally did better than sets
with a baseline rate of 60Hz. The improvement from 120Hz to 240Hz was less dramatic. LED Backlighting
The best performer on our motion tests was the Samsung LN46B750U1F, a 240Hz set that Another feature growing in
compiled a score of 4.5 out 5 stars on this series of tests—an impressive feat, considering how prominence is the use of
strictly our judges graded. Right behind it came the Vizio SV471XVT, with 4.2 stars, followed by a LEDs as backlights for LCD
pair of TVs that earned marks of 4 stars: the Vizio SV421XVT and the Samsung LN40B650T1f. TV panels. Both Samsung
The worst performers fared especially poorly on this test. The JVC LT-46P300, a 60Hz and Toshiba call their mod-
HDTV, scored just 0.6 star on our motion tests. But the 120Hz Insignia NS-L42X10A scored els with this feature “LED
just 1.1 stars, well below average. In most cases, the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz was TVs,” which has confused
obvious. For example, as an image with text on it scrolled from right to left, it moved smoothly many consumers. LED TVs
on the top-performing TVs in this test, and the text labels were clearly readable. That clarity are not a new technology;
and smoothness disappeared in the sets that performed below average. they’re just LCD TVs with a
Based on our tests, it pays to ante up the extra $200 or so to move up to a 120Hz HDTV from different type of backlight.
a 60Hz model—if you’re confident that the set implements the technology well. The wild vari- LEDs have some distinct
ance we saw underscores that the 120Hz (or 240Hz) spec alone does not guarantee a mini- advantages over traditional
mum level of performance. The distinction between 240Hz and 120Hz was especially slight, cold-cathode fluorescent
so the value of jumping up to 240Hz is less clear-cut than the value of upgrading to 120Hz. lamp (CCFL) designs, which
—Melissa J. Perenson many LCD TVs use. Com-
pared with CCFL technolo-

gy, LED backlighting re- 46" Samsung Though LEDs have their benefits, they
sults in TVs that require LN46B750U1F The top- come with their own issues. For one
less power (by up to 40 ranked model on our chart thing, LED TVs cost appreciably more
percent for a 40-inch televi- of larger high-definition than CCFL-based models—about $300
sion) and provide improved sets, this 46-inch HDTV more, on average—due both to the cost
color performance: LED TVs earned plaudits for superb of manufacturing the LEDs and to the
handle red and green hues better, resulting in picture quality, Internet cost of installing these arrays. Also, LED
more-natural, more-lifelike picture quality. connectivity, and an array production processes cannot yet make
Perhaps the foremost advantage of LED of functions on its full- units with consistent color output, so
backlighting is its ability to enhance con- featured remote control. manufacturers must inspect each LED
trast and produce darker blacks. This capa- and “bin” it—grouping it with other
bility closes the gap between LCD screens and plasma dis- LEDs of similar color. The more consistent and accurate the
plays, which traditionally have offered deeper blacks than color output required, the more the individual LEDs cost.
LCDs. Here again, manufacturers have adopted two different Until the industry solves this problem, LCD TVs with LED
approaches to implementing LED backlights. backlights are likely to cost more than CCFL sets.
One design puts the LED lights behind the LCD panel in If you care about color quality and are willing to tweak your
a big matrix layout. This approach permits the use of “local television, an LED-backlight model may be worth the extra
dimming”: If the controller recognizes that a portion of the money. Note, however, that none of the models we tested for
image is generally dark, it can automatically dim the LEDs this roundup included LED backlights.
behind that one small segment of the image. This helps keep
black levels low, increasing the apparent contrast. Connectivity
The other way to use LEDs with LCD panels is to put them Another big trend this year involves connections to bring the
along the edge behind the panel, as Samsung’s 1.2-inch-thick, Internet to your TV. Many HDTVs have an ethernet connec-
46-inch UN46B8000 does. This approach requires sophisticat- tion on the back, plus integrated software for dealing with
ed diffusers to spread the light evenly behind the LCD layer, Web content. If you connect to the Internet via your home
and it reduces or eliminates the ability to improve apparent network’s router, your TV can gain access to a range of Web-
contrast through localized, content-based dimming. It does based content, all without going through a computer.
keep the part count much lower, however, and it can make According to data from Nielsen, 90 percent of U.S. homes
the heat that the LEDs generate easier to manage. now have access to broadband Internet connections, so

the connected TV is entirely feasible with today’s technology, music Websites like Pandora and Slacker Internet Radio.
especially if the HDTV set has a Wi-Fi capability, as many do. Network connectivity can give you access to the content
The TVs shipping today that have Web access limit the loca- you’ve stored on your home network, including CDs you’ve
tions you can visit online. This approach simplifies navigation, ripped, digital photos, and digital home movies. Some sets
which is important because you have to use a remote control can access those items, as well. The Digital Living Network
instead of a keyboard, mouse, and full-on Web browser. Alliance certifies most connected TVs; put your files on a
This year marks the debut of Yahoo Connected TV’s Widgets; DLNA-certified storage device on your network, and a DLNA
the Widgets are now offered on Internet-capable sets from LG, television will be able to play your music and screen your
Samsung, Sony, and Vizio. The services and presentation vary photos and videos. According to the Alliance’s Website (www.
from one brand to another, as manufacturers make different dlna.org) more than 500 DLNA-certified television models are
choices about which Widgets to offer. Widgets are available for available. Windows Media Player 11 and 12 are DLNA servers
news, weather, and sports information, as well as for access too, so using a PC that runs XP, Vista, or Windows 7 will
to popular sites like YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook. work, if you use WMP 11 or 12 for your media library.
Yahoo Widgets isn’t the only Internet connectivity going. Integrated ethernet has another advantage: Upgrades to
Sony has continued to develop its Bravia Internet Video Link your television’s software can download automatically so the
version of streaming, Web-based content—which includes updated firmware, or a new Widget or other service, will be
modules for Amazon Video on Demand, CBS, Netflix, Slack- available the next time you turn on your HDTV.
er Internet Radio, YouTube, and more. Other sets, such as Network connectivity will give you access to an enormous
units developed by Panasonic and by LG Electronics, have amount of additional content—much of it on-demand and
modules for services as well; the most popular inclusions are free—but do some research before plunking down your cash
Amazon Video on Demand, Netflix and Vudu, along with if you want specific services or capabilities. Having an ether-
photo sharing sites such as Flickr and Picasa, and streaming net connection doesn’t automatically mean that an HDTV
LAB
TESTED
top 5: 46- to 47-inch HDTVs Features and picture quality make
Samsung’s 46-incher our top choice.
Samsung LN46B750U1F ¨ HD broadcast: Very Good ¨ Display type: LCD

1
$1700
u Internet connectivity and very good picture quality make the $1700 Samsung LN46B750U1F our top pick.
Toshiba 47ZV650U
2
$1300
¨ Design: Good ¨ Refresh rate: 240Hz
u The Toshiba 47ZV650U features solid picture quality, but this 47-inch, LCD-based HDTV could be easier to use.
Panasonic TC-P46S1
¨ HD broadcast: Very Good ¨ Display type: Plasma
3
$1300
GOOD ¨ Blu-ray: Good ¨ Inputs: 4 HDMI, 2 component
¨ Design: Superior ¨ Refresh rate: 600Hz1
u The Panasonic TC-P46S1 is a well-designed HDTV, but some shortcomings in picture quality hold it back.
Vizio SV471XVT
¨ HD broadcast: Good ¨ Display type: LCD
4
$1200
u While the Vizio SV471XVT is priced nicely and generally easy to use, its picture quality is merely average.
JVC LT-46J300
¨ HD broadcast: Good ¨ Display type: LCD
5
$1100
¨ Design: Fair ¨ Refresh rate: 60Hz
u Disappointing picture quality prevents the JVC LT-46J300 from ranking higher; it does have an appealing price.
CHART NOTE: Ratings are as of 10/16/09. FOOTNOTE: 1 The pixels on plasma sets like the Panasonic TC-P46S1 turn on and off much faster than LCD pixels.

3D tv: NOW THAT WE have HDTV, what’s next? 3D.
3D movies have been taking off at the box office.
will stream media through
your home network, or have the next About 15 major feature films will be released in 3D
in 2009, with twice that number set for 2010.
big thing?
all the Web services you seek. HDTV manufacturers are scrambling to support
3DTV. Both plasma and 120Hz LCD technology are
Going ‘Green’? adaptable to 3DTV using active glasses—not the
Consumer electronics are passive glasses used in most 3D movie theaters.
going green, and the HDTV Active glasses use LCD material to block the light first to one eye and then to the other, at
market is no exception to very fast rates. By synchronizing them to the content on the HDTV, 3DTV technology can pre-
the trend. While plasma flat sent full-resolution 1080p images sequentially to the left and right eyes, and still have a total
panels continue to consume frame rate of 60Hz. Other technologies can show 3D images with either passive glasses or no
more electricity than LCD glasses at all, but are too expensive to manufacture or have significant viewing limitations.
models, both technologies One roadblock for 3D content has been the lack of an industry standard, but that’s changing
have made notable strides in fast. Hollywood already adds depth information to many of its films, and translates this into
energy conservation. different formats that different cinema projection systems use—the RealD system based on
For example, “eco modes” polarized light, for example, or the Dolby system that relies on sophisticated RGB color filters
dim the picture to save ener- to create stereoscopic images. Creating a similar “home 3D master” is not that difficult—SMPTE
gy when the viewer doesn’t (an organization of industry engineers) is well on the way to defining such a specification.
need full brightness, work- Such a master can provide data for a range of display formats. And the Blu-ray Disc Associa-
ing in much the same way as tion is working on a standard for storing 3D on
a draft mode on a printer. A WOMAN VIEWS 3D images through spe- prepackaged media. HDTVs can be made to
Automatic ambient light cial active glasses on one of Panasonic’s work with a variety of 3D data-stream formats.
sensors can adjust an image’s 50-inch plasma sets at its factory in Japan. Down the road, HDTVs should be 3D as well.
brightness, saving energy.
And plasma manufacturers
have developed some more-
efficient technologies that
reduce the power a plasma
television consumes.
Most manufacturers are
not shy about touting their
“greenness,” whenever pos-
sible. To check for lower
power consumption, look
for the Energy Star 3.0 logo.
To qualify for this optional
program, run jointly by the
U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency and the U.S.
Department of Energy, an
HDTV must not exceed a
specified maximum power
consumption limit. This limit differs somewhat depending on consider that the average U.S. consumer keeps a television
the set’s screen size, and the Energy Star program breaks out for ten years or longer. A savings of $150 to $300 on a set
HDTVs into three segments: smaller than 40 inches, 40 inches that originally cost $500 to $1000 is a significant amount.
PHOTOGRAPH: JIJI PRESS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
to 58 inches, and larger than 58 inches. (For a list of models

that qualify for Energy Star logos, see find.pcworld.com/63934.) Final Word
The next revision of Energy Star, Version 4.0, is due to take Some of the newfangled features we’ve discussed here will
effect on May 1, 2010, and Version 5.0 will replace it on May help you experience your entertainment content differently,
1, 2012. These new specifications further reduce the maxi- or improve how it looks on screen. In general, as you try to
mum allowable amount of energy that a qualifying set can use. decide what to buy, resist being dazzled by shiny, sparkly
According to some sources, consumers can save $15 to $30 things. Focus instead on the attributes that will matter when
a year on their electricity bills by choosing a set with lower you’re watching various kinds of content on your new TV.
power consumption. This may not seem like a big deal, but For more on HDTVs, go to find.pcworld.com/63972.

Two bucks to get a paper statement?
$15 to book airline tickets online?
Wireless providers, cable compa-
nies, and other firms are increasingly
Sneaky
nickel-and-diming
us to death. Here’s
how to fight back.
Fees
BY TOM SPRING
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN CUNEO

Recently, I renewed my XM Satellite Radio or complained to the agency about hav-
ing problems understanding the bills.
subscription. I had expected it to cost $13 a month, the advertised
Worse, says the GAO, one in five cus-
price. But I found out that Sirius XM had added a monthly $2 “music tomers who contacted their carrier
were dissatisfied with the company’s
royalty fee.” I grudgingly agreed to it and said, “Send me the bill.”
efforts to resolve the problem. (For
Well, the Sirius XM rep replied, there was one more thing: I’d have advice, see “Five Ways Wireless Carriers
Try to Gouge You” on page 25.)
to pay a $2 “invoice fee” if I wanted a paper bill mailed to me.
Verizon Wireless is typical: It adver-
According to the Ponemon Institute, ping, handling, and fulfillment fees.” tises a low $40-per-month Nationwide
a research group specializing in con- Lenovo is charging $17.03. Compaq, Basic plan and adds charges on top of
sumer privacy, such sneaky fees cost Dell, HP, Sony, and Toshiba are asking that. The plan details state that first-
each U.S. resident an estimated $950 some customers to pay $11.25 to $14.99. time customers pay a $35 activation fee
every year. None are outlandish—$1 and can expect to pay between 5 per-
here, $3.95 there. But they add up, Wireless Fees cent and 37 percent more each month
boosting the cost of a wireless bill or Nowhere do consumers find fees more in “tolls, taxes, and surcharges.” That
of an airline ticket you book online far confounding than on their wireless bill. doesn’t include charges for going over
beyond what you had planned to spend. Maybe it’s a $3-a-month charge for a the plan’s preset limits for texting, data
For companies, they work like a charm, daily horoscope you didn’t request. transfers, and voice minutes.
says Bob Sullivan, author of Gotcha Cap- Maybe it’s an $18 “upgrade fee” that One Verizon fee is a $0.92 “adminis-
italism. “How does a $39 cable bill be- no one mentioned when you bought trative charge,” described on its site as
come a $70 bill? How does a $55 wire- your snazzy new phone. Or maybe it’s one of several fees that “aren’t taxes,
less plan cost $75? The answer is fees,” a charge for a ringtone that came with a aren’t required by law, are kept by us in
he explains. According to Sullivan, sur- “free” offer. Whatever the case, if you’ve whole or in part, and the amounts and
veyed companies from ten markets make had it with your cell phone company’s what’s included are subject to change.”
$45 billion annually in such charges. billing practices, you’re not alone. Essentially, if you’re a customer, you
Particularly annoying are fees that The U.S. Government Accountability pay 92 cents a month to cover the cost
make a “free” offer not free at all. For Office (an arm of Congress) determined of Verizon’s doing business with you.
instance, many PC makers offered cus- that one-third of cell phone owners I asked spokesperson Michael Mur-
tomers who bought a system just before found unexpected charges on their bills phy why Verizon doesn’t fold the non-
the debut of Windows 7 a “free” tax fees into the advertised price so
upgrade once the OS was out. that consumers could know what their
What they didn’t say is that many final bill would be. Murphy says that
buyers would have to pay “ship- it’s because surcharges and fees vary by
market and are subject to change.
Sullivan doesn’t buy it. The real rea-
Fine Print:
Sirius XM advertises its
satellite radio service at
$12.95 per month. But
that amount doesn’t
count another $1.98 in a
‘music royalty fee’ that
customers pay on top of son Verizon is sneaky, he says, is that
their regular monthly bill. everyone else is too. “You can’t be the
only company with transparent
ILLUSTRATION: MARC SIMON
pricing, or you’ll always appear to

have the highest prices.”
You can’t always blame your
carrier for sneaky charges, howev-
er. Customers can easily get stuck
spending $10 a month on third-

WHEN IT COMES to fighting sneaky fees,
party services for ringtones, wallpaper,
and jokes delivered via SMS. Many
such customers say that they believed
She Fought it pays to be loud, to use the power of
numbers, and to know a good class-action
the services were free or involved only
a one-time fee. And some claim that
the Fee— lawyer. A case in point: T-Mobile customer
Mallory LaBoube contested a monthly
they never even requested the services.
Within the last couple of years, AT&T
And Won $1.50 fee that really had her steamed.
In August, T-Mobile, hoping to spur cus-
Mobility and Verizon Wireless reached tomers to use electronic billing, started
settlements with Florida Attorney Gen- charging the 16.5 million customers who received a paper bill $1.50 a month. The goal
eral Bill McCollum, who had accused was to cut back on the costs of sending out 10.8 million pounds of paper bills each year.
the carriers (plus Alltel, which Verizon The backlash was immediate, with Web sites and forums percolating with customer
was acquiring) of allowing advertisers to complaints. LaBoube, of Webster Groves, Missouri, was so angry that she canceled her
put out misleading offers for “free” ring- account and demanded that the company waive her $200 early-termination fee.
tones, wallpaper, and horoscopes, and “Who ever heard of paying to get your bill?” LaBoube says. “When you go to the gro-
then to bill customers for the services. cery store, do they charge you $1 to get your paper receipt?”
In June, without admitting to any When T-Mobile refused to drop the termination fee, she contacted her sister, who worked
wrongdoing, Verizon Wireless agreed at the Medler & Roither law firm in Clayton, Missouri. Lawyers there took the case.
to reimburse Florida customers up to On September 5, the attorneys filed a class-action lawsuit against T-Mobile in the United
$30 million, as well as to set stringent States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The suit alleged that the billing
advertising standards. In February 2008 change was a breach of the contract that customers signed. The company should let
AT&T Mobility had agreed to return up customers cancel service without having to pay a termination fee, the lawyers argued.
to $40 million to Florida consumers. Merely six days after LaBoube’s attorneys filed the lawsuit, the company dropped the
The trade association CTIA has worked paper-bill fee. T-Mobile representatives said at the time that it was a situation where a
to create voluntary standards to make company heard loud and clear what its customers wanted. “Since the announcement
bills clear, says spokesperson John we’ve heard everything from kudos to concerns about the move to paperless—especial-
Walls. But problems persist: Consumer ly from our customers who today are receiving paper bills at no charge. So, we’ve decid-
complaints filed with the FCC about ed to not charge our customers a paper-bill fee for now.”
wireless billing and rates rose from “Yes, I am surprised they [T-Mobile] reacted to change their policy so quickly, and I am
8822 in 2006 to 10,930 in 2008, an certain that it was the result of my lawsuit,” LaBoube says. “T-Mobile sends out over 16
increase of approximately 24 percent. million invoices per month. At $1.50, I figure I saved customers over $24 million a month!”
For more information on companies’ charging for mailing out paper bills, see Skeptical
Triple-Play Plans Triple Shopper in the November issue or at find.pcworld.com/63902.
the Annoyance
Does your cable bill seem to inch closer
to the stratosphere every month? It isn’t
your imagination. Advertised low pric-
es seldom stay low, and with companies
locking customers into contracts with
“ I am surprised [T-Mobile]
reacted to change its policy
so quickly, and I am certain
early-termination fees, consumers are that it was the result of my
getting a raw deal, experts say. lawsuit. T-Mobile sends over
According to Joel Kelsey, policy ana- 16 million invoices per month.
lyst with the Consumers Union, 25 per- I figure I saved customers
cent of people who have a combination about $24 million a month!
of TV, Internet, and phone service say
that taxes and fees make their bills
much higher than they expected.
—Mallory LaBoube
Webster Groves, Missouri
”
Eighteen months ago, the triple-play
bundle from RCN, my provider, sound-
ed good at $109 a month. Of course, I
had to agree to a two-year contract with
a $150 early-termination fee. Now I pay
$130 a month on average, to cover
costs, fees, taxes, and penalties.

“ I had no idea what was
going on [with PayPal]
until I paid someone $120
and they complained that Novack went to the Fees section of
$3.78 was removed for the site and learned that money trans-
no apparent reason. fers labeled as payments for goods or
—Wes Novack
Phoenix, Arizona
” services sent from personal accounts
were now subject to a fee of 2.9 per-
cent of the total, plus 30 cents. PayPal
says it instituted the fees to discourage
users from conducting business trans-
actions on personal accounts.
“This isn’t a lot of money, but it
steams me that there was no warning,”
Novack complains. He suspects PayPal
intentionally created the sneaky fee,
hoping 75 million PayPal customers
would give it little attention.
PayPal’s Anuj Nayar says customers
were notified via e-mail of the new fees.
But Novack insists that the e-mail Nayar
I have to pay $2.95 monthly for each price because they vary by region. But refers to didn’t mention the fee.
digital converter box (beyond the first couldn’t RCN, on its Web site, quote a “If people were confused about this
two TVs). To that, add $14.30 in “Taxes, true monthly cost by using a zip code? fee, PayPal apologizes,” Nayar says. He
Fees, and Surcharges.” For instance, I bristles at the suggestion that PayPal is
pay $6.50 for a “Federal Subscriber Line Financial Fees profiting from the fee. The service just
Fee”—which doesn’t go to the federal Few fees are more infuriating than wants to make it easier for users to dis-
government. In fact, it’s a charge paid those that leech from our finances via tinguish personal transactions from
to telephone companies to recoup the checking accounts, credit card bills, and business-related ones, Nayar says.
cost of having a phone line connecting services such as PayPal. Wes Novack of
your house to the network. The money Phoenix knows this firsthand. Online Travel Fees
goes to “local telephone companies Novack was happy with the electronic- Business-travel expert Joe Brancatelli
such as Verizon, AT&T, and RCN,” payment service until July, when it began says that airlines, hotels, and car rental
according to RCN’s site. deducting fees from his transactions. agencies have begun breaking out fees
ILLUSTRATION: MARC SIMON

It’s not unreasonable for RCN to pass “I had no idea what was going on until I for what used to be part of doing busi-
its costs of doing business along to me. paid someone $120, and they called up ness, and applying new ones too. And
But hiding such costs under an opaque and complained that $3.78 was re- we aren’t just talking $5 minibar tabs.
label is misleading and makes it difficult moved for no apparent reason,” says Spirit Airlines charges $7 to $20 for
for consumers to compare costs. Novack, a Web server administrator. advance seat assignments. American
RCN spokesperson Lisa Barder says it’s The debits were labeled only as a “fee.” Airlines has a $15 fee for checking
impossible to calculate “fee and sur-
charge” costs to roll into the advertised
Fine Print:
According to Verizon Wireless’s own
estimates, customers who sign up
for the company’s Nationwide Basic
plan—advertised at
$40 per month—
may actually end
up paying as much
as $55 each
month after
‘taxes, surcharges,
and fees.’

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your first bag. If your bag weighs too
much, you might pay another $100.
And major air carriers have added a $10
fee for flying on the busiest days.
Brancatelli says you can thank the
Internet for these fees. Sites like Orbitz
and Travelocity make it easy to find the Reality Check:
cheapest airfare, hotel rate, and car At $69.99, RCN’s offer
rental rate. “Companies know the only for its cable, Internet,
thing people focus on is price,” he says, time in the day to fight every fee.” and phone package sounds
so they keep their base price low while Sneaky-fee expert Sullivan believes great. But once you pay for
piling on charges that don’t show up in that many of the charges buried in bills modem and cable-tuner
your search results. “The price you are wouldn’t pass legal muster. But the rentals, installation, taxes, and
looking at is not the price you pay.” Federal Trade Commission, which has other fees, your bill will be at
the authority to go after companies, is least $91 a month—more if you
Sneaky-Fee Future currently too preoccupied and under- have two HDTVs.
Annoying, hidden charges have become staffed to tackle the problem, he says.
a way of life. “Sneaky fees just exist, and “The FTC requires companies to be spicuous. Without more-stringent over-
we give up,” observes Mike Spinney, clear and conspicuous with their pric- sight from state and federal govern-
senior privacy analyst for the Ponemon ing,” Sullivan says. But current bills, he ments, consumers must watch their own
Institute, adding, “There isn’t enough notes, offer little that is clear or con- bills like a hawk, he concludes.
SICK OF BEING nickel-and- the charges, pack light. You can also shop around—Orbitz offers a
How to dimed? Here’s how to fight
some of the most egregious
handy chart (find.pcworld.com/63900) that breaks down how much
extra you will pay for bags, meals, and snacks with different airlines.
Avoid stealthy charges. For additional
tips on fighting sneaky fees, go 3. Sneaky Fee: Your cable company’s triple-play (TV, Internet, and
Sneaky to find.pcworld.com/63899. phone) package charges you extra for a 20-mbps Internet connec-
tion, but you’re getting only 5 mbps. You also pay extra for premium
Fees 1. Sneaky Fee: Your wireless

carrier charges you for storing
phone features such as call forwarding, but you’ve never used them.
FEE FIX: Run an Internet speed test at a site like Broadband-
contacts remotely or subscrib- Reports.com; if the speed is slower than expected, ask your provid-
ing to ringtones, even though you didn’t request the services. er for a discount. Investigate your service
FEE FIX: Fight the charges with your car- provider’s other packages with fewer
rier. If that doesn’t work, contact the bells and whistles, and request a
Better Business Bureau for help. no-penalty transfer. Threaten to
Look for alternatives, too: take your business elsewhere if
Yahoo Mobile offers a free your provider doesn’t agree.
mobile address book.
4. Sneaky Fee: Wachovia Bank
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN CUNEO (BOTTOM); MARC SIMON (TOP)
2. Sneaky Fee: You have charges $5.95 a month to down-

your ticket, but when you get load data to Microsoft Money,
to the airport, the airline says QuickBooks, or Quicken.
you owe an extra $125 for FEE FIX: A number of banks
transporting your bags. charge similar fees. Ask if you
FEE FIX: Most airlines charge can switch to an account that
$25 for checking a second bag, doesn’t charge to download
and they heap on heftier fees (up data; at Wachovia, the fee is
to $100) for overweight bags. waived if you have a “pre-
American Airlines charges mium” savings account that
$15 for the first bag. To avoid maintains a $5000 balance.

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Here’s How
Protect Your Privacy on Facebook and Twitter
Here’s how to ensure attacks. It’s important to be
social networking aware of the threats and to
security for your use discretion in all of your
identity and personal online interactions.
data on today’s Web.
Take Care Before You
BY TONY BRADLEY Share Online
For starters, even in an open
WEB SURFING IS no longer community of sharing, you
a solo activity. Facebook, should observe common-
Twitter, and other social net- sense boundaries. As Presi-
works have quickly become dent Obama warned students
an integral part of the online in his September address to
culture, and with them schools, “be careful what
comes an array of serious you post on Facebook. THINK BEFORE YOU share: Are you sure you want to mix work and
threats to your privacy. In Whatever you do, it will be politics in your relationship with all of your Facebook friends?
this article, I’ll identify some pulled up again later some-
of the key dangers of social where in your life.” or inflammatory comments Dictionary: Facebook fired.
networking and offer a few The core truth of that online ruins the fun, you’re Even announcing something
easy steps that you can take statement can be applied to playing a dangerous game. as seemingly innocuous as
to stay safe online. any social networking site, Remember who your friends “I’m bored” in a status up-
Social networking is built and possibly to the Internet are, and know that a friend date during work hours can
on the idea of sharing infor- as a whole. As a general rule, of a friend can be an enemy. have dire consequences if
mation openly and fostering refrain from posting things the wrong people see it.
a sense of community. Un- online that you will regret Don’t Lose Sight of With services like Twitter,
fortunately, an online net- later. The odds are good that Who Your Friends Are and with the recent changes
work of individuals who someone, someday, will When you write a Twitter to Facebook that permit any
actively share their experi- stumble across it, and it may tweet or post a Facebook interested party to view and
ences and seek connections come back to haunt you— status update, you have to search your updates, you
with other like-minded peo- especially if you are planning keep your audience in mind. really have no way to hide.
ple can be easy prey for to run for public office. More and more these days,
hackers engaged in social- If you think that abstaining we hear stories about people Recognize the Visibility
engineering and phishing from posting embarrassing who forgot that their boss of Your Posts
was part of their network You’ve thought it through,
and then said things online and you want to shout to
that resulted in their being the world how you feel
reprimanded or even fired. about having to work over-
The adverse consequences time and during a weekend
of posting inappropriate on- that you had earmarked for
line comments have become recreational activities. You
so commonplace—at least have checked and double-
FACEBOOK FIRESTORM: Broadcasting an incendiary message like anecdotally—that they have checked, and you’ve deter-
this one is sure to turn out disastrously for someone—probably you. earned an entry in the Urban mined that your boss is not

in your network, so you stances, you may wonder
let loose on the keyboard (as the ACLU has) why a
and speak your mind. game or quiz application
Unfortunately, you’re would “require” access
not home free (figurative- to your friends’ informa-
ly speaking) just yet. Be- tion in order to work.
ing outside of your net-
work, your boss can’t see Facebook Policy
your post directly, but if Concerns in Canada
a Facebook friend who is Facebook’s privacy poli-
connected with your cies have run afoul of the
boss comments on your FACEBOOK ALLOWS YOU to select a privacy control setting for third-party Canadian government,
status update—even just applications and advertisements, but not for internal Facebook Ads. too. Canada’s Privacy
to say “I sympathize”— Commissioner has deter-
your boss may be able to tisements that incorporate games, you compete against mined that those policies
click on the link through the your friends’ names or pho- your friends; through the and practices violate Canadi-
friend and see your post. tos associated with them. quizzes, you learn more an privacy regulations, and
Go ahead, be social. Share Facebook does provide about them while being has recommended various
your trials and tribulations privacy controls for you to briefly entertained. changes Facebook should
with your growing network customize the types of infor- The ACLU exposed prob- make to comply with them.
of adoring followers. But for mation available to third- lems with how much infor- One of the commissioner’s
your own safety, keep one party applications. If you mation these quizzes and biggest concerns involves
essential rule in mind: Never look at the Facebook Ads games share, however. Typi- the permanence of accounts
post anything online that tab of the privacy controls, cally, when a Facebook user and account data. Facebook
you wouldn’t be comfort- though, you’ll notice that it initiates a game or quiz, a offers users a way to disable
able having everyone you doesn’t give you any way to notice pops up to declare or deactivate an account,
know see—because eventu- opt out of the internal Face- that interacting with the but it doesn’t seem to pro-
ally they probably will see it. book Ads. Instead, it states application requires opening vide a method for complete-
(alarmingly) that “Facebook access to information; the ly deleting an account. Pho-
Define the Parameters strives to create relevant and notice also provides the user tos and status updates might
of Your Privacy interesting advertisements the opportunity to opt out be available long after a user
Marrying privacy and social to you and your friends.” and cancel, or to allow the has shut down a Facebook
networking may seem terri- access to continue. profile. And like the ACLU,
bly unintuitive. How can Approach Tattletale The permission page clear- the Canadian government is
you be social and open, and Quizzes With Caution ly informs the user up front unhappy about the amount
yet protect your privacy? For many users, one of the that allowing “access will let of user information that
Well, just because you are primary attractions of Face- [the application] pull your Facebook shares with third-
choosing to share some book is the virtually endless profile information, photos, party application providers.
information with a select selection of games and quiz- your friends’ info, and other
group of people does not zes. And part of their allure content that it requires to Exercise the Privacy
necessarily mean that you is their social aspect. In the work.” Under the circum- Controls You Have
want to share everything Although the concerns of
with everyone, or that the ACLU and the Cana-
you are indifferent about dian government run a
whether the information little deeper, Facebook
you share is visible to all. does offer privacy con-
Facebook, in particular, trols for restricting or
has drawn unwanted denying access to infor-
attention in connection mation. Since Facebook
with various privacy con- is a social networking site
cerns. If you have used designed for sharing
Facebook for a while, you WHEN YOU TRY to take a quiz, Facebook warns you that continuing will open information, many of the
may have noticed adver- access to information from your profile—as well as to that of your friends. settings are open by

Here’s How
default. It is up to you to such a Facebook message
access the Privacy Set- or e-mail plea, pick up
tings and configure the the phone and call the
options as you see fit. person directly to con-
For each available set- firm its legitimacy.
ting, you can choose to
share information with Don’t Let a Tiny
Everyone, with My Net- URL Fool You
works and Friends, with Another threat that has
Friends of Friends, or emerged recently as a re-
with Only Friends; if you sult of social networking
prefer, you can custom- is the tiny-URL attack.
ize the settings to fine- Some URLs are very long
tune access further. and don’t work well in
e-mail or in blog posts,
Beware of Hijacking creating a need for URL-
and Phishing Scams shortening services. In
By its very nature, social particular, Twitter, with
networking is all about FACEBOOK’S PRIVACY SETTINGS let you designate who can access or view its 140-character limit,
socializing, which means various categories of information and content on your Facebook page. has made the use of URL-
that users are more than shortening services such
usually disposed to let their broke down, and asks you to the hijacked account and as Bit.ly a virtual necessity.
guard down and share infor- wire money to help her get attempt to extort money Unfortunately, attackers
mation. They come to the home? You might be less sus- from those friends through can exploit a shortened URL
network to expand their pro- picious than you should be. social-engineering cons. to lure users into accessing
fessional connections, re- Attackers have figured out How do you resist such malicious Web sites. Since
establish contact with old that family and friends are devious techniques? First the shortened URL consists
friends, and communicate in easy prey for sob stories of you should assume that any of a random collection of
real time with pals and peers. this type. Using other attacks relative or friend who is close characters that are unrelated
And for predatory bad guys, or methods, they gain access enough to you to ask you for to the actual URL, users can-
launching social-engineering to a Facebook account and money in a crisis probably not easily determine wheth-
and phishing attacks in this hijack it. They change the has your phone number, and er it is legitimate or phony.
convivial environment is like password so that the legiti- that a Facebook or e-mail TweetDeck, a very popular
shooting fish in a barrel. mate owner can’t get back message is hardly the most application for sending mes-
Most people know not to in, and then they proceed to logical way to contact you in sages in Twitter, provides a
respond to e-mail requests reach out to the friends of an emergency. If you receive ‘Show preview information
from exiled Nigerian roy- for short URLs’ option,
alty promising millions of which offers some protec-
dollars in return for help tion. The preview window
smuggling the money out supplies details about the
of the country. (Anyone shortened URL, including
who doesn’t know better the actual long URL that
probably shouldn’t be on the link leads to.
the Internet; such people If you aren’t using
are a danger to them- TweetDeck for Twitter,
selves and to others.) or if you need to deal
But what if a good with shortened URLs on
friend from high school other sites and services,
whom you haven’t seen maintain a healthy dose
in 18 years sends you a of skepticism about what
message on Facebook might lie behind the
explaining how her wal- TWEETDECK LETS YOU check a preview pane that provides details about the obfuscated address that
let was stolen and her car original URL behind the shortened URL—including its complete address. a message points to.

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12.5 megabits per second) is dle the bandwidth. For de-
the speed limit—and that’s vices such as your router, a
painfully slow for some tasks. gaming console, or an exter- TO ASCERTAIN THE performance potential of your motherboard’s
The solution? Upgrade to nal storage device, the easi- network connection, first pull up your Network Connections window.
a gigabit network. Switching est way to discover whether
over to gigabit (1000-mbps) they support fast ethernet motherboard, don’t worry. of the listing for your net-
speeds increases potential (10/100 mbps) or gigabit In Windows, click Start and work controller. In the new
throughput tenfold, minimiz- ethernet (10/100/1000 mbps) select Run (for more-modern window that appears, open
ing transfer times and great- is to check the devices’ spec- versions of the OS, move the Advanced tab and scroll
ly enhancing your ability to ifications in their online de- your cursor to the search down until you find a prop-
stream high-bandwidth files scriptions or accompanying box and left-click). Type erty labeled ‘Connection
to connected devices with- manuals. Look for a mention ncpa.cpl and press <Enter>. Type’ or ‘Speed’. Left-click it
out interference. Gigabit of either “gigabit network- The Network Connections and click the Value field to
networking is now a coming” or “1000 Mbps.” window should pop up. the right. Scroll up and
mon feature of networking Your PC’s motherboard is Right-click the network down through this list of
devices and shouldn’t carry a critical component of the connection that’s listed as options, looking for any-
a big cost premium. Most gigabit network. If your sys- your Local Area Connection thing that starts with a value
modern motherboards have tem came to you prebuilt or (LAN), and left-click Proper- of ‘1000’ or anything that
gigabit functionality built in. if you don’t remember rele- ties. Click the big Configure refers to network speeds in
This guide does not apply vant details about your rig’s button located to the right ‘Gbps’. If all you see are
to wireless networks. The ‘100’ values and speeds des-
factors that constrain speeds ignated in ‘Mbps’, your
on wireless networks are en- motherboard’s built-in eth-
tirely unlike those that limit ernet controller tops out at
speeds on wired networks. fast-ethernet speeds. But
Here we’ll look at how to you can still upgrade your
determine whether your PC to gigabit networking by
equipment can handle giga- installing a third-party giga-
bit networking, and (if not) bit ethernet card.
how to build a gigabit net- If all of the devices on your
work from scratch. network do support gigabit
functionality, great! If you
Identify Your Network add a slower, fast-ethernet
Do you already have a giga- device to a gigabit-ready hub,
bit network? The Windows transfer speeds will crawl
desktop doesn’t indicate only when you access that
whether you’ve acquired particular device—a slow
this superspeedy network- device connected to a router
ing feature. And since many won’t poison the rest. Obvi-
factors influence network MOTHERBOARDS LABEL network controller properties unpredictably. ously, if you directly connect
transfer speeds, your gigabit Scroll down the properties list until you find an entry for device speed. a gigabit-ready PC to a

Here’s How
fast-ethernet device such as for your test file (1GB should
a network-attached storage do the trick), and the pro-
(NAS) box, you’ll get only gram will begin to track the
fast-ethernet speeds. read and write speeds of
Also, consider your cables. transfers between your sys-
A typical category 5 (Cat 5) tem and the target device.
cable supports gigabit ether- Of course, you won’t get
net, but it’s worthwhile to the maximum 125-mbps
invest in Cat 5e cables if you connection that a gigabit
are building a gigabit net- network theoretically sup-
work from scratch. Plain old ports. Ultimately, the speed
Cat 5 cabling is now consid- of the storage devices doing
ered obsolete, and Cat 5e the reading or writing—be
cabling meets more-rigorous they magnetic hard drives or
specifications, allowing it to flash-based storage—will
do a better job than Cat 5 limit your network’s perfor-
cabling can of minimizing mance. For a hard drive, rel-
electromagnetic interfer- LAN SPEED TEST is a convenient utility for gauging your network’s evant factors include the
ence. On the other hand, bandwidth, as measured between a PC and a target network device. physical speed of the drive
bumping up your cabling to itself and the location where
a classification higher than est firmware and drivers for the related instructions for the drive writes the data on
Cat 5e may not benefit your your motherboard or the flashing your device. The its physical platters. For a
network speeds; for exam- most recent drivers for your process isn’t difficult (see solid-state drive (SSD), the
ple, Cat 6 cabling doesn’t discrete gigabit network find.pcworld.com/63936). performance you get de-
dramatically improve speed. card, depending on how Fire up your network pends on whether the drive
To see what kind of cable you’ve set up your system. devices and use the helpful uses faster single-level cell
you have, check the cable’s All too often, a device may LAN Speed Test utility (www. flash memory or slower mul-
side: The spec should be not work as intended out of totusoft.com/Products) to gauge tilevel cell flash memory, and
printed somewhere along the box. Head over to the the speeds that your gigabit on whether you’re reading
the length of the cord. manufacturer’s Web site to network is attaining. After or writing to the drive.
grab the latest drivers and launching the tool, click the Unless it uses a RAM drive,
Test Your Network firmware updates; then run Start Test button and browse or an array of hard drives or
If your parts are in order and the accompanying driver to a folder on a connected SSDs, your network won’t
the cables are connected, setup program or follow network device. Enter a size reach the 125-mbps limit for
you’ll want to fire up your gigabit networking. Nev-
gigabit network so that ertheless, you can realis-
you can check its perfor- tically expect to achieve
mance. But first you need speeds of at least 40 to
to confirm that the driv- 50 mbps, which is four
ers and firmware related times as fast as the real-
to your network-oriented world speed of a typical
devices (motherboard, fast-ethernet connection.
router, NAS box, and so Though gigabit network-
on) are up-to-date. ing might not be the Star
Suppose that you are Trek transporter of LAN-
planning to connect your based file transfers, the
PC to a gigabit NAS box performance improve-
via a single router. At this ment that it offers over a
point you need to make typical fast-ethernet con-
sure that you are running nection amply compen-
the latest firmware for sates for the time this
your NAS box and your AS THIS HARD-DRIVE benchmark indicates, the maximum read speed for setup process requires.
router, and either the lat- files drawn off our networked hard drive is 95.8 megabytes per second. —David Murphy

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Here’s How
Host Free Conference

Calls for Your Business
CONFERENCE call service, Planned calls let you input a
like most other forms of few extra controls; for exam-
telecommunications, has be- ple, the organizer can mute
come a commodity. You can the entire group of callers.
save money by using one of Either way, participants
many free options available. enter a (usually) long-distance
Though its name and URL number, supply an access
may sound dubious, Free- code, and join the conversa- FREECONFERENCE.COM’S conference call scheduler includes options
Conference.com delivers on tion. Participants can talk for for recording the conference and for sharing the host’s desktop.
its promise of free basic ser- 4 hours on a scheduled call
vice. Up to 150 people can or 3 hours on an unplanned ing tools. (Getting both costs charges will appear on the
join the call, which is ample phone meeting. The only $18 monthly.) Or you can host’s credit card).
headroom for accommodat- charges involved are the rele- add either service to a single You might consider spring-
ing nearly any situation a vant long-distance fees from call for $6.50 per month each. ing for those extra features
small or medium-size busi- your own phone company. If you want participants to in certain situations. But
ness is likely to encounter. FreeConference.com sells be able to dial in to an 800 depending on your needs,
You schedule the call in upgrades to customers who number, FreeConference.com you may find that you can
advance or set up an access need more features. For $9 can set it up for you, but the get by with the free service
number for an impromptu per month you can get call re- host must pay 10 cents per for most—or all—calls.
meeting whenever needed. cording or PC desktop shar- minute per participant (the —Zack Stern
ANSWER LINE A S K Y O U R Q U E S T I O N AT F O R U M S . P C W O R L D. C O M
Which Windows Update patches

should I download and install?
—Dick McGraw, via e-mail
UPDATES ARE CONFUSING because Microsoft throws a lot of

stuff at you. Some items you need; some you might like; and some
Microsoft wants you to have for its own purposes. The fact that
most of the updates’ names are meaningless certainly doesn’t help.
For any Windows Vista update, double-clicking the update will
summon a pop-up window with a description. In XP, click the +
next to the update name to expand the list and show details.
Vista updates come in three levels:
¨ Important: Most of these updates are essential security fixes. THE IMPORTANCE LEVEL that Microsoft assigns to an update offers a
Unfortunately, Microsoft occasionally throws something into this useful hint as to whether the download is essential or discretionary.
group that it wants you to have for its own benefit—not yours—
such as Windows Genuine Advantage. more secure, but it’s a big change and some people hate it.
¨ Recommended: Nothing horrible will happen if you skip these ¨ Optional: Divided into separate Software and Hardware sub-
items, but you might miss something that will make your PC work levels, this group combines useful but nonvital updates, drivers
better. Read the descriptions and decide for yourself. (though not many), and useless hype. Use your judgment.
¨ Optional: You might occasionally discover a useful driver update Most individual Windows updates—even Important and High Pri-
here, but more likely you’ll find marketing hype. ority ones—aren’t cumulative. If they were, you’d need to update
XP has just two levels: your PC with only the most recent of them. The big service packs,
¨ High Priority: As with Vista’s Important category, most of the however, are always cumulative. In fact, Microsoft just recently
content here is crucial. For example, if you still use Internet Ex- replaced a long list of Vista updates with one: Service Pack 2.
plorer 6, the upgrade to IE 8 is high-priority. IE 8 is significantly —Lincoln Spector

Here’s How
Make Documents and Media Open in the Right App

MY WIFE’S PC came with checkbox for Always use
a trial of Microsoft Office the selected program to open
2007, but I installed IBM this kind of file is checked.
Lotus Symphony on the Click OK and you’re done.
system instead—in part Henceforth, any attempt
because it’s free, and in to open that file type
part because I think it’s (not just that file) will
easier to use. cause Windows to load
But when the missus the selected program.
attempts to open certain If the program doesn’t
file types (such as .docx appear, click Browse to
or .rtf), up pops Office locate its executable on
2007, its trial period hav- your hard drive. That’s
ing long since expired. not the easiest task in the
Why don’t these files world, but you’ll need to
open in Symphony? do it if you want to reas-
For whatever reason, RIGHT-CLICKING ANY incorrectly associated file in Windows enables sociate that file type.
certain file types remain you to choose a new default program for all files of the same type. The most common file-
associated with Office, so association hassle you’re
Windows doesn’t know that Windows. Then click Associ- (such as one of the afore- likely to encounter involves
it’s supposed to direct them ate a file type or protocol with a mentioned .rtf files), mouse media files—MP3s, videos,
to Symphony. Fortunately, program, choose the file type over Open With, and click and the like—that refuse to
the problem is easy to fix. in question, click Change Choose Default Program. open where you want them
In Vista and Windows 7, Program, and go from there. If the program you want to. This solution works with
click Start, type Default, and That’s a lengthy process. I appears under Recommend- those kinds of files as well as
press <Enter> to load the prefer to right-click any file ed Programs (and it should), with document files.
Default Programs menu in that’s incorrectly associated click it, and make sure the —Rick Broida
ANSWER LINE A S K Y O U R Q U E S T I O N AT F O R U M S . P C W O R L D. C O M
How do I transfer my old Outlook

Express inbox to a new PC?
—Petrie, PCWorld.com forums
HOW YOU MOVE your inbox depends on the version of Windows it’s
moving to. I’ll focus on moving from XP to Vista; for details on how
to go from one XP system to another or from XP to Windows 7, see
find.pcworld.com/63937. First, you must copy your old PC messages. AFTER COPYING the entire folder path from the Store Location dialog
In Outlook Express, select ToolsÖptions. Click the Maintenance box, click Cancel to leave the box and again to close Options.
tab, and then the Store Folder button. The resulting Store Location
dialog box has a field containing a folder path (probably starting look Express’) to an external drive, a shared folder, or other media.
with ‘C:\Documents and Settings...’). Select this entire path by click- In Vista, launch Windows Mail, and select FileÏmport¨Messages.
ing inside it, pressing <Home>, and then pressing <Shift>-<End>. Select Microsoft Outlook Express 6 as the program in the resulting
With the entire path highlighted, press <Ctrl>-C to copy it. Click Windows Mail Import wizard. Click the Browse button, find and se-
Cancel twice to leave both dialog boxes. Be sure to close Outlook lect the Outlook Express folder that you copied from your old PC,
Express. Then select Start¨Run, press <Ctrl>-V to paste that path and click Select Folder. Complete the wizard’s remaining steps.
into the Run box, and press <Enter>. To move the contents of your old inbox into your new one, click
A Windows Explorer window will open, showing the contents of the Inbox folder inside the Imported Folder folder, press <Ctrl>-A
your store folder—the one holding your mail. Click the Up Folder to select all the messages, and drag them to the real Inbox folder.
icon to move to that folder. Copy the folder (probably called ‘Out- —Lincoln Spector

Storage Visions 2010
R
ENTERTAINMENT
TM
AN ENTERTAINMENT STORAGE ALLIANCE EVENT
ALLIANCE TM
January 5 & 6, 2010 Riveria Hotel and Conference Center, Las Vegas, NV
The Storage Visions® 2010 Conference Theme:
Bytes into Bucks—

Digital Storage Creates New Wealth!
FIND HOW new information trends and storage technology will drive
storage growth over the next 10 years!
JOIN CEO’s, Industry Leaders, manufacturers and end users at Storage

Visions 2010!
Dr. Tom Coughlin is the
Distinguished Author of the
Seminal Book "Digital Storage
in Consumer Electronics" and
the Founder and Chairman of
Keynote talks from:
the Storage Visions™ Gordon Bell of MyLifeBits and Jim Gemmell
Conferences.
of Microsoft Research, authors of the new
book Total Recall, will explain how the trend
to storing virtually everything in one’s life –
Total Storage –will drive a market for stor-
age like never before.
Dean Klein, Vice President of memory
system development at Micron will give a
keynote talk on The Organics of Solid State
Drives.
Affect of Personal Recording on
Home Storage Demand
Accumulated Personal Digital Content in 2015
Per Top 10% Household with 1 life-log
Email
Photos
2%
SD Home Video
1%
What industry leaders say...
1% HD Home Video
4%
“I was impressed with the technical content and the number of attendees at the Conference”
Life Log — Jon Anderson, Storage Industry Veteran
92%
“This is the 5th year that I attended the Storage Visions Conference. Don’t know what magic
you pull off, but the schedules are smooth, the presentations go smoothly and there is much
Digital Storage in Consumer Electronics 2008
(Coughlin Associates, release January 2008) value add and takeaway for the attendees.” — Krishna Chander, Industry Analyst
Come and Learn about
the Exciting New Trends
and Activities in Home Sign up at www.StorageVisions.com
Storage!

Here’s How
RICK BROIDA’S HASSLE-FREE PC
Three Simple Annoyance Busters for Your Windows PC
THIS MAY COME as a shock to you, but Windows doesn’t always Install updates without rebooting, constrain
behave as it should. Fortunately, I know a few tricks that can reha- Windows Media Center’s drive space to a limit
bilitate your PC. This month, I’ll outline how to avoid automatic you prefer, and force apps to run full-screen.
reboots after Windows Update runs. I’ll also describe how to limit
the amount of disk space Windows Media Center can use. And I’ll 1. Start Windows Media Center.
share a trick for automatically opening apps in full-screen mode. 2. Scroll down to Tasks, and then over to Settings, and click that
option (or press <Enter>).
Stop Reboots After Automatic Updates 3. Choose Recorder, and then Recorder Storage. (These options
You step away from your computer for a little while, and when you will appear only if you have a TV tuner installed and configured.)
come back, your windows and your work are gone. Why? Because 4. Use the minus arrow located next to the redundantly named
Windows downloaded some updates and then took it upon
itself to reboot without asking you for permission to do so.
Gah! This very thing happened to me not long ago, and
I lost some in-progress work as a result. More precisely, I
had instructed the Windows Update pop-up to postpone re-
booting for 4 hours—and I just happened to be away from
the PC when that timer ran out. Unlucky me.
A ridiculously easy fix for this exists, and I’m kicking my-
self for not applying it sooner. If you’ve been plagued by the
same problem, here’s what you need to do:
1. In Vista, click Start, type Windows Update, and click
Enter. In XP, open the Control Panel and select Automatic
Update from the menu of options.
2. In Vista, click the Change Settings option at left. In XP,
you can simply skip to step 3.
3. Change the setting to Download updates but let me
choose whether to install them (in Vista) or Download up-
dates for me, but let me choose when to install them (in XP).
4. Click OK. WINDOWS VISTA LETS you change a setting in your Windows Update controls
That’s it. Windows may still nag you about installing up- so that you can install downloads at your convenience, not Microsoft’s.
dates, but at least it won’t reboot without your permission.
‘Maximum TV limit’ to decrease the storage maximum (in 25GB
Prevent Windows Media Center From Using increments) available for Windows Media Center’s use.
Your Entire Hard Drive 5. Click Save to finish the operation.
I’m a big fan of the Windows Media Center software that comes
baked into most versions of Vista and Windows 7. Specifically, I Force Programs to Run at Full-Screen Size
use it in conjunction with a TV tuner (four of them, in fact) to trans- Reader Bill has a problem with Internet Explorer 8, which he runs
form my PC into a DVR that rivals TiVo, in my humble opinion. in Windows XP: Every time he starts the browser, it opens in a
Just one problem: If you use Windows Media Center to record reduced-size window rather than at full-screen size. Then he has
TV shows, it can consume almost your entire hard drive. to maximize it manually every time. What a hassle!
For example, suppose that you configure it to record 30 Rock, I encountered the same annoyance with Excel 2007. Fortunate-
The Office, Mad Men, or whatever your favorite shows may be. By ly, it’s easy to force any program to run maximized (that is, at full-
default, WMC records an unlimited number of episodes of each TV screen size) when you start it. Here’s how:
series you specify; but if a few weeks go by before you have a 1. Right-click the program’s shortcut, and click Properties.
chance to sit down and watch anything (that’s what a DVR is for, 2. The Properties window will open with the Shortcut tab select-
right?), the accumulating shows may fill your hard drive to the ed. Click the pull-down menu next to Run, and choose Maximized.
brim—leaving you little or no room for anything else. 3. Click OK, and you’re done.
The solution to this problem is to limit the amount of space WMC Henceforth, whenever you start that program using that short-
can claim for TV recording. Here’s how to proceed: cut, it should automatically give you a full-screen window.

PCW Marketplace

#$

%&
%'
"

!"

! "!# $

"!# %!&' ' ( %!&' ( )
122 W W W. P C W O R L D . C O M DECEMBER 2009

PRESIDENT, CE0 Mike Kisseberth
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Caroline Ward ADVERTISER’S INDEX
A DVERTISING SAL ES PRODUC TION
Type find.pcworld.com/ plus the five digit number
VP, SALES DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION
Stacey Levy (415/978-3255) Nancy Jonathans below, to go directly to any advertiser in this list.
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/PRINT AND ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER
MIDWEST ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Eliza Wee Advertiser | Page Find-It # Advertiser | Page Find-It #
Kathy McKay (847/251-9274) PREPRESS MANAGER
EAST Tamara Gargus
EASTERN ACCOUNT DIRECTOR ON L INE M A NAGE M E NT 1&1 Internet Inc. | C2-1 63147 iBuyPower.com | 8-9 63177
Amy Singer (201/634-2317)
EXECUTIVE VP/GENERAL MANAGER, 1&1 Internet Inc. | 41 63146 iProlog Inc. | 68 63156
ACCOUNT MANAGER, BUSINESS ONLINE Stephan Scherzer
DEVELOPMENT
Kathy Rebello (508/820-0440) VP, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Acer America Corp. | 49-56 63168 IRIS Inc. | 69 63157
Ulla McGee
SALES ASSOCIATE American Express | 33 63178 KVC Hosting | 12 63179
DIRECTOR, BUSINESS AND PRODUCT
Shari Redan (207/899-2099)
DEVELOPMENT Brian Buizer
WEST
SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER
Ascentive, LLC | 103 63184 Microsoft Office | 17 63140
SOUTHWEST ACCOUNT DIRECTOR David Lake
Cindy Hamilton (949/442-4005) AT&T | 23 63148 Mitchell Waite Group | 98 63175
DIRECTOR, ONLINE MARKETING
NORTHWEST ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Alexa Wriggins Bluebeam Revolution | 62 63185 Moneual Lab | 95 63142
Alicia Langer (415/267-4578) NEWSLETTER SERVICES MANAGER
SALES ASSOCIATE Michael E. England Bose | 65 63149 pcAmerica | 115 63159
Chrissy Schneider (415/978-3269) EMAIL MARKETING MANAGER
NORTHWEST ACCOUNT DIRECTOR DW Malouf Citrix Systems | 24 63099 PopCap | 71 63176
Melissa Gruber (415/974-7373) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
SALES MANAGER, BUSINESS COORDINATOR Alisha Billingsley CyberPower Inc. | 97 63183 Qwest | 30 63161
DEVELOPMENT
Duane Hampson (415/978-3133) WEB DES IGN DSolution | 27 63182 Rosetta Stone | 59 63163
SALES ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, WEB DESIGN
Meggen Thorp (415/978-3266) Jason Brightman eBay | 83 63101 Shure | 21 63186
PHONE:
SALES MANAGER, BUSINESS USER INTERFACE DESIGNER eBay | 85 63103 Siber System, Inc. | 73 63165
415/243-0500
DEVELOPMENT Sky Collins
FAX: Niki Stranz (415/243-3664) SENIOR VIDEO PRODUCER Energizer Power Packs | 117 63188 Siber System, Inc. | 88 63164
415/442-1891 ACCOUNT MANAGER Chris Manners
E-MAIL: Carol Johnstone (415/978-3390) Eset (NOD32) | 36 63138 SonicWALL | C3 63180
letters@pcworld.com TECH N OLOGY
ACCOUNT COORDINATOR
WEB: Paul Moretti (415/243-3575) CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER Foxit Software | 29 63172 SpectorSoft Corp | 67 63166
www.pcworld.com Aaron Jones
PC WORL D REPRIN TS DIRECTOR, IT & WEB OPERATIONS Fujitsu America | 19 63150 Sprint | C4 63187
MAIL:
Jennifer Bentzel (800/501-9571 x105) Sean Greathouse
PC World Editorial G7 Productivity Sys. | 58 63151 Storage Visions 2010 | 119 63143
501 Second St. #600 IT MANAGER Walter Clegg
C USTOM PU BL ISH IN G
San Francisco, CA SYSTEMS ANALYST Eileen Quan
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/PRINT AND GEICO | 87 63152 Synology | 121 63189
94107 IT SPECIALIST Scott Reyna
MIDWEST ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
Kathy McKay (847/251-9274) SENIOR SYSTEM/NETWORKS Good Technology | 43 63174 TP-LINK Corporation | 6 63170
ADMINISTRATOR Wil Schultz
PCWORL D.COM AD
SENIOR WEB OPERATIONS
HP | 2 63139 TRENDnet | 47 63145
O PERATION S
ADMINISTRATOR Andrew Trice
DIRECTOR, AD OPERATIONS HP | 10 63169 USB Implementers Forum | 39 63171
DIRECTOR, APPLICATIONS
Kevin Barden DEVELOPMENT Jim Hutson
AD OPS TRAFFIC MANAGER
IBM | 35 63153 Verizon Wireless | 4, 5 63167
SENIOR APPLICATIONS DEVELOPERS
Nick Stanley Wei Ming Xu, Bill Cappel, Alexis Barrera, IBM | 61 63155 Webroot Software | 13 63181
AD PROJECT MANAGER Justin Counts, Kieran Fitzpatrick
Leilani Lopez IBM | 63 63154
QA & RELEASE ENGINEER
AD OPERATIONS COORDINATORS Ryan Eilders
Keri Campbell, Andrew Galluccio
H UM AN R ES OU R C ES
RESEARCH AN D M ARKETIN G STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION 1. PC World 2. Publication No: 0737-8939 3. Date of
VP, HUMAN RESOURCES filing: September 29, 2009 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly 5. Number of issues published annually: 12 6. Annual
VP, STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE Kate Coldwell subscription price: $24.95 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: PC World Communications,
Jessica Lilie Inc., 501 Second Street #600, San Francisco, CA 94107 8. Complete mailing address of the headquarters or the
HUMAN RESOURCES REPRESENTATIVE
RESEARCH ANALYST Ellen Cobb general business office of the publisher: PC World Communications., Inc., 501 Second Street #600, San Francisco,
Kyle Flick CA 94107 Contact Person: Shawne Pecar Telephone: 305-441-7155 ext 244 9. The names and addresses of the
F IN ANC E president and CEO, editor, and managing editor are: President and CEO: Mike Kisseberth, 501 Second Street #600,
C ONSUM ER M ARKETIN G San Francisco, CA 94107; Editor: Steve Fox, 501 Second Street #600, San Francisco, CA 94107; Managing Editor:
SENIOR VP, COO/CFO Vicki Peilen Kimberly Brinson, 501 Second Street #600, San Francisco, CA 94107 10. The Owners: IDG, Patrick McGovern, 5 Speen
PROCIRC, SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT
DIRECTOR, FINANCE Diane Ryczek St., Framingham, MA 01701. 11. There are no known bondholders, mortgagees, or other security holders holding 1
Shawne Burke Pecar percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities. 12. Tax Status: Has not changed during
DIRECTOR, ACCOUNTING preceding 12 months 13. Publication Title: PC World 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: October 2009 15.
PROCIRC, SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT
Michelle Reyes
Megan Guard, Susi Chapman Extent and nature of circulation: Average No. Copies Each Issue during Preceding 12 Months 11/08–10/09: A. Total
DIRECTOR, FINANCIAL AD Number of Copies (Net Press Run): 693,661 ; B. Paid Circulation (By Mail and Outside Mail): 1. Mailed Outside-County
PROCIRC, RETAIL SOLUTIONS
OPERATIONS Diane Hacker Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541: 429,506 ; 2. Mailed In-County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions Stated
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DIRECTOR, ADVERTISING ACCOUNT Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS: 68,447 ; 4. Paid Distribution by Other Classes of
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STAFF ACCOUNTANT Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail): 1. Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies included on PS Form
Scott Lum-Duenas 3541: 44,860 ; 2. Free or Nominal Rate In-County Non-Requested Copies Stated on PS Form 3541: 0 ; 3. Free or
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Distribution Outside the Mail: 891 ; E: Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution: 45,750 ; F. Total Distribution: 543,703 ;
G. Copies Not Distributed: 149,958 ; H. Total: 693,661 ; I. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 91.59%. 15.
Volume 27, number 12. PC World™ (ISSN 0737-8939) is published monthly at $24.95 Extent and nature of circulation: No. Copies of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date October 2009: A.
Total Number of Copies (Net Press Run): 638,926 ; B. Paid Circulation (By Mail and Outside Mail): 1. Mailed Outside-
for one year (12 issues), $49.90 for two years (24 issues), $74.85 for three years (36
County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541: 387,602 ; 2. Mailed In-County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions
issues) by PC World Communications, Inc., 501 Second Street #600, San Francisco,
Stated on PS Form 3541: 0 ; 3. Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers,
CA 94107. Foreign orders must be prepaid in U.S. funds with additional postage. Add $12 per year for Canada; Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS: 67,825 ; 4. Paid Distribution by Other
add $30 per year for airmail for all other countries. Canadian GST Registration #R124669680. Periodicals Post- Classes of Mail Through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail): 0 ; C. Total Paid Distribution: 455,427 ; D. Free of Nominal
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Data Group and used under license by PC World Communications, Inc. Technology Advice You Can Trust™, PC of Ownership will be printed in the December 2009 issue of this publication. 17. I certify that the statements made
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Data Group, Inc., and used under license by PC World Communications, Inc. Printed in the United States.
D EC E M B E R 2 0 0 9 W W W. P C W O R L D . C O M 123

The Back Page
Stretch Your Tech Dollar Plugged In
Been looking for a Bluetooth headset? Con- Mac Attack Apple
sider instead the humble rubber band, a acknowledged a Snow
hands-free add-on that works with any cell Leopard bug that, in
phone and maybe even your landline phone. “extremely rare cases,” eats users’
Don’t get stuck paying $80 for a fancy- personal data after an upgrade from
schmancy Bluetooth device. This incredible Leopard. Our advice to Apple: Ditch
accessory can be yours for only $3.49 per the pussycats and name the next
pack of 24! Even better, nobody will ever Mac OS “Hungry Hungry Hippos.”
think you’re talking to yourself on the street.
Cheap, Waterproof, For more ridiculous hacks, point your Microsoft Plays ‘Me
All-Phone-Compatible, browser to find.pcworld.com/63909. Too’ Sidekick users lost
Hands-Free Solution —Sarah Jacobsson personal data as well,
after a service snafu at Microsoft
subsidiary Danger, which makes the
handheld device (see page 28).
Maybe the critics are right: Microsoft
THE NAME GAME: really does steal ideas from Apple.
Match the Amiga 500 Segway

I M Your Leader Pres-
ident Obama’s new policy
bans federal employees
Code Name from texting while behind the wheel.
The official announcement, sent
to the Final from his BlackBerry, actually reads:

“Feds, no txt yl drvng —POTUS”
IMAGES: (TOP) COURTESY OF XOLILE MYOYO; AMIGA 500 SYSTEM © BILL BERTRAM; MACINTOSH PLUS © RAMA.
Bing Firefox 3.0
Product Nokia Builds a Net-

book The sleek metallic
Booklet—with a claimed
Code Names:
12-hour battery life, 3G, GPS, Blue-
1. Revolution tooth, even an accelerometer—is a
UMPC Wii
2. Whistler smartphone passing as a netbook.
3. Gran Paradiso Fine, as long as I don’t have to hold
it up to my ear to talk.
4. B52 Rock Lobster
—Steve Fox
5. Copland
6. Dollhouse Simulator The Sims Macintosh Plus
7. Ginger Have a great idea for a Back
Page item, from crazy hacks
8. Mr. T
to twisted tech billboards?
9. Origami Send your suggestion to
10. Kumo Windows XP Mac OS 8 TheBackPage@pcworld.com.
You’ll earn a small slice of
fame, our undying gratitude,
8. Mr. T = Apple Macintosh Plus; 9. Origami = UMPC; 10. Kumo = Bing.
Commodore Amiga 500; 5. Copland = Mac OS 8; 6. Dollhouse Simulator = The Sims; 7. Ginger = Segway Human Transporter; and a nifty PC World mug.
Answers: 1. Revolution = Nintendo Wii. 2. Whistler = Windows XP; 3. Gran Paradiso = Firefox 3.0; 4. B52 Rock Lobster =

SONICWALL
VS SPIRALING TCO
NO CONTEST
Tired of wasting IT budget deploying
and managing so called best-of-
breed network security and data
protection solutions? If three-fourths
of your budget is going toward the
maintenance of these solutions, then
your total cost of ownership (TCO) is
spiraling out of control. But there’s
a smarter alternative–SonicWALL’s
network security, email security, and
data protection solutions. SonicWALL
solutions are built from the ground
up to deliver higher performance
protection while simultaneously
reducing management complexity and
the cost of acquisition, deployment,
and management.
See how at
www.sonicwall.com/lowtco
NETWORK SECURE WEB AND E-MAIL BACKUP AND POLICY AND

SECURITY REMOTE ACCESS SECURITY RECOVERY MANAGEMENT
© 2009 SonicWALL, Inc. SonicWALL and the SonicWALL logo are registered trademarks of SonicWALL, Inc.

PC World December 2009 US

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