Publication History For : Paul Smart

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hp officejet 4315 multi function printe

HP Officejet 4315

Published in Printers/Scanners on 15 Aug 2006
In shape rather like the 4355 (published 21/7/06) however it does not have the phone handset. In fact several things are a poor comparison.
When closed the is 40x19x15cm. Add paper and open the various shelves to allow copying and the figures are vastly different at 40x34x37cm. I found it weighed around 3.8kilos. Paper is stored flat in the base and once printed it is delivered face up on top of this. HP Officejet 4315 Like the this is a page feed scanner and while this works well it does mean that anything in a book or magazine cannot be copied.
lg 15LW1R wireless T

LG Wireless TV 15LW1R

Published in Entertainment on 13 Aug 2006
Yes I do mean wireless, not just no aerial lead, no mains lead either and it will work at any angle you require, so you can even have it sitting on the bed beside you if you so wish.
This is a 15inch TV that supports any channels that your main TV can support and that can include the DVD player and VCR if you wish. I have used this wireless offering around 16 paces (and four concrete walls) away from the main set. It is stated to work up to 35metres away, but my property is not big enough to test it at that distance.

Turbo Backup

Published in Software on 10 Aug 2006
This is under the banner of Ability software, a company that has been around for almost as long as the PC. We all know how vital Backups are, is this easy enough for people to do them?
comes on a CD in a DVD case, I installed it in three minutes and it used only a few megabytes of hard disc. I tend to Backup to an external USB drive and on the test machine that gets the drive letter of 'E'. When I first looked the choices were to the 'C' drive or to the 'D' drive and that is my DVD drive.
canon isus 800 IS camer

Canon Ixus 800IS

Published in Cameras on 8 Aug 2006
A popular saying is that great things come in small packages, this certainly seems to be true in the case of this digital camera.
The is 8.5x5.5x2cm and weights only around 200grams. Certainly the images taken with this camera look excellent. It is a 6mega pixel offering and has 4x optical zoom. Canon Ixus 800IS I have only very minor gripes to make about this unit so lets get them out of the way first. Images are stored on an SD card but only a 16MB card is supplied.

Dell Inspiron 640m

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple on 6 Aug 2006
This is a very powerful notebook with a reasonable sized screen, put the two together and the weight is not gigantic. Add the ability to work in Media Centre mode and it should suit most.
The biggest task with machines is to match the sent configuration with what is available on their site. I was sent a Intel 2GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and Windows Media Centre Edition of the laptop. The hard disc was shown as 93GB and I assume that was the 100GB option. Dell 640m Sorry to be so vague but I all I get sent is a total insurance value, it would be so nice to have a sheet detailing the parts that make the whole. This is a 14.
archos av700 media playe

Archos AV 700 Mobile DVR

Published in Entertainment on 3 Aug 2006
If you make long train/tube/bus journeys then this could be for you. You could watch last nights TV on your way to work, not on some tiny screen but this 7inch offering.
Archos do two models of the the one I saw with a 40GB hard drive and a larger one. Some time ago I saw a predecessor of this nice idea but the screen was not big enough for any serious watching and that was back in the time of everything USB 1.1 so transfer was not that fast. AV 700 This unit can record directly from TV, DVD, VCR as well as cable and satellite boxes and it does not mind if the signal is PAL or NTSC.

Goodmans 37inch LCD TV

Published in Entertainment on 2 Aug 2006
Yes I ended up looking at this during the World Cup, Wimbledon and the Open Golf but I actually requested it a couple of months before. First surprise it weights a lot less than my conventional 28inch.

US Robotics Max g 9108

Published in Wireless on 30 Jul 2006
With the home rapidly having more and more PC's then having wireless connectivity makes sense if only to avoid the hazards of trailing wires that are lethal to all ages.

Canon Pixma MP800R

Published in Printers/Scanners on 27 Jul 2006
This is an All In One that has a massive TFT display so for those not using a PC they can still copy and print without having to compromise.
This unit is not that small, it is also a five ink offering, that's, cyan, magenta, yellow and black plus another high capacity black cartridge. It is 46x49x21cm without paper inserted in the rear near vertical position, this adds another 17cm to the 21cm height. All the user controls are on an overhang at the front of the unit 15 buttons and a five position rocker, these surround the massive 7.5x5.5cm TFT display.
kodak v610 1 camer

Kodak V610

Published in Cameras on 25 Jul 2006
This looks a very interesting camera with 10x optical zoom, so that it is not hugely unbalanced it has two separate lenses, potentially a unique offering.
It is very slim and would easily fit in a pocket, the twin lenses are covered but the large TFT is not, so there is a possibility of damage, if the flimsy draw string bag I was sent is the only protection for the unit I see the opportunity for screen damage. It is 11x5.5x2.5cm, the TFT screen is 6x4cm and is described as 2.8inches.

Driving Test Practical

Published in Software on 23 Jul 2006
No one - as far as I know - is daft enough to suggest you can learn to drive from a DVD, however having had modules that do require screen use forced upon us why not use their assistance to complete preparation for the practical test.
hp officejet 4355 multifunction printe

HP Officejet 4355

Published in Printers/Scanners on 20 Jul 2006
Certainly a multi function unit, in fact I would say this was a fax that can scan, copy and print. It looks like a fax and even has a phone handset attached.
So while HP still seem to call it an All In One I would say it is a fax that can copy and as a bonus scan and print. Paper in the is stored in the base the documentations 'up to 100 sheets' but as printed output is delivered on top of the waiting stack with no divider I think this is optimistic. A fold out wing catches pages that are scanned or copied and the front opens backwards to provide a shoot to input pages to scan.

Verbatim Travel Pack

Published in Misc on 19 Jul 2006
If you travel with your Laptop or Notebook then you probably have a hotch potch of items you take with you to enable connectivity on your travels.
Here in one neat zip up case measuring 20x10x4cm Verbatim include most of the things you may need for a trip in the UK. If you travel abroad then things like plug and phone adaptors will be required and of course the ability to connect to an ISP. Unzip the case and you will find two levels of storage, on the top level is a retractable USB extension lead this extends to 80cm and a simple spring action retracts it into it's holder.

Zone Alarm Pro

Published in Software on 17 Jul 2006
I have long used Zone Alarm (basic free version) and just over a year ago I looked at the Pro version marketed by Guildsoft (3/6/05) that was version 5.1, here I am trying version 6.5
canon mv930 camcorde

Canon MV960 Camcorder

Published in Cameras on 13 Jul 2006
I tend to see far more Digital Cameras than Camcorders however with more and more functions being available on either then maybe one is the solution for the other.
This Canon camcorder weights around 400grams and is 11x4.5x9cm when closed. The screen when open adds another 7.5cm to the 4.5cm width. The screen is itself is 6x3.5cm with four push buttons and a five position wheel below the TFT display that controls all the display movements. The rear has the battery and the viewfinder, I found the latter a little small but it did have an adjustment underneath to allow focusing to your eye.
hp officejet 6310 multifunction printe

HP Officejet 6310

Published in Printers/Scanners on 11 Jul 2006
This is a multi function unit, meaning it has a scanner, it can copy, it can print and it can also send and receive faxes. An all in one cannot technically send/receive faxes.
The is not the smallest unit at 44x37x20cm but as the paper waiting to be printed lays flat within the base of the unit these are maximum figures. Not that it is likely to move around that much but it weights a little under 8kilos.

CoolFan from Port Designs

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple on 10 Jul 2006
Notebooks often tend to overheat and when they are used on the lap that heat can go to places best not mentioned before the watershed.

Cube World from Radica

Published in Entertainment on 7 Jul 2006
This is a toy I saw at the start of the year at the Toy Show, in it’s simplest form they are a set of two cubes with LCD screens, place them together and they interact, even leaving their own cube to visit one another.

US Robotics USB Internet Phone

Published in Phones on 4 Jul 2006
If you use Skype or some other VOIP communication then you have probably tried a microphone/speakers setup and other combinations however only a phone gives that real phone experience.
I can only talk about the experience from a Skype users point of view as I do not use any of the other VOIP products but reading the instructions I am lead to believe it will be much the same. This solution needs either a Windows 2000 or Windows XP system. If you already have Skype installed just plug the phone into a USB port - either USB 1.1 or USB 2 - and after a few seconds it will probably say installed but you need a reboot.
hp photosmart 8050 printe

HP Photosmart 8050

Published in Printers/Scanners on 2 Jul 2006
This is a printer that can be four or six inks. When the black is not in use it fits in it’s own little space inside the unit ready to be quickly swapped with the photo cartridge. However this unit is far more than a standard photo printer.
The printer is not that small at 47x31x16cm with paper stored in the base. If you extend the paper catching tray this adds another 12cm to the 31cm depth. HP PhotoSmart 8050 I found that the software install took around 320MB of hard disc space considerably less than the 600MB mentioned but I probably have some remnants from a previous HP installation. The rear has two inputs for the power and USB leads.

G-Flash Metal

Published in Entertainment on 29 June 2006
I assume that the Metal part relates to the tin box it comes in but it could be the case of the unit, this is a MP3/WMA player that has a rather good voice recorder with it.

Family Tree Legends

Published in Software on 28 June 2006
Fancy tracing long lost relatives for less than a tenner? Family Tree Legends from Focus can set you up and you get a FREE 30 day subscription to thegenealogist.co.uk

Belkin USB Anywhere

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple on 25 June 2006
On the face of it a device that most of us could have made use of at sometime or other, however is it all that it seems to be?
My first use of it was using the mains adapter, a small test of 10 files a total of 8MB this took just on a minute transferring from a USB hub with a Smart Media card in it and the destination a USB pen/stick drive. Of course if you have not got a PC nearby then you may not have mains power either. The unit is 8x5.5x1.3cm and weights far less than 50grams even with the optional 3x 'AAA' batteries inserted.

A Lunchtime Chat

Published in Misc on 23 June 2006
On this occasion nothing directly to do with online chat but some observations from a meeting with one of the top people from Sophos, an Anti Virus company big in the corporate environment.

USB Battery Charger

Published in Misc on 20 June 2006
I am sure most of us have at least one set of rechargeable batteries, I know I have several sets of ‘AA’ and ‘AAA’ however the charger always seems to hide.
canon A530 camer

Canon PowerShot A530

Published in Cameras on 18 June 2006
This is a 5mega pixel offering with 4x optical zoom. It comes in a small two tone grey/silver housing in fact it will easily fit in a pocket or purse.
Canon A530 It is 9x6x4cm maximum and weights less than 200grams with the two 'AA' inserted. I was rather surprised to find what looks to be a quality offering with standard 'AA' batteries. While on disappointments the 16MB MMC card is there as well, I thought that for Canon at least 32MB would now be the entry point.
308298 dell inspiron 640

Dell Inspiron 6400

Published in Laptops/PCs/Apple on 15 June 2006
If the idea of a desktop replacement machine that truly has five hours of battery life watching DVD’s interests you then this could well be for you. Yes 3 DVD’s in a row.
While watching three DVD's in a row may not be what everyone wants - or needs - running a DVD tends to put a fair amount of stress on a laptop battery and often it's a struggle to get one DVD watched but I managed to watch three on this laptop one Sunday afternoon, I had only intended two as that would surely drain the battery but it still had 38% left after the second and while it was down to single digits by the time the third was finished it did it and the total ru

WordPerfect Office X3 Home Edition

Published in Software on 13 June 2006
Far cheaper than the full product but with most of the functionality and it even has extras – aimed at the Home user - that the main product does not have.
The two main components are WordPerfect and Quattro that's two thirds of WordPerfect Office X3. However far from that being that you also get a range of other items some full packages and some limited time offerings. These two items are the full products as found in the main package WordPerfect Office X3 the only main missing component is Word Perfect Presentations.
hp photosmart 2725 multi function printe

HP Photosmart 2575

Published in Printers/Scanners on 11 June 2006
This is quite a stylish looking All In One device not at all boxy and best of all it has good connectivity for those who like to work away from a PC
The is 44x28x17cm and is light enough at 5.5Kg to move around if required. HP PhotoSmart 2575 The front of the unit slopes inwards at the base is the paper store (100 sheets?) and paper is stored flat face down. The printed sheets are delivered face up just above this. To the left of this are four card slots for SD/MMC, Compact Flash/Micro Drive, Memory Stick and XD there is also a standard USB connector for Pict Bridge or Flash/Stick drives.

Wireless & Talk

Published in Wireless on 9 June 2006
Wanadoo my ISP introduced this service about a year ago, I have recently managed to try it.