cover_Dec.

ai 11/25/2005 9:33:43 PM

HDR: Gaming’s future Firefox vs Opera

at the heart of technology www.chip-india.com

December 2005 Volume 3 Issue 1 Rs 150

CM

MY

CY

CMY

Spanning every hardware category

tested, we bring you the industry’s
finest tech gear 36

FEATURE
Dual GPU graphics
50 Processors in test 85
From laptops to desktops, they go through the wringer
The first dual-processor
86 graphics card tested
WORKSHOP
The Internet Mafia 110
Feel threatened on the Internet? Save yourself now!
Large-screen movies
Set up a projector and
138 redefine home cinema
Making of Hanuman 124
A peek into the Indian animation industry
Also available in Bangladesh
Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, U A E Handheld, meet mobile: PalmOne Treo 650
LG.indd 1 11/25/2005 9:20:02 PM

Companies are
beginning to realize
that it isn’t geeks who
buy their products, it’s
their cousins, uncles,
aunts and parents
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
EDITORIAL 7
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
T
wo years down, 24 issues under the belt. So much has changed since our first
cover story on the affordable PC. Technology trends have waxed and waned,
people have come and gone, but there’s one thing that has proved to be the
lifeblood of our magazine. Passion.
Talking about passion, it’s the driving force of innovation. And innovation is one
thing that’s been in abundant supply during this year. From radically new designs in
processor fabrication to brighter and cheaper TFT monitors to ridiculously affordable
PCs, we’re seeing large strides on the technology landscape. After speaking with
several companies and culling the views of our team, I’ve identified some of the
leading trends this year:
Simplicity: Take any new gadget—the catchword now is simplicity. We’re not
just talking about ease of use, but about the very technologies and features that
go into these products. With the mind-numbing success of the iPod, it appears
that manufacturers everywhere are taking a page out of Apple’s books and are
re-thinking how they fabricate their products. From the ultra-easy user interface of
today’s cell phones to the one-click usage mantra followed by everything from Wi-Fi
gear to backup devices, companies are beginning to realize that it isn’t geeks who
buy their products—it’s their cousins, uncles, aunts and parents.
Mobile computing: Today, every cellular provider from Tata Indicom to Reliance
to Hutch have Internet access capabilities on their networks. This year also saw the
advent of EDGE and enhanced CDMA 1xRTT services that promise faster connection
speeds. Be it checking your email, checking movie timings or starting MMS scandals,
end users are finding newer ways to use communication technology.
VoIP: This year saw many telephony subscribers kissing their STD and ISD phone
calls goodbye. Once the mainstay of corporate networks, voice over IP services have
reached people’s homes and have brought them that much closer with cheap phone
calls through their Internet connection. And now that TRAI has officially legalized Net
telephony, finding a calling card from your local ISP is a snap. These announcements
aren’t without their loopholes though—with restrictions like download caps and a
sub-global standard of 256 Kbps broadband speed, we have a long way to go.
The digital home: The home PC is no longer about mailing and web surfing.
Consumers are now more discerning in their choice of computers as they discover
newer applications around it. Home theater, gaming and shared Internet access
are few of the areas where people expect their PC to deliver. This has reflected
in manufacturers integrating everything from multi-channel audio, native DVD
decoding, reasonably capable integrated graphics and even hardware firewalls into
their hardware. Increasingly, the desktop PC is becoming the hub of your digital life.
These are indeed exciting times. And as we bring another year to a close, we’ve
created an anniversary package that we’re certain you’ll like. So go ahead, dig in.
Have a super Christmas and until next year, cheers!
| Marco Angelo D’Souza
marco.dsouza@chip-india.com
Contents
DECEMBER 2005
32 India Calling
NEWSWIRE
22 Coming of Age
Hardeep Singh Gill and his dynamic
team at Pumpkin Studios shares the
making of his recent music video for
children, done in 3D Max
32 India Calling
With the bandwidth problem ironed
out, VoIP should rule the voice
market in a big way
COVER STORY
36 Best Products of the Year
A roundup of the year’s best
products tested at the Test Center
HARDWARE
64 Top Gear
An excellent mix of products
again—from the slick iPod MP3
player with video to many others
85 AMD vs Intel: 50 CPUs Tested
A gruelling test of the processors by
the reigning rivals in the industry.
Know which suits you best
94 The Memory Effect
Here we dissect memory jargon
that gets simply baffling as newer
technologies spring
96 Dual Duel
Pairing of two GPU cards will help to
notch graphics capabilities to a new
level and enhance performance
100 It’s all getting Real!
More on the kind of technologies
that make games tick
APPLICATIONS
104 Software Center
We vouch for graphics applications
this time. Check out lots more...
110 The Internet Mafia
Defend yourself from the evil powers
of the world beyond what you see,
they are lurking to seize confidential
information and finally control you!
116 OpenOffice.org 2: More
Features, Still Free
Presenting the spanking new Open
Office version, with more features
36
130 Home BREW
85 AMD vs Intel:
50 CPUs Tested
122 Battle of the Underdogs
New contenders to IE—Firefox and
Mozilla are vying for your attention!
124 Toon Tails
The making of the movie Hanuman
128 BeATS All
Clarinox Technologies, in
association with TCS, has revealed a
revolutionary new audio tour, with
Bluetooth, known as BeATS
130 Home BREW
Applications like 3D games,
wallpapers, etc are being developed
by Indians, thanks to the BREW
platform
HANDS ON
138 The Big Picture!
Find out how adding a projector
simply changes the way you view
popular movies at home
141 Time to build your PC
We tell you how to flesh out your PC
from the ground-up level
144 Getting the most out
of your iPod
Tips and little known tricks that
teach you to get the utmost out of
your wonder gadget—the iPod
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 128 BeATS All

116 OpenOffice.org:
More features, still free
94 The Memory Effect

148 Backing up Data 166 Age of Empires 3 | Products Tested

Discover how you can make your With an amazing range of stunning Hardware ...64
mobile the one-stop-shop for all your visual effects and cutting edge Apple iPod
data storage needs graphics, find out whether it was ATI X1800 XT
worth the wait for the latest in the palmOne Treo 650
series of the Age of Empires
UNWIND Asus S5200A
Kores KP-19
158 What’s in a Genre? 168 FIFA Manager 2006 ASRock K8NF4G-SATA2
Know more about the different kinds Be the one to call the shots as you
of game genres play manager and lead the club of Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
your dreams to final glory MSI RX1300TD Pro
160 F.E.A.R. LaCie Silverscreen 80 GB
An eagerly awaited shooter game, 170 Online Malls Samsung SGH-D600
the hype created by F.E.A.R. was so Get a lowdown on the best shopping Canon Pixma iP4200
ethereal that we couldn’t wait to malls in the country, on the Net of Gigabyte W431 UD
share the experience with you course
Samsung YH-J70
Asus PM17-TU
162 Dungeon Siege 2 172 The Cool Dudes are here!
As addictive as its prequel, Dungeon Find out more about your favorite in Gainward Ultra 1960 XP
Siege 2 demonstrates a promising the world of games iRiver N10
gaming experience SnaZio Net DVD Cinema HD
Sony MRW620
164 Quake 4 Xerox DocuMate 510
A mind-blowing FPS experience for MSI Mega Player 515 Lite
all you gaming freaks out there!

Regulars
Town Square 16
Letters 18
Technology Landscape 84
Dr. CHIP 134
Tips and Tricks 150
pamOne Treo
Game Reviews 160
(Smart phone) …67
104 Last Word 184

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

Disk Contents
DECEMBER 2005 | VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 1

Mobile Phone Linux TwistedBrush

Xingtone Ringtone Maker amaroK Player
Multimedia
Developer Red Hot JetAudio Basic 6.2.4
C++ Server Pages CADopia v6 Standard QuickTime 7
VLC Media Player
Must Haves Utilities
Adobe Reader 7.0.5 EasyOffice Trial Internet
CutePDF Writer NetSetMan iMesh 6.0
Photo2DVD Studio Opera 8.5
iPod Tools Security Toolkit

Game Demos
Need For Speed: Game Addons
Most Wanted TheSims 2 Nightlife Patch
Battlefield 2 1.02 Patch
Game Trailers Mods- Half-Life 2
Prince Of Persia 3 Deathmatch- Instagib Source

Movie Trailers
Blood Rayne
The Chronicles of Narnia

$)*1$%

$)*1%7%
Game Demos: Game Trailers: Movie Trailers:
X-Men Legends II: Rise Need for Speed Wolf Creek
of the Apocalypse, Most Wanted First Descent
Dungeon Siege 2 , Exclusive, ATI Demo
Fahrenheit, Starship Toy Shop Exclusive
Troopers, King Kong,
Cold War, FIFA Game Addons:
Manager 2006 Fear Fansite Kit
 Quick Quote
Like its name,
IC CHIP is about
computing
intelligently. It
explains technology
in a simple,
executable manner
Rohit Verma
Marketing Manager, AMD
www.chip-india.com
DECEMBER 2005 | VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 1
GENERAL MANAGER - PUBLISHING Chennai
Krishna Tewari O K Gurumurthy
Phone: (044) 28295050-54 Fax: (044) 28295060
EDITOR gurumurthy@infomediaindia.com
Marco Angelo D’Souza
Hyderabad
ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR
Carol D’Costa
Vasudevan Iyer
Phone: (040)55622211 Fax: (040) 23393488
SENIOR COPY EDITOR
Sharmistha Dey
Kolkata
A. K. Roy
Phone: (033) 2468637, 2468638 Fax: (033) 2462964
WRITERS
Ashutosh Desai New Delhi
Jamshed Avari Pranav Saran
TEST CENTER
pranav.saran@infomediaindia.com
Soham Raninga (D) (011) 55303287
Anand Tuliani 401-409, Prakashdeep Building,
7 Tolstoy Marg, New Delhi – 110 001.
MULTIMEDIA COORDINATOR
Phone: (011)55303278,79,80,82 Fax: (011)23327884
Anup Pillai
CIRCULATION
DESIGN
National Circulation Manager
Atul Bandekar Kumar Mohanani
(kumar.mohanani@infomediaindia.com)
Vishwanath Vanjire, Pramod Jadhav, Dinesh Desai
Rushikesh Masurkar, Manoj Tandel, CHIP INTERNATIONAL
Umesh Dahiwalkar Editorial Management International
Ludwig Blaha, Poccistrabe 11,80336 Munchen
PHOTO EDITOR
Shirish Karale Editorial Consultant International
Wolfgang Su, Poccistrabe 11,80336 Munchen
MULTIMEDIA & WEB
Hemant Charya CHIP is also published in the following countries
China
SPECIAL PROJECTS Czech Republic
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Germany
Brian Pereira
Greece
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Hungary
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Italy
WRITERS Malaysia
Nikhil Rastogi, Gagan Gupta Netherlands
Poland
HEAD MARKETING Romania
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EDITORIAL OFFICE Thailand
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Phone: (91 22) 24232323, Fax: (91 22) 2430 2707 returning unsolicited material sent without due postal stamps
E-mail: comment@chip-india.com for return postage. No part of this magazine can be reproduced
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Infomedia India Ltd. reserves the right to use the information
BUSINESS OFFICES
published herein in any manner whatsoever.
Mumbai (Head Office)
Martin Wilson, Copyright 2004 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
mwilson@infomediaindia.com
For all international subscription enquiries, contact the
Sagar Salunkhe subscription department, Intelligent Computing CHIP
Infomedia India Ltd. (subscription@chip-india.com).
`A’ Wing, Ruby House, 2nd Floor, J.K. Sawant Marg, Intelligent Computing CHIP is printed by A. S. Vadiwala and
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Phone: (91 22) 24232323, Fax: (91 22) 24302707 printed at Infomedia India Ltd, Plot No.3, Sector 7, Off Sion-
E-mail: tbwbom@chip-india.com Panvel Road, Nerul, Navi Mumbai – 400 706 and published
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Bangalore Sawant Marg, Dadar(W). Mumbai - 400 028. INDIA
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Phone: (080)559 7282,83,84 Fax: (080)559 7285 Cover Model: Sangeeta Singh
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
16 TOWN SQUARE
Town Square
A
s we sit here on the verge of our second
anniversary issue, we look back and see a
sea of readers who’ve made this magazine
and web site what it is. To all of you—a big thank
you! With over 17,000 registered users on our
site, we’re growing from strength to strength and
are looking forward to create more compelling
online content. While we’ve received a plethora
of suggestions and great ideas on what we can
and should be doing to enhance the functionality,
interface and features of our web site, we’re still in
the process of gearing up for this refreshed look. I
know that sounds noncommittal, but we’re going
to be unveiling our new site only after we’re sure
that it’s stable and well thought out.
Meanwhile, all our resident web site geeks are
ploughing ahead with really cool inputs on our
favorite subject—Tips and Tricks. This month, our
web site has seen a huge array of suggestions
from our readers on system optimization tips
and application usability tricks. Among the most
salient of them, we found the suggestion from
our user {MAX} to be pretty neat. Using this trick,
you can quickly launch any program directly from
Start | Run and type out its name. He explains
how this is done my making smart use of the path
variable. All you need to do is to first create a list
of shortcuts to your favorite programs and place
then in a directory on your hard disk. Then simply
add this directory name to the list of your Path
variable in Windows XP. Do this by going to System
properties | Advanced | Environment Variables
and editing the ‘Path’ system variable. After
adding your folder containing the shortcuts to this
path listing, you can quickly launch any of these
programs from the Start | Run box. Go ahead, try
it out! I’ve started using it and now wonder how I
could’ve lived without it.
Another really interesting tip was one posted
by ‘Cool Surfer’ with a list of undocumented and
hidden Windows XP system programs that allow
for some great functionality. He listed the hidden
software, the Private Character Editor (eudcedit.
exe) for creating special characters and using them
as you would normal fonts, the IExpress Wizard
for creating self-extracting and self-installing
files (iexpress.exe), the Microsoft Synchronization
Manager (mobsync.exe) that helps you manage
your web content better and synchronize it for
offline browsing, Windows for Workgroups Chat
(winchat.exe) that allows for simple text based
chatting over a Windows network. You can launch
any of these programs by typing in the program
name in Start | Run. This is just a partial list
mentioned here—he’s highlighted plenty of other
in this useful listing. Good stuff!
For all of you who’ve wondered where to find
the support phone number of a hardware company
or a company contact detail for a purchase enquiry,
‘insanity_incarrnate’ has been kind enough to post
a pretty comprehensive list of contact details for
hardware vendors and companies in India, including
names, phone numbers, email IDs and occasional cell
phone numbers of relevant folks from the industry.
We’ve also been getting a fair amount of
feedback regarding the issue reaching late in
certain areas. Do let us know directly about any
issues you face (you can write either to me or to
subscription@chip-india.com) and we will make it
a point to look into these little speed breakers in
the distribution, deliver or courier chain!
I’ve also seen a few posts regarding the prizes
being sent out for our Monster PC contest. We’ve
already dispatched some of the prizes to our
winners and are in the process of sending out the
rest. Also, as I mentioned the last time, we still
don’t have any response from three of our prize
winners—msq123, videhjj and manohar who’ve
won the Samsung SyncMaster 730MP TFT TV, the
Antec lighting systems and the Cooler Master
Hyper 48 processor heatsink respectively. So if
you’re out there, this is your last chance to get in
touch with us and lay claim to your prizes.
Cheers and wishing you a very happy Christmas,
and a fabulous new year! ■
| Marco D’Souza
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
18 LETTERS
Letters
Dear CHIP,
You must have come across recent advertisements
about the 10K PCs. These machines never fascinated
me as they were very outdated with older Athlon
1600+ processors and SDRAM memory. However,
the recent ad on the Sahara PC caught my eye.
When I come to the specifications later, you’ll
understand why I got interested. Even if you were
to assemble this machine using individual parts, it
would cost about Rs 16,000. I know this because I
regularly assemble machines. So you can imagine
why I was surprised when Sahara was offering
it for only Rs 10,000 (plus taxes). I immediately
rushed to the nearest dealer in New Bombay but
was disappointed when he (and upon subsequent
checking, most of the other dealers in the area)
stated that the machines were out of stock. Later,
one dealer in Vashi agreed to sell it to me for Rs
13,500 excluding the cost of installation. I was
obviously shocked at this discrepancy in price.
I then called Sahara’s helpline number and the
person I spoke to mentioned that they had already
distributed the machines to vendors. I asked him how
much I would need to pay including taxes and his
quote was Rs 12,000. He gave me the distributor’s
name in Vashi. This distributor then directed me to
another dealer a short distance away. To my surprise,
when I reached there, I was told the machines were
out of stock. I was now almost sure that there was
something fishy. On enquiry, I found out that even
though Sahara had rightfully dispatched their
computers, there was a dealer-distributor
nexus by way of which they would turn
down consumers saying the pieces were
out of stock so that they could later
sell at a higher price, as it was a time
limited offer. However, I managed
to get the computer from the dealer,
after much begging, for Rs 12,500.
It’s sad because I found out that
some of these guys have actually
managed to sell these computers
for upto Rs 16,000 per piece. I think
it’s just not fair that we consumers
are misled by such offers. Why
don’t these companies directly sell
their computers to end-users? At
least, that way, we will be saved from the
bother of dealing with the likes of these corrupt
Umesh Dahiwalkar
dealers-distributors.
Here are the specifications of this computer:
MSI Intel 845 GV motherboard, Celeron D 2.13
GHz processor, 128 MB DDR 333 Samsung RAM,
40 GB 5400 rpm Samsung hard disk, 52x CDROM,
15-inch Samsung monitor, keyboard, optical
mouse, speakers and a good quality cabinet and an
excellent power supply. Given these specifications,
it’s obvious that these corrupt dealers are making a
pretty big margin when they charge so much more
for each of these 10K PCs. The question is whether
there really is a 10K PC…
From the Town Square (samtam786)
While the intent of the Rs 10,000 PC is good, it’s
indeed a sad thing that some dealers and distributors
stoop to levels where they try to squeeze an extra
buck from schemes like this, which aim at making
the ‘PC-in-every-home’ a reality. It’s important
that we as consumers are vigilant toward such acts
and resist the temptation of succumbing to their
demands. By bringing these issues and instances
out into the open, it’s in our collective interest that
appropriate action is taken against the perpetrators
and that the 10,000-rupee PC does, in fact,
become a reality for consumers in our country.
Team CHIP
Dear CHIP,
I am a regular reader of your magazine. I buy it
from the newsstand every month and have been
doing it ever since the first issue was launched.
Your magazine is exceptionally good. Your choice
of articles, the style of writing is simply superb.
However, on the CD and DVD front I have been
quite disappointed.
I find that you have been repeating the same
software month after month. There’s hardly any fun
stuff, no wallpapers, and no desktop themes. Also,
you don’t give any type of tutorials, e-books and
things like whitepapers.
I suggest you include some tutorials on Unix in
your magazine. Also, it would be great if you could
include some interesting deals like a free optical
mouse or 50-CD pack with your subscriptions,
especially with your 1-year subscription. I think this
would be better than offering a rebate on the price,
as is being done currently. With regards to your
web site, let me say it’s pretty good and it features
some very interesting and knowledgeable questions
under the Know-How section. No complaints here!
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
20 LETTERS
Letters
But once again, please revamp your CDs and
DVDs with more compelling content each month.
Regards
Ritesh
Dear Ritesh,
We have been receiving a range of suggestions
and opinions with regards to what we carry on
our cover disks. Starting with this month, we
have included a wide range of very interesting
applications, game and movie trailers, demos and
freeware for you to choose from. Add to it, we have
also included some exclusive content on the CD
from companies like Electronic Arts and ATI—trust
us, you will not find these anywhere but here!
We do plan to include other offerings like tutorials
and increased Linux content (we already have a full
version Linux distribution on this month’s cover CDs).
We have some interesting things lined up for you
in the coming months on the CD and DVD front—
exclusive content, game demos, pre-release tools and
applications—look out for them, we’re sure you’ll like
them! And yes, do keep the suggestions coming in.
Team CHIP
Dear Marco,
In your Last Word, CHIP, November issue, you
misquoted Thomas Alva Edison. The actual quote
should have been “Genius is one percent inspiration
and ninety-nine percent perspiration”. Perhaps a
search on Google to confirm your memory would
have been better before getting it in the Last Word.
Ashish
Dear Ashish,
You got me there. I realized that was a mistake
on my part—I have no idea how it got past
me. Looks like I didn’t perspire enough while
researching for that quote in my article!
Cheers!
Marco
Dear CHIP,
Congratulations for completing two years
of publication. Even though I’ve not formally
subscribed to CHIP, I purchased all 24 issues and
have thoroughly enjoyed reading them. But I have
one complaint. It’s a pain locating a particular bit
of information with the growing number of issues.
The CHIP CD SEEK tool was of immense help but you
have stopped updating it after June ’05. I’ve checked
the recent online version, and would like that
application on my hard disk. I implore you to update
it and also publish an index of articles, software
and hardware reviews, product advertisements
and, especially, Tips & Tricks and Dr. CHIP solutions
(preferably in a searchable format by way of a
software application, or alternatively in print).
Also, please allot more print space to basic
Linux tutorials on currently popular programming
software, with examples of utilities available. I’m
particularly interested in learning to write scripts
for Linux and Windows XP environments. I’d also
like to read about preliminary fundamentals on
networking and LAN-specific technologies that
are specifically aimed at end-users and non-
administrators.
Regards,
Deepak
Hello Deepak,
We’re glad you like reading our issues. Based on
the feedback we have been receiving, we decided
to move the CHIP CD Seek tool to the web site
as an online application. The collective reason
we received was that while it was an immensely
popular tool, it was one that users needed to utilize
once in a while during the course of the month.
Therefore, we decided that an online avatar would
be more applicable as it’s live updated and it’s
is in one fixed place that readers can find at.
We are looking at including a listing of our
previously published articles, software and hardware
reviews. We also take your point of including the
Tips & Tricks and Dr. CHIP sections in a searchable
format. We have begun working out the process of
doing so and will be incorporating these into our
magazine and cover disks in the coming issues.
Your request for preliminary articles on computing
technologies is a good one and we’re looking at
including several such articles across different
computing verticals each month. To start off, we
have already published entry-level articles on
understanding networking fundamentals (the
infographic in our September 2005 issue). In fact,
we decided to include these visual articles on basic
computing fundamentals in response to such
requests for having more articles aimed at readers
interested in learning about computing concepts.
Team CHIP
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
22
Coming of Age
Indian animation studios and creative houses are being
recognized for their work and the future seems to be bright
O
ne such enterprising entrant in this
field, Hardeep Singh Gill and his team
at Pumpkin Studios has produced a 3D
animation music video especially targeted at
children and movie buffs, from the movie
Mr Natwarlal—“Mere Paas Aao Mere Dosto”.
Gill maintains that the animation industry holds
immense potential in the Indian market and
witnessing it growing in leaps and bounds, he
wanted to hitch onto the bandwagon to create
an impact in the initial stages.
He claims that in the recent past most
animation were seen mostly in English
songs or productions done for foreign
companies. Gill chanced upon the
idea of creating an animation video
in 3D that has never been touched
upon in the past. To make the
subject matter relevant and bring
in a mass appeal, Gill decided on
a popular Hindi song enacted on
screen by Amitabh Bachchan.
Gill, Director at Pumpkin
Studios, along with his team of
students in his animation learning
center, directed and brought forth
this production. Using 3DXmax,
Photoshop and After Effects for
compositing in addition to VfX, the
team at Pumpkin Studios created
Newswire
the video and sent a master copy to
| Step-by-Step Approach
Ideation and Concept of the song “Mere Pass
Aao Mere Dosto”.
Sketching and detailing the look and feel of the
characters.
Modeling each character that resembles the
previously drawn sketches in 3Ds Max.
Texturing of characters using Photoshop.
Creating and arranging the background. To begin
with, the basic layout and then modeling flowers
and trees surrounding the characters.
Lighting. Initially, the characters were placed
against the background and lighting was added
to the scene.
Through this effect, necessary editing was
done to the texture of the characters and
Pramod Jadhav
Pramod Jadhav
the team at Discreet (AutoDesk), for feedback.
According to Gill, Raman Madan at Discreet
appreciated the work done by Pumpkin Studio and
has agreed to provide technical support needed
for doing further production in the future.
Agreed India has a long way to go to measure
up to the quality levels of Philippine, Korean or
Taiwan studios, but the fact that the fledgling
Indian animation companies have embarked
on a promising positive note is indication
enough that domestic studios are finally being
recognized for original content. According to
the NASSCOM Animation 2005 report, the
competitive advantage, and the delivery of good
international standards of animation by studios
in India have encouraged foreign production
houses to look towards India as the future
destination to outsource their assignments.
Presently, there are massive efforts
roped in to bring Indian animation on to the
global scenario. ASIFA-India, a branch of the
international ASIFA Animation association, is
helping to establish Indian animation abroad.
As of now, there are 75 members representing
over a dozen various studios and their collective
effort is trying to make an impact. More
organizations are on their way of being formed
in an attempt to make a global statement.
Gill believes the future of animation in India
is brilliant. Currently, there are a number of
factors going for the fledgling industry and
the background.
Matte paintings were made using Photoshop.
The matte effect was created especially for
the sky and to create depth for the woodland
surrounding the characters.
Animation and morphing. The characters were
animated using character studio (which is a
plug-in, although inbuilt in Max 7)
Rendering. Each scene in the video was
rendered with shadows and lights in the
TGA format.
These composite TGAs, in the end, were aligned
using AfterEffects.
Finally, editing for the song was done using
Premiere.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | NOVEMBER 2005
if tapped in the right manner, it can be
a force to reckon with, especially when
pitched against international standards. The
only hitch is to be able to manage the show
effectively in order to make a global impact,
as the world is now focused on India. Most
major international studios in the US such as
Disney, Sony, Warner Bros, DreamWorks, etc are
looking very closely at how the scene in India is
panning out and the kind of work being produced
in the country. Gill states since this is the future
of entertainment, specific audiences need to be
entertained in a certain manner suited to their likes.
The feather in the cap was that Gill had a storyline that
demanded animation and the results are amazing.
Creating one of India’s first 3D music videos for
popular consumption has been a quite a challenging task
for Hardeep Gill. Good 3D modeling is difficult, but it’s a skill
much in demand. Learning to think through the modeling
process—learning that special discipline for building objects
in abstract space—is at the root of becoming a successful
3D artist. Gill claims that it took the team around four to five
months only to research through a concept and subsequently
followed the hard work and labor to give the song its final shape.
Pumpkin Studio is a learning center in Rajouri Garden, in New
Delhi. It was formed in 2002, and was initially a franchisee of MAAC
but later it decided to break away and create its own brand niche in
the industry. It has, in the past, done commendable work in the field
of animation. Its work has received accolades and awards. Recently,
it participated in the 24 FPS Animation Awards 2004-05, and won
the ‘Best Animated Film’ award for the year, which was presented by
MEL. Gill has also traveled to the US in a bid to make his efforts known
to stalwarts in the industry, and to popularize Indian animation abroad.
He claims, “We are now in a process to implement the latest techniques in
animation at Pumpkin Studio to do even better jobs this year. This would also
include live projects for animation studios in the US, in future.”
3D technology is sweeping through architecture and product design.
Realistic 3D animation as a learning or demonstrative tool is taking off in
corporate presentations and courtroom demonstrations, and on educational
CDs. The range of possibilities for this new medium has barely begun to be
explored and it would not be long before 3D graphics and animation become
ubiquitous. So, 3D graphics represents a most realistic career move.
Furthermore, the Animation World Network is also looking to strengthen ties
in India as a production base for its animation and feature films, and is planning
to tap the country’s commercial ability, including that in radio, animation and TV
broadcasting and content. According Andy Bird, Walt Disney Company’s COO, Disney’s
priority would be investing in radio, music and film industry.
Pumpkin Studios, says Gill, is now looking forward to bagging projects from abroad
and creating animations based on ideas that cater to the needs of Indian audience. He
says, “I have come up with Pumpkin Academy of Digital Arts where students are trained
at a professional level by professional trainers. At the Academy, our expertise and the
techniques and skills necessary for becoming a quality performer in animation and visual
effects industry today, is imparted.” ■
| Carol D’ Costa

NOVEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

24 NEWSWIRE
Twist and Shout
I f you are one of those who love a good
dance move while listening to your
music, then what better experience to
twirl around without the hassle of clumsy
headphones and wires strangling your
neck. Instead of managing unwieldy
wires, SigmaTel, a developer of mixed-
signal multimedia semiconductors, is
helping portable music player maker
FunTwist to do away with wired
headphones. Funtwist’s new D-Chord 800
combines two of the hottest trends today:
Bluetooth and portable MP3 players.
FunTwist D-Chord 800
digital audio player
While the FunTwist
D-Chord 800 digital audio
player promises high-quality
music performance in multiple formats,
it operates wirelessly via a Bluetooth
link that switches to phone mode when
it detects an incoming call. Supporting
MP3, WMA and WAV formats as well as
EQ modes, ID3 tag display, synchronous
lyrics and Microsoft’s Digital Rights
Management (DRM) system, one of the
keys to the FunTwist’s D-Chord 800’s
performance is the use of SigmaTel’s
STMP3510 portable, digital audio
System on Chip (SoC) solution. It’s quite
a refreshing idea—an MP3 player with
wireless headphones that a user can
switch from listening to music to a phone
mode to answer cell phone calls, all this
via a bluetooth link—using the digital
audio SoC solution.
The proponents at SigmaTel are
deliberately looking at challenging
conventional logic and seem kicked on
designing products that would take into
account user experiences. Apart from
wireless headphones, SigmaTel’s portable
audio SoC solutions also provide audio
playback for MP3 players, language
learners, and jukeboxes.
KITTY kitty, bang bang!
A nother step in the field of wearable
computers, KITTY TECH looks as
though you type ‘letters’ by holding your
fingers and thumbs together in different
permutations to achieve the sentence
you are trying to type in. An acronym for
‘Keyboard Independent Touch Typing
Technology,’ KITTY TECH is a finger-
mounted keyboard that uses touch-typing
as the method of data entry and uses
spiraling, printed-electric-circuit wires to
obtain results.
Designed by the University of California,
Irvine, the mission is to provide an ultra-
portable ’silent’ data-input device for
wearable computing systems promising
wide consumer acceptance due to zero
learning curve for those well versed in
touch typing.
Combining the idea of a finger-mounted
chording device (such as the “Twiddler”
by HandKey Corp), and touch-typing (such
as the Virtual Keyboard by Senseboard
or the Scurry by Samsung), the device
targets the portable computing market,
and in particular, wearable computing
systems. According to Dr Mehring from
the University of California, Irvine, the new
device tries to give glove-based or finger-
mounted systems a new shot
at the portable input device market by
taking advantage of the existing skills of
potential users.
One particular design uses printed-
circuit electrical wires on thin flexible
spiral-shaped substrate strips winding
around each finger of the hand and
providing electrical contacts on thumbs
and fingertips and/or alongside each
finger to generate all the characters
found on a traditional keyboard, using
traditional touch-typing skills. Plans for
commercialization and licensing
are underway.
Game Reviews: Quake4
Fear
Feature: Mafia on the Internet
Workshop: How to assemble your own PC (Poster)
The university claims that production
costs would be low since discrete signals
are generated by the opening and closure
of electric circuits totally analogous to
existing keyboard technology. In addition,
the ultra-portable device does not have the
drawbacks of other systems, for example,
the “Virtual Keyboard” by Senseboard
(http://www.senseboard.com/), the
“Lightglove” (http://www.lightglove.com/)
or the “Scurry” by Samsung (http://www.
samsung.com/), which also use touch-
typing for alphabetic character input but
which are based on continuous signal
processing, and which require the user to
preserve a certain reference position with
their hands in the course of touch-typing.
Of late, increasing advances and efforts
have been made and put in the design of
portable computing and in particular, the
design of pocket PCs (e.g. http://wearables.
stanford.edu/main.html) and eye-glass
displays (e.g. http://www.microopticalcorp.
com/, http://www.machinebrain.com/,
http://www.handykey.com/, http://
wearables.blu.org/hardwear.html, http://
boole.stanford.edu/thumbcode/cat).
...164
...160
...110
...141
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
26 NEWSWIRE

Xbox and a 360 view

W ith 18 games in its kitty, the
next-generation Xbox 360 console
seems to have emerged a killer. As can
be perceived, the games represent a big
improvement in this generation console
compared with Microsoft’s debut Xbox,
which had very limited initial support from
independent game makers, and in addition
more than 200 original Xbox games will
be compatible with the new 360 console,
according to Microsoft.
While Sony’s PlayStation
3 is still six months to a
year away, Microsoft seems
content to rule the roost
till then.
The real gamble, however,
would be the strategy
employed by Microsoft. In
the last round, they came
late with arguably the best
hardware, while Sony held
firmly on to first place. Now,
Microsoft is arriving first,
but may not have indisputably
superior hardware. If the result
doesn’t change, they’ll no longer be able
to blame Sony’s dominance on first-mover
advantage in the PlayStation 2 era.
After years of planning and billions of
dollars at risk, industry veterans predict
that demand from the most avid game
enthusiasts alone will be enough to make
the console a top seller this holiday season.
But nobody is sure whether Microsoft
will succeed with casual gamers who
may prefer the Sony PlayStation 3 or the
Nintendo Revolution coming next year.
The unpredictable factor would be
whether consumers are really
going to come out in the
holidays for the Xbox
360 or just wait for
Sony next year.
Circa four years
Microsoft had to
contend with Sony’s
immense popularity
as Playstation 2s sold
about 90 million, as
compared to 22 million
Xboxes and Nintendo’s
sale of 20 million
GameCubes. Through
all the cumulative losses
incurred by Microsoft,
the Redmond giant is hoping to gain on
Sony and make money this time by finding
new ways to generate income beyond
selling games. Apart from that, Microsoft
hopes that the timing will help it gain
ground on competitions by the recent
launch, which is certainly way ahead of the
next generation machines from Sony
and Nintendo.
Finally, whether consumers appreciate
the subtleties will determine how well the
consoles sell.
Only due to the limitations on the PS2’s
hardware has the Xbox been able to climb
the charts, it isn’t due to a vast number of
stellar games. Since there is no hard disk
on the PS2, developers haven’t been able
to use it as a buffer, users can’t store music
and/or save games (which force them to
buy a memory card, they already lost me at
that point), and their own software can’t
be updated. No question, Xbox wins.
Most gamers seem ecstatic to see
what things the 360 hold, and with the
knowledge that Microsoft has put forth
their best effort and a no holds barred
approach, it seems like nothing could
stop them.

Wi-Fi huh? Tackling a new type of cyber crime

S o you thought Wi-Fi meant Wireless
Fidelity? Spells Nada you well informed
soul. The truth is that the term does
W hile the Asian School of Cyber
Laws (Pune) cries hoarse about the
dangers of SMS spoofing, there are sites
that can be done about it, as no cellular
service provider can say whether the
message was a spoofed one or not.
not mean a thing, and has no expanded that now guide pranksters and on a serious While the scope for misuse of SMS
version. Incidentally, the Wi-Fi Consortium note, terrorists, to spoof messages using spoofing is enormous, it can also be used in
has claimed that the term does not stand a web-based software to send a message a positive manner.
for anything and is not an acronym that from another person’s cell without even SMS spoofing can be used as an
needs to be spelled out. Wi-Fi is a pun, touching his or her mobile. effective tool to investigate, and law
based on the contraction, “Hi-Fi,” which Experiments conducted by the school enforcing agencies can nab terrorists and
stands for “High fidelity.” So if Wi-Fi in SMS spoofing at narcotic dealers.
*means* “wireless fidelity” then it means the national and So what would you do
precisely nothing, because “wireless international if you happen to be an
fidelity” is a nonsense phrase whose only level showed ‘unfortunate’ victim?
meaning comes from the fact that you get that spoof SMS Perhaps the best way to
a pun on “Hi-Fi” when you shorten it. messages could deal with it would be to
It’s rumoured that ‘Wireless Fidelity’ be successfully remain alert and call
was created when the Wi-FI consortium sent to the desired up the other person
and the Wi-Fi Alliance began to be person and it can make when in doubt
criticized by writers whose editors the entire episode appear whether he or she
demanded that all word forms need to as if it came from someone has really sent
specified, and thus came up the incredibly completely uninvolved. you the SMS in
lame ‘Wireless Fidelity’. Frankly, there is not much question.
Dinesh Desai
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
28 NEWSWIRE
Gates humbly admits
he needs to ‘serve’
I n a latest memo (that was leaked out)
to top lieutenants in his organization,
Bill Gates outlined the need for a
service model in the face of impending
competition and cautioned his team to
brace up to the challenge.
“This coming ‘services wave’ will be
very disruptive,” Gates claims and outlines
the need to act quickly, swiftly and with
the right mission. In September, Microsoft
announced that it was reorganizing itself
into three units; it recently announced the
products called Windows Live and Office
Live, aimed at the direction of moving
forward. Windows Live combines many
of Microsoft’s existing MSN services into
an advertising-supported product for
consumers, while Office Live is a set of
services, some free and some paid, aimed
at small businesses.
So the need to move towards Internet-
based software is clear, and looms large
over the Redmond Giant. Gates compares
the push toward such services, which
range from online business software
offerings to free web-based email, to the
changes he saw nearly a decade ago. This,
perhaps, boosted him to pen the memo,
called “The Internet Tidal Wave” that
suggests a massive shift toward Internet-
based technology.
And Gates seems obviously concerned
about growing faced criticism in
Microsoft’s model. The current model still
relies heavily on delivering software in
traditional packaging which stands a high
risk of growing antiquated. He also points
to the fact that although Microsoft’s
Office is ubiquitous, it is Adobe’s PDF file
that has emerged as the key means of
sending formatted documents on the
Web. Microsoft is proposing its own rival
to PDF known as Metro, with Windows
Vista, its new operating system that is
due next year.
The memo states that despite the
threats, “the opportunity for us to lead is
very clear”.
This marks the third time that Gates
has rallied his company in the face of
challenges from a new type of computing.
ICANN rule the Internet
J ust another ploy to grab power! And
this time around it’s the Internet being
eyed, the creative, fast-evolving sum of
millions of computer users. Governments
are waking up to the fact that the Internet
is a powerful tool that can change society
and commerce in profound ways. Common
misconception states that the US runs it
and controls the system. Nobody does.
The closest anyone comes is the non-profit
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers), headquartered in
coastal California. But the best kept joke is
the desperate measures employed by the
US on getting its control over the virtual
property. The Internet has fundamentally
changed. A little over a decade ago, it was
US-centric and entirely non-commercial.
Today, its scope is truly international, and
its economic importance is enormous
and growing.
So it’s no surprise that countries
ranging from China, Iran, Saudi
Arabia and the US are wary
of the kind of power it
gives ‘netizens’. They
want a chance to
control the Internet,
the greatest
contribution to
commerce and
free expression
the world
Dinesh Desai
Will the real Mociologist please stand up?
J ust as the term ‘blog’ was unheard of
till a while back, mociology is a brand
new hippy term slated to catch up anytime
soon. Mociology is a made-up word with
seemingly no use and is honestly a snazzy
buzzword for the “stuff happening with
mobile communications”.
Joe Trippi, the man whose ground-
breaking use of Internet-based
campaigning propelled Howard Dean
from obscurity to early front-runner, has
presented his theory of Mociology stating,
“Mociology refers to how mobile and
wireless technology have changed the way
we do things: downloading music on to
a mobile phone, for example, or getting
the football scores texted through on a
has seen in many years. It’s no surprise
then issues such as spamming, child
pornography, human rights, individual
rights, intellectual property and abuses of
democratic rights are largely ignored.
Joining the fray is none other than the
United Nations. In what is but yet another
power grab attempt, the body is seeking to
control the Internet as part of the agenda
discussed at the World Summit on the
International Society in Tunisia, last month.
ICANN dishes out Internet suffixes such
as the familiar .com, country suffixes such
as .in, and newer suffixes such as .tv, .biz or
.eu. It authorizes changes to the “root zone
file”, which matches those domains with
numerical addresses. The US Commerce
Department has ultimate control of the
root zone file, and Washington made it clear
recently that it intends to maintain that role.
So what’s coming next? Another
war to free the Internet? To be
honest, true control
over the web will be
an impossibly large
and diverse task,
and maintaining
any broad
control over its
content would
be daunting
rather out of
the question.
Saturday afternoon.”
Trippi is also the author of The
Revolution will not be Televised: Democracy,
the Internet and the Overthrow of
Everything.
Examples of Mociology: Paying for
concert tickets by phone; viewing movie
trailers and TV previews on mobile phones;
downloading music tracks on mobile
phones; viewing sports clips; paying credit
cards dues through mobile phones, etc.
Blogging and mociology, Trippi is
convinced, will revolutionize politics.
He claims that mobile technology and
blogging technology, will give people the
ability to connect with one another from
the bottom up.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
30 NEWSWIRE
Flak for anti-piracy
N o one informed Sony that piracy
discouragement in certain
authoritarian ways could cause computers
to become vulnerable. The anti-piracy
technology, propounded by Sony would
works only on Windows computers, thus
preventing copies of the CD and preventing
it to work on iPods.
Sony’s spirited effort to stop illegal CD
copying actually helped open a backdoor
into infected machines and tried to
download more malicious code from the
Net to further compromise an infected
machine. Thanks to Sony’s XCP technology,
those opening and running the program
attached had their computer infected with
the Stinx-E trojan. The virus is also known
as Breplibot and Ryknos.
It was discovered that the Sony XCP copy
protection system was a so-called “root-kit”
that hid itself deep inside the Windows
operating system. And customers who
remove the software are unable to listen to
the music CD on their computer. Rootkits,
while not intrinsically malicious, are
viewed with deep suspicion by many in the
software development community. They are
difficult to find and remove without specific
instructions, and attempts to modify the
way they act can even damage the normal
functioning of a computer.
Researchers described Sony’s
technology as “spyware”. Sony has of
course rejected the description of spyware.
But as far as Sony is concerned, the
controversy is much ado about nothing,
while anti-virus and security software
companies are continuing to unearth Trojan
Horse programs and a worm that takes
advantage of machines running XCP by
using names on malicious files. It’s amazing
what corporations think they can get away
with, and then the whole escapade comes
tumbling down around them. Why would
consumers, who don’t purchase Sony buy
one of these CDs when iTunes offers iPod
downloadability, sharing amongst multiple
computers and CD burning?
Even though Sony’s decision to recall
affected CDs came up promptly, digital
rights management technology that
respects the rights of consumers is yet to
form a momentum.
Tag your picture with Riya
U sing state-of-the-art face-recognition
technology, Riya, a Redwood City
start-up, has introduced a facial recognition
technology that can automatically
recognize who is in a picture and tag it with
their names.
Munjal Shah, CEO and founder, initiated
Riya.com after he realized he had no
name to the thousands of digital photos
all labeled DSC0009.jpgs. As a team of
dedicated face recognition researchers
and engineers, Shah and team believed it
was time for a new type of photo search
that uses technology to look inside and
automatically tag photos.
Over 30 years of research has gone
into the study of Computer Vision, but
Shiny steel storage
T here are flash drives and there are hard
drives... It was only a matter of time
before someone decided to combine the
minuteness of flash with the capacity of
hard drives. And here we have a very Zippo
looking hard drive with a stainless look
finish from US Modular.
Known as the Monstor Drive, this shiny
looking palm-sized gadget is slim and
compact, but large enough to hold tens
of thousands of data files, music, pictures
and more on the go. So if you like your drive
aesthetically enhanced with that burnished
glazed look all gleaming in silver, you know
just what to buy. Not just content with
presenting the steel aspect, US Modular
will offer the Monstor Mini Hard Drive in
capacities of 2, 4, and 6 GBs.
The product is slated to start shipping
it is still a field largely in its infancy. The
largest contributing factor to this slow
advancement is that the process that
extracts 3D information from 2D images
is much more complex than computer
graphics.
In addition to the overall complexity, the
lack of consumer application of the process
slows down progress of development.
Face recognition has been heavily
studied within the field of Computer Vision
over the past decade. The difficulties
of face recognition lie in the inherent
variation of facial characteristics and the
environment of image acquisition. Face and
text recognition are just part of the overall
scope that Riya wishes to achieve in their
vision of mastering photo search online.
According to Shah, the service’s context-
based approach looks at 50 variables: Hair,
eye color, shirt color, height, sex and so on.
Till the time that Riya is acknowledged,
it may license the technology and build a
business around ad revenue. It’s currently
free! (www.riya.com)
early this month. The 2 GB model begins at
$99 and will go up depending on what size.
It’s powered by USB 2.0, spins at 4200 rpms
and can transfer upwards of 99.6 Mbit/s.
Nick Pavzant , CEO of US Modular,
claims that his company is known for
coming to market with cool high-tech
products and this new look definitely
shows just how well US Modular does that.
We couldn’t agree less!
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

India Calling
With the bandwidth problem ironed out, VoIP should rule the voice market in a big way
I
n recent times, the global technology
industry has been abuzz over a
new development that combines
conventional telecommunications services
with the Internet, called VoIP (Voice over
Internet Protocol). Even though it has
been around for some time, VoIP has been
popularized at this time due to the success
of Skype, a technology firm created by
Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis—better
known to most of us for having created
that other (notorious, rather than popular
with the industry and market regulators
at least) p2p file-sharing software—Kazaa!
Skype was recently picked up by Ebay
for US$ 2.6 billion with Google, Microsoft
and Amazon.com also thought to have
been in the running. According to Skype
(www.skype.com), their software has
been downloaded some 206 million times!
VoIP and Skype
The platform that Skype uses for its
services is its own software developed by
Zennstrom and Friis, named Skype. The
Skype program is a lot like your everyday
IM (Instant Messenger) software, except
that it comes with the added advantage
of being able to make calls to other
Vishwanath Vanjire
computers with the software, or to
other phones.
VoIP is a technology that deals with
the transfer of voice as data packages over
broadband Internet connections, negating
the need for a physical phone connection
and those massive bills that come with it.
Skype charges US$ 0.017 per minute for
the most popular locations dialed. With all
places you would practically ever call you
would pay less than US$ 0.200. To put that
into perspective, it’s effectively less than
a rupee paid per minute for a call to the
popular destinations, or at most Rs 5 for
nearly all the remaining ones.
In addition to that basic feature, Skype
takes its software further, providing
encryption on all voice chats (it allows you
to conference also) and encrypted Instant
Messaging as well. A maximum of 48 users
are allowed in a single conversation. Skype
also happens to work across the Windows,
Mac OS, Linux and Pocket PC platforms.
Competition
One alternate manifestation of VoIP is
in the recently released voice-enabled
versions of your regular instant messaging
software. Microsoft with its MSN
Messenger 7.5 with Voice, Yahoo with its
Yahoo! Messenger 7 with Voice, Google’s
own GoogleTalk with Voice; and the oldest
of the lot, Apple’s iChat AV.
This surge in development of voice-
based features into IM software and
full fledged VoIP applications is purely
demonstrative of the potential providers
see in this technology.
Most importantly, it is the
demographics that this technology brings
into play—Skype is said to have appealed
the 55+ age group, who prefer the use
of voice over the Internet, as it also finds
favor with business, providing a cheap and
secure mode of communication.
Forms of VoIP
There are three basic sections into which
you could distinctly split up applications
using VoIP technology.
The first is a software like Skype, whose
primary purpose is to make voice calls over
your Internet connection (for example,
your cable Internet) to another person’s
computer, or to a person’s phone line. The
second is IM software like that already
mentioned above that allows you to use
voice in co-ordination with or in place of
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
34 NEWSWIRE
text while instant-messaging people.
The third is a rumored rather than a
factual application of VoIP.
We all know about the success of
Google’s successful advertising model—
advertisements that you see when using
Google services are arranged as per the
content of the page you are viewing; and
Google gets paid every time you click on
one of those ad links. What if then, you
could follow a link, which directed you to a
customer service executive at the end of a
VoIP network, giving you instant feedback
on any queries you might have about the
advertisement or product in question.
In fact, the rumor circulating is that
one of the reasons why Ebay bought Skype
was to introduce this very feature into its
online marketplace.
Imagine being able to talk to the
vendor about that iPod you so want or
that DVD player you set your eyes on
before placing a bid; being sure about the
quality of the product and so on. Hearing
someone give you assurance is possibly
more comforting than an impersonal
feedback form.
Advantages of VoIP
VoIP is something between dirt-cheap and
free if you already have the hardware and
services in place to do the job, and it is
already marking the death of conventional
telecommunications companies as we
know them...
Because VoIP is effectively limited
only by the technology of software rather
than hardware and telecommunications
development, you must remember that
we’re taking either broadband as the
standard over which we’re using VoIP
software or conventional phone lines for
phone-to-phone or computer-to-phone
VoIP. Now each of these technologies and
their quality of communication are limited
by the capabilities of the software/
firmware on the VoIP enabled devices.
There are a lot of those cheap calling
cards that you can buy online. Remember
seeing those banners on web sites: “Call
the US for ***”?
Yes, most of them are VoIP-based
services, which should explain how
those costs are so drastically reduced in
comparison to your normal ISD rates.
In India itself, there are quite a few
established VoIP portals, Net4India’s
Phonewala.com VoIP portal, is seemingly
the most popular of the lot; though
established players in the conventional
telecom sector like VSNL and BSNL, are
supposed to have similar offerings.
Development of the indigenous
services, especially in the case of calling
cards, will help push the agenda for VoIP
in the long run, as it’s simple to use. And
as is the case with most Indians, they
With enough
bandwidth released,
Internet cable and ADSL
operators could provide
add-on options for
customers
would prefer to have it simple. Besides, it
comes without the need for access to a
computer. Software like Skype, will for a
while at least, be used only by a minority
of Internet users in India as bandwidth
is not high enough. At least, it’s still not
quite high enough to engage in serious
voice conversations or conferences.
Which brings us to yet another
possibility for VoIP services. With enough
bandwidth released, Internet cable and
ADSL operators could themselves provide
low-cost VoIP services as add-on options
for their customers which would be an
added source of revenue for operators
themselves. And however small it may be,
it doesn’t cost much to set up the service
in most countries.
Besides, it would be a cheaper
alternative to calling places abroad. The
legality and existing market regulations
would of course have to be considered,
but it’s still an interesting enough
possibility to pursue.
What’s the catch?
So you’re nearly sold on VoIP but you’re
still convinced that there’s got to be a
catch. Well, yes, there are a few as it is
usually in most cases.
Firstly, VoIP requires computers or
VoIP-enabled phones, all of which usually
rely on electricity. Therefore, in the event
of power-cuts, these phones will be
rendered pretty much useless.
Secondly, unlike conventional
telephony, where there is a constant
stream of data over single-use voice
(telephone) lines; you get constant
connectivity with no signal loss. VoIP,
however, operates by breaking down voice
into data packets that are sent as a stream
from one node to the other. So in the case
of high network usage, some data packets
get lost, and thus cause notable loss of
voice. That’s why using a VoIP service over
your dial-up connection rarely works as
you would ideally want it to. It’s just not
capable of moving fast enough to give you
great bandwidth and also ensure minimal
data loss.
Finally, (and this has only been a
problem heard of abroad, as of now)
emergency services, the American 911,
for example cannot track distress calls
made over VoIP. And this is because VoIP
is Internet-based and does not require a
physical address. And this is very obviously
another concern with VoIP. The whole idea
of technology is its ability to back you up
when you need it the most and VoIP has
not yet developed to that level where it
can address this.
So is it the end of conventional telecom
operators? No, not yet. And what about
being a headache to the regulatory
bodies? Yes, possibly. But history has
taught us many times over that resistance
is futile when it comes to halting the
march of technology.
But once broadband starts to truly
take hold in the Indian market, though
the conventional operators will have to
learn to adapt, as their original revenue
models become less and less relevant to
the market scenario, VoIP will move from
fringe technology to industry standard.
The voice revolution is underway. So
watch out—it would be wise not to
ignore it. ■
| Aditya Anup Kumar
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
36

BEST Products of 2005

Spanning every hardware category tested, we bring you the industry’s finest tech gear
Coverstory
 BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
W
hen a new technology breaks
ground, it generally finds its
way into the hands of the ‘early
adopters’ who are on the cutting edge of
trends. While these few select fortunate
get to experience new-generation
technology firsthand, it’s generally out of
the reach of most end users. Being where
we are, we are fortunate enough to be at
the receiving end of a seemingly endless
array of truly innovative products from a
diverse range of categories.
With our economy on an upswing,
it’s no surprise that we saw some of the
most exciting hardware in the world
reach our shores (and our Test Center)
quicker that we would ever have imagined
a few years ago. Be it new-generation
processors, monster graphics cards, cutting
edge mobile phones or slick laptops,
they’re all available in our market almost
simultaneous to their international
launches. In fact, several technology
companies now launch their products here
concurrently with worldwide releases. This
is a very encouraging trend that we hope
will not abate.
In conducting our comparison and
standalone tests this year, we’ve had to re-
invent our test procedures (and ourselves)
several times to adequately measure
performance levels of today’s hardware.
Suffice to say that the strides in today’s
computing standards are no longer liner,
but exponential. This led us to using newer
tools of product evaluation and re-thinking
the factors that make a product a high-
performance one. Very often, this led us
av
a dh
dJ
through interesting debates—how exactly
mo
Pra
is product performance measured? Is it
al e
by empirical standards and measurement
K ar
r ish
norms? Or is it simply about the effect it
Shi
has on end-applications and people’s lives?
In answering these questions, we came up
with some interesting solutions to evaluate
products, some of which prompted us to
deviate from the conventional cut-and-
dry test approach. In distilling these new
procedures, we formulated an approach
that incorporated synthetic tests along
with a blend of real world applications that
presented actual usage scenarios to the
product under scrutiny. After using this
approach with virtually every hardware
| COVERSTORY 37
37
product we tested, we found we had a
winning combination here. And from this is
born our Best Performance award.
In this roundup of the best products
our Test Center has seen during the year,
we laud the ones that made it to the top
of the stack in each of their categories, in
the performance segment. Obviously, since
this is a collation of the best products and
technologies tested, we have disregarded
our other product evaluation metrics like
features, value for money, etc. This award is
about pure performance. In every category,
we’ve awarded the best product along with
two runners-up.
You will note that we have not included
software applications in this listing and
this was a conscientious decision we
made. Over the past year, while we have
seen brilliant work being done in the
application development field, we have
also noted a large degree of consolidation
within software product categories.
With several high-profile takeovers like
Adobe-Macromedia and Autodesk-Alias,
we’ve seen a tangible drop in the number
of product evaluation options within
software categories. And very often, the
separation between the market leading
application in a particular category far
outstrips all others, leaving little or no
competition. Also, software product
evaluation is a tricky beast in itself—more
often than not, it’s very difficult to
determine performance metrics within
applications as software evaluation is not
as cut-and-dry as hardware testing. This is
because, in the overwhelming majority of
the cases, there are no measurable scores.
As a result of this, what might be construed
as good performance to one software
user might not necessarily be the case
with another user. Therefore, our software
evaluation is conducted solely by
viewing the efficacy of a particular
software package to a given usage
application. In this scenario, the Best
Performance award in software obviously
becomes irrelevant.
So join us as we take you through
the best of the country’s tech products
this year. And to all those companies
responsible for the technology, our
heartiest congratulations!
38 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Handhelds O2 XDA IIi
There are two types of handheld
devices—ones that provide basic portable
computing functions and ones that pack
in every imaginable technology and
connectivity option that would make you
feel like you never moved away from your
desktop! The O2 XDA IIi falls in the second
category. Armed with a processor clocking
520 MHz, 128 MB of RAM, a 1.3-inch screen
with over 65,000 colors, integrated 11
Mbps Wi-Fi, a tri-band GSM/GPRS phone
and a 1.3-megapixel camera. You couldn’t
be left wanting for much more, could you?
But what’s most interesting is the
interface and the capability of this device
on the software front. Running Windows
First runner up
Palm Treo 650
Is it a phone? Or is it a PDA? The Palm
Treo 650 does a great job of marrying
both worlds. Its crisp and sharp 320x320
transreflective color screen is impressive,
with an excellent text and graphics display.
Unlike other phones, this one features an
immediately apparent QWERTY keyboard
for added functionality and efficiency for
text input. It also features Bluetooth. It
features 32 MB of internal memory, utilized
well by the Palm OS, providing a smooth
usage experience. Also, its primary storage
is implemented in NAND Flash memory
(which doesn’t require power to hold
its contents compared to RAM) and can
Second runner up
Palm Tungsten C
Call this a Palm handheld on steroids.
Based upon the Palm OS, this device
puts all possible computing power in
the very palm of your hands. Running a
commendable 400 MHz Intel PXA255
processor, it integrates a total of 64 MB of
memory and features a QWERTY keyboard
as well. It also integrates 802.11b 11 Mbps
Wi-Fi connectivity, making it the ideal
companion for those long hours of waiting
in an airport or for geting some productive
work in your hotel room while you’re
traveling. Best of all, its Wi-Fi connectivity
is effortless as it automatically detects
wireless networks within range and
steps you through configuring it. Its
Mobile 2003 Second Edition for Pocket
PC, you have full compatibility with your
office documents along with support for
multimedia files such as MP3 and WAV
audio, along with AVI video. Its integrated
memory can be notched up, thanks to the
SD card expansion slot.
Why it came out on top was because
of its excellent design, with easy access
to the record button for dictaphone
applications and the intuitive touch screen
functionality. Truly a computing road
warrior, this is a formidable weapon to add
to your arsenal.
Reviewed in September 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
therefore keep your data safe even if the
batteries are completely depleted. Powered
by a 312 MHz Intel PXA270 processor, it’s
capable of playing back MP3 audio and
video files as well, making for a handy
portable multimedia platform. And yes, it
also features an VGA camera.
Packing in plenty of punch in its
reasonably small size, this device is a
complete GSM/GPRS/EDGE phone with
quad band functionality, making it possible
to use it across the world and access the
Internet at broadband speeds.
Reviewed this month,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
320x320 transreflective color screen is
crisp and is large enough to read text and
view graphics comfortably. Expansion is
possible through an integrated xD memory
slot, allowing you to turbo charge its
storage capability for holding additional
applications and multimedia files.
The device is a dream for connectivity as
it also features Bluetooth support for easy
transfer of files between the device and
your laptop or among other such devices.
For those looking for a powerful handheld
that grants plenty of connectivity options,
the Palm Tungsten C is the way to go.
Reviewed in January 2005,
Comparison Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
40 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Cellphones Nokia 9500
The Nokia 9500 clearly is the best phone
that we reviewed this year. With a huge
widescreen color display and expandable
memory, the 9500 can be used for movies,
MP3 and gaming. It supports Bluetooth
and Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing seamless
connectivity with other devices and
networks.
This triband phone has all the features
you can ask for from a phone. You can
surf the web and enjoy the 11Mbps
connectivity for checking your mails or
keeping in touch with your contacts.
Supporting MPEG-4 playback, the phone
ensures that there is never a dull moment,
letting you watch your favorite movies on
First runner up
Sony W800i
Looking for a musicphone? The W800i
has to be your first choice. In fact, the
W800i is one of the best multimedia
phones available today. What makes the
W800i so appealing is the overall package
that consists of a mammoth 512 MB of
memorystick Pro and high-quality ear buds.
Features include Bluetooth, infrared
and USB connectivity. On the music front,
the W800i offers music management
software, preset equalizers and MP3, as
well as AAC support. Sound quality is
unmatched compared to the other phones;
in fact, it comes very close to the well
known MP3 players in the market. Adding
Second runner up
Samsung D600
The D600 comes very close to the W800i
in terms of multimedia functionality. The
D600 does not come with any memory
card by default but offers 90 MB of inbuilt
memory and card slot for expanding
memory. This slider phone has one of the
best color screens compared to that of all
other cellphones in the market. With a built-
in media player, the D600 supports MP3,
AAC playback and allows MPEG-4 video
recording and playback as well. Support for
viewing of MS office and Adobe PDF files
adds a fair deal of smart phone functionality
without being too bulky. The D600 brings
some very fresh and interesting features to
the table by providing video-out functions
the wide screen, while you are on the move.
Typing long emails on a cellphone might
sound insane but the 9500 makes it look
so easy with its full QWERTY keyboard.
Transferring data to the phone is very
quick, thanks to the USB 2.0 support; you
can transfer large amounts of data to the
phone in a few seconds. With almost every
second phone offering imaging, the 9500
does not miss out on that. You can click
images using the built-in 0.3 MP CMOS
sensor! All this is packaged in a sturdy and
well designed unit that signifies class
and perfection.
Reviewed in January 2005,
Comparison Tests.
presets and applying your own equalizer
settings ensure that you are able to fine
tune the sound as per your preference
and music genre. Sporting a 2 MP sensor
and a brilliant lens that uses autofocus
for capturing images, the W800i clicks
real nice pictures for a camera phone.
All these features are well supported by
the compact foot print and unnoticeable
weight. The W800i is an excellent example
of optimum combination of multimedia
and communication, keeping the size and
design factor in focus.
Reviewed in October 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
and direct print feature, which allow the
user to make use of all the features of the
phone without a PC. Imaging is also at par
with the best, offering 2 MP camera and a
video capture support.
The video is captured in MPEG-4 format
and looks great on the high resolution
color screen. The best part of the D600 is
its ability to integrate so many features in
a compact package, with the addition of a
very attractive design. The D600 marginally
loses out to the W800i with its cramped
and tricky 5-way navigation key and an
inferior camera.
Reviewed in December 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
42 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Optical Drives Sony DRU-810A
So you’ve got tens of GBs of MPEG-4
movies and your hard disk is fast filling
up, is it? Well then it’s high time you move
them off your computer and store them
in one of today’s ultra-affordable blank
DVD media. However, getting all of those
files transferred would take ages, wouldn’t
it? Not if you used this DVD writer drive.
Blazing through every speed trap we could
set for it, this dual layer DVD writer can
write at 8x speeds onto compatible blank
disks with capacities of up to 8.5 GB per 12-
cm disk! How’s that for storage space? It
can even write at these speeds on standard
DVD-RW disks (though the media should,
once again, support these speeds).
First runner up
Gigabyte GO-W1616C
New to the markets when this drive first
entered our Test Center, this 16x DVD Writer
really did surprise us with its enthusiastic
performance, backed up by a good set of
features. For one, it’s a dual layer capable
DVD writer, which makes it ready for
today’s high capacity blank DVD media.
Additionally, this drive’s shorter than most
of the other standard-sized drives that
have passed through our tests. This makes
it especially useful for applications where
you’d benefit from the saved space such
as small form factor PCs and low-profile
desktop computers where interior cabinet
room would be at a premium. Unlike the
Second runner up
Liteon SOHW-1653S
In this day and age, DVD writers seem to
be ruling the roost, right? True, but on
the Combo drive front (DVD playback, CD
write) this drive from Liteon proved to be
the fastest optical drive we had ever tested
in the file read tests. That’s right—when it
came to reading from DVDs or CDs, there
was nothing we could find that was faster
than this nicely-priced drive. One can get a
sense of this when it copied a completely
filled 700 MB CD to the hard disk in about
2 minutes and 34 seconds flat, and when it
wrote a 700 MB blank CD in about
the same time!
Not everyone would want to go in
for a DVD writer drive. For those folks,
The package also contains a good set
of DVD burning tools like Nero Vision
Express, which allows for advanced video
capture, DVD authoring and video editing
capabilities—just what you need to add
a touch of pizzazz to your home videos
and captured wedding movies! It doesn’t
end there—you also get Nero ShowTime
for playing back your favorite DVDs, Nero
Recode2 for creating backups of your DVD
movies, and Nero Backup for saving your
hard disk’s contents onto blank DVDs for
backup. All in all, our highest performer this
year, with an exciting software bundle.
Reviewed in September 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
winner in this category, it only does 4x write
speeds for dual layer, but still posted good
scores in our tests. With this drive, we wrote
a standard 4.7 GB single layer DVD+R disk
in a shade over six and a half minutes! Yes,
it would certainly make slight work of your
DivX movie collection alright!
The drive also bundles software like
Nero Express 6 for writing various types
of DVDs and PowerDVD for DVD movie
playback. With excellent performance and
a relatively smaller form factor, this little
drive delivers on performance.
Reviewed in February 2005,
Comparison Tests.
this drive is ideally suited to applications
where you would simple want blazing
read performance. This makes it especially
suited to office applications that include
installation of like large applications
and operating system installations across
several computers—these would
highly benefit from this drive’s blazing
read speeds.
It would also be suited to applications
for gamers or photo artists who would
want to launch applications and files
directly off a written CD or who would
want to transfer files to a blank CD.
Reviewed in February 2005,
Comparison Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 44 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Motherboards Gigabyte GA-81955X
Its main feature is the new 955X
Northbridge from Intel. Intel’s 955X chipset
supports dual core processors and higher
FSB speeds. In addition, it has support for
SATA 2 and more USB ports. Feature-wise,
this chipset is a huge leap and it excels in
performance too. The placement of the
individual parts such as CPU socket, DIMM
slots, and so on, is excellent, with
ample breathing space.
Power management is boosted with the
Dual Power System 2 slot, located near the
CPU socket; the eight-phase power circuit
system ensures consistent and adequate
power supply to the board and the
devices attached to the board. The board
First runner up
Foxconn 955X7AA
This relatively new entrant in the local
market impressed us with extreme
performance and extensive features. The
board is based around the 955X chipset
from Intel and supports Intel’s dual core
processors on socket 775 platform, while
also supporting all the normal processors
based on the socket 775 architecture.
Feature-wise, this board comes loaded
with SATA ports, PCI E slots, support for
up to 8 GB of DDR2 memory, overclocking
options. The newer SATA 2 interface is also
supported, which allows the user to extract
a whopping 300 Mbps transfer rate when
paired with a SATA 2 hard drive. The board
Second runner up
Gigabyte GA-8i945G Pro
Though the Intel 955X platform is the
latest of the lot, the slightly older 945
platform is still the mainstream platform,
most widely used today. The GA-8i945G
Pro is a clear winner in the 945G segment.
The board offers everything that you
can ask for in USB 2.0 ports—optical and
coaxial outs, RJ45 port and a VGA port.
The board comes loaded with dual BIOS,
four SATA 2 ports, a PCIE slot and USB plus
IEEE1394b headers. The chipset sports
Intel’s Matrix storage technology, which
allows RAID 0, 1, 0+1 and 5 to be created.
The 945G sports Intel GMA 950 display,
high performance Intel audio chipset for
superior sound. With all the essentials
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
offers tons of features and tweaks for
overclockers; with precise FSB tweaks and
latency options you can really push the CPU
to its limits, extracting peak performance
from the processor.
Using a Radeon X850, we took the board
through out gaming tests. The board
blasted through the gaming tests clocking
at 79 FPS in Doom 3 (at a resolution of
1024x768 and at high quality settings).
The board is by far the best combination of
power, features, overclocking
and stability and hence deserves the
top spot!
Reviewed in June 2005,
Hardware Standalone Tests.
also incorporates SATA RAID, allowing you
to set up SATA RAID in multiple modes (1,
0, 0+1, 5 and also Matrix RAID). The build
quality is excellent and a comprehensive
package makes it a very sweet deal. The
layout of components and expansion slots
is perfect, allowing lot of room inside the
cabinet and not obstructing any of the key
components.
On the benchmarks, the Foxcomm
955X7AA performed equally well across the
board. Be it synthetic benchmarks or real
world, the performance is right on the mark!
Reviewed in July 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
onboard and provisions for upgrading
graphics, this is a great match for both
regular home users as well as
power users.
Supporting dual channel DDR 2
memory with a maximum capacity of 4 GB,
the board provides a lot of headroom for
future memory upgrades. Supporting the
newer Pentium-D dual core processors, the
945G board also allows for upgradeability
in the future.
All in all, the GA-8i945G Pro is an
excellent product which does justice to the
platform.
Reviewed in October 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

MSI K8N Diamond
The MSI K8N Diamond is undoubtedly
our favorite motherboard in the entire
segment. It faced stiff competition from
some of the best brands in the industry,
offering remarkable boards in the socket
939 category. The K8N Diamond is based
on Nvidia’s nForce4 SLI chipset. It supports
all the socket 939 processors including
the top-of-the line FX series as well as
the AMD 939 based dual core processors.
Leading the features department by a long
way the K8N Diamond offers Gb Ethernet
support, 10 USB 2.0 connectors, three
FireWire ports, six SATA connectors and
an eight-channel audio solution provided
by Creative Soundblaster. MSI betters the
A8N SLI Deluxe
The A8N SLI Deluxe narrowly lost to the
K8N Diamond but the overall performance
and feature set of the board almost
matches the K8N Diamond motherboard.
Based on the nForce4 SLI chipset, the
board supports all the socket 939 based
processors, be it the dual cores or the FX
series. The CPU and memory performance
of the board is excellent, and there aren’t
any major compatibility issues as well.
The layout is simple and well thought out,
ensuring enough space for the SLI setup.
The board layout permits almost all the
giant CPU coolers, facilatating overclocking
of the highly potent 939 chips. Some
ECS KN1 Extreme
The ECS KN1 Extreme is a Socket 939-
based board which runs on the Nvidia
nForce4 Ultra chipset. It has an extremely
impressive range of features: it supports
up to six IDE drives, six SATA drives (with
support for RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 0+1).
Add to that, it has 10 USB 2.0 ports and two
FireWire ports. The board has a PCI Express
slot, dual LAN, six-channel AC 97 sound on
board, and a dual BIOS solution that not
only stores two images of the BIOS on the
same chip, but also keeps two separate
chips to store the two BIOS images. The
performance of this board is stellar as well.
It scored a scorching 5423/5267 in the
SiSoft Sandra 2005 memory bandwidth
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR | COVERSTORY 45
AMD Motherboards
offer by giving voltage regulators and
smart cooling system that uses heat pipes
to cool the chipset.
The biggest advantage of the
Diamond series board is the tweaking and
overclocking options, Allowing some fine
tunning, the K8N Diamond lets you extract
maximum performance from the processor
as well as the memory by letting you
tighten the memory latencies while pushing
the processor speed higher. The extreme
performance and rich feature set is backed
by a good package with tons of accessories
and utilities for performance users.
Reviewed in March 2005,
Comparisons Tests.
First runner up
unique features like auto SLI switching
through BIOS and special adjustments
for CPU and memory FSB helped us to
overclock an FX 53 to an FX 55 level.
Another very unique and noteworthy
feature offered by the A8N-SLI board is
the unique automatic overclocking mode
where the board itself overclocks the
system without the user needing to change
the value manually. Supporting eight USB
2.0 ports, gigabit LAN, FireWire and optical
out the A8N-SLI offers comprehensive
connectivity and peripherals support.
Reviewed in February 2005,
Hardware Standalone Tests.
Second runner up
benchmarks. We ran a Doom 3 time
demo on it with low quality settings and
everything turned off—the KN1 gave us
2-3 FPS more than other nForce4 boards we
tested in our roundups.
The bundled overclocking software
also gave us great results. All in all, the
ECS KN1 Extreme is a special board with
an amazing feature set, solid design and
great performance, a perfect match for any
enthusiast or gamer.
If only it had SLI support and slightly
better build quality, it could have come
very close to the MSI and ASUS boards!
Reviewed in September 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 46 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Digital Cameras Canon PowerShot S2 IS
Digital cameras are not all about
megapixels and the Canon PowerShot S2
IS simply reiterates the fact. The S2 IS has
a 5-MP CCD sensor, which might not be
the highest in terms of pixel count but it’s
more than sufficient for 8x6-inch prints
and should suffice for most home users
and budding photography enthusiasts. The
image quality is excellent with natural color
reproduction and accurate color saturation.
The S2 IS offers 12x optical zoom, the
highest level of optical zoom offered by
digital cameras. What’s more, there’s
the image stabilization feature which
compensates for the hand shake that blurs
the image when used at maximum optical
First runner up
Canon PowerShot S70
The Powershot S70 won the best
performance award in our digital camera
comparison tests. Offering a mammoth
7.1MP CCD that allows A4 size prints, this
camera lets you choose between RAW
and JPEG format. Feature wise, the camera
offers high resolution, plenty of manual
settings, various focusing options, white
balancing presets and metering modes like
Matrix, Centre-weighted, etc. The camera
provides all the different shooting modes
too. There’s a macro mode that allows
you to get within 4 cm of the subject. This
camera is powered by a Li-ion battery
which is quite a relief, as AA batteries suck
Second runner up
Canon Digital IXUS 50
The IXUS 50 surprised us with its image
quality, feature set and speed. It delivered
the best results in the ultra compact
category. With 5.3 megapixel CCD and
3x optical zoom, the IXUS 50 is a highly
capable digital camera. With the zippy
DIGIC processor and 9-point AiAF focus
system, the camera provides incredible
accuracy in varied shooting conditions.
Ideal for point-and-shoot users, the cam
offers tons of preset modes, ensuring
you waste minimal time configuring the
camera and capture those magic moments
instantly. The camera does not restrict you
though; it offers some manual controls
as well for experimenting with light
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
zoom. Though video recording is generally
not the forte of digital cameras, the S2 IS
bends the rules, allowing high quality video
recording at 640x480, with sound giving a
smooth 25 FPS.
The build quality and ergonomics are
well taken care of, giving a solid feel. The
cam offers a good mix of automatic preset
modes and manual controls, making it
suitable for both the point-and-shoot
purpose as well as for manual control
that advanced users would demand. The
cam has the SD card slot and uses 4AA
batteries.
Reviewed in October 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
dry before you know it. What’s also of
importance is that it can support both CF I
and II standards.
The S70 scored well in the CCD color
tests. It was able to accurately reproduce
real life colors. This camera also scored the
highest in the resolution test. That is, it
captured small details much better than
any of the other cameras.
The Canon S70 is also one of the
sleekest and best looking cameras around.
The streamlined chunk of metal comes in a
dark, marine blue with a matt finish.
Reviewed in April 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
conditions and exposure levels.
We were particularly amazed with
the start-up times and zippy menus.
The controls and settings menu are very
user friendly and takes very little time to
master; thus it’s ideal for first time users.
Powered on Li-ion battery, the IXUS has
excellent battery life and is charged by the
supplied charger.
Last but certainly not the least, the IXUS
is one of the most sturdy and good looking
ultra compact cameras around. The all
metal body with brushed metal finish lends
a classy look also provides a snug fit.
Reviewed in September 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
48 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Multifunctional devices Canon Pixma MP780
Clearly one of the fastest growing segments
in computer peripherals, multifunctional
devices certainly came into their own this
year. With the ability to unify your printing,
scanning, faxing and copying needs,
it’s almost like these devices are now a
necessity in home or office applications. Add
to that, they have a far lower footprint than
each of these peripheral devices individually,
and they also cost much lesser than all the
individual devices put together.
We found the Canon Pixma MP780 to
be the Lord of these devices. The sheer
speed with which it handled text and
image printouts set new standards of
performance in its category. With the
First runner up
Lexmark X215
Appealing to the office systems
administrators out there, this laser printer-
based multifunction device offers printing,
scanning, copying and faxing capabilities.
With a plethora of printing and scanning
controls and modes, this machine is ideally
suited for continuous use in strenuous
applications. With a sheet feed tray of
250 sheets, it would be a while before it
were to run out of paper. Thoughtfully,
the device also has a legacy parallel port
in addition to its USB port, to allow it to
connect to older machines if required.
It also has the facility through which an
Ethernet adapter can be attached to it
Second runner up
Epson Stylus CX4500
This little device came very close to
bagging top honors in its category during
the time of testing. Featuring printing,
scanning and copying functionality, this
multifunctional device boasts of a printing
engine, with a native resolution of 1440 dpi
in monochrome and color, and an optical
scanning resolution of 600 dpi—pretty
impressive by any standards. Also,
traditional to Epson’s fixed head technology,
this device uses ink tanks—four in all. These
individual CMYK ink tanks and the higher
native printing resolution resulted in visibly
sharper and more vivid colors, especially in
the photo printing tests.
To facilitate easier scanning, the
ability to churn out a page of text every
4.5 seconds and with an input paper tray
capacity of 300 sheets, this device is able
to handle the most strenuous of workloads
in a small or medium business without
breaking into a sweat! Even the image
quality of this device is excellent with its
1200 dpi native printing and scanning
resolutions. The device also boasts
compliance with the PictBridge standard,
allowing for it to be connected directly
to a digital camera where images can be
transferred and printed without the need
of a computer in between.
Reviewed in May 2005,
Comparison Tests.
for more effortless and efficient network
printing in workgroup scenarios. Owing to
its speedy laser printing engine, it speeds
to text printouts at the rate of a sheet,
every 4.6 seconds or so—very quick indeed.
Also, being laser based, the running costs of
this device is markedly lower than that of
an inkjet printer with similar specifications.
And with its specification of 600 dpi
monochrome printing, the device is ideally
suited to demanding text applications that
involve a bit of graphics, where color is not
too important.
Reviewed in July 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
lid is detachable, making it possible to
effortlessly scan large books, etc. Another
rather unique addition is the presence
of several flash card readers including
Compact Flash, Smart Media, Memory
Stick, MMC and xD card formats. Therefore,
no matter what digital camera you have,
chances are that it could be read directly
in this machine. There is also a multi-line
7-segment display (though a color display
would have been much better). However,
when it comes to scanning and printing
performance, this is one device that will
deliver on the performance front.
Reviewed in May 2005,
Comparison Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
50 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Laptops Toshiba M40
When it comes to having as much
horsepower on the road as you’re used
to on your desktop, the Toshiba M40 has
the specs to meet the most demanding
of applications head on. Besides looking
drop-dead gorgeous with its 1280x800
widescreen display, it is powered by an
Intel Pentium M 740 processor, clocking at
1.7 GHz. For tackling demanding graphics
and productivity applications, the 512 MB
of DDR 2 400 memory and the generous
60 GB hard disk offer plenty of room to
compute. And if you have a penchant for
gaming, the integrated Nvidia GeForce
Go 6600 is one of the most powerful
integrated graphics subsystems, providing
First runner up
Acer TravelMate 4601 WLMi
Just because a laptop is a desktop
replacement doesn’t necessarily mean it
needs to look like one. The Acer TravelMate
4601 WLMi with its slick profile and
feature-packed specifications proved to
be a commendable machine in our tests,
for the demanding user looking for the
best in computing power while on the
road. Powered by a 1.6 GHz Pentium M
processor, it also has 256 MB of DDR
333 RAM and a generous 60 GB hard
disk drive, making it a good platform for
running demanding applications without
sacrificing on functionality and system
response. Connectivity wise, this machine
Second runner up
Toshiba Tecra S2
Very few products get the price
performance ratio correctly. Fewer still
manager to put out a best-of-class product
at a reasonable price! The Toshiba Tecra
S2 integrates plenty of bang for the buck,
considering that it is packed to the gills
with powerful system components and
appealing features. Powered by a new
generation Pentium M 730 processor
clocking 1.6 GHz and carrying 256 MB
of DDR2 400 RAM, this machine means
business. It also has a 40 GB hard disk
spinning at 5400 rpm (faster than most
other notebook hard disks that spin at
4200 rpm), and integrated PCI Express
graphics. On the connectivity front,
for a thrilling experience for even newer,
graphically demanding games like Doom
3 and the like. The system is also based
upon the new ‘Sonoma’ 915-based mobile
chipset that runs at 533 MHz, offering very
good performance and room for growth.
Completing the package is a DVD writer
drive, integrated flash memory readers (SD,
MMC, Memory Stick Pro and xD), Gigabit
Ethernet connectivity and of course,
802.11g-based 54 Mbps wireless LAN.
With such specifications, it’s without
much effort that this machine lends an
inferiority complex to most workstations!
Reviewed in June 2005,
Comparison Tests.
offers 54 Mbps 802.11g Wireless LAN,
Bluetooth functionality along with the
mandatory wired Ethernet connectivity.
There’s support for both WPA and CCX
security on the wireless front—both
offering better protection compared to the
plain vanilla WEP Wi-Fi security standard.
The integrated ATI X600-based graphics
subsystem, providing great gaming
performance is the icing on the cake.
Be it high-end gaming or high-end 3D
authoring, this notebook has the power to
handle such applications.
Reviewed in July 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
it boasts of Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11g
wireless LAN, Firewire, and of course USB.
If you’re an avid digital photographer,
you’ll appreciate the integrated SD, MMC,
Memory Stick Pro, xD and Smart Media
card interfaces.
With all of this power, we found it highly
suited to productivity applications with the
occasional bout of gaming thrown in.
Best of all, it doesn’t weigh in too much
more than most conventional laptops,
making it ideally suited to a life on the road
where the extra grams quickly tell on your
fatigue levels!
Reviewed in June 2005,
Comparison Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

Apple iPod
Right since the launch of the first
generation, the iPod till date is the world’s
best and the most loved MP3 player.
It’s one of the first hard drive-based MP3
player offering a mammoth storage space
which can hold an entire music library of
more than 12,000 songs which can keep
you grooving to your favorite tunes for
months together. With its patented ‘Click
Wheel’ design, it’s the most user-friendly
player which you can find. Even though
many have a touchpad for navigation, they
don’t feel as comfortable.
It’s after the iPod that many
manufacturers are now coming out with
‘white colored’ MP3 players.
Sony NW-HD3
Sony is known for making players with
excellent build quality and ergonomics.
Protected by a metal shell, no other MP3
player feels like a sturdy metal block as the
Sony NW-HD3 Network Walkman does.
A good feature in all portable music players
by Sony is that they are bundled with
excellent earphones, which deliver crisp
sound and deep bass without cutting off
any frequencies. We found the earphones
bundled with this player unmatched till
date. Its built-in 20 GB hard disc can hold
the equivalent of 13,000 tracks. With a
hard disk-based player, it’s highly desirable
to have good ergonomics to navigate if
Samsung YH-J70
When hard drive based MP3 players first
came into existence they could only play
music and offered other features like a
few games, equalizer presets and music
management. But today, manufacturers
have managed to fit in more than 10 other
useful features to make the player more
versatile. Samsung has managed to do this
very well with its newly launched MP3
player, the YH-J70.
Other than playing music, it has many
added features. It boasts of an FM tuner,
voice and FM recorder, video playback and
five games, including the highly-addictive
Tetris and Othello to keep you busy for
hours after you switch it on.
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR | COVERSTORY 51
MP3 players (Hard disk)
While the fifth generation of iPod
manages to fit all the previous generation’s
features in a smaller form factor, it sports
a bigger screen and video playback support
in H.264 750-Kbps format. Even though
video playback is not its first priority,
what’s amazing is how Apple manages to
pack so much in so much in little space and
then add further more in still lesser space!
If you’re a serious music lover, then you
owe yourself an iPod. Even though it is
priced high, it’s guaranteed that you will
get the best performance and features for
the price you pay.
Reviewed in December 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
First runner up
you want to locate your favorite song from
thousands and also a good battery life. The
Sony NW-HD3 excels in both respects. With
30 hours of uninterrupted playtime from
a single battery charge, it emerged a clear
winner during our MP3 player round up. A
distinct feature is implementation of the
G-Sensor technology which protects the
player’s hard disk from impact by landing
the head during physical impact while
operating, thus protecting your valuable
music or data. A must-have if you want a
stylish, sturdiest and the best MP3 player.
Reviewed in July 2005,
Comparison Tests.
Second runner up
While most hard drive based MP3
players have a battery life of 15 hours on
an average, the YH-J70 offers 25 hours
battery life despite being feature loaded
and having a color LCD display.
An important feature which most hard
disk based players lack is direct file transfer
to the player’s drive without using any
software. Samsung cleverly manages to
fill up this gap with this player. Finally, the
most interesting feature in this player is
the USB host function using which you can
directly copy or view content stored on USB
devices like digital cameras.
Reviewed in December 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
52 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
MP3 players (Flash) iRiver IFP-795
Solid state MP3 players are best devices
to carry around 50 to 100 songs in your
pocket. Having no moving parts like hard
disk-based players, they are quite sturdy
and have plenty of features packed into a
small form factor.
When it comes to best sound quality
along with hordes of features, the iRiver
IFP-79x series is miles ahead of all other
solid state players. The iRiver IFP-795 can
store around 140 songs on its 512 MB flash
memory. There’s also support for USB 2.0
which helps in transferring songs and data
to the player quickly without wasting time.
FM, voice recorder, equalizer presets and
firmware upgradability are seen in most of
First runner up
iRiver N10
The iRiver N10 is not just an MP3 player
but also a fashion accessory, which can be
worn around the neck as a pendant.
While most solid state players are
meant to be lugged around in the pocket,
the iRiver has innovatively designed this
one as a pendant. The necklace is made up
for by the necklace-type earphones. This
weighs only 24 gms but its so powerful
that it can blow your ears!
The secret behind the light weight is the
built-in lithium polymer cell. And for the
cell to give out a good 11-hour playtime,
the player sports an attractive OLED
display seen in many players, which have a
Second runner up
Samsung YP-C1
If playtime is what you are looking for in
an MP3 player, the Samsung YP-C1 will
keep you more than satisfied. Running on
a single AA alkaline battery, this one can
deliver 42 hours of music playback—just 6
hours less than 2 full days at a stretch!
Leaving aside direct encoding and line-
in functions, this solid state MP3 player,
which is as big as a cigarette lighter, packs
all features that all players of this category
must possess. It supports MP3, WMA, ASF
and OGG formats and sports FM tuner, and
voice recorder.
We found two very interesting features
in this player. The player emphasizes on
good sound quality. It has 9 equalizer
the existing players—the IFP-795 doesn’t
miss out on any of these features, plus it
has a lot more other features, which makes
it the best player around.
With line-in support and direct encoding,
this player can directly encode recorded
contents into MP3 format upto 320 kbps.
Since solid state players don’t take much
power, they offer the best battery life. On a
single AA alkaline cell, this dynamite sound
stick can pump out music for 40 hours
at a go! Fully loaded with accessories like
carrying case, neck strap and arm band, it’s
simply the best you can buy.
Reviewed in October 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
built-in battery. OLED displays look great,
but the reason for which they are used is to
conserve battery life.
Looking at the N10, it’s almost
impossible to believe that it has 256 MB of
inbuilt memory and a voice recorder.
And to top this, it also has equalizer
presets, play and repeat modes.
Due to its compact size, Line-in and FM
are absent from the feature list, but who
knows what the future holds.
For fashion conscious people and geek
music lovers, the N10 is a perfect choice!
Reviewed in December 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
presets to enhance sound quality with
support for SRS WOW and TruBass 3D.
Also to make music-listening more fun, it
integrates the lyrics viewer. Very few MP3
players have this interesting feature of
displaying lyrics of the song line by line. To
make the player display lyrics, you have to
do the job of feeding lyrics and timing it
into each song.
The YP-C1 also has good ergonomics for
its size. The 5-way joystick and tree format
file view ease navigation. Bundled with
excellent earphones and a carry case, the
Samsung YP-C1 simply rocks!
Reviewed in July 2005,
Comparison Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
54 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Speakers (Stereo) Altec Lansing MX5021
Best speakers are not only about big sound
and high wattage. Most importantly, it’s
the quality of sound that matters the
most. The Altec Lansing MX5021 is a 2.1
stereo speaker system that not only sounds
great but also looks great with a polished
black finish. If you think that only loud
and thundering speakers are the best, the
MX5021 proves you wrong. With a total
output of 90W RMS, it delivers precise and
well-balanced sound—THX certification
proves this point.
Even if you crank it up to full volume, it will
be very hard to point out flaws in output.
In most cases, the speakers distort at full
volume. You then have to play around with
First runner up
Bose Companion 3
Bose is a pioneer in manufacturing
high-end speaker systems. Other than
manufacturing professional speaker
systems for home theater setups, Bose also
makes multimedia speakers.
The Bose Companion 3 is a 2.1-channel
stereo speaker system which will fool
you by its size. Even though each satellite
speaker is merely as small as the mouse,
they are flawless. Be it classical, rock, hip-
hop or electronic music, you will be taken
away by the warm sound these speakers
can reproduce.
Looking at the brand name, you can’t
doubt the build quality. The speakers look
Second runner up
Creative Megaworks 250D
Today, 2.1 speakers with an output of up to
100 watts RMS are quite common. But the
creative Megaworks 250D boasts of a floor-
shaking output of 300 watts—higher than
the output of some of the multi-channel
speakers. Apart from being the most power
speaker in the 2.1 category-speakers that
we tested, it was also one of the first
multimedia speaker systems to be THX
certified. It’s been almost two years since
the launch of the Megaworks 250D, but it
still remains undefeated in power till today.
The secret behind its power is the type
of drivers it uses. The subwoofer has a 150-
watts driver and each satellite has a 75-
watts driver, which makes up for a total of
the knobs on the speakers. These speakers
clearly highlight the advancement in
acoustics. The construction of the body,
type and number of drivers, the quality of
the amplifier, angle at which the drivers are
fixed—everything has to be the best for
the speaker to be the best. The MX5021 has
met with all these standards to be the best
amongst the rest. With a cleverly designed
control pod, controlling the speakers can’t
get easier. You can easily control the volume
and tweak the bass and treble depending
on your taste of sound. The line-in feature
allows you to play music from Walkman, etc.
Reviewed in August 2005,
Comparison Tests.
gorgeous and have a design completely
different from the rest. Most subwoofers
have a round bass port. But the subwoofer
belonging to this sound system sports a
bass port in form of a vertical slit behind.
Also the control pod which bundles with the
Companion 3 is quite innovative. It looks
like a silver puck with a black ring around it.
The ring is the volume control and the top
of the pod is touch sensitive and is meant
to mute/unmute the speakers with a light
tap. This little monster is power-packed and
flawless but it demands a heavy price.
Reviewed in August 2005,
Comparison Tests.
300 watts. On an average, the total output
of a 2.1 channel speaker system is around
40 watts. Here, a single satellite of the 250D
delivers almost twice the output of the
entire speaker system. So you can imagine
how powerful the 250D is! With such a high
output, these speakers are perfectly suited
for people who like to watch movies and
play music at a hair-raising volume.
So if you are looking for the most
powerful THX-certified 2.1 channel speaker
system, grab the high-priced Creative
Megaworks 250D. It’s powerful enough to
shake your neighborhood!
Reviewed in August 2005,
Comparison Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

Logitech Z5500
Until Logitech launched the Z5500
speakers, home theater speakers remained
unchallenged by speakers meant for a PC.
The Logitech Z5500 is a 5.1 speaker system
which can pound out 500 watts of raw
power to shake your entire living room!
The technology behind making these
speakers the best is the same that is used
in many high-end home theater speaker
systems. Since the Z5500 conforms to Dolby
Digital DTS and THX standards, you can’t
doubt the quality of sound it offers. A 10-
inch sub-woofer, titanium microdrivers in
satellites and a good sound processor in the
control pod is what helps it deliver accurate,
balanced and natural sound. So far it is the
Creative Megaworks 550
If you like your hair being moved by hard
bass, Creative Megaworks 550 can do it for
you! These speakers are THX certified and
deliver monstrous power of 500 watts.
Even though all the speakers in this
system have a single driver, they are
capable of delivering crystal clear mids and
very sharp highs. Since this sound system
deliver very deep bass, it’s very well suited
for gaming. If you play FPS games on these
speakers, the firing of guns and explosions
will blow you away. With surround sound,
tracing enemies and blowing them into
pieces is a piece of cake. And if you play
a scary game like F.E.A.R. on this, don’t
Creative Gigaworks S750
7.1 channel speakers add two more
speakers to the 5.1 channel setup for
a better sound experience. It lets you
immerse into a more realistic gaming or
a movie experience with added effects
given out by the speakers placed at the
sides. Creative Gigaworks S750 is one
such speaker which is THX-certified and it
thumps out a bestial power of 700 watts.
The efficiency of the woofer to deliver
bass in a big area depends on its design and
power. Its woofer can deliver a whopping
output of 210 Watts RMS and is powered
three times as much as its satellites. With
this calculation and placement of the bass
port at the base of the sub-woofer, it can
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR | COVERSTORY 55
Speakers (Multi-channel)
only multi-channel PC speaker to feature a
control pod with inputs for SPDIF, optical
and RCA and a LCD display. But to do justice
to the speakers, you will also need to use a
good multi-channel soundcard.
Whether you are a music lover, movie
buff or a hardcore gamer—after listening
to this, you won’t like any other speakers.
If you don’t want to spend much on
a professional home theater system, go
ahead and buy the Logitech Z5500. You
won’t regret! It can easily complement
professional home theater speakers at half
the price!
Reviewed in August 2005,
Comparison Tests.
First runner up
play with lights off, or else you’ll fall off
your chair with fright! Even action movies
sound great with earth shattering effects
delivered by these speakers.
To control the volume and channels
easily, a control pod is included in the
package. At the time of launch, the
Megaworks 550 was the most powerful
speaker system meant for the PC but today
it has been overtaken by its rivals. One of
the reasons is the bass which drifts at high
volume. But still… it stands as one of the
best speakers in the multi-channel category.
Reviewed in August 2005,
Comparison Tests.
Second runner up
deliver uniform sound all over the room.
The subwoofer is elevated by foot stands.
So be sure you place it on a carpet to
prevent it from travelling when the
bass kicks.
For 8-channel audio setup, a compatible
soundcard is also required to drive the
speakers efficiently. Today, with most
motherboards having onboard 8-channel
audio support, you won’t have to ponder
over buying a separate sound card
Before buying the Gigaworks S750,
make sure you have a big room and big
money! It costs as much as a PC!
Reviewed in August 2005,
Comparison Tests.
56 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Hard Disk Drives Western Digital WD740GD
When it comes to hard drives, size
does matter! But not with the Western
Digital WD740GD! It has only 74 GB of
storage space. What western digital has
concentrated on here is speed. So what
makes this hard drive the fastest one in the
world? Simple! Two 2.5-inch platters of 37
GB each and a powerful but silent 10,000
RPM motor to spin them at a blazing speed.
And the result? Raw power!
Most hard drives use 3.5 inch platters
and a 7200 rpm motor, but this drive uses
2.5 inch platters with lesser storage capacity
and a 10,000 rpm motor. This innovation
makes this drive a clear winner!
Apart from storage space, what’s also
First runner up
Hitachi HDS725050KLA360
The Hitachi HDS725050KLA360 is the
biggest and the fastest hard drive you can
go in for a desktop computer. Five platters
of 100 GB each read by 10 heads is the
maximum that a hard drive can hold for a
desktop computer.
Tough job for the hard drive to manage
10 heads at a time, but still this drive is
one of the fastest and silent drives. This
is due to SATA II support coupled with a
16 MB buffer size and support for native
command queuing (NCQ). It delivers high
performance without being a burden
on the CPU. Older hard drives used to have
a spindle speed of 5,400 rpm and feature
Second runner up
Seagate ST3400832AS
It’s possible to design hard drives with
monstrous storage capacity primarily
because much more can be served on the
same platter than before!
At present most hard drives manage to
crunch 100 GB per platter. But Seagate
has taken this limit an inch ahead and
has successfully managed to squeeze in
additional 33.3 MB on a single 3.5 inch
platter. Considering an entire hard drive,
33.3 MB may seem to be hardly anything,
in terms of capacity. But it can reduce the
number of platters in a big drive.
The ST3400832AS is a 400 GB drive with
only three platters instead of four. With
fewer platters and heads, it has good
important is the performance of the drive
which affects the overall performance of
the PC. The WD740GD is so fast that it even
defeats the best SATA 2 drives NCQ, even
though it is a SATA-150 drive without NCQ.
Since this drive generates a lot of heat
due to high motor speed, its body has a
ribbed design to dissipate heat.
A RAID 0 array out of four such drives
can push out a phenomenal speed of
around 200 MB/s. Mindblowing! Isn’t it?
But keep one thing in mind before buying
this drive—for the same price you can get a
hard drive with 30 times the capacity!
Reviewed in September 2005,
Comparison Tests.
one or two platters. It’s amazing how this
drive manages to fit five platters in the
same space with a spindle speed of 7,200
rpm. This drive makes excellent use of the
SATA II technology capable of delivering
speeds upto 300 MB/s.
Imagine setting up a RAID 0 array
of four such drives. You would have a
mammoth storage space of 2 terabytes
spinning on 20 platters! Enough to store
2,000 DivX movies or 570,000 MP3s! You’d
take years to fill up the entire space. But
expand your budget.
Reviewed in September 2005,
Comparison Tests.
read/ write speeds while maintaining
low CPU utilization. Being a SATA drive, it
outperformed some of the SATA II drives
in performance tests. This drive also uses
NCQ to increase SATA performance.
At present for the price of this drive, you
can get a good 500 GB SATA II drive with
NCQ. But as the technology matures, prices
in future will definitely see a sharp drop.
Using the 133 GB platters, it will be
possible to design drives more than 500
GB for the desktop in future. Don’t be
surprised to see 650 GB drives with only
five platters in future.
Reviewed in September 2005,
Comparison Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

ASUS PM17TU
The PM17TU is truly all about performance.
This 17-inch screen is the best in terms
of image quality, color reproduction and
contrast rations. It’s ground breaking in
terms of technology, offering the fastest
response time ever on a 17-inch LCD screen.
The sharp text and ultra fast response
times is suitable for gaming, for work, or
for use at home. The sleek look, glare-type
screen and unmatched build quality make
it stand out from the rest in its category.
Its performance on color gradients and
image details is comparable to high quality
displays from the professional range of
LCD screens.
The PM17TU also proves a point in
Viewsonic VX924
A 19-inch LCD is still a luxury in India. Not
many brands are entering the 19-inch
segment with performance products.
Viewsonic took the initiative and offered
a 19-inch LCD that simply blew everything
else out of the water. Gaming on a 19-inch
LCD is bliss but if the response times are
long, the ghosting spoils the fun completely.
The VX924 takes the reponse time out of
the equation by offering a blazing fast LCD
with 4 ms response time and brilliant life-
like color reproduction and contrast ratios.
With wider view angles, the VX924 has
added flexibility by not restricting you to
enjoy movies on the large screen. With the
IBM ThinkVision L150
The L150 clearly out scored all the 15-inch
LCD monitors in our comparison tests.
It scored high on color reproduction,
performing at par with the best 19-inch
and 17-inch LCDs. Our most common
complaint with all the 15-inch LCD
monitors was build quality. None of the 15-
inch LCD monitors could match the build
quality of the L150. Colors were vibrant and
color gradation was spot on. Supporting
comfortable viewing angles, the L150 is
also one of the best looking LCD monitors
that we ever came across. The thin
frame and all-black smooth finish lend a
very classy look to it without being
flashy. The understated elegance
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR | COVERSTORY 57
TFT Monitor
terms of how fast the LCD technology
has matured to eliminate some of the
key issues of response times, color
reproduction and image quality.
Apart from the generic limitations of
view angles, the PM17TU has upped the
level of LCD panels and also raised our
expectations to a new level.
At the beginning of the year, the key factor
was to manufacture an LCD monitor that’s
affordable; now we enter the second phase
where the focus has shifted on LCDs that
are not only affordable but also of the
highest quality.
Reviewed in December 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
First runner up
right mix of brightness levels and contrast
ratios, the VX924 is able to deliver the most
natural color tones ever seen in a 19-inch
LCD monitor.
The quality standards are maintained
throughout with a sturdy frame and
excellent construction. Unlike many other
manufacturers offering average quality
ultra sleek frames, Viewsonic stuck to the
basics by using highest quality materials.
The placement of buttons and the OSD
interface are kept very simple, ensuring
quick access and maximum functionality.
Reviewed in October 2005,
Hardware Standalone Tests.
Second runner up
combined with flawless performance
outscored all the other 15-inch LCDs in the
comparison.
The simple OSD with intuitive menus
and easily accessible buttons make the
L150 one of the most user-friendly LCD
monitors. The surprisingly high response
time is the only factor that has kept the
L150 away from the gamers.
The ThinkVision L150 might be one of the
most expensive 15-inch LCD monitors
around but the premium is justified if you
are looking for peak performance and
unmatched styling.
Reviewed in October 2005,
Comparison Tests.
58 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
CRT Monitor ViewSonic P97f+ SB
If you’re searching for the best CRT monitor,
your search ends here! The ViewSonic P97f+
is the best 19-inch monitor we have tested.
Most CRT monitors available use a
shadow mask picture tube. But for extra-
fine picture quality, the P97f+ utilizes an
aperture grille picture tube. As the cost
involved in such a picture tube is high,
most CRT monitor manufacturers stay
away from this technology.
This monitor is an ace when it comes
to maximum resolution and refresh rate.
Being a 19-inch monitor, this one offers a
resolution of 2048x1536, common with
21-inch monitors. And the 1600x1200
resolution which most 19-inch monitors
First runner up
Samsung 997DF
If you think 19-inch CRT monitors occupy
too much space on the desktop, you’re
wrong! With advanced and a mature
fabrication process, manufacturers have
successfully managed to squeeze in a
19-inch picture tube in the same space
occupied by a 17-inch tube. Samsung
SyncMaster 997DF is one such monitor.
It measures almost as much as a 17-inch
monitor and it’s also one of the best 19-inch
CRT monitors having a shadow mask type
picture tube with a full flat screen. It also
offers maximum viewing area and the best
dot pitch in its category for sharp display.
A little more extra viewing area has been
Second runner up
Philips 105G7
Fifteen-inch CRT monitors are gradually
being phased out and replaced by 17-inch
monitors. Now, just by spending an extra
Rs 1,000, you can get a 17-inch monitor for
better viewing pleasure. However, if you
want to save space or go in for a low-
budget PC, a 15-inch CRT monitor is the
least what you can consider.
Out of the five monitors that we
tested in this category, we found the
Philips 105G7 the best. It takes over
other monitors in both features and
performance.
Maximum resolution supported by a
15-inch monitor is 1024x768. But at this
resolution, the monitor can handle the
support at a refresh rate of 60 Hz, this one
handles it at a flicker-free 85 Hz. Aimed at
professionals, this monitor is flawless in
all respects except for minor convergence
errors at corners which is a characteristic
of any picture tube. But if you are a
perfectionist, you can use the convergence
correction option in the menu to rectify
convergence errors. Only high-end monitors
have an option of correcting convergence
errors in the menu. With extreme base
stability and superb build quality, the P97f+
is worth considering if you are serious about
ultra-high performance.
Reviewed in November 2005,
Comparison Tests.
squeezed out by intelligently placing the
menu buttons on the side of the screen.
Feature wise, the 997DF is very similar
to other monitors. But what makes it one
of the best is its justice to performance.
Samsung has tried its best to make this
monitor deliver best performance. With
excellent chrominance and luminance, it’s
a perfect choice for both professionals as
well as home users. High screen stability,
tight dot pitch and perfect focus make it
well suited to watching movies or working
on imaging applications.
Reviewed in November 2005,
Comparison Tests.
refresh rate at only 60 Hz. At the highest
setting, your eyes will get strained if you sit
for long hours before the monitor. But with
the 105G7 which can handle a resolution
of 1024x768 with great ease at 85 Hz, you
won’t complain about eyes turning red or
watering even if you work for long hours.
Other than features and performance,
build quality, ergonomics and warranty, and
support are also important. Excellent build
quality, intuitive menus, robust warranty
and support with service centres all over the
country are some of the things that make
this monitor stand out from the rest.
Reviewed in November 2005,
Comparison Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
60 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Graphics Cards Asus N7800GT Dual
Unlike many other product categories
where the battle for supremacy is a close
one, in case of the N7800GT dual, the
decision was very straightforward.
Starting with performance, the
N7800GT dual is not only the highest
performing video card that we ever tested
but also the fastest video card in the
country.
Keeping performance aside, the
N7800GT Dual is also special in terms of
innovation and technology. Pairing dual
GPUs on a single card using the existing
SLI technology is truly a commendable
achievement.
The dual GPUs functioned seamlessly
First runner up
ATI X1800XT 512MB
The ATI camp very recently broke the
silence by releasing the much-awaited
R520, which is placed right at the top
against the 7800GTX from Nvidia. With
eight shader units less than the 7800GTX,
the X1800XT is technically inferior to
the 7800GTX but performed at par if
not better than the 7800GTX. With
improved shader rendering techniques
and smarter memory management, the
X1800XT manages to deliver the goods
optimally. The R520 core is built on a 90
nm fabrication process, which also allows
ATI to bump the core speed above the
600 MHz mark, the highest achieved GPU
Second runner up
Asus Extreme N7800GTX TOP
For a long time this card was at the top
of the charts, being the fastest 7800GTX
that ever visited our Test Center. The
arrival of 7800GT Dual and X1800XT did
change the balance lately but it does not
take any credit away from the 7800GTX
extreme version, which is a beast of a card.
Equipped with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory
clocked at 1.35GHz, the card comes with
the NV Silencer5 as the default cooler. The
core is also on steroids at 486 MHz. The 12
percent jump in core and memory yields a
decent boost in most of the benchmarks.
Scoring 8522 points in 3DMark 2005 was
truly remarkable, and the performance
got better with newer driver versions. The
and performed at par with two Geforce
7800GT GPUs in the traditional SLI setup.
The innovation does not stop here, Asus
knew that a card of this stature will need all
the power in the world and even the most
handsome power supply units will struggle
to supply the juice. They simply changed the
rules by giving an option to power the card
separately using an external power supply
unit which directly draws power from the
power socket, taking the PC PSU out of the
equation.
Kudos to Asus for releasing the most
powerful and innovative video card of 2005.
Reviewed in December 2005,
Hardware Feature.
core speed till date. Coming to memory,
the X1800XT is blessed with 512 MB of
memory giving it a distinct edge in texture
heavy applications; the 512 MB of memory
is clocked at an insane 1.5 GHz, clearly 300
MHz higher than the 7800GTX at stock
speeds.
As always, ATI also advances in the
Anti Aliasing department with their new
“Adaptive Anti Aliasing”, a refined way for
balancing between super sampling and
multi-sampling that improves image quality
while maintaining good frame rates.
Reviewed in December 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
card could easily crunch 50 FPS at higher
settings on F.E.A.R. and Doom 3, some of
the most intensive PC games today.
The build quality and software bundle
compliment the performance. Asus
bundles its very own overclocking and
monitoring utility that keeps a check on
the temperatures. With the latest full
version games and DVD player software,
the buyer has no reason to complain
against the card except for the massive
size and heavy power requirements—a
common issue with all the ultra high-end
cards today.
Reviewed in October 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

Buffalo TeraStation
Think about storing about 1,428 CDs or
210 full-length DVD movies. That’s how
much one terabyte is! Constructed using
four 250 GB hard disks, this little box is
the perfect answer to a storage-hungry
network of users or in applications like
audio and video production where the
data creation rates can quickly outstrip
even the largest of hard disks and servers.
The most appealing factor about this
device is its connectivity. By simply
plugging it into a node on the network
and configuring the device, it acts as the
huge storage subsystem that everyone
can use as he would any other network
drive. With the ability to be configured in
Maxtor OneTouch II
If you thought an external hard disk drive
was a delicate little device, the Maxtor
OneTouch II will certainly change that
perception. Constructed using a solid
metal casing, it contains a 200 GB drive
connected to your host computer via a USB
2.0 interface. The basic premise around this
device is simplicity, with intuitive usage.
Controlled by the large ‘One Touch’ button,
it’s supported by an excellent software
bundle that allows for plenty of control and
options for backing up your individual files
or even your entire hard disk. The software
also creates restore points from where the
user can recover from unfortunate events
Western Digital Passport
When it comes to having plenty of storage
in the palm of your hands, this 80 GB
Western Digital Passport packs in quite a
wallop for something so small.
Created using a 2.5-inch hard disk drive
(the kinds that are used in laptops), it’s
enclosed in a USB 2.0-capable casing that
provides very good transfer speeds for
copying data. Like other external storage
drives, this one is driverless and can be
directly connected to your computer—
detection is a snap in Windows XP.
Since it shows up as a standard
Windows drive, transferring files is as easy
as dragging and dropping to the drive’s
icon. Another salient feature with this
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR | COVERSTORY 61
External Storage
a variety of methods including spanning,
four separate drives, mirroring and RAID 5
with allows for fault tolerance for added
data integrity in sensitive applications, it
can address a wide range of applications.
It also boasts of excellent data transfer
speeds owing to its gigabit network
interface. Equally impressive is the client
application software that provides an
intuitive, yet powerful solution to personal
data backups. To top it all, every one of
these functions are controlled via a handy
web interface that can be accessed from
anywhere on your network.
Reviewed in September 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
First runner up
like system crashes and the like. With a file
copy rate of about 1 GB per minute, you
won’t need to wait too long to back up your
files. Additionally, you can also use this
device as a conventional external storage
device where you needn’t invoke the
backup software to copy files to the drive.
Using this method, we found the file copy
speeds were even quicker.
In this day and age of mammoth MP3
collections and ever-growing personal DivX
libraries, this is indeed a great device to help
keep your data off your computer and safe.
Reviewed in November 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
Second runner up
external storage drive is the fact that its
hard disk spins at 5,400 rpm, which is
significantly quicker than the conventional
4,200 rpm drive speeds of most 2.5-inch
hard disks. This definitely translates into
greater speeds as was evidenced by its
ability to copy a CD worth of data, in a little
under 50 seconds!
With very good ergonomics, a pocket-
able form factor and foolproof simplicity of
operation, this drive is the ideal companion
for professionals in the graphics and video
field where file sizes are large and data
transfer needs are apparent.
Reviewed in June 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
62 COVERSTORY | BEST PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR
Processors AMD Athlon FX 57
A study of the trends in processor
technology lends valuable insight into
the overall state of the industry within a
year. This year, we saw the launch of a set
of blazing processors in the enthusiast
category. Among them, the one that
grabbed the crown is AMD’s Athlon FX 57.
When considering its architecture,
everything about this processor speaks
speed. Although it clocks at ‘only’ 2.8 GHz,
the presence of an integrated 128-bit
memory controller, the generous 1 MB
of L2 cache and the proven might of the
14.4 GB/sec bandwidth of the Hyper
Transport bus link between the processor
and the rest of the system make for a
Runner up
AMD Athlon X2
Perhaps the most significant advancement
in desktop processing technology this
year has been the advent of the dual core
processor. With chip manufacturers having
the ability to shoehorn two cores onto a
single wafer of silicon, the application-
based implications are manifold.
At the top of the dual core stack, we
found the AMD Athlon X2 sported some
intelligent technologies that pushed it
ahead of the others in its class and emerge
a winner in relevant desktop applications.
The move to 90 nanometer fabrication
was one of the most compelling reasons
why this dual core processor was possible.
Mobile Processors
Intel Dothan
When it comes to mobile processing, there’s
only one name that stands out—Intel’s
Centrino platform. Into its next generation,
this processor, now called the Dothan, broke
records on several counts. We consider this
mobile processor top-of-the-class for its
sheer innovation and design.
Powerful for demanding applications, it
also delivers excellent scores on battery life
in the laptops it’s used in. Christened the
Pentium M 735, the processor we reviewed
sported a 1.7 GHz clock speed with the
highest-end range going up to over 2
GHz. Fabricated using a 90 nanometer
architecture, this processor shoehorns
2 MB of L2 cache into its core—even its
winning combination. You don’t need
to go in for a new motherboard for this
processor as it’s based upon the standard
939-pin interface—now commonplace
among AMD-based boards. And if you
think that this powerhouse of a processor
eats up insane amounts of power, think
again—it consumes a manageable 104
watts of power, enabling it to be used
with even a standard, large-fan copper
heatsinks instead of having to use other
exotic cooling systems. Throw what we
could at it, it delivered on every gaming,
productivity and multimedia application.
Reviewed in August 2005,
Standalone Hardware Tests.
Add to it, this processor connects its two
cores on a very integral level within the
processor, resulting in blazing high transfer
rates between the two cores. And with
each core carrying 1 MB of L2 cache each,
there’s plenty of power for demanding
applications. This was aptly seen in the
processor’s performance in multitasking
scenarios where several applications were
running together—a very common mode
of use with most users. The Athlon X2
translates into real world gains without
having to wait for compatible applications.
Reviewed in August 2005,
Hardware Feature.
desktop counterparts have less! Even
though AMD’s Turion processor offers
support for 64-bit extensions, it doesn’t
match up to the new Dothan processor on
processing power or power consumption.
Special mention needs to be made
about the formidable Sonoma platform
which, with its 533 MHz system bus speed,
lets the Dothan processor really stretch
its legs, all of this without significantly
affecting power consumption levels of the
notebook it’s used in. The Dothan CPU has
set a new standards for high performance
computing on the road.
Reviewed in June 2005,
Comparison Tests.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
64
Vishwanath Vanjire
I
n celebration of two years of our Test
Center’s existence, this month we’ve
beefed up our hardware test section
and have brought you some of the most
bleeding-edge products. With 20 products
reviewed, we have plenty of first looks
including the ultra-hip iRiver N10 MP3
player, the spanking new iPod now with
video support, a fantastic little external
hard disk that stores all your movies and
outputs it directly to your high-definition TV
directly! On the gaming front, we have the
recently unveiled X1800 XT graphics card
from ATI. If you’re looking for tighter control
in your FPS fragfests, check out our review
Hardware
| The Ratings Explained
The products in the individual and
comparison tests share exactly the same
test procedures.
Each product in Top Gear is rated on
a scale of 5 for different key parameters:
Performance, Build Quality, Features,
Ergonomics and Warranty. These vary
according to the characteristics of the
hardware. For instance, ergonomics (ease
of use) is not important in a graphics card
and therefore, it will not be evaluated
for this.
A product’s Overall Rating is calculated
by assigning weightages to each evaluation
Top Gear
of the new Logitech G5 Laser mouse.
The Palm Treo 650 smart phone is chock
full of capabilities and features. But does it
successfully cut it as a cellular phone and
handheld device? Read on to find out. We
also bring you a fantastic TFT monitor that
pretty much re-wrote our performance
references after blazing through our tests.
Convergence is the name of the game
these days and we saw it in a new device
that marries DVD movie playback along
with DivX and even high definition video
playback. Check these products out—be it
coolness, high performance or both, you’ll
find them all here!
parameter—the more important a parameter,
the higher is the weightage allotted to it.
In addition, there is a Value for Money
rating, which is calculated from the
performance and the features of the product,
in relation to the price. High performance
and lots of features at a low price translates
into a better Value for Money rating. This
rating is calculated using current prices.
Note: The prices mentioned here do
not include taxes. Hence, they will vary
according to the taxes applicable in
the city or state where you buy the product
from.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 TESTED | HARDWARE 65

Pod-ified video
A s the name indicates, the single
biggest enhancement with this Fifth
Generation iPod is its all-new ability to
play back video, in addition to songs and
images. This has resulted in its designers
providing a larger 2.5-inch 320x240
pixel color screen which boasts of sharp
resolution and vivid colors.
Customary to any Apple product,
form, function and sheer design play
an overwhelming part in it. Solid and
absolutely seamless, the device’s black face
and chrome backing look gorgeous. Now
in its 5th generation, this iPod is slightly
thinner than its predecessor. Also, the scroll
wheel is designed smaller than the last iPod.
Like its predecessors, this iPod is meant
Express to the iPod. Like its predecessor, the
iPod Photo, this version lets you view your
digital image from your computer or digital
camera. The iPod can also be used as a USB
storage device as it shows up in the Explorer
folder listing. However, songs, image and
videos copied to it cannot be played on
the devices unless they are specifically
transferred through the iTunes interface.
You can only play back MP3 or AAC tracks
on your iPod, therefore all other formats
are converted before transferring. This is
anyway done by the iTunes application
when you add files to its library.
However, we found that transferring
videos to the iPod was quite cumbersome.
The manual states that you need to simply
MP3 Player
Apple iPod
Specifications: Capacity: 30 GB, Screen: 2.5-inch
color LCD with backlight, Dock connector, stereo
minijack, Interface: USB 2.0, Audio formats: AAC
(16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC, MP3 (16 to 320
Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), Apple
Lossless, WAV, AIFF, Video formats: H.264 video up
to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240, 30 frames per sec, Baseline
Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps,
48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file
formats, MPEG-4 video: up to 2.5 mbps, 480 x 480,
30 frames per sec., Simple Profile with AAC-LC up
to 160 Kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and
.mov file formats
Price Rs 22,100
Contact Apple Computer International Pvt Ltd
Phone 1600-4254683
E-mail indiainfo@asia.apple.com

to unify your music-listening experience transfer your videos using iTunes after RATINGS
between your desktop computer and you have connected your iPod to your PC. Build Quality
portable live. Therefore, every aspect of The problems start from there on—I tried Performance

iTunes like the song playlists, the ratings, transferring a QuickTime movie trailer and Features

and track information are replicated within it promptly threw up an error stating it Warranty

the iPod after you synchronize them. We
first started by installing the software from
the bundled CD and plugging the unit into
the USB port (there’s no Firewire support in
this generation of iPod, by the way). About
10 seconds later, Windows XP recognized
it and it immediately showed up as an
additional folder in the iTunes layout. The
first time around, you are prompted to
choose how you want to transfer songs to
the unit—you can either have it synchronize
all the songs in your iTunes library, choose
specific playlists, or simply manage file
synchronization manually where you can
select and transfer the songs of your choice.
However, with 30 GB of storage space, most
would opt to transfer their entire library of
songs to the iPod at the very outset. The
time taken for this initial transfer depends
upon your song collection—we logged
impressive transfer speeds where it copied
at the rate of about 80 seconds per GB,
thanks to the USB 2.0 interface. We did,
however notice that the iTunes application
needed to be in the foreground or these
transfer speeds would decrease due to
Window XP’s scheduling of processor time.
The iPod’s configuration panel in iTunes
lets you decide the method of transferring
images, videos, podcasts, contacts and
calendar entries from Outlook or Outlook
wasn’t able to play the format. Then I was Overall Rating
Value for money
directed to a resource of Apple’s web site
informing how to go about transferring
video to your iPod. Only then did I realize
that you can only transfer videos that are
expressly bought off the iTunes Music
Store (which cannot be accessed from
India) or you need to convert your existing
videos using a tool like QuickTime 7 Pro
(which was $29.99 at the time of checking).
So as it stands, you will not be able to
transfer any video to your iPod if you’re
not ready to go out and buy a third-party
application. That was a bit of a killjoy.
However, after converting the files to a
compatible H.264 or MPEG-4 video format
using a tool like Total Video Converter,
the videos transferred and played back
smoothly and with sharp resolution.
More than being too functional, the
video capability on the new iPod comes
across as an added feature. We still suggest
you buy it for its excellent music playing
and organizing capability while expecting
to occasionally use it for video. Its minor
annoyances notwithstanding, we highly
recommend this classic digital music player.
For: Classic iPod interface and music
synchronization, fast transfer speeds.
Against: Long-winded video transfer
process, lack of bundled accessories.

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

66 HARDWARE | TESTED

R520 Unleashed!
Graphics Card
ATI R520 A TI is back in the game with the release
of the R520 which challenges the
Geforce 7800GTX head on. With the
Benchmarking
Let’s get on with the benchmarks and find
out whether the refined and intelligent
Specifications: X1800XT GPU, 512 MB RAM, Dual
release of the X1800XT, ATI also brings X1800XT scores over the 7800GTX. We
DVI, video-out. Direc-x 9 and SHADER MODEL 3.0
support in its ideology of quantity versus quality. used the Athlon FX 53 processor with 2
With their 16 pipe card challenging the 24 GB of RAM to ensure the cards received
Price Rs 29,000
Contact Werner Fernandes
pipe cards, ATI claims that their 16 pipe enough juice to perform at peak levels.
Phone 98212 36784 cards are more capable. The reason is these
E-mail wernerf@pinkandwhiteconsulting.com cards are more efficient in the way they X1800 XT 7800GTX
Website www.ati.com
utilize the available power and bandwidth 3DMark 2003 16971 16591
RATINGS as compared to what competition 3DMark 2005 9186 8322
Build Quality
offers. Based on “Dynamic Flow control Fear 1024x960 (AVG FPS)
Performance 58 62
Acceleration”, ATI uses a new technique 16xAF 4xAA
Features
called “Ultra-Threading” where each thread
Warranty Doom 3 1600x1200 @4x
can perform up to six different shader 43.9 51.8
AA 8xAF
instructions on 4 pixels, per clock cycle. This
Far Cry 1600X1200
ensures that the GPU is utilized optimally. 103.2 90.7
@4xAA 8xAF
Along with this, ATI has also widened the
internal memory bandwidth by introducing
512 Bit Ring Bus memory controller which Scores leveled!
is a smarter way of utilizing the memory The ATI X1800XT is a really fast card
bus. With the new architecture, ATI has with a lot of brute power to challenge
also improved the memory interface in the 7800GTX. Going by the benchmarks,
The card has some serious cooling with terms of the way it operates. none of the cards have a clear lead over
a huge copper slab sitting on the GPU as
the other. The X1800XT scored above the
well as the memory chips
Driver optimzations—Adaptive 7800GTX in 3D Marks and Far Cry while
Anti-Aliasing the 7800GTX enjoys a tiny lead over the
With the X1800XT, ATI throws in another X1800XT in Doom 3 and F.E.A.R.
feature called Adaptive Anti-Aliasing, which Overall, the 512 MB memory of the
promises to improve image quality and X1800XT does come into the picture at
also deliver better performance with AA high resolutions while the added pixel
enabled. Adaptive Anti-Aliasing works by shaders make a difference when rendering
identifying areas of the scene shader intensive scenes in F.E.A.R. where
being rendered, which there is a lot of activity happening with
cannot take advatage extensive use of particle effects, bump
of the regular multi- mapping and soft shadows.
sampling AA. We expect the performance of the
In these sections of the X1800XT to improve with the upcoming
image, Adative AA applies Super driver versions.
Sampling AA technique. ATI is known to fine tune their drivers
extracting extra performance from their
Specifications X1800 XT 7800GTX high-end cards. What’s interesting is the
Core/Architecture RV520 G 70 fact that ATI has succeeded in rolling
Manufacturing Process 90nm 110nm
out a very efficient and intelligent solution
Pixel Pipelines 16 24
that matches the performance of the
Verte Shaders 8 8
7800GTX, which is technically more
Clockspeed(Mhz) 625 430
Memory Clockspeed(Mhz) 1500 1200 powerful on paper.
Memory Size (MB) 512 256 With the 512 MB version of the 7800GTX
announced, things should get even more
The 7800GTX looks more capable with the interesting in the coming months.
The dual slot design clearly takes away one extra pixel shader units while the X1800XT For: Extreme performance, 512 MB
slot and is one of the largest video cards goes over the top with core frequency and memory, intelligent AA mode.
released by ATI memory frequencies. Against: Availability, driver support.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005


Smart, very smart!
P alm’s Treo 650 has undoubtedly been
the most talked about smart phone
ever since it launched in India. The reasons
are quite obvious—a popular PDA platform
coupled with quad band GSM phone is
available to all the corporate guys who want
to be ‘with it’. The Treo 650 is powered by
an Intel PXA processor running at 312 MHz.
Just think about it—a smart phone running
at speeds almost at par with a Pentium II
333 MHz processor! Obviously, one cannot
compare the performance because both
have been made to function at completely
different levels. The smart phone can hold
data up to 23 MB and also supports memory
expansion via a slot that supports SD/MMC
cards. The handheld is installed with the
Palm OS v5.24 (nothing very different, here).
The reason for this is, a full blown QWERTY
keyboard has been provided for the user.
The keyboard fits nicely below a directional
button, phone and PalmOS shortcut
buttons. The 320x320 pixel screen is
transreflective and has an excellent quality
display. The unlabelled volume buttons
and a mysterious ‘side button’ adorn the
left side of the phone. No, the ‘side button’
(as it’s mentioned in the manual) does not
activate the VGA camera. It does not seem
to do anything important—not even in
the Zap! game. However, later I found that
if kept pressed for two seconds, it opens
Real Player. The manual does not mention
anything about how one can reconfigure
the shortcut. The smart phone also has a
manual mute button near the infrared port
—a truly smart feature.
The Treo 650 comes packaged with a
USB interface cable, charger and a wired
handsfree unit. One would have hoped that
after coughing up a handsome amount,
an SD card would have also been included.
A first time user will first try to play MP3s
on the Treo, which it will not unless it finds
a memory card with the songs on it. The
battery lasts for at least three days with
regular usage.
The Interface
The interface is the same since it uses Palm
v5.24. For a Palm user it will be like walking
in the same garden all over again—the
only difference here is that the hardware
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
TESTED | HARDWARE 67
specifications are better. New users will
take some time getting used to the menu
structure and probably get confused with
Smart phone
palmOne Treo 650
Specifications: Dimensions: 113 x 59 x 23 mm, Weight:
the Graffiti shortcuts in them. Graffiti is 178 g, Palm OS v5.4, 65K color touch screen, 320 x
not provided since there is no ‘silk screen’ 320 pixels screen resolution, Quad band GSM Phone
on the phone (like in the Tungsten/Zire
Price Rs 29,990
handhelds), and it has been replaced with Contact Cenzer Industries Ltd
the mini keyboard. This keypad is going to Phone 022-39452289 (Toll Free)
be a bit of a bother for large fingers. Other E-mail Boon-Liang.Lim@palm.com
than that, there is really no problem in using RATINGS
it. However, new users will need to breeze Build Quality
through the manual to get to know how to Ergonomics
use some of the special keys. Performance
One can sync to PC and synchronize all Features
your contacts, memos, documents, Outlook Warranty
mail (viewable in Palms’ Versa mail). Syncing Overall Rating
is fairly simple if you use the USB cable. Value for money
Using infrared or Bluetooth will take a little
more time to set up on your machine as
well as on the phone. The Palm desktop
tool on the PC is simple to work with and
each section (media, contacts, etc) can be
configured to sync in a particular manner.
Contacts can only be deleted one at a
time on the phone. The only way to delete
multiple contacts is by deleting the backup
from the PC and configuring the sync to
overwrite the handheld’s list. The other
method would be a full reset.
Video clips are handled by Palm’s
standard player, Kinoma, while audio is
taken care of by the Busker player.
The Treo 650 is a device that slowly
grows on you. After being completely
addicted to a Windows interface (be it
your computer or a Pocket PC), this is a
refreshing change. It has a zippy interface,
it’s not bulky at all (place a Nokia 6600 over
it—they are a fit) and can be prepped up
with loads of productive applications.
For:Not bulky despite the
presence of a fully
functional keyboard.
Excellent reception.
The speaker mode is
pretty good too. Very
good battery life.
Against:The manual could have
been a little more informative.
You need to read the user guide after
installing the software on the computer.
Poor VGA camera. Wi-Fi connectivity is
not integrated.
68 HARDWARE | TESTED
Power performer
Good things come in small ‘and light’
Laptop packages. The Asus S5200 clearly proves
Asus S5200A this theory. This laptop is a power
performer, weighing as little as 1.32 kgs. It
Specifications: Processor: Intel Pentium M 740 1.73
GHz, Chipset: Intel 915G, HDD: 60 GB, Screen: 12.1- is one of the lightest notebooks we’ve seen.
inch, external combo drive, memory card reader,
RF optical mouse, carry bag and case. Features
Price Rs 85,000 The S5200A is based on Intel’s Sonoma
Contact Asustek Computer Inc technology. It uses the ultra-low voltage
Phone 022-56490048 Pentium M 740 processor which provides
E-mail info_india@asus.com.tw
a 1.73 Ghz clock-speed and 2 MB L2 cache
Website www.asus.com.tw
on the Intel 915G chipset for great mobile
RATINGS
Build Quality
performance. Coupled with 512 MB
Ergonomics DDR2 memory and a 60 GB hard drive, it
Performance guarantees blazing speed and oodles of
Features storage space to store your data.
Warranty It’s a challenge for notebook
Overall Rating manufacturers to keep the weight of the
Value for money notebook to a minimum. But Asus does this
with great ease by using a 12.1-inch anti-
reflective TFT display and a small chassis,
thus making the S5200A an ultra-portable
notebook. This translates into a crammed
keyboard making it difficult to type if you
have big hands and fat fingers.
Another factor contributing to the light
weight is the absence of an optical drive.
Instead, an external DVD combo drive is
bundled with the notebook which plugs in
to the USB 2.0 port on the left, which has
an additional power supply next to it. The
second USB port is placed on the right side.
Apart from the built-in modem and
10/100 LAN, the Internet can also be
accessed in a hotspot using 802.11 b/g Wi-
Fi connectivity. A SD/MMC/MS card reader,
PCMCIA slot and IEEE 1394 port rounds
off the features.
Not a single thing is missing from the
accessories bundled with the notebook.
Even a small thing such as a soft cloth
for cleaning the display has been included
in the package.
If you aren’t comfortable using the
touchpad, the RF optical mouse will
relieve you. Finally, you have two
options to carry the notebook.
You can either use the carry
bag or the notebook case if you
don’t like moving around with bags.
Build quality and ergonomics
The quality of the chassis hasn’t been
compromised to make the S5200A light.
In fact, the chassis is stronger than that of
other laptops as it’s made of carbon fiber
alloy which makes it more durable. Even
the quality of hinge and the keyboard is
quite good.
After you press the release lock, the screen
opens gently and remains firm in the set
position. The keyboard is a bit difficult to
use, but it is of good quality, with a nice
tactile feel as you type.
The only part which appeared flimsy is
the screen frame. If you use the notebook
during a bumpy ride, the slight wobbling of
the display can be
quite distracting.
We pay a lot of importance to
ergonomics when it comes to all products,
these days. Taking this factor into
consideration, Asus has placed all the
ports on the sides of the laptop for easy
access. The rear panel only has a D-Sub
port if you want to use a separate display,
for example, a projector for making
presentations.
To ease your hands while you are
typing, the space bar and the touch pad are
properly centered.
Performance
For an ultra-portable notebook, the
performance of the S5200A is respectable.
In SiSoft Sandra 2005, the CPU scored
7418 Dhrystones and 2409 Whetstones.
The 4200 rpm hard drive is a bottleneck
which could have been easily solved by
a 5400 rpm drive. The sequential write
speed was 21 MB/s and read speed was 17
MB/s. The performance of the optical drive
was dismal. The random read speed was
merely 1074 KB/s and the sequential read
speed was 1174 KB/s. All this translated
into a score of 3097 marks in PC Mark 2004
—notably good overall!
If you want a light, compact and a
powerful notebook, the Asus S5200A is
the way to go. It’s an excellent solution
for people who are constantly on the
move!
For: Light, RF optical mouse, card reader,
good ergonomics.
Against: Slow optical drive, battery life of
only two hours.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
70 HARDWARE | TESTED
Visual treat
TFT Monitor
Kores KP-19 T here’s nothing as gorgeous as a slick
TFT display on your desktop. The Kores
KP-19 is one such device with a dainty
Specifications: Screen size: 19-inch, response time:
19-inch screen enclosed in a thin 1-inch
16 ms, contrast ratio: 700:1, pixel pitch: 0.294 mm,
video input: D-sub, brightness: 250 cd/m2 silver frame, resting on a silver pedestal.
The sides and rear are black
Price Rs 20,990
Contact Kores India Ltd
to make up for a stylish dual-
Phone 022-24964636 tone design. The base of the
E-mail kino@kores-india.com frame includes speakers.
Website www.kores-india.com
The monitor features good
RATINGS ergonomics to make it
Build Quality
comfortable for the user
Ergonomics
to alter display settings.
Performance
The menu buttons are
Features
well-spaced and placed at
Warranty
the bottom of the screen with
Overall Rating
functions clearly described. The
Value for money
menu includes all the controls to fine tune
brightness, contrast and color temperature.
A separate auto-position button is also
present. Operating the swivel is also
effortless. The only thing which deserves
improvement is the quality of the hinge—
the monitor is quite unstable.
Money saver
Motherboard
ASRock K8NF4G-SATA2 A SRock has been quick in implementing
Nvidia’s new nForce 400 series chipset
on their new motherboard. ASRock’s latest
Specifications: Form factor: Micro ATX, Chipset:
motherboard, called the K8NF4G-SATAII,
Nvidia NForce 410 with GeForce 6100 IGP,
socket-754, SATA-II support, PCIE slot, 2 PCI slots, combines NForce 410 Southbridge with
8-channel audio, 8 USB Ports, 10/100 Ethernet GeForce 6100 IGP for superior performance
with a good basic IGP. The board is designed
Price Rs 3,300
Contact Abacus Peripherals to accept AMD socket-754 processors and
Phone 022-56923941 supports a maximum memory of 2 GB for
E-mail enquiry@abacusperipherals.com superior performance.
Website www.asrock.com
The rear panel looks common
RATINGS
with PS/2 ports, a parallel
Build Quality
port, 4 USB ports and a
Ergonomics
10/100 Ethernet port.
Performance
But what’s additional
Features
here are 8-channel audio jacks
Warranty
Overall Rating
and VGA output. If need arises, 4
Value for money more USB ports can be added by using the
USB headers provided. To further step up
the performance, you can also set up RAID
using the 2 SATA-II connectors. The only
problem is that the north bridge heat sink
comes in the way while fitting the CPU fan
as it is placed too close to the CPU socket.
We tested the board with AMD
Athlon64 3000+ processor and 512 MB
Like most standard 19-inch TFTs, the KP-
19 also has a response of 16 ms and a 0.294
mm pixel pitch. But what distinguishes it
from others is a contrast ratio of 700:1.
Coupled with a brightness of 250 cd/m2
watching movies, images
or playing games on this
monitor is an amazing
experience. Even though
ghosting is barely visible, it
goes unnoticed in most of
the fast-paced games
and videos.
A viewing angle of 170
degrees allows your family
to join in the fun.
As long as you don’t care for
DVI input or wall-mountability, the
Kores KP-19 is a good deal on a
strict budget.
For: Very good contrast ratio, good
aesthetics, built-in speakers.
Against: No DVI input, hinge quality below
average.
Corsair DDR400 memory. The rig scored
3,321 marks in PC Mark 2004. Even though
Nvidia has added Pixel Shader 3.0 support
to the new IGP, users will only be able
to play lightweight games. A score of
1,168 in 3D Mark 2003 by dedicating a
maximum of 128 MB to display certainly
won’t please gamers. But no need to worry
as the board has a PCIE slot for adding a
separate graphics card to pump up
the graphics performance.
One thing we didn’t
like was stepping of
the memory speed
a level lower when we
populated both the DIMM
slots. As far as possible, stick to
using a single memory module.
The K8NF4G-SATAII is a good
value-motherboard for non-gamers who
don’t want to invest in a separate
graphics card.
For: IGP supports Pixel Shader 3.0, PCIE slot,
8-channel audio.
Against: Northbridge heat sink is quite
close to the CPU socket.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

A gamer’s dream come true
T he G5 is very similar to the Logitech
MX1000 mouse that uses laser sensor
for superior accuracy. In case of G5, the
sensitivity is bumped futher to 2000 dpi
as compared to 1600dpi in the case of the
MX1000. Fortunately, the G5 is a corded
mouse, making it perfect for gaming.
The G5 allows
on-the-fly sensitivity
switch, providing three
sensitivity modes which
can be adjusted using the
button on the unit.
What makes the G5 unique is
the addition of weight cartridge
which allows the user to configure the
weight of the mouse. The idea being that
every gamer prefers a particular weight
specification as per his or her liking and the
G5 lets you do that very effectively. The
implementation is very smart, it allows
you to distribute weight to the righ/left or
front/back, achieving the perfect weight
balance for gaming. Further customization
Budget Card?
T he RX1300TD is based on the new
X1300Pro chipset by ATI. This budget
chipset has a 4-pixel pipe and 2 vertex
shader units. This budget PCI Express card
comes with ShaderModel 3.0 support and
256 MB of 128-bit memory. Built on a 90 nm
core, the card is clocked at 600 MHz while
the 256 MB DDR 2 memory is clocked at 800
MHz. The card comes with DVI, VGA and
TV-Out. The card uses Infineon memory
chip and the GPU is cooled by
a large copper cooler. The
overall build quality
is very good;
there are no cut
corners.
Starting with 3DMark
2003, the card scored an
impressive 6056 points at default
settings, better than a Geforce 6600
non-GT, which scored 5021 points. The
card scored 2817 points in 3DMark 2005,
defeating the 6600 non-GT, which scored
2100 points. Moving on to games, the
card clocked 42 FPS in Doom 3 at high
settings@1024x768 as opposed to a 6600,
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
TESTED | HARDWARE 71
is added by “SetPoint” software utility that
fine tunes the sensitivity and gives options
for programming the side scroll functions.
Mouse
Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
Specifications: 2000 dpi laser sensor, adjustable
It allows automatic switching of sensitivity
weights, DPI switch, USB connectivity
for particular games and applications,
making full use of the powerful and Price Rs 4,495
Contact Logitech Electronic India Pvt Ltd
versatile sensor implementation. It has
Phone 022-26571160
to be said that the G5 is the best gaming E-mail response@logitech.com
mouse in the country and it does Website www.logitech.com
command a hefty price tag. The RATINGS
only possible improvement Build Quality
that we suggest is that Ergonomics
perhaps Logitech can Performance
reduce the default weight Features
by about 30 percent. Also, Warranty
for the money commanded, it’s Overall Rating
Value for money
high time these expensive gaming mice
come with a decent bundled mouse pad
that is made specifically for the mouse.
This will perhaps justify the price and also
offer something more to the gamers.
For: Extremely accurate, versatile device,
powerful tweaking software provided.
Against: A tad heavier, expensive.
which scored 43 FPS. We benchmarked the
card on the latest and most intensive FPS
shooter—F.E.A.R. Keeping the resolution at
Graphics Card
MSI RX1300TD Pro 256 MB
Specifications: ATI X1300 PRO chipset, 256MB of
1024x768, we tweaked the light, shadow
DDR2 memory, DVI and VGA out, TV-out support,
and texture details to medium, while PCI Express solution
keeping everything else at “high”. We
Price Rs 7,000
disabled soft shadows and AA and cranked
Contact Micro-Star International (M.S.I.)
the AF settings to 4x. The card clocked Phone 011-51758808
at an average frame rate of 39 E-mail info@msi-india.com
FPS, which was just above Website www.msi-india.com
the acceptable frame RATINGS
rate. With lesser Build Quality
pixel shader units and Performance
Features
higher core clocks, this
Warranty
card can be used for the latest
Overall Rating
games as long as you don’t crank
Value for money
the resolution above the 1024x768
mark and are fine with playing the games
at medium settings, without any AA
applied. Ideally, the card should be priced
at par with a 6600 non-GT.
For: Good performance for a budget card,
ShaderModel 3.0 support, 256 MB DDR2
memory.
Against: Only 4 pixel shader units, slightly
over priced.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
72 HARDWARE | TESTED
Served on a spindle!
Multimedia Hard Drive
LaCie Silverscreen 80 GB H ow about carrying 80 movies on a
player that can fit in your pocket? If
you think it’s impossible, check out LaCie
Specifications: 80 GB, Hi-Speed USB, plays (MPEG-1,
2 and 4, MP3, Wav, WMA, AC3 and JPG), IR remote, SilverScreen. It’s an external hard drive but
5.1 channel audio, 1920x1080i compatible apart from just storing files, it plays audio,
video and pictures off its 2.5 inch platters
Price Rs 15,000
Contact Neoteric Infomatique Pvt Ltd directly on a TV screen. it’s a regular
Phone 022-39828600 2.5-inch hard drive packed in a
E-mail taral@neoteric.co.in transparent acrylic casing,
Website www.lacie.com
which houses a chipset
RATINGS
which can decode audio,
Build Quality
video and images on the fly,
Performance
and display the contents through
Features
video output. With a colossal 80
Warranty
GB storage space, you can store
Overall Rating
Value for money
80 movies or 20,000 songs or
80,000 photos on the hard drive.
To load the contents on the drive,
connect it to any USB port with the
cable provided and transfer media into
appropriate folders on the drive. No need
to worry about audio and video formats.
The SilverScreen can play MPEG-1, MPEG-2
(AVI, VOB, ISO) and MPEG-4 (AVI, DivX,
Feature-packed phone
Mobile Phone
Samsung SGH-D600 T he Samsung D600 is the refined version
of the popular D500, one of the best
GSM phones released this year. It’s very
Specifications: Dimensions: 96 x 46.5 x 21.5 mm, similar to the D500 in terms of looks,
Weight 103 g, Phonebook 1000 x 12 fields,
design and overall functionality. It’s a mix
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Standard
battery, Li-Ion 950 mAh Stand-by time upto 300 of a lifestyle and business phone.
hours, Talk Time upto 7 hours In terms of features, the
D600 upgrades itself to a
Price Rs 19,900
Contact Samsung India Electronics Ltd 2 MP camera, a 256K color
Phone 011-51511234 bigger color screen with
E-mail subrotah.b@samsung.com high resolution, built-in stereo
Website www.samsung.co.in
sound, transflash memory card
RATINGS support, improved Bluetooth
Build Quality functionality, USB connectivity
Ergonomics
with direct print support and a TV-
Performance
out function that lets you connect the
Features
phone to your TV for viewing images
Warranty
and video, without the need for a PC.
Overall Rating
The phone also comes with a media
Value for money
player that supports MP3, AAC playback
and allows MPEG4 video recording as
well as playback. Another very interesting
feature is the inclusion of Picsel Viewer,
an application that supports opening/
viewing of MS office files. Apart from
these documents, it can also view Adobe
XviD) videos. It even plays WAV, MP3,
WMA, AC3 files and displays JPEG files up
to eight megapixels! Filling up the entire
drive won’t take long as you can transfer a
gig in only 37 seconds.
After transferring files, power the
drive with the bundled 5-volt adapter and
connect it to your TV with the included
video cable and get ready for the
show. Movie buffs will just
love its 5.1 channel audio
and 1920x1080i video
support through its
HDMI output. A sleek IR
remote is included.
We tried playing all sorts of video
and audio files and they played seamlessly
without skipping. The SilverScreen is an
excellent solution if you don’t want to miss
your favorite movies while traveling. But
mind you, like the player the price too rocks!
For:Plays everything, easy to use, portable,
5.1-channel audio support.
Against: No on/off switch.
PDF files, thus allowing a fair amount of
PDA functionality. You can’t edit the files
but you can only view them—a fair deal
considering the size of the phone. MP3
functionality is also well implemented with
proper equalizer settings and a feature-rich
media player with visualization support.
Coming to the downsides, the keypad,
especially, could look and feel better
than what it does, the camera is
good but it doesn’t perform as
well as the K750i or the W800i, in
terms of image quality. Also, the
placement of camera has been
shifted— from being concealed
inside the slider, it has been
pushed to the back, so it’s
prone to scratches and dust
entering the lens. Overall,
the phone is zippy but the lack
of EDGE support is surprising for a phone
of this class.
For:Feature packed, sleek design, excellent
screen, versatile handset.
Against: No EDGE, tricky navigation,
camera could have been better.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
74 HARDWARE | TESTED

Color Conscious
Printer
Canon Pixma iP4200 T he Canon Pixma iP4200 comes with a
bunch of very useful features. It can
print on envelopes, transparencies as well
The quality at this setting was of course
a little grainy in the color-filled areas but
the text was a solid black! In addition to
Specifications: Dimensions: 419 x 160 x 299 mm,
as on postcard size photo paper. There are this, an A4 page print of a high resolution
Weight: 6.7kg, USB 2.0 desktop printer, 5 color
cartridges, 9600 x 2400 dpi print resolution, 150 two paper trays—one manual feed and the photograph at standard settings, was
sheet capacity, Windows and Macintosh support other holds up to 150 sheets. It comes completed in a blazing 51 seconds! At
with five color cartridges (C, M, Y, K maximum quality settings,
Price Rs 10,995
Contact Canon India Pvt Ltd and Black). it took 2 minutes to produce
Phone 16003453366 Cartridge installation a very good reproduction
E-mail info@canon.com is simple. After the of the picture, with zero
Website www.canon.co.in
driver installation horizontal banding. The
RATINGS and head alignment, quality of the prints taken
Build Quality the printer was put at both the settings was
Ergonomics
to test with our regular very good. It manages color
Performance
ten-page printout. This printout contrast levels, gloss/shine effects,
Features
consisted of a lot of color text, box diagrams details and whites very well. Skin tones
Warranty
with text within them as well as white text were not nearly as accurate, though they
Overall Rating
within color filled boxes. All this was done appeared a little weak in some areas, when
Value for money
at default settings (standard quality) in just compared to the original.
over 4 minutes. And the quality was good. For: Versatile in terms of functions. Perfect
However, the printer stopped for a couple for printing office documents. Good quality
of seconds prior to finishing up the final photo prints.
prints. Another print run at the ‘Fast Print’ Against: The skin tones are not nearly as
setting yielded a time of just 3 minutes. accurate as they should be.

Widescreen beauty
Laptop
Gigabyte W431 UD T he Gigabyte W431 UD has been created
for budget conscious people. The W431
UD is a Sonoma-based notebook powered
1,887 KB/s in sequential write test. Being
a budget notebook, a score of 3,090 in PC
Mark 04 is commendable.
Specifications: Processor: Intel Pentium M 740 1.73
by Pentium M 740 processor, running at The good ergonomics makes user
GHz, Chipset: Intel 915G, HDD: 60 GB, display:
14.1-inch wide screen, DVD Writer, memory card 1.73 GHz on Intel 915GM Express chipset. experience pleasurable. Gigabyte should
reader, carry bag With 512 MB DDR2 memory and a have paid extra attention to the
massive 60 GB hard drive spinning design and build quality
Price Rs 53,499
Contact Gigabyte Technology (India) Ltd. at 5400 rpm, you won’t hunger for of the chassis so as to
Phone 91-22-26526696 extra performance. This makes hold the keyboard firmly.
E-mail sales@gigabyte.in it an ideal solution for small and Also the touchpad should
Website www.gigabyte.in
medium business professionals. have been aligned with
RATINGS
The 14.1-inch widescreen the keyboard rather than
Build Quality
display is stunning. The just placing it in the center
Ergonomics
crisp 16:9 format of the base. Thin mouse
Performance
is well suited for buttons placed at the edge
Features
watching movies. makes clicking difficult.
Warranty
Overall Rating
Battery life of 228 For the price, the W31 UD is
Value for money minutes guarantees enough a very good package.
power to work for another hour even after But, if you aren’t familiar with Linux
watching a movie. Connecting multiple be prepared to push your budget a little
USB devices is also not a problem with 4 higher to include a licensed copy of
USB ports provided. Windows XP.
The W431 UD doesn’t compromise For: Good battery life, widescreen display,
on performance. In SiSoft Sandra 2005, DVD writer, very good for its price.
the hard drive scored a drive index of 27 Against: Average build quality, Windows
MB/s and the built-in DVD writer scored XP not bundled.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005


Entertainment on the go
L et me just say the Samsung YH-J70 will
make you drool. Packed in a glossy pearl
white shell, this player offers 20 GB storage
capacity, a crisp 1.8-inch backlit color LCD
display, and 25 hours of battery life for
non-stop entertainment. Weighing only
135 gms and measuring 62x99.8
x16.4 mm (WxHxD), the YH-J70
offers a lot more than playing
MP3 and WMA files. It touts an FM
tuner, support for viewing images,
text files and videos. With the built-
in recorder, you can record voice,
FM broadcasts and line-in playback.
Recorded content doesn’t take up
much space on the player, thanks to
direct encoding to MP3 upto 192 kbps on
the fly. Also, if you want to pass your time
playing games, there are five to choose
from, including Othello and Tetris. You can
view and copy images directly from digital
cameras with the help of the USB host.
With crisp sound and deep bass, the
bundled earphones do justice to music of
Performance king!
T he Asus PM17TU is a 17-inch LCD
monitor with 3ms grey to grey response
time, 600:1 contrast ratio and brightness
is rated at 500cd/m2. Supporting a max
resolution of 1280x1024, the 17-inch
TFT carries a dot pitch of 0.264 mm. The
all-black monitor has a
shiny finish and houses
tiny speakers rated at 2.5W
each. The build quality and
finish are excellent with well
rounded edges and sturdy
construction.
Starting with the color
reproduction and gradient
tests, we took the PM17-TU
through a string of tests
including some intense frag
sessions. The color reproduction and
contrast is easily the best we came across
in any LCD monitor till date. The text is
ultra sharp, ensuring that whether it’s
spread sheets or frag sessions, the image
quality is right on target. There was
absolutely no ghosting or trailing even
when gaming at 80 FPS and above. The
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
TESTED | HARDWARE 75
all genres. 20 equalizer presets including
SRS Wow and 9 band user equalizer, will
surely please audiophiles. Videos and
MP3 Player
Samsung YH-J70
Specifications: 135 gms, 20 GB, USB 2.0, 1.8-inch
images look crisp even though the screen is
color LCD, text, FM and voice recording, games,
small, but folks watching with you USB Host
will have a tough time due to the poor
Price Rs 23,999
viewing angle. Since videos are supported Contact Samsung India Electronics Ltd
only in SVI format, you’ll need to Phone 011-51511234
convert them before loading E-mail subrotah.b@samsung.com
them on the player. Website www.samsung.co.in
The player interfaces with the RATINGS
Build Quality
PC through USB 2.0. With 5 MB/s
Ergonomics
transfer rate, transfer of songs,
Performance
videos and images don’t take
Features
much time. It took a minute to
Warranty
transfer 300 MB of songs to the
Overall Rating
player. With intuitive controls and
Value for money
good ergonomics, you may not
require the user manual to begin using the
player. But before going out to buy it, keep
in mind the hefty price tag it carries.
For: Good ergonomics and build quality,
USB host, excellent battery life.
Against: Poor viewing angle.
LCD is perfect for viewing movies as long
as you are right in front of the monitor.
Even the slightest change in the viewing
TFT monitor
Asus PM17TU
Specifications: 17” screen size, 3ms response time,
angle will bring in the yellow and blue tinge
600:1 contrast ratios. 0.264mm dot pitch, built-in
into play, affecting the movie experience speakers, DVI and D-Sub connectivity
substantially. The built-in speakers sound
Price Rs 19,500
very tinny and distort easily, thus not
Contact Asustek Computer Inc.
being the best replacement Phone 022-56490048
for desktop speakers. E-mail info_india@asus.com.tw
Moving on to the OSD and Website www.asus.com.tw
controls, the LCD offers a RATINGS
Build Quality
lot of settings and preset
Ergonomics
configurations to achieve the
Performance
desired image quality and fine
Features
tune it to perfection. The OSD
Warranty
control buttons are hidden
Overall Rating
behind the LCD, and the
Value for money
all-black color scheme makes them
almost unreadable. All in all, the Asus
PM17TU is the best 17-inch LCD in terms
of response time, image quality and color
reproduction and is highly recommended.
For: Fantastic image quality, ultra low
response time, accurate color reproduction,
great built quality.
Against: Expensive, strictly okay speakers.
76 HARDWARE | TESTED

Almost perfect!
Graphics Card AGP might be on its way out of the market From our experimentations, we arrived
Gainward Ultra 1960 XP but it definitely has a chunk of audience at 500/1100 as the best clocks for the
looking for an AGP upgrade. The Gainward card. The card scored an impressive 3569
Specifications: Nvidia 6600GT GPU, 128 MB GDDR3
RAM, Dual DVI and TV-Out, AGP 8x/4x
6600GT 128 MB belongs to the renowned in 3DMark 2005 and 8722 in 3DMark
golden sample series, which are made 2003 at default settings. Doom 3 at high
Price Rs 8,950
using highest quality components. The settings@1024x768 with 4x AA and 8X
Contact Mediatech India
Phone 022-26361111
card comes with a fairly large active cooler AF dished out about 48-50 FPS, while
E-mail chip@mediatechindia.com for the GPU but the RAM is left open F.E.A.R. gave an average frame
Website www.mediatechindia.com without any cooling. Gainward count of 35FPS@ 1024x768
RATINGS has the special “GLH” (goes with shadows off and
Build Quality like hell) series for 8x AF no AA. We even
Performance the 6600 chipset tried the Half-Life Lost
Features family and they reserve Coast demo and the card
Warranty the maxed out cooling performed fine with 4XAF and
Overall Rating solution for the GLH series. 2XAA @ 1024x768 with HDR and max
Value for money Thus don’t mistake this card details and reflections. Bottomline, if you
for a “GLH” card. This is a regular card are looking for decent upgrade that allows
and not GLH. The card offers TV-out and you to play the latest games @1024x768
dual DVI connectors. The GPU is clocked with all the eye candy cranked up, this card
at 500 MHz by default and the 128 MB will do the trick for you as long as you don’t
GDDR3 memory is clocked at 900 MHz. go all out on AA and AF!
Being a golden sample, the Gainward For: Excellent performance for price,
expert overclocking utility allows you to superb build quality, decent OC for RAM.
push the clocks slightly higher by default. Against: Availability, No cooling for RAM.

Musical pendant
MP3 Player
iRiver N10 256MB I f you want to be different from the rest
who have MP3 players, check out the
stylish iRiver N10. It’s a funky pendant
a UMS (USB Mass Storage) firmware
available from iRiver’s web site will allow
you to transfer songs directly. Transferring
Specifications: 22 gms, 256 MB, USB 1.1, OLED
which hangs from a luxurious necklace- songs takes ages due to the USB 1.1
Display, MP3/WMA/ASF/OGG, voice recording
type headset. The face of the player has a interface.
Price Rs 8,499
mirror finish behind which lies a 4 bit OLED Performance-wise, the player rocks! The
Contact ReignCom
Phone 011-51514326
display (16 grayscales). The buttons are sound quality is awesome and the
E-mail support@iriverindia.com placed on the sides. Even though it’s high-quality earphones
Website www.iriverindia.com as small as a cigarette lighter and do justice to music of all
RATINGS weighs merely 22 grams, it genres. To enhance sound,
Build Quality packs in heaps of features. there are EQ presets like rock, metal,
Performance The N10 sports 256 MB classic, jazz, bass boost and a 5-band
Features flash memory and a manual. The firmware drills
Warranty built-in lithium-ion down to finest details. There
Overall Rating battery which keep you is a facility to start recording
Value for money entertained for 12 hours. The built-in on voice detection and a timer
microphone lets you record voice. However, to shut off/turn on the player at a
with the FM tuner absent, you’ll miss desired time. Also there are all possible play
listening to your favorite radio programs. modes with several options to repeat or
Before transferring songs to the device, shuffle songs. If you don’t like the pendant
detach the cap clipped to the top of the style, you can lug the player around in your
player. Then you have the option of either pocket by fitting a replacement cap having
connecting it to the PC via a USB cable or a a 3.5mm jack.
mini USB adapter included in the package. For: Excellent earphones, good sound
Songs can be transferred using the iRiver quality, light, OLED display.
Music Manager. But to make things easier, Against: No FM, USB 1.1, expensive.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

78 HARDWARE | TESTED

All video in a box

Network DVD Player
SnaZio Net DVD Cinema HD T his device from Singapore-based Snazio
comes with the promise of playing
back any video format from a wide range
full-featured remote control that is used to
change modes, access video configuration
options and set up the wireless and wired
Specifications: Video formats: DVD, MPEG-1 and 2,
MPEG-2 HD, DivX, DivX HD, WMV9, MPV9 HD, Audio
of sources. While it initially seemed iffy, we network settings including the IP address,
formats: MPEG-1 layer 3, OGG Vobis, AC3, AAC, were pleasantly surprised to find out that it subnet mask, wireless configuration
WMA9, DTS, Network: 802.11g (54 Mbps), 10/100 did, in fact, deliver on this promise. parameters, etc.
Ethernet
While resembling a standard consumer The installation disk contains the client
Price Rs 21,999 DVD player, this unit plays back your application which, after loading it on a
Contact Computers Infinite conventional DVDs and MP3s as well computer, makes it the media server. It’s
Phone 011- 51617109
as High Definition WMV files, DivX and from here that the audio and video files
E-mail mail@computersinfinite.net
Website www.snazio.com
XviD files along with a can be served across
RATINGS string of high definition the wireless or wired
Build Quality content like 720p and network to the player.
Performance 1080i video, which The only downside with this player
Features results in very sharp was the shoddy build quality—the drive
Warranty video. That’s not all, the ‘Net’ tray insisted on getting stuck each time
Overall Rating part of the unit’s name implies that it was retracted. Also, it is extremely
Value for money it can also be connected to a wired or highly priced. However, if you need all-
wireless network via its integrated 10/100 encompassing access to your audio and
Ethernet or 802.11g-based Wi-Fi network video files, this box does deliver.
connectivity respectively. To top it all, it For: Network access to audio and video
doubles up as a set-top box where you files, high-definition support, several
can browse the Internet via its integrated output audio and video formats.
web browser. All this is controlled by a Against: Inferior build quality, expensive.

All-in-one reader
Memory card reader
Sony MRW620 T he easiest way to expand the memory
of portable devices like mobiles, digital
cameras, is by adding a compatible memory
XP detects it as a UMS device and shows 4
additional drives under My Computer.
We tested the reader with 2 cards—
Specifications: 3.5-inch drive, Hi-speed USB 2.0,
card. It’s a time consuming task to connect Compact Flash and Memory Stick. Both
reads SM, xD, CF, Microdrive, SD, MMC, MS and MS
Pro cards the device to the PC to read the data on performed well in synthetic and real world
the memory card. The best solution to this tests. The drive index for CF and MS were
Price Rs 540
is a card reader, which can read a host of 1757 kB/s and 1150 kB/s respectively. It
Contact Rashi Peripherals Pvt Ltd
Phone 022-28221013 formats. The Sony MRW620 is one such took 65 seconds to transfer 50 MB worth
E-mail navinderc@rptechindia.com device., which can read eight kinds of multiple files to the CF card and just 24
Website www.rptechindia.com media—Memory Stick, Memory seconds to read. The Memory Stick
RATINGS Stick Pro, SmartMedia, took a minute to write
Build Quality CompactFlash, and 31 seconds to read
Ergonomics
Microdrive, the same data. This
Performance
Secure Digital, translates into speedy transfer
Features
MultiMediaCard, and and sharing of digital images
Warranty
xD Picture card. stored on the camera’s memory card.
Overall Rating
The MRW620 is a card reader fitted Even transfer of ring tones, wallpapers
Value for money
into a sturdy 3.5-inch tray. It fits into the and themes to mobile phones is speedy
PC just like a floppy drive and connects as compared to the snail-paced Bluetooth
internally to the motherboard’s on-board connection.
USB connector via a mini-USB cable. The With an attractive price tag and a
front panel of the card has 4 slots each year’s warranty, the MRW620 is a good
supporting 2 formats. To avoid confusion, replacement for the old 1.44 floppy drive.
the slots are labeled. The green LED at the For: Reads 8 memory card formats, 3.5-inch
center indicates read/write activity. On drive, good access speed, well priced.
connecting the reader to the PC, Windows Against: No complaints!

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

 Celebration
Offer
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At the heart of technology

For further details contact the
INFOMEDIA INDIA LIMITED : Subscription Dept, Ruby Corporate Park,
Ruby Mills Compound, J.K.Sawant Marg, Dadar (w), Mumbai - 400028 Tel: 022-24232803/4/5
Fax: 022-2430 2707 Email: subscriptions@infomediaindia.com, subscription@chip-india.com
Website: www.chip-india.com, www.eshop.infomediaindia.com
80 HARDWARE | TESTED
Scanner
Automatic feeder
Xerox DocuMate 510 Scanner
Specifications: Dimensions: 190.5 x 304.8 x 444.5
F irst things first—the Xerox DocuMate
510 is not meant for the average end
user. It’s aimed mainly at the small and
mm, Weight: 4.9kg, USB 2.0 interface, Automatic
Document Feeder, 600x1200dpi optical resolution, medium segment. It’s a slightly toned
24-bit depth, 50 sheet holding capacity down version of the DocuMate 520, and
Price Rs 32,500 instead of the buttons (as in 520), the 510
Contact Xerox India Limited only has indicator lights to
Phone 124-2561930 let the you what it’s up to.
E-mail YS.Bisht@xerox.com
Initial set up will require
Website www.xeroxscanners.com
the manual as you need to
RATINGS
attach the document feeder
Build Quality
tray and connect the flatbed
Ergonomics
to the Automatic Document
Performance
Feeder (ADF) via a D-sub
Features
cable. After hooking up all
Warranty
Overall Rating
the extra plastic to the scanner,
Value for money it’s the same ol’ driver and software
installation routine. Software like ScanSoft
TextBridge Pro 9 OCR and PaperPort 9 Pro
Office is installed along with the drivers.
The software allows for many different
options to work with—you can set the
document to be scanned to be opened in
MP3 Player Music in a ‘flash’
MSI Mega Player 515 Lite
Specifications: 48 gms, 256MB, USB 2.0, OLED
A little bigger than a matchbox and
weighing only 48 gms, the MSI Mega
Player 515 Lite is a flash-based MP3 player.
Display, MP3/WMA/Wav, FM and voice recording
It can store songs worth 5 CDs on its 256
Price Rs 4,700
MB built-in memory and supports MP3,
Contact Micro-Star International (M.S.I.)
Phone 011-51758808 WMA and WAV formats. It boasts of an FM
E-mail info@msi-india.com tuner, and a microphone. Recorded files are
Website www.msi-india.com stored in the WAV format.
RATINGS The built-in lithium-
Build Quality polymer cell makes the
Ergonomics
player light. The player’s
Performance
14-hours playback
Features
time is attributed to
Warranty
its bright 4-line OLED
Overall Rating
display. Next to the
Value for money
display lies a 5-way joystick
and play and FM buttons for easy
access. The joystick has a good tactile feel
and it makes controlling the volume and
changing tracks easy even when the player
is in your pocket while you’re on the move.
To prevent accidental button and joystick
presses, use the lock switch placed on the
side, next to the record button.
To transfer songs to the player, connect
it to the PC’s USB port with a mini USB
Acrobat Reader (if you save it as a PDF) or in
a picture viewer (if you save it as an image
in a format of your choice). There is an
extra tray that appears while you use the
PaperPort application, which can be docked
along the sides of the desktop. You can
either use the ADF or the flatbed
to scan your documents. All scans
are done with a single pass of the
xenon lamp and it took almost 4
minutes to scan ten sheets of
paper (containing a mix of
text, tables and images)
via the ADF. The motor
that pulls the paper in is
efficient and quiet. The scan quality
is pretty good.
For: The ‘descreen’ option, which allows
you to copy newspapers/magazines and
tone down the dots and pixels visible
after a scan.
Against: No driver support for the Mac OS.
Expensive.
adapter or a USB cable bundled with
the player. The computer detects it as a
universal mass storage device and you can
transfer songs and other files directly to
the player’s memory without using any
software. Transferring songs doesn’t take
time, thanks to USB 2.0 support.
Performance wise, the player has
good sound quality and an
equalizer with four
presets (rock, pop,
jazz, classical). But
its necklace-type
earphones reproduce
poor lows—so jazz and
hip-hop lovers stay away!
The player has a startup logo
and screensaver, which can be
customized through the bundled software.
There’s one problem though. The menu
doesn’t exit with a single button press—
you have to navigate to the Exit icon in the
menu, using the joystick.
For: Good ergonomics, OLED display.
Against: Average earphones, no one-click
menu exit.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

It’s the time to Disk-O!
J
ust when everyone started replacing their
aging CD-ROM drives with cutting-edge
combo drives (DVD ROM and CD Writer),
we hear that the next generation of DVDs will
be here, next year. There’ll be two competing
formats: Blu-ray and HD DVD. Sounds like another
war on formats in the offing. If the two rival
camps can’t come together, here’s my prediction
of what will eventually happen.
For those who haven’t been following
developments, let me fill you in with the details.
Others can skip the next four paragraphs and get
straight to the predictions.
More technology advancements are leading
to a High Definition (HD) era, where richer
digital graphics and sound take us still closer to
reality. This will directly affect gaming, home
entertainment (music and movies), and other
multimedia applications. With developments
of this kind on the anvil, there’ll be a need for
storage space that far surpasses the capacity of
today’s DVDs (typically 4.7 GB or dual layer 8.5
GB). Naturally, all the technology players are in the
final stages of adopting a successor to DVD.
Three industries—the entertainment
companies, the consumer electronics players, and
the computer manufacturers—have spent the
past few months adopting either format.
The HD DVD format offers 15 GB and 30 GB
(dual layer) capacities. The HD DVD consortium
is headed by Toshiba. It includes consumer
electronics giants Sanyo, and NEC. This camp
also includes entertainment giants HBO, New
Line Cinema, and Universal Studios Home
Entertainment. From the computer industry we
have long-time allies Intel and Microsoft.
Blu-ray disks (expected in mid-2006) offer
more capacity: 25 GB and 50 GB (dual layer).
And Blu-ray has a stronger following in all three
industries. The consortium is headed by Sony and
supported by a long list of consumer electronics
companies: Philips, Panasonic, Sharp, Pioneer, and
LG Electronics. From the computer industry there’s
Dell, HP, and Apple. Entertainment companies in
favor of this format are MGM, Warner Brothers
Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment,
Vivendi Universal, Walt Disney, and Twentieth
Century Fox. Gaming specialists—Electronic Arts
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY
FEATURE | HARDWARE 81
75
and Vivendi Universal Games have also opted
for Blu-ray.
Remember the VHS vs Betamax home video
format wars of the 1980s? Eventually, VHS
became the universal home video standard, while
Betamax settled into the professional video
realm. Something similar is expected for next
generation DVDs.
It looks like the Blu-ray format will eventually
prevail over HD DVD. But HD DVD will still be
around, thanks to the marketing juggernaut of
Microsoft and Intel.
| Brian Pereira
So my take on this is co-existence. The brian.pereira@chip-india.com
Blu-ray format with its mammoth 25 GB or 50
GB capacities will undoubtedly be the format of
choice for the entertainment industry. Movies
and (console) games will be distributed on Blu-ray
disks. Companies like Warner and Paramount, The Blu-ray
who earlier supported HD DVD, recently crossed
over to the Blu-ray camp. So all the consumer
format with its
electronics companies will build and sell Blu-ray mammoth 25 GB or
players, rendering our DVD players obsolete
within three years (maybe a bit longer for India).
50 GB capacities will
The Blu-ray initiative is headed by Sony, so undoubtedly be the
naturally you are going to see it in the PlayStation
format of choice for
3 (expected next year). Microsoft’s Xbox 360 will
have launched in North America by the time you the entertainment
read this. The second generation Xbox will have a industry
dual layer DVD drive. But the third generation Xbox
will have HD DVD, unless Microsoft adopts Blu-ray.
I think the computer industry will support both
formats. Future optical disk drives in computers
will have both Blu-ray and HD DVD (either as a
dual format drive or two discrete drives).
Consumers will play it safe and wait till the
dust settles. Then the choice will depend on the
applications. Movie fans and the PlayStation tribe
will choose Blu-ray. Computer users who need
multimedia applications or just a backup solution,
will opt for HD DVD.
And what about me? Oh, I’ll just hold on to my
recently acquired DVD player and combo drive,
unless they are releasing movies like Back to
the Future, Indiana Jones and old Star Trek
episodes on Blu-ray—with some trivia thrown
in for good measure! ■
The writer has been covering personal
technology issues for the past twelve years
84 HARDWARE | TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE
Case craft
A guide to buying the right case to suit your needs
Regular
Brands: VIP, Zebronics, IBall, Blues India
Price: Rs 1,200 – Rs 1,800
W ith a tight budget in hand, it’s
crucial that you buy the right case.
Depending on the type of the motherboard
you may opt for a mid-tower or a mini-
tower case. Mini-tower cases are good
space savers for a small workspace.
Next, see the specifications of the PSU
which comes with the cabinet. At least
a 350 W power supply is a must. If you
have multiple optical and hard disk drives,
make sure the case has enough drive bays
to accommodate them. With components
inside the case generating heat, good
ventilation is a very crucial factor. Good
internal space, case fans and vents play
a major role in driving off heat and
maintaining a good circulation within.
Finally, the life of the case depends on its
build quality. Good metal gauge and finish
not only result in good looks but also render
extra durability. Rounded edges within the
case won’t cut your fingers while you’re
tinkering with hardware.
Gaming
Brands: Zebronics, Antec, Asus
Price: Rs 3,000 – 10,000
I f you’re a gamer, no other case will please
you other than a fancy gaming case. You
may go out with a high budget and buy
the fanciest gaming case. But before you
buy one, pay attention to other important
details instead of only falling for looks.
Since gaming PCs have a powerful
processor and a high-end gaming card, it’s
essential that the PSU provides enough juice
to power the components. A PSU rated 400
W or above is highly recommended. Also
with the graphics card and the processor
dissipating huge amount of heat, a 120 mm
rear fan and a front fan will guarantee good
air flow. A side fan will help in driving away
heat dissipated by the graphics card.
Coming to looks, there are plenty of
attractive cases which are loaded with all
sorts of fancy accessories like transparent
side panels, LED fans, bubble lights and front
LED panels. If you like carrying your gaming
rig to LAN Parties, a super-light case with a
handle and carrying strap is advisable.
Vishwanath Vanjire
Professional
Brands: CoolerMaster, Antec
Price: Rs 7,000 and above
F or people who are serious about quality
and performance, the best option
would be to settle for a professional PC case
provided you’re ready to spend. But they are
worth the buck because they last for years.
Such cases are robust having a good metal
gauge and an excellent finish without
any sharp edges both within and outside.
The interior of the case is spacious and
unobstructed for good air circulation. Front
and rear case fans are also present in most
professional cases for proper ventilation.
Some even have fans on side-entry panel or
on top.
To make it user-friendly, most of these
cases boast of tool-free operation. The
drives and cards are held by a screw-less
retention system. For convenience, the
ergonomic front panel has provision for
front audio, USB and FireWire.
If the case doesn’t come with a PSU, be
sure that you buy at least 500 W power
supply to complement the cabinet.
| Anand Tuliani
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
85 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE FEATURE | HARDWARE 85

AMD vs Intel:
50 CPUs Tested Performance Value
in Watts* (Idle

R a nk
Performance
Value in Points Processor System/ Load)
83 1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 105 220
77 2 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ 105 215
74 3 AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 118 220
75 4 Intel Pentium 840 EE 155 345
72 5 Intel Pentium 4 670 170 310
71 6 Intel Pentium 4 570 J 160 310
70 7 AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 130 250
67 8 AMD Athlon 64 4000+ 1) 105 195
66 9 AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 90 180
71 10 Intel Pentium 4 3,73 EE 165 315
69 11 Intel Pentium 4 3,46 EE 130 280
69 12 Intel Pentium D 840 140 325
69 13 Intel Pentium 4 660 165 300
66 14 AMD Athlon 64 4000+ 2) 100 235
68 15 Intel Pentium 4 560 J 160 300
63 16 Intel Pentium 4 3,2 95 220
62 17 AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 3) 90 175
66 18 Intel Pentium D 820 135 285
65 19 Intel Pentium 4 550 125 260
62 20 AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 105 185
61 21 AMD Athlon 64 3400+ 89 189
66 22 Intel Pentium 4 650 170 300
64 23 Intel Pentium 4 3,4 'E' 130 285
61 24 AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 4) 100 190
60 25 Intel Pentium 4 3,0 95 210
59 26 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 5) 89 192
58 27 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 3) 90 170
62 28 Intel Pentium 4 540 J 160 300
61 29 Intel Pentium 4 3,2 'E' 130 270
55 30 AMD Sempron 3300+ 80 160
57 31 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 4) 100 185
61 32 Intel Pentium 4 640 165 290
58 33 Intel Pentium 4 3,0 'E' 130 260
55 34 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 5) 90 190
54 35 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 3) 90 165
50 36 AMD Sempron 3100+ 6) 80 157
50 37 AMD Sempron 3100+ 7) 85 175
50 38 AMD Sempron 3000+ 79 160
56 39 Intel Pentium 4 520 J 155 280
51 40 Intel Pentium 4 2,8 85 180
52 41 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 4) 100 185
51 42 AMD Athlon 64 2800+ 89 184
52 43 Intel Celeron D 351 115 230
50 44 Intel Celeron D 345 100 205
51 45 Intel Celeron D 345 J 110 215
45 46 AMD Sempron 2800+ 80 154
45 47 AMD Sempron 2600+ 77 156
Intel’s mobile notebook processor, 49 48 Intel Celeron D 341 115 220
47 49 Intel Celeron D 335 J 115 220
the Pentium M, is also being used in
44 50 Intel Celeron D 325 90 185
desktop PCs these days
Intel AMD
The performance value is determined
based on values from three disciplines—
Applications, Games and Rendering. The
bar to the right shows the power usage.
1) San Diego-Core 2)Clawhammer-Core 3)Venice-Core
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 4)Winchester-Core 5)Newcastle-Core 6)Palermo-Core
7)Paris-Core *shorter is better
86 HARDWARE | FEATURE
We put all current processors of archrivals Intel and AMD through a tough test and
we guarantee that you will find one that suits you
I
n the past not everything was better,
but many things were easier. You could
simply buy processors according to the
hertz they ran at. Today clock frequencies
are an obsolete buying criteria. What’s
more important today are innovative
features. So to avoid getting home the
wrong processor, you need to understand
technical terms such as Dual Core, 64-Bit,
Cool’n’Quiet or Enhanced SpeedStep (ESS)
and Non-Executable-Bit. The same goes for
the nomenclature of each CPU.
Are you looking for a Sempron or Celeron?
Or is it an Athlon X2 or an FX? Or is it better
to stick to a Pentium 4 or D? The D symbol
for the new Intel CPUs with two processor
cores, for example, adds to the confusion
further, because it doesn’t stand for
Dual-Core but for Desktop. Cryptic model
numbers like those used by Intel and AMD
don’t help to provide answers either, since
both manufacturers, according to official
price lists, offer about 50 CPUs, excluding
notebook and server processors.
Best CPU
We here at CHIP not only unravel processor
descriptions for you but also tell you which
CPU suits your needs best. And in order
to do that we have tested 50 of the latest
processors on their performance
and energy usage.
So who won the race for the fastest
CPU? Find out whether it’s Intel or AMD
from our test table.
As not every user needs the calculating
power of a high-end-CPU, we decided
to create four demand profiles in our
shopping advisory. The high-performance
workstation, the home PC with a balanced
price-performance value, a quiet living
room unit and a fast gaming rig are our
four categories.
Later in the article, you can find our
recommendations as to which CPU suits
which platform.
In the following section, we first explain
the technology behind Dual Core, 64-Bit
and power saving mechanisms for Intel
and AMD CPUs.
Processor and Socket
Processor Type: Athlon 64 Desktop
Model Number: FX57
Socket: Socket 939
Core-Voltage: 1,35 to 1,4 Volt
Case Temperature: Varies
L2-Cache: 1 MB
CPU Model: 27, Rev E4, 90nm
AMD’s Desktop Processor Family
encompasses its high-end CPU, the
Athlon 64 FX, its double core processor
the Athlon X2, the Athlon 64 and its budget
model called Sempron. The model ranking
is shown by the number in the name,
such as 4000+, which also indicates its
performance in relation to other models.
Even the double digit numbers in the FX
series indicate the higher, the better.
It’s clear how the product families differ
technically. Dual-Channel-Support, for
example, used to be an exclusive feature
for FX Models and Athlon 64 CPUs with
Cool ’n’ Quiet. Now both product families
offer this feature. The exact specifications
can be found using the engraved OPN
number on the CPU at www.oc-inside.
de in the workshop, for example, and
of course directly from AMD at www.
amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/ .
1 2
3 4
Processor Type: Pentium D
Product Family: Dual Core
sSpec-Number: SL88R
Clock Speed: 3,2
L2-Cache: 2 MB
FSB: 800 MHz
VRC: Notw Voltage
Intel CPUs stopped carrying their clock
speed in their name for about a year now.
Instead, the three digit numbers describe
its product family, CPU Frequency, FSB
clock speed as well as the size of its L2
Cache.
Take the example of the Pentium D
840—the 8xx series describes it to be
from the Dual Core Family, whereas the
6xx refer to Hyperthreading Pentium 4
CPUs with 2 MB L2 Cache. The 5xx series
has only 1 MB L2 Cache and the Celeron
Desktops are now known as the 3xx. The
high-end processors from Intel have the
added Extreme Edition description. The
most important specifications of Intel
processors are stamped on it. Further
specifications can be found by keying in
the spec number on the web site at http://
processorfinder.intel.com/scipts/default.
asp.
Processor Sockets: AMD and Intel offer their
current desktop processors for two different
sockets. AMD’s newer Athlon X2, Athlon-64
and FX CPUs fit on socket 939 (1), current
Sempron and Athlon 64 models of the first
generation are suited for socket 754 (2). Intel’s
Dual Core CPU, current Pentium 4 and Extreme
Edition Products find a fit on socket 775 (3).
Older Pentium 4 CPUs as well as a few Celeron
models can fit on to socket 478 (4).
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

| Finally the first 64-Bit Software is here
Finally there is a 64-Bit version of
Microsoft’s OS Windows XP with
matching drivers and native 64-Bit
Software following slowly. The first
application for professionals is available
and it is a 3D rendering application by the
name of Cinema 4D. It profits from the
larger memory capacity that Windows
x64 can address now. It even uses the
CPU’s 64-Bit register and commands
effectively.
To get a taste of this performance
increase we tested Maxons Cinema
4D with the corresponding Benchmark
Cinebench 2003. It detected a 30 percent
increase in performance with the 64-
Bit application on an AMD Athlon 64 X2
over its 32-Bit counterpart. The Intel
system, using a Pentium 4 650, was 20
percent faster.
64-Bit applications are still rare but
many are already in Beta stages, such as
New Techniques
Two Cores: Dual Core technology is the
latest innovation that AMD and Intel
have upgraded their processors with. Two
processor cores on one CPU manage to
achieve a higher level of performance. Even
though the individual cores calculate at the
same speed as other models with the same
clock, the processor divides task in two
for both cores to work on simultaneously.
This is called “multithreading”. Optimized
programs create threads that can be
worked on in parallel, allowing for a
performance gain of 70 percent. With
software which is not programmed for
multithreading, the performance increase
will become noticeable when you are using
multiple programs at the same time. A
practical example here is when you are
the burning software Nero or Firefox. In
the gaming arena only Far Cry has picked
up on this new technology. A patch is
available at http://amd64andfarcry.
gamedaemons.net .
Most 32-Bit applications can still
run under Windows XP x64, except
for applications that work closely with
hardware components like virus scanners
or defragmenter tools.
Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition
V10.0 and Avast 4.5 are antivirus programs
that are available in 64-Bit formats.
Windows XP x64 is currently available
as a system builder version for around 120
US dollars without free telephone support
through Microsoft. If you purchased
a copy of Windows XP Professional
between the dates of 31 March 2003
and 31 July 2005 you can exchange your
copy for a very small mail order price.
Contact Microsoft at http://microsoft.
working with a word processor, at the same
time you have a virus scanner running in
the background. Intel’s Hyperthreading is
comparable to this, except that it uses two
virtual (instead of two physical) processors.
The principle for double core is the
same for AMD and Intel, but both have
different approaches. Intel currently
connects two separate cores (“Die”) into a
single piece of semiconductor wafer. This
gives you two independent Pentium CPUs
with their own L2 Cache, joined together
during packaging. AMD, on the other hand,
fuses both cores in the die inseparably.
Using a Hypertransport Protocol they
are then able to communicate directly
with each other and with any other
components connected to the north
bridge. Another special protocol ensures
efficient management of the L2 Cache.
FEATURE | HARDWARE 87
productorder.com/clientx64/default.
aspx . You will, however, void the license
for your 32-Bit version, which is why you
need to make sure you have necessary
drivers for the 64-Bit copy. Another way
to switch would be to buy a brand new
PC with 64-Bit OS installed, like one
from Dell
Test Result
64-Bit Benchmarks
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+
446
Cinebench 2003 64-Bit
342
Cinebench 2003 32-Bit
Intel Pentium 4 670
408
Cinebench 2003 64-Bit
334
Cinebench 2003 32-Bit
Data in points
Up to 30 percent more performance for
3D renderings with 64-Bit
The integrated memory controller also
allows direct access to data in the RAM.
AMD’s architecture proved to have higher
performance in our test. But Intel is
already planning to build their next Dual-
Core CPU out of a single die.
64-Bit: Another significant development is
the implementation of 64-Bit technology.
AMD has been providing the hardware
for the last two years with its Athlon 64
CPUs, and has been waiting ever since
for support of the Windows XP operating
system for desktop environments. It
was only when Intel began producing is
6xx Series (also offering a 64-Bit CPU)
that things started moving. Microsoft’s
64-Bit version of Windows XP, available in
stores, runs both systems, because Intel’s
Extended Memory 64 Technique (EM64T)
equals that of AMD in terms of software.
88 HARDWARE | FEATURE
Intel Pentium M | Mobile Processors in Desktop PCs
Intel’s Pentium M notebook processor
distinguishes itself from its bigger
brothers with commendably low energy
consumption. Intel has been fighting
with increasing heat propagation on its
desktop processors, with the continuous
push for higher clock speeds. Even
the new 6xx-Series desktops with the
SpeedStepping energy saving features
have not effectively stopped the massive
energy loss. Their notebook CPUs, on
the other hand, have enjoyed a thought
through energy saving feature and an
efficient processor architecture with little
loss of energy, which is very important to
maintain longer running battery loads.
One might ask now, whether it is possible
to use a notebook CPU on a desktop to
have a much quieter PC?
More Processors, Less Mainboards
Intel offers a great pallet of products
even in the notebook segment. They have
named their mobile processors similar
to their desktop counterparts. Intel
Pentium M CPU is known as the 7xx, the
mobile Intel Pentium 4 processors as 5xx
The 64-Bit technology expands the 32-Bit
architecture with additional functions, to
allow 32-Bit software to remain functional.
The 64-Bit register and commands,
for example, speed up the handling of
numbers that need more than 32 bits
of memory. This becomes useful with
scientific programs that use long-integer
and double floating point formats. With
64-Bit addresses, there is also an increase
of accessible memory. Theoretically, 64-Bit
supports 16 Exabytes worth of memory;
practically speaking, it remains at up to
1 terabyte. With a 32-Bit address line, it
maxes out at 4 gigabytes. The practical
advantages of 64-Bit technology are
documented in the following pages.
Save Energy: For quiet PCs it’s very
important that the processor uses as
little energy as possible. With current
high-end CPUs the area of a one-cent
piece loses as much energy as a 100-Watt
bulb. The difficult process of cooling the
PC with fans ends up making it very noisy.
AMD attempts to cure this problem with
and Intel Celeron M CPUs as 3xx. Only
Pentium M and Celeron M models from the
7xx and 3xx series are currently available
as out-of-the-box versions. This gives
you a choice of around 20 processors
with a price ranging between 70 and 650
US dollars. There are significantly less
mainboards for socket 793 M to choose
from. Barely two platforms are currently
available, both from Aopen. The older
model i855GMEm-LFS made its debut last
autumn as the first mainboard for mobile
PCs. Its successor, the i915 GMM-HFS,
distinguished itself by having been fitted
with Intel’s new Sonoma chipset 915GM
that includes support for PCI Express
and the faster 533 Mhz FSB processors
for models with 855 GME chipsets.
MSI announced that it would be the next
manufacturer to bring out a mainboard
for socket 479 M this summer. Already
available in the market is an adapter-plate
from Asus that allows the use of socket
479 M processors on Asus mainboards
with socket 478, with adapted BIOS. The
disadvantage of this construction is that
the Enhanced SpeedStep energy saving
its Sempron 3000+ CPU. The built-in
Cool’n’Quiet mechanism turns down the
clock speed when it detects less load. The
surface remains cooler and the system
quieter. Intel fitted its 6xx Series with
similar but less efficient technology called
Enhanced SpeedStep.
Recommendations
Our Test winner is not necessarily the
ideal solution for everyone. For standard
PCs, it’s too expensive, and because of the
cooling required it’s too noisy for the living
room solution. CHIP tells you here which
processor is ideal for the professional PC,
gaming PC, which one is the ideal work PC
and the living room PC.
Workstations: Power for Professionals
The fastest processor in our test is perfect
for professional users. AMD’s number
one CPU, the Athlon X2 4800+, provides
high performance results with application
benchmarks and 3D renderings. It
managed to beat Intel’s flagship—the
function does not
work. But you
are still saving 80
watts compared to
common Pentium 4 processors.
Good, but not Affordable
A practical test with an Intel Pentium
M 770 2,13 GHz shows that mobile
platforms can equal the performance of
a current standard desktop PC (3,0-GHz
processor). The amount of energy used
is however significantly less. The mobile
system with integrated graphics barely
used 61 watts in idle state and only 78
watts with load. Desktop systems with
Intel Pentium 4 often require double
the energy. The Intel energy saving
mechanism and the activated air
circulation allow for an almost inaudible
PC. The disadvantages are in the price.
A high performing CPU will cost at
least 675 US dollars and the mainboard
will cost around 250 US dollars. You
could build a system performing
similarly with quiet AMD processors for
half the price.
Pentium D 840 Extreme Edition by 5
percent in Cinebench and by a whopping
15 percent in PCMark04. This is where
AMD’s multi-processor technology shows
its strengths. Professional users tend to
strain their PC with multiple processes and
programs running simultaneously. These
tasks (also called threads) are in this case
divided between the two processor cores,
instead of having to be worked one after
the other, like on single core CPUs.
Software that can manage multiple
threads at a time already exist. Rendering
programs such as 3D Studio Max and
Maxons Cinema 4D, which were some of
the first applications available in the 64-Bit
version, are such examples.
A high-end PC needs a suitable
mainboard to work with. Nvidia’s nForce 4
Ultra-based board is good. If two graphic
cards are required, the the nForce 4 SLI
chipset would be a good choice.
The Gaming Rig: Optimized Performance
Frames are all that count in gaming—the
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

more the better. In order to prevent the
CPU from slowing the graphics down, a
powerful processor is needed. In terms of
performance (specifically for 3D games),
AMD leads the pack with its Athlon FX-57.
With 86 frames in Unreal Tournament,
it leads by 30 frames (53 percent) over
Intel’s high-end model Pentium Extreme
Edition 840. And it doesn’t just convince
us with processing power, but a PC that
bases itself on the FX-57 uses 120 watt
less energy than a similarly configured
Intel system. This also means that even in
the hottest duels, this PC should remain
comfortably quiet.
Dual Core and Hyperthreading are not
of much importance in this segment, as
most gamers won’t usually run anything
more taxing than 3D games on their
computers.
The ideal platform for AMD’s FX-57
is Nvidia’s nForce 4 SLI chipset. Two
SLI-connected graphic cards will provide
a phenomenal amount of 3D power.
Whether ATI’s new counter design
System tools like
Crystal CPUID and
CPU-Z allow you
to get a complete
overview of what
your processor is,
what it’s capable
of and the present
state it’s in
CrossFire will be any faster remains to
be seen. For a high-end gaming rig you
will need to make sure you have enough
money in the bank. Just the CPU alone will
cost you around 1,000 US dollars.
Home PC: Successful All-rounder
Surf the Net, change typefaces, edit holiday
photos and maybe play a game in between.
The technology to do all this can require a
lot of money, which is why it’s important to
get the right value for your money.
Recommendable current sockets for
general use are AMD’s Athlon 64 3500+
and Intel’s Pentium D 820 at an average
price of US$ 270. Processors with slightly
more power are considerably more
expensive. AMD’s 64-Bit CPU scored
points with good gaming performance
and low energy consumption, which is
important for a quiet PC. Intel’s Dual
Core candidate has its advantages with
multithreading and multitasking standard
applications, and is therefore interesting
for users who often work with multiple
FEATURE | HARDWARE 89
programs simultaneously.
The optimal base in this segment for
AMD CPUs would be Nvidia’s nForce 4
Ultra Chip, which amongst other things,
offers a built-in Firewall. Performance
motherboards for Intel processors should
be fitted with Intel’s latest chipset 945P, or
if you are looking for integrated graphics
then the 945G is a good choice.
If you are using your PC only as a
typewriter then there are budget solutions
for you here. AMD’s Sempron 2600+ and
Intel’s Celeron D 325 are true
price-breakers at around 70 US dollars,
but are relatively slow. For video-encoding
tasks, for example, these CPUs take three
times longer than some of the ones
mentioned earlier.
Living Room PC: Not the Fastest but Quiet
DVB-T and HDTV have accelerated the
much anticipated development of PC
technology moving from the work room
to the living room. The only deterrent so
far has been the noise levels of normal
PCs. The right choice of CPU can help
remove this nuisance. Most of the flagship
processors are oversized anyways for
simple tasks such as recording and playing
videos and MP3s. Lower clock speeds
require less work and therefore offer a
quieter system. An AMD Sempron 3000+
with the Cool’n’Quiet energy saving
mechanism is a better choice than an Intel
Pentium 4. Not even the new 6xx Series
with Enhanced Speed-Stepping can
keep up with AMD’s finely tuned energy
saving technique.
A motherboard with the Nvidia nForce
4 chipset (without Ultra or SLI) as well as
a passive cooled graphics card based on
either ATI’s Radeon X300SE or Nvidia’s
GeForce 6200 TC would do well for a home
theater setup. ■
| Gui Jue Fok
90 HARDWARE | FEATURE

Results
AMD and Intel were in a fierce head-to- head race SpecScan
for the lead when it came to creating a dual core
Workstation: Gaming Rig:
processor. Intel won the race when it recently 1 AMD Athlon X2 4800+ 3 AMD Athlon FX-57
unveiled its first dual core model for the desktop

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and the low energy consumption make for a 1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (Toledo) 902 94 58 100 93 100 72 6.698 56 342/ 641
2 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (Toledo) 537 88 63 90 90 92 73 6.153 61 312/ 586
powerful and quiet PC.
3 AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 (SanDiego) 1,031 84 33 87 100 75 68 5.294 67 394/ 394
Professionals should equip their 4 Intel Pentium D 840 EE (Smithfield) 999 82 29 89 79 96 47 5.818 55 284/ 612

workstations with our winning model. AMD’s 5 Intel Pentium 4 670 (Prescott 2M) 605 79 27 90 87 75 48 5.837 58 334/ 403
6 Intel Pentium 4 570 J (Prescott) 637 79 36 89 85 76 49 5.823 57 336/ 404
Dual Core CPU (1st place) is not only at the the 7 AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 (Clawhammer) 827 79 31 82 96 69 61 4.960 73 367/ 367
top in rendering performance with 32-Bit but 8 AMD Athlon 64 4000+ (SanDiego) 375 79 49 78 94 65 77 4.611 77 340/ 340
9 AMD Athlon 64 3800+ (Venice) 329 79 61 78 91 65 86 4.578 77 341/ 341
will even provide you with an extra 30 percent
10 Intel Pentium 4 3,73 EE (Prescott 2M) 999 78 23 88 87 74 48 5.737 58 328/ 395
power with 64-Bit. 11 Intel Pentium 4 3,46 EE (Gallatin) 999 78 25 83 87 73 57 5.250 64 352/ 418

For the serious gamer, AMD’s Athlon 64 12 Intel Pentium D 840 (Smithfield) 530 77 36 89 75 77 51 6.361 62 283/ 528
13 Intel Pentium 4 660 (Prescott 2M) 401 76 32 85 85 71 49 5.558 61 317/ 382
FX-57 (3rd Place) should be the best choice. It 14 AMD Athlon 64 4000+ (Clawhammer) 375 76 42 76 93 63 71 4.567 78 340/ 340
performed at an impressive 35 percent higher 15 Intel Pentium 4 560 J (Prescott) 417 75 47 84 83 71 50 5.548 62 318/ 382
16 Intel Pentium 4 3,2 (Northwood) 210 75 91 76 80 67 76 4.865 69 323/ 382
rate than Intel’s Pentium 840 EE, which allows
17 AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (Venice) 223 75 72 71 88 59 87 4.166 81 310/ 310
this CPU to meet even the highest current 18 Intel Pentium D 820 (Smithfield) 241 74 63 85 73 71 56 5.818 61 250/ 466

requirements. 19 Intel Pentium 4 550 (Prescott) 278 74 58 80 81 67 61 5.276 64 300/ 361

20 AMD Athlon 64 3700+ (SanDiego) 272 74 49 72 90 59 79 4.201 81 310/ 310
Home-PC users looking to surf the Net, 21 AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (Newcastle) 170 74 100 69 86 62 85 4.370 83 330/ 330
change typefaces and play MP3 music won’t 22 Intel Pentium 4 650 (Prescott 2M) 273 73 38 81 82 67 49 5.240 64 299/ 361
23 Intel Pentium 4 3,4 'E' (Prescott) 278 73 68 78 80 67 57 5.136 63 299/ 357
have to spend all that much money. AMD Athlon
24 AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (Winchester) 223 73 61 71 88 58 80 4.228 83 313/ 313
64 3500+ (17) as well as Intel’s Pentium D 820 25 Intel Pentium 4 3,0 (Northwood) 180 72 80 71 77 63 78 4.569 74 301/ 359

(18) are available for about 270 US dollars. Even 26 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (Newcastle) 194 72 95 65 84 61 84 4.010 89 334/ 334
27 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (Venice) 194 72 80 67 85 54 89 3.877 89 284/ 284
though both AMD and Intel still offer sockets 28 Intel Pentium 4 540 J (Prescott) 218 70 56 77 79 63 50 4.955 68 282/ 340
of older models at a cheaper price, the older 29 Intel Pentium 4 3,2 'E' (Prescott) 218 70 62 75 76 63 58 4.866 67 282/ 336
30 AMD Sempron 3300+ (Palermo) 126 69 91 62 79 53 97 3.666 90 279/ 279
mainboards don’t offer support features such
31 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (Winchester) 194 69 69 64 84 53 81 3.826 90 282/ 282
as PCI Express. 32 Intel Pentium 4 640 (Prescott 2M) 218 68 40 74 79 61 50 4.650 67 265/ 318

The most affordable PC is the Living Room 33 Intel Pentium 4 3,0 'E' (Prescott) 178 67 58 70 75 59 60 4.543 72 264/ 315
34 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Newcastle) 149 67 89 61 82 52 84 3.656 95 280/ 280
Unit. Our Price-Value winner from AMD, the 35 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Venice) 149 67 79 60 81 49 90 3.471 97 256/ 256
Sempron 3000+ (38) is already available at 36 AMD Sempron 3100+ (Palermo) 106 65 92 56 73 48 98 3.331 102 251/ 251
37 AMD Sempron 3100+ (Paris) 106 64 94 56 75 47 90 3.327 103 251/ 251
91 US dollars and offers enough power for all
38 AMD Sempron 3000+ (Palermo) 91 64 100 56 73 47 97 3.312 103 251/ 251
applications surrounding your TV and Hi-Fi. 39 Intel Pentium 4 520 J (Prescott) 163 64 47 67 73 56 53 4.331 78 248/ 298

And thanks to Cool’n’Quiet mechanism, it will 40 Intel Pentium 4 2,8 (Northwood) 178 64 50 60 71 47 89 3.488 90 283/ 283
41 AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Winchester) 149 64 65 58 81 47 81 3.415 99 253/ 253
be more or less inaudible. 42 AMD Athlon 64 2800+ (Newcastle) 122 64 77 56 78 47 86 3.317 104 251/ 251
43 Intel Celeron D 351 (Prescott) 117 62 36 66 68 49 67 4.257 80 256/ 256
44 Intel Celeron D 345 (Prescott) 103 62 66 64 66 46 77 4.010 84 242/ 242
| This is how chip tests 45 Intel Celeron D 345 J (Prescott) 103 61 51 64 66 47 71 4.062 83 249/ 249
46 AMD Sempron 2800+ (Palermo) 78 60 82 50 68 42 99 2.909 114 221/ 221
Performance Application 47 AMD Sempron 2600+ (Palermo) 64 60 88 50 69 42 100 2.979 114 223/ 223
Intake Performance 48 Intel Celeron D 341 (Prescott) 89 59 31 61 65 45 69 3.917 86 238/ 238
49 Intel Celeron D 335 J (Prescott) 79 57 47 59 63 42 69 3.745 90 221/ 221
50 Intel Celeron D 325 (Prescott) 69 57 63 56 59 39 85 3.410 96 208/ 208

15 % 35 % • = yes – = no

25 % 25 %

Rendering Gaming
Performance Performance

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

 FEATURE | HARDWARE 91

Glossary
64-Bit: The current 32-Bit standard is slowly being
replaced by 64-Bit technology. The corresponding
17 Home PC: AMD
Athlon 64 3500+ 18 Home PC: Intel
Pentium D 820 38 Living Room PC: AMD
Sempron 3000+
CPUs are capable of working through 8 bytes (64-
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75 105/ 220 939 2.400 2x 1.024 400 90 •/•/• •/ –
•/• Cool'n'Quiet 1
with the CPU allowing for double the bandwidth.
71 105/ 215 939 2.200 2x 1.024 400 90 •/•/• •/ –
•/• Cool'n'Quiet 2
86 118/ 220 939 2.800 1.024 400 90 •/•/• – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 3
Dual-Core: One CPU that consists of two physical
56 155/ 345 775 3.200 2x 1.024 800 90 •/•/• •/• •/• ESS 4
66 170/ 310 775 3.800 2.048 800 90 •/•/• – /• •/• ESS 5 main processors is referred to as Dual-Core.
64 160/ 310 775 3.800 1.024 800 90 •/•/• – /• – / – – 6
This allows for two threads to be calculated
80 130/ 250 939 2.600 1.024 400 130 •/•/ – – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 7
76 105/ 195 939 2.400 1.024 400 90 •/•/• – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 8 simultaneously.
72 90/ 180 939 2.400 512 400 90 •/•/• – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 9
66 165/ 315 775 3.733 2.048 1.066 90 •/•/• – /• – /• – 10 Production Process: A development in production
67 130/ 280 775 3.467 512/2.048 1.066 130 •/•/ – – /• – /– – 11 technology allows more transistors to be placed on
50 140/ 325 775 3.200 2x 1.024 800 90 •/•/• •/ – •/• ESS 12
the same sized space. The size indicator, 90nm for
63 165/ 300 775 3.600 2.048 800 90 •/•/• – /• •/• ESS 13
75 100/ 235 939 2.400 1.024 400 130 •/•/ – – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 14 example, refers to the structure width of the CPU.
61 160/ 300 775 3.600 1.024 800 90 •/•/• – /• – /– – 15
59 95/ 220 478 3.200 512 800 130 •/•/ – – /• – /– – 16 FSB/Swystembus: The Front Side Bus connects
68 90/ 175 939 2.200 512 400 90 •/•/• – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 17
the CPU with the chipset and through it to all
50 135/ 285 775 2.800 2x 1.024 800 90 •/•/• •/ – •/• ESS 18
58 125/ 260 775 3.400 1.024 800 90 •/•/• – /• – / – – 19 other components. AMD’s Systembus runs with
72 105/ 185 939 2.200 1.024 400 90 •/•/• – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 20
double and Intel with four times the bandwidth
66 89/ 189 754 2.400 512 400 90 •/•/ – – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 21
60 170/ 300 775 3.400 2.048 800 90 •/•/• – /• •/• ESS 22
of the FSB.
59 130/ 285 478 3.400 1.024 800 90 •/•/• – /• – / – – 23
67 100/ 190 939 2.200 512 400 90 •/•/ – – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 24
Hyperthreading: This refers to the doubling of the
56 95/ 210 478 3.000 512 800 130 •/•/– – /• – /– – 25 CPU control-logic. Even with two virtual processors
63 89/ 192 754 2.200 512 400 90 •/•/ – – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 26
it’s possible to calculate two parallel threads.
63 90/ 170 939 2.000 512 400 90 •/•/• – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 27
56 160/ 300 775 3.200 1.024 800 90 •/•/• – /• – / – – 28
L1-/L2-/L3-Cache: Refers to the fast memory
54 130/ 270 478 3.200 1.024 800 90 •/•/• – /• – / – – 29
56 80/ 160 754 2.000 256 400 90 •/•/• – / – – /• Cool'n'Quiet 30 buffer of the processor for data, commands and
63 100/ 185 939 2.000 512 400 90 •/•/ – – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 31
results. The rule here is, the bigger the better.
57 165/ 290 775 3.200 2.048 800 90 •/•/• – /• •/• ESS 32
53 130/ 260 478 3.000 1.024 800 90 •/•/• – /• – / – – 33
Stepping: Different Steppings refer to small
60 90/ 190 754 2.000 512 400 90 •/•/ – – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 34
58 90/ 165 939 1.800 512 400 90 •/•/• – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 35 improvements in the production technology of
49 80/ 157 754 1.800 256 400 90 •/•/• – / – – /• Cool'n'Quiet 36 the processor.
52 85/ 175 754 1.800 256 400 130 •/•/ – – /– – /– Cool'n'Quiet 37
49 79/ 160 754 1.800 128 400 90 •/•/• – /– –/ • Cool'n'Quiet 38 Energy Saving Mechanism: Clockspeed and
50 155/ 280 775 2.800 1.024 800 90 •/•/• –/ • – /– – 39
Power intake of CPU are decreased here. AMD’s
50 85/ 180 478 2.800 512 533 130 •/•/ – – /– – /– – 40
58 100/ 185 939 1.800 512 400 90 •/•/ – – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 41 technology is called Cool’n’Quiet. Intel’s version is
55 89/ 184 754 1.800 512 400 90 •/•/ – – /– •/• Cool'n'Quiet 42
referred to as Enhanced SpeedStep (ESS).
45 115/ 230 775 3.200 256 533 90 •/•/• – /– •/• – 43
44 100/ 205 478 3.066 256 533 90 •/•/• – /– –/ – – 44
Non-Executable-Bit: By separating memory into a
43 110/ 215 775 3.067 256 533 90 •/•/• – /– –/ – – 45
45 80/ 154 754 1.600 256 400 90 •/•/• – /– –/• – 46 data and a programming segment, it prevents the
45 77/ 156 754 1.600 128 400 90 •/•/• – /– –/• – 47 execution of damaging codes, such as viruses in
42 115/ 220 775 2.934 256 533 90 •/•/• – /– •/• – 48
the data.
41 115/ 220 775 2.800 256 533 90 •/•/• – /– –/ – – 49
38 90/ 185 478 2.533 256 533 90 •/•/• – /– –/ – – 50
The memory effect
Is low latency memory worth the hype? Let’s find out
A
bout a year back, buying memory
(RAM) for your computer was a
lot simpler. You needed to know
whether your PC takes SD, DDR or DDR-II
memory and find out the max frequency
supported by your motherboard, whether
it’s DDR 266, 333 or 400. Now if you happen
to go to a well informed seller and ask
for memory he will in all probability dish
out the regular memory and then some
exorbitantly priced low latency chips. He
will suggest you go for the low latency
memory if you have the budget for it,
vouching the speed of the low latency to
be significantly better than the regular
memory. These high-speed low latency
memories have made their way into
the market, targeting the enthusiasts
and power users who demand peak
performance. About 90 percent users opt
for the regular memory modules, which are
priced well while 10 percent go for the low
latency chips selling for almost double the
price. These chips are better for sure, but by
what margin and whether they warrant the
price is the question. Let us first learn about
the latencies and how they influence the
system performance and then get on with
the benchmarks, comparing three variants
of DDR 400 memory with varied latencies
on an array of synthetic and real-time
benchmarks.
What’s memory latency?
Latency is the period between stimulation
and response. Memory latency is the delay
caused by the memory to react towards a
particular command. The delay in memory
access is the latency of that memory and
it’s measured at various stages of memory
access. Typically, memory timings on the
module are specified as 2-2-2-5 where the
string of timings correspond to the CAS-
tRCD-tRP-tRAS. It might sound complicated
but it’s not all that complex if we learn about
it and get a low down on how it works.
CAS: CAS stands for Column Address
Strobe. This is the number of memory
cycles that pass between the time a column
is requested from the active page and the
time the data is ready to send across the
bus. This number is usually 2, 2.5, and 3 for
DDR memory.
tRCD: RAS to CAS Delay is referred to as
tRCD. This is the delay in memory cycles
between the time a row is activated
Vishwanath Vanjire
and when data within the row can be
requested. This only happens when data is
not on the active row.
tRP: tRP is the time for RAS Precharge. It’s
the time required in memory cycles to clear
out the active row out of the cache, before
a new row can be requested. In other
words, it’s the time taken for the memory
to stop accessing one row and start
accessing another.
tRAS: tRAS refers to the minimum time
that a row must remain active before a
new row can be activated in each memory
bank. A new row cannot be opened until
the minimum amount of time has passed.
If there is more than one bank on memory,
this will help the performance of the tRAS.
If there is only one active bank, then the
need to change rows is guaranteed, and if
there is more than one bank with memory,
then there is only half the chance that there
will be a need to change rows. In turn, the
tRAS will only come into effect half the
time. The tRP and tRAS together are often
referred to as the Row Cycle time, because
they happen together.
One also needs to remember that as
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 FEATURE | HARDWARE 95

SiSoft Sandra Scores SiSoft Sandra Scores 3D Mark 2003 Scores

4868

1024x768 default settings

Int ALU
6292 6292

Cache and memory

4964
Memory Bandwidth

6045
6437 6437
4866

Float FPU
4923 6996 6996
6003
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 0 5000 10000 15000 20000
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
TwinMOS DDR400 2.5-4-4-8 TwinMOS DDR400 2.5-4-4-8 TwinMOS DDR400 2.5-4-4-8
Corsair XMS DDR400 2.5-3-3-6 Corsair XMS DDR400 2.5-3-3-6 Corsair XMS DDR400 2.5-3-3-6
Corsair Expert DDR 400 2-2-2-5 Corsair Expert DDR 400 2-2-2-5 Corsair Expert DDR 400 2-2-2-5

the data rate (FSB) goes higher, the latency almost as big as 30 percent while in real
also increases. Thus latencies for a 512 MB time benchmarks the difference is anywhere 3D Mark 2005 Scores
stick of DDR 333 or DDR 400 MHz are lower between 5-10 percent, and may be even

1024x768 default settings

than for DDR-II 533 or DDR-II 600. Since
the bandwidth is higher, the time taken for
access and reaction is also more than in
case of lower bandwidth memory.
Time for the benchmarks
To find out the real world impact of low
latency memory chips, we chose 1 GB (512
MB x2) of DDR 400 memory with varied
memory timings. The table below lists the
specifications of the memory modules used
for the comparison. We benchmarked them
using a mix of synthetic and real world
benchmarks on a top-of-the-line machine,
ensuring there are no bottlenecks involved.
lower in some cases. These low latency 8227
memory modules are primarily targeted
at demanding gamers who thrive on that 8393
additonal 4-5 FPS in the latest games. For
an average user with a regular system 8452
configuration, low latency memory makes
little sense. Instead of spending twice the 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
money on low latency memory, he can
TwinMOS DDR400 2.5-4-4-8
rather invest that money in either buying
Corsair XMS DDR400 2.5-3-3-6
a better processor, additional RAM or a Corsair Expert DDR 400 2-2-2-5
powerful video card. These upgrades will
yield him significant performance boosts
in almost all the applications. On the other Doom 3 FPS
side, if you have the national reserve at
your disposal and want to go all out in
High -1024x768-8xAA

53
buying a beast of a machine, the 10 percent
The truth is here performance boost will certainly count. 54.3
Now are these low latency memory If you want nothing but the best, the
modules really worth the dough? The extreme memory modules will pump 58.2
answer is both a “yes” and a “no”. The that extra FPS as long as you have top-of-
performance difference in synthetic the-line processor, motherboard and 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
benchmarks is substantial while real world video card that does justice to the TwinMOS DDR400 2.5-4-4-8
impact is very marginal. Overall, in synthetic memory modules. ■ Corsair XMS DDR400 2.5-3-3-6
benchmarks, the performance benefit is | Soham Raninga Corsair Expert DDR 400 2-2-2-5

Processor AMD Athlon 64 FX-53@2.4GHz

Motherboard ASUS A8N SLI-Deluxe
Opening a 571 MB in Photoshop
Chipset drivers nForce-4 (6.70)
Hard drives 4 x Western Digital Raptor 74GB in Raid 0 30.6
Time in seconds

Audio nForce4/ALC850
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX with ForceWare 81.85 drivers 30.1
OS Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 and Dx 9.0c
Memory size, type 1GB(512MBx2) DDR 400 in Dual Channel 28.7
Brand and Model Corsair Expert Corsair-XMS-3200LL TwinMOS
CAS latency (CL) 2 2.5 2.5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
RAS to CAS delay (tRCD) 2 3 4
RAS precharge (tRP) 2 3 4 TwinMOS DDR400 2.5-4-4-8
Cycle time (tRAS) 5 6 8 Corsair XMS DDR400 2.5-3-3-6
Corsair Expert DDR 400 2-2-2-5
Command rate 1T 1T 2T

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

96 HARDWARE | FEATURE
Dual Duel
Graphics capabilities are expected to notch to a new
level with a smarter way of pairing two GPUs
D
ual Core processors
are all set to invade
our computer systems
and soon you might just find dual
GPU video cards following them in a couple
of years. The SLI and CrossFire technologies
released recently have made pairing of two
video cards possible, thus boosting the
graphics capabilities to a new level. While
SLI and CrossFire have gone mainstream,
ultimately looking to replace the single
video card system, a smarter and more
efficient way of pairing two GPUs is around
the corner. A Dual GPU-based video card
is basically a single video card that houses
two separate GPUs each having its own
dedicated video RAM and are combined
together using SLI technology that enables
multi-GPU rendering. Multi-GPU
video cards have surfaced in the
past but the available technology
and implementation at the
given time was not perfect, thus
failing to make a mark on the
industry. A lot has changed since
then. With motherboards supporting
higher bandwidth, processors being
smarter with efficient memory
management and dual
core architecture, the case
for Dual GPU video cards is a
lot stronger. In the last six months,
we have seen three products which offered
ai dual GPU solutions. The Gigabyte 3D1,
Des
e sh
Din
The beast of a card is almost as wide as
the motherboard and takes two slots
the ASUS 6800GT Dual and finally, the
latest N7800GT Dual from Asus. All of the
mentioned cards use the SLI technology
from Nvidia to pair the two GPUs on one
card. The N7800GT Dual combines two
Nvidia 7800GT GPUs on a single card. On
paper, the N7800GT Dual video card is by
far the most powerful video card for the PC
platform.
The obvious question to be answered
is whether the dual 7800GT card equals
the performance of two separate 7800GT
video cards in SLI mode. Let’s find out….
The Card
The N7800GT DUAL is a monster of a card,
easily the biggest and most intimidating
video card that ever visited our Test Center.
It measures about 250 mm in width and
145 mm in height. Being almost as wide as
the motherboard itself, the card will not fit
into all the cases, the case will have to be
towards the bigger side to accommodate
the card comfortably. Weighing almost a
kg, the card simply owns any other video
card in terms of its massive frame. Coming
to the technical specifications, the card
houses two Nvidia 7800GT GPUs each
clocked at 430 MHz core clock and having
256 MB of 256-bit DDR3 memory per
GPU, making it 512 MB of total effective
memory. The memory is clocked at 1.2
GHz. The card offers dual DVI and dual VGA
outputs along with a TV output, which
supports HDTV. The core is clocked at 30
MHz above the reference core and the
memory is clocked at 200 MHz above the
reference clock speeds of 1 GHz.
Design, cooling and power
Though the card essentially looks like a
bigger version of a top-of-the-line video
card, its architecture is obviously different.
The 7800GT GPUs are placed two inches
away from each other and are surrounded
by eight single sided RAM chips per GPU.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

The single aluminum slab is cooled by a
large fan
Dual GPUs sitting next to each other with
Samsung chips around them
The card uses Samsung RAM chips rated at
1.6 ns which translates to 1.2 GHz. The card
is cooled by a massive aluminum heatsink
with a large fan at the center of it. The single
piece cooling system cools the RAM chips
as well, using thermal pads to dissipate
heat. The use of a single large fan ensures
adequate cooling without too much noise,
since the fan need not rotate at very
high speeds.
Coming to the most interesting part
of the design and implementation, the
N7800GT Dual has a very innovative
approach to power management. It gives
you an option of using an external power
adaptor to power the card separately.
You don’t need a meaty PSU to power
this monster. There are two very distinct
advantages to this system. Firstly, you save
some money on the PSU and secondly,
the external power supply option is safer
and consistent, ensuring more stability
to the card. In case you already own a
mother of PSU, you do have an option of
powering the card normally and not using
the external adaptor which is a part of the
default package. Overall, an external power
adaptor drawing power straight out of the
socket makes a lot of sense in such cases
where the cards are power hungry.
Package, installation and
compatibility
The N7800GT Dual comes with a decent
accessories package that comprises two
DVI-to-VGA adaptors, a power adaptor,
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
FEATURE | HARDWARE 97
A closer look at the 7800GT GPU after
wiping off all the thermal compound
a video output dongle that supports
HDTV, and an Asus SLI switch chip for
the Intel-based SLI boards from Asus
which will require the special chip for
SLI operation with a single card. The
software bundle includes the usual mix of
some applications, special driver CDs and
game titles like Project Snowblind. The
Asus web site does promise a copy of
Call of Duty 2 bundled free with the
card, which makes the package even
more exciting. On the support side,
the card is supported by almost all
the Nforce 4 SLI boards from well
known manufacturers like ASUS,
Gigabyte, DFI and MSI.
For the Intel-based
SLI platform, there
are some issues with
the SLI switch used by
the motherboards. ASUS
has confirmed support for
the card on their Intel-based
SLI motherboards. For the rest
of the brands it all depends on the
implementation of the SLI switch which
controls the bandwidth of PCI Express (x8
lanes or x16 lanes). Installation was mostly
trouble free with Windows XP recognizing
the two cores as separate video adaptors
and the driver package installing the
drivers. You do not need any special drivers
to get the card running, the regular NVIDIA
drivers package does all the installation
The card can be juiced externally, The default external power adaptor looks
providing huge relief to the system PSU very similar to a notebook power adaptor
98 HARDWARE | FEATURE

just like it would in case of a normal SLI 3DMark 2005(points) 3DMark 2003(points)
setup. We experienced a minor issue in
the initial stages where the drivers for the 11554 Default 1024x768
second GPU would not install, and the
11798 Default 1024x768 26839 Default 1024x768
operating system reporting the second
GPU as a “7800GTX” instead of a 7800GT.
Thankfully, the problem was solved when 7623 1600x1200 4XAA 8xAF
we reinstalled the drivers. Once done, we 25996 Default 1024x768
simply chose the SLI option in the drivers 7511 1600x1200 4XAA 8xAF
control panel and rebooted the machine 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000
with the dual GPUs running in SLI mode.
Reference 7800GT SLI AsusN7800GT Dual Reference 7800GT SLI AsusN7800GT Dual

Test setup
We compared the N7800GT Dual with two
Nvidia reference 7800GTs with 256 MB
memory each running in SLI mode on the
same test rig.
Specifications of the test rig
Processor Athlon 64 FX-53
Motherboard Asus A8NSLI Deluxe
2 x 512 MB Corsair
Memory
3200XL
4 x Raptor 74GB in
Hard Drive
Raid 0 configuration
Operating Windows XP
System Professional SP2
NVIDIA Forceware
Drivers
version 81.85
Performance analysis
The N7800GT Dual is almost at par
with the two 7800GTs in SLI mode. This
essentially means that the integration
of two GPUs on a single card is done at
near optimal levels where each of the
GPUs along with the 256 MB of dedicated
memory is performing just like it would in
case of an SLI setup. Thus there is no loss
of performance or compatibility issues
associated with this dual GPU card which
indicates the fact that technology and
technique of optimally integrating two
powerful GPUs is here. Also on paper, the
performance makes the N7800GT Dual
the fastest single PCI Express card on the
planet (at stock speeds). Another very
important point made by this card is the
possibility of using an external dedicated
power supply adaptor to power the card.
The solution is very practical, effective and
able to push the core to 450 MHz while the
memory could not be bumped above the
stock speed of 1.2 GHz. With enough juice Far Cry (AVG FPS)(8xAA 16xAF)
pumped into the card through external
power supply, we did expect the card to
84.2 River Demo@1280x1024
go slightly higher on core especially when
7800GT chips are known to touch the 88.1 River Demo@1280x1024
480 mark easily. The failure to push the
memory higher can be blamed on the
91.7 Pier Demo@1280x1024
average cooling of the aluminum heatsink
which does not cool as well as it would in 94.9 Pier Demo@1280x1024
the case of copper heatsinks.
0 20 40 60 80 100
The successful implementation of Dual
Reference 7800GT SLI AsusN7800GT Dual
GPU platform by ASUS widens the scope
for implementation of SLI technology. With
newer motherboards like the A8NSLI 32
supporting two dedicated x16 PCI Express Doom 3 (AVG FPS)
lanes being released in the market, one
should not be surprised if a quad GPU
83.5 Ultra 8xAA@1024x768
system is made possible in the near future.
Meanwhile, if any of you are planning to 79.9 Ultra 8xAA@1024x768
equip your PC with this cutting edge video
card, the N7800GT Dual can be bought for
62.7 High 4xAA@1600x1200
around Rs 54,000. The card is more about
technology, innovation and performance 59.8 High 4xAA@1600x1200
rather than giving you bang for the buck.
0 20 40 60 80 100
The way we look at it, the N7800GT Dual is
Reference 7800GT SLI AsusN7800GT Dual
an excellent attempt by Asus to introduce
a unique product in the market.
The product might not top the sales figures
but it certainly will top the innovation Fear (AVG FPS)
charts. Being a limited edition card, this
one will have to be ordered from the
company directly. ■
73.1 1280x960 4xAA 16xAF
| Soham Raninga
RATINGS 4.5 / 5
For: Excellent performance, good 77.4 1280x960 4xAA 16xAF

well implemented. software package, excellent build

quality, innovative power solution.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Overclocking Against: Limited overclocking, requires a
large case, very expensive. Reference 7800GT SLI AsusN7800GT Dual
We tried to overclock the card and were

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

It’s all getting Real!
Gaming is fun, but it’s even more fun when games look, behave and feel like the real
thing. Let’s probe into the technologies that make this possible
W
hen it comes to PC gaming, the
focus has always been on how
to make it more real. The final
destination for PC game developers is to
reach a level where games almost look and
behave like everything in real life, delivering
cinematic gaming experience. The good
news is that the hardware and technology
required to achieve this level of realism
is almost here, waiting to be utilized and
embedded optimally into games. When
Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 were released last
year, they upped the bar by using dynamic
lighting, bump mapping and reflections,
which made them visually stunning. A
lot has changed since then, with newer
and more powerful GPUs being released,
offering added features and capabilities,
game developers have a lot more room to
play around. The next wave of PC games is
expected to take you a step or two closer
to the real world. What makes the realism
possible? Read on to find out.
HDR
High Dynamic Range (HDR) in gaming is a
technology that attempts to emulate real
life lighting in games. Dynamic Range is
the normal range of lighting while High
Dynamic Range extends the overall range,
giving brightness and contrast values that
are higher than the normal dynamic range.
In simpler terms, HDR allows you to make
the objects brighter by allowing them to
use the full brightness capabilities of the
monitor and not just the brightness level at
which they have been shot or rendered with.
To simplify it further, let’s take an example
of the morning sunlight blazing through
a glass window. The moment you open
the window, the sunlight blinds you for a
second because your eyes cannot adjust to
the extreme brightness and contrast levels.
Eventually, your vision adjusts to the light
conditions allowing better visibility. HDR
attempts to create similar realism in games
by allowing values that are way beyond the
normal range. What makes it special is the
fact that the extreme values whether too
dark or bright do not sacrifice the detail
levels; the detail levels and realism is further
enhanced by the use of reflections which
are equally bright and absolutely life-like.
HDR makes use of “Radiosity” which is a
way of rendering a scene, using only visible
light sources. Thus if you are inside a cave
with light falling from a narrow gap, the
luminosity inside the cave will be rendered
using only the available light source as it
happens in real life.
Experience HDR
HDR was first implemented by Crytek in
Far Cry as part of their 1.3 Patch update
that made use of Shader Model 3.0 to
render HDR. The Lost Coast demo by
Valve is specially released to showcase the
implementation of HDR in the Half-Life
2 engine. The upcoming game UnReal
3 is expected to make maximum use of
HDR. The UnReal 3 game engine has been
labeled the next generation game engine,
which will up the ante for FPS gaming. If
you can’t wait to get a hands-on experience
of HDR, we suggest you download the
Lost Coast demo via steam account; you
Pramod Jadhav
obviously need to own a HL2 copy in order
to download the Lost Coast demo.
What’s that Bloom?
The “Bloom” effect which has been used
more frequently than HDR is a step down
version of the latter. You can even call it a
step behind HDR. Bloom is an effect that’s
given to simulate the shine and glow that
is normally experienced around the light
sources. This is obtained by blurring the
edges of the light source, which is very
similar to the overexposed night shot of
a super highway. Bloom is many a times
mistaken as HDR, the reality being bloom
is much simpler and easier to implement
as compared to HDR. The latest release of
the Age of Empires makes extensive use
of the bloom effect. Need for Speed: Most
Wanted also utilizes bloom effect and the
game simply looks spectacular with sun
beaming down the tracks and staring in
your face, almost blinding your vision for a
few seconds.
Soft Shadows, Volumetric Lighting,
Smoke Effects...
Things are not just getting real on the light
side, the dark side also has a lot in store.
The best example would be the scary First
Person Shooter game, F.E.A.R. Using the
Shader Model 3.0 features, F.E.A.R. delivers
some of the most realistic shadows in any
PC game. The Soft Shadows look much
more real than the ones in Doom 3 that
was too harsh and artificial. Soft shadows
will play a bigger role in FPS games, which
involve spooky environments and close
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 FEATURE | HARDWARE 101

quarter combat. Smoke effects in games

have been very ordinary, with clear outlines
which define the scope of smoke effect
in a given scene. If you played Call of Duty
2 demo, you will notice a drastic change
in the way smoke is rendered—it’s more
dense and real, ensuring almost zero
visibility amidst it, just like it happens in
The glow on the building is very intense at first glance; your eyes adjust to the lighting real life. With such realistic smoke, lighting
eventually being able to capture more details, emulating a real-life scenario and shadows, games are no doubt looking
more and more life-like, blurring the lines
between the real and the unreal. In the
true sense, it’s going to take a long time for
games to merge into reality and become
truly cinematic. But, the latest breed
of games announces the coming of the
technology that will make it possible.

HDR On HDR Off

With HDR enabled, the blurred effect of light passing through the stained glass makes it
It’s gonna make you spend for sure...
look very real, the lighting and details on the weapon also change accordingly All that eye candy, realism and cinematic
effects are quite demanding on the
computer. These new games can literally
make a top-of-the-line computer crawl
when played at maxed settings and ultra
high resolutions. If you are looking forward
to play the Lost Coast demo or games like
F.E.A.R., Call of Duty and NFS:NW with
all the fabulous effects, you will need a
HDR On HDR Off minimum of Geforce 6600GT and above,
NFS: Most Wanted generously uses the ‘bloom effect’, creating realistic environments with along with 1 GB of system memory and a
spectacular lighting. The reflection of light on the roads looks very real
2.8 GHz or higher processor to extract 40-
50 frames per second. Mind you, these are
the minimum requirements. Lost Coast and
F.E.A.R barely managed 35 FPS on a 6600GT
SLI set up at 1600x1200 with 4X AA and 8X
AF! Before you assume that these latest
games are out of your budget, you might
want to keep an eye on the prices for the
HDR On HDR Off 6600GT and X800GT cards in the market.
Looking straight into the sun will blind you for a few seconds; the glare is evident They are falling by the minute! ■
throughout the scene. HDR implementation expands the scope of realism to a new level | Soham Raninga

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

102 HARDWARE | FEATURE

1 Hard or Soft Boot?

The system BIOS checks to see if it was a
‘cold boot’ or a ‘warm boot’. (When you
press the power button on your PC to
switch it on, it is known as a cold/hard
The Self-Test Routine boot. When the computer is restarted with
When you press the power switch on, the restart button or via the operating
your computer’s power supply is checked. This is necessary so that the system due to an error, it is known as a
components/adapters on the motherboard get sufficient juice to function warm/soft boot.)
properly. Once it is confirmed that the power supply is delivering the right If it was a ‘hard boot’ then the complete
current and voltage levels, the processor is sent a “Power Good” signal. Power On Self Test will follow; else the
memory test portion is skipped.
The System BIOS
The processor does nothing up until it gets the Power Good signal. As soon
it gets the green signal, it starts initializing operations. It basically runs
the commands in the memory addresses stored in the BIOS (Basic Input/
Output System) code. The BIOS memory contains instructions (code) that
will help it to boot the system. (BIOS code can be updated by ‘flashing’ it
with the new version. The motherboard manufacturer usually makes this
available.) The first few instructions in the BIOS code perform a test of the
hardware functionality before going ahead with the boot process. Keep
in mind that there is still no display on the monitor. So if you hear beeps
at this stage then you will know that the BIOS code has encountered a
hardware problem (for example, missing RAM modules).
Now the system BIOS checks to see if there are any adapters (video
card, SCSI cards) present with their own BIOS. Their BIOS code also needs
to be executed in order for them to be initialized.

The Windows 2000/XP

Boot Process
6
The Final Log-in Screen
As the kernel finishes loading, the Session Manager is called to perform its
duties. The Sessions Manager (SMSS.exe) makes sure the user interface is
loaded, which includes all the log-in processes. The win32k.sys file loads
the graphics subsystem completely and loads the services that have been
configured to run at startup. The log-in screen appears after the services and
network has been initialized. This log-in process is handled by winlogon.exe
and LSASS.exe; the Local Security Authority file. A successful boot is saved as
the ‘Last Good Configuration’, which is used if you press F8 during the boot
process in case of any startup issues.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

 FEATURE | HARDWARE 103

The P.O.S.T
The Power On Self Test is basically what you
see displayed on the monitor (the procedure
followed by the Energy Save logo). The BIOS
identification is displayed (BIOS manufacturer,
version and date) and then RAM, the video
card and its memory are also tested.
Now the BIOS code reads the CMOS
information. The Complimentary Metal-
Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) stores the
motherboard information with the help of a
small Lithium-ion battery. The CMOS contains
settings such as Boot Device Priority, RAID
configuration, processor settings, etc. This is to
aid the BIOS continuing with the boot process.
For example, if RAID has been disabled from
here itself, it is not initialized.
The boot priority is most important. The
BIOS gets this information from the CMOS
and looks to pass the control over to the first
boot device.
3
The First Boot Device
If the first boot device is the hard drive then the BIOS loads the
Master Boot Record, which resides on the first sector of the hard
drive, into a particular memory location. This is where the MBR is
validated before control passes to it.
The Master Boot Record consists of a partition table and
partition boot loader. The former contains hard drive geometry
information including the existing partitions. The partition boot
loader knows which partition is active.
The Active Partition
The partition boot loader locates the active partition and reads
its first sector where the ‘Boot Record’ is situated. From the Boot
Record the loader gets to know the partition’s details as well as where
the operating system files are located.

2
The power supply fan whirs to
life, lights blink, your monitor
switches on and soon you have
the Windows log-in screen.
How? Read on to find out what
went on all the while…
4
The Operating System
The file that is responsible for loading Windows 2000/XP is NTLDR. This
process includes switching the processor from “real mode” to “protected
mode” and turning memory paging on also loads other partitions that
it supports. It also reads the boot.ini file on the active partition. If there
is another Windows operating system installed on the hard drive, its
location will be mentioned in the boot.ini file. A menu will appear on
the monitor asking the user to choose the operating system he would

5
like to load. Assuming there are no options, NTLDR will continue loading
operating system files from the boot
partition. One of the files is “ntdetect.
com”. This file is used to detect system
hardware and maintains a list of this in
NTOSKRNL.EXE the Registry. This is where your ‘hardware
This is the file that starts to load after the
profiles’ come into the picture. If you set
hardware profile is chosen. This is the operating
any hardware profiles, then once again a
system kernel file. The kernel loads and the
choice will be presented to the user.
NT loader file (NTLDR) gets the ‘HAL.dll’ file
to initialize and create a ‘layer’ between the
hardware and the kernel. (The hardware does
not interact with the OS kernel directly.)
The HAL.dll file also loads interrupt
controllers, memory managers, input/
output services and process managers.
NTLDR now loads all the device drivers
that are configured to do so at boot up.
Each of these load the respective system
drivers in a particular sequence.

| Ashutosh Desai

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

104 104 APPLICATIONS | TESTED
Software Center
T
his month, graphics applications
are the way to go. Starting with
the latest version of 3DS MAX,
check out some really cool capabilities of
the latest version of this formidable 3D
animation and modeling package. We’ve
also reviewed an affordable alternative to
AutoCAD which has great compatibility
with AutoCAD’s file systems and features.
CADopia 6 Professional might just be the
Applications
applications you’re looking for to serve
your engineering drawing needs. On the
fun side, check out the latest version of
Microsoft Picture It! Photo Premium, which
lets you import, optimize, print and share
your favorite digital photos with the world.
VoIP is the flavor of the Internet these
days and our review of Skype highlights the
most salient features of this application,
| The Ratings Explained
The parameters used for evaluating
software are assigned a graphical rating
out of a scale of 5. These parameters include
performance, features and ease of use. The
overall rating shown in the reviews is based
on all these factors.
In addition, there is a value for money rating
for each application. This rating is obtained
Pramod Jadhav
which lets you talk to friends and family
around the world, with nothing more than
your computer, a mic and your Internet
connection. On the subject of the Internet,
these days you can never be too careful
about the myriad of threats in the form
of virus attacks, Trojans, malicious emails
and spam. Norton Internet Security 2006
is a unified package that does a good job
of helping you battle these threats. Check
out its review and find out if it hits the
sweet spot with you. Have you ever heard
of an office suite that bundles a truckload
of cool tools and applications besides the
conventional document, spreadsheet,
database and presentation capabilities,
while costing less than most others in
the market today? Check out EasyOffice
Premium 9 and find out.
by stacking the features and the utility of the
application against its price.
In the case of freeware and shareware
tools that are available for download from
the Internet, we replace the price with the
download size (and therefore the time taken
to download the application) for arriving at
the value for money rating.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

The magic of 3D MAX
A lot has been happening with Autodesk
in the recent past. Beginning with
their landmark acquisition of Alias, it
was obvious that they had plenty of
plans afoot. But it’s their flagship 3D
modeling and animation product that
we’re most interested in right now—3DS
MAX, now into version 8. Known for its
comprehensive approach to 3D modeling
and animation, each revision of this
application has brought about new
refinement and capabilities to the table.
This new version provides a pretty
comprehensive package to those especially
in the fields of character animation
and fashion designing. Installing the
application was straightforward enough
where we were given the option to install
optional components including Autodesk
Backburner 3.0, MAXScript references,
additional architectural materials like
texture maps, etc.
First up, a feature that we’ve heard
every designer shouting praises is a new
capability, called Pelt Mapping. Most
designer rue the task of ‘unwrapping’ a
model for the purpose of texture mapping,
especially for complex objects such as 3D
alien characters or other complex organic
meshes. Pelt Mapping is a brilliant solution
to this, as it allows you to quickly create
seams around your mesh, apply it to a
feature called the ‘stretcher’ and with a
single click of a button, it unwraps your
model correctly.
Talking about mapping, this version
brings the ability to unwrap an object
using cylindrical, spherical as well as planar
mapping, versus only planar mapping in
its predecessor. Helping this entire process
is smart point-to-point seam selector. All
you need to do is select any two points
on a mesh and this tool automatically
4. MAX’s character animation is as strong
as ever
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
TESTED | APPLICATIONS 105
determines the shortest possible path
between them to create the seam—a boon
for selecting seams in complex meshes.
3D Modelling and Animation Program
3DS MAX 8
A function called ‘pinch and slide’ Specifications: Intel Pentium III or AMD processor
allows you to add more geometry between at 500 MHz or higher (dual Intel Xeon or dual AMD
Athlon or Opteron 32-bit system recommended),
faces, and let you add detail in areas of
512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended), 500 MB
your mesh, for example the wrist joint swap space (2 GB recommended), graphics card
where the skin is bound to fold. supporting 1024x768x16-bit color with 64 MB RAM
Now that the hair, fur and cloth (OpenGL and Direct3D hardware acceleration
supported; 3D graphics accelerator 1280x1024x32-
functionality are integrated into the
bit color with 256 MB RAM recommended),
package itself, it allows for some powerful Windows compliant pointing device, DVD-ROM
modeling techniques with realistic drive, Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2
modeling capabilities. With hair, for (recommended), Windows XP Home Edition SP2,
or Windows 2000 SP4, DirectX® 9.0c (required),
example, you can set the color, density,
OpenGL (optional)
have it react to environmental effects like
wind and gravity and you can even style Price Rs 1,60,400
Contact Autodesk Media & Entertainment
it by ‘combing’ it! However, we did come Phone 022-56952000
across the occasional instability while E-mail selina.pinheiro@autodesk.com
working with the hair plug-in where it Website www.autodesk.com
refused to apply a combed effect. RATINGS
On the animation front, you now have Ease of use
the ability to save animations in XML Features
formats and transpose them to other object, Performance
even though they aren’t hierarchically Overall Rating
Value for money
similar—a fantastic way to transpose
movements to non-similar 3D characters.
3DS MAX 8 now supports the full
DirectX 9.0c specification, allowing you to
access pixel and vertex shaders as well—a
boon for game developers or 3D artists
wanting to incorporate slick graphical
effects into their creations.
3DS MAX 8 sports plenty of smaller, yet
effective inclusions to ease the life of a 3D
artist. Add to that, some add-ons that used
to be plug-ins are now standard fare in this
version, making it a winning package.
For: Thoughtful enhancements like
the Pelt Mapping capability, pinch and
slide polygonal modeling, inclusion of the
hair, fur and cloth tools.
Against: Some plug-ins are occasionally 1. The cloth plug-in makes for interesting
fabric effects
unstable.
3. The Pelt Mapping tool redefines model 2. Become a hair styler with the ability to
unwrapping for texture mapping model hair in hundreds of combinations
106 APPLICATIONS | TESTED

Save your PC
PC Security
Norton Internet Security 2006 I n this day of ever-increasing web-based
threats and takeover attempts on your
computer, a good defense is the best
Specifications: Windows XP Home/Professional,
offense. In its latest version, NIS 2006
300 MHz or higher processor, 256 MB of RAM, 325
MB of hard disk space, DVD or CD drive, Internet bundles a group of applications that
connectivity collectively work to shield your computer
against the most common Internet threats
Price Rs 2,899
Contact Ingram Micro India including virus attacks, spyware infections,
Phone 022-55960442 malware, browser hijacking, etc.
E-mail shreekant.c@ingrammicro.co.in Installing it was fairly straightforward,
Website www.norton.com
with the customary activation required
RATINGS
at the end. After using its LiveUpdate
Ease of use
functionality to pull down the latest virus
Features
definitions and engine updates from
Performance
Norton’s web site, it was up and running.
Overall Rating
Value for money
NIS 2006 looks a lot like its predecessor
where it features a unified interface from
where you can monitor status levels and
access features of the program. It consist
of four discrete areas—Norton Protection
Center, Norton Internet Security, Norton
Anti-virus and Norton Anti-spam. The first
grants a bird’s eye view of your system’s
readiness against Internet threats. The
remaining are indicative and deal with the
appropriate protection systems. In your
path to locking down your system, you’re
bound to encounter a myriad of pop-ups
asking for Firewall confirmations and a
wide assortment of messages informing
you how ill-protected your system is, with
suggestions on how to go about plugging
its security holes. Though you’ll get used to
these, they do get a tad bothersome.
With 12 months of free updates to the
application, there’s little doubt that this is
one of the most robust and comprehensive
applications against software threats.
Though it perceptibly slows down the
system after installation and especially
while scanning for spyware after the first
installation, NIS 2006 is recommended for
home and office users alike.
For:Comprehensive protection against
Internet threats, effective live updates.
Against: Perceptibly slows down the
system, occasional instability while dealing
with spyware.

The budget suite

Office Suite
EasyOffice Premium 9.0 W ith its boggling array of tiny, though
very useful applications bundled
along with the primary office application
we found no problems when working
with previously created MS Office files,
provided they were simple and without the
Specifications: Microsoft Windows XP Home/
programs, EasyOffice Premium 9.0 is like a inclusion of macros and special formatting
Professional with SP2, 200 MB free hard disk
space, 400 MHz Pentium (or equivalent) processor, budget restaurant with a huge menu—you options—for example, Excel-created
64 MB RAM might not use all of its macros disappeared when the
features, but they’re there files containing them were
Price Rs 995 (single user)
Contact Aladdin Multimedia Pvt. Ltd. if you need them. opened in EasySpreadsheet.
Phone 022- 56936795 True to any office Interestingly, each of the office
E-mail aladdin@vsnl.com
suite, EasyOffice applications features an ‘Easy’
Website www.e-press.com
contains EasyWord, mode of operation that invokes
RATINGS
EasySpreadsheet, large, descriptive icons making
Ease of use
EasyPresenation, and it ideal for first-time users.
Features
EasyDatabase—the names Clearly, this suite is aimed
Performance
say it all. But this is just at the budget user who is
Overall Rating
Value for money the beginning—the entire looking for a comprehensive
application consists of office suite of tools for a home
46 more tools including or office, where they would
Find it on CHIP CD
a contact manager, calendar, mail client, work of standard office files. On that
backup tool, backup, spell checker etc. premise, EasyOffice Premium 9.0 delivers
It doesn’t end here: you’ll also find tools overwhelmingly.
such as a barcode generator, PDF creation For: Light on the system, a huge array of
client, encryption tool, ZIP tool, drawing extra tools and applications, very affordable.
tool, diagram tool, IM program, translator Against: Unable to use MS Office created
and even a VoIP application—truly a full files with special features like macros,
house. When it comes to functionality, rather plain design.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005


Feature-rich drawing tool
I f you’re an engineer who needs a scaled-
down alternative to AutoCAD for your
2D and basic 3D drafting needs, CADopia
6 is a good choice. With it, you can create
complex mechanical, architectural, and
electrical engineering drawings. Besides
having all of the required functions of a
drafting and engineering tool
such as polylines, engineering
symbol libraries, dimensioning
tools, etc, it sports a range of
additional features like raster
and vector drawing overlays,
the Multiple Document
Interface (MDI) that enables
you to work on more than one
document simultaneously, a fully
customizable user interface, etc.
However what would most appeal to
users is its high degree of compatibility
with AutoCAD and many other engineering
drawing programs. It allows users to work
with any AutoCAD file ranging from version
2.5 through 2000 with no data or feature
Talk for free!
S kype is a little piece of software that
lets you talk over the Internet to
anyone, anywhere for free. It uses the peer-
to-peer technology for enabling you to talk
and chat with your friends.
The installation is
simple and quick. Once the
installation is over, new
users will have to register
themselves after which they
can make free, easy and high
quality audio calls to your
friends anywhere in the
world. You can quickly call
people on your contact list
by using the green button
on the interface. It also
gives you the ability to make
conference calls with up to
four people.
Additionally, you can
send files to your friends with its file
transfer capability.
The interface is similar to any other chat
application, so first time users won’t be
confused when trying to talk or chat with
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
TESTED | APPLICATIONS 107
loss. Additionally, it is also compatible with
AutoCAD’s command set, scripts, menu
files as well as AutoLISP—a boon for users
CAD Software
CADopia 6 Professional Edition
who would want to share data across other Specifications: Microsoft Windows 2000 / Windows
engineering drawing packages. XP, Intel Pentium processor, 256 MB of RAM
(recommended), 150 MB of free hard-disk space for
In its Professional version, CADopia 6 has
installation.
enhanced functionality over its Standard
version, with support for ACIS Price Rs 22,700 plus taxes
Contact CADopia (India) Private Limited
solid modeling, creating macros Phone 033-23570020
using Visual Basic for Applications E-mail jiten@cadopia.com
(VBA), raster image creation Website www.cadopia.com
capabilities and photorealistic RATINGS
rendering. For added portability, Ease of use
it even allows you to export your Features
drawings to a PDF file. Performance
If you’re looking for an Overall Rating
Value for money
affordable solution, this
application is the one to go for.
For: Relatively affordable, strong Find it on CHIP CD
compatibility with other drawing
applications, export to PDF functionality.
Against: You might miss some of the
more exotic features found in higher-end
applications of its kind.
friends. However, it does lack a few basic
functionalities. For example, there isn’t
an ‘Away’ option which lets others know
VoIP Application
Skype 1.4.0.84
that you are not at your computer. Also, Specifications: Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP, 400
MHz or higher processor, 128 MB RAM, 15 MB of
if you are trying to use Skype from your free hard drive space, Sound Card, speakers and
workplace then it’s better to microphone, Internet Connection which could either
configure Skype with proper be a dial-up (minimum 33.6 Kbps modem) or any
broadband (cable, DSL, etc.)
port addresses so that you
are connected without any Price Free
hassles, otherwise, you Website www.skype.com
might have issues while RATINGS
connecting. From your Ease of use
friends’ list you come to Features
know which of your Skype Performance
Overall Rating
friends are online
and if they are ready to talk
or chat. Find it on CHIP CD
Skype works across
multiple operating system
platforms and still gives the same great
voice quality.
And now you can forget about about
those international phone bills!
For:Easy to use,good audio quality, free.
Against: The ‘Away’ status indication
feature is absent.
108 APPLICATIONS | TESTED

Play all with one

Media Player
JetAudio Basic 6.2.4 O ne glance is all it takes to determine
that JetAudio Basic is similar to other
media players available today. However,
the interface itself for CD ripping to format
conversions. Also, you can configure you
playlist to have a mixture of various genres
Specifications: Pentium 200 MHz upwards, 128 MB
after thorough inspection you’ll find an of music. If you want to change the way it
of RAM, 40 MB of free hard disk space, OS: Win
98/Me/2000/XP.
array of functionality that you won’t sounds, you can immediately modify the
normally find in other applications of settings of the equalizer by simply clicking
Price Free
its kind. the appropriate equalizer
Website www.jetaudio.com
The installation buttons provided on the
RATINGS
is quick. During the interface for every genre.
Ease of use
process, you are asked This program allows you
Features
Performance
which types of files you to convert files among
Overall Rating would like to associate 10 formats. The built-in
with JetAudio where it cross-fader, reverb and
Find it on CHIP CD supports several formats wide-sound modes add
including Windows a new dimension to this
Video, Audio CDs, MP3, WMA, etc. All of application. It also has a timer and an
them are pre-selected by default; if alarm. However, you’ll see several features
you wish to play only certain files with that are locked out from use—you will
JetAudio then you can do so during the need to purchase the full version of the
installation process. application to be able to use these.
The interface is simple but elegant. Even For: Ease of Use, Wide-sound modes,
first time users will find it easy to use this. built-in cross fader.
It has a modern design that resembles a Against: For some of the features you have
graphic equalizer. Tabs are present right on to buy the Jetaudio Plus.

Write PDF documents with ease

PDF Writer
CutePDF Writer 2.5 C utePDF Writer is a neat little
application that allows you to create
high quality PDF files. The installation file is
creation tools that leave behind annoying
watermarks and intrusive logos in your
printed documents, this one doesn’t.
Specifications: Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 and higher, very small but for it to work, you will need However, being a free version, it does
Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Internet Explorer 6.0
or higher
to download another free plug-in called the not allow access to some of its features.
GhostscriptConverter, which is about 5 MB. For additional features, you will have
Price Free
CutePDF Writer is a free version of to purchase CutePDF Writer 3.1. This
Website www.cutepdf.com
the commercial PDF software is a good free
RATINGS
creation software. alternative for Adobe
Ease of use
It installs itself as a Distiller. However, if
Features
‘printer subsystem’ you are converting web
Performance
Overall Rating
on your computer. pages to PDF documents
With this, any the quality of the PDF
Find it on CHIP CD application that is document is noticeably
capable of printing poorer than that of other
can use the PDF documents. Therefore,
creation functionality this tool is recommended
of this application, including your office if you need to create non-critical PDF files
applications, web browsers or email clients. for distribution and archiving.
Just click on the setup file and install the For: Simple to use, easy to follow
GhostscriptConverter application and instructions, creates average quality PDF
you are ready to create PDF documents. documents for Windows applications.
In order to fully utilize the functionality of Against: Very few features included in this
CutePDF Writer, simply follow the simple free version. For additional functionality,
instructions provided in the included you have to purchase the full version,
Readme file. Unlike most other PDF CutePDF writer 3.1.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

 TESTED | APPLICATIONS 109

Secure data with encryption

I n this age of easily compromised data
security, backing up your data only is not
enough—encrypting is a better option.
supports industry-standard AES encryption,
3DES, BlowFish and TwoFish algorithms
along with US DoD, Guttmann, ASCI/33 and
Encryption Tool
Security Toolkit 0.6
Specifications: Windows NT4, 2000, XP, Pentium 2 266
Security Toolkit is a software that grants other secure deletion methods. If all this is
MHz with 32 MB of RAM
you various options for file encryption, new to you then don’t worry because the
Price Free
file deletion and spam removal, inspite of application has a section that even explains
Website www.qdsecurity.com
its diminutive installation file size. After a these different standards, making it easy for
RATINGS
quick installation, when first time users to decide
Ease of use
you run the application on which encryption
Features
you are presented with system to use.
Performance
a large list of options to Another neat feature Overall Rating
encrypt your files. is its ability to test a
It allows you to password you enter, and
Find it on CHIP CD
remove spam and traces then suggest appropriate
of deleted files from changes to reduce the
your hard drive. Another likelihood of it being
feature allows you to encrypt individual files guessed or cracked.
for sending over the Internet. The significant For:Easy to use, all options are provided
features of this software is that it supports in a single menu itself, support for several
a host of encryption standards so that you industry-standard encryption and file
can choose a balance between ruggedness deletion standards.
of encryption and the encrypting speed—a Against: The absence of offline help
useful feature if your application requires requires you to be connected to
plenty of files to be encrypted at one go. It the Internet.

The perfect picture

I f you need a software that helps you
import images from your digital camera,
remove blemishes from the image, and
then share them with the rest of the world,
Microsoft Picture It! Photo Premium is a
good bet.
Microsoft Picture It!
Photo Premium provides
the most powerful photo
editing tools that will
help even a novice use
the application easily.
The user interface is
easy to understand and
navigate through. Once the
installation is complete you
are taken through a tour that will help you
get a feel of the software.
that make it simple to get work quickly
done. If you are stuck in any of the wizards,
it is possible to return to the startup
Photo Editor
Microsoft Picture It! Photo
Specifications: Multimedia PC with Pentium 500 MHz
window and browse through instructional
or higher processor; Windows 98, 2000, XP; 64 MB
videos that help you understand the of RAM for Windows 98, ME or 2000, 128 MB of RAM
concepts and functionality. for Windows XP, 200 MB of free hard disk space,
For correcting flaws Internet Explorer 6.0; Quad Speed CD-ROM Drive
or higher; Super VGA monitor, 1 MB of Video RAM,
in your photos or just
Microsoft Mouse or any other compatible pointing
enhancing them, the device.
touchup lets you quickly
Price Rs 1,495
correct shadows, control
Contact Microware Computer Services
the brightness and Phone 022-28729725
contrast in your images. E-mail sales@mwcdrom.com
Another feature is the RATINGS
ability to fix the ‘red eye’ Ease of use
problem, but we found Features
that this works better for close-up images Performance
compared to those where the target area is Overall Rating

From the startup window you can open small. There are a host of other options to Value for money

a photo or an image file on your disk or
you can import it from a digital camera or
a scanner. Selecting the ‘create a project’
option will give you a wide array of design
options like creating albums, awards
certificates, greeting cards, ecards, etc. For
all these, you have pre-defined templates
help raise the quality of your pictures.
You can even print and share your
refurbished images.
For: Easy to use interfaces, a wide of array
of built-in templates, allows you to share
your edited images, etc.
Against: Expensive.

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

110 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE
Dddddddddd
Fraud, blackmail, terror are the traditional methods of the mafia and for all we know
the victims have to pay hard. CHIP tells you how this organized crime works online,
and what you can do to protect yourself against it
D
o you know what your PC does
after work? The reason you need
to check out your PC is because
there’s a new danger proliferating on the
Internet. The mob bosses of the present
don’t need to depend on thugs anymore
to do the dirty work. In today’s world, they
can get access to an army of zombie PCs
which can be remote controlled over the
Net. On command, this army will shut
down web sites, send massive amounts of
spam, or steal money from the pockets of
unsuspecting customers through fake bank
sites. And the owners of these “zombies”
won’t even notice it. Anybody surfing the
Internet without current security updates
may, within minutes, become an unwitting
mafia stooge. Security specialists from
Cipher Trust recorded that on an average,
172,000 IP addresses are captured daily,
with the number constantly rising.
Spyware, hijackers and worms are not
just for script kiddies anymore. If you think
that the authors of worms and trojans are
out for some kind of (dubious) glory, you’re
wrong. That only happens in Hollywood
flicks; today, it’s all about the money. The
objectives are blackmail and fraud. Behind
it are not the teenage hobby-hackers but
organized crime syndicates that hire these
kids for a few bucks.
Strong Arm Tactics on the Internet
Blackmail is more common than you may
think. Here’s an example with reference to
a Dutch online casino. A group of hackers
gave them an ultimatum: The casino had
to either pay 100,000 Euros a month, or
the server would not be accessible to them
anymore. And to prove that they weren’t
kidding, the blackmailers demonstrated
their power. For hours, several thousand
PCs sent meaningless data packages to the
server, which made normal operation im-
possible. The felons are still unknown, and
the casino had no choice but to pay.
The hackers used a bot network to shut
down the server. It’s an army of mani-
pulated computers which are controlled
simultaneously using a central command
hub from which any type of order can be
given. The command, in this case, ordered a
‘Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)’.
In a similar case, it was possible to trace
and find the hacker. It was a teenager
in Sweden, who was, however, only
responsible for the technical aspects. The
instruction came from middle men in
Germany and England, who again received
orders from somewhere in Russia. The
trail dissapears here though, and so far
nothing has been done about it. The people
responsible for following up are either
overloaded with work, as many security
experts believe, or they are themselves
under the control of the Internet Mafia.
How Hackers rent out Bot Networks
In the case of the Dutch online casino, the
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 FEATURE | APPLICATIONS 111

police suspect that the hacker himself was a member of | How Hackers Control Your PC
the mafia group. Another spectacular case in the US shows
that the use of bot networks isn’t just a mafia method. Once your PC is infected by a bot, it turns into a zombie. It will
“Operation Cyberslam” was the name of an international FBI automatically establish contact with the hacker, perhaps using an
operation last year against an online vendor. The owner of IRC chat session, and accept any commands given.
the shop (which supplied satellite accessories) was having
problems selling his merchandise. The reason for this was
that he was behind his competitors on the Google ranking The hacker has just released his order to
scheme. So he decided to remove the six sites above his, by 2 infect other PCs. Here you can see how the
attacking them with a DDoS. He simply rented out the bot captured computer uploads a Trojan horse to
his new victim.
network required to perform the attack. To find out more
about this case, you can go to:
www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/ websnare.pdf. The bot network is made up of many
In comparison to the damage worth two million 1 thousands of computers that receive orders
dollars done to the competition, renting the bot-network through a chat-channel.
was relatively cheap at about 5 cents per computer. And
according to anti-virus experts, these prices are dropping
rapidly. There’s an enormous pressure on the price in this
“market”, thanks to fairly stiff competition.
The question remains though, how do you hire such
a hacker? Georg Wicherski, a bot-net hunter of the now
famous Honeypot Project, told us that recruitment is often
done simply by word of mouth. Concrete agreements are
then done anonymously via the internet. This way, the
hacker is able to avoid house calls by any investigators. You
pay online as well, over a more or less anonymous banking
service. Insiders tell us that Western Union Transfer and
eGold are especially popular.

Spam, Phishing and DDoS

Bot networks are not just useful for Denial-of-Service
attacks. Networks of remote controlled zombie PCs
have developed into all-round tools for criminals. And
they continue to grow and become more powerful. It’s a
big issue in most security circles these days. One of the
most widely used functions for bot networks is also the
distribution of spam. Nowadays electronic ad-mail is not
sent through hacked email servers anymore, but likely
through “grandma’s” computer. But that’s not all: just like
the crawlers used by large search-engines, bots also trawl
through the net for e-mail addresses, to which the spam
is sent.
One especially deceiving variant of spam is phishing
mail. It doesn’t try to sell anything to the recipients, rather
it attempts to solicit sensitive information from them. The
hacker, for example, prepares a newsletter that very closely
resembles that of a bank. In the letter, he then claims, under The affected computers are continuously on
fishy circumstances, that there has been a security problem
4 the prowl for more victims. Here the hacker is
with the bank’s web site. He even offers a link to an online giving instructions to search. Active bots will
provide short status reports.
form which supposedly lies within the secure web site of the
bank. All of this is fake of course, and created by the hacker Before the bot is able to upload the Trojan
himself. The tricks that hackers apply to outsmart security 3 to its victim, it needs to break into the
system. This usually happens with an
measures of web browsers and mail clients are becoming
Exploit.
more sophisticated by the day.

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

112 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE
The fake form then asks for data from
the victims that normal banks would
never request by email. Account numbers,
PINs and one or more TANs (transaction
numbers used in online banking). If the
recipients disclose this information, they
will soon lose some money. Gunter Maeser,
manager of network investigations at the
LKA Bayern, tells us that typically about
2,000 to 7,000 Euros are stolen through
such phishing robberies.
It’s difficult to take action against
the creators of these online forms.
Theoretically, you can only do something
when there is clear evidence for damage
having been done. Otherwise, the matter
is only considered to be a preparatory
measure to a punishable act, at least in
most places.
Phishing is not only becoming an
increasingly sophisticated operation, but
it’s also becoming more widespread. Last
month, the Anti-Phishing Working Group
estimated that over 5,000 phishing sites
appeared in that month only. Various
estimates have postulated that phishing
scams have cost unwary Internet banking
users up to two billion US dollars. For more
information on how to recognize phishing
mail, check out the insert box on the
next page.
Spam, phishing and DDoS are not the
only things that criminals use bot nets for.
The standard operation usually includes
typical spyware functions such as sniffing
also. For this, the hacker installs a bot
module that transforms the computer
into a listening post. The PC then sends
a copy of all data, such as passwords and
usernames, that have passed through the
network back to the hacker. This allows
the hackers to not only collect data from
the infected PC, but also from all the
other computers connected to it. It’s a real
and serious problem, especially for large
company networks.
Keylogger extensions are also popular
tools. These are able to record keyboard
input, and can easily catch passwords that
are not stored on the computer but are
sent encrypted through the network.
Even circulating a variety of malware
(such as worms and viruses) is a more
common use for bot networks. A good
| How Hackers Control Your PC
Despite tough laws, most spam and
phishing attacks are from the US
example here is the Witty Worm, which
attacked firewall software from ISS, one
of the world’s largest security companies,
early last year.
Anti-virus experts suspect that Witty
began loading inside of a bot network,
which caused the rapid spread of the
worm. This isn’t an isolated case though.
It is possible to use bot-networks for
some very complex fraud, for example,
to take advantage of Google’s AdSense.
Remote controlled PCs can call upon ads,
and generate profit from Google. The
same principle can easily be applied to
manipulate online surveys or games.
How Hackers take over your PC
It only takes a few old school hacker
methods to recruit a bot army. Almost all
members of a bot network are infected
simply because they haven’t bothered to
update their OS or to install things like
anti-virus and firewall software.
The hacker will always look for an entry
point into your PC first. He will search
for security leaks in the network, like the
Sasser worm did. Here, a security leak in
the “Local Security Authority Subsystem
Service”, allowed entry through Port 445
into a Windows operated computer. The
hacker could also creep through specially
manipulated web pages into your system.
Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) are the
magic words here. BHOs are plug-ins for
Internet Explorer that have been causing
trouble for a long time. They are often used
Banks are the most common bait for
phishing attacks. Citi Bank is targeted
frequently
to install spyware that can be very difficult
to remove.
Just like spyware, the bots attempt to
dig themselves deep into the system. First,
a small program is smuggled on to the
victim’s computer. This so-called trickler is
nothing more than a small helper tool that
downloads the damaging routines from the
Internet later. This is similar to the update
function found in anti-virus software.
Next, the trickler installs a
communication module. As soon as this
module is activated, it will be the first
contact the computer makes with the
hacker. In almost all cases, this happens
through a hacked chat server using IRC.
Even though the hackers could have
written their own chat protocol (which
would be safer and harder to find), IRC is
easy to use and well documented.
Once connected, the bot software will
be on standby for further instructions
Source Code on the Net: The code for
the Super-Worm Agobot/Phatbot still
circulates within file sharing networks
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

from the hacker. He can now simply write
his instructions into the chat channel, and
several thousand computers will execute
the command simultaneously. Typical
commands are: Execute DDoS-Attack,
Send Spam, Collect Passwords and Scan
Network.
Especially malicious is an order to
update the bot software. This allows
hackers to upload new versions before anti-
virus programs can update their signature
files. This is why it’s very difficult to detect
the bots.
How to Counter Bot Networks
Because a virus scanner alone would
be powerless, new methods have to be
developed. A new approach is multi-level
protection—besides a self-learning
virus scanner with heuristic scanning, a
firewall and an anti-spyware detector
are activated. The heuristics, with which
virus patterns are detected, are important
since the bots continuously change their
appearance. Firewall software lets you
monitor and detect unusual network
traffic. The anti-spyware protects the
browser from dangerous plug-ins.
But protecting against infections alone
is not enough, since the problem in most
cases is not with computers that have good
security. The trouble is with owners of
neglected PCs, it is a problem which won’t
be solved too soon. There are currently
no legal rulings on this topic. Anybody
who doesn’t regularly update his system
endangers other users, but under current
laws is not considered to be negligent.
Worms like Sasser regularly crash
Windows-based computers because of
faulty code
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
Internet Crime—a Global Problem
A single bot-network can consist of a
thousand computers that are spread
all around the globe. That’s why it is so
difficult to switch these networks off.
Even when a security company discovers
a large amount of infected machines, or
even a node point like a chat server, it tries
to break apart the network. But in most
cases it fails because of basic every day
things such as differences in time zones or
language barriers. An expert at a security
conference told us of a curious case: While
analyzing a bot he discovered a hacked
server, on which a phishing site made by
a hacker was installed. The computer,
however, was in an Indian university. A first
call there failed, because the expert spoke
English and was referred to the Institute
for English Studies. He then decided to go
to the Indian restaurant around the corner,
where he managed to convince a waiter to
call the university using his mobile.
He then explained the problem to the
professor in charge.
Other approaches in the fight against
bots have failed because of technical
difficulties. For example, it’s more or
less impossible to filter attacks from the
Net before they can reach their victims.
Blocking the IP address of the sender also
prevents normal users from accessing the
site. Most IP addresses used by senders
are from Internet providers which assign
dynamic IPs. And because these addresses
are given off in short intervals to different
computers, a bot net IP can quickly turn
into the address of a harmless user.
There are also successful approaches,
such as the honeypot method, for
example. By delibereately setting up
vulnerable computers, experts try to trap
as many automated attacks as possible.
The seemingly neglected computer gets
infected with malware from a bot network.
The experts behind the honeypot then
scan the communication, and can receive
a valuable amount of information about
the procedures and techniques used by the
bot network. The honey-pot project (www.
honeynet.org) has already listed seven
bot variants in its white paper, under the
subject bot networks.
“Agobot” is a bot network that seems
FEATURE | APPLICATIONS 113
| Defending Attacks
How to defend yourself
against bot networks
If you are concerned about your security
after being affected by a bot, then it’s
likely that you have probably already lost
your passwords or account data. This is
how you can be sure:
Operating System: Use the automatic
update service in Windows. Your OS
should always be up to date. Otherwise,
even a firewall and virus scanner
won’t help you because they can be
bypassed.
Browser and Email Client: Keep your
Internet software up to date. Switching
to an alternative browser can lower the
risk of infection, but that still doesn’t
make it impossible. Increasingly, more
security leaks are appearing in Firefox,
making it a target for hackers.
Firewall: Even though a desktop firewall
doesn’t provide complete protection,
you should have one installed. Windows
XP offers an integrated firewall. As a
free alternative, we recommend Sygate
Personal Firewall, Zonelabs Zone Alarm
or something similar.
How to safely disinfect
If your PC is already infected, it will
be difficult to fully clean it. If you are
not planning on reformatting and
reinstalling Windows completely (which
is really the only safe method), you
can try removing the infection using
conventional methods. You can try anti-
virus software for example, Kapersky,
and anti-spyware tools like Spybot
Search and Destroy. Just make sure you
are not connected to the Internet as long
as it isn’t safe until all components of the
infection have been removed.
Updates for your anti-virus and
anti- spyware tools should be
downloaded from another computer
and then transferred, via a USB drive,
for example.
114 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE
| How to protect yourself against phishing
Phishing mails are becoming far more sophisticated, but they still have
visible weaknesses. If you keep your eyes open you will easily spot
these fake emails and web sites.
Ignore ALL emails from your bank
Neither banks nor any other serious company will ask you for your
account data via email. If you can remember this tip, you can safely
ignore the next one.
Never give away PIN/TAN numbers or personal information
Your bank will never ask you to re-verify information online. Web
sites that ask for sensitive data are to be suspected.
Check for spelling mistakes
Many phishing emails currently come from Eastern Europe. Obvious
indicators are incorrect grammar, spelling mistakes, missing letters and
Cyrillic symbols.
Continuation next page k
especially professional. Equipped with numerous modules
and a smart protection against virus hunters, this bot has
already spread itself in over 500 versions. Without the help
of honeypots,
no virus lab would be able to update its signatures against
bot software.
Super Weapons of the Future
There is still a fair bit of debate about how to approach
the problem in future. Microsoft has been propagating
different techniques for a while now, which are effective
but they are not without side effects. The keyword here
is Sender ID. Spam and phishing are prevented by the
receiving server checking every sending server. If the
sending server address does not belong to the address
pool, which the domain provider has defined as a legit
email server, the mail will be flagged as unsafe. Of course,
this does not protect from spam that has been sent from a
hacked, but legit email server.
Since Microsoft has registered the patent for this
technology, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETG) has
not agreed on the sender ID method becoming a standard.
But to make this technology work, Microsoft has decided
to do it on their own—Microsoft’s own Hotmail and MSN
services will label mail that doesn’t comply with sender ID
criteria as spam.
Microsoft’s upcoming Internet Explorer 7 release also
sports a new feature. It’s called the Microsoft Phishing
Filter, and as the name suggests, it’s designed to be able to
give an indication of whether or not the user of the browser
is being “phished”. The software, which is also available as
an add-on to the MSN Search Toolbar, uses a combination
of database recognition and heuristic comparison to
provide the user with a warning or an indication as to
whether or not the Microsoft Phishing Filter thinks the site
is safe, questionable, or a known phishing site.
Microsoft has also been preparing another attack
against all sorts of malware, through development of the
Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Despite resistance by users,
Windows Vista will use a TPM module protecting an area of
the virtual memory, where only certified applications can
Internet Explorer 7 now comes with Microsoft’s new
Phishing Filter
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 FEATURE | APPLICATIONS 115

Verify Sender Addresses

If you are not sure about the sender, verify the actual sender address. In
Outlook, simply right click on an email and select “Options”. In the Internet
header section you’re provided with information about the origins of the
mail. A clear indication of a phishing email is “Received: from unknown
(HELO localhost) (127.0.0.1)”. This indicates that the sender and the
mailserver are on the same computer. This shouldn’t happen usually.

Infections can download multiple elements allowing

logging, remote connections and monitoring

be loaded. This, for example, would include home banking

applications and critical system services like network card
drivers. Bot net software would not be able to access this
area, since it wouldn’t have the appropriate certificate. Even
if there is malware present in the unsecured area, it won’t
be able to record keyboard input or spy on passwords, PINs
and TANs.

What Chance does the Mafia have?

Spammers are constantly blacklisted and need to create
email accounts wherever possible. Google lets them do
precisely that. How this works is fairly simple. A lot of folks Encryption
use ArgoSoft Mail server. There is a vulnerability in this If the web site to which the
mail server that allows anybody to do what they want email is linked is not SSL encrypted, it’s probably a phishing site.
in a domain that uses this software. Despite the best Nobody would expect you to send banking correspondence without
encryption.
efforts of security experts and companies, in the end the
responsibility still lies with individual users. They need to
update their operating systems regularly, maintain current
virus signatures and use a firewall. A global solution, like a Check for HTTPS Certificate
type of Interpol for the Internet, is unlikely to come to life If the web site is SSL encrypted,
any time soon. Until all the different governing bodies can but the certificate invalid, then
it’s possibly a phishing site.
decide on standards and technologies, the Internet Mafia
Your browser recognizes such
will continue unabated. And even when there are unified certificates automatically. By
security standards, until all homes have swapped their reading the warning note, you
unsafe computers for safe ones, all those old, neglected will get a better understanding
of this.
machines will still pose a threat to other users, no matter
how well they’ve protected themselves. ■
| Poh Tun Kai
Be careful with differing URLs
Links If the address of the web site in the email differs from the site that the
www.honeynet.org/papers/bots: link has connected you to, it’s just a cheap trick. An invisible GIF image
Technical detail about bot networks and honeypots. with a different link address can even fool experienced users.

www.antispywarecoalition.org:
Current news und statistics about spyware.

www.antiphishing.org:
The big anti-phishing initiative on the Net.

baylka@t-online.de:
Hints on phishing sites and other Internet crimes can be
sent to the LKA Bayern.

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP


OpenOffice.org 2:
More features, still free
OpenOffice.org, in its new avatar, proves yet again that good software need not
come with a price tag
I
n the realm of free office suites,
OpenOffice.org has, over the years,
carved a niche for itself on multiple
platforms and in various languages, and
for users who refuse to pay Microsoft the
prohibitive charges for the pleasure of using
their MS Office series.
Not only has OpenOffice.org been
compatible with MS Office, but with
version 2 also comes better interoperability
and stability, and finally the option to count
words in a selection.
OpenOffice.org 2 comes in Windows,
Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD and Mac OSX (X11)
flavors, and in over three dozen languages
(including Hindi and Bengali). As to where
to download it from—if you remember the
name of the application, you’ll know where!
The more troublesome part is that it’s a 75
MB download (Windows version without
Java runtime environment)—quite beyond
the capability of even the most robust of
dial-up connections. In that case, you’ll have
to take your chances with a good download
manager.
The most significant addition to
OpenOffice.org 2 is a database program,
Base. Earlier versions had Adabas bundled
along with it, but installing and using it was
no mean task for novices. In all, OpenOffice.
org 2 comes with:
1. Writer: Word processor
2. Calc: Spreadsheet
3. Draw: Drawing tool
4. Impress: Presentation tool
5. Base: Database application
6. Math: For mathematical formulas
What’s new in it?
OpenOffice.org 2 has been in beta for ages
now, and those who have been using that
will not find the changeover so drastic. The
interoperability with MS Office is certainly
better, and there is a slightly improved
Pramod Jadhav
interface, with a multi-pane view, floating
toolbars and native desktop, giving it a
similar look and feel on any platform. But
the single most useful change to pinpoint in
this version is its ability to do selective word
counts. Whereas earlier, counting words
was hidden away in a rather awkward and
non-intuitive location (File-->Properties), it’s
now under the Tools menu.
The other major change is that
OpenOffice.org uses an open XML mode
as the default file format—called the
OpenDocument format. Made by the
Organization for the Advancement of
Structured Information Standards (OASIS),
this is an open source file format for saving
and exchanging editable office documents.
This standard is publicly available, allowing
unrestricted implementation by any
developer. In simple words, OpenDocument
provides an alternative, open format to
proprietary file-saving ones (including the
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

.doc, .xls and .ppt formats), which does not
“lock” users to a particular software vendor.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the
older OpenOffice.org, MS Office, RTF and
other formats no longer exist. Improved
compatibility between proprietary
office suites has been added, including
support for Corel WordPerfect. In fact, a
How to make a PDF using
OpenOffice.org:
STEP 1. Making a PDF in any of the
OpenOffice.org modules is simple. First,
create and format your document. Make
sure the graphics are exactly where you
want them and if there are any hyperlinks,
do check their accuracy.
STEP 2. The simplest way of converting
to a PDF is to use the red and white icon
on the toolbar. This will just ask you for
the filename and location and export
the entire document as PDF with default
compressions.
For greater control over the conversion,
1 Any OpenOffice.org document can be
converted to a PDF format easily
Even though OpenOffice.org 2 saves in the OpenDocument file formats by default, this can be changed easily from the Tools-->Options
menu’s Load/save options. Saves can be set to the earlier OpenOffice/StarOffice formats or even MS Office formats by default! It’s
interesting to note that both the OpenDocument as well as the previous OpenOffice.org or StarOffice XML-based formats make much
lighter files. A 700-page document with hyperlinks and embedded images weighed 435 KB in the native formats, but a whopping 4.5 MB
as MS Word 97/2000/XP!
OpenOffice.org Writer
The most used module in OpenOffice.
org is without doubt the word processor,
Writer. A powerful and intuitive application
for making simple documents, desktop
publishing, as well as making HMTL pages,
the new interface makes it a lot less
challenging for newbies. Advanced users
will find tools like indexing, bookmarking,
footnoting, inserting references and
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
WordPerfect word filter developed by the
open source community has been included
in OpenOffice.org 2.
In addition to other improvements in
the various components of OpenOffice.
org, version 2 now has better PDF support.
PDFs (exporting to PDF had been present
since version 1.1) can now include
you need to go through the File menu.
Select Export or Export as PDF. Through
this you may also convert only part of
the document if required. (You can also
select File-->Send-->Document as PDF
attachment for the same results. Only, in
this case, OpenOffice.org will open your
default mail application and attach the
newly created PDF for you.)
STEP 3. First, you will be asked for the
filename and location. That done, the
PDF Options dialog box will pop up,
where you can choose your range, image
compression and other options. You can
tell OpenOffice.org whether to export the
2 To export to PDF, use the toolbar icon
for a quick conversion or go through
the File menu for more options
keywords, inserting chapters, hyperlinking
and so on easily accessible. In fact, inserting
headers and footers, tables, scripts, images,
linking spreadsheets and databases, and
more are painless tasks than in the case of
MS Office.
Another useful OpenOffice.org feature
is the word completion tool. While not new
to version 2, it deserves a mention by itself.
Word completion can be turned on or off
FEATURE | APPLICATIONS 117
hyperlinks, and the compression levels of
embedded images can be defined by the
user. Now there is also support for nested
tables and digital signatures. Creating,
editing and using XForms, the Web forms
standard defined by the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C.org), is also much
easier now.
entire document, only the selected portion
or specific page numbers.
Under the images options, you can
instruct the application to make a lossless
compression of the graphics in your
document. However, if file size is an issue,
the compression size and quality are all
in your hands. Either go for a percentage
reduction in the image quality or reduce
the resolution. Finally, there are the
general options where you may or may not
include notes or create a tagged PDF. The
format for exporting forms (if any) in your
document can also be set from here.
Now hit Export and sit back.
3 PDF-making now comes with image
compression options and selecting
page range, among other things
via Tools-->Options, and the list of words
can be amended. What this feature does is
it tries to guess what you are trying to type
based on previously used words.
For instance, as I write this, the word
“OpenOffice.org” has been automatically
added to the word completion list. As soon
as I type “O-p -e” the rest of the word pops
up in a shaded grey area. I press Enter and
the word is accepted without my having
118 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE
to type the rest of the letters. If that is not
the word I want, I just ignore it and go on
typing. For beginners this is a very annoying
tool, but once you get used to it, it can help
you generate documents very fast, and
is very useful if you are making technical
documentation with tricky terminology.
The Table menu in the main toolbar
in Writer provides table-making options.
Pressing F2 while inside a table brings
up the formula bar from where formulas
for mathematical or statistical options
can be inserted. There is also support
Adding additional dictionaries and
fonts in OpenOffice.org 2
STEP 1. Installing additional dictionaries
and/or thesauruses as well as getting new
fonts for OpenOffice.org 2 is totally idiot
proof. Instead of asking the user to tinker in
the innards of the application, this can be
achieved by using File-->Wizards-->Install
new fonts from the web (or Install new
dictionaries).
STEP 2. This will open up Font OOo (for
fonts) or Dic OOo (for dictionaries). Select
1 OpenOffice.org comes with its own
fonts and dictionaries installer
OpenOffice.org Calc
OpenOffice.org’s spreadsheet application,
Calc, has also got some improvements in
the new version. The major one is that it
now has 65,536 rows, doubling from the
1.1.x version. This has apparently taken
care of certain interoperability issues
with MS Excel.
Calc can be used as a spreadsheet
as well as a database application. Data
manipulation, including presentation
and what-if scenarios can be computed.
Charting options are also present. Data
can be imported or exported between Calc
for trigonometric functions as well as
constants.
Similarly, graphics can be inserted
in the text as well, including drawings,
photographs, clipart, multimedia and what
is known as Font Work, which is similar
to Microsoft Word Art. The graphics and
sound gallery can be accessed through the
Gallery icon on the tooblar, and has things
like rules, bullets, backgrounds and sounds.
OpenOffice.org now also has what is called
CustomShapes, which are compatible
with Microsoft AutoShapes. Templates
your language preference and then click
on the button to allow OpenOffice.org
to connect to the Web and look for fonts
(or dictionaries). Remember to allow it
permission to bypass your firewall, if any.
The application will then retrieve lists of
fonts (web fonts, postscript fonts and
miscellaneous) or dictionaries (spelling,
hyphenation and thesaurus), from which
you can make your selection and even
preview if required. (Alternatively, you
may have already downloaded fonts/
2
Font OOo gives you a list of available
fonts and also lets you see previews
and other applications. Each Calc cell can
be called to reference data from external
sources as well, such as the Internet, local
network or another document.
Like any other spreadsheet, Calc can
perform simple and advanced, as well
as customized, calculations and data
organization, whether using just numbers,
predefined formulae, or date and time.
Predefined function lists in Calc include
conversion of values or units, calculating
the value of a Roman numeral, logging the
system time, and many other financial,
mathematical, logical, statistical, array and
and wizards for making letters, faxes,
presentations and web pages are present
under File-->Wizards.
Though on-the-fly spell checking is
present, a grammar check is not. While it’s
seen as a minus point by some, others find
a grammar check in a word processor a
hindrance. OpenOffice.org already comes
with default dictionaries and thesaurus
of the language of your download, but
additional language packs and thesauruses
can be downloaded and added. The same is
true for fonts.
dictionaries from the OpenOffice.org site.
The Wizard will install these for you;
you need to select the off-line option in
that case.)
STEP 3. The Font OOo (or Dic OOo) Wizard
will then tell you the size of the download
and ask for permission to go ahead. Allow it
and sit back to wait. Once downloaded, the
fonts/dictionaries will install on their own.
You need to restart the application (and the
OpenOffice.org Quickstarter in the system
tray, if present) to see the good work.
3 OpenOffice.org automatically
downloads and installs the fonts that
you select
other functions. User-defined functions can
also be added. Formatting cells and data is
not much different from earlier versions, or
from MS Excel, for that matter.
OpenOffice.org Calc includes a tool
called the DataPilot, which creates
interactive tables that may be used to
review and analyze data. The DataPilot is
accessed via the Data-->DataPilot menu.
Data may be used from within the chart or
from an external source.
The tool allows figures to be
rearranged and summarized in numerous
different views.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

Making a simple chart in Calc
STEP 1. Select the data series you want
to chart. Holding down the Ctrl key selects
multiple rows or columns. Then click on the
Chart icon on the Standard toolbar. This is
the icon that looks like a small pie chart.
(Alternatively, you could use the menu bar:
Insert-->Chart.)
STEP 2. If the AutoFormat Chart dialog box
has not already been activated, click once
on the spreadsheet to tell the application
that you want to invoke it. The first step to
creating your chart will be to fill in the data
range in your worksheet or worksheets
that you want charted. If the data series
has already been selected (as in Step 1),
this should be automatically filled in.
STEP 3. Now comes the choice of what
kind of chart you want. This will depend
2 Making a chart is a rather easy task
thanks to the AutoFormat Chart dialog
box
OpenOffice.org Impress
Impress is the presentation tool included
in OpenOffice.org 2. Microsoft PowerPoint
users have traditionally had a lot to
complain about in Impress, especially
given the rather thin array of themes and
templates. However, OpenOffice.org 2
finds Impress a much improved application,
with a number of new slide transitions
OpenOffice.org Draw
IDraw is generally accepted as the most
useless part of OpenOffice.org, but it’s
a pretty handy drawing and graphics
manipulation tool in its own right. It
lets the user create drawings that can
be inserted in other OpenOffice.org
documents or exported to popular formats
like JPEG, BMP, PNG or GIF.
Draw can create vector graphics as well
as 3D objects. It can also be used to create
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
on the type of data in your worksheets.
Do remember to let Calc know if the data
series are in columns or rows or you will
have a very strange looking, not to mention
misleading, chart! If you want a preview
of what your chart will look like with the
1 options for the text as well as other
Select the data series that you want
charted
3 There is a selection of chart types and
variants available in Calc
included, though PowerPoint still beats it in
the matter of themes.
That said, Impress is a robust
presentation creator—it lets you make
professional slide shows, use animations,
slide transitions and multimedia, include
charts, graphics and other objects.
Impress is compatible with Microsoft
PowerPoint and lets you import and
organizational chart or other technical
diagrams. It comes with a Gallery that has
animations, sounds and other images that
can be inserted into the drawings. Charts,
tables and other items created in various
other OpenOffice.org programs can also be
inserted into Draw.
OpenOffice.org Math
Math is a formula editor and not a
calculator, as its name might indicate. It
FEATURE | APPLICATIONS 119
text elements inserted, check the Show
text elements in the preview box. This
does not affect the final output. Click next
and choose a variant of the chart type you
selected if required. Click next again.
STEP 4. This is where you need to fill in a
title for your chart and also for the x and
y axes (and a z-axis, if any). Decide if you
need a legend. Click Create and your chart
is ready. At the moment, though, it’s rather
ugly to look at and the chances are it’s not
in the position you wanted. Double click
on the chart so that a grey border appears.
This will have invoked the Format menu for
charts in the main toolbar. Or simply right
click on the chart to bring up formatting
elements of the chart. Drag it to where you
want it placed when you are done.
4 The final product can be formatted
and placed according to requirements
modify presentations from it. Vector
graphics tools in OpenOffice.org Draw are
accessible in Impress. Animated GIFs, and
2D and 3D objects can be inserted in slides.
Data from text and HTML documents can
be imported into Impress, and the look and
feel of the slides can be totally customized.
Impress also has tools to create web pages
and handouts from presentations.
comes with a selection of mathematical
operators, functions and formatting
options to create formulas. An exhaustive
reference list enumerating the operators,
functions, symbols and so on in Math is
present. Most of these can be inserted
directly into formulas from the icons in the
floating Selection window. The formulas
created or edited in Math can be used in
spreadsheets, or, in the case of simple ones,
in text documents.
120 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE
OpenOffice.org Base
A database management system has
been sorely missed by many OpenOffice.
org users in the past, and the new version
redresses the omission, much to the relief
of all those who had grappled with Adabas
in the previous avatar.
OpenOffice.org Base allows you to store
and access data in different formats. It can
Customizing the look and feel of
OpenOffice.org 2
STEP 1. Understandably, users who are
new to OpenOffice.org will be alarmed
at the thought of tinkering with the
user interface of the application, but
this is fairly simple. To edit a toolbar in a
particular program, open a document (new
or existing one). For instance, to modify
toolbars in Writer, use a text document, a
spreadsheet for Calc, and so on. Toolbars
can be moved around by dragging. Move
1 The toolbars can be dragged from their
default position to the other sides or
left floating
Postscript
Without doubt, OpenOffice.org 2 is a
much improved and slicker application
than its predecessors. It still takes a bit of
time to start but that is something that
can be overcome by making Quickstarter
load, while booting into Windows. Its
price tag—the lack of it, that is—makes
OpenOffice.org a runaway winner when it
comes to choosing an office productivity
suite for homes or small offices. However,
a few niggles and compatibility issues
with Microsoft Office still remain, which
may make larger organizations hesitant to
change over.
That said, this scenario is slowly
changing, with more and more corporates
also connect to external relational databases,
like MySQL, Oracle, dBase, Adabas, another
spreadsheet, MS Outlook or Thunderbird
address books, a plain text or CSV file.
Alternatively, a new database can be created
in scratch from File-->New-->Database.
Data from any source can be registered
in Base. Registering a database means
OpenOffice.org is told where it’s situated
the cursor over to the left of the toolbar
till it becomes a crosshair. Now drag that
particular toolbar away and keep it floating
or place it at the sides of the bottom.
STEP 2. Use the drop-down arrow at the
edge of any toolbar and select Customize
toolbar to bring up the relevant dialog box.
Or use Tools-->Customize. This has four tabs:
Menus, Keyboards, Toolbars and Events.
From the Menu tab, items can be moved
around, renamed or even deleted. You
may even add a new menu or menu item.
2 The entire menu structure can be
renamed or edited through Tools--
>Customize
System requirements for OpenOffice.org 2 (Windows version):
Windows 98/ME/2000 (SP2 or higher)/XP/2003
128 MB RAM
200 MB available disk space
800x600 or higher resolution with at least 256 colors
Java Runtime Environment 1.4.0_02 / 1.4.1_01 or newer
conducive to the idea of using open source,
non-proprietary software.
The price you pay for not paying a
price is the lack of official support from
the makers of OpenOffice.org—Sun
Microsystems. In that case, you may want
to try StarOffice (newly released version 8),
the paid version based on OpenOffice.org.
It’s still a fraction of the cost of MS Office.
and how it’s organized. This enables
the database to be accessible through
the View-->Data Source menu item in
any OpenOffice.org text or spreadsheet
application (handy when doing a mail
merge). Queries, reports and forms are
available in Base, along with Wizards
to create them, though these need a
functional Java runtime environment.
Similarly, the use of the keyboard can be
customized to run a particular macro or to
reassign various keyboard commands (such
as in case of the function keys). Similarly,
toolbars can be customized, and events
have macros assigned to them as well.
STEP 3. To change the way icons appear
on toolbars, use Tools-->Options-->View.
This has options to decide icon size and
scaling in the interface, show or hide
inactive menu items, show or hide icons in
menus, mouse options, 3D view and more.
3 For further modifications to the user
interface, Tools-->Options provides
more
However, OpenOffice.org comes with its
own support base—that of a vast and ever-
increasing open source community online.
At the end of the day, though, unless
your needs are extremely specific—or
you have pots of money—there can’t be a
good reason to ignore OpenOffice.org
any longer. ■
| Payal Dhar
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
122 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE

Battle of the Underdogs

You aren’t only leaving yourself open to malicious attacks and security breaches if
you’re still using Internet Explorer, but you’re also missing out on a whole bunch of
innovations that dramatically improve your online experience

W
hen they want to browse the web, most people don’t think
twice before double clicking the familiar, blue E icon on
their Windows desktops. Microsoft Internet Explorer has
been right there on our desktops since the launch of Windows 95 over
a decade ago, and it’s this fact that has allowed it to capture a huge
majority of the browser market. Even in light of all its weaknesses,
people continue to use IE mainly because they’re familiar with it, and
because they’ve never bothered to download and install anything else.
It’s only when people see the other browsers that are available that
they realize what they’ve been missing. Feature wise, IE is the weakest,
most basic browser available. Just as in the case of Windows’ other
built-in applications such as Paint and Notepad—they are there—so
if you ever need you can fall back on them, but you’d much rather use
programs like Photoshop and Word to get things done right.
Opera and Firefox are the two main competitors of IE today, and
their respective user bases have been expanding steadily over the
last year or so. Opera has been around for years, but hasn’t had much
publicity and enjoys only a small (though rabidly loyal) fan following.
Firefox, on the other hand, burst onto the scene just last year with a big
bang and has notched up over a hundred million downloads since then.
So, what are the differences between the two, and how do
they stack up against each other?

Download and Install

Firefox 1.0.7’s installer weighs in at 4.7 MB, while Opera
8.5’s is lighter at 3.6 MB. This is all the more remarkable
because Opera includes an email client, RSS reader
and IRC client in the base install, whereas Firefox
requires additional components to be downloaded later.
Installation for both is simple and straightforward—the
wizards ask only for the target folder to be specified
and whether or not to place icons on the desktop, Start menu and
Quicklaunch toolbar.
Result: Firefox 0, Opera 1

Look and Feel

Opera, by default, opens in a very clean, minimalist window. The
tab bar is right on top, and each tab has its own toolbar, which
includes only the most basic navigation controls. Other features
aren’t immediately visible, so the interface is less cluttered and less
daunting to new users. Of course, you can customize the toolbar
layout if you want, and choose exactly which buttons should be
made visible by default and where. Everything in Opera, from the
buttons to the tabs, is shaded and pleasantly colored. Visual effects
Manoj Tandel and alpha blending are generously used to enhance the interface’s

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005


Opera’s spartan toolbar vs Firefox’s more
conventional layout
visual appeal. Firefox is more utilitarian
in approach, with the navigation buttons
and address bar in a single toolbar and tabs
below. Customization is possible here too,
though there aren’t as many options to
play around with. Both browsers support
skinning and there are plenty of skins
available for download online.
Where Opera truly shines is in
its handling of web pages. Tabs are
implemented far better in Opera, which
is not surprising since Opera developed
the concept of tabbed browsing years ago
in the first place. Each tab is an individual
window inside the main “workspace” of
the program. Tabs can be tiled, cascaded,
minimized and resized within the Opera
window. You can drag and drop to re-order
tabs on the tab bar (a feature to be
implemented in Firefox 1.5), and make the
bar itself larger to accommodate more
tabs. A group of tabs can be saved as a
session and loaded collectively whenever
you want.
Result: Firefox 0, Opera 2
Usage and Features
This is where Opera runs into problems.
For security reasons, the developers have
chosen to omit support for Microsoft
ActiveX and VBScript, so a few pages won’t
load at all. In addition, support for CSS is
spotty, meaning that some sites will appear
garbled, some will have irritating errors like
pictures covering text and others won’t
open at all (though this is partly because
web designers don’t often check their
sites on all browsers). Sites like Gmail.com
which use dynamic XML don’t always work
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
Opera’s preferences panel offers hundreds
of options, but Firefox also allows users to
download and install extensions
perfectly. Microsoft, in fact, is known to
have deliberately served web pages with
incorrect code to visitors using Opera so
that it looks even worse. Firefox isn’t known
to suffer from any of these issues and
supports ActiveX as a plugin even though
it’s a security risk. It also supports cool tools
like the rich text editors used by web mail
and blog sites. This is something Opera
still lacks.
Navigating is astonishingly easy in Opera,
thanks to mouse gestures and keyboard
support. Use the keyboard’s arrow keys
while holding [Shift] down to zip around,
or perform dozens of actions such as going
back and forward and switching between
tabs with just a flick of the wrist. Mouse
gestures make browsing painless, and are so
intuitive you’ll find yourself automatically
trying to use them in other programs as
well! Plugins for Firefox let you do the same
thing, but it’s just one of the cool things
Opera offers right off the bat.
Here’s where Opera also needs to get
some credit for its integrated email and IRC
clients. You can also save any bit of selected
text from a web page as a Note, which can
be accessed through the Notes panel. The
Wand lets you define words such as your
name and email address which it uses to
autocomplete forms online, so you can
choose not to have it remember usernames
and passwords you’ve typed in, and still save
some typing.
Result: Firefox 1, Opera 3
Customizability
Widely touted as the “most customizable
browser on the planet”, Firefox does indeed
FEATURE | APPLICATIONS 123
offer hundreds of extensions. Most of
these are made by users themselves, and
range from the trivial to truly useful and
innovative. Google offers a version of its
toolbar for Firefox as well. While a number
of Firefox extensions are designed to
mimic the functions that Opera has built
in, others add things like Winamp controls,
advertisement blocking and integration
with various web sites and online services.
Both browsers have search fields next to
their address bars and both let you add
search engines other than the predefined
ones. Opera even lets you search directly
from the address bar using keywords for
each search engine.
Result: Firefox 2, Opera 4
Resource Utilization
Firefox uses about 30 MB of RAM and an
equal amount of virtual memory with
about fifteen tabs open, whereas Opera
consumes up to 70 MB RAM and well over a
100 MB of virtual memory under the same
load, and leaving it open for long periods
of time seems to increase its hunger
even more.
Result: Firefox 3, Opera 4
Verdict
Opera is the clear winner here in terms of
features and the overall user experience,
whereas Firefox may be just right for
newbies and those who aren’t interested in
bells and whistles but want a solid, reliable
browser. I recommend you try both—they
are free—and then you can figure out
which one best suits you. ■
| Jamshed Avari
124 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE
Toon Tails
Hanuman, the first of-its-kind homegrown 90-
minute animation movie, seems to have given the
much needed impetus to Indian animation, with its
enagaing storyline and just as engrossing graphics
P
roduced by Sahara One Motion
Pictures and Percept Picture
Company, in association with
Silvertoons, the country’s full-length
animation film struck the right audience
as the story of the popular mythological
hero, Hanuman, was eagerly lapped up by
discerning audiences. According to
V G Samant, director of Silvertoons, it took
250 artists, seven years to develop the
200,000 individual images in Hanuman,
animation software from US Animation
and ToonBoons, and lots of patience.
The indigenously developed 2D
animated feature was directed with
painstaking efforts, spread across a period
of two years and backed by a vast creative
team of cell animation artists.
Samant, incidentally, also heads a
school of animation in Mumbai and is keen
to impart the knowledge to thriving artists
interested in a career in Indian animation.
Although the de facto time taken for
the production of Hanuman was
26 months, the entire project
has seen a life of seven years.
Samant admits since it was
a personal endeavor and a
project close to his heart, it
was difficult to find time
between hectic schedules
and client deadlines.
During spare time he
dedicated his energy and
time to reading Hindu
scriptures for a better
understanding of
the character and
accordingly briefed
his team to carry
on the work,
as and when
time permitted
them to do
so. Bringing two-dimensional, sketched
artwork to life required Samant to
“illustrate” concepts as weight and
balance, force and flexibility, action and
reaction. It also called for a touch of magic:
to entrance the spectator, to make sure
that the viewer is watching a slide show
of drawn pictures with emotions. Bringing
“life” to an animation is as much a matter
of drawing credible motions that adhere to
the laws of nature, as an illusory feat.
A veteran in animation, Samant headed
the animation division at Films Division
where he had made over 120 animated
short films. He has won several national
and international awards and he knows
better than most what it means to have
the audience glued to their seats.
Sahara One Motion Pictures and Percept
Picture Company incidentally spent around
Rs 2, 50, 00,000 for the production and an
additional Rs 1, 50, 00,000 for marketing
the movie. Sixty artists were involved
in this feature of which around 40 were
digital artists all trained by Samant. A
total of 200,000 drawings have been used
in the movie which has 2,870 scenes.
The ensemble consists of 40 characters
with more than 20 colors being used
for each character. The movie has 1,750
backgrounds painted with 22 artists
on the team.
In 2D animation, as in Hanuman,
centimeters and inches were used to
specify distances and lengths. Historically,
2D drawn is the oldest form of animation
and it also has the most stages in its
production.
There are four main stages in animation
production:
Pre production
Production
Post production
Distribution
PRE-PRODUCTIOON
PRE-PRODUCTI
Pre-production sometimes occurs over a
very long time with relatively little
expense incurred.
Idea/concept: Every production starts with
a concept, whether it’s a scribbled note on
the back of an envelope or a conversation
in a pub.
Treatment: Treatment usually indicates a
broader proposal. It is a gist of the idea in
much detail, without having to
include dialogue or any detailed scene
breakdowns.
Script: The script is the detailed description
of the film. It is quite similar to the scripts
used for live action productions.
Storyboard: In animation it is absolutely
vital—as a means of communication
for everyone engaged on a project—to
storyboard. Storyboards are broken down
into sequences, scenes and or shots. Each
scene or shot consists of one or more
frames containing drawings which display
how the shot will be staged. Under each
drawing is a box in which any dialogue
is written, together with sound effects
and music, along with anything else that
will make it clear what is going on. The
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

storyboard’s function is to act as a reference for everyone
involved in the film process and to make everything
as clear as possible. There may be changes involved in
framing and order of shots as the production progresses,
hence it is not a confirmed process.
Design: Obviously, all elements in animation need to be
designed and this part of the process often happens at
the same time as, or even before the script is developed.
The storyboard work cannot be properly done until
dialogue and designs are both well advanced.
Voice recording: Mostly, today, dialogue is recorded on
a digital format such as hard disk or DAT. Most music is
added to a film after animation has been completed. The
exception to this is when animation must synchronize
to music, (for example a character dances), and in which
case the music will be recorded first.
Animatic/Leica: Directors film the storyboard together
with extra frames as a sort of slideshow presentation of
what the final film will look like. It may have a few camera
moves, but for the most part it will be a succession of
static images. This is usually without the music and
sound effects. It is cut to the same length as the final
film, hence it’s a useful guide to the overall pacing.
PRODUCTION
Track breakdown: Once the dialogue tracks have been
edited to the correct length, they are “broken down”—
each word is analyzed so that the animator can animate
a character’s lip movements and acting. Until a few years
ago, this entailed copying the sound on to magnetic film.
An editor would then spend many hours running this
film over a tape-head examining the dialogue syllable
by syllable and writing the broken down words on to
Pramod Jadhav
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
FEATURE | APPLICATIONS 125
bar-sheets, a tedious and slow
process. These days one takes
the automation further by getting
software to work out which lip
movement drawings are needed from
pre-defined libraries and placing them
automatically into the ‘dopesheets’. The
animator needs only a word breakdown
instead of complete lip sync.
Layouts: A layout is a full-sized drawing that
shows the visual workings of a shot. If a character
is walking from one side of the screen to another, for
example, it is normal to draw the first and last poses
of the character. The background is indicated roughly
so that the relationship in scale between characters
and background elements is clear. Another important
role of the layout is to indicate the precise framing of
the camera. It should convey practically all the visual
information of a shot apart from its colors.
Backgrounds: Traditionally, backgrounds were painted on
stretched paper, (so they wouldn’t curl), using water-
based inks or paints and sometimes oil pastels. Often
airbrush work was also used.
Key frames: Animators indicate how many frames of
each drawing are to be shot by writing dope sheets which
indicate camera moves and optical. Animators produce
key poses and indicate how many in-between drawings
should be created and how they should be timed
between the keys.
In-betweens: The assistant animator displays the
drawings done in between.
Line testing: The animation is usually tested before being
colored. Often animators will use their own line test
camera to refine it until it is ready for the director
to look at.
Clean up: If the animation has only been drawn “loosely”
(rough), it is necessary to employ artists to clean up the
drawings. Drawings are given the classic very tight but
flowing line.
Ink and paint (and checking): Once the coloring is done
on sheets of acetate, it is followed by an additional stage
called checking. The checker goes through every frame
of the animators’ dope sheets and places all painted cells
on to a peg bar over the backgrounds. In other words, it’s
a dummy run of shooting the final artwork but without
committing to film.
126 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE

Camera/Compositing: The colored artwork is “filmed”, of “data points” that transmit data through a variety of
usually over background artwork. This part of the process wired or wireless technology and cameras situated around
can also be called compositing. It used to involve shooting the performance area. Using the data collected during
artwork frame by frame. However, these days the entire the performance, computers can be used to construct
compositing and shooting processes is virtual and carried relatively life-like animated imagery, either in real time
out in software. (immediately) or through post production methods.
Two trends in the animation industry are likely to have
Output: The resulting imagery is output to either film a profound influence on its future: a significant increase in
or video. It may alternatively be output to some digital production and exhibition opportunities, and the growing
storage medium such as DVD ROM so that the final importance of new technologies. Indeed, computer
transfer to video or film can be done at another facility, animation is now so heavily used that the entertainment
usually a post-production house. and advertising industries need all the able bodies they
can get.
POST PRODUCTION In a bid to popularize the genre, the monkey god
Editing, dubbing, mixing, music, etc: A post-production was selected to play the superhero because of his local
facility (also called a post-production house) is normally and foreign appeal. Creators said they wanted to draw
engaged in editing and compositing. Most post- on homegrown influences for the animated hero. With
production houses are also equipped with ‘tele-cine’, 3D rave reviews garnered from across the world following
computer animation capabilities and sound dubbing, and the success of Hanuman, Indian animation
the ability to accurately tweak and alter the color balance production has found a foothold in
and appearance of the film. Essentially, a post production creating its own niche. With Silvertoons’
facility’s job is to bring all the sound and picture elements success in creating the film based
together so that they can be recorded as one finished on a character in Indian folklore and
entity ready for publishing. mythology, Indian companies have
a sure chance of wooing foreign
Distribution: Distribution is the means through which the audience. With a lot of
product is delivered to its viewers, be it through cinema, talent and technological
Internet, DVD, TV, etc. competence, success
In traditional 2D drawn animation, color is added by in this genre is yet to
someone dipping a brush into a paint pot and painting be seen. ■
on the backs of sheets of acetate. | Carol D’Costa
In 2D animation, with digital ink and paint, the colors
are painted by clicking on areas to be filled and some of
the work can be automated.
In 2D cut-out animation, the colors are those of the
paper being cut out.
In computer 2D computer programs like Flash, the
colors are chosen from the available palette on the
computer screen.
In 3D model animation, the colors are determined by
the colors of the materials being used plus any lighting
and/or post-production effects.
In 3D cgi the colors are ascribed to individual areas of
models and are also determined by other factors such
as lighting and maps.
Studios employ an extensive range of technologies
in the creation of computer animation. Many studios
take widely available off-the-shelf software programs
and make proprietary (studio-owned) modifications to
enhance the capabilities of the programs. Some digital
animation, particularly that which is created for games
or for special effects in live-action films, use a technology
called motion capture. Motion capture entails the use
of live performers who wear suits containing a number

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005


E-business regulation
Notes on compliance issues in the ‘borderless economy’
T
he issue of regulation is replete with
unanswered e-business issues that
desperately need to be clarified as
companies operate electronically across the
globe. New business arrangements with
industry-wrenching impact can take effect
in months, not years. This rapid change
means that regulatory issues must be
addressed soon to avoid overly “reactive”
responses that can be counterproductive.
Companies, industry vigilance and audits
Companies must remain vigilant both to
protect their business interests and ensure
that they can proceed securely in uncharted
territory. While some maintain it’s
unrealistic to have no restriction whatsoever
on e-business, yet others shudder at the
burden various bureaucracies might place
upon the Internet. Most are hopeful that
industry, driven by market forces, will
ultimately regulate itself. If that fails, a
wide range of regulators can be expected
to step in forcefully. The issues include:
International trade and tariffs, data
security; encryption; infrastructure and
access; intellectual property rights;
liability: choice of law and jurisdiction;
content; competition law;
self-regulation; privacy.
The first steps
A web site audit begins with a survey of the
site—identifying the types of content and
services provided on the site, the types of
terms of service or legal disclaimers needed,
the intellectual property rights, and the
potential hot spots that are likely to give rise
to liability. Depending upon the company,
web sites fulfil different and often multiple
functions. The breadth of an audit depends
at large on the complexity of the site.
Content and control
Original content: Web site content, which
is entirely or mostly generated by the
owner of the web site often presents the
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
| Rodney D Ryder
rodney@preconcept.com
least complex liability issues. Like their
traditional media counterparts, web site
owners in India enjoy the significant legal
protections available to publishers.
Licensed content: Many web sites
license content rather than creating their
own. An audit therefore may also include
review of the licensing agreements
to ensure that the owner of the web
site has the rights to distribute, alter,
republish or otherwise use the licensed
content. In addition, the audit should
review all representations and warranties
for the content and any appropriate
indemnifications by the licensor.
Third party content: As interactivity
becomes a primary draw for bringing back
Internet users, more sites are including
chat, message boards, e-commerce. As a
result, much of the content in these areas is
created by users of the site and cannot be
reviewed or edited by the web site owner.
Linking and framing: The practice of
linking to or framing other web sites raises
liability issues unique to the Internet. A
web site owner may be found liable for
contributory infringement or vicarious
liability for knowingly linking to another site
that contains copyright infringing material
or otherwise engages in infringing activity.
Specific components of a web site are
worth particular attention.
Disclaimers and terms of service: The
disclaimers and terms of service are
important in establishing the relationship
COLUMN | APPLICATIONS 127
between the web site owner and its users.
Generally, the comprehensiveness of a user
agreement is determined by balancing the
potential exposure created by site content
and activities against the potentially
intimidating impression a long agreement
will make on the user.
Message boards and chat: Many
web sites now provide areas for users to
interact with both the web site owner and
other users. These areas take the form of
message boards (where users can post a
message that can be read and responded
to by other users) and chat rooms (where
users can send each other messages, or
chat in real time). An audit should include a
review of how the owner responds to such
demands and set up a policy for when,
if ever, it’s appropriate to either remove
a post or provide information about the
author.
User information: The privacy and
security of personal information on the
Internet has become an increasing concern.
A web site audit should include review
of the site’s policies for disclosing user
information and, in particular, policies
for responding to subpoenas for user
information. Finally, an audit should
include a review of the site’s privacy policy.
In general, the policy should provide notice
to users about the types of information
collected, how such information is used
and to whom it is disclosed.
The legal audit provides some guidance
for web site owners by identifying areas
of potential liability before litigation
arises. In addition, further content liability
counselling can be done to place the
web site owner in the best possible legal
position—by posting proper disclaimers,
establishing sensible complaint policies,
etc—should a legal demand be made. ■
Rodney D Ryder heads Preconcept (www.
preconcept.com), a service law firm with
cutting edge specialization in Intellectual
Property, Media and Technology Law
rodney@preconcept.com
128 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE

BeATS All
Experts who are into formulating new designs are experimenting with
ideas that will help people experience quality life in an otherwise mundane
scenario. One such interesting development is BeATS. Know more...

W
ireless has been growing in leaps and bounds ever since it
was first introduced, thanks to the ever propelling efforts
by enthused proponents. With the advent of Bluetooth
we are witness to radically developing phenomena in everyday life.
It’s become a daily affair to hear of developments that’s helping
to simplify life in the real world. There are amazing new inventions
and frankly most of them are just as refreshing as innovative.
Take for example the Audio Tour System developed by Clarinox
Technologies (Australia) in tandem with Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS) in India. The system is based upon a progressive new
technology that helps enrich user experience, especially that of
visitors and viewers in cultural venues. And more so whether the
visitor is a child or an adult, a novice or an expert, is English or non-
English speaking, the audio system can be enjoyed by all.
The term may sound obscure and many would perceive it
as gawky, but in reality it promises a simple means of wireless
connection eliminating the mess of cables and wires as well as the
labor to adjust angles for light beams during infrared transmission.
Formulated and built jointly by Melbourne-based Clarinox and
Indian software giant Tata Consultancy Services, BeATS (Bluetooth
enabled audio tour system) has been configured to combine the
best features of broadcast and CD/tape tours while eliminating their
disadvantages, keeping into account the hassles of cords and wires.
Visitors can choose their own path through the exhibit; free
of the restrictions imposed by a linear audio recording, and each
section of commentary always starts at the beginning for every
user. Bluetooth is used to link the user device to access points
spread around the premises, and to carry the streaming MP3
audio. The sound quality is high, and the system can accommodate
multiple languages. From the venue operator’s perspective,
advantages include centralized storage of audio for ease of
management and updating by its own staff, and the system can
yield information about the routes taken by people and how long
they spend at each point. In the entire process, TCS handled the
software for user registration, central server, file dispatch to access
points and statistics generation and reporting, while Clarinox
addressed the Bluetooth hardware and software for the exhibit
device transceiver and the user Bluetooth device.
Mukund Govindrajan, software engineer at Clarinox Technologies,
is gung-ho about BeATS. While showcasing the product during the
Bangalore.it.in exhibtion, he seemed confident of BeATS’ success.
BeATS is based upon wireless technology and is radio frequency
based, in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band, which means that the venue,
Dinesh Desai be it an exhibition venue or a museum does not have to obtain a

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

 FEATURE | APPLICATIONS 129

| Streaming Profile Architecture over Bluetooth | How BeATS works

Streaming Server Application Streaming Client Application

MP3 Codec Stream Codec Stream MP3

Encoder Handler Handler Encoder
Exhibit 1 Exhibit 2
Application Programming Interface (API) Application Programming Interface (API) Registration BeATS Point
Stream handle Stream handle Terminal
LAN Connection

SEID SEID User BeATS device

Signalling Stream Manager Stream Manager Signalling
Administration Administration
Bluetooth Connection
(Signalling (Signalling Exhibit 3
Data) Media Data)
Packets Central Server

Reporting A visitor walks into the museum, registers preferred language and level of
packets detail (adult, child, expert) at the User Registration Terminal. This information
is sent and stored in the Central Server. As he walks around the exhibition he is
automatically detected when he gets close to an exhibit and has the appropriate
audio for that location streamed to him. A second person comes along a little
L2CAP L2CAP
later and he too receives the appropriate audio based on his preferences from the
beginning of the audio track… same for person 3, 4, 5, etc.

license to run the system. The technology
features include small size, low cost, and low
power consumption.
As with all things new, the use of
Bluetooth is not without challenges.
Limitations range from restrained
bandwidth, high degree of error rates, and
the time-varying nature of the radio link.
Bluetooth has the potential to redefine
the way we perceive and experience
connectivity. However, with limited
penetration and availability, Bluetooth
won’t start to gain serious momentum
until a few kinks are worked out. Some have
even gone so far as to say that Bluetooth
has already failed. Either way, there also
needs to be a drop in price before Bluetooth
chips can be affordably embedded in every
device, thus establishing recognizable value
through scale and technology penetration.
Bluetooth has a good future ahead
because it meets a basic need of
connectivity in close proximity. And as
can be seen all over the world, people
are moving towards a future in which
computing will be ubiquitous, woven
seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life.
BeATS is currently operational at an
Australian Museum in Melbourne that is
offering its visitors the opportunity to hear
tours via Bluetooth. Apart from offering
visitors the opportunity to take advantage
of the tours through streaming MP3 audio
services, BeATS also allows them to access
relevant commentary tailored to a specific
tour. Museum staff are also benefiting
from the system, as it offers a new method
for audio storage and updating. It also
yields information about the routes taken
by people and how long they spend at
each point.
Trish Messiter, CEO and key initiator at
Clarinox, is of the opinion that with the use
of Bluetooth and taking into account the
design of the user, the production of the
device can be made small, inexpensive and
operable for many hours without recharge.
Bluetooth components, now in their
third generation, have overcome questions
of interference with Wi-Fi radios, and have
become widely adopted in Japan and Asia.
The Bluetooth 1.2 specification provides
further provisions for removing interference
and improving the user interface. However,
Bluetooth has also become intrinsically tied
to the cellphone, finding success in three
markets—as a connection to hands-free
wireless headsets, tying together a PC or PDA
to a cellphone, and as a means of connecting
your cellphone to an automobile.
With the growing success of Bluetooth,
we are likely to see more manufacturers
building in their best capabilities into a
single device, and then tying them all
together with Bluetooth. Companies are
also examining ways to “beam” business
cards and other data via Bluetooth, while
handset makers are adopting Bluetooth.
The challenge would then be to improve
the interoperability of Bluetooth devices.
Based on demand for interoperability and
testing initiative of Bluetooth-enabled
products, Stockholm’s Ericsson Technology
Licensing has formed an independent
laboratory designed to facilitate
interoperability studies on an application
level with end-user products. ■
| Carol D’Costa

| Features of the BeATS System:

Allows visitors to wander freely while the audio tour adjusts to their
demands.
Allows the visitor to choose the language and level of information
that suits them on that day. For example, information that is tailor-
made for school excursions or visiting world experts.
Provides consistent, high quality sound.
Is based on innovative technology that sets a new standard in audio
tour systems.
Eliminates the problem of listening to the end of the information
first.
Audio stream starts at the beginning for every visitor.
Stores the audio information on a central computer so that changes
and updates are easily made and these changes immediately become
available.
No need to contact supplier of system to make changes to the
system.
Gather statistics on how visitors move around and where they spend
their time.

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

130 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE
HOME BREW
3D games, ring tones, wallpapers and online pujas—all of these applications are
being created by Indian developers with the help of Qualcomm’s BREW platform
W
e have all been witness to
the growing popularity of
cellular phones, based on the
CDMA standard, over the years. A company
decided that CDMA was the way to go and
put its money into the standard, developed
it and constantly improved upon it. The
end result is for all to see—it’s the most
prominent standard in the US, has gained
a lot of ground in Asia and has also entered
the European market (which has remained
predominantly GSM). The company I’m
referring to here is Qualcomm—a wireless
telecommunications company that is
into hardcore research and development.
You must have heard of the email client
Eudora—well, they are the ones behind its
design and distribution.
Just like GSM, CDMA phones are also
classified into ‘generations’ (2G, 2.5G, 3G,
etc) which adhere to a particular standard.
For example, a 2.5G-3G CDMA phone uses
the CDMA2000 standard and a similar
generation GSM phone will support GPRS
and/or EDGE.
Development of these standards and
their inclusion in new handsets have
made it possible for developers to up their
offerings too. A common question that
many ask today with regard to GSM phones
is, “Does your phone have JAVA support?”
This platform (known as Java 2
Platform, Micro Edition) was accepted
by GSM phones, and applications were
developed based on this standard.
J2ME strived to keep a standard
formula on which developers could build
applications. This is good since it meant
that a tool downloaded for one phone
should work on another too. Unfortunately,
this did not always hold true because of the
diversity of hand phones. Sticking to the
standard means all the service providers
will appear to offer the same services.
This led service providers to deviate a
bit from the basic standard (called the
Mobile Independent Device Profile)—they
customized it so that they could be noticed
by the user. This required a reasonable
amount of recoding. This recoding was
done so that users could get more out of
their subscriptions with easier and cheaper
downloads. This is one such platform that
is tailored for the phones that adhere to
Pramod Jadhav
the GSM standard.
Qualcomm introduced an application
development platform called BREW, meant
specifically for CDMA-based mobile phones.
This platform, which stands for Binary
Runtime Environment for Wireless, is
widely considered to be a big competitor
to the J2ME model.
BREW tries to keep things simple,
functional and more importantly, profitable
to everyone, including the end user.
Since CDMA service providers like TATA
Indicom and Reliance have been very
successful in building a strong subscription
base in India, it is natural for them to have
decided to go the BREW way. They are
offering a range of services for end users
to download and enjoy. These applications
have been developed to suit Indian tastes
and who knows it better than people from
the sub-continent itself. Indian companies
are responsible for all the games,
wallpapers, ring tones and fun applications
that have been created using the BREW
platform. These guys have been into
CDMA mobile application development
for service providers in many countries
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

| The BREW Model
across the globe. BREW does not require
developers to know the intricacies of the
phone they are developing an application
for, especially the hardware. It’s like a layer
that only requires a developer to know
C/C++ to create an application. A mid-end
(2G) CDMA phone is equipped to handle
applications created on this platform.
Productivity and Spirituality
Remoba Technologies is one such company
that has created productivity applications
aimed at the corporate user. They have
teamed up with TATA Indicom to provide
‘Mobile Office Suite’ tools like iPhonebook,
iDatebook and iPhonebackup. These tools
allow you to securely sync with Outlook,
Lotus Notes, Palm-based applications
and wirelessly take a backup of contacts
onto their servers. This can be retrieved in
case you change your phone or lose your
contacts. These features will work easily on
phones in the mid-range segment too.
For all of you who don’t really care
about productivity and all other worldly
issues, the spiritual applications created by
Astute Systems Technology will energize
that aura of yours. Astute proudly states
that their prayer applications, like the Daily
Prayer series on TATA Indicom phones, are
very popular. There are prayers for almost
every person like Lakshmi Puja and even
Sikh prayers for the spiritually thirsty. The
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
Saarathi: Lambent’s Travel Guide
application for all those of you who
don’t want to get lost
service does not sound terribly expensive
either—you pay just Rs 30 for a monthly
subscription. Any additional downloads
like ring tones or wallpapers are charged
individually (rates vary, depending on the
service provider, from as little as Rs 7 to
as much as Rs 50). Astute has developed
another popular application—the BSE
Portfolio Tracker. It allows you to manage
your stock’s portfolios and keep a track of
the stock exchange at any time of the day.
Let the games begin
These applications are popular and
FEATURE | APPLICATIONS 131
practical. However, there are other
developers who have also struck gold by
creating fun applications like games and
interactive content. Coruscant Tec offers
video content as well as mobile blogging.
Now you can blog even while you are on
the move with the help of their AirBlog
tool. Coruscant Tec has also been able to
provide comic strips and animation videos
for download, courtesy Mr Anant Pai—the
man behind Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle.
Cricket is the national pastime but few
have the time or the space to play the game
daily. Nazara Technologies has obtained
a license to provide Sachin Tendulkar’s
wallpapers and some games like Sachin
Tendulkar’s Fielding Challenge, Sachin
Tendulkar’s Tap-o-thon, where you play
as him and your scores can be saved on
servers for everyone to see. Nazara also has
games in which you play as Bret Lee (if you
are an Aussie fan). They even have Archie
Comics games and wallpapers developed
on the BREW platform.
Lambent Technologies is another
developer that has produced games like
Cricket and Carrom that are available for
download on the TATA Indicom network.
Popular arcade games like Space Fighter and
all-time board game Ludo have also been
created by them. Lambent is also in the
process of developing a Friend Finder and
Saarathi—a navigation and travel guide.
132 APPLICATIONS | FEATURE
Indiagames—a name very familiar to
all gaming enthusiasts—has its hands full
with licenses to produce mobile content
for characters like Phantom, Garfield, Mask,
Mummy and Predator. They are into high-
end 3D game development too.
As of now, they are working on a third
person adventure game called Ashoka and
a Bruce Lee game called Iron Fist 3D.
Quite frankly, the list can go on.
There are so many other developers like
PhoneyTunes.com (mobile blogging, image
editing), Incore Technologies (developed
a morphing tool called iFotoFX) that are
already offering their services on phones
available in the market today. They are
all into developing quality content for
overseas mobile service providers too.
Enter the Dragon: Indiagames’ Bruce Lee
- Iron Fist 3D
These applications are easily accessible
from a CDMA phone that supports the
BREW platform (medium range phones
also support this function but are limited
in terms of memory capacity and graphics
support). All you need to do is send an
SMS to the service provider with the
application’s code. A session is created and
you can download and install the tool on to
the phone. Another way would be to access
the ‘R World’ shop or Tata Mobile Shop to
choose a particular service from the CDMA
phone’s menu. Depending on your service,
you will be billed accordingly.
Perfection through Evolution
Even though BREW’s open platform has
created avenues for developers, phone
manufacturers and operators to provide
quality service to end users, the process
is not without its chinks. While creating
applications like the ones mentioned
earlier, most of the developers said they
have to keep in mind the constraints an
older CDMA phone puts on the product
they are working on. The reason is
applications such as 3D games, a memory
intensive tool, screen size or even better
audio quality require new hardware. Right
now there are a large number of low to
mid-range phones in the market and
high-end models should be introduced at a
faster rate. Phone performance will differ
with the hardware they are
built on. Developers like Lambent feel
stringent debugging should be done and
an ‘elaborate documentation’ of issues
should be published regularly on the
Qualcomm site.
Another issue that developers have
to deal with is that even though they
might have some really good applications
(inventory, location services, etc) the
service provider might not want it because
it caters to a niche user base (according to
the provider).
Resolving issues such as this or service
providers waking up to realizing the
potential in niche tools, might make
the platform even more attractive to
prospective operators and developers. As
long as the platform remains flexible, the
end user will continue to benefit from the
services that are offered over the air.
Do you need to know about BREW?
If you are a developer by profession, you
need to know about it. But if you are an
end user, you don’t need to know what
is allowing you to shop for your favorite
sportstar’s wallpapers or letting you blog
while you wait at the station for your train.
If you are still interested in knowing
more about BREW, you can take a look
at the infographic shown on page
131. It basically illustrates the path a
mobile application takes—right from
the developer to the operator (service
provider) and then finally to you (the
user). The billing is taken care of by the
service providers with the help of the
BREW Distribution System (BDS), which is
a data services and billing environment.
It allows service providers to customize
their software catalog and enables you to
have a better experience with over-the-air
downloads.
Developers can download the BREW
SDK (Software Development Kit), a C++
debugger and an Emulator. You need to
know neither any new languages nor do
you even need to be a mobile hardware
whiz. (Another interesting thing to note
is that BREW can support certain Java
applications too.)
Gaming Phones
Phones are going the PC way. Mobile
phones are getting more advanced and
they require hardware that can support
3D environments and deliver good audio.
Phones are also being designed keeping
this in mind. Qualcomm has used the ARM
architecture (used widely in embedded
applications) to create CDMA mobile phone
chipsets known as Mobile Station Modems.
These chipsets used in 3G phones make it
possible for high-end applications to run on
mobile handsets. Chipsets have also been
made to work on GSM phones.
The Slingshot: A clamshell phone
designed to double up as a gaming device
The Slingshot is Qualcomm’s prototype
phone that uses the MSM 6550 chipset,
which also has a TV-out function! Among
the phones available in the market today,
the LG VX9800 is one such, which sports
the same chipset and is capable of
playing 3D games.
If you think there aren’t enough
games to go around for such phones,
think again. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3D is
already available for 3G phones and EA has
announced that they will release its NFS
series for the mobile platform. Looks like
we might have to devote some extra time
to mobile game reviews. ■
| Ashutosh Desai
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
134
Dine sh De sa
i
Dr. CHIPIPC$ Error
Q> I have two computers at home.
One has Windows 98 and the
other Windows XP Professional.
Recently I configured them with
IP addresses and connected them
with a LAN cable too (cross over
type) so that I can share folders.
But I have run into a problem.
I can access the Windows 98
machine from XP but I cannot do
the same the other way round. If
I try accessing the XP computer
from network neighborhood
then I get a dialog box showing
my machine and a folder “IPC$”
along with an empty password
field. I have not set any password
and any other password I enter seems to be
incorrect. All I get in the end is an error that
it is inaccessible. Why is this happening?
What can I do to rectify this problem?
-Anjan
When one tries to access an XP
or a Windows 2000/NT machine from
a Windows 98 computer it happens.
This is because even though the NT-
based machine has shared folders and
its permissions have been given to
“Everybody”, it does not apply to non-
Hands on
NT based machines. You must have a
Username and Password created on
your Windows 98 machine. You need to
configure the same account details on
| How to Read the Code
All code lines and commands are
written in the following manner:
netsh•int•ip•reset•tcpreset.txt
where the • symbol denotes a space.
Hence, the above code line should be
typed as
netsh<space>int<space>ip<space
>reset<space>tcpreset<dot>txt
the Windows 2000/XP machine so as to
gain access to it. In Windows XP, create
a new user with the same name used on
your Windows 98 machine. Click on Start
| Control Panel | User Accounts. Then,
click on “Create a new account”. Set the
same password as the one created on
the Windows 98 machine. Now when
you log in from the Win98 computer, you
will still get the “IPC$” field but enter the
password you normally use to log in to
your machine. If you did not log in to the
Windows 98 machine in the beginning
then you might get an error again. Make
sure you log in first. If you still get some
error, you will need to make some changes
in the Windows XP Group Policy Editor. You
will find this in the Administrative Tools in
Control Panel. Navigate to Security Options
under Computer Configuration | Windows
Settings | Security Settings | Local Policies |
Security Options. Looks for “Account: Limit
local account use of blank passwords…” it is
Enabled by default. Disable it.
You can also create a new user by using
the Computer Management window
by clicking on Start | Run and type
“compmgmt.msc” and click on Ok. Select
Users under System Tools | Local Users and
Groups. Right click in the Users panel and
select ‘New User’. Enter the user name and
password. Uncheck “User must change
Use Computer Management console to
create a new user corresponding to the one
created on the Windows 98 computer
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

password…” and check the box against
“User cannot change password”. Click on
create and close.
Can’t Uninstall DirectX
Q> Recently, I bought The SIMS 2 pack and
began installing it. In the midst of the
installation, I encountered a message that
stated that I needed the latest DirectX9
drivers and asked me to install them. I
did so thinking that maybe my drivers
were not up to date. I installed the latest
drivers – DirectX 9c. After completing all
of this, I tried playing the game. Instead of
loading the game, my machine showed a
direct3d error. I could not understand how
to uninstall the DirectX drivers, so I just
reinstalled them again. This did not help.
Now I would like to know how I can solve
this problem.
-Kishore
The game is not playing correctly
not because of incorrect or corrupt
DirectX drivers. There is a probability that
it might not be playing because of older
video drivers. When was the last time
you updated your video card drivers? You
should first try and install the latest drivers
from the manufacturer’s web site or just
load the ATI or Nvidia drivers provided
on their web sites. There can also be a
probability that your anti virus was enabled
when you ran the installation. At times
DirectX does not install correctly because
of the presence of active anti-virus. If you
want to remove the DirectX9 drivers and
revert back to your older version then you
can use software like “Directx Eradicator
2.0” from http://www.majorgeeks.
com/download509.html.
You can also edit the Registry to bring
Delete the DirectX key from the registry as
a last option if your DirectX installation
was incorrect. Restart the computer after
doing this.
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
the version back to the older one. Click on
Start | Run and type “regedit”. Click on
Ok. In the Registry Editor navigate to the
following key,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\
Microsoft\DirectX
Delete DirectX and restart the machine.
The older version will be reinstalled.
(Rather than resorting to this, uninstall
with the Eradicator)
Disable your anti-virus software. Try
updating the video drivers for your graphics
card and reinstall the DirectX drivers.
Click on Start | Run and type “dxdiag” and
click Ok. This will bring up the DirectX
Diagnostic Tool. On the last line under
System Information in the System tab, you
will find the DirectX version.
Connection Limit
Q> I work in a small data entry office where
we have to access a particular computer
constantly for reference and data backups.
Every once in a while, one of us will get
an error, while trying to login to that
computer. The error says that, “No more
connections can be made to this remote
computer at this time because there
are already as many connections as the
computer can accept.”
I have no clue what that means and
hence do not know what to do. Can you
help me out?
-Roy
The main computer that you use
regularly can accept a certain number of
connections (or login sessions) at a time.
It is quite certain from this error you are
geting that it’s being accessed to the
maximum limit that it can cater to. If your
main computer is running on Windows
XP Professional, then the maximum
number of computers that can connect
to it simultaneously is 10. These inbound
connections continue to exist as long as
a user is continually accessing the remote
computer. However, if there is a period
of inactivity then by default the remote
computer will ‘disconnect’ or relinquish this
session. This is referred to as a timeout and
can also be configured.
You can set the time you want the
session to time out by manually executing
a command on the system. Click on Start |
DR. CHIP | HANDS ON 135
Run and type “cmd” and click Ok.
The command prompt window will
open. At the prompt type the following
command,
net config server /
autodisconnect:time_before_
autodisconnect
‘Time before disconnect’ is the time
after which the computer will disconnect
the session if the connection has been
idle for that much amount of time. The
number you enter in place of that line will
be interpreted in minutes.
Press Enter and you should get a
message “The command was executed
successfully.” The number of connections
made to XP will remain but the
disconnection of idle sessions should
somewhat relieve the problem.
Stack Overflow
Q> I have been trying to install some
software on my computer and after
that I started getting a weird error that
says, “Terminating thread due to stack
overflow problem. A vxd consumed too
much stack space. Increase setting of
MinSPs in System.ini or remove recently
installed vxds.” What stack space? What do
I do to get rid of this message? Does this
have anything to do with the software I
installed? I have Windows 98 installed on
my computer.
-Gurpreet
Gurpreet, you have not mentioned
what software you installed. Was this an
application or were they device drivers? If
they were device drivers, then you should
136 HANDS ON | DR. CHIP
Add the minimum stack pages value in the
system.ini file in Windows 98
try uninstalling them from the Device
Manager (right click the device and select
Remove). Restart and check to see if you
get the error again. The stack pages are
memory pages that Windows keeps for
device drivers and an additional amount
is also reserved in case of any problems.
This allows it to prevent the computer to
crashing. Unfortunately, when this very
reserve amount is used up, the system
flashes this sort of an error. This can occur
because of a driver that is trying to use
more than what is usually assigned in
the stacks. This is what Windows calls
an “overflow”. Reinstalling the drivers
might not be of any use. You can, instead,
increase the stack size by manually
entering a number in the System.ini file. If
your error also states a line like “There are
currently X SPs allocated” where X is the
number of Stack Pages already created by
the operating system, then make a note
of it. You will need to manually assign a
number greater than the one mentioned in
the error message.
Click on Start | Run and type “sysedit” and
click on Ok. The System Configuration Editor
CHIP-INDIA KNOW HOW | (www.chip-india.com/knowhow)
IBM.exe error
I get an error saying “System cannot
find D:\programfiles\microsoft\shared\
webfolders\ibm00001.exe.
It gives me the option to click
“Ok”. I think it is a virus or Trojan or
something like that. And my icons take
years to load! How can I correct this?
- the latest updates for all these utilities.
pranavashok
Yes, you are right, this file is created by
the Trojan Win32.Anserin.C. It steals login
and password details. It also runs a SOCKS
proxy on the affected machine. It uses
this proxy setup to update itself. It usually
gets downloaded by variants of the Win32.
Niresna worm.
Use the following method to detect and
remove all types of adwares, spyware,
malware, Trojans, dialers, worms and
viruses from your computer.
Start the computer in Safe Mode by
pressing F8 when it is booting. Select the
Safe Mode from the Advanced Startup
Options. At the desktop click on Start |
Run and type “msconfig”. Click on Ok and
disable all the startup files except your
anti-virus and Firewall (if any). Now open
the Registry Editor by clicking on Start |
Run and then type “regedit”. Click on OK
and navigate to this key:
HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\
Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Run
Here you will see all the startup files
that will be loaded on every boot.
Delete the path and filename which seem
suspicious. Also check the path where the
file is linked to and delete that file. Also
search for this file in other locations by
going to Start | Search. Then find all the
instances of this file in the Registry by
going to Edit | Find and type the name of
the filename (or key). Delete all instances
of this file.
Now, run a full scan on your computer
with Norton Anti Virus (http://www.
symantec.com) or AVG (http://www.
grisoft.com) with the latest virus definitions
installed on your computer.
Then, check your computer for any
adware, spyware, malware, Trojans with
Spybot Search & Destroy (http://www.
safer-networking.org/en/download/),
Adaware from Lavasoft (http://www.
lavasoftusa.com) and Microsoft AntiSpy
(http://www.microsoft.com/
athome/security/spyware/software/d
efault.mspx). Make sure you also install
Don’t depend on a single application only.
Install all three of them and use them all to
find and remove unneeded items from your
computer..
If the problem still persists then
install the software called “Hijack This”
from http://www.merijn.org/index.
html. This will check for any browser
hijack attempt by other software and
will also show which fi les are running in
the background without your knowledge.
If you can pinpoint the problem yourself
then you can delete the offending fi le and
folder on your own. You can then also
delete its registry entry from the registry.
You can also post your ‘Hijack This’ log fi le
here so that it can be checked by other
members and give a possible solution
to your problem. There is also the option
of posting your Hijack This log fi le online
at http://www.hijackthis.de/index.
php#anl and analyze it online. You can get
a possible solution from there.
To protect your computer from hackers
and crackers, use a good firewall software
on the computer—especially Zone Alarm
Pro (available at http://www.zonelabs.
com) or Sygate Personal Firewall Pro
(available at http://www.sygate.com),
with the latest updates installed.
Do not forget to install Windows XP SP2
on your computer if this has not been done
already. You can get it from earlier issues of
CHIP CD. Also, use alternate web browsers
like Opera (http://www.opera.com) or
Mozilla FireFox (http://www.mozilla.
org) instead of Internet Explorer to browse
the Internet. This is because most of the
adwares, malwares, Trojans, spyware
software target IE. You can also get them
from the earlier issues of CHIP CD.
- Prachanda
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

will open up. Click on the System.ini window
and look for the [386Enh] section. Under this
section type “MinSPs=4” (without quotes).
If the error already stated ‘4’ then use 8 (or
12). Save the file from the File menu and
exit this System Configuration Editor. You
can even search for the system.ini file, open
in it notepad and make the changes. Restart
your computer.
Cannot Play Video
Q> I have some videos saved on my
computer. They are in different formats.
Some are in WMV, while some are in the
MPEG format. None of these files play
on my computer. Windows Media Player
refuses to play these files. I keep getting
the error “Cannot play back the video
stream”. I have reinstalled Windows Media
Player assuming it to be a problem with the
player itself. I also have the latest codecs
installed (K-Lite), so there really should not
be any issue with that either. Why is Media
Player being so stubborn?
-Akhilesh
If these files are not damaged/
infected/corrupted to begin with then
there could be a problem with the media
player files. Please check the video files
using another video player or on another
computer. There is also another thing you
can do to check if it’s the media player
that’s causing the problem. You will need to
check a registry key and confirm its value.
If it is different you will need to change
it. Click on Start | Run, type “regedit’ and
click on Ok. The Registry Editor will open.
Navigate to the following key,
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\
CLSID\{DA4E3DA0-D07D-
11d0-BD50- 00A0C911CE86}\
Instance\{083863F1-70DE-11d0-BD40-
00A0C911CE86}
Reconfirm what you find here since the
key is long and one can very easily make a
mistake. If you have the key “{083863F1-
70DE-11d0-BD40-00A0C911CE86}” under
‘Instance’ then check to see if the right
pane in the Registry Editor has items called
‘FriendlyName’ with a value “DirectShow
Filters” and ‘Merit’ with a value
“00600000”. If the values are different
make sure they are changed to these.
If the key itself does not exist then you
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
Looking for keys with really long names is
difficult. Be extra careful while searching
for them in the Registry Editor.
will need to create it under ‘Instance’.
Select ‘Instance’, click on Edit | New |
Key. Type the key name,
{083863F1-70DE-11d0-BD40-
00A0C911CE86}
Press Enter. Now, click on Edit | New |
String Value. Type ‘CLSID’ and press Enter.
Click on Edit | Modify and type,
{083863F1-70DE-11d0-BD40-
00A0C911CE86}
Click Ok. Click on Edit | New | String
Value and type “FriendlyName”. Press
Enter. Now click on Edit | Modify and type
“DirectShow Filters” and click OK. Once
again click on Edit | New | DWORD Value.
Type “Merit”, click Ok. Click on Edit | Modify
and type “600000” and click Ok. Close the
Registry Editor and restart the computer.
Firefox Proxy Version
Q> I use two computers at home. One of
the computers is connected directly to my
Internet connection. The other computer
accesses the Internet through the first
one with the help of a small utility called
AnalogX Proxy. I use the Firefox browser.
Now the strange problem is that whenever
it tries to access some particular sites, it
automatically gets redirected to Google.
It is indeed a strange occurrence. I can go
to other websites fine but the problem
occurs only in the case of some web sites.
I connected this computer to the Internet
connection directly and it worked fine
with AnalogX off. I know it’s Analog that’s
causing the problem but I don’t know
how to solve it.
-Nikhil
There is a very simple solution to
this query of yours. You are right in stating
that AnalogX Proxy is the cause of the
problem. You are experiencing this problem
DR. CHIP | HANDS ON 137
Need a hand with your PC travails?
Log on to www.chip-india.com/
knowhow and post your query. Voila!
You’re on your way to a glitch-free
future.
Info | For Accurate Diagnosis…
1. Mention system specifications.
2. Mention new hardware or software
installed recently.
3. Note the error message, including the
action or event that triggers the error.
For instance, the error message comes
up only during startup or shutdown, or
when starting a particular application
and so on.
4. Mention any changes you’ve made
just before you started getting the
error. For instance, have you deleted
some files recently or uninstalled
some application?
because it can only support HTTP 1.0
protocol. Firefox uses the version 1.1.
This can be changed by editing the
Firefox config setting. Open the Firefox
browser and type “about:config” in the
address bar and press Enter.
Scroll through the list of settings that
appear of type in “network.http.proxy.
version” into the “Filter” toolbar. It will
display a default value of “1.1”. Double click
on it and a dialog box will appear, with the
value “1.1”. Change this to “1”, click on Ok
and make sure this change is reflected in
the list. Close the browser and restart it.
Now you will be able to access the website
you had issues with. ■
138 HANDS ON | WORKSHOP
Dddddddddd
The Big Picture!
If you want to drink in the visual splendor of the Lord of the Rings or feel the
adrenalin rush with 2 Fast 2 Furious, you need to think big. REALLY BIG! We show you
how to add a projector to your home theater mix and redefine your movie-watching
experience forever
U
ntil not too long ago, the very
thought of having a projector at
home was ridiculous. But times
have changed and technology moving
the way it has, home theater projectors
of today are smaller, more affordable and
higher in image performance than ever
before. Starting from about Rs 50,000,
their footprint is about as big as this
magazine and most weigh in at under 2
kgs. Team this up with the fact that most
of them are easily capable of generating
a 200-inch screen when installed in an
average room, there’s no other display
option that gives you as much screen size
for the buck.
However, a projector is a different
display beast altogether—it cannot be
installed in quite the same manner as
you would a television. Plenty of factors
need to be taken into account before you
have a high-performance home projection
system that rivals your neighborhood
cinema. While stepping through each of
these, we’ll debunk a few fallacies, clear
a couple of doubts and fill you in on the
fundamentals of installing a home theater
projector.
Pre-preps
While in the market for a projector, you’re
bound to come across a significant amount
of jargons and fundamentals. Along the
way, you will have plenty of questions
you’ll need answers to. Since half the job is
done by asking the right questions, let’s do
that first.
Your room
Since projectors create the image by
reflecting it off a surface (the projection
screen), ambient light plays a very
important role in the final perceived image.
So, it’s important to make sure your room is
adequately darkened, even in the middle of
the afternoon. To do this, you have to use
thick drapes and seal cracks in doors which
might let in external light. This done, you
will have more control on the final image
of your projector and you can also go in for
Umesh Dahiwalkar
a lower-brightness projector with a longer
lamp life, resulting in lower running costs.
Projector type
Several technologies are used in projectors
today. Let’s step through each of these:
DLP (Digital Light Processing) is the
de facto standard in high performance
portable projectors. Pioneered by a
company called Texas Instruments, this
technology uses micro-mirrors mounted
on a special chip. Each of these mirrors
corresponds to a single pixel in the final
image. The image is generated by training
a high-intensity light on this chip and then
controlling the rotation of each of these
mirrors which causes the intensity of light
reflected by these mirrors to be varied.
When this mirror action is synchronized
with a translucent red-green-blue color
wheel that rotates in front of the chip,
the screen colors are generated by each
of these pixels. A lens system is then
used to magnify the size of the image for
projection onto a screen. DLP projectors
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 WORKSHOP | HANDS ON 139

have the advantage of small size, good
color reproduction and contrast, with a
very short warm-up time. There are two
types of DLP projectors available—single
chip and three-chip. Since the latter uses
three separate DLP chips for each of the
primary colors, they exhibit higher quality
images compared to the former, but are
more expensive.
The second type is LCD projectors. These
generally contain three glass LCD panels,
one for each of the primary colors. As light
passes through each of these panels, the
“Venetian blind” effect of LCD is used to
modulate the amount of light passing
through each of the pixels. This matrix
of pixels creates the eventual image. LCD
projectors available today are relatively
more affordable compared to DLP and
feature good enough quality for home
theater applications if you’re not the kind
to demand the highest quality.
The last type is CRT projectors. These
are not generally used in home theater
applications owing to their large size, high
cost and demanding ambient conditions.
These find applications in places like
auditoriums where the lighting is
controlled and their positions are fixed.
Projector: Multimedia or home theater?
In much the same way as a family car
can be used to transport luggage, a
projector built with the intent of displaying
presentations and static images can
also be used to watch movies. However,
you might not necessarily get the best
possible experience. In such a case, you
would obviously need a home theater
projector. However, since the prices of
home theater projectors are higher than
that of multimedia projectors, you might
need to arrive at a tradeoff. Therefore,
choose a projector that is built for home
theater if you have the budget, otherwise
go in for a multimedia projector with
specifications that allow for acceptable
home theater performance. For the best
experience, look out for a projector that
has a chip with a native aspect ration of
16:9 as this conforms to widescreen format
of DVD movies. We’ll get into the other
specifications later.
More questions…
There are several other points you’ll need
to consider during the installation process.
Let’s quickly run through them.
Screen: There are several options for
choosing where you want to project the
projector’s image—a dedicated screen,
a bedsheet or even a blank wall! It’s
recommended to go in for a dedicated
screen as these help deliver a crisp and
bright picture. You need to consider a
term called screen gain—this refers to the
amount of perpendicular light the screen
reflects—therefore the higher the gain, the
brighter the viewing area for an audience
sitting in front of the screen. The most
frequently-chosen type is a ‘unity
gain’ screen, which delivers a uniform
brightness image for as wide an area in
the viewing zone.
Mounting options: Depending on your
room’s space constraints, projectors can
either be mounted on the ceiling, wall
or on a table top. Select your projector
appropriately.
Lamp life: A high-intensity lamp is a very
important component of a projector. Select
one that features as long a lamp life as
possible, otherwise your running costs will
be high with the lamp unit having to be
changed.
Resolution: For optimal home theater
performance, go in for a projector that
features a resolution of at least 1024 x 768.
Also, for the best picture quality, provide
the video signal using component input,
DVI or D-Sub, as opposed to S-Video or
Composite (see box below).
Contrast and brightness: Assuming you
will use your projector in a darkened room,
go in for a projector with a brightness
specification of at least 1000 lumens and
a contrast ratio of at least 2000:1. These
are specifications ideal for home theater
applications.

| All those ports

1 DVI: The Digital Video Interface is a high quality digital 3 VGA: The de facto standard for PCs today, VGA provides
connectivity option that is built to specifically support digital video signals to a variety of analog video display units like
display devices like TFT monitors or projectors. projectors, CRT monitors, etc.

2 Component: In this connectivity method, the video signal fed
into the display device consists of three separate inputs—one
for each of the color channels. This results in very good color
reproduction and high resolutions for DVD and HDTV video.
3 1 2 4
4 S-Video: Super Video is a standard that carries the brightness
(or luma) signal in one cable and a combination of the color (or
chroma) signals in the other cable. This standard offers better
video quality compared to composite video but lower compared
to component video.

5 Composite Video: This video signal is delivered through a

single cable through which the video signals are mixed, hence
the name. Doing so results in a lower quality display. Therefore,
stay away from this connection method.

VGA pass-through: Some projectors offer the capability to

mirror your video signal to another VGA device like a monitor or
another projector.
5

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

140 HANDS ON | WORKSHOP
Setting up
With the theory behind us, it is now time to get our hands dirty! With your projector in place, all you need to do is to set it up at the
correct location, connect the relevant ports and optimize it for the best video display. Easier done than said!
STEP 1. Place the projector
To generate the right type of image of the
correct size, it is critical that you place your
projector at the correct location in front
of the projection screen. As mentioned
earlier, you can hang your projector from
the ceiling, place it on a shelf on the wall
or set it atop a table in the centre of the
room. Before finalizing on any of these
options, take into account how you plan to
use it in the long run: if you want to move
it from room to room, it should be easily
accessible, so the tabletop option would
serve best, if you’re setting up a dedicated
home theater in a particular room, the
projector needn’t be moveable so you
could opt for the ceiling mounting option.
You get the idea.
STEP 2. Connect the cables
Armed with the information on connectivity
options, it is now time to connect your
projector to your video playback device.
Since we are computing aficionados, we
assume your projector is being connected
to your computer (though you could
just as easily connect it to a standalone
DVD player). The most convenient,
and reasonably good quality option, is
connecting it to the VGA output of your
computer’s graphics card. You would need
to make sure that your graphics card has
two video output ports—most graphics
cards have a VGA port and a DVI port, or
two DVI ports. If you plan to use the DVI
port, you’ll need a DVI-to-VGA converter so
that you can connect the VGA cable.
1 Place the projector on a table top or in
any location that doesn’t obstruct the
beam
Since you would need a fairly long
male-female VGA cable for connecting
your graphics card all the way to your
projector across the room, you can either
procure one from the market or do what
we did—build one yourself (see Tips &
Tricks, November 2005). Optionally, you
can also use a VGA-to-component video
cable for connecting your graphics card to
the appropriate port on the projector. Next,
connect the power cable.
STEP 3. Video driver settings
You’re now ready to switch on your
projector. However, before you do, you
need to configure your graphics card to
output the signal through the relevant
port. Open the Display Properties from
the Control Panel. Click on the ‘Settings’
tab and you will see a picture of two
monitors. The first is your primary
display (your CRT) and the second is
your projector. Right click on the second
display and select ‘Attached’. You can now
select the appropriate resolution—make
sure that it doesn’t exceed the specified
resolution of the projector. For best
results, set this to the native resolution of
the projector,
which is the highest resolution it
comfortably supports. Finally, select the
option to extend the desktop onto the
second display.
Now power up the projector and
wait for a few seconds as it generates
an image—you should now see your
computer’s desktop.
2 Depending upon the output you
choose, plug in the video feed and
power cord
STEP 4. Adjust image clarity and size
With a stable display, you’re now ready
to adjust the size and position of the
image. First, use the adjustable screws on
the rear bottom edge of the projector to
compensate for unevenness in the surface
you’ve place the projector on. Adjust it
until the image is perfectly rectangular
and make sure it lies smugly within the
projection screen area.
Also use the device’s manual focus
and zoom controls along with the screen
adjustment tools like parallelogram
and trapezoidal correction to create an
acceptable image. When you’re through,
the image should appear sharp and
geometrically correct.
STEP 5. Optimize the image
You’re nearly there—all you now need to
do is to tweak your projector’s image for
that perfect display. First, make sure that
your room is completely dark (as it would
be while watching a movie). Next up, adjust
your brightness, contrast and color levels
to provide a vivid and natural image. We
described how to do this in our November
issue’s cover story (page 39), where we
used a THX-certified DVD and ran the THX
calibration tool for optimizing your video
display for the best picture quality. So go
ahead and grab a copy of a movie like Ice
Age from your local DVD library and run this
tool from the disk. Once you’re through with
this, microwave a bag of popcorn, sit back
and immerse yourself in movie heaven! ■
| Marco D’Souza
3 To view a display, you’ll need to
explicitly enable the second output
from your video driver
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

2 With new font and icons, you won’t
accidentally switch your iPod with
someone else’s
1.1.5: First and Second Generation iPod
2.2.3: Third Generation iPod
3.2.5: iPod Mini
4.3.0.2: Fourth Generation iPod
5.4.1: iPod Photo
Confirm by clicking ‘Load’. Proceed to
find the original picture and fonts under
‘Pictures’ and ‘Font’.
To replace all the pictures with a readily
available theme, in the ‘Pictures’ menu click
on ‘Load all’ and check on the folder which
contains the required theme. Confirm this
by clicking ‘OK’. You can also replace the
picture displayed by using the ‘Load Bitmap’
command. iPodWizard automatically
changes the picture to suit a certain
grey-like gradient quality. The image size,
however, needs to be resized manually.
Change Font: To change the font of your
iPod, click ‘Fonts’ and choose the main font
in the ‘Index’ menu.
iPod Main font
First & Second Generation 15
Fourth Generation 28
Third Generation 13
iPod Photo 24
iPod Mini 31
If a theme has its own font (in BMP
and IFM file formats), load it by choosing
the ‘Load Bitmap’ option. If you are using
a font from a PC, click on ‘Make Font’ and
choose a font in the following window and
click ‘OK’. By selecting ‘Write’ the original
firmware will be patched to activate the
changes to the font and bitmap mentioned.
Copying changes: Run the Updater to
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
3 A specialized Linux adds more
functionality to the iPod such as the
Sound Recorder
copy the modified firmware into the iPod.
If the iPod Updater says that you have the
latest iPod version, close the software and
run ‘iHack’ in the iPod Wizard. This tool
will change the file system in the iPod and
fool the Updater into thinking that you still
have the older version.
Make sure your iPod appears under
‘My Computer’. In ‘iHack’, click on the
appropriate button. For example ‘3G’
for a Third Generation iPod, choose iPod
drive, then confirm it by clicking ‘OK’. Now
you will be able to transfer the modified
firmware to the iPod. If you need to undo
all the changes made, run ‘iHack’ again and
choose the original Updater.
3 Adding New Functions
Besides playing MP3 music tracks, the iPod
does not offer much functionality. Using
a Linux installation, you can give new
capabilities to an iPod. For example, playing
various mini-games, adding support for
new music formats, or turning it into a
picture-viewer, and your music files and
configurations will remain untouched after
installation.
The Third Generation iPod can even
be used as a voice recorder—basically by
using the headphone as a microphone.
There is a lot of information out there on
functions which you can add to the iPod.
You can start by going to www. ipodlinux.
org/Manual.
If you have a First or Second Generation
iPod, make sure you are using software
version 1.4 before installing Linux. If
you don’t, the iPodLinux will not work as
intended.
Copying Linux: Enter Disk mode on the
WORKSHOP | HANDS ON 145
iPod and extract the Linux Installer from
the CHIP Tools CD. Run ‘ipod-linux-installer.
exe’, leave the default options and follow
the wizards. After completion, restart your
iPod and reset it.
Running Linux: By default, iPod boots
up with the Operating System provided
by Apple. To run iPodLinux, after resetting
press the ‘Back’ button. Adjust the contrast
level under ‘Settings’ and save the settings
by choosing ‘Save Settings’. If you need to
revert back to the Apple Operating System,
choose ‘Absolutely’ in the ‘Reboot iPod’
window.
The Fourth Generation iPod and the
iPod Mini and Photo are still not officially
supported by developers. However in tests
conducted by CHIP, the installation met
with no problems. After setup finishes,
you only need to copy the ‘start’ file and
‘Podzilla’ from the installation folder to
the main iPod directory (if it isn’t already
there). Then proceed to do a reset.
Restoring the original version: The
moment the setup process starts, the
program already has made a backup copy
based on the iPod’s original data, which is
kept in the same folder to run the setup.
If you wish to do away with the Linux in
the iPod, turn on the iPod in Disk mode
and run the installer on the PC with the
‘-r’ parameter (without the quotes). The
backup copy will be downloaded to the
iPod. If a problem is encountered, you can
still revert to the newer iPod version by
using the ‘Restore’ function in the iPod
Updater. Take note that using Updater will
also erase all data and music tracks from
the iPod.
4 Inserting Bookmarks in Music Tracks
The iPod supports the bookmark function
for audio books. The player can start
off from the last place you stopped or
jump straight to the chapter you like.
This function can be added to every AAC
file—ideal for recording long Internet
radio shows.
Firstly, in Windows Explorer, open the
folder with the AAC file. Click ‘Tools | Folder
Options | View’ and remove the checkmark
in front of ‘Hide extensions of known
file types’. Right click the file and choose
‘Rename’. Change the file extension from
146 HANDS ON | WORKSHOP
4 With MarksMan you can add book-
marks in audio-book files
‘AAC’ to ‘M4B’. Load this file using iTunes
and synchronize the iPod. The ‘M4B’ file will
appear under ‘Audiobooks’ on the player.
To add in more bookmarks, open the
file using the free tool, MarksMan and click
‘Add’. Insert the time wanted and type in a
name—such as a song title—and save the
bookmark by clicking ‘OK’.
5 Reading Current News on the iPod
The iPod not only plays music, it also has a
good note-recording function. GoogleGet
loads current news from Google in your
preferred language and also the weather
forecast. GoogleGet also formats the
received information as an iPod note and
transfers it to the iPod.
In order to run GoogleGet you need
two VisualBasic system files which can
be downloaded from http://googleget.
markwheeler.net. Copy them to the
‘C:\Windows\System32’ folder. When run
for the first time, GoogleGet will display
a configuration menu. Choose ‘Detect at
Startup’ for the ‘iPod Drive Letter’ and set
a folder for notes under an appropriate file
name such as ‘News’.
Under the ‘News Options’ pick the
language preferred and click ‘Find your
Local ICAO Code’ under ‘Weather Options’.
Find the nearest city displayed on the
web site and fill in the ICAO code into
GoogleGet under ‘Weather Location.’ Then
proceed to connect the iPod to PC, make
an Internet connection and run GoogleGet.
Confirm that the transfer is finished. In
order that this tool works properly, the iPod
must be in the hard disk mode.
6 Repairing the iPod Hard Disk
God forbid it, but you may accidentally drop
| iPod Top-Tools
With the top-tools provided in the
CHIP CD, unleash the true potential of
the iPod and iTunes.
5 GoogleGet fetches news and weather
forecasts from the Internet and sends
them to your iPod as notes
your iPod and want to know whether it has
been damaged or not. You don’t need an
expert, because the iPod has a diagnostic
tool which can check the internal hard disk
and make repairs if necessary.
To run the diagnostic tool, you need
to first reset the unit. As the Apple logo
appears, you will require some nifty
handwork. At the same time, press the
‘Back’, ‘Forward’, ‘Menu’, and ‘Select’
buttons until the diagnostic tool appears.
The entire diagnostic process takes
about 15-20 minutes depending on the size
of the iPod’s memory. You can stop the scan
process by pressing the ‘Select’ button for
about 3 seconds. This will give you an icon:
CD with a 3 mark: No errors were
found.
CD with a 5 mark: Stopped by user.
CD with a ! mark: The scan has
failed, will try again after restart or
reset.
Sad iPod : The restoration has
failed, time to send your iPod to the
professionals.
CD with a à mark: Error detected,
but has been corrected. Time to
restore it, using the iPod Updater. ■
| A S Pratisto
ATTENTION:
By running System-Restore, all your
songs and playlists will be erased.
SharePod 1.8.1: 1. Copy the iPod data-
ase to another PC, share your iPod in
a LAN.
iPodLibrary 1.2b: Copy an audio-book in
either LIT, PDF, HTML, and TXT formats
as notes in your iPod.
iPodWizard 1.07: Replace fonts and
graphics used in the iPod’s OS.
iPodLinux-Installer 1.2.1: Install spe-
cialized Linux with many additional
functions for the iPod.
Palm2iPod 1.1: Synchronize the address
book and calendar from a Palm-PDA.
iStory Creator 4.0 Beta: Create stories,
riddles and interactive games in TEXT
format for the iPod.
iPod Agent 1.0.1: Transfer email, agen-
da, to do, contact list and notes from
Outlook to the iPod (Shareware).
Pod Player 1.3.5: Play and copy music
directly from the iPod while connected
to a PC.
MarkAble 1.0.9: Convert MP3, WAV and
CD audio formats to audio books com-
patible with the iPod (Shareware).
MarksMan 0.4.3: Backup, edit and add
bookmarks in iPod’s audio books.
GoogleGet 1.3.2: Download Google
news and weather forecasts straight
from the web to the iPod.
iArt 3: Download album-covers for
iTunes from various sources on the In-
ternet.
iRemote 1.9b: Create skins for iTunes
and hotkeys for iTunes commands.
ml_ipod 1.20: This WinAmp plug-in
copies songs and playlists to the iPod
without iTunes.
iPodder 2.0: Finds, subscribes and
downloads podcasts automatically.
k-pod 0.96: Download e-mail from a
POP or IMAP account, and read them on
your iPod.
euPOD Pro 1.6: This helps to disable the
volume limitation (100 decibels) on the
iPod Eropa.
EphPod 2.75: iTunes replacement which
can synchronize Outlook contact data
and find song duplicates.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 Backing up data
This workshop tells you how to transfer, sync and edit data on your phone via your PC

A
lmost all new cell phones offer at
least one way to connect it to a
PC. It all started with data cables
that used to connect the phone to a PC via
serial or USB ports, which though fast and
stable, is cumbersome with the clutter of
wires. Later, IR let you communicate with a
PC wirelessly as long the phone supported
IR and the PC was equipped with an IR
port. This was convenient but had its own
share of issues like line of sight, range and
data rate. Today, Bluetooth connectivity
is the most powerful way of connecting
the two devices. And, our workshop deals
exactly with that. Besides Bluetooth
functionality in your PC, you will also need
an application, which will help the phone
and PC communicate with each other.
Various cell phone manufacturers have their
own proprietary software applications that
come bundled with the cell phone. For this
workshop we selected the Nokia 6600.
This workshop will step you through the
process of transferring, syncing and editing
data on your phone via your PC using ‘Nokia
PC suite’ starting right from configuring the
Bluetooth connection on your PC.
Connect the Bluetooth dongle
Before you start off, Bluetooth support
will have to be added to your PC. For this
you require a Bluetooth dongle which will
enable your PC and cell phone to exchange
data. If you have a laptop which has built-in
Bluetooth support, you don’t need a
dongle. You can then skip to the next step.
Plug in the Bluetooth dongle into any
USB port of the PC. It fits like a USB
flash drive. As soon as it is plugged in,
Windows will automatically detect it
and install the necessary drivers in most
cases. If it prompts you for manual
installation of drivers, use the driver CD
bundled with the dongle.
To verify installation you can check
‘Device Manger’ under ‘Control Panel |
System | Hardware’. The device will be
listed under ‘Bluetooth’.
After setting up the dongle, Bluetooth
icon will appear in the system tray.
Pair up the phone with the PC
The phone will have to be paired up
with the PC to enable communication.
Activate Bluetooth on your cell phone
and make sure the phone’s visibility is
set to ‘shown to all’ failing which the PC
won’t detect your phone.
Double click the Bluetooth icon in the
system tray to bring up the ‘Bluetooth
devices’ dialog box. Click the ‘Add’
button, check the ‘My device is set up
and ready to be found’ checkbox and
click ‘Next’. Windows will search for
Bluetooth devices and list your phone.
Click your phone’s name and click ‘next’.
Select ‘Let me use my own passkey’ and
type a single digit number in the passkey
field. After you click ‘next’ the phone will
prompt you to enter a ‘Passcode’. Key in
the passkey you entered, in the passkey
field. Windows will exchange passkeys
and pair up with your cell phone. Click the
‘Finish’ button to complete the setup.

Configuring Nokia PC Suite

Install Nokia PC Suite which comes bundled
with the phone on a CD. Launch it after
installation from ‘Start menu | programs |
PC Suite for Nokia’
After launching, you’ll see another icon
1 (mRouter) in the system tray. Right click
on it and select ‘connect to a Bluetooth
device’. After it finishes searching for
Bluetooth devices, select your phone and
click the OK button. PC Suite will request
‘connect to your cell phone’. Choose ‘Yes’
on your phone to allow.
Pramod Jadhav

A connection properties dialog box will

now pop up. Now it’s a tricky situation.
You need to select the port which allows
2 3

incoming and outgoing connections
from the list. To find out the ports,
double click the Bluetooth icon in the
system tray and select the ‘COM Ports’
tab. The port numbers will be listed.
Now select the required port numbers
in the connection properties dialog box.
Another request will pop up on the cell
phone. Accept it. After a few seconds,
the mRouter icon will turn colored.
After mRouter is activated, PC Suite will
prompt to enter the phone name. Enter any
name and click OK to begin using PC Suite.
Backup/Restore
If you have a huge list of contacts, messages
and calendar data, it’s a must to backup
your data. The backup/restore utility in PC
Suite backs up all the data on the phone
such as calendar data, contacts, messages,
images, settings, etc on the PC. It starts
backing up data on the phone as well in
the memory card as soon as you click the
backup button. It takes around 15 minutes
to complete the operation, depending on
the amount of data.
Data backed up can be viewed in the
generated log file in the backup folder.
Be sure you back up your ringtones,
operator logos and java applications
manually as PC Suite doesn’t include
these while backing up phone data.
Data backed up can be restored by
clicking the restore button. You can
select the data and the target memory
(phone/memory card) to be restored.
So it is possible to restore only contacts
on the phone memory if that is your
choice from what has been backed up.
Synchronizing contacts and calendar
With the synchronize feature, you can
synchronize the contacts and calendar
NOVEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
on the phone with the PC. Information
can be exchanged with Lotus Notes, Lotus
Organizer, Microsoft Outlook and
Windows address book.
After clicking the Synchronize button
in the application bar, choose what
you want to synchronize—calendar or
contacts or both. Then click the Sync Now
button and let PC Suite create default
task for these areas so that you won’t
have to go through the wizard again.
From the list of software available,
choose the one which you use to manage
your calendar and contacts and click OK.
Now click the ‘Change’ button to choose
the synchronization direction and the
details which you wish to synchronize.
You may wish to synchronize phone
numbers only leaving other details like
work and web details. Or you may not
want the PC to alter the information on
the phone or vice versa. There is also an
option to synchronize the details in an
external address book file if you haven’t
created a default profile.
Synchronization will start once you
click the OK button. After it’s complete
you can view the details in the log file
generated.
FEATURE
FEATURE || HANDS
HANDSON
ON 149
Transferring files
The File Transfer utility in PC Suite helps
you to transfer files from PC to phone and
vice versa. It also allows viewing, deleting
or renaming files on the phone memory
or on the memory card. This makes it a
child’s play to transfer ring tones, images,
videos and other files to the phone.
Clicking the File Transfer button brings
up a tree view of files and folders on the
PC and the phone in a horizontal split
window. The interface looks similar to
Windows Explorer.
To transfer files, you just need to drag
the files from source to destination.
There are special folders on the phone
and memory card meant specifically for
images, sounds and videos to manage
your files efficiently.
You can even carry other files like Word
documents, PDF files and other files
by transferring them the ‘other files’
folder. This can be very useful say if you
wish to carry your files from home to
your office.
This workshop is applicable to all
Symbian Series 60 based Nokia phones.
Nokia PC Suite may differ from phone
to phone but the basics as explained
here remain the same. ■
| Anand Tuliani
4
5 6
150 HANDS ON | TIPS & TRICKS

Tips&Tricks DECEMBER 2005

WINDOWS 151
1 Windows XP Displaying icons in Quick Launch Bar
2 Windows XP Disabling Scandisk
3 Windows XP Make the clock display date and day of the week
4 Windows XP Time in 24-hour format
5 Windows XP Save power easily

APPLICATIONS 152
6 IrfanView Cropping images
7 Winamp Visualization plug-in as a desktop overlay
8 Winamp Generating an HTML playlist
Umesh Dahiwalkar

INTERNET & COMMUNICATION 152

Tip of the month
9 Web Browser Enhancing the Opera experience
Shutting down your system during an 10 Email Client Tweaking ‘The Bat‘
application crash
11 Instant Messenger Hidden emoticons!
I have always found that when an application
12 Instant Messenger Disabling components in MSN Messenger
crashes in Windows XP and I give the shutdown
command, Windows XP always prompts for an
HARDWARE 155
input before shutting down. How can I shut down
13 Headphone Cable Extend the cord length of speakers
directly without approving the stopping of the
non-responsive application? 14 iPod Shuffle Update your iPod Shuffle
15 PC Microphone Reduce microphone sensitivity
By altering the registry slightly, Windows 16 Smart Phones Prevent smart phone crashes
XP can be set to close crashed applications
17 Mobile Phones Extend battery life
automatically. So when the user gives the
shutdown command during an application crash, 18 Optical Drive Making use of the headphone jack
the PC will shut down automically without 19 Modems Get rid of dialup noise
waiting for input from the user. 20 Installation Install hardware manually
To allow Windows XP to close non-responsive
21 Video Decrease hardware acceleration
applications automatically upon shutdown:
Go to Start>Run and type in REGEDIT and 22 Printer Print many pages in reverse order
navigate to ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
Panel\Desktop’
Highlight the value ‘AutoEndTaks’ and change
the value to ‘1’.
XP will now close all applications that have hung
without user input during the shutdown process.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005


Windows
1 | Windows XP
Displaying icons in Quick Launch Bar
I added a few shortcuts in the Quick
Launch Bar. But instead of showing the
icons, it shows a ‘>>’ continuation button
which needs to be clicked to bring up the
remainder icons. How do I extend the
Quick Launch Bar to display all the icons?
The Quick Launch Bar can display a
maximum of three icons by default. When
you add further shortcuts, a ‘>>’ button
is displayed which brings up the icons
when clicked. The Quick Launch Bar can be
extended in the following way.
Right click the taskbar and uncheck the
option ‘Lock the Taskbar’.
You’ll now notice that the toolbar can be
extended by dragging its border.
Drag the edge to extend the toolbar so
that it displays all the icons.
After you’re satisfied, right click the
taskbar and check the ‘Lock the Taskbar’
option. Done!
1
The Quick Launch Bar doesn’t extend
by default when you add shortcuts to it
2 | Windows XP
Disabling Scandisk
I would like to disable Scandisk when
Windows XP starts up. Is there a quick and
easy way out?
When Windows is not shut down
correctly, it will perform an AutoCheck
using CHKDSK on the next restart.
AutoCheck is executed after a short
time delay. AutoCheck can be
disabled or delayed by tweaking a few
Registry settings.
Run ‘Regedit’ from ‘Start Menu|Run...’
Go to ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE|SYSTE
M|CurrentControlSet|Control|Session
Manager’.
Create a new DWORD value, or
modify the existing value, called
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
“AutoChkTimeOut” and set it according
to the value data below.
Value Name: AutoChkTimeOut.
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value).
Value Data: Time in Seconds or 0 to disable
(default = 10).
Exit your registry, you may need to
restart or log out of Windows for the
change to take effect.
3 | Windows XP
Make the clock display date and day
of the week
How do I make the clock in the system
tray display date and day of the week in
addition to time?
By default, the clock in the system
tray displays only time. But if you want it
to display date and day of the week too,
follow these steps.
Right click the taskbar and uncheck the
option ‘Lock the Taskbar’ so that it can
be resized or moved around.
Bring the mouse pointer to the top edge
of the taskbar so that the mouse arrow
changes to a double-headed arrow.
Now click and drag the taskbar to extend
it upwards. Extending it once will make
the clock display the day of
the week.
Extending it further will make the clock
display the date. Also, in the case of a
bigger taskbar, you can have an uncluttered
one when too many Windows are opened
simultaneously.
3 Clicking and dragging the taskbar
upwards make the clock display the day
and extending it further shows the date
4 | Windows XP
Time in 24-hour format
How can I make the clock display time in
24 hours or military format?
The default time format in Windows
TIPS & TRICKS | HANDS ON 151
is a 12-hour format, which shows the time
followed by AM or PM. However, if you
want the 24-hour or military format, here
is a quick way
to do it.
Go to Control Panel and select ‘Regional
and Language Options’.
Click the ‘Customize...’ button and then
click the ‘Time’ tab in the dialog box.
Change the ‘Time format’ field to ‘HH:
mm:ss’. ‘HH’ displays the time in the 24-
hour format and ‘h’ displays time in the
12-hour format. You can further change
the time format by referring to the Time
format notation.
5 | Windows XP
Save power easily
When away from my computer, or during
times when I forget to switch it off, how
do I ensure saving of power?
The advanced power management
system in Windows XP offers some smart
and useful power-saving features. You can
automate Windows XP to switch off the
monitor if there is no activity for a long
time. Follow the steps to learn how you
can instruct Windows XP to power down if
there is no activity for a specific period.
Go to “Start | Control Panel |
Performance and Maintenance | Power
Options”.
Alternatively, right-click on the desktop,
click on “Properties” and then select the
“Screen Saver” tab. Click on the “Power”
button under the “Monitor power” section
at the bottom.
152 HANDS ON | TIPS & TRICKS
5 Time can be displayed in various
formats
Click on “Power Schemes” and go to
“Settings for Home/Office Desk power
scheme”. You can instruct the operating
system to turn your monitor off after a
specified period of inactivity. Select
the period of inactivity from the drop-
down list.
APPLICATIONS
6 | IrfanView
Cropping images
What’s the fastest way to crop an image?
By ‘fastest’ I mean cropping in a few
seconds!
The fastest way to crop an image
is using the ‘Crop selection’ function in
IrfanView. If you don’t have IrfanView
(image viewer), it can be downloaded for
free from www.irfanview.com.
To crop an image, open it in IrfanView.
Select the area you want to crop by
dragging a box around it and then press
Ctrl+Y to crop the selection.
It hardly takes a few seconds if you are
quick at using the mouse!
7 | Winamp
Visualization plug-in as a desktop
overlay
Nullsoft’s Advanced Visualization Studio
plug-in looks great both in windowed and
full screen mode. But it would be great if
there is a way to make it a desktop overlay.
Is it possible?
Advanced Visualization has around
100 great-looking presets, which are a
great treat to the eyes. Full screen and
windowed mode are most commonly used.
But you can also make it a desktop overlay
by changing a few settings in the ‘Winamp
AVS Editor’.
After executing the plug-in in windowed
mode, right click in the plug-in window
and select ‘AVS Editor’ to open ‘Winamp
AVS Editor’.
Select the ‘settings’ menu and choose
‘Display’.
From the options under the ‘Overlay
mode’, check ‘Overlay mode’ and ‘Set to
desktop color’.
7 The AVS editor can be used to control
the mode and quality of the plug-in
Close the ‘AVS Editor’ and return to
Winamp with the AVS plug-in active.
Now play a song and minimize all the
windows and watch the desktop. The
plug-in acts like a Windows wallpaper!
8 | Winamp
Generating an HTML playlist
Can I convert my Winamp playlist to HTML
format? Please tell me how to do it
By converting playlists to HTML
format, you can share your song list with
your friends. You can even catalog your
entire song collection by generating an
HTML playlist of all the songs on your
hard disk.
To generate an HTML playlist, first
generate a playlist of desired songs.
In the playlist window, click the ‘Misc’
button at the base of the window. Click
*’Misc opts’ and select ‘Generate HTML
playlist.
The HTML playlist will get displayed
instantly in the default browser showing
the number of tracks and the duration of
the playlist as well as each song in the list.
There’s also an option to save the playlist.
8 It’s possible to generate HTML playlists
in Winamp to share it with others
INTERNET AND COMMUNICATION
9 | Web Browser
Enhancing the Opera experience
I’ve always been a fan of the Opera
web browser. Are there any ways I can
supercharge my browsing experience using
keyboard shortcuts and undocumented
secrets in my favorite browser?
There are several functionality
enhancements to the new free Opera web
browser, which can supercharge your web
browsing experience. Let’s step through
the most useful of them:
Surfing full screen: For those of you
who use lower resolutions, you might want
to use the full screen functionality of Opera
to display as much of your web pages as
possible. Once you enter the full screen
mode by hitting F11, there are several
other keyboard shortcuts that you can use
to show and hide various aspects of the
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
154 HANDS ON | TIPS & TRICKS
screen and to navigate through your web
pages. To show or hide the menu bar, hit
Ctrl-F8. Pressing F4 will display the pane
and to display the scroll bar, hit Ctrl-F7.
When it comes to navigating in full screen
mode, use the Shift-Z and the Shift-X key
combinations for
moving backward
and forward
through your
pages respectively.
Another cool
capability is the
ability to recover a
window you might have accidentally closed
while in full screen mode—simply hit Ctrl-Z
and Opera will recover the web page you
mistakenly closed.
Spell checking in Opera: Even though
Opera does not come with a spell checker
of its own, you can install a free tool
like Aspell, which lends spell-checking
capabilities to your Opera mail. In fact,
it also works in other fields such as blog
or forum postings. All you need to do is
download the program from http://aspell.
net/win32. After installing, you’ll see the
‘Check spelling’ command in your emails.
Sensitivity for your mouse gestures:
As you might know, mouse gestures give
you the capability to control your browsing
experience by moving your mouse in
pre-defined motions. However, you might
find that the sensitivity is sometimes too
high (or low) for your liking. This would
especially be noticed if you are using a
laptop touchpad as your pointing device.
The good news is that this sensitivity
can be changed. You will need to edit
the ‘opera6.ini’ file in Opera’s program
directory. Under the [User Prefs] section
add the value “Gesture Threshold=10”
(without the quotes). The number in this
setting specifies the number of pixels
over which a mouse movement will be
recognized as a gesture. In this case, a
mouse gesture will be registered
if you move the mouse pointer greater
than 10 pixels.
Caching secure web pages: It’s usually
not possible to save secure web pages
to your hard disk for later viewing.
However, Opera can let you do that with
a little tweak.
You will need to open the ‘opera6.ini’
file found in Opera’s program directory.
Navigate to the [Disk Cache] section
and add the line “Cache HTTPS=1” to it.
That’s it—from now on you will be able
to save secure web pages along with your
conventional web sites! However, be aware
that this is a potential security risk as you
could wind up storing sensitive web-based
information on your hard disk. So use it
with caution.
10 | Email Client
Tweaking ‘The Bat’
I’ve been using ‘The Bat’ as my email client
for a long time. Are there any cool tips
that you can tell me about to extend the
functionality of this program?
There are several tweaks to ‘The Bat’
that can let you exert plenty of control over
the way it functions and unlock special
features in this email client. Let’s run
through some of them:
Printing page number in your emails:
This is an especially useful function if your
mails are lengthy and you need to keep
track of the page numbers in their printed
versions. Here’s how you do it:
Click on Message | Print setup from
the menu bar. Ensure that the ‘Print
page numbers’ is selected. You can now
also tweak the exact location and the
alignment of your page numbers with
regards to where you want them to appear
in your final printout. That’s it!
Display only selected messages:
You might have some contacts whose
messages are especially important, where
you would want to display only their
messages and hide all others. The Bat lets
you do this easily. Simply hold down the
ATL key while clicking on the name of the
sender in your folder listing in the ‘From’
column. You’ll
find messages
from only that
user displayed.
To return back
to the original
view with
all messages
displayed, go
to View | Display and select ‘All messages’
or simply hit the ‘+’ key while pressing the
‘Ctrl’ key. Voilà, your views are back
to normal!
11 | Instant Messenger
Hidden emoticons!
I frequently use emoticons in MSN
Messenger. Are there any hidden,
undocumented emoticons that you can tell
me about?
There are, in fact, a few hidden
emoticons in MSN Messenger. Type in the
following to try them out:
(ci): Cigarette
(%): Handcuffs
(xx): XBox
(yn): Fingers crossed
Go ahead and use them—your friends will
be surprised!
12 | Instant Messenger
Disabling components in
MSN Messenger
I don’t particularly like the advertisements
that appear in MSN Messenger and there
are several extraneous features that I’d like
to disable. Is there any way I can do this?
There are several hacks through
which you can disable components in MSN
Messenger or change the way it behaves
and looks. However, the better way to do
so is to install one of the MSN Messenger
patches. Since these patches are written
for specific versions of MSN Messenger,
make sure you are using the correct one for
your particular version.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

There is, for example, the Mess Patch,
which you can download from www.
mess.be. After installing this patch, you
will be able to install custom games in
Messenger, remove the ‘BETA’ tag, disable
nudges, enable multi-line nicknames and
remove several components such as the
MSN Search bar, the banner advertisement,
the MSN Today button, etc. Go ahead and
try it out—you’ll soon get used to the less
cluttered interface!
HARDWARE
13 | Headphone Cable
Extend the cable length of speakers
I like listening to music on the PC wearing
headphones. But since my headphone
cable is not long enough, it gets stretched
when I connect it to the PC. Is there a way
I can extend the cord length so that I can
wear my headphones comfortably, at least
up to three feet away from the PC?
You need to extend the length of the
stereo cable. To do this, go to any electrical
store and get a stereo audio extension
cable. It’s a stereo cable in which one end
has a 3.5 mm stereo pin and the other end,
a 3.5 mm jack.
Connect the cable to your soundcard
and your headphones to the cable’s 3.5
mm jack. A six-feet cable should give you
enough freedom.
This cable is very useful when your
cabinet is placed on the floor. You can
connect the cable to your soundcard and
leave the cable’s 3.5 mm jack on your
table for instant use with headphones
or speakers.
14 | iPod Shuffle
Update your iPod Shuffle
How do I update my iPod Shuffle
software?
If you need to update or restore
your iPod Shuffle software, there are two
ways to do it: Download and install the
latest iPod Update software, or restore
your software using the iPod Updater
application that came on your iPod CD.
Warning: The restore process cannot be
undone. All your songs and files will be
deleted. Always make a backup of your
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
TIPS & TRICKS | HANDS ON 155
important data.
To update or restore the iPod shuffle
with the latest software:
Download the latest iPod Update from
http://www.apple.com/ipod/download.
The update contains the latest software
for all models of iPod.
Double click the software install file
and follow the onscreen instructions to
install the iPod Shuffle Update.
Open the “iPod Updater”, click the
“Start” button, go to “All Programs”, and
then point to “iPod”. Click the name of
the most recent iPod Updater.
15 The slider should ideally be at 30 to 40
After the iPod Software Updater has percent
opened, connect the iPod Shuffle to your
computer. Lower the volume of the microphone
Follow the onscreen instructions to and check for background noise.
update or restore the iPod Shuffle Stop at a level where the background
software. noise fades out completely.
If the iPod Updater cannot detect the
iPod Shuffle connected to your computer, 16 | Smart Phones
turn the iPod Shuffle off and then on Preventing smart phone crashes
again. In case you want to restore the iPod How should I prevent crashes on my smart
Shuffle software but you don’t have an phone? What is the problem that leads to
Internet connection, use the iPod Updater such frequent crashes?
application that was installed on your
computer when you installed the software In case your smart phone or PDA
from the iPod CD. crashes or reboots after you launch
applications or after accessing some
15 | PC Microphone feature, the problem is most likely
Reduce microphone sensitivity associated with the software loaded on
What can I do to do away with the the phone. As with PCs, smartphones and
background noise when I am engaged in a PDAs also have operating systems, hence
conversation on the Internet? reboots and system crashes is evident
from time to time.
Many of us suffer from the issue The best way to detect and repair
of the microphone being too noisy these issues is to find out the application
and sensitive, which results in a lot of that is causing the problem. Detect the
disturbance during voice conversations on
the Internet.
The most common problem with
microphones is extreme sensitivity, which
makes them capture all the background
noise. Thus the recipient not only hears
your voice but also the background noise.
To eliminate background noise, simply
adjust the sensitivity of the microphone, as
detailed below.
Go to “Start | Control Panel | Sounds and
Audio Devices”.
Choose the Voice tab.
Under the “Voice Recording” option, click
on “Volume”.
156 HANDS ON | TIPS & TRICKS
exact action after which the operating
system crashes or reboots, and unload or
stop the application from loading in the
background. If this solves the issue, you
might need to check for the latest update
of the application or patches that might be
released to fix all known issues.
To detect issues with memory, try
to unload or uninstall some of the
applications. If the unit works fine after
this, the problem is most likely due to the
shortage of memory resources.
Try to upgrade the memory by using a
memory card; this will also provide more
storage space and help prevent crashes
and reboots.
17 | Mobile Phones
Extend battery life
I often come across a situation where the
battery is very low and I can’t charge the
phone because the charger isn’t around. I
want to know if it is possible to get some
extra battery life and make the phone last
a bit longer before it fails?
There are simple and effective
tweaks that reduce the load on the battery,
allowing you a little extra battery life to
make that important call without your
mobile shutting down.
For starters, you can conserve power
by turning off the screensaver and the
wallpaper. Secondly, you should ensure
that the vibration alert is off, as this uses a
lot of power. Set the ring tone to
basic beeps and avoid long, polyphonic
ring tones.
If you use some mapping service or
other applications supported by the
service provider, you can shut down the
applications as long as you don’t need
them. It pays to pare your phone down to
its bare minimum functions—of making
and receiving calls, and exchanging
text messages.
In case you want to create a specific
profile for the battery-conserving mode,
include all the above settings at one go
by saving the specific settings as a
custom profile.
Next time you feel that your battery
might run out, or you require some
extra mileage, simply apply the power
saving profile.
18 | Optical Drive
Making use of the headphone jack
How do I use the headphone jack in the
optical drive?
Almost every optical drive comes
with a headphone jack, but it’s seldom
used. In fact, many of us can’t use it even
if we wish to, because we fail to get any
output from the headphone jack. The
reason is that almost all optical drives
today can handle digital music directly,
instead of relying on the audio cable that
goes to the soundcard.
18 Disabling digital audio will activate the
headphone jack on CD-ROM
If you’re using Windows XP, chances are
that the digital music playback feature is
enabled by default. Optical drives can’t play
digital and analog music simultaneously,
so if you want analog output from the
headphone jack, you will have to disable
digital music and switch to analog audio.
To do this, just follow these instructions:
Go to “Start | My Computer | Properties |
Hardware | Device manager”.
Locate your optical drive under “DVD/
CD-ROM Drives” and double click on it.
Go to Properties and under the “Digital
CD Playback”, deselect the option
“Enable digital audio for this CD-ROM
Drive”
Restart your machine, and you should be
able to use the headphone jack with the
optical drive.
19 | Modems
Get rid of dialup noise
Every time I connect to the Internet, the
modem makes a lot of noise. What do I
need to do to get rid of this noise?
If you connect to the Internet via
a dialup connection and use an external
modem to do so, this tip will help you get
rid of the noise that the modem makes
while connecting to the Internet. Usually,
the default volume level of the modem
speaker is set to maximum. This causes
the modem to make loud sounds while
establishing and connecting with the
dialup server. You can disable or reduce the
sound by following these steps:
Go to “Start” and open “Control Panel”.
Click on “Network and Internet
Connections”.
On the left side of the page, click on the
“Phone and Modem” option and then on
the “Modems” tab.
Highlight your modem and click on the
“Properties” button.
Drag the Speaker volume to the level you
want.
Click on the “OK” button and close the
“Network and Internet Connections”
window.
20 | Installation
Install hardware manually
What do I do when the operating system
can’t identify the hardware?
Although new operating systems like
Windows XP comes with a comprehensive
driver management system, which detects
any new hardware as soon as it’s installed
and proceeds with the driver installation
immediately, there are times when the
hardware is not identified. In such cases,
you will need to manually install the drivers
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

and configure the new hardware. The “Add
Hardware” feature in the Control Panel is
specifically provided to handle the job of
adding new hardware manually. Here’s
how you can learn to use this feature.
Go to “Start | Control panel | Add
Hardware”.
Double click on the “Add hardware”
button to automatically launch the “Add
hardware wizard”.
Click on the “next” button to proceed
with the hardware installation.
The Wizard will first try and detect the
new hardware by itself; if it cannot find
any new hardware, it will first verify
whether you have already connected the
hardware to the computer. Select the first
option (“Yes, I have already connected the
hardware”) and click on “Next”.
The next screen will ask you to select the
hardware device that you are attempting
to install or update. From the given list,
select the connected hardware device
type and if the particular device is not
listed, click on the option “Add a new
hardware device” given as the last
option in the list of devices.
The next screen will give you an option
to either scan the computer for the
particular hardware device that you
specified or manually install the new
device type. Select the options “Install
the hardware that I manually select from
a list” and click on “Next”.
Now select the hardware type that you
are trying to install, and click on “Next”.
The wizard then provides you with
the list of manufacturers and model
numbers it has in the Windows XP driver
database.
Select the exact model number from
the manufacturer and click on “Next” to
install the drivers.
There might be a case where the wizard
does not have a particular device driver in
its database. In such cases, you will have to
download the drivers from the respective
web site and choose the “have disk” option
to install the downloaded drivers.
21 | Video
Decrease hardware acceleration
I have been facing problems while playing
games and even while surfing, etc. What
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
TIPS & TRICKS | HANDS ON 157
22 | Printer
Print many pages in reverse order
I have a lot of pages to print and I want to
save paper at the same time. Is it possible
to print on both sides of the sheet? Please
can you tell me if there’s a quick and easy
way to do this without much sweat?
First you will need to set the Printer
Options to print in reverse order.
Click on ‘File | Print in Word’. The ‘Print’
dialog box opens up.
20 Manually select the hardware that you Click on ‘Options’ and select the option
wish to install ‘Reverse print order’. Click ‘OK’.
could be the reason? Now you need to print all the odd pages
first and then the even. For this, click
Your problem seems to indicate that on the dropdown list ‘Print’ and select
your hardware is either not compatible ‘Odd Pages’ first. Click ‘OK’ and let the
or not configured properly. This is due to printing begin.
video acceleration problems, which tend The printout will have the last odd page
to affect activities like surfing and working number at the bottom. All you have to
with documents, one of the most common do is take these papers and flip them
being problems with scrolling and other over, such that the last odd number page
visual effects. However, there are many is on top now.
ways to detect and solve such problems. Keeping the head of this odd page
The first step is to decrease hardware facing you, place the bunch in the
acceleration, and disable other hardware- paper tray once again (not the manual
related features that might cause issues. feed tray). It is advisable to take a test
Follow these steps: printout with one page to confirm with
Go to “Start | Control panel | Display”. your printer, instead of wasting a whole
Go to the “Settings” tab and select set of papers.
“Advanced”. Now, fire a print once again (note that
Inside the “Advanced” menu select the the reverse order is still on), this time
“Troubleshooting” tab. choosing ‘Even Pages’. The printer takes
You can make changes to the hardware the last odd page and prints the last
acceleration settings by dragging the even page on it. This goes on and in
slider from “Full” to “None”. By default, the end you will have the first page on
the acceleration is set to “Full”. Depending top—no need to reshuffle. And it’s ready
on the severity of the problem, you can to be bound. ■
decrease the hardware acceleration
Just below the hardware acceleration
slider, you can see the “Enable write
combining” option. Write combining
improves video performance by
speeding up the display of information
to your screen. However, increased speed
can cause screen corruption, so if you
experience problems with your display,
clear the check box.
Once done with the changes, click on
“Apply” and restart the system to apply
the new settings.
Note: This tip primarily applies to
Windows XP Operating System
158
What’s in a Genre?
Action, adventure... there are genres galore. It’s easy to pick
the game once you know its genre
T
he wise men say that as industry develops,
its terminology soon overtakes its
technology. Well, that certainly seems to
be the case in gaming. A decade or so ago, there
were not too many games in the market
(in the Indian market, at least) and one
did not have to worry about genres
or acronyms like FPS, RPG and
RTS. Today, things are different.
The gaming industry is making
more money than Hollywood and
suddenly a game is more than just
busting evil or building a good city.
There are genres galore and more
categories are being created every day. Lovely locales with a puzzle lurking out there
Here’s a look at some. —an adventure game it must be!
The big ones: Major categories
Action: The name really says it all. The
action category comprises games that
for the most part, depend on the
gamer’s speed and reflexes. These are
generally games that revolve around
shooting, jumping and racing. The
accent is generally on timing things
perfectly. And there are enemies,
weapons, and regrettably, gore galore.
Examples: Half-Life, Painkiller, Doom,
Far Cry, Prince of Persia, Quake.
Sim City 4 is a classic example of a strategy Adventure: Nicknamed
game or a city building game for that matter “roamers” by many gamers,
games under this category
essentially involve moving around and discovering,
Unwind
and interpreting clues. There generally is more
than a decent element of mystery involved and
lots of puzzles to solve as well. Adventure games
are often based in spectacular worlds and serve
up great graphics and sound.
Examples: Myst, The Longest Journey, Escape
from Monkey Island.
Vishwanath Vanjire
Role playing games
Perhaps the most “intellectual’ of all gaming
genres, role playing games literally ask gamers
to define the character that they play. A classic
RPG will not just ask you to pick up weapons
and wage war against evil but will also demand
that you determine the skills you wish
to specialize in, and the kind of
person you wish to be. This is
generally done by allotting
points to different
attributes. The best RPGs
allow you to play the
game as good and bad
characters. Most RPGs
are based in medieval
worlds with magic spells
and
strange
creatures
to
go around. Conversations play a major role in
determining your progress in these games.
Examples: Diablo, Knights of the Old Republic,
Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale.
Simulations: Nicknamed “sims” (not to be
confused with the game of the same name), these
provide gamers with an opportunity to participate
in virtual versions of different activities. Most
games in this category involve sport and aircraft
flying. For instance, FIFA 2006 is a football
simulation while Flight Simulator is a flying sim.
These games are targeted at followers of sport
and other activities, and involve intense research
on the part of the developers to ensure the game
recreates the real experience as closely as
possible.
Examples: FIFA football series, the
Tony Hawk series, Microsoft’s Flight
Simulator.
Strategy: These are ones for
those with a managerial
bent of mind. The games
inevitably revolve around
utilising resources in the
best possible manner to
achieve an objective such
as raising an army to conquer
the enemy. Most of the time
Want to play God and cre
your own world? Try play

Monsters running at you as
you scramble for your weapon? That’s
an action game all right. Doom 3 in this case
these games revolve around building
kingdoms or outmaneuvering the enemy.
Many gamers tend to describe these games
as “spreadsheets with graphics” because
your success depends on how you utilise the
information and assets that you possess.
Examples: Age of Empires, The Sims,
Civilization, Caesar, Sim City, Warcraft,
Shogun: The Art of War.
Genres by perspective
A few other classifications
such as the ones below are
based quite literally on how
you see the game:
First person shooters: These
games allow you to see the
environment through the eyes
of the character you play—in first Fancy goggles that let you see in the night are
a staple feature of most stealth-based games
person perspective, so to speak.
As most games in this category
involve a great deal of shooting, the term
“shooter” has been added to “first person”
to come up with the most popular gaming
genre in the world today. If the game
involves your looking down the barrel of
your own weapon, it’s an FPS.
Top down: These days, almost every
game worth its salt comes in
glorious 3D, allowing you to
revolve the “camera” to view
the game from virtually any
perspective. However, prior to
2000, most games were two-
dimensional and presented
gamers with a view from
the top—so the name, “top
down”. Be it the Age of Empires
or Warcraft, most games
d and create
Try playing The Sims!
have at some stage belonged to the “top
down” category.
And still more genres!
Let’s round off matters by casting a glance
at some genres that are well-known even
though they are in most cases covered by
the ones mentioned earlier:
Real time strategy: If “shooter” is
irretrievably linked to first person, then
“strategy” has of late become linked with
“real time”. The RTS genre covers those
games which allow you to go on playing
without having to wait for your opponent
(in most cases, the computer) to make a
move. Most strategy games such as Age of
Empires and Sim City come under this genre.
Turn based: Called “action and reaction
games”, turn-based games are like chess.
You make a move and then
wait for your opponent’s
move before
proceeding. So when
you cast a spell at
your enemy, you
can’t cast another
until the enemy
has had a go at
something—either
chucking a spell back at you or simply
running away. This genre is slowly fading
away, notwithstanding the success of Sid
Mieir’s Civilization series.
Stealth: The popularity of Thief and Splinter
Cell has led to a surge in games where the
objective is to avoid rather than slaughter
the enemy. And even if you do come across
some opposition, it’s preferable to render it
unconscious rather than kill it. High quality
sound and lighting effects are the hallmarks
of these games in the stealth genre. After
all, they are mostly about lurking in the
shadows without making a sound.
God playing: This genre has evolved
almost entirely due to the overwhelming
popularity of The Sims series. God playing
FEATURE | UNWIND 159
games allow you to build living creatures
and then take decisions that affect their
lives. Black and White and Singles are other
games that can be slotted in this category.
City building: If the game involves
construction and maintenance, slot it into
this genre. Prominent members include Sim
City, Caesar and Pharaoh.
EA’s FIFA football series is a great example
of simulation
Squad based: A number of games such as
Rainbow Six and Rainbow Spear involve the
gamer undertaking a mission along with a
number of “virtual’ colleagues. These games
called squad-based games although action-
oriented, involve teamwork and planning.
Do genres matter?
The list above is by no means comprehensive.
Die-hard gamers will point out that it
contains no reference to management
games, horror games and adult-themed
games, not to mention hand-to-hand
combat games. However, it’s good enough
to keep you up to speed. Ironically, even as
new gaming genres continue to emerge,
PC games seem to be moving away from
the restrictions of genres. In fact, the best
games contain components from different
genres. For instance, the Tomb Raider series
contains elements of action and adventure.
Still, it makes sense to know gaming
genres. It gives you a better understanding
of the gaming industry. And note the
respect you are given when you say you
need some RPGs the next time you go to
your local gaming store! ■
| Nimish Dubey
One of the most anticipated first person shooter games of 2005 is here.
You have been through the promos and videos which created a lot of
hype and suspense around the game. Now it’s time for the real thing!
ll those who played the F.E.A.R. demo already know
what the game engine is capable of. It was one of the
A most slick and intensive demos released this year,
which not only gave a sneak peek into the game but also
into the kind of hardware needed to play it. F.E.A.R. is a scary
FPS. The dark environments, weird sounds of babies crying in
the background and random sightings of a little girl running
around in a pool of blood give you the creeps. But soon you
begin to get so comfortable with them that you almost tend
to ignore the ghosts. You have more important things to worry
about, like the clones that can’t wait to put a bullet though
your head. Being a member of F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault
Recon), a US government task force established in 2002, your
mission is to find and neutralize Paxton Fetal, a destructive
commando controlling an army of clones.
The plot is very generic and you face waves of soldiers
stopping you from completing your mission. As far as the
plot and gameplay go, F.E.A.R. is just another FPS with a
very clichéd storyline. But what strikes the game apart
from the others is its outstanding game engine, best of the
class special effects, engaging combat and nifty AI. The
particle effects combined with extensive bump mapping
and heavy shader usage easily makes F.E.A.R. one of the
best looking FPS games of the year. The combat is very
intensive with bullets whizzing around, and the damage on
the walls though exaggerated, adds to the intensity. Use of
 soft shadows, volumetric lighting and slow motion effects
together make the game one of the most visually appealing
games of the year. The “slowmo” mode is greatly inspired by
the Matrix movie series and looks as spectacular as it did in
the movie. It’s also a key element of the game, giving you the
extra time to take down the enemy with precise head shots!
Game physics are also well implemented, the weapon drag
and ragdoll physics are realistic and not too exaggerated. A
shot in the arm or leg will never get the enemy down—they
will limp thier way to safety and fight back immediately.
The overall A.I. is pretty tight, the clones will seldom come
charging at you, they will regroup, strategize and creep on
you very skillfully. The only real hole in the AI is exposed
when you realize that the communication amongst the
clones is loud enought to expose their tactics, allowing you
to escape the grenades and sudden ambush attacks. The
environments are mostly enclosed and most of the gameplay
Pramod Jadhav
takes place inside factories, buildings and research facilities.
After a while the close quarter combat in a very similar
environment becomes monotonous. The game lacks variety
in terms of environments and gameplay and that keeps it at
a fair distance from FPS gods like Half-Life 2.
Publisher: Vivendi Universal Games Developer: Monolith Productions
GB RAM, 128 MB DirectX 9.0 compliant video card with hardware T&L and pixel shader support, 3 GB free hard drive space for installation, 16-bit DirectX
9.0 compliant soundcard, broadband connection for multiplayer games
A scary game heavily relies on sound and FEAR scores very
well at it. The chilling ambient sound in the background
with ghostly voices add to the atmosphere. The game
emphasizes on details—the texturing on the walls, weapons,
models and sound are all handled with a lot of attention.
Bad news for gamers with strapped budgets—this game is a
complete system hog, the updates do help to resolve some
performance issues but still the game is very demanding on
your system. If you want to play the game with all the eye
candy notched up to max with 4X AA and 16X AF, you will
need the very latest hardware to play it.
All in all, if you are an FPS gamer, F.E.A.R. is highly
recommended. For the rest it’s well worth trying as long as
your machines can handle it. ■
| Soham Raninga
RATINGS 8/10
For: Excellent effects, engaging combat, tight AI
Against: Lacks variety, Resource hungry
System: Windows 2000/XP, DirectX 9.0c, Pentium 4 1.7 GHz equivalent, 1
 Simple game play, amazing ambience, and an addictive gaming
experience—that’s Dungeon Siege 2 for you
T
he original Dungeon Siege was a game
marked by stunning graphics, easy game
play and dollops of action. It represented
an ambitious attempt to marry the simple,
action-oriented gameplay of the Diablo series
to the party-based combat approach of role-
playing game (RPG) classics like Baldur’s Gate
and Icewind Dale. The debate is still on as to
whether it succeeded. The game’s supporters
wax eloquent about its visual beauty and
effortless gameplay, while its detractors sneered
at its wafer-thin plot and the lack of control over
character development (the essence of an RPG).
Some of the criticism must have struck a
chord with the game’s developers because
Dungeon Siege 2 seems to make a conscious
effort to address some of these shortcomings. It
also adds a few new touches as it takes gamers
back to the mythical land of Aranna, which
(surprise, surprise!) has been threatened by the
revival of an ancient evil.
Of course, before you can get on with kicking
some evil butt, you need to install the game.
And therein lies one of your sterner tests. In
keeping with the latest fashion of spreading
games across as many CD-ROMs as possible,
Dungeon Siege 2 comes on four CDs. Installation,
therefore, is a trifle tedious—you can nip out and
have a cup of tea while waiting for the game to
install. On the brighter side, the game will run on
most PCs, even those without graphics cards.
The game, like its predecessor, is an action-
packed romp through spectacular locales. You
play the role of a mercenary (choose from
Vishwanath Vanjire
four species, two genders, and a variety of
appearances and apparel) fighting for Prince
Valdis. Although you succeed in your initial
mission, you are betrayed and one of your close
friend is murdered. You wake up in prison and
have to not only fight your way to freedom, but
also avenge your friend’s death. And while you
are at it, there’s also the little matter of tackling
the ancient evil. Predictably, this involves all
sorts of travel and endless battles with hordes of
enemies.
It’s the presentation of this rather routine
story that takes your breath away. The
waterfalls, the forests, the underground
tunnels, and even the dungeons are sketched
out in exquisite detail. The voice acting is pretty
good, the music brilliant, and the sound quality
—from the creaking of machinery to the clash of
weapons—is excellent.
Beneath the style lies a fair bit of substance—
you have more control over the development of
your characters and can allot points to different
skills, which are linked in a skill structure that
bears more than a passing resemblance to Diablo
2. There are more conversations, and you can
interact with a number of characters as you go
about your missions. You can also now take pets
along on your adventures. Maintaining them is
easy—you feed those weapons and as they grow
up, they more than hold their own in battle.
There are a few new weapons and spells and
you can also add a new dimension to
weapons by enchanting them (again,
shades of Diablo 2). The game has
three difficulty levels, with
the more difficult ones
becoming available only
after you complete the
preceding level.
Game play remains as
simple as ever, although
you now need to right click
(rather than left click) on
the enemy to attack. The
game is party-based so you
will have to keep an eye not
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

The make-up room! You can tweak your
hero’s appearance, gender and species,
amongst other things
just on yourself but on your followers as
well. And yes, you can still get pack mules
to carry your booty, which happens to be
plentiful. So plentiful that you will seldom
need to buy any weapons, spells or armor
from shops during your travels.
With all this, you would think Dungeon
Siege 2 is an RPG classic. Unfortunately,
it’s undone by its shortcomings. The game
saving system is appalling. You can save
only one game per character created.
What’s more, if you save and exit the
game, you cannot restart it from where
you left off. Instead, you will be plonked
at a certain location near the beginning
of the mission and will have to make your
way to where you had saved the game. A
small mercy is that the baddies you had
massacred previously will not
have respawned.
And while the addition of
conversations is welcome, they
seldom contribute to the plot.
Unlike Neverwinter Nights and
Knights of the Old Republic
where your responses actually
help form your character and
can even twist the tale around,
any chit-chat in Dungeon Siege
2 is unlikely to affect what
you do (which, in most cases, is
go out and fight). The battles
themselves are basically point
and click exercises against
numerous but weak enemies.
Price: 1,999 Publisher : Microsoft Game Studios
System: Windows XP SP 1 or newer, 1.0 GHz equivalent or higher processor, 256 MB of system RAM, 4 GB available hard disk space, Quad speed or faster CD-ROM drive,
ATI Radeon series 7000 or better/NvidiaGeforce series/Intel Extreme Graphics 82845, 82865, 82915
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
FEATURE
REVIEW | UNWIND 163
The game looks absolutely gorgeous You have greater control over your
except for some rather shabby cut characters and can allot points to
scenes! different skills and spells
ambience and simple gameplay that you
won’t notice the hours tick away. So it is a
pity that a daft pricing policy has ensured
that the game will be accessible only to
those with deep pockets.
At Rs 1,999, Dungeon Siege 2 is priced
way above other popular games like Half-
Life 2, Sims 2 or Far Cry. And that might
just keep it off most shopping lists this
Christmas. ■
With details of enemies, details of your | Nimish Dubey
party, a map, items, potions and notices
about entries in your journal, the screen
seems a tad cluttered at times
Screens often get crowded with way too
much information (details of your party,
information about the enemy, a map,
potions, etc), hampering your progress,
especially in the heat of battle. And while
most of the game is utterly gorgeous,
some of the cut scenes are of remarkably
poor quality—a far cry from the stunning
cinematics served up by Diablo 2.
But in spite of all this, Dungeon
Siege 2 remains an extremely addictive
experience. Once you start playing it,
you are likely to be so mesmerized by its
RATINGS 6.5 / 10
For: Terrific graphics, great sound, simple
game play, greater character control
than in the original, reasonable system
requirements.
Against: Grossly overpriced, poor game
saving system, weak enemies.
Developer: Gas Powered Games Phone: 9899457751 E-mail: v-ruchga@microsoft.com
If you haven’t taken a crack at the next
version of ID Software’s masterpiece,
you’re missing some serious FPS lovin’!
Top: The sheer detail in the
game’s character modeling
is stunning
Middle: You’ll encounter a
horde of mutant monsters
with pretty things like
cybernetically implanted
weapons. Sweet!
Bottom: The Strogg boasts
slick character animation—
if you’re willing to sacrifice
yourself, you can stand
around and ogle at them!
Pramod Jadhav
W
hen dealing with a game that has
transgressed cult status to something
much larger, it’s difficult to know
what to expect in a subsequent version. As I was
installing Quake 4, I recounted the countless
blissful, yet adrenalin charged hours I spent on
the original Quake II and Quake III Arena. Quake
4 is a continuation of the story that made Quake
II famous (you can’t really count Quake III as this
was purely a multiplayer game that had no single
player storyline to talk of). However, these games
forever redefined the First Person Shooter genre
and continually pushed the envelope of graphical
excellence in computer gaming. With the kind of
legacy it left behind, Quake 4 would need to have
some pretty interesting offerings under its belt
if it were to impress me. And I’m betting this is
exactly the same feeling shared by the millions
of Quake fans around the world. With the game
finally installed, I launched it and held my breath.
As I started out with the single player game, I
was apprehensive as to how well this would stack
up to the rest of the formidable competition from
the likes of F.E.A.R., Call of Duty 2 and, of course,
Half-Life 2. I’m happy to say that Quake 4 was
not disappointing.
Powered by and upgraded version of the
visually splendid (albeit dark and foreboding)
Doom 3 engine, Quake 4 looks fantastic. Starting
with the environments, each is richly detailed and
is replete with realistic bump maps, hundreds of
moving elements, particle effects like steam and
fire and shiny metallic and synthetic surfaces.
Although Doom 3 was a tad monotonous with
its claustrophobic metallic corridors, Quake 4
does have a fair number of outdoor maps, roomy
indoors along with its own cramped metallic
corridors! Then there are the monsters. Since you
play the part of the protagonist Matthew Kane
and are conveniently thrust into the midst of the
most dangerous missions on the alien Strogg
planet, you are bound to come across a happy
variety of mutant life forms, none of whom are
very friendly. If you’ve played Doom 3, you’ll
see a resemblance in these monsters with their
ultra-detailed anatomy, fluid motion and each
with their own growls, moves, strengths and
vulnerabilities. They do exhibit a certain amount
of AI when you see some of them going through
with what looks like a little scripted jig as they
advance toward you while dodging your attacks.
But these are minor, forgivable shortcomings.
They exhibit excellent rag doll physics and this
is evident in the way they react to being blasted
with a shot gun at point blank range or while
falling down a metallic staircase. Visual ecstacy!
Talking about blasting, we come to one of the
highest points in the game—the weaponry. If
you’re the kind that fired the Quake II nailgun at
walls and got a high purely on the sound effects
and the sheer power trip it gave you, be prepared
to re-live the splendor all over again. The weapon
implementation in Quake 4 is awesome. Each gun
sounds meaty and powerful and has just the right
amount of recoil and response to make it look like
you’ve actually used them! You’ll see all of the
old favorites like the Hyperblaster, the shotgun,
machine gun, nail gun, grenade launcher, rocket
launcher, rail gun and the lightning gun. You
obviously don’t get them all at the outset—you
pick them up (or are handed them) along the
way. Another interesting inclusion is the ability to
upgrade each of these weapons as you progress
through the game. A nice touch which definitely
adds to the power trip!
As you progress through the single player
game, you are required to meet with a range
of marines from different squads where you
are given instructions and missions ranging
from escorting medics to injured squad-mates
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

all the way to disabling alien weapon
installations. This requires you to often
fight along with other AI squad members
on missions. However, there are also
several stretches within the game where
you are pretty much on your own while
trudging through an array and dark and
inhospitable spaces. There is a generous
amount of talking during the game with
your squad members and leaders giving
you missions and hints on achieving
them. We are told that these voice-overs
are actually performed by legitimate
Hollywood actors. We didn’t recognize
any though!
Quake 4 has also added the ability to
take charge of a range of vehicles and
larger weapons, lending a bit of arcade
game play—very appealing if you’re so
inclined. The game is also sprinkled with
a generous amount of scripted cut scenes
and mild shock sequences (you see a dead
body being dragged around a corner by
something, just as you enter a room), all
of which definitely add to the overall thrill.
Also be warned that there is plenty of
blood, gore and human entrails
splattered throughout the game—so
unless you’re a specialist in anatomy or are
tough enough to stomach it, be prepared
for the bloodbath.
There’s a very interesting sequence
midway through the game where you
get captured by the Strogg forces and are
‘Stroggified’, meaning that you become
part Strogg and part human—a cyborg
of sorts. But seeing as you now have
heightened reflexes and strength along
with the cool capabilities like the ability
to read alien script, this is not really a bad
thing. And you always thought the Strogg
were bad!
With a surprisingly good mix of
weapon implementation, game play,
maps, interactivity and variation, the
single player mode of Quake 4 comes
together well. Perhaps the maps and
environments are not as diverse as
what you would find in Half-Life 2, but
it does hold out well with the nostalgic,
Price: 1,299 Publisher : Activision Distributor: Placebo CD-ROM Club
System: English version of Windows 2000/XP, Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or Athlon XP 2000+ Processor, 512 MB RAM, 8x speed CD-ROM drive, 2.8 GB uncompressed hard-drive
space, 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card, 3D Hardware Accelerator Card with 64 MB video memory compatible with DirectX 9.0c
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
REVIEW | UNWIND 165
yet upgraded weapon implementation
and the stunning power of the Doom 3
engine. But then, it also has multiplayer
gaming. This is the component that made
Quake III Arena the success it was, with
its fast-paced network gaming. Quake
4 does a pretty good job of this. There
are several multiplayer maps, including
remakes of classics like ‘The Longest Yard”
(Q3DM17) from Quake III and “The Edge”
(Q2DM1) from Quake II, along with a host
of engaging deathmatch and CTF maps.
However, since this version of Quake is
way more demanding than its predecessor
on system resources, you’ll need some
pretty serious system firepower to run a
multiplayer Quake 4 match at playable
frame rates with all the graphical bells
and whistles enabled. However, armed
with the right hardware, the mutiplayer
game play captures all the flavor of the
original Quake III Arena. The only problem
is that it doesn’t do much more than that.
While we were expecting evolved modes
of game play with greater multiplayer
variation, we were disappointed to see that
the developers cloned the exact Quake III
Arena experience and clothed it with their
new graphical engine.
All said and done, Quake 4 delivers on
the gaming and graphical front. The single
player is engaging and will have you glued
to your seat with its attention to graphical
detail, awesome sound effects and the
craftily scripted and environmentally varied
storyline. While the multiplayer gaming is
not a quantum leap from its predecessor,
it does provide adrenalin-inducing LAN
gaming, provided you have the computing
power to allow Quake 4’s graphics engine to
stretch its legs to its full visual splendor. ■
| Marco D’Souza
RATINGS 7.5 / 10
For: Drool-inspiring graphics engine,
engaging single player mode, excellent
weapon implementation, varied
environments
Besides the mandatory dank corridors,
Against: No significant enhancements in there are plenty of outdoor battle
multiplayer gaming, heavy on the system scenarios as well
Developer: Raven Software Fax: 022-56237766 E-mail: placeboclub@rediffmail.com
 Are you ready to be a ruler?

A
fter almost six years, the Age of Empires is back
in full glory with a major face lift. Unlike the Age
of Empires 2, which featured a sunny, colorful
and a lifelike world rendered by a 2D graphics engine, the
Age of Empires 3 features a more lifelike world rendered by
a cutting-edge 3D graphics engine to please your eyes.
It doesn’t redefine real-time strategy gameplay, but
there are plenty of new elements and strategic
variations to make it even more
challenging and interesting.

Eye candy galore!

The Age of Empires 3 utilizes Pixel Shader 3.0 to
render soft shadows, HDR lighting, bloom and
real time shadows so that you dont hunger for
eye candy.
Ensemble Studios has taken great pains
to craft this beautiful game which is truly a
piece of art coupled with the best technology.
Foot prints of warriors, reflection of mighty
warships in sparkling water, bright flame
of fire, bright skies, dense forests—not a
single detail is missing. The music is equally
impressive. Done in full orchestra, it clearly
highlights the beauty of the landscapes and
fury of the warriors.
Blast an enemy structure with a canon ball
Pramod Jadhav

and you’ll see pieces of it flying in macabre arcs

along with plenty of smoke and fire. All this is
possible because of real physics built into the
game engine.

INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

 REVIEW | UNWIND 167

Ships shatter into pieces when they’re Units get into a formation while It’s great fun watching warriors fighting
attacked by firing canons attacking buildings in the battlefield

Game play
Like any other RTS game, the primary objective is to
devastate your opponent. You start with a Town Center
and a few Settlers who gather resources (food, wood
and gold). You have to cleverly use resources to
expand your empire by building barracks,
docks, artillery foundry, marketplace,
trading posts, guard towers, etc. Building
these structures gives you facilities to
train infantry, cavalry, artillery and fleets
of ships which then have to be cleverly
micro-managed and instructed to devastate
your opponent’s empire. In comparison to
AOE II, swordsmen and trebuchets are replaced
by musketeers and canons. Also added are ships
which can train infantry. This makes it easy to train
units across the ocean in addition to transporting them.
Infantry can now be trained in groups of five rather than
training one unit at a time as in Age II. Since AOE III simulates
colonization, you can request shipments from your Home City for your town. You gain shipments
by earning experience by collecting resources and killing units. Finally, apart from the real-
time play, a “Home City” representing world power can be created, which supplies your
colony. As you gain experience you can customize it by upgrading structures, adding people
and choosing new abilities. There’s a good variety of missions in the single-player campaign
mode with difficulty settings for each mission. In the skirmish mode, you can customize maps
and battle it out against the computer. The Multiplayer mode allows you to fight against human opponents
on a network. You can chat with other players, send instant messages and form or join a clan.

Finally...
AOE III does seem surprisingly rough around the edges in some respects. It’s quite frustrating when the effects
go off for a few seconds while you’re in the middle of a battle. However, the version 1.01 patch fixes this bug. Also
when you charge your units into a combat, you’ll have to micro-manage healers so that they don’t join in. However,
these minor glitches don’t affect the core game. If you have never played a real-time strategy game, this is the place to
start. And if you are a fan of the genre, don’t miss this awesome game. With highly addictive game play and levels lasting
for a few minutes to a few days, you will surely be busy with it for months together. ■
| Anand Tuliani

Price: Rs 999 Publisher: EA Games Distributor: Gamemasti Phone: (022) 23881443 E-mail: sales@gamemasti.com System: Windows
XP/ 2000/Me/98, The SIMS 2, CPU: 1 GHz or more, 256 MB RAM, DirectX 9 compatible video card, soundcard, HDD with 1.5 GB space

DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

 It’s every football fan’s dream to have a say in the running of his
favorite football club. EA FIFA Manager 06 lets us live that dream
F
ootball fans have one thing in common—
they all think they know better! Better than
the manager, the coach, the club director.
Therefore, it isn’t hard to rationalize the success of
games like Championship Manager and Total Club
Manager. In keeping with tradition, EA has come
up with the new annual avatar of the Total Club
Manager series—rechristened FIFA Manager 06.
This time, though, along with the name change
is a streamlined interface and a whole new 3D
match engine.
Sports strategy games are difficult to slot into
the usual genres as they usually require a canny
understanding of the ins and outs of the sport
concerned. Which makes FIFA Manager 06 not a
gamer’s game, but a football lover’s game.
Playing the job market
The game comes on three CDs and
once you sit through the installation
process, you can get under
way immediately, which
is, depending on your
inclinations, to take your
club to greater glory or lead
the way to rack and ruin. Oh, and
it might be a good idea to keep your
coat ready—for you may be
sacked if you fail to live up
to the expectations of
the board, the fans or the
press!
This is a good time to
remember that football
management is not just
about winning cups and
competitions. Sometimes
the most difficult job is just to
avoid relegation.
Vishwanath Vanjire
The game offers four basic
modes of play. In Club Manager, you can choose
your club and get stuck into it right away. Similarly
for Club and Country Manager, where you have to
juggle the two jobs. In both these you may play
with sacking on or off, depending on how much
pressure you can handle.
The other two options are slightly more
challenging. In Play Career, you will be made three
random offers from clubs. You may accept, reject
or negotiate. But don’t hang around waiting for
Manchester United to offer you a contract. It’s
more likely to be some club you never even knew
existed, and your job will probably be avoiding the
relegation run-around. If negotiations fail, you start
the season jobless till more offers come along.
The final option is to Found a Club and start off
in the lowest league of the country of your choice.
Before you start playing, you need to select the
countries and leagues that will remain playable in
your game. Then enter your personal details. Call
yourself Arsene Wenger if you wish, or Sven Goran
Eriksson, or even J K Rowling! In fact, you could add
a custom portrait to make it more authentic.
Finally, you will need to fine-tune your detailed
job profile—decide on footballing or administrative
tasks that you will perform. These can also be
tinkered with later in the game, so don’t worry too
much. Now, with the main formalities over, it’s
time to choose your club or haggle with the board.
Let the bootroom battles begin!
You are welcomed to your new job via what is
called the Home Page, where various people
communicate with you through email. A new
addition is the Football World in-game web site,
which provides you with the latest happenings in
your league and the rest of the fooballing world.
The various aspects of your job are accessible
through tabs on top of the screen: Team, Club,
Marketing/PR and Facilities.
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005

All communications to you are directed
via email in the News Center section of
the home page. Keep a close eye on this!
FIFA Manager is not just about selecting
line-ups and deciding tactics. It is about
managing a football club in its entirety.
It seems exciting at first to have a say
in everything—from overlooking youth
development, to stadium building,
merchandising, designing the team kits,
advertising and ad boards, to setting
training schedules... and much, much more.
But as the season progresses—heck, as the
week progresses—it gets a bit much and
you might have to delegate. You feel here
that a tutorial would have helped, especially
given the rather spartan manual.
If you want, you need not have a single
thing to directly do with a football match,
and treat FIFA Manager like a business
simulation. Hand over all matters related to
footballing to your backroom staff—from
dealing with players right from scouting
juniors to selecting the first playing
eleven, to deciding tactics during games,
and negotiating transfers and contracts.
Meanwhile, you may choose to look after
only the financial aspects—pore over
balance sheets, decide budgets and so on.
Day by day, you, as manager, are
expected to keep an overall eye on things.
A Proceed button on the top right of the
screen tells the game to get a move on. Your
players are taken through their training
schedules, and life generally goes on in the
footballing universe.
Any time during the week—when there
isn’t a match on—you may pause or stop
the progress to change the way things are
being run (or to put a spanner in the works,
depending upon your grand plan). Early in
Price: 1,999 Publisher : Electronic Arts
98SE/2000/ME/XP, 1Ghz processor, 256 MB RAM, 1.5 GB HDD, 8x optical drive, 32 MB video card.
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
Control freak or laid-back delegator? You
decide and palm off whatever you can’t
handle to your backroom staff
the season is a good time to keep an eye on
the transfer market.
You have nothing to do with the actual
playing of football—unless you have done
something daft to unsettle the players so
they play really badly, or are playing a totally
loony formation (fancy John Terry as your
main striker?). You can only make sure your
players are ready and your tactics are sound.
There are three options when it comes
to matches. Instant results where the
computer calculates the result and gives
you an update at halftime, leaving you with
a choice to make substitutions, change
tactics, etc. Text mode is decidedly more
involved, and you can yell instructions
form the sidelines and make a sub any time
you like. Nope, no Stuart Pearce-like antics
are allowed (more’s the pity!), nor have I
come across an option to hurl a shoe! But
I did get a chance to tell my players after
a particularly bad first half: “Shall I go and
have a kickabout myself while you lot do
your hair?”
Finally comes the 3D match engine.
While it looks good, it adds little to a game
of this sort. Not only does it drive the
system requirements sky high, it seems to
be a cheap tactic by EA to palm off its FIFA
Football action footage.
The My Career option at the bottom of
the screen accesses your personal options,
RATINGS 7.5 / 10
For: Gives a complete picture of how a
football club is run; amazing scope
Against: Annoying music, frequent
crashes; 3D match is resource-heavy
Distributor: Gayatri Impex Pvt Ltd Phone: (022) 23881443
REVIEW | UNWIND 169
If the figures and balance sheets get
you excited, take on the financial
management of the club
from where you can talk to the board for
a contract extension or invoke the release
clause, etc. There is also a personal trophy
room, but you will need to clock many hours
of game play before it sheds its
bare look.
Glitches
The most annoying aspect of the game is
the loud music that comes packaged with
it. Fortunately, you can turn it off or replace
it with your own MP3s—though why one
would want music while managing a
football club is beyond me.
Another problem is the frequent crashes
the game has (especially while running the
3D match). It did so randomly on a 512 MB
machine and even on a 1 GB machine with
a 128 MB graphics card, so clearly it has
nothing to do with system requirements!
This makes the default three-week autosave
period too long. You either need to change
that or manually save often, lest you find
your hard-fought Cup comeback has been
lost and you have to do it all over again!
All said and done, the scope of in
Football Manager 06 is mindblowing. While
the Championship Manager series seem to
rule the football management genre, they
are yet to be visible in this part of the world.
Hence, there is scant competition, making
this one a winner.
Overall, this is a football lover’s paradise.
This is our chance to prove ourselves
better than the Arsene Wengers and Alex
Fergusons of the world. And if it gets too
much, you can always click on Retire! ■
| Payal Dhar
E-mail: gamemasti@vsnl.net System: Windows
170 UNWIND | FEATURE

Online malls
Shopping on the Net is fun these days with a mélange
of stores and products

W
e Indians as a race use the touch and feel approach when it comes to shopping. Try convincing
your sister to do her wedding shopping on the Net. She will blow her lid if you ask her to wear
something that was bought without taking an actual look at it. In spite of that approach, online
shopping has really taken off in India. Doing a shootout of this kind was difficult. So I chose the most popular
and the niche sites. I’ve put them in two categories—the superstores and the specialty stores. Let’s take a look.

SUPERSTORES
www.shopping.indiatimes.com
www.sifymall.com
www.shopping.rediff.com
First up are the superstores—shopping
sites of large portals that also do news, movie
listings, weather and sports. They sell everything right from
nose hair trimmers to lawn mowers. You will not have any
problem finding your gift here no matter how bizarre it is. I
am clubbing them together as they have similar web pages.
All the three have the same look and feel with a column on
the left that lists all the stores. You have got apparel, books,
electronics, jewelry, toys, music, DVDs, the works. The
middle of the page has the colorful boxes with taglines like
“four-megapixel branded camcorder for Rs 1,417”. On the
right is a column with special stores like Nike and Ray Ban.
Prices are usually decent to downright ridiculous. And by
ridiculous, I mean ridiculously low. And you wonder if they
are showing you something and will ship you something
else. If you are a regular to the Planet M at your nearest mall,
do take a look at its electronic counterpart on Indiatimes
(www.planetm.co.in). Archie’s Online (www.archiesonline.
com) is also an Indiatimes partner store. No winner among
the three here—each one is as good as the other.
www.fabmall.com
Yet another superstore but with limited stores, Fabmall’s
popularity has waned over the years. It’s not quite as
exhaustive as its big cousins, but what it lacks in quantity,
it makes it up in quality. Check out the leather and
handicrafts stores for some really cool deals.
www.myvalueshop.com
For incredible deals, log on to My Value Shop. The biggest
drawback is that it’s only available for HDFC Bank Net
Banking customers. But for the prices they have, it’s worth
opening an account with HDFC Bank. Its USP: prices.
SPECIALTY STORES
www.firstandsecond.com
If you are the literary kind and love to read and
gift books, then Firstandsecond is the site for you.
India’s answer to the original Amazon, F&S says,
“If it’s in print, it’s with us”. With over three million
titles in every possible genre, it has sections for kids,
managers, cooks and students also. The discount store
features bestsellers at 80 percent off the printed price.
They even have a dial-a-book service for ordering on
the phone.
www.fernsnpetals.com
Want to get a huge basket of flowers delivered to
you wife at the stroke of midnight on her birthday?
Use Fernsnpetals’ midnight delivery service. Yes,
they actually do that. It’s a specialty store for flowers.
Choose from chocolaty love (flowers with an ecstatic
chocolate cake) at Rs 600 or a room full of flowers at
Rs 3,499. From basic garden roses to exotic orchids,
they have it all. FNP has 38 retail outlets in major cities
and they take orders for weddings also.
www.craftsbridge.com
Craftsbridge’s specialty is handicrafts. If you are
looking for handmade bags with sequins and
glasswork, you will find them here. They have a huge
selection of ethnic apparel including kurtas for him and
her, exotic jewelry, Madhubani and Tanjore paintings
and decoratives for the house. Created to promote
sustainable income for the economically challenged
artisans, Craftsbridge is the true
artistry of India.

How to Shop Online
Online shopping is quite similar to shopping at your nearest supermarket but with the ease of staying at home. With most sites, it’s as
simple as typing and clicking the next button. Let’s take a look at how to go about it after you’re at your favorite online store.
STEP 0: Register
Registering with the site is a mandatory
requirement for most sites. It’s a one-time
process that captures information like
your billing and delivery address, and
communication information necessary
for any transaction. Some sites even ask
your preferences and family information
0 Fill in all details accurately while
registering
to create customized homepages for your
choice of stores. Fill in all details accurately.
STEP 1: Browse
Once you log in with your registered ID
and password, you will be directed to the
main page that lists the stores. Portals
like Indiatimes and Rediff have anywhere
between 20 to 50 different stores across
multiple categories. Go to the specific store
if you know what you want to buy. If you
can’t find what you are looking for, just
use the “Search” option. All sites have it
somewhere or the other and it’s generally
quite powerful. If you still can’t find it,
some sites have a “Wish List” feature. It
registers your request and sends you a mail
when the item is available with them.
STEP 2: Choose
Generally sites are quite elaborate about
product details. There are multiple images
of products and reviews posted by others
who have bought them. Once you have
made up your mind on the item(s) you
want to buy, select by clicking on an “Add
to Shopping cart” button. This could be
just below the item or you may have to tick
a box for multiple items and then click a
similar button at the bottom of the page.
2 Take your time to choose the items.
Images and reviews can be referred to
Step 3: Order
After you have selected, place the order.
Go to the “Shopping Cart” page to do a
final check on the items. After all, you could
change your mind about the ghastly pink
pullover. The shopping cart will show you
the final bill at the bottom.
STEP 4: Delivery Options
Check your delivery address—if you are
getting it for yourself or put the address
of the person you want to ship it to. Some
sites even get it gift-wrapped for a nominal
fee. If the site charges for delivery, it will be
added here.
STEP 5: Payment Options
Several payment options are available with
most sites. Credit cards are the easiest but
make sure that the site is Verisign certified
for security. You can use VISA, Mastercard
or American Express. Then there are cheque
FEATURE | UNWIND 171
or demand draft options. Remember they
will ship the product only when the money
is in their bank. There’s also the direct
online bank transfer method where you can
transfer directly from your banking account,
provided you have the service activated at
your bank. Last, but not the least, there’s
COD or cash-on delivery. Pay when you get
5 You can make payments through VISA,
Mastercard, American Express
it. But don’t to use this option with your
girlfriend. She won’t be too pleased if she
has to pay for the Valentine’s Day gift.
STEP 6: Confirm
You will now reach the final confirmation
page. This is your last check for items,
delivery address, payment method and the
amount you will spend. If everything looks
hunky-dory, just click the “Proceed” button.
Be patient here as based on your payment
option the site will do the necessary credit
card validation or redirect you to your
bank’s web site for the transaction.
STEP 7: Track
That’s it. All you have to do now is wait for
the courier guy. Some sites let you track
your shipment online by linking to their
courier company. Great pill for
the impatient!
| Raunak Roy
 Sam Fish

The do-it-a
hero with
rather dry sense

The cool dudes are here!

of humor—
that’s Sam
Fisher for you

Up, close and personal with the coolest heroes in the gaming world

I
n gaming, it seems you need curves or scales to get noticed. If that
sounds a trifle hard to believe, then just scan your mind for the most
popular characters in gaming—it’s a fair chance that most of the names
that will pop up will either be female (in all probability, the top heavy Lara Croft
or the sleek Kate Fisher) or villainous (Diablo, the aliens in Half-Life and Doom, etc). But heroes?
Well, some might recall Gordon Freeman and a few others might invoke Sam Fisher. But all in all,
the cupboard of popular memory seems rather bare when it comes to the darker sex. Which is all
a bit of a pity, really, because computer games have had more than their fair share of knights in
shining armour. Let’s meet five of the coolest heroes in the history of computer gaming.

Sam Fisher
He looks a bit like George Clooney, dresses like a frogman and is one of the best stealth artistes around. Among the recent Max Payne
gaming heroes, there are not too many who can match the popularity of Sam Fisher.
As you can
A member of Third Echelon, an elite anti-terrorist organization, Sam made an immediate impact on the gaming world with
see, this dude
Splinter Cell (2002). Generally sent on solo missions into enemy territory with nothing but a few weapons, the odd is damn good
gadget and a live audio connection to Echelon headquarters, Fisher is a one-man spying force. He can scale walls, with pistols or
slide across ropes, knock out security cameras, hack computers. But he is no Superman, just a good professional doing with any other
weapon for that
his job. And doing it without losing his sense of (rather dry) humour.
Games: Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Pandora matter
In fact, many people play Splinter Cell just to hear Fisher’s comments.
Tomorrow, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.
It’s a measure of his popularity that when word leaked
Best Lines:
Anna: The Maria Narcissa. out that the next game in the series would highlight
Sam Fisher: Sounds like your setting me up for his ‘negative side’ (robbing banks,
Ky
another blind date. shooting civilians are evidently on the
Anna: The Maria Narcissa is a boat. menu), the developers were flooded A
Sam Fisher: So was the last girl you set me with emails asking them to change o
up with.
the plot.

Max Payne
He looks like a Hollywood hero of the Sixties and speaks like something out of a Raymond
Chandler novel. A police officer who was embittered by the brutal murder of his young
wife and child, Max exploded into the gaming world in 2001. He was in many ways an urban
cowboy—cynical, anti-establishment, lonely, and yes, damn good with a pair of pistols (or any other | Selection criteria
weapon that happened to be around). The original Max Payne game saw him take out an entire While deciding which heroes would
drugs cartel by himself, battling his way through dozens of well-armed enemies. And yet, at the be in the running, the following
end of it all, no matter what he did, he could not escape the ghosts of his past. He returned a parameters were taken into
few years later in The Fall of Max Payne, this time pursuing not just criminals but also a consideration:
love interest—the lovely Mona Sax. But little changed—the cynicism remained and so They should have done something a
did the overwhelming sense of melancholy that accompanied the man. lot more substantial than just shoot,
Perhaps no gaming hero has spoken as bomb and jump. We chose characters
Games: Max Payne, Max Payne 2: The Fall of
many profound dialogues as Payne. It seems who speak their mind and add to the
Max Payne.
he can’t utter a sentence without evoking game’s ambience. In short, people
Best lines:
The genius of the hole: No matter how a similie or a philosophical observation. with personality, and not just a lot of
much time you spend climbing out, you A killing machine with a philosophical cool weapons and ugly enemies. Sorry,
can still fall back down in an instant. outlook to life (and death)—that’s Max Gordon Freeman and Serious Sam. You
Payne for you. guys don’t make the cut.
Vishwanath Vanjire
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 Sam Fisher

he do-it-all
FEATURE | UNWIND 173
ero with a
dry sense
humor—
at’s Sam
for you
Garrett
Seldom seen and almost never heard, he steals from the rich. And gives the proceeds
to himself. Nope, Garrett does not seem to be your standard gaming hero who rides
out against all odds and takes on the forces of evil and disorder. When Thief: The Dark
Project was released in 1998, many felt that the game would fail because it relied
more on stealth than on confrontation. The game was one long creeping assignment
Guybrush in which the objective was to avoid and rob, rather than slaughter the enemy. However, it was
Threepwood a rousing commercial and critical success. And one of the reasons for this was its main character, Garrett.
A person of indeterminate age, Garrett lives in what seems to be Medieval England. He starts out as a pickpocket, but
Guybrush proves
is spotted by the Seekers, who recognize potential and train him to be
it indeed that
it doesn’t take a Thief (notice the capital letter—this is no ordinary housebreaking Games: Thief: The Dark Project, Thief 2: the
muscles to make thug, but a skilled professional in his own right). Unfortunately, Metal Age, Thief 3: Deadly Shadows.
an impression! his profession not only puts him onto a collision course with the Best lines:
authorities, but also with different political sects. Needless to Going legit is more trouble than it’s worth....
say, he handles them with aplomb, leaving them with lighter
purses and heavier hearts.

ne Guybrush Threepwood
Perhaps the coolest hero of them all, Guybrush Threepwood will never make you gasp in
an
wonder. But boy, he sure can send you into gales of laughter. He made his debut in The Secret
e
d of Monkey Island as a youngster who wanted to be a pirate. But he is a lousy sailor, is a bit of a
coward and is useless with weapons. But what he does have in abundance is cheeky wit.
The Monkey Island series of games is arguably the funniest in gaming history and
Threepwood is at the heart of it, blundering into trouble and then blundering out of it with
equal élan. His encounters with the pirate Le Chuck, his utterly hilarious courtship of Elaine
and his ability to wage insult-based duels
have had the gaming world in splits for years Games: The Secret of Monkey Island, Monkey
now. No matter what the situation, Threepwood Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenver, The Curse of
Kyle Katarn
inevitably has a daft solution at hand. It’s another matter that the solution Monkey Island, Escape from Monkey Island.
Although one Best Lines:
comes with its own share of trouble—Threepwood turned Elaine into a gold
of the most Ahh, the middle finger... the most
statue when he gave her an engagement ring (of course, he did not know it
successful communicative of fingers.
was cursed!). He proves that you don’t need weapons to be a hero.
heroes ever,
Katarn doesn’t
like to be seen
as one Kyle Katarn
He belongs to the Star Wars environment, is buddies with Luke Skywalker, can use the Force and, heck, is more than handy
with a lightsabre. What’s more, he has featured in four full-fledged games and an expansion pack over a period of almost
eight years, making him one of gaming’s most successful and enduring heroes.
Kyle Katarn made his debut in Star Wars: Dark Forces, but it was the game’s sequel Jedi Knight: Dark Forces
2 (better known as Jedi Knight) that made him a cult figure. A member of the Imperial forces,
They should have appeared Katarn gets bitterly disillusioned when he discovers that his father has been murdered. Armed
in more than one game. with the Force and his father’s lightsabre, Katarn avenges his father’s death, but refuses to
A single game does not a become a Jedi, preferring to do it alone with his friend Jan Ors. Like all gaming heroes, Kyle too
cool hero make. has a penchant for attracting trouble, so it’s hardly surprising that he finds himself in the thick
of action time and again, more often than not kicking some serious Dark Side butt. When last
To make matters easier, seen, he was teaching at the Jedi Academy.
only heroes who have His ability to wield his wit as niftily as his Games: Star Wars: Dark Forces, Jedi Knight: Dark
Forces 2, Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith: Jedi
appeared on PC games lightsabre has resulted in some spectacular
Knight: Jedi Outcast, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.
were considered. There repartees. He does not like to be seen as a
Best lines:
are simply not enough hero (“Don’t call me ‘master’, call me Kyle,’ Never trust a bartender with bad grammar.
consoles in India. he instructs his students in Jedi Academy), but is
one nevertheless. ■
I Nimish Dubey
DECEMBER 2005 | INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP
Classifieds 175
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TO BOOK SPACE HERE CONTACT

Mumbai
Martin Wilson
Phone: (022) 56666869
Bangalore
Mohammed Asif
Phone: (080) 5597282/83/84
New Delhi
Pranav Saran
Phone: (011) 55303287/79/80/82
Hyderabad
Vasudevan Iyer
Phone: (040) 23392226
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O. K. Gurumurthy
Phone: (044) 28295050/54
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Phone: (020) 56031234

www.chip-india.com
184 LAST WORD
The Last Word
Hyderabad calling
Amidst the confusion that usually surrounds me post
edit meetings I was asked to travel to Hyderabad for a
day. Not knowing what it was all about at that point of
time I happily agreed to go. I am not completely sure if I
accepted the invite just because I was getting to go to the
city that is the birthplace of a tennis star (somehow the
Charminar is not the landmark that comes to my mind
when I think about the city anymore. Damn the media!).
Maybe it was the opportunity to be out of office and not
being answerable to my superiors for a day—reason why I
don’t have ‘roaming’ activated.
The itinerary involved attending the workshop on
Microsoft’s latest offering—Visual Studio 2005, SQL
Server 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006. I assumed it would
be a press event where a bunch of suits (predictably
marketing and brand management teams) would wax
eloquently about how their product would completely
change the way business is done in organizations and
then finish off with a grand finale of a myriad graphs and
succeed in numbing our brains forever.
Sarcastic thoughts (and my general dislike for the
suits) apart, I went about completing whatever
work I could before the trip and patiently
waited ‘for further details’. The day before
the journey, I was briefed about my flight
timing, was mailed a list of the speakers going
to be present and got an SMS containing the
address—in case I missed the pickup at
the Hyderabad airport, in Begumpet.
The last thing I wanted to hear was, “in
case you miss the pickup”. I had an early
morning flight from Mumbai, so a pickup
was arranged. But the car would pick me up 2 hours
before the flight time—at 5.45 am!
At the crack of dawn
Two other journalists were going to be on the same
flight to Hyderabad. The thought that they would also
have to wake up at an insane hour made the pain more
bearable. The car arrived a little after 6 am and we set
off for the domestic airport. My flight tickets had been
booked online, so all I had was a print out. Never had I
flown with e-tickets and here I was, a technology writer,
getting worked up about online ticketing. While my
practical half consoled my plebian half, we reached the
airport and I had no choice but to give the e-tickets a shot
at the check-in counter. My boarding pass was handed to
me and I was on my way to visit Microsoft at high-tech
Hyderabad. Phew!
I decided to introduce myself to the journalists at
the Hyderabad airport itself as I needed some shut eye
before the workshop. Thankfully, it was an aisle seat with
extra leg room—courtesy the Emergency Exit. A steward
came forward shortly before take off and instructed a
middle-aged gentleman (a seat away from mine) on how
to use the emergency exit. “Sir, once you get the order
from flight personnel or the captain, pull this handle
like this and let go immediately since the exit will snap
open…” But the steward’s words snapped a nerve in the
man. “This is too much to understand”, he shrieked. “How
can I remember all of this?” The steward politely directed
him to the manual in front and things were normal again.
Guess, in case of an eventuality, the gentleman would
start reading the manual once the warning bells rang. I
was in good hands (who was I kidding!).
Paradise lost…and found
Everything went like clockwork once I reached the
airport—met my fellow journos, got the pickup, verified
the address SMS’d to us and off we were. Our chauffeur
was always on the phone with someone he called
“Aantey” (Aunty). I almost laughed out loud when he said,
“Kya Aantey. Kaleech ice cream kheelaya naa..”
We reached the Microsoft office and realized we were
at the wrong venue. A ‘shuttle’ was arranged for us and
we set out for Microsoft’s India Development Center—the
largest Microsoft Dev Center outside the US. It’s a
171,000 sq meter plot land packed with lawns, quaint
walkways, a tennis court, basketball court, billiard tables
on each level (the building I was in)... I was in corporate
heaven! Microsoft might have issues with Open Source
but they sure have none with open spaces!
We were introduced to the team leads and hard core
developers who took us through some truly interesting
and intensive sessions. They even did their level best to
dumb it down for us folks. Mucho Gracias!
I set out early in the morning thinking I might be
caught snoring in a large hall meant for press briefings.
Instead, there were just five journalists against eight hard
core veteran Microsoft developers!
Compared to my journey to Hyderabad, the return was
uneventful—the excitement of visiting the city having
faded. But I still can’t get that accent out of my head,
“Kyaa Aantey…”
| | Ashutosh Desai
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP | DECEMBER 2005
 Best Products of 2005 | 50 Processors in Test | Dual GPU Graphics
2005
12

Rs 150 RNI Registration No. MAHENG/2003/12687