We open the February show with Mark reviewing something that is not for every computer user. But, if you run a business or have a lot of valuable films, music or images then the Drobo is perfect for you.

As media continues to devour your storage capacity, you need a solution that allows you to easily manage, protect, and scale storage for your PC or Mac. Drobo is the first fully-automated storage robot to take the pain out of keeping your important digital content safe.Just connect Drobo to your Mac or PC. No RAID levels. No management or configuration. Drobo does everything for you. Get rid of multiple external drives. Avoid the complexity of RAID. Attach a Drobo storage robot to your system and let it manage your storage so you don't have to. You can add new drives on the fly and the system of LED lights show exactly how the unit is performing. Not cheap at £300 plus VAT without any drives. But for peace of mind - beyond price.

In reponse to a listener in Cyprus who has just been connected to broadband, Mark & Dave go though the applications and websites you should be using a browsing. Skype is an obvious choice and then as the internet is so vast and covers such a diverse range of tastes, our main recommendation is just to spend time browsing and then add bookmarks to everything that takes your fancy.

In last month’s Multimedia competition, WO1 Zeb Jenkins in BFPO 40 won the great ZyXEL package by telling us tha the A in ADSL stood for Assymetric

Finally, for those still to take the plunge into owning a computer, Richard Astbury shares his experiences of 18 months with his first PC

We start 2008 with a roundup of the 2 big shows. CES in Las Vegas and Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

Mark then reviews the Centrance Micport Pro. (left) This is a professional USB mic preamp with plug-and-play installation. It enables instant computer recording with Windows (XP and Vista) and Mac OSX and features 24-bit/96kHz performance, 48V phantom power, and loud headphone output. The onboard headphone jack delivers zero-latency monitoring via direct circuit. Mic gain and headphone volume are adjusted with two conveniently located rotary controls. Around £100 and a must for anyone who records audio onto their computer.

Mark then speaks to James Edwards from ZyXEL about their great new Homeplug AV Router. (right) This is not only a wireless ADSL router but also when used with the Homeplug AV you can connect your computer to the network from anywhere in the house using the mains wiring with speeds of up to 200 mbps. The ADSL Router is around £125.00 and £65.00 for the Homeplug AV.

Finally, in last month’s Multimedia competition, Laurence Roche in BFPO 16 and Cpl Kerr in Brunssum both won the Pure Evoke1S DAB digital radio in its brand-new, revamped form! (right)

This special hour-long edition, presented by Mark Phillips, recaps some of the high- and low-lights of 2007 and looks forward to the brave new world of 2008!

 Guests in the studio include: Bryan Betts Technology JournalistBarry Collins – News and Features Editor PC Pro www.pcpro.co.uk Kerry Stanaway from Which – the Consumers Association www.which.co.uk  Paul Gibbons from leading Apple retailer The Square Group www.squaregroup.co.uk

Our tech-savvy team chat about, among other things: iPhones, Nokias and mobile internet.

 Howard Pearce radio presenter reviews Sony Ericsson’s P1i smartphone (left) and the 5 megapixel camera phone the K850i (right)

 Was 2007 Apple’s year?; Broadband speeds, Windows Vista, and weird and wonderful iPod competitors and gadgets, including Creative’s new Zen

And from www.advancedmp3players.com the O’Neill Fat Controller iPod gloves  and Gear4’s Blueye Bluetooth add-on (left),  and the Roberts ROBI DAB and FM radio iPod tuner (right)

November starts with a cautionary tale on on-line shopping from La Redoute and then Mark meets Paul Motion, Technical Hardware Specialist from Crucial Technology who explains why computer RAM is important and how easy it is to upgrade. He also explains how the RAM and Hard drive in your PC are the same as a desk and filing cabinet.

Dave then describes how to set up your laptop for travelling. Setting up a new account with no admin rights and that account is the one that auto boots on startup. So if a thief does get your machine, he doesn't intitially see your user folders and information.
Then ecncrypt your important files - freeotfe.org is a very good On The Fly Encryption application.

In the competition Stuart Neilsen in Portsmouth, and Rick O'Keefe in BFPO 2 won 3 Dr Who DVDs by telling us that Ace's other name was Dorothy. This month win 2GB of RAM from Crucial by telling us "What does DDR stand for" ? Answers to multimedia@bfbs.com

245 million people are registered with Skype and Mark meets Gareth O'Lochlan is GM for Skype Mobile & Hardware devices and Gareth tells about the great new high quality video service.

Vista has been available for nearly a year and many commentators have ben writing about how problematical it still is, with one even recommending that Microsoft withdraw it and go back to XP. Mark talks about his experiences and frustrations and continues to recommend that unless you really have to upgrade then wait for service pack 1.

Dave then talks to Tony Orsten from Joost about their great entertainment application - see screen shot left.

It was by request only until last month and now is available to anyone on both Mac and PC. You become your own TV channel director, create your own channels and watch what you want, when you want.

You can sit back and watch on your own if you'd like, or you can get involved.

More than 15,000 shows, full length films and TV shows and they add more every day. So there's always something to watch.

All you need is a broadband connection and Joost is free.

In the competition Chris Stace, BFPO 53; Moira Richards, BFPO 16 and Stephen Lapham, BFPO 52 won Paint Shop Pro X2 by telling us that 12 would be XII in Roman numerals.

Mark then produces the NOXON 2 radio for iPod (right) This integrated Universal Dock turns your iPod into a stereo system and charges it.

You can also select and play any one of over 10,000 Internet radio stations from around the world—without needing to boot your computer. A wide range of podcasts are also available at the touch of a button.

Because of the networking features of the NOXON 2 radio for iPod, you can enjoy music from your PC hard drive anywhere in the house. Regardless of whether you are using a wired or wireless LAN or HomePlug network, your digital music will be on tap in your bedroom, living room, kitchen or bath, while your computer stays where it belongs—in your home office.

The NOXON 2 radio for iPod can be controlled using a remote or the buttons on the device. All common music formats, WLAN standards and encryption types are supported and software is included for Windows, Mac and Linux. Around £250

Chris Perry from the Pharmacy in RNH Gibraltar asked our opinions on getting a USB cassette deck to transfer his old tapes to CD or mp3. Dave and Mark thought that he would be better plugging a cassette hifi unit direct into the line input of his PC; or if there is no line input or it's not good quality, then one of the iMic type of USB audio interfaces that has mike or line in and out.

Dave also thought that unless the cassette was a home recording or a special mix tape then it would be better to get the music from somewhere else. Cassette audio was never hifi and after 20 or so years the tape quality would have detriorated to make it even worse. For nostalgia, Yes; for audio enjoyment, probably not.

Finally, Mark produces what has to be one of the most expensive keyboard and mouse combinations. The Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 (left) at £150

It has a rechargeable mouse and a beautiful backlit keyboard. 2.4 GHz Bluetooth® Technology so you can connect wirelessly right out of the box with up to 30 feet and virtually no interference.

4 integrated USB ports in the charging station give you the flexibility to download images from your digital camera or plug in your thumb drive or other USB device—right from your desktop

The Battery Status Indicator senses when battery life is running out and the wireless mouse and keyboard let you work without worrying about tangled wires. It is really a joy to use with many extra programmable keys - but not cheap !

Mark opens the September programme meeting Chris Bover, the Product Manager at Corel who tells him whats new in their latest version of PaintshopPro - the Photo X2.

Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 is the ideal choice for any aspiring photographer's digital darkroom. It's filled with everything from easy automatic photo fixes to precision editing tools.

The Express Lab is a new, super-fast photo fixing mode. You'll save hours of time, because now you can edit dozens of photos in the time it used to take to edit just a few! Just think how easy it will be to breeze through folders full of photos — cropping, rotating, removing red eye, and straightening, — without having to wait for each individual photo to open.

£79 for the full or £49 for the upgrade

Dave travels to Bagshot to the HQ of Steljes for the launch of the DOU, the Deployable Operations Unit

Alex Wood, the UK Defence Manager for Steljes explains how the DOU utilises SMART Board™ interactive whiteboard technology, with full interactivity for all PC-based applications with the use of a finger. Capable of viewing multiple inputs from one single display, the DOU is operational in under one minute and is completely self-contained, whilst being capable of withstanding the harshest of environments.

This unit has been designed to fit easily into all types of aircaft and once plugged into the power supply requires no setting up apart from pressing one button to open the lid and raise the screen.

Dave saw the finished prototype and you should be seeing this in thatre pretty soon. Interested ? - then contact Alex at Steljes

In the competition James Body won the Return Of The Saint DVDs by correctly saying that Sean Connery was the odd one out as Roger Moore, Vincent Price & Ian Ogilvy had all played the Saint.

September was a month for mp3 players. Dave was at the launch of the new iPods at the BBC TV centre and Mark has got his hands on the new players from Creative.

The diminutive Zen Stone Plus (left) has six glossy shades and a shiny sleek finish. And with its 2GB capacity, this lightweight player allows you to indulge in up to 1000 songs as you head for your daily workout or run. Simply switch to radio anytime you fancy a change. Just £50 in the UK

Slightly bigger and with a proper screen is the Zen Vision Plus - (right)

Starting at £65 it has a glossy black finish and a neat rounded shape that fits comfortably in the hand. Available in three memory sizes, it can store from hundreds to thousands of songs and photos and includes an FM radio with 32 presets. A bright colour screen, it supports multiple audio formats including MP3, WMA and Audible Audio. The Zen V Plus can record straight to WMA without a PC, and it has a built-in microphone for voice notes. It can also play video clips. Its rechargeable battery lasts up to 15 hours.

August starts with Mark reviewing a most amazing laptop.

The Alienware m9750 a dual core processor, dual graphics cards, dual hard drive and a stunning HD display laptop that weighs in a just under 4kg and costs just under £2,000

Great for gamers and video/audio field work. The m9750 has all the hardcore hardware you need to enter the world of enthusiast DV editing.

Its dual core processors, fast dual 7,200RPM hard drives and array of input/output connections enable you to capture, encode and edit in real-time. If you don't have time to finish your masterpiece, just take your new DV editing notebook with you; try doing that with your typical workstation.

Then Dave talks to Henry Norton, the Global Spokesperson for Intego about Contentbarrier.

ContentBarrier X4 sets up a protective wall around your computer. Its predefined categories let you choose what you don't want your children to see, and you can also create your own custom categories.

Intego ContentBarrier X4 blocks adult web sites, sites with subjects not fit for children, and even blocks chats when predatory language is used. It blocks all offensive content coming from the Internet.

ContentBarrier X4 works with multiple users, and interfaces seamlessly with the Mac OS X user accounts on your computer. If you have several children, you can set different criteria corresponding to their age or maturity. You can choose whether they have access to newsgroups, e-mail, or whether they can download files. You can set the program to let them only use the Internet at certain times, and on certain days. You can choose to block or allow specific web sites, allow users only to use selected applications, and block access to specific types of content, such as streaming media or peer-to-peer file transfers. Buy on-line from £47.95

In the competition Doug Clarke from BFPO 39, Ronnie Dove in BFPO 140, Chris Perry in BFPO 52, John Bastock in BFPO 30, Mark Quince in Shape and Bob Inman in Egham all win comedy DVDs by correctly saying that Bud Flanagan sang the theme to Dads Army and it was written in 1968. This month win a 7 DVD set of Return Of The Saint by telling us the odd one out - Roger Moore, Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Sean Connery and why ? Answers to multimedia@bfbs.com

Mark then talks to Kerry Stanway, Senior Researcher from Which? about how many broadband users in the UK are getting nothing like the speed they are promised - Many people who were promised 8 mbps were getting on average just 2.7 mbps. How far you are from your phone exchange can degrade your speed, even the wiring in your home can slow you down.

July opens with Mark reviewing the Collectorz - the database application that keeps track of all your DVD library. Very easy to use and you can drastically reduce the time it takes to add items to your database. Use the Collectorz.com barcode scanner (right) to enter the barcodes of your CDs, DVDs, books or video games.
The Collectorz.com programs use the barcodes to search online for information about your titles, and it adds them to your database. You don't have to type anything yourself, so you're finished very quickly.

Collectorz.com provides a series of database programs for cataloging your personal collection of music, movies, books, comics, video games, audio files (MP3, WMA, OGG and more) and digital photos and you can get a free trial from their Collectorz website as well as some special offers.

Then Dave talks to Lars Felber from the software company ElGato. They make great TV recording devices for the Mac and now have brought out the Turbo.264 which works through your usb port to rapidly decrease the time it takes to convert your video to the Apple TV or iPod format.

Videos can take a long time to encode – longer than the actual playing time. What’s more, video encoding can demand a sizeable chunk of system resources. How long and how much depends on: the processor speed of your Mac, the length and complexity of the source video, the size of the video file, the amount of video compression required for the desired end result.

Turbo.264 accelerates video encoding up to four times faster on Macs with Intel Core processors. On an older Mac like a PowerPC G4 or PowerPC G5, the acceleration is exponentially faster. Retailing at £69 this a a must if you record TV or Video on to your Mac

In the competition Doug Clarke in BFPO 39 won a super Bluetrek ST1 headset, by correctly telling us that Popeye was Bluto's nemesis.

Mark goes to meet Kirsty MacIntyre who's the Environmental Takeback Compliance Manager for Hewlett Packard to talk about the WEEE directive.

Product recycling is nothing new to HP and HP has participated in the development of the WEEE Directive at all stages of the legislative process both at EU and member state level. HP is now contributing to the implementation process in each member state where the company has a presence. HP will comply with the provisions of the WEEE Directive and national implementing legislation.

HP has recycled computer and printer hardware since 1987. HP's Planet Partners recycling service provides an easy way to recycle any brand of computer equipment and is available in 36 countries.

In April we asked for any users of Vista to send us their experiences. Thanks to all who responded. Steve Bruckshaw in Cyprus wrote " Overall it appears to be more stable than XP and obviously therefore ME, 98, & 95. I would recommend any one to upgrade provided their hardware is not too old. Also if they are looking for a new PC or laptop with Vista I would strongly recommend they check out the minimum/recommended specs from Microsoft for running Vista. Microsoft’s latest offering is a resource hog and it is very frustrating if you have purchased a new system only to find it won’t run some of Vista’s new features."
If you use a laptop you may find that your battey life is almost halved unless you turn off some of Vista's glossy features. 

Friday May 25th is Silver Surfers Day in the UK. Mark meets Brian Eisenberg from Digital Unite who are organising the day. More information from www.silversurfersday.org

If you have a digital camera, Dave gives his recommendations on what are the best image sizes to use. Eplains the difference between raw and jpeg and looks ahead to the new cameras coming which can use Microsft's HD Photo. If you want to listen to a superb discussion on digital photography then click on the link to This Week In Media -TWIM. The show is hosted by Alex Lindsay, John Foster, Kenji Kato and Craig Syverson and Bill Crow is the guest from Microsoft. http://pixelcorps.tv/twim51

In the competition Gordon Baxter &Tim Holdaway both win a DVD boxed set of the Beiderbecke Tapes and Robert Maines & Baldev Shinder both win the Tumbledown DVD by correctly answering that Port Stanley is the capital of the Falkland Islands.

Mark meets Amanda Neville is Director of the British Film Institute and she tells us about the fabulous BFI archive and their new Media Tech. Hewlett Packard are involved in the digitisation and Gary Orlin is the Director of Corporate Marketing with HP. To learn more go to /www.bfi.org.uk

Mark goes back to meet Mustafa Salman of Unirecovery.com who runs a Hard Drive Rescue and repair service to learn more about what can possibly be rescued if your drive fails and how to prevent it.

Dave & Mark then look at some of the new bluetooth headsets on the market including the excellent Bluetrek ST1. From around £40 and with an estimated 9 hours of music or 19 hours of talk this is a very comfortable headset for your phone without looking too much like Nathan Barley

In the competition Hugh Blackman won A Bit Of Fry & Laurie, David Jacklin - The New Statesman, Chris Butler - Dad's Army, Ted Hay - George & Mildred and Sue Lobo - Bless This House, by correctly telling us that Hugh Laurie is starring in House MD.

Dave talks to Chris Spearing, the UK Country Manager for Logitech about how webcams have developed over the years and how the new ones can track your movements around the room, add avatars to your image and automatically compensate for backlighting.

April starts with Mark meeting Mustafa Salman of Unirecovery.com who runs a Hard Drive Rescue and repair service. He explains how he goes about the repair and the things you should - and shouldn't do if your drive starts to play up.

Dave looks at bloatware - all the free applications that come loaded onto your PC - most of which you never want but they all add to slowing it down and reducing it's performance. You can remove then manually but it takes time and is not 100%. By far the best way is to get a pure Windows system disk and load from that.

In the competion Sarah Quince of BFPO 26 wins the the DVD set of The Champions by telling us that the organisation they worked for was NEMESIS.

Mark and Dave then play with the Slingbox that makes your television accessible from anywhere. It sends your living room television to wherever you choose to watch. You can call it your TV...anywhere. The Slingbox doesn’t replace your entertainment system…it embraces it.

The Slingbox sends your video over your home network to your router, which then gives you access from wherever you are: in the kitchen or anywhere in the world with a high-speed Internet connection. And, if you have a digital video recorder (DVR), you can watch your recorded programs and use the familiar features, such as pause, instant replay, and fast forward…even schedule recordings. If your DVR can do it, your Slingbox can view it. Dave watches TV from Mark's house and this box would be great for anyone in an overseas posting with broadband but no BFBS TV service. Retailing at £149.99 this is a great device.

In the letters and questions depatment David Jacklin of BFPO 15 went to CEBIT to look for video glasses instead of buying a large LCD TV but found it a most frustrating experience because of the size of the event. Daniel Kershaw also went to CEBIT and picked up the Linux operating system Ubuntu which is fast becoming the alternative choice to Windows. Video glasses and Ubuntu are both items we'll be ooking at later this year.

Finally Colin Dean of LearnDirect in Bielefeld asks on how do we perceive that IT has turned learning on it's head ? Again something we'll come back to next month

March opens with Dave looking at the new ISO regulations which mean that printer manufacturers have to declare how many pages their ink cartridges will print.
• Tests are conducted with at least three printers, each using at least three cartridges of each model, not including the first set of installed cartridges.
• A suite of five patterns (shown below) is printed continuously, in consecutive order. Cartridges are replaced when the printer indicates
cartridges are expended and will not print without replacing the cartridge.
• Testing is conducted at a controlled temperature in Default Mode on plain paper with print commands from a late model PC with a Microsoft Windows operating system.
• In recognition of various factors that can affect yields, declared yields are rounded down (not up) in amounts that are at least sufficient to fulfill the standard deviation formula built into the ISO standard to assure accuracy and reliability.For the first time it is now possible to compare the running cost of printers. This is so important when there are some cheap printers available that cost only a few pounds more to buy than to replace the inks.Further reading and research can be found here at Epson - but it takes a lot of digging to find out what the yields are for each printer and it only includes current models. One item that is worth doing even if your old printer is still working OK - If you have one of the old printers with just 2 cartridges, black and colour and if you replace that colour cartridge more than twice a year then buy a new printer. It will be quicker, better quality and save you money.If you want to save even more money then buy the compatible printer inks that can be up to 1/3 the price of the branded models. If you can't get them easily where you are, then companies like SVP will ship overseas.

Mark reviews graphics tablets - using the Wacom Graphire4 A6 and finds that his young son Sam is better on it than he is. If you are getting a sore wrist with RSI then a graphic tablet will help relieve the strain and for working with photographs it beats the mouse hands down.

In the competition, John Comer, BFPO 39 wins the Logitech Internet Chat headset by telling us that VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol.

Dave and Mark then look at what specifications you should be looking for if you are buying a new laptop. Don't be tempted by the low priced, low specced £400 options. To get a decent machine you need to be spending arounf £800. The new Macs also run Windows software and could be worth considering.

The February show opens with Dave reviewing a revolutionary new mouse - the Logitech MX Revolution. This is a wireless laser mouse with 7 buttons, 2 scroll wheels one with tilt. The great strength is it's programmability which means you can assign commands and shortcuts to the buttons for each of your favourite applications. This can speed up your workflow dramatically and with the "Search" button in the centre of the mouse you can quickly find text in web pages or on your computer.
This search facility is new in Vista and has been in the Mac for about 5 years and to have a button rather than a drop down menu makes it much quicker. It's also very comfortable for extended use and only needs to be popped into the charger about every 10 days. More expensive than your normal mouse at around £50 but if you spend much time at your PC, then worth it.

Mark then meets Ben Padley, the Director of Global product Marketing for Sony Ericsson to talk about their eagerly awaited new phone the W880i. The W880i phone has an ultra-slim design with a stainless steel casing. It would be an impressive piece of design if it were just a music player - but, with 3G technology included, it's truly outstanding. New 'Walkman' software makes it simple to control and enjoy your favourite tunes, while 10MB of built-in memory plus a 1GB memory card give you storage for hundreds of songs. Incredibly light, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, 2 megapixel camera, web access, an RSS reader, email and photo blogging. The phone is due at the end on the month with a price of around £300 but free with some phone contracts.

In the competition, Sarah Quince in BFPO 655 and Chris Perry in BFPO 52 win a DVD set of The Sandbaggers by correctly answering that the head of MI5 is known as "K"

Dave then reviews another iPod recording device, this time from Belkin - The Tunetalk Stereo. This works much better than the one reviewed last month in that it has a longer connector to allow it to be used on an iPod in a case. It also comes with a little stand so it can be used in an upright position. Recording quality is great from the onboard stereo microphones and also it can be charged while recording which extends its record time beyond the 90 minute limit when operating on battery alone. £40 from many retailers but if you need a full recording system you might want to wait until later this year when Belkin bring out their TuneStudio.

In the news from PC-Pro magazine, Barry Collins, News & Features Editor - the end of DRM - perhaps !, problems with vouchers for Vista upgrades and Vista problems for some applications, especially gamers. Kodak's new range of inkjet printers and new entries into the anti-virus market from Symantec and Microsoft.

A new year and a new gadget that seems to have taken the world by storm even though it's not on sale until the summer. The Apple iPhone looks to have elegantly joined an audio and video player, email, web browser and phone into one device. There are other gadgets that do most of those things but they don't look as good nor are they as easy to operate. But how many people will pay about £300 for a phone ?

Dave then reviews the Griffin iTalk Pro . This plugs in the bottom of the newer iPod Video and Nano and with one click is a full CD quality stereo recording device. There are 2 built in microphones, so it's great for quickly recording memos, ideas or conversations. You can plug in a microphone to record in higher quality for interviews. Downsides are that level control is not easy, you can't hear what you are recording and battery life on the iPod is greatly reduced. Around £29 from many suppliers.

Then something for the Mac users listening - the Elgato EyeTV Diversity . This lipstick sized USB gadget is a dual tuner, diversity digital TV recorder. This amazing USB 2.0 stick provides superior television reception deep indoors, in conditions that are challenging for reception outdoors, and at high speeds. EyeTV Diversity contains two integrated receivers and two portable antennas. They work together to achieve optimal reception in Diversity mode, or independently as two distinct tuners in Dual Tuner mode.

In a strong signal area the EyeTV Diversity becomes two conventional DTT receivers in one. You can watch Picture-in-Picture, or watch one show while you record another. In Diversity mode, the two integrated tuners are set to the same frequency. EyeTV Diversity contains a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), which uses information from both tuners to generate the best signal possible. This gives superb reception deep indoors, in weak DTT coverage areas, and at high speeds. Around £100 this is superb value and great for travellers as well as at home.

In the competition, Yvonne Maguire of Episkopi wins 5 comedy DVDs, Ronnie Dove, BFPO 140 wins 4, Tim Holdaway, Dhekelia wins 3, Waheed Bhatti, Gibraltar wins 2 and Mark Pearce, BFPO 59 gets one DVD by all correctly answering that Stephen Lewis played Blakey in On The Buses.

Then Mark meets John Bouge from Computing Which who explains why it seems that more people than ever are now using computers and yet seem to be understanding less about the jargon used to describe the computing bits.

December starts with a talk with Justin Keller from chacha.com, a new web browser that has a human interface, a guide who helps you refine your searches. Ig you find that Google is not coming up with the answers you want - give chacha a try.

In the competition, Michael Carroll at RAF Brampton wins the Logitech Quickcam Notebook Pro, Robert Maines also in the UK wins the Logitech Quickcam Fusion, Glyn Davies in Dhekelia wins the Fireball XL5 DVDs and Neil Davies in Chetwyn Barracks, Nottingham wins the Supercar DVDs - all correctly saying that camera obscura means dark chamber.

Then Dave & Mark discussing how to choose the right iPod for your needs and his 4 year old Sam gives his in depth review of the iPod Shuffle. The trouble is that he likes it so much it's going to end in tears when it has to back to Apple HQ.

In the news from PC-Pro magazine, Barry Collins, News & Features Editor - usb gadgets, Vista is now very close, Office 2007 is 70% more expensive in the UK, BT broadband in the UK, trouble with MAC codes.

November and the show starts with Mark and Dave comparing the new browsers that have been realeased in the last month. Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2. Their consensus, along with that of most of the tech journalists, is that Firefox wins but if you must use Explorer then junk the awful IE6 and get the new one.

Then after a request from one of the BFBS Radio 1 DJs, Dave gives advice on when to buy a computer - the answer is, if you need one now, buy it - and accept the fact it will be out of date by January. He then compares his newest one, bought this month, to his first Mac computer bought in November 22 years ago - (left)

Want to access your computer from some other location ? - Mark reviews Log Me In which is a free application and is a great way to control your computer remotely - or to control the PC of a friend or family member who sometimes needs help and is too far away to visit.

In the competition, Baldev Shinder in West Bromwich won the Perrsuaders DVD boxed set by correctly saying that John Barry wrote the theme for the programme.

Dave talks to Garreth Hayes, European Product Manager from Logitech about their new top of the range keyboard - the diNovo Edge that takes the mundane keyboard into a work of art. It incorporates the revolutionary TouchDisc that makes trackpads obsolete. A slim recharging base doubles as a keyboard stand.

In the news from PC-Pro magazine, Barry Collins - Firefox vs Explorer 7, looking ahead to Vista and the online game Second Life.

In the competition Jan Heath, 4 Regt RA and Gordon Baxter at RAF Akrotiri both win CorelDraw Graphic Suite by coorectly answering that there are 1,000 fonts in the pack.

Finally, Paul Trotter the News & Features Editor of PC-Pro magazine is along with all the news.

Mark reviews the Buffalo Linkstation Network Storage Centre that offers an easy and economic solution to add 300 GigaBytes of network attached storage while providing high-speed LAN connections. Quick and simple installation allows you to instantly store and share your music, videos, images and other files from your home network. You can also use a built-in USB print server. This is great solution for storing and sharing files on your home or small office network for around £175.00.

Then Mark returns to interview Gerard Metrailler , the International Product Manager for Corel this time tell us what's new in the latest CorelDraw Graphics Suite X3 - With this comprehensive graphics suite, you can tackle a wide variety of projects - from logo creation and Web graphics, to multi-page marketing brochures, or eye-catching signs. From new bitmap-to-vector tracing in Corel PowerTRACE, new photo-editing features in PHOTO-PAINT, this suite combines design capabilities and ease-of-use.

In the competition Mark Quince BFPO 655, Waheed Bhatti BFPO 52 and Chris Frear all win Corel's Paintshop Pro X

Finally, Phil Roberts in Cyprus asked why he can't open png images in MS Internet Explorer. png is Portable Network Graphics and is recognised my all the main web browsers and image applications apart from Explorer for Windows. My recommendation - change to Firefox. It's quicker, more secure, looks nicer and reads png images.

We kick of the February show with Mark interviewing Gerard Metrailler , the International Product Manager for Corel and tells us what is new in the latest Corel Office X3 - Although up against the 400lb gorilla that is Microsoft Office - Wordpefect has many features that eclipse what Microsoft can offer and many say it is much more intuitive to use. With prices starting at just £59 it's also very good value.

Dave then continues with part 2 of how to spot spyware on your PC and things you should & shouldn't do to keep it at bay.
Keep Internet Explorer's Internet zone set to Medium - to alter it in Internet Explorer, pull down the Tools menu and select Internet Options, choose the Security tab, Select the Internet zone and check the Security level setting and click the Default Level button.
It's worth using Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool - go to the Malicious Software Removal Tool page, in the Scan And Clean Your PC panel, click the Check My PC For Infection button, when prompted to install the Malicious Software Removal Tool, click the Install button. When the scan is a complete, review the report displayed on the page.
Keep the Pop-Up Blocker switched on and if you want to receive them from certain sites choose Tools | Pop-up Blocker | Pop-up Blocker Settings, type the address of the Web site in the appropriate text box and click the Add button, make sure that the Filter level setting is set to Medium.
And finally - Close pop-ups properly
If you do happen to encounter a pop-up window, don't click any button inside the window no matter what it says. A lot of spyware will try to trick you into allowing it into your system by prompting you to click an innocent-looking OK or Cancel button in a window designed to look like a dialog box. Never do that! Always use the red Close button in the upper-right corner of the window.
The inspiration for this piece came from Greg Shultz a freelance technical writer who regularly writes articles for ZDNet and TechProGuild. You can visit his Web site at www.TheWinWiz.com.

Then the competiotion and Ronnie Dove of BFPO 140 and Helen Marshall of BFPO 53 were the lucky winners of the Seiko Label Printers by correctly saying that the dimensions of A4 paper are 210mm x 297mm.

Next Mark produces from his pocket the very sexy and very new mp3 player from Creative - the Zen Vision M (left) It has many advantages over its main rival the iPod Video and it's a tough call as to which one is best for you. Mark plumps just for the iPod - but it's a close run thing.

Finally, Paul Trotter the News & Features Editor of PC-Pro magazine is along with all the news.

We start the June show with a trip to Billingsgate near London Bridge for the launch of the iTunes Music Store in the UK, France & Germany. €0.99 or 79p per track, €9.99 or £7.99 for the complete album. Apple CEO, Steve Jobs gave the keynote address and then Alicia Keys performed a selection of her music available from the store. You may not be interested yet in getting your music online, but Dave believes that this is the future. You don't need to have an iPod to take advantage of the store. If you want to listen to music on your computer, the iTunes application is a free download for Mac or PC and you can use it to play all of your CDs, create your own jukebox and playlists and burn your own music CDs. As Steve Jobs said, iTunes is being talked about as the best ever Windows application!
Staying with music on your PC and with the Netgear MP101 you can listen to all your music on your hifi without having to change CDs. Connect the cable to your stereo, install the software on one networked PC, and you’re ready to listen! The NETGEAR automatically finds all the MP3 and Windows Media® format digital music files stored on any networked PC in your home, and the NETGEAR media server software recognizes your existing organization by title, artist, album, genre, and playlist to suit any mood. Around £93 and we are giving one away in our competition next month. We then chat about open source software and how more applications are being made using this free exchange of ideas and improverments.
In last month's competition Ian Bong won the trip to Ascot courtesy of Roxio. Runners up received the Roxio Creator 7 CD burning software suite.
Charles Wilson in Germany sent us an email with a range of questions and difficulties. For those of you looking to change your ISP because you are moving, when they say that the don't support the Mac, what they mean is that their helpline doesn't feature the Mac computer. If you are confident enough in setting it up yourself then you won't need their helpline. His major problem though was a PC that was giving him no end of problems. Dr Mark used his virtual stethoscope and diagnosed a Clean Install of the operating system. If your PC or Mac is becoming sluggish, freezing, crashing or generally misbehaving then a clean install of your software could work wonders.
Finally, Nick Ross the Senior Labs Writer of PC-Pro is just back from the Far East with all the latest news from the world of computing.

We start May with a look at soundcards. The one supplied with your PC is OK for casual use, but if you want to get the best sound out of your computer expecially if you use it to play DVDs you need a soundcard that can give you 5.1 surround sound. Creative have a wide selection of cards and the top of the range is the Audigy 2ZS Platinum Pro. If you pair this card with a set of Creative Inspire T7700 speakers it will be like being in a cinema!
Some listeners are now getting so much spam that it comprises of over 90% of their messages. This could be the time to grab your own domain so that it will follow you wherever you are posted. Many companies are now offering a domain registration and mail forwarding service for about £5 a year. Easyspace have a very simple to navigate website which you can use to check if your chosen name is available and all the domains that you can use.
Swissbit have just launched their new USB storage device inside a Swiss Army knife
Mark then reviews the new CD and DVD burning software from Roxio - the Creator 7. In this package there are applications that help you to edit your movies, audio and pictures. There are a staggering 15 applications that come on the software CD that cover everything you would ever want to do to make CDs or DVDs. There will be a free upgrade to burn dual layer DVDs coming later in the summer. All this for just £69.99 - amazing value when you consider that the bundled Videowave 7 Pro and Photosuite 7 have a RRP of £110 together.
In the competition Keith Hall of of HQ UKSC wins the wireless networking kit from Lynksys by correctly answering that putting chalk marks on the pavement that identify a wi-fi spot is called Warchalking.
Finally, Paul Trotter, the News & Features Editor of PC-Pro with all the latest news from the world of computing.

This month we are 6 and we start with a great application that wouldn't have been possible back in 1998. It is only the increase in computer speeds and storage that have enabled such great software like FaceFilter. Convert sad to happy or even the other way around. Now you can salvage what would have been a great pic if it wasn't for the frown.
Dave then guides you through the basics of trading on e-bay and how with a little digging around you could convert it into a profitable little sideline.
Mark opens his gadget bag and unveils 2 great computer accessories. The Dymo LabelWriter is the perfect mini-printer that prints labels, barcodes or almost anything onto pre-cut adhesive labels. If you spend much time with audio or video editing then the ShuttlePro 2 from Contour Design could be the gadget for you. With a responsive scrubwheel and 9 programmable buttons this input device will accelerate your timeline editing and markedly improve your efficiency.
In the competition Chris Scott from Larnaca, Debbie Wood in Akrotiri and Chris Perry in Gibraltar all win a copy of the remastered rock opera "Tommy" on SACD by correctly answering that Tommy was a "Pinball Wizard".
In our "Ask Multimedia" spot we endeavour to resolve the problem being experienced by Charles Wilson in Rheindahlen with his Mac. Norton Disk Doctor which used to be the saviour for so many Mac users, is not very happy working with OS X and can sometimes cause more harm than good. Try repairing the permissions in Disk Utility. Dickon Walker in Cyprus has lost one of his partions on his D:E drive. Mark recommends Tweak to get it back.
Finally, Nick Ross, the Senior Labs Writer of PC-Pro with all the latest news from the world of computing.

We open with a visitor to the Multimedia studio as Dave Everett, the European Strategic Marketing Manager for AMD talks about their brand new Athlon 64-FX-51 processor.This is the very first 64-bit PC processor which gives amazing speeds and transforms productivity on your PC. If you are are PC games player this will revolutionise your life.
Then Dave talks to Gus Zielinski, the Marketing Director from Bonusprint who have added digital printing to their business. No more shoving the film spool in the bag supplied and putting it in the post. You can now email your digital snaps to Bonusprint and you selected prints are returned on high quality photopaper and much less prone to fading.
Competition time and from the biggest ever competition entry, the three winners of Microsoft Office Pro 2003 and also Microsoft One Note 2003 were Eric Morris in Bergen, Maureen Lea in Sennelager and Simon Wilson also in Sennelager.