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02> 0474470 81182 ® February 2006 • Vol 6 Issue 02 Frontside 6 What’s Happening 12 Digital Economy 14 The Saint Joining The Collective The Experts Alex St. John The Saint page 14 Alex “Sharky” Ross The Shark Tank page 31 Anand Lal Shimpi Spotlight Anand’s Corner page 30 50 Wired & Wireless The State Of Networking In The Home & Beyond 60 DIY Networking Projects Separating Power User From Pedestrian Rob “CmdrTaco” Malda The Department Kyle Bennett Of Stuff Hard Talk page 84 66 Firewall Tips & Tricks page 32 Protect Against Malicious Users & Lousy Performance Mike Magee Shavings From The Rumour Mill page 97 68 Tomorrow’s Network Examining Future Home-Networking Technologies Copyright 2006 by Sandhills Publishing Company. Computer Power User is a trademark of Sandhills Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in Computer Power User is strictly prohibited without written permission. Printed in the U.S.A. GST # 123482788RT0001 (ISSN 1536-7568) CPU Computer Chris Pirillo Pete Loshin Power User USPS 020-801 is published monthly for $29 per year by Sandhills Publishing Company, 131 West Dialogue Box Open Sauce Grand Drive, P.O. Box 82667, Lincoln, NE 68501. Subscriber Services: (800) 424-7900. Periodicals postage paid at page 79 page 80 Lincoln, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Computer Power User, P.O. Box 82667, Lincoln, NE 68501. Did you find the hidden CPU logo on our cover? Turn the page for the answer. Page 26 Hard Hat Area PC Modder 33 Tips & Tutorials 34 Dive Into Liquid Cool Your PC With H2O 38 Mad Reader Mod Two LCDs Are Better Than One Heavy Gear Xbox 360: Page 89 40 Advanced Q&A Corner 15 Dream Hardware 44 X-Ray Vision: Chips Cool Down Chip-Cooling Technologies Continue 16 3Gbps SATA Hard Drives To Develop Plus, Why “SATA II” Doesn’t Mean What 46 White Paper: NAND Flash Memory You Think The Future In Flash Is Growing Fast Tips & Tricks 21 VoIP Gear Is Finally Here Loading Zone 93 Software Tips & Projects Eight Ways To Keep Talk Cheap DVDs Gone Wild (Part 1) 72 The Bleeding Edge Of Software 95 Warm Up To Penguins Inside The World Of Betas 26 ATI Radeon X1800 XT Introducing OpenOffice.org Base, Part II 73 Up To Speed 27 PowerColor Theater 550 Pro PCI Express Upgrades That’ll Keep You Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 Humming Along What’s Cooking 74 RSS Readers 97 Shavings From The Rumour Mill 28 Preview: Intel 65nm Presler Extreme The Word On Aggregator Apps AMD A Victim Of Its Own Success Edition & 975X Platform 77 Microsoft Streets & Trips 2006 With 102 Hot Seat GPS Locator I Work In A Glass House 29 DFI LANParty UT RDX200 CF-DR DivX 6.1 vs. Nero Digital 103 Technically Speaking Asus A8N-VM CSM 78 TMPG Tsunami DVD Author Pro An Interview With Aldo Bussien & FTPUpdateSearcher 1.0.1 Todd Yuzuriha, Logitech Architects 30 Anand’s Corner 79 Dialogue Box 106 Under Development Introducing Intel’s Core Duo Processor Unleash Your Inner Torrent A Peek At What’s Brewing 80 Open Sauce In The Laboratory 31 The Shark Tank Curing The Bug-Fix Blahs Xbox 360 Back Door Caught In The Web 108 Q&A With Philip Rosedale 32 Hard Talk 81 General Net: Search For Tomorrow Linden Lab Honcho Talks Second Life, Protecting Your Jewels What Do Google, Yahoo! & MSN Avatars & Metaphysical Stuff Really Want? 84 The Department Of Stuff CORRECTIONS: Page 27 Rootkit.txt On page 34 of the January issue, we incorrectly ran a picture of a dual-Xeon motherboard Digital Living with our review of ATI's All-In-Wonder X1800 XL 86 Road Warrior (shown here). Skin Your Gadgets, BlackBerry Under Siege, TiVo Makes Portable Infinite Loops TV Easier 88 At Your Leisure Strange stats and other oddball Games, Gear, Movies items from computing's periphery & Music 83, 94, 96 Customer Service (For questions about your subscription or to place an order or change an address.) [email protected] (800) 733-3809 FAX: (402) 479-2193 Computer Power User P.O. Box 82667 Lincoln, NE 68501-2667 E DITOR’ S N OTE Hours Mon. - Fri.: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (CST) Sat.: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST) t’s early yet, but it appears as though 2006 will be an interesting year in the world of Online Customer Service & Subscription Center http://www.cpumag.com tech, especially where PCs are concerned. We’re on the cusp of a new crop of Intel CPUs for desktops and notebooks, AMD is readying its Socket M2 stuff, both Web Services I (For questions about our Web site.) companies are talking about moving beyond dual-core CPUs already, and so on. We [email protected] may even see a new version of Windows this year, which could be really good news or (800) 733-3809 really awful news, depending on one’s point of view—and based on how it turns out. Authorization For Reprints When it comes to new PC gear I don’t think it’s possible to have too much of a good Reprint Management Services thing; you just have more options, more new ways to configure your system. But I have Toll Free: 800-290-5460 to admit that having so many choices on the horizon does present me with a bit of a 717-399-1900 ext. 100 Fax: 717-399-8900 quandary when it comes to living up to my New Year’s Resolution. You know, the one I [email protected] made in the last issue about building a new, better PC. My resolve is as strong as ever, www.reprintbuyer.com but I find myself hesitating ever so slightly because to take the plunge on today’s best Editorial Staff chip might really satisfy my tech jones right away, but if something really hot pops up in [email protected] the space of the next three or four months, I’ll be right back where I am today, looking FAX: (402) 479-2104 wistfully at yet another $1,000-plus CPU and wondering how badly my kids really need 131 W. Grand Drive Lincoln, NE 68521 to go to college after all. That said, I am determined to make a decision one way or the other soon, and by the Subscription Renewals (800) 382-4552 time you read this the information I will have gathered at the 2006 Consumer Electronics FAX: (402) 479-2193 Show in Vegas will be my guide. Yeah, it’s a consumer electronics show, but since the http://www.cpumag.com demise of the once-great Comdex it’s one of the top shows for PC companies, too, espe- Advertising Staff cially given their current obsession with gaining a foothold in living rooms around the (800) 848-1478 world. So CPU will be there, scouring the Las Vegas 120 W. Harvest Dr. Convention Center (and, most likely, the In-N-Out Lincoln, NE 68521 FAX: (402) 479-2193 Burger) for all the upcoming hardware news we can beg, borrow, or steal, so we can bring it all together The Gang here for you. Editorial Staff: Ronald D. Kobler / Christopher Trumble / Blaine In the meantime, check out the networking articles Flamig / Trista Kunce / Corey Russman / Rod Scher / Calvin in this month’s Spotlight section for info on what’s Clinchard / Katie Sommer / Kimberly Fitzke / Katie Dolan / Raejean Brooks / Sally Marek / Michael Sweet / Nate Hoppe / new in wired and wireless networking, a look at how Sheila Allen / Linne Ourada / Joy Martin / Ashley Finter / Marty some of the latest gear stacks up, and some tips on Sems / Chad Denton / Nathan Chandler / Kylee Dickey / Josh cool networking projects you may not have tried Gulick / Andrew Leibman / Vince Cogley / Sam Evans / Jennifer yet. While you’re here, be sure and see how a Johnson / Brian Weed Web Staff: Dorene Krausnick / Laura Curry / Kristen Miller Customer Service: Becky Rezabek / Lana slew of 3Gbps SATA hard drives fared in our Matic / Lindsay Albers Subscription Renewals: Connie Beatty / roundup on page 16 and take in our impres- Matt Bolling / Patrick Kean / Charmaine Vondra / Miden Ebert sions of Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 and several / Kathy DeCoito / Stephanie Contreras / Nicole Buckendahl launch titles (starting on page 89). Oh, and be Art & Design: Lesa Call / Aaron D. Clark / Fred Schneider / sure and stop by page 14, where The Saint offers Aaron Weston / Carrie Benes / Ginger Falldorf / Sonja Warner / Lori Garris / Jason Codr / Andria Schultz / Erin Rodriguez / Samit some pointers on smooth assimilation. Lindsay Anker Newsstand: Garth Lienemann / Jeff Schnittker Enjoy the issue, let us know what you think, and Advertising Sales: Grant Ossenkop / Cindy Pieper / Brooke we’ll see you in 30. Wolzen / Eric Cobb / Ryan Donohue Marketing: Mark Peery / Liz Kohout / Marcy Gunn / Kelly Richardson / Jen Clausen / Scot Banks / Ashley Hannant / Luke Vavricek / Travis Brock / Jeff Ashelford Chris Trumble, Publication Editor, CPU Gotcha. Here it is. What’s Happening • Hardware Compiled by Steve Smith Sony’s Carbon-Shielded, Always-Connected Nano Laptop We’ve always been impressed by the VAIO ultra-ultra-lights, not just for their weight but for the incredible functionality Sony packs into such space. But now we’re really salivating. The new TX line, thanks to its carbon-fiber casing, is actually lighter and slimmer and offers a bigger view. The enlarged 11.1-inch LCD is about 45% slimmer than its predecessor. At a feather- like 2.76 pounds, the TX even has a double-layer DVD burner, and the latest releases also have an integrated Cingular Wireless WAN. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t call a $2,500 starting price a bargain, but to be this cool and this connected wherever we go is worth that price.