Release
Notes
Contents 1 1.
T
he Murphy’s Law of magazine publishing is this:
Once a year, you will put an issue to bed and then
watch in sinking despair as, days after the issue has
been shipped to the printer, some kind of development
occurs that renders part—or in horrible, horrible cir-
cumstances—all of your cover story inaccurate.
Murphy’s Law finally caught up with Maximum PC
last month in our October issue. Our cover story was a
preview of the new version of Windows, code-named
Longhorn. In the feature, Technical Editor Will Smith
discussed a number of the new operating system’s
most exciting features. Included in this discussion was
WinFS, a new—well, kind of, but more on that in a sec-
ond—database-based file system that promises to make
search functionality and file indexing in Windows
much faster than it currently is. We’re talking Google-
like speeds.
Well, not anymore. About seven days after we fin-
ished the issue, Microsoft announced that it was remov-
ing WinFS from Windows Longhorn in order to have
the OS ready by 2006. Let me tell you, as an editor,
the moment you read “bad” news like this, it feels like
someone just punched you in the stomach. Thankfully,
we didn’t tout WinFS on the cover; my initial cover
lines mentioned it, but I changed them at the last sec-
ond. Chalk one up to divine intervention, uncanny
intuition... or maybe some kind of publishing karma.
Amazingly, Microsoft almost did it to us again
this month. Just as I was prepping to write a shoot-
out between the latest batch of Media Center PCs,
Microsoft announced it would release a major revi-
sion of the WinXP Media Center Edition OS in mid-
October—right when you would be reading this issue.
Because Microsoft is so tight-lipped about stuff like
this, I discovered the information the hard way: by
sheer luck. I was talking to a hardware vendor about
something entirely unrelated, when he casually men-
tioned the introduction of Symphony—the code-name
for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005—on the
company’s Media Center PCs. Cue record-scratching
sound, accelerated heart beat, and frantic conversations
about postponing an already mapped-out feature story.
Thankfully, I found out about this development a few
weeks before we went to print, allowing us to postpone
the story until next month.
The upshot is that this new version of WinXP Media
Center Edition features some significant changes that
should allow it to better compete with TiVo. Time will
tell; I’m starting my investigation now, and you’ll be
able to read about it next month in a detailed walk-
through of all the OS’ new features and a close look at
a bunch of Media Center PCs. If, that is, Murphy’s Law
doesn’t strike again. It shouldn’t—we already got our
dose of it this year.
I shouldn’t have said that.
—GEORGE JONES
[email protected]REGULARS
Murphy’s Magazine Law
8 In/Out
You write, we respond14 Quick Start
PC previews, news, and factoids22 Head2Head
This month: Free e-mail clients26 WatchDog
Maximum PC takes a bite out of bad gear68 Ask the Doctor
Symptom, diagnosis, cure65 How To...
This month: Matrix RAID
72 In the Lab
A behind-the-scenes look at Maximum PC
product testing120 Rig of the Month
It’s amazing what a person can
do with a PC!REVIEWS
GAMES
74 Videocards: Asus V9999 Gamer Edition;
XFX GeForce 6800 GT
76 LCD monitors: Samsung SyncMaster 173MW;
LG Electronics L1730S
78 Double-layer DVD burners: Freecom Classic
Dual Format; Memorex 16x Dual Format
80 Motherboards: Abit AA8 DuraMax;
Gigabyte GA-81915P Duo (Pro)-A
82 MP3 player: Creative Zen Touch
82 5.1 speakers: Logitech Z-5500 Digital
84 2.1 speakers: Swans M-
84 Webcam: D-Link Wireless Internet Camera
86 Portable photo printers: Canon CP-220; Sony DPP EX-50;
Olympus P-10; Epson PictureMate
88 DV camera: Concord Solid-State
88 External drive enclosure: Arco EZBackup
90 USB keys: SanDisk Cruzer Titanium USB;
Victorinox Swiss Memory;
PQI Intelligent Stick 2.
92 Case enclosures: Cooler Master CAC-T
Centurion 5; Silverstone SST-TJ
93 Handheld media player: Zen Portable Media Center
94 4-bay SATA kit: MacGurus Burly Kit
94 DVD burning app: 123 Copy DVD95 The Sims 2
96 5 Pocket PC games3DMark
arrives!
Page 72NOVEMBER 2004 MAXIMUMPC 5
Canon CP-220; Sony DPP EX-50; Canon CP-220; Sony DPP EX-50;Asus V9999 Gamer Edition;Samsung SyncMaster 173MW;Freecom Classic
Dual Format; Memorex 16x Dual FormatCanon CP-220; Sony DPP EX-50; Canon CP-220; Sony DPP EX-50;Zen Portable Media CenterZen Portable Media Centerished the issue, Microsoft announced that it was remov-someone just punched you in the stomach. Thankfully,3DMark
arrives!
Page 72watch in sinking despair as, days after the issue has
been shipped to the printer, some kind of development
occurs that renders part—or in horrible, horrible cir-Maximum PC
last month in our October issue. Our cover story was a
preview of the new version of Windows, code-named
Longhorn. In the feature, Technical Editor Will Smithmost exciting features. Included in this discussion was
WinFS, a new—well, kind of, but more on that in a sec-
ond—database-based file system that promises to make14 Quick Start
PC previews, news, and factoids22 Head2Head
This month: Free e-mail clients26 WatchDog
Maximum PC68 Ask the Doctor
Symptom, diagnosis, cure65 How To...
WinFS, a new—well, kind of, but more on that in a sec- Dual-core
CPUs
page 15DRM in its many guises
Page 14