IN THE
HOLY-SMOKES-HOW-CAN-IT-BE-WINTER-ALREADY?DECEMBER ISSUE OF
COMING
NEXT MONTH
MA XIMUMPC
LETTERS POLICY: MAXIMUM PC invites
your thoughts and comments. Send them to
[email protected]. Please include your full
name, town, and telephone number, and limit your
letter to 300 words. Letters may be edited for space
and clarity. Due to the vast amount of
e-mail we receive, we cannot personally respond to each letter.In/Out
GEAR OF THE YEAR
Each year, we rate and
review more than 500 prod-
ucts. Each December, we
laud the very best. Next
month, we’ll award our
coveted Gear of the Year
award to the winners. Don’t
miss it!MAXIMUM PC GIFT GUIDE
As you read these words,
Maximum PC’s editors are
torture-testing the most prom-
ising new gadgets, devices,
doodads, and doohickeys of
the holiday season.MEDIA CENTER PC
SHOOTOUT
But weren’t they supposed
to be in this issue? Yes, they
were, but the pending release
of Microsoft’s new Media
Center 2005 OS made us hold
off a month. Next month, we’ll
give you the scoop.Also:
Straight-talking reviews: speak-
ers, case enclosures, videocards,
20-plus-inch LCDs... and a boat-
load of game reviews, including
Madden 2005 , Rome: Total War ,
and (hopefully) Half-Life 2.(^) CUT, COPY, PASTE
➤ In the October issue, we goofed
on two URLs. RSS Bandit’s URL
(p. 52) is actually www
.rssbandit.org. And the URL for
WindowsBlinds (p. 37) is http://www.
windowblinds.net.
➤ In September’s “Case Studies”
feature, we listed the price of
Chenbro Xpider II as $55, when in fact
it’s $90. We also wrote that the Cooler
Master Centurion and CMStacker
cases were all-aluminum, but both
cases feature aluminum front bezels
with a steel chassis.
➤ And, in what is probably a first
for Maximum PC , we’re reporting on
an error in this very issue. On page
82 our review of the Logitech Z-
Digital fails to include the set’s
remote control, which didn’t make
it to photography in time. Now that’s
honesty for you!
Finally, the Plextor PX-708A
is a single-layer drive, not
double-layer. I can’t remember
Maximum PC ever calling it a DL
drive, but if we did, we apolo-
gize.
DEFRAGGIN’ DA RAID?
Your Windows XP special
issue (“Master WinXP!,”
Summer 2004) frequently
mentions defragging. You
also frequently mention the
benefits of RAID. Fine, but
how do you defrag RAID?
When I try to do it, my
defragger won’t allow me to.
And I haven’t been able to
find a utility to do it, either.
Is it even possible?
—BRIAN HOAG
ASSOCIATE EDITOR JOSH
NOREM RESPONDS:
Defragging a RAID array is no
different than defragging a
single drive, so there really isn’t
anything complex about the situ-
ation. Because the array appears
to the OS as a single drive, your
software should see it as such.
If the software can’t access the
array, there may be a problem
with your drives. You might want
to try clicking Start Menu, Run,
and typing “chkdsk” without the
quotes. Assuming your drives
are fine, we’re wondering if
you have the correct drivers
for your RAID controller, the lat-
est drivers for your motherboard
chipset, and the latest BIOS for
your motherboard. You also might
want to download the diagnostic
utility for your hard drives from
the manufacturer’s web site to
see if the drives are in good work-
ing order. Without knowing your
system specs, it’s a crapshoot, but
we’d start with the basic steps
described above.
YOU FORGOT ABOUT
GAPLESS PLAYBACK
One thing you failed to point
out concerning the Rio Karma
(September 2004, “Can Anyone
Beat the iPod?”) is the gapless
playback feature. Try listening
to a live album on both the
Karma and the iPod and tell
me which one you prefer.
—DAVID BJORGEN
FEATURES EDITOR LOGAN
DECKER RESPONDS:
Good point, David. One reason we
neglected that feature is because
a number of us here actually
make a single continuous MP
out of live performances—thereby
avoiding any gaps—and then use
the iPod’s awesome wheel-scan-
ning function (where you press the
center button, and then visually
scoot across the track with the
scroll wheel) to move through it.
But, indeed, gapless playback
(which doesn’t insert dead space
between tracks) is yet another
nice feature of the Karma.
One final note: We’re currently
sworn to secrecy, but keep your
eyes open in our December or
January issue for some really cool
new stuff from Rio! n
QUAKECON 2004 =
TRUE GAMERS
I saw these guys at Quakecon
and thought, if anybody
deserves to get their picture in
a magazine as the epitome of
true gamers, it’s them. What
do you say? My buddy Randy
James took the picture.
—RICHARD SAN MARTINA
EDITOR IN CHIEF GEORGE JONES
RESPONDS: We quote the book
of Lil’ John and say “YEAH!”
Thanks, Richard.
10 MA XIMUMPC NOVEMBER 2004