Release
Notes
Contents 0 3.
REGULARS
I am the Firestarter^6 In/Out
You write, we respond10 Quick Start
Big news, small articles20 Head2Head
This month: SLR versus point-and-shoot
24 WatchDog
Maximum PC takes a bite out of bad gear58 Ask the Doctor
All your PC problems, solved61 How To...
This month: Konfabulate your PC64 In the Lab
A behind-the-scenes look at product testing96 Rig of the Month
It’s amazing what a person can do with a PC!REVIEWS
GAMES
78 Princ e of Persia: Warrior Within78 The Chronicles of Riddick:
Escape from Butcher Bay, Developer’s cut79 Scrapland79 Saitek X-52 Flight Contr ol SystemMARCH 2005 MAXIMUMPC 3
66 Desktop PC: Voodoo Rage F:68 Desktop PC: Kick Ass Gaming PC Katana SLI70 Wireless router: Linksys Wireless-G w/VOIP71 Wireless router:
D-Link DGL-4300 Gaming Router71 Videocard: MSI NX 6600 GT72 Digital camera: Fuji S72 Photo viewer: Epson P-2000 Photo Viewer74 Portable USB hard drive: WD Passport74 DVD burner: NEC ND-3500A75 DVD burner: Sony DVDirect DVD burner76 ATX cases: Aerocool Spiral Galaxies;
Chenbro Gaming Bomb IIG
reetings, Maximum PC readers. My name is
Michael Brown. If you’ve been following
Maximum PC since the beginning—way back
in 1996 when this magazine was called boot—you
might remember me as the magazine’s found-
ing senior editor. I was the guy who took a fi ling
cabinet out into the offi ce parking lot, stuffed
it full of gasoline-soaked newspapers and Presto
logs, and ignited it in an effort to test a fi re-proof
software safe.
The city fire department wasn’t amused by the
resulting conflagration, but the discs inside the
safe came through the ordeal with all their 1s
and 0s intact. Whether or not you remember me
and my pyro antics, you deserve to know who’s
joining the ranks of the lucky few who’ve led
this kick-ass magazine. It’s a list that started with
Brad Dosland, continued with Jon Phillips, and
then segued to George Jones—each of whom,
you might be interested to learn, I’ve worked for
(and learned from) during my journalism career.
So why would any self-respecting PC fanatic
leave boot magazine, just as it was building its leg-
end? Well, I must confess that I was lured by the
glowing dollar signs of the Internet boom: I left
to join CNET Gamecenter as a technical editor in
the late 90s, and I was that site’s director when the
Internet bubble burst and CNET decided to shut-
ter the place. I later rejoined Future as editor of
EZ Tech Guide: Windows XP, a Maximum PC sister
magazine targeted at newbies.
But just as you never forget your first love, I’ve
never forgotten the unmitigated joy I felt writ-
ing for the magazine that was destined to become
Maximum PC. I’ve held editorial jobs before and
since my days at boot, but that vaunted magazine
is where I learned that the greatest possible ser-
vice you can provide readers is to not hold your
tongue—and that you can succeed in the publish-
ing business by saying what you really think.
So where do I intend to take this magazine,
now that I’m back, some nine years later? Don’t
worry, I won’t mess with success. Maximum PC
has a unique voice and a fantastic staff—includ-
ing newly promoted executive editor Will Smith
(congrats, Will!). But we’re not going to rest on
our laurels, either. Over the next several months,
you’ll see the magazine continue to evolve in its
pursuit of excellence and truth. And as confident
as I am that you’ll like the results, I hope you’ll
give us plenty of feedback to help us in our quest.
Send emails and virtual Presto logs to
[email protected]. Let’s burn this mother
together.
—MICHAEL BROWN
A free iPod?
No way!
Way. p. 2420245861Seafood and fl ash
memory--together at
last p. 11One cool
camera p. 16A free iPod?
No way!
Way. p. 24camera p. 16A free iPod?
No way!
Way. p. 24