[Preview + Feedback] Digit February 2007

The magazine's hit the stands in a few places already, so I guess I'm later than usual. Here goes:

Magazine Contents

Digital Passion

Cover Feature: The New Struggle For Freedom
Power 2 The People
Will peer-to-peer sharing die? A look at the world’s favourite activity and why the future might have you seeing more of it

Read Me My Rights
Imagine being charged to copy your music collection from your old hard disk to the new one. What is Digital Rights Management and who does it really protect?

Take a Crack
Change The Default Drive Tools In XP
Windows comes with its own defragmenter and other disk utilities. Can you make XP default to third-party programs with similar functions?

Tomorrow
Along Equal Lines
Before we see human-like intelligence in robots, it’s more likely that we’ll see human-like appearance. The robots of the future will even have rights of their own! Where does all this lead?

Digital Tools

Enhance
Under The Radar
There are a lot of things out there that can make your computing experience just that much easier—a big help, all things considered. Agent 001 went on a hunt for this stuff, and came up smiling

Test Centre
BurNer Kings
You’re nowhere without a DVD drive these days. We’ve rounded up the best and worst out there—both Combo drives (four of them) and eight DVD-Writers. There’s now no reason not to replace your crumbling CD-Writer

Agent 001
Surfing The Airwaves
Now that CAS and DTH has begun to invade our lives, there’s a good chance your old TV-Tuner might not have the right connectors. Here’s the Agent’s handy guide to a new one

Know More About...
Fonts
Did you know there’s a whole science behind fonts and how they render on your screen? Find out about what makes a font work

Digital Business

Tech Careers
Emerging Dimensions
It’s one of those “good lines to get into,” but there’s very little known about it. The market for CAD/CAM professionals is as broad as it gets, and the opportunity is there for the taking. Here’s how to get into this “good line” and stay there

Main Story
The Vista Dilemma
Enterprises had it in November, and it’ll be available to you by the time you see this. But is it worth it? What do you get for your buck? Should you upgrade? All your questions answered!

Smart Business
Mayhem Management
It’s usually what you’ll find in an enterprise, but even your office should experience a sharp decline in chaos by moving to a domain setup—here’s why

Digital Leisure

Main Story
A Few Of Our Favourite Things
Who doesn’t love great product design? We’ve hunted down some of the smartest, coolest, and most droolworthy gadgets of all time!

Game On
Reviewed this month: Gears Of War, Splinter Cell: Double Agent (PC and PS2—they’re actually different games!), and Rainbow Six: Vegas. Verdict: we love taking cover!

______________________________________________

CD/DVD Contents

We've re-jigged the interface based on your feedback, so do let us know how you like it

DVD

Digital Passion
Developer Tools
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition
Toad
Adobe Captivate 2
JCreator Pro version 4.00.028
Java Web Services Developer Pack 2.0
eyebol for Delphi
Spices.Net
Advanced Installer 4.6.3

Linux
Flock 0.7.9.1
X-CD-Roast 0.98alpha15
K3b
KAlarm
KThinkBat 0.2.4
Lightbird 0.5
Dolphin File Manager 0.8.1
Kid3 0.8.1

Games
Starseige: Tribes
Splinter Cell Double Agent
1848

Digital Tools
Multimedia
Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta
Project Looking Glass
SUPER v2007 Build 21
ACDSee Photo Editor
SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.0
Beyond TV 4
MagicScore Maestro v4.130
Windows Media Encoder 9 Series
iTunes 7.0.2

Internet
a-squared Anti-Malware 2.1
Colasoft MAC Scanner 1.1
Download Accelerator Plus 8.1
Youtube Video Downloader 1.1.0
Web Gallary Wizard Pro
Deepnet Explorer v1.5.3 Beta 2
Shareaza 2.2.4.0 beta
Raketu 1.017
Weather 1
Internet History Eraser 6.0

System
Autopatcher
Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional
Nero 7 Premium Reloaded
Norton Ghost 10.0
VMware Player 1.0.3
AutoPatcher XP December 2006 Update
WinTasks 5.0 Professional
WordToys v2.0.0
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack

Digital Business
Productivity Tools
Aloaha PDF Crypter 2.2.5
SANmelody
LyX 1.4.3
Prop Web 5.0
EzPhone Recorder 1.1
AMF Daily Planner & PIM 9.3
Achieve Planner 1.4.1.1
WinOrganizer 3.3

Mobile Apps
NetSupport Manager for Pocket PC Version 10.00
Foxit Reader
MyPhoneExplorer 1.5.7
Hier - Free Mobile MSN Messenger
USB-ToolBox 2
Nokia Video Converter 1.0
PowerDay Pro
Portable Scribus
XYplorer
Plato Video To PSP Converter 3.35

Digital Leisure
Small Games
Jewels of Cleopatra
Pizza Frenzy
Secret Maryo Chronicles v0.99.2
Bengal: Game of Gods
Death From Above
Tank Wars
SpongeBob SquarePants Obstacle Odyssey

Movies
The Dentist
The Secret Life of Adolf Hitler

CD

Digital Passion
Developer Tools
Absolute Database
Toad Data Modeler
MDB_Repair
AEdiX Suite 3.0.5 beta
WinSCP
BigSpeed Voice Chat SDK 1.0
Google Web Toolkit 1.3.1
Advanced Effect Maker 2.0
No-IP DUC (Dynamic DNS Update Client)

Linux
EasyTag
Celestia 1.4.1
Mailfilter 0.8.0
Liquid war 5.6.3
WinRAR 3.62
Hullform
Vexira MailArmor
rsync 2.5.0
XChat 2.8.0

Digital Tools
Essentials
Avast Home Edition 4.7
Avast Update
Digit Software Archive 2006 Beta
Foxit Reader 2.0 Build 0930
Irfan View 3.99
K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 1.63
Opera 9.10
Spybot Search and Destroy 1.4
Spybot Search and Detection updates
VLC Media Player 0.8.6
Winamp 5.32
WinRAR 3.62
ZoneAlarm 6.5.737

Multimedia
Saint Paint Studio 12.2
ZORTAM MP3 MEDIA STUDIO 6.50
Crystal XP
MusicMatch Jukebox 10.00.4015b
Super Video Converter
TwistedBrush 11.7
Wizardbrush 6.6.1.8
Ultra Analog VA-1
ImTOO Ripper Pack Platinum v4.0

Internet
Feed Editor 4.1
AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5
FlashGet 1.8.0.1002
WebScout 2.12
Cute FTP Home 8.0.3
Connection Keeper7
Google Web Accelerator
NET Traffic Meter 2.0.1831
Flock 0.7.9.1

System
Software Virtualization Solution 2 SP1
Spyware Terminator 1.7.0.899
Hot CPU testerPro
Complex Evolution 3.2.7 Build 256
Passware Kit Enterprise 7.11
NetSupport Manager v10.00
Advanced WindowsCare Personal 2.3.0.726
InkSaver 2.0
IP Messenger for Win ver2.06
SpyEraser 1.0

Digital Business
Productivity Tools
Scribus 1.3.3.6
WordPerfect MAIL
iMagic Inventory Software
Volutive 1.2.5
LaTeX Editor 0.46 Beta
VoiceGuide for TAPI 5.2.5049
CaseMap 6
True BoxShot 1.5

Mobile Apps
Bluetooth Messenger
Mobile Fighter 1.1.0
MOBILE COBRA STRIKE
MOBILE SOCCER
Blackberry Email Relay 1.5.1
Opera 9.10 USB
PopMan 1.2.2
Mobility Email
PixaMSN v0.6

Digital Leisure
Games
ONAGUNTA (Built by Digit Reader M. Srinidhi from Hyderabad)
Neighbors From Hell 2
Arcade Lines
Heavy Weapon
Snowy: Lunch Rush
Cable Capers 2
Canyon Glider
Hostile Skies
UFO Joe

Videos
The Hitcher
Smokin' Aces
Premonition

Fast Track To Blogging

to MAG contents(only agent 001 looks good) but the CD/DVD is looking nice.What's in the fast track?
You guys really got to make the articles "more home user" targeted.
__________
One more thing,is the patron code included in the mag.You said it will be started on 14th.

The magazine contents seems really poor. Just DVD writers for reviews, that too 8!. The CD/DVD contents look better.
WHy dont you review 2-3 products from each category every month rather than reviewing 60 at a time and not reviewing the product again for one complete year.
Just after you reviewed graphics card, Nvidia 8800GTX was launched. Now we have to wait for a year for its full review.

In my (not humble

) opinion,I think most of the people are not interested in those 007 style gadgets you mentioned in leisure section.

Yeah, drolling over a 5 lakh Alienware mALX. However newbies would like that, i suppose.

Looks good. One suggestion, please write weather a S/W is free or trial version, in front of it's name. And what about the fast track?

Whats in the DIY section?

H

hmmmmmnnnn...
feb is here and i'm still waiting for my january issue!

Is there book by Vishal?

The magazine contents seems decent but CD/DVD is ordinary as usual.

$

but .....whats in d FAST TRACK ??
__________
where can i get the AUTOPATCHER'S starting from Aug 05 to Jan 07 ?? Anyone ?????? If anyone knows .....mail me at sat_2rock09@yahoo.co.in

After a long time, there are few installable apps. in the discs. Thanks for those. But as you know we want more useful stuffs. BTW what's in 'Fast Track' this month?

Waiting for Opera 9.10 USB, Project Looking Glass & some other stuff. Please mention the Mobile Apps platform in the Disc menu as it gets difficult to decide what platform certain mobile app will run @ like Pocket PC, Win mobile, J2ME or Symbian's various versions.

Also in the disc menu please provide actual screen-shot and avoid using logos of software or developing company.

Fastrack to Blogging??? weird man..
Anyway the magazine contents of jan were far better.. This issue's mag doesn't have any geekish DIY articles as promised.. cd/dvd contents are fine as usual.
Please include some multimedia tuts..ala GIMP and BLENDER.. and also some hardware DIY.. something out-off-the-box and some more..the next time eh.. you get the drift..
Much love and kisses(rants if the next issue doen't live up to the expectations)

D

HI,

It seems by refering last so many Digit issue that now a days Digit is more & more shifting towards so called useless articles.

We readers are not only eager to know on any IT front what is happening,which new gadgets have entered, but we want to learn things which can help readers to solve there daily problems, gain additional knowledge to survive in todays environment.

So please don't say stories about anything, we are grown up at least!

Dear Readers,

Now a days there are so many IT magazines like Digit,CHIP,PC WORLD etc. So don't become subscriber of any such magazine. What you can do is, check website of these IT magazine for which articles they gave this month,and then decide which magazine articles (even dvd/cd also) are really interests you. After that you may pick your interested mag if any from news stand.YOU MAY DECIDE TO DROP ANY ISSUE IF YOU PREFER & SAVE MONEY.

PLEASE GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN THE MATTER.

THANKS.

^^Wise guy.I agree with each and every thing you said especially about useless articles instead of daily problem solving.

BTW.THERE IS NO MODEL ON THE COVER :-x

P

like hsnayvid, i too haven't recived my jan issue.i mailed them about it on 28 of jan.they immediately replied.the following.but no more response till now.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for writing to the Jasubhai Digital Media Customer Service
Team.
We have received your query and will respond to you shortly

Best regards,
Jasubhai Digital Media Customer Service
D-222/2, Om Sagar Building,
MIDC, TTC Industrial Area,
Thane-Belapur Road,
Nerul,
Navi Mumbai 400 706
Telephone: 27629319/22
help@jasubhai.com''''''\\\\\\\\\\

it seems the courier guys are taking too long to deliver.

Not satisfied
Fast track to blogging???

no major linux distro

... i m not takin this months digit..

D

The magazine contents seems really poor.

Cd and DVD content , very poor, nothing special.

Dont waste money buying this issue.

dfordigit said:
Digit is more & more shifting towards so called useless articles.

The articles aren't all useless.. Please name some if you please can..Besides if you have access to the net.. go on.. research there.. I assure u that u'll get info faster there, than in digit.. Digit is just a publication's take on tech...Its wat they think is usefull.. And I support them..

We readers are not only eager to know on any IT front what is happening,which new gadgets have entered, but we want to learn things which can help readers to solve there daily problems, gain additional knowledge to survive in todays environment.

So please don't say stories about anything, we are grown up at least!

I don't fully agree. Daily problem solving isn't at all the general concern for most users...the monthly tips and tricks do a great job.. The concern is that the articles digit has been publishing from past few months(barring jan) have been slightly inclined towards the business segment. The home users have also had their share of articles.. But it was hard to find those articles..those DIYs and workshops which aren't quite common and are quite offbeat.. A la jan's cooling article.

Its not that digit hasn't been satisfying us.. But this issue fails to deliver from the point of veiw of the sheer number of workshops.. Please digit.. include hands-on and workshops on something like some custom image creation or converting a GFx's passivd cooling to active..and the like.

Much love..

First, thanks for the faith. We will be doing more geeky DIY articles, but the P2P/DRM issue is something that needed addressing given the way things are going these days.

For those interested, there's a little workshop on how to build a USB charger for your cell phone as well.

We like to do things that are uniquely Digit, so even if the DIYs don't come as often, we'll make sure they're worth the wait.

kaustav: What exactly do you mean by custom image creation?
And to convert your passive cooling to active, just buy a 60 mm fan and super glue/screw it to your existing heatsink.

hey awsum DIY man... sounds too good..

Gr8..

fatbeing said:
kaustav: What exactly do you mean by custom image creation?
And to convert your passive cooling to active, just buy a 60 mm fan and super glue/screw it to your existing heatsink.

Thanks for the info but I've already done that(active heatsink) on my own.I just posted it as an example..

I'm really sorry abt not being clear in my words::By custome image creation I mean that you could create a phoshoped image(manipulated i.e) using GIMP giving it a new meaning (A la sci fi or anything els) in a tutorial. This could be done using the hidden as well common features of GIMP.It needs some focuss being an excellent OSS product.

Moreover you could include more hands-on on LAN setup,multiplaya gaming,VMware's applications, LINUX codes(commands and special features)

Ps:: Do all linux distros feature similar command structures??? I mean How is Ubuntu different from Dyne?? I'm not asking it from the application point of veiw , rather i wana know that do they offer the same basic LINUX functionality,in terms of power,control,command structures???

PS2::You can safely do away with the TECH-tabloid, in its place some handy kow more abt or some DIYs will do more justice.

i am buying all mags (digit ,chip,pcworld ,Linuxforyou )as usual

. just lower the price guys :-(

kaustav:
We have covered GIMP in a previous issue, though this was before I joined. We'll consider the idea, though once you've had an intro, what you achieve with GIMP is really about your own creativity.

And yes, at heart, every Linux distro has a very similar, if not the same, heart.

Well.. yeah You've done but its very basic.. Most of the people know atleast that much..... OK lets say you introduce a photoshoping contest every issue??? That'l fuel creativity??? I'm sure.

I'm some articles in the past have been gr8:: the architechture of AMD K8 and Intel's Core...DDR2... Direct X 10.. and the like... Its these articles that we are more interested in... Kindly feature more artciles of these sorts rather than articles on business segment apps... Please.

yeah... price kam karo... yaar... and make it easier on the mind.
Frankly speakin... the condition of DIGIT(the mag) these days... boring @ many places... makin me hesitate buyin it.. and promptin me shift my loyality to CHIP.
Need to glossy up the mag & make it more layman-friendly.

digitprasad said:
The magazine contents seems really poor.

Cd and DVD content , very poor, nothing special.

Dont waste money buying this issue.

uhhhh seems digit is degrading or what !!! mod have look what the people are saying..... digit ....wake up .....renew things up make things look/work/feel better

koolbluez said:
yeah... price kam karo... yaar... and make it easier on the mind.
Frankly speakin... the condition of DIGIT(the mag) these days... boring @ many places... makin me hesitate buyin it.. and promptin me shift my loyality to CHIP.
Need to glossy up the mag & make it more layman-friendly.

I agree with the "price kam karo" but i can't digest the layman friendly point...Are you a layman in the first place?? I hope not... Speak for yourself mate... If you are so keen on digit's improvement .. pin point the exact improvements you want... Help in the right spirit please???

Thanx

dfordigit said:
HI,

It seems by refering last so many Digit issue that now a days Digit is more & more shifting towards so called useless articles.

We readers are not only eager to know on any IT front what is happening,which new gadgets have entered, but we want to learn things which can help readers to solve there daily problems, gain additional knowledge to survive in todays environment.

So please don't say stories about anything, we are grown up at least!

Dear Readers,

Now a days there are so many IT magazines like Digit,CHIP,PC WORLD etc. So don't become subscriber of any such magazine. What you can do is, check website of these IT magazine for which articles they gave this month,and then decide which magazine articles (even dvd/cd also) are really interests you. After that you may pick your interested mag if any from news stand.YOU MAY DECIDE TO DROP ANY ISSUE IF YOU PREFER & SAVE MONEY.

PLEASE GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN THE MATTER.

THANKS.

i m with you...........
in these days digit is just becoming bore.......

I liked the article on DRM and P2P which gives an objective view instead of an opinionated and one-side-biased one (like the millions out there). The Fast Track on Blogging was good too, a welcome considering I was planning a shift from Movable Type to Wordpress. But the review was biased towards only the hosted version of wordpress without much about the feature of the platform software which we could install on our own webspace and apparently has a lot of features (with or without plugins). Moreover civil and sensible articles do not always sell as much as politically charged controversial articles which are shocking...my experience with a few blogs. I liked the "Along Equal Lines" article on robots and AI too, interesting read.

The magazine contents seems poor. Even the CD and DVD content are poor. Not buying this month issue.

HAve you guys looked up page 14... digit reader poll section..??? I see the graph for last month's poll results, but what was the actual poll question..?? I don't see anything there..

or am I missing something..??

Weird..!!!

kaustav_geek said:
I agree with the "price kam karo" but i can't digest the layman friendly point...Are you a layman in the first place?? I hope not... Speak for yourself mate... If you are so keen on digit's improvement .. pin point the exact improvements you want... Help in the right spirit please???

Thnx 4 the YES & the NO. I don't need to b a layman to speak for the layman.

And can u please define:layman
IMHO... a layman is one who doesn't know much about a given topic.
So... u read DIGIT, right. Why do u read it? Is it because u like readin stuff u already know?
NO... it's because u want to learn more... somethin new.
Meanin... u r a layman to some stuff DIGIT's puttin forward to u... until u finish the last page of that book... for that month.
Once u finish the mag.. it doesn't mean that u r Mr.Geek.
Next month.. DIGIT'll come out with some more things u don't have an idea about.
So... r u a Geek or... a Layman?

People'll think twice to buy a used-to-be-good-now-boring magazine if most of the readers don't feel @ ease with the content. Digit is now becoming boring for its normal reader-base.
Want more people to buy the mag... better add more color(not literally), bring out more pleasing stuff for the common man... not geek-stuff.

FYI... I was a DIGIT fan till recently... nowadays I too hesitate & openly feel CHIP's really beginning to eat into DIGIT's market. If DIGIT doesn't tie its shoelaces & start a good run... I fear CHIP'll grab more layman readers pretty soon.

S

Nice stuff especially the hex editor and scripts editor i.eAedix and Aedixhex

Indyan said:
But, please increase the font size for the digit cd/dvd interface. Its barely readable.

Seems you're running at 800 x 600. The interface is optimised for 1024x768; I advise using that, but we'll look into this nonetheless.

Do you know that PCWorld has given OpenSuSE this month. I think its worth a buy.
__________
Hey man I think the interface looks great this month.Saw the pic just now.
Was not to the mark the first time!

Got the digit,I ll soon post the thoughts.

Got my copy just now
seems to be good

prasad_den said:
HAve you guys looked up page 14... digit reader poll section..??? I see the graph for last month's poll results, but what was the actual poll question..?? I don't see anything there.. or am I missing something..?? Weird..!!!

Any replies...??? Anybody knows the question..??

prasad_den said:
Any replies...??? Anybody knows the question..??

That was a printing error - we'll publish the corrigendum in the March issue.

The mag is quite nice(I have read only the p2p and drm articles till now)
But it is nice guys,you should buy it.(Please don't stop publishing about Ms. Spears in tabloid tech

)

M

How I search a good book in net what are the free site available in net can any one tell me about sits.

K

hey FatBeing
Administratus Rotundus
i have not received the magazine as yet please tell me what should i do to get the magazine on the first of the month (atleast the first week). (I have already paid the subscription for 5 years)
I receive PC World and Chip then but i never receive digit then it is always after the 15th las month it broke all the records and i received it on the 27th. When a mag is that late it is sold as old issue in the market. Y should i not have 2 months extension for every delayed issue.

Atleast there should be some fine on Digit too for mailing the issues that late to subscribers.

And can u please define:layman
IMHO... a layman is one who doesn't know much about a given topic.
So... u read DIGIT, right. Why do u read it? Is it because u like readin stuff u already know?
NO... it's because u want to learn more... somethin new.
Meanin... u r a layman to some stuff DIGIT's puttin forward to u... until u finish the last page of that book... for that month.
Once u finish the mag.. it doesn't mean that u r Mr.Geek.
Next month.. DIGIT'll come out with some more things u don't have an idea about.
So... r u a Geek or... a Layman?

People'll think twice to buy a used-to-be-good-now-boring magazine if most of the readers don't feel @ ease with the content. Digit is now becoming boring for its normal reader-base.
Want more people to buy the mag... better add more color(not literally), bring out more pleasing stuff for the common man... not geek-stuff.

FYI... I was a DIGIT fan till recently... nowadays I too hesitate & openly feel CHIP's really beginning to eat into DIGIT's market. If DIGIT doesn't tie its shoelaces & start a good run... I fear CHIP'll grab more layman readers pretty soon.

Dude,

Don't Take my words as an assualt... I don't mean it anyway you look at it...

While I do agree abt myself being a layman and not a geek(don't go by my ID please)... But its not entirely correct that i read digit just to learn new things... I read it to know some things.. which i already know about, but would like to know them better...this doesn't make me a layman as per your def right??

Wel.. While I do read digit to improve my knowledge of certain things.. I also read it to get their opinion on certain things I already know... Their personal take on certain things I already know... I read Digit, Not to become a Mr. Geek as you might think , but to have a decent compilation of things we ought to be informed of and be able to reproduce when required, at my disposal..

If just sheer.. "knowing something you didn't know anything about" would have been the case... nothing beats WEB...

I guess you already know abt most of the blogging features?? Don't you.. But digit's personal take makes you know it better than you already did... that doesn't make you a layman...does it??

Your definition of a layman:

IMHO... a layman is one who doesn't know much about a given topic.

Itself says that... its one who doesn't know much... Don't you know much about DRM or P2P or better still the HD, WiFi??
You do...We do...We aren't laymen as per your def then right??

Thanks.

I Don't want to start a flame war... If I was negative in my approach towards any fellow member and have been using derogatory terms.. Please.. I would like to apologise...

Digit's articles in the past have been certainly a bit too technical rather than being easy to understand... I do agree... The articles ought to be short,precise,and not too heavy on our grey cells...

PS::increase the number of articles in the DIGITAL PASSION sub-section.

Thanks.

T

Tech Geek said:
Got my copy just now
seems to be good

Hi can someone post this Issue of Digit 2007 having the Article " DVD -Writers".

"Test Centre *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/../images/0702_DVD_test.jpg BurNer Kings
You’re nowhere without a DVD drive these days. We’ve rounded up the best and worst out there— both Combo drives (four of them) and eight DVD-Writers. There’s now no reason not to replace your crumbling CD-Writer "

Im planni to buy a new DVD riter soon...It would be very helpful

thanks everyone who hopefully will post tat article here...or atleast which DVD riter have come out first according to the magazine..

hi

. . i like the cover a lot

. nice to see gandhi with DRM

keep it up . . its far better than a sexy girl . . it conveyed a strong meaning

. well done guys . . who ever thought of that idea deserves a pat in the back . but the article was a bit disappoinment , you did not convey a strong message . you touched only the surface. but "gandhi's"picture said it all

.now this is how you need to gain popularity

.GOOD JOB

P

plz plz.......................plz plz plz

change the courier and start delivering isuues on time.
6th feb is here and i haven't recieved my jan issue yet.this is worst to say the least.
also no proper response through mail too.

i mailed about late delivery of mags on jan.27your response is "we will respond shortly" does shortly by your language mean months.

this is becomming annoying month after month to complain about not recieving or late recieving of mags.plz change the courier to some good one's like afl,bluedart etc.....................

take this seriously digit guys

otherwise in a matter of time you will lose many of your readers or atlest you will loose your subscribers.

D

not buying this one ..........already bought PCworld & CHIP........far better than DIGIT.......atleast this month.........

L

Hey, I liked this month's issue. I've only had a cursory glance till now, so I cannot pinpoint the best of the best articles, or give an in-depth review. Still, here goes nothing:

* GREAT idea @ TV-Tuner: nice timing

* Interesting article on Fonts. complaint: ONE f-ing link in the whole article? Please, you should have given a table of URLs with descriptions of each. Bad Bad Bad <forgot how to make an angry smiley

>

* Many other really good articles on Internet Instructions, Smart Business, Kerala e-literacy,

* The cover article on p2p and DRM looks really cool. I'm gonna read it today at lerisure. (I seem to be the only person here who wants MORE such articles)

* The macworld expo 2007 was crap - not enough + too many pics and too little content. It mostly looked like a photo-review of of the iphone. I've got nothing against reviewing the iphone, but you could have put that in another article. This was about the expo... some excerpts from the speeches etc would have been muchh better. By the way, ROTFLMAO @ the Jim Allchin quote, though I have no idea who he is (and did he survive at microsoft after making that comment)

* Could I request that you cover the Crap-free PC topic (Escape, page 136) a little more extensively in a future issue? I'd love to read it with an Indian context.

* Uh... One Silly Question is.... stupid. Maybe you could convert it into a less frivolous thing, like asking serious question to people on the street. That would be much more interesting than the unfunny responses they actually give. ("I would like to gift my computer an antivirus for valentine's day".... ugh)

* Hot/Not is way too short.

* The people who keep complaining are really weird.... All your articles seem consistently great. I used to feel Chip was better than Digit, but now Digit is miles ahead of them all.

BTW, I have one thing to ask: has there ever been a case where the old way won over the tech way in digit? I find it hard to believe that watching a webcast could tie with attending a conference, EVER! how...? (perhaps I should start a chitchat thread on this...)

led_shankar said:
BTW, I have one thing to ask: has there ever been a case where the old way won over the tech way in digit? I find it hard to believe that watching a webcast could tie with attending a conference, EVER! how...? (perhaps I should start a chitchat thread on this...)

There was paper book vs. e-book, and I think the classic radio vs. Internet radio.

The webcast thing might be a tad biased - our profession depends on attending press conferences, and our deadlines usually make them impossible to attend. Even so, webcasts work as free information for those who want it, or don't want to go out of their way to attend events. The sheer convenience makes up for the disadvantages of not being there.

L

If I recollect correctly, I believe paper book tied with e-book.
Though I guess you would know better

The conveience may make it somewhat "okay"... but not anywhere close to the live events.

ANd could you please address the complaints in my post? (links in articles, expo review, one silly question.

thanks for the prompt reply, though.

I bought this issue yesterday and I have to say that I'm impressed with its contents. I've read only the P2P article and its very informative.

The idea of Creative Common license for P2P is a neat one, if only it could be implemented. In reality, it isn't for free that P2P users have been downloading legal stuff. They have been paying for the stuff they download in terms of bandwidth usage; the only difference is that instead of the music companies and movie producers the ISPs have been earning the profit. The "Creative Common" license for P2P would be hard to implement. Even if such a scheme exist it has to be made seperate from the usual broadband plan that ISPs offer, because not all subscribers might be interested in using P2P. In such a case it will be upto the subscriber whether they signup for this scheme. If the usual bandwidth available for the subscriber is large enough he will still chose to download stuff from P2P without signing up for that scheme. Consider what happened to the online gaming package introduced by BSNL. They rates are cheap for just Rs 100 to Rs 200 p.m. you could download games legally and play online. But how many of us have used that offer? And BSNL cannot force anybody who games into signing up for that package. The same will happen to music/movies package when it comes.

@led_shanker: I remember correctly, the good old paper book won against the ebook. I always hate ebook. And I agree that Digit has been giving good articles nearly consistently for the last couple of months, however with an occasional not-so-good issue or two, like the Dec 06 one.

led_shankar said:
If I recollect correctly, I believe paper book tied with e-book.
Though I guess you would know better

The conveience may make it somewhat "okay"... but not anywhere close to the live events.

ANd could you please address the complaints in my post? (links in articles, expo review, one silly question.

thanks for the prompt reply, though.

What kind of response do you want? We do what we do; some people find it good, some find it crappy. It's the way of the world...

In re the crap-free PC, the Indian context is pretty much the same as the world's - you want cheap PC, you deal with pre-loaded crapware.

(Jim Allchin is still with MS, by the way)

@blackpearl: The article does mention the P2P fee as a separate offer from ISPs. So an ISP's plan would be such:

256kbps unlimited, no P2P - Rs x
256kbps unlimited, with P2P - Rs x + say, 200

L

Hey sorry, I didn't mean any offense.

None taken... I was just saying that any response would be superfluous.

L

has anyone already reported the goofup in the poll graphic (options not printed)?

yup it has been done and will be corrected in next issue.

L

damn. I was hoping to be the first.

D

I am fan of Digit. I love to read it. Only that's why I complain for which i don't like.

I started discussion in the begining of the month about usability of articles.I find from many views expressed here that too greeky articles are also demanded by some persons. So let you conti for such people. But overall articles like How to's, tutorials, q&a, tips & trics, agent001 are more necessary things. So Fatbeing, may i ask you to give more pages to such articles in future? I think Chip is doing exactly that,so some members also like Chip.

O.k

Digit is best, I wish all the best to conti to be best.

Request:

Why don't you include video tutorials on CD/DVD? You may shoot in house video tutorials at Digit, and provide us on DVD.IN THIS WAY YOUR SHOOT OUT PRODUCTION DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY PERMISSIONS, NO PURCHASE COST, AND WILL BE EXCLUSIVE TUTORIAL OF DIGIT TEAM!!!!!!!!!

Whose blog is featured in the cover page of the Fast Track? deo under one arm!!

No comments on the enhancements we made to the CD/DVD interface?

S

Those rippling effects are achieved using actions-scripting? Man! I nearly went org4sm!c

Those small nifty additions of volume control and calendar were too kewl to be ignored. I wish Xp had such dialog boxes

You know sometimes I just forget its not windows and end up right clicking on minimized window at taskbar to close it (right click> close)

There's just one glitch, on clicking maximize, you get the window centered at 800x600 on a 1024x768 screen. I guess thats because it was optimized for 800x600.

Here's a tip, why not integrate digit archive with this interface? Maybe digit archive comes in this form (OS ishtyle) and when you pop in the CD/DVD the "digit menu" (start menu) changes to show contents of the disc which was just popped in. Maybe not in real time but on restarting digit archive which possibly comes in this form.

-seXie

SE><IE said:
There's just one glitch, on clicking maximize, you get the window centered at 800x600 on a 1024x768 screen. I guess thats because it was optimized for 800x600.

That's not a glitch - maximise really means center in the DigitOS.

S

FatBeing said:
That's not a glitch - maximise really means center in the DigitOS.

lol, strange, maybe the default window size (restored) should be made a bit smaller then

I guess maximising a window and expecting it to really get maximised at both 800x600 and 1024x768 would be hard or perhaps impossible to obtain considering you need to know the system resolution first. Anyways, its a really nifty job done by you fellas. *avalonsoftware.org/foro/images/smiles/mano2.gif

What about the standlone feature I talked of? DigitOS built as a standalone feature which can be downloaded for once from the site and each month's contents etc are seen as plugins for the same. This way even an appreciable size won't cost a buck from the disc estate
Well, its just an idea

The immense effort being put into the interface drived me to think out-of-the-box.

-seXie

SE><IE said:
lol, strange, maybe the default window size (restored) should be made a bit smaller then
I guess maximising a window and expecting it to really get maximised at both 800x600 and 1024x768 would be hard or perhaps impossible to obtain considering you need to know the system resolution first. Anyways, its a really nifty job done by you fellas. *avalonsoftware.org/foro/images/smiles/mano2.gif

It's not really hard; it's just that we wanted the desktop to be visible at all times.

SE><IE said:
What about the standlone feature I talked of? DigitOS built as a standalone feature which can be downloaded for once from the site and each month's contents etc are seen as plugins for the same. This way even an appreciable size won't cost a buck from the disc estate
Well, its just an idea
The immense effort being put into the interface drived me to think out-of-the-box.

-seXie

It's a thought, that. I can't guarantee we'll even think on those lines, but for the record, it's a good idea.

Oh well, I forgot to comment about the interface. Now it looks really cool. Easy to navigate and the clock and calender are nice additions. Great work!! However the fonts look a little distorted in 800x600 resolutions. Couldn't you fix that?

Yeah we noticed, though we're prioritising new features before we fix that - remember that the minimum requirement is 1024x768.

M

Re: [Preview + Feedback] regarding EDITORIAL

dear officials and co readers,
well, i m writing here regarding new 'EDITORIAL' of the latest issue.
its regarding the comparison among INDIA and USA regarding cell usage.

bt it seems to me that,a little complicated contents.
could any official, or even any co readers,guide me pls?
i m vry mch interested on that to topic.

also, digit is nice.bt y cant it contain a "do it yourself " section on each issue?

waiting to get replied /guided.

thanking you

L

This months issue was great! I really liked it. I liked most of the softwares also the magazine gave me some good reading to do as i don't consider a magazine lol. By the way the wallpapers of the digit cd and dvd were really cool i would like to have it.

S

Well, it goes like this. There in the US, 90-95% of cellphones are sold by the service providers (cingular etc). consider it like getting a Nokia phone from reliance outlet. This is bound to happen with CDMA and US is dominated by CDMA (worry not, GSM won't last much here either), so the end result is you are bound by the no. of sets provided by the service provider. See, if you don't like the "collection" of phones at a reliance outlet then you can very well go and buy one for yourself and get a connection from reliance.
US citizens can't go and buy out (at least without going through tiring efforts) a cell phone because, as I said, " US is dominated around 90-95% by CDMA providers" hence cellphone selling shops are very rare to find.
The result is you are trapped with the provider/phone. So, if Apple decides to launch iPhone only with service from cingular and none other then either you gotta shift to cingular, dropping your current phone and number or just sit and curse.
"trapped in paradise" aren't they?

@Deepak Ajwani: I got one question at this topic- Why the hell the service providers can't make your old phone use the new service? Hardcoded in the phone?

M

SE><IE said:
Well, it goes like this. There in the US, 90-95% of cellphones are sold by the service providers

my dear friend,
thanku very much

P

hi.

i have recieved my feb issue. but the cover was torn bad.

also i am yet to recieve my jan isuue.this hurts.come on guys.plz send me the jan issue.

Average Issue

A

Hai Everyone,

I am grateful to DIGIT for introducing me to blogging.Thanks to you I was able to start my own blog in no time.Usually Fasttracks' not only give a lot of information, but also a little bit of history about the subject it deals with.But this was missing in this issue of Fasttrack to Blogging. So I decided to post about Blogging's history in my new blog "W5H-When,Where,Why,What,Which and How". Read through the post and enjoy. Don't forget, Please Comment.
w5h-avi.blogspot.com

its not that bad
good enough since you are making it the first time

P

Re: [Preview + Feedback + Suggestion] Digit February 2007 - Power 2 The People

Dear Friends,

I am new to the forum of digit, but I am attached with digit since it was Chip. I thought of writing articles for digit but you can say that I was a shy guy who was not having anything specific to write or may be that was not the right time to interact with you people. I think that’s enough about me as well as my collaboration with digit. Now come to the point why I thought now to interact with all of you.

This is regarding the cover feature (Power 2 The People) of February 2007 issue of digit written by Robert Smith. He has also given a caption to the story “Can piracy via P2P be stopped?

My answer to his question is “Yes! Piracy can be stopped!”

The first question he raised in his article about the legality. I don’t want to give all the details of the article. So readers are requested to go through the article themselves (As it is also illegal to copy the contents of an article for your purpose). Can it be possible to ban all P2P? also is it not like restricting the rights of the companies just because some users are doing something for which the software is not meant? Just to give an example- In India there is a handsome number of personalities who use cough syrups just for nasha and not as a medicine. What does it implies? Will it be a great idea to ban the cough syrups? The answer is ‘No’ and why not? The answer is given in the advantages part of the article.

There is one solution given by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which seems most humorous to me. It says that instead of suing a few Americans for downloading music, perhaps we should just charge every individual with a broadband connection a small monthly fee and allow them to download all the music they want from P2P, without any legal issues. Now, what if a person don’t want to download anything from P2P, why he will pay for that extra (even if it is a small amount). Also, it is not a solution to stop piracy but it is like a clear win of pirates.

Before the solution:

I just want to give a brief of how P2P works. A person gives the name of file (whatever the format is) to the downloader software. The downloader software searches for all the occurrence of that file and displays the files. The user selects a file and starts downloading.

Now here lies the idea:

Let me describe my idea in a very simple way. We all know that there exists a main file in every case. In case of softwares its .exe or .com without which a user can not run the software or you can say the initial coding is given in that file. Now, my idea is that one tag is inserted into it, which will only reflect that this software is not a sharable software. Now, here comes the trick. The P2P downloader creating persons can be forced to make their downloaders read that tag and if that tag is found, it will not be displayed in the list of available downloads. Now if the file will not be displayed in the downloader, it will not be downloaded.

Let us consider the fact that suing thousands of users of a downloader is difficult but making a downloader responsible for not able to read tag is much easier and hence suing one person who is responsible for making that downloader is good.

I am waiting for the response from the persons here on this forum as well as digit team.

Pushpinder Arora

R

Hello Mods,

I want the Digit Fast Track February 2007 issue for blogging.

I really loved it so much. I dont remeber where have I put the book.

In fact, I had just bought the whole feb issue for the fast track copy of blogging.

Can you folks please tell me the link where I can download the digital copy of the fast track.. to blogging or even hard copy will do..

Regards,
Ronak S.

I think it was given in one of the previous issue DVD, just go thro your DVD archive.

check this thread *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37729

R

Thanks Charan,

I don't know which issue is that.

However, I had like to buy that particular issue which has all the Fast track issues in soft copy format..

especially the one with the blogging fast track guide.. in case you get any rapidshare link to download the issue please pm me.

Regards,
Ronak S.

G

How can I get the Fast Track blogging ebook