2005 YOUNG SCIENTISTS ESAT BT

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Young Scientist . (0

& Technology Exhibition

13, 14 & 15 January 2005, RDS Dublin

DREAMS

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A welcome message from Bill Murphy CEO Esat BT & BT Northern Ireland

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the Esat BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2005.

Is cuis athais dom a failte a chur romhaibh chuig Taispeantas na nEolaithe Oga Esat BT 2005.

Esat BT is proud to organise and sponsor this very special event for this our eighth consecutive year. A showcase of innovation, talent and creativity, the competition is a national institution and has been an early stomping ground for some of Ireland's leading science and technology scholars.

Is cuis brbd e do Esat BT a bheith ag eagru agus ag deanamh urraiochta ar an 6c6id speisialta seo don ochtu bliain as a cheile. Le fionntraiocht, tallann agus cruthaitheacht, is institiud naisiunta e an com6rtas seo faoin am seo, a raibh go leor do scolairi eolaiochta cailiula an lae inniu pairteach ann.

This year sees the highest number of entries in the competition 's 41 year history. Over one thousand projects were submitted by students throughout the island and as usual, the standard is impressively high. The students showcasing their work over the next three days are already winners. I commend their commitment and dedication to their research and wish them luck.

Fuarthas an lion ba mh6 iontrail riamh don taispeantas i mbliana. Os cionn mile t6gra a thainig chugainn o cheann ceann na tire agus iad uilig ar chaighdean an-ard mar is gnach. Is buaiteoiri cheana fein iad siud a bheidh ag taispeaint a gcuid oibre le Jinn na laethanta romhainn.

Molaim a gcur chuige agus a ndiogras agus guim gach rath orthu.

As a CEO, I recognise that the excellence of the Irish education system has created a pool of talent that businesses have crossed oceans to tap into. The Young Scientist competition promotes research and discovery in the sciences amongst a whole generation of Irish young people and Esat BT is

delighted to be part of this.

With information and communications technologies fast becoming a fundamental part of all of our lives, we will continue to work with government to ensure that our young people are poised to take their place in Ireland's information society.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the teachers

and parents for the support they have given to the students and to the students themselves for their commitment and enthusiasm.

I would also like to thank Minister Mary Hanafin and her colleagues at the Department of Education and Science for their support.

To the participating students, my congratulations to every one of you for making it to the finals here in the RDS. Enjoy the

event and I wish you every success this week and for the future.

Mar phriomhfeidhmeannach, aithnim gur de thoradh an ch6ras oideachais sa tir seo a thagann gn6lachtai ar th6ir tallann. Musclaionn Taispeantas na nEolaithe Oga taighde agus fionnachtain eolaiochta i measc gluin 6g an lae inniu agus to athas ar Esat BT a bheith pairteach sa phr6iseas seo.

Aithnimid go bhfuil teicneolaiocht eolais agus cumarsaide ina dhluthchuid dar saol agus mar sin leanaimid ag obair leis an Rialtas le cinntiu go mbeidh aos 6g na hEireann abalta a bheith rannphairteach i sochai eolais na tire.

Ba mhaith liorn buiochas o chroi a ghabhail leis na muinteoiri agus na tuismitheoiri as ucht an tacaiocht a thug said do na daltai agus ba mhaith liom buiochas a ghabhail leis na daltai iad fein as ucht a ndiogras agus a nduthracht.

Gabhaim buiochas chomh maith leis an Aire Mary Hanafin agus a gcomhleacaithe sa Roinn Oideachais as ucht a dtacaiocht.

Comhghairdeas leis na daltai uilig ar eirigh leo teacht chomh fada leis seo sa chom6rtas. Bain taitneamh as an ocaid agus beir bua.

Bill Murphy CEO Esat BT & BT Northern Ireland Priomhfheidhmeannach Esat BT agus BT Northern Ireland

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TECHNOLOGIES

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In the Main Hall are the 480 projects that have made it through to the finals. Competing at the RDS is no small achievement, as an all-time record 1064 projects were originally submitted for entry this year. Make your way through the four category sections, chat to the students and you'll be amazed at their knowledge and expertise and the complexity of their projects.

Each project is judged at least three times during the competition and each time by different judges.

The first round of judging is on the Wednesday afternoon, then two more times on the Thursday, with the final deliberation on the major prize-winners being made on the Friday morning. All the results are announced at a special Awards Ceremony on the Friday evening.

'In Search of the Dinosaur' featuring a four metre tall Tyrannosaurus rex The 'World of Robots' in the Big Top featuring Mechanoids plus the battle for the Young Scientist Challenge Shield between the fighting robots.

`The Sky's the Limit' by W5 `Waste Not!' featuring Weapons of Sound making funky music from recycled materials such as bicycle wheels, oil cans and even the kitchen sink! `Albert Einstein meets Doctor Who'. A play especially written for Young Scientist 2005 in celebration of Einstein Year 2005.

The awards for 2005 Main awards

Category Awards

Special Awards

Esat BT Young Scientist(s) of the Year 2005 If the title Esat BT Young Scientist of the Year is awarded to an Individual, a Best Group Award will also be made. If the title Esat BT Young Scientist of the Year is awarded to a Group, a Best Individual Award will be made.

There are 36 prizes for Individuals and 36 prizes for Group projects.

The prizes take the form of 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in Junior, Intermediate and Senior sections of each of the four categories: • Biological and Ecological Science

Individual or Group • Esat BT Young Scientist of the Year Trophy (perpetual)

• Social and Behavioural Sciences

• Cheque for €3,000

The prizes are as follows: • 1st prize of €300 for both Individual and Group projects

Intel Student Award Institute of Physics Eli Lily Met Eireann Analog Devices Technology Award Dublin Institute of Technology Patents Office Environmental Protection Agency Intel Environmental Award Safefood Coford Royal College of Surgeons Ireland National Safety Council Irish Blood Transfusion Service National Children ' s Office ASH Ireland The Marine Institute Foras Na Gaeilge TG4 Comhar Esat BT British Council Science Teacher Awards Intel and Analog Devices Educator of Excellence Awards

• The chance to represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists Best Individual or Best Group • Esat BT Trophy (perpetual)

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• Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences

• Technology

• 2nd prize of €225 for both Individual and Group projects

• Cheque for €1,500

• 3rd prize of €150 for both Individual and Group projects

Runner- up Individual and Runners- up Group • Esat BT Trophy (perpetual)

A number of Highly Commended and Display awards will be awarded in each category by the panel of judges.

• Cheque for €750

Albert EinsteinTM HUJ, www.albert-einstein.net

einsteinTM g ear Qr N, 1I0re, Disco'JeC'

In 1905 Albert Einstein changed physics and the way we understand our world. One hundred years on, Einstein Year is celebrating the excitement and diversity of

physics today.

Part of the worldwide initiative, International Year of Physics, Einstein Year is a unique opportunity to enthuse and inspire the next generation of physicists. Throughout 2005, the Institute of Physics is coordinating a series of high profile activities including a hands-on exhibition exploring issues in cutting-edge physics, an international poster competition, an Einstein inspired production by Rambert Dance Company, a film festival exploring Einstein's relationship with cinema, a physics poetry competition, a workshop producing music from space sounds, debates about future energy sources and many more.

The Einstein Year website contains lots of information to help you get involved with the

celebrations and organise your own Einstein Year event as well as resources such as a large selection of physics tricks and demos that bring physics to life.

The website also includes information on the Einstein Year grant scheme which has a maximum award of ÂŁ1,500 to help support physics activities within the wider community the closing date for applications to Round 2 of the scheme is 25th February 2005. w.elnstelnyear.org

Institute of Physics

Young Scientist Judges 200.` Angela Keegan, Esat BT-Chairperson

Mr Des McQuid Ms Lynda McSweeney Prof. Aidan Moran Ms Ruby Morrow

Dr Padraig O'Kiely

Professor Stephen Mayhew

Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences Prof. Tom Brazil Dr Anne Breslin Rev. Dr Tom Burke Prof. Sean Corish Dr Pat Guiry Dr Michael McGrath Dr Eoin O'Neill Dr Tony Scott Prof. Tom Laffey Dr Michael Byrne

Dr Declan Murray

Dr Kathy O'Boyle Professor John O'Halloran Professor John Bracken Dr Lesley Powell Dr Ursula MacEvilly Dr Lucy Byrnes Prof. Dervilla Donnelly

Mr Bill Hunt Mr Barry Kennedy

Mr Jim Hourihane

Mr Frank Kavanagh Mr Paid McGee Dr Maeve Martin Mr Des McCluskey

Mr Hubert Fuller

Professor Mary Garrett Dr Tom Harrington

Professor Michael Hennerty Dr Mary Kelly-Quinn

Dr Eibhlin Connolly Dr Carmel Dinan

Mr Leonard Hobbs

Dr Patricia Fitzpatrick

Dr Brid Crombie Quilty

Mr Paddy O'Dwyer

Dr Joe Barry

Dr Billy Fitzgerald

Dr Joe Caffrey

Dr David Silke

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Professor Gerry Doyle

Dr Padraig Dunne Dr Stephen Connon

Dr Thomas Quigley

Ms Mary Cawley Mr Sidney Blain Dr Joe Brady Dr Barry Brunt Ms Mary Burke Ms Annette Cahalane Ms Edel Conway Dr Ray Fuller Prof. Des Gillmor Dr Kevin Hourihan Mr Des Hourihane

Prof. Frank Imbusch

Mr John O'Leary

Ms Ann O'Sullivan

Mr Tom O'Dwyer Mr Larry Taylor

Mr Owen Mackessy Mr John Dunnion Mr Martin Wickham Chair Final Session

Prof. Dervilla Donnelly

Mr Ciaran McCullagh

Dr Paul McKeown

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echnology Junior . Individual trroje Stand No. 1 Student(s): Michael O'Keeffe Title: The stub stopper School: Abbeyfeale Vocational School Teacher: Mr Ryan Kennelly

Stand No. 13 Student(s): Darren Marshall, Keith Mooney, David McGovern Title: The signal express School: Christian Brothers (Abbey) Grammar School, Newry Teacher: Mr Tony Mooney

Stand No. 7 Student(s): Peter Benilov Title: Combat robot simulation School: Castletroy College, Limerick Teacher: Ms Lisa Kiely

Stand No. 14 Student(s): Emmet Travers, Barry Nolan Title: Speed guard - a digital system of informing drivers of speed limits School: Gorey Community School Teacher: Mr Humphrey Jones

Stand No. 2 Student(s): Ryan Devlin Title: Baby care bathe School: Christian Brothers (Abbey) Grammar School, Newry Teacher: Mr Mark Rodgers

Stand No. 15 Student(s): Conor Murphy, Fionn Malone, Daniel Smith Title: Speedometer vs speedgun School: Lucan Community College Teacher: Ms Audrey Byrne

Stand No. 3 Student( s): James McClean Title: The natural aid

Stand No. 16 Student(s): Breege Gibbons, Andrea Connolly, Elizabeth Farrell Title: Anti-hound ultrasound School: Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow

School: Christian Brothers (Abbey) Grammar School, Newry Teacher: Mr Mark Rodgers

Stand No. 4 Student(s): David McCarthy Title: Remote control of house lights School: Christian Brothers Secondary School, Midleton Teacher: Mr Seamus Murphy Stand No. 5 Student(s): Cian MacMahon

Stand No. 17 Student(s): Karly Fairman, Serena Fanning, Maria Lahart Title: Unnecessary injury no more - with gym elastics School: Ursuline Convent, Thurles Teacher: Mr Michael English

School: Gonzaga College, Ranelagh Teacher: Mr Joe O'Briain

Stand No. 18 Student(s): John Buckley, Darragh Linnane, Damien Conway Title: A new boat buoyancy aid School: CBS Ennistymon Teacher: Mr Kieran Meehan

Stand No. 6 Student(s): Nathan Ellis Title: Look, no wires - a wireless surround sound system School: St. Peter's Community School, Passagewest Teacher: Mr John Beechinor

Stand No. 19 Student(s): Aindriu 0 hUiginn, Eoin Mac Giolla Rua, Jesse Mac Giolla Chomghaill Title: Dromchla boithre agus sabhaltacht School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 Giobuin

Title: Home-made hovercraft: investigation of friction in its operation

Stand No. 10 Student(s): Susan Fulton, Niall Kelly, Danny Hanley Title: Wave goodbye to waves School: Bailieborough Community School Teacher: Ms Nuala Burns

Stand No. 11 Student(s): Jack Toner, Steven Noone, Rory McGlynn Title: Remote control fire extinguisher School: Catholic University School, Leeson Street Teacher: Mr Damien Delaney Stand No. 12 Student(s): Mark Kirwan, Liam Mew Title: SMS messaging and car technology School: CBS Roscommon Teacher: Mr Denis McGovern

Stand No. 20 Student(s): Mark Fennessy, James Nixon, Eoin O'Donnell Title: Cleanobot: the ultimate cleaning robot School: Blackwater Community School, Lismore Teacher: Mr David King Stand No. 21 Student(s): David Galvin, Conor Galvin Title: Investigating a method of drying clothes by decreasing pressure

School: Colaiste Chraobh Abhann, Kilcoole Teacher: Ms Siobhan Connolly

Stand No. 32 Student(s): Patrick Collison Title: CROMA: a new dialect of LISP School: Castletroy College, Limerick Teacher: Ms Lisa Kiely

Stand No. 24 Student(s): Vincent O'Rourke Title: Farm alert School: Christian Brothers (Abbey) Grammar School, Newry Teacher: Mr Gerald Savage Stand No. 25 Student(s): Saorlaith Ni Shuibhne Title: Pseudo-random number generator School: Colaiste Ghobnatan, Baffle Mhic Ire Teacher: Mr Micheal O'Murchii Stand No. 26 Student(s): Declan Knittel Title: A diet with Declan - a programme to control and monitor your calorie intake School: Gorey Community School Teacher: Mr Humphrey Jones Stand No. 27 Student(s): Vincent Grace Title: The application of artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic to autonomous navigation

School: John Scottus Secondary School, Donnybrook Teacher: Ms Ting Ting Grace Stand No. 28 Student(s): Gavin Armstrong Title: Maze learning A.I. School: Patrician Secondary School, Newbridge Teacher: Mr Michael O'Callaghan Stand No. 29 Student(s): Sarah-Louise Healy Title: An investigation of mobile phone flashers School: Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Blarney Teacher: Mr Sean Foley Stand No. 30 Student(s): Philip Sharos Title: The helping hand School: St. Columba's Comprehensive School, Glenties Teacher: Ms Kathleen Molloy Stand No. 31 Student(s): Thomas Whelan Title: Compressable text image format School: Colaiste Chiarain, Leixlip Teacher: Mr Daithi MacAnaircinn

ediate, Group Projec Stand No. 38 Student(s): Gavin Myers, John McAteer, Gerard McGarvey Title: Hot pot School: Christian Brothers (Abbey) Grammar School, Newry Teacher: Mr Mark Rodgers Stand No. 39 Student(s): Sarah Ni Mhuircheataigh, Rachael Ni Scoloige Title: Modh runda tri agham go clairaigh School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Catherine Frost

Stand No. 35 Student(s): Richard Barrett, Aidan Daly, Rory Madden Title: Bike finder - a GPS alarm School: Colaiste Chriost Ri, Cork Teacher: Ms Susan O'Connell

Stand No. 49 Student(s): Huw Duffy, Adam Burke, Graham Campbell Title: The self-regulating fishtank School: Wesley College, Ballinteer Teacher: Mr CJ Drury

Stand No. 67 Student(s): Darryl Curran Title: The progression of the continuously variable transmission: a mechanical revolution School: Rockwell College, Cashel Teacher: Mr Patrick Daly

Stand No. 40 Student(s): Una Kelly, Elizabeth Burke, Siobhan Davy Title: Solar power to light our future School: Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

Stand No. 50 Student(s): Christina Hanks, Amy Colin Title: A study of a lunar eclipse using light sensors and datalogging School: Wesley College, Ballinteer Teacher: Mr Seosamh O'Braonain

Stand No. 68 Student(s): Ana Doherty Title: Eliminating false alarms on auto-dial systems School: St. Aloysius School, Cork Teacher: Ms Mary O'Donovan

Stand No. 41 Student(s): David Weldon, Paddy Matin Title: Speed cameras vs speedometer School: Lucan Community College Teacher: Ms Audrey Byrne Stand No. 42 Student(s): John Davis, Richard Dunne, Jamie Leptien Title: The hump-back whale: the way forward for aerodynamics?

School: Newtown School, Waterford Teacher: Mr Bryan Ronan Stand No. 36 Student(s): Carl Bradley, Liam Jervis, Evita Silameddne Title: Penalty pointer School: 0 Fiaich College, Dundalk Teacher: Mr Kenneth Rea Stand No. 43 Student(s): Tara McGrath, Vanessa McGrath Title: Novel self-shaping hyperthermia implants using memory

metals and bi-metallics School: Presentation Secondary School, Loughboy Teacher: Ms Pauline Sparling Stand No. 44 Student(s): Ciaran Molumby, Vincent Lillis, Sean Keane Title: The future of Irish transport School: Salesian College, Celbridge Teacher: Ms Sinead Greene Stand No. 45 Student(s): Emma Walker , Carina McManus, Clara O'Brien Title: Waste - isn't it rubbish?

School: Scoil Dara , Kilcock Teacher: Ms Elaine Gillick Stand No. 46 Student(s): Brian Foley, Brian Boland, Dylan Burke Title: Investigation and construction of aerials for mobile phones School: Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Blarney Teacher: Mr Sean Foley Stand No. 37 Student(s): Mathew Lyons, Sean Keevey, Eoin Sreenan Title: Furthering the advanced application of radio waves School : St. Michael's College, Dublin 4 Teacher: Ms Anne Lynch Stand No. 47 Student(s): Richard Sloane, Simon Donnelly, John Callagy Tide: Subliminal messaging - does it work?

School : The King's Hospital, Palmerstown Teacher : Mr Niall Mahon

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Stand No. 48 Student(s): Alex Forrest, Christian Dalzell Tide : Sensitive rugby School : Wesley College, Ballinteer Teacher: Mr CJ Drury

Stand No. 51 Student(s): Samuel Teo , Jide Ajoje, Mayo Eboda Title: Look, no wires School: Wesley College, Ballinteer Teacher: Mr CJ Drury Stand No. 52 Student(s): Sarah Goss, Clodagh Hindle, Louise Ni Aod Title: Comparaid idir tithe deanta le creatlach adhmaid agus tithe deanta le coincreit School: Colaiste Pobail Osrai, Kilkenny Teacher: Ms Madelin Mhic Canna Stand No. 53 Student(s): Conor Cuddy, Conor Harrington, Eoin Jordon Title: The unloseable golf ball School: Marist College, Athlone Teacher: Ms Georgina Clear Stand No. 55 Student(s): Tadhg Maher, Lorcan Mac Conghaola Title: Gaireas iompar gan rothanna School: Gaelcholaiste Reachrann, Domhnach Mide Teacher: Ms Jacinta Ni Dhubhain

Stand No. 62 Student(s): Gwen Mullins Title: Designing an infra-red speed detector School: Christ King Secondary School, Douglas Teacher: Ms Deirdre Brosnan Stand No. 63 Student(s): Caitriona O'Driscoll Title: Designing a circuit to illustrate chaos theory School: Christ King Secondary School, Douglas Teacher: Ms Aine Bernard Stand No. 64 Student(s): Michael Stanyer Title: Forklift load differential display School: Christian Brothers (Abbey) Grammar School, Newry Teacher: Mr Tony Mooney Stand No. 65 Student(s): Donal Connolly Title: Elements - a mathematics teaching and learning tool School: Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh Teacher: Mr Martin Morris Stand No. 66 Student(s): Steven Moughan Title: Electronic warfare School: Greenhills College Teacher: Ms Mary McMahon Stand No. 58 Student(s): Cian Duffy Title: Wireless fidelity: what about security?

School: Maynooth Post Primary School Teacher: Ms Siobhan McCauley

Stand No. 59 Student(s): Sarah Brennan Title: Secure data using Java School: St. Mary's College, Ballysadare Teacher: Mr Hardiman Stand No. 60 Student(s): Michael Walsh Title: A live peer to peer network School: St. Muiredach's College, Ballina Teacher: Francis Walsh Stand No. 61 Student(s): kevin Tobin Title: A Martian base - can we live on Mars?

School: Terenure College Teacher: Mr John Conway Stand No. 69 Student(s): Jeff Warren Title: Practical induction School: The High School, Rathgar Teacher: Mr Tony Kelly Stand No. 70 Student(s): Colin O'Keeffe Title: PHP session securities School: Christian Brothers High School, Clonmel Teacher: Ms Mary Barry

Stand No. 81 Student(s): Stephen Purcell, Matthew Byrne Title: To improve the efficiency of the 'qwerty' keyboard School: Ardscoil Ris , Drumcondra Teacher : Mr Stephen Campion Stand No. 74 Student(s): Rory O'Rourke, Ryan O'Hare Title: H2 sensor School: Christian Brothers (Abbey) Grammar School, Newry Teacher: Mr Gerald Savage Stand No. 75 Student(s): Rory McDonnell, Ailin Kennedy, Claire Barry Title: Lights making music School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Catherine Frost Stand No. 76 Student( s): Helen Crowe , Holly Power Title: Automated curtain rail system School: Kilrush Community School Teacher: Ms Jacinta McKenna -McGarry Stand No. 77 Student(s): Neal McBride, Sean Malone Title: You are going bald School: Maynooth Post Primary School Teacher: Ms Siobhan McCauley Stand No. 78 Student(s): John Mac Geidigh, Conor 0 Gallachoir Title: Solar distillation and ionization of water School: Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair Teacher: Ms Susan Ni Loinsigh

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Stand No. 79 Student(s): Katie Evans, Annie Galvin Title: Hydrogen as a fuel source through wind-powered electrolysis School: St. David's Secondary Co-Educational School, Greystones Teacher: Ms Dairin Evers-Nolan

Stand No. 80 Student(s): Aine Hartigan, Sinead Quigley Title: The pond alarm School: St. Wolstan's Community School, Celbridge Teacher: Ms Louise Ward

Stand No. 82 Student(s): Claire Conaghan, Aine Mulcahy, Sean Liston Title: Intelligent cats eyes School: Desmond College, Newcastlewest Teacher: Mr Donal Enright

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Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences Intermediate , Group Projects Stand No. 145 St u dent(s): Antoinette O'Connor , Sandra Foley Title: Direct solar heating , saving energy and our planet

School: Coachford College Teacher: Mr Edward Williamson

Stand No. 146 Student(s): Christine O'Brien , Aoife O'Connell , Mary O'Connell Title: What are we thinking, what are we drinkin g ? A scientific study of water hardness School: Coachford College Teacher: Mr Edward Williamson Stand No . 147 Student(s): Keith Reidy, David McCarthy Title: How safe are we in the lab?

School: Colaiste An Spioraid Naoimh , Bishopstown

Te acher: Ms Brenda Moriarty Stand No. 148 Student(s): Daniel Cooke, Brian Mulvihill Title: The presence of toxic chemicals in the River Lee School: Colaiste Choilm , Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Joan Faherty Stand No. 149 Student(s): Andrew Lavelle , John Allen , David Cleary Title: The theory of putting putt into practice

School: Colaiste lognaid S.J, Gaillimh Teacher: Mr Brian Stewart Stand No. 150 Student(s): Jennifer Ni Choinneachain , Jessica Ni Cheallaigh Title: Leictreachas on gaoth School: Colaiste losa g ain , Baile an Bh6thair , Baile an Bhothair Teacher: Ms Eithne Chambers Stand No. 151 Student(s): Michelle Dunne, Emma Dixon Title: A study of ultraviolet light in Ireland School: Colaiste Lorcain , Athy Teacher: Mr Sylvester McEvoy

Stand No. 152 Student(s): David Quinn, David Kerins, Thomas Fleming Title: Chance would be a fine thing School: Colaiste Phadraig, Lucan Teacher: Ms Jacqueline Farrell

Stand No. 153 Student(s): Hollie Hayes, Kirsty Bell, Tamara Kesterton Title: What we do to our hair - dyes, perms and the tensile strength of hair School: Coleraine College Teacher: Ms Barbara Sloan Stand No. 154 Student(s): Kate Laffan , Laura Collins Title: Investigating the science o f l evitat i on

School: Holy Child Secondary School, Killiney Teacher: Mr Aidan Ward Stand No. 155 Student(s): Martin Quigg, Benjamin McKillen Title: Antibubble physics School: Loreto College, Coleraine Teacher: Mr Brian McKenna

Stand No. 156 Student(s): Katie Nolan, Aedin Corr Title: An investigation into the treatment of indigestion School: Loreto College , St. Stephen's Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

Stand No. 161 Student(s): Aimee Doyle, Niamh Doman, Rdisin Fahy

Titl e: F o lk re medies for dandruff - fact or fiction?

School: Loreto Secondary School, Bray Teacher: Ms Helen Daly Stand No. 162 Student(s): Niamh Gibney, Meadhbh Fitzgibbon Moore, Siomha Glynn Title : Sticky situation - chewing gum removal School: Maynooth Post Primary School Teac h er: M s Siobhan McCauley Stand No. 163 Student(s): Nicola Egan, Aisling Dunne, Aine O ' Neill Title: A sound diary of a school day School: Maynooth Post Primary School Teacher: Ms Siobhan McCauley Stand No. 164 St u d en t (s): Liam Hendrick , Aoife O'Neill Title: The most energy efficient way of heating your home

S c h oo l : M ay nooth Post Primary School Teacher: Ms Siobhan McCauley

Stand No. 157 Student(s): Sinead Keenan , Ciara Reddin, Nicola Lindsay Title: To investigate the adhesion properties of different fabrics when wet School: Loreto College , St. Stephen's Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

Stan d No . 165 Student(s): Niamh Fox, Anna Moynihan, Grainne Sheill Title: Why dye?

S c h oo l : M ou nt Sackville Secondary School, Chapelizod Teac he r: Ms Jennifer Simmons

Stand No. 158 Student(s): Marina Magoche, Laura Coady Title: Poker or joker?

School: Loreto College, St. Stephen ' s Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

St a nd No . 166 Student(s): Karl Smith-Byrne, Aodhan Taylor Title: Why doesn't light build up infinitely S c h oo l : N e wtown School , Waterford Teacher: Mr Bryan Ronan

Stand No. 159 Student(s): Kelly Stewart , Aisling Scott, Emma McConnell Title: Distraction attraction School: Loreto Convent , Letterkenny Teacher: Ms Susan Kenny

Stan d No . 167 Student(s): Niamh O ' Flynn, Anna-Kate Fi e lds , Lil y Delimata Title: Fresh breath - a crime?

School: Our Ladys Bower, Athlone Teac h er: Ms Ethna Benson

Stand No. 160 Student(s): Sinead Hegarty, Fionnuala Doherty, Maria Devine Title: The effects of fabric softener School: Loreto Convent , Letterkenny Teacher: Ms Susan Kenny

Stand No. 168 Student(s): Nicola Kelly, Shauna Maguire, Padraig 0 Broin

Title: The magic of Kaprekar's numbers School: Our Ladys College, Drogheda Teac h er: M s Frances O'Re g an

Stand No . 143 Student(s): Richard Gow, Danny Wilson, Blake Hoban Title: Seawater - are appearances deceiving?

School: Sandford Park School, Ranelagh Teacher: Ms Alison J Graham Stand No. 143 Student(s): Richard Gow, Danny Wilson, Blake Hoban Title: Seawater - are appearances deceiving?

School: Sandford Park School, Ranelagh Teacher: Ms Alison J Graham

Stand No. 169 Student(s): Stiofan 0 Briain,

Tomas MacDonnacha,Eoin O'Tuathail Title: Cuar an chloigin School: Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiarain, An Cheathru Rua Teacher: Ms Neasa Mhic Dhonnacha

Stand No. 179 Student(s): Max Vandepoll, Enda Hannan Title: UV radiation - are we overexposed?

School: Sutton Park School Teacher: Ms Catherine Tattersall

Stand No. 137 Student(s): Harry Guinness Title: 1.618 is the magic number School: Sutton Park School Teacher: Mr Patrick Mc Loughlin

Stand No. 180

Stand No. 138 Student(s): Caoimhin 0 Ceallaigh Title: Eolaiocht na mheirg

Student(s): Micheal Dullard, Muiris 0 Riada,

Shane Cass Title: Comparaid idir liathr6idi gailf School: Colaiste Pobail Osrai, Kilkenny Teacher: Ms Madelin Mhic Canna Stand No. 144 Student(s): Dane Colin Pieri, Cillian Murphy Title: Antibacterial protection of keyboards using titanium dioxide School: St. Conleth's College, Ballsbridge, Ballsbridge Teacher: Mr Seamus Callaghan

Intermediate , Individual Projects Stand No. 170 Student(s): Jackie Walsh, Laura Murphy

Title: The low cost extraction of Artemisinin from Artemisia Annua School: St. Aloysius School, Carrigtwohill Teacher: Mr Niall Sweetman Stand No. 171 Student(s): Maim Duffy, Grace Wynne, R6isin Reynolds Title: A time to cry - analysis School: St. Louis Secondary School, Dundalk Teacher: Ms Siobhan Greer Stand No. 172 Student(s): Jennifer Murphy, Megan Maguire, Laura McKinley Title: Good vibrations - a study of bowing and vibrato styles on

sound production of a violin School: St. Louis Secondary School, Dundalk Teacher: Mr Siobhan Greer

Stand No. 129 Student(s): Marie O'Donovan Title: Relationship of air speed to size and weight of an object floating

Stand No. 130 Student(s): Rebecca Curtin Title: The divine proportion - 1.618

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Karina Lyne Stand No. 131 Student(s): Maria Donovan Title: Metals - heavy and deadly School: Colaiste Choilm , Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Joan Faherty

Teacher: Ms Susan O'Connell

Stand No. 174

Stand No. 133 Student(s): Ursula Ni Choill Title: Realta i bpolagain School: Colaiste losagain , Baile an Bhdthair

Student(s): Sarah Barrett,

Teacher: Ms Siobhan Mairtin

Stand No. 176 Student(s): Niamh O'Flaherty, Ashling Salmon, Sara Gavin Title: What impression do you leave behind?

School : St. Wolstan's Community School, Celbridge Teacher : Ms Louise Ward

Stand No. 134 Student(s): Bridget English Title: Mathematics in Celtic design School: Loreto Secondary School , Wexford Teacher: Ms Mary Storey Stand No. 135 Student(s): Oyinkan Solanke Title: A mathematical analysis of the medal scores of the 2004 Olympic Games

School: Our Lady's College , Drogheda Teacher: Mr Frances O'Regan Stand No. 136 Student(s): Leanna-Maria Gannon Title: In search of an algorithmic pattern as applied to the matryoska doll

Stand No. 177 Student(s): Jessica Pitcher, Kelley Staab Title : To demonstrate the effect of insulation on minimising heat loss in homes School : Sutton Park School

School: Skerries Community College Teacher: Mr Brendan Guildea

Teacher : Ms Catherine Tattersall

Title: A computer application with the cognitive skills of the human mind in mastering chess

Stand No. 178 Student(s): David Hayes, Daniel Lockley Title: An investigation into the effect of wax on decibel levels at the eardrum School : Sutton Park School Teacher : Ms Catherine Tattersall

Stand No. 140 Student(s): David O'Shea Title: Further studies on the chemistry of Gingko Biloba School: St. Finian's Community College, Swords Teacher: Ms Eleanor O'Brien

Stand No. 110

School: St. Nessan's Community College,

Stand No. 175 Student(s): Michelle Cunningham, Emily Turner Title: The effects of certain gases on voice frequency School : St. Wolstan's Community School, Celbridge Teacher : Ms Louise Ward

cryptography School: Colaiste Cholmcille, Ballyshannon Teacher: Ms Denise Whelan

Junior, Group Projects

really dry quickly?

Catrina O'Mathuna,Leigh Arthur Title: The melting properties of ice School: St. Peter's College, Dunboyne Teacher: Ms Una McCormack

Title: Chaos theory and the Mandelbrot Set in

in a moving column of air

Stand No. 173 Student(s): Fiona Hogan, Aisling O'Connor Title: Do quick-dry fabric conditioners

Limerick

Stand No. 139 Student(s): Stephen Dolan

School: Ardscoil Phobal Bheanntrai Teacher: Ms Cornelia Kelleher

Stand No. 132 Student(s): Denis O'Brien Title: Pythagorean Triads: a development on Pythagoras' Theorem School: Colaiste Chriost Ri , Cork

Teacher: Ms Breda Noonan

School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn

Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 Giobiin

Stand No. 141 Student(s): Yann Sweeney

Student(s): Louie Placides, Haniel Tsegaburhan, Stefan Triffo

Title: Magic squares and magic cubes School: Christian Brothers, Synge Street Teacher: Mr Jim Cooke Stand No. 111 Student(s): Peter Nugent, Darren McGaghran, Daniel McElhatten Title: Pykrete-concrete durability experiment School: Christian Brothers Grammar School,

Omagh Teacher: Mr Martin Morris Stand No. 112 Student(s): Brendan Riordan, Cormac McAuliffe, Timothy Coveney Title: Investigating the most effective method

of striking a rugby ball School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Ann Downey Stand No. 113 Student(s): Deirdre Cronin, Gillian Collins, Ann-Maire O'Conner Title: Clear as day School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Joan Faherty Stand No. 114 Student(s): Chris Moriarty, Aaron Noonan, Ferdia Dwane Title: The effect of DEET insect repellent on the colour and structure of different fabrics School: Douglas Community School , Cork Teacher: Mr Cian O'Mahony Stand No. 115 Student(s): Daniel Mulligan, Conor Daly Title: How the pH of saliva varies throughout the day and if changing pH affects teeth School: Fingal Community College, Swords Teacher: Ms Deirdre Brennan Stand No. 116 Student(s): Emmet Kiberd, Andrew Linnie Title: Improving computer speeds using

Vedic maths School: John Scottus Secondary School, Donnybrook Teacher: Mr Rutger Kortenhorst

School: St. Columba's Comprehensive School,

Glenties Teacher: Ms Kathleen Molloy

09

Stand No. 117 Student(s): Coco Cole, Gemma Merlehane, Jessica Wood Title: Buffers in soft drinks and their contribution to tooth decay School: Loreto Abbey Secondary School, Dalkey Teacher: Ms Joanne McBreen Stand No. 118 Student (s): Megan Quigley , Jennifer Moloney, Mary Moyles Title: The growth of crystals School: Loreto College , St. Stephen's Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter Stand No. 119 Student( s): Sinead O ' Neill, Amy Martin Title: Lucky charms: a mathematical study School : Lucan Community College Teacher: Ms Audrey Byrne Stand No. 120 Student(s): Claire Nic Phaidin, Rachel Ni Fhearraigh Title: Caide faoi damhna - what's the matter?

School: Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair Teacher: Ms Susan Ni Loinsigh Stand No. 121 Student(s): Aisling Buffini , Raisin O'Sullivan, Nadia Hadi Title: Herbie cleans cups?

School: Presentation Secondary School, Terenure Teacher: Ms Damienne Letmon Stand No. 122 Student(s): Christopher Walshe, David Lynch, Pierce Fleming Title: The invisible hazards of microwave cooking School: St. Caimin's Community School, Shannon Teacher: Ms Patricia McPhilips Stand No. 123 Student(s): Nicola Hogan , Lily Marrinne, Kate O'Brien Title: A study of randomisation School: St. John Bosco Community College, Ennis Teacher: Mr Leo O' Donoghue Stand No. 124 Student(s): Claire Mc Eneaney, Emma Bell, Kelley O'Hanlon Title: Decomposing inks

School: St. Louis Secondary School, Dundalk Teacher: Ms Siobhan Greer Stand No. 125 Student( s): Ian O'Connell , Stephen Rynne Title: Aerodynamics of paper aeroplanes School: Terenure College

Teacher: Mr Joe McDonnell Stand No. 126 Student(s): Sinead Ni Bhraonain, Sorcha Ni Chiarain, Sitin Nic Mhaongail Title: Leibheal mearcair sna h-eisc i dTir Chonaill School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Ms Una Ni Chumhaill

Junior, Individual Projects Stand No. 104 Student( s): Jonathan McGrath Title: A study of the digestive effects of acids and bases School: Mayfield Community School Teacher: Mr Liam Begley

10

Stand No. 105 Student(s): Louise Withero Title: Weather measurements from an exposed and a sheltered site in May and October School: St. Ailbe's School, Tipperary Teacher: Mr Honor Flynn Stand No. 101 Student(s): Shane O'Brien a database Title: What PHP can do without School: St. Declan's College, Cabra Teacher: Ms Breed Kinsella Stand No. 106 Student(s): Eugenia Kononenko Title: Boiling an egg - an exact science School: St. Oliver's Community College, Drogheda Teacher: Mr Norbert McCabe Stand No. 102 Student(s): John Tabirca Title: Prime numbers and the universe School: St. Peter's Community School, Passagewest Teacher: Mr John Beechinor Stand No. 107 Student(s): Simon Yeates

Stand No. 199 Student(s): Stephen McFadden, Eilish Haran, Sean McKenna Title: Sound as a pound of concrete School: Colaiste Cholmcille, Ballyshannon Teacher: Mr Gerard McPhelim

Senior , Individual Projects Stand No. 182 Student(s): Gohar Abbasi Title: Rational approximations generated by infinite products

School: Christian Brothers, Synge Street Teacher: Mr Jim Cooke Stand No. 183 Student(s): Emma O'Donnell Title: Oscillating chemical reactions School: Loreto College, Coleraine Teacher: Mr Brian McKenna Stand No. 186 Student( s): Patricia Sheridan Title: A study of natural growth of North Bull Island School: Loreto College, St. Stephen' s Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

Title: Using titration to investigate phosphoric acid concentration of soft drinks School: Sutton

Stand No. 187 Student(s): Kayleigh Ryan

Park School Teacher: Ms Catherine Tattersall

Title: Effect of EDTA on the decomposition rate

Stand No. 103 Student(s): Maeve Devine Title: Pascal's Triangle and the pinball machine School: Ursuline Secondary School, Cork Teacher: Ms Nora Brownlow Stand No. 108 Student(s): John Lannin Title: The self -chilling can School: St. Conleth' s College , Ballsbridge Teacher: Gareth Campbell

Senior, Group Projects Stand No. 194 Student(s): Francis Wasser, Michael Mulhall Title: Numerical solutions of Hamilton's equations School: Christian Brothers, Synge Street Teacher: Mr Jim Cooke Stand No. 195 Student(s): Caoimhe Rose, Orlagh O'Mahony, Ailbhe Lynch Title: An investigation into the regeration of ice School: Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter Stand No. 196 Student(s): Joseph O'Riordan, Matthew O'Gorman, Danny Walsh Title: To show if food has been refrozen School: Maynooth Post Primary School Teacher: Ms Siobhan McCauley Stand No. 197 Student(s): John Carroll, Joseph Crawley Title: The structure of spiderwebs in construction School: Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Dublin 3 Teacher: Mr Barry Kearns Stand No. 198 Student(s): Sean Corry, Jose Ramire, Shane Moroney Title: Atmospheric ion counting as an aid to meteorology School: Scariff Community College Teacher: T.J. O'Halloran

of hydrogen peroxide

on mno2 catalyst School: St. Ailbe's School, Tipperary Teacher: Mr Kieran O'Dwyer Stand No. 188 Student(s): Emer Woods Title: Hydrogen peroxide in different hair dyes and possible health effects School: St. Mary's Secondary School, Glasnevin Teacher: Ms Elaine Kelly Stand No. 189 Student ( s): Stephanie Kim Title: A study of geodesic domes School : Sutton Park School Teacher : Ms Catherine Tattersall Stand No. 190 Student( s): Zita Casserly Title: Tricyclic antidepressants in Camellia Sinensis and its possible medical applications School : Ursuline College , Finisklin Teacher: Mr Colm Mc Intyre Stand No. 184 Student(s): Orla O'Boyle Title: The use of steam distillation to produce natural cleansers School: Glenamaddy Community School Teacher: Ms Deirdre Hardiman Stand No. 191 Student(s): James Gough Title: The quantum factor School: The Institute of Education, Leeson Street Teacher: Mr Aidan Seery Stand No. 192 Student(s): Jack Hayes Title: The use of Fourier series to describe and predict flooding patterns in Poolaphouca Dam School: The Institute of Education, Leeson Street Teacher: Mr Aidan Seery Stand No. 185 Student(s): Caoimhe Loftus Title: Numeric palindromes School: Newbridge College Teacher: Ms Anne Marie Davis

Students

Biological & Ecological Sciences Intermediate , Group Projects Stand No. 265 Student(s): Paula Lehane, Ciara Roberti Title: To determine if the Dogwhelk population is affected by distance from Castletownbere harbour School: Bears Community School, Castletownbere Teacher: Ms Kathleen O'Dwyer Stand No. 266 Student(s): Susan Ogbo, Jessica Malone Title: A study to examine the factors affecting geotropism

School: Carrigaline Community School Teacher: Ms Maura Carroll

Stand No. 277 Student(s): Rebecca Thompson, Aisling Walsh, Rebecca Russell Title: An investigation of lichens as pollution indicators School: Holy Child Secondary School, Killiney Teacher: Ms Regina Greehy

Stand No. 287 Student(s): Sarah Ginty, Mairead Gallagher Title: Investigation into animal zoonoses: what implications do they present for human health?

School: Manor House School, Raheny Teacher: Ms Suzanne Kelly

Stand No. 278 Student(s): Jennifer Cleary, Laura McCabe Title: Is posture affected by lifestyle?

School: Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

Stand No. 288 Student(s): Aoife Quinn, Lesley Fennelly Title: How different types of light affect plant growth School: Maynooth Post Primary School Teacher: Ms Siobhan McCauley

Stand No. 279 Student(s): Aoife Coakley, Ciara Wilson,

School: Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

Stand No. 289 Student(s): Sharon Keegan, Aire Gildea Title: Bird and mammal diversity within Leitrim woodlands School: Mohill Vocational School Teacher: Mr Michael Mc Grath

Stand No. 280 Student(s): Niamh Pender, Maebh Kelly, Eimear O'Brien Title: Can eye colour affect your vision?

School: Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green

Stand No. 290 Student(s): Shivaun Ryan, Fionnula Murphy Title: The effects of caffeine on the body School: Newtown School, Waterford Teacher: Mr Bryan Ronan

Carmel Ann Galligan

Title: A noise map of St Stephen's Green Stand No. 271 Student(s): Ronan McCoy, Paul Reilly Title: Wormeries and composters -

and its environs

a comparative study

School: Clongowes Wood College, Naas Teacher: Mr Michael Quane Stand No. 267 Student(s): Jason Hassett, Tim Crowley, Patrick O'Sullivan Title: Why the Whooper Swan visits The Gearagh, Co. Cork each year School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Padraigin O'Donoghue Stand No. 268 Student(s): Niamh O'Sullivan, Jennifer Coggin, Lisa O'Donovan Title: Does smoking decrease the productivity of saliva and the sensitivity of taste buds?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Karina Lyne

Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

Title: The physical effects of Irish dancing School: Our Lady's Bower, Athlone Teacher: Ms Ethna Benson

Stand No. 282 Student(s): Meghan Donnelly, Clare Bermingham, Aoife Buckley Title: Organic and non-organic fruit - a

Stand No. 292 Student(s): Catherine Bennett, Ruth Callaghan, Allison Cavanagh Title: Apple flavour - what determines our preference?

School: Our Lady's Bower, Athlone Teacher: Ms Ethna Benson

comparative study

Stand No. 269 Student(s): Barra 0 Muirthile, Micheal 0 Cathasaigh Title: Caomhnr talamh fearach no gan e a caomhnu , sin e an cheist?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Donal 0 Laoire

Stand No. 270 Student(s): Heather Lane, Grainne Desmond Title: Housing estate sewerage - the effect on our stream School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Karina Lyne Stand No. 274 Student(s): Elizabeth Scully, Aoife Lynam Title: A study of household fungi School: Colaiste Lorcain, Athy Teacher: Mr Sylvester McEvoy Stand No. 275 Student(s): Belinda Hinter, Amanda Dunne Title: Vegan ice cream School: Colaiste Lorcain, Athy Teacher: Mr Sylvester McEvoy Stand No. 276 Student(s): Eoin Hughes, Micheal Grogan Title: Ostriches in Carrigmore School: Dean Maguirc College, Omagh Teacher: Mr John Keenan

Stand No. 291 Student(s): Aisling Bray, Evelyn Harkins,

Stand No. 281 Student(s): Donna Rodgers-Lee, Laura Walsh, Louise Perris Title:How fresh is your milk?

School: Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

School: Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green

Aoife Keane

Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

Stand No. 283 Student(s): Deirdre Collis, Rebekah Milner Title: The behaviour and morphology of an Earthworm School: Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter Stand No. 284 Student(s): Lisa Hanrick, Derina Byrne, Liz O'Gorman Title: The effect of temperature on the Vitamin C content and volume of extracted fruit juices School: Loreto Secondary College, Kilkenny Teacher: Mr Brendan Williams

Stand No. 285 Student(s): Caoimhe Lawlor, Laura Kelly, Niamh Doherty Title: An investigation into a link between body mass index, eye colour and heart rate School: Loreto Secondary School, Bray Teacher: Ms Helen Daly Stand No. 286 Student(s): Maebh Horan, Ailbhe Fitzpatrick Title: Can musical rhythm enhance sprinting times in athletes?

School: Loreto Secondary School, Wexford Teacher: Ms Louise Murphy

Stand No. 293 Student(s): Jillian Bennett, Laura Reddy, Lorraine Quirke Title: The ground we cover - a study of the steps taken during different occupations School: Our Lady's Bower, Athlone Teacher: Ms Ethna Benson Stand No. 294 Student(s): Suzanne Naughton, Siobhan Delaney, Kate Costello Title: Who's got taste? A sensory evaluation of boys and girls School: Our Lady's Bower, Athlone Teacher: Ms Ethna Benson Stand No. 295 Student(s): Laura Connor, Irene Kavanagh Title: An investigation of the factors affecting horse training School: Our Lady's College, Drogheda Teacher: Ms Frances O'Regan Stand No. 296 Student(s): Aisling White, Roisin Gargan, Alicia Foroe Title: The use of macroinvertebrates as bioindicators of freshwater quality School: Rosemount Park School, Blackrock Teacher: Ms Aoife O'Toole

Stand No. 297 Student(s): Niamh Cashen, Kelly Ging, Catriona Murphy Title: The effects Monosodium Glutamate has on our body

I

School: Scoil Chriost Ri Presentation College, Portlaoise Teacher: Ms Caroline Whelan

Stand No. 298 Student(s): Sheila O'Loughlin, Niamh Driscoll, Raisin Slattery

P

Title: An investigation into the rock-boring action of the mollusc Hiatella

School: Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon Teacher: Ms Sue-Ann Sheridan Stand No. 299 Student(s): Deirdre Donohoe, Claire Conlon, Rachel Kelly Title: Comparative analysis of water quality in the River Suck School: Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow

School: St. Joseph's College, Lucan Teacher: Ms Michelle Dunne

Stand No. 309 Student(s): Shehnila Haque, Margarita Kazakova Title: Grapefruit seed extract - an examination of its germicidal ability

School: St. Joseph's College, Lucan Teacher: Ms Michelle Dunne

Student (s): Fiona Masterson , Nicola Snype Title: The effectiveness of water vs soap products in maintaining personal hygiene School: Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow

Stand No. 301 Student(s): Marie Gleeson, Siobhan Croffy, Brona Dunne

Stand No. 311 Student(s): Aoife Carr, Samila Oliveira Title: Spider study

Title: Comparing different energy boosting drinks in relation to

School: St. Wolstan's Community School, Celbridge

heart rate and speed School: St. Dominic's College, Cabra Teacher: Ms Ciara McGarry

Teacher: Ms Louise Ward

Stand No. 302 Student(s): Henry Browne, Christopher Gallagher Title: Are antibiotics in our chicken meat acceptable?

School: St. Eunan's College, Letterkenny Teacher: Ms Joanne Doherty

Stand No. 303 Student(s): Laura Connolly, Alison Sweeney, Eleanor Flanagan Title: Do you know your reds from your greens? A study in colour blindness School: St. Joseph of Cluny, Killiney Teacher: Mr Robert Browne

Stand No. 304 Student(s): Niamh Coughlan, Eva Henshaw, Ciara Farrell

Title: Zebra mussels: an alien invasion School: St. Joseph's College, Athlone Teacher: Ms Marie Giles Stand No. 305 Student(s): Aoife Kenny, Latanya Powell, Aisling Halligan Title: Does organic food contain more Vitamin C? School: St. Joseph's College, Athlone Teacher: Mr Marie Giles Stand No. 306 Student(s): Sinead Stack, Rebecca Ryan, Karen McCarthy

Title: Do sensory receptors deteriorate with age?

School: St. Joseph's College, Athlone Teacher: Ms Majella McNeice Stand No. 307 Student(s): Catherine O'Donoghue, Karen Elliott, Emer Dunning Title: Stress and activity - how strong is the link?

School: St. Joseph's College, Athlone Teacher: Ms Majella McNeice

, 12

Stand No. 308 Student(s): Raisin O'Grady, Meghan Mooney, Jacqueline Brunton Title: Energised water, if it exists can it increase the rate of growth of plants?

Stand No. 310 Student(s): Catherine Clarke, Laura Cooney, Jenny McGuill Title: A study of the distribution of hereditary diseases in the Co. Louth area School: St. Louis Secondary School, Dundalk Teacher: Ms Siobhan Greer

Stand No. 300

(

Stand No. 272 Student(s): Karen De Say, Kristin Koller, Siobhan Grayson Title: Stimulate your heart rate School: St. Joseph's College, Lucan Teacher: Ms Diane Cannon

Stand No. 312 Student(s): Fiona Desmond, Sarah Malime Title: Varying levels of pollution along the course of the River Liffey

School: St. Wolstan's Community School, Celbridge Teacher: Ms Louise Ward Stand No. 313 Student(s): David Murphy, Yusuf Bhujwalla Title: Biowaste disposal using mycology School: Sutton Park School Teacher: Ms Catherine Tattersall Stand No. 314 Student(s): Rebecca Bell, Hannah Clare Gordon Title: A microbiological study of the domestic fridge School: Sutton Park School Teacher: Ms Catherine Tattersall Stand No. 315 Student(s): Nicola Costigan, Rebecca Tyrrell, Niamh Barnwell Title: An investigation into seed dormancy in popular fruit seeds

School: Sutton Park School Teacher: Ms Catherine Tattersall Stand No. 316 Student(s): Leah Doyle, Rachel OSullivan Title: Rhododendron - weed or weedkiller ?

School: Sutton Park School Teacher: Ms Catherine Tattersall Stand No. 317 Student ( s): Daniel Lyons , Rebecca Kelly Title: The repercussions of the exposure of teeth to various substances daily School: Castlecomer Community School Teacher: Ms Nora Henderson

Stand No. 318 Student(s): T.J. McGrath-Daly, Alan Ruth, Liam Bergin Title: An investigation of water quality in the Castlecomer/Ballyragget area School: Castlecomer Community School Teacher: Ms Mary Manning Stand No. 273 Student(s): Mary Ennis, Billy Fehin, Justine McCarthy Title: Investigation of Elephant Grass School: Hazelwood College, Dromcollogher Teacher: Ms Maria Neville Stand No. 319 Student(s): Margaret Commane, Michelle Davoren Title: Is there a relationship between weather and annual rings?

School: Lisdoonvarna Secondary School Teacher: Mr John Sims

Intermediate, Individual Projects Stand No. 252 Student ( s): Carmel Moore Title: An investigation into the effects of breakfast on blood glucose and concentration levels School: Ashbourne Community School Teacher : Ms Ailish Mullen Stand No. 253 Student(s): Kevin O'Reilly Title: The feeding behaviour of freshwater shrimp (Gammarus) School: Christian Brothers (Abbey) Grammar School, Newry Teacher: Ms Margaret Lane Stand No. 254 Student(s): Sinead Murphy Title: Additives in children's food: a plus or a minus?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Karina Lyne

Stand No. 255 Student(s): Padraig J. Cornyn Title: Coniferous forests: a danger to the environment?

School: Lough Allen College, Drumkeerin Teacher: Mr Michael Doherty Stand No. 256 Student(s): Stephen Callaghan Title: Distance the average Lucan Community College student walks during a school day.

School: Lucan Community College Teacher: Ms Audrey Byrne Stand No. 257 Student(s): David Bowman Title: A study of the weightlifting abilities of germinating broad bean seeds School: Mayfield Community School Teacher : Mr Liam Begley Stand No. 258 Student(s): Amy Flynn Title: Biodiversity on the sandy shore School: St. Ailbe's School, Tipperary Teacher: Mr Kieran O'Dwyer Stand No. 259 Student(s): Rowland Bent Title: Where garden birds will feed and what weather conditions affect the amount eaten School: St. Joseph's C.B.S., Nenagh Teacher: Ms Geraldine Gilroy

Stand No. 260 Student(s): Lee Caplin Title: The production of histamine in fish, with referance to histamine poisoning in humans

School: Stratford College, Rathgar Teacher: Ms Susan O'Hara Stand No. 261 Student(s): Neil McDermott Title: The effects of caffeine on coordination School: St. Conleth's College, Ballsbridge Teacher: Mr Seamus Callaghan Stand No. 262 Student(s): Matthew Tumulty Title: The trees of Garbally Park School: St. Joseph's College, Garbally Teacher: Mr Michael Fitzgerald Stand No. 263 Student(s): Miriam Nic Lochlainn Title: Eolaiocht na salainne School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Ms Una Ni Chumhaill Stand No. 250 Student(s): Eamonn Begley Title: Comparisons of plant growth in fresh vs sterile soil School: Blackwater Community School, Lismore Teacher: Mr David King Stand No. 251 Student(s): Seamus Fitzgerald Title: Varying strengths of electric current and bacteria growth School : Blackwater Community School, Lismore Teacher: Mr David King

Junior, Group Projects Stand No. 217 Student(s): Myles McKenna, Conor Sheanon Title: The difference in habitat and weather in coastal and inland Ireland School : Bailieborough Community School Teacher: Ms Nuala Burns

Stand No. 222 Student(s): Caoimhin 0 Broin, Sean 0 Duinnin Title: Bunaisti muirin as dramhail ti School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Martin O'Riordain Stand No. 223 Student(s): Fiona O'Leary, Bronagh Griffin Title: The effect on the ecological balance of a disused sandpit after proposed road building School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Joan Faherty Stand No. 224 Student(s): Stephen McGillicuddy, James Costello, David O'Leary Title: Injuries associated with playing musical

instruments School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Pat Meaney Stand No. 225 Student(s): Niamh Gallagher, Emma Hartnett Title: Are we making our bread indigestible?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Joan Faherty Stand No. 229 Student(s): Louise Fingleton, Melanie Byrne Title: A study of the uses of energised water

School: Colaiste Lorcain, Athy Teacher: Mr Sylvester McEvoy Stand No. 226 Student(s): Caoimhe Madill, Emily Hand

Title: A comparative study of the effects of

Stand No. 234 Student(s): Aisling Travers, Lauren Shinkwin Title: Compost: a gardener's best friend School: Sacred Heart Secondary School, Mount Anville Teacher: Ms Mary Kavanagh Stand No. 235 Student(s): Laura Anne Regan, Cheryl Scally Title: Comparative study of animal visitors to riverside and inland gardens in autumn

and winter School: Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow Stand No. 236 Student(s): Leonie Mahon, Rebecca Kelly, Lorraine Leckey Title: What sweets leave the most sugar residue?

School: Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow

Stand No. 237 Student(s): Kerri Quigley, Kathryn Whincup, Edel Rodger Title: What determines hair strength?

School: St. Catherine's Vocational School, Killybegs Teacher: Ms Sharon Stevenson Stand No. 238 Student(s): Elizabeth Kelly, Deirdre O'Connor, Andrea McGivern Title: Nettle stings School: St. Colman's Community College, Midleton

household chemicals on plant life School: Dominican College, Blackrock Teacher: Ms Caitriona Boran

Teacher: Ms Sandra White

Stand No. 227 Student(s): Hannah Fleetwood, Hazel Hodgins, Sarah Louise McCracken Title: Mosquitos: why are they attracted to us?

School: East Glendalough School Teacher: Ms Yvonne Higgins

Title: Testing fat in crisps

Stand No. 228 Student(s): Benjamin Stapleton, Cian Travers Title: Chinese button quail: colour mutation

Stand No. 239 Student(s): Olivia Guinan, Jessica Lee School: St. Dominic's High School, Santa Sabina Teacher: Ms Audrey Carty Stand No. 240 Student(s): Suzanne McCusker, Lucy Fowler, Lauren McCoy Title: The antibacterial properties of honey School: St Patrick's High School, Keady Teacher: Mr Paul Lavery

Stand No. 218 Student(s): Ciaran 0 Leime, Edin Byrne Title: Does atmospheric pressure affect

Teacher: Mr Joe O'Briain

blood pressure?

Stand No. 230

Stand No. 241 Student(s): Conor Breen, Carleen Murphy, Kirsty Roy

Student(s): Megan Ryan, Rachel Lee

Title: Where is the vitamin C?

Title: Which lasts longer, home-grown products or supermarket brands?

School: Holy Child Secondary School, Killiney Teacher: Ms Regina Greehy

School: St Patrick's High School, Keady Teacher: Mr Paul Lavery

School: Carrick Vocational School Teacher: Mr Padraic O'Leime Stand No. 219 Student(s): David Tracey, Dara Clifford, Jack Morrissey Tide : Fibonacci numbers in plants and animals School : Catholic University School, Leeson Street Teacher: Ms Ruth Hickey Stand No. 220 Student(s): Megan Kelly, Kirby Newton Tide: To test the effects of light, heat, rain and rind on hair School : Christ King Secondary School, Douglas Teacher : Ms Deirdre Brosnan Stand No. 221 Student(s): Joseph McCrory, Joseph Sweeney, Christopher Winters Tide: Energy drinks - a health hazard?

School: Christian Brothers Grammar School, Off,agh Teacher: Mr Martin Morris

School: Gonzaga College, Ranelagh

Stand No. 231 Student(s): Katie Cywinska, Emma-Louise Whelan Title: To Investigate the effect of pH on the growth of Brassica Rapa and winter wheat School: John Scottus Secondary School, Donnybrook Teacher: Mr Richard McMullen Stand No. 232 Student(s): Daniel Malone, Michelle Mulville Title: Bacteria on mobile phones School: Lucan Community College Teacher: Ms Aisling Quirke Stand No. 233 Student(s): Esther Reynolds, Melanie Doody Title: Bacterial and fungal growth and the effectiveness of anti-microbial agents School: Marino College

Teacher: Ms Carol Bruce

Stand No. 242 Student(s): Sam Mealy, Eoin Brennan Title: The effect of high glycaemic-index food and drink on athletic performance

School: St. Peter's College Secondary School, Wexford Teacher: Mr Jim Doyle Stand No. 243 Student(s): Patsy Donnelly, James Keane, Vivienne O'Mahony Title: A study of probiotics

School: St. Peter's Community School Teacher: Ms Martina Drohan Stand No. 244 Student(s): Alastair Baird, Stephen Ennis Title: Influence of environment on growth of cloned carrots School: Wesley College, Ballinteer Teacher: Mr CJ Drury

Stand No. 245 Student(s): Liam Grant , Alan Kearney Title: A study of the water quality in the River Inagh School : CBS Ennistymon Teacher: Mr Kieran Meehan

Stand No. 246 Student(s): Aisling Nic a Mhuillin, Nadine Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh Title: Trigger-happy trigger fish School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Ms Una Ni Chumhaill

Stand No. 247 Student(s): Darren O'Gorman, Ross Connolly, Michael Theasby Title: Factors affecting rose hip size School: Lisdoonvarna Secondary School Teacher: Mr John Sims I

I

Stand No. 248 Student(s): David Droney, John O'Callaghan, Barry Shannon Title: Plantlife in showcaves School: Lisdoonvarna Secondary School Teacher: Mr John Sims

_lttwaiac, Individual Projects Stand No. 201 Student(s): Liam Heffernan

Stand No. 210 Student(s): Ben Lennon Title: Snails - where and why?

School: Sandford Park School, Ranelagh Teacher: Dr. Alison J Graham Stand No. 209 Student(s): Sinead O'Halloran Title: Constructed wetlands - an environmentally friendly solution to wastewater management

School: Scariff Community College Teacher: T.J. O'Halloran Stand No. 211 Student(s): Niall Quinlan Title: Reed beds - a further study School: St. Kieran's College, Kilkenny Teacher: Ms Eileen Hanrick Stand No. 212 Student(s): David Moloney Title: Taste, mind and body School: Terenure College Teacher : Mr Joe Reville Stand No. 213 Student(s): Evan Byrne Title: Composting - is it worth the wait?

School: St. Conleth's College, Ballsbridge Teacher: Mr Gareth Campbell

Stand No. 332 Student(s): Stephanie Harnett, Emma O'Callaghan

Title: Teen body mass index School: Davis College, Mallow Teacher: Ms Siobhan Murray Stand No 333 Student(s): Claire Power, Rachel Farell, Lindsey Allen Title: Immobilised enzymes - does bead size matter ?

School: Glanmire Community College Teacher: Ms Imelda Manning Stand No. 334 Student(s): Bernadette McEvoy, John Keightley, Liam Lalor Title: The Rural Environment Protection Scheme (Measure 6) - field margins School: Heywood Community School, Ballinakill Teacher: Mr Peter Malone Stand No. 335 Student(s): Nicola Kiely, R6isin Glynn Title: An investigation into the water quality of lakes and rivers in Co. Clare School: Kilrush Community School Teacher: Ms Jacinta McKenna-McGarry Stand No. 338 Student(s): Clara Melia, Suzy Falvey, Charlene Carty Title: Sphagnum moss - a good indicator of healthy bogs School: Lanesboro Community College Teacher: Mr Micheal Lyons

Title: Optimum plant growth - natural compost vs artificial additives School : Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Helen Corbett

Stand No. 214 Student(s): Richard Leigh Title: Pollution of Lahinch beach School: CBS Ennistymon Teacher: Mr Kieran Meehan

Stand No. 202 Student(s): Sinead Ryan Title: Hot or cold - is it just a feeling?

School: Colaiste Chiarain, Croom Teacher: Mr Desmond Fry

Stand No. 215 Student(s): Conor 0 Giobuin Title: Bacterial evaluation of toilet door handles School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 Giobuin

Stand No. 203 Student(s): Sorcha Ni Fhartha, Sarah Faherty Title: The phenology of foxgloves School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Padraigin O'Donoghue

Stand No. 216 Student(s): R6isin Curtin Title: The effects of different treatments on seed germination time and rate School: Lisdoonvarna Secondary School Teacher: Mr John Sims

Stand No. 340 Student(s): Martin Browne, Bernard Brennan Title: Domestic reed beds vs filtration beds School: Presentation College, Athenry Teacher: Mr Kenneth O'Dea

Stand No. 217 Student(s): Noreen Lynch Title: Effects of fresh water on a tidal community School: Lisdoonvarna Secondary School Teacher: Mr John Sims

Stand No. 337 Student(s): Daniel Wu, Daniel Hardiman, Dara Bracken Clarke Title: Pure water, and what does it cost?

School: St. Mary's College, Rathminees Teacher: Mr John Nisbet

Stand No. 204 Student(s): Lisa Grya Title: The effect of salinity on the growth of brine shimp

School: Hartstown Community School Teacher: Mr Sean Fitzmaurice Stand No. 205 Student( s): Elizabeth O'Malley Title: The life of the Roborovski hamster School: Holy Child Secondary School, Killiney Teacher: Ms Regina Greehy Stand No. 206 Student( s): Eanna Horan Title: Trees, their branch diameters and angles School: Loreto Secondary School, Wexford Teacher: Ms Louise Murphy Stand No. 207 Student(s): David Mason Title: A study of asthma distribution in my school

School: Mayfield Community School Teacher: Mr Liam Begley Stand No. 208 Student(s): John Keohane Title: A comparison of house spiders and garden spiders

School: Mayfield Community School Teacher: Mr Liam Begley

w,c Hier, Group Projects Stand No. 330 Student(s): Kieran Murphy, Joe Sheehan, Derek Ryan Title: A cave, a home? The flora and fauna of the Ovens Caves School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Pat Meaney Stand No. 331 Student(s): Sinead Kavanagh, Aoife Healy Title: Environmental damage limitation in Europe's fastest growing town School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Pat Meaney

Stand No. 336 Student(s): Andrew Ruiter, Simon Bermingham Title: The introduction of foreign crop pests via vegetables School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Theo Farrell

Stand No. 339 Student(s): Orlaith O 'Brien, Sinead Lambe Title: Yeast spores: a pollution indicator - a more in-depth study School: Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green Teacher: Ms Sheila Porter

Stand No. 341 Student(s): Jennifer England, Ann-Marie Hyland, Dolores Fogarty Title: Experimenting with Leaving Cert biology School: Presentation Secondary School, Thurles Teacher: Ms Olivia O'Brien Stand No. 342 Student(s): Melissa Curran, Grainne Crossan, Emmett de Craig Title: Seile mar uirlis faithmheasta School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 Giobuin

Senior, Individual Projects Stand No. 323 Student(s): Elaine O'Leary Title: Clean fridges after cleaning?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Karen Daly Stand No. 324 Student(s): Chance Seward Title: Vi-aqua: does it work?

School : Colaiste Dun lasaigh, Cahir Teacher : Ms Colette O'Shea

Stand No. 325 Student(s): Helen Martin Title: The effects of seasonal conditions and feeding ecology on flight patterns of gulls School: Our Lady's College, Drogheda Teacher: Ms Frances O'Regan

Stand No. 327 Student(s): Jennifer Scully Title: Factors influencing newborn sex ratio in Ireland School: St. Andrew's College, Blackrock Teacher: Ms Hilary Rimbi

Stand No. 326 Student(s): Aisling Nic An Riogh Title: An ecological assessment of the Annasoc River School: Sacred Heart Secondary School, Drogheda Teacher: Ms Triona O'Dwyer

Students

Sciences

Social & E itermediate , Group Projects Stand No. 496 Student(s): Aisling Leonard, Judith Coughlan Title: At your service?

School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Helen Corbett Stand No. 497 Student(s): Kate Sullivan, Ise Murphy Title: Making sense of bad science: common misconceptions held by students in Ireland School: Beara Community School, Castletownbere Teacher: Ms Noreen Daly Stand No. 500 Student(s): Michael Murphy, John Doran, Barry Smyth Title: Road safety - how aware is the public?

School: Borris Vocational School Teacher: Mr John O'Sullivan Stand No. 498 Student(s): Aideen O'Connor, Mairead Sheehan Title: Salt - a hidden hazard in our food supply School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Ann Downey Stand No. 499 Student(s): Clifford Browne , Edward Neville, Mark O'Callaghan Title: Tdacsleabhair gaeilge : bac no cabhair?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Pat Meaney Stand No. 504 Student(s): Sally Ni Chearuil, Laura Ni Shuilleabadin, Ronan 0 Conaill Title: Raimhre deagoiri, what's the story?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Lisa Crowe Stand No. 505 Student(s): Jamie Bemis , Jennifer Ni Bhrian, Grainne Ni Chonchubhair Title: Oideachas langhaeilge - togha gan rogha?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Colt Breathnach

Stand No. 506 Student(s): Orla McCarthy, Ciara Barry, Evelyn O'Brien Title: Teenage discos - are they really teenage friendly?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Pat Meaney

Stand No. 507 Student(s): Laura Finnegan , Philomena Hayes Title: Why is there an increase in asthma?

The true reasons School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Norma O'Keeffe

Stand No. 514 Student(s): Laoise O'Driscoll, Marian Fenton, Aine O'Shea Title: Reaction speed

Stand No. 508 Student(s): Miriam O'Keeffe, Jane Layton Title: Study styles sussed School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Norma O'Keeffe

Stand No. 515 Student(s): Ian Lynch, Stephen McGrath, David Murray

Stand No. 509 Student(s): Jonathan Day, Marian Hughes Title: Ballincollig bypass: money generator or business incinerator?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Norma O'Keeffe

School: Colaiste na Sceilge, Caherciveen Teacher: M. O'Sullivan

Title: Schizophrenia in Ireland School: Colaiste Phadraig, Lucan Teacher: Ms Jacqueline Farrell

Stand No. 516 Student(s): Fergal Douglas, Conor O'Sullivan, David Duffy Title: Who 'nose' what you are eating?

School: Colaiste Phadraig, Lucan Teacher: Ms Jacqueline Farrell

Stand No. 510 Student(s): Stephanie Mc Gill, Kim Fitzgibbon Title: Extracurricular activities and senior cycle years

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Pat Meaney Stand No. 511 Student(s): Aisling Sills, Amanda Phelan, Irene Mulcahy

Title: Stern learning or sum School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Pat Meaney Stand No. 501 Student(s): James Lenihan, Edward Kelleher, Christopher Forde Title: Are our children toothpaste guzzlers?

School: Colaiste Chriost Ri, Cork

Teacher: Ms Susan O'Connell Stand No. 512 Student(s): Philippa de Faoite, Zara Fullerton Title: Coras liosta do thodhcain na hEireann School: Colaiste losagain, Baile an Bhothair Teacher: Ms Eithne Chambers Stand No. 513 Student(s): Aine Nic Coisdealbha, Aisling Ni Loinsigh, Aisling Ni Cuinigh Title: Eifeacht and fheachadora: an bhfuil dha cheann nios fearr na cheann amhain?

School: Colaiste losagain, Baffle an Bhothair Teacher: Ms Eithne Chambers

Stand No. 517 Student(s): Andrew Brennan, Ciaran Harte, Stephen Nolan Title: Dumb and dumber School: Colaiste Phadraig, Lucan Teacher: Ms Jacqueline Farrell Stand No. 518 Student(s): Monica McGuirk, Kevin Clarke, Caoimhe McNamee Title: Cheese hunt by Mighty Mouse School: Confey College, Leixlip Teacher: Ms Rachel Linney

Stand No. 502 Student(s): Susan Cotter, Zoe Gough, Yasmin Hamed Title: Yawning - is it contagious and why do we do it?

School: Confey College, Leixlip Teacher: Ms Rachel Linney Stand No. 519 Student(s): Claire Lynch, Maria Nangle Title: The psychology of language cognition School: Dominican College, Drumcondra Teacher: Ms Olive Laffoy Stand No. 503 Student(s): Bairbre Holmes, Victoria Conroy Title: Does your body lie?

School: Dominican College, Drumcondra Teacher: Ms Olive Laffoy

Stand No. 5 li Student(s): Eli za b e th S m ith , Lisa Killeen Title: : You're s so vain School: Ennis Community School Teacher: Ms Elaine Daly Stand No. 523 Student(s): D an i e l Dunbar , Eoin Roche Tit l e: I nves ti ga tion into the use of subliminal messag i ng i n a dvertisin g S c h oo l : Gore y Community School Teacher: Mr Humphrey Jones

S tan d N o. 524 Student(s): Sh ar on Qui g ley , Gillian Ackland , Fi ona M c Ver ry Title: Does your handwriting reflect your personality?

School: Holy Child Secondary School, Killiney

Teacher: Ms Catherine DeLoughrey Stand No. 525 S tu d en t (s ) : Nathan Cox , Sinead Hudson, Elaine Scally Tit l e: Di et i ng vs smokin g during the teenage years - i s there a link?

School: Lanesboro Community College Teacher: Ms Carmel Ward

S tan d N o. 526 Student(s): S ara h Curtin , Sarah Molyneaux , Ni am h O'Brien Title: Limerick - how effective is manipulative

media?

Sc h oo l : L aure l Hill Secondary School , Limerick Teacher: Ms Miriam Hamilton S tan d N o. 527 Stu d ent(s): S an dra Plantos , Amy Jennings , Cl ara M ora n Title: The knowledge of Dublin transition year s t u d en t s on the issue of medical consent School: Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green Teac h er: Ms Sheila Porter Stan d N o. 528 Student(s): Rachel Hearne, Caroline Thornton Title: Practice is perfect

Naomi Hope Title: The mobile phone: accessory or necessity?

School: Loreto Secondary College, Kilkenny Teacher: Mr Gerard Bolger Stand No. 535 Student(s): Jean Gaughan, Mairead Ward Title: Sound - are we suffering?

School: Loreto Secondary School, Bray Teacher: Ms Helen Daly Stand No. 536 Student(s): Laura Daly, Caoimhe Walsh, Karen Corrigan Title: The E.U. - do we know it or do we not?

School: Maynooth Post Primary School Teacher: Ms Siobhan McCauley Stand No. 537 Student(s): Elaine Collins, Evelyn Spillane, Deirdre Plant Title: The health benefits of a leisure centre to the community School: Mount Mercy College, Cork Teacher: Ms Margaret Teegan Stand No. 538 Student(s): Tara Copplestone, Sarah 0' Herlihy Title: Label conscious School: Mount Mercy College, Cork Teacher: Ms Martina Downes Stand No. 539 Student(s): Gary Faughnan, Kerri-Anne Cully, David McNamee Title: Alcohol abuse - a problem in need of a solution?

School: Moyne Community School Teacher: Ms Louise Killian Stand No. 540 Student(s): Sarah Rooney, Katie Sullivan Title: Analysis of colours used in logos School: Our Lady's College, Drogheda Teacher: Ms Frances O'Regan

S c h oo l : Loreto Colle g e , St . Stephen's Green Teac h er: Ms Sheila Porter

Stand No. 541 Student(s): Mairead Nic Geidigh, Majella Nic Geidigh, Laura Nic Fhionnghaile

S tan d N o, 529 Stu d ent(s ) : Kerrie-Ann Rowan , Giustina Mizzoni, Laura Hallinan Ti t l e: Teen a g e smokin g - investigated and solved Sc h oo l : L ore t o Colle g e , St . Stephen's Green Teac h er: Ms Sheila Porter

Title: Gaeltacht go galltacht

Stand No. 530 Student(s): Anna Piggott, Niamh Irving Tit l e: C onnec tin g lon g term memory to laterality d om i nanc e throu g h the Stroop Test Schoo l : L ore t o C o ll eg e , St . Stephen's Green Teac h er: M s Sheila Porter

Stand No. 531 Stu d ent(s): G r ainne B y rne , Kylie Dollard , R ac h e l Condon Title: Teenage di e tin g and the healthiest way to di e t S c h oo l : L ore to Secondary College , Kilkenny Teacher: Mr Gerard Bolger Stand N o. 532 Student(s): S ara h Wallace , Oda Kealy , Rachel Molloy Title: M emory t r icks: tried and tested S c h oo l : L or eto Secondary College , Kilkenny Teacher: Mr Gerard Bolger Stand No. 533 S tu d ent(s ) : Jenn y Gannon , Rebecca Maher Title: A re you c lear about nuclear?

S c h oo l : Loreto Secondary College , Kilkenny Teacher: Ms Laura Heffernan

16

Stand No . 534 Student(s): Susie Kiely, Edwina Greene,

School: Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair Teacher: Ms Siobhan Ui Shearlaigh

Stand No. 542 Student(s): Rachel Dunne, Amy Nixon Title: People and food behind closed doors School: Presentation Secondary School, Terenure Teacher: Ms Eimear De B6rca Stand No. 543 Student(s): Aisling Tumelty, Amy Mason Title: Word recognition School: Presentation Secondary School, Terenure Teacher: Ms Damienne Letmon Stand No. 544 Student(s): Stephanie Farrell, Kate Hughes Title: Music in movies: how emotions are affected School: Presentation Secondary School, Terenure Teacher: Ms Damienne Letmon Stand No. 545 Student(s): Katie Mulvaney, Mary Quill, Marian Hartnett Title: Let's face it School: Rosemount Park School, Blackrock Teacher: Ms Aoife O ' Toole Stand No. 546 Student(s): Valerie Gillespie, Sarah Doherty Title: To vote or not to vote - that is the question School: Rosses Community School, Dungloe Teacher: Ms Anne Moy

Stand No. 547 Siobhan O'Farrell, Sarah McLoughlin Title: The influence o f h an d ges t ure s on memory School: Sacred Heart Secondary School, Mount Anville Teac h er: M s M a ire O'Donohoe Stand No, 548 Student(s): Rdisin O 'D ea, Ei me ar Conro y Title: Too phat or too f a t?

School: Scoil Chriost Ri P res entation College , Portlaoise Teacher: Ms Caroline Whelan Stand No. 549 Student(s): Angela S eo i g h e, Rdisin Nic Dhonnac h a Title: Ni feidir cleasanna nua a mhdineadh do shean madra School: Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiarain, An Cheathrd Rua

Teacher: Ms Neasa Mhic Dhonnacha Stand No. 550 Student(s): Cliodhna Thompson, Debbie Murray, Mic h e ll e B e i rn e Title: Boysvsgir l s.com School: Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow Stand No. 551 Student(s): Lisan Fet h erston, B r i an a Madden , Kate McManus Title: The correlation between maturity and the sex chromosome School: Scoil Muire G an S m al , Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow Stand No. 55 2 Student(s): Michelle M ee l ey, J an e Carter Title: Sailing on L oug h R ee School: Scoil Muire Gan Smdl, Roscommon Teacher: M r P a d ra i g Harlow

Stand No. 553 Student(s): Maureen Fitzpatrick, Denise McCarthy Title: The effects o f C yst i c Fib ro sis on the lifestyle of a toddler

School: St. Aidan's Comprehensive School, Cootehill Teacher: Ms Debb i e C oss Stand No. 55 4 Student(s): Michel l e M c C arth y, Grace Murphy Title: The effect of the presence of specific colours on our moo d School: St. St. Ange l a ' s U rsu li ne Convent , Waterford Ursu l ine C onven t , Waterford

Teacher: Mr Tom Roche Stand No. 555 Student(s): Dawn P ar k e, El a i ne Mulvane y Title: Colour and emo ti ons School: St. Joseph ' s S econ d ary School , Navan Teacher: Ms Olive Lync h Stand No. 556 Student(s): April D ill on, J us ti ne Gika , Sorcha Lync h

Title: Does aromatherapy h e l p us slee p ?

School: St. Louis Secon d ary S c h o ol , Dundalk Teacher: Ms Una D oy l e Stand No. 557 Student(s): Sinead Mar l ey, Ed e l H o ey, Clara Daly Title: If I watch telly, w ill I get a bell y ?

School: St. Louis Secon d ary S c hool , Dundalk Teacher: Ms Una D oy l e Stand No. 558 Student(s): Fiona Molloy, Maria Quigley Title: How safe is your d r i n k?

School: St. Louis Secon d ary S c hool , Dundalk Teacher: Ms Siob ha n G reer

Stand No. 559 Student(s): Jeffrey Horahan, Wesley Watchorn, Paul Comerford Tide: Obesity in adolescents, a quantitative study School: St. Mary's Academy C.B.S., Carlow Teacher: Mr Joseph Clowry

Stand No. 569 Student(s): Michael Goode, Colum Kelly, Joseph Cogavin Title: Penalties - a statistical analysis School: St. Joseph's College, Garbally Teacher: Mr Michael Fitzgerald

Stand No. 560 Student(s): Laura Feeney, Jessica Whelan Title: Boys vs girls: the battle of the better memory School: St. Mary's Secondary School, Glasnevin Teacher: Ms Brid Nolan

Stand No. 570 Student(s): Meabh Nic Giolla Bhride, Treasa Nic Eacmmarcaioh

Stand No. 561 Student(s): Claire Ruane, Eimear Jenkinson, Megan Coogan-Lynch Title: Do extra-curricular activities affect exam results?

School: St. Peter's College, Dunboyne Teacher: Ms Deirdre Maye

Stand No. 571 Student(s): Clar Ni Mhurchiu, Louise Ni Ailpin, Eimile Labhaois Title: Raimhreacht i ndaoine oga mar gceantar School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 Giobuin

Stand No. 562 Student(s): Grainne Fleming, Ruth Creedon Title: Shaping up to expectations

School: St. Peter's College, Dunboyne Teacher: Ms Caroline Toole Stand No. 520 Student(s): Lorna Barber, Karen Butler Title: How fast do muscles tire?

School: St. Wolstan's Community School, Celbridge Teacher: Ms Louise Ward

Stand No. 521

Title: Sport agus aclaiocht faoin tuath School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 Giobuin

Stand No. 572 Student(s): Daniel Collins, Craig Flanagan Title: Eating and exercise habits of second level students in Co. Clare School: Lisdoonvarna Secondary School Teacher: Ms Sabrina Curran Stand No. 573 Student(s): Patrick McDonagh, Lisa Hogan, Brid O'Donohue Title: Attitudes to and effectiveness of road safety initiatives School: Lisdoonvarna Secondary School Teacher: Mr John Sims

Student(s): Laura Murray, Aisling Dempsey, Omagh Higgins

Stand No. 574 Student(s): Lucy Nic Ghinnea,

Title: Can we predict your reaction?

School: St. Wolstan's Community School, Celbridge Teacher: Ms Louise Ward

Ruth Ni Bheachain , Ellis Ni Chonchriir Title: Ca ndeachaigh an Gaeilge?

School: Gael Cholaiste an Chlair, Ennis Teacher: Ms Elaine Daly

Stand No. 563 Student(s): Tamryn Reinecke, Caitriona Ryan, Laura Nelson Title: What affects our attitudes to current issues?

School: The High School, Rathgar Teacher: Dr. Carol Whitford Stand No. 564 Student(s): Fiona Kerr, Charlotte Corcoran, Oda Barrett Title: Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?

School: The Teresian School, Dublin 4 Teacher: Ms Claire Shine Stand No. 565 Student(s): Sarah Dorney, Nadia Butler, Siobhain Cremin Title: How the retail industry uses subliminal marketing to influence the customer School: Ursuline Secondary School, Cork Teacher: Ms Nora Brownlow Stand No. 566 Student(s): Diarmuid 0 Riordain, Blaine 0 Donnabhain, Caolan 0 Caoimh Title: Eifeacht saghasanna diffriula ceoil ar an intinn School: Colaiste Pobail Osral, Kilkenny Teacher: Ms Madelin Mhic Canna Stand No. 567 Student(s): Shane McGrath, Hugh Doyle, Joshua Donnelly Title: Battle of the senses School : St. Conleth's College, Ballsbridge Teacher: Mr Seamus Callaghan Stand No. 568 Student(s): Leah Brophy, Sophia Keane, Honorah Rochford True: Packed, canteen or fast food lunch dilemma School : Castlecomer Community School Teacher : Ms Nora Henderson

Intermediate , Individual Projects Stand No. 480 Student(s): Lisa Byrne Title: Eyewitness - a verification of Bartlett's memory trace theory

School: Alexandra College, Milltown Teacher: Ms Stephanie Flannery Stand No. 481 Student(s): Claire Shannon Title: Running to a stand still School: Dominican College, Wicklow Teacher: Ms Noreen O'Reilly Stand No. 482 Student(s): Lisa Murphy Title: The woman who lost her key and ended up losing her memory

School: Drogheda Grammer School Teacher: Mr Ronald Hancock Stand No. 483 Student(s): Josephine D'Arcy Title: How much sugar is contained in our savoury foods?

School: Lough Allen College, Drumkeerin Teacher: Mr Emmett O'Looney Stand No. 484 Student(s): Leanne Caulfield Title: Blood donation - a vitality for life School: Lucan Community College Teacher: Ms Aisling Quirke Stand No. 485 Student(s): Conor Tobin Title: Is there a link between colour and the five senses?

School: Malahide Community School Teacher: Ms Katherine Condren

Stand No. 486 Student(s): Elizabeth Sharkey Title: Six degrees of separation School: Our Lady's College, Drogheda Teacher: Ms Frances O'Regan Stand No. 487 Student(s): Gemma Boyle Title: An evaluation of video conferences in the classroom School: Rosses Community School, Dungloe Teacher: Ms Anne Moy Stand No. 488 Student(s): Mark Mulligan, Eoin Cunnigham, Eugene Pettit Title: A profile of a national lottery player School: St. Aloysius College, Athlone Teacher: Ms Carmel Wims Stand No. 489 Student(s): Aoife O'Loughlin Title: Logic and paradoxes School: St. Angela's Ursuline Convent, Waterford Teacher: Mr Tom Roche Stand No. 490 Student(s): Conor Purcell Title: Mind your manners! Awareness, perception and importance of manners to Irish people

School: St. Eunan's College, Letterkenny Teacher: Ms Marie Kelly Stand No. 491 Student(s): Barra Roantree, Colm Cashman Title: Texting or training

School: Terenure College Teacher: Mr Derek Kinsella Stand No. 492 Student(s): Ciaran Malone Title: Remember this?

School: Terenure College Teacher: Mr Joe McDonnell Stand No. 493 Student(s): Moire Ni Fhearraigh Title: An gaol idir bullaiocht, fein-meas, agus slainte School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 Giobuin

Junior , Group Projects Stand No. 418 Student(s): Clara Gibbons, Robyn Traynor Title: Investigation of the relationship between body mass index and exercise School: Alexandra College, Milltown Teacher: Ms Stephanie Flannery Stand No. 419 Student(s): Sinead Irwin, Aine Leonard Title: Every breath you take School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Noreen O'Reilly Stand No. 420 Student(s): Sarah-Jane Nolan, Erin O'Halloran Title: Practice makes perfect?

School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Noreen O'Reilly Stand No. 421 Student(s): Jason Storey, Adam O'Reilly Title: Waste not, want not School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Helen Corbett Stand No. 422 Student(s): Ciaran Halpin, Aaron Creighton Title: Should television viewing carry a government health warning?

School: Balbriggan Community College Teacher: Ms Theresa Gannon

1

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Stand No. 423 Student(s): Alison Loughran, Rachel Walsh Title: Greecycling - issues and concerns School: Castletroy College, Limerick Teacher: Ms Roisin Moore Stand No. 424 Student(s): Desmond Garvey, Shane McKnight, Turlough McManus Title: The effects of the smoking ban School: Catholic University School, Leeson Street Teacher: Ms Ruth Hickey

Stand No. 425 Student(s): Ian Curran, Cian Water, Killian Gaffney Title: Would you gamble?

School: Catholic University School, Leeson Street Teacher: Ms Ruth Hickey Stand No. 426 Student( s): Jack Brennan , William Gilsan, Barry Egan Title: Gasping for change School: Catholic University School, Leeson Street Teacher: Ms Ruth Hickey Stand No. 427 Student(s): Niall Kelly, Neil Fitzsimons, Keith Rowan Title: Seatbelts - are we getting the point?

School: Catholic University School, Leeson Street Teacher: Ms Ruth Hickey

Stand No. 428 Student(s): Liam O'Neill, Ryan Nutley Title: Irish youths' cost awareness School: Catholic University School, Leeson Street Teacher: Ms Ruth Hickey Stand No. 429 Student(s): Deirdre Power , Kathie Healy Mahalingam , Jane Sheehan Title: The causes and consequences of nailbiting School: Christ King Secondary School, Douglas Teacher: Ms Aine Bernard Stand No. 430 Student(s): Ann O'Reilly, Karla Coffey, Clara McElroy Title: Can we be racist without knowing it?

School: Christ King Secondary School, Douglas Teacher: Ms Aine Bernard Stand No. 433 Student(s): Sarah Ryan, Niamh Scanlon Title: Classroom climate and concentration School: Christ King Secondary School, Douglas Teacher: Ms Deirdre Brosnan Stand No. 431 Student (s): Daire Burke , Aaron Looney Title: Computer games : brain drain or gain?

School: Colaiste Chiarain, Croom

Teacher : Ms Edel Farrell Stand No. 434 Student(s): Claire Barrett, Zoe Murphy, Eimear Farrell Title: Do our idols influence eating disorders?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Michelle O'Keeffe Stand No. 435 Student(s): Donna Noonan , Regina Barrett, Kristina Skripkouskay Title: Will the ban choke?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Miriam Walsh Stand No. 436 Student(s): Aoife Scally, Gillian O'Brien Title: Tyres under pressure School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Margaret Dewhurst

Stand No. 437 Student( s): Sonia Gleeson , Karen Hegarty Title: Do students' attitudes to diet change when they learn about food?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Joan Faherty

Stand No. 449 Student(s): Leanne Culligan, Elizabeth Murphy Title: Wheelchair accessibility to banks and post offices in Co. Clare School: Kilrush Community School Teacher: Ms Jacinta McKenna-McGarry

Stand No. 438

Stand No. 450 Student(s): Deirdre O'Rourke, Ciara Vaughan, Laura Clarke Title: Comparison of teaching and learning methods School: Loreto Secondary School, Foxrock Teacher: Ms Janet Clynes

Student(s): Luke McAuliffe, Colm Foley Title: Physical activity: losing the battle with computer games?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Pat Meaney Stand No. 439 Student(s): Shane Taylor, Thomas Marshall Title: Religion - is it a thing of the past?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Clara Murphy Stand No. 440 Student(s): Aimee Buckle , Eimear Callanan, Katie Lynn Title: Ar traseain coisithe - 6saideach no maslaithe?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Sarah Daly Stand No. 441 Student(s): Valerie Murphy, Lisa Maguire Title: How Irish students react to foreign and new students in school School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Pat Meaney

Stand No. 442 Student(s): David Burns , Justin Polley Title: To investigate the effectiveness of afterschool study School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Sheila Quinn Stand No. 443 Student(s): Mary Kate Canty, Shauna Noonan Title: A comparison between random sampling and continuous observation School: Davis College, Mallow Teacher: Mr William Shannon Stand No. 444 Student(s): Conor Manning , Darren Flynn, Friedrich Dunne Title: The teeth team School: De la Salle College , Dundalk Teacher: Ms Cara McAdam Stand No. 445 Student(s): Garreth Lynch, Keith Geoghan, Eoin Geron Title: Nutritional knowledge and supplement use of athletes School: De la Salle College , Dundalk Teacher: Ms Cara McAdam Stand No. 446 Student( s): Sarah Hanlon , Claire Sinnott Title: D.T.T. Improving driving?

School: Dominican College, Wicklow Teacher: Ms Siobhan Crowe Stand No. 447 Student(s): Stephen Neville, Kieran Gleeson, David Lane Title: The psychology of traffic lights School: Douglas Community School Teacher: Mr Cian O'Mahony Stand No. 448 Student(s): Katie Moran O'Neill, Eibhlin Malone Title: Brain hemispheric dominance and optional subject choice School: Hartstown Community School Teacher: Mr Sean Fitzmaurice

Stand No. 451 Student(s): Eimear Lyons, Megan Murphy, Ruth O'Halloran Title: No joking about smoking School: Mount Mercy College, Cork Teacher: Ms Martina Downes Stand No. 452 Student(s): Jennifer O'Sullivan, Aoife Rigney, Orla Barry-Murphy Title: Lose the abuse School: Mount Mercy College, Cork Teacher: Ms Margaret Teegan Stand No. 453 Student(s): Emily Murray, Katie Hickey Title: Are our classrooms affecting our health?

School: Mount Mercy College, Cork Teacher: Ms Miriam Nestor Stand No. 454 Student(s): Margaret Perry, Nina Fitzpatrick Title: Teenage perceptions of blood donation School: Mount Mercy College, Cork Teacher: Ms Martina Downes Stand No. 455 Student(s): Eibhlin McNamara, Clodagh McCullagh, Aisling McNamara Title: Part-time jobs and the Leaving Certificate School: Sacred Heart Secondary School, Mount Anville Teacher: Ms Mary Kavanagh Stand No. 456 Student(s): Rebecca Harlow, Aoife Fallon, Anna Keenan Title: Who rears us now? The sequel School: Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow Stand No. 457 Student(s): Aimee Quinn, Elma Healy, Rioghnach O'Donnell Title: The perception of mental disabilities School: Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow Stand No. 458 Student(s): Aishling Lannon, Siobhan Ormsby Title: Teenage spending trends School: Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow Stand No. 459 Student( s): Keshia Casey , Olivia Brennan, Michelle Cuddy Title: Eye wear is in wear School : Scoil Muire Gan Smal, Roscommon Teacher: Mr Padraig Harlow Stand No. 460 Student(s): Ciara Jones, Catherine Duffy Title: Does the number of siblings we have affect our personality?

School: St. Dominic's High School, Santa Sabina Teacher: Ms Audrey Carty Stand No. 461 Student(s): Sara Reilly, Anne-Marie Scott Title: The effects of the smoking ban School: St. Louis High School, Rathmines Teacher: Ms Lorraine Galvin

Stand No. 462 Student(s): Clodagh Nugent, Aileen Walls, Austen Burns Title: How able is our school for the disabled?

School: St. Mark's High School, Warrenpoint Teacher: Ms Christine McKinney

Stand No. 463 Student(s): Stephanie Cogavin, Kiara Moran, Jenni Holian Title: The difference between sports addicts and couch potatoes School: St. Peter's College, Dunboyne Teacher: Ms Deirdre Maye Stand No. 464 Student(s): David Kelleher, Alan Harkin, Daniel Moore Title: Fizzy drinks - the shocking truth School: Terenure College Teacher: Mr Oliver Cosgrove Stand No. 465 Student(s): Susannah Appleby, Emma Kirwan Title: Are phobias caused by our personalities

and our life experiences?

School: The Teresian School, Dublin 4 Teacher: Ms Claire Shine Stand No. 466 Student(s): Laura McKenna, Rachael McKenna, Hannah McCarthy

Title: Music: how does it affect us?

School: The Teresian School, Dublin 5 Teacher: Ms Claire Shine Stand No. 467 Student(s): Rachel Butler, Carolyn Walsh Title: Are mobiles taking over our lives?

School: Ursuline Secondary School, Cork Teacher: Ms Lorraine O'Dwyer Stand No. 468 Student(s): Niall MacDonncha, Patrick J. Mac Oscair Title: An fadhb alcdl i measc deag6iri Leitir Ceanainn School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 Giobuin

Stand No. 469 Student(s): Aoife Ni Cheanainn, Amy Ni Mhuireasain , Bernice Ni Ghallach6ir Title: Modh analii do dhaoine le pluchadh School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Ms Una Ni Chumhaill Stand No. 470 Student(s): Maedbh Ni Chearrulain, Olive Nic Eachmarcaigh , Cliona Ni Mhaoltuile Title: Oiriunacht leabhairi Gaeilge don bunscoil School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 Giobuin Stand No. 471 Student(s): Conall Mac Fhionnlaioch, Daire Breathnach Title: Deiseanna sp6irt agus meanscoilteachta beaga School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 Giobuin Stand No. 432 Student(s): Esther Varley, Bernadette Morrissey Title: Who shall conquer?

School : Blackwater Community School, Lismore Teacher: Mr David King Stand No. 472 Student(s): Tess McGovern, Evelyn Linnane Title: Attitudes towards reading amongst students in Co. Clare School: Lisdoonvarna Secondary School Teacher: Ms Sabrina Curran

lunior, Individual Projects Stand No. 401 Student(s): Elizabeth Swanwick Title: Influence of handedness on school subject and hobby preference School: Alexandra College, Milltown Teacher: Ms Stephanie Flannery Stand No. 402 Student(s): Shane Quigley Title: The homework, sport and I T. ratio

School: Ardscoil Ris, Drumcondra Teacher: Mr Stephen Campion Stand No. 403 Student(s): Tony Carr Title: Could pocket money be a contributory factor in teenage alcohol abuse?

School: Balbriggan Community College Teacher: Ms Theresa Gannon Stand No. 404 Student(s): Tomas Sullivan Title: Schooling - a pleasure or a chore?

School : Balbriggan Community College Teacher: Ms Theresa Gannon

Stand No. 413 Student(s): Aisling Judge Title: Ear piece vs hands free - a statistical study of driving behaviour School: Kinsale Community School Teacher: Ms Catriona Barrett

Stand No. 414 Student(s): Fergal Byrne Title: Tattoos and body piercings cool or deadly?

School: St. Conleth's College, Ballsbridge Teacher: Dr. Gareth Campbell Stand No. 415 Student(s): Robert Swaine Title: A study of toothpaste School: St. Conleth' s College, Ballsbridge Teacher: Mr Gareth Campbell

Senior, Group Projects Stand No. 592 Student(s): Dara McGann, Lorcan Clancy Title: Different teaching methods and the retention of information School: Ardscoil Ris, Drumcondra

Stand No. 405 Student(s): Robbie Faulkner Title: Does parental control influence academic achievement?

School: Balbriggan Community College Teacher: Ms Theresa Gannon Stand No. 406 Student(s): David Crowley Title: The effect of driving children to school in traffic jams School: Blackrock College Teacher: Mr Joe McGrath Stand No. 410 Student(s): John Collison Title: Does wiki work? Two different approaches to building an online encyclopedia School: Castletroy College, Limerick

Teacher: Ms Lisa Kiely Stand No. 407 Student(s): Ciaran Healy Title: Influences on recycling in Ballincollig, Co. Cork School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Sinead Lyons Stand No. 408 Student(s): Lauren Jane Delaney Title: The frequency of synaesthesia in my area and its effects on levels of creativity School: Colaiste Lorcain, Athy Teacher: Mr Sylvester McEvoy Stand No. 409 Student(s): Maeve O'Neill Title: Factors that affect perception of volume School: Davis College, Mallow Teacher: Ms Siobhan Murray Stand No. 411 Student(s): David Lynch Title: Effect of emotional response on eye blink rate School: Hartstown Community School Teacher: Mr Sean Fitzmaurice Stand No. 412

Teacher: Mr Stephen Campion Stand No. 593 Student(s): Helena Kavanagh, Samantha Douglas, Stephanie Sheehan Title: Weather vs behaviour School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Noreen O'Reilly Stand No. 594 Student(s): Barry Nugent, Gerard Doyle Title: The face of power: your face or mine?

School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Helen Corbett Stand No. 595 Student(s): Ben Murphy, Rachel English, Laura Pierce Title: Step it out School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Noreen O'Reilly Stand No. 596 Student(s): Kyle Connolly, Darren Byrne, Stephen O' Donnell Title: Primary fitness School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Noreen O'Reilly Stand No. 597 Student(s): Robert Doyle, Conor Lennon Title: What's in a face? The accuracy of first impressions School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Helen Corbett Stand No 598 Student(s): Orla Brennan, R6isin Doyle, Clara Kavanagh

Title: Is lighter further?

School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Noreen O'Reilly Stand No. 599 Student(s): Jennifer Russell , Kenny Casey Title: Are asthmatics affected by our obsession with cleanliness?

School: Balbriggan Community College Teacher: Ms Theresa Gannon

Student(s): Effua Ayaya

Title: Does an interviewer's nationality affect expressed racist views?

School: Hartstown Community School Teacher: Mr Sean Fitzmaurice

Stand No. 600 Student(s): John Fitzgerald Title: In the dead of the night School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Ms Karen Daly

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Stand No. 601 Student( s): Niamh Fitzgibbon , Louise Marshall, Aine Deasy Title: Examination fuel, could what you drink

i

affect how you think?

School: Colaiste Choilm, Ballincollig Teacher: Mr Pat Meaney Stand No. 602 Student( s): Sonia Kelly , Laura O'Beirne, Laura Sweeney Title: Tuck shop foods and their effects on teenagers School : Community School, Carrick- on-Shannon Teacher : Ms Jacqueline Walsh Stand No. 603 Student(s): Meabh O'Hare, Aoife Nolan Title: How friendships are formed School: Loreto Abbey Secondary School, Dalkey Teacher: Ms Deirdre Butler Stand No. 604 Student(s): Aoife Lynch, Kelly Bonner, Rachel Mehan Title: Learning made easy School: Loreto Convent, Letterkenny Teacher: Ms Susan Kenny Stand No. 605 Student(s): Emma King, Alison Concarr, Niamh Morrison

Title: Colour me smart School: Loreto Convent, Letterkenny Teacher: Ms Mary O'Brien Stand No. 606 Student(s): Aoife Kelly, Jennifer Doman Title: Does the media turn the food pyramid upside-down? A mathematical analysis School: Maynooth Post Primary School Teacher: Ms Siobhan McCauley

Stand No. 608 Student(s): Francesca Kim, Ailish Hathcock Title: Fit me up!

School: Rockford Manor Secondary School, Blackrock Teacher: Ms Brigid Mc Carthy

Stand No. 612 Student(s): Emily Campbell , Gillian Ryan, Clare Gallagher Title: Vocal abuse and voice advice School: Presentation Secondary School, Thurles Teacher: Ms Olivia O'Brien

Stand No. 589 Student(s): Mark Sims Title: A spatial analysis of the 2004 voting patterns in Co. Clare School: Lisdoonvarna Secondary School Teacher: Mr John Sims

Stand No. 613 Student(s): Ciaran 0 Gallchbir, Daibheid 0 Riain, Seosamh Macatsaoir Title: An dearcadh ate ag deagoiri i dtred tiomaint School: Colaiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn Teacher: Mr Micheal 0 GiobCin

Stand No. 586 Student(s): David O'Driscoll Title: Binaural beats - why your head Hertz School: Yeats College, Waterford Teacher: Mr John Winters

Stand No. 614 Student(s): Hira Hassan , Aideen Halligan Title: An analysis of bullying - is there a gender imbalance?

School: Yeats College, Waterford Teacher: Mr John Winters Stand No. 615 Student(s): Karen O'Connor, Joseph Cahill, Eoin Hayes Title: Driven to distraction School: Yeats College, Waterford Teacher: Mr John Winters

Senior, Individual Projects Stand No. 580 Student(s): Alex Irwin Title: Visualize - memorize School: Arklow Community College Teacher: Ms Helen Corbett Stand No. 581 Student(s): Christopher Goslin Title: Holistic healing , can it benefit the exam year student?

School: Balbriggan Community College Teacher: Ms Theresa Gannon Stand No. 582 Student(s): Sinead Moran Title: The role of the babysitter School: Community School, Carrick-on-Shannon Teacher: Ms Jacqueline Walsh

Stand No. 607 Student( s): Philip Maher , Mark Langtry, Keith Burke Title: The influence of education on the awareness and incidence of obesity School : Salesian College , Celbridge Teacher : Ms Sinead Greene

Stand No. 583

Stand No. 609

Stand No. 584

Student(s): Sinead Barry-Fuglstad, Eanna Loughlain

Title: Behind the smoke - the real story School: St. Goban's College, Bantry Teacher: Ms Kerry Barry Stand No. 610 Student(s): Julia Mandzyuk, Keri Prater, Rachel Kavanagh Title: The effects of food on human sleeping patterns School: St. Mary's Secondary School, Glasnevin Teacher: Ms Elaine Kelly Stand No. 611 Student(s): Jennifer Murphy, Aisling Connolly, Ciara Dunne Title: Polyhedra kids School: St. Peter's College, Dunboyne Teacher: Ms Caroline Toole

Student(s): Donal O'Conghaile Title: An investigation into disabled parking in Carrick-On-Shannon

School: Community School, Carrick-on-Shannon Teacher: Ms Jacqueline Walsh

Student(s): Katherine Donnelly Title: Stereotype threat and learning School: Loreto College, Coleraine Teacher: Mr Brian McKenna

Stand No. 587 Student(s): Louise McKeon Title: Horse riding accidents - the survey School: Sacred Heart Secondary School, Drogheda Teacher: Ms Triona O'Dwyer Stand No. 588 Student(s): Dylan Walsh Title: Luck - can you make it?

School: St. Peter's College Secondary School, Wexford Teacher: Ms Jeanette Seary Stand No. 585 Student(s): Oisin Tracey Title: Does personality influence memory?

School: St. Conleth's College, Ballsbridge Teacher: Mr Gareth Campbell

20

Esat BT Young Scientist of the Year 2004

Images from the 2004 exhibition

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Primary Science Fair At Esat BT we are delighted that once again the Primary Science Fair will be an important part of the 2005 Esat BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.

The concept for the Primary Science Fair was developed in association with the Department of Education and the Dun-Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Collectively we recognised the interest that primary school children have in the world of science and technology and wanted to give younger students the scope to explore this world.

This will provide the ideal platform for these children to showcase their emerging talents.

The primary schools participating in the Primary Science Fair are as follows:

Kill of the Grange Parish National School Deans g range , Blackrock Teacher: Mr James Malseed

Kill of the Grange Parish National School Deansgrange, Blackrock Teacher : Mr James Malseed

Kill of the Grange National School Deans g ran g e , Blackrock Teacher:Mr James Malseed

Our Lady of good Counsel Girls

Mary Queen of Ireland Caherdavin , Limerick Teacher: Loreto 0' Connor

Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal Ty rconnell , Road Inchicore Teacher: Ms Elizabeth Watchorn

Schools Drimnagh, Dublin 12 Teacher: Paula McGuinn

Church Hill Mixed National School Cuffes Grange , Co Kilkenny Teacher : Mr Jim Fennelly

Scoil An Athar Maitiu Togher, Cork Teacher: Ms Karen O ' Sullivan

Scoil Mhuire Mount Sackvilld, Chapelizod Teacher: Ms Patricia Fahy

MountAnville National Schjool Lower Kilmacud Road, Stillorgan Teacher: Ms Cait Ni Choimin

Presentation Convent Girl] National School Mooncoin, Co Kilkenny Teacher: Ms Suzanne Halley

Tiermahon National School Donadea, Naas Teacher: Mr Brian Sweeney

Ball y cushion National School Cloghans, Hill Tuam Principal : Mr Tom Finnerty Caislean NuaThiar Contae, Luimnigh Priomhoide : Mr Daithi O MurchO John Scottus School Teacher: Mr Declan Kelly St Andrews National School Malahide, Co Dublin Teacher: Ms Lesley McElhinney Bo y s School Graignarnanagh Grai g namanagh , Co Kilkenny Teacher: Ms Aisling Maddoch Castleknock Educate Together National School Beechpark Avenue, Castleknock Princi p al: Mr Dermot P. Higgins Corlurgan National School Cavan, Co Cavan Princi p al: Mr Edward Clavin Catherine McAuley National School 59 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2 Teacher: Ms Aoife Kennedy

St Josephs Boys National School Terenure, Dublin 6W Teacher: Mr Anthony 0' Flynn Mary Queen of Ireland Caherdavin, Limerick Teacher: Loreto 0' Connor John Scottus School Teacher: Mr Declan Kelly Powerscourt National School Enniskerry, Co Wicklow Teacher: Ms Shireen Rountree Scoil Bhride Cannistown, Navan Teacher: Mr Mark Pentony St Fintans National School Sutton, Dublin 13 Teacher: Mr John Moreau Kill National School Kill, Cootehill Teacher: Mr Colum Hammond Stoll Mhuire Mount Sackville, Chapelizod Teacher: Ms Patricia Fahy

St John the Baptist Boys National School Penn y well , Limerick Teacher: Ita Monaghan Mount Anville National School Lower Kilmacud Road, Blackrock Teacher: Ms Cait Ni Choimin Scoil Mhuire Mount Sackville, Chapelizod Teacher: Ms Patricia Fahy St Josephs Boys National School Terenure, Dublin 6W Teacher: Mr Anthony 0' Flynn Kilnaleck National School Kilnaleck, Co Cavan Teacher: Ms Roise McCarron John Scottus School Teacher: Mr Declan Kelly Powerscourt National School Enniskerry, Co Wicklow Teacher: Ms Shireen Rountree St Fintans National School Sutton, Dublin 13 Teacher: Mr John Moreau

In Search of the Dinosaur `In Search of the Dinosaur ' gives ar insight to the creatures that roamer the world in pre-historic times and includes references to modern day `digs' where significant skeletal remains were uncovered. On displa is a life- size replica of a Megalosaurus skeleton plus the amazing Tyrannosaurus rex. This four metre tall T rex is an `animatronics ' model featuring life-like movements and sounds.

Experts will be on hand to explain that even though Dinosaur remair have never been discovered in Ireland , there are lots of fascinating fossils to be found tha are even older than the Dinosaurs

The exhibit which has been exclusively created for the Esat B' Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2005 , is presented in association with University Collet Dublin Faculty of Science supported by the National Museum of Ireland National History Division.

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the Marine Institute

Ireland's marine resource is over 900,000 km2 of seabed, over ten times its land area and is largely undiscovered. The Marine Institute is the State agency responsible for promoting the sustainable development of Ireland's vast marine resource through research, and providing management advice to industry, the Government and the EU. The Marine Institute's role is to support existing marine businesses and related activities through the provision of key scientific services and advice and to provide management advice to guide the sustainable development of the marine resource. The agency provides essential marine research services, including national research and development funding programmes, fish stock assessment, fish health services, marine food safety monitoring, environmental monitoring, research vessel operations and data management, which provide crucial support and policy advice to industry, EU and

the Government.

4nfo ENFO is the environmental information service of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Its aim is to raise environmental awareness by providing easy access to environmental information, including sustainable development. Our services include leaflets, query answering service, Reference Library, exhibitions, Children's Club and an information centre at 17 St. Andrew St., Dublin

CFB

into account the environmental, social and economic principles of sustainable development. To do this we carry out many tasks. We monitor the quality of the environment and report on it regularly. We also organise research to find answers to environmental problems.

To prevent air, water, waste and noise pollution the EPA issues, controls and enforces licenses for large-scale industrial, agricultural and waste-related activities. We work with others to ensure that their activities don't cause environmental damage. The EPA supervises the environmental protection activities of local authorities and reports on their performance. We advise the government on policy and co-operate with other countries in protecting the global environment. EPA at the Esat BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2005. Come to the EPA stand to find out about how global warming affects Ireland.

146waste .... The Race Against Waste is the Dept. of Environment Heritage and local Government's nationwide information campaign aimed at getting people at home and at work to Reduce Reuse Recycle. Visit our stand and see what

you can do to join the Race Against Waste. Remember, the change will do you good!

Planet Planet Aqua, co-ordinated by Aqua TT, exhibits the importance of conserving the world's water habitats through an on-site aquarium containing an array of ocean species. It also offers opportunity for a virtual visit to fish farms such as the salmon and seahorse.

Sustainable Energy Ireland

The Central Fisheries Board will present information on what they do. Our stand will consist of a scenic backdrop with the different types of angling displayed. We also hope to have a TV screen showing videos of the stream/river rehabilitation work we do as well as illustrating the river from Source to Sea. As well as angling promotion, we also have a research unit and a protection/conservation unit.

We hope to have an aquarium with some of the fish species from Ireland's lakes and rivers and staff at the stand to answer any queries in this regard The Central Fisheries Board (CFB) is responsible to ensure that Ireland's inland fisheries and sea angling are conserved, managed,developed and promoted in their own right and to support sustainable economic activity, recreational

At Sustainable Energy Ireland's stand students will find details of a Photo Competition for all secondary schools.

Teachers can find out what resources we have for teaching energy in the science curriculum.

amenity and job creation.

curriculum - based education programmes aim to encourage children to appreciate their surroundings

OGe<^ O0^ ti Dublin Zoo is about education , conservation and study.

The Zoo's animals are its greatest resource and set apart this 'Living Classroom ' from the normal school classroom, allowing 'hands - on' learning activities, which further enhance the educational experience . A wide variety of

and develop a greater respect for their global environment.

Come and visit our stand and chat to Zoo staff.

W The EPA's mission is to protect and improve the natural The environment for present and future generations, taking

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THE WORLD OF

SCIENCE &TECHNOLOGY The role of the Patents Office is: "To provide an efficient and effective system of industrial property protection that will encourage technological progress and promote enterprise". This is to be achieved through the protection of industrial property rights in the fields of patents, trade marks and designs, and the dissemination of relevant information in conjunction with each of these activities.

was used in 1919 to directly measure the bending of space by gravity, as predicted by Einstein. Also come to try out the exciting hands on exhibits and experience how physics is at the heart of science today. The institute of Physics is a leading international professional body and learned society with over 37,000 members, which promotes the advancement and dissemination of a knowledge of and education in the science of physics, pure and applied. It has a world-wide membership and is a major international player in: • scientific publishing and electronic dissemination of physics; • setting professional standards for physicists and awarding qualifications;

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c•.a • promoting physics through scientific conferences, education and science

The National Safety Council and An Garda Siochana aim to highlight the number of fatalities on Irish roads. Detailed information on the introduction of metric speed signs (Km/h) on 20th January 2005 will also be available at this stand.

policy advice

DI DEVICES n Irish Blood •) Transfusion Service

Come and visit our stand and talk to our staff about the different types of Blood Donations, clinics in your area, or talk to our Laboratory staff about the processing and testing of the Blood.

"Visit the fun-packed Analog Devices stand. You will be required to advance through a maze of lasers, race your friend on the frazzle and test your strength on the punch bag. Win prizes with your snazzy dance moves and play a tune on the harp with no strings!"

Special Olympics Ireland

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" - W.-a Lifestyle choices can really impact your health according to Irish health research. Decisions from what we eat, to how we exercise or whether we 'try out' drugs have consequences. Find out all about the latest health research discoveries at Health Research Board: Stand 38 in the 'World of Science and Technology exhibition'.

www,mps.ie

Steps & Discover Science & Engineering, are working to build a momentum in science and engineering awareness in Ireland, establishing a culture of scientific and technological innovation.

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Special Olympics Ireland provides sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sport for children and adults with a learning disability across Ireland.

Bristol-Myers Squibb develops and markets innovative pharmaceuticals to treat cancers, cardiovascular, metabolic and infectious diseases. A state of the art bulk pharmaceutical manufacturing facility was inaugurated at Cruiserath, Dublin, in 2003. The Swords facility continues to scale all new chemical processes for bulk pharmaceuticals to manufacturing scale.The stand will display a chemical reactor, video and presentation of the laboratories.

Vf Dublin City R1. Arta C4a'^t

Dublin City Council will be displaying the CCTV & Traffic Management System that controls the Greater Dublin Area.

Institute of'Physics Institute of Physics in Ireland http://ireland.iop.org Come and see old and new at the Institute of Physics stand: beautiful old scientific instruments are on display, such as the Coelostat which was the first instrument which

Irish Universir Promoting Sdew Do you want to access a wide range of information about Science on just one website? The Science Faculties of the seven Irish Universities have developed www.universityscience.ie which will save you hours researching Irish Universities, science programmes available, career and research opportunities along with other information on Science.

THE WORLD OF

SCIENCE &TECHNOLOGY IPCMF The Irish Pharmaceutical and Chemical Manufacturers Federation (IPCMF) is a Federation that comprises approximately fifty pharmaceutical and chemical companies based in Ireland. There are loads of exciting opportunities in Ireland for young science graduates. Come and visit our stands to find out about the places where a science qualification can take you. While you're there take a look some exciting Chemistry "magic" experiments that you can do in your school! You can also sign up to science sessions on the Pfizer science bus at our stand.

TI Tipperary ( TI) is a dual campus third level institution with campuses located in Clonmel and Thurles. TI offers HETAC accredited programmes to Honours Degree level in the area of Businesss , Computing and Rural Development.

Both campuses are equipped with state -of-the-art technology to enhance the student ' s learning experience.

Intel Intel's stand will focus on fun and technology . This year the exhibits include, The Intel Computer Clubhouse which will have representatives from Blanchardstown and the Inner City. They will showcase the application of IT technology in the production music videos , animation and digital photography . For older kids and parents there is the Intel Time Trail which shows how Intel's innovations have led the electronics revolution . There are quizzes with the opportunity to win an Intel powered notebook PC's and lots lots more.

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CALMAST, the Centre for the Advancement of Learning of Maths, Science and Technology from Waterford Institute of Technology is joined by leading healthcare and pharmaceutical companies: Bausch and Lomb, Genzyme and IVAX to encourage the scientists and engineers of the future. This highly interactive stand covers most areas of science, engineering, and technology including healthcare, environment, a robot dog from the home of the future from the TSSG, the telecommunications research group from Waterford IT.

Plant a tree and help the environment.

Coillte have kindly supplied 6,000 free broadleaf trees for visitors to the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

You can pick up a free broadleaf tree on the "Waterford- A Science and Engineering Stand" - and information on planting and caring for it.

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Eureka - the weekly science magazine for primary schools - is delighted to present three interactive fun shows for Primary Science Day, Thursday January 13th. Cool Science will show the effects of extreme cold on materials.

Gas Science will show some interesting properties of gases and Treemendous Trees will explain how trees work and the importance of trees to us all.

Show details:

Time 10.00

Title Cool Science

11.15

Gas science

12.30

Treemendous Trees

Eureka is researched and written by CALMAST, The Centre for the Advancement of Learning of Maths, Science and Technology at Waterford IT and produced by the Irish Independent. These shows are designed and presented by CALMAST. All shows will take place in the Green Space.

o SELF HELP Self Help is an Irish Charity engaged in implementing development projects in Africa. Through their 'Africa Alive' development programme, teachers and students have an opportunity to learn more about the projects by school visits and activities, curriculum material and an annual visit to Africa to see the work in action.

Astronomy Ireland the largest astronomy club per head of population in the world, promotes interest in Science in general and Astronomy and space in particular. It does this through its monthly magazine "Astronomy and Space", lectures, annual exhibition - Astro-Expo and public viewing nights.

Irish Mensa - The High IQ Following the tradition of many years, Irish Mensa will be providing fun puzzle pages for exhibitors and visitors.

Take home a test from which you can find your IQ and, possibly, join Mensa, the worldwide High IQ society.

F1 Team in Schools Challenge The F1 Team in Schools Challenge is an international competition, open to all post primary schools and colleges, to design and manufacture C02 powered model racing cars.

Student teams compete against each other in a national championship to determine the best engineered and fastest car in each country. It's just like being in a real Formula One team (well, the nearest most of us will get to that experience, anyway). The competition has been running for the last 4 years in Northern Ireland with great success. It is intended to open this to all Ireland in 2005. The competition is run by F1 in Schools Limited - a non profit making organisation - with backing from major sponsors.

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THE WORLD OF

SCIENCE &TECHNOLOGY Esat BTI%r

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See the World through Broadband with Esat BT! Esat BT is sponsoring the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition for the 8th year! This year, we roll up our sleeves to showcase some cool stuff of our own! Visit the Esat BT stand to learn about broadband, find out how to download music, video clips and movie trailers, have your picture taken and posted on the Young Scientist web site, email friends and family for free, phone a friend over the internet or take part in a Gaming Grand Prix, broadcast live on a 50 inch plasma screen!

If you love gadgets, gaming, music, videos and movies, join us at the Esat BT stand to experience broadband and be in with a chance to take home an MP3 player, a state of the art phone and much more!

Reagecatn Reagecon founded in 1986 manufactures and distributes a complete range of reagents, standards and laboratory equipment aimed at providing the correct result for analysts and technicians in all laboratory sectors. The company employs over 70 staff at manufacturing and Sales & Distribution sites in Shannon Co. Clare, Little Island, Cork and Hartlebury UK. With our acquisition of Alkem Chemicals in 2003 we are a full service provider of all Laboratory equipment, consumables and chemicals to the Irish market. We at Reagecon/Alkem have equipped many schools with both their basic and advanced laboratory needs since 1986. We have highly trained customer care staff, along with technical experts, to provide a top-class service to the school science teacher. We are now introducing a forum for the benefit of teachers in Ireland, along with notes on the Leaving Certificate experiments in Biology and Chemistry. The FORUM can be accessed on our website: www.reagecon.com.

2005 is the bicentenary of the birth of William Rowan Hamilton, Ireland's eminent scientist and the discoverer of quaternions.

The Tanaiste, Ms Mary Harney TD has agreed that 2005 will be designated 'Hamilton Year 2005: Celebrating Irish Science'.

The Royal Irish Academy and the Institute of Physics in Ireland will promote a year-long series of events to highlight Irish scientific achievement and the stimulating and rewarding possibilities for those who choose a life in science. Events proposed include a series of `TV' documentaries on Irish Scientists with an accompanying poster campaign, physics information and facts on sporting programmes and interactive demonstrations touring the universities. Collaborations and shared programmes with other events and festivals in Ireland are also planned.

26

The Robots of Destruction Arena in the Big Top. Timetable of shows on Thursday 13th, Friday 14th and Saturday 15th January 10.45 a .m.*, 11.30 a.m., 12.30 p.m., 2.15 p.m., 3.15 p.m. and 4.15 p.m.* daily

• See the robots battle it out to win the Young Scientist Challenge Shield • Be amazed by the Mechanoids • Roboteer experts give advice on what makes a good robot Denotes shows which feature workshops and non-fighting demonstrations.

Don't miss seeing some of your favourite robots including Chaos 2, Bigger Brother and Diotoir. Watch the amazing Mechanoids perform some intricate manoeuvres and introducing Kyodai for its first apperance at Young Scientist. Plus fighting robots compete for the first time in Ireland for the Esat BT Young Scientist Challenge Shield. With six shows a day, make sure you don't miss your visit to the World of Robots in the Big Top...

I

/°, /`°

Kyodai

EsatBTp'

ARENA .

TIMETABLE OF SHOWS Doors open approximately 15 minutes before each performance.

Thursday 13th January

10.30 a.m. `The Sky's the Limit' - W5

Ii 11.45 a.m. `Albert Einstein meets Doctor WI-

The funky sound of recycling

1.15 p.m.

Weapons of Sound -'Waste Not

2.30 p.m.

`Albert Einstein meets Doctor Wh

3.30 p.m.

`The Sky's the Limit' - W5

Friday 14th January

10.30 a.m. `The Sky's the Limit - W5 `Waste Not' is a special interactive musical extravaganza featuring the Weapons of Sound Junk Funk Band.

Weapons of Sound ' s explosive performances have dazzled and delighted audiences worldwide . It's their unique combination of energy , creativity and simplicity that makes them so special.

Their ` instruments ' consist of old shopping trolleys, bicycle wheels , drain pipes, oil drums and even a kitchen sink! Weapons of Sound highlight the need to recycle and nobody plays rubbish better!

S

WEAPONS OF SOUND 28

11.45 a.m. `Albert Einstein meets Doctor Wr

1.15 p.m.

Weapons of Sound -'Waste Not!

2.30 p.m.

`Albert Einstein meets Doctor WI-

Saturday 15th January

10.30 a.m. `The Sky's the Limit' - W5 11.45 a.m. `Albert Einstein meets Doctor WI1.15 p.m.

Weapons of Sound -'Waste Not:

2.30 p.m.

`Albert Einstein meets Doctor WI-

3.30 p.m.

`The Sky's the Limit' - W5

his short new play is IDeing premierea at the Esat BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2005, with the support of the Institute of Physics.

presented by W5

The story of flight unfolds from the

Albert Einstein Meets Doctor Who takes a light-

Wright brothers to the moon landing.

hearted look at what might have happened if

Volunteers demonstrate the science

Einstein had been visited by a traveller from another dimension. Especially written for Einstein

behind flight as they break wood

Year , the Play uses advanced stagecraft, sparkling dialogue , a fast-moving narrative and even a little

rockets; test drive a helicopter and

T

magic to explain the science behind Relativity, to portray the meeting of a great scientist and a great

t

fictional character. The show will inspire the audience and as well as the Theory of Relativity, it

IF

addresses other curriculum related ideas about gravity , light and measurement.

I

`The Sky' s the Limit'

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29

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Selection Process Notes There will be two awards of equal merit the Intel Educator of Excellence Award the Analog Devices Educator of Excellence Award.

The industry Educator of Excellence Awards will be awarded to two teachers whose commitment and encouragement has enabled their students to participate successfully in the Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences Category and the Technology Category.

The Analog Devices Educator of Excellence Award The winner will receive the Analog Devices Trophy plus an all expenses paid trip to America.

The Intel Educator of Excellence Award The winner will receive the Intel Trophy plus an all expenses paid trip to America to attend the Intel Educator's Academy run in conjunction with the

30

Educator of Excellence Awards

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Portland Oregon in May 2005.

Process for Selection 1. Shortlist of 4-5 candidate teachers identified based on the following criteria Number of projects entered in current and previous competitions over 4 years in the above categories.

Diversity of projects across different age profiles in Junior/Intermediate and Senior projects. Has demonstrated continuous improvements in the quality and quantity of projects over a number of years e.g. number of awards won.

2. Shortlist of candidate teachers will be interviewed by a selection of judges during the competition.

3. Final selection will be determined based on evaluation of 2005 projects and feedback from participating students on the level of encouragement of the teacher.

4. Awards will be presented to the top two educators, with the Analog

Devices Award being presented to the educator with the greater number of projects in the 2005 competition in the Technology category, while the Intel Award will be awarded to the educator with the greater number of projects in the Chemical, Physical and Mathematical category.

5. In the event of a tie, the decision of the judges will be final.

There must be a three year time lapse before any previous award winner can be reconsidered for the Industry Educator of Excellence Award.

•• BRITISH •• COUNCIL British Council Science Teacher Awards Awards will be presented to one teacher in each of the four categories who the judges deem to have made a particular impact on their students.

Each teacher has been nominated by their own students and will receive a customised trip to various UK science centres as part of their award."

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T o those on the outside,

In the aftermath of U2's landmark deal with Apple iPod, STEPHEN CAWLEY meets their manager Paul McGuinness to get his views on digital technology and Internet piracy.

McGuinness, manager of the biggest to

reports might lead you to

band in the world. You know who.

We gathered together his thoughts on

think that the music

the ways in which the Internet is

business is on the verge of

impacting on how music is purchased, distributed and listened to. We also

some recent media

collapse due to the proliferation of music file sharing

tried to get an understanding of how th

networks over the Internet where terabytes of pirated content are uploaded

music industry is facing up to the challenge of digital downloads. This

and downloaded by million of users

interview with McGuinness is timely as

across the world. We wanted to find

U2 have become the first high profile

out the truth behind the hype so we

band to tie a new album launch with a

spoke to one of the most influential

solid state digital music player - the

figures within the industry - Paul

market leading Apple iPod. After this

Continued on page 44 2 January 2005

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The Main Menu I SWITCHBOARD 01 8824400 Contacting PC Live!

• Contact the team by individual e-mail or direct-dial numbers listed here • Send press releases to news@pclive.ie PUBLISHER Frank Quinn frank.quinn@scope.ie - 01 882 4433 EDITOR Stephen Cawley stephen.cawley@scope.ie - 01 882 4414 MANAGING DIRECTOR Mark Egan mark, egan@scope.ie - 01 882 4435 SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR Paul Byrne paul.byrne@scope.ie - 01 882 4401 BUSINESS MANAGER (Advertising) Eimear Nealon eimear.nealon@pclive.ie - 01 882 4405 ACCOUNT MANAGER (Advertising) Brian O'Farrell brian.ofarrell@pclive.ie - 01 882 4406

28

TECH 2005 The latest technology innovations for this year

34

WIRELESS NETWORKING WONDERGUIDE The A-Z guide to networking without wires for entertainment and productivity

40

MANAGING FINANCES ON THE PC ANDREW PETERS with our annual accounts

and payroll round-up BAG A 46 BARGAIN PC

SALES SUPPORT ADMINISTRATOR Theresa Smyth

theresa.smyth@scope.ie - 01 882 4404

JOHN COLLINS looks at you options for getting an afford

PRODUCTION MANAGER Miriam Casey

computer

miriam.casey@scope.ie - 01 882 4444

SPECIALS

CIRCULATION MANAGER Catherine Kenny catherine.kenny@scope.ie - 01 882 4408

6 LIVING THE ILIFE Using Apple iLife software, you can do

WEB DEVELOPER Tom Cosgrave tom.cosgrave@scope.ie - 01 882 4426

(iiAUOCIanoN OR

Bnng.iu tl:g^!a. nog. a.

call 1600 566 567,

brilliant things with photos, music, video and DVD

HR DIRECTOR

Anne-Marie Conkey

annemarie.conkey@scope.ie - 01 882 4444

IN Assocwtlo

MOBILE MULTIMEDIA FUN High speeds have

COMPANY ACCOUNTANT Maureen McGill maureen.mcgill@scope.ie - 01 882 4444

vodaf

arrived to mobiles and with video calls, and music and downloads. We take you through Vodafone's new content offerings.

Published by ComputerScope Ltd Prospect House, 3 Prospect Rd, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

Tel: 01 882 4444 Fax: 01 830 0888

Web: www.techcentral.ie E-mail: news@pclive.ie Printed in Ireland by Lithographic Web Press Ltd. Imagesetting Lithographic Web Press Ltd.

Get the C

Member of I

ABC

IRELAND Periodical Publishers Assmiation

© ComputerScope Ltd 2005. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the publisher. The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publishers. ISSN No. 1393-0591.

PC Live! is affiliated to International Data Group, the world's largest publisher of computer-related information and the leading global provider of information services on information technology. International Data Group publishes over 300 computer publications in over 82 countries.

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151

EDITOR ' S VIEW - SPECIAL One to one ,vith the man behind U2-Paul McGuinness

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Apple iLife offers super, user-friendly tools to hell you do the most wonderful and creative things . with music, photos, videos and even DVDs. hen you're having fun at home with your computer and you wanto do something creative, all you need is Apple's innovative iLife software pack. Apple iLife gives you five superb creative tools to manage all of the things you value - your music, your photos anc your home movies. Just think of what iLife could help you create and the multimedia memories you could share with friends. The first application: iTunes allows you to organise your music; the second: Garageband enables you to make your own music without the need for professional expertise.

With the third, iPhoto, you can edit your photos and create a lovely coffee-table book filled with your favourite snaps. The fourth, iMovie, lets you edit your own home movies by turning your raw video footage from a DV camcorder into professional quality movies and all in very user-friendly, drag and drop windows.

Finally, iDVD lets you create Hollywood-like DVDs. 3G retail stores have partnered with Apple to make it easy for consumers to experience and explore the exciting creative opportunities made possible by Apple iLife. Consumers are invited to call into any of the 3G stores for free demonstrations by highly trained and friendly staff.

Over the coming months, we will help you explore the creative brilliance and user -friendliness of iLife by showing you just what each of the tools in the suite can do.

This month , we look at how iTunes can help you manage and get the most out of your music collection.

We explain how easy it is to organise your music into playlists, bring your entire music collection with you or the move , and how to play your music wirelessly in any room in the house from your computer.

Put your entire music collection on a player that sits in the palm of your hand.

Get the right tools New Mac G5 computers, wireless-enabled Apple laptops, and iPods are on show in 3G retail stores and in-store staff are on hand to demonstrate just how easy it is to use Apple technology. Remember you don't have to be technical to use iTunes or indeed any of the iLife tools.

Apple iPod music players come in a number of different shapes and sizes. There's a miniature version called the iPod Mini and it offers a 4Gbyte hard drive which means that you can store 1000 digital songs on it. Larger versions are also available including 20Gbyte, 40Gbyte and 60Gbyte models and amazingly the 60Gbyte version will hold up to 15,000 songs or 25,000 photos.

6 January 2005

That's a pretty huge personal music or indeed photo collection to be able to fit in your back pocket.

An iPod comes with two connections to allow you to hook it up to your computer. If you use a Windows PC, you will use the USB 2.0 cable to connect it to the iPod. If you intend using the player with an Apple Mac, you can use either the USB or FireWire cable that's included with the player.

Cleverly, the FireWrre cable will charge your iPod from your computer while it is connected to it.

tcu 2: Rip it up Before you get any digital music onto your iPod portable player you need to get the music from your CDs onto your computer.

This is where the ripping process using iTunes begins. Ripping or converting a music CD to a digital format on your hard drivf

TH

ASSOCIATION WITH

ire

aging digital home

i67

Call 1800 566 567

Stream your music around the house wirelessly The Airport Express

Power Adapter

TIP

USB Port For connecting a shared printer or charging a fourth-generation iPod.

net Port r a7nnection

i nroadband ^nodem, an hub, or a .gyred Mac.

Audio - out Port For streaming

your iTunes Library through your stereo.

'ant ife to and Late 'he nd

)y

14 iconic Apple iPod now stores photos along rM music

or

layer .iter. ling drivL

rJ

example, if you cue up the Beastie Boys' To the 5 Boroughs every morning, create a playlist that consists of those songs only.

Alternatively, you could build genrebased playlists so you don't have to sort to find all your bluegrass tracks. iTunes also let you rate tracks so you can create lists of favourites. Take the time to specify that Gillian Welch's Look at Miss Ohio is a four-star track, while "One Monkey" gets one star. Then move all your highly rated tracks into one playlist for easy access. You'll never have to suffer through One Monkey again. iTunes' Smart Playlists let you create automated lists by picking from a list of rules like the ones you use to search the Web. Specify song titles that contain the words "love" and "you" to create an instant playlist for a romantic dinner. Or get complex. Build a Smart Playlist that picks blues songs, four minutes or shorter, that you haven't heard in a couple of months. You never know when you'll be in the mood.

Step 3: Understanding formats and bit rates

a on

k

The size of a power adapter, the Airport Express is a cool networking product from Apple and it allows you listen to music from your iTunes library, even if it's on a computer that's rooms away, through your stereo speakers. Thanks to an audio-out jack on the back of the Airport Express product, it will work with any set of powered speakers or any Hi-Fi with analogue or opticalaudio input. Again, staff in any 3G retail store will be happy to give you a demonstration of how easy it is to get AirPort Express up and running. If you are looking for a good set of speakers to play back your digital music, then you should look at a set either from Harmon Kardon or JBL. Again 3G staff will be happy to give you a demonstration of these.

your computer is easy with iTunes.

In just insert the music CD, wait for Manes to download the track information aromatically from the Gracenote base on the Internet. Then click on it import button, and go about your Ietezness while iTunes does its business.

The music from the CD will convert rD a digital list which will include the roes of the artist, the album and the iadual tracks. You can then search by wit, album or track. You can also create is within iTunes very easily. Once pn'4e set up your music with tags, you tls worganise the tracks in any way. You sat the view by artist name or track râ&#x20AC;˘ber, descending or ascending. Or get wee creative with playlists so you can arms favourite tracks quickly. For

It's also important you understand that when you are converting music from a CD into a digital file in iTunes, that you can convert it into a number of different formats.

These formats - and iTunes and the iPod will play Apple Lossless, AAC, and MP3 - are what is left of the track from the CD when iTunes imports it and reduces it in size so it takes up less hard disk space on your computer. It's important that iTunes converts it to this format as a normal full CD track takes up 40Mbytes of space - that's huge.

Compress it to AAC or the MP3 formats and it will take up less than 4Mbytes.

This is because iTunes strips off the information from the track that the human ear cannot pick up.

When you use iTunes for the first time, the software will automatically convert your CD music into the AAC format and it will sound just like the original to the average listener. More

experienced users may want to convert the CD file to Apple Lossless which offers a higher quality sound. Remember by increasing the bit rate of the track you can also improve the quality of the track.

You can do this easily from a drop down menu in iTunes. We recommend you set it at 128Kbit/sec if the music track is in AAC format and 160Kbit/sec if it's in PROS : Extremely easy to MP3 format, if you want use, music management the best results. tool that synchronises

St 4: Connect the iPod and download the music

seamlessly with an iPod music player or Airport Express for wireless music streaming.

Price: Available with a new iPod or as a free download from www.apple. com/itunes.

Once you have set up a list of digital tracks in iTunes in the format you want - AAC Contact: for beginners, it's really 3G Stores 1800 566 567 simple to get them onto the iPod digital music player. All you need to do is connect the iPod to your computer through either the FireWire or USB cable and the player will automatically synchronise or replicate all of the music and playlist information that is in iTunes. You will see a small scroll wheel turning in the corner of the Tod's LCD screen. This will indicate to you that information is being downloaded from the computer to the player. After that, you can search through your favourite artists, albums and playlists on your player and enjoy near-CD quality digital music while you are on the move. â&#x2013;

Manage your music collection on an Apple iMac G5 computer January 2005

7

Canon runs special EOS promotion

Compustore resurrected Iq on COMPUSTORE is to reopen in Ireland due to acquisition of its assets by Dundalk-based PC builder Igon Technologies Ltd. At its height, Compustore was Ireland's largest PC retailer and Dermot McElroy, operations director, Igon says this is reflected by the fact that between 1994 and 2004, the previous owners had spent over €15,000,000 in advertising to build a premium brand and now McElroy has acquired that brand to fill what he sees is an important niche in the PC market - to bring together and build a chain of established PC retailers nationwide in the regional towns. Currently, there are three Compustore outlets in operation - in Letterkenny, Carlow and Kilkenny. McElroy projects that there will be 20 up and running by the end of 2005 and another 5 to 10 on top of this number by the end of 2006. The new Compustore shops will carry all of the major PC brands except Packard Bell which will be sold exclusively through Dixons and PC World.

Work out where the wireless

, one-button device KENSINGTON 'S WiFi Finder Plus from Kensington is a convenient which quickly indicates signal strength for all 802 . 11b, 802.11b/g and active . 4Ghz signals from Bluetooth - enabled networks within range . It filters out other 2 The compact device attaches . cordless phones, mobile phones and microwave ovens easily to laptop carrying case or key chain and comes in a silver case . This hotspot

CANON is running two in-store promotions for its EOS 300D Digital SLR camera and the Canon Image Gateway - its free online image sharing portal for Canon digital camera owners. The first promotion offers consumers looking to buy an EOS 300D €100 in cashback after they purchase it. The second allows them to claim a free 256Mbyte Compact Flash memory card when they purchase an EOS 300D digital SLR and then register for the Canon Image Gateway service . The €100 cashback promotion is valid from November 1st 2004 to January 31st 2005 . It is available with all purchases of the Canon EOS 300D when sold as body only or as part of a lens kit. The funds will then be paid by cheque or bank transfer. Also, consumers need tc purchase an EOS 300D between September 1st and December 31st, 2004 to get their free memory card.

Details of this promotion, and instructions on how to claim, are printed on stickers on the box of EOS 300D cameras. Once customers have registered , the CF card will be delivered to them by post. The EOS 300D is available for €1149 .99 body only, or in the following lens kits: EOS 300D camera with EF- S18-55mm f/3.5 5.6 non - USM lens for €1249.99; an EOS 300D camera with EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5. 6 (non USM ) lens; an EF 55200mm f14. 5-5.6 UM II lens for €1599.99. The EOS 300D black camera with EF -S18-55mm f/ 3.5-5.6 USM lens is available for €1299.99.

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the buzz

Philips gets back into PCs IMPS is running a pilot programme with Dixons Stores Group across Europe to id entertainment PCs to consumers. According to Danny Mulligan, PC peripherals poduct manager, Philips Ireland, the move does not signal an attempt by Philips to ea/enge PC behemoths such as Dell or HP but rather to manufacture a media e 'e style PC to support the company's growing PC and wireless peripherals poducts portfolio . "We see that a Microsoft Media Centre-style PC product could F& at the centre of the living room of the near future." The new Freeline PCs which al feature a Microsoft Media Centre OS-powered PC at the high end of the scale, r support integrated wireless networking based on the fast 802.11 g standard and ad support wireless music players such as the Streamium from Philips. The PCs Midi will feature Pentium 4 3Ghz-plus processors and large hard drives in excess !$0Gbytes for music, photo and video storage will be available exclusively in moons and PC World stores in Ireland. Managed on a European level, Mulligan is ,dlnant that this pilot will not adversely affect its relationship with Irish irfacturer Igon which sells PCs in Ireland equipped with Philips peripherals such atCD screens, DVD drives and mice and which are sold through major retail solets such as Tesco and Shop Electric.

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Mobile entertainment centre

Reviewed by Cillian Hogan aptop seems too small a word for this behemoth of a system with its !stunning 17 inch widescreen display and wealth of features such as an ernal TV tuner and Harmon Kardon surround sound speakers. Qosmio is shiba's line of entertainment laptops, packed full of all the multimedia wealth a can be packed into a laptop form factor. The G10 is a large but rprisingly light system, its size would make it very difficult to use in anything .'ter then the most spacious of seats, but then it's really not designed for the road warrior. The G1 O's feature list combines everything one would expect of a reasonably high end laptop with AWCT 9110 I a TV, DVD player recorder, plus a remote to access all those goodies. There's also a quick play mode so you Da G10 : This is a can access the multimedia features without needing to iy finished piece boot into the preinstalled Windows Media Centre rhich won't Edition. Unlike many other manufacturers attempts in nybodies sense this direction, Toshiba's quick play mode actually boots metics as well up quicker then the installed version of windows does, idng a lot of very important if this is actually going to be useful. mality, just take Windows doesn't take much longer then the quick :ale moniker boots seven seconds to be at the log in prompt so one r -..ch of salt. still wonders how many will find this mode useful. The %nd drive supplied with this model is a very roomy 80Gbyte. Unfortunately this sWe is available only at the expense of speed and so can lead to a /rtor-nance hit when dealing with any intensive use such as high end games 4w video . That aside, this system performed well running recent games as well alie intended audio-visual playback, its not going to do a good job running Sown 3 but it handles the less demanding games very well indeed. In all, it's a mIf •-unded laptop with the added bonus of a built-in TV and stereo. The G1 0 An . a good blend of all these multimedia elements, especially if you find vrrsesf short of space for a dedicated living room entertainment centre and spo .: computer.

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January 2005

9

Something in the air

11

MOTOROLA has launched a raft of new Bluetooth products for hands free short distance wireless communication with mobile phones. The Wireless Headset HS850 comes equipped with improved echo cancellation technology. The Wireless Headset HS805 with Bluetooth is a slim and lightweight surfboard style headset.

Featuring noise cancellation technology and a multifunction button for simple in-call control, this AAA battery-powered headset can provide up to 22 hours of talk time. The Wireless Pendant Headset HS830 is a concept necklace headset packs all the functions you would expect from a Bluetooth headset, with a convenient module that is worn around the neck. The unit comes with a cool five hours of talk time to satisfy even the chattiest individual. Also available is the Wireless Helmet Headset HS830, bringing all the functions of Bluetooth to motorcycle aficionados who are constantly on the move. www.hellomoto.com

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I ANDS ON: D-LINK DSM -320 MEDIA PLAYER ^ INKSYS WVC54G INTERNET VIDEO CAMERA

Wireless entertainment marches on

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Reviewed by Cillian Hogan ack in the wireless lab we have a D-Link DSM-320 media player to add to your living room media centre, streaming all those video and audio files over your wireless network

B

from your home computer to your TV. There's also a Linksys WVC54G

Internet video camera, with a security mode and built-in web server. Both are 802.11g devices which come with the usual bundle of setup guides, manuals and software. The D-Link media player is styled to blend in with the video and DVD players already in your living room, while the camera reminds me of executive telecoms hardware from the 1 980's for some odd reason. The media player can handle a plethora of video and audio file formats such as the ever popular DivX and MP3. This is achieved by installing the provided server software on the computer from which you want to share media files, then setting up the player on the network. This was clearly detailed in the provided instructions and setup was quick and quite simple. We did experience some problems with video playback, especially for larger files, and had to spend some time trying to remedy this.

We eventually had to reduce the security level of the network to improve playback and while this would not suit everyone it did perform quite solidly after this modification. It supports the playback of various audio codecs MP3, WMA AIFF M3U and PLS, plus a useful clutch of video codecs, MPEG1, 2, and 4 plus Xvid and AVI.

VERDICT 9/10

The firmware update also allows it D-Link DSM-320 media player to be attached to Napster, Radio@AOL and Rhapsody for VERDICT 8/10 streaming content although not any of the thousands of other free Linksys WVC54G Internet video Internet radio stations out there. camera We hope this and other omissions • Ground breaking products that like the lack of album art being will give consumers two very good displayed during playback will be reasons to invest in a wireless sorted out with suitable firmware network. updates in the near future, as this is rather good product which could be a brilliant product with the right tweaking.

Apart from the rather odd styling of the Internet Video Camera, which seems to be a running theme from the Linksys design team, this a well thought out piece of kit functionally speaking. The camera has its own internal web server, of which up to four users can be using simultaneously, and also comes with a one year free Sololink subscription allowing you to view the camera's data from the related website. The Security Mode, when enabled, sends an e-mail with a short video file attached to up to three email addresses whenever motion is detected in the field of view. The setup wasn't as straightforward as one would hope and like many such products it is best to connect to the device via a wired network first, to set up your preferred preferences, and then attach it to your wireless network. An interesting offering with good functional use if a little ugly and not as easy to get up and running as it should be for the plug and play generation.

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The essentials of imaging

HANDS ON: IRIVER PMP 140

High end snapper I

CASIO has launched the Exilim Pro EX-P700 - a high end digital camera with a 7 megapixel CCD engine. It also sports a 4x optical zoom coupled with a 4x digital zoom. There is also a large 2 inch TFT LCD screen.

The stylish stainless steel body of the EX-P700 houses a high resolution 7.2 million pixel CCD imaging element and a 4x optical

Multimedia, mobile masters

i

DELL has launched the InspironTM 9200 . Aimed at DVD movie, video editing and gaming enthusiasts, this powerful notebook boasts a 17-inch wide screen display, and comes with Centrino mobile technology for easy access to wireless networking.

Measuring 41.5mm thick and weighing 35Kg, the Inspiron 9200 sports a thin and light body despite the larger Winch widescreen display, and so, is ideal for use either at home or on the road . The 17- inch WUXGA LCD offers 26 per cent more viewing area than Dell's traditional 15.4 inch notebook displays, supporting crisp, sharp images and wide viewing angles with increased brightness. The graphics are powered byATI's Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics card with 128Mbyte of DDR video memory.

The Inspiron 9200 is also equipped with integrated subwoofer sound.

Finally, the Inspiron 9200 also offers an 8x CD /DVD burner with double-layer write capability4, allowing for added support of multimedia content.

zoom lens designed to deliver high photo quality. The camera also promises an extremely fast start up time of approximately 2.0 seconds and a 0.01 second release time lag. The EX-P700 features a high speed continuous shooting function that can take from three photos per second up to five photos. This compact camera includes a number of high end features

Price: €699 CMS Peripherals 094 937 4000

Portable audio , video and photos

V."

Reviewed by Cillian Hogs Irilhe PMP 140 is a handhA, media player designed to handle all your digital audio and video needs on the move as well as such handy feature as an FM radio and TV out. tt even has the ability to establish a hot USB connectio-

allowing you to connect other USB devices directly to it such as a digital camera, removing the need for a laptop. This player has some pretty stylish looks, black and silver with slick set of controls such as Flash Assist which VERDICT 8/10 operates during flash which feel reassuringly tough. The screen is bright and photography to compensate clear and the various controls feel tough and respond Iriver PMP 140 : It a fun addition for underexposure in areas well to use. The operating system is something of an to the media junkie's toolkit with which are not reached by Achilles heel for this device as it is very slow to boot, 15 points lost for the slow start-up flash. It also sports Auto to 18 seconds, which should hopefully be addressed by time, which hopefully can be I Macro which automatically (river via a firmware update as it is extraordinarily slow improved via a firmware update. switches between Macro for a hand held device, in fact some of my laptops boot Other points were lost due to its mode and AF mode as faster. The user interface is colourful and easy to slightly ciunky size, although it required. The Business Shot navigate although the button assignments take a little has to be said there is an awful function provides automatic getting used to. The playback of audio files, the usual lot is packed in there. alignment correction for .MP3 and WMA culprits, sounds clear and crisp, even photos taken at an angle, through the internal speaker which is great for something of this size, while the altering shots as though they were display gives details of the track currently being played. The video playback is taken from a straight-on front fantastic looking and that internal speaker comes into its own if you prefer not to use position. While an Icon Help headphones. Speaking of which, there are sockets for headphones, video out and function uses pop-ups to guide the USB 1.1 in and USB 2 out, as well as a useful slide switch to lock buttons or switch user through the switching of display from the LCD to a connect TV. The 40Gbyte hard drive is quiet and is visible settings. The camera sports Dell 1850 402 102 • www.dell.ie as just another hard drive once connected to a computer plus the detachable and 8.9Mbyte of internal flash memory replaceable rechargeable battery pack is a well thought out addition. All in all, the and it can also support SD and PMP-1 40 has many useful features for the media addicted on the move and while no: ^., MMC memory cards. Retailing for €749.99, the EX-P700 connects ^,.,. the ultimate in its class it's certainly a step in the right direction.

The PMP 140 from Iriver plays TV footage but it must be uploaded through your PC and not taken directly from your TV set

directly to PictBridge and USB direct print-compatible photo printers.

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the buzz

1111E FIFTH cross-platform garners' conference GameCon took place in the Irish I4tagement Institute on November 13th. The event lasted for a full 24 hours and me split between Microsoft Xbox console and PC garners. On the Xbox platform,

n ^Id 0 e es It

3n

3

■io 2 was the most jepular game at the want while EA's FIFA IlIethall 2005 aewpetition was also Cady contested. On !a PC platform, Center Strike and CA of Duty were the asst popular. imers at the event eluded Jermain urns aka Jazz in !e FIFA Football A05 competition, iwnPy (real name not revealed) for Halo 2 and Jeff O'Riordan for Def Jam Team.

Oren Mills came out on top in the Farcry tournament while overall gold medals for swung in the PC and Xbox categories went to Owen Mills and Jim Damien

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wpectively . GameCon6 takes place in February. wrw gameconvention.net 5

ANDS ON : PENTAX OPTIO S5i Price: €499 Pharmacies nationwide

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An Optio always excites ■

is(

i

'eviewed by Stephen Cawley

The Pentax Optio S5i's attractive grey metal body measures 24mm (W) by 52mm (H) by 20.5mm (D), the camera itself weighs 120g with a lithium

ery and SD memory card on-board. Unfortunately, the camera does not ship an SD card so you must rely on its meagre 1 0Mbytes of built-in memory to e images, unless of course, you buy an SD card as a separate. It certainly :e us wonder why Pentax would engineer the camera to support 1 OMbyte of built-in memory when instead it could have shipped a 16Mbyte SD memory card - and that would certainly have nc 'BKT 7110 been more beneficial for the consumer.

Some build criticisms: while the camera sports a Optio S5i: A 1.8 inch viewfinder, that leaves scant room for the optical xir* and click, viewfinder, which is smaller than others found on i .r . a, the Optio competing models.

Also, if you have large hands, the su-?ble for S5i's small size will pose a challenge when you try to :r,: o novices. adjust the zoom with your thumb and keep you finger on 3x optical the trigger while holding the camera one-handed. r easy to use On the upside, the four-way thumb pad is easy to :ut its flash navigate through and the menus are arranged logically Disappoints and words rather than icons are used to make it easy for siting novices. A play icon between the LCD screen and the thumb pad lets you scroll through captured images, it's •e easy to create slideshows, rotate the images, trim them and add 30 second ask commentaries in WAV format to attach to individual images. The software So comes with the camera is also excellent - just plug in the camera through egg slot and images import automatically. The ACDSee photo application also II e& automatically and displays the imported images. You can create wrainedia slideshows in another bundled ACDSee Slideshow and with ACD BtloCanvas 2 .1, you can do very basic editing on your imported photos.

I

L January 2005 13

A new BSc Hons course in Games Programming is available in ITCarlow Developed in conjunction with the Microsoft Xbox team , this course is now open for applications.

Apply through CAO by February 1st See also www.itcarlow.ie 0O13 :s 'i- i L' t 1 i-: raf

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CA R. LOW At the Heart of South Leinster

The portable Sony PSP now available in the US

'HANDS ON: CASIO EXILIM EX-5100 Price: €479 BEE 01 450 9044

THE PLAYSTATION Portable games console launched in the US in December and we got a look at it. Everything about Sony's newest console indicates quality and solid manufacturing. The

device fits comfortably in your hands. Its layout, with control buttons on the right and a directional control pad and analogue pad on the left, means it should be instantly familiar to anyone who has played a PlayStation or PlayStation 2. The display is sharp and crisp and the handful of games released make good use of the bright, 4.3-inch widescreen LCD, with graphics that sometimes seem to glow. Based on our early tests, the battery lasted through 2 hours of game play. The system browser uses Sony's cross-media bar interface, which arranges menu options in rows and columns and is very easy to navigate. A nice feature is that the background of the system browser changes colour with the date.

December is red, and in coming months it will cycle through silver, yellow, light green, pink, green, purple, light blue, dark blue, dark purple, dark yellow, and brown. The system settings have their own menu and there are also main menus for games, movies, audio, and photos. Music and video can be stored on the Memory Stick directly or by connecting the PSP to a PC and switching the unit to USB mode. The Memory Stick appears as a USB mass storage device and so should work with almost any modern operating system. Six games were available at launch in the US: "Ridge Racers," a racing game; "Minna no Golf Portable;" "Lumines," a sort of Tetris meets sound and light puzzle game; "Armored Core Formula Front," a futuristic robot battle game; "Mahjong Fight Club," a Chinese chess game; and "Vampire Chronicles - Chaos Tower," a vampire fighting game. The games really showed off the PSP's graphics, which appeared better than anything released on a handheld console to date. The LCD screen lent itself well to the games. All in all, we have a very favourable impression of Sony's newest baby, although only time will tell whether consumers will prefer the PSP to the Ngage or the Nintendo DS.

Sony PS P

Superslim and ceramic ■ Reviewed by Stephen Cawley his is the most stylish digital camera that we have come > across. Credit card-sized, the Exilim EX-5100 sports a high quality metallic body and a large 2inch LCD screen. Its crowning feature if not perhaps its most eye catching is the fact that the camera has a newly developed lens as part of its 2.8x optical zoom system, which is made from a transparent ceramic called Lumicera. This revolutionary lens is around 20 VERDICT 8/10 percent thinner than a comparable glass lens and this, Casio says, allows Casio Exilim EXthe company to offer a camera so slim 5100: A beautifully that it measures just .6 of an inch in designed camera that thickness. The other specs on the is very easy to use and camera are nothing out of the targets 'point and ordinary: there a 3.2 megapixel CCD click' digital sensor and the rechargeable battery photographers. can provide enough power to capture around 180 pictures. But then this is designed as a 'point and click' camera for cosmetically-conscious consumers and as such it sacrifices an optical viewfinder in favour of a LCD screen. The camera comes with a cradle which charges the camera and also acts as a USB conduit for transferring captured photos from the camera to the computer. The quality of the photos are average for a camera of its spec, but its user-friendly features and debonair good looks make the Exilim EX-S100 an excellent buy for the amateur snapper.

PC Live! Favourite Plasma of 2004 Hantarex 42 inch Black Glass Plasma TV Built-in TV tuner, teletext , Picture in Picture, Auto Scan ^ Built -in stereo speakers, auto volume control, equaliser ^ Inputs: DVI, scarf, S-video, composite , component, progressive scan , PC-VGA. :_

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Price : MP100 €149 • MP120 €189 BEE 01 450 9044

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Big in features Small in size

I MP3 goes mini and waterproof VERDICT 7/10 ■ Reviewed by Aideen O'Donoghue

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Brother introduce the smallest Multifunction Centre in the world

(€149) is "the world's smallest MP3 player with LCD"while the MP120 (€189) is "the world's first waterproof MP3 player".

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Both deliver 128Mbytes of flash memory in stylish packages with bright LCD displays but they are quite clearly aimed at different markets.

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MP120

VERDICT 8/10 MP100 Sporty outdoor types should choo the rugged MP120 but for those who prefer better styling and improved sound quality, the MP1( is the one to buy.

The sporty MP120 is aimed at outdoor types. Capable of remaining waterproof for 30mins to a depth of 1 m, this player should keep you entertained doing laps of the pool. It also features a 30 preset channel radio and reception was fine in an urban area. However the integrated waterproof earphones are not very comfortable with the waterproof ear buds in place and don't appear to be very durable. Sound quality may also be an issue against any background noise. Even at full volume I had difficulty listening to music on the train or over the hum of traffic. On the positive side, the integrated earphones can be removed, when it is not required to be waterproof, by releasing a screw on the bottom section, which also allows access to the USB port. Although, quite frankly, for something that hangs around in a gym so much, I would expect it to pack more of a punch. The dinky MP1 00 weighs in at a puny 28g and is described as "pendant sized" and certainly it's pretty enough to wear. The earphones act like a neck strap and clever little magnets stop it from getting tangled up. The unit can also be securely attached to the earphones, a must if you consider how easy it would be to loose something of this size (40 x 28 x 17mm). Sound quality is also far superior on this model than on its bigger brother. Specs-wise both units support MP3 and WMA audio formats and should allow about 2 hours of MP3 music or 4 hours of WMA. They have 5 preset equaliser and playback modes. Both come equipped with a CD ROM, earphones, carrying pouch and a USB cable. The MP120 has tactile buttons to access the menu and play tracks while the MP1 00 uses a simple on/off button and a joystick. Both menus are six pretty similar and easy to navigate and have upgradeable firmware. The internal battery allows 10 hours of playback and is charged using the same USB cable which transfers the audio files using a drag and drop system. Overall, if you are going to purchase one of these players, the most important thing to decide is which type of user you are.

Irish students have gone Science Crazy!

With more than 1,000 entries to this year's Esat BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (up 22% on last year), this year's show will be a mega event!

Don't miss your chance to see the final shortlist of 480 amazing projects compete for the title 'Young Scientist of the Year.'

Watch the robots battle in the Big Top! Make friends with the environment in the Green Space Get up close and personal with the terrifying T-Rex with 'In Search of the Dinosaur.'

Learn more at www.esatys.com - see you at the RDS!

Esat BT`^a

Young Scientist gy Exhibition 0.

& Te chnolo

Thursday 13 to Saturday 15 January, RDS, Dublin www.esatys.com

the buzz 01ANDSN: KONICA MINOLTA R 5430 DL ■AGIC"

Price: €995 Konica Minolta 1800 23 00 00 I

VHI Health Shop is ba

Colour laser for the office e a

■ c' eviewe d by S tep hen Cawley

he first point that has to be made about the 5430 DL is that it is a rather smart T j looking colour laser printer. It features a two tone colouring of grey and beige while strong backlight gives away the LCD on the printer control panel. With Ethernet tannectivity built-in, this is a high quality workgroup printer designed to serve the needs of a busy office and eliminate the need for expensive jet printers on each desktop. On test, the 5430 printed a page with 50 per cent colour coverage in 46 seconds. When it came to analysing the

¢rality of the prints, we found the detail in the text on the page to be pin sharp and the colours to be extremely vibrant. Impressively, it managed t print a 12 page black & white text document without images in the same time. The printer sources its colour from four separate toner cartridges, one each for cyan, magenta, yellow and black and these can be roily swapped out and changed as they run out individually. The specs meet promised that this printer would print 20 A4 pages in either colour olack and white in a minute. We timed it at 81 seconds for a 20 page :ck and white document. We timed it at 2 minutes, 36 seconds when sting a 20 page colour document with 50 per cent colour coverage. We ik that this is a satisfactory performance for a colour laser of its type.

ON NOVEMBER 23rd, a new online health store - VHI Health Shop (www.vhi.ie) - opened for business. The site is designed to allow consumers purchase health-related goods and services online. The company also says that VHI Healthcare's 1.5 million members will be offered reduced prices on most products. To encourage consumers to sign straight away, the delivery of all goods and services purchased

1 VERDICT 8/10 Magicolor 5430 DL: Competitively priced, this is a solid performer designed for the networked office. The print quality is excellent and it prints relatively fast too on yield with high colour coverage of 50 per cent and above.

will be free of charge anywhere in the country until the end of January. The product portfolio includes health and fitness products, such as exercise equipment, vitamins, travel equipment, and blood pressure monitors. There are mum and baby products, such as pregnancy oils, educational toys, baby cookers and corner guards. There is also a full selection of books on pregnancy, nutrition, fitness and family health. The site also sells contact lenses at discounted prices, online diet, fitness and smoking cessation programmes; and home safety systems for elderly people living alone. www.vhi.ie/healthshop In December in our Live! competition, the model number quoted for the Blackberry was incorrect, it should have been the Blackberry 7100v. We apologise for any confusion caused.

CORRECTION

I

c

as simple as a toaster, as big as the grand canyon, the H320 will store and faithfully playback thousands of your favourite MP3s. Mac or PC, the H320 is the ultimate in sensory therapy.

e

life's a journey, go by river

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Call CMS Peripherals Ltd. tel: 094 937 4000 e: iriverfdcrosperipherals.com IF January 2005

17

the buzz Adobe Premiere Elemeeft

rN: PINNACLE STUDIO PLUS 9 • ADOBE PREMIERE ELEMENTS

Price: €149.99 PC World 01 802 5555 Pinnacle Studio Plus 9 Price: €100

Micromail 021 431 7686

'The lighter side of video editing desktop movie production fun and rewarding - or they can turn it into a job more aggravating than any other computing task around. We looked at shipping versions of

These inexpensive applications offer enough powerful features to make your next home movie a masterpiece.

Video editing applications can make -

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1 Tdtao.

olm

ut E-pat.

Adobe's Premiere Elements and Pinnacle Systems' Studio Plus 9 and found that bo~ do a great job of capturing, editing, and burning movies to disc. Premiere Elements however, is the clear winner for advanced users and for people who want room to g Adobe's Premiere Elements is a new €149.99 application that closely resemble! the company's Premiere Pro. Premiere

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1. Locale the clip that you want to use as the outer picture and drag t to the Timeline window

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4. Locate the clip that you want to use as the inner picture. and drag it to a video track above the first clip Make sure that K. align the clips so that the nnri.picirire r, lip is directly above the outer picture cllp

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4. In the Monitor window , click the clip image to select t 6- Do one or both of the following to location the clip

special pane

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the buzz l

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Date = 914!2004

olnnacle Studio Plus 9 shows captured video clips in a large menu ; from here, you drag the clips into either the program 's storyboard or its timeline

Pinnacle Systems' Studio Plus 9 differs ightly from Pinnacle's Studio 9. Most notably, ie Plus version can handle two video tracks Studio 9 manages one), so it permits picturen-picture and chroma-keying (superimposing a :ortion of one video on another, the way a -eteorologist does).

Naturally, both applications capture footage Yom a MiniDV camcorder; in fact, Adobe autions that Premiere Elements is meant ,reclusively for MiniDV footage (usually an AVI file). When we tried to import MPEG files from a Sony camcorder, both applications slowed to an unusable pace and tequently crashed.

Like most video editing applications, Studio -,'us automatically splits footage into clips rased on the camcorder's embedded time ::)de; you just drag them into the storyboard or vneline. The storyboard lets you arrange clips with ease, and you can switch back and forth setween it and the timeline. Though Premiere Elements doesn't have a storyboard, it can !elect scenes and send them directly to the 'rneline.

Studio Plus adds a SmartMovie function 't%at requires almost no decision making: 'bu just choose a style (for example, "soft and romantic"), enter a title and some dosing credits, and hit a button. The result s a serviceable movie; and if you don't Ike it, you can make dranges in the timeline.

Premiere Elements ships wth more than 300 video and audio effects and I sansitions, most of which

slue an incredible range of **stability, including framing for applying effects over time. Studio rut& however, ships with rst 20 effects and 186 Tansitions; Many other dfects, transitions, and

additional features appear within its interface, but with padlock icons next to them - an annoying way of letting you know that you can't use them unless you purchase them first.

Premiere Elements has 33 DVD menu templates; the application will automatically generate DVD menu markers, or you can set them manually in the timeline quite easily. You can customise only text, however: You can't modify the backgrounds that come from the templates, and you can't apply movement or audio.

Studio Plus comes with 45 DVD menu templates, a few with audio or motion. If you drag a menu into the storyboard or timeline, the application will ask whether you want it to generate menu markers automatically. Then you have to switch to the Make Movie section of the application to set disc-burning parameters. The process is easy, but not quite as easy as with Elements. Video editing applications are notoriously finicky, and we ran into all sorts of problems with these two programs. For example, Premiere Elements laboured when attempting to process DV files, until we updated our graphics card driver (thereafter it worked fine). In addition, the application refused to recognise our system's internal DVD burner. Meanwhile, for its part, Studio Plus got hung up during the rendering process on more than one occasion.

VERDICT 8/10 Adobe Premiere Elements: Incredible power for the money; good for novices as well as people who expect to upgrade later.

VERDICT 7110 Pinnacle Studio Plus 9 : Easy to use, and packs a decent set of tools, but chronically annoying, too.

my music, my way, my idisgo Welcome to the all new world of idisgo. A completely new range of fantastic MP3 players.

These micro-music centres benefit from the innovation that has secured market leader status for the disgo brand in USB personal storage. idisgo classic features direct encoding, which means you can record your favourite CDs directly to the idisgo, without having to go via a computer. Also included is an FM tuner and full voice recording facility and, should you find yourself wanting to transport data in a hurry, you can do that too with idisgo.

When Premiere Elements works, however, it's inspiring.

The program's outstanding

interface and sophisticated effects enable you to create some amazing movies.

Studio Plus is a great video editor for beginners, but it has far less power than Premiere Elements, and the intrusive reminders to buy additional components give this application an annoying trialware feel.

idisgo taking USB convenience to new levels.

tel: 1890 923 267 www.mydisgo.com

l.Lu:

79

Music to your ears!

Digital drivetime Entertainment, navigation and gaming everything digital is coming to a car near you.

EVERYTHING is going digital these days and the good old-fashioned automobile is no exception. For many years, the Porsches and Mercedes of this world have offered fully primed in-car digital entertainment systems and now this technology has moved down the food chain into the aftermarket to a situation where the average family car can now be fitted out to support a DVD movie system with car cinema surround sound and a viewing screen for each passenger. Meanwhile, the driver can keep themselves occupied with satellite navigation functionality which will help them pinpoint their exact location on a journey and find the shortest route to their chosen destination - very handy for those family trips to the continent.

Find that stolen vehicle There are number of companies in Ireland who specialise in digital technology for cars. At the higher end, Celltrak, a technology company based in Tuam, Co. Galway has developed

insistence that luxury cars with values of €60,000 and above must be fitted with these security systems. But at €850, they are surely now affordable for the mass market and not just luxury car drivers. Drivers can also avail

of 24 hour tracking services that are offered by third party companies but these solutions are more expensive at €1,295 for the supply, installation and one year's subscription to the service.

AV in the auto Audio-visual entertainment is the biggest attraction of in-car digital entertainment.

Perhaps surprisingly, even young drivers of modified cars are purchasing in-car DVD systems that integrate radio tuners, with indash build and fold out screens. Scanlan says that he has sold many of the lower end DVD systems to drivers in the 25 to 35 age group and these customers are also interested in installing game consoles, amplifiers and subwoofer systems in their motors. An entry level AV system based on DVD will cost at least €1,600. If you want sat nav capabilities on top of that, the cost will rise to €2,800.

Although if a driver is happy to settle for CD rather than DVD, then they can purchase a fold out radio CD player with basic sat nav capabilities for around €800.

The digital compass

products based around an anti-theft technology called car tracking. These applications operate by combining satellite tracking with the cellular network technology GPRS. If a tracking-equipped car is stolen, a text message will be received to the car owner's mobile phone pinpointing the exact location of the car. The technology is resold by a company called Scansounds in Phibsboro in North Dublin, and managing director Ted Scanlan estimates that it costs a motorist in and around €850 to have one of these systems installed. The cellular solution is supplied by 02. The market for tracking solutions of this type is, Scanlan says, being fuelled by the Irish insurance companies' 20 January 2005

Global positioning systems or satellite navigation has long threatened to remain a technology of the future but finally it has hit the present. The appearance of a number of handheld GPS devices from the likes of Garmin and Magellan for less than €1000 has whetted the market's appetite for this technology.

According to Michael O'Keefe, managing director with in-car technology specialist Safesounds, although these low end handheld devices are used by motorists, they cannot compete on the same playing field as fully integrated in-car systems. "The integrated units from companies such as Pioneer, Becker and Siemens VDO are far superior to handheld ones - they are more accurate as they feature gyroscopes for analysing the position of the car and speed pulses for gauging the speed of the vehicle. When it comes to GPS reception, these integrated units are accurate within 5 metres."

Digital maps Damian Willis, an car entertainment

product specialist with AV Imports, estimates that 47 1 cent of Ireland has been mapped for by mapping specia Navteq, as such a nav system in a ca linked to 24 Navst satellites that orbit the planet and this digital map allows the driver to find directions at the touch of a button based on the position of the car. The digital maps are loaded into the sat nav system via CD or DVD. Willis recommends ti Avic X1 system from Pioneer. This all-in-one integrated device allows you to listen to thi radio and use the navigation system while your passengers watch DVD in the front an the back on optional 6.5 inch LCD screens. system comes with the digital maps on DVI and this includes all of the maps for Europf one disc. A key feature of the sat nav modr is its ability to intelligently reroute a lost di who takes a wrong turn by suggesting ne%n alternative paths to the destination rather sending them back to the point where they lost as would happen with more primitive nav systems. This swiss pen knife of digital technology for the car doesn't come cheap €2,799.

MP3 and WMA support Alongside sat nav, the ability to play back and digital music files is a relatively new feature in car entertainment systems.

Traditionally, an in-car player would only p CD files, but systems these days play back popular compressed MP3 format when recorded to CD, and the high end ones wil also play back music compressed in Micro Windows Media Audio format. The AVHP6 from Pioneer will do so for €1,800. The la is an important development as it means in time a driver may be able to purchase download digital music in the WMA form< directly from online music stores such as 1 Eircom Music Club and Napster. And this i really the vision for in-car entertainment Internet connected car with access to win broadband. With it, you would be able download and enjoy all types of digital cc while on the road - music, movies, photo even up-to-date tourist reports if you hap to be using your car for holidaying. And o course, you'll never get lost thanks to sat and if your car gets stolen, you can just s, text message to catch the jackers! Now i5 digital technology wonderful.

Mobil e

multimedia

brings music, movies, football and ieo calling to your mobile phone i that's just the start of it. Prepare

Tun

--gin for the ultimate entertainment experience. n November, Vodafone became the first mobile operator in the Republic

Sports The star in the

of Ireland to launch a 3G service. For

sports portfolio is

those of you who aren't familiar with

the reality of video

3G or UMTS, this technology brings broadband-comparable data speeds

highlights from the Barclays

of up to 384Kbit/sec to the mobile

Premiership. For the

phone network and its arrival allows

first time, 30 minutes

aWafone to offer its subscribers a whole qww range of content services through its

after the end of each

rodafone live! WAP portal.

subscribers can download

Vodafone's 3G population coverage

an edited highlights package of

rrently stands at 62%. when a user

each match in the form of a 2 to 3

gwoves out of a 3G-enabled area, the new iii multimedia phones are intelligent

minute video clip.

Wells estimates that it will take about

wmough to be able to switch back to

25 seconds in best conditions to

.WS and continue to download

download one of these clips over 3G. He

salorrnation including pictures, audio and

also says that if the

â&#x20AC;˘ some cases , depending on the size of

main weight of the

So download , video.

video footage has been

V--tin Wells is Head of Content

downloaded to the phone

!r-. yes with Vodafone Ireland and he is

within a 3G cell, then should the user

w 'emely excited about the potential of

move back to a GPRS cell, they should

316 '-r the improved delivery of

still be able to continue with the

wur ^edia content . "3G offers an

download. The footage is encoded in

tease in speed and an acceleration in

high quality MPEG 4 and can be enjoyed

!ta transmission that makes it possible

on 3G multimedia phones that offer

s sr `t large data files over the network."

pristine LCD screens and stereo sound.

â&#x20AC;˘ :.. s as a result, Vodafone can offer

I

Premiership match, 3G

The Barclays Premiership isn't the only

ac, -g new types of content across four

soccer offering that Vodafone has for its

.w yeas : sports, entertainment, news

customers. It has also done a deal with

SC Music.

UEFA to get access to the Champions

Vodafone live! with

and audio material to complement

3G phones in focus*

a major cinema release.

Outtakes, bloopers and star interviews are available on the 3G

portal in video format, and Wells describes the format as being vl

Sharp V902SH

similar to the additional content

Available from early 2005, this slick clamshell

you get on a DVD except that thl

handset can send MMS messages up to 300k

content is delivered to your mobiiq

in size and can play MP3, MPEG4 audio and

phone just as the move hits the bad

video files and stream 3GPP video files. An SD

office and not months after the even

card slot is on-board for saving downloaded

as with DVD.

multimedia content while an built-in swivel

Already, Vodafone has offered 3G

camera facilitates video calling while a

subscribers access to material related

2megapixel main camera with a 2x optical

the Bridget Jones sequel "The Edge or

zoom should give good quality photos.

Reason", and it gave similar treatment "The Invincibles" and "Polar Express"

Sony Ericsson V800

time for the festive period.

Available from early 2005, this clamshell

In addition to outtakes, subscribers a-

phone supports MMS up to 300k, instant

also able to download wallpapers,

messaging, e-mail, 72 poly for audio and plays

ringtones and java 3D games in relatior

Real, AAC, MP3, MPEG 4 audio and video files.

to the profiled movie. They can also take

The camera is a 1.3 megapixel model with 4x

League. This means that once the second

part in special competitions related to t*

digital zoom, and the phone sports 5Mbytes of

phase of the competition begins in

movie in some way.

on-board memory and a Memory Stick Duo

February, Vodafone's 3G customers will

memory card up to 32Mbytes.

be able to watch edited highlights of all the two legged ties from all over Europe.

Nokia 6630

News bulletins are also an important pa

Vodafone's team of content editors will be

of the initial Vodafone live! 3G mix. In a

Available from â&#x201A;Ź169. this candy bar with

able to go "in-match" and grab goals

deal with Sky News, subscribers to the

external video calling cradle, supports MMS to

highlights from the first half and deliver

300k in size, features 48-bit polyphonic sound

them at half time to subscribers. For

and plays Real, AAC, MP3, MPEG 4 and 3GPP

Wells, it's a great breakthrough in

audio and video files. The digital camera is 1.3

dynamic content delivery. Vodafone also

megapixel and sports a 4x digital zoom. MIMIC

has a deal with Sky Sports to repackage

memory cards up to 32Mbytes in size are

value added football content for the 3G

supported although there is ample on-board

phones. This content takes the form of

storage in 10Mbytes.

player and manager interviews and bulletins from the Sky Sports newsroom.

Motorola V980 Available from â&#x201A;Ź99, this clamshell phone supports MMS up to 300k in size, supports

With the arrival of 3G, Vodafone is

instant messaging and e-mail, and plays Real,

also striving to deliver high quality

AAC, MP3, 3GPP and Flash audio and video

entertainment content to mobile

files. Video telephony is supported on-board

users. Its star feature on the new

while the digital camera features an entry

Vodafone live! 3G platform is the

level resolution of 640 by 480 with a 4x digital

"Movie of the Month" offering. Having

zoom. Memory comes in the form of 2Mbytes

completed pan-global content deals

internally and 32Mbytes in a flash card.

with the major movie studios including Warner Brothers, Sony and Disney,

Pricing was correct at time of price but is subject to change.

Vodafone can now offer Irish subscribers a wide range of value-added video

22 January 2005

While the music videos may come from the major labels, a range of additional value-added content is coming from MTV and these include "the making of the music video"-style segments and unplugged performances by artists that have been previously recorded in MTV studios.

The second phase of the Access Music service will be launched in the spring and it will offer full music

track downloads, according to Wells. live! 3G Subscribers will be able to browse through a range of song titles in a 15,000-strong music catalogue.

Subscribers will be able to browse through it by genre whether their tastes run to chart, electronic or alternative rock. This part of the service has already

+

ervice can download compact

been launched in the UK, Germany and

s bulletins in video form throughout

Spain and is described by Wells as a

gay. The bulletins are packaged in

hero service in that it has proved

that range from 30 seconds to a -te in length.

extremely popular with 3G subscribers

a separate service, a live TV stream

from its launch.

Vodafone is installing platforms

â&#x20AC;˘ y News Active is also available and

that will adhere to digital rights

ides a five minute loop of all of the

management requirements and

,.c new headlines. Vodafone is

r, ng with Siemens and Irish company

protect the content from piracy.

This sophisticated technology is

to deliver this innovative mobile

scheduled to arrive by the middle

e.

of next year. By then, there will be five types of music services

-SIC

available via the Access Music

Wells feels that it is important that

Oefone offers a high percentage of content over 3G and this is ised by its commitment to carry

service on the Vodafone live! 3G portal: music videos from the labels, value-added video content from MTV; real tones of songs which are CD quality

work of Irish musicians in its Access

and last for 10 to 12 seconds; polyphonic

service in live! Wells comments:

ringtones of hits and full track downloads

the Access Music service, 20 to

which will, Wells says will deliver an

per cent of the content is Irish."

"iPod-like experience" to music-loving

Moving worked out deals with the

mobile subscribers.

record labels including EMI, BMG and Warner, the mobile or can now offer music video

Perhaps the highest profile service on the

from local acts such as Damien

new 3G platform is video calling and this

and Ash . Content from The Devlins

new service combines video and audio in

The Frames will be available to

one call. Depending on the mobile

ibers soon. There are also

Tonal videos from the likes of Skinner aka The Streets.

phone, you can have picture in picture, meaning that if you place a video call to another 3G subscriber, you can see

Crash Bandicoot is available as a Java game to download

yourself on-screen in the corner as well as the recipient of the call. With some of the models, you also pan the camera to give a live video demonstration to the person at the other end of the line.

Of the four mobile phones launched so far for 3G, three of the models from Sony Ericsson, Sharp and Motorola integrate the video calling module into

the body of the camera. The Nokia 6630 requires a separate cradle to sit in to

the phone, you will get a preview and a

facilitate a video call.

look behind the scenes at your favours American sitcoms and dramas. "24"

l{llfi',su^9,

be the first to get the mobisode treat

With 3G , Vodafone will now be able to

on Vodafone live! 3G to tie in with the

bring your favourite TV series to your

airing of the new series in Ireland in

mobile phone . The mobisode is a new

January.

concept and it involves Vodafone linking up with major TV studios to produce

3G tariffs

miniature video previews of the best TV

Right now, if you walk into a Vodafone

series to hit satellite and terrestrial TV. In

retail store, you can get a Motorola VP:

a one minute video clip downloadable to

3G mobile phone for €69 as part of a

"Perhaps the highest profile service on the new 3G platform is video calling and this new service combines video and audio in one call. "

special deal. It's currently free to download the Barclays Premiership football, and the `Movie of the Month' video clips. To download a real tone, Wells says it will cost you €5, €3 for a polyphonic ringtone and €5 to €7 download high profile 3D games sL as Tiger Woods Gold and FIFA Football. News clips cost €1 while pricing structure has yet to be announced for the launch of the mobisodes service.

Individual football clips are free a: the moment and will be available a` February for €2 per clip but the company wants to encourage subscribers to sign up for monthly bundles to suit their particular interests. The football bundle of Premiership clips and value-added content will cost €9.99 for an "all y can eat" package, representing excellent value for money.

x

vodafoneTM

Contact Vodafone mobile phone outlets nationwide or visit www.vodafone.ie for more information.

this network-friendly nit/n tli a\/PYi a ite ill -E

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In association with MB Technology, we've got a superb KISS DP-150 to give away this

month.

Kiss Technology's DP-1 50 adds a 40Gbyte hard drive to its -^etwork-connected DVD player.

This unit comes with software for turning your PC into a server that can stream a slew of audio and ideo formats - including MP3, WMA, JPEG, and MPEG-4 from your PC to this DVD player.

"•uly a versatile machine!

What make of DVD was named PC Live's Best DVD Player of 2004?

S. Hug T. Kiss U. Wink

y MOW TO ENTER

• choose one correct answer from the three shown opposite and text as shown before January 31.

• The winner will be notified by phone.

• - is a condition of entry that the winner agrees to be photographed being presented with his/her prize, for publication in PC Live!

• Employees of PC Live!, MB Technology and their respective associates are ineligible. Good luck!

I I

mb INGRAM

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pgrading your future PC could become child's play.

You'll plug in building-block-like modules that pack anything from twin 64-bit processors to dual graphics boards. You'll gaze at stunning flat-panel monitors that display a wider range of colours than today's best LCDs, and you'll carry cell phones with

10Gbyte hard drives.

Eventually, smarter technologies will turn most every car, wall, and appliance into an intelligent resource. The foundations for a truly connected future are being laid right now. Take a look in the following pages to see what the next two years will bring us.

The next PC Neil Young wrote that rust never sleeps. "ell, neither do processor makers. Intel and AMD have been working overtime to introduce dual-core processors that, by this time in 2006, will

We look at what ' s new and what ' s next for technology consumer

I tore eron

January 2005

power most new PCs . Expected to emerge in the first half of 2005, dual-core processors squeeze two processors (CPUs) onto a single chip, turning everyday desktop and even laptop PCs into multiprocessing powerhouses.

Nathan Brookwood , principal analyst for industry research firm Insight 64, says dual-core CPUs will offer impressive performance gains under multiprocessor- aware operating systems such as Windows XP. The upside looks best for games, photo and video editing, and other processor -intensive tasks.

Just don't be too disappointed when the first dual-core processors show up with clock rates as much as one-third lower than those of their single-core siblings, says Brookwood. The lower clock rates will reduce heat, cost, and stress on the chips.

On the 64-bit front, Brookwood expects that twothirds of all PCs in 2006 will feature 64-bit processors though only 10 to 15 percent of those will ship with 64-bit applications. But with memory capacities on high-end PCs likely to reach 4Gbyte or more in 2006, expect memory-hungry, hyperrealistic games and advanced photo and video editing to take full advantage of the 64-bit systems.

For a glimpse at the future of graphics, you need look no further than PCI Express (PCIe). It's the graphics interface that will replace PCI and AGP, and it promises nearly twice the performance of AGP. PCIe boards based on the NVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra and ATI Radeon X80 chips have raised the bar for 3D graphics realism. Amping up graphics even more are boards using Scalable Link Interface technology, to let two boards work together - faster.

Guiding this development is an ambitious road map for PCIe The so-called Gen 2 version of the spec is already on the drawing board and should double per-channel performance to 500 megabytes per second, and Brookwood expects a t-gigabyte per-second version down the road. That's serious speed.

PCIe could ultimately transform the shape of future PCs. An upcoming flavour of PCIe is being designed that will let fast peripherals connect to a PC over a cable (7 meters or more), rather than plugging into the motherboard. Imagine a PC consisting of pluggable modules - for example, a small box for

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and other foldable displays remains the stuff of lab demonstrations - not quite science fiction, but not quite technological reality, either. So companies, including Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and a few startups, are instead ramping up the quality of tomorrow's flat screens.

Toshiba and Canon, for example, are cooking up thinner, lighter, and better flat panels, based on a technology called Surface Conduction Electron-Emitter Display (SED). It shoots electrons through thousands of nanometres-wide slits onto a phosphor-coated screen, blending the best of traditional CRTs and LCDs. The Toshiba-Canon joint venture, SED Incorporated, will manufacture initial products by 2005, with volume production expected in 2007.

Genoa Colour takes a different approach in displaying colors on screen. Its Multi-Primary Colour (MPC) technology provides additional colours (such as yellow and cyan) that TVs can mix to display an expanded range of colours, including brighter versions of colours that RGB (red-green-blue) screens produce poorly.

Using the MPC chip and up to three additional primary colours, TVs and monitors can deliver more-realistic colour - particularly the flesh tones and yellows where the RGB method is weakest.

MPC should be appear in high-end rear-projection televisions in the second quarter of 2005.

Sony is taking another tack to meet a similar challenge, introducing in Japan the Qualia 005 line of 40- and 46-inch LCD TVs, which use white light- emitting diodes to backlight the screen. Called Triluminos , these LEDs let displays produce more colours than the cold cathode- based fluorescent lamps used in most LCD TVs. Jon Peddie , principal analyst for Jon Peddie Research, a leading graphics research firm, says the effect "is amazing and [provides] photographic colour garnma." In short, colours on screen look true to life.

Panasonic's DMRE700BD Blu-ray recorder is currently only available in Japan

Sony's BDZ-S77 Recorder (which sells in Japan) plays and records Blu-ray discs

Photo paradise

ie graphics card, another box for the hard drive, and a third box it the wireless network card. Rather than opening the case to id devices, you just slide a PCIe module into a bay. By the end 2006, who knows? You could be upgrading your next PC with _go like blocks - the ultimate no-hassle upgrade.

Splash of colour We've been tempted with visions of bendable displays for years.

Uas, the promise of big and flexible organic light-emitting-diode

The popularity of digital photography is leading to a revolution in imaging software.

Today, cameras can tag images with useful metadata (data about the image) such as the date and time a shot was taken, the camera model, and other details. Future cameras, equipped with GPS chips, will go further. "I could see a mobile phone's camera putting in the GPS coordinates of an image, and software that automatically recognises that the shot is in Paris," says Tapan Bhat, director of product management for Adobe's Consumer Digital Imaging and Digital Video Products division.

He predicts such technology could surface in 2007.

Desktop software will be smarter, too, able to analyse photos to January 2005

The Samsung SPH-V5400 has a 1.5Gbyte hard drive

<< recognise elements such as mountains, dogs, or swimming pools and then apply metatag information to aid organisation.

Also likely by 2006 are software advancements that will automate routine tasks such as removing red-eye and fixing minor flaws, helping users get better results in less time. Further out, software could provide features like "lazy snapping," a technology Microsoft Research recently demonstrated in China. With a few vague mouse strokes, users can, for example, identify an object they want to crop, and the lazy-snapping algorithms will automatically detect and mark the borders. The feature analyses the image's contrast and colours to detect object edges with much greater precision than is possible with current magicwand controls.

Microsoft Research also showed technology that can transform a 2D photo of a face into a 3D model. The tool could allow you to import a realistic-looking model of yourself into a game.

Adobe's Bhat emphasises that smart software will ultimately revolutionise the way we work with and even think of photos.

But the payoffs remain years away. "The first [such features] will start hitting in 2006, but it may be fairly rudimentary It's going to be a while before the technology is good enough to happen by default."

The hold everything discs In this age of 300Gbyte hard disks, the 4.7Gbyte DVD disc just isn't getting the job done. The good news: Three groups are touting optical disc formats that offer four or five times the capacity of today's DVDs. But a format war is afoot, and no one knows how it will shake out.

The High Definition-DVD group, led by NEC and Toshiba, has created a 15Gbyte format some analysts say will offer lower disc prices. NEC, Sanyo, and Toshiba plan to ship HD-DVD players in 2005, and recorders possibly in 2005 or 2006. NEC plans to ship an HD-DVD drive for PCs as well.

The competing Blu-ray standard - headed up

by Matsushita, Sony, and other PC and consumer electronics giants - stores 50Gbyte on a disc. Blu-ray recorders are now available

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Samsung 's SPH-52300 mobile phone sports a 3.2 megapixel digital camera

January 2005

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in Japan-albeit at prices above â&#x201A;Ź1000. Sony expects Blu-ray products to be available in Eun in late 2005 or early 2006. Non- recording plus - which could play any type of content stored Blu-ray disc - are expected by the end of 2005.

Sony says its upcoming PlayStation 3 will come with a Blu-ray player.

HD-DVD and Blu-ray employ blue-laser o which use a much shorter wavelength to tighth pack bits of data on the disc surface . The pro is, blue-laser optics are expensive. So a third technology, called Digital Multilayer Disc (DMD), from D has emerged. It uses low-cost red lasers and a transparent, fluorescing medium to store up to six layers of data within a Instead of pointing a laser at a reflective surface layer, DMD interacts with fluorescing materials embedded in multiple layeil to achieve initial capacities of 15Gbyte. DMD promises lowercost hardware and media than blue-laser-based formats. D Datil plans on disc capacities doubling to 30GB in 2005 and doubliq again to 60Gbyte by 2007. However, DMD lacks the kind of industry support that's lined up behind Blu-ray and HD-DVD Don't expect quick victories in this format fight. By mid-20U major Hollywood studios will likely take sides and force the i Blu-ray could hold an edge with Sony's large film libraries. H: DVD has the imprimatur of the DVD Forum, the group that controls the spec for DVD. In 2007, Sony expects to ship a four-layer Blu-ray disc that hold 100Gbyte of data, and has developed prototypes of an ei layer, 200Gbyte disc. Ultimately, recorders and drives that support both HD-DVD and Btu-ray may emerge.

Greater security threats It's a dangerous world, and it's only getting worse. By 2006, y can expect security threats to shift and grow. Johannes Ullrichchief technology officer for the Internet Storm Centre at the SANS Institute, expects the cat-and-mouse game between attackers and PC owners to continue, with nextgeneration hacks becoming more persistent and pernicious. Spyware, for example, will seed itself a over a victim's Windows Registry and hard disk, making it difficult for automated tools to pull out so the weeds. Ullrich also expects attacks to become more fault-tolerant. An attack could employ two cr more programs that monitor each other to ensure that the infection is not rooted out of the system antivirus software.

This past summer, the first virus infecting Pocke:' PCs and mobile phones emerged, including a variation that uses Bluetooth connections to jump among handsets. It is only the first salvo, says Ullrich, in a barrage that will target devices of all stripes. "Everything that uses an IP address will b- . target," he warns.

Chip makers and OS writers are fighting back, trying to close one of the most exploited holes: tr.. buffer overrun. Viruses often create overruns by flooding a PC with more code or data than expected, leaving the excess code in an unprotect: space on that system where it can execute. So AMD's Athlon 64 processor includes an Na bit, which flags code for execution. Combined with ar NX bit-aware OS - such as Windows XP with SP:

Tort this feature sterilises miscreant code that overflows programming %oundaries by leaving it untagged. Desktops with this processor CCPU) enjoy the functionality today. But Ullrich worries that network routers and mobile devices will not provide buffer Overrun protection for some time.

Srlper mobile phones Hu any product evolved as quickly as the mobile phone? Three .nrs ago, clam shell phones were cool. Today, a clam shell is also • digital camera , an e-mail device, and a personal organiser. With Vodafone finally rolling out 3G service, mobile phones are poised s become the ultimate do-it-all devices. '[Mobile phones] will be more powerful, have better screens, provide longer battery life, and push more features," says Andy ibramson , an industry watcher who publishes a popular blog on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony. Expect to see plhones that capture multimegapixel photos; stream TV and IRlture-length videos (at smoother frame rates than what's available today); and play realistic 3D games, thanks to graphics dips like the NVidia GeForce 3D 4500 that have introduced 3D wmeleration and texture mapping to mobile handsets.

Mobile phones equipped with tiny, 1-inch drives aren't ur off, either. The first such phone, Samsung's SPH-V5400 with a 1.5Gbyte drive, will be available in Korea soon, and

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When everything computes

AnantAgarwal, professor at MIT Research Labs, has been working on the Oxygen Project, in which "we are looking to create an environment with computation everywhere - in the walls of buildings, in your hands, everywhere," he says. "Computers can then attempt to assist people in a human-centric way." Imagine a video wall installed in your family room that can act as a large television one instant, a videophone the next, and a web browser after that. To make this kind of always-on, always-convenient future work, each object needs to be able to perform almost any computing task. The project's Raw Architecture Workstation (RAW) chip attempts to make such a capability a reality. How soon will we be talking to walls, taking phone calls from refrigerators, and getting foreign-language translations from desk phones? Not yet, says Agarwal. Voice-operated kiosks with richer interfaces that go beyond today's machines "could be deployed in the next year or two. The longer-term ideas will take five to ten years," he says. analyst Jon Peddie expects that mobile phones packing hard drives will appear in Europe in 2005. Drive capacities could go as high as 10Gbyte, allowing users to store lots of MP3s, high-resolution images, and movies.

Shrinking chip sizes and costs will enable multiprotocol mobile phones that can switch between phone networks and local area Wi-Fi - and, later, wide area 802.16e WiMax and perhaps 802.20 networks. These new types of networks are designed to provide data rates of up to 1Mbit/sec at ranges of 8 miles or more. Hybrid cellular/VoIP handsets, such as the Motorola CN620 Wi-Fi phone, will know what network is available, and will make the best choice to place the call at the lowest price, Abramson says. The bottleneck now: Carriers must work through complicated billing and network transfer

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January 2005 31

Tech vision is The nearly invisible battery) Larry DuBois, vice president of physical sciences at SRI International, a non-profit organisation that develops new technologies, says batteries made of paper and other fibres could help devices get more from less. "You make miles of fibre [battery material], and when you mold the case [of your device], you embed that in the molding," Dubois explains. "You can make your device smaller or lighter, because you don't have to carry around the weight of the [battery casing]." There are also paper-thin, printable batteries that are being used for everything from Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) transmitters (which use tiny chips to track items at a distance) to greeting cards. Another promising technology is a fast-charging battery that can go from zero to fully charged in less than 10 minutes. "It's a question now of moving the technology out of the lab to the manufacturing arena," Dubois says. "It's probably a couple of years out." What about the fuel cells that we've been hearing about for gadgets? "[They're] real. People use them. The question is, when does it get into consumers' hands? Until you can buy methanol cartridges all over the country and all over the world, people are going to be hard-pressed to put fuel cells in their systems." << issues for these agile devices. Your mobile phone will even take to the skies. Airbus recently completed tests of an on-board base station, called a picocell, that will enable mobile phone users to make reliable in-flight connections with base stations that are located on the ground.

Of course, none of this will work without service providers getting a chance to charge for their piece of the action.

Multiplayer online gaming will have users battling head-to-head over fast networks. In 2005, mobile phones will become the largest user of GPS chips of any device. Integrated GPS chips already let some mobile phone users check their handset for directions, but users can expect more location-based services and, alas, advertising.

Smarter appliances Every year, home automation seems poised to take off. And every year, tech-savvy home owners are unimpressed by the poor performance and reliability of products based on the aging X10 standard. X10 devices send signals to each other over a power line, but users complain that some devices don't function well together and that simple things like flipping a light switch can produce sluggish or inconsistent results.

In 2005, a protocol called Insteon should help change that.

Insteon supports both wireless RF (radio frequency) and powerline operation, and promises to be more reliable than existing options. Backward compatible with X10 gear, Insteon could help renew enthusiasm for home automation.

Ken Fairbanks, director of sales for Smarthome, a

BMW's 5 Series sports its (drive technology, featuring a joystick-style knob and menu button (above) that initiates a screen on the dashboard (left)

Smarthome 's equipment allows you to control your house

company that develops Insteon-based products (such as transceivers and touchscreens), envisions a growing market for Insteon. Smarthome's products will tell, for

example, if a bathroom light switch in an elderly parent's home hasn't turned on by loam, perhaps indicating he or she is ill. It can then alert family members.

Insteon's competitors include Zensys's Z-Wave and the Zig Alliance, both of which offer wireless automation . The ZigBee group, made up of nearly 100 companies - including MitsubisL Motorola, Philips, and Samsung - could deliver homeautomation kits using the standard in 2006.

Kitchen tools are getting smarter, too. Ted Selker, director o7 the Context Aware Computing Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, is working on a spoon that measures and reports the thickness and makeup of a mixture to help guide you through a recipe. Another project: a plastic food container that keeps track of how many days the contents have been in the fridge.

Selker also envisions homes in which kitchen tables, familyroom walls, and other surfaces become virtual workspaces. The kids' homework and parents' bills will be called up on these surfaces.

Although flying cars aren't here yet, what we can expect over the next two years are vehicles with smarter interior features and embedded hard drives that store maps, phone directories, and digital audio. Thanks to the widespread use of digital audio players, car manufacturers may finally provide line-in jacks in radios.

Automakers are poised to take another run at heads-up displays, using technology similar to that used in fighter jets to place information in the driver's line of sight. In fact, BMW offers this capability as an option in some of its 5 Series models. BMW and Ford are independently working on adaptive cruise control systems that would marry radar sensors with intelligent controls so cars could automatically respond to other drivers on the road by maintaining a safe distance.

New uses for current, off-the-shelf technologies are being considered for in - car implementations - for example, using LCD monitors for a customisable dashboard interface, or turning vehicles into Wi-Fi acce* points. "There's a lot of talk about the Wi-Fi car," says Thomas Hallauer, editor of TelematicsUpdate.com. 'A 5 Fi-capable cars could let you download MP3s or navigation maps to on-board systems. But such capabilities will take a couple of years to arrive, he says.

Looking further ahead are the researchers at the MIT Media Lab. One of its projects is the "soft car" concept, which envisions a chassis with an airbag-like exterior. Or hubless wheels that place motors and suspension in each wheel so that cars no longer need to be built around rigid drive trains and suspensions. A more likely advancement is the use of electronic ink - a material that can change the appearance of a surface - so cars could change colour, making them more visible at night. Ryan Chin, studio manager for the project at MIT, says the technology could even display messages or advertising.

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ireless networking has, in a notably short time, gone from being a minor miracle used only by the geeky elite to a mainstream technology, thanks to falling prices, newer, faster standards , and the ubiquity of broadband connections. Going wireless is cheaper and easier than ever, and the latest devices are fast enough to handle heavy-duty tasks like large file transfers and streaming audio and video.

Modern wireless networks offer much more than just wireless Internet access; devices like digital audio and video players are adding wireless features that let you share your digital media around the house. You can even put nonwireless devices like printers and game consoles onto a wireless network with the help of products that quickly and easily

Enhanced standards Currently two standards dominate wireless networking: 802.1 lb and the newer, faster 802.: Several manufacturers have created enhances versions of 802.11g that they claim can transmit and receive data at up to 125 megabits per second (up from the standard 802.11g's 54Mbit/sec). The 108Mbit/'_ Super G technology (developed by Atheros) is used by DLink and Netgear, while 125Mbit/sec High-Speed Mode technology (developed by Broadcom) is included in products by Belkin, Buffalo.

Wireless won We gather the best gear for setting up or improving a Wi-Fi network, and offer advice on how to add a printer, hard drive, stereo and even a TV to your network. and Linksys, as well as other vendors. Although plain-vanilla 802.11b and g products are compatible with each other, the different types of enhanced modes are not.

The bottom line: For the simplest installation and troubleshooting, and for maximum performance, your Wi-Fi components must use the same type of technology, preferably from the same vendor. Sticking with one manufacturer also means just one tech support call, which is one reason u we looked at wireless kits. Often vendors won't help you mix equipment from various sources. The exception is if your laptop has built-in Wi-Fi. I

convert them to wireless.

But while setting up and

maintaining a wireless network is getting easier, it is still far from being foolproof.

So we also offer tips for getting the most from your setup.

We also look at the five most common wireless security mistakes, explain what you can do to extend the coverage of your wireless network, and describe upcoming standards that will enhance and change the way wireless works.

Chnncp it Start with the right components THIS PART of our guide will tell you what's what in Wi-Fi networking hardware , from the routers that form the heart of your network to the adapters that add your PC c notebook to the network, and bridges that turn non-wireless devices into wireless ones.

The Netgear kit consists of its WGT624 router, WG311T PCI adapter, and WG111 USB adapter

ri-Fi routers and adapters The router is the heart of your wireless network: It connects your work to the Internet via a cable ar DSL modem, shares Internet weess among multiple PCs or other ksices, and controls who can access .our network. As such, it is the wagle most important component.

We found that most routers share ie same basic features - all of the woes we have looked at offer four rued Ethernet ports (for connecting a wired devices ), plus various ways to control who gets onto the setwork. All of the routers we tested offer NAT (Network 4ddress Translation) firewalls, WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption, and CAC (media access control) filtering, where the router can ermine access by allowing only devices with MAC addresses i a predetermined list to join the network. Every network &sice has a unique MAC address.

?rguide Nevertheless, the routers we tested differ markedly in how easy tin- are to use. We found the Belkin F5D7231-4 to be very easy a set up and use due to a clear quick-start guide, a printed ewnual, and excellent software, including the best setup wizard se ve seen from a Wi-Fi router. This software can even arromatically check for firmware updates - something you should i frequently with any router. We also found notable differences a the units ' parental controls and remote-management features, moth the Belkin F5D7231-4 again taking top marks in both. Of tie routers we tested, only the D-Link DI-624 have removable arennas that you can replace with more sensitive or directional wr .1els. The Buffalo has an external antenna port; the Linksys Jb-KPC54G has mounting holes in the case that make it easy to ch it to a wall.

The speed of the wireless kits varied 9eytly in our tests. Top honours went to i!t Buffalo kit, which managed to maintain d of over 25Mbits/sec - significantly itrr than all of the other products. rw ever, bear in mind that the speed of the will make a difference only within your I^Itwork: With Internet downloads, the ^e:d of your Internet connection will be !e %mtricting factor. Also, the Buffalo r:.!.ict did not have the same range as the mer- kits in our informal tests of network units that had dual antennas, such as the D-Link, e best signal strength and covered a wider area.

Belkin router includes setup applications, but all the we saw offer web-based configuration utilities and stepwizards. While the wizards will get you up and running,

they won't always help with more-advanced settings (such as MAC address filtering or parental controls). Whether you choose a wizard or a utility, do the initial setup of your router with a PC using a wired connection, and then set up your Wi-Fi adapter to work with it. It's much simpler to avoid dealing with getting both to work at the same time. Buffalo 's WHR3-G54 includes a feature called AOSS, which makes setting up WPA encryption easier than on the other routers . However, it works only

with Buffalo products.

Getting the enhanced speed modes to work was not always easy; we often found other wireless devices trying to join the network, interfering with and forcing down the speeds of our own devices.

With the enhanced routers, we fixed the problem by setting them to operate exclusively in high-speed mode and to ignore any 802.11g-only devices. Turning on MAC address filtering can help avoid this problem, too.

Generally speaking, the USB, PCI, and PC Card adapters from the same manufacturer use the same software (with different drivers to control the hardware ). In just about every case, this software proved straightforward to use and made the basic setup of all the adapters relatively easy. But in saying this, we had to experiment with the settings on all of the tested kits that offer enhanced speed modes to get them running at top speed ; for instance, we had to set a number of confusing parameters on the D-Link router and adapter to get them to run in the Super G mode. Other points: The I keychain size of the Belkin and the Netgear i USB adapters made them very portable.

"Currently two standards dominate

wireless networking: 802.11 b and the newer, faster 802.11 g"

Print Servers

While you can share a USB printer over your wireless network by using Windows' built-in printer sharing, the host computer must remain on for others to print. With a Wi-Fi print server, you don't need a host computer, and your printer can be located anywhere within range of your Wi-Fi network.

Most vendors offer at least one Wi-Fi router with a built-in USB print server. We looked at two, the SMC Barricade SMC2804WBRP-G and the Apple AirPort Extreme, which was our pick. The AirPort Extreme conveniently supports printing

SECURING YOUR NETWORK

IF THE STATISTICS are true, about four of every five people who have a wireless network at home don't turn on any of the security features. Wi-Fi routers ship from the factory with their security turned off by default to ease the initial setup of the device, but that doesn't mean you should leave it in that mode forever.

Enabling security can take a little care, however, and even the experts mess it up sometimes.

Here are some of the mistakes we've made. Don't repeat them.

Not changing the factory password. While setting up my first wireless router, our tester forgot to change the administrator password from the factory default. One day he discovered that someone else had logged in to the router (using the default password) and changed his settings, giving them free access.

The moral : Always change the router password from the default.

M istake 1

Not enabling encryption. If you don't enable encryption, your network is broadcasting your passwords and e-mail messages to anyone in range who cares to intercept them using free sniffer software like AirSnort (airsnort. shmoo .com), which can capture and analyse wireless data. The moral: Unless you don't care who reads your e-mail, turn encryption on.

Mistake 2

Not checking the security. Earlier in the year, a reader told us how he bought a Wi-Fi router, connected it to his broadband connection and printer, and merrily moved on to other things. Months later he awoke one morning to find his printer had mysteriously printed the page from his Wi-Fi router's manual that explained how to turn on the security settings. Later, his neighbour admitted to accessing his network by mistake, discovering the lack of security, and printing the page to the insecure network's printer as a not-so-subtle hint. The moral : If you are concerned about how secure your network is, don't assume it is secure. Ask a knowledgeable friend to check it for you.

Mista ke 3

Mistake 4

Overzealous security settings. Every wireless network card has a hardware (MAC) address that a Wi-Fi router can use to control which computers are permitted to connect to the network. One day we decided to turn on MAC filtering, and we dutifully added the address of every computer to be linked to the MAC filtering list - all except that of the PC we were using. We had locked ourselves out of our own network, the Wi-Fi equivalent of locking your car keys in the trunk. The moral: Apply security settings with care, and thoroughly review them before you apply them.

Letting anyone access my network. We were the first in our area to have a wireless network, and we advertised that fact by setting the network name to "Open Access." Unfortunately, some nearby freeloader decided it was an open invitation to use our bandwidth to download huge amounts of pornography, slowing my network to a crawl. Now we've changed the SSID to my e-mail address; if anyone wants access, they have to e-mail me for permission first. The moral: If your ISP allows it, going wireless makes sharing your connection easy, but people may abuse it if you leave it wide open.

Mistake 5

from either Macs or PCs; most wireless print servers do not. And the Airport was simple to set up on each platform.

We also tried two stand-alone print servers from Belkin, and Linksys. The paperback-size Belkin F1UP0001 is an 802.11g model with two USB 1.1 ports, so it can work with two printers at once. It also provides an Ethernet port, giving you the flexibility of connecting it with a wire. The Linksys WPS54GU2, another paperback-size device, offers both a USB 2.0 port and a parallel port, for connecting to older printers. Like the Belkin, it has an Ethernet port for connecting directly to your wired network.

Both devices work in similar fashion: You run a configuration utility, attach your printers to the print server, and then install and configure the printer server utility on each PC you want to print from. For basic one-printer installation, all of the servers we tested were reasonably easy to configure. Each time the process took around 30 minutes (because it involved setting up

both a Wt-Fi device and a printing device), but all of the products came with good setup guides.

Another benefit of these three units is that they support Internet Protocol printing, so you don't even have to be near your computer to print. IPP allows you to, for instance, print a report in the office from your location on the road.

All the devices we tried worked fine with our test printer (an Epson Stylus Photo 890), and all claim compatibility with most inkjet and laser printers. But they don't always work with multifunction printers; most consumer all-in-one printers can only print, not scan or fax, when connected to a print server. Finally, if you're looking for a new printer, HP makes several - including the Photosmart 8450 and the Photosmart 2710 all-in-one - with a wireless print server built in, obviating a separate device.

Wi-Fi bridges You can link almost any device with an Ethernet port, such as a video game console or a network printer, to a wireless network by adding a Wi-Fi bridge. You connect your device to the bridge's Ethernet port with a cable, and the bridge retransmits the data coming from the wired device wirelessly. The device itself acts no differently while using the wireless network.

We tried out two Wi-Fi bridges from Belkin and D-Link.

Our favourite was the Belkin F5D7330. This 802.11g unit had by far the best setup utility and user manual, though none of the products we looked at were complicated to install Ouse. The setup process was a little more involved when we enabled encryption on the network - we had to enter the encryption key into a web-based setup program. The D-Link supported WPA, and it worked without problems. If you are creating a wireless network from scratch, purchasing a bridge from your router vendor would make sense, especially if you have a speed-boosted model.

Video cameras You can mount a Wi-Fi video camera almost anywhere a power source exists. The unit that we tested have some amazing feature for consumer-level products. The D-Link DCS-5300G is an 802.11g unit. Others are available from such vendors as Linksys.

The D-Link model we looked at here has built-in web servers so you can view live video from any PC with Internet access. Want to see if your kids got home from school okay, or ro check on your office while you're working remotely? Just fire up your web browser. This camera has motion detectors that can trigger video recording and send e-mail alerts if they spot movement. In addition, the camera also has a microphone for audio recording, as well as a motor with remote pan and tilt control; being able to pan the camera around remotely makes it much more useful, because it can cover an entire room. It also includes applications for recording and playing back video and for managing multiple cameras.

Unfortunately, the camera is not weatherproof or sensitive enough to capture video in low-light situations (though for nigh: time security use, you could mount a motion-triggered floodligh nearby). But for the price, it does an impressive job.

Music and video players Your digital audio and video don't need to be restricted to your PC - with a wireless media player, you can send music and vide(, to your stereo system. We tried out the Linksys WMLS 11 B and the MacSense HomePod. For use around the house, the Linksvs

Two network -friendly web cams. We tested the D - Link one.

a a great choice. It has large ttegrated speakers, so you can use it as a stand -alone wireless boom box as well as connect it to your stereo stem (you can also detach the speakers). And the LCD is big and cosy to read.

1 The HomePod also provides built-in +peakers, but they are small and produce hss volume . On the other hand, the HomePod marches automatically for music located on multiple host aDtnputers (Macs or PCs), and even has a USB 1.1 port for you a attach a storage device directly; the Linksys works with only ene host, which must be running Musicmatch Jukebox. Besides Husicmatch , the HomePod also works with ITunes, Winamp, ad several other music players. Both the WMLSI1B and the HomePod support Internet radio playback, and the Linksys can one in the Rhapsody music service. Oddly, neither supports +VPA, so they won't work on encrypted networks.

If you have a Windows Media Centre PC, another alternative *corning soon : In early 2005, Media Centre Extenders from mious vendors will let you access all your Media Centre PC content (such as recorded TV or digital music) on your TV or - _ reo system. Microsoft is also working on software that will

turn an Xbox game console into a Media Centre Extender. The advantage of these devices is that you won't have to learn a different interface to use them; they will work in the same way as a Media Centre PC.

Travel routers Travel routers are pocket-size versions of their larger siblings with specialised setup utilities for sharing a single connection (such as a single Ethernet port in a hotel or conference room) among several people. They also let you save multiple configurations and switch among them, so you could have one configuration for hotel rooms, another for home, and yet another for the office conference room, making it easier to get online in different locations on the road.

We looked at the Apple AirPort Express and the Netgear WGR101. Apple's AirPort Express was our favourite, thanks to its built-in power supply (the other two have separate power bricks that nearly double their size and weight) and its ability to act as a wireless print server. Both were easy to get up and running, though non-standard setups (such as networks that require authentication) may be more difficult. The Netgear omits WPA encryption capability.

Think Wireless , Think NETGEAR

DG834 ADSL Modem with Internet Gateway

.. ..

Wired connection

a 54Mbps Wireless ADSL Network

What do you want from a wireless network ? You need it to be reliable and cost effective ... you can 't afford to have worries about security, ease of use , interoperability or compatibility. You want a wireless network to enable you at work and at home to be able to share information freely, to access what you need to be successful when

This is where NETGEAR comes in.

and where you need it.

802.11 b and 802.11 g.

Harvey_ Norman Swords : Dundalk :

With award-winning products and a reputation for technological innovation and quality, NETGEAR is a popular choice for home and business users who demand easy-to-use, reliable internet sharing and networking products. NETGEAR provides a complete range of Wireless products to enable you to network your home or business without the use of cables. Using a choice of technologies at two recognised standards,

Your nearest stores are:

Airside Retail Park, Swords, Co. Dublin. PH: (01) 890 9900 Dundalk Retail Park, Inner Relief Road, Dundalk, Co. Louth. PH: (042) 939 6600

C 2004 NETGEAR. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. reformation correct at time of going to press and subject to change. E&OE.

NETGEAR速 Everybody's connecting TM January 2005 37

WIRELESS STANDARDS

are relatively simple to install and use, coaxing the best performance out of your network takes some effort. Read on fa tips to bring your Wi-Fi network up to speed.

ALTHOUGH the 802.11g products we've reviewed here are pretty speedy, tasks like simultaneously streaming several different video signals over a wireless connection require more bandwidth than current products offer. 802.11 n is a forthcoming standard that will expand bandwidth and increase the range of wireless networks. The standard is still being discussed, but one version would provide more than 250Mbits/sec of bandwidth, over four times that of existing 802.11g products. It would do this by compressing data more efficiently and using antennas that would allow it to transmit more than one signal at a time (a technique called MIMO, for Multiple In, Multiple Out). The final standard is not likely to emerge until 2006.

If you can't wait until then, this may be good news: Some vendors such as Belkin have released what they call Pre-N devices, which use their proposed version of the standard. Belkin claims that its products will be upgradeable to the final 802.11 n standard when it is released.

Location , location , location Location is indeed everything when it comes to getting the best range out of your Wi-Fi router. Wireless performance drops c+ dramatically as signal strength falls (from a top speed of 54Mbits/sec with 802.11g to as little as 1 to 2Mbits/sec at the lowest discernible signal strength); so if you can, you should position your router in a spot where all of your computers receive good signal strength.

Ideally, your W-Fi router should go in a location at the cen of your house or office for best coverage, but you will have to position it near your DSL or cable modem. To test the coverais. do a preliminary installation of your router in the same room with your broadband modem, then connect your notebook PC wirelessly and walk around your home or office, checking the signal strength in the wireless adapter's administration software Metal, stone, concrete, water, and human beings absorb or rel1e signals, while wood and glass let them pass relatively uncheckei So place your router high in the room, as far away from obstructions as possible, parallel to the wall, and away from windows to stop the signal from spreading beyond the building.

Also try adjusting the antenna; just as with a TV antenna, even an inch can make a big difference in wireless reception. Have a partner with a notebook in a distant room call out to you as the signal gets better.

If you discover that your home or office suffers a few dead spots, you can add a higher-power antenna.

Try to minimise interference. 802.11 g W-Fi networks operatr in the 2.4Ghz frequency range, the same as microwave ovens many cordless phones. If you have 2.4Ghz cordless phones and they cause problems with your network, the only solution is to swap them for 900Mhz or 5.8Ghz models.

Meanwhile, two other new standards coming soon are designed to enhance existing 802.11 g networks. 802.11 e allows for different traffic priorities, so time-critical data (such as a video stream) is transmitted before less important stuff (such as e-mail or web pages). A subset of this standard called WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia) will start appearing in consumer products late this year.

802.11 i increases the security of a network by adding more encryption and access controls; a subset of this standard called WPA2 (Wireless Protected Access 2) will appear in products by year-end. Most existing routers will be upgradeable to the new standard: several vendors told us that they are planning to offer WPA2 upgrades to their older 802.11 g products soon.

The Wi-Fi Alliance recently announced that it will be testing products for WMM and WPA2 compatibility to certify that they will work properly together, in the same way it currently evaluates and certifies 802.11 g products for interoperability.

Selt How to get the most from your wireless network SO YOU'VE TAKEN our advice and bought all the parts you need for your wireless network - now you have to put it all together. While most Wi-Fi devices

Wk

We asked all of the major vendors to send us a wireless kit, composed of a router and enough adapters (PCI, USB, or PC Card adapters) to get at least one desktop PC and a notebook connected. We then tested the routers and all of

the submitted adapters; if a vendor supplied more than two adapters, we picked the two fastest to make our kit. The kit price is the combined cost of the router and the two listed adapters.

Performance/ average throughp

Overall rating

Wireless modes

93

802.11 g/Super G

J^ Easy to set-up Very good Very good/19.5Mbit/sec

92

802.11 g

Good/13.5Mbit/sec

Buffalo WHR3-G54 router WL12-PCI-G54S PCI adapter WLI-CB-G54S PC Card adapter

91

802.11 g/1 25Mbit/sec high speed mode

Outstanding/ 27.6Mbit/sec

Fair

Fast but expensive

TBA

TNS Distribution 01 882 9777

D-Link DI-624 router

91

802.11g/Super G

Fair/16.3Mbit/sec

Good

Excellent spec

€300

Quattro 2000 01 6266 100

89

802.11 g/1 25Mbit/sec high speed mode

Good/15.4Mbit/sec

Outstanding

Stylish design

TBA

www.sharptext.ie

WIRELESS NETWORKING KIT letgear WGT624 Router WG311T PCI a d apter WG111 USB adapter

Linksys WKPC54G Network

Very good

Budget kit

€377

www.elara.ie

€278

Ethos Technology 01 4011 064

Router Kit (includes router and PC card) WUSB54G USB adapter

DWLG520 PCI adapter DWLG650 PC Card adapter Belkin F5D7231-4 router

F5D7050 USB adapter F5D7011 PC Card adapter

The other chief source of interference is competing Wi-Fi -betworks. Wi-Fi has gotten so popular that a single apartment x office building can house multiple networks, all trying to use the same frequency. A free utility like NetStumbler can identify nearby networks. Note the channel numbers of any with . gnificant signal strength, and set your network to use a _:fferent channel. Also make sure that your own SSID network name) is different from the others, so your computers don't try to connect to them by accident.

Enabling WEP or WPA can significantly cut the speed at which data is transmitted. That's why its important to start with a strong signal, so that the speed loss is minimised. k1so, don't fall into the trap of turning off the encryption in xder to get better performance - doing so would make it emple for an outsider to snoop on your network.

Troubleshooting your network your computer can't seem to recognise your router, or if you sn't get onto the Internet, the following basic troubleshooting ceps should help (and make tech support phone calls much +horter).

The first thing to do with any network glitch is to isolate the saue. Make sure that both the adapter card and the router are we to the same SSID, encryption mode (WEP or WPA), and encryption key - an error in any of these will lock you out of the network . If possible, try connecting a PC to the router via One of the wired Ethernet ports. If you can bring up the s uter's administration interface on a wired connection, but not with Wi-Fi, check that your Wi-Fi card drivers are installed zorrectly. Usually the software that comes with the adapters has i testing option.

Also ensure that the adapter card and router are compatible.

402.1 1g routers may have g-only modes of operation to which 402.11b cards can't connect, or speed-boosted g modes that rent regular 802.11g cards from connecting. Routers can nl be set to allow only those clients with specific MAC dresses to connect to them, as a security measure. Make sure mur card is on your router's list.

If you can connect to the router wirelessly but can't get onto ie Internet, your card is working fine, but you'll need to

Strew

troubleshoot your Media adapters : a wireless digital media player (top), an Apple AirPort router. Check Express, and the Linksys WMLs11 B your router configuration to be sure you set it up properly.

Rerun the setup utility, checking the mode (PPoE or DHCP, depending on what your ISP uses) and the user name and password that you use to log on. Be sure the settings match those that your broadband provider gave you. Some broadband modems are tied to the MAC address of the computer on which they were first installed, so you may need to "clone" the MAC address and fool the modem into thinking your router is really your PC. Check that the wired connection between the router and the broadband modem is firmly seated, and that the indicator light for this connection is glowing. If a light is off, you may have a bad cable, or you might have connected a crossover Ethernet cable instead of a regular one. Some routers come with a crossover cable that you use while setting it up - this cable doesn't work for the connection between the router and the modem.

If you get dropouts or lose your Internet connection, make sure you have the latest firmware for both the router and the adapters. Wi-Fi vendors issue frequent firmware updates that address such issues and add new features.

And finally, one last thing to remember: Keep your Windows system up-to-date with the latest patches from â&#x2013; Microsoft.

Audio, Photos & Video to Your TV 401 With the D-Link DSM - 320 Wireless Media Player - Stream media content from PC to your Entertainment Center - Listen to digital music on your Stereo System - View digital photos, slideshows and video on TV - Easy Setup - Supports all popular media formats - High Speed Wireless

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E.:.: 1Pt^^^^^^ .^^rra January 2005 39

€239 (€149 for optional support) Sage instant is designed for start-ups, sole traders and small businesses, and is therefore modelled for ease of use essentially a computerised version of all the usual accounting ledgers that allows double-entry bookkeeping.

There are a number of new features in this version: You can 'hot link' directly to information related to the transaction you are working on, use the accounts analyser to get information on the state of your business, and drill down through the simple tree format down to underlying data such as 'Sales in the North' and 'Sales in the South' etc.

Extensive information can be stored and accessed on suppliers, customers and products, and the software is compatible with Microsoft Office should you wish to export to Excel, for example.

1 €199 (€129 for optional support) Again, an entry level accounts package that sticks to the ledger system you'll be familiar with from the good old days.

Things are spiced up a little with the option of 3D graphs, and there's a powerful drill down facility that reveals the history of any financial figure. The ledgers are divided between Customer and Sales, Suppliers and Purchase, Accounts and Nominal, Cash and Bank and VAT and Auditing. A comprehensive range of reports is on offer, such as a full audit trail, VAT analysis, and sales and purchase day books with fully customisable dates. Exporting data to spreadsheets are also supported.

Single user €525.50 (basic) 01 204 8300 Big Red Book Accounts has been designed with first time computer users in mind and uses the 3-in-1 ledger system that looks just like the (red) books which most people are familiar with. It works in the same way too - entries appear in columnar format as they would in the handwritten way.

VAT is calculated automatically, and the software guides you through what figures to put in T1, T2, and so on. It also caters for specialised Irish VAT schemes, such as Retailer VAT and Pharmacy VAT. It covers all the essentials (sales and purchase figures, how much you owe suppliers, how much your customers owe to you, how you stand at the bank, VAT liability) as well as giving you the option to produce management accounts, such as trading and profit and loss.

€100 plus VAT, single user. €80 Upgrade each year after that Thesaurus Solutions Plus will allow you to keep your books in the traditional way, process and print your own sales invoices, print customer statements and VAT returns, maintain bank reconciliations, print aged debtor and creditor listings and view your accounts in a number of different ways (such as abridged, for the Companies Office). It's certainly a powerful piece of software: VAT rates are embedded and linked to nominal headings, and old VAT >> rates are linked to transaction dates. The software January 2005

fasttrack Are you playing catch up when it comes to computerising your business financials ? ANDREW PETERS ' accounts and payroll round up can help get you

on track. f you are a small business manager then there are few more important things in the business than getting a handle on your accounts and payroll, and there is a raft of software is available to help you do it. However, when it comes to investing in an accounts or payroll package it is wise to look before you leap - industry insiders have no shortage of tales of software sitting dormant as frustrated users return to their trusted ledgers. Before parting with any money it is important to ask yourself a few searching questions.

Why computerise?

The first is quite simply why should you computerise your accounts? The most obvious benefits are increased efficiency, lower costs (in staff time), greater accuracy, more timely reports and better control. Computerised accounts can achieve all of these objectives. However,

they cannot solve pre-existing accounting problems: a mess put into the PC can be worse than a mess on ledger paper.

The crucial thing to remember is that people do accounts , not computers.

Computers add numbers very quickly, and enable you to enter the number into the system once for it to appear in all journals, ledgers and other reports.

However, a human has to decide where tr enter that information and someone in the organisation has to understand debits and credits, decide what account code to charge each transaction to, determine whether an error has been made and, if so, how to correct that error. Small businesseare prone to overlooking this when it comes to finding a software solution.

Charles Alken, director of financial software provider Quantum Business Solutions, uses an interesting The Big Red Book portfolio of products

ONE THING to bear in mind when looking at financial software is its compatibility with the tevenue Online Service (www.ros.ie). At present, dealing with taxes and duties online is • rmally a question of completing a three-step registration process that results in receiving a fgital certificate that is used each time you access the system. Once in, twenty different taxes and duties can be filed and paid. A ROS debt instruction needs only to be set up once to tacilitate payment, and the number of taxes you pay this way (if any) is completely up to you. So tar the take-up of the system has been impressive, with 53% of last year's income tax returns being carried out in this way. However, Conor Hegarty, ROS liaison officer, stressed that there is some way to go: "The big thing for 2005 is the P35. We want people to file through ROS. At present there are three ways to do this: paper, diskette and ROS. We'll accept diskettes until February 2006, but ROS doesn't want to continue with two electronic formats. We're letting the software vendors know our schemas so that they can produce a ROS-compatible format." The aim is to make integration with ROS through accounting and payroll software completely seamless, obviating the need to sign in separately with the digital cert. At the moment, 11% of '35s are filed online, but Hegarty expects this figure to grow significantly as the drive to inform 3usinesses of the option kicks off. Software developers that meet the ROS requirements will be IEsted on the website, so it's well worth taking a look whilst you're shopping for software.

.etaphor to illustrate the --oblem: "Would you buy a _ar without knowing how to hive it For small businesses <tting up accounts software is ten a DIY implementation. .b avoid the high risk of :4tware becoming a bit of -.rniture I'd advise against .rnpulsive buys."

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EYBOOKS €390 (€150 for upgrade) SortMyBooks Quick and Easy bookkeeping software is one hundred percent Irish, and used by sole traders and the selfemployed across the country. It handles invoicing, customer statements, VAT 3 returns, debtors, creditors, bank recs and filing online (through www.ros.ie). Essentially, it covers everything you need for yourself, your accountant and the Revenue. The interface is simple and spreadsheet like; anyone that has used Excel should find the screens comfortingly familiar, A number of reports can be produced at any time for your accountant (such as Profit and Loss and Trial balance) and it offers a number of interesting charts, like the 'top ten customers' and 'top ten expenses' facilities.

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<< 'learns', in that payees are matched to nominal headings, and involves minimal keyboard entry. At the same time, file structures are kept basic for stability, and data files can be zipped to an extremely small size to facilitate back up and storage.

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€280 (€200 per annum for support amd upgrades)

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k good way to get an idea of FSSI Ld« rrya,. Pa<,aa, TFA Fora. (W ^_< laaWF,TAt Nd0 1-20, -R Pe,00 nags, F hat the software can do for InsWLS far R51 S-00 f ou is to take advantage of the .valuation period that any decent company will offer.

Sage Quickpay 10 This is usually free, and without any 'obligation to buy, giving you the chance accounts are permitted? Is there room to m see how you can use the tool to achieve grow into the software - will it be able to be end result you require. So how do you accommodate your needs as they grow 3ccide which software to try, There is no more sophisticated?

Does it include answer.

A lot will depend on .efinitive security features that prevent aow much you are willing to spend, how unauthorised personnel from accessing or vas intend to use it, and the size of your manipulating data? What installation and zompany. However, there are a number of ongoing support is available (all the *atures to look out for when you are packages we looked at include telephone bopping around: How many checking

Earnie32 Intro is a straightforward payroll system, supporting up to 30 employees. Available from January 2005, it's the entry level version of Earnie32, offering a number of useful features including integrated absence diary for tracking holiday and sick days, Quick Report Writer and Accounts Software links as standard. It is fully scalable to the full range of Earnie32 products and a UK version also available. Keysolve distribute a demonstration CD of the product, so that you can try before you buy.

€121 (5 users) 14 7753 The Collsoft system operates through a web interface.

It's clear that the company has put a lot of thought into the >> design, replicating how users would approach their

ie payroll solution that performs for you Sage Quickpay is the payroll solution of choice for over 5 , 000 Irish businesses . That's because, as a fully automated system, it saves time and manpower with effortless efficiency . Here are just some of the ways Sage Quickpay can streamline your payroll process: • PAYE, BIK and PRSI calculations are automated • All Revenue requirements are met • Choice of paypath, cash or cheque • Allows you to print P30s, P35s, P45s and P60s at the touch of a button and process P35s through ROS (Revenue On Line)

calculations made easy • • Comprehensive reporting • Multi-company option • Caters for all pay frequencies • Nominal link to Sage Accounting software available

To find out more call:

e payroll & su

s little as

1800255300 Earn

or visit www.sage.ie

*Offer ends 31 st Jan 05..

January 2005 47

<< payroll if doing it manually. It's certainly pretty flexible, featuring Wage Auto processing, complete cost centre/departmental analysis, PRSA and Pension deductions (with electronic pension returns), and the ability to produce ROS P35, P45 and P30 certificates. It also produces bank Pay-path/E.F.T. files. Employees holidays, sick days and A.W.O.L. periods can be tracked, as can 'employer costs' not directly related to pay, such as company cars, uniforms, training and so on. The package is network-enabled (for multi-user access to the data file) and a 30 day evaluation period is offered free of charge.

ANOTHER compatibility issue you should be aware of is online banking, and the way in whidf your software interacts with it. There are similar developments in'this area to those that are taking place with online revenue. At the moment conducting the banking affairs of your business involves registering with your bank in order to access your account through the barl portal. You can normally view domestic and international account balances, transactions, dire debits and standing orders, make account transfers and third party payments and create EFT/BACS payments. The attraction of this is, of course, that you can access your account from anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, and so far it has proved secure. Many small businesses are already checking account balances and making wage payments online, but for now the web-based services are limited to exporting information to accounts software. Eilish Manniom product planning manager, Bank of Ireland Online told us that the situation will soon be changing: "At the moment we are able to export information to all of the major account packages. However, there has been a huge customer demand for an import facility, and frorr April 2005 this is coming to effect." Software developers will be incorporating interaction

facilities with online banking as more options become available to them. ,x^ . , ^.. ,.€95 (€113 for optional support) Quickpay 10 is Sage's entry-level payroll offering for up to 10 employees, with an upgrade path to Quickpay Standard and Quickpay Plus (up to 99 employees). Developed by the Sage Payroll programming team based in Dublin, it will calculate net-to-gross and net pay, tax and PRSI at the touch of a button. By using the PayPath facility in Quickpay, you can create the bank payment file and simply send the details to the bank. Payment by cheque and cash is also facilitated.

Quickpay can produce a simple costing report that lists all the costs to the employer, Gross Pay and PRSI payments. The employees can also be grouped together under different cost codes for totals per cost code. If you'd like to give Quickpay a trial run, it's possible to download a free copy of Sage Quickpay 3 from the company's website. It offers all the functionality of the Quickpay range and caters for up to 3 employees. '

:)X PAYROLL €90 per annum Just like the company's accounts package, the Big Red Book Payroll offering follows the philosophy of keeping things simple . All options are clearly laid out and explained in plain English , and everything can be accessed easily through handy buttons and menus. It boasts the standard array of payment options - by cash, cheque , giro or the creation of a PayPath file for electronic transfer to your bank.

You can choose to pay employees hourly, weekly, fortnightly, monthly or any combination of these. You can also create as many payroll headings as required: Commission , Expenses, Pension and so on. It's possible to maintain records on employees including disciplinary action log, holiday history, sick leave history and other notes. It also prints periodic payroll reports, P45s, P60s and P35s. r a .t ..ar ^vk. T'a .

SC

:rsct €120 plus VAT The standard edition of Thesaurus Payroll Manager can be downloaded for free, used for three weeks before you have to part with any money, and caters for an unrestricted number of employees. It supports weekly and monthly payroll, and caters for all PRSI classes. Electronic payments (like PayPath) are possible, as are automated benefit-in-kind calculations. Payslips, P45s, P60s and P35s can all be viewed on screen before printing, and on-screen help obviates the need for a manual. The package is also ROS enabled for P35 and P45 submissions. Various reports can be output in html format, and the package includes a section on employment legislation.

■ • All prices exclude VAT January 2005

What have I got in the bank?

What is my VAT liability? What is my profitability? Software should handle all of these questions , as wel: as providing supplementary services. such as invoicing and e-mail functionality. It should also supply clear summaries throughout the year as well as annual summaries.' said Alken.

Excel is not the answer What about simply putting the books ospreadsheet software ? A very had idea. support)? How long has the company Since there are so few controls for been in business? Are there user groups spreadsheet software, numbers can or other support mechanisms apart from be easily changed, damaging the integri; of your financial the vendor?

Ultimately, you reports. However, want your software to you can export, or electronically transfer perform the same data from your functions that you accounting system in-. have been doing by a spreadsheet package hand, but in a more efficient and accurate such as Lotus or Excel to prepare mor: manner. "The core principles of any small customised reports. I• you're making the business remain the same: How much am I jump from manual bookkeeping to owed? Who do I owe? computerised accounts. ®Holidsy Calculator -Hittt for bather help specialised software is the Please note that this calculator is intended for guidance only , Professional Click on light blue boxes to advice should be sought in the event of any disputes or it in doubt answer. These days softwaro vie+rvici'ange details developers are very keen to Hours per day Days per week 5 0o 7.50 Employed ^^ stress the intuitive nature of Method B Method A their products, that tend to S% of hours worked subject to a maximum of 4 (4 working weeks per year in which employee working weeks) works at least 1,365 hours) follow the same format as Hours worked per file Weeks paid per file 144.00 8.00 the traditional ledger Add: Annual leave, maternity etc (hours) ooo Less: Sick leave or unpaid leave (weeks) 0.00 system. That's no had thin'not included in hours above included in weeks above Total hours for calculation of entitlement 44.00 Total weeks for calculation of entitlement '8.00 but the fact remains that I @ 8% = Hours holiday entitlement x 4/52 = Weeks holiday entitlement 352 0.62 you'll need to be aware of = Days Divided by hours per day = Days 0.47 Multiplied by days per week.

3.10 the basics of accounting in Add: Unused from last year/Extra (days) Add Unused from last year/Extra (days) 0.00 000 order to use the software Less: Holiday days taken to date Ip Less Holiday days taken to date F-0 correctly - there's simply n Total holiday days now due 0.47 Total holiday days now due way around it. The good 3.10 news is that there is no Close Print Print All Employees shortage of packages to choose from. Here we take The holiday calculator function in Thesaurus ■ a look at some of what's out there.

Payroll Manager

"Industry insiders have no shortage of tales of software sitting dormant as frustrated users return to their trusted ledgers"

<< Continued from page 2

groundbreaking move, it seems only a matter of time before others will follow suit. We wonder if this sounds the death knell for the CD sound carrier?

Realistically, based on this interview the answer is no for the foreseeable future a noway.

CD sales good According to McGuinness, CD sales are still quite buoyant. lie says that legitimate digital music distribution has started slowly where digital sales represent just 3 per cent of the total music market. "Although the graphs for digital sales look as though they are going up, the percentage of music sold by digital means is still tiny."

There is, of course, a very good reason why legal digital downloads are still in the slow lane. In the recent past, and we are talk-in- about the period between 1999 and 2002, the record companies tried to resist this latest technological revolution by closing down peer to peer sites such as Napster and by suing illegal the record companies didn't grab the bull

"They [the industry] were Luddites. Ear%

by the horns, and adopt the technology to

sheet music publishers resisted the wax

rather than encouraging music lovers to

distribute music legally immediately. The

recording disc because they felt it would

download and buy digital music that

industry mould-breaker Apple only got

diminish music sales. There was similar

they could own themselves, the industry

the support of the record labels for its

resistance from within to the idea of

tried to push subscription services where

iTunes online store in 2002, three years

playing music through the media of rad

the consumer could only stream and

after P2P caused a storm and Napster

and TV." Of course, it takes more than

file sharers.

Indeed, McGuinness stresses that

dislike of progress tc

listen to the music for a set monthly fee.

This, McGuinness argues, was never what the consumer wanted: "The industry was failing to produce a legitimate means for the consumer to acquire downloads. It was at that time it was pursuing the other model of subscription to streamed music but failed to realise that the consumer wants to own the music and not subscribe

"They [the industry] were Luddites. Early sheet music publishers resisted the wax recording disc because they felt it would diminish music sales. There was similar resistance from within to the idea of playing music through the media of radio and TV "

explain why the industry failed to adopt digital distribution technology in 1999.

It was also a commercial issue for industry executives.

"Remember, the most senior record

to something that can be switched off." only re-emerged as an above board digital

company executives make huge sums of

Moral shift

music store in 2003 after its P2P

money from CD sales. They wanted to

Indeed in those early days of digital

infrastructure was shut down by the

music distribution and sharing, when

courts and its assets acquired by digital

carry on in their own way with bricks anc mortar stores, trucks and warehouses and

Napster captured the world's imagination

media company Roxio two years

pressing plants," McGuinness says.

for creating a mechanism for mass music

previously.

Crucially, McGuinness argues that the

think they were stealing when they were

Slow to change

who find the musical talent and know

downloading high quality tracks at zero,

McGuinness goes a long way to

how to market it successfully tend to be

McGuinness notes. This was a dangerous

explaining the industry's inertia towards

impresarios rather than technologists.

behavioural and moral shift for the

the new technology. In part, he states that

This is also part of the reason why the

viability of the music business.

the industry has a long history of resisting

potential for p2p and digital downloads

rather than embracing new technologies.

was not harnessed at that time.

"industry rainmakers " or the individuals

piracy and illegal use, users didn't even

All of this begs the question as to why 44 January 2005

V iPod

Music

Enter iPod and iTunes The music industry needed direction irom IT companies in establishing their

Extras Settings Shuffle Songs Backlight

>

The industry rainmakers or the individuals who find the musical talent and know how to market it successfully tend to be impresarios rather than technologists. "

digital distribution strategies. Apple led the way with the launch of its iconic LPod music player and its online record Snore iTunes. Available in almost every country in the western world apart from

operators are interested in similar

Ireland, the store now allows music

approaches to delivering value-added

lovers to download single tracks or full

content. "I know that the telephone

albums to the hard drives on their PCs and then onto their iPods. Paul

companies are interested in this model and I have had conversations with

McGuinness refers to the Apple

the likes of';odafone, T-Mobile and

hardware first. "I first came across the

Nokia about doing this type of thing

dRod in 2001, when a friend gave me one as a present with 1500 songs downloaded Ito it. I thought it was a beautiful

n

than downloading." Of course, U2 iPod special edition

ect." sold album by album. They feared the

Apple initiative

effects of consumers cherry picking

near later, McGuinness and U2 were to begin to form a relationship with its

the individual tracks." McGuinness and U2 thought this notion was silly and

creator Apple. The initial approach to

felt that their fans should be entitled

the band came from the Cupertino-based

the buy just the music they want,

company. McGuinness recalls: "Jonny Dickson, head of music within Apple

whether its an album or a single.

lade the initial approach to us, when they came up with this idea of charging 09c per song and a reasonable revenue

wants to buy a single like `Beautiful Day'

caring model between Apple, the record company and the artist. We liked the bok of that, listened carefully and

people in the industry are a lot less

bought into the idea. U2 were one of the

Innovative offerings

arst artists to support the iTunes music ttrore and that's how we got to know

interesting things on the iTunes store.

g.rvve Jobs."

Fans in the US get a $50 coupon

McGuiness comments "If somebody they should be entitled to buy it for 99c.

It's just letting the public decide and nervous about this now."

U2 and Apple are doing some very

when they buy their special edition U2 92 pushed iTunes to industry

iPod and this allows them to get a

Ikâ&#x201A;Źuinness says that U2 also scouraged other bands to sell their

discount for that amount on the entire

wmic through the iTunes store and that

it ends costing them just $100. In other

Bono even turned up at an Apple pep

talks with Apple, The Edge suggested

saahâ&#x20AC;˘ to promote the store: "The way Jlpple do their marketing, its a bit like a

that the company should offer an

wvalist church and that's maybe why

"For various reasons, Apple didn't want

Bono felt attracted to it," jokes 1&(;uinness . "There is something

to do this," says McGuinness, "But they

1oonie-like about the Apple culture but Irather like it, they have very smart psaple working there and they think a

with the back catalogue on iTunes."

McGuinness told PC Live! that U2 are

ilk differently about things."

For McGuinness the big thing

about the possibility of developing a

â&#x2122;Ś out the launch of Apple's iTunes store am that a lot of the major artists were cart prepared to allow their music to be wait? song by song. "Many of them sued that their music could only be

over streaming to the phone rather

U2 back catalogue of over 400 songs, so

iPod fully loaded with all U2's albums.

have done effectively the same thing

also talking to Apple at the moment system that would allow fans to download an audio recording of a concert they'd have seen the night before to listen to it again on their iPods. "That's something we talked about for years."

McGuinness also says that the mobile

_McGuinness also admits that this type of concert re-experience has huge implications for the way tours are organised and it may not sit well with showbiz concerns. "U2 do not want to be in a situation where they are performing a concert to 20,000 fans, most of whom have just seen it on TV or some other form of media the night before. We normally leave the television presentations until the end of the tour because you don't want to give the plot away. You want your audience to be surprised by what they see."

Vertigo and Apple cross-commercial U2's decision to enter a partnership with Apple was seen by some as a new departure for the band in that they had never before allowed their music to be used for advertising purposes.

McGuinness argues that this was no exception when they did the commercial for the iPod and the band's new single Vertigo with Apple. "The reason we did it this time is that we were advertising our own music," says McGuinness, "And no money changed hands to make it happen." U2 may admire the aesthetics and fashionable draw of the iPod, but ultimately its market-leading position attracted them to the table. The deal with Apple was good for U2, McGuinness says. "The great thing about the iPod deal is that Apple pays us a royalty on each piece of hardware they sell and they also sell our music. That is why there is no embarrassment about appearing in the iPod commercial."

January 2005 45

■

Format wars

honestly, but the ridiculous thing abo:.

When pushed on the plethora of digital

the downloads business is that there

music formats that compete on the digital

wasn't anyway to be honest for such a

music landscape, McGuinness naturally

long time and the industry to trying tc

feels that Apple's AAC

get hack to a position before all of this

format will win widespread acceptance

happened." McGuinness also talked a

because it is carried by the iPod. "The

the fact that the industry now has ways a

first MP3 player I heard of was the Rio,

combat illegal p2p sites: "There are

but it was erratic and hard to use. It

retaliatory moves taking place all of the

■

was a sign of the future though. But every

time. The record industry quietly engar-

now and again, an object arises in the

in a practice called spoofing, laying fal-:

style culture and the iPod has

trails around the networks and some u^:

been compared to the Mini, people want

find that they have spent 30 minutes

that object, it becomes invested with a

downloading something that turns out

whole generation's attitude to style."

be nothing of the sort."

a w

When we touched on Microsoft and its Windows Media Audio format,

Piracy in the real world

McGuinness told me of a brief tie-

A bigger issue than illegal P2P for

in the band had with Microsoft

McGuinness is piracy on the high stree-

MSN portal during the PopMart tour in

You can walk into a record store in Ital.

1997. "We had a site that we launched on

he says, and buy a bootleg U2 album which often consists of

The music industry CD sales are still buoyant but the industry was slow to adopt new Internet technology through a combination of a culture of resistance, industry executives who wanted to protect existing margins and through a reluctance by artists to make their music available as single downloads for fear it would adversely affect album sales.

"Remember, the most senior record company executives make huge sums of money from CD sales. They wanted to carry on in their own way with bricks and mortar stores, trucks and warehouses and pressing plants. "

live recordings or compilations that pirates have taken from official albums. "I see dozens of U2 bootlegs which are pressed up and beautifully packaged as the Italian can do. They even ha the nerve to print on

Apple iPod

the MSN Network and it wasn't an

A beautiful object which has become a 'must have' fashion accessory for this generation.

entirely satisfactory experience. I found

to the Italian music copyright protection

the Microsoft culture tough - they do

society." According to McGuinness,

want to dominate the world and I found

the piracy problem is also endemic in

Apple Moonie-like in their devotion to the products but smart people internally who create iconic items and who have created a mechanism to allow U2 to distribute its music digitally to its fans.

Apple also makes an excellent commercial partner for U2. The band receives revenue from every U2 iPod sold while Apple also sells their music at the iTunes online store.

Piracy By making legitimate digital music easier to access, he believes peer to peer illegal file sharing on the Net can be combated. High street piracy is a much bigger issue for McGuinness that Internet file trading. He believes more pressure needs to be brought to bear on countries where governments have no respect for copyright. He cites China, Russia and Italy as the worst examples.

them quite hard to deal with, quite

Russia, China and other parts of South

different to the Apple people." In saying

East Asia where the authorities turn

this, McGuinness has tremendous respect

a blind eye to copyright infringement

for Bill Gates who he describes as a

as a matter of course and where there

phenomenal philanthropist.

q H d

are a large number of illegal pressing plants that turn out vast quantities of

More accessible music McGuinness feels that the growth

pirate product. McGuinness is adamant

of the Internet isn't the biggest problem

government level to combat this probler.

when it comes to copyright violation.

"Every time I read that the Russians or

"We can combat illegal file sharing on the

the Chinese have signed

Internet by making legal digital music

up to a new international protocol I

easy to access. If you live in Manhattan

laugh. In those countries, there is no

that not enough is being done at

you can always find somebody who will

respect for copyright but it's a far larger

hook you up to cable illegally for a couple

problem than I can tackle."

■

of hundred dollars. When it breaks down, there is no one to ask for support. It's the

• The U2 Special Edition iPod is available r

same with illegal downloads. If the music

buy in The 02 Experience, 3G and official

industry can get the quality and

Apple Store (u•uwu;.applestore.ie) for €389.

accessibility right, then fans will pay.

"Almost everybody wants to behave

46 January 2005

the sleeves that they are paying royalties

U2 's latest album `How to dismantle an atomic bomb' is in the shops right now.

he sudden closure of the Compustore chain of shops at the end of October with debts in excess of â&#x201A;Ź4.3 million came as a shock to customers and staff. At its height the Irish-owned chain had a network of 13 stores nationwide through a mix of franchises and its own stores and was a household name 2ssociated with PC retailing.

le'

JOHN COLLINS draws a map of the options for Irish technology buyers.

Down memory lane In fact in many ways the closure was similar to the passing of the Bewley's chain of cafes. For many Irish PC users (this one included) Compustore had been the outlet of choice for our first PC .)urchase. In fact, I can still remember shipping my first Windows machine home from Compustore on Dublin's Long Mile Road in a taxi - a Packard Bell running Windows 3.11 with a 486DX processor running at 33Mhz and with a whopping 4Mbytes of RAM.

.t. v. of

om e

Increased competition

;gs a

But just like Bewley's Compustore found itself faced with a whole aew set of competitors and more sophisticated consumer tastes, and it seems the chain found it difficult to deal with the new reality. International operators such as PC World and Harvey \orman are now firmly ensconced in the Irish market where }heir increased buying power enables them to offer rock bottom arices. Online retailers and direct sellers such as Dell are proving copular because of their ability to pass on the savings achieved through not having to support a retail network. And of course ?Cs and other technology are now available in supermarket pains such as Tesco, Lidl and Aldi.

iam hart n ies ,on

h

4 on resurrects Compustore

nt )les or

However, unlike Bewley's the Compustore brand is rising phoenix -like from the ashes, with the news that leading Irish PC manufacturer Iqon has purchased the Compustore brand and the franchise network from the liquidator. Currently there are four Compustore shops open for business around the country and this figure should rise to eight by the end of March, according to Iqon sales hector Ciaran O'Donoghue.

Ifranchise business gc,_

â&#x2013;

!bka ial 389 an

on has no plans to own or operate its own stores but stead will operate a chain of tanchises around the country.

O'Donoghue says the focus will be on providing a range of cervices and a value added retail aperience so that Compustore *tomes a destination for schnology shoppers. "We plan

gaPc

barg ai to take the chain back to its roots," says O'Donoghue. "We will offer added value technology products with properly trained staff and a better after-sales support than you get with some of the more impersonal channels."

Big changes in store O'Donoghue feels that from a product perspective the next couple of years will see a massive change in consumer technology than anything that has happened over the last five.

"In the last few years it's just been about cheaper, faster PCs but there has been nothing revolutionary," says O'Donoghue.

He cites innovations such as Microsoft's Windows Media Centre technology, wireless networking, digital photography and printing as things that will become more popular, but that require a level of assistance and support from retailers that online outlets and supermarkets will find it harder to provide.

All brands offered Despite the chain being taken over by Iqon, O'Donoghue says there is no question of franchisees being asked to favour Iqon over other PC brands.

"One of the strengths of Compustore was its very strong stable of brands such as Packard Bell, Apple, HP and Epson and we plan to be able to offer a full range of `A-list' brands," he says.

Although it will now be

>>

Online alternatives HAVING a wide range available is definitely one area where online operations have an edge . Elara (www.elara,ie), a Dublin -based PC manufacturer that moved into online retailing just over two years ago, is able to carry 20, 000 products. " We have pretty much anything you want and are able to carry so many more products than a shop can carry," says Elara General Manager, Kin Mak . " If you go into a shop they will give you what they have in stock rather than the exact product you want."

Mak says the lower costs of doing business online is reflected in the lower prices on offer, while consumers are also able to shop online 24 hours a day, seven days a week . While he admits that such services are likely to prove popular with more informed shoppers , he says that the availability of a local sales helpline means that even less experienced technology buyers are moving online.

The increased popularity of the Internet in Ireland poses a two-fold challenge for retailers . Online retailers such as Elara , Komplett (www.komplett. ie) and others are springing up to offer competition. But also consumers are able to do much more research online before they go to a shop and make a purchase.

Competing for the leisure euro "We're competing with everyone," says Geoff MacDonald. "We're competing with travel agents because we're after the same "leisure dollar" so if anyone has a product cheaper than us, it is a concern. It's not the customers fault that we have overheads."

Dell direct PC market leader Dell has always eschewed the retail model, believing that by dealing direct with consumers it has lower overheads which can then be passed onto customers. "We see the direct model as providing the most efficient path to the customer but there are subtler differences as well," says Greg Tierney, Product Marketing Manager with Dell. "For example, customers have a single point of accountability as they are dealing directly with the manufacturer and we are providing the support as well as selling them the PC." Although Dell doesn't release figures for how much of its business is done online and how much over the phone, Tierney says "a significant portion of consumer sales are online." Its latest online innovation is the introduction of an outlet store (c wvedell.iebutlet) which sells re-conditioned products that have been returned to Dell - typically at a discount of up to 15% over Dell's usual prices.

It has also moved beyond its traditional base of PC products and now wells flat panel TVs, PDAs, projectors and printers. "We look at wherever the direct model can deliver value," says Tierney. "For example, we are one of the largest consumers of TFT flat screen technology so it made sense for us to put a TV tuner on the back and deliver it to the market. We wait until we feel the market is right before entering - we rarely go into a niche market."

The bricks and mortar retailers - while cognisant of the threat posed by online and direct sellers - believe they have an ace up their sleeve.

"Shopping as we know it today won't stop - it's a leisure activity," says MacDonald.

"People like to talk and have some interactivity when they buy which you don't get online. At Harvey Norman they can have a wonderful shopping experience, see the latest and greatest products and be served by someone who knows what they are talking about."

operating a chain of franchise retailers, Iqon is also a significant supplier to other retail outlets including supermarket chain Tesco, which moved back into PC retailing through an exclusive deal with the Dundalk-based manufacturer.

"Outlets like Tesco, Lid] and Harvey Norman have come more to the fore because the population as a whole is more comfortable with buying technology," says O'Donoghue. "There's not the same fear factor that there was before when people went to a specialist store for what was essentially a commodity purchase. The manufacturers have evolved so that they are able to sell a PC in a box and they take full repsonsibility for the after sales service."

January 2005

Laptops and lettuce

Tesco's approach to PC sa l es i s to o ffer a s i n e configuration of multimedia PC as p.,of a broader package AN aba which includes a mu 3 function printer, cope Sam's and scanner and a sang "owns workstation to house -N)rt the PC. It's current .-es offer is an Igon Multimedia by Phili â&#x20AC;˘ i sailabl i mochas PC with a Celeron rcc processor, 256MbitL er of RAM, 80Gbvte h disk, a DVD writer and a host of securin acreas games and personal Clearly productivity software Rwlt o for just â&#x201A;Ź749 . "It's all about convenience for customers and stet ci providing a one stop shop ," says Bronagh Lennon, marketing l7C gia manager for Non-Food with Tesco Ireland . "They just have to ad alit park once and go to the check out once. They have trust in the Wnific, Tesco brand and they know we will pick products that are gone oonsum value and good quality. A lot of our customers would be camera! housewifes who may be intimidated by a specialist stores but Lounge they trust Tesco." _rgest Lennon says that Tesco staff can provide a certain amount var advice but they are not experts in the field, which is why the ""e col packaging contains additional information on what's in the boz.

While Tesco may not be able to compete on the level of °,e ch specialist advice by concentrating on a single specification it is -ce w .. erhe able to offer a very low cost package.

That also seems to be the approach adopted by German nayn discount supermarket chain Lidl. This year it has included -ce is :ut a laptops, card readers, memory cards, digital cameras and digitial camcorders amongst its weekly specials of non-food .-tom products. Although the chain has a policy of not giving s,sion interviews to the media, it's clear from its product offerings the _ . s Ro it is concentrating on providing high spec products - it recenth I -.,duce -.rvth featured a 6 megapixel digital camera - at the lowest possible price thanks to its pan-European purchasing power. However -ae an at the prices Lidl is offering, don't expect to see familiar brand .r staf _eds v names that might demand a price premium.

The view from down under be pleased at the pricing and competition arkets, needless to say the traditional urology retailers are not overjoyed to see the supermarkets moving onto their turf. According to Geoff MacDonald, General Manager for Computers & Communications with Australian chain Harvey Norman - itself a relative newcomer to the Irish market support will be a big issue for the supermarkets. "How can you buy a PC at a supermarket?" asks MacDonald. "They are advertising good value PCs but what happens if there is a Windows problem.

Are you going to be able to go back to Tesco or Aldi or are you better off with

I The ne

ne av, . ers bi fferinf _mera:

Vxk Notebooks on sale at Harvey Norman

Harvey Norman who has technicians on-site. Customers don't realise that if there's a software problem no one wants to talk to them. You won't be able to contact Microsoft without paving for support."

All about after-sales support Tesco's Lennon is conscious of this criticism and says that the strong after-sales service offered by Iqon was one of the main reasons for choosing the brand. Customers can avail of telephone support via a low-call number seven days a week. Lidl also ensures that either a local or low-call telephone number is available for all products it sells in the Irish market. And purchasers seem to be happy with this level of support - Lennon says according to its information Tesco was the number one PC -etailer in Ireland during the back to school buying period.

increased competition

e d

x. s

l

a"

r d

Clearly many of Compustore's trading problems were a result of the increased competition from international high street chains such as Harvey Norman, Dixon's and PC World.

L-K giant Dixon's owns both the Dixons and PC World and although it only operates in the Dublin area it enjoys a significant market share. The Dixon's stores concentrate on consumer technology such as LCD TVs, camcorders, digital :ameras, MP3 players and laptops and accordingly targets r ounger early adopting consumers. PC World, as the name suggests, concentrates on a wider range of hardware and software around the PC.

The competitive challenge The challenge for the specialist shops is staying competitive on price with lower-cost online operations while also having the overheads of a retail premises and knowledgable staff. Declan Ronayne , Commercial Director of Dixons in Ireland admits that price is key but is not the only consideration. "What you can't do is cut corners on the other things that are important to customers , such as range and staff who know their game and are passionate about the customer, both before and after purchase," says Ronayne. "The two greatest irritants for customers are the product they want not being available and arriving home without everything they need being provided to them, so we put a lot of time and effort into managing the supply chain and in training our staff to cover off every add on and attachment a customer

needs with every sale."

The new breed )n

The availability of bro adband has opened up new applications to asers but it has also se en the rise of a new breed of retailers offering "digital lifestyle" products such as MP3 players, digital ameras and other tech nology gadgets. 3G is the chain that took

over the Eircom retail stores but according to marketing manager Karen Treacy it has moved from solely selling mobile and fixed line products to selling the full range of products that broadband brings alive. "Our retailing concept is that all the products are live and viewable in easy to access demonstration areas," says Treacy. "Customers may have read about a product but when they come to the store they can feel comfortable about asking for a demonstration and trying it out for themselves.

Selective product portfolio Although 3G sells the full range of Apple products including PCs, it has still not moved into the Windows PC market and is very selective in the products it stocks. "We' re not competing on products and we're not a big warehouse for digital products," says Treacy. "We don't stock 200 digital cameras. There's a valueadd in the customer experience and they feel free to come back to the stores for advice even after they have made a purchase.

Such a strategy requires well-trained knowledgeable staff - a resource that can be difficult to hold onto in out buoyant economy. "We've been on an intensive recruitment drive in the last six months and all our staff go through an intensive training course," says Treacy. "People enjoy selling in this environment and the staff are really enthusiastic about the products."

Geoff MacDonald believes it is essential that staff see a career path Garan O'Donoghue, Iqon Technologies in technology retailing. Although the company currently only has stores in Swords and Dundalk it has ambitious expansion plans and staff will have the opportunity to eventually manage their own store.

Clearly Harvey Norman is not the only technology outlet that will be expanding in the coming years. Which can only spell good news for shoppers as increased competition drives down prices and ensures a high quality of service. Now where did I â&#x2013; leave that credit card?

"In the last few years it's jL been about cheaper, faster but there has been nothing revolutionary,"

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digital music

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

i river the future of entertainment

Finding the right format In the first of a new series with advice for dummies on digital music, STEPHEN CAWLEY helps you sort out your AAC's from your MP3's. the portable players and music services that support them is critical if you want to get a handle on what digital music can do for you.

Enter AAC Apple pushes its AAC format. Music that is ripped from a CD to be played back on an iPod is compressed and converted into the AAC format in Apple's iTunes application. Short for Advanced Audio Coding, AAC boasts higher quality than the MP3 format and requires 30% data to do so. The Apple iPod will also play music files encoded in MP3 format.

Make yours MP3

A RANCOROUS feud between Apple and Real Networks over technology that allows Real's online music store customers to play tunes on their iPods says something of the complexity of the digital music market and the fact that there are a number of formats being pushed to consumers. As of yet, no de facto music format has emerged.

Real triggered the conflict with Apple by announcing in August that its Realplayer 10.5 software would let its users in the US download songs from the Real music store and play them on the iPod. That made the service compatible with Apple's proprietary AAC format and loosened Apple's grip on the iPod which providing a rival to Apple's iTunes music service and software. This is a positive step for the industry but there are still a number of players and formats that are incompatible with each other and the onslaught of digital rights management technology will only serve to make the situation more complex. Understanding the formats and 50 January 2005

MP3 is the world's most popular digital music format, developed by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany in 1992, it compresses WAV files from a music CD to an eighth of their size - 4Mbytes in fact - and allows you to listen to the tracks from your hard disk with near-CD sound quality. All of iriver's digital music players support music encoded in the MP3 format. They also support the second most popular format and Microsoft's offering to the market Windows Media Audio abbreviated as WiVIA. This support for multiple formats gives the iriver players a clear technical advantage over Apple and its iPod. Microsoft 's offering Windows Media Audio can compress music at a higher rate than MP3 and it is the file format that is supported

by Ireland's only online music service - the Eircom Music Club (www.eircom.net/music club). The great advantage of formats like MP3 and WMA is that unlike AAC, music encoded in them can be played on several digital music players. They really are the formats that you can do the most with. If you use the iPod and have music in WMA format, then you will have to re-encode them to AAC, to get the iPod to read them.

It's a real hassle.

Sounds good If sound quality is very important to you as it should be for any audiophile worth their salt, then look for the variable bit rate option when you are encoding musx in a new format. VBR changes bit rates based on the complexity of the sound being encoded - simple parts are encoded at lower rates while detailed sections gets higher rate. We recommend that you encode MP3 at 160kbitlsec and AAC at 128Kbit/sec for best results. When you use MP3 or WMA or indeed the open source-produced Ogg Vorbis formats, vo: are compressing music so you are getting rid of data. This results in a loss of quality. This doesn't really effect an appreciation of rock or dance music, but certainly, lovers of classical music will notice the difference in quality between a composition in MP3 and one from a CD. Lossless codecs Audiophiles who are concerned about this degradation in quality, should consider using a lossless codec that doesn't toss our data. The options include Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAG) or Monkey's Audio While these codecs don't work on most portable players, they do shrink files with little perceptible quality loss. FLAC converts a CD or WAV music file to half its original size, but you might be better sticking to MP3 or WVIA, if you consider that a full quality CD-based WAV song takes up over 40Mbytes, the FLACencoded version takes up 20Mbytes and then MP3 or WMA will bring it right down to size at 4Mbytes. This is the real advantage of these formats - they compress CD music so you can put that music on your computer's hard disk. Onc: your music is encoded in one of these formats, it is going to take up a lot less space on your hard disk. A full CD would normally take up 400Mbytes, get it into your hard disk or on to a portable player and it takes up a 1/10th of that.

Support for several formats Our advice on formats: get a portable music player that supports several and ensure that the player plays back music in the MP3, WMA and Ogg Vorbis formats above all others. You will also find that a lot of players support FLAC - it's a nice format to get extra quality from your digital files but it's not an absolute essential to have.

ebwatc h This month, we feature three products that connect into a wireless network so you can take advantage of broadband speeds to deliver data, games, music and video content to them. The Aireo plays back music, the NEC LT265 collect presentations off a wireless network and displays them on the big screen and the latest Dell Axim handheld is a mini-computer that can access the Web or an office LAN at lightening speeds with a long life battery to support. The latest Palmone handheld takes a slightly different approach offering Bluetooth rather than Wi-Fi. We think that's a mistake as -iandheld lovers get more with Wi-Fi-compatibility in terms of Internet access, faster data transmission speeds and widespread access to public hotspots and services such as Nireless printing.

WI-FI READY PROJECTOR 're wireless-ready LT265 DLP projector from NEC as a smooth, eggshell-white veneer that commands attention. The projector's native XGA 1024 by 768) resolution promises to yield sharp .ext and crystal-clear graphics images. The wireless setup is facilitated through an optional NWL-100A PC Card. For best performance, NEC says you must access the projector via an established wireless-G network direct notebook-to-projector connections are slow and even more complicated). The NEC LT265's multitude of features makes this model a good choice for various presenting situations.

Contact : Osmosis 01 890 0600 • www.osmosis.ie

THE DUBLIN Accomodation Finder Terminal was named the best overall website of the year at the Golden Spider Awards on November 30th. Daft started out as a great place to find rented or shared accommodation and in a very short space of

time replaced the Evening Herald as the accommodation finder tool of choice for most renters. Over the past 12 months, Daft has moved from being a purely lettings directory to one that now also carries residential sales listings. Company director Eamonn Fallon says that there are now over 4000 properties for sale on the site that

nearly 25 per cent of the total visitors to the site are first time buyers. The visitor statistics are certainly impressive with the site claiming a total of NEC's LT265 Wi-Fi ready projector

550,000 unique visits per month and 235,000

WIRELESS MUSIC COMES FROM THE AIREO --e 20Gbyte Aireo 2 from SoniqCast is the first digital music player to feature an integrated Wi-Fi nodule. This means that users get wireless broadband connectivity to their computer network, and the Internet, to download music, news, weather, finance, and sports. The device also integrates a builtn Wi-Fi hotspot locator. It also features an FM transceiver - so users can listen to FM radio and also vansmit music from the device to other compatible hardware. Because of the ability of the player to transmit music on a radio frequency, it is only available to buy over the Web. The Aireo 2 features a USB 2.0 connection and two audio -out jacks (so two people can listen to the music). It has a 2-3inch LED display and supports MP3, WAV and WMA formats, but not Apple's AAC. www.sonigcast.com

THESE HANDHELDS ARE WIRELESS WONDERS ?oth PalmOne's Tungsten T5 (€399) and Dell's Axim X50v (€543) deliver at something extra - one does Bluetooth wireless, the other does Wi-Fi. 'e biggest selling point of the Tungsten T5 is its 256Mbyte of memory. The 5 forsakes the collapsible chassis that distinguished previous Tungstens, Put it retains its predecessor's handsome, oversize (320 by 480) display.

Powered by Intel's 416Mhz Bulverde XScale, the T5 is a snappy performer.

We wish that PalmOne would add a removable rechargeable battery, not b mention Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth for wireless Internet access. This is Oe first Tungsten that doesn't ship with a cradle. Instead, you get a USB able with a Hot Sync button. But the T5 should appeal to people who would like to ae their handheld for storing lots of files. If multimedia - especially video and games - matters to r-u, try Dell's Axim X50v Pocket PC: Not only does it pack Intel's most powerful CPU for handhelds, Oe 624Mhz Bulverde, but it's one of the first mainstream handhelds with a dedicated graphics processor (the Intel 2700 with 16Mbyte of graphics memory). It's also the first handheld to include awsion 10 of Windows Media Player Mobile, which permits playback of content from subscription mvices that support Microsoft's Windows Media Digital Rights Management 10 technology.

Dell is catching up with the competition in the industrial design of its handhelds. About the am size as the T5 but slightly heavier, the Axim X50v is sharp-looking in the style of HP's smaller 1Ags. We played a racing game on a X50v and was impressed by the smooth performance on the 17-inch 640-by-480 screen. The handheld gets warm, however, and the Pocket PC won't replace aybody's Game Boy. The Dell's impressive update should delight any power Pocket PC user. The Ar+gsten T5 , an evolutionary upgrade, is designed to appeal primarily to people who want a PalmIsed business handheld that can double as a portable storage device, and who don't insist on *ring out-of-the -box Wi-Fi. rlrvey Normans 01 890 9900 • www.dell.ie

Eamon Fallon , director, Daft (centre ) receiving his award from Fintan Lawler, general manager, Eircom Net and Eamonn Gavigan , Mason Gavigan Auctioneers visitors for the month of September alone. Daft is also working with a number of mortgage brokers including Mason Financial Services, Mortgages Direct, GMC Mortgages and Homeloans to provide property buyers from the site with access to finance.

In the new year, Fallon with his co-owner and brother Brian plan to extend the service to include lettings and sales listings from 10 other European countries including properties from Eastern Europe.

January 2005 ; 51

'here's how PC c lini c

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

® shop I electric

shop with confidence

II II PC clini c

PC help in association with Shop Electric.

Restore my photos

?.jpg (1600w x 1200h) 200410 15 15:15

I downloaded photos to my hard drive, and then erased them off the camera's memory card. Shortly thereafter, my hard drive crashed. Can I restore the images from the memory card?

Stephen Kelly, Drimnagh, Dublin PC C: Probably, but don't write anything to that card until you've either retrieved the images or given up trying to restore them.

It's not deleting a file that destroys it, but writing new data over it.

You'll need a flash RAM file-retrieval program designed especially for retrieving JPEG images. We recommend Software Shelf's €43 File-Rescue Plus. Visit Softwareshelf.co.uk to download the trial version. This program retrieves deleted files from memory cards and drives ( see Fig.1).

We have used it to restore photographs from a SmartMedia card in a card reader, from a Memory Stick inside a camera, and from a SanDisk flash drive.

Are autoresponses wise?

Will my e-mail's "Out of the Office" autoreply, which I turn on when I'm away, attract spam?

Luke Gaffney, Monkstown, Co. Dublin

PC C: We're big believers in e-mail autoresponses. These messages go out automatically to everyone who sends you an e-mail message, usually saying that you'll be out of the office until a specified

a) shop I electric

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Send your e-mails to Stephen Cawley ( stephen . cawley@scope.ie) today and we will try to solve some of your PC problems every month.

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE!

shop NATIONWIDE

52 January 2005

Fig.1: VIEW LOST photos in memory cards and drives before you recover them , with FileRescue Plus

date. Some people believe that autoresponses encourage spam. The theory is that spammers will see the response to their junk mail, know that there's a real human being at the other end of the message, and put the e-mail address on a higher-value list.

It doesn't work that way, however. Virtually all spam these days goes out with a fake return address, so the real culprits won't get your autoresponse. And even if they did, the address would be hidden among thousands of bounced messages. Many autoresponses also bounce back, a side effect of fake return addresses. But these are easy to identify and delete when you return.

Make a new menu Can I change the New menu items that appear when I right-click the desktop or Windows Explorer?

David Arthur, Internet

PC C: Adding file types to your right-click ("context-sensitive") menu involves editing the Registry, so back it up first. After backing up the Registry, select Start•Run, type regedit, and press < Enter>. In the Registry Editor's left pane, navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Locate and select the file extension you want to add or remove

e l ec t ric

shop with confidence

under this entry. Subkeys for file extensions all begin with a period (.). To remove a file type from the menu, expand the key for the extension so that you can see its subkeys (note that not all file types have a subkey).

Right-click the ShellNew subkey and select Delete•Yes. To add a

file type, right-click the extension subkey, select New•Key, and enter the name ShellNew. Right-click the new ShellNew key, select New•String Value, and name the new value NullFile. Then exit the Registry Editor and reboot Windows.

Default to Explorer Reader Jim Joyce of Salthill, Galway asks how to make My Documents, My Computer, and other common folders open in Explorer mode - with the folder bar visible on the left.

In Windows Explorer (with or without the folder bar visible), select Tools•Folder Options (View•Folder Options in Windows 98). Click the File types tab. Select the file type Folder (be sure not to confuse it with the file type 'File Folder'). Now click Advanced (Edit in Windows 98). Select explore•Set Default. To finish the folderview change, click OK twice (in Windows 2000 and XP), Close twice (in 98), or OK•Close (in Me).

Driver Safety What's the second thing you do when you think your PC has a hardware problem (after you check the cables)? You reinstall the device drivers for the suspect component. But that means hunting down model numbers, looking for CDs, and maybe downloading files. WinDriver Ghost backs up all your device drivers and reinstalls one driver or many with just a few mouse clicks. The program is especially handy for keeping hand-me-down PCs with unknown hardware running smoothly. Its free to ■ try at www.zhangduo.com.

...for all your PC needs

here's how nternet tips

Better browsing We unveil the add-ons, plug-ins, and extensions that make surfing the Internet that little bit easier.

ANY PLAIN-vanilla web browser will display most sites adequately. But some enhanced browsing experiences require help from what Internet Explorer calls "add-ons," and what Netscape, Mozilla, and Firefox refer to as "plug-ins."

While Adobe's Acrobat Reader, Macromedia's Flash player, and other common plug-ins suggest themselves the moment you encounter a site that requires them, other browser helpers are harder to find. Here are some of our favourites, all free.

Not every plug-in you can add to your browser is a boon, of course. We've taken care to weed out products that also install spyware or adware, or that otherwise jeopardise .our privacy and sneak around behind your back. And we'll also show you how to make browser add-ons go away, should they become tiresome.

E enhancers Internet explorer, once the pride of Microsoft, has gradually .allen behind competing browsers in key areas - we mean `resides security issues. Fortunately, IE add-ons and shell programs rectify most of these deficiencies.

Until Windows XP Service Pack 2 came along, IE's most daring omission was the ability to block pop-ups. The )rowser keeps these unwanted windows at bay just fine with SP2, so you don't need to download a separate tool for that. If you've been using Google Toolbar toolbar .google.com) to block pop-ups, however, keep it around. Though the toolbar's blocker is no better than the one now in IE, it's worth having for its ability to -righlight search terms that appear on the page, its form filler (which speeds entering your personal data at shopping sites), its button for adding the current page to your Blogger -)log, and other features.

By default, the Google Toolbar sends anonymous nformation about each of the sites that you visit back to ioogle, but you can disable even that innocuous phone-home ,ehaviour by checking the Disable advanced features option :uring installation of the toolbar. MSN Toolbar toolbar.msn.com) and Yahoo Toolbar (companion. sahoo.com ) function similarly, providing links to those services ' e-mail, search, and instant messaging features.

The Yahoo Toolbar comes with an optional anti-spyware tool as well.

Browsers are good at displaying lots of photos, but saving several images to your hard drive isn't always easy. The Picture Tools (www.picturetools.com) IE add-on makes it easy to Crab some or all of the images from a web page for future ttference. Another handy IE helper, Easy Go Back (www. tnhsolutions .net/EGB), lets you navigate back and brth through your browser history by gesturing

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Fig. 1: THE FREE PLUCK ADD-ON teaches IE to read RSS feeds and to do your Amazon and EBay shopping for you

with your mouse. And yet another, called simply Pluck (www.pluck.com), is a Swiss-army-knife add-on that automatically resubmits search terms on Amazon, EBay, Google, and RSS news feeds, and notifies you when the results change. Pluck also turns IE into an RSS reader, organises and uploads your bookmarks for use from any computer, and lets you create shared folders online (see Fig.1).

Microsoft may have finally gotten pop-up blocking right, but IE still lacks tabbed browsing - the ability to switch between multiple web pages in the same browser window. If that sounds like something that could make you more productive, check out two IE shells (programs that add interface elements and other functions to the browser but remain IE underneath). Both give you tabs for each open web page. The first of these is Maxthon (www.maxthon.com), formerly known as MyIE2, which also lets you block ads, browse by gesturing with your mouse, and use custom "skins." Avant Browser (www.avantbrowser. com) features a filter IN A WORLD OF online information overload, that screens out timewhat's a news addict to do? Pile on even consuming Flash more, of course. The perfect tool for perusing animations; it also lets you your dozen or so favourite online publications browse via mouse gestures, is an RSS reader. RSS may or may not stand for add skins, and more.

Really Simple Syndication. It uses XML to connect your PC to the digital newswires Get Mo' Zilla produced by hundreds of online publications.

Internet explorer plug-ins With RSS, instead of your having to remember require a download, but to go to the news, the news comes to you. Our the Favourites toolbars in favourite RSS reader is FeedReader, a simple, the separated -at-birth open-source, utterly free program that sits Mozilla and Netscape unobtrusively (most of the time) in your browsers have links to sites system tray. Should a new story appear on one brimming with older-sty le of the RSS feeds that you subscribe to, a small plug-ins and newer window will pop up from the tray icon to extensions . The nextnotify you. Click the link to display the story in generation Firefox browser Feed Reader's main interface. And that's the supports some of these, way it is. and it has a link to its own extensions page that N lists dozens of free enhancements for the browser. Here's a Mozilla sampler.

Preferences Toolbar: Disable Flash or JavaScript, clear your browser cache, and reset other preferences without

that has a dubious name or that you just can't iidentify, try disabling it.

Mouse Gestures 1.0 It could be an unwanted Allows you to execute common commands using mouse ge... bit of adware or browser hijacking code. If disabling an Web Developer 0.8 add-on causes problems, return Adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools. to this dialogue box and reenable it.

To remove an add-on Image Zoom 0.1.7 Adds zoom functionality for images permanently, select Windows•Programs (All Programs in Windows XP) and look in the menu for an Get More Extensions uninstall icon in the program's folder; or select the add-on in Control Panel's Add/Remove Fig. 2: MANAGING YOUR BROWSER extensions is a breeze when you Programs and click Remove. use the free, open-source Firefox program Manage your pug-ins Uninstalling extensions in The problem with browser addMozilla is a bit more difficult. It turns out that no one ever go: ons, plug-ins, and extensions is that there are so many of them. around to creating an uninstall feature (Mozilla's developers If your browser toolbars have become overloaded with buttons refer to this state of affairs officially as bug #170006). To deal and menus, take steps to bring things back under control. with the problem, Mozilla.org offers manual uninstall If you feel the need to reassert your dominance over instructions for extensions.

Internet Explorer 6, choose Tools•Manage Add-ons. The All the more reason, then, to try Firefox instead, which resulting dialogue box lists all of the browser add-ons manages extensions easily. To remove an extension, choose currently loaded for the program. To view the ones that Tools•Extensions, select the one that you want to uninstall, and have loaded in the past but aren't currently active, choose the click Uninstall. You may be able use the same dialogue box to Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer option in check for updates to your installed extensions, by selecting one the Show drop-down menu. If you'd simply like to block an and clicking Update (see Fig.2). Unfortunately, each time we add-on from running temporarily, select it in the list of addtried this technique with one of my installed extensions, we go: ons and click Disable under Settings. To reactivate an add-on, a message stating that no update service could be found. select it and then click Enable. Take a good look at the ■ Maybe its just that all of our extensions are lazy. programs installed for your browser: If you see something

having to dig through layers of menus and dialogue boxes.

Mouse Gestures : Navigate through your recently viewed pages by exercising a little mouse fu.

Bookmark Links Checker: Add a handy check button to Firefox's Bookmarks Manager dialogue box to place an X next to dead links.

Tab X : Tabbed browsing is great, but closing tabs is harder than it should be. This extension attaches a close button to each tab.

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Resuscitate a Stalled PC We show you how to jumpstart your PC WHEN WINDOWS acts up, you can run a troubleshooting utility such as Easy Desk Software's RegRepair, use System Restore to turn back the clock, or in the worst cases reinstall the operating system. But what do you do when your PC fails before Windows even starts? If your machine greets you with nothing more than a few beeps and a blank screen, prepare for a very late (or very early) lunch.

All is not lost, though. You might be able to revitalise a flatlining computer simply by tightening a loose connection.

But the problem could also be as complex - and as expensive - as a shot CPU, motherboard or other major component.

Before you can decide whether a hardware repair is worth the time and money, you have to find the source of the trouble.

Here is our approach to PC diagnostics.

Got Juice?

If you turn on your PC and absolutely nothing happens - no indicator lights, beeps, clicks, whirs or flashes on your monitor 54 January 2005

screen - your PC isn't getting power. Look for a lit LED on the system's case and the sound of the power supply's exhaust fan (if it exists) spinning. Before you conclude that your power supply is dead, make sure all power cords are plugged in at both ends. Check the brightness and contrast settings on your monitor to ensure that they aren't at their highest or lowest levels. And take a close look at your uninterruptible power supply or surge protector-it may have a fuse or a circuit breaker that has tripped.

If everything outside the box checks out, unplug all the cables, open the PC's case, and verify that the power connectors for each internal component are seated firmly. Keel in mind that electric charges from your body can destroy your system's delicate circuitry. Whenever you venture inside your machine's case, use a grounding strap that attaches to your wrist (available at most computer stores), or ground yourself beforehand by touching a water pipe, lamp or other grounded object.

Your PC's power wires run through a plastic container from the power supply to each device joining it. One bad connection won't account for complete power loss, but it will shut down a critical component such as your hard drive.

To check your power supply for signs of life, test it with a

hire bow hardware tips'

device like the ATX Power Supply Tester from PC Power and Cooling (www.pcpowerandcooling.com).

If you find that your supply has indeed gone belly up, replace it. A new power supply is a lot cheaper than a new system. A good 250Watt supply costs less than €100, and anyone with even a smidgen of mechanical aptitude can install it. Just disconnect the power line for each component, remove a few screws and then do the reverse for the new supply. (Make sure everything is unplugged before you start working, of course.)

Your new power supply must have sufficient wattage to run Your PC. If you've loaded your system with extra hard drives, expansion cards, or a power-hungry graphics card, you may have overloaded your old power supply.

Call to POST If your PC is getting all the power it needs but still won't boot up, it may be trying to tell you something. Look and listen to its hardware tests for clues: Every time your PC starts, it performs a Power On Self Test that alerts you to errors via a series of beeps (if an error is detected before the graphics card has initialised) or via messages displayed on your screen.

These POST error messages and beep codes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer; you'll have to check your PC maker's website for explanations of individual messages or codes.

Some error messages clearly state the source of trouble, such as `Fixed disk failure' or `CMOS battery failed'. Many other error messages are more cryptic. Even if you don't understand it, write the message down. If you end up talking to a service technician, having this message handy could save you time and maybe even some money.

After POST has completed, watch for other on-screen announcements. As your computer initialises different components, it often displays a brief confirmation; if it detects a problem, it shows an error message. If your PC locks up during the boot process, note the last device displayed on screen - that part may be the source of the problem.

Sometimes these messages flash across the screen so fast you can't read them. To freeze an on-screen message - and the boot process - press the <Pause> or <Break> key on your keyboard. When you're ready to continue, just press any key.

You can also employ a diagnostic utility such as #1-PC

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January 2005

55

here's how hardware tips

Ill

Boot- up error messages Sometimes your PC will tell you where it hurts. Watch for these errors as it boots.

K/B Interface Error A20 Line 8042 Gate Memory Error

The keyboard connector on your motherboard is bad.

If the connection hasn't simply come loose, you may need to replace the motherboard.

Keyboard is locked outUnlock the key CMOS Checksum error CMOS information invalid Real time clock failure

You have a bad CMOS battery or corrupted BIOS/CMOS data.

HDD Controller Failure Remove your hard drive, install it as the second drive on another system, and run a drivediagnostics program on that PC.

Fixed disk failure C: DRIVE FAILURE Primary master hard disk fail No boot sector on hard-disk drive

Your PC can't find the drive's boot sector.

Make sure the drive's CMOS settings are correct.

Install the drive on a second system, and run a diagnostics utility on that PC.

PC reboots without trouble, you know one of the removed components is the culprit. Reinstal, the devices one by one until the problem reappears, and then replace or repair (probably replace) the offending component. If the problem recurs after you first remove the extra hardware, you've probably got a bad graphics card or motherboard. To check your graphics card, install it in a different PC to see if it works there. If possible, put a different graphics card in your current PC to see if th_ rectifies the problem.

The last suspect is your motherboard. You can replace it, bc• buying a new PC may be more economical.

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Leapin' Letters

I back up to my DVD and USB flas: drives. Recently I added a second hard drive with several partitions, Remove and reseat the memory modules on your You have a RAM error.

Memory address line failure which changed the drive-letter motherboard. at xxxx assignments, forcing me to reconfigure my backup software. Is there a way to freeze the drive letterfor my DVD and flash drives so this won't happen? << Diagnostics' excellent #1-TuffTest, which doesn't need Windows to run. Just put the application's disk in the floppy Mary Davidson, Kildarr drive and reboot your system. The program checks your memory and other hardware components.

Windows always assigns a letter to the hard drive(s) first, You can rule out your hard drive as the source of trouble by starting with C:, and then to other devices. Letters are booting your PC from its floppy drive or optical drive. To do assigned sequentially in ascending order, so non-hard drive this, go into the PC Setup program and change its Boot Order devices get their letters bumped up a notch when a new hard setting (the exact wording may vary) so that your floppy drive or partition is added to the system. and/or optical drives are listed before the hard drive in your To make the letter for your DVD drive, USB flash drive, system's boot order. Access your PC Setup program by or any other storage device permanent, assign it one of pressing the appropriate key (often <Delete> or <Fl>) as your the letters from M through computer starts. If your Z. In Windows XP and 2000, display doesn't tell you Disk 2 open Control Panel, click how to access PC Setup, Basic (F:) Performance and Maintenance it look in your manual for 38.16 GB 38.16 GB FAT32 Category view, and click the proper procedure.

Online Healthy Administrative Tools•Computer Management-Storage- Disk inside Job CD-ROM 0 Management. Right-click the Once you've determined CD-ROM (F_) drive, select Change Drive that your hard drive is Prlve Lent and Paths, Letter and Paths, and choose healthy, remove and Audio CD your letter (see Fig 1). reconnect all the power Eject Windows 98 and Me, In connections, expansion CD-R( open Control Panel, click Properties cards, hard-drive cables DVD (H:) System *Device Manager, and and RAM modules inside double-click the drive Help the PC's case. Make sure No Media whose letter assignment you each cable and card has a want to change. In the solid connection.

Reserved Drive Letters sectior If all else fails, remove 0 Logical drive I Extended partition • Primary partition under the Settings tab, set everything from your both `Start Drive Letter' and system except the motherboard, keyboard and graphics card. If your

56 January 2005

Fig 1: FREEZE YOUR DVD DRIVE ' S assigned letter via the Disk Management utility in Windows XP and 2000 .

`End Drive Letter' to the letter you prefer.

■

0 a

here's hoar descrambler

Understanding photo icons We help you make sense of a digital camera's functions IT'S NO surprise that Windows applications are filled with arcane icons, buttons, and menu )ptions. But the dizzying array of esoteric symbols on digital cameras makes deciphering your _omputer icons seem like child's play. That's because digital cameras pack dozens of features into a miniature gadget. Complex concepts must be translated into single icons, such as an eyeball-shaped one that signifies automatic red-eye reduction. Here's a crib sheet for figuring out the meaning of the most common icons adorning your camera's settings dial.

A key to camera icons: Making sense of the symbols Auto Mode: When you want to take snapshots without worrying about the mechanics of photography, leave this setting on Auto. This mode sets 311 exposure levels automatically, and it usually locks you out of making any minor adjustments manually.

®

® Manual Mode: This mode gives you total control. You use buttons on the camera's body to set both shutter speed and aperture size. Remember, tough, that you're working without a safety net - the camera won't protect you 'Tom under- or overexposure.

fl

Aperture Mode: When you set the size of the aperture, your camera ® automatically provides the right shutter speed to deliver a correct exposure. Rely on this mode to blur the background or to keep the entire image in .harp focus.

13 Landscape Mode: In this mode, your camera picks the best aperture and shutter settings for the depth of field that you want when taking pictures of landscapes and other outdoor tableaux.

® Shutter Mode: This setting is your best option for taking action photography. Shutter priority allows you to freeze the scene or artistically slur the picture. All the while, the camera keeps the exposure matched to the aperture.

Q Program Mode: Like Auto mode on steroids, this mode automatically sets aperture size and shutter speed for a perfect exposure - but it also lets pu tweak settings, giving you more creative control. You can change white Balance and exposure compensation, for instance, and even nudge shutter speed .p or down a bit.

Movie Mode: Many cameraslet you record MPEG or QuickTime videos to the same memory card storing your photos. The videos aren't sharp enough for DVD, but they're great for e-mail.

Macro Mode: To focus on extremely close subjects - say, within a few inches of the lens - choose the tulip. You can take life-size pictures of insects, flowers, and other small subjects in this mode, but the focus range at such

distances is very narrow.

Sand and Snow: Brightly coloured or glaring backgrounds can trick the camera into underexposing the subject. This mode overexposes the scene to gain details that would otherwise be lost.

0 Action: The Action (sometimes called Sports) mode sets the camera to the highest possible shutter speed, increasing your odds of getting a clear shot of squirming kids, for example.

Q

Night : This mode lets you capture nighttime scenes by combining a flash,

which freezes people in the foreground, with a slow shutter speed, which

allows lights from buildings, cars, and other elements to show in the background.

Dublin Camera Exchange 63 South Great Georges St - 01 4784125 98 Trinity Street - 01 6793410 • Temple Bar - 016740044 www.cameraexchange.com email sales@cameraexchange.com

January 2005 57

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Alien-infested and dazzling organics environments in which to wage war.

Game cube

GALACTIC EXTERMINATOR Samus Aran returns to wage inter -dimensional war in Metroid Prime 2, a direct sequel to her beautiful-but-blemished 2002 FPS debut.

And guess what? It's an extraordinary return to form.

The setup is standard stuff. While responding to a distress call on the distant world of Aether, Samus uncovers an age-old alien feud. But MP 2's plot takes a sudden sharp turn when Samus meets an otherworldly foe called the Ing, a shadowlike horde bent on corrupting the dimension of light. In keeping with the new dual-dimension theme, MP 2 arms players with two new weapons called Light and Dark Beams.

Replacing the Ice and Wave Beams found in past Metroid titles, these Light- and 58 January 2005

Dark-based weapons have a major impact on MP 2's gameplay. Darkling enemies, for instance, take extra damage from the shotgunlike Light Beam, while standard foes succumb quickly to the shadowsquirting Dark Beam. This simple dynamic is a welcome addition to MP 2 classic mix of action and exploration.

There's more good news, and it's in the form of MP 2's long-awaited multiplayer mode. It may not stand toe-to-toe with Halo 2's jack-of-alltrades multiplayer, but it's simple, quirky, and ridiculously addictive - all tit earmarks of a classic party game. As for controls, MP 2 boasts a few smaN improvements, like an updated scan interface.

Unfortunately, there's one lingering issue: despite the huge uproar aimed a: its predecessor, MP 2 still doesn't have a Metroid Prime 2: Echoes customisable control scheme. It's not a Requirements: Nintendo GameCube massive gripe - practice makes perfect, Rating: 90% folks, honest - but the fact remains that Price: â&#x201A;Ź54.99 MP 2's "FPS-lite" scheme works well for Contact: Gamestop 01 872 4305

iDr,

+ra gar

Level one

The U rbz: Sims in the City This is the real sim city.

Xb

some players but not others. Here's hoping the next Metroid title takes that fact into account.

Visually, MP 2's dazzling, organic-looking environments represent a quantum leap for console-based shooters. Like its predecessor, MP 2 obsesses over tiny visual details-you'll spot buzzing mosquitoes, drifting sand clouds, and

glossy metal surfaces throughout each of the expansive levels. The character models have also received a noticeable upgrade; many of the darkling enemies look like fever dreams given grotesque life, as they melt into black ooze only to lunge screeching from the shadows.

And most important, you can expect a smooth,

flowing framerate, even during heated four-player matches. Compared to the vibrant graphics, Echoes' Spartan audio comes across as a more muted victory. While the spinetingling soundtrack and eerie atmospheric effects lend a cool otherworldly vibe, many of the weapon effects sound curiously flat. Oh, well!

Simply put, MP 2 is precisely what Metroid fans have been waiting for.

Nhile it makes important gameplay strides over its predecessor, it doesn't rget its side-scrolling roots. Players who despised the first Metroid Prime

nay find they harbour similar feelings towards MP 2. But open-minded Tamers will find an instant classic.

i

■

oX The Sims keep going on ; now they have to keep on keepin' on . In the latest installment of the long-running relationship simulator, The Urbz: Sims in the City, the gibberish -spouting creatures have taken it from the relative safety of the 'burbs provided you leave the ladder in the pool - to the buzz of the big city, with its neon lights and wide variety of city dwellers. As a result, the locations and other "Urbs" they meet have the tendency to be varied in appearance and personality, which isn't an unwelcome change from previous takes on the concept.

The Urbz: Sims in the City Reputation is key to rising in social circles, and The Sims Requirements: Microsoft Xbox have always centred on that aspect. In The Urbz, the main goal console is to make relationships with the 45 Urbs inhabiting the world Ratin : 85% and earn money through different jobs. However, you have to Price: €39.99 play chameleon more than ever: When you hit Kicktail Park, for Contact: Gamestop 01 872 4305 instance, hanging with the punkier skaterz crowd means your efforts will be on board tricks and more physical skills. Cozmo Street is more musical and you'll make time with Black Eyed Peas (yes, those Black Eyed Peas and the band's music in Simlish is hysterical.)

By building your relationships, new social skills and moves help you make friends in each district. There are many challenges that come up along the way, which is where your XAM device comes in handy: It's your handheld, phone, text messenger, and overall status checker, giving you information on how your relationships are coming together ( and where you need to make more effort), the inventory of items to customise your world and, most importantly, to see what goals you have left to achieve in each zone. Oh, and again you need to balancing your main needs, such as eating, sleeping and, uh, personal hygiene.

The Urbz is virtually identical on each system, t with some minor consideration for hardware differences. Unfortunately, there's a lot of repetition of sound and animations as you pursue relationships, though the addition of new actions along the way opens up new animations. Also, the jobs you take are different in each district, but the control-pad actions are the same: You need to reproduce four-button sequences as they appear onscreen, which quickly moves from challenging to tedious (though necessary if you're going to earn enough Simoleans to buy items necessary to enhance your reputation). The Urbz offers a nice, fresh twist on the Sims experience, for both veterans and newbies alike.

Yet, despite seeing the goofy characters in a new fish tank, there isn't enough freshness throughout to keep you down with it. It's not ■ bad, it's just not baaad...you feel me?

January 2005

59

level one Hailed as the Halo killer on the PS 2.

The original and best returns to your portable.

°£

G BA Revisiting Super Mario 64 is about as good a reason as any to pick up a DS. It's not quite a port of the original, but all the essential elements are there. You get to return to Princess Peach's Mushroom ,castle with all of its transdimensional wall paintings and secret, locked doors. The 3D gameplay, level challenges, and secondary Mario world character all return intact.

But there's abundant DS freshness, too. This time Wario and Luigi join the...er, Mario party, and Yoshi carries the ball on a quest to track them down inside the magical castle paintings. The classic visuals are impressive, having been touched up for DS duty. The sounds are superb and classic Mario. They're particularly sweet in surround mode with a set of headphones.

Your goal in the single-player Adventure mode is 150 stars this time, and you're going to have to work to get them. It's not so much the challenge of the game's puzzles as it is getting used to the controls.

Three control settings use the touch screen and stylus, the touchscreen and thumb, or a more traditional keypad layout.

With the touchscreen, there's a fine art to mastering precise movements, running fast and slow, and steering your direction as the game cam wings around the 3D space. There's nothing wrong with the touchscreen that a few hours of practice doesn't alleviate, but true to the game's console roots, you yearn for a control pad throughout.

The mini-games in Rec Room mode feel much more intuitive, having been designed with the touch screen and stylus in mind. You get eight to start with and you unlock more in Adventure mode. They're simple but compelling puzzle challenges that will improve your dexterity with the stylus, too.

The wireless multiplayer VS mode is a nifty diversion, a way to get some DS action with friends. You only need one Super Mario game card to enter a Mario-style shoving match to beat the Stars out of your buddies.

You can never get enough of a classic. Super Mario 64 is essentially Super Mario 64 here with enough DS goodies to Requirements: Nintendo Gameboy make a compelling dual-screen Advance package. Nintendo has a Mario Bros.

Rating: 90% game designed for DS brewing, and Price: TBA after playing Mario 64 DS that Contact: GameStop 01 872 4305 sounds-a like-a good idea.

60 January 2005

P52 Dubbed the "Halo killer," Killzone doesn't quite li.up to that advance billing. Still, with the amount of visual imagination and in-your-face action, Killzone can hold its owr against other PS2 first-person shooters... just don't expect a ground-breaking experience.

Never mind that developer Guerrilla created the disappointir; Shellshock: Nam '67 game. Although there's some Shellshock flavour found in Killzone, Guerrilla has created a shooter that is a little more impressive. To start, * visuals are what immediately bring you into the game.

In a gritty, dark war-torn world, you're thrown into a battle between murderous deformed soldir and the lonely human rebels. Guess what side you're fighting on? Your strategy is to stay alive as you manoeuvre through a rundown city populated by amazingly detailed dilapidated structures arc crushing armoured vehicles.

Enemy troops simply look scary with their glowing red eyes and tubes sticking out of their bodies, while the weapons are shown with overwhelming power, which make you grip the controller just a bit tighter as you let off a round.

Of course, the meat of any shooter is its gameplay. In Killzone, the gameplay is straightforward aim-and-shoot tactics. You have the ability to kneel, run, and lob the occasional grenade, but ultimately, it's the kil or-be-killed strategy using lots of guns, which the core of the game.

Unfortunately, there are setbacks for this gameplay simplicity. The levels are made up of linear paths with absolute's no room for flanking enemies. This makes the game's hop-over feature worthless, since you're not even allowed to jump over the smallest ledges so you can get a better angle oyour opponents.

Controlling where you aim can also be frustrating. No matter how much you try to adjust the sensitivity, it still feels like the analogue sticks are too loose to precisely target at something immediately. And for some dumb reason, the scope on the sniper rifle centres itself, which means your thumb has to be evemore stable before you pull the trigger.

The game is also a trying experience online Apparent lag, even though you're playing on broadband, is everywhere. Character animations are limited and it's difficult to target someone from long distance. And wh} can't you melee and use hand-to-hand combe like in the single player mode?

With the said impediments, Killzone may not be that ingenious shooter it was expected to be. It's a simple shooter that just so happens to be one of the prettiest shooters exclusively for the PlayStation 2. Give it a try and yoc might just find yourself in the zone. â&#x2013;

Kilizone Requirements: PlayStation 2 console Rating: 80% Price: TBA Contact: GameStop 01 872 4305

DIGITAL CAMERAS BUYERS GUIDE PC Live!'s reader guide to select digital camera retailers , including their current special offer promotions.

To list your company here contact Brian O'Farrell on (01) 8824406 or e-mail brian.ofarrell @pclive.ie

•

allianceelectric ALLIANCE ELECTRIC Retailer : Alliance Electric Outlet: 7 Castle House, South Great Georges St , Dublin 2 Phone : 01 -4755755

Website : in development Email: allianceelectric@eircom.net Brand names supplied : Sony, Panasonic, JVC and Canon Online photo Processing: No Current special offer promotion:

Brand names supplied: Cyber-shot In-store photo processing: No Online photo processing: No Current special offer promotions : Cyber-

Brand names supplied: Canon, Fuji, Sony, Kodak, Casio, HP and Oregon Scientific

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shot Solution. Sony is offering a "one box solution" by giving a free accessory kit with the the new P93A Cyber-shot digital camera. Available while stocks last.

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Camera Vision Ltd. CAMERAVISION Ltd Retailer: Cameravision Ltd Outlet : 5 Upper Main St, Lucan, Co Dublin

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Phone : 01 6281300

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save €75 on a digital printer.

Email: Sales@cameravislon.ie

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IIU

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Retailer: Pixels Media Ltd Outlet(s): 18 Upper Liffey Street, Dublin.

148 Lwr Baggot Street, Dublin.

JOHN O 'CONNOR

Phone : 1850 749 357

RONOCO

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Brand names supplied: Sony, Olympus, Fuji, Canon In-store photo processing: Yes Online photo processing: No Current special offer promotion: Olympus C60 - 6.1 million effective, pixels with 3 x optical zoom, aluminium

Outlet(s): Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo Phone : 094 9630037 Website: www.ricohpmmc.com email: rkalia@ricoh-uk.com

email: info@pixels.ie

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Online photo processing: Yes

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Brand names supplied : Samsung, HP, Kyocera & Sigma In-store photo processing: Yes

body, programme modes, lithium ion battery. Supplied with leads software 32MB memory card Plus extra 128MB memory card FREE and €200 holiday voucher FREE, Reduced from €549 to €429 while stocks last.

angled lens 3 megapixel G4W at

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availability on the Caplio GX

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HARVEY NORMAN

Liffey Valley Retail Park,

email: shopelectric@esb.ie

Retailer : Harvey Norman Ireland

Waterford, Limerick Parkway

Brand names supplied : Sony, Canon,

Outlet(s): Swords - Airside Retail Park and

Retail Park, Dundalk Retail Park

Kodak, Samsung, Fujifilm, Casio, HP, Epson.

Dundalk- Dundalk retail park.

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Live! 2005 - Cannot be reproduced in any form without our prior consent

January 2005

61

RESOURCE BUYERS GUIDE Computer driving you nuts? Welcome to our new Resource Guide where the specialists below can help you boost your PC performance.

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V ,

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Bits 7,760D Limited

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Unit K, The Milkmarket, Limerick Tel: 061 313414 Fax: 061 313415

email: carrigsales@eircom.net Web: indigo,ie/-carrig/systems

PCP Unit 6, Enterprise Park, Innishmore, Ballincollig, Co. Cork Tel: 021 4826989 Fax: 021 4826990 email: sales@pcdirect.ie Web: www.pcdirect.ie

CONNACHT Westsllle Computers Computer Repair Centre Connolly Street, Co Sligo Tel: 071 9154810

ELARA SYSTEMS

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O Copyright PC Live! 2005 - Cannot be reproduced in any form without our prior cor>62 January 2005

WEBSITE HOSTING BUYERS GUIDE 1 PC Livers reader guide to the companies that can put your btu online today! a^F,t To list your company here contact Brian O'Farrell on (01) 8824406 omail brian .ofarrell@pclive.ie Company details

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1GB

LINUX. WINDOWS • PHP • ASP • ASPNET • COLDFUSION • Perl • CGI • MySOL • Stats • Pre-installed Scripts Web Mail • FrontPage Compatible - Antivirus/Antispam • Online Credit Card Payment - SSL • Tel Support Low cost Web Design • FREE SEO setup for PCLive! readers worth €100

200MB Web Space • 100 POP3 Email Accounts • 4000MB Bandwidth per month (4GB) • 10 Parked Domains 10 Addon Domains • 10 Sub Domains • Intel Pentium 4 Servers • 1GB RAM • Server Uptime 99.5%

V

24 hr Emergency telephone support • Webuends stats • 99% SLA • Unrivalled support Anti-virus protection • WebMail

sales@hostireland.com IE Internet. com Ltd

€50 Phone: 01 283 33 33 r;vfreehosting.ie totallyfreehostingAieirterset.com

• FREE ANTI- VIRUS SCREENING • FREE ANTI-SPAM SCREENING • FREE MAILING LISTS • PHP mySOL Squirrel webmail • SSE • DEDICATED CONTROL PANELDEDICATED CGI BIN for ALL ACCOUNTS

Hosting Ireland

Phone: 1890 886 007 Sandie info@hostingireland.ie

Hilanit Ltd

Phone: 012130747 wow: plan;t.w hosting@iplanit.ie

€119

€49

100 MB Bit option €150

200MB Premier option €199

2-4 GB More avail

Jenerate

Phone: 01 636 03 23

€69.95

€24.95

€79

€168

IGB

• Free ANTI-VIRUS screening • r•ee AN'!-SPAM screening - Free DIY Site Creation Software • Webmail • PHP MySOL - CG • JSP - E-3usrevs sort ors and services

Netcetera Limited

Phone: 0044 800 2987 214 r;.netceteraro.ak sales@inetc.net

€50

€10.70 (Free

N/A

€86.00

2GB

• Windows 2003 - Frontpage 20002002.24x7 Phone Support - Unique Control Panel - ASP/ASP.NET Live Statistics • Dedicated Servers

Phone: 1890 564 054 , ;;.stormwebie

€69.95

€7.50

€59.95

€79.95

1 5GB

✓

✓

Phone: 074 91 29 5 51 •ceccm-pu!er,ie

€46.00 VAT

€16.50

€78 * VAT

€63.49

N/A

Web Based Control Panel • Unlimited FTP Access - Frontpage Extensions (98/20001 • & MUCH MORE.

with HOME Package)

Ltd VC Computers Ltd

✓

For technical support www.ieinternetcomhupport

€70

Storm Web Development

✓

Dependant on package 138

hosting@vcco mp ute rs. i e

- Free 10-day hosting trial • Free domain name with all hosting plans • Plans include DIY online Web site & Web store builders - online control panel • visitor stats • ASP - PHP • Perl - CGI • MySOL • MySOL • SSL Certs - Win 2000/Linux etc • POP or IMAP • CGI, STATS • PHP etc • Linux Server • FREE Anti-Virus • FREE e-mail virus Checking - FREE Spam filtering

V

upwards €126.97

2GB

• Local telephone & email support - website design & hosting • ASP - ODBC • SOL • Front Page - FTP - Free antispam & Free anti-virus - POP & ETRN mail - SSL - Stats - Domain registration • Dedicated server hosting • NET

€140

3GB

- Secure Server - Developer Level Support - 20 pop email accounts • Auto responders - Mail forwarding

UTV Internet

Phone: 1890 926 111

€63.49

*eblink Internet Ltd

Phone:01 250 0020 www.weblink.ie

€80 €70 €28 per annum per annum

Fast Provider Ltd

Phone516714599 info@fastprovider.ie

€139.99 €40 €59.95 €5 per annum per annum per annum per annum !.we^ncade s^^pr

Silkweb Design

Phone: 046 9481599 • <i;r,-

€110-VAT per annum

€50*VAT per annum

- Email aliases - Spam filter - Site backups - MySOL - MyPHP Admin • Hosting - Reseller Hosting - Domains - Collocation • Secure Carts • Dedicated Windows 2003 Servers - Dedicated 3GB to 2000GB Fast MultiRedhat Enterprise Servers - Load Balancing - FirewalIs - Enterprise Antivirus and spam solutions • 24/7 telephone homed bandwidth support - Backup Solutions - Security Audits • Cpanel with Redhat enterprise on all hosting servers ( DUAL XEONS).

50 MB/100 MB: Dependant on package standard starts at 15 MB

10GB per month

- Operating system: RedHat linux 7.3 • Scripting language: PHP 4.1.2 & SunONE ASP 3.6.2 - CGI Scripting language.

Depending on

Fell 5.6.1 - Database server: MySOL 3.23.56 - Daily Web Stats Web Design - Control Panel - SSL (Extra) - Frontpage

package max

Extensinos (Extra) - Webmail • Content Management Systems - E-Commence Solutions - Pop3 + IMAP

E-live

Phone: 1890 354 831

€80

€40

5OMB & looms looms from €59 with registration

1GB

• Windows or Linux • FREE Control Panel - FTP - POP3/IMAP - CG-BIN • WebMail • Spam Filters Website Statistics - Resellers Welcome

Artweb Design Ltd

Phone: 492 0014 r!;artweblrelandesr'

€100

€60

Packages start from €250 per annum including 50MB web space 20 POP3 (also web based)

2GB

• NT Hosting Yes Disk Space 50 MB Bandwidth 2000 MB www.yourname.com Yes yourname.com Yes Same Day Setup Yes SOL Database No (additional charge) Ms Access Support Yes Free DSN Setup Yes FrontPage 2000 Extensions Yes Web Based Email Yes POP3 Accounts 20 Unlimited Auto Responders Yes Unlimited Email

opyright PC Live! 2005 - Cannot be reproduced in any form without prior consent

January 2005

63

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