Most people, when selling on a computer second-hand, wipe the data by just deleting it. That's not quite enough. A simple delete just removes the references to the data on the disk - rather than wiping it clean. Software available free on the net can recover it relatively easily, as long as it hasn't been overwritten.
Which? bought eight computers on eBay and recovered 22,000 'deleted' files from them in this way. Some of those files contained personal data, which could be used by identity thieves to steal your... etc etc. Yawn. You know all this.
Of course, there's programs that'll hard-delete data, too, but Which? prefers another solution. A big hammer. They recommend pulling it out of the PC and whacking it very very hard, until the thing's in pieces. While I don't doubt the effectiveness of that method, it's a lot easier to use a program like SuperShredder to accomplish the same thing. Plus you won't get bits of disk platter in your eye. Bonus.
Which? (via BBC)
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I'm sure there's a competition among camcorder manufacturers this year to see what the biggest optical zoom they can put on their latest models is. Sony's latest standard definition camcorders boast a 60x optical zoom.
Sony's has launched nine new models in its SX range, with features including a choice of recording formats (DVD, hard disc or Memory Stick) depending on model, one second quick start-up, SteadyShot image stabilisation and Carl Zeiss lens.
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As of this Friday - the 9th January, Microsoft is going to release a beta version of its new operating system - Windows 7 - to the first 2.5 million people to download it. The new OS is eagerly anticipated, which Microsoft must be pleased about, given that Vista has been a PR disaster.
Windows 7 promises a tonne of improvements to Windows' basic functionality. It's quicker, less bloated and more secure than Windows Vista - which suffered from bloat and compatibility issues on release. Although it's dramatically improved since, many users are refusing to upgrade from XP, and Microsoft continues to trickle users away to OS X.
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Samsung is just one of several companies showing off its latest range of camcorders, with a model to suit most consumer needs, from YouTube enthusiasts to budding high definition filmmaker. We've already seen the H Series of HD handhelds, but Samsung is also catering for those who haven't jumped on to the high definition bandwagon yet, but are most definitely riding along on the YouTube train.
The SMX-F34 camcorder can't boast the same filming resolution as the H Series - we're talking strictly standard definition (up to 720 x 480) here -- but it does have a ridiculously large 34x optical zoom range that can be boosted to 42x with the Intelli-Zoom function.
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Sennheiser's making quite a bold claim here - the world's best headphones. The HD800s apparently sound better than any other pair of headphones on the planet. I suspect that it might be difficult to prove that one to a jury - surely it's more than a little subjective?
But let's not quibble over that - it's beyond doubt that these are damn good. A brand new "RING" driver, developed specifically for these cans alone, can deliver an amazing 6Hz - 51kHz frequency response. For comparison, your average person on the street can hear about 20Hz to 20kHz. Unless you're an audiophile, therefore, you're not going to get much out of these. Sennheiser also claims an amazingly low 0.02% distortion.
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This is the very pretty, but very expensive Arcam T32 Hi-Fi DAB tuner. As you'd expect from Arcam, it's a top-end bit of kit, with a top-end price tag to match. Although it's essentially just a radio, it also comes with a high-end iPod interface.
It's got a DAB tuner, with band III and L-band reception, it's DAB+ compatible, and there's also an AM/FM tuner onboard, too, if for some reason you decide that DAB is too nice-sounding. Lastly, the iPod interface is viewable from the front of the display, so you can scroll through artists and tracks on the LCD screen of the device.
It's yours for £500. That's not cheap, but this isn't a cheapy-made bit of kit. Full details are on the Arcam site.
For more products and releases from CES 2009, click here.
I always get slightly confused by the way Sony doesn't group its gadgets by what they are, just by broad product ranges. As a result, there are cameras and phones with the Cyber-shot badge, and MP3 players and mobiles with the Walkman badge. From the product name alone, it's often impossible to tell what the device is.
Well, to clear up the confusion, both the products here are phones. The first is an 'affordable' 3.2 megapixel cameraphone, called the C510. Although there's a comparative lack of megapixels on the sensor compared to other cameraphones, it's got plenty of features to make up for it.
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