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2005
March
Index

Window to the Web

Milestone or Millstone?

Reviews
It is Tax Time

Some thoughts for DIYers

IRS Info Sources

SIG Notes
Clarion

Multimedia

Ham Radio

February
Index

Trumors

CES 2005

Framing with The GIMP

Linnuts

SIG Notes
Clarion

Multimedia

Ham Satellite Radio

Reviews

January
Index

Window on the Web

Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Reviews
Microsoft OneNote

Digital Pictures

2004
December
Index

Gifts

Nibbles & Bits

Reviews
Latest, greatest DVD burners

Double Layer DVD Burners

Boomerang Backup

November
Index

CD Burning for Dummies

The GIMP

The GIMP Tutorial

Mobile Computing

More Power to You

Reviews

October
Index

Email Bag

The Cookie Jar

Computing Commandments

Slipstreaming

Trumors

Reviews

September
Index

Email Bag

The Cookie Jar

Are You XPerienced?

Creating My First Web Page

Mobile Computing

Nibbles & Bits

Reviews
Make Your Own External Drive

August
Index

The Cookie Jar

Knoppix Specialists

Trumors

Reviews
Helper Apps
Review Index

Capture Eze Pro

Visual Route8

Zoom Radio

Improve Reading

July
Index

Mobile Computing

The Cookie Jar

Reviews

June
Index

Baby Steps

Fish Story

Mobile Computing

Trumors

XP

Reviews
Office 2003

From Paper to Pixels

Sig Notes

May
Index

Email

Baby Steps

Buying Times

Mobile Computing

Trumors

XP

Reviews
Capturing Software 1

Capturing Software 2

SIG Notes

April
Index

Email Bag

Baby Steps

Buying Time

Trumors

XP Q & A

March
Index

Art Jar

Email Bag

Baby Steps

Buying Time

CES

CES Wars

DUN Errors

Mobile Computing

Mozilla

Nibbles & Bits

Reviews
Corel Designer

Lap Link

WinZIP

Tips & Tricks

Troubleshooting Your Connection

Trumors

February
Index

Art Jar

Email Bag

Baby Steps

Buying Time

The Latest Trumors

Mydoom info

Reviews
Tax Help

Tax Info

January
Index

Art jar

Baby Steps

Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Nibbles & Bits

Reviews
DVDXCopy

ERD Commander

Return to Castle Wolf

2003
December
Index

Art jar

Email Bag

Mobile Computing

Nibles & Bits

Trumors

November
Index

Baby Steps

Buying Time

Nibbles & Bits

Trumors

Are you XPerienced?

XP websites

The Cookie Jar

Support

The Mozilla Web Browser

Email Respect

RT Trading

Reviews
Software Helpers

DVD Formats 101

Hellooo Hollywood

October
Index

Email Bag

Baby Steps

Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Nibbles & Bits

Trumors

Are you Xperienced?

XP websites

Support

RT Trading

The Cookie Jar

Reviews
Flash Drives

Thanks for the Memories

September
Index

Email Bag

Baby Steps

Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Nibbles & Bits

Trumors

Are you Xperienced?

XP websites

Speed.Net

The Cookie Jar

Reviews
Linux in a Nutshell

USB to go

August
Index

Email Bag

Baby Steps

Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Nibble & Bits

Trumors

Are you XPerienced?

XP websites

The Cookie Jar

Support

Reviews
Back to College

July
Index

Email Bag

Baby Steps

Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Nibbles & Bits

Trumors

Are you Xperienced?

XP websites

The Cookie Jar

Reviews
Diskeeper 7.0

The Egg & You

MightyFAX

TextAloud MP3

June
Index

Email Bag

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Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Nibbles & Bits

Trumors

Are you Xperienced?

XP websites

Support

The Cookie Jar

Reviews
Worm & Virus Killers

May
Index

Baby Steps

Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Nibbles & Bits

Are you Xperienced?

XP websites

Support

Windows Grid

The Cookie Jar

Reviews
CD Burning

April
Index

Email Bag

Baby Steps

Buying Time

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Nibbles & Bits

Are you Xperienced?

XP websites

The Cookie Jar

Reviews
Scanners

Scanner Time

March
Index

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Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Nibbles & Bits

Trumors

Are you Xperienced?

XP websites

The Cookie Jar

Reviews
Federal Tax Info

Tax Time

February
Index

Email Bag

Baby Steps

Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Nibbles & Bits

Trumors

Are you Xperienced?

XP websites

Support

The Cookie Jar

Reviews
Movie Mogel

January
Index

Email Bag

Buying Time

Mobile Computing

Nibbles & Bits

Trumors

Are you Xperienced?

XP websites

Support

The Cookie Jar

Reviews
New XP Owner

ZOOM Radio: Excellent All-in-one Player

by Harold G. Spangler

Audio and video players have been around for years. All with varying degrees of success. Now, finally a player with a deceptively simple interface and the most sophisticated range of features and options as I’ve seen for both audio and video. For a while we used WinAmp for MP3s and RealAudio for web sounds and each served its purpose well, but not completely. Windows Media Player was designed to be the Swiss army knife of media players, but it was not to be – a bit slow and it didn’t play several of the better quality formats. ZOOM can play everything from MP3s to a wide variety of DVD formats with crystal clear sounds and no degradation of picture quality. In fact, for you techies, it is a better player than the one shipped with DivX.

Once you have downloaded the ZOOM Radio Pro and associated CODECs, you are ready to install it. The most complicated question is where? Don’t download all the CODECs at once, just the additional ones you need. Next, use your Windows Update to insure you have the lastest DirectX, patches, etc. Even without the additional CODECs, you have a better DVD player than the better known PowerDVD and WinDVD.

Features? Options? ZOOM Player has a ton of configurable options and an extensive features menu. Sound too much for you? Frankly, that’s what I first thought, so I did as usual: I used the program defaults and never looked back. OK Harold, what’s the catch? Well, for some formats you’ll need to download a CODEC. (A CODEC is a small applet that translates a particular electronic format into one that can be “read” by ZOOM - this is common to all players.) You could go to SONIC and for about 20 bucks download a slew of CODECs, but most are at the ZOOM web site. However, you’ll be “nagged” to register your ZOOM Pro (don’t get the skinner, but highly functional “standard” ZOOM). This is shareware, not freeware.

What is amazing is that you get everything in less than one MB. The configuration menu is easily understood, especially considering how comprehensive it is. Truthfully, you can customize most anything from colors, DVD aspect ratios, speaker arrangements (from mono to 6.1), select DVD chapters, save playlists and types of audio formats.

Zoom player is currently the most versatile and customizable solution for video and audio for Windows. For Help you’ll be sent to their web site. The Inmatrix website has solid documentation and a very helpful forum – typically, response to your question is a day or so. For a trial download, forums, info and updates go to http://www.inmatrix.com/.

Harold G. Spangler is a HAL-PC member and NASA senior software consultant. He can be reached at [email-masked].

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Charles W. Evans is a HAL-PC member and the Magazine’s Reviews Editor who can be contacted at [email-masked]

For information about HAL-PC, visit http://www.hal-pc.org/