Armchair Explorers Get The Net

Newcastle Herald

Friday March 13, 1998

RODERICK QUINN

HOW many people would love to explore the Internet but are put off because they're intimidated by computers?

A good many, I reckon, just as there would be plenty of people who simply couldn't justify the $1500 to $2000 needed to buy a computer when all they want to do is fiddle about on-line.

Paul Schenk clearly reckons the same thing, which is why he has developed tv-netEzy.

tv-netEzy is a box that connects the telephone line and the television together so that users can surf the Internet.

It allows users to send and receive e-mail from a lounge chair without having to so much as lift a finger towards a mouse or stare down a Windows 95 start button.

It sounds like a sensible idea to me. Why fork out for an extra monitor if the TV can do the job?

Mr Schenk has described tv-netEzy as the first set-top Internet access box to become available in Australia.

`Set-top Internet access box' is actually a fancy name for a computer. The heart of tv-net-Ezy is a 133Mhz AMD processor that is teamed with 8Mb of RAM and a 33.6kbps modem.

Unlike a traditional computer, the tv-netEzy box has no hard drive, relying instead on an operating system and browser burned into ROM (read-only memory) and removable smart cards that store user preferences and favourite web sites.

The unit uses an infrared keyboard and remote control and the browser, which is said to be unlike Navigator and Explorer, has bigger on-screen buttons because users are typically sitting further away.

The units will not work without a smart card, which Mr Schenk says is a good way for parents to regulate when children are on-line.

tv-netEzy sells for $799. For further information on connection charges, call the Newcastle distributors, Peter and Rosalie Hokin, on 43-6037.

FIRST mice lost their tails. Now it's the turn of keyboards to lose their cords.

As a computer user with a two-year-old son, this is a development that I welcome.

For me, cordless peripherals don't mean uncluttering the desktop or improving ease-of-use, although they undoubtedly do both.

No, to me, cordless peripherals are things that I can put out of the reach of the two-legged tornado. The Cordless Desktop, from Logitech, sounds like just the ticket.

Logitech is the company that claims the credit for putting the first cordless mice on the market.

The new Cordless Desktop goes a step further. It's a wireless keyboard and mouse combo that runs off a single radio receiver. The ensemble includes a detachable palm rest for the keyboard and a three-button Cordless MouseMan Pro.

A dual-function receiver plugs into the keyboard and mouse ports and operates at a distance of up to two metres, so it can be hidden out of sight.

The package will work under Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.x, with limited functionality under Windows 3.1.

It includes Logitech MouseWare 8.0, which provides on-screen status reports for keyboard functions such as caps lock and num lock and other features, including universal scrolling in Windows 95 and popular Internet browsers.

For full functionality the Cordless Desktop needs an IBM-compatible PC with DOS 5.0 or later, Windows 95, a PS/2-AT keyboard port and a second PS/2 or serial mouse port. It sells for $219.

CANON has launched a Bubble Jet printer that doubles as a colour scanner.

The BJC-4300 can produce what Canon describes as `photo-realistic' colour prints but can be converted to a scanner by replacing the ink cartridge with an optional colour scanning cartridge that sells separately for $149.

To scan a document, photograph or illustration the user feeds it through the printer.

Canon says its PhotoRealism and Drop Modulation Technology provide better image output with `higher precision, improved half-tones, finer colour gradations and reduced pixelation'.

PhotoRealism techniques combine low-density inks with the ability to apply ink to a single dot many times, increasing the colour range.

Drop Modulation Technology uses a new print head that produces different-sized ink droplets that can be applied in different patterns.

The BJC-4300 comes with a colour kit for colour and photo printing that includes a four-colour ink cartridge, a photo ink cartridge and five sheets of photo paper (total value $179).

The new printer will also print in banner mode on continuous sheets ($9.95 each) for decorations, posters and messages.

Canon says text output at up to 4.5 pages a minute with resolution of `up to 720x360 dpi' can be achieved using a black ink cartridge.

The BJC-4300 also includes Canon's Image Optimisation Technology for enhancing Internet images. The printer sells for $369.