Imagine you’ve bought a car that’s lots of amazing: It’s lightning quick, foxy as anything, solid as you like and eats lesser cars for a light afternoon snack. But in the end, you leave it in the garage, because you have to top it up with fuel every few miles. Sadly, the downfall of this camera is that fuel-guzzler flashy car syndrome: On paper it ticks the boxes, but in real life it just doesn’t hack it

The S1050 comes with all the toys: Face recognition technology, which self-adjusts so your subject’s faces are in focus. It packs a healthy 10 megapixels, has a damn fine 1/2000 sec top-end shutter speed, 45MB built-in memory (up to 4GB using SD cards), and it’s built like a double-reinforced Sherman tank. The LCD screen deserves a special mention; it’s a whopping 3 inches, and Samsung have looked after the details, with a hard-plastic shell protecting the display.

With so many things going in its favour, it’s such a shame that they’ve stumbled over the simplest hurdle. You could solve the battery problem with the optional SNB-2512 battery and charger kit, but let’s face it — if you’re spending £160 on a camera, you don’t want to have to splash another wad of cash to be able to use it to its full capacity. The final straw is that even if you do get a rechargeable battery and charger, you end up with a last-century NiMH battery: most manufacturers (including, interestingly enough, Samsung) now include ‘intelligent’ long-lasting Lithium Ion batteries with current digital cameras.

If your work or home office  isn’t looking as festive as it might, then for £6.95 you could make all the difference with this  USB-juiced Crimbo tree

. Ho ho ho, indeed.

Can this Ferrari-branded steering wheel help you dominate the field in your driving games?

The Ferrari GT steering wheel (with, naturally, the galloping horse logo prominently displayed) doesn’t come with the gearstick and clutch to be found on the more expensive game wheels, but otherwise it includes everything to make your driving experience realistic.

Well, as realistic as it’s going to get on a PC, in any case, with so-called force feedback to make the wheel rumble convincingly as you drive along.

The wheel has Tiptronic-style switches for changing gears, as well as plenty of configurable buttons, and the attached pedal section includes a brake and accelerator. All of these can be configured using the supplied software, which links to the Windows control panel.

It was easy to install, and includes grips to clamp the wheel to a desk, and even includes plugs for both the PC (USB) and the Playstation 2. We had a few teething problems as the wheel tried to take over the in-game menus, but these were sorted with a few clicks in the software.

The driving experience was suitably accurate, and our tests in a few driving games were much improved compared with keyboard control. At £40, it’s about the right price for both driving enthusiasts and casual gamers.

Vista compatible: Yes

The digital compact grows up

Complete with a 12MP CCD, image-stabilized lens and more tricks than Britney’s had Frappuccinos, the G9 bridges the gap between compact and DSLR. Encased in a robust, uncompromising and (slightly) intimidating body, it’s the Darth Vader of digital cameras. Light sabre not included

Novices should dig out the manual first. The sheer quantity of buttons and dials on the body is as unnerving as stumbling upon an angry Rottweiler in an alley. The square body isn’t comfortable either, we’d have preferred more grips and the zoom lever is a bit of a stretch.

Shutter bug

Putting these nags aside. With a responsive shutter, fast focusing, and outstanding 3in LCD, the G9 is a joy to use. Pictures are outstanding; sharp, detailed and with bags of colour. It’s not bad at controlling noise either, only becoming unbearable if you push it over ISO 800. Our favourite feature is ‘Focus check,’ which puts an end to blurred pictures by enlarging the focus area so you can check the sharpness.

The list goes on

A feature list as exhaustive as the unabridged Oxford Dictionary includes: manual control over the aperture, shutter, sensitivity and focusing, a hotshoe for a flashgun and lens adaptor ring. But the G9 isn’t just for wannabe pros. Even the most clueless shutterbug can snap away using scene modes and face detection.

At £430 this is pricier than some DSLR’s, but that’s without factoring cost of extra lenses and the bulky shape. For newcomers to photography and enthusiasts in the market for a second camera, the tough and quick G9 is perfect.

Groundbreaking console tops the online ‘I want’ list for 2007

According to online analysis from Hitwise, Nintendo’s award-winning Wii console is the most popular search item online for frantic prezzie buyers in the run up to Christmas.

Steve Jobs and co must be reeling too, because despite Apple’s huge product releases this year, the Wii had 13 times more hits than the iPod, and twice as many as the iPod and iPhone combined. And Nintendo took second spot with its DS handheld console.

That’s a lot or searching. But it’s likely been fuelled by the mass product shortages alongside the console’s cool credentials, with many shoppers frantically looking high and low to prevent inevitable tantrums come Christmas Day if Santa doesn’t show up with the goods.

“The Nintendo Wii was the most searched for product by UK Internet shoppers during November. There were thirteen times as many UK Internet searches for Nintendo Wii sending traffic to the Hitwise Shopping and Classifieds category as there were for Apple iPod, and over twice as many searches for Wii as for both iPod and iPhone.

Despite shortages of the popular console in the UK, the volume of searches for Nintendo Wii has increased 158% since November 2006, while searches for Wii have increased by 278%.” Commented Robin Goad, director of research at Hitwise.

The top ten most popular gadgets then:
1. Nintendo Wii
2. Nintendo DS
3. Ugg Boots
4. Lego
5. Bratz
6. iPhone
7. iPod
8. Barbie
9. iPod Nano
10. Xbox 360

Adobe has implemented support for high-definition video in the latest version of its Flash player.

Flash 9 Moviestar supports the H.264 encoding standard used in HD video formats, allowing sites to stream HD video via the Flash plug-in.

The update could boost the presence of HD video on the web. Adobe claims that Flash is installed on 99 per cent of internet-enabled PCs worldwide, and the format is used by such sites as YouTube, MySpace and the BBC.

To boost support for the new format, Adobe has announced updates to the Flash Media Server software used to serve the streaming Flash videos.

The $995 Flash Media Streaming Server 3 is aimed at smaller firms, allowing site owners to stream video in the new HD format.

It supports Adobe’s Flash Lite mobile players, and Adobe Integrated Runtime which allows users to access rich internet applications offline.

By offering a lower-priced server package, the company hopes to extend the reach of streaming video.

High-end users will be offered the $4,500 Flash Media Interactive Server 3 which includes support for the new formats as well as bundled software and support for rights-management and access control software.

The new version of the Flash player is currently available for Mac, Linux and Windows. Both Flash Media Server packages are slated for release in January.

Internet telephony services will have to offer access the UK’s emergency services from September 2008, Ofcom has ruled.

The decision was made after Ofcom research found that just over three-quarters of VoIP users who cannot access emergency numbers, thought they could, or were unsure.

Ofcom said this could be dangerous in an emergency as people could waste vital time trying to make calls via online services before realising they were unable to.

The ruling will apply to both “VoIP out” providers, which allow users to make calls to normal phone numbers but not receive them, and to “Two-way VoIP” providers, which allow users to make and receive calls to and from normal phone numbers.

Services that only allow users to call international numbers and Click to Call services, where users can only call a pre-selected number or limited set of numbers, are excluded.

Welcoming the move, Kerry Ritz, UK managing director of internet telephony provider Vonage, told Computeractive: “We have been working closely with Ofcom with this issue and fully support the initiative.

“The 2008 deadline should also give providers plenty of time to put these requirements into their services. By implementing emergency calls we can push this technology further into the mainstream.”

 Cyber-crime unit ‘urgent’

A petition has been launched calling for the Prime Minister to set up a national e-crime reporting unit as soon as possible.

There are proposals outlined in this year’s Comprehensive Spending Review for a new National Fraud Reporting Centre to be set up in 2010-11.

The aim of the centre will be to provide a link between local forces, the public and other law enforcement agencies.

But following the case of lost data discs at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the petitioner, security analyst Neil Stinchcombe, said 2010 was too long to wait and is using the petition to highlight the need for the centre to be set up as soon as possible.

Mr Stinchcombe told Computeractive: “The consequences of, and reactions to, the loss of records by HMRC, make the creation of a well-resourced operation to address computer-assisted crime, including information and identity theft from data and call centres… a matter of great urgency.”

The problems the public and regional police forces have with reporting and handling individual incidents of cyber-crime is well documented. Local police say they do not have the resources to follow up many of these crimes.

Since April, the public has had to report financial online crime to banks rather than the police. There is also no central unit that can handle the cases of victims of identity theft or scams - once the responsibility of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU).

The multi-agency force based in London worked with law enforcement experts selected from the National Crime Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, HM Customs and Excise and local police forces.

However, the NHTCU was absorbed into the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in 2004. SOCA handles serious organised crime and not individual cases, which means members of the public have to report any computer-based crime to local police services, which are kept within that force, making it difficult to gauge the overall scale of cyber-crime.

The plan is for the National Fraud Reporting Centre to be managed by a lead police force centred on the City of London Police and, according to the Attorney General’s office, have input from the Metropolitan Police. To ensure overall co-ordination and strategy, there will also be a National Fraud Strategic Authority.

However, the City of London police and the Association of Chief Police Officers would not comment on the petition, which runs until 29 February 2008.

The people who most need information and technical support for the digital TV switchover are not getting it.

A report, Going Digital , from Ofcom’s Consumer Panel found the people most confused about what equipment they should buy and install are the vulnerable; including the elderly and disabled.

It said that although much of the information and assistance that people said they wanted, such as a helpline, already exists, most of the respondents to the survey were unaware of this.

The Panel said with many people likely to spend a lot of money buying new, digital TV equipment as Christmas approaches, a more concerted and targeted communication campaign was vital.

This would ensure viewers who are “confused and anxious” are made aware of all of the options, information and assistance available to them. Even money wasn’t as much of an issue as advice and technical expertise.

Colette Bowe, Consumer Panel chairman, said: “We wanted to understand the experience of vulnerable consumers as they ‘go digital’, and… they told us clearly that they don’t want money; they want easily accessible assistance and advice to help them through the process.”

The survey latest research is published alongside research from the Scottish Consumer Council (SCC), which also found that people confused about the choices. SCC plans to follow the day-to-day experiences of consumers until switchover in November 2008 in the Digital Diaries project.

According to the research, the people who lack the technical confidence to start the conversion process really did not know where to go for information. Even buying the equipment was proving difficult. Going Digital participants told the Consumer Panel that in most cases an easily accessible telephone helpline would meet their needs.

The Consumer Panel said it realised that much of the information and assistance that people want, such as their call for a helpline, already exists, but that they are unaware of it.

Key recommendations therefore include a targeted national information campaign. This will include posting its Helping Hand Packs to all who are eligible for help which includes those over the age of 75 and those on disability benefits.

The Panel also wants better promotion of the Digital UK helpline, which can be reached on 08456 505 050. It would also like to see a rolling information channel on Freeview that provides switchover information and more specifically targeted information for older, disabled and technically unsupported participants.

“The country is currently energized about the digital switchover. They are thinking about buying digital TVs for Christmas, and the switchover is on everyone’s mind. So we are saying the information should be given to people now and it shouldn’t wait until their region is going to switch over,” said a representative for the Panel.