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ATI unveils All-in-Wonder 9600 Pro

Plus: Addonics' DVD copier, D-Link's tri-mode WLAN kit

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Graphics card

ATI today launched its latest All-in-Wonder multimedia card, the 9600 Pro. The new card extends previous editions' FM radio support, provides DVD and CD burning, and updates the All-in-Wonder series' remote control system.

All-in-Wonder cards have offered built-in stereo radio receivers for some time, but the 9600 allows users to schedule recordings of programmes, and save parts of them as MP3 files. The system, dubbed FM-on-Demand, also has a pitch-shift playback mode to allow you to listen to recordings more quickly than their broadcast durations and still make out what's being said. It also offers a radio alarm clock mode.

The updated Remote Wonder II operates by radio rather than infra red, allowing a range of up to 60ft, says ATI. It provides remote access to all of the card's features plus special buttons for European TV-based teletext services.

Speaking of TV, the card has dual VGA monitor support in addition to the simultaneous TV-out offered by other All-in-Wonder cards. ATI has updated the cards Multimedia Center software to support DVD and CD authoring. DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW and CD-R/RW are all supported.

The ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO will be available in Europe and Asia-Pacific by the end of September. ATI did not announce US availability, or worldwide pricing.

Disc duplication

US-based Addonics has introduced its latest DVD "DigiCopier", a 4x DVD+/-R/RW and CD-RW drive that can duplicate discs without the need to hook the unit up to a PC first - though it also operates as an external drive via a USB 2.0, 1394, Serial ATA or CardBus connection.

If that sounds like a pirate's charter, Addonics is keen to point out that the unit will not duplicate copy protected DVDs and CDs.

Addonics quotes a typical duplication time for a full CD-R of 12 minutes, and 40 minutes for DVD-R or DVD+R discs. The source drive operates at 16x DVD-ROM. The destination drive is a DVD+/-R/RW device with 4x DVD+/-R, 2x DVD+/-RW, and a 16x/8x/32x CD-RW.

Addonics is offering two versions of the new DigiCopier: one with a bundled USB 2.0 interface and connector, and a vanilla version which requires the purchase of a separate interface pack, with a choice of USB 2.0, 1394, Serial ATA and CardBus. The base model costs $599, the USB 2.0 edition $659. ®

Mouse

Logitech has begun shipping its Click! family of wired and cordless optical mice. The latter are based on the company's FastRF radio technology, which, it claims, is the only cordless system that's as responsive as a cable.

The Click! family comprises three models: the £49.99/€59.99 Cordless Click! Plus Optical, the £39.99/€49.99 Cordless Click! Optical and the £29.99/€34.99 Click! Optical. The difference between the first two models? A different shape - the Plus has a "unique" teardrop shape, while the other has "a tapered tail, [so] the hand sits further back on the mouse [and] the finger tips sit more naturally over the buttons" - and a scroll wheel on the Plus.

Wi-Fi

D-Link UK has launched a line of triple-mode WLAN products, designed to support all three Wi-Fi standards in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

The Air Xpert line comprises 802.11a/b/g adaptor cards for desktops and notebooks (the DWL-AG520 PCI adaptor and the DWL-AG650 CardBus adaptor, respectively), a wireless base station (the DWL-7000AP Access Point) and a wireless broadband gateway unit (DI-774 Wireless Router with 4-port switch).

All four products support the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) wireless security system.

Prices were not provided, but all four units will go on sale in the UK this month. ®

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