Well this time last year Windows Vista wasn’t ready for consumers buying new PC’s in the run up to  Christmas (2006).

This year is pretty much the same a “better” version of Windows Vista (SP1) is on the distant horizon but new PC’s won’t be shipped with Windows Vista SP1 pre-loaded until  late Q1 2008 but more likely Q2.

If you get Windows Vista this holiday period chances are you are going to be upgrading to SP1 sometime early next year and good luck with that. The upgrade process as I understand it, is painful.

My buying tips for getting a PC for your home this Christmas are:

1) Skip Vista and go buy an Apple iMac. See www.apple.com/uk 

On a serious note at least you can take one for a test drive at their retail stores.

However If you insist on Windows Vista then:

1) Get the fastest one you can afford, Intel Core 2 Duo is a great way to go.

2) Get a minimum of 2GB of Ram and a decent video card.

3) Stay away from Windows Vista Basic, Go for Windows Vista Home Premium.

If you want a different form factor then check out the HP TouchSmart IQ772

Link: HP TouchSmart IQ772 

It has a touch screen interface which would be a great way of getting kids to use technology or for flicking through your music collection on screen.

I don’t really like the styling all that much but a touch screen would be cool.

I like working on innovative projects and Virtual Net Learning is one of these.

Chris (friend, web developer and all round nice chap) and I are developing this together. We have worked together for about 7 or 8 years so we have our communication chops down.

Basically Virtual Net Learning is an Interactive Learning Environment (ILE) for delivering two distinct types of content:

1) Web Video based training courses with interactive elements such as tests/exams and upon completion certification.

2) Web Video based interactive Workshops for delivery over the Internet.

We are throwing all our good unused ideas from the last few years at this project and they are all sticking and making sense.

We may need the help of an additional mysql developer so if you are interested let me know.

I would also like to hear from any one with a couple of moodle projects under their belt. Although I am not entirely convinced moodle is the right way to go yet.

Link: http://www.virtualnetlearning.com (just a place holder at the moment.)

Ok, now this is cool, Google have just updated Google Maps for mobile and it can now work out your location based on your proximity to the the cell tower that your mobile is connected to.

Now this isn’t as accurate as having a GPS enabled device but only 15% of devices are GPS enabled.

I tried it and found it to be very accurate identifying my location to within 500 metres.

Link: http://www.google.com/gmm/index.html

About this update: http://www.google.com/gmm/mylocation.html?hl=en

HP are currently offering the 2840 with a £200 cash back scheme.

This brings the cost down to around £260+VAT

At that price point this device becomes attractive to the Small Business User.

Here is what it does.

1) Colour Laser printer.

2) A4 Flat bed and Document Sheet Feeder Scanner.

3) Fax Machine.

4) Can be used as a photocopier.

Basically all the things a small office needs.

I spent a morning setting one up and testing it against various tasks. Printing/Scanning etc.

Pro’s

Has onboard network connection as well as USB.

Memory Card Reader

Video based install guide.

Acceptable Colour laser output quality.

Can Scan to PDF.

Con’s

The scanning and printing speeds are slower than expected, not terrible exactly, just leisurely.

Weight, you need two people to lift the thing. Note the box it comes in is 26″ Wide.

Consumable costs: This device has a separate Drum, and 4 toners. The Black toner is £35 and the Colour £45 each, The Drum £79. 

Noisy.

Conclusion

Ideal for a small office (5 or less people) for light to moderate use. At the current price including the cash back this is a lot of office technology for your money. 

Note the cash back offer ends 31/01/2008

Links:

Other Review Link: http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/printers/0,1000001029,39233878,00.htm

Official Product Page

Link about Cash back

1) Windows Live Search

Windows Live Search on a mobile  is better than Google search on a PC. You can browse by Category based on your location and follow that up with map based directions and route planners.  Very impressive.

Download on your phone via: www.wls.live.com

2) Google Maps

Google maps is another great free map application It has many options like looking up your contacts, getting directions etc. Although some of what is does can be done by Windows Live Search you may as well have both applications installed, neither take up that much room.

Download: http://www.google.com/gmm/index.html

3) TCPMP The Core Pocket Media Player

This can be used to play back multiple audio/video formats like avi/xvid for example.

Windows Mobile devices can make a great portable media players, particularly the ones with the larger screens.

Download from: http://www.pqdvd.com/download/tcpmp.setup.0.66.exe

4) Google’s java based Gmail client

If you have a Google email account this Java application supplied by Google is the best way to access your Gmail account on a Windows mobile, the user experience has been designed from the ground up to work within the constraints of a small screen.

Download: http://www.google.com/mobile/mail/index.html

I will update this post if I find any other, if you want to share some your suggestions please use the comments section.