Last week we looked at all in one computers, but the one thing an all in one computer generally does not include is a printer, at least not yet anyway, that is maybe something for the future. So in the meantime we need to find ourselves a good printer that will fulfill our needs. Of course if you combine the fact that one persons needs are not the same as the next persons, and the fact that there is a bewildering number of printers for sale, actually finding that one printer that is just right for you is not always as easy you might think. Obviously there is no one right answer so where to start?

A good way, is to ask yourself a number of questions. The first question I would ask myself is whether I just want a printer or would I like to combine printing with other features like scanning, copying or even faxing. If you have already got a perfectly good scanner and you never send faxes, then a stand alone printer is probably all you need. If on the other hand you are like me and decide that scanning and copying are always a useful function to have, then you will probably want to look at some of the very good all-in-one computers available on the market.

The next question you should probably ask is whether you want to have the printer on a network, and hence be available to all computers in the house, or just be local to a specific computer. If it is the first then a printer with a network capability is required. Another question you will want to ask yourself is whether you are going to mainly print photographs or documents or a bit of both.

At this point you have probably narrowed down the requirements enough to start looking for suitable printers and matching them against your budget. In my case when I was recently in the market for a printer, I wanted and all-in-one that was wireless network capable, that would print good photos when required, and if it could read my media cards so much the better.

In my case a printer like the HP Photosmart C7180 All-in-One Inkjet Printer would fit the bill nicely, albeit for a price. Good luck in your hunt for the right printer for you.

This week I have been in the market for some flash storage, specifically an SD card. This was to give me extra backup storage for my truly excellent Pentax K100D DSLR camera. If you want an entry level digital SLR, that takes fantastic pictures, makes it easy for first time user of an SLR, but still gives you the control you may want when you have learned enough to start playing, then I can highly recommend this camera.

Now if you are in the market for SD storage for a camera, there is a new, and expensive, product that has caught my eye which has the potential to change the way we work with our cameras. The new Eye-Fi 2GB SD wireless card allows you, in theory at least, to automatically upload pictures from your digital camera to your PC or Mac and even to your favorite photo sharing, printing, blogging, social networking or whatever website. Which hopefully means no more cables, no more trying to find a card reader that works, and basically a lot less hassle. Unfortunately the Eye-Fi is only available in the US at present, so for now we are restricted to standard flash storage.

Here there is plenty to choose from at least. If you are into digital photography and want fast write and transfer speeds, you might want to look at the SanDisk 1GB Ultra II Plus USB Secure Digital Card, which is also available in larger capacities as well. The neat thing about this model is that it has a built in USB adapter which means this card is a very versatile, and means you can eliminate the hassle of trying to find a card reader etc. Not as elegant as the Eye-Fi perhaps, but a nice pragmatic solution at a good price.

If you do need a card reader the SanDisk 12 in 1 USB2.0 Card Reader should do the trick nicely.

For a while now laptops have been outselling desktop computers with most people now opting for the convenience of being able to take their computer with them. Even if it that just means taking it to sit next to the other half while they watch EastEnders or Match of the Day on the TV, rather than sitting upstairs all alone in the back bedroom.

So with the desktop computer in decline, manufactures are looking for different ways to change the image and the form of the traditional desktop computer. One increasing popular approach is the “all in one”, in which the computer is housed entirely within the screen, with perhaps the most widely recognised example being the Apple iMac. The iMac has been very succesful and has recently received an upgrade and a new look. The “all in one” approach is actually not new one, with the iMac having been around for a number of years, but it is one that is seeing increasing focus and attention.

Sony are another manufacturer who are convinced that the format is a winner, and have also been producing “all in one” computers for a number of years. For Windows users Sony’s latest models such as the Sony VAIO VGC-LT1S provide an excellent Windows alternative to the iMac, with similar benefits and features including a bundled Adobe software package, which is obviously meant to compete with Apple’s iLife suite.

Dell also seem to have decided the format is the future, as today the company have started selling their new Dell XPS One desktop computer, which looks like it might be one of the most attractive all-in-one PC’s yet produced. So if you actually fancy sitting in that back bedroom rather than watching EastEnders, perhaps a note to Santa is in order!

Nearly everyone these days is likely to be experiencing their very own digital data explosion. Almost on a daily basis we are all creating or downloading more and more digital content, in the form of documents, digital images, mp3 files etc. This means having a suitable backup strategy is becoming extremely important to ensure you have a copy of your data in case of any unfortunate incident. Fortunately it also becoming increasingly easy to setup “fire and forget” automatic approaches to the backup challenge.

To setup an automatic backup solution, you will need two things. Firstly an external hard drive with sufficient capacity to store multiple versions of all your data, and then some software to manage the process.

Software

If you are lucky enough to have a Mac running Panther then you will already have the excellent Time Machine included with the operating system. Other wise a nice choice would be EMC Retrospect 7.5 Pro which is available for Windows or older versions of Mac OS. Another alternative for Windows would be Symantec Norton Save & Restore. All these packages provide the ability to do an automatic backup on a regular basis.

Hardware

There are plenty of options available for the external hard drive. Some suggestions would be the Iomega MiniMax External 500GB Hard Drive which also comes in a 750 GB version, or the WD My Book Pro Edition External 500GB Hard Drive. Both of these drives look good, offer a choice of USB of Firewire connectivity, and will work well with all operating systems.

So hands up who still hasn’t got a wireless network at home? Come on don’t be shy, we won’t laugh at you, honest. If you are someone who has got their hand up, isn’t it high time you got it sorted out? If you asked anyone who has a wireless network up and running at home, whether they want to go back to what they had before, the vast majority would decline. I for one can’t imagine living without a wireless network at home anymore. It means the whole family can access the internet from wherever they are in the house. Its very liberating! So here is the first of a number of posts that will take a look at hardware you need to get a wireless network up and running at home. BTW I am assuming here that you have broadband internet connection, because to really get the best out of your wireless network it is an essential prerequisite.

Wireless Adapter

First of all the device that you want to join to your wireless network, must have a wireless capability.

Even the least expensive of new laptops these days, like the good value Acer Extensa 4420-05058Ci Notebook will have a wireless capability already built in. For older laptops and desktop computers, which don’t have a built in wireless then you need to purchase a separate wireless adapter. I would recommend something like the Netgear WG111 Wireless Network Adapter which is simple to install, just plug into an available USB port.

For some old laptops with few USB ports a CardBus based adapter like the Belkin F5D7010uk Wireless G Notebook Card may be a better option. OK, so now we have the ability to connect to a wireless network. In another post we will look at the wireless access points you will need to create your wireless network.

Apple’s much anticipated new version of its operating system, Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard has recently been released. This of course kept the Mac faithful happy, but is it any good?

The arrival of the newest version of an operating system, or any new version of a popular project, is always something that will create a lot of discussion and interest, often generated by significant hype prior to its arrival. When the much anticipated day of release finally comes there is often a feeling of deflation, of anti-climax, of there being something missing, or … well perhaps that is just me. Sometimes the new arrival lives up to its billing and sometimes it falls short on expected functionality. On this occasion though Leopard has stepped up to the mark.

One of the most obvious changes in a new version of an operating system is often the look and feel, and Leopard is no exception. In this case delivered through some minor visual tweaks to the interface, like a much needed clean up of the window appearance and a new look dock, which are then complimented by some interesting visual functionality like Cover Flow the well known navigation tool for your iTunes music collection which makes it as an additional navigational tool within Finder, allowing you to flip through the contents of your disks with ease. The album art from iTunes being replaced by an image of the first page of any document being looked at. There some valuable new applications too, not least the new backup tool called Time Machine that is easy to use and looks great.

You can find Leopard here and there is also a family version available which would be good value for money if you have a family of Macs. If you are like me and a rely on a clapped out laptop for your computing needs I suggest you also have a look at the fabulous MacBook or MacBook Pro. Unfortunately in my case I will be just looking for now.