Recently I was looking to buy a new printer; actually I’m still looking, but I think I may have found the one. The Brother DCP-6690CW ticks most of the boxes for me. It is one of the most feature packed multi-function printers I have seen in a while.

The Brother DCP-6690CW prints at a maximum size of A3, which is great for me because of Uni design concepts and such, but not so great in terms of desk space. It is quite frankly a monster of a machine. It has a footprint of 540mm x 488mm, which is about twice the size of my current A4 laser printer. Obviously, when I get the Brother DCP-6690CW it will replace the current setup of a monochrome laser printer, colour inkjet printer and a scanner. Well, that’s my excuse anyhow. The colour inkjet will probably be located somewhere because it has a CD/DVD printing facility.

The thing that grabs me about the Brother DCP-6690CW is not the 4.2in touch screen LCD, or the huge array of memory card slots, or quite frankly the PictBridge compatibility. No, the one selling point that really caught my eye was the fact that it’s wireless. Having just bought a laptop that connects wirelessly to the home network, I don’t want to have to tether it up to a printer when I want to print.

It’s not a bad price for a multi-function device either, with the best price on PriceGrabber at the moment being £231.09.
I know that this is going to be my next big purchase because it’s something that will help me with my studies. I also know that I won’t have to replace the Brother DCP-6690CW for a very long time.

Tomorrow night will be the night when all the ghouls and ghosts, vampires and witches all come out to play. Children all over the country will be going out trick or treating from door to door. Many adults will have fancy dress parties to go to also.
Now I personally never went out trick or treating as a child, or for that matter have I been to a fancy dress party, simply because I didn’t like the idea of it.

My opinion these days is that it has become too commercialised and is all about making money out of parents. Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Bonfire Knight… And of course, a fairly new one is Grandparents Day… these are all about the card companies making money.

Anyway, that’s enough of my personal opinions about that matter, this post is about Halloween. I do hope that you have everything you need to go out tomorrow and if not, why not? Every good trick or treater should have a carved pumpkin remember!

But what if you’re not going out to trick or treat or to a fancy dress party? You can always buy a scary movie to watch at home and PriceGrabber have a large collection of these wonderful films to delight you. You can buy a halloween movie and have a scary night in front of the fire, out of the cold. That sounds like a much better idea to me than venturing out in this dreadful weather that we’ve been having.

So have a look at the halloween films that PriceGrabber have on offer, buy a bottle of your favourite drink and enjoy a nice night in.

Who remembers Henry? I bet a lot of you do. I think that most places I have worked in over the years have had a Henry Vacuum cleaner. They’re such good cleaners too, although I always found them to be a bit on the noisy side. We even had one in the cafe that my mother owned.

Well now you can relive those memories and keep your desk tidy at the same time with this Henry Desktop Vacuum cleaner. Once you’ve installed 2 AA batteries into Henry, you’ll be ready to tackle even the dirtiest of desks. OK, it’s not going to be any good at doing the carpet around your feet, but the Henry Desktop Vacuum cleaner will help you get rid of those biscuit crumbs and fluff.

Henry would make a great addition to any office and he would definitely bring a smile to even the hardened of employer. The Henry Desktop Vacuum cleaner is hardly going to break the bank either at a mere £9.95. Give it to the office worker in your life as a gift now, or save it up for their Christmas stocking. They’ll be grateful of this gift anytime of year.

And remember, there’s no time like the presence to start collecting those little stocking filler gifts! Not long until Christmas now!!

Today was a bit of a weird day here in Wales. Well, it was in my part of Wales. It has been bitterly cold and wet here for a few days now, but earlier on this afternoon the snow began to fall. Can you believe it… snow in October! I’ve never known anything like it in my life.

I did take a photograph of the snowy mountains that are close to my home to show you guys. It wasn’t just a little bit of snow that dissappeared as soon as it hit the ground either. There was plenty of it and actually, there is still pleanty of it. I’m quite sure it is still coming down.

You can see quite clearly that the mountains and rooftops have a good layer of snow upon them. If you notice on the rooftops there is one house with a light on in the attic and to me that looks kind of warm and inviting where all the other houses look cold. Now, I took this picture with my Nokia N95 Mobile which has a 5 MegaPixel camera in it and as you can see, it takes pretty good pictures. But, having said that, my contract comes up for renewal in March and I am getting an iPhone 3G hopefully. I am still deciding on the costing on that one.

So the cold weather is finally upon us and I will be getting a new hat and scarf soon. PriceGrabber has some nice woolen hats you can choose from, and they’re reasonably priced, which is always a bonus.

It is a right pain when your lamp refuses to work whilst you are trying to write a report on your laptop. Sure, there is no problem when you do it at a desk or in the daylight. But recently I have been using my laptop in bed to do my write ups. Last night whilst I was writing the gottahave blog, my lamp stopped working. The bulb is fine; it’s the actual lamp that’s gone. So I decided on getting a USB Computer Lamp.

A USB Computer Lamp would be practical for me to have whilst writing things in bed and much more economical than having the big light on all the time. So, saving a bit of energy and reducing my carbon footprint ever so slightly. I decided to go with nice red one from John Lewis as it only cost £10 with free delivery.

The USB Computer Light is handy because it plugs into any spare USB socket that you have and draws all its power needs from there too. No separate power supply needed. I has a couple of bright LED bulbs at the top of it’s bendy neck which give more than enough light to allow you to see what you are writing without having to strain your eyes. And because the neck is bendy you can point it anywhere you like, which is great for getting the light exactly where you want it to be.

I hope mine arrives soon; it’s difficult to write by the light of the screen alone.

As part of my Uni course I have to design things is a 3D environment. The program that we use is Blender 3D and it relies heavily on using the keypad to change viewing angles. Obviously all desktop PC keyboards have these as standard, but laptops are lacking. So I’ve had to get my hands on one of these; a Belkin USB Numeric Keypad.

Having the Belkin USB Keypad means that I can do my 3D design work anywhere as long as I have power. There’s not much to say about this nifty little gadget really, after all it is a keypad. The keypad doesn’t need any drivers installed either, you just plug it in and it is ready to work straight away. The thing I like about the Belkin USB Numeric Keypad is how it’s weight. It feels like a sturdy piece of kit that isn’t going to break if you drop it. This is a good thing if you’re going to be taking your laptop back and forth between different locations. You need to know that any additional gadgets you have to help you with your work are going to be up to the job.

I paid less than £15 for my Belkin USB Numeric Keypad, and I thought it was a bargain. I’m always on the hunt for a good bargain to be honest what with me being a poor student. My workflow has increased since I got this keypad though, and if you’re struggling to cope without one you should seriously consider getting one.

Now I know that the North Face Messenger Bag isn’t a gadget as such, but it does help to protect my gadgets. Well, it will do when it arrives. You see, I wanted a bag that I could use everyday and was tough. The North Face Messenger Bag ticks both of those boxes, and then some. For starters it is large enough for me to fit my A3 sketchpad and laptop in to it, as well as pockets for smaller items such as a pencil case and iPod. The dimensions, if you really want to know are 38 cm x 45 cm x 13 cm. This gives the North Face Messenger Bag a 25 litre volume.

The one pictured above cost just under £45. Now I know that seems very expensive for a bag, but you’re paying for quality here. I know that in a few months time, the North Face Messenger Bag will still be in one piece. The North Face are renowned the world over for the quality of their merchandise, which is why I have faith that this bag will become a vital part of my everyday travels.

I have a rucksack at the moment, and whilst it does a fairly good job of carrying my folder and notepad, there simply isn’t any room for much else. With the winter and cold weather on the way I’ll need a tough, waterproof bag. So getting the North Face Messenger Bag is more of an investment for my needs rather than a want. I could quite easily spend £20 on a bag, but I wouldn’t be getting the quality and durability of the North Face Messenger Bag.

Folks, a good bag is essential for anyone who does a lot of travelling on a daily basis, so why not get a bag that’s going to last a good few years?

Let me introduce the newest addition to my portable drives collection. Well, it will be when it arrives later on today. I decided to invest in a 320Gb Western Digital Passport Drive for one simple reason: I needed one. I know that I’ve just purchased a new laptop, but getting a portable drive was important to me too. It means that I will be able to keep all my Uni work separate to everything else.

I have used Western Digital Passport drives in the past and found them to be really sturdy and reliable. I used to keep the 80Gb one I had in the bottom of a rucksack and it would always work well for me. I am of course a lot more caring of my gadgets these days.

The thing I like about the Western Digital Passport is that it just works. You just plug it in and you’re away. No software to install or anything. It’s always a bonus when you don’t have to carry around CDs with drivers for your hardware around.
320Gb might not seem like a lot of space, but it’s sufficient for what I need the drive. I also have a 500Gb external Hard Drive that I use for my websites and storage. My entire iTunes library is on the 500Gb drive for some reason.

If you’re currently looking for an external storage solution you can’t really go wrong with a Western Digital Passport drive. Every time I’ve had one they’ve been reliable, unlike some others I’ve had. They are also extremely quiet drives. I can’t recommend Western Digital drives enough really, and they do come in a range of colours, although I’ve gone for standard black.

You should get one of these drives if you plan on moving files around a lot. Heck, you should get one anyway and use it as a backup device. There’s nothing worse than a computer or laptop failing on you and all your data is inaccessible. Better safe than sorry. My desktop PC decided to stop booting up just the other day, so access to my email has stopped until I sort it out.

The Flip Digital Camcorder has been around for a while now, but it is a good time to revisit this cool little gadget. As I keep saying, Christmas is around the corner and the kids will all want Santa to bring them gifts because they will have been good this year. What a great gift a Flip would make.

So what exactly is a Flip Camcorder? Well, it is, if not the, world’s easiest to use camcorders. They are simple and sturdily built for one thing; making movies. Your two year old child could use the Flip camcorder, it is that easy. Press the button that says “on” and then press the big button that says “start” and you are filming. There’s nothing to it.

You can film anything you want with the Flip; your children’s birthdays, holidays, weddings and, if you fancy it, you can even try your hand at re-creating your favourite movie. They do work in low light levels, which is good for filming in darker locations. With the 2Gb of on board memory, you will be able to shoot 60 minutes worth of MPG4 video before having to transfer it to your PC or Mac. There is also no need to worry about keeping things in focus because the Flip Camcorder does it all for you.

But what I really like about the Flip Camcorder is that there are no cables and, no software CDs that you have to install before you can use it. Once you are done filming and want to transfer your footage to your computer, you just flip up the USB connector and plug it straight in to a USB port. Because all the necessary software is built in to the Flip Camcorder you can be viewing your captured moments in a matter of seconds. Now that’s impressive!

And because the footage is digital, you can upload it straight away to your favourite video hosting site.
The Flip Camcorder has really taken off in America, and it soon will here, so why not get your hands on this little gadget now before it becomes too popular. We all know the trouble people have been having trying to get a Nintendo Wii for their kids at Christmas for the last few years don’t we. Now is the time to act if you want to avoid that.

Today was the day that Apple revealed their line up of new notebooks. I have to say that I was highly impressed with the new features that they have introduced, but disappointed on the whole with the actual event. It didn’t make me want to get my credit card out and max it to the limit.

So, they introduced four new items earlier on today, as it says in the title; new MacBooks, New MacBook Pro, New MacBook Air and a new 24″ Cinema display.

The cinema display has a really cool feature in the form of an extra cable. But this is no ordinary cable, oh no, it has three plugs on the end; a MagSafe connector, a USB cable and a Mini DisplayPort connector. These allow you to use the new MacBooks with the new display. When you’ve hooked your MacBook up to the new display you will be able to power it directly from the cinema display. How cool is that.

The event seemed to focus more on the way that Apple have gone about engineering their new MacBooks from a single slab of aluminium to help them reduce weight and create more strength, and I have to say, the video they showed during the event was interesting. They were also showing that Apple as a company were seriously commited to reducing their carbon footprint as well as making these the greenest MacBooks ever.

No matter how you feel about Apple and Steve Jobs, you’ve got to admire them for creating such great hype about their new products. Twitter has been a frenzy of Apple activity for most of the day.
I can’t wait to get my hands on one of the new MacBooks so that I can write a review of it here for you guys. Alternatively, if someone wants to donate one, I’d be more than willing to take it from your hands.

As always, PriceGrabber has a huge range of Apple MacBook products available on their website. So your first port of call should be there.