This is my first posting from my new Apple MacBook and I have to say that I love it. I opted for the 13.3″ 2.0 GHz model simply because I didn’t want to spend a huge amount of money on a machine that I might not like. Happily I can say that hasn’t happened and I am becoming used to using the Apple MacBook.

There are certain things that I miss from the PC to be fair, like right clicking but it can be turned on in the settings. The multi touch gestures more than make up for that though. Moving the mouse with one finger is simplicity in itself, but being able to scroll simply by using two fingers is fantastic. Actually typing on the Apple MacBook feels much more comfortable than on my PC laptop.

Another feature I like is the MagSafe power connector on the Apple MacBook. It’s easy enough to forget you’re connected to the power supply sometimes, but there’s no need to worry about damaging the cable or power socket with the MagSafe. You see it’s magnetic and comes away from the Apple MacBook easily yet it’s strong enough to stay in place too.

Being able to press a button on the side of the Apple MacBook to see how much battery you have left is also easy and convenient. Everything about the Apple MacBook is convenient to be honest. It just worked straight out of the box. Things are really intuitive on the Apple MacBook too, but I can’t see me ditching the PC laptop entirely just yet though. There are things on the PC that I still use daily to do my university work. I’m sure I’ll transfer these over to the Apple MacBook as soon as I figure out all the different applications that are available.

I’m really glad that I took the plunge in getting an Apple MacBook now, simply because of the ease of use and great apps that are available for it. If you’re planning on getting a new computer soon maybe it’s time you took a look at the Apple range of computers.

They say that your average computer keyboard has more germs than your toilet, which is a pretty hefty claim. But it’s a claim than can be justified if you think about it. Not everyone washes their hands after visiting the smallest room in the house (or workplace). We shed skin cells constantly, lose our hair and quite a few people eat and drink at the computer too.

There’s no wonder about that claim is there now you think about it. But you need fear no more! The Washable Keyboard is here at last! I think this is one of the best gadgets I’ve seen in a while. I’ve spent a whole day taking a traditional keyboard apart to clean it, and it’s not a fun job at all. So the Washable Keyboard is a Godsend.

The Washable Keyboard is completely waterproof; actually it’s dishwasher safe too! It’s simply amazing. The Washable Keyboard is completely plug and play too so it will work with almost any computer. Because the keys are laser etched you don’t need to worry about the letters fading as you wash it.

But, unfortunately, you won’t find this beauty on PriceGrabber just yet because it’s so new. I thought it would be good to bring it to your attention none the less. Remember where you read about it!!

When I was a child I always wanted a microscope. I never did get one though. Maybe I will now that I’ve come across the Veho VMS-001 USB Microscope. I remember as a child having a fascination with seeing things really close up. When I got to do biology in school I had grown out of it and was more interested in physics and chemistry.

But as the years have passed by I’ve gone full circle and come back to wanting to know about things in detail. Maybe this is because of the work I’m now doing with Special Effects where attention to detail is very important. I may write a blog post on my degree if anyone is interested in that; let me know.

So the Veho VMS-001 USB Microscope is great if you want to see what a flake of skin looks like in close up, or even what blood looks like. I’m not one for looking at blood at the best of times, but close up it’s totally different (I usually get nauseous if I see blood and have to sit down). Being able to connect the microscope up to a PC via USB is a great advancement over peering down a tiny hole. I think that may have put me off Biology to be honest. It’s either that or having to dissect a sheep’s eye and a pig’s heart.

The Veho VMS-001 USB Microscope is an excellent gift for anyone who has a keen interest in the things around them. Whether it is alive or dead, you’ll be thankful you had a Veho VMS-001 USB Microscope to look at it close up. Having a microscope will give the user a better understanding of how things work and costing just £35 you can’t really go wrong.

As 2008 draws to a close I’m going to take time out to look back at some of the best gadgets that the year had to give us. Without a doubt it was the year of the iPhone. The Smartphone from Apple was the most talked about device in 2008. I wonder what Apple have in store for us in 2009? We’ll find out soon enough because Macworld is just around the corner (I expect updates to the Mac Mini and the iMac range). There were other great gadgets in 2008 too, so let us take a look back.

Apple iPhone.
The must have gadget that had everyone talking. Apple introduced touch screen technology to the masses with the innovative iPhone. With it came the mobile iTunes and App stores. Access to thousands of albums and applications were a finger tap away. No doubt Apple has changed people’s expectations of what a mobile device should be.

Twitter
Not a gadget, but a micro-blogging and social networking website. Twitter really took off in 2008 allowing people to blog about what they were doing in 140 characters. Why 140? It’s to do with the amount of character that can fit in a single SMS message. It’s even got the starts twittering. Look out for Stephen Fry, Robert Llewelyn and John Cleese.

Netbooks.
Maybe one of the more surprising gadgets of 2008 were the netbooks that appeared. Sure they were around at the back end of 2007, but these nifty portable and small computers could be carried anywhere without much bother. Their ultra cheap price made sure that they would be popular with people wanting internet access wherever they were.

Blu-Ray.
The battle between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray finally came to an end with Blu-Ray becoming the champion. But will it be a success? There are already services that allow us to download high definition movies straight to our computers bypassing the need for a disc all together. Is it too late for Blu-Ray to even get off the ground?

There were many innovations during 2008 and I look forward to seeing what the big technology companies have to offer us in 2009. Thinner LCD TV’s will be big I think as well as the Nokia N97 (A possible rival to both the iPhone and G1).

My favourite gadget of 2008 has to be the iPod touch that I got. It’s been absolutely everywhere with me. A truly great gadget. I have nothing more to say to you this year. We’ll start the year off with a look at some exciting upcoming gadgets. Until then, I wish you all a Happy New Year!

I know I said I was going to write about some great sales items today, but I saw this and just had to give it a mention here. The Acer Aspire One is a great little gadget to have. With an 8.9-inch Widescreen, the Acer Aspire One notebook is an ideal solution for portable, on the go, internet browsing.

Featuring the Linpus Linux Lite Version operating system and an Intel Atom 1.60 GHz Processor, the Acer Aspire One is not a lightweight machine by a long shot. It also has a range of other great specs:

• 512 MB onboard SDRAM - upgradeable to a maximum of 1.5Gb
• Intel 945GME Express integrated graphics
• 8Gb SSD HDD
• 5 in 1 card reader
• High Definition Audio
• Integrated Webcam
• WiFi

I bought a laptop a few months back, but would seriously consider getting one of the Acer Aspire One notebooks, simply because of the portability. Recently I had to go to Bolton on the train and decided to take the laptop with me. I wish I hadn’t bothered to be honest. The amount of trouble we had with the trains was unbelievable and getting any work done was nigh on impossible. An Acer Aspire One notebook would have been a much better option because of its small, portable size; it measures 24.9 x 17 x 2.9 cm. Not only is it small and portable, it also boasts a good range of expansion possibilities with its 3 high speed USB ports.

At under £200, you have to seriously consider getting an Acer Aspire One if only for using whilst travelling.

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.

Some of you might be aware that Apple are hosting a special event today (Tuesday) at their Cupertino headquarters in California. The purpose of the even it to show off the new redesigned MacBook and MacBook Pro.

No doubt there will be other surprises too during the event. Apple are great at creating a buzz about their new products by giving away very little about these special events. Sure, there are people out there who have a guess as to what will be unveiled on the day, but Steve Jobs and the gang really know how to work the rumour mill.

I am hoping that they will reveal more than just a redesign though. I would like to see the MacBook and MacBook Pro ranges being offered cheaper to us, the consumers. It would also be great news if Apple were to introduce faster models too.
I would love to be present at an Apple event some day. Whenever I hear that there’s going to be a special event, I always make sure to make a note of it in my planner and diary, in triplicate. I am also wondering if they will be announcing any upgrades to their MacBook Air, the thinnest laptop available. It is definitely exciting times.

We can but wait to see what will goodies the guys over at Apple have for us. Be sure to come back tomorrow to read about what exactly happened at the event.

Obviously, PriceGrabber have MacBooks and MacBook Pros available for you to buy at great prices, so why not go and have a look?

I made the plunge on Friday and ordered a new laptop for myself. The one I went for was a Hewlett Packard 6735s and chose to have it delivered yesterday (Saturday). The laptop I had previously had decided to stop working properly and no matter what I tried it simply wouldn’t charge at all. This is very infuriating when you need your laptop to work on a daily basis in different locations. I simply couldn’t do without one because I’m usually to be found at 3 different places around the UK. Being able to work on a given project at any one time is essential for me.

The old laptop had served me well for close enough to four years when it finally decided to head up to laptop heaven. So it wasn’t a difficult decision to make to get a new one.

The Hewlett Packard 6735s that I got has quite a few improvements over the old laptop. It has 4Gb of memory, 250Gb of hard disk space, built-in Webcam, LightScribe DVD Re-Writer and Bluetooth connectivity. Quite an impressive list in my opinion. It won’t surprise you to know that I am writing this blog with the Hewlett Packard 6735s laptop.

The keys have a wonderful feel to them when writing and the touchpad is very responsive. The buttons on the touchpad are a bit of a let down though, as they feel a bit old fashioned to us. They seem to pivot rather that press if that makes any sense. Battery life is excellent too with up to four and a half hours of useage. It does, as most laptops do these days, come with WiFi connectivity too, and it’s what I use most to access the network and internet at home.

I did forget to order a bag for the laptop though, so tomorrow I’ll be on the hunt for one of those. I’m not looking for your traditional carry case though, I want something that’s a bit funky.

There are a selection of Hewlett Packard 6735s laptops available on PriceGrabber if you fancy getting yourself a new one. Not too pricey either.

The Eco Button is one of those gadgets that you never knew existed. It’s a simple way of helping you save energy, and better still, save money. And we all want to save money these days with the credit crunch.

The Eco Button is simple to install and use too, all you have to do is plug it in to an available USB port, download the software and you’re ready to go. It is a clever gadget too. The Eco Button will make sure that your computer only uses the power it needs, which can be as little as 1.8 watts. That’s pretty amazing. It does that by intelligently closing down functions that don’t need to be running.

Costing under £15.00, the Eco Button is really a gadget that people who normally put their machines into stand-by mode often really do need. For your initial investment the Eco Button can save you up to £50 a year. It’ll pay for itself in the first year.

The Eco Button will work on any PC with a free USB port, a minimum of 256Kb of memory, and 5Mb of free disk space.

Efficient, green and a money saver - you can’t go wrong. Get yours now.

On Friday, Nintendo’s new exercise based game, Wii Fit, was released in the UK and they have been flying off the shelves over the course of the weekend. For a game that is not even really targeted at the gamer it may come as a bit of a shock that sales are through the roof but what is even more surprising to me is that us, “Europes Fattest Nation”, seems to have taken to Wii Fit more than any other nation. Why? Maybe we have finally gotten sick of topping every “Europes Worst” list that has been created and decided to do something about it but it’s most probably down to that Nintendo have given us the option of getting ourselves fitter without having to leave the house. Which is great! I mean, going jogging outside isn’t everyones cup of tea, especially in this country where the majority of the time it is either freezing or raining and all these fancy health clubs we have are quite expensive.

With Wii Fit, you have it sitting in your living room or bedroom and you can exercise anytime you want, before work, after work, before bed, hell, you can do it all day if you wanted to and you won’t ever see a bill from a monthly subscription health club or pay for yoga classes or whatever. So what is the point i am trying make with all this rambling then? I guess what i am trying to say is, Wii Fit is so in demand in the UK because we all want to get fit but we are too lazy to go out and do it and Wii Fit is the lazy way to get fit that we have been looking for. If that doesn’t appeal to you then nothing will.

You can find out more on Wii Fit by reading our Mario Kart And Wii Fit post and our Wii Fit Update post or if you’ve heard enough and want to try it out for yourself, Wii Fit is available to purchase here.