Andy chats about the latest technology and interesting websites each week with Nerissa Pace on the "Talking back the night" radio show, heard across Australia.

 
Top 3 Websites - Your Health!

I'm in isolation with Chicken Pox this week, so I thought i'd highlight a few places you can visit online where you'll find good information on Health matters.

http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/
This is a Government funded and run site that offers easy access to health information, from everyday needs such as diet to events like having a baby. You'll also find infomation on specific dieases.

http://www.mydr.com.au
This is a commercial Australian health resource website, however the company that runs it assures readers that the information found on the site is not influenced by its advertisers.

What I like about this site is not only the amount of good information, but the way that they've made it easy to navigate by spliting everything into information centres.

http://www.abc.net.au/health/
As this Health website is run by the ABC, not only is there a wealth of searchable info on the site, but you can also watch video and listen to audio from radio programs on various topics.

(Although we'd prefer if you listened to Kym's show, which isn't on the ABC)

Feature Chat - Buying a Printer

I've recently been printer shopping, so I thought this would be a good time to chat about some of the potential traps when buying this technology.

For the information of people wanting to print at home, I'm just going to talk about InkJet printers...Laser printers can be good, but they are more expensive to buy and run, and are best suited for professional use.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is 'what am i going to print'? Is it just documents...just photos....or both. If it's just photos then you can look at printers that are built specifically for this purpose...such as the mini-inkjet printers that only print 4x6inch colour photos.

Also if you already have a collection of photos that you'd like to put on your computer, and don't already own a scanner, a good solution is an 'all in one' device that can scan photos and documents, and take care of your printing needs.

Ok...now say you've actually found a printer that you like the look of and that will fulfil your needs, you know how much it costs...but what they don't tell you when you buy printers is how much the ink will cost!

This is a very important figure to investigate as quite often the price of an inexpensive printer is offset by the ridiculous print of the ink cartridges. For example one of the earlier printers I bought only cost 60 dollars, but so did each ink cartridge! You'll also find that when you buy a printer, you won't always get a set of full ink cartriges with them, rather a set of demonstration cartridges that will let you print a few pages or photos.

The good news on this front is that a few manufacturers have developed printers that actually use less ink! Earlier this year both HP and Kodak released new products that use ink more efficiantly...so the same amount of ink makes more prints!

Kodak, who are better known for cameras, film and paper released an all-in-one printer they they say can print 32 4x6 photos for every 5 dollars spent on ink, compared to similar competing products which could produce just 11 photos for the same amount of ink.

The main thing when you go to buy a printer is to ask questions and don't let a sales person push you towars a certain model just because it's on special...like I said you might be caught out by ink costs. Also, some people have saved money by re-filling ink cartridges, which can be done with certain models, however I'm concerned about getting good quality ink so my prints last...so I tend to stick with the cartriges from the manufacturers.

More next week...thanks to AVG Anti-Virus and Internet Security. AVG is tough on threats - easy on you! Buy AVG Internet Security Home edition covering 3 computers for two years for just $123.25 at avg.com.au

 
Top 3 Websites – Bargain hunting for Christmas presents!

http://www.ebay.com.au/
A common misconception is that ebay is simply full of second hand products, but once you start searching, you'll find many new products that are up for auction as they are surplus stock...or simply unwanted gifts.

http://www.oo.com.au/
This website has been around for a while now, but has only really just started gaining a large following. While they have a variety of products on offer, the nature of this site means that the bargains change on a regular basis, so it's one to bookmark and come back to.

http://www.evoucher.com.au/
Now if you're buying for someone else, making the right choice can be tricky...and the good old gift voucher comes to the rescue...only this time it's an electronic gift voucher from the evoucher website.Gift vouchers can be bought for a number of large retailers, so you can be pretty sure that the recipent will find something they like.

Feature Chat – Gadget gift ideas for Christmas 2007
Note: All of the products mentioned below have been personally selected by me. There is no commercial arrangement to promote any product as part of my weekly chat on the Talking back the night show.

Starting small – Digital Photo frame (from $29.95)

I've been eyeing off digital photo frames for a few years now, but they've always been ridiculously expensive at hundreds of dollars for even the smallest frame.

Now you can get digital photo frames that are small enough to fit on a keychain with prices starting from under $30 dollars. http://www.lakopacific.com/page/Category/Digital_Photo_Frames_Kaiser_Baas/1_5-inch_Kaiser_Baas_Digital_Photo_Key_Ring_Chain_White/


For the iPod owner who has every other accessory – The Pod Rocker inflatable chair ($59.95)

The Pod Rocker is an inflatable chair with built in speakers to you can hook up your iPod and sit back and relax to the music...you may need to relax after blowing up the chair! http://www.coolthings.com.au/

For the traveller – Navman S50 ($499)
While entry level GPS navigation devices can be found for under 400 dollars, for a little bit more, you end up with a device with a few extra bells and whistles.A good example is the new Navman S50 GPS device that has a built in digital camera. Use the camera to take a photo and the S50 stores the GPS location of where you took that photo...just in case you want to get back to the same spot again you can use the picture to guide you. http://www.navman.com.au/

The ultimate in entertainment – Playstation 3 (from $699)
As far as home entertainment goes, I'm a big fan of the playstation 3. Of course it's more than just a video games console, playing DVD and High Definition Blu Ray movies, music and allowing you to store and view photos.

What's really exciting is that next year Sony are releasing a TV Tuner accessory for the Playstation 3 so you can use the system to record shows from free to air TV onto the existing hard drive. http://www.playstation.com.au/

For the ultimate gadget lover – The iPod Touch (from $419)
I've always been a big fan of Apple's iPod portable multimedia player, but I think they're really outdone themselves with the iPod Touch.This is one device that's for the ultimate gadget lover...It's stores and plays up to 16gigabytes of music, video and photos...plus has built in Wi-Fi so you can hook up to a wireless network and surf the web with a nice array of online tools built in.Unlike other iPod devices, the iPod touch is totally driven by a touch screen...and from the second you turn it on it's real conversation piece. www.apple.com.au/ipod

 

 
Top 3 websites

http://www.cashto.net/
Basically you enter in how much you get paid...per hour, per wee, per month or annually...Leave this up on the screen while your hard at work...or slacking off and you can watch how much you're earning as every second ticks by on the clock.

http://www.nocussing.com
How are you with bad language...do you even know when you're using it?Based in the U.S, The No Cussing Club is a community of people who have accepted the challenge to make everthing they say G Rated! Suprisingly the club was started up by a 14 year old boy who was discusted with how his schoolfriends were talking.

http://www.nowwearetalking.com.au/election2007/
The Now We are talking website is mainly a community site where people can discuss telecommunications issues with a handful of Blogs with expert opinions on the current trends and technology culture...so this Election 2007 section focuses on policies surrounding telecommunications.

Feature - Your Technology starguide

If you check your daily horoscope to plan your day you may enjoy this...I've put together a starguide this week that focuses purely on the high-tech part of our lives.

ARIES
If you're having trouble getting your computer to switch on...check that the power point swtich is on before calling for help.l

TAURUS
Think twice before accepting an illegal copy of a computer program...sometimes they can do more damage than good.

GEMINI
An important thing to remember...Just because you went out and bought a Mac computer, it doesn't mean all your friends who own PCs made the wrong choice.

CANCER
If everyone is staring at you while you're listening to your iPod, chances are your music is turned up a bit too loud...or they don't appreciate you singing along to the music.

LEO
Computer running slow? Try uninstalling all the programs you don't use and deleting files you don't need.

VIRGO
You will recieve an email from a mysterious stranger today...reach for the delete key as it's nothing more than spam.

LIBRA
Forget what your friends may tell you. Bill Gates will never send anyone money for simply forwarding on a chain email message.

SCORPIO
If your computer mouse still has a rubber ball inside it...step out of the 90's and get yourself an optical mouse. .Wiping out the frustration makes it a worthwhile investment.

SAGITTARIUS
Be wary of buying a new computer on impulse when you're out an about...go home and do some research...and shop around. You'll get what you need and save hundreds of dollars.

CAPRICORN
Stop blaming your computer for your poor user skills...don't be too proud to have someone walk you through the basics and show you what you're doing wrong.

AQUARIUS
Avoid buying computer softare, games and gadgets from ebay sellers based in Malaysia, China or Asia in general...you may not be getting exactly what you're paying for...plus the instructions may not be in english.

PISCES
Share something you've learned to do on your computer with a friend, but try not brag about your new found trick

....and that's your special technology starguide for today, Tuesday November 6 - 2007....all thanks to AVG anti-virus and Internet Security. AVG is tough on threats, easy on users. Buy your two year license today at avg.com.au from just $63.95.