Hoorah, annabel is goign digital with the Nikon D200 and associated bits and bobs

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond200/

got a wii http://wii.com/

i shunned the xbox 360 for the innovative wireless controller thing which works surprisingly well. Although not as powerful a console in graphics/sound terms it is fairly low cost and the out of the box user experience is fantastic.

it should provide for a bit of fun around christmas..

check out some of the moves....

http://uk.wii.com/software/01/

well, here we go again, this one's even better than the last one.

One press to watch tv, watch dvd, pvr, play ps2, connect pc etc. and fits in one hand as well (so i guess can hold baby in other?).

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/detailsharmony/US/EN,CRID=2084,CONTENTID=8747

Highly recommended is the Logitech 688 Remote Control, configured via a website, usb connection to your pc.

Ok, i'm in denial. Before going baby shopping on Saturday i had to buy myself something nice so i could get through the day, and this was the result. Does surprisingly good 6*4 borderless prints for an inkjet, and has a decent scanner/copier on top as well as an LCD so you don't have to remember particular combinations of flashing lights when your printer tries to talk to you.

Well, the excitement is mounting as we finally come to terms with the looming house move. Thankfully, Annabel's mum and dad have kindly helped to get us a van and give us some nice stuff like a sofa as well as getting our fancy new hoover!

As proper mature responsible adults, we now have a subscription to "consumer online" at www.consumer.org.nz which provides with complete encyclopedic knowledge of all the important things in life, stuff.

Miele S571 Super Air Clean

Model Model Miele S571 Super Air Clean Origin Germany Price ($) $400 Price for 5 bags ($) $13    Ratings Overall score (%) 85 Carpet score (/10) 7.9 Hard floor score (/10) 9.7 Ease of use (/10) 8.2    Specifications Noise (dBA) 67 Reach (m) 9.6 Weight (kg) 7.9 Dust receptacle Bag    Features HEPA filter optional ($70) Variable power   Wand suction control   Crevice nozzle   Onboard tool storage   Power head   Turbo head optional Dusting brush   Upholstery tool   Cord retraction   Bag full indicator   Telescopic wand   Blower outlet

Good points Good carpet score using a standard head. Easy to manoeuvre. Good reach. But Strong suction makes it difficult to move over carpet. HEPA filter a $70 option.

Annabel broke her mobile and so i thought this was a great excuse to buy myself a new one AND look smashing by giving my wife my phone as a sacrificial offering, bingo!

I got the Sharp GX-25, recently come down in price a lot. Only really interested in quick snaps with the camera and mucking about with the games stuff.

I did however manage to get the 24 ring tone set up!http://www.ccir.ed.ac.uk/~jad/ringtone.html 

http://www.sharp-phone.com/products/model.php?countryid=1&modelcountryid=15

All of those who gave us Dick Smith Electronics vouchers for our wedding will be pleased to learn they have been wisely exchanged for a top of the range remote control.

Now this is not just any remote control. It has a fancy blue led light which makes you go "oooh" at night. It has programmable touch screen buttons which you can assign to any of your other 4/5/6 remote controls. And best of all you can program little "macros" to do a strong of up to 60 things when you press a button. So, for example, when you press tv then power it turns all of the devices on, then off. This is my favourite. You can also configure everything to be on satellite mode by pressing the sat then power buttons. This used to involve at least two remotes and a nightly mantra was then required to switch everything the tv and reciever into the proper "input mode". And the proof, well, annabel loves it. Despite her initial protestations, the ease of use combined with my cost benefit analysis have prooved too persuasive. over the course of our life together we'll have less arguments about where all the remotes are, and who was responsible for hiding them last time. "I always put them on the cushion, you just leave them wherever." etc. will spend more valuable time watching television, and not, ahem, trying to watch television We can impress easy to impress visitors keith gets to feel proud of yet another contribution to domesticated efficiency the blue lights are nice So thanks everyone for allowing us this luxury.

If i buy more expensive scales, maybe they'll be nice to me?

Just got the Tanita BC-532 Total Innerscan body fat "make the tea" bathroom scales. How long with this new obsession last folks? time to burn off 6 months over consumption of wonderful new zealand food;)

See the full spec here

Just got what looks to be (still waiting for the battery to charge up!) a great little digital camera in the Sony DSC-V3.

Full specs and review can be found at:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscv3/

The receiver i got is able to output 7:1 so check out Part One - The Receiver if you haven't already and want to take a look at it. The speaker system i also from Sony (in fact everything is!) and is their SAVS300 series. I couldn't really find any decent imagery of it in situ online so will be posting up some real pictures once it arrives (tomorrow!).

The big ones go at the front, the wee ones in the middle go at the back (there are 4 speakers, and you can split them in two to get 7:1 sound). The flat one is the centre speaker, which will sit under the plasma unit, and the fat one on the right is the subwoofer, which will bumble away in the corner of the room. The silver things on the right are stands for the wee ones in the middle.

View specifications

Part Three - The Vision (and video!)

Oh yes, the time has come to splodge out on a home theatre set up, at last...

First up is the receiver, the Sony STR-DE697B. It handles most of the grunt of the whole set up, dealing with all the dobly sounds (spinal tap fans?) and allowing muchos variety in terms of video input. I like the input on the front as well for me camcorder. Permantly hooked up to the receiver will be the new dvd player, ps2 and satellite, with output to the plasma tv. Full Spec. On to Part Two - The Sound or Part Three - The Vision (with video!).

Just got a lovely new 19" LCD Monitor. Well, i spend so much time in front of a damn computer i thought i better improve on the 4 year old 17" CRT i've been using. It has served me well and i've tucked it fondly into the corner of a storage cupboard, wiping a tear away as i closed the door shut...

The Philips 190B. i've got the black one by the way.

What a nice phone. Comes with software to synchronise your contacts and calendars with Outlook which sort of works (not as good as syncing with a pda however).

It's got a neat little camera and video embedded and is nice and easy to use. It looks good too. I had to use a mirror to get the front of it on the pic above as i don't have another camera handy;)

<rant>I want a phone with calendar, contacts and tasks that sync fully with Outlook. I don't want a smart phone or internet explorer, or WAP access or anything else, i just want my appointments and contacts exactly the same on my phone as on my PC. Is that too much to ask without being required to spend hundreds of pounds? A simpler device that focussed on key tasks rather than doing all things sort of well would be ideal for me and i suspect many others </rant>

My colleague just swapped me this lovely Compaq Ipaq 3760 for my TV and DVD Player, as i'll shortly be off to New Zealand. Priority number one will be ensuring i don't lose it like i've lost the last two!

Just bought a lovely new camcorder, the Canon MVX250i. A wild credit card purchase to cheer me up as i had to endure an afternoon of clothes shopping, not one of my favourite activities.

At the moment, i'm stuck pointing it at my fiance Annabel, screaming "Do something mad will you!" whilst she pulls her coat over her head and sighs. Money well spent in my book.

Read a full review of this camera