So if you have not heard of Google then there is a good chance you have either just returned from a long trip to Mars or you are my Gran.  Actually I think even my Gran has heard of Google.  So if you haven’t heard of Google, welcome home, I hope you enjoyed your trip.  But it used to be that when we said Google we knew what we meant, these days are we talking about a search engine, office application, email, maps, who knows?  Most of the techies have a good grasp on what is available from Google but what about the rest of us?  Well one of the things the rest of us can miss out on is one of Google's most basic, but brilliant offerings and they call it iGoogle.  No it’s not a Google sponsored personal music player but simply a better home page.  If the page that shows first when you open your browser is similar to this one then read on.  iGoogle allows you to setup a page with some simple add-ons, that range from news headlines through to games. Once you have clicked on the iGoogle link at the top right of the screen, you can set up an account and start adding your favourite widgets.  So it is easy, but is it worth it?  perhaps the best way to describe the benefit might be to explain how I use iGoogle.

Google is all about searching so naturally the search box appears at the top of any page you set up, but it’s what follows on from there that makes this an invaluable tool to me.  Toodledo is the next widget on my page.  This is the place I hold all my GTD actions or to-do lists.  I can add tasks, review existing ones and perhaps most satisfyingly check off that they are complete, all from my home page without ever going to the website.  If you not into Toodledo there are also widgets for Remember The Milk and a number of other to-do list but Toodledo is my favourite.  Google Reader is the next on my list of widgets.  A place where I can subscribe to all those blogs I read.  However I very rarely go into Google Reader itself because the majority of my blog reading happens here at the iGoogle page using this widget.  The widget sorts the news for me on the most recent articles and they are simply marked as read and disappear once I have read them.  BeTwittered is next and it is my Twitter client.  Once again I very rarely actually go to the Twitter website, I simply follow my favourite people here and even use it to post to Twitter as well.   Having never been one for buying papers, and also not particular enjoying TV the BBC News is one of my few resources that I have for current affairs.  I could look at this site through my Google Reader, but allowing it to have it’s own space on the page means I spot more news stories that I have an interest in.  Yet another Google product Google Calendar displays my calendar for the day and week ahead.  Finally the increasing popular Evernote shows my recent notes that I have posted to Evernote.  All this is at my figure tips the moment I start my browser.  The techies don’t have the monopoly on time saving tips, iGoogle allows the rest of us to do it as well.  Hey Gran let me show you iGoogle.

Have you noticed how some Mac users have this smug look on their face when the subject in any conversation turns to virus protection?  Fuelled by the ‘I’m A  Mac’ ads they seem to believe they are immune to any virus that happens across their system.  To a point what they believe is true, but lets explore why that may be changing.  If you picture a spotty teenager hammering away a keyboard in a darkly lit bedroom when you think of virus programmer then let me update you. 

Have you heard how bad Windows Vista is? Apparently it's dog slow and nothing works on it. Not only that but I think it's also responsible for global warming and world poverty. Well that's what you could be made to believe if you listened to what some people have to say about Vista. Vista is Microsoft's current operating system, that's the software that actually makes your PC work to start with. Previous operating systems were Windows XP, Windows 98 and Windows 95, not to forget the original Windows itself. OK so now we understand that Vista is the newest Microsoft operating system and the world seem to hate it, but what's the truth for the rest of us? Should we upgrade or not?

So it happened the second coming is here. No don't panic you didn't miss the end of the world as we know it, but on Friday 11th June 2008 the all new, all singing all dancing Apple iPhone appeared across the world, riding on a cloud of insane publicity and hype. Apple is well known for being able to create hype around their product launches but did the iPhone 3G deserve the adulation?