So that's why you're so dear then Lula. Seriously, if you're looking to buy a Mac there is a lot more to consider than sheer beauty. Any laptop would be adequate for your needs. Just keep an eye on all the deals, bearing in mind the info above. You now have my number so you can ring at any time.

It very much depends on what sort of online gaming you want to do. The vast majority don't need anywhere near as much power as the laptop you have described. I too have built high-end gaming PC's but this isn't what is being asked for here. I agree that if you can find a laptop with Windows XP then get that, unfortunately not many do. I don't have a Vista machine so I will go with Lula on the 2GB memory recommendation (I had a Vista laptop from work a while ago and it had 512mb memory - nowhere near enough) You really need to decide what you want it for. If you want it to be a portable computer to take to school for work, round friends houses to collaborate on homework (like they will do homework when together) etc you don't want a 17" display as the laptop size (and, correspondingly, weight) is based on the size of the screen. If you don't need portability at all then maybe you should consider a desktop as you have a lot more options with them, they are easily upgraded, and for what you get, cheaper.

There are a lot of factors that affect speed of a PC/laptop including: The processor - This the ultimate decider of speed for a computer but there isn't much difference between them now Memory - If you don't have enough for your operating system (Windows) then it will slow the system down. As regards durability, just look at it closely, is it made of fairly thin plastic or does it feel solidly built? etc. AMD and Intel are the two main processor brands. AMD stands for 'Advanced Micro Devices' but you don't need to know that. Macs are very good but if you are already used to Windows the I would suggest that you are better off staying with that. If you are thinking of a Mac then you need someone else to advise you though. I have only ever held one once lol

To be honest, most of the laptops on the market are more than adequate for what you need to use it for. I would go for a laptop that has, at the minimum 1gb of memory (RAM), especially if it is running Windows Vista (virtually all do nowadays), 80gb hard drive, DVD rewritable. I personally prefer AMD processors over Intel but there isn't really much difference. I would look at the build quality and durability closely if he will be taking it anywhere on a regular basis. I have broken a few laptops (which keeps getting me in trouble with the IT manager) because the ones I am provided with aren't designed to be carried round all the time. If you want to PM me any details to look at feel free. Steve

That's fine. You're welcome to pop by anytime though. It will be changing host and name late next week. details will be put here

I have always been terrible with Christmas cards. Every year it starts with good intentions and then I end up asking the question 'When is the last posting date for Christmas? It must be soon' only to be told that it was the day before. Opps I don't expect Christmas cards from anyone, for a lot of people (and unfortunately moreso this year) putting food on the table and clothing the kids comes first, and rightly so. Bookie is sounding more and more like Crusher

I was going to mention this until I saw that raydetinu had. I think they ought to start getting their own house in order before dictating to customers what is an what isn't environmentally friendly. Why do they also insist on wrapping fresh vegetables in plastic? When I was younger my parents used to buy a big sack (paper) of potatos and put it in the cupboard and it would last a couple of months. Now you buy potatos in small plastic bags and the start to grow roots within a couple of weeks. Paper wrapping is much more environmentally friendly, sustainable and better for the job.

Thanks Lex. This has been a bit of a learning curve for me too. It's not all that difficult when you can get your head round it. Once you 'get it' you are fine.

Can anyone recommend a good hosting site for a small website at reasonable cost. Am currently thinking of using eukhost as it has all of the things I need and the website inspires confidence. I need: PHP5 MySQL5 I would like Ruby on rails support sub domain SMTP/POP3 Any views?

The site has got off to a bit of a rocky start but that will (hopefully) change when I change to a more reliable web host next week. The site is still open however and I am going to just port it all to the new web host. I have learned a valuable lesson in this - When it comes to webservers you get what you pay for - the site will be moving from a free web host to a paid one. There is a bad time lag between registering and receiving the activation email. I am manually overriding this as and when I see people join in the control panel. Also PM's are switched off by default. This is occuring because of the bridging software between the front page and the forum. I aim to solve this with a little bit of code (still a bit new to PHP coding so if anyone out there can help it will be much appreciated). Until then you can manually switch PMs on or ask me to do it.

two votes cast today and more tomorrow

Hello all, I have decided to follow through with an idea I had a while ago and launch my own website. The aim of the website is to give a source of information to enable people to make their own minds up regarding current news and political developments. It is a forum based site which then feeds information to the front page of the site. The site already has a few members (all of which are people you already know from this site) and the discussions are already starting. Please feel free to come over, register for the site, and join in the discussions. The activation emails are taking their time to come through at the moment so I am manually activating accounts as soon as they appear on my control panel. This is a continuously evolving project and I am open to ideas and suggestions to improve it. I will also be looking to recruit a team to help run the site and hope to have the help of some of my old CAG friends. Blueskies Site Steve

Permission was given by all present at the Sunderland meet. we are just waiting for Paintball to post them

I think we should wait for Bookworm to comment on this. Bookworm has a far greater grasp of English than me and she's French!

I am not going to rise to the bait offered here except to say that tiglet was unable to make it. She didn't set off specifically for this meeting but rather to come and see family in the Northeast MODERATION NOTE: Quote removed as it refers to an unapproved post and therefore doesn't make sense.

Unfortunately this event was cancelled due to lack of numbers available on the day. We hope to reschedule it for sometime in the near future

It will be running.....at 11.27 (it's booked time)

That'll be the one

try checking the first post of the thread

Why didn't you ask. I could have diagnosed you a while ago when I met you ;-) You are not a fruitloop at all you have become a friend to me (even if it is via weird goings on on Facebook)

I will be there, see you all then. I have met Tiglet so should be able to identify group. I think a few of you have seen pics of me. If you see me wandering aimlessly then grab me

So do I and I am a lot younger than you Dave

Well I had my motorbike stolen recently but I am going to use the plate from that - GF06 ZFS. I don't think I can use all five letters, in fact using the three last letters without a printed dictionary is impossible.

Last year I was training a new member of staff and they wore Crocs through the whole training course. She had them in all different colours but wore the black ones on smarter days. I had to have a word about not wearing them when we were going on the trackside. They are the most repulsive things this century so far

Which Grand Central would that be??? Surely not my employer!