Are "free laptop" deals like Vodafone's Dell Inspiron mini 9 offer a great way to save money on a new PC, or a cleverly disguised con? We reveal the truth

No matter how much we tell ourselves that we are rational, scientific human beings a Friday 13th still sends a tremor up some spines.

Curious to see what powers the Nehalem and Core i7 architecture? We reveal the tech behind the fastest Intel-powered computer on the planet.

Apple computers from the sweetest to the rottenest

From webcasting to the DMCA to net neutrality - a list of top ten IT priorities for the new president.

Want to perform an extreme makeover of your system's motherboard, processor, memory or hard disk? We'll show you how.

More than 20,000 people voted for the best and worst technology in this year's Awards, including the best ISP, laptop brand, wireless router, and best online retailer. See who won and who lost.

Selecting presents for the geek or gadgeteer in your life? We take the hassle out of gift buying, so you can put your feet up and relax.

Here's a handful of the best laptop bags around - perfect for protecting your pride and joy while you're out and about. In addition to the essential protection, these bags also come with oodles of style.

Since the release of the Eee PC 701, the 'Notebook' has dominated. Easy to use, cheap and able to be left on the coffee table next to the remote, Notebooks are true appliance computing. The choice of which one to buy comes down to personal preference, but it's hard not to prefer those with the best usability. Our rundown of your options covers their performance, battery life, and design.

Once you've tasted the freedom of surfing the Internet on your smartphones, it's hard to go back. Fortunately, a number of mobile phone providers offer great deals on smartphones with included data. We've assessed their ease of use, features and handset design.

If there's someone in your life without a digital camera, there's never been a better time to get them started. Compact cameras now offer 8-12 megapixels for under $500, and provide large LCDs for easy viewfinding and shot setup as well as automatic face recognition, multiple focal points and more!

Blu-ray writers are more affordable than ever. We look at four internal models to find the best way to go high-def. The last time we did a round-up of optical drives, the former war was in full swing. But now Blu-ray has at last seen off HD DVD and taken its place as the industry standard for high-capacity optical media.

GPS units are now mainstream, and the prices have never been better - the Tomtom One in particular is an incredible bargain, and it's been on our A-list for a full two years. Around Christmas time, it's relatively easy to find deals that include pouches, external antenna, screen protectors and other accessories: shop around before buying.

Whether you're after something small, portable and cheap - such as the Creative Zen Mozaic - or something more fully featured, we've got the latest and greatest in portable music on test. The benchmark they all try to meet is the iPod Classic, which at $300 for 80GB of storage and 45 hours of audio battery life is still the clear leader.

Some items just don't fit any other category, but their looks, features or quirkness scream 'Christmas Gift Idea'. From everyone's favourite AI dinosaur, Pleo, to the groundbreaking Tivo PVR, we think we've got a little something for everyone.

The P45 chipset takes the stability of the P35 chipset and introduces support for PCI Express 2.0 - the latest standard for graphic cards. If you were waiting for the best choice of upgrade for an existing LGA775 system, or want a board for a budget system, this is definitely the chipset of choice. It's great time to bag an upgrade. What better gift for the DIY geek in your household?

Wondering if your neighbour can tell if you're leeching their bandwidth and see what you're doing online?

Set up your subwoofer correctly and it’ll make a big difference to your system’s sound

Nvidia’s latest graphics cards and chips throw down the gauntlet to Intel and AMD. Go behind the scenes with this guide to the big technologies including PhysX, CUDA, and games like Far Cry 2 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky.