Freebie

So I'm sat here in my local Costa coffee, enjoying a delicious hot beverage and partaking of their free wi-fi. Only it's not their free wi-fi, it belongs to McDonalds which is next door. I could of course use Costa's wi-fi, but it would cost me £4 an hour. Why would I do this when on startup my EeePC quite brazenly tells me that there's free wi-fi to be had here instead?

Admittedly, it keeps me coming back to Costa so it's not a bad deal for them. However, McDonalds aren't seeing the benefit of giving me its bandwidth for free. The way I see it though, I've eaten enough burgers in my time for them to give me something in return.

EDC

Carrying on from my last post, which was about the "What's In My Bag" Flickr group, I've found a site which has taken this concept and built an entire site around it.

Head over to EDCForums (EDC = Every Day Carry) and see just how geeky things can get.

As a result I've started to put together a little selection of "essentials" that are going to go into the Manbag in case of emergencies. I've grabbed a selection of cables (CAT5, USB, iPod connector) and stuffed them into a Ziploc bag, and I've just looked out my TurboFlame lighter and refilled it. I've already got a Leatherman Squirt, a small torch and a mini Sharpie in the Manbag, so I think I should be prepared for most geeky eventualities. Seems as though a length of Paracord and some duct tape are de rigeur too, so I shall need to find myself some of that.

I'll keep you updated.

Strangely addictive

I can't quite explain it, but I find this Flickr group absolutely fascinating - the more photos you look at, the more sucked in you get. It's odd how you can get a picture of someone's life just by looking at what they have in their bag. I really must do a photo of my own.

Eee PC 901

I've just taken delivery of a new toy - an Asus Eee PC 901. This is the latest addition to the ground-breaking Eee PC range, and it's a great little machine. Packing an Intel Atom 1.6Ghz processor, 1GB RAM, 12GB SSD, 9" screen, 802.11n wi-fi, Bluetooth and Windows XP, it's a dream to use. It has a really tiny form factor, so you can just stuff it into your bag and go. It's a marked improvement over the first Eee PCs in every way. More speed, better battery life, more storage, bigger screen, better OS. It's my new favourite toy.

You can see why lots of other computer manufacturers are jumping on the netbook bandwagon. But as always, I did my research and this is by far the best machine out of the current crop. There are more and more machines of this type coming out every week, but I can't help feeling that they're becoming too much like "proper" laptops in terms of size, features and price, and that just isn't the point. These things are supposed to be tiny, portable internet devices, not all-singing all-dancing desktop replacements.

Azor - Worth the wait?

I've been anticipating the arrival of the King Of Shaves razor for what seems like years now. I've been religiously checking the website, I signed up for email updates and every time I go to the supermarket I check the men's toiletries to see if it has sneaked in under the radar. So you can imagine how pleased I was when it was finally launched - called the "Azor" - with all the promised contemporary styling, minimalist packaging and low price. Excellent, just what I wanted. I rushed out and bought one - £4.99 for the razor and three blades.

But is it any good?

I'm pleased to report (thankfully) that it's excellent. It certainly seems to live up to its own hype. The blades, as advertised, stay sharp for much longer than my Gilette Mach 3, and the handle is very ergonomic. Replacement blades work out at about £1.19 each as opposed to Gillette Fusion blades that come in at over two quid! Combined with King of Shaves Kinexium shave oil and King of Shaves Ultragel, it's a very pleasant shave. Highly recommended - and certainly a pleasant feeling knowing that youre backing the underdog, not the massive global corporation.

Nice one Will King - I like your style.