Now Photoshop has long since been the favourite programme for those who like to try their hand at image editing, but credit crunch times means you can't always justify forking out £70 odd quid just to remove red-eye. Sure, if your job revolves around editing images you're going to want to buy this (plus Quark/ InDesign etc), but if you're one of the masses who just need a good imaging programme for cheap what do you do?

I've compiled 4 great Photoshop looky likeys for you to try- and they're all free! Two are online, two are downloadable, it's up to you to pick which one best suits your needs.

Number 1: Sumo Paint

This is the first free Photoshop style programme I worked with, and it still holds a special place in my heart. OK it doesn't do everything you want, so if you're really into editing collages and fine tuning and framing pics this may be a bit too basic, but it sure beats your basic Paint round the head, cuts it into little pieces and distributes it at four secret locations. You get a floating toolbox, huge colour palette. Loads of brush editing tools and you can even upload images from your desktop or a URL. You do need to be online to use it though- which also means you'll have it wherever you go, and not be tied to one computer.

So you're thinking of buying an HDTV? Congratulations, you'll be entering the world of hi resolution imagery, and getting a picture so sharp it will make you want to start attacking your old TV with your fingernails .

But what should you buy? With three main technologies on the market, you're entering a confusing world of LCD, Plasma and OLED, not to mention pixel ratios, bezel size, and of course... price. Well we aim to clear up the confusion, and we're going to use short little words to explain all those baffling terms.

It seems everyone has a blog nowadays, from your postman to your mum (eek!) but what really makes one stand out whilst other fade into oblivion? Having a great design definitely helps, as well as making sure you've laid out your site efficiently, but I tend to think the real success of a blog is in the content- and the commenters.

Feedback is an essential part of web 2.0 as that's what really makes the blog format stand out, but why some posts gets loads of comments and others get none remains a mystery. Sure, if the topic is very controversial you know you're provoking a debate, but what about the majority of stuff that falls into the middle ground? Ever felt a little bit green when your friend skins up her site with a stylish new template, or you see a semi-identikit post get 100 comments to your none? What you're suffering from is Blog Envy.

Guitar Hero has been around since 2005, letting frustrated rockers and wannabe popstars strum out to their hearts content with the plastic shaped peripheral. Rock Band joined in the fun with a drum kit, and there are mic options for wannabe warblers. Up till now, these options were pretty much all you got, even though people are getting quite excited about the forthcoming DJ Hero game. Still, I can't help feel that the dancers are missing out. OK, at 26 I may be to old to ever entertain hopes of achieving Dirty Dancing style moves, but with the popularity of shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and So you Think You can Dance, I reckon Activision are missing a trick here.

Way back in January we were uber excited about the news of a new addition to the Sony walkman family, the brand spanking X Series walkman. It was debuted at CES,
and we learnt all about how it combined useful wireless capabilities with a gorgeous looking 3 inch OLED screen. That dream has just become a reality as the X series is available to purchase from today.

But how does this lovely looking MP3 player match up to the likes of the iPod Touch, arguably its biggest competitor? Will the OLED screen be enough to position this player at the top of the tree, or will it be fisticuffs at dawn? Read on to find out....

Technology has long been used to aid and enhance our life. At its highest (and yes I do mean most expensive) form there are tools available to cater for your every whim - you can have a robotic maid, automatic dishwashers and computers that wake you up with a personalized hello and back massage tailored to your needs... There are also toilets that analyze your waste matter and suggest what type of nutrients you're lacking..if you must go that far!

Computers have shifted from being lumbering behemoths to super sleek devices which continually keep shrinking and the word netbook is now all the rage. Everything is slimmer sleeker, and shinier nowadays, but how does this actually affect you?

In this current climate, no one is spending much dough. And as much as you'd love a shiny new iPhone it doesn't seem feasible tying yourself into a pricey 24 month contract. You've probably started looking at other cheaper options, and that's when we get to the world of budget touchscreens. I was very impressed with the wallet friendly LG Cookie last year, and the orange Vegas has stepped up to the block as a plucky new budget contender. But which phone will win out in the specs war? Read on to find out!

Round 1: Screen Size

Vegas- 2.4 inch touchscreen
LG Cookie -3 inch touchscreen and included stylus

Winner: The Cookie, as with screen size, bigger is ALWAYS better.

It wasn't so long ago I told you about the Raymond Chandler novel being turned into a computer game. It's a common trend to create a game off the back of successful book/movie mashups, but for every creation that's an astounding success there are those that flop heavier than Oprah in a fat suit. There's no perfect key to creating a winning game, but I think it would be great if companies started using some lesser known books for plot inspiration. Here's my guide to the top ten fantasy books that deserve to get the multi-player treatment- and I'm only including those that HAVEN'T ever had this, before you start moaning that I didn't mention Neil Gaiman's Coraline or Pratchett's Discworld.

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO START THE GALLERY

It seems pretty much everyone has a blog nowadays but if you're one of the shrinking number that has never quite got to grips with web 2.0, I'm here to simplify this process for you. It doesn't have to be baffling talk of mySQL and server accounts, I'm going to break down the tools you need to create a site online in five easy steps.

First it's a good idea to plan the kind of site you'd like to create. Do you want a site that's a personal blog, where you just update it occasionally with images and ramblings on topics of your choice? Or would you rather have a professional looking site which will act as an online portfolio to show off your talents? Then there's creating a commercial site which allows you to sell products with PayPal buttons, and there's also the option of creating a website for a company. If you're opting for the most basic option, you'll most likely want to stay within a small budget, whilst if you anticipate heavy traffic to the site, it's worth splashing out a bit more.

Google dominates the market in terms of search engine. It has some competition from Yahoo and ASK, but essentially rules the roost. Well a new player is entering the scene, and though we wish them well, their USP better be very good as otherwise they'll be swallowed up.

The new search engine is called Oparla, and how it aims to attract people to its service is by giving them cash. Yes, that's right, cold hard cash. The idea is that every time you use their service to search, you'll be building up a cash tally and after you've used it for a long time that will equate to money being transferred to your account. It's just leaving beta stage at the moment, so there's no real info as to how you actually make the money- or what searches count for more, but they say you'll be rewarded just by using their service to search.

When I was at primary school we only had one computer, which we took turns with in ten minute increments. High school was a little better as it featured a bank of computers hooked up to the intranet, but though we may have become proficient-ish at Word and Excel, using the net was still something you had to discover at home.

Kids of today may have it easy in the fact that they're connected to the net 24/7 and the world of social media is seen as a natural progression rather than a baffling new world of terms to learn. But do they really need to study Twitter and Facebook etiquette during school hours? Former Oftsed chief Jim Rose thinks this is just what kids need to be doing, and whilst it may make them sit up and pay attention, is it really sensible to school them in this?

I'm not convinced...

Shiny's been around since 2004 and durng that time we've managed to clock up an impressive 1252 videos. Some have more hits than others due to either including the word Apple in the title or having been the first site on the web to get product info up; but which ones do we feel desrve to make our hall of fame for entertainments sake?

Number one: The Shocking Taser Guns

Roll up, roll up! Two girls battle it to the death with electronic but family friendly taser guns- beware high pitched screaming and some sadistic role play.

See more crazy creations after the jump.

Today is Ada Lovelace day, the day when women in technology are celebrated worldwide. There are so many fabulous women I could nominate for this award, but to avoid accusations of favouritism and poisoned emails, I'm going to nominate fabulous women from the world of TV. It's a difficult choice to make, as there are so many impressive women represented in this medium (Alex Mack/ Penny from Inspector Gadget), but I've made the difficult decision to nominate Willow (a.k.a Alyson Hannigan) from the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Twitter's popularity has never been higher. You can't pick up a a paper or go to website without reading about how it's the 'micro blogging tool of the decade'. You can use it catch up on what the latest online argument between Lily Allen and Perez Hilton is, hear breaking news before it reaches the paper, and even Obama is Tweeting messages of thanks to the populace. You can use this resource for house hunting, job searching and creating brand awareness, and there's also an active community of Tweeters who comment on each other's posts,

Considering Twitter gives one unfettered access to millions of people, more PR people than ever are joining Twitter. This is partly due to its popularity, and partly down to their management deciding it would be a good idea to 'get with the times'. Sky News has just created a 'Twitter correspondent position' and there are numerous Twitter apps to make tweeting easier, from using a plug in application such as TwitterFox to Twibble from your phone.

It's never been easier to Tweet- but are you? And what's your type of Tweet? Read on to discover which category you fall into...

Mobile World Congress is here again, and geeksters worldwide are anxiously counting down the days to see what's new on the mobile scene. I'm very excited- in fact I have even been judging one of the categories, but that doesn't mean I'm any closer to predicting what we'll hear when we're there. Already we've been leaked info on the pimped up Tocco, the potential combo of Android meeting Archos and Sony Ericsson's revelations about similar looking phones in their C905 range. But what would I really like to see revealed- there?

3D phones

We've had 3DTV's, 3D Webcams, so how about the mobile market waking up to the potential of 3D phone calls and mobile content? Considering the whole issue with 3DTV's is getting the viewing space correct, surely working with such a small frame would limit the loss of vision you get when you step outside the peripheral field? I don't know if I'd want to chat in 3D but I'd certainly like the novelty of having this option. We've seen prototypes spring up in Japan,such as the recently announced Ketai H001, but I'd love to hear news of a UK release date, and one that worked autostereoscopically rather than with 3D glasses.

Firefox may be still be losing out to Internet Explorer in terms of users, but if you're talking geek fans, it wins the browser war hands down. I've recently been updating my page with a variety of add-ons to let me work (and play) more efficiently, and have discovered some very exciting features- which I'm going to share with you.

Read on for my top ten Firefox add-ons of all time!

Number 1. Answers Add On

Be honest with me here, do you actually understand every word you ever read on the net? Yes? Well then you're a liar... or you have the fab answers add on. Simply move your cursor over any word you don't understand, press left ALT and left click, and voila, a mini pop up giving you the dictionary definition. This has changed my life.

OK, we've now discovered the world DOESN'T end when it snows. Yes, a day at home was a wonderful experience, but I'd say the majority of the workforce is back at their computer screens now. The snow however, looks like it may be here to stay for while, and now the initial shock has been overcome, you'll want to work out how to capture this winter wonderland.

Taking pictures of snow differs from your usual snapping of friends in drunken poses as the whiteness is so bright, the auto setting can leave you looking rather washed out.

Here's my guide on how to take the best snow pics ever!

Google is undoubtedly the biggest most influential search engine in the world. Cornering the majority of the market, anything it does is generally acclaimed with bells whistles and journalists falling all over themselves in their eagerness to report on it (hello, Chrome!), but there has been relatively little buzz about their recent change of favicon. And why is that? Oh yes, it's only a favicon. For those who want that explained a favicon is the 16x16 pixel square image that you see in the URL toolbar next to the web address ( I learnt this when trying to design one for my website and discovering that it's harder to create a .ico file than previously thought)

Zara Rabinowicz looks at the many presents that would have her running for the hills.

There are many things I like in life. I enjoy gaming, alcohol and the odd bit of nineties pop music. But that doesn't mean I want a three disc CD collection of 80's choons, or a novelty drinks machine. No, there are certain items that won't have me smiling magically under the tree, but sulking and running to my room to cry (Knitting Nancy: A moment of shame).

I'm sure I'm fairly atypical of women in that there are things that I don't want to get, under any circumstance, EVER. Here's my list of what NOT to buy someone for Xmas, if you want to keep your relationship on the up.

Number one: Household 'useful' appliances

Yes, I know my kettle broke last week. And a pink one is a step up from no kettle at all. But, really? Really? And you now I'm going to use that novelty popcorn maker all of two times and then it will grow dust on the back shelf. And don't even get me started if you bought me a vacuum cleaner (unless it's a Dyson *of course).

In my line of business I'm on the phone a LOT. Whether it's checking up on product price points, requesting review samples or arranging meetings, I both call and am called constantly every day. And out of every phone call there are about ten seconds of awkwardness to encounter which I loathe.

Here are my Top Ten gripes about phone calls.

1. Ring, Ring, 'Hi Zara speaking'. 'Hello can I speak to Zara?'. Didn't you just hear me say my name? You ignore my greeting and then still expect to have a productive conversation when you've now made it clear you're someone who doesn't listen? And who did you expect to find answering my direct phone line? Grr.

2. 'Hi how are you?' 'I'm fine, and you?' 'Very well thank you'. Do you actually care how I am? If I'm having a good day/bad day? No, you want to sell me something, sort something out and these silly pleasantries are a waste of our time.