In this time of financial crisis, sadly, we may not all be lucky or wealthy enough to go on a fun and frolicking beach-tastically picturesque holiday to get that all over tan. However, there is an alternative. We have the next best thing - get a computer tan. Yesss, it's a tan you can achieve from staring at your computer screen (yes, your computer screen). The term 'computer tan' is usually associated with extraordinarily pale folk, who suffer from a pasty skin condition by sacrificing venturing outside for the sake of playing 24 hour videogames, but in this case, it refers to the exact opposite - getting rid of that pasty hide.

It works by exploiting the backlighting capabilities of an LCD screen, enabling your screen to emit ultraviolet wavelengths to toast your tan-desperate skin. Apparently, you can build up a base tan within four to five sessions.

The computer once described as an "iconic multimedia system", as opposed to just a PC, has just welcomed new versions exclusive to the UK - the XPS One 24 and XPS One 24 (PRODUCT) RED. That great whopping screen you're staring at is a 24-incher (hence the name) edge-to-edge 1080p HD display, which is coupled with a wireless mouse and keyboard, with connection ports kept at the back. As well as being given the option to join forces with Bono and the RED charity, there are also Blu-ray options and like most PCs, the option to mess with the size of the hard drive.

With so many rumours floating around the webosphere, it's always great when what could be potentially be hear say, turns out to be true. Take the 10-inch Acer Aspire One netbook for instance. Rumours of a little 10-incher from Acer was tipped to be on the cards and just a couple of months later, here it is. And with a new screen size, comes a newly refined design.

Last year we wowed you with news of the Fizzbook, the first child friendly UMPC for kids that's pretty much unbreakable (watch this vid if you don't believe me). Well they've just released details of version 2, the snappily titled Fizzbook Spin. Sound a little familiar? Yes, well I know Asus also launchedthe pretty identical looking mini tablet UMPC (the T91), so maybe tablet features are now on trend for netbooks?

They've added touch screen capability to the netbook and a couple of hinges, so you're now looking at a tablet laptop for kids. I'm not sure kids need a tablet laptop, and the price point also makes you wonder why they wouldn't just opt for the grown up version (i.e. an offering from Advent, HP or Sony), but I guess the fact that it's ruggedized its a big selling point.

Macs: they never crash, they never get infected, they come with iSmug pre-installed, right? Apparently not. There's a malware programme on the loose at the moment, targeting Macs. It's a Trojan which comes with a pirated version of iWorks, which is currently doing the round on P2P networks.

The pirated version doesn't need a serial number, and you can install it on as many machines as you want, making it an attractive proposition for anyone unwilling to fork out cold hard cash for the software. It's estimated that 20,000 people have downloaded the infected programme already. The Trojan gives hackers access to the infected computer, allowing them to view files on the computer, access financial information or even install further malicious code.

(Good job, Apple PR department. I am convinced about the evils of P2P networks)

[via WebUser]

In a world seemingly full of pocket-sized netbooks, it's refreshing to see a laptop with a decent screen size, and enough power to be able to handle more than a couple of Firefox tabs. The Toshiba Satellite A350 is designed for movie fans, featuring a 16-inch HD screen, which is designed for optimum playback of films, negating the need for black bars at the top and the bottom of the screen. There's also Harmon Kardon speakers for, if not quite cinema sound, at least a less tinny audio experience than your average laptop.

It comes with 4GB of RAM as standard, and the HDD goes up to 320GB. Being Toshiba, there's no hint of a Blu-ray drive though - they opt instead for a Super-Multi DVD drive.

There's probably more than a few of you with money saving new years resolutions that you plan on executing throughout the year (good luck with that) or until you can't bear the thought of bringing your own lunch to work again for the 50 thousandth time. It helps when there are energy saving gadgets to help you with your economic resolution.

Take the Fujitsu Siemens ESPRIMO Green zero-watt PC. It consumes absolutely zilch when in standby mode, but still remains administrable. A lot of PCs, when in standby mode have a tendency to remain connected to the power source, consuming up to 5 watts of electricity (and raking up those bills). The ESPRIMO Green PC s have been designed to overcome this energy wasting problem.

Hooray! An air ionising computer! There's some witchcraft that claims to keep you more alert whilst using the computer, due to some ion negatiser. Duncan's not convinced, but he is convinced by the decent graphics card, the decent sized keyboard and ability to boot up some key functions without booting up the whole system.

£700 here

Apple's had a lot up its sleeve so far this year, and it's only January. It may not have shown off anything of iPhone calibre at Macworld this year, but we did see a 17-inch Macbook Pro, an improvement to iTunes, with iTunes Plus, and the upgrade of its software suites - iLife and iWork. And although Mr Jobs has taken a leave of absence from the company, Apple is determined to keep the spotlight on its gadgetry and not on the co-founder of the company. Well, that rumour mill has been churning once again and word is Apple zealots, a beefed-up 15-inch Macbook Air is on the way to cater to our skinny laptop loving hands.

Sony Vaio's newest member - you know, the netbook that's not quite a netbook, otherwise known as the Sony Vaio P series is available for pre-order in the UK (huzzah).

Susi gets hands on with it here - you can do the same by heading over to the Sony Vaio store. As we know, its starting price is £849 - the subject of much speculation over its netbook status - but if you want it to come with all the trimmings expect that £849 to move even further away from netbook territory to a cool £1,370. Those trimmings include a 128GB SSD (as opposed to a 60GB HDD), as well as 3G (not available on the basic model) and built-in GPS and extended battery life of up to 8 hours and 25 minutes, instead of 2 hours 45 minutes.

The thought of trying to line up a laptop skin with that pesky apple cutout on my new Macbook fills me with Blue Peter shaped horror, which is what makes these decals so perfect. They're all the kind of plastic which is easily removable, should the mood of change take you, and there are loads available from Etsy.

The one pictured is a bargainous $10, you could try out old skool gaming here, self referential here or even all girly and mwah here.

2009 marks the year MSI plans to convert those world dominating ambitions into an actuality, by attempting to take a lead in the all-in-one PC market with its Wind NetOn models. Before the doors opened at CES this year, we already knew they were planning to impress with a range of netbooks and notebooks. What we didn't know, was that it'd be unleashing an all-in-one touchscreen PC (think HP TouchSmart and Eee Top).

Press release spiel says the Wind NetOn is a "killer product", coming in 16, 19 and 22-inch offerings - I say, it's not quite "killer" (as we've seen models like this before), but it is a super thin and aesthetically pleasing, wall-hanging PC, with the ability to command at your fingertips.

The Sony P Series has been met with a fair amount of skepticism here at CES - can it justify the £850 price tag in a world of cheap as chips netbooks? I got some time with it this afternoon, and I have to say, if nothing else, the build quality trumps any netbook I've ever seen, and there are a couple of nice features that push it from netbook to 'Lifestyle PC'.

Zara has been blown away with HPs Mini 2140 netbook, and with an 80GB SSD, 10.1-inch screen, SD slot and a keyboard that's 92 percent of a regular QWERTY keyboard, it is a spectacularly great offering. And best of all is the price, which you can get by watching the video. In the words of Zara herself, it sure is "impressive".

Get the latest from CES here

Sony's latest Vaio addition is lightweight and slightly unusual looking, featuring an 8-inch widescreen, which is designed to minimise the amount you have to scroll horizontally - a common side effect of all that lightweight netbook loveliness. It's to come in red, dark green, black and white, further confirming its place in the good looking laptop line.

There's built-in GPS, and 3G, although there was no mention of markets outside the US - here in the UK we've already got a few cheaper models toting 3G from the likes of Vodafone and 3, so you'll have to stay tuned to see if they can find a Verizon equivalent.

Continuing the craze for netbooks,HP has expanded its range with the Mini 2140 Notebook PC. Quite how this 10.1 inch baby will provide you with the functionality of a PC whilst squeezed into this tiny aluminium chassis I'm not sure, but the fact that the keyboard is 92% the size of a regular QWERTY board fills me with hope. A UMPC where the keys are easily distinguishable? Fingers crossed.

It's certainly another year of Slimmer, Lighter, More Productive. MSI are all over that bandwagon, with the X-Slim 320, weighing in at 1.3kg and boasting a 13.4-inch screen, they're hoping to lure people in with the promises of Champagne Gold, Pearl White and Stylish Black.

In their own words, the X320 is also very "thin". Yes, apparently the word thin now neccesitates some quotation marks - your guess is as good as mine. In terms of actual numbers, it measure 1.98 cm, and is only 6mm "thin" at it's thinnest point. Battery life is up to 10 hours, which is hours worth of covering up the MSI logo and pretending you've actually splashed out on a Macbook Air.

MSI

For more CES news, click here.

The N20 has got a 12-inch full touchscreen, which allows for multitouch input and all sorts of fancy-ness. In the press conference, they've demoed it with Google Earth and it's pretty impressive - you can just swing the globe about with your fingers, double tapping for zoom etc. Photos are a good example of where multitouch becomes useful. Sadly though, the computer's crashed, so it's not something I'm going to be able to tell you about. When it works though, it'll allow you to scroll, enlarge, reduce, pan and rotate.

Uniquely, there's a LCD touchscreen where the mousepad would usually be. This works as an entirely different computer to the main 12-inch screen, although it shares the battery. The LCD screen is full of widgets for getting on the internet quickly.

As rumoured, Apple has more up its sleeve than just software with this year's Macworld keynote. In fact, they've just released a whopping 17-inch Macbook Pro on the fanboy masses.

Despite its size, it's the thinnest and lightest 17-inch available, weighing in at 6.6 pounds and measuring less than an inch thick. But it's got power. Ooh, has it got power. You can cram in up to 8GB of RAM, and there's an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz Dual Core processor.

Are you a slow, one fingered typist? Or perhaps you just have a passionate detestation for keyboards and are on the search for something that utilises a different kind of technology, eradicating the need for a keyboard altogether. Well, look no further than the MacBook Wheel laptop. With its simple iPod-esque user interface, you'll never have to use a keyboard again.

Well... not quite - it's a hoax, a parody if you will, of the expectations of Apple customers. But what a great hoax it is - from who else but those cyber pranksters at The Onion. They're making the point that if you wave something in a Mac fanboys face, - you know, the type who'll "buy almost anything if it's shiny and made by Apple", they will buy it.

Check out the video after the jump...