Another arrow in your image-editing quiver

I've extolled the virtues of Irfanview for photo editing several times, and use it regularly myself. But it does have real limitations, particularly in its colour-correcting abilities. So I was pleased to come across what we might call a companion program, Fotografix, which makes up for much of what Irfanview lacks. The first big virtue of Fotografix is that it is tiny, and it runs without needing to be installed, so you can carry it on a memory stick. Although it's a no-frills program, it has many of the functions of PhotoShop, such as brush shapes, layers and masking. Its interface is pretty basic, but used in conjunction with Irfanview, I would say the pair would do 90 percent of your normal imaging tasks, and at a very reasonably price (like, free).

When Windows goes bad

Most of the time we don't want to be bothered with the hassle of understanding what goes on under the bonnet of our computer. Like cars, they should run with the minimum of fuss and the occasional check of tyres, oil and water. Sadly, there are times when we have to delve into the innards - or else pay a technician megabucks. Here are a couple of helpful articles from PC World. I suggest you bookmark them for that rainy day when needed, or even print them out and put in a handy file.
What to do when Windows gets really messed up
Repair or reinstall your Windows PC

Will video games and daily life merge?

My eldest son - he with an xbox - lives in a video gaming world I barely know exists. The last couple of weeks he has been introducing me to some of the offerings, such as Guitar Hero and Fable. The graphics, virtual reality world development and storyline of Fable were an eye-opener for me. The coding underlying it must be phenomenal. I had not realised to what degree some of these games have developed. But then last night he showed me a YouTube video of Project Natal, which steps the whole video interactive world into a totally new dimension. This stuff is quite mind-blowing. This video was a presentation by a Microsoft engineer to a small select group, but by the looks of it may not be too far off making an entry into the average living room. But the developers are thinking way beyond gaming: they believe the technology will change daily life the same way that the internet changed it. Here's a look at other potential uses of the technology.

How to salvage a wet gadget

Ever spilt a cup of coffee over your keyboard? I went even better (worse) once, when working as a radio journalist. I tipped a full cup of coffee over a studio control panel. Needless to say, I was extremely unpopular with the technicians. A printing firm I worked for banned open cups at the desk - we were allowed only sipper cups with lids. Any drink containing sugar is going to do greater nasties to your appliances. But no matter what the dunking you give your gadget - whether it be keyboard, ipod or cell phone - there are reasonable possibilities of salvaging it. This PC World video has some practical suggestions.

DIY heaven

I have just found DIY heaven! At Instructables, you can find ideas and plans to make just about anything you could possibly imagine, and thousands of things you would not have imagined. It particularly specialises in finding new uses for old objects lying around the house. How about a tiny transparent kite from broom bristles, earphones to listen to your mp3 player in the shower, or a medieval trebuchet made from cardboard?

YouTube expert tips

"YouTube is a great place to watch the funny viral video du jour." writes Adam Ash at PC World. "But it can be a lot more than that. If you love preparing and sharing your own video creations, for instance, YouTube has lots of tips and tools to help you do it with ease. Even if you just want to learn to find and watch groups of videos with minimal hassle, YouTube has what you need." Adam has compiled a list of helpful tips for YouTube "superusers."