Stories by: Matthew Overington

Creative's Zen Vision is a follow-up to the popular Portable Media Centre, but represents a fundamental redesign that eschews Microsoft's portable media centre design in favour of a fresh interface. Instead of relying on Windows Media Player to transfer files, the Vision ships with the Creative MediaSource and Media Explorer applications for Windows that are used to handle media and manage data on the device. Unfortunately, Mac and Linux users are still left out.

Samsung's SCX-4216F laser multifunction printer pushes new price boundaries for home and small businesses. This Samsung unit is priced below much of its competition, in an area where most consumers would only consider ink. Laser printers have benefits over ink models for mid to high volume users, thanks to a lower cost of operation and higher print speeds.

All-in-one or multifunction laser printers are an ideal choice for businesses looking to consolidate hardware purchases or even for homes with school or university students. The HP LaserJet 3015 All-in-One offers a blend of functions for a small office, including printing, faxing, scanning and copying, all rolled into a single device.

Though Webcams have been available for the better part of a decade, the local boost in broadband uptake means that only now are they becoming truly practical for communicating with friends and family from around the world.

The only drawback in society's massive move towards digital photography seems to be how to actually view the photos. Crowding around a family computer to run through slide shows is a hassle, but many consumers find the relatively high cost of network media players hard to justify for the occasional slideshow night. The Photo Album from SanDisk is a simple flash media reader designed to display photos, MP3s, and video files on a lounge room TV.

Online gaming places a hefty load on your Internet connection and associated hardware. Online competitions can be won or lost in the blink of an eye, and a dropped packet at the wrong moment could mean all the difference between a resounding victory or crushing defeat

It has been a long time coming, but digital television is just starting to take off in Australia. Most channels are broadcasting supplementary content in addition to their regular programming, with SBS and ABC leading the way. Many vendors are looking to capitalise on the boom by offering digital set-top boxes designed to convert these digital signals into a format that can be played back on the average TV.

We've been hearing about how a paperless office will revolutionise the workplace for more than a decade now. Even with ever-increasing email usage, irrespective of what tech pundits may claim, the truly paperless office is still a long way away. Epson's AcuLaser C2600N is a flexible colour laser printer designed to keep a small business ticking, and help produce marketing or report material internally.

The diminutive Samsung Q30 is a road warrior's dream. The 1.2KG chassis packs enough features for the mobile worker, but eschews bells and whistles to save weight.

Apple's AirPort Express with AirTunes is designed to share an incoming broadband connection between up to ten computers wirelessly, while at the same time allowing users to play back music through speakers connected to the unit.

Netgear's MP101 wireless digital music player is built to share audio from a PC or an Internet music streaming service to a home stereo. It works over either an Ethernet or wireless connection.