Stories by: James Hutchinson

Until now Internet widgets have been shackled to the computer; they've generally been mildly amusing gimmicks that only occasionally prove useful. Chumby hopes to change this, freeing widgets from their PC overlord and making them an integral part of the user’s daily life at the bedside, in a lounge room or on a desk at the office. To a large extent, the Chumby succeeds; its success globally means there is a large, established developer community for Australian newcomers to plug into.

AKAI’s 15in Digital Photo Frame is certainly at the larger end of the scale, and it has some good qualities aside from its size. Though it isn't a very advanced frame in terms of features, its simplicity and quality make it an excellent buy.

More games to look out for during the Christmas rush.

Every year, a number of games always fall off the radar. Whether it is due to delays, cancellation or sheer laziness on the developer's part, sometimes even anticipated games can disappear without a trace. We have compiled some of the notables of this year, so you know what you are missing out on.

If you don’t need scanning and copying, HP’s Photosmart D5460 is a decent buy. It delivers good quality printing and has some of the frills associated with the Photosmart range.

The launch of smartphones seems to bring both joy and fear for many these days. Joy, of course, that you can wrap your hands around the shiny plastic of a new toy. Fear of the looming data costs and the mountainous phone bills.

There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the HP Photosmart C6380 — it is the biggest, brightest and most feature-packed multifunction in the Photosmart range. Surprisingly, while the C6380 might be the pinnacle of home printing and scanning in some ways, when it comes to print quality it isn’t the best. Despite this shortcoming, a raft of features will be certain to entice.

Vodafone today announced pricing plans for the upcoming BlackBerry Storm, ahead of its launch on 1 December. "Today we announce that we’re bringing the BlackBerry Storm to Australia with a sensational $0 offer with unlimited BlackBerry e-mail and Internet usage", Russell Hewitt, Vodafone Australia's CEO, said.

Five months after its initial launch in the US, The Soc Exchange.com today announced an Australian version of its popular trading Web site.

Ensemble Studios has released another batch of images from its upcoming real-time strategy game Halo Wars. Plot details remain thin, though a press conference held by Ensemble today revealed a little more information. Built specifically for the Xbox 360, the control scheme has been designed with a game controller in mind, making it much easier to play. The game will include a total of 15 missions with both main objectives and secondary objectives to complete at the whim of the player, with a strong story to drive the game’s levels. Expect the game to hit the Xbox 360 in late February.

The C4580 sits at the bottom of HP's Photosmart range, providing basic features and a few extras for an affordable price. This multifunction hasn't changed drastically from previous iterations, but improved quality and some added features make it a better unit overall.