Today Hutchison Whampoa’s 3 announced a new mobile broadband service called 3 X-Series. Most mobile operators, including 3, have offered mobile internet services (charged as data rather than voice) for years now, so is this really anything new?

Well, just maybe.

3’s new X-Series tariff will offer unlimited “mobile broadband” internet access for a flat rate fee, which is much closer to the way broadband is sold to fixed line customers over the traditional copper phone lines. This will allow users to run programs such as skype, which allows free phone calls to anyone else who uses it, wherever they are in the world.

How successful X-series will be, will largely depend on what 3 charge for the service. Unlimited data packages from other operators are typically £75 a month, so if 3 come in at nearer £30 I think it could be very popular.

I’ve long argued that mobile operators who rely too heavily on voice revenues (*cough* *cough* vodafone), and who fail to diversify quickly enough could be as voice-over-ip pushes down the cost of calling to zero. So, this looks like a rather bold move by 3, who are repositioning themselves towards providing internet access instead of mobile phone calls.

If the price is right, then I could even see 3 taking a share of the home broadband market. More and more people are eschewing their landline in favour of using their mobiles to make calls while at home so why not use a mobile to provide their internet connection as well?

I think Google Calendar is great, however I’m pretty lazy and a lot of the time forget to add anything – I’m so used to using my big old diary on the desk that I write in it without thinking. I want to make a conscious effort to use Google Calendar as there are heaps of advantages over a paper diary and I think this new Ambient Clock that I’ve added to my Google Personalized Homepage may help me do this – it wraps your daily schedule around a clock and reminds you of events (this is much more useful than a diary that you forget to look at – this clock stares at you every time you open a new browser and changes colour when events are near).

The Ambient Clock is being tested online, but there are plans to manufacture the next Ambient Device if the online version is successful. The clock receives updates via Ambient’s nationwide wireless network – it may even be stuck on your fridge and run on AAAs! I’m going to test out the online version for a couple of weeks and let you know how I get on …

How cute is this duck shaped vacuum cleaner! Simply slot it into your USB port and you’re good to go – it’s great for getting between those annoying little holes in your keyboard, and can also be used to suck up any dust from around your desk too.

I’m the queen of laziness so this suits me down to the ground – I no longer need to get out of my seat to find a duster or search for the hoover (not that I did that much anyway!).

For just $21 this little ducky is a bargain, and what a great stocking filler it would make too!

Via Techie Diva

I travel a couple of times a year and love a holiday in the sun but I cringe at the thought of my mobile phone bill as I’m on the plane home. I came across a website today that offers a prepaid calling card service that can save a lot of money on long distance calls. What’s more, if you sign up to their site you’ll receive $5.00 worth of free calls.

Australia calling card rates are as little as 2.2￠per minute from the US and 4.2￠per minute from the UK. To find out more about the International prepaid calling cards they offer visit their website.

I love it when I come across new words and ‘fontaholic’ has a great ring to it! For all you web geeks out there I have just stumbled across a great site where you can download free fonts and free dingbats.

There are over 8000 available for easy download in PC or MAC formats. This a picture alphabet is my personal favourite, but the hair of the dog comes a pretty close second! Let me know what you think …

Like the majority of people I find that when I eat healthily I feel so much better in myself and don’t feel as guilty in the morning if I was good the day before. I always search the net for health and diet websites in need of a little motivation to continue my healthy eating habits and there are lots of helpful websites out there.

I came across a website earlier that gives you free product samples of healthy stuff if you sign up to their site and become a member. The samples include products such as Welch’s Fruit Snacks, Kleenex, NeoSporin, Bounce Fabric Softener, Tylenol, Centrum, Acuvue, Nature Made, Planters Peanuts, Banana Boat Sun Screen, Kraft Dressing, Purell and many more. The site is called Free Healthy Stuff and is definitely worth a look if you get a spare minute.

The website also contains information on sleeping aids, diet & weight management products, pregnancy, vitamins, natural supplements and healthy food and drink snacks. I signed up this morning and am looking forward to my first samples arriving. I think this is a great idea and will introduce me to items I haven’t used or tasted before. All you have to do is enter a few of your details!

I can’t believe I’m sitting here typing on a boring black keyboard when this bubblegum pink, flexible Bendiboard is available – why did nobody tell me about this sooner? Plus it’s waterproof, so I wouldn’t have to worry about any spillages, crumbs or annoying clumps of dust between the letters.

It gets even better though – you can actually roll it up and pop it in your bag to use with your laptop, and it’s more comfortable to type on than traditional hard, plastic keyboards. Available for £29.99 – I can’t believe I’ve managed to cope this long without it!

Via Shiny Shiny

I came across a new website this week after a friend asked me to check out part time cleaning jobs on the Internet. My initial thought was to visit the Job Centre website but I found their online structure confusing due to too many options and too many questions that I didn’t really know the answers to. I therefore left the website with no job opportunities for my friend.

I later found MyJobSearch.com that simply gave me a box to enter a keyword title (cleaner) and a box to enter my region (postcode, town or county). These two easy steps brought up a comprehensive list of all cleaning jobs in Hampshire, I picked out a few local ones and my friend has two interviews for next week. If you’re looking for a job, part time or full time I would definitely recommend using My Job Search.

Why not brighten up your day at the desk with a shiny red heart shaped mouse? It’s far more lifting than looking at a plain black oval shaped one – plus you could always pretend your other half bought it for you and comment on how much he must love you? There’s no need for anyone else to know you bought it yourself!

Add a bit of fun to your day …Available from Fabstuff for £19.99

According to todays newspaper, the hugely popular site YouTube has been sold to Google for a whopping £883million! Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, who created the site after a casual conversation at a dinner party are now multi-millionaires - I bet that’s one dinner party they’re both glad they attended! YouTube has been online since February 2005 and has an estimated 72 million visitors each month - apparently it only took the two friends 4 weeks to get the site up and running. Here’s what they had to say …

I discovered a website today that I thought was worth a mention for all you English holiday makers. On the Beach Holidays is a travel agent specialising in offering cheap holidays from the UK. This includes flights, hotels, ski packages and sun packages to popular tourist destinations like Spain, Egypt, Greece, Turkey and many more. If you’re not a fan of package holidays you are able to create your own holiday by selecting flights and accommodation separately.

If I’d known about this website last year I could have saved money on my holiday to Gran Canaria. I just searched for a flight in December which is when I went last year and they are as little as £64 return.

When I was about 12 years old I watched National Lampoon’s Senior Trip. Not only is this the only film I actually remember watching as a kid but I think I may have peed my pants with laughter half way through. The over-the-top comedy may be a little too much for some people but I still consider it to be the best film I have ever watched. I never got round to watching any of the other National Lampoon films, but I certainly will now that I have reminded myself how funny Senior Trip was.

Anyway the guys at National Lampoon have kindly put together a website and club for all you comedy lovers out there. They have watched hundreds of films and hand picked the ones they think will get your sides splitting the most. The club known as National Lampoon’s DVD of the month club allows users to get the funniest films around every month.

A couple of months ago we wrote a post on Rediscovering London – many tourists come over here especially to see the famous attractions and yet for those of us who live here, we can’t seem to find the energy to make a special effort to actually go ourselves.

We may wander past while in London but if you’re like me, actually visiting them all is something I’d like to do but never got around to booking!

I’ve just come across a great map of London tourist attractions so now there’s no excuse not to go and see what all the fuss is about! The map allows you to plan your route so you can fit in as much as possible.

We have all experienced the disappointment of turning up to a big night out thinking we look great and then seeing our friend’s photos the next day. Red wine stained teeth and eye bags courtesy of smudged mascara can really spoil memories of a great party. Well now you can insist that your friend does not post those pics on dontstayin.com until they have been airbrushed to perfection.

Simply visit www.newwoman.com where you can download a free version of the Airbrush Me software. This ingenious package allows you to transform any drunken disasters into glamorous, red carpet style prints in a few simple steps. Get rid of yellow teeth, bags, wrinkles and shine. Send them back to your mate to post on the web and let all your other friends wonder how you managed to stay so fresh looking all night. After your free trial, if you like the software you can purchase it for only £30 or if you don’t have time to master the package yourself you can send individual photos in and have someone perfect them for you - How Kate Moss!

I love a bit of trivia especially when it’s on the net, if you are the same then I have a great website to share with you: Aviva Trivia Blog. The blog is completely dedicated to posting fun facts about different categories such as animals, clothing, history and make-up. They have a great article called Weird Jobs posted in late September, the ideas are imaginative and funny, things that you probably didn’t even realise were real jobs. Also ladies check out their Ten Alternative Uses for Hairspray, it’s a pretty useful article! I am looking forward to seeing what other funny facts they come up with.