With the economy the way it is at the moment, everybody’s looking for a bargain and this USB TV receiver from bizarrely named technology company August international might just hit the spot.  It needs a fairly strong signal for the best reception but if you have that then it’s a cheap and simple way of getting your Big Brother (shudder) fix on your laptop.

It comes with a remote control (fine if you’re using it on a living room PC, not so much use if you’re in front of a laptop) and an indoor antenn with magnetic mount. It’s about as plug and play as you can get and will also record programs if you have hard drive space to spare. Not bad for £20.