The newly launched Sony VAIO X series notebook should appeal to the “small and light” business travel market. Weighing in at under a kilo it boasts the title of “Worlds lightest laptop” (amongst models with comparable screen sizes).

Clearly ignoring any talk of a recession, Sony are targeting this machine at the premium market – the spec sheet includes:

• Carbon-fibre chassis
• LED backlit screen
• Integrated 3G
• Wireless a/b/g/n
• Integrated webcam
• Solid state drive

Taking a leaf out of Apple’s book the gesture pad is multi-touch enabled and Sony boast an impressive 8 hour battery life.

We don’t have any prices yet but if it’s anything like the other object of desire in the VAIO stable (the Z series) you’d better start saving now…

Logitech have recently released a couple of new high-end gaming controllers that should give them a following in the small-but-dedicated market for simulation games.

Starting with driving, the G27 racing wheel is a force-feedback steering wheel. Actually “steering wheel” doesn’t do it justice, since as well as featuring the obligatory flappy paddles it also comes with:

• A 6 speed gearstick control including a push-down-to-engage reverse gear
• A set of 3 pedals (yes, you get a clutch) in an offset pattern so you can practice your “heel and toe” race driving.

At an RRP of £329 you’ll have to be dedicated to your game though.

Flight simulation is the other genre which benefits from a decent controller. I’ve already talked about the cheap option but if you’re in the market for something a little more realistic the new Flight System G940 should fit the bill.

Comprising the full set of Joystick, twin throttle and rudder pedals this programmable force feedback controller should satisfy the most hardcore jet-jockey.  Logitech have even taken the needs of cockpit builders into account with this one by providing mounting points on the stick and throttle so they can be bolted into a suitable frame.

With an RRP of £259 it’s (slightly) cheaper then the wheel but again, you’ll need to be really into your game to justify the cost.

I’ve been using this unique combined power strip and powerline HD adapter for some time now so it’s about due a review. Read on to get the low-down…

What is powerline?

Many readers will already know what Powerline is all about (in which case, you can skip this bit) but if you don’t: Powerline is a way of using the existing mains cables in your walls to make a network. You just need two free plug sockets – plug an adapter into each one and voila – network!

Unlike wireless, thick walls and long ranges are no impediment to powerline transmission and as far as the PC is concerned, the adapters are just standard Ethernet ports.

The standard for powerline is called “Homeplug” and it comes in different flavours – effectively high speed and low speed. The high speed version is branded as “Powerline HD” and this is what I’ve been testing.

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This new drive from Verbatim managed to catch my eye thanks to its front panel display that shows free space. A simple idea, the always-on LCD shows the drive name and free space even when it’s not connected to the PC.

Handy, if you have a few external drives that aren’t connected all the time.

They’re available in the US at the moment priced at $150 for the 500GB model.

Announced last week, the VAIO mini W series netbook sports a 10.3” display with a widescreen 1377×768 resolution, the obligatory integrated webcam and microphone and a power saving Intel Atom processor.

The more interesting announcement (to me anyway) comes in the form of it’s bigger brother, the VAIO NW series. These machines have 15.5” X-black displays, HDMI output, ATI Mobility 4570 graphics and Core2 processors. They also have a “quick web access” button that allows you to “get online in seconds without having to fully boot up the PC” – sounds interesting.

Price and availability aren’t available yet but keep an eye on the Sony website, they’ll appear soon enough.

Edit: I’ve just got some more detail from Sony about the “Quick web access” button. It’s based around the Splashtop software and can get you from powered off to web browsing in under 15 seconds. Nice!

Fans of the flight simulator genre don’t have too much choice when it comes to joysticks – Saitek, Logitech and CH Products are about all you have. Unless you’re building your own cockpit anyway, but for most of us that’s not an option!

So if you’re looking for a relatively cheap joystick to get the most out of your flight sim of choice the Saitek Aviator (or AV8R) is a good place to start.

The Aviator is unique amongst PC joysticks in that it has two throttle controls which can be independently assigned. You also get the usual twist rudder axis and 12 programmable buttons.

Ergonomics

The joystick action is smooth and provides enough resistance to give you some idea of where you are in the motion range. Inputs don’t spike and the throttles are well damped so fine adjustments are possible.

The second throttle axis doesn’t have to be used to control engines either – I find that mapping it to elevator trim makes long flights a lot more manageable.

Programming

The Aviator is programmable via the Saitek SST software (pictured). This software essentially redirects button presses of the joystick to emulate keyboard and mouse strokes, meaning you can assign long complicated keyboard sequences (“Switch radar mode and select weapon” for example) to a single button press. You don’t need to use it if you prefer to set up your joystick via the in-game menus, but it’s nice to have the option.

The software is quite intuitive, making what can be a fairly complex task quite simple.

The large red control at the back of the stick actually switches the joystick into one of three user programmable modes – in this way each button can have three different functions, depending on the position of the switch. Typically I’d have one position for general flight and takeoff/landing and use the others for special scenarios such as combat.

Conclusion

For £20 online you can’t go far wrong, take a look at this if you like (or like the idea of) flight games.

OCZ’s Z-drive range of PCI based solid state drives are on pre-order at overclockers.co.uk. The 1TB version will set you back a cool £2600 which makes it not that practical for most of us.

If you need the fastest storage you can buy though, the 500MB/Sec read speed will take some beating!

Naturalpoint’s TrackIR is probably the second most essential flight sim accessory after a good joystick. It’s essentially a camera sensitive to IR light, but it’s not used to take pictures. When you wear a baseball cap with special reflective spots the camera can work out where your head is (in relation to your monitor). Armed with this information the included software can “track” the motion of your head as you look around.

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This cool flight-sim addon made a brief appearance in the form of a “coming soon” press release at least a year ago, if not more than that. Since then we’ve heard nothing but recently it appeared out of nowhere on Saitek’s website.

What you’re looking at is a USB connected 5” colour LCD screen that can replicate the dials and displays in an aircraft. You can choose one of 6 dials to display (Altimeter, artificial horizon etc) and you can plug multiple units in at once if you want the whole cockpit feel.

Out of the box it’s compatible with Flight Simulator X, although it’s programmable so theoretically any flight sim could be made to talk to it (don’t hold your breath though, it depends on the publisher being interested…)

It’ll be available at the end of the month from the Saitek online store for £129.99.

The Livescribe pulse is a pen with a difference. Incorporating a digital recorder you’ll finally be able to point out to the boss that he did actually say yes (or no, depending on what it is you’re on the hook for…).

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