Here’s an interesting idea – rent a virtual desktop on the internet and use that instead of a PC. Nivio are selling exactly that – for under £10/month you get a Windows PC with MS Office. A range of other applications can be installed for a nominal monthly fee.

You can access your Nivio desktop from anywhere so if you’re travelling and have access to the internet you can still use all your installed applications and files.

As a replacement for a home PC it doesn’t make much sense, since you still need a PC to access the internet based PC. If you want a second or third machine though (for others in the house or just to separate tasks) it could be useful, since a cheap netbook can get you access to a range of applications you might not otherwise have.

If you want to avoid buying a PC entirely you can always get the “Companion” – a box that uses your own keyboard, screen and mouse to provide access to the Nivio desktop.

There’s a free demo available on the site so you can try before you buy.