I also put some photos of it on Flickr.

The problem was that in comparison to other browsers at the time on Windows, IE/Mac was the king. It was the best at doing web standards. Sites looked great in it. I loved developing for that browser! The problem would come when a customer would complain that a site looked a bit odd to them. You see, the majority of people were using Windows PCs running IE4 or 5 which realy mangled any site using semi-advanced CSS. To avoid such complaints I had to hack the site code to make the sites look right on these horrible browsers. In order to do that I needed to see the sites on a Windows PC. You could also use a PC emulator (Virtual PC) but it was way too slow and irritating to use. So I got the company to swap my iMac for a PC. I then moved jobs – to The Open University where at the time their policy was to only support Windows PCs. So I got a PC by default. And that’s the way it’s been ever since.

But now there’s finally a way for me to buy back into Mac OS whilst also using Windows – out of one machine. And not just any machine but one that’s well designed, well built and doesn’t crash all the time. OK so I’d need to get a new dual core Intel Mac to get this to happen and my pocket doesn’t currently stretch to that. But for sure, the next desktop PC I get at home or work will be such a Mac. The next laptop I buy will be the most inexpensive iBook – the 12″ powerpc version. No Windows ability on that but then that’s not really the point of me owning such a thing as I previously noted.

In my opinion Mac running Windows is a great step forwards. Excellent news.

However, my needs have changed. I need ultraportability. I need a small computer that i can throw into a backpack that isn’t going to cripple me and gives me at least a train journey’s worth of usage. I’ve looked around and found that if I’m to stick with Vaio i’m looking at about a grand and a half. A lot of readies for yet another Sony.

Whilst shopping around I came across the 12″ Apple iBook at a mere £699. A pretty low price for something made of bulletproof glass. I’m keen. I used to use an Apple Mac in my previous job and know my way around the system. For the last five years, my job has dictated that I use a PC but to be honest I’m happy in Mac OS, Windows and even some versions of Linux. I even considered the Nokia 770 internet tablet and various Palms but was put off by the lack of a keyboard. Same goes for the Sony PSP which also contains a pretty decent web browser but again, no keyboard.

The primary use of whatever I end up buying will be to surf the web wirelessly – update a site or two via WordPress or similar, buy stuff, read the news, check e-mail. I’m not going to be doing anything too special with it. As I say, my Vaio is perfectly good for that. So, can anybody assure me that this would be a good choice?

Delivery

I was incredibly impressed by the speed in which simply.co.uk delivered me my MP3 player – the contender to the Apple IPOD crown of king of the hard-disk mp3 players. It took a mere 24 hours to feel the sturdy metallic object in my palm. So top marks on the delivery front.

Package

On opening the rather large Creative Labs box you will find: a software CD, quick start guide, leather carry case, usb cable connector, mains battery charger and of course, The Zen MP3 player itself. All nicely packaged and protected from damage by the usual polystyrene gubbins.

Size

Other reviews seem surprised at the size of the thing as it is slightly (and I mean slightly) larger than the IPOD. However, it is still portable and is the same size as my latest cassette playing Sony Walkman. A size I am used to and quite an easy size to slip into your pocket, if you don’t want to use the leather carry case to strap it to your belt.

Software

Before you can use the Zen you have to give it an initial 4 hour charge. This gives you plenty of time to install the software and read the excellent PDF manual and interact with the Flash guide. I was well aware that I’d be needing to download some extra software before I bought the thing in order to use it as easily as possible. Creative are well known for shoddy MP3 software. Not that it’s a bad package but strictly for the most basic of users. The Notmad software that is available from Red Chair software makes tag editing exceedingly easy. You see, the Zen expect you to have maintained a good set of ID3 tags. The reality of the situation is that most of us don’t. Not to worry, that was easily sorted and in a mere 24 hours my CD collection was fairly ship-shape. The software on the machine is very good – offering excellent file management and some nifty little EAX sound effects so you can add masses of reverb to tracks to simulate being in a concert hall (if that floats your boat). You can save your own playlists too or just get the machine to play random stuff at you to its hearts content. There are plenty of menus to enable you to move easily through your albums/artists or search for tracks. The nice chaps at creative have also pre-installed a load of classical music onto the machine for your enjoyment. This is easily removed. One great thing about Creative is that they constantly upgrade their firmware – giving you access to new cool features. You simply visit their site and download the upgrade. The bundled software does the rest.

Operation

The machine handles very well. The buttons are all on the side rather than on the front and they all require a fairly hard push in order to get them to work. This is particularly useful when you’ve got it in your pocket. You don’t want to go accidentally pressing buttons all over the place and ruining your enjoyment of some 23 minute prog-rock opus now do you? It’s got a handy scroll wheel on the side just like recent sony/ericsson mobile phones. This ‘jog dial’ feature is very useful when moving through various menus of options or through your albums. The blue back-lit LCD display is top notch and much better than the green display of yore. The screen is big enough to read without squinting or holding the thing to your nose and the hard drive is as quiet as a mouse. You can have the volume up really loud with no distortion thanks to some clever science that I wont go into here. You get the 14 hours playback no trouble as long as you’re not trying to compete with a jet airplane in terms of sound. Stay away from the EAX effects to keep that battery healthy too! Talking of the battery, it’s a concealed lithium cell that you can’t remove. It’s fully rechargeable and really does give you 14 hours of non-stop playback. Bonza!

In a nutshell…

A splendid little device that will keep me entertained for many hours. The 20 gig hard drive will take some time to fill and the carry case will ensure that it stays nice and scratch free. Downside? Hmm, hard to think of one. Maybe it could have been just a little smaller. But that really is a minor minor thing. Well worth the �253 from simply.co.uk.