Pennies for thought

If you are looking to keep data from an old machine, for some extra storage or backing files then this is an option worth thinking about.

Buying pre-built external hard drives can be expensive and building your own will offer you more space and customisation for your money. You need to work out your requirements and this can be done in a few simple steps.

1. SATA vs IDE hard drive
The purpose of this blog is not to get too technical so all I will say is that SATA drives will generally be quicker and easier to connect up. Size of drive is down to personal preference but you have never really have too much space.

2. Connection type – USB (1.0 or 2.0) Firewire (400 or 800)
You ca n choose from Firewire or USB, Firewire comes as 400 or 800 but both are  quicker than USB 2.0 which makes them a good option if you have a port available. Another benefit of Firewire is being able to daisy chain drives saving you ports on your machine. I would recommend a drive that supports Firewire or both for large data transfer but otherwise USB will do the job fine.

3. Enclosure specs
Once you have selected the first two options it narrows down your choices and design is obviously down to personal preference. Make sure sure obviously that your enclosure supports the type of hard drive you have bought. You can buy ultra quiet fan enclosures but these will cost a little extra.

This should not only save you a bit of money but also make sure that you have an external hard drive tailored to your exact requirements.

There are now more accessable ways of getting free Wi-Fi than taking your iMac to your local Starbucks.

There are numerous Wi-Fi hotspot apps flooding the Internet which use GPS and a hotspot database to locate your nearest free Internet point.

This is great if you want to download a large file of just have a stable connection for a Skype chat. Also if you are a SmartPhone user and pay just to access emails here and there then you could eliminate that cost entirely.

They are handy free apps and who knows – it could save you a few quid.

Surround sound is the best way to get the most from films, games and music but is expensive and cumbersome.

Broken and scratched discs have always been common occurrence since the very beginning. There are many ways to go about repairing a damaged disc so always start with the least drastic!

The first step to take is to hold your disc up to the light and see if the damage is visible.

If there is nothing to obvious then the disc may just need a good clean. Find a soft glasses cloth or equivalent and buff the surface from the centre of the disc to the outside all the way round. Do not just smear the cloth round the disc in a circular motion as this will more than likely make it worse.

If that doesn’t work then you will need to fill the scratches on the disc. There are many products you can buy for this use from manual to electric cleaners. Most of the time a little CD repair fluid (costs around £5) will do the trick by covering the affected areas and buffing them – repeating until the scratches are filled.

This can also be done with household products such as wax and even toothpaste if you didn’t want to spend out on the repair liquid. I wouldn’t recommend this if the disc was particularly important though as this is a temperamental method and is not foolproof.

So there you have some options on fixing your broken discs for very little money.

When it comes to taking care of DVDs we are quite often a bit slack and they end up on the floor, in the wrong cases and getting scratched. If you yourself are not they I can guarantee you have a friend or housemate who is when you lend them out.

A good way to backup DVDs we love and don’t want to have to buy again is to create a digital copy using Handbrake. Handbrake is a free and simple-to-use DVD ripper for PC, Mac and Linux that allows you to easily create digital backups.

This method must only be used on products you own or are not copyrighted as it is illegal to use in any other circumstance.  Sharing backed up files over the Internet is also illegal in the case of copyrighted materials.

The back ups can be watched on your computer and used as you like from there. You can put them back on to discs or just transfer them on removable media depending on your viewing setup.

So there you go, don’t waste money on the same DVDs over and over just take more care of them and back them up!

If the disc you want is already scratched then check out the ‘repairing broken DVD’s and CD’s‘ post.

Ok so you may be thinking this is some kind of scam, but actually all it requires is some common sense combined with a SmartPhone. Unfortunately the iPhone does not support wi-fi tethering as they are trying to sell contracts on the iPad.

Most network providers offer us unlimited internet usage (under the fair usage policy) for £5. I know you are thinking that you don’t want to have to read email and look at websites on a tiny screen and you don’t have to.

All you need is a computer with a Wi-Fi dongle and something like Joikuspot HotSpot installed on your mobile phone. Programs like this take your phones internet connection and transmit it through Wi-Fi so all you need to do is pick up the wireless connection and you have internet on your computer. You can get a light version of the app for free or a higher speed version for one off payment of a few dollars.

So this is great for your home computer and also when you are outside of Wi-Fi hotspots with your laptop as you will always have your phone on you. Internet speeds will vary across networks but basic tasks will work and usually basic streaming tasks.

Don’t waste money on the big Internet packages if you do not need them, just set up for a fiver. After your initial setup costs of a few dollars you stand to save around a tenner a month.

There are stacks of internet service providers all trying to get you on board with them, but what do you go for?

First you need to step back and take a look at how often you use your internet for playing games, downloading and streaming content.

There are many different alternatives out there at very similar specs and pricing but there are a couple of things to be aware of when buying.

Many services that offer internet will make you pay additional usage fees for anything outside of your package. This will come up a lot if you are an avid internet user with a hunger for large downloads. To counter this you will need to do a little research and make sure your ‘unlimited’ internet plan really is just that.

In my experience BT has been the worst for hidden charges, Internet capping and a general lack of customer service support. You need to really read in to what you are getting but Virgin media although a little ropey with connection at times is the cheapest and best unlimited plan I have come across.

You must understand that 8mb is the maximum you can receive  with an 8mb connection and that is not the constant supply you will get. Many households sit on around a 2mb connection (you can find this out using internet speed diagnostic tools).

If you only use the internet to check emails or download the odd photo you don’t need a huge connection and can sometimes get a better deal with an Internet dongle. With a bit of phone savvy you can do it for just £5 a month through your phone (see mobile broadband post).

Don’t buy in to high speed hype just get the package that suits your needs, has no strings attached and is fairly cheap.

This is a great little tip anyone looking to watch stuff from their laptop on the big screen.

If you have an LCD TV then the odds are in your favour of having a VGA socket in the back. If this is the case then all you need to do is count the pins on your laptops VGA output and the pins on the TV input and buy the appropriate cable. The screen may take a quick play with in the display settings to calibrate but in most cases will work straight away.

The same applies to computers with the more recent HDMI video connections which will also give you higher definition to your television from the computer.

If you do not have either of these connections on your TV then that is not a problem you can use a spare Scart socket. You can get a VGA to Composite cable that will do the same thing using your composite input (yellow, red, white). If you do not have a spare one then you will need a cheap Scart adapter to plug them in to.

Leads can be picked up for a couple on quid on eBay.

Great solution for watching all kinds of extra stuff on your television. You can stream iPlayer, 4OD or even video channels like Youtube on you TV. If you can get anyone to sit through them then you could also play photos and home movies.

Wireless things are great but constantly having to buy batteries to power them on the other hand is not.

A lot of things use batteries around the house like wireless controllers, keyboards, clocks and even some older shavers and cameras.

To save a bit of money on constantly buying new batteries invest in some rechargeable ones and you stand to save a fair amount.

The batteries and charger are initially more expensive than buying a big pack of batteries but will last a lot longer. A rechargeable battery can usually last up to around 1000 charges giving a good battery life. The costing of the chargers is all based around the speed they can charge batteries up, pick one to suit your needs as there is no point doing it if you never charge the dead batteries in time. It may seem like hassle but it is much less so than having to go out to buy new batteries all the time.

You can pick up chargers almost anywhere on the high street (even in supermarkets) or online for a bit less. Once you have the charger you can they pick up additional batteries as and when you need them. The batteries are usually come as Ni-cd or Mi-MH and most new chargers will charge either. You do not need to buy ones that are the same brand as the charger, so long as they are a type that the charger supports.

Looking for batteries outside of standard charger types then check out our post on buying batteries

The amount you save is totally dependent on how much you use batteries but I can guarantee this is a more cost-effective way of buying.

If you have read the memory card post you are basically looking at the same thing.

This blows my mind! HDMI Cables in Currys cost upwards of £40! Maplin the electronics specialist offer probably the best selection and pricing of parts and still charge around £20. The quality of cable is important but you can get a cable of the same spec and length for £10 on Play and £5 on eBay.

I know I use the same retail names a lot but I am just trying to get the point across using general household names. I know you can get things cheaper all over the Internet but I am only looking to promote 100% reputable traders.

I have only used a HDMI cable as an example here, this mark up is applied across everything including audio setups.

So again you can save up to £35 here on something as simple as buying a TV cable!