One thing struck me – the ‘top of the range’ model comes with a tiny but expensive solid state hard drive. It’s not just Sony – the likes of Dell offer something similar in their ultra-portables. Even the cheap (but not as cheap as it used to be) Eee PC uses a solid state drive.

And what’s wrong with that? They’re mechanically robust, and flash memory is now cleverly produced so that it doesn’t ‘wear out’ as quickly as the 1st generation products did. Plus prices are rapidly tumbling. It’s great, isn’t it?

Well, actually, no it isn’t. At least, not in one important respect: The great thing about old-skool hard drives is that they make noises, and they vibrate a tiny little bit. So when a computer is booting, or loading a big application like PhotoShop, you know it’s actually doing something. You hear it and you feel it.

With solid-state hard drives that changes – you click on an icon and then nothing seems to be happening until several seconds later your application suddenly springs to life. It’s really disconcerting not having the audible and tactile feedback. I find the rattle and hum of a hard drive a bit like the ‘click click’ of the indicator relay in a car – it tells you that things are working. In fact, this is a legal requirement with cars, and on models where the actual relay can’t be heard from the driver’s seat the manufacturer has to fit a repeater inside the cabin. I think laptop manufacturers should take a leaf out of this book and do the same – where they fit solid state drives they should also emit a very quiet HDD-type noise when the drive is being accessed. And if they added an ultra-tiny and only just noticeable vibrate facility too then it would be even better.

Speaking of cars, I nearly got run over by a tw@t in a hybrid the other day. When travelling through the city, on electric power, they are pretty much silent, so you don’t notice them sneaking up on you. So as well as requesting laptop manufacturers to provide drive-access feedback, I’d like to suggest that hybrid and electric cars be fitted with an external speaker that makes a petrol engine-like noise. It could even spurn a whole industry similar to the ringtone business, where people could download Ferrari, Lambo, Aston, etc. noises for their cars.

And what about that sexy little TZ Sony? Once upon a time my wallet would have been twitching, but not any more. Sony products (and particularly Sony support) have hurt me too many times. That love affair is well and truly over.

But with “how come the bloody RPI is still four percent” mega-inflation now hitting food, fuel and mortgage costs, and starting to blow big holes through household budgets, people are starting to think twice. They’re wondering whether splashing out on broadband is something of an extravagance.

I reckon this is a false economy. Those of us that are online should be using the Internet to make savings that more than cover our broadband costs. For a good starting point check out the forums on the Money Saving Expert site. Those of you who’ve caught Martin Lewis on his Ch5 TV proggie might not have warmed to the fella, but the forums on his website are full of excellent advice, with lots of loyal visitors pointing out good deals that they’ve found, both online and out there in the real world.

Price comparison sites are always worth a visit too, and in particular should help you with things like utility bills and car insurance. Do bear in mind that they get a kickback from the companies they list, and that not all of them list all companies, although for car insurance I’ve found www.tescocompare.com to be particularly good. But it’s always best to build up your own shortlist based on the results from two or three comparison sites. It might take you 20 minutes, but if you’re going to save £100 or more that’s surely time well spent?

Next, check out the cashback sites. My current favourite is www.quidco.com, although others are available. In particular, check out the deals available on essentials such as gas, electricity, and car insurance. Use the list you got from the price comparison sites, and then factor in the cashback you’ll get from Quidco. You’ll often find that the best deal isn’t from the cheapest company, or from that offering the biggest cashback – it’s only when you combine the price and the kickback that you’ll find the bargain price. For example, I just renewed the insurance on my wife’s car – we’d received a renewal quote of £250 from Direct Line, but by using a couple of price comparison sites I managed to get a new policy from MoreThan for £190, with £65 cash back via Quidco. So £125 in all, exactly half of Direct Line’s renewal quote.

I’ve been a member of Quidco for seven months now, and have so far clocked up £435 cashback, including two lots of £60 for switching from British Gas to, erm, British Gas. Nice!

Other money saving advice includes keeping an eye on Ebay when making purchases – you’ll often find vendors selling stuff cheaply there via “Buy it now” listings, but make sure you weed out any sellers with poor feedback. Also check out Google’s product search too, as that can turn up some bargains. When buying electrical goods I’d advise you to take a look at Dixons online shop. They’re not often listed by the price comparison sites, but I’ve found them to be consistently cheaper than most other online retailers over recent weeks. Plus there’s a series of well known discount codes that you might be able to use (AW5, AW10, etc.), plus another 3% off by going via Quidco. Oh, and if you pay using an Egg card you’ll get another 2.5% cashback on top of that! Like with the car insurance, it’s these combinations that are important.

People once spoke about the Internet creating a digital divide, a society of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. They were talking about information, and the empowerment that it brings, but I reckon that the ‘net is now delivering something far more basic – value. We’re getting to the point where the ‘haves’ only have because they can afford to, and they can only afford to because they have the tools and opportunities that the Internet provides. Can anyone afford to be without it?

Now I’m a great believer in the words and syntax of our language evolving over time, but can K’brdg really be classed as evolution? Is it even obvious what it means?

What’s sad is that a little man in a yellow reflective waistcoat obviously risked his life standing in that busy road to paint those road markings, but to what effect? Do they guide people on their merry way, or cause distraction as drivers have a Lynne Truss moment, snarling at the terrible contraction and apostrophe abuse painted across the lane in front of them?

What’s this got to do with technology? Well, the man in the yellow waistcoat was only following orders, but somewhere further up the food chain a computer must have been used in the design and specification of the road markings – probably running Microsoft Word. K’brdg and V’tria will almost certainly have had squiggly red lines underneath them.

Perhaps one day, if the traffic is light and if I’m feeling really brave, I’ll grab a spray can and add that red squiggle back again, underneath the lane markings.