It’s all about things airborne today, with a review at CNET.com.au:

MSI Wind U135: “MSI’s latest netbook impresses us with a quality keyboard.”

And then one of the more widely reported news pieces of the day, given my own treatment at APCMag.com:

Mac gaming breakthrough: Steam coming to Mac: “Valve opens the Portal to Mac gamers from April and pledges to release games on Mac on the same day as Windows.”

Another day, another feature review, this time at GadgetGuy.com.au, where I’ve looked over high-end iPod/iPhone docks with an eye to working out if they’re really worth the asking price:

Premium iPod Docks: “Inexpensive iPod docks abound, but will moving up the price ladder yield a music system that better serves your playlist? Alex Kidman tests the theory with five premium models.”

And for those who want to jump straight into the action:

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Mini: “It’s not the be all and end all of audio quality, but those wanting solid audio in an eye catching form will be very happy with the Zeppelin Mini.”

Geneva Model S: “The Geneva Model S is a solid iPod dock in audio terms, but it’s a system you’d buy as much for the sheer visual appeal as you might for the actual audio quality.”

Pioneer XW-NAS5: “If you’re after a full room solution but space prohibits a sound system incorporating docking functionality, this is a good middle ground.”

Revo Blok: “Like many other iPod docks at a premium price level, there’s as much an aesthetic as a practical choice to make with the Blok.”

Revo Ikon: “If you want a dock that does more than just play back iPod music and you don’t particularly want your music blisteringly loud, the Ikon’s a solid option.”

You know you’re getting old when you write a column about vintage technology and it covers years that you remember clearly.

This week’s vintage tech column at PC Authority is all about what Iomega did before the days of ZIPs and Clicks Of Death:

Vintage Tech: Looking back at Iomega’s Bernoulli Box: “For an inviscid flow, an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid’s potential energy. Got that? Good. Understood it? Thought not.”

So today’s been a bit on the challenging side. Three days of near-torrential rain have blanketed the MediaConnect Kickstart conference I’ve been at, combined with an ill-advised (but for charidee) trip into a dunk tank last night have left me with a throat that glows in the dark, a head full of goo and a voice like Joe Cocker gargling liquid sandpaper.

Some people would say that might be an improvement. I’m rather tired of explaining it to people, however, despite the popular assumption that I’ve got a hangover. If I had a hangover, it would be over now.

That hasn’t stopped the presses turning, however, even if they are digital presses these days. For APCMag.com, I’ve written up the latest in the long and wacky gadget career of Ruslan Kogan:

Watch out iPad: here comes the $200, Full-HD Kogan Pad: “Kogan unveils a cheap competitor to the iPad, says they probably won’t make a 3D TV, and the Agora phone is NOT dead. Maybe.”

In a manner of speaking. Yet another DAB+ digital radio falls under my steely gaze, this time at CNET.com.au:

Bush BR20DAB: “Bush’s latest DAB+ radio is affordable and elegantly styled.”

A weird week so far. On the one hand, I’ve extolled the beauty of 1980s technology in a new column for PC Authority:

Vintage tech: Looking back at the Commodore 64: “Just look at it. Is that not a thing of design beauty? Well, OK, no, not much.It’s brown and… brown. Or in some later revisions, more grey and… grey.”

And at the same time, a random vanity name search led me to discover the oddly named, somewhat gothic and slightly Italian fan group

I LOVE ALEX KIDMAN ♥

all in caps for the emphasis, naturally. Makes a lot of sense to me. I mean, who wouldn’t love Alex Kidman?

People who were emphatically wrong, that’s who.

Sadly, it’s not actually about me (unless I’m living a strange double life even I’m not aware of). It does mean that I now know even more folk called Alex Kidman, though.

Today was a day when just about everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. And then some. To put it in perspective, I sat down to start working this morning at 7:20am.

I actually started getting productive work done at 4:22pm.

Yeah, it’s been one of those kinds of days. I need a long cool drink. While I hunt one down and terminate it with extreme prejudice, why not peruse my review of Asus’ attractive little EeeBox at CNET.com.au?

Asus EeeBox PC EB1501: “Asus refers to it as a “ballerina-inspired” design, and we almost get what it’s aiming for there. Although we’ve never seen a black or white plastic rectangular ballerina. Perhaps ballet’s changed radically recently, and we failed to notice.”

Somehow, I’ve knitted the above into a single story for APCMag.com today. Truly, my wordsmithing powers* know no bounds. Especially when the story itself is about security software:

Norton 360 to support iPad, Android: “Latest version of 360 “supports” iPad, iPhone and Android. Sort of…”

*And, clearly my humility

Are you excited?

Ah well. Can’t please everybody. Unless of course if you were excited in which case, please send money.

CNET.com.au has this:

HP Officejet 7000 Wide Format Printer E809a: “HP’s A3 printer is best suited to those who need to print big official documents rather than big photos.”

Is the subject of an opinion piece of mine today at PC Authority:

Windows Phone 7: Is everything old new again? “Opinion: Microsoft’s cranking up the hype machine for its “new” mobile OS, but leaving plenty of questions open.”