Small, slick & powerful - the Cranberry SC20

Small, slick and powerful – have you heard of it? The Cranberry SC20 Smart Client was designed to offer an alternative to the desktop PC. Not only does it allow you to run full desktop applications but it is also better for the environment.

Known for their low maintenance, ease of use and flexibility of applications the Cranberry allows complete control, management and administration. Unlike the PC it can be delivered to you without any preparation and is only managed and maintain by you making it much easier to control who has access to operations.

Cranberry Smart Client allows you to perform the same business functions of a PC; you can browse the internet, run applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint without any noticeable difference. However, they are limited in functionality which will have a knock on effect on the instalation of digital cameras, scanners CD / DVD writers, memory sticks etc etc.

It's also good for your carbon footprint as all its components are recyclable therefore cutting the energy consumption AND it's quiet - no moving parts and a silent running system all add to the already impressive list of benefits.

Models are available from 40GB had disk to 250GB, but be warned - you have to decide what you need before you pay your money as your Cranberry cannot be upgraded.

Flip video - 'a masterstroke of simplicity'

Used by both celebrities and mere mortals alike the Flip camera has been described as 'the darling of videobloggers', 'a masterstroke of simplicity' and 'an A list item'. We decided to buy one as a training aid so that learners could be assessed on their presentation skills without the need for extensive national travel by our facilitators. To be honest we weren't expecting much from the Flip camera. It was only £75 and, using the old adage 'you get what you pay for', we thought that both sound and picture quality would be quite poor, that the batteries would last seconds rather than hours and that it would take us weeks to learn how to use it. However I am happy to report that we have been proven wrong on all counts! The Flip camera is very easy to use, so easy in fact that we have now sent one out to a number of customers who are all busily sending back their films. Picture quality is good (although shaky hand syndrome can be a problem) and sound is very good as long as background noice isn't too loud. Videos can be downloaded to your computer in seconds with the software installing itself. Extremely useful for giving learners immediate feedback on presentation and training skills or simply filming your colleagues for your own entertainment!

Minimise web addresses instantly

Most people probably know about this already - I have already explained my techno phobe history - and I admit this is nothing to do with e-learning but it is VERY useful for social networking and marketing using hyper links. I have just started using Twitter and LinkedIn (I know, I know!!) but found that I was using my full character count up with a useful web address therefore making it very difficult for anyone to understand why I found the web page in question so interesting! A clever Techie at work showed me how to use http://tinyurl.com/. All you do is copy the full link into the field and click on 'make tiny'. Once you have your tiny version you can use it as you would any hyper link and you'll have enough characters left over to make your point. GENIUS! There are a number of these sites available so why not go and explore (searching under small URL) to find the one you like best. You're welcome!

E>nable

Now I know that I'm bound to sing about the benefits of a Learning Management System (LMS) designed by my own employer but honestly this system is fab! It's intuitive in its use and can do so many things that my intro presentations are now taking over an hour. The system can handle both online and offline learning as well as managing the appraisal process and also enabling - E>nable... get it? - the learner to request training following existing approval routes but without the paper. The system can even be branded to match your look and feel so learners need not know that it has been provided by an external organisation. Everything is Internet based and you can dip in and out of courses while E>nable monitors your progress. As an administrator there are a variety of reports, all of which can be exported to Excel therefore helping with your Board reports. Often HR systems neglect the training team and instead concentrate on Payroll and absence - E>nable turns the table and has been designed specifically to help manage the training function. AND it's getting better all the time as E>nable is developed using feedback from our customers, all 250,000 of them!