As a Linux user I am used to not having to pay for most software. An exception is Turbo Print that I needed to make proper use of my Canon printer. I have no objection to paying for software I regularly use and intend to make financial contributions to some projects this year.
There are also lots of free on-line services I use. Some of them (Google, del.icio.us) have big companies behind them making loads of money from advertising. Others are much smaller scale, but provide great services. A notable case is last.fm. I've used them since they were called Audioscrobbler to log what music I've been listening to. I quite often use their streaming music service to hear music their algorithms say I might like and am using their new gig guide to get advance notice of events I might like. To show my appreciation I have now become a subscriber. It only costs a few pounds a year, but gives me access to a few extra services.
In other news, I'm still trying to fix some things that broken on my PC when I installed the graphics card. I can't print now as CUPS died and I lost the settings when I re-installed it. I did manage to fix atd so I can finally play with ZapDvb as a TV/radio recorder. An unrelated issue is that I have lost the ability to upload to this server from home since it was moved to a new box due to being hacked. Not sure why that is.
On the hardware front I have just got a monitor upgrade due to work replacing all our old CRTs with LCDs. I've had a 17" Iiyama Vision Master Pro 400 since I got my PC and it has served me very well. I've now moved to it's bigger brother, the 19" VM451. Now I can run a higher resolution. It's big, but my Ikea Jerker desk accomodates it well.
On Saturday I built a PC purely from bits I had lying around that may serve as an upgrade for some friends. It's only an Athlon 800, but still much quicker than what they have. I tested it with a Kubuntu live CD and it worked well, but I may have to install Windows for them to reduce the support load on me. They will be getting my old Iiyama screen.
