Stutopia

Gremlins. No Christmas movie scene even comes close to this one. Spoiler alert: if you haven't had the Santa revelation yet, you shouldn't watch this.

Your feet are more dainty than I would have guessed Dave.

Perhaps some cheeky Berks HFCs too? I like the sound they make with my scorpion.

4x line level in, RCA connectors, but you can easily buy a long 3.5mm headphone to RCA and just use that as a single source from the TV. It's not the best method but it'll work and avoid the faff of changing sources. Probably be a manual volume control too but once you get it set to a sensible volume, if you're using the TV as a source then the TV volume from your remote should suffice, as long as you keep them both in the middle - not one on Max and one on Min. You want to avoid clipping.

Cool, looks a nice job.

That second link is a steal, it's a no brainer if you have the space.

If it's going direct from your TV you'll be looking for active speakers/sound bar, like the ones on most PCs which have an integrated amp. If you go for passive speakers then you'll need the full amp set up. Personally I wouldn't go active if you're planning future upgrades. I'd go with components as you're getting yourself on the upgrade path, so you can replace components one at a time within a separates system, as your taste and budget allow. However, I'm certain there are some very capable sound bars out there if your not fussed about upgrading again in future. Just check with the dude at Richer, they're usually very knowledgable and not pushy. Ultimately, it all comes down to budget. Just make sure you know what outputs you're getting from your sources, like optical or coaxial and make sure your chosen amplifier/active speaker can accommodate them all.

Hmmmm, now I'm bi curious.

Speakers should always be isolated as best you can to avoid the surface they stand on vibrating/resonating. It gives nicer bass. For floorstanders you'd use spikes but for bookshelfs on a flat surface Blu-tac is a nice easy cheap way of reducing vibration, you can buy special pads but I found tac works well for pennies. If you go wall mount it'll depend how the speaker is held by the arm. Also bookshelfs can also be mounted on a floor stand with tack, I had some Atacama Nexus 7 stands, which you could also part fill with sand to stop them vibrating. As per TomS comment at the £100 mark PC type speakers are the best you'll get I'd say. I recently bought these to beef up the sound of my bedroom flat screen. http://www.trustedreviews.com/Creative-Gigaworks-T40-Series-II_Peripheral_review Very pleased with them so far. Nearly went for these below instead, but no space for a sub. They look cool as, but I must admit I didn't get to hear them. Do a search for some reviews by audio sites, not just generic review sites. http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/pc-accessories/pc-speakers/pc-speakers/harman-kardon-soundsticks-iii-2-1-pc-speakers-clear-08843639-pdt.html

If it's really budget then Richer Sounds and the Cambridge Audio products give the best bang for buck IMHO. If you want to save space don't go 2.1, just go stereo but buy decent bookshelf speakers and then just make sure you isolate them from the surface you put them on. A blob of Blu-tac in each corner is a good budget isolator. Tannoy's Mercury range were decent last time I was on the hunt I believe. I had some Acoustic Energy Aegis Ones in the end, loved them and not expensive. Whatever you go for, make sure you can demo it first with your own music, so you can find it easier to pick up any improvements in the sound. Good luck and have fun trying stuff.

Your telling me, I went out to buy a new laptop a couple of weeks ago expecting to spend about 400-500 came back with a the macbook pro retina, all singing & dancing & nearly £2k over budget But what a great bit of kit, the screen is awesome I'm finding the screen a little over kill tbh, the fonts are tiny under linux! I can well believe this, most of the OSX apps compensate for the high pixel density. You running Ubuntu or another distro?

Yes I have one I'm getting one.

I was like that when I took the plunge on my 2011 iMac, after the Zed it's the biggest purchase I've made. My previous was a Mac was PowerBook 1400cs back in the day, then I'd been in the PC wilderness for a few years due to work, so I was bit unsure. Turned out perfect though, it's not missed a beat since I plugged it in and it's as fast today as it was on day one. I think you might have forced me to just have another look...

Oh, easy choice then I thought they did one with a discrete NVIDIA card. I bet you can't wait to get your hands on it!

I keep specing them up, then chickening out. Did you go for the dedicated graphics or the iris pro?

My blood is too thick for Nevada, I've never been able to properly explain myself in this climate.

Read Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas before you go too, it's sort of a manual of how to approach the place. Is there a Medieval Times in Vegas? I've always wanted to go since I watched Cable Guy

I stayed at THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay. I liked it because it's extremely well appointed and it had no casino, so reception and food areas are quite chic and very peaceful. It is joined to the Manadalay Bay so in two minutes walk in AC goodness you're in the Casino, but it's not all over you when you come and go. Also, being part of Manadalay Bay you get access to the best pool in Vegas with genuine sand brought in from California (best quality ) Only drawback is it's at one end of the strip, not the middle, but that can be viewed as a positive or a negative depending on your needs. Wherever you stay, go to the Double Down bar and have some shots of ass juice. Amazeballz. Also, rent a convertible and drive to Grand Canyon, bus tours are for gringos.

Unlucky mate, GLWTS and good luck getting back to Zed when the time is right.

Cheers Dblock, BM, makes sense. I wondered if there was another technical reason I'd missed.

I'm considering some winters, but I don't get buying winter rims to go with them. Is it purely for the ease at which you can change tyres at home as temp fluctuates or simply to protect your summer rims from salty roads? Is there another reason I haven't considered?

There's been an upgrade from the daisy wheel?

Interesting. I can appreciate it's to protect the engine and, as you say Tricky Ricky, if peak power/torque has been achieved then it makes perfect sense to shift up - as you're on a hiding to nothing. Anyone know if it is a soft (computer controlled) or hard (mechanical gizmo) limit? I'm guessing if it can be removed then it's an ECU setting (so soft). If it's mechanical I'd love to know how it works. Everyday is a school day.

Is bouncing off the limiter a big no no? Not that I do it, I'm just curious to learn what exactly happens when you do, and why it's bad.

They love a few morning checks round my way this time of year, and I was duly waved down in their favourite spot which is on my route to work. You don't need to be Stephen Hawking to figure which roads not to take to avoid the "random" checks here. Anyway, I rarely drink mid week so was totally clear, not that it mattered, as the copper simply asked, "Had a drink last night Sir?", to which I replied, "Not a drop" and he said, "Ok, on your way". Very civilised I thought.