One of my presents this holiday season was what I understand is called a "NetBox" or "NetTop" – a tiny little PC the size of a small book which sits under my TV and connects to a camera sitting on top. Now I can Skype with my family from the living room, which is much more relaxed than doing it from my laptop. Here I am drinking a cup of tea while talking to my son in Germany. This really is the shape of things to come!

I can even use BBC's iPlayer to watch programmes I've missed and didn't record on my video recorder or have fun with YouTube! Of course I still use the laptop for email, writing my blog posts and more serious web browsing.

Here's a photo so you can see just how tiny it is – the orange thing on the right is a tennis ball:

Some technical details from my son if any VOGs want to follow my lead::

Foxconn Barebones Netbox with 512MB RAM running Puppy Linux 5.2 stored entirely on a 2GB USB Stick – so no Windows and no hard drive to go wrong! The great camera with microphone that perches on top of my TV and works across the living room is a Creative Labs Live! Cam Socialize HD Webcam.