When my Trust mouse decided that it was going to randomly stop clicking midway through a click'n'drag or highlighting text I decided that it was time for a new mouse. So off to PC World I trotted in the hunt for a cheap mouse that would last me a while. The choice was pretty limited with the price range I was looking for.
I decided on the Microsoft Notebook Optical Mouse 3000. Being reduced from around £18 to £13 it was a fast decision. I have limited desk space so a smaller mouse was more suitable.
I was a little frustrated that I needed to install the drivers from CD, I prefer hardware to automatically download the drivers for me - lazy as I am. Then more frustratingly I found that there was a problem with the provided drivers - no Windows 7 support. So Action Centre pointed me to the download site for the mouse. Within seconds it was installed and I was using it.
The first thing I noticed was how the scroll wheel was completely smooth. All other mouses (was told that's the correct plural for computer mouses) that I have used in the past have had a click to it.
Now what truly sets it apart from the others that I have tried:

• Horizontal Scrolling
• What I like to call. 'The extra button'

For the few occurrences that I find the need to scroll horizontally the scroll wheel can also be used sideways. With a push to the left or right it begins to scroll, neat little feature and it doesn't feel strange or awkward to do either.
Now 'The extra button'. This, like the scroll wheel click, can be made to perform a specified action from a large list of options.
The default of which is Magnification, which personally I don't have a need for. Just where your thumb is makes it easy to use and I'm sure in no time I'll get used to just using the extra button instead of minimizing (which I have it set to).

Lately I can't help but notice people raging on Facebook about how Windows Live Messenger (commonly called MSN) refused to let them log on and resorting to using Facebook chat, then raging about the issues with that after it grinds to a halt with the sudden unexpected user increase and load on the servers.
I have been largely unaffected by this due to the fact that I have lately been using Digsby - an IM, Email and Social Networking client.
Digsby isn't just easy to use, it looks great too. Customisations and little things that make it 'just fit' on my desktop. A system tray icon notifying you of updates for the social networking side of things; with a quick access to view them without opening a separate window.




One of my favourite features is the option to dock the buddy list on the side of the screen and auto hide it. Making it act much like a toolbox in Visual Studio; hover over and view. This doesn't clutter your desktop and allows easy access.

Tweeting even allows you to insert a shortened URL with ease using the provider of your choice.

As if that wasn't enough. The mascot should swing you into trying it out!

Analysis
This practical's purpose was to introduce and use pointers and to practice string manipulation.
Implementation
Code
The Alpha sting's task was to accept up to 100 lines of input from the user of 80 characters long and search for a word the user provides counting how many times it appears in the text.
If the user enters an empty line of text the entry loop terminates
Alpha Sting
Syntax highlighting thanks to pastie.org

Analysis
This practical's task was to use Dr. Giuseppe Di Fatta's code in a new function 'DateCompare' to return values as to if it is before, less or equal to the dates provided to the function.
The Alpha Sting section was to implement this using Structures
Implementation
Code
Syntax highlighting thanks to pastie.org