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My Favourite Gadget: Digita conference delegates

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19th Mar 2008
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Nintendo WiiIn an on-going quest to discover the devices and equipment that make the most difference to the accounting profession, technology editor John Stokdyk asked delegates at the recent Digita user conference to nominate their favourite gadgets.

Jerry Rhill, Digita
Guitar Hero on the Nintendo Wii [pictured above - a somewhat rebellious choice of platform, considering his company's close relationship with Microsoft].

Shaun Crozier, ieTaxguard
My BlackBerry 8800. I like the convenience of always being available - 98% of my contact is by phone or email. I have to confess that it is an addictive "crackberry" - I couldn't be without it.

Kevin Salter, Glover Stanbury & Co/BBS
My Asus Eee is my favourite gadget. It's smaller and costs and weighs much less than a traditional Windows laptop. It's got 512MB of memory, a 4GB solid state hard drive and slots for SD memory cards. It comes with bundled with Linux and open source software including OpenOffice and is WiFi-equipped for accessing the internet. It's got a web cam and I can play MP3s, videos and show slides. And all of my Excel spreadsheet tools work fine in OpenOffice.

Cliff Jenner, Clark Jenner
The hands-free microphone and speaker system with my TomTom satnav. You can just wake the mobile up to make a call and talk through the TomTom. It's very neat. My favourite gadget used to be a PDA, but I eventually decided it was much easier to write things down with pen and paper.

Tim Kimble, Microsoft
A crummy old HTC Orange SPV 600 smart phone. You can get your email anywhere - you can get everything.

Louise Watkins, Microsoft
Another Microsoft Windows smartphone. It's a Samsung 1600. It means you can be in contact anywhere - although occasionally there is a downside to always being in touch.

Nigel Harris, Burton Sweet
My Pod 6 Variax guitar. It's got built-in emulators for lots of different models, so I only need one instrument and I don't have to buy and store different guitars. It's got five different acoustic guitar sounds and a banjo. You can also use it to "try before you buy". I put it on to a Gibson Les Paul setting for a few weeks, but I eventually went back to my favourite Fender Telecaster sound. It's also got nice Rickenbacker settings for both 6 and 12 strings.

Helen Palmer, AIMS
My Ping putter. It doesn't include any integral electronics, it's just a prehistoric putter. I don't like things like electronic distance meters. You're not allowed artificial aids in competitions and anyway, I like to see where I'm going on a golf course.

Nigel Bennett, Glover Stanbury & Co
The Shimano Dura Ace gear system on my bike, which gives me 20 ratios from two vertical levers on the handlebar, with integral brake levers. It makes changing gears very convenient and comfortable. Where I live and work is right on the edge of Exmoor, which I can explore on my bike at the weekends. Or I'll go on 40-60 mile club training runs with five or six other riders.

Max Thomas, Digita
A four-wheel drive Iseki mini tractor, with a plough, rotivator, topper and link box. I've got a couple of acres near Totnes that I farm biodynamically. I've only just got the tractor and already my kids are telling me I don't know what I'm doing with it. Pretty soon I'm sure they're going to be all over it.

Ashley Leeds, Digita
A Creative Labs USB MP3 player. It plugs into my PC to download music, but it can also store other kinds of data. My kids use it to share files.

Mike Hawthorn, Hawthorn Carter
I'd have to say my Creative Zen MP3 player too. It's got 8GB of memory, but is getting a bit flaky. But what I'd really like is a Tascam DR1 handheld MP3 recorder. Obviously it would be useful to record meetings, seminars and podcasts - but I could also use it for our band Pendans in which I play the medodian, a traditional Irish pipe-based instrument.

Julie Carter, Hawthorn Carter
My violin. There's nothing electronic about it, so you don't have to worry about the batteries running out. It's a 100-year-old instrument built by Frederik Paulus - it's my baby. I like to get away from the office at the weekend and blow away the frustrations with a pint of beer and a raucous, frantic pub session. [As well as helping Mike run the firm, Julie plays alongside him in Pendans]

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John Stokdyk, AccountingWEB head of insight
By John Stokdyk
19th Mar 2008 15:44

The tables turned...
During the research for this article, Mike Hawthorne asked me what my favourite gadget was. Inspired by Julie's answer, I had to nominate my Takamine F-360 steel string acoustic guitar. I got it when I was at college in California in 1980. It's a Japanese copy of a Martin D-28; it may not sound like one, but it's probably easier to play and has developed a really nice sound of its own. If I've got nothing else to do it can keep me entertained for hours - even if it's torture for those around me.

John Stokdyk
Technology editor
AccountingWEB.co.uk

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