Calling all students!! Off to Uni soon and unsure of what to look out for when choosing a mobile broadband package? Follow www.broadbandchoices.co.uk hints and tips below to ensure you’re not caught out with a bad broadband deal that will swallow up your student loan in a nano second!

1. Go Monthly

If you are unsure of how your finances will be in 9 months time and worried about signing up to a long term contract, then a monthly deal could be the way to go. O2 currently offer a 1 month contract for £10 with a 1GB download allowance and a free dongle.

2. Download with caution 

Mobile broadband deals do not always have the most generous download allowances, so you need to be careful and not go over your usage cap with too many episodes of Skins! Excess usage costs can mount up to a lot of money, so keep an eye on the limits set on your contract.

3. Beware of so called ‘freebies’

 A free laptop may look pretty enticing but you should always compare the cost of an equivalent broadband package and laptop purchased separately before signing up. These offers frequently turn out to be poor value for money and you could find yourself paying for your ‘freebie’ after all through an extortionate monthly tariff.

4. Check your coverage 

 A mobile broadband connection isn’t much use if your chosen provider doesn’t have coverage in your area - rural areas are particularly unreliable. It is essential to do a postcode search with your chosen provider before signing up as patchy coverage could mean you are left without a connection when you need it most. Most mobile broadband providers offer a money back satisfaction guarantee in the first few days, so you can test the connection in your home. But if the signal is poor, don’t delay in taking it back.

5. UK Only 

 Keep mobile broadband surfing to UK shores as the costs of data usage charges when using your dongle overseas could multiply up to 000’s of pounds.

As I’m sure you all know green is the new black so check out my top 10 tips to make your way to being a green gadgeteer. 

1.Browse the internet on your mobile

Updating your Facebook once on your PC uses the same amount of energy as updating it a hundred times on your phone.

2.Use Eco Font

Eco Font (www.ecofont.com) has been designed to reduce the amount of ink used when printing. It has small holes in it which are barely visible to the naked eye. If you don’t want to use eco font, or can’t for any reason, why not ask everyone in your office to use the low quality option when printing? You’ll be helping save energy (and a few pennies too).

3.Reduce your printing

Pretty simple this one. Consider how many pages you print a day and if you’re printing more than you actually need to, don’t print so much. No brainer!

4.Ink cartridges

Loads of environmental charities offer a freepost service to send off empty ink cartridges to be refilled and reused. Not only do you reduce the volume going into landfill, but you also help these charities to continue to do their bit. Refilled ink cartridges are available in most stationers and cost no more (and sometimes considerably less) than newly manufactured ones. So buy them instead.

5.Extend your gadget’s life

If your current gadget does everything you need, consider hanging on to it a little bit longer eeeek we know how hard that can be though!!  Not only will you save yourself some money, you’ll also be making more efficient use of the materials that have already been deployed. If you do get a new device and your old model still works, consider donating it to a non-profit organisation such as Computers with Causes, which refurbishes computers for educational institutions. 

6.Use an energy efficient computer

Manufacturers are now making more energy-efficient computers so when it comes to buying a new PC, do your research thoroughly to find the greenest possible option.

7.Recycle your gadgets

Approximately 70% of the heavy metals found in landfills emanate from electronics, and PCs (especially the older ones) contain toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury and polyvinyl chloride. For more information on how to recycle your gadgets (and in some instances get a bit of cash out of it too) visit www.recycleyourgadget.co.uk

8.Use your computer more efficiently

If you go downstairs to put the kettle on, put your computer into power-saving mode. Consider turning down your screen brightness and turning off any hardware such as printers, that you’re not using. Pull the plug on your laptop. Your battery (and Mother Nature) will thank you.

9.Use rechargeable batteries

Instead of buying disposable alkaline batteries over and over again, consider purchasing a set of rechargeable NiMH batteries to save money and help reduce landfill waste. They might cost more upfront, but they quickly pay for themselves the more you use them. And they usually have a longer battery life too. Duracell do a great range of these.

10.Use solar chargers

Solar chargers utilise energy directly from the sun and turn it into usable power. Because sunlight is  free to everyone, it makes for a pretty good power source. Without the need to generate artificial energy we preserve our valuable resources and reduce the amount of emissions that pollute the air.

How annoying is it when you get a follower on Twitter and you check out their page and they are a dodgey spammer. Top Tip: next time you suspect a Twitter user is a spammer, tweet their handle to @spam - Twitter’s spam watcher. It checks out the account and removes it if is just another spammer.

A small .gif or .jpg above or beside your signature can look quite professional when you’re sending out emails (a large one, however, just looks like you’re a saddo/narcissist).

Different e-mail clients make inserting an image easy, difficult, or nigh impossible. Here are some top tips for the various Microsoft clients, as well as for Google Mail. Woop Woop even Gmail.

By responding to spam email you only confirm that your email address is active - no no no not good!

Another thing you shouldn’t do is click the “remove me” link in the message. Links in email can point to an IP address other than the one you think it references.

The best thing you can do is delete the message. Many free email service providers will allow you to easily report it as spam if you received it through MSN hotmail, Yahoo!, AOL or GMail.