Apologies if this post is in the wrong part of the forum, but I just had to write about my experiences with the 770 over the past few months. I'm sick of reading people around the web talking about the product as a failure, from what I can see it is a brilliant device with a fantastic user community...

When I first bought my 770 I thought "Wow, cool". Followed by "Boo - sluggish and a bit rubbish".

Over the next few weeks I used it less and less. I considered selling it on eBay... I did notice that the firmware updates were getting better. And was impressed with the latest one, which finally allowed browsing of about 2 concurrent windows with no problems.

And then, quite by accident, whilst complaining that Bloglines crashed my browser, the user fpp recommended bloglines mobile. WOW. What a difference this has made to how I use the 770. Once I got going with that, I found that I was using other stuff and... I can't believe that I am saying this... If I had to choose, I would keep my 770 over my Blackberry and iPod..!

So, although these things are repeated throughout the forum, I wanted to share my "recipe for a brilliant 770".

For any newbies, here are the key things that you need.

Websites

* I've mentioned it a lot, but only because it has changed my life. Bloglines.com/mobile is brilliant with the 770. Put the 770 into Optimized view and it is great for newsreading. But it is also excellent for Podcasts - subscribe in Bloglines and then you can download the podcasts wherever you are. I cannot describe what a revolution this was for me. At the airport? In the bath? Want to download the latest podcast, just two clicks and it's there...I don't think I have used any other website on my 770 (apart from clickthroughs) - it's absolutely excellent.

* BBC radio. Bookmark the Listen again pages, and you have on-demand radio from one of the world's greatest broadcasters...

* Similar, but different - save the BBC Radio RAM files onto your MMC, then you have a one click link to the radio.

Mac & Home Stuff (sorry I am a Machead)

* EyeTV, obviously because it is a killer app with the Media Converter

* Automator. A quick automator script to search your iTunes library and copy all the latest music and converted TV shows to a directory on your....

* NAS. Having always on Network Attached Storage works really well with the 770 because you can use it to install software or upload music from your network to your 770 anywhere in the house, using web or ftp. Open the ports to it and you can download stuff for your 770 from your home at any time.

* Plucker. Good if you are going on a plane. It's not the best implementation in the world but it does the job.

* Media Converter (from the wiki) - an excellent little java program for converting your EyeTV shows.

* VNC client (and all the port forwarding on your router). Just a piece of genius on this hardware. I have written e-mails and e-mailed myself flies from my home computer whilst on the other side of the world.

Optional
* Buy a 1gb RS-MMC and extend the internal memory. You will immediately notice that you own a more stable and usable computer.

* Get bluetooth going with your mobile. You won't use it much, but it is very effective and much better than surfing on a mobile phone screen. Obviously

The reason I have re-hashed all of these applications in a long-and-boring post is because I wanted to paint a picture of the things that I then use my 770 for... just in case any newbies are reading

* Portable Radio. Don't misunderestimate this. The speaker is loud enough to make the 770 perhaps the best portable radio on the market. Listen to the BBC, podcasts, mp3 radio stations with only a click. It's sooo useful. I do a lot of travelling and can now listen to the BBC Today programme in any country in the world. Podcasts are great around the house, and there is no need to plug in extra speakers etc. All we need is receiva radio http://www.reciva.com/stations/ to write a client for the 770 and we will have a better than DAB or AE Wifi radio product....!!!

* Blog reading. Forget the Newsreader built into the 770 - bloglines all the way. Change the web shortcut to Bloglines mobile and you have 1 click access to all your threads in a really easy to use format.

* Offline Blog Reading. Set Plucker to download your blogs and convert them - again an automator script can put these onto the NAS for downloading whenever you are in the house.

* Watching TV. A quick Automator script, and a few clicks in Media Converter and you can have EyeTV recordings converted and stored on your NAS ready to download before your next bus trip / plane flight etc. I watched 3 shows on a flight from Portugal to the UK on friday and attracted the attention of about 5 people. One of them actually said to me <And I love this quote> "Hey isn't that the new iPod video that they are going to launch soon"!!! Quality isn't brilliant but it is much nicer to watch than the existing iPod Video.

* Accessing your PC from "away". VNC into the Mac at home - bingo!

Seriously - I use my 770 for these things ALL the time. It's just so useful, and I can't believe that more people aren't doing it.

I know most of you guys are doing this, and much more. Just wanted to tell the world, as I am amazed by the versatility and usability of this product. The screen is brilliant, and it will only get better


(PS. For the people who will probably remark: I know that you don't need the NAS, but it makes the solution more elegant for copying files across and you don't have to leave computers on...)