MY MOM SOFTWARE DESIGNER??

My mum loves interior design. She also loves puzzles but finds black belt Sudoku too easy. She's inheriting a laptop. What sort of programs and games can I load on this laptop for her?

I just got a new laptop, so my mum will "inherit" this one while I bring my new one overseas. I would like to load it with some useful software and games she can use. She generally uses computers for the most basic tasks, though she has spent long nights playing Minesweeper. She's still getting the hang of things though, so we don't want anything complicated.She'll mainly be checking email and looking at pretty interior design websites, so I'm keeping Firefox on there. I'm also keeping AVG. Is there any spyware program that doesn't need too much tech knowledge to run? I have Spybot S&D but

I'm worried that it'll be too complex for her. She LOVES puzzle games. As mentioned earlier, she has spent HOURS on past computers playing Tritryst, Minesweeper, Freecell, and Solitaire. She is now a Sudoku aficionado but is finding even "black belt" level puzzles to be too easy for her. What sort of games along the same vein (puzzle, easy to learn the basics, increasing difficulty, logical/mathematical) can I install? I'd prefer it be offline software than anything she has to go online for, but websites are good.

She also has asked for something that lets her design; I already have Photoshop on this laptop so I'm keeping it for her. Is there any good software for interior designers or those that like interior design?

Specs about this laptop:

• Acer TravelMate 290, 3 years old
• Windows XP SP2, has Office 2003 and Photoshop and a few other things
• 30GB altogether split in two partitions: C: has 20gb which is mostly taken up by software, D: has 10gb.
• 512MB RAM but kinda slow
• Internet connection is through a mobile modem (uses mobile SIM card); comparable to broadband but not always on
• Speakers passable, I think there's headsets in the house so she can use Skype
• Currently has trackpad; am considering getting optical mouse

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BAD i PHONE SIMS

I had an interesting experience with my brand new iPhone: it didn't work. I would have full signal from AT&T, even in my basement (which seems to be the only provider to do so) and then all of a sudden... Nothing. No service. I would not get service back until I power cycled the phone at which point I would get full service back. If I simply cycled the radio from on to off by turning the Airplane mode on then off I would get the message 'invalid SIM'. This happened to me about 5 times in 24 hours and in different locations, so it wasn't isolated. This told me I may have a bad SIM card and decided to pop in to an AT&T store to have it checked out (I don't think Apple can deal with SIM cards, but I may be mistaken, I only tried AT&T).
When I got to my local AT&T store the manager was on the phone with what I can only assume is someone high up at Apple or AT&T talking about the surge of SIM card replacements they have been doing. I went to AT&T so that I could get a new SIM card and have them activate it as to avoid any registration problems in iTunes. Alas, that's about the only thing they can't do. It appears that AT&T can't even see any SIM information on iPhone user accounts whatsoever so all they can do is hand me a new card and have me install it and reactivate via iTunes. I had no choice. I got a new SIM card and decided to test and post the process here for other users that may run in to the same issue, and it appears that there are many, many users with this issue.
For those who need to install a new SIM here's what you need to do: power off your iPhone by holding the power button atop the device for 5 seconds. Slide your finger over the power confirmation screen. Get a small paperclip and insert it in the small hole on the top of the iPhone. A SIM card tray will pop out. Remove the old SIM card and place your new SIM card into the tray with the metal side facing out. Insert the tray back in to the iPhone and power the device back on.
The iTunes reactivation process is quite simple. When I powered on my iPhone after inserting the new SIM it locked out and asked me to re-activate the device. I plugged it in to iTunes and selected 'replace a line on my existing account'. There were a couple of areas that made it look like I was going to get double billed but I advanced anyway. When I was done I went back to the AT&T store and asked what the billing for my account would look like. All was well, no double billing, no re-activation fee, we were golden. If you get screens that make it look like you'll get double billed make sure to call AT&T to ensure that you won't, I can only say that my account wasn't. The only issue I found is that my 2-year service contract started from the moment I added the new SIM, not the original activation date. Since that was only about a 12 hour difference I didn't really care; however, if you are reading this article in our archives and have had your iPhone for a while make sure to call AT&T to see if there is a better way to activate a new SIM otherwise you'll be locked into a new 2 year contract.
After reading a bit on Twitter about users having issues I think they may want to consider the idea that they too may have a bad SIM card. I don't know if Apple can help them at all, but AT&T was actually quite friendly and helpful. The total transaction time was not very long and they knew exactly how to process the order in their system. Results may vary based on location.
After replacing my SIM card I have yet to have any issues. My iPhone has not lost connection and is whizzing along beautifully. Seems that AT&T may have given Apple a bad batch of SIM cards, a very large bad batch.

The New i Phone

This just in: Apple has posted an iPhone accessories page with details on the Apple-branded accessories you can get for your new iPhone. The company has also posted an image of the "Works with iPhone" logo that it will use on certified third-party gadgets.
The page lists devices like the iPhone Bluetooth Headset, USB power adapter, dock, dock connector to USB cable, dual dock for both the iPhone and the headset, stereo headset and more. Prices range from $9 (for the TTY Adapter) to $179 (for an AirPort Extreme Base Station).
The new logo depicts a stylized iPhone icon on the left side.
Apple has advice for folks who want to use their iPod accessories with the iPhone. Most iPod accessories equipped with a 30-pin connector may work with the iPhone, said Apple, but it may be necessary to switch the iPhone to "Airplane Mode," which turns off its ability to make or receive calls, to avoid audio interference.
Thanks to Macworld's Peter