Well, the answer to the question "what was the elusive Christmas gift I was seeking for Ritsuko?" is "a Magic Mouse for her computer". I had already managed to get the wireless keyboard, but the Magic Mouse was so popular that it had sold out everywhere except the Apple Store in Shinsaibashi. So that's what the trip into Osaka was for, to get the Magic Mouse.
Now that her computer has a wireless keyboard, wireless mouse and wireless networking, the only wires coming from it are the power cable and the printer cable. Compare that to my PC a few years ago and it had wires for the keyboard, mouse, monitor (x2), speakers (x2), network, printer and power! iMacs already cut down the wires by having the screen and the speakers in the same box as the CPU, but then going with wireless keyboard, mouse and networking - we have pretty much cleaned up our desktop. Sometimes technological advances are a good thing!
Note 20/06/2010: I got a bit busy over the last few days with the sermon preparation and paperwork for my Australian businesses, as well as English teaching here, so I've been away a few days from pbase. Hopefully, I'll get a few more BLOG updates out this week. - James