I recently discussed a useful utility for your toolbox, FreeBASIC, a BASIC compiler that is very good and, as the name implies, free.

FreeBASIC is so good I awarded it 4.5 out of 5. I concluded: "The only drawbacks are that it is Windows-only, sometimes produces diagnostic messages on programming errors that make little sense, and some of the documentation is incomplete." I was right about the last two issues but, as reader Rod Larse (Spokane, Wash.) pointed out, compilers for DOS and Linux are also available. I herewith revise FreeBASIC's rating to 4.75.

As I've broached the subject of *nix I think it timely to discuss a new operating system that I just got my hands on: Presto  published by Xandros.

Quick digression: prestomypc.com has a big banner on the home page that does something that I hate -- it immediately starts playing video with sound when the page loads. To all companies that insist on doing the same egregiously irritating, indulgent nonsense, please, please stop it. When I am working I usually have music playing and when I have my groove on I do not need your soundtrack harshing my mellow.

Anyway, Presto, in common with the other Xandros operating systems, is a Debian derivative and it has an interesting goal: Presto aims to boot your PC into full operation within 10 seconds.

Having Windows XP or Vista installed is a prerequisite and when Presto is running you can access all of your Windows files (as long as you're using NTFS without encryption and not using SCSI drives or a RAID configuration). Other than that all you need is a moderately powerful processor, 3.5GB of disk space and 512MB of RAM.

I tried Presto on one of my favorite machines, a Sony VAIO T250 laptop (still one of the best displays on the market), and installation was flawless (only my Web cam didn't work) and performance was mostly, but not always, better under Presto than it was under Windows XP SP2.

When I restarted my PC I was offered a boot menu. If you fail to make a choice within 30 seconds Windows will automatically boot. If you select Presto before the timeout you will be looking at its XFCE desktop environment in about 10 seconds. W00t.

Presto comes with a selection of basic utilities including Firefox, Skype and Pidgin for instant messaging, and a range of multimedia playback utilities. For more you need to run the Applications Store program, which is available from the toolbar. And here some odd thinking raises its ugly head.