Judging by the number of emails we receive asking how to do it, lots of people are trying – and failing – to get their Xbox 360 games console online via a 3G modem. It should be straightforward, but it seems that Xbox Live doesn’t always work as expected over a mobile broadband connection – which is a problem if that’s the only internet connection you have access to.

The good news is that it is relatively straightforward to get an Xbox 360 online using a 3G USB modem. The bad news is that it’s not just a case of plugging a modem directly into the Xbox 360’s USB port – there are no suitable drivers, and no way to install them even if there were. But there is a one way to do it.

Getting your laptop online via 3G is no big deal these days, thanks to the wide range of mobile broadband deals that are available. If you just want to get one laptop online somewhere that isn’t served by an ISP, they work great, but what if you have more than computer, or want to try a little online play with a games console? One solution is to use a Windows Mobile smartphone as a mini Wi-Fi router – all you need is a suitable smartphone and a handy program called WMWifiRouter. Full details after the cut.

As much as we love the Apple iPhone, we’re the first to admit that its iTunes synchronisation options are pretty inadequate. The problem is that it can only sync internet bookmarks with Internet Explorer and while it’s easy enough to create and manage bookmarks on the iPhone, we’d much rather sync our bookmarks from Firefox.

Well, it can be done, but it’s a bit of a kludge. We’re not aware of a way to synchronise the iPhone with Firefox directly, but keeping Firefox’s bookmarks in sync with Internet Explorer’s Favorites is a trivial task. And if Internet Explorer is in sync with Firefox, that means your iPhone is in sync with Firefox too. Find out how to do it after the cut.

David Walliams (no, not him - we asked) writes: 

I have an old Panasonic Toughbook and after years of good service, the CD eject button has stopped working. The the drive on this model sits under the keyboard and the flip-up lid is under the wrist-rest.

The problem is that the tiny manual eject hole is on the underside and it's a pain to turn the laptop upside-down just to eject the drive. The drive works perfectly otherwise, so I'd rather fix it than replace it -- is there a way to eject the CD drive with software?

Good news -- yes, you can use software. Better news -- the software is free. It’s called AutoHotKey and you can find full instructions about using it to eject an optical drive after the cut.

When news about a stolen or lost laptop containing confidential information hits the headlines, who doesn't wonder how the owners could so stupid as to not use data encryption? Ask yourself one question, though – is your laptop encrypted? You may not be carrying around army personal records or confidential financial reports, but there's almost certainly enough personal information stored on your laptop for a knowledgeable thief to use to make your life a misery.

Encrypt your hard drive, on the other hand, and no one has access to your data but you and the good news is that any laptop can be encrypted for nothing using free software called TrueCrypt.

Apparently, copy and paste is the most requested missing feature on the iPhone (and not, as you might have thought, the ability to use it on other networks…), but Apple has so far denied users this simple tool. Fortunately, some enterprising soul has figured out a way to do it, but only in the iPhone’s web browser – still, being able to copy and paste text into forms is a start. The installation is a bit of a rigmarole, so there are full instructions, plus a demo video, after the cut.

Nokia has released a beta version of its new Text Messenger application for Windows Vista and it’s now gadget that sits in the Vista Sidebar. Nokia reckons it’ll work with all Nokia handsets that are compatible with its free PC Suite application, but you’ll need version 6.85 or later installed and running.

There's a quick guide on getting it up and running after the cut.

If you suffer from slow web browsing on your Windows Mobile handheld, it may not necessarily be anything to do with the speed of your device or its internet connection. Whenever you open a web page or click on a link, your web browser has to make a DNS (Domain Name Server) request so that it can translate a domain name into the IP address of the server where the website is actually hosted.

The problem is that few mobile operators prioritise such DNS lookups, which can leave your web browser twiddling its thumbs while it waits for an IP address. The solution is to ditch your crummy mobile operator’s DNS service and use a snappier one – which is where OpenDNS comes in.

If you’re not happy with using the heavily customised version of Linux that comes with the Asus Eee PC 701 and 900, there’s nothing to stop you installing Windows on it instead. Actually, that’s not strictly true–   with only a 4Gb SSD drive, the Eee PC 701 won’t be much use once there’s a 3.8Gb patched Windows XP installation sitting on it. It's a less of a squeeze on the Eee PC 900 , but even its 16Gb drive will be better off without the Windows components you'll never use. 

Unfortunately, even if you opt not to install any of Windows XP’s extraneous components, you won’t make much of a dent in its disk footprint – much of the bloat is installed whether you want it or not. The solution is to create a customised Windows XP installation CD that just installs the files you need. All you need is a free download, a Windows XP CD and a little know how…

If Santa left an iPhone in your Xmas stocking (or an iPod Touch, for that matter), you may still be wrestling with its syncing capabilities. Both the iPhone and the iPod Touch use iTunes to synchronise both music and 'info' - iTunes' term for appointments, contacts, and so on.

The problem is that if you use your home PC for music synchronisation, but your work PC for your calendar and contacts (probably with Outlook), it's difficult to avoid wiping one or the other types of content whenever you sync with either PC. Difficult, but not impossible -- here's how.

Originally a clever innovation to help keep word processed documents free from typos and other spelling mistakes, the spell checker is now a standard feature in a variety of other applications. The problem, however, is that each spell check-equipped application maintains its own user dictionary, so any custom words you add to one won’t be used by another. And, of course, spell checking is still absent from many applications that rely on typed input, from instant messaging to form entry in a web browsers.

Fortunately, help is at hand in the shape of AutoHotKey. This free utility lets you create ‘universal’ macros – application-independent automated actions. AutoHotKey is extremely versatile and can be used for a wide variety of tasks and this workshop uses it to correct misspelled words.