Walkers recently changed their Salt & Vinegar flavour to include milk-derived lactose, which is a bit of a bummer for those of us that are lactose intolerant (mine is Crohn's and not hippy related you understand) as it was one of the very few fattening snack products that were.

I emailed them and they've changed the formulation to exclude MSG (why?) and added lactose. Anyway, they were fairly good at responding with a list of lactose free products, which I shall share with you now.

Walkers Products suitable for Lactose Intolerants

May 2009

Crisps

Walkers BBQ Rib Flavour Crisps
Walkers Pickled Onion Flavour Crisps
Walkers Prawn Cocktail Flavour Crisps
Walkers Ready Salted Crisps
NEW Walkers Roast Gammon Flavour Crisps
Walkers Steak & Onion Flavour Crisps
NEW Walkers Sweet Cumberland Sausage Flavour Crisps
Walkers Worcester Sauce Flavour Crisps
Walkers Salt & Shake Crisps
Walkers Lights Simply Salted Crisps
Walkers Sensations Balsamic Vinegar & Caramelised Onion

Flavour Crisps
Snacks

Walkers Baked Mango Chilli Flavour
Walkers Baked Ready Salted
Walkers French Fries Ready Salted Flavour
Walkers French Fries Salt & Vinegar Flavour
Walkers Quavers Prawn Cocktail Flavour
Walkers Quavers Salt & Vinegar Flavour
Walkers Sensations Oriental Crackers Peking Spare Rib Flavour
Walkers Sensations Poppadom Bites Lime & Coriander Chutney Flavour
Walkers Squares Ready Salted
Walkers Squares Salt & Vinegar Flavour
Walkers SunBites Original
Walkers SunBites Sun Ripened Sweet Chilli Flavour
Walkers Wotsits Flamin' Hot Flavour
Doritos Chilli Heatwave Flavour
Doritos Lightly Salted
Doritos Sizzling BBQ Flavour
Smiths Chipsticks Ready Salted
Smiths Chipsticks Salt & Vinegar Flavour

Please Note:

This list is published using the best possible information that is available at the time of compilation. Whilst we take every care, Walkers Snack Foods cannot accept liability for any errors that may inadvertently occur. Recipes may change so always check ingredients on the pack.

I did an in-place upgrade of our living room media centre to the Windows 7 RC last weekend. I was a bit hesitant, not least because it's our main TV and therefore has to have a high wife-acceptance-factor (WAF>90). I had updated to Vista TV Pack a few weeks ago and found some issues with reception of a few channels (C4 mostly) so I felt that things probably couldn't be any worse.

The upgrade went amazingly smoothly and things pretty much "just worked". I had to update my network card drivers as they blue screened on standby, but they were 2 years old. The iMon LCD display also doesn't work as their app crashes on startup. I presume an updated version will emerge sooner or later.

But, down to the good bits:

- If you hadn't already gone to Vista TV Pack, then you'll get interactive ("red button") on DVB-T and subtitles.
- Speaking of subs, when you mute media centre, subs get turned on automatically. Neat.
- TV quality looks better, a bit sharper perhaps.
- I love the new screensaver of your favourite pics / cover art when TV is paused or stopped.
- In the guide, hold down the arrow keys and you'll super-speed through the days.
- The now/next mini guide is much improved for browsing around channels.
- The new movies section automatically categorises and grabs cover art for any movies you record from TV or play back via DVD.

The only thing I don't like is the media centre startup noise. It sounds like Fox News' jingle or some American anthem. At least you don't have to hear it that often.