Site offer Eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed that a new link appeared yesterday in the "Reg Shops" navigation box on the left of your screen, viz: "Computer Components". The explanation is simple: El Reg has inked an affiliate deal with MicroDirect to supply quality computer components, and especially peripherals, to our tech-hungry readership.

You can have a look at the new shop right here. The first thing you'll notice is the provocative cool blue branding. Teams of highly-paid consultants slaved for months to formulate a colour scheme which would prevent the kind of hot-headed impulse buying which sees over-excited punters order two Sapphire ATI Radeon X800GTOs when all they actually wanted was a USB cable.

Easily done, because down at MicroDirect there is tons and tons of top-notch kit at competitive prices. For the record, MicroDirect has been operating since 1993. It currently boasts big warehousing facilities holding millions of quid in stock, several showrooms and more than 125 industry qualified staff. It's also a Microsoft Certified Partner and ISO 9001:2000 quality assured compliant.

In summary: if you're looking for kit check out our computer component shop. And even if you're not in the market right now for a bargain, mosey on down anyway - a combination of deep breathing coupled to the stress-busting azure branding is guaranteed to relieve all but the most serious IT-related angst. ®