Bet ya all thought I was dead eh?

To cut a long story short, life had a few changes since I got bored with IT. Now I'm kinda in need of a way to make some money, and in an area where it's impossible to find a good tech, so I thought I might go back to it.

I've been out of the IT game for about 4 years, so I need to update my skills on all the stuff I've missed out on (Vista, 64 bit hardware, ZX spectrums). Short of getting a job at PC World, and letting them train me up to sell Packard Bells to morons, what's the best way to be doing this?

Thinking UK-centric, I know the days of £50ph calls are gone the same way as a decent PC costing over a grand. What's the going rate these days? Is it still hourly, or are people tending towards fixed price repairs?

Oh, and my copy of Partitionmagic 5 is getting a bit dusty - what are the technicians tools of the minute software wise?

Thanks people, and a happy Christmas!