Now that I’m self-employed I have my own laptop which I use onsite in client’s offices, rather than using their kit.
Sometimes I’ll need to connect to one of their projectors to bore them with Powerpoint but my new laptop only has HDMI output, no VGA for connecting to a projector.
Any idea what adaptor I can get to solve this? Maplin suggested I go online as they couldn’t help, but there’s nothing obvious that I can see…

You want an hdmi to vga adapter 🙂 they’re about £5 online. Might be best to buy a lead.

What are you googling?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/281417382685?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

I’d be surprised if a cheap lead worked. a) you’re going from digital to analogue which will require conversion, and b) HDMI has all kinds of clever encryption / handshaking stuff going on. I’d expect to pay around the £50 mark for a converter which actually worked reliably. YMMV though.

As Cougar says, its analogue to digital so it requires a conversion. I bought one a few years ago to run my xbox through a VGA only projector. Cost about £40 and has a HDMI input to a VGA and Coax audio output which I then run to my surround sound.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/281417382685?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11

If you click on that link the most important part of the listing is:

THESE CABLES CANNOT BE USED WITH COMPUTERS AND LAPTOPS BECAUSE THEY LACK THESE CHIP-SETS!!!

Try one of these HDMI to VGA Converter

I agree that the cheap leads won’t work (unless your laptop has a specific type of video card which supports one, and most don’t), but neither do you have to spend £40 or £50. I paid £15 for one a couple of years ago (for use with a RPi), but they’ve since got rather cheaper – it’s one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neewer-Black-Adapter-Converter-Laptop/dp/B007KEIRNG

That works fine with a RPi which has no analogue stuff lurking on the HDMI, so should work with most things.

Maplin suggested I go online as they couldn’t help

Curious. Maplin do a HDMI to VGA adapter, quite pricey though.

I’d get a pico projector instead they go for so little now you’re better off just using that instead of faffing with wires. The bookstone one is well reviewed.

I paid £15 for one a couple of years ago

“Size Name: HDMI to VAG”

You can get an adapter for anything these days.