Computeractive

Group Editor in Chief Graham Barlow Group Editor Daniel Booth Deputy Editor Robert Irvine Production Editor Graham Brown Art Editor Katie Peat Contributors Keumars Afifi-Sabet, Judith Batchelor, Dinah Greek, Jonathan Parkyn, Nik Rawlinson, Andy Shaw

I never thought Computeractive would be home to a feature that namechecked Kenny Everett, Muhammad Ali, Lieutenant Columbo and JFK, but it’s a sign of how varied online TV has become. Not too long ago you’d struggle to find anything decent beyond tra

The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are launching a free streaming app to let you watch their programmes in one place. The service, called Freely, will be built into smart TVs from next year. It will contain live broadcasts as well as on-demand sho

Apple has replaced the Lightning charging port with USB-C in its new iPhone to comply with EU rules. The company confirmed months of rumours by announcing the iPhone 15 (pictured far right) will have a USB-C cable as the “universally accepted standar

From 2024, Google will release security updates for Chromebooks for 10 years – up from eight years currently. However, it will apply only to Chromebooks released in 2021 or later, such as Acer’s Chromebook CX1 (pictured below). Google is also adding

We’ve heard of people being hungry for new gadgets, but this is ridiculous. A woman was filmed (www.snipca.com/47509) biting through the security cable of an iPhone 14 Plus in an Apple store in Fujian, China. She left the shop with the phone, but was

Like fingerprints, the creases in your bottom are unique to you. This allows smart toilets to make ‘analprints’ of people using it, and give health updates by analysing faeces and urine. The idea won Dr Seung-min Park from Stanford University an awar

Facebook will close its News tab in the UK, France and Germany in December because people aren’t using it. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, launched the tab in 2019 in its mobile app as a place to show news stories from different sources. At the time

Q I’m curious about Vodafone’s new ‘Battery Refresh and Lifetime Warranty’ (www.snipca.com/47380) with its EVO plans. Is this worth having and will it restrict my consumer rights? Mark Boyer A We’ll answer the most important question first: nothing i

www.snipca.com/47597 What you need: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11 We’ve previously recommended System Ninja as an alternative to CCleaner, but haven’t heard much about it for a while (or perhaps the ninja was just being particularly stealthy). Now this ex

One of the hidden gems of genealogy is the website Genuki (www.genuki.org.uk) – a virtual reference library that contains information online, as well as details of where it’s all stored in physical libraries around the UK and Ireland. Run by voluntee

Q Is there an alternative to File Explorer that lets you and a complex structure is very difficult to cope with. Colin Gray A Files App, which you can download for free from the Microsoft Store (www.snipca.com/47540), is an attractive alternative to

Which search engine do you use? If the answer isn’t Bing, you might be as worn out as I am batting away Microsoft’s desperate attempts to get me to use it. The last thing I expected to encounter while watching a full-screen YouTube video was a pop-up

Those who spend a lot of time making voice and video calls on their computer will appreciate these over-the-ear headphones, which are designed specifically for this purpose. Connection to a PC or other device can be made via Bluetooth or a USB dongle

The latest in Samsung’s range of impressive smartwatches comes in two face sizes – 40 or 44mm – with a choice of Bluetooth or 4G connectivity. It has two multifunction buttons on its edge and a touch-sensitive face for navigating through its menus. T

Chinese TV manufacturer TCL makes affordable phones with unique features. The latest is the TCL 40 Nxtpaper (pictured) - a phone with a matt screen that feels more like paper than glass. Matt screens are more common in PC screens than mobile devices.

An affordable all-in-one PC that runs like a dream Its 12th-generation Intel processor keeps this mini PC below £400 These and much more… Subscribe to Computeractive at www.getcomputeractive.co.uk ■

NEW ENTRY Acer Swift Edge 16 £1,299 from www.snipca.com/47480 Tested Issue 667 This is a much better all-rounder than Acer’s Swift 3, and so replaces it as our top choice. It’s faster, has a sharp 16in screen – two inches bigger than the Swift 3 – an

Kingston’s new XS1000 External SSD is a small and incredibly sleek option for backing up files. It’s incredibly compact, fitting easily into your palm, and weighs just under 29 grams - letting you easily take your files wherever you go. Small like a

The Locked Folder option in Google Photos lets you hide sensitive pictures and videos in a folder that can only be opened using a PIN, pattern, password or fingerprint, depending on how you unlock your screen. This handy privacy feature is finally av

When you search or navigate File Explorer, Windows flashes a ‘working on it’ message (see screenshot below). Some users online have worked out a way to remove this, claiming that it speeds up File Explorer. All you have to do is open File Explorer, t

What is it? It’s a word processor that was introduced in Windows 95 as a replacement for Microsoft Write and has been part of the operating system ever since. You may remember what it looked like back then (see screenshot below). But it’s not going t

Artificial intelligence (AI) is making life much easier for people managing clubs. We’ve already revealed how to use it to transcribe your meetings (Issue 655), edit your podcasts (Issue 659) and create free images (Issue 663). Here, we’ll explain ho

How can you permanently disable BT’s hotspot Wi-Fi? Q In your answer to Mrs R Bayne’s question in Issue 665’s Problems Solved (‘Can I Switch off my Wi-Fi?’, page 64), you suggested disabling the Wi-Fi in the router administration page. Mrs Bayne says

2G Second-generation cellular network. 3G/4G/5G Technologies that deliver faster mobile broadband, so called because they are the third, fourth and fifth generations of mobile-data networking standards. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x216