Orange Pi

The unparalleled success of the Raspberry Pi has created a sea of competitors, many of which have appeared on the market from the industrious technologists of China. The latest of these companies is Shenzhen Xunlong Software, which has created what it claims is an 'open source' Raspberry Pi-like single-board computer (SBC) dubbed the Orange Pi.

Download secrets

So you'd like to get the most out of your media downloads while staying safe from prying eyes. Here's some of Nathan Taylor's favourite tricks for doing just that

USE A VPN TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS

A VPN service is useful for more than just passing geo-blocks. If you're worried about your online activities being tracked, a VPN will keep ycu anonymous when you're downloading.

Home networking secrets

Want to make the most of your home network? Try these tips from Nathan Taylor

RANGE EXTENDERS ARE NOT ALL THAT GREAT

If you're having reception issues, a range extender might seem like an easy option. But in terms of performance they kind of suck, adding significant latency and reducing bandwidth. A better bet is to buy a second wireless access point and link it to the first one via an Ethernet cable or powerline HomePlug adapter.

Remembering... Commodore Amiga

We pay homage to a computer that was years ahead of its time

We looked at the glorious Atari ST last week, and lamented it's fate as an underappreciated computer of the era. The other side to the 16-bit coin was of course, the Commodore Amiga, and consequently the winner of the 16-bit battle, and probably one of the most popular home computers to have ever been sold.

Gigaset C620A Duo

Michael Fereday has been busy creating a Blacklist of telephone callers

Described as the "Clever family phone", the Gigaset C620A Duo is a two-handset DECT phone system that offers to deal with a bane of modern-day living. Whether you refer to them as ’Cold Calls' or 'Expletive-deleted Nuisance Calls', these unwanted intrusions can be annoying and sometimes expensive. The Gigaset solution to this problem involves levels of protection and a Blacklist - but more on this aspect a little later.

HP Colour LaserJet Enterprise M553x

Those big print job finds a worthy adversary

Inkjet printing can be super-expensive for businesses, because usage can rapidly spiral out of control when a big project comes along. The answer to this problem appears to be simple: a step up to colour laser printing. Many, however, are put off by the cost of the equipment, reliability and consumable costs of that technology.

Enermax MAXPRO 700W

Mark discovers an affordable Power Supply for bigger gaming systems

Having once worked in the automotive industry making wire harnesses for cars, I'm acutely aware that connectors are a predicable source of electrical problems. Building any circuit with intentional breaks in it is never good in terms of reliability, and the more you use the less dependability you'll have.

Acer Chromebox CXI

With Chrome OS in the box, do you really need anything else?

With a launch date for Windows 10 now confirmed, those considering the upgrade are already wondering about that data transfer and how to solve the inevitable problems it throws up. Those who have already migrated away to Chrome OS won't encounter any such challenges, especially if they buy the inexpensive Acer Chromebox CXI. Because, once you've provided you're Google credentials, this system will soon be configured and organised exactly how you want it, mirroring whatever other Chrome platform you've previously used.

ABBYY PDF Transformer +

As the lingua franca of electronic documents, PDF forms the basis of numerous software applications capable of creating documents that can be accessed on a various systems. Of course Adobe, as the developer of the Portable Document Format, has its own tool for this purpose; namely Acrobat. In its current version (X1 Pro), Acrobat can set you back a budget-stretching £400, though. Solutions provided by other companies are more economically viable, though, with one such offering being PDF Transformer + from ABBYY priced at £60.