Fast fixes your keyboard & mouse

Calm your jumpy mouse cursor, make special keys work properly and stop random scrolling on a laptop

Cursor jumps around your laptop screen

If your laptop’s cursor won’t stay still on screen, chances are the touchpad is the culprit: one wayward brush of your wrist and your cursor zooms all over the place. If you have a modern multi-touch touchpad, you may even experience a lot of unwanted scrolling or zooming.

To take control in any Windows version, press Win+R then type main.cpl and press Enter. Now select the Device Settings tab, click to select the touchpad and then click the Settings button. Available options vary, but you’ll definitely be able to disable the touchpad completely, or even just tweak its sensitivity so it ignores accidental input.

Dell E514dw

A cheap, quick laser printer for home or office

This multifunction printer (MFP) can print, scan and photocopy. Faxing isn’t included, but the 1990s are over, after all. It’s essentially an E310dw A4 laser printer with a flatbed scanner on top, and on top of that is a 35-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF), so you can scan or copy a long document in one go. Or you can lift the lid and place single item on the glass.

Plug computers

The latest mini computers make your tower PC look like the Empire State Building

What are they?

Mini PCs entirely contained within a case the size of a power adapter. They plug into and are powered by an electrical socket. They’ve been around since 2009, but mostly only for Ubuntu, the Linux distribution that requires less processor power than Windows, and is therefore better suited to such a small machine. They’ve only had niche appeal so far, but that may soon change.

Bring your project to life on Kickstarter

Got an idea for a technology project or product? Professional fundraiser Lise Smith reveals how to find funding on Kickstarter to make it a reality

Kickstarter is the perfect platform for getting your app, service or other technology project of the ground. Recently, products such as the Pebble Time smartwatch have attracted US$20.3 million from more than 78,000 backers keen to get the device of the starting blocks, while the Exploding Kittens card game met its US$10,000 funding goal in only eight minutes. More than US$1.6 billion have been pledged through the site since launch, with a current funding success rate for new projects of around 40%. So how can you ensure that your project ends up in that 40% category with a full funding thermometer?

What’s the most effective way to boost your network?

Killing dead spots, extending your range, boosting speeds – there are many reasons to upgrade your home or small-office network. We explain how

Stronger signals and longer range might be at the heart of many home and small-office network upgrades, but more of us are pushing our networks harder than ever before.