Friday, 11 November 2016

Do Non-Gamers Need Discrete GPUs?

Do Non-Gamers Need Discrete GPUs?

We all know that gamers need graphical power, but what about other users?

If you visit any graphics card website you’ll quickly be bombarded by images and screenshots from all sorts of games and gaming-related media. Specifications for graphics cards are usually focused entirely on how well they can deliver the latest graphical performance in the latest games, and many of the features of a card are designed to appeal to those who play games on a daily basis. Even a card’s physical appearance these days is often made to look sleek and attractive, much like something out of one of the games to be run using it.

Thursday, 10 November 2016

Ultimate Phone Photos: Part 2

Ultimate Phone Photos: Part 2

In the second part of this series, Mark Pickavance looks at different photographic techniques and how to best achieve them using your phone

Last week, I covered generally taking better pictures and video with your phone. Building on that, I’ll be talking about special situations this week.

What’s really interesting about some of the methods is that because of the software technology of the phone, it is easier to do some of these things on a phone than with an actual camera.

If you’ve ever wanted to move beyond the occasional family snap and selfie stage of phone photography, then you might want to consider trying some of these alternatives.

Wednesday, 9 November 2016

Say! Goodbye! To Yahoo!

Say! Goodbye! To Yahoo!

After the massive hack in 2014 that saw millions of customers’ personal details stolen, has Yahoo betrayed your trust for the final time? Mike Plant explains what you need to do before ditching the email service for good

Yahoo has been in hot water of late. First, it admitted – after two years – that hackers had breached its security and stolen the account details of 500 million of its customers in 2014. Then there were allegations that the company secretly scanned its customers’ emails on behalf of US intelligence (www.snipca.com/22184).

These two calamities have seriously dented users’ faith in Yahoo – to the point where many are closing their accounts (www.snipca.com/22191). If you are a Yahoo customer and have decided you want to move to another email service you might be concerned that you’ll lose all your emails and contacts. You needn’t worry. Here we’ll explain how to close your Yahoo account, while transferring your emails, contacts and calendar entries to an email service of your choice.

Who's Hacking Your Wi-Fi?

Who's Hacking Your Wi-Fi?

Is someone secretly hacking your home Wi-Fi connection? Jonathan Parkyn shows you how to block the leeches and make your Wi-Fi hackproof

Have you ever checked your mobile phone while parked in front of your house, and noticed that you’re still connected to your home Wi-Fi network? The irony is that, even if you suffer from wireless black spots inside your own house, it’s often still possible to access your network from neighbours’ houses and gardens, or from outside on the street. And thatmeans somebody could be hacking into your Wi-Fi right now, without you ever knowing.

Monday, 7 November 2016

Refurbished Laptops Guide

Refurbished Laptops Guide

How can you get the best deal on used systems?

Buying a refurbished system or refurbishing your own, is fairly simple when you’re talking about desktop PCs or simple consumer electronics like tablets and phones. But what about if you’re after a cheap laptop? They’re harder to repair and clean, and virtually impossible to outfit with new hardware outside of a few small elements. So what can you do, and what should you look for?

Over the next few pages, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about getting your hands on a refurbished laptop – and what you should expect to find if you want one.