TokyoFlash Kisai Satellite X Wood LED Watch

We check out a distinctive timepiece from the Far East

Over the last decade or so, the mobile phone has quickly replaced the humble watch as the most popular form of portable timepiece. But smartwatches could be set to change that, and no doubt there are young people the world over who think the idea of looking at your wrist to tell the time is some radical new idea, invented by their oh-so-innovative generation, along with charity shops and facial hair.

Social media mobs

Last month, Facebook removed one of the emoticons it lets people use to tell their friends how they’re feeling. Called the ‘feeling fat’ emoticon, it was a smiling, double-chinned yellow blob to illustrate the kind of happy, slightly guilty feeling you might have after stuffing down an unnecessary pudding following a hefty main course.

Facebook did this because 16,000 signed an online petition to get the chubby-cheeked emoticon dropped from the list of options. It was seen, in the words of Facebook’s explanation/apology, as “reinforcing a negative body image, particularly for people struggling with eating disorders”.

Your PC display

Fix weird colours, enable the highest resolutions and right a rotated display

There’s nothing on screen

If your PC display is completely blank, first check all the cables, including the power (we’ve all occasionally forgotten to flick the switch on). Next, look for a Source button, which is often to be found on a panel on the front of modern monitors. You might have accidentally hit this while switching on, resulting in your display switching to a different video source. Also remove all cables other than power and the one to the PC, to eliminate the possibility that your monitor is prioritising a different source.

Get Wi-Fi in your shed

Is your Wi-Fi not up to the demands of springtime browsing? Jonathan Parkyn reveals how to extend your router's signal to your garden and beyond

If an Englishman’s home is his castle, then his shed is his private country residence – a secluded sanctuary where you can sit and read the newspaper in peace. But what if that newspaper is online? And what if your router’s Wi-Fi signal barely stretches to your patio, let alone to the end of the garden or garage?

Here we’ll look at the easiest and most effective ways to extend your signal so it covers your whole house and garden, as well as any outhouses you may have. Some involve buying gadgets to give your Wi-Fi a boost, but other tricks can make your Wi-Fi reach further for free.

Bear in mind the effectiveness of each suggestion will depend on various factors, including the layout of your home, the capabilities of your existing router and the distance you need to cover.

Make Your PC FASTER Without Having To Download Anything

You don’t need software to speed up your computer. Jane Hoskyn explains how to boost your PC using built-in programs and brilliant free online tools

Your PC is probably stuffed with software that claims to speed it up. You’ve got Registry cleaners, driver updaters, boot defraggers and more, plus any assorted extras that hitched a lift when you installed them. And what are they all doing? Slowing your PC down, of course, by clogging up space and running in the background.