Is Windows 10 ready? Steady? No!

It’s only two weeks until Microsoft’s new OS arrives. Barry Collins isn’t confident

My daughter is 10 years old, going on 16. She wants to hang out in town with her mates, stay at home while we go to the supermarket and not have us peering over her shoulder every time she goes online. Every week brings a new test of how far she can be trusted and whether she’s mature enough to handle these responsibilities. But so far, she’s risen to the challenge.

Send messages from the future

You don’t need to be near your PC or phone to contact someone over the web. Jonathan Parkyn reveals how to schedule messages to be sent at a more convenient time

Delay delivery of emails until later

There are all kinds of situations where you might want to write an email but not send it straight away. Perhaps it’s a relative’s birthday in a couple of days’ time but you don’t trust yourself to remember on the day; or you might want to send an email to a work colleague at a specific time to make yourself look industrious. With the right tools, you can type a message whenever you want and specify exactly when you’d like it sent. Precisely how you do this depends on the email service or program you use.

Stop background processes slowing you down

Sometimes the biggest drains on your system resources are things you don’t even realise are running. Robert Irvine explains how to detect and disable the hidden hogs

Identify and kill the worst memory hogs

The simplest way to find out what’s happening in the background on your PC is through the Windows Task Manager. To launch this built-in tool, either right-click the taskbar and select Start Task Manager or press Ctrl+Shift+Esc on your keyboard. Click the Processes tab for an overview of everything that’s running on your system, then click the Memory column to sort entries according to the amount of memory they’re using. To stop a specific resource hog, click its name in the list (the Description column tells you which program is responsible, so you don’t close anything important), then click the End Process button.

Remove, Repair & Recover for free

Don’t waste time and money calling technical support lines. Wayne Williams reveals how the three Rs can help you solve most everyday PC problems

Your PC can fall victim to all manner of problems, from lost data and corrupt files, to malware infections and malfunctioning hardware. But if you’re well-versed in the three computing Rs - removal, repair and recovery - you should be able to solve the majority of tech troubles with a minimum of fuss.

In this feature, we look at some of the most common PC problems and reveal the best tricks and free tools for solving them, as suggested by those essential three Rs.

Switch your ISP

Moving from one broadband provider to another has long been an arduous task. Happily, the process has just become a lot easier, as David Crookes explains

What's happened?

On 20 June, the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom (www.ofcom.org.uk), introduced new measures that allow broadband and landline customers to switch providers in a faster and more straightforward manner. Rather than jump through hoops to cancel one contract and begin another, you now only need to contact one company, who will make all the arrangements for you.

Sony Catalyst Production Suite

Andy Shaw looks at a video-editing suite that lets you transform your high-definition footage into a professional-looking film

Sony’s Catalyst software sits somewhere between Windows Movie Maker (which is surprisingly good for a free program), and the kind of software you would find in a professional TV-editing suite. It’s pricier than the basic tools for home-movie makers but not so costly that only a professional video editor would be willing to pay for it.

Roku 2 (2015 update)

Andy Shaw tests Roku’s new mid-range TV-streaming box, which has been updated to make it as powerful as Roku’s top model

The latest member of Roku’s family of streaming devices is an upgrade to an old favourite - the Roku 2 - which is intended to replace the previous version. It has a new case, which makes it look more like the Roku 3; updated hardware to provide significantly faster performance; and a redesigned remote control. There have also been some updates to the Roku software to tie in with the launch of this device, though existing Roku devices will also get the software as a free update.