Remembering... Windows 1.0

It's back to the start of Microsoft's (in)famous GUI this week

Since we're now celebrating the launch of Windows 10, we thought it apt to take a very long look back to the start of this oft-unloved operating system. Windows has taken a fair bit of grief over recent years, not least in these pages; Vista became quickly became the focus of considerable ire, though that died down a little when more savvy people realised that it wasn't such a bad OS once they applied a few fixes.

Xenta Washable Waterproof Wired USB Keyboard

Xenta aims to snag those customers who splash out on their keyboards

When I unpacked the Xenta Washable Waterproof keyboard I had a brief deja vu moment. Like the ones you get if you watch any of the news channels for more than 20 minutes in a row. Eventually the penny dropped, because this keyboard or one disturbingly like it is sold by Logitech as the K310 for about £10 more.

Idol 3

What's in a name, especially when it is a homonym?

With a title best seen rather than heard, the Idol 3 is a 4G smartphone handset from Alcatel OneTouch. This product is available in either 4.7" or 5.5" screen formats. My review unit is of the larger size.

With dimensions of 152.7 x 75.1 x 7.4mm (HxWxD), the Idol 3 follows the standard smartphone look of a device whose front is dominated by the 5.5" capacity touchscreen. The appearance of the handset, with its dark grey body and silver faux trimming, is reasonably appealing.

Transcend ESD400 256GB Portable SSD

Ultimate portable storage speed in a pocket-sized device

It's not uncommon now to hole hundreds of gigabytes in your pocket, but there are often limitations to large USB sticks and the like. However, Transcend may have a solution. The ESD400 is a portable Solid State Drive with capacities ranging from 128GB up to 1TB, with our review model being the 256GB version; all of which support superfast USB3.0 to UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) with the potential to hit read speeds up to 410MB per second, and write speeds of 380MB per second.

Smanos Smart Home System

All round protection from a name that is new to our reviewer

While Smanos might not be a company with which you are too familiar, its product range could be of interest. Forming part of its Smart Home System line up, Smanos has developed its wi-fi alarm system, which can be paired with the company's IP6 HD wi-fi camera.

Netgear Nighthawk D7000 VDSL Modem Router

Netgear finally brings the D7000 Nighthawk VDSL router in for a UK landing

It might be shaped like a Stealth Bomber, but there isn't much that could obscure Netgear's D7000 Nighthawk VDSL/ADSL model router. It's big, utilises three massive 'aerodynamic' antenna and is 28.5cm wide, 18.5cm deep and 5cm tall. Thankfully, it can be wall mounted; though, sadly. Netgear don’t provide the screws for doing this job.

TRENDnet 4-Channel HD PoE NVR Kit

Top notch surveillance has never been so easy

Home surveillance has become quite an interesting market over the last couple of years. Whereas the home user previously had little choice but to opt for complex and expensive equipment, they can now get commercial quality surveillance from a range of suppliers at affordable prices.

MSI Z170A Gaming 5

All aboard the Skylake!

The 6th generation of Intel processors, Skylake, is creating quite a stir among the community. So far the reviews coming in are good, and it's proving to be a powerful platform, especially the Core i5-6600K. So to take best advantage of a Skylake CPU, you're going to need a motherboard that can not only perform brilliantly, but also provide you with every advantage the new technology has to offer.