What’s All the Fuss About Surround Wi-Fi

There’s a new way to guarantee a reliable connection from cellar to attic

What is it?

A term coined by US router company Luma (https://getluma.com) to describe a new form of Wi-Fi. The technology connects several routers around your home to extend coverage, similar to how wireless speaker systems like Sonos play music in different rooms.

Palicomp AMD Shockwave

A Windows 10 desktop PC that puts plenty of power at your fingertips

What is it with PC makers and military hardware? We tested Chillblast’s Fusion Drone, which to our disappointment bore no resemblance to a nuclear-powered unmanned aerial vehicle. Palicomp’s Shockwave comes in a rugged black case that actually does look as if Prince Andrew should be demonstrating it to an audience of Saudi officials. LED lighting behind the grilles even emits an eerie green glow. But it’s really quite harmless.

Veho Muvi K2NPNG

An action camera with lots of extras

Trademark lawyers hate it when you use brands to reference a whole category of products. But we still do it. Most of us have a Hoover, possibly made by Zanussi. Or maybe a ‘Dyson’… with ‘Vax’ written on the front. Some names just stick in the mind, and almost anything is better than ‘vacuum cleaner’.

BBC iPlayer Fast Fixes

Fix poor video quality, find the missing HD option and disable your VPN

Error message says you’re outside the UK

If iPlayer tells you you’re not in the UK when you are, check whether you’ve installed VPN software such as CyberGhost (www.cyberghostvpn.com). Tools like these mask your computer’s IP address to make it look like you’re connecting from a different country. So, try disabling any VPN tool you have installed.

Acer Liquid Jade Z

High performance at a low price

Five hundred quid for a phone? You must be joking, you might think. I don’t need all that, you might think. Retina this, fingerprint scanner that – who cares, as long as you can make calls, send texts and install a few apps? So you buy a budget smartphone. You turn it on. And then you remember it isn’t really a phone at all, it’s a computer. Features aside, that extra you pay is for performance: the ability to do the same things, but with less staring at the screen waiting (often praying) for them to actually happen.

Google Nexus 6P

Google shows how Android phones should be done

Google, whose Android software is used by the majority of phones and tablets not made by Apple, only makes two phones itself. Actually, it doesn’t even make them, just sticks its Nexus logo on them. The Nexus 5X is manufactured by LG in South Korea. Its big brother, the 6P, comes courtesy of Huawei in China. We still can’t adequately explain how to pronounce ‘Huawei’, but if you have children who leave toys lying around on the stairs, you’ll say it eventually.

Stop & Control Windows Updates

Microsoft has been causing chaos recently with its flawed updates for Windows. Jane Hoskyn explains how to regain control of your PC

Windows Update are two words guaranteed to strike fear into the heart of any PC user. You’ve already spent what seems like half your life staring at the message “Installing update 1 of 128… Installing update 2 of 128” before you can actually use your computer. Then there’s a second wave of updates to fix all the bugs in the first wave.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro

Your home-entertainment centre in a tablet

Lenovo makes two different product lines called Yoga. One is a series of Windows laptops that fold up to work like tablets. This item belongs to the other group, which are proper tablets, running Google’s Android software. When we reviewed the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro, we marvelled at its built-in video projector. This new version takes that feature a step further.

PC Specialist Cosmos IV 15.6in

A fast Windows 10 laptop for less than you’d expect

When you think of a laptop nowadays, you probably think of something like a MacBook Air. Incredibly slim, conveniently light, and neatly carved out of a single piece of aluminium. Everything is perfectly designed and engineered into place. And that’s where it’s staying, because you can only buy a MacBook Air with a minimal set of features, and not even a trained engineer could shoehorn in anything else.