Orange Pi

The unparalleled success of the Raspberry Pi has created a sea of competitors, many of which have appeared on the market from the industrious technologists of China. The latest of these companies is Shenzhen Xunlong Software, which has created what it claims is an 'open source' Raspberry Pi-like single-board computer (SBC) dubbed the Orange Pi.

Download secrets

So you'd like to get the most out of your media downloads while staying safe from prying eyes. Here's some of Nathan Taylor's favourite tricks for doing just that

USE A VPN TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS

A VPN service is useful for more than just passing geo-blocks. If you're worried about your online activities being tracked, a VPN will keep ycu anonymous when you're downloading.

Home networking secrets

Want to make the most of your home network? Try these tips from Nathan Taylor

RANGE EXTENDERS ARE NOT ALL THAT GREAT

If you're having reception issues, a range extender might seem like an easy option. But in terms of performance they kind of suck, adding significant latency and reducing bandwidth. A better bet is to buy a second wireless access point and link it to the first one via an Ethernet cable or powerline HomePlug adapter.

Remembering... Commodore Amiga

We pay homage to a computer that was years ahead of its time

We looked at the glorious Atari ST last week, and lamented it's fate as an underappreciated computer of the era. The other side to the 16-bit coin was of course, the Commodore Amiga, and consequently the winner of the 16-bit battle, and probably one of the most popular home computers to have ever been sold.

Gigaset C620A Duo

Michael Fereday has been busy creating a Blacklist of telephone callers

Described as the "Clever family phone", the Gigaset C620A Duo is a two-handset DECT phone system that offers to deal with a bane of modern-day living. Whether you refer to them as ’Cold Calls' or 'Expletive-deleted Nuisance Calls', these unwanted intrusions can be annoying and sometimes expensive. The Gigaset solution to this problem involves levels of protection and a Blacklist - but more on this aspect a little later.