How to make your old tablet last longer

There’s no need to upgrade your tablet with every new release. Wayne Williams shows how to extend the life of an old tablet

Every year, tech manufacturers like Apple and Samsung release shiny new tablets to tempt us to upgrade, but there’s often no need to ditch your old model for a fancy new device. An iPad you bought years ago will run the same apps as today’s hardware, and may even run iOS 10, the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system. Some older, cheaper Android tablets might not fare so well but with a bit of care and attention, they should still provide a few more years of use. Here’s what you need to do to extend your tablet’s lifespan.

Take your free software with you

Saving your favourite software as portable apps to a USB means you can use them on any PC. Edward Munn rounds up the best ones

Beat EVERY Web Restriction

Websites seem to take a perverse pleasure in blocking what you can see and do online. Wayne Williams is having none of that. Here, he explains how to beat unreasonable restrictions

There’s nothing more frustrating than coming up against a brick wall when you’re browsing the web. We’ve all been faced with videos “unavailable in your country”, ISPs blocking websites and warnings that “your IP address has been banned”. Sadly, this is becoming increasingly common as web companies decide exactly what we can and can’t access online. In this feature, we reveal how to beat unfair blocks so you can do whatever you want (within reason!) on the web.

We’ll show you how to access sites blocked by your ISP, watch your favourite iPlayer programmes from abroad, download apps not yet available in your country, overcome geographical video restrictions, and more. We’ll also show you how you can get locked forum and social-media accounts reinstated, and read news stories that Google has removed links to.

What Specification Is Required For Gaming?

Games really push today's PCs, so we look at what even the most modest gamer needs to have in their system

Games have always been a great benchmark of home computing power. Although the mighty CG mainframes we read about or powerful servers with multiple CPUs may take the cake in terms of pure mathematical muscle or rendering capability, when it comes home PCs, it's videogames that often push the platform. Indeed, the advance in PC power in general may have never come as far as it has without gaming pushing the envelope. Thanks in part to this entertainment hobby, we're graced with powerful video cards, masses of RAM and much better audio quality, so much so that many believe the home PC is the ultimate gaming platform. Indeed, in terms of technology, that really can't be denied.

Swift Playgrounds For The Apple iPad

David Briddock reviews Apple's new interactive coding experience for the iPad generation

For many, the act of creating apps simply by typing code statements into an editor can seem somewhat magical. Yet coding isn't just for software wizards or a gifted minority. With modern tools and computing platforms, it's something anyone can do.

The importance of coding as a fundamental skill is finally being realised by the educational community and government bodies. Indeed, coding is now a key part of the educational curriculum. It's also an essential ingredient in the 'constructional thinking' movement - something that encompasses computing systems and electronic hardware hacking.