Table of contents for 699 in Computeractive

Forget invisibility, teleportation or X-ray vision. If I could have one superpower it would be untangling cables just by looking at them. Over my life I estimate it would have saved me 145 hours. I could have spent that time buying shiny new devices that require even more cables. I should’ve gone wireless a long time ago, so I’m using Robert Irvine’s superb Cover Feature as the motivation I need. He explains how to charge phones, share files, watch TV, stream audio and control your PC all without using wires. Follow his advice and never again will your desk be mistaken for a model of the Spaghetti Junction. Who knows – if you’ve been good this year Santa might bring you the cable-free device you’ve always wanted. I hope you…

Crazy to compare Fire Stick hackers to Robin Hood I’m glad the judge rejected Jonathan Edge’s ludicrous defence that selling hacked Amazon Fire TV Sticks makes him a modern-day Robin Hood (‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 698, pictured). But I’m not surprised Edge’s defence team used this justification, because it’s worryingly popular among the public. I have relatives who run a newsagent, and several times in the past few years they’ve confronted shoplifters who pride themselves on being ‘Robin Hoods’. It’s complete nonsense of course. These are just selfish reprobates who like to intimidate shopowners. If they really wanted to help society they’d volunteer in a charity shop or at a food bank. Some people think shoplifting is a victimless crime, but again that’s nonsense. It forces shopowners to pay…

FILE MANAGER Files 3.8 www.snipca.com/53064 What you need: Windows 10 or 11 The fantastic free file manager Files has made several appearances in this section in 2024, and with good reason. It’s regularly updated with clever features and interface improvements that leave File Explorer in Windows looking dated and dull. Files 3.8 rounds off the year with another raft of new tools and tweaks that make it even easier to manage your files and folders. These include a more efficient way to customise the coloured category tags you assign to items. Right-click the Tags heading in the sidebar and choose ‘Manage tags’ to open the Settings panel. Here you can change the names and colours of tags, create new ones and delete those you no longer need. Files has also…

PHONE | £280 from Argos www.snipca.com/52997 All the right calls Motorola has launched a few phones in its Edge 50 range, including the Neo (£330 from www.snipca.com/52504) – see Issue 696, page 25. The range has made quite a name for itself going head to head with Samsung and Google in the mid-range market (£200-£500), and the Edge 50 Fusion is the cheapest one so far. And while it can’t quite dislodge the Google Pixel 7a (£340 from www.snipca.com/46332, reviewed in Issue 660) as our favourite Android phone, it’s a decent alternative if you want to stay below £300. “Offers surpringly good cameras, screen and battery life” Where it lags behind the Pixel 7a is in performance. In our benchmark tests the Fusion’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor ran…

CHROME Customise Chrome with colourful new themes At the start of 2024, Google added an AI option to Chrome that lets you create your own themes for the browser by specifying a subject, mood, visual style and colour. Sadly – like several other new AI tools in Chrome – as we reach the end of the year it’s still not available in the UK (nor anywhere else outside the US). Google has, however, added a new set of (non-AI) themes that let you customise Chrome with colourful designs. Created by “rising artists”, these decorate the browser’s ‘New tab’ page and toolbars to make it look more vibrant and interesting. To apply the new themes, click the Customise Chrome button in the bottom-right corner of a ‘New tab’ page, then click…

MICROSOFT WORD Find numbers in documents using wildcards You may know that you can use wildcard search terms to replace letters in order to broaden your results. For example, searching for b?t in a Word document finds all three-letter words beginning with b and ending with t (bat, bet, bit, bot and but). You can do something similar with numbers, but first press Ctrl+H to open Word’s ‘Find and Replace’ box. Now click the More button and tick ‘Use wildcards’ (1 in our screenshot below). Next, in the ‘Find what’ box type [0-9] and click Find Next. Word will now find all examples of single-digit numbers in your document. Type [0-9]{3} instead and Word will find all three-digit numbers (replace 3 with any number you like). This is useful, but…

The more electronic devices we buy, the more cables we accumulate, which can cause confusion and even arguments. Is that a male or female connector? Does this need a USB-C or microUSB charger? Who’s pinched the HDMI cable from the TV? Not only that, but a surfeit of trailing cords, loose leads and tangled wires makes your home look messy and potentially dangerous – as anyone who’s ever tripped over an Ethernet cable will tell you. Bunches of cables left unattended also have a mysterious tendency to become knotted and intertwined. The start of a new year is the perfect time to address and fix your cable-related problems. By switching from wired connections to wireless alternatives, you’ll gain more flexibility and control over how you use your devices, suffer fewer…

Openreach has claimed a new app that lets customers change the time of engineer visits has cut missed appointments by 30 per cent. Previously, customers could only change appointments by sending their preferred date by text message, and then wait for a confirmation text. Openreach’s research showed that this process frustrated many users, leading them to miss appointments, avoid rescheduling or cancel their order. More than half of customers whose appointments are missed end up cancelling their orders, it said. In contrast the ‘Change My Appointment’ app (pictured), which was launched last April, lets customers pick a date on Openreach’s live calendar. It allows for bookings up to three months in advance and cancellation up to a day before. The company said the app is “the key innovation in a…

Can BT really charge me £360 to leave early? Q I want to leave BT because I was being charged £67 a month for a service that I could get for £33 with Vodafone. I was horrified to be told it would charge me more than £360 as a cancellation fee. It’s an outrageous amount. Is BT allowed to do this? Peter Trayner A Yes, internet providers are allowed to charge fees if you want to cancel your contract early. How much this is depends how many months you have left on your contract and what type of subscription you have. However, providers must state this information clearly and transparently when you sign up. It can’t be buried in the small print, or written in language that’s hard to understand.…

What’s the best genealogy PC program? Q I know that you can subscribe to online genealogy services, but I’m actually looking for a Windows program I can use to help build my family tree. It must be free or relatively cheap. What are my options? K Wilson A One area where Windows users are well served these days is free genealogy software. No longer do you have to make a choice between free but complicated (Gramps, www.snipca.com/52979) or cut-down versions of full programs (RootsMagic Essentials, www.snipca.com/52961). Nowadays the choice is almost bewildering. One possible option is Legacy Family Tree (www.snipca.com/52980), which is now completely free, but it’s slightly dated and its fussy user interface can be fiddly to use. Instead, our choice for new users is the excellent My Family…

ANDROID & iOS Use AI to generate titles in Google Photos Google Photos has added an AI feature that suggests titles for your ‘memories’ in the app. This is useful when you can’t decide what to call a set of photos from a particular day, to make the memory easier to find and share. To try the new AI tool, press the Memories tab at the bottom of the Google Photos app, then tap ‘Help me title’ next to a memory. Alternatively, tap ‘Add a title’ and press the glowing pencil icon (1 in our screenshot below left). Select ‘See suggestions’ and Google Photos will use AI to analyse the content of the pictures and generate three appropriate titles 2. Press your favourite suggestion to apply it to the memory, or…

Collaborate with others using OneNote Microsoft’s OneNote is one of the best tools for sharing notes with others, helping you to collaborate when organising events, meetings and so on. It’s available online, as a free app and as part of a paid-for Microsoft 365 subscription. Features and options vary depending on the version, but our instructions should apply whichever one you use – but be aware that the precise wording, icons and options might differ. Here, we’ll explain how to use the OneNote app to work with others. Install OneNote and create your notebook First, download the OneNote app from the Microsoft Store (www.snipca.com/52935). Install and launch it, then click Create Notebook on the home page and give it a name. If you already have OneNote installed, open it then…

Microsoft has started making the 24H2 update available for more Windows 11 computers. It confirmed on its ‘Release health’ website (www.snipca.com/53142) that 24H2 has “now entered a new stage of availability” and is being “offered to a wider range of eligible devices”. Previously, the update was available only on PCs that had the ‘Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available’ option activated in Settings. To check if you can install it open Settings then click ‘Update & Security’ followed by click ‘Click for updates’. If it’s ready, you’ll see the option to download and install it. Version 24H2 was released in early October as the second major Windows 11 update of 2024. Among its new tools are options in File Explorer for compressing files in the TAR and…

WHATSAPP TO STOP WORKING ON OLD PHONES You’ll need iOS 15.1 or later to use WhatsApp from 5 May, 2025. This means it will stop working on iPhones that can’t upgrade to this, such as iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, all released over 10 years ago. Update WhatsApp by opening the Settings app, then tapping General, followed by Software Update. GB NEWS, QVC & PBS COMING TO FREELY GB News, QVC, PBS America and True Crime are among eight new live channels coming to Freely in early 2025. It’s also getting four new catch-up services for those channels. The service, which is the long-term replacement for Freeview, comes built into selected Amazon Fire TVs, as well as Bush, Hisense, Panasonic, Sharp, TCL and Toshiba sets. Read more…

Google faces paying billions to UK users after the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) rejected the company’s appeal against a class action lawsuit proceeding. The case alleges that Google blocked rival search engines on phones, leading to companies paying more for adverts “than they would in a competitive market”. Companies then passed on the cost to UK shoppers in higher prices for services and products, it claims. Google has 90 per cent share of general search queries, which increases to around 95 per cent on phones and tablets. The lawsuit is being brought by consumer rights campaigner Nikki Stopford, who said it’s the “first step in ensuring consumers get back what they are owed as result of Google’s anti-competitive actions”. She said it abused its search advantage by “raising the prices…

WATCH OUT FOR… ‘Winter living welfare’ payment texts What’s the threat? Scammers are sending text messages claiming a “liaison officer” from Winter Living Welfare has tried and failed to get in touch with you. It says you need to “update your information” by a certain date in order to receive a payment, adding that “new applications will not be accepted after the expiration date”. Tapping the link in the text takes you to a fake Government site asking for your details. The text message is the latest attempt by fraudsters to exploit the controversy surrounding the Government’s decision to axe the Winter Fuel Payment for millions of pensioners. It’s poorly written, without spaces between words and commas (1 in our screenshot) and lower-case letters at the start of sentences 2. It…

Search new World War 2 records Medal cards, awarded for service in World War 2, are now available online at Ancestry. They were released at the same time as the first batch of over 10 million service records being digitised by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). When finished, this ambitious project will contain details on individuals born before 1 January 1939 – including the “vast majority” of people who served in World War 2. Read more at www.snipca.com/52851. Browse Medal Cards at Ancestry I knew that a distant cousin, Kingsley Franklin Batchelor, served in the Army during World War 2, but had no other information. I typed his name into Ancestry’s ‘UK, British Army World War II Medal Cards, 1939-1945’ collection (www.snipca.com/52850), which contains over 1.7 million records, and left…

SOFTWARE WARNING! Microsoft’s latest ‘Switch to Edge’ trick In recent years, the only trick Microsoft hasn’t tried to get users to switch to Edge is to break into their homes while they’re sleeping, then hack into their computer and download the browser – then uninstalling Chrome for good measure. Its latest attempt feels almost as intrusive. It’s a message that appears when you boot your computer urging you to ‘Enhance your browsing experience with Copilot in Microsoft Edge’ (1 in our screenshot). The option to move your data from other browsers is pre-ticked 2, while the most obvious button to click is ‘Confirm and continue’ 3. You can close it by clicking the ‘x’ top right 4, but spotting that requires eyes sharper than an eagle’s. The message was first seen…

ROUTER | £200 from Amazon www.snipca.com/52867 At sixes and sevens Netgear’s Nighthawk brand used to sit at the more expensive end of its range of routers, but it has recently included more affordable models. This new offering, the RS200, is a Wi-Fi 7 router, similar in appearance to the RS300 (£290 from www.snipca.com/51974, reviewed in Issue 693), albeit at a lower price and with inferior specifications. “Wi-Fi 7 technology ensures fast speeds right across your home, but it lacks features and a 6GHz band” The main change is that this is a dual-band rather than a tri-band router, so only uses the traditional 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, and therefore can’t access the 6GHz band available on some Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 devices. That limitation positions it closer to the…

WIRELESS POWER BANK | £90 from Amazon www.snipca.com/52909 Take charge If you use your mobile devices while you travel, you may already carry around a portable power bank. These external battery packs usually connect to your device via a charging cable, but the Anker MagGo is different because it offers a wireless charging option, which is compatible with Qi2 and MagSafe devices. Qi2 is the universal wireless charging standard, while MagSafe is the Apple version, compatible with iPhone 12 and beyond. There aren’t many Qi2 Android phones yet, but it’s backwardly compatible with Qi1, so it will also charge older phones, though it won’t cling to them magnetically. We tested it with an iPhone and the magnetic grip was very strong – so much so that we could mount our…

LAPTOP Dell Inspiron 14 Plus £699 from www.snipca.com/51831 Tested Issue 683 This laptop has the same processor (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H) as our previous favourite (Acer Swift Go 4), but manages to squeeze more speed out of it. It also comes with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD and a 14in 2240x1400-pixel screen. Excellent value overall. ALTERNATIVE Acer Swift Go 14 Still a fast and powerful laptop, with a great 14in screen. £1,099 from www.snipca.com/49733 ANDROID TABLET Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 £799 from www.snipca.com/50039 Tested Issue 667 With a much brighter screen than our previous favourite – the Galaxy Tab S8 – this is perfect for watching TV. It also has a faster processor, so tasks feel smoother, even with several windows open. £799 will get you the 128GB version. If you…

SOFTWARE Remove precise areas from images in Paint I’ve been using Microsoft’s new Generative Erase tool in Paint, as you recommended in Issue 698’s Make Windows Better (page 46). It’s not perfect, but it’s worth trying as a way of removing unwanted items from a picture. You mentioned using your mouse to ‘brush’ over the parts that need removing, but to choose a more precise area you can place a rectangle over it. Open Paint then click the Eraser icon (1 in our screenshot left) followed by the Selection icon at the top left. Now choose Rectangle 2 and place it on the image so it covers what you want to remove 3. Finally, click the eraser icon that appears below 4. The borders of the box will now glow as…

WINDOWS 10 & 11 Change video brightness based on lighting conditions If your computer has a light sensor you can tell Windows to automatically adjust the brightness of videos based on the lighting conditions around you. To check, search for and open Device Manager on your computer, then under Sensors look for a light sensor. If it has one, now press Windows key+I to open Settings, then click Apps followed by ‘Video playback’ (1 in our screenshot below, showing Windows 10 – in Windows 11 the option is on the right). Now activate ‘Adjust video based on lighting’ 2, then see the difference it makes to the video above 3. WINDOWS 11 Pause print jobs in Settings Released on 1 October, Microsoft’s 24H2 update for Windows 11 lets you pause…

Does Brave require uBlock Origin to block adverts? Q Back in Issue 686 (page 57) you said the Brave browser will continue to support extensions such as uBlock Origin after Google switches to Manifest V3. However, you’ve also said in the past that uBlock is unnecessary in Brave because the browser’s built-in Shields system blocks adverts. Can you clarify please? John Perkins A Brave does have its own ad blocker, but you can also install a third-party extension such as uBlock Origin if you prefer. As we confirmed in Issue 686, Brave has stated that Google’s switch to Manifest V3 won’t effect the browser’s ability, or that of third-party extensions, to block ads, even though it’s based on Chromium code (see www.snipca.com/50694). What does this Upscayl error message mean? Q…