Table of contents for 497 in Computeractive

My desktop is well organised these days, but that hasn’t always been the case. Years ago it was messier than a teenager’s bedroom, albeit cluttered with folders, files and icons, not socks fetid enough to floor an elephant. I had no respect for my desktop, treating it as a dumping ground for items I didn’t really need, but which I was too indecisive to delete. Since then I’ve learned how to customise my desktop so it suits how I use my PC. I’ve mastered many of the tips we recommend in our Cover Feature (page 50). Some of these change how the desktop looks, but the improvements are more than skin deep. The more significant tweaks reinvent the very purpose of the desktop, making it feel less like a scrapyard,…

Can Palicomp charge me to return a faulty PC? Q I bought a Palicomp AMD Avenger PC in December last year. After just three weeks I got the dreaded blue screen of death and nothing has resolved the problem. Palicomp said it sounds like an SSD failure but says I have to pay £59 to return the PC because I didn’t take out an extended warranty. Does this seem fair and reasonable to you? John Flannery A It doesn’t sound reasonable, fair or even legal, unless John’s relying on Palicomp’s warranty to fix the PC. Since he’d only owned the computer for three weeks and it appears to have an inherent fault, John should have invoked his rights under the Consumer Rights Contract and rejected the PC for a full…

What should I use to create classroom quizzes? Q I give astronomy and science presentations in schools, and provide a resource CD of print-outs, such as multiple-choice quizzes. Is there any software I can use to convert my worksheets for use on a PC? It doesn’t have to be free, just easy to use. Dennis Ashton (Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society) A We noticed you sent your email from your iPad, so let’s start there. The easiest way to convert your worksheets is to scan them using the powerful iPad app Scanbot 6 Pro (£7.99, www.snipca.com/23623). It uses OCR to convert them into searchable text, then lets you edit them using colours, themes and other design tools. You can save them as interactive PDFs, then distribute them via CD…

Taiwanese electronics companies love their slogans. BenQ (pronounced ‘ben-kew’) stands for Bringing Enjoyment ‘N’ Quality To Life (which by our reckoning ought to make Beaqtl), but that’s probably why we don’t work in marketing. The GW2270H has a slogan of its own: ‘Simple and Exquisite for Minimalist Living’. We think this might be over-egging it, to be honest. A more accurate tagline would be ‘It’s Plain Because it’s Cheap.’ And there’s nothing wrong with that. The black plastic case actually looks classy, with its clean lines and small ridges on the back panel. There’s no height adjustment in the stand, but it tilts a few degrees, and there are VESA screw points if you prefer to use a different mount. Its price is the big selling point, but it also…

Find out what other products we liked. Buy our new 2016 Back Issue CD: £15 fromwww.snipca.com/23209 LAPTOP Dell Inspiron 15 5000 £699 from www.snipca.com/23375 Tested: Issue 459 Now updated with Intel’s seventhgeneration processors, this laptop ( not the 2-in-1 version) now edges the ZenBook below and starts at just £449, but mid-range configurations with SSD and AMD R7 graphics are the best choice. Nowupdatedwith seventh- ALTERNATIVE: Asus ZenBook UX305CA If you want something sleeker, this offers basic performance in a superbly slim and light metal case. £600 from www.snipca.com/23376 DESKTOP PC Wired2FireDiabloNucleus £600 from www.snipca.com/22628 Tested: Issue 491 The Intel Skylake i5-6500 quad-core processor and AMD RX 460 graphics card are no longer the newest, but this is still great value for an all-round PC. A fast 240GB SSD is fitted, while…

TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT Sync photos between all your devices for free Your solution to Barry Milne’s ‘What Should I Download?’ question (‘How can we move photos between our iPad and PC?’) in Issue 496 (page 19) were two programs that had a cost involved before you could use them. I think you overlooked the best free option, and one I use all the time – Windows 10’s default cloud-storage service, OneDrive (www.snipca.com/23676). Install the OneDrive app on your iPad. Next, tap the Me section at the bottom right, tap Settings, Camera Upload, then turn that slider on (see screenshot). Here, you can also choose to include videos, to upload files in the background and to prevent uploading files over a mobile network (turn this slider off). I use a…

What to play together on your phone and tablet AGES 0-5 Pirate Preschool Puzzle Game* Free www.snipca.com/23640 (Android) Free www.snipca.com/23641 (iOS) This game is a great way to introduce your toddler to jigsaw puzzles. There are over 12 scenes to build, which include marine animals and pirate ships. Increase the number of pieces as your child improves. AGES 6-10 Phonics Spelling Dictionary £3.59 www.snipca.com/23643 (Android) £2.99 www.snipca.com/23644 (iOS) With content from the Oxford University Press, this app will teach your kids how to spell by focusing on the sounds of words. They can save difficult words to My Words section. There are tests after each level that earn them certificates. AGES 11-16 Chess – Play & Learn* Free www.snipca.com/23645 (Android) Free www.snipca.com/23646 (iOS) Apart from teaching your teenager the basics,…

Create keyboard shortcuts We received some very positive reactions from readers to AllDup, the great free tool that hunts down duplicate files on your PC (see our lead Workshop, Issue 494), so we decided to dig even deeper to find more great ways to use it. A great starting point is to set up keyboard shortcuts that give you quick access to your favourite tools. Open the Options menu then click Edit Hot Keys. Click to select a function from the list, then press the shortcut key (or key combination) of your choice. You can assign almost any single key, or use modifier keys like Control (Ctrl), Shift and Alt to create key combinations — so use Ctrl+Shift+S for ‘Save as’, for example (see screenshot below left). To clear a…

PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT How do I disable Cortana? Q I am generally pleased with Windows 10 but would like to banish the annoying black box that appears on my desktop and asks me to type whatever I want to search for. How do I do that? Also, when I’m not using a mouse on this laptop it is prone to suddenly zoom into the page when I touch the touchpad. Any suggestions welcome. Mike Davenport A By the ‘annoying black box’ we guess you mean Cortana, which is Windows 10’s pervasive search assistant. By default, it listens out for a user to speak aloud the phrase ‘Hey, Cortana’, but it also places a search box on the Taskbar — and we assume that’s the bit that bothers you. If…

Forced features Idon’t like it when people try to ram their personal opinions down my throat, do you? I’m not about to get political but in social situations whenever, say, Brexit or Donald Trump are mentioned, I’ll generally make my excuses and leave — because I know we’re only moments away from people falling out. The fact is that humans can be both stubborn and self-centred, and increasingly so it seems. What seems like a brilliant idea to some might to others be the worst thing imaginable. Why, then, do so many technology companies think it’s fine to practically force me to use their apps and services? When Windows 10 came out many of us — myself included — breathed a huge sigh of relief that the Windows 8 debacle…

Tell us what’s on your mind Email: letters@computeractive.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive Twitter: @ComputerActive www.twitter.com/computeractive Alarmed by job-stealing robots In Issue 496, the small news story ‘Robots will take 250,000 jobs’ (page 9) spoke volumes – what with the enormous number of jobs potentially wiped out, and also with the stated aim of the Reform think-tank, which is a “leaner, smarter public workforce”. The ultimate and highly political aim is, of course, the removal of the state sector, which is already suffering from severe spending cuts and from mounting pressure on its workers to do more with fewer resources. With no enlightenment on how these redundancies are to be achieved, the prospect is an alarming one. What civil service and healthcare jobs could be automated to such an extent? What would be…

WATCH OUT FOR… Default passwords on network devices What’s the threat? The notorious Mirai malware is one of the most dangerous botnets around and is designed to infect Internet of Things (IoT) devices, ranging from wireless routers to network cameras. It recently even made the jump to Windows PCs. Once a device is infected, cybercriminals can control it remotely, forcing it to take part in internet attacks on websites. More worryingly, an infected device is also a weak point in your home network, potentially allowing a hacker to steal private data. What should you do? First, you should check if any of your internet devices are vulnerable to hackers. BullGuard’s IoT scanner (iotscanner.bullguard.com) is a good starting point. On the website click the big ‘Check if I am on Shodan’…

The whole point of a desktop PC is that it’s an all-purpose computer. You can use it to check your email, see what everyone’s up to on Facebook, read the news online, do your day’s work, book your online shopping, pay your bills, save a batch of photos from your camera, order a takeaway and settle down for a few episodes on Netflix. The same matchbox-sized processor handles all of these tasks without complaint. Run a 3D game, however, and suddenly that same multi-core computing powerhouse starts complaining that it’s not feeling up to this today and isn’t it meant to be someone else’s job? Chuck 4K footage or a pile of effects on to the timeline in your video software and you’ll get the same reaction, conveyed through stuttery…

Powerline extenders send data to and from your router through your home’s mains electrical wiring to reach areas that don’t enjoy good Wi-Fi reception. Asus’ remote unit announces its high-performance intentions with a chunky case topped by two large positionable aerials. These enable your wireless devices to take advantage of the powerline connection. In our tests, pointing the aerials the right way did make a difference, and we were very happy with the speeds we got when connecting wirelessly at a range of distances from the remote unit. As is often the case, the only disappointment was when we moved further away with devices using the older 802.11n Wi-Fi standard, which are limited to the 2.4GHz waveband rather than the less crowded 5GHz. At the far end of the house,…

When the iPhone appeared in 2007, it changed our idea of what a mobile phone should be. It also changed how much we expected to pay for one. Smartphones started off pricier than their button-based ancestors, and they’ve got even more expensive since, with high-end models now over £600. This one costs a tenth of that, putting it back within the budget of anyone who just wants a basic pocket device for phone calls, messaging, web browsing or entertainment. “If you want a basic pocket device, this is a real bargain” Like an old-school ‘dumbphone’, it has a plain plastic back that pops off to reveal the removable battery, SIM and optional microSD card. On the front is a 5in screen, which is physically big, but lacking in pixels: the…

Available in black or white, Penclic’s new Corded Mini Keyboard C2 has been designed to minimise repetitive strain injuries. It’s small (28.5cm wide, 15.9cm deep and 2.5cm high) and has two USB ports. The quiet touch keys reduce noise and require minimal pressure when typing. To enter, email your address to cacomp@dennis.co.uk with ‘penclic’ in the subject line by midnight 28 March. You can buy the Mini Keyboard C2 for £45.98 from www.posturite.co.uk. There is also a cordless version available, called the K2. For updates on Penclic products follow @Penclic and ‘like’ www.facebook.com/Penclic.…

ANDROID & iOS Get news stories that are relevant to your interests In Issue 496’s Best New Apps section, we told you about news app Flipboard’s new Smart Magazines feature. This lets you select more specialised topics of interest within your news feed. Previously, for example, selecting Football as a category of interest meant you would receive a broad range of stories from the world of football. Now you can narrow this down to news about a particular league, specific teams and even favourite players. At the moment, you can only use the Smart Magazines feature on Android phones and iPhones. Install the app (Android www.snipca.com/23632; iOS www.snipca.com/23633) and open it, then create an account or log into your existing one. You’ll see a new search screen called What’s Your…

WINDOWS 7, 8, 10 Make your Send To menu more useful You’re probably aware of the Windows’ Send To menu that appears when you right-click any file or program on your PC. It’s a handy option that lets you send your selected item to various locations on your PC, including to a compressed folder, your desktop, or to your DVD drive (assuming you have one and you’ve inserted a blank disc). Perhaps you weren’t aware of a hidden Send To menu that includes more than 20 useful PC locations. To access this menu, hold down the Shift key, rightclick the file you want, then move your cursor to Send To. You’ll now see options to move the file to any of the Windows/ File Explorer folders (Documents, Music, Videos and…

Where are Kodi’s subtitle settings? QI tried to follow your instructions for adding subtitles to Kodi (Issue 496, page 43). But Kodi – at least on my PC – looks nothing like your screenshot. Am I missing something? Harry Latham AJust after we went to print a new version of Kodi (version 17) was released and – as bad luck would have it – completely changed the way you find its subtitles settings. In this new version, you have to click the Settings icon (cog) in the main menu, then click ‘Player settings’, then Language on the left. You’ll see the ‘Default TV show service’ and ‘Default movie service’ options (see screenshot below) that we referred to in our Readers’ Tip. You may have to scroll down using the down…

WARNING: JUNK AHEAD BurnAware It’s thoughtful of BurnAware to build a PC safety warning into its name. But I can’t forgive it for trying to hijack my browser with two PUPs - McAfee WebAdvisor (see Named & Shamed, Issue 487) and Yahoo. Shame, because I’m always on the lookout for decent DVD-burning programs. Not everyone wants to store their precious backups ‘in the cloud’. DVDs are real, solid and easy to file on your bookshelf, and they’re ideal for sharing photos with friends and family. Sadly, DVD software is less dependable. Even paying for a program is no guarantee it’ll last. The market leader, Nero Burning ROM (£39.95), seemed to stop working on some PCs following the Windows 10 upgrade. Free rivals, such as ImgBurn, LiquidCD and PowerLaser Express are…

Worried by rise of cancer fundraising online As a retired doctor, I was concerned to read in Issue 496 (News, page 9) about the rise in cancer patients seeking funding for treatment online. You quoted Dr Clive Peedell, who seems sceptical that the treatments available are “appropriate”. I share his misgivings. In fact, I wonder whether we are witnessing the growth of a new type of unscrupulous healthcare company that exploits just how easy it is to raise money online. It only takes a little imagination to think how it could work. A medical company bypasses substantial, timeconsuming research and instead targets cancer sufferers with a new ‘miracle’ cure. They’re laughing all the way to the bank, as sympathetic people donate money. Handing over £10 with a click of a…

INTERNET TOOL Net Disabler 1.0 www.snipca.com/23615 What you need: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1 or 10 Switching your internet connection off and on again using your Windows settings can be something of a pain – and doesn’t always work when you need it to. A quicker on/off switch would be handy when you’re trying to get your work done and want to disable email alerts and other notifications, or if you’re installing software and don’t want it sending data about you back to its developer. And a more powerful switch may be necessary if you suspect that malware or adverts are “phoning home”. Net Disabler lets you bring down the gates on your internet connection quickly and completely. As you can see from our screenshot below, it offers three ways…

Research is showing that both the length and the quality of our sleep have a big effect on how well we feel, and more and more of us are talking about having problems getting a good night’s rest. There are lots of solutions you can try (see www.snipca.com/23588 for a few tips), but could technology help? Various apps and wearable devices provide sleep-tracking features, and there are also apps to help you get to sleep and wake up more calmly, as well as options to adjust the colour and brightness of phone and tablet screens in the evening – one new factor associated with sleeping difficulties. The S+ from ResMed is something different. “Monitors you through the night and gives effective sleeping tips” ResMed is a company that’s been working…

With the launch of Windows 10 some useful Windows 7 tools were no longer available – such as Windows Photo Viewer, its Task Manager, the Calculator tool and DVD Player. Windows 10 Toggle Tweaker is a free program that lets you restore these tools with just a few clicks. The program uses a Command Prompt-like interface, but it’s easy to use and has some handy features that let you speed up your PC and manage your Windows user accounts. STEP 1 The program makes changes to your PC’s system settings and registry, so it’s a good idea to create a system restore point before using it. To do that, press the Windows key, type system restore, click ‘Create a restore point’. Next, click Create 1 , give the restore point…

What you should install this fortnight Apple Support Free iOS: www.snipca.com/23637 As its name suggests, this app puts you in touch with Apple Customer Support. You can use it to chat with a representative or ask them to call you when it’s convenient. If you need to take your device to an Apple Store, you can schedule an appointment at your nearest branch. TV Player* Free Android, iOS, Windows Phone: www.snipca.com/23639 New to Windows Phone and Windows 10 PCs, TV Player lets you watch over 60 TV channels (including BBC1, Food Network and Travel Channel) over your Wi-Fi connection. The premium version (£6 per month) adds 30 more channels, over 100 hours of catch-up TV and removes adverts. Contextual App Folder (CAF)* Free Android: www.snipca.com/23638 CAF lets you set triggers…

EXCEL Keep tighter control of your personal budget If you keep a spreadsheet to manage your personal budget and you want to keep a grip on your finances, it can be useful to find out how many items of expenditure exceed a specific value, how many are less than that value, and how many match that value to give you a longterm trend in terms of overspending or underspending. In our example, we’ll show you how to find out how many cells’ values exceed £120. To do that, click in the cell where you want to display this result, then type =COUNTIF( in the box at the top (see screenshot). Next, highlight the data in your spreadsheet you want to analyse (this adds the range of included cells to your…

1080p Of the common types of high-definition video, this is the best quality: 1920x1080 pixels. 32bit A measure of how much information a computer can process at once. Most older computers are 32bit. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels. 64bit A technology that processes information in larger chunks. Most modern computers are 64bit. 802.11n A standard for wireless networks that allows for high transfer speeds. Action camera A digital camera designed to record action while attached to a person’s body or equipment, such as a helmet or handlebars. Add-in Microsoft’s name for tools that can be added to Office software. Bit rate A measure of data transfer speed, or of the quality of digital video or audio files. Blue screen of death Technically called a ‘Stop…