Is a coffee machine worth it? We think it’s the best ways to upgrade your home life and streamline your morning routine. A good coffee machine will make getting out of bed less a little easier on weekday mornings and make lazy weekend mornings in bed even more luxurious. And if you’re a coffee shop addict, the savings you make by brewing your own will soon cover your outlay. But there’s no point investing in a shiny new espresso machine if it’s too fiddly to bother with....

Before heading down that route though, you may want to see our tips on how to speed up your internet connection as the right tweak here or there can make a big difference. Fast.com A solid option when trying to find out the current bandwidth of your network is Fast.com. By simply going to the site in your browser, the test is automatically launched and will swiftly return not only your network download speed but also let you know the upload capacity as well as latency rates....

So it’s time for a new mattress? If that sunken, tea-stained, creaking spring-board you wince yourself to sleep on at night no longer allows a restful slumber, you may need to upgrade – in fact, you definitely should upgrade. It’s advised to change your mattress every 7 to 10 years. Though it’s not cheap, a good mattress is a long-term investment that saves you from the health risks of sleep deprivation – and not to mention ongoing joint and muscle pain....

With the Xiaomi 12 series now on the scene, you can expect more concrete price drops across last year’s Mi 11 series. We’ve rounded up the best SIM-free and on-contract deals for devices including the Mi 11 5G and the 11 Lite series. Highlights this month include a £200 reduction on the flagship Mi 11 5G – an offer that we last saw back in November 2021 – tied to the 128GB storage SKU in Midnight Grey, direct from Xiaomi’s online store , while those who’d rather spread the cost of their phone on-contract can grab a great offer from Fonehouse that pairs the Mi 11 5G with a Vodafone plan that includes 250GB of data a month for £34 a month, with an upfront cost of £118....

The Surface Pro 9 was announced almost a year ago, but it remains Microsoft’s flagship tablet. With Windows 11 installed, it can replace a laptop for some people. But only if you buy the keyboard cover, an accessory that’s sold separately. As our review explains, the Surface Pro 9 can quicky get expensive. You should probably avoid the ARM-based model, but the Intel version still ranks as the best 2-in-1 you can buy....

Browsing the virtual aisles of crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo can be a dangerous business, as you’re bound to find numerous tempting projects that just cry out to be backed. Of course, it pays to be choosy when it comes to investing money in these products that don’t strictly exist…yet. Knowing which items will make it to your doorstep can be tricky, but here’s our pick of the best products on either service that we think could be winners....

At times of isolation – which can include cold weather, injury and antisocial job postings, as well as society-wide virus lockdowns – it’s important to keep yourself entertained. The humble board game may not seem like the ideal solution, depending as it usually does on human interaction and physical components, but there are ways to make it work. We’ve already rounded up our favourite board games , but in this article we focus specifically on the best board games for solo play....

I’m not sure how it happened, but Reacher Thursdays have become a thing in my life. As I settle down after dinner, ready to doomscroll in peace, my husband will catch my eye and smirk as the Prime Video logo appears, ominously, on our TV. But try as I might not to care about what’s happening on screen, I can’t help but end up dropping my phone in favour of the insane action… and maybe that’s the secret to its success....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Pros Relatively inexpensive Compact Lightweight Cons Small clean water tank No wand for spot cleaning / upholstery Didn’t remove odours Our Verdict Bissell’s PowerClean does a great job of removing dirt from carpets and cleaning up accidental spills. That’s all it does, though: it lacks any attachments for cleaning stairs, cushions or anything else. Best Prices Today: Bissell PowerClean Bissell is a well-known name when it comes to cleaning, and it makes cleaning products for just about every type of surface....

Channel 4 had originally been keeping quiet on whether or not they would be joining the BritBox service, but they’ve now announced that All 4’s content will be available on BritBox from Spring 2020, with Film4 following later in the year. BritBox is already available in the US and its success across the pond is part of what influenced its arrival in the UK. BritBox has been described by ITV’s chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall as the home for “British creativity”....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict What should be a perfectly serviceable VPN solution is let down by a slow interface, very fiddly mobile setup, and an overall lack of performance, making it look overpriced. Best Prices Today: Buffered Buffered is a VPN (Virtual Private Network) designed to offer you privacy and security online, keeping snoopers at bay and offering access to otherwise blocked parts of the internet. For more information about VPNs, how they work and why you might want to get one, visit: What is a VPN?...

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Since the MyTablet comes with 1TB of online storage and year’s subscription to Office 365, plus a second install for another device, it’s a great bargain if you were going to buy 365 anyway. The tablet itself is good for the money, but we simply don’t like Windows 8.1 as a tablet operating system. Best Prices Today: Bush MyTablet At first glance, you wouldn’t think that the MyTablet costs £99....

With the runaway success of other mobile shooters like Fortnite and PUBG Mobile, it was only a matter of time before Activision threw its hat into the ring with a free-to-play shooter. That comes in the form of Call of Duty: Mobile, a multiplayer first-person shooter set to come to iOS and Android devices in October. The game is said to boast a range of maps, game modes, weapons and characters from across the Call of Duty franchise, and here’s all you need to know about it ahead of release....

Severance is one of the best shows I’ve seen in years. One of the key reasons for that is its visual flair: the stylistic choices behind the camera, from the winding and mind-bending shots of characters sprinting frantically through corridors, to that strange zoom effect in the elevator as Outies transform into their Innies (and vice versa). The chilling atmosphere is spearheaded by the show’s primary director, Ben Stiller. Or, I should say, former director....

Is the hockey world cup on or something?… Because I’ve been seeing way more lads pucking on my TL recently. Wait, no. It’s just an endless barrage of clips from Heated Rivalry , the gay Canadian drama that came out of nowhere and suddenly changed our lives forever. Well, everyone except long-suffering gays stuck in the UK. While the show now has a confirmed UK release date of 10 January on Sky, it still means you’ll be iced out of the Heated Rivalry hype until next year....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The Flex is a great security camera. It’s simple to set up, monitors your home and offers good-quality video. It’s unfortunate that you now have to pay to access certain features, but this is par for the course with security cameras that record to the cloud these days. If you really don’t want to pay for a subscription, you’ll have to go for a camera that records to an SD card such as the Netatmo Presence or EZVIZ Mini Plus....

Contrary to the hopes and expectations of the tech press and enthusiasts alike, intimate details of Nothing’s long-rumoured smartphone weren’t divulged at this particular meeting, with Pei saying little on the subject beyond, “we’re not commenting on future categories.” However, TechCrunch later reported that Nothing was apparently showing off a proof-of-concept behind (other) closed doors at the show, suggesting a phone might make its debut sooner rather than later. Salvatori spent the opening moments of the 15-minute session extolling Pei and his company by saying, “Carl, with his new initiative, has definitely been a dear partner for us....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The Chillblast Fusion Dragon is a great performer and is built to a very high standard, with high-quality components throughout. The large system case provides excellent internal access for those who like to tinker and upgrade. Best Prices Today: Chillblast Fusion Dragon This overclocked gaming PC combines silky smooth gameplay with workstation-like build quality, and featuring the Intel Core i7-4790K Devil’s Canyon CPU running at 4....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Ergonomic design Programmable buttons Comfortable to use Cons Expensive Takes up a lot of room on the desk Some software inConsistancies Our Verdict If keeping your hands healthy or lessening the impact of conditions like RSI or Arthritis are primary in your needs, the SliderMouse Pro is a very serious option to Consider. Admittedly, it’s expensive, but it could have the ability to save you a lot of pain, which as any sufferer will tell you is worth every penny....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict It’s a shame that D-Link’s app isn’t as clear and concise as it could be, but if you persevere you’ll find that the Covr kits provide good performance and range for your home Wi-Fi network. And with prices starting at £160 for the two-piece kit it’s also one of the more affordable mesh networking kits available at the moment. Best Prices Today: D-Link COVR-C1202 It may be a late addition to the never-ending selection of mesh networking devices that are now available, but D-Link’s new Covr is neatly designed and competitively priced, so it’ll be a good option for many people who just need an affordable way to improve Wi-Fi coverage at home....