If you’re planning a holiday, travel insurance can be a useful way to ensure you’re protected – whether from inconveniences like lost baggage, or more serious issues like illnesses and natural disasters. Choosing the right insurance policy can be tricky though, especially because there are so many competing services to choose from. While loads of the policies are similar, they’re certainly not the same and price isn’t the only distinguishing factor....
Vinyl records might be enjoying something of a comeback, but listening to them when you’re out and about is nigh-on impossible. The answer is to convert them to a digital format which you can put on your phone, USB stick or even on your car stereo. This also provides you with a backup of the albums, should disaster occur and the disc gets scratched. How do I connect a turntable to my computer?...
Sharing large files can be difficult, especially as many email services have a limit on how large a file or group of attachments can be. You can of course use services such as WeTransfer to move documents and folders around the web, but it’s far simpler to create a zip file that compresses the size down to a more manageable amount. The good news is that macOS has a built-in feature for creating zip files, and here’s how to use it....
One of the biggest features coming to the iPhone later this year as part of iOS 16 is the ability to edit, or even unsend, messages that have already been sent. Ever accidentally sent kisses to a work colleague, or sent a message to the person you were gossiping about? That’s about to get a whole less awkward in iOS 16. If you’re currently enrolled in the developer beta, here’s how to edit and unsend messages on iPhone in iOS 16....
In the bustle of daily life, it’s easy to forget your own phone number, especially if you recently switched devices or changed carriers. Whether you’re an iPhone user or an Android enthusiast, we’ve got you covered. With the simple methods below, you’ll be able to discover your phone number on different phones and networks. How to find out your own phone number One of the quickest ways to find out your number using any phone is to ring another phone that you can access....
Google has in Chrome disabled support for NPAPI plugins, which include those that use Silverlight, Java and Unity. If you’re trying to access a site that uses a NPAPI plugin in Chrome, you’ll get an error message that ‘This site uses a plugin that is unsupported’. Here’s how to fix it. Also see: How to stop Shockwave Flash crashing in Chrome . We say fix it, but the fix is temporary, and will work only until Google releases version 45 of Chrome in September....
Heat is a natural by-product of the CPU and other components in a laptop, but if you find your fans are noisier than usual and everything feels like it’s burning up inside, there might be a problem. Here’s some ways to fix it and get back to work – or play. How can I tell if my laptop is overheating? Aside from the fan noise and hot surfaces on the laptop, other signs that things are not right are sluggish performance, error messages and unexpectedly shutting down....
Some people just don’t like iTunes, it’s as simple as that. But what are they to do if they want to access the photos stored on their iPhone? Apple offers a way for users to browse the camera library via My Computer on PC, and when combined with iCloud backups, negates the need to use iTunes. However, as with everything in the world of technology, it doesn’t always work and some users find that their iPhones do not appear in My Computer when plugged in....
Apple’s redesigned lock screen is a huge talking point when it comes to the iOS 16 update, offering a customisable experience for the first time ever. Not only can you select a number of wallpapers, some automatically changing throughout the day, but you can customise the clock, add widgets to get information at-a-glance and even associate specific lock screens with specific focuses. However, with the overhauled lock screen comes a tweak to the way notifications are delivered in iOS 16....
Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems now dominate the smartphone market, it must not be forgotten that there is a loyal legion of BlackBerry fans still out there. Its recent devices like the DTEK50 and the Priv run Android, but there are still a fair few people using BlackBerry 10 devices like the Passport and the Classic. Therefore it was disappointing when we learned the news that WhatsApp is dropping support for all BlackBerry 10 devices (as well as older devices running BB OS 7) from 2018....
If the answer is nothing (and you know it is) then follow our tips to stop your washing machine – and thus your life – from spinning out of control. Your washing machine is one of your priciest home appliances. It’s also one of the items you’d most struggle to do without. So, we’ve got some tips to help you ensure that you never have to. Just a general note of caution to kick things off: before you go digging around into hoses and filters and wandering feet, unplug your machine from the electrical supply....
The Windows 11 era is upon us. Microsoft has confirmed that its new desktop OS will be available from 5 October, with most Windows 10 devices eligible for a free upgrade. But whether you’ve made the move already or are planning to soon, some of Windows 11’s big visual changes might not appeal to you. Whether it’s the new centralised taskbar icons, redesigned Start menu or new File Explorer layout, you might not see these changes as upgrades....
Notifications are a great way to keep up to date with things as they happen, but you’ll need to use them selectively. It’s important to know when a colleague has messaged or someone wants to start a video call, but breaking celebrity news or an antivirus software deal will do more harm than good to your productivity. All notifications are disruptive by nature, but it’s particularly annoying when you receive something that’s totally irrelevant....
Microsoft has made it much, much easier to reinstall Windows 8 if anything goes wrong. In fact, there are now two different options – refresh and reset – which cater for two different scenarios. Here we’ll explain how each works and how you can reinstall Windows 8 quickly and easily, but be sure to back up you documents, music, photos and videos first. Words by: Edward Jones The speed at which my PC operates is important to me....
The UK’s startups and scaleups continue to grow despite fears over Brexit, raising more money in the first half of 2019 than in any other equivalent period, according to research from Beauhurst . The database of high-growth companies in the UK estimates that £4.5 billion was invested in 889 startups and scaleups in the first half of this year alone. Every startup founder desires to see what began as a small business plan scaling to one day become a global business venture – but it isn’t an easy process....
How to switch off notifications in Facebook Messenger Facebook Messenger is the somewhat useful, if at least partially controversial, messaging app from Facebook. It is a means of text messaging groups and individuals with whom you have a Facebook contact. A free messenger app that doesn’t rely on you knowing someone’s phone number, Facebook Messenger is at best a useful rival to WhatsApp. At best. At worst it is both a privacy threat and a irritation....
At its Build 2016 developer conference, Microsoft announced new software which turns any Xbox One into a dev kit. Here’s how to turn Xbox One into a dev kit with the Xbox Dev Mode. Also see: Windows 10 review and Windows 10 Mobile review . During the Build keynote, Microsoft confirmed that Universal App will arrive on the console in the coming months with this summer’s Anniversary Update. The new firmware will also come with a Dev Mode to help create and optimise apps....
If you’ve ever wanted to play games on your PC , but found that it struggled with the demands of animating large battlefields or the rapid 3D rendering of driving games , there’s a solution that’s cheaper than buying a dedicated rig or one of the next- generation consoles . With much of the processing that games require now being handled by the graphics card, fitting one to your PC can have a potent effect on its gaming potential....
Focus is one of the key new features available in iOS 15. In conjunction with the Notification Summary, Focus helps you to minimise distracting notifications and apps when you need some quiet time. It’s much like Do Not Disturb, a staple of iOS for years, but with the ability to receive notifications from specific contacts and apps, and you can hide entire Home screen pages to keep you distraction-free too. Here’s how to set up and use Focus modes in iOS 15....
Wi-Fi improves every year but even now, with the imminent launch of Wi-Fi 7, you still can’t beat old-fashioned copper wire. Ethernet cables are reliable and fast: they’re not (as) susceptible to interference and can aid wireless devices too: they’re not just for PCs, laptops and NAS boxes. You could use Ethernet backhaul with a compatible mesh Wi-Fi system, allowing you to place your nodes further apart than Wi-Fi allows....
