Christmas is here, and you know what that means: good company, good food and great telly. Christmas day soap specials have become a staple of Christmas in the UK over the years, and when you consider the drama that tends to unfold in these extended special episodes, they’re well worth watching. Who else still remembers the explosive reveal of Max and Stacey’s affair in EastEnders back in 2007? Exactly, we all do....

When the Google Chromecast was announced back in 2013 it was a must-have bit of kit – a £30/$35 HDMI dongle that plugged into the back of any old TV to add smart features including app and cast support. It was then updated in 2015 with a new design, alongside the Chromecast Audio, and the Chromecast Ultra followed in 2016. It’s been all quiet on the Chromecast front ever since, so we were due an update....

While fans of Dead Rising were excited for the release of Dead Rising 4 back in 2016, many were left disappointed. The reimagining of the series’ formula and removal of elements like the timer didn’t resonate well with gamers, but that could all change with Dead Rising 5. It’s yet to be confirmed, but Capcom has confirmed that it has reallocated developers to “focus on the Dead Rising franchise”. With that being said, we at Tech Advisor have scoured the internet to find out all there is to know about Dead Rising 5, including announcement date speculation, platform availability and gameplay rumours....

The artificial intelligence world is changing fast, and DeepSeek , a Chinese AI model, has become a major player as China fights back against the big US tech companies. Its chatbot has climbed to the top of the App Store charts in 51 countries, but we didn’t previously know that it’s relied on Huawei to make it work. According to AI analyst Alexander Doria , DeepSeek’s R1 large-language model (LLM) was first trained using Nvidia’s H100 but now relies on Huawei’s Ascend 910C chip to generate responses....

Dell laptops are coming preloaded with a self-signed root digital certificate that lets attackers spy on traffic to any secure website. The reports first surfaced on Reddit and were soon confirmed by other users and security experts on Twitter and blogs. The root certificate, which has the power of a certificate authority on the laptops it’s installed on, comes bundled with its corresponding private key, making the situation worse. With the private key, which is now available online, anyone can generate a certificate for any website that will be trusted by browsers such as Internet Explorer and Google Chrome that use the Windows certificate store on affected laptops....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict It may not be the most stylish laptop around, and the viewing angles of its screen have room for improvement, but the Latitude 3340 provides good value for money. Its application performance and battery life are as good as you’ll get for less than £600, and Dell’s on-site support should provide peace of mind for schools and small businesses that require kit at a competitive price....

HDMI is a commonly known interface in consumer electronics, and is used in everything from PCs to consoles and, of course, TVs. DisplayPort is a little less common, but there are still plenty of devices with it onboard and the 2.0 standard makes it more appealing. These two video/audio standards are similar but different, so we’ve outlined the types you can get and how they compare. Types of connector When it comes to DisplayPort and HDMI cables and connectors, there are different types and sizes....

In summary: Tech Advisor reports that Doctor Who’s spin-off reveals Billie Piper’s mysterious return as the Doctor after Ncuti Gatwa’s departure following two seasons as the Fifteenth Doctor. The show introduces a “bigeneration” concept where multiple Doctors exist simultaneously, with Russell T Davies confirming a “Doctorverse” featuring past Doctors returning for future storylines. Doctor Who returns to BBC in 2026 with a Christmas special after Disney ends its partnership, while Kate Lethbridge-Stewart’s character faces instability and PTSD in upcoming episodes....

Email and text messages direct you to very convincing fake websites The UK’s Royal Mail has warned of a spate of text messages and emails which trick residents into handing over their bank details to fraudsters. The scams come in various formats but they all have a common theme: your parcel couldn’t be delivered and you need to take action in order to get it. Whether you receive and email or an SMS, you’ll be told that either you owe a small amount of money for customs fees or that you were out and a new delivery date needs to be arranged, again at a cost of a couple of pounds....

You might have even tried using a VPN app to see if it’s available in another region but when that fails, you probably do what most people do and use Google to see if there’s a way to watch it online for free. And criminals know this. They use popular films and TV shows to lure victims to websites where they then steal their personal information or install malware on your device which does something similar....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Up to 90 minutes of runtime Lightweight at 2.2kg/4.85lbs Huge number of accessories Cons Can’t stand up by itself Deshedding tool may not work for your pets Our Verdict This is a well-priced stick vacuum that’s easy to use, with an accessory for every purpose. Dreame has clearly taken cues from Dyson’s design – but not its price point. It’s lighter and has a longer potential running time between charges than Dyson’s flagship models as well....

Self-driving cars might still seem the thing of science fiction for many, but the field is quickly advancing and new government initiatives mean that streets in the UK could soon be graced by these autonomous automobiles. We look at how the story has unfolded so far, and what the future holds for driverless cars, not just in the UK but everywhere. Update 15 March: The House of Lords’ science and technology committee has called for motorists to sit new tests for driverless cars because they pose a safety risk in semi-autonomous mode....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict An excellent buy at £11.99, EC Technology’s Ultra Compact Portable Power bank makes a useful portable charger for your phone or tablet and a very good flashlight. There’s very little here to fault. Best Prices Today: EC Technology 6000mAh Ultra Compact Portable Power Bank We’ve seen a lot of power banks with torches built-in, but none quite so well done as the EC Technology 6000mAh Ultra Compact Portable Power Bank....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict If you can afford to spend a bit more on your robot vac, we’d recommend the Deebot Ozmo 920. It cleans well, with a brush attachment for carpets and a mop function. It also has the extras that you’d expect from a more expensive cleaner, such as custom area cleaning and virtual boundary mapping. And in practical terms, its climbing ability means it won’t get caught on every raised surface in your home....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Very high print quality Top for greyscale photos Processes many types of material Very low cost per page despite 6 colours Cons No real off switch High purchase price Our Verdict Printing beautiful photos on a variety of media is an art in itself, and one that the Epson Ecotank ET-8500 masters admirably – from classic photo formats to printing on fine art paper....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict If you’re looking to dip your toes into the smart speaker market and see if it’s for you, it won’t come cheaper than this. The Eufy Genie is cheaper than the already cheap Echo Dot, but this saving will feel significant only if you intend to buy several. It offers improved audio quality, but if you intend to hook it up to an external speaker this is neither here nor there – and, in which case, you might prefer the Dot’s Bluetooth connection....

Chloe Domont’s sensual thriller, Fair Play, explores how dangerous it can be to mix a relationship with a career. Her feature-length directorial debut that was a smash hit at the Sundance Film Festival 2023, and there was a fierce battle for its distribution rights that was finally won by Netflix . The director chose to tackle the themes of career pursuit and promotion in the context of relationships. The film also explores the gender roles and their connections with earnings and social status....

Last Friday, China-based DJI was added to the US Entity List along with 76 other firms, most of them also Chinese. This is the same list that Huawei has been on since the middle of 2019. It means that US companies cannot trade with Huawei, which effectively stops DJI from using any US tech in its products. That’s the same issue that Huawei still faces for its phones and laptops, though the reality of being on the list is much more complicated....

Samsung has finally launched its the Galaxy A26 and A36 mid-range smartphones in the US, but there’s no sign of the Galaxy A56 as yet. The Samsung Galaxy A26 is available now in America at a starting price of $299, while the Samsung Galaxy A36 is selling from $399. Both phones have arrived a little later than here in the UK, where they’ve been available to buy since 19 March....

Black Friday sales for 2025 have ended, but there’s good news because one of the best deals we saw is back for Christmas. Samsung’s brand-new Galaxy Tab A11 had a whopping 34% off, and those who snapped it up will be feeling smug with their purchase, perhaps wrapping it as a gift for someone else. The tablet deal ended ahead of Black Friday itself, leaving the Tab A11+ as the best tablet deal on the day , but it has now returned in a matching Christmas discount....