Laptops with the Longest Battery Life

No matter how stacked its specs are, a laptop is useless if it can’t hold a charge. Fortunately, there are plenty of notebooks that go the distance. Using our Laptop Mag Battery Test, which involves continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi at 100 nits of brightness, we’ve identified the longest-lasting notebooks on the market. We’re talking more than 10 hours of endurance, which should more than suffice for that cross-country flight, a long day of meetings or multiple, back-to-back classes.

Lenovo ThinkPad T470 (17:25)

If you want a truly fantastic keyboard, durable chassis and strong performance, look no further than the ThinkPad T470. The T470 makes room for an optional extended battery that gives this 14-inch laptop over 17 hours of endurance (with its non-touch display). You can charge the laptop over a proprietary ThinkPad connector or via its Thunderbolt 3 port, which allows you to juice the laptop and output to multiple monitors over a single wire. A durable, MIL-SPEC-tested chassis helps this long-lasting business notebook stand up to the rigors of all-day business travel.

Lenovo ThinkPad X270 (13:51)

Weighing 3 pounds (3.4 with extended battery), the 12.5-inch ThinkPad X270 is light enough to carry anywhere and small enough to fit easily on most airplane tray tables. Its 12.5-inch display outputs a vibrant 88 percent of the sRGB color gamut while a snappy keyboard and accurate pointing stick make editing documents a pleasure. Unlike many Ultrabooks, the X270 has plenty of ports, including a USB Type-C connector, multiple USB 3.0 connectors, an SD card reader and an Ethernet connector.

With its extended battery on board, this powerful laptop lasts nearly 14 hours on a charge. If that’s not enough endurance for you, you can carry a spare battery and swap it in, without even turning off the computer.

Dell XPS 13 (13:49)

Our favorite laptop overall, the Dell XPS 13 uses a nearly-bezel-free Infinity display to pack a 13-inch panel into a chassis that might otherwise hold an 11-inch laptop. Despite its slim, 0.6-inch thick dimensions and 2.7-pound weight, Dell’s laptop offers nearly 14 hours of battery life with its standard, 1080p screen.  The touch version, which has a 3200 x 1800 display, lasts over 9 hours on a charge.

 

Add to that an Intel 7th Gen Core i3, i5 or i7 CPU, a speedy PCIe SSD and plenty of ports and you have the best consumer Ultrabook around. A Killer Wi-Fi card and Thunderbolt 3 charging round out this impressive package.

Dell Inspiron 11 3000 (13:39)

Starting at just $199, Dell’s lightweight laptop proves that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get truly epic battery life. This Celeron-powered, 11.6-inch laptop offers just enough performance for web surfing and light productivity. At just 2.4 pounds, the Inspiron 11 3000 is light enough to carry anywhere and, with over 13 hours of endurance, you can leave the plug at home.

The Inspiron 11 3000 is also one of our top choices for kids, because of its small size, low-price and attractive blue and red color options. For better multitasking, we recommended spending $50 over the base price to get a configuration with 4GB of RAM.

Microsoft Surface Book (12:29)

When coupled with its keyboard dock, Microsoft’s detachable notebook will last up to 12.5 hours, provided you buy it with integrated graphics. A 13.5-inch, 3000 x 2000-pixel display is gorgeous to look at and a magnetically attached stylus makes writing a pleasure. Starting at $1,499, the Surface Book is an expensive system, but worth every penny.

Google Pixel 2 News: Release Date, UK Price, New Features & Specs

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have officially been outed as the new Google phones for 2017. Here’s everything you need to know about the new features, specifications, UK price and launch date.

Google has unveiled its Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones. The new Google phones are available to pre-order immediately and will go onsale on 19 October and 15 November respectively.

Read our hands-on reviews of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL for our first impressions.

When is the Google Pixel 2 release date?

The Pixel 2 is available to pre-order now (via Google or EE) and goes on sale on 19 October.

The Pixel 2 XL is also available to pre-order now (via Google or EE) and goes on sale on 15 November.

EE is the exclusive network partner at launch. It is now accepting preorders on the Pixel 2 in Just Black, Clearly White and Kinda Blue, and the Pixel 2 XL in Just Black or Black & White. Both come with either 64- or 128GB of storage.

Those who pre-order from Google or EE before 2 November for the Pixel 2, or 14 November for the Pixel 2 XL, will get a free Google Home Mini.

How much does the Google Pixel 2 cost in the UK?

The Pixel 2 costs £629 with 64GB of storage, and £729 with 128GB. The Google Pixel 2 XL costs £799 with 64GB storage, and £899 for 128GB.

If you’re buying it on an EE contract in the UK the Pixel 2 is £9.99 on a £47.99/month 4GEE Max plan, which offers unlimited minutes and texts, and 8GB data.

The same plan costs £57.99 per month for the Google Pixel 2 XL.

Google Pixel 2 features and specifications

Highlights in the gorgeous new Google phones are their vibrant OLED screens with always-on displays, with the larger Pixel 2 XL offering an 18:9 FullVision display. These screens are said to be twice the resolution and offer 10 times the contrast ratio of phones that use a standard LCD.

There’s also a squeezable active edge – on both models – that instantly calls up the Google Assistant for quick access to all your phone’s most commonly used features, and an improved camera that has the highest ever recorded score for a smartphone camera by DXOMark.

It can achieve the same things as a dual-camera but with a single lens, and the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are the first phones to build in Google Lens.

Google made a point of the fact you’ll get the same features in either phone, with nothing reserved for the larger, more expensive model. That means you’ll get the same hardware too.

The key difference between the two is the 5in full-HD (1920×1080) 16:9 screen on the Pixel 2, and the 6in Quad-HD (538ppi) 18:9 display on the Pixel 2 XL. They offer a wide colour gamut, and have been optimised for VR – both Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are Daydream-ready.

A new feature is the always-on display, seen previously in flagship phones from Google and LG. Google’s version, like those, offers an at-a-glance readout of the time and date, reminders and whether you have any emails or notifications. But they also include a Shazam-style feature that can recognise any song you’re listening to – without sending your data to Google’s servers – and when you tap on this the Google Assistant will pop up and offer to find it on a music-streaming service or the web.

They share the same premium design – now waterproof, with an IP67 rating – with an all aluminium body that has a refined glass visor that transitions seamlessly into the metal body. The fingerprint scanner is said to be the fastest you’ll find in any smartphone, and falls naturally under the finger on the back. Google has also added a splash of colour on the power button.

The new Google phones do away with the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack, but you do get a USB-C adaptor in the box. Or you can use a pair of wireless headphones (Google has also announced a version of its own that build in the Google Assistant) or use the stereo speakers.

The primary camera is a 12.2Mp f/1.8 model with 1.4um pixels and OIS. While the original Pixel scored 89 in DXOMark, this new camera acheives 98 – the highest ever recorded in a smartphone camera.

Although it’s a single-lens camera, Google’s Dual Pixel sensor is able to generate a true depth map that enables the phone to create bokeh-effect (blurred background) photos just as a dual-camera might. This portrait mode works on the 8Mp selfie camera too.

Other new features include AR stickers, with Star Wars versions reportedly coming soon, and Google Lens. We first heard about the latter back at Google I/O. It’s a smart feature that works a bit like Bixby Vision, giving you more information on whatever you’re looking at. It can read email addresses, phone numbers and more.

In video the Pixel 2 supports both OIS and EIS, thanks to new ‘fuse video stabilisation’, and Pixel 2 owners will be pleased to learn Google is extending its offer of free Google Photos storage of all their full-resolution photos and video.

In terms of core hardware you get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM and either 64- or 128GB of storage. There’s also Bluetooth 5.0 and the latest wireless connectivity.

A fast-charging battery (2700mAh in the Pixel 2 and 3520mAh in the Pixel 2 XL) can last all day, but offers up to 7 hours of use from a 15-minute charge.

Despite the larger screen and bigger battery, Pixel 2 XL is only slightly wider and taller than the Pixel 2. It measures 3x6x0.3in, while the Pixel 2 is 2.7×5.7×0.3in.

The software is obviously Android 8.0 Oreo, and the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be the first to get any OS updates. Google has moved the Google bar to the bottom of the home screen where it finds it a better fit. You can also squeeze the edge of the handset to bring up the Google Assistant.

WIRELESS CHARGING – HOW DOES IT WORK?

Certain smartphones these days offer the useful function of wireless charging. For some people, this feature is essential, others think it’s pointless. One question remains unanswered though: how is it possible to transfer energy without a cable?

Fast charging and electromagnetic induction

To fully understand how wireless charging works, you need to understand the concept of an electromagnetic field and, more generally, electromagnetic induction, which you may already be familiar with if you have an induction cooker in your kitchen. What is the link between an induction cooker and a smartphone, you ask? Electromagnetic induction is an energy transfer system, meaning that it can be stored (as in the case of the smartphone) or used.

So how does this energy get transferred? Well it’s a question of forces. Imagine two people holding opposite ends of a rope: if one person decides to make waves with the rope, the other person will receive the waves as they travel down the rope. This is a very generalized way of explaining electromagnetic induction: a force sends energy from one point to another. The base unit (powered by electricity) transmits energy to the smartphone via electromagnetic fields. The sensors on the smartphone recover the energy and channel it to the battery for storage.

How is the charging speed calculated?

Again, it’s all about the forces. As the energy is transmitted through electromagnetic fields, the speed depends on these fields. The bigger they are, the faster it will be. The problem is the fields are pretty small because the smartphone (because of the material (metal etc.) it’s made from) leads to limitations.

Your smartphone therefore has a limited transfer speed for which the manufacturer specifies the voltage. The charger also emits energy at a regulated speed, as shown below.

What’s Qi?

Qi is the most popular wireless charging technology. It is not restricted to a particular manufacturer, in theory all manufacturers can use it on their devices. Samsung and Apple are probably the most well-known brands that use it. Qi seeks to standardize wireless charging technology, which involves several safety rules that must be respected. These rules include power of the devices, which obviously plays a role in the charging speed.

Thanks to Qi, wireless charging technology has made considerable progress. Charging speed has increased considerably, and electricity no longer causes the unit to heat up significantly. Qi does not only use electromagnetic induction charging technology but also magnetic resonance technology.

Is my device compatible with induction charging?

Perhaps you’ve given it some thought and you want to give up on cable charging and opt for wireless charging instead. A question arises: is your device compatible with this technology? If you have a high-end Samsung smartphones, from the Galaxy S or Note series, then your device is probably compatible and Samsung has its own charger. The new iPhone 8 is also compatible with wireless charging, though if you have a less recent iPhone you can also use wireless charging but you’ll have to buy a receiver such as the QInside Qi2001 first. Some Lumia, Motorola, Xperia and HTC smartphones are also compatible with Qi technology, as well as several Nexus phones (Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Galaxy Nexus).

High Quality VGP-AC19V56 Adapter for Sony Vaio VPCL2 24inch PCG-21612T All In One PC Series 19.5V 9.2A 180W

Does the iPhone 8 have a battery problem?

It hasn’t even been two weeks after the release of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus and new owners are reporting to be what looks like a serious battery malfunction.

Two reports claim that the iPhone 8 Plus, which was made available to the public on 22 September, began to split at the sides when charging.

According to Taiwanese media, a woman purchased a £799 64GB rose gold iPhone 8 Plus and had used it for five days before it had unexpectedly cracked open. Ms. Wu was charging her device with an Apple-issued charger; however, after approximately three minutes charging, the front panel swelled up and completely lifted from the device.

The phone was allegedly collected by the carrier and shipped to Apple, who according to the The Independent was investigating the two reports. Apple declined to comment further on the incident.

Another Japanese consumer reported having received his iPhone 8 Plus in a similar state, as it arrived in delivery with a partially detached screen.

If you’ve already purchased an iPhone 8 Plus or are interested in purchasing one, don’t feel the need to rethink your decision. The reports of faulty devices are mixed across Taiwanese and Chinese media. It’s likely that the two malfunctions are unique to their owners particular devices and not indicative of a trend for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus also had reports of exploding devices, yet millions of units were sold, functioning without issue – well, an exploding battery issue.

There are, however, ways to avoid and prevent failures, explosions or fires of any electronic device you may own, such as using the correct charger and avoiding direct sunlight, among others.

How to clean your PC

How to clean your keyboard

PC keyboards are relatively easy to clean. Disconnect yours and turn it upside down over a bin or a surface that’s easy to wipe clean. Give it a few taps and be prepared for biscuit crumbs, eye lashes and other undesirable things to fall out.

As with the PC base unit, use a damp cloth to wipe dust and dirt off. Anti-bacterial sprays shouldn’t damage plastic keys, but always test on a small area first. Don’t drench the keyboard with liquid or you risk destroying it. Instead, spray the cleaner onto your cloth – not directly onto the keyboard.

Laptop keyboards aren’t quite as simple to clean as PC versions. First, turn the computer off, and remove the battery if possible. With the screen fully open, turn the laptop upside down and gently tap the dust and dirt into a bin or onto a surface.

If there’s a problem with an individual key, perhaps because a large crumb is under it, you might be able to carefully prise off the key with your fingernail. Most laptop keys simply clip on, but never force a key or you risk breaking the clips or scissor mechanism.

How to clean your computer mouse

Gone are the days of the ball-mouse – all use an optical sensor of some description now. Dust and dirt can easily build up over the sensor and cause tracking problems, so use a damp cloth to clean the entire bottom surface of your mouse.

The top is where you’ll leave grease and germs, so it’s wise to use an anti-bacterial spray. As before, check on an inconspicuous area first and spray onto the cloth, not the mouse.

If you don’t want to risk any damage to your PC, keyboard or mouse, use a cleaner designed for electronic equipment.

How to clean your screen

You can use Muc-off, or simply a damp cloth, to clean most PC screens (and TVs too), whether they have a matt or glossy finish. You can spray directly on to a screen, but don’t let drops run down into the casing at the bottom.

A micro-fibre cloth is ideal for cleaning a screen as it helps to avoid streaks and is effective at removing dust and fingerprints. Use a damp micro-fibre cloth if marks are hard to shift, but be careful not to press hard on a PC screen as you can easily damage the LCD panel.

The rest of the monitor can be cleaned the same way as a PC tower or mouse, using an anti-bacterial spray if you prefer. As ever, don’t spray any liquids directly onto the casing, as it could damage the electronics inside.

How to clean a smartphone or tablet

Touchscreens tend to be the most frequently cleaned component, since an accumulation of fingerprints obscures the image and feels nasty. However, it’s crucial to use the correct cleaning products in order to avoid damaging your delicate electronics.

Most touchscreens these days have an oleophobic coating – literally ‘oil fear’ – which allows them to repel fingerprints. Such coatings aren’t amazingly successful, but they are easily damaged by harsh cleaning agents such as ammonia, alcohol and other solvents.

For this reason, all you need to remove grease and dirt from your screen is a micro-fibre cloth. You can pick these up in a supermarket or online for next to nothing. Micro-fibre cloths are better than other material because the tiny, split fibres lift the dirt and retain it, as well as absorbing liquid. This means they don’t leave lint on your screen, or simply spread the dirt around. You can dampen a micro-fibre cloth with water if the screen is particularly dirty.

When cleaning, use a circular motion rather than linear to a give an even finish and avoid the risk of long scratches if a large piece of dirt gets caught up in the cloth. You’ll find that a micro-fibre cloth will also effectively clean the rest of your device, including metal and plastic parts.

For ports and connectors, use a dry brush – a small paint brush is ideal – to gently remove dirt. Don’t use a can of compressed air, as the force is likely to damage the delicate components.

If grime is stuck in the speaker or microphone grilles, it can be tricky to remove. You could try using your vacuum cleaner, but use caution. Another technique is to use a pin to clear individual holes in the grille.

How to change Windows 10 startup programs

Viewing startup programs using Task Manager

You can change startup programs in Task Manager. To launch it, simultaneously press Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Or, right-click on the taskbar at the bottom of the desktop and choose Task Manager from the menu that appears.

Another way in Windows 10 is to right-click the Start Menu icon and choose Task Manager.

When the utility is first launched it will default to the programs that are currently running on your system. To access the information you need move the cursor down to the bottom left corner where it says More details. Click on this.

Now you’ll see a wealth of information displayed, including background processes and the resources that they are currently using.

To find the startup items click on the tab along the top that is marked Start-up.

This displays a list of everything that can load when you turn on your machine.

It’s important to note the Status column, as not everything on the list is actually enabled. If an item it marked as Disabled then you can ignore it as it will not load in the startup sequence.

To simplify matters click on the Status column so that it sorts the items into groups of enabled and disabled apps.

Removing startup programs using Task Manager

If you see any apps that you don’t want as part of your startup sequence then it is very easy to remove them.

Simply right click on the relevant app, then select the Disable option from the pop up menu.

The app will remain in the list, but will no longer launch automatically when you turn on your machine. To enable it again just right click on it and select Enable.

Remember that you’ll need to reboot your machine for these processes to take effect.

ANDROID 8.0 OREO: LATEST NEWS AND FEATURES

Power saving thanks to Android O

To protect users’ battery life and performance, Google has put automatic limits on app background activities in Android O. These background limits will specifically include implicit broadcasts, background services and location updates. For users, this means less energy consumption, and ultimately, longer battery life.

Android O makes it easier to find the apps that consume the most battery power. Usually Facebook or WhatsApp end up in the list. But only with Android O can you see if the apps have been draining your battery with background activities, or whether they are only using battery life when you’re in the app.

Earlier updates thanks to Project Treble

With Project Treble, Android O will get a vendor interface. This means that Android will be more modular so that manufacturers can use the vendor interface to access the implementations from internal component vendors, such as Qualcomm and MediaTek, for example. This will allow Android updates to happen more easily, because the whole process can be done independently of these vendor implementations. The idea is to speed up updates from manufacturers by making the process more streamlined.

Apps and reboots are faster with Android O

Optimizations in the system should cut device restart time in half and dramatically increase app performance. This is evident from independent reports from XDA and Android Police.

Apps are better thanks to Google Play Protect and tougher enforcement of criteria

Google Play Protect is a background service that will optimize security on Android by analyzing the behavior of apps to detect malware, and remove it from your phone and from the Play Store.

Google is also increasing pressure on app developers to increase the performance and stability of their apps. If they fall in the bottom 25 percent, they are warned and then removed from the Play Store if there’s no improvement.

Wi-Fi Aware (also known as Neighbor Awareness Networking or NAN)

Wi-Fi Aware (also known as Neighbor Awareness Networking or NAN): This function basically works so that devices with compatible hardware can communicate when they are close, via Wi-Fi Aware, without necessarily having to use the internet connection.

Autofill revolutionizes password management

Google is bringing a system-wide Autofill API to Android O, allowing all of your passwords to be managed in a central place. This will mean convenience and security when logging into apps and filling out forms, since there won’t be any need to copy/paste usernames and passwords anymore.

Rescue Party

Another new Android 8.0 feature has been announced. Rescue Party will help prevent bootloops, one of the most dreaded mobile phone issues. When core system components are crashing over and over again, Android will notice and take steps to recover the device. As a final resort, it will reboot into Recovery Mode and give the option to factory reset the device. This feature will be enabled by default and doesn’t require any special hardware, though it’s only for phones running Android Oreo.

Laptop won’t turn on? How to fix a computer that won’t boot

Expert tips on how to fix a PC or laptop that won’t start up and boot into Windows.

If your laptop or PC won’t turn on, don’t panic. You might be able to fix it yourself for free by trying these five methods.

Here we’ll explain the possible causes and how to try and fix a PC or laptop that won’t boot up.

  1. Check the power supply

Laptops

This is one of the most common problems. There are various things that can go wrong, from using the wrong laptop power supply (delivering the wrong voltage) to a blown fuse in the plug.

It might be that your power supply has simply failed. First, make sure the battery has some charge. If you’re not sure, and there’s no power indicator on the battery itself, then remove it entirely and just use the mains charger.

Double-check, too, that the charger is the right one for your laptop. Many laptops – especially from the same manufacturer – use the same size plug, and if you own more than one, it’s not too difficult to plug in the wrong power supply, which might provide a different voltage or not enough current.

Other gadgets may also use the same tips, such as a battery powered speaker, and are unlikely to use the same voltage as your laptop, which typically requires 16-20V.

Second, check the fuse in the plug. Use a screwdriver to remove the fuse and install one that’s known to be good. If you have a spare power cable that will plug into your power supply, this is a much quicker swap to test that it isn’t the fuse at fault.

Check over the wire itself, as power supplies get beaten up, especially if you carry them everywhere. Weak points are at the ends where it joins the black brick and at the plug which connects to the laptop. If you can see the coloured wires inside the black outer protection, it could be time to buy a new PSU.

PCs

PC power supplies can also be problematic. Few people have a spare they can install and test, so the first check is the fuse in the plug. There’s also a fuse inside the PSU itself, but it will require you to remove it from your PC and then remove the metal case to check if that’s the problem.

One of the most common PC power supply issues is that the PC will turn off unexpectedly rather than fail to boot up at all.

If the LED is on showing that power is reaching it, make sure your power button is properly connected and working.

You can short the appropriate motherboard pins together (check which ones in your motherboard manual) to eliminate the power button from the equation.

  1. Check the screen

Laptops

Try disconnecting any external displays including projectors and monitors to make sure they’re not stopping your laptop from booting into Windows.

If your computer’s power LED lights up and you can hear the hard disk or fan(s) whirring, but there’s no image on the screen, then make the room dark and check that there isn’t a very faint image on the screen.

It’s easy to think a laptop isn’t booting when in fact, it’s the screen that’s the problem.

If there is a faint image – maybe the Windows logon screen – then it’s likely that your screen’s inverter has failed. This component changes the direct current (DC) coming from the battery or power supply to an alternating current required by the screen.

Replacing an inverter isn’t too difficult if you’re handy with a screwdriver, but it’s crucial you buy the right replacement part. As inverters aren’t exactly cheap, you can’t afford to get it wrong.

If your laptop appears to be booting fine, but there’s no image at all, the LCD panel could be at fault. Replacing a laptop screen is possible, but difficult, and screens can also be costly. If it’s an older laptop, it’s worth considering buying a new one.

PCs

There isn’t much you can do to fix a broken PC monitor, but it’s easy – or easier – to swap the power lead and video cable or even the whole monitor to see if that’s the reason your PC won’t boot.

  1. Boot into Safe Mode

Even if you can’t boot into Windows, you might be able to get into safe mode. Press F8 as your laptop is starting up and you’ll get a menu offering to boot into Safe Mode.

If you can enter safe mode, you might be able to undo any changes that caused your laptop or PC to stop booting. You could try uninstalling any new programs that you recently installed, uninstall a driver that was recently updated, or create a new user account if the account is corrupt.

If you see an option to repair your computer, try this, but you will almost certainly need your Windows CD for this to work.

If you can’t get the drive going again, it’s time to start afresh with a new hard drive. Let’s hope that you have a recent backup of your important files!

What to do with an old PC

You can do plenty of things with an old PC besides sending it to the recycling centre. Let’s take a look at a few ways you might reuse an old PC.

  1. Convert it into a NAS or Home Server

If you’re running a home network and have multiple users – you, your spouse, your kids – reuse as network-attached storage or even as an actual server may be just the ticket for an old system.

However, it’s not just a matter of plugging an old PC into a network connection and starting it up. Most desktop systems aren’t configured to be effective servers or storage systems. For one thing, they probably use too much power. You’ll want to set BIOS power management to run cooling fans in quiet mode, if that option exists. You’ll also need to set up the operating system so that it doesn’t shut down at inconvenient times, yet run in a low-power state when it’s not being actively used.

Bear in mind that you’ll probably want to run your server ‘headless’ (that is, without a monitor), and sans keyboard and mouse as well. While you’ll need a display and input devices for the initial setup, make sure the system will work properly without them. Having a scheduled reboot hang because the system halted during startup (it couldn’t find a keyboard, perhaps) is annoying, to say the least.

Also, the operating system is likely not well suited for storage applications, particularly for multiple users. While Windows can function well as a storage repository for a couple of users, you’ll want to take the time to create user accounts for each person who might need access. In some cases, you may want to set storage quotas.

  1. Donate it to a local school

If your PC isn’t too archaic, consider donating it to a local school or hospital. Even if it is way beyond its sell-by date it could go to a local school’s computer lab (most schools have one) and be used as a test bed, to take apart and reassemble. Alternatively, local schools might use it for parts, although they may shy away from used gear, given the unknown pedigree or wear of older hardware.

If you donate it to a hospital or daycare centre, consider buying some low-cost educational software packages and preinstalling them before handing the system over. Also, as with selling a system, you’ll want to remove all software that you’ve reinstalled on your new PC. And make sure to include all licence information for the software you’re preinstalling on the old system.

  1. Turn it into an experimental box

You’ve heard about this Linux thing, and maybe you’d like to give it a whirl. But the thought of trying to create a dual-boot system on your primary PC leaves you a little green around the gills. Now you can experiment to your heart’s content on your old box.

Check out Ubuntu, the sexy Linux distro that geeks love to, well, love. The neat thing about Linux is all the built-in support for older hardware, so installation is usually easy. In fact, installing Ubuntu is sometimes simpler than installing Windows. And there’s a wealth of free software for Linux just waiting to be tried out.

If you think you’ve got the tech savvy and a bent for tinkering, you might try creating a Hackintosh – a PC that can run MacOS. It can be done, but it does take a fair amount of effort. The main hackintosh site is a good place to start, but expect a long and somewhat bumpy trip. Oh, and you’ll have to fork out for a legal copy of MacOS.

In addition, a number of true UNIX-based operating systems are available, ranging from FreeBSD or PC-BSD (based on the Berkeley UNIX version) to OpenSolaris, based on the Sun Microsystems version of UNIX.

  1. Give it to a relative

I do this all the time. My brother-in-law has modest computing needs. So I’ll often just hand over one of my two-year old PCs, though I’ll usually drop in a mid-range or entry-level graphics card.

I don’t generally recommend doing this with your kids, though – at least, not if your kids are like mine. They often need as much or more PC horsepower than I use on a regular basis (outside of gaming and photography, anyway). My older daughter is a dedicated photographer, and makes heavy use of Photoshop, while my younger daughter has become a pretty hardcore gamer.

Giving a system to family members can be fraught with peril, though. That’s because you are now the go-to person for tech support. So you’ve been warned: Give a PC to a friend or relative, and you’re now on call.

One thing you’ll definitely want to do is completely erase the hard drive and reinstall the OS from scratch. If it’s an off-the-shelf system from a major manufacturer, restoring it to its original condition from the restore partition or restore disc accomplishes the same thing.

  1. Use it as a dedicated game server

Do you have a favourite multiplayer game? If so, check and see whether it’s a game where you can host a server on a local computer – you might consider making your old system a dedicated game server. Most multiplayer games capable of playing online often support dedicated servers.

The great thing about many of these dedicated game servers is how little system horsepower they actually need.

7 SIMPLE TIPS TO SPEED UP YOUR PHONE

Your Android phone was probably fast when you first bought it, right? Then over time it began running more slowly. This is a common problem and nothing to worry about. Below is our guide to getting your phone fast again. Read on for our best tips to speed up your phone.

  1. Identify the problem

The first thing to do is find out what is causing the problem: an app, multiple apps, the system itself? Trepn Profiler by Qualcomm will show you the real-time CPU load for individual cores, an overview of network traffic for both data and Wi-Fi, GPU loads and RAM usage and more.

Trepn can also produce app-specific or system-wide profiles and contains various methods for displaying accumulated data. You can save your profiled data for offline viewing and analysis and even have performance overlays on running apps. Once you’ve figured out your specific issue, you can move on to the solutions below.

  1. Free up some space

All those photos you’ve taken and all of those apps you’ve installed can take their toll on your phone. It needs a little breathing room to run smoothly and if it’s running low on space, it can start to slow down.

You can check how much space you have left by heading to the Storage section of Settings. One of the easiest ways to free up space is to tap Applications and see which apps you can uninstall.

Tap the entry for an app you no longer need and then tap Uninstall. You can repeat this process as many times as necessary for any apps you feel you can live without.

There are other ways you can free up space. The files you have downloaded are probably still sitting in storage wasting space and can be removed. In Storage, tap Downloads, select the files you want to remove and then tap the Bin button.

Many of the apps you have installed use data caches in an attempt to speed up operations. This is effective up to a point, but if you are running short of space, it can actually be counter-productive. To free up this space, hit the Clear cached data option and then tap OK to confirm.

More files ripe for deletion can be found in the Miscellaneous files section. Tick the boxes next to any types of file you’d like to remove – backups, files received via Bluetooth, playlist files, and so on – and then tap the bin button. You can keep an eye on how much space you have freed up when you look at the Available space section.

You can also disable any apps that came pre-loaded on your phone but you don’t use. If you have rooted your Android, you can actually get rid of these apps, but if not, you can go to the app properties and disable it to prevent it from running and using up your phone’s resources.

  1. Cut back on the widgets

All those widgets you have running on your home screen may be useful, but they also take up their fair share of resources.

If you have any widgets running that you don’t really need, consider disabling them. There’s no harm in having some active, but you will notice an element of slow-down if you have too many running at the same time, so just be a little selective.

  1. Disable unnecessary animations and extras

Depending on the launcher you are using, you may find that there are various animations and special effects in place. These may look great, but they can also slow things down.

Check in your launcher’s settings to see if there is a way to disable any of these unnecessary extras, and you could earn yourself a speed boost.

  1. Close down apps and free up RAM

Multi-tasking several apps makes it easy to switch between different tools, but there can also be an impact on performance. You can quickly close down any apps you are no longer using by calling up the running apps list – press and hold the home key and then swipe away any apps you want to exit.

While you are at this screen, tap the pie chart button to the lower right of the screen and then move to the RAM section. Tap the Clear memory button and any background processes that are running unnecessarily will be closed down.

  1. Restart your device

A quick and simple fix for a slow device is to simply restart it. This can clear out the cache, stop unnecessary tasks from running, and get things running smoothly again.

Just hold down the power button, select the Restart option, and then tap OK to confirm.

  1. Dig deeper

You can also keep tabs on the apps that are using lots of battery by going to Settings > Battery. You can also monitor RAM usage in Settings > Apps (or App Manager, depending on your brand of phone) and there’s even more nerdy goodies in Process Stats in Developer Options – if you don’t have this setting enabled, go to Settings > About Phone and tap Build Number seven times until a notification pops up.