Online shopping needs a few tools. Here are some suggestions. Choose your payment card to keep it separate from your other finances and give you a better deal. MoneySavingExpert has the current crop of the cards that pay you when you go shopping. Check current prices across a number of retailers with PriceRunner’s round-up or
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Software – your alternatives
Our choices are so often rather the same. The same food, the same holidays, the same hair style. When it comes to software, making the same choice may be costing you a pretty penny now that the major software companies are making it more difficult to avoid renting their software rather than buying it permanently.
What to do when files go missing
Things generally go right. It’s simply that when they go wrong it can be painful. And with computers it usually happens just when you need them to go right very badly indeed. So, once the initial shock and enthusiastic language subside, here are some suggestions for how to handle files going wrong in Windows. Let’s
Getting started
With a little preparation, getting going with your new PC can be easy and possibly even fun. Here are some links to help you make your computer comfortably useful. Easy installation Ninite.com is probably the easiest way to install a range of free software. While Ninite has a limited menu of software on offer, ‘limited’
Wireless technology
An Inconvenient Truth Do you go through a day without using a wireless device? From the phone in your pocket to your conveniently wire-free computer, wireless communications have become ubiquitous over the last 20 years. The new powerful 5G technology and Elon Musks’s Starlink satellite network will enable incredible possibilities. However, if the implications of
How to search and find!
Have you ever thrown your hands up in despair of finding the web page that you so tantalisingly remember? The Google behemoth is the dominant search engine in many parts of the world but you may easily have missed its rather impenetrable user manual. While Google searches well, how well do you Google? Here are
Have you heard of the Fairphone?
Mobile phones remain remarkable devices whose origins and practical workings are, on the whole, mysterious to most users. A combination of over 30 minerals mined in far-off parts of the world, each phone is expertly woven into the sealed magic box that handles your communication. The curious may have stumbled upon ifixit.com, the online repair
Choose your computer
Welcome to the launch pad for your research into your new computer. Choosing a new computer can feel challenging so I recommend that you get clear on what you want from your computer by reading through my brief guide to selecting the right type of computer and what should be in the box. Then it is
How to buy a computer (part 2): what’s in the box
British gas engineers use toughened laptops that you may drive your car over and expect them to continue to function. By contrast, it would be ridiculous for them to arrive at your house lugging a desktop box, monitor and keyboard. In the same way, the right computer for you is one that supports your current
How to choose a computer (part 1)
Your first step when choosing your computer: what does it look like? I bet you could choose between eating an omelette, salad or sushi. So why is it challenging to choose the right computer? A well-chosen machine should last you for 5 – 7 years. Making a good choice at the beginning will do much to