Table of contents for 706 in Computeractive

I think most people view AI as they did the internet back in the late 90s. They’re intrigued and excited by its potential, but confused too. They realise there are some fantastic tools to master, but also plenty of dross to avoid. That dross has a name: ‘AI slop’. Robert Irvine explains what it means in his excellent Cover Feature, where he recommends the best 20 tools to use, and another 20 that are total rubbish. The latter includes the Chinese chatbot DeepSeek. It looked promising back in January, but there have been far too many privacy red flags since. My favourite chatbot is still ChatGPT, but I’m beginning to use Google Gemini and Grok too. And for creating images, I think Google’s ImageFX has the edge over Opera’s Aria.…

Apple has released the fastest ever iPad Air at the same price as the previous model. The seventh-generation Air (pictured) costs £599 for an 11in screen and £799 for 13in (both 128GB), the same as the sixth generation launched last May. There are also 256GB, 512GB and 1TB editions for both sizes, priced £699, £899 and £1,099 respectively for 11 inches, and £799, £999 and £1,299 for 13 inches (see www.snipca.com/54180). But Apple has upgraded the processor from M2 to M3, claiming it’s 12-15 per cent more powerful – and twice as fast as the M1 chip in the fifth generation from 2022. Apple’s M range of processors use the company’s ‘system on a chip’ (SoC) technology to combine all the CPU, GPU, memory and other vital components on one…

BT has urged the 22 per cent of small businesses who still use landlines to upgrade to digital up to a year before the old phone network is switched off on 31 January 2027. It said these businesses regard themselves as “analogue” and still rely on traditional phone lines, physical filing systems, paper contracts and fax machines. The figure comes from a national survey of small businesses commissioned by BT. It also found that 80 per cent of firms who have invested in new technology say it has given them a competitive advantage over rivals. Kerry Small, Chief Operating Officer for Business at BT, said: “The UK’s analogue copper telephone network has a proud history, but it’s no longer up to the task for businesses.” “It’s simply too risky to…

Check password ‘bits’ in KeePass It would take the average hacker 160 million years to crack the password Fzl=SE7fl+aUr4j in a brute-force attack. We know this because the new version of password manager KeePass (2.58) gives an “estimated quality” of passwords, measured in ‘bits’ of randomness. The password above is 92 bits. In contrast, a password comprising eight lowercase letters is 35 bits and would take less than an hour to crack. To download the update, click Help at the top followed by ‘Check for Updates’. Alternatively, click one of the Download buttons at https://keepass.info/download.html. Now and lowercase letters, digits and special characters) and its length. Click the Generate tab (1 in our screenshot) and you’ll see the passwords KeePass has created 2, and the average estimated quality at the bottom…

Evri has refunded the money Amanda Checklin spent trying to dispatch 36 parcels, and told us why she was unable to scan all the QR codes needed to confirm the deliveries (see Issue 705). The courier said it has a limit of 20 parcels that individuals can send in one transaction. To increase this limit you need to have a business account. Amanda, who works for a charity for rescued animals, had spent £181.70 to send the 36 parcels to auction winners. But she was left frustrated when she couldn’t scan all the codes and eventually used another courier. Evri did refund her for four parcels, but ignored her requests for more refunds. She was still owed £160 when she contacted us. To its credit, Evri responded within 24 hours…

WEB BROWSER Firefox 136 www.snipca.com/54189 What you need: Windows 10 or 11, macOS or Linux Firefox may no longer receive the same level of attention as Chrome and Edge, but it’s still the best and most popular alternative to Chromium browsers. Its powerful privacy features automatically block third-party cookies and other trackers, and it will continue to support Manifest V2 extensions – such as uBlock Origin – for the foreseeable future. Firefox 136 is a major update that introduces a host of useful features and improvements. The most notable is Vertical Tabs, which moves the tab bar from across the top of the browser to down the left-hand side. To activate the option, right-click the main toolbar and choose ‘Turn on Vertical Tabs’. Vertical Tabs saves you having to move…

SOFTWARE WARNING! HP’s 15-minute ‘on hold’ delay for callers Andy Warhol is often credited with predicting that “in the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes”. He would have been just as prophetic claiming that “in the future everyone phoning HP’s customer services will have to hold for 15 minutes”. That’s the length of time HP added to all phone calls from customers to deter them from phoning the company. According to an internal memo leaked to The Register website, HP wanted to encourage customers to “self-solve” their problems instead by looking for help on its website. The automated message customers heard was: “We are experiencing longer waiting times and we apologise for the inconvenience. The next available representative will be with you in about 15 minutes.” HP justified…

MONITOR | £150 from BenQ www.snipca.com/54042 Adjust cause If you’re upgrading from a monitor that’s smaller than 24in, or looking for a second screen to work with your laptop, the 24in BenQ GW2486TC looks like an attractive option. It doesn’t offer too many advanced features, but it’s designed to be comfortable for people who have to sit at a screen for extended periods, and mostly work in office software and online tools. “An adaptable monitor with eye-care modes for basic Windows work” The technical details hit our expectations for the size and price. The IPS panel has a 1080p resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, with a decent 178-degree viewing angle. In our tests it had an impressive 99-per-cent coverage of the sRGB colour standard. Its 250cd/m2 maximum brightness level won’t be…

LAPTOP Dell Inspiron 14 Plus £799 from www.snipca.com/51831 Tested Issue 683 This laptop has the same processor (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H) as our previous favourite (Acer Swift Go 4), but manages to squeeze more speed out of it. It also comes with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD and a 14in 2240x1400-pixel screen. Excellent value overall. ALTERNATIVE Acer Swift Go 14 Still a fast and powerful laptop, with a great 14in screen. £699 from www.snipca.com/49733 DESKTOP PC Palicomp AMD Cobra £400 from www.snipca.com/43515 Tested Issue 643 This fast PC is a mouth-watering bargain, with 16GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD and a six-core processor – though it lacks USB-C ports and built-in Wi-Fi. ALTERNATIVE Wired2Fire Ultima WS Home Office Workstation Blisteringly fast PC, powered by an overclocked eight-core processor and 1TB SSD.…

ANDROID & iOS Customise your vehicle icon in Google Maps Since 2020, Google Maps has let you change the icon that represents your vehicle on the map when you’re viewing driving directions. Rather than stick with the default ‘blue arrow in white circle’, you could choose between a red sedan, yellow SUV or green pick-up truck. Google has now updated the feature to let you customise the appearance of the vehicle icon with additional colours and less generic designs. This allows you to make it better match your actual car or one you’d like to be driving if you could afford it – such as a black Porsche. To change your vehicle icon, tap the blue Directions button in Google Maps, search for a destination and select driving directions. In…

Pick competition winners at random Printing names and picking them out of a hat is one way to decide club competition winners, but there are slicker and more entertaining methods you can use. Use Random.org’s True Random Number Generator The simplest way to pick a winner is to get a random number from Random.org, which launched way back in 1998 (just a few months after Computeractive). Built by Dr Mads Haahr of the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, it picks up signals from radio receivers or antennas, and electromagnetic noise from the atmosphere, such as that generated by lightning or solar activity. This “atmospheric noise” is used to randomise numbers. Dr Haahr says this is true randomness, unlike “pseudorandom” algorithms used by software. First, number…

BEST PAID-FOR AI TOOLS THAT ARE NOW FREE 1 ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode www.snipca.com/54046 ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode lets you hold natural voice conversations with the chatbot through its website and apps (www.snipca.com/54047). Previously, the feature was only available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers, though free users could try it for 10 minutes each month before being reverted to standard voice mode. In February, OpenAI launched a new version of Advanced Voice Mode based on its GPT-4o mini model. This means everyone can now interact with ChatGPT like they’re chatting to a real person. Advanced Voice Mode mimics the rhythm and even some of the emotions inherent in a human voice. It tailors ChatGPT’s responses based on the speed you’re talking and when you interrupt it mid-sentence, it won’t…

Can I monitor progress and transfer speed in Files? Q You’ve often promoted the Files app (https://files.community) as a worthy replacement for File Explorer. I’ve given it a try and like it. However, there’s one feature in File Explorer that I can’t find in Files. I cut and paste large quantities of data between drives and have been accustomed to monitoring progress and speed of transfer in File Explorer. Is this tool hidden somewhere in Files? Chris Fewtrell A Yes, the Files app can do this – though the progress-monitoring window doesn’t pop up automatically, as it does in File Explorer. Instead, you need to click a button to open the Status Centre window. This button remains hidden unless you’re carrying out an activity, such as transferring a file, at…

Public figures often struggle to speak in plain English, especially when describing technological change. Here’s what BBC Director General Tim Davie (pictured below) told MPs in the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 4 March: “Digging in purely on DTT is not where the BBC is. The BBC would like to be part of a proactive transition of the UK to fully digitised households.” Translated, Davie means that supporting services offering the Digital Terrestrial Television service Freeview, isn’t the BBC’s priority, and it wants to encourage viewers to switch to watching TV over broadband, particularly on Freely. This is the strongest signal yet that long term the days of Freeview and its satellite cousin Freesat are numbered. Combined they still serve about 18 million households, but broadcasting’s decision makers see…

One of the most impressive signs of good customer service is if companies are prepared to refund you if the product you buy suddenly drops in price soon after purchase. So full marks for CyberPowerPC for doing just that when I emailed them after spotting the PC I’d bought had been reduced by £100. It was my third computer from CyberPowerPC and like the previous two it arrived the day after I had ordered it. They also set a high standard in communication. At every stage of your PC customisation they tell you exactly what you’ve done. They’re transparent about when it will be sent and why there might be delays. A couple of times I’ve added components that weren’t compatible, but they warn you immediately so you don’t make…

SIW Home www.snipca.com/54188 Price: £16.05 per year Free trial: 14 days What you need: Windows 10 or 11 SIW (System Information for Windows) lets you view a huge amount of information about your PC’s hardware, software and network connections in one place. It’s been around for 20 years and was recently updated to support the latest Intel and AMD processors. The interface has a tree-like structure, which makes it easy to explore details of different components on your computer. These include your motherboard, CPU, BIOS, memory, and sound, video and network adapters. You can also view at-a-glance information about your operating system (see screenshot), such as the current version, installed programs, security settings and even your product keys. The level of detail is very impressive, especially for technically minded users,…

Q I’d like to replace my old Lenovo ThinkPad laptop because it can’t be upgraded to Windows 11. It has 8GB of RAM, an Intel Core i5-7300U processor and 500GB of storage. I primarily use it for office tasks, web browsing and light gaming. My wife also uses it for illustration work and the kids for homework. I want a PC that balances performance, price and longevity. I’m happy to pay up to £1,000. We live in a relatively small house, so space is at a premium. While a laptop offers portability, we never take it anywhere. A mini PC seems like a practical option, but which one would you suggest? Steve Willey A We’d recommend the Geekom A8, which is currently our favourite mini PC. (£899 from www.snipca.com/51157, see…

SMARTWATCH | £100 from Amazfit www.snipca.com/54088 The Active 2 smartwatch from Chinese manufacturer Amazfit is packed with features at a very reasonable price. Its display is a fabulous 1.32in AMOLED touchscreen, with an impressive 2,000cd/m2 peak brightness level. That’s more than bright enough to see in direct sunlight, and it’s vibrant, sharp and responsive to touch. There’s also an always-on display mode, which keeps the screen alive at all times, so you don’t have to wake the watch by lifting your wrist to glance at the time. This is a feature that many budget watches skip. The stainless steel casing is lightweight at just 53g, while the silicon strap is unremarkable, but does the job. “Fine during rest periods, but struggled to keep up with high-intensity exercise” Designed for fitness…

Majority’s Bard 2.1 Internet Radio Music System lets you enjoy a wide range of audio channels, from DAB and FM radio, Bluetooth, internet radio and Spotify Connect. It also gives you access to thousands of podcasts around the world with the dedicated Podcast feature. Listen to your favourite stations while you wake up or fall asleep with the dual alarm and timer. It has more than 90 presets to let you quickly access your favourite stations with the press of a button on the device or remote control. It has two 4in speakers, and is backed up by a huge 5in powerful subwoofer. Its 100-watt system packs a real punch, delivering a deeper bass with clean and crisp audio. Majority’s enhanced digital radio sound quality is designed and perfected by…

WINDOWS 10 & 11 Access settings using PowerToys Run Press Windows key+R and you’ll open the Run tool, letting you type commands to launch programs, open system tools, or access files and folders. It’s a decent tool that’s been in Windows for many years, but the Run equivalent in PowerToys is faster and works with more commands. One of the most useful is typing $ (dollar sign) to find a section in Settings. First, open PowerToys (or install it from www.snipca.com/54037), then click System Tools on the left followed by PowerToys Run. Make sure the ‘Enable PowerToys Run’ slider is on (1 in our screenshot below), then press Alt+Spacebar. In our example we’ve typed $Bluetooth 2 and been given three Bluetooth sections in Windows settings to open 3. WINDOWS 10 &…

M.2 and MVMe? Q I’m not exactly a computer novice, having owned a PC in one form or another for over 30 years, but I’m very far from being an expert – especially when it comes to some of the modern terminology. That doesn’t cause me too many problems because I just like to use my laptop. But as my SSD is nearly full I thought I’d look about the possibility of adding a new one. My laptop specifications state that it has a spare M.2 slot, but when I went to look for a drive that might fit I quickly became confused. There seems to be different sizes, and other terms like NVMe, that I need to know about. Can you explain the differences – hopefully in simple terms.…

WATCH OUT FOR… PayPal scam emails from Docusign What’s the threat? Scammers are sending fake PayPal emails from Docusign, a genuine service for securely signing, sending and managing documents that can be signed digitally. They do this by setting up a Docusign account and then using its templates to create what look like legitimate PayPal invoices. Because the emails are associated with a genuine Docusign account, they bypass many of the scam filters in email tools. The example spotted by security firm Malwarebytes has the real Docusign logo at the top left (1 in our screenshot) and uses the headline ‘PayPal Customer Care sent you a document to review and sign’ 2. It claims PayPal has “identified an unauthorized transaction” to Coinbase 3, which is a cryptocurrency trading site. It urges…

Has Currys sold me a second-hand laptop as new? LEAD CASE Q I’m concerned that Currys has sold me a second-hand laptop as new. I bought a Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 laptop from Currys (www.snipca.com/54091) at the end of December. When setting it up I discovered that it appears to have previously been set up, and Lenovo’s warranty was for only seven months instead of a year. Neither Lenovo nor Currys is helping me, so can you? John Barker A We’ll try, because there are several signs suggesting it’s a second-hand laptop that Currys sold as new by mistake. If so, John is entitled to a full refund. First, if the laptop has been set up before, it has definitely been used in some capacity. It may not have been…

What can I use instead of Skype? Q I’ve been using Skype to make video calls on my PC for over 10 years, so was rather shocked to hear that Microsoft is scrapping it on 5 May. What tool should I use now and can I move my contacts to it? Phil Friar A Microsoft wants you to use its Teams program, as it explains at www.skype.com/en, and will be giving all Skype users the chance to move to the tool. Like Skype, you can make free video calls on Teams, send comments, share files and use it on multiple devices. Microsoft will be prompting Skype users to use Teams over the next few weeks. Your previous chats and existing contacts will be waiting for you when you sign in,…

What are they? Nvidia’s new 5090, 5080 and 5070 graphics cards. These are more powerful than Nvidia’s previous generation, making graphically demanding software run faster, more smoothly and with greater detail. How do they work? Graphics cards have their own processors, memory and cooling systems. Software will pass the demanding job of creating 3D worlds or rendering video, for example, on to the graphics card, leaving the main processor free to manage everything else. What are the specs? The top-of-the-range RTX 5090 (pictured below) promises to double the performance levels of the previous generation RTX 4090 card and costs £1,939. Further down the price scale, the RTX 5070 matches the performance of the 4090 and costs £539. If you’re prepared to wait a little longer, RTX 5060 and 5050 chips…

LAPTOP CHARGER | £70 from Amazon www.snipca.com/54067 The Anker Laptop Power Bank is a portable battery you can plug into a laptop when you’re on the go. It’s a big step up from the typical smartphone chargers you might be familiar with, because it can output 165W and has a large 25,000mAh capacity. While this is a hefty piece of kit, weighing 594g, it’s remarkably slender for such a heavy-duty battery. Still, you’ll want to carry it around in your bag rather than a trouser pocket. It has a USB-C and USB-A port, both located on one long side. It also has two integrated cables – one loops round into a clip, doubling as a carrying handle (pictured right); while the other is retractable, with one end connecting magnetically to…

EDGE Control how much memory Edge uses Edge doesn’t use as much memory as Chrome and Firefox – it’s actually the lightest of the main browsers in terms of the system resources it uses. But when you have lots of tabs open and extensions installed, it may consume RAM that’s needed by other programs. To prevent Edge from hogging memory, Microsoft has added a ‘Resource controls’ option, which lets you limit how much RAM the browser can use. It’s mainly intended for when you’re playing games on your PC, but is equally useful when performing other resource-intensive tasks such as editing videos. To activate this new feature in Edge 134 (released in March), click the three-dot menu button top right and choose Settings followed by ‘System and performance’. Scroll down…

LIBREOFFICE WRITER Set your preferred zoom level in documents In previous versions of LibreOffice Writer, if you saved a document when you were zoomed in it would reopen at that same level of zoom. Version 25.2, released in February, gives you the option to override this, so documents will open at the same zoom level every time. Click Tools at the top, then Options at the bottom (or press Alt+F12). Next, click LibreOffice Writer in the menu on the left followed by View (1 in our screenshot). Now select ‘Use preferred values’ 2 under the Zoom heading and choose the type of zoom you want. LibreOffice gives you four options 3, or you can choose your own zoom level by selecting Custom and typing a percentage 4. MICROSOFT OFFICE Collapse…

From AI-written articles on news websites to deepfake videos on social media and fake songs on streaming services, the web is awash with content created using artificial intelligence. The trouble is that a large proportion of this is, frankly, rubbish. There’s even a term for it: ‘AI slop’, defined as “filler content produced by AI tools that prioritise speed and quantity over substance and quality” (www.snipca.com/54137). Now that anyone can generate text, pictures, video and audio at the click of a button, the slop floodgates are well and truly open. Thankfully, there are still lots of good AI tools that provide reliable information, produce high-quality content and perform genuinely useful tasks. Although you sometimes need to pay for their premium features, you’ll be surprised and impressed by how much you…

LOWEST- EVER PRICE! We’re delighted to announce our lowest-ever price for Norton 360 Premium. For just £19.99, you’ll protect 10 devices for two years. Available both for new customers and existing Norton users wanting to renew. WHAT YOU GET ✓ Real-time malware protection✓ Secure VPN✓ 75GB PC Cloud Backup PLUS Monitors the dark web for your personal information Norton is made by NortonLifeLock Inc – a standalone company dedicated to consumer cyber safety. It has always performed strongly in Computeractive antivirus tests, so we highly recommend it. 10 devices for two years NOW ONLY £19.99* Normally £179.99 Buy it from our Software Store at www.snipca.com/33247 * while stocks last…

1080p High-definition video: 1920x1080 pixels. 16K Screen resolution of 16,384 pixels horizontally, offering extremely high clarity. 32bit/64bit A measure of how much data a PC can process at once. Most older computers are 32bit, more modern ones are 64bit. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels. 3G/4G/5G Technologies that deliver faster mobile broadband. AES-256bit Advanced Encryption Standard. A form of encryption based on a key length of 256 bits. Cracking it would take longer than the age of the universe. Antivirus engine The core component of an antivirus program that detects malware. Aspect ratio A measurement of the shape of a screen. Traditional PC screens are 4:3. Widescreen displays are 16:9 or 16:10. Benchmarking Comparing software and products with an accepted standard. Beta A version of software…