Computers, Laptops & Tablets

With 802.11ac (Gigabit Wi-Fi) now mainstream, we are currently in the midst of a big wireless router replacement cycle. I’ve tested so many routers in the past year that I’ve lost count. Despite the potential payoff of a new router, many people are reluctant to make the upgrade. Routers can be intimidating, and once our Wi-Fi is working, it’s such an integral part of our homes now that we’re naturally reluctant to do anything that might rock the boat. After getting a taste of what the latest generation of 802.11ac routers can do, I finally made the jump myself, replacing my own aging router. And to help you understand everything that’s involved, I chronicled every step of the process. Hopefully this account of one person’s Wi-Fi router upgrade will help to demystify the process and show why it’s worth doing.

Ultra HD (also known as 4K or UHD for some brands) monitor prices have been dropping like a stone lately—although I still can’t get my wife to buy me one—and that’s thanks to massive demand, plus 28-inch TN panels that are getting less expensive to produce. Philips’s foray into that budget-conscious market is the 288P6 Brilliance 28-inch 4K Monitor, and I got to put one through its paces to see if it makes me want that upgrade.