Computers, Laptops & Tablets

Wireless networking can be confusing. There are many numbers and letters being thrown around and with Gigabit Wi-Fi just starting to appear in mainstream devices, there’s more arcane info than ever to keep track of. Dual-band, 802.11, a,b,g,n,ac, 1300/1900, 600/900, 2.4GHz, 5GHz, beamforming … What does it all mean? In particular, what is the difference between the previous top performing Wi-Fi standard (802.11n wireless) and the new champ (802.11ac)? In this post, I’ll break it down to the basics.  

I’ve rarely had a virus scanner come to me on a USB stick before and certainly not one that functioned on its own through it anyway. The FixMeStick looks to break the software wall by taking its virus scanning to hardware form. With a system that work independently from your operating system, you’re promised a unique and cleaner scanning experience. You should be able to catch things your OS-based scanner couldn’t and help flag down the problems plaguing your user experience. But does it work like it should? Read on to find out more about FixMeStick and some of the benefits (and problems) I experienced.

 If a router could be designated as a tank, the Linksys AC5400 might be it. While already large in physical stature, it’s the power under the hood that makes this unit as robust as it is, even if a good deal of what’s in there can’t be utilized by most devices yet. In many ways, this is a router that is built more for the next year or two than it is for the here and now, and if that appeals to you, the AC5400 is worth a look.

ASUS has announced new Republic of Gamers laptops and they are the first gaming laptops to feature the power of Nvidia’s new GTX 10-series graphics cards. Look for the new ROG gaming laptops featuring VR-ready Nvidia GTX 1070 and GTX 1060 graphics cards to arrive soon at Best Buy.

Hands on with the Linksys Velop AX4200 Wi-Fi 6 whole home mesh system, combining the benefits of Wi-Fi 6 with the smarts and coverage of mesh.

Keep things simple this Father's Day with a tech gift dad will actually love and can and will use all year 'round.

Start the spooky Halloween fun early by creating your own ghoulish decorations. Turn your house into the haunted house of your nightmares (and have a fun time crafting with the kids while you're at it). Here are some ideas to get you started.

 Like most people, I was initially confounded by the switch to USB Type-C. The new charging and connectivity platform is appearing in newer smartphones, tablets and notebook PCs as a way to make devices sleeker, more versatile and help them to charge a lot faster. Is this really the one port to rule them all?

Once you have got the basic PC accessories you need, this article may give you a few ideas that can improve your computing experience even more.