Computers, Laptops & Tablets

Wireless routers play an important role in how virtually all of your consumer electronics perform, but they’re often in the background and forgotten about. Not this year. In 2014, they became a big deal again, as the number of connected devices in homes exploded and a new Wi-Fi standard —802.11ac (or Gigabit Wi-Fi)— went mainstream. I’ve put together a list of five of the best Wi-Fi routers released in a year that saw many “firsts” and “bests” released.

If you are someone who casually reads e-books, then you probably don’t need a device like the Kobo Aura H2O. A smartphone or tablet will likely do just fine. But if you’re someone like me —an avid reader who’s fully committed to digital— then the new Aura H2O is the biggest news since last year’s Kobo Aura HD. I’ve been using Kobo’s latest flagship e-reader and even gone so far as dunking it in a sink full of water. Read on to see just how good this premium e-reader is.

Apple continued its fall tradition of releasing a new version of the OSX operating system that powers its Mac computers and once again, it’s a free upgrade. This year’s version is OSX 10.10 Yosemite. Should you make the leap? I’ve spent the past week test-driving OSX Yosemite on a MacBook Air and put together a guide of how to do it, what to expect and what you need to know before making the decision.