In the past, upgrading your home would have included new windows or an extension of some sort. These days, however, upgrading your home can take a far more techy turn and more than ever, people are looking for these features when buying a new property. Today, I’m sharing just some of the tech-based upgrades to future-proof your home which are definitely worth the investment, and can usually be easily handled by an electrician near you:
Continue reading “Five Smart Ways to Future-Proof Your Home”Category: Technology
What You Should Look For In a Data Room Provider
Thanks to data rooms, storing and sharing files online has never been easier than it is today. However, not every VDR is the same as each offers different features, and the one you choose depends on what you want for your business. To make your search easier, here are vital factors you should consider.
Continue reading “What You Should Look For In a Data Room Provider”Are You Getting the Internet Speeds You’re Paying For?
Husband and I were recently having a conversation about the best VPN for gaming and what our internet was like when we first started living together. At the time, we paid a fair amount for it and I think our speeds were around 5Mbps – we thought this was pretty good, but looking back it was terrible by comparison!
These days, our internet speeds are 500Mbps, and we often get much faster speeds than this too. It’s been a long time coming, to be fair – when we first moved to our current house, we were back to having 5Mbps speeds because the rural infrastructure was so ancient, so when it was all upgraded, we felt like we’d been catapulted into the future.
It’s all well and good paying for a decent internet package, but have you ever wondered if you’re really getting the speeds you’re paying for? Doing an online Speedcheck is the easiest way to find out but there are some things to remember.
Traffic Shaping
Traffic shaping is something that some internet providers do, which means that at peak times you may find your speeds are slowing down. They do this so that everyone gets an equal share of the bandwidth, but it’s not always legit as it means you’re not always getting the speeds you’re paying for, so it’s worth checking your contract to see if it’s mentioned in there.
You can work out if your traffic is being shaped by doing speed checks at different times of day, both off peak and during busy times to see if there’s a consistent drop in speeds at a specific time. If you do find this, then it may be time to search for “internet providers near me” and find a different provider who won’t slow you down while you’re browsing.
Disclaimers Regarding Speeds
Sometimes, there will be small print on your internet providers service, meaning that although you’re paying for one speed, this may be subject to certain conditions. Keep an eye out for words like “up to”.
Also, find out what the maximum speed you can receive through your infrastructure before commiting to a plan – it’s all very well taking out a package which offers “speeds up to 500Mbps” but if your local cables can only deliver 5Mbps, you’re going to be grossly overpaying for a service that it’s impossible for you to receive!
Check Your Neighbours Speeds
If you’re on friendly terms with your neighbours, it’s always a good idea to confer with them to see who they get their internet from, how much they pay and if they have a referral code which gives money off of theirs and your connection. If you know that your neighbours are getting a specific deal with isn’t being advertised, it gives you much better ammo for negotiating your price.
Wired/Wireless?
Another thing to bear in mind is that some providers will differentiate between wireless and wired speeds. If you use a tablet or laptop to surf the internet, you may find that your speeds are totally different to speeds you’d get if you were using a PC which was hardwired to your router.
To check the difference, invest in a network cable and test your speeds both wired and through your Wi-Fi. If you’re not getting Wi-Fi connectivity you expected but the wired speeds are okay, your ISP (internet service provider) may be able to offer you hotspots which can be plugged in around the house to aplify your Wi-Fi signal.
Don’t forget, check your speeds at different times of the day using Speedcheck and keep a log of them for 7 days before speaking to your ISP. It could be great for price negotiations to have the data on hand!
5 Best Laptops for Mums in 2021
Everyone appreciates a new and quality laptop. Mother’s Day, Christmas or New Year could be the best time to give your mother a new MacBook or choose any other laptop she will appreciate. She might need a new laptop to replace the old one or just to have the latest model.
A laptop that is easy to use while at the same time being of the new model and at an affordable price is the best to acquire. As a mom, you might not know about the best laptop to purchase so proper research is essential before buying the desired laptop. Let’s take a look at some of the best laptops for a mom in 2021.
Lenovo Yoga 920
Lenovo Yoga 920 ranks as the best laptop for a mother as it offers good performance and comes at a very reasonable price. This is a thin and powerful laptop that has a lovely design and can play movies and games. It also provides a superb experience for doing work assignments, surfing net at great speed and helping kids with their homework.
Lenovo Yoga 920 comes in several configurations, though it has not gone overboard by offering a confusing array of choices. This model comes with an Intel Core i5-8250U processor, 256 GB SSD, 8GB RAM, a 13.9-inch 1080p touch screen, an active Pen stylus, and Intel UHD Graphics 620 and costs $1,199. It’s easily comparable to a new MacBook as it does not disappoint you on any front. MacBook will remain a winner, but the idea here is to cover equally good or slightly better things.
Acer Chromebook R11
Chromebooks, such as the Acer Chromebook R11, make good laptops because of their relatively low price and ease-of-use. The Chromebook R11 runs on ChromeOS instead of Windows 10. This makes it resist viruses and other web nasties. You can freely hand it over to your children without any worry. It comes with Acer Chromebook R11 tool that offers you the ultimate web browsing experience while unleashing the full features of Android apps.
It will soon have a touch screen that spins around to get it into the tablet mode. To add to the beauty, an all-metal finish makes it look like a fabulous machine. This model comes with an 11.6-inch screen, 16-32GB SSD, 4GB RAM, an Intel Celeron N3060-N3150 and Intel HD Graphics. It’s convertible and has a good battery life so you do not have to worry about your battery letting you down.
Alienware 17 R5
Alienware 17 R5 from Dell is a good choice of laptop, especially if your children are serious gamers. It has good gaming features with an overclocked GTX 1080 graphics card as well as being able to handle heavy-duty tasks like photo and video editing. It has a large screen size of 17.3-inches and a large storage capacity of 246GB SSD, a RAM of 32GB, an Intel Core i9-8950HK processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX1080 graphics.
It’s a sturdy laptop, weighs about 10 pounds and its performance is out of this world. Get this laptop and your mom will appreciate the goodness of technology.
Acer Swift 3
Acer Swift 3 is an excellent laptop with a solid-all aluminum body that withstands knocks and bumps that is more than powerful enough to study and work. This makes it the best laptop for a mother who has children at home as they can use it for studying while she uses it for her work, all this at an impressively low-value.
It offers a superb trackpad and a backlit keyboard that makes typing a breeze. Acer Swift 3 comes with a 14-inch screen, 128-256GB SSD, 4-8GB RAM, an Intel Core i3-i7 processor and an Intel HD Graphics 620. It has excellent performance and a reasonable price, you will see the value of your laptop.
Dell G3 15
Dell G3 15 is another awesome gaming laptop that will surely keep your kids entertained, it is cheaper than other gaming laptops but that should not fool you as its performance is on point. It comes with a good graphics card for playing modern games at 108p, a huge 1TB hard drive for your photos, videos and documents.
As a mother, you will get to enjoy watching your memorable videos and photos with its nice graphics. It has a screen size of 15.6-inch, 128-256GB SSD plus 1TB HDD, 8GB-16GB RAM, Intel Core i5-i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050-GTX 1060. It’s very affordable and a great performer for the money you shell out.
Conclusion
A mother needs a laptop that she will comfortably use and one that has a fair price. There are many different laptops out there on the market but you need to choose the one that will suit your needs. A laptop that is up-to-date and trusted to deliver quality services is the best to buy. You cannot afford to buy a laptop that fails to deliver optimum processing speed or is not smart and trendy, matching 2021 style. As a mother, you will enjoy these quality laptops since they will deliver what you exactly need.
Author Bio:
James Dorian is a technical copywriter. He is a tech geek who knows a lot about modern apps that will make your work more productive. James reads tons of online blogs on technology, business, and ways to become a real pro in our modern world of innovations.
How to Choose the Best Home Theater Speakers
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Whether you like watching blockbuster movies in your free time, jamming to your favorite playlist, or playing video games; a quality home theater system is what will take the experience to the next level. Luckily, there are plenty of audio systems in the market for you to choose from.
But picking the best out of so many options is no walk in the park. There are different types, different layouts, and different features to look out for. We haven’t even considered the many brands selling these speakers.
Not to worry, the guide below will explain to you how to choose the best home theater system!
Choosing the Best Home Theater System
The following factors need to be considered when shopping for the ideal home audio system:
Size of the Room
Before buying the speaker, you have to ensure that they’ll fit inside the room you want them installed. If you’re going for a powerful system, the room has to be large enough to prevent there being sound overkill. In the same way, a smaller room will be better suited to less powerful speakers.
Furthermore, the characteristics of the room will also influence the placement of speakers you’re going to get. For some living rooms, a soundbar is all you need to get the difference you need while others will be okay with shelf speakers or even floor standing speakers.
Type of Speaker
A home theater audio system comes with all the speakers that are needed to give your space a full surround set up. There are different speaker layouts you’ll have to choose from and this will mainly be guided by your preferences as a buyer.
A 5.1 speaker system comprises right and left front speakers, a center speaker, two surround speakers, as well as a subwoofer. On the other hand, a 7.1 speaker system features an extra pair of surround speakers that you can install at the back of the living room.
Depending on the size of your space and the amount of sound you see fit, this is an important choice that will affect the overall quality of sound.
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Testing
When shopping for an audio system in stores, most people make the mistake of listening to new material, usually a demo DVD or CD that the store provides for customers. This robs you of the chance to scrutinize the sound quality effectively and tell whether it is the right product for you.
Ideally, you should bring along a CD from home that you’ve had an opportunity to listen to over and over. This way, you’ll be able to notice any difference between the speaker systems tested and choose the stand out for you!
Accessories and Aesthetics
Some speaker systems come with special features that are not common for all brands. For instance, things like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi compatibility are considered to be crucial features that will improve the overall functionality of the speaker. However, these can only be found in a select number of models.
Another thing you might be interested in is the general aesthetics of the audio system. This will include things like color, build, and even shape. If you are the one to care about the outlook of your space, you can get a speaker system that enhances the décor of your living room.
Brand
Before choosing a speaker to buy, remember to look at the brand you’re choosing from. There are numerous manufacturers in the market but not all offer the same kind of quality. If you’re not very sure about the best speaker features, you can look at the manufacturer’s brand for guidance.
Make sure that the company has a good reputation in the market and if possible, go to the internet and see what previous customers have to say about the brand. This will also be a nice time to check whether the manufacturer offers a warranty and the duration before it expires.
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Conclusion
A good home theater system can greatly enhance the entertainment value of your home. It might just be the new reason why everyone in the family is always looking forward to “movie nights”.
However, you have to play your cards right to get the perfect device for your space. The above factors are just some of the essential considerations you should make when searching for the perfect home theater speaker system!
