Author: Press Room

Unlike, say, a cheap fitness tracker, solar panels have never been an impulse purchase. Well, for me, at least. Costs aside, there’s traditionally been the need for roof surveys, scaffolding, professional installers, and a fairly intimidating bill to deal with first. No, thank you. But wait! That all changed on 27 August 2026, when the UK – technically Great Britain, as Northern Ireland’s separate regulations haven’t yet been updated – legalised compliant solar kits that end in an ordinary three-pin plug. Yes, it all sounds almost suspiciously simple – and in the right home, it nearly is. But there are…

HBO is working on a new TV show based on the Harry Potter book series by J.K. Rowling, about a boy who learns he’s actually a wizard and gets whisked away to a world of magic and wonder. The first season will premiere this Christmas, and it’s going to be an enormous hit. A second season is already in the works.

I love my smart TV. It’s my portal to the undeniable and wonderful convenience of on-demand streaming services, where I can sit and imbibe the best from the world of entertainment. But after a while, it dawned on me that, like most other computers, my smart TV might not always have my best interests at heart. Smart TVs can and do collect data on you while you watch. It’s led some to say that their biggest surprise privacy leak was easily a smart TV — and that’s exactly why I’m taking steps to lock mine down. Related Your smart TV…

You might think you’re getting on a bit if you remember the day when DVDs or CDs first rocked up. If so, spare a thought for anyone who first enjoyed movies at home via the magic of VHS. Doubly so if they owned a JVC HR-3300, given that this slice of miracle tech – the very first home VHS deck – is now a half century old. Ah, yes, who can forget the dulcet sounds of your favourite VHS tape being devoured? Gripe all you like, but this JVC number was the start of something special. Before the HR-3300, video recorders were mostly…

For months, I kept prodding the backlight and brightness sliders on my LG TV, certain the panel itself had gone dim, before I found the actual culprit buried three menus deep. Luckily, the issue wasn’t my TV. LG’s energy-saving features are spread across a picture preset, a power-limiting slider, and a light sensor. They were doing exactly what they’re designed to do, which is to make the TV dimmer to save power. If you don’t want that, either, here’s where all three settings hide and how to shut them off for good. Related My Samsung TV’s picture looked wrong for…

Star Wars has spent decades making its universe bigger. Every show/movie introduces more planets, more factions, crime families, and political conflicts than most people could reasonably keep track of. That’s part of what makes the stories so much fun, but it can also make some entries feel like homework. The Mandalorian and Grogu take a much simpler approach to its storytelling. The movie has the New Republic, former Imperial warlords, Jabba the Hutt’s kids, and plenty of connections to the wider Star Wars universe. But Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) still has a very easy mission that doesn’t require pre-existing knowledge…

There are a couple of unwritten rules when it comes to buying tech, and one of them is that you shouldn’t buy an iPhone in August or early September. Whether it’s a birthday, a contract is up, or you’re just looking to treat yourself, it’s a no-no if you’re someone who likes to have the latest tech for as long as possible. The same applies to an Apple Watch. There are never any guarantees, of course, but for the last 14 years, we have seen new iPhones in September, and for the last 10 years, Apple Watch models too.  The…

I’ll admit, when it comes to Apple Watch faces, I am a Snoopy girl through and through. Every year Apple launches new faces, and every year I stick with the cute little dog and his red house. The only issue with that decision is that the Snoopy watch face doesn’t allow for any complications. Absolutely none, and that’s a real shame. Apple Watch complications are small pieces of information that appear around a watch face, from your move, exercise and stand rings to whether it’s about to bucket down with rain while you’re out on your run. Where they appear…

Ask any man of a certain age about their favorite TV show, and they’ll tell you there’s only one man for the job: Jack Reacher, the hulking, wandering tough guy played by Alan Ritchson on Reacher. To be fair, there are plenty of people who watch Reacher who aren’t middle-aged men, but the series has gotten a reputation as a “dad show.” That rep has helped it become one of the most successful shows on Prime Video. But if you’re one of the many people who has already seen the show, there are others that scratch the same itch. Related…

Being a parent is tiring. There are meals to plan, school messages to decipher, parties to organise, questions to answer, and rainy weekends to fill. Yes, tech like smartphones can soften the blow, but in 2026, we can do better. Yes, I’m talking about AI and parenting. But don’t roll your eyes just yet. Tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Claude really can help,if used properly. They won’t do the parenting for you of course, but they can turn scattered, panicked brain dumps into something useful remarkably quickly. The trick, for me at least, is to remember to treat…