After a relatively simple upgrade to a free third-party firmware, you'll be able boost your wireless signal, prioritize what programs get your precious bandwidth, and do lots of other stuff usually reserved for pro-grade wireless routers.

We've compiled a comparative table with what we consider are the hottest tablets either currently available or announced so far. If you are in the market for a tablet now this should definitely serve as a starting point for narrowing down your purchase.

E3 is known for getting audiences buzzing about the hottest games of the show as trailers and gameplay footage are shown for the first time. With the conference now over we've put together a collection of our favorites.

We've been following the evolution of solid state drives for some time now, highlighting the most relevant offerings at any given time, and noting the impact newer controllers had in improving performance. The last few months have been particularly busy with Intel, OCZ, and Crucial launching their next-gen offerings at different price points and capacities.

Don't disregard Google's operating system without so much as giving it a try, especially since it's available as a free download for you to test on your own hardware. We'll tell you how to create a bootable USB flash drive with Chrome OS or run the it using a free virtual machine.

Dropbox is an invaluable tool for my daily computing needs, but with a little ingenuity you can use it to do much more like autostarting torrent downloads from any location or device, sending and receiving files, or synchronizing application data on applications that don't even have that functionality.

Although we always keep you up to speed by reviewing the latest CPU releases, we've compiled a handy list of what we consider the best processor options right now at several price points between $80 and $225.

It's not too far-fetched to imagine a world where all we need to carry around with us is a single do-it-all device. Near Field Communication (NFC) could allow our smartphone to pay for products as well as act as our personal ID or a virtual ticket for transport and attractions. Say goodbye to your keys, wallet and credit cards.

We've compiled a table with some of what we consider the best graphics card options at several price points between $70 and $200.

We bring you an up-to-date 2011 outlook of our favorite notebooks in six different categories: Thin and light, business or general purpose, desktop replacements, gaming, budget offerings, and netbooks.

Considering that OS X's last major release, Snow Leopard, was not focused on new end-user features, Mac OS X Lion appears to be a more significant release in terms of functionality, user interface and workflow improvements. We've compiled a list with several of the changes and new features disclosed so far.

There are numerous ways to backup your Gmail data and deciding which way to go will largely depend on the level of effort you want to put into it.

To help you navigate through the sea of new smartphones getting released week in and week out we've put together a selection with what we consider are the hottest devices out there. They are listed alongside their respective specs, price, and features from newest to oldest.

Depending on the application jump lists can be used to get 1-click functionality without recalling a minimized window, easily access common tasks or to quickly open pinned and recent documents. In a nutshell, if you are willing to make the most of them, jump lists are a productivity godsend.

We expect 2011 to be another great year for gamers, with most of 2010’s delayed titles finally hitting store shelves and many other highly anticipated ones making their debut. To help you keep track of this year’s upcoming releases we’ve put together a list with nearly 30 titles, spanning a variety of genres, alongside their respective trailers and relevant information.

For the launch of their 2nd-gen Intel Core CPUs (a.k.a. Sandy Bridge), Intel has compiled another interesting list of fun facts in a whitepaper. We have selected the ones we find more amusing and are republishing them with Intel's permission.

Firefox 4 is expected to bring one of the most significant stylistic overhauls that the browser has undertaken since the initial transition from the old Mozilla suite. Firefox 4's UI is simplistic and streamlined but it has also drawn criticism for being too 'Chrome-like.' Here are a few quick UI tweaks you can perform to it.

With the year coming to a close it's time to look back at some of the most relevant stories and product launches of 2010. We’ll do a brief recount of tech happenings in six categories: Desktop CPUs and Graphics, Hardware Devices and Components, Software, Gaming, Mobile Computing and The Web.

Today's ubiquitous URL shorteners are great for keeping character count at a minimum or to make sharing easier, but as convenient as they are, they also introduce some issues. Here's a quick tutorial on how to avoid scams and security threats when using them.

We'll cover four useful tools that are available free of charge and won't take more than a few minutes to setup. Read on to find more about Google’s own Priority Inbox feature, OtherInbox’s Organizer, AwayFind, and a clever extension called 0Boxer.

There are ways heavy tab users can ease the memory-guzzling effect that their browsing habits can have on their systems – and today we’ll specifically mention two: using the BarTab extension or adding a quick about:config tweak.

Clipboard managers let you circumvent Windows' native clipboard limitations offering much more functionality, like keeping a history of copied items, encryption to keep information secure, saving frequently used clippings as templates, or backing up copied data to the cloud so you can access it anywhere.

It’s mid-November already, the holidays are quickly approaching and like every year you want to find the perfect gift for your loved ones. If you are reading this, chances are someone on your list is a ‘techie’, gadget freak, or simply one who enjoys tinkering with the latest technology. Before you hit the nearest electronics shop or head online to your favorite e-tailer for some shopping, check out our shortlist on some the hottest items for tech fans this year.

With just a few weeks left before Christmas, it’s likely you or someone on your shopping list are already looking forward to spend some quality time indoors playing the hottest titles on your computer.

Enter bookmarklets -- small applets stored as an URL that are designed to add 1-click functionality to a browser or web page. They are JavaScript-enabled links you can pull into your bookmarks to interact with whatever page you find yourself on.

TechSpot's Laptop Buying Guide consists of a regularly updated list of our favorite notebooks in each of six categories: Thin and light, business or general purpose, desktop replacements, gaming, value/budget offerings, and netbooks.

Many of you are probably already familiar with AutoHotKey. This small and free utility lets you automate tasks and make your PC work exactly the way you want it to. The program is driven by a custom scripting language that's easy to understand -- even for someone with little or no programming experience. You can write a macro using a simple text editor, like notepad, or use the included macro recorder to create hotkeys for virtually any button or combination of keys.

Whether you are focused on business and productivity or are looking for something designed with multimedia and entertainment in mind, there are so many new smartphones getting released week in and week out that it's hard to keep track of what's hot anymore.

Despite being used almost exclusively used by experienced users, the command line is frustratingly incompatible with the most basic key combinations.

When we covered the launch of HP's self-installing printers back in April, some of you praised the concept while others questioned it -- and rightfully so, 'plug and print' is a bold claim. Intrigued, we thought it would be cool to check one out, if only for the novelty factor.