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All reviews and overviews on this website are based on thorough hands-on testing and real-world first-hand experience.
Note: This category also includes previews, first-takes, and opinions—all derived from initial impressions, past experience, or preliminary assessments.
The NETGEAR MK83 Nighthawk tri-band Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System, first announced on March 16, 2021, sure seems an upgrade to the previous Dual-band MK63 model. It has an additional 5GHz band and, therefore, more bandwidth. But on the inside, it’s pretty much the same as its lesser cousin, …
The Apricorn Aegis Padlock SSD is a niche product that doesn’t apply to general use. But if you have it, chances are you’ll find it super useful anyway. Indeed, this little portable drive is a lot more than regular extra storage space. It’s an impenetrable digital storage vault, complete with …
The ARRIS SURFboard S33 DOCSIS 3.1, first announced in November 2020, sure is an interesting Multi-Gigabit cable modem. Update: On Sep 23, 2024, the S34 model was released with the same design and specs as the S33, with one exception: It has up to 200Mbps upload speed compared to the …
June 29, 2021, marked the availability of Synology’s much-anticipated worldwide release of the well-known NAS operating system, DSM 7. Since then, the new OS has been available for anyone to download and upgrade their supported server. DSM stands for DiskStation Manager, and version 7.0 is the latest. It’s the first …
The NETGEAR SXK30 Orbi Pro Wi-Fi 6 Mini AX1800 Mesh System, first announced on May 11, 2021, is the answer to my lamentations on the SXK80’s expensive cost. (No, I didn’t get that loan.) Indeed, the new mesh’s pricing is more sensible, costing $300 for a 2-pack or $400 for …
The NETGEAR WAX214 AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 Access Point (WAP) was available simultaneously with the oddball WAX204, but I decided not to review it until now due to some firmware issues. Indeed, with the latest firmware release, version 2.0.1.0, this (still) new access point proved in my testing to be reliable. …
On June 24, 2021, Microsoft announced its latest Windows 11 via a special streaming event that contained no surprises. That’s because the new operating system had been leaked days in advance, enabling folks, including your truly, to install and experience it first hand. At a glance, Windows 11 is basically …
If you truly want to enjoy Gigabit Internet (or faster broadband), upgrading your local wired network to Multi-Gig is a must—there’s no way out of it. And in that context, the Zyxel XGS1250-12 Multi-Gigabit Switch is right up to your alley. For two reasons. First, it delivers up to 10Gbps. …
TP-Link seems to try to fill in all the slots of Wi-Fi 6, case in point, the TP-Link Archer AX73. This dual-band AX5400 router is an incremental improvement from the Archer AX50 (AX3000) while a tad below the Archer AX6000. And it proved to be just that in my testing. …
The QHora-301W Dual 10G wifi 6 AX3600 SD-WAN router—the very first Wi-Fi broadcaster from QNAP, a known NAS server maker—is intriguing. As the name suggests, there are things about it you might have never heard of before. OK, this is the first consumer-grade Wi-Fi 6 broadcaster that comes with two …
