I’ve had Starlink at home for over a month now and I’m impressed. It feels like magical space age tech, with a small white dish on my roof giving me high-speed internet even though I’m in the middle of nowhere. With huge hills blocking affordable fiber installation and vast hectares of trees surrounding me on all sides, I’d normally be cut off from modern civilization. Starlink gets me online and I’m grateful for that. But Starlink isn’t perfect and it certainly isn’t the right choice for most homes. Once you know all the “gotchas,” you might find that it isn’t so appealing after all—or maybe one of those gotchas is a deal-breaker. If you’re thinking of getting Starlink at home, here are several questions you need to consider before you do. If you can’t answer “Yes” to all of them, you might want to look into alternative solutions. Are you rural enough? Plenty of regions around the country still lack broadband internet, and the number one reason for that is they’re too rural. They’re too far from existing infrastructure with too few potential customers, meaning it just isn’t worth it for companies to dig and run that much cabling. If you live in a place that’s remote enough that your high-speed internet options are poor at best (or non-existent at worst), then Starlink can be a good last resort. Its coverage map is almost universal at this point, with availability throughout North America and Europe, as well as large sections of South America, Australasia, and Africa. In short, if you’re reading this article, you can probably get access to Starlink. Just make sure to check your other options first though, because even though Starlink is fast, it’s nowhere close to fiber. (Other satellite internet services exist, but they tend to have worse latency, making them ill-suited to tasks like video calling and gaming.) Are you okay with slow upload speeds? Starlink’s download speeds are pretty great. Despite recently moving to a remote corner of the country, my internet is faster now with Starlink. I went from a basic 70 Mbps fiber plan to a Starlink package that offers between 150 Mbps and 300 Mbps depending on the time of day and the weather (more on that below). That’s plenty fast for files, streaming, gaming, and anything else besides. What I do wish I had, though, was faster uploads. One of the core features of gigabit fiber broadband is that it’s usually fast across both download and upload rates. With Starlink, you might get 30 Mbps uploads if you’re lucky—the rest of the time, you’re stuck closer to 10 or 15 Mbps. That’s fine for sending photos or short videos to friends, but nowhere near fast enough for uploading lots of data to the cloud or streaming 4K footage over YouTube or Twitch. Can you afford it? Starlink is more expensive than standard broadband or fiber internet. Whereas most home internet providers are competing with each other—and thus keeping prices somewhat reasonable—Starlink holds a bit of a monopoly in the low-latency, high-bandwidth satellite internet market. That means Starlink can, for now, charge whatever it wants. The standard residential package with unlimited data and 150 to 300 Mbps downloads is $120/month. You also have to buy the dish and router, which costs $175 plus taxes (that’s with a 50% discount) as of this writing. And don’t forget installation costs if you don’t want to mount it yourself. Starlink sells that service for $185 through approved third-party contractors. (You might have a handy friend or family member who can do it for you more cheaply, but that comes with its own risks.) All in, that first month of Starlink will likely cost you around $400 if you pay for installation. Comparatively, you can grab a gigabit AT&T residential fiber package for $65/month plus taxes and $99 installation fee with no need to mount a dish on your roof. Is your sky clear enough? Whereas fiber internet needs an underground connection to a fiber network, Starlink connects to its network through the sky—a network that happens to be orbiting hundreds of miles above our heads. Other satellite internet companies have one or two satellites at extreme distances always in view, but Starlink satellites are zooming by in low-Earth orbit, so your dish is constantly switching satellites. That means you need a sky view that’s as clear as possible all the time. (Yes, the latest generation of Starlink satellites and dishes with “Beam Switching” are better at dealing with momentary obstructions like tree branches, but there’s no denying you’ll have a better experience with a clear sky.) Weather is a factor, too. Light rain is fine and thin cloud cover doesn’t make a huge difference. But thick clouds? Snow? Heavy rain? Sandstorms? Smog? All of that can limit Starlink performance and even cause connection drops at times. Are you okay giving your money to SpaceX and Elon Musk? Without delving too much into politics, it’s fair to say that the company behind Starlink (SpaceX) and its CEO (Elon Musk) have been controversial over the past few years. Some might even call them immoral. SpaceX has repeatedly been criticized for its pollution problems (with spacecraft breaking up in the atmosphere and washing up on shores) and Starlink satellites ruining astronomical images with their light pollution. Elon Musk involved himself in US elections and the US government, wreaking havoc with DOGE and other initiatives. The hard truth is that Starlink has no real competition right now. It may be the only option for you, but if you decide to go with it, you have to be aware of where your payments are ultimately going. I’d love to take my money elsewhere if I could. Unfortunately, there’s nowhere else I can take it… yet. Are you comfortable using a VPN? Starlink, like any ISP, can peek at your internet activity at any time. That’s no big deal if you aren’t up to anything nefarious or legally dubious. But if your internet habits do stray into gray areas, or if you care to maintain your privacy from CEOs like Elon Musk, then you’ll need to learn how to use a VPN and get comfortable with it real fast. There are many posts on the Starlink subreddit about people getting copyright strikes in the mail after torrenting files over Starlink. If that’s something you might be caught out by, make sure you know how to use a VPN before taking out a Starlink subscription. A virtual private network (VPN) is basically an app that encrypts your internet traffic so no one can snoop, and also shields your IP address so your web activity can’t be traced back to you. If you don’t have one, get started with one of our top pick VPNs depending on your needs. Read...

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If you end up searching for Chrome in Bing Search with Microsoft Edge, you might start seeing a new advertisement that says “All you need is right here,” reports Windows Latest. The advertisement includes a table that compares features between Chrome and Edge and tries to sell you on the browser by saying “Microsoft Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft.” You’ll also spot quick links to apps like YouTube, Facebook, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Netflix. It’s no secret that Microsoft really, really wants users to stick with Edge and will do anything it can to deter users from switching to Chrome. In the past, Microsoft injected an awkward poll when downloading Chrome via Edge, and earlier this year hid the Chrome download link in Edge. Meanwhile, Microsoft is testing new ways to convert Chrome users. To be fair, Edge has been improving. In addition to getting various AI features, Edge has gotten much faster and will continue to be supported even after Windows 10’s end of life. But tacky tactics like this are sure to turn off anyone who’s still on the fence, and there aren’t many left. Read...

Spotify seems to be in a very generous mood lately, at least apart from it increasing subscription prices and cracking down on account sharing. Earlier this year, the streaming service made it possible to temporarily “snooze” songs for 30 days, and more recently it brought “lossless audio” to all Premium subscribers without an extra fee. In a blog post from yesterday, Spotify announced that it’s taking things even further by expanding the features available to free users. Such features include direct playback of specific songs on demand, which previously only allowed you to listen to random “similar” songs. Spotify is calling this “Pick & Play,” which only Premium users could do up until now. Spotify is also wrapping it together with what it calls “Search & Play” (find and instantly play the song you want) and “Share & Play” (share a track with someone, who can instantly listen to it). All of these ways to listen to specific songs on demand are now available to free users. Spotify also wants you to know that you can create your own playlists and listen to Spotify’s expert-curated playlists for free. You can also personalize your playlist covers and find new songs curated to your musical tastes with the special Discover Weekly playlist. All of this without any restrictions? It isn’t clear from the blog post itself whether on-demand playback of specific songs is unlimited. Like the displaying of lyrics or skipping of unwanted songs, Spotify could limit how often you can do it per day. A Spotify spokesperson told TechCrunch that there’s indeed a daily limit, but he didn’t elaborate on how high that limit is set. In any case, Premium users will retain a certain advantage over free users, in addition to the other Premium-only features like lossless audio. Read...

Denodo Platform 9.3 launches with DeepQuery and real-time features to enhance AI data tasks, boosting access to live data and complex analysis securely. Read...

TL;DR: Get lifetime access to Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for Windows for just $29.97 (MSRP: $229). Subscriptions are great for streaming shows, not so much for software you use every single day. That’s why this deal on Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for Windows is worth a second look. For just $29.97 (MSRP: $229), you’ll get lifetime access to the full suite of Office apps — no monthly bills, no sneaky renewals, just the tools you need. We’re talking Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, and Access, all redesigned with new features to help you work smarter. Excel has fresh analysis tools, PowerPoint gets slick new presentation features, and Outlook makes managing your inbox a little less painful. Plus, it installs directly onto your PC, so you don’t need to be online to be productive. Whether you’re putting together a résumé, crunching numbers, or pulling together an epic presentation, Office 2019 has you covered. And at this price for lifetime use, it’s hard to justify sticking with glitchy free alternatives. So skip the subscription treadmill and grab the software that’s been the productivity gold standard for decades — for a price that makes sense. Get MS Office Pro Plus 2019 for just $29.97 (MSRP: $229). Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for WindowsSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

At a GlanceExpert`s Rating Pros Online and local backup Supports multiple PCs and devices on the same account Can back up Office 365, Google Workspace, and NAS Low price per terabyte Basic imaging and disaster recovery Cons QNAP app install issues Needs better imaging and disaster recovery implementation Our Verdict iDrive has you covered six ways to Sunday when it comes to backup. Online, local, sync, NAS support, imaging, disaster recovery, online workspaces, snapshots, hard drive shipment… You name it, the company does it. It’s not the cheapest service our there, but it’s easily the most comprehensive. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Retailer Price iDrive $69.65 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: iDrive Online Cloud Backup Retailer Price iDrive $69.65 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices My latest look at iDrive’s online backup service offered nothing out of the ordinary. That’s a good thing, since the ordinary is that iDrive is the most comprehensive online backup and sharing service I’ve tested. And now it has even added backing up your online Office 365 and Google Workspace accounts as well as Synology and QNAP NAS boxes to its bag of tricks. The company also provides additional storage for syncing all your devices and PCs, and allows sharing of files with anyone. Additionally, there’s now full-featured file and image backup to local media, as well as disaster recovery. Like I said: comprehensive. That said, iDrive is not the cheapest service out there, it’s occasionally unintuitive, and some of the features are still works in progress — imaging and disaster recovery in particular. But when those are ironed out, iDrive will have a legitimate claim to best backup solution on the planet. Online or otherwise. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best online backup services for comparison. How much does iDrive cost? Believe it or not, iDrive still offers a free storage plan — 10GB. Nice. Beyond that, the price per terabyte is fetching, at least initially. You can see the basic end-user plans for iDrive in the image below, and get the full low-down here. However, the prices in large text are for the first year only — the struck-through prices commence after that. For example, the first year of the Personal plan is $69.65, or the first two years for $149.25, then increases to $99.50 per annum after that. The current iDrive plans with first year, or two-year discounts. Per terabyte, all those plans are affordable, but don’t get caught up in the price-per-terabyte game: The size of your essential data is probably a lot smaller than what’s being offered by iDrive, unless, of course, you’re into high-resolution video or the like. Then 5TB may not be enough. If you enable the separate sync service (Cloud Drive), you get an equal amount of storage just for that task — no extra charge. Cool. S3-compatible storage via iDrive e2 is more affordable. But if you’re looking just for storage without all the bells and whistles, there’s a separate S3-compatible object storage service called e2. It starts at only $24.95 for 1TB — again for the first year, then $49.95 per annum subsequently. What are iDrive’s features? Like competitor Carbonite, iDrive offers continuous data protection (CDP), in addition to its traditional scheduling. If you have a rapidly changing data set, it’s nice to have files backed up as they change, not just periodically. iDrive is split among two main functionalities: file backup and file sync, the latter operating as the aforementioned Cloud Drive, which functions like OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc., with a local folder that syncs to the cloud. If you’re confused as to the difference between backup and sync, consider this: A backup is an immutable or cataloged snapshot of your data at a point of time (iDrive stores up to 30 versions of any changed file). Synced data (Cloud Drive) is one malleable set of data shared across multiple devices, with any of those devices able to add, delete, rename, and otherwise alter the data set. Changes are then propagated to the other devices. iDrive supports nearly every type of PC and device: Windows, OS X, Android, iOS, and various NAS boxes. Also nice are the snapshots, which make it easy to restore your PC to a particular point in time. Unlike my last look, local and online backup are now separate jobs. Formerly the local backup was simply a duplicate of the online. Separate is obviously more versatile and allows you to keep large files locally but not online, though it’s not as simple or foolproof. An option to use the same data set might be useful. Also separate are the “Entire Machine Backup” and “Disk Clone.” The former is file-level backup of your entire system, while the other is imaging — several types of it. The service also features iDrive Express, a two-way hardware shipping service. Say you’re walled off from the internet, or just in a very low-bandwidth location. Use iDrive’s local backup function to back up your data to a storage device provided by the company, then ship it to them. It will get uploaded to your online account, and then updated by your local client thereafter. Or if you need to restore from a backup in hurry, iDrive will ship your data to you on an appropriate device. All within a week’s time. Personal customers get 3TB of data delivered via iDrive Express to or from for free — the first time. Team and Business users get three free deliveries. Subsequently, there’s a $60 charge per delivery.  How easy is it to use iDrive? When it comes to basic file backup and sync, iDrive is simple enough to use. Even if the interface sometimes seems more intent on catchy names such as “Cloud Drive” rather than intuitive labels such as “Sync your data.” iDrive does automatically select the data locations that most likely require backup, and you can easily add other locations, including those on your local network. Nice. Note the Add network path button. Not all software will let you back up from network locations. Where the program gets a bit dicey in the ease-of-use department is with imaging and disaster recovery. But before I nitpick, kudos to iDrive for even including those. Not a lot of online backup vendors do. Actually, no others that I can think of. My first nit is that imaging and disaster recovery should be in the backup section, not “More.” Then again, given their current clunkiness, that’s likely deliberate. When I say clunky, I mean that the “System Image” function enumerates disks by number without telling you which is actually the system disk. You have to check in Disk Management to see which is which if you don’t already know. Note that 0 may not be your system disk. If you’re not familiar with Disk Management, right-click on the Windows Logo on the Taskbar, then scroll up and select it. The System Image also creates needlessly huge images containing all sectors including “empty” ones. Including empty sectors (which may be listed as not in use, but not actually empty) is generally an option for data recovery where you might need to revive some deleted files. Not a lot of online backup services offer imaging and disaster recovery. Kudos to iDrive for including those. The real issue here is that my system disk is 2TB, and couldn’t be backed up to a 2TB SSD — even though it contains only 250GB of data. I plugged in a 4TB disk for testing, but I’d recommend Macrium Reflect Free in lieu of iDrive’s imaging at this point in time. Also, you’re obviously going to need a recovery disk to restore an image if your system goes belly up, but I found nothing to indicate that this was possible in the client software. I asked and PR sent me this link (see below where you can download a rescue media creator. Fold it into the client, please.) This is how you create a disaster recovery disk for iDrive’s imaging. The procedure is extremely well hidden on the website. Reiterating, for its basic mission, iDrive is easy with only a little reading up, but the imaging and some other rough edges could use some sanding. How does iDrive perform? The majority of my experience with iDrive’s various features was operationally successful. There was one error which turned out to simply be a file that couldn’t be backed up because it was on the destination drive. To be fair, this might’ve been my fault. I also ran into an issue where the iDrive app in the QNAP app store wouldn’t successfully install. This is actually a non-issue as QNAP’s Hybrid Backup/Sync (HBS3) program supports iDrive as a destination for its operations. But it’s sloppy and iDrive should have QNAP remove the app. The aforementioned inability to back up a drive with 250GB of data to a 2TB external drive was the only other issue. Please make “only used sectors” the default, iDrive! This is a bit silly and because iDrive wants to back up all sectors, not just those with data as most programs do by default. There’s not even an option to skip them. It’s generally hard to gauge the speed of an online service, as it varies with the infrastructure between your computer and the company’s servers. By and large, however, iDrive performed in line within the bandwidth of the internal NVMe, external 20Gbps USB, and my 2.5Gbps local network I used for testing. Lest my minor complaints sway you in the wrong direction, iDrive performed quite well overall. As expected. Should you use iDrive’s backup service? Yes! I nitpicked quite a bit in this review. But they’re just that — nits. iDrive still offers the most comprehensive set of backup and backup-related features of any online service I’ve tested — by far. And it’s all available at the basic subscription level. Take a look if you haven’t already. For more about data backup, see our roundup of the best Windows backup software. Editor’s note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article. Read...