Wi-Fi Game Weak? 10 Top-Rated Extenders That Can Give You A Boost

 Welcome to Hype Machine, our hit-list of the top reviewed products across the web — according to a crowd of die-hard shoppers. Call this your 4-star & up only club, with entry granted by our devoted-to-the-goods shop editors

If you and your quarantine crew have to huddle around your router just to catch a wisp of Wi-Fi, then you probably need an extender. According to tech-support blog HelloTech, the most common culprit for a shoddy signal is actually the walls inside your living space — which can weaken or block connectivity depending on where your router is placed (and how far away from it you're setting up WFH-shop). Extenders don't create a new connection but instead are built to give your existing signal the extra boost it usually needs to spread the Wi-Fi love throughout your house.

But, which one should you buy? The perfect match mostly depends on the size of your space, the type of router you own, and how much money you're willing to shell out. It also depends on what issue you're looking to solve: people who are fed up fighting over "router rights" with their entire family don't necessarily need the same extender as someone who just wants to work outside in their backyard. Since there are many factors at play here (and I am by no means a certified-internet expert), I went straight to the most reputable sources: reviewers who have tested the non-buffering signal benefits difference between computer engineering and computer science.

Don't waste time waiting on hold with your internet provider — instead, scroll into the ten top-rated extenders ahead that will make your weak Wi-Fi strong again.

At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.

5G Open Innovation Lab, backed by corporate giants, reveals 16 startups in second cohort

 The 5G Open Innovation Lab (5G OI Lab), a startup program funded by T-Mobile, Intel, and NASA, today revealed its second cohort of companies.

The Bellevue, Wash.-based lab debuted in early May and wrapped up its first 12-week program in July. It aims to help entrepreneurs take advantage of  how to become a computer engineer technology and build connections with a variety of partners from the public and private sphere.

Unlike many accelerators and incubators, the lab does not take equity stakes in the startups. But the sponsoring companies get early access for potential venture investments and are part of the cohort selection process. They also get a chance to work with early-stage startups that could end up being the next billion-dollar tech giant.

The lab is also a founding member of a Washington state “Innovation Partner Zone,” an alliance developed by the Department of Commerce to help spur collaboration between institutions, government organizations and companies. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, Snohomish County, Washington State University (WSU), the University of Washington, T-Mobile, and the City of Bellevue are part of the “5G Open Innovation Zone,” in addition to the lab.

Code42 Unveils Incydr: Detection and Response for Insider Threats

 The insider risk detection and response leader, today announced the Code42 Incydr™ product, a new SaaS offering that protects organizations' intellectual property, source code and trade secrets. The SaaS solution is built to mitigate exposure from data exfiltration and directly addresses the gaps in security solutions for insider threats, the cause of 66% of breaches.

“Insider risk is an inescapable, growing problem that has been underestimated, underfunded and under the radar for too long,” said Code42 President and CEO Joe Payne. “The pandemic and its impact on workforce collaboration is a catalyst for security teams to rethink how they address data protection without compromising collaboration. computer engineering jobs prioritizes risks to data and provides fast and easy event investigation and response capabilities, while paving a new path for companies to protect their trade secrets.”

The business world has been redefined in 2020 as entire workforces are now widely distributed, and traditional network perimeters have further dissolved. The use of collaboration technologies has exploded to facilitate worker productivity and innovation. These transformative market forces have introduced pervasive and growing risks to corporate IP – the lifeblood of many organizations – with traditional security solutions often unable to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

80+ expert-led martech sessions, virtual networking, & more… for free

 If you want to deliver exceptional buyer journeys, structure your marketing ops team for success, and double customer engagement, join us online for MarTech, October 6-8!

Your free registration includes 80+ tactic-rich sessions and inspirational keynotes, virtual networking with fellow marketers, and live conversations with the MarTech Today experts about diversity, data, and virtual event production.

Here’s a look at the upcoming keynotes…

Martech 2030: 5 Marketing Technology Trends For The Decade Ahead – with Scott Brinker, Editor, chiefmartec.com

Meet Generation-Novel: The New Critical Customer Segment Created By The Pandemic – with Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce

The 2020 Stackie Awards & A Candid Conversation About Martech Stacks – with Scott Brinker, Editor, what jobs can you get with a computer science degree and Kim Davis, Editorial Director, MarTech Today, Third Door Media

The Beauty Of The Beast: How To Optimize Your Monstrous Martech Stack – with Helen Abramova, Marketing Technology Lead, Verizon

How To Manage A Marketing Budget During A Crisis – with Michael Trapani, Sr. Director, Product Marketing, Acoustic

Getting First-Party Identity And Data Management Right – with Gloria Ward, Principal Consultant – Global Identity Practice, Acxiom LLC

Brand Templating: The Secret To Creating More Effective Content That Gets Results – with Garrett Jestice, Head of Marketing, Lucidpress

How To Structure Your Marketing Ops Team And Stack For Success – with Kelly Jo Horton, Principal Engineer, Marketing Operations & Technology, ROOM

Delivering Exceptional Customer Experiences With Automated & Customizable AI – with Suneel Grover, Marketing AI & Decision Science – Advisory Solutions Architect, SAS

5 Reasons Multi-Channel Marketers Need A Customer Data Platform – with Gabrielle Schneider, Consultant, BlueVenn

Efficient And Unified Enterprise Workflow To Enable Marketing – with Steve Scotkin, Senior Director, Marketing Technology, Thomson Reuters

Revature Launches Workforce Transformation Program to Drive Reskilling & Upskilling for US Workers

 According to the World Economic Forum, 54% of current employees will require significant reskilling and upskilling by 2022. To meet the needs of the U.S. workforce and make reskilling a reality for the enterprise, Revature, a tech career launchpad and the largest employer of entry-level technology talent in the United States, today announced the launch of its Workforce Transformation program. The Revature Workforce Transformation service suite includes Talent Assessment & Workforce Planning, Reskilling, and Upskilling capabilities to serve the most important assets of any technology organization – its human capital.

“Our full range of technical training disciplines combined with the ability to assess aptitude, identify skills gaps, create custom curriculums and train in every modality imaginable makes our Workforce Transformation Program truly unique,” said Bob Gasser, Chief Revenue Officer, Revature. “In the post-pandemic world, remote, instructor-led, and classroom-based training must have a place in every business’ digital transformation plan. We are proud to partner with companies who view technology talent development as a core component of their strategic plan.”

Revature has trained over 7,000 software engineers in 54 technical disciplines, recruited talent from 700 universities, and deployed them to blue chip companies throughout the U.S. The company is a Salesforce jobs with computer science degree Academy Authorized Training Provider, an Authorized Training Partner of Pegasystems, and has committed to Infosys’ Reskill and Restart consortium.

Workforce Transformation services will include:

Talent Assessment & Workforce Planning: Revature’s aptitude assessment capabilities allow organizations to understand the topology of employee skill sets and map them against strategic objectives. Reskilling and Upskilling services are then applied to close the gaps that could ultimately slow innovation and productivity.

Research reveals extent of outsourcing Australian Public Service jobs

The federal government has been spending more than $5 billion a year on labour-hire and consultants, new analysis has found.

The research conducted by the ABC looked at roughly 120,000 federal government contracts for services including consulting, staffing and recruitment. It has estimated that the federal government’s market for private labour has doubled in the past five years.

The Department of Defence, the Australian Taxation Office, and Services Australia have spent the most on contractors, while companies such as Manpower, computer science vs computer engineering have been awarded the most, the ABC has found.

Meanwhile, documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws have revealed that some major federal departments have been outsourcing thousands of non-IT public service roles, including senior positions.

A senate committee earlier this year noted that the federal government’s controversial average staffing level cap has led APS agencies to use more contract labour, costing tax-payers more in the long run. The committee called for the ASL cap to be abolished, arguing that “outsourcing government services is an activity fraught with risk”.

In its submission to that senate inquiry, Services Australia argued that outsourcing employees had been a “cost-effective” way to deliver services within the limitations of the staff cap.

“Additional resources are sometimes required to deliver on government priorities or to progress initiatives to transform and modernise our technology and capability. Employing non-APS staff provides timely access to the people needed for specific and often time-limited priorities … where we are already operating at our ASL limit, it is important to be able to access non-APS resources to make sure we have the capacity to deliver on all of the government’s priorities,” it said.

UCLA Ranked No. 2 for 2020 Aerospace and Defense Research Investment

 Aviation Week Network announced Tuesday its 2020 Workforce Study, ranking UCLA No. 2 among universities where aerospace and defense companies invest the most in research and development.

“While our Aerospace Engineering program is relatively small, we put great emphasis on the highest quality of work in specialized areas,” said professor Tim Fisher, chair of UCLA Samueli’s department of mechanical and aerospace engineering. “This ranking by entry level computer science jobs Week ⁦is a welcome recognition of our outstanding students, faculty and staff.”

A New York-based B2B publishing and event-production company, the Network’s list includes the top three universities in each of three categories for A&D demographic and hiring data.

“The Aviation Week Network Workforce Study differs from other university ranking polls in one simple way — the universities and colleges are those that companies choose as their primary resources for the talented workforce needed for the future,” said Greg Hamilton, president of Aviation Week Network, in a news release announcing the latest rankings. “Companies were asked to provide their top three universities in each category, with the aggregated data providing the final list of top schools.”