THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER p32
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LATEST REVIEWS
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with this bottle-fed A3 the world’s most
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@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO November2021 Issue325
HIGHLIGHTS THIS MONTH Full contents overleaf
SamOsuFnTgRHGEEaVlaMIxEyOWZNFToplH4d63 5G
It’s taken three goes, but Samsung has finally
submitted a Galaxy Fold for a review. Not a hands-
on session, not a briefing behind closed doors, but
a “here it is, do your worst” review. Having spent
some time with the flexible device, we can understand
Samsung’s confidence: this is a foldable phone built
to survive life in a pocket, and that’s not the only
thing we like about it. The form factor is genuinely
interesting and surely a sign of where phones are
heading. Samsung packs in the tech, too, from a
cutting-edge processor to all the screens you
could possibly want to gaze at. Whether
it’s worth the price is another
question. Read our in-depth
review on p46.
p26 p38 p42
FUOTFUTRHEEPMROOONFTIHNG PRAOCFTTIHCEAML FOENATTHURE TOEFCHTHIEEFMEAOTNUTRHE
The launch of Windows 11 is hurtling towards We’re all losers, but fear not: we reveal the PCI Express is the technology that underpins
us, so make sure you’re ready for the switch numerous and often free ways that you can any fast-running PC. Darien Graham-Smith
with our practical guide to preparing your PC keep track of your possessions, from keys to reveals eight things you may not know about
for its next great adventure. cars, and even your children. the world’s fastest bus lane.
CIBOMMPPerUsTonEaRl COoFmTpHutEerM5O15N0THp32 OTHNEELNAUBMSBINER p76
As a rule we like to look forward rather The big story in this month’s
n backward in PC Pro, but this month workstation Labs is the
complete absence of Intel.
is ifferent. The Our number of the month,
PC turns 40 64, explains why. Cores
autumn, and matter when it comes to
the cutting edge of compute
to ark the birth power, and AMD’s huge
of n icon our range of chips, right up to the
editor reveals the 64-core Ryzen Threadripper
3990X, means it’s dominant.
matic story
ind its
creation.
3
THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER p32
AHBOSWOTLOUTTERLAYCAKNYTHING
✔✔PChaorsn✔esB✔ikTeasb✔leKtisd✔sL✔aPpettosps p38
OAFBFIILCIET1Y0
CLAWIMORYTOHU£R2C9O! PY
Plusmuchmore,p66
Windows 11Get ready for
Step-byp-rsetpeapreguyioduertPoCpp2e6 rfectly
99.5£ 1202 REBMEVON 523 EUSSI LATEST REVIEWS
030283 664177 9 Epson A3 EcoTank Samsung Galaxy Fold3
11 Slash running costs In-depth test of p126
with this bottle-fed A3 the world’s most
photo inkjet p56 curious phone p46
FEATURES p38 BRIEFING 3 SUBSCRIBE:
2CO6VGEReStTrOeRaYdy for Windows 11 BELOW Can’tfindyour 10 Windows heads into the cloud THREE ISSUES
keys? We show how FOR £1
New versions of Microsoft’s operating system tech can help with this After the success of Azure and Office 365, will Subscribe to
are a rarity these days, but Windows 11 is age-old annoyance Windows 365 be the new normal for Microsoft’s PC Pro today and
finally on the near horizon. Barry Collins runs operating system? you can benefit
through how to properly prepare your PC for from our three
the big upgrade. 1a1lgTowriittthemripcubtisabsounty on spotting issues for £1 offer –
visit subscribe.
3CIBO2VMTEhRPeSeTtrOrsRuoYensatloCroymbpehuitnedr the To make sure instances of bias don’t recur, pcpro.co.uk now.
Twitter offered cold, hard cash to those
The industry-creating IBM Personal Computer identifying bugs. Elon MuskoBF:DfeRfBisOEcteMoSbau£nKny3ds9kTg9fOeoaTrmOrPhs£ioPn1m,go4Ce97rs,69genius?p 26 DETS01
5150 turns 40 this autumn. To mark the DETSETSEVIRD52
occasion, editor-in-chief Tim Danton reveals 1r2epPaCirP”rloabwef:iWx ailnl Bytrhitianign?’s “right to £145PWR6ODFRUUTCHTS
the story of its birth – and destroys one
long-running myth in the process. A new law is designed to make it easier to mend sClfatiwmayroeu:srebeopn66s
broken tech, but experts say it doesn’t go far
C3O8VHERoSwTOtRoYtrack anything enough. James O’Malley fixes his attention to it. Win HOW TO UPGRADE YOSEUSAxRSTpLAaADnoPdrTMUyOoSPEuB’SrGsStSoADraTIgNeE1v5SiMaTMIN.2U,TES p38
Whether you have mislaid your smartphone, VIEWPOINTS E■VWEh■ReYnHioNtw’sEctWoot
your laptop or even your pet, there’s a range of
technology on hand to find out where they are. 20 DICKPOUNTAIN Bad news for voice 99. 12003R0E2B8M3ET6PE6S4312737EU9 rRgiKdTaiicXlmul3elo0irunps£gop9wrl e9pre to5o8ra L CUSChoRuRldRYPTO £25SOWBFAOTCRWKTAHRPE
Nik Rawlinson goes in search of the best free actors: if the tech firms have their way, 90
and paid-for tracking solutions. this decade’s documentaries and films will be olfaim reu:srbepn6u6s
voiced by artificial intelligence.
4ab2oEuigthPtCtIhEinxgpsreyossu never knew SSI Thteo athkiecys,ot THETRUESTORYBEHI✔N✔AHDPCBOhTaSoWHrsOnEe✔LTIsBBUO✔MiTkTTeEPaRsLEbAY✔RleCSKAtOsKidNN✔sYAL✔TaLPpCHetOIotMsNpsPGpU38TERp 2
21 NICOLEKOBIE Paying with a mere wave 9 whIHseataiThtdiinCssgethtfVoeyroiv?vuirptevuePbl rereLoaAnlTitEyS OAFBFIICLIET1Y0CLAPWluIsMOmuRYhTOmHoUr£eR,2pC696! PY
To most of us, PCI Express just means that of a smartphone or card is convenient,
big old slot where your graphics card sits. but Covid-19 shouldn’t wipe out physical cash OT6C64412737E
However, Darien Graham-Smith discovers payments entirely.
that this ingenious interconnect has 12 RE
hidden depths – eight of them, to 22 BARRYCOLLINS Why won’t the Home 0302
be precise. Office reveal more about the mysterious
Vivace? Unlike the Ministry of Defence, if I 99. 1
4 could tell you I would.
SSI Windows 11Get ready for
9 Step-bpyr-estpeapregyuoiduer tPoCp2erfectly
00230RE2B8MEV6O6N412737E pwSEhliatphsthshoriiusnknbjnAitntpt3g5leE-ocsdtoAT3LaATnEkST REVIEWS
cIShnr-aidwmuprtsplhduht’sonmsgteopGsftalaxy
.5£ Fold3
11
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO November2021 Issue325
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THE NETWORK 3 THEPCPRO
PODCAST
94 Remote-support software 2021 Listen live to the 76We put ten of the meatiest content-
We reveal how to choose the right solution for PCPropodcastevery
your needs, before testing four contenders. Thursdayat1pm. creationsystemsaroundthrougha p
rigorous set of tests
Visit mixlr.com/ REAL WORLD COMPUTING
y10o2urSowwitncvhifdreoomcoZnofoemre:nhcoiwngtoplrautnform pcpro to join us
108 JONHONEYBALL Jon solves the mystery of slow Wi-Fi on his
Nik Rawlinson explores the benefits and risks Windows laptop, gets annoyed by label-printing software
of running your own conferencing server. and then kicks back with Flight Simulator.
105 Cheat Sheet: Design thinking 111 PAULOCKENDEN Paul begins a two-part series about how to
use technology – such as aircons, boilers and meters – to save
Want to create slick apps and websites? We energy in the home.
explore an approach that puts the user first.
Futures 114LEEGRANT Prepare your email clients for action as Lee
defends Windows Vista, before explaining how he turned a
Windows 10 PC that wouldn’t into one that would.
116MARKPARVIN In this month’s guest column, Mark tackles
e12a3rlIynapdroapisteerosf the t1h26e fCuatmurberoidfgmee-1daicnidne simple fixes, explores his dad’s approach to scammers and
wrestles with laptop RAM.
David Crookes looks at why Medical researchers finally
the IT industry needs early get the compute power they 118DAVEYWINDER How secure is Gmail? Davey details the
adopters like you – and need. Nicole Kobie reveals practical steps you should take, before explaining how to
why the technology that fell how Nvidia’s Cambridge-1 block email marketing trackers.
120STEVECASSIDY Steve lives life on the edge – edge
by the wayside should still could change healthcare in computing, that is – as he explores the world of smart
be celebrated. the UK and the world. buildings becoming ever smarter.
5
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Editor’sletter
wasBywyhnefecubnslyttienhrdueathta:
I t was all going well. Too well. I So, don’t panic. British pluck and was as baffled as anyone by the
opened the door to my office all that. In fact, time to tap into my outcome. The files weren’t on his new
with a jaunty air on Sunday inner Sherlock. We use Google Drive drive; they weren’t on his old drive.
evening, just as a final check to to synchronise our work, and it didn’t They were nowhere.
make sure everything was prepped take much ferreting around to spot a Luckily, he had a suggestion. I
for Monday morning before the final pattern. At 3.39pm on Sunday, an searched my own system for one of
push of sending this issue of PC Pro to awful lot of files had been moved to an the lost files, and there it was in the
the printers. I may even have whistled unknown location, with one user icon root folder of my Google Drive: a PDF
a sunny refrain as I logged into my showing alongside the long list that I had produced the previous day.
computer and navigated my way to of vanished items – that of associate It seemed that Google’s restoration
the main folder. Then it hit me. editor Darien Graham-Smith. procedure had stuffed any files that I
Empty. Where there should have A forthright message full of had created there, so maybe the same
been all of this month’s InDesign files exclamation marks provoked no was true for Max and all the InDesign
and PDFs was a yawning expanse of immediate response from Darien, so files he had created? Bingo!
white. The whistle froze on my lips as with time hurtling by I decided to get All of this detective work spanned
I leapt from folder to folder, looking straight onto Google support – this is several hours of panic and cursing,
for anything that was the sum of this a paid-for service, after all. Now, and hammers home a point that we all
month’s combined hard work from Demetrius was courteous and helpful, know but that is far too easy to ignore:
the 20-odd people (emphasis on odd) but after half an hour of toing and synchronising is not the same as
that contribute to this fine magazine. froing he explained that – good news backing up. In fact, synchronising is
But everything had disappeared. – Google could restore the files but – backup’s enemy. Due to the arcane
The whistle was now a whimper. awful news – it could take up to 48 way in which Google Drive works, it’s
Perhaps it was just my machine? hours. We had to send the magazine easy for one person to make a change
“Hi Tim,” popped up a message from to the printer on Tuesday afternoon, that leads to unintended, perhaps
Max, our production editor. “Hope so that timeframe didn’t wash. disastrous consequences for everyone.
all’s well and that you’ve had a great I decided to sleep on it and see What to learn from this? I need to
weekend. Just thought I’d check into what tomorrow might bring. Which, practice what Jon Honeyball has been
Google Drive to see what to prioritise it turns out, was chaos. Darien preaching for 30 years. Back. Up.
tomorrow morning and, slightly revealed that he had told the Google Your. Data.
worryingly, everything seems to have Drive app to move the increasingly
disappeared. Is it just an issue at my hefty PC Pro folder off his system Tim Danton
end?” No, Max. No it isn’t. drive and onto an external SSD, but he Editor-in-chief
CONTRIBUTORS
Mark Parvin David Crookes Nathan Spendelow Paul Ockenden
Regular guest columnist Rather than celebrate old Did our resident phone Sit back and admire as
Mark tries to explain technology in this month’s reviewer Nathan fall Paul explains how he
to customers why Retro, David celebrates for the charms of the uses clever automation
errors still occur even the people who gave it a Galaxy Z Fold3? Find out tech and sunlight to save
after he’s fixed their chance to succeed: early in his in-depth review, energy in his home. Turn
machines from p116 adopters like you. See p123 starting on p46 to p111
7
November2021Issue325 @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
EDITORIAL This month’s Labs test of workstations LETTERS [email protected]
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF from p76 features ten stunningly TWITTER @pcpro
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FEATURES EDITOR “Turns out my laptop – despite a
tenth-gen Core i7 processor and 32GB CHIEF FINANCE OFFICER Richard Kerr
Barry Collins of RAM – isn’t fond of the idea of CHIEF EXECUTIVE James Tye
FUTURES EDITOR running Adobe InDesign, Photoshop
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Nicole Kobie time. I looked at this month’s batch of PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION
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Bill Bagnall my new laptop. I could have fried an
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8
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Briefıng
Background and analysis on all the important news stories
iWntiondthoewcslohuedads
After the success of Azure and Office 365, will Windows 365 be the new normal for
Microsoft’s operating system?
W hen Satya Nadella streamed to your local device.
took over as Microsoft Microsoft is promising that the
CEO in 2014, he service will offer “instant-on” boot
announced a bold new and that system resources, such as
strategy that put the cloud at the disk space, will automatically scale
heart of everything the company based on your needs. It will even
does. Seven years on, with cloud- work on devices such as smartphones
computing platform Azure booming, and tablets.
Office 365 having successfully
colonised many workplaces and with Initially, Microsoft will be making
even Xbox pivoting hard towards Windows 365 available only to
streaming, the cloud strategy has business customers, where it meets
perhaps reached its inevitable the needs of the new generation of
conclusion: Microsoft is taking home workers. “I think the biggest
Windows into the cloud too. advantage is maybe ease of
deployment,” said Johan Dreyer, the
Windows 365 is essentially an chief technologist at Mimecast, a
entire Windows PC in the cloud, cloud cybersecurity platform.
10
Briefing News
“You have the opportunity to Talwgoitrteitrhpmuitcsbbiaosuntyonspotting
create this ubiquitous access for
everyone across the board, almost Tomake sure instances of bias don’t recur, Twitter offered cash
irrespective of what platform they’re rewards to those identifying bugs
on, what device they’re on, where in
the world they’re sitting. And you can
provide a common environment.
And you can spin it up, potentially, in Google, Facebook, Microsoft and most results, after only a few days of tinkering
a matter of seconds, if not minutes, big tech firms have learned over the past with the code, were striking.
and be ready to go.” decade that one effective answer to the
Microsoft sees this as a big selling problem of security holes and errors is The top prize went to graduate
point. In a film made to promote cold, hard cash. If you find a bug in their student Bogdan Kulynych, who
Windows 365, the firm touts its work apps which could expose user data or let discovered that “beauty filters” on photo
with the government of Nunavut, a hackers and spies poke around, there apps can game the algorithm’s internal
remote Canadian province. Instead of could be a cash reward waiting. scoring model, amplifying real-world
IT teams having to fly secured laptops biases about society’s expectations of
to remote employees, staff can use It’s a hugely successful idea, which is beauty. Second prize went to a group
their own devices, and Windows 365 perhaps why Twitter has adopted and called Halt AI, which illustrated how the
keeps everything secure by virtue of applied it to a more complex problem algorithm has a tendency to crop out
staying in the cloud. than software bug whack-a-mole: disabled and elderly people. And third
Unsurprisingly, then, Microsoft is algorithmic bias. prize went to researcher Roya Pakzad,
putting security at the heart of its who discovered the algorithm favours
marketing for the new service, saying To coincide with this year’s Def-Con text written in Latin script (such as
that Windows 365 works on the hacking conference, the company English), rather than other alphabets.
principle of “zero trust”. And Dreyer released the code and model that Twitter
agrees that a Windows PC in the cloud uses for its saliency algorithm. This is the Could bug bounties be the future of
could be good for security. artificial intelligence that decides what tackling algorithmic bias? If the results
“If I had a compromised system, it should be the main focus on an uploaded of the competition are any indication, it
becomes relatively easy to tear that image when displayed in a thumbnail could indeed be effective. But not
system down,” said preview. So, for example, it might choose everyone is so sure it is the right thing
Dreyer. “I can oaathccpircpsYoeooussrubsstihutfqoahnuvreiitteeybovtoutheoaserrcydroenaete to focus on a face in an uploaded image, to do.
contain the threat rather than just whatever happens to be
very quickly, wipe in the centre of the photo. “When a corporation specifically
away that system says ‘we’re not necessarily doing this in a
and start a brand It’s a feature that has previously way that we should, can you help?’ And
new, fresh clean set landed Twitter in hot water. Last year, here’s a bounty for it’ there’s something
up for that employee numerous viral tweets exposed an that slightly jars,” said Dr Beth Singler,
to continue working.” apparent racial bias, with the algorithm a research fellow in artificial intelligence
consistently favouring white faces over at Homerton College, University of
Will consumers come next? black. One striking example of this was Cambridge. “This is a payment, that’s sort
how the algorithm cropped a photo of of semi-employing a grassroots army to
But what about consumers? Could Barack Obama standing with a white find these problems. But is that shifting
Windows 365 take off outside of the senator to hide the former president. the responsibility?
corporate world? Dreyer is sceptical.
“I think we, as consumers, are still So Twitter challenged conference “Should the onus be on the public
very tethered to our devices,” he said, attendees to examine the code and AI to respond to mistakes and errors and
but concedes that comfort with model to spot other potential signs of bias problems in a product that’s already
moving our desktop PCs to the cloud – with cash prizes on offer. And the out there?”
could be generational, and that
younger users will be excited by the
prospect. “I think tools like the
Windows 365 platform and
environments will appeal to them in
ways that we probably haven’t
thought about just yet.”
Equally cynical that Windows
365 will ever become a mainstream
consumer play is former Windows
chief and Microsoft veteran, Steven
Sinofsky. “Will this ever be an
offering for [a] home PC enthusiast?
Gosh, impossible to see,” he tweeted.
“Would a cloud offering ever be a
thing? Again, for that to happen
Windows PCs have to ‘lose’ to the
point that you would not even own
one as an endpoint to connect to this
service. So, no.”
But, Sinofsky added, “for a world
of work from home and/or distributed
teams without on-site IT this is a big
deal. The timing is right.”
11
PCProbe
Exclusive investigations into technology practices. Email [email protected] if you have a story
rWeipllaBirr”itlaaiwn’fsi“xraignhytthtoing?
A new law is designed to make it easier to mend “Everyone should have the right to decide whether a
broken tech, but experts say it doesn’t go far product they own should be repaired and by whom,
enough. James O’Malley fixes his attention to it including making sure that we can decide to repair it
ourselves,” said Vallauri, who describes the three core
Broken laptops are piling up in recycling centres. demands of the right to repair movement as: having access
Cracked displays are shovelled into landfill sites. to tools and spare parts; having all of the information
Don’t even ask about the mountain of white accessible, including things such as schematics and
goods that we throw away each year. instruction manuals; and having the repair be affordable.
“For the first time ever, in so-called ecodesign
regulations, the repairability of products is factored in
Britain generates 1.45 million tons of electrical waste Everyone should have andthatisareallyimportantstep
every year, according to Material Focus, so it’s perhaps because it will help change the
just as well that a new law has come into force designed to the right to decide design of future products to make
encourage us to repair broken tech and not just throw it owanwhdnebtshyheworuhalodpmbreodruecptatirheedy them more repairable,” he said.
onto the scrapheap.
Alas, in his view, the new law
“Under the new law, manufacturers of certain also falls short in several ways. “It’s
categories of products will have to make spare parts and far from being an actual legal right
repair information available for at least seven to ten years to repair,” said Vallauri, “It doesn’t
after a product is retired from the market,” said Ugo apply to products that we already
Vallauri, co-founder of The Restart Project, a London- own. It only applies to new products
based social enterprise that campaigns against what it that are put on the market. So, it’s not as if manufacturers
calls the “throwaway, consumerist model of electronics”. are under any obligation to make spare parts for existing
Instead, it advocates that consumers should have a “right products that people already have.”
to repair” the gadgets they buy to reduce e-waste. Another problem Vallauri identifies is that the majority
So, is the law fit for purpose or a pile of rubbish? The of parts listed in the legislation are only to be made
answer is analogous to fixing your iPhone: complicated. available to professional repairers. Consumers are mostly
JointheRestartParty
The Restart Project isn’t just a Ultimately, according to data he has
campaigningorganisation.Itgetsits collected,around20%ofgadgetsthat
handsdirtytoo,byregularlyhosting arebroughtinaredeemednon-
“RestartParties”,wheremembersofthe repairable.Butwhilethereareregular
publiccanbringtheirbrokenelectronics failures,miraclessometimesoccur.
andworkwithskilledvolunteerstoget “We’vehadsomeexcitingand
their gadgets working again. unexplainable experiences with people
“Wetendtofixabout55%ofthe bringingproductsthataredead,”
thingsthatarebroughtinonthespot,” explainedVallauri.“Theyget
saidVallauri,buthenotesthatsuccess disassembledbyarepairer,together
canvarysignificantly.“Themostcommon withtheparticipant,andtheycan’tfind
repairsthataredoneattheseeventsare anyfault.Thentheyfinallyputitback
screenrepairs,forwhichwehavea togetherandthenitworks.
successrateof54%,”hesaid,butpower “Sometimesit’snotthataproductis
andbatteryissuesareadifferentstory. necessarilybroken,butpotentially
“Unfortunately,wetendtohavea there’saloosecontactsomewhere,that
muchlowerfixratebecausesometimes byvirtueofdisassembling,andcleaning
itisthebatterybutothertimesitmight contacts,andputtingitbacktogether,
bethechargingportormuchmore yougetaproductthatmighthave
complicatedthingsthatdon’tnecessarily anotherfewyearsoflifeahead.
get repaired.” “We call it the Midas touch,” he said.
12
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Briefing PC Probe
only granted a right to purchase ABOVE Thenew One option is to buy up plenty of spare parts at the time
new consumables, such as spare legislationdoesn’t devices are manufactured, but this also isn’t particularly
plastic cutlery trays for coverphones, viable. “How the hell are you going to judge which spares
dishwashers, rather than laptopsortablets you buy in at the time, that are going to last ten years? For
anything that might require a small importers like ourselves, it’s really challenging.
screwdriver or a soldering iron You’re either going to end up with a whole lot of excess
to install. spares sitting there, or you’re going to get sued by
someone for not having enough spares in,” he said.
He also worries that the new “We throw out hundreds and hundreds of spares every
law is silent on the affordability year because we’re cautious, we bring in spares to protect
of spare parts. “A manufacturer the product,” said Glynne. “What happens in ten years’
could be complying with the time when your obligation stops? What are you going to
legislation without making any do with all those spares?
part available whatsoever at a “All that carbon cost in manufacturing them. All that
price point that doesn’t push cost and shelving them and storing them. And then what
people to replace a product,” are you going to do with them when you get rid of them?
he said. “The legislation is really That’s an unseen consequence of the law.”
not going far enough.” How the hell are you Healsopointstothereverse
logistics involved in repairing and
There’s one other glaring sgpoainrgestoyojuudbgueywinhiacththe refurbishing, and the added carbon
problem: at the moment, the law ltaimstet,etnhayteaarres?going to impact of transporting irregular
only covers a meagre selection of items and parts to where they may
products, such as washing machines, dishwashers and need to be. “The chances of a
large screens. “This is for white goods, and it doesn’t take refurbished product breaking in the
into consideration the repairability of laptops, tablets and first three months is three times
smartphones,” said Vallauri. higher than a new product,” said
Glynne. “It may be because
In response, he has launched a petition urging the [customers] don’t understand what refurbed is, it may be
government to be more ambitious and expand the law to because it’s too noisy. It’s maybe because it’s a little more
cover our computers and phones. scratched than they thought. Whatever it is, it’s rejected
and the whole cycle starts again.”
Refurb blockers The impact of British law alone is likely to have limited
impact on the behaviour of manufacturers. Unlike the US,
Nick Glynne is the founder and managing director of the China and EU, the UK isn’t a regulatory superpower. But
Buy It Direct Group, which in 2018 acquired reverse Vallauri does believe there is one area where the law could
logistics firm Trojan Electronics. Each year, the 150 people be tightened, by more tightly regulating after-sales
in Trojan’s engineering team refurbish and repair 150,000 service. He suggested, for example, that we could remove
items. In principle, he’s very sympathetic to the concerns VAT on repair services, or we could follow France’s lead in
that motivate the right to repair movement. scoring products on their repairability (as with nutritional
labels on food) to provide consumers with more
“I just think it’s totally outrageous really,” he said of information on what they are buying.
the current situation. “If you bought a BMW, you’re not “The UK could actually have a big impact,” he said.
going to sign a contract that says in five years’ time you
won’t be able to get any spare parts for this car and that’s
it, if it breaks your finished, you’ve got to throw it away.”
He’s also concerned about e-waste, pointing to the
behaviour of a well-known vacuum cleaner manufacturer
he worked with as a shocking example. “That company
wanted to protect its brand and its experience to such a
degree that it refuses to allow any of its products to be
refurbished,” he said. “All returned products, for any
reason… were crushed and sent to landfill.”
iPhones are also frustrating for refurbishers. As they
are locked to particular users, even after being reset, the
iPhones he receives are often only good for parts.
Unintended harms
Glynne is also sceptical of some aspects of the new law and
worries there could be unintended consequences. “We
buy white goods ourselves so now we’re responsible to
make sure those parts are available in the market for ten
years, and it’s really hard to do that,” he said, explaining
that Chinese manufacturers work on “spot buying”,
where components are bought from their suppliers in one
go, at one point in time. This means there’s no steady
supply chain to go back to for spare parts after the batch
of devices have already been made.
13
The A-List
The best products on the market, as picked by our editors
PREMIUM LAPTOPS BUSINESS LAPTOPS
Apple MacBook Air ynabook Portégé X30W-J-10F
AulftfroarpdoarbtlaebAleppfrleomM1£999
he best convertible money
from apple.com/uk
1,021 exc VAT from uk.insight.com.
Apple’s ARM-based M1 chip is ot only is this 2-in-1 convertible ludicr
away its AMD and Intel x86 opposition l ghtandslim,butitalsooffersaquiet
with truly extraordinary speeds. Even the low-end model with 8GB of RAM is eyboard, performance fireworks, por
ludicrously fast. Apple makes no changes to the Air’s design, but it still looks a-plenty, a natural-feeling touchscreen
fabulous and now supports both USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6. Add baery life into the a baery that will see you through a bus
teens and its biggest threat comes from the updated M1 MacBook Pro 13in. working day. Dynabook by name,
REVIEW Issue 316, p40 by nature.
REVIEW Issue 319, p56
ALTERNATIVES NEW ENTRY ALTERNATIVES
SBaomoksPunrog Galaxy EM1S3IFSliupmEvmoit LG Gram 17 H84P5EGlit7eBook TLehninokvPoad T14s Dellhasupdatedthe
(15.6in) This ludicrously sleek and (2021) If you can’t afford the Solid, dependable and gorgeous XPS 13 with
A powerful laptop light 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo ThinkPad T14s a pleasure to use, the Intel’s 11th-generation
with a 15.6in AMOLED is fast, stylish and offers The combination of a to the right, the sturdy powerful and slimline Core chips to great
screen that weighs a a superb 12hrs 19mins 2,560 x 1,600 17in screen Ryzen 7-based EliteBook ThinkPad T14s includes effect. The 13.4in screen,
mere 1.05kg? And with battery life that’s up there and 1.3kg weight – as 845 G7 is an excellent a new Ryzen 7 Pro, as touchpad and solid
stonking battery life too? with the best laptops. And well as a well-rounded – and much cheaper – well as a super-plush keyboard are similarly
The Galaxy Book Pro is a it’s affordable, too. specification – make alternative. £988 exc keyboard. £1,180 exc VAT sumptuous. From £1,489
winner. Core i7, £1,449 £1,249 from scan.co.uk this a great buy for VAT from amazon.co.uk from lenovo.com/uk exc VAT from dell.co.uk
from johnlewis.com REVIEW Issue 325, p54 homeworkers. £1,549 REVIEW Issue 316, p50 REVIEW Issue 318, p48 REVIEW Issue 317, p50
REVIEW Issue 323, p50 from amazon.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 320, p51
GAMING LAPTOPS EVERYDAY LAPTOPS
AS1s7usGXRO70G3Zephyrus Asus ZenBook 14 UX425
gGreaFpohriccesRfoTrX£330,08000 Everything you’ll
from scan.co.uk from uk.store.asus.
The ROG Zephyrus replaces Whenwesaythatthe sZenBook14UX425
Asus’s own excellent ROG Strix offers everything you’ll need, we’re not kidding:
Scar 17 as our top choice thanks to blistering performance in an this simply brilliant laptop oozes quality, with
even sleeker chassis. The combination of RTX 3080 graphics an11th-generationInte orei7-1165G7
and Intel’s Core i9-11900H CPU in the model we tested – GX703HS- processor,aclassykey ard,head-turning
KF004R – was simply phenomenal.. touchpad/numberpad, henomenal
REVIEW Issue 323, p56 screen,superbbaery eof
11hrs 41mins and even
some gaming grunt.
REVIEW Issue 319, p80
ALTERNATIVES ALTERNATIVES
AGasumsinTgUAF15 (2021) AGiegraob1y7teHDR XC AANce5r15N-i4tr5o 5 HMoangoicrBook 14 H13P(2E0n2v0y) SMGuoicrfraocseofLtaptop
The TUF Gaming A15 We’re not fans of the tenth- A ridiculously powerful A stunning amount of It may not be the world’s
is a great choice if you generation Intel silicon, laptop, with an RTX 3060 power wrapped up in most exciting laptop, but A superb travelling
need both power and but the gorgeous 17.3in 4K married to a Ryzen 7 a high-quality metal the Envy 13 is a compact and companion, the Go offers
portability, thanks to a screen makes the most out 5800H CPU. Add a 15.6in, chassis, making it head forward-looking machine all the power you need in a
Ryzen 7 5800H processor of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 144Hz screen and it’s and shoulders above its that’s ideally suited to these stylish and well-built 1.1kg
and RTX 3070 graphics. 3070 for creatives. £2,700 unbeatable. £1,100 from similarly priced rivals. homeworking times. £800 chassis. 128GB,£680
£1,600fromasus.com from overclockers.co.uk pcpro.link/323nitro £800 from hihonor.com from store.hp.com/uk frommicrosoft.com/uk
REVIEWIssue 319, p51 REVIEW Issue 319, p53 REVIEW Issue 323, p60 REVIEW Issue 319, p82 REVIEW Issue 319, p83 REVIEW Issue 316, p48
14
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The A-List
CHROMEBOOKS FAlsipusCC43h6roFmebook Lenovo IdeaPad Duet
Flip C436F is a fast laptop that’s a
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook rong choice for businesses as well The Chromebook answer to
Microsoft’s Surface tablets, this is a
Flexible laptop for £530 consumers, with a slim magnesium seriously versatile device – albeit not
y chassis that’s easy on the eye, a the speediest (although we never
from lenovo.com/gb GB SSD, a fantastic 14in Full HD found it to be painfully slow while
een, a rugby pitch-sized touchpad carrying out everyday tasks). For
It’s not the flashiest machine on the plenty of speed, thanks to its Core this price, and with a 16hrs 14mins
market, but a Core i5, 8GB of RAM, 12 5 processor. £799 fromjohnlewis.com baery life, the Duet is a great
SSD and rotating 13.3in screen ad choice. £280from lenovo.com/gb
a flexible workhorse that can handle Issue 321, p83 REVIEW Issue321,p86
entertainment on the side.
REVIEW Issue 321, p87
EVERYDAY PCs alist Aurora PACurSopreacRialist
Apple Mac mini (M1) sed around the Asus PN50 A solid PC from day one courtesy
rebones chassis, this miniature of its Core i5-11400 CPU and 512GB
Mini masterpiece, from £699 stands tall next to its far bigger SSD, but the best feature of the
rivals thanks to its sheer pace – PCSpecialist Aurora R is its expansion
from apple.com/uk even if demanding gamers should potential – which is boosted by the
look elsewhere. Oh, and the low roominess of the case. Jam today,
Apple has applied its M1 formula to the diminutive Mac mini with predictably price certainly helps. £499 from cream tomorrow. £499 from
stellar results: superb performance in native apps to the point where the mini is pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews
challenging the much more expensive iMac for speed. If the software you want REVIEW Issue 317, p83 REVIEW Issue 323, p83
to run is compatible with the M1, it’s an obvious, quiet and bargain choice that
will get you through your working day without fuss.
REVIEW Issue 318, p54
ENTHUSIAST PCs HP Omen 25L CGhaimllbinlagsPtCFusion Frigate
PCSpecialist Opal R It might not be as upgradeable as its Chillblast again demonstrates its skill
British-made rivals, but this sleek and at extracting the most from a budget
RTX 3070 powerhouse for £1,499 stylish system offers plenty of power by partnering a Core i5-11600K chip
for your money right now: a Core i5- with a water cooler for a superb set
from pcspecialist.co.uk/reviews 11400F and RTX 3060 graphics see to of results. And when you outgrow
that. If it had a larger SSD than 256GB the GeForce GTX 1650, it’s easy to
This huge PC includes one component you’ll want it might even have toppled the Opal R. upgrade. £1,000 from chillblast.com
to gaze at lovingly: an RTX 3070 card that, with GT12-1011NA, £1,400 from hp.com/uk REVIEW Issue 323, p87
the help of AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X CPU, blasted REVIEW Issue 323, p88
through games and all other tasks with ease.
REVIEW Issue 323, p89
BUSINESS PCs
StonePC Lite (Ryzen) HP EliteDesk 705 G5 Dell OptiPlex 7090 Ultra
Ryzen 4000 PCs, from £389 exc VAT Based on AMD’s Ryzen 5 Pro 3400GE This clever PC slots into a custom
chip, this minuscule machine won’t monitor stand that you can then
from stonegroup.co.uk win awards for speed – or indeed attach to any screen with a VESA
Not one but a trio of compact, great-value PCs that are based quietness – but it’s still more than 100x100 slot – which is virtually all
on AMD’s Ryzen 4000 Pro Series of processors. The 4650G speedy enough for business use of them. We tested the Intel Core
version, for £459 excluding VAT, hits the sweet spot for (including for remote workers at i5 version with 16GB of RAM and a
performance and price, with StonePC also including 16GB of home), and is just as secure and 512GB SSD, which proved more than
RAM and a 500GB SATA SSD. manageable as you’d expect from HP. fast enough for office-based tasks
REVIEW Issue 316, p56 £698 exc VAT from uk.insight.com From £659 exc VAT from dell.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 318, p59 REVIEW Issue 321, p48
WORKSTATIONS NEW ENTRY
NEW ENTRY NEW ENTRY
Workstation Specialists WS-1640A-G4
InterPro IPW-R9 MAr6m4aTrPi-MAWag1n2e0t0aGr3
64-core beast, £6,667 exc VAT
Using AMD’s punchy Ryzen 9 A promising debut for AMD’s 32-
from workstationspecialists.com 5950X, which sports 16 cores, this core Threadripper Pro 3975WX,
There’s no doubting this workstation’s centrepiece: affordable workstation still has room with 128GB of ECC memory as eight
a 64-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X that, in the budget for Quadro RTX A4000 16GB modules to take advantage of
with the aid of Nvidia’s Quadro RTX A5000 graphics, graphics. A well-chosen motherboard its eight-channel memory support.
tears through both rendering and modelling tasks. also offers plenty of room for With the new Radeon Pro W6800
Add a 2TB PCI-E 4 SSD and 128GB of RAM, and it’s memory and storage upgrades if in support, it’s a star in 3ds Max.
the fastest all-round machine we’ve ever tested. and when you need them. £2,500 £6,650 exc VAT from armari.com
REVIEW Issue 325, p87 exc VAT from ipworkstations.com REVIEWIssue 325,p84
REVIEWIssue 325, p85
15
TABLETS Apple iPad (2020) Lenovo Tab P11 Pro
Apple iPad Pro 12.9in (2021) While we yearn for thinner bezels, the There are faster Android tablets
boost in power courtesy of Apple’s to be found, and cheaper ones, but
M1 power in your palm from £9 A12 Bionic chip means that the vanilla if you’re looking for the complete
iPad is the obvious tablet choice for package – including a sleek keyboard
from apple.com/uk under £400. The negatives are the and full-size stylus – nothing beats the
extra £100 to step up to 128GB and Tab P11 Pro for value or for quality. The
Blurring the boundaries between laptop another £130 for 4G – and that’s 11.5in screen is particularly strong.
and tablet like never before, the M1-powered before you think about accessories. Paying another £30 buys a version
iPad Pro 12.9in is every bit as fast as we From £329 from apple.com/uk with 4G too. £630 from lenovo.com
expected – and the “Liquid Retina XDR” REVIEW Issue 316, p88 REVIEW Issue 322, p60
display is simply phenomenal.
REVIEW Issue 323, p62 NEW ENTRY
EVERYDAY PHONES Samsung Galaxy A52 5G Xiaomi Poco F3
OnePlus Nord 2 5G The Galaxy A52 5G is of the most If your budget stops at £300 then you
compelling arguments yet for not should consider the powerful Xiaomi
Ultimate all-rounder from £399 buying a flagship phone: why bother Poco F3. The Snapdragon 870 chip
when you can have a 6.5in 120Hz is undoubtedly its star inclusion, but
from oneplus.com/uk screen, a high-quality quartet of there’s also a 120Hz AMOLED screen,
cameras and a stylish and slim design? 128GB of storage and a surprisingly
OnePlus packs a surprise with this MediaTek-powered phone, The only obvious sacrifice is outright swish design to add to its appeal.
which stormed through our benchmarks – only the Poco F3 can speed. £399 from samsung.com £299 from pcpro.link/322poco
beat it for the price. But with a superior camera, longer-lasting REVIEW Issue 321, p71 REVIEW Issue 322, p68
baery and striking design, this is worth the extra £100.
REVIEW Issue 325, p68
PREMIUM PHONES Apple iPhone 12 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
OnePlus 8T Its design tips a hat to the iPhone 4, Despite Samsung’s bamboozling
but the internals are up to date. decisions to bin the microSD slot and
Android 11 phone, 128GB, £449 Apple tempts with 5G support, an bundled charger, the Galaxy S21 is a
AMOLED screen (albeit only 60Hz), simply stunning flagship smartphone
from oneplus.com/uk chart-topping performance and that boasts three phenomenal
superb cameras, although its baery cameras, a stylish design (with the
The OnePlus 8T fend off its new sibling, the OnePlus 9, life of 16hrs 30mins is disappointing merest whisper of bezels) and bags
because – for a surprisingly low price – you enjoy a baery compared to the competition. of pace. It’s the pick of the S21 crop.
that lasts for two or three days of modest use, a 120Hz 64GB, £799 from apple.com/uk 128GB, £769 from samsung.com/uk
wide-gamut screen, buckets of power via the Snapdragon REVIEWIssue 315, p58 REVIEW Issue 318, p68
865 processor, 5G support and a fine set of cameras.
REVIEW Issue 315, p63 XIiUyaBm24a9P3rHoSLiUte-B1 IXiUyaBm27a9P2rQoSLUit-eB1
EVERYDAY MONITORS If you’re on a tight budget then this It might lack frills such as USB-C
24in IPS Full HD monitor is a superb docking, but this is a high-quality 27in
Philips Brilliance 328P6 choice. Image quality is astounding screen with a 1440p resolution that
for the price, it looks great thanks to looks sharp from normal distances,
Dynamite docking monitor, £509 an edge-to-edge display with minimal making it ideal for viewing photos
bezels, and Iiyama even includes a and videos. Quality is staggering for
from uk.insight.com flexible stand. £160 from scan.co.uk the price. £245from cclonline.com
REVIEW Issue 313, p76 REVIEW Issue 313, p79
The 4K version of this brilliant 32in monitor (part
code 328P6VUBREB) not only offers excellent ima
quality but also great docking features: note the
60W USB-C connection and Ethernet port.
REVIEW Issue 313, p85
PROFESSIONAL MONITORS LG UltraWide 38WN95C PAAsu2s78PQrVoArt Display
Acer ConceptD CP5271UV The high price buys you a stunning This is a terrific panel in an incredibly
38in 144Hz curved IPS monitor with flexible stand, all backed up with
27in creative, £800 3,840 x 1,600 pixels that’s equally at the guarantees that a professional
home playing games as it is displaying, working in the sRGB or Rec.709
from scan.co.uk say, a spreadsheet. This impressive colour space will require. The ProArt
The ConceptD CP5271UV is an astonishingly combination of specs is the reason Display PA278QV’s low, low price
versatile screen that can jump between why it blew the competition away to only sweetens what is an already
pre-calibrated Adobe RGB, DCI-P3 and sRGB modes at win our most recent monitor Labs. sugary deal. £324 from scan.co.uk
the press of a buon. With USB-C and Ethernet, it’s a £1,340 from laptopsdirect.co.uk REVIEW Issue 314, p74
great docking monitor too. REVIEW Issue 313, p90
REVIEW Issue 319, p65
16
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The AList
WEBCAMS aPmC-W3 1080p CA3n0ke0r PowerConf
Logitech C925e Busi hought of spending £100 on It may not be able to match the
has you spluering into Logitech C925e for all-round quality,
Top quality 1080p video, £ ophone then you should but this 1080p webcam supports
60fps capture and includes software
from logitech.com er this far cheaper but high- that means it can follow you round a
lternative. Its colours are room. It’s an excellent alternative to
Logitech remains the supreme ruler y in comparison to Logitech’s, our top choice if such features maer
world and the C925e shows why. till produces both a sharp and to you. £100 from pcpro.link/324anker
image quality under challenging ligh image. £30fromaukey.com REVIEW Issue324,p70
Logitech backs this up with the best W Issue321,p72
compatibility with the likes of Teams
REVIEW Issue 321, p73 Canon Pixma Pro-200 Epson EcoTank ET-2750
HOME OFFICE Yes, it’s big and it’s expensive – and If low running costs are your priority,
you don’t even get a scanner – but the printers with refillable ink tanks are
Canon Pixma G650 Pixma Pro-200 means that you can a brilliant choice. The photo quality
print A3 photos with glorious colour might not rival the Pixma Pro-200 to
Bottle-fed MFP, £227 accuracy and detail. If you’re after the left, but the EcoTank ET-2750 will
an office workhorse, look elsewhere, handle home office duties with aplomb.
from printerbase.co.uk but it can’t be beaten on photo To literally top it off, it also includes
We think this might be the breakthrough quality. £450 from johnlewis.com a scanner. £250 from argos.co.uk
bole-fed printer, because not only do you REVIEWIssue 320, p80 REVIEW Issue 320, p82
get supremely low running costs (0.4p
mono, 1p colour) but also excellent photo results thanks to its six-colour system. HMP25C5odlowr LaserJet Pro MKy6o2c3e5rcaidEncosys
REVIEW Issue 323, p69
The Color LaserJet Pro M255dw A strong contender for small and
WORKGROUP PRINTERS is an excellent choice for smaller medium businesses that want good
businesses thanks to its price, decent print speeds and great access
Epson EcoTank ET-5880 running costs (2.6p per mono page), security. The M6235cidn’s large
duplex printing and respectable operator panel is very user-friendly,
Features galore, £1,077 exc V 17ppm speeds. The only fly in the the print quality is excellent and its
ointment is the slow warm-up time. running costs are surprisingly low.
from epson.co.uk £217 exc VAT from store.hp.com £696 exc VAT from printerland.co.uk
A great office all-in-one with plenty of REVIEW Issue 320, p89 REVIEW Issue 323, p98
features, good output quality and
top-notch cloud support. Expensive, but Asus RT-AX82U Honor Router 3
phenomenally low running costs will
mean SMBs recoup this in no time at all. The impressive RT-AX82U punches This affordable Wi-Fi 6 router
REVIEW Issue 323, p97 well above its price when it comes delivers consistently fast wireless
to raw Wi-Fi 6 performance and speeds, broad coverage and a modest
WIRELESS ROUTERS includes a fistful of useful features – speed boost for newer hardware –
such as an ultrafast 20Gbits/sec USB and the Router 3 has a cute design
Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 connector, outbound VPN support, too. If you need more range, you can
site-blocking and a host of parental pick up a second unit to use as an
Winning Wi-Fi 6 performance, £306 controls. £174 from box.co.uk extender. £55 from amazon.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 318, p80 REVIEW Issue 318, p51
from broadbandbuyer.com
TP-Link Deco X20 Asus ZenWiFi AX
The Star Wars-esque Nighthawk RAX offers
class-leading Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) speeds, a The price below isn’t a typo: the Deco The interface and design certainly
feast of connections, a stylish design and an X20 makes it possible to upgrade your aren’t the prettiest (the nodes look
easy-as-the-proverbial-pastry setup process. home network – as well as manage like mini space heaters, while the
REVIEW Issue 318, p82 its security – for the price of some charcoal version is straight out of
standalone routers. The included the 1980s), but if you’re after strong
MESH WI-FI HomeCare functions are also a performance, great features and
great bonus for households where plenty of expansion potential, the
Netgear Orbi RBK752 lots of devices are fighting over the ZenWiFi AX is a compelling prospect.
bandwidth. £279 from box.co.uk £404 from pcpro.link/318zen
Wide Wi-Fi 6 mesh, £450 REVIEW Issue 318, p84 REVIEW Issue 318, p87
from pcpro.link/318net2 17
More expensive rivals may boast beer
performance, more connections and more
impressive selections of features, but the user-
friendly Orbi RBK752 offers unimpeachable
mesh coverage for the price.
REVIEW Issue 318, p83
BUSINESS WI-FI NEW ENTRY
DrayTek VigorAP 960C EnGenius ECW260 Netgear Orbi Pro SXK80
outdoor Wi-Fi 6 access point
Wi-Fi 6 access point, £159 exc VAT ers great performance and classy If youwant to spread yourWi-Fi6
management at a good price. signal over a small business, classroom
from broadbandbuyer.co.uk innards are protected by an IP67- or retailunit, thissecure mesh kit
ed metal housing, meaning it’s dust is callingyour name. Themultiple
With three operating modes and a choice of four ght and can handle full immersion VLANs provide strongersecurity
management methods, this is a versatile access n 1m of water for 30 minutes. and more granularmanageability
point. Add great performance and a low price than aregularmeshsystem. £600
you have the perfect Wi-Fi 6 solution for SMBs. 63 exc VAT from solwise.co.uk exc VAT from pcpro.link/318net4
REVIEW Issue 322, p100 REVIEW Issue 325, p100 REVIEW Issue 318, p90
NAS SERVERS AAsSu5s3t0o4rTNimbustor Synology DS1019+
Synology DS218+ This is a hugely powerful four-bay This five-bay NAS includes many of
NAS that will be overkill for most the features that make the DS218+
Two-bay NAS, £306 people – not just due to its speed to the left such an attractive buy: a
but also its slightly intimidating user superb selection of apps, an elegant
from box.co.uk interface – but techies and gamers hardware design and a good deal
The Synology DS218+ is the best two-bay NAS should investigate the Nimbustor of power. And those five bays make
server around, thanks to a dual-core Celeron that AS5304T for both its speed and it perfect for RAID5 configurations,
gives it some added grunt, an intelligent design flexibility. £467 from amazon.co.uk or Synology’s own Hybrid RAID.
that makes adding disks a piece of cake and a REVIEW Issue 305, p82 £685 from pcpro.link/305synology
wide-ranging spread of apps. REVIEW Issue 305, p88
REVIEW Issue 305, p87
fLoorgMiteiccrhoRsoooftmTeSaomlustion PwoitlyhSTtCu8dio X30
VIDEOCONFERENCING
(Large Room) Designed for small meeting rooms
PL£44Kihf,7meo5sne0ieezetexiHncgDIVcrAooTonm5s0o0lutaionnd, with up to six participants, the Poly
If you’ve seled on a supported Studio X30 (which you can bundle
from voipon.co.uk videoconferencing service, and with a touch-friendly TC8 control
A videoconference room solution that’s easy to deploy, you need to cover a decent-sized unit) brings together a 4K camera,
is blessed with highly intuitive controls, has a fine range of client meeting space, the Large Room loudspeaker and beamforming
apps and delivers great call quality. Expensive but worth it. Solution for Microsoft Teams has quad-mic array in a single bar. £1,500
REVIEW Issue 313, p98 everything you could ask for. £4,600 exc VAT from onedirect.co.uk
exc VAT from onedirect.co.uk REVIEW Issue 313, p100
SCANNERS REVIEW Issue 313, p99
Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600 DCaRn-Mon2i6m0ageFormula 7K3o0dEaXk PSlcuasn Station
Hassle-free scanning, £ exc VAT For a 60ppm scanner, it’s good value It might make your budget tremble,
and offers top output quality plus a but if your digitising demands require
from ebuyer.com great software bundle. SMBs that a dedicated PC, you should consider
want a high-volume desktop scanner this smarter alternative from Kodak. It
Perfect for SMBs and home workers that and don’t require network support offers great speed, quality and security
want fast desktop scanning at a good price. should put it on their shortlist. £539 in an easily managed appliance.
The touchscreen and software combine to exc VAT from printerland.co.uk £1,094 exc VAT from lambda-tek.com
make scanning an incredibly swift process. REVIEW Issue 324, p97 REVIEW Issue 314, p105
REVIEW Issue 324, p98
DPoewll EeMrECdge T140 DPoewll EeMrECdge R340
SERVERS
The PowerEdge T140 isan ideal Thereare plenty ofreasonsto love
BEsPeo-rrwRovSeearr1d,f0u£bl90eS8-rM3EreE1yx0rcaCcVykAbTerServe Xeon candidatefor smaller offices thatwant the XeonE PowerEdge R340:it has a
anaffordable on-siteserverwith lot of expansionpotentialtohandle
from broadberry.co.uk plenty ofroom toexpand.Itpacks a growing demands,alarge rangeof
The Broadberry CyberServe Xeon E-RS100-E10 represents a powerful powerfulhardwarepackageinto a storage choicesand the very best
hardware package at a price that will please small businesses. We love its space-savingchassis and incudes management features around– as
low-profile chassis and the fine selection of remote-management tools. top-tier remote-management features. well asbeing apretty quiet customer in
REVIEW Issue 318, p96 £1,224 exc VAT from dell.co.uk use. £890excVATfromdell.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 314, p104 REVIEW Issue 298, p97
18
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO The A-List
SECURITY SOFTWARE BACKUP SUITES PASSWORD MANAGERS
F-Secure Safe IDrive Personal Bitwarden
F-Secure concentrates on the basics: For families seeking set-and-forget protection, Bitwarden has a huge advantage: it’s
faultless protection with minimal impact IDrive could be just the thing: it’s very easy to set up, free. That can mean a lack of slickness,
on your system’s performance – for a low supports multi-computer installations and comes at but it can sync passwords across all devices for
price. 1 PC, 1yr, £19 from pcpro.link/322safe a reasonable price. $52 per year from idrive.com no extra charge. Free from bitwarden.com
REVIEW Issue 322, p83 REVIEW Issue 315, p81 REVIEW Issue 320, p61
KInatseprenrestkSyecurity FArveaestAntivirus IAmcraognei2s0T2ru1e &PaRreacgoovneBrayc1k7uCpE Dashlane 1Password
With plenty of tools and For the second year The most comprehensive If you merely need a low- A manager that’s ideal 1Password is targeted at
features to play with, running, Avast is our top personal backup system key backup agent that for beginners, and it even technically minded users
the powerful Kaspersky pick for free antivirus out there, and its user- makes periodic duplicates builds in an unlimited (if who are looking for the
Internet Security goes a software – it’s simply friendly interface, strong of your most important basic) VPN service. Note last word in security. It
long way beyond blocking lighter on its feet than performance and decent files, this is a persuasive you may prefer to buy even offers a Travel Mode
viruses. And it won yet Microsoft Windows set of secondary tools solution that outshines the Family plan ($60 per that may ease your mind if
another PC Pro award Security, whilst offering don’t hurt at all. Only its much of the paid-for year) as this extends the surrendering your phone
in our Labs. 1 PC, 1yr, £11 fewer false positives. price counts against it. competition. Free from service to six people. to customs officials. $24
from pcpro.link/322kasp Free from avast.com £42 from acronis.com paragon-software.com $40 per year (Premium) per year (individual)
REVIEW Issue 322, p84 REVIEW Issue 322, p82 REVIEW Issue 315, p80 REVIEW Issue 315, p83 from dashlane.com from 1password.com
REVIEW Issue 320, p62 REVIEW Issue 320, p60
BUSINESS CLOUD STORAGE REMOTE SUPPORT VOIP SERVICES
Box Business NetSupportManager12.8.6 NEWENTRY 3CX Phone System Pro 16 Update 8
The 5GB file sizelimit may be a deal-breaker for The best on-premises support solution. It’s a cinch The top choice for small and medium businesses
some, but it’s a superb all-round cloud service, with to deploy, delivers a huge range of technician that want to host on-premises IP PBX. It’s flexible,
powerful collaboration tools and unlimitedstorage. tools and the price includes secure services for affordable and packed with call-handling features.
Business plan, £12 supporting remote workers. 1-500 systems, 16SC Pro edition, £554 exc VAT from 3cx.com
exc VAT per user perpetual licence, REVIEW Issue 322, p96
per month (billed £10 each exc VAT
yearly) from from netsupport
box.com manager.com
REVIEW Issue REVIEW Issue
317, p96 325, p99
Egnyte Business ConnectWiseControl21.8 NEWENTRY RingCentral Office
Egnyte is the ideal cloud platform for any business that Suited to SMBs and larger organisations that want A smart cloud-hosted communications solution with
requires reams of information, top-notch access stiff access security and portal-branding features. outstanding videoconferencing services. It’s easy to
controls and high security. Business plan, £15 exc VAT It’s easy to use with great mobile support. Starts from deploy and the new desktop apps are impressive. From
per user per month (billed yearly) from egnyte.com £17 per month exc VAT from connectwise.com £8 exc VAT per user per month from ringcentral.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 317, p97 REVIEW Issue 325, p96 REVIEW Issue 322, p99
NETWORK MONITORING SECURITYAPPLIANCES STORAGEAPPLIANCES
MPaoensistloerr2P0R.T3G Network
Fortinet FortiGate 60F Qnap TS-873A
A great choice for businesses that want to keep
an eye on their network devices and services. It’s The 60F provides the most comprehensive range We’d still choose Qnap’s nine-bay TS-h973AX if you
easy to deploy and provides a sophisticated set of of security measures we’ve seen in an SMB-level want support for U.2 NVMe SSDs, but if not the eight-
monitoring tools. appliance – yet it’s easy to deploy and well priced. bay TS-873A is a flexible alternative – right down to
2,500 sensors, But the X factor is due to Fortinet’s irreproachable the choice of two OSes. Both perform well and its
1yr maintenance, remote-management features. With 3yr UTP dual PCIe slots offer great expansion potential.
£4,433 exc VAT bundle, £1,753 exc VAT from avfirewalls.co.uk Diskless/8GB,
from paessler.com REVIEW Issue 319, p97 £886 exc VAT from
REVIEW Issue broadbandbuyer.
316, p97 com
REVIEW Issue
323, p100
ManageEngine OpManager Plus 12.5 Sophos XG 230 Rev.2 Qsan XCubeNAS XN7016R
OpManager Plus delivers a rangeof network-monitoring A brawny and flexible security appliance that’s well Growing SMEs that want enterprise-class data
toolsat a sensibleprice. Its architectureallows it to suited to SMBs. It’s packed with security measures protection, great backup features and enormous
scale easily with demand too. 50 pack, perpetual, while being simple to deploy. With3yrTotalProtect expansion potential will find the XCubeNAS a solid choice.
£2,875 exc VAT from manageengine.com Plus subscription, $2,964 per year from sophos.com Diskless, £3,565 exc VAT from ballicom.co.uk
REVIEW Issue 316, p96 REVIEWIssue 319, p98 REVIEW Issue 321, p97
19
Rdspeeeenepdcfeahrkleeedssspbeyech Dick Pountain is
editorial fellow of
PC Pro and has a
special message
for you all at
pcpro.link/325dick
Bad news for voice actors: if the tech firms have their way, this decade’s
documentaries and films will be voiced by AI
While casually watching a syntax for marking up texts to add chrehigsaBhery,maItcybctploeiinrungslgda‘mignnedosnutserterhitnatmgtinesugsosotifchmr’eaenstpdheoinemgd to
Hawaiian volcano erupt on some degree of expression, and I
YouTube, as you do, I amused myself by having it read but fun. I also discovered that by
detected something creepy about the poetry, including a poem that Felix typing in strings of random
narrator that I couldn’t quite identify. Dennis dedicated to me. You can
It sounded like an adult American listen to it at pcpro.link/325primal.
Oposted on Facebook to ask whether
male, but with something subtly ver the next few years I kept
wrong about his rhythm. I started
noticing the same in other videos, and in touch with the state of
text-to-speech and voice-
anyone else thought synthetic digital recognition art, particularly the characters and setting the speed to
voices were being used: the consensus ground-breaking work of the Belgian high, I could generate something
was “probably not”. researchers Lernhout and Hauspie resembling “mouth music”, as in the
Then last month the MIT whom I mentioned in this column Blittle ditty at pcpro.link/325ditty.
Technology Review published an back in 1999. During the 13 years I efore writing this column, I
article about AI voice actors (pcpro. spent living part-time in Italy I keenly checked out the current state
link/325mit) that said “deepfake followed the progress being made by of local TTS apps and found
voices had something of a lousy Google with its voice and translation
reputation for their use in scam calls engines, and by the 2000-teens I dozens of free ones that are massively
and internet trickery. But their could use an Android phone like Star improved: Balabolka, Natural Reader,
improving quality has since piqued Trek’s universal translator. When I Panopreter, TTSReader and Wordtalk
the interest of a growing number of needed to extend my local all offer good quality speech and even
companies. Recent breakthroughs in vocabulary, I would type what I customisable voices.
deep learning have made it possible wanted to say into Google Translate, But it’s in the cloud-based arena
to replicate many of the subtleties of have it spoken back to me in Italian that things get scary. Nuance is a
human speech.” You can now sample and practise it before going into, say, company that offers “a human-like,
the voice of a human actor, a police station or hardware store. I engaging, and personalised user
or someone in your firm, then have a didn’t quite have the nerve to hold up experience. Enhance any customer
company rent you a synthesiser that the phone to speak for me. self-service application with high-
speaks your PR materials so well as By this time not only were cloud- quality audio tailored to your brand.”
to be undetectable. based voice services getting good, the Or there’s Amazon’s Polly API, which
I’ve always had an interest in voice ubiquity of powerful smartphones lets developers add Alexa-like
synthesis. Most people nowadays enabled people to write small “edge- abilities to their products. For movie
regard computers as visual devices, based” apps that performed TTS on professionals, LucasFilm offers
but to me making them talk is just as the phone by calling on a cloud Respeecher to “create speech that’s
interesting as drawing pictures on service. Several such apps became indistinguishable from the original
them. The first halfway decent text- available for free, and one called speaker. Perfect for dubbing an
to-speech (TTS) program I used was Vocality caught my ear. actor’s voice in post production,
back in the Windows 3.1 days; called An interface to Google Speech bringing back the voice of an actor
Monologue, it came bundled with my services, Vocality offered control over who passed away, and other content
first Sound Blaster card. Monologue speed and pitch of speech in a large creators’ problems.”
had a raw, Steven Hawking-like selection of national voices. For However, it’s Amai (amai.io) that
delivery, but it did support a simple example, it let me create comical really spells it out: “Sorry, voice
action-movie- actors, we will replace you soon […]
villain dialogues this text is painted with the Love
uAbnenciBdvoryemortihsidnaepgl2thp0rooa0nsn0ess-illtbiaeklteeeonfrSostraitmrwTeartesoku’sse an by choosing, say, emotion. You can highlight any text,
a Russian voice choose any emotion and listen to how
and setting pitch it sounds, for example this phrase is
ridiculously low. pronounced with the Happiness.” Go
Politically to Amai’s site to hear the perky result.
incorrect perhaps,
[email protected]
20
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Viewpoints
sPbhehoyousbilscdoanlleectvaeesrh Nicole Kobie is
PC Pro’s Futures
editor. She’s happy
the question has
shifted from “do you
take cards?” to “do
you take cash?”, but
the answer to both
should always be yes.
@njkobie
Paying with a wave of a phone or card is convenient, but Covid-19 won’t
wipe out cash payments
Waiting to pay for a few The situation has worsened at not having to take Australian
tasty snacks at a furniture because of Covid-19. Research from dollars out while on a trip through
retailer’s food hall, I Which? in January 2021 revealed that Queensland; I don’t even know what
spotted a sign fixed to the plastic a third of shoppers have had cash their money looks like and I’m
sheets protecting the cashier from the refused since the pandemic began. thrilled by that fact. Paying via an
airborne particles that have kept us Pubs and restaurants have shifted to app, just tapping a few buttons and
locked down so much over the past 18 apps for at-table ordering and having a pint and chips brought to my
months. The sign didn’t ask people to payments, impossible for someone table, is modern magic.
stay 2m back, wear a mask or wash without a smartphone or bank But that doesn’t mean Britain
their hands. Instead, it declared: card account, while shops and cafés have should ditch cash. Vulnerable people
payments only, no cash. refused to take coins or notes on would be the hardest hit, leaving
That was a problem for the Wsafety grounds. them excluded from even more of life.
customer ahead of me. She had the hile frontline staff need to Retailers shouldn’t be banning cash
coins to cover her bill of £2.20, but be protected, it’s now clear
the retailer wouldn’t accept physical that this coronavirus thdhiugorLnsdeieltte’ywsstn,hoaoopntaadmlyrianehksaoetdwelyaiftfdehagechiyeavrcetdhhteeohroemsfmooerstthe
money. The cashier had no way to doesn’t easily spread through touch,
accept coins, the customer had but instead transmits through
nothing else to pay with. aerosols or droplets from our mouths
and noses. It’s technically possible to
Turning to me, she asked if I would become infected by touching money
pay for her, and happily I did. The
coins she handed me were the first I’d
had in my pocket for the last year and and then your face, but it’s unlikely.
a half, and with a wave of my Monzo Research from the Bank of England until it’s as easy to apply for, receive
card her immediate challenges were found that the risk of handling and manage a bank card as it is a
solved. Clocking my brightly coloured currency was less than touching Chandful of coins.
card, she asked: “Is that card hard to shopping baskets or self-checkout ovid-19 shouldn’t be used as an
get? What do you need to apply?” terminals. Indeed, to protect shop excuse to shut down a system
That may sound like an odd staff, it’s best to stand back as far so many people still rely on. No
question, but for various reasons as possible when tapping in your PIN,
she laid out to me (which I won’t as the virus spreads mostly through one will starve if they can’t buy
detail here), this lady has limited the air. meatballs from a furniture store, but
means to apply for a traditional bank I hate cash, so paying by card or a what happens when it’s a pharmacy
card. She’s one of Britain’s 1.3 million phone app is ideal for me. I lose or the only late-night corner shop?
unbanked – a cohort of financially change – be it a 20p coin or a £20 note Let’s not make life harder for those
excluded people that includes recent – in bags and pockets. When I bring a who already face the most hurdles,
immigrants, the homeless, those winter coat down from the loft in the and instead give them the dignity to
without formal identification and autumn, odds are I’ll find a wadded- pay how they choose and remove the
those facing financial hurdles. My up face mask next to a handful of stress of wondering if their perfectly
bank Monzo could likely help her, as money, long forgotten in a random legal tender will be accepted.
the “challenger bank” has strived to pocket. If I pay with a card, that One day, banknotes and coins will
find ways to provide cards to the change is instead automatically likely disappear, to be remembered
unbanked, so I hope she followed my rounded up into a savings pot in my with the same type of nostalgia that
advice and gave them a call. bank account, meaning I now have older Brits hold for other outdated
actual money payments such as shillings. But when
rather than coins technology impacts something as
cpnhohatoIennhg–eaetiane–pbcpbaaeigssihstid,aasen2oad0lppfpaooycrcionkmigneetbo.syIr lcaoa£sre2d0or a and notes wide-ranging and socially important
scattered in nooks as money, change needs to be slow
and crannies in my and careful to avoid leaving behind
house. Regular the people who need it the most.
PC Pro readers Otherwise, the costs are too high.
may recall my joy
[email protected]
21
Viewpoints @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
Barry Collins is a
Tyseohcueuspreaictyyrfeofitrrmthat former editor of
PC Pro. You ain’t
Why won’t the Home Office reveal more about the mysterious Vivace? seen me, right?
Unlike the Ministry of Defence, if I could tell you I would (Send tips to barry@
mediabc.co.uk)
Ihate paying for something and for Security and Counter Terrorism @bazzacollins
not knowing what it is, like one that rapidly delivers solutions to
of those cryptically named challenges facing frontline security what the hell are they doing then?
transactions on a bank statement. and public safety missions”. In Alas, the Freedom of Information Act
Yet, UK taxpayers, we’re all paying theory, a perfectly sensible idea. has exemptions from disclosure that
for a secretive consortium of IT But here’s the thing. Nobody’s cover personal data, and the Home
security companies called Vivace telling us who’s in Vivace or how Office has decided to use this as an
– and the Home Office is not keen to much it costs. I asked the Home excuse to withhold the names of all
tell us what’s going on there. Office press people for a list of Vivace members, big or small.
Vivace first came to my attention members and the running costs and
when it was named as one of the they declined to answer. I asked Meanwhile, the question of how
“industry experts” consulted for the Qinetiq; its press team said “all much money this secret security
NSPCC’s highly dubious report into enquiries regarding Vivace need to be society is costing taxpayers is also
end-to-end encryption, which I referred to the Home Office”. That’s none of your business, according to
wrote about here a few months ago what Vivace’s IT experts would the Home Office, because “the
(see issue 322, p22). I’d never heard of Dprobably call an “infinite loop”. information you have requested
Vivace, and its website (vivace.tech) igging around in Qinetiq’s would undermine the abilities of the
left me none the wiser, offering little annual reports and other Home Office to maintain the security
more than a full house in buzzword titbits online, I discovered that
bingo (“providing innovative, agile Tof the UK if it were to be disclosed”.
and flexible solutions to problems in Vivace is a consortium of more than here’s more: “The disclosure of
the communications data space”) 250 companies, with members the information, in aggregate
– and the tantalising nugget that it including Amazon Web Services, with other information, would
was “supporting the UK police and BAE, Thales and Airbus – many of reveal the magnitude of threats
wider law-enforcement agencies”. whom are listed separately as Home addressed by the Home Office’s
Vivace didn’t even exist as far as Office contractors raking in millions AcceleratedCapability Environment.”
Companies House was concerned, of pounds of year from public funds.
although this mysterious entity has a But there wasn’t a definitive list of Really? The total budget afforded
CEO and has posted job ads for Vivace members anywhere, nor any a consortium of private firms would
various senior positions over the past details of its budget. instantly tip off our adversaries to the
few years. A little digging revealed So, I put in a Freedom of precise strength of our cyber-
that it was a Home Office-funded Information request to try to flush defences? Pull the other one. Not
consortium of tech companies, led by out this information. Alas, the Home least because the Ministry of
the massive security and defence Office evidently takes inspiration Defence’s own disclosures (pcpro.
contractor Qinetiq. That noise you from the late Douglas Adams (“I love link/325mod) reveal the precise
can hear is PC Pro’s libel lawyers deadlines. I love the whooshing noise amounts spent on service and civilian
having a little cry. they make as they go by”); after a personnel, equipment and even
A little more information was prod from the Information individual operations. You’re telling
forthcoming in a press release, Commissioner’s Office, the Home me disclosing the overall cost of a
which stated that Vivace provides Office eventually sputtered out a bunch of contractors is a bigger
something called the Accelerated response: information denied. It threat to national security than the
Capability Environment, “a Home couldn’t possibly tell me who the cost of the army?
Office capability within the Office members of Vivace are because more
than three quarters No, I’m not buying it, either. But
of them are SMEs or the only route open to me now is to
ItrhneefsAopHfrotmoenmrsaeteai:oOpinnrfffoCoidcorefmmrsomapmtuiisottstnheioderneeendrioe’sudOtfafice, sole traders and apply for an internal review – the
“many are not from Home Office marking its own
the defence or homework – before a further appeal
security domains”. to the Information Commissioner if
that bears no fruit.
This raises the
obvious question: In the meantime, if anyone wants
to tip me off about other Vivace
members, you know where to find
me. I’ll be in the corner, posing a
massive threat to national security.
[email protected]
22
Readers’comments
Your views and feedback from email and the web
Central cryptoheating renewable and nuclear energy, that this became the “proper” Office
The negative consensus which do not release stored 365 account into which I have to be
assessment of cryptocurrencies carbon. We could use permanently logged in. Through roles
in last month’s issue (see issue cryptominers as domestic at a number of companies I had other
324, p26) isn’t strong enough radiators. As long as we Office 365 accounts for email,
in my opinion. They are modulate the mining activity SharePoint and so on.
nearly useless as currencies using a thermostat we use no Microsoft doesn’t seem to have
because they do not have more electricity than a simple anticipated that multiple 365
sufficient transaction capacity electric heater. Admittedly, we accounts were going to be a thing.
and the value is too volatile. As could be greener still by using Work was an endless round of logging
assets, they are a pure Ponzi heat pumps, but these are very out and back in with different
scheme. Unlike gold, the energy capital intensive and not practical credentials. The climax came a few
consumption used to limit the supply for a majority of dwellings. JohnHind months ago when the credentials that
of cryptocoin is not recoverable. By ABOVE ReaderJohn allowed me to access email from one
contrast, the so-called “fiat Hind has a hearth- Brought to accounts account via the web mail client ceased
currencies” are backed by the warmingsidelinefor Your Windows 11 preview (see issue working with Outlook, and no
tax-raising powers of the cryptomining 323, p26) filled me with dread because amount of following the magical
governments that issue them. of a single comment: with Windows 11 spells suggested in various forums
The farmer who uses biomethane you will no longer have a choice about solved the problem.
to generate electricity for signing in with a Microsoft account, I thought retirement would make
cryptomining isn’t being green. He is rather than using a local account. the problem go away – I tried to
releasing just as much stored carbon I recently retired and breathed a remove all traces of work Office 365
into the atmosphere. Instead, he huge sigh of relief because I thought I accounts and return to a simple life of
could sell the electricity to the grid, was free from the mess that arises just me and my one Microsoft
thereby substituting fossil carbon. when you have multiple Office 365 account. Except now Microsoft Teams
On the other hand, it’s accounts. Working from home, my meetings don’t work. If I try to join a
increasingly green to switch from desktop had the Office suite installed meeting, it tells me that I haven’t
gas heating to electricity because an using a Microsoft Family subscription subscribed to Teams meetings and I
ever-increasing proportion of that dates back many years – should contact my admin or sign up
electricity is generated from somewhere along the way it seems for free access to Teams. Attempting
either of these processes sends you in
a circle of web pages ending back with
Starletter Teams launching and telling you
that… well, what I just said.
If Windows 11 insists that I use a
Microsoft account to log in then I’m
I’mnormallysomeonewholikestheverylatest groups:oneforOfficeapps,oneforphotography done here, and it’s Elementary Linux
version of Windows installed, so when the apps,oneforvideotools,oneformusictoolsandone and LibreOffice.PaulMoorhead
opportunity arose to try out Windows 11, I was for utilities. This is easy to achieve with Windows 10
happy to be a guinea pig. I have to say that the and works for me. It’s all very well pinning my most- Tragedy of errors
experiencewas,onthewhole,asmoothone.The usedappstotheWindows11Startmenu,butthat Barry Collins hit the nail on the head
newfontislovelytolookatandverycleartoread. meansthatwhenIwantalesser-usedprogram,I in his article lambasting cryptic error
Thenewsoundeffectsaresubtle.Thewallpapers oftenstruggletofindit. messages (see issue 323, p22). To his
are beautiful. There have been a large number of To give you an example, I like to store RAW observations I’d add a plea for user
improvementsinmanyareas,mostnotablythe imagesinaseparatedirectorytreetotheJPEG interface design that at least nods
Settings screen. imagesso,afterI’vedownloadedabatchofphotos,I towards helping us poor saps.
EverythingItriedjustworkedwithnoissues runRichCopytomovetheRAWimages.Onlywhenit Who hasn’t groaned in
whatsoever – in spite of the fact that my PC is cametimetodothis,Icouldn’trememberthename bewilderment at onscreen objects
runningaseventh-generationIntelCorei5and, ofRichCopyandittookseveralminutestoworkit which are greyed-out and
therefore, technically, not within the spec for out.BythatlogicIshouldbepinningtheleast-used unavailable? This could be fixed with
Windows11.Therewasjustoneflyintheointment: appstotheStartmenu! a mouse-over pop-up explaining the
the Start screen. The really annoying thing is that Microsoft is reason for unavailability and how to
Itriedtolikeit.Ipinnedmymost-usedprograms beingdictatorialaboutit.Forthefirstcoupleof fix it. Don’t get me started on the
toitandputupwiththefactthatI’dhavetosearch versionsyoucouldusearegistryhacktorevertto multi-fingered gestures on touch
forothersthatwereusedlessoften,butafterafew theWindows10menu,butthatoptionhasnowgone. devices: I’m told even the developers
weeksIdidsomethingI’veneverdonebefore:Iwent It’sallverywellforanOStobebeautiful,butithasto can’t recall all of these without
back to a previous version of Windows. befunctional.So,I’mafraidIwon’tbereinstalling writing a “cheat sheet”.PeterHinch
Ican’tthinkthatI’maveryexceptionaluser,but Windows11untileitherI’mgiventheoptiontoretain
thefactisthatIhavealotofprogramspinnedtomy myWindows10Startmenu,orsomethirdparty Email endurance
StartscreenandIhavethemnicelyarrangedinto givesmearealisticalternative.JohnWilliams We can all now easily switch bank
accounts and phone providers and so
on. This does not apply to an email
Our star letter writer wins their very own PC Pro mug to help them get through address, though, based on my recent
even the sternest IT challenge. For your chance to win, email [email protected] experience. For many years I’ve used
one email address for most things and
24
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Viewpoints
Readers’ poll 16indows11willbearrivingsoon–
e ourmainfeatureonp26for
advice on how to prepare
6– but will PC Pro’s
readers be
upgrading?
1%
dozens of companies, online services % 31%
and people have it. A shorter, more % I’veuWnpoginridnaotdewinnsgti1ot1on of
personalised domain name became I’lslooufopfnegrraeasddIe’imtas
available and I thought it would be a runoIn’nmsinmyagsyltrtemhemeaadbinyeta
good idea to switch my email address.
Isodownah’tsykuaisnreegymoeu?even
I knew it would take a bit of effort
to change over, so had a fully charged Windows11 46%
phone for any verification SMS codes
and put the kettle on. I’loltwhaeirbtsuaginrsdofnsireoseut.tIt’lhl leet
The problems began quickly MthaboiiwTInshwghvuashtieervetceHuaeeresthrevnonheoetaaa,twheidubsensttre:tn’eultosNie“OdvnotmIraVresgugtsuvae’reMlt,scnaeja,dbcohiiosealmauulrleabtyntrdtimhpbyteiitroytes.oldheiyel“nrvordalTii–e’otfrssttvha,eoo’oapsoesenaruknornoctndrfsoyllotuIieyeirtfto’morhwlreetWltnkosiaihahnneu?iwdbanengge”seevdredepttreehrdorotsuehtneowiWpownicrwmnsttweoiigeolnno8ultarsdrahdtrafiehsottaaaaneelfwctgtcdeoeeameelasir1m.undls0Ia1tote,tt0hl”.kio’o.ocsTawe“nkgouhntIssorinsteaecmw’ol.ssswaoD“tie.lavdWweiUsaretefMoeenhirlnrnylcediffalsn,d.aots”ardtkSorrhekim.wtt‘fprIoSuTfepuesmrnhcdrcia1oaenue1hegrttgsnls-eteeotn.uitl’gofGy,usepean,kpeatamtnshgdorotdeyiryeufnWaWwdrTWPtdeePiuChinoesrnMpyddo!eldd’owoo”ds1oaotw.esow2tikasneussnsigdl1,d’,t1
with having to navigate the cookie
options on every website. Nearly ‘bWWriaiInnitdnddoeoowrwe, slssink111e’0t, asb.5eus’eetsmrmoviotitcor’seebapeonafacoatk-rue dsaifyfserseonmte! thiTnognsylFigrhosttly
every online system had a different bMu10asE:udE:ga;voo7lelkoygradyoby)oao;ddXth;P(8Ce9::rh5gbr:voiagseodorMd;so;oidVoll;noi9syit8sa::bad;
procedure to change an email address Ryan Thomas
– some easy, some not. Some simply Jointhedebate
did not allow a change. I still receive csstiogimlInl cfipflaaliecnkta’yten.lrtyEebxaepllnlySoetsrfeeeivteres.saRStnoieycllhahfroacrnhdgiss
messages to my old email address,
even though I changed it and the new ifmtesaweMjolyfirceinuraoprgssgloorrfatydAhredaesasgimnanroDtdhtuiencnlolgoavpsetred Jfcaoocminembthoueonkgit.rcyooowmni/nFpgaccPpeCrboPorook at
one is shown on their system. I even reqIu’dirloevmeetnotsse; eevcerryysbtaoldcylear
had to deregister some hardware, G@upepdtcatphtreeoslabtyefsotlnloewwisnganuds
create a new account and add them
again to the new account. @ Epmcpariolu.csoa.utkletters@
The frustration grew when I SUBSCRIBE
received acknowledgements at my
old address stating the new login To subscribe to PC Pro, visit subscribe.pcpro.co.uk. For existing
information had been sent to the new subscriber queries, contact [email protected],
address but no such information had call 0845 126 0386 or visit subsinfo.co.uk
been received. In several cases, I also
had to send software registration
keys to prove I was an authorised user
before any changes could be made.
After several days, I’m still following
up on email responses.
Changing a main email address is
not for the faint hearted! GeorgeJopling
In the pay of the pub
Is Mr Honeyball in the pay of Sharp’s?
He mentioned Doom Bar twice in last
month’s “One Last Thing” (see issue
324, p130), the second time adding
“Doom Bar was excellent. As always.”
Considering that the his column was
giving an unnamed router
manufacturer and Microsoft each a
good slapping for being sloppy in
enforcing digital signatures, this
blatant piece of product placement
for beer was surprising. Why didn’t
the editor pick this up and at the very
least insist that either the router be
named and/or a caveat be added:
“Other excellent ales are also
available”? Maybe Jon’s next article
could be nice to Microsoft and review
some bad beers. There is a popular,
but ghastly, US imitation of an
excellent Czech beer that he could
start with. TonySquire
Editor-in-chief Tim Danton replies: Sadly
my own contract with a certain Cornish
brewer precludes me from mentioning any
other ales. Joking aside, I suspect that Jon
wishes that he was in the pay of Sharp’s…
WGinetdreoadwyfosr 11
Barry Col ins shows how to prepare your PC
forthefirstnewversionofWindows
infiveyears
N ew versions of Windows by worth upgrading this PC in
don’t come along all that clearing the first place?
often these days. Indeed, if space and The pull to have the latest
you’d taken Microsoft at its trimming the version of Windows is undeniably
word a few years ago, Windows 11 fat from your strong, especially if you’re already
should never have arrived at all. system to make the running Windows 10 and qualify for
upgrade as smooth and the free upgrade. Indeed, if you’re
But here we are, with a new fast as possible. We’ll also running Windows 10, you’re going to
version of Windows on the near reveal how to avoid the be nagged by Microsoft to upgrade at
horizon, with Windows 10 users set upgrade blockers that might some point.
to qualify for a free upgrade to the prevent you being offered However, there are strong reasons
new operating system. Before you hit Windows 11, even if your PC ticks all for staying put, especially if none of
that Upgrade button in Windows the system requirements. the new features are going to make a
Update, however, you should take fundamental difference to your day-
this once-in-a-computing- We’ll then run you through how to-day computing (see “What’s in
generation opportunity to get your to take a full system backup ahead of Windows 11 that’s not in 10?”).
PCs in order and ready to take full the upgrade, so that if anything does The best reason for staying put is
advantage of the new OS. go wrong during the process, you can not rocking the boat. We’ll come to
put your PC back to how it was. And, the minimum and somewhat
First, however, it’s worth finally, we’ll talk about when you can controversial requirements in the
considering if you should – or can – expect to see Windows 11 coming next section, but even if your PC does
upgrade to Windows 11. We’ll explore down the pipe. manage to tick those boxes, it doesn’t
the pros and cons of upgrading a necessarily mean you’re in for a
Windows 10 PC and dive into the uSphoguralddey?ou even smooth experience.
detailed system requirements to help There’s always the chance that
you work out whether your PC is Before we get our teeth into preparing something will go wrong during the
even up to the job. your PC for Windows 11, there’s a update process and you will end up
question you need to ask yourself: is it
We’ll walk through the process of
getting your PC ready for Windows 11
26
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Windows11
with a borked installation. Microsoft If your PC is on the cusp of the ABOVE Windows11 iWWtnhahi1n0tad’?tso’snwoinst 11
has got much better at smoothing the minimum hardware requirements, offers lots of new
Windows upgrade path in recent it’s an even harder judgement call. features, but you Here’s a list of features, correct at
years – it’s nothing like as hairy as it Development of Windows 10 is don’t need to rush the time of going to press, that you
was in the days of Windows 98 or XP effectively complete now. There will find in Windows 11, but not in
– but with gazillions of different might be a few new features added Windows 10.
combinations of hardware and here and there – such as the updated
software out there, there’s a genuine Microsoft Store – but you can be Support for Android apps
chance your PC will be one of those confident that if your PC is capable of Desktop widgets
that trips up. No OS update comes handling Windows 10 now, it will do Customisable desktops
without risks. so indefinitely. Snap Layouts and Snap Groups
(features that allow you to more easily
position multiple apps on a screen)
Better multi-monitor support
Auto HDR in games
Improved tablet controls and
software keyboard
Haptic feedback from pens (on new
hardware only)
27
OFFICIAL REQUIREMENTS HOW TO CHECK FOR THEM The same can’t be said if you move
A 1GHz or faster 64-bit processor, To check your current processor, open System Information up to Windows 11. As we saw with
with two or more cores. Full list of (search for it in Windows Search if you don’t know where it lives) Windows 10, the minimum hardware
compatible Intel and AMD processors and check the listing under the Processor section. Essentially, requirements creep up over time. If
at pcpro.link/325reqs you’re looking for an AMD Ryzen 3 or eighth-generation Intel Core your PC scrapes through the
processor or newer, with a few exceptions. Speculation is that minimum requirements now, it may
4GB of RAM Microsoft set the bar this high not because of performance worries, not in a year or two. Performance
64GB or larger hard disk/SSD but to avoid further problems with the unfixable Spectre and will also diminish as that bar keeps
UEFI/Secure Boot Meltdown vulnerabilities. We suspect Microsoft will lower the bar. being raised. If you don’t have plenty
TPM 2 As above, System Information will reveal how much “Installed of headroom in the hardware
Physical Memory (RAM)” your PC has. It would be brave to run requirements, it may be wiser to stick
DirectX 12 compatible graphics on a Windows 11 on a system with anything less than 8GB. with what you know works.
720p display that is greater than 9in In System Information, click Storage and then Disks to check the
size of your SSD/hard disk. Don’t even think about running Support for Windows 10 won’t
28 Windows 11 on only 64GB of storage. We’d say 256GB is the bare end anytime soon. Microsoft has
minimum, ideally 512GB or greater. guaranteed to support Windows 10
Back in System Information, click System Summary, and then with security updates through to
ensure BIOS Mode says “UEFI” and Secure Boot State doesn’t say 2025, and if past history is anything to
“unsupported”. go by, there’s every chance of that
To check if your system has a TPM 2 chip, open the Device Manager deadline being pushed back if there’s
(use Windows Search to find it). If you have a TPM, it will appear still a sizeable community of
under Security Devices. Check you have version 2. If you don’t see Windows 10 users when the cut-off
Security Devices, you don’t have one. Our bet is this requirement date is nearing.
will eventually be dropped.
To check if you have DirectX 12 compatible graphics, type “dxdiag” In other words, don’t feel
into the Start menu to run the DirectX Diagnostics Tool. Under compelled to take Windows 11 just
System Information in the System tab, you will hopefully see because you have been offered it.
DirectX 12. If not, your system is unlikely to make the cut. Weigh up the pros and cons carefully
before clicking that Update button.
sMyesetetimngrethqeuimreinmimenutms
It’s fair to say the Windows 11
minimum hardware requirements
have caused something of a stir. We
might even go as far as brouhaha.
In addition to raising the bar quite
significantly when it came to the
processor your PC will require to run
Windows 11, Microsoft announced
that Windows 11 users would also be
required to use a TPM 2 chip,
something that millions of Windows
10 PCs and laptops won’t have.
The fury sparked by Microsoft’s
stringent set of requirements seems
to have spooked Redmond. Not only
did it take down and then adjust the
PC Health Check tool that it
recommended people use to check if
their PC was Windows 11 compatible,
Microsoft also swiftly lowered the bar
– for beta testers, at least.
The first official beta would only
install on systems that met the stated
minimum requirements, “with the
exception for TPM 2 and CPU family/
model” – the two requirements that
caused the most controversy in the
first place.
Microsoft says that “by providing
preview builds to the diverse systems
in our Windows Insider Program,
we will learn how Windows 11
performs across CPU models more
comprehensively, informing any
adjustments we should make to our
minimum system requirements in
the future”.
All of which means, at the time of
writing, that we can’t be 100% sure
what the minimum requirements for
Windows 11 will be because Microsoft
is dithering.
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Windows11
Opposite, then, is a table of the helpful for weeding out massive TOP CCleanercan wipe away temporary files, which are
minimum requirements as they installers or videos you’ve got stashed help you get rid of often clogged with old installers or
stand, with our guide to how to away and no longer need. the buildup of other stuff that you’re never going to
check for them. digital cruft need. Again, just make sure nothing
The Duplicate Finder is obviously ABOVE Ifyou’ve critical is being flushed away.
WCleinadrionwgss1p1ace for helpful in reducing needless copies hit an update brick
of files. Just make sure to carefully wall, download the One final thing: CCleaner also has
Windows 11 in itself isn’t all that review the list of duplicates it finds, latest version of 10 a utility that checks all your drivers
big. The download of the beta was as there’s often a good reason you are up to date. You might want to run
less than 5GB and we’ve got it LEFT Checkthe that this side of the installation, so
running comfortably in a virtual have got specs list to see if that if something such as a display
machine that’s only 15GB in size. duplicates your machine can driver or Wi-Fi card has been updated
(for handle Windows 11 for Windows 11, you don’t clatter into
That said, an upgrade to a new example, it problems once Windows update has
OS is the ideal time for a clear out. picked up lots done its thing.
The fewer applications you need of documents
to transfer to Windows 11 that I have stored bRleomckoevrisng upgrade
(assuming you’re performing an locally and in a
in-place upgrade), the quicker the work Dropbox As we’ll come to later, there’s a
process will be and the likelihood share, neither of degree of uncertainty over when the
of something going wrong with which I would want Windows 11 upgrade will be offered
the upgrade is reduced. to discard). to Windows 10 users. But when it is
Thirdly, either ready to start flooding down the
It’s a similar story for files. the standard pipes, you want to make sure that
Although it shouldn’t cleaner tool or Windows Update isn’t standing in
theoretically make any difference Health Check the way.
to Windows 11 if your hard disk will offer to
has 100 or 100,000 photos stored
on it, the more data you have, the
longer it will take for the new OS
to index all those files in its
search, meaning it will take a
while for Windows 11 to get up to
maximum speed and utility. Take
the opportunity to start with the
cleanest possible slate.
You don’t need us to introduce
you to the Apps & Features
section of the Windows 10
settings menu, where you can
uninstall any apps you no longer
need. Remember, however, that
this menu lets you order
applications by both size and date
of installation, as well as name.
This can be handy for weeding
out whopping great apps that are
taking up disk space and those
apps that you installed sometime
in the distant past and have long
since abandoned.
If you need a little extra help with
the clear out, Piriform’s CCleaner
has several useful tools (the free
version is available to download from
ccleaner.com, but watch out for the
ironic attempt to bundle antivirus in
during the installation).
There are three
CCleaner tools that we
would particularly
recommend here.
The Disk Analyzer
works out what’s
taking up all the
space on your
hard disk and
then lists all
your files in
size order,
which is
29
Windows updates frequently get intact, but make sure you have done dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-
stuck, and if your Windows 10 that backup (see next section), just to image /Restorehealth
machine is not up-to-date then you’re be sure.
unlikely to be offered Windows 11. If This process may take a while, but can
you search for “Windows Update” in 2 Update drivers help to clear up persistent problems.
Windows 10 and open the Windows As mentioned above, outdated Whilst you’re at it, enter:
Update settings, you should be able to drivers can also prove to be an update
see if you’ve got the latest updates blocker. Driver updates are one of sfc /scannow
installed and if anything is stuck. those jobs that tend to be put off and
Here, then, with the help of our PC put off until you have a problem, so This will run a System File Check,
repair expert, Lee Grant, are the four it’s definitely worth checking that which is another tool on the lookout
ways to ensure nothing is getting in the key drivers for things such as for things that have gone wonky. And
the way of Windows 11. Make sure wireless chipsets and displays are finally give the Check Disk system a
you’ve got a full backup of your data bang up to date. go by typing:
before attempting any of these. Your PC manufacturer might
provide a utility that does the heavy Chkdsk /f/r
1 Force the updates through lifting for you here. Lenovo Vantage
If Windows Update has got stuck on or Dell Update are examples of such Once you have performed all these
an old version of Windows 10, you can tools. If not, the aforementioned tests, try running the Windows
try unblocking the pipes by visiting CCleaner will check if your drivers Update Troubleshooter again to see if
Microsoft’s Media Creation Toolkit have been updated since Theresa it finds any faults this time.
website (pcpro.link/325win10) and May stood down.
seeing if you can download the latest 4 Firmware flashing
edition of Windows 10 from there. 3 Check the update system
The final frequent blocker if
You can either save the files to a If you’re still having no joy, it might firmware. If your firmware is out of
suitably well-endowed USB stick, an be time to kick the tyres of the date then Windows might refuse to
external hard disk, or even just the Windows Update system itself and move on.
downloads of the computer that’s make sure nothing has gone awry Again, those utilities that came
stubbornly refusing to update. with that. with your PC will often check to see if
Let’s assume you’re going to use To do this, you’ll need to download your firmware (or BIOS) is up to date.
the current PC. Go to the link above the Windows Update Troubleshooter Follow the instructions from within
and select the “Download tool” now from pcpro.link/325trouble. Run the app.
option on the website. that application and select Windows Failing that, you can pay a visit to
Once the tool has downloaded, Update from the list of options in the your laptop or motherboard
click on it, accept the licence wizard. You’ll need to select the manufacturer’s website and see if
agreement and then select “Create option to run as administrator in the there is any updated firmware to
installation media”. Choose the menus that follow, but it will download. The installation process
correct language, edition and eventually scan your system and will differ from manufacturer to
architecture for your machine (the (fingers crossed) amend any issues it manufacturer, but you may need to
recommended ones should be fine) finds with the updater itself. create a USB installation stick. Again,
and then select “ISO file”. Select If you get no joy with that, it’s time follow the instructions on the
Finish when it’s complete (you don’t to crack open the command prompt manufacturer’s site.
need to burn a DVD in 2021). and try a few repair tools.
Now just double-click on the ISO Search for command prompt in Prepare a backup
and follow the instructions. During the Windows 10 Start menu, right- BELOW IfWindows It doesn’t matter how many millions
the process, the machine should click on it to “Run as administrator” Updateisn’tplaying of people test the betas or how “safe”
display a message to confirm that all and then type in the following line ball,openupthe the Windows 11 upgrade is according
user data and programs will be kept of code: commandprompt to some goon on Twitter, there’s
always the potential for an operating
system upgrade to go wrong. It’s
highly unlikely that anyone has
upgraded to Windows 11 with your
precise combination of hardware,
software and drivers, which means
there’s always a chance – however
slim – that your installation is going
to smack into a wall. And when it
does, you will be glad of a full system
backup to put everything back how
it was.
Before you start here, you’re going
to need an external USB drive that’s at
least equal in size to the data stored on
your main system drive.
Plug that (ideally empty) drive
into your Windows 10 PC and then
navigate to Settings | Update &
Security | Backup and then have a dry
chuckle to yourself as you navigate
down to the “Looking for an older
backup” section and click on “Go To
Backup and Restore (Windows 7)”.
30
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO Windows11
On the left-hand side of the
window that appears, click “Create a
system image”, select “On a hard
disk” and select the backup drive. As
you progress through the wizard,
you’ll be asked if there are any other
drives you wish to include in the
backup – take care to include both
“drives” if your main hard disk has
been partitioned, for example.
You’ll eventually reach a prompt
to start the backup. Don’t bother with
the prompt to create a system repair
disc, as that’s a carryover from the
optical drive era.
Windows will then get on with
creating the backup in the
background. You can carry on using
your PC in the meantime.
Restoring your PC
Should push come to shove and you
find you need to restore your PC after
a borked Windows 11 installation, the
process is pretty simple.
1 Connect the backup drive to a
switched off PC.
2 Fire up the PC.
3 You should hopefully see a USB
bootable drive prompt. If not, you
may need to dive into your UEFI/BIOS
settings and change the boot drive
order to put USB first. A quick Google
will reveal how to access the UEFI/
BIOS on your system.
4 On the Windows setup page,
choose the appropriate language and
so on.
5 On the next screen, don’t click upgrade to Windows 11, we’re sorry TOP Createafull was curiously reluctant to speak on
to say that you might have a wait on system backup just the record, which suggests that the
Install Now, but choose the “Repair your hands. in case the worst plans are fluid and subject to change.
Your Computer” link. comes to the worst Don’t be surprised if Microsoft gives
Microsoft has rather fudged the ABOVE Andensure PC manufacturers a brief window of
6 Click the Troubleshoot option on news of when Windows 11 will be that you’ve got a big opportunity to sell Windows 11 PCs
offered as an in-place upgrade. The USB drive to hand before the operating system is
the next screen. OS will arrive on new PCs from this before you start available for upgrade.
autumn and in-place upgrades are
7 On the System Image Recovery traditionally offered at the same In the meantime there is, of
time, but it seems the plan might be course, the beta, which you can sign
screen that appears next, you should different this time around. up for (again, at the time of writing)
hopefully see Windows 10. On the by joining Microsoft’s Windows
next screen, choose the “Latest At the time of writing, an FAQ on Insider Program, which you can do
available system image”. Microsoft’s Windows 11 website said via the Windows Update settings in
that “the upgrade rollout plan is still Windows 10.
8 Check the next couple of screens being finalised, but for most devices
already in use today, we expect it to We strongly recommend that you
carefully to make sure you are be ready sometime in early 2022”. don’t install a beta operating system
restoring to the correct drives and on an everyday system that you need
click Finish when you’re ready. The “Not all Windows 10 PCs that are for work or even home use. The beta
process might take a good while, eligible to upgrade to Windows 11 will is still wobbly, prone to crash and is
depending on the amount of data be offered to upgrade at the same largely unsupported, as all beta
being recovered, but when it’s done, time,” Microsoft adds, which is fairly software is. However, if you have a
it should reboot and then finish normal – upgrading tens of millions spare Windows 10 PC lying around
the restoration. Your Windows 10 of PCs simultaneously would cause an or are comfortable with installing
PC will hopefully be returned to a enormous, unsustainable rush on operating systems in virtual
working state. Microsoft’s servers. machines, you can find out what all
the fuss is about.
Warrhiveen?will the upgrade We asked Microsoft to confirm the
upgrade timeline, but the company
If, having read this feature, you’re
now itching to get going with an
31
BTEHHSTEINOTDRRYTUHEE
CPOEMRSPOUNTAELR
Theindustry-creatingIBMPersonalComputer5150turns40inOctober.
Tomarktheoccasion,TimDantonrevealsthestoryofitsbirth–and
destroysonelong-runningmythintheprocess
32
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO IBMPC
N o one would have Atari, the potential partnership was ABOVE Fromleft This was a radical departure for
believed in the last instigated by Bill Lowe. “We had two toright,Frank IBM. “The key decisions were to go
years of the meetings actually, one in my office Cary,BillLoweand with an open architecture, non-IBM
nineteenth century and another at my apartment in San RayKassar technology, non-IBM software,
that this world was Francisco with IBM,” said Kassar, non-IBM sales, and non-IBM service,”
being watched keenly and closely by quoted in the book Atari Inc: Business said Lowe, “and we probably spent a
intelligences greater than man’s and is Fun. But the discussions never got full half of the presentation carrying
yet as mortal as his own; that as far, likely due to Atari’s proprietary the corporate management committee
men busied themselves about their design and the fact its computers into this concept because this was a
various concerns they were could only output 40 columns. new concept for IBM at the time.”
scrutinised and studied, perhaps In truth, Lowe didn’t need a memo
almost as narrowly as a man with a from Atari to tell him that IBM should In particular, the only proprietary
microscope might scrutinise the be building a new computer; it was chip on the motherboard contained
transient creatures that swarm and something he had been convinced of the BIOS (basic input/output system).
multiply in a drop of water.” for years. Why had IBM resisted? As While that gave IBM some protection
So begins The War Of The Worlds Lowe would reflect in 2007 (pcpro. against copycats, it was hardly
by HG Wells, and while some IBM link/325lowe), IBM in the late 1970s Fort Knox. Even by 1980 it was well
executives of the late 1970s may have was in defence mode, “fighting the established that other companies
taken offence at this comparison – Justice Department in the US and could legitimately reverse-engineer
the world being watched was the fighting legal battles overseas” to a BIOS – crack that and anyone in
explosive growth of personal protect its hardware and software the world could build a computer
computers, the eyes behind the designs and make sure no rival could that was 100% compatible with any
microscope belonging to IBM – there service its products. software that ran on the IBM PC. A
is a ring of truth to this parallel. The But Lowe wasn’t done yet. In the platform was born.
main difference was that the template 1996 documentary Triumph of the
of the PC, as established by IBM, Nerds, he recalled his subsequent Famously, the other key decision
would outlast all of the “transient conversation with the IBM chairman. was to use “non-IBM software”. In
creatures” other than Apple. “He kind of said well, what should we August 1980, the month in which the
There was one other crucial do, and I said, we think we know IBM board officially signed off on the
difference: those creatures knew what we would like to do if we were project, it was unclear who would be
they were being watched. Everyone going to proceed with our own providing this software, but Microsoft
in the nascent microcomputer product. And he said no. At IBM it was already the frontrunner. Jack
industry knew it was a matter of would take four years and 300 people Sams was the engineer in charge of
time before IBM would make the leap to do anything, it’s just a fact of life, software development for the IBM
from building mainframes and and I said no sir, we can provide you prototype and had plenty of
minicomputers to PCs. The only a product in a year. And he abruptly experience working in BASIC: he had
question was when. ended the meeting and said, you’re spent months wrestling with the
One popular story goes that the on, Lowe, come back in two weeks language in an attempt to get it
IBM Personal Computer was kicked and tell me what you need.” working on a minicomputer (the IBM
into action in mid-1980 when Atari System/23 Datamaster), delaying the
sent a letter to IBM’s then chairman, Birth of the PC project by a year in the process, and
Frank Cary, suggesting that it could What Lowe needed, it transpired, had no desire to repeat the same
make IBM’s PCs. Rather than fling the was a team of 12 young, dedicated mistakes this time around.
invitation into the bin, so the stories engineers who would work flat out
go, Cary passed it on to Bill Lowe. for the next year. “We were selected By all reports, Sams liked the cut
Now dubbed “The father of the IBM to go work on a top-secret project,” of young Bill Gates’s jib. And it’s
PC”, at that time Lowe was IBM’s said Patty McHugh, a senior associate worth emphasising the “young”.
director of entry systems. engineer on the team who designed While Gates was 24 by this time, he
Contemporary accounts suggest the motherboard. “Our mission was still had the physique and face of an
this is, at best, a blurring of facts. to get a product into the market in a adolescent, meaning Sams initially
According to Ray Kassar, then CEO of year using off-the-shelf components.” assumed that Gates was the office boy
when they met for the first time. But
by the end of their second meeting, he
was convinced by the young man’s
JwtahhcaektnBSaitlhmleGsyaimtneiesttiwafolalrystathhseesfuoirmfsfitectdeimboey
33
brains and professional manner; agreement that one Digital operating
Microsoft was a company that IBM Research would later describe, system called QDOS – the Q and
could do business with. euphemistically, as “unidirectional”, D standing for quick and dirty – he
To Sams’s disappointment, she called in the company lawyer. realised he could provide what IBM
though, Microsoft couldn’t provide While Sams initially stated that he wanted without paying Kildall a
the CP/M operating system that a never met Gary Kildall, it now seems penny for licensing. He also realised
business computer would surely certain that the Digital Research ABOVE DidGary that the company that owned the IBM
need. For this, Gates told him, he founder returned from his business Kildallreallygo PC’s operating system would have
would need to meet with Gary Kildall trip to Oakland (having flown there; flyingratherthan immense power; how much better for
of Digital Research. Gates and Kildall that much appears true) and, after meetwithIBM? that power to be in Microsoft’s hands
had been working together for some some deliberation, signed the than, say, Seattle Computer Products,
time – they even discussed merging agreement. Things didn’t go any more creators of QDOS.
their two companies – so Gates had no smoothly from this point on, though,
hesitation in picking up the phone to with IBM’s stance being that it It helped that Microsoft and
Kildall and arranging a meeting on wanted to buy the rights to CP/M Seattle Computer Products already
IBM’s behalf. Days later, Sams, along outright for $250,000. Kildall said no; had a business relationship. Its most
with a couple of other IBM executives, he wanted to keep to the $10 per important programmer, Tim
flew up to meet Kildall in Pacific licence agreement he had elsewhere. Paterson, had helped Microsoft
Court, California. Whatever the truth of that day, develop an add-in card for the Apple
we know that Sams was not II that would run CP/M. It was
tFolytihnegtcrulothse impressed by Digital Research. He Paterson who created QDOS for
wanted to deal with Microsoft, and Intel’s new 16-bit 8086 processor,
Sams’s meeting – or non-meeting – the businessman in Gates sniffed an which Seattle Computer Products
with Kildall is the stuff of Silicon opportunity greater than his loyalty would soon rename 86-DOS.
Valley legend. Famously, Bill Gates and friendship to Kildall. Although
allegedly described it as the day “friendship” may be overstating it: But there were a couple of
“Gary went flying”, leading to the Kildall would write in an unpublished problems. First, QDOS was heavily
apocryphal idea that Kildall spent his manuscript (pcpro.link/325kildall): based on CP/M; although Paterson
day piloting his private plane for “Our conversations were friendly, didn’t have access to the Digital
pleasure rather than meet with IBM. but, for some reason, I have always Research code, there was publicly
There are some things we know felt uneasy around Bill. I always kept available documentation that allowed
for sure. Kildall wasn’t there at the one hand on my wallet, and the other him to effectively mimic its way of
start of the meeting, with his wife on my program listings.” working. Second, in August 1980,
Dorothy greeting the IBM contingent; QDOS remained rough and ready,
this makes sense as she handled the Development of DOS although it did include some
company’s business dealings. When Those instincts were probably improvements on CP/M. And third, it
IBM handed over a non- disclosure correct. When Gates heard about an was owned by Seattle Computer
Products: Gates wanted Microsoft to
own all the software rights.
tWwhahesyettnhhdeebIBeMginconminpguotfer have new blockbuster machines, you just upgrade the old ones. And
in fact, out of Hong Kong at the time, there was a continuous stream
For veteran Guardian journalist Jack Schofield – sadly no longer with of improvements via plug-in cards and add-ons that gradually got
us – the end was written in plain letters once IBM created the incorporated into the build, as it were. And this strategy of continuous
Personal Computer. It highlighted a flaw in the business plan of every improvement meant you could run the same software, because,
single computer maker of the 1980s: to keep going as a company, you you know, companies were willing to support software for a
needed to have hit after hit after hit. successful machine.”
“Commodore had a hit with the VIC-20, and then a bigger hit with a The IBM PC was also a sign of an industry growing up. “When we
Commodore 64,” he said in late 2019. “And after that it was bust. So I started out, there was kind of a novelty in owning a computer,”
predicted that all of these companies would go bust because they recalled Schofield, “and you were expected to write your own little
couldn’t hit a winner every single time. They might get one, they might programs. But once games became established, the computer
get two, they might even get three in a row. But ultimately, they were became just a vehicle for running software. So if you didn’t have
all doomed because they couldn’t get ten in a row.” software, you didn’t have a computer that was worth anything. And
you didn’t have software unless the software houses believed in the
What’s more, companies didn’t help themselves by their lack of future of your machine.”
backwards compatibility. “The logical inference at the time was
that the IBM PC was going to sweep the world, because you didn’t This was particularly bad news for the British computer
manufacturers if they insisted on creating proprietary systems. “All of
the British machines seemed to me to be doomed because they had no
future development prospects.”
34
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO IBMPC
oTthhpeeemrtaeotaetmhine’srasehvxeiipsrtyaenlnloocnwe-aeIBdwMtahywefmraoymto
Despite these hurdles, Gates and As history – and Microsoft’s share promoted. The team’s existence,
the newly hired Steve Ballmer felt price – reveals, not only was Bill well away from the IBM mothership,
enough confidence in the operating Gates’s prediction right, but IBM said allowed them to operate in a very
system – and their ability to acquire it yes. It helped that there was a personal non-IBM way: there was no big
– that they could act. They flew out connection: Bill’s mother, Mary, had corporation clock-on, clock-off
to Boca Raton, home of IBM’s new PC served on the board of directors of mentality here, with engineer Mark
division, and pitched for a deal that charity United Way, as had incoming Dean describing the team as a
would make both of them billionaires. IBM chairman John Opel. “Oh, is that “tight-knit family”. “We would
The most important element was Mary Gates’s boy’s company?” Opel celebrate together and eat together,”
ownership. Microsoft would own the reportedly asked when he heard of he said in the IBM Centennial Film:
DOS to run the IBM personal Microsoft’s involvement. The deal They Were There. “I don’t think
computer (at that point called Project was signed in November 1980. that any of us slept together but we
Acorn, with no one involved aware There was still much to do. First, would do just about everything else
of the fledgling British company’s Microsoft had to acquire QDOS. With together. We would be at work late.
existence) but license it to IBM for a Seattle Computer Products struggling We trusted each other.”
financially, the The hard work paid off, with Patty
$50,000 Microsoft LEFT Bythetime McHugh stating that the team shipped
offered was too CP/MforthePC the first prototype to Microsoft by
tempting to resist arrived,MS-DOS Thanksgiving (27 November in 1980).
(needless to say, heldalltheaces With Estridge and Gates in constant
Paul Allen, who correspondence, using an early form
negotiated the of email and meeting in person, the
deal, mentioned fast pace of development continued.
nothing of IBM). Nor did the rush mean poor
QDOS creator quality. If anything, the IBM
Paterson would computer was the most thought-
soon join through microcomputer design yet
Microsoft to seen, with an attention to detail and
further develop reliability that lesser companies
the code, which simply couldn’t match. For instance,
needed urgent this was the first microcomputer to
one-off fee. IBM would not be able to attention: according to Gates, even run a series of hardware tests (POST)
create its own version of the DOS, on the date he signed the agreement during its boot-up sequence; it meant
with any amendments needing to go it was apparent that they were three it took longer to start, but better for a
through Microsoft. Most crucially of months behind schedule. For the next slight delay at the start of the day than
all, this wasn’t an exclusive deal: nine months, he would drive his team a hardware error to cause a crash
Microsoft could also license the of around 40 programmers to the edge during a crucial calculation.
operating system to any other with countless all-night sessions to This was also the first
companies that came along. meet IBM’s deadlines. microcomputer to include a parity
“The key to the structure of our BELOW MarkDean bit in the memory, which meant the
deal was that IBM had no control over Dirty dozen wasoneofthe12 hardware could detect corrupted
our licensing to other people. The Meanwhile, in Boca Rotan, IBM’s IBMengineerswho memory before it caused potentially
lesson of the computer industry in team of 12 engineers were putting in madethehardware fatal errors in processing. According
mainframes was that over time people similar shifts
build compatible machines or clones under the
or whatever term you want to use,” leadership of Don
said Bill Gates in Triumph of the Estridge, who
Nerds. “And so we were hoping that a had taken over
lot of other people would come along the project after
and do compatible machines.” Lowe had been
35
IBMPC @PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO
wdIBeiMtshpsdepreeamntetaltnyhdternyienxgt ttwo coaytecahrusp
to Estridge, IBM even paid attention After Kildall threatened to sue market research firm Dataquest, it
to the contrast between the screen IBM due to the similarity of PC-DOS sold 156,000 computers in 1982. It’s
and the monitor’s bezel to reduce eye to CP/M, the companies agreed that BELOW Apple easy to argue that this success
fatigue. The end result was a solid users could buy the Personal cheekily welcomed brought credibility to computers for
computer that businesses could trust. Computer with a version of CP/M the arrival of the the first time; a credibility enhanced
(called CP/M-86). This IBM PC with this ad yet further when Time put “The
Launch day arrived on the market six
Was it exciting? To those in the know, months after the computer Computer” on the cover
yes. The day after IBM announced release, but it was doomed of its traditional “Man
what it called the IBM Personal from the start. For one, of the Year” issue in
Computer 5150 and everyone else it cost $240, six times the January 1983.
called the IBM PC, The New York price of PC-DOS. More
Times quoted Christopher Morgan, crucially still, by this time PC Pro’s own Dick
editor-in-chief of Byte magazine, as there was a flourishing Pountain was one of the
saying, “it’s one of the most important market of software written first in the UK to buy an
announcements we’ve seen in the for PC-DOS. Even at launch, IBM Personal Computer.
industry”. Michael McConnell, you could buy popular “I knew it was going to be
executive vice president of retailer spreadsheet VisiCalc, it,” he said. “At this point
ComputerLand, made this prescient EasyWriter, and a number I’d had an Apple IIe at
point in the same article: “People will of accounting packages. home, on loan, and didn’t
now know that personal computers For a bit of fun, you
are not a fad or a flash in the pan.” could play Microsoft it at all. I didn’t like
Apple, which shipped almost Adventure too. of the word processors
80,000 computers in the US in 1980, Incredibly for IBM, the Apple and I didn’t
was a little more sniffy. In reaction to a company famous ike the screen. When I saw
the IBM Personal Computer, it took for taking years to create hat MS-DOS was more or
out a full-page ad in the The Wall new products, the first s CP/M, and I knew what
Street Journal with the headline, IBM Personal Computers started IBM name was going to
“Welcome, IBM. Seriously.” shipping in October 1981. That’s 14 or the software base of
Tandy, which dominated the US months after it received the green I just thought, that’s the
microcomputer market in 1980 with light from the board. It also chose to way to go. And it was.”
sales of almost 300,000 TRS-80 sell the computers through retail IBM’s honeymoon period would
computers, appeared just as relaxed. stores such as ComputerLand and continue for several years to come,
“I’m relieved that whatever they were Sears. IBM even created a series of but it’s notable that within a year
going to do, they finally did it,” said ads aimed at consumers – the first Compaq released a computer that
the firm’s chief of financial planning, time in its 70-year life that IBM had was 100% compatible with the IBM
Garland Asher, in The New York communicated to anyone other than Personal Computer. That meant that
Times. You can almost hear the sneer businesses – featuring Charlie any software that ran on the IBM
in his voice as he continued: “I’m Chaplin’s The Tramp character. would run on Compaq’s machine.
certainly relieved at the pricing. They And, shortly afterwards, those of
haven’t introduced anything that’s Modest beginnings Dell, Gateway, HP and Packard Bell.
going to rewrite the ground rules.” While sales were initially modest As luck would have it, a company
The IBM Personal Computer cost a compared to the likes of Apple and called Microsoft, run by a beaming
man-child, was more than happy to
sell you the software to make it run.
similar amount to the Apple III. At Tandy – 13,000 units by the end of This article is an extract from The Computers That
launch, you could buy an IBM PC 5150 1981 – this was due to production Made Britain, written by PC Pro editor Tim Danton,
with 16KB of RAM, keyboard, and limits rather than a lack of demand. which was published in May
monochrome monitor for $1,565. That Byte reported that 40,000 were 2021. This 300-page
price included BASIC, but you were ordered on the day the 5150 was hardback book tells the
expected to buy PC-DOS – IBM’s announced, and IBM spent the next story of 19 computers that
licensed version of Microsoft’s DOS – two years desperately trying to catch inspired a generation,
for $40. up with demand. According to including the Commodore
64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad
CPC 464, Dragon 32 and
Commodore Amiga. You
can order it for £12 from
pcpro.link/325britain.
36
ATHOONWTYRTAHCIK
Whetheryou’velostyourphone,yourlaptop
oryourpets,technologycanfindoutwheretheyare.
NikRawlinsongoesinsearchoftrackingsolutions
38
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO r co
t’s easy to misplace your phone. If you’re
Or your wireless earbuds. Or Apple device th
your laptop. Sometimes they the browser, log
I will be in the house or the office, icloud.com/find
which isn’t too problematic. don’t want to see up geofenc
Other times they’ll be in the back of a comprehensive o m ves into or
taxi, on the train or in a burglar’s displaying not If our device is sto
swag bag. That’s when things start iPhones and iPad to ather evidence,
getting tricky. Watches, AirPods, co nection details, s
Luckily, so many of the devices we AirTags, Beat tures from the
use every day have wireless features and Macs, click l
that they’re becoming much easier Devices at the top Tracking with Dropbox
to track. Even if they don’t have the screen and select h If, for any reason,
chops to maintain a network device you want to find. trouble tracking your computer using
connection themselves, stickers and On an iPad or Microsoft’s and Apple’s own tools, or
dongles from the likes of Tile make iPhone, you can they’re not enabled, but you are
adding such features trivial. achieve the same using syncing to Dropbox, you can check
In this feature, we’ll walk through the Find My app, which where your device last synced from.
your options for tracking not only is an integral part of Log in to your Dropbox account, click
computers and phones, but everyday iPadOS and iOS. your account icon at the top of the
items such as your car, bike, family screen, then Settings, followed by
member – or even your pet. In many TRACK YOUR COMPUTER Security. Scroll down to your missing
cases you’ll already have everything ABOVE Apple’sFind device in the Devices section, and
you need to get started. Where not, Microsoft has built tracking features Myappcanlocatea hover over the “I” to the right. This
there are often inexpensive and even into Windows 10, where they’re tied widerangeofthe will reveal the IP address it was using.
free options you can try. to your Microsoft account. It works company’sdevices Paste this into the search box at
for PCs, laptops, Surface devices and iplocation.net to query a selection of
OTRRAPCHKOYNOEUR TABLET Surface pens, but needs to be enabled publicly available IP reverse lookup
before you first use it. services. Some are more accurate
than others, but we managed to find
Press Windows+I to open Settings,
To enable tracking on your Android then click “Update & Security”
device, open Settings and tap followed by “Find my device”. Make
Security, followed by Find My Device. sure “Find my device” is set to on. If
Make sure the switch at the top of the it isn’t, click Change.
next screen is set to On. On an iPhone Once enabled, you can track your
or iPad, open Settings and tap your device by pointing a browser at
name at the top of the screen, followed account.microsoft.com/devices and
by Find My, then Find My iPhone or signing in with the same account you
Find My iPad. Turn on the Find My use to manage the lost device. Scroll
option on the following screen. down to the device you want to track,
With tracking enabled, you can then click “Find my device”.
find your lost device using the web or If you’re a Mac user, you can track
an app. your computer in the browser and
If you logged into your Google app-based Find My tools by following
account through a browser, and Find the steps we outlined above. Again,
My Device is enabled on your Android you can find it through the browser or ABOVE Windows an exact match for the location from
phone or tablet, search for “Find my the Find My apps for iOS and iPadOS. 10letsyoutracka which we were working this way.
phone” in Google, and the results will It will only work if you have Location lostcomputervia
include a panel showing a map and Services enabled on your Mac. You abrowser
the location of any devices it’s found. can check by launching System TRACK A THING
For a more comprehensive view Preferences and clicking “Security & For devices that don’t have their
of your devices, click through to Privacy”, followed by Privacy. Click own network connections – think
google.com/android/find to check on Location Services, then select Enable wallets, keys, cats and dogs – you’ll
the various phones and tablets tied to Location Services. Now return to the need to use a dedicated tracking tag.
your account, plus Google Pixel Buds. System Preferences home pane and (Vets recommend that pets should
You can also lock and click Apple ID. also be microchipped to improve your
sign out of an Click iCloud in chances of a happy homecoming
Android device, play the sidebar and should they go missing.) Tile has
a sound (to help you then tick the long been one of the most recognised
find it), or erase it if checkbox beside names, but it’s far from the only
there’s little Find My Mac. player here, with Samsung (via its
likelihood of its If you’re Galaxy SmartTag), Chipolo, Vodafone
recovery. running Linux, and lately Apple all trying to eat into
If you prefer to you’ll need to use its market.
use an app to track a third-party In most cases, trackers rely on
your lost Android service such as being within range of a Bluetooth
device, install Find Prey (preyproject. connection and a phone or tablet
My Device from com), which has running their companion apps. As
Google Play (pcpro. clients for Ubuntu LEFT BothAndroid the apps are continually searching
link/325androidfind) and a personal andiOS/iPadOS for the nearest compatible tag, and
and log in with your plan for tracking havetracking updating a central database, it pays to
Google Account. up to three devices featuresbuiltin buy into a platform with plenty of
39
users: this increases the likelihood of Using Tile ABOVE Tilesells as we outlined above, but this won’t
your lost keys being spotted by a If you don’t want to pay an ongoing stickersthatyou work if the laptop’s offline. As Hodges
passing device with the associated tag fee, Tile tags (uk.tile.com) start at canattachto explained: “With Tile built into the
scanning app installed. around £19 and there’s no charge laptopsandmore chassis of the laptop and running off
Most trackers are designed to be for the core device-locating service. the laptop’s battery, Tile tracking and
attached to a device using a sticker or You can optionally upgrade to the ringing will work even when the
keyring, but there’s no reason why paid Premium tier, which unlocks laptop is turned off. Windows/
you couldn’t hide one in, say, the smart alerts, sharing, 30-day location Microsoft alone cannot do this.”
glove box of your car. If the vehicle is history and free replacement
stolen, there’s a good chance someone batteries. Tile claims that its system Using Apple AirTag
running the companion app will pass finds six million items every day in
it with their phone, and alert you to 195 countries and that 90% of items Apple is a recent entrant to this
its location (who knows – even the marked as lost are found. market, but by biding its time it’s
thief may be running it, and in doing Tile doesn’t only produce tags, but managed to come up with something
so will feed you live updates as they stickers (which you could put on a special. AirTag looks considerably
drive off). remote control, for example, so it more expensive than rivals, but is
makes a noise when you lose it behind broadly comparable, at £29 for a
GPS and GSM tracking your cushions) and a Slim device, single disc and £99 for four. Note,
One exception to this “more users which is as thick as two credit cards though, that it’s literally a disc: there
the better” rule is Vodafone Curve and designed to be placed in a wallet is no keyring, nor any hole to attach
(pcpro.link/325curve), which costs or purse. one. Straps and holders start at
£20 upfront and is tied to a £2-per- The technology that underpins it is around £12 and go up to £399 for a
month contract if you sign up for two also being integrated with third-party compatible Hermes Luggage Tag.
years (£3 per month if you sign up for products. The Fitbit Inspire 2 activity
one). This makes it more versatile: as tracker and a range of HP Dragonfly BELOW Tile’s Nifty tech inside its shell means
well as Bluetooth, it allows tracking laptops have Tile built in. We asked trackerscanbe anyone with an iPhone 11 or later can
via Wi-Fi and cellular data HP why it had opted to integrate Tile spottedbyappson use Precision Finding. This not only
connections, so the number of fellow when we can all use a Tile sticker, millionsofphones tells you if you’re in the vicinity of
t w ch s waterproo your missing possession, but how far
to a d has a two-year away it is and in which direction. If
b ttery, to ck you’re using an older device, you can
e is r gular still track it using the Find My app.
r land
By default, only you can find a
vie missing device attached to one of your
i own AirTags; however, if you put the
AirTag into lost mode then it will be
mu exposed to all compatible devices on
You can f Apple’s network (although their users
th won’t know). Should someone find it
by chance, they can tap it to an NFC-
40 enabled smartphone, and it will,
optionally, deliver up your contact
details so they can return it.
To set up an AirTag, you’ll need to
be running iOS 14.5 or iPadOS 14.5
(sorry Android users) and have
two-factor authentication active. If
you’re not using two-factor
authentication, open Settings, then
tap your name, o o ed by
Passwords & Security. Tap “Turn On
Two-Factor Authenti ation”,
followed Continue, then enter the
phone nu r you w nt to use to
r ceive ver ication c des. Tap Next,
then e ter the verific tion code you
will be sent.
Hold t e AirTag cl se to your
iPhone i d or iPod ouch and tap
onnect o the dialog that appears on
the phone screen. Give the AirTag a
name and tap Contin e to register the
AirTag to your Apple ID.
The next ti ose the device
s connected,
hone, iPad or in
rrent or last
e shown.
TTRRAACNKSPYOORUTR
t rs are designed
frequent targets
o
is o
ch
TRACK A PERSON
en (
fit
of
ca li
pr
ca
The key with many trackers is to make sure
an you charge them regularly or, in the case
or of a tracking tag, replace their batteries
e a m e ant s on, s c m m er d
as t na atch individual d reports ted
bec (kidsn . has a a er and 30 a s a ion tory.
from t tracking e at s ocation , plans i attery
sure you reports to a pa n ’ a . It use mo can e a family
constant to connect, which a t member a to switch
battery doesn make and receive calls, off, an ers to remind
(as we’ve learned button allowing children to con o pl .
cost). If possible, get their parents in an emergency, even if
professionally fitted so they don’t know their phone number. BELOW AVodafone MTriaccrokisnogftaFcahmilidlywSiathfety
located out of view. As with There are six models to choose from, Curve is just one
trackers, leaving it on display m which come in a variety of case way to track your You n also use Microsoft Family
it’s easy to target – and disable. designs and colours. child’s movements afety if your child has an iPhone or
Android device to track the location
The £45 Streetwize GPS tracker Tracking via an app of their phone. It requires the Family
(pcpro.link/325wize) is one such Safety app for iOS (pcpro.link/
device. It can run off an internal If your child is old enoug ave 325micapp) or Android (pcpro.link/
battery or the vehicle battery if you their own phone, Apple’s Find My 325micgoo), and that each child is set
choose to install it permanently and, app, which is built into iOS, makes up with their own account, tied to a
once installed, connects to the outside tracking them easy – but it doesn’t parent’s Microsoft account, via
world using a pay-as-you-go SIM. work across multi-ecosystem homes, account.microsoft.com/family.
Send this a text and it will respond as it’s not available on Android.
with its location, correct to the Once set up, parents can add funds
nearest 10m. However, Google’s alternative, to the child’s account to pay for apps,
Family Link, works on both Android monitor their screen time, apply
Our sister title, Auto Express, (pcpro.link/325goofam) and iOS blocks and, crucially, track their
published a full roundup of vehicle (pcpro.link/325appfam) and allows movements on a map.
trackers in June 2021, which you’ll parents to set screen time limits,
find at pcpro.link/325auto.
Tusraincgknyaotuivrepatorkoelsd car
If you don’t want to track your car full
time, but frequently forget where
you’ve parked it, iPhone users with a
CarPlay-enabled vehicle or Bluetooth
connection can use the iOS Maps
app’s built-in parking tracking
function. When you disconnect from
either Bluetooth or CarPlay, the
phone will make a note of its current
location. When you want to return to
the car later, open Maps, tap in the
search box and select Parked Car
from the options.
To do the same on an Android
device, open Maps when you arrive
at your destination and tap the blue
dot that shows your current location,
followed by “Save your parking” on
the next screen. When you need to
get back to your car, open Maps again
41
PneCveIthrEiknXngePswyRoaEubSouSt
To most of us, PCI Express just means that big old slot where
your graphics card sits. DarienGraham-Smith discovers that
this ingenious interconnect has hidden depths
42
@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO PCIExpress
1 POENCFIODEURXGIPNHRKTESOSBSUISYOALRDOUND
We may think of PCI Express as a
modern standard, but it was first
introduced way back in 2002. To put
into context just how long ago that
was, the cross-industry group that
developed it included Compaq and a
company that still went by the full
name of Hewlett-Packard, as well as
Dell, IBM, Intel and Microsoft.
The tech was originally called
3GIO, short for “third-generation
I/O”. That reflects its role as a
successor to the venerable PCI bus
and its short-lived follow-up PCI-X.
But while the name emphasises its
heritage, PCI Express works in a
fundamentally different way to its
predecessors. Those older interfaces
used parallel data transfer, while PCI
Express switched to a serial approach. computer from 15 years ago, and it cards or hard disk
The reason is simple: while a serial will work without a murmur – controllers. If your
connection might not transfer so although the slower slot will motherboard doesn’t
many bits per cycle as a parallel one, it prevent it from operating at the have the right slot,
through a similar transition at around you can just use a
this time, moving from the parallel larger one. Indeed,
IDE standard to Serial ATA, or SATA some motherboards
offer open-ended slots,
3for short). With its new architecture, allowing you to insert
can often reliably run at much higher full speed it’s capable of. (say) an x8 card into an
frequencies (hard disks were going
MSWLOIOTSTHTSLSIYPZEEECDO…RRWEELALLT,ES
the PCI Express 1.0 interface was able Almost all motherboards offer a x4 slot. This too will work, but
to support bidirectional data transfers mixture of long and short PCI-E the limited bandwidth could
at up to 4GB/sec, around four times as slots. A full-length 89mm slot TOP PCIExpress cause operational issues.
2fast as the PCI-X hardware that was can support the fastest data slots come in a There’s one other potential catch
common at the time. rates, by aggregating together 16 range of different here. Rather than offering slots in the
PPGHCENIEENEXROPAMRTEEINOSASNLHCCAORMSOPSAST-IBILITY “data lanes” using 82 electrical sizes and speeds x4 and x8 formats, motherboard
contacts between the card and socket. ABOVE Ahumblex1 manufacturers sometimes provide
The shortest 25mm slots are identical card can slot into x16-sized slots that only support x4
from a software point of view, but the smallest socket or x8 connections. If you suspect a
have only 18 contacts and support graphics card or other device isn’t
That first PCI Express interface was a only a single data lane. These are –oranylargerone running as smoothly as it should,
big hit, quickly supplanting PCI-X in referred to as PCI-E x1 connectors, investigate whether that PCI-E slot is
both consumer and server hardware. while the full-sized slots are called 4really what it appears to be, or a
But the people wanted more: in 2007, PCI-E x16. There are also standard
the cross-industry PCI-SIG (“Special sizes for x4 and x8 variants. low-speed impostor.
Interest Group”) introduced the PCI-E This complicates the PCI Express
2.0 standard, which doubled the top standard: a PCI-E card that’s designed YPOCOFFIUEYDXOOPUNRR’ETPSNCSETCEOADERTXDOCSTHUARNNGE
speed to 8GB/sec in each direction. for an x16 slot won’t physically fit
Three years later came PCI-E 3.0, into an x1 or x4 receptacle. What you
which made use of a new encoding might not realise is that PCI-E does This comes with a caveat, but let’s
system to nearly double the effective work the other way round – so an x1 start with the good bit: PCI Express is
top speed again, from 8GB/sec to card will slot happily into an x16 hot-pluggable. In other words, you
15.75GB/sec. And, as we’ll discuss socket and work perfectly well. can shove a card into the slot while
below, we’re now seeing PCI-E 4.0 The same applies to PCI-E x4 and Windows is running, and it should
systems that push the throughput up x8 cards, such as USB expansion simply start working. This isn’t
to 31.5GB/sec. merely an anecdotal observation: it’s
These generational leaps have Abbreviation aggravation adeliberatepartofthespec.Thepins
underpinned two decades of on the card that pick up power from
performance improvements right the motherboard are shorter than the
across computing technology. And Accordingtothepublishedspecification,theofficial ones that carry data, so they don’t
the really impressive part is that, abbreviationforPCIExpressis“PCIe”.Otherthanbranding, make contact until everything else is
through them all, PCI-E (or PCIe – see there’snoapparentreasonwhytheEshouldbeinlower- already lined up and connected.
“Abbreviation aggravation” to the case,andfranklyitdoesn’tmakemuchsensetous.Evidently However, while the connector is
right) has retained full forward and we’renotalone:whenthetechnologywasintroduced,the designed to cope with this type of ad-
backward compatibility. You can alternativeorthography“PCI-E”quicklybecamepopular,as hoc connection (and disconnection),
plug a PCI-E 1.0 card in a PCI-E 4.0 alogicalfollow-onfromthePCI-Xconnectorthatpreceded that doesn’t guarantee everything
slot without any special tweaks or it.Likemanyothers,we’vesettledonthatasourstandard– else in the system will. If you’re using
considerations. Or, you can install a justdon’ttellthePCI-SIG. a PCI-E drive controller, abruptly
brand-new PCI-E 4.0 card into a unplugging it without cleanly
43
became widely available in 2019 as
part of AMD’s Zen 2 (Ryzen 3000)
platform. Intel followed last year
with its 11th-generation mobile chips,
and finally upgraded its desktop
processors to PCI-E 4.0 in March 2021.
The upshot is, almost any computer
bought today will support PCI-E 4.0.
There’s nothing shocking about
PCI-E 4.0; like previous updates, it
doubles the bandwidth of a data lane,
from 985MB/sec to 1.97GB/sec, so an
x16 connection can now transfer
nearly 32GB per second. At the same
etains backward
dismounting the drives could lead to tibility with earlier PCI-E
data being lost, or could even cause ns, so you might never
applications or the OS to crash when a PSCCOHIMA-PEEECISONANDNNIFDEFCSETIROZEERNSST ven notice which connector
your computer has.
6volume that’s in use disappears. The move is significant
though, for one big reason.
Note too that most graphics cards When you think of PCI Today’s fastest NVMe SSDs
have additional power connectors Express, you probably picture are capable of speeds well in
that provide current directly from the a standard motherboard slot, ess of 4GB/sec, but the
main power supply. That means that but there’s no reason why a -common PCI-E 3.0 x4
the power will stay on while you’re PCI-E connection needs to be erface isn’t. To achieve the full
yanking the card from its slot, which limited to that format. Almost a rmance potential of a modern
could lead to glitches and crashes. We laptops use PCI-E as an internal need a drive and a
haven’t heard of anyone damaging interconnect, even if they have no TOP TheM.2SSD motherboard that both use PCI-E 4.0.
their hardware by trying to hotplug user-accessible slots, and there are connectorisreally As we saw in last month’s Labs (see
5a powered graphics card, but we’d plenty of variant PCI-E connectors aminiaturePCI issue 324, p72), the fastest PCI-E 4.0
designed for specific roles. Expressinterface drives already offer read speeds
suggest you don’t make a habit of it. approaching 6GB/sec, and future
One familiar example of that is 8ABOVE Dedicated models will surely go all the way up
TPINHOTEWEPRECRFIAAECXSEPWPRREELOSLVSAIDSEDSATA NVM Express (NVMe). SSDs that use to the maximum of 8GB/sec.
the NVMe standard are usually power plugs can
supplied in the form of a 22 x 80mm provide all the SPHCUEIRC-ECEE–5SA.0SNIODSRSAOLRISEAITDSY
M.2 module, with a 75-pin connector watts a card needs
We tend to focus on the data-transfer along the short edge. This is to all
capabilities of the PCI-E interface, but intents and purposes a mini PCI-E x4
an x16 slot can also supply a hefty 75W card, so in a PCI-E 3.0 system it can
of power to a connected card. That’s transfer data at close to 4GB/sec. (The If even 8GB/sec seems too slow, don’t
not enough to drive a top graphics M.2 format can also connect a drive to worry: while PCI-E 4.0 is establishing
card (the Nvidia RTX 3090 FE can suck a computer’s SATA controller, but itself in the mainstream, the PCI-SIG
up over 350W when pushed hard), but there’s little call for this capability has been finalising the 5.0 spec, with
it should be enough for most other since NVMe is so much faster.) sample hardware in production. You
hardware types, even including Another flavour of PCI Express won’t be amazed to learn that this
storage arrays. Smaller slots have a doesn’t use a slot, but a USB socket. upgrade doubles the bandwidth again
lesser power budget, but an x1 card Thunderbolt can carry both regular to just under 4GB/sec for a single lane
can still draw as much as 25W. USB connections and PCI Express or 63GB/sec over an x16 link.
For hungrier peripherals, two data. A Thunderbolt 3 cable supports
types of external power connector are four PCI-E 3.0 lanes of data, making Such speeds are overkill right
normally provided – a six-pin plug it fast enough to attach high-speed now for consumers, but AI and Big
that’s rated for up to 75W, and an storage and external graphics cards. BELOW Thisisn’t Data aficionados are salivating at the
eight-pin variant that can provide up USB – Thunderbolt thought of fetching and processing
to 150W. These aren’t strictly part of SPFOCTROI-RNEAE4GX.0ETI-SGEANBEIRGADTEIAOLN can be used as an data at such immense rates. PCI-E 5.0
the PCI-E standard – they’re defined external PCI-E link could be helpful for enterprises and
in the ATX 2 standard for power data centres too, enabling them to
host a 400GbE network card in a
7supplies, as revised in 2003 – but they single PCI-E 5.0 x16 slot.
are often called PCI Express power Generation 4 of the PCI Express
connectors, as they were specifically standard was finalised in 2017, and Believe it or not, the spec for PCI-E
designed to work with PCI-E cards. 6.0 has already been published. Using
They also embody something of a new encoding scheme, this manages
the PCI-E philosophy: just as you can once again to double the maximum
mix and match cards and slots, you data rate to 126GB/sec, yet will still be
can do the same with these plugs and able to interoperate with older cards
sockets. An eight-pin plug will work and slots. It looks certain, therefore,
fine in a six-pin socket (with two pins that PCI Express will still be evolving
sticking out at the end), and a six-pin and thriving at least 25 years after its
power connector will fit into the inception, delivering an astonishing
left-hand side of an eight-pin socket 31.5x increase in performance, while
– although the hardware may not be retaining full backward compatibility
happy with the reduced power. – an incredible testimony to an
underappreciated technology.
44
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SCORE RECOMMENDED
PRICE £1,332 (£1,599 inc VAT)
from samsung.com/uk components. Both the cover ABOVE Theinterior its predecessor. I’m placing huge
screen and tablet-like inner displayshitablink- emphasis on the word “slightly”,
The original Galaxy Fold didn’t display have a maximum refresh inducing1,089cd/m² since it’s still painfully expensive –
have the best start in life. rate of 120Hz – with S Pen stylus peakbrightness but a £100 saving is still a saving.
Plagued with design flaws, it support – and it’s also the The Fold3 starts at £1,599 for the
was far from the shiny folding future first-ever Samsung phone to 256GB model, and if you need more
Samsung hoped for. But the South incorporate an under-display storage – it doesn’t have a
Korean firm didn’t give up, producing selfie camera. hi“‘stIusltiggpcehroeetslmdtyse’p,cshselaiisngsschiosetrloiy.tnI’lse’tmhssstepitwlllhaaocnirndg microSD card slot – be
a much-improved sequel just before painfully expensive” prepared to pay £1,699
the pandemic hit. And it even looks nice. The for the 512GB option.
phone comes in a choice of
With this year’s Galaxy Z three colours: Phantom Black, At least Samsung
Fold3, it’s clear that Samsung Phantom Silver and Phantom bundles a year’s worth of
has renewed confidence in its Green, and they all have a Samsung Care+ coverage
high-priced foldable flagship. slightly different matte finish. with every purchase, if
And what makes it clear is that There’s space for two nano SIM you buy via its website. This is a
this is the first time Samsung has cards, with eSIM support too. no-fuss warranty service that covers
been brave enough to send units LEFT Despitebeing accidental damage, including liquid
out for review in the UK. Price choices morerobust,theFold3 ingress and screen breakages.
isthinnerandlighter It’s worth pointing out that
What’s new Despite all these improvements, thanlastyear’smodel Samsung launched the dinky Flip3 at
the Fold3 costs slightly less than
This year’s Fold benefits from
a full-service upgrade. Not only
is it waterproof, but it’s far more
durable. Incorporating some
must-have improvements, such
as a stronger inner screen,
redesigned hinge and hard-
wearing “Armour Aluminium”
frame, the Fold3 5G might just be
the first human-proof foldable.
Powered by the Snapdragon
888 chipset, along with 12GB of
RAM and a choice of 256GB or
512GB of fast UFS 3.1 storage, it
includes cutting-edge
46
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the same time as the Fold3, and this GEEKBENCH 5 (SINGLE CORE) GEEKBENCH 5 (MULTICORE)
foldable is much more affordable.
With prices starting at £949 for the AApppplelAe1i4PBhioonnice 12 Pro Max 1,590 AApppplelAe1i4PBhioonnice 12 Pro Max 4,070
128GB model, and £999 for 256GB, Sony Xperia 1 III 1,134 RETTEB SI REHGIH Sony Xperia 1 III 3,672 RETTEB SI REHGIH
the Flip3 costs £650 less than the 1,127 3,584
cheapest Fold3. QualcommSnapdragon888 957 QualcommSnapdragon888 3,549
752 2,477
Armoured protection Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3
Samsung describes the Fold3 as its QualcommSnapdragon888 QualcommSnapdragon888
“toughest foldable yet”, with an
IPX8 water resistance rating that SSaammsusnugnEgxyGnoasla21x0y0S21 Ultra SSaammsusnugnEgxyGnoasla21x0y0S21 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ Microsoft Surface Duo
SamsungExynos9825 QualcommSnapdragon855
Microsoft Surface Duo Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
means it should survive a dunk for up QualcommSnapdragon855 752 2,086
SamsungExynos9825
to 30 minutes up to a depth of 1.5m. GFXBENCH MANHATTAN 3 (OFF-SCREEN, FPS) BATTERY LIFE (VIDEO-RUNDOWN TEST)
To achieve this, Samsung has applied
water-resistant coatings to internal
components, as well as adding rubber AApppplelAe1i4PBhioonnice 12 Pro Max 186 SSaammsusnugnEgxyGnoasla21x0y0S21Ultra 22hrs 34mins
seals and customising the wiring of Sony Xperia 1 III 163 RETTEB SI REHGIH Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 19hrs 56mins RETTEB SI REHGIH
the phone’s “Hideaway Hinge”. 159 18hrs 23mins
QualcommSnapdragon888 134 SamsungExynos9825 17hrs 49mins
Alongside the Flip3, this means
that the Z Fold3 is the first foldable Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3
flagship capable of keeping liquids at
bay. But both phones lack any official SamsungExynos2100 QualcommSnapdragon888
ingress protection against dust and
small particles (denoted by the “X” in Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 Microsoft Surface Duo
IPX8), so keep it off the beach.
QualcommSnapdragon888 QualcommSnapdragon855
Microsoft Surface Duo AApppplelAe1i4PBhioonnice 12 Pro Max
96 Sony Xperia 1 III 16hrs 26mins
QualcommSnapdragon855 40 14hrs 43mins
QualcommSnapdragon888
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
SamsungExynos9825
A new, stronger, protective film used across Samsung’s other devices, “TheFold3’sfrontcover refresh rate of 120Hz.
has been applied to the Fold3’s main including the Galaxy Book Go (see sacnrdeiet’nsathlseossaumppeosriztesa12s0Hz, Just like Samsung’s other
screen, as well as a redesigned layer p55) and Galaxy Tab lineup. The S Pen bsleigfohrtelybhuitgwheirthreasnoelvuetiro-nso”- flagships, this is an
structure that, Samsung claims, has Pro is larger and thicker than the S adaptive setting rather
improved its durability by 80%. It still Pen Fold, but it supports Bluetooth than a toggle, which
feels worryingly delicate, however, Low Energy (BLE) and can be location means that the screen
and I recommend keeping the phone refresh will vary
closed as much as possible to reduce tracked via Samsung SmartThings.
the risk of scratches. Sadly, I didn’t receive either stylus depending on the app.
The metal frame and hinge are with my review unit, but Samsung With two colour modes to choose
built with a new material, too – the tells me that both S Pens come with a from, I found that the Natural setting
Armour Aluminium – and it’s handful of new features, including was the most colour accurate, with
allegedly 10% tougher than last year’s the ability to write handwritten an average Delta E of 2.57, an sRGB
model. The cover screen and rear phrases in the web browser’s search colour gamut coverage of 91.7% and
glass panel also sit behind a protective bar (converting to typed text). You a total volume of 93.3%.
layer of Gorilla Glass Victus (replacing can also edit text in the notes app by HDR video and games looked
the Gorilla Glass 5 on 2020’s phone). crossing out individual letters and BELOW Theall-new astonishing. The display’s brightness
Despite this added armour, the words, removing unwanted spaces ArmourAluminium peaked at a dazzling 1,089cd/m²; it
Fold3 is lighter and thinner than the with hand-drawn joining lines or hingeissupposedly really is a treat for the eyes, although
previous model. At 271g and 6.4mm adding extra chunks of text with 10%stronger the square aspect ratio produces black
thin when unfolded, this year’s Fold simple arrows. borders at the top and
is much more portable than the last. When you watch bottom of the screen
YouTube in flex when viewing regular
Note this mode (with the 16:9 or 21:9 content.
The Fold3 supports Samsung’s S Pen screen partially The Fold3’s front
stylus – a first for the range – which opened at a 90° cover screen also
perhaps isn’t a coincidence because angle), the video supports 120Hz, and
the Galaxy Note was sorely absent plays at the top, and it’s the same size as
from Samsung’s launch. It seems the you can take notes in before (6.2in) but with
rumours were true, and Samsung the bottom portion. an ever-so-slightly
has quietly discontinued (or at least This is accessed with higher resolution of
paused) the Note line, with the Z a double tap at the 832 x 2,268.
Fold3 taking its place as Samsung’s bottom of the screen
main work/productivity handheld. while the S Pen UI and software
There are two S Pen options. The button is pressed, So what’s it like to use?
first is the S Pen Fold Edition (£44), and can also be used Samsung has vastly
which is made exclusively for the during video and improved the Fold’s
Fold3, supports Samsung’s Air conference calls. multitasking abilities,
Commands and can take pictures with a split-view
remotely with a click of the button at Dual displays overhaul (you can
the top. Unlike the Note, this stylus The size and adjust the size of the
doesn’t simply slot into a hole in the resolution of the windows within apps)
corner of the handset, and can only Fold3’s internal and the option to
be attached via a specially designed display (7.6in, 2,208 enable a static taskbar
cover case (also sold separately). x 1,768) hasn’t that functions
The S Pen Pro (£99) is a more changed, but it now similarly to Windows
general purpose pointer that can be boasts a maximum and macOS.
47
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Samsung has also partnered with
Microsoft for a more fold-friendly
Office suite of apps. Microsoft Word,
for instance, can now be used in a
two-page mode (like reading a book),
which also allows you to open and
edit two documents simultaneously.
Other quality of life improvements
include an enhanced large-screen-
friendly interface, which incorporates
changes such as being able to display
more thumbnails when scrolling
through YouTube subscriptions. It’s
also much easier to use with one
hand, with app settings now
accessible from the side of the screen,
displayed as small icons. You can
enable floating widgets, too, such as
starting a timer in the clock app and
placing it on top of a recipe you’re
following in a web browser.
Turn of pace
All this runs slickly
to the Qualcomm
Snapdragon 888 you can also use ABOVE Multitasking partially unfold the phone – at a 90°
chipset, which is as he 12MP (f/1.8) rear is much improved, angle – you can choose to place the
fast as ever, as the camera, which is with the ability to a phone on a table or another flat
graphs on the partnered with adjust window size surface to line up your shots. You also
previous page both a 12MP (f/2.2) LEFT There’splentyof get a live preview in this mode (on the
indicate. It boots ultrawide camera gaming grunt – helped inner and cover screen), as well as an
and unlocks in the and a 12MP (f/2.4) by an impressive updated camera roll when you press
blink of an eye, and elephoto unit with battery life the shutter button.
the smooth 120Hz ptical zoom. The
refresh adds an extra y and zoom Finally, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G can
layer of fluidity that benefit from record fully stabilised video at up to
phones can match. Social feeds, optical image stabilisation 4K resolution at 60fps. My test
web pages and maps – anything that (OIS), and the cover camera uses a footage was crisp and judder-free,
pans or scrolls – fly around with the 10MP (f/2.2) sensor without OIS. and it was quick to focus as well.
smoothness of a curling stone That’s an awful lot of cameras at Bendable buy
whizzing across the ice. your fingertips, but none of them do Clearly, the Galaxy Z
Another benefit of a high refresh anything particularly special. The Z “sathmInteeobbxoolttionrhtak1s2loaa0fnyHadenzrueroneyflofefrc,lueakisnsdhdiintatydhdes Fold3 5G is a phone
panel is that the Fold3 can output Fold3 5G is capable of taking lovely that few phones can match” that’s overflowing with
higher frame rates in games that pictures, but it lacks the super zoom positives. It’s obvious
support it. In the GFXBench sensors commonly found on other that Samsung has taken
Manhattan 3 test, the Fold’s inner high-priced flagships, such as the on feedback from
screen reached an average frame rate Galaxy S21 Ultra, and I found the previous versions, and
of 72fps. I played a variety of games, photos it produced were over- the end result is the most
including Asphalt 9: Legends, Alto’s processed and lacked detail. well-rounded foldable yet. Support
Adventure and Genshin Impact, and Images captured using the Fold3’s for a stylus, improved ruggedness and
they all ran flawlessly. You can also 2x zoom make up for this, though. the clever software adaptations lift
set it up so that the game (and any There’s plenty of detail, a lot of the Galaxy Fold family from fragile
app) continues on the cover screen contrast and zoomed images looked BELOW TheSPenFold curio to genuine contender.
when you close the phone. more colourful, vivid and true to life. EditionsupportsAir The price remains a huge barrier,
I’m very happy with the Fold3 5G’s Samsung has done a superb job Commands,butthere but if you can afford it and will take
battery life, too. The dual 2,200mAh with the camera software. If ou isn’t a slot for it advan of its features, the Fold3 is
batteries kept it going for 18hrs able phone you’ve been
23mins in our video-rundown test NATHAN SPENDELOW
using the phone’s internal screen.
With stamina like that, you should be ATIONS
able to binge both seasons of The 4GHz/2.42GHz/1.8GHz Qualcomm
Mandalorian on a single charge.
888 12GBRAM Adreno660
Picture not perfect 7.6in foldable 120Hz AMOLED
Of the myriad cameras Samsung 1,768x2,208resolution 6.2in
supplies, the under-display selfie 20Hz AMOLED screen, 832 x 2,268
unit is the most interesting, but not esolution 256GB/512GBstorage
the best quality. It doesn’t suffer as
badly from washed-out images as 12MPrearcameras 10MP/4MP
other under-screen cameras I’ve cameras Wi-Fi6e Bluetooth
seen, but the overall image quality USB-C 4,400mAhbattery
isn’t going to make you gasp. Fear
11,OneUI3.5 folded,67x16
8mm(WDH) unfolded,128x6.4x
mm(WDH) 270g 1yrwarranty
48
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measure Delta E, battery life by playing and if another reputable vendor is selling
which gives a guide back a full-screen the product cheaper then we will use
as to how video until the them instead.
accurately the panel battery runs out with
displays a colour. the device in Flight Prices will vary
mode. We set the
Anything under one is screen brightness to as Prices we publish are correct on the day
excellent and likely to be difficult for close to 170cd/m2 as we we publish, but we often see prices
the human eye to distinguish; can get in its settings. change – especially on sites such as
between one and two is still strong; Amazon. However, we do work with
above this suggests a panel that you GEEKBENCH5 (multicore) British PC retailers to ensure the prices
shouldn’t trust for colour-accurate we quote for their systems are correct.
photo editing. Apple iPhone 12 Pro 4,028RETTEB SI REHGIH If the price isn’t being honoured, contact
Apple iPhone 12 mini 3,736 us via [email protected].
Phonesandtablets Apple iPhone 11 3,417
Apple iPhone SE 3,291
We run a selection of publicly OnePlus 8T 3,217
available benchmarks on all the
phones and tablets we test. First,
49
PqA(Lth2ueCnei7ntotrieho-nihagpvAtoheoletrMdYxfseuoD-cdbgt)eaasr and the
oard
SCORE echargeable
PRICE £1,435 (£1,723 i a USB-C
from lenovo.com Both are
on features
Lenovo is never you
experiment nsider the AIO
factors, and th price, with
is one of its most backlight on
Imagine a longlist keyboard
features, including instance, but
4K screen, and few keys offer
will go unticked. ugh travel and
ck to make
What about fying to
gaming? Most on.
make do with the RF dongle
graphics built into of the two
but Lenovo adds A 2 ports on
Nvidia RTX 2060 c ar of the
the toughest Mein Leben settings, the , where it’s
Yoga ran Wolfenstein with RTX and by two high-
DLSS enabled at 96fps. Sticking to .2 ports, a
1080p, Shadow of the Tomb Raider et connector
returned 73fps and Metro Exodus he external
58fps. Lenovo sensibly complements meaty unit, so
the speedy 512GB NVMe SSD with a out of view.
1TB hard disk for all the extra storage a pain to
you’ll need for these games. hy Lenovo
.2 port and
If you want to play at 4K, you’ll the left side.
have to make do with older titles. For DCI-P3, sRGB and Adobe RGB all ABOVE There’splenty Look closely and you’ll also spot a
example, Dirt: Showdown averaged proved accurate in our testing. The ofspeed,butnotethe button that lets you switch between
100fps and Metro: Last Light Redux only thing this panel doesn’t offer is minorannoyances base mode, cast mode and link mode.
53fps, but Metro Exodus dropped to support for HDR (it peaks at 324cd/ before you buy The cast mode supports wireless
25fps at High quality. m) or any gaming pretensions, with a projection from Android
60Hz vertical refresh rate. “ttaahhAndeeniasPflotlaC-avsinnePtrec-roaesontl”lbewreWenesc’iuvnheldmtsooaewfre3ksn0sPf3irCsionbmy and iOS devices, while
It’s even faster outside of games, the link mode means you
with Lenovo partnering AMD’s Its other limitation is that the can use the 27in 4K panel
Ryzen 7 4800H with 16GB of DDR4 panel sits rigidly to attention, with from another PC via the
memory. An overall result of 303 in no height or tilt adjustment. I also USB-C port.
the PC Pro benchmarks is the fastest kept on touching the panel, forgetting
I’ve seen from an all-in-one Windows that it wasn’t touch-sensitive. As its The problem here is
PC by a distance, and a multicore Yoga name indicates, the monitor the price: asking £1,700
result of 9,757 in Cinebench R23 is does have one trick: you can pivot it for an all-in-one PC is a challenge,
another display of power. Don’t 90°. This is a beautifully slick BELOW Itlivesupto even when it’s this fast and this slick.
imagine noisy fans keeping it cool, manoeuvre, with Windows theYoganameby I also think it’s a mistake to sacrifice
either: even when pushed hard, the automatically rotating your view, but nimblypivoting90° screen adjustability just so people can
AIO 7 only emits a dignified low hum. a 16:9 aspect ratio means the top of intoportraitmode pivot it; I spent much of my time with
the screen sits above eye level. the Lenovo AIO 7 wanting to
Lenovo packs in a top-quality, move the screen upwards and
sharp 27in IPS display. Whilst the A bundled webcam slots push it back by a few degrees.
onscreen display is primitive, relying into a connector at the top of It remains one of the very best
on three buttons tucked awkwardly the screen where it can record all-in-one PCs you can buy,
on the right of PC’s frame, it’s great to 1080p video at 30fps. It’s no but beware the highlighted
PCPRO BENCHMARKS match for dedicated units such irritations before you buy.
as the Dell on p74, with too TIM DANTON
OVERALL 303 much noise in low light and
oversaturated colours, but is a SPECIFICATIONS
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 step up from the webcams 8-core 2.9GHz (4.2GHz burst) AMD
built into most laptops. Ryzen74800H NvidiaGeForceRTX
BREAKDOWN SCORES eImd1i9atign6eg eVd2idi8tie0nog taM3sku5il4ntig 2060graphics 16GBDDR4RAM
The 5W speakers are solid 512GBNVMeSSD 1TBharddisk
– more than good enough to 27in non-touch 3,840 x 2,160 IPS
play music during a working display USB-C3.2 3xUSB-A3.2
day – but think Echo Dot 2xUSB-A2 GigabitEthernet 3.5mm
rather than full-blown Echo. combojack Wi-Fi6 Bluetooth5.1
Listen to a favourite track and 2x5Wspeakers 720pwebcam
you’ll notice they lack the keyboardandmouse Windows10
depth and subtlety of a Home 1yrwarranty 614x108x
dedicated pair of speakers. 460mm(WDH) 11.6kg partcode
F0FN0004UK
Lenovo supplies a wireless
keyboard and mouse, with the
latter running on a single AA
50
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PC Pro - Issue 325 November 2021
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