The PC Pro Podcast

On this week’s podcast we discuss the EU’s legal action against Microsoft for bundling Teams with Office, debate the US government’s banning of Kaspersky Internet Security and look at what the UK’s major political parties are promising – technology-wise – in their election manifestos. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Surface Laptop 7, the flagbearer of Microsoft’s new ARM-powered Copilot+ PC range.

The team ponders rumours of a new, cheaper Apple Vision headset, and debates whether the original Apple Vision Pro has been a flop. We also look at flaky Intel Core i9 processors, welcome the US government’s legal action against Adobe and learn about a new social media platform that’s intentionally populated by AI bots. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Unifi U7 Pro Max, the first business access point we’ve seen with Wi-Fi 7.

The team discusses the latest announcements from Apple’s WWDC conference, while Elon Musk drops his lawsuit against OpenAI and HP laments falling print volumes. Our Hot Hardware candidate is once more a piece of software, viz. the latest edition of Adobe Lightroom.

The team discusses growing security concerns over Microsoft’s new Windows Recall feature, a storm in a toothmug over Oral B’s discontinued smart bathroom products, and Intel and AMD’s latest salvoes in the unfolding TOPS war. As sometimes happens, our Hot Hardware candidate is actually a piece of software, namely the latest release of the free LibreOffice suite.

The team is split over Google's wisdom in selling a smartwatch - plus subscription fee - for kids. Plus, our take on what's going on at OpenAI, why iFixit has broken up with Samsung and what we can learn from the "leak" of Google's search algorithm. And our Hot Hardware candidate is the Panasonic Toughbook 55 Mk3, a semi-rugged but portable laptop.

Links:
https://blog.google/products/fitbit/fitbit-ace-lte-smartwatch-kids/
https://www.ft.com/content/ccbdff7c-ede3-4d62-968d-189fb0205075
Custom GPTs open for free ChatGPT users - The Verge
HUGE Google Search document leak reveals inner workings of ranking algorithm (searchengineland.com)
Why turning motherboards to jelly could be a sustainability breakthrough thanks to vPCBs | TechFinitive
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqee727vnzmo
Tape is so dead, 152.9 exabytes of LTO shipped in 2023 • The Register
Panasonic Toughbook FZ-55 Full HD Touch Screen Mk3 14" Rugged Windows 11 Pro Notebook. From £2115.00 plus VAT (ultima-computers.co.uk)

The team explores Microsoft’s new Arm-based, AI-focused vision for Windows PCs; we also discuss the postponement of the UK landline switch-off, and ask how worried we should be about old web pages dropping offline. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Pixel 8a, the cheaper, smaller version of Google’s flagship smartphone.

The team discusses the latest announcements from Google’s I/O conference, leaked details of upcoming ARM-based Windows laptops and OpenAI’s new smarter-than-ever large language model. Our Hot Hardware candidate is Barry’s brand-new 13in iPad Pro – the latest M4 model with all the trimmings.

The team discusses Apple’s new M4-powered iPads, Ofcom’s proposals to keep kids safe online and Jack Dorsey’s quiet departure from the Twitter rival he founded. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Pokit Pro, a handy Bluetooth tool that serves as a multimeter, oscilloscope and more.

The team discusses new UK legislation that outlaws insecure default passwords, questions Google’s enormous payments to Apple and learns very little from Tim’s trip to Hungary. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Lenovo Legion Go, a handheld gaming PC that runs full Windows.

The team discusses the latest generative AI features added to Photoshop, considers the prospect of a US-wide ban on TikTok and revisits the eternal debate as to whether 8GB of RAM is enough for a laptop. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Passmark USB Power Delivery Tester, a clever tool that measures just how many watts your USB power supply is really putting out.