PC Pro

The UK’s biggest selling PC monthly magazine, and your source of professional IT news, reviews and tests. Combining in–depth industry comment and analysis with rigorous product testing.

New tech is always exciting, but 2023’s releases are on another level

CONTRIBUTORS

PC Pro • June 2023 Issue 344

Apple set to make MR a reality • As rivals fall by the wayside, could Apple define a sector once more?

Tick…tick… boom: computing’s killed the leap second • Tech industry demands more certainty over the passage of time

Building digital trust

Identifying the problem: do we need digital ID? • What benefits would a digital ID system bring to Britain? James O’Malley investigates

The A-List • The best products on the market, as picked by our editors

Talking about the duck in my bath • Websites and apps are très accomplis at translating foreign languages into English, but when it comes to dialects they still have much to learn

Blinded by the many, many lights • Tiny lights on electrical gadgets are driving me mad. Is it so beyond the ken of manufacturers to give users the power to turn the them off?

Are you getting enough fibre? • Ofcom’s proposed broadband shake-up is another stable door moment, but even worse it’s solving a problem that doesn’t really exist any more

Star letter

Readers’ comments • Your views and feedback from email and the web

Readers’ poll • As our feature on p38 shows, there is a way to use Office for free. But we were curious: which version of Office did our readers use, if they used Microsoft Office at all?

BATTLE OF THE £100 LAPTOPS CAN MACHINES THIS CHEAP REALLY BE ANY GOOD? • HAS YOUR EYE BEEN CAUGHT BY AN INFLUENCER ON FACEBOOK OR TIKTOK EXTOLLING THE VIRTUES OF ULTRA-CHEAP MACHINES? TIM DANTON PUTS THEM THROUGH THE SAME SUITE OF TESTS AS THE LAPTOPS WE NORMALLY REVIEW

CODA 1.1 • You can buy the Coda 1.1 for £75, but even so we’re not convinced by its limp performance and in accurate screen

GEO GEOBOOK 2E • By no means the perfect laptop, with a weak CPU, but if you don’t mind the occasional stutter it’s great value

IOTA FLO • Not a terrible laptop, and it’s speedier than rivals, but the lacklustre keyboard and screen lessen its appeal

TOSHIBA SATELLITE PRO C850-1HD • Showings its age in terms of battery life and screen quality, but the Core i5 processor keeps working its charms

VENTURER EUROPA PLUS 11 • The pick of the £100 laptop crop, with an optional upgrade to Windows 11 and just enough speed on tap

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

Can tech rescue the NHS? • Drones delivering blood, virtual wards, video appointments with GPs… Barry Collins investigates whether tech can lift the NHS out of its current crisis

It’s not only doctors we’re short of…

Tune Office Online to your needs • Forget Google Docs: Nik Rawlinson finds that Microsoft’s free online Office apps could meet your needs perfectly

Five great features in Microsoft’s free online apps

How to save money on the full desktop Office suite • Don’t fancy paying Microsoft £80 each year for the privilege of using its desktop suite? Fear not, there are lawful ways to save cash

Take DSLR photos with your smartphone camera • Modern phone cameras can produce professional-quality images – if you know how to use them. Darien Graham-Smith finds out how to get the best from modern camera technology

Advanced settings

Should I shoot in raw?

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra • Watch out MacBook Pro, there’s a new name in thin, powerful laptops and it has you in its sights

Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8(Intel) • A no-frills gaming PC with strong performance and an upgradable design, but...