The PC Pro Podcast

The team is joined by Fiona Dear of the Restart Project to discuss the upcoming International Repair Day; we also consider plans to offer GCSE exams on laptops and Qualcomm’s new Android chip based on the open-source RISC-V architecture. Our Hot Hardware candidate is an iPhone 12 Mini, originally released in 2020 but newly acquired by real-worlder Lee Grant.LINKS:International Repair Day is on Saturday 21 October 2023 and there are events all over the planet, many of them in the UK. There’s an interactive map so you can find out what is happening in your area: https://openrepair.org/international-repair-day/2023-events/ If you can’t attend in person, Global Fixers are running an online repair cafe on Saturday between 11am and 2pm - https://discord.gg/WZd4xWd To find other Restart Parties and community repair events in your area, visit: https://therestartproject.org/parties/ Fiona Dear (https://therestartproject.org/about/who-we-are/) is the Co-Director of The Restart Project (https://therestartproject.org)

The team discusses Google’s plan to phase out passwords, proposals aimed at improving the trustworthiness of AI-generated images and a new OS that puts your personal PC in the cloud. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Acer Chromebook Plus 515, one of the first ChromeOS laptops to bear the new “Plus” branding.

Topics discussed include competition probe into Amazon and Microsoft's cloud services, licensing and lock-in issues in cloud services, Microsoft pricing regulation, Google Pixel updates, the unique features of the Framework laptop, Russia's ban on VPNs, decline in smartphone sales, and AI features in the ARK web browser.

The team discusses the latest product releases and updates from Microsoft’s AI and Surface event – plus all the news from Meta Connect. Meanwhile, a major bank bans cryptocurrency payments and the Raspberry Pi 5 makes its debut. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Rolling Square AirCard, an Apple-compatible location tag that fits in your wallet.

The team discusses product chief Panos Panay’s departure from Microsoft, the latest software and device launches from Amazon and mixed news on tech sustainability. Our Hot Hardware candidate is Linksys’ Velop Pro 6E, the cheapest Wi-Fi 6E mesh currently on the market.

The podcast discusses a critical bug in a popular online image format, a ransomware attack on major hotels, and the latest news from Apple's 'Wonderlust' event. They also explore the challenges with budget ownership for IT and share opinions on software value. The release of Photoshop 2024 and its AI called Firefly is discussed.

The team discusses the UK government’s climbdown on banning end-to-end encryption, a welcome change in Windows 11 and the prospect of Apple’s first iPhone with USB Type-C charging. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Geekom Mini IT 13, a compact and powerful PC for a very modest price.

The podcast discusses the recent collapse of the UK's air traffic control system, Elon's plan to add voice calling to X, Apple's support for Right to Repair, the new Fairphone 5, ordering a McFlurry, and the WiPry Clarity from Oscium for analyzing Wi-Fi traffic.

Chip designer Arm plans to float on Nasdaq; Microsoft's acquisition of Activision; 40% of workers needing AI training; Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 tablet discussed; concerns about SoftBank's valuation and Arm China; Nvidia's access to PC Game Pass games on GeForce Now; chat GPT as a valuable content generation tool; controversy over Microsoft's travel guide to Ottawa; dangers of AI-generated content; lawsuit against Sotheby's for selling NFTs; news stories and tribute; initial impressions and features of Samsung S9 tablets.

Discussion on Sandisk SSDs dying, class actions for consumer recourse, reliability of portable SSD drives, manipulating product reviews, future of CAPTCHAs, Google's web environment proposal, decline in thread usage, and analysis of the Samsung Z Flip 5 smartphone.