The PC Pro Podcast

The team checks out Scotland's new coronavirus tracing app, explores what's new in Android 11, laments fake reviews on Amazon and celebrates the 20th birthday of the universally unloved Windows Me. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Honor MagicBook Pro, a stylish and powerful laptop that's surprisingly affordable.

Firefox has signed a new search deal with Google, but - as Barry shares having interviewed its lead developer this week - the company is looking at new ways to make money. Plus, has Elon Musk overhyped his brain tech, the lowdown on Intel’s new branding and new chips, and whether you should save your money for Nvidia’s newly launched RTX 3000 series of graphics cards. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Lenovo ThinkSmart View, an office helper that sits on your desk...

The team discusses Epic Games' ongoing legal beef with Apple, the continuing prevalence of web-tracking tricks, a controversial update to Firefox and the 25th anniversary of the launch of Windows 95. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the X-Rite iDisplay Pro Plus 3, a nifty little colorimeter that can help you improve the colour accuracy of your monitor.

Commercial pilot Gavin Hall joins the team to give a professional opinion of Microsoft's groundbreaking new Flight Simulator; we also discuss the increasingly acrimonious squabble between Apple and Epic Games, a technical breakthrough that could give Intel CPUs a big performance boost and disputes over access to BT's paid-for TV services. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Sony WH-1000XM4, the company's new flagship noise-cancelling headphones.

The team talks to seismologist Professor Thomas Lecocq about Android's new earthquake-detection function - for real - and discusses the UK's latest coronavirus tracking app, the arrival of the Microsoft Surface Duo and the latest on TikTok. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Vodafone Curve, a compact GPS tracker designed to help locate misplaced items and animals.

The team discusses Microsoft's possible acquisition of TikTok, the rumoured sale of chip designer ARM and the latest announcements from Samsung's "Galaxy Unpacked" event (see www.samsung.com/uk/unpacked). We also mention a report suggesting that 80 million computers have been hijacked by malicious Chrome extensions, which you can read at pcpro.link/podcx. This week's Hot Hardware candidate is the Samsung Galaxy M31, a snazzy smartphone at a remarkably low price.

The team discusses not one but two high-profile hack attacks, recaps the US hearing that has accused tech giants of operating as monopolies, and looks ahead to the prospect of a wholly virtual CES. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Netgear XS508M, a 10GbE network switch that makes Wi-Fi 6 look positively sluggish.

In the week that Slack slapped Microsoft with a lawsuit accusing it of abusing its position of dominance, the team delivers its verdict. Plus, what on earth is going on with Windows 10X, which worldwide powers might buy the chip-licensing giant Arm, hackable phone power supplies and the pros and cons of Apple’s bug bounty phone. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Null Project, an iPad keyboard that comes without any letters on its keys.

The team discusses a huge Twitter hack attack, Huawei's expulsion from the UK telecoms market, predictions of what 6G mobile services might bring and Google's visions for future wearable technology. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Gigabyte Aero 17, a high-powered laptop with a huge Pantone-certified screen.

The team discusses a new report that warns of vulnerabilities in ALL domestic routers (see pcpro.link/routerreport), concerns over in-game purchases, badly behaved iOS apps and the latest on Thunderbolt. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Moto 360, an Android-based smartwatch - remember those?