The PC Pro Podcast

The team discusses the global CrowdStrike catastrophe, dissects the official word on Intel CPU hiccups and learns why some NVIDIA graphics cards are no longer cool.

Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Apple Vision Pro.

The team discusses reports of failing Intel processors, meets Samsung’s latest health-inspired wearable and looks forward to a future filled with AI-generated videos and presentations, courtesy of Google. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Unistellar Odyssey Pro Smart Telescope. What, would you have preferred another keyboard?

The team discusses Microsoft’s optimistic claim that all material published online is fair game for AI training; ponders reports of TeamViewer being hacked by the Russians; and looks at who’s still buying commercial antivirus software. Our Hot Hardware candidate is the Tapo D230S1, a smart, subscription-free doorbell-cum-camera.

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...

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.