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.

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Microsoft bets on the Metaverse • In a recent earnings call, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella dropped an intriguing hint at how he could be betting the company’s fortunes on the so-called “Metaverse”

Open-source sabotage sparks ethical storm • A major debate was sparked after researchers demonstrated how dodgy code can be sneaked into Linux

Will we FloC to Google?

Apple’sadwar:the winners and the losers • Apple’s attack on tracking ads is not without victims. James O’Malley investigates who is paying a heavy price

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

Fractversus friction:the life of a digital artist • At the age of *cough* *splutter*, could it be that I’m finally going to realise my dream of becoming a professional artist?

It’s goodbye to Android and hello to the iPhone mini • There’s one small reason why Nicole has ditched Android after a decade of loyalty

Less rhetoric and more research, please • The NSPCC’s report into end-to-end encryption may have been written with the best of motives but that doesn’t excuse a flawed approach

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

Readers’poll

THE £250 PC CHALLENGE • If you’ve got a limited budget to spend, are you best off buying new, grabbing a secondhand machine or building your own? We find out

Asus Chromebox 3 • A tiny and quiet system with minimal power demands and all the benefits–and all the drawbacks–of Chrome OS

Chuwi Hero Book Pro+ • Slow compared to laptops costing £400, but the quality on offer for the price has to be seen to be believed

Lenovo Chromebook Duet • This flexible and low-cost friend isn’t fast but does offer far more than is right for the price

Raspberry Pi400 (kitversion) • Not a desktop killer, but this is the fastest Raspberry Pi yet and the keyboard makes it even more convenient

LEE’S GUIDE TO BUYING SECONDHAND

LEE’S SELF-BUILT DREAM MACHINE

Lee Inspiration 250 • Wobblier than we generally like our PCs to be, but there’s no denying this PC’s value for money

ONE LAST THING FROM LEE

THE GREAT BRITISH SWITCH-OFF • The UK’s traditional telephone network is being switched off in 2025. Barry Collins finds out what it means for home and business owners

SWITCH-OFF STATS • Here are the number of devices in each category that will need to be migrated from PSTN ahead of the 2025 switch-off, according to Openreach

WHAT’S NOT BEING SWITCHED OFF?

5 surprising things you can do with an Amazon Fire TV Stick • With storage, a microprocessor and wireless connectivity, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is so much more than it first appears. Nik Rawlinson shows how to make it do more than stream TV services

TURN A £.50 MICRO:BIT INTO A POMODORO TIMER • THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE IS MEANT TO KEEP YOU FOCUSED AND MORE PRODUCTIVE. AS NIK RAWLINSON EXPLAINS, BUILDING YOUR OWN TIMER IS STRAIGHTFORWARD

THE COUNTDOWN LOOP

Apple iMac 24in • There’s no hiding from the high price of this M1 iMac, but it delivers quality in all areas

How we test

What our awards mean

Intel NUC 11 Pro • We wouldn’t recommend this configuration, but the barebones system is a fine base for a tiny business PC

Microsoft Surface Laptop 413.5in • Another top-quality laptop to add to the Surface stable, but only the £999 model delivers for value

Honor...