Shortly after the release of Windows 8 last year I upgraded my front-room PC to the new OS. I rarely use that PC for anything more than watching videos, but I was keen to see whether the Media Center application would have any new or improved features in Windows 8 – and besides, I thought, what have I got to lose?

Today, a PC Pro reader asked me whether, with the benefit of experience, I consider that the upgrade was worth it. I have to say it wasn’t.

Read more

Almost two years ago, I wrote about how I’d abandoned the stagnating Flickr for the altogether more modern photo-sharing site 500px. Finally, Yahoo has found the time to give Flickr its desperately needed facelift, and thrown in a terabyte of free photo storage to sweeten the deal. Will that be enough to tempt me and other photographers back?

Firstly, let’s deal with the aesthetics. Until last night, Flickr’s design was marooned in 2002: acres of white space, thumbnail images that took the name literally, and clunky drop-down menus. As I wrote in 2011, Yahoo had “allowed Flickr to stagnate to the point where the only reason to keep using the site is the size and talent of its user community”. In fact, it’s staggering how many photographers persevered with Flickr despite the outdated design.

Read more

I’m still waiting for my Glass headset… but for now Google has at least given me a new version of Google Maps for the web. Here’s what it looks like:

The first change you’ll notice is that the map now fills your window. The map itself looks subtly different too: there’s a new cleaner design, with a paler palette, more white space (well, light grey) and – if I’m not mistaken – Google’s Roboto font now used for labelling.

Read more

Nokia has a new flagship Windows phone 8 handset in the shape of the Nokia Lumia 925, and it looks like a big step forward. The Lumia 925, which was launched in London, hot on the heels of the US launch of the 928 earlier this week, is far slimmer at 8.5mm and lighter than its predecessor, the Lumia 920, and eschews that phone’s bulbous rear in favour of a sharper, sleeker, more modern look.

Read more

This week, Adobe formally announced that it would cease development of Creative Suite and focus all its efforts on delivering its collection of apps via Creative Cloud.

The outpouring of rage has been considerable. Twitter has been ablaze, with the majority calling for human sacrifices in the Adobe boardroom. Others who are already using Creative Cloud have been wondering what the fuss is about, claiming it’s a great service.

I’m not using Creative Cloud yet, but I’ll eventually be forced to if I want to update Photoshop and the other apps I use as a professional photographer. So what’s the problem?

Read more

So how did I come to strap a GoPro camera to a remote control helicopter? (Play video in full screen and select 1080p option for best quality.)

At the recent National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, I was walking down an aisle between two large stands, and felt my hair being gently rustled by a powerful draft from above. Looking up, I saw a quad helicopter sitting a few feet above my head. It was perfectly stable, and under the control of someone off in the distance. It gently, and oh so accurately moved down the hallway, turned right and came to a landing.

Now remote control helicopters are not new. And ones that talk to your iPhone or iPad aren’t new either. Indeed, I bought the AR.Drone when it first shipped. It gave me two live camera feeds back to my iPad, and the facility to record the video. The only problem was that it was rubbish.

Read more

The Acer Iconia A1 is the latest of a flurry of compact budget tablets to have hit the market recently. It was launched alongside the exotic Aspire R7 and Aspire P3 at the company’s annual Global Press Conference in New York.

Read more

The Acer Aspire P3, launched at a glitzy New York press event in New York, wants desperately to be a rival to the Microsoft Surface. At first glance it looks like it could be: it has a keyboard cover, just like the Surface, and that cover can be folded over so you can use it  as a tablet or prop it up at an angle for use in laptop mode.

Read more

We’ve seen some wacky hybrids in recent months, but the recently launched Acer Aspire R7 has gone further out on a limb than most. Its hinge, dubbed the “Ezel”, resembles the central support strut of an all-in-one PC more than a laptop hinge, and it delivers a surprising amount of flexibility.

Read more

A few people have asked me, over the years, about the processes and equipment we use to record and produce our podcast. If you’re curious, here’s how it happens.

Every Wednesday, we go into the recording studio at around noon. Prior to this, we’ll have agreed on the news stories we plan to discuss, and who’s going to introduce which topic; but within this basic framework the conversation is allowed to flow quite freely.

The discussion is recorded “as live” using four Shure SM58 microphones connected to an M-Audio Fast Track Ultra interface. I record and edit in PreSonus Studio One: arguably it’s overkill for this job, but it’s the DAW I use at home, so using it here as well makes life easy for me.

Read more