PC World New Zealand Magazine: Technology advice you can trust.

Features

Design innovation: The PC's secret weapon in the war for relevance

Monday, 29 April, 2013 | 1 comment As laptop and desktop sales plummet by record amounts, some PC manufacturers are wading out of their comfort zones in hopes of breathing life back into the market.

What the 'console-ification' of PCs means for gamers

Wednesday, 24 April, 2013 Traditionally, gamers have voluntary segregated themselves into two camps: console gamers and PC gamers. Hostility between the two runs irrationally deep, and rare is the gamer who's willing to proclaim allegiance to both sides. Either you're part of the Alliance, or you're part of the Horde.

7 things you need to know about Bitcoin

Friday, 12 April, 2013 Bitcoins are all the buzz. The virtual currency is riding a rollercoaster of speculation, rising exponentially in value and reaching a high of $260 this Wednesday before plummeting to $130. What's more, the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world just survived a coordinated hack attack, and Bitcoin-generating malware is spreading across Europe like wildfire via Skype.

The seven best OS X tricks you're not using

Tuesday, 9 April, 2013 | 2 comments It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it: find overlooked OS X tricks. Sometimes I hunt for them; sometimes I just run across them. Here's a collection that I bet includes items you've missed, too.

Bitcoin

Wednesday, 3 April, 2013 Having a common currency is a great way to bring down geographical barriers and create a shared economy. And with audacity that feels like it's drawn straight out of one of William Gibson's cyberpunk novels, that's what Bitcoin sets out to do.

Deep inside Windows Blue: 10 coolest features in Microsoft's leaked OS

Tuesday, 26 March, 2013 | 2 comments After an abundance of rumors, whispers, and slip-ups in job postings, we now have more concrete evidence of Microsoft's secretive Windows Blue operating system: An honest-to-goodness leak of an early build of the OS.

Would a 3D-printed gun really be legal in the US?

Friday, 22 March, 2013 Defense Distributed, the pro-gun nonprofit working to make 3D-printable gun designs freely available to everyone on the internet, was last week granted a federal firearms license.

Ready for a new Google Docs alternative? Meet open source OX Documents

Friday, 22 March, 2013 As the free trial period for Microsoft Office 2013 draws to a close, it's a pretty safe bet that more users than ever are thinking long and hard about whether or not to buy or subscribe.

Why IT security pros can be scarier than the 'bad guys'

Wednesday, 6 March, 2013 I thought I harbored a healthy amount of paranoia before I went to last week's RSA Conference for IT security professionals in San Francisco. But now I'm just plain scared -- and not about hackers and phishers, the perennial bogeymen of the Internet underground.

Webmail war: Gmail vs. Outlook.com vs. Yahoo Mail

Monday, 4 March, 2013 | 3 comments The three most popular free Web-based email services have all seen big changes recently, from revamped interfaces to advanced features. Does Google, Microsoft or Yahoo now deserve your webmail business?

10 top creative tools and apps for the iPad

Wednesday, 27 February, 2013 Apple’s tablet is tailor-made for touchscreen creativity – as are many iOS apps. Here are 10 of the most inspiring examples

Windows 9: How Microsoft might overhaul the interface in its next OS

Friday, 8 February, 2013 | 5 comments Every graying movie franchise needs a great sequel to give it a boost. Think Star Trek and James Bond. Operating systems are no different - especially Microsoft's. After receiving a critical beatdown for Windows 8, what does the company have up its sleeve for Windows 9?

A visual timeline of BlackBerry in NZ

Friday, 1 February, 2013 BlackBerry has been part of the NZ handset landscape since 2004 - we thought we'd take a look at BlackBerry's past and present.

Office 365 Home Premium: a first look at Microsoft's subscription Office service

Wednesday, 30 January, 2013 | 1 comment Microsoft's new subscription-based version of Office 2013 lets you use your applications anywhere. But does it really save you money?

Hands on with Facebook Graph Search: Interesting, but disappointing

Thursday, 24 January, 2013 | 1 comment When I first heard about Facebook Graph Search, I expressed some doubts about how useful the feature would be for churning out practical results. Now that I have access to the feature, those doubts about whether most Facebook users will get much use out of it have only intensified.

Mega: Getting started with the encrypted cloud storage service

Tuesday, 22 January, 2013 Get ready for Mega from the flamboyant Kim Dotcom. The Internet entrepreneur and accused digital outlaw recently launched Mega, a new file storage and sharing service that features 50GB of free storage.

Podcasting: All you need to know

Thursday, 10 January, 2013 The first podcasts broadcast over the Internet more than a decade ago, and since that time much has changed. Podcasting has gone from a niche hobby for amateurs to a recording industry that's helping many entertainers make a living.

Making it real with 3D printing

Thursday, 3 January, 2013 | 1 comment With a 3D printer that costs less than US$3,000, you can start your own mini manufacturing operation -- and use open source software to create surprisingly complex designs

Downgrading from Windows 8 to 7: What you need to know

Tuesday, 1 January, 2013 For all the talk about the advantages of Windows 8 over Windows 7—for example, account sync, better multiple monitor support, and faster startup times—some people just can't get past Windows 8's radical shift in user interface. Some may even want to ditch Windows 8 altogether in favor of Windows 7 after spending a few days with the new OS.

Insomniac Games hopes to light a Fuse

Thursday, 27 December, 2012 Insomniac Games' upcoming shooter, Fuse, started its life as OverStrike. Now it's a blend of Mission: Impossible and District 9.