Magazine

Recharge Windows

Is Vista getting a little sluggish? Then it's time for a reinstallation!.We show you how to prepare a slipstreamed install disc, backup your data and troubleshoot any problems you may encounter on the way.

Create professional documents

Fancy yourself a bit of a desktop publisher? With our 16-page pull out guide to Scribus you can create amazingly professional looking pamphlets, newletters and more for absolutely nothing. We guide you from start to finish on several creative projects using the impressive open source application. ... read more »

This issue we're focusing on free and open source software that contains (or beats) consumer product functionality. From Office suites, to multimedia, to security; we've got the difinative list for kitting out your PC for any task without spending a penny.

Also in this issue we have 10 "How to..." articles guiding you through:

• Fitting a CPU
• Controlling another PC
• Cutting printing costs
• And much more...

Windows Live Explained! 16-page pullout

Nick Peers and Christian Hall take you through an in-depth tour of the Windows Live suite, if you thought it was just Windows Live Messenger and Mail, then take a look you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Next issue's Everyone's Talking About section is about Windows 7, and we'd like to get your viewpoints for inclusion in the page.

It's likely that Windows 7 will integrate much more with Windows Live, and there will be a lot of focus on synchronisation. Microsoft has recently unveiled the Live Mesh service, which enables you to create Mesh folders on your desktop which are synchronised across all your computers and portable devices. This kind of functionality will likely be built in to Windows 7.

It's also likely that we'll see touch features built in to Windows 7. These might not be so great on desktop systems, but on laptops it will be great to replace certain mouse/keyboard functions with touch equivalents - scrolling and zooming, for example.

Windows 7 won't be a complete rewrite - the underlying Windows architecture will largely remain as it is - but improving on some of Vista's performance issues, such as boot times, is a priority. ... read more »

If you've been keeping up to date with PCAnswers then you will have seen our exclusive Video Tutorials that work hand-in-hand with our "How To..." section within the magazine. Well now you can watch selected video online without inserting your CD via our PCAnswers YouTube channel.

Each month we will upload selected videos that may be of use to the masses, also on occasion we will upload web exclusive videos of shorter, yet just as handy tutorials. So watch this space!

Right now we have two amazing tutorials on speeding up your PC, one for the XP users and another for the early Vista adopters. ... read more »

As many of you will have noticed, there is a new section in PCAnswers called "help me buy". The idea behind this is to put group tests of equipment into the context of the everyday reader. The experts at PCAnswers may get weak at the knees at the thought of the latest gadgets and features, but it should be what's of interest to the average reader that determines whether something is worth buying or not. Discussing the options with a PCA reader gives a different opinion and perspective on tests.

If you are currently considering buying some new gear, whether it is a laptop, a printer, a webcam or whatever, we'd like to hear from you. You could feature in the magazine, and benefit from some first-hand advice from our PC experts.

If you would like to participate, please mail us here at pca.inbox@futurenet.co.uk, and give us some idea of the sorts of things you are interested in buying. UK addresses only for the time being!