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• Report warns legacy systems are a barrier to AI adoption
• Almost a third of central UK government systems are end-of-life
• These systems also present serious cybersecurity risks

The UK’s public spending watchdog has released a report outlining barriers to AI adoption, and cites “out–of–date legacy IT systems” as a contributing factor, as well as poor quality data, and data sharing obstacles.

The Department’s recommendations come as part of the UK Government’s plans to “unleash AI” with a plan to inject the tech into all corners of British industry with a £14 billion private sector investment.

The Committee of Public Accounts estimates as much as 28% of central government systems are “end-of-life” products that can no longer be updated, receive support from suppliers, or are no longer cost effective.

A matter of urgency

These legacy systems are of high priority for the Department of Science and Technology (DSIT), not just so AI can be used more widely, but because out-of-date tech can cause serious cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

But, DSIT warns there “is no magic bullet” and that hardware will take time and effort to replace and fix, even admitting it needs “to get a better grip on the issue”. Of the 72 “red-rated” legacy systems that are highest risk, 21 still lack remediation funding, so there is a long way to go.

“The Government has said it wants to mainline AI into the veins of the nation, but our report raises questions over whether the public sector is ready for such a procedure,” says Committee Chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP.

“The ambition to harness the potential of one of the most significant technological developments of modern times is of course to be welcomed. Unfortunately, those familiar with our Committee’s past scrutiny of the Government’s frankly sclerotic digital architecture will know that any promises of sudden transformation are for the birds.”

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• Report warns legacy systems are a barrier to AI adoption
• Almost a third of central UK government systems are end-of-life
• These systems also present serious cybersecurity risks

The UK’s public spending watchdog has released a report outlining barriers to AI adoption, and cites “out–of–date legacy IT systems” as a contributing factor, as well as poor quality data, and data sharing obstacles.

The Department’s recommendations come as part of the UK Government’s plans to “unleash AI” with a plan to inject the tech into all corners of British industry with a £14 billion private sector investment.

The Committee of Public Accounts estimates as much as 28% of central government systems are “end-of-life” products that can no longer be updated, receive support from suppliers, or are no longer cost effective.

A matter of urgency

These legacy systems are of high priority for the Department of Science and Technology (DSIT), not just so AI can be used more widely, but because out-of-date tech can cause serious cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

But, DSIT warns there “is no magic bullet” and that hardware will take time and effort to replace and fix, even admitting it needs “to get a better grip on the issue”. Of the 72 “red-rated” legacy systems that are highest risk, 21 still lack remediation funding, so there is a long way to go.

“The Government has said it wants to mainline AI into the veins of the nation, but our report raises questions over whether the public sector is ready for such a procedure,” says Committee Chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP.

“The ambition to harness the potential of one of the most significant technological developments of modern times is of course to be welcomed. Unfortunately, those familiar with our Committee’s past scrutiny of the Government’s frankly sclerotic digital architecture will know that any promises of sudden transformation are for the birds.”

You might also like

• Take a look at our picks for the best AI tools around
• Tackling the UK's cybersecurity skills shortage
• Many schools still don’t have basic cybersecurity measures, research reveals

These crucial shopping tips will help you spend wisely, whether you want an iPhone or Android phone.

Commentary: I want to see improvements to Apple Intelligence and Siri at WWDC 25 -- and recent rumors make me think Apple wants to level up Siri's visual smarts.

When it comes to whatever Nintendo might announce next week, expect the unexpected.

• Intel's rumored high-end Battlemage GPUs have been canceled according to a reliable leaker
• Its 'BMG-G31' die was rumored to have a 256-bit memory bus with 32 Xe cores
• We could still see high-end offerings with the upcoming Celestial Arc lineup

While Intel's Battlemage Arc B580 and B570 GPUs have provided great and affordable mid-range options for PC gamers, Team Blue is yet to make a high-end GPU to compete with Nvidia (since AMD is also focusing primarily on the mid-range space going forward). Unfortunately, it now looks like the wait will continue.

According to a reputable leaker, Jaykihn0 on X, Intel's supposed high-end Battlemage GPU plans were cut short in Q3 of 2024: in other words, Xe2-based GPUs reportedly featuring up to 24GB of VRAM have been canceled. The 'BMG-G31' die supposedly had a 256-bit memory bus with 32 Xe cores and at least 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM.

Any hopes of a strong high-end alternative to Nvidia's RTX GPUs are seemingly slimmer than ever, as both AMD and Intel continue to target affordable options for consumers.

While Jaykihn0 suggests there are currently no updates on the upcoming Celestial discrete GPU lineup, it's certainly not over for Intel potentially delving into the high-end market. Celestial GPUs are rumored to use Xe3P architecture, which could involve some high-end GPUs and improved features like XeSS Frame Generation - however, it's not yet clear when they will be ready for consumers.

In the meantime, Intel's Xe3 architecture will be used for the upcoming Panther Lake processors, likely including mobile processors for ultrabooks and handhelds. There's plenty to look forward to on Team Blue's end, especially after the success of its current Battlemage GPUs, and processors like the Core Ultra 7 258V.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler) We seriously need any high-end competition we can get from Intel

If it wasn't clear enough already, the GPU market is in dire need of a helping hand: scalping, price inflation, and low availability are at an all-time high, and the only way I can see this changing is if consumers don't acquiesce to purchasing overpriced GPUs. However, most importantly, we need more high-end GPUs that aren't from Nvidia.

Team Green's Blackwell GPU lineup is the only product range that includes true high-end options this generation, and it's not a surprise that there's hardly any stock for Founders Edition cards, considering their popularity and demand.

While AMD's mid-range Radeon RX 9070 XT comes at an incredible $599/£569, there are no reference cards, which means consumers must rely on AIB partner cards sold by retailers - which are currently charging over $200 more than MSRP. Don't believe me? Just have a look at Best Buy.

With this in mind, Intel is potentially the only one in the market that could offer high-end alternatives in the near future: I'll admit it's hard to suggest any of these GPUs would beat Nvidia's RTX 5090, but PC gamers need all the industry competition we can get.

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• Intel Arc B580 vs Nvidia RTX 4060: Which mainstream GPU is right for you?
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• Intel's rumored high-end Battlemage GPUs have been canceled according to a reliable leaker
• Its 'BMG-G31' die was rumored to have a 256-bit memory bus with 32 Xe cores
• We could still see high-end offerings with the upcoming Celestial Arc lineup

While Intel's Battlemage Arc B580 and B570 GPUs have provided great and affordable mid-range options for PC gamers, Team Blue is yet to make a high-end GPU to compete with Nvidia (since AMD is also focusing primarily on the mid-range space going forward). Unfortunately, it now looks like the wait will continue.

According to a reputable leaker, Jaykihn0 on X, Intel's supposed high-end Battlemage GPU plans were cut short in Q3 of 2024: in other words, Xe2-based GPUs reportedly featuring up to 24GB of VRAM have been canceled. The 'BMG-G31' die supposedly had a 256-bit memory bus with 32 Xe cores and at least 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM.

Any hopes of a strong high-end alternative to Nvidia's RTX GPUs are seemingly slimmer than ever, as both AMD and Intel continue to target affordable options for consumers.

While Jaykihn0 suggests there are currently no updates on the upcoming Celestial discrete GPU lineup, it's certainly not over for Intel potentially delving into the high-end market. Celestial GPUs are rumored to use Xe3P architecture, which could involve some high-end GPUs and improved features like XeSS Frame Generation - however, it's not yet clear when they will be ready for consumers.

In the meantime, Intel's Xe3 architecture will be used for the upcoming Panther Lake processors, likely including mobile processors for ultrabooks and handhelds. There's plenty to look forward to on Team Blue's end, especially after the success of its current Battlemage GPUs, and processors like the Core Ultra 7 258V.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler) We seriously need any high-end competition we can get from Intel

If it wasn't clear enough already, the GPU market is in dire need of a helping hand: scalping, price inflation, and low availability are at an all-time high, and the only way I can see this changing is if consumers don't acquiesce to purchasing overpriced GPUs. However, most importantly, we need more high-end GPUs that aren't from Nvidia.

Team Green's Blackwell GPU lineup is the only product range that includes true high-end options this generation, and it's not a surprise that there's hardly any stock for Founders Edition cards, considering their popularity and demand.

While AMD's mid-range Radeon RX 9070 XT comes at an incredible $599/£569, there are no reference cards, which means consumers must rely on AIB partner cards sold by retailers - which are currently charging over $200 more than MSRP. Don't believe me? Just have a look at Best Buy.

With this in mind, Intel is potentially the only one in the market that could offer high-end alternatives in the near future: I'll admit it's hard to suggest any of these GPUs would beat Nvidia's RTX 5090, but PC gamers need all the industry competition we can get.

You may also like...

• Intel Arc B580 vs Nvidia RTX 4060: Which mainstream GPU is right for you?
• Intel makes its XeSS 2 upscaling tech easier to add to games - here's why that's good news for PC gamers with tight budgets
• Motherboard sizes explained: which should you buy in 2025?

Two new free line offers coincide with a recent cost increase.

• The latest Metroid Prime 4: Beyond trailer appeared at yesterday's Nintendo Direct
• The trailer introduces psychic abilities for Samus as well as a new suit upgrade
• The game is still on track for a '2025' release window

We got a fresh trailer for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond at the latest Nintendo Direct presentation, and I think it's shaping up to be a worthy follow-up to the original Prime trilogy.

In the latest trailer, protagonist Samus Aran lands on a strange planet called Viewros, inhabited by hostile alien creatures as well as a race that seems versed in psychic powers. Said powers are also bestowed unto Samus, allowing her to interact with the environment and combat enemies in various new ways.

We see Samus use her new psychic abilities to transport orbs into mechanisms to power devices and open doors. But more importantly (and awesomely), she can use these powers to slow time and manually guide her beam shots through enemies. Does it look overpowered? Sure, but perhaps not on the level Hypermode was in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

These psychic abilities seem like they'll be the primary gimmick in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, following Prime 3's Phazon power and Prime 2's light and dark mechanics. We only really got a brief glimpse of them in the trailer, so I'm hoping they'll be useful for more than just opening doors and entering a bullet-time-esque state.

Enjoying the Viewros

One thing that's clear, though, is that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond appears to be pushing the Switch hardware to its limits. Environments are looking gorgeous with impressive detail and glorious skyboxes. It does look to be holding a pretty steady 60fps too, which has been a crucial performance factor in all Prime games to date.

I have to give a shoutout to the soundtrack, too, which is definitely capturing that feeling of isolation the Prime games have always been excellent at. Combat music is also wild and chaotic, creating an intentionally jarring sensation when you're pulled out of smelling the roses and into hectic battle.

Lastly, the trailer ends with a glimpse at one of Samus's new suit upgrades. Her Varia suit takes on a sleek red and black aesthetic with purple accents. It's a very striking look, but it's unclear what abilities this suit will enable for her. Presumably, it'll help bolster her new psychic powers or provide ways to better traverse through dangerous environments.

Still no solid release date for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond as of yet, though. But the trailer confirms the game is still on track for a 2025 release. Hopefully, it'll end up being a launch title for Nintendo Switch 2 as many are speculating.

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• The latest Metroid Prime 4: Beyond trailer appeared at yesterday's Nintendo Direct
• The trailer introduces psychic abilities for Samus as well as a new suit upgrade
• The game is still on track for a '2025' release window

We got a fresh trailer for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond at the latest Nintendo Direct presentation, and I think it's shaping up to be a worthy follow-up to the original Prime trilogy.

In the latest trailer, protagonist Samus Aran lands on a strange planet called Viewros, inhabited by hostile alien creatures as well as a race that seems versed in psychic powers. Said powers are also bestowed unto Samus, allowing her to interact with the environment and combat enemies in various new ways.

We see Samus use her new psychic abilities to transport orbs into mechanisms to power devices and open doors. But more importantly (and awesomely), she can use these powers to slow time and manually guide her beam shots through enemies. Does it look overpowered? Sure, but perhaps not on the level Hypermode was in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

These psychic abilities seem like they'll be the primary gimmick in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, following Prime 3's Phazon power and Prime 2's light and dark mechanics. We only really got a brief glimpse of them in the trailer, so I'm hoping they'll be useful for more than just opening doors and entering a bullet-time-esque state.

Enjoying the Viewros

One thing that's clear, though, is that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond appears to be pushing the Switch hardware to its limits. Environments are looking gorgeous with impressive detail and glorious skyboxes. It does look to be holding a pretty steady 60fps too, which has been a crucial performance factor in all Prime games to date.

I have to give a shoutout to the soundtrack, too, which is definitely capturing that feeling of isolation the Prime games have always been excellent at. Combat music is also wild and chaotic, creating an intentionally jarring sensation when you're pulled out of smelling the roses and into hectic battle.

Lastly, the trailer ends with a glimpse at one of Samus's new suit upgrades. Her Varia suit takes on a sleek red and black aesthetic with purple accents. It's a very striking look, but it's unclear what abilities this suit will enable for her. Presumably, it'll help bolster her new psychic powers or provide ways to better traverse through dangerous environments.

Still no solid release date for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond as of yet, though. But the trailer confirms the game is still on track for a 2025 release. Hopefully, it'll end up being a launch title for Nintendo Switch 2 as many are speculating.

You might also like...

• Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is a sequel to my favorite 3DS game, and I think it's already packing the charm that inZOI lacks
• Nintendo's new app gave us another look at the Switch 2, and there's something different with the Joy-Con
• Nintendo reveals the new Virtual Game Card feature, an easier way to manage your digital Switch games

• Dolby Atmos is coming to Bose and Burmester premium Porsche systems
• Also onboard: Alexa support and a new App Center
• New hardware delivers improved responsiveness

Porsche's in-car entertainment is going to get even better in this year's models, thanks to a significant upgrade that brings Dolby Atmos to the 911, Taycan, Panamera and Cayenne model series.

That's not the only new feature either. There's also Amazon Alexa plus an expanded Porsche Connect package, and the system itself should be even smoother in everyday operation.

Porsche is also introducing a new App Center, which we first saw in the all-electric Macan.

2025-year Porsche 911, Taycan, Panamera and Cayenne models will get the App Center that made its debut in the Macan EV. (Image credit: Porsche) What's new in 2025 model Porsches

Porsche calls its infotainment system Porsche Communication Management, or PCM for short (yes, a little confusing for those of us into hi-res audio and Pulse-Code Modulation, but we press on). The new model year brings upgraded hardware, and it comes with ten years of Porsche Connect "to ensure a reliable digital user experience."

One of the big changes is the App Center, which works in much the same way as the familiar phone and tablet app stores. Depending on the market (not all app makers offer their products globally), you'll be able to add apps for streaming music and podcasts, apps for weather forecasts and news, and even gaming and karaoke apps. Porsche says that there will also be smart home apps enabling you to control your home when you're on the road.

Another big upgrade is the addition of Alexa to the existing Porsche Voice Pilot. You'll be able to activate it with the Alexa trigger word, with a button or with one of the PCM icons. Alexa will be available in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Canada.

And then there's Dolby Atmos. For the first time, cars with the premium and high-end audio systems from Bose and Burmester will have Dolby Atmos, and will be compatible with Atmos-capable apps from the App Center. Being dropped right into the middle of an album as I drive a Porsche? Yes please.

The upgraded PCM will be in vehicles distributed from June 2025, and those vehicles can be ordered now.

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• Dolby Atmos is coming to Bose and Burmester premium Porsche systems
• Also onboard: Alexa support and a new App Center
• New hardware delivers improved responsiveness

Porsche's in-car entertainment is going to get even better in this year's models, thanks to a significant upgrade that brings Dolby Atmos to the 911, Taycan, Panamera and Cayenne model series.

That's not the only new feature either. There's also Amazon Alexa plus an expanded Porsche Connect package, and the system itself should be even smoother in everyday operation.

Porsche is also introducing a new App Center, which we first saw in the all-electric Macan.

2025-year Porsche 911, Taycan, Panamera and Cayenne models will get the App Center that made its debut in the Macan EV. (Image credit: Porsche) What's new in 2025 model Porsches

Porsche calls its infotainment system Porsche Communication Management, or PCM for short (yes, a little confusing for those of us into hi-res audio and Pulse-Code Modulation, but we press on). The new model year brings upgraded hardware, and it comes with ten years of Porsche Connect "to ensure a reliable digital user experience."

One of the big changes is the App Center, which works in much the same way as the familiar phone and tablet app stores. Depending on the market (not all app makers offer their products globally), you'll be able to add apps for streaming music and podcasts, apps for weather forecasts and news, and even gaming and karaoke apps. Porsche says that there will also be smart home apps enabling you to control your home when you're on the road.

Another big upgrade is the addition of Alexa to the existing Porsche Voice Pilot. You'll be able to activate it with the Alexa trigger word, with a button or with one of the PCM icons. Alexa will be available in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Canada.

And then there's Dolby Atmos. For the first time, cars with the premium and high-end audio systems from Bose and Burmester will have Dolby Atmos, and will be compatible with Atmos-capable apps from the App Center. Being dropped right into the middle of an album as I drive a Porsche? Yes please.

The upgraded PCM will be in vehicles distributed from June 2025, and those vehicles can be ordered now.

You might also like

• Apple promised CarPlay 2 in 2024. Where is it?
• Tesla sales are plummeting as used prices crash
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• We've got more details on the One UI 7 rollout
• The Galaxy S23 update should appear around April 17
• Dates may vary depending on your location

Up until now it's been a bit of a guessing game as to when One UI 7 (Samsung's version of Android 15) would make its way to Galaxy devices beyond the Samsung Galaxy S25 series – but Samsung has now given us some clarity on the matter.

The last we heard, One UI 7 was scheduled to start rolling out on Monday, April 7 – with the Samsung Galaxy S24 phones, plus the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6, all first in line (those were the flagship phones Samsung launched in 2024).

Now, courtesy of Samsung Czechia (via SamMobile), it seems we can expect the software update to appear on the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, the Samsung Galaxy S23 phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 from Thursday, April 17.

The press release (put through Google Translate) also says that the Galaxy S23 FE and the Galaxy S22 series will get One UI 7 in the "coming weeks", while the Galaxy Tab S10 series rollout is due in "mid-April", with Galaxy Tab S9 updates appearing a week later. Galaxy Tab S8 devices should start seeing the software at the end of April.

A long time coming

The Samsung Galaxy S24 is next in line for One UI 7 (Image credit: Future | Roland Moore-Colyer)

There are a few caveats to bear in mind here: the update in the Czech Republic doesn't actually start until Thursday, April 10, so other rollout dates across the globe might vary. What's more, as far as we can tell, Samsung's press releases from its other international news rooms aren't as specific when it comes to dates.

Still, it gives us a more specific idea of when these software updates are going to start appearing – and it would be unusual for Samsung to push out the upgrades for these older devices in the Czech Republic and nowhere else.

It's been quite a journey to get to this point, with plenty of delays and beta releases along the way, and it's a reminder that if you want Android updates before anyone else, you need one of the best Pixel phones – the Pixel 9 phones got Android 15 in October 2024.

Among the new features in One UI 7 are the Now Bar, for bringing important real-time updates to the lock screen, and the Now Brief, an AI-powered summary of your day – though Samsung hasn't confirmed if all the One UI 7 features will make it to all devices.

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• We've got more details on the One UI 7 rollout
• The Galaxy S23 update should appear around April 17
• Dates may vary depending on your location

Up until now it's been a bit of a guessing game as to when One UI 7 (Samsung's version of Android 15) would make its way to Galaxy devices beyond the Samsung Galaxy S25 series – but Samsung has now given us some clarity on the matter.

The last we heard, One UI 7 was scheduled to start rolling out on Monday, April 7 – with the Samsung Galaxy S24 phones, plus the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6, all first in line (those were the flagship phones Samsung launched in 2024).

Now, courtesy of Samsung Czechia (via SamMobile), it seems we can expect the software update to appear on the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, the Samsung Galaxy S23 phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 from Thursday, April 17.

The press release (put through Google Translate) also says that the Galaxy S23 FE and the Galaxy S22 series will get One UI 7 in the "coming weeks", while the Galaxy Tab S10 series rollout is due in "mid-April", with Galaxy Tab S9 updates appearing a week later. Galaxy Tab S8 devices should start seeing the software at the end of April.

A long time coming

The Samsung Galaxy S24 is next in line for One UI 7 (Image credit: Future | Roland Moore-Colyer)

There are a few caveats to bear in mind here: the update in the Czech Republic doesn't actually start until Thursday, April 10, so other rollout dates across the globe might vary. What's more, as far as we can tell, Samsung's press releases from its other international news rooms aren't as specific when it comes to dates.

Still, it gives us a more specific idea of when these software updates are going to start appearing – and it would be unusual for Samsung to push out the upgrades for these older devices in the Czech Republic and nowhere else.

It's been quite a journey to get to this point, with plenty of delays and beta releases along the way, and it's a reminder that if you want Android updates before anyone else, you need one of the best Pixel phones – the Pixel 9 phones got Android 15 in October 2024.

Among the new features in One UI 7 are the Now Bar, for bringing important real-time updates to the lock screen, and the Now Brief, an AI-powered summary of your day – though Samsung hasn't confirmed if all the One UI 7 features will make it to all devices.

You might also like

• The Samsung Galaxy S24 is getting a big One UI 7 video upgrade
• Read our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S25
• Samsung's budget handsets have been getting One UI 7 too

This review first appeared in issue 350 of PC Pro.

Arcserve UDP (unified data protection) provides a one-stop shop for backup and recovery of all your physical and virtual systems. Available as a turnkey appliance or software only, UDP 9.1 introduces a choice of private on-premises or cloud management.

There’s a range of licensing plans; the price we’ve shown is for an on-premises UDP 9.1 single socket premium license. Socket licenses are only applied to the systems being protected, have no restrictions on the amount of back-end storage and support unlimited virtual machines.

Ransomware protection for the UDP host comes into play as the price includes the Sophos Intercept X Advanced for Servers endpoint protection software. Arcserve supplies it with a personal Sophos Central account so you can manage the software in the cloud.

We chose the on-premises UDP version and installed it on a Dell PowerEdge R760xs Xeon Scalable server running Windows Server 2022. Initial deployment is deftly handled by a wizard that helped create protection plans, add nodes, define a backup destination and schedule jobs.

The recovery point server (RPS) is a smart feature. It defines where data is backed up to, and you can use the local host along with other networked Windows Server systems. It provides AES-256 encryption, deduplication and replication services, and each RPS performs global deduplication using dedicated data block locations, hash databases and indexes.

When physical nodes are declared to UDP, an agent is pushed to them. To define our VMs for agentless backup, we used the import function to add the VMs to be protected. UDP also supports CIFS/NFS shares, and we had no problems bringing a Synology NAS appliance under its protection.

UDP 9.1 allows you to move all data protection management into the cloud (Image credit: Future)

Microsoft 365 (MS365) support is enabled when a UDP license has been applied but the authorization process is tediously complex. You may want to consider Arcserve’s separate SaaS cloud product for protecting MS365 accounts as this is far easier to use.

Protection plans are very flexible and contain selected nodes, an RPS, the required number of recovery points and a schedule that can be run as often as every 15 minutes. A smart feature is the option to add extra tasks to a plan; these include replication to a remote RPS and assured recovery, which loads a temporary VM on a virtualization host, confirms it works and then deletes it.

Another valuable task is virtual standby, which creates backup VMware or Hyper-V VMs of selected nodes. It uses a heartbeat service measured in seconds to monitor the primary node and, if it fails to respond, the standby VM is automatically started using the latest recovery point.

For file and folder recovery, we loaded the UDP agent’s console for the selected node, chose a recovery point, picked files and folders and restored them back to the node or another location. An agent installed on our SQL Server system automatically added its databases as backup sources and we had no problems restoring these back to the host.

We tried out cloud management by installing the gateway component on a separate Windows host and using the migration tool to move everything to our cloud console account. This only took ten minutes, and we could then use the portal to manage our on-premises UDP installation along with all backup and restore tasks.

MS365 support is cumbersome, but UDP 9.1 delivers a wealth of data protection services for a wide range of environments. Recovery features are outstanding, the free Sophos endpoint agent adds essential ransomware protection and you can choose from on-premises or cloud management.

We also ranked the best antivirus rescue disks.

• Music can now be organized and discovered by record label
• Browse the winners of prestigious awards and critics' picks
• Hi-Res Audio where available, in both Labels and Awards

One of the things I really hate about music streaming is the algorithm, which tends to play me things that sound really quite a lot like the things I've played. That's fine for background music, but it's not great for finding really amazing new artists and their albums. So I'm really intrigued by Qobuz's new features, which focus on specific record labels and award winners.

Some labels are legendary: think Stax or Blue Note, Motown or Deutsche Grammophon, Def Jam or Warp. And now Qobuz enables you to find more music from the label of the artist you're currently listening to, as well as the labels of your favourites.

The results will depend very much on the label, of course. but there are real gems in those catalogs.

Let's say you're listening to Aphex Twin (good choice, by the way). Qobuz now makes it easy to find more Warp Records artists: Squarepusher and Broadcast, Thom Yorke with Mark Pritchard, Boards of Canada and 48 more pages of electronic awesomeness.

Prefer something a bit more soulful? Stax has Melissa Etheridge, Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Albert King... you get the idea.

Award-winning music discovery

(Image credit: Qobuz)

The second new feature, Award pages, is really interesting too. Qobuz has put together a list of various awards and their winners, and the awards featured include some very prestigious ones as well as Qobuz's own favorites.

For example, you can browse Gramophone Award winners to discover some truly exceptional classical recordings, or you can focus on the winners of Pitchfork's best new music awards: Beyoncé, Kendrick, Charli XCX, FKA Twigs, Bad Bunny, Vampire Weekend, Father John Misty.... there are 22 pages for this award alone.

I love this: it's a big bunch of musical rabbit holes to lose yourself in, and I think it's a really good fit for Qobuz's target audience. It's long marked itself as the streaming service for serious music fans and audiophiles, and browsing these collections is almost as much fun as going crate-digging for new LPs – oh, and while I'm on this, don't forget that Record Store Day is coming, on April 12.

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• Music can now be organized and discovered by record label
• Browse the winners of prestigious awards and critics' picks
• Hi-Res Audio where available, in both Labels and Awards

One of the things I really hate about music streaming is the algorithm, which tends to play me things that sound really quite a lot like the things I've played. That's fine for background music, but it's not great for finding really amazing new artists and their albums. So I'm really intrigued by Qobuz's new features, which focus on specific record labels and award winners.

Some labels are legendary: think Stax or Blue Note, Motown or Deutsche Grammophon, Def Jam or Warp. And now Qobuz enables you to find more music from the label of the artist you're currently listening to, as well as the labels of your favourites.

The results will depend very much on the label, of course. but there are real gems in those catalogs.

Let's say you're listening to Aphex Twin (good choice, by the way). Qobuz now makes it easy to find more Warp Records artists: Squarepusher and Broadcast, Thom Yorke with Mark Pritchard, Boards of Canada and 48 more pages of electronic awesomeness.

Prefer something a bit more soulful? Stax has Melissa Etheridge, Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Albert King... you get the idea.

Award-winning music discovery

(Image credit: Qobuz)

The second new feature, Award pages, is really interesting too. Qobuz has put together a list of various awards and their winners, and the awards featured include some very prestigious ones as well as Qobuz's own favorites.

For example, you can browse Gramophone Award winners to discover some truly exceptional classical recordings, or you can focus on the winners of Pitchfork's best new music awards: Beyoncé, Kendrick, Charli XCX, FKA Twigs, Bad Bunny, Vampire Weekend, Father John Misty.... there are 22 pages for this award alone.

I love this: it's a big bunch of musical rabbit holes to lose yourself in, and I think it's a really good fit for Qobuz's target audience. It's long marked itself as the streaming service for serious music fans and audiophiles, and browsing these collections is almost as much fun as going crate-digging for new LPs – oh, and while I'm on this, don't forget that Record Store Day is coming, on April 12.

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This review first appeared in issue 350 of PC Pro.

With 16in laptops all the rage, it’s hardly shocking to see that size class invade the portable monitor space. Nor is it a surprise to see Asus leading the charge, with its ZenScreen MB16QHG priced at a heavyweight £399.

That’s four times the cost of a 15.6in 1080p monitor you’d find on Amazon, but the ZenScreen not only features a 2,560 x 1,600 IPS panel but also offers a 120Hz refresh rate. Throw in strong color performance, a robust stand and one of the brightest panels we’ve seen in a portable display, and the MB16QHG has a lot going for it.

Asus opts for a hinged base rather than a kickstand or detachable/magnetic stand. This makes the unit heavier, but it’s a solid design that provides easy access to the ports. I also like the fact that the cables connect low down at desktop level and behind the screen. So, while most portable monitors have ugly cables protruding from the side, here they’re far less obvious.

The hinged base makes it easy to access the ports (Image credit: Future)

The display’s hinge allows it to sit completely vertical or lay flat against the base (and any angle in between). Asus also integrates a tripod socket into the bottom of the base, adding yet more flexibility.

Speaking of the base, you’ll find a single full-size HDMI port and a full-function USB-C port on the right. The left side is home to a second USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. I used the included USB-C cable for my testing, as it’s a simple one-cable affair for power, video and audio. The OSD joystick and a power button are located on the back of the monitor.

Build quality matches other members of the ZenScreen family, meaning it’s primarily constructed of plastic to keep costs in check and weight down. However, it doesn’t feel cheap thanks to a stylish grain effect. I’m less convinced by the backlit Asus logo in the center of the bottom bezel, as it’s almost too eye-catching.

Fortunately, the quality and resolution of the screen distracted me. For example, I used the monitor to edit Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and greatly appreciated the 2,560 x 1,600 resolution. And while the 120Hz refresh rate is there to attract gamers, I also appreciated it for mundane tasks such fast-scrolling in Edge; text and images stayed crisp as they whirled by. Gamers should note that this screen isn’t Adaptive Sync compliant, so there’s no AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync support.

The 16in MB16QHG is the perfect match for a 16in laptop (Image credit: Future)

The MB16QHG stood out in our brightness testing, delivering 417cd/m2 compared to the typical 250cd/m2 of a standard portable monitor (albeit short of the 500cd/m2 that Asus claims). To achieve 100% brightness, plug the monitor in with the included wall adapter. Relying on a single USB-C cable to handle all the heavy lifting for power and video limits you to a 60% brightness.

The ZenScreen covered 116% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 163% of sRGB, which is excellent for an IPS panel. Panel uniformity was good, with no obvious backlight bleeding. The only area it fell behind OLED was when I watched Incredibles 2, with blacks appearing more like a dark grey.

As usual with Asus, there are many picture modes to choose from via the OSD. Navigation is intuitive via a joystick, which is much quicker than the norm of up/down/select buttons found on lesser portable monitors.

The Asus ZenScreen MB16QHG is a great all-around portable monitor. Not only does the 2,560 x 1,600 resolution offer extra detail over FHD panels, but its 16in diagonal is the perfect match for the growing army of 16in laptops. With high brightness levels and strong color coverage, it could even attract photographers (that’s where the tripod mount comes in handy).

Admittedly, the MB16QHG doesn’t come cheap. You can buy 15.6in OLED portable monitors (including one from Asus) for this money. However, that’s a Full HD panel, and if you’re looking for additional resolution, and bumping up to 4K resolution is overkill, the MB16QHG is well worth considering despite its high price.

We've also rated the best pre-built gaming PCs.

• OpenAI limits free tier of ChatGPT to 3 images a day
• Sam Altman says "Our GPUs are melting"
• Limitation should be on a temporary basis

Amid the growing controversy over its AI mimicking the artistic style of Studio Ghibli, OpenAI is being forced to limit how many images ChatGPT can produce on the free tier to 3 a day because it's proving too popular.

In a recent tweet on X, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said “It's super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT, but our GPUs are melting. We are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient. Hopefully won't be long! ChatGPT free tier will get 3 generations per day soon.”

it's super fun seeing people love images in chatgpt.but our GPUs are melting.we are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient. hopefully won't be long!chatgpt free tier will get 3 generations per day soon.March 27, 2025

ChatGPT’s new image generation capabilities are clearly a step up in the development of AI image generation, proving superior in our tests to DALL-E 3, which is the model previously used by ChatGPT, and also what it will still default to once you’ve run out of generations in the new model.

In his X-thread Sam Altman also goes on to say that “(also, we are refusing some generations that should be allowed; we are fixing these as fast we can.)”

This could explain the frustrations I’ve been experiencing getting ChatGPT to produce text in images.

An image generated using ChatGPT's new image-generation abilities. (Image credit: OpenAI) ChatGPT rollout delays

It’s quite possible that you don’t have access to ChatGPT’s image creation tools quite yet anyway. While ChatGPT Plus and Pro users all seem to have access, not all free-tier users do.

On March 26 Altman tweeted that rollout to the free tier was going to be delayed: “Images in ChatGPT are way more popular than we expected (and we had pretty high expectations). Rollout to our free tier is, unfortunately, going to be delayed for a while.”

As we've said in our testing, even on the Plus tier, ChatGPT is already very slow when it comes to generating images, and when the rollout to the free tier is complete we would expect it to be even slower. The move to limit the free tier to 3 images on a temporary basis, while understandable, will inevitably lead to people feeling frustrated with the company.

Have you been able to sample ChatGPT's new image creation abilities yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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• OpenAI limits free tier of ChatGPT to 3 images a day
• Sam Altman says "Our GPUs are melting"
• Limitation should be on a temporary basis

Amid the growing controversy over its AI mimicking the artistic style of Studio Ghibli, OpenAI is being forced to limit how many images ChatGPT can produce on the free tier to 3 a day because it's proving too popular.

In a recent tweet on X, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said “It's super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT, but our GPUs are melting. We are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient. Hopefully won't be long! ChatGPT free tier will get 3 generations per day soon.”

it's super fun seeing people love images in chatgpt.but our GPUs are melting.we are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient. hopefully won't be long!chatgpt free tier will get 3 generations per day soon.March 27, 2025

ChatGPT’s new image generation capabilities are clearly a step up in the development of AI image generation, proving superior in our tests to DALL-E 3, which is the model previously used by ChatGPT, and also what it will still default to once you’ve run out of generations in the new model.

In his X-thread Sam Altman also goes on to say that “(also, we are refusing some generations that should be allowed; we are fixing these as fast we can.)”

This could explain the frustrations I’ve been experiencing getting ChatGPT to produce text in images.

An image generated using ChatGPT's new image-generation abilities. (Image credit: OpenAI) ChatGPT rollout delays

It’s quite possible that you don’t have access to ChatGPT’s image creation tools quite yet anyway. While ChatGPT Plus and Pro users all seem to have access, not all free-tier users do.

On March 26 Altman tweeted that rollout to the free tier was going to be delayed: “Images in ChatGPT are way more popular than we expected (and we had pretty high expectations). Rollout to our free tier is, unfortunately, going to be delayed for a while.”

As we've said in our testing, even on the Plus tier, ChatGPT is already very slow when it comes to generating images, and when the rollout to the free tier is complete we would expect it to be even slower. The move to limit the free tier to 3 images on a temporary basis, while understandable, will inevitably lead to people feeling frustrated with the company.

Have you been able to sample ChatGPT's new image creation abilities yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

You may also like

• ChatGPT 4o image generation is so good we will never be able to trust iPhone renders again
• ChatGPT 4o just got better, although I’m yet to notice a difference
• OpenAI unveiled image generation for 4o – here's everything you need to know about the ChatGPT upgrade