Computer Shopper - July 2017

LETTERS
Irreplaceable replaceables
It was interesting to see the letter from
Paul Morris on battery issues (Shopper
352). I’d been meaning to write in about this
myself so he beat me to it. I did want to add,
though, that in my experience phone
batteries don’t really last more than a year
before they rapidly degrade, and for this
reason I wouldn’t even consider buying a
phone without a replaceable battery.
My current model is a Samsung Galaxy
S4. It’s on its second battery now and I’ve
owned it just over a year. My only future
upgrade option is the Galaxy S5
Neo, but as my needs are
quite simple I’m in no rush.
Looking further ahead, if
there is no significant
improvement in battery
durability, what options will
be available? I don’t believe
in spending more than £600
on a new unit, but the
second-hand market will, as
Mr Morris points out, be
awash with phones whose batteries
you can’t replace and therefore can’t trust.
Keith Briffett
We agree the trend for non-replaceable
batteries makes choosing a new handset
problematic. Part of the thinking behind our
guide to the best-value smartphones (page 80)
was to identify our pick of the current and
previous-generation models that offer excellent
value for money and plenty of longevity, so the
battery degradation isn’t such an issue.
Cracked Windows
Just writing in to agree with Richard
Collier’s letter regarding Windows 10
and Linux (Shopper 352). I too have tried
Windows 10, and do not like it, for various
reasons. My fi rst frustration was with
Recent Places, which I use all the time in
Windows 7. It had vanished from Windows
10, and Recent Items was the closest I could
get back after some Googling and then
Windows 10 tweaking. Why am I having to
tweak something as fundamentally useful as
Recent Places in a brand new operating
system, I asked myself. Edge I hated, and it
didn’t work with a number of websites. And
a host of other things irked me. So back to
Windows 7 I went, with no regrets.
I wrote to you quite a while back
regarding an article you had on making
Windows 10 better, to which the main point
of my reply was: I have, simply by reverting
back to Windows 7.
So, one thing’s for sure: if Windows 10 is
the last operating system from Microsoft ,
my relationship with it might come to an
end, most likely when the date passes where
Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7.
I have, like Richard, been using Linux on
an old machine as I start my search for a
new OS, well in advance of the day Windows
7 dies. I would therefore really like to see
much greater coverage of Linux in Shopper.
I suspect Richard and I are not alone in our
dislike of Windows 10 and are thinking
what next in terms of what OS we might be
using in fi ve years’ time.
For now, I’ve stopped dabbling with Linux,
as Windows 7 is on my main machine, and
it’s a hassle setting up my old desktop so I
can use it. More articles in Shopper might
see me setting up my old machine on
another desk and getting more familiar
with it. I look forward to your coverage.
Jim
Thanks Jim, we have some more Linux
content planned for future issues.
Hyper critical
I read your response to Colin Walker
(Helpfi le, Shopper 352) and was a bit
surprised you didn’t mention before your
walkthrough for using Hyper-V that it’s only
available in Windows 10 Pro. You can do
something similar with Oracle VM VirtualBox
in Windows 10 Home, and unless Colin has
made a point of buying Pro, a pre-installed
Windows 10 will probably be Home.
Neil Packwood
You’re right, Neil - it’s only available in 64-bit
versions of Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise,
which we omitted to mention. As Colin
upgraded his own PC, there’s a fair chance he
bought Windows 10 Pro, or was upgraded to it
from a qualifying earlier release, so hopefully
our advice worked for his particular problem.
Keep politics out of it
I was a little surprised with
the political comments on
the Welcome Page in the June
edition (Shopper 352). I thought
you would be mentioning the
Creators Update for Windows
10. I thought magazines should
be neutral in political matters.
Remember the readers of the
magazine are of many different persuasions.
Please keep to your brief in case you offend.
Always look forward to the next edition.
Best computer magazine available
Elvin Rose MBE
Thanks for the feedback, Elvin, great to
hear you’re a Shopper fan. The comments on
government IT weren’t aimed at supporting
or criticising a particular political party, more
to highlight how the UK public sector has a
pretty poor track record when it comes to
big technology projects. Shopper is defi nitely
party-neutral and politics-free, although we
would defi nitely like to see the UK government
– whoever is forming it –applying our principles
of acquiring the best technology available with
the best value for money.
In the next issue
❱❱ £500 PCs
on test
Sett ing up a
home office, or
just want some
extra power out
of your home
PC? Don’t spend too much on a fl ashy
gaming system or high-end workstation –
we’ll be testing out a range of budget
desktops to fi nd out how much power,
memory and storage you can get for £500.
❱❱ Don’t forget to pack your tech
Whether your summer holidays are a British
staycation or a jet-setting jaunt around the
world, these are the devices to pack in your
carry-on bag and the apps you should
download before you depart.
❱❱ Stream everything
Our complete guide to the world’s biggest
media streamer, Kodi, shows you how to
use it – and, most importantly, how to stay
within the law.
COMPUTER SHOPPER ISSUE 354 ON SALE IN NEWSAGENTS FROM 15th JUNE
ISSUE 353 | COMPUTER SHOPPER | JULY 2017
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