Things We’ve Stopped Doing On The PC

Mark Pickavance looks at a collection of once-common activities, which have now been all but abandoned

Being along for the ride, it’s often difficult to appreciate the sheer amount of change that has occurred over the past 30 years or so. Larger storage, faster processors and better technology have all come along and rewritten the PC playbook, along with the internet.

Because of this, there are activities that many PC owners did that they no longer do – and I’m not just talking about loving the colour beige.

Do you remember doing any of these, or are there some you’re sheepishly still doing?

Remembering… Horace

We recall a strange blue character this week

There are numerous famous characters in gaming that are recognisable no matter where you travel in the world – with the exception of some of the more farflung destinations, of course.

Lara Croft, Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Q-Bert and countless others have left their mark on society. For those of us of a certain age though, there’s also Horace. That strangelooking blue creature, with haunting large eyes, lack of facial features and hand-less arms that seemingly grow from the top of his/her/it’s head.

Papa’s Got A Brand New Laptop Bag

Carry your notebook PC around in comfort and style – without breaking the bank

There’s no doubt we live in a world of smartphones and tablets, but there are still plenty of reasons to buy a laptop for your mobile computing needs. Whether you want to write a few letters, create some PowerPoint presentations or just make things blow up in the latest videogames, you’re better off doing it with a full-size keyboard and a decent-sized screen. And you’ll also find it easier to play non-standard media files that aren’t necessarily supported by operating systems like iOS and Android.