Are Multiple Cores Better Than One?

Aaron Birch examines whether multiple slower cores are faster than a single speedy one

Advancement and innovation is one of the best things about PC technology and it's one of the reasons so many people choose the PC as their platform of choice, be they workers, social butterflies or gamers. The simple fact that the PC you buy today probably won't be the same as the one you run tomorrow makes the whole thing far more attractive. Unlike many other devices, you're not stuck with the exact same thing you buy months or even years down the line. You can upgrade them, refitting parts and boosting your PC's power and capabilities. Better graphics, more memory, a more capable audio card - it's all possible, with even the CPU, the brain of the computer, being upgradeable.

Cutting Edge: Web Browsers

Where can you get the latest web browsers with bleeding-edge features? Roland Waddilove shows how to get them and what to expect

Web browsers are one of the most frequently updated applications, with new versions released every couple of months. Minor updates are even more frequent, with updates often silently installed in the background. This means that browsers slowly evolve over time through the many updates they receive.

In addition to the stable release software that is pushed out to the public, there are beta versions of all the web browsers. These contain new features that are currently being tested before they're made available to everyone. Beta software is under development and a work in progress, so it might not be as stable the finished product, although web browsers are more stable than you might think. It's not as if they crash constantly, and a beta can be reliable enough for everyday use.

Mobile Operating Systems

Ian McGurren passes a judging eye over the mobile world's current operating systems

Yes, another year, another roundup of the latest iterations of the biggest mobile operating systems. We've given them a few months to bed in, release the odd point update and even for their desktop counterparts to catch up (hello, iOS), so have any of them made substantial gains or stupid mistakes, and is there a new best-in-show? Let's take a look at what they all have to offer, as well as considering what features they might be missing that we'd like to see.