BACKING UP THE FUTURE
I AM FASCINATED WITH AI. It’s one of those things that is simultaneously terrifying and exceedingly exciting from both a technological and philosophical point of view. We’ve all seen Terminator, I’m sure, and the idea of an advanced, hyper-intelligent, self-learning, selfreplicating machine race certainly does have its own horrifying implications for humanity. But on the flip side, the advancements and jumps AI could potentially produce in the worlds of medicine, technology, astrophysics, and everything else in between mean it’s too enticing not to embark upon.
And, let’s face it, these are still ultimately going to be machines that are confined by rules, physics, and properties that limit their capability. Nonetheless, AI is also something of a buzz-acronym. Similar to nuclear fusion, it’s one of those things that’s always been “just 10 years away,” so to get a better understanding of where the AI industry and its development are right now, this issue we sent Jeremy Laird out to get a better understanding of the whole kit and caboodle for us, then write it all down in eight copy-rich pages.
AI revolutions aside, when the technological apocalypse does finally arrive, having a decent backup of all of our most important files and documents is going to be paramount. To that end, we got Nick Peers in to divulge all his knowledge and secrets about backing up your own digital lives, covering everything from Macrium Reflect, to local NAS drives, Windows File History, online solutions, and more.
On top of that, we’ve got two more epic features: One is a fancy ITX build squeezed inside the wonderfully weird Lian Li Tu150 case (it has a handle on the top), and the other being Ian’s look at the best games of the last decade that everyone should play, at least once, during their lifetime.
For tutorials this month we’re moving away from Photoshop and taking a look at another of Adobe’s excellent artistic tools: Illustrator. Meanwhile, Ian has a fantastic guide to getting your PC ready for Windows 11 (more on that next issue), Alex explains how to turn a Raspberry Pi into a NAS, and we get you up and running with RetroPie for all your old-school gaming needs.
To round all that off, we’re finally wrapping up our GPU launch coverage, with the RTX 3070 Ti, plus we have a pair of laptops in the form of the MSI GL66 and the Alienware M15, and a ton more besides, including a head-to-head between two of our favorite backup programs (can you spot a theme here?), Acronis and Macrium Reflect.
With a whole heap of columns, builds, letters, reviews, and more, I hope you enjoy the latest issue of Maximum PC. It’s been a pleasure to put together, and there’s even more to come next issue.
Stay safe out there, folks, and until next time!