PC Magazine March 2016

Android is one of the most popular operating systems in the world, but are you doing everything you can with the phone or tablet in your life that uses it? If not, change that with the help of this month's issue of PC Magazine. We've collected dozens of tips to help you take control of every aspect of Android and get performance and features out of your phone you've never thought possible. With the tight integration between hardware and software and the boundless creativity that defines Google, you'll soon be taking your mobile experience to new heights.

There is, however, a low that hits this time of year, too: taxes. Doing them yourself is a pain, and paying someone to do them for you can be expensive. You can avoid all these problems by using an online tax preparation service, which automatically knows all the forms, schedules, and relationships you need to spend the least time and get the greatest benefit. We reveal our top pick for tackling the 2015 tax year, and show you how it can help you breeze through the tedious, cumbersome process of making sure Uncle Sam gets his due.

Let's lighten things up a bit, shall we? How about with digital photos? It's never been easier to take high-quality shots and have them ready to view, edit, and share immediately. The problem is keeping them all in order, especially when you have dozens—if not hundreds—covering every single event for several years running. Our organizational expert, Jill Duffy, teaches you the best ways to tag, rate, sort, and file your photos so you'll always find just the shots you need, right when you need them.

Although Amazon Prime Video started out as just a clever perk for subscribers to Amazon's expedited shipping service, it's evolved into one of the best streaming services out there for movies and TV shows. But don't settle for the ways it does things. With just a few small adjustments, you can make it into your ultimate (Web-based) home entertainment system. Read our primer, and you'll see how Prime can truly be primo.

Streaming video—like so much else these days—requires a hardy, healthy Internet connection if you want to have the clearest and smoothest experience. If your connection isn't at its speediest best, check out our story on how to diagnose and repair basic problems yourself. With just a few basic tweaks to your modem or your router, you can solve most issues, and get up and running again in no time. And if it turns out you need a new router or a range extender, you can find our top recommendations for those, too.

If you're in the market for a new PC, reviews (even when they're as in-depth as ours!) only tell you so much. If you want to know how reliable and satisfying systems are over the long haul, you have to turn to the people who've bought them. That's why we run our annual Readers' Choice survey, where you sound off on your favorites. In this month's issue we share the results. Think you can name the fruity top pick in every situation? Think again. There are some real surprises in store, from companies you may never have expected. You can't always just pick the best system off of a tree.

One of the hottest—and hardest!—games of the year so far is The Witness, the picturesque new mind-bender by Jonathan Blow (Braid). This modern-day Myst finds you stranded on a mysterious island confronting dastardly puzzles that challenge your mental and visual perception, logic, and creative thinking. It can drive you mad if you let it, so don't let it. Our guide to the game's secrets won't just help you keep your sanity, it will also help you raise your score as you attack the hundreds of elusive challenges on this island. Curing the obsession you'll develop for the game? Sorry, that's all up to you.

Last but not least, we dig into the news that's reshaping the technology landscape. You'll learn why Intel is abandoning its decades-long pursuit of speed in computer chips and why that isn't necessarily a bad thing; how remote areas of the world may finally get blazing-fast Internet connections via an unlikely source; and how a new glove is giving much-needed relief to people who are suffering from Parkinson's disease. In our Opinions section, you'll see why one of the world's greatest platforms for free expression—Twitter—seems to be getting less free by the day.

Plus, as always, you'll find expert analysis, thorough reviews of some of the hottest and most innovative technology products you can buy, and much, much more.

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