The brains behind the best tech magazine in the world
Ex-T3 Editors recall their favourite moments working on T3 magazine
This year marks three decades of tech glory. In the last thirty years we've featured thousands of amazing (and not so amazing) gadgets, and while tech has certainly shaped how the magazine has evolved, it's the editors that made it all happen.
So how did we get here exactly? T3's ex editors reveal their favourite moments working on the magazine, starting at the beginning of it all.
When we launched T3, DVD was about to change the world, and digital cameras were the must-have gadget. Now, 30 years later, I can watch TV on the patio, streamed wirelessly to my iPad, recharge my car on the driveway, and my pocket computer lets me search a billion websites, shoot 4K video, and even speak to other people remotely.
As a child of the '60s, I've been privileged to witness the rise of technology: the move from analogue to digital; the advance of the internet, cloud computing and streaming media; and now the birth of generative AI, robotics and quantum computing.
I played Pong as a child, and now roam fantastical open worlds, marvelling at virtual landscapes rendered in remarkable fidelity.
The Chinese say it as a curse (albeit apocryphally), but I'm glad I live in interesting times.
The best time for me was T3 winning multiple awards and becoming Britain's most popular digital title after launching our first tablet editions in 2010. The worst was probably having to produce half a dozen tablet editions every month for every platform and screen size, while still getting the print mag out.
Our motley team at the time did it all with ingenuity, good humour and a frankly unhealthy relationship with late nights, and I would do it all again.
The second coming of virtual reality was an especially exciting time for me. I went head-on with early prototypes of both the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, then dubbed ‘Project Morpheus'. We put them on T3's cover and christened them the ‘Daft Punk of tech'.
In terms of my worst moments, not getting in on Bitcoin despite the magazine profiling it early on is my bank account's biggest regret! But the degradation of specialist gadgetry as phones began to rule them – and us – all has been most notable, with flip cams and the like falling by the wayside.
The first Amazon Echo (looking like some strange travel mug) hit my desk in 2015. It was a revelation. Controlling lights and heating became an annoying hobby. Its musical abilities haven't dented my love of my Rega turntable, but for playing ‘Donald, Where's Your Troosers' to my young daughter on demand, it's perfect.
When I first got the chance to test the Tesla Model S, the world was different. I immediately fell in love, and what followed was me nearly flinging our photographer out of the sunroof, driving no-handed at 70mph, and being amazed that it could play… Spotify. I didn't want to give it back. I wouldn't drive one today though.
The two moments I remember most fondly from my tenure were sending a copy of T3 to space in 2017 (we had to use a piece of foam board with the cover printed on it, because paper wouldn't have survived the journey) that had an appropriately 2001-inspired HomePod image on it, and working on the 300th issue in 2019.
That edition was also the debut of the first Samsung Fold – it really doesn't feel that long ago!