Source: Computer Shopper – October 2000

Computer Shopper was a phone book sized magazine that peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Though it was perhaps best known for being an excellent resource for ordering computer systems or parts, it also had plenty of great content in the form of articles and reviews. The October 2000 issue includes:

Features

• Light Makes Right – A look at five lightweight notebooks including the Compaq Armada M300 (Pentium III 600 MHz, 64MB RAM, ATI Rage LT Pro w/ 4MB, 12GB hard drive), Dell Latitude LS H400ST (400MHz Pentium III, NeoMagic MagicMedia256AV w/ 2.5MB, 6GB hard drive), HP OmniBook 900 (450MHz Pentium III, 64MB RAM, ATI Rage Mobility w/ 4MB, 6GB hard drive), IBM ThinkPad 570E 64U (500MHz Pentium III, 128MB Ram, NeoMagic MagicMedia 256AV2 w/ 2.5MB, 12GB hard drive), Toshiba Portege 3440CT (500MHz Pentium III, 64MB RAM, S3 Savage IX w/ 8MB, 6GB hard drive).

• Scanning for Savings – A look at five low-cost flatbed scanners including the Acer 640BU, HP ScanJet 3400C, Umax Astra 3400, MicroTek ScanMaker 3700, and Visioneer 6200 USB.

• Picking the Perfect PC – PC recommendations for different types of buyers. Some systems covered here include the Dell Dimension XPS B1000r, IBM NetVista, and HP Pavilion 9790C.

• Sign On Once, Surf Often – A look at single sign-on services designed to manage all your web logins. Services looked at here include Microsoft Passport, digitalme, and v-Go 2.0.

• Dialing Without Dollars – An article on making cheap or even free phone calls via the Internet.

• Home Home on the Web – A guide to searching for a new home via the Internet.

• Best Buys – A guide to new products that are best buys in their respective categories. Products here include the Dell Dimension 4100, Compaq Armada M300, Creative Nomad II MG, Dell Inspiron 5000e, and more.

News

• Net Now – A look at Windows ME. I honestly don’t think I ever touched this OS.

• B2B Buzz – A look at e-Commerce sales and the upcoming Holiday 2000 season.

• Hot Gear – A first look at some of the latest tech gear including the I-Jam Win-Jam Digital Audio Player, Sony DCR-PC5 Handycam, Minds@Work Digital Wallet, Wild Planet Spy Detectors, and SportBrain Starter Kit.

Web Buyer

• Site Reviews for Online Shopping – Reviews of tons of online shopping sites including PC shopping sites, Internet service providers, financial service, software sites, online auctions, cameras, books, music, and more. Plus, a look at 20 Halloween sites.

Business Buyer

• Is Rent-a-LAN Right for You? – A look at subscription-based computing services for outsourcing acquisitions, maintenance, and support.

• e-Services and Tools – A look at unified messaging services that let you retrieve e-mail, voice messages, and faxes from one place.

• Building Your Business – Eight tips for designing a web site that will help your sales.

• Linux for Business – A look at various Linux distributions for business use, including Caldera OpenLinux, Corel Linux, Red Hat Linux, SuSE Linux, TurboLinux, and others.

Help & How To

• Building a PC from Scratch – A guide to building your own PC. This tutorial used an Enlight EN-7237 midtower case with 300 watt power supply ($78.99), Abit VT6X4 Slot I board with 733 MHz Pentium III and fan ($449), 128MB 133MHz Corsair SDRAM module ($159.99), 3.5″ floppy drive ($12.99), 40 GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus ($280), Creative Labs PC-DVD 8x DVD-ROM drive ($146.99), and Hercules Guillemot 3D Prophet II GTS graphics card ($299.99).

• The Hard Edge – Virgin Atlantic announces cell phone service from airplanes, a look at AMD’s new Thunderbird and Duron CPUs, and more.

• Alfred Poor’s Computer Cures – Questions answered about mail merge, control panel issues, scan disk, Outlook mail purge, and more.

• Buying Advisor – Finding an affordable web cam, software, and net connection for linking a language instructor in Honolulu with students in Tokyo.

Opinions

• John Blackford – Moore’s Law continues unabated and why it matters.

• John Dvorak – A vision of the future of phone service.

• Jim O’Brien – E-tailers may not be able to continue to use only price as a means of competing with brick and mortar stores.

• Michael Slater – Wondering where all the tablet computers are. They wouldn’t really become mainstream until the iPad was introduced years later.

Reviews

• Desktops – Reviews of the Sony Vaio PCV-J100 (600MHz Celeron, 64MB 100 MHz SDRAM, 15GB hard drive, and more for $1128), Dell Dimension 4100 (800MHz Pentium III, 128MB 133MHz SDRAM, 20GB hard drive, nVidia GeForce2 GTS video card, and more for $1839), and CyberPower Athlon Special (800MHz AMD Athlon, 256MB 133MHz SDRAM, 34GB hard drive, ATI Rage Fury Pro graphics card, and more for $1849).

• Hardware – Reviews of the Epson Stylus Color 670, FujiFilm FinePix 4700 Zoom, Maxtor DiamondMax 60, and Boston Acoustics BA4800.

• Networks – Reviews of the Actiontec USB Internet Phone Wizard and Intel Anypoint Phoneline Home Network 10 MBPS USB.

• Mobile – Reviews of the NEC Versa SXI (700 MHz Pentium III, 128MB SDRAM, 12GB hard drive, ATI Mobility-P graphic chip, and more for $3399, Dell Inspiron 5000e (750MHz Pentium III, 128MB SDRAM, 30GB hard drive, ATI Rage Mobility 128, and more for $3459), Acer Travelmate 524TXV (650MHz Pentium III, 64MB SDRAM, 12.1GB hard drive, ATI Rage Mobility-M1, and more for $2399), Kodak Palmpix Camera, Boxlight XD-9M projector, RIM 957 Wireless Handheld, Creative Noad II MG, IBuyPower Pocket Espresso PC, and Palm M100.

• Software – Reviews of Extensis Portfolio 5.0, Astound Presentation 7.0, Adobe Livemotion, Peachtree Complete Accounting 8.0, Real Entertainment Center Plus, Generations Grande Suite 8.0, and Canon Officeready Buisness Plans.

• Games – Reviews of Backyard Baseball 2001, Star Trek: Klingon Academy, Motocross Madness 2, and Diablo II.

…and more!