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  • PC World (July 1990)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source:  PC World – July 1990

    PC World was probably the most widely available PC Magazine throughout the 1990s and 2000s. At some point, they started covering more and more other consumer electronics stuff and it sort of lost appeal (at least to me) as a computer magazine. Page count was a fairly good way to judge how they were doing at at nearly 300 pages, it looks like they were doing quite well in 1990. The July 1990 issue includes:

    Previews

    • Windows Makes the Grade – A look at Windows 3.0. This was really the first version of Windows to start to become ubiquitous on PCs. My first PC had Windows 3.11.
    • HyperCard Meets Windows – A look at ToolBook, a HyperCard-like programming tool for Windows.
    • Windows 3.0 Quiets the Critics – Various software publishers like WordPerfect start supporting Windows but believe OS/2 will be the future…boy were they wrong.

    Reviews

    • Software You Can Really Use – A look at some of the best utilities including WindowDOS 3.0 (a DOS shell not to be confused with Windows 3.0), PC Tools, Norton Utilities, The Norton Commander, SpinRite II, Speed Disk, Fullback Plus, SideKick, and lots more.
    • Hard Disk Health Insurance – A comparison of hard drive recovery tools including Norton’s Disk Doctor, PC Tools’ DiskFix, and Mace Utilities 1990.
    • Making DOS Manageable – A round-up of DOS Shells including 1dir+ 3.03, Disk Director 1.06, Magellan 2.0, Norton Commander 3.0, PC Tools Deluxe 6.0, SoftBreeze 3.0, Tree86 3.2, and XtreePro Gold 1.4.
    • Disk Trouble? No, Thanks! – A round-up of nine utilities to tune up and troubleshoot your hard drive. Included in this review are Disk Optimizer 4.05, Optune 1.2, Mace Utilities 1990, Htest 3.0, The Norton Utilities Advanced Edition 4.5, PC-Kwik Power Disk 1.0, PC Tools Deluxe 6.0, SpinRite II, and Vopt 2.2.
    • No-Excuses Backup Software – A round-up of backup software. At the top of the list are Norton Backup and PC Tools.
    • Playing for Time: Five Personal Schedulers – A round-up of scheduling software including Calendar Creator Plus 3.0, Complete Calendar 2.5, PC Tools Deluxe 6.0, Reminders 2.1, and SideKick Plus 1.0.

    Features

    • Buyers’ Guide: Our Favorite Utilities – The editors of PC World pick their favorite utilities.
    • Souped-Up Word Processing – A buyer’s guide for tools for word processors. Product covered include Grammatik IV, Word for Word Professional 4.1, GrandView 1.01a, and others.
    • Spreadsheets With Extra Reach – Tools for spreadsheets including (at)BASE 2.22, RAR Worksheet Report Writer 1.0, Look&Link 1.1, Noteworth 1.01, Worksheet Utilities 1.01, Budget Express 1.0, Delta-Manager 1.0, Impress 2.0, Sideways 3.31, and more.
    • Time-Savers for Desktop Publishers – Utilities to make desktop publishing chores more efficient. Some utlities included here are MouseWare 1.0, The Soft Kicker Plus 2.0, PageMaker Portfolio, and others.
    • Communications Shareware: The People’s Choice – Tools to improve and make your online experience more efficient. These include TAPCIS 5.2, List 7.3d, PKZIP 1.10, Doorway 2.05, DSZ, E-Z Reader 1.24, MPt Protocol, and Viruscan 2.7V60.
    • Are You Satisfied With Your Software – A survey of what users would like to see in their software to make it easier to use.
    • Who Says Users Can’t Get No Satisfactions – PC World readers pick their favorite softare.

    How To

    • Instant Reference Card: Word Perfect – Keyboard shortcuts for Wordperfect 5.0 and 5.1.

    News

    • Top of the News – Lotus 1-2-3 3.1 released, IBM to introduce another home computer, Windows applications to run under OS/2, DOS 5.0 coming soon, and more.
    • Industry Outlook – Lotus and Novell mergers plans, Compaq expands into peripherals, AT&T markets office software called Rahpsody based on HP’s NewWave, censorship on Prodigy, and more.
    • Product Outlook – A brief look at new products including the PC-6220 laptop from Sharp, PC Power and Cooling Inner Source 2210 combination power supply and UPS, new Tandy systems (2800 HD, 4033 LX, 4016 DX, 4016 SX, 2500 XL), 1.44 MB floppy drives for Next systems, and more.

    Perspectives

    • Richard Laundry – An editorial on why Windows is here to stay.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about FCC regulations, Excel vs. Lotus 1-2-3, modem usage, and more.

    Departments

    • The Help Screen – Help with formatting 720k disks on 1.44MB drives, dual booting DOs and OS/2, memory prices, ASCII file readers, scientific word processors, and more.
    • Consumer Watch – Deciding whether or not to upgrade your software.
    • Taking it Home – Taking your home office on the road with a Toshiba T1000 and SideKick Plus.

    …and more!


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  • PC Magazine (May 29, 1984)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: PC Magazine – Volume 3, Number 10 – May 29, 1984

    PC Magazine was one of the most popular PC magazines around from the early to mid 1980s through the early 2000s. Along with PC World, you could find it at pretty much every bookstore and newsstand as well as most other places that sold magazines. The May 29, 1984 issue includes:

    Cover Stories

    • Inside the PC Portable – A detailed look at IBM’s new portable. This was a suitcase sized luggable that had to be plugged in similar to the Compaq Portable which beat it to market, not to be confused with later laptops. It does have an amber screen which I like better than the green screen of the Compaq.
    • IBM Joins the Suitcase Set – More about the IBM portable and the marketing decisions that went into produce a competitor to Compaq’s luggable vs. focusing on more portable options.

    Features

    • All the President’s PC’s – An article on EOPNET, a network of IBM PC XTs and supporting hardware (such as a couple IBM 3083 mainframes) in the Whitehouse used to keep Presidential aids up to date.
    • The MLA Learns a New Language – How the Modern Language Association is using computers.
    • PC’s and Social Scientists: The Chemistry is Right – While mainframes had long been used in social sciences, the personal computer was starting to shake things up.
    • The PC Goes to Bat – How Dave Johnson, the manager at the time of the New York Metz, was using a PC-XT and dBASE II to create computer-aided batting lineups.
    • Farm Workers Get a PC of the Action – How the PC was being used in two new educational programs designed to help migrant and seasonal farm workers.
    • Live Free with UNIX – Instead of assuming hardware time was expensive and programmer time was cheap, UNIX assumes the opposite is true. A short history and description of the UNIX operating system.
    • Understanding UNIX – An introduction to the world of UNIX and a brief tutorial.
    • Taking the Cue from UNIX – A look at the QNX operating system for the IBM PC.
    • A UNIX to be Proud of – A look at the XENIX operating system, Microsoft’s version of UNIX.
    • A Classy Idris in the UNIX Neighborhood – A look at the Co-Idris operating system which is a multi-user UNIX lookalike for 8086/8088 based machines.
    • A Daisy Wheel Printer with Extra Petals – A look at Diablo’s 630 ECS letter quality printer. Daisy wheel printers worked like a typewriter so they were very high quality but could not generally print graphics.
    • Offbeat Solutions to Common Problems – A look at various unique products including the Rolltop Disk File and Disk Jockey disk storage devices, various lamps designed for cutting down monitor glare, tractor feed paper with less obvious perforations, and much more.
    • Assembly Language: Putting the Macro Assembler to Work – An excerpt from the book Assembly Language Primer for the IBM PC by Robert Lafore which includes three programs.
    • Electronic Writing: The PC Tapping at the Chamber Door – How word processing has changed the art of writing.
    • Putting Your Correspondence in Good Form – A look at two software products, Gold Letters and Letterform 1000, that provide a variety of form letters.
    • Mainframe to Manager: Accessing Corporate Information – The advantages of using a DBMS to allow access to corporate data from a PC.

    Columns

    • On the Road: Writing in Transit – A look at some options for travelling with a computer. Truly portable computers were not yet particularly common nor were they cheap. A couple of machines looked at here include the Anderson-Jacobson Passport, Compaq Portable, and Radio Shack Model 100.
    • Author, Author – A look at the state of computer aided instruction and courseware development systems.
    • Building a Medical Database: A Case History – Using DataEase, a menu driven database management system, to build a medical database.
    • Developing an Electronic Survey – Using a PC to collect data and analyze survey results.
    • A Well-Fed Printer – Choosing the correct paper-feed mechanism in the context of law documents.
    • A PC Pen Plotter – How to use a dot matrix printer as a low cost pen plotter.
    • Put Your PC on Automatic Pilot – Software to automate online activities such as downloading e-mail.

    Departments

    • PC News – A new color monitor for the PCjr, new 32-bit UNIX machine from AT&T, DisplayWrite 1 & 2, and more.
    • Fact of Fiction? – Clearing up the facts about UNIX.
    • The Hidden Costs of Software – The advantages and disadvantages of writing your own software vs. purchasing a commercial package.
    • Letters to PC – Letters from readers on poor documentation, copying software, the TI Professional Computer, a PC energy management system, and much more.
    • Shells: A New Face for DOS? – A look at the demand for Shells, software that wraps the operating system in an easier to use interface driven by menus.
    • The Future State of the Art: Computer Sight – A look at ways we will have to give computers sight in the future.
    • The Thrill is Gone – A look at classic arcade conversions for the PC such as Pac-Man, Defender, Stargate, and more.
    • Deciphering the Life of Turing – A book review of Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges.
    • New on the Market – A brief look at new products including the PC/STD Link, Micro7400 Protocol Converter, LetterPro 20 daisy wheel printer, 5MB SX410 Cartridge Drive, PC Eye Video Capture System, and more.
    • User-To-User – A how-to for assigning function keys in DOS.
    • PC Tutor – Questions answerd about upgraded a 64K PC and installing a hard drive in early PC models.

    …and more!


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  • PC World (July 1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: PC World – July 1985
    PC World was one of two PC magazines that really dominated in the 1980s and 1990s (the other being PC Magazine). The July 1985 issue includes:

    Community

    • The DOS Drivers – DOS 3.10 had just recently been released and this article takes a look at Microsoft’s future plans for DOS including new networking features and more.
    • PC World Advanced Users Quiz – If you know things such as what the default disk drive is, which CPU the PC AT uses, and what a bootstrap loader is then you might be a PC expert.

    Review

    • Inside Modems – A look at internal 1200bps modems for the PC. Models reviewed here include the Qubic PC212A 1200, Cermetek Info-Mate 212PC, Microcom Era 2, Bizcomp Intellimodem XL, IDEA-Comm 1200, Novation Smart-Cat Plus, AST Reach!, and Hayes 1200B. Prices range from $149 to $549, however, lower priced models often had difficulty interoperating with other brands at high speeds.
    • Corona at the Speed of Light – A review of the Corona LP-300 laser printer.
    • Better and True BASICs – A look at two new BASIC implementations, including TrueBASIC and True BASIC.
    • COBOL Comeback – An evaluation of four COBOL compilers for the PC, including Level II Cobol, mhp COBOL, IBM COBOL, and Professional COBOL.

    PCjr World

    • The PCjr Survival Kit – IBM announced and end to the production of the PCjr in March 1985. This article provides advice for finding PCjr software, peripherals, service and support.

    State of the Art

    • Advanced Screening – A look at the latest in flat screen technology including LCDs, plasma, EL, and flat CRT technology.

    Hands On

    • Fraternizing With Framework – A detailed look at Framework, widely considered to be the first all-in-one office suite for the PC.
    • Transfer of Power – A look at creating menuing systems with Keyworks.
    • The Fully Powered PC – A guide to creating DOS batch files with DOS 2.00 and up.

    Departments

    • David Bunnell -How to become an advanced PC user.
    • REMark – The rise and fall of the PC’s founder, Don Estridge. He was responsible for bringing IBM into the consumer world with the PC but also responsible for disasters such as the PCjr.
    • John C. Dvorak – Large companies vs. small in the PC world.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about IBM advertising, parking hard drives in portable computers, accounting software, data management, and more.
    • PC World View – Compaq competes with AT&T to compete with IBM in the corporate space.
    • The Help Screen – Help with fixing the “ANSI.SYSSI.SYS” error, handling multiple open BASIC files, patching WordStar for COM2 and linear programming packages.
    • From the Software Shelf – A brief look at recent software releases including Personal Income Tax, ProType, Draw-It, and Starplus.

    …and more!


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