• Tag Archives 1990s

  • PC World (February 1993)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    By 1993, PC World was pretty ubiquitous. You could find it in grocery stores, book stores, etc. It was probably the most popular magazine dedicated to PC compatible computers. I bought my first PC in 1993 several months after this issue hit the stands. The February 1993 issue of PC World includes:

    Cover Story

    • 25 New 486s: The Quest for the Best PC – Reviews of 25 486 based computers. Models range from 486 SX 25 based machines to 486 DX2 66 based machines plus the 486SLC, Cyrix 486DLC-33, and IBM 486SLC2. The following models are included: AST Bravo 4/66D Model 123B, Compaq Deskpro 4/66i, DEC DECpc 466d2 LP, Dell 486D/66, AcerPower 486e DX2/50 Model 5557, Tangent Model 450lx, Hewlett Packard Vectra 486/66N PC Model 170, ZEOS 486DX-33, NEC PowerMate 486/50l-DX2, USA Flex 486/33 Cache, Acma 486DX2/50, Blackship BLK 486/33 ISA, Eltech Research Model 4330, Insight 486-33 ISA Cache, ALR Flyer 32 LCT, CompuAdd 433DLC, Micro Express ME 486DLC, Austin 486/DLC-33, ATronics Int’l ATI-486SX/25, Reply Model 16 486SLC2, Swan 486SX/25DB, Copam 486SXB/25, CompuTrend Premio 486SX/25, CompuAdd Express 425CX, and PC Brand Leader 486/DLC.

    Top of the News

    • Dell’s Performance Explosion – Dell’s latest machines includes local bus video and upgradability to Intel’s forthcoming Pentium Overdrive.
    • Apple’s Cross-Platform Printing – Apple’s new LaserWriter Pro 630 and 600.
    • Windows Printing System – An add-on for HP LaserJet printers that speeds up printing.
    • Intel’s Pentium Processor – Some details about the forthcoming Pentium.
    • VL-Bus Boards Offer Better Graphics – A look at a bunch of new VL-Bus video cards including the ATI Graphics Ultra Pro VLB, Diamon Stealth 24 VLB, Hercules Graphite VL, Matrox MGA Impression, Number Nine 9GXE, STB PowerGraph VL-24, and others. VL-Bus was short lived, existing primarily in late 486 systems. Early 486 systems used ISA and Pentiums used PCI.
    • Pointers for Portable Users – A look at pointing devices being used on laptops at the time including Apple’s integrated trackball on the PowerBook, the TrackPoint II on IBM’s ThinkPad, and others.

    Systems

    • Are Upgrades Worth It? – Businesses find that upgrades often aren’t worth it since more than the CPU usually needs to be upgraded. On the other hand, users looking for a quick speed bump can get it with a CPU upgrade at significantly less than a new PC.

    Word Processing

    • 75 Hot Word Processing Tips – Tips and tricks for common word processors of the time including World Perfect 5.1, Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0, and others.

    Windows

    • Windows for Workgroups: Operation Rogue – Setting up your own network with Windows for Workgroups 3.11.
    • OS/2 Versus Windows NT – A comparison of these two next generation operating systems.

    Communications

    • Windows Fax Software – A comparison of available fax software for Windows including Bit Software BitFax/OCR for Windows 2.05, Caere Fax Master 1.01, Delrina WinFax Pro 3.0, Eclipse Fax 1.2, Intel Faxability Plus/OCR 1.0, Sofnet FaxIt 2.15e, and ZSoft Ultrafax for Windows 1.0.

    New Products

    • Orchid Fahrenheit VA, Sigma Designs WinStorm audio/video boards – These video cards also offer audio input and output.
    • Hercules Graphite Card – The first mainstream graphics card from Hercules in a while.
    • Panasonic CF-1000 notebook PC – This notebook features an AMD 386SXLV CPU, 4MB of RAM and a 60 or 120MB hard drive for $2299 to $2699.
    • Hyundai and Gecco VL-Bus 486 PCs – Hyundai’s new VL-Bus PCs include models from a 25-MHZ 486SX for $1799 up to a 66-MHz 486DX2 for $2995. Geccos models include a 66-MHz VL-bus tower system ($2995) and a desktop 33-MHz 486 EISA system ($2290).
    • NEC Ready 325, 425, and 433 PCs – The NEC Ready 235 includes a 386SX CPU, 120MB hard drive, and 2 MB of RAM for $1199. The NEC Ready 425 includes a 486SX CPU, 170MB hard drive, and 4 MB of RAM. The NEC Ready 433 includes a 486DX, 170MB hard drive, and 4MB RAM.
    • Alphatronix Inspire II optical drives – Two magneto-optical drives, one featuring 650MB cartridges for $4495 and the other 1GB cartridges for $4995.
    • America Online for Windows – The first version of America Online for Windows. Soon they would be sending free disks everywhere.
    • Caere PageKeeper – A Windows based information manager to help you manage your files.
    • HP NewWave 4.1 – An object-oriented desktop manager for Windows.
    • TyIN 2000 modem-fax-voice add-on board – A 2400bps data / 9600bps fax modem.
    • MicroPhone Pro for Windows – Fax and communications software for Windows.
    • Port-Folio 550 I/O board – This I/O card features four serial, four floppy, two parallel, one game, and two IDE ports.

    Here’s How

    • Help Line – Questions answered about speaker magnets and disks, DOS RAM usage, laptops and radiation, and more.
    • Spreadsheets – Tips for protecting spreadsheet formulas, Lotus 1-2-3 macros, degrees in Excel, and more.
    • Word Processing – Tips for placeholder boxes in WordPerfect, printing macro code in Word Perfect 5.1, fonts in WordPerfect for Windows, and more.
    • Windows – Tips for swap files, multiple windows in file manager, Norton Desktop, DOS boxes, and more.

    Departments

    • Letters – Letters from readers about 486 upgrades, MIS Computer Systems, software reviews, multitasking operating systems, the CUBE 433 ATX, and more.
    • Consumer Watch – Computer vision syndrome and other VDT-related vision problems.
    • Real Problems, Real Solutions – A 35 PC business analyzes upgrading existing machines vs. buying new ones.
    • What’s Next – All about the latest parallel port upgrades including ECC and ECP.

    …and more!


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  • PC World (October 1996)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The mid 1990s was an exciting time for the PC industry. PCs were rapidly being adopted with nearly everyone having one by 2000. The Internet was just becoming mainstream and that’s the biggest part of what drove adoption. The October 1996 issue of PC World includes:

    Cover Story

    • The Complete Guide to Free Online Help – Information about web sites, newsgroups, file libraries, and a number of other online sources for getting technical help for free.

    Features

    • Internet Overload: Disaster In The Making? – Gloom and doom predictions about the Internet being overloaded never really came to pass…well, except for the occasional DDOS attack.
    • Office In A Box – A look at combo devices that include printing, scanning, faxing, and copying functions. Though most printers have those functions now, this was still early days for such devices. Models looked at here include the Canon MultiPass C2500, HP OfficeJet 350, JetFax 4, Ricoh MV74, Sharp F-2700M, and Xerox Document WorkCenter 250. Prices range from $549 to $1195.
    • Do It All! Tips For Mastering Your Office Suite – Tips for getting the most out of Microsoft Office, Lotus SmartSuite, and Corel WordPerfect Suite.

    Special Report

    • Top 10 Network Servers – At the top of the Workgroup Servers list is the Compaq ProLiant 1500 Model 5/133-2100 for $7555. At the top of the Enterprise Servers list is the HP NetServer 5/166 LS4 for $20,238.

    Multimedia

    • 20 CD-ROMs Under $25 – Some titles in this list include Full Throttle, Rebel Assault, Civilization, Simcity Classic, Blockbuster Guide to Movies & Videos, Bernard of Hollywood’s Pin-Ups, World’s Greatest Classic Books, and more.
    • Title Reviews – Reviews of Hind and Longbow helicopter combat sim and Guerilla Marketing.
    • Hardware Reviews – A look at the top five CD-ROM drives (Plextor 8Plex, NEC MultiSpin 6V, Sony CSD-880E, Teac CD-58E 8X CD-ROM Drive Kit, and GoldStar GCD-R580B) and sound cards (Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE32 PnP, CrystalLake Model 110, Creative Labs Sound Blaster 32, CrystalLake Model 140, and Advanced Gravis UltraSound Plug & Play Pro).
    • Q&A – Questions answered about improving video playback, multisession CD support, creating a screensaver, and more.

    Top of the News

    • How To Get What You Want In Your New PC – PC manufacturers would often use multiple sources for parts so specific parts could vary even on the same model PC. Another common practice was (and still is as far as I know) to use cut down versions of retail parts. This isn’t always a bad thing as you could generally get a great deal on something that performed only slightly less well than top end retail components.
    • App Suites Abandon One-Size-Fits-All For Custom Tailoring – For instance, Microsoft, starting with Office 97, will offer three different versions (standard, professional, and small business) and the ability to add applets.
    • Broadcasters Use TV Signals To Send Data – There was this idea that people would want to watch TV split screen with a related web page. This never really caught on…though these days people will scroll on their phones while watching TV.
    • Upgrades to NT Server And Netware Include Web Setup Features – Windows NT 4.0 includes Internet Information Server 2.0 while NetWare 4.11 includes Novell’s NetWare Web Server.

    New Products

    • Compaq Presario 6708 – This PC includes a Pentium 200, combination keyboard/scanner, 33.6 fax modem, 32MB RAM, 2.5 GB hard drive, 64-bit video card with 2MB of DRAM, 15-inch monitor, and more for $3547.
    • Dell Dimension P200V – This PC includes a Pentium 200, 33.6 fax modem, 16MB RAM, 1.6 GB hard drive, 64-bit video card with 2MB of DRAM, 15-inch monitor, and more for $1999.
    • NEC Versa 4200 Series – This notebook features a 100 or 133-MHz CPUj, 810MB or 1.08GB hard drive, a 10.4-inch screen that displays 256 colors, and 6X CD-ROM drive for %2999-$3899.
    • Olivetti Echos – This line features four models ranging from the $2299 Pentium 100 to the $4599 Pentium 133 with all including a 1.3GB hard drive and 6X CD-ROM drives and feature screens from an 11.3-inch dual-scan to a 11.8-inch TFT.
    • TI TravelMate 6000 Series Notebooks – The 6020 ($4199) features a Pentium 120, 8MB of RAM, 1.08GB hard drive, and 11.3-inchd display. The 6030 ($4999) features a Pentium 133, 16MB of RAM, 1.35GB hard drive, and 12.1-inch SVGA display. The 6050 ($5499) is similar but features a Pentium 150.
    • Mitsubishi DiamondPro 91TXM Monitor – Large CRT monitors could be extraordinarily expensive. This 21-inch monitor Mitsubishi was $1899…and good luck lifting it.
    • AV Master Video Capture Board – This $999 video capture board could capture 640×480 video at 30 frames per second.
    • Broadway MPEG-1 Video Capture Board – MPEG-1 was the best video compression available at the time. This MPEG-1 capture card would set you back $995.

    Top 100

    • Power Desktops – The top PC in this list is the Dell Dimension XPS P200s for $3329 featuring 16MB RAM, 512K secondary cache, 2.6GB hard drive, Number Nine Imagine 128 Series 2 graphics adapter with 4MB VRAM, and more.
    • Budget Desktops – The top PC in this list is the Micron P133 Millennia for $2049 featuring a Pentium 133, 16MB RAM, 2.1 GB hard drive, Diamon Stealth64 graphics adapter with 2MB VRAM, 15-inch monitor, and more.
    • Notebooks – The top power notebook is the Dell Latitude LM P133ST for $3999 featuring a Pentium 133, 16MB RAM, 810MB hard drive, 12.1-inch 800×600 256 color screen, and more. The top budget notebook is the Toshiba Satellite 100CS for $1799 featuring a Pentium 75, 8MB RAM, 540MB hard drive, 10.4-inch 640×480 256 color screen, and more.
    • Top 10 Personal Printers – The top monochrome printer is the Panasonic KX-P6100 for $379 and the top color printer is the HP DeskJet 820Cse for $389.
    • Top 10 15-inch Monitors – The top monitor in this list is the Samsung SyncMaster 15GLi for $408.
    • Top 10 Graphics Boards – The top graphics board here is the VideoLogic GrafixStar 600 for $159.
    • Top 10 Modems – The top external modem is the U.S. Robotics Courier V.Everything V.34. The Courier line were always the best you could get. The top internal modem is the Zoom V.34C for $199. Modems at this time topped out at 33.6 Kbps.

    Here’s How

    • Answer Line – Questions answered about memory management in Windows 95, using the same e-mail account at home and at work, restoring DOS after removing OS/2, and more.
    • Internet Tips – How to find special interest mailing lists, making web sites more permanent, and more.
    • Hardware Tips – Tips for saving space on FAT drives.
    • Upgrade Guide – A detailed guide for replacing your EIDE hard drive.

    At Home

    • Internet Meets The Couch Potato – For a brief moment in time, everybody thought you would be surfing the net via your TV and some sort of internet appliance. While you can certainly do that today, the idea never really took off. Surfing the net was done via desktop, laptop, and later on the smartphone.
    • Top 5 Home PCs – The top “Home PC” is the Gateway 2000 P5-166 Family PC featuring a Pentium 166, 16MB RAM, 2.5GB hard drive, 8x CD-ROM drive, 28.8 kbps fax modem, and more for $2444.

    Departments

    • Up Front – What happens when what you do depends on the Internet and the Internet isn’t working? Still a problem today…
    • Letters – Letters from readers about the best internet browser, Windows 95, free speech online, Compuserve, and more.
    • Consumer Watch – Packard Bell had a policy of putting parts from returned PCs into PCs sold as new but they weren’t the only ones.
    • PCW Advocate – Problems with IDT ISP, Sharp battery issues, Packard Bell tech support, and more.
    • Full Disclosure – How new software is often released in beta form…or worse.

    …and more!


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