• Tag Archives PC World

  • PC World (September 2003)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    PC World was around for decades from the early 1980s until well into the 2000s. It was perhaps the most popular PC magazine for most of that time. The September 2003 issue includes:

    PC Makeovers

    • 60-Minute Upgrades – A look at relatively quick and easy upgrades for your computer including adding a 100 GB 7200 RPM PATA hard drive, adding a DVD burner, upgrading a CPU (in this case a Pentium 700 to a Celeron 1400 via a PowerLeap PL-ip3/T adapter), adding more RAM (1 to 2 GB was a lot at the time), upgrading your video card (AGP was all the rage at the time), and more.

    Features

    • Well-Connected Handhelds – At this time, PDAs were gaining wi-fi capabilities and cell phones were gaining PDA functionality. Some devices looked at here include the Palm Tungsten C, Sony Ericsson P800, Handspring Treo 300, Kyocera 7135 Smartphone, Palm Tungsten W, Samsun SPH-i700 and Samsung SPH-i500, T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, T-Mobile Sidekick, Sony Clie PEG-NZ90 and Toshiba E755.
    • Online Music: New Hits and Misses – A look at online music services including RealNetworks RealOne Rhapsody, EMusic, Apple iTunes Music Store, Musicmatch WX Platinum, FullAudio MusicNow, Pressplay, and more.
    • More Broadband for Your Buck – Broadband was still relatively new and not as fast as it is today (5 Mb was common). This is a guide to optimizing your speed and getting the most from the features your service offers.

    Top 100

    • Top 15 Desktop PCs – The top power system this month is the ABS Ultimate M5 featuring an Athlon XP 3200+, 1GB of DDR400 RAM and 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro video card for $2739 while the top value system is the ABS Bravado 2280 featuring an Athlon XP 2500+, 512MB DDR-333 RAM, and 64MB EVGA E-GeForce Ti 4200 video card for $1139.
    • Top 15 Notebook PCs – The top power notebook is the IBM ThinkPad T40 featuring a 1.6 GHZ Pentium M and 512MB RAM for $3099 while the top value notebook is the Dell Inspiron 500m featuring a 1.3 GHz Pentium M and 256MB RAM for $1616.
    • Top 5 Photo Printers – At the top of the list is the Epson Stylus Photo 900.
    • Top 10 15-inch LCD Monitors – It’s hard to give away a 15-inch monitor today but it was the norm in 2003. The top 15-inch LCD monitor this month was the NEC MultiSync LCD 1560M for $370.
    • Top 10 DVD Drives – The top drive this month was the TDK Indi DVD 440N for $300.
    • Top 10 Digital Cameras – The top digital camera this month was the 3.2-megapixel Canon PowerShot A70 (I think this was actually my first digital camera).
    • More Reviews – Other list toppers include the Olympus C-4000 Zoom digital camera, Oki Data Oki C7300n color laser printer, Dell UltraSharp 1901FP 19-inch LCD monitor, and Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 6Y120P0 hard drive.

    Departments

    • Up Front – A look at some computer services actually worth paying for…maybe.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about adware, file trading, Windows XP updates, photo kiosks, and more.
    • Plugged In – A look at storage options for MP3 players, Microsoft’s new version of Office, AOL 9.0, turning your PC off at night, and more.
    • Consumer Watch – Preventing your PC from being hijacked by spammers.
    • Home Office – A look at the ten best free utilities including hard drive utilities, web browser accelerators, and more.
    • Full Disclosure – Copyright and the perils of ignoring it.

    News & Trends

    • Cheap Ink Probed – Part two of a series on third-party ink cartridges.
    • ISPs Promote Premium Extras – ISPs promote extra services such as antivirus software, digital music, firewall software, and more for an extra cost.
    • A 64-bit Computer: Your Next PC? – The next generation of PC processors will be 64-bit, including Apple’s G5 and AMD’s Athlon 64.
    • .Zip File Format Splinters – Winzip and PKZip use incompatible implementations of AES encryption.
    • Built-in Graphics Show Some Improvement – Integrated graphics show improvement but are still far inferior to even cheap dedicated graphics cards.
    • RSS: Hot Fix for Inter-Junkies – New RSS standard makes it easy to get news on the topics that you want.

    New Products

    • Notebook PCs – A look at new subnotebooks including the Compaq Nc4000 (1.6 GHz Pentium M and 256MB), LifeBook P5000 (900 MHz ULV Pentium M and 256MB), and Sony VAIO PCG-TR1A (900 MHz ULV Pentium M and 512MB).
    • Privacy Software – A look at the latest version of ZoneAlarm.
    • Digital Camera – A look at Apple’s ISight camera.
    • PDA/Cell Phone Hybrid – A look at Hitachi’s G1000 Pocket PC/phone hybrid.
    • Hard-Drive Backup Software – A look at Drive Image 7 for Windows.

    Here’s How

    • Answer Line – A guide to reinstalling Windows without losing your data.
    • Windows Tips – Checking for disk errors in Windows XP and Windows 2000.
    • Step-By-Step – Upgrading to a Serial ATA drive.
    • Internet Tips – Optimizing your browser security settings.
    • Hardware Tips – Implementing BIOS passwords.

    …and more!


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  • PC World (January 1987)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: PC World – January 1987

    If you had a PC (meaning an IBM PC or compatible) or were thinking of getting one in the 1980s or 1990s, then PC World would probably have been a magazine you would have wanted. The January 1987 issue includes:

    Getting Started

    • PC to PC – A guide to using a modem and terminal software to communicate between PCs.

    Community

    • PC Users Unite! – A guide to PC user groups.

    Review

    • Compaq Deskpro 386: Dare to Be Great – At the time, this was probably one of the best computers you could by, though it wasn’t cheap with a starting price of $6499. Compaq was the first major PC maker to use the 386 chip, beating IBM to the punch.
    • Fast-Talking Modems – A look at a couple of modems that use proprietary protocols to achieve speeds of 12000bps. They are very expensive though with a cost of up to $2395 and not compatible with other modems above 9600bps.
    • Mainframe Copycats – A look at five different terminal programs that emulate VT100 on the PC. These include Persoft SmarTerm 240 Version 1.1, KEA Systems Zstempc-VT100 Version 2.6, Polygon poly-COM/240 Version 1.12, Coefficient Systems Vterm III Version 1.4, and General Micro Systems PC4010 Version 2.0. VT100 emulation would become common across all terminal software.
    • PCs Teach the VAX New Tricks – A look at Datability’s Remote Access Vacility which is software that goes beyond basic terminal functions when used to access a VAX system from a PC.
    • A Bold New Fact – A look at the AST TurboLaser printer which has the ability to emulate a variety of other printers.
    • Alpha/three: Simple, Powerful, Compatible – A review of the Alpha/three DBMS which is compatible with and cheaper (if somewhat slower) than dBASE.

    Hands On

    • The Tailored Tabloid – Using Microsoft Access scripting to create personalized newspapers.
    • 1-2-3 Budget Tune-Up – A look at a 1-2-3 based app for incorporating sales and cost figures into your budget forecasts.

    Departments

    • David Bunnell – A look at some of the most influential people in the PC World. Some of the names here include John Sculley, Bill Gates, Gary Kildall, Michael Dell, and Trip Hawkins among others.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about legal attempts to prevent renting software, tape backup systems, offshore support, The Mist (game from Mindscape), PCs in Czechoslovakia, and more.
    • Harry Miler – A look at the evolution of desktop publishing.
    • PC World View – Bill Gross talks about HAL (Human Access Language), a English language front end for 1-2-3; results of a survey of PC users; Ashton-Tate seeks to become world’s leading source of software; and more.
    • Product Outlook – A look at recent and upcoming products including RapidFile, Wang LapTop, Crosstalk Mark 4, HAL, Ontio 259, and more.
    • From the Software Shelf – First impressions of recent software releases including WordPerfect Library, The Norton Commander, Webster’s New World Writer, BitCom, and more.
    • From the Hardware Shelf – First impressions of recent hardware releases including the Multitech Accel 900 286 based computer, the Sharp PC-7000 “portable” computer, the Core XT26 (26 MB hard drive), Orchid TurboEGA video accelerator, and more.
    • Password: Communicate – A guide to choosing the right 9600bps modem for your application; comparing time and cost on various online services with 300bps vs. 1200bps modems; phone companies having issues with automatic redial; and more.
    • The Help Screen – Questions answered about dealing with the lack of an 8-bit communications protocol when sending documents with 8-bit characters, serial port configuration, and recording computer images to a VCR.
    • *.* – A BASIC program for generating banners, quicksort routines, and more.
    • Kevin Strehlo – Addressing concerns about the IBM PC standard fragmenting.

    …and more!


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  • PC World (September 1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: PC World – September 1985

    PC World was one of the most popular PC specific magazines from the 1980s through the 1990s and beyond. I didn’t even have my Commodore 64 yet it 1985 but if I had a PC, I probably would have been getting this magazine. The September 1985 issue includes:

    Getting Started

    • Theory PC – The difficulty of communication via PC and how to make the PC universal.
    • From Here to Mainframe (and Back) – How to use a PC to communicate with a mainframe.

    Community

    • The PC as Innovator – The quantum leap in productivity that the PC offers as well as its economic potential.
    • Copying Software: Who’s Right? – PC World readers chime in on software piracy.
    • Cautious Capital – Where venture capitalist are putting their money in the context of the personal computer shakeout following the frenzy of 1981-1983.

    Review

    • The Personal Connection – How computers have gone from being seen as rather Orwellian (perhaps still an accurate view) to fundamental tools of social communion.
    • Reflex: Analysis With Finese – A review of Reflex from Analytica, a software data analysis software package inspired by Lotus 1-2-3 and the Macintosh.
    • Ready to Run Accounting – Ready-to-Run Accounting is a general ledger template for Lotus 1-2-3 and offers an inexpensive accounting solution.
    • Enable: Compact and Capable – A five function integrated software package that includes word processing, spreadsheet, data management, graphics, and telecommunications components.
    • And the Word Is Good – Verson 2.0 of Microsoft Word.

    State of the Art

    • Asimov Ponders PCs – Sci-Fi author Isaac Asimov writes about the increasing intelligence of computers.
    • Experts on Call – Expert Systems provide solutions or predictions based on facts.

    Hand On

    • A Model for Peaceful Coexistence – The PC’s place in corporations.
    • Dress Up Your Documents – Creating fancy documents with the typesetting capabilities of word processing software like Microsoft Word and WordStar and laser printers.
    • A New Way to Frame Projects – Using Frameword o set up a simple scheduling system.

    Departments

    • David Bunnell – Proof that unauthorized copies of software (i.e. pirated copies) sell software.
    • Ken Greenberg – The PC’s trend towards business applications.
    • John C. Dvorak – Dvorak ponders whether the computer books and bookstores and software distribution channels is a dying trend. I remember buying Ace of Aces for my Commodore 64 at a Waldenbooks…
    • Letters – Readers write in about mainframes, the virtual device interface, data management software, and more.
    • PC World View – How Vannevar Bush predicted the personal computer in something he called the “memex”; probate software; new PC clones; and more.
    • The Help Screen – Tips for automatic plotting, converting LaserJet escape codes into DOS commands, transferring text files from the Apple II to the PC; and more.
    • From the Software Shelf – PC World’s first impressions of software including Executive Writer/Executive Filer, The Art of Negotiating, TallScreen, and pfs:access.
    • Password: Communicate – On-line queries using Dialog vs. gateway services; the fallout from a Los Angeles BBS operator getting charged for having a stolen telephone-credit card number on his BBS; Hayes starts selling Smartmodem 1200 in the U.K.

    …and more!


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