• Tag Archives PC World

  • PC World (June 2004)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: PC World – June 2004

    PC World was one of the longest running and most successful “PC” magazines. PC in this context generally referring to IBM PC compatibles, DOS, and Windows. In 2004, that meant mostly coverage of computers running Windows XP. The June 2004 issue includes:

    Ultimate PC Protection

    • Bigger Threats, Better Defense – A look at the latest in security software including the latest firewalls, antivirus, anti-spyware and antispam. According to PC World, the best such products at the time were Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2004, Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Pro 4.5, Lavasoft Ad-aware 6 Plus, Spybot Search & Destroy, and Cloudmark SpamNet.
    • Spam-Proof Your In-Box – A review of nine different antispam tools. Products included are Aladdin Systems SpamCatcher 3.01, Audiotrieve InBoxer 1.1, Cloudmark SpamNet, Lyris Technologies MailShield 3.11, Network Associates McAfee SpamKiller 5.0, Panda Software Platinum Internet Security, Sunbelt Software IHateSpam 4 for Outlook, Symantec Norton AntiSpam 2004, and Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2004.

    Features

    • Who Knew Your…{PC, Software, Camera, Printer, Network, Drive, Handheld}…Could Do That – Various hints and tips for your PC and peripheral gadgets. Hints include using a wireless printer server, plugging your digital camera into a slide show display, using your notebook screen as a desktop monitor, cataloging your CDs and DVDs automatically, and more.
    • DV Stars – A look at the latest digital camcorders. Most were MiniDV but there were also recordable DVD models. Units reviewed include the Canon ZR80, Canon ZR90, JVC GR-D72US, Panasonic PV-DV73, Panasonic PV-DV73, Panasonic PV-DV953 (Best Buy), Sharp VL-Z800U, Sony DCR-DVD300, Sony DCR-HC20 (Best Buy), and Sony DCR-IP1 MicroMV.
    • Is E-Voting Safe – Here they were referring to computerized voting machines vs. something like internet voting. Still a question being asked today.

    Top 100

    • Spotlight: Wireless Mice and Keyboards – A comparison of two top wireless keyboard and mouse combos including the DiNovo Media Desktop and the Microsoft Basic Wireless Optical Desktop. Plus a look at the Logitech Cordless Click Plus Optical Mouse and a bunch of other wireless input devices.
    • Top 15 Desktop PCs – The top “power system” PC was the ABS Ultimate M5-64 featuring a 2.2 GHz Athlon 64 3400+, 1 GB RAM, and a 256MB ATI Radeon 9800XT for $2319. The top “value system” was the Dell Dimension 4600 featuring a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, and a 128MB nVidia GeForce FX 5200 for $1089.
    • Top 15 Notebook PCs – The top “desktop replacement” was the HP Compaq Nc6000 featuring a 1.6 GHz Pentium M and 512 MB RAM. The top “all-purpose” notebook was the IBM ThinkPad R50 featuring a Pentium M 1.4 GHz and 512 MB. The Top “ultraportable” was the Toshiba Portege M100 featuring a 1.2 GHz Pentium M and 256 MB RAM.
    • Top 10 Inkjet Printers – At the top of the list month is the HP Deskjet 5150.
    • Top 10 DVD Drives – Optical drives used to be such a big deal, now it is hard to find pre-built PCs with them (though they are still around). The top DVD/RW drive listed here is the Plextor PX-708A.
    • Top 5 Graphics Boards – The top 5 from top to bottom are the MSI FX5900 XT-VTD128, Asus Radeon 9800XT, ATI All-In-Wonder 9600 XT, Crucial Technology Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB, and BFG Technologies Asylum GeForce FX 5950 Ultra.
    • Top 10 Digital Cameras – At the top of the list is the Olympus C-5060 Wide Zoom for $649 featuring 5.1 megapixel resolution and a 32MB XD-Picture Card (plus a CompactFlash slot).

    Departments

    • Up Front – On the advantages of using Windows and OS X based systems.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about offshore tech support, pop-ups, PC security, remembering passwords, printing on the cheap, how to fight spam and viruses, and more.
    • Plugged In – AMD starts a campaign providing free hotspots. It was common at this time to have to pay for hot spot access at, for example, a Starbucks.
    • Home Office – Fixes for common mistakes including tools for backing up your data and recovering deleted files.
    • Bugs and Fixes – Updates for Outlook and MSN Messenger primarily to fight viruses.
    • Full Disclosure – An early look at Microsoft’s next version of windows, code-named Longhorn which would eventually become Vista.

    News & Trends

    • Viruses Taret IM – Tips and tools to prevent the spread of viruses via IM clients.
    • Intel Plays Name Game – Intel changes its naming scheme dropping the MHz from model names.
    • New Cell Phones: Cool, Capable – Smartphones weren’t a thing yet. The latest and greatest cell phones included the Kyocera KOI, Siemens CX66, and the LG8000 among others.
    • Tools to Find PC Data Faster – A look at search tools for Windows XP including Bloomba, DTSearch Desktop and X1.
    • Laptop CPU for the Long Haul – A look at the Sharp Actius MM20, the first notebook to use the 1 GHz Efficeon TM8600 CPU from Transmeta.
    • Ultrafast Wireless – A look at a new wi-fi standard referred to as Ultra Wide Band (UWB) or 802.15.3a with speeds up to 480mbps.

    New Products

    • Video Instant Messaging Software – A look at video chat software including Sight-Speed Video Messenger, Clique Video Messenger and Logitech’s VideoCall.
    • Notebook – A review of the Inspiron XPS which includes a 3.4 GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition CPU, 128MB ATI Radeon 9700 graphics, 1GB RAM, a 60GB hard drive, and a 15.4-inch 1920 x 1200 screen for only $4349.
    • Digital Camera – Reviews of the Canon PowerShot S500 Digital Elph and the Nikon D70 DSLR.
    • Database Management Software – A review of FileMaker Pro 7.
    • Video Transfer Device – A review of the Plextor ConvertX PX-M402U. It is an external device that converts analog video to digital via RCA or S-Video input.

    Next Gear

    • Build a Media-Savvy PC – A how-to guide for building a computer designed to handle TV, music and other multi-media. Examples are provided for a high-end version and a value version. The value version includes a 1.83 GHz Athlon XP 1500+, ATI All-In Wonder 9200, and 256 MB PC2700 (333 MHz) RAM while the high-end version includes a 3.4 GHz Pentium 4, 1GB PC4000 (500 MHz) DDR RAM, and an ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro.
    • HDTV Recorder – A review of LG’s LST-3410A HDTV Digital Video Recorder/Receiver, designed mostly to record HD broadcasts.
    • Cellular GPS Service – Taken for granted today but if you wanted GPS navigation on your phone in 2004 it required special software and a subscription service/data plan and you had to make do with a tiny screen.
    • Gadget Freak – Tips for the perfect home theater setup.

    Here’s How

    • Windows Tips – How to customize startup and shutdown of windows, including starting applications automatically and running maintenance tasks on shutdown.
    • Hardware Tips – Tips on getting the right hard drive for your needs… Internal or external, SATA or PATA, size, etc.
    • Step-By-Step – A guide for tuning up your Windows XP installation.
    • Internet Tips – A guide for using America Online.
    • Answer Line – Questions answered about moving data, settings, and apps to a new PC.

    …and more!


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  • PC World (March 1988)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: PC World – March 1988

    PC World was one of the most successful PC magazines (PC meaning x86 compatible). It had a long life before the Internet killed it. The March 1988 issue includes:

    Review

    • Excel – Should You Switch? – Excel makes its debut, ultimately spelling the end for products like Lotus 1-2-3 and VisiCalc.
    • Thoroughly Modern Modems – Hayes releases new V-Series modems which include internal and external 9600bps and 2400bps models. They sure were expensive though with prices ranging from $849 to $1299. Prices would drop like a rock over the next few years.
    • Smartcom Wises Up – Smartcom III, a communications/terminal program, was released to coincide with Hayes’ new modems. Crosstalk Mk.4 still had more features.
    • Making the E-Mail Choice – E-mail in the 1980s was a hodge-podge of various services. Typically they charged by the e-mail or by the length. Various services all had their own limitations and pricing scheme.
    • Worksheets Without 1-2-3 – A look at worksheet compilers that create standalone applications from your worksheets. The two products examined here are The Baler and @Liberty.

    • The Hardware Shelf – A look at the Amstrad PC1640 (XT-compatible 8086 from $899 to $1899 depending on the floppy, hard drive, and graphics options you want), the Wang PC 380 (80386 based system starting at $6495), the Toshiba T1000 (an 80C88 based laptop with 512K and 3.5″ disk drive for $1199), the Polaroid PallettePlus (a “film recorder” that converts CGA and EGA graphics to film slides for $3000), and the FastTrap trackball.

    • The Software Shelf – Reviews of some of the latest software, including Microsoft Works, PageMaker Portfolio: Designs for Newsletters, OfficeWriter Express, Vu/Text, and MemoryMate.

    Feature

    • 1988 World Class PC Contest – A contest in which you get to vote for your favorite hardware and software for a chance to win prices worth over $40,000.
    • Putting E-Mail to Work – A look at various e-mail services as an alternative to more traditional and expensive methods of sending documents (FedEx for example).

    • A License to Clone – An article about the supposed deluge of PS/2 clones to come. This never really happened and Micro Channel Architecture never really took off except for the relatively brief years that IBM used it.

    How To

    • E-Mail to Anywhere – A tutorial on how to send e-mail between various networks.

    Departments

    • David Bunnell – A look at what was a somewhat novel idea at the time, an external hard drive system. Today you have a USB device the size of a key (or smaller) that holds hundreds of gigabytes (or more) for a few 10s of dollars. Then you had an external 2 pound brick that held 40MB for $350
    • Letters – Readers write in about computer journalism ethics, benchmarking, DacEasy Accounting 2.00, the Remedy Removable Winchester drive, and more.
    • Richard Landry – OS/2’s high cost and incompatibility is leading to a split in the market but software vendors are working to make data compatible between applications on OS/2 and other operating systems.
    • Stewart Alsop – A prediction that the hottest new persona computer for software development in January 1990 will be from Sun Microsystems.
    • On IBM – IBM’s strategy of using SAA (Systems Application Architecture) to allow their various non-compatible mainframes, minicomputers, and PCs to talk to each other.
    • Top of the News – Micro Channel clones come closer to market; as VRAM prices drop, manufacturers of graphics cards start using faster VRAM instead of DRAM; HP introduces NewWave, a development tool for Windows 2.0; and more.
    • Industry Outlook – A look at Hayes’ strategy of high end modems and ISDN support; 376,400 laptops sold in 1987 with a projected 621,000 by 1989; memory prices hold steady at $0.65 to $0.75 per kilobyte; four floppy disk formats still common (low and high density 3.5″ and 5.25″); and more.
    • Product Outlook – A look at upcoming products including Info-XL (information management software), Canon Bubble-Jet BJ-130 printer, ImageCard (PostScript-compatible printer controller), Fill & File (forms generator), TransFormer 2 (PS/2 expansion bus), Pixie (presentation graphics software), and the GS/1-IP Gateway Server (network server for connecting separate LANs).
    • Briefly Noted – A brief look at new products including DataPerfect 2.0 (database management), Diconix 300W (ink jet printer), NexView, The Wheel, CM-1430 (hire-res color monitor), and Paradise VGA Professional and VGA Plus cards.
    • Update – Recent software and hardware updates including Word for Word (conversion utility), Clipper Summer ’87 (dBASE III Plus compiler), Quicksilver Diamond Release (another dBASE III Plus compiler), Zenith Z-183 laptop (added hard drive), and more.
    • Consumer Watch – What to look for in computer benchmarking.
    • The Help Screen – How to capture printer output to a disk file, port Apple II files to the PC, disable the Print Screen key and more.
    • Tech Notes – The upgrade dilemma… 286 or 386? OS/2, DOS or Windows?
    • Sourcebooks – Book reviews including Big Blue: IBM’s Use and Abuse of Power, High-Tech Society: The Story of the Information Technology Revolution, Expert System Technology: Development and Application, The Gem Operating System Handbook, and more.
    • Another Angle – On the selfishness of BBS users.

    …and more!


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  • PC World (January 1991)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: PC World – January 1991

    PC World was one of the most popular PC magazines published in the U.S. It always felt a bis generic to me but it’s still great for nostalgia. This issue goes back to 1991, a year when the 486 was bleeding edge and IBM was still a big name in the PC World.

    Previews

    • IBM’s Visionary New XPs – A look at IBM’s latest 486 based PS/2 models with features including upgradeable 25 and 33 MHz CPUs, optional 256K cache, and up to 32MB of RAM. The Model 90 desktop features room for five drives and has three available 32-bit Micro Channel slots. The Model 95 tower has room for up to seven drives and six available Micro Channel slots. However, the prices range from $12,495 to $17,745 which seems pretty insane, even for then.
    • Easy Persuasion – A look at Aldus Persuasion 2.0 for Windows. This was presentation software that would have competed with software like PowerPoint.

    Reviews

    • Easy Fonts for Great-Looking Documents – A look at seven scalable font generators, including Adobe Type Manager 1.0, FaceLift 1.0, Fontware, SoftType 1.01, SuperPrint 1.0, and Type Director 2.0.
    • Buying Smart: Font Shopping Tips – What to look for when shopping for font software.
    • Exercising Your Font Options – Resident fonts vs. font cartridges; price vs. performance.

    • Tax Relief for the Rest of Us – A guide to the various software available to do your 1990 tax return, including AM Tax, Andrew Tobias’ TaxCut, J.K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax 1991, MacInTax for Windows, Personal Tax Filer, Personal Tax Preparer for 1990, Swiftax, and Sylvia Porter’s Rapid Tax.
    • Own a Home Business? The IRS is Watching – Why you may want to continue using an accountant for your business taxes.
    • In a Hurry for That Refund Check? – Use electronic filing to get your refund check faster. This option only became available the previous year.
    • Do-It-Yorself Taxes – A guide to finding the right tax software for your needs.
    • Rating the Returns – A comparision of the same return with TurboTax 8.0, TaxCut, and an accountant.

    News

    • Top of the News – Colorstar and Toshiba introduce new laptops with the novelty of 256 color active matrix screens. The Colorstar features a 20 MHz 386 while the Toshiba T3200SXC features a 20 MHz 386SX. New VGA chipsets announced. Lotus buys Samna. Borland releases Forms Processor, Turbo Pascal and SideKick II for Windows. Multimedia PCs on the way. The Multimedia standard includes a minimum of a Windows capable 286 with 2MB of RAM, VGA graphics, 30 MB hard drive, sound card and CD-ROM.
    • Industry Outlook – IBM launches XGA as successor to VGA; growth of desktop publishing slows; mail order sales increase (I bought my first “PC” in 1993 via mail order direct from Gateway 2000); and more.
    • Product Outlook – Next releases NextStation featuring a 25-MHz 68040 CPU, 8 MB RAM, MegaPixel (1120 x 820) display, 2.8MB floppy, and 105 MB hard drive for $5000 and the higher end NextCube for $13,990O. Other new products include new versions of TurboTax, TaxCut, and MacIntax, Wyse Decision 486/33E, Express Publisher 2.0, IBM PS/1 Printer, Co/Session 5.0, Turbo Pascal 6.0, PacificPage PE 4.9, SatisFAXtion, Quicken 4.0, CompuAdd 333 and 333T, AST Premium II 386SX/20, and more.

    Features

    How To

    • OPerating System and Environments – Windows 3.0: Load applications automatically, quick program switching, replacing File Manager with Norton Commander, and more. Desqview: Easy word processor to E-Mail transfers.
    • Word Processing – Wordperfect: deleting consecutive words, doing OR searches, hiding and searching for comments and more. Microsoft Word: parallel columns, extra wide docments and more. Wordstar: quick printing.
    • Spreadsheets – Lotus 1-2-3 and Quattro Pro: quickly unhide columns, speed data entry, fast recalcs and more.
    • Data Management – Tips for dBASE, Paradox, Q&A, DataEase and more.
    • Communications – Tips from using CompuServe, Procomm Plus (my favorite telecommuniations software back in the day), Crosstalk XVI, Crosstalk MK.4, and more.
    • Desktop Publishing – Tips for Ventura Publisher, PageMaker 3.x, and more.
    • Presentations – Tips for Harvard Graphics.
    • Draw and Paint Programs – Tips for Corel Draw, Micrografx Designer 3.0, and PC Paintbrush IV Plus.
    • Utilities – Tips for Norton Utilities, PC Tools Deluxe 6.0 and Magellan.

    Departments

    • Richard Landry – IBM catches up with the competition with their new XP systems.
    • The Help Screen – Automatically include the document name in the body of WordPerfect 5.1 documents; using shareware; partitioning your hard disk; Weitek vs. Intel math coprocessors; and more.
    • Network Q&A – Questions answered about Windows 3.0 on a NetWare 286 network.
    • Consumer Watch – Shopping experiences at Sears, Radio Shack, and via mail order among other places.
    • Developer’s Toolbox – A look at Booter Toolkit, software designed to allow you you create boot disks for your software without needing DOS.
    • Taking It Home – Protecting yourself from computer theft.

    …and more!


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