I personally prefer a copy in my hand, that I can carry around with me, and flip pages.. the quality of e-ink or tablet displays isn't the same.. I find navigating most e-versions of magazines I've tried to be beyond irritating. I stopped subscribing to Linux Journal when they went electronic only.. I know the reasons why, just the same it was less appealing to me. I still subscribe to Maximum PC, but even that is getting stale now.
PC World, 1983-2013
31–40 of 57 posts
Re: PC World, 1983-2013
#32As PC magazines go, I have to admit, I kinda miss Computer Shopper. Some of my earliest, and fondest, memories of getting started in computing involve poring over issues of that magazine, reading the columns, drooling over the parts advertised in the copious ads, and dreaming about ordering up a motherboard, case, power supply, video card, etc., and building a computer from scratch.
As history would have it, that's pretty close to what I did. I bought a 386DX/40 motherboard and CPU, a whopping 1 megabyte of RAM, and a few other bits, as I pieced together my first PC. Then a guy I went to school with offered to sell me a dead 286 box that had a good power supply, videocard, floppy drives, etc., that I needed, so I bought that, and cobbled together this Frankenstein's PC of a computer. Got myself a 28.8 modem and start exploring BBS's, Tymnet and Telenet networks, reading Phrack magazine, got into phone phreaking and other sordid activities...
Then somehow I got hold of a shareware C compiler, and a copy of Herbert Schildt's book Teach Yourself C. That started an addiction that led to Borland Turbo C++ for DOS, and the need to upgrade my computer to an absurd 4 megabytes of RAM.. and eventually to Borland C++ (the full suite), a whole shelf full of C/C++ books, and my earliest forays into this strange world of something called "linux" and "open source". Then came the Internet, Slashdot, Kuro5hin, Freshmeat, BOFH, Sluggy Freelance, User Friendly, Dilbert, etc...
Years later - who knew that this is where it would all lead? wistful sigh
Call me a sentimental old fart, but Computer Shopper will always hold a special place in my heart. :-)
Re: PC World, 1983-2013
#33RIP, it was inevitable but it served a purpose in its day.
Re: PC World, 1983-2013
#34As PC magazines go, I have to admit, I kinda miss Computer Shopper. Some of my earliest, and fondest, memories of getting started in computing involve poring over issues of that magazine, reading the columns, drooling over the parts advertised in the copious ads, and dreaming about ordering up a motherboard, case, power supply, video card, etc., and building a computer from scratch. As history would have it, that's p…
To be honest, an ad in Computer Shopper had a nice means of pitch. In just a few square inches they had to fit their pitch into an ad, maybe with a diagram. I couldn't get tricked into some website signup, they had to make their elevator pitch on paper for what ever product or service was offered.
There was no lying about CS -- you were buying a telephone book sized tome of ads, and that was fine -- that's the reason you got it. It was a virtual analog marketplace. Anything and everything you could have wanted was in there.
Re: PC World, 1983-2013
#35I predict MacWorld will soon follow up. Sad... I always loved reading PCWorld at the grocery store as a break from the monotony of shopping for food.
Print is dead. The LCD hath killed it. Long live the LCD, and long live e-Ink displays.
Re: PC World, 1983-2013
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Byte was one of the clear contenders for the best (if not the best) general computer magazine - but as an avid commodore 64 hacker back in 1982-1983, Compute!, with it's monthly updates on various things like undocumented 6510 opcodes, and their interesting assembly programs that we typed in by hand (mostly consisting of a bunch of data/poke statements, will always hold a warm place in my heart.
You're in luck: http://archive.org/details/compute-magazine I just had a burst of pleasurable nostalgia, followed by the sting of feeling old. ;)
And also.
Re: PC World, 1983-2013
#37As PC magazines go, I have to admit, I kinda miss Computer Shopper. Some of my earliest, and fondest, memories of getting started in computing involve poring over issues of that magazine, reading the columns, drooling over the parts advertised in the copious ads, and dreaming about ordering up a motherboard, case, power supply, video card, etc., and building a computer from scratch. As history would have it, that's p…
To be honest, an ad in Computer Shopper had a nice means of pitch. In just a few square inches they had to fit their pitch into an ad, maybe with a diagram. I couldn't get tricked into some website signup, they had to make their elevator pitch on paper for what ever product or service was offered. There was no lying about CS -- you were buying a telephone book sized tome of ads, and that was fine -- that's the reason…
Absolutely. Seems almost funny in hindsight, but I absolutely bought Computer Shopper for the ads! The articles were basically an afterthought, most of the time.
Re: PC World, 1983-2013
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be honest, an ad in Computer Shopper had a nice means of pitch. In just a few square inches they had to fit their pitch into an ad, maybe with a diagram. I couldn't get tricked into some website signup, they had to make their elevator pitch on paper for what ever product or service was offered. There was no lying about CS -- you were buying a telephone book sized tome of ads, and that was fine -- that's the reason…
Absolutely. Seems almost funny in hindsight, but I absolutely bought Computer Shopper for the ads! The articles were basically an afterthought, most of the time.
http://www.sohcahtoa.org.uk/legacy/blog/maths/spreadsheets-t...
I did read some of the articles as it happens, but I know what you mean...
Re: PC World, 1983-2013
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Dr. Dobb's Journal was another great magazine. I still enjoy printed material. I subscribe to 3 magazines (which rotate since I do not have time for more) and purchase my non-techie books solely in print.
For me it was Byte, DDJ, and Computer Language.
I was reared on DDJ and Byte. At one point there was always at least one gem in each issue of both of them.
Re: PC World, 1983-2013
#40As PC magazines go, I have to admit, I kinda miss Computer Shopper. Some of my earliest, and fondest, memories of getting started in computing involve poring over issues of that magazine, reading the columns, drooling over the parts advertised in the copious ads, and dreaming about ordering up a motherboard, case, power supply, video card, etc., and building a computer from scratch. As history would have it, that's p…
I almost always went right to the back page, for the BBS numbers.
I'd call whatever was local, which wasn't much, but would find the most eclectic treasure troves... found an easy to use gravity simulator once. Took FOREVER to download at probably just a few MB.
It was a weirder online experience then, you really felt like you had something secret, all to yourself.