Computeractive

I was never trained to work with computers at school, in fact the only computers I was aware of as a child, was the ones that NASA used to get men to the moon & the ones that were used for picking the premium bonds winners every month. Things the size of a garden shed with tape reels whizzing round inspected by people in white coats!!

About 15 years ago when I changed jobs I was given a lap top for work use, it had Windows 3.1 operating system loaded on it along with a black & white screen. This came in very handy when the company gave me coloured pie charts for reports!! It was like watching a snooker match on a black & white telly!!
I had never worked with a computer before so after a crash course lasting all of 30 minutes I was let loose. As you can well imagine I struggled but purchased a guide book to help me out, unfortunately the book was written by computer geeks in geeky language so I still struggled. Over the years things have improved I although no expert by any stretch of the imagination I can get by with various operating systems without much problems but I've still a lot to learn.

There is an abundance of computer magazines in the shops, some dedicated to operating systems like Mac, Linux & various Windows systems such as XP & Vista. There are magazines dedicated to hardware, desk bound PCs, lap tops & even pocket PCs. There are magazines dedicated to computer experts for building your own PC or making your own web sites etc. One magazine I picked up early last year was Computer Active, here was a magazine which covered many aspects of the subject but the big difference here was it was written in plain English not in computer jargon. Basically, it was published for people like me in mind, a person who enjoyed using a computer & wanted to do more with it but didn't have the knowledge & would be confused if not bewildered by computer jargon.

I was so impressed with this magazine that I took out a subscription & learned quite a bit from it since. Computer Active is bi-weekly & costs a mere £1.59, it is currently the best selling computer magazine in the UK. I am using the latest issue as an example as they are all laid out in a similar manner although from the 100th edition the layout will change slightly.

After you read the editors message & index you get around 5-6 pages of news, typical examples in this issue range from calls for MPs to scrap ID cards, Ofcom probe into web speeds, word tool to aid the blind to info on O2 launching a internet based television site & much more.
From there you get two pages of consumer problems, readers who have been 'stung' by an internet site & need advice usually for faulty goods & the like. This is a feature that is really worthwhile & gives the reader lots of useful information on buying all sorts of goods.

Next up, is usually the main feature of the magazine, usually six pages, this week it features customising your sat nav clearly showing you how to download extra tools & features & what is available. Other weeks have included internet security, working with Excel & even Digital TV.
Other smaller features follow on & include childproof computing, making wills on the web & exploring Vista are also contained in this week's issue.
There is a regular 6-7 pages dedicated to new products, from computers to cameras, MP3 players to software, in fact anything that is likely to be linked to a computer will be tested. These tests are never detailed as there isn't enough room, but they are helpful, informative & rated.
The centre section of the magazine every week contains the 'workshop' section, usually with around 5-6 different tasks. This week as an example it features step by step guide on controller two PCs with one keyboard & mouse, making apple videos Windows friendly, filtering out spam, adding memory to Vista & moving files in Vista with a sidebar gadget. The guides are in colour & really easy to follow.

There is a two page CD Rom software test plus two pages dedicated to games plus one page of the best internet sites of the week.
At the end of the magazine is the usual problem page with plenty of helpful advice on how to avoid problems (computer problems not domestic!!). There is so much handy information in these magazines that they are worth hanging on to for future reference. I have set up an Excel page on my PC & include all the main features on the magazines against the issue number, so that in the future I need to look up some advice or any features I can quickly check from my list to save flicking through countless pages.

All through every magazine there are 'jargon busters' to assist anyone who is stuck with geeky computer expressions. It's a great magazine for very little money available form most newsagents. You may also want to check out their web site as its full of information on computers at www.computeractive.co.uk