I have to admit that I have a real soft spot for PCFormat magazine.
The first ever edition came out shortly after I started university on my first computing course (the current edition is its 10th anniversary edition), when floppy disks actually were er...floppy, and I’ve kind of ... Read review
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Advantages: Honest and well written Disadvantages: Only comes out once a month!
...it first came out the PC was pretty much exclusively geek territory.
PCFormat covers all issues related to PCs for the home user. Therefore you won’t have to wade through long dull articles on the newest network hubs or commentaries by bearded chaps on why the dot com bubble burst in order to find something of real interest.
If you use a PC at home then you, or someone in your family will find most of the articles ... ...as the capabilities of the PC grew and grew so has PCFormat’s focus and you’ll find reviews of printers, cameras, security software, articles on reclaiming deleted files, how-to sections on web and graphic design, tips on using MS Windows and an excellent (and often quite hilarious) help section where users problems are resolved by the rather acidic Luis Villazon (that’s his real name, apparently).
I have to admit that I have a real soft spot for PCFormat magazine.
The first ever edition came out shortly after I started university on my first computing course (the current edition is its 10th anniversary edition), when floppy disks actually were er...floppy, and I’ve kind of grown up with it in the world of computing, helped on the way by the well written and genuinely useful articles and reviews in this magazine.
I’ve enjoyed it immensely from that first edition, even though it seems to be mellowing out just a little now since those younger, louder and brasher days - although that’s probably in response to a widening in the background of its readership, as back in the days it first came out the PC was pretty much exclusively geek territory.
PCFormat covers all issues related to PCs for the home user. Therefore you won’t have to wade through long dull articles on the newest network hubs or commentaries by bearded chaps on why the dot com bubble burst in order to find something of real interest.
If you use a PC at home then you, or someone in your family will find most of the articles useful.
Once upon a time, PCFormat was totally games-centric but over the years, as the capabilities of the PC grew and grew so has PCFormat’s focus and you’ll find reviews of printers, cameras, security software, articles on reclaiming deleted files, how-to sections on web and graphic design, tips on using MS Windows and an excellent (and often quite hilarious) help section where users problems are resolved by the rather acidic Luis Villazon (that’s his real name, apparently).
As an ex hard-core gamer I would never buy a game/joystick/video card for my PC until I had read the review of it in PCFormat, even if that meant waiting, because, to coin a much over-used phrase, they tell it like it is. Big reputations don’t seem to carry much weight at PCFormat, so if the software or hardware being reviewed is crap, they’ll say so. If it will blow your mind, they’ll say that as well. You’ll usually find the cover disks (CD or DVD versions) have demos of some of the software being reviewed (as well as full versions of useful software) so you can make up your own mind as well.
The magazine is put together by people who know their stuff, and more importantly, understand their readers; they worked out years before anyone else that people don’t just use their PC for spreadsheets but do a whole lot more, like play games, surf the Internet, publish web sites, print photos, do their homework on, upgrade with newer ‘bits’ like memory, graphics cards etc, and have been putting together a magazine which can cover all these things and in a way which won’t put off the inexperienced user, whilst also covering for their more ‘geeky‘ readership with e.g. articles on overclocking your motherboard. Although I think they went too far this month with a step-by-step guide on designing your own PC case!
So, if you use a PC at home, and as something more than an abacus, and want to be kept abreast of what’s good and what’s not so good for the PC then buy this magazine today!
Advantages: good all round magazine, competent writing, LESS ADS! plenty of try outs Disadvantages: tries to do it all.....
...is very very different to PC Plus (see my other op on this) in that this magazine is really aimed more squarely at a home user who has a good (perhaps not fantastic) knowledge of computing. The type of person who would not want to reformat their system ever, and who plays games more than they do anything else (except perhaps internet surfing) on their PC. If this is you then this magazine is just right!
The magazine is released monthly in CD and ... ...the account every quarter!!!).
PC Format is made in 5 main sections – News, Gameplay, Tried and Tested, How to…., and Internet. Within these large sections is a lot of smaller regular features and special articles. I’ll try to make this one shorter :)
The news section covers everything, from new products for the future, to news about specific companies (xbox features this month!) and even little bits of non computing news. I like ...
kano 14.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of PC Format
Advantages: Comprehensive detail on software and hardware of all kinds. Disadvantages: Advice section too unfriendly.
‘PC Format’ is the leading PC publication from Future Publishing, who print what can comfortably be regarded as the leading range in PC related magazines. It covers both recreational and utility software and hardware, where ‘PC Gamer’ is more focused upon games and entertainment. ‘.Net’, a third magazine, covers the Internet. ‘PC Format’ stands head and shoulders among these and all other PC magazines ... ...the beginner’s end of the PC market, as the information and advice provided can be of great use to more proficient PC users. Perhaps high-level programmers with an intimate knowledge of all PCs should look elsewhere though. ‘PC Format’ stands proud in a market is swamped with dross. Such magazines as ‘Computer Shopper’ provide weak articles interspersed with endless adverts. Entry-level magazines like ‘PC Basics’ ...
SkyscraperFanClub 18.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of PC Format
Advantages: good all-rounder mag Disadvantages: not an lot about anything due to all-rouder nature
PC Format is a great computing magazine. It has a mixture of games reviews and hardware/computer reviews. It has a quite large section with news on the computing world, recent gaming events and new hardware announcements. The magazine has recently been re-designed to a more ‘modern’ style and everything is easy to find.
-Software-
PC Format has previews upcoming games and reviews of recently released games. The reviews are 1 or 2 pages ... ...reviews as well.
-Hardware-
PC Format reviews new computers and peripherals. The computer reviews are normally for top of the range computers. The peripherals are things like printers, scanners, mice, speakers and joysticks. They are given a percentage score, and have advantages and disadvantages like with software reviews. They review graphics and sound cards in the same way. They have comparison reviews with 5/6 different makes of the same thing ...
R_Easton 04.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of PC Format
Advantages: Great content Disadvantages: Too expensive
...Hardware or Advert orientated. PC Format is a totally different magazine. The magazine is divided into sections. PCF News This section informs you about all the latest news in the computing world. For example the hottest hardware, the latest and greatest games and even ISP news, with all the so-called free ISP's going under it's always good to keep ahead on what's going on. Basically, this section gives you up to date information. Practical. All ... ...tips, and advice on how to perform certain tasks. The issue I bought had a spread on Can You Fix It. It gave lots of practical advice on what to do if your computer crashes, develops a virus, won't start etc etc. I found this section really easy to understand, everything is written jargon free. This page was a god send to me, because at the time I was experiencing major troubles with my computer. Every issue features these practical hints and tips, ...
mandyco 09.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of PC Format
Value for money
Quality of journalism
Quality of features
Quantity of advertising
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Advantages: An interesting read. Disadvantages: A lot of adverts.
PC Plus is a PC magazine that is published by Future publishing. This company produces a wide range of magazines like PCFormat, PC Gear and Linux Format.
PC Plus is aimed that PC users with quite a wide range of knowledge so it maybe isn't suitable for an absolute beginner. There isn't really a main focus of the magazine, instead it aims to cover many different apsects of computing.
It has a strong editorial section which whilst lacking in humour is still an interesting read. The journalists are all extremely competent and you get the idea that they know what they're doing.
The magazine includes the following sections:
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theanarchistkid 07.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of PC Plus
Advantages: Great reviews, Funny Disadvantages: Expensive, Small hardware section
Shopper? or ?Computer Buyer? that concentrate on reviews of hardware and computers. There are ones like PCFormat (made by the same company as PC Gamer) who have a mixture of hardware and games. But if it?s just games you?re interested in then PC Gamer is definitely the magazine for you. ...
R_Easton 05.10.2001 (16.10.2001)
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.NET is a magazine dedicated to the Internet, "your one-stop resource for all things Internet" as they say. There are other Internet magazines out there but this one seems to be just that bit better than the rest. I must admit that this isn't a magazine I buy on a regular basis as I tend to normally go for more wide ranging magazines like PCFormat. However if it's just the Internet you want to know about then this is the one for you.
It costs £4.99 per month and comes with at least one CD full of goodies every time. Once you open the magazine up you'll find a wealth of information on all aspects of the Internet such as new sites, hardware and software reviews and advice on improving your own web site. The magazine is also backed up with a great web site (www.netmag.co.uk) where you can access past articles,software downloads, links ...
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