- Personal Computer World
:"This article is about "Personal Computer World", a British computer magazine. For the unrelated U.S. magazine, see
PC World (magazine) . For the unrelated British retailer, seePC World (retailer) ."Personal Computer World (usually referred to as PCW) is a long-running British
Computer magazine, founded by theYugoslavia n-bornAngelo Zgorelec [http://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/aboutauthors/index.htm "About the authors"] , visit-croatia.co.uk. Article retrieved2006-11-24 .] in 1978 [http://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/aboutauthors/articles.htm "Founding Father"] , Personal Computer World (via visit-croatia.co.uk). Article retrieved2006-11-24 .] .PCW went monthly from the second edition. Zgorelec was publisher for the first 16 issues, and then went into partnership with
Felix Dennis before selling the title toVNU . The magazine is currently owned byIncisive Media .At present, PCW features a mixture of articles, mainly related to the Windows PC, with some
Linux and Macintosh-related content. The news pages include reports on various new technologies. Large parts of the magazine are taken up with reviews of computers and software. There is also a 'Hands On' section which is more tutorial-based. Advertising still makes up a large proportion of its bulk, although this has diminished somewhat since its peak in the 1990s.The magazine typically comes with a cover-mounted CD or
DVD , the latter containing additional content. Although the magazines themselves are identical, those with a free DVD cost significantly more than those with a free CD.Despite containing a high proportion of Windows PC content (reflecting the current state of the IT field), the magazine's title was not intended as a specific reference to this. At its inception in 1978 'personal computer' was still a generic term, and did not refer specifically to the
Wintel (or 'IBM PC compatible ') platform; in fact, such a thing did not exist at the time (the originalIBM PC itself would not be launched for another three years). Similarly, the magazine is unrelated to theAmstrad PCW .At one stage, the magazine was (effectively) sold as 'PCW', but this abbreviation was dropped from the cover after just a few issues.
The magazine has changed (both in terms of style and content) on many occasions since its launch. The latest major change took place with the November 2005 issue, when the magazine was relaunched with an updated look (including glossier paper and a redesigned layout), new features, fewer advertising pages, and a slightly higher price tag.
History
As the magazine was launched four years before the first
IBM PC (reviewed in the magazine in November 1981) the magazine originally covered early self-build microcomputers. It later expanded its coverage to all kinds of microcomputers fromhome computer s toworkstation s, as the industry evolved. Regular features in the earlier years of the magazine wereGuy Kewney 's "Newsprint" section, "Benchtests" (in-depth computer reviews), "Subset", covering machine code programming, type-in program listings, "Bibliofile" (book reviews), the "Computer Answers" help column, "Checkouts" (brief hardware reviews) "TJ's Workshop" (for technical junkies), "Screenplay" for game reviews and "Banks' Statement", the regular column fromMartin Banks [ [http://ukfree.tv/pcw/pcwindex.htm The PCW index] 1978-June 1989] .The distinctive cover style, with a single photo or illustration dominating the page, was adopted soon after its launch and continued until the early 1990s.
The magazine also sponsored the Personal Computer World Show, an annual
trade fair held inLondon every September from 1978 to 1989.References
ee also
*
UK computer magazine cover-date battle External links
* [http://www.pcw.co.uk Official Personal Computer World website]
* [http://www.davidviner.com/mags.php Computer magazine history featuring PCW]
* [http://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/aboutauthors/index.htm Information on PCW-founder Angelo Zgorelec]
* [http://ukfree.tv/pcw/pcwindex.htm The PCW index] 1978-June 1989
* [http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/cgi-bin/sitewise.pl?act=sect&pt=1094_371&s=573 Personal Computer World Magazine Library at the Centre for Computing History]
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