PC Magazines

ConUladh · 21-06-2001 1:29pm #1

I buy Personal Computer World every month but I'd like to know if there's something better out there, I'm quite happy with PCW but is there something I'm missing?

Is there a viable Irish alternative?

Also (asked this before) anyone know of anywhere you can buy the DVD edition of PCW?

Dr. Loon · 21-06-2001 1:52pm

PC live is great, proper Irish....aside from that I buy PC format and PC/DVD gamer....they're good.

Jademan · 21-06-2001 2:07pm

i purchased the dvd in easons the one of dawson street.

ConUladh · 21-06-2001 2:12pm

Originally posted by Jademan:
i purchased the dvd in easons the one of dawson street.

I'll suss it out, thanks, I sent Easons a mail a couple of months ago and they siad they don't stock it and didn't know of any plans to

PC live is great, proper Irish....aside from that I buy PC format and PC/DVD gamer....they're good.

I'll try PC Live, I've played with the idea before but it looks fairly lame compared to the English mags, we'll see

Spunog UIE · 21-06-2001 7:19pm

PC Format and PC Gamer are tops!
PC format usually has really good full programs with it too. PC gamer usually has good reviews of games n gagets and hardware. has other software on its disks besides games too.

PC Live mag is usually pretty lame, but the cd on it is good. (haven't gotten it in ages) but everyone one i got it was fairly thin...

PC FORMAT da best.

Gideon.

chernobyl · 21-06-2001 7:26pm

im tired of buying magazines, especially games magazines, they just wont admit B&W is a pile of pants and how many ppl bought it on the basis of there 110% reviews of it?

MiCr0 · 21-06-2001 11:48pm

for non gaming news and an excellent read
pc plus is da dogs

Kali · 21-06-2001 11:52pm

I have better things to spend my money on.. there are better reviews on the web for games/hardware/technology etc.

PC Live! is good for your dad (or someone equally clueless about computers) to read, in fact we were subscribed to it for a year (98 or 99) for that very reason, personally I wouldn't touch it with a big reading stick and used to laugh at the ridiculous crap they spouted.

Gaming magazines were great in the days before the internet became widespread in Ireland (pre 94 say).. I haven't bought one since then anyway (last one I got had a preview of Quake!) mainly because:
a) they jacked the price up something ridiculous around that time.
b) anything available on the cds/dvds can be found on the net and most of its pointless cramware anyway.

Lump · 22-06-2001 2:10am

What I find about most mags is that they contain an unlawful amount of crap (in the form of shítty ads)

Only my opinion though.

john

DiscoStu · 22-06-2001 2:49am

pc plus seems to be the only serious pc mag that hasnt degenerated into a semi-porn mag with women in bikinis holding mice and other such peripherals.
ST Format, now that was a good mag. oh the nostalgia.

<sig>Insert witty signature here</sig>

SantaHoe · 22-06-2001 4:46am

I usualy just buy PCW (it's taught me so much over the years)... or if they don't have that, I'll usualy just buy PC LIVE! if there's something nice on the cover CD, and because it covers Irish topics.

I think pc live has taken a downward spiral over the years though, I mean, I don't really care if some obscure secondry school in the back àrse of nowhere has gotten a few new PC's, thanks to ->insert lame plug here<-.
It's purely read-while-sitting-on-the-bog-ware at this stage.

And I'm not paying £8 for a gaming mag... no matter what they have on the cover CD.

Xterminator · 22-06-2001 4:59pm

PC Plus is my mag of choice, but im have 2 say the cd's r often ****e.

Then I dont always bother 2 much about that, but considering the cost of these magazines...

Lump · 23-06-2001 2:27am

Agreed Santa, PC Live has filled up with some crap in the recent years. But I dont feel like paying as you say £8 for a magazine that is full of rubbish that only apply to companies in England.

John

jmcc · 24-06-2001 8:39pm

Originally posted by DiscoStu:
pc plus seems to be the only serious pc mag that hasnt degenerated into a semi-porn mag with women in bikinis holding mice and other such peripherals.

Now a mag with gaming/semi-porn/programming may sell.

Actually anything published by Future Publishing seem to be the mags for that.

ST Format, now that was a good mag. oh the nostalgia.

Hehe. I remember PCW when it used to have about 50 pages and actually had listings for programs. I also remember Byte when Steve Ciarca used to write for it. The Early eighties were good for the wide variety of computers/procs scrabbling for dominance.

The main problem with computer mags recently is that they are often edited by complete JAFAs. [1] Before computing/networks became fashionable, the people editing the mags and writing for them knew what they were doing. I think that Guy Kewney (the editor of PCW) actually left to develop one of Amstrad's computers.

As computers became a mass market product, the clueful were driven out in an effort to dumb down magazines. And of course what better way to dumb down a magazine than to get some vaguely computer literate people to edit and write it. This is basically what happened to Dot.ie, PC Live, PCW, Byte etc. Of course the upside is that as people reading these magazines become more computer literate than the fscking technology journalists [1] they migrate to reading the more clueful magazines.

PC Plus is definitely a good mag. It is what PCW used to be like before it got padded out with adverts or Byte with Jerry Pournelle whinging on about some piece of hardware that he could not install. (It was a major flashback when I read a piece in the IT by a technology journalist on how some e-mail virus had infected her machine.).

Steve Ciarca went off and set up his own mag for people with a clue. Byte was bought by CMP. Most of the clueful had deserted it by then as it had become a bland paen to M$ products. CMP shut it down because it was an advertising competitor to one of their other 'doze mags.

The main problem with Irish magazines is that the Irish market is too small. The other problem is getting clueful people to write for magazines. Most get drowned out in the cacophony from the technology journalists. These people have no technological background or specialisations and are not part of the community. If they did not get press releases, they could not write anything.

I've seen a new mag on the stands which is apparently Irish - IT-Times. Content wise it is light. Apparently it is aimed at the business user market. Web Ireland hasn't been seen in these environs since the last issue in January. Irish Computer seems to have undergone a bit of an update as has Comms Today.

Traditionally news was the province of the newspapers and analysis was that of the magazines. These days, the people writing for the magazines rarely have the mental abilities or technological background necessary for analysis so they pad it out with press releases. The internet has supplanted the magazines for news - why wait a month to find out what happened when you can have the news in seconds via the net? So Irish magazines are faced with better news coverage on the net, better analysis on community sites like boards and massive competition from the UK. This is why most of them become publications that consist of advertising punctuated by sequential spelling.

Regards...jmcc
[1] JAFA: Hackerspeak for Just Another Fscking Amateur.

_CreeD_ · 25-06-2001 6:39am

Originally posted by jmcc:

Regards...jmcc
[1] JAFA: Hackerspeak for Just Another Fscking Amateur.

And there's me thinking it was 'Blue Thunder' Speak for the guy who's going to get killed halfway through the movie....

Bring back Zzap64!

jmcc · 25-06-2001 11:47am

Originally posted by _CreeD_:
And there's me thinking it was 'Blue Thunder' Speak for the guy who's going to get killed halfway through the movie....

Bring back Zzap64!

Nah that was JAFO - Just Another Fscking Observer.

Regards...jmcc

ConUladh · 09-07-2001 11:05pm

Dragging this post back from the dead to say thanks for the suggestions

Reckon I'll stick with PCW for the min - I like it and it seems to be cheaper by a couple of quid (only get the DVD edition next time they have all the Hand-On sections on it)

But I will give PC Plus and PC Format a go at some stage

Supercell · 09-07-2001 11:36pm

IMHO pc mags are like yahoo/cheeta chatrooms-->>newbie material, don't most people get bored of them eventualy and move to boards of one form or another or find an irc room full of people with similar interests, rather than silly fonts, stupid noises and avatars that just get boring? I'm not saying they are bad, but hell if you are reading here then maybe you can find something online?, that is at your leval? My opinion, don't mean to step on toes.

_CreeD_ · 10-07-2001 1:13pm

If this really is from someone from the hardcopy industry methinks an inability to understand and respond in context to valid points should be added to JMCC's list.

Not worth replying to in detail.

Hairy Homer · 10-07-2001 1:38pm

Originally posted by _CreeD_:
If this really is from someone from the hardcopy industry methinks an inability to understand and respond in context to valid points should be added to JMCC's list.

Not worth replying to in detail.

Climb off your high horse and eat soggy hay!!

I did not misquote jmcc, or take his comments in any way out of context.

Based on those premises, I will choose for myself which of his points I want to reply to.

bettyboo · 10-07-2001 3:07pm

Originally posted by Dr. Loon:
PC live is great, proper Irish....aside from that I buy PC format and PC/DVD gamer....they're good.

Have to agree.... PC Live is very good....

bettyboo · 10-07-2001 3:10pm

Kali said 'PC Live! is good for your dad (or someone equally clueless about computers) to read, in fact we were subscribed to it for a year (98 or 99) for that very reason, personally I wouldn't touch it with a big reading stick and used to laugh at the ridiculous crap they spouted'

Surely if you subscried to it then there was a time when you weren't that sussedon technology. PC Live! obviously helped you learn more, so why diss it??? Isn't that just a superiority complex writ large?

[This message has been edited by bettyboo (edited 10-07-2001).]

Repli · 10-07-2001 3:22pm

personally i think pc live is the best computer magazine.. for a number of reasons the most obvious being it's irish..
I also like the free CD that comes with it every month with all the latest software.. it saves 56kers hours and hours of download time

What is now was once only imagined.

Shinji · 10-07-2001 5:43pm

The other problem is getting clueful people to write for magazines. Most get drowned out in the cacophony from the technology journalists. These people have no technological background or specialisations and are not part of the community. If they did not get press releases, they could not write anything.

This, sadly, is all too true - and I'm speaking as someone who works in the hardcopy industry on a weekly computer trade magazine.

Most people who REALLY know what they're doing are being paid a bagload of cash to do it. There are very few people who actually know tech really well, and come from a tech background, who do journalism just because they love doing it; or, indeed, vice versa. I'm lucky in that the editor here is one of those people, and therefore between us we know most tech stuff that crops up in the process of producing the mag.

Many magazines, however, really are staffed by people who came out of journalism school and decided this was a growth industry...

Hairy Homer · 10-07-2001 6:41pm

Originally posted by Shinji:
This, sadly, is all too true - and I'm speaking as someone who works in the hardcopy industry on a weekly computer trade magazine.
.

I'd be most interested to read a weekly computer trade magazine for this country. So far as I know there aren't any.

You are either

a) being disingenuous

b) a remote poster from overseas

c) freelancing for an overseas publication

Many magazines, however, really are staffed by people who came out of journalism school and decided this was a growth industry...

Balderdash!

The sort of people who go to journalism school don't want to turn their hands to tech writing. They tend to fancy themselves as the next McIntyre Undercover, Roger Cook or Charlie Bird etc etc They think 'Fianna Fail Ard Fheis: Good; New Microsoft OS or Toshiba notebook: Bad'

Strange people!

Most tech journalists in the UK that I have come across are NOT the product of journalism school. In fact, I have never met one with such a background. They tend to be have technical qualifications or experience.

Just what country's 'computer trade weekly magazine' are you talking about?

Hairy Homer · 10-07-2001 7:21pm

Originally posted by Hairy Homer:

Just what country's 'computer trade weekly magazine' are you talking about?

OK. No need to answer. I've just followed your profile links and come across the CTW Website. A UK publication, as I suspected.

Although I think I detect a slight Monaghan accent in your writing........:-)

Hairy Homer · 10-07-2001 7:29pm

Originally posted by Hairy Homer:

Just what country's 'computer trade weekly magazine' are you talking about?

OK. No need to answer. I've just followed your profile links and come across the CTW Website. A UK publication, as I suspected.

Although I think I detect a slight Monaghan accent in your writing........:-)

Hairy Homer · 11-07-2001 12:46am

Originally posted by jmcc:

Before computing/networks became fashionable, the people editing the mags and writing for them knew what they were doing. I think that Guy Kewney (the editor of PCW) actually left to develop one of Amstrad's computers.

He did in his behind. He's just another former Electronics Weekly (JAFEW) hack ;-)

The main problem with Irish magazines is that the Irish market is too small.

Size isn't everything. There are some excellent knowledgeable people writing on it business and technology matters in this country.

The other problem is getting clueful people to write for magazines. Most get drowned out in the cacophony from the technology journalists. These people have no technological background

Not true in all cases and not relevant in many others

or specialisations

Again not true

and are not part of the community.

Oh please!!!! If you want to blackball people out of your little clique, go join a gentleman's club or the masonic order, if they'll have you

I've seen a new mag on the stands which is apparently Irish - IT-Times.

Not new at all. Resurrected from a failed venture some years back. According to a recent issue of the Phoenix, the original partners had a teensy spat which ended up in the High Court.

Beware!!!! Current publisher/editor in chief is a stage hypnotist. (Fact)

You will buy my magazine
You will buy my magazine

Content wise it is light.

Not like you to be so reticent. Tell it like it is.

Web Ireland hasn't been seen in these environs since the last issue in January.

Hasn't been seen anywhere for a long time. Current issue of Phoenix has some interesting things to say about its publisher.......

Irish Computer seems to have undergone a bit of an update as has Comms Today.

That's true. They've merged.

The internet has supplanted the magazines for news - why wait a month to find out what happened when you can have the news in seconds via the net? So Irish magazines are faced with better news coverage on the net, better analysis on community sites like boards and massive competition from the UK. This is why most of them become publications that consist of advertising punctuated by sequential spelling.

Yeah right!!!!!
I notice that a website purporting to be 'Ireland's leading technology news site' hasn't been updated since May 1st!!!!!!

Maybe its news gatherers are too busy posting opinionated drivel on bulletin boards :-)

At least PC Live!, Computers in Business, and some of the others you slag off have brought out July issues.

'Why wait three months to read on hackwatch, what you can read six weeks ago in a proper publication???????

I'm waiting for more of your 'regular if aperiodic' contributions.

_CreeD_ · 11-07-2001 7:04am

Balderdash and damp hay, I feel so shamed and of course stand corrected.....Can we add a complete lack of incisive wit to that list too?

Hairy Homer · 11-07-2001 10:34am

Originally posted by _CreeD_:
Balderdash and damp hay, I feel so shamed and of course stand corrected.....Can we add a complete lack of incisive wit to that list too?

OK CreeD. You have NOTHING to say other than 'How dare you disagree with jmcc.' Your sniffy attitude is pi ssing me off.

If you know, or claim you know, so much about tech journalism, give us your critique of the following passage of penetrating prose.

'All of the top hackers and most of the average hackers in Europe are male. This is not a surprising thing. Advanced hacking requires phenomenal visiospatial abilities and the ability to grasp complex and extremely abstract concepts. These are specifically male traits. Any feminists reading this may be offended. Don't blame me, blame God. He designed the Human race.'

Good isn't it?

Now what JAFA do you think wrote that in a 'book' published under his own name?

Nemesis · 11-07-2001 10:56am

Im a Newsagent,
And the best magazine I reckon for an overall mixture of PC stuff is PC format.
They seem to have there finger on the current trends in gaming and have a nice bit of humour in Luis Villazon's helpline and on the letters page.
Nemesis/DemonBaby.

PC Magazines

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