PC World / PC Magazine
PC World and PC
Magazine are, in my opinion, the two best magazines for learning anything related to computer technology. I have to say it that way because
neither magazine sticks solely with talking about computers as we think about them. As each magazine has so eloquently stated in separate
editorials, there is so much technology today that depends upon some sort of computer processing that limiting themselves to only talking about
personal computers would be insufficient.
And, by taking that stance, it gives each magazine a lot to talk about. There are the standard reviews of computers, but each one also gets into
cell phones, GPS systems, CD/DVD players, portable MP3 players, HD TV's, laptops, PDAs, digital cameras, etc. PC Magazine even once got into
the types of computer systems used in many cars and reviewed which cars had the best operating systems; it's pretty amazing stuff.
When one gets into comparing the two magazines, though, you notice a big difference, and at that point it comes down to preference. PC World is
much easier to read, more conversational, glossier, and, well, fun. It rates everything on their own internal numbers scale that runs from 100 on
down. The lowest rating I can ever remember seeing was something in the 60's, and that's pretty bad. I've never seen them give a 100 rating to
anything, but I remember there was something rated once at 95.
PC Magazine reads more like Discover magazine geared towards computing. You see a lot of
detail in many of their stories, and if you're not up on
the technology it could get confusing, though its purpose is solely to educate. They cover a lot more things that PC World does monthly, as if the
concept of "white space" is lost of them. That's not a bad thing, if you ask me, being someone who loves having more and more information available.
And if I have to look something up, so be it. Their rating system is on a ten point scale, which they indicate by colored circles (five circles,
sometimes one is half colored in red), which is very easy to understand, though, in a strange twist, we don't get the same kind of ratings detail
that PC World will give you (PC Magazine gives a quick pros and cons, whereas PC World will give you a test of items they tested and what the pros
and cons are).
One more thing about both magazines is that they have supreme websites with plenty of information and freebies that you can get yourself into,
if you have the time to get through it all. I'll admit that I don't like how PC Magazine has its advertising window blocking things that make you kill
it before you can move on, but hey, everyone's out to make a buck. And the magazine will direct you to specific pages for information or downloads
so you can bypass the main pages if you prefer.
Overall, if you're interested in any kind of technology, but mainly geared towards computer related items (I'm forcing myself not to use the term
"PC" so Mac people don't come after me), you can't go wrong with either PC World or PC Magazine; my recommendation would be to read both.
