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Thread ID: 24731 2002-09-17 09:54:00 P C World Poppa John (284) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
80382 2002-09-19 00:14:00 We can't please all the people all the time. Hey, I don't read everything (except I can say I have read every dumb terminal ever).

Boy, do they date. Some stuff stays relevant, like backing up properly and being safe from virus, but products change so quickly.

Not everyone wants to buy a printer or camera every month, but when they do they want to know about the latest ones. I hate reviewing things that are better than the one I just bought.

Maybe we need a way of subscribing where it charges the credit card every month? That would work for heaps of people.

robo.
robo (205)
80383 2002-09-19 04:51:00 The one thing which frustrates me a bit is that th day after I receive PC WOrld in th mail, ALL the articles are available for reading on the website. Most of the CD contents can be found in the downloads section. Contary to my previous comments, this does make me think what I am getting for my $8+ as I can get it all on the web for free. Poppa J, maybe that is a solution for you - just read it each month online.

Robo - why does PC world do this. I can understand some enticing content on the site to make people buy the mag, but by giving it away for free you a) missout on advertising to those people who view the web version (banners are easily removed), and you miss out on sales to those people, and you are charging loyal subscribers for something they can get for free.

Make no sense.

G P
Graham Petrie (449)
80384 2002-09-19 05:05:00 G P:
Dunno bout that, ya got me

For everybody who doesn't have a subscription:
It's Eight bucks a month, even on minimum student wage and working 10hrs a week, I was able to afford a subscription, and even some veggies of my own that I preffered (Just for PJ). I know for a fact that some of you guys wouldn't even have to work for half-an-hour to get enough for one months subs.
I ain't rich either, but I'm say, It's about priorities :p

Chilling_Silence
Chilling_Silence (9)
80385 2002-09-19 05:28:00 Since robo and Scott have joined this thread and the discussion has turned to the PC World magazine's contents, I'm going to throw in my ten cents worth.

Being a self-confessed magpie and a neat-nik to boot is very frustrating when it comes to PCW these days. A few years ago the How-To articles used to be separated by pages of adverts which was very convenient for filing the articles. The Word how-to was on one page, on the back of that was a full page advert, then came the Excel how-to with an ad on the back of that too, then ...... you get the drift. Marvellous for filing Word with Word and Excel with Excel, etc. I could find things that I wanted when I searched for them.

Not so now. The whole How-To section runs through pages and pages with barely an ad between them. My filing system has gone down the drain and I spend hours looking for things that I need. I HATE it!

I told Chris about this years ago and he says it's the advertisers faults. They don't want their ads way down in the back of the mag, they want them in the front. Well, I say the advertisers are NUTS!!! Chris admitted that the How-to section is the most popular, widely read part of the mag, but the advertisers won't listen. Stupid fools.

I also suggested to Chris that PCW could put out a CD once or twice a year containing ALL of the How-to articles as published in the mag. It would be very effective if it was cumulative so that you only ever need to put one CD in the drive and either do a search for the topic you want or browse the index.

After about three years the old stuff could be dropped off (kind of like FlyBuys points) so it remains reasonably current/relevant. That would be far better than maintaining a shelf full of folders like I've got now. Surely it wouldn't be a big deal to bung the how-tos onto a CD as PCW already have some of the articles on their website now.

Does anyone else think this a good idea?
Susan B (19)
80386 2002-09-19 05:32:00 *Nods* Chilling_Silence (9)
80387 2002-09-19 05:33:00 Sounds like a great idea to me, I am forever finding myself using a random search to find a How-To I think may have the information I wan't! SaAB (1292)
80388 2002-09-19 05:38:00 Ach! It's a commercial world these days.

Hey Scott and Bruce, you could probably please everybody by dedicating 80% of the mag to ads.... well please everybody except me that is... :D

SiK
SoniKalien (792)
80389 2002-09-19 05:54:00 It IS a good idea - although I can't see why the file should be too big to fit on the existing CD's.

However, I suspect it's unlikely to get the nod from IDG, as they make revenue from advertisers online here, and more people that use the forum to search for old articles, and view the ads, the better the advertisers like it.
Greg S (201)
80390 2002-09-19 06:25:00 Yes, I think it should fit on the existing monthly CDs but I remember Scott saying they were tight for space to add certain games/programs or something not long ago.

I just want it all on one CD, not all spread out over monthly issues.

I disagree about the lack of revenue for IDG - I predict it would help sell more magazines if the CDs' contents are promoted enough. I don't buy every single PCW issue if there isn't enough in them to interest me, but I'd definitely buy the issues that have the How-to's on them.
Susan B (19)
80391 2002-09-19 07:58:00 Susan.... you could always scan the articles you want to keep and burn to CD
Or you could even just look up the online articles (as GP described) download and burn from them.
Baldy (26)
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