| Product: |
Computeractive |
| Date: |
28/09/03 (26 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: easy to understand, witten in plain Engish, good content
Disadvantages: none
When I bought my computer bundle a couple of years ago. I paid over £1,000 for it. This as you can imagine left me just a little poor. There I was with a pc I had very little knowledge about and no spare cash to afford expert tuition. What made things worst, as I had bought a bundle I had quite a few programs that I had no idea about.
For instance, the pc I first used was a very old thing out of the ark. It didn?t even have a cd writer so when I clicked on my ?Nero Cd Burning? icon that was already installed on my new pc. I could do nothing but sit and stare at it in a complete state of confusion. I don?t know about other pc?s but my Mesh came with no documents about any of the software installed, just a 50p per minute help line to call.
I went out to my local W H Smith?s to find something that might help. As I was looking through the available magazines. I was amazed and horrified at some of the prices they charge. Some were as high as £6-£7. Some of them did come with some software programs but I needed help with the ones I already had. I then came across one called ?Computer Active?.
It had no more software to add to my confusion. It did seem a little thinner than the others but I did notice that most of the thick ones were mainly ads anyway. I decided to buy this. At the time it cost me £1.20 although it has now risen to £1.30.I later subscribed to the magazine and now have it delivered fortnightly. This costs £24.99 for 26 Issues, which works out to approximately 96p per issue.
The magazine does a few adverts in it but that is only to be expected. One of the things that impressed me most is the fact that it is written in plain English. It does sometimes use a little jargon but this is quite acceptable as on one of the pages of each article they print a panel on the side titled ?Jargon Buster? in this they explain in plain English exactly what each word means. It?s a bit like having an open dictionary right there in the book. I have fo
und this very useful indeed.
They run articles about different items and in each article they try and compare the items with other makes of the same type. They then print their opinion and give their recommendation on which you should buy.
They do many tests on different products to see how durable they are. I remember one article they did, where they placed all sorts of computer related things from floppy disks to keyboards in the dishwasher to see how they faired. I found some of the results quite amazing. I know not many of us want to put our pc?s in the washer but it help?s you to understand just how robust these things are.
In the centre of the magazine is the workshop section. In this they carefully explain how to do many different things. Such as for example in one issue they were how too. -
Download and install Winamp.
Compare mortgage offers with Excel.
Create automatic email replies.
Speak to your computer.
Add and remove Window components.
XP compatibility mode.
These are an example for a workshop in one of their past issues. Each project is well documented and explained. It is also written in plain easy to understand instructions. Each one is rated from 1-3 according to how easy it is to do and there are diagrams to show you, so you can compare your work to the magazine to see if you?re on the right track. The last page of the workshop section is dedicated to ?Hints & Tips?. All those little thing that are so useful to know and make our computing life easier.
They run features on different things. To my delight one thing they ran one on in the second issue I bought was comparing cd writing software. One of the ones they compared was Nero. They explained every thing I needed to know. I am now burning away easily with no fuss. Thanks to Computer Active.
There is a game section where they explain about the theme of different games. They give all the details you might need to know
, price, what you need to play it, the website where you can find it, there verdict and comments on what they think of it and even other game you might consider if that is the type of game you like.
They test and compare many different kinds of software and explain them to you carefully, from art and crafts to office software. Each one is rated, priced and illustrated. They explain installing and any problems they think you might encounter.
There is a net chart where they find and recommend different web site. Each site is illustrated and explained with a little information on what you might find there. They recommend a site of the fortnight. The one they think is best.
There is also a download review section. Also illustrated and explained with all the info such as: -
Where to find it (the web address)
The type of program it is.
Price.
The age range it is suitable for.
File size.
Estimated download time at 56k.
Their verdict.
And finally they?re rating (how many out of five star?s).
There is a question and answer section. This is where you can write to them with your problems and they try their best to answer them. If you send them a problem they can?t help with. They have a ?Readers to the rescue? part. They print your question so if other people who read the magazine have any knowledge of it, they can write in and help. They then print the question and answer in a future issue.
There is a Letters section. This is where you write to them about anything that either bothers you or interests you. A good place for a grumble about anything. If you manage to write the star letter, you can win things like monitors and other computer related items. There are other compactions as well.
Near the back is a list of all the things they recommend. This states: -
Product.
Type.
Overall opinion.
Price.
The issue it was featured in.
They?re rating and awards.
r>
Also tips for buying safely, best sellers chart, what?s in the next issue and how to contact them. The magazine contains approximately 98-100 pages.
They also have a web site. Computeractive.co.uk. This just like their magazine is easy to navigate and understand. You get many downloads and links to other site?s. There is even a help line phone number but this is charged at a premium rate.
I have learnt most of what I know through this magazine, which might not be any where near everything but I have certainly learnt enough to get by with out to many problems. It is also quite an interesting read. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who would like a little advice without paying over the odds for it.
I hope you find this of benefit and thanks for reading.
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