Great for the non-beginner (PC Plus)

Member Name: GroundZero

Product:	PC Plus
Date:	17/09/00 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Doesn't treat you like a PC beginner

Disadvantages: Not for the games addicts

In the past I had always gone for PC Format for my monthly computing fix, but ended up getting fed up with the lack of interesting material - after all, I can't afford to be buying the latest games all the time. I also prefer not to be patronised when it comes to new technology, so a number of other computer magazines are completely unsuitable.

A friend of mine suggested I look at PCPlus, and I've since bought every issue. Its perfect for those who don't want to be patronised with the usual computing magazine articles which assume you know next to nothing about computers. Instead, it deals with topics like programming, creating professional-looking websites and all the latest hardware reviews.

The programming tutorials in particular are the main reason I buy the magazine. The software required for these is typically provided on the coverdisks, with recent giveaways including Visual Cafe, JBuilder and the Professional Edition of C++ Builder 4.

The regular columns penned by Chris Bidmead, Martin Banks et al are always worth checking out, dealing with some of the issues currently making the headlines.

All in all, this is the best PC magazine I've encountered. One word of caution though, the quality of the cover DVD seems to have gone down in recent months, and sometimes there doesn't appear to be any difference between it and the CD edition (except for the £1 price increase!). Paying £6 for a magazine is a bit over the top, especially when a number of their competitors (eg. PC Pro and PCW) sell their DVD editions for £4.99.

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UPDATE
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In recent months, the magazine has added a short games section at the end, but this only covers 4-5 titles each month, so it is hardly competition for the dedicated games mags.

Unfortunately the quality of the editing on PC Plus seems to have fallen away a bit. I am getting a bit fed up with the large numb
er of typos that are starting to appear - surely a professional magazine should be doing a better job of eliminating these amateurish errors?

Another annoying problem is the number of issues with the coverdisks. A number of times recently the magazine has claimed that a particular piece of software is on the CD/DVD, when it is nowhere to be found. I appreciate that some promised software may have to be left out, but surely they could at least tell you somewhere?

One very minor complaint is that I'm not too keen on the regular comparison tests of PCs. I bought my PC a couple of years ago and it is still perfectly capable of handling everything I throw at it. The PC tests seem to cover more or less the same PCs every month.

Summary: