Lets get active (WebActive - Magazine)

Member Name: David A. Brett

Product:	WebActive - Magazine
Date:	10/06/02 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see review

Disadvantages: see review

Web-active is the sister magazine of the highly popular Computer-active. It is published monthly and costs the sum of 99 pence. Both magazines are published are published by the VNU group. Web-active alone sells an average of just over 40,000 copies a month.

The latest issue of Web-active is 84 pages long (counting covers) of which around 12 pages are fully adverted, while at least two cover the contents of the magazine, another is the editorial, and another tells you what’s in the next issue. So all in all around 16 pages of the magazine are ‘wasted’ bringing the useful content down to 68 pages. However that said considering the magazine is just 99 pence it works out to around 1.45p per useful page. The magazine is a take on the hugely popular Web User (monthly sales over 70,000) published by IPC magazines.

Up until recently I couldn’t quite get to grips with Web-active, and preferred Web user. Now a few months on, my opinion has changed. Don’t get me wrong Web user is still my favourite of the two, but Web-active seems to have come along up to a close level of excellence.

Each issues contains the obligatory (and sometimes informative and entertaining) letters page, along with pages of web sites to visit and view. There is also a page with all the breaking news on each month, and of course they review some new products this month a new trust spy-cam for example.

Along with all this each issue covers web pages for the reader to visit, this months included: Film and TV: Science: Tea breaks and the unexplained, along with a top ten really useful sites they often offer really useful web site which will appeal to most people in some way or other. If a month contains a special occasion (such as the queens jubilee, world cup, or Olympics etc) they will offer links to sites covering these events.

Each issue usually contains an in depth view on some item, this month was ‘gambling’ an
d internet radio and schools out (how to keep kids safe on the net) amongst others.

~~Overall~~

As mentioned before I have only just grown to approve of the magazine. Despite reading some decent reviews on the magazine: Initially I think I was put off reading the magazine, because of the invasion on Web users toes. I wasn’t solely convinced of its worthiness in the market place. And most of the entire magazine just didn’t appeal, the set out, the content and the writing was just a no-no for me. However I now hang my head low, and admit that Web-active has a rightly due place at the top of the internet magazine charts. It offers advice and reviews in plain English, something it’s sister magazine (computer-active) has a plain English crystal for. Web-active wouldn’t be suitable for the more advanced knowledgeable internet user, although they may still find some of it useful.

~~Other information: ~~

Editor – Jonathon Parkyn

Web active Magazine
VNU Business Publications
32-34 Broadwick Street
London
W1A 2HG


020 73169618

http://www.webactivemagazine.co.uk/

Visit the web site for some downloads (some free) and a free newsletter subscription.

They also offer a-help line which at £1.50 per minute is expensive to say the least. It offers technical help. It is guaranteed, so if your problem isn’t fixed fax them and they’ll refund you. Also if it’s a complex problem they will ring you back (though you will still probably be charged for this in someway).


My ratings:

Magazine design – 7/10
Magazine content – 7/10
Magazine value –10/10
Overall – 8/10

Thanks for reading – Dave

Some useful links from this month’s magazine:

www.culture.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en (the cave of Lascaux)

www.howstuffworks.com (
how does that work)

http://www.britishorigami.org.uk/ (origami society)

Summary: