UPDATED Free computer mag - improving each month (What Computer)

Member Name: cswann

Product:	What Computer
Date:	15/12/00 (210 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free, intelligently written, newsy

Disadvantages: May not be that easy to find

I have continued to pick this gem of a freebie magazine up - it's usually to be found in the foyer of my local Sainsburys or Safeway store - and it's getting even better each month.

Okay, it's free, so you don't expect a great deal from it, and I wouldn't buy the magazine if they started to charge for it, but I really don't want to miss an issue.

The September 2001 issue is the 23rd, so it's been going for around 2 years now.
The thing I've liked most of all about What Computer is that it's got some very useful practical articles. Short, very manageable 2-page pieces on subjects like "How to stop SPAM" (complete with step-by-step instructions and illustrations). Another recent subject was a simple guide to maximising your PC's memory. All very easy to follow, and ideal for a beginner like myself.

The PC Doctor Question and Answer section is also something I keep an eye on - it's been the source of some good suggestions regarding cheap Internet access for ntl users (a subject very close to my heart!).
There are also brief, newsier items on new products, which I have noticed seem to be getting just a ittle more critical nowadays - in the past it tended to read like an advertising blurb; bu this month's piece on Intel's mp3 player was refreshingly honest (design = great, usefulness = rubbish).

The www.what-computer.co.uk website, is still very much a vehicle for general advertising, rather than offering an online version of sections of the magazine.

It's still worth picking up the printed version, though.


***ORIGINAL OPINION ***

A free magazine that's actually worth the trouble of picking it up! Yes, 39 of the 80 pages are advertisements, but I think that's par for the course with any computing magazine you'd pick up off the newsagent's shelf.

The title is a bit misleading - it's not a Which?
type publication; more of a general computing magazine.
It's has a good news section, featuring hardware, software, and the Internet - just short snippets, with plenty of small illustrations to liven things up.
The December issue has an excellent article packed with Christmas present ideas, from kids' stuff to webcams to mobile phones - but all computer related, and a section on doing your Christmas shopping via the Internet. All sensibly written, too, with less of the wild enthusiasm about absolutely everything which usually seems to come with some freebie magazines, probably because the whole magazine is written as an advertorial. I really didn't get this impression with What Computer, and it has been written for the more discerning punter.
There's a 2-page writeup on the AIBO robotdog, and a pretty decent games section, including reviews of new games, "tricks and tips" on games you may already have, and games charts, provided by gameplay.com - 8 different charts, N64, Playstation and Dreamcast of course, but also Budget and educational games.
The final few pages are devoted to a "Computer Personnel" section (actually upside down, starting from the back page), with job-hunting articles - no job ads in here, but there are pointers to their website www.it-opportunities.co.uk, where there are 1000s.

The magazine also has a website, at www.what-computer.co.uk, but it's really just a collection of advertisers' banners - may be useful if you're looking for that kind of information, but there's no editorial content on here.

As for the magazine itself - definitely worth picking up, I'd say. As it costs nothing you've nothing to lose. I picked it up at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, but I've seen it in supermarket entrances too.

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