Issue 187
Hi, this is the place to make comments, enter debate, argue about corrections and such for issue 187.
I understand that a lot of forum regulars are concerned about recent changes in the relaunch. We do not disapprove of criticism, but it would be helpful if you wanted to make some points. e.g. " i am never going to read PCA again because..." type of stuff.
Also we would be interested in any specifics people wanted to mention - e.g "Moneysavers would have been better if..."
Don't be shy
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Nick Veitch wrote: "I
pca_Wierdstone - 1 July 2008 - 10:10amNick Veitch wrote:
"I understand that a lot of forum regulars are concerned about recent changes in the relaunch."
Not, I have read with concern the comments in the forum. does this not tell us that the new staff care not one iota about the most respected mag and forum on the planet regarding PC matters.
I look forward to seeing where you will be working in a few months from now after the once proud mag has gone under.
A7N8X2.0 Deluxe, Athlon 2800 (barton), 1 Gb Kingston DDR, 2xMaxtor 80Gb SATA Raid 0, 1xMaxtor 160Gb 1xSeagate Barracuda 250Gb SATA, Sony DVDRW, Samsung CDRW, NEC ND3540 DVDRW, Audigy 2 ZS Platinum, Radeon 9600 AGP, Netgear DG834Gv2, Win2Kpro/XPHome.&l
I understand that a lot of
Nick Veitch - 1 July 2008 - 11:35amI understand that a lot of forum regulars are concerened about recent changes.
The staff at PCAnswers care a lot about the quality of the magazine they produce, and I'm sorry the huge amount of effort that went into the relaunch issue was not to your liking. I assure you that that is not because I am an idiot, or that I have anything personal against you (and I assume that the comments were directed particularly at me, as I am the only new member of the team).
New PCA
revived45 - 1 July 2008 - 12:39pmNick,
It's not just the regulars to the forum that are unhappy but many others that registered for the first time and posted there disgust at the new style magazine... only to be whiped of the face of the earth by your revamped web site.
(Let's 'refind' these lost letters and get them back on the forum)
Just swallow your collective pride, forget about all the hours spent prepairing the new Issue of PCAnswers just get us back to the upmarket quality magazine you were before issue 187.
Listen AND ACT upon comments made not just say you can't please everyone....etc
I, like many others, have subscribed for years to PC Answers and lived through many changes to the magazine but have never before had cause to sign up and complain.
Bob
new PC Answers
revived45 - 1 July 2008 - 6:13pmJust crossed my mind
Where are all of you that approve of the new style magazine?
can someone post a link to the thread with your comments?
Ta. Bob
New Style
MLegendS - 1 July 2008 - 7:38pmWith regards to the new style of the magazine, I am not going to comment on whether I approve or not. I merely wish to place a request.
Would it be possible to include the news section at least somewhere in the magazine. I work in the computer industry and I like to know of recent or forthcoming technologies. The small snippets of news were just enough to to keep me up to date with what was happening around the globe.
I think regular readers (of which I am one) don't like the new format because it looks like it is trying to appeal to a wider pc using audience. The larger fonts give this away because we all know non-techies can't read small print.
Time will only tell if this is a winning format or not.
Cheers Big Al
Regards John.
jo164 - 2 July 2008 - 9:07amRegards
John.
New Mag Feedback
wodewik - 3 July 2008 - 12:55pmDreadful
Pet Peeve - the date, issue number and Major topics used to be on the spine, so when filed specific issues were easy to find....not any more.
Agree 100% with others on style and content
As for the video disc - that is and always will be (until subs run out) a coaster
Why oh why did you do it ? I guess you just wanted to be the Vista of the publishing world
Sorry Guys - but also thanks for many years of great and sometimes entertaining (Where is DiNicolo?) content
the rough and the smooth
inkdrop - 7 July 2008 - 8:14pmHi All,
just read your request about the new layout of the magazine and being an even-handed reader, i thought i'd give my opinion on it.
first thing - pages - why do i get a feeling the new mag was rushed before issue? issue before changes - 130 pages, issue after changes 114. So, whats changed, i begin to look....the tutorial section seems to have taken a hammering but that seems to have been replaced with a very helpful videodisc (which on the downside goes overkill with 11 videos and forgotten about the program content)
second thing - adverts - given the magazine is 16 pages shorter than its older edition im glad some of the issues on advertising have been addressed (if i want to look through endless ads...i'll buy computer shopper :)) but on that issue was there a need to place an ad (Dell) straight after the mission statement? - if you intend on a review section - put it there.
I enjoyed the programs on the disc (despite the video) will there be scope for more kinds of program i.e multimedia graphics or programming?
and although i still feel pc answers are funding pc plus demands with an increase in price over pages and more expensive programs on the cover i feel its been a good attempt at a relaunch...i like the quality ....lets see some more width for the price.
and following on from the wi-fi laptop article - can we have a tested on wireless broadband?, it would be great to know which one would go well with this laptop im working on!!!!
Keep up the good work.
PCA 187 new look mag
pca_birdman2 - 18 July 2008 - 1:23pmBirdman2
R. I. P.
billy - 22 July 2008 - 6:36pmmr b
must be caused by sales downturn ?
anybody know how to obtain stats ?
If you want public stats for
Scott Ewart - 23 July 2008 - 8:33amIf you want public stats for all UK magazine titles, there's ABC
Style over Substance
AMarshall - 23 July 2008 - 11:27pmAgree with all the constructive comments posted here and in the other posts on this page (I don't use bad language or call people names in forums either). Picked this one because it had the most - and I agree completely. I am a longtime reader (have continuous issues back to 105) and had a subscription for over 3 years. My last issue was 186; fortunate time to quit.
I loved the magazine for its depth and breadth of content. I also loved the CD and then DVD that came with it because the British magazines give you full applications where US magazines give you trials and demos. I keep the old disks around because I help people keep old computers running and even old programs have value when there are still people running Windows98. I looked forward to every issue and recommended PC Answers to anyone who would listen.
Now; I can't find anything to like about the magazine or the web page. It's like you took the New York Times and cut down the content until it became USA Today. The magazine was head and shoulders above, now it has less useful content than Smart Computing - which is half the price. The way things are now, I won't buy it; wouldn't bother reading it if someone handed me a copy; and wouldn't recommend anyone else bother with it either.
and it's interesting to note
geofftswin - 24 July 2008 - 12:29pmand it's interesting to note that the average circulation per issue is:
PC Answers Jan - Dec 07 17,343
WindowsXP Magazine Jan - Dec 07 17,411
WindowsVista Magazine Jul - Dec 07 26,022
Given that PCA has turned itself from being a distinctive magazine, into a hybrid between teh Windows XP and Vista magazines, it is clear that this is a last-ditch attempt to improve circulation.
PCA has the 2nd lowest figures in the PC Leisure market (only PC Live which is a ROI based magazine has lower).
To be honest, I think given the recent changes, that either the 2 Windows Official Magazines or PCA are going to shortly depart the PC Leisure market, and given the official status of the Windows mags, it is unlikely to be them (although WXP should disappear shortly anyway).
If it ain't broken why fix
Scott Ewart - 27 July 2008 - 4:15pmIf it ain't broken why fix it huh?
FYI PC Answers has always published it's ABC, it's usually in the credits under the ABC logo. Just thought you might want to know.