Is it possible to cancel a subscription mid term and get a partial refund or should I just let it lapse?

You certainly can SpongeBob, as I and many others have done.

Why continue to pay for this rubbish?

I wondered when someone was going to address this point.

Allowing for the production costs of both the magazine and the Video thingy (Which IMHO doesnt in the slightest bit match the previous Powerdiscs), I've noticed my favorite mag has slowly crept up in price in the last few issues.

So what am i getting for my Six Gold Coins? (*)

Tips, yes i'll agree they're still there, but there's less of them - videos on a disc do not make a good reference source, as when more of these discs come in to my possession i'll have to trawl through them to find the tutorial! (and again, any student will tell you they give you some sort of notes in a tutorial)

The new Update section - take half of the old reviews section and splice it with the news pages - give it a fresh lick of ink and a new typeface and you've got update....this wouldn't have been so bad if only there wasn't another Ad in the section on nearly every alternate page.....Articles Please!, Tutorials, How to's and (perhaps even) projects. good heavens, if push came to shove you could ask for reader contributions (and yes, im volunteering!)

Skip Past Yet Another Ad and there's four pages of internet stuff, groovy, this was actually another example of where the mag goes in the right direction - The tutorial section was good as well (Although somebody tell me (Perhaps the Prod.ed) why there was a need to number a pull out section? - It reminded me of PC Upgrade! (ooh, that was naughty! promise i wont do that again.:))

One redeeming feature was the how to section - a simple way of keeping readers happy would be to incorporate a few tutorials from the disc on to here so that we could use them side by side when doing the tutorials (and as part of the mag please! not as a 'free gift' as if we're not getting something we've already got!), Again this was a Good Section , lets have more of it (and get back to the 130 page mark)

Skip past yet another ad and we come to Tested, which looks like the reviews section, Not bad..So Again a Further tick in the box :)...Only we come back to my first point, and here i ask a valid question, why was this section broken up and rebranded in the first place? and what happened to Hardware Upgrades (and Dont Try This at Home!)

In a previous post i said the new magazine was a step in the right direction, having read some posts on here i took a second look and its looking decididly lightweight (No doubt the weight's headed to PC Plus!!!*)

And on that note....can we have some old favorites back please? You have Dan Grabham on the Hit & Miss Column (Which used to be a page?!) Can we have some contributions from him and others like him!

If it ain't broken.....Dont try to Fix it!!!

Believe it or Not, I've been with PC Answers from the very beginning when it was, plainly and simply a magazine of useful projects and tips - at the start i seem to remember there was no coverdisc - then it went thru rebrand after rebrand till we reach the point where we are today - Basically, price (and thanks to cuts in space) and adverts have gone up whilst page count (and due to a change in typeface, word count) have fallen dramatically.

Can we have some of the old pc answers style back please?

* BTW, My copy of PCA has gone up to £6.00 with all these new changes - Along the same price of PC Plus (which is bigger and offers more content/CDs etc) - are loyal readers of this mag subsidising its sister magazine?

Hello All,

The PCAnswers team are reading all the posts on the forum and taking all comments and emails seriously. Your concerns are being heard.

These 'LOST' posts are indeed lost, in the time it took for the DNS to refresh people were posting on the old forums, we can't recover them now as the two were synced prior to the migration. Regardless if someone want to repost their comment/concern they are more than welcome. We're no trying to hide or spin opinions, just take a look at this section of the forum; even as the bed of negativity it is about the new design, everyone is entitled to their opinion. So please - no conspiracy theories about the team censoring reader views - we have no desire to do that.

Regarding subscriptions, you are best contacting My Favorite Magazines about that. I'm pretty sure we do not instantly renew subscriptions without any notification/consent regardless.

Scott,

I can assure you that for the last 5 years PCA have DD my account every Sept. for the next year's subscription without warning  me or sending  me any notification or receipt for having done so.

As I've always been happy with the magazine (until now) I have just let it ride.

So unless you know differently I will have to take positive action to cancel before the renewal date.

Bob,

Middlesbrough

Scott,

With all due respect, do me a favour and nip down to your archive department will you?

There you will find a quality magazine, full of all the tips and tutorials and projects there once was in your publication more informative detail and yes, a program or two (and also, there was a few more pages in it too!!!)

I am, of course, referring to issue 186, the issue before we entered this brave new world of video tutorial

the argument that previous powerdiscs were full of broken software and demos just doesn't wash with me (and i suspect, with other members of this forum).

You've already had a valid suggestion from me vis a vis programs i'd like to see on the powerdisc....but given this months Hit & Miss Column....here's another.  B4 the brave new world we call video, there used to be at least 1 full program on the disc which tied in with a project and also a helpful library of open-source programs - which were occasionally updated on a month to month basis.

I Know the GIMP Graphics program appeared on issue 187s disc, but how's about a return from Scribus and Open Office???

The latest editions of both these fine (and free) pieces of software are just two examples of open-source software now available, so why aren't they on the coverdisc?

Or will i be seeing a free office suite/Publishing Package in forthcoming issue?   (I hope so! a nice piece of software from Serif / <Anybody Else> would come in useful with a nice bit of tutorials in the magazine)

(Im Returning to reality, as i've already seen the 'no turning back' stuff on here!)

and please, if you persist in putting in pull out sections in the mag can you number them seperately??? - it just makes my current copy look thinner!

Hi Inkdrop,

Again all valid points, and there's no doubt (as with any redesign) that a risk has been taken.

In the time I've been disc editor (granted it has only been about 40 issues or so), I've always made software packs based around the issues, an updated (yet out of date by the time it hits the shelf) essentials and security section and sourced at least 4 full product per issue. Some of these programs have been used and ocasionally I've been emailed some thanks but I can guarantee that mostly I have heard the following comment:

"The Disc is and always will be a coaster"

We've had questionaires done and the majority of users say they found the content useless, rather than cull it and send me on my merry way, we desided to take a chance and give the disc a direct usage.

The disc now works as follows:

10 "How to..." video tutorials by the How To.. section authors
1 Explained section masterclass video
X number of applications that line up with the issue content.

Nothing more, nothing less. That way it's directly tied in. We're hoping that this will work and indeed over time we will be covering many applications etc. Does the new disc and video tutorials really do nothing for you? Do you feel that full software would make it more worthwhile?

Please don't get me wrong Inkdrop, I wasn't knocking previous editors or the work they have done. But sadly in the last few years it's become increasingly hard to get "headline" full software. With the advent of the internet magazines lost a huge amount of bargaining power. Granted some companies see the advantage, but others would rather put effort into their websites and promote their product on downloads.com

I think the best full products Future Publishing titles have sourced in the last few years are: Camtasia Studio, Snag It, NetObjects Fusion, FloorPlan 3D, The whole Serif Range, Adaware Plus (one year) and a few others.

We add open source suites to each issue based on the content, so that's always going to happen. But the full software idea might be worth discussing.

Why is it PCA has a videoCD and your sister mags have DVDs?

I think your subscribers deserve a valid answer.....

At least have the decency of filling the VideoCD.

Its approaching half past one on Friday Morning so i'll try my best to keep this brief.

First of all Christian, thank you for answering my post, the promise of more useful stuff on the 'new' videocd has lightened my mood in the light of less content for more money (Read my post to Mr Anderton on that one :) )

I do though have a small query in regards to your answer and its this,

given the talents of all the members of your team - i include your experts and contributors in that equation - couldn't your videos be made and produced in - house? - this would cut the expenses in production and give you money to use elsewhere.  im sure the professionalism of your journalists will shine through?

I, too, have purchased PCA from issue 1 and subscribed when I moved to Ireland and then France. I am disgusted with the decline in quality of the magazine and have not renewed my subscription this year. Fortunately my French is good enough to be able to buy the French magazines and though I shall miss PCA I won't miss the new look magazine as I was already missing the old version.