Source: PC World – February 1997

PC World was one of the most popular PC magazines in the U.S. for a long time. It wouldn’t surprise me if the late 1990s were its biggest years as that was when the Internet was taking off and suddenly everybody needed a computer. The February 1997 issue includes:

Cover Story

• MMX Pentiums: Big Gain, No Pain – A test of a dozen of the first MMX PCs. Pentiums with MMX were faster than standard Pentiums in part because of the MMX instructions (though software had to specifically take advantage of those) but perhaps more significantly because of a doubling of the internal cache. At the time they were introduced, they were only slightly more expensive than their non-MMX counterparts (at least as part of pre-built systems). Desktop PCs from CLR, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, Micron, Packard Bell, Quantex, and Vektron with 166MHz and 200MHz MMX processors are compared with their non-MMX counterparts. Notebooks with 150-166MHz MMX processors are also compared. All systems come with 16-32MB of RAM.

Features

• Microsoft Office 97: What’s New – Office 97 was one of the longest lasting versions of Office. It really seemed like that version was in use forever. New features include various web features, a new interface, and the then brand new Outlook.

• Best Routes to the Net: Top Internet Service Providers – A comparison of 12 Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Services looked at include America Online, AT&T WorldNet, CompuServe, Concentric Network, EarthLink Network, GTE Internet Solutions, IBM Internet Connection, MCI Internet, Microsoft Network, MindSpring, Netcom and SpryNet. None of these services offered broadband support at this time but most offered ISDN service. It’s interesting to note that most services offered some space to create your own web pages. I don’t really know if service providers do this anymore or not.

• Beat Information Overload – Strategies for organizing your digital life.

• Better Safe Than Sorry – A comparison of backup devices. Devices reviewed include various tape backup drives, and various removable disk drives like the Iomega Zip and Jaz drives as well as the SyQuest EZFlyer and a re-writeable optical drive from Panasonic.

Special Report

• No Privacy on the Net – The more things change the more they stay the same. Privacy on the Internet still takes work to achieve. While security on the Internet has been improved an a great many ways, so too have the ways to scrape your personal info.

Multimedia

• You Oughta Be In Pixels – A comparison of five video capture boards, each under $500. PC World gave the Best Buy to the Fast Electronics FPS/60 which could capture 320×240 resolution video at 30 and 60 fps. For only $499.

• Title Reviews – Reviews of F-22 Lightning II from NovaLogic, Scorched Planet from Virgin, Titanic: Adventure Out of Time from CyberFlix/GTE, and Timelapse from GTE.

• Hardware Reviews – A look at the best CD-ROM Drives and best Sound Boards. At the top of the list for CD-ROM drives is the Toshiba XM-5701B 12X. The top sound board is the Ensoniq Soundscape Vivo 90.

• Q&A – Questions answered about playing games in DOS mode, the Gravis PC GamePad, and upgrades for Quake.

Top of the News

• Online Vendors: How Can You Tell the Good From the Bad? – Pyramid schemes, undisclosed membership fees and more are all potential rip-offs you’ll find online.

• Cable Modems: Fastest Internet Access – A first look at Internet access via cable modem at speeds up to 10mbps. Availability was very limited at the time. I would get my cable modem about two years later and it was only 5mbps at first. Still, an always on connection at those speeds was massively better than dial-up. 56kbps modems were also just becoming available at this time which was a nice bump over 33.6 but nothing like broadband.

New Products

• Teac CD-512E and Toshiba XM-5701B 12x CD-ROM drives – The latest and greatest in CD-ROM tech. The Teac was cheaper but the Toshiba performed much better.

• MicroWorks Speakers – A nice set of speakers with subwoofer from Cambridge Soundworks.

• Juggeler e-mail and voice mail utility – A utility that lets your PC read e-mail and play voice messages over the phone.

• BocaPro Video Phone Elite – A video conferencing system you can use over phone lines.

• Fujitsu LifeBooks – A new line of Pentium based notebooks from Fujitsu at prices ranging from $2299 to $3999.

• HP Network Kit – Featuring thre PCI 10Base-T network adapters, eight-port hub, and three 50-foot cables for $499.

• Monorail Home PC – An all-in-one PC featuring an AMD K5 processor (Pentium-75 equivalent), 16MB of RAM, 1.08GB hard drive, 4X CD-ROM drive, 16-bit sound and integrated 10.4-inch dual-scan color LCD screen for $999.

• Kiplinger TaxCut Deluxe Multimedia, Personal Tax Edge, TurboTax Deluxe – A comparison of tax software with TurboTax being rated the best.

• Corex CardScan Plus 300 – A business card scanner for $299.

• Pagis Pro 97 – Scanning software from Xerox.

• CompuServe WinCIM 3.0.1, Prodigy Internet – CompuServe and Prodigy’s online software for their services.

• Ibid electronic whiteboard – An early electronic whiteboard that puts what you draw on the board on your computer for $500.

• Intuit QuickBooks 5.0 – The latest iteration of Intuit’s accounting software.

• PEP Multimedia utilities – A utility that helps you add multimedia elements to your documents.

• Corel Print & Photo House – A low budget desktop publishing package.

Top 100

• Top 20 Power Desktops – Dell machines take four of the top five spots with the top system this month being the Dell Dimension XPS Pro200n featuring a Pentium Pro-200 CPU at $3349. My choice at the time probably would have been the the system coming it at number 7, the Gateway 2000 P5-200XL featuring a Pentium 200, 32MB RAM, and a 3GB hard drive for $2704.

• Top 20 Budget Desktops – A couple of Dells, a couple of Gateways and a Micron round out the top 5. These all feature Pentium 133 CPUs except one of the Gateway machines has a Pentium Pro 180. Most of these have 16MB vs. the 32MB of the Power Desktop list. I actually have a P5-133 from Gateway but the version I have features the larger case they use for the Pentium Pro in this round-up.

• Top 20 Notebook PCs – Gateway 2000 takes the top spot in both the Power chart and the Budget chart for notebooks. the Gateway 2000 Solo 2100 P-133, described as breathtakingly fast, features a Pentium 133, 40MB RAM, 12.1″ Active Matrix Super VGA screen, 6X CD-ROM drive and 1.4GB hard drive for $4149. The Gateway 2000 Solo 2100 P-120 features a Pentium 120, 16MB RAM, 11.3″ Dual Scan Super VGA screen, 6X CD-ROM drive and 810MB hard drive for $2499.

• Personal Printers – The Panasonic KX-P6100 laser printer takes the top spot for black and white printers for $399 while the Epson Stylus Color 500 ink jet is at the top of the color chart for $279.

• 15-inch monitors – Wiht a 13.7-inch viewable screen, the Dell UltraScan 800HS takes the top spot for $399. 15-inch monitors were typical at this time. If you had a higher end system you might have a 17-inch monitor. Absolutely top of the line was 19 or 21-inch. At this time, $399 was considered a pretty good deal for a 15-inch monitor.

• Graphics Boards – 3D accelerators were still relatively new. At the top of the charts this month was the STB Velocity 3D featuring 4MB of VRAM, 120-Hz refresh rate at 1024×768, and the S3 Virge/VX chip.

• Modems – Virtually nobody had broadband at this point so your modem was important. The U.S. Robotics Sportster Voice 33.6 Fax-Modem tops the list. I always loved U.S. Robotics and really wanted a Courier but those were pricey (though you could get a deal as a BBS operator).

Here’s How

• Real Problem, Real Solution – Setting up telecommuting for work.

• Answer Line – Questions answered about Windows 95 OSR2, managing multiple dial-up connections, and tracking modem performance with system monitor.

• Windows Tips – How to get rid of unneeded Windows files and features, disabling automatic startup of apps, closing hidden programs, creating shortcuts within documents, and more.

• Spreadsheet Tips – Linking formulas to web data in Quattro Pro 7.0.

• Word Processing Tips – Creating vertical letterheads in Word, setting different column layouts on the same page, adding a background border in WordPerfect 7, and more.

• Internet Tips – Filtering junk mail, using animated GIFs, protecting your PC from viruses, and more.

• Hardware Tips – A general guide to BIOS settings.

• Multimedia Tips – Using CU-SeeMe for videoconferencing and converting CD audio into .WAV files.

• Upgrade Guide – A step-by-step guide to adding a new sound board to your system.

At Home

• At Home Products – A brief look at various products including a kids keyboard, a wine database on CD, Barbie Storymaker, and more.

• Keeping Up – A look at interesting new websites including the then brand new Expedia, an online distance calculator, and a site for removing yourself from junk mail lists.

• Top 5 Home PCs – At the top of the list is the Dell Dimension P200v featuring a 200MHz Pentium processor, 16MB RAM, 1.6GB hard drive, 8x CD-ROM drive, 28.8kbps modem and 15-inch monitor (CRT of course) all for $2349.

• Home Office – A look at Microsoft’s new mouse.

Departments

• Up Front – An editorial on Internet privacy.

• Letters – Letters from readers about Packard Bell’s low prices and getting what you pay for, worst CD-ROMs, excellent tech support from U.S. Robotics, Compaq tech support complaints, web directories vs. search engines, Juno e-mail, OS/2 Warp, and more.

• Consumer Watch – Solving your own problems and getting help in the most efficient way possible.

• PCW Advocate – ZIP drive rebate delays from Iomega, reader gets Micron system he didn’t order, and another praises APC’s service.

• Bugs and Fixes – Windows NT problems on early versions of Cyrix’s 6×86 chips, false alarms with Norton Antivirus and new Sound Blaster drivers for Windows 95.

• Full Disclosure – So-called “network computers” no threat to the PC. A criticism of the Sun Javastation.

…and more!