Computer Shopper (December 2001)

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Source: Computer Shopper – December 2001

For a large portion of its life throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Computer Shopper was a mammoth publication often reaching in the neighborhood of 1,000 pages. By 2001, while not exactly small, it was nowhere near what it used to be in terms of size. The December 2001 issue weighs in at less than 250 pages and includes:

Features

  • The After-Hours PC – A feature on desktop entertainment systems with primary use cases such as watching DVD movies, playing games, and burning CDs. Systems reviewed here include the ABS Performance 5 (1.4GHz Athlon, 256MB DDR, Leadtek WinFast GeForce3 TD), Dell Dimension 4300 (1.5GHz Pentium 4, 256MB SDRAM, nVidia GeForce2 MX), Gateway 500x (1.7GHz Pentium 4, 128MB SDRAM, ATI Radeon VE), Polywell K7-1400DDR (1.4GHz Athlon, 256MB DDR, Matrox Millennium G450), and Systemax Venture MU17 (1.7GHz Pentium 4, 256MB RDRAM, ATI All-in-Wonder 128 Pro). These systems ranged in price from $1299 to $1599, included 40-60GB hard drives and shipped with 19-inch CRT monitors.
  • Take Your Best Shot – A round-up of five digital cameras including the Canon PowerShot A20, Kodak DX3500, Nikon Coolpix 775, Olympus Camedia D-510 Zoom, and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P50. These were all in the 2 megapixel range and cost between $250 and $400.
  • Seize Control – An overview of game controllers on the market including gamepads (Gravis Eliminator GamePad Pro USB, Logi9tech WingMan RumblePad, Microsoft SideWinder Game Pad Pro, Thrustmaster FireStorm Dual Power Gamepad), joysticks (CH Products Flight Sim Yoke USB, CH Products F-16 CombatStick USB, CH Products Pro Pedals USB, CH Products Pro Throttle USB, Gravis Destroyer AfterShock Rumble, Logitech WingMan Force 3D, Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2, Saitek Cyborg 3D USB Gold, Thrustmaster Top Gun AfterBurner II), steering-wheel controllers (Logitech Driving Force, Thrustmaster Force Feedback RAcing Wheel), keyboards and mice (Logitech iFeel Mouse, Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer, Microsoft Office Keyboard, Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer), and more.
  • Perfect Packages – A software gift giving guide. There are nearly 40 software packages listed here including EverQuest, Microsoft Encarta Reference Library, Microsoft Streets & Trips 2002, Nancy Drew: Treasures in the Royal Tower, Norton AntiVirus 2002, VideoFactory 2.0, Virtual Drive 6, WordSmith 2.0, and more).
  • Family Values – A more general gift giving guide (this is the December issue after all). Items recommended here include the Voice Activated Remote Control, the Game Boy Advance, the Nokia 282 cell phone, the Lego Technic Destroyer Droid, Handspring visor Edge PDA, Sonicblue Rio 800 MP3 player, TiVo, Sanyo SCP-6000 web-enabled phone, Sony PlayStation 2, and much more.
  • Photo Finishers – An overview of online photo printing and organizing sites including Club Photo, DotPhoto, Ofoto, Shutterfly, and Snapfish.

News

  • Trends – New CD copy protection, the new Athlon XP, Amazon adds PCs, Apple opens new retail stores, and more.
  • Gear – A look at some of the latest in consumer electronics including the new Microsoft Xbox, the AIBO LM Series robotic dogs, the Presto BizCard Reader, the Toshiba Pocket PC e570, the Intel Play Digital Movie Creator, the Olympus Camedia D-40 Zoom digital camera, and more.

Opinons

  • Jack Blackford – Avoid Microsoft products if you want to avoid dependency on proprietary formats.
  • John C. Dvorak – A prediction that handhelds will replace the desktop as their power increases. This is happened to some degree but to me, an Android or iOS device (at the time PalmOS and Windows Mobile were dominant) is still not a viable replacement for a desktop or laptop.
  • Jim O’Brien – How brick and mortar stores benefit from e-commerce.
  • Editors’ Top Five – The editor’s pick the top five products in various categories. The top performance desktop is the ABS Performance System 8 (2GHz Pentium 4, 256MB RDRAM, nVidia GeForce3 for $2399). The top value notebook is the Apple iBook (500MHz PowerPC G3, 64MB SDRAM, 10GB hard drive for $1299). The top handheld/PDA is the Compaq iPaq H3670. The top inkjet printer is the Canon S600 Color Bubble Jet Printer. The top office productivity application is GoToMyPC (allows you to access your PC remotely).

Web Buyers

  • Site Reviews – A look specifically at online shopping sites with fast shipping (at least for some products) including RedEnvelope, MSN eShop, 800.com, Dean & Deluca, Name a Star, Surprise.com, whaleadoption.org, and GiftCertificates.com
  • Tech Shopping – An overview of dozens of online shopping sites. The site of the month is half.com.
  • IEEE 1394 (Firewire) Peripherals – Eight sites that specialize in firewire devices.
  • Consumer Electronics – Seven sites that specialize in consumer electronics including bestbuy.com and radioshack.com.
  • Direct PC Vendors – At least six sites featuring PC vendors including www.alienware.com, compaq.com and cyberpowerinc.com.
  • Books and Musinc – Seven sites featuring books and music including amazon.com, bn.com, and towerrecords.com.
  • PC Resources – Sites that offer reviews, special deals and more.
  • Software Sites – Sites for buying or downloading software including download.cnet.com and dragon.ca.
  • Toys – Online places for buying toys including fao.com, kbkids.com, and amazon.com/toys.

Business Buyer

  • A Server That Suits You – Choosing the right general purpose server to suit your business needs. Various pre-built servers are recommended depending on your specific needs including the Compaq DL320, Dell PowerEdge 350, Gateway 7400, Dell PowerEdge 1400SC, Compaq DL580, and several others.
  • Trends – Three vendors ship the Pentium 4 in small packages including the Dell Optiplex GX240, the HP e-PC 40 and Vectra VL420, and the Micron ClientPro CR. New remote encryption software designed to encrypt data on stolen laptops, and more.
  • e-Service and Tools – Free utilities for building a web site, altavista’s web translation service (Babel Fish), and more.
  • Building Your Business – How to find charity info online as well as provide ways of giving through your website.

Help & How-To

  • Images in a Flash – A guide to taking good digital photos and easily sharing them.
  • The Hard Edge – Failed dot-coms, Intel’s failure with the Pentium 4 and RDRAM, Windows XP, the merger between HP and Compaq, and more.
  • Alfred Poor’s Computer Cures – Readers get answers for problems related to the Windows ME control panel, 17-inch monitor resolution, storage expansion, and more.
  • Buying Advisor – Building the best video editing platform. This article recommends the Apple Power Mac G4 as the very best but PC systems can be had much cheaper. There are examples here with customized configurations of the Compaq Presario 5000, Dell Dimension 8200, and others.

From the Editor

  • Janice Chen – Computer Shopper joins forces with CNET.

From the Readers

  • Feedback Forum – Readers chime in on Windows XP coverage, shipping charges, and more.

Reviews

  • Desktops – Reviews of the Atlas Micro XS 8000 (1.4GHz Athlon, 128MB DDR, 40GB hard drive, GeForce3 graphics for $1249), Falcon Northwest Talon 3.1 (1.13GHz Athlon, 256MB DDR, 20GB hard drive, GeForce2 Ultra for $1495), and the Gateway 700C (2GHz Pentium 4, 128MB RDRAM, 80GB hard drive, GeForce3, for $2629).
  • Hardware – Includes reviews of the Ricoh RDC-i700 digital camera with wireless modem, the Sonigistix Monsoon MH-505 flat panel surround system, and more.
  • Mobile – Reviews of the Dell Inspiron 8100 laptop (1.13GHz Pentium III-M, 128MB SDRAm, 20GB hard drive, GeForce2 Go graphics, for $2291), Gateway Solo 1200 (750MHz Celeron, 128MB SDRAM, 10GB hard drive for $999), HP Omnibook 6100 (1.13GHz Pentium III-M, 256MB SDRAM, 30GB hard drive for $3699), Compaq Ipaq Personal Audio Player PA-2, Sony CLIE PEG-S320 PDA, Motorola Timeport 270c (mobile phone with bluetooth), and more.
  • Software – Reviews of Microsoft Money, WinZip 8.1, Memokit 3.0 (defragments and recovers memory), and Quicken 2002 Deluxe.
  • Web Services – Reviews of USPS.com and LowerMyBills.com.
  • Games – Reviews of Arcanum (still on my list to play one of these days), Independence War 2, Shattered Galaxy, and Madden NFL 2002.

…and more!

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