Source: Computer Shopper – August 1992
Computer Shopper, at its height, was by far the largest magazine I ever saw in terms of page count. This issue has about 950 pages. And yes, it really did resemble a telephone book in terms of size. The August 1992 issue includes:
Features
- Windows 3.1 vs. OS/2 – This article compares OS/2 2.0 with Windows 3.1. When I had my 486, I really wanted to move from Windows 3.1 to OS/2 2.1. It had better multitasking and could run Windows and DOS apps. However, at the time, I couldn’t find a driver for my video card so I was stuck at like 640×480 and 256 colors (or maybe only 16) which wasn’t acceptable. I gave up and went back to Windows 3.1 but upgraded to Windows 95 when it was released.
- Moving Up – Upgrading CPUs was often not a viable option back in the day. The introduction of clock doubled and overdrive processors from Intel changed this. My first “PC” which I bought a year later included a clock doubled 486 (66 MHz). With an overdrive processor you could literally double the speed of your machine and even move from a 486 to a Pentium in some cases. Several systems and overdrive processors are benchmarked here.
- Explosive Presentation Power – These days I’m not sure there is much variety when it comes to presentation software. Power Point dominates with like one open source alternative. As seen here, there used to be other competitors, including Harvard Graphics, Freelance Graphics, Aldus Persuasion, and others.
Shopper’s Guide: Tape Backups
- Random, and Proud of It – Tape drive were a (relatively) inexpensive way to back up data but were not random access which means they were not easy to use except for complete system backups and restores. This article goes over some of the random access alternatives such as floptical drives ($500 plus $22 for a 20 MB disk), Bernoulli Drives ($800 plus extra for the 90 MB disks), SyQuests’s removable hard drive ($800 plus $70-$100 for 105 MB disks), and others.
- How to Buy Tape Drives – A guide for determining what you need in a tape backup drive. Or if you even need one at all.
- Reckoning the Cost per Megabyte – A look at several different backup devices (tape drives and others) and the cost per megabyte factoring in both device and media cost.
- How It Works – A technical look at how tape storage works.
- The Tale of the Tape: What’s New – State of the art in upcoming tape backup technology at the time included 425 MB storage on a single tape and speeds of 27 Mb per minute.
- Finding the Right Tape Drive – A flow chart to help find the best tape backup device for you.
- Growing Capacities – A look at tape capacity growth over the years.
- Desperately Seeking Software – A brief look at some of the backup software that was available including Central Point Backup 7.2 for Windows, Norton Backup 2.0 for Windows, Fastback Plus Windows 1.0, Sytos Plus File Backup Manager 1.32, and DMB/IB 3.23.
Trends and Technology
- Contents – CD-ROM drive prices drop to $200; more vendors selling direct; IBM and Microsoft code sharing agreement to end; usage of e-mail and voice mail explodes; more software shipping on CD; new class of smaller “subnotebooks” including the Gateway 2000 Handbook featuring a 286 processor, 1 MB of RAM and a 40 MB hard drive; world’s smallest hard drive at 1.3-inches holds 200 MB of data; PC theft skyrockets 400 percent; new technology allows for wireless data transfer; Spain digitizing historical documents; and more.
- John Dickinson – The link between lowering real-estate values and increasing PC sales and why companies like Gateway 2000 are having huge success while companies like IBM are struggling.
- Charles Cooper – A look at mail order computer prices versus quality plus the increasing availability as computers are sold in more places; preventing your 486 from overheating; Ziff Buyer’s Market to help you buy PC; and more.
- Michale Slater – The ACE Initiative was intended to set a hardware standard for running both Windows NT and SCO Open Desktop Unix on 80×86 and MIPS. It failed as Compaq ran into financial problems and withdrew support.
- Charles Humphrey – Compaq rating lowered; TI producing new 16-megabit DRAMs but initial batches are allocated to high-end servers and workstation and the military; Apple shows non-working mock-up of Newton; and more.
- Chris Devoney – Disk backup solutions become more of a necessity as hard drive sizes increase.
- Amy Wohl – A look at the ebb and flow of PC company partnerships.
Reviews
- Approach 1.0 – Database software for Windows.
- Excel 4.0 – The latest iteration of the best spreadsheet software for Windows.
- SuperStor – Disk compression software similar to Stacker or DoubleSpace.
- Fujitsu DL 1200 – A color 24-pin dot-matrix printer for $649 which at the time was a “good value”.
- DBFast 1.7 – A dBASE for Windows.
- PC Partner VX – A computer aimed at beginners featuring a 486SX processor, 2 MB RAM, 5.25″ floppy, 3.5″ floppy, 107 MB hard drive, and a Sony CD-ROM drive.
- NetClean 2.0 – A file management program designed to help you mange your files and delete unnecessary ones.
Tech Section
- The Hard Edge – Setting up DOS 5.0 properly, the PC as a video production tool, document management, a 3.5″ disk shortage, competing local bus implementations, and more.
- Ask Dr. John – Questions answered about FAX modems, repairing laser printers, Video BIOS Shadow settings, and more.
- Beginner’s Corner – Questions answered about automatically disabling NUM LOCK and print buffers.
- What’s New Online – New windows based front ends for CompuServe and BIX and further trends in this direction. Plus, a look at what’s new at BIX, CompuServe, Delphi, and GEnie online services.
- Freebies of the Month – A look at some of the latest freely available software, including TreeWalker (file management) and Downline 1.1.1 (archive utility for the Mac).
- Binding Time – Book reviews of Voodoo DOS, DR DOS 6.0 Customizing Toolkit, PC Magazine Guide to Linking LANs, and Telecommunications 2.
- Simple Tips for NetWare Users – Basic power commands for NetWare.
- Souping Up a 286 – In the early 1990s, computers were advancing fast but it was still common to see 286s and even XTs still in use. This guide offers options for upgrading your 286 based machine. In addition to common upgrades such as increasing memory and adding more hard drive space, there are also software options including disk doubling software, task swapping software, tools like Norton Desktop, etc. Plus there are options for adding a mouse upgrading or adding a modem, and more.
- QuickTips – Tips for using Norton Desktop for Windows, using the Windows Resource Toolkit, disabling write-back cache to securely delete files, choosing the best reference software, and more.
- What Ever Happened to …GEM? – DRI’s GEM is an OS shell that was an alternative to Windows. The Atari ST used GEM as its primary OS. It was also available for the PC but had limited success. This article goes deeper into the history of GEM.
- From the Labs – Testing surge suppressors.
- Unix Notes – Using Unix for interoperability. Versions were available for everything form an XT to super computers.
- What’s the Code? – A guide to creating your own file viewer, including code.
- Actor Professional – An object oriented programming language and development system that produces stand-alone Windows programs.
- Boost Performance with a Math Coprocessor – Many CPUs at the time didn’t have robust floating point operations built-in, including the 386SX and 486SX CPUs. If you wanted better floating point performance, you needed a math coprocessor which could make floating point operations 3x faster or more.
Software
- Presentation Packages – A look at presentation software for both the Mac and the PC including Persuasion 2.1 for Windows, Freelance Graphics for Windows, Harvard Graphics for Windows, PowerPoint for Windows, and More 3.1 for the Mac.
- Screen Savers – Modern screens aren’t really susceptible to burn-in and haven’t been for a long time. That combined with the fact that modern monitors also have power saving modes that turn them off has really eliminated the need for screensavers. Nevertheless, I wish Afterdark was still a thing. This review examines six screen-savers including After Dark for Windows 2.0, Intermission for Windows 3.0, Pyro! for Dos 2.0, Screen Saver Plus for Dos, Microsoft Entertainment Pack, After Dark for Macintosh 2.0, and Pyro! for the Macintosh 4.0.
- Tech Q&As for Windows Word Processors – Answers to the ten most frequently asked questions for Word for Windows, Ami Pro, and WordPerfect for Windows.
- Soft Watch – A look at the best selling software in a variety of categories on both the PC and the Mac.
- Paul Bonner – A look at various software for Windows including File Commander 1.0, VBTools 2.1, NoMouse for Windows 2.0, and Norton Desktop for Windows 2.0.
- Dan Rosenbaum – Reviews of Mac software including the latest OS (System 7), OnCue II, Dynodex, MacLink Plus, and After Dark 2.0.
- Games – Reviews of Ultima VII: The Black Gate, SimCity for Windows, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, Police Quest 3: The Kindred, and Lance Stone: Trouble at the WOZ.
Smart Shopper
- Ad Watch – A look at trends in advertising including the inclusion of antivirus software with systems, Intel cutting prices on 486SX chips to undercut AMDs 386 sales, Cyrix 486SLC competition, and more.
- System Price Index – A chart of PC prices over the past few months based on processor.
- New Distribution Strategies for Software – New ways to sell software include demos on CDs, software downloads, and more.
- Components Price Index – Price charts over the past few months for motherboards, hard drives, modems, and printers.
- Chargebacks – The advantages of using a credit card when making a computer related purchase.
- Environmental Impact of PCs – Strategies to reduce the impact of PC disposal.
- Onsite Service – Advice on shopping for service contracts.
Departments
- Feedback Forum – Feedback from readers about voice recognition, retailers passing along credit card surcharges, maintaining trackballs, and more.
- Bulletin Boards – A list of BBSes all around the country. The BBS of the month is Channel 1 in Cambridge, Massachusetts which includes 70 lines, 2,000 conferences, and 8 gigabytes of storage.
- Now in the Channel – A look at new products including the FloppyMaster 150 disk storage unit, the Samsun NoteMaster 386S/25 Modular Notebook w/ removeable hard drive, PSI’s FaxOCR software for the Mac, Videx’s TimeWand II, ASP’s JetLAN Card, ICC’s Remote LAN Node, Server’s Remote Power On/Off, Logitec’s latest ScanMan, SmartPics for Windows, Actix’s GraphicsENGINE 70, and more.
…and much more!
