''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global
computer magazine
Computer magazines are about computers and related subjects, such as networking and the Internet. Most computer magazines offer (or offered) advice, some offer programming tutorials, reviews of the latest technologies, and advertisements.
His ...
published monthly by
IDG
International Data Group (IDG, Inc.) is a market intelligence and demand generation company focused on the technology industry. IDG, Inc.’s mission is centered around supporting the technology industry through research, data, marketing technol ...
. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication.
It offers advice on various aspects of
PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal technology products and services. In each publication, ''PC World'' reviews and tests hardware and software products from a variety of manufacturers, as well as other technology related devices such as
still
A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been use ...
and
video camera
A video camera is an optical instrument that captures videos (as opposed to a movie camera, which records images on film). Video cameras were initially developed for the television industry but have since become widely used for a variety of oth ...
s, audio devices and televisions.
The current editor of ''PC World'' is Jon Phillips, formerly of ''
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
''. In August 2012, he replaced Steve Fox, who had been editorial director since the December 2008 issue of the magazine. Fox replaced the magazine's veteran editor
Harry McCracken
Harry McCracken is technology editor for ''Fast Company'' and the founder of Technologizer, a website about personal technology. He was an editor at large for ''Time'', covering technology, from February 2012 to June 2014. McCracken is also a for ...
, who resigned that spring, after some rocky times, including quitting and being rehired over editorial control issues in 2007.
''PC World'' is published under other names such as PC Advisor and PC Welt in some countries. ''PC World''s company name is IDG Consumer & SMB, and it is headquartered in San Francisco. Some of the non English ''PC World'' websites now
redirect
Redirect and its variants (e.g., redirection) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Redirect'', 2012 Christian metal album and its title track by Your Memorial
* ''Redirected'' (film), a 2014 action comedy film
Computing
* ICMP R ...
to other IDG sites; for example, PCWorld.dk (Denmark) is now
Computerworld.dk.
History
The publication was announced at the
COMDEX
COMDEX (an abbreviation of COMputer Dealers' EXhibition) was a computer expo trade show held in the Las Vegas Valley of Nevada, United States, each November from 1979 to 2003. It was one of the largest computer trade shows in the world, usually ...
trade show in November 1982, and first appeared on newsstands in March 1983;
Felix Dennis
Felix Dennis (27 May 1947 – 22 June 2014) was an English publisher, poet, spoken-word performer and philanthropist. His company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom. In more recent times ...
set up ''Personal Computer World'' which he later sold to VNU, and established ''
MacUser
''MacUser'' was a monthly (formerly biweekly) computer magazine published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. and licensed by Felden in the UK. It ceased publication in 2015.
In 1985 Felix Dennis’ Dennis Publishing, the creators of MacUser in the UK, l ...
'' which he sold to Ziff Davis Publishing in the mid eighties. ''
PC Magazine'' was also acquired by
Ziff Davis
Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. First founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology-oriented media websites, online shopping-related services, an ...
.
The magazine was founded by
David Bunnell
David Hugh Bunnell (July 25, 1947 – October 18, 2016) was a pioneer of the personal computing industry who founded some of the most successful computer magazines including ''PC Magazine'', ''PC World'', and ''Macworld''. In 1975, he was wo ...
and Cheryl Woodard, and its first editor was
Andrew Fluegelman
Andrew Cardozo Fluegelman (November 27, 1943 – July 6, 1985) was a publisher, photographer, programmer and attorney best known as a pioneer of what is now known as the shareware business model for software marketing. He was also the founding ...
. ''PC World''s magazine and web site have won a number of awards from Folio, the American Society of Business Publication Editors, MIN, the Western Publications Association, and other organizations; it is also one of the few technology magazines to have been a finalist for a
National Magazine Award.
Many well known technology writers have contributed to ''PC World'', including Steve Bass,
Daniel Tynan Daniel Tynan is an American journalist, television and radio commentator who specializes in technology, humor, and humorous takes on technology. Former editor in chief of Yahoo Tech, he has also served as an Executive Editor and later contributing e ...
, Christina Wood,
John C. Dvorak,
Stephen Manes, Lincoln Spector,
Stewart Alsop, David Coursey, James A. Martin, and others. Editorial leadership has included Harry Miller, Richard Landry, Eric Knorr, Phil Lemmons, Cathryn Baskin, Kevin McKean, and Harry McCracken.
In February 1999, ''PC World''s number of paid subscriptions reached a record of 1,000,453. At the time, it was the first and only computing magazine with a monthly release schedule to hit that mark. In April 2005, the show ''
Digital Duo ''PC World's Digital Duo'' was a computer themed US television series that aired on PBS stations in 1999 as ''Digital Duo'' for 26 episodes and returned to broadcast as ''PC World's Digital Duo'' with an additional 26 episodes in 2005. It ran for a ...
'' was slightly
rebranded
Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...
and relaunched as ''
PC World's Digital Duo ''PC World's Digital Duo'' was a computer themed US television series that aired on PBS stations in 1999 as ''Digital Duo'' for 26 episodes and returned to broadcast as ''PC World's Digital Duo'' with an additional 26 episodes in 2005. It ran for a ...
'', and ran for an additional 26 episodes. As of 2006, ''PC World''s audited rate base of 750,000 made it the largest circulation computing magazine in the world.
On July 10, 2013, owner IDG announced that the magazine would cease its thirty year print run. The issue of August 2013 was the last printed of the magazine ''PC World'', future issues would be digital only.
Countries
Based in San Francisco, ''PC World''s original edition is published in the United States however it is also available in other countries (51 in total), sometimes under a different name:
* ''PC World'' in Albania, Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Brazil, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, India (from July 2006), Kosovo, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, Ecuador.
* ''
PC Advisor ''Tech Advisor'', previously known as ''PC Advisor'', is a consumer tech website and digital magazine published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc, which also produces ''Macworld, PCWorld'' and ''TechHive.'' IDG Inc was acquired by Blackstone in 2 ...
'' in Ireland and the United Kingdom. (Another now discontinued magazine called ''
Personal Computer World
''Personal Computer World'' (''PCW'') (February 1978 - June 2009) was the first British computer magazine.
Although for at least the last decade it contained a high proportion of Windows PC content (reflecting the state of the IT field), the mag ...
'' and a ''
PC World
''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication.
It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...
'' retailer — neither related to the ''PC World'' magazine — already exist or existed in those markets.)
* ''PC Welt'', is the German language edition.
* ''Info Komputer'', is the Indonesian language edition.
* ''Kompiuterija'', is the Lithuanian language edition.
* ''Thế Giới Vi Tính'', is the Vietnamese language edition (also called ''PC World Vietnam'').
* ''
Mikro - PC World'', is the Serbian language edition.
* ''
Мир ПК'', is the Russian language edition.
Controversy
In May 2007, McCracken resigned abruptly under controversial circumstances. According to sources quoted in ''
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
'', McCracken quit abruptly because the new CEO of ''PC World'', Colin Crawford, tried to kill an unfavorable story about
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
and
Steve Jobs. Crawford responded, calling media reports of McCracken's resignation "inaccurate."
CNET later reported that McCracken had told colleagues that
IDG
International Data Group (IDG, Inc.) is a market intelligence and demand generation company focused on the technology industry. IDG, Inc.’s mission is centered around supporting the technology industry through research, data, marketing technol ...
"was pressuring him to avoid stories that were critical of major advertisers."
On May 9, Crawford was transferred to another department, and McCracken returned to ''PC World'' until his departure in 2008.
[Ramon G. McLeod]
"Editor in Chief Harry McCracken Returns to ''PCW"''
from ''PC World.com,'' May 9, 2007.
See also
*''
PC Magazine''
*
WorldBench
''WorldBench'' is a Windows benchmark
tool offered by PC World Labs since 2000. The PC World Test Center uses this same tool every month to test contenders for PC World's Top Desktop PCs and Top Notebook PCs charts. WorldBench is also used in conj ...
References
External links
''PC World'' websiteOfficial mobile website''PC World'' Bulgaria website''PC World'' Romania website''PC World'' India website''PC World'' Albanian website''PC World'' Polish website''PC Welt'' German website''PC World'' Czech website''PC World'' Site website''Meeting App''Archived PC World magazineson the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pc World
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Computer magazines published in Australia
Defunct computer magazines published in the United States
Computer magazines published in India
International Data Group
Computer magazines published in Italy
Magazines established in 1982
Magazines disestablished in 2013
Online magazines with defunct print editions
Computer magazines published in Spain
Magazines published in San Francisco