''PC/Computing'' (later ''Ziff-Davis Smart Business'') was a monthly

Ziff Davis Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. Founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology- and health-oriented media websites, online shopping-related servi ...

publication that for most of its run focused on publishing reviews of

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

-compatible (or "

Wintel Wintel (portmanteau of ''Windows'' and ''Intel'') is the partnership of Microsoft and Intel producing personal computers (PCs) using Intel x86-compatible processors running Windows. Background By the early 1980s, the chaos and incompatibility ...

") hardware and software and tips and reference information for users of such software and hardware.

History and profile

Established in 1988 under the guidance of founding publisher and columnist

Michael Kolowich Michael Edmund Kolowich (born August 28, 1952) is an American new media and internet content entrepreneur and documentary filmmaker. He is chief product officer of College Guidance Network, Inc. and serves on the board of directors of OpenExchan ...

, the magazine was known for its irreverent style and annual "

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

Superguide" and "

Notebook A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbooking and more. ...

Torture Test" features. The latter feature involved baking, freezing, shaking, dropping, and splashing notebook computers from various manufacturers and then rating the machines based on which ones survived the "torture" and which ones failed. It also featured columns by

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

Paul Somerson (formerly of ''

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...

'', another Ziff-Davis publication), John C. Dvorak, Gil Schwartz, and, for a time in its first few years,

Penn Jillette Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American Magic (illusion), magician, actor, comedian, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller (magician), Teller as half of the t ...

. For some years, the magazine ran a regular column featuring an often-silly "debate" between Dvorak and Somerson. Michael Kolowich was the publisher and columnist until 1991. At its founding, the magazine was based in Burlington and Cambridge, Massachusetts, but relocated in 1991 to Foster City, California, near

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. The magazine changed its editorial focus from technology to Internet business in January 2000 and abandoned its original name shortly thereafter to try to capitalize on interest in the so-called "dot-com" boom of the late 1990s. When the technology

bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...

burst in mid-2000, the rechristened "Ziff-Davis Smart Business" in January 2000 lost its ad market. The magazine is the recipient of the

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

in the Personal Service category in 2000. It folded in 2002.

References

Monthly magazines published in the United States Defunct computer magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1988 Magazines disestablished in 2002 Magazines published in San Francisco {{compu-mag-stub