I have been a computer enthusiast since the late 1970′s, and ever since I bought that very first Radio Shack TRS-80 I have enjoyed reading computer magazines.
Soon after the home computer was “born”, a number of magazines sprung up to fill the void of knowledge and information about them. Those magazines were great because they were filled with nothing but articles explaining how to program, expand, repair, and use those wonderful new machines.
Sure, there were a few ads scattered here and there amongst the articles, but it was quite clear that the primary purpose of the magazine was to deliver the information that all of us computer lovers were thirsting for. The advertising was there simply to bring in some revenue to help keep the magazine going.
But as the home computer industry evolved and matured, the inevitable happened: The primary purpose of those magical publications changed to selling ads, and the articles themselves were shortened and reduced in number to make room for all of them.
Back in the early days all of those wonderful computer magazines were founded and published by regular folks who were computer enthusiasts themselves. They weren’t out to squeeze every single dime they could out of their publications, they simply loved computers and they loved “talking” and learning about them.
But as their magazines became more and more popular, corporate America took notice and eventually most of those “mom and pop” computer magazines were sold to large publishers whose only interest in them was to use them as vehicles for generating revenue for the company’s stockholders. That’s fine and completely understandable, but…
The corporate publishers couldn’t leave well enough alone. In an effort to broaden the appeal of their magazines to a wider audience (and thereby generate even more ad revenue), they began adding articles about cell phones, GPS units, High Definition TV’s and other high tech gadgets, relegating the computer articles to a token number that was just high enough to justify keeping the words “computer” or “PC” in the name.
What’s worse, the “computer articles” that are still in there nowadays are about as useful as a comb is to a bald guy. Instead of explaining how to do something technical with a PC, most of the “articles” are really just ads disguised as “reviews”.
Of course the argument they use to support this shift in focus is that most all high tech gadgets have “chips” in them – little microprocessors that enable the gadget to do what it was designed to do. But in my opinion that argument falls flat, mostly due to one reason: While it’s true that cell phones and other gadgets have chips in them, by and large they aren’t used like a computer is typically used. With few exceptions, you simply turn the item on and use it by making a phone call, sending a text message, finding your current location, or watching a TV show. All of the “computing” is done behind the scenes without the user’s help. Nowadays even cars have computers in them, but that doesn’t make a car a computer!
No, the reason today’s computer magazines have few useful articles about computers is money, pure and simple. There are plenty of magazines on the market dedicated to consumer electronics, and that’s great. I enjoy reading about all of those amazing new gadgets just as much as the next guy – but not in a COMPUTER magazine. My, how I long for the likes of 80 Microcomputing and Byte. Now those were the good ole days.