PC World (July 2003)

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(Edited)


Cover of the July 2003 issue of PC World

PC World was probably the most popular PC magazine throughout much of the 1990s and beyond. However, by 2003 I was mostly just reading Maximum PC which was more of an "enthusiast" magazine. The July 2003 issue of PC world includes:

Features

  • Best of 2003 - July seems a bit early to have a best of the year feature to me but I guess that's just how PC World did things. Winners include:
    • Best Entertainment PC: ABS Media Center PC 8500 featuring a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 for $1799
    • Product of the Year: T-Mobile Sidekick ($300)
    • Best Desktop Power PC: Dell Dimension 8300
    • Best Input Device: Logitech Cordless Elite Duo (wireless mouse and keyboard, $100)
    • Best Operating System: Windows XP Professional ($299)
    • Best Ink Jet Printer: Canon i850 ($170)
    • ...and much more.

  • One-Stop Digital Photography Guide - A digital photography guide that includes advice for choosing a digital camera, organizing your digital photos, printing your photos, and more.

  • Pest Zappers - A review and comparison of sever anti-virus software packages including EXtendia AVK Professional, F-Secure Anti-Virus 2003, GeCad Software RAV AntiVirus Desktop for Windows 8.6, Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 4, McAfee VirusScan 7 Home Edition, Panda Software Antivirus Platinum 7, Norton AntiVirus 2003, and Trend Micro PC-cillin 2003.


Table of Contents from the July 2003 issue of PC World

Top 100

  • Pentium M Has Juice - New Pentium M based laptops impress with battery life.

  • Top 15 Desktops - The top power system this month is the ABS Awesome 3450 featuring an Athlon XP 3000+, 1 GB DDR400 RAM, 128MB Sapphire Radeon 9700 Pro, and more for $1929. The top value system is the ABS Awesome 3380 featuring an Athlon XP 2800+, 512 MB DDR400 RAM, 128MB ATI Radeon 9700 Pro and more for $1749. The top corporate PC is the Compaq Evo D510 Convertible Minitower featuring a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB DDR266 RAM, 64MB NVidia Quadro4 200NVS, and more for $2012.

  • Top 15 Notebook PCs - The Top Power Notebook is the IBM ThinkPad T40 featuring a 1.6 GHz Pentium M and 512 MB RAM for $3249. The top Value Notebook is the Compaq Presario 2100Z featuring a Mobile Athlon 4 XP 1800+ and 512 MB RAM for for $1024.

  • Top 10 Ink Jet Printers - The winner this month is the Canon i320 Color Bubble Jet Printer for $55.

Departments

  • Up Front - Predictions for best products in 2004 including an OLED equipped camera, reliable wireless router, broadband on airplanes, a great phone that is also a great PDA, and more.

  • Letters - Reader letters about wiping data from old drives, reducing spam, the death of Adam Osborne, and more.

  • Plugged In - News and rumors including a pilot program providing broadband access via power lines, laws cracking down on spammers, Sony's new Blu-ray recorder, AMD's new 64-bit Opteron, and more.

  • Consumer Watch - Be careful buying the latest high-tech gadgets. They may not come with needed accessories.


Table of Contents from the July 2003 issue of PC World (continued)

News & Trends

  • E-Mail Evolves - New programs and web services offer more ways to control, sort and search your e-mail.

  • AMD Keeps Its Value Crown - A look at the new Athlon XP 3200+ and a couple of PCs based on it including the Poly 880NF3-3200 and Sys Performance 3200+.

  • Flash-Memory Bargains Bloom - Bargain is a relative term. Flash memory was rapidly declining in price but was still very expensive compared to today. For example, new 512MB and 1GB SD cards were expected to cost $170 and $330.

New Products

  • Personal Digital Assistants - A look at some of the latest PDAs including the Palm Zire 71, Palm Tungsten Z, and the Toshiba Pocket PC E755.

  • Remote-Access Software - A look at new software for remote access including LapLink Everywhere 2.01 and PCAnywhere 11.

  • Scanner - A look at the Fujitsu ScanSnap, a sheet-fed document scanner for $495.

Here's How

  • Windows Tips - Tips for password protecting files and folders, stopping Windows Messenger from launching, and more.

  • Step-By-Step - A guide to building your own PC.

  • Internet Tips - Tips for making money on eBay.


Back cover of the July 2003 issue of PC World

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4 comments
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Sometimes I wish that we would be able to go back to 2003. Not only because it was a good year, but also because I would do a few things differently. But maybe it is good as it is currently. Who knows currently where I/we would be with a different approach, different decisions/choices in the past.

Either way, by building a computer from that year, we can go back there at least at some level. Both with hardware and software too. There are many good programs and games. The Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is one of them. This is one of my favorite games from my childhood. We (my brother and I) played it a lot. At first in a PC club in Budapest. Then on our own PCs and on our own laptops.

The nice memories and the nostalgia is very good and very important, but probably the best is to focus on the present and on the future.

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(Edited)

This year I built a dream 2003 XP 32-bit machine, SL7AA, Intel D865GLC mobo, 4GB CL2 DDR, 8xAGP ATI Radeon 3850 (okay, it is from 2008), i cannot be happier with this monsterito. IBM Netvista case, IBM 19" TFT 4:3 monitor, IBM mouse and keyboard, all black. I can play all games 1985-2008 with no issues on this.

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The ATI Radeon 3850 is a very good video card. It can run even the Grand Theft Auto V (2013). Good luck and have fun.

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