The mid 1990s was an exciting time for the PC industry. PCs were rapidly being adopted with nearly everyone having one by 2000. The Internet was just becoming mainstream and that's the biggest part of what drove adoption. The October 1996 issue of PC World includes:
Cover Story
The Complete Guide to Free Online Help - Information about web sites, newsgroups, file libraries, and a number of other online sources for getting technical help for free.
Features
Internet Overload: Disaster In The Making? - Gloom and doom predictions about the Internet being overloaded never really came to pass...well, except for the occasional DDOS attack.
Office In A Box - A look at combo devices that include printing, scanning, faxing, and copying functions. Though most printers have those functions now, this was still early days for such devices. Models looked at here include the Canon MultiPass C2500, HP OfficeJet 350, JetFax 4, Ricoh MV74, Sharp F-2700M, and Xerox Document WorkCenter 250. Prices range from $549 to $1195.
Special Report
Top 10 Network Servers - At the top of the Workgroup Servers list is the Compaq ProLiant 1500 Model 5/133-2100 for $7555. At the top of the Enterprise Servers list is the HP NetServer 5/166 LS4 for $20,238.
Multimedia
20 CD-ROMs Under $25 - Some titles in this list include Full Throttle, Rebel Assault, Civilization, Simcity Classic, Blockbuster Guide to Movies & Videos, Bernard of Hollywood's Pin-Ups, World's Greatest Classic Books, and more.
Title Reviews - Reviews of Hind and Longbow helicopter combat sim and Guerilla Marketing.
Hardware Reviews - A look at the top five CD-ROM drives (Plextor 8Plex, NEC MultiSpin 6V, Sony CSD-880E, Teac CD-58E 8X CD-ROM Drive Kit, and GoldStar GCD-R580B) and sound cards (Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE32 PnP, CrystalLake Model 110, Creative Labs Sound Blaster 32, CrystalLake Model 140, and Advanced Gravis UltraSound Plug & Play Pro).
How To Get What You Want In Your New PC - PC manufacturers would often use multiple sources for parts so specific parts could vary even on the same model PC. Another common practice was (and still is as far as I know) to use cut down versions of retail parts. This isn't always a bad thing as you could generally get a great deal on something that performed only slightly less well than top end retail components.
App Suites Abandon One-Size-Fits-All For Custom Tailoring - For instance, Microsoft, starting with Office 97, will offer three different versions (standard, professional, and small business) and the ability to add applets.
Broadcasters Use TV Signals To Send Data - There was this idea that people would want to watch TV split screen with a related web page. This never really caught on...though these days people will scroll on their phones while watching TV.
Compaq Presario 6708 - This PC includes a Pentium 200, combination keyboard/scanner, 33.6 fax modem, 32MB RAM, 2.5 GB hard drive, 64-bit video card with 2MB of DRAM, 15-inch monitor, and more for $3547.
Dell Dimension P200V - This PC includes a Pentium 200, 33.6 fax modem, 16MB RAM, 1.6 GB hard drive, 64-bit video card with 2MB of DRAM, 15-inch monitor, and more for $1999.
NEC Versa 4200 Series - This notebook features a 100 or 133-MHz CPUj, 810MB or 1.08GB hard drive, a 10.4-inch screen that displays 256 colors, and 6X CD-ROM drive for %2999-$3899.
Olivetti Echos - This line features four models ranging from the $2299 Pentium 100 to the $4599 Pentium 133 with all including a 1.3GB hard drive and 6X CD-ROM drives and feature screens from an 11.3-inch dual-scan to a 11.8-inch TFT.
TI TravelMate 6000 Series Notebooks - The 6020 ($4199) features a Pentium 120, 8MB of RAM, 1.08GB hard drive, and 11.3-inchd display. The 6030 ($4999) features a Pentium 133, 16MB of RAM, 1.35GB hard drive, and 12.1-inch SVGA display. The 6050 ($5499) is similar but features a Pentium 150.
Power Desktops - The top PC in this list is the Dell Dimension XPS P200s for $3329 featuring 16MB RAM, 512K secondary cache, 2.6GB hard drive, Number Nine Imagine 128 Series 2 graphics adapter with 4MB VRAM, and more.
Budget Desktops - The top PC in this list is the Micron P133 Millennia for $2049 featuring a Pentium 133, 16MB RAM, 2.1 GB hard drive, Diamon Stealth64 graphics adapter with 2MB VRAM, 15-inch monitor, and more.
Notebooks - The top power notebook is the Dell Latitude LM P133ST for $3999 featuring a Pentium 133, 16MB RAM, 810MB hard drive, 12.1-inch 800x600 256 color screen, and more. The top budget notebook is the Toshiba Satellite 100CS for $1799 featuring a Pentium 75, 8MB RAM, 540MB hard drive, 10.4-inch 640x480 256 color screen, and more.
Top 10 Personal Printers - The top monochrome printer is the Panasonic KX-P6100 for $379 and the top color printer is the HP DeskJet 820Cse for $389.
Here's How
Answer Line - Questions answered about memory management in Windows 95, using the same e-mail account at home and at work, restoring DOS after removing OS/2, and more.
Internet Tips - How to find special interest mailing lists, making web sites more permanent, and more.
Hardware Tips - Tips for saving space on FAT drives.
At Home
Internet Meets The Couch Potato - For a brief moment in time, everybody thought you would be surfing the net via your TV and some sort of internet appliance. While you can certainly do that today, the idea never really took off. Surfing the net was done via desktop, laptop, and later on the smartphone.
Top 5 Home PCs - The top "Home PC" is the Gateway 2000 P5-166 Family PC featuring a Pentium 166, 16MB RAM, 2.5GB hard drive, 8x CD-ROM drive, 28.8 kbps fax modem, and more for $2444.
Departments
Up Front - What happens when what you do depends on the Internet and the Internet isn't working? Still a problem today...
Letters - Letters from readers about the best internet browser, Windows 95, free speech online, Compuserve, and more.
Consumer Watch - Packard Bell had a policy of putting parts from returned PCs into PCs sold as new but they weren't the only ones.
