PC World was around for decades from the early 1980s until well into the 2000s. It was perhaps the most popular PC magazine for most of that time. The September 2003 issue includes:

PC Makeovers

• 60-Minute Upgrades - A look at relatively quick and easy upgrades for your computer including adding a 100 GB 7200 RPM PATA hard drive, adding a DVD burner, upgrading a CPU (in this case a Pentium 700 to a Celeron 1400 via a PowerLeap PL-ip3/T adapter), adding more RAM (1 to 2 GB was a lot at the time), upgrading your video card (AGP was all the rage at the time), and more.

Features

• Well-Connected Handhelds - At this time, PDAs were gaining wi-fi capabilities and cell phones were gaining PDA functionality. Some devices looked at here include the Palm Tungsten C, Sony Ericsson P800, Handspring Treo 300, Kyocera 7135 Smartphone, Palm Tungsten W, Samsun SPH-i700 and Samsung SPH-i500, T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, T-Mobile Sidekick, Sony Clie PEG-NZ90 and Toshiba E755.


• Online Music: New Hits and Misses - A look at online music services including RealNetworks RealOne Rhapsody, EMusic, Apple iTunes Music Store, Musicmatch WX Platinum, FullAudio MusicNow, Pressplay, and more.

Top 100

• Top 15 Desktop PCs - The top power system this month is the ABS Ultimate M5 featuring an Athlon XP 3200+, 1GB of DDR400 RAM and 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro video card for $2739 while the top value system is the ABS Bravado 2280 featuring an Athlon XP 2500+, 512MB DDR-333 RAM, and 64MB EVGA E-GeForce Ti 4200 video card for $1139.


• Top 15 Notebook PCs - The top power notebook is the IBM ThinkPad T40 featuring a 1.6 GHZ Pentium M and 512MB RAM for $3099 while the top value notebook is the Dell Inspiron 500m featuring a 1.3 GHz Pentium M and 256MB RAM for $1616.


• Top 5 Photo Printers - At the top of the list is the Epson Stylus Photo 900.


• Top 10 15-inch LCD Monitors - It's hard to give away a 15-inch monitor today but it was the norm in 2003. The top 15-inch LCD monitor this month was the NEC MultiSync LCD 1560M for $370.

Departments

• Up Front - A look at some computer services actually worth paying for...maybe.


• Letters - Letters from readers about adware, file trading, Windows XP updates, photo kiosks, and more.


• Plugged In - A look at storage options for MP3 players, Microsoft's new version of Office, AOL 9.0, turning your PC off at night, and more.


• Consumer Watch - Preventing your PC from being hijacked by spammers.

News & Trends

• Cheap Ink Probed - Part two of a series on third-party ink cartridges.


• ISPs Promote Premium Extras - ISPs promote extra services such as antivirus software, digital music, firewall software, and more for an extra cost.


• A 64-bit Computer: Your Next PC? - The next generation of PC processors will be 64-bit, including Apple's G5 and AMD's Athlon 64.


• .Zip File Format Splinters - Winzip and PKZip use incompatible implementations of AES encryption.

New Products

• Notebook PCs - A look at new subnotebooks including the Compaq Nc4000 (1.6 GHz Pentium M and 256MB), LifeBook P5000 (900 MHz ULV Pentium M and 256MB), and Sony VAIO PCG-TR1A (900 MHz ULV Pentium M and 512MB).


• Privacy Software - A look at the latest version of ZoneAlarm.


• Digital Camera - A look at Apple's ISight camera.

Here's How

• Answer Line - A guide to reinstalling Windows without losing your data.


• Windows Tips - Checking for disk errors in Windows XP and Windows 2000.
  
• Step-By-Step - Upgrading to a Serial ATA drive.

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