[1060] in Humor
HUMOR : ComputerWorld vs. Cosmopolitan
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (klund@MIT.EDU)
Fri Sep 15 13:33:16 1995
From: klund@MIT.EDU
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 95 13:25:47 -0400
To: humor@MIT.EDU
For those of you who don't follow the computer trade rags, Computerworld
printed an article this week comparing Windows 95 and OS/2 in which the
reviewer made such erroneous statements as "Windows 95 supports long
file names; OS/2 doesn't", that "OS/2 failed on DOS compatibility", and
"Although OS/2 has a Windows support mode, it isn't fully compatible".
The editors of Computerworld have already issued an apology to Usenet,
but that doesn't stop us from making fun of them.
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PRODUCT OVERVIEW --- by Charles Forsythe
ComputerWorld and Cosmopolitan (or "Cosmo") are both magazines. Both
are printed on paper and contain information. Cosmopolitan is aimed
primarily at young, single, women and covers topics such as make-up,
relationships and fashion. ComputerWorld focuses on computer issues.
Many people are trying to decide how to spend their magazine dollar and
are asking "Which is the better publication for me?" I've rated some
key features common to both magazines and given them a number of stars,
one being the worst and four being the best.
Overall, Cosmo fared better.
Cosmopolitan ComputerWorld
NETWORKING COVERAGE **** *
Cosmo mentioned the Internet in several articles this last year,
including a short piece on "Cybersex." ComputerWorld offered a number
of networking features, but they tended to be difficult to understand,
using obscure terms such as "TCP/IP" and "Ethernet." Cosmopoltian
clearly offers most readers much more useful networking information.
Cosmopolitan ComputerWorld
COVER **** **
Cosmopolitan always features a women with startling cleavage on their
cover. ComputerWorld starts their lead articles on the cover. This may
be a more advanced way to organize information in the magazine, but I
feel that users would prefer the more appealing look and feel of a busty
woman on the front page.
Cosmopolitan ComputerWorld
READBILITY **** *
Cosmopolitan's articles are always written in a simple, easy to
understand style. Sometimes, it invites the reader to participate in a
straighforward multiple-choice test.
In addition to a frequent use of undecipherable acronyms such as "CPU"
and "RAM", ComputerWorld's articles are typically written in Aramaic,
Sanscrit or Braille, making them difficult, if not impossible, to read.
Cosmopolitan ComputerWorld
ARTICLE COMPATIBILITY **** *
I checked three major articles in Cosmo:"How to make your man love you
more," "20 Ways to be thinner by Thanksgiving" and "Sex Quiz: Do you
know your man?" None of these articles appeared in ComputerWorld,
despite the fact that the magazine clearly claims to contain articles.
Cosmopolitan ComputerWorld
MAKE-UP TIPS **** no stars!
Not only does Cosmo offer comprehensive makeup tips in almost every
issue, but it features a dizzying array of adds from all of the major
vendors. It's difficult to even compare Computerworld in this category,
as I could find no make-up tips at all.
Cosmopolitan ComputerWorld
OPERATING SYSTEMS ** no stars!
In all of the issues I checked, Cosmo only mentioned specific platforms
once and that was in the phrase "on a MacIntosh or IBM-compatible PC".
It didn't mention whether the Mac was running A/UX or System 7 or if the
PC was running OS/2 or Linux, however, so I only gave it two stars.
ComputerWorld prints a great deal on the subject of Operating Systems,
but in the issue I surveyed, so much of it was completely wrong that
I've given it no stars! You're much better off getting your OS
information from Cosmo.
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Charles Forsythe | Windows 95: The first OS to be obsolete before it was
forsythe@onramp.net | released.
