PC World

PC World (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by Foundry. Since 2013, it has been available only online.

It gives advice on many parts of PCs and related things, the Internet, and other personal technology products and services. Each issue checks and tests hardware and software products from many makers, as well as other technology devices such as still and video cameras, audio tools, and televisions.

The current editorial director of PC World is Jon Phillips, who came from Wired. In August 2012, he took the place of Steve Fox, who had been the editorial director since the December 2008 issue of the magazine.

PC World is published under other names such as PC Advisor and PC Welt in some countries. Some of the non-English PC World websites now redirect to other FoundryCo sites; for example, PCWorld.dk (Denmark) is now Computerworld.dk

History

PC World was first shown at a big trade show called COMDEX in November 1982 and hit newsstands in March 1983. It was started by David Bunnell and Cheryl Woodard, with Andrew Fluegelman as its first editor. Over the years, many famous tech writers have shared their ideas in the magazine.

In 1999, PC World reached a big milestone with over a million paid readers, making it a top choice for computer fans. By 2006, it was the largest computer magazine in the world. In 2013, the magazine stopped printing and moved online only. In 2024, it joined forces with TechHive to cover more personal tech topics. In 2025, its parent company changed to Regent LP.

Countries

Based in San Francisco, PC World started in the United States and is also available in 51 other countries, sometimes with a different name.

Examples include PC World in Albania, Australia, Bangladesh, and many more places. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, it was called PC Advisor until it stopped in 2017. Other countries have their own names for the magazine, like PC Welt in Germany and Thế Giới Vi Tính in Vietnam.

Controversy

In May 2007, a person named McCracken left PC World suddenly. Reports said that the new boss, Colin Crawford, wanted to stop a story that was not good for companies named Apple and Steve Jobs. Crawford said these reports were not true. Later, it was said that McCracken felt pressure not to write stories that were critical of big advertisers.

Shortly after, on May 9, Crawford was moved to a different job, and McCracken came back to PC World. He left again in 2008.