Personal Computer World

Personal Computer World

Personal Computer World' 'new look' issue from November 2005
Frequency	Monthly
First issue	February 1978
Final issue	June 2009
Country	United Kingdom
ISSN	0142-0232

Personal Computer World (usually referred to as PCW) (February 1978 - June 2009) was the first British computer magazine.

Although for at least the last decade it contained a high proportion of Windows PC content (reflecting the state of the IT field), the magazine's title was not intended as a specific reference to this. At its inception in 1978 'personal computer' was still a generic term, and did not refer specifically to the Wintel (or 'IBM PC compatible') platform; in fact, such a thing did not exist at the time (the original IBM PC itself would not be launched for another three years). Similarly, the magazine was unrelated to the Amstrad PCW.

PCW was founded by the Croatian-born Angelo Zgorelec in 1978, and was the first microcomputer magazine in Britain. PCW’s first cover model, in February 1978, was the Nascom-1, which also partly inspired Zgorelec to launch the magazine.

PCW went monthly from the second edition. Zgorelec went into partnership with Felix Dennis who published his first issue in September 1979. before selling the title to VNU in 1982. The magazine was later owned by Incisive Media, which announced its closure on 8 June 2009.

As the magazine was launched four years before the first IBM PC (reviewed in the magazine in November 1981) the magazine originally covered early self-build microcomputers. It later expanded its coverage to all kinds of microcomputers from home computers to workstations, as the industry evolved. Regular features in the earlier years of the magazine were Guy Kewney's Newsprint section, Benchtests (in-depth computer reviews), Subset, covering machine code programming, type-in program listings, Bibliofile (book reviews), the Computer Answers help column, Checkouts (brief hardware reviews) TJ's Workshop (for terminal junkies), Screenplay for game reviews and Banks' Statement, the regular column from Martin Banks.