A decade of Computeractive

Ten years is a long time by anyone’s reckoning, but in technology terms it’s several generations.

It was 10 years ago that the very first issue of Computeractive arrived on shop shelves.

If that seems unbelievable, then trust us when we say that we can barely accept it ourselves.

Numerous members of the original launch team still float around these parts and they attest that it just doesn’t feel like 10 years have passed. But they have and an awful lot has happened in between.

Do you remember what you were doing when Computeractive launched? No, nor do we. So join us as we attempt to jog our memories by look backing at some of our yesterdays.

2008
We’d barely recovered from the New Year hangover when potentially the biggest news event of the year exploded ­ – the apparent deathblow dealt by Blu-ray to rival next-generation DVD format, HD DVD.

When movie studio Warner abandoned its support for HD DVD in January, the world’s media concluded that it was time to press eject on the HD DVD format. In the event, the world’s media has been proved right; at the end of February Toshiba announced it was ditching its HD DVD business, effectively ending the 'next-generation format war'.

We have no hesitation hailing victory for our Crystal Clear Broadband campaign. Industry regulator Ofcom’s Consumer Panel has backed our call to force ISPs to provide clear information about the actual internet connection speeds users are likely to get, rather than focusing on theoretical maximums. Find out more about the campaign here.

2007
Our 10th year of publishing began with torrential rainstorms and gales lashing the country, but wind wasn’t the only thing breaking windows. PC users had been pootling along with Windows XP for six years, and happily so for the most part. But Microsoft wanted some upgrade cash from us, so it released Windows Vista.

Vista has failed to engage PC users in quite the same way as its predecessor did. Our first impressions of Vista, published to coincide with its release to the public in January 2007, were generally positive, although we were critical of the lack of preparation made to ensure older peripherals and software would be compatible.

We were also unimpressed by the number of confusing versions and the high price, and advised readers to wait until they needed a new PC to upgrade. Many of you were less than thrilled. For weeks afterwards, our Letters pages were filled with moans, groans and sometimes outright vitriol directed at Microsoft.

Some objected to Vista’s price, while others complained about the hardware requirements. Still more of you simply couldn’t see the point of upgrading.

It wasn’t all negative though. Some of you liked Vista’s new parental control tools and its enhanced security. Some even liked the fancy new graphics of Aero. Such was the need for information that we launched a dedicated Windows blog, Windows Watch.

Microsoft’s arch rival Apple, meanwhile, had a rather rosier time in 2007. Proving even to Apple-haters that the company can sometimes work wonders, the introduction of the iPhone gave all other mobile phone makers a lot to think about.

Outside of technology 2007 was also the year that Princess Diana didn’t die, though her constant appearance on news bulletins might’ve convinced you her passing was rather more recent than 10 years ago, and ‘pop’ group Scooch singularly failed to make the British flag fly at the Eurovision Song Contest.

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