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PC Magazine (sometimes referred to as PC Mag) is a computer magazine published by Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continue to present.

History[link]

The first issue of the magazine, dated February-March 1982, appeared as PC and described itself as "The Independent Guide to IBM Personal Computers".^[1] (The word Magazine was not added to the logo until the first major redesign in January 1986). PC Magazine was created by David Bunnell, Eddie Currie and Tony Gold, a co-founder of Lifeboat Associates who financed the magazine. The magazine grew beyond the capital required to publish it, and to solve this problem, Gold sold the magazine to Ziff-Davis who moved it^{[clarification needed]} to New York City, New York. Bunnell and his staff left to form PC World magazine.^[2]

PC Magazine moved to biweekly publication in 1983 after a single monthly issue swelled to more than 800 pages. In January 2008 the magazine dropped back to monthly issues.^[3]

Print circulation peaked at 1.2 million in the late 1990s. In November 2008 it was announced that the print edition would be discontinued as of the January 2009 issue, but the online version at pcmag.com would continue. By this time print circulation had declined to about 600,000.^[4][5]

Editor[link]

Dan Costa is the current editor-in-chief of PCMag.com,^[6] the website of the now-folded magazine. Prior to this position, Costa was executive editor under the previous editor-in-chief, Lance Ulanoff. Ulanoff held the position of editor-in-chief from July 2007 to July 2011; the last print edition of the magazine appeared in January 2009, although Ulanoff continued on with the website PCMag.com.

Jim Louderback had held this position of editor-in-chief before Ulanoff, from 2005, and left when he accepted the position of chief executive officer of Revision3, an online media company.

Overview[link]

PC Magazine provides reviews and previews of the latest hardware and software for the information technology professional. Articles are written by leading experts^{[citation needed]} including John C. Dvorak, whose regular column and Inside Track feature are among the magazine's most popular attractions. Other regular departments include columns by long-time editor-in-chief Michael J. Miller (Forward Thinking), Bill Machrone, and Jim Louderback, as well as:

• First Looks (a collection of reviews of newly released products)
• Pipeline (a collection of short articles and snippets on computer-industry developments),
• Solutions (which includes various how-to articles)
• User-to-User (a section in which the magazine's experts answer user-submitted questions)
• After Hours (a section about various computer entertainment products; the designation "After Hours" is a legacy of the magazine's traditional orientation towards business computing)
• Abort, Retry, Fail? (a beginning-of-the-magazine humor page which for a few years was known as Backspace — and was subsequently the last page).

Development and evolution[link]

This section is outdated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010)

The magazine has evolved significantly over the years. The most drastic change has been the shrinkage of the publication due to contractions in the computer-industry ad market and the easy availability of the Internet, which has tended to make computer magazines less "necessary" than they once were. This is also the primary reason for the November 2008 decision to discontinue the print version. Where once mail-order vendors had huge listing of products in advertisements covering several pages, there is now a single page with a reference to a website. At one time (the 1980s through the mid-1990s), the magazine averaged about 400 pages an issue, with some issues breaking the 500- and even 600-page marks. In the late 1990s, as the computer-magazine field underwent a drastic pruning, the magazine shrank to 300-something and then 200-something pages.

Today,^[when?] the magazine runs about 150 pages an issue.^{[clarification needed]} It has adapted to the new realities of the 21st century by reducing its once-standard emphasis on massive comparative reviews of computer systems, hardware peripherals, and software packages to focus more on the broader consumer-electronics market (including cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, digital cameras, and so on). Since the late 1990s, the magazine has taken to more frequently reviewing Macintosh software and hardware.

PC Magazine has consistently positioned itself as the leading source^{[citation needed]} of information about personal computers (PC) and PC-related products, and its development and evolution have mirrored those of computer journalism in general. The magazine practically invented the idea of comparative hardware and software reviews in 1984 with a groundbreaking "Project Printers" issue. For many years thereafter, the blockbuster annual printer issue, featuring more than 100 reviews, was a PC Magazine tradition.

The publication also took on a series of editorial causes over the years, including copy protection (the magazine refused to grant its coveted Editors' Choice award to any product that used copy protection) and the "brain-dead" Intel 80286 (then-editor-in-chief Bill Machrone said the magazine would still review 286s but would not recommend them).

PC Magazine was a booster of early versions of the OS/2 operating system in the late 1980s, but then switched to a strong endorsement of the Microsoft Windows operating environment after the release of Windows 3.0 in May 1990. Some OS/2 users accused of the magazine of ignoring OS/2 2.x versions and later.

During the dot-com bubble, the magazine began focusing heavily on many of the new Internet businesses, prompting complaints from some readers that the magazine was abandoning its original emphasis on computer technology. After the collapse of the technology bubble in the early 2000s, the magazine returned to a more-traditional approach.

Alternative methods of publication[link]

The online edition began in late 1994 and started producing a digital edition of the magazine through Zinio in 2004. For some years in the late 1990s, a CD-ROM version containing interactive reviews and the full text of back issues was available. In the 1980s, there was a PC Disk Magazine edition which was published on floppy disk.

There was also a special "Network Edition" of the print magazine from 1993 to 1997. This evolved into "Net Tools", which was part of the general press run, and the current "Internet User" and "Internet Business" sections.

Numerous books have been published under the "PC Magazine" designation, as well. Dvorak's name has also appeared on many books.

PC Magazine is now available in an interactive tablet format for the iPad on the iTunes Store.

See also[link]

• PC World
• Macworld

References[link]

External links[link]

Victoria Silvstedt
Born	Karen Victoria Silvstedt (1974-09-19) 19 September 1974 (age 37) Skelleftehamn, Sweden
Occupation	Model, actress, singer, television personality
Years active	1993-present
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Blue
Measurements	36D-25-37
Weight	64 kg (140 lb)
Dress size	US:8, EU:38
Shoe size	US:9.5, EU:41, UK:7
Spouse	Chris Wragge (2000–2007) separated
Website
VictoriaSilvstedt.com

Karen Victoria Silvstedt (born 19 September 1974)^[1][2] is a Swedish celebrity model, actress, singer, and television personality.^[3]

Background[link]

Born in Skelleftehamn,^[2] Silvstedt was raised in a family of five in Bollnäs,^[3][4][5] having one older sister and one younger brother.^[6] She was keen on horseback riding and wanted to become a veterinarian.^[7]

Silvstedt's father was the captain of a local ski team,^[8] and she started alpine skiing at the age of five.^[7] In 1989, Silvstedt placed fourth at a youth championship in the giant slalom won by Pernilla Wiberg.^[9][10] However, an accident in the middle of a skiing competition where she injured her shoulder ended Silvstedt's competitive skiing career at the age of 16.^[3][8]

A few years later, Silvstedt was invited to participate in the Miss Sweden beauty pageant, after her mother and sister had sent some pictures of her to the pageant officials.^[3][7]

Career[link]

Modeling[link]

Silvstedt participated in the Miss Sweden beauty pageant, and she was chosen to represent her country in the 1993 Miss World pageant in Sun City, South Africa, eventually making the Top 10.^[3][11][12] Silvstedt was signed up by a modeling agency in Paris, and she started working for various prestigious fashion houses, including Chanel, Christian Dior, Giorgio Armani, Givenchy, Loris Azzaro, and Valentino, appearing in advertisements and fashion shows.^[2][3][7]

Silvstedt was soon noticed by Hugh Hefner, who invited her to do a photo shoot for Playboy magazine in Los Angeles. She became the December 1996 Playmate of the Month,^[13] and was then chosen as the 1997 Playmate of the Year.^[14] Silvstedt has since appeared in various Playboy magazines, including Playboy Special Editions, as well as Playboy Videos.^[15] In the late 1990s, Silvstedt landed one of the most sought-after modeling contracts in the world, becoming the Guess? spokesmodel, succeeding among others Claudia Schiffer and Anna Nicole Smith.^[3][16][17]

In the 2000s and 2010s, Silvstedt has continued modeling internationally, appearing in numerous magazines, including FHM, Glamour, GQ, Hello!, Maxim and Vanity Fair, working for various brands such as Lynx, Nike, Renault and Triumph International,^[2][3][18] and being the cover star for the re-issued Russ Meyer DVDs.^[19]

Acting[link]

Silvstedt has worked as an actress since the late 1990s, when she appeared in Hollywood television series such as Malibu, CA and Melrose Place. Since then, Silvstedt has also appeared in a number of Hollywood comedy films, including BASEketball, The Independent, Out Cold, and Boat Trip. Silvstedt has also appeared as a guest actress on Ocean Ave., a Miami-based soap opera, broadcast in Sweden and Florida.^[3][15]

Silvstedt has also starred in films and television series in various European countries, especially in Italy. As a leading actress, she has appeared in Italian films such as La mia vita a stelle e strisce and Un maresciallo in gondola, in which she played Kim Novak. She has also had supporting roles in films like Un'estate al mare and Matrimonio alle Bahamas. In 2010, Silvstedt starred in Just for the Record, a British mockumentary, starring also Steven Berkoff among others (Tagline: "They made the worst film of all time... let the trial begin").^[3][15] She also had a small role in the French film Heartbreaker, starring Romain Duris and Vanessa Paradis.^[15]

As for theatre, Silvstedt has appeared in Pieces (of Ass), the highly-acclaimed Off Broadway production,^[20] during its stay in Los Angeles in 2004.^[8]

Presenting[link]

Silvstedt has been presenting numerous television shows and television specials all around the world since the 1990s. She has hosted entertainment shows such as Candid Camera on CBS, Eurotrash on Channel 4, and Wild On! on E!, and appeared as a presenter in various awards shows, including NRJ and World Music Awards. She has also served as a celebrity judge on Project Catwalk, the British reality television series focusing on fashion design.^[3][15]

In 2006, Silvstedt started working as a hostess of La Roue de la Fortune in France and La Ruota Della Fortuna in Italy. Both of the shows are based on the popular American game show Wheel of Fortune, and Silvstedt divided her time between Paris and Rome, filming one of the shows for one month at a time, until 2009, when the Italian version was cancelled. As of 2012, Silvsted is no longer part of the French version either.^{[3][5][7][15][21]}

In 2010, Silvstedt hosted her own television show Sport by Victoria on Eurosport during the 2010 Winter Olympics. The light-hearted programme introduced different winter sports, and it was done both in English and French.^[22][23][24]

Since 2011, Silvstedt has also hosted numerous Le grand bêtisier television specials on TF1 in France,^{[25][26][27][28]} including the Christmas special Le grand bêtisier de Noël, which attracted over three million viewers and an audience share of 32.7 percent on Christmas Eve 2011.^[29]

Singing[link]

Silvstedt released her dance music album Girl on the Run through the EMI label in 1999. Three singles, "Hello Hey", "Rocksteady Love", and "Party Line", were also released to support the album sales, and the album went gold in Sweden.^[30] In 2010, Silvstedt released her fourth single called "Saturday Night", a Whigfield cover.^[31]

Silvstedt has said she loves singing, but it is just a hobby, and that she cannot see herself making a full-time career out of it.^[8]

Designing[link]

Having an interest in fashion design, Silvstedt launched her own lingerie collection Very Victoria Silvstedt at London Fashion Week in 2006.^[4][16][18]

Reality TV[link]

Silvstedt debuted with her own reality television series Victoria Silvstedt: My Perfect Life on E! in 2008.^[15] The show has since been aired all around the world, including Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas.^[5][7]

The first season covers Silvstedt's personal and work life, following her to St. Tropez, Monaco, Cannes, Paris, Rome, London, Helsinki, Stockholm, Los Angeles, and New York. Silvstedt also visits her family in Northern Sweden, where she grew up, spending time with her childhood friends, horseback riding et cetera.^[6][7]

Autobiography[link]

Silvstedt published her autobiography Les Secrets de Victoria. Dans la Tête de Victoria Silvstedt (Jean-Claude Gawsewitch Éditeur), co-written with journalist Christelle Crosnier, in France in 2010.^[32][33][34]

In her book, Silvstedt talks about her childhood, upbringing, training to become a professional alpine skier, and a serious accident that changed her plans for the future. She reminisces her start in the world of modeling after becoming a finalist in the Miss World beauty pageant in South Africa, arriving alone in Paris, without money, trying to make a name for herself. She tells how she made her way to Los Angeles to work with Playboy, eventually becoming the magazine's Playmate of the Year, before landing even more lucrative modelling job with Guess?. Then, Silvested found herself working as an actress in Hollywood television series and movies as well as in various European countries, especially in Italy. She also made a career out of television presenting worldwide, and has released an album and several singles during the years.^[32]

After being featured on over 500 magazine covers and voted "the sexiest woman in the world", Silvstedt continues her international career, fluent in numerous languages, and dreaming of becoming a mother.^[32][34]

Personal[link]

Silvstedt met Chris Wragge in 1997, when he interviewed her for Entertainment Tonight.^[35] They were engaged on Christmas Eve 1998, and married in 2000.^[36] Silvstedt and Wragge lived in Santa Monica^[35] and Houston for several years, before moving to New York's SoHo district in 2004.^[2] They separated in 2007 but have not divorced.^[37][38]

Silvstedt speaks English, French, and Italian, in addition to her native language Swedish.^[8][24]

According to the Finnish broadsheet newspaper Keskisuomalainen, Silvstedt earns millions of dollars every year for her work in modelling, television presenting, and promoting various brands and products.^[17]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 1999 : Girl on the Run

Singles[link]

• 2010 : "Saturday Night" (Promo Only)
• 2000 : "Party Line"
• 1999 : "Rocksteady Love" (feat. Turbo B)
• 1999 : "Hello Hey"

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Victoria Silvstedt

• Official website
• Victoria Silvstedt at the Internet Movie Database
• Victoria Silvstedt at Playboy.com