The trailing edge ♯23 the cheap and the read: Low‐priced software options and an update on PC media

While bargains abound in the personal computing field, they must be evaluated considering your needs—and it is sometimes hard to distinguish between inexpensive and merely cheap alternatives. The author discusses low‐priced software alternatives, noting how to look for bargains and a few specific examples. The PC‐related media scene continues to change, as does the slice of it reviewed for “Notes on the Media.” In the second portion of this article, the author offers some typically opinionated notes on some current publications. The author concludes with the usual roundup of comparative reviews and other notes on the PC literature for January‐March 1995. It was a big quarter for printer reviews, with few desktop computer comparisons—and life's about to get more interesting for those who prefer the Macintosh operating system: the clones are coming!