Letters to PC World, May 2003

20-Plus Years of Using PCs

Your terrific 20th Anniversary issue [March] inspired a wave of nostalgia in this longtime PC user. I think I have been with PC World pretty much since your first issue in 1983.

In 1981, even before the IBM PC's debut, I was the first reporter on the daily Honolulu Advertiser to buy a home computer. My machine was a Xerox 820, with two 8-inch (not 5.25-inch) floppies, using the CP/M operating system. I took out a bank loan for the $7000 I needed to get the Xerox and a noisy but trusty NEC Spinwriter printer I used for years.

I soon discovered that my computer often let me work from home. Prior to the Internet and e-mail, I sent my stories to the newspaper by direct modem-to-modem transfer, at 300 bits per second--about talking speed. By 1982--before many other writers--I was freelancing that way, sending articles to newspapers all over the United States and Canada via direct modem.

In 1984 I quit my reporting job, freelancing ever since. And with the help of PC World, I have been upgrading my hardware and software regularly.

I am at this moment working with my twin screens, used as PC World describes on page 148 of the March issue, still ahead of many of my colleagues--and sometimes even ahead of PC World!

Bob Bone, Honolulu

Web Sales Taxes Decried

So sales taxes are coming ["Sales Taxes Hit the Web," News and Trends, March]? I say bring them on! And after all those states pass this unified sales tax plan, I'll be waiting for the mass exodus of online-only companies to the states of Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, Montana, and Oregon--all of which do not have a general sales tax.

As the market has shown in the past, the companies that have the lower costs and hassles of doing business usually win. Why do you think so many corporations are set up in Delaware, or so many credit card companies are based in Arizona and South Dakota?

William "Ike" Eisenhauer, Portland, Oregon

Perhaps the unkindest feature of an online tax is this: It gives the impression that, once again, the government has stuck its nose into a sweet deal and screwed it up for everyone. Just once--sometime, somewhere--it would be great to steal a march on the tax man.

Phil L. Scott, Jr., Austin, Texas

Your article overlooks the constitutional issues that are bound to arise if such taxes are passed. According to Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, "No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State." And it takes more than just a vote of Congress to amend the Constitution.

Rob Stalder, Lakewood, Colorado

Longhorn Skeptic

Regarding your March issue's sneak peek at Microsoft's Longhorn ["Windows XP's Successor," News and Trends]: Ho hum, another Windows interface for users to learn--most features of which will immediately be denied to those users so that network administrators need manage only one standard desktop. And a new file system that will give users a single route to data? Gosh, I can't wait--to see how digital thieves will exploit that capability. And being able to drag running applications from one virtual desktop to another? I swoon at the thought of how much the new hardware that can take advantage of it is going to cost me.

Bob McFadden, Alexandria, Virginia

E-Mail Spoofers

Thanks for the article on e-mail impersonators ["Net Tricks That Muddy Your Reputation," Consumer Watch, March]. I received such a false request for America Online account information when I was having some billing problems. I remembered AOL's rule about not asking for this kind of information. I immediately contacted its customer service, and the operator said that the e-mail was not from AOL and to report it to TOSReports. I am glad that I didn't bite, but I wonder how many people did.

Angela Fay Lyshe, Cincinnati

Time to Leave?

After all these years, I am finally not renewing my subscription to your excellent magazine. As I am fairly happy with Windows 98 SE, I have decided that I have suffered through Bill Gates's machinations to constantly upgrade my operating system for the last time.

Reading PC World was a wonderful ride; you offered tips and solutions to a myriad of problems starting with [the original] Windows up through my Win 98 SE. But it is now time for me to retire from this madness.

Gary Huygen, Petaluma, California

The Online Addiction

Your article on going without a computer ["20 Days Without a PC," March] reminded me of people who refuse to borrow money or to use credit cards, or who refuse to have a TV in their home. All these individuals are trying to avoid the addictions that these conveniences can bring about, and somehow feel more in control of their lives because of it.

The computer is not the addiction. It is a means to some activity that becomes addictive, be it porn, gaming, socializing, shopping, or research. You can find all these addictions without ever touching a PC. However, its power as a research and communication tool--in conjunction with the Internet--is unparalleled. And there are very few limits on this capacity.

Jason McMahon, Dolgeville, New York

The Book on QuickBooks

I concur with your reviewer on the priciness of QuickBooks 2003 [New Products, March]. I was just forced by Intuit to upgrade my 2001 version in order to keep using its basic payroll tax service. However, I have found few if any changes useful to a self-employed consultant. In fact, of the more than 100 new forms, not one is specifically for a consulting business. While the tax-table downloads are convenient, they're a bit costly at $129 per year. Therefore, the new price of $169 that will be charged when my subscription renews next month adds insult to injury.

Ann Degenshein, Eagan, Minnesota

'Gets Even Better'

Cheers for your redesigned site: The best gets even better. Yours is still far and away the most useful PC technology site on the Net for both consumers and professionals. The magazine is great too--it keeps "disappearing" from my office.

Joe Farulla, President and CIO, GRA Computers, West Paterson, New Jersey

Editor's note: Our site's new look--with added functionality--debuted in February.