Smart Computing Magazine was well represented by Marcy Kremer at our May General Meeting; she was personable, knowledgeable, and professional. Marcy kept the audience’s attention as she highlighted the appealing features of the magazine and its powerful accompanying website, smartcomputing.com. Indeed, Marcy reminded the avid listeners that a subscription to Smart Computing Magazine was really like subscribing to five magazines for the price of one; subscribers also have access to the articles of each of the other Sandhills publications on the smartcomputing website.

PC Today emphasizes coverage of wireless and mobile topics; First Glimpse introduces readers to the latest technology, Reference Series covers one topic in great depth, and Computer Power User is geared toward people who really do want to know how things work and are willing to look under the hood. Subscribers have early access to the articles via the website about one week prior to receiving the magazine in the mail. There are articles on the website that do not appear in any of the magazines. Subscribers can store articles they like in an area on the website designated “My Personal Library.” In addition, personal notes can be added when storing the article.

The website also keeps subscribers up to date about malware threats. While customer service is found by many consumers to be the weak link in doing business with companies today, it appears to be a particular strength of this publisher. Subscribers can participate on both sides of the interactive Q & A area of the website, where a typical month will have an activity level of about 1500-2500 questions.

Then, there is the Tech Support Center. Questions can be e-mailed or phoned to the technical support staff located in Nebraska, free of charge. Marcy advised that it is helpful to provide background information in the question as this will enable the tech person to promptly provide an answer or a solution. If needed, remote access to the subscriber's computer can be utilized to solve a problem.

Smart Computing even goes the extra mile for their subscribers. The Action Editor can assist a subscriber in getting the proper attention from customer service centers of computer industry vendors! And, the Tech Support Center has a list of phone numbers and addresses of computer companies handy. The audience asked Marcy some questions about Smart Computing's coverage of various topics. Firefox gets coverage, but Macs do not yet get much. The “My Personal Library” feature will retain articles for active subscribers with some leeway if a renewal lapse is brief.

Thanks goes to Jamie Yates for arranging to have Smart Computing Magazine for the May DACS program. Thanks, also, to Urs Reinhardt for lending an assist in the parking lot with rounding up the supplies for the program.

By Chris Novell