by Lance Ulanoff

An Open letter to PC Magazine (Print) Readers,

The January 2009 issue (Volume 28, Issue 1) of PC Magazine will mark a monumental transition for the publication. It is the last printed edition of this venerable publication. Of course, as with any technology-related enterprise, this is not the end, but the beginning of something exciting and new.

Starting in February 2009, PC Magazine will become a 100-percent digital publication. So, in addition to our popular network of Websites, which includes our centerpiece, PCMag.com, as well as ExtremeTech, blogs like Gearlog and AppScout, and audio and video content that includes PCMag Radio, Cranky Geeks and DL.TV, we’ll offer PC Magazine Digital Edition to all of our print subscribers. The PC Magazine Digital Edition has actually been available since 2002. So for thousands of you, the benefits of this unique medium are already clear. And those benefits will continue to multiply in the coming months, as we work hard to enhance your digital experience.

With PC Magazine Digital, you will continue to receive the same quality, unbiased, expert reviews of products, as well as tech advice, news, and opinions you have come to expect from us these past 27 years, all in a package that is completely portable. Our coverage will not change, only the format, which offers these benefits:

* It arrives in your e-mail automatically. Just click the link to either download the latest edition, or to view it entirely online.

* It is portable. Once you’ve downloaded the issue (which takes a matter of seconds), just power up your PC and view it anywhere, on an airplane, in your hotel room, wherever.

* It looks like the PC Magazine you’re familiar and comfortable with. I know why you’ve stuck with us all these years. You like the magazine and you enjoy the format. Our digital platform makes it possible to deliver that same magazine experience on your PC. So you can “turn” the pages and view our features and departments as you do now.

* It’s lively and interactive. Our digital edition will eventually offer rich media options within a magazine format. So, for example, next to the product review you’re reading in First Looks, you can easily view a slideshow of that product. Or while you’re reading a Solutions article on Microsoft Outlook tips, our PC Labs experts can walk you through the steps of some of those tips in a video.

* Yes, you can print it. You can print as many pages of the magazine as you want.

* It’s searchable. Here’s something PC Magazine print cannot do. Enter a search term and PC Magazine Digital will fill all the related pages.

* A live TOC: The table of contents is not only a place to find out what’s in this month’s issue. You can use it to navigate directly to the stories you want to read.

* It’s Green: You can actually feel good about the amount of paper, ink, and gas we’ll all be saving by not producing and consuming a physical magazine.

For our current subscribers, if we already have your e-mail address, you don’t have to do a thing. The digital edition will begin arriving in your e-mail inbox. If we don’t have your e-mail address, please visit our customer service Web site (http://go.pcmag.com/subscriberservices) and follow the instructions on it. If you’re not yet a subscriber, you can find a free trial edition of PC Magazine Digital Edition at this link: http://www.zinio.com/express3?issue=316996843&o=ext.

While we are energized by the endless possibilities of the digital format, I assure you that the decision to stop producing a hard-bound copy was not an easy one. But the reality is that the ever-growing expense of print and delivery was turning the creation of a physical product into an untenable business proposition.

I want to personally thank you for more than 27 years of devotion to PC Magazine in its print form, and now I invite you to, if you haven’t already, join us in the digital age. There are many technology innovations on the horizon. It promises to be a wild ride, one for which you’ll find no better guide than the PCMag Digital Network.

—Lance Ulanoff
Editor-in-Chief
PCMag Digital Network

With the holidays looming and the higher amount of people on the roads shopping and traveling to see friends and family, the risk of an auto accident dramatically increases. If such an occurrence does happen, don’t ruin your festivities by searching through the phone books and random websites for repair shops, save yourself a lot of time and frustration by going to the auto body shops city of industry website first.

Collision Repair Experts is the leading name in connecting worried consumers with the best auto shops in their neighborhood. So please, don’t ruin your holidays worrying about your repair problems… go straight to the experts and let them do the searching for you.

Is your company looking for the perfect person to fill a top-management position, but either don’t have the time or can’t seem to find the perfect fit for the opening? It may be time to bring in the professionals and give Dennis Cary, CEO and Corporate Director Recruiter a call.

Dennis C Carey is a respected name in the corporate world especially when it comes to helping the largest companies search for high-caliber top management employees. Mr. Carey has an extensive portfolio of satisfied customers, including top Fortune 500 clientele to attest to his remarkable ability to match up the ideal candidates for the highest of management positions.

Not only does Dennis Carey hold a Ph.D. in finance and administration from the University of Maryland he also has vital experience in his field. He served as managing director at Hay Management Consultants, Secretary of Labor and Industry to Governor Dupont IV and was vice president of the University of Delaware.

Currently Mr. Carey is the director of AirClic, Wharton’s Director’s Institute, and The Edgewater Funds, and is the Senior Client Partner at Korn/Ferry International.

So, if your company is searching for the perfect fit for your top management positions, enlist the help of Dennis Carey and leave your worries behind.

Well, it’s official – I finally have my own place! After 3 years of living with my parents and going to college I decided to take the plunge and move out on my own. It’s been a wonderful experience, but I wasn’t aware of how much it takes to live on your own. My first priority was furniture and decorating… While watching HGTV I found saw the perfect roman shades for my living room, but couldn’t find them anywhere until I found a great site to get custom roman shades. I was first aware of Budget Blinds when I drove by their store in Arden, NC – but didn’t have the time to stop in, so their website was a great alternative. Budget Blinds offers a huge variety of the best blinds available, and they were the perfect accessory to my new place. They offered a complimentary consultation, financing options and a wonderful online gallery. So for your new home project, check out Budget Blinds.

I would to tell everyone about another wonderful and free service I have found on the internet, it’s called acobox.com. Have you ever needed a photo to make your blog post really stand out, but hate the tedious process of searching through hundreds of search engine results and internet pages looking for that perfect image? What makes it worse is once you find that image you can’t use it because it’s copyrighted and not for public use… Well, I have found your solution!

Acobox is a free image site that allows members to choose from their wide variety of properly licensed images and use them as content on their own blogs. Not only are the photos high quality, Acobox also hosts the images for you and offers you 5 different sizes of each one! That means there is no annoying downloading the images, resizing them in an imaging program saving them and then searching for a free image hosting site, it’s all done for you! Acobox is as simple as it gets, and better yet – it’s absolutely free.

All you have to do is create a free account and then search for the blog pictures that you need. Once you find it, select what size you need (from 100 pixels to 500 pixels) and then copy and paste the code generated for you… yes, it is that easy!

Please take a moment and check out The Silver Leaf Galleria . A wonderful new blog that offers scholarship opportunities and artist information as well as the newest contests and sites from all over the world.

I would like to take a second to let everyone know about the best bookshelf speaker deal I’ve ever found. Not only am I always on the look out for the newest technology, I’m always on the hunt for the best sales and deals available on the internet. Being a college student, saving money is always my top priority but so is great sound quality. From these two necessities I discovered The Speaker Company – a great online store where I found the best bookshelf speakers available, and get this – they were half off the major store prices and you can try them for 30 days. I was able to get a great 3 Piece Home Theater Speaker System for less than $100, set them up at home and try them for a month. If unsatisfied, I could have sent them back for a full refund, but they were absolutely wonderful and in no way was going to part with them.

So if you’re in search of the best sound, at the best price, with the greatest quality – check out The Speaker Company!

Through all my ventures in the world of “work at home” opportunities I have ran across many scams, many lies, and most of all – many wastes of valuable time.

One of the most lucrative and fun projects I have found by far is blogging for money. Below is two of the best sites I’ve been able to find, along with a link to their sites. For those of you who do not know what blogging for money is, it’s a simple concept. If you have a blog (myspace, livejournal, blogspot, etc…) and update it regularly many companies will pay you to write a blurb about their product, service, or website.

PayPerPost -So far I’ve seen this site pay the most, have the best opportunities and the biggest variety of sponsor.

Smorty - Get paid to write about the things you love, and this site has a great affiliate program to help you earn more money.

The best type of blog is one that’s hosted from it’s own domain, and the best by far is GoDaddy.com . I have posted a link below with a $5.00 coupon. Many of the sites listed above require you to have your own domain but it also allows you to take advantage of other money making opportunities such as Google’s Adsense.

Blogging for money is an easy solution to making money by doing something you love, and it’s easy to let your normal readers know that you’re post is being sponsored because you will be able to post a disclosure badge -

Please take a moment and check out Stone Evans on LinkedIn. Stone Evans is the creator of the PlugIn Profit Site and owner of Build a Biz. Along with these increasingly popular affiliate marketing sites he is also the author of dotcomology.com, the best resource available for anyone looking to make money from the internet. Dotcomology is also great for the experienced e-commerce entrepreneur looking for some extra hints and tips to expand their businesses. Stone Evans has been a leader in the field of Marketing and Advertising for almost 10 years and would like to share with you his secrets to not only start your own at home business, but succeed with affiliate marketing beyond your expectations.

With Stone’s business plan, his tried and true marking program and your enthusiasm you will be well on your way to making the income and the new life you and your family deserve. So please, take a moment and check out Stone’s profile on LinkIn.com – it’s the first step to your very own at-home business.

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