_{Cover of the October 2011 issue of PC World}

Once an excellent PC magazine, PC World had declined significantly by 2011. The page count was down of course but also there was a lot of coverage of non-PC items such as HDTVs, phones etc. It was really became more of a consumer electronics magazine. The October 2011 issue includes:

Features

Which Tech Specs Really Matter? - Which specs to pay attention to in various products. For example, in PCs, PC World tells you that slight differences in CPU and RAM speed don't matter that much, graphics RAM and quad-core processors sometimes matter, while the amount of RAM, hard drive speed and laptop weight and battery life always matter.

Best Free Software - A list of the 28 best free applications including CCleaner, CyberGhost VPN Free, Avast Free Antivirus, Adblock Plus, LibreOffice, AbiWord, Songbird, Audacity, and much more.

8 Great Laptops Under $800 - This "Best Buy" from this list is the Samsung Series 3 (NP350) for $749 featuring a 2.3GHz Core i5-2410M, 12.6-inch screen, 4GB of RAM, and 500GB 5400-rpm hard drive.

_{Table of Contents from the October 2011 issue of PC World}

Community

Techlog - Desktop software vs. cloud based applications. Personally, I still prefer desktop apps.

PCW Forum - Letters from readers about cleanup utilities, smart TVs, multi-function printers, laptop insurance, multiple monitor setups, and more.

_{Table of Contents from the October 2011 issue of PC World (continued)}

Departments

Forward - Things to avoid doing if your phone data plan is capped (e.g. don't watch tons of videos); First Mango Phone debuts (Windows phone); Holga lomography camera; Sony S1 tablet; Toshiba Qosmio F750 3D laptop; and more.

Consumer Watch - Free ID Theft protection services; managing your bills with web services; a mix-up with a TomTom GPS; and more.

Business Center - Free or low-cost services that help you build a business website (Jimdo, Moonfruit, Weebly, Yola); using virtual receptionists and appointment calendars; and more.

Security Alert - Steps to take after a security breach involving your data; new patches fro Skype, Safari, and iOS; and batteries with security vulnerabilities in Apple laptops.

Reviews & Rankings - A cloud-based office suite battle between Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps, and Zoho Docs. Plus reviews of the Toshiba Thrive Tablet, top ten pint and shoot cameras for video, the Casio Tryx, Dragon naturallySpeaking for iPhone, top 5 business desktop PCs (the HP Z210 featuring a 3.3GHz Xeon E3-1240, 8 GB of RAM and Nvidia Quadro 2000 comes it at number 1), the Acer Aspire Revo RL100-UR20P, HTC Status (phone), MyTouch 4G Slide, top 5 monochrome laser printers, iRiver Story HD and Aluratek Libre Air e-readers, and more.