102 JANUARY2021|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE 395
1996 1997 1998
➡TheNokiaCommunicatorcostsup
to£250andisknownaffectionatelyas
‘TheBrick’.Butdespiteitsbulk,fiddly
keyboard,slowconnectivityandexpensive
running costs, it becomes an instant cult hit among the smart set.
Sales staff can send and receive faxes, the self-employed have an
office computer in their pocket at long last, and posers can yell
intoitinpublic places while theyget the antenna stuck up their
cocaine-filled noses.
JenniferRingleyinstallsawebcaminhercollegedormroom
andletsitruncontinuously.Therefreshrateisonlyonceevery
threeminutes,butherJennicamisthefirstopportunitytolegally
observethesexualbehaviourofacompletestranger.Itreceives
over 100 million visitors aweek.
The PalmPilot 1000 Connected Organizer is launched as the
first pocket computer,with dedicated keys foraddress book,
appointments calendar,to-do list and memos. It uses agesture
input language called Graffiti, which is quick to learn and fast,
and it can be synchronised with aPCorMac.
➡The Voodoo 3D accelerator graphics card
boasts 4MB of RAM, costs £300 and brings
high-definition gore to ourmonitors. Elsewhere
theActua 2100 introducestheterm‘3Dprinter’
The true purpose ofcomputing is revealed at
last, as uncountable millions playPokémon, a
jolly game in which players capture imaginary
monsters and simultaneously wet themselves.
Computingisnolongertherealmofenthusiastsandboffins.
Itisnowmainstream,andaffectsthelivesofeveryoneevery
day.ComputerShopperreflectsthis,astheteamgrowsfast,
and we boast agaggleofeditors, aherd of production staff, a
shoal of labs workers and agross of freelance contributors.
⬅An IBM computer becomes the first
artificial intelligence to defeat aworld
chess champion, when Deep Blue beats
Garry Kasparov.
➡Dell not only becomes the largest supplier
of computers to the UK government, but also
pioneers direct selling via its UK website.
With aggressive price cutting, the Dell
Dimension XPS has astarting price of £1,299.
This includes 32MB of RAM, an internal
512KB cache,3.2GB hard drive,3DGX
graphics card, a15inmonitor,12/24-speed
CD-ROM, integrated 16-bit sound,
Windows 95 and MicrosoftOffice 97.
Massmusicpiracyisunleashed,thankstoJustin
Frankel’sWinampMP3software.Careeropportunitiesare
openedforscammers,following the launch ofweb-based
banking in the UK. And Philippe Kahn is responsible forthe
first known picturetobeshared publicly via amobile phone.
The true purpose of computingisrevealed at last, as
uncountable millions playGrand TheftAuto, ajolly game
forteaching children to weaponise cars.
AsShoppercelebrates its 10th birthday,
our sharp,shiny pages are replaced by silky
paper that is more eco-friendly and pleasant
on the eye. We beefupthe packaging and
our covers to withstand all the crystal-cased
goodies we present to readers, and appoint
dedicated disk editors to make sure those
2,000 bits of free clip art really are essential.
Mobile computing allows us to contributeon
the hoof. It’s aworkplace revolution, not just
forusbut forthe entire nation. The bulk of
each issue is dominated by what we still call
‘IBM compatibles’,but we also feature
dedicated sections on the Acorn, Amiga,
Atari and Mac. Our news and reviews now
embrace awider range of products and
services, as new buzzwords grab the public
interest: DVDs, scanners, notebooks,
camcorders, mobiles, wireless networks; it
feels like the future has arrived.
The £999 Apple iMac has aShrek-green
carapace that enthuses the most cynical
PC fanmore about the waycomputerslook
than how theywork, and there’s no floppy
drive.Nosoonerhavewebeenseducedby
its charms than Apple enslaves us with
wireless networking. The Apple Airport
router provokes PC users to demand the
same privileges, and Wi-Fi hotspots begin
to invade airports, stations and cafés.
➡Windows 98 force-feeds
Explorer and networking
intoour lives in abid to shut
out other companies, as the
web arrives on amass scale.
BT rolls out broadband,
turbo-charging download
speeds, and getting us all
so excited we fail to notice
theyare billing us twice forusing the
same antique copper wires.
The 333MHz PentiumIIprocessor from
Intel is faster and cooler than its forebears.
Then the AMD K6-III clocks in at 400MHz,
cramming 23 million transistors intoits
guts. Intel escalates the challenge with the
P-III. Apple wades in with the PowerMac’s
500MHz option. AMD retaliates with the
Athlon 750MHz, followed by a1GHzchip.
WWill it ever stop? No,itwill never stop!
A£29fuzzy robot called Furby
becomesthe year’s must-have toy. It
‘evolves’, first speaking gibberish but
soon developing the use of proper
English. Meanwhile,funding is
sought forasmall Californian
company called Google.
e,
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