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New Tools for Better Buying Decisions

Contact PC World Editor in Chief Harry McCracken at mageditor@pcworld.com; read his blog here.

Photograph by Rick Rizner

They had ideas. Lots of them. Editors, testers, and designers listened, scribbled notes, and brainstormed new concepts, which we proceeded to run by a panel of hundreds of readers. And then we went to work building the next generation of PCW reviews.

You'll find the fruits of our labor in Reviews and Rankings, a new section starting this month. A radical departure it isn't--readers urged us not to mess too much with a good thing--but it reflects the many requests we heard. Such as...

"Give us a one-stop resource." The folks we surveyed asked for a unified product extravaganza rather than two disparate sections (our old New Products and Top 100). So, like New Products, R&R includes hands-on evaluations of an array of items, from mainstream hardware to specialty software and services. And like the Top 100, it boasts lab-based rankings of products in major categories, such as this issue's Top 10 Desktop PCs, Top 10 Notebook PCs, and Top 10 Digital Cameras.

The chart lineup will vary; sentiment ran strong that the magazine should pinpoint a few timely subjects each month, with our site serving as a comprehensive repository. Click here for all current rankings.

"How about an improved ratings system?" With this issue, we bid our Star Ratings adieu, and replace them with all-new PC World Ratings. (Yup--we like the new system so much we named it after ourselves.) PCW Ratings use a 100-point scale, giving us more elbow room to specify a product's precise quality compared with its rivals. Each rating is accompanied by a bottom-line word score, from "Superior" (we love it!) to "Poor" (skip it!).

"These new ratings are based on four things--performance, design, specs, and price," explains Senior Performance Analyst Jeff Kuta, one of the new scale's architects. Unlike Star Ratings, a product's PCW Rating can change as the market does. If an 8-megapixel camera's price tumbles by $100, for example, its rating may improve to reflect its better value. But if affordable 9-megapixel models arrive, the 8-megapixeler's rating could drop.

PC World Ratings will pop up throughout the magazine--as they do in the News and Trends story on cheap new laptops and in "Color Lasers Get Affordable." And of course, all new reviews on PCWorld.com will use them (already-published evaluations will retain their Star Ratings). For a detailed look at the methodology behind the measurements, click here.

"The more buying advice, the better." The new section's reviews are complemented by three monthly elements--Ask Our Experts, Tech Trend, and Gotcha!--in which editors field shopping questions, spotlight features you'll find in the latest products, and puncture the hype that abounds in the tech world.

"Help us find stuff on your site." Each month, Reviews and Rankings will wrap up with More Reviews at PCWorld.com, a hand-picked guide to online items that we think you'll like.

Performing such a thorough overhaul of PCW's product evaluations has "meant long hours and long discussions--and a fair amount of spirited debate," says Senior Editor Tom Mainelli.

But we're not done listening and making tweaks. Write me at mageditor@pcworld.com with your thoughts on this issue's changes--and your ideas for the next generation of reviews to come.

PHOTO AT TOP