Prices in Bermuda range from $5 to $8, and are up to $2 more than the US cover price. We all go through a phase of initial enthusiasm as we attempt to learn more about the wonders of our machines, and can get carried away. Believe me, you'll end up with stacks of magazines piled in a corner somewhere, mostly unread.

I counted about 80 different computer magazine titles available in Bermuda.

Some are very good. Others are trashy. At least computer magazines don't try to sell themselves by putting the word "Sex'' somewhere on the cover, as most of the others do.

A visit to the Phoenix magazine rack and to Washington Mall Magazines is enough to bewilder and perhaps scare off anyone looking for guidance in a confusing industry where writers are stretching the boundaries of good communication. The Washington Mall has the regular popular computer magazines like the Phoenix but also carries the specialised and technical publications.

Some of the most accessible publications are produced by the Ziff-Davis group.

PC Magazine (pcmag.com) is one of my favourites. The magazine is clearly written and spends what must be an enormous amount of time and effort on testing and comparing products.

PC World (pcworld.com) is another excellent magazine and is a competitor to PC Magazine. Both magazines are widely regarded in the industry and the reviews are closely followed as a gauge of the market. Get a bad review and it's time to revamp the product.

Both magazines give well written descriptions of the products and reasons for the rating. Value for money is a prime ingredient in the ratings. The magazines often focus on a particular range of products for each issue.

Last week's issue of PC Magazine on local newsstands focused on Windows 98 and "What you need to know''. PC World had a special report on how 17,000 readers rated desktops, notebooks, software and printers for service and reliability.

On the Macintosh side there's MacWorld (macworld.com) which is always a good read. The three publications are useful as guides if you're thinking of getting a new computer or adding other hardware and software.

The magazines' credibility, unlike some of the others starting to come on the market, seems pure enough. They carry notices that the editorial integrity is kept separate from advertising concerns. The reviewers will trash products with impunity and give their reasons.

The problem with the worst magazines is that the content is often thin and you have to wade though a mass of advertising. Ziff-Davis' other publications -- some of suspect quality -- include Smart Reseller, ComputerLife, Windows Magazine, Computer Shopper, MacWeek, Interactive, Family PC, AnchorDesk, PC Computing, Internet, PC Week, Computer Gaming World, and Yahoo.

The only one I couldn't find on the rack was Smart Reseller and Interactive.

The others are all available here.

If you're looking to buy a new computer and want to compare prices and products your best bet is the weighty Computer Shopper. It can be used as a door stop or a fire log after you've finished. It sells for $8 and it's full of advertising but that's what you're buying.

Windows Magazine (winmag.com) issue on the newsstands featured "The ultimate PC Buyers Guide'', a rating of 200 of the best hardware and software products.

However this Ziff-Davis publication is full of ads and is short on product description.

For example the description of the multifaceted QuarkXPress 4 doesn't tell the novice or the expert anything and is only two paragraphs long. No comparison with the previous version is given, or what some of the problems with the new version might be.

ComputerLife bills itself as "The magazine for computing enthusiasts'' and features the "Fastest PCs yet -- Rev up to 400 MHz of Affordable Power''.

Let's go.

Stay away from magazines that seem like one off publications to lure someone who's contemplating getting a new computer. These seem to gloss over the subject. The quick and easy guides are often simply lists of features and prices. Laptop Buyer's Guide and Handbook, and Computer Buyer's Guide and Handbook seem to fit into that category.

Family PC is good as a guide for the home computer user and for those who want to get their first machine but don't quite know how to start. The current issue on the newsstand features "Common Computer Problems solved'' and "10 Best PCs''. The issue also contains a feature on how to protect your children from the weirdos on the Internet. It is very readable and has a series of questions you can go through and answer to determine what kind of computer you need.

Children's Software Review is good for its ratings so as to determine your next purchase of games or learning programs.

Many of the magazines sell themselves by promising lots of software on a CD.

Don't be fooled. Often the utilities are ones you don't need anyway and the games are scaled down test versions you'll soon get tired of. Most of the software can easily be downloaded off the Internet when you need to.

PC Computing offers "Top 200 Steals and Deals'' and a CD with "Free Utilities!'' Washington Mall Magazines is starting to put its computer publication that come with CDs behind the cashier's desk. People have been stealing the CDs and leaving the magazines behind.

Other magazines available locally are Ultimate PC, Boot Magazine, PC Games, Upside, PC Upgrade, PC Magazine, PC Portables, Home Office Computing, Windows NT Magazine, Small Business Computing, Home PC ("Digital Gadgets''), PC Novice (a learning series), Amazing Computing ("ImageFX 3.0!), Practical Windows ("Tips and Tools in plain English''), MultiLingual (communications and technology), PC Graphics, PC Gamer, PC Zone, Java, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Worldwide Web Guide, Computer Games Strategy Plus, MacHome, Internet Users, Portable Computing, and Byte.

There's Wired -- a staunch favourite among those who want to be up on the coolest trends in the industry. Wired takes the high road, has a more philosophical outlook and is very good at what it does. I wish I had time to read it, but haven't done so for a long time except for cursory glances.

The technical magazines available are impenetrable to most of us. You can get Windows (the magazine for Windows pros), Microsoft Systems Journal, Corel Magazine, Publish (for the electronic publishing professional), Cadalyst (the exclusive voice for AutoCAD technologists), Imaging Magazine, Photo Electronic Imaging, Microsoft Interactive Developer, MacTech, Microsoft Office Developer, Unix Review, Performance Computing, Lotus Notes & Domino, Sys Admin (the journal for Unix Systems Administrators), Back Office, Network Magazine, Unicenter TNG Advisor, Mobile Computing, Dr. Dobb's Journal ("Rendering XML Documents using XSL''), PC Pro, Next Generation, Java Journal, Web Techniques, and Web Builder. Whew.

I got some amusement from delving into the technical magazines. For $10 you can buy Unicenter TNG Advisor and get 42 pages of what promises to be a "Complete guide to Total Enterprise Management''. The magazine includes a feature on "Improve SAP R/3 Efficiency''. Yep, that's what I need to do.

First I have to find my SAP R/3.

Back Office features "NT Terminal Server, a New Face to the Green Uglies''.

The language is outside my world. "Whereas IIS 3.0 was a monolithic web server, IIS 4.0 is componetised,'' a lonely reviewer states. "And under the hood of IIS 4.0 is our friend Microsoft Transaction Server.'' As you can see from the wide variety of technical magazines someone on the Island is buying them up and even perhaps reading the things. It's just we never get to see the guy or gal. They're stuck inside reading.

I don't know why Washington Mall Magazines is selling Boardwatch's Internet Service Providers. It's a quarterly guide to the thousands of Internet service providers in the US. Such a guide is useful if you're thinking of creating a web site off Island. You can find the info on the Internet.

The monthly Boardwatch (boardwatch.com) magazine is excellent by the way and usually has thoughtful and provoking articles.

One of the people looking at the magazines while I was there commented that he mostly never buys the magazines as they are full of advertising and he can read most of them on the Internet. He's right. Ziff-Davis is particularly good at placing most of its content and reviews on the Internet. You can also immediately download free utilities or buy some of the software being reviewed.

"You don't need the magazines anymore,'' this person said. "Not at these prices.'' Ziff-Davis is ultimately cannibalising its hard copy publications but in the long run the company is thinking ahead. This is the way forward. The company is going to make its money selling the ads on the Internet.

However another onlooker commented he liked getting the magazines from the newsstand.

"It's good to have because it's good to have the feel,'' he said. "Reading stuff off the screen drives me buggy.'' Personally, I'd rather keep my money in my wallet and get the buggy eyes.

Anyway it's funny how most times you don't need all the stuff you think you need. Don't get lured by the cover blurbs too quickly.