The closure of any magazine is a sad event, but I’m particularly sad to see the end of PC Plus and What Laptop, Tablet and Smartphone, and not just because they both paid me to write things. What Laptop was a great consumer champion, cutting through the bullshit to tell you what kit was worth your hard-earned cash and where you should go to get it, and PC Plus was a genuine joy to write for – not least because when I was first published in a magazine, something that as you might imagine I was absolutely overjoyed about, my extremely unimpressed and snooty colleague said “well, yeah, but it’s hardly PC Plus, is it?” Every successive PC Plus byline – and over ten years, there were quite a few – made me remember that and smirk.
Both magazines are going to the great newsagent in the sky after their next issues, and it’s a shame: they were good magazines written, edited and designed by some of the nicest people you could ever hope to work for. The teams, I’m told, will be okay, taking their talents to other fine titles, and I hope there are many happy times ahead for them all.
If you ever read my stuff in either magazine – or better still, if you ever read and enjoyed my stuff in either magazine – I’m very grateful for your attention.