30 years and still going strong

This week is a very special one for Personal Computer World, as the 30th anniversary issue of our magazine is now on sale.

Founded in 1978, PCW pre-dated the IBM PC by several years, and was launched on the back of a burgeoning interest in low-cost home computers. The Nascom-1, featured on the cover of our first issue, was the UK's first such product and typified this breed of DIY computer kits.

As a special anniversary treat for our weekly newsletter readers, we've decided to offer you a free PDF version of the very first issue so you can see for yourself just how much the computing landscape has changed in the past three decades. It's a 16MB download (compressed into Zip format) and requires you have Acrobat Reader installed.

And for some even more ancient computer history, why not take a look at our fascinating special series of features chronicling the history of the famous wartime computer, Colossus.

1. The forgotten father of Colossus
2. Electronics give birth to the computer
3. The aftermath of war 

Our anniversary issue features a year-by-year look at the past 30 years as seen through the pages of PCW, plus there's a look at the history of PC games. To tie in with this, there's a special free bonus CD (in addition to the normal cover disc) with a great collection of classic PC games for you to have fun with. Plus, of course, there's all our regular news, reviews, group tests and in-depth practical advice.

Kelvyn Taylor
Editor, Personal Computer World
www.pcw.co.uk