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This happened partly because the number of companies making personal computers and basic office software for end users was radically greater than the number tha

This happened partly because the number of companies making personal computers and basic office software for end users was radically greater than the number that we have today. One PC Magazine cover boasted "PC Labs Tests 55 Word Processors"; another advertised tests of 43 database packages [1]. And no one here who lived through the era – before the mid-1990 – will fail to remember that the number of firms competing to sell personal computers was far greater back then. It seems that we have a lot more concentration of firms in these areas today. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26693006 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26693006

lstamour 4y ago
Another way of looking at it is that the advertising followed eyeballs from print magazines to Google and App Stores. I’m betting if you compare websites like g2 or Capterra to the old magazine ads, you’d find much more choice and selection online. For physical computing goods, even Amazon is basically stuffed full of ads these days. But yes, I do miss reading magazines for the ads ;-)