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Letter to the Editor
Copyright © 1997 to 7am News
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Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 15:18:42 +1200
From: Keith Newman <knewman@pcmag.co.nz>
Organization: PC Magazine
To: editor@aardvark.co.nz
Subject: PC Magazine responds to PC Direct

Thursday, April 24, 1997

Dear Ms Hunter,

I would like to address a number of incorrect claims relating to the article written by myself in PC Magazine (April 1997 issue) point by point:

1. The Best Buy legal case:

This legal battle has been widely reported and is common knowledge. The reference to the case was a background setting to the main point of the article, not the main point. We accept that an interim injunction was sought but not ordered against PC Direct in the Best Buy versus PC Direct litigation. However, our understanding is that undertakings were given by PC Direct to the same effect and these continue until trial. PC Magazine would be prepared to rectify any errors over legal terminology.

2. Failure to supply review systems.

The lead-in time for review systems is not eight weeks. It is 5 - 6 weeks. Contrary to the supposition in your letter, no other supplier has informed us they have an issue with the lead-in time to PC Magazine's reviews. As far as pricing and other small details regarding a review machine go, these are updated the week prior to publication. PC Direct has been informed of these facts on several occasions.

3. Bias statements

I do not accept that when you were discussing PC Direct's relationship with PC World that you were discussing advertising. A reference to advertising was made and discarded as being inappropriate, and when you made your comments about the relationship with PC World, the discussion was over the supply of review systems.

4. PC Magazine reviewer

As PC Magazine only uses Juha Saarinen for hardware reviews, we assume you refer to him when you claim he stated positive comments were deleted from PC Direct reviews. Juha Saarinen vehemently denies this, and is outraged that such a statement was made in reference to him.

5.

Finally, we dispute your claim that reviews machines have been made available on a regular basis. In fact, we have received a total of three machines over our 20 months in operation. If you compare this to the number PC World have reviewed, I think you will be forced to agree that PC Magazine has been not been given the opportunity to extensively test PC Direct hardware.

We sincerely hope my column has drawn attention to this problem and that PC Direct and PC Magazine will move on to conduct an association based on mutual respect in the future.

Yours Sincerely,

Vikki Bland,
Technical editor
PC Magazine New Zealand


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