I've seen a few posts pointing to a new digital magazine called Home Computer. Being the huge fan of digital magazines that I am, this sounded like something to check out. Unlike Zinio Reader (an excellent tool which I highly recommend), this magazine is delivered in Adobe Acrobat PDF so the only thing you need to read it is the free Acrobat Reader.

I grew up in the publishing business and I've watched over time as formerly phone book-sized publication have dwindled down to mere booklets as more and more content moves online. Home Computer is the first publication I'm aware of that has been designed from the ground up as an online magazine (no print edition).

The layout is excellent, formatted in landscape mode for your monitor, and makes great use of the PDF format with embedded animations, interactive forms, and links. Both broadband and narrowband versions are available as are BitTorrent versions for those who use that file sharing technology. Reading, especially for those using a Tablet PC, is quite enjoyable and the content is first rate. The first two issues are available now and, if you subscribe to their e-mail newsletter or RSS feed, you can also get special bonus tutorials (including an excellent guide to using Tweak UI - Microsoft's interface tweaking tool).

Their Reader Policy is pretty clear:

We don't ask for anything from you. You can download the magazine by clicking on the link and that's it. We don't track your movements with cookies even. We don't want your name, your address, your credit card details; we don't ask you to register, we don't ask for your email address (though you can supply it if you want us to tell you when the next issue is published).

Consider how much you've probably spent on magazines over the years. Then consider the implications of this tectonic shift in publishing models.