Hewlett Packard, Dell, and IBM. Ads of small companies like TigerDirect Sys., which have smaller revenues, are crammed with other advertisers towards the end of the magazine. Most of the articles in the magazines range from a quarter of a page to a page maximum. However, each issue focuses on three to four main topics. For example, the Y2K (Year 2000) problem can be analyzed in four to five pages. These articles are nicknamed "Topics of the Month." One such topic of the month is the performance analysis of the Celeron chip against the PII-450 chip. The author of "Double Feature," Lincoln Spector of PC World, argues that although the PII-450 is a fast chip, it is overpriced. He supports the new Celeron-333 chip, which provides quality performance at an economical price (55). To convince the audience of his viewpoint, Spector makes effective use of organization, tone, his role as a writer, and language in writing his article. Using several ways to present his evidence, Spector maintains the reader's interest and skillfully persuades him or her to believe the article. The author presents his evidence by using different methods that appeal to the logical senses of the reader. The first strategy used is comparing and contrasting the two chips. Comparing and contrasting not only provides background information on the chips, but it also helps focus the reader's attention on the author's thesis. Spector reports, "[Celeron]run[s] like a [PII]-333 but shows up in systems starting at just $999" (55). He further mentions the Celeron is "a price/performance winner, thanks to its built-in secondary cache, a crucial feature that the original Celeron lacked" (55). To contrast the PII and the Celeron, Spector says, "PII-333's cacheoperates at half the processor's speed. In contrast, the Celeron's cachefunctions at full [processor speed]" (57). Because of the logic of the argument that the Celeron runs as fast as a PII and is relatively cheaper,...
