Shopper's Paradise: Cyberian Outpost (www.cybout.com) is a virtual computer store that describes itself as the "cool place to shop for computer stuff." Now the world's largest online computer retailer, its sales have doubled every three months since it opened in May 1995. More than 7,000 shoppers visit every day, twice the population of the small Connecticut town where the company is based.
What's in Stock: Hardware, software, and peripherals for Windows and Macintosh environments. Cyberian Outpost offers a selection of more than 15,000 different products.
How to Buy: Think of the best direct-mail catalog you've seen. Now add a bunch of features that work only on the Net. Click on any one of 12 flags and watch the entire site reboot in a new language. Read detailed spec sheets for anything you want to buy. No more guessing about which modems work best with what computers, which peripherals need special "interface kits" to work with your laptop. Or check out the New Arrivals page, which offers products for sale just hours after they're released by the manufacturer.
Our Shopping Cart: An external Jaz drive by Iomega ($497.95), plus a Jaz Jet Interface Kit ($109.95) so the drive could work with our new CD Masters PC. Also a PalmPilot Professional ($389.95), a new version of the best-selling personal organizer from U.S. Robotics, plus a modem ($123.95) that lets the Pilot "hot sync" remotely with our new computer. Total next-day shipping charges: $22.
The Experience: Two of the most basic criteria for evaluating a retail environment are: Is it fun to shop there? Is it easy to find what you need? Cyberian Outpost scores high on both. It has real personality -- a fun, energetic, engaging design that's light years ahead of the bleakness of most cyberstores.
Navigating the site's 15,000 products is less cumbersome than you might expect. They're divided into 10 common-sense categories such as laptops, printers, monitors, etc. A search engine allows shoppers to locate products by manufacturer, brand name, or subcategory. The result is a shopping trip that's fun and fast. It took less than 30 minutes to locate the products we needed, review the system requirements, and make the purchase. Since we ordered before 4:45 PM EST, our products shipped that day.
The Fine Print: The selection is impressive, but it still slights the big brands. The site offers seven different IBM Thinkpads, but no IBM desktops. Plenty of big companies, including Compaq and Packard Bell, aren't represented at all. Another gripe: Cyberian Outpost doesn't tell you, at the time you order, whether what you're buying is out of stock. It provides email notification within 24 hours. Why not a real-time message so you can find the item at another store?
Other Sites: NetBuyer (www.netbuyer.com), a Web store based on Computer Shopper, the popular print magazine from Ziff-Davis, should be the site of choice for newbies. It's a collection of advice, in-depth product comparisons, and trustworthy recommendations. ComputerESP (www.computeresp.com) is a Web service for comparison-shopping fanatics. It indexes more than 500,000 prices on more than 80,000 products. Enter what you're looking for and let ComputerESP check price tags around the world. You can't buy products off the site, but it links you to the appropriate Web stores.
Shopper's Paradise: ZDNet Software Library (www.hotfiles.com), which debuted in March 1996, is the ultimate one-stop shop for shareware and freeware, the most widely available forms of software on the Web. Think Wal-Mart for code.
What's in Stock: More than 15,000 software titles, games, and utilities, each of which is individually tested, rated, and reviewed. "We spend as much time keeping bad files out as getting good ones in," says Preston Gralla, 45, the ZDNet executive editor who runs the Software Library.
Few of these programs are actually for sale. They're free, at least for a trial period. That's the beauty of shareware. Some of the most popular programs are WinZip, a compression utility for Windows 95/NT (free to try, $29 if you keep it); Hey, Macaroni!, a screensaver that spoofs the way-too-popular Macarena song and dance (free); My Personal Diary, which lets users create an encrypted journal on their PC (free to try, $24.95 if you keep it).
How to Buy: The homepage is an easy-to-navigate set of software categories - Internet, home and education, Macintosh -- plus a search engine that lets you browse the site's virtual shelves by company, brand, or functionality.
ZDNet Software Library doesn't have the personality of Cyberian Outpost, but it has something as important -- the authority of Ziff-Davis. Click on Reviewers' Picks, for example, and you'll find 150 "five-star" programs selected by real experts.
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