Average Rating: 
Rating: - Still a great magazine
My favorite magazine is probably still Wired magazine.I have been a subscriber almost continuously from around 1994 or so. Despite a history of excessive advertising and embarrassing flag waving about the glory of the internet economy Wired has consistently informed and entertained me with quality articles about the things that I enjoy: internet, software, business, technology, politics, travel, etc. It has also been a major innovator in terms of the visual style of magazines. Their style was as new and different at its introduction as was MTV when it first appeared in the 80s. The articles are largely targeted to 20 - 40 year old upper-middle-class, liberal technology industry oriented people, although I doubt there is anything in its content that conservatives or non-tech people would find offensive. My issue goes straight into the toiletside magazine rack every month when it arrives.
Rating: - Still bleeding edge, which makes it different
The best thing about Wired is that it has stayed true to its roots over all of these years. Wired has always had a forward-looking, sophisticated attitude toward technology. You can tell that every article is well-researched and no feature in the magazine is an afterthought. In every issue, you will find:- stories about the unsung heroes who are really responsible for pushing the limits of technology - some politically-oriented article that shows the growing interplay between technology and politics - cool digital and electronic gadgets (that usually cost a lot of $$) - fun stuff like Jargon watch, Wired vs. Tired, and even some of the ads (how often can you say that?) Beyond that, I find Wired is the best place to read about things like the melding of human and computer and the progess of technology outside of the U.S. So, I find every issue interesting. It's a little less useful to me as an investor in technology stocks, but it does offer me that broader perspective on technology that helps put investable ideas into context. The clincher is the price - a small sacrifice for so much intriguing and entertaining content. I once considered discontinuing my subscription, but realized that it's so different from everything else I read and just one decent article an issue makes it worthwhile. Very glad I kept it. So, if you've never read Wired, I would give it definitely give it a try.
Rating: - technology for technophiles
I've subscribed to Wired Magazine for several years, though I confess that that I don't read every issue from cover to cover. This is a magazine best suited to Silicon Valley technophiles. There are a lot of ads for the latest gadgets, and the short articles about these new technologies appeal to more avid gadget collectors than me.
So why have I not cancelled my subscription? I keep reading Wired because of the feature articles. They are well researched, thoughtful, and clever; they often cover an aspect of the business or culture of technology that other magazines miss. I can still remember some of the best articles -- an article about why FedEx is really a high tech company, an article about how fiber optic cable is laid and what that means for the economics of broadband, an article about how the European Commission's Competition Bureau is shaping the global technology business through its regulatory authority.
If you are a technophile, you s!hould subscribe if you don't already. But even if you're not, you should consider it if you work in the tech sector or have an interest in how technology affects all of our lives.
|