Wired
April 26, 2010 by sgtwak
Filed under Home business Magazine
Product Description
WIRED uncovers the most surprising and resonant stories about the people, companies, technologies and ideas that are transforming our lives. Whether it’s technology…business…global politics…new media…arts and culture…the environment…or the best new products, WIRED is there, on the front lines of the 21st Century. Find out what’s next with WIRED!Amazon.com Review
Who Reads Wired?
Wired readers want to kno… More >>
You don’t have to have a Ph.D. in computers, math, or engineering in order to enjoy this magazine: I don’t possess such credentials, and I think Wired is outrageously good. The appeal of Wired is information on cutting-edge technology, delivered in a highly visual, understandable, and often entertaining format. A subtle sense of humor pervades the magazine with features such as “Return to Sender” – a contest in which Wired readers attempt to send the weirdest possible item in the mail to the magazine’s San Francisco headquarters; or “Japanese Schoolgirl Watch” – which tracks the latest trendy gadgets favored by one of the world’s most trend-obsessed demographic groups. Wired endlessly scrutinizes and ponders on the intersection of technology, humans, and society in its terrific articles. The articles are always interesting, and well-written, with topics such as artificial sight research, or the shenanigans of MIT’s Blackjack Team in Las Vegas (9/02 issue); parents of extremely ill children, united via the Internet in their challenges to the medical industry (9/01); or a profile of the Ibot Transporter “inventrepreneur,” Dean Kamen (9/00). Wired is a beautifully presented, outstanding magazine. Try one issue – you might get hooked!
Rating: 5 / 5
First, you don’t have to be a computer geek or nerd to enjoy this magazine. I am not fond of these overused generalizations. How many of us could cross over or fit into many odd & often out of date labels? This magazine is mainly forward looking about technology, electronics, & computers. I found that I like it more now than a few years ago. The quality & style has improved. It could always have less advertising, but that is not likely.
This is a very different type of resource, which is refreshing. It is aimed at a more diverse audience, it mixes technology, politics, & aspects of what we call “pop culture.” I have often thought that the latter term is oxymoronic? It varies from 170-250 pages per issue. These are its various departments. Rants & Raves: it has features & letters to the editor. Start: brief articles on electronics, science business people, architecture, art, & politics. Play: video games, cars, books, music, & entertainment media. Posts: articles on the internet, technology, & business. Found: is one page at the end of each issue subtitled as “Artifacts From The Future.”
The remainder of the magazine contains 7-8 articles of varied length & quality. With more details about business, technology, philosophy, & politics. Some articles are not always very clear & seem out of place, or unfinished. This magazine still suffers a bit from a lack of tying up loose ends. But, on the whole it is worth reading for the diversity of its contents.
Rating: 4 / 5
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: 4 / 5
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.
Rating: 3 / 5
I used to love Wired, and read every issue cover-to-cover. Unfortunately, it’s now just a shadow of its former self. Since being sold to Conde Nast publications (or even before?), Wired has been stripped of its meat and transformed into even more of an ad-laden pseudo-catalog than it once was. The irony of the title has become even more obvious as online forums and publications have matured while Wired’s writing has lost its urgency and its ad/content ratio has degraded. Unless you’re looking for a catalog of geek toys to flip through, your money is better spent elsewhere.
Rating: 2 / 5