Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: What Magazines Do You Still Read?
AmiMoJo writes "Over on Slashdot Japan, there is a discussion about what magazines people still read (Google translation of Japanese original). Japanese people still tend to read a lot of periodicals, while in the west readership seems to be in decline. Do you read magazines regularly, or at all? Are websites a good substitute, or do print publications still offer something worth spending your cash on?"
None... The Internet has replaced the function of magazines.
Print publications are literally put into my hand, giving me more incentive to read them upon receipt. Web sites require an active effort on my part to go read them, which is often not done due to my habit of procrastination ("I'll take time to check that tomorrow"). Even email links to my monthly periodicals go unused, for similar reasons.
To me, it's the difference between polling- and interrupt-driven systems. The processor has to be constantly (or at least repetitively) awake to poll, while the processor can be asleep and awoken by an interrupt. The interrupt-based system is usually the lower-energy way to go.
There's really no substitute on the web (for free) that replaces quality scientific periodicals. If I want to know about some uncommon subject, often the only way to get that information is by paying a credible source to deliver it regularly. The news-media and blogosphere aren't particularly interested in detailing the latest way to detect carbon nanotubes of a particular chirality, or the latest low-energy method of measuring gas flow. That's why I'm still an IEEE member, among other organizations.
I still have a subscription to the physical version of Wired, and the content is top-notch - when I do read it; but I usually don't read it in that format. It's all online, and sitting down with a magazine is just not something I ever think to do anymore. I will very likely not renew.
The New Yorker's commentary is often insightful, and I read it regularly. I also occasionally read The Atlantic.
In general, magazines (either print or online) are still where one goes to get well-researched, long-form articles.
It reminds me a lot of the old Amiga magazines, and indeed has more than a few of the same writers. Though the cover disk is not as important these days it still comes in useful now and then.
What I would relish though is a magazine reader like a 17" touch screen iPad, but one with the smoothness of display of the iPad and the ease on the eyes of the liquidInk of the Kindle.
I WANT this.
I want it for reading PDFs of programming manuals, for reading beautiful magazines, for browsing beautiful coffee table books in digital format.
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
Know it's a long standing joke, but the articles are actually well written across a broad spectrum. My husband doesn't mind the pictures either. ;) Still love the tactile feel of real books too. (Yes I have an e-reader as well). But sometimes I don't want to take one to the beach and risk it getting soaked or stolen.
Unfortunately with electronic media, we lose the ability to loan/share a lot of the content; which I think is the biggest loss of all. Heck, I would consider buying more e-books if they were only $1-$3, but generally you don't see a discount between the two (or maybe a $1 discount). Just not worth the expense at this point...
1. MOJO
2. National Geographic
3. New York Times Magazine(some of the best writing out there)
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
I bought a newspaper last Sunday. The bird cages needed to be cleaned.
Just for old time's sake, I pulled out the want-ads, intending to look in a couple categories... I couldn't believe that those four skimpy pages were the entire Sunday want-ads. It used to be an entire separate section of the newspaper. One of the categories I was looking for didn't even exist.
I'm a little surprised that newspapers manage to stay in business.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
C't is the top computer magazine in Germany. Their online newsticker is among the most visited German web sites and they make the tool which is used for testing the integrity of USB thumbdrives all over the world: h2testw. It is available in print and online with the same content.
Can you sex with robot? 9% say yes!
If you're looking for an answer to the slow decline of Slashdot.org here it is: .jp has the news that matters!
Python coder | PyQt Applications | Writer
Premier Guitar posts all their content online for free, but the paper version is perfect for me. Hey that rhymes I better go write a song...
I read The Economist (every week) and I am constantly amazed by its quality and informativeness. Although, I must mention, I technically don't read most of it since I consume the Audio Edition during my commute to work. The articles I don't get to during the week (because my commute is slightly shorter than the average audio edition length) I typically try to catch up on with the dead-tree edition that is delivered. If the USPS ever ends Saturday delivery that's one thing I'll miss: getting my delivery of the economist before Monday.
The subscription price is a little steep (about US$120), I feel like I could not go without it.
I still read lots of magazines. National Geographic, Smithsonian, several history magazines, Car and Driver, Outdoors, Discover, FlyPast, and so on. I prefer the print format for being easy on the eyes as well as lighter and easier to manipulate than any tablet. At this point I don't have even the slightest interest in digital subscriptions to magazines.
While on holiday recently (translation: that's "vacation" for all you Americans), my brother-in-law lent me his copy of T3 magazine.
T3 is a consumer-level technology magazine. A gadget mag for people who think they're a bit techie but are really just tech consumers.
I've not read T3 in years, and I wouldn't have actually bought a copy even then. But I actually found myself reading a lot of it. Not because it was talking about anything I didn't know about, but because it was presenting a significantly different perspective on things to the kind of web sites I normally visit. I was quite interesting to get a different perspective and see how the consumer market thinks about some of the devices on offer at the moment.
The reasons all this is relevant to this discussion are:
1. Asking about paper magazines to the Slashdot crowd is going to get a predictable response. But you'd be a fool if you think for a second that the Slashdot crowd is in any way representative of the wider public. Slashdot users do not read magazines any more, but other people do.
2. If my brother-in-law had been reading a T3 website instead of the magazine, it's virtually certain that I wouldn't have borrowed his copy; I'd have stuck with my own preferred sites. The internet is great at making all things available to all men... but most of us cocoon ourselves in our own little parts of the internet and very rarely venture out. We don't get that alternative perspective, and it leads to narrow mindedness and blinkered thinking.
(Spudley Strikes Again!)
I second that one! Especially since I can pay cash anonymously and not end up on a "list" somewhere.
Look over there! See that camera? Heh, heh, heh.
Discover because I find it hard to quit after nearly 30 years of reading it every month. Make because it's beautiful and inspires me, I also get Fine Cooking and occasionally buy at the newstand Dwell.
Smithsonian is the best, one I am willing to pay for. National Geographic, though their gee whiz coverage of the world is annoying sometimes. Make, got that as a gift and really enjoyed it for a couple of years. I would pay for NewScientist if I could afford it.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
The only magazine I read (and pay for) is Rolling Stone. Its only rock and roll, but I like it.
german magazine: iX, http://www.ix.de/
I've taken out a subscription to Private Eye http://www.private-eye.co.uk/. I find it funny and insightful and get much more depth of what's going on than I get out of the internet. In additional it feels good to be able to just flick through dead trees and spot something interesting. At £28/year it's not noticably expensive either.
I like Inc. - they've definitely done a good job of keeping the magazine fresh and unique. Popular Mechanics is also just wonderful. They cover not only automotive stuff but pretty much all kinds of DIY issues. They even pushed Linux as a good OS for a home entertainment system a few years ago. Lots of different topics in there, it's an interesting magazine.
Do you have ESP?
Hardcopies: Wired and Entertainment Weekly
Digital: Better Software
All are free due to coupons and work.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
What magazines do I still regularly buy and read?
Cook's Illustrated, Saveur, Neo,Otaku USA, Shop Notes, Wood, Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, Mother Earth News, Reader's Digest, National Geographic... These are just ones off of the top of my head, and in any given month somewhere between a third and half of them find their way into my shopping cart.
The 'net certainly provides a firehose from which to choose, but for the most part it serves up cold, stale Chicken McNuggets... while magazines still (for the most part) serve perfectly cooked Coq a Vin. Quantity isn't quality.
Only two now: MaximumPC and Consumer Reports. MaxPC makes their back issues available for free and I also pay for access to CR's website, but I find the dead tree version works better on the throne, quite honestly. And I don't have time to sit and read anywhere else.
Why pay for these? Both mags offer content that I like and which is more or less difficult to obtain elsewhere, and it's in a format I like. For MaxPC, I am a long-time reader going back to when it launched as boot magazine, and I prepay for years in advance because I want the mag to stick around. CR I simply use as an info source and comparison tool when I need to buy something out of my usual areas of expertise. I pay them to offer advise on which paint or vacuum cleaner or laundry detergent to buy, because I have no idea myself and no time or money to just guess. It works well. Don't have to agree with their choices. As with MaxPC's reviews, having their opinion is useful even if I may not blindly follow it.
And I have tried the digital magazines. The tablet PDF version does not tolerate moisture well and requires things like a charged battery, some pre-planning to take the device along, etc. and you are stuck holding it and usually can't also use it for something else. The paper mags simply sit there waiting for someone to read. Doesn't care if I take a shower -there are no moisture sensors to trip. Does not matter if I drop it on the floor. It won't shatter into hundreds of dollars worth of parts or get flushed.
Total cost for the two mags is about $30 a year plus another $60 for the CR website. ... bleah actually that's a lot of money. Maybe I need to rethink CR.
Sig for hire.
I bought a newspaper last Sunday. The bird cages needed to be cleaned.
Just for old time's sake[...]
Just for old times' sake, I took a shit on the front page and wiped my ass with the sports section
What a coincidence. So did the birds.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
I haven't read any magazines in print for a few years now. If only because even once good magazines such as Popular Science, Scientific American, and Popular Science are now pretty much 80% ad pages and 20% content. I do not want to read a 15 page article in the magazine from a company trying to showcase the latest car, product, or god knows what else.
You look back oh lets say 10-15 years ago in the three mags I mentioned above and you seemed to see a lot more content and a heck of a lot less ads.
You must master your joystick like a fisherman masters bait! - Gimpy
Harper's
The Atlantic
Lapham's Quarterly
Foreign Affairs (used to)
A few trade magazines
I read them in the hot tub, on travel, in bed.
No worries if they get wet, or lost, or if you fall asleep while reading them.
Most also come with full access to their web site, which often includes access to their entire back-catalog!
Im reading this right now in the bathtub on an ipad in a ziplock bag. But i read books there too.
"A 'person' is smart. 'People' are dumb, panicky animals and you know that."
Playboy. Had a subscription since '89. Don't judge me.
In other words, many of the girls in there now were born after your subscription began?
Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
I read a few magazines - why, because I don't like to read on small screens and like to read in bed, bathroom and other places. With the current cost of subscriptions you are missing a lot if you only read the free material on the Internet.
I read: Wired, Time, Discover and Popular Science
The German magazine c't is the equivalent of the old Byte, as it existed 30 years ago in the US: Coverage of every techie hardware and software topic, written by people who actually know what they're talking about. Details, not just marketing fluff. For the the big company IT types, there's the sister publication i'X - not to my personal taste, but an equally good read for its target audience.
I don't know of any equally good magazines in the English-speaking world.
Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
I still get Strategy & Tactics because there is still a paper wargame in every issue. (And will the word 'wargame' ever get promoted into canon and pass the spell checker?)
I get Proceedings because I have a navy interest.
Tracy Johnson
Old fashioned text games hosted below:
http://empire.openmpe.com/
BT