"Who is this guy anyway? I just found some of his articles on the NYT through google & find his reviews uninformative, sort of like a dummies guide to electronics"
He is a very popular writer of how-to computer books (including, yes, 7 "for Dummies" titles) and technology reviews FOR LAYMEN, just the sort of people who prefer their technology without jargon and leavened by a little humor.
A techie on Slashdot would indeed find his reviews uninformative. Slashdot techies are not Pogue's intended audience, never have been.
For some insight onto the kind of people who've bought 3 million of Pogue's books, you could check the Amazon.com reviews of them.
>I'm guessing he didn't get a free one to swag out to someone he wanted to impress.
Dude. You can disagree with the article.
(Although trust me: 2 button presses to unlock a phone WITH NO EXPOSED KEYS AT ALL is totally unnecessary.)
But your last line is a smear.
There's no free swag involved in my job. Every piece of hardware I review--EVERY ONE--goes back to the manufacturer. I'm not even allowed to accept invitations to ride the electronics companies' blimps, go on their Tokyo junkets, accept their Broadway tickets, sit in their U.S. Open loges, etc.
Well, IF all the publications agreed to this simultaneously ("no prerelease reviews!"--"we all buy retail anonymously!")--then yes, it would be a wonderful world.
But there is one counterargument-- a value in letting the public know in advance whether a product's any good.
* If the product is bad, an early review warns people away from it. It takes *time* to do a review--and if it didn't appear until a couple weeks after the product reached retail, a lot of people would buy the product unknowingly. (Who, exactly, waits until Consumer Reports's incisive review of a laptop or digital camera comes out?)
* If a product is good, an advance review lets readers plan accordingly. They know something better is coming out soon, and they can avoid buying whatever's on the market right now.
I don't actually review prerelease products often at all, but... you know.
Dude, the Zune costs exactly the same as the 30 GB iPod.
And if you call missing Zune features like a graphic equalizer, audio books, TV shows, videos, and podcasts "pseudo missing features"... well, I'd guess you're in the minority, bro.
Jmorris notes: "as David Pogue, author of "Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition" and numerous other Mac books, it just wouldn't have been much of a story now would it?"
Well, except that David Pogue (that's me) has also written "Windows Me: The Missing Manual," four editions of "Windows XP: The Missing Manual," and "Windows Vista: The Missing Manual."
And I've published, or will be publishing, Missing Manuals on Frontpage, Microsoft Access, Photoshop Elements (for Windows), Digital Photography (for Windows), Office 2007...
Does that mean, then, that in fact, I'm biased *pro* Microsoft?:)
Actually, you're right. My "Macs for Dummies" book IS published by Wiley, and it WAS removed from all Apple stores this week.
And yes, it's true, that I wrote a book on Mac OS X--and two of them on Windows XP (Home and Pro).
--pogue
Slashdot Mirror
"Who is this guy anyway? I just found some of his articles on the NYT through google & find his reviews uninformative, sort of like a dummies guide to electronics"
He is a very popular writer of how-to computer books (including, yes, 7 "for Dummies" titles) and technology reviews FOR LAYMEN, just the sort of people who prefer their technology without jargon and leavened by a little humor.
A techie on Slashdot would indeed find his reviews uninformative. Slashdot techies are not Pogue's intended audience, never have been.
For some insight onto the kind of people who've bought 3 million of Pogue's books, you could check the Amazon.com reviews of them.
--Pogue
"having read "Hard Drive" 10 years ago I can say I don't think he's qualified to be a "techno-thriller" writer"
:)
Oh, for God's sake. I was 26 years old!! Cut me some slack!
--Pogue
Mr. David (that would be me) was actually QUOTING SOMEONE ELSE with that "freetard" quote.
http://stevenpoole.net/blog/free-your-mind
Quotation marks can be tricky that way.
--Pogue
>I'm guessing he didn't get a free one to swag out to someone he wanted to impress.
Dude. You can disagree with the article.
(Although trust me: 2 button presses to unlock a phone WITH NO EXPOSED KEYS AT ALL is totally unnecessary.)
But your last line is a smear.
There's no free swag involved in my job. Every piece of hardware I review--EVERY ONE--goes back to the manufacturer. I'm not even allowed to accept invitations to ride the electronics companies' blimps, go on their Tokyo junkets, accept their Broadway tickets, sit in their U.S. Open loges, etc.
--Pogue
Well, IF all the publications agreed to this simultaneously ("no prerelease reviews!"--"we all buy retail anonymously!")--then yes, it would be a wonderful world.
But there is one counterargument-- a value in letting the public know in advance whether a product's any good.
* If the product is bad, an early review warns people away from it. It takes *time* to do a review--and if it didn't appear until a couple weeks after the product reached retail, a lot of people would buy the product unknowingly. (Who, exactly, waits until Consumer Reports's incisive review of a laptop or digital camera comes out?)
* If a product is good, an advance review lets readers plan accordingly. They know something better is coming out soon, and they can avoid buying whatever's on the market right now.
I don't actually review prerelease products often at all, but... you know.
--David Pogue
"Costs less?"
Dude, the Zune costs exactly the same as the 30 GB iPod.
And if you call missing Zune features like a graphic equalizer, audio books, TV shows, videos, and podcasts "pseudo missing features"... well, I'd guess you're in the minority, bro.
Jmorris notes: "as David Pogue, author of "Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition" and numerous other Mac books, it just wouldn't have been much of a story now would it?"
:)
Well, except that David Pogue (that's me) has also written "Windows Me: The Missing Manual," four editions of "Windows XP: The Missing Manual," and "Windows Vista: The Missing Manual."
And I've published, or will be publishing, Missing Manuals on Frontpage, Microsoft Access, Photoshop Elements (for Windows), Digital Photography (for Windows), Office 2007...
Does that mean, then, that in fact, I'm biased *pro* Microsoft?
Actually, you're right. My "Macs for Dummies" book IS published by Wiley, and it WAS removed from all Apple stores this week. And yes, it's true, that I wrote a book on Mac OS X--and two of them on Windows XP (Home and Pro). --pogue