WIRED Magazine

I first had an acquaintance with this magazine back when I was a junior high school student in 1995, the start of the Internet boom. I was told by a friend, T.A. Coen, during a visit to his home that it was the magazine for the Internetworked people. At that point, I didn’t exactly believe him. When I went to a department store and saw one issue of it on display on the newsstand, I decided to give it a try. At about Rp 50,000, at that time it was quite a hefty pricetag for a magazine. Well, at least for me that is, a student that didn’t get a weekly allowance.

Anyway, I read it with the utmost attention (after all, not fully reading it was not an option, considering the price. *grin*). I didn’t quite understand the main issue discussed in the headline (It was something regarding Marshall McLuhan), but I immediately fell in love with its gadget section (yes, I admit, I’m a geek) and page lay-out & design.

After my career move to The Company, my marginal prospensity to consume rose a notch. Among other things I spent my earnings on, I remembered WIRED and bought a 1-year subscription for what I think was a bargain, US$70 (the newsstand price here already rose to an astronomical Rp 120,000 an issue). And I’m loving every cent of my spending there.

The magazine talks about technology and technological trends in general. Notable sections include a gadget review, a column by Lawrence Lessig, and Mr. Know-it-all’s article about how to navigate various issues of life.

Pros:

• Great page lay-out and design. It never bores me.
• Fresh news (well, at least in a monthly time-frame).
• Good topics coverage (ranging from graphic novels, world economy, villains of the technology world, to sex)

Cons:

• Too many advertisements.
• It recently been resized, following a more conventional magazine dimensions, but at the expense of its renegade attitude towards the establishment.

To conclude, I’m giving this magazine a 5 of 5.