QOTD: Do You Subscribe to Tech Magazines?

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Thing about magazines is that the information they cover (as pointed out in the article) is released online anyway. Even if its "exclusive" news, it eventually makes its way to the web via fair use laws and such.

So for tech: of course I do. bwah?- the response of my cubicle mate. The thing is, online sites tend to carry whats popular, and by that I mean, what everyone else is reporting. But tech magazines have to work harder than that to get their viewers. Think Popular Science, Popular Mechanics and the like. Every time I open one of those I see something Toms, CNET, Engadget and the like haven't even mentioned yet. A few days later it might be all over the blogosphere then the net though.

I don't subscribe to PC mags because I haven't yet found one that is actively searching for the next big thing. They are just reporting information thats already outdated by the next publication. Popular Science and Popular Mechanics however are always trying to find the stuff that hasn't gotten hyped yet. Even websites dedicated to such things don't quite get it like those two do.

If a PC Mag wants me to subscribe, it needs to be able to find things that websites aren't. And because a PC is such a known quantity and everyone knows the players, it will be hard for PC Websites to do that. Popular Science and Popular Mechanics though don't have that limitation: one issue can be about car tech, the next PC tech, the next camping tech, and on and on and mix it inbetween.

Even Toms doesn't do it like they do.
 
Not computer tech magazines. I get what I need online. Besides with the exception of the professional magazines and some of the programming magazines most of these publications go out of date VERY quickly (in some cases before they are delivered) so they have no archival value (except maybe as a barometer of an aspect of POP culture). Better for the environment if I don't subscribe.

Now my wood working magazines - that is different, because I don't have to worry about the next version of Windows invalidating all my knowledge of dovetail joints, dados or forcing me to use Microsoft Wood! :)
 
I don't have magazines anymore, but back in the hay-day, I used to have

Computer Gaming World
PC Gamer
PC Accelerator (Which was AWESOME)
Nintendo Power
 
Nope..not even via RSS. I check Toms and a few other tech sites and that's how I get my news. If I need to know about something else, there is always Google.
 
Most of my tech news comes from online and 99% of the time I won't buy a tech item until I check out the reviews on newegg/amazon, etc. However, I still find it more "relaxing" to read the paper copy vs surfing the web🙂
- I subscribe to a few free professional magazines like InfoWorld and Computerworld.
- I also subscribe to the Wall Street Journal which I find has great tech coverage/original reporting.
- had PC World for a few years but cancelled last year. Just as easy to print off an article I'd like to read and the magazine has no value to keep/archive.
- I get "Game Informer" for $15/year through GameStop but its not really worth it. Better to just go to gamespot.com or ign.com for game reviews.
- I'm in the U.S. and would like to subscribe to a couple of the UK magazines. Maximum PC as others noted and also a couple other U.K. Web Developer and Graphics Designer magazines but they are pricey here ($15 issue).
- I pick up a Computer Shopper once in a while if a story catches my eye. The last issue I got a couple months ago was when they had a review of Netbooks when I was looking for one. It turned out that their review was dated. They reviewed the Acer Aspire One with a smaller Solid State HD and 8.9" screen and did not really like it. The next day I found the Acer in Radio Shack with a 160 GB HD and 10.1" screen and a keyboard that I can handle. Anyone, that experience made me disappointed with the "printed" review.
 
theres just tOOOOO much ads... i think half of most mags paper are wasted into ADVERTISEMENT.... with internet i use ADBLOCK... haha.. so long ads!

and i do think by not using paper based magazine we save the eco by just not cutting down trees but those paper factory will also utilize less energy... see what i mean... so all in all internet magazine is better solution the green way...
 
I have been subscribing to PC Magazine for about 5 years now and I have never missed an edition. I would stop but now I refuse because there is something to be said about seeing that magazine in the mail. If I wasn't so anal retentive I would stop but I don't plan on it until the magazine stops being printed.
 
I did Gameinformer and Official Xbox Mag. for a while, but I don't really need that information any more as it is all online anyways(like everyone else has been saying).

I have considered getting a pc mag subscription, but everyone on here seems to think they are somewhat of a waste. Can anyone recommend a solid pc gaming/pc enthusiast magazine. I like knowing the direction pc gaming is going in and the hardware/software that will propel pc gaming forward. I could also be interested in a general pc performance magazine if it included articles that tied into pc gaming.

Thanks to anyone that can help me. I know i probably should have posted this in a forum, but i figured "Since we are on the subject...".
 
I've subscribed to Wired for quite some time. I much prefer reading long articles on a sunlit page than on a screen. I'm also considering subscribing to Computer Power User or Maximum PC, but it has much of the same stuff as online sources, which are more up-to-date.
 
I'm currently only subscribed to Wired since PC mag was discontinued. It makes for a good read during the long drives from college to home.
 
no i dont but i did have a one year free subscripiton to popular science. At school me and my friend just look at the pc world or something
 
I used to subscribe PC World but that's way long time ago, but now days I do buy some once in the blue moon, to let me read something when I'm in the toilet doing serious business
muahaha
 
Er. Magazines? What's that?

I'm into the 'net' since we had e-zines..

Like many users here I go through as much info as I can in order to get the best hardware/software I can for the money I'm willing to spend. I don't even remember the last magazine I bought to read about tech. I do have cars, economy (general talk about it) and science magazines subscriptions tho. Just to keep my everyday banal knowledge up to date..
 
i subscribe to popular science, although it's more focused on science, I consider it to be a a tech magazine
 
I used to subscribe to tech mags.... in the 90s. Only mag I subscribe to is Maxim and thats because I got it for 3.50/year (I like the cheap thrill).


Reading while on the can? Smartphones took up that position for me years ago.
 
Used to get a german games magazine, but that slowly stopped when I got my modem in gear, and at the end of the millennia I didn't buy any 'tech' or otherwise magazines except an occassional flash (opel mag) or vmax (tuning mag)
 
No, i don't.
I prefer to buy it on stores when they have articles that interests me.

I quit subscribing magazines a few years ago because i noticed not all magazines were interesting and the fact i had a subscrition was a justification not to buy other magazines.
 
I used to subscribe to several.

PC Magazine used to be a good source of hardware news, Byte used to be a good tech magazine with articles on hardware building, programming, and other hard technical information. PC Gamer used to be the best (IMO) source for news and reviews of PC Games.

I cancelled my subscription to PC Magazine when it stopped giving honest reviews about anything put out by its big advertisers. I cancelled Byte when it stopped being a tech magazine and became a PC Mag clone - nothing but worthless reviews that, somehow, were always positive. I cancelled my PC Gamer subscription for similar reasons - too many really bad games with ratings of 7/10 or better.
 
I subscribe to both PC Zone and PC Format, mostly because I like to flick through magazines. Also, sometimes it's nice to have someone else collate all the interesting information for you.
 
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