Mobile Computing Magazines fall on hard times!

Heck, even Playboy has gotten a lot skinnier over the years (both the magazine and its models).

Byte, boy that brings back memories. I wept a tear when it folded.

And those basic programs in the mags? I don't think one was ever published without a corrective followup. Man, that drove me bananas. All that time spent typing to have the program crash, lol. What a glutton for punishment.

And that huge Computer Shopper thing? Time is money and I wasted more than I saved trying to save $5 on a part.

I can't say I miss any of the mags. I will say I missed out on getting a full copy of Grand Prix Legends which was bundled with a mag (dunno which one) a few years back. That's about my only regret.

I will admit I have pretty much stopped buying computer related magazines from many many years ago also.

By the time they hit the shelves a lot of the articles/news in them was already old, regardless of accuracy, even the ones printed locally here in Australia. Towards the end I was just buying them for that warm fuzzy feeling of reading off printed paper, not because the articles were current. Once they all started hiking prices, then the feeling wasn't as warm and fuzzy anymore and I cut them out totally.

Internet information is almost instant, cutting edge in many cases. If I want to know the latest, or even research an old computer topic, I can wait a month for the next mag issue or shovel through back issues.... or I can surf now and find out almost right away. Even if mobile computing mags were available here in Aus (I haven't seen any) I don't think I would buy it anyway. If there is anything mobile computing I need to know, then I come to the people who know, such as this website and others like it.

So I'm not really surprised Computer related mags are going the way of the dodo.

The UK mobile/handheld mags are IMHO not worth the paper they're written on: I see better reviews and more incisive commentry on line. it appears they're writing for someone other than a hpc/ppc enthusiast: they're catering for someone who has a fleeting interest and wants to know what to buy today to have the latest and greatest.

Perhaps that's unfair, but that's the opinion I get of them.

In general, there are some decent computer magazines out there but it's getting harder and harder to find them amongst the continual outpouring of utter dross.

Here's an interesting and quite relevant article from Ars Technica which asks a similar question about computer gaming magazines.

The last time I bought a technology magazine was at the airport prior to a long flight. Even then, I felt it was a waste of money, particularly since the "news" I had already heard about on the web a month before. The money could have been better spent on a WiFi connection to cache pages to my notebook!

As we move to an always-connected lifestyle the need for magazines will get less and less.

Hmm interesting article. I actually do find some of those features (in depth views, summaries, before and after thoughts etc) as my reasons to keep purchasing printed magazines of other kinds. Hack I even buy those yearly car reviews collection issues for the same reason - so some of those articles can be a year old, doesn't mean they're no longer worth reading.