Magazines

[Terry]

There is a wide range of internet / web designs magazines out there. Has any one have particular favorites? If so, why? How useful are they?

Terry

[francis]

I tend not to buy paper magazines; they're always (naturally) trying to cover ground for everyone, so you get mini tutorials on ASP, .NET, PHP, Coldfusion. Add to that the obligatory letters pages, a very high advert:content ratio, and I find that I don't get anything that I can give more than a cursory glance to. I must admit to not reading one fully for a couple of years, but I flick through some occaisionally in Smiths, and nothing much has changed except there are so many more to choose from (and most with the word "internet" in the title, just to make it more confusing)

I stick to Web content. There's nowt wrong with:
Zeldman (http://www.zeldman.com)
AListApart (http://www.alistapart.com)
Webstandards (http://www.webstandards.org)
MetaFilter (http://www.metafilter.com)

For content. Code-wise, there's sites like Simon Willison's Weblog (http://simon.incutio.com/) which are informative.

Between that lot, you can find out a whole load more than forking out cash and queueing up at Smiths can. Side note: does the university get/subscribe to the Press Gazette? My brother made the front cover a couple of weeks back, and it's not the sort of magazine that newsagents normally stock.

[Tom]

I read through the current Internet Magazine today but I can't see anyone going to our library to look it up. Someone new to web design would do well to subscribe for one year, only, but it is of little use to a person with some experience. If the library has spare cash it would be best spent on recent books. Most have at least one good point and PT students can take books home.

[James]

I agree with Francis about mags trying to cover everything. I had a look in WHSmith today at web design / internet mags and they cover a really wide range of things, the design mags love Flash / Illustrator etc tutorials, and other internet mags cover too much ASP, .NET, PHP, Coldfusion for my liking.

That said, I bought the copy of Internet Magazine that David recommended. It was quite refreshing to read something not on a screen! So for health and safety reasons (my eyesight / headaches etc) I think they are worth a look! It's tiring looking at a screen, and also a bit more sociable to sit on a sofa with a mag than sitting at a computer all the time! :)

[Tom]

Psst - our sofa has a Cat5 cable underneath (more bandwidth than WiFi).

[francis]

Mine just has a load of dust. But that's because I'm single and can never be bothered to clean. As James G once said "this is a nice flat, or at least it would be if you didn't live in it". Which pretty much sums up my living arrangements.

[David]

I'm very fond of paper magazines and always have been. I have been a subscriber to PC PRO magazine since it started almost 10 years ago and was a regular reader of its predecessor, "Windows User" for quite a few years before that. I still think it's the best general computer magazine on the shelves.

PC PRO has been the one constant in my magazine reading over the years as my computer interests have changed. I won't bore you with the non-internet related titles but at one time or another I have been a regular reader of Internet Works, Internet Magazine, .NET and cre@te online.

Internet Works was good when it started and when I needed some technical backup. Nowadays it is targeted squarely at those who build and maintain eCommerce sites. cre@te online was a good magazine directed at creative web professionals and covered all the sorts of topics of interest to us. Unfortunately it obviously didn't do too well because about 6 months ago it was "incorporated" into .NET magazine. Every few months or so, .NET has some very good articles/content but I just can't put up with it on a regular basis. It is very much designed for spotty youths and the content and "humour" often reflect this. I currently subscribe to Internet Magazine and reckon it to be the best general internet related title around.

As I pointed out recently, the January 2004 issue was particularly good and this month isn't bad either. Here's just a small sample to give you a flavour:

Microsoft gives secrets away article about MS gearing up to give away some of its intellectual property, presumably getting worried about open source.
BPI unimpressed by CD Wow! CD Wow! Is being sued by the BPI for copyright infringement.
Google dancers disappear Google has changed the way it compiles its results and the monthly algorithm tweaks are to stop.
News The UK government is continuing to assess the benefits of open source software. It will trial Sun's Linux-based Java Desktop System on machines used by the civil service

Major articles include:
Destroy all Spam & Spyware
Inside Ocado Online supermarket Ocado thinks it can use the Web to change the way people shop for food
State of e-nation Everyone in the UK will have online access to government services by 2005

There is also a review of online banking and all the usual step-by-step tutorials and product reviews. Judging by recent topics on this forum, just about all of the items above would be of interest.

Yes, I like paper magazines. As Francis indicates, there isn't much web related news that doesn't already appear on the web and in fact it is sometimes obvious that some paper magazine content is a rewrite of material already available. However, hunting all this relevant information down can take time and I like the idea of having relevant information collated for me and delivered through my letterbox. I don't have as much time as I used to and for a modest cost (if you subscribe) you can save a lot of information gathering time. Internet Magazine does include quite a lot of original content. It was interesting to see photos inside the Ocado warehouse this month. I doubt you'd find those on the web.

Also, like James B, I sometimes prefer to be away from my PC. In fact I particularly enjoy reading magazines in the bath (I don't have a Cat5 cable in my bathroom) and much of my creative thinking is done in the bath.

My third reason for reading paper magazines is that they tend to give a UKcentric view of the news. Much of what is available on the web is inevitably UScentric or at best global. Local news is important - I want to know the latest on "Broadband Britain" etc. and although I could probably hunt this down on the web, again it's nice to have that done for me.

The fourth and final reason is that occasionally, I discover something truly interesting, something I didn't know and wouldn't even have known to look for on the web. I guess that my monthly magazine fix is rather like the Lucky Bags I used to buy as a kid; you just don't know what they contain until you tear them open.

I'm already looking forward to the March issue of Internet Magazine, which promises to show us how to get the best from open source software and services. If you're tempted, you can get the next 14 issues for just £34.65 at greatmagazines.co.uk (http://www.greatmagazines.co.uk). And I really can't wait for the March issue of PC PRO, which has a massive review of large format TFT monitors - I hope to buy one soon but wouldn't dream of doing so before reading this review.

Maybe things will change in the future if these magazines become available in electronic format but for now, paper still has a lot going for it.

[Phil]

I recently defected from .net to Internet Magazine and I'm glad I did. I was starting to find .net a bit puerile, plus it seemed to me that they were running out of ideas for articles - increase your wi-fi range with baked bean tins, indeed. I find Internet Works is the other end of the extreme, it's too stuffy and business minded, though I suppose that's the point.

Macuser - no seriously - is always a thumping good read, though at every two weeks it gets a bit pricey. When I've finished with my Mags I tend to leave them in the Digital Studio if anyone wants them.

oh, and Tom, the 54MBPS WifiG in my flat is more than enough for regular browsing. You're not far from me, perhaps you can borrow some of my bandwidth Might need some of those baked bean tins over your antenae to reach down the hill though. ;)

[James Glasheen]

I subscribe to Computer Arts Projects (formerly Computer arts Special).

Work pay, which is nice and I find the issues are always informative even if they're not always relevant. Occasionally it'll be based around 3D design for example, but it's a good read and there are always reviews of books and software too.

The website's OK too:

Computer Arts Projects (http://www.computerarts.co.uk/magazine/default.asp?subsectionid=855&subsubsectionid=774)

[David]

For general graphical design stuff, it's well worth picking up a copy of Creative Review every few months. Lots of good examples of graphical design work for inspiration and keeps you in touch with graphic "fashion".

[Tom]

Phil, the current Personal Computer World - my favourite computer mag - says (p34) that in their tests a WiFi network rated at 54Mbits/sec only delivers 15Mbits/sec. If Greenwich Council is as tolerant, or blinkered, as my family, I could try running a pink Cat5 down Blackheath Hill to give you 60Mbits/sec and a whole new view on the world.

Like David, I love magazines. When one comes I retreat to a comfortable place for a peaceful evening. But reading mags in libraries is less pleasurable and I hardly ever look at them in the university library - which was the subject of Terry's question.

Please could we have some student comments on use of the library. Has anyone looked at the electronic journals section - and found something of use for this course? The School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences (CMS) subject guide has quite a few information-related journals but I have not found time to go through them. CMS guide to Electronic Information Products (http://www.greenwich.ac.uk/directory/library/subjects/techno/elecinfo.html). You can access them from home using the proxy server login, if you have asked the library for an Athens Number.

[David]

I recently let my subscription to PCW lapse - thinking that I couldn't justify both PC PRO and PCW since they both cover similar ground. Last week my phone rang; it was VNU Business Publishing asking if I would like to renew my subscription for just £23 for a year. Well, at less that £2 per copy I considered it unreasonable not to. PCW does have an excellent "Hands-On" technical section and some excellent and original editorial. Looking forward to more long baths...