Remember when phones were playthings, just two tin cans attached by a string? Man, does that seem like a million years ago.
Here’s a sure sign your obsession with Apple products has reached an unhealthy level. You’re shelling out $16.99 for an imported copy of UK-published iPad & iPhone User may be a sign. For those still in denial, the mag helpfully promises “app reviews, tips and buying advice for iOS addicts.” Inside, we get a letter from Editor David Price, who declares that asking what an iPad is for is “a bit like asking what you’re supposed to do with a printing press.”
In a passionately argued piece for its October issue, Mac Life heralds “the incredible shrinking iPad.” It opens by advising readers “Brace yourselves, because it’s coming,” and ends by saying “Our Apple-senses say we won’t have to wait much longer.” We’d guess this was written before Apple’s September presentation, when a smaller iPad obviously did not come. We’d guess a smaller iPad isn’t likely to come before next spring. We’ll let the reader judge whether that qualifies as “not much longer.” Elsewhere, we liked the review of Walter Isaacson’s bio of Steve Jobs.
Laptop Magazine is the Consumer Reports for computers. The very full October issue has a cover story on the new Windows 8, but the actual story is only a small part of the issue. There is a section: Gadgets for Apple Haters. Then, ratings on tech support for nine computer makers (Apple gets an A-), and on ultrabooks and a “voice assistant program shootout.”
Despite its glossy cover, iPhone Life is a big disappointment. Jobs would be horrified at the typos. Much of the mag covers accessories and apps. It attempts to look at how the iPad is being used in education, without revealing much of anything substantial. The writing style is chatty and in many cases amateurish; freelance bios show much of it is written by people who aren’t professional reporters: PR folks, MBA students, tattoo artists, for example. “The Future of TV” feature is worth a look for those trying to expand viewing options.
“Brooklyn is finished,” New York declares on this week’s cover, emblazoned with a menacing shot of the rusty exterior of the new Barclays Center. “Or has it only just begun?” The contents are similarly wishy-washy. The cover story quotes a Crown Heights resident named Kwame on the controversial subject of the basketball arena’s architecture. “I’m so damn depressed I could cry,” Kwame says. “With that rust, it looks like somewhere they put people after they declare martial law.” Evidently, Kwame would make a poor architectural critic for this magazine, as a review several pages later hails the Barclays Center as “Brooklyn’s ready-made monument,” noting that “There’s something radically revivalist about taking the concept of industrial chic to such an extreme.” We’re guessing the critic doesn’t live next door.
Maybe you’ve fantasized about penning a blockbuster series of fantasy novels. But to J.K. Rowling “Harry Potter” became as artistically confining as the dungeons of Hogwarts Castle. “There are certain things you just don’t do in fantasy,” the author told the New Yorker. “You don’t have sex near unicorns. It’s an ironclad rule. It’s tacky.” She hastily adds, however, that conjuring smutty scenes isn’t her priority. We find this persuasive, as her new non-fantasy book is about a local parish election. Elsewhere, political reporter Nicholas Lemann declares that Mitt Romney, not unlike Harry Potter, is “a product of a series of interconnected, tightly enclosed worlds,” citing Mormonism and private equity.
Bill Clinton glows serenely on this week’s cover of Time, gently cradling a globe in his arms. “Hello Darlin’,” we hear him say. “I got the whole world in my hands right here. That’s right — that means you, too. Safe and secure. Don’t you worry about a thing. So you enjoyed that little speech of mine the other night? Well, to tell the truth, I kind of enjoyed it myself. I know it’s a little sad I can’t run for president again. Believe me — I feel your pain.”
A couple of weeks ago, Newsweek’s cover sang, “Hit The Road, Barack,” with a supposedly provocative cover story on “Why we need a new president.” But this week we get a cover that christens President Obama as “The Democrats’ Reagan,” with an essay by Andrew Sullivan foretelling historic achievements in a second term. So is Editor Tina Brown being provocative, or incoherent, or both? And does anyone really care? We’re not sure, but one possible indicator may be page 3, which consists of a full-page ad featuring Tiger Woods shilling for Turkish Airlines. We note that Tiger, wearing a goatee and a grizzled gaze, doesn’t look particularly happy.