Time is a funny thing. It marches on, making us older and making many things we once enjoyed obsolete.
I laugh (sometimes to myself, unless it’s Fox News and then out loud) at people who design their evenings around the television news hours. I haven’t watched traditional television news in a decade or so, and I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone under sixty reading a newspaper anywhere other than the restroom. I didn’t mourn the obsolescence of television news or traditional newspapers- I was happy to have the internet to access information that interested me. Faster, and on my schedule.
I didn’t even mourn the obsolescence of traditional records, even though I write songs for them and occasionally receive royalty checks. The greedy, inept record label cartel led me to embrace the new era of Apple, Amazon and direct distribution, even if it costs me money (though I really don’t think it does).
But even though I no longer subscribe to any magazines, the death of two of them has led me to stop for a moment and reminisce over days gone by.
The first was when Stereo Review became whatever it became, on the way to whatever it is now, if anything. Stereo Review, back in the Julian Hirsch era, was a wonderful, wonderful thing. Back in the day, I would go to bed early on the day my copy arrived, so I could relish the stories, reviews and analysis.
The second was today, when I read that the print edition of Macworld is ceasing publication. I subscribed to Macworld for a long time, but I confess to being part of the problem, as I have not subscribed to the print edition in several years. Nevertheless, I remember learning about some of the coolest devices I ever experienced in the pages of that now shuttered publication. This copy has a permanent place on my bedside table.
Sure, Macworld will continue online in a vastly reduced form. And thankfully, Jason Snell managed to save Clockwise, one of my very favorite podcasts (Jason, if you need some non-paid help in keeping that wonderful podcast going, let me know. I’m in.). But knowing that Macworld, in its traditional, obsolete-or-not, hard copy form will soon cease to exist makes me sad.
Maybe it was inevitable, but it’s still sad.
Newsome.Org 