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Consumer Tech Journalism: An Appreciation |
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Dr. Samuel Says -
Arts & Science
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Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.
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Friday, 08 August 2008 |
As loyal readers are aware, Uncle Doc has held down a great many professional jobs in his life. Nothing too special, and most of the pedestrian variety befitting a man with several dozen advanced degrees. Associate Chair of the Physics Department at Yale. Operations director at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NHRA owner/driver. Head of Israeli intelligence. This sort of thing.
But by far my most harrowing and difficult occupation was as a staff
writer for a certain consumer electronics publication. I don't want to
get too specific, but it's a venerable (by computer age standards) and
respected magazine whose title rhymes with BG Swirled. For many years, in the nascent days of the Internet, I filed several stories
daily, tested and reviewed hundreds of products, interviewed dotcom
moguls and CEOs, and endured grueling, multi-day industry conferences
on ridiculously subpar per diems.
 It was during my tenure at this magazine that I came to admire and
respect the dedicated technology journalist. To succeed in this line of
work, you must be conversant in multiple disciplines and industries,
and you're expected to be both a technology generalist and, when need,
specialist. On top of all of this, you're trained to be a high-tech
mechanic, pulling apart computers, printers, accessories and gadgets in
the test labs. If it weren't for my expertise in administration of
certain semi-legal neurostimulants, I'd never have survived.
Now, then. All that said; in a totally unrelated story, I'd simply like
to recommend this handy guide from PC World on upgrading your laptop's
CPU. Note the skill with which the editorial team here effectively
distills a complex technical undertaking into a friendly, step-by-step,
hands-on guide that saves you money while improving your productivity
and extending the life of your computer. Pretty cool, isn't it? Looks
effortless, don't it? Viva consumer advocacy journalism.
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