Last week, my dad presented me with a copy of Computer Active magazine. He'd been browsing the mag rack in a supermarket and spotted the headline about restoring old photos and videos.
Now, he's completely untechnical, but bought it because he thought I would be interested. And I was, but not just for the interesting article covering the use of AI filters.
It's the magazine itself.
I love good radio. When someone else is chosing the tunes, you hear things you'd never have heard had you been in charge of the playlist. Some you'll like, some you won't. But at least you hear new music.
This magazine is a bit like this. I know I could find all the information on the internet, but to do that, I need to know that I want to read about it. In a magazine, all sorts of articles tell me things I didn't know I might need to know. And that's how I like it.
Reading Computer Active is fun. A procession of interesting, and well-written articles. I'm sure there will be people who are so expert, they can disagree violently with some of the content, but I don't care. I'll take it at face value.
There's also a news section that covers consumer and low-end enthusiast stuff. I know there is tech news online, but people like my parents won't read it, even if the knowledge would be helpful.
Pondering all this, I contrast it with the "I'm not buying a magazine unless it's all perfect for me" mentality of many railway and boat enthusiasts. Obviously, I'm pro-magazine, but I think it's helpful to be exposed to ideas that you wouldn't be otherwise. Different prototypes and even scales can promt ideas for future projects, or even take your modelling in a different direction. And yes, you can get a lot via the web (goodie, free!) but the chances are you'll stay in your comfort zone, and that's not always helpful.
Anyway, Computer Active is right on my list of random mags to buy for train journeys now!
(Incidentally, if anyone wishes to suggest a random mag you think I might be interested in, I'm open to ideas.)
4 comments:
Unrelated, but I came home from smiffs this week with a boat book, Ship Modelling in Plastic by Colin Peck, found in the magazine rack. Out of my comfort zone, but looking forward to reading it.
It is why I used to love Byte in its heyday.
On the photo AI front I've been making a lot of use of the Topaz suite, though for most people just the standalone Topaz AI will do most of the heavy lifting. It could be better, and the default settings are heavy-handed but it has rescued a lot of old family photos, including those that could have been better, to begin with. Yes, 110 film, I'm looking at you.
Two random magazines come to mind. New Scientist and History Today. Even if you don't think of science or history as particular interests they can make you think. One tip is to look at the covers before buying. History Today is probably the one magazine that I genuinely read cover to cover every month.
Railway modellers should look at Finescale Modeller and Airfix Magazine.
Large-scale modelers might want to buy the odd issue of Model Boats, again based on content.
And it goes without saying that if you are adding a "feature" on your layout, like a ploughing scene, a canal lock, or a harbour, then look at magazines like Old Glory, Waterways World and Archive , amongst others. If you use PocketMags or ZINIO (And I presume Newstand?) you can also buy specific backnumbers.
I think the value of magazines is widely underestimated when it comest to capturing the attention of someone with a passing interest and drawing them further into a subject or hobby. When I got back into scale modelling last year after a lot of years away from it, attempting to use online sources to catch up with everything that I had missed would have very quickly resulted in overwhelm - in fact, it did! The solution was to pick up a copy of Railway Modeller, which was a familiar title and one I had been subscribed to in my childhood. While I was there, I also grabbed a copy of BRM, Hornby Magazine and Model Rail, all of which I've continued to buy since. Reading these magazines, as well as my growing library of books, has helped me to decide what area of railway modelling and which prototypes interest me most.
James Finister makes excellent points (as per usual from what I've read) - I have the odd copy of 'History Today', 'Finescale Modeller', 'Airfix Magazine' and 'Old Glory', because something on the cover matched something I was researching, and flicking through the rest of the magazine invariably gave me something I didn't realise I needed to know. Other magazines that have done the same for me are 'Practical Electronics', 'Amateur Photographer', 'Dolls House & Miniature Scene', 'Artists & Illustrators' and Warner's own 'The Artist'.
At the risk of sounding like World of Railways has thrown me a bung, I actually find the Archives Plus area really useful as I'd probably have been unlikely to pick up a copy of any of the WOR mags other than BRM, but each of them has added to my sorely lacking knowledge in model railways, full size railways and engineering in general, EIM and Narrow Gauge World in particular.
I know the pervading 'wisdom' is that magazines are an anachronistic relic with little use in the internet age, but even as someone who has fully embraced tech and spent a good couple of decades immersed in the IT industry, paper magazines still have something very valuable to offer. However, I'm also becoming acutely aware that it's all very well reading and learning more about a subject, but to become a railway modeller one must get out of the armchair and actively model railways.
I think this is where WoR+ scores. Because you have all the magazines to read, you will browse them casually. I enjoy the series from EiM's tech editor on keeping the Fairbourne railway going, but I wouldn't buy the mag on its own for that. Sometimes though, there will be 2 or 3 articles I enjoy, even if much of the rest goes over my head!
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