Ask Slashdot: Does Europe Have Better Magazines Than the US? 562
An anonymous reader writes "Now that all the large chain book stores have disappeared from the landscape, I visited my local independent book store. In the basement I found a dazzling array of amazing magazines from the UK and Germany. Not only were the magazines impressive, they included CDs and DVDs of material. Nearly every subject was there: Knitting, Photography, Music, Linux, and Fitness. I snapped up a magazine called 'Computer Music,' which had a whole issue dedicated to making house music, including a disc of extra content. I subscribe to U.S. magazines like Wired, 2600, & Make, but their quality seems to ebb and flow from issue to issue and I don't ever recall a bonus disc. Are the UK magazines really better? If yes, why and which of them do you subscribe to? The other interesting thing about them is they weren't filled with tons of those annoying subscription cards. What is the best way to subscribe?"
UK mags rock (Score:5, Insightful)
Total speculation on why (Score:5, Insightful)
Europeans live on an infrastructure that supports pedestrian life. So, there's more likelihood for walking past magazine stands and making those impulse buys. The only time I ever see magazines is if I happen to pass by that aisle in the grocery store. And, some mags I admit I *would* buy on an impulse if I were exposed to them more often even though they're not topical enough for me to google for. For example, tonight was was in the grocery store and passed an aisle while waiting for my GF. I was thumbing through the guns and hunting mags and given a few more minutes I might have picked one up.
Yes (Score:4, Insightful)
Everything is better in europe.
Their healthcare, their food, their government, their women, their cars, their tv, their bathrooms, their internet.
I heard they all have supercomputers for their desktops but aren't allowed to tell us americans cus we'll be too embarrassed.
Re:Yes (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, I live in the EU and I must say that apart from healthcare and government (which are linked), you're pretty much right.
I'll leave women outside the debate for now out of fear that it may degenerate. Flame wars are just so interesting.
Re:Total speculation on why (Score:5, Insightful)
I suspect you are correct at last in part. The more pedestrian lifestyle also extends to commutes. If you don't drive everywhere in your car but instead use public transport your hands and mind are free and magazines are a great way to keep yourself occupied and learn stuff. Also includes, books, audio books, education, newspapers etc.
I did most of an Open University course while commuting to work by train, and also read my monthly Linux Format subscription. When I changed jobs and had to drive I never had time to read the magazine any more (or indeed do courses) and cancelled the subscription.
The Economist (Score:5, Insightful)
If you have any interest in politics or world affairs: The Economist. Most news these days is like candyfloss; by comparison, the Economist is like a huge, succulent steak. Don't be fooled by its thinness: it's the only magazine I've ever come across where I actually want to read 90% or more of the articles in each and every issue. There's just a lot less of the fluff, filler, and advertising which pads out many thicker magazines.
Re:Yes (Score:5, Insightful)
But if you don't have enough money...
Re:Not all mags are online, let alone for free. (Score:4, Insightful)
Speaking as a print publisher who's sick of your kind of parasitism, bugger off.
How is it parasitism if he uses online sources that are made available for everyone?
Print publishers need to accept the online world as a reality and stop seeing it as unfair competition.
Basically the same lesson that the music and film industries had/have to learn.
Re:Troll Submission? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Troll Submission? (Score:5, Insightful)
It actually meant that no child got ahead.
Re:"All"? (Score:5, Insightful)
"'Used to be' is a past tense."
Yes. Here are some trends.
List of Economies by Incremental Nominal GDP from 1990 to 2000
United States 41.37%
Japan 16.04%
European Union 14.48%
China 8.05%
List of Economies by Incremental Nominal GDP from 2000 to 2010
European Union 25.24%
China 15.25%
United States 14.91%
Brazil 4.72%
Predictive List of Economies by Incremental Nominal GDP from 2010 to 2016
China 20.59%
European Union 16.77%
United States 12.99%
Russia 5.61%
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_economy [wikipedia.org]
I guess there is some relation to the viability of printed magazines in all this.
Re:Yes (Score:2, Insightful)
Except health outcomes are less than most mature healthcare systems. For about twice the price of them.
I know your point was a little bit about how if you were cashed up, you can access the top end of that. However, you can also do that in those other countries too (most of them), or you can do some health tourism.
The US healthcare record is abysmal, and shameful.
Re:"All"? (Score:2, Insightful)
I live in the city of San Francisco and the closest Barnes & Noble is a 15 minute drive from my house.
Uh... is that supposed to be far?
Re:Subscription price? (Score:5, Insightful)
It can be a bit cheaper if you subscribe but not much. Simple fact is unlike with the US the subscription model for magazines never really took off in the UK no matter how hard they tried. UK consumer did not like making the commitment when they could walk down the street and buy the magazine when it suited them
Which could explain the difference in quality in the magazines between counties, in many ways magazines in the US are trying compete at a brand subscription level (it's where the bulk of their sales are done) , aka give you good enough "deal" to to entice you to subscribe and then do just enough to make sure you are not motivated enough to cancel the subscription (considerably easier that trying to motivate you to actively renew, hence why they all automatically renew) where as magazines in the UK have not only compete with their competitors mag right next to theirs every day but also convince the consumer it's worth buying....with every single issue
Couple of bad issues (uninteresting cover/main articles) would cause barely a blip on US magazines revenues as majority of their customers are subscriptions where as for UK mag it could mean closure
Re:UK mags rock (Score:5, Insightful)
It's about variety of products in all aspects of consumption. US has less variety, because it's population is more oriented to economizing than to enjoying life. Of all the products Americans tend to choose the cheapest and the competition is heavily shifted to the lowering the price, instead of other qualities.
Take myself. I have a decent salary, yet I shop for clothes exclusively at Walmart. Walmart has 3 types of shirts, 2 types of pants of which I would choose the cheapest if only they had different prices.
At the same time Americans paradoxically have much more consumerism in their culture than their fellow first-worlders in, for the lack of better synonym, old world.
So, in short, Americans buy more cheap crap. And that could explain the absence of variety.
Re:UK mags rock (Score:2, Insightful)
PC Gamer was the magazine for people that wanted to be gamers. PC Zone was the magazine for people who were gamers. It didn't suffer from the grade inflation that appeared in a lot of its competitors. I remember Lemmings 3D getting 9% in their review (I actually played it a few years later, and decided that they'd been quite generous there).
Re:Total speculation on why (Score:5, Insightful)
"Europeans live on an infrastructure that supports pedestrian life."
And you don't even get mugged on it.
Unfortunately that is changing. It may be that it was a lot rarer and no is more noticeable, but many of my UK friends complain about the rid win crime in cities such as London (especially pickpockets) which they attribute to the EU. Portuguese friends complain about muggings on the subway - a system that used to be so safe you could ride it anytime.
They have also highways and bridges that don't crumble to dust, cars that people actually buy throughout the world, high-speed trains, a couple of thousand different cheeses, and also science fiction stuff like global health insurance and powerful unions that actually help people.
Speaking as a European and American, yes Europe has much to offer; but it has its problems as well. Most of my friends complain about the cost of living, such as why does a Mac cost more in Pounds or Euros than in Dollars, taxes (just as we do in the US), health care systems while there is no fee at the point of service navigating them can be a mess, etc. They also find the US much more open to entrepreneurs and risk taking; and more of a meritocracy (if somewhat brutally so).
OTOH, I find the pace of life more enjoyable in Europe and the idea that everyone takes August off a brilliant idea. As for transportation, I'd say the Germans build cars everyone wants to drive, the rail / metro systems are great, and I love walking around the major cities.
In the end, as a relative of mine was fond of saying: "Not better, not worse, just different."
Re:"All"? (Score:5, Insightful)
yes, but the important point here is that those Euro-socialist school systems have produced societies where people can read. Thus there is a market for products that involve reading.
Re:UK mags rock (Score:5, Insightful)
I think you've just proven the geographic diversity of the US. If you live in a small town or do your shopping at Wallmart then of course it's going to seem like Americans don't like variety. There's only so much variety you can fit in a single superstore that's trying to meet everyone's basic needs. Wallmart stocks a modest selection of electronics, toys, foods, clothes, home appliances and that's about it.
However, you'll find all kinds of variety if you go to cities on the coasts or larger (perhaps, ironically) more international cities like Boston or New York. For example, I've seen little clothes stores and specialty shops from all over the world in these cities. I'm not even sure how some of these places stay in business because there's almost never anybody in them.
I would say that Apple's rising pc marketshare in the US says otherwise.