A patron asked for Technology Review to be added to our collection. When he said it was a technology magazine published by M.I.T. I thought it was going to be way too academic for our patrons. But when I read the sample issue, I was really delighted with it. So much so that I ordered a subscription for myself (the library has yet to decide).
The technology that the magazine covers is actually tech that is accessible to everyone: alternative fuels, cheap laptops, even technology in medicine (and how it will impact us as patients). But there’s also some super high tech stuff: robotic arms, nuclear power, genetic engineering.
It opens with an Editor’s Letter followed by Reader’s Letters. Next comes the Notebooks section. This features several very short pieces about different ideas: green energy, memory boosting drugs. (It also has oddly computer generated drawings of the writers).
One issue totally got me with a “Special Advertising Section” that I read a few pages of before realizing it was an ad section (for biotechnology in Spain(?!)). Boo! So, yes, this magazine is full of ads, despite it coming from MIT and discussing a lot of the topics that are advertised here. But I guess that’s how they can keep the price down ($5 an issue).
The To Market section talks about products that are newly (or soon to be) available. There’s a product to help your computer boot faster. HD Wireless Router. Ebooks. Phone apps. Even a phone that doubles as a projector. All kinds of tech stuff ranging in price from $20 to $1,000.
Next there’s a Photo Essay which shows beautiful pictures of fascinating things: Dark matter in outer space or cool pictures of the brain.
Then there’s the Cover Story. Recent stories include Can Technology Save the Economy (yes and no depending on who you ask) and How Natural Gas Changes the Energy Map (quite dramatically, actually). Other lengthy articles include removing stress-inducing memories from PTSD sufferers and even an article about how web anonymity works (nd how it affects users in censorious countries).
The back pages offer Reviews. But they’re not book reviews. They’re reviews of things: Cheap Netbooks, a new prosthetic arm (!), there’s even a review of nuclear power (and how the burden of using it is now financial, never mind environmental).
There’s also a Demo section and a From the Labs section. The Demo takes a look at technology in action (nanotubes, growing nanocrystals). And the From the Labs section looks at New Publications, Experiments and Breakthroughs in Biomedicine, Information Technology (smart email and better memory) and Materials (lasers, fuel cells).
The back page features 28 or 29 years ago in Technology Review. The number appears to vary but in the few issues I’ve read, it’s been 28 or 29 years. This is fascinating just to see what was happening in the 1980s (advances in lie detection and a look at Three Mile Island.). What I like about this is that they don’t just reprint an article. They talk about what was going on and then and show quotes from the original. It’s a cool way to see what they talked about and how it has come to pass.
While some of the articles in this magazine are beyond the scope of the average technologist (ie., me). Most of it is completely readable and downright useful for anyone interested in technology who’s not just looking for the latest killer app or super-hyped gadget. It’s good stuff!
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