Sunday, July 15, 2007

Modern technology and Chronic Subscription Fatigue Syndrome - Fortune

Cute article, but my print subscription to Fortune will be high on my list of things to cut, if, as is the case with this week's issue, the ratio of advertising (or "special advertising sections") to content is greater than 1:1...

[...] I tallied up the total monthly cost of my family's digital and cultural lifestyle. I was shocked and awed. Stupefied. Then queasy. Diagnosis: Chronic Subscription Fatigue Syndrome.

CSFS is a 2lst-century malady loosely related to mouse-induced carpal tunnel syndrome and to the neurological disorder that habitual videogamers call the "twitch." It's the kind of infirmity that sneaks up on you, sort of like "feature creep" - the slow accumulation of arcane bells and whistles that transforms perfectly usable software like Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop into an intimidating, leaden mass.

Other interesting stuff from the latest issue:

  • How Gates conquered China -- cover story; "Or is it the other way around? Fortune's David Kirkpatrick goes on the road to Beijing with Bill Gates, who threw his business model out the window."
  • Annual Global 500 survey: a useful reality check (or unreality check, in some cases)

Modern technology and Chronic Subscription Fatigue Syndrome - July 23, 2007

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