Time tackles technology with Techland
Techland is led by Time tech editor Peter Ha, who up until September was an editor for TechCrunch’s gadget blog, CrunchGear. Other contributors include Matt Selman, who has written episodes of Seinfeld and The Simpsons, and professional writers/journalists Lev Grossman, Tracey John, and Steven James Snyder.
The blog, which, in my opinion bears some resemblance to Wired.com both visually and in terms of subject matter, covers just about everything geeky: gadgets, gaming, culture and tech news. In the blog’s first post, Ha explains where Techland fits in:
Think of TECHLAND as the water cooler for nerds. Or, the way I see it,
TECHLAND is the result of some weird orgy involving Jeff Albertson, a
Cylon, Lev Grossman and Nikola Tesla. Weird, right? But it just works.
But does it work? There’s good news, and bad news.
The good news first: Techland’s content is authentic geek. From handset reviews to news that filming for the big-screen adaptation of Thor will begin in January 2010, Techland has the type of tech and geek news you’d probably never find in the pages of Time, or on Time.com. Some of the content is short-form (the post on Thor weighs in at a mere 85 words), there’s video and the authors respond to comments. In other words, Techland is being run like a genuine blog and not a print publication.
That’s refreshing, and Time was wise to bring in a blogging veteran like Ha to lead the effort. But is all this enough to make Techland a success?
That’s where the bad news comes in: I think Time is trying to bite off too much. As I write this, Techland more closely resembles a menagerie of anything geeky than it does a somewhat-focused tech blog, as evidenced by the following sampling of headlines:
- T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold 9700 Review
- Fantastic Mr. Fox – the Comic Book?
- Raising a Nerdy Child: iPhone Games
- The Winter of Thor. Filming starts in January!
- The 50 Best Inventions for 2009
- Jay-Z talks DJ Hero and The Blueprint 3
In my opinion, Techland’s apparent attempt to cover anything that might fall under the category of ‘pop geek‘ could be a liability. After all, most of the web’s top tech blogs have been built around niches within the tech category. That makes sense because covering everything ‘techie‘ or ‘geeky‘ is a tough task.
At the end of the day, Techland’s success will depend on its eclectic mix of subject matter resonating with consumers, or not. Will Techland’s breadth make it an appealing read for more mainstream techies and geeks, or will its lack of depth leave it unable to compete with already-established and more narrowly-focused popular tech blogs?
One thing is for sure: Time won’t be the last traditional publication that attempts to compete with popular blogs. And win or lose, that’s a good thing.
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about 1 month ago
head is much better than cook, now and long term. and they would likely start james instead of alston, alston isnt a typical point guard, he cant play in the half court offense well, but what do you expect? he did come from AND1 streetball.
about 1 month ago
From the used book stores I've been to, they usually give you credit toward other books as opposed to money for them. You might want to call around (in your area) and ask which ones buy hardback books. I would think you should get around half of the original price.
about 1 month ago
looking at this list I was amazed. The fact that she wants to ban the established works of Rowling, lee, dahl and even Shakespeare shows how bad and unrealistic her and McCain are.
Just shows that u americans MUST elect Obama
about 1 month ago
The animation looks horrible. I won't be seeing it as it'll be too distracting to enjoy the movie – no matter how good it might be.
about 1 month ago
Nope, not Tesla either.
The first incandescent electric light was made in 1800 by Humphry Davy, an English scientist. He experimented with electricity and invented an electric battery. When he connected wires to his battery and a piece of carbon, the carbon glowed, producing light.
about 1 month ago
Electricity……..no electricity means no computers and internet.
about 1 month ago
Yes I was lucky enough to go to one of the advanced screenings… but just between us, I wasn't exactly happy about it! I thought it was going to be just another childish cartoon but it wasn't. I actually really enjoyed it. I love Roald Dahl's books and the movies stayed really true to the book so that was a plus. Also it's great for kids obviously but for adults too… some of the gags and jokes had most of the cinema in stitches.
I would really recommend going to see it even if you don't cartoons, this one's worth it.Oh and helps if you like George Clooney too LOL.
about 1 month ago
Go to Borders or Barnes & Noble and purchase "The Screenwriters Bible". It's under $20 and will get you started on everything you need to know including on how to pursue the rights to a book.
If I were you , and you're looking into breaking into screenwriting, adapting a book isn't a good first step. Adaptations are usually done on commission by established screenwriters with a professional record.
Write an original work. Good luck.
about 1 month ago
Disgusting.
about 1 month ago
Try using their search bar for topics you want to watch.
Like "Politics on Iraq" for example.
Also, youtube videos have certain categories to keep them organized. This should narrow down your search.
http://youtube.com/categories_portal?c=25&e=1
about 1 month ago
What do you mean by "Does Geek Squad cover that?" ? Who cracked it? If they cracked it at their shop – it's their responsibility (lots of luck getting any help from Best Buy though).
If you cracked it, test the unit by attaching an external monitor to it. If it works ok, then you might look into having the screen replaced. Screen on some units are very expensive and on others, reasonably prices.
I can check on the availability of the screen for you if you email the information – make/model/warranty and/or service tag number to me at
Hope this helps…
about 4 weeks ago
In colleges or reality TV shows
!
about 4 weeks ago
Packet sniffers are not usually wiretapping in much the same way that catching broadcast cell phone signals is not wiretapping.
If the packet is being broadcast over a network, or the cell phone signal is being broadcast between the phone and the tower, then it is considered publicly available to anyone with appropriate technology.
Now, different sets of laws (by state or federal) impose specific restrictions on what technology may be used, and what types of communications may be intercepted. So, it all depends on the legal definitions and the jurisdictions involved.
As far as your example and the news story, it also depends on the specific network protocols and routing methods being used. Many type of networks use a broadband physical protocol, where every packet is sent to every computer on the network, which then determines based on information in the packet envelope whether that computer cares about the packet contents or not. In that model, each computer on the network is arguably the "recipient", since each receives a copy of the packet and each can then determine what to do with the packet.
That's the problem with poorly written laws — there are too many ways to argue whether they do or do not apply in a given situation.
about 3 weeks ago
I'm not sure but you can catch the episode at this site. Hope this helps!
about 3 weeks ago
1. Alf
2. The Skipper – Gilligan's Island
3. Hawkeye Pierce – M.A.S.H.
4. Screech – Saved by the Bell
Bonus – The comic book guy – The Simpsons
It's true. I DID NOT see the bonus question. Give the 10 points to the person after me. I don't like leaving my answers incomplete.
about 3 weeks ago
Here's a pretty extensive list:
http://corporate.britannica.com/press/inventions.html
about 3 weeks ago
First I'm going to define modern as "last 200 years" and then answer the question as regards the last 10 years.
The greatest company would almost certainly be Bell labs, they pioneered such things as the transistor (which makes modern computers possible), UNIX operating system (which Linux and Apple both are based on) and the C programming language, to name a few and over a dozen of their employees received the Nobel Prize.
I also think that the United States also has been the best in innovation. Japan has had some very interesting things coming out recently but their entry into innovation is moderately recent, within the last fifty years. The United States however has had some of the best inventors the world has ever seen: the invention of the steamboat, cotton gin electric power, the phonograph for recording sound, motion pictures, airplanes, computers, the Internet.
If you're talking strictly post-2000 then I also think that the United States still leads, we have better technology (and on a smaller scale) than any other country. The methods we use to manufacture transistors for microprocessors are proprietary and not available to any other country. I suppose you would need to get into specifics to determine which country or company produced the best cell phones.
I think that on a case by case analysis, Japan and the United States are very close as to who makes more innovative moves in various devices.
about 2 weeks ago
Spiderpig, Spiderpig XDDD
about 2 weeks ago
galaxydreams you recently blocked me at the request of Nephilimfree, I can tell you right now that he is incredibly ill and dishonest. He states that I have never answered a question when in fact he does that. He goes from video to video pasting the same thing and never response to the answers given. the fact that he wants you to block and delete comments shows how weak his arguments.