A Wired Consumer Reports

Wow! What a treat. TEST is a trial publication from Wired magazine featuring Consumer Reports’ type testing on fast-moving electronic gear. TEST comparatively evaluates a surprisingly thorough range of gear, and their judgements seem to be reasonable, rather than just fashionable. The best surprise of all is that TEST does the one key thing so many magazines dare not do — that is, they actually say: we tried all of these and this one is the best. Why is that so hard to do? Because it steps on advertiser’s toes. So, may the force be with TEST. Out of all the many year-end holiday lists of gadgets I’ve seen online and in magazines, this is the only one I think has any merit as a trustworthy guide. Great job.

BTW, this special issue should not be confused with the annual roundup of gadgets and gifts in Wired’s December TOOL issue, although it will be. And I had absolutely nothing to do with TEST’s creation and no foreknowledge about its appearance. I’m just a happy reader.

This first issue of TEST was printed in limited quantities, but Wired’s editor-in-chief Chris Anderson has made a PDF of its content available online exclusively for Cool Tool readers in case you can’t find it on your local newsstand, where it should be until the end of the year.

— KK

Wired TEST
PDF download
If that site is overloaded, I have a mirror of the PDF here.

12/9/04

© 2022