@A Message To Rudy: The label was right beside the "peel" message, and the label was stuck with easily peelable glue. Not sure what more they could have done, other that put in in a plastic/paper wrapper with the label on that, thus creating more easte #esquire
@UGA: The label on my copy of the mag was huge, covered the "instructions" and didn't give any indication that it was to be removed to work properly. I didn't assume the image on the cover was the one that you were supposed to use, I thought it was the one on the inside. If they're both the same, great, no big issue.
And my issue does NOT come in a plastic bag. #esquire
It's a QR code. They're big in Japan. They're like bar codes, and your camera (in a phone, and there are iPhone apps for these as well) scans them. There's a URL embedded in them and so the QR code takes you to a website where you can play stupid games or see a little video or some such marketing nonsense. #magazines
I was able to carefully peel off the shipping label. I held it up to my webcam, heart racing with anticipation. The message? "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine." #magazines
@Arken: It MAKES a magical hologram thing when you hold it up to the webcam. I think you need to look up the definition of "our magical future." #magazines
Business Class to Switzerland? Oh, the humanity! As someone who spent years flying coach in and out of Cincinatti and Indianapolis may I hear them cry me a river? And not the "good" coach, either. The seats in the back, next to bathroom and galley, that don't recline. #media
@raincoaster: I honestly don't know why they had to fly them anywhere. Couldn't they have written about the seats on the ground? Set up an extra one in your New York office and reporters can come by and see it. My point is only that, if you are going to fly a bunch of journalists to Switzerland so they can experience these wonderful new seats, it makes no sense to not let them sit in the seats. #media
@Pesti-Esti: Airlines are incredibly greedy, though. If they thought they had the slightest chance of selling those seats, they'd have pushed the reporters back to the cargo hold, I'm sure. My father was an airline mechanic, and changing the seats around is a big, BIG deal. Very expensive. They couldn't just bolt them to a few rows of business class. And no airline on Earth is going to give away first class seats when it thinks it can sell them, not only because they're greedy but also because first class passengers kick up a HELLUVA stink when they realize they can't get a seat in first class. #media
Also, this RFID/Barcode box thing has been going on for a while now. Golf Digest has had it, and I doubt it's doing wonders for their renewal rates. #esquire
I know people love to lament how Esquire has worsened considerably since the "good old days" or whatever, but since I wasn't around for those and therefore have no basis for comparison (kind of like early SNL) I must say that month after month, I continue to find Esquire fanfreakintastic. Love the fiction, the "funny joke from a beautiful woman," the one-page celebrity interviews, pretty much any article by Tom Chiarella...all in all, I find it to be one of the most quality publications out there.
I realize none of that addresses the real subject of the post, but the reliance on technology to enhance a hard-copy publication makes me unspeakably sad. Especially since I don't own a webcam. #esquire
@DahlELama: I love Esquire as well. Why is it that "mens" magazines are so much more interesting than "womens" magazines? Oh yeah, because they recognize a world beyond romance and weight loss. #esquire
@DahlELama: I have to agree with you, for the most part. It's still my favorite magazine to read, but I think it has fallen off a bit from 2001-2003, when I could read it cover-to-cover as soon as it came.
As for the "glory days", get any book by George Lois, and you'll have your fill. It was good stuff, but you can only read so much old news. #esquire
@kepster: Discovering men's magazines in college was an utter revelation. Funny how none of them ever devote more than 2 pages to "How to Please Your Woman," "How to Lose 10 Pounds," or "437 Grooming Products You Need to Buy Right Now or You Will Become a Hideous Beast That No One Will Marry." Kind of makes you wonder what the content of women's magazines could be... #esquire
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Signed,
Old Guy Whose Grandchildren Roll Their Eyes Whenever He Asks A Computer-Related Question #esquire
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Something like that. #esquire
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@Daniel Mauser: In fact, here is said instruction. #esquire
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And my issue does NOT come in a plastic bag. #esquire
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10/29/09
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[gawker.com] #esquire
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I realize none of that addresses the real subject of the post, but the reliance on technology to enhance a hard-copy publication makes me unspeakably sad. Especially since I don't own a webcam. #esquire
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As for the "glory days", get any book by George Lois, and you'll have your fill. It was good stuff, but you can only read so much old news. #esquire
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10/14/09
I can live with that.