re: Money Wants to Be Free
Our March cover story about the future of money described new ways to pay for stuff. Nothing fancy, just a discussion of financial exchanges that rely on Twitter, iPhones, PayPal. We mentioned some virtual currencies. Said that PayPal circumvented merchant banks, saving people money. We didn't really think it would ruffle any feathers. We were wrong: The story brought out hordes of haters, all kvetching about their bad experiences with PayPal. We also had to fend off an invasion of goldbugs, who are (still!) up in arms about the demise of the gold standard. Next time we'll stick to something less polarizing, like religion.
Up In The Air
When Wired creative director Scott Dadich saw the paper sculptures that designer Stephen Doyle was making out of old novels (above), he says he made a mental bookmark. "I wanted to use the idea for something," he says. "But I wasn't sure what." A week later, when he had to assign the art for our story on the future of money, he knew the guy to call.
"The story was about money becoming invisible," Doyle says. So he flipped the idea around: "I reincarnated money into the 3-D world." Doyle designed the folded-paper structure a lot like you would an actual building. "You put up the posts, then you add the beams — just at dollar-bill scale." Speaking of which: Is his cover creation really as tiny as an actual bill? Doyle won't say. "Knowing everything is no damn fun."
Funny Money
Free money ("The Future of Money," issue 18.03)? We wish! Alas, money is just on loan from banks. Eventually, you'll have to pay for using it. Plus interest.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by MIKEACKER
Does Michael Ivey of Twitpay not get the irony of someone making a typo ? Oops, I just sent $100 to everyone on Twitter. Count me out.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by HONESTMONKEY
It won't be too much longer before the only accepted currency is guns and toilet paper. I'll pass on your digital money, thanks.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by DEADSTICK325
Beware: Once money goes digital, everyone will be subject to the whims of whoever controls the on-off switch. And make no mistake — someone will still control the switch. If you're seen as a dissident, your digital money source could just be deleted. Tread carefully.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by GABACHOMIKE
Your author should have Googled "PayPal" and "nightmare" first.
Nathan Laughton
Minot, North Dakota
Found, Then Lost
In his article about Google ("Inside the Box," issue 18.03), Steven Levy used the phrase "mike siwek lawyer mi" as an example of a search that showed Google's power and effectiveness — how easy it is to find an individual lawyer in Michigan! But since the article was published and blogged about, those links crowd out Mr. Siwek, and his Web site no longer appears in Google's top search results. So very ironic.
Andrew Barber
Lincoln, Nebraska
The Great Extrapolation
As an audiophile, I'm excited by the potential of compressed sensing ("Fill In the Blanks," issue 18.03). The standards for music CDs were set during prehistoric times, and the programs currently used to upsample digital music are not very good. But with compressed sensing, the quality of the sound from a CD could surpass that of vinyl.
Chris Englund
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
The existence of multiple compression algorithms demonstrates that there are a variety of ways to throw away data without affecting the appearance of the image. That's fine for family photos, but not for science. There's a huge difference between something that is like reality and something that is reality. I'd hate to hang my life on that difference.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by PJCAMP
Remembrance of Things Past
When Wired editors are feeling blue, we grab an early issue of the magazine and spend a few minutes looking at ads for tech that time forgot. The AT&T wrist phone! Thrilling new CD-ROMs! WordPerfect 6.0, now with "Undo" feature! Cheers us right up. Now you can get the same pick-me-up online at Wiredreread.com. Created by Theis Søndergaard, a tech product manager who lives in Denmark, the site — not run or endorsed by us — reprints funny ads from Wired issues of yore, adding a layer of smart commentary. It's like our own personal wayback machine.
Hey, Boss! Don't Block Facebook!
"Driven by Distraction" (Start, issue 18.03) validated what I've been saying for a year: You need to let your brain breathe a little between bouts of work, and social networking sites are perfect bite-size pieces of fresh air. Thanks for proving I'm not crazy!
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by CGALLO42
Smarter Than the Average Bear
I always look forward to your product reviews, but you missed the mark when you tested bear-proof containers on zoo animals in "Going Hungry" (Test, issue 18.03). Forget the bear in the zoo. One of the Yellowstone Yogis would be a true test. Why? A) They are hungry. B) They are experienced scavengers. C) They are wild. Nobody ever hand-fed these bad boys.
Ron Enns
Calgary, Alberta
Author Mathew Honan responds: Agreed. I would have loved to use the wild grizzlies in Yellowstone. Sadly, they were unavailable. For the record, though, the zoo did withhold Betsy the Bear's regular rations the day before our test.
The best sentence I've read in quite some time: "[The Ursack S29 AllWhite] stayed cinched against our grizzly's grimace, despite bearing the brunt of the bruin barrage." Sometimes you guys just really make my day.
Kelly Delaney
Los Angeles, California
Connect the Dots
When we posted our March story about conspiracy theories onto our Web site ("Paranoid Activity," Print), we built a tool that allowed readers to fill in the blanks, Mad Libs*-style, to create their own plots. We expected the wild-eyed to take potshots at global warming, vaccine safety, and Obama's birth certificate. But instead our readers treated us to some light-hearted riffs. Here's our favorite:*
Are you kidding me? Fraggle Rock was a total sham! Think about it! Everyone knows that Bert is evil. And have you noticed that Sesame Street has started to act very strangely? They obviously don't want this story getting out. I mean, what would happen if people began asking about Statler and Waldorf's relationship? Well, they may be able to fool the sheeple, but the members of The Muppet Show aren't swallowing their story. Look, don't take it from me; Dr. Bunsen Honeydew is convinced as well. But we have to act fast, because of Pigs in Space. I just wanted you to be aware of this, in case I disappear.
