Digital Age Magazine Launches Its First Issue

Posted on May 14, 1999

TLS Media, LLC has announced the first issue of Digital Age Magazine, its computer magazine targeted at non-geeks. The magazine is billed as a resource for normal, non-geek readers who want to take control of the technology in their lives. The magazine launches with a circulation of 175,000 copies and a newsstand price of $2.95.

"Computers are supposed to make life easier, but for most of us they have created a lot of stress," said Michael Kelly, chairman and CEO of TLS Media, LLC, which publishes Digital Age Magazine. "And, the biggest problem is how technology gets presented. Why should I have to know about IRQ conflicts and SDRAM if I just want to hook up to the Internet? The bottom line is, I shouldn't have to know, and that's where Digital Age Magazine comes in. Rather than reporting on which computer processes data 10 milliseconds faster than the other, we provide valuable information about how to make computers and technology work for you."

The magazine's premiere issue contains a wealth of examples to illustrate the point. Style maven Martha Stewart shows how she uses technology to run her far-flung business empire. Noted financial columnist Pimm Fox shares his online-trading secrets. "The Search and I" offers tips to help readers stop searching and start finding things online. Apollo Eleven astronaut Buzz Aldrin reveals his strategies for traveling light with technology. There's even a "Jargon Hall of Shame" for products that are needlessly confusing.

"Digital Age is much more than a magazine. It's our passion, a movement to take back technology from those who would design complex products with poor instructions and then berate us for not getting it," wrote Kelly in a letter to readers that accompanied the magazine. Future issues will feature awards for products based on ease of use and customer service, guides to financial, travel and health information online, and profiles of celebrities who make smart use of technology, including author Tom Clancy, actor Martin Landau and director Francis Ford Coppola.