
The Failed Promise of ‘The Verge’ - shawndumas
http://brooksreview.net/2011/12/failure/
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rm999
I like the Verge, and what I like about the Verge is what Ben Brooks doesn't,
I think. The reviews don't hit you like an opinionated ton of bricks; the
style of the Verge recognizes that there are nuances in reviewing any product
that are ultimately subjective. I don't want to read "buy the iPhone 4S and
nothing else", I want to read what the reviewer thought the pros and cons are,
regardless of how much he weights those pros and cons. Because I'll probably
think some things are more important than he does.

The Sphero got a pretty harsh review, including the summary wrap-up of 'THERE
ARE PLENTY OF BETTER WAYS TO SPEND $129.99' and a 5.0/10, which as anyone who
reads reviews on any site knows is below average. I honestly don't see the
problem, it's not The Verge is hiding its opinion that they wouldn't buy the
product.

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zalew
> That’s just stupid, I’m sorry, but it really is a stupid statement. It’s
> like saying: “This car is really fast, but it only gets 2MPG when in fast
> mode. That’s not a problem at all, but best to just turn off fast mode.”

Well, that's quite what happens in modern luxurious fast cars, like M-powers,
AMGs, etc. After pressing a button, the gearbox gives a more agressive spin,
the suspension lowers and stiffens, the bucket seat and seatbelt hold you more
firmly; in short: it turns on all the things that would make the car a PITA
while driving around the block. BTW there is an Android 'Power widget', where
it has the option to automatically switch the phone to 2g when on wifi, etc.
So, maybe that's not such a stupid idea after all?

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MrDrone
I'm a big fan of The Verge. They are a step ahead of a great deal of the
competition. That said, a lot of the criticism is dead on. They, represent,
though, major trends in tech writing all around. The Verge just set itself up
to rise above them and its failure to really do so is its greatest
disappointment.

That said, I still read it every day at work and I have faith that we'll see
steady improvements in quality as time goes on.

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jholman
This article is a year old (minus two weeks). Given that the Verge is only 13
months old (according to WP), i.e. it is NINE TIMES OLDER than it was when TFA
went to press, this is probably a germane fact that should be mentioned in the
HN title? Maybe it's silly to post meta-reviews that are obsolete by now,
unless some kind of meta-meta-review is implied?

