Wired is the online remnant of a once-popular computer magazine. Like any industry mag, it makes most of its money from ads, so its reviews should always be viewed with this in mind.

From TFA last paragraph

> Ultimately, if you already have the second-generation Scribe, I don't think you need to upgrade.... you might as well upgrade to a reMarkable tablet.... a pretty big investment for a still-limited device.... neither of them would be my go-to pick.

Don't think reviewers are getting paid to shill for Amazon.

If you look at the query parameters of the Amazon links you can see that they are affiliate links. It might be more or less an honest review but they do earn money from it.

We’ve discovered the review that says the thing is bad, is actually an ad for the thing, because the buy link has an affiliate code.

Am I understanding you right?

I feel like we have stumbled into a classic HN tarpit, where people try justifying something obviously wrong by adding one observation and implying it can be twisted into one segment of the obviously wrong thing.

It’s a tarpit, because as soon as I point out this doesn’t change anything, you can either point out you were just observing or claim some other claim was what was being implied

I don't think magazines using affiliate links necessarily makes a review unbiased. Recommended or not, if someone buys it from them they may as well make a cut.

That said, many of these type of articles are just thinly veiled paid advertorials.

Nothing wrong with ads in the correct context, a good part of why we bought print computer magazines was to look at them as well as the articles.

That's not correct; Wired still produces a print edition every other month.

So you’re not familiar with Wired (!?), and think this is an ad, along with a side of review-in-scare quotes? “you might as well upgrade to a reMarkable tablet.... a pretty big investment for a still-limited device.... neither of them would be my go-to pick”

And you’ve been on HN 15 years, just like me?

Something tells me you’re cranky this morning and trolling a bit

The day I trashed my huge collection of WIRED print mags, including that one Y2K dark glossy cover, was a sad day

I still bemoan selling the first couple of years of issues to someone on ebay. I needed to get the stuff out of the basement, but feels like I should have kept them just for the technology history lessons.

I'm still looking for the very early Wired issue that has an ad that goes something like "they laughed at you when you were growing up because you were different. now they wear a uniform with their name on it. and you don't."

Wired used to be more popular here, they aren't as they used to be it feels like, but it was basically a primary source of tech news for many of us.

16 years on HN, and enough karma to indicate that you regularly participate, but never heard of Wired magazine, huh?