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David hosts ZDNet Government -- ZDNet's politics and policy coffeehouse -- where civics lessons meet technology, nothing is sacred, and everything is fair game.

David’s Personal Favorites

David has written many articles over the years, but there’s a select set of them that don’t show up elsewhere on this site and are his personal favorites. Below, he lists those articles and explains why they’re his favorites.

Computing Unplugged Magazine | January 2008

On December 23, 1997, we wrote our first news story. We wanted to get in a week of practice and testing before we went live. On January 1, 1998, PalmPower Magazine went live and we published our first issue online. This article celebrates an important milestone: 10 years of continuous publishing online here at ZATZ.

Computing Unplugged Magazine | February 2007

Imagine if George Washington was still alive today. Imagine that even though he was born in 1732, he was still hale and hearty and large and in charge 275 years later. Unrealistic? Farfetched? Frickin’ crazy? Well, of course. Nothing like this could ever happen. Or could it?

Computing Unplugged Magazine | November 2006

It was the day of the 2006 "mid-term" elections in the United States. As a registered voter, I did my duty and went down to my local polling place and cast my vote. It was, without a doubt, the most disturbing voting experience I’ve ever had. In particular, we had issues of both inappropriate electioneering and a complete lack of privacy. Our interest Computing Unplugged was initially the touchscreen machines, since this is a computing technology that touches on our coverage areas. However, we’re also interested in the optical-scan systems, since they, too, are managed by computers and computing technology. Two years later, I’d early vote in the 2008 general election and, while it was early voting, most of the problems documented in this article seem to have gone away.

Computing Unplugged Magazine | November 2006

In the previous article, I discussed my personal dismay at the privacy violations I saw at my voting place back in 2006. I asked readers to tell us about their experiences, and we got a number of fascinating comments from here in America and as far away as Australia. Read on to the end, because Bernard Bolch’s comment about mandatory voting in Australia is fascinating.

Connected Photographer Magazine | April 2006

It took tar, a pewter plate, and a full day worth of sun, but after years of work, Nicephore Niepce was finally able to take the world’s first photograph. This is the story of that fascinating road to discovery. Somehow, I managed to include Clint Eastwood, Battlestar Galactica, temperance, the goddess Athena, a pope, and porn. This ain’t your Daddy’s history lesson!

COMPUTING UNPLUGGED MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2005

In this first of four articles, I explored World of Warcraft. For the record, almost four years later, my wife and I still occasionally play – as do some 12 million other users. Read on to learn about my first days, my ugly cow, and the ducks that must die. No real ducks were harmed in the writing of this article.

COMPUTING UNPLUGGED MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2005

My exploration into the wild, wonderful, wacky World of Warcraft continues. Read this week’s installment to understand why the staff started to worry about my diminishing grasp on any sense of right or wrong.

COMPUTING UNPLUGGED MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2005

It’s getting worse. As I continued my report into the World of Warcraft, everyone began to worry more and more about my sanity.

COMPUTING UNPLUGGED MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2005

I finally left Kalimdor for long enough to write a proper review of World of Warcraft. Is it worth your money and time? You’ll have to read this review to find out.

Connected Photographer Magazine | June 2005

Buried deep within the brittle, crumbling pages of the Codex Sinaiticus may well be hidden answers to questions that have haunted historians and religious scholars for centuries. In this fascinating article, I explored how digital imaging is helping search for a real-life Bible Code.

COMPUTING UNPLUGGED MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2005

This is my all-time favorite article, and I’m sure you can see why. As always, your esteemed ZATZ editorial staff was on the case, prepared to cover CES in full. Unlike in previous years, uh, something happened on the way to the convention center. You see, Denise and I – the two co-founders of ZATZ Publishing – got married. And, yep, CES went out the window. To make things even more interesting, Elvis is part of the story.

David’s guide to surviving Thanksgiving (and some computer stuff)
COMPUTING UNPLUGGED MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2003

Here it is. Perhaps my most famous Thanksgiving-related article. Every year since this was published, just before Thanksgiving, I get letters about this article and the quest for the dark meat. It tells the story about how I became fearless about Thanksgiving celebrations. If you’re celebrating Turkey Day with your family, you owe it to yourself and your family harmony to read this article.

DominoPower Magazine | November 2001

By mid-November 2001, which is when the following piece came out, we were still feeling the stress effects, but we all had to get on with our lives. The economy, terrorism, Anthrax, planes crashing, unemployment…the stress is getting to us all. In my editorial, I shared some ideas on how readers could manage their own stress level and find some peace of mind in troubled times. In order to brighten the day of our techie readers (and get away with the commentary), I also talked about a new release of software called Rnext.

PalmPower Magazine | October 2001

The following piece came out around October 1st, less than three weeks after the events of September 11, 2001. I shared my views on the recent tragedy, how it relates to technology, and where we go from here.

DominoPower Magazine | September 2001

We were due to publish our September issue of DominoPower on the day of the attacks. We obviously postponed the magazine. But, just a few days later, we managed to get back to work. This first piece then, is as close to the event as we get. On the day of the disaster, and for the two following days, I posted commentaries about the crisis to our news pages. Those commentaries are contained in this solemn editorial.

PalmPower MAGAZINE | December 2000

As the 2000 election wound down, I did this piece about the beast of this nation’s conflicting ideologies versus the beauty of America’s particular brand of democracy. After eight years of the result, it’s particularly poignant.

PalmPower MAGAZINE | January 2000

Somehow, I managed to get Bill Clinton, Milli Vanilli, Karen Carpenter, cigars, loincloths, IBM, Eudora, pointy-eared Vulcans, flush-toilets, and Charlemagne all into one reasonably lucid editorial. You don’t find gems like this in Time, baby!

DominoPower Magazine | December 1998

You might not expect social commentary in a technical magazine like DominoPower (well, at least back in 1998 they didn’t), but sometimes the real world asserts itself when you least expect it. I dedicated this issue of DominoPower to a female Notes administrator who was most unfairly treated, late one night at Newark airport.

Some of David's affilliations...

ZATZ Publishing

ZATZ Logo David is the founder of ZATZ Publishing, one of the first technology magazine publishers on the Internet.

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ZDNet / CBS Interactive

ZDNet/CBSi Logos David is CBS Interactive's Distinguished Lecturer. He also hosts ZDNet's DIY-IT and ZDNet Government blogs.

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U.S. Strategic Perspective Institute

USSPI Logo David is Director of the U.S. Strategic Perspective Institute, a 501(c)3 nonprofit research and policy organization.

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