Cool Tools book, TEST from Wired mag

Two items of interest to BoingBoing readers from the current issue of Kevin Kelly's ezine, Cool Tools.

First: a few hundred copies of the second edition of his Cool Tools book remain available on Amazon. "Some of the items are a bit dated by now, some are simply outdated or obsolete, but much of the book is evergreen," says Kevin, "The best cool tools won't be easily superceded." Link to Amazon listing.

Second: Wired Magazine just launched a trial publication called TEST, sort of a Consumer Reports-style testing guide about electronic gear. Snip from Kevin's review:

TEST comparatively evaluates a surprisingly thorough range of gear, and their judgements seem to be reasonable, rather than just fashionable. The best surprise of all is that TEST does the one key thing so many magazines dare not do -- that is, they actually say: we tried all of these and this one is the best. Why is that so hard to do? Because it steps on advertiser's toes. So, may the force be with TEST. Out of all the many year-end holiday lists of gadgets I've seen online and in magazines, this is the only one I think has any merit as a trustworthy guide. Great job.

BTW, this special issue should not be confused with the annual roundup of gadgets and gifts in Wired's December issue, although it will be. And I had absolutely nothing to do with TEST's creation and no foreknowledge about its appearance. I'm just a happy reader. This first issue of TEST was printed in limited quantities, but Wired's editor-in-chief Chris Anderson has made a PDF of its content available online exclusively for Cool Tool readers in case you can't find it on your local newsstand, where it should be until the end of the year.

Link to Wired TEST download (PDF).