Wising Up the Idiot Box

Drop by any newsstand and it’s obvious the future of personal technology makes good copy. Just check out the magazine section at Barnes & Noble, which is littered with publications with titles like The Net, The Web, ComputerWorld and Internet Life.

Get ready for another one: Smart TV, which claims to be the only U.S. magazine exclusively covering the meld between the small screen and the Digital Age.

Talk about a niche market. Some of the stories in the magazine’s debut issue include “How to Make Your TV Smarter,” “A Buyer’s Guide to Smart VCRs” and “Ten Commandments for Quality TV Programming.” (Rule number two: Thou shalt plan your viewing week in advance.)

“It’s not for techies, it’s not a gear magazine,” Executive Editor Stephen Muratore said. “It’s like a decaffeinated Wired, which everyone who wants to take control of technology in their homes can understand.”

This month, the quarterly magazine popped into bookstores and computer shops throughout Orange County. Staff at Fry’s in Fountain Valley and Barnes & Noble in Costa Mesa said the magazine has sold moderately well.

Created by York Publishing in Chico, the magazine staff plan to release their second issue in November.

P.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com