Dr. Dobb's Journal Going Web-Only 233
paleshadows writes "The first issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal (DDJ) was published in January 1976. A few days ago, Herb Sutter (the chair of the ISO C++ committee and a long-time DDJ columnist) announced through his latest blog post that, 'as of January 2009, Dr. Dobb's Journal is permanently suspending print publication and going web-only.' This follows an earlier announcement that PC Magazine is to become digital-only, too, as of February 2009. To those of us who enjoy reading such stuff away from the computer these are bad news, as there seems to be no other major technical programmers' magazines left standing."
Journalists (Score:5, Interesting)
Tell me about it. I've professionally written some articles in the past, and it seems like there's almost nothing left to write for anymore. Either the magazine is so specific so as to be little more than an advertisement (e.g. Oracle or DB2 magazine) or the magazine doesn't pay (in any meaningful sense of the term) for articles. (e.g. Java Developers Journal) Time will tell if web-based publications will manage to support the same eco-system of authors or if it's time to go write a book.
Probably just time to write a book. ;-)
Damn damn damn (Score:4, Interesting)
Not surprised, the last issue was very thin, but still. First Byte (I still miss Byte, see this 10 year old issue [byte.com] for why.), then PC Mag, now DDJ. Ah well, another subscription to not renew.
At least Linux Journal is still a Real Magazine.
Print is expensive (Score:4, Interesting)
Capt Obvious here. :)
I recently started http://groovymag.com as a PDF-only publication, and have had interest from people in print versions. At the small numbers we're at, it's probably about an extra $5 per copy just to cover print and postage, which I don't think most people are willing to pay that right now, though maybe I'll be proven wrong.
We're in a niche market, so we don't rely on advertising, and have no plans to do so. I suspect we may see more products forgoing the advertising model altogether, and focusing on providing value for 'micropayments' - $2-$4/month for access to content. I think the 'micro' in micropayments has traditionally had people thinking about "2 cents per page view" sort of thing, but that's never proven feasible.
What might arise from this downturn in advertising-driven publications are content networks of like minded publications that offer access to content from all sites for a set fee. Aren't there some industries that already do this (ahem - adult?)
Re:Different strokes (Score:4, Interesting)
Personally, I prefer on-line versions. With hyper-links and video, the content can be greatly enriched.
While I tend to agree with you, there is something nice about holding printed material in your hand and reading that instead of being in front of a screen. I can't really put my finger on it, though...but it's difficult to "curl up with a good computer."
Plus none of those pesky issues with storing old magazines, or recycling, or worse, land-fill.
Definitely correct here. However, this assumes that their magazine can be downloaded (PDF?) or that they store it to their site for a long amount of time.
maybe not "major" but... (Score:3, Interesting)
MacTech journal has been in continuous print publication since 1984.
PC Magazine? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:come on! (Score:3, Interesting)
Some of us just love PAPER. I read Doctorow's Little Brother online, but I'm buying the paper version.
I used to be an avid reader of both Dr. Dobbs and PC Mag, but that was when personal computing was fairly new and the magazine racks in the grocery stores were full of computer magazines. Now all the magazines in the stores are women's fluff rags; People, Home and Graden, ladies Home Journal. Odd since I see as many men as women in the store, and women these days are into much the same things as men.
PC Mag started sucking, too. Dr. Dobbs never did, but I could no longer find copies.
My daughter bought me hardcover books for Christmas. I'll hate to see the day when they're obsolete, but then again I might not live that long (I figure I've got between one day and forty years left).
I'm Sorry, but Good Riddance (Score:2, Interesting)
"To those of us who enjoy reading such stuff away from the computer these are bad news, as there seems to be no other major technical programmers' magazines left standing."
This is another nostalgia-stuffed feel-good statement I see burrowed into our news stories from time to time as we shed the old and embrace the new. Me? I just don't give a damn. Let them die. I haven't purchased a magazine outside of an airport in this millennium and I don't know anyone else who has, either. There isn't one thing a magazine could tell me that I haven't read (and probably re-re-read) many times over.
Today we have our laptops, Kindles, RSS feeds, incredible PDAs, hell, my cell phone does more than first computer ever could, ten times over.
We don't need dead trees to get our information any longer. Call it the green economy shedding the skin of old media, call it putting the ole girl out to pasture, call it shooting an unneeded service in the face, whatever.
Just please don't give me this nostalgic wasn't-it-great-back-then crap about how you used to be so excited for the new issue to come in the mail. Rather, be excited about seeing your RSS feed updated. Shift your focus, enjoy your nostalgia, but put it into perspective.
Re:not surprised (Score:1, Interesting)
That's what got me to drop my subscription to PC Gamer. I'd subscribed for five years, and it was well worth the money. A big fat magazine loaded with info, and a CD of game demos. Then some bastard capitalists bought it out, fired all the good writers, made the page size smaller, dropped the number of pages from 400-500 a month down to maybe 150, most of which were ads.
IMO those greedy capitalists are incredibly stupid, killing the goose that layed the golden egg. Actually I think that's what went wrong with the world's economy, the capitalists got too damned greedy.
Bittersweet (Score:3, Interesting)
I've been reading Dr. Dobbs for a few years.. Same with Linux Journal, Linux Magazine, SysAdmin magazine. Though I enjoy thumbing through the magazine while I'm - uhh - busy, keeping the back issues is a pain. They're not easily searchable, take up a lot of space, are not cut/paste friendly, etc..
The era of the print computer magazine is in its last throes. I raise a glass to Compute!, Antic, Byte, SysAdmin, and all the others that entertained me through the years.
Re:Well then (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Missing Options (Score:5, Interesting)
What's so bad about paper? Most of our paper comes from trees in managed timberlands, which are currently replanting twice as fast [tappi.org] as they're harvesting (at least in the U.S.) And much of it comes from tree farms [wikipedia.org], which are wonderfully eco-friendly. We use a helluva lot of paper, but it's not beyond sustainable levels yet and it's wonderfully convenient. And paper's a renewable and easily recyclable resource, unlike the materials used in e-readers.
Does somebody more eco-wise want to set me straight and explain why an e-reader is so much "greener" than dead trees?
Re:The iPoo (Score:5, Interesting)
What I want is a reader that is bathroom and bathub friendly. Also one I could take outdoors and not worry about it getting rained on or something if I happen to leave it out on the deck by accident.
Actually Amazon sells transparent covers for the Kindle [amazon.com] that make it fairly impervious to rain, spills, tub accidents, etc. And, if you're worried about a bathroom disaster, they're priced low enough that they can be treated as disposable (I've actually thrown more than one away myself.)
Why one of these isn't bundled when you purchase a Kindle, I have no idea.
Re:Missing Options (Score:4, Interesting)
They're mostly cutting down 25 year old trees that they planted 25 years ago specifically so they can be cut down now. Then they replant and move over to the next lot which was planted 24 years ago and so on.
Re:Journalists (Score:3, Interesting)
Wow, that's awful. How many copies did you manage to sell? Even if the book sold poorly, I'm shocked that your royalties would be that low. Did you at least get an advance? Or some other income? I mean, your subject is very much a niche, so low numbers are to be expected [larkware.com], but that's some of the worst returns I've ever heard of.