RE: Midrange Computing is liquidating. -- MIDRANGE-L

Carel,

I agree, the other magazines are doing it too. I just don't think the model
works very well. You are either a print magazine or a web magazine. I don't
think you can be both. When I sit down to read an article at my desk, I have
10 or 15 minutes to read it between tasks. I'm not gonna start reading it,
then switch out to the web, then back to the article.


   <<The evolution to RPG IV caused source examples to double, especially
when
   <<using API's. MC had to cut down on the source, but they are not the
only
   <<magazine: News/400 does the same; for the complete code you have to
visit
   <<the Web (for New/400 you should have an extended subsription). I have
   <<always regretted that, because reading the article with the source in
view
   <<was a great benefit in understanding the working of some unknown
elements
   <<of the system.

As far as the content of the magazines go, I see the need to write articles
about java, vb, html, etc because the magazines have to stay on the leading
edge of technology. But they shouldn't do that at the cost of their bread
and butter, namely RPG coding techniques. There is still plenty to write
about in RPG techniques, they just got less and less people contributing
those kinds of articles. (At least they slowed down on printing em.)

  <<The last year there seems little to write about specific AS/400 issues,
   <<like using RPG. Before that  they would publish articles that dealt
with
   <<elementary development (basic CLP, writing commands). Now it has been
all
   <<about Java and Web-enabling,  just a segment of the spectrum the AS/400
can
  <<be used/is used, but completely overemphasized (overall in the press). A
   <<big issue herein (security) did not get enough coverage (IMHO). The
"fluf"
   <<articles on Outlook and writing HTML using VB were put in to get a
divers
   <<number of articles. Those articles, however, has made MC look more like
a
   <<technical PC magazine than being aimed at the midrange segment.
Articles on
   <<Unix and its variants did not seem attractive to the editorial board.


I couldn't agree more that they lost their sense of direction. But I think
the contents of the magazine did have a bearing on their decisiion as it had
to have an effect on subscriptions/profit.

  <<But having seen the other publications IIR have, the contents matter of
the
   <<magazine or the website has anything to do with their decision. I think
IIR
   <<has lost its sense of direction, like IBM has the recent years.


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