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I would guess the Ents are happy about this, too.

But who will subscribe? I subscribe to MacWorld but to be honest there's little in it that I haven't read on MDN; I just like the magazine. I wouldn't subscribe to a digital version.

It's a reflection. Of the PC industry.

Everyone's going Mac!

Print is not obsolete. It's still a very important medium. PC Mag should be ashamed of itself.

What is happening is that while print IS still an important medium (come on..look at a newsstand or your Sunday paper sometime)..publications whose content is available elsewhere will suffer a loss of readership. Print readers are WORTH more than web readers to an advertiser. If this was NOT true do you honestly believe that major advertisers would even HAVE an ad in print magazines? Why not take it all online? The truth is that for a lot of content the audience is divided now...and especially so for sites that essentially feed off the work of others (the Drudge Report being the most obvious example).
That means that the audience leads the advertising. No audience, no ads. Pick up a copy of Vogue magazine or the Robb Report or any other highly vertical content publication. Simple.

That reminds me of when Billy Joel was the first to release music on CD. I wonder if it will become the norm in the years to come like the CD did.

Nov 20, 08 - 12:46 pm Comment from: Cascadians

Don't worry! Apple will be coming out with a super light weight comfy iTablet that will be just right for sitting on a sofa and browsing online mags, ebooks, web sites, TV shows, movies, games -- everything!

Nov 20, 08 - 01:01 pm Comment from: HolyMackerel

They could bring out an iPhone-friendly version. And an app to buy directly from the iPhone…

Sofa? If this trend keeps up, I'm gonna have to have a computer in the bathroom. Holy C*&p;!

I couldn't care less about having one less PC rag on the stand. Let's hope that the celeb-tracker magazines die too.

That said, I have never seen an online magazine that was as satisfying to read as the paper version. I don't think I'm alone.

While digital devices are great for content creation and rapid communication, many people strongly prefer to read printed publications on paper. Many people like hand-written letters that show intelligent thought rather than sophomoric LOL-laden crap blogs, which now constitute a major portion of online media.

As nice as digital displays have become, no electronic device is as user-friendly as a good piece of print. None!

As for environmental impact -- papers can be manufactured in an environmentally responsible manner and can be recycled very cost effectively. Most electronics cannot be. Arguably the acid rain caused by paper mills in the past has had less impact than the PCBs, heavy metals, and toxic chemicals used in electronics manufacture - just visit China for your proof. The fact that paper manufacturers weren't always environmentally sound shouldn't negate the facts today.

I stopped buying magazines years ago, the info is at least a month out of date by the time it hits the stands.

Thats good - it had become mostly advertising anyway with out of date articles mixed between the ads.

To get "the traditional magazine feel," your web site must not be searchable, contain no hyperlinks and use no video or audio (let alone animated ads), and each page must be the same fixed size, which is wider than it is tall (think spreads). It must have only two buttons: Next and Back that move you only one page forward or backward. It must somehow transmit the odor of fresh ink.

By the way, trees for paper are now grown as a crop on a five-year cycle. Making new paper creates more trees than not making new paper. Not that recycling is a bad thing, but I think many people still have an image of Old Growth or Rain forests being ground up into pulp for bags and boxes.

Nov 20, 08 - 04:03 pm Comment from: Predrag

Well... First, forrest farming is only working in the developed world today. The rest of the planed is still severely troubled with rapid deforestation. We got it all figured out, but they still have a long way to go.

As for the pring/online dilemma, it is refreshing to see so many middle-aged participants in this debate. You can tell by their fondness for print medium. Ask anyone below 25 years of age if they subscribe to anything in print for a refreshing view on the state of the print media and its future.

As for the "traditional magazine feel", the article probably meant PDF, e-Book or Zinio formats, which preserve every single aspect of print media experience excpet the smell of fresh ink.

Nov 20, 08 - 04:04 pm Comment from: Predrag

It seems that I've been typing on a wrong keyboard layout; please pardon the typos in previous post...

Nov 20, 08 - 06:23 pm Comment from: iDon't

I will miss reading them for free in the book store.

Dear Steve Jobs,

If there is a screaming need for another outlet, this has to be it!
A killer App to download PDF or eBook or whatever formats to the iPhone. Shove it on iTunes and let people buy subscriptions or go a la carte to the digital magazines. E-zines are the future. Ask the New York and LA Times. Their main readership is digital now and not print.

Of course, you would have to break out of that crazy fingerscrolling directory system a little and put some real folders on the home page. How about it Steve?

eBooks for the masses.