Byte magazine is making a comeback

[Ian King]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-
> bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Evan Koblentz
> Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2010 2:42 PM
> To: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
> Subject: Re: Byte magazine is making a comeback
> 
> 
> > http://createyournextcustomer.techweb.com/2010/12/byte/
> 
> We'll see about that ..... so far they hired one "personality" and they
> haven't said a single word about how Byte.com will be different from
> any
> other gadget site. My guess is they're out of new ideas to be
> competitive, so they're throwing poop at a wall to see what sticks.

It's such a strange feeling to find myself agreeing with Evan :-) but I can't see anything but an attempt to spray-paint a once venerable name onto a fresh turd.  By the time Byte died, it was a mercy killing; as has been stated elsewhere, most of the computer magazines, and Byte in particular, had transmogrified into PC magazines, despite the fact there wasn't that much "there" there.  

While there has been a lot of conversation as to why - some of it laced with various conspiracy theories - I opine that it's simply that the general marketplace had moved on from the heady early days of computing and, like it or not, publishers need to appeal to that "general marketplace" in order to make money and stay in business.  I will acknowledge and embrace one conspiracy theory, namely that the Intel hegemony wiped out a lot of meaningful discourse about computing because, well, if it wasn't x86 it wasn't... happening.  (I am so glad to see how ARM processors are creating a competitive marketplace again.)  

Wired has devolved to being little but a commanding presence in the gadget magazine genre - to the point that I've allowed my subscription to expire, as I don't find their content interesting (or accurate, in many cases, or readable, given their "interesting" typeface and color choices).  I really wonder how the folks hoping to "revive" Byte can think they will find a market.  -- Ian