Farewell Infoworld. R.I.P.

You might want to get the web site workable on FireFox 2.0.0.3 then (Mac OS X.4.9). The red header with the section titles FLASHES the submenu when the cursor is over the title. I can't select anything.

Steve, I think you have a point of indicating the online format IS more efficient... but the combination of text and images is unique in print.... images can only be so big online.... involved charts and diagrams are harder to see online.... although for your publication this might work best.... printed iamges and text does work best for other printed media. It will be interesting to see if anyone misses your printed version (my guess would be those folks who have yet to get a larger computer monitor)

Kudos on the move. It's good to see a business with the back bone to tackle change.

Not sure they'll suceed. Example: CNET Networks Business sites (ZDNet, TechRepublic and News.com) reach more business technology influencers than the COMBINED reach of InfoWorld, eWeek, InformationWeek and ComputerWorld online.

The magazine I write for, Intelligent Enterprise, similarly recently went on-line only. January 2007 was the last print issue. The reasons were pretty much those you give, Steve, but I'll amplify one point: "the needs of an information-hungry IT audience" aren't only related to timeliness. Many readers don't want print anymore. I had the president of one software company and the marketing VP of another tell me last week that they don't read print trade rags. Instead they register keywords with our favorite search engine and have content delivered to them. Myself, I do the same, but I'm not ready to give up print (when I can get it) or destination sites. I like clutter and the opportunity for accidental discovery that it creates.

Seth

Steve, thanks for the background.

Not that it replicates print, but if you've come across the NYTimes Reader (believe Forbes.com is also launching one) it is just an excellent online reading experience. Merges best of online delivery and tools with a very good, almost print-like visual presentation that also works well in offline situations. It uses Windows Presentation Foundation, which is available for XP and Vista systems. Check it out - http://firstlook.nytimes.com/

James

I've been a avid reader of Infoworld going back to the origins when I worked at IBM and HP. In fact I've been a reader of all of IDGs pubs going back to Computerworld in 1985. I've filled out many forms where I was a CEO of a $15b business. Now I can subscribe via RSS straight up.

Great move for InfoWorld. Congrats and I'm looking forward to linking to your quality content.

Steve, it's a sad day for those of us who've been following InfoWorld since the '80s. I'm wishing the best for you and your talented team.

FWIW, I think InfoWorld lost its way around 2000/2001.

I first started reading InfoWorld in '87, and through that 2000/2001 period, InfoWorld and PCWeek/eWeek were the two places where forward looking IT managers and volume buyers went to find the latest greatest IT innovations to solve their business problems.

The focus was on innovation, speeds and feeds, and productivity gains. Your readers were the hands-on geeks that were specifying which hard drive drive, PC, printer or anti-virus software brand their companies would deploy. IT buyers had a reason to pick up InfoWorld every week. You guys set the standards for hands-on reviews.

InfoWorld served the audience your advertisers needed to reach - people looking to buy the latest innovative stuff to solve their problems today.

By 2000/2001 as the bubble started losing air, InfoWorld reduced its coverage of new product innovation in favor of more CIO-level, more "strategic" types of trends and issues stories.

InfoWorld moved upstream to the CIO's office. Unfortunately for advertisers who want to sell product, the CIO usually can't be bothered with which brand of IT gear they should deploy. I'd argue that most innovation is driven bottoms-up from the guys and gals touching the gear, not top down from the CIO.

Somehow, InfoWorld thought those CIO readers were higher-value. That was a mistake IMHO, because that's probably when you lost the IT buyer readership your advertisers coveted. Sure, there were other factors in play, such as declining ad spending, the rise of more measureable ad systems like Adwords, and maybe even a slower pace of innovation. Though if you look at today's top four most linked-to blogs at Technorati (http://technorati.com/pop/blogs/), each focuses on new innovative stuff.

Anyway, I could be off base. I wish you folks all the best, and I'm thankful for the many friends I've made over the years at InfoWorld.

Mark
Founder
Dovetail Public Relations

As someone who disconnects every weekend, which is the best time to read and catch up for me, this is a sad note.
Will it make me read the online version, not a chance, I barely do now.
Like most people I get feeds or specific search news and teh rest could fall in the ocean.
But reading a magazine, in the air, in the bathroom, on a train, at the beach... is still the best way to find "other" topics of interest.
Best of Luck, but will Info World now be 100% free to everyone to subscribe or do we still need to fill out the doofy subscription forms to get "exclusive" access or something like it?

Great move Steve.

I love print for some things, but your readers moved onto web long ago for all the reasons you stated.

It seems to me that print magazines are kept going after they should have been transitioned to the web because ad agencies and advertisers are slow to change their business habits of creating and buying print ads. Not because consumers are still demanding magazines in their mail boxes.

Good luck in your continued success and innovation.

Great reasons, and I can understand the movement. I like Seth Grimes' comment above about "accidental discovery" in printed rags. The one thing I will definitely miss (unless I work VERY hard at it!) is reading content not immediately pertinent to me. It's an interesting move in thinking and knowledge that search engines and online rags are giving us - the ability to move away from "knowledge" and move INTO "immediately pertinent knowledge" or even in the extreme case "temporary knowledge". Taken to the utmost extreme - will the "experienced, knowledgeable professional" be replaced with "the most effective with a search engine" employee?

Unfortunately...I work for a company that makes a product that enables this last aspect even more!

I was writing software reviews for InfoWorld in the mid eighties and now I'll be able to say things like, "I was writing for InfoWorld back when they actually printed a real magazine." Makes me feel old. I felt the greatest loss when the editorial decision was made to move the focus away from individuals and towards products. The individuals were far more interesting!!

From a cost perspective? Going purely online makes sense. From a strategic perspective/ Makes sense. That said, there's something to be said for flipping through a print magazine while on a plane or working out to see what articles of interest appear. Similarly, there's something to be said for looking at a magazine from back to front to see (a) who's being written about/mentioned even if only briefly and (b) who's spending on advertising.

One thing that might ease the change is the ability to have a 'printable version' of articles like many other online publications have. Sometimes I do like to print things out, write comments, highlight, etc. And the online, framed versions just don't lend themselves well to printing.

As someone who started reading InfoWorld in the 80's, it has been a journey. The physical size of the product shrank and shrank again. The amount of information also shrank. The "accidental discover[ies]" of the printed product were fewer and fewer as the product became more glossy and tighter.

And yes, I barely ever read the printered version any more. I have been reading the web version for years now. It's a different experience. But InfoWorld has changed and changed again over the years.

You will have to juggle the number of obnoxious ads that drop in front of the reader with the reader's patience in getting around those interruptions. It will be another journey. Good luck and best wishes.

Farewell and adieu.
When I am out of the office I do my tech reading ... and not on a computer monitor (10-12 hours a day in front of a monitor is quite enough thank you)! Tech reading is on paper for me.
So going to a web only version means that after 20+ years of subscribing we will be parting company for the most part: my excursions to the web for InfoWorld will be few and far between.
Good luck in the future.

I have been reading InfoWorld nearly from its inception. I understand the business case for the move.

However, I read, save, circle, sticky-note, highlight, forward the paper all the time. But most importantly, I do all that when I have the time, which is NEVER when I am in front of a computer. I read InfoWorld, in print, at odd times in strange places, and all hours. I simply do not have the time to browse InfoWorld when I am working in front of the computer.

I will sorely miss InfoWorld.

Print and online media do different things for me. I look online for specific information. Echoing others, I read print media for "accidental findings", and when I'm "offline". I'm also a fast reader that can skim large volumes on paper; big newspaper pages are great for this. I'm hoping online media will evolve so I get equivalent value for a similar time investment, but it's not there yet.

I am sorry to see the print format go. I like to read content, like InfoWorld provides, when there is a quiet moment. This is information to ponder and I do that better with something tangible in my hands. If I find something of interest on a website, I will usually print it off. The best thing about a magazine is that I will read something that I never sought to read, just because it is in there. When online, I am looking for specific information.

Sadly, I doubt I will spend much time on the InfoWorld website. (Tom Yager will be an exception.)

A surprise, but not a complete surprise...I've been in IT long enough to remember when Datamation stopped printing...and I've been subscribing to their online newsletter now for years. While I doubt I will ever read much online, I do expect I'll set up some RSS feeds and then print the items that grab my attention in the first sentence or two...then highlight, dog ear, file, distribute the way I did the glossy magazine. And I'll probably still attend some of your events, (which I was encouraged to hear are doing well) We'll see how it goes!

Why you are doing this makes sense to me. The weekly print issue is far slimmer than it was in 1994 when I subscribed.

That said, and dispite the fact that I am rarely far from a browser at work and at play, this is the first time I've visited infoworld.com outside of the context of renewing the subscription. I read the NY Times on-line, I read Slashdot, I read reuters.com, I read the BBC's sites, groklaw, "El Reg", but somehow your content always held a more focused place in my reading lineup, and one that I cherished away from the connected world. Somehow reading The Register(.co.uk) in the same session as reading InfoWorld seems, well, inapropriate.

Scott

Chalk another one up for disappointment in the loss of print. Not saying anything that hasn't been said, but while I enjoy the online columns and read them online or on my phone, I will miss the opportunity to peruse the print version cover-to-cover while offline. That will just not happen with the web version; when I'm in front of the computer, there are too many other things competing for time and attention.

I've been reading InfoWorld for many, many years. However, I quit reading the print edition several years ago in favor of the online columnists that I follow.

RIP, (but I won't miss the re-subscription qualification questionnaire that I always found terribly annoying).

I will miss the print copy. InfoWorld is the only trade publication that I read cover-to-cover every week and have for some 20 years. The print copy gave me the option of reading it on the train during my morning and evening commutes. I just can't do that with the new "format" because I will not carry a laptop with me nor will I print out the entire on-line version of the magazine just to read it. Guess I'll have to find a new favorite. So long trusted friend.

Major bummer. From here on out I will only see InfoWorld articles that I think I'm looking for, not something that they think I should know that I'm unaware of. Now just another face in the crowd, another place to do research.

I also do most of my tech reading away from the workstation. I need to work when I'm at work. Don't kid yourself; there's a LOT to be said for flipping through pages. I guess I'll have to read eWeek when I'm on the plane now.

I can't see anything good about this...

Sorry to see you go. I have been reading Infoworld for years. My Monitor will not balance on my exercise bike and the sweat is too hard on the keyboard. Off to look for another paper publication to help me keep up with the changing technology.

Maybe I'm being too skeptical today, but it's awfully close to April 1st and I just have to wonder if this is even real...

Yes, it is a sad day. I remember my dad bringing home his copies of InfoWorld in the early '90s as he somehow got a subscription back when I was in high school... Then I remember talking my college library into getting a subscription so I could stay tuned there during the mid-'90s.

But I do have to say that I'm less in-tune now given how much content is online. The "accidental discovery" factor of articles was huge for me. Now that's gone. (Sure, I could click on the wrong link but trust me, it's just not the same).

One thing I'd like to request would be some sort of offline downloadable version. If I can't read a print version (the ultimate offline experience), a weekly edition in a PDF format would be excellent, containing a sprinkling of articles across MANY different disciplines--with the necessary ads to justify it. Then the "accidental discovery" factor could still exist. There are just too many places where Web access is unavailable (especially as a passenger in planes, trains, and automobiles; airports, coffee shops, train stations) where reading InfoWorld, albeit on a laptop or PDA, would be a great way to pass the time. True, mobile broadband is getting easier and more available, but I can't justify $50-100/month for any of the broadband services so I can read articles when I'm not next to an Ethernet port...

But I do have to ask if this has been totally researched... There's much more competition now with great testing methodologies (Tom's Hardware, Anandtech, etc.) utilizing low startup costs that I wonder if InfoWorld can still differentiate itself...

Then again, Robert X. Cringely is someone that not even a Katt can copy...

Good luck... The move to a purely-online news source may not be as pretty as many would believe.

As one who has read Infoworld from the begining and has been in the industry for 30 years. I am sorry to see the printed edition go. Although I was not always thrilled with the content. There was always something worth reading and something to learn at days end curling up in the sack, it was always good to have a couple of good tech mags to read me to sleep. The thought of curling up with a laptop does not do much for me. At day's end the last thing I need is to look another computer in the face. So I leave you with a fond farewell and wonder if the new generation will never find the relaxation of getting lost in a good book.

Phil Widing's comment on the menu bar is so true... I didn't even see the menu bar, until I turned on Javascript for the site, and then the flashing drove me crazy, and wasn't useable for navigation, either. There's lots of JS out there, you can find one that's stable, I'm sure.

I'll also echo the fondness for print. Not sure if I'll spend much time at inforworld.com or not yet.

While the Web has certain advantages, hardcopy has its own set.

I enjoy lying down and reading a novel, newspaper, or magazine. I can also read any of these easily without having to use an expensive and somewhat delicate tool -- read "computer". (Compare dropping a magazine with doing the same to a laptop.)

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

As a subscriber to many print mags, and a reader of only some of them---Infoworld being one---I understand the economic imperatives. If a significant number of your readers are like me, however, this change will likely be counterproductive. Magazines are like paperback books: portable, fully random access and potentially attractive objects to have and to hold. I read mine at my local sushi place, on the bus and in the smallest room (I'm not ashamed to admit I have a magazine rack in there). If a magazine is not available in print, I simply won't read it, or it's attendant advertizing. Too bad.

You might consider a PDF version of InfoWorld -- or a printable abstract on PDF -- for those of us who do most of our reading away from keyboards, mice, and electronic screens. It is much slower to read on-screen than on paper. And, this does shift the paper cost while avoiding postage.

Sounds like InfoWorld has to go follow the advertising dollars. What happens if: there is no electricity? the Internet is down? the InfoWorld web site is down? My Internet connection, due to my ISP, is down? My computer is broken or misconfigured? My Internet connection is painfully slow? I'm already looking into a computer screen 8+ hours a day as it is. Sometimes I take the printed copy home on the weekends to read as there is no time during the workday. Alas, this is where we part ways. Good luck in your future endeavors. I will not miss the re-subscription questions every year!!!

What am I going to put in the bathroom? It's just not the same holding a tablet. Sigh....

Although I understand the business reasons for moving to online publishing only, consider me as one of those who will be sorry to see the print format disappear. I already spend much of my waking hours in front of a computer screen, and I don't want to spend even more time for casual reading. With the print format, I can easily flip through a magazine while lying on the couch or in bed or while sitting in the back yard, a doctor's office, or an airplane. As others have pointed out, print is easier for quickly skimming through and often discovering interesting items that I would not have otherwise searched for.

I do access InfoWorld online for some columns that had already been dropped from the print version, but I doubt I'll be doing much other reading on your site in the future. As I found when my favorite auto racing magazine stopped their printed version some years ago, I just stopped reading their publication altogether.

So until electronic paper or some such technology can take the place of printed magazines, good bye, and good luck!

"Damn! Damn! Damn! I've grown accustomed to InfoWorld's face." Seriously, though, the demise of your much beloved print edition is tragic news. While I've been using computers for over 25 years, I've never been able to adjust to reading articles on a screen. It's just too rough on the eyes. I've always taken in my InfoWorld at lunch. It will be a friend dearly missed. A Brave New World indeed -- with something missing.

It was inevitable I suppose, but it still stings. I mostly read trade mags online, but there is value to the print edition, not least of which in a perception of importance.

More to the point, though, I wonder about the future of trade publishing, as online margins simply can't match the historic print margins.

More at http://fredpaul.blogspot.com/2007/03/infoworld-stops-killing-trees.html

I've also been a long time reader and I can't believe it took this long to quit. The magazine has been much thinner and not as good a read ever since Bob Metcalfe, Ed Foster, Bob Lewis...etc were "resigned" "The newer" writers are OK but it's not the same.

Great, NOW what am I going to bring into ye olde john? Let's just hope Charmin never goes paperless! :0)

Thanks for all the years of great info and reading!

While I understand and completely agree with the reasons you supplied for this move, I must align myself with those who are saddened by this turn of events.

My reasons are similar to many others' that have been expressed; chiefly, the advantage of *NOT* having to turn on a paper magazine and wait for it to boot up just so I can double-check something I read earlier. Also -- I, too, spend 8+ hours each day in front of a screen. I dearly *LOVE* the opportunity to flip leisurely through the pages of a paper mag. {sigh}

Alas...I am afraid the amount of InfoWorld that I consume will be drastically reduced; not because of a desire to do so, but simply as a matter of practicality.

Thanks for all the years of great and useful information!

I will miss the print version as someone who commutes by train and appreciate the chance to bring it with me and read through it. Yes there are solutions for reading the online version from the train, but none as simple as free print version coming in the mail weekly.

I don't see this as such a great business decision at all.

As stated earlier, a magazine seeks to bring together readers and people wanting to pay to communicate to them. Inforworld, so it says, can do that at less expense online.

However, online, dozens if not hundreds of people are trying to do the same thing: take the same messages to the same people and get paid in the process.

Almost anyone can establish an online presence However, establishing a print presence requires enormous amounts of capital and time, what economists call a barrier to entry. Inforworld has done that and enjoys an oligopolist franchaise with its magazine and can enjoy the economic profits of advertisors who have little choice but to pay its oligopolistic prices to reach buyers.

Inforworld has chosen to throw away its print position, where it has few competitors, and to function only online, where it has many competitors.

Have Infoworld executives forgot what they teach in microeconomics about how monopolists and oligopolists can make economic profits but participants in competitive markets, like the people who clean the office, make zero economic profits.

Good bye, InfoWorld.
With this decision, you will be missed for a while, and then forgotten.

Nice - not only are my print issues chronically late, but now I find out they aren't coming anymore - not from the actual magazine, but from a chance post online? What am I going to read while I do my business in the morning now??

Good luck, and I'll make more of an effort to keep on top of things online! RSS is my friend!

Staring at a computer screen is like looking into a low-level flashlight. Monitors emit light, paper reflects light. That is one reason why current display technologies are so fatiguing. There is a certain ease of reading print the complements the portability, graphics, dog-ears and all that we won't likely see with monitors for years to come. I still prefer print for reading and am so sorry to see this change.

The funny thing is, I see traces of the old InfoWorld all over. The Wall Street Journal's tech reporting these days captures some of the wild-and-wooly editorial style of IW's youth, and CNET's news coverage reminds me of IW's editorial comeback in the 1990s. I hope IW editorial remains vibrant on the Web, but when the history of tech journalism is written, InfoWorld will definitely occupy an important position.

Do what you gotta do, but it won't be the same. I admit to having a soft place for InfoWorld: I started reading it in the mid-80s when every week there was a breathless story about something new cooking at Apple, IBM, Compaq, Lotus, Microsoft, Atari (yes, Atari) Hayes and the many, many other companies that have grown or gone; then I worked for it as a bureau chief and editor off and on between 1988 and 1994. It was a chaotic and inexplicably frustrating place to work but the people were fun and the news was fun. The alumni of InfoWorld are some of the best writers and editors the tech industry ever had.

Best of luck, Steve. May the online version last longer than the print one did.

Print is dead.

InfoWorld at one time seemed to me the best free periodical, ever.

I go along with everything posted above by Mark from Dovetail Public Relations.

I will miss the weekly IBM ad where the guy's office turns to quicksand or suffers some other weekly calamity.

As a non-IT worker, I learned how to make a computer work reading InfoWorld in the 1980's with Brett Glass & Steve Gibson; and I learned how tech departments should be run reading Bob Lewis - the only one still going strong.

And who could forget the real Robert X. Cringely.

Makes me want to wax nostalgic over LAN Times folding several years back...

Oh well, time waits for no one. I, too, will miss the print version of InfoWorld, and the ability to go First to Last (read the inside back cover article first.)

I wish you well in the future. Still, you should consider hanging on to our addresses, sending postcards occasionally to remind us IW is still around... or in case you change your mind. ;)

Kager

It's funny that this is happening and yet people still think that print's NOT dead. This is kind of proof, isn't it?

Speaking of, check out my blog for a book I've just written named Print is Dead that will be published later this year:

http://www.printisdeadblog.com/

Cheers.

-J

I've been reading InfowWorld for 21 years and am bummed. I actually read the ads. Printed material is easier to flip back and forth and can be taken to the bathroom and other non PC locations. Thanks for the many years of hard work.

Louis

Steve, thanks your well-written note summarizing the change. It's prompted this thread, which has turned into an interesting discussion of the general demise of print, and the advantages of print...

One fortunate thing with content such as InfoWorld's is that its audience does have ample access to Web-based content, hi-speed connections, etc. This detail regarding the target audience's demographic profile was key to the successful launch of IDG's JavaWorld nearly a dozen years ago -- which, from day one, was a Web-ONLY publication. And it is fundamental to the success of IBM developerWorks, also Web-only (unless you count dW events and other non-print activities ... or the relatively short-lived developerWorks (print) journal designed to help fill the void left by a Web-only offering, which we stopped publishing for similar reasons as InfoWorld).

So even if many of us (myself included) will miss the tactile experience and the many other pluses of paper-based publications described above, I see a bright silver lining. I expect InfoWorld will enjoy a long life in the online-only realm.

--Michael

I stopped reading paper novels for the most part when I picked up the first computer manuals and journals many moons ago. Wistfully, I might get back to reading novels if this trend away from print envelops the industry as I don't do casual reading online. Maybe I'll see InfoWorld occasionally if it pops up in Google search, but it won't be in my hand and on my desk every day anymore.

Count me among those disappointed. I've always looked forward to perusing InfoWorld over lunch on Monday morning - it's difficult to eat over a keyboard and mouse. The screen is great for soundbites and research, but for extended, relaxed reading, it just isn't there yet. Looks like it'll be "Wired" from now on...

Ironically, when I tried to access this link from the InfoWorld Home Page, it timed out twice before finally loading after an indeterminable wait - I don't believe I've ever gone from the Table of Contents to a particular story in a magazine to find "Page Not Found"!

Anyway, best of luck to all at InfoWorld, and hope it all works out. Thanks for years of enjoyment.

Web browsing has a different serendipity than magazine browsing and I don't think they are interchangable. In addition, as so many people have commented, the portable and non intrusive nature of printed material has not yet been reached by the computer forms.

Please look at the International English online version of the German magazine Der Spiegel for an example of an easy to read web based publication.

Wishing you the best in the new format.

please, please, PLEASE, promise me you won't make me use that horrid zinio reader that eweek uses.

Firefox'll do just fine, thank you.

I'll glad I'm not alone in reading my tech news offline. As at least one noted above, I look at a computer screen for 10+ hours a day for work, my eyes need a break once in awhile. I'll guarantee your loyal base of readers will decrease regardless of what your total numbers show. This will probable be that last time I every read or look at your company's offerings again.

While I completely understand the reasons for moving to web-only, I am not very pleased with the change. For one, you can't beat the off-line reading that you get from the latest Infoworld in the bathroom. Second, your website is way too cluttered with flashing ads and zig-zag text. I've been to the site several times in an effort to ween myself off of print and it has been a mostly negative experience. I would suggest a more "Google-like" system where ads are specifically listed down the right-side in a text-only format. Give your readers a break! It's hard enough to focus on the technical details of the latest/greatest technology without all that junk screaming at you!

Hmmm...there is something about the loss of print that is disturbing. We shall see in the future.

You just can't take it on the plane -- and you just can't rip out an article and give it to a mate. The print drove me to the web site. The two seemed symbiotic. I think it's a real loss, as those print issues were a major trigger. It will drive me to spend more time with PC Magazine, Audible Technology Review, and Wired.

While it's tough seeing so many print pubs *fall* to the internet, it's just progress marching forward. Like many past technologies, the old, slower methods eventually give way to the new, faster ways. I mean who really wants to go back to using a typewriter?

Whether you like it or not, to stay in the game, mags like InfoWorld have to evolve to survive. Some additional thoughts: http://inspireaction.mindandmedia.com/index.php/2007/04/06/the-media-migration-continues/

Steve,

A belated congratulations on the evolution from print to screen. Having seen your office recently at InfoWorld decorated with every front cover from the time you assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief, I do wonder how you will carry on this office art tradition??

I applaud you and the InfoWorld team for taking the leap. But my prediction is that a new, 2nd generation print-based InfoWorld will inevitably take flight.

On the drive to work this morning I listened to an NPR story on BostonNow, a new print newspaper that is launching in Boston (and apparently other major metro regions) at a time when the established print press is suffering from dwindling circulation and ad revenue. The point of BostonNow is to partner with the best of the online world to create a more connected, relevant and compelling print product. Print evolves to online which evolves to print.

Perhaps there will be a new generation of InfoWorld cover office art yet to come!!
Regardless of print or screen, I am confident you and the editorial team there will continue the superb tradition of excellence in technology reporting which has been an InfoWorld staple for 29 years.

I will miss the print (ink) magazine. Magazines are invaluable on airplanes between altitudes of zero and ten thousand feet - about 30 minutes or more per flight. I already own most everything that SkyMall sells. You would think I could save online InfoWorld content for offline viewing, but, by the time we've reached 10,002', my laptop is busy working on the next big presentation, article, or catching up on email. Good luck to the InfoWorld team with this new format. I miss you already.

With kindest regards,
A Delta Million Miler +

Boy it's been a long long time reading your output.

I started with the first issue of Intelligent Machines Journal, and after 2 years Infoworld bought it out - and changed the name.

So for ME Infoworld and it's parent has been around for 31 years - and I'm still working in this
strange world of computers.

In print, ads are sometimes (even frequently?) fun to read. They also don't usually get in they way of parsing an article quickly.

Online, ads are usually obnoxious -- in part because they lengthen page load times (even on a fast connection). They also tend to be a visual blight (especially when flashing!) and can be an auditory nightmare to boot.

As a result I have been blocking web ads for years. Has IW considered that the vast majority of its audience has the technical acumen to do this?

How many ads will ACTUALLY be seen and/or acted upon by IW readers? [Guaranteed ad views is the main reason the NYTimes and other publications are trying to get people off user-configurable browsers and onto a reader platform the publisher controls . . .]

The secret to maintaining revenue (both for advertiser and publisher) in an online world, I'm afraid, is to somehow monetize links to products analyzed and reviewed. [In other words, online publications will move rapidly toward "product placement" as has television -- although on the web the link from advertiser to purchaser will be more immediate and direct. This is already evident on sites like C|Net with all its shopping engines, etc.]

Of course then IW and its brethren will then surely soon be accused of not having proper separation between editorial and business management.

Business is like the weather. Its impossible to predict the outcome of any business strategy in advance.

I understand where Infoworld is coming from. This for them was a business decision. However I feel that it may have been misthought.

It is never a bad idea to have a multichannel marketing strategy. To completely abandon one market channel (ie print) in favor of online only will mean that your competition will suck up the market base that wants print-only ,magazine products.

There are many business models that back up my point. Look at the telephone business. When mobile cell phones came out, people felt landlines were doomed. But how far from the truth were they!

Look at internet retailing. How many people felt that the internet retailers (pets.com, amazon, buy.com) would eventually displace the old school retailers like walmart and target warehouses? But today what do we find? Traditional retailers are still very much in demand although internet retailing has definitely had its impact but the 2 models are coexisting.

Look at Dell's marketing problems today. They are so entrenched in an online only/direct business model that they ignore a massive market that goes to buy PCs and laptops from traditional retailers like best buy. If Dell expanded their market strategy and adopted a more channels it would improve their market share. For this reason HP is catching up exploiting the strengths of both the direct and indirect model

I am the CEO of a software company. In our business you have to have multilateral options to reach the end customer - print, online, tradeshows, inperson visits.

It takes different tactics to reach different buyers. The CIO and IT exec does NOT HAVE THE TIME TO READ posts online all day. Ever worked for a major enterprise before? These guys are busy. Some of them might only have time to read the paper and glimpse through a magazine or 2.

InfoWorlds only means to reach this critical high spending buyer is through print. Yes they might be a minority, but its still worth it reaching that segment of the market.

Infoworld: revisit your reasoning. Business decisions are hard to reverse. Remember that your Infoworld.com website was marketed by your print. You've got to take care of the chicken that lays the golden egg too.

A multithronged market strategy of print and online is the way to go. Dont be naive and completely abandon what you have taken such a long time to build.

I have been an avid reader for 12 years. I am so disappointed at this move. My time with My freshly minted copy of infoworld, over lunch, on a plane etc. is a welcome break. I get to read great articles that more often than not send me to my computer to do further research. I will not be making the switch, and I am now at a loss for where to look to feed my reading need. I am a CTO of a Software Development company. I have learned and enjoyed so much from InfoWorld. I am grateful for the friendship of the last 12 years, and will sorely miss you.

I'm with the bunch who cannot always or does not want to sit in front of a monitor to read. I read on planes, in bed, in the bathroom.. I don't read at work. I probably will drift away from InfoWorld.

However, take another perspective... these are conflicting needs (cost/environment vs. convenience/portability) that are just begging for hardware innovation - a better e-reader. What happened to the 8x10 lcd mat that I saw test versions of a few years back .... that you could roll up or fold and stick into a handbag that would not need backlighting (not need a constant power source). I could see me downloading e-versions of magazines - multiple ones - into one convenient package and sticking it in my briefcase/coatpocket so I could read in the same way I read magazines. Inventors/Entrepreneurs/capitalists? There's money to be made!

I am a bit disappointed that you are going completely online. The magazine is nice to carry around for reading on the bus or train.

I'm surprised that no one has come up with a tablet PC that could be used just for reading online magazines, websites, or RSS feeds. I would buy one in a heart beat.

I will miss having the print publications. At the same time, I believe this move will generally be more environmentally friendly. Cutting down less trees is a good thing to do, and I believe that InfoWorld has taken much thought about the move before making such significant changes. For that reason I do support this move and send congratulation to InfoWorld for taking this step.

As InfoWorld will focus on online coverage, I will hope to see areas such as video clips to be more available. This will allow online viewers the choice to use other modes of multimedia as an alternative to reading text. I guess we shall all see how smooth this change will be.

Yes, those were the days. The passing of the big controlled-circulation computer tabloids is sad but not surprising, given that folks in tech -- by their very nature -- are well positioned to gain information from the Web.

But there could be an upside. Freed of the limits of newsprint and ink, perhaps InfoWorld could offer a wider variety of material that its advertising budget wouldn't allow it to publish in print. Maybe they could even do something that rival PC Week isn't doing, such as a technical Q&A column.

InfoWorld has just become irrelevant. It's been coming for awhile. It started with the change in print format and the firing of columnists like Brian Livingston a few years ago. This just makes the transformation complete. It's a real shame too because InfoWorld was the most prominent non-ZiffDavis/Microsoft voice in the industry and I felt it was trustworthy and objective. But now that InfoWorld is online only, it's just another web site among hundreds and I don't have time for it. If it doesn't land in my mailbox so that I can read at my leisure, then it just doesn't work for me. Farewell InfoWorld. It's been a great ride.

I am very disappointed to see the print magazine go away. It is nice to sit and read without a laptop in my lap at all times and most of us,once we're home from work could care less about getting online again. InfoWorld just lost quite a bit of readers, I can guarantee.

I have been an avid reader for 12 years. I am so disappointed at this move. My time with My freshly minted copy of infoworld, over lunch, on a plane etc. is a welcome break. Thanks

After getting into my current position, I had been inundated with free subscription requests for relevant industry information. I did look forward to InfoWorld. After recently going through all my excess folders of information, I brought up a couple copies of InfoWorld. Thinking that my subscription ran out, I visited the site only to find out that I could not find a subscribe link. After Googling, I found this article and had my heart yanked from my chest. As many others have commented, there's nothing like print. I don't think I could handle those epaper or ebook readers; the tangible feeling of paper in hand is much more familiar and comforting.

I guess if I do wish to continue finding relevant articles, it appears I will have to fire up my browser a bit more.

Not that it replicates print, but if you've come across the NYTimes Reader (believe Forbes.com is also launching one) it is just an excellent online reading experience. Merges best of online delivery and tools with a very good, almost print-like visual presentation that also works well in offline situations. It uses Windows Presentation Foundation, which is available for XP and Vista systems.