developer.* Blogs - It's Official: Software Development Magazine is No More - Comments

Comments from Former SD Editor

Daniel Read — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 04:14:26 -0800

A post today to Alexa Weber-Morales's blog offered what will probably have to be considered the final word on all this:

Today I read several misguided opinions on what caused the demise of my old magazine. Yes, I should ignore them. I am tempted to set them straight, but to what avail? This is a lesson--to others, an event can appear so different from what actually happened, and even those who participated may not agree on a single truth. The funny thing is, outsiders will infer all sorts of rationales and important trends from what happened, when those 9 men and 4 women who were on the inside of the situation know that, in the moment, it was just a struggle for personal/professional supremacy. And as much as I deplore real war, I feel no need to spend 8 hours a day working on a simulated battlefield. I came, I saw, I learned. Now I'm gone and doing amazing new things. So goodbye, SD/CL. You taught me well. I'm just sorry I couldn't save you from an untimely closure at 22.

I'm tempted to comment further, but since I am (literally or otherwise) one of the well intentioned but ultimately ignorant commentators to which she refers, I am doing my best to resist. It's no good: I can't resist inserting the idea that probably a lot of events that ended up having historical significance attached to them seemed mundane to those on the inside. Actually, though, it *is* disappointing to have confirmed the impression that when it came to it, the beloved SD Magazine was little more than someone's chess piece "on a simulated battlefield."

Dan

Two-Headed Whatchamacallit?

Andy Tegethoff — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 13:00:55 -0800

Unfortunately, that's what I see "Dr. Dobb's Old-Tyme Project Management and Programmin' Weekly" becoming.

This was a trade rag I read pretty much cover-to-cover every month. The direction of the articles had already kind of soured my enjoyment of it to some degree, but Ambler's and Keuffel's pieces were consistently worthwhile -- with many of the other contributors also frequently distributing gems.

I will miss this one, and I'm not sure I'll get in on Dr Dobbs. Time will tell...

I echo your sentiment about the IEEE mag, Dan.

Software Development Magazine Comments

Daniel Read — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 14:16:58 -0800

See also this related blog post by Edward G. Nilges, Comments on the Demise of Software Development Magazine.

It's Official: Software Development Magazine is No More

Daniel Read — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 14:23:21 -0800

I won't pretend that I'm an expert at running an advertising-funded print magazine with a circulation in the tens of thousands, but it has always seemed to me that the challenge of SD Magazine was the paradox that the readers most interested in technical content are not necessarily the ones who have decision-making power regarding (or even interest in) expensive testing, configuration management, and "lifecycle management" tools.