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Sys Admin Magazine Ceases Publication
Posted by
kdawson
on Fri Aug 24, 2007 06:08 PM
from the paper-is-obsolete-anyway dept.
from the paper-is-obsolete-anyway dept.
keithl writes "I received a postcard in the mail today informing me that Sys Admin magazine has ceased publication. 'We regret to inform you that the magazine has ceased publication effective with the August 2007 issue.' Only paid subscribers with remaining issues receive this mailing. If you do nothing, they will send you a copy of the Sys Admin archive CD (1992 – August 2007), or you can return the card for a full refund of all unsent issues. The deadline to return the postcard for a refund is October 1, 2007." The magazine's Web site has no word that I could find on the closing down of print publication.
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shrug. another death of old media. (Score:5, Insightful)
Eh... (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Eh... (Score:5, Interesting)
For a magazine that was supposed to be geared toward professional sysadmins, I would have liked to see some more hard-core technical content, including some actual code magic rather than "magic" that anyone with experience in the language would find very basic. I would have rather seen more kernel tuning and less "sorting your calendar in PHP" crap.
Maybe they were hitting at exactly the wrong spot: their focus was too narrow to be an overview type of magazine, but it was too broad to really get into the nitty gritty of any one thing.
Parent
Why limit to one audience? (Score:5, Interesting)
That way you'd appeal to every range in your audience AND your magazines would be worth keeping.
Parent
Re:Why limit to one audience? (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
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I've often wondered why magazines aren't formated for the different levels of expertise.
Games Magazine (the pencil and paper type games) used to do exactly what you suggested.
That way you'd appeal to every range in your audience AND your magazines would be worth keeping.
It was quite enjoyable. Most of the content was too easy, but there was always a couple of outstanding expert crosswords and a British-style cryptic crossword and I bought a copy every month at the local supermarket right up until I moved to Japan. Does it still exist?
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Probably because no one wants to pay for a magazine that only has 1/3 of it dedicated to you. Actually less then 1/3 more like 1/6 because most magazines are 1/2 ads.
Re:Eh... (Score:5, Funny)
That's because the true UNIX sysadmin gurus already know everything.
Parent
Re:Eh... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
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I don't think sys-admin had the top writers, stories or indepth sys-admin howtos and the price was too low to keep up with its small reader base. Plus it wasn't on store shelves like the linux magazines.
But then, I'm not all too happy with the loss of newsgroups and the migration to web forums, use to
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There's also something to be said for the aesthetics of many magazines being better than websites, and also readability. Still, yes, they'll fall into a niche market I guess.
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Some can compete, others cant.
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MAKE Magazine [makezine.com] seems to be doing quite well.
The Make team speaks pretty openly about their success-- the magazine was doing so well they are giddy with excitement. I don't remember specifics, but in Make's first year of (2005-2006), they subscription numbers was several times greater then their original projections. And I just renewed for another year.
SysAdmin magazine died for other reasons. Personally, I sent in 3 subscription cards
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Actually, paper is pretty cheap. Its moving paper around that gets expensive. Distribution accounts for ~80% of the cost of all printed periodicals. This is why publishers were really exited about startups (c.2001) like Kiosk and Newsstand, because it would allow them to deliver the same content digitally (not web pages, but display documents looking identical to the printed edition) and cut out distribution costs almost entirely. Also, the only entity making money off of
it was probably the swimsuit issue (Score:5, Funny)
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on that general topic (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:on that general topic (Score:4, Funny)
Screw Sysadmin magazine, civilized society cannot survive without the sheer awesomeness of the Weekly World News. Where will I go for my weekly Batboy update now? Oh, the injustice of it all!
Parent
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Hmm.... Maybe I should have actually bought a copy now and then....
-Mike
Wow.... (Score:5, Funny)
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I hadn't heard anything about this. I actually subscribe to this magazine
I found out the other day, when one of our techs cme in and touted it as one of the best sysadmin mags out. I flipped to the editor's note, turned to the tech, and asked what he was going to read after the mag stopped publication. He blinked and read the note himself: They clearly stated that it was their *last* issue, and that they were stopping publication....
Can anyone with a sub give us the exact wording/page number, please?
Re:Wow.... (Score:4, Informative)
Here it is, from page 4:
The is often a large measure of regret and sadness when a long-term relations ends, and I feel these emotions now at the end of my relationship with Sys Admin. No other publication really does what Sys Admin does, but you probably already know that. You might not know, however, the challenges currently facing many print publications, particularly small niche ones like Sys Admin. These challenges, which have contributed to the decision to stop publishing the magazine, include circulation woes, online competition, and market shift. I take some small comfort in the fact that Sys Admin fought these battles and survived much longer than many others in similar circumstances.
I have worked for Sys Admin magazine for almost 12 years, and I've had a great time. So, in this note, I need to mention some of the many people who have made working for Sys Admin such a rewarding experience for me. In no particular order, I thank Hal Pomeranze, Joe Casad, Ralph Barker, and Robert Ward for making me seem smarter than I really am. I thank Rikki Endsley Kite for therapy shopping, making me do things that scare me, and being a fabulous friend. I thank Lori White and Twyla Watson Bogaard for always reminding me that life goes down better with humor. I thank the regular columnists and writers for their loyalty and consistently excellent articles, and I thank all the readers and contributors for making Sys Admin as successful as it was for as long as it was.
Good-bye and good luck.
Sincerely yours,
Amber Ankerholz
Editor in Chief
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Copy and paste, heh...
I saw it on the newstands a lot... (Score:5, Interesting)
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That kinda sucks... (Score:2)
It was one of the few mags I'd had that put more into content, than into fluff and adverts.
So, umm, will they carry on in a web-only version?
End of publication was noted in last issue... (Score:5, Informative)
Kind of a bummer, I've been reading it for years -- since before I actually started my career as an SA and was only tinkering with BSD and this newfangled Linux thing...
what's up? (Score:2)
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You're to place the little postcard in an envelope and mail it back to the magazine if you want the refund. No banking information should be needed. I expect you'd get a check for the remainder of your subscription. Me? I'm opting for the CD. I've been a subscriber since the second year of publication and the CD will let me get my hands on the first year's issues. I expect there to be some useful stuff even in those issues. What's old is new again and all that.
The news was in the last issue too (Score:5, Informative)
While it's true that printed media has a hard time competing with online resources, SysAdmin was one of the few magazines I looked forward to reading cover to cover each month, so I'm sad to see them closing up shop.
It's nice to have information "pushed" to you sometimes; I learned several things over the years on topics I probably would never have gone looking for on my own.
Has been known since June. (Score:3, Interesting)
http://cmp.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1722 [mediaroom.com]
A few days later, I got a polite letter saying they wouldn't be needing the article I'd proposed for publication.
Ceased Computer Publications (Score:3, Interesting)
A better question is:
Do you read the issues and throw them away or do read and save them for reference like me (a devout computer publication pack rat)?
My defunct publication list (all of which I still have),
Nibble (one of my favorites),
Compute,
Compute Apple,
Incider,
A+,
C Users Journal (turned into C/C++ Users Journal),
Computist (one of my favorites),
Byte (now online, content not worth the fee).
I also subscribed to Omni and Final Frontier, both great magazines, now defunct.
I currently just subscribe to Dr Dobbs Journal (still great after a 20 year subscribtion (damn Im getting old)), and Linux Journal.
Enjoy,
Re:Ceased Computer Publications (Score:4, Funny)
"My defunct publication list (all of which I still have),"
(extensive list)
Sounds like having you as a subscriber is the magazine equivalent of the "click of death!" Could you do us a favour and subscribe to all those *wonderful* government publications, like tax notices, etc? And Bush's speeches?
Parent
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Why would a sysadmin be interested in articles about "how to cripple the Windows software you're writing by requiring hardware dongles"?
(For that matter, why would a Windows programmer want to read it? It failed spectacularly some twenty years ago, and good riddance to it.)
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Um, no. Technical American magazines have pretty good detailed content (Contrary to world belief, were not all that dumb). You must be confusing Dr Dobbs with People magazine.
I've read Linux Format, its great. When are they going to start publishing in the US?
I haven't read User, can you point me to a web site?
I buy games from Tux Games (Nottingham), when are you guys going to export your Linux game sites so I don't pay double?
Is Dr. Dobbs still fo
That it survived is news (Score:2)
reminds me of BYTE (Score:3, Interesting)
Someone from CMP did contact me about my problems when I complained (here on Slashdot [slashdot.org], of all places!) and I realize that there are people within the company who really care about their customers and want to keep us satisfied. However it's obvious that someone up high, making the decisions, is making them with the sole intent of increasing profit, not pleasing customers. It's a business; they're entitled, but they should consider the "political" cost of taking measures such as axing established and very reputable publications.
getting worried (Score:2)
unnecessary (Score:4, Interesting)
i stopped my subscription when i decided to stop paying for dead tree media--an ecological decision.
i contacted the Sys Admin publisher and told them many many times that i was willing to pay *twice* their subscription price if they would make the magazine available digitally because i did't want a dead tree version. they told me in many different ways, no can do.
i'm not kidding when i say i contacted them many times and "climbed the ladder" speaking to various higher-ups. everytime i was met with what i would describe as a lack of vision. i was given every reason in the book as to why offering Sys Admin digitally via the internet would kill their revenue stream. unbelievable to me in the face of me telling them that i was willing to them pay double their subscription price (heck, i probably would have paid more).
imho, Sys Admin had a chance to become a (possibly THE) premier _profitable_ digital resource for IT folks. what got in their way was their lack of vision--their inability to re-imagine themselves.
R.I.P. Sys Admin
P.S.
if there are any flickering embers in the Sys Admin ashes, if someone takes up the reins and makes the rag digital i'm still willing to pony up good money for a subscription (and i suspect many others would be too).
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UNIX Review (Score:2)
it was good then -- not great, but good.
Price? (Score:2)
a sad day but (Score:2, Funny)
terrible shame... (Score:2)
sad to see samag bite the dust.
to me, samag was one of those just-in-time publications... often publishing topics just when i was boning up on those exact topics. there are several features of the magazine that i applaud:
+ table of contents is on the front cover (similar to vintage national geographics)
+ the authors were sysadmins and not journalists
+ samag was not a monthly ad circular with a few articles, but a monthly publication with articles
Neglect (Score:5, Interesting)
They had the platform, the had the forum, they had an audience.
When it came to subscribe once again, I had to think - has this magazine answered, delivered, proposed anything of consequence? [not counting Amy's column]
It was supposed to be about UNIX (?), not just Solaris.
http://www.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Oper
System Administrators want answers about the OS. [and the sum thereof]
I wanted Sys Admin to give me configuration tips, tuning tricks
I WANT magazines, not PDFs, I want something to refer back to, in these last few years I just skimmed it, read Amy Rich, then it went straight to the shelf.
It's too bad.
I liked the idea of the magazine, but they suffered neglect, from staff and ultimately reader interest alike.
This is quite sad - but then again maybe not ? (Score:4, Interesting)
The fact that the magazine called for papers from its readers, rather than simply pay a small group of contributors for whatever they could scrawl out in a month seemed to deliver better quality articles - I suspect this is something similar to more academic journals. I always had a good deal more faith in their articles than in any other periodicals I read.
The idea of a web based version on the surface seems like a good idea. However, based on other postings on this thread this does not look like something that will take off with CMP.
Doesn't this leave an opportunity for someone else to step in ?
If you think about this, if CMP are discontinuing the magazine, then the only remaining assets of value are their website, subscriber list, stock of backissue CD's, and possibly any articles in their library that have not yet been published. Maybe there is an opportunity for someone ( eg OSDN - hint hint) to talk to CMP and see if they can buy the domain. That, coupled with the potential use of their subscriber email list, could be an opportunity to develop a web based publication of similar quality (you know - one with editors that dupe check, spell check, fact check, etc) to fill the void.
Sell advertising in the publications, pay people to review the content before it's release to subscribers, and do it while people remember that the magazine actually existed.
Irrespective of the delivery method, I believe that there is still a need for such a publication. If it was priced in the same market as some of the other electronic magazines (eg Linux Journal) it may work.
I'd buy it.
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I mean I know we've always had morons... although admittedly digg helped to carry a good few of them away...
but why is there so much first post spam and grotesque bullshit? maybe they should put a weekly limit on how many AC posts you are allowed or something?