Allen Holub on DDJ & C-Chest

[Phil C. Miller]

In article <22873 at amdcad.AMD.COM>, indra at amdcad.AMD.COM (Indra Singhal)
includes an editorial written by Allen Holub regarding his abrupt dismissal
from Dr. Dobbs Journal of Software Tools.

Allen's comments are, by his own admission, somewhat bitter.  On the other
hand, Allen makes some very valid criticisms of DDJoST.  I feel compelled
to comment in a similar manner.

I have been a reader of Doctor Dobbs Journal for a long, long time, since the
time when the magazine was all black and white and had things like Basic
interpreters written in 8080 assembler.  I remember when I first discovered DDJ
and excitedly scrounged around in Byte shops in any major cities I visited,
searching for back issues.

I also remember when DDJ dropped the "Orthodontia" stuff and went to color
covers.  I also remember the editorial statement "don't worry though, we won't
become just another glossy applications-oriented periodical", a snide reference
to the metamorphasis of Byte magazine.  Bullshit.

Like Byte, DDJ *used* to print articles with a high level of technical content, 
with an emphasis on hobbyists and experimenters.  I used to subscribe to Byte 
and DDJ, but I now subscribe to magazines which have filled the gap left by
these two glossy applications-oriented periodicals.

Allen Holub:
>In fact, you may have noticed that the percentage of DDJ that's devoted 
>to advertisements has been getting larger and larger.

You're goddamn right I have.  

I'm sorry that Allen got the shaft from DDJ.  I hope he will come in contact
with another magazine and continue to publish his fine articles.

Phil Miller

My vitriolic comments are not representative of my employer's opinions.