Maximum PC

Does anyone here pay for a magazine subscription to Maximum PC? I have a subscription and am very disappointed to see the Dream machine article online BEFORE I get the September issue in the mail. I have had my subscription since the days of Boot magazine and have always felt that the reason you pay for the subscription is so that you can see the articles first. Now i am not talking about news articles, the internet makes that impossible; but I see no reason why exclusive articles like the one about the annual Maximum PC Dream Machine should be put online BEFORE the magazine hits the stands.

Same boat here. I've been a subscriber since boot and I'm pretty disappointed that the DM11 is out on the website before I have my mag in hand....FAIL!

I dont mind reading some things early. Things like news that Microsoft bought some little company or Samsung is releasing a new memory kit. The internet makes it impossible to keep those type of things unknown. But product reviews and signature articles should wait until some time after the mag is released.

I subscribe but never read anything online almost just will wait till print edition comes out.

I was also puzzled by the decision to post DM2011 online before we get the issue in the mail. I hope there are some other spiffy features exclusive to the print edition of the DM issue to keep us subscribers happy.

I totally agree. I am an early subscriber too, when Boot had just changed for Maximum PC. I'm sure you remember the time when you could see a witty sens of humor in the articles and even new interns being disguised to appear in the mag and sometimes female models. They were often flirting with political incorrectness. The magazine was instructive AND fun. It is still a good read but I miss those days when you could have a laugh while being informed...

Welcome to the party! I cancelled my subscription years ago when the digital edition went under. It was happening then. Cancel your subscription. They'll get it eventually.

I don't understand the DM hype. Better and equivalent hardware has been out for a while and the system is not breaking any meaningful records.

Boot went green didn't they? Anyone have a copy of Boot except rich folks with that Work For Steve and Steve?

I agree. When I saw the $667 PC article online a week and a half before getting the August issue, I thought my magazine was lost in the mail. I did get it, but I thought it was a one-time mistake.

Now, Dream Machine 2011 is old news, yet I still don't have the September issue. What gives? Now I'm basically paying just to read Doctor and White Paper.

Can you guys please fix this? Bringing features to the website early can only hurt you.

I'm in the same boat. I live in Fairbanks Alaska and thought that was why i was getting my magazine late. I see very little reason to get it in print anymore. Actually something else that is bugging me is that the big stores have the new mag on the shelf up to 2 weeks before i get mine in the mail, now that's just messed up.

I have not been a subscriber for a few years. I, too, got tired of seeing new issues show up in retail stores a week or two before mine arrived in the mail.

And now it appears that the retail copies no longer carry the bound-in CD. They had become my go-to library for older software when needed.

Now it appears I have no reason to buy ANY copy of the magazine. I'll peek in here occasionally but seems like another favorite PC magazine is fading away.

Ron

There are two threads about this issue down here in the general list under this category.
Devastator2000 and others maybe a mention should be added to the "Official September 2011 issue" thread up above, so that it gets a little more attention.
Also, there is the "Forum & Website Feedback" section.

Hi all... Jon Phillips here. I was the executive editor of boot, the editor of MPC from 1999-2003, and editorial director of MPC ever since 2003. If you're a faithful enthusiast of MPC and/or have corresponded with me in the past, you know that I won't feed you a load of BS. So let me be perfectly honest about our online posting philosophies.

When push comes to shove, all major content that appears in the print magazine is eventually posted online. Some content is posted as soon as it's written (and thus before the print mag is even laid out); some is posted when the print mag starts shipping to newsstands and subscribers; and some is dribbled out during the weeks after the print mags starts shipping.

For really high-profile articles, we're sensitive to being trumped online by our own fan base. In the case of DM2011, this compelled us to post the article as soon as the print mag began shipping -- precisely because we wanted to beat those readers who would scan the article and begin commenting on our build-out before we even got a chance to present the information ourselves. So that was a key motivating factor in posting the DM2011 story "early." We didn't want some Facebook, forum or blog posting stealing our thunder.

But I'll be frank with you all: Building up our online presence is a key necessity as the enthusiast population (and retail chains like Borders and Best Buy) abandon print magazines, and we are comfortable in taking a calculated risk in pissing off a few print readers in exchange for attracting more online readers. And believe it or not, we get very few print readers complaining about our online practices -- the number is small enough to risk a few disgruntled customers. Yes, it shocks me too. One would think we would have legions of print readers flipping us off with a big "F you!" but the complaints are spotty at best. I know this is of little solace to the folks on this thread, but we've been simultaneously posting and printing the same content for years now, and complaints from print readers about what one might call "pre-emptive online strikes" have been inconsequential in the larger scheme of all the factors that could hurt our overall business. I'm not writing this to diminish your heartfelt complaint against our company. But I do want to be honest in explaining why we do what we do.

Also, FWIW, what we do is the new norm in magazine publishing. Pretty much the entire print magazine business simultaneously posts online now. Why? Because the print business is under assault, and publishers are doing whatever they can to keep their magazine brands alive in a new media format -- i.e., online. Retail chains that sell print magazines are either closing (Borders) or kicking out magazine racks (Best Buy). Subscribers and newsstand reader numbers are dwindling as the entire world population has many more options as far as where to get their information (TV, Twitter, blogs, websites, etc) and how to spend their leisure time (video on demand, TV in general, video gaming, to name just a few). And leisure time itself is impacted as we find ourselves working more, commuting more, and dealing with more and more distractions. All of this erodes the traditional magazine business. Meanwhile advertisers are no longer supporting magazines like they use to, and for the magazines hurt the hardest, their publishers would have to raise cover prices to $15 and subs to $75 to make up the difference. But they know the public won't pay these prices. So they look for anyway possible to remain afloat -- including building out websites to earn back some of those advertising dollars.

Does everyone understand that magazines are "subsidized" -- that when you pay $12 (or even $20) for a yearly subscription to some magazine, the publisher is often selling that magazine at a LOSS? Twelve magazines over the course of a year cost way more than $12 to write, photograph, lay out, print and especially MAIL all across North America. And postal rates are only going up. Gasoline prices are killing the middle class all over, and not only when we fill up our cars at the pump. It drives up prices across many, many industries, including the trucking/shipping industry. America is a huge-ass piece of land, and getting MPC all across the continent costs a pretty penny. Anyhow, the point being, advertising has offset all these costs, and allowed publishers to essentially sell magazines at a loss. But those days are over. The print business is under assault, and that's why publishers like Future are building out their online presences, and taking smart, informed, calculated risks while doing so.

So why even buy a print magazine? Good question. And I can share an answer as a subscriber of some 20 different print magazines. First, I don't like reading long-form articles on a computer or even a tablet screen. It hurts my eyes, and on a mental level I just find it obnoxious. I want to read long-form content on paper, via reflected light. Second, I like the tactile feel of print, and the fact that a print magazine is bendable, and something truly tangible. I'm willing to pay money for this experience, but that's just me. Third, I like the convenience factor of print. I can easily read a magazine on the couch, on a plane, and bounce from page to page in a seamless, organic, non-linear fashion. I don't want to hit a back button or hyperlink to get to where I want to be next. Fourth, photography, infographics and overall design simply shines better on the printed magazine page. It's an experience in and of itself. It's rich, inviting and that much more dramatic. Fifth, I just like getting cool stuff in the mail! Having my favorite magazines show up in the mailbox is an event for me, and honestly I have no desire to read the content online if I know I'll be getting it in the mail within 3-7-10 days time. Sixth, I do make enough money every month to feed my magazine habit. Even a $20 yearly subscription is like three cheap lunches, and I get a lot more pleasure from 12 magazine issues during the course of the year than three middling burritos. In other words, the amount of money I spend on mag subscription isn't going to break my bank, and it's a cheap indulgence that I easily justify.

So that's my take on print versus web. I think if I were only interested in the pure, raw information itself, I would be fine with an online-only experience. But I like magazines, and I'm willing to pay for them. Sadly, this is an increasingly minority position, and that's why the magazine industry is struggling. If anyone feels that MPC print is a huge rip-off, then do the only logical thing: Quit buying it. I would expect nothing less from an MPC reader. Our parent company is prepared to deal with the consequences, and we don't begrudge anyone their decisions. It's your money, folks. Spend it wisely.

The problem is will people that are willing to drop their subscriptions still willing to come to the website on a regular basis?

Once you whittle the website down to proprietary content (op eds, reviews, special features) you're not left with much.

Most daily content I view on this site can be viewed on at least three other major websites at any time, and that's only the ones that I view.

If you're going to build up an online presence you need to do more than offer the same daily news offered by other sites.

I'm not saying you should dump daily news articles, but there needs to be more substantial content than what can be found in the print issues and the occasional photos/videos.

You also need either a decent mobile version of the website, or an application that offers a mobile friendly version of the site.

On top of all this, you're operating under the presumption that website visitors will tolerate advertisements. The irony is that I learned about AdBlock+ through Maximum PC's print magazine.

I look forward to reading the printed magazine every month. I look forward to visiting the website on a daily basis. If either is going to spoil the experience for the other though, I'd be likely to pick the print edition.

Hopefully the company management has calculated all of this and the company doesn't cave in under the egos that could stand to lose a customer base.

n0b0dykn0ws

As a matter of fact ... yes. The majority of our long-time members are lapsed subscribers. Boot and MPC introduced us to a community which has grown to be independent of but remains related to the magazine that spawned it.



I have to admit that I find that pretty funny.

Are you referring to the forums or the website?

I'm speaking of the website itself and discounting the forums from the discussion.

n0b0dykn0ws

Ah .. I was speaking about the forums. I've never paid much attention to the website.

People make the forums. If you take all the people and move them to another site the atmosphere stays the same for the most part.

News that is available on a dozen other sites does not make for a worthy website.

n0b0dykn0ws

That's very true. It is editorial content that sets (or should set) MPC apart ... simply reporting the news is easy and can be done by anyone. This is why the majority of the news posts are provided by freelancers. Reviews and industry analysis are what I look for from MPC because both require a voice that I trust.