Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!percival!gary From: gary@percival.UUCP (Gary Wells) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: R.I.P. Byte Summary: Rebuttal to detractor Message-ID: <1357@percival.UUCP> Date: 9 Sep 88 17:18:05 GMT References: <402@mfgfoc.UUCP> <674@proxftl.UUCP> <2596@sugar.uu.net> <7031@well.UUCP> <1355@percival.UUCP> <5708@utah-cs.UUCP> Reply-To: gary@percival.UUCP (Gary Wells) Organization: Percy's UNIX, Portland, OR. Lines: 62 In article <5708@utah-cs.UUCP> u-dmfloy%sunset.utah.edu.UUCP@utah-cs.UUCP (Daniel M Floyd) writes: >May I offer an alternative scenario: >BYTE's staffers are unconcerned with our dribble here. They know fluff >when they see it. Info-World on the other hand perhaps has to fight >hard any where it can or maybe by conincidence an employee from Info-World >read it. Dribble? I _hope_ you are wearing your flame-proof suit the next time you check your mailbox! I don't know about you, but I consider myself an above average computer user. I base this assessment on my knowledge of and ability to use computers. I use several different brands, different OS's, and have been messing with these beasts for some 20 years now. I grew up with BYTE, as a matter of fact. The dollar value of the computer equipment in my basement is approximately equal to the dollar value I paid for my house (many years ago), and would probably serve the needs of a small African nation. I think you'll find that I am not atypical of the net-users. Sure, we have a few, prolific, "dribble" (try drivel, I think it's closer to what you mean) mongers on the net. Byte has Pournelle, so we're even. Fluff? Write a letter to Byte for us. Ask them how to interface brand x disk to brand y computer. Ask them for a bug-fix on your latest piece of software. And, in the same letter, ask them for the latest Shuttle schedule, _and_ an update on the gravity experiments in Greenland. In six months, when your letter _isn't_ published in the Letters column, check the net. I think you're main problem is that you're not subscribed to right groups. >The thought that we on the net are really representative of either >of the magazines is naive at best. Show me something that says we are >representative, and I'll have to modify my stance. > We aren't representitive of the Magazines, but they are supposed to be representitive of _us_. They are not, which is the point of this thread. >By the way, I would think my response would at least equal >if not outweight the Info-World guy as far as testimonials go. You represent the 2nd vote in favor of Byte, as opposed to a lot against anybody kept track?). Info-world _wasn't_ a testimonial, and I think it was a "she", not a "he". The point was not that it was a testimonial, but that it was a _response_ that could be identified with the publication. BYTE has not done the same. THAT is the point. >I am not afiliated with byte. Again proving the point, BYTE doesn't care, even if its readers do. >If the Info-World guy isn't with Info-World, our testimonials >are prima-facia equal. >If the guy is a staffer, then he can hardly be considered objective. If you want objectivity, better get off the net. We are a HIGHLY opionionated group, on almost every subject. That's WHY other people ask us for advice... we have the knowledge and the facts to back up our opinions, thanks to the net. And that is ALSO why I (and apparently the net in general) thinks that BYTE (and other) magazines should represent themselves here. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still working on _natural_ intelligence. gary@percival (...!tektronix!percival!gary)