Something new

Dear Reader,

If you took a glance at the cover before turning to this page, you probably already know our exciting news. But just in case you didn't notice, let me take this moment to welcome Linux Voice readers.

"Huh?" you're asking. Aren't you supposed to be competitors? Well yes, but the open source world has never fit neatly into anyone's definition of doing business.

The idea of merging our magazines came from a series of conversations, and the more we thought about it, the more we liked the idea. The Linux Voice team brings a passion, energy, and expertise that we truly admire, and, importantly, their approach is different enough from ours that we don't really step on each other's toes editorially. So why not give our readers both voices?

In the usual corporate publishing universe, if two mags in the same space merge, one of them takes over and the other one goes away. That happened to me earlier in my career when I worked for a small company that became part of a larger company. But we're not part of that usual corporate publishing universe, which gives us special powers, so we're using our special powers to find our own path. We like Linux Voice, they like us, and we think we can make enough room in our pages to let them keep doing what they do.

Is this an editorial choice? Are there other financial reasons for the change? Well that's not really my department, but I will say this: An editorial team is only part of a magazine. Someone has to manage the circulation, pay the bills, talk to the advertisers, and do all the business with printers and distributors. When you look at all the other factors that go into publishing, you start to see the benefits of small, like-minded publishers joining together to face the industry's dragons.

For me personally, the big excitement is welcoming such a distinguished and creative team of good writers. A warm welcome to Graham, Ben, Mike, and Andrew, as well as the other Linux Voice contributors who are also part of this issue: Valentine Sinitsyn, Michel Loubet-Jambert, and Simon Phipps.

To our Linux Pro and Linux Magazine readers: I hope you're as excited about this change as I am. We're just getting started, but we're going to keep working to get it right, and I'm confident we can be the best of what we have always been and still offer you something new.

To our new Linux Voice readers: Come on in and get comfortable. We're excited to show you what we do, and rest assured, you'll find many familiar voices and faces.

A magazine is a living thing, with a personality, a history, and a future that are more than the contents of one issue. And as with other important things (humans, in particular) it is really good to mix things up once in a while – get out of the comfort zone and try something bold.

This is bold … , and I hope you like it! We want to know what you think, so please send your comments and suggestions to: mailto:letters@linux-magazine.com.

Joe Casad, Editor in Chief