New Beginnings

Style changes are afoot at <i>MCP Magazine</i>, but it still has the content you're asking for.

• By Linda Briggs
• 01/01/2001

[The changes mentioned in this article refer to the print issue of the magazine. Design changes to the Web version will take place over the next few months. — Michael Domingo, Web Editor.]

If you’re a regular reader, you’ve probably already noticed that we’ve made some big changes to the look of the magazine—including revamping our familiar MCP Magazine logo on the cover. Our redesign effort, headed up by talented Art Director Michele Seibert, is intended to make the magazine easier to read—and to make it easier for you to find what you want.

The new design allows us to include more content without impairing readability. I hope you’ll find the magazine better organized and more reader-friendly, but still recognizable. For the most part, we’ve left articles in the same places throughout the magazine that you’d expect to find them, but we’ve made the opening pages of your favorite columnists—like Michael Chacon, Roberta Bragg, and Chris Brooke—easier to spot. And our ever-popular Exam Spotlight will continue to review an exam a month under its new look—an especially important feature this year, as all of you re-certify on Windows 2000.

In six years with MCP Magazine, I’ve written some tough columns on crazy deadlines—on planes, in hotel rooms at conferences, late at night. In fact, six years adds up to something like 60 articles (we were bi-monthly for our first two years, since you’re all probably doing the math). But this column is the hardest by far, because I’m saying goodbye. I’ve accepted another position at our parent publishing company, 101communications, and although I’ll still be overseeing MCP Magazine and MCPmag.com indirectly, along with a bunch of other IT publications and online properties that 101 owns, I won’t be directly involved in its day-to-day operation.

But don’t worry—I’m leaving your magazine in very competent hands. The same gang of talented columnists, contributing editors and writers who give the magazine and Web site its content and personality will continue to show up on your desk monthly, marshaled along by the same group of incredibly capable editors. Heading them up will be Dian Schaffhauser, formerly the magazine’s Executive Editor. Di’s been covering the IT business for many years, the last several of them with us (we like to say she’s been the power behind the throne at MCP Magazine, so to speak). So don’t expect any changes — except some good ones, since she’ll bring a fresh eye and new energy to the helm.

For me, one of the biggest losses in moving on is that I’ll no longer receive volumes of e-mail directly from readers. The thousands of letters you’ve sent me since the magazine launched six years ago have helped shape my thinking about who you are, how deeply you care about your IT careers and certifications, and what you struggle with daily—and thus what the magazine should be about. So keep ‘em coming—Di and the rest of the staff want the same sort of feedback. Let them know what you think at [email protected].

To all of you, best of luck in your career and certification endeavors. I promise you that MCP Magazine will continue to serve as your mentor, community forum, and personal companion in your quest for ever-greater IT career success.