Welcome to REDMOND (Magazine)!

Coming in October: More of the same, but more and better.

• By Doug Barney
• 07/01/2004

First, a dramatic redesign is well underway—with a bold new cover design and an unabashed emphasis on readability. Trust me. You’ll like it—a lot.

Looks are important, but content and staff is what really matters.

Without boring you with a bunch of resumes, we’ve brought some hard-core folks on board. After spending 11 years as a writer, news editor and features editor for Network World, then five more years as an independent IT writer and editor, would you know a little about IT? If you answered yes, then you’ll be impressed with Paul Desmond. Solid, tough and talented, Paul will make sure you get the magazine you need.

Those of you who read ENT Magazine will be familiar with the work of Scott Bekker. The former ENT editor is now driving our news coverage, and has Microsoft more wired than a 10-year old with an overbite. You can still find Scott’s daily content on ENTmag.com.

Our own Keith Ward, a proud MCSE, is taking care of business as Managing Editor. Keith will also be writing a good many of our cover stories. You want hard-core Microsoft tech? Talk to the Ward man. Michael Domingo and Becky Nagel will continue to hold down the online fort, as well.

So Who’s This Barney Clown Anyway?
I won’t subject you to all the gory details, but I am an IT journalist to the absolute core. I’ve covered Microsoft on and off since 1984. Heck, I remember its stock opening at $21 (if I bought a bunch, I’d be in Guyana rather than here). I’ve been lambasted by (and had dinner and drinks with) all the biggies: Gates, Ballmer and Raikes just to name a few.

All the best MCP Magazine material remains. We’ll still have the great reviews and product roundups, and you can count on old pals Bill Boswell, Roberta Bragg, Don Jones and Chris Brooke to deliver great hands-on columns that help you do a better job everyday. We will, however, offer more strategic coverage. Want a better deal from Bill? Care to know what the boys from Redmond are up to? We’ll give you all that—and much, much more.

And we’ll surprise and hopefully excite you with articles that push the high-tech journalism envelope.

Jeepers, I almost forgot. All these changes will happen in October, when MCP Magazine becomes REDMOND Magazine—the Independent Voice of the Microsoft IT Community.

If you remember one thing from this mess of words, it is this—this is your magazine, and we plan to represent the Microsoft IT community like never before. To do so, you’ve got to talk to us. Start with me. I’m at [email protected].