Fast Track 2.0?

[Raaabo]

Hey Everyone,

We're just looking for some feedback about Fast Track, so apart from taking part in the poll, please leave comments as well.


Raaabo

[utsav]

i selected "Replace it with a comprehensive multimedia tutorial on the DVD."

it will be a great thing to do and also save printing costs and the money saved for not printing fast track can be used in giving 2 dual layer dvds:)

[girish.g]

please do improve the paper quality

[nvidia]

I selected option#2
Make it look colourful.
And if possible please give a Fast Track to learning linux from scratch

[vaibhavtek]

I just selected Make it a Colour, Interactive PDF on the DVD and if possible make the PDF searchable.

[Sykora]

#3 : Make it a pdf, and put proper bookmarks in it.

[moshel]

even if its not color, its ok....But atleast improve the quality of the paper...

[goobimama]

Interactive content on DVD would be an excellent move. For instance when it comes to showing a tutorial on some photoshop fastrack, a video of the same on the DVD would be excellent. Of course, the interface for this needs to be well thought of unlike how the current DVDs are made.

[infra_red_dude]

Jazzing it up a bit would surely help :)

[satyamy]

I think Currently it is Perfect

[sam_1710]

A little colour and better paper would go a long way.
Replace it with a comprehensive multimedia tutorial on the DVD.

Both options are good...
It wud be nice if its of better quality paper and also a comprehensive multimedia tutorial on the DVD!! :)

[casanova]

^^
Yes, both options are good.
I voted for comprehensive multimedia tut though.

[gagandeep]

I chose #3. It will be good if we could have a PDF on the DVD.

[ravi_9793]

I have voted for second option:
"A little colour and better paper would go a long way."

First thing:
Nothing can beat paper printing reading.

Second:
Little colour and improvement in paper quality will make reading happier.

[Pathik]

I wd say shift the fasttrack to a pdf on the dvd or a interactive thingy and add one more dvd.

[Gigacore]

i would like to see fast track pages in color..

[skghosh44]

I will go for the option 2 definitely. All the issues of Fast Track may not be usefull for me, but may usefull for others. I think if Fast Track discontinued, image of the DIGIT will be down in the category of the IT Magazine. Rather I think Make it colourfull alongwith good paper quality, Provide some small Advertisement to coup up with expenses incurred to improve the Fast Track.
Also try to provide details of the subject taken for the particular issue elaborately from novice to expert user as far as possible in easy english. Try to cover each important Linux Distribution in seperate issues of Fast Track.

[RaghuKL]

Pls. leave the fast track as it is. It is perfect. Don't "ad" the fast track. it gives a continuous reading pleasure... Personally, I think adding colour would be a costly proposition for both sides here.. Anything that needs to be in colour maybe put in dvd

[phreak0ut]

We get a lot of stuff right of the net, but reading a book with good color when we are free is something good. Just because you will be adding color doesn't mean you can put the burden on us. So, please keep the price of the magazine the way it is now.

[saqib_khan]

I selected the second option.

I think it is the best. And please we want a printed copy & not on CD, DVD.

Our eyes get hurt by reading them on PC. So please just make it a colourful fasttrack. Bye

[lywyre]

Why give it as a seperate book? Why don't you just bind it up with the Digit Magazine? Wouldn't it be easy to handle for all?

A pdf version would indeed be nice.

[MetalheadGautham]

I think it looks quite good as it is, but some more colour and better pages will do no harm obviously. We don't want another ebook, because those without PDF readers and laptops dont have the privilage of reading them in toilets, while eating in the dining table and in bed like real books.

Also, please start selling them with better pages, and I am sure there will be a good market for them if they are priced well. PDFs just don't seem right.

[kumarmohit]

While I voted for option 1, in case you abandon the paper version and move it to optical media, I guess a price cut would be due!

[nvidia]

Whats the point in paying 125 if digit will not give Fast track.
For those who want to read it its best if it stays the way its given now with a little colour.
If digit will FS in pdf then 100 bucks should be the new price of the mag.

[krazzy]

Why not add it within the main magazine itself? Just create a new section for it in the end. It'll be convenient to have everything at one place instead of separating it.

[New]

Leave it as it is......Don't try to give it as PDF in DVD.

[NucleusKore]

I selected,"It's perfect, leave it the way it is!".

Suggestions:
1) I think the focus should be on improving content, which is already quite good.
2) I would not like something flashy. Utility is important.
3) When you do a fast track with Photoshop as one of the tools, there's nothing to stop you from doing a fast track with The GIMP. What I am trying to say is just as you Fast Track such propriety tools, simultaneously do so for at least one FOSS equivalent.

[nitinm]

dont do any thing just add little color 8) 8)

[xbonez]

improve the paper quality and colors and stuff, but definitely don't stop the hard copy...the fun of reading a book can never be replaced

[shashank4u]

2 option would be great only if you don't increase the price further...you people are already playing with big cash after the parent company sold to 9.9 media :)

[Raaabo]

Well, option 2 would obviously be a LOT more expensive, and might either impact the quantity of content or the price of the package.

I'm not saying that we're changing anything, but we are interested in knowing your thoughts about this. We just need regular feedback from you guys to make sure about what we're getting right, and more importantly, if we're getting some things wrong.

Regardless of all of this, you can still be sure that you're getting the best bang for your buck with Digit.

Raaabo

[ThinkFree]

Save paper, Save trees

So give FastTrack on DVD in a interactive way

[nvidia]

Raaabo you can add some ads to the fast track and make it colourful.
But dont add too many like in the main mag....
It would be better if it stayed the way it is or if a little bit of colour is there in it...

[xbonez]

i'd also like to add that content comes first...if it means we keep getting the crappy newspaper-like paper , then so be it...but don't compromise on content

[NucleusKore]

Raaabo you can add some ads to the fast track and make it colourful.
But dont add too many like in the main mag....
It would be better if it stayed the way it is or if a little bit of colour is there in it...

I'd prefer it in its current form WITHOUT ads.

[sriharsha_madineni]

Regardless of paper quality,pdf or anything.I think its time to replace this mini encyclopedia[fast track] with some "do it yourself" stuff or interesting tutorials on various content.

[blackpearl]

Raaaboji, don't go by the poll results. Coloured pages would definitely look better but if it leads to increased price or decreased contents, then just forget it. I'm happy with the way it is.

Don't make it into a PDF. I hate reading from the monitor.

[aneesh kalra]

imho don't add any color or make the paper quality better just add video tutorials about some topics covered in fast track every month in the dvd which now days you find increasingly difficult to brim and as a result we get lots of stuff we don't need, adopting the above would be a cost effective method that would do good to both sides,how economically unfeasible can shooting a video and adding it to the dvd be?

[goobimama]

Another suggestion: Maybe you guys could include the PDF of the magazine and Fast Track in the DVD, but of the previous month. So it doesn't cut into your sales, but archiving all those copies becomes a whole lot easier. The december issue had all the stuff in it I know, but something more on a regular basis.

[nish_higher]

^ yeah and leave the book as it is.or make some refinements but let it be a hard copy only.

[FatBeing]

Here's a question: how many of you read Fast Track when you're away from your PC? I'm not talking about exceptions like Tech Jargon or History of Computing - that's just pure knowledge - I'm talking about Fast Tracks related to software.

When I was learning 3ds max, I found it much easier to read an online tutorial and Alt + Tab to 3ds instead of sitting with the 3dsmax Bible on my lap. Ditto C# during my training at my last job - I'd much rather have MSDN at my disposal than any book.

This has no relation to the future of Fast Track; just wanted to know.

[Pathik]

+1.. Wen it comes to pc related stuff, it is better to learn it and do it side-by-side.. Paperbacks r needed only 4 theory.

[kpmsivachand]

I selected option #3...

[abhijitsam]

I vote for Better paper quality and colour printing.
Also, make the size of the booklet bigger to accomodate better illustrations.
For some topics like Maya, 3DsMax, Assembling a PC, Photoshop include video tutorials in the DVD that supplement the fasttrack.

[ax3]

agreed with @NucleusKore (http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=1265), @ravi_9793 (http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=6857) & @asnvin (http://www.thinkdigit.com/forum/member.php?u=21770) ........

or y not + in the mag itself ....

easy 2 carry in toilet also [only peacefull place & good time killer also] ..... no offense, bt i dont carryy newspapers THERE .... AS reading TECH stuff THERE, REBOOTS me ............

& plz plz include PDF of previous month 2 .....

[Net007]

My vote - It is perfect.

[Cool G5]

I voted for the 2nd option.
I too feel that it should be made colourful & good quality paper must be used.
Regarding PDF on DVD,it won't help to read on commute unless you own a laptop or a smartphone.
Also reading a book has it's own pleasure.

[Ron]

Hey how about this option ....
It's perfect, leave it the way it is! +a comprehensive multimedia tutorial on the DVD. .....

It would cool if digit would provide the hard copy as well as comprehensive multimedia..... tutorial on the DVD. .....

[nvidia]

^^How can they provide a tutorial for Fast Track issues like the last months?

[Ashok Kumar SN]

little colour and better paper would go a long way

little colour and better paper would go a long way

[blackpearl]

Here's a question: how many of you read Fast Track when you're away from your PC? I'm not talking about exceptions like Tech Jargon or History of Computing - that's just pure knowledge - I'm talking about Fast Tracks related to software.

When I was learning 3ds max, I found it much easier to read an online tutorial and Alt + Tab to 3ds instead of sitting with the 3dsmax Bible on my lap. Ditto C# during my training at my last job - I'd much rather have MSDN at my disposal than any book.

This has no relation to the future of Fast Track; just wanted to know.

I agree that when you are working on a software then online guides are much better and quicker than a book. But often when I try to read some tutorials online, I click on way too many links with the result that I drift away from the original topic that I had intended to read. I end up reading lots of other stuff and at the end I still don't know what I wanted to know. For instance, a few months ago I developed an interest in Maya. When I used to go to any tutorial site instead of focussing on basic stuff I got attracted to animation and rendering. I still don't know how to model properly. For people like me, a book is much better. They don't allow you to stray.

[MetalheadGautham]

Here's a question: how many of you read Fast Track when you're away from your PC? I'm not talking about exceptions like Tech Jargon or History of Computing - that's just pure knowledge - I'm talking about Fast Tracks related to software.

When I was learning 3ds max, I found it much easier to read an online tutorial and Alt + Tab to 3ds instead of sitting with the 3dsmax Bible on my lap. Ditto C# during my training at my last job - I'd much rather have MSDN at my disposal than any book.

This has no relation to the future of Fast Track; just wanted to know.
Lets see:

essential windows tools
gaming
linux
mobile telephoney
upgrade your PC
apple

these are just a few fast track names I can remember reading on the book. The book IS much better than an ebook. Besides, you can always give an ebook version too for the sake of it. Books have the advantage of being able to be read anywere and don't need you to drink electricity on your new machine. Even if there is a power failure, Books can be read by the candle light.

I say books are always better than ebooks in most general situations. e-books are handy, but not in a majority of cases. I thought you were an old-timer, FatBeing, then howcome you are a supporter of "neo-style" e-books?(just a joke, no offence intended)

Well, option 2 would obviously be a LOT more expensive, and might either impact the quantity of content or the price of the package.

I'm not saying that we're changing anything, but we are interested in knowing your thoughts about this. We just need regular feedback from you guys to make sure about what we're getting right, and more importantly, if we're getting some things wrong.

Regardless of all of this, you can still be sure that you're getting the best bang for your buck with Digit.

Raaabo
if thats the case, just keep it as it is, or market the FTs indivudually. trust me, you will have lots of buyers.

[Quiz_Master]

"Replace it with a comprehensive multimedia tutorial on the DVD."

A interactive flash tutorial will be good...

Here's a question: how many of you read Fast Track when you're away from your PC? I'm not talking about exceptions like Tech Jargon or History of Computing - that's just pure knowledge - I'm talking about Fast Tracks related to software.

When I was learning 3ds max, I found it much easier to read an online tutorial and Alt + Tab to 3ds instead of sitting with the 3dsmax Bible on my lap. Ditto C# during my training at my last job - I'd much rather have MSDN at my disposal than any book.

This has no relation to the future of Fast Track; just wanted to know.

Thats exactly why I suggested Multimedia Content on DVD...

Right now most Digit readers still dont have Internet/Fast Internet (most of them buy digit because of this since they cant download softwares...)

So interactive tutorial can be a nice way of learning in this case...

As far as I am concerned I always read fast track when I m close to PC so I can try things right away...

[Abheek]

I Selected the Third option.

That way we can not only make it easier to store but also save paper.


But just as u had replied to a reader a long time back, nothing can replace the convenience of reading a fast track in the bus or train (in the toilet even!!!):) :)

[MetalheadGautham]

But just as u had replied to a reader a long time back, nothing can replace the convenience of reading a fast track in the bus or train (in the toilet even!!!):) :)

So there are still some guys with me... Anyone else getting their asses stuck in the toilet seat due to long durations of reading books while being overweight?(one person who fits this bill is ________________)

[Gigacore]

i wont read any fast tracks, i just refer them :D

[MetalheadGautham]

i wont read any fast tracks, i just refer them :D
well, your type is not the only one here, there are also paper fans. But both can be satisfied if the current format is kept.

[ring_wraith]

Oh come on, let's not kill fast track in paper, you just can't kill the feel of a real book.....

[abhinandh]

content rocks.just improve the paper quality and give colour pics.

[PikachuTrAiNeR]

There's no need for color either, just some better paper would work for me. ^^
And no soft copy pweeze. :3 It's just an irreplaceable read. If I wanted a soft copy, I'd get an online tutorial or even just go to Youtube. xD

[debiprasad_sahoo]

Paper quality is not bad and color is not at all necessary. But the PDF, which you provide in the DVD, if it will be in color then it will be better. If you try to increase the paper quality and color, it will be heavy on our pockets (you have to spend more money and you need to increase price, which we can not afford) and hand. It is small and beautiful. And please don't put ads int it except cover pages.

[FatBeing]

I thought you were an old-timer, FatBeing, then howcome you are a supporter of "neo-style" e-books?(just a joke, no offence intended)


Old timer? At this tender age? Grr.
I'm more of the "I'd rather read e-book than no book at all" kind of person. (I read classics on my phone using Mobipocket)

[The_Devil_Himself]

paper books over ebooks anyday for me.Add in more ads(I kinda like reading tech ads) if that helps in making it more colorful.

[j1n M@tt]

Fast Track currently makes us think we r just kidshttp://gigasmilies.googlepages.com/106.gif......make it a little more geeky, so it can benefit both beginners and proz......http://gigasmilies.googlepages.com/39.gif

I like the 3rd and 4th opinion in the poll........I polled for the 4th option.http://gigasmilies.googlepages.com/67.gif

[The Conqueror]

2,3,4 options are nice :D :D

but i voted for : Replace it with a comprehensive multimedia tutorial on the DVD

[bigdaddy486]

A good colour paper would make me read it...............
Plz if you change the paper, plz don't rise up the money from Rs.125.........

Bcz even now, its high price for me...........

[power_8383]

Appropriate option
A little colour and better paper would go a long way.

&

Desired result. :D

[ComputerUser]

A little colour and better paper would go a long way.

Yes, please do that.:pThat's enough.

[topgear]

I've chosen :
Make it a Colour, Interactive PDF on the DVD
That will save some cost. With that you could include a single layer dvd.

[damnthenet]

It would be nice to see fast track books with better paper quality and colour pages.........
But it will cost a lot in terms of printing and all........
So, we can try this :
The monthly fast track issues can be given as PDF and occasionally, maybe during the anniversary issues, a good printed book (worthy to be kept as a collector's edition) can be given.
This will also make it a great gift and cut down on paper and printing costs.

[mjacobin]

Use soft copy and save trees and secondly i hoped if you could add one more item regarding the topics chosen for Fast Track.
It sounds kiddish when certain topics are taken out.

If you can take out some soft copies on advance topics like programming and hardware, networking or something on ITIL or something related to law, processes as well will be really good. there are lot of things which really needs to explored in Hardware, Networking and Software. When you guys explain the Basics it is really good but need somethings more apart from it like going indepth with it or how to use it.

[MetalheadGautham]

OK, how about giving a colour interractive(flash based, or java based to enable multiple OS readability) in the magazine, and offering a Paper version with enhanced print and colour for sale indivudually in the market ?

But while doing above, also remove digit digit CD and reduce price to Rs. 100/-.

[desiibond]

I preper paper over ebook. It will be good if you also add a shootout of major players in fastrack for hardware and some DIY's and TnT's for softwares

eg: Including Speaker and sound card review roundup and POC's of major players in a Multimedia fastrack will make it much more useful.

[rajivnedungadi]

A little colour and better paper would go a long way.

[Cool G5]

Old timer? At this tender age? Grr.
I'm more of the "I'd rather read e-book than no book at all" kind of person. (I read classics on my phone using Mobipocket)

Which phone do you own?

[MetalheadGautham]

Which phone do you own?
Nokia 1100 ? :lol:

[FatBeing]

Which phone do you own?
It's an SE M600i. Reading books on it is beautiful.

[utsav]

It's an SE M600i. Reading books on it is beautiful.

i never knew such phone also exist.they justed turned W upside down :D

[CINTEL ENTRINO]

i never knew such phone also exist.they justed turned W upside down :D

See This (http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_m600-1425.php)

:)

[bigdaddy486]

better paper would lead the way as it make me read it............

[Arun the Gr8]

man i would prefer a physical book than a pdf...
i already stick a lot 2 my montor playing games...
with d fast-track i donot want to lose my eyes

http://gigasmilies.googlepages.com/113.gif

[clmlbx]

go to pdf .here are many including me who don't care for cd or dvd's......... and we subscribe only for mag .so it will be better if u also start pdf system so u can give away the links ( every month digit pdf ) for some lesser amount ( like RS 50 pm.). it will be awesome .....next month is my last digit and I am not subscribing it again .so if u start this then I will surely get this..........

[saigalp]

Since you vociferously advocate free software, would it not be a good idea to include open office in Fast track?

[thelordrrulzzz]

I believe that the paper quality as well as images in the fast track need to be improved. One suggestion i would give is instead of having the smaller size with more pages it would be better to have a normal A4 sized Fast Track with comparatively less number of pages of improved quality. :)

[devilz666]

I selected 'Replace it with a comprehensive multimedia tutorial on the DVD.'

nothing beats an interactive DVD when it comes to learning new stuff. and i guess that's what fast track is for.

Actually I don't care much if things remain the way they are, or book is improved a bit or it is turned into an interactive DVD but PDF is something I won't really appritiate. It's pain to read books on PDF and if I have to do that then I'll rather d/l a free dedicated tutorial (pirated :P) than buy digit for the content of fast track that is avaiable on PDF

[din]

Nothing can replace the print.

It may be cost saving idea - to make it in DVD, but please keep the print copy even if you include it in DVD.

Regarding paper quality, can quite understand as it is coz of the paper cost. So in my opinion, please do not KILL Fast Track. Please leave it as it is.

[Vivek.28]

oPTION # 2,
a li'l colour and better paper (though they wud make it heavy both on our pockets & hands.....) could do just the thing....but I must say that the Fast Track's are really really good.......

[gaurangsaini]

Fast-Track is perfect right now...changing it would rob it's "reference-book" feel. Although a bit of colour in life never hurts anyone.


suggestions

Cmon people! Whatever happened to NETWORKING ? I've been expecting it since eons! Come to think of it...these terms-DNS, IP, PACKETS, GATEWAY, DDoS, NETWORK SHARING, A/VDSL, PORTS...there's so much more...even the NETWORK PROPERTIES dialog box looks intimidating to amateurs and for every little issue & net setting, contacting the Admin's a must! You might think that there're many out there who already know all this, but how many must be knowing what to do with the SUBNET MASK field or how to create a workgroup and what IS its purpose or what exactly is a fileserver and the ways to set it up...the absence of a Fast Track which caters to all these demands might create a big void in the collection. What say evrybdy?
This issue should've been released long back as Networking is something everyone needs to know and is something not everyone is familiar with!

I still think I haven't been able to stress enough on this topic..I hope you guys are listening!

[qarch]

Considering the cost factor for the publisher and the need to keep the price of the mag in check, I selected the second option "A little colour and better paper would go a long way." I would like to have them in my library as a sort of referral material. It is too good to be a 'read once then throw it away' material. PDF version of the same in ful colour may also be included in the DVD.

[ARJOT SINGH]

hey guys fast track is good as it is.
but i would really appreciate it if u can give a full fast track on "learning fedora from scratch"

[mannuforall]

It is good but if it included in cd/dvd then better

I selected 3rd option.

[Vishal Patil]

I'll go with option# 3. The images in PDF of past mag when viewd on PC look better than those in the print version.
I only hoped there ws some colour in PDF version. But there should be the book, fr reason of portablity, coz i don't hav a laptop to read it while travelling or when away from home. If i had a laptop i would have selected the option#4

[maheshmohan.mu]

Don't replace Fast track with PDF. E-books are always eye straining

[toofan_nainital]

Heloo Raboo,
I opted for option one and I will tell you why.

1. Fast track in current formate is a much cheaper option for you.

2. The money you save by not using quality paper/color print can be used to reduce the advertisements from the main magazine or to reduce the price of main magazine.

3. One more suggestion you can add some advertisements in the fast track's cover and end pages to have some earning by which you can reduce the price of special issues from Rs 200 to Rs 150 or even Rs 125 .And give some more space to Agent 001.

4. If you wish you can add advertisements in between also but for this you will have to increase the quality of paper and add some colour to it.I think that this will neutralize the income made by adv.

So leave the fast track as it is, if you want add some useful advertisements in cover pages and at the end of article only.

If you can reduce the price of your magazine reduce it because the price doesn't justify the content you provide in your magazine.

Vimal Joshi
nainital

[jagadeesh.k750i]

;)I literally purchase digit's fast track and not the digit magazine, each fast track is worth a penny and a good source to our every day refernce library, hope digit bring more topic on computer hanging and restart problems, where is the culprit, digit gives the answer and I will wait for them to say on this.

[roshan1236a]

Hey the new Fast Track adds real valur to the MAg can u continue the mag in color or it is only for the month of July.

[meerasugu]

A next-generation mobile recording interface the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra features high-speed USB 2.0 technology for advanced performance. This advanced interface delivers simultaneous 8x8 24-bit/96kHz audio via M-Audio's rock-solid low-latency drivers so you can record and route lots of audio. Like FireWire USB 2.0 delivers the high bandwidth necessary for professional 24-bit/96kHz audio resolution throughout the recording and monitoring process.
----------------------------
nickysam
social media marketing (http://www.inspire-itsolutions.com)

[The Conqueror]

What are u trying to say ? I dont know Chinese :(

[prateekdwivedi1]

it's just awesome.fast track was already the best handy guide that i could lay my hands on to my day to day technology solutions and now it's even colored adding more to its graphic appeal than ever.you people have done a real stupendous job.fast track was formerly brains and now it is beauty with brains.

[IronManForever]

We dont need Fast Track 2.0 . Its best and even better for us who cant afford more for DIGIT. :)

[linux_ubuntu]

i voted for "A little colour and better paper would go a long way" hard copy better you can read in Bathroom toooooo i use too :rolleyes::D

[qams]

If u want a reason to raise the price of Magazine,
then
It's perfect, leave it the way it is!
If magazine can be cheaper than current price(~100Rs.)
then
Make it a Colour, Interactive PDF on the DVD