Preview + Feedback [October 2010]

[echoplxx]

Quick Content List
Bazaar Mini - Digit now reviews all the latest products in the market
World View - Best tech articles from around the world
Fast Track to Word Press
Stop before you Shop – We clear the buy or not to buy dilemma
Mindware DVD – Video Lectures and webinar, Work Tools Special
Developers Section
Playware DVD – Kidzone(New section)- ebooks, games and animations.
Over 1 GB of mods, patches, icon packs, speedruns & HD wallpapers

Features in the Magazine
Build your own Super Computer – with the hardware you already have
Microprocessors – everywhere and in everything
World View - Sandy Bridge: Intel's Next-Generation Microarchitecture Revealed
Work@Tech Careers in Flash
SKOAR! reviews Halo Reach, Mafia II
Bazaar Includes reviews on HTC Wildfire, Sony Ericsson Zylo,
Godrej Eon Gaming LCD, HTC Desire,
three overclocked GeForce GTS450 cards from ASUS, MSI and Sparkle.
DIY Build your own Laser security system
Agent 001 covers Wi-Fi Routers

Regular Features
Tips & Tricks Gmail, Yahoo Inquisitor, Soundbooth, Orb, USBserver
Mobile Watch Toshiba Folio 100, Samsung Galaxy 3 and 5,
Nokia's first dual SIM phone
Web Watch GMail now features VOIP and Priority Inbox,
Geolocation comes to Facebook, finally
Apple releases iTunes 10 with Ping

DVD Contents at a glance
Mindware

Videos
Lectures
Top 10 Things You Must Have to Start a Business
Startups that Fail: Netek
Top 10 Must Have For a Start-up
Invest in Great People and Great Equipment - Not Furniture!
Naming Your Company: Put Up a Sign
You Need Little Capital
Webinar on SAP

Software
Work
Desktop Secretary 2.0.4
OpenOffice.org 3.3
Floppy Office 4.0
Powerpoint Backgrounds 1.0
IBM Lotus Symphony 3 Beta
Efficient Calendar Free 1.65
Essential PIM Free 3.71
Address Book Standard 2
RoboForm2Go 6.10.0

Playware

Kidszone
Ebooks
Games
Animations

Gaming
Demos
FPS Terminator Alpha
Lost Horizon
RUSE
Casual
Air Force Missions
Blender Breakout
BZFlag
Mad Medley Battle
UltraStar Deluxe
Mystery P.I. - Stolen in San Francisco
Plants vs. Zombies

Videos
Machinima
Trailers
Walkthroughs
Speedruns

Addons
Patches
Mods
Icon Packs
Cheat codes
Gaming wallpapers
For full DVD content list click here

[rajivnedungadi]

I thought october was a special issue, like last year

[desiibond]

fastrack to wordpress. mm. yummy

[saqib_khan]

FT to WP !! May I know its contents also, i mean previously you were attaching the index of the FT, why this is not done now ?

[neerajvohra]

Originally Posted by rajivnedungadi

I thought october was a special issue, like last year

I thought the same. Never mind, will borrow copy from my friend as no interesting topic to read.

[topgear]

this is quick - thanks for the early preview.

[Raaabo]

Every issue is special as far as I'm concerned

But if you're asking whether this is a Rs. 200 issue, then no, it is the regular Rs. 150 price.

[rajivnedungadi]

Originally Posted by Raaabo

Every issue is special as far as I'm concerned

But if you're asking whether this is a Rs. 200 issue, then no, it is the regular Rs. 150 price.

So, out of the 4 special issues a year,two are just for the subscribers?

[Raaabo]

If you're asking whether there is any subscriber-only content along with the October 2010 issue, then, no, there isn't.

[rajivnedungadi]

Originally Posted by Raaabo

If you're asking whether there is any subscriber-only content along with the October 2010 issue, then, no, there isn't.

Is the November issue going to be a special one? Because its going to be 4 special issues each year...thats why I asked

[ancientrites]

I wonder how digit obtain the rights of few animation cartoons
1.woody woodpecker
2.noveltoon
3.little lulu
4.popeye - floor flusher (not the taxi turvey)

oh well.....i am dying to see these golden gems and i am right on my way to the news stand
thanks Raboo

[Lord073]

Thanks for the preview. I thought the october edition was a diwali special issue like last year but surprisingly it's not.

[sarosh]

One of my elderly friends from another country has always been eager to learn WorldPress. When I saw the WordPress fast track, at first I almost decided to go to the Post office and ship it to him. But then I remember reading the previous fast tracks, specially the one on hacking, and I remembered how there were awful grammar and spelling mistakes on each page. I personally cannot read poor grammar, and so I can never recommend poor grammar to anyone else.
It's still very, very surprising that the No.1 technology magazine of India has authors who are English-Illiterate.

Also, when I signed in to post this forum, I was presented with a pop-up about FASHION and LUXURY WATCHES. I guess that since the big money is coming in and the No.1 position has been taken for granted, people have stopped caring for basic essentials like correct grammar.

[topgear]

^^ correct grammar is a good thing but the main and basic essential behind a article is always understandability

BTW, some thought about the mag ( at last got some time to properly give some feedback )

The price on the cover was not visible from the outside of the plastic bag package - please print it on the some place so that we can clearly see the price before buying.

The pink color is not what what I've liked very much - blue color was more appropriate for this issue.

The prices on the price list is always a little bit more ( around 500 bucks for some products ) - please do something about this.

The magazine has plenty of good contents to read about about.

I really liked the pdf version of the last chapter of wordpress FT.

[Raaabo]

Originally Posted by sarosh

One of my elderly friends from another country has always been eager to learn WorldPress. When I saw the WordPress fast track, at first I almost decided to go to the Post office and ship it to him. But then I remember reading the previous fast tracks, specially the one on hacking, and I remembered how there were awful grammar and spelling mistakes on each page. I personally cannot read poor grammar, and so I can never recommend poor grammar to anyone else.
It's still very, very surprising that the No.1 technology magazine of India has authors who are English-Illiterate.

Also, when I signed in to post this forum, I was presented with a pop-up about FASHION and LUXURY WATCHES. I guess that since the big money is coming in and the No.1 position has been taken for granted, people have stopped caring for basic essentials like correct grammar.

There's no need to name call. I wouldn't call us English-illiterate... but I will look into the matter and try and reduce the errors significantly. tell me what you think about the Wordpress Fast Track, and the language in Digit this month.

Not to make any excuses, but I found a few spelling mistakes in Wired's latest issue! It's nice to be reminded that everyone's human sometimes.

Please continue to point out any mistakes, and I promise to try and fix them, and make sure they're not repeated.

Originally Posted by topgear

^^ correct grammar is a good thing but the main and basic essential behind a article is always understandability

BTW, some thought about the mag ( at last got some time to properly give some feedback )

The price on the cover was not visible from the outside of the plastic bag package - please print it on the some place so that we can clearly see the price before buying.

The pink color is not what what I've liked very much - blue color was more appropriate for this issue.

The prices on the price list is always a little bit more ( around 500 bucks for some products ) - please do something about this.

The magazine has plenty of good contents to read about about.

I really liked the pdf version of the last chapter of wordpress FT.

Well said Topgear, but as a former copy editor, I sort of agree with Sarosh to a large extent. We're making a conscious effort to make the articles both understandable as well as flawless in terms of language.

The price goof will not be repeated.

The overall look of the cover was to try and give it an easy-to-recognise comic book feel. Everyone I showed the cover to said "Looks like a comic" and that's why we went with it. We felt it was important because of the superman-ish logo for the supercomputer story.

As for prices, we mostly use the most expensive MOP in India, which is why you will find a difference. Certain states it will be only Rs 100 cheaper, while in others it may go to Rs 500. Another thing that plays a role here is the timing - since we're closing the price list for, say, October issue, around 14th or 15th September, by the time it's out in the market in the first week of October, some prices will have changed. These are more useful if you look at them as a guide to approximately how much you should pay. Cheaper is a bonus, but never pay more than our advertised price.

That's one more vote for a PDF fast track. I'll add it to the thread as a poll, let's see what everyone else says.

[sarosh]

Wrong grammar = unable to understand.
Correct grammar = easy to understand.
If you're say you understand something written with wrong grammar, then you are obviously understanding the wrong thing.

Anyway, I am confident digit will fix this issue. They have fixed the delivery issue and now everyone gets their magazine on time, every month. And fixing the delivery issue seems like a much greater task than fixing wrong grammar. So I am confident they will do it.

Until then I will just try my best not to get irritated that the they are unable/refusing/forgetting to run a spell check and/or grammar check on their articles. I guess I will have to try to just accept it, like everyone else seems to have. I know it should not bother me so much, but I'm afraid it really does.

[ankurgel]

Got my issue today. Excited on reading 'Guide on wordpress.org'; hoping I'll not be disappointed as I got with main issue this time.
IF this is about whether Fast Track as hardcopy or pdf version in DVD. Then, I'll certainly go with hard-copy part.
If possible, include Fast Track in both version.

[rajivnedungadi]

Fast track in hard copy please

[topgear]

Originally Posted by Raaabo

There's no need to name call. I wouldn't call us English-illiterate... but I will look into the matter and try and reduce the errors significantly. tell me what you think about the Wordpress Fast Track, and the language in Digit this month.

Not to make any excuses, but I found a few spelling mistakes in Wired's latest issue! It's nice to be reminded that everyone's human sometimes.

Please continue to point out any mistakes, and I promise to try and fix them, and make sure they're not repeated.

Well said Topgear, but as a former copy editor, I sort of agree with Sarosh to a large extent. We're making a conscious effort to make the articles both understandable as well as flawless in terms of language.

The price goof will not be repeated.

The overall look of the cover was to try and give it an easy-to-recognise comic book feel. Everyone I showed the cover to said "Looks like a comic" and that's why we went with it. We felt it was important because of the superman-ish logo for the supercomputer story.

As for prices, we mostly use the most expensive MOP in India, which is why you will find a difference. Certain states it will be only Rs 100 cheaper, while in others it may go to Rs 500. Another thing that plays a role here is the timing - since we're closing the price list for, say, October issue, around 14th or 15th September, by the time it's out in the market in the first week of October, some prices will have changed. These are more useful if you look at them as a guide to approximately how much you should pay. Cheaper is a bonus, but never pay more than our advertised price.

That's one more vote for a PDF fast track. I'll add it to the thread as a poll, let's see what everyone else says.

I liked the super man type logo but I did not like the pink color.

so that's why the prices are a little bit high though it's not a prob - it gives us a fair idea about the approximately price as not all prices for all components is same in the all parts of the country.

I think the FT in PDF format is the future - you can add many dynamic and interactive contents with it and even include audio and videos and color images with a pdf file and that will make the FT more attractive.

It would be great if you can add laptop/netbook and gfx card prices on the price list.

[TheHumanBot]

print somewhere on cover the month and year like October 2010 of the issue.
please print the full index of DVD contents inside the mag.

[Raaabo]

@sarosh: We will fix it, and immediately

@topgear: Will try and include those prices in Nov issue

@vishalgmistry: That's something I had changed. I'm completely against wasting another 2 pages of the magazine for an index that readers don't really need. People who are interested in the DVD should pop-in the DVD and see what's in it. We will tell you what we think is good on the packaging and in the half contents page for the DVD. I would rather add another 2 page article than 2 pages of software listing. Sorry. With limited amount of pages available to me, I'm always looking at ways to give you more information and articles.

[Raaabo]

Also... vishal... is that user title deliberate? You do know what it means, right?

[sarosh]

Thanks, I have total trust you will, you have achieved greater things than this.
BTW, some food for thought

In the several years of me being a subscriber, I never felt like complaining, I only made one suggestion years ago and it was implemented and even printed. So you must take that as a complement that besides the spelling mistakes, the rest is essentially flawless and close to perfect.

[nashpd]

Thanks for your feedback Sarosh. We're pleased to have you as a reader, and we'll be fixing the issue you have pointed out.

[dreatica]

@Raabo

Just for the sake of suggestions, I need to register here.

1. I would suggest to add the spend smart/killer rigs pages to PDF rather than wasting pages from the magazine. Most of us already knew what exactly the prices are, and for those who are looking for, they can easily search in the pdf and can compare those online.

2. I would suggest adding the subscription booklet or the offers on the 1-5 pages, so we can know what exactly the offers are. I buy all the magazines available in my area- Digit, Chip, LFY, Computer active, EFY, Gadgets, whathifi, PC quest, Automobiles magazines etc. etc. I have a huge collection and most of the times I miss the new offers as the magazine hit @newsstand by second week here, and I read digit at the end of the month . I was lucky to get the digit magazine on the 1st of this month, and was surprised to see the collector edition which I am going to order by tomorrow.

3. You already posted to remove the DVD content details from the magazine.

4. I love the crossword back to the magazine. Please don't remove in forthcoming issues.

5. To make the special issue for the coming month (December), you can add some 3d pages and provide a 3D glasses with the magazine. I purchased this month Top Gear issue, and I like the new 3d pages. May be you can add few special pages in special issues.

6. You should add a Book Mark to insert into the magazine. It will be handy for digit members, and you can use ads in the Book Mark like other magazines do.

7. Great improvements in the magazine from the past 6 years. You do a lot of reviews in mobiles nowadays. Can you add a topic to compare Samsung Galaxy S and HTC Desire? There are lots of comparisons already available over the net, but this could still be the best article for Android Fans.

8. Please add a column of Jargons that you use in the magazines. It will easy for some beginners.

9. Most of the magazine pages are bright and colorful. Why the Tips and Tricks" pages are of low quality. Most of the novice read this section first, and this build a bad image of the magazine. For example: Check the page 75 Inquistor image, page 76 Orb's interface and streaming settings print. They are so bad to read.


10. There are some spelling mistakes or erros, but this can be reduced.

I love digit magazine and love to see few changes in forthcoming issues.

Thanks for reading this.

[hpotter606]

I still haven't received this month's digit. I was informed through an email that copy has been dispatched and will reach me in 7 days time. I asked for the tracking number but the tracking number doesnt work and I get a 'server error'. I sent a mail with 'Copy Delayed' as the subject but haven't received any reply. With so much praise being showered over Digit, I guess I was expecting a bit too much

[ankurgel]

@Team Digit
I liked what all @dreatica suggested; especially the one about 3D pages (point 5). I also didn't like the quality of 'Tips & Tricks' pages (pg 73 - 80) but apparently thought it be a printing glitch.
And yeah, everyone do feel a need of a bookmark. I can't use Fast-Track to pinpoint the last read page everytime.

[Faun]

Originally Posted by Raaabo

Also... vishal... is that user title deliberate? You do know what it means, right?

Removing the pejorative connotation IMO.

[staticsid]

Thanks dreatica for the extremely detailed feedback. Looking forward to more interaction of this sort. Cheers.

[saqib_khan]

@digit team; leave the fast track as it is. There's no need to give FT in DVD, we love hardcopy only.

Providing the last chapter on the dvd is really a cheap trick to save paper and increase your profit margins.

I can better material on internet, the only reason i buy digit (sometimes) is for the content in hardcopy, because eyes stain when reading much on the internet. I think those days are not far when you'll just send an Email to subscribers, this is the E-issue, read it and forget about hardcopy. Is this what you are trying to achieve ?

Really disappointed by this Mr. Raabo.