You can do different takes on things without dumbing down. A simple factor of cost, for instance, can affect a review. I wonder, and I don't know the answer to this, whether the cost of a product is equally important to an avid Custom PC reader as it is to a Bit-Tech reader, for instance? I'm not a very mission statement-y person, I'm afraid. I just want to make sure we give you things you want to read, and that you like reading. Water modding request noted! Simon
Can't answer that one definitively at the moment. Podcasts are logistically a bit trickier now, for fairly obvious reasons, and I don't want to promise that they'll continue without being able to back that up. Sorry, I know that's probably not the answer you want, but I'd rather be up front about that. Simon
If nothing else, I appreciate the fact you are taking time out to regularly check back and reply to this thread, Simon. Thank you very much for that. And big thanks for noting the request for gfx water cooling articles - I know it has to be juggled in with everything else, but something would be great.
Don't take this offensively, I don't know anything about you so all I will ask is: Can we expect an honest approach to making bit-tech bit-tech again or are you here to tell us what we want to hear then just try and make money from the site?
You'll have to try harder to offend me I'm telling you the truth, is the answer. So far, it's clear that there's a thirst for more modding content. So I'll start there. If it works, great. If nobody likes it, we'll look again. I figure the best I can do is be honest, listen to what you all want, see what's feasible, and we'll see how we go. I do want the site to make money. I'd like Bit-Tech to thrive, to keep paying writers, and to keep interesting readers, which in turn needs it needs to generate revenue from somewhere. I don't want it to make money at absolutely any cost, but I can't imagine everyone wants to stump up £20/30 a year to read the site, so it's inevitable that advertising is the prime source of income. To be clear, though: editorial remains separate from advertising, and I'm working my way through the complaints about ad formats. I've got no magic wand. I have ears, eyes, and six fingers on each hand. Figure we'll take things from there...! Simon
Similar questions happened when CPC closed its forum down and merged with BT. Hopefully it will turn out as well as that did, the forum in particular is an everyday stomping ground for me. Good luck in old shoes Simon.
Actually that's 75% the answer , one reason I was subbing was the belief that it was funding the resources for the podcasts, now that they're unlikely to either happen or be as good as what came before, and the budgets will be split again, that's helping me decide what I'm doing next. So cheers for now and I'll wait for whatever update you find out.
Simon, thanks for your reply! Looks like you are really interested in what the community is thinking So here are some suggestions (being a guy who doesn't understand hardware that well while knowing the hardware, so to speak): Comparisons with older hardware when a new piece of kit is launched, with the following "addendum": - comparisons between 2 different generations of GFX hardware (when and if possible). For example, when 5770 launched, it was a great moment to compare it to the 4xxx series (if it was possible to match the frequencies/mem bandwidth on parts like 5770 and 4870 for example through over/down- clocking - Revisiting games (LA Noire which Bit re-reviewed was excellent) to check if their review score would be different after 6 months or a year after release when the first reviews came out. - More understanding that there are many international readers at the site (meaning, perhaps prices in euros as well as pounds, more information regarding availability outside the UK) - Better GPU reviews! This is I think a very important point, as lately(1+ years) the GPU reviews have been very lackluster in actually targeting the review content at the appropriate graphics card. For example: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/03/08/amd-radeon-hd-6990-review/5 Useless resolutions tested, useless games tested for a card that powerful etc. This review gives no realistic information for whether or not to buy this card. - Eyefinity testing - it's about time that eyefinity made it into the test suite This might sound far fetched, but bear with me: - At least weekly (preferrably twice or more per week) testing of relevant graphics cards in games that are not "part of the test suite". For example, grabbing a 570, 580, 6950, 6970 to review only the game performance for those cards on a new game that is a high profile launch yet not part of the same "test suite". When new cards come out, replace when needed etc. I've been wishing for this for a veeery long time, and no one seems to do this. I'm not a tester, but I assume this would take perhaps a day per game at most, yet would give vital information for your readers when it comes to the overall performance of a product. Plus, it would really make your PC community like you more. (we really don't care about console reviews when they are console specific). I think that is all i can think of at the moment.
That's not a bad idea to have a revisit for any major patches and/or driver optimisations. Even if it's a couple of lines tagged onto the original review or something so that it doesn't need a huge amount of time when there will be newer games demanding attention.
care to give examples? Is it likely to be tweaking/optimisation guides or more detailed looks at the design/technical aspects of making games? plus the all-important question... do you like cheesecake? EDIT: as pointed out in the folding forum - what about the folding team? is it staying as CPC + Bit, or splitting [back] to two separate teams.
This is important for me with hardware. Sort of "will the cost of purchasing new hardware now be justified by the increase in performance, or should I wait for something better/price reduction?" Good idea this. Hello from Australia. I think these graphs are essential. I'm never going to buy the latest graphics card as I don't have that kind of disposable income, but am always trying to find the best bang for buck when I upgrade and my local prices aren't the same as UK or US. The buyers guides have been a great guide to me in the past (please continue them).
I don't want to rock the boat here but I would pay £20-30 a year to read BT if the content was of the same level as it was a few years ago. I'm sure there are others who would do the same. Obviously making a subscription necessary is not a viable solution but providing more avenues for fans to make monetary contributions to the site may be worthwhile. I have no idea how the logistics of that would work out. I wouldn't want to see articles put behind a paywall for example. Maybe fabulous prizes! like event tickets or entry into prize draws for goody bags etc would work. Selling scarcity is the key here. I realise this is a suggestion more than a question. Maybe I've been reading too much Mike Masnick.
Hi Simon I was left off with an article for Reader's Drives possibly waiting to be published (you'll have to contact Anthony for better details on the matter) and that never went through because of my lack of good quality photos. It's great to hear you say there's going to be more modding content, so for now, I'll stay and see how it looks. As one of the mag's youngest readers, it would be nice to be able to generate such an interest for people my age, and I look forward to seeing the new content. If I was to ask about the article here, it would be a bit self centred, so I'll drop you a PM. Thanks
Kris and adidan - apologies for the brief reply. Have taken note of all of those suggestions, and many thanks for them!
Let me turn the question back to you: what do you want, and what would you prefer? Gaming is a broad church, and if there's demand for such guides, for instance, then I'm happy to try. Do I like cheesecake? I once, back in my Micro Mart days, tried to organise a cheesecake group test, but got told where to go when I rang up assorted companies for free samples. Simon PS Folding team - not sure. Will chat to Ben about this. Personally, I can't see any reason to split it back, unless anyone strongly feels otherwise?
I'd suggest you're very much the exception to the norm. I suspect that there's a small core of people who wouldn't mind paying for online content, but I'm 99.9999% sure you and they would be very much in the minority. It's an interesting question as to how to bring in money from a website without just relying 100% on advertising, and all suggestions are welcomed! Simon
Antony is still writing for Bit-Tech, so will have a chat with him and find out what's happened. I will say that the team on both Custom PC and Bit-Tech have done tremendously well in very, very tough circumstances these past few months. As a consequence of that, there will be things awaiting resolution, through no fault of theirs. Feel free to drop that PM! Simon
I thought I recognised your name. Don't worry guys, this is still in good hands. And welcome to the forum. I recommend reading about Big Mike, Relix and cheesecake. Will there be more drive on say, forum/user-created articles on the website, possibly encouraging it? 'Cos I'd love to be able to contribute to the website every-so-often, if I could.