Have you had a chance to visit our new and improved Web site yet? If not, please power up and surf to www.elecdesign.com. Whether you love it or hate it, we want your feedback. Here's a guided tour of some of the improvements we've made and why.
Perhaps the biggest change at the site is that articles are no longer posted as PDFs. Yes, PDFs are a great way to post pages that integrate graphics and preserve the look and feel of the magazine. I've already heard from some of you—particularly from overseas, Web-only readers—who miss the PDF format. But as you may know, the problem with PDFs is that the content within the files is not completely indexable or searchable.
Therefore, we reformatted all editorial content from the last several years (indeed a big job!) into HTML. So now it is easier for you to search the site for specific design ideas, news, tools, and technologies to find whatever it is you need. Of course, this searchability goes beyond the engine on our site. Now Electronic Design content can be spidered and indexed by the top search engines around the globe, making it a snap for electronic engineers everywhere to tap into the knowledge base of our editorial archives. All graphics and figures are still included. You'll find embedded links in the HTML pages to take you to them.
Also new at the site is fresh, Web-only content, including current and archived editions of our biweekly e-mail newsletters, Electronic Design UPDATE and EDA Alert. If you don't already subscribe to these, you can swiftly sign up to receive them at the site.
We are also using www.elecdesign.com to expand and enhance the experience of reading the print version of Electronic Design. You'll note that throughout the magazine, each article is tagged with an ED Online number. If you need an electronic version of a given article, just plug the ED Online ID into the appropriate window at the top of the Web page, and (voila!) you're whisked directly to the article.
In addition, the site has a second quick-find window for our Drill Deeper content. In the print magazine, the Drill Deeper icon indicates that further information related to an article can be found online. Again, just plug the Drill Deeper ID into the appropriate window on the site, and you'll be taken immediately to the next level of content.
The new feature I most want to encourage you to use is the Reader Comments at the foot of every online article. This is where you can post your comments and read those of other readers. So if you want to ask questions or provide additional perspective, please do so. Help us build the "knowledge base." Use the ED Online ID to go from the magazine to the online version, and then add your comments at the end of the article.
Finally, if you have your own Web site, we'd be happy to give you a "feed" from Electronic Design, providing relevant industry headlines and/or a search window allowing your visitors to find relevant articles in our database. You can explore and pick up our "cool tools" at www.elecdesign.com/MediaKit/Index.cfm?Action=Reprints.
Like all Web sites, our new one is a work in progress. We're continuing to build out the archive for our most popular "long-shelf-life" content like Pease Porridge and Ideas for Design.
As always, I'd love to hear from you directly about our revamped Web site at [email protected]. Better yet, post your comments at the bottom of the online version of this article. I look forward to hearing from you soon!