Wearing my newly donned hat of Editor-in-Chief, my goal in this column is both to introduce myself and to set the stage for creating a relationship with you. I'm honored to be working with the team here at Electronic Design—an incredible group of electronics experts and editorial professionals, in particular, Dave Bursky (now Editor-at-Large and celebrating 30 years with this magazine) and our brilliant band of seasoned technology editors.
Okay, so who am I, and what do I add to Electronic Design? I'm a magazine editor who loves electronics technology! I spent a decade engrossed in the world of automated data capture (ADC) as the Editor-in-Chief of Automatic I.D. News, covering the application of some fairly leading-edge electronic designs, including radio-frequency identification (RF-ID), biometrics, machine vision, and even wearable computers. My tenure there provided a fantastic opportunity to see technology applied across the complete spectrum of industries, spanning everything from the robotic assembly of nuclear missiles to the use of bar codes to track corpses through morgues. I'm especially proud of being chosen as a member of the ADC 100, the honorary society for the 100 founders of that industry. Many of my associate co-founders are engineers: individuals who not only invented new technologies but also went on to educate the business world about the benefits those technologies could bring to bear.
Subsequently, I spent some years creating "platform-specific" publications for many leading computing platforms, particularly of the handheld variety (Palm and Handspring, Windows CE, Windows NT embedded), as well as publications for other embedded and development platforms. Since then, I've been surfing the dot-com wave, doing business development for various online ventures, among them: 4mycommunity.com (a charity portal), IZ.com (e-mail newsletters), Palmtop Publishing (custom publishing for handheld computers), and iShow.com (Internet broadcast and smart-home demonstration projects).
I come to Electronic Design with a deep respect for electronics engineers, the incredible products you create, and the impact those products have on the world and our future. I also bring a love of magazine publishing and, I believe, an ability to work with technologists to create a communications vehicle that will optimally serve you and your important work. I'll apply my Internet experience to boost the integration of our print product with electronic media: an expanded e-mail newsletter program, Web tools, and, who knows, maybe some streaming video and/or some tools for you in a PDA format.
But to create the product YOU want, I need to build a relationship with you. I know editors always end their columns by saying, "Tell me what you think." But I really mean it! So much so that I'm offering a BRIBE—limited-edition Electronic Design T-shirts. I'll mail one to the first 25 readers who pick up the phone and call me at (201) 845-2467 to talk about how you use this magazine, what you like about it, and what you think should be improved.
Again, it's a privilege to be working with all of you. I know we're all united in our desire to create the technologies that build a better life and a safer world.