Conference 7.286::digital

    Tom Kopec
    Principal Engineer
    E&RT Assistive Technology
    (and two-time DTJ author)
    
    I would seriously argue against adding a marketing bent to DTJ. I view
    it (and use it) as a *technical* journal, much as I use the similar
    journals out of IBM, Philips, etc.. For marketing-type info, I do a lit
    search on EETimes.
    
    Just my $0.02 ..
    ...tom
    

	All past issues of the DJT should be on the Digital Web page
	someplace.

							mike

Re: .2

They are - accessible through www.digital.com

			Steve

    I feel a plain text file is not really accpetable for web presence.
    
    I would like to see a better, more refined paper with the graphics
    and other content preserved.
    
    Bill.....

    re: DTJ as marketing or technical - this reminds me of one of Ken Olsen
    stories (that I agree with):  it seems that at the end of a customer
    presentation, the cleaning staff came and threw away all the coffee
    cups, scrap paper, etc.  They ALSO threw away all the marketing
    brochures.  But they picked up and arranged neatly the "Processor
    Handbooks".
    
    From this vignette, KO derived the conclusion that the Handbooks were
    the REAL marketing literature, because they had intrinsic value so
    obvious that even a non-computer person could recognize it.
    
    For the Science and Research Market, KO was right.  And it's still true
    today that the scientists and engineers tend to do their purchasing
    based on more technical criteria than some other markets.  I have
    several times heard from customers how much they appreciate having the
    DTJ on the web, and that it has positively influenced their buying
    decisions.
    
    So (with KO) I would urge you to keep your technical content, but don't
    lose sight of the fact that the more technical you are, the more
    valuable you are as marketing literature (for a certain class of
    technical customer).
    
    	/a fan

    Hey, I already use it as a marketing tool - there is a certain class of
    customer where the gory bits and bytes go down far better than the
    industry-standard glossies offered elsewhere.
    
    I like it the way it is. Thank you.
    
    My role: Techy working in sales support looking after OEM customers.
    
    regards
    john

Catherine, 

How can I review and update the customer subscription list I submitted 
a few years ago?

Thanks, and keep up the good work!

  I wrote this almost a year ago as part of the DTJ reader survey.
  I'll include to help the discussion along.

                                   Atlant

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Catherine:

  "H/P Journal" is the principal journal to which I would compare
  DTJ. For many reasons, some of which I can describe and some of
  which I can't, I find H/P Journal an easier, more informative read.

  I believe the principal difference is that H/P Journal is much
  more human in many ways:

    o The layout and design of H/P Journal is much more "human".
      Whereas DTJ is a whole lot of dense text full of technical
      detail and a few diagrams (line art), H/P Journal tends
      to have a much more "open" typography and many more
      photos. For a hardware article, the photos are often
      of the entire unit being described as well as interesting
      sub-assemblies within the unit or interesting assembly
      processes. For software articles, the photos are often
      relevent screen shots.

      (Also, H/P Journal is stapled on limp paper, *NOT* perfect
      bound on very stiff paper.)

    o The text of H/P Journal tends to be much more "human", often
      focusing on the anecdotal story, warts and all, of how the
      product or family evolved. DTJ strikes me as being in a
      much more "academic" (passive?) voice. And the writers seem
      much less willing to admit to past mistakes in designs and
      products, even when the experience of those past mistakes
      plays a fundamental role in the new design.

    o Because Hewlett-Packard does business in many more areas than
      just computers, H/P Journal tends to cover many more areas
      than DTJ. Yet every issue of H/P Journal shows off computers
      at their best, whether free-standing or integrated into the
      latest electrocardiograph, printer, or oscilloscope.

      I realize there may not be much you can do about this problem
      solely within Digital. But perhaps we should solicit more (some?
      any?) user-written articles describing exciting applications
      of our computers. For example, the Space Telescope Science
      Institute (http://www.stsci.gov/, I think) does a wonderful
      presentation at DECUS; I'm sure they could write a wonderful
      article about sophisticated image processing using our
      computers. (And it would have those dramatic pictures that
      I really miss in DTJ!) Years ago, Disney's imagineers presented
      at DECUS, describing how they used real-time computers in all
      of their creations, whether animatronic or roller coaster.
      Surely we could find these sorts of writers for DTJ.


  I also read "IBM Journal of Research & Development", although not
  as often as "H/P Journal", and have, in the past, read "TekScope"
  (from Tektronix), "Bell Labs Record", and "Hitachi Review". Most
  of the same comparisons that I made between DTJ and H/P Journal
  are just as applicable to DTJ versus any of the others.

                                   Atlant

    
    
    
    Cathy,
    
    I continue to respect the DTJ for its quality and also scan the
    competitors' journals for hints at competitive direction. Though the
    DTJ should not be used as a marketing vehicle it can play a key role in
    building and preserving relationships and in reinforcing our own
    technical strategy.
    
    One way is to have technologists employed by our customers as guest
    authors. DTJ has done this successfully, I think, with partners and
    could include some leading technical users who write on related
    technologies in which Digital no longer invests. This can provide our
    engineering community with insights from the user view that are fresh
    in the marketplace yet in a language that helps us design our own
    products more appropriately. 
    
    Keep up the good work!
    
    /Larry

    Let me clarify a couple of things...
    
    1. Content
       Content of the DTJ will NOT change.  We're interested in
       knowing if the DTJ is effective - in it's current form - in
       building respect for Digital and for creating a preference
       for Digital's products.
    
    2. Internet
       The DTJ is on the Internet at URL
       http://www.digital.com/info/DTJ/home.html.  As of Jan. 1, 1996, 
       the Web Service Group manages our web site and will supply HTML, 
       .PS, and .PDF file formats.  You'll see the changes starting with
       Volume 7, Number 4, Multimedia, due in late March.  We're also 
       cleaning up the ftp archive.
    
    Thank you.
    
    Cathy Phillips
    Circulation Manager, DTJ