I have no contact with him except forwarding his address to Elektor at the time of the group buy (which, by the way, is still open).
I don't think I should give out his private address, though. You probably have his email david@hifimaker.com?
Jan Didden
I don't think I should give out his private address, though. You probably have his email david@hifimaker.com?
Jan Didden
janneman said:
Hi Jan,
several members already tried to get in touch with David via e-mail within the last weeks.
No one wants David's private address to be published in public, I guess. If you are looking for a trustworthy person to give the address, maybe one of the forum moderators would be willing to help in this case.
After all it's still unsure if any of the forum members (especially of the GB participants) lives close enough to David to have a chance to look for him.
Greetings,
Chris
Re: diyaudio subscription discount
OK, this is what they offer us:
A 20%+ discount for the English edition for rest-of-the-world addresses (not UK addresses).
Normal price $ 101, now $ 79! This is for the first year that you subscribe, but I need minimum 25 persons to sign up for this.
Send me your address, email and diyaudio nickname. I will then forward it to Elektor. I will keep this open until, say 31 August. If I have 25 or more at that time, I'll forward it to Elektor.
I have no other involvement here, I don't make any money from this, I only save Elektor money to collect info so they can give the discount.
Note that we still have the US discount also!
I will put this in a separate thread.
Jan Didden
Elektor said:
OK, this is what they offer us:
A 20%+ discount for the English edition for rest-of-the-world addresses (not UK addresses).
Normal price $ 101, now $ 79! This is for the first year that you subscribe, but I need minimum 25 persons to sign up for this.
Send me your address, email and diyaudio nickname. I will then forward it to Elektor. I will keep this open until, say 31 August. If I have 25 or more at that time, I'll forward it to Elektor.
I have no other involvement here, I don't make any money from this, I only save Elektor money to collect info so they can give the discount.
Note that we still have the US discount also!
I will put this in a separate thread.
Jan Didden
It is amazing to see some DIY freaks being so reactive to discounts, a few dollars a year, while they spend so much time on forums, and while they spend so much time getting their hardware working. Say, only 2 hours a week. It makes 100 hours a year. If you valuate your precious time at $10 an hour, it makes $1,000 a year. And this is only for the time being spent. We have not counted the components purchase, components waste, stupid unobtainium purchases, and the divorce expenses caused by a frustrated wife.
Don't get me wrong : I really appreciate Elektor. They provide a nice blend of themes like audio, microcontrollers, testing.
But I'm worrying about their future.
The big thing I regret with Elektor is that they don't review commercial equipment, dismantle them, and carry a schematic analysis and an industrial design analysis. Possibly with the benediction of the importer or even the design team. Most of us really would like to know what's inside the latest generation of switchmode wall adapters, plasma and LCD TVs, home theather system, iPod, smartphones, kitchen radio, satellite decoder, etc ...
I would like Elektor becoming a recognized authority, when it comes to assessing the quality of a commercial design, and when it comes to assessing the quality of the industrialization of it. Of course, this commands editorial content independence ... well, in the usual "managed" way. Kind of crossover between Stuff and iSuppli !
The lack of this major feature causes an operational risk. The gravity centre of the magazine is now floating anywhere between DIY audio freaks and microcontrollers freaks, without a firm anchorage to the real world evolutions. The magazine content and orientations may thus be controlled by a few people bringing their own design habits, instead of bringing a wide 360-degree view.
Is Elektor a magazine publishing company ?
Publishing means producing words. Like printing on paper and printing on web. Is Elektor deploying all the required stuff for appearing as a strong publisher, paper and web, appealing a vast public and cashing-in alot of advertizing money ? In our real world, for any magazine publisher, the income that's coming from the subscriptions and sales, are very low compared to the income that's coming from advertizing. This makes me think that Elektor sould better give their publication for free, maximize distribution and circulation, get the distribution and circulation audited and valuated by an external office, and then claim, sell and cash-in this value from the advertizers.
Is Elektor a magazine publishing company, only ?
Nop. There are the books. There is a small catalog of books including translations of US books like the ones from Bob Pease and Vance Dickason. When you do this, you need to cash-in money from book sales, not getting any advertizing income.
What about the e-shop ?
Over there one can buy electronic components, SMD-equipped PCBs and kits. This means that Elektor has a 3rd activity, kind of Sparkfun, but different from Sparkfun.
Quite reassuring is that following Elektor publishing rules, the article that comes with a project always details the working of the design. That's far better than the bare assembly intructions one may find in Velleman kits. This is where Elektor stands out from competition.
With time passing some DIY learned and became able to understand the design. Later on, some started their own designs, and much later on, some published their own designs in Elektor ! This is one of the ways the Elektor communauty got perpetuating.
One may however regret that the projects don't connect on a dedicated managed wiki or managed forum, for the DIY getting more content using internet. That's weird. Sounds like Elektor wants to control everything, has not the required human resources (or the associated money) to do it, and doesn't take the bet that people and users can generate content themselves that deserves publishing on internet. Are they so old-fashioned ? Or is it plain totalitarism ?
But wait a minute : if you are the author of a design, if you get it published in a magazine like Elektor, surely you'll get a fat income from such huge career archievement ? Well ... sorry to disapoint you here. Ask the conditions to Elektor and you'll cool down. That's a major issue. And remember, Elektor makes fat money on your generous initiative because your content makes between 1/20 and 1/10 of the magazine, that is generating fat income from the advertizers. And what do you get, on your side ?
Is Elektor an integrated publishing company, really integrating paper + web ? Does the "paper" publishing division talk to the "web" publishing division ?
Do they roll out strategies, together ?
And there is the Elektor Lab.
What kind of duties does it excercise ? What are the human and technical resources of Elektor Lab ? How many people involved ?
Have they published a microcontroller board fitted with a 480x272 LCD display (PSP format) ? No. Have they published an audiophile-grade class-D amp ? No. Do they design a range of switched-mode supply tailored for DIY ? No. Do they bring a royalty-free standard OS and GUI any µC freak can study and reuse for any microcontroller projet ? No. Have they used the latest 32-bit microcontrollers (dsPIC33, PIC32, R32C, ARM-Cortex) as cheap DSP platforms ? No.
Do they buy strategic components in bulk like latest ARM SoCs, latest FPGAs, TFT displays, vertical MOSFETs for audio, class AB bias controllers ? No.
Regarding middleware, do they buy strategic components in bulk like IP components to be embedded into FPGAs ? No.
If Elektor really is a publishing company, then it should be hard working on a Guttenberg replacement for everything that's involving electronics publishing. When you take some altitude, the way we are all getting the information, regarding electronic schematics, datasheets, simulations, code generation, code testing, code deployment is incredibly old fashioned. Very few software programmers obey rules allowing a publisher to unroll their comments, for getting a clear understanding of the structure of their software. The use of C++ and .Net implies extremely long variable and method names, incompatible with the idea of publishing the source code. Who currently own a decent way of documenting, and possibly publishing source code ? Haha ... What makes me worrying, is the way Elektor is publishing on web. On their website you can download a .pdf article or a .pdf of the whole magazine. The download process is fast and smooth. However, upon opening the .pdf file, you get something quite uneasy to use. It's a passive .pdf with no added value. No text search. No working links. No access to the source code, if there is software involved. And the general layout, emulating a paper page (!), doesn't scale well with the 4:3 or 16:9 screen format. Call it a joke !
Internationalization makes me worrying also. A real and true internationalization would command all contents to be translated into all languages. No ? Not needed because english is currently the language of electronics ? Okay, but then, tell me why Elektor is deploying some efforts into internationalization like publishing in Dutch, French, German, English, Spanish, Italian, Portugues, Brasileiro ? They already maintain Elektor websites in all those languages.
Okay, but what about Japan, Korean, China, India ?
Those are the real international markets.
When it comes to internationalization, it becomes quite clear that Elektor business model is still in infancy, like a fuzzy matrix, however promizing. In a nutshell, in the long run there should be two kinds of Elektor contents :
- Elektor Digest : this defines all localized contents that get selectively published in local languages by local editors like Dutch, French, German, English, Spanish, Italian, Portugues, Brasileiro, Japan, Korean, China, India. Those contents are targeting the readers that are not yet able to read english, or not willing to read english, being newbee or mature. It should be remembered that internationalization costs a lot of money, but is heavily needed for capturing the audience while in the nest. It is very important to profile the audience that has a positive tropism for electronic stuff, but still unable or unwilling to read in plain english. The Elektor Digest can be issued every month, or every week, on a free of charge subscription basis (but need to retrigger it every year using the Elektor website for confirming the audience) and certainly not on paper. Long life to Elektor Digest, a web-only based magazine, content-rich. Now that the printing expenses have been zeroed, some money should remain for paying more translators, better translators, for getting Elektor Digest an attractive vitrine for Elektor.
- Elektor : to be published in English (international english), using paper (but it is expected to have paper dissapearing), and also using web, targeting an audience that is able to read english, being newbee or mature. In Elektor, there will be more content than Elektor International Edition. Actually, Elektor Digest must appear as a translated subset of Elektor.
This is where most people would stop thinking.
But wait a minute : there is some hidden value, that I can bring forefront.
Take the example of an Elektor reader, a mature one in plain english. Surely he is not going to waste time in surfing on the managed wikis related to Elektor Digest in France, in Japan and in India. But on the other hand he would like to know what's happening over there. Et voilà : you can setup a 3rd communication channel, transverse, that is relying on the local editors, electing each week the 10 best reader's contributions in the managed wikis. Those 10 best reader's contribution will thus be tagged, and be translated, as it was a normal Digest content, all languages including english. A symetric channel can also exist, from Elektor to Elektor Digest. Same rule : the best 10 contributions on Elektor wiki, that get tagged and translated by all Elektor Digest editors.
Call it a business ! Call it a communauty !
But wait a minute ....
What about the current paper editions in the above-mentionned publishing scheme ?
Does it mean that the current paper editions in Dutch, French, German need to be relabelled "Elektor Digest" ?
Does it mean that in the long run, those paper editions need to disappear, being replaced by their web-based weekly content-rich equivalents ?
Yes ... of course ...
What matters is that one knows where to go, and manage to get to it in a smooth way.
What makes me doubt about Elektor wanting to implementing these steps (that I feel necessary for their survival), is that they are maybe still duch-centric, dutch-minded. It is no sure they have matured to the stage of becoming a truly worldwide company, with a worldwide way of thinking.
As a business consultant, I detect some similarities between Elektor (as per today) and Royal Dutch Shell like it was in 1919.
Is now Royal Dutch Shell a Dutch company ? Yes, partly.
Is now Royal Dutch Shell a worldwide company ? Yes, definitely.
So you see, currently there is a lot of headroom : many things that could be undertaken on an experimental basis.
But this headroom is maybe not a headroom. It is maybe mandatory to undertake most of what's listed above, because in a few years it will be viewed as the minimum minimorum that is required to stay tuned, retain attention and get a chance to survive.
Just hoping they have the required mind, cash, people and banking for implementing some right now.
Cheers !
Don't get me wrong : I really appreciate Elektor. They provide a nice blend of themes like audio, microcontrollers, testing.
But I'm worrying about their future.
The big thing I regret with Elektor is that they don't review commercial equipment, dismantle them, and carry a schematic analysis and an industrial design analysis. Possibly with the benediction of the importer or even the design team. Most of us really would like to know what's inside the latest generation of switchmode wall adapters, plasma and LCD TVs, home theather system, iPod, smartphones, kitchen radio, satellite decoder, etc ...
I would like Elektor becoming a recognized authority, when it comes to assessing the quality of a commercial design, and when it comes to assessing the quality of the industrialization of it. Of course, this commands editorial content independence ... well, in the usual "managed" way. Kind of crossover between Stuff and iSuppli !
The lack of this major feature causes an operational risk. The gravity centre of the magazine is now floating anywhere between DIY audio freaks and microcontrollers freaks, without a firm anchorage to the real world evolutions. The magazine content and orientations may thus be controlled by a few people bringing their own design habits, instead of bringing a wide 360-degree view.
Is Elektor a magazine publishing company ?
Publishing means producing words. Like printing on paper and printing on web. Is Elektor deploying all the required stuff for appearing as a strong publisher, paper and web, appealing a vast public and cashing-in alot of advertizing money ? In our real world, for any magazine publisher, the income that's coming from the subscriptions and sales, are very low compared to the income that's coming from advertizing. This makes me think that Elektor sould better give their publication for free, maximize distribution and circulation, get the distribution and circulation audited and valuated by an external office, and then claim, sell and cash-in this value from the advertizers.
Is Elektor a magazine publishing company, only ?
Nop. There are the books. There is a small catalog of books including translations of US books like the ones from Bob Pease and Vance Dickason. When you do this, you need to cash-in money from book sales, not getting any advertizing income.
What about the e-shop ?
Over there one can buy electronic components, SMD-equipped PCBs and kits. This means that Elektor has a 3rd activity, kind of Sparkfun, but different from Sparkfun.
Quite reassuring is that following Elektor publishing rules, the article that comes with a project always details the working of the design. That's far better than the bare assembly intructions one may find in Velleman kits. This is where Elektor stands out from competition.
With time passing some DIY learned and became able to understand the design. Later on, some started their own designs, and much later on, some published their own designs in Elektor ! This is one of the ways the Elektor communauty got perpetuating.
One may however regret that the projects don't connect on a dedicated managed wiki or managed forum, for the DIY getting more content using internet. That's weird. Sounds like Elektor wants to control everything, has not the required human resources (or the associated money) to do it, and doesn't take the bet that people and users can generate content themselves that deserves publishing on internet. Are they so old-fashioned ? Or is it plain totalitarism ?
But wait a minute : if you are the author of a design, if you get it published in a magazine like Elektor, surely you'll get a fat income from such huge career archievement ? Well ... sorry to disapoint you here. Ask the conditions to Elektor and you'll cool down. That's a major issue. And remember, Elektor makes fat money on your generous initiative because your content makes between 1/20 and 1/10 of the magazine, that is generating fat income from the advertizers. And what do you get, on your side ?
Is Elektor an integrated publishing company, really integrating paper + web ? Does the "paper" publishing division talk to the "web" publishing division ?
Do they roll out strategies, together ?
And there is the Elektor Lab.
What kind of duties does it excercise ? What are the human and technical resources of Elektor Lab ? How many people involved ?
Have they published a microcontroller board fitted with a 480x272 LCD display (PSP format) ? No. Have they published an audiophile-grade class-D amp ? No. Do they design a range of switched-mode supply tailored for DIY ? No. Do they bring a royalty-free standard OS and GUI any µC freak can study and reuse for any microcontroller projet ? No. Have they used the latest 32-bit microcontrollers (dsPIC33, PIC32, R32C, ARM-Cortex) as cheap DSP platforms ? No.
Do they buy strategic components in bulk like latest ARM SoCs, latest FPGAs, TFT displays, vertical MOSFETs for audio, class AB bias controllers ? No.
Regarding middleware, do they buy strategic components in bulk like IP components to be embedded into FPGAs ? No.
If Elektor really is a publishing company, then it should be hard working on a Guttenberg replacement for everything that's involving electronics publishing. When you take some altitude, the way we are all getting the information, regarding electronic schematics, datasheets, simulations, code generation, code testing, code deployment is incredibly old fashioned. Very few software programmers obey rules allowing a publisher to unroll their comments, for getting a clear understanding of the structure of their software. The use of C++ and .Net implies extremely long variable and method names, incompatible with the idea of publishing the source code. Who currently own a decent way of documenting, and possibly publishing source code ? Haha ... What makes me worrying, is the way Elektor is publishing on web. On their website you can download a .pdf article or a .pdf of the whole magazine. The download process is fast and smooth. However, upon opening the .pdf file, you get something quite uneasy to use. It's a passive .pdf with no added value. No text search. No working links. No access to the source code, if there is software involved. And the general layout, emulating a paper page (!), doesn't scale well with the 4:3 or 16:9 screen format. Call it a joke !
Internationalization makes me worrying also. A real and true internationalization would command all contents to be translated into all languages. No ? Not needed because english is currently the language of electronics ? Okay, but then, tell me why Elektor is deploying some efforts into internationalization like publishing in Dutch, French, German, English, Spanish, Italian, Portugues, Brasileiro ? They already maintain Elektor websites in all those languages.
Okay, but what about Japan, Korean, China, India ?
Those are the real international markets.
When it comes to internationalization, it becomes quite clear that Elektor business model is still in infancy, like a fuzzy matrix, however promizing. In a nutshell, in the long run there should be two kinds of Elektor contents :
- Elektor Digest : this defines all localized contents that get selectively published in local languages by local editors like Dutch, French, German, English, Spanish, Italian, Portugues, Brasileiro, Japan, Korean, China, India. Those contents are targeting the readers that are not yet able to read english, or not willing to read english, being newbee or mature. It should be remembered that internationalization costs a lot of money, but is heavily needed for capturing the audience while in the nest. It is very important to profile the audience that has a positive tropism for electronic stuff, but still unable or unwilling to read in plain english. The Elektor Digest can be issued every month, or every week, on a free of charge subscription basis (but need to retrigger it every year using the Elektor website for confirming the audience) and certainly not on paper. Long life to Elektor Digest, a web-only based magazine, content-rich. Now that the printing expenses have been zeroed, some money should remain for paying more translators, better translators, for getting Elektor Digest an attractive vitrine for Elektor.
- Elektor : to be published in English (international english), using paper (but it is expected to have paper dissapearing), and also using web, targeting an audience that is able to read english, being newbee or mature. In Elektor, there will be more content than Elektor International Edition. Actually, Elektor Digest must appear as a translated subset of Elektor.
This is where most people would stop thinking.
But wait a minute : there is some hidden value, that I can bring forefront.
Take the example of an Elektor reader, a mature one in plain english. Surely he is not going to waste time in surfing on the managed wikis related to Elektor Digest in France, in Japan and in India. But on the other hand he would like to know what's happening over there. Et voilà : you can setup a 3rd communication channel, transverse, that is relying on the local editors, electing each week the 10 best reader's contributions in the managed wikis. Those 10 best reader's contribution will thus be tagged, and be translated, as it was a normal Digest content, all languages including english. A symetric channel can also exist, from Elektor to Elektor Digest. Same rule : the best 10 contributions on Elektor wiki, that get tagged and translated by all Elektor Digest editors.
Call it a business ! Call it a communauty !
But wait a minute ....
What about the current paper editions in the above-mentionned publishing scheme ?
Does it mean that the current paper editions in Dutch, French, German need to be relabelled "Elektor Digest" ?
Does it mean that in the long run, those paper editions need to disappear, being replaced by their web-based weekly content-rich equivalents ?
Yes ... of course ...
What matters is that one knows where to go, and manage to get to it in a smooth way.
What makes me doubt about Elektor wanting to implementing these steps (that I feel necessary for their survival), is that they are maybe still duch-centric, dutch-minded. It is no sure they have matured to the stage of becoming a truly worldwide company, with a worldwide way of thinking.
As a business consultant, I detect some similarities between Elektor (as per today) and Royal Dutch Shell like it was in 1919.
Is now Royal Dutch Shell a Dutch company ? Yes, partly.
Is now Royal Dutch Shell a worldwide company ? Yes, definitely.
So you see, currently there is a lot of headroom : many things that could be undertaken on an experimental basis.
But this headroom is maybe not a headroom. It is maybe mandatory to undertake most of what's listed above, because in a few years it will be viewed as the minimum minimorum that is required to stay tuned, retain attention and get a chance to survive.
Just hoping they have the required mind, cash, people and banking for implementing some right now.
Cheers !
Me too, and that's a nice #100 post, isn't ? However, I doubt that this can be considered very interesting to all diyAudio participants ... Is there an interest in the States or Canada for Elektor, yes or no ?
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