Author Topic: Gizmo's Tech Support Alert Newsletter Merges with Windows Secrets (Read 57869 times)

PhilB66 · « **Reply #25 on:** July 15, 2008, 06:59 AM »

I'm offering a new service.

Brilliant!

Do you offer an affiliate program? I could start spamming the forums on your behalf.

mouser · « **Reply #26 on:** July 15, 2008, 07:12 AM »

app103 · « **Reply #27 on:** July 15, 2008, 11:15 AM »

From my earliest days of internet access, back when all I had was email and no web (it just wasn't working properly) I was subscribed to 2 newsletters. They were the only emails I ever got that wasn't from friends or family and wasn't spam from my ISP. They were Langalist and New Order.

But I was not a paid subscriber of Langalist. There was something about the idea of paying for newsletters that had a strong possibility that they could turn out to be a disappointment and not worth the money I plunked down, that prevented me from paying for any email newsletters. With a print magazine or newspaper, if it turned out not to be worth the price, I at least still had the paper which could be chopped up by my daughter and turned into some weird art project, used to line a bird cage, or the cat's litterbox. Not the case with email, though.

When Fred Langa merged his newsletter with WS, I changed my mind. Just to get more Langa in my newsletters, I went against my frugal sensibilities and became a paid subscriber. Instead, I had my original suspicions confirmed.

Thanks to WS, I will probably never take a chance on subscribing to a paid email newsletter again, no matter how tempting, for as long as I live.

The whole experience left me feeling rather swindled and foolish.

For a small annual fee you can redirect your copy of Windows Secrets to me and I'll be disappointed on your behalf.
-cranioscopical (July 15, 2008, 06:53 AM)

But will you be twice as disappointed if I send you my paid version? Or is that an extra charge?

cranioscopical · « **Reply #28 on:** July 15, 2008, 11:37 AM »

For a small annual fee you can redirect your copy of Windows Secrets to me and I'll be disappointed on your behalf.
-cranioscopical (July 15, 2008, 06:53 AM)

But will you be twice as disappointed if I send you my paid version? Or is that an extra charge?
-app103 (July 15, 2008, 11:15 AM)

Good point. That's DonationCoder at its best, there's always help and insight available to improve one's
efforts. So, given the tenor of opinion here, I'm thinking of modifying the service to provide a bulk discount
to members.

Here's my limited-time offer:
If enough members club together and redirect their Windows Secrets' subscriptions to me (paid or unpaid)
I'm prepared to be completely dismayed on behalf of the group, possibly even devastated.

Would there be demand for a premium service where I'd print out a copy and then shred it?

mouser · « **Reply #29 on:** July 15, 2008, 11:45 AM »

mouser · « **Reply #30 on:** July 15, 2008, 11:46 AM »

perhaps in the paid version of your service you could give this new newsletter a chance with an open heart and mind before becoming dismayed?

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #31 on:** July 15, 2008, 12:06 PM »

Would there be demand for a premium service where I'd print out a copy and then shred it?
-cranioscopical (July 15, 2008, 11:37 AM)

Oh yes I'd pay for that! How much do you want?

Is there an extra premium for posting the shards back to WS editors for recycling.

Actually - that has given me an idea - why don't we all send a LangaList newsletter from the past to WS as content for the new newsletter ???? At least there would be something worth reading then even if it is only of historic interest

40hz · « **Reply #32 on:** July 15, 2008, 12:49 PM »

I won't be subscribing again next time it comes to renewal - and am seriously considering unsubscribing to avoid disappointment each time.
-Carol Haynes (July 15, 2008, 04:51 AM)

I'm offering a new service.
It's in its early stages.
Limited to DonationCoder members until the international roll-out.

For a small annual fee you can redirect your copy of Windows Secrets to me and I'll be disappointed on your behalf.

-cranioscopical (July 15, 2008, 06:53 AM)

We are pleased to announce an improved competitive offering.

It's called The Weight - and you are invited to "put the load right on us!"

Just send us one dollar a week for life (yours or ours - whichever comes first) and we'll just be disappointed. Period. No need to fill out boring forms, complex redirects, or even think! Now you can become indifferent without the guilt! We'll take care of everything for you. So don't start bumming out when it's so much easier to let our own bums do it for you!

Our Motto: If you're not happy - we're not happy.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #33 on:** July 15, 2008, 01:16 PM »

perhaps in the paid version of your service you could give this new newsletter a chance...
-mouser (July 15, 2008, 11:46 AM)

Kidding aside, we all hope it's going to work, don't we?

...with an open heart and mind before becoming dismayed?
-mouser

But I don't think I'll require the transplant and the lobotomy...

J-Mac · « **Reply #34 on:** July 15, 2008, 03:03 PM »

Wow - When DCers hate something, they really, really hate it, huh?

I am already a paid subscriber to the premium versions of both newsletters and have been satisfied with each. No, I don't read 100% of either one - sorry but I just don't find every article in any newsletter to be interesting enough to read. Like many, I initially subscribed to LangaList and then moved right over to Windows Secrets when Fred moved there.

FWIW, I received both email notifications - from WS & TSA - about the merger within minutes and immediately wrote to Ian to congratulate him. I can tell you that HE at least is happy about the merger! I did get my login credentials updated; they take the expiration of whichever subscription has the most time left on it and add one month to it. Not a great deal but certainly decent enough.

So, for the record, I am not dismayed over the merger - at least not now anyway. And I will definitely give it some time to see if it turns into something I no longer wish to support. But I certainly am not going to condemn the move without at least trying it.

Jim

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #35 on:** July 15, 2008, 04:57 PM »

Not being cynical but presumably the mergers (repeated mergers with various people) mean that the individuals merging their mailing list into Windows Secrets have a two fold effect:

Brian Livingstone is happy because the circulation of WS is boosted enormously - which must have a huge impact on the saleability of advertising space
The people merging into Windows Secrets presumably get a cut of that revenue without having to produce nearly so much copy

From all the contributors points of view it is definitely a win-win situation - especially financially.

However, from the reader perspective we get a newsletter that is at best massively reduced in content (eg. no single issue of WS has every had as much content as a normal LangaList newsletter) and at worst full of adverts (I don't know about Gizmo's TSAN but LangaList paid version didn't have ads at all) and dumbed down content - this seems pretty much to go without saying when you have read WS for a while.

tomos · « **Reply #36 on:** July 15, 2008, 05:06 PM »

on the other hand Gizmo is the main editor now (?) sorry, make that "senior" - (not sure what that means, who's the boss?!?)

I get the feeling that Fred Langa joined WS with the intention of phasing himself out of the picture - they all made a few quid out of the deal
This I think (& hope) will be something different

J-Mac · « **Reply #37 on:** July 15, 2008, 05:36 PM »

Carol,

I agree that a lot of the content isn't all that great, but what else is there? Let's face it, not many - if there are any left - are going to create newsletters like the LangaList and TSA because they like it anymore. No one is that altruistic anymore. They want a chance to make some "real" money from their life's work and this way is probably the only way to do it.

You surely read posts above yours where someone said they drew the line at paying for the LangaList, that they only liked the free version. A lot of people feel that way, sadly. And I say sadly only because it stops writers like Fred from staying with their own newsletters. I'm not trying to place blame on anyone for not wanting to pay. But this is surely one reason that folks like Fred and Ian no longer wish to continue on their own.

Windows Secrets does definitely have too much advertising. But I am tired of dropping newsletter and searching all over again for more "pure" ones! THe current WS/TSA is going to have to do for me.

Jim

app103 · « **Reply #38 on:** July 15, 2008, 06:04 PM »

I'll just stick with DC's newsletter...best one of all. Never a disapppointment.

(mouser...please promise you will never merge it with WS)

Actually - that has given me an idea - why don't we all send a LangaList newsletter from the past to WS as content for the new newsletter ???? At least there would be something worth reading then even if it is only of historic interest
-Carol Haynes (July 15, 2008, 12:06 PM)

Great idea! (I would have given a link to what was supposed to be the old premium archives, but langalist.com and those archives are gone. Only the free version archives still exist)

mouser · « **Reply #39 on:** July 15, 2008, 07:44 PM »

J-Mac I think you made some really insightful comments, and I got the same feeling from reading the announcement that Tomos got, that there is a real difference in the way Ian is coming into it compared to Langa. So I really think it would be a good idea to keep an open mind and give this new merger a fair chance at doing good. The same as we would want for any of our own projects.

The DC Newsletter will not be merging into WS for a whole bunch of reasons:

As the new privacy page says we will not share our email address with any 3rd parties.
Our DC newsletter doesn't contain much original writing content just summaries and links to our newsletter.
I'm afraid you guys would stage a riot.
The DC newsletters are already too long, there doesn't seem to be much point in merging them with a bigger entity.
It's a pain to write and send out the newsletters, but it's also a bit of fun and it's nice not being on someone else's schedule.
I'm sure there are 10 more reasons as well. The bottom line is that as long as this site gets enough donations to pay for server expenses and a little bit more to help offset the time spent writing stuff for the site, then we will do things here the way the members want them done.

40hz · « **Reply #40 on:** July 16, 2008, 10:30 AM »

J-Mac I think you made some really insightful comments, and I got the same feeling from reading the announcement that Tomos got, that there is a real difference in the way Ian is coming into it compared to Langa. So I really think it would be a good idea to keep an open mind and give this new merger a fair chance at doing good. The same as we would want for any of our own projects.

-mouser (July 15, 2008, 07:44 PM)

You're both absolutely right. And I'm sure we are all hopeful this is going to work out to everyone's satisfaction. I think a lot of the angst comes from the steady erosion of all those great newsletters and tech sites over the years. Many of us miss the classic days of Ars Technica, The LangaList, Extremetech - the list just goes on and on. But Ian Richards has always been "different" in the way he did things, so if anybody can pull it off without a glitch, it will probably be him. And if he doesn't, we always have Mouser and DC so no worries, right mates?

justice · « **Reply #41 on:** July 25, 2008, 09:32 AM »

Well that's the first newsletter out and indeed now we're paying to hear about free software. What do people think?

cranioscopical · « **Reply #42 on:** July 25, 2008, 10:25 AM »

Well that's the first newsletter out and indeed now we're paying to hear about free software. What do people think?
-justice (July 25, 2008, 09:32 AM)

I'm on the fence.

It would have been nice to see this 'first' version leap into the ring as a hero rather than shambling in half asleep.

I tried to be devastated on behalf of the group but managed only to feel slightly disturbed.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #43 on:** July 25, 2008, 10:43 AM »

At least you got a copy ...

cranioscopical · « **Reply #44 on:** July 25, 2008, 11:52 AM »

At least you got a copy ...
-Carol Haynes (July 25, 2008, 10:43 AM)

Yep! It says right on the address here: Carol Haynes...

J-Mac · « **Reply #45 on:** July 25, 2008, 12:57 PM »

Well that's the first newsletter out and indeed now we're paying to hear about free software. What do people think?
-justice (July 25, 2008, 09:32 AM)

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what it says here in Brian Livingston's column in the latest WS newsletter:

[attachthumb=#1][/attachthumb]

Jim

40hz · « **Reply #46 on:** July 25, 2008, 12:57 PM »

Well that's the first newsletter out and indeed now we're paying to hear about free software. What do people think?
-justice (July 25, 2008, 09:32 AM)
I'm on the fence.

It would have been nice to see this 'first' version leap into the ring as a hero rather than shambling in half asleep.

I tried to be devastated on behalf of the group but managed only to feel slightly disturbed.

-cranioscopical (July 25, 2008, 10:25 AM)

Umm yeah...

Well, it was nowhere near as bad as I feared, nor anywhere near as good as I hoped.

I guess I've been a fan long enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. At least for a while longer. It usually takes a few months for "new hires" to settle in. I figure by mid-Fall we'll all have a better idea of how it's going to play out.

I'll probably risk ponying up $10 (his old subscription rate) to find out. I drop about a buck a day for a newspaper that doesn't do much for me (other than get my blood pressure up) so what the hey?

cthorpe · « **Reply #47 on:** July 25, 2008, 02:49 PM »

Good Lord. I've been a paid subscriber to WS for well over a year, and I don't see what everyone is complaining about. Sure it has some fluff, but it also has useful info. Hell, Langa's and Gizmo's newsletters had their share of fluff as well (even the paid content was occasionally trivial). I find WS is a wonderful resource on MS patch Tuesday info. I never install patches until the WS newsletter arrives on Thursday with info about incompatibilities, broken patches, and other important warning and information. I also found Brian's coverage of the whole WGA fiasco to be well written and well researched. He also provided alternatives to using Windows Update that were 100% legal and eliminated fears of dishonest folks mucking around in patches and infecting them. On top of all of that, the newsletter is priced however you want. Also, you need to keep in mind that Langa and Gizmo made the decision to join WS. They knew what they were doing. Nobody tricked them into signing on with WS. So for those of you who blame WS for not getting all you Langa goodness and who fear that WS will kill Gizmo, remember to hold those writers accountable as well. Finally, to everyone who is upset about this merger but who never spent the money on a paid subscription to Langa or Gizmo, remember that both of them listed finances among the reasons that they joined up with WS. Perhaps if a few more people put their money where their mouth is and bought a subscription, finances wouldn't have entered into the equation.

Just my two cents...

C

cranioscopical · « **Reply #48 on:** July 25, 2008, 07:27 PM »

I don't see what everyone is complaining about
-cthorpe (July 25, 2008, 02:49 PM)

Speaking for myself, I just like to be Grumpy. I'm fed up with being Sneezy and intend to continue being Dopey... no big challenge for me.

As you see, Carl, there's a faction here with the belief that things have deteriorated WS-wise and the hope that the trend won't continue. I think we share a kind of hopeful scepticism. I bet most of us have paid up, too.

J-Mac · « **Reply #49 on:** July 25, 2008, 11:04 PM »

Did anyone look at the attachment in my last post, above? It is a couple of paragraphs clipped directly from the most recent issue of WS and states that ALL of Gizmo's "premium" content - stuff that was formerly only available to premium (read: paying) subscribers to Support Alert - will always be available free in Windows Secrets.

Man, I thought I could out-whine everyone, but some are putting me to shame here!

Jim