Welcome to REDMOND Magazine, Part 2

Coming in October: More of the same, but more and better.

• By Doug Barney
• August 01, 2004

So what's REDMOND all about, and why are we changing such a great magazine? MCP is nearly 10 years old, and we've never once changed the name. But the truth is, we've outgrown the MCP label, as many of our new IT management readers are not certified. We decided to replace a great magazine, Microsoft Certified Professional, with a far better one.

Our goal was to build a solid, general purpose IT publication serving the Microsoft community, not simply a cert book. We needed a name that screamed Microsoft, but didn't infringe upon any Microsoft trademarks or copyrights. That's the only way to be truly independent. Otherwise you must beg for permission from Microsoft, and hand it some measure of control. Unacceptable.

During a brainstorming session nearly a year ago, the name REDMOND was casually tossed out. Staffers snickered, and one was nice enough to say, "REDMOND, yeah something like that," meaning "something like REDMOND, but most certainly not REDMOND!" The name was about as popular as Linus Torvalds at a Microsoft board meeting.

But my publisher was smitten. He saw the possibilities and knew that REDMOND was the obvious and only answer.

He's right. To what we want to do, independence is a must. REDMOND will be a pure IT publication beholden to no one. That means we are an advocate for you, the reader, in each and every case.

Think of a magazine for the used car buyer. It would warn about dealers painting over washed-up yellow cabs, turning back odometers, and show irritated customers how to bring back that lemon. It sure wouldn't praise used car dealers for their innovation and savvy in ripping customers off!

There is a natural tension between buyer and seller. REDMOND represents the customer and the customer is always right. We'll tackle issues that readers/ customers face, and boldly take your side. Buggy software, poor support, scheming sales, predatory pricing, bloated software, vendor squabbling, needless incompatibility, and IT office politics will all get a critical look.

Good IT books are always in trouble, and we expect plenty of vendor flak. That just shows we're doing a good job. We're big boys. We can take it.

But in every case we will be fair. It's easy to take cheap shots, but like Mike Tyson, you just look foolish, twisted and mean.

REDMOND will be tough but always fair, never mean.

Check out REDMONDMAG.com for more details and e-mail me at [email protected] with questions and comments.