Tag: Computer Shopper

Ziff Davis – Bankrupt

At the moment, I can’t think of one business sector in America that’s doing well or has a promising future. I’m sure I’ve oversimplified and one of you will point that out in a comment. But, by and large, business sucks.

I just read that Ziff Davis, the big tech publisher, has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They publish eWeek and PC Magazine, two big tech publications, plus a slew of others. They were the owners of TechTV, before selling out to Vulcan, which sold it to Comcast, which promptly folded it.

Somehow, ZD has a quarter billion dollars of debt. It always boggles my mind to find how deep in hock companies can get. Aren’t the lenders doing research?

Maybe I don’t want that answer.

When this is over, the company will have ‘only’ fifty some odd million dollars in debt… but those who owned 100% of Ziff Davis will then own 12%. Ouch.

At the moment, I can’t think of one business sector in America that’s doing well or has a promising future. I’m sure I’ve oversimplified and one of you will point that out in a comment. But, by and large, business sucks.

Among those doing the worst are print publications, which is where Ziff Davis comes in. The print business model seems very last century – though so do plenty of others.

Computer Shopper used to be a favorite magazine of mine. It was hundreds and hundreds of ad laden pages. Now, Kate Moss thin, I am dropping it.

In fact, I have allowed a few of my tech magazine subscriptions to expire rececntly. By the time the magazine gets to me, I already know what’s in it! The Internet has trumped pulp.

There’s some good news in all this. Business tends to be cyclical. Once the weakest players in an individual sector fold, or are absorbed, the remaining companies should thrive again.

That’s little solace to those cast aside in business closings and downsizings.

ZD won’t be the last bankruptcy we’ll be hearing about this year. It’s still sobering to hear an 80 year old business can get that deeply in trouble while staying pretty true to their historical core model.

The Computer As An Auto

I am a computer hobbyist. This is neither good nor bad – just a fact of life. I’ve been attracted to them since my first touch of a keyboard in high school circa 1967. This computer I’m typing on, and the one next to it, were built on my floor from parts – some ordered for the projects, others that I had lying around.

I remember my friend Jerry Emdur in Cherry Hill, NJ, who owned an Imsai 8080, a very early personal computer. It really couldn’t do anything – but it was very cool.

For years, I have subscribed to Computer Shopper. It was, at one time, the great builder magazine, published every month. I used to feel guilty when the mailman delivered it. It was heavy as a brick and as thick as the Manhattan Yellow Pages… OK, almost as thick.

Back then the ads were for little specialty houses. Some sold custom built computers, others components. There were even actual designers and manufacturers selling down at the retail level. All these people knew we were on to something that would be big. They all wanted to be involved.

I’m not sure if he advertised in Computer Shopper back then, but this was the age when people like Michael Dell could start a company in his college dorm, correspond to customers via CompuServe – and sell a PC to my friend Peter in New Jersey.

Dell is huge, but so many of those companies are no longer around. It’s very sad.

Today, the Computer Shopper is a shadow of its former self. I just got a 166 page issue today. If I remember correctly, they were often 10 times that size. There are more articles, or at least they stand out more without the deluge of ads. Most of the editorial content is how to and hobbyist, versus business, oriented stories.

Missing are the page upon page of ads. Often they were long lists in tiny type of things I just had to have – but wasn’t going to get just yet.

I suspect most of those companies failed during the dot com bust. Many have probably just moved to EBay, where the cost of doing business is much lower.

I miss the ads.

Hey, this isn’t TV. I’m not getting a random mix of adult diaper and Viagra spots. These were targeted ads for products I was interested in. And, I figured the more ads, the more non-advertising content. That wasn’t necessarily true.

The problem with this kind of magazine today is that computers are commodities. You get one right off the line. They’re made to be mass produced. You can buy off-the-shelf hardware that’s fast enough for any application and buy it for less than you’ll pay to build it yourself!

I won’t be surprised if some day soon my ability to build my own machine is taken away, victim of digital rights management or some other tough to control power of the PC. When it’s just an appliance, in every sense of the word, I’ll feel we’ve lost something.