Altered State

Editor's//Comment

Altered State

By David Riggs

Happy New Year! For many of us this is a time to reflectand make personal resolutions. Eat less. Exercise more. Floss.

At asp.netPRO,the new year affords us a chance to step back andreflect on where the magazine has been, and where it is going. We look at everyaspect, from content to design and everything in between. We take a closelook at how we serve your needs, and what we can do to improve our service. Inaddition to this introspection, I ve asked for, and received, your input. Sofar the most feedback continues to revolve around the VB.NET/C# question. Believeme, we fight that battle every day, and will continue to make every effort tooffer balanced coverage.

We re here to help you navigate the ever-changingtechnical landscape as it relates to ASP.NET development. Sometimes you have toroll with the punches; a tweak here, an alteration there. Sometimes the changescan be subtle, such as adding a new column. Sometimes the changes jump rightoff the page. That may be the case with this issue, as we introduce a newlayout design. Some of you may be wondering, What was wrong with the oldlook? Frankly, nothing. But after following theoriginal design concept for three years we decided to give the magazine a freshlook a makeover, if you will. Diana Nishimura, our very capable designer andartist, has come up with a layout that I think you ll like. She hasincorporated her years of design expertise with your feedback to come up with adesign that is clean and confident without being conspicuous.

What is notchanging is our goal to teach by example by offering real-world applicationsand code. In the coming months we ll continue to provide the helpfulprogramming tips and techniques you ve come to expect, as well as the latest inASP.NET development best practices. We are pleased to offer the continuedcontributions of such valued writers as Jonathan Goodyear, Dino Esposito, SteveC. Orr, Mike Riley, and Ken McNamee, to name a few. But we are equally pleasedto welcome Josef Finsel to the list of regular contributors as he resuscitatesthe asp:Q&A column. I highly recommend you take advantageof this renewed feature of the magazine. This man has skills, and he s here tohelp. Drop him a line you ll be glad you did.

And please remember your very important role in helping usshape the direction of this magazine we depend on your input. And whileyou re at it, let me know what you think of the new look.

Thanks for reading.

David Riggs is editor-in-chief of asp.netPRO and itscompanion e-newsletter, asp.netNOW. Reach him at mailto:[email protected].