And Now For Something Slightly Different

Tom’s Hardware Guide UK. It feels rather odd to be putting that in print after a month or three of hush-hush preparation ; but the time has finally come to make a big splash to the world and announce to you, one of Tom’s Hardware’s half a million UK readers, that we’re in town.

500,000 people who are used to dealing in pounds and euro is a lot to be sending to the US-focused Tom’s Hardware, and so in its most simplistic form Tom’s Hardware UK is a localised version of the US site ; as noted by the fact that I spelled that with an S and not a Z. As much as we and our American cousins may speak a common language, we are still separated by an ocean and a currency.

So, to make up for this we’ll be taking just about everything from Tom’s Hardware and TG Publishing’s network of sites, such as MobilityGuru.com, and anglicising it. First with spelling and then more importantly with local prices and insight. Rather than the $129.99 Disc Shredder we’ll have the £99.88 Disc Shredder, and as time goes by we’ll be offering local price comparisons in our reviews ; something the US site already does, but which is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard to those of us in ye olde world.

Sometimes products reviewed won’t be available in the UK, either locally or without strenuous import, and we’ll either give the coverage a miss ; or publish the article and make a note if it’s part of a major roundup or is just something really fantastic and original that’s worth the strenuous import.

That’s the easy part, and it will be the most notable addition to the content that you receive on a daily basis. We trust that it will save you both time and headaches.

The interesting bit will be entirely local content, which we hope to output with as much regularity as possible. There are companies here in the British Isles and slightly further afield in Europe who produce some very interesting kit indeed, but whom are not currently covered by Tom’s Hardware, with its US mindset.

This is where Tom’s Hardware UK adds even more value for our local audience. We will be sniffing around the home isles, looking at local kit and giving it the good old fashioned once over for which Tom’s Hardware is deservedly famous.

Furthermore we’ll be providing insight and intuition in the form of columns and op-eds. We have the (in)famous Mike Magee, Editor in Chief of The Inquirer, onboard to provide a weekly dose of rather British fact and friction.

And You Are...

Do excuse my manners - telling you we’re off on an adventure, and then not bothering to introduce myself as we’re about to plummet off the side of a cliff. Some of you may recognise the by-line already as I’ve been a regular sight on Tom’s Hardware with my Saturday Gamer column. Those not concerned with videogames may otherwise remember me as the nutjob who went off on an "Overclocking Yourself" crusade some time back.

I’ve been in technology a decade and a half at this stage, and having seen everything from the rise of the CD-ROM to the fall of the dot com revolution I’d like to think I know a thing or two about this market - though saying that, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it is that there’s always somebody who knows more.

I see a bright future for Tom’s Hardware UK ; why else would I subject myself to this abuse. I see the site becoming considerably more relevant to readers on this side of the pond and my mission in life is to deliver UK-specific content which will make Tom’s Hardware an invaluable resource locally.

Some things of course are going to remain exactly the same, and the rather interesting community we have will not be separated along the lines of geography - for one, there are only so many flames I can scrape off the inside of my inbox for doing otherwise.

The reviews, the previews, the reports... they’ll all be staying mostly the same bar a few more relevant additions, and then we’ll be adding to them with our own brand of local news and reviews. The future is bright, the future is... well, you know, full of sunshine and such.

Tom’s Hardware Guide UK... sounds good, doesn’t it ?