More On Our New Web Sites (by David Strom)

Don't you just hate those self-serving notes from the Web site personnel that promise all the great things we are going to do? Luckily, I didn't have to write that note, and left it to Omid to show you our roadmap in his column today (More Ways to Skin a Cat).

Instead, I wanted to take a moment to promote my peeps. And tell you who is behind all of these changes and who are making things happen. Also, who you need to talk to if you aren't happy, or even if you are, or if you want to do some writing for us. Yes, we do take the most talented freelancers we can find, and many of them begun life as ordinary readers who sent us some snide comments. But let's not get into that now.

You probably know that I took over as the top editorial dog at the beginning of the year. I managed to hit all those life-changing events within a few weeks: get married, relocate across country, and change jobs. And I did them all without a nervous breakdown or major plastic surgery, two of the hallmarks of having fun in Los Angeles. I lived here about twenty years ago and yes wanted to come back, even with the quakes, mudslides, traffic and now fires to keep us on our toes. My background is as a technology journalist, an IT manager, and as a consultant. I ran several print and Web publications, wrote a couple of books that didn't sell very well (otherwise why would I still be working) and now have the pleasure and pain of being with some very smart people.

Barry Gerber is the managing editor for the new MobilityGuru site. Barry and I have a long history, going back to the late 1980s when we both put together the first network shootouts for what was then called PC Week> Unfortunately for him, his treasured Token Ring topology went down in ignominious defeat but he managed to hold his head high and learn from his misplaced loyalties. Barry has been an IT manager and a consultant. He has been involved in academic and research computing in addition to being a tech journalist and an avid and rabid technology user and abuser. Trust me, you don't want to get him near a Fry's or a Best Buy. He is also one of the most soft-spoken guys that I know, but when he talks, you want to listen.

Wolfgang Gruener is heading up the TG Daily.com news site. With Wolfgang, news is in his blood stream. He was working the Web in the early days ten years ago when none of us knew where it would go, but we all knew that it would be big. He has been a correspondent, a site editor, a marcom director, and a consultant over his varied career, which also included coursework towards a legal degree. Thankfully, he stuck to tech news and we are all happier as a result. For the past year he has been developing the "Hard News" portion of Tom's Hardware and we are now ready to launch news as its own site. Wolfgang is one of those guys that measures his scoops in terms of minutes, so you are going to want to check his site early and often to keep up with his postings.

Tim Higgins is the managing editor for Tom's Networking . Tim is one of those guys that only likes things that have a bunch of wires coming out the back, something that I can relate to as well. He has been running one Web site or another on networking for almost as long as we had Token Ring debates. He has a background in electrical engineering and has worked in project management, testing and design. He has the extraordinary ability to cut through the marketing hype and present the features of products in simple, easy to understand language. He is a fierce advocate for the small business networker too.

Patrick Schmid is the new managing editor for Tom's Hardware. He has worked his way up to this position and has been one of our longest-term employees. He started with the company back in 1997, when he was still in high school in Germany and working out of a local electronics store. You could say that he grew up on Tom's Hardware. He is also one of more prolific writers in our stable and has focused on the core components such as CPUs and storage products. I am pleased to say that Patrick last month moved to the States and will be working here with me out of our Westlake Village offices.

All four of these guys share a real passion and zeal for technology, and love to dive under the covers, take things apart, figure out what works and what doesn't. They don't suffer fools, or foolish products, easily. It shows in their writing and it shows in their new Web sites. I think you will enjoy seeing what they can produce. And as Omid said, we intend to continue that fine Tom's Hardware tradition of plenty of 'tude, plenty of tech, and plenty of tough love of products as we launch other sites throughout the year and expand our network and coverage.