Recently MR did a great promo - allowed anyone to download a full MR magazine. While it is a good promo to get people to subscribe I wonder if they’d consider creating online subscription model. Basically subscribers would pay monthly to download entire issues in PDF. They could still release paper versions for those who prefer.
Kalbach already has a model where they have downloadable books, so why stop there.
Personally I’d subscribe to such online magazine in a minute. As for printed version I have to pass - I am in Canada and price for canadian subscribers is more than for americans, which is a deal killer for me.
In theory it is a great idea. But what will happen is people will share their PDF file with others, place it online, etc… A paper copy can be passed around only so many times and only to one person at a time.
Many of the online PDFs Klambach currently offers are of no use to me, so even when offered for free I do not need them.
I’d vote for a PDF version. Seems like a logical step that many magazines should be taking these days. Think of it - no more press and all the expenses that come with it.
If MR went to an on line only version, I’d stop reading it, PERIOD. I spend too much time in front of the computer as it is and there are places where I like to read and not have a computer staring me in the face.
I think it is a great idea, but no way should the PDF replace the actual hard copy. Imagine if every issue was available to the hardcopy subscribers, even back issues.
Many of the textbooks nowdays are on-line. I have a materials class that has the entire book on-line as well as all the homework. You get instant feedback on whether you are right or wrong. I find it difficult to sit in front of a computer for a long period of time and read text, so I also have a hard copy of the book. The problem with students who only have the digital version is that they will no longer have access once the class is over. I on the other hand will have a hardcopy for as long as I need it.
What if you received your PDF magazine with a password specific only to you? …such as your own social security number? …who would desire “to share” a PDF magazine on the internet with their own social security number as the password?
I’m all about on-line information, but I don’t think I’d be as enthusiastic about getting a magazine as a download. I have my stack of old back issues, and I enjoy going back and thumbing through them to find gems that I’ve overlooked or forgotten.
I do think it would be useful if particular articles, especially how-to or proto information pieces were available, say after 5 years. It would be really cool if they would index things so you could do a search to find all the articles that have featured a particular railroad (real or model), or items indexed by scale, or scenery…etc. It wouldn’t be hard to set up, although it would be costly for the material to be digitized and uploaded.
I have a modern fast computer but PDF files are still clunky and hard to view. They scroll badly and slowly. Apparently it’s just the way the software works as I’ve used with all kinds of PDF’s for work and play. I hate it as a viewer. I realize the value for copy protection etc, but still I hate using Acrobat to view things.
I think an online MR is a great idea. I recently recieved a renewal note for MR. The 3yr rate for the US is $107.95 the Canadian rate is $162 in US funds. The Canadian Dollar is now at par or better. I am not renewing my subscription and probably not bother with it anymore. I think it is grossly overloaded with adds.
I feel that it might as well be offered in e-format…why not. I wouldn’t want it delivered that way, personally, since I enjoy sitting under a good lamp after the missus retires for the night and I can enjoy reading it, flipping pages, etc. I spend enough time at the computer all day…day after day…week after week… and the chair gets old, as do the screen and mouse. An easy chair, a mug of tee, and the analog are for me.
For those who enjoy their computer time when they get it, and want the periodical that way…why not? As for file sharing, I give some of my editions to my nephew, and he probably passes them on. As long as I pay for the edition…
Another thing to think about is that younger generations are much more tech savvy and more digitally oriented. If the hobby is to continue and draw in new modelers, particularly in the younger generations, then I think MR has to at least offer PDF as an option.
I can’t post a link to the site, but as they are, MRs are avaiable on a online library. They are posted at least a week before the actual magazine comes out. Unfortunetly, it is categorized by article, so you don’t get ads or the covers; only articles/ Even with these avaiable to me, I’m still a subscriber, and nothing can replace the magazine.
–According to this library, you can’t post a link or anything like that on the internet, so you can do the searching for it for yourself–
I vote that the MR’s can posted on trains.com as a reference guide. Maybe you could be able to access it if you pay something like $5 extra. I’d definetly pay extra for it online.
You are not stuck with Acrobat bloatware. As an alternative you could use Foxit reader downloadable from http://www.foxitsoftware.com/ In all respects a much more nimble program.
That’s the main reason I don’t subscribe. The magazine publishers have always sold magazines for way more in Canada and now our dollar is STRONGER than US dollar.