Announcing Some Big Changes to Thurrott.com

Announcing Some Big Changes to Thurrott.com

I am very excited to announce some big changes here at Thurrott.com that will impact both our Premium and non-Premium readers.

First, the best news of all: We have hired Mehedi Hassan as our new Senior News Editor. If you’re unfamiliar with Mehedi, he’s been writing about all things Microsoft for years, most recently at MSPoweruser. He has a keen eye for news, plus extensive developer experience as well.

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This is a big deal on a number of levels. And it goes back to our original goals for the site.

Our intention all along was for Thurrott.com to be a team of equals. But I’ve been carrying the torch for a while now, reporting on the news as it happens, providing analysis when warranted, reviewing hardware and software products, researching and writing tips and how-to’s, and more. And, of course, our Premium membership, which requires me to further divide my time between Premium and non-Premium content. Just deciding which content should be Premium, or not, is difficult. I need help.

But I’ve often pointed out how hard it is to find people who can deliver on the high quality that you and I both expect. Brad is such a person, of course, and so is Rafael. But both also have to focus elsewhere besides Thurrott.com—Brad at Petri, and Raf at his day job—leaving me as the primary content creator here.

Mehedi is the missing piece of the puzzle. And I am so happy to welcome him to Thurrott.com. He will be delivering the news every day going forward. This is great for readers: He’s more prolific than I am, but he still provides the type of analysis—the perspective—that places Thurrott.com above the copy-and-pasting that most blogs do these days. There will be more news on Thurrott.com each day than ever before.

Tied to this is an ongoing concern that our team has had about Thurrott Premium and whether we are providing enough Premium content. Put simply, we are not. So, I will be focusing largely on fixing that problem and providing more value to those readers who think highly enough of us to pay for our work.

That is, most of what I write on Thurrott.com going forward will be exclusive to Premium members. However, my reviews and interviews—both of which I will be expanding on—will remain open to everyone. And I’ll still appear on podcasts—First Ring Daily, What the Tech, and Windows Weekly—and on Twitter each day, of course. I’m not going anywhere. (Sorry, Apple.)

I will reach out to Premium members soon via email and a forum post to discuss the content strategy and ensure that I’m delivering what you expect and want. We have some ideas, of course, and we value your feedback too. Together, we’re going to get this right.

I also understand that many non-Premium members will be concerned about their access to me. But I have some good news for you as well.

First, we’re kicking off a holiday promotion for Thurrott Premium today: Through December 31, new subscribers can get a year of Thurrott Premium for just $48, compared to the normal annual price of $64.

And second, we are opening the First Ring Daily podcast to all Thurrott.com readers. That is, going forward, First Ring Daily will no longer be exclusive to Premium from Monday through Thursday. (The live show on Friday has always been open to everyone.) We will continue to record the show five days a week, and the Friday show will continue to be live.

This is good news for everyone, including Premium members. Many users have struggled to get the podcast working with their favorites apps because of the paywall block. That will no longer be an issue because First Ring Daily will not be blocked going forward. And while we enjoy making the podcast, it has evolved into a casual, conversational get-together. That is, it’s great, but it’s not necessarily “premium.”

Also, those who are familiar with First Ring Daily will probably agree that the very best part of this show is the comical “Behind the scenes” videos that Brad makes after each of our big trips. Those videos will remain exclusive to Thurrott Premium. It just makes sense.

This is a big day for all of us. It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a long time.

And bringing Mehedi and First Ring Daily to non-Premium members is a win for everyone who visits this site. Everyone gets more content, and I can finally deliver on the Premium membership we’d always envisioned and wanted. It’s exciting and scary, for sure. But I think we’ve found the right way forward. And I’m eager to get started down this new path.

Thanks for reading. And thanks for supporting Thurrott.com,

–Paul

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Conversation 126 comments

  • mahoekst

    13 November, 2017 - 11:14 am

    <p>congrats, looking forward to even more great content. I am already a fan! 🙂 (yes, even if you are snarky about my product Windows :))</p>

  • woelfel

    13 November, 2017 - 11:14 am

    <p>Congrats Mehedi! I see Paul has been recruiting the best to his site. Good stuff. :)</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 11:36 am

      <blockquote><a href="#215155"><em>In reply to woelfel:</em></a></blockquote><p>Message: Come to the Dark Side…. :)</p>

      • woelfel

        14 November, 2017 - 9:57 am

        <blockquote><a href="#215201"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>Oh is that were the Premium Members reside? I see what you did there 😉 (fyi, I know what you meant)</p>

  • Bart

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 11:14 am

    <p>Four Microsoft heavy-hitters, in one place. Nice!</p>

  • mmcpher

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 11:15 am

    <p>This sounds good and will add general and premium value and give you guys some flexibility and variety. Good luck. This makes renewal a no-brainer. I do hope that you will conflate Premium and Standard Comments in the future. </p><p><br></p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 11:36 am

      <blockquote><a href="#215157"><em>In reply to mmcpher:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yeah, that is a constant source of discussion. I think that is happening, but I'll check.</p>

  • gregsedwards

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 11:16 am

    <p>Wow! As a long-time reader of MSPowerUser and a follower of his on Twitter, I'm already familiar with Mehedi Hassan and his quality of work. I'm excited to see his unique perspective on the site. Now get Mary Jo on board! ?</p><p><br></p><p>I'm also excited that FRD is going free. I'm a paying subscriber (and I'll continue that next year), but I have struggled getting the podcast to work seamlessly with the built-in Windows Mobile Podcasts app. It works, but it won't cache my credentials, so I have to enter them. Every. Single. Time. Even if I'm not specifically browsing FRD. Seems like every time the Podcasts app refreshes its feeds, it hits the paywall and requests my username/password. So I'm glad that will be simpler.</p>

    • Mehedi Hassan

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 11:40 am

      <blockquote><a href="#215158"><em>In reply to gregsedwards:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Thank you, it means a lot!</p>

  • Skolvikings

    13 November, 2017 - 11:21 am

    <p>I dropped my Premium subscription because I wasn't finding value in it. I don't participate in the forum and there weren't many articles here that were premium-only. Not enough to justify a yearly subscription. If this announcement was made 2 months ago, I might have made a different decision. This is good news for Premium subscribers and may get me to resub.</p>

    • xpxp2002

      13 November, 2017 - 11:32 am

      <blockquote><a href="#215173"><em>In reply to Skolvikings:</em></a></blockquote><p>Eh. Hopefully you find more value in it. I've had the exact opposite problem — nearly everything worth reading is now behind the premium paywall. I can appreciate that Paul wants to get paid for his work, as anyone does, but a sample of content (2 premium articles per month?) would help me potentially justify it. Considering that all of the pages carry a decent amount of ad coverage (and I don't use an ad blocker), I think moving more content behind the premium wall will just lead many of us non-premium plebs to visit here less.</p>

      • Tunrip

        13 November, 2017 - 11:41 am

        <blockquote><a href="#215176"><em>In reply to xpxp2002:</em></a></blockquote><p>I'm in much the same boat as you. I just read Thurrott.com "for fun" so I find it hard to justify a subscription. Like you, I have the ads turned on. I often pay attention for their special offers, but I think it's normally the same offer.</p><p>With the offer, it looks like it'll work out about £3.20/month. I guess it is cheaper than a magazine subscription, but still… It still takes some thinking!</p>

      • Khayman101

        13 November, 2017 - 12:06 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#215176"><em>In reply to xpxp2002:</em></a></blockquote><p>You get 3 premium articles a month if you just create a free account</p>

      • lvthunder

        Premium Member
        13 November, 2017 - 4:32 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#215176"><em>In reply to xpxp2002:</em></a></blockquote><p>If you have Premium (like me) you don't see a single ad.</p>

    • Tina

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 12:30 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215173"><em>In reply to Skolvikings:</em></a></blockquote><p>Since I am the marketer on the team, I hesitatingly stick my neck out saying this… but there is a great Holiday promotion going on right now for Premium: <a href="https://www.thurrott.com/thurrott-premium&quot; target="_blank">https://www.thurrott.com/thurrott-premium</a></p&gt;

      • Chris_Kez

        Premium Member
        13 November, 2017 - 1:32 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#215287"><em>In reply to Tina:</em></a></blockquote><p>Hi Tina, I guess Mehedi was the hypothetical writer you were asking me about ;)</p>

        • Paul Thurrott

          Premium Member
          13 November, 2017 - 5:39 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#215369"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p>Hypothetically.</p>

  • chrisrut

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 11:28 am

    <p>Congrats to all! And welcome, Mehedi!</p>

  • StephenCWLL

    13 November, 2017 - 11:35 am

    <p>I shall miss Paul's articles but I'm sure Mehedi will be steaming out so many articles that Paul will quickly become a distant memory 😉 Oh wait, Windows Weekly, Twitter and his name in titlebar :d</p><p><br></p><p>I've never been tempted by Premium and these changes don't swing it enough for me still. Sorry. I hope though that more subscribers sign up though.</p><p><br></p><p>First Ring Daily; listened to Friday show a few times but it's was far too random and chatty for me without being focussed. </p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:38 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215184"><em>In reply to StephenCWLL:</em></a></blockquote><p>You should mention a few more times in here that you don't see the value of Premium. It's not clear.</p>

      • StephenCWLL

        14 November, 2017 - 5:32 am

        <blockquote><a href="#215593"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>10 Print "I don't see the value of premium"</p><p>20 Goto 10</p><p>30 Run</p><p> </p>

      • StephenCWLL

        14 November, 2017 - 5:33 am

        <blockquote><a href="#215593"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>You might read every comment, but I don't expect everyone to do that :D</p>

  • Jason Honingford

    13 November, 2017 - 11:36 am

    <p>I'm not sure if I need Windows news that badly, but I sure agree that there are plenty of "news" bloggers that just copy other people's work. We need to enhance the word "plagiarize" to include those who DO give credit to the author, but are still passing it off as their own since they paraphrased the entire article.</p>

    • MikeGalos

      13 November, 2017 - 12:04 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215192"><em>In reply to ThatMouse:</em></a></blockquote><p>We also shouldn't call cutting and pasting out of a press release "journalism" nor expect people to pay (either directly or via ads) for content that was provided for free by a corporate PR department and reprinted without any value added by the "journalist".</p>

      • Paul Thurrott

        Premium Member
        13 November, 2017 - 5:37 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#215262"><em>In reply to MikeGalos:</em></a></blockquote><p>A PR person literally told me this past week that "copy and paste" is what they want. They don't want anyone to think about what they're selling, just repeat it. </p><p><br></p><p>Obvious in retrospect, I know. But troubling.</p>

        • rameshthanikodi

          13 November, 2017 - 6:30 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#215592"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>Many PR releases get twisted to ridiculous extents, which is why I imagine they want news outlets to just give people the news – their statements – without the spin. But there are many sites that don't spin, like this one. Some sites put a link to the full press release or add it to the end of their articles, which I think is a win-win solution.</p>

        • Mestiphal

          14 November, 2017 - 9:47 am

          <blockquote><a href="#215592"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Sadly you see that in everything now days. Makes me sick to turn on the news on tv and see a damn twitter post and the news anchor talking about the issue. what happen with actual reporters that took a microphone and asked questions</p>

  • CurtK

    13 November, 2017 - 11:37 am

    <p>I dropped mine because all the coverage seems to have gotten so snarky/negative. I get it's 'fun' to make fun of people, products and MS punching itself in the face (who wouldn't?), but a lot of us use this stuff. A little snark goes a long way. </p><p><br></p><p>Just got tired of being called stupid for liking/using MS products on what was a site that covers MS. I get it. Maybe will try again, I generally like a lot of their coverage of news, and they have a lot of smart reporting here without the clickbait. I just need to brace myself better I guess. The actual core of the news here is top notch (see, that's a shout out to you iPhone guys 🙂 ). </p>

    • StephenCWLL

      13 November, 2017 - 11:54 am

      <blockquote><a href="#215204"><em>In reply to CurtK:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>You pretty much nailed it for me. I hope with the new guy on-board we may get back to just giving us the lowdown and not taking the mike out of things.</p>

  • Arvind Mehra

    13 November, 2017 - 11:42 am

    <p>Hiring Mehedi, I'm not sure that's the best idea. Read this first before saying that I'm wrong. Paul, I'm sure you and your team have thoroughly interviewed and checked his previous work before hiring him. The only reason I'm skeptical is due to his tendency to write Microsoft favouring articles. You, on the other hand are largely unbiased. I enjoy your articles and podcasts because you are very fair to all companies, be it Apple, Google or Microsoft. Make sure this doesn't go away.</p>

    • StephenCWLL

      13 November, 2017 - 11:53 am

      <p><br></p><p>Let's give him a chance first :)</p>

  • krisarthur

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 11:42 am

    <p>To me sounds like great news! Good changes!</p>

  • Dale

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 11:44 am

    <p>For what you do in all of your different positions, I thank you. I would gladly pay for a premium membership even if it didn't get me anything extra. Just the daily information that is available is enough. </p><p> Keep up the good work. </p>

  • Elindalyne

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 11:45 am

    <p>Will you still be using Vimeo for FRD or are you going to Youtube/Live?</p>

    • Brad Sams

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 11:47 am

      <blockquote><a href="#215212"><em>In reply to Elindalyne:</em></a></blockquote><p>YouTube.</p>

      • Elindalyne

        Premium Member
        13 November, 2017 - 11:57 am

        <blockquote><a href="#215213"><em>In reply to brad-sams:</em></a></blockquote><p>Excellent… Get to save on data then.</p>

  • LuxuryTravelled

    13 November, 2017 - 11:55 am

    <p>Congrats Paul &amp; Brad. Great news. </p><p><br></p><p>Quick question – for FRD, will you offer video as well as audio on podcast feed?</p>

    • Brad Sams

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 1:27 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215246"><em>In reply to LuxuryTravelled:</em></a></blockquote><p>Right now we are hosting on YouTube, I havent found a way to do that with their platform; if we can figure out a way to do that, can likely enable it.</p>

    • ben55124

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 2:15 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215246"><em>In reply to LuxuryTravelled:</em></a></blockquote><p>yes, the biggest FRD issue for me is video — not as easy to deal with as an audio podcast that you can subscribe to on pocket casts. Perhaps Andrew could assist his gfq network.</p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 12:04 pm

    <p>It is almost fitting that you announce this today. The Supersite is no more as of today. </p>

    • Tim

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 12:09 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215261"><em>In reply to madthinus:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Got a link? </p>

      • madthinus

        Premium Member
        13 November, 2017 - 12:21 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#215273"><em>In reply to Tim:</em></a></blockquote><p>It now redirect to a new site that combine alot of penton sites. Looks like most if Paul’s content is gone.</p>

      • johnlavey

        Premium Member
        13 November, 2017 - 1:16 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#215273"><em>In reply to Tim:</em></a></blockquote><blockquote><br></blockquote><blockquote>http://www.itprotoday.com/ no longer Supersite.. as they said today.</blockquote><p><br></p>

      • pwrof3

        13 November, 2017 - 1:20 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#215273"><em>In reply to Tim:</em></a></blockquote><p>From the new ITProToday: "<strong>JUST LAUNCHED:&nbsp;</strong>Welcome to ITProToday.com bringing the best of ITPro Windows, SharePoint Pro, Supersite Windows, SQLServer Pro and DevPro – now focused on a broad range technology topics that help IT professionals understand how to solve business challenges with technology." </p><p><br></p><p>www.itprotoday.com</p><p><br></p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:30 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215261"><em>In reply to madthinus:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yeah, I've trying not to let that bother me but watching them F up my 15 year legacy has been tough. Way to go, Penton. Or whatever you are now.</p>

  • EZAB

    13 November, 2017 - 12:08 pm

    <p>Any deals for renewals who took advantage of last years Holiday promotion for Premium @ $48.00? Maybe a Black Friday renewal?</p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 12:24 pm

    <p>I think making FRD open to all is a great way to pull people from other sources. Smart move. Also give sponsors better exposure.</p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 12:27 pm

    <p>I also think that with more news coming to the site ThurrottNow can be a good way to deliver some of that. I hope we can get the design of that sorted so that it is continuous stream.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:29 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215286"><em>In reply to madthinus:</em></a></blockquote><p>We are definitely going to make some changes there. It's on the list.</p>

  • warren

    13 November, 2017 - 12:34 pm

    <p>Mehedi will be writing here? That's great!!</p>

  • Japser

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 12:37 pm

    <p>This is rather sad news for me. I come to this site because I love reading Paul's articles, and now these are all going to be Premium. And being a student, I cannot afford paying for Premium :(</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:35 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215290"><em>In reply to Japser:</em></a></blockquote><p>They're not all going to be Premium. I will be writing more reviews and interviews than before, and those will be free.</p>

  • christoph_fer

    13 November, 2017 - 12:46 pm

    <p>Clickbait articles in 1, 2, 3…</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:35 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215301"><em>In reply to christoph_fer:</em></a></blockquote><p>What does that even mean? You know what? Don't answer. </p>

  • Martin Pelletier

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 12:46 pm

    <p>Welcome Mehedi</p>

  • crmguru

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 12:50 pm

    <p>Congrats! Great way to grow the brand. I love it. You guys are well worth the extra few bucks. I love the model. I know you will get haters. Ignore them… you guys are doing well. Keep it up. </p>

  • Hal9000

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 12:53 pm

    <p>Never hard of that guy, but hey, what you write makes sense and I'm sture he will be a great addition :)</p>

  • Demileto

    13 November, 2017 - 12:54 pm

    <p>So, when I click on "Upgrade to Premium" I see the new $48 holiday promo ad but when I go to the checkout page it still mentions the $64 standard price. Which value will I be effectively charged, after all?</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:35 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215310"><em>In reply to Demileto:</em></a></blockquote><p>$48 is a one-time offer for new subscribers. The $64 price is the normal annual fee.</p>

  • Bats

    13 November, 2017 - 12:55 pm

    <p>So this is where Hassan ended up. </p><p><br></p><p>Lol. I subscribe to MSPoweruser via RSS and I saw his goodbye letter.</p><p><br></p><p>Thank goodness he came to thurrott.com instead of Windows Wacky people Central (Windowscentral.com). Those guys are horrible.</p>

    • rameshthanikodi

      13 November, 2017 - 6:32 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215311"><em>In reply to Bats:</em></a></blockquote><p><em>Wacky people Central</em></p><p><br></p><p>LOL. Appropriate.</p>

  • navarac

    13 November, 2017 - 12:57 pm

    <p>I look forward to developments. Welcome Mehedi, I shall get more addicted to the site, if that's possible.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

  • kherm

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 12:57 pm

    <p>Thank you SO MUCH for making FRD Free. I used to waste all of my 3 free articles every month on those videos, so this is FANTASTIC news</p>

  • polymath

    13 November, 2017 - 1:08 pm

    <p>well Paul had to retire at some point i suppose</p><p><br></p><p>Thurrott.com will only be true for those who have $$$$</p><p><br></p><p>yet another subscription service, Netflix, google music, spotify </p><p><br></p><p>i gess i'll miss <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Thurrott, i've been reading his output since the early days of windows.</span></p>

    • lvthunder

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 4:27 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215330"><em>In reply to polymath:</em></a></blockquote><p>How dare Paul and crew try to make a living. I mean when was the last time you actually clicked on a banner ad? I don't even remember. It was probably on accident besides.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:34 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215330"><em>In reply to polymath:</em></a></blockquote><p>I suppose I will retire or die at some time, just like anyone else. But today is not that day.</p>

  • mattbg

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 1:09 pm

    <p>Nice to see things evolving as you figure out what makes sense. Looking forward to what comes next!</p>

  • allanwith

    13 November, 2017 - 1:11 pm

    <p>Hmm, interesting move and also understandable.</p><p><br></p><p>i actually quit reading mspoweruser because their articles were becoming too click-bait-y with content that didn’t match the headlines, well actually it was a single article that drove me, but I had felt like the quality was dropping over a period of time. But let’s welcome Mehedi and give him a chance.</p><p><br></p><p>I haven’t found the premium subscription for thurrott.com compelling enough yet, only rarely using the offer for a limited number of free premium articles. I will buy a subscription for a single year though, mostly because I have consumed much of Paul’s content over the years without paying and feel like I “owe” a bit.</p><p><br></p><p>One comment though:</p><p>drop the separation between premium and normal comments. It doesn’t make sense. The premium paid should be about content from you guys and not about what we as readers are able to contribute with. Only thing premium should enable is commenting on premium articles. That’s just my view.</p>

    • StephenCWLL

      13 November, 2017 - 3:19 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215342"><em>In reply to allanwith:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Yup, totally agree with the comments statement, especially as that makes sense with the changes announced today. I said originally when premium came out, that these separation of comments makes it feel like a us versus them thing and that they are better than us etc. That's not a good vibe.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:34 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215342"><em>In reply to allanwith:</em></a></blockquote><p>Thanks … We talk about changing that (separation of premium and normal comments) all the time. I bet it happens.</p>

      • pecosbob04

        13 November, 2017 - 8:21 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#215587"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a><em> I would really like to just be able to read the comments on the three free premium articles each month. Are you guys having any luck restoring the status quo ante on that?</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

  • polymath

    13 November, 2017 - 1:13 pm

    <p> </p><p>is that a good icon to represent <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Thurrott.com ,, </span>https:// pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/926765514122076160/UBY49t6H_400x400.jpg</p><p>https:// twitter.com/mehedih_?lang=en</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:33 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215343"><em>In reply to polymath:</em></a></blockquote><p>He can do whatever he wants with his personal Twitter account, yes. We're not running a day care. </p>

      • StephenCWLL

        14 November, 2017 - 5:29 am

        <blockquote><a href="#215586"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>But it's not exactly just a personal account if he's tweeting your professional content links and saying in his bio that he's working on Thurrott? That's not exactly just personal, that's business and personal.</p>

  • brisonharvey

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 1:20 pm

    <p>Any chance you can make premium articles available via Pocket so they load correctly?</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:28 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215347"><em>In reply to brisonharvey:</em></a></blockquote><p>I'll ask the team about what this would require. </p>

  • Chris Payne

    13 November, 2017 - 1:23 pm

    <p>I've never had a premium subscription, but I agree with the sentiment in some of the comments. There's just not anything in those articles that are worth a premium price. There's nothing exclusive in them, and content-length-wise, they seem to be sometimes shorter and less full than the free articles. It seems entirely arbitrary what gets marked as premium these days. I'd love to support Paul, but frankly, I'd get nothing out of paying for premium.</p><p><br></p><p>Exclusive interviews or long in-depth essays would go a long way. As an example, the "Mining Redstone 4" article on top of his site today is premium. I read it as part of my free 3 articles, and I don't know why I bothered. It's just a bunch of screenshots of things that were entirely obvious or covered elsewhere. There's nothing "deep" about it. To me, going "deep" would be analyzing the underlying design language, interviewing designers at Microsoft, talking about the evolution to this latest fluent style from whatever it was before, justifications from Microsoft or cultural trends on why this needed to happen. I.e. critical content. That kind of stuff I would pay for. That's journalism worth paying for. Instead what I got was a "Dick and Jane" short story about mouse-over highlights.</p><p><br></p><p>I know, that kind of content takes a lot of work and access to put together. But it's also rare in the tech world, and therefore worth paying for. I love this site and visit it everyday, respect Paul a lot (despite the snarkiness, hubris, and typos), but the premium program today confuses me and doesn't seem to provide any value. My two cents.</p><p><br></p>

    • StephenCWLL

      13 November, 2017 - 3:14 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215350"><em>In reply to unkinected:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Totally agreed. What you said sums up my thoughts about the premium side of thurrott 100%.</p><p><br></p><p>PS – Thanks for saving me the bother of wondering what was in the redstone 4 article :)</p>

    • lvthunder

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 4:22 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215350"><em>In reply to unkinected:</em></a></blockquote><p>Not dealing with the ads is enough for me. Plus now that Paul has some help maybe the premium articles will get more in depth.</p><p><br></p><p>Yes I know I can add an ad blocker, but that feels like stealing to me.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:32 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215350"><em>In reply to unkinected:</em></a></blockquote><p>"I've never had a premium subscription … There's just not anything in those articles that are worth a premium price." Gotcha.</p>

      • Chris Payne

        22 November, 2017 - 1:20 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#215583"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>No need for the snark Paul, I get 3 free premium articles a month and I think that gives me a fair enough experience to comment on them.</p><p><br></p><p>The article today about trusting Surface is another example of a premium article that shouldn’t be premium. It was a short blog post about your experience with Surface device reliability. I was expecting, being a premium article, a long story about what MS is doing with Surface, the future of the brand, whether we’re safe investing in Surface for the long term, etc. Instead, it was a very anecdotal blurb that offered no new insight. Why is that premium over the Android tracking article? </p><p><br></p><p>i really like this site and what you do – I’m a loyal reader and was hoping you’d take some of my suggestions to heart. I would love to pay for in depth exclusive content from you. But the premium policy today doesn’t make any sense. Best of luck figuring that out.</p>

  • Chris_Kez

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 1:27 pm

    <p>Congratulations to Mehedi and the team. I'm excited for this development, both because Mehedi has been writing great stuff for years, and because Paul will now be free to write more of the stuff I'm interested in.</p>

    • Mehedi Hassan

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 1:55 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215364"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Thank you Chris! </p>

  • harmjr

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 1:30 pm

    <p>Welcome&nbsp;Mehedi Hassan hope you will be popping by FRD Lucy and Ethel are great but sometimes we need Fred and Ricky!</p>

  • isaac

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 1:45 pm

    <p>Congrats guys, great news, keep up the great work!</p>

  • will

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 1:48 pm

    <p>This is a great addition and congrats to Mehedi! I kind of wondered if something was up based on the new headshot and comments last week :)</p><p><br></p><p>The two sites I check daily are Thurrott and MSPoweruser so I look forward to seeing more content and updates across the entire Microsoft line, consumer and business!</p>

  • skane2600

    13 November, 2017 - 1:50 pm

    <p>I predict a significant increase in the number of times Paul is addressed in the comments for articles he didn't write. :)</p>

  • lprell

    13 November, 2017 - 1:57 pm

    <p>Great addition and awesome changes! Congrats to the team!</p>

  • ChuckOp

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 2:14 pm

    <p>Congratulations on growing Thurrott.com! I'm happy with the Premium content; my only quibble is that my newsreader forces me to open a new browser window to get to it. Oh well.</p>

  • rob4jen

    13 November, 2017 - 3:48 pm

    <p>The primary reason for my premium subscription is FRD. I'm interested to see if the non-FRD premium content merits a subscription going forward. Right now it doesn't.</p>

  • wosully

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 3:54 pm

    <p>That's great Paul! Glad you were able to take on this adventure. </p>

  • I Khan

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 4:04 pm

    <p>Congratulations on the acquisition and further development of this wonderful platform!!!</p>

  • Tom Wilson

    13 November, 2017 - 4:06 pm

    <p>It's a bold strategy Cotton. </p><p><br></p><p>But paying for DIY articles on how some guy is rewiring his house? No thanks.</p><p><br></p><p>There's plenty of free, quality information out there today. </p><p><br></p><p>And it's on sites that haven't had to institute a paywall.</p><p><br></p><p>Au revoir.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

  • Poppapete

    13 November, 2017 - 4:42 pm

    <p>I am a premium member because I want to watch FRD. So there is no reason for me to be a premium member. I however will not resign as I feel bound to support the team financially.</p>

  • George Perry

    13 November, 2017 - 5:10 pm

    <p>Awesome news Paul ! Love the content. </p>

  • NoFlames

    13 November, 2017 - 5:26 pm

    <p>I don't begrudge Paul and company to try and find a business model that supports great content. It's pretty daring move and they get props for that. I like reading Paul's opinions but paying for them I'm not so sure. I will try the free site with the few premium articles included for free like I have been. If the quality and depth of the premium articles increases from where they are now, then I'm more likely to subscribe. If he has exclusive content not easily gleaned from other sites that's where the value is for me.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      13 November, 2017 - 5:31 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215561"><em>In reply to NoFlames:</em></a></blockquote><p>Totally fair. Appreciated.</p>

  • Norboii

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 5:40 pm

    <p>Great to hear! Looking forward to reading Mehedi his posts here now.</p>

  • cawoodstock

    13 November, 2017 - 5:53 pm

    <p>Excited to hear about these changes. I've enjoyed the evolution of the Thurrott site over time. Keep up the great work!</p>

  • jboman32768

    Premium Member
    13 November, 2017 - 5:59 pm

    <p>I listen to FRD audio-only as a podcast, as well as others like the verge cast. One thing I noticed about the verge cast was that they switched back from video to audio because it made the quality better and allowed them to focus more on the content. Perhaps this could be a strategy for FRD to switch to audio-only so you guys can concentrate less on your lighting, webcams, and what your car is doing in the background – which are all not very interesting for audio-only paid subscribers.</p><p><br></p><p>I realise not everyone would be in favour of this – just putting my opinion out there.</p><p><br></p><p>J.</p>

  • unfalln

    13 November, 2017 - 7:15 pm

    <p>As I'm outside of the timezone I rarely if ever get up at 3am to watch any live video. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">I would appreciate FRD as an audio podcast as it would be easier to listen to. I regularly listen to WW over the weekend while mowing, cleaning, exercising, etc.</span></p><p><br></p><p>My primary benefit of Premium though is the RSS feed that is choc-full every morning when I first wake up. Although I value your current premium personal opinion pieces, reviews, etc, and they are often cited during discussions around my workplace, my favourite suggestion for increasing value on this site would be a bit more of the "advance notice" of products and services. Your insight into the future of the tech industry is what I'd most appreciate being formalised and by far the greatest reason for me throwing wads of cash (read: handful of coinage) in your general direction.</p><p><br></p><p>If you want a really big, aspirational project for premium members, perhaps you could try implementing a big timeline/pinboard thing where you could have notes/articles about when you expect future developments!</p><p><br></p><p>But back to earth. My only complaint is could you please, please, please include some more RSSey way to consume the ThurrottNow section as I rarely see it when using direct links to articles. The few times I have noticed it, there have been days-weeks-months of little tidbits there and navigating the calendar is a nightmare.</p>

  • pecosbob04

    13 November, 2017 - 8:00 pm

    <p>"<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">of course. I’m not going anywhere. (Sorry, Apple.)" </span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Other than quoting a comment of yours in a keynote once, I have never seen any evidence that </span>Apple cares one way or the other if you go or stay.</p>

    • Stooks

      14 November, 2017 - 12:16 am

      <blockquote><a href="#215702"><em>In reply to pecosbob04:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yeah coming off their best quarter ever, before they even sold one iPhone X, I am sure they are thinking "If Paul Thurrott would just go away".</p><p><br></p><p>I have been reading Paul's stuff on and off for at least a decade now. In the early days he would bash on Apple oh so much. He would somehow bring Apple into almost any article. Then that kind of dried up for him, somewhere between the time Apple passed Microsoft terms of revenue and profit and when it was announced that iPhone revenue alone was more than all Microsoft products combined. Maybe he had too much humble pie? Or the claim chowder was getting cold?</p><p><br></p><p>Now his bashing and snarky comments seem to be targeted at Microsoft, especially when compared to his new darling Google.</p><p><br></p><p>In either case the attitude is a turn off to me. Combined with not much "premium" content that I can't find almost any other place for free has kept from being a premium sub. Oh well, more time with the Verge and Neowin for me.</p><p><br></p><p>Peace Out!</p>

  • Roger Ramjet

    13 November, 2017 - 8:09 pm

    <p>Premium subscriptions are a tough business in today's highly competitive online world. For a rough guide of what might work, look at WSJ vs. NYT, both flagship publications, but the model works better (but not even perfect) at WSJ because they provide information that people make money off of&nbsp;or that keeps them up to date at their high paying jobs, while NYT is mostly general interest &amp; enrichment. I would therefore think that Petri.com has a better value proposition for subscriptions than Thurrott (based on my take on their respective audiences), and they probably already do that, I don't go there too many times since I am not in Tech industry.</p><p> Now if PT is going to be focused in his transition on things that are&nbsp;deeply targeted at IT Admins, Coders etc (and this information is superior, more timely, etc to things they can easily find by clicking elsewhere), then the move should work for picking up subscribers. Otherwise, if this information is still going to be more for enthusiasts generally, I would follow the Google model, try and get as much distribution as you can (I still don't see that many Thurrott articles placed on say Bing news or Google news for example, but maybe because I have not set up my feed to look up tech publications specifically), and optimize the Ad placements, sponsorships, affiliate relations etc. I wouldn't listen to people who complain about any of these or other reasonable revenue generation policies. If you are not paying the freight, you need to realize the people working there need to make a living.</p>

  • claren44

    13 November, 2017 - 9:19 pm

    <p>Thanks for continuing to improve info for both us Premium &amp; non-Premium people. You are amazing Paul!</p><p>As for the former supersite, I’ve found that the “availible for eternity” promise of the Internet ain’t necessarily so. lol </p><p>Witness my former internet radio station, GeoCities site, &amp; my soon to be empty Flickr account (thanks Verizon!), Plus ca change…</p>

  • Andrew Payne

    13 November, 2017 - 9:32 pm

    <p>Paul this is a great move. I think focusing on the places you add the most value is smart. Mehedi will do a great job with the news. I have nearly pulled the trigger on premium a bunch. I think I will at this new price point. Truthfully I listen to you more than read. The premium is just about supporting the work. </p><p><br></p><p> I have transitioned to android and Microsoft services are not as important to me now. I enjoy that you are increasingly covering tech on general. I would enjoy a real deep dive into Google vs Microsoft from a consumer online services perspective. You have written a lot in the past but I think your perspective on the services, browsers, privacy and hardware in 2017 would be great.</p>

  • LimitedWisdom

    13 November, 2017 - 10:42 pm

    <p>Hey Paul,</p><p><br></p><p>Some of these comments your direction were a bit rough! I'm glad you have thick skin.</p><p><br></p><p>So that you know, I've been trying to justify (in my own mind) premium for a while now. I'm actually in the process of dumping a TON of recurring subscriptions – we all have a bunch we never use. It's caused me to really try to find value before spending a single dollar. </p><p><br></p><p>While looking at all the subscriptions I'm cutting, I kept thinking about your site. I've received SO much value from your perspective, your writing, and your podcasts, upgrading to premium is a no-brainer – if for no other reason that to simply support your work. No joke, what you do has enhanced my career. It's worth noting, your sarcasm and cynicism are also appreciated: my friends "love" those qualities about me too!</p><p><br></p><p>With this announcement, you've made my decision easy. I'm looking forward to seeing how premium evolves.</p><p><br></p><p>Thanks for the work you do and the care you put into this site. </p><p><br></p><p>**Excuse me while I go upgrade my account…**</p>

  • gvan

    13 November, 2017 - 11:35 pm

    <p>I will look forward to seeing Mehedi and Brad stuck in some horrible airport delay soon. I love those episodes of First Ring Daily! HeHeHe…</p>

  • jecouch66

    Premium Member
    14 November, 2017 - 1:05 am

    <p>I would have subscribed whether it was divided into premium or not. My decision was based on the fact that I'd been reading Paul's stuff for years and he was making this his business and I wanted to support him because I trust his opinion and like his humor. Trusting anyone in media is difficult because everyone seems to have an agenda. Paul reports it as he sees it regardless of who it is and I appreciate that approach. Doesn't mean I always agree, but I do always enjoy the perspective. That trust and perspective is what I pay for, not the length or number of articles. (That will always balance out)</p><p><br></p><p>I really enjoy those commenters who don't feel the content is worth paying for, but do seem to feel it's important enough to let everyone else know. Seems a bit insulting to me. And by enjoy i mean find annoying. ?</p><p><br></p><p> </p>

  • RobertJasiek

    14 November, 2017 - 3:02 am

    <p>As a non-subscriber, maybe my opinion does not count much but here it is anyway:</p><p>For me, what is offered for subscription is not worth the price. I see why it can be worth subscribing for others. To find a subscription justified for the price, I would want to see very much more information new to me that I cannot easily find elsewhere, already know or already have formed as my opinion before. I appreciate Paul Thurrott's clear contribution to formation of opinions but for me it is mostly a matter of entertainment to read, and sometimes participate in, discussions about contrary opinions on tech matters. Subscription of such contents is also worth something but, for me, by far not the set price.</p><p>It has been all too obvious that there have been too few Premium articles for the subcribers. Of course, there should be more for them. This is bad luck for us non-subscribers, but who are we that we could complain? After all, we can still enjoy the free contents, and many thanks for that!</p><p>Apart from price and overall kind of Premium contents (for which I would want a somewhat different variety apparently outside Paul's agenda both on free and Premium articles), there are also two additional things that would still prevent me from subscribing even for an acceptable price: 1) Bugs. Some time in spring 2017, a few bugs were introduced into the home page and they simply persist instead of being eliminated. 2) Pop-up ads. As a non-subscriber, I cannot really complain, can I? However, as a subscriber, I would not always want to be logged in. It is often very convenient to read without first logging in. I would be faced with the same annoying pop-up ads. This is not how (potential) customers should be treated anywhere. I perfectly understand the necessity for ads but they absolutely must be unobtrusive. This also means that they must not be related to bugs.</p><p>Paul Thurrott's contribution to the internet is valuable but he should consider overcoming the mentioned problems.</p>

    • Chris_Kez

      Premium Member
      14 November, 2017 - 9:14 am

      <blockquote><a href="#215847"><em>In reply to RobertJasiek:</em></a></blockquote><p>Can I ask why you wouldn't want to be logged in?</p>

      • RobertJasiek

        14 November, 2017 - 10:31 am

        <blockquote><a href="#215902"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p>For all websites, I dislike permanent, automatic login. Everywhere, I prefer manual on-visit login so that I always know when I am private versus site-public. The consequence is that I need to login to every site each time when necessary but I live with this consequence. I sometimes prefer to visit a site in read-only, private mode. At other times, I prefer login to use a site's advanced features (such as discussing on a site requiring a login, for a site where I have agreed to register). Visting a site and staying private has these advantages: 1) the site should not always know when I visit it so that it does not control my browsing behaviour too much and 2) the convenience of not spending login time. (As you might guess, I am not registered at Facebook or Twitter – sites designed as permanent privacy violation.)</p>

        • Chris_Kez

          Premium Member
          14 November, 2017 - 10:48 am

          <blockquote><a href="#215934"><em>In reply to RobertJasiek:</em></a></blockquote><p>Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I'm guessing you're also not a user of LastPass or other password managers (or saving credentials in the browser). Can you tell me more about #1, sites controlling browsing behavior? I know Facebook and Twitter try to serve up personalized feeds; is the kind of thing you have in mind? Are there other sites doing that? Or are there some other broader concerns you have in mind? </p><p>I haven't personally given up on Facebook or Twitter, but I do avoid the Facebook app on mobile; instead I use the web if I want to check my timeline. For Twitter I've always used third party clients (currently Fenix on Android). The other site I wonder about from a privacy standpoint is LinkedIn. I will sometimes use that in a private browser window.</p>

          • RobertJasiek

            14 November, 2017 - 1:04 pm

            <blockquote><a href="#215954"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p>I do not use password managers. I prefer to remember passwords and enable myself to do so by using structures of password composition for my non-critical passwords (such as for typical web 2.0 sites without greater importance). The few critical passwords I can also remember.</p><p>I cannot know every site's behaviour of controlling browsers but I (sometimes) assume the worst case (secret services or criminals hack the site), assess the related risk and prefer to use a defensive behaviour of only logging in when necessary etc. Uhm, I admit: I might be too lazy to log out at times.</p><p>For me, the question is not whether currently I expect a site to do something but to always be aware of the worst case. You know, at no site would I tell a trusted person my secret critical passwords because any site could be hacked some time, even if the site is operated by the trusted person at his own home server.</p><p>Of course, there are sites (such as Facebook) with earned bad reputation about disrespect of privacy and privacy laws. For them, I assume even worse cases.</p><p>My broader concerns include human rights and laws. Any site to which I register I must trust with respect to these concerns or, where my trust is limited, I limit my activity accordingly.</p><p>Private browsing window? On my Windows PC: always.</p>

  • Brian Devins

    14 November, 2017 - 7:36 am

    <p>My 2 cents – I love this site and would gladly subscribe for $30/year.</p>

    • The Binary Son

      14 November, 2017 - 4:35 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#215880"><em>In reply to demodulated:</em></a></blockquote><p>I think a second premium tier, with more articles per month than the free, as well as access to the premium forum and no website throttling, would be more appealing for us filthy casuals. Or even a really cheap tier for just more articles a month. But either way, congrats on the evolution of the site!</p>

  • louda55

    14 November, 2017 - 9:15 am

    <p>Looking forward to all the changes! Great work as always! </p>

  • Eric Rasmussen

    Premium Member
    14 November, 2017 - 10:03 am

    <p>Awesome, thanks Paul! I've been reading your articles since the early days of Supersite for Windows, and I always look forward to your perspective on news and new tech. I'm looking forward to reading Mehedi's articles now, too!</p><p><br></p><p>I'm a Windows developer, mostly on. NET now, but I've been programming since Petzold's first Programming Windows book came out. You strike a great balance between the technical perspective a developer has and the real view normal people have. It sounds like Mehedi will fit right in, but the only question I'm still left with: Is he a gamer? :)</p>

  • sentinel6671

    Premium Member
    14 November, 2017 - 10:06 am

    <p>Congratulations Mehedi! Looking forward to reading your work 🙂 </p><p><br></p><p>Paul, my only point of (hopefully) constructive criticism is I wish you'd tone down the anti-Apple bit. I enjoy your "tell it like it is" approach BUT am getting a little tired of the constant Apple negativity. Apple may be boring is dirt, but at the end of the day (and as you've stated repeatedly ) technology choices are personal and a balance of many factors. The tone of your writing on Apple these days basically makes me "rule you out" in terms of receiving a balanced opinion.</p><p><br></p><p>I choose Apple because for me, boring as it may be, their stuff causes fewer headaches in my life. A theme in your Apple writing is that people who use their products are irrationally blind to better choices. I find that kind of insulting. In my cases, I've evaluated the other choices and find that Apple provides me the fewest headaches. Over the years I've had both Android and Apple phones and I concluded that Apple offers a better experience for me. I'm long past the time where I want tech that I have to constantly fiddle with.</p><p><br></p><p>The anti-Apple bit was funny for awhile, but I'm sad that a balanced opinion isn't available here anymore. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I hope you'll consider a return to providing a more balanced point of view in your writing about them.</span></p>

  • LimitedWisdom

    14 November, 2017 - 11:08 am

    <p>As we're talking about premium – I'd be interested in a Team option of some sort. There's a few folks on the team that I'd love to help follow the latest trends that maybe can't afford this on their own…but we could probably pick up the tab on the prof dev line item of the budget. Would you ever consider such a thing? Dunno, maybe that's nuts.</p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    14 November, 2017 - 1:40 pm

    <p>I'd really love to see some reviews of Windows Store apps. The Store is important to the future of Windows, so it would be really nice to give some time to the devs who are embracing the modern platform. Personally, I love exploring and finding new software on the app stores, but it can be difficult for a lot of people to find Sturgeon's 10% (90% of everything is crud) so it would be great to see!</p>

  • Jedi Dwight

    14 November, 2017 - 2:05 pm

    <p>Sounds like a win for super site. I like the idea of more news for the more nitty-gritty front lines of using Windows / MS software that may have been better served by some other sites.</p>

  • Trickyd

    14 November, 2017 - 6:17 pm

    <p>I love that I can now watch first ring daily on my smart tv's now that it doesn't need a log on so can be on youtube not vimeo. </p>

  • Jeffsters

    14 November, 2017 - 8:07 pm

    <blockquote><a href="#215812" target="_blank"><em>In reply to Stooks:</em></a></blockquote><p>I’m Apple user who long ago bought into Apple’s entire ecosystem I always appreciated Paul’s perspective and, while the lens he used to view technology wasn’t the one I used, he made me think and he was just as often, in my eyes, right as he was wrong. He was a great counter balance to the usual. I read him daily, exchanged a few emails, promoted his web site, and even defended him as a good read. Sadly about maybe two years ago his writing became increasingly petty littered with personal insults and just not fun to read any more. What was a daily read for me, and bookmarked, turned into weekly, and after a few months I now come here mostly when linked by something else. It’s sad and unfortunate I sincerely miss that counter to the largely pro-Apple press. In fact a friend of mine at IBM, who previously worked at Apple, sent me a link recently to an article Paul,wrote to which I replied “don’t care what Thurrott thinks” he replied “I thought you liked him!’. I did once. Look I’m sure Paul is a nice guy, fun to have a beer with, but writing today, when it comes to anything Apple, coupled with his tendency to make anti-Apple comments whenever possible, such as the above line about Apple, just turned me off. It’s unfortunate, unnecessary, and shows a bias, that for me, just made it not worth my time to weed through anymore for the gold. I truly love technology, I have an Xbox, I sometimes use a Windows machine, I miss having someone I can trust out there to give me a broader view of what’s out there, who even when I might disagree with them, I was better for reading them. Now we see he’s hired yet another Microsoft focused writer so it’s clear to me that this site isn’t a “Technology Enthusiasts” site at all but just a rebranded Supersite without the loyal opposition slant I so munch appreciated and valued. That’s why I don’t subscribe, I truly wish I wanted to, but all this does is make him, and this site less relevant to me as a “Technology Enthusiast”. I wish him success but it’s just not for me and I really don’t think he gives two $#@!, and that’s fine. Oh… P.S. Still waiting on the coverage of Apple’s Quarterly Earnings!</p>

  • Michael Sorrentino

    16 November, 2017 - 9:43 am

    <p>Hey Paul, just a thought but perhaps you should consider a cheaper mid-tier for those of us who want access to the premium articles but do not care about the rest of the premium benefits.</p>

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC