Dr. Dobb's Journal August 2003
I have an important announcement regarding Dr. Dobb's Journal, so listen up. For starters, you now have two choices when subscribing to DDJ—a Standard Subscription and a Premium Subscription. A Standard Subscription includes DDJ the magazine and DDJ as a PDF document. The PDF version of a particular issue is available on the first of the month (more or less), 30 days prior to the cover date. The upcoming PDF version for September 2003, for instance, will be available on or about August 1. The PDF version of this issue (August) is available now.
A Premium Subscription includes the magazine in both print and PDF versions—plus online access to more than 10 years of DDJ archives in HTML format. A Premium Subscription does require an annual fee—for a limited time, only $7.49 per year—on top of your subscription. See http://www.ddj.com/circ/ for details.
There are two important things to note:
So how do you go about gaining access to your PDF and HTML editions? Simply by going to http://www.ddj.com/circ/ and following a few simple steps.
Step One requires that you set up a DDJ.com account by registering a username and password. If you already have an account (say, you recently bought an article online, or have an account with BYTE.com, Windows Developer, Software Development, or the like), then you automatically proceed to Step Two. If you currently don't have a username/password account, you will be prompted to set one up. (You can check on your account status at the "My Account" option on the navigation bar at http://www.ddj.com/.)
Step Two requires that you specify either a Standard or Premium Subscription, answer a couple of questions, and pay up via a credit card. If you currently subscribe to DDJ, you will extend your subscription for access to the online features that are part of both the Premium and Standard Subscriptions.
Step Three requires that current subscribers enter the code that's printed on the mailing label of your copy of the magazine.
New subscribers automatically skip Step Three, moving on to the checkout page, where you can review your order before entering your credit-card information to complete the subscription. A receipt will be e-mailed to you.
So once you've signed up for a Premium Subscription, what do you see at DDJ.com? Well, nothing much different—except that you now have access to articles (and more), which you previously didn't have access to. Say, for instance, that you want to read Michael Arnold's article on "Audio Watermarking" in the November 2001 issue of DDJ. One way to access it is to simply start at the navigation bar and go to Articles|2001|November. When the "Table of Contents" appears, just click on the article title. Alternatively, you can do a site-wide search and go directly to any of the articles that are listed.
In all likelihood, I've probably once again succeeded in muddling things. But keep in mind that it isn't that difficult to navigate—after all, even I manage to stumble around just fine. Luckily, step-by-step details (including FAQs) describing the options and process are also available at http://www.ddj.com/circ/.
If you aren't a subscriber but purchase your DDJ from the local newsstand, you can still sign up for Basic Access and download the source code (and more) from the web site at no cost. However, you will need to set up a free account (username/password). You'll be prompted to do so when you click on the source code links.
For whichever package you sign up for, I'm anxious to hear your thoughts, comments, and suggestions. Okay, complaints, too.
Jonathan Erickson
editor-in-chief
jerickson@ddj.com