I remember when I was a 10-year-old kid and had just got my first computer, someone told me that if I really wanted to learn to program, I should get a subscription to Dr. Dobb's and read all the articles. So my dad dutifully got me a subscription and I read all the articles. A lot of it was over my head - there was a lot of C and assembly, a lot of optimized graphics or numerics algorithms - but still, it was one of the few sources of programming tips back then. There was no WWW, so you learned by buying reference books, magazines, playing around with the computer and seeing what happens, or getting the official reference documentation from the manufacturer.
I think that what killed Dr. Dobbs is ultimately that the Internet sparked a huge availability of quality programming info online, which drove the price of this info through the floor. I've spent my morning Googling obscure corner-cases for Django form validation; there are dozens of pages freely available in the official docs, StackOverflow, GitHub, blogs, etc. It's hard to compete with free.
I couldn't afford it every month but some of the ones I did get I read again and again. I remember Abrashes articles and thinking that I had so far to climb. I still do but the thing is I don't think I've ever come across content like it since. Another one I remember was an article by Douglas Hofstadter about metaphors. It wasn't just tech but a way of thinking about everything. And Swaine's flames for dessert!
> I think that what killed Dr. Dobbs is ultimately that the Internet sparked a huge availability of quality programming info online, which drove the price of this info through the floor.
I think it broke the market - but at the same time, very little online is of the same quality IMNHO. But some of it is just good enough that too many seem to stop paying for the really good stuff. Or paying for the privilege to get the ads that come with the really good stuff, more like. I'm actually a little shocked that something like DDJ would be happy on 3M revenue - feels like that should be easy to rack in on subscriptions for such a solid brand. I guess it isn't
I think that what killed Dr. Dobbs is ultimately that the Internet sparked a huge availability of quality programming info online, which drove the price of this info through the floor. I've spent my morning Googling obscure corner-cases for Django form validation; there are dozens of pages freely available in the official docs, StackOverflow, GitHub, blogs, etc. It's hard to compete with free.