Letter from the editor

"You can observe a lot just by watching," the inimitable Yogi Berra is said to have remarked once. Certainly we have been doing our share of observing in the two years since we launched CNET News.com (two years, two months, and eight days, to be precise).

We have witnessed tremendous growth in our readership over these months. We have paid heed to what works and what does not in serving your needs. And, of course, we have kept a close eye on the rapidly changing technology world, in particular on the marriage of computing, electronics, media, and telecommunications.

The result of all this "watching" is here for you to see for yourself. There are cosmetic, navigational, and content enhancements, but this is not simply change for the sake of change--it is about expanding and building upon what News.com has been doing during the past 26 months.

A new "scalable" design that allows pages to widen and adapt to your personal display setting lets us make the most of your computer screen's real estate. And right on our front door, you'll get a bird's-eye view of the 50 to 60 stories we post on an average day.

On the content front, we have organized the news under more specific categories. For example, you now can find all the stories related to e-commerce in an eponymous section, as opposed to looking for them in The Net, Intranet, or Business sections.

Specifically, here are the categories and what you will find within each one:

• "Enterprise Computing" is the new name for what used to be the "Computing" section. Here we will continue to cover breaking stories related to business PCs, server hardware, chips, and mobile computing. Software areas will cover productivity applications, databases, development tools, business applications, network system management, and much more.

• "Communications" will carry stories about telcos, IP telephony, Internet service providers, corporate networking, cable, wireless technology, and other broadband developments.

• "Personal Technology" will cover home computers, handheld PCs, TV set-top boxes, DVD, modems, and printers, as well as digital television and photography.

• "The Net" will feature Web technologies, browsers, portals, domain-name issues, legal topics, technology-related legislation, and entertainment.

• "E-Commerce" will include e-tailing, business-to-business transactions, security, payments, and smart cards.

• "Services and Consulting" will cover stories about outsourcing, distribution deals, and value-added resellers.

• "Y2K"--need we say more?

Other categories include CNET Radio, which will continue to air three times a day; CNET Investor, which provides investment-related news and stock quotes; Newsmakers, which features Q&As with movers and shakers; Perspectives, our opinion and commentary section; and Rumor Mill, which will churn out gossipy tidbits every Friday.

You will notice that we have dropped the "Business" category, and for a good reason--it no longer makes sense to separate stories about companies from the technologies they produce. Now earnings reports, stock updates, and other business stories will populate all categories.

One new element I would like to emphasize in News.com is "The Big Picture," a feature that aims to put a particular story in a broader context. If you want to drill deeper into today's story about Java and the Microsoft-DOJ case, for example, The Big Picture will allow you to read coverage about the trial, and also review Microsoft's strategies on this front going back in time.

When we launched News.com in September of 1996, our goal was to cover the computing industry with the immediacy of broadcasting and the depth of a newspaper. And judging by all the awards we have won, we'd like to think we have fulfilled much of this objective.

Most gratifying, however, has been the continued support we have received from you, our readers. We believe our growth in readership means that you have come to trust and rely on News.com to provide credible, in-depth, and timely news.

Now we want to do the same with our expanded coverage. And we will make sure that CNET News.com is the place to turn for technology coverage.

I am anxious to hear your thoughts. Please write us with any suggestions on improving our service.

Jai Singh
Editor, CNET News.com