Over the past 18 years we’ve received millions of emails in our inbox, so bringing that number down to 18 is no easy task. In no way do we mean to elevate the letters presented here as being superior to the others, they’re just a randomly chosen sample to give you an insight into how things have changed over the years.
How we’ve gone about this is scrolling through our seemingly never-ending 30+ GB outlook.pst file until we reach a year, and randomly scrolling to stop at some point in the year, and choosing a mail from that screen. This was done in all cases except 2004 because almost ALL of the mail traffic that went back and forth was about DVD drives. If you weren’t a reader back then, here’s the now infamous story of when and why we started hating DVDs…
From 2001 until July 2004, Digit had first 1 CD then 2. Many in India considered us solely responsible for the popularity of CD-ROM drive sales with every new PC. And of course, there were also the skeptics who felt that a mere magazine couldn’t influence hardware sales that much. Their skepticism was put to rest when we introduced our DVD in August 2004. The DVD itself wasn’t the problem though. See, we’ve always been concerned about our readers and making sure that they would be able to access the content we give away. If we were giving away DVDs, and our readers only had CD drives, it wasn’t ideal.
To make the deal sweeter we tied up with Samsung to provide all of our readers with DVD-ROM drives / DVD-Writers at ridiculously discounted prices. Remember, this was at a time when these drives were considered luxury items that people could do without. Heck, floppy drives were still standard components that came with cabinets in 2004! Needless to say, the response to our offer was overwhelming, with lakhs of readers wanting to send in cheques and demand drafts to us to upgrade their drives. Samsung’s distributor at the time ran out of stock in a week, and more drives had to be specially ordered from Korea and Singapore. This obviously led to massive losses in terms of revenue, as drives were now being sold at under cost price when importing and courier costs were accounted for. Not only did our readers have to wait for weeks for their drives to come in, but the shortage we created made the prices rise, which made it even more expensive for people not availing of our offer and trying to buy direct. This only led to even more orders, which led to even more delays, in a catastrophic chain reaction. Add to that craziness the fact that many courier delivery boys caught on that the little boxes that were flying all over India contained a valuable DVD drive, and you had the perfect recipe for disaster.
We were inundated with complaints, legal threats, even threats of physical violence when drives were delayed, and even when a drive was finally sent out, about 1% of the lakhs of drives being delivered were stolen in transit, or removed from their packaging and replaced with everything from iron filings to old books… All of those claims then had to be vetted and replacements sent out…Needless to say, 99% of this writer’s inbox was all to do with those darn DVD drives, and thus selecting emails from 2004 that weren’t about DVD drives became nigh on impossible. But we managed.
Is your name in here? Do you want your name to be added here for 2019? Send feedback about our magazine or website to editor at digit dot in…
Note: We’re only putting down first names because we respect the privacy of our readers.
Arz karta hoon…
Jo sadiyaon se hota aaya hai,
Woh repeat kar doonga
Tu naa mili to tujhe Shift Delete kar doonga
Ladkiyaan sunder hain aur lonely hain
Problem hai ki bus voh Read Only hain
Shayad mere pyar ko taste karna bhool gaye
Dil ko aisa Cut kiya ke Paste karna bhool gaye
Woh samajhte hain dil tod diya to hum Dead hain,
Woh nahin jaante ki is dil main aur kitne Thread hain
Tumhare samne hain itne Sample, kabhi hamein bhi Pick karo,
Hamare pyar ke Icon pe kabhi to Double-click karo
Roz subha hum karte hai itne pyar se unhe good morning,
Woh humhe ghoor kar dekhte hain jaise,
0 error but 5 warning.
– Piyush
I’ve been a computer buff since 1995 when I assembled my first computer. It was an AMD 386. It worked at a measly 40 MHz but was all of 7 MHz faster than Intel’s 33 MHz 386. Since then I have had an AMD K62 400 MHz and now I have an AMD Athlon 1.13 GHz. No regrets. My respect for AMD has only grown over time. Also, there’s another angle to all of this: Intel prices its CPUs higher than AMD, which means that both Intel and the vendor make more money (assuming their manufacturing costs are similar). Therefore, Intel has more money to advertise and can create more noise about their Pentium CPUs. So AMD stands absolutely no chance of producing a chip that overheats and is not stable as every other factor is against them. This is where frank magazines like Digit play a huge role. PS: I do not keep my computer in an airconditioned room.
– Squadron Leader Kumar
In the news article titled ‘What's in a Name?’ in the November 2002 issue, Linux was addressed as “Linus Torvalds’ operating system” and you mentioned that Richard Stallman wants it to be ‘renamed’ as GNU/Linux. The OS we know today as Linux was born out of the GNU project, conceived by Stallman in 1984. It is very strange how Torvalds, who only contributed in creating the kernel, is today considered to be the creator of the entire Linux system. The whole ideology behind the Linux OS remains concealed from the users—that of software created free, by and for the masses. In that context, I think there is complete justification in calling the system GNU/Linux to give credit where it is due.
– Baishampayan
The June 2004 issue of Digit was simply superb—nearly 200 pages, two CDs with 101 Freeware and all the previous 36 issues to date, and the amazing 1001 Amazing Tech Facts booklet. Please accept my heartiest congratulations. The booklet though had one glaring omission: There was not a single mention of the Amiga computer. Though deplorable management killed this computer as a commercial product in the mid-90s, it was far superior in many respects to the IBM-clone PC. Two decades ago, the Amiga A500 had 4-channel, 8- bit sound, 4,096-colour graphics, a friendly GUI and smooth multi-tasking with a 7 MHz processor and 0.5 MB RAM. In 1992, the A1200, with a 14 MHz CPU and 2 MB RAM (including display) had 24-bit graphics, games that the PC couldn’t touch, video and soundediting software that had pros in ecstasy. Amiga hardware and software played a crucial part in milestone movies such as Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, Robocop, Babylon, etc. Even today, comparing an Amiga with a PC in multi-tasking would be like comparing a Ferarri with an Ambassador. Seasoned Amiga users routinely, without conscious thought, run three or four tasks simultaneously. In tests, I personally ran up to 10 major processing tasks (not just inactive app windows) simultaneously with just a slight drop in speed. As stable as Linux, but much more user-friendly, the OS could run from a single 880 KB floppy. Partitioning a fresh hard disk is done using a GUI. With a Mac emulator, it could run Mac software at full speed, yet cost only a fraction of the price. In short, it made a Wintel machine look like a tasteless joke. Since your booklet included plenty of information about past technologies, omitting any mention of the Amiga borders on criminal neglect!
– Zotin
Congratulations on completing four successful years as India’s Best Tech magazine. You guys are still unbeatable! Convergence is truly going to be a part of our lives, but I fear that factors like cost, infrastructure for setting it up in mass and compatibility will pose a problem in the Indian market. It was a real disappointment for me to read the editorial “Broadband, Narrow minds”. Right now in India, broadband Internet is not restricted only through cable. With BSNL entering with reasonable rates and good service, as well no headache of extra cable laying and wiring hassles, I see no reason for people to wait for ISPs to give broadband through cables. I live in a region of Ahmedabad where none of the ISPs; Satyam, Icenet, etc; provide broadband service even after two years of their existence in Ahmedabad. The option was to go in for either for Tata or Reliance, but their offers were not as attractive. BSNL, though, gave me a 256 Kbps connection at Rs 500 per month (apart from the initial cost of Rs 3,100) on my telephone line within three days of inception of its service. So I don’t get the point as to why people living in big cities like Mumbai should be at the mercy of their MSO for a broadband connection.
– Nitin
Today’s pirates are tomorrow’s potential customers. Though pirated software is cheap or free, they have their own disadvantages. They cannot be updated online and there is no customer care service for them. Be it an OS like Windows XP or antivirus software like Norton or Quick Heal, they all need to be updated. Some people may be happy with older versions, but all are not. There is a section of pirated software users who use it because of ignorance and financial problems. 54 per cent of the people in our country are below 25 years of age, so 90 per cent of them do not earn their own living. When they do, should they buy a home, a car or legal software? People don’t buy software because they cannot! What if suddenly some technology like hardware integration is done which bars you from installing a pirated OS on your system like in the case of 900 series chipset motherboards from Intel, which does not install Windows 98? People are forced to use Windows XP (maybe pirated) and not all can suddenly switch over to Linux – human nature resists change. If you analyze the problem of piracy from a different point of view you will find that piracy may have created a huge army of potential customers who are training themselves to give a big boost to the software industry. Patience is the virtue.
– Lokesh
This is Ashok Gelal all the way from Nepal. I’m a Digit addict, and you can’t even imagine how much pain I take to get a copy of your magazine. The mag is not easily available in my locality, so have to rush to the Indian border, which takes about Rs 200 for travelling expenses only. Though your mag is good with the Fast Track being the best, I often have complaints regarding the CDs and DVDs. I always expect the special issue discs to be wrapped in a special case, but it couldn’t happen till date. The special issue discs are of great use but as they are not wrapped in a good case holder, they often get scratched very soon. All these cannot be excused this time. I was so excited to have a grab on the Sixth Anniversary Issue. The CD’s and DVD’s content looked promising, but I found both DVDs not working. Initially I thought my drive wasn’t reading the discs— take some notes here, the dual-layer discs given by other IT magazines run smoothly though—but after trying other drives, I concluded the discs were corrupted. After going through the forum, I found many other readers are also going through the same problem. One last query: are people really interested in watching Don? It would have been better if you had given some documentary movies or some Oscar non-English winners. My suggestion: don’t always turn your ear to your financial advisors, it can really ruin
– Ashok
So its “seven up” for you guys, and what a welcome! Congrats fellas. We swear by you even from this remote part of the nation (Nagaland). For a guy, who until three years ago used only MS Paint on the PC, it’s impossible to describe what Digit has done for me. Of course, I still have some complaints. When I say “remote part of nation,” I say that because I celebrated your seventh anniversary two weeks into this month, and it spoiled the fun. In another “marginally” minor issue, I hated the coloured margins on every page. I loved the new font spacing which was much better than the last anniversary issue—which was really cramped and unsorted. I still feel that the magazine lacks the slick feel of another international magazine that is available. That magazine presents the articles in a glossy iPhone-ish way, and dumbs down the content. Digit, however, feels plain (yet it is the most info-taining). For example, PC World (although a magazine for blondes) is visually more appealing, and some of and my ‘tech savvy’ pals buy it for that—I really pity them. No magazine reviews products as unbiasedly and comprehensively as Digit. About your DVD, I’d say that its really confusing to have software divided between two dics (CD and DVD).
Also your essentials section should include anti-virus updates. I would suggest that you convert the CD into an “Updates” disc. Can you organise a contest where the winner gets to go to the famous “Lamington Road” with Agent001? What I’d give to go there and see for myself all the “best buys” (if not buy them). The Tech Career articles are very helpful in creating awareness about alternate and lesser known career options. Your writers are certainly amongst the best and create the perfect blend of knowledge and fun. Even my severely tech illiterate sister Chinki loves to read articles by Nimish and Raaabo, and of course Digit Diary and Tabloid Tech. It was a pleasant change to see proper buying guides this time—unlike previous anniversaries, this time there were full blown reviews! I wish you luck for seventy more years!
– Bhupati
Happy Birthday Digit!! I bought your June Issue, and it rocks! I’m a newbie of sorts to Digit as I started reading it occasionally, only from December last year. But after your March issue, I’ve moved on from PC World to Digit, permanently. All your cover designs from April to June have been fantastic. Same for the CD and magazine content. The June issue has a letter written by some guy called ——– who gives you a lot of crap feedback. Don’t listen to him and continue the way you are. You guys are perfect and I bet that 99.9% of Digit readers will agree with me. Keep up the great job 🙂
– Saurya
Did you know that I may be one of the oldest subscribers of Digit? That’s right, I’ve been a reader of the magazine from Day One. Now here’s another surprise – I am aged 76 and a graphic designer! So I may very well be the oldest subscriber in the literal sense too. I am into graphic designing just for the love of the art, and not so much for the money. If and when some one approaches me I just do it for the love of it. I now know about 11 applications thoroughly. All on my own. Digit helped me a lot in this technical
navigation. I don’t have words to say anything to Digit except to say wish you all the best for having taken an old fellow like me on the journey. An old fellow who can compete with any youngsters. I am also a childhood photographer and artist. But for Digit I cannot be what I am now. Thank you.
– Vidhasagar
I have been buying Digit since 1998. I used to choose between Digit and other magazines depending on who had the most hardware coverage. But lately I decided to go steady with Digit as you published the Zeitgeist, not once, but twice. That decision could not have been a mistake. This month, the article on the Venus Project made me sit up and forced me to send this message to you. Zeitgeist Part 1 was okay. It seems to me that the powers that be, contacted the producers, twisted their arms, and forced them to create a Part 2, the Zeitgeist Addendum. If the 9/11 attacks were part of a plan for a global government (or dictatorship), then the bogus resource-based economy model also calls for a global government. There has to be somebody who will implement this model on all humanity. If all resources belong to everyone, then how is it different from Communism, which was like Fascism, a movement funded by Wall Street globalists? The makers of Zeitgeist have been co-opted. They are compromised. They are not the same fearless bunch they were when they created Part 1. Your writer did the correct thing by asking a JNU professor and bringing some balance into the article. The article did seem out of place in a tech publication but I wouldn’t question your right to publish it. If you are in the market for advocacy, I recommend putting the No Agenda Show podcasts by tech columnist John C Dvorak and former MTV VJ Adam Curry. Although, I have some doubts about them too, it was from their podcasts that I learned that a lot of our vaccines today have mercury and that the WHO was also trying to use Aluminium if mercury was banned as a preservative.
– Subhash
I have been a subscriber of Digit since its inception. I have seen the magazine grow. After reading your July 2012 issue, an idea popped in my head. Just as in your July issue, where you have tested several Z77 Motherboards for Intel Processors, can’t you give such test/comparison of several AMD processor supported Motherboards? I also want to suggest you to kindly provide one or two columns ( or rather rows ) and specify which processors or range of processors that particular Motherboard supports and which it doesn’t. Please provide price tag separation as up to Rs 10,000, up to Rs 20,000 and above Rs 20,000. Please also provide whether the particular Motherboard has inbuilt video or not. Also, provide a comparison test for popular and latest graphics cards for both Intel and AMD platforms. And last but not the least, in the “Price Watch” part of the “Street Smart” section please always provide both Intel and AMD rig suggestion along with graphics cards, monitors, hard disks, RAMs, DVD Writers, among other things. I think you will agree with me that if these are included in Digit then it will be much more complete and will attract much more readers than today.
– Roubhya
I know you guys read every mail, and I don’t want to take up your time, so I’m including two versions.
Tl;dr:
– That tape! My favourite pastime is peeling the tape carefully off Digit magazines!
– Those DVDs! I love the way those DVDs are taped on to the magazine so I can almost break them!
– That Fast Track! I love how I almost tear off the entire cover page from Fast Track while removing the tape!
… Said no one ever.
– Digit is the best! For every one thing they do wrong, there are 10 things they do right.
– There’s no other magazine like Digit!
– I like the articles in Digit! No other magazine does their research so well!
… Said a lot of people.
Normal version:
In case you’ve not read the intro and skipped to this part, read this first, I know I have your time and attention. I’ve been a reader of Digit since you guys started the magazine. But seriously guys, that tape. You’ve GOT to do something about it. I mean, I know you can’t just go ahead and use glue. That would be too sticky. But I almost tore off the Fast Track to Embedded Systems.It now reads Fast Track to Systems. The ‘Embedded’ part tore off. I suggest putting the Fast Track inside the main magazine, and putting DVD sleeves at the end of the magazine, and making the whole plastic packaging smaller and more compact. I know that people have
a tendency to show off their contents, and you’ve certainly earned that right. But you could continue to do that on a smaller plastic cover as well. And hey, it’s good for the environment too! I know you listen to people. Your website shows that. It’s brilliant, as compared to the thinkdigit.com a year ago. (I miss CTC, by the way. Specifically, the first edition, where you had to flip through the mag as well.)
With a user base of readers who are dedicated to Digit, feel free to experiment. I can’t really say about the others, but I certainly wouldn’t mind. We’re a population used to change. We’re the youth. We’ll BRING the change. (Okay, that sounds like a political party’s agenda). I know you’re trying to keep it as cheap as possible for us, but since we already pay 150 bucks, you could make it 160 and do something about the tape. But seriously, 12 years is a long way to come, both for you as editors/publishers and us as readers. Congratulations, not just to you, but to all the other readers too. I’m glad we’ve had this little relationship together. And I’ll continue to purchase your magazines, no matter what. I’ve never subscribed since I’ve been a school student and my parents didn’t approve of me reading Digit. They were concerned that I’d get too engrossed and miss out on studies. Never happened though, and I got into a good college.) If there’s any way I can help out, let me know. I know my stuff with websites. You can check out my portfolio at http://xzhibit.com/portfolio. php. Best of luck for the future!
– Aditya
I have been reading Digit since, well since before it was called Digit. I am a proud subscriber for many years. It was and still always is, a good source of latest tech info, in an easily palatable language to even a non-technical enthusiast. It is a guide, a mentor and a great adviser. So far, like a classroom in a typical Indian institute, the flow of information was one way, from Digit to the reader. We took in every word as a gospel truth and Digit never lead us astray. But I have notices a change from October 2013 issue. It may have started earlier but I have noticed it in October. The tone of Digit is now more like a good teacher. Now it does not provide data in a spoonful, instead, it provides guidelines, which makes the reader think. One example will be the selection of any tech product. Like “Buy Smart” article in the October 14 issue: it does not recommend a particular product, but eggs on the reader to think what he needs more than what he or she “WANTS” Of course, Robert in his editorial states clearly that ‘ ..We really want …India to ask the right questions,… every buyer to be able to make up his or her own mind…’ But it took me to realize it after a few more issues. This is more relevant now because, most of the (Digit) readers are gaining more tech savvy, are more well read and knowledgeable, at
least partially thanks to Digit, and have a vast knowledge bank at the fingertips in the form of the internet. So now it is not a magazine for the dummies, but for the thinking minds. Keep up the good work.
– Anirudha
You guys are really awesome. This is my first mail to you, so let me tell you how I got to you. You might find it strange, but the magazine has changed me completely. I’ve been a tech kid since I was very little, probably from Class 4. I completed learning MS Office & all essentials of computing through courses. When I was in Class 8, I joined Hardware & Networking course of 2 months for Rs. 750 in summer vacation. But my school started & I couldn’t manage the last 10-15 days of course. Although I insisted that the trainer change the timings, they avoided me since I was young, thinking they wouldn’t be able to handle me. One day in our lab, a few books were lying on my table. Out of intense desire for revenge, I somehow managed to pick one and left the course the same day. The book I picked was Digit! I thought I’d found a substitute, but in fact, it was something more than I deserved. Being of average middle class background, I couldn’t afford to buy editions for Rs 200, but still managed to read them from libraries, etc. Today, days have changed. Though I’m in the third year of MBBS, I still buy the magazine with the enthusiasm of a little boy. I’ve become a tech expert and most of my friends & family consult me for tech advice. Few friends who borrowed many old issues haven’t yet returned them to me. You guys are fabulous and have proved that knowledge is contagious. I like most articles by Robert, as they are very intriguing. He’s truly insane. I’m very pleased to have all Fast Track PDFs given in the previous issue. Thanks for that. Just out of curiosity, I have a request: Will you guys show us how a Digit is crafted and delivered − right from conceptualisation of cover stories to testing of products, printing and online order placement and delivery, just like in mega factories? I’m very interested in that. I know you guys still make a lot of from advertisements, but frankly, I’m still attracted to the magazine and constantly (and subconsciously) stare at the right-hand-side pages.
As for suggestions, I know you guys are already aware of your areas of improvement and always try to bring the best of technology to us. Yet sometimes, there’s a problem with the payment gateway during online orders. Please look into it.
One of my friends used to say, “There cannot be something better than the best”, and it’s the same in your case. Thanks a lot and keep rocking!
– Parag
Dear Sir, I am a scientist at Regional Remote Sensing Centre – West, a unit of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in Rajasthan. I am an ardent reader of Digit ever since my college days and have ensured that our office library has a regular supply of Digit over the past decade. Our centre conducts summer training for students of local Engineering colleges every year. This year we have received a fair number of students from Electronics related branches and I have thought of a project (being taken up by multiple groups) that entails the use of Arduino. I even created a forum for discussing the projects and it can be seen at: http://rrscw.nrsc.gov.in/TrainingForum Unsurprisingly, I found that the best introduction to Arduino has been in the FastTrack to Arduino For Everyone published by Digit as FastTrack Volume 09, Issue 12 (December 2014). I have a hard copy of the issue on my desk right now and would love to share it with my students. I was delighted to note that the DVD with the June 2016 issue of Digit had digital copies of the FastTrack, but was disappointed to note that it was just for the past 15 months and I missed the issue that I needed. I even purchased a digital copy of it on readwhere.com but was again disappointed that I could not download it as an offline file. Therefore, I would like to request you to send me a digital copy of the aforementioned FastTrack and grant me permission to share it with my students so that they benefit from it. I promise to make sure that it is acknowledged on the forum as well as in the reports that make use of the book. Looking forward to a quick and positive response. Yours sincerely,
– Gaurav
Please don’t make Digit magazine into a science magazine. It used to be fully about PCs, let it be that way. Some sections (tips and tricks, Q&A) have been stopped, please do start them again. Please do add articles on:
* HDD Repair or where it can be done (Because many stores/people claim to do it but in reality are of no use)
* Win 7/10 OS problems/tips&tricks, and Internet broadband comparisons
* Digital payments apps comparisons
* Password manager comparisons
* Going totally digital (money/c-d cards/id proofs/shopping): its safety and preventive measures
* CCTV cameras at home: secure your home
* Internet security tools
* Computer hardware articles
* GPS tracking of your car like ola/uber
* Blu Ray player reviews
And for mag, a “suggested top 5 free softwares” list, from various categories (editing, music, network tools etc). Hope you like some of the suggestions and implement them in future issues.
– Neil
Hey Team Digit, It has now been a year since I have been reading your magazine. I fell in love with the magazine when I first read it at a magazine stall on a Railway Station in the year 2016. Since then I have been a constant reader of the magazine. First of all, the best thing you guys did was Adding both Car and Game poster. I have two separate rooms where I stick them on the walls and I have around 12 of the games and 3 of the cars. The games poster room looks amazing all thanks to you guys. 🙂
Second, When I completed the MOD Everything edition I was like ‘Thank God I did not build my rig yet’ and next thing I was doing was reading the Ultimate Buyers Guide and working my way out to get the best part for my new rig. The guide was really great to the point, had easy language and used the correct terminology for everything which made everything clear as glass.
Third, the dmystify are always legendary I don’t have the correct word to express them. Fastrack was also good and it happened that my friend called me the day I got the magazine and he wanted to install custom ROM on his old Samsung Galaxy phone. I told him about the magazine and in the next few hours we were busy discussing it.
Fourth, there are few points where the magazine can improve. There were few words in my buying guide that were not visible or not printed correctly. I know it’s not your mistake but just look out for the errors in printing and improve. Next, is humor, you guys were funny AF when I started out reading the magazine but the slope really went down after that edition.
Fifth, I think you guys could add a fact section and this month’s tech news section. I have been working on my rig and I have a budget of ₹1.5 lakh (Saving sine last 4 years) I have already got up with the monitor, HDD, keyboard, and mouse. It’s a gaming + workstation build. I’d love to have your expert advice on it. I found all the editions before that on the archive. I want to be roboticist and I believe one should have known not only in his field but, also in almost all fields. Waiting for more awesome stuff from you guys and keep that spirit up. Readers are the true soul of a magazine and in the way you guys are successful in pleasing the readers, I believe that I’ll be still reading Digit when I am in my 90s. Though I am only 16 now :P. “May you live long and prosper.” (Star Trek guys will know).
– Mudit
Want to read more of our exciting anniversary-special lister articles about all things tech, science, culture, and alt? Head over to store.digit.in and get yourself the Digit Anniversary Special issue (June ‘19) which has 18 more rousing articles and much more.