Daily Spin: Welcome to the new NWC.com

CONVERSATION STARTER

Welcome to the redesigned NetworkComputing.com. Starting today, the site kicks off a fresh, new look that supports an array of new content designed specifically for NWC's technology leader audience. The redesign and new online content support NWC's unique approach to producing reviews, features and analysis "For IT, By IT."

Our redesign centers around Network Computing's "tech editors" and the expert content they deliver everyday on NetworkComputing.com. Unlike editors from competitive publications, all of our tech editors come to their job with significant IT industry experience. The level of analysis, testing and review of IT products and solutions they provide is unmatched.NWC's editors are producing a slew of content for the newly-redesigned NetworkComputing.com, including providing unprecedented access to NWC's Real World Labs and testing activities via original, online-only reviews, video programming, podcasts, interactive tools and more.

The redesign features eight new technology channels. These channel pages, hosted by Network Computing's tech editors and accessible via the home page channel guide, are hand-crafted to represent the very best content NWC has to offer. A prominent "project checklist" helps readers make use of the channel content to help their own projects.

The eight NWC channels are:

• Network Infrastructure• Application Infrastructure• Network & Systems Management• Messaging & Collaboration • Storage and Servers

• Security • Wireless • Enterprise Applications In addition, each NWC Channel includes a number of technology "sub-channels" that allow readers to drill in on precisely the IT technologies or products they are looking for.

Network Computing editors are already delivering an array of multimedia content -- and that effort will only increase on the new NWC.com. Look for more podcasts, like NWC Security on the Go; new video segments, such as our recent video-casts from the CES show; and new screen-casts, that help readers understand technology by showing them it in action.

Also notable is the new NWC.com's increasingly tight integration with NetworkComputingReports.com, where readers can download free PDF-formatted versions of all of our major reviews, analysis and feature stories.

Finally, don't forget to check back to the NWC.com home page every day, for an entirely new feature -- the Daily Spin, the very page you are reading right now -- which will feature daily conversation starter columns, insightful analysis of the days top IT and networking news, reports from our tech editors hard at work in NWC Labs and a lot more, including regular interaction and contributions from you, the NWC.com reader.

And before signing off I just wanted to introduce myself, Rich Karpinski, NWC.com's online editor. I'll be manning this Daily Spin page and working hard here and elsewhere on the new NWC.com to bring you unprecedented access to and insights from the NWC Labs.Thanks, and hope to see you back here again tomorrow ; >

FROM THE NWC LABS

The new NWC.com provides a window into NWC's Real World Labs to allow readers to follow major NWC testing activities "from conception to completion."

Major comparative reviews conducted by NWC's tech editors will get their own "micro-site" that will track the intensive lab testing activities, including:

•Project Kick-off:- Test description, testing schedule, test plan, vendor invitation and other launch activities.- Interactive reader e-polls- Online forum for generating up-front reader questions on the topic.

•Testing: - "From the "Labs" blog postings that update testing progress

- Online posting of select e-poll reader research results

•Publication and Post-Test:- The story is published in NWC print issue, accompanied by an array of online only extras, including:

- Online only versions of single product reviews- Interactive graphics, including the NWC Interactive Report Card - Full vendor lists- Full e-poll research survey results- NWC FastTrack podcasts and webcasts (interactive presentations for rapid insight into results)- Free PDF downloads of results at NetworkComputingReports.com- In some cases, related NWC Road Show events featuring tech editors

We are kicking off this new approach to NWC.com reviews with the the rolling reviews treatment Lori MacVittie's upcoming story on Enterprise Service Bus products, scheduled for publication later in March.

We aim to provide deeper and more useful access to our tech editors and their lab work as we evolve this exciting new feature.