Have we got news for you

You asked for it, and now we've delivered. This week sees the debutof the restyled Computing - dedicated to carrying more news and analysisthan ever before.

As part of the redesign of Computing, we have undertaken what we believe was the largest single-issue research programme ever mounted by an IT publication in the UK.

Question and answer sessions with more than 1,000 readers, in-depth reader discussion groups, 12 months of analysis, and painstaking trial and error testing of dozens of new commentators, illustrators, photographers and designers have been carried out.

All with one objective - to better serve our readers.

After a quarter of a century of continuous publication, Computing sits atop one of the world's toughest markets for IT news? For most of you, Computing is an old friend, a constantly reliable source of news and analysis.

But as you reminded us, improvement is always possible.

We believe the new Computing offers you more value than ever before.

Below we offer a 10-point guide to your verdicts - and explain the solutions we developed to serve you better.

1. We want news

You rated our news coverage higher than our nearest rival - but told us that you thought we ran fewer news stories. In fact, old Computing delivered an average of 20-30% more news on each page than its nearest rival.

But our pages were too densely packed, you said. Hence the lay-out you see today - it's clean, open and much easier to read. Of course, we are committed to delivering more news than any of our rivals, and to this we add another key strength. Computing is part of the only UK IT publisher to operate a wholly owned own 24-hour worldwide IT news service. It's called VNU Newswire - watch out for its top-notch reporting on our pages.

2. Give us productive reading

Computing's 115,000 readers are interested in most things under the sun - but not always the same things. So we have organised our pages to guide you to a better selection of stories.

On the newspaper's front page, a new guide to contents allows you to select the articles you're interested in right from the moment you start reading. Our news pages will frequently carry trailers for features. You'll also find signposting throughout the publication. Above all, our new menu devices on the news pages flag up our core areas of coverage including desktop, internetworking, telecoms, mid-range systems, mainframes and databases.

3. Trend-spotting, please!

Our up-to-the minute news is great, you told us, but in a fast-moving industry, information on the latest trends is all-important. In response, the new Computing has shifted some of its analysis of trends towards the hard news on the front pages.

Over the coming weeks, we will introduce a new look British Computer Society page, dedicated to teasing out that organisation's many innovations and initiatives.

Watch out too for the introduction of Computing Intelligence.

Many other newspapers and magazines reproduce second-hand research and pretend it is exclusive. Only Computing Intelligence - the result of major research investment - will deliver exclusive weekly surveys of IT managers' investment intentions.

4. We want a serious read

Glossy titles, you told us, fall apart awkwardly at the staples. Slick paper, you added, was often hard to read. In any case, it was the sign of a lightweight lifestyle title, rather than a serious business newspaper.

Our response was simple. We got advice from one of the UK's foremost newspaper designers - David Hillman of the Pentagram partnership - and he developed a publication with all the look and feel of a newspaper.

5. More picture power, please. You applauded our use of illustrations, felt comfortable with our use of photographs, but criticised us over graphics - charts, tables and pictograms. Over time, we promise to improve our performance in this area.

And because a good picture is worth a thousand words, we have invested heavily in providing you with pictures as an integrated part of the news. Watch this space.

6. Number one for careers

You rated Computing best for identifying career opportunities and for coverage of training issues.

The re- vamped Computing builds on these strengths. We now have a senior editor dedicated to coverage of professional issues. Centred around our Jobwatch column, the revamped Professional section carries more hard data than ever before.

Using new figures, we have developed the All-IT Jobs Index, which measures the IT jobs market in the same way that the Footsie-100 tracks the health of corporate UK. Want to know when the best time to look for a new job is? Then use our index every week to track the number of job vacancies on the market.

7. Computing is authoritative. We thought long and hard about the new opinion-editorial spread which debuts this week.

We believe that a leading IT newspaper should clearly define its position on important issues. Hence our new three-page space, which offers readers a place to sound off about their concerns, a look at Computing reports from yesteryear and a digest of world IT news.

Each week, award-winning illustrator Peter Till will provide the visual focal point of the pages. The liveliest letters column around will continue to chronicle the life and times of IT departments nationwide.

8. We want more user stories

On our new easy-to-read features pages, you told us you wanted to hear more about the issues other IT departments are having to deal with.

Computing's features will continue to bring you the latest in new technology and interviews with the industry's top figures. But, above all, the content will be aimed squarely at what IT managers are interested in - from salary trends and coverage of user group meetings, through to supplier issues and staff management.

9. New improved Backbytes

Backbytes has a pedigree second to none. (Our only real competitor is Mole, who writes excellently for our sister publication PC Week. But he's a relative newcomer.) Backbytes now has a new editor in the driving seat.

Sorry - we can't identify him for fear of reprisals, but we can promise a column that's sharper and wittier.

Our ever-popular crossword remains in place. If gossip is your forte, we'll be offering regular prizes of bubbly for the best leak or contribution of the week, which should reduce the temptation to suffer in silence.

Want to know how to behave really badly? Then watch out for the outrageous thoughts of Vincent Wong, the IT manager who dreams big dreams, but couldn't pro-ject manage his way out of a paper bag. He's the boss you'll all love to hate.

10. Dilbert

Last but not least, there's Dilbert. The world's best-loved IT cartoon strip appears in Computing this week and every week. Just like it was meant to be.