Editorial: August 15, 1996

Eleven years ago, I left engineering to join EDN. I had read EDN since high school, spending Saturdays in the Louisville Free Public Library's periodical room where I could peruse back issues. I continued to read EDN in college at the school library, and, when I started working as a design engineer, I got my own subscription. I still have old articles clipped or photocopied from EDN that helped me understand some of the more complex elements of design. In all, I spent 15 years reading EDN.

Then, I crossed to the other side of the page and started writing for EDN.

I've spent the last 11 years working with the rest of EDN's staff to bring you the information you most need to do a better job of designing products. It's every publication's job to filter the raw morass of information out there into what the readers need. I've been especially proud to work on EDN, because the magazine's technical content is high. We are fanatically focused on the design community's information needs, and our filters are especially strong. We try hard to keep out the baloney.

Now, I've decided to cross back to the other side of the page. I am leaving EDN to join a new company as its chief technology officer. My years of exposure to new companies, new technologies, and the industry's brightest thinkers have given me the knowledge I need to make this move.

Before I leave EDN, I wanted to take one last opportunity to thank all of the people who took part in my training program. There are three groups of teachers to thank. The first group is the EDN staff. From the editorial side, I learned how to write, how to interview, and how to separate the real information from the baloney. From the sales side, I learned how to call on companies and how to represent myself and my company.

The second group I need to thank is the vendor community. Many people in technology, marketing, and management positions spent hours teaching me about the latest and future electronic technologies and about the marketing side of high technology. The vendors also taught me the many good and bad ways of running a high-tech company.

Finally, I want to thank all of you readers. Your feedback has done more to help EDN stay on top of the heap than any other force in the industry. Because EDN serves you, it can accomplish that task only if the staff knows what you need. So, please keep those cards and letters coming, and visit EDN on the Internet.

My replacement is already in the wings. He is Mike Markowitz. Mike worked for EDN as its EDA editor and left the United States for Hong Kong three years ago to become the founding editor in chief of EDN Asia. He now returns to EDN as its editor in chief. His arrival makes my departure all that much easier for me, and I hope you will welcome him home.

Once again, thanks to all of you. It's been a grand ride and I wish all of you the best.

PS: If you ever read that EDN is looking for a design engineer to cross to the other side of the page, I recommend that you throw caution to the wind and take the chance.

Steven H. Leibson
Editor in Chief