Open source news site Tectonic.co.za is launching a print version in SA.
The monthly publication, Tectonic Magazine, will be launched in March, carrying open source and Gnu/Linux news.
Editor and Tectonic.co.za founder Alastair Otter says there has been "phenomenal growth in interest" in free and open source software. He launched his site as a hobby four years ago and it now has over 20 000 readers a month.
"My partner Jason Norwood-Young and I came to realise there was a growing readership that was not catered for by the existing IT print publication market. Magazines that cater exclusively for the Linux and open source community are imported and typically cost more than R100 each," says Otter.
With the open source software market at a "critical level", it is the perfect time to launch a new voice for the community, believes Norwood-Young.
"The market is just starting to take off, with critical mass expected within the next two years. Thanks to committed marketing from the likes of the Shuttleworth Foundation, Novell, IBM and others, open source is achieving a great deal of mind-share in the South African market. Open source tools have moved from the developer space to focus on the end-user`s needs almost overnight," says Norwood-Young. "Alastair and I think that we are at the edge of an all-encompassing change in computing."
Otter says the magazine will be an extension of the existing Web site rather than a replacement. The online medium is ideal for news-type publications like Tectonic.co.za, he notes, while a print version lends itself to feature-oriented content.
The move does not indicate a loss of faith in online media, says Otter. "If anything, it is a positive indicator for online media. It is because of the online medium that Tectonic.co.za was able to build up a readership, which puts us in a strong position for the launch of this magazine."
A preview edition of the magazine will be made available electronically to subscribers later this month. The magazine will be a full colour A4 publication and will initially be available only through subscription.
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