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Ian Cutress leaves Anandtech
- ksec 5y agoOh no. I have long suspected this will happen Anandtech seems to have trouble getting editor to stay. And people are either leaving or becoming freelance. Andrei left not long ago. I am not even sure if they have a full time editor any more. I think he is going to spend a lot more time on his Youtube Channel. OR,a possible scenario.... Would he be joining STH? I know he sometimes comes to HN :) >and all I’ve wanted to do is lash out! I am glad I am not the only one. And that is why I enjoy Anandtech and Ians writing so much. To educate the reader instead of being mislead by marketing and sloppy journalism that are only here for clicks.
- ethbr0 5y agoGood review sites suffer the same problem as government: from a financial standpoint, you cannot afford to pay people competitively vs their alternatives, for the skills you really want. So it becomes a labor of love. But that only goes so far, for so long. IMHO, in an industry like that, you have to be honest about what you're bringing to the table for employees in lieu of compensation: an opportunity for increased name recognition and networking in a public role, and the fun of being a public face! But! You also have to continually deepen the bench with new prospects, because you know you're going to be continually hemorrhaging top tier talent to job switching. Credit to AnandTech that people stay for as long as they do. 10+ years is damned impressive!
- Ataraxic 5y agoI remember joining the anandtech forums in the very early 2000's. I'm continually surprised how great a resource it's remained for over 20 years now. Certainly impressive!
- ghaff 5y agoJournalism is one particular problem. I expect most halfway decent tech journalists could head to many tech companies to do content marketing and make a lot more money--though they might well find the work less interesting. Arguably, pay disparities in the industry exist more broadly even if you just restrict the conversation to developers/engineers. I suspect that the big tech companies are sucking a lot of the oxygen out of the room at least in the US. Some people may not want to work for those companies and others, whether because of lack of skill, poor interviewing, or just bad luck, can't get an offer. But if someone can get in, it will be hard for a lot of other companies to match the comp.
- erosenbe0 5y agoBig tech SWE interviews seem to be just tests that are very poorly administered. With practice and some luck a large segment of the developer population can pass within a few years of really diligent effort. Some need a lot more practice than others though. I don't know why they don't just administer real tests. Probably some kind of demographic or legal nightmare?
- ghaff 5y agoWell, for one thing, if it's a standardized test, it will be leaked even if there are a few different versions. "A few years of really diligent work" also seems a pretty high bar to improve odds of getting a job at a handful of companies.
- erosenbe0 5y agoSame techniques apply to many companies. And two hours a night for two years to get 100k in stock options that few can offer sounds like a good deal to me and many others.
- creato 5y agoIf people are spending a few years to prepare, that’s probably enough time to self educate to actual competence.
- seltzered_ 5y agoPerhaps there's just different waves of 'good review' organizations in the space? I feel like the newer wave might be the youtuber realm of things, where things like Linus Tech Tips recently announced an expansion seeking industry professionals: https://youtu.be/pt3-6BsWlPk?t=669 https://youtu.be/pt3-6BsWlPk?t=669
- Symmetry 5y agoI thought this was spot on so I quoted it, with credit, at the /r/hardware discussion. https://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/comments/svk7m4/dr_ian_cutress_leaves_anandtech_from_there_to/hxh9gzy/ https://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/comments/svk7m4/dr_ian_cut...
- AlphaSite 5y agoI know LTT is also starting a lab and talked about getting certain folks to join his team…
- EtienneK 5y agoThis was my 1st thought as well. Also, Linus said “think I can’t afford you? Try me”.
- szundi 5y agoThis may change later when he might realize (hop not) that these guys don't return enough on investment. But maybe LLT is the one who will be popular enough, who knows.
- d3nj4l 5y agoI think LTT has mostly figured out a sustainable model: 1. Make low(er) budget videos regularly that may not earn you a ton but keep the algorithm happy and the money flowing. 2. Every now and then, make a few high-budget videos that "pop", which expands your audience and keeps the regulars hooked. If you check their channel right now, most of the daily videos are kind of boring/stupid YouTube bait - I even stopped watching their channel because of that! But if you check back every month, there's maybe two-three videos that are genuinely unique or interesting. So I think LTT wouldn't care about RoI from an expensive hire on a per-video/per-view basis - it would be worth it for them if they could use that hire to build a captive audience to watch their cheaper video.
- sidkshatriya 5y ago> I have long suspected this will happen Anandtech seems to have trouble getting editor to stay Wasn’t Ian associated with Anandtech for 10 years? That seems like a long enough in today’s world. Also please note that working for Anandtech gives you a lot of profile and publicity. Other people in the industry may want to snap you up!
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- munificent 5y ago> Anandtech seems to have trouble getting editor to stay. I don't think we should necessarily celebrate people continuing to do the same thing over a long period of time. Humans like to grow and experience a variety of things. Change is good. You have 11 lifetimes: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2012-09-02 https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2012-09-02
- ghaff 5y agoPerhaps but 1.) People can grow and change within a single organization, especially given that they're not spending a lot of time to learn a new place and 2.) We also shouldn't celebrate people because they jump around every 18 months when something isn't going quite their way or they've gotten bored.
- munificent 5y agoSure but in this case, the person was there 10 years, so (2) doesn't seem to apply.
- ghaff 5y agoOh certainly, 10 years is a very respectable tenure with an organization. That's been around the point where, at a couple of prior jobs, I was definitely ready to move on.
- mastazi 5y agomy biological clock seems to be 4 or 5 years max in an organisation and about 10 years max in a given career (sw development is my third "career" so to speak, what I did before was completely unrelated; I'm already planning the next endeavour which is only tangentially related to "tech")
- bonyt 5y agoI wonder if he's going to LTT's labs venture? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt3-6BsWlPk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt3-6BsWlPk
- schnebbau 5y agoLots of people replying to this comment without actually watching the video or understanding what LTT Labs is. LTT Labs is their attempt at producing more investigative and informative content that is less rooted in entertainment like their main channels are.
- thereddaikon 5y agoThat was my first thought. Linus has hinted heavily about industry veterans applying. I wonder if Ian is one of them.
- ChuckNorris89 5y agoThat was my first thought too. LTT has gotten really big and Linus now has the money to pay for top editors and he's been bantering with Dr. Cutress for a long time. It's kinda sad to watch all the big name editorials I used to read as a teenager like Anandtech and Toms Hardware lost their spark and are withering away, and LTT is now becoming the tech review juggernaut.
- geerlingguy 5y agoThe key question is the balance between advertising revenue and editorial independence. LTT seems to be walking that tightrope a lot more than some other outlets do, but IMO I'd rather see someone like GN take up the mantle from Anandtech... alas it seems like they often cater more towards gaming/enthusiast PCs in their work and aren't as broad as an LTT or Anandtech in their coverage. I hope there will always be a place for Anandtech's and Tom's Hardwares in this world, though. Text content with decent illustrations can't be adequately replaced by video.
- wheybags 5y agoThe problem is that GNs videos are often kinda long and boring. If i just want to know what's going on, I will watch an ltt video. I only watch GN videos when I'm making a purchasing decision.
- PragmaticPulp 5y agoSad to see him go, although not entirely surprising. The site has had minimal updates and very few interesting articles for a while. Ian’s articles were fantastic every time they came out, though. Hopefully his next venture allows him to continue doing the same work in another venue.
- wronglebowski 5y agoSeconded, they seem to be getting less press samples or have less manpower to write articles. I don't even think there's more than two or three people working there anymore.
- geerlingguy 5y agoFYI Ian has his own YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/TechTechPotato https://youtube.com/c/TechTechPotato
- pxeger1 5y agoSteve from GamersNexus said a few weeks ago he might have just managed to catch "a big fish" in hiring...
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- tom-thistime 5y agoMaybe he'll get Joy Division back together again.
- aucontraire 5y agoWhere should one go now to get gory details in layman terms of new CPU:s? Ian is my favourite CPU journalist. That insistence on reminding everyone, all the time, that he has a doctorate is seriously awkward, though.
- CoastalCoder 5y agoThe "Gary Explains" channel on YouTube is pretty good imo. Not 100% the same topics, but still informative.
- ksec 5y ago>That insistence on reminding everyone, all the time, that he has a doctorate is seriously awkward, though. He didn't even use it until fairly recently. In the past 3-4 years? I think he had his doctorate even before he joined Anandtech. He only started using it because people were asking him why he didn't put his Dr. in his title. And it means a lot in different context. Basically it could be used as the biggest middle finger to marketing and PR department to STFU and get a proper engineer to talk to me. Especially in the context of foundry where his research was on Electrochemistry.
- IanCutress 5y agoI'd add that aside from my byline on AT, the only other places I have the Dr. is on Twitter, and on my business card. Everyone else introduces me that way. If they ask how to introduce me, I say whatever works best. For some reason people equate this to me shoving it down their throats. There was a big reddit thread about it recently.
- ghaff 5y agoIt's something about which some people have very strong opinions in both directions. I do not have a strong opinion personally.
- wilsonjholmes 5y agoMight be a little bit of a rediculous request, but do you have an image of your buisness card? I have begun to create my own, and I am wondering what others' in tech look like.
- vbphprubyjsgo 5y agoIsn't that just a techspam website? I only read their monitor reviews and they were all wrong.
- georgeburdell 5y agoNot unexpected. He’s been building his own brand (TechTechPotato) on YouTube for a while.
- jpgvm 5y agoIan if you come by HN and see this I would like to say thanks for all the amazing content over the years. Tech needs quality journalists and you are one of the greatest we have ever had. I hope you land somewhere where you can continue to output such great stuff.
- IanCutress 5y agoThanks :)
- trynumber9 5y agoAndrei, who did a lot of the measurements in their CPU reviews, left a few months ago. Now with Ian gone it is likely the end of Anandtech. But I'm impressed it managed to make it past Anand's departure.
- uluyol 5y agoThey adapted after Anand and Brian Klug left, so hopefully they can do it again.
- mensetmanusman 5y agoTechnology Journalism is interesting, because those most qualified would almost always be taking a huge pay cut to contribute. Those technologists that work in a field of interest only publish in illegible patent speak or keep trade secrets.
- blowski 5y agoDon’t remember who said it but “technology writers either know about technology or writing, rarely both”.
- IanCutress 5y agoYou either teach an engineer to write, or a journalist about engineering. One is significantly harder than the other.
- bavell 5y agoRIP Anandtech. It was the first tech news site I followed as a teen and got me into hardware, letting me peer behind the curtain of these mysterious machines we all use. Probably responsible for me choosing computer engineering in university. Many good memories of flashes of insight, wonder and amazement. Haven't been frequenting the site as much since Anand left and I felt the site's days were numbered. They still had good content coming out but with Ian leaving, I think most (all?) of the old guard has left and this is probably the final nail in the coffin.
- uluyol 5y agoI've always enjoyed Ryan Smith's articles, but I think he's been busy with other duties since taking over. I have noticed that the quality of work coming from their junior writers improves over time. I mean just look at Ian. I always enjoyed his writing, but in the past few years it has gotten really really good and he's expanded to doing many Q&As and interviews (where you know, he actually asks interesting and tough questions).
- awiesenhofer 5y agoDon't count them out just yet - they still got Billy Tallis excellently covering the storage side of things. At least I think they do, haven't seen much of him in a while.
- IanCutress 5y agoBilly left in the middle of last year
- awiesenhofer 5y agoDamn, now I'm getting pessimistic as well. Thank you for the clarification!
- Rafuino 5y agoLet's hope Tech Tech Potato continues!
- IanCutress 5y agoPfft I didn't expect this to be HN worthy, but y'all are amazing I'll still be around, doing my YouTube channel on tickover before other ventures are ready. Just need to square some things away, and I'll probably announce via Twitter next week. Anything input always welcome!
- nraford 5y agoJust to say that this is probably one of the best written, most thoughtful, caring and lovely "exit articles" that I've ever read! Well done and I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing you all the best.
- CyanBird 5y agoLooking forward to your future adventures! I guess we all already can take a guess at where you might end up haha Cheers!
- sydthrowaway 5y agoAre you going to join FAANG?
- toiletfuneral 5y ago
- dilippkumar 5y agoRegular reader here. Good luck on your future ventures! If you are going to continue to participate in written content on the internet, please remember that RSS is not dead and there are many of us who consume content exclusively via RSS. My 2 cents :-)
- ribit 5y agoAnandtech has been one of my primary sources for quality tech journalism and unbiased reviews, mostly thanks to the works of Ian and Andrei. In the industry where folks report the TDP as actual power consumption these guys were true beacons of knowledge. Their articles will be sorely missed.
- Katydid 5y agoCheers to the best in the business, here's wishing Ian incredible success. Thanks for so much great reporting and analysis over the years. Few understand how challenging such a job is, having your daily work product (which has to balance technical depth and reader appeal) on stage for the world to grill, year in and out. Ian nailed it with depth, energy, and humor. Can't wait to see what's next from the good Dr. Cutress. - N
- awill 5y agoI feel AT is great for enthusiasts. I want them to become more mainstream, as their reviews are so much better than generic tech sites, but they need a better balance. They sometimes release iPhone, Galaxy or Pixel reviews weeks or even months after launch. Just look at Youtube, and impact on views from being first with a review. Reviews that arrive weeks after a product launch don't have mass-market appeal. AT either doesn't understand the market, or is understaffed. I get a thorough review can't come out on day one, but they need to get something out. Maybe a first look with some opinions, followed by a more thorough review a week later.
- IanCutress 5y agoSimply understaffed. Since I've been full time, we've only ever had two full time employees. Also, Samsung doesn't sample AnandTech.
- awill 5y agoInteresting. Is that because you caught them benchmark cheating? :)
- IanCutress 5y agoThat and the constant Exynos vs Snapdragon articles with industry benchmarks that showed the Snapdragon ahead.
- kapilvt 5y agoI appreciate so much two folks in tech reporting Ian and Jon (Corbet at lwn.net), over the last decade they have both put out so much content, that frankly pulls the behind the layers to make them not magic but, science and journalism with integrity.. kudos and if we find ourselves in go fund me journalism, know that I’m happy to contribute to the cause.
- hokumguru 5y agoMy money is on him joining Linus Tech. Sounds like they might have a big name in the pipeline and there’s huge respect for Cutress over there.