Sixteen years ago, we fired up a modest web server session and began posting news items about the latest in PC tech and gaming.  Over time, that little fly-by-night endeavor grew to become something bigger and better than anything we could anticipate—a full-time job for a number of very sharp people and a publication that produced some of the finest in-depth articles and reviews in the PC hardware space.  We were able to build something unique, something that hadn't existed yet in print magazines or elsewhere, a place where community interaction fed our own ambitions to provide smarter testing, imaginative writing, and instant accountability.  I'm very proud of what The Tech Report has become, and I'm happy to to have cataloged the incredible progress of an industry that has improbably made dreams come true for a generation of early PC enthusiasts.  I'm especially pleased that we've been able to track that progress with an empirical approach to testing that attempts to capture a sense of the user experience. 

Some months ago, I got a phone call from Raja Koduri, who heads up the newly formed Radeon Technologies Group at AMD.  Raja asked me if I'd be interested in coming to work at AMD, to help implement the frame-time-based testing methods for game performance that I've championed here at TR.  In talking with Raja, I came to see that he has a passion for doing things the right way, for creating better experiences for Radeon owners.  He was offering me a unique opportunity to be a part of that effort, to move across organizational lines and help ensure that the Radeon Technologies Group creates the best possible experiences for gamers.  AMD is a company facing some distinct challenges right now, but it's also loaded with potential—and the Radeon Technologies Group has a renewed vision and focus under Raja's leadership. 

In the end, this opportunity was simply too good to pass up.  Early in the new year, I will be joining AMD in my new role.  As a result, I'll be stepping down as Editor-in-Chief of The Tech Report. 

TR will continue, of course, under the able leadership of Jeff Kampman, who has been working with us for a year and a half and, as Managing Editor, has essentially been running the site for the past six months.  Regular readers will already know that Jeff is a very capable writer and editor in the mold of our best staffers over the years.  He will be assisted by a solid stable of writers, including Mark, Tony, and Bruno, all of whom have been providing excellent reviews and news in the TR tradition through the course of the past year.  We are also looking to hire another full-time editor, as you may know, to help with my traditional coverage areas of CPUs and graphics.  I believe strongly in The Tech Report's mission to provide honest, in-depth coverage of the personal computing space with style and insight.  With your continued support, the site should go on fulfilling that mission for years to come.  I'll be happy to provide what advice I can to Jeff and the rest of the TR staff from time to time, but given my new role in the industry, I won't have any input into TR's editorial choices going forward. 

Some thanks

On a personal note, I'd like to take a moment to thank as many folks as I can for making the past sixteen years a possibility for me and the rest of the TR staff.  First and foremost, the support we've gotten from our community of readers has been the key to everything.  Without you all, I never could have had the privilege of testing and writing about the latest tech on a daily basis.  Thank you for your moral and financial support, your interest, your patience with our faults, and yes, even your criticism.  Serving you has been deeply rewarding. 

Next, I want to thank a number of key TR staffers over the years, especially Geoff Gasior and Cyril Kowaliski, who put up with my brusque editorial critiques for way longer than anyone reasonably could have expected.  Ronald Hanaki has posted our Shortbread links for ages without ever accepting a penny's worth of compensation, simply as a service to the community, and I can't thank him enough for his contribution.  Jordan Drake served as our podcast host for seven years and somehow made a bunch of nerds sound conversationally competent.  Our sales guy, Adam Eiberger, somehow managed to sell enough ads to keep multiple full-time editors employed even through the darkest of economic times.  Steve Roylance built our custom content management system from the ground up and made it ridiculously quick.  Bruno Ferreira extended it with the nifty Metal comments system and then built our distinctive pay-what-you-want subscription system, which I believe points to an important way forward for independent publishers.  My lovely wife Stephanie quietly kept the books for TR all these years without ever drawing a paycheck, and she put up with my countless late nights on deadline and long days spent testing with a grace beyond measure.  I'm missing people, because the list is too long, but thanks also to Sander Pilon, Steve Gibson, my co-founder Andy Brown, Jeff Atwood, and a host of other TR writers and supporters over the years. 

Thanks also to the many companies who agreed to sponsor the site, especially long-time sponsors like Newegg, Asus, Corsair, Gigabyte, XFX, and OCZ.  Many of these folks supported us even though our reviews often criticized their products.  In a similar vein, thanks to all of the companies brave enough to send us hardware to review, despite knowing the risks they were taking.  I'm also grateful for my fellow journalists who have acted as sounding boards and allies countless times.  You're good folks.