Sometimes, when you've lived in the ancient family home all your life, it takes a while to realize when it's time to move out. Your family bought this place before you were born, and it seems like it's part of your DNA.
On the other hand, the radiators no longer can keep up with the local winters. The roof and the basement are both leaking, and the electrical wiring needs to be replaced. The imperfections that used to provide "character" are now problems.
Clearly, the only thing that's keeping you from putting up the "For Sale" sign is sentiment. And it's dawned on you that you can't afford to be sentimental anymore.
It's time to go.
It's in this spirit that I inform you that this is the last edition of Lightwave's magazine. It's been around for more than 30 years and has been the home for numerous writers, thinkers, analysts, and others who have sought to educate, inform, and entertain readers like you in the optical communications field. But the magazine is no longer the right home for them, for us, or for you.
So we're putting sentiment aside and packing up the technology, trend, and analysis articles you're accustomed to finding in these pages and moving them to a better home. (At www.lightwaveonline.com - you've been there, right?) You'll still receive them, along with additional news and insight, but via a more efficient and frequent delivery system - our newly revamped family of electronic newsletters.
The growth of the optical communications industry has been tied since the beginning of this century to the emergence of the Internet and "digital" as the primary vehicles for the dissemination of information and entertainment. It has become clear that a bimonthly magazine can no longer keep pace with your requirements or the speed with which optical communications continues to evolve. And subscribers like you seem to agree with us, based on the fact that the interest in our newsletters has surpassed the interest in the magazine.
So, instead of the magazine, you'll now receive one of our three newly tailored newsletters. Lightwave Direct: Service Providers targets the information requirements of traditional and emerging communications network operators. Lightwave Direct: Datacom/Data Center focuses on the use of optical communications within data centers, colocation facilities, and communications exchanges as well as the evolving needs for data-center interconnectivity. And Lightwave Direct: Enabling Technologies will keep service providers, data-center managers, and others informed of the optical communications technology advancements that will help reshape their networks to better serve their customers and users.
We'll automatically move your Lightwave subscription to the most appropriate newsletter for you. You also can subscribe to any of our newsletters via the form on page 21. Your subscription also will entitle you to receive our Stephen Hardy's Friday 5 video newsletter - a wrap-up and analysis of the week's top stories - plus the occasional Special Edition focused on breaking stories or topics of focused interest. Yes, we've had a good run with this magazine. But it's time we were movin' on up to someplace a bit roomier and, let's face it, more modern. The housewarming party is in full swing and you're invited - come on over.