We're in an odd situation at Pocket PC magazine: our job is to serve your needs ­ yet we're not exactly sure who you are. Some of you are wide-eyed novices; others are technical wizards. Most of you are probably somewhere in between. But what are the proportions? We have editorial meetings during which we argue over who you are, using our best logic to figure it out. Sometimes it reminds me of the medieval scholastics debating over how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.

In general, we've assumed that you are a professional, intelligent, interested in gadgets, and have the vision to see the potential practical uses of a PDA. Well, we've decided to stop assuming and simply ask you who you are. Then we'll do our best to tailor the content of our magazine and Web site to your needs.

You'll find a new questionnaire on our Web site (Ed. Note, 1/1/02: now inactive). If you take a few minutes to answer these questions, we'll be able to serve you better. It will help us to know how proficient you are with your device, whether the magazine is your main source of information or merely a supplement to the Internet, and what you use your device for.

Changes to PocketPCmag.Com

Of course, I'm hoping that the results of the questionnaire will vindicate my point of view, especially in regard to our Web site. I feel that a main goal of our site is to help you use your time efficiently. We try to pull together the important stuff and to organize it for you. For example, when I started working for the magazine about a year ago, I suggested that we didn't need a comprehensive directory of all Pocket PC sites, but rather a well-organized list of the best sites. Our Best Sites page grew out of that suggestion (www.pocketpcmag.com/bestsites.asp).

I also suggested that we do the same thing with our downloads section. There is a plethora of downloads for the Pocket PC, but unless you want to spend an hour a day following the industry and reading all the reviews, how are you going to know which ones will be really useful to you? To help you with this, we created our alphabetized Best Downloads page (www.pocketpcmag.com/softarchives.asp) so that you can quickly find and download the most useful tools.

This approach is becoming the organizing philosophy of our Web site. Indeed, with both the magazine and Web site we're eager to give you the information you need in an efficient and focused manner so that you don't need to spend a lot of time sifting through all the information on the Web.

We'll continue to synthesize information and offer other "Best" Web pages. We're planning a "Best Peripherals" page, and may eventually break Best Downloads into Best Games, Best Applications, Best Utilities, etc.

So who decides what's "Best"? We're in the process of creating a Pocket PC Expert Board, which will include many of the most prominent members of the Pocket PC community. These are people who are close to the industry and typically are in constant touch with users, often via Web sites and discussion groups. They know what's popular and useful, and they're eager to help us make our selections.

In addition to the "Best" sections on our Web site, we offer a range of other features that contribute to our overall goal of selectivity and efficiency. On our home page itself we present one new item each day—news brief, download, Web site, tip, or featured article/review. You can pop in once a week and get an overview of what's going on in the industry if you don't have time to visit every day. At our Web site you can also subscribe to our weekly Pocket PC update newsletter.

We have an online Buyer's Guide—the most comprehensive database anywhere of Pocket PC and Windows-Powered Handheld PC products. If you're looking for something in particular, you can find it fast by doing a search in our Buyer's Guide. We also maintain a spec-by-spec comparison chart of all the devices so that those thinking of buying one can quickly see which one will best meet their needs. We're also working on our annual print version of the Buyer's Guide, which is mailed in the fall as a bonus to all the subscribers of our print magazine. This year the Guide will be oriented around our Best listings.