Boy, this article sure is responsible for a lot of burned biscuits. I fault the magazine editor more for allowing the comments to be published than I do the author for writing them. He is at the age where he is convinced he knows everything worth knowing and anyone who disagrees is an idiot or senile old fart. With time and experience comes wisdom and diplomacy.....for some anyway.
Being an author of many articles for past SERVO issues it doesn't reflect well if someone slips in an article that isn't good. Mention of people dropping subscriptions bothers me since I have more content I am working on to send their way....
I find this particular thread very disturbing and will have to read that article. I usually find something worthwhile in each issue but it sounds like someone really dropped the ball when accepting and editing that particular article. I think dropping subscriptions is a bit much because of one poor article but definitely let them know that it crossed your mind. In order to make the magazine better they should get feedback from ALL of you. Tell them specifically what articles you don't like and WHY. That will help them make future issues better and also will help determine what articles and authors they will accept articles from. It sounds like the author of this article wasn't ready to start writing and needs a bit more guidance if he wants to continue writing and be taken seriously. If he doesn't have someone proof his work then SERVO should have caught it. Next time I talk to the editors there I will bring this up.
Also make sure (at least once in a while) to write in to SERVO about articles that you found refreshing, insightful, useful, etc. They need to know what people are interested in. Your feedback can help!
For good articles an e-mail to the author letting them know that readers enjoyed it is a wonderful thing. It can help light the fire and add a little inspiration to write the next one. Too many people are all too willing to mention when a problem comes up be rarely take the extra effort to say "Thank You, Good Job, etc." I've done that for some that really hit home but I should do it more often for ones that are just well done.
Some of the articles I wrote for SERVO had some nice comments from readers. The SC-01 emulation using an SX28 chip and also the Encoder processor to match and scale high-res encoders had excellent feedback from readers. I guess I've done ok so far on the content I've sent in since I've never heard any bad comments (only positive) about all of them.
The last thing I would say is that I know there are a LOT of creative people on this forum that I think very highly of. If you've been considering putting together some sort of article, DO IT! Send in your stuff and help make SERVO the magazine you want it to be.
Robert
Post Edited (RobotWorkshop) : 3/1/2010 6:07:26 AM GMT
kwinn said...
He is at the age where he is convinced he knows everything worth knowing and anyone who disagrees is an idiot or senile old fart. With time and experience comes wisdom and diplomacy.....for some anyway.
Being that his intent is to attract a younger generation to the cool hobby of robotics, it would appear that some of us
are approaching the title of "senile old fart" (As much as I hate to admit it.) [noparse]:)[/noparse] Perhaps we need to examine our end
and see if some of his perceptions could be avoided in the future. Let's face it, a 15 year old is going to see things
differently than us "old farts."
One of his "cons" was with the price of the Basic Stamp. As a result he gravitated toward the PICAXE.
It was (as mentioned earlier one of the reasons I started that direction as well.) I'm guessing that he doesn't
have the understanding that the investments made in PICAXE were not those of a private company like Parallax.
The same expenses were paid, just not passed on to the consumer. Parallax does not have that luxury.
(That is unless they want to file for their 501c. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
I guess the real shame is that he doesn't appear to have evaluated the Propeller in his roundup, which
may have really changed the article a bit. Perhaps one of us should send him a Protoboard. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
As for not seeing forum support. I'm clueless how he missed that one. I'm chalking it up to a really
big internet to which he didn't wander the same links I have. Personally in my evaluation of the Ardiuno,
I have had the same trouble finding the kind of online support that we have here, and yet he says the
support is quite large.
I'm going to drop a Protoboard in the mail to him.. Let's see if we can enlighten him a bit. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
At his age, there is still a lot for him to see. [noparse]:)[/noparse] As for the editor, he really should have spotted that.
@OBC When I got my BS2 boe bot I had seen it in a RadioShack catalog (didnt have prices, just an invetory catalog) and I was facinated that I would be able to tell it what to do and it would do it. I got the boe bot for Christmas, (and thats about all I got, but it was SO worth it) and I could program it before I turned 11. I loved its simplicity. It wast until 1 year later that I discovered the price, when I wanted a 2nd one. I then discovered the Propeller another 2 years later and have never had to stray from Parallax for my microcontroller needs. As for the easyness of the BS2, if I could program it when I was 10, it's as simple as it gets. I have recently just got out the ol BS2 that I havent programmed since I got my prop and used it as a servo controller for my robot, so I guess I can say I still use it.
@microcontrolled - some young people are more enlightened than others and some old folks are dimmer than others... That is all I think you are hearing people saying.
@OBC - I'll spring for a Propeller Proto Board Accessory Kit, if you want to include that in your shipment.
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
I've dropped him a line and let him know he raised some dander with some of us "old farts" and asked
if a couple of us could send him some Propeller goodies since he didn't include it in the article.
I'll see if he is forthcoming with a response which includes his mailing address.
I just read that article and I can see why there are issues with it. At the very least the paragraph talking about how he bought the "What's a Microcontroller" and the next one should have just been deleted. That would have been an improvement.
I've found that the folks over at SERVO and Nut'N'Volts have been very good to work with and publishing with them has been a great experience. I don't know how that article got through as it is. I'm sure with the feedback they get from everyone regarding it they will be taking a much closer look at future articles.
@microcontrolled, not really ageism per se. Just pointing out it is a stage of development we all go through around that age as part of becoming independent adults with our own opinions and ideas. More extreme for some than for others. Not really something that we should get too wound up about although I did think the editors of the magazine really dropped the ball on that one.
It looks like the forum members have said it all about Servo mag.
I purchased two copies just because it had some info that I needed for my robot projects but not much more about robotics.
I think it is better to just check out the mag at the news stand for me, If it has an article I need, Then I will buy it.
I didn't know you could! The only compleated project I still have in existance (and by far my best project) is my RFID activated box. I am working on an RC robot right now that is almost done and will also be article-worthy. Both, do in fact have servos(), and I would like for the chance to try to make the magizine. I don't get the magizine (I prefer N&V) but I will try. Thanks!
@ Rob7 - I don't think you've heard it all about SERVO and I wouldn't pass judgment on the whole thing based on one poor article. It would be cool to have another thread highlighting some of the articles that are worth reading. Give it a chance!
Post Edited (RobotWorkshop) : 3/2/2010 7:19:45 PM GMT
microcontrolled said...
I didn't know you could! The only compleated project I still have in existance (and by far my best project) is my RFID activated box. I am working on an RC robot right now that is almost done and will also be article-worthy. Both, do in fact have servos(), and I would like for the chance to try to make the magizine. I don't get the magizine (I prefer N&V) but I will try. Thanks!
Micro
Yes, you can! Everyone needs to start somewhere. Often just a little encouragement is all that is needed to set you in the right direction. There are writers guidelines posted on the magazines website to explain what they expect. If you get stuck or it isn't clear just send me a PM and I can help navigate the process. It may seem like a daunting task at first but it is worthwhile.
Make sure to have someone else proof read your work and if you can't find anyone then you can ask here and I'm sure others would be willing to help. If you get comments that aren't pleasant just take it in stride and use it as constructive criticism to make your work better. Rarely does one write the perfect article the first pass through and it usually takes several passes through and revisions to have something ready to publish.
I think the issue with the article that started this thread is that the author should have had others proof read his work and that SERVO should have also done a more thorough job of editing and screening it. This slipped through a couple places and should have been fixed before going to print. When the magazine publishes an article they base the payment for a article on a couple things. One is the length of the article as it appears in print. The other is the quality of the article and if they can use it as is or if it requires editing on their part of the article content (not including the layout, etc). I would expect that author will end up with is less than what he could because of the responses.
I just viewed N&V and Servo, they ARE daunting. I am NOT going to Email someone my social security number, though, so I will end up not being able to write an article. (Not even allowed to view SS number until I'm 18)
It isn't as bad as you think. Actually you don't have to e-mail your social security number in order to write fro them. I questioned that too and didn't send in mine via e-mail. I'd never recommend sending anything like that via e-mail. I believe they do need the # for tax purposes but anything like that could be mailed or phoned in. Yes, you can get paid for your article. Payment depends on the length and quality. I believe SERVO (and Nuts'N'Volts) has a cap of $450 an article. Some magazines are less and others more. It is something and can certainly help with hobby expenses!
If you have something in mind that could work for an article e-mail them or call them to see if they would be interested in pursuing that for possible publication. If so and you send something they accept that is the time to be concerned about the SSN. Since there are concerns around that have your parents contact them on your behalf and explain the situation.
So, if there are things like that you aren't conformable with then question the practice. It doesn't hurt to ask and you might be happy with the outcome. Don't let something like this stand in your way. If you take on the daunting tasks you'll end up doing things that others don't and go far in life....
Robert
Post Edited (RobotWorkshop) : 3/1/2010 6:22:35 PM GMT
Along with Robert I encourage anyone to take a stab at writing articles to contribue to Nuts&Volts, Servo, Robot Magazine or Elektor. My articles in Robot Magazine came from two inspirations. One was that I wanted to work on my writing skills and therefore I needed something to write. Two was that I would read an article and be disgusted with the quality or the lack of explanation and therefore would say, "I could do that" so I needed to prove I could. Well....maybe there is a third reason too and that would be it was fun because I got paid for it.
Go for it microcontrolled!
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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I. www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, 3.0" LCD Composite video display, eProto for SunSPOT www.tdswieter.com
I got my servo mag today and now see what you all mean about it..
One of my collage instructors once said that being a good writer also meant
that you had to be good editor...
Now for something positive...an old video that explains differences between micro controllers, plus there is a neat project at the end. revision3.com/systm/talk
-dan
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Arguing with myself--sometimes me, myself, and I don't always agree.
(Former) Caterpillar product support technician
@microcontrolled, I was pretty sure you were just kidding, and even if you were not it was a pretty innocuous comment.
I have to agree with RobotWorkshop's comment about not passing judgment on SERVO and giving them a chance. I decided not to subscribe mainly because there are very few articles or projects of interest to me in the magazine, not because of this one article (although it was a small nudge in the no direction). Two or three articles of interest per year is just not enough of an incentive to subscribe.
No answer from the author in regard to the offer. Either his web forms system malfunctioned, or he isn't interested. Either way it'll be interesting to see his next article and which direction he goes.
Every chip has some pluses & minuses. I tried Kronos' Athena/Nemesis/Perseus chips a while back. 256-byte memory like a BS1, they also program is BASIC, but they are compiled and run much faster (like 30,000 commands/sec) and they have several interesting commands. My favorite is the hardware routine to read & decode Sony IR signals. That is preferable to the Stamp's software routine (which works great, but it consumes EEPROM & processor overhead). And Perseus is a $3.50 chip! Their higher-end $10.50 DiosPro28 has 64K EEPROM and does $130,000 commands/sec! http://www.kronosrobotics.com
Yet, I always come back to Parallax! Wider usage, better documentation, and all you wise folks to swap ideas with!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ·"If you build it, they will come."
Comments
Trying hard not to be too much of a stick-in-the-mud...
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
-Phil
Hey Kid! Get off my LAWN! .. eh.. yeah.. uh.. point taken.. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
OBC
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New to the Propeller?
Visit the: The Propeller Pages @ Warranty Void.
DJ
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·"If you build it, they will come."
Post Edited (erco) : 3/1/2010 2:05:04 AM GMT
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Don't click on this.....
I find this particular thread very disturbing and will have to read that article. I usually find something worthwhile in each issue but it sounds like someone really dropped the ball when accepting and editing that particular article. I think dropping subscriptions is a bit much because of one poor article but definitely let them know that it crossed your mind. In order to make the magazine better they should get feedback from ALL of you. Tell them specifically what articles you don't like and WHY. That will help them make future issues better and also will help determine what articles and authors they will accept articles from. It sounds like the author of this article wasn't ready to start writing and needs a bit more guidance if he wants to continue writing and be taken seriously. If he doesn't have someone proof his work then SERVO should have caught it. Next time I talk to the editors there I will bring this up.
Also make sure (at least once in a while) to write in to SERVO about articles that you found refreshing, insightful, useful, etc. They need to know what people are interested in. Your feedback can help!
For good articles an e-mail to the author letting them know that readers enjoyed it is a wonderful thing. It can help light the fire and add a little inspiration to write the next one. Too many people are all too willing to mention when a problem comes up be rarely take the extra effort to say "Thank You, Good Job, etc." I've done that for some that really hit home but I should do it more often for ones that are just well done.
Some of the articles I wrote for SERVO had some nice comments from readers. The SC-01 emulation using an SX28 chip and also the Encoder processor to match and scale high-res encoders had excellent feedback from readers. I guess I've done ok so far on the content I've sent in since I've never heard any bad comments (only positive) about all of them.
The last thing I would say is that I know there are a LOT of creative people on this forum that I think very highly of. If you've been considering putting together some sort of article, DO IT! Send in your stuff and help make SERVO the magazine you want it to be.
Robert
Post Edited (RobotWorkshop) : 3/1/2010 6:07:26 AM GMT
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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, 3.0" LCD Composite video display, eProto for SunSPOT
www.tdswieter.com
Being that his intent is to attract a younger generation to the cool hobby of robotics, it would appear that some of us
are approaching the title of "senile old fart" (As much as I hate to admit it.) [noparse]:)[/noparse] Perhaps we need to examine our end
and see if some of his perceptions could be avoided in the future. Let's face it, a 15 year old is going to see things
differently than us "old farts."
One of his "cons" was with the price of the Basic Stamp. As a result he gravitated toward the PICAXE.
It was (as mentioned earlier one of the reasons I started that direction as well.) I'm guessing that he doesn't
have the understanding that the investments made in PICAXE were not those of a private company like Parallax.
The same expenses were paid, just not passed on to the consumer. Parallax does not have that luxury.
(That is unless they want to file for their 501c. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
I guess the real shame is that he doesn't appear to have evaluated the Propeller in his roundup, which
may have really changed the article a bit. Perhaps one of us should send him a Protoboard. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
As for not seeing forum support. I'm clueless how he missed that one. I'm chalking it up to a really
big internet to which he didn't wander the same links I have. Personally in my evaluation of the Ardiuno,
I have had the same trouble finding the kind of online support that we have here, and yet he says the
support is quite large.
I'm going to drop a Protoboard in the mail to him.. Let's see if we can enlighten him a bit. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
At his age, there is still a lot for him to see. [noparse]:)[/noparse] As for the editor, he really should have spotted that.
OBC
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New to the Propeller?
Visit the: The Propeller Pages @ Warranty Void.
Great idea!
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
@OBC When I got my BS2 boe bot I had seen it in a RadioShack catalog (didnt have prices, just an invetory catalog) and I was facinated that I would be able to tell it what to do and it would do it. I got the boe bot for Christmas, (and thats about all I got, but it was SO worth it) and I could program it before I turned 11. I loved its simplicity. It wast until 1 year later that I discovered the price, when I wanted a 2nd one. I then discovered the Propeller another 2 years later and have never had to stray from Parallax for my microcontroller needs. As for the easyness of the BS2, if I could program it when I was 10, it's as simple as it gets.
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Don't click on this.....
@OBC - I'll spring for a Propeller Proto Board Accessory Kit, if you want to include that in your shipment.
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
I've dropped him a line and let him know he raised some dander with some of us "old farts" and asked
if a couple of us could send him some Propeller goodies since he didn't include it in the article.
I'll see if he is forthcoming with a response which includes his mailing address.
OBC
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New to the Propeller?
Visit the: The Propeller Pages @ Warranty Void.
I've found that the folks over at SERVO and Nut'N'Volts have been very good to work with and publishing with them has been a great experience. I don't know how that article got through as it is. I'm sure with the feedback they get from everyone regarding it they will be taking a much closer look at future articles.
Robert
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Don't click on this.....
It looks like the forum members have said it all about Servo mag.
I purchased two copies just because it had some info that I needed for my robot projects but not much more about robotics.
I think it is better to just check out the mag at the news stand for me, If it has an article I need, Then I will buy it.
Micro
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Don't click on this.....
Post Edited (RobotWorkshop) : 3/2/2010 7:19:45 PM GMT
Yes, you can! Everyone needs to start somewhere. Often just a little encouragement is all that is needed to set you in the right direction. There are writers guidelines posted on the magazines website to explain what they expect. If you get stuck or it isn't clear just send me a PM and I can help navigate the process. It may seem like a daunting task at first but it is worthwhile.
Make sure to have someone else proof read your work and if you can't find anyone then you can ask here and I'm sure others would be willing to help. If you get comments that aren't pleasant just take it in stride and use it as constructive criticism to make your work better. Rarely does one write the perfect article the first pass through and it usually takes several passes through and revisions to have something ready to publish.
I think the issue with the article that started this thread is that the author should have had others proof read his work and that SERVO should have also done a more thorough job of editing and screening it. This slipped through a couple places and should have been fixed before going to print. When the magazine publishes an article they base the payment for a article on a couple things. One is the length of the article as it appears in print. The other is the quality of the article and if they can use it as is or if it requires editing on their part of the article content (not including the layout, etc). I would expect that author will end up with is less than what he could because of the responses.
I just viewed N&V and Servo, they ARE daunting. I am NOT going to Email someone my social security number, though, so I will end up not being able to write an article. (Not even allowed to view SS number until I'm 18)
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Don't click on this.....
Post Edited (microcontrolled) : 3/1/2010 5:02:18 PM GMT
If you have something in mind that could work for an article e-mail them or call them to see if they would be interested in pursuing that for possible publication. If so and you send something they accept that is the time to be concerned about the SSN. Since there are concerns around that have your parents contact them on your behalf and explain the situation.
So, if there are things like that you aren't conformable with then question the practice. It doesn't hurt to ask and you might be happy with the outcome. Don't let something like this stand in your way. If you take on the daunting tasks you'll end up doing things that others don't and go far in life....
Robert
Post Edited (RobotWorkshop) : 3/1/2010 6:22:35 PM GMT
Go for it microcontrolled!
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Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.
www.brilldea.com - Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, 3.0" LCD Composite video display, eProto for SunSPOT
www.tdswieter.com
One of my collage instructors once said that being a good writer also meant
that you had to be good editor...
Now for something positive...an old video that explains differences between micro controllers, plus there is a neat project at the end.
revision3.com/systm/talk
-dan
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Arguing with myself--sometimes me, myself, and I don't always agree.
(Former) Caterpillar product support technician
I have to agree with RobotWorkshop's comment about not passing judgment on SERVO and giving them a chance. I decided not to subscribe mainly because there are very few articles or projects of interest to me in the magazine, not because of this one article (although it was a small nudge in the no direction). Two or three articles of interest per year is just not enough of an incentive to subscribe.
@Whit
No answer from the author in regard to the offer. Either his web forms system malfunctioned, or he isn't interested. Either way it'll be interesting to see his next article and which direction he goes.
OBC
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New to the Propeller?
Visit the: The Propeller Pages @ Warranty Void.
Regarding Servo, I don't envy anyone in the publishing business these days. We now have so many bloggers than we are loosing tough with reality.
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Ain't gadetry a wonderful thing?
aka G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse] 黃鶴 ] in Taiwan
Yet, I always come back to Parallax! Wider usage, better documentation, and all you wise folks to swap ideas with!
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·"If you build it, they will come."