There's been another of those rather long, awkward silences on the editorial front, hasn't there? Sorry about that; I enjoy writing these little rants and it seems that at least some of you enjoy reading them, but so many other things get in the way. For those who don't know, as well as being the editor of this fine virtual organ, I'm also the publisher, reviews editor, chief reviewer, designer, programmer, technical support geek and tea boy. I'm not the cleaning lady, but only because the pinny didn't fit.

The most recent distraction has been a significant redesign, which will be live in early January. This will make the site a little less cluttered (not that it's exceptionally crowded anyway) and make it even easier for you to find what you're looking for. But the colour scheme will probably stay. Apologies to those who don't like the pastel theme, but I don't want the colours to detract from the content and I'm not a skilled enough designer to come with a scheme that focuses the eye on the text any better than the one we've got.

2001 has been an interesting year for online publishers like us. Many have cut staff and costs (we haven't - our staff are freelance and our costs are quite low enough, thank you), some have closed down altogether or pulled out of the UK. Advertising revenue has plummetted from a flood in 2000 to a mere trickle in 2001 and it's doubtful whether it will pick up properly until the middle of 2002. Even worse, so many of the big IT companies lost money that the Christmas parties this year have been few and far between (Dare I post the photos from one of the better ones? Mmm, I suspect I dare. Watch this space).

All bad news (boo!), but we're still here (hooray!), because we didn't believe the hype. No VC funding, no loans, no inexperienced suits on the board. It takes longer to build a site this way but it means we're less vulnerable to adverse market conditions. And while other sites are charging their visitors for access to their content, this site will remain free. The advertising-supported model is still sound, even if it has had a dodgy year.

Anyway, enough of the serious stuff. Thanks for visiting the site over the last year, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and join me as I skip off into the cool, winter sunset, raising each arm alternately behind my head as I go merrily out of 2001 and into 2002.

Oh, and please click on an advert on your way out...