Nothing pleases an editor-in-chief (supposedly the last bastion of journalistic integrity) more than hearing his advertising manager (supposedly the last bastion of crass commercialism) pose a question like that. Advertising managers aren't supposed to care about readers, they're supposed to care about sales. Of course, our advertising manager would prefer to be doing anything other than selling advertising, like reconfiguring computers or blowing tanks up on the moon.

But nonetheless, that was the question posed about an editorial I had written. It was beautifully written, strong, powerful, and intense. It was loaded with journalistic integrity. It pulled no punches. But did it serve the readers?

In point of fact, the editorial was about the internal politics between us and another company, not about getting the most out of your PalmPilot. It would have been interesting, it would have made some heads spin roundy-roundy, but it would not have helped you use or understand your PalmPilot better.

In short, it didn't really serve our readers, so we didn't publish it.

On serving our readers
The editorial we chose not to run also brought up another question: how well are we serving our readers? This issue marks six months of PalmPower issues. We're really quite proud of the publication. When we're on deadline, we usually only think about the upcoming issue. We rarely take the time to consider the past. But if you look at various sections of our journal, you'll be able to see a real living history of the PalmPilot. For example:

• If you look at the Back Issues page, you can see a real wealth of information, all of value to PalmPilot users. Our Back Issues page lists 53 articles (44 previously, plus this month's 9). That's 53 in-depth articles that help you get the most out of your PalmPilot.

• Then there are our PowerBoards. If you haven't visited our interactive discussion boards, you're missing a really valuable resource. There is an almost unbelievable wealth of information here, from tips for Graffiti recognition to configuring your PalmPilot to discussions of add-on software. Our readers have contributed some really wonderful ideas.

• There's also a living history of handheld news on our News Page. Each day, Editorial Assistant Heather McDaniel compiles all the news that's fit to print about handhelds. Here we stray slightly from our PalmPilot-specific formula because we feel its important to understand what's happening in the whole world of handhelds.