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Tom Heath
Tom Heath Marketing / Club Coordinator
11/16/09 1:10 p.m.

After a bunch of work and hype, the first-ever digital version of Grassroots Motorsports is now available by signing up here.

Tell your friends, tell your club members, tell your parents, write it on your facebook page, and generally help us to spread the word that it's available for free. Almost as importantly, tell the sponsors and advertisers that you saw it and that you saw their ads in it.

We're looking forward to another 25 years of providing content for you. Thanks for reading!

EricM
EricM Dork
11/16/09 1:13 p.m.

OOps my post was one minute behind this one. Feel free to lock mine up.

the digital copy is AWESOME! The embeded video really makes it pop.

Gonzo_Bmod
Gonzo_Bmod New Reader
11/16/09 1:38 p.m.

Wow, nicely done. This is a really well rounded magazine. Feel free to take the rest of the day off!

Congratulations on the 25 years.

splitime
splitime Reader
11/16/09 1:48 p.m.

I'm enjoying the read mid workday :p. Lunch break = GRM.

Just a heads up though... that software seems to be loading the entire magazine and creating a GIANT memory hog. Gobbled up 600mb within seconds.

Back to reading :)

carguy123
carguy123 Dork
11/16/09 2:14 p.m.

How do you get your digital version?

I'm signed up but nothing except the scan of the first edition

Keith
Keith GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/16/09 2:15 p.m.

Any chance of a PDF version that can be sorta passed around? The video links could go to videos hosted on the GRM server. I know, I know, you don't want to do ANY more work on this baby :) But it might have more legs that way, and advertisers like that kind of thing...

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
11/16/09 2:27 p.m.
carguy123 wrote: How do you get your digital version? I'm signed up but nothing except the scan of the first edition

Entering your email address should take you right to the digital edition page as of a couple hours ago. Try clearing all your browser caches and cookeis and whatnot. It might have the old page stil stored.

jg

John Brown
John Brown GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/16/09 2:34 p.m.

I have visions of Tim talking to you reading the magazine in the 3 series with the GoPro camera looking over his shoulder so you can see what he is reading.

Keith
Keith GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/16/09 2:39 p.m.

Storytime with uncle Tim!

carguy123
carguy123 Dork
11/16/09 2:40 p.m.

I got my digital version and while it has a cool novelty value it won't replace my print version. I can more easily store my print versions so I can find them and use them in the garage plus my dog eared pages are simpler than the search function.

I can also flip thru faster in real life when I'm looking for that elusive something that you can't quite remember what it is but you'll recognize it when you see it.

I like the links of the digital version so as long as I still get my print version I'm cool with getting a digital version too.

ReverendDexter
ReverendDexter HalfDork
11/16/09 2:47 p.m.

^^^ Let's be honest. The print version will be irreplacable, because it's a PITA to use the laptop while on the can, not because of some storage/retrieval mumbo-jumbo.

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
11/16/09 2:49 p.m.

You certainly don't have to worry about the print version disappearing any time soon. Honestly, I'm not sure what the future of the digital edition is for us, but you hit the nail on the head with the word "novelty." Basically it gives us a chance to deliver content that we otherwise wouldn't have a chance to deliver, as well as being a tool that will allow us to easily reach a large number of people.

At the end of the day, though, we're still magazine publishers, and probably will be until it kills us all.

jg

John Brown
John Brown GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/16/09 2:55 p.m.

^^^ He said TOOL!

Joe Gearin
Joe Gearin Associate Publisher
11/16/09 3:00 p.m.

Keep in mind while you are checking out the super-groovy digital GRM, that ALL of the ads have links embedded. A few of our advertisers even created special "landing" pages for GRM viewers.

If you want to show our advertisers how important they are, click on their ad. It makes them happy.

It makes us happy too, so thanks!

dean1484
dean1484 GRM+ Memberand Dork
11/16/09 3:01 p.m.

Something is not corect here. After opening it (it took the better part of 4 min to open) and taking a look at some of it my computer started running very slow and then basically froze up. I had to do a hard reset (push and hold the power button to turn it off)

I re booted and it is still slow. I am running XP pro on a 2GH athlon with 1.5 GB ram.

I am assuming that that requires some serious computing power and it is just my computer.

From what I saw really cool stuff!!! But don't even think about stopping the paper version. It is my mental health brake from all things computer related!!

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
11/16/09 3:22 p.m.

I'm compiling the common issues and I'll send our printer a list of them overnight. I'm not sure what's going on with some folks that it's hogging so much memory. I tested it on several different machines, down to a 1.25ghz G4 MacBook and didn't have those issues.

I'll get the info to the printer and see if they can provide any suggestions for folks having issues.

jg

Keith
Keith GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/16/09 3:41 p.m.

Yes, I can tell you that some advertisers are definitely watching the landing links

splitime
splitime Reader
11/16/09 3:43 p.m.

Sent you contact link pm with computer details in case it helps on that front.

Mine was completely readable. But my computer got grumpy.

alfadriver
alfadriver Dork
11/16/09 3:51 p.m.

Having my computer freeze up twice before I get to page 11, I'll pass.

I currently get 2 other club magazines on line, and I have found out that I read neither.

I very much appreciate the effort, but I can tell that it's just not for me.

Eric

alfadriver
alfadriver Dork
11/16/09 4:24 p.m.

Update- another freeze up in IE9, and no response when I read from Firefox (thankfully, I didn't have to "end task" to get it going again).

I do hope this edition comes in print. By the time I got to page 5 on the digital edition, I could skim the entire paper magazine. Yes, the direct links to advertisers may be cool (never could try them), and the video seems like it could be neat (again, couldn't get it to load consistently)- something just makes it run REALLY slowly. No idea why, but that's surely not cool.

I'd love to try, and I'll wait for tomorrow. Although, I'm pretty sure that will be a bust, too. Being IE7, since work requires that.... Oh, well.

Eric

Appleseed
Appleseed Dork
11/16/09 4:50 p.m.
ReverendDexter wrote: ^^^ Let's be honest. The print version will be irreplacable, because it's a PITA to use the laptop while on the can, not because of some storage/retrieval mumbo-jumbo.

Were's the eleventy billion button?

dean1484
dean1484 GRM+ Memberand Dork
11/16/09 6:30 p.m.

Follow up to my previous post. I tried on my home computer that has fios (the very fast version). My home computer is a Core duo E8400 running at 3GH with 2GB ram and it loads instantly!!!!

On this computer it is about coolest thing. With a good computer this is REALLY COOL!!!!!! Thanks for putting this together as it must have taken quite some time to make.

Carson
Carson Dork
11/16/09 7:22 p.m.

Question!: As subscribers are we getting this in printed version as well as the online one or did we have to select that option when we got the online version?

I like the online stuff but I think I still prefer the hard copy, as others have mentioned.

Keith
Keith GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/16/09 7:31 p.m.

The online version is a bonus present for the 25th anniversary. Subscribers will still get print copies. The online version isn't a regular thing, but a one-time deal.

Tell your friends about the digital version. Get them hooked on GRM!

Tim Suddard
Tim Suddard Publisher
11/16/09 7:34 p.m.

Thanks guys. As we have already said, this is an experiment and a way for us to introduce what we do to way more people. It costs a couple of bucks to mail a hard copy as a free sample. This costs practically nothing (after the first one, which was like ten billion dollars).

I don't see this as a replacement for print and we have no plans that way. What I do see this as, is a step towards a Grassroots TV type thing or interactive add on to your magazine subscription that is easy to share with friends and an easy way to contact advertisers.

You can flip through your hard copy and then open up your digital edition the next day to contact advertisers and/or sources on products you read about the night before.

We would very much appreciate it, if you could tell your friends, message board, and racing buddies about this free issue, as we are much more likely to do it again if it builds interest in what we are all about.

Thanks and hope to still be here when we have our 50th anniversary issue implanted straight into your eye balls. I am sharpening my X-acto knife right now.

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