Not just Pocketmags

Many views have been exchanged about the new Pocketmags version of EPE. Readers who don’t get along with it too well don’t hesitate to let their feelings be known, but at the same time a good proportion of mobile & tablet users have found EPE for the first time and think EPE Pocketmags’ version is great – just the job, and they tell us so.

When the PDF version was replaced by the Pocketmags service, it would be true to say that EPE grafters, especially Stewart and I, were all but kicked to death by a small number of vocal readers and in the recent past we’ve been subjected to some pretty vile emails from individuals. Stewart has attempted to patiently reply to each and every one, but in one or two examples readers’ comments have been extraordinarily obnoxious and aggressive: judging by their tone, anyone would think that life support had been withdrawn when EPE Online (the PDF version) came to a halt. I usually find that hardened engineers are happy to shoot from the hip and they couldn’t really care that real human beings are on the other end. Such behaviour is nothing to be proud of, and sadly there were one or two whom we eventually refused to deal with any further at all.

Why was the PDF version withdrawn?  The online version of EPE was engineered many years ago by Techbites in the USA, who designed the reader download and subscription system, which was all bespoke coding.  In mid-late 2012 the servers, which were based on the Joomla CMS, were subjected to repeated hack attacks which eventually damaged the website beyond repair and made the service unsustainable. As fast as it was repaired it was wrecked again.

It’s more complicated still: the fact is that the original design firm in the USA no longer existed by that time and the owners had gone their separate ways. EPE Online was being run single-handedly by Alvin, who did his best to keep it afloat and provide a service to EPE subscribers but the codebase was obsolete and couldn't be updated readily. EPE PDF was also being pirated to death by then, to the detriment of our paying subscriber base, and we weren’t willing to let that continue.  

It was never going to be possible to rewrite the entire bespoke system from scratch, and the difficult decision was made to relocate back to the UK at very short-notice at the end of 2012. None of this was of our making or choosing but if we did not act fast then EPE readers would have had nothing left to download at all. Much credit goes to Alvin and Dean for helping in the transition back home.

A new website was built (www.epemag.com) at short notice, domains were transferred back to the UK and the entire EPE database of back issues, updates, cover shots, source codes, PCBs had to be totally rebuilt by hand – work that is going on to this very day. I prioritised the latest issues and worked backwards through the pile, and I update the website with Dreamweaver every month.

There’s no disputing that the Pocketmags service has had a mixed reaction, and for some users it plainly will not work and they have been quick to say so. The days of selling an unprotected  PDF of EPE are over. Given the costs and niche volumes involved, it will probably never be possible to cover every platform though. A replacement PDF-based system has been under trial for some time, which requires a plug-in that is designed for Adobe Reader for Windows only. We can say that the PDF can be stored and archived on disk: it is unlocked in the reader’s software and the plan is that several licences will be made available to let the PDF be read on e.g. two Windows machines.

Other platforms may follow in due course (no promises) but for now it is felt the Windows Reader will satisfy the requirements of most of our readership. Trials have generally been encouraging but it takes a long time for a very small company to introduce a key service like this, and we’re determined to ensure it meets our needs as well so that we have a sustainable service for the foreseeable future.