Anand from AnandTech Retiring from Tech Publishing

Terry Olaes

Terry Olaes

I Used to be the [H] News Guy
Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Messages
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Since 1997, Anand Lal Shimpi and his eponymous website AnandTech has been dishing out the scoop on technology and have intersected with [H] many times. Indeed, Kyle and Anand were part of the original editorial team at Computer Power User Magazine when it launched in 2001 and have assisted each other in events over the years.

Anand has decided to retire from both AnandTech and from the tech publishing world as a whole. As a fan of Anand, his site, and the community over at the AT forums, I wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors and my heartfelt thanks for his many years of serving the technology enthusiast community.

This will be the last thing I write on AnandTech as I am officially retiring from the tech publishing world. Ryan Smith is taking over as Editor in Chief of AnandTech. Ryan has been working with us for nearly 10 years, he has a strong background in Computer Science and he’s been shadowing me quite closely for the past couple of years. I am fully confident in Ryan’s ability to carry the torch and pick up where I left off.
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Glad to see that Anandtech will still be up. Got worried there for a sec. Been going to that site just as long as this one.
 
I never really did get into that site very much. I'm not sure why, it just never caught on with me.

I did read the whole article. He never did say exactly what he was doing next...
 
I would guess he's selling and since the site is closely tied to his name, he maybe had to sign a broad non-compete.
 
well, of my original four go to tech sites from college, 3 are still kicking and only one in the tank.

HardOCP, Ars, and Anand are the rolling along. voodooextreme.com went in the can for various reasons I think.

Wow, I just remembered what a profound experience Tomb Raider and Quake were with the OpenGL/3dfx patches:)
 
I didn't know anand of anand tech was a guy. Hmm. I can understand the need for change especially now with PC gaming slowing down quite a bit compared the 3dfx days, but it will be a sad day when hardocp closes it's doors. (Let's hope that it never happens though)
 
Good for him. He earned it. Runs a fair and balanced site (mostly). He should cash out now and enjoy retirement.
 
Lord of Shadows said:
I didn't know anand of anand tech was a guy. Hmm. I can understand the need for change especially now with PC gaming slowing down quite a bit compared the 3dfx days, but it will be a sad day when hardocp closes it's doors. (Let's hope that it never happens though)
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His articles were signed Anand Shimpi, sort of a giveaway :p

Sad to see him go, I always held the site in great regard, I trust this wont change.
 
dgz said:
I hope he's not selling the site.
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Considering he just announced his replacement who's been with the site for 10 years is taking over , I would consider that a huge dick move if he did decide to sell it now.

Its unlikely he'll sell it. He may even come back to do the on and off again review of something or at least an editorial when he wants to.

I don't think Anand has any need for the money from selling the site either.
 
I hope the replacement guy doesn't go overboard with the "I", "me", etc. that make it sound like he's into himself.
 
Like some others when I found this site, I never went to any others.

They test hardware and don't get paid to say its really good, even if its a total piece of crap.
People here are helpful, fun and entertaining.
 
Yes sir....if you hang out long enough, most stuff just kind of lurks off into the distance....glad this place is still around! I agree....the first 3DFX experience was simply astonishing!

John
 
It probably wasn't a good idea to say "This will be the last thing I write" since oftentimes when this kind if stuff happens they go back, maybe for just one article every once in a while, but still.
 
Laxian Key said:
Sharky Extreme was my 4th site (like you, Anand, HardOCP, and Ars were my other 3).
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Puterguru said:
Wow Sharky Extreme, totally forgot about that one.
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Yes sir. Alex Ross's OG site. I was actually a moderator on their forums gosh 15+ years ago. Man that was a long time ago. Good memories. Man I bet I had 20K posts there. When it started to decline I came over here and switched usernames as I wanted a break.

Also damn I guess I did know Anand was young but damn started his site at 14 didn't remember he was that young
 
I still go to his site regularly. Found out about it when it was mentioned in Computer Shopper (and that's long gone). I think he's probably the most respected computer news guy in the industry. Whatever he does next, I hope its something I can follow.
 
Learned about Anand probably very soon after he started his Geocities site.. the local Raleigh weekend computer radio call-in show "Computers 97".. next year called "Comptuers 98" (now called Computers 2Know) with Amnon Nissan use to reference Anand a lot since Anand was from Raleigh. At that time (around 1997-98), seemed like Anand's site and Tom's were the only places to go for reviews on the web.. [H] wasn't around until January 24, 1999!!

And if you remember, Anand wrote for CPU magazine (so did Kyle) during it's first few years and Anand must have been only 18 or so when he started that.

Anandtech's forums were the second place I signed up at, back like 2002 or so but, besides being on their folding team for a couple of years, I never posted anything. First place I signed up but, again, never posted anything was at 3DGameman.com back when his wife was plastered all over his site.
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I never posted anything anywhere until I decided to sign up in Feb, 2007 for here and shortly later at Maximumpc.com.

Have seen Anand a few times at the Harris Teeter in northeast Raleigh but never said anything to him. He drives a nice car but nothing like a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. I tried to listen to his podcast a few times but, unfortunately, I found it very dull and boring :-( but have liked his site.

I am sure whatever success he has had, he has earned, and whatever future success he does have will also be earned. Good luck to him!!
 
Patience, highlander. All others should be gone soon.
 
It seems like everyone who started reviewing computer hardware back in they day has retired. Alex "Sharkey" Ross... now tunes Porsches, I bump into him pretty regularly. Tom Pabst (Tomshardware), I have no clue what happened to him, he sold his site and went back to being a doctor from what I heard. Dennis "Thresh" Fong, used to live near me and he started a few successful projects after Firingsquad, but I haven't heard or seen anything about him in ages. Seeing Anand retire makes me feel old, although technically, I am just a little older than Anand and still have all my hair. :D
 
Cmdrmonkey said:
Starting a highly successful website at 15 and retiring at 32 is pretty damn impressive.
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Don't think he is "retiring" in the sense that most people retire to just play golf every day..

As for me, I won’t stay idle forever. There are a bunch of challenges out there
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Just think he has the time, money, influence and options to do other things in his life now..

after 17.5 years of digging, testing, analyzing and writing about the most interesting stuff in tech, it’s time for a change.
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There was a time when he was writing almost everything himself on his site. I am sure after years of having to crank out content almost everyday and with the travel, he wants to do something else.

People here mentioning Dr Tom and Alex 'Sharky' Ross.. guess this industry can lead to burnout and/or make it easy to leave if given enough dough to be bought out. I worry about burnout with guys like Ryan over at PCPER, Robert Scoble or even Leo Laporte at Twit.tv. I am sure it is tough working in an industry where nothing is constant and there is pressure to keep up with the latest trends and present timely content in an industry which seems to get more complex and diverse. Perhaps Scoble is a bad example since he seems to party and gavotting with Internet celebrities but Ryan has been doing this since a teenager, and Laporte is almost 58.. think he can keep doing this for another 10 years or so??

I like Kyle's approach better.. let Steve do all the work during the week and come in with the occasional CPU and motherboard as well as check out the forums some. Yeah I am sure it is harder than that.. but what do I know!?!?
 
thekipper said:
HardOCP, Ars, and Anand are the rolling along. voodooextreme.com went in the can for various reasons I think.
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I think VoodooExtreme died when Billy died. I know it stayed open for a couple years after he passed, but he was the personality behind it.
 
Its a shame. Most tech writers are opinionated hacks pandering to the lowest common denominator in order to drive page hits. Anand was always impartial, balanced, and highly informative. He will be missed.
 
You guys are forgetting the most important thing in all of this...

I love you Kyle!!!
 
I will miss him, compared to his other writers he blows them away in reporting the details and keeping emotion out of his writing.

I don't think he's the most impartial but man was he into a ton of stuff and he loved to write.
 
3DGameman , wow I remember him and his wife (x wife now..). He was so cheerful it was almost off putting lol
 
Oh sure, going to work for Apple... Oh apple... Funny how your phone sales are mirroring your 90's pc sales.
 
Add me to the list of those that hope AnandTech doesn't fade away. Like [H], there is a lot of good info on that site.

I first started visiting [H] about the time Sharky sold his site. SharkyExtreme, FiringSquad and so many others have become empty shells of what they once were (if they even still exist). We don't need AnandTech following that same path.
 
Hate to see him go, very informative site, hopefully it will continue to be. AnandTech and [H]ardOCP have been my 'goto' sites, and still are, since '98. It's kind of a strange feeling, hearing the news.
 
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