Meet the New Boss

by Ryan Smith on 8/30/2014 7:01 PM EST
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94 Comments

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  • creathir - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Wow. Anand, you will be missed!
    Ryan, best of luck.
  • shomizu9 - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Good luck!
  • Communism - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Congratulations on your promotion.

    Anand's retirement was no surprise to anyone, as he just doesn't seem to be as interested in as wide a range of enthusiast technology he used to (as he has mentioned himself).
  • hammer256 - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Anand will be missed indeed, but it looks like AnandTech is in good hands! You guys just keep on doing your thing.
  • TheJian - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Until they get an NVIDIA CENTER (portal, whatever), I guess I'll be reading this site even less than I do now. The slide here started in 2012, it now seems to likely get worse. Oh well, it happens to all in the end I guess. Not a big loss, there are a few dozen sites to read the same stuff at these days anyway. It would have been a bigger hit years ago when anand/tomshardware was about all there was out there doing lots of reviews, not so today. I digress...
  • Communism - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Yes the blatant "walking on eggshells" style of writing that has been the norm since 2012 at the very latest. Attempting extremely hard to not rock the boat very much in regards to manufacturer relations.

    Anand obviously wanted to increase profitability for whatever reason at around that time. The retirement was what I bet at the time he was saving up for, and it looks like I was right.
  • Jonathan_Rung - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    C'mon guys, tell us how you REALLY feel.
  • Alketi - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    We're all looking forward to your contribution to society, beyond anonymously posting with dagger in hand.
  • Communism - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you."
  • B3an - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    I agree it feels like they're walking on eggshells more recently, this site needs to criticise bad products, mistakes and stupid decisions more, but you and TheJian are simply being a twats about it. Try being more constructive and... nicer?

    Anyway, good luck Ryan.
  • The Von Matrices - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Don't forget, even though there's an AMD center here, Ryan was the guy who wrote the negative review of the R9 290. I don't recall Anand writing a negative review in the past 10 years.
  • SodaAnt - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Nothing about all those SSD reviews where there were stuttering issues?
  • Navvie - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    He who dares not offend cannot be honest.
  • at80eighty - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    you guys are ranting like butthurt investors.
    oh.
    wait.

    this site is free
  • Alexey291 - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    they do have a point though. The website's always (dunno what this talk of something changing in 2012 is all about its always been like this) been promoting manufacturer interests. Every year we get told that this is the most amazing device (whatever it is) and it has the best specs and there can be nothing better, about every damn device out there. And next year we get told that the new generation has corrected the flaws of the previous gen (which have never been mentioned last year) and is THAT MUCH BETTER.

    I mean they even try to prove to us again and again that having a microsd slot is a bad thing because pooooooooor manufacturers have to but some work in and make sure it can be fitted into the device. (Obviously 16gb of cheap nand for 100bux is ok tho...)
  • semo - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Yes, I really do miss the Anand who slammed JMicron and SSD makers for their stuttering SSDs. But things have changed since then and everything has this positive spin as you say. For example, when Anand convinced OCZ to do something about their 25nm transition fiasco, he entitled the chapter "OCZ Listens, Again" inside a positive review for one of their products.
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/4256/the-ocz-vertex-...
    Talk about sugar coating things and I think OCZ got away way too easy (they never issued a full recall of all affected products but instead waited for users to complain).

    There's still a few gems like the recent article about Huawei fudging Android benchmarks but I feel that passionate investigative journalism is now missing from this site.

    I can still rely on Anandtech for in depth technical description of technology but it is easy to loose focus of what is really important when you are involved in minutia. Like the point about SD slots (and removable batteries). Of course there are some cons to these features but a lot of us can live with them (just like an SUV owner can live with the slower acceleration or poorer road holding).

    As it has been pointed out many times before, the readers aren't paying the bills so I don't expect things to change much. Anandtech will continue to be a brand friendly site because the alternative is not cost effective.
  • Communism - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Note to self:

    Stop spoon-feeding retarded psychopaths.

    I'm just too nice.
  • Tegeril - Tuesday, September 2, 2014 - link

    Oh just stop. You're embarrassing yourself now.
  • FunBunny2 - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Your first task: giving us editing on comments.
  • Ryan Smith - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    It's not going to be as easy as waving a wand, but I'll see what I can do the next time we tweak the site.
  • Coup27 - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Please do. Not being able to edit comments is a massive PITA.

    Sad to see Anand go, but think it's in good hands.
  • hrrmph - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Please don't.

    AT is one of the few sites that intentionally makes you think carefully before you post. It adds quality to the comments.

    It's easier to spot the lazy, the drunk, the unstable, and otherwise unworthy comments when there is no ability to edit them after-the-fact.

    -------------------------

    Speaking of facts, the fact that I'm having to explain this to the new editor-in-chief reveals just how poorly this transition might go. I would like to think otherwise, but I believe that Anand had an intangible presence that added to his formidably tangible knowledge of his domain. Just how much the "silent hidden fear and respect" of Anand's smarts and presence has helped shape this site is yet to be seen, but I'd wager that it was considerable. Maybe even unrepeatable.

    Ryan will have little time to develop that internal "herding of cats," while showing poise, confidence, kindness, and where necessary, firmness to the outside world. Retrospectively, this is sometimes best exemplified by Anand's occasional silence on particularly thorny subjects while fixing them behind the scenes, or, alternatively, intentionally not fixing them because they weren't really broken to begin with.

    For all of our sake's as well as for Anand's legacy, let's hope this doesn't become another once proud franchise sliding towards mediocrity. However, the unfortunate reality is that AT is one of only a handful of tech sites left that are worth reading. Precisely how did that happen? For the most part, the founders of the other sites left. How AT will escape the fate of the others is beyond my immediate comprehension.

    You see, leaders who possess the drive, competitiveness, and intangible's that Anand has proven to carry, typically cannot thrive in the presence of another "Alpha." It's not their fault... they just cannot. Their second-in-commands must, by the nature of the beast, be more docile.

    Once having rolled over in front of the chief while in view of the others, it will be difficult to convince the pack that the new leader has the necessary fangs to get the job done and the cool confidence to not use the fangs when it isn't necessary, or would otherwise be destructive.

    -------------------------

    So Ryan, I hope this works. But, the honeymoon is fading already. Reality is here. I hope your future writings on the direction that the website is veering off to will offer more spark, pizazz, and confidence, as well as a healthy respect and understanding for what already works well.

    If not, then a justification for change would be helpful. If none of the above is forthcoming, then silence would be better. Today's writings are a bit reminiscent of the proverbial "deer-in-the-headlights," not to mention too much rolling over in front of the old boss, and some subconsciously being demeaning to the staff.

    So while everyone gets a little slack in the beginning, it's already time to tighten up. The critiques by others may come too late to help. As mentioned, this is after all, the honeymoon phase.

    I wish I didn't feel this way, but the loss of Anand is huge, and you have little time to adjust to the new reality that running the site requires just as much attention to detail as the articles you write.

    You will need to fine-tune your tone, while simultaneously being extremely cautious about what you say about the future of the site and the staff. Like it or not, you are no longer just one of the boys, yet you must always publicly treat them like brethren.

    You might not immediately appreciate what I have to say, but I doubt that time will prove me wrong: You have just inherited "the job from he**." It is probably survivable, but not without extraordinary effort.

    Again, I hope this works. If it does, we will all benefit. If not, then AT simply joins the list of the soulless, but somehow successful, walking dead (kinda like PCMag). Such a legacy is yours to be avoided, but only if you pivot quickly to the new reality. What happened today is already yesterday's news. Tomorrow needs to be better.
  • Coup27 - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    So when you make a spelling mistake or miss a word out which actually changes your entire point, you have no facility to change it? Imagine if all forums worked like that, wouldn't it be brilliant. Not.

    The rest of your post is total waffle btw.
  • wrkingclass_hero - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Second task: bring back Brian Klug.
  • Zap - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    Your second task: Make comments remember logins.
    (Or set the cookie to expire after a longer time.)
  • chizow - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link

    Disqus plug-in?
  • nevertell - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Editing the comments makes no sense, at least when the system has explicit replies. A trole can post a controversial comment that would attract replies and then just change the comment to whatever. Also, the only benefit I can come up with to allowing editing comments is that people will be able to fix their typos. And typos I can live with, more trolls would be a lot more painful.
  • boeush - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Many sites that allow editing of comments, restrict the editing to within a few minutes of the initial posting - thereby largely eliminating your concern while still allowing people to correct themselves when they misspeak/mistype.
  • siberus - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Good luck! No pressure :3
  • FwFred - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    As a long time (mostly) lurker, best of luck Ryan. Thanks Anand for truly improving the state of tech reporting.
  • Idontcare - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Congratulations on the promotion, Ryan! Your audience expects big things of you, BIG THINGS, and I know you'll deliver :)
  • Malih - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Congrats Ryan,
    I think I wouldn't be commenting here if someone else was picked for the job.
  • at80eighty - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Kick some ass Ryan. Looking forward to you guys taking AT to the next level. without selling out of course :)
  • HarryATX - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Congrats! I miss Anand but looking forward to the next era of AnandTech!
  • rm19 - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Congratulations! I think AnandTech is in good hands with Ryan and I look forward to seeing the site continue to improve and explain all the new technologies to me in a no-nonsense, in-depth, unbiased and super high quality way.
  • Quad5Ny - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Congratulations! And a warm welcome as the new Editor in Chief. :)
  • Tim Thorpe - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Congratulations Ryan!
  • Flunk - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    As a long-time reader and occasional comment-tard I must say I can't think of a better person to have as the next Editor in Chief. I had noticed that the number of articles written by Anand seemed to be dropping off. It's nice to that his resignation has been planned out and that we can expect coverage to continue as always. And perhaps Anand's next endeavor will be interesting to all us idiots, you never know.
  • FelixDraconis - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    When are you renaming the site to RyanTech? I'll go update my browser bookmark.
  • anandreader106 - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    Ryan - YOU BETTER NOT get too busy and hand off the next-gen GPU reviews to someone else!

    I expect every word on those reviews to be yours.
  • Laststop311 - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    dont mess this up ryan! you are going to have to do even better than anand to live up to the amazing site he has built. You've got a big task ahead of you I hope you succeed
  • martixy - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link

    It's weird to see such posts, kinda reminds you that there are people behind it all and not just a mindless content-producing machine.
  • LarsBars - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    I can't count the number of times that I've read three quarters of the way through an article only to scroll back up to see who wrote it.
  • maximumGPU - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Looking forward to AT's success under your leadership Ryan.
  • SAMSAMHA - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    It's no doubt that Anand has passed the baton the a very capable person. having read many reviews by you, I am sure you will continue with the high level reviews as it is always been. Not only that, I am excited to see what you would take the site to the next level.
  • Prodromaki - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Congratulations by me too Ryan. If it had to be anyone to replace Anand, it had to be you. Good luck with everything.

    P.S. As the new Editor in Chief, could you please finally tell us what happened to Brian Klug? Everybody is wondering, and neither he nor AT has given an explanation yet.
  • Samus - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Now don't F this up man!

    Naw, you'll be fine. Congrats!
  • hughlle - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Congratulations!

    Now game on!
  • Ilias78 - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    I will miss reading Anand's reviews above all else. His first SSD review back in 2009 (and his continuous coverage after that) was the reason i bought an SSD a few years later. His reviews on mobile devices and tablets, were always exceptional (even if he is a bit Apple-centric). I have to say though that the site has been fairly slow in terms of news and articles in the past months.
  • jjj - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Hope the site regains some of it's lost objectivity ,maybe start serving your readers instead of trying so hard to please the corporations that make the products you review but also pay for your ads.
    But this ode to Anand don't leave much hope for that so i'll guess we'll have to wait and see if things get back on track or they stay the same.
    And in mobile you guys really need to expand your horizons and rush to understand the market and maybe define who you want to address.If Anandtech wants to be mainstream and US only or for enthusiasts and not just about the 20 devices (out of tens of thousands) that make it to the US.
    In PC the US remained the center of the universe for a very long time but in mobile it's a lot different and the US is in a weird bubble and you guys got stuck in it, In PC terms the mobile coverage is like covering boutiques gaming PCs only that nobody here would actually ever buy.
    And then the news side of things could use a bit more action.why even do news if not done properly - ofc that's not to say that you should cover all irrelevant press releases companies put out.
    Other than that,
    Good Luck , we need decent (or better ) tech sites that do proper reviews and are not just marketing tools.
  • yhselp - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    GPU Boss-man is now the Boss-man. Goood, all hail parallelism!

    Anyway, congratulations and best of luck.
  • Anato - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Good luck and stay cool :-)
  • frozentundra123456 - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Sad to see you go Anand. In contrast to some of the other posters, I want to say I think this is one of the more objective sites, and always took your reviews as the definitive ones.

    Ryan, keep up the good work. My only comments going forward is that I feel the site has focused too much on mobile and hope you return more focus to PC hardware. I was very disappointed with the very late review of devil's canyon, but was excited to see a prompt and extensive review of Haswell E.
  • silverblue - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Congratulations Ryan, definitely well earned.
  • Stuka87 - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    I am sure you will do great Ryan, just keep on doing as you have!
  • Phasenoise - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    RyanTech doesn't sound as catchy.
  • wrkingclass_hero - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    How about TechSmith?
  • nigelke - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    so after 7years a new boss.. Anand thanks for leading me these past 7years.
    This is the only website that is open everyday to read and learn.
    Have fun in whatever you are going to do, you will be missed but you have left a big legacy!
  • Lord 666 - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Can we now have an edit button?
  • HisDivineOrder - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Grats. You're a good writer.

    So are you rethinking Anand's deal with AMD to restore credibility to the site or are you expanding your marketing to include other companies getting their own color coded subsections of your site with marketing listed like it's articles at your site?
  • DrPizza - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Ryan, congratulations on the promotion. May you continue to display the wisdom that Anand has displayed all these years. -DrPizza
  • Ryan Smith - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Just to be clear. Is this DrPizza of the AT Forums, or DrPizza of ArsTechnica? ;-)
  • Mr. Q - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Congratulations Ryan. I have faith in your abilities to handle the job. Please keep AnandTech my "go to" site for anything tech related.

    I'll be here everyday, just not signed in.

    p.s. Please don't change the website too much. It just works. This week, Good Old Games has changed their website for the worst. I used to go there everyday, not so much anymore.
  • The-Fox - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Good luck Ryan !
  • theNiZer - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Hi Ryan, I know you will do a great job as Ed. i C., but do consider the AMD Center - either make an Nvidia Center or drop the bought news channel s**t
  • sheh - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Congrats, and have fun. :)
  • just4U - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    It will be interesting to see how you put your stamp on things here Ryan as the big cheese (grin) Congratulations.
  • just4U - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    oh btw can we have a edit button? :D
  • chrisath - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    Good luck Ryan, a wise choice of Anand.

    I hope you continue doing GPU reviews and coverage in that area. And actually i hope you take the torch on CPU:s from Anand.
  • fokka - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    good luck ryan!

    what would be absolutely hilarious now is if you changed the site layout a bit and put up a "RyanTech" logo! :D
  • Streamlined - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link

    If Anand isn't part of the site you really should change the name of the site. Probably in a few months.
  • finnmich - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    Good luck Ryan!
  • mazz7 - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    Congrats Ryan, Anand will be missed, but now it's in your hands now to keep the core value of Anandtech, Friendly and Details Tech site :) will keep an eye for the new Anandtech here :)
  • Klug4Pres - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    Good luck in your new role, Ryan.

    I think it would be great if you could do a few podcasts, with other members of the team, to set out your stall, so to speak. It seems to have worked pretty well for Anand and Brian Klug, but I for one found other contributors to be worth listening to also.
  • Klug4Pres - Saturday, September 6, 2014 - link

    I saw you tweeted that you would not be doing podcasts, because you were worried about who would carry the show.

    I think these concerns are overdone. Brian and Anand were not untouchably brilliant, and anyway the point is not to outdo them, but just to comment on tech stuff du jour. I know you guys can manage that. Don't be shy!
  • Coup27 - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    Hi Ryan,

    I do not mean to cause a stir here but now it's all over the web that Anand (and Brian) have joined Apple, where does Anandtech stand on the impartiality of their reviews on Apple products, presuming that Anand will still own Anandtech even though he isn't writing for it?

    I think it would have been much better had this information been published here first and not from fellow tech sites. It would have given an opportunity to lay any fears of this to bed before any of it surfaced. This site, rightly or wrongly, has been accused of Apple bias for years and all of this will certainly not help that cause.
  • Communism - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    Given that Dustin Sklavos traded up for Corsair, Brian Klug and Anand have traded up for Apple, it's far more likely that the psychological interplay between the writers will be even less critical of manufacturers in hopes of duplicating their success.

    We've already seen this happening since at least 2012.

    Wonder who'll trade up next.
  • Ryan Smith - Thursday, September 4, 2014 - link

    Hi Coup;

    First off sorry for not being able to answer this right away. This is a fair and valid question, however I had been traveling to and from NYC, so I haven't had a chance to sit down and give it a proper response until now.

    The short answer is that I have complete and absolute control over the site. Anand does not have any control or any influence to direct things (though we may consult him on business as necessary), and in fact he doesn't even have access to the CMS anymore. For better and worse it is my site to improve or my site to diminish, as the case may be.

    More practically speaking, I love my job. To break AT's history of impartiality is not doing you guys a favor but it's not doing me a favor either. Our reviews work because we are impartial, so if we were to sacrifice that then there would be no reason for you to read this site and I would be out of a job.

    And I would note that Anand isn't the first person to get hired by tech company. We go through a lot of effort to find exceptional people to write for us, and for the same reasons we value those writers they do get poached from us at times. We have ex-writers at AMD, Asus, Corsair, among other companies. None of which have received any special favor over the years, nor will Apple. They will get all the praise they deserve when they create a good product, and all the criticism they deserve when they put out a poor product.

    I hope that sufficiently answers your question. Otherwise I can go into more detail.

    -Thanks
    Ryan Smith
  • Spunjji - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    Congratulations, and good luck!
  • mmantho - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    Good luck Ryan, you have huge shoes to fill.
  • gamoniac - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    Congratulations, Ryan. I have enjoyed your articles in the last few years, and hope to see more of them even as you take on the huge responsibility of editor-in-chief. I have no doubt AT is in good hands in coming years.
  • marc1000 - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    Ryan, welcome to your new chair and... GLHF!

    I've been here for over 10 years as a reader, and will continue to do so. keep up the good work!
  • Grit - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link

    I'm hoping it will switch from iAnandTech back to AnandTech.
  • Quidam67 - Tuesday, September 2, 2014 - link

    Knowing the work you have done in the GPU space, and also knowing that you have almost certainly continued to grow over the 10 years you have been working at AT, I have a lot of confidence you will do a great job. Good luck and congratulations.
  • Prodromaki - Tuesday, September 2, 2014 - link

    >Coup27

    Ok, the whole Brian thing makes sense now. They were almost inseparable and then he just disappeared of the site for months. Wasn't aware of that, thanks m8.
  • celestialgrave - Tuesday, September 2, 2014 - link

    While Anand is beloved and will be missed I believe Ryan and the other editors will continue to make
    Anandtech the go to place for tech articles.
  • andrewaggb - Tuesday, September 2, 2014 - link

    Congrats. I've enjoyed the content for many years and look forward to more in the years to come.
  • SuperSpy00bob - Tuesday, September 2, 2014 - link

    Does this mean you're moving the site to ryantech.com?
  • cyberbass - Tuesday, September 2, 2014 - link

    Good luck Ryan! Thank you Anand!
  • jabber - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link

    Ryan,

    Your first challenge. Please ask all the major laptop manufacturers this question -

    "Why is it consumers can buy a 7" $200 tablet with a 4K IPS 100% AdobeRGB screen but 95% of laptops still come with a crappy 1366x768 TN panel?"

    Okay I over egged the tablet bit but by next year I can see that being the case.
  • chizow - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link

    Congrats Ryan, glad to see you were tapped to head up AT going forward, I think Anand certainly picked the right person for the job.
  • Golgatha - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link

    Congrats on the promotion Ryan! I've been reading articles here and checking this website almost daily for over 11 years now. Some of the highest quality content you'll find on the Internet in my opinion. Keep up the good work!
  • ezmo85 - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link

    *jaw drops* wow, I too have been reading you for the better part of 15 years. I rarely post comments anywhere, but just wanted to let you know that you have helped me make crucial decisions that have optimized my pc gaming experience over the years! Enjoy your retirement Anand!
  • Wolfpup - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link

    This is blowing my mind. I never considered Anand would ever leave...

    Really glad an existing person is taking over though! Hopefully means it won't suddenly get stupid LOL

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