Computer (magazine)

• 1. Introduction

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  Computer is the flagship magazine of the IEEE Computer Society, sent free of charge to every member of the organization. It does not chase a general audience. It speaks to practitioners: people who build, research, and teach computing for a living. That distinction shapes everything from the writing style to the subject matter, and it raises a question worth sitting with. What does it mean to produce a peer-reviewed magazine for the people who are actively changing the field it covers? The following chapters examine the magazine's scope, its editorial identity, its digital evolution, and the recognition it has earned from the publishing world.

• 2. For Practitioners, By Design

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  Peer-reviewed articles sit alongside regular columns and interviews in each issue of Computer. That combination is deliberate. The peer-review process lends the publication credibility and rigor, while the columns and interviews keep it readable and current. The magazine's stated purpose is to report on research developments, trends, best practices, and shifts in the computing profession itself. It covers all aspects of computer science, which is a broad mandate for a single publication. Sustaining that breadth without losing depth is the ongoing editorial challenge. Jeff Voas of the National Institute of Standards and Technology has served as editor in chief since the 1st of January 2020.

• 3. Impact and Recognition

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  Computer's impact factor climbed from 1.94 in 2017 to 3.564 in 2018, a jump that reflects growing citation activity across the research community. The magazine also collected a string of publishing-industry honors during the same period. It received the 2015 APEX Award for Publication Excellence, an award that recognizes editorial quality and design. In 2018, the Folio: Eddie Awards named Computer the winner in the Association/Nonprofit, App/Digital Edition category for its September 2017 issue, which focused on blockchain technology in finance. Folio: Eddie honorable mentions followed in 2016, 2017, and 2019, making that a consecutive run of recognition across four award cycles.

• 4. Going Digital

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  Since 2009, Computer has offered a digital edition alongside its print version, giving members a second way to access the same peer-reviewed material. The blockchain-in-finance issue that won the 2018 Folio: Eddie Award was specifically recognized in the App/Digital Edition category, suggesting that the digital format has become more than a convenience copy. That the Society's most award-winning recent issue was judged in a digital category points to how readers and editors alike have shifted their relationship with the publication over time.