By Dennis O’Reilly A stream of tributes pours in from readers following news of Fred Langa’s retirement from tech writing. While we know we’ll never be able to replace Fred’s honest, reliable, and downright useful advice, we pledge to do our best to live up to the standard he set.

Fred Langa is the premier tech journalist of the last 30 years, which is just about as long as there has been tech journalism. We knew when he announced his retirement that it would cause a “great disturbance in the force,” as George Lucas might put it. What we weren’t prepared for was the flood of tributes from readers, many of whom — like Jim Konzak — have been reading Fred’s articles for decades:

• “It was with great regret that I read of your decision to end your columns and move on. I can’t say when I first began to read your work; it must have been in the (still sorely missed) Windows Magazine during the era of Windows 3.0 or 3.1. More recently, LangaList was always a must-read for me, and I was very happy when you and Brian Livingston joined forces in Windows Secrets. Please forgive the colloquialism, but oh man, you will be missed. Big time. Come back for a visit now and then and let us know how you’re doing. Most of all, thanks for all you’ve done. The computing world is truly better for your efforts.”
  

A recurring theme in nearly every tribute was a big thanks for all the tech help, sorrow for seeing it end, and heartfelt wishes for a fulfilling retirement, as expressed by Peter Ballantyne:

• “Fred, you have been my constant helper over ten years of computing, from Windows 98 through to Vista. Your column was the one info and help source I trusted above all else. All other tech writers should seek to emulate you. For your integrity, your accuracy, and your help with more problems than you will ever know, I thank you. May your years ahead be filled with satisfaction and grace.”
  

No, there is no replacing someone like Fred. He didn’t just make complicated subjects understandable; Fred helped us put technology into the perspective of our everyday lives. And that’s the challenge we at Windows Secrets promise to meet every week: to make sense of the technobabble as we help you apply technology to enhance all aspects of your life. James Van Buren reminded us of this in his tribute to Fred:

• “Thanks for everything, Fred. You helped me so much. I really missed LangaList when that ended, but I guess it helped to wean me off your advice when you went to Windows Secrets. I hope everyone there can try to emulate the way you approached helping people. I really did appreciate your style. Take care and have a happy retirement.”
  

We join with readers in offering Fred all good wishes as he rides off into a brighter sunrise. If we do our job half as well as Fred did his, we’ll be way ahead of the game.

Readers Jim, Peter, and James will each receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of their choice for sending tips we printed. Send us your tips via the Windows Secrets contact page.

The Known Issues column brings you readers’ comments on our recent articles. Dennis O’Reilly is technical editor of WindowsSecrets.com.

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