I think I may have missed my true calling in life—that of a four-bucks-a-minute phone psychic. You see, without our having ever met, I still know all kinds of things about you. For example: You've been programming for more than five years. Am I right? Or how about this: You know a number of programming languages, but C++ is your development tool of choice. Are you stunned, impressed, and amazed, possibly even experiencing an irresistible urge to send me $4.00?

Okay, I admit it—I'm a phony, clairvoyance-wise. The truth is, we recently completed an extensive reader survey in order to find out what kind of work you do now, what you expect to do in the near future, whom you do it for, and the kind of information you need to get your job done. As a result, I can feel pretty confident in saying you've been programming for at least five years, because I know that for 70 percent of you, it's true (and I can live with the snorts of derision I got from the rest of you). I can sound even more self-assured in my second "psychic" statement, because I know that a whopping 82 percent of you know at least one other language, but use C++ most often.

So, apart from giving me some lame party tricks, what's the point? By knowing all this, we get a clearer picture of how to make this magazine deliver what you want. The fact that the vast majority of you are experienced professionals tells us that we don't need to bother with articles on how to turn on your computer or do a basic install of Visual Studio. You're beyond that.

There's lots more I know about you. I know it's important to you to have an independent voice for C++ developers—a magazine with your agenda, not Microsoft's. I know you're interested in news about up-and-coming technologies, but what you really care about is how to use existing products to get your current projects done now. You can count on us to keep you up to speed on what's coming down the pike, but not at the expense of practical how-to techniques you can use today. And above all else, you want code, and lots of it. That's always been the focus of Fawcette Technical Publications, and you can be sure I'm making it a priority for Visual C++ Developers Journal.

It doesn't take a crystal ball to see why the Internet figures into your projects and products increasingly often. We've learned that while you're using Visual C++ as your main development tool, you're also using Java, XML, and HTML. You're accessing databases over the Internet. Many of you are even migrating away from strict Windows development toward browser-centric apps. I will therefore predict that you'll find our cover story, "Build a Hybrid Client," pretty darn interesting. Looking into the future, I see even more Internet-focused articles in this magazine.

I'm not done yet. I know that you're more likely to work for a small-to-medium-size company than a megacorp. The apps you're building are more likely to be custom business apps than anything else. It's pretty much a coin toss as to whether you're building products for internal or external customers (and many of you do both). I know that COM+, MFC, and ATL are critical topics for you. And I know more about you. So much, in fact, it's almost eerie.