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subego · Mar 14, 2011, 02:55 PM

I'm a good week or two behind in my RSS feeds, so I just found out about Topolsky and Patel leaving (a scant week or two after Miller and Miller).

This is kind of a drag. That was a hell of a team.

The Final Dakar · Mar 14, 2011, 02:58 PM

Yeah, it's amusing that he was on TWiT last week kinda side-stepping commentary about the new AOL overlord and now this.

subego · Mar 14, 2011, 03:11 PM

I saw that.

I understand that these things go down this way, and why he'd keep quiet until things are final, but since he's a journalist, you can't help but pause after he feeds you a line of total bullshit so convincingly.

At least, I was convinced.

The Final Dakar · Mar 14, 2011, 03:13 PM

I don't recall what he said, but I imagine he was avoiding making a story by dodging the question.

Phileas · Mar 14, 2011, 03:14 PM

That's pretty much exactly it. Shame, I liked the Engadget Team.

turtle777 · Mar 14, 2011, 03:43 PM

Ha, AOL paid millions, and now they're killing it. F*cking idiots.
It's amazing how much value is still destroyed in the "dot com" economy.

-t

mattyb · Mar 14, 2011, 03:48 PM

Its the kiss of shit when AOL buy something. Pity. Engadget was sort of like a Giz reality check.

subego · Mar 14, 2011, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

I don't recall what he said, but I imagine he was avoiding making a story by dodging the question.

Oh, absolutely, but Miller and Miller implied that there was something of an integrity issue which prompted their exit, and Topolsky (again, understandably) got pretty defensive when pressed.

I remember at one point, when talking about the quality of the editors, he said something like "they're all chief editors". Without full knowledge, it was a good argument for why someone wouldn't want to leave. Looking back, he just might have meant something different.

Brien · Mar 14, 2011, 04:05 PM

Only a matter of time until they close up shop I suppose. Though, they survived Ryan Block's exit so who knows.

imitchellg5 · Mar 14, 2011, 04:54 PM

I don't think that AOL had to do with either Patel or Topolsky leaving. If you read Patel's tumblr post, it seems as though life has simply gotten in the way (he's getting married soon, his fiancee is on a reality TV series, etc). Nontheless, it's a major loss for Engadget, but there are still a lot of really great editors there.

subego · Mar 14, 2011, 05:02 PM

Or he's just put himself in a position where he shouldn't start burning bridges.

(This is what I meant by it being harder to trust them now, I'm getting all skeptical-like)

freudling · Mar 14, 2011, 08:02 PM

Can't say I'm a big fan of his. I like Engadget for what it is. We're better off with it than without it. But the journalism is just slightly above what it is on other Blogs. Lots of times they have posted inaccurate stories, made baseless conclusions, didn't do the proper fact-finding to come up with comprehensive stories.

At the same time, there's lots of good on there, too. They always have breaking stories, keeping all of us in the loop.

So it's just been hit or miss with me. And the fact that they are so skewed Apple makes them kinda bias.

Why did he leave? Well, another reason may be burn out. The guy said he's been working 12-18 hours a day. After a number of years basically blogging this many hours... it takes it toll.

Mike Arrington from TechCrunch had a great article about his life now. He works something like 18 hour days. Doesn't really get any sun. Is 50 pounds heavier than when he started TechCrunch... etc. He wrote it in such a way as, "This is it?" "Really?" Doesn't sound too happy. Have a read:

The Way I Work: Michael Arrington of TechCrunch

But anyway, thanks for the hard work Josh, all the best.

subego · Mar 20, 2011, 02:42 PM

If I heard right, Patel's supposed to be on TWiT later today. I'll report any smack-talk.

imitchellg5 · Mar 20, 2011, 04:53 PM

He's not going to be a jerk about Engadget. Like I said, neither Topolsky and Patel are leaving due to AOL (Listen to the podcast and you'd find it obvious).

subego · Mar 20, 2011, 06:27 PM

He didn't slam AOL directly, but he slammed the model of a tech blog owned by a big corporation. He insisted it wasn't an editorial issue, which implies it's things like stupid meetings, dealing with AOL legal and wrangling over expense accounts.

It makes sense, but I wasn't aware he turned down Topolsky's job, and that he would be offered it was a requirement of him moving to New York.

imitchellg5 · Mar 20, 2011, 07:02 PM

Nilay Patel • It's tomorrow.

ort888 · Mar 20, 2011, 11:50 PM

Even though I've read engadget daily for years, I've never paid much attention to who was writing what and most of these names mean little to me... But I hate when stuff like this happens.

Hopefully these guys will branch off and make some sort of new independent tech blog like the guys who formed Giant Bomb did.

subego · 12:18 AM

It was the same way with me until I started listening to their podcast (which was really good). In "person" they're really distinct.

But yeah. The site Itself has a pretty homogenous writing style.

subego · Apr 14, 2011, 08:34 AM

In case anyone missed it, Topolsky, Patel, and Miller are podcasting again.

It's just like old times, except now they can bitch about AOL.

This is my next Podcast - Download free podcast episodes by Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller on iTunes.