Ars Technica A publication discussing technology

Ars Technica was founded in 1998 when founder and editor-in-chief Ken Fisher announced plans to start a publication devoted to discussing technology that would cater to what he called "alpha geeks": technologists and IT professionals. Ken's vision was to build a publication with a simple editorial mission: to be "more tech-savvy, more relevant, and more interesting" than the content currently prevalent in the field. Over the next few years, with the tremendous contributions of a unique editorial staff, Ars Technica became a trusted source for technology news, tech policy analysis, breakdowns of the latest scientific advances, gadget reviews, software, hardware, and just about everything else between the layers of silicon.

Ars Technica innovated by listening to its core readers. Readers had come to demand fidelity to accuracy and completeness, and were willing to cast aside the daily dose of meaningless, clickbait content. The result was unique: an unparalleled combination of breadth and depth in tech news. By 2001, Ars Technica was producing regular news stories, columns, and more, but the company stood out from the competition by regularly offering long-form thinking and in-depth explanations.

Ars Technica has also accomplished many industry-leading initiatives thanks to its readership. In 2001, Ars launched a digital subscription service, when such services did not exist for digital media. Ars was also the first IT publication to begin covering the resurgence of Apple, and the first to make analytical and cultural connections between the worlds of high tech and gaming. Ars was also the first to begin selling its long-form content in digitally distributable forms, such as PDFs, and eventually e-books (also starting in 2001).

Yet the Ars editorial team was not worried about journalistic innovation. Ars blended opinion, analysis, and straightforward reporting into its editorial product long before commercial "blogs" came along and claimed to reinvent journalism by doing the same thing. The company pushed transparency and community before those ideas became buzzwords. It’s these ideals that have kept the company going since its inception, and readers can expect more of them in the future.

Ars Technica was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts. One of the people who joined Ars Technica during its early days was Jon Stokes, co-founder of Ars Technica and the renowned CPU Editor for Ars Technica’s first 12 years (Jon also served as Associate Editor from 2008 to 2011). Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief Eric Bangeman joined the site in its early days and has been active in the Ars Technica newsroom ever since.

Acquired by Condé Nast parent company Advance in 2008, Ars Technica has offices in Boston, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Today, Ars Technica is Condé Nast’s only 100% digital native editorial publication.

Ars Technica Spirit

Ars longa, vita brevis, occasiono praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile.

—Hippocrates

When Hippocrates said, "Life is short, art is long," he wasn't saying that art outlives the artist. The "Father of Medicine" was instead diagnosing a fundamental fact of life: True art or craft requires a lifetime of effort to perfect, and that path is filled with "occasional crises, dangerous experiences, and difficult judgments." Technology is the "art" at the forefront of our ever-changing world, and we're here to chronicle that story and even help make the difficult judgments.

At Ars Technica (the name derives from the Latin for "art of technology"), we focus on news and reviews, tech trend analysis, and expert advice on topics ranging from the most basic aspects of technology to the many ways it helps us discover our world. We serve readers who not only need to keep up with technology, but are passionate about it.

We at Ars are very proud of our unique combination of tech savvy and a broad interest in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Our editorial team is Linux, Mac, and Windows savvy; they know both home and business; they understand law and politics; and they focus on getting readers the right answers, the first time. It's no wonder Ars has become the "go-to" destination for those who need to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Ars Technica is also unique in many ways. We are a proud leader in conversational media, providing exciting new answers to our readers' needs and desires for fresh voices, informed reporting, and reader engagement. Ars writers are not afraid of wit or strong opinions, and readers will find both reflected in our work. But at Ars, "opinion" never becomes dogma; we strive to make measured judgments and carefully convey context. Those who come to Ars looking for computing religion won't find it, which is why millions of readers trust our take on the day's tech news and look forward to our original reporting.

And then there's our strong community. While "community" has become an Internet buzzword recently, Ars has been building a true online community since its founding in 1998. We encourage reader feedback and participation in the conversation through discussions on each article and through the famous Ars OpenForum, a veritable treasure trove of tips, technical help, and camaraderie on the Internet.

It has been said that "sine scientia ars nihil est," or "without knowledge, art is nothing." We agree, but there's a corollary: sine Ars, scientia nihil est.