Scientific American gives its redesigned July issue away as a download

The venerable magazine Scientific American has redesigned and is offering is July issue free as a download to let potential readers see what they've done. You only have five days to get the dowload by going here.

Editor-in-chief John Rennie says that they've kept all that's good (what redesigning editor doesn't say this, mind you?) and made some substantial improvements.

"...mindful of the demands on the attentions of today's busy readers, we have repackaged those articles to make the information they contain more understandable and to spell out more clearly their relevance to current affairs. Every article begins with a Key Concepts box or an Editors' Introduction that summarizes the text's major points and provides useful context for the expert author's narrative. Strong informational graphics bring the explanations to life. Sidebars and boxes elaborate on essential details. (Not enough time to read an article in its entirety? Then try scanning the Key Concepts, illustrations and sidebars as a quick guide to an article's messages.)

The magazine is also putting more and more emphasis on its website and the integration and complementarity of its print and online content