I am wondering if there are any plans on releasing the first 25 years worth in a digital format?

Even if there are no such plans now, it seems inevitable that eventually a digital resource will be made available. There were no plans to release "The Sphinx" in a digital format (as it was published in a pre-digital age), and yet I have more than a half-century of that publication lurking on my hard drive!

My hope is that Stan Allen will benefit from the sale of this sooner rather than later

Their website says there will no digital edition of Legacy. I would imagine that means no web-only exclusive content, but doesn't preclude making PDFs of the print product available at some point. The site also says MAGIC "will not be sold or rebooted in any form." This seems to close the door to new ownership or to a successor publication, but doesn't preclude making the existing content available digitally. Legacy will include some "remixing" of previous content, making it clear that they understand the appeal and value of the asset that has been created over the last quarter-century.

I haven't seen anything to suggest that they're ruling out a release of the first 25 years in a digital format, but that's clearly not their focus at the moment. Maybe somebody will inside information will response to the original post with something more than the baseless speculation I've offered!

From Richard Kaufman:
I can finally announce an agreement that Stan Allen and I have made.

Emails went out to MAGIC magazine subscribers earlier today.

If you were a subscriber to MAGIC and still have issues due on your subscription, you will have the choice of either getting a refund, or rolling your MAGIC subscription over into Genii (and we'll give you three free issues of Genii on top of that as a way of saying welcome).

For MAGIC subscribers who choose this option, your first issue of Genii will be the January 2017 edition, which is the first issue of our 80th year of publication. Note that all Genii subscribers who pay for a paper subscription get a digital subscription free, and it's not just a pdf download, but a genuine robust digital magazine with audio and video embedded in it.

As Genii subscribers know, they have free online access to all 79 volumes of Genii going back to 1936. Every page is up there. Sometime in early 2017 we will be adding the entire archive of MAGIC magazine (all 301 issues) to our online service. Thus subscribers to Genii will be able to view every issue of Genii and every issue of MAGIC online at no additional charge--it all comes with your subscription.

For those MAGIC subscribers who chose to roll over the balance of their subscriptions to Genii, we're pleased to welcome you to our family.

Very excited to hear that the whole run of MAGIC will be available through the Genii site. It's nice that this great resource is being preserved.

Well, I would definitely prefer a PDF, at least as an option. Even if it was DRM crippled, as long as I could print out single pages. What troubles me with the current solution:
1. Online difficult to print more than one or two pages.
2. Both online and tablet (Android): Navigation is not very intuitive, reading articles is more complicated than PDF
3. Android: Buggy, sometimes I do not get a page to display properly. Also, the zooming is anyhting but smooth or fast (and with PDF it is possible, so it is a limitation of the reader).

These are the top 3.

Back to the original topic: since Chris Wasshuber is in the deal as well, I will go with the Lybrary PDF edition -- if I can afford it.

Another benefit of the PDF version, which I myself use a lot, is that with a PDF you can search through ALL your PDFs, not just Genii or Magic. Put them in one directory and use the Acrobat Reader 'search in this directory' feature and you can search through your ENTIRE digital library. For me this is the most useful feature and has helped me find stuff which would otherwise stay hidden to me.

This is excellent news thanks Richard

The online archives of Genii and, soon, MAGIC are also completely searchable.

The collection of 301 Magic Magazine issues as searchable PDFs is now available for purchase http://www.lybrary.com/magic-magazine-al......885.html

Please note that the release date of the full collection is January 2017. However, all those who buy before the official release date will be able to download issues as they are being digitized. Currently all issues from 1991-1993 can already be downloaded.

You have the choice between a download bundle for $150, or on a flash USB drive for $170. Buying the USB Flash drive will also allow you to download the PDFs if you wish to do so.

This is great news!

Owners can now download PDFs 1991-1995. More will be added very soon.

Chris wasn't kidding about "more will be added soon"! I note that the available issues now go through the year 2000!

That is true. We are working overtime to get it all digitized, if possible before Xmas. Is everything working as it should? Any suggestions, comments, things that could be done better?

Chris, The downloads all seem to be extremely slow. I've tried both the USA and Europe links, and they both seem to take far longer than they should. As a matter of fact, I've been trying for the past 2 days to download the 1996 PDF, and haven't succeeded yet.

The Europe server typically takes a day or two to sync with the US server. Until it is synced you are still downloading from the US source until the Europe server has caught up. In other words, it can take a bit until you will see maximum speed. However, these are very large files and the connection speed is not only determined by the server but by many other things out of my control.

Also make sure to use the right-click and save-as method. If you simply click on the download link the browser will first attempt to load the entire file into the browser which can take ages. It is much better to right-click and save the file to your hard-disk.

I'm trying the right click approach now, and it's already working much faster and better! Thanks for the advice, Chris!

Chris and his crew have definitely been busy! The issues up through 2013 are all available at this writing. Only 2014, 2015 and 2016 left to go.

The remaining ones are uploading right now. We are finished. USB flash memories have entered the mail earlier today. Enjoy!