Condé Nast closed the doors on Gourmet last October, but President of Consumer Marketing for Condé Nast Robert Sauerberg said the brand was never completely shut down.

“By focusing on a new way to meet consumer needs, tap into our deep branding, and approach our content differently, we came up with a product that re-imagines Gourmet and revalues engagement,” CEO Chuck Townsend said. “We are extremely pleased with the magazine apps we have developed as part of our R&D efforts, however Gourmet Live is profoundly different. We approached this like a tech company, utilizing the rich assets of a media company, keeping Condé Nast at the forefront of content innovation.”

He said Gourmet Live aims to attract a younger, Web-savvy audience in addition to previous readers of Gourmet magazine.

Gourmet Live adds a twist to the future of magazines. Previously, it was commonly agreed upon that the future of magazines was on the Internet, but individual apps are a relatively new development.

What is most interesting is Townsendâ€s statement that a technological approach was taken. He also said Gourmet Live is “not a magazine and itâ€s not a digital version of a magazine.” What is it then? If other magazines choose to follow the same path, will the word magazine and/or our current idea of what that is become obsolete in the future? We also worry about the quality of the content for such apps if technology is considered foremost in development, though the bright side is the potential for struggling publications to find new footing in the digital realm.

Longer than The Lord of the Rings, more dramatic than The Odyssey, and more ridiculous than a two-day marathon of America’s Next Top Model, the saga of “The Nook” continues.

While Nook initially got great press from the Tech world – word is that the device is superior to Sony’s eReader and even Amazon’s Kindle – Barnes & Noble has seriously messed up their competitive edge by not producing enough Nooks to meet the demand.

With the deficiency (which B&N maintains is due to shipping problems…but no one’s believing that one), there’s a chance you may not get your Nook by Christmas – even if you pre-ordered and were given a pre-holiday shipping date.

To soften the blow, B&N is offering $100 gift certificates and fancy “Your Nook Will Be Here Soon” Cards for those whose Nooks won’t be under the tree for Christmas Day.

It’s a nice gesture – but will that be enough for B&N to recover from this disaster and take on the increasingly popular Kindle? Only time will tell.

Read the Full Story {Wired}