What's the best mac magazine out there?

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Do you subscribe to any? Which one offers it readers the best articles, most how to info, best reviews, best free and demo software, bonuses, novice user advice, advanced user advice, etc...



What are your picks in these different areas. I guess we ought to include the content creation rags too (since there are a lot of macs in those communities)



Well, I've got a little subscription money burning a hole in my pocket and I'd liek to know what you all think.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    I've got subscriptions to MacWorld and MacAddict and I think MacAddict is the better one out of the two that I get.
  • Reply 2 of 45
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    I subscribe to Macworld and MacAddict.



    Alll Mac mags are HORRIBLE. macworld went down the thread last year with that turnover in management/staff they had with the redesign. for a few issues you could see they were trying to compete with macAddict by trying to be funny in their articles but they just came off lame.



    ALL THE REVIEWS ARE THE SAME. I don't understand how many times they can do the same damn Quake 3 test and PS test and call it a review on a system. it's horrible. I want detailed reviews, pages, performance charts, etc. Have some interesting tech articles other than how to paint your mac's case or add a title to a powerpoint presentation.



    There is no mac mag aimed at the mac user with half a brain.
  • Reply 3 of 45
    macaddictmacaddict Posts: 1,055member
    I agree with applenut on this one, kinda. Mac mags do not have very good content. Nor do they have much of it. All the reviews are the same, two or three months after the damn product is realeased. The gaming pages always seem to be about the latest arcade shareware and the how-to's are almost exclusively Office and Photoshop. I like MacAddict more because of the humor they put into their articles (a lot funnier than MacWorld...MacWorld is genuinely boring sometimes), but MacWorld usually has some more info. So take your pick...straight information or some info with some humor mixed in. I'll take humor. When I want info I go to Ars.
  • Reply 4 of 45
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    [quote]Originally posted by applenut:

    <strong>There is no mac mag aimed at the mac user with half a brain.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    The truth is sad.



    In this day and age, the web provides much better coverage, for free, without wasting paper. Whenever I register new Apple products, I sign up for 6 months of free Macword issues. But I never renew.



    I used to like MacWEEK, but that went down the tube too when it changed focus, became only only, and finally was integrated with MacCentral.com after being gobbled up by Mac Publishing LLC. Sad, sad, sad...



    Escher
  • Reply 5 of 45
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    PS: Anybody remeber when MacWEEK brought us the first spy pictures of the upcoming Wallstreet PowerBooks, before they even surfaced on the web? Print publishing has lost its edge.



    Escher
  • Reply 6 of 45
    macaddictmacaddict Posts: 1,055member
    Ah, I have a few MacWeeks and MacWorld's from 1996. It's not that old, but very fun to look back at. When PowerComputing was "kicking Intel's Ass".







    Classic.



    [ 12-10-2001: Message edited by: MacAddict ]</p>
  • Reply 7 of 45
    idudeidude Posts: 352member
    I subscribe to both MacAddict and MacWorld. Both are good at a little and horrible at a lot. MacWorld has better product reviews and MacAddict is more humorous. Macworld was MUCH better before Pogue and Gore left.
  • Reply 8 of 45
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by iDude:

    <strong>I subscribe to both MacAddict and MacWorld. Both are good at a little and horrible at a lot. MacWorld has better product reviews and MacAddict is more humorous. Macworld was MUCH better before Pogue and Gore left.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Exactly why I subscribe to both. They both have their good points and bad points.
  • Reply 9 of 45
    cdhostagecdhostage Posts: 1,038member
    MacAddict is funny.



    I wish it were more liike Wired. They need excellent writers and comprehensive testers.
  • Reply 9 of 45
    I get MacWorld for free and I hardly find anything in it really ESSENTIAL to me. The Apple news is all old by the time it comes to print. They really need to focus more on good reviews and how-to articles. Overall I get enough tech magazines (all free) and in the end, I probably feel a bit guilty for all the wasted paper!
  • Reply 11 of 45
    daverdaver Posts: 496member
    I had a subscription to Macworld from 1996?99, and it used to be a fantastic magazine. Good articles, responsible reviews, and reasonably thorough lab tests. Quality began to decline from late 1997 onward, starting with Macworld's merger with MacUser, the rise of the Internet, and then the redesign. I don't bother with it anymore.



    MacAddict was awesome in its early issues, with really funny writers and great how-to's in every issue. Most of the original staff has left now; I think the magazine peaked in 1997 or 98. Oh, how this Internet-less Mac user loved those MacAddict CD-ROMs! Like Macworld, I don't bother anymore.



    There are other minor magazines like MacHome and a couple others, but I doubt they're much better. My local bookstore used to get copies of Macworld and MacUser UK that seemed superior to (and thicker than) their US counterparts.
  • Reply 12 of 45
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    The only thing I wana complain about with Macworld is that I never get the CDs but the issues in the stores do. What's up with that?
  • Reply 13 of 45
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    I subscribed to Macworld back in the day (pre-Jobs iEra), but it lapsed long ago.



    Oddly enough, I keep buying them and I have (looking at them on my shelf right now) every single issue for the past 2 years, 3 months.



    I SHOULD be a subscriber, huh? The money I would've saved.



    Macworld isn't as good now as it was 3-4 years ago. It's MUCH thinner, less content and a new editorial tone that's a bit too much like Entertainment Weekly, in that it tries to be cute and flippant.



    I prefer a more serious sober tone to some things.



    That's why I can't stand MacAddict. God, what a bunch of flaming geeks and completely useless info. I bought the last couple of issues for a particular article and I looked through it just to make sure it still was as juvenile and heavy-handed as I remember it being.



    Yep.



    MacHome is geared toward soccer mom's and complete newbies who know next to nothing.



    MacDesign (formerly MacToday) is good, but if you're not a graphics person, there's not much there for you.



    Of the current four major Mac magazines in existence (Macworld, MacAddict, MacDesign and MacHome), MacDesign is my favorite.



    But it only comes out every two months, so it's really no good for news or time-sensitive info (hell, are any of them? No, not with the Internet and maccentral.com and the like). But MacDesign has useful tutorials and graphics-centric reviews and articles, so it appeals to me.



    Every now and then, I'll buy a Macworld that hold absolutely NOTHING of interest to me: tips on Excel, how to make your old Performa into a closet organizer, gaming roundup and how to use QuickTime to create a time lapse of your backyard.







    Applenut is right. The majority of Mac magazines REALLY do suck. I miss the Macworld of the mid-late 90's.
  • Reply 14 of 45
    serranoserrano Posts: 1,806member
    am i the only one who misses the early macuser mags?
  • Reply 15 of 45
    Yeah, they all suck! Macworld used to be a great mag, but then it went way down hill. The mag now is about half the size it used to be, and almost a third of that is ads.



    Macuser is kinda basic, but okay.



    Macdesign is okay. They are pretty humorous sometimes.



    Macaddict I feel is for teens with a 3 second attention span.



    There are a few large format magazines from the UK that I have seen in Barnes and Noble, but they are about $13 per. They look great and come with a cd inside. Can anyone help jog my memory?



    But for the most part, they all suck ass. I quit reading them.
  • Reply 16 of 45
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    I see the British Macworld and another large format one called MacFormat in my local Barnes & Noble all the time.



    They actually, for whatever reason, see to have a MUCH snazzier, fun-to-look at design and layout. Not to mention they're crammed with quite a bit of content!



    But they are a bit pricey, so I usually just flip through them at the store because the day I spend $14 on a magazine is the day I also buy a Celine Dion Winter Wonderland Ice Skating Revue ticket.



    I would LOVE to see a Mac magazine come out that took from all the best parts of the current mags and just did it RIGHT and became the end-all/be-all of Mac magazines: serious, intelligent content, good writing, USEFUL tips and tutorials, long, exhaustive reviews using REAL WORLD criteria, informative, info-packed articles, lots of cool pictures and infographics and a kick-ass buying guide/review section.



    Anyone?



  • Reply 17 of 45
    MacAddict is probably he best of the lot, followed by MacWorld. But I don't subscribe to either one.



    I used to get MacUser, MacWorld, and MacWeek. Then MacUser merged into MacWorld, and MacWeek tanked.



    I let MacWorld lapse a couple of years ago because, frankly, all of their news is stone cold by the time you get the issue. The internet has completely ruined news reporting for monthlies. That, and the fact that most of their content is available online, anyway.



    Come to think of it, I don't read any magazines any more. I just surf for all my news.
  • Reply 18 of 45
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    I can't believe how much better those UK Mac magazines are. I sometimes buy them, but I don't feel like spending $13 on a magazine on a regular basis.
  • Reply 19 of 45
    During last several years, I subscribed the MacHome Journal, MacWorld, MacAddict, Business 2.0, WIRED, and something from ZDNet [forgot the name]. Right now, all I've left are MacAddict and WIRED. I do agree WE do have the worst stuff in the USA; poor magazine (eg MacWorld), poor automobile (eg FORD), and poor infrastructure (eg TV, cell phone) compare to Europe and Asia. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />



    MacWorld UK and some other Mac-magazine from Japan are so good.



    Looks like most US magazines are being under Bill Gates's control.



    Kenneth
  • Reply 20 of 45
    Anybody have comments about Mac Tech?
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