MacFornat magazine (UK) is nothing more than a shiny lightweight Mac magazine for teenagers not sure how to turn their iPhone on. MacUser (UK) was long form journalism, deep analysis, with beautiful layout. This publication was and is unrivalled. The decision to kill it is rash, short term and stupid. People who argue that print is dead, forget a similar point was expressed about retail shopping, online is the only way to go, and then the Apple Store appeared. Quality survives in whatever form if it's recognised, and supported.
Gutted. ... Up to 2 years ago I used to subscribe to 7 Mac Mags [Sad I know] but due to the fact that many were copying each other and the cost I came to the conclusion that only 2 were worth paying for and they were 'Mac-Format'10/10 & 'Mac-User'9/9 out of 10. Now Mac User is no more and I for one was gutted to hear this. Over the past year just gone Mac-User had actually got better and better month on month, I only hope Mac-Format doe's not go the same way. R I P Mac-User, gone but not forgotten. Geoff-macman.
Though Apple has increased the number of products out there dramatically in recent years I suspect that the MacUser view - mature, in-depth and live to political pressures and security concerns - did not match the new user mentality. It always came across as a professional, serious publication that was not always held back by a blind loyalty to the brand. Often refreshing but always informative. Where do we go to get the live feed on those areas now?
This is not the same MacUser as some people think. MacUser was a US publication that was purchased and shut down by MacWorld in 1997. There was a very large number of people who were angry at MacWorld for doing this (seethingly furious, actually). I still remember the last issue – it had a teaser for the never-to-appear subsequent issue about a feature article covering the entire publication process for an issue of MU. It was like the final episode of Mork and Mindy part two fo a two-part cliffhanger (Mork comes out as an alien to the President in the Oval Office), which was yanked and never aired. MW did this simply to reduce the competition. What they did was to cut the amount of monthly Mac content in half. Most of my friends subscribed to both. Back then, both MU (the better magazine, IMHO) and MW carried an enormous amount of advertising, with issues running up to 200 pages. The more ads, the more content. I still have years of MU and MW in boxes in the closet. It's great fun to dig through them every couple of years. The issues of both covering the introduction of the LC, SI and Classic (the original monochrome reissue) was really exciting. Mac marketshare was still ahead of Windows and the new herd was a huge game-changer – the biggest leap in Mac popularity until the debut of the bondi iMac. When MW killed MU, things had changed. After years of brain-dead marketing, Windows was kicking the Mac's tailfeathers. Right when Mac users were relying on the constant monthly input, MU was gone. The message was that MW didn't care about Mac owners; just about money. But that's water twenty years under the bridge. Too bad about MU/UK. It kept the spirit alive.
Comments
MacUser (UK) was long form journalism, deep analysis, with beautiful layout. This publication was and is unrivalled. The decision to kill it is rash, short term and stupid. People who argue that print is dead, forget a similar point was expressed about retail shopping, online is the only way to go, and then the Apple Store appeared.
Quality survives in whatever form if it's recognised, and supported.
Now Mac User is no more and I for one was gutted to hear this. Over the past year just gone Mac-User had actually got better and better month on month, I only hope Mac-Format doe's not go the same way. R I P Mac-User, gone but not forgotten.
Geoff-macman.
Ref to: post 477 Mac-Week. [ Agree 100% ] nice post.
It will be a sad day when what you are reading and holding in your hands in paper form disappears forever, I fear this may happen.
Maybe this is why I cannot part with all the books that I read, on average 25 a year. Gutted to read that 'Mac-User' has gone.G.
MW did this simply to reduce the competition. What they did was to cut the amount of monthly Mac content in half. Most of my friends subscribed to both.
Back then, both MU (the better magazine, IMHO) and MW carried an enormous amount of advertising, with issues running up to 200 pages. The more ads, the more content.
I still have years of MU and MW in boxes in the closet. It's great fun to dig through them every couple of years. The issues of both covering the introduction of the LC, SI and Classic (the original monochrome reissue) was really exciting. Mac marketshare was still ahead of Windows and the new herd was a huge game-changer – the biggest leap in Mac popularity until the debut of the bondi iMac.
When MW killed MU, things had changed. After years of brain-dead marketing, Windows was kicking the Mac's tailfeathers. Right when Mac users were relying on the constant monthly input, MU was gone. The message was that MW didn't care about Mac owners; just about money. But that's water twenty years under the bridge.
Too bad about MU/UK. It kept the spirit alive.
Those were the days.