Mac Magazines

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I subscribe to MacWorld and have done so on and off over the years. I find it weak on content and even the adds aren't what I remember them as being. The adds used to go on for miles - and I loved it. That was half the fun of the magazine.



Here's my question - what are the best Mac magazines? Why? And which ones can I get in English in the States?



p.s. I suppose this topic has come up before, but I gave up on the AI search feature some time ago.



p.p.s has anyone written a history of mac magazines? I'd be curious to read one.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Print publications in general are losing readers to web-based online mags. Macworld took a turn for the worse when it merged with MacUser, where it basically became MacUser. I remember when MacWorld covers were thick and oversized and when every issue was 200+ pages
  • Reply 2 of 20
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    u gave up on the search feature...with UBB maybe but with vBoard its grand
  • Reply 3 of 20
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    MacAddict is a fun magazine to read. It's very stylish, creative, and witty...but a bit expensive.



    Mac Design is another one that I like. It gives tips and reviews on programs and hardware relating to Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, and other design programs (hence the name). If you're already really knowledgeable in these programs, it may not do much for you. It is more designed for the low to mid-end user, but is VERY useful for those people.



    My $0.02.
  • Reply 4 of 20
    chilleymacchilleymac Posts: 142member
    I really like a British magazine called MacFormat. I can buy it here in the states at Barnes & Noble. It is by far my favorite Mac mag. Plus it generally comes with two demo discs with full versions of some pretty good software.
  • Reply 5 of 20
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    pscates had a nice thread about this some time ago.
  • Reply 6 of 20
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
  • Reply 7 of 20
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Ha! I saw this thread and went "hey, I've already covered this brilliantly a few weeks ago!"







    But seriously, I just got my new Macworld (May 2003) in the mail yesterday and I read it COMPLETELY in about 45 minutes. It's just weak. More ads than content, about 200 of those subscription cards falling out, lame attempts at humor ("What's Hot" and Ihnatko's increasingly idiotic column, etc.).



    My subscription was a gift (in case someone says "well, asshead...stop getting it and demand a refund!").







    MacAddict is completely useless in every way, shape and form.



    I like MacDesign, but it's gone real heavy on Dreamweaver, digital video, etc.



    Actually, believe it or not, one of the better Mac magazines out there is MacHome. It's written for consumers/newbie type of people (no in-depth dual G4 articles/reviews), but its tone, layout, photography, overall vibe and lack of smarminess makes it a nice magazine to read, especially since I am a bit of an "iGuy" and don't really give two damns about the "power/pro" portion of Apple's product line. MacHome is all eMac, iMac, iPod, iBook, iLife, digital hub, peripherals, surfing, e-mail, etc. related.



    Right up my alley.
  • Reply 8 of 20
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    (US) MacWorld's reviews have at least improved quite a bit. MacHome is also probably my fav magazine because it is what it is, with no pretense or other nonsense.



    (UK) MacFormat is probably the best out there though. Wow, too bad it costs more than even some architecture magazines on this side of the pond!
  • Reply 9 of 20
    I like Mac User (UK mag) - good content but I get through it in half an hour so definitely not worth £3.50. Luckily I work in a library that has a subscription
  • Reply 10 of 20
    stunnedstunned Posts: 1,096member
    MacAddict is a rather fun magazine to read, even though it is too pro Apple.
  • Reply 11 of 20
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    As I said in my other thread, I really wish either a new company entirely (or simply Macworld themselves) would somehow go all out and get back to a thick, larger content-heavy design (even if ads have to go up proportionally, I understand). But in the mid/late 90's (when I first started using Macs and buying the magazines), they were HUGE and thick and would take me all weekend to read, cover to cover.



    Those British ones (MacFormat and others) are large, have GREAT photography (actual posed, informative shots...not just the canned Apple PR photos we've all seen a thousand times before) and infographics and page after page of cool tips/tricks for iTunes, iMovie, OS X in general, etc.



    I just don't dig the idea of paying $15 for these imports.



  • Reply 12 of 20
    Mac Addict has become a joke, and it was never that great to start with.



    Macworld has been in a steady slide for the last 5 years or so, I went digging for an old Macworld a few weeks ago looking for an old article on the Power Mac 9600 and it was easily three times thicker than the most recent issue.



    That being said, it is still somewhat worth reading.
  • Reply 13 of 20
    kecksykecksy Posts: 1,002member
    I miss the good old days when the Internet didn't exist, and I got all my Mac news from Macworld and MacMall.



    "Hey, look MacMall has new PowerMacs for sale. When did these come out?"



    Wait, what am I saying?
  • Reply 14 of 20
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    MacAddict is like an entire magazine written and edited by Andy Ihnatko. And that's not a compliment either.



    Smarmy, geekboy "ain't I cool" humor really isn't. Every month, that idiot tries to find some stupid way to do some obscure task with the most heavy-lifting, "up 'til 4am coding" methods possible.



    "I really wanted to synchronize my shower radio with my Bluetooth cel phone. Why Apple doesn't allow this in the OS is beyond me. Steve, are ya listening? So anyway, I pop open a case of Mountain Dew, crack my knuckles, fire up BBEdit and...".



    Shut up.



  • Reply 15 of 20
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    That is the truest description of Andy I've ever read. Rock on Paul.







    ha ha ha
  • Reply 16 of 20
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates

    But in the mid/late 90's (when I first started using Macs and buying the magazines), they were HUGE and thick and would take me all weekend to read, cover to cover.









    I think I still have a number of those old "thick" MacWorlds from the 80's, in my basement. Yes those were the days when the front cover touted the blazing speed of the new Mac SE.



    Publishing costs are getting too prohibitive. With the advent of the internet, information is instant. Printed magazines on the other hand is "old news" when they hit the magazine stands.

    But yes it was nice curling up in bed with a good issue deciding which Daystar accelerator I wanted!
  • Reply 17 of 20
    coolmaccoolmac Posts: 259member
    I'll bet in the U.K. you probably can't look at these magazines for free like we can here at Barnes & Noble or Borders.



    Luckily the Barnes & Noble near me carries most of the British Mac magazines, and usually by the time I get to them the plastic wrapping has been ripped off already so I can read them without guilt.
  • Reply 18 of 20
    serranoserrano Posts: 1,806member
    MacUSER



    rip
  • Reply 19 of 20
    All,



    Thanks. I think I'll give MacHome a shot.



    Pscates, sorry if I duplicated your previous thread on this - but everytime I try search, it just craps out on me. Possibly something to do with my slow connection over here.



    I also used to 'subscribe' to all of the vendor catalogs too, e.g., MacMall, ClubMac, MacWarehouse, etc., But then they got smart and dropped you after so many catalogs if you didn't buy something.





    GG
  • Reply 20 of 20
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    There's another British publication I dig quite a bit and I've noticed it for the past couple of years: it's called Your iMac. It's made by the MacFormat people.



    In any case, it's really cool. A couple of years ago, during the indigo/ruby/sage iMac period, they had consecutive issues with each model displayed with a cutie-pie model on the cover and GREAT photography inside, as well as the usual bundle of tips, tutorials, how-to, Q&A, infographics, etc.



    The current issues deal with pretty much all things "i" and digital hub-related.



    http://www.macformat.co.uk/imac.asp



    Check it out.
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