| Issue #64/Aug. '00 |
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Navigate: | My Mac Online | The Archives | February 1999 | Downloadable Edition Feedback | |
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The reasons for asking were simple. First, it takes a lot of time to put together the downloadable DOCMaker edition. It also takes a lot of time to put together the website. Would our time be better served by simply putting our efforts solely toward the website rather than producing a DOCMaker edition if most readers are reading it online? We asked this because it's very hard to know how many people are downloading the issue, but we can track how many people are visiting the website. We really didn't know just how popular, or unpopular, the downloadable edition was. We found out. With the help of a poll on the website, and an email to those who subscribe to the magazine, we asked you to either send in your vote through the poll or send us an email with your thoughts. The following is some of your email messages, and the results of the poll. Thanks to everyone who wrote in and voted. Tim Robertson, Publisher, My Mac Magazine Your letters...
WHAT? Are you guys MAD? In Europe people have to PAY for the time they spend on the net. Most people (including myself) won't be able to afford to read the online version. PLEEEEEEEEEZE keep the offline version. If you don't, you will lose many European readers. Also, on a more serious note: you could get more readers by sending an email to macformat@futurenet.co.uk. MacFormat is a British Mac Magazine, with over 50,000 readers. I think they would gladly include the offline version of My Mac on their Cover CD-ROM. I hope my feedback helps to keep the offline version of My Mac Magazine. Keep up the good work! Yours Urban R. Weigl uhweigl@tinet.ie
I would really miss My Mac Magazine. If you were to stop the Doc Maker edition. I do not find on-line reading to be enjoyable or really very effective. When I have to do that for work I do, but I very seldom do it for pleasure. I read My Mac and other similar e-zines in chunks when I have time wherever I am either on my PowerBook or by printing out a chapter here or there. I do not have the hours it would take to read it on line and reading that way is very wasteful of my time because instead of instant movement from article to article I now have to wait for the new website to load. I gave up Mac Today until there was a very special subscription offer from MacCentral for the printed edition. There are two other pubs I used to read that either went web only or used that terrible .pdf format from Adobe. I really enjoy your ezine and hope to continue, if you should decide to eliminate your downloadable version then I wish you continued success in the future. In either case, have a great holiday season.
I registered with a yes on your reader poll. I am sending this note because I think it important that you know why. I am in the older generation (65) and grew up reading paper. I find it very difficult to read on-line for an extended period of time so I would not read your magazine at all if the only version of it was on-line. How can you call it an ezine if email is not involved? Nancy E. Dykes Ndykes@naplesnet.com
Please replace the DOCMaker edition with a text version. Downloading DOCMaker is severe punishment for some of us. If you want a middle ground, why not use setext, as the TidBITS editors do?
Happy New Year
I voted in your online poll to KEEP the DOCMaker version, however... What I am really voting for is a DOWNLOADABLE version. I, and I suspect many others, would prefer an Adobe Acrobat format document. While DOCMaker may have led the way in some respects in providing a downloadable formatted document, Acrobat has clearly become the STANDARD for such purposes.
Thanks,
Be a little easier to offer an opinion if one knew what replaces it, if anything. In other words, is this a loss of information, or simply a transfer to a different format/medium, e.g. web or email. While on the subject, I, for one, like simple plain eMail, not html or fancy eMail. DOCMaker has the ability to transfer much information, but so too web pages. Note: pdf is great, *but* it does take space, is large, or so I think. Just some comments.
Regards:
Please do not do away with the offline version I like much better than the online one Shlomy Glick chossid@yahoo.com
I like the ability to download My Mac, however I would prefer a PDF format over the DOCMaker format. Since I am forced to use a Windows NT computer at work, that means that I have to actually print out the issue at home and then take that to work to read. Unfortunately, the My Mac website is blocked by my company's firewall. In short, a cross platform downloadable version would be ideal for me, in addition to opening up your possible distribution to non-Mac platforms.
Thanks
You did not say what the alternatives are, but, I vote for the DOCMaker version. I do NOT like .pdf docs. And, reading documents online ties up the net and my phone line. I like to refer to the tutorial articles at times, when they may have been removed from a web page. Also, I put these electronic newsletters into my user group library for others to read (some of whom are not on the net).
Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment on the DOCMaker issue: I vote to keep the downloadable version. Reason; I can't, most of the time, read the online version because of office restrictions, travel, busy etc. etc. I can however, easily have the online version downloaded which permits me to read it offline (traveling in a place, my card, on the airport bus, etc. etc. If I can't download the offline version to read offline, I fear I'll miss reading many issues.
Regards First of all, I would like to say that you should not get rid of the downloadable DOCMaker as that is, I guess, the reason I am a subscriber. Not all people have unlimited access to the web and since some of your readers may be abroad, we have to pay for minutes online which can range from approx. 25¢ to 50¢ a minute. I myself enjoy downloading your ezine and then reading it when time permits, sometimes referring back to other issues I have placed on removable zip disks. If you get rid of the DOCMaker ezine, I assure you, some of your readers, including me, will not read My Mac anymore as it is a hassle to read it online. Another reason I like the DOCMaker format is I sometime refer to your articles with other people and look at your back issues. So, all in all, I would say you should not get rid of the DOCMaker version. Sincerely, Aram Kudurshian aramk@worldnet.fr
Instead of doing away with the DOCMaker version, you should consider 'porting' to Adobe Acrobat for future editions of My Mac Magazine. After all, it will become native in OS X. I also think a portable emagazine that can be read on any computer regardless of platform is rather innovative and important. Unless it financially kills you, you should continue some form of portable emagazine.
Not sure wiether you should kill the downloadable or not but take a look at what Ambrosia did. They use to have DOCMaker things for the Ambrosia Times, now they just let the HTML pages be downloaded. All the joys of a downloadable format, less hassle and problems. Michael Sheets msheets@wwisp.com
I enjoy reading My Mac offline at my leisure time. I don't want to have to be logged on to read and take in all of the juicy stuff that gets packed into the ezine. Please, don't eliminate the DOCMaker version. Chris Tubbs ctubbs@macconnect.com a loyal reader since,um,.... (well, its been a number of years now and I don't remember when I began reading My Mac)
If the alternative to DOCMaker is PDF, I much prefer DOCMaker. PDF looks down right ugly and in some cases, almost unreadable (unless you've got the full suitcase of postscript display fonts installed -- the default ~ATM font is not acceptable quality). SimpleText would be O.K. provided your file size is small enough. I would venture to say that 99% of Mac users probably own a copy of ClarisWorks. That also would be an acceptable alternative. I've never had a problem with DOCMaker, it has a bunch of features that PDF doesn't offer, and always looks good on my system. I already cast my vote, but a mere 'yea' or 'nay' doesn't seem sufficient. I really prefer either direct email or downloadable by a long shot compared to reading online. Why?
A very new subscriber who had been wandering out to the website about once every 3 months, never to finish reading an issue. BTW, the occasional 'throw-in' such as last month's FileMaker Phone book are a real benefit of your Emag.
Thanks,
Whilst I appreciate that you may have some very valid reasons for discontinuing the DOCMaker edition of My Mac, I would just like to say, on behalf of the many thousands of devout readers 'NOOOOO!!!' Perhaps I should elaborate: Until about a year ago, I, like the majority of Mac users in the UK, had no Internet access. I was, however, a regular reader of your magazine thanks to the cover-mounted CD's from the likes of 'MacFormat' and 'Macworld'. If you were to stop producing the DOCMaker edition, I suspect that the aforementioned magazines, and many others all over the world, would stop carrying your magazine--a collection of html documents and a handful of gifs are a much less elegant way of reading offline and I very much doubt that many CD editors would bother carrying an entire site on their respective discs. Regardless of whether it continues in DOCMaker format, I will continue to enjoy your magazine. I just hope that the 'Internet-impaired' members of the mac community also get to experience My Mac. Well, that's my £0.02 (which I believe works out at about 3 1/2 cents :)
Thanks,
Have been reading My Mac for a few months now which is about how long I've had this Mac. I'd like you to continue using the system that allows me to download you ezine otherwise I have to stay online or go online each time I read My Mac. Currently, I put it on my desktop and read it over the next three weeks or so and don't have to sign on, load the browser, etc. Much, much quicker to have it sitting on my desktop where I can see it each time I sit down in front of San (the name of this computer) which encourages me to work my way though the articles which, of course, teaches me about my Mac. If it'd work for you to continue with the download possibility, I'd appreciate it.
Sincerely,
After much thought and debate, and with the help and input from you, our readers, My Mac Magazine will continue to be available in the DOCMaker edition.
Tim Robertson
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