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  • MacAddict (March 1997)

    Source: MacAddict – Issue Number 7 – March 1997

    MacAddict was very much like a Mac specific version of Maximum PC. I think that it eventually morphed into MacLife but in my opinion it was much, much better when it was MacAddict. The March 1997 issue includes:

    Highlights

    • Hopping Online – A guide for the first time surfer to get on the Internet. The given list of items that you will need includes a modem (14.4kbps or faster recommended), an ISP (of course), TCP/IP software (Open Transport for macs 68030 or newer, LocalTalk otherwise), PPP software, and then it is recommended that you have at least System 7.5.5, 8MB RAM (16MB for PowerPC users) and a 68030 processor though the minimum configuration is a Mac Plus running System 7.1 with 4MB of RAM.
    • Now That You’re Wired – A continuation of the previous article describing where you can go, what you can do and how to do it online. Includes info about web browsers, e-mail, Usenet, FTP and more.
    • Teach Your Old Modem New Tricks – How to set up and use a modem including using it for stuff other than the Internet. Online gaming, calling local bulletin board systems, faxing and more are all covered.
    • This Old Mac – As someone who plays around with older computers a lot, I appreciate this column. It covers upgrades and uses for older Macs. This month the SE/30 is covered. Some upgrade possibilities include: The RAM can be upgraded to as much as 32MB using eight 4MB 30-pin SIMMs; There is room for one 3.5″ device such as a hard drive (up to at least 4GB) or something like a ZIP drive; A PDS video card can be installed for connection to an external color monitor (the built-in monitor is black and white only); multiple SCSI drives can be connected externally along with other peripherals such as a modem; The system software itself can be upgraded to 7.5.5. Also mentioned is upgrading the SE to an SE/30 via a logic board swap.

    How To

    • Use AppleScript – An AppleScript tutorial, Apple’s scripting language used to control apps and share data among other things.
    • Make a Custom Palette – A tutorial for creating a custom color pallet for the Web. At the time, web browsers only displayed 216 colors.

    Every Month

    • Editor’s Note – The previous years Apple bought NextStep. Here the editor speculates on the future of a NextStep based MacOS (what would become OS X). There’s some amusing things in here like Steve Jobs only being brought on as a part time consultant and the new version of the OS arriving by late 1997 (a consumer version of OS X wouldn’t be released until 2001).
    • Letters – Mac vs. PC, readers ask for computers, and other, mostly humorous letters.
    • Get Info – News, new products and other info: custom designed covers for the PowerBook 1400, NewTech NUpowr 1400/200 “200MHz CPU + Cache” upgrade for the PowerBook 1400, multiple video out cards for the PowerBook 1400, plus various other expansions; Photoshop 4.0 and FreeHand 7 support PNG format; new high speed serial PCI cards; Frontpage 1.0 for Mac, Labtec LCS-2408 subwoofer; and much more.
    • Cravings – Fancy new gadgets including the Newton MessagePad 2000, Panasonic PD/CD-ROM, Mitsubishi 40-inch Plasma monitor with 640×480 resolution for $10k-$12k, miroVideo DV 100 PCI card, and more.
    • Reviews
      • Expression 1.0 – A vector based drawing and paint program.
      • Nisus Writer 5.0 – Word processor that supports multiple languages, indexing, OpenDoc, HTML, and more.
      • Wav – An OpenDoc based word processor.
      • Adobe Acrobat 3.0 – The latest PDF publishing software for the mac.
      • RayDream Extensions Pack – Modeling, texturing, and special affects additions for RayDream Designer and RayDream Studio.
      • Rosetta Stone Language Library – This language software has been around a long time.
      • Claris Organizer 2.0 – A personal information manager.
      • eMate 300 – Meant to be a low cost laptop substitute for schools based on Newton technology.
      • Captivate – A scrapbook tool consisting of screen capture, graphics display/manipulation, and multimedia storage tools.
      • Netopia ISDN Modem 412 – Before broadband, ISDN was the next best thing…if you could afford it.
      • You Don’t Know Jack 2 – The once immensely popular trivia game.
      • NASCAR Racing – I had this for my 486 based PC. For the Mac it requires a PowerPC and 16MB of RAM.
      • Virtual Pool – Just what it sounds like. Play pool…virtually.
      • Heroes of Might and Magic – Fantasy strategy game requireing a 68040 or faster and at least 12MB of RAM.
      • Step On It! – A 100 level arcade game featuring many classic gaming elements.
      • Pro Pinball – A decent video pinball game. Only one table though.
      • Star Trek: Borg – A point and click Star Trek adventure game.
      • Encarta ’97 Deluxe Encyclopedia – Encyclopedia on CD.
      • The Genius of Edison – An interactive Edison education.
      • Warren Miller’s Ski World ’97 – A database of ski resorts and associated information on CD.
      • Castle Explorer – An educational game about medieval Europe.
      • Sound Toys – An interesting piece of musical composition software.
      • Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel – Interactive version of the kids’ book.
      • Sierra’s School House Science – Educational edutainment software.
      • Bears at Work – Bears teach kids about jobs.
      • Big Science Comics – Learn about density, weight, energy and more in this science based game.
      • The Way Things Work 2.0 – Educational software that describes how a variety of things work.
      • Stellaluna – Educational software about bats.
      • Learning in Toyland – Educational games for preschoolers.
      • Stay Tooned! – Capture the cartoon characters that have escaped from your TV.
    • Ask Us – Questions from readers about file association, opening TeachText and SimpleText documents with Word via drag and drop, the value of a used Mac, finding how much free hard drive space you have, using a DOS compatibility card with an older Mac, adding VRAM, 32-bit addressing, and more.
    • PowerPlay – An interview with Greg Armanini, creative producer for Inverse Ink, maker of CD-ROM based comic books; Brief previews of Creatures, Macintosh Archives Volume II: The Star Wars Collection and Riven; and more.

    The Disc

    • Demos – This month, demos of the games Over the Reich, Stay Tooned, Step On It! and Zone Raiders are provided on the cover disc.
    • Shareware – Titles this month include ColorFall (Tetris like game), ePress (business card creator), Snitch (tool for extracting file info), and much more.

    …and more!


  • MacLife (March 2010)

    Source: MacLife – Issue Number 38 – March 2010

    MacLife was the successor to MacAddict but in my opinion, MacAddict was the much better magazine. It was like Maximum PC but for Macs. MacLife on the other hand is just kind of…boring. But then that is really what Macs have become. From their switch to Power PC through their switch to Intel they kept things pretty interesting with design changes, operating system upgrades, etc. Since then, it seems very little has changed and the things that are changing are questionable. Is ever thinner and lighter really worth it if you have to have a dongle for everything you connect? Is the switch to the M1 over Intel really going to make things better? Is a computer shaped like a beer can really the best approach? In recent years has Mac OS really been getting better or does it just seem more bloated? And so on…

    This issue of MacLife comes 5 years after the last PowerPC Mac was made and all new Macs were Intel based. PowerPC was still supported. OS Support had recently been dropped as the latest OS out at the time (Snow Leopard) had dropped support for the Power PC. I still think Leopard and Snow Leopard were the peak of OS X.

    Anyway, this issue of MacLife from March 2010 includes:

    Features

    • Macs, Home Automation and You – An article about automating your home with your Mac and/or other apple devices. It seems that Amazon and Google have really taken over this space.
    • Modernism Meets Its Mac – Using your Mac or iPhone for interior decorating using, for example, Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.
    • Photoshop, This Is Your Life! – A history of Photoshop as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. Version 1.0 was released in 1990 and required an 8 MHz processor, 2 MB of RAM and fit on one 3.5″ floppy disk.

    Departments

    • Online At MacLife.com – An overview of the latest articles on MacLife’s home on the web, including tips and tricks for Snow Leopard, the 100 greatest iPhone apps of 2009 and more.
    • Consider – MacLife’s editorial section, this month with an overview of changes to their review ratings scale.
    • Share – Letters from readers, this month featuring comments on Internet ownership and Snow Leopard incompatibilities among other topics.
    • Start – News (from CES 2010 this month) including info about Google’s new phone (the Nexus), Intel’s Core i5 mobile processor, Dlink’s Boxee Box, and more.
    • Win – An external MacBook battery from HyperMac given out as a prize plus a new contest featuring an Elgato EyeTV One (a digital over the air TV antenna for your Mac).

    Create

    • Ask – Questions answered about how to watermark images, how to keep bookmarks in sync between different web browsers, parental controls on an iPod Touch, batch renaming image files and more.
    • Sync Your Android Phone to Your Mac – How to sync your android phone with your Mac. A Motorola Droid was the phone used in their example.
    • Master 5 Utilities in 5 Minutes – Quick mini-tutorials on how to use 5 common Mac utilities (on Leopard) including Activity Monitor, Console, Disk Utility, Network Utility and ColorSync Utility.

    Reviews

    • Canon EOS 7D – A review of Canon’s latest mid-range DSLR, featuring 18MP images at a $1,699 price tag…plus the cost of lenses.
    • Python Blur and Boa Flow XL – Reviews of two different laptop backpacks by Booq.
    • CarMD 2100 Handheld Tester – A diagnostic tool for your car that works with your Mac. Oddly, it includes a subscription based service that limits the number of cars you can test and the number of tests you can do per month.
    • Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 – A bluetooth keyboard from Microsoft that works with Macs (but is not designed specifically for them). i guess its better than the Bluetoot Mobile Keyboard 5000?
    • MacSpeech Dictate – $199 dictation software for your Mac. Speech recognition is something that seems to have continued to progress rapidly since then.
    • Path Finder – An alternative file manager for your Mac. It offers not available at the time on Mac’s Finder including multiple tabs, batch operations and more.
    • G Drive – An external 7200RPM hard drive available in sizes from 500TB to 2TB and featuring USB 2.0, FireWire and eSATA ports.
    • Zeo Personal Sleep Coach – A sleep monitor that requires you to wear a headband when you sleep. This is in no way related to Macs that I can see other than if you want to upload your data you have to transfer it to a computer via an SD card.

    Listen

    • Spin – A DJ controller featuring two “turntables” that are really jog wheels for accomplishing the same thing digitally.
    • Squeezebox Radio – A radio streaming device from Logitech that can stream music from your Mac or the Internet.
    • Yurbuds – Silicon covers for your earbuds that supposedly improve comfort and sound quality.
    • Sonos Zoneplayer S5 – Another streaming device for streaming music locally or from the Internet. It can be controlled with your iPhone.
    • Cy-fi Wireless Sports Speaker – A wireless speaker for your iPod or iPhone. It works by connecting a wireless transmitter to the base of your iPod and is designed so that it can easily mount on your bike.

    Play

    • The Secrets of da Vinci – A point and click puzzle/adventure game for your Mac.
    • Bullet Candy Perfect – An arcade shooter reminiscent of Geometry Wars. It had a “pay what you like” price where you could pay whatever you felt the game was worth (with a $1 minimum).
    • The Abbey – Another point and click adventure game, this one featuring monks in a murder mystery. Apparently there is also a PC version called “Murder in the Abbey”.

    …and more!


  • MacAddict (June 1999)

    Source: MacAddict – Issue Number 34 – June 1999

    There can be do doubt that the late 1990s/early 2000s were the best of times for Apple’s Macintosh line. Before that, the company was nearly dead. But Steve Jobs had come back and performed a miracle with a line of very distinctive computers that were in some ways ahead of their time. I admit, I was no fan and they look far better through the eyes of nostalgia. The iBook and iMac line of the time were underpowered and overpriced and while getting rid of floppies and legacy interfaces was forward looking, it could also be inconvenient. But it’s still a little sad that Apple has retained none of the whimsy factor from this time. I think a modern retro styled iMac or iBook would be immensely popular today…if they could make them relatively inexpensive. MacAddict was essentially the Macintosh version of Boot (now Maximum PC). It covered Macs with an almost religious fervor. It was an excellent magazine if you were a Mac lover. The June 1999 issue includes:

    Highlights

    • We Got Game – The Mac gaming market is about to explode with a slew of hot Mac titles, new-to-the-Mac developers, and simultaneous platform releases! In our preseason exclusive report, we give you the stats on all the major industry players and fill you in on their secret game plans.
    • The Great Graphics Cliche Giveaway – We’re such a sneaky bunch! This month we tricked three professional artists into revealing their trademark illustration secrets, then turned around and printed them as step-by-step how-tos complete with screen shots! What else would you expect from a former Prison Guy?
    • XXIII Reasons You Should Care About Mac OS X Server – OS X Server – why should you give a rat’s behind about it? We brief you on Mac OS X Server’s selling points, show you how it differs from Mac OS X, and dish all the dirt you need t know about the latest addition to Apple’s system software family.
    • Oh #%@*!!!!! What to Do When Undo Just Won’t Do – Oops! Why me? D’oh, not again! Whether you just launched the wrong app, lost all your bookmarks, or trashed vital extensions, we can help you right your wrongs. We’ve got more than 30 quick fixes for your most bonehead boo-boos, so dry your tears, quit shouting, and for goodness’ sake stop shaking that monitor!

    How To

    • Build Interactive QuickTime Movies – Think you need Macromedia Flash to make cool interactive animations and rollovers for a Web site? Think again, bucko! Couple QuickTime with Totally Hip Software’s LiveStage and you’re ready to, um, roll.

    Every Month

    • Editor’s Note – It;’s been a hell of an issue – we’ll tell you all about it.
    • Letters – Funny? Serious? Funny? Serious? You just can’t decide, can you?
    • Get Info – We perform a little exploratory surgery on the open source movement, voyage into space with Motorola, hail an iCab, and figure out how to turn off all those annoying “helpful” features.
    • Scrapbook – What’s the well-dressed Mac addict reading these days? Peruse our snapshot of an Apple-obsessive bookshelf and pick out some summer reading.
    • Reviews – Does Virtual Game Station steam up PlayStation games on your Mac? Will Klingon Honor Guard make your blood boil hotter than a dishonored Klingon’s? We answer all these questions and more as we pass judgement on 14 products, including Adobe After Effects 4.0, Kai’s Power Tools 5.0, Dreamweaver 2.0, and MacLinkPlus Deluxe 10.003.
    • Ask Us – Some say Owen W. Linzmayer has gone insane. Other’s say he’s just overworked. Either way, he’s got the answers to your questions! This month he resolves your printer problems and upgrade issues, and even puts an end to your Power Mac identity crisis.
    • Shut Down – We poke fun at everyone, even ourselves! Ouch, that hurt!

    …and more!