First off, thank you for Macintosh Tips & Tricks. The time and effort put into this publication are appreciated.
You asked for feedback on the format and use of DOCMaker. I am a registered DOCMaker user and have found the program useful for creating Help and Policy Statement documents within my department at work.
The only problem I have with using it for electronic publication is the size of the documents. The April issue contained 31k of text, but was a 212k DOCMaker document. This is a lot to download, even compressed.
The only other electronic newsletter I regularly download is TidBITS which is published in setext format and viewed with the freeware utility Easy View. These files are basically text and very small to download.
The disadvantage... setext and Easy View do not support graphics. I think that this is a small price to pay, given that you do not make heavy use of graphics.
Hey, just some thoughts and comments. Maybe you could offer MT&T in both formats and see which is downloaded more frequently. — G. Hipple (AOL: GaryH20)
You’re absolutely correct — the electronic version of Macintosh Tips & Tricks has become a bit too large lately. Since it is now distributed on so many services and systems, I think it’s only fair to reduce its size. Your message and others like it, have convinced me to eliminate the graphics from the electronic version. Readers interested in seeing the graphics should subscribe to the printed version; subscription details can be found on page 2 of the printed version and in the “Masthead”. chapter of the electronic version. We will continue to use DOCMaker for its formatting capabilities which make the electronic version a bit more pleasurable to read than a plain text document.
— MLL
Where Are You?
Where do we find Macintosh Tips and Tricks on AOL? — Gabe Garber (AOL: GabeGarber)
You can find it in the Business forum. Search on "Macintosh Tips & Tricks" and you should come up with it. — MLL
I have just been browsing through the info-mac archives, and I found the Macintosh Tips and Tricks publications for Sept 92 - Feb 93. They seemed very interesting, but only those months are present. Has it been discontinued, or is it being archived somewhere else? — David C. Pacheco (Internet:dpacheco
@budapest.math.macalstr.edu)
Other issues are available — right through June 1993 so far. I hope to be able to provide more information on getting it from the Internet shortly. My Internet connection, Fred Terry, is writing something up for me. — MLL
I downloaded a copy of Macintosh Tips and Tricks (12/92) from the Stanford anonymous FTP server. I was impressed and I am interested in finding out how to get current issues. I run a BBS for the Beaverton Schools in Oregon, and I think that some of the users on our system would be interested in checking out your publication. — Vince Ruggiano (Internet: ruggiano@admin.ogi.edu)
The current issue of Macintosh Tips & Tricks is always available on the Electronic Pen BBS in Harrington Park, NJ, a FirstClass BBS, 201/767-6337. Log on as GUEST with a password of GUEST and go to the Mac Tips & Tricks conference folder to download it. This conference is carried on many FirstClass BBSs nationwide, so you might find it on a FirstClass BBS near you. — MLL
Just a note to tell you that I read MT&T regularly. Appreciate the tips; I mainly use ClarisWorks but am always happy to find tips that translate across programs. Thanks for a neat little mag. — Alain Lajoie (AOL: AlainL)
I’ve recently discovered the astounding capabilties of ClarisWorks and hope to offer a few articles about it in future issues. — MLL
How About Postcards?
In the electronic version of Macintosh Tips & Tricks, I ask readers to send us a postcard as a shareware payment. I’ve gotten lots of electronic mail messages from all over the world, but so far only four postcards. Are you people ashamed of where you live? Is it so ugly you don’t want to send a picture postcard of it?
How this for an offer: I’ll send a printed copy of MT&T to the first 25 people who send me a picture postcard with their name, address, and comments about this issue on it. A list of all the folks sending postcards will appear in the July 1993 issue. — MLL •
