Welcome to the October issue of About This Particular Macintosh! While the foliage changes outside, weΓÇÖre delighted computer buyers havenΓÇÖt taken ΓÇ£leaveΓÇ¥ of their senses. Inside dorm rooms and public school classrooms, the iMac has become the big machine on campus.
Thanks to Steve Jobs and the Apple design team (we figure they have advanced degrees in common sense), Wintel executives are getting a real education! WeΓÇÖre confident it will soon be certified as the most popular computer of all time. It may be risky to make that claim until all the numbers are confirmed, but it was only on sale for half of August, and the September numbers to-date are are said to be astounding.
In other words, The iMac is now “Il Numero Uno,” “The Big Enchilada,” “The Grand Pooh Bah of the Water Buffalo Computer Sales Lodge.” From here to there to everywhere, the iMac is king! In humble recognition of this astounding feat, our latest issue is dedicated to what the ATPM staff calls Apple’s “Internet Mighty Mac” and its extraordinary success. We don’t want to “dance” around the issue, so we invite you to attend the…
Beige Box Bop!
Have you noticed the advertisements for Wintel computers? Because of the iMac, PC retailers seem to be doing the ΓÇ£Jitterbug.ΓÇ¥ While we hoped for innovations from the Wintel camp that would ΓÇ£rockΓÇ¥ the PC industry, all we hear is a sad ΓÇ£swan songΓÇ¥ for outdated product designs. Even the latest Pentium II processors do nothing more than get consumers nowhere quickly. The iMac has first-time computer buyers and Wintel converts doing the ΓÇ£FoxtrotΓÇ¥ to CompUSA and other Apple retailers. This is one ΓÇ£FandangoΓÇ¥ thatΓÇÖll keep AppleΓÇÖs inventory moving all night!
The Mouse That Whimpered
Who can forget the press release-based takeover attempt of publicly traded Adobe Systems by the fine folks at privately held Quark? It didnΓÇÖt matter that Adobe is much larger than Quark or that the people making the offer made no mention of how they would pay to acquire the company. In fact, they never mentioned a purchase price in the copies of the correspondence they sent to Adobe and released to the public.
We find QuarkΓÇÖs aborted takeover attempt very interestingΓÇöalmost as interesting as its timing. Adobe is planning to release a high-end design and layout software code-named ΓÇ£K2,ΓÇ¥ but known to many people in the industry as the ΓÇ£Quark Killer.ΓÇ¥ In this monthΓÇÖs Apple Cider, Tom Iovino talks nostalgically about PageMakerΓÇÖs pre-Adobe days and speculates about the future of things if Quark stopped ΓÇ£mousingΓÇ¥ around and made a serious, bonafide offer for its lion-sized competitor.
We DonΓÇÖt Need No Edukation!
ThatΓÇÖs what the thieves must have thought about the students at a new charter school for high-risk kids. In the middle of the night, one or more persons stole the schoolΓÇÖs Apple IIGS and an aging Apple Image Writer printer. Honestly, we donΓÇÖt understand what a thief would want with such an old system, but we do understand how the theft disrupted the lives of the students.
The staff at ATPM has the privilege to write about a lot of funny things, but the theft of the only computer available to underprivileged children doesnΓÇÖt make that list. We get angry just thinking about. Please contact Edie Snider at: <snider@centex.net> if you can help the students by replacing their old Apple equipment.
This incident has inspired us to initiate a new program that our editors recently discussed.
The ATPM Adopt-A-School Program
The ATPM staff is asking our readers to nominate a public or non-profit elementary schools that predominately uses Macintosh computers. Schools will be selected from among the entries submitted by readers. Periodically, a photo and brief description of a selected school will be featured in the DOCMaker and Web versions of ATPM. The schools will be asked to supply our staff with a list of Macintosh-related items needed by the school. Readers who contribute needed items will be eligible for our monthly drawing for a free ATPM t-shirt (as soon as Rob, Michael, and the staff finalize the design).
This program is a wonderful way to enrich the academic lives of young children and help support our platform of choice. Nominations should be sent to: <editor@atpm.com>.
iMac, uMac!
The iMac has quickly become the ΓÇ£must haveΓÇ¥ computer on university campuses. The ubiquitous, translucent computer has helped reverse AppleΓÇÖs declining fortunes and has inspired the latest crop of college students to really ΓÇ£Think different.ΓÇ¥ In this monthΓÇÖs Personal Computing Paradigm, Michael Tsai takes more than an ΓÇ£educated guessΓÇ¥ about the iMac launch and AppleΓÇÖs next generation of new products.
In this monthΓÇÖs Apples, Kids & Attitude, Robert Paul Leitao takes an everyday userΓÇÖs look at what you get (and donΓÇÖt get) for your iMac investment of $1,299.00. The column is an interesting read for ΓÇ£students of lifeΓÇ¥ of all ages.
For parents and kids concerned about long-distance phone bills, the ΓÇ£Internet MacΓÇ¥ may be the answer! In this monthΓÇÖs Art Department, Jamal Ghandour evaluates a variety of HTML editors. The Internet is a great way to communicate, especially for people who are long on ideas, but a little short on dimes. If a picture is really worth a thousand words, JamalΓÇÖs column may be the therapeutic remedy for telephone ear fatigue. If you send him a really nice e-mail, he might send you his favorite Color Picker combination for Bondi Blue!
Debunking the Clone!
Mac users have become almost as legendary as their computers. ThereΓÇÖs a notion among the non-Mac-using masses that we are all cut from the same DNA mold: Freewheeling, free-spirited computer jockeys who prefer to ΓÇ£go it alone.ΓÇ¥ ThereΓÇÖs a common belief that Mac users are a bit rebellious by nature and perhaps a little reckless in our devotion to our OS and computer hardware of choice.
ATPMΓÇÖs recent reader survey goes a long way toward ΓÇ£debunkingΓÇ¥ the myth that Mac users are personality clones of one another. Not only are our readers very well educated and informed, we also come from a variety of backgrounds and professions. Please take a look at how your fellow ATPM readers responded to a few of our questions.
 
Reviews, Reviews, and More Reviews!
The survey results indicate ATPMΓÇÖs software reviews are among our best-loved features. WeΓÇÖd like to thank Bob Madill for his work as ATPMΓÇÖs Reviews Editor. Due to pressing personal matters, Bob has taken a leave of absence from ATPM. Bob, your quiet demeanor underscored your hard work and dedication to our e-zine.
During BobΓÇÖs tenure, ATPM grew from a fledgling e-zine of only a few thousand readers to the well-respected international publication that it is today. BobΓÇÖs integrity and insistence on excellence helped ATPM earn the respect of software companies and thousands of world-wide readers who depend on ATPM for impartial and informative reviews.
Stepping into BobΓÇÖs shoes (and they are very big shoes to fill!) is Daniel Chvatik. No matter how his name is pronounced, Daniel has promised to ΓÇ£punctuateΓÇ¥ each issue of our e-zine with the high-quality reviews that readers have come to expect from ATPM.
If youΓÇÖd like to have your application software or hardware peripheral reviewed by the ATPM staff, please e-mail Daniel at: <dchvatik@atpm.com>. If you have a really, really expensive piece of equipment to be reviewed, please contact Michael or Rob (just kidding).
Before we go, weΓÇÖd like to leave you with a few photos taken at MacExpo Paris by ATPM reader Yann Zitouni. ItΓÇÖs our way of saying ΓÇ£neuvo chic.ΓÇ¥ Please enjoy our latest issue!
