Erica J. Marceau — What's Ahead for Apple and Apple
Wizards
 
Erik J. Barzeski — The New Year
 
Contests — Contest winners and prize descriptions from
December, a description of the January contest, and
a description of the prizes.
 
Erica J. Marceau — What's Ahead for Apple and Apple Wizards
Last month, I talked about my association with Apple and what Apple means to me. This month, I will talk about what I think the direction is for Apple and some new things in the works for Apple Wizards.
My Thoughts on the Future of Apple
I swing back and forth between hope and despair when it comes to the future of Apple. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. For example, I felt a great happiness at the CompUSA Apple "store-within-a-store" announcement. Soon thereafter, I heard about the firsthand experiences of people who went to CompUSA stores and got awful treatment. I was sad because this seemed to be yet another lost opportunity for Apple. Today, however, I read at MacNN at http://www.macnn.com/ about people who got great service and how the whole concept is working. MacNN is asking for readers to write in with their CompUSA experiences so they can send them to Apple to ensure that everyone gets good service.
This makes it clear that Mac users still have a long war to fight to get the respect we deserve. It's important to not lose hope that we will eventually be triumphant against our enemy, Microsoft. This is the direction of Apple and Macintosh users. Yes, Apple is on the right track, but that doesn't mean that we (meaning Mac users) can back down from evangelizing and promoting the MacOS whenever we can. As the CompUSA example shows, we have a lot of power and we should yield it for the betterment of Apple and the MacOS. We can't stop fighting just because Apple has started. It just means that we aren't fighting alone.
Something Exciting at Apple Wizards
There's a new feature of Apple Wizards that I'm proud to announce, Apple Seedlings at http://www.applewizards.net/seedlings/ . Apple Seedlings is a forum where anyone, including you, can send us an article about anything that relates to the Mac, Apple, or the computing industry in general. We'll take a look at it and, if it's interesting and well-written, your article will be placed on the website for thousands to read. We'll even take care of the PR for you. The articles don't have to be about technology or current events, but anything that strikes your fancy. Feeling disgust towards the Intel commercials? Send us your rant & rave and it might get published! Were you a former PC user that got converted to the Mac? Let us know! Are you excited about making your debut on Apple Wizards and you want to know where you send your first article? No problem! Just send your article(s) to seedlings@applewizards.net and you will receive a reply as quickly as possible. For more information on Apple Seedlings, look at the SimpleText file that came with this issue of Apple Wizards (the file is called "Announcing Apple Seedlings").
Show Your Creative Side in a Kaleidoscope Contest
Many of you are familiar with Kaleidoscope, the control panel that transforms your Mac's interface from plain grey to practically anything you want by the use of schemes. There are schemes with almost every conceivable theme except one; Apple Wizards. The goal of the Apple Wizards Kaleidoscope contest is for the contestants to create a Kaleidoscope scheme that reflects the theme of Apple Wizards. Browse the website and read the issues to get ideas and inspiration. The contest runs from 01 January to 31 March 1998, so there will be plenty of time for you to design your scheme. We have lots of great prizes lined up and your scheme will be seen by thousands of people. For more information, point your web browser to http://www.applewizards.net/kaleidoscope/ .
May God watch over every Macintosh user — past, present, and future.
  Erica J. Marceau
erica@applewizards.net
 
Erik J. Barzeski — The New Year
This year I've actually written my New Year's Resolutions down. In fact, I'm going to share them with you. Allow me to say that I truly do intend to stick to these resolutions this year. There will be no more goofing around for me, that's for sure!
Erik's New Year's Resolutions
1. I resolve to actually get some work done on my Mac this year. There will be no more "playing with Photoshop" and "messing with email," nor will there be any "wasting time on the Internet" or "trying out a new control panel." I've heard from PC users that work is something that I should be able to do on my computer — work is boring and a real pain in the rear. Well, gosh darn it, I'm gonna find a way to make work on my Mac boring and dull! I'm gonna do work, I swear it!
2. I resolve to see good things in all operating systems that I may come across. For instance, Windows 95 has a great feature called "general protection faults." These little messages politely inform you, in one way or another, that you've been staring at your screen for about 15 minutes and that you should take a break to stretch and look away from the screen. I hear that it's good for your health to take breaks every now and again.
3. I resolve to stop sending email to the morons that publish untruthful articles that blast Apple. I figure that natural selection will take over eventually, and when it does, all of these stupid people will perish. Let's just hope that it happens soon.
4. I resolve to be kind to all animals, even if they are pestering me about their DLL files and the fact that they can't use two monitors at once. I will not kick the dogs in the IS department, nor will I turn the hose on the mongrels in the PC Purchasing department.
5. I resolve to try to get along with those that use MS Orifice. My trusty ClarisWorks can import files with ease, so I suppose I should stop egging the houses of the individuals who send me anything with a creator code of "WB6N."
6. I resolve to watch less football and do more work. Really, I do. More work. Less football. If I keep saying that over and over, it may eventually come true....
Let this be a great year to all.
  Erik J. Barzeski
erik@applewizards.net
 
 
Apple Wizards Contests
December Contest:
Don't Open Until X-Mas Day!
Our December contest went quite well. We had over 400 entries, the second-highest total ever! In this contest, you had to "shake the package" and tell us what you thought the prizes were. Well, here they are, right along with the people that guessed 'em!
Kensington Orbit Trackball:
Helen Miller
Evansville, Indiana USA
CH Gamepad:
Michael Tsai
Randalville, West Virginia USA
Toby Johnson
Phoenix, Arizona USA
Nu-Form Keyboard
Sarah Edwards
Orlando, Florida USA
Congratulations to Helen, Michael, Toby, and Sarah! We hope you enjoy your new toys!
  January Contest:
Share the Magic!
 
The Prizes for the January 1998 contest are 1 copy of Riven and 5
copies of Cobra Gunship. Both of these extremely wonderful games
are reviewed in this issue of Apple Wizards. With a value of over 
$150, this is a contest worthy of your attention!
The contest is a bit different this month. We've set up a very simple form on the website. The purpose: to spread the word about Apple Wizards. To enter this contest, visit our website. Enter a friend's name and email address (as well as your own). A letter will be sent to your friend and a contest entry will be sent to us. You can enter as many times as you like. You must email a different friend each time, and you can not enter fake names as we will be checking them out. Also, if you're not a close personal friend of Steve Jobs, don't go typing his name and email address in. You'll be disqualified, and nobody wants that.
As of the date of publication, here's the letter that will be sent to your friend (red indicates the required form information):
Hello FRIEND,
YOUR NAME (YOUR EMAIL) is using a form in the contests section of the Apple Wizards site to recommend Apple Wizards to you! Their website can be found at http://www.applewizards.net/.
Apple Wizards is a free Apple- and MacOS-based e-zine that contains reviews, humor, tips, tricks, commentary, and a veritable wealth of plain ol' good information. They offer downloadable issues as well as notification and attachment subscriptions (free). They also have monthly contests and, well, loads of good stuff. Drop by often - you never know what is stirring at Apple Wizards!
I, YOUR NAME, recommend that you check Apple Wizards out. In fact, if you get there by January 20, you can enter this same contest! Stop by today!
Again, the URL is:
http://www.applewizards.net/
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
YOUR EMAIL
P.S. COMMENTS
Be sure to drop by our website soon, as this contest ends 20 January 1998!
If you would like to coordinate a contest or giveaway with Erik Hicks, contest director for Apple Wizards, please contact him at the below address. Thank you!
