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My 30 seconds of fame
I agree with Mark Marcantonio's piece in the February issue of My Mac. It is so frustrating to be relegated to a passive, spectatorial position in front of Apple's self-aggrandizing commercials, i.e. "Think Different." Not only is the concept of this commercial a bit too intellectual for most computer buyers, it is elitist. Who do they think we are? Undiscovered geniuses waiting to be realized by a computer? I'm sorry; that commercial, however elegant it is, does not do enough in terms of marketing products to potential buyers.
I have often read that Apple executives think that a thirty-second spot is not enough time in which to present the strengths of Macintosh. That is NOT true. The QuickTime movie featuring developers and their software products for the Macintosh was more than effective. Apple should make commercials in two formats, one foregrounding available software, and the other summarizing the advantages of the hardware platform and its peripherals. Both formats could begin with the Macintosh startup chime (black screen, startup chime) followed by a brilliantly colored close-up of the startup screen. Yes, it's the smiling two-tone blue face.
When are these executives going to let the customers put in advice and suggestions for a more potent marketing strategy?
Jennifer Ho
etheria@uclink4.berkeley.edu
http://home.earthlink.net/~rennard/
(Mark Marcantonio Replies:)
In many ways I can’t agree with you more. It seems that the folks in Cupertino also agree. My commercial was an attempt to create conversation about the first “Think Different” theme. Your eloquent reply was just the the kind of observations I was hoping to stir up. As it turned out, the “Snail” ad appeared only a couple of days after your letter was dropped into my email box. Apple would tell you that they have run contests in the past, but the results were mixed at best. The fact is that Apple has had an incredible desire to live on its past glories and refuses to face reality. But in the past six months or so, this has been peeled away, bit by bit. Advertising, it seems to me, was one of the last petals to fall. We can only hope that the “Snail” ad has forever closed the door to the Ivory Tower thought-process that dominated the decision making at Apple.
Teach!
I am a high school history teacher who uses and teaches multimedia authoring fairly often. Over the past three years, I have worked frequently with Hyper Studio and Supercard. I have helped with Director projects, though I am not too proficient with it. Who, but professionals, has the time? And who can afford Authorware?
Recently, I learned about a new interactive multimedia authoring program from Acrux Software in Amsterdam called Teach! When I checked out their Web site and downloaded their material, I was blown away! This is one of the best designed, ingenious, and easy-to-use authoring programs I have yet seen. Teach! is still a young program, and they are incorporating new ideas all the time. The program only gets better!
I have been working with it steadily for the last three months, and my admiration for what Acrux has done has continued to grow. While it is an extremely versatile, powerful program, it requires no programming or formal scripting at all. I have taught high school students how to use it in three hours. And the results far surpass what they were previously able to achieve with Hyper Studio.
You might check this one out yourselves: <http://www.acruxsoft.com/>.
Sincerely,
David D. Huston
dhuston@drfast.net
Cleveland, OH
I have never used the program myself, David, but I will be sure to check it out. With a testimonial like yours, I feel like I already have! (Sadly, due to my new job I am no longer teaching a computer course for third and fourth graders. I really miss it!)
Tim
Some nice mail!
Wow, I just found your Web site from a link at AppleLink, and I must say you all are a bunch of talented people.
I have been computing on the Mac from the very beginning, and have read many of the ezines that have come and gone. MacSense was my favorite, and I was sorry to see them go. Its replacement, MacSense Review, was not up to the MacSense name. Besides, they have not updated their Web site since (I think) October!
Speaking of MacSense, I used to love Brave New World by John Nemerovski. This the same Nemo Memo guy? Writing style is the same, but you never know. Can't imagine two people, let alone writers, with the same name. If it is, be sure to tell him I think I like Nemo Memo better than his old stuff. Seems more fresh for some reason. Perhaps he feels more at home with My Mac Magazine than he did over there?
Your magazine is just what the Mac users need right now. It is very good, and the writers are great. (Where have I read Susan Howerter before?) I think My Mac is better than MacAddict. Of course, I am no longer a kid, which seems to be the primary focus of their magazine.
Keep up the really fantastic job, and I, for one, will keep reading.
James Hudnall
PS
Any chance of getting that Titanic cover as a desktop picture?
Thanks for all the kind words, James! To answer a few of your questions:
Yes, that is the very same John Nemerovski you liked so much over at MacSense. He joined up back in issue #27, July 1997. Actually, he first appeared in print here in My Mac the month before that on "The Reader Writes" page.
I, too, have noticed nothing being done with MacSense Reviews. I have sent a few emails to the powers-that-be over there, but have yet to receive any replies. No idea if they are coming back, or if they are gone for good.
As for Susan Howerter, this is her first published work as a writer as far as I know. (Susan, something you are not telling us???)
And finally, yes, Mike Gorman's My Mac covers will be available for downloading from our Web site in March.
-Tim
More from January's 'My Turn '...
I'm tired too. Not tired of not seeing ads, not tired that Apple might not get a profit (which they did) but tired of all the so-called Macintosh mags (and E-Mags, hint-hint) that bash the Mac. Every month I see something against the Mac in your magazine.
The Mac is the best machine out there, and I'm sure you know it as well as I. If you want to see more ads promoting it, why bash it? Mac DID report a profit this quarter, and not a bad one at that. Mac is never going to merger with anyone, after all, wasn't everyone SURE about that Sun thing a couple years back? And Apple was much worse shape back then.
Mad letters aren't the answer. Once you start to tell someone they suck, they will slowly start to believe it themselves. Support them, give them good ideas, and hey, you might even be able to brag to your friends that you helped get the Mac out of its "slump".
FANGO@aol.com
We've been bashing the Mac? Since when? Sure, I've been tough on Apple from time to time, including my January '98 column "My Turn" (Issue #32), but I never once said Apple "sucks". (And as popular as My Mac has become, I doubt any of my monthly ramblings are keeping executives at Apple awake at night. "Oh, no! Tim's mad at us again! What are we to do?")
As for Apple never merging with anyone, never say never. Two years ago, who could have predicted that Microsoft would invest so much money in Apple (over and above the $150 million investment that is publicly known)? Who would have thought that same Microsoft would release a non-Windows port of Office '98 that would wow the likes of Macworld's desktop critic David Pogue nearly to the point of hysteria? And, of course, who could have predicted that Steve Jobs would return to lead Apple back to profitability in its darkest days? All this just goes to show that as much as we think we know about what's really going to happen, we actually haven't got a clue.
Be sure to drop us a note with any thoughts, corrections, or problems you may have. We all love to hear from you, and we do need to fill this page every month! (Remember to let us know if you'd prefer to not have your email address printed.) So write in!
Tim Robertson is the Publisher of My Mac, and unless otherwise noted answers all the email on this page.
