murlocker@water.UUCP (murlocker) (01/23/85)
Hey, I haven't seen an issue of Infoworld since Xmas... Does anyone know what's going on? My dealer says he keeps ordering them, but the distributor said they were cut off, or something. I called Infoworld and they assured me they were still publishing, and that the first two issues in january were to be combined into a double issue. Reply by mail...thanks mark
eve@ssc-bee.UUCP (Michael Eve) (01/24/85)
> Hey, I haven't seen an issue of Infoworld since Xmas... > Does anyone know what's going on? I have a subscription to Infoworld and it keeps coming albeit irregularly (presumably due to the local post office putting aside the magazines so they can get the junk mail out first). I have noticed that Infoworld is getting smaller month by month. I personnally find the magazine considerably less interesting than back in its newspaper format days, and have been thinking about cancelling as I suspect many others have. Or it may be just a lack of advertisers forcing smaller issues. It seems the format (page layout, type face) is constantly changing also. The new owners appear to be placing more attention on form than substance. Too bad, another rag bytes the dust! -- Mike Eve Boeing Aerospace, Seattle ...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!ssc-bee!eve
sherouse@unc.UUCP (George W. Sherouse) (01/29/85)
In article <ssc-bee.280> eve@ssc-bee.UUCP (Michael Eve) writes: > >I have noticed that Infoworld is getting smaller month by month. I personnally >find the magazine considerably less interesting than back in its newspaper >format days, and have been thinking about cancelling as I suspect many others >have. Or it may be just a lack of advertisers forcing smaller issues. The problem, Mike, is that they don't want us anymore. I started my InfoWorld subscription many moons ago (remember Minny Floppy?) because of a solicitation from them that asked questions like "Were you the first one on your block to own a calculator?" the upshot of which was to say "We are a resource *AND ENTERTAINMENT* for the techno-tinkerer." I was wildly happy with what I got as well, until... How can I put this? Until IBM turned microcomputing into a business. In the intervening years InfoWorld has become just plain boring and stuffy. All the fun is gone. A similar affliction has beset Byte. I, like you, am seriously considering letting my InfoWorld subscription lapse. Byte is not far behind. One ironic note which has given me much pleasure is that InfoWorld started offering a baseball jersey with the InfoWorld logo about the time it went glossy. Clearly the editorial target is John Q. Middlemanager. Can you see John Q. in an InfoWorld jersey hanging out at the local hackers' union hall? Anyway, Mike, I suspect that InfoWorld is doing just fine and will continue to do so without us. A recent editorial said as much. But, golly, it is a shame. << The views expressed are my own and are thus indistinguishable from >> << absolute truth. >> George W. Sherouse <decvax!mcnc!unc!godot!sherouse>
calway@ecsvax.UUCP (James Calloway) (01/31/85)
x
I may be in the minority on InfoWorld, but I think the magazine has improved
greatly since the days of its tabloid format. True, it tries to be more
"serious" than in the past, but in the process its journalistic standards
have risen. The tabloid passed off re-written press releases as reporting
(I know, because I get the same press releases.), but now the magazine has
consistently solid reporting. The features still tend to be weak unless
they are tied to a specific news event, and that may explain why the magazine
seems more boring than before, since large features get more play than they
used to.
I'm not a managerial type, but I read InfoWorld (and Byte) for professional
reasons, and that obviously influences my opinion of both magazines.
I don't know whether I would read either magazine just for fun.
--
James Calloway
The News and Observer
Box 191
Raleigh, N.C. 27602
(919) 829-4570
{akgua,decvax}!mcnc!ecsvax!calwayJohn Shaver STEEP-TM-AC 879-7602 <jshaver@APG-3> (02/01/85)
You have identified one of the reasons that Nibble is doing so well. They continue to provide new games and amazingly new utilities. Recently they gave a activity profiler for Applesoft. No one else is doing that with any regularity. John
ekrell@ucla-cs.UUCP (02/03/85)
In article <130@unc.UUCP> sherouse@unc.UUCP (George W. Sherouse) writes: > >I, like you, am seriously considering letting my InfoWorld subscription >lapse. Byte is not far behind. That's exactly what I did. Neither magazine is worth the time it takes to read it. What does it take for a magazine to be interesting these days? -- Eduardo Krell UCLA Computer Science Department ekrell@ucla-locus.arpa ..!{sdcrdcf,ihnp4,trwspp,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!ekrell
starr@shell.UUCP (Bob Starr) (02/05/85)
Well, even with the "problems" with the AT hard disk, a *professional* magazine does not give 3 stars to the Coleco Adam, and two to the PC/AT.
jww@bonnie.UUCP (Joel West) (02/06/85)
James Calway (calway@ecsvax.UUCP) of the Raleigh News & Observer wrote: >I may be in the minority on InfoWorld, but I think the magazine has improved >greatly since the days of its tabloid format. True, it tries to be more >"serious" than in the past, but in the process its journalistic standards >have risen. The tabloid passed off re-written press releases as reporting >(I know, because I get the same press releases.), but now the magazine has >consistently solid reporting.... I don't know the previous incarnation very well but I'm inclined to agree. Making the transition from a small-town newspaper reporter (where ethics are usually understood by young reporters but not publishers) back into computers I was shocked to discover how few computer magazines have even considered the concept of "journalistic ethics". It seems to me that with the possible exception of Byte, most magazines seem to consider that being in bed with major vendors is just loads of fun and makes the magazine BETTER!!!! Try to get a mag to say anything bad about anybody. Although Infoworld seems the best of the computer newsweeklies, I still find the reporting to be at or below the par for my former employer (a 6,000-circulation daily in suburban San Diego). I don't know if this is because they hire hackers rather than trained reporters, or because of organization pressure that causes sloppiness, or what. But at least it's nice to see someone trying to REPORT what's going on, instead of speculating, editorializing, blithering, etc, etc...... being in bed -- Joel West CACI, Inc. - Federal 3344 N. Torrey Pines Ct La Jolla 92037 jww@bonnie.UUCP (ihnp4!bonnie!jww) westjw@nosc.ARPA
apratt@iuvax.UUCP (02/07/85)
In an earlier response, ecla-cs!ekrell writes...
> ... What does it take for a magazine to be interesting these days?
I suggest that to answer that, you might look at Dr. Dobb's Journal (of Computer
Orthodontia and Calesthenics). That is a magazine with a fairly well-defined,
yet fluid audience: users of CP/M, with SIGs in FORTH, ZCPR, and other
interesting things as they develop. For those people, DDJ is EXTREMELY
interesting, and contributes greatly to their enjoyment of their micros.
----
-- Allan Pratt
...ihnp4!inuxc!iuvax!aprattBRAIL%SEISMO@RU-BLUE.UUCP (02/10/85)
Let me clear up two points: 1) A magazine should be unbiased, but not in the case of product reviews. 2) InfoWorld is generally unbiased, except in the case of product reviews. They have said some negative things about products. Ex: They pretty much panned WordStar 2000, and only gave the IBM PC-AT two stars (or whatever it is they give). You're right about the ethics. A magazine should try to protect its readers from defective (or dangerous, but most software isn't dangerous) products. At the same time, it should present the facts in an unbiased manner. InfoWorld, for the most part, does this. It also provides the latest gossip, which is usually about as accurate as gossip gets, except maybe for the Apple //X rumor. It provides a news service; you won't find any juicy hacker info, but you will find news: something lacking in most mags. ARPA: BRAIL@RU-BLUE.ARPA UUCP:...ihnp4!ut-sally!topaz !ru-blue!brail ...allegra