Forums | MacLife

Would that be the real spring of 07 or the cover date of spring of 07?

Benton wrote:

MacObserver and Macworld are reporting MacAddict magazine is changing name to MacLife in spring 2007 ... Why do we not hear the news here First?

Ah, the Web ... we're all one big info-sharing family these days, eh?

We were juuust about to go public with our plans for the new, bigger, better magazine, but we wanted to get all of our personnel ducks in a row, first.  But now that the word is out, here's the deal:

1. MacAddict is, indeed, changing its name to MacLife early next year.

2. The new magazine will be bigger, thicker, better-looking, and stuffed with how-to articles, more-ambitious feature stories, authoritative reviews, and plenty of the engaging, entertaining content that has made MacAddict so popular and such an enjoyable read.

3. The name MacAddict was from another time (1996), back when our stories were about "Fighting Back for the Mac." Apple was on the ropes, and a feisty attitude was exactly the right tack to take.  Today, Apple is riding high -- its products are the most elegant, coolest, most industry-influencing available.  We don't need to fight back anymore.  We won.

4. I'm not going away; I'll still be an integral part of the MacLife team, but I'll be contributing in a different way -- I'd tell you more about it now, but, hey, we have to keep some surprises, right?  One major hint: When you see your first copy of big, thick, gorgeous MacLife, fire up Safari and browse on over to MacLife.com.  Oh, and if you're interested, moving on from being the editor in chief to my new role was my idea, not management's.

5. Times change.  Magazines change.  Those that don't respond to new realities -- such as the fact that Apple is doing great and that our lives have become Mac lives -- wither and fade.  Personally, I'm not a witherer and a fader -- and neither are our readers.  Next year is going to kick serious hiney -- and MacLife will be kicking it along with Apple and all the third-party hardware and software folks. When MacAddict launched in September of 1996, its first cover contained the message "Why the Mac's Future Is Bright," but the article that accompanied that statement had more than a little whistling in the dark in it.  Today, there's no question that the Mac -- and Apple, and the iPod, and whatever comes next -- has a sparkling future.  So we're going to create an equally sparkling, entertaining, info-packed, gorgeous new magazine.  The time is right; the time is now.

Congrats to Rik and all the new MacLife staff. As long as you really do keep the "engaging, entertaining content" I'm in. If not, well, I already have a Macworld subscription.

If I got a vote, I would vote to keep the name. I think "MacAddict" alone sets it apart from most computer magazines.

Hmmm. Wonder if you'll be hiring any crotchety East Coast contributing editors with an unhealthy relationship with digital audio and video?

Seriously, having literally held every role at tech consumer mags (in the mainstream CE field — home theater segment) from senior editor to EIC, this kind of stuff happens these days. I liked MacAddict — but it never really seemed to hit the sweet spot to find a growing audience. I still miss MacUser, myself.

I think it's a good idea — to try to mix things up a little, rework the focus and find a more contemporary feel.

My apologies to Shawn King, but I thought there was once upon a time, a magazine called "MacLife." It might have been British — I seem to remember meeting writers from that mag back in the old days when I covered MacWorld Boston, so there are clearly some issues of prior use...which probably make Shawn's claims kind of moot.

With publishing as an industry struggling so much...I hope, seriously, that this works out well.

niko better not be leaving.. his macgyver-esque columns are half the reason i buy the fraking magazine..

Many, many kudos, congrats, and best wishes for the success of MacLife from a very long time subscriber. I must admit to some separation pangs as I am a MacAddict to the core and hope the new look and editorial feel doesn't lose the "edge" and the fun - we still very much need it!
And Max damn better still be around!

Best regards,

Joe Outlaw
President & Janitor
Outlaw Productions

Yeah, having been a "since issue one" reader, I can see that the paradigm shift has occurred and this is a good time for the magazine focus to change.

How long will the magazine read "MacLife (formerly MacAddict)"?

Here's a suggestion:  Just can the MacAddict moniker and move on.  Oh.. except the forums... can we keep the forums?

I don't think it's a bad idea at all.  I'll actually pick up a copy when the change occurs.  I admittedly haven't been a subscriber for quite some time now as I felt I "outgrew" it and Rik's sentiments seem on the mark.

I'll venture a guess that Rik will become the online editor and that the web presence for MacLife won't be an afterthought to print.

MacAddict was THE better Mac magazine from day 1.

What we need is a MacAddict Expo, uh... MacLife Expo... whatever.

I agree. MacLife is about as bland as a white MacBook.

You guys should be MacAddictExtremeProCore2Duo!!!