Forums | MacLife

I have subscriptions to 3 magazines:
nebraska life
airstream life
and now
Mac|Life

I'm so edgy..., I'm like, square!

Last edited by mtpalms (2007-01-21 9:03 pm)

I think I made the right decision to let my subscription lapse.  everything that I loved about MacAddict is gone.

You guys are acting like it's MacLifes obligation or responsibilty to make it easier for you to get apps and demos.

Rik wrote:

Nevis wrote:

I really don't buy it when people say the like the new format better, they must be friends of the designer.

Uh, might there exist the slight possibility that they simply disagree with your assesment?

Nevis wrote:

The sales tell the story, let's make some popcorn and watch the subscription numbers drop!

Ah, here we completely agree!  Give Mac|Life six months or so -- about time for the first officially audited sales figures from the BPA (http://www.bpaww.com) -- and we'll all see what's what.

I want to be seen in context here.
I am a Mac Addict.
I not only personally represent the addiction (met my wife promoting the Mac) but I have bought MacAddict magazine for many years and never throw out a copy (cause I keep remembering things I read months ago and go looking for them).
I just bought a new CD binder for the coming (not) monthly disks.
OK, sometimes unwanted changes may need to be made.
But the Name, the panache, the paper stock, the fonts, some editors, some columns, the Aqua ratings buttons, changing department names to the very pretentious "Consider, Share, Start, Crave, Learn, Listen, Play, Ask"?
What's wrong with "Ask Us"? Sounds kinda personal, kinda friendly.
What's wrong with "Games"? Is there something else you're playing?
Even if you're going to give the mag a neutered name like Mac|Life can't you at least put it on the footers as before, or is M|L supposed to be cooler!
Mark Peter and Dan! Gee yerself a big slap! What were ya thinkin laddies.
I will always be a MacAddict but it seems that others may have adopted a more restrained portrayal of their affiliation with the Macintosh platform.

justine wrote:

Mymac4ever wrote:

There is however something that really bothers me, all these people that seem to register just so they can spill the guts on how awful they think the new magazine is and why they're no longer going to subscribe.

Yeah, i noticed that, too.

It's because we were happy! No need to register to express contentment.
(OK it would have been nice)
If people are sounding the alarm it's because they care.
Maybe instead of dissing the disappointed you might consider what they have to say.
OK, the "I'm not going to renew" may not be mature, but it was for emphasis.

Yes, frankly, I registered just to post my negative comments. I normally wouldn't take the time to register/post but I think the folks at Mac|Life should hear why people are unsubscribing. I sent the following to letters@maclife.com and along with my request to refund my subscription:

I have always read MacAddict cover to cover but I can
barely stand to look at the new format of MacLife. I
think the main problem is the indistinguishability of
advertisements and content. I don't want to spend 1
nanosecond figuring out if I'm reading an ad. Another
big problem is the overuse of different font sizes and
colors. Also, the cover art and many of the article graphics
are amateurish and annoying (in MacAddict they were
amateurish and fun). The content is comparable to
MacAddict but seemed to have less real substance.
I forced myself to go through the entire February '07
issue and concluded that it's too painful to read your
new rag.

Congratulations - you turned an entertaining,
informative magazine into unreadable smurf. I have
already sent a letter requesting a refund for my
remaining issues.

I'm sure the folks at MacLife gambled that the new name/format would gain more subscribers than it lost. I won't be around to find out. BTW, I've had a continuous MacAddict subscription for almost a decade.

No Longer Addicted wrote:

Yes, frankly, I registered just to post my negative comments. I normally wouldn't take the time to register/post but I think the folks at Mac|Life should hear why people are unsubscribing. I sent the following to letters@maclife.com and along with my request to refund my subscription:

I have always read MacAddict cover to cover but I can
barely stand to look at the new format of MacLife. I
think the main problem is the indistinguishability of
advertisements and content. I don't want to spend 1
nanosecond figuring out if I'm reading an ad. Another
big problem is the overuse of different font sizes and
colors. Also, the cover art and many of the article graphics
are amateurish and annoying (in MacAddict they were
amateurish and fun). The content is comparable to
MacAddict but seemed to have less real substance.
I forced myself to go through the entire February '07
issue and concluded that it's too painful to read your
new rag.

Congratulations - you turned an entertaining,
informative magazine into unreadable smurf. I have
already sent a letter requesting a refund for my
remaining issues.

I'm sure the folks at MacLife gambled that the new name/format would gain more subscribers than it lost. I won't be around to find out. BTW, I've had a continuous MacAddict subscription for almost a decade.

I'm not the one who was complaining about people registering just to complain, but whatever.

I have to say that your letter is a bit funny to me. The reason is that I remember a few years ago (not exactly sure of the time) when MacAddict went through one of its design changes and there were issues trying to determine what was an advertisement and what was content. Trust me when I say it was waaayyyy beyond any difficulties you might be seeing in Mac|Life and yet I didn't see you or any of the others in here complaining then. I think people are just mad that they changed the name and are coming up with reasons to hate it.

Also, is it really that the content looks like the ads or that the ads look like content??? Case in point, the Filemaker ad is very intentionally meant to look like magazine content. You can tell this because they felt the need to print on the page that it was an advertising supplement. Now, if you were writing a magazine that depended on selling advertising in order for you to receive a paycheck, do you think you would tell your advertiser that they couldn't make their ad look a certain way??? I don't think so. The whole purpose of an ad is to grab your attention and it seems that they have accomplished that since so many people are pointing to this.

Later,
Frank

Susie said "Sub copies are usually a bit ahead...one of the benefits of subscribing. "

Not in Canada. I still haven't received mine. And it's Jan. 23.

It would be interesting to know if they've even been sent out. In that case they might just be lost in transfer. Otherwise it's plain baaad. I also wonder if this delay is for issue #1 only or if everyone of the remaining 23 issues will be as late as this one.

It would be nice if someone from the subs-department could take a lookie at this thread and maybee even give us some answers. Chop chop...

justG wrote:

I received a response from customer service. I was informed that the issue will not be considered "late" until 1 February.  I even drove by a bookseller earlier today, I should've gone in and just bought a copy. Completely slipped my mind. I just don't want to miss the first issue and then be told oh, sorry, we haven't any more to send you.

Keep in mind that you shouldn't have any trouble getting a copy at a bookstore for at least the next week. When it gets closer to Feb. 1 and you still don't have a copy that's when you might want to buy a copy. Also, you may want to ask your local bookstore when they pull magazines. This will give you a better idea of your timeline and how long you can wait before buying.

Later, Frank

justG wrote:

Thanks for the advice, Frank, appreciate it.

No problem. I hope you get  your magazine in the mail soon and don't have to worry about the bookstore.

Frank

Well today is the 30th so if I haven't got my issue by tomorrow, I'm going to mail them again and at the same time as I ask them to send me my issue I'm going to ask them If the've actually sent it out the first time. I've been a subscriber to MacAddict for 4 years or something and I've NEVER had an issue running this much late.

ballistik wrote:

Magazines HAVE to advertise to make money and keep the magazine in circulation, that, combined with subscriber dollars, help support the magazine and foster growth for it. It's a business, just like any other. Alot of ppl loved MacHome because it was particarly devoid of ads, but now where is that magazine?? And thousands of subscribers left without a refund or anything... I love Mac|Life and will be subscribing. I think it was time for a much needed change. Give the magazine a few issues and see if you like it, don't make a harsh judgment on the first issue, ppl. Geez!

*B*

You are right. I don't work in the magazine industry but with the low prices they charge for subscriptions vs. the cost of printing and shipping I would think that the subscriptions aren't a direct source of income at all. Instead, it seems to me that the subscriptions are simply a means to allow them to charge more money for advertising. In other words, if they have 1,000,000 subscribers they can charge the advertisers a lot more than if they only have 500,000 subscribers.

Later, Frank