What's the Best Mac magazine to buy?

[GetGo]

I looking to get a couple of Mac Magazines what are the best ones out there?

[Dont Hurt Me]

MacAddict is a good one but they play some games with their benches, has a cd with all kinds of software every month. if you are a mac user its a must. Tell Rik i sent you.

[bousozoku]

MacFormat, if you can find it. It's a bit expensive, unless you're in England.

MacAddict is good but has gotten thin. MacDesign is good if you're looking for information on design applications with a touch of Macintosh news.

[amin]

Originally posted by bousozoku
MacFormat, if you can find it. It's a bit expensive, unless you're in England.

MacAddict is good but has gotten thin. MacDesign is good if you're looking for information on design applications with a touch of Macintosh news.

iCreate is expensive but has good content, especially for users who are new to the iApps. In general, I find MacAddict to be the best value.

[Dont Hurt Me]

I wish MacAddict would get its benches in order, its one thing that bothers me for example Dec months issue had a nice article on the dual G5 2.0 but then they used some lame benches that expressed the performance of the G5 as a percentage above what a dual 800quicksilver did so rather then just give us the frames per second or the numbers everything was described as a percentage above the quicksilver meaning for all of users that dont have dual 800's these tests had little meaning. Even those darn blurrs and rotations were described this way rather then just giving us the seconds it took to perform the operation. Pisses me off. a Few years ago you could just look up your favorite app and compare performance of all macs running that app. then decide what Mac was needed for what you needed. Smoke and mirrors. Other then this and as others have stated ( getting a little thin ) it is a excellent resource for anything Mac, Apps, updates, game demo's, basic Os use,music,video and problem solving,etc. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. Still wish they would have a page that showed every mac they have reviewed and then have a standard set of benches for us to compare. ****

[KBFinFan]

I find both MacWorld and MacAddict pretty entertaining. I got 6 free issues of MacWorld by registering my PB... so I got used to that magazine. I'd say in the US both are solid bets.

[manitoubalck]

Many moons ago I use to read MacFormat, when you got game demos like F/A-18 hornet, and A-10 Attack

[~Shard~]

I enjoy both MacAddict and MacWorld, and currently have a year's subscription to MacWorld. Just personal preference!

[Kingsnapped]

How many issues does iCreate have out? I've only seen issue one at B&N.

To answer the question, I much prefer MacAddict. They seem to be written with a bit more personality, and a bit less hardcore tec. Maybe it's just written for a different demographic. Try out whatever you can find, then decide on a winner.

[edStar]

iCreate is a great magazine, lots of pictures for tutorials and a pleasure to read. It is expensive if you live oustide of the UK, I think its about $15 in Australia.

I buy the Australian Macworld which is a good magazine.

[noel4r]

i dont need to read those magazines. i'm sure they're all very informative but all the mac info i need are on the net, especially macrumors....

[johnnowak]

I find MacAddict to be a bunch of zealots with little to no ability to write effectively. Even if its a clear win issue for PCs, MacAddict will twist it so it isn't. It's very childish too. It's also about five pages. It really is for mac addicts, in that scem0/macbandit sense.

MacWorld is a much better publication, but not without flaws either. I myself read neither. :-)

[jeff.macaddict]

I like MacAddict alot, and while some people may find their magazine not to be the best, but still 'up there', I'd just like to point out that there are a shi† load of really crappy computer magazines out there. Some are more than 60% ads, and have crappy typeface. MacAddict is one of the nicest to read.

[mac15]

I used to buy MacWorld Australia, it was a good read. I have bought Mac Addict a few times but neither grabbed me

[johnnyjibbs]

I think Mac magazines have gotten expensive anyway but I suppose you do get free software demos and stuff with them. Nearly all UK Mac magazines are £6 (about $10). I like MacFormat because it has lots of tutorials about different things and every other page is not just Photoshop. They have a good reviews section as well. I found MacWorld (UK edition) to be a little dull while iCreate is too simple - great when you're researching into getting your first Mac but not when you have one! I don't need a magazine to work out how to burn a DVD using iDVD!!!

BTW, iCreate is only bi-monthly so not many issues have come out yet. The latest one is issue 4.

[manitoubalck]

Yes well:p
I currently have a years subscription to PC PowerPlay, it's an Australian PC mag, centred on, Gaming, modding, expansion, and pushing your PC to the limit.

Has very little to no pro application infomation eg: Photoshop, macromedia, etc.. Just on games, graphics cards, general hardware reviews and what I mentioned before.

[Photorun]

MacAddict is good, MacWorld I guess is okay. Peecee mags I've sometimes skimmed at Borders or B&N totally suck showing what kind of lusers they have, we're lucky our mags are written and are more creative... but then again so is the platform so it seems to all make sense.

[amnesiac1984]

Does nobody read macuser in the UK? They are good for news and reviews are always interesting, not much free stuff but it comes out every two weeks :) and the letters are often quite amusing..

[niter]

Good thread topic. I have been wondering this myself. A big part of me thinks it might be a waste, as I could get all the information I need off of the Internet, but I do like to have one magazine.

Is there any one good Mac magazine to subscribe to? For the past four years I have been a PCWorld subscriber and I will continue my subscription because my fiance still is interested in PCs, and the magazine is well written. I like to stay informed on both sides and the peripheral reviews are really nice. Moreover, many of the reviews provided in every issue can be applicable to a Mac as they are digital cameras, scanners, monitors, etc. PCWorld is also very good to their subscribers.

I am looking for the Mac equivalent. The free copy I got of MacWorld seemed okay. And just that...okay. I purchased the only copy of MacAddict in the stores, the special edition one and I really enjoyed it. However, is this representative of the magazine itself, or is it just a special edition.

Does anybody recommend the special Panther issue of MacWorld? I generally do not buy such things, but I am switcher. Will it really help. The darn plastic wrap over all the good magazines in the B&N is really getting to me.....

[Dont Hurt Me]

The special MacAdiict edition was just like any other except it did the 20th year of Mac other then that its allways about the same.. just subscribe to it and you will be happy plus you can take that Mag to the bathtub! try doing that while on the net.

[~Shard~]

Originally posted by niter

Does anybody recommend the special Panther issue of MacWorld? I generally do not buy such things, but I am switcher. Will it really help. The darn plastic wrap over all the good magazines in the B&N is really getting to me.....

I have the Panther issue of MacWorld, and it is a good issue, but nothing special. All the Panther tips and everything are good if you're new to Panther, or if you're switching from OS9, but there's nothing ground-breaking in it. There are an awful lot of useful sites mentioned in it, but it's nothing that either isn't already common knowledge of that can be found on the Net. :) Overall though, it is a very good issue, but nothing special.

[niter]

Would you recommend it for a switcher who is rather comfortable with a computer (I know myself around a PC very, very well and I would say I am doing rather well so far with Panther)? I just want to know and do it all ;)

[~Shard~]

I think it would be worth in in your case then. If you're like me, when I moved to Mac, I had so much PC knolwedge and experience, well, Panther was pretty intuitive to me, and I figured out most things on my own by playing around. In that respect, the magazine didn't teach me anything too groundbreaking. However, it still is packed with goodies, so I definitely don't think you'd be disappointed with it if you picked it up. It is by no means a expert-level guide to Panther, as it is all fairly high level, but still really good. :cool:

[the Otter]

I have subscriptions to both Macworld and MacAddict and I’m letting MacAddict lapse. I’ve received the latter for almost five years now, but a couple of issues back, they started letting all kinds of language through. I’ve dealt with their “prime time” cursing for quite a while—it’s pretty nigh impossible to get away from some of those words in our current society, and I’m sorry to admit that I, like so many others, have been somewhat desensitized to them. Even so, they’ve finally crossed the line, and I let them know I’m not gonna pay for a magazine that can’t clean up their act better than that.

I know a lot of people probably don’t care what words others use—I’m sure a lot of you use them yourselves—but if you happen to have morals akin to my own, Macworld is definitely the way to go.

[caveman_uk]

Originally posted by Kingsnapped
How many issues does iCreate have out? I've only seen issue one at B&N.

There are currently four issues of iCreate out. IIRC the next one is due at the end of January. In the UK it retails for about £6 ($10) which is pretty normal for UK mac magazines. It seems to have a lot less ads and a lot more original content than the other UK mags. Whilst some of the content is a little basic, I've found enough to interest me to keep buying it. Most of the other mac mags bore me. I don't care about bloody Quark... :mad:

[caveman_uk]

Originally posted by manitoubalck
Yes well:p
I currently have a years subscription to PC PowerPlay, it's an Australian PC mag, centred on, Gaming, modding, expansion, and pushing your PC to the limit.

Given that the title of the thread is 'What's the best Mac Magazine to buy?' what PC mag you read is somewhat irrelevant don't you think?

[manitoubalck]

Originally posted by caveman_uk
Given that the title of the thread is 'What's the best Mac Magazine to buy?' what PC mag you read is somewhat irrelevant don't you think?

Notice the opening line of the post, I'm well aware it's semi off topic.

[amnesiac1984]

I can't believe nobody reads macuser! AM I the only one subscribed to it? They even get mentioned as sources for macrumors occasionally and they always have really good news stories that you don't always get in other mac mags. Every issue has at least one story about how microsoft is gonna be shafted or is doing something illegal, its great! :p

Seriously though it does seem odd does it not, that nobody here seems to buy it. I guess its the "alternative" mac magazine, come on guys, Think Different, Read Macuser! :p

[iChan]

i think macdirectory is the best, with excellent production values and lot of style with brilliant interviews.

[big duane]

after 10 years of using macs, MacWorld was the first computer magazine i subscribed to (came free with my new powerbook). i'm fairly surprisedby this, but every issue has a good 10 or 12 pages that get dogeared for further review later.

[Ambrose Chapel]

yeah i'll also throw my support behind MacWorld. the past several issues particularly have had a lot of good tips that i've used and gone back to. true, a lot of content is on the net, instantly and for free, but i find it very helpful to have a reference to go back to months (sometimes years) later.

i do wish Mw hadn't dropped Andy Ihnatko's column, though.

[sivartris]

First you need to determine the purpose of your magazine needs.

(Excuse me if this has been posted. A quick browse didn't seem to mention this fact.)

If you just want basic information or reviews, there are usually plenty of Web resources available.

If you want more technical info such as working with your Mac (design) or programming, then it is a good idea to get a subscription.

I haven't taken a design magazine for some time, but I currently take Mac Tech for programming. It is excellent.

[hvfsl]

I read PCWorld, MacWorld and Edge (Gaming mag aimed at 18+). Although PCWorld has a lot of Mac reviews now, and sometimes gives Macs a better rating than I would.

[hvfsl]

Originally posted by amnesiac1984
I can't believe nobody reads macuser! AM I the only one subscribed to it? They even get mentioned as sources for macrumors occasionally and they always have really good news stories that you don't always get in other mac mags. Every issue has at least one story about how microsoft is gonna be shafted or is doing something illegal, its great! :p

Seriously though it does seem odd does it not, that nobody here seems to buy it. I guess its the "alternative" mac magazine, come on guys, Think Different, Read Macuser! :p

I read it whenever I go on a long journey, but dont get it regulary like MacWorld, PCWorld and Edge, because I have a subscription to those mags.

[johnnyjibbs]

I used to like Edge. In fact, I saw an old 2000 special issue the other day in the attic and it had details of the Power Mac Cube in it! It used to be pretty fair at reviews, although it's a little too anti-Nintendo for my liking, like most of the other mags.