One thing about magazine publishing: the wheel keeps turning no matter what. There
can be no slips because of problems that crop up or any extra work that needs to be
done; the "to press" date is set way in advance. So for this issue, having to deal with
redesigning our layout and having our technical editor out on jury duty for months,
I've been going crazy. The smiling face you see in this photo is not what I've looked like
for most of the last three months!
But enough about me. Let's talk about the redesign. As you've no doubt already noticed,
we've changed develop 's cover to make it look more like those you'll find on
newsstands. We've added an eye-catching strip across the top and moved the article
titles from the right side of the cover to the left, where they would peek out if the
issues were stacked from left to right (imagine offset overlapping windows).
We've changed the layout in the inside to fit a bit more on each page. Issues of develop
will be slimmer than before, but you'll still be getting the same amount of content. We
couldn't resist tweaking a few other things while we were at it. Specifically, "listing
boxes" now help keep code together in one tidy place. But we still put code close to
where it's discussed, and we still place code in the body of the article if that makes
more sense.
Another change in this issue is a direct result of the aforementioned jury duty: Dave
Johnson's popular Veteran Neophyte column is missing. But don't worry; it will
return once justice has been served. Meanwhile we do have two new columns: Balance
of Power, with PowerPC TM-related tidbits from Dave Evans, and Newton Q & A,
which lets you interrogate a llama and receive a T-shirt if he uses your question.
As always, we'd like your feedback. There will be more changes to come, and we really
want to know what works for you and what doesn't. So please, don't just gripe (or sing
our praises) among yourselves; drop us a line and give us your $.02! All information
about who to contact for what is now located in one handy place, on the inside front
cover (along with other irresistible tweaks).
By letting us know how we can improve, you help us win awards like the one that we
learned of while working on this issue: an Award of Distinction, and Best of Category
(Monthly or Quarterly Magazines), in the Society for Technical Communication's
1993 Northern California Technical Publications Competition. So thanks, and please
keep it coming!
Caroline Rose
Editor
CAROLINE ROSE (AppleLink CROSE) was part of a huge East-to-West Coast
migration that took place one heady summer many years ago. She stumbled upon a
technical writing job and took to it and to California like a programmer to Mountain
Dew. She's been a programmer herself (at Tymshare) and even a manager (at NeXT),
but marks her favorite work years as those spent writing and editing at Apple -- first
Inside Macintosh and later develop . To keep herself sane outside of work, Caroline has
little do with computers and has been known to stop making sense. She does, however,
keep her wits honed for Scrabble. *