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ATPM 3.01
January 1997

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Feature

by Robert Paul Leitao, rleitao@atpm.com

What’s NeXT for ATPM?

Last June, RD Novo, ATPM's creator and founding publisher, turned over the e-zine to Michael Tsai and me. Danny, as we have come to know him, is an extraordinary writer and a very talented man. The day-to-day responsibilities of About This Particular Macintosh were distracting him from what he enjoyed most about ATPM - exploring the personal computer experience. We wish Danny the best in all his endeavors and we very much appreciate, through his generosity, the wonderful opportunity that ATPM has been for Michael, me and the other members of our e-zine staff.

This is the eighth issue Michael and I have published. I can honestly say that I enjoy working on About This Particular Macintosh more and more each month. In last month's Personal Computing Paradigm, Michael revealed to ATPM readers the rather large geographic distances that separate members of the ATPM staff. For example, Michael lives in a bucolic area of the East Coast, while I live in the hustle and bustle of Hollywood, CA. What he didn't mention is that he and I have never met. Nor, as of this writing, have we ever exchanged a phone call. Between our personal experiences and our mutual affection for the Mac, we put together this e-zine using the Internet as our only avenue of communication. For the record, I once sent Michael a small package by U.S. Mail, but that was because I was sending him a CD-ROM and not just the data that it contained. It actually took more time for me to pack it, drive to the Post Office, have it weighed and get it stamped than it would have taken to send the data via the Internet. We do live in amazing times!

Mike Shields, our opinionated Associate Editor for Opinionated Stuff, has been with ATPM just a little while longer than I. His column, Macman to the Rescue, debuted a couple of months before I began writing Apples, Kids & Attitude. Robert Madill, a steady reviewer for ATPM begins his new role as Reviews Editor this month. This issue premieres Belinda Wagner's Education Department, disguised as "MacAdemia Nuts and Bolts." We are happy to have our Webzinger, Evan Trent, who joined us this summer, putting his many talents to work on our new web site.

The reason for reciting this litany of events and people is because ATPM started as a fun, zany and cool Internet e-zine dedicated to celebrating and exploring the personal computer experience. No other personal computer is as personal as a Macintosh. On this point, the editors and most of our readers will agree. It is our desire that this stated premise of our e-zine never changes. ATPM really is a collective product of different people who collaborate via the Information Super Highway. As a result of our efforts, we hope that you find technology a bit less impersonal and a bit more interesting and fun.

With each issue ATPM continues to grow. We are very grateful that many of you have told your friends about us. The more we grow, the more we can accomplish in terms of product reviews and building other areas of content. With our growth comes many challenges and opportunities. To accommodate the interests of our readers, ATPM is expanding our web site and making a few other enhancements I would like to mention in some detail.

In this era of bulk e-mail and automated lists, ATPM stands apart in that each e-mail letter sent to us is individually read. We learn a lot about what you, our readers, like about ATPM from the e-mail we receive. Please continue to send us your feedback. For the record, ATPM's e-mail list is not for sale, rent or hire. We believe it is a privilege to have each of you as a reader. We value your trust and confidence. You will not receive any bulk mail solicitations from us, nor will we allow anyone to use our list to send you unsolicited material.

At "press" time, ATPM is in the process of setting up a new Web site and we have established Domain Name Service as atpm.com. We will advise you when the new URL is up and running. In the interim, please use the current URL http:www.atpm.com. We will set up an automatic forwarding from the old address to the new one. In addition, we are creating an expanded e-mail system to allow you to contact each of us from the new Web site. We will advise you as soon as the new e-mail addresses are operational.

We will be maintaining an e-mail presence at American Online with the screen name editor@atpm.com.

From your e-mail responses we are aware that not all of our readers currently live in a 28.8 kbps or faster world. In addition, a few readers have mentioned that their Internet Service Provider has trouble with e-mail attachments. In response to these concerns, we are posting issues of ATPM in HTML on our Web site so they can be viewed with a web browser. A new "notification" category has been added to our e-mail list options. Readers on this list will be sent a notification whenever a new issue is posted to our web site. More information about these options can be found in our newly-revised "Guidelines" section inside.

Since ATPM's beginning in 1995, the number of users, sites and sophistication of software on the World Wide Web has exploded. Our goal is to keep pace with advances in software and other Web-related technologies while adding new content to our site as it becomes prudent. For example, the ATPM Reader Page o' Links feature was started with the idea of allowing our readers to share their favorite Mac-related web sites. The response was so encouraging that we will continue expanding the list to create the best Mac-related web resource available. So, please keep sending us your Web site recommendations.

As we begin 1997, we are excited about the future for ATPM and for individual Macintosh owners everywhere. About This Particular Macintosh is intended to be about your Macintosh, my Macintosh and the creative, personal ideas and experiences of everyone who uses a Mac. Our goal is to continue to be faithful to that mission.

In closing, we'd like to once again acknowledge the contributions of RD Novo. His decision to create ATPM was a good one. We believe our decision to expand the scope and reach of our e-zine is a good one, too. We also would like to thank Matt Sanders for his contribution of our new splash screen artwork (shown again at the top of this article) and H.M. Fog for his work as our intermittent cover story writer. Equally important, we'd like to thank you, our readers, for your continuing support and faith in our efforts.

What's NeXT for ATPM? Just wait and see. We think the Mac-using world will become even more fascinating. It's our desire to be there with you.

[apple graphic] Robert Paul Leitao is the Managing Editor of ATPM, and he writes Apples, Kids, & Attitude each month.

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