LETTERS

THE GOOD
Wow!
--Jim Russell

We just received the first issue of develop. It is just what we need. In fact, it couldn't come at a better time. Anyway, please continue to do it--we need it! Great idea, great layout, great topics, etc....
--Daniel Tapie

Thanks a lot for the complimentary first issue of develop. It makes me feel healthy with the funny introduction of the authors, wealthy with its luxury, and happy for your name is nicer than ever on the first page.
--Philippe

I believe you have a winner here! develop has helped me in just the first 10 minutes. I needed help with the Palette Manager and I found it here!

Might I suggest that the CD-ROM envelope be perforated? This would allow easy removal of the packet and alleviate the "now I have the CD-ROM out, but the packet is still in the way when I flip through the pages" syndrome.
--Bryan Carter

Fantastic idea!!! Keep up the good work. This first issue was FULL of good, timely, and useful advice (code). Thanks for your efforts to help developers.
--Ken Duncan

Excellent magazine! I really enjoyed the articles, source code examples, backgrounds on the authors, etc. I predict that develop will establish a new standard of excellence in technical support literature. But please find a better font for the source code listings; the font is so faint that I found myself suffering from eye strain after a short while.
--Ken Friedenbach

What a fantastic idea! The graphic design in develop is so good that it almost distracts from the content. Keep up the good work and please send the next issue (this one was stolen...).
--Jean-Michel Karr

THE BAD
develop has NOTHING to offer an Apple II owner/developer. Apple no longer has my respect as the founder of the home computing and friendly interfaces. I do not want a Mac and the way I feel at this moment I would not have a Mac if you gave it to me. Yes, I am angry!
--R. L. Woodworth

The outstanding quality of the premier issue of develop was overshadowed by its content. It would have been appropriate in a premier issue to devote approximately equal space to BOTH Apple lines of computers. Apple II support in develop would surely help Apple and encourage those who acknowledge the IIs as very respectable computers. May the Apple II and Macintosh lines BOTH enjoy continued and increasing success in their respective markets!
--Steven Gozdziewski

Like other commodities, developis influenced by the laws of supply and demand. I publish articles based on what I have and on what I believe the development community needs. There is a definite need for Apple II information, and developwill continue to be a forum in which to meet that need, but the mix of Apple II and Macintosh articles will continue to reflect the mix of developers and their needs (and available articles), rather than an absolute 50-50 balance.
--Louella

The situation on technical information has just gotten worse with develop. We now have Inside Macintosh , Technical Notes, the Q & A stack, develop, and many other documents available through APDA. All of these have information not found anywhere else. It is a total nightmare when I want to find all the information on a particular topic. I really, really, REALLY would like ALL Macintosh technical information in one regularly updated reference. Get rid of all the others.
--Tim Fredenburg

Would you settle for having all of the pivotal information in one place (like a CD-ROM disc, for example), and for working toward an indexing scheme that would let you find out all of the documents (and pieces of sample code) that related to your topic of interest? We believe that the documents deserve (and need) to have lives of their own to address the needs of the folks who don't want to know absolutely everything about everything, but we also believe that an intelligent indexer would simplify things immensely. This issue's CD- ROM disc contains much of the information you'd like to see combined, and the next issue will have our first crack at the intelligent indexer. All comments and suggestions welcome.
--Louella

I'm curious to find out WHY Apple decided to go with a CD-ROM disc. I understand that the disc holds gobs of data (which I would imagine goes mostly unused every issue); however, I wonder HOW MANY of the Mac and Apple II developers actually own a CD-ROM drive. Apple may be trying to encourage developers to utilize this technology, but at the moment it looks like they are just flapping their wings in the breeze. I've got a great idea! Everyone who can't use the CD-ROM disc should mail it back to Apple. A small, silent protest. :-)
--Lynda

The CD-ROM gives us room to archive all of the old issues of develop (which allows us to update and to correct mistakes every quarter), to publish code that would never fit in our hundred-some pages, and to explore what can be done when space is not a problem. This issue of develop, the disc includes not only develop and all of its associated code, but also SpInside Macintosh (a HyperCard stack-based version of Inside Macintosh volumes I-V), the Macintosh Technical Notes stack, and the Macintosh DTS Q & A stack, and of course, the ever-popular audio track.
--Louella

THE UNCLASSIFIABLE
Egad! I received my developer's package this noontime and found develop included in the package. While I haven't had quite the time I wanted to examine the material, I did notice two serious technical errors. To whit:

1. Louella, you've got to be under forty! That pale gray print for the listings is--at least to my forty+ eyes, well nigh invisible. Please take pity on us old codgers and not blind us!
2. Catching penguins is far easier than you suggest. When I was stationed at McMurdo Sound a few decades ago, we simply recorded the sound of the local pod of Orcas and set up large speakers on three sides of a square. When we turned the recordings on, the poor pennies thought their mortal enemies were coming ashore and accordingly raced out of danger--right into our nets!

This boiled the bejabbers out of the biologists, but made our day! Ever see a penguin race?
--Robert Smith

I'm afraid I'm guilty on both counts: I am under forty (although I hope the code in this issue is easier on your eyes), and I did not fully test all of the questions and answers. In the future, I'll try to convince management that testing penguin-catching techniques is worth the trip. I'm sure your letter will help.
--Louella

I noticed on page 2 that two "Spirit Guides" were listed. While trying to figure out what these might be, I thought of three possibilities: continuity editors (insure that each article adheres to a common theme); channelers or spiritists (as in New Age, religion, occult); or testers of wines or vineyards. So, now that I've had my guesses, could you tell me what the real answer is and what relation they have to your magazine? Or is it all just a joke to see who REALLY reads your journal?
--Rex Bontrager

Margery and Lou both contributed immensely to actually getting develop into print; without the two of them, it would probably still be a bunch of manuscript pages sitting in my office and I'd still be thinking that printing was the opposite of cursive. As for the heading, they both make me smile and so does calling them Spirit Guides. (And it is good to see who's actually reading the masthead.)
--Louella

QUESTIONS
I like develop. It's cool. But what's the deal with the code contained therein (on CD-ROM)? Can we use it? Can we distribute it? Both of those (at least the first) would seem to be the intent ofdevelop. But the lawyer's funfest at the back would seem to say otherwise. I wondered about this before I saw the article in MacWeek, but now I'm really confused. Is use of code contained on the CD-ROM as limited as seems to be implied by the CD-ROM container's text? Or what?
--Robert

You can freely use, copy, and distribute the code that's included in develop. Many thanks to Teri Drenker in Apple's software licensing group for this issue's revised licensing agreement.
--Louella

COMMENTS We welcome timely letters to the editor, especially from readers wishing to react to articles that we publish in develop. Letters should be addressed to Louella Pizzuti; 20525 Mariani Ave. M/S 75-3B; Cupertino, CA 95014 (AppleLink Pizzuti1). All letters should include name and company name as well as address and phone number. Letters may be excerpted or edited for clarity and space.

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