Editor's Note

CAROLINE ROSE

Dear Readers,

I'd like to talk about a change that you've no doubt already noticed: printed develop is no longer accompanied by the Developer CD Series disc, but instead comes with its own CD as in days of old. Yes, we've come full circle: develop had its own CD for Issues 1 through 7; then, starting with Issue 8, it was accompanied by the Developer CD Series disc, which offered a superset of the contents of develop's own CD. The Developer CD is actually a monthly CD that's mailed to members of Apple's developer programs and to subscribers to the Apple Developer Mailing (formerly the APDA Technical Information Mailing). At the time, it seemed simpler and more beneficial all around to just take every third Developer CD and make it the CD that accompanies develop.

So why did we change back? Well, it became increasingly common for Developer CD contributors to submit valuable software (or documentation) that was considered appropriate for the "monthly mailing" but not for develop. The bargain low price of develop simply wasn't adequate to cover the value of the software. (An example that some of you noticed is WorldScript, which made it onto the monthly Developer CD but was pulled at the last minute from the Developer CD accompanying develop; see the Letters section.) Keeping valuable materials off the Developer CD or raising the price of a develop subscription would have been far less desirable than the option finally chosen, to restore develop to having its own disc that's a subset of the Developer CD. This new disc, which comes tucked into develop like a bookmark, is called the develop Bookmark CD.

This is not to say that develop isn't still a bargain! Even without the CD, it's a high-quality journal with articles that have passed rigorous review by engineers at Apple and are also enjoyable to read. Throw in a CD containing the code described in the articles, and already you're getting your money's worth (IMHO). But develop's CD gives you even more than that: it contains all back issues and their code, Tech Notes, Sample Code from the Developer Support Center, Apple Direct, the Apple DocViewer application for electronic browsing, and assorted useful tools and documentation.

On the develop Bookmark CD, you'll notice some things missing from past CDs you received with develop, primarily system software and Inside Macintosh (both old and new). If you still want to get these, consider subscribing to the Apple Developer Mailing so that you'll once again receive the monthly Developer CD Series disc, which now includes more than ever before. And keep an eye out for other products in the APDA catalog that may include what you want. (See the inside back cover for information about APDA.)

For those develop subscribers who receive the Developer CD monthly and don't care which disc develop comes with, you'll continue to have a beautiful printed copy of the journal that you can curl up with and easily pass along (think of it as " develop unplugged"). The months that develop is published, the Technical Documentation edition of the Developer CD will be included in the monthly mailing. (See the March issue of Apple Direct for details on the new three-edition Developer CD Series.)

To clean the CD slate, so to speak, printed back issues of develop will now be accompanied by the Bookmark CD corresponding to this issue, rather than the Developer CDs they were originallypaired with. Remember, all develop code is kept up to date on the CD, and bugs fixed as necessary, so the latest CD is always the best one to refer to for code.

Since develop readers will have either the develop Bookmark CD or the Developer CD Series disc, how does develop now refer to the disc containing the code it describes? After endless debate on this crucial issue, we decided on "this issue's CD." Clever, huh? We're proud of it.

Speaking of pride, I can't help but mention that develop won the Excellence award in the Society for Technical Communication's 1992 Northern California Technical Publications and Arts Competition. Please don't forget to let us know how we can make develop even better!

Caroline Rose Editor

CAROLINE ROSE (AppleLink CROSE) was a programmer for seven years, until around the time "goto" went out of fashion. In those days, C was just the third letter of the alphabet and OOPS a loud interjection. Caroline's technical background came in handy when she was hired by Apple to work on Inside Macintosh Volumes I-III (may they rest in peace). What she did next after that turned out to be merely an interruption in her career at Apple, where she returned two years ago to edit develop. Speaking of "Oops," Caroline betrayed both her Italian heritage and her intense perfectionism by misspelling "mozzarella" in her bio in Issue 13; she received as punishment 30 lashes with a wet strand of spaghetti. Her next vacation will be spent on the Isle of Spice (trivia question: where?), and she is already brushing up on how to spell "callaloo" and "ylang-ylang."*

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Subscriptions to develop are available through APDA (see inside back cover for APDA information), or you can use the subscription card in the back of this issue. Please address all subscription-related inquiries to develop, Apple Computer, Inc., P.O. Box 531, Mt. Morris, IL 61054 (or AppleLink DEV.SUBS). *

BACK ISSUES For information about back issues of develop and how to obtain them, see the last page of this issue. Back issues are also on the develop Bookmark CD and the Developer CD Series disc.*