The Top 10 Reasons People Read ATPM

We recently took a poll of our readership in to discover why ATPM is so popular. Below are the top ten replies to our poll question:

Question: Why is ATPM among the longest-running and most popular Macintosh publications on the Internet today?

10. I first thought ATPM was a silly e-zine about automated teller machines. Come to find out it’s a lot more than that so I just keep reading the magazine each month.

9. Nostalgia, actually. A friend gave me a copy years ago when ATPM could fit on a floppy. I lost the floppy and misplaced the friend so I just keep reading the magazine each month.

8. The Welcome section. I really like the Welcome section. The guy who writes the Welcome really knows what he’s talking about so I just keep reading the magazine each month.

7. After nine years of publication it’s the longest continuing thing in my own life. It even outlasted my grape iMac so I just keep reading the magazine each month.

6. I can’t get them to take me off the notify list. So I just keep reading the magazine each month.

5. I had a colored iMac. ATPM is even more colorful so I just keep reading the magazine each month. I just wish it came in grape.

4. It has really cool reviews, like this month’s StuffIt review. The guy who wrote this month’s StuffIt review really knows what he’s talking about. The reviews are almost as good as the Welcome section so I just keep reading the magazine each month.

3. Somebody told me that somebody at MacAddict once had a copy so I just keep reading the magazine each month. Does that make me an ATPM Addict?

2. I started my subscription to ATPM in college. College was fun. Work isn’t fun, but ATPM is still fun. So I keep reading the magazine each month.

1. What’s ATPM?

There you have it! The top ten reasons for our long-running popularity!

iPods Galore

This holiday season many music lovers and computer enthusiasts were delighted to find an Apple iPod under the tree on Christmas morning. The ubiquitous MP3 player and external FireWire drive was a hot seller this holiday season with many retailers reporting complete sell-outs of iPod inventory.

Industry data also indicate that unit sales of PCs will mark their first yearly rise during the second half of 2002 since the tech slump began. The ATPM staff will be tracking sales and earnings reports from the major PC makers as fourth calendar quarter results are reported in January. We expect Apple Computer to report brisk sales of the iPod, the $999 iBook, and the new 1 GHz Titanium PowerBook.

Macworld San Francisco

In just a few days the annual Macworld San Francisco trade show will open its doors to industry professionals and Mac enthusiasts. Apple has recently announced that the company will delay for about six months the plan for new Macs to boot only in OS X. We await the opening of the San Francisco Expo and the announcements of new Apple products and Mac OS X enhancements. Our February issue will cover all of the major Macworld announcements and include a careful look at Apple’s fourth calendar quarter results.

Our January issue includes:

The Candy Apple: Resolutions

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is getting in shape, go for it! But don’t forget your Mac. Ellyn Ritterskamp gives us some pointers on keeping your favorite computer in top shape for 2003…and beyond.

The Legacy Corner: Bluetooth and 68K Browsers

After a short digression to a definitely-not-legacy topic, Chris Lawson discusses some options if you are looking for a Web browser for your 68K Mac.

The Personal Computing Paradigm: E-Mail Archiving with Eudora and Mail.app

We all get too much e-mail, but some of us cannot throw all that stuff out! Michael Tsai shows us how to archive old messages and, more importantly, how to find them later.

Roll Your Own: How to Handle Anything

In his continuing series on using AppleScript to develop your own programs, Chuck Ross teaches us about “handlers” and how useful they are.

What’s Under the Hood: New Year, More Utilities

In this month’s installment, Robert Lewis examines a slew of utilities to make your Mac experience more effective and enjoyable.

Segments: Mac Addicts to the Rescue

Here’s an uplifting story to start off the New Year right. Jason Eric Smith describes his incredible story about catching an eBay scammer and the help he got along the way from the Mac community.

How To: Buying a New Mac

Saint Nick has been and gone for another year. If he didn’t leave a brand new goodie from Cupertino under your tree, all is not lost. Sylvester Rogue shows all you dear readers how to choose the right Mac…if you want to become your own Santa.

Cartoon: Cortland

More goings on in the world of computer graphics and software.

Desktop Pictures: Tetons

This month’s desktop pictures are from Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and were submitted by Janet Mobley.

Shareware Roundup: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic: Educational Tools

In her Shareware Roundup, Brooke Smith reviews a number of educational tools: ISSA puts magnetic poetry on your desktop, Proofreader helps teach grammar, and FlashMath teaches mathematical skills by means of a flash card game.

Review: EarthDesk 1.2.5

Never say we never gave you anything: Lee Bennett gives you the world in his review of EarthDesk, or, well, he tells you about a program that puts regularly updated pictures of the world on your desktop, which you have to admit is the next best thing.

Review: iSkin Keyboard Protector

We’d also like to acKNOWLEDGE Chris Turner’s review of the iSkin Keyboard Protector. If you have a recent iBook or PowerBook, iSkin can cover up your keyboard and protect it from pet hair, spills, and more!

Review: Kinesis Advantage Pro

Paul Fatula has taken it upon himself to review another strange-looking keyboard, this time the Kinesis Advantage Pro. By placing your hands into two separated “bowls” of keys, the keyboard offers several ergonomic advantages over more traditional keyboard designs.

Review: Macintosh Troubleshooting Pocket Guide (book)

The very small Macintosh Troubleshooting Pocket Guide received a relatively short review from Paul Fatula. The book’s question-and-answer format covers common hardware and software problems you might encounter with your Mac, and helps you get back up and running.

Review: Phaser 8200

Evan Trent got a new high-speed color printer, the Xerox Phaser 8200, and offers an extensive review. The printer was selected for its superior color print quality, and greatly outdoes the quality offered by color laser printers, at the expense of speed and text sharpness.

Review: StuffIt Deluxe 7.0.1

Robert Paul Leitao reviews the latest version of Aladdin’s flagship Macintosh compression utility.