FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
What Is ATPM?
About This Particular Macintosh (ATPM) is, among other things, a monthly Internet magazine or “e-zine.” ATPM was created to celebrate the personal computing experience. For us this means the most personal of all personal computers—the Apple Macintosh. About This Particular Macintosh is intended to be about your Macintosh, our Macintoshes, and the creative, personal ideas and experiences of everyone who uses a Mac. We hope that we will continue to be faithful to our mission.
Are You Looking for New Staff Members?
We currently need several Contributing Editors. Please contact us if you’re interested.
How Can I Subscribe to ATPM?
Visit the subscriptions page.
Which Format Is Best for Me?
The Online Webzine edition is for people who want to view ATPM in their Web browser, while connected to the Internet. It provides sharp text, lots of navigation options, and live links to ATPM back issues and other Web pages. You can use Sherlock to search all of the online issues at once.
The Offline Webzine is a HTML version of ATPM that is formatted for viewing offline and made available in a StuffIt archive to reduce file size. The graphics, content, and navigation elements are the same as with the Online Webzine, but you can view it without being connected to the Internet. It requires a Web browser.
The Print PDF edition is saved in Adobe Acrobat format. It has a two-column layout with smaller text and higher-resolution graphics that are optimized for printing. It may be viewed online in a browser, or downloaded and viewed in Adobe’s free Acrobat Reader on Macintosh or Windows. PDFs may be magnified to any size and searched with ease.
The Screen PDF edition is also saved in Adobe Acrobat format. It’s a one-column layout with larger text that’s optimized for reading on-screen. It may be viewed online in a browser, or downloaded and viewed in Adobe’s free Acrobat Reader on Macintosh or Windows. PDFs may be magnified to any size and searched with ease.
What Are Some Tips for Viewing PDFs?
- You can download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free. If you have a Power Macintosh, Acrobat Reader 5 has better quality and performance. ATPM is also compatible with Acrobat Reader 3, for those with 680x0 Macs.
- You can zoom the PDF to full window width and scroll through articles simply by single-clicking anywhere in the article text (except underlined links).
- You can quickly navigate between articles using the bookmarks pane at the left of the main viewing window.
- For best results on small screens, be sure to hide the bookmarks pane; that way you’ll be able to see the entire page width at 100%.
- Try turning Font Smoothing on and off in Acrobat Reader’s preferences to see which setting you prefer.
- All blue-underlined links are clickable.
- You can hold down option while hovering over a link to see where it will lead.
- For best results, turn off Acrobat’s “Fit to Page” option before printing.
Why Are Some Links Double-Underlined?
In the PDF editions of ATPM, links that are double-underlined lead to other pages in the same PDF. Links that are single-underlined will open in your Web browser.
What If I Get Errors Decoding ATPM?
ATPM and MacFixIt readers have reported problems decoding MacBinary files using early versions of StuffIt Expander 5.x. If you encounter problems decoding ATPM, we recommend upgrading to StuffIt Expander 5.1.4 or later.
How Can I Submit Cover Art?
We enjoy the opportunity to display new, original cover art every month. We’re also very proud of the people who have come forward to offer us cover art for each issue. If you’re a Macintosh artist and interested in preparing a cover for ATPM, please e-mail us. The way the process works is pretty simple. As soon as we have a topic or theme for the upcoming issue we let you know about it. Then, it’s up to you. We do not pay for cover art but we are an international publication with a broad readership and we give appropriate credit alongside your work. There’s space for an e-mail address and a Web page URL, too. Write to editor@atpm.com for more information.
How Can I Send a Letter to the Editor?
Got a comment about an article that you read in ATPM? Is there something you’d like us to write about in a future issue? We’d love to hear from you. Send your e-mail to editor@atpm.com. We often publish the e-mail that comes our way.
Do You Answer Technical Support Questions?
Of course. E-mail our Help Department at help@atpm.com.
How Can I Contribute to ATPM?
There are several sections of ATPM to which readers frequently contribute:
Segments: Slices from the Macintosh Life
This is one of our most successful spaces and one of our favorite places. We think of it as kind of the ATPM “guest room.” This is where we will publish that sentimental Macintosh story that you promised yourself you would one day write. It’s that special place in ATPM that’s specifically designated for your stories. We’d really like to hear from you. Several Segments contributors have gone on to become ATPM columnists. Send your stuff to editor@atpm.com.
Hardware and Software Reviews
ATPM publishes hardware and software reviews. However, we do things in a rather unique way. Techno-jargon can be useful to engineers but is not always a help to most Mac users. We like reviews that inform our readers about how a particular piece of hardware or software will help their Macintosh lives. We want them to know what works, how it may help them in their work, and how enthusiastic they are about recommending it to others. If you have a new piece of hardware or software that you’d like to review, contact our reviews editor at reviews@atpm.com for more information.
Shareware Reviews
Most of us have been there; we find that special piece of shareware that significantly improves the quality our Macintosh life and we wonder why the entire world hasn’t heard about it. Now here’s the chance to tell them! Simply let us know by writing up a short review for our shareware section. Send your reviews to reviews@atpm.com.
Which Products Have You Reviewed?
Check our reviews index for the complete list.
What is Your Rating Scale?
ATPM uses the following ratings (in order from best to worst): Excellent, Very Nice, Good, Okay, Rotten.
Will You Review My Product?
If you or your company has a product that you’d like to see reviewed, send a copy our way. We’re always looking for interesting pieces of software to try out. Contact reviews@atpm.com for shipping information. You can send press releases to news@atpm.com.
Can I Sponsor ATPM?
About This Particular Macintosh is free, and we intend to keep it this way. Our editors and staff are volunteers with “real” jobs who believe in the Macintosh way of computing. We don’t make a profit, nor do we plan to. As such, we rely on advertisers to help us pay for our Web site and other expenses. Please consider supporting ATPM by advertising in our issues and on our web site. Contact advertise@atpm.com for more information.
Where Can I Find Back Issues of ATPM?
Back issues of ATPM, dating since April 1995, are available in DOCMaker stand-alone format. In addition, all issues since ATPM 2.05 (May 1996) are available in HTML format. You can search all of our back issues.
What If My Question Isn’t Answered Above?
We hope by now that you’ve found what you’re looking for (We can’t imagine there’s something else about ATPM that you’d like to know.). But just in case you’ve read this far (We appreciate your tenacity.) and still haven’t found that little piece of information about ATPM that you came here to find, please feel free to e-mail us at (You guessed it.) editor@atpm.com.
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