More Than A Magazine
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday December 7, 1992
THE PUBLISHERS of MacWorld magazine in the United States will this week launch in Australia a version of the magazine on CD-Rom. At this stage the publishers expect to produce five "issues" a year, with each issue costing about $A45 or you get an annual subscription for $A195.
Why would anyone want a magazine on CD-Rom? The answer is that it can hold many more stories and, as the MacWorld publication will demonstrate, can be considerably enhanced through the use of full-motion video.
In a review on a range of printers, for example, text on screen will surround a tiny window. Click on the window to activate a video showing the reviewers road-testing the printers. You'll hear them criticising, praising, addressing you directly. Increasingly, reading a magazine will be as entertaining and interactive as watching television.
Another benefit of having a magazine on CD-Rom is the ability to do instant word searches for, say the name of a particular software package mentioned in a story whose title you've forgotten.
A demonstration version of the CD-Rom at the MacWorld expo at Darling Harbour last month generated a lot of interest, according to MacWorld's advertising co-ordinator, Joanne Davies.
"Most of the stories will be multimedia related, both on multimedia and using multimedia," says Davies of the CD-Rom issues of MacWorld. "It's not as text-based as the normal magazine because there are video clips of interviews with people, of instructions on how to install programs."
Of the 9,000 CD-Roms that are being pressed, about 50 will be sent to Australia. These are available through MacWorld's circulation department on(02) 439 5133.
© 1992 Sydney Morning Herald