Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!lll-winken!uunet!kentrox!kentrox.uucp!peter
From: peter@kentrox.uucp (Peter Uchytil)
Newsgroups: comp.org.acm
Subject: Re: New Look of CACM
Message-ID: <1991May3.162751.14138@kentrox.uucp>
Date: 3 May 91 16:27:51 GMT
Sender: peter@kentrox.uucp (Peter Uchytil)
Distribution: na
Organization: Kentrox Industries, Inc.
Lines: 44

Well, personally, I *like* the look of CACM.  Ok, I've only been in ACM
for a little over a year now, so maybe I don't remember how it used to
look, but I think CACM is very readable.  The Table of contents is
difficult to scan, I'll conceed that point no problem!  Why does a
technical magazine have to look sterile?  I have copies of CACM and
Computing Surveys in front of me.  Flipping through them I find much more
catching my eye in CACM.

Let's take a look at an issue.  I happen to have December 1990 with me (some
gremlin seems to have appropriated my newer issues).

Table of Contents: Fonts are hard to scan.

Newstrack: Nice little graphic.  Titles are mini-atricles easy to read.
  Pages are a different color so they are easy to find.

Letters, ACM Forum: same as any other mag.

Computing Perspectives: Title is small, easy to overlook, but the focus
  of the article "The Rise of the VLSI Processor" is big and easy to read.

P.19 "Real-Time Data Acquisition at Mission Control": ok, the title is a
  bit flashy, but it's not hard to read.  It does grab your attention.  As
  for the rest of the article, it's very readable.  Lots of good diagrams
  and pictures.  Subsection headings are bolded.  The upper right hand
  corner has the article title.

p.33 "...Unix Utilities": same as above.  Pages 36 and 37 have a very nice
  table outlining the results of tests on various unix systems.  

The other articles are the same.  Page 76 has an index to CACM which again
is readable.  So, I guess what I don't understand is, what would you *like*
to see?  Remember, I'm new to CACM.  What makes it so difficult to read?
I'm not talking about content now, just format (that is what everyone is
complaining about, right?).  

Pete


-- 
Peter Uchytil       | Kentrox Industries, Inc. | "Do you lead or are you led
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