Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ulowell!m2c!odin!bergman From: bergman@odin.m2c.org (Michael Bergman) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: Apple's APDA: G'bye Amateurs & Fans Message-ID: <4343@m2c.M2C.ORG> Date: 1 Feb 89 20:38:07 GMT References: Sender: news@m2c.ORG Reply-To: bergman@m2c.org (Michael Bergman) Organization: Massachusetts Microelectronic Center, Westboro, Mass. Lines: 47 In article aa0s+@andrew.cmu.edu (Adel Talaat Assaad) writes: >I just received the first APDAlog from the "NEW & AMENDED" APDA run by >Apple, and boy did I dislike what I saw. They charge membership, and THEN >charge RETAIL for everything. Some prices went up 125% (TechNotes) and >the shipping and handling charge makes it sound like you should have >D. Trump's fortune to deal with them. > >They specifically make you state that you are repesenting yourself as >a "developer of computer software and/or hardware with substantial >experience in computer programming (which I do) and in USING >PROGRAMMER TOOLS AND UTILITIES (which I don't want to be)." > >Say it ain't so Apple: Say you are not EXPLICITLY excluding the >amateurs and advanced amateurs who do not wish to have any DIRECT >support but enjoyed all the convenience of what APDA used to >represent! ...deleted... > >Incidentally, will the new TechAlliance cover the gap, i.e. cater to >the needs of amateurs who do not wish to have any "representations", >including providing them with developement tools, etc...? > >Adel Assaad >CMU, PGH PA. Well, I just got BOTH the new APDAlog and the TechAlliance "MacQuarterly" and was pretty amazed. In addition to the problems Adel mentioned, APDAlog is "folksy" to the point of being ridiculous. There did appear to be some useful information in it, but overall it struck me as being highly unprofessional. On the bright side, part of the "about this organization..." section made it quite clear that amateurs and fans were still welcome. MacQuarterly, in sharp contrast, is MUCH more professional than the old APDAlog, and I expect that after my "free" membership runs out I will resubscribe. Unfortunately I didn't bring my copy in to work with me, but I'm sure some other bright soul can post some article samples. --mike bergman