Statement

A New World

Imagine how the fifteenth-centiry explorers felt as the first news from the newly discovered Western Hemisphere trickled back to Europe. That is the only analogy that approximates the excitement and wonder that I feel about the launching of the Macintosh computer

As a computer journalist and adventurer, I've had the good fortune to serve as an explorer, historian, and guide during the recent unprecedented expansion of the personal computer world. When I had my first experience with the Macintosh, I realized that all my previous explorations had covered only one continent.

No machine has ever been scaled so perfectly for individual user and for the adventuresome spirit in such an accessible form. I confidently predict that the Mac will change forever our ideas about work and creativity-as well as the way we think about computers. The Mac represents a new frontier in computing, and it's open for all of us to explore, whether we're computer novices or experts.

We've created Macworld to guide us in our journeys of discovery. In each issue we'll organize that guide in four sections. In State of the Art we'll take a look at the technology that makes the Mac such a remarkable machine and report on new developments that make it even more capable and useful. This issue begins with Lon Poole's "Tour of the Mac Desktop" and Dan Farber's report on the Macintosh mouse. Matthew Douglas' "Inside the Mac" describes the ingenious engineering that enables the Mac to be so compactful and powerful, while Microsoft's Bill Gates offers his perspective on the Mac's place in computer history.

Our Review section presents in-depth evaluations of Macintosh application programs. In this issue I put MacWrite, the Mac's first word processor, through its paces, and Andrew Williams describes how Multiplan, a well-known electronic spreadsheet program, fares when translated into the Macintosh idiom. There is almost no precedent for MacPaint, the Mac's innovative drawing program. Our review of MacPaint is by Jeffrey Young, who brings the perspective of a perceptive computer novice to bear on this unique program. As with all Macworld reviews, you'll see that we're not embarrassed at expressing enthusiasm nor inhibited from making criticisms.

At the end of the Review section you'll find a preview of three programming languages and "Macware News," a Macworld department that includes descriptions of new hardware and software products for the Mac.
Hands On, the third section of Macworld, shows you how to be more productive and creative with your Mac. In this issue we present some tips for streamlining your word processing, a short tutorial in formatting spreadsheets, and some easy exercises in BASIC and Pascal.

A regular part of the Hands On section will be "Open Window," which provides a forum for readers to contribute their applications tips and other computing insights. In this issue Lon Poole shows how he created a custom letterhead using MacPaint and MacWrite. We're looking forward to "Open Window" expanding as you, our readers, extend the limits of what is possible with the Mac.

Our final section, Community includes reports on the ways in which Mac owners make use of their machines and the ways in which the Mac changes the way we work, study, and express ourselves. For our inaugural issue, we've taken the opportunity to present the story of "The Making of the Mac," as told by some of the people on Apple's Macintosh development team.

A regular section of the Community section will be "Macworld Gallery," a continuing exhibition of Macintosh art contributed by our readers. Our first exhibitor is Susan Kare, the resident Macintosh artist at Apple who designed many of the graphic images and type fonts that are part of the Macintosh environment. We encourage everyone to take mouse in hand and send us your creations.

Does this all sound exciting? Frankly, I think we've barely established a beachhead in this new world. Beyond the beach are forests to clear, mountains to cross, and wonders awaiting us that we can hardly imagine. In practical terms, I suspect that there are going to be more people using the Mac more creatively to enhance their lives than any computer yet invented. That's what's got me so excited about the Macintosh and the rare opportunity of bringing it to you through the pages of Macworld.

Andrew Fluegelman