''MacLife'' (stylized as ''Mac, Life'') is an American monthly magazine published by
Future US
Future US, Inc. (formerly known as Imagine Media and The Future Network USA) is an American media corporation specializing in targeted magazines and websites in the video games, music, and technology markets. Headquartered in New York City, t ...
. It focuses on the
Macintosh personal computer and related products, including the
iPad and
iPhone. It’s sold as a print product on newsstands, and an interactive and animated app edition through the
App Store.
Between September 1996 and February 2007, the magazine was known as ''MacAddict''.
History
''MacLife'' is one of two successor magazines to the defunct ''
CD-ROM Today''. First published in 1993 by Imagine Publishing (now
Future US
Future US, Inc. (formerly known as Imagine Media and The Future Network USA) is an American media corporation specializing in targeted magazines and websites in the video games, music, and technology markets. Headquartered in New York City, t ...
), ''CD-ROM Today'' was targeted at both
Windows and
Macintosh users, and each issue shipped with a
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
of
shareware
Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...
and
demo programs. In August 1996, ''CD-ROM Today'' ceased publication, with two magazines taking its place: ''MacAddict'' for Macintosh users, and ''boot'' (now ''
Maximum PC'') for Windows users.
As was the case with ''CD-ROM Today'', ''MacAddicts discs included shareware and demo programs, but also came with other added features, such as staff videos and previews of content inside the magazine's hard copy. The ''MacAddict'' website was updated daily with news relevant to
Apple products. ''MacAddict'' also had a mascot, a stick-figure named Max. By 1998, ''MacAddict'' surpassed ''
Macworld
''Macworld'' is a website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG Inc. It started life as a print magazine in 1984 and had the largest audited circulation (both total and newsstand) of Macint ...
'' as the Macintosh magazine with the highest consumer newsstand spending due to its $7.99 cover price.
In February 2007, ''MacAddict'' was relaunched as ''MacLife''.
The new magazine is physically larger than the old magazine and was focused on the creativity of Mac users, and no longer comes with a CD-ROM.
In Germany, a magazine of the same name but with no association is published by ''
Falkemedia'' from
Kiel ().
Reviewing system
From 1996 to mid-2002, there were four rating icons, which depicted Max. There was "Blech" (the lowest), "Yeah, Whatever" (a mediocre product), "Spiffy" (a solid yet not perfect product), and "Freakin' Awesome" (the highest). From 2002 to 2009, it was replaced with a more conventional five-point system. Then, in 2010, ''MacLife'' adopted a 10-point system that included half stars.
References
External links
* – official site
*
Archived MacAddict magazines on the
Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclife
Computer magazines published in the United States
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Macintosh magazines
Macintosh websites
Magazines established in 1996
Magazines published in the San Francisco Bay Area