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LETTERS
WE TACKLE TOUGH READER QUESTIONS ON...94 MAXIMU MPC APR 2022
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iDontFixIt
I’m a long-time subscriber
to Maximum PC, and
I just wanted to say
congratulations to Guy
on being named the new
Editor-in-Chief. Now,
may I make a couple of
suggestions? In general,
I really enjoy the magazine.
Probably some of the most
informative items are
‘Doctor’ and ‘Letters’, so
it would be terrific if those
could be expanded.
You probably have a page
limit and so to do that,
some things would have
to go. I’d lose the iFixit
and the PC Centerfold
instead—iFixit is online
and anyone can access it,
while Centerfold could be
one of the reviews in the
back. Just some ideas for
consideration.
–N. WeinshenkerEDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GUY
COCKER, RESPONDS: First
of all, thanks for the
warm welcome! Perhaps a
career in magazine editing
beckons because it’s like
you’ve read my mind! The
eagle-eyed among you will
have noticed the lack of
iFixit this issue. However,
we will still return to
it as and when there'ssomething interesting,
such as the one I can't wait
for in the next issue! And
no matter what issue it is,
Maximum PC will always
be packed with tutorials on
how to get the most out of
your PC, whatever you do
on it.
I think you make an
interesting point on Doctor
and Letters. I’ve edited
many publications, but
nowhere have I seen the
quantity or quality of
letters we get here on
Maximum PC, so I’ll bear it
in mind. In the meantime,
you can get involved in a
more synchronous form
of discussion with readers
and the team on our official
Discord channel at:
http://bit.ly/MPCDiscord.GIMP Guidance
I’ve been a regular reader
of Maximum PC for the
past three or so years
and always look forward
to each month’s issue. I
enjoy the mix of hardware,
software and IT articles
that the magazine offers.
Those retro Machine of the
Month pieces sure bring
back some memories.
The last few issues have
showcased Sam Lewis’s
skill in graphic designusing various Adobe suite
applications. However,
I was wondering if there
was any chance of similar
tutorials using open source
tools such as GIMP. Clearly,
GIMP is not in the same
class as Photoshop but
not everyone has an Adobe
CC subscription—as a
hobbyist, it’s hard to justify
the expense. It would be
great to see what can be
accomplished with open
source or free tools in the
hands of someone skilled
like Sam. –D. HeintzmanSTAFF WRITER, SAM LEWIS,
RESPONDS: Thanks for
the feedback and while I
do enjoy a bit of graphics
work, our art editor Fraser
may have something to say
about my skills! On your
question though, GIMP is
definitely something I’ll
consider. I’ve not used
it intensively before but
we have featured it in the
magazine, so it would be
good to use it in a tutorial.
In the meantime, bear
in mind that a lot of the
same principles transfer
between the two programs,
albeit with different
buttons and shortcuts. If
you’re coming to GIMP from
Photoshop, there are somegreat tools online that
allow you to reprogram
the former to work like the
latter, including shortcuts
and appearance. Like I say,
there’s plenty for me to
cover, so thanks for the tip!Bytesize History
Your February 2022
article, The Best of
Maximum PC, stirred
not only the memories of
your publication but its
predecessors as well.
I purchased an Apple II
Plus for $3,000 in the
late 1970s with 48K ram,
a floppy disk drive, and
an integer basic card. I
also loaded up on all the
magazines at the Byte Shop
Computer Store, including
Kilobaud Microcomputing,
Dr. Dobbs Journal, Apple
Cider, Creative Computing,
and Byte Magazine, and
each month I would
return to the store and
purchase the next issues.
I eventually subscribed to
Byte Magazine, and when
that ceased publication,
my subscription was
transferred to Boot, which
then became Maximum PC.
I’ve maintained my
subscription since then,
and have enjoyed not only
the articles and reviews but
More Letters, Less iFixit!
Get Good at GIMP
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