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VM - The good, the bad and the just plain wrong.

(5 posts)
  • Started 1 year ago by compusolver
  • Latest reply from cfulton

  1. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate VM on the big improvement we've seen in the magazine over the past several months - mainly more meaty articles. Finally, I look forward to VM each month as eagerly as I do eventDV. Keep up the great work, guys! We all really do appreciate you, out here in "Readerland".

    I do want to take issue though with (uh oh, here it comes..) some misinformation on page 8 of this month's issue (June '07). The writer mis-defines two terms:

    Depth of field
    Depth of focus

    When I learned photography back in the (who said "1800's"?) sixties, the terms were used synomonously. Sometime later, I heard it used to mean the area of apparent focus between the lens and the focal plane.

    Also, depth of field has always included the area in front and behind the subject that is in apparent focus, though you allowed an incorrect definition to slip onto your normally error-free pages. I don't understand how this error was allowed to go to print. You guys apparently used C&C's proofreader for this article! X-D

    It seems that Wikipedia agrees with me on these terms:

    While the phrase depth of focus was historically used, and is sometimes still used, to mean depth of field, in modern times it is more often reserved for the image-side depth. Depth of field is a measurement of depth of acceptable sharpness in the object space, or subject space. Depth of focus, however, is a measurement of how much distance exists behind the lens wherein the film plane will remain sharply in focus. It can be viewed as the flip side of depth of field, occurring on the opposite side of the lens.


    How about a correction in the next issue?

    Oh, I've got another bone to pick, about Charlie calling a three thousand dollar computer (that we could build for under a thousand - "Overall, this is a very powerful computer at a reasonable price point."

    "Reasonable?" Hmmm. I think not. And Charlie, you were so polite and subtle about how they screwed up the configuration. I think Gateway should have fired the goof who configured this for you. And you know I just shine with subtlety and politeness X-D
    Posted 1 year ago # Login to Send PM
  2. Ummm, yeah. I'm going to start calling you "Subtle Hank." :) But you've got a point on the price.
    A PR person from Gateway has already taken me to task on this review--it does come with Windows Movie Maker (though that's hardly real editing software) and they generally ship with UAC turned on (we were misinformed by another PR person that they generally turn it off.)
    However, since we're talking about problems with software, I'm more apt to give an out to a manufacturer if their machine has some software problems. I'll do my best to report on everything I see, though, but I don't want my reviews to start looking like bug reports. When it comes to hardware problems, I am not forgiving. This can be extended to the Sony review I did in the May issue--the hardware was quite solid, but the software (well, Vista, mostly) was problematic--but since Sony or Microsoft (or Adobe, or Corel, or any of a litany of other vendors) can issue patches that will make things work better, the machinc can still get a reasonably good review. (I have already read some rather pointed letters from readers on that review, so I'm addressing them here.) If this machine had shipped with XP Pro, the review certainly would've been better.
    I'll leave the DOF discussion to Mark--that's not my union...
    Posted 1 year ago # Login to Send PM
  3. Hi Hank,

    Good catch. Generally, anything published is checked and double checked. Unfortunately, as a relatively busy tech editor, I set higher priorities outside of the "Your Tips" department. But, now that I see we're running people's tips that include technical descriptions, I'll take better care to remove ones that are misleading.

    Thanks.

    Mark
    Posted 1 year ago # Login to Send PM
  4. Wow! This is really interesting. When you remove the large images and ads, there are fewer than 40 actual pages of VM to read each month. Even so, from the above post, we can assume that not all editors read all forty pages prior to publication - right?

    Taking this a step further, we can assume that either NO editor reads all 40 pages prior to printing or that there is at least ONE editor who did not know the definition of depth of field, right?

    OK guys, I'm sort of shaking my head here, but you're still way ahead of C&C where every page is shock full of typos and mis-information.

    As for your reviews - wouldn't you be in a better position to help manufacturers sell their goods if you placed credibility ahead of pandering to the advertisers? CF is one of the main backbones of this mag - we all love his charts and tables and clear, hard-hitting facts. But telling readers who potentially may not be computer-market-savvy, that this is a "reasonable price point", well, I find it disappointing.

    If anyone disputes that components to build this machine are readily available for under $1,000 - merely say the word, and I'll post the sources and prices. $2,999 - that's a 300+% markup over what is already retail priced. Not exactly what I would call a "reasonable price point". I'm not faulting Charlie - I'm sure he has policies he has to follow. I'm sure all us readers understand the pressures you all are under when doing reviews. But what if you became known as the guys who "tell it like it is". Wouldn't your reviews become more valuable to many manufacturers (if less so to others) AND to readers?

    Oh well, that's just my ten cents worth (I realize I've gone beyond two cents!).
    Posted 1 year ago # Login to Send PM
  5. On the contrary, ALL OF US read and re-read the same text so many times that unless something is so wrong it grabs our attention, our eyes have glazed over because we're trying to stay on schedule. The last two weeks the magazine is in the building are literally controlled chaos. And come on, dude, we're all still human here (I think... unless someone had the implants installed without anyone else finding out.)

    And I'm so unbelievably tired of trying to defend my department for perceived kowtowing to our sales department or any advertisers. THE TWO DEPARTMENTS ARE SEPARATE FROM EACH OTHER FOR A REASON. That's all there is to it. I personally take the concept of editorial integrity very seriously and I'm sure my fellow editors do as well. So I made a mistake... like I said, I'm human, born to make mistakes. Yeah, I could build a similar system for less. In fact, I did not too long ago. Even with the spiffy RAID controller and 24" widescreen LCD, I paid less than I would've paid had I ordered it from an integrator.
    Posted 1 year ago # Login to Send PM

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