Welcome to The Loop magazine
By Jim Dalrymple
I’d like to welcome you all to the first issue of The Loop magazine. This magazine will serve as an extension of my interests on The Loop Web site, with articles written by some of the great authors I’ve come to know over my nearly 20 years writing about Apple. All of the articles have been written exclusively for the magazine.
For many years people have been asking me why I didn’t release an app for the iPhone and iPad. The answer was quite simple: I couldn’t find anything that added value to what I did on The Loop. I wanted something more than a side-scrolling news app that basically imitated what I’d already linked to or written on the Web site.
I entertained many ideas, but none seemed to pique my interest sufficiently to actually build an app. With the advent of responsive design, the right thing to do was to design the Web site to format itself correctly for whatever device a reader was using at that time, not to make them download a separate app to get a better reading experience. So, that’s what I did. On the Web, The Loop will automatically format itself to deliver the optimal reading experience for an iPhone, iPad or desktop machine.
It wasn’t until I saw the format that Marco Arment used in The Magazine that I realized what I really wanted for The Loop — a design and reading experience that matched what I had on the Web site. An easy to read magazine that focused on original content, not on selling ads.
The Loop magazine will be published twice monthly and will cost $1.99 per month. All transactions will be handled through the App Store and new issues of the magazine will be automatically delivered to your iOS devices through Newsstand. The Loop magazine is compatible with the iPhone and iPad.
With the help of Jamie Smyth and Daniel Genser at TypeEngine, a brand new Newsstand publishing service, I was able to bring The Loop magazine to life. Jamie and Daniel shared my belief in what a Newsstand app should be and they worked extremely hard to deliver something I could be proud to produce.
In 1994, I helped start a Web site that would later be sold to Macworld. I started publishing on the Internet because I believed it was the publishing platform of the future. Almost 20 years later, I have chosen Apple’s Newsstand for the very same reason.
The first issue of The Loop magazine features some great writers covering music, design, technology, games and Apple — some of my favorite topics. I hope you enjoy it!