I feel a real twit and rather angry. :dunce: :veryangry: I subscribe to a few of the model railway magazines in digital format, it's real advantage to someone who lives miles away with a dreadful postal service.
At the beginning of last year I subscribed to Railway Modeller and was very impressed with the magazine and the app, especially as it gave access to back issues. In February I decided to end the subscription as our currency took a nosedive and I had to cut down on magazines.
I have now discovered that the issues that I thought I had 'bought' are not available to read and that RM digital subscriptions are unlike those of the other mags, you have to keep on subscribing to read your magazines. I have been told that the app is similar to Spotify and Netflix ( I've heard of them but have never used them so had no idea how they work.)
I had assumed that all digital subscriptions are alike. I checked in a paper copy of RM and could find no reference to how the digital subscription is structured which I find a bit misleading.
So I'll stick to BRM and Model Rail for now.
Regards
Veronica.
PS. I'm going to dye my hair blonde :-[
If any of the other 'protected' magazines change their mind, or go bust or their Digital supplier goes bust then you are likely to lose them all as well.
This has happened repeatedly with digital music and video sites, although for the most part the music industry has given up trying to inflict unusable crap on people and just sells MP3 files.
One reason I don't subscribe to any of them, the other being that if I spent the same money buying pre 1980 99p issues at random off ebay I'd get a far better product and content!
Quote from: silly moo on March 04, 2014, 12:50:03 PM
I have now discovered that the issues that I thought I had 'bought' are not available to read and that RM digital subscriptions are unlike those of the other mags, you have to keep on subscribing to read your magazines.
Yes, I was caught out like that after I bought one issue I was particularly interested in. To put it politely, my attitude towards these people in the same as it would be to anyone who had burgled my house or mugged me in the street.
Avoid like the plague! :veryangry:
That's quite wrong. When you subscribe to a digital version you 'buy' the intellectual property in exactly the same way as you do when you buy the paper edition, it's the medium that is different not the material. The copyright is that of the publishing company.
'Netflix' is entirely different. It rents out third party material either on the web or on disk which remains the property of the rental company.
Mark K
(I'm a magazine publisher BTW - I couldn't imagine taking away something that had been paid for.)
This is part of the answer I got from Exact Editions:
"Your subscription to Railway Modeller expired on 14th February 2014.
As such you are no longer able to access the Railway Modeller app. And are not able to download any issues anymore.
Exact Editions subscriptions work on an access model basis, similar to Spotify or Netflix. This means that for the duration of your subscription you can access an archive of back issues as well as each new issue. However Exact Editions subscription do not sell permanent access to specific issues."
I wouldn't have minded much if I knew all this when I first subscribed, I'm sure there is an explanation somewhere in the Terms and Conditions in 4pt Vanishing but it certainly isn't very clear when you read the ad in the magazine or elsewhere. i suppose it's a case of buyer beware.
Regards
Veronica.
Quote from: Mark K on March 04, 2014, 01:38:59 PM
That's quite wrong. When you subscribe to a digital version you 'buy' the intellectual property in exactly the same way as you do when you buy the paper edition
No you do not. If you investigate the small print most of these 'digital magazines' merely license you use of the application and data. It's like Amazon's kindle - you don't *own* anything.
There is a specific difference between purchasing a physical object containing copyrighted material, and licensing a digital copy of a work. In the latter case you don't own it, you can't resell your copy, you don't control what you can do with it, it can't be inherited, and most rights relating to product quality don't apply either. That's why software CDs warrant that the CD media is fault free but the software can be complete junk without any recourse to fixing it.
This is also btw why you get all the stupid rules about where you can use/buy such content. First sale rights do not apply, as it's not sold, thus you can't buy a box of them in the USA and ship them into the EU as you can with paper books.
It is possible that there may be a case you "own" content licensed to you permanently. It's not clear. The European Court decided for one software case (Oracle) that this was the case. Nobody has AFAIK entirely figured out the ramifications. The law is (as usual) still catching up with things.
As a magazine publisher you may choose to give people all the equivalent rights of the paper copy (eg resale on ebay) but it's not an implicit part of the transaction.
Alan
Thanks for the warning - I was considering adding the digital edition of RM to my subscription portfolio - I think I'll go back to buying the paper version in Smudgers...
I was thinking about going digital with Railway modeler but as with most things connected with computers and their driving software, the terms and conditions are predatory. I wish consumers would start to tell these guys to get lost more often. Should we start a petition or something ?
For those wishing to complain specifically about Railway Modeller I would suggest you write to Steve Flint at RM
I don't know whether complaining to MR would help much as they've always been a bit different. Years ago they refused to put website addresses on to advertisements. ???
I imagine they are locked into some agreement with Exact Editions. What I will do is ask Steve Flint that they explain how the subscription works in their adverts.
I expect that most of their digital subscribers don't have any idea what will happen once they stop their subscription.
As an exercise I went to the Zinio app I have on my iPad, I haven't used it since 2011 but I can still access and read all the editions of Hornby Magazine I bought then.
The other magazines I subscribe to have been bought via Pocketmags and I am able to buy single editions or subscribe for various lengths of time. I have bought quite a few single editions of non railway magazines that I wanted to try out.
They are all still there. Touch Wood.
I have sent an email to Railway Modeller asking that they explain clearly how their digital subscription system works in future advertisements and promotions.
Well i was thinking of subscribing to digital mags, but after that information I will stick to my paper format, thanks for the information Veronica, just goes to show allways read the small print before subscribing, thats if you can find the small print.
Quote from: silly moo on March 04, 2014, 05:47:00 PM
I have sent an email to Railway Modeller asking that they explain clearly how their digital subscription system works in future advertisements and promotions.
If you feel it was misleading in the advertisement then the Advertising Standards Authority would like to hear from you too >:D
Hi Silly Moo
Yes, if you feel that you have been misled, as EP suggested, contact the Advertising Standards Agency.
I have complained to them about advertising in a well know national newspaper, which I felt was misleading and not only did they uphold my complaint but I received a full apology from the newspaper and all similar adverts have since been much clearer about what was really on offer. :thumbsup:
At least future subscribers would be aware that they were not actually gaining the rights to any issues after they cancel their sub. :veryangry:
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
Good luck
Glad I read this thread.
Effectively they are running a library and charging the same money to borrow a library book as it costs to buy a hard copy for yourself.
This has all the charm of Councils bragging about only increasing the Council Tax by 2% but then telling you in a separate letter several weeks later that green waste collection is no longer included in the price - and this now costs £40 for 8 months of the year paid up front. What will not be included next year.
OMG. This is my 1000th post.
Yes, thanks for starting this thread and bringing this to light, Veronica - it has certainly got folk thinking and generated some informative and intelligent discussion.
George
Quote from: EtchedPixels on March 04, 2014, 02:26:16 PM
Quote from: Mark K on March 04, 2014, 01:38:59 PM
That's quite wrong. When you subscribe to a digital version you 'buy' the intellectual property in exactly the same way as you do when you buy the paper edition
No you do not. If you investigate the small print most of these 'digital magazines' merely license you use of the application and data. It's like Amazon's kindle - you don't *own* anything.
There is a specific difference between purchasing a physical object containing copyrighted material, and licensing a digital copy of a work. In the latter case you don't own it, you can't resell your copy, you don't control what you can do with it, it can't be inherited, and most rights relating to product quality don't apply either. That's why software CDs warrant that the CD media is fault free but the software can be complete junk without any recourse to fixing it.
This is also btw why you get all the stupid rules about where you can use/buy such content. First sale rights do not apply, as it's not sold, thus you can't buy a box of them in the USA and ship them into the EU as you can with paper books.
It is possible that there may be a case you "own" content licensed to you permanently. It's not clear. The European Court decided for one software case (Oracle) that this was the case. Nobody has AFAIK entirely figured out the ramifications. The law is (as usual) still catching up with things.
As a magazine publisher you may choose to give people all the equivalent rights of the paper copy (eg resale on ebay) but it's not an implicit part of the transaction.
Alan
Alan,
Thnak you for you insight into my industry. That said I do not wish to get into a can do, cannot do - I can only tell you what I and other magazine publishers do in practice and leave to one side the backroom theory.
First off, Kindle is not like that. You do own the intellectual property in as much as you own any intectual property. Amazon allows you to 'loan' out a book to a friend and while it is on loan, you are unable to access it until it is returned. Dump your paper library and that's it, it is gone. Lose your Kindle and you can still access your books on a replacment.
What appears to be the problem here is that Exact Editions compare themselves with Spotify and Nexflix. These are respectively music and film net streamers and NOT magazine content handlers. I have not heard of any magazine on line editions preventing access to previously purchased content because it's a sure way of scaring off customers. But I can fully understand the stance Spotify and Netflix because of the form of content they handle.
We use the same digitial distribution system as the Beeb. (Can you imagine the clamour if what has happened to Veronica was duplicated by the National Broadcaster and festered on its licence paying customers?) Once you bought a digital version it's yours just like a magazine. But of course you cannot sell it. The reason is that unlike a paper edition of which you would typically own just the one copy, digital duplication is open ended - you can sell as many as people wish to buy. That puts the publisher out of business.
I do not chose if people own the intellectual property. I do not recall even being asked that question - pay for it? it's yours - no question. I think that RM has simply chosen a system that is not correct for magazine distribution.
The effects of this are clearly damaging as having seen that unless Veronica continues to subscribe she loses all that has gone before. Not only is that blackmail, it is also commerical suicide.
I'll be interested in seeing RM's reply.
Mark K.
A slight side-issue - if you take out a digital subscription does it mean that you can only read the mag if you have an internet connection at the time you want to read them? So, for example, you couldn't read them on a plane?
Cheers Jon :)
An update - I have got a reply from RM which I will post tomorrow. I'm at a hobby show today and added to that we are experiencing countrywide power cuts which are very inconvenient to say the least. I'm typing this on my phone which has very little battery left.
Regards
Veronica
Quote from: PostModN66 on March 09, 2014, 07:04:24 AM
A slight side-issue - if you take out a digital subscription does it mean that you can only read the mag if you have an internet connection at the time you want to read them? So, for example, you couldn't read them on a plane?
Cheers Jon :)
I have had several magazine subscriptions which have been supplied via Zinio - the whole content of the magazine is downloaded to your computer and can only be accessed by the Zinio magazine reader. Some of these subscriptions have been disconitinued/lapsed and I can still access the magazine editions concerned.
IMHO that is how it should be - if you purchase a paper subscription the magazines do not spontaneously combust if you discontinue that subscription; why should it be any different if the magazine content is being supplied electronically?
As a railwayman I am fortunate to see all these publications on the day of issue as I regularly visit main stations (such as Paddington) with almost High Street sized "bookstalls". As such I would never even consider these digital publications :no: and feel sorry for those, like Veronica (Silly Moo) who have to rely on them.
I am sure that Veronica does not have to rely on electronic publications - I think her beef is about not enough information being given by RM mag to people who sign up for them.
Here in Australia, we wait a couple of months before the paper version arrives at the newsagents, but, hey? time is free.
I was gonna be a doctor, but I never had the patience, by the way. ;D ;D
Cheers,
George :beers:
Quote from: silly moo on March 04, 2014, 12:50:03 PM
I feel a real twit and rather angry. :dunce: :veryangry: I subscribe to a few of the model railway magazines in digital format, it's real advantage to someone who lives miles away with a dreadful postal service.
Regards
Veronica.
Maybe I misunderstood her post when I wrote "rely", but that's how I seem to read it myself. But you may be right.
An unfortunate side-effect to all this digital subscription malarkey is the demise of the CD-Rom Annual that was such good value :(
17 quid for every layout featured during the year including extra photos (and of course zoomable on a PC), sometimes video as well, and every article, all without pages and pages of advertising. Plus having the CD means you can look at it whenever you want. Sadly no more.
I'll bet a LOT of people have been caught out in the same way as Veronica when they stop their subscription!
Paul
Good point! I've got about half a dozen of those hiding under Iron Man 3 and Avengers DVDs somewhere! Must dig 'em out! They were good! Stuck on the front cover of the mag, and very often without cellophane!
Aaaah.... them's was the days.... and not so long ago, either.... :'(
Oh, and Ken Russell's 1974 movie rendition of the Who's rock opera 'Tommy' is on top of them too.... but you wouldn't know about that, would ya, Paul!?? :D
Ooops.... :offtopicsign:
Quote from: Mark K on March 09, 2014, 06:43:18 AM
First off, Kindle is not like that. You do own the intellectual property in as much as you own any intectual property. Amazon allows you to 'loan' out a book to a friend and while it is on loan, you are unable to access it until it is returned. Dump your paper library and that's it, it is gone. Lose your Kindle and you can still access your books on a replacment.
No you do not. Amazon in some countries *choose* to allow a minimal 'loan' system. You do not however own anything or have any automatic right to loan books.
I'm not saying electronic books don't have advantages (I've got lots and the space saving is great), you just don't own them. Were Amazon to fail your kindle books would basically be unusable without cracking them (which is currently illegal in the UK)
Quote
Broadcaster and festered on its licence paying customers?) Once you bought a digital version it's yours just like a magazine.
No it's not "yours". There is no physical object to be yours. You don't own the "digital" copy in exactly the same way as you don't own the actual words in a book. More importantly it is not 'goods' so the sale of goods act does not apply. It's a service.
Quote
I do not chose if people own the intellectual property. I do not recall even being asked that question - pay for it? it's yours - no question.
If I "own" the intellectual property (which btw is a very misleading term once you get to the reality of it - correctly its an intellectual monopoly) then I own the right to print more copies and distribute them.
As to telling you how your industry works, I've spent far too much of the last twenty years working on things like digital rights, information policy and open source software. I certainly couldn't run a magazine but I do know far more than I ever wanted to about the legal side of "intellectual property" and of digital works.
You own nothing with a digital magazine. The magazine producer may have given you an unlimited duration licence they can never revoke, they may have given you rights to transfer that copy but not make others. You still don't own anything - it's the magazine producer choosing to give you those rights rather than things like the sale of goods act protecting you.
Furthermore if they use digital rights management schemes and they go under you may wake up one morning to find the app on your tablet just says
'Unable to resolve www.somemagco.com (http://www.somemagco.com)'
and all your magazines have vanished into the ether.
Alan
Quote from: Bealman on March 09, 2014, 11:11:00 AM
Good point! I've got about half a dozen of those hiding under Iron Man 3 and Avengers DVDs somewhere! Must dig 'em out! They were good! Stuck on the front cover of the mag, and very often without cellophane!
Not the free bonus CDs George, I was talking about the ones you buy from Peco directly in a proper box ;) A whole year's worth of RM for less than half the price of 12 paper mags.
QuoteOh, and Ken Russell's 1974 movie rendition of the Who's rock opera 'Tommy' is on top of them too.... but you wouldn't know about that, would ya, Paul!?? :D
You'd
think I wouldn't know about it, but I have seen it :) 'Tommy' also ended up as my nickname for a while - I had a perm trying to emulate all those heavy rock dudes in the 80s but ended up looking more like Roger Daltrey's rock-opera character :D
We're definitely :offtopicsign: now, but it's light relief from the building argument above that will end up being locked soon by the look of it ...
Paul
My understanding is that with all the various e-magazine delivery companies/mechanisms, if you download a copy to local storage, you can still access that issue on that device after a subscription lapses, however if you only view on line it does vary: with some you can no longer access any issues but others allow to still view issues published during the time your subscription was active...
An update, firstly apologies for the delayed reply, we really have been living in Darkest Africa this week and had a thirty hour power cut.
I'm more confused than ever. This was the reply from Exact Editions:
Your subscription to Railway Modeller expired on 14th February 2014.
As such you are no longer able to access the Railway Modeller app. And are not able to download any issues anymore.
Exact Editions subscriptions work on an access model basis, similar to Spotify or Netflix. This means that for the duration of your subscription you can access an archive of back issues as well as each new issue. However Exact Editions subscription do not sell permanent access to specific issues
And this the one from RM:
I am sorry that you are disappointed with our digital service.
Like most subscription services, once you stop subscribing you lose access to the service.
However, you can download/sync the digital issues onto any Ipad, Kindle or Android device. How do you view your magazine?
WE use Exact Editions because they allow us to offer free digital issues to our printed magazine subscribers – we are the only modelling magazine to offer this service.
They offered me two months free subscription.
If I've got it right then I should still be able to read any issues that were synced on my iPad prior to my canceling the subscription. I should have 17 'paid for issues' I only have six, so eleven are missing. I'm not sure where the missing issues went, perhaps they didn't download properly? Now I'm no longer a subscriber there's no way of getting them back. I expect that when I upgrade the software on my iPad they will vanish and if I buy another device, I've really had it.
I wonder if I can get round it by buying a months subscription and downloading all my missing issues?
Compare this to the other magazines where if an issue fails to download properly you can download it again even years later and even if you are no longer a subscriber.
I get Etched Pixels point about these digital magazines not lasting forever but I expect access to them for a few years to come.
I would welcome any comments and suggestions.
Regards
Veronica.
Thread pruned of unrelated posts due to complaints :)
Back to the topic . . .
Paul
I subscribe to Model Railroad Mag and they use Zinio for access to "your subscription" library. However within Zino there is an option to print pages and so I print all the pages every month using a a program called PD24PDF (freeware). This software allows me to "print" direct to a PDF format which I can then store on my hard drive and so no longer need Zinio to view. So when my subscription ends I shall have no problems referring or reading old issues.
Useful piece of software - : http://en.pdf24.org/ (http://en.pdf24.org/)
Quote from: trainsdownunder on March 11, 2014, 07:57:15 AM
I subscribe to Model Railroad Mag and they use Zinio for access to "your subscription" library.
Zinio are much, much, better. :thumbsup: Shame that Railway Modeller use Exact Editions, but the other UK model rail mags are substantially 'safer' digitally.
Quote from: tutenkhamunsleeping on March 11, 2014, 08:18:56 AM
Quote from: trainsdownunder on March 11, 2014, 07:57:15 AM
I subscribe to Model Railroad Mag and they use Zinio for access to "your subscription" library.
Zinio are much, much, better. :thumbsup: Shame that Railway Modeller use Exact Editions, but the other UK model rail mags are substantially 'safer' digitally.
Whichever way that keeps subscribers happy is the way most (sensible) pubishers will want and need to go. EP's rant is just that, a rant, it is of no value in the current digital magazine world. If we and others, as publishers, withdraw access to that which you have bought should you decide not to subscribe any longer and receive bad feedback as a result, that will deter any others from using digital editions. The thing dies on its feet. RM has not fully understood this and, I suspect, has difficulty understanding digital editions at all.
Mark K
Quote from: Mark K on March 13, 2014, 04:14:41 AM
Whichever way that keeps subscribers happy is the way most (sensible) pubishers will want and need to go.
That unfortunately is not what has happened repeatedly in other industries, notably music and film where companies went under and content was lost, or where they decide to do nasty things to people. It's usually not the publisher being evil - its what happens when the publisher goes bust (which isn't *that* uncommon in the print industry).
If you can print it to a PDF or some other format that isn't locked down then its great. If not "buyer" (and I use that work loosely) beware.
Alan
The thread has been invaluable as it points out an issue with some electronic magazines and maybe books which are not pointed out by their purveyors. I have crawled all over the RM advert for their digital edition and it doesn't even hint about a lack of permanence.
As one who thinks that books are now so expensive (£20 for anything about trains, £30 for many) I often wonder when in Waterstones when the hard copy book industry will finally price itself out of the market. This thread has highlighted that a more realistically priced alternative has not necessarily arrived yet.
Well I have downloaded the Hornby Digital Version on to my iPad and to tell you the truth I shall be going back to the Magazine, it is OK but I think I like to have it in my hands.
Magazines are good.
I think the penny has finally dropped! :doh: With the RM digital magazine anything that has been saved on your device when you terminate your subscription can continue to be read while you have that device.
If for any reason you fail to download the issues you want to read before canceling the subscription you've had it!
If you get a new device you've lost them as well.
I am testing this theory by having bought a subscription for one month. Hopefully I will be able to go back in and retrieve some lost issues.
This will take sometime as our download speeds are a bit slower here.
This differs from the other digital magazines in that once you've 'bought' an issue it can be retrieved after the subscription has expired irrespective of whether you have downloaded it or not. It can also be read on a variety of devices. I can still read magazines and books on Zinio even though they were bought years ago and I no longer have a subscription.
My main gripe with RM is that their system has not been properly explained, ideally they should warn you to make sure the issues you wish to keep are downloaded before you cancel the subscription.
I agree with Mark K that the people at RM probably don't understand digital magazines very well which might go some way to explaining why they haven't been much help at all and don't have very clear advertising.
Regards
Veronica
There is an issue that the way we use our Magazines is subtly different to the mass market products that the electronic delivery services are designed for...
They are geared towards the disposable 'read once and throw away' model of consumption typical of the daily newspaper or the 'celebrity/gossip' mags, where you rarely want to go back to previous issues. They aren't tailored to the reading patterns of the hobby market with our habit of going back to previous issues and building up our own personal libraries of issues or articles.
the best solution for us for now is the ability to save a copy or extracts to local storage (which all provide one way or another just that some are easier than others) and ideally that should be in a device/platform neutral format such as PDF...
Quote from: silly moo on March 13, 2014, 11:03:25 AM
bought a subscription for one month. Hopefully I will be able to go back in and retrieve some lost issues.
[...]
I agree with Mark K that the people at RM probably don't understand digital magazines very well
Oh, I dunno ... they've got you giving them
more money when you didn't intend to :laughabovepost: Sounds to me like they understand it well !!!
Quote from: silly moo on March 13, 2014, 11:03:25 AM
------------------------- that the people at RM probably don't understand digital magazines very well which might go some way to explaining why they haven't been much help at all and don't have very clear advertising.
Regards
Veronica
It would be really cuddly to believe that this was just a case of simple lack of knowledge. And maybe that is true. But it doesn't take much to imagine a meeting in which someone says "now how do we make sure we lock them in" - and once the method is agreed "Oh no. We can't tell them that up front - they would never sign up".
Quote from: ParkeNd on March 13, 2014, 07:40:39 PM
Quote from: silly moo on March 13, 2014, 11:03:25 AM
------------------------- that the people at RM probably don't understand digital magazines very well which might go some way to explaining why they haven't been much help at all and don't have very clear advertising.
Regards
Veronica
It would be really cuddly to believe that this was just a case of simple lack of knowledge. And maybe that is true. But it doesn't take much to imagine a meeting in which someone says "now how do we make sure we lock them in" - and once the method is agreed "Oh no. We can't tell them that up front - they would never sign up".
Cuddly? Hmmm. Publishing is a commercial operation and our obligations are threefold. They are to our readers, our staff and contributors and finally to ourselves. We incentivise repeat subscriptions by producing a product worth re-subscribing to, either paper or digital. Most sensible publishers do because we know we know that trying to screw subscribers in the way you suggest is a ride over the cliffs. Catherine has twigged it. If you download it onto your comp you can access it for evermore. If you unsubscribe without doing that then, well that's silly but understandable. Publisher needs to be able to fix that.
Mark K.
PLD has made an excellent point, some magazines and newspapers are only read once and are quickly out of date, if I was subscribing to a newspaper for instance, I would really only be interested the most recent copy of the paper, perhaps that's how Exact Editions has been designed to work.
Anyone with a hobby will want to keep back copies to refer to, that's why I had until recently every paper issue of Model Rail from day one and was running out of storage space!
Quote from: silly moo on March 14, 2014, 06:25:20 AM
Anyone with a hobby will want to keep back copies to refer to, that's why I had until recently every paper issue of Model Rail from day one and was running out of storage space!
That's why I find RM and MR so helpful. When I need to put back issues in storage I can cut the advertising section(s) at the front and back off and just keep the editorial section in store - makes it a lot smaller for storage and the time-sensitive bits (the advertising) that is unlikely to be needed is not cluttering up space...
Yeah... good tip. Something I should maybe do.
[smg id=3967 type=preview align=center width=400]
On the extreme right of the middle shelf are the 1971, 73 and 74 Railway Modellers in those folders the mag used to sell for them. Dunno if they still do?
The rest of that shelf stretching to the left are railway mags - mostly old RMs!
The same thing applied with my Continental Modeller subscription. Replaced my iPad with a newer one and lost everything because I no longer have a subscription. For a hobby where we traditionally keep back issues of magazines, the Peco/Exact Editions format is out of step with what folks want and out of step with what we can do with the format/supplier chosen by the other mainstream model railway magazines. The Exact Editions format may well be suited to the gossip magazines which end up in the recycling after a few days but potentially undervalues Railway Modeller and Continental Modeller unless that is the route Peco has chosen to take with their publications.
My contact with Exact Editions generated a standard response:- "Exact Editions subscriptions work on an access model basis. This means you can access an archive of back issues, as well as each new issue, for the duration of your subscription. Exact Editions do not sell individual issues of magazines, nor permanent access to specific issues. Sorry I can't be of more help!". At least the writer had the decency to include an exclamation mark at the end of his "apology".
Trust RM to be different, and in my opinion not the best in this instance.
I have notice lately that I haven't been able to print pages of magazines obtained through PocketMags.
It was really handy to print them to a PDF and store the on the computer saving having to go on line all the time.
Kind regards
Geoff
Screenshot it ?
Alan
I had tried that but the quality is not really that good. Passable but not like the printed page.
Thanks anyway.
Kind regards
Geoff
Hi All,
I use digital media a lot, ie, catalogues etc, but you can't beat a magazine or a book. Easier to read and access, plus none of the issues mentioned above!
After just just 5 months back in the hobby £3.95 a throw model railway mags are becoming very "same again". There are just so many times I want to read reviews of the same OO gauge locos, or see 27 ft long OO layouts. Recently some of them haven't even been read.
By comparison I have books on real railway locations bought new at the museums of preserved railway societies for typically £18 a time that are got out almost daily to help with the layout.
Being locked into a subscription to any magazine now seems tenuous no matter how tempting the introductory offer of a free gizmo worth £59.99 might be.
Books still seem a better bet.