What? Did you just misread the headline? No, you didn’t. We do have an Indonesian version of Macworld, which I will review it side-by-side with the US version in this post. I happened to have the US version that carries the untranslated content. But, first things first. In order to save you from reading a jumble of error-based reviews below, bottom line, the Indonesian Macworld sucks. Yes, the editors might want to punch me in the face, but the truth is the truth, it sucks. And the following are the reasons why our version of Macworld sucks.

Right from the beginning, I already have my doubts since the Indonesian version’s cover is nowhere near good. It looks like something that came out from a first-year student’s PC, who just learned how to do magazine covers in Photoshop. Designs can be simple, but this is plain wrong. A magazine cover is where people should be able to read the inside’s main articles spot on. Not like this. Look how dull it is compared side-by-side with the US version.

And what’s with the bevels? I feel like I’m back in the 90s with Photoshop 5.

The next big mistake is the lack of baseline grid in the magazine. What kind of a good editorial designer is one, when he/she doesn’t know anything about baseline grid. Why do I make this into such a big deal?

Because in the US version, the baseline grid exists. And that what makes the whole magazine layout and grid coherent. This is why more than half of Indonesian magazines or translated magazines are crappy. Indonesian designers don’t know shit on how to treat typefaces and body texts properly.

The next would be the main article. The US version on the left, and the Indonesian version on the right. Look how dull the green is. And I’m not sure about you, but I don’t think we needed the copy’s typeface to be enlarged. Why? Because it’s good as it is and Megindo (the magazine’s publisher) just keeps messing things up.

Here’s another main article called “Weighing the MacBook Air”, laid out perfectly in the US version, with good typography.

And here’s the Indonesian version of the article, laid out badly, with crappy typography treatment. Why can’t they just do what the US version did? Is it that hard just to copy the same set of style? Look at the ferocious margins and paddings on this one, and all of those unnecessary hyphenations. Crappy. Just crappy.

Here’s the “Backlit Keyboard” picture in the US version.

And this is the Indonesian version. Now wait a second… “Logic Board”? Oh yes, they mistakenly put the wrong caption there, because, in the US version, the logic board picture is supposed to be this:

From what we see above, this is only a handful of mistakes that the Indonesian Macworld has managed to show me. There are still numerous errors, such as low-resolution photos, crappy printouts, inconsistent layouts, dull colors, and crappy translations. Oh yes, I never did liked the idea of having “proper Indonesian” translations on magazines, simply because the often turned out to be “norak”, since the writing style was not intended to be rewritten in Indonesian.

In the end, why do we even bother having a translated Macworld anyway, if this is what we’re gonna get. With all those ridiculous mistakes on details and design, with regards that this is supposed to be a complement to a set of Apple’s premium products, I can roughly consider Macworld Indonesia as one of the results of Indonesian editorial designers’ ignorance. I think I’ll stick with subscribing to the US version. At $3,75 for each edition (if you subscribe directly), it’s only Rp. 5000 more expensive than this badly translated version. It’s at least ten times better, and at least, it saves me from having sudden heart attacks.

Congratulations, Megindo, on turning one of the best Mac magazines into something that is not even worth reading. I sarcastically can’t wait to see what they would do to their website. Oh, I know! How about Flash intros?

Andira came to the office today and brought me souvenirs from Melbourne. Thanks a lot, Dir! Finding these here is really a chore. With Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, now I have three books to finish…

Two days ago, I bought a new read at Periplus. I figured that I’d probably needed a new book after I finished Splinter Cell: Checkmate not so long ago. I’ve seen the book a couple times for several weeks already, yet I hesitated on buying it until two days ago.

As a guy who keeps his interest on anything out of this world, cryptozoology, and mysteries of the past, I decided to give it a go with Atlantis. I always liked stories that are based on these things, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, the Stonehenge, or even the statues in Easter Island. So Atlantis is not an exception. However, due to my line of work and lack of free time at the moment, I’ve read only 2 chapters so far, so nothing can actually be commented right now.

From a design perspective, the book is somewhat harder to read and not as legible as Splinter Cell novels or the others that I have read. The leadings are too tight and the margins are too close to the edges of the book, that it made my thumbs covered some parts of the text when I hold the book. So I needed to switch hand positions every time or so. But I’m confident that this is a good read, though. I think I’ll just go on with it.

I searched for a copy last night and found none at Plaza Senayan, but who would’ve guessed that I could find one in a small magazine stand in Bintaro Jaya. My impression on it was… I’m disappointed, hehehe. And at the same time, I laughed. Why? Because with all those people telling Playboy has to be banned, or has to be taken off the streets, recalled, or whatever, I have one advice for you: DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT’S IN IT? Don’t talk when you haven’t even looked inside, and guess what? No porn whatsoever, even Maxim and FHM shows more skin. I would say that this is one of the most subtle men magazines I have ever seen in Indonesia. Seriously.

Somehow I wondered if our country is sane enough to give judgment just about anything. When a magazine is called “Playboy”, it doesn’t mean it is filled upside down inside and out with porn, although yeah, you probably thought that the word “Playboy” is identical to porn. Oh how we often judge things only from the skin. Is that probably why we’re still a third-world country? Perhaps.

Katanya negara ini punya sistem praduga tidak bersalah… Right, and I’m god.

I know I’m probably losing my fast track record as a Star Wars fan, since right now I’m just starting to read the Shadows of the Empire novel. I should’ve done this since a long time ago (no continuations here =). Finally I got the chance to exactly find out what happened between the Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, and how Luke built his new green lightsaber after losing his hand to Vader.

After several days of reading, I finally completed Digital Fortress. It’s a good read, I would recommend it to anyone with a curious techno-oriented mind. What I like from this book is that it shows that even the most powerful force can be beaten, or at least almost beaten with something simple… Hahahaha, and that really improved the fact of what I believed, that SIMPLE IS BETTER!

Alright, I think I would buy Deception Point for my next read in a few days. But right now, I’ll concentrate on a few important things first, and make up my lack of sleep because of the book, hehehe…

Okay, now I’m officially hooked to Dan Brown’s novels… Yesterday I bought Digital Fortress, actually I was going to buy Deception Point, but… Kara said her friend told her that Digital Fortress was better, so I guess, oh well, why not… I haven’t got the time to start reading though, so I guess I’ll start tonight, and we’ll see how it goes.