HORN AND WHISTLE

Latest News and Events

Keep up with the latest aspects of Horn & Whistle Magazine on this page, which is updated frequently. (This page was last updated on 12 29 15)

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Latest on H&W issues 134. The new issue, # 134 is completed. On-line subscribers have already received it. Paper copies, which always lag behind, should be out I hope by the end of this month along with the paper edition of 133 which we may combine with 134. There's a lot more time and effort and EXPENSE involved with the paper issues than the on-line version, so the on-line issues are always ready for distribution ahead of the paper copies. Likewise, the deluxe editions are printed locally before the standard issues. If you have any questions about your subscription, either paper or on-line, send me an e-mail. Here's the best e-mail address to use at the present time. [email protected]

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New Whistle Picture Book. Well, you'd think this would be simple, but I'm facing a copyright issue on a couple of pictures, thus the Whistle Picture Book is on hold at the moment. We could take our chances and go ahead and print it, but what if the holder of the copyright decided to contest our publishing? On the shoestring budget that H&W runs on, we absolutely can't afford any such problems, so I'm holding off publication until I obtain a clear decision on this. So patience, please, The Whistle Picture Book will be available probably shortly after the next issue of H&W, which is my main H&W project to accomplish at the moment.

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When faced with a choice of either the on-line edition with full color throughout, or the paper edition with B&W printing for all but the magazine covers, the majority of subscribers still prefer the paper version, but a few have asked about the paper copies in color. I priced having the entire print run done in 4 colors a while back but it was, in the opinion of many subscribers, too expensive. However, there are some subscribers who would like it if we offered a paper edition in full color and they were willing to pay the extra cost. We have now found a source for extremely small print runs in color, so we are offering for the first time in H&W's history, a deluxe, printed edition with full color throughout the magazine. Let us know if this is something you'd be interested in.

The present price of these deluxe editions had been $21.72 per copy or $86.88 per year, but we have recently lowered the price to $75.00 per year as a few of you are getting these deluxe issues now. What I have been doing with the last couple of issues is sending out a few additional deluxe copies to randomly chosen subscribers, as actually seeing one of these copies is a far better way for you to make a decision about it rather than just going by what I say about it. These new deluxe issues feature four color printing throughout the entire issue, and comb binding rather than stapling. The print quality throughout is excellent inasmuch as they are printed on a commercial color digital press instead of by the photocopy process that is used for the standard issues. So, order more and the price will come down again if we can have more made each time.

There is an additional article planned for the following issue, # 134. Unfortunately, we can't put that additional article in the paper copies because that will make them more expensive, but it will be in the on-line version of # 134. This, BTW, is one significant advantage of getting H&W on-line. We're not limited if we want to go somewhat over our present 44 page limit. If we exceed the limit with paper copies, the printing cost goes up. And then the extra pages add more weight so the mailing cost goes up too. However, adding extra content to the on-line issue only takes a little more time, but does not add anything to the price of producing it or distributing it, which I think is one of the greatest advantages of on-line publishing for any information, not just Horn & Whistle.

Don't get me wrong. I like paper magazines and real books too as much as anyone else. But just from the practicality of production and distribution, on-line has it all over paper. No printing expense, no supplies, no postage, fast distribution, easy editorial changes, corrections, additions, occasional links to other relevant material, occasional videos or sound clips. True, you must read it from your computer or tablet or smart phone, and you probably can't sit in your favorite chair and have it in your lap like you can with a paper copy, but look at all the other advantages! Plus, as I already mentioned, if you're an on-line subscriber, you'll get the quarterly issues several weeks at least before the paper copies are out. So give it some serious thought. Oh, and you'll save money as well. The on-line edition is much less expensive to produce and we pass the savings along. It's only $10.00 per year anywhere in the world. Paper copies are presently $25.00 per year (four issues) and $75.00 per year deluxe edition, and if the PO raises their rates even one more time, we will have to increase the per year cost of a hardcopy standard edition yet again.

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Also, some of you have inquired about back issues. I have CDs with back issues beginning with #101. I am also soon going to have the previous twenty issues available; this probably by the time # 135, the next spring issue of H&W is ready. Really old issues will be available later on. As with some of the whistle pictures, some of these older back issues are copies of copies of copies, and some of them require nearly a full day just to fix up one page. Where text is barely legible, it all has to be retyped. Pictures also need to be fixed as well as possible. I wonder how the founders of Horn & Whistle managed in the early eighties before computers were in widespread usage. It seems hard to imagine producing a publication like this without resorting to a computer, and yet they did it. We all owe Jack Hardman, our first publisher, a real debt of gratitude for starting up this publication and getting it from being just somebody's vision to a real viable and now once again, growing publication.

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E-mail and postal ADDRESS CHANGES.

Well, it happened again! Shortly after I got through mailing out the on-line version of the previous edition of H&W, there were a number of returned e-mails because they either went to the wrong e-mail address, or the e-mail we have is no longer valid. PLEASE, if you change your e-mail, let us know! And the same thing happened on the last mailing cycle when I mailed out the paper copies. Several came back, marked "return to sender" or otherwise undeliverable. And, I expect the same thing will happen on this new mailing as well. If you move, or change your address, let us know at H&W. I like to think I am a clever guy, but I have not yet learned how to read minds, and it is unlikely that I ever will. Forgive my sarcasm, but please let me know when you change your e-mail or postal addresses. Here's a special e-mail address which I check now on a daily basis.

[email protected]

Just send me an e-mail with your new e-mail or postal address if you're still getting paper copies. Then you'll get the issue when I send it out.

Regarding returning pictures or articles that you have sent in; it is worth repeating yet again that if you send us pictures and/or articles and want them back, you need to include a note with your material stating that fact and also include a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope. Without that, we will not save either pictures or articles once we have processed them for inclusion in the magazine unless the pictures are of exceptional quality. The amount of material that sometimes comes here can be quite formidable, and storage of pictures and papers is really neither practical or possible. I am sorry to say but if you send in material without either a request to save them or the postage-paid envelope and then later on change your mind, it will probably be too late, so please keep this information in mind when you send in items that you want returned to you.

Previous publishers have in many cases kept photos that were sent to us; indeed, that is how the Whistle Picture Book became possible. But eventually there came a time when there was just too much stuff and that was why the previous publisher instituted the present policy of no longer keeping material once it was either used in the magazine or deemed unusable. Thus the present policy regarding returned material. If you want it back, include a postage-paid suitable envelope and also a written notice that you do indeed want the materials returned.

More website info. I have previously mentioned that I was still making these web pages work on Internet Explorer 6, but the latest web statistics show that usage of IE6 is now under one percent. What is far more important today is to make the web pages adaptable for access from smart phones, tablets and other hand-held devices. So that is what I'm busy with at the moment. If you look at our home page now on a smart phone, you'll see that it should display in a single column that you can scroll down as you read. If you turn your smart phone sideways, that should make it wider and easier to use. Likewise, if you use any device that has a viewing screen under 640 pixels wide, you should get a single column layout that is easy to read. No less of an authority than Google itself recommends 640 pixels, so that's where that number came from.

More website behind-the-scenes changes. Pretty soon, we'll be slightly changing the appearance of the H&W web pages, but not by much. We actually have many more subjects to include and we're going to change the links so that the main navigation bar links will show general topics only, and then where necessary, we will include what are known as drop-down links that are normally invisible, but will appear if you hover the mouse over particular main links. This gives us the best of both worlds. We can include lots of extra links, but normally they will not intrude on the rather limited "screen real estate." On a cellphone, however, we'll probably have a separate link page, similar to a site map, as we really do not want to have too much on any web page when you view it from your smart phone. I am sure you have encountered some web sites that, when you view them on your smart phone, are so impossibly small and/or the links are so tiny and close together that it's almost impossible to navigate through the site. Even more annoying is when you have to keep scrolling back and forth with every line in order to read the pages. All of the H&W pages should now be easy to read and use on a smart phone. If you encounter any difficulties with any page while doing this, send me an e-mail [email protected]

I should advise you that if you are still using IE6, you should dump it and get the newest version of Internet Explorer that will run on your machine, or any of the other modern web browsers. They're FREE! All you do is Google the browser you want, click it; you get right to the site and then just follow the download instructions. You'd be amazed at how much nicer stuff works and how many more great features you can use that IE6 has no way of delivering to you. And if you are still clinging to an old relic of a computer from the mid nineties, well, all bets are off as to what you can even access on the Internet or how jumbled and screwed up many modern web pages will look. Get a new computer! They're not that expensive and they work so much better and faster than the relics of the nineties. Also, a few areas in the USA still use old fashioned "dial-up" Internet connections. This technology, once widespread, is so relatively slow that many modern web pages will not function on a dial-up Internet connection. Dialup is going the way of the constant-current arc lighting system for streetlights, and municipal DC distribution by utility companies. You still find a few pockets here and there, but it's being phased out. If you are retaining dialup by choice, well, all I can say is call your ISP and tell them that you want to replace it. The improvement in web page performance when going from dialup to hi-speed DSL or fiber-optic is unbelievable. Pages that took a half an hour to download will be up and running in a few seconds.

And if you are still without a computer by choice, listen to this: everybody whom I know who held out for years on getting a computer and who finally did get one marvels at how much easier it makes many tasks and how useful it has become in a very short time. Also, please don't say that you "are too old to use a computer." I have a friend who will be 100 years old on his next birthday. He's been using computers for the last 30 years, which means he was 70 when he started learning. "Too old to learn to use a computer?" That's just an excuse, and not a very good one either.

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