I'm not sure what's wrong with the USA postal system, but it sucks! You'll often find American periodicals on so-called special offer for $70, but that's the internal rate - if you are an alien (an Americanism for somebody living outside North America), then the benefits of this special offer are highly dubious, because their postal system adds another $70 to ship the thing to Europe.

Take one example - NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) produce a decent publication called Photoshop User (8 copies per year, sub also includes special benefits most of which are only available inside the USA) which costs $99 per annum - however, if you live abroad that rises to a massive $149! To add insult to injury - NAPP also provide an educational discount - fine for those of us who teach Photoshop, except there aren't any educational institutes outside the USA - daft? No it isn't - it is moronic and typical of the North Amercian parochial approach to anything ranging fron broadcast news to foreign affairs - North America serves only one interest - itself!

If the management team of NAPP were fully awake, you might think that they could make the publication available in PDF - they incur no further production charges, it costs nothing to ship, it can be protected by DRM (see Zinio), but alas that solution escapes them. Today, I managed to pick up a copy of Photoshop User from Borders in London - a nice production filled with useful tutorials, except you can't download the tutorial files unless you are a subscriber. At £7.95 in the UK this is a lunatic and shortsighted policy from NAPP. And can someone please explain why the Darkroom Magazine site is still asking folk to send their email and be the 'first to know' - this is despite evidence that a trial version shipped with Photoshop User in the USA - and now that Lightroom has been running as a beta for months, and is in final release 1.0 (for 4 months) - why is the periodical still stuck in the dark (room)? BREAKING NEWS - 8th June 2007 - the Darkroom web page, stuck with the same boring content and inviting folk to register has now been pulled and quietly assumed into the general Photoshopuser site. Anyone who bothered to register hasn't received a single apology from NAPP - and to add insult to injury, the mag is only going to be made available to subscribers - the PDF option looks like another false hope.

Could someone please tell me why NAPP is run by morons?

Quite frankly, I give up on NAPP - it is over-priced, dominated by an out-of-touch print-dominated bunch of fuddy-duddy management freaks. UK users are much better served by 'Photoshop Creative' magazine - it costs just £43 via direct debit for a full year, you get video tutorials + all the images required on CD. They also offer a special DVD for less than £20 containing a full year's content and tutorial files - this is much more useful for teachers. Don't bother with any American Publication - unless you want to fund the illegal invasion of Iraq.

We invited NAPP to respond to these serious allegations (June 2007) - they couldn't bother!

NAPP site

Photoshop Creative site