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The Mac version doesn't seem to have any way of poking it to get downloads you are due. All my old magazines downloaded fine, but the free Nat Geo available for trying the beta is stuck in no-mans land. The website says click on "check for new publications" in the application - the application doesn't seem to have such a button. But hey, it's beta.
The biggest problem is that the concept belongs to the last decade. A faithful reproduction of an A4-ish sized magazine is adhering to a constraint that should no longer apply. If Cosmopolitan and Men's Health have worked out that a handbag (man-bag?) sized edition is worthwhile for their audience, can't the publishers of digital magazines show some intelligence about the size of the screen they could be catering for?
I have good eyesight and a 24" iMac. Even so, I have to zoom into see the text clearly - not much, but enough to turn the left and right arrow keys into scroll keys, not page turners. Therefore, in order to turn the page I have to use the mouse - no big deal, but it does not equate to flipping through a magazine. When I click to turn, the page zooms out, turns, and zooms back in again. Thoughtful, but if I was zoomed in at a detailed level I would have a lot of scrolling to do in order to view the whole page, or I will have to manually undo the zooming.
Also, the animation of this effect is also not Silverlight smooth. No big deal, but it's not a pleasure to use.
All in all, better than the old Zinio offering, but when someone puts an iPad type device in my hands, that supports magazines edited to display on a portable screen (why would I read a magazine at my desk - I'll surf the web?), Zinio will be dead to me. I don't think I'll be alone.
amjb
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