z011@dalcs.UUCP (Colin Pye) (02/19/84)
<Munch, munch> It seems that the quality (and content) of some of the computer magazines is going downhill all too quickly. My main case in point: 80 Micro (formerly 80 Microcomputing). This (whatever-it-is, I don't really want to call it a magazine anymore) has rapidly shrunk to less than half of its previous monthly size, and what's left is not as good as the newer ones just starting. Wayne Green (publisher, and hater of the company that brought out the computers that helped keep him going) decided to do something (about which he made many excuses), and the quality dropped. First 80 micro fills up with "inCider" ads for Green's new Apple magazine. Next comes "Hot CoCo", moving most CoCo articles out of 80, and adding to the bill for those who have interest in both. It seems that at this point, advertisers saw what was happening and started leaving. Model II things dropped from 6+ articles to 2-. And the call that overflowed the stack came when content dropped back to the point of a 1 page table of contents (down from four pages not long ago), and ads for Green's new RUN for VIC-20 owners. Now, I am not really extremely opposed to new magazines, as long as the old ones don't shrivel up because of it. But putting Commodore magazine ads in the spot where no self-respecting Commodore owner would ever look was just too much. Apple is almost understandable, as there are a lot of things available for Apple and the 80s (some products even come with both versions), and who doesn't need more memory, disks, printers, and so on, but Commodore hardware seems to be in an entirely different world. (Really, folks, a serial connection to a disk drive?!?!?!?). Sorry to any and all of those who may have been offended, feel this is not the place for such material, or just dislike notes over 12 lines. When my green screen turns red, the flames start. Colin Pye ...decvax!dartvax!dalcs!z011 P.S. If anyone in the Peterborough area wants to drop off a copy of this at the offices of Wayne Green ick (woops, Inc), feel free to do so.
nike@harvard.UUCP (Nike Horton) (02/21/84)
- I disagree about the demise of 80-Micro. If anything, the purging of all the CoCo and Model ][ stuff is a godsend for me, a longtime Mod ]I[/Mod 4 user. Now *most* of the stuff which is there applies to me, and I don't end up feeling frustrated after reading the whole thing. The recent appearance of "Computer User" also bodes well in my opinion. Nothing like a little bit of competition to liven up sagging magazines. Now if Tandy can hold on after the Mac onslaught............. Nicholas Horton genrad!wjh12!harvard!nike Harvard Arts and Sciences Computer Services