RUN
Encyclopedia
RUN was an American
computer magazine published monthly by IDG Communications
with its first issue debuting in January 1984. Bi-monthly publishing began in June/July 1990 (issue #78, volume 7 number 6), and went on until the magazine folded in November/December 1992 (issue #94, volume 9 number 6). In its heyday, RUN's monthly circulation was in the 200,000–300,000 range. Folio
, the trade journal of the magazine industry, rated it as the second fastest-growing U.S. magazine of 1985.
The magazine contained articles about Commodore
8-bit
home computer
s and peripheral
s, as well as reviews on available software packages
for the computers. In addition, every issue featured several type-in program
s written in BASIC
and/or machine language
. The magazine's name came from the BASIC command "RUN", which started execution of the computer's program, presumably typed in from the magazine.
Major RUN columns included the following:
Frequent contributors were Dennis Brisson (Editor/Editor-in-Chief), Tim Walsh (Technical Editor), Lou Wallace (Consulting Editor), Ellen Rule (Consulting Editor), Beth Jala (Review Editor), Tony Branter (Freelance Writer), Robert Rockefeller (Freelance Writer) and Arnie Katz (Freelance Writer). Marilyn Annucci and Swain Pratt were copy editors, and Marilyn wrote occasional software reviews. Also, John Ryan and Walt Latocha were freelance writers who became columnists and contributing editors at RUN.
The demise of the magazine was due to the public's dwindling interest in 8-bit
machines as the computer world evolved to 16-bit
and standardized on the IBM PC compatible
platform for both business and home use. The front cover was originally accented by a logotype reading "RUN", with each letter placed on a key button resembling those used on the C-64. In June 1987 the keys were removed and the font became italicized with rounded letters.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer magazine published monthly by IDG Communications
IDG
International Data Group is a technology media, research, event management, and venture capital organization.IDG evolved from International Data Corporation which was formed in 1964 in Newtonville, Massachusetts, by Patrick Joseph McGovern and a friend, Fred Kirch...
with its first issue debuting in January 1984. Bi-monthly publishing began in June/July 1990 (issue #78, volume 7 number 6), and went on until the magazine folded in November/December 1992 (issue #94, volume 9 number 6). In its heyday, RUN's monthly circulation was in the 200,000–300,000 range. Folio
Folio (magazine)
Folio is a literary magazine founded in 1984 and based at American University in Washington, D.C. It publishes fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction twice each year. Folio is also known for interviews with prominent writers, most recently Ann Beattie, Alice Fulton, Leslie Pietrzyk, Gregory Orr,...
, the trade journal of the magazine industry, rated it as the second fastest-growing U.S. magazine of 1985.
The magazine contained articles about Commodore
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
s and peripheral
Peripheral
A peripheral is a device attached to a host computer, but not part of it, and is more or less dependent on the host. It expands the host's capabilities, but does not form part of the core computer architecture....
s, as well as reviews on available software packages
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
for the computers. In addition, every issue featured several type-in program
Type-in program
A type-in program, or just type-in, is a computer program listing printed in a computer magazine or book, meant to be typed in by the reader in order to run the program on a computer....
s written in BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
and/or machine language
Machine code
Machine code or machine language is a system of impartible instructions executed directly by a computer's central processing unit. Each instruction performs a very specific task, typically either an operation on a unit of data Machine code or machine language is a system of impartible instructions...
. The magazine's name came from the BASIC command "RUN", which started execution of the computer's program, presumably typed in from the magazine.
Major RUN columns included the following:
- Magic, perhaps the magazine's most distinctive feature, was a collection of short programs, programming tips, and tricks, mostly submitted by readers. Several dozen were published each month, and they were all numbered in hexadecimalHexadecimalIn mathematics and computer science, hexadecimal is a positional numeral system with a radix, or base, of 16. It uses sixteen distinct symbols, most often the symbols 0–9 to represent values zero to nine, and A, B, C, D, E, F to represent values ten to fifteen...
, with each issue's numbering taking over where the last one had left off. Readers could write to Magic at P.O Box 101011, which was a real box number chosen for its binary appearance. Often, a "special issue" published at the end of the year would collect the year's Magic entries and augment them with many unpublished ones. This column, created and compiled by Louis F. Sander, debuted in the first issue and was run during the entire life of the magazine. - Mega-Magic was a monthly column that included type-in programming utilities larger and more powerful than those in the standard Magic columns.
- Commodore Clinic, a letters column, allowed users to write in with questions about hardware and software issues, which would then be answered in the magazine.
- RUN Amok was an errata column that published corrections to previous type-in programs and articles.
- Software Gallery reviewed various commercial software packages.
- 128 Mode, taken over from Commodore's own magazine when it was purchased by RUN, included programming advice and short type-ins for the Commodore 128Commodore 128The Commodore 128 home/personal computer was the last 8-bit machine commercially released by Commodore Business Machines...
. - Gold Mine was another Louis F. Sander column taken over from Commodore's magazine. It featured tips and tricks for commercial games.
Frequent contributors were Dennis Brisson (Editor/Editor-in-Chief), Tim Walsh (Technical Editor), Lou Wallace (Consulting Editor), Ellen Rule (Consulting Editor), Beth Jala (Review Editor), Tony Branter (Freelance Writer), Robert Rockefeller (Freelance Writer) and Arnie Katz (Freelance Writer). Marilyn Annucci and Swain Pratt were copy editors, and Marilyn wrote occasional software reviews. Also, John Ryan and Walt Latocha were freelance writers who became columnists and contributing editors at RUN.
The demise of the magazine was due to the public's dwindling interest in 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
machines as the computer world evolved to 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
and standardized on the IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
platform for both business and home use. The front cover was originally accented by a logotype reading "RUN", with each letter placed on a key button resembling those used on the C-64. In June 1987 the keys were removed and the font became italicized with rounded letters.
See also
- Amiga WorldAmiga WorldAmiga World was a magazine dedicated to the Amiga computer platform. It was a prominent Amiga magazine, particularly in the United States, and was published by IDG Publishing from 1985 until April 1995. The first several issues were distributed before the computer was available for sale to the public...
- An Amiga oriented spinoff from RUN. - ByteByte (magazine)BYTE magazine was a microcomputer magazine, influential in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s because of its wide-ranging editorial coverage...
and Kilobaud Microcomputing about the story of Wayne GreenWayne GreenWayne Green is an American publisher and writer, and consultant. He was formerly editor of CQ magazine before he went on to found 73, 80 Micro, Byte, CD Review, Cold Fusion, Kilobaud Microcomputing, RUN , InCider, and Pico, as well as publishing books and running a software company...
, the first publisher of RUN. - Compute!'s GazetteCOMPUTE!'s GazetteCOMPUTE!'s Gazette was a computer magazine of the 1980s, directed at users of Commodore's 8-bit home computers. Publishing its first issue in July 1983, the Gazette was a Commodore-only daughter magazine of the computer hobbyist magazine COMPUTE!....
– a contending magazine at the time - Commodore Magazine – another contender, published by Commodore
- Commodore Power/PlayCommodore Power PlayCommodore Power/Play was a one of a pair of computer magazines published by Commodore Business Machines in the United States in support of their 8-bit home computer lines of the 1980s. The other was called Commodore Microcomputers...
– published by Commodore, emphasizing games - Ahoy! (magazine)Ahoy! (magazine)Ahoy! was a magazine published between January 1984 and January 1989 that focused on all Commodore International color computers, but especially the Commodore 64 and Amiga. It was noted for the quality and learnability of its type-in program listings...
– another contender - Commander magazine – and another
- :de:RUN (Zeitschrift) - German version of the RUN magazine
External links
- DLH's Commodore Archive Gallery of RUN magazine covers and downloadable PDFs of the "Special Issues".