Softalk
Encyclopedia
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
of the early 1980s that focused on the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
computer. Published from 1979 through 1984, it featured articles about hardware and software associated with the Apple II platform and the people and companies who made them. The name was originally used on a newsletter of Apple Software pioneer company, Softape, who in 1980 changed its name to Artsci Inc.
The startup capital for Softalk came from Margot Comstock, who had won on the television game show Password
Password (game)
Password is an American television game show which was created by Bob Stewart for Goodson-Todman Productions. The host was Allen Ludden, who had previously been well known as the host of the G.E...
, along with a generous contribution after a few months from John Haller and from Comstock and Al Tommervik's second mortgage on their house. Partners William V R Smith III, William Depew contributed early office space in their Softape storeroom and arrived unexpectedly with office desks when Softalk moved into its own location.
Unlike other computer magazines that generally focused on a specific, narrow subject matter or market segment (e.g., business applications, games, or professional programming), Softalk gave broad coverage to all parts of the Apple world of the time, from programming tips to game playing, from business to home use, including computing as an industry, a hobby, a tool, a toy, and a culture. On occasion it even ran fiction. As a result, it developed a loyal fan following.
Another characteristic of the magazine was a playful, insider-like voice. The experts in those early days seemed to chat in their own relaxed language
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
about the techniques and elements of their world. Bert Kersey, of the small, homey Beagle Bros
Beagle Bros
Beagle Bros was a software company that specialized in creating personal computing products that were both useful and whimsical. Their primary focus was on the Apple II family of computers.-History:...
software company, was one columnist; as were Doug Carlston
Doug Carlston
Doug Carlston is the founder and current CEO of Tawala Systems based in San Rafael, California. He was previously CEO, chairman, and co-founder of Brøderbund Software, a major software publishing firm that produced such hit titles as Myst, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and Prince of...
, co-founder of Brøderbund
Brøderbund
Brøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
software; Mark Pelczarski
Mark Pelczarski
Mark Pelczarski wrote and published some of the earliest digital multimedia computer software. In 1979 while teaching computer science at Northern Illinois University, he self-published Magic Paintbrush, which was one of the first digital paint programs for the Apple II, the first consumer computer...
, founder of Penguin Software
Penguin Software
Penguin Software was a video game publisher from Geneva, Illinois that produced graphics software and games for the Apple II, Macintosh, IBM, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari 8-bit, and Atari ST computers...
; and Bill Budge
Bill Budge
Bill Budge is a computer game programmer and designer. His two main claims to fame are 1981's Raster Blaster and 1983's Pinball Construction Set. Both these games were released originally for the Apple II....
, creator of Pinball Construction Set
Pinball Construction Set
Pinball Construction Set is a computer game by Bill Budge published by Electronic Arts. It was released for the Apple II and Atari 800 in 1983 and was later ported to other platforms, such as the Commodore 64 and DOS .-Description:...
, Bill Depew, creater of Apple 21 and Magic Window.
A regular feature was a monthly chart of the most popular software in various categories, which was the Apple community's equivalent of the Billboard charts for pop music. Unlike most such bestseller lists, which report shipment from warehouses, not sales, Softalks bestseller numbers were drawn from polling retail sales in computer stores throughout the world. There were also contests encouraging the participation of readers. Originally, Softalk was sent free to all registered Apple owners, but later it required paid subscription after one free year. Softalk underwent rapid expansion in its early history, with issues getting very thick (largely from advertising), but an industry slump in 1984 caught Softalk with too much unrealized revenues against heavy printing costs, which overtaxed its undercapitalized status. Rather than take the desperate path of erratic publication, the Softalk board chose to cease publication. In its 48 influential months, the original Softalk readership grew from 30,000 names loaned by Apple Computer Inc. to 250,000 readers. In its third and fourth years, Softalk achieved a place on the Folio 400 list of the nation's largest magazines.
When the IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
came on the market, Softalk Publishing was on the spot with "'Softalk for the IBM PC."' And with the advent of the Apple Macintosh, Softalk Publishing launched an edition for the Mac, named Softalk Mac, written as ST. Mac. For a few years Softalk Publishing published a magazine begun by On-Line Systems (later Sierra On-Line and then Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
). This small magazine had a double life as a gentle industry lampoon as well as covering the gamut of computer games (Softline, renamed to ST. Game for its final issue).
In 1983
1983 in video gaming
-Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong...
, Softalk published its own computer game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
, a work of interactive fiction
Interactive fiction
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...
(or "text adventure") entitled Valley of the Minotaur
Valley of the Minotaur
Valley of the Minotaur is a computer game for the Apple II series of home computers. It was published by Softalk magazine in 1983, on a 5¼ inch floppy disk. It is a work of interactive fiction, also known as a "text adventure"...
.
Softalk along with founder/editor Margot Comstock and founder/publisher Al Tommervik are named as pioneers of the microcomputer industry in the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
.
The disk magazine
Disk magazine
A disk magazine, colloquially known as a diskmag, is a magazine that is distributed in electronic form to be read using computers. These had some popularity in the 1980s and 1990s as periodicals distributed on floppy disk, hence their name...
Softdisk
Softdisk (disk magazine)
Softdisk , originally Softdisk Magazette, was a disk magazine for the Apple II computer line, published from 1981 through 1995. It was the first publication of the company that was also known as Softdisk, which would go on to publish disk magazines for other systems, other software, and later be...
was originally partly owned by Softalk, and survived on its own.