''ComputorEdge Magazine'' was first published on May 16, 1983 as ''The Byte Buyer'' in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. It was one of the first local free distribution magazines in the United States devoted to the microcomputer. In 1988, in a dispute with the now defunct ''

Byte Magazine ''Byte'' (stylized as ''BYTE'') was a microcomputer magazine, influential in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s because of its wide-ranging editorial coverage. "''Byte'' magazine, the leading publication serving the homebrew market ..." '' ...

'', the magazine name was changed to ''ComputorEdge''. In its first years, the magazine published every other week. By the mid-1990s, it was publishing weekly, which led to a situation in which many of the businesses that advertised in ''ComputorEdge'', angered by having to pay more to have their ads in each issue (since there were now twice as many issues per year), encouraged the launch of several competing computer magazines in San Diego. None of them survived. The first person hired by the publishers to serve as editor was

Dan Gookin Dan Gookin is a computer book author who wrote the first '' ...For Dummies'' books including ''DOS for Dummies'' and ''PCs for Dummies,'' establishing the design and voice of the long-running series that followed, incorporating humor and jokes in ...

, who later wrote the best-selling "DOS for Dummies" tutorial books. Another editor was R. Andrew Rathbone, who wrote the "Windows for Dummies" books as

Andy Rathbone Andy Rathbone is the author of a number of ...for Dummies books about Microsoft Windows as well as other computing books. Biography Rathbone was born in San Diego, California. He attended San Diego State University, majoring in comparative litera ...

. Other editors included

Ken Layne Ken Layne is an American writer, publisher and broadcaster best known for his political blogging in the early 2000s and his association with Gawker Media and ''Wonkette'' from 2006 to 2012. He is the proprietor of ''Desert Oracle'', a self-publi ...

, later an editor and writer at

Gawker Media Gawker Media LLC (formerly Blogwire, Inc. and Gawker Media, Inc.) was an American Online and offline, online Mass media, media company and Link farm#Blog network, blog network. It was founded by Nick Denton in October 2003 as Blogwire, and was ba ...

blogs including

Wonkette ''Wonkette'' is an American online magazine of topical and political gossip, established in 2004 by Gawker Media and founding editor Ana Marie Cox. The editor since 2012 is Rebecca Schoenkopf, formerly of ''OC Weekly''. ''Wonkette'' covers U.S. ...

. Ryan Tate of

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...

and

Valleywag Valleywag was a Gawker Media blog with gossip and news about Silicon Valley personalities. It was initially launched under the direction of editor Nick Douglas in February 2006. After Douglas was fired,Golden Hall The Golden Hall (''Jindian'' or ''Jinding''), situated at the top of Tianzhu Peak (1612m), is one of the most distinctive landmarks in Wudangshan. It was built in 1416 during the Ming dynasty. According to local histories, the hall was forged in ...

to the larger

San Diego Convention Center The San Diego Convention Center is the primary convention center in San Diego, California. It is located in the Marina district of downtown San Diego near the Gaslamp Quarter, at 111 West Harbor Drive. The center is managed by the San Diego Con ...

. After more than 24 years of publishing in San Diego, the last paper issue of the magazine was printed on December 28, 2007. The magazine continued in electronic form until March 27, 2015, when it ceased weekly activity.

References

;Notes * Murphy, Linda, ''Computer Entrepreneurs: People Who Built Successful Businesses Around Computers'', Computer Publishing Enterprises, 1990, Page 101
The History of Former ''ComputorEdge'' Editors

The Internet Public Library

ComputorEdge Online: The Last Issue
{{refend

External links

ComputorEdge Home Page
(now a blog by the former publisher) Defunct computer magazines published in the United States Downloadable magazines Magazines established in 1983 Magazines disestablished in 2007 Magazines published in California Mass media in San Diego Weekly magazines published in the United States Free magazines