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''Softalk'' () was an American
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
of the early 1980s that focused on the
Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
computer. Published from September 1980 through August 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 Softape is a Apple // software company that published computer games, utilities and productivity programs for the Apple II family of computers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was co-founded by William V. R. Smith, Bill Depew and Gary Koffler. ...
, who in 1980 changed its name to Artsci Inc. The startup capital for ''Softalk'' came from
Margot Comstock Margot Comstock (formerly Margot Comstock Tommervik, 1940–2022) was co-founder and editor of ''Softalk'' magazine, which was influential in the Apple II community, as part of a growing personal computing movement. Career Comstock worked as a ...
, who had won on the
television game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...
''
Password A password, sometimes called a passcode (for example in Apple devices), is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of ...
,'' 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. Another characteristic of the magazine was a playful, insider-like voice. The experts in those early days chatted in their own relaxed language about the techniques and elements of their world. Bert Kersey,
Beagle Bros Beagle Bros was an American software company that specialized in creating personal computing products. Their primary focus was on the Apple II family of computers. Although they ceased business in 1991, owner Mark Simonsen permitted the Beagle Bro ...
, was one columnist; as were Doug Carlston, co-founder of
Broderbund Broderbund Software, Inc. (stylized as Brøderbund) was an American maker of video games, educational software, and productivity tools. Broderbund is best known for the 8-bit video game hits ''Choplifter'', ''Lode Runner'', ''Karateka'', and '' ...
software;
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 pr ...
, founder of
Penguin Software Penguin Software was a computer software and video game publisher from Geneva, Illinois that produced graphics and application software and games for the Apple II, Macintosh, IBM, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari 8-bit, and Atari ST computers. They ...
;
Bill Budge Bill Budge (born August 11, 1954) is a retired American video game programmer and designer. He is best known for the Apple II games ''Raster Blaster'' (1981) and ''Pinball Construction Set'' (1983). Early games Budge says he became interested i ...
, creator of ''
Pinball Construction Set ''Pinball Construction Set'' is a video game by Bill Budge written for the Apple II. It was originally published in 1982 through Budge's own company, BudgeCo, then was released by Electronic Arts in 1983 along with ports to the Atari 8-bit famil ...
''; and Bill Depew, creator 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 A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...
'' 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 The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...
list of the nation's largest magazines.


Related publications

When the
IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...
came on the market, Softalk Publishing started "'Softalk for the IBM PC."' And with the advent of the
Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
, Softalk Publishing launched ''Softalk Mac'', written as ''ST. Mac''. For a few years Softalk Publishing published a magazine begun by
On-Line Systems In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...
: ''Softline,'' renamed to ''ST. Game'' for its final issue. The
disk magazine A disk magazine, colloquially known as a diskmag or diskzine, 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 t ...
''
Softdisk Softdisk was a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines (which they termed "magazettes", for "magazine on diskette"). It was affiliated and partly owned by paper mag ...
'' was originally partly owned by ''Softalk'', and survived on its own.


References


External links

* {{Softdisk Apple II periodicals Defunct computer magazines published in the United States Home computer magazines Magazines established in 1980 Magazines disestablished in 1984 Softdisk