''Family Computing'' (later ''Family & Home Office Computing'' and ''Home Office Computing'') was an American computer magazine published by Scholastic from the 1980s to the early 2000s. It covered all the major

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became 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 s ...

platforms of the day including the

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

, VIC-20, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit computers, as well as the IBM PC and Macintosh. It printed a mixture of product reviews, how-to articles and type-in programs. The magazine also featured a teen-oriented insert called ''K-Power'', written by

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

students called the Special-K's. The section was named after a former sister magazine which folded after a short run. This section was discontinued after the July 1987 issue as part of the magazine's shift toward home-office computing.

History and profile

The first issue of the magazine appeared in September 1983. It was notable in the early days for the wide variety of systems it supported with type-in programs, including such "orphaned" systems as the

Coleco Adam The Coleco Adam is a home computer and expansion device for the ColecoVision by American toy and video game manufacturer Coleco. The Adam was an attempt to follow on the success of the company's ColecoVision video game console. It was available as ...

and TI 99/4A long after other magazines discontinued coverage. There was also a spinoff TV show on Lifetime hosted by Larry Sturholm, of which at least 26 episodes were produced. Another section of the magazine was contributed by Joey Latimer and dealt with music related themes. This mostly amounted to BASIC program listings that would play some sort of tune on the computer platforms covered by the magazine. After the

video game crash of 1983 The video game crash of 1983 (known in Japan as the Atari shock) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985 in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including market saturatio ...

the magazine began to change its focus toward the burgeoning

home office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s, initiating coverage of non-computing products such as

fax machines Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (short for telefacsimile), is the telephone, telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or ...

and

office furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

. Article topics began to include ideas for starting a

home-based business A home business or home-based business (HBB) is a small business that operates from the business owner's home office. In addition to location, home businesses are usually defined by having a very small number of employees, usually all immediate fa ...

and

time management Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities—especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency and productivity. Time management involves demands relating to work, social ...

tips. The title was changed, first to ''Family & Home Office Computing'' and finally to just ''Home Office Computing'' with ever-diminishing coverage of family computing topics. In January 1998, Scholastic sold the title to Freedom Technology Media Group, which published the magazine until the April 2001 issue.

References

External links

* {{Internet Archive, id=family-computing, name=Family Computing Magazine Atari 8-bit computer magazines Defunct computer magazines published in the United States Home computer magazines Magazines established in 1983 Magazines disestablished in 2001 Magazines published in New York City Monthly magazines published in the United States