Misplaced Pages

#664335

13-509: The startup capital for Softalk came from Margot Comstock , who had won on the television game show Password , 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

26-459: A Smithsonian video history project interviewed Comstock alongside people who had published popular software for the Apple II. Comstock and Tommervik later published Softline , a game magazine with funding from Ken Williams . They also published several books, including a Mac book by Doug Clapp. Comstock was an associate designer for Rama , an adventure game published in 1996. Comstock gave

39-564: A keynote presentation at KansasFest in 2014. Softape Softape was an Apple II software company that published computer games , utilities and productivity programs for the Apple II series of personal computers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was co-founded by William V. R. Smith, Bill Depew and Gary Koffler. In 1980, the company's name was changed to Artsci, Inc. (artscipub.com) and they now operate as an internet service provider as well as publish literature on amateur radio . Softape's Software Exchange newsletter, Softalk ,

52-402: A newsletter, and they arranged to take over the newsletter and develop it into an Apple II enthusiast magazine. Comstock was 39 at the time. She set the vision for the magazine as taking a journalistic approach, instead of focusing on programming as other contemporary computer magazines did. This made the magazine accessible to Apple II users who weren't programmers. Comstock's work was part of

65-458: 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

78-402: A transition in personal computing around this time, from computers being hobbyist projects to computers getting used by people interested in games and practical applications. Comstock and Tommervik published the last issue of Softalk in 1984, because fewer companies were paying for advertising, due to a larger shift in the industry, and they did not have money to print more issues. In 1987,

91-598: 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 came on the market, Softalk Publishing started "'Softalk for the IBM PC."' And with

104-554: The advent of the Macintosh , Softalk Publishing launched Softalk Mac , written as ST. Mac . For a few years Softalk Publishing published a magazine begun by On-Line Systems : Softline, renamed to ST. Game for its final issue. The disk magazine Softdisk was originally partly owned by Softalk , and survived on its own. Margot Comstock Margot Comstock (formerly Margot Comstock Tommervik , ( 1940-10-11 ) October 11, 1940 – October 7, 2022 (2022-10-07) (aged 81) )

117-434: The money . She was enthusiastic about trying games and other software for the computer, along with its larger potential for helping people try new things. They decided to start a magazine for other Apple users, using the rest of the prize money and a second mortgage on their home. Comstock and Tommervik founded Softalk in 1980. They got in contact with a company called Softape that distributed Apple II software and had

130-490: 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, Softalk' s 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

143-500: 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 , was one columnist; as were Doug Carlston , co-founder of Broderbund software; Mark Pelczarski , founder of Penguin Software ; Bill Budge , creator of Pinball Construction Set ; and Bill Depew, creator of Apple 21 and Magic Window . A regular feature

SECTION 10

#1732854753665

156-486: Was co-founder and editor of Softalk magazine, which was influential in the Apple II community, as part of a growing personal computing movement. Comstock worked as a freelance textbook editor, magazine article writer, and journalist. She also enjoyed playing games, and in 1979 she won more than $ 15,000 on the television game show Password . She and her husband Allan Tommervik purchased an Apple II+ with some of

169-437: 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,

#664335