--------============>>>> A T A R I ¢C L A S S I C S <<<<============----¢--- -----=====>> A New Magazine ¢for the 8-Bit Enthusiast !!! ¢<<=====----- ¢¢ Greetings Fellow Atari 8-Bit Users! ¢¢ My name is Ben Poehland, and I'm¢pleased to announce that I shall be¢serving as Managing Editor of Atari¢Classics (AC), a new magazine¢exclusively devoted to the Atari 8bit¢user. If you are among the thousands¢who have bemoaned the recent loss of¢nationally distributed magazines that¢once sup- ported your beloved 8-bit,¢I'm here to add a ray of hope to your¢8bit future!¢ The philosophical orientation of¢AC- incorporated in its Manifest- is¢to be a magazine "of, by , and for the¢Atari 8bit user". Unlike previous¢8bit periodicals, the content of AC¢will directly reflect the expressed¢desires of the user community,¢especially as recorded during the¢Mail-In Campaign conducted January 15-¢ May 2, 1992. The magazine will be¢staffed by members of the user¢community, and its content will be¢drawn entirely from the user¢community.¢ Unicorn Publications, already¢well-known for its outstanding Atari¢Interface Magazine (which covers both¢the ST and 8bit markets), has agreed¢to provide publishing services for AC.¢AC and AIM will be essentially¢independent publications, and the¢addition of AC to Unicorn's stable of¢products will not affect AIM's present¢subscribers. One of the many unique¢arrangements concerning AC is that its¢actual day-to-day operation will be¢largely in the hands of the user¢community rather than the publisher.¢Whatever "flavor" we decide to give it¢will be entirely our own.¢ Atari Classics represents a¢unique experiment in the history of¢the Home Computer Revolution that¢began in the mid '70s. With Atari¢Corp.'s cessation of support for all¢products beginning January 1992,¢an entire class of machines with a¢global installed user base numbering¢in the hundreds of thousands was¢abandoned along with the community of¢users who still use them. But for the¢first time, a rejected user community¢has marshalled its resources and¢declared its right to exist¢independent of Corporate America. We¢respond to Atari's challenge in a way¢that would make our forefathers proud:¢by rolling up our shirtsleeves and¢doing the job ourselves!¢ This will be YOUR magazine. AC¢will succeed- or fail- on the number¢of subscription orders it receives. ¢Although seed money to print the¢Premier Issue has been provided, the¢magazine will need 500 paid¢subscriptions to succeed. A limited¢production run of 800 issues is¢scheduled for October or November¢1992. Most of these will be¢distributed- FREE OF CHARGE- to the¢roughly 600 people who sent in¢commitment cards during the Mail¢Campaign.¢ That's right: if you sent in your¢card,¢ YOU WILL GET TO READ THE FIRST¢ISSUE FOR FREE BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO¢BUY.¢ (When was the last time you saw a¢deal like THAT???)¢ Of course, there were some folks¢who got missed in the Mail Campaign.¢So we ordered up those few extra¢copies which will also be distributed¢for free. First come, first serve,¢please don't block the stampede! You¢can write to:¢¢ Atari Classics ¢ 179 Sproul Rd./Rt. 352¢ Frazer, PA 19355 USA ¢ ATTN: B. Poehland, Managing Editor¢¢to have your name added to the list¢for a free copy of the Premier Issue.¢(No guarantees, and be sure to include¢your postal mailing address!) If you¢sent in your Campaign card it will NOT¢be necessary to request your free¢trial issue, as your name is ALREADY¢among the LUCKY 600!¢ The basic subscription fee is¢$25/year in the USA, with higher fees¢for Canadian and other non-US¢subscriptions. Full details on¢subscriptions will appear in the¢Premier Issue and in future¢announcements. Beginning in 1993 the¢magazine will be distributed bimonthly¢(6 issues/year).¢ A software disk bearing programs¢published in AC plus selected¢offerings from the Public Domain, will¢be available separately for $9/year in¢the USA. The disk will be distributed¢independently but will be timed to¢appear with every other issue of the¢magazine (3 disks/year). Full details¢on disk subscriptions will also appear¢in the Premier Issue and in future¢announcements.¢ The content of Atari Classics¢will initially lean toward user¢applications, hardware tutorials and¢modifications, programming, and soft-¢ware reviews. We plan to agressively¢recruit paid commercial advertising¢from scarce 8bit vendors, and to¢publish periodic lists of current 8bit¢supply sources.¢ Best of all, PAID subscribers¢will be able to place FREE ads in AC¢to buy, sell or trade their personal¢8bit treasures! (But of course, yah¢gotta SUBSCRIBE first!)¢ And, we'll have a whole bunch of¢other stuff, contributed by some of¢the most talented writers and hackers¢in the Atari 8-bit world, authors¢whose names you've seen gracing the¢pages of ANTIC, ANALOG, Current Notes,¢and Atari Interface Magazine. (You'll¢notice not very many details there- we¢wanna pique your imagination!)¢ As of this announcement (August¢5, 1992) only a few of the Staff¢positions at AC have been filled. We¢are starting completely from scratch,¢but anticipate most of the¢administrative machinery for operating¢the magazine will be in place by the¢end of August and production begun on¢our Premier Issue. (We'll need a¢month to get used to working with each¢other in an environment of near-total¢chaos!)¢ And when you see that first issue¢appear in your mailbox this autumn,¢IT WILL BE YOUR TURN TO DECIDE THE¢FUTURE OF YOUR MACHINE !!¢¢Please post/copy/distribute this¢announcement freely, and stay tuned¢for future announcements !!! ¢
