The History of Personal Computing

First Issue Cover of ROM Magazine

Now that the paper cuts have healed from flipping through pages of magazines we covered in the previous episode, come back in time with David and Jeff as they discuss the popular passive resource for early home computing enthusiasts, the “computer magazine.”

In this episode, they remark and reminisce about four more publications; ROM, The Transactor, Compute! and Dr. Dobbs Journal. Learn a bit about the creation, content, continuum, and culmination of these magazines, along with their various disciplines in computer information coverage.

ROM

Online Archive

• http://www.vintage-computer.com/rom.shtml
• InfoWorld Feb 7, 1979
• InfoWorld on Wikipedia

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The Transactor

Online Archive

• The Internet Archive

Ebay auctions

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Compute!

Online Archive

• The Internet Archive
• http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/
• http://arstechnica.com: First encounter: COMPUTE! magazine and its glorious, tedious type-in code
  • HIGHLY recommended reading to get a “feel” for what it was like to own, read, and use COMPUTE! magazine to enhance your computer usage and personal software library.

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Dr. Dobb’s Journal

Online Archive

• Dr. Dobb’s website

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Other links mentioned in show

• The Academy with Jim Butterfield

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