Keith Palmer's Multi-Purpose Journal

Without much fuss, I managed to drift out of the habit of regularly posting links to Tumblr posts I've made here to "keep up for when I need to do that"; however, that doesn't mean I haven't given up all thoughts of that quick source of content. So far as posting computer magazine covers goes, I've worked well into 1978 by now; the initial announcements of 1977's "preassembled" microcomputers have given way to actual user reports. I also happened to think a particular feature in Creative Computing could stand on its own; by the time I'd thought that, though, I had to put three "Computer Myths Explained" together.

As I work my way into computer magazine covers from the second half of 1977 (and the Commodore PET's moment in the spotlight), I've got around to posting some of the covers I do have for a magazine that isn't online yet. After Creative Computing, Softalk, and Macworld, ROM ("Computer Applications for Living") does seem to have become the old computer magazine I'm most curious about, even if the fact it'll soon be gone from the narrative means its issues haven't been scanned yet.

ROM, July 1977
Kilobaud, July 1977
BYTE, July 1977
Creative Computing, July-August 1977
ROM, August 1977
BYTE, August 1977
Personal Computing, September-October 1977

I seem to have worked out a pattern for alternating between monthly and bimonthly computer magazine covers from 1977, although I suppose it'll change as other titles enter the fray. I also happened to repost a thoroughly classical arrangement...

Personal Computing, March-April 1977
Kilobaud, March 1977
BYTE, March 1977
Creative Computing, March-April 1977
Kilobaud, April 1977
BYTE, April 1977
Personal Computing, May-June 1977

Since the last time I made up a post here of the pictures I've been posting off-site, I managed to get to the end of 1976. From that point on, there'll be more computer magazines to post covers of, which does mean things will slow down by comparison...

The Best of Creative Computing (back cover)
BYTE, August 1976
BYTE, September 1976
Creative Computing, September-October 1976
BYTE, October 1976
BYTE, November 1976
Creative Computing, November-December 1976
BYTE, December 1976

This week, I pushed into the computer magazine covers of 1976. In starting that year, I covered the mysterious circumstances of BYTE changing publishers and stumbled onto the sudden, relative certainty the four issues of Creative Computing I knew of from that year were indeed all of the issues it printed, which would amount to my having seen every issue of that magazine... I couldn't quite resist marking "Pi Day," but I also pondered just what "dieselpunk" means.

BYTE, January 1976
Creative Computing, January-February 1976
BYTE, February 1976
BYTE, March 1976
Creative Computing, March-April 1976
BYTE, April 1976

After setting up a Tumblr as a hedge against not being able to make up posts here, I wound up being able to post several times to this journal anyway. However, it does seem that if I start offering links now, it'll be easier to get around to that when I can't put words together.

Setting out to post old computer magazine covers, I started with the first issue of Creative Computing, just preceding the notable appearance of an early microcomputer kit, then stumbled on Creative Computing's second issue just in time to include it in turn. A "landscape" cover and a slight change in the summary subhead brought that magazine to its summer break; along the way, I did recycle someone else's post just to try that out.