Editorial

This page will give me an opportunity to deal with pressing topics, and a chance to speak directly to you our readers. I won't be writing this department every month--just whenever something useful presents itself. For this issue the most pressing topic I can think of is who we are and what we plan for the coming year.

We are dedicated Atari enthusiasts who have been involved with the 800 and 400 since it came on the market back in late 1979. We have varied backgrounds, some of us are computer professionals and some of us are what I've come to call Atari professionals, very motivated Atari users. What we have in common is our enthusiasm for home computing, especially using Atari, and our desire to share this enthusiasm.

We've looked carefully at the Atari user community and watched it grow until now there are approximately 100,000 users. Most of us at the magazine have been involved in computer clubs and newsletter publications. We now think it's time Atari users had their own dedicated publication, a resource which can be turned to for help and up-to-date information. We intend to create a publication that you, as Atari users, can be proud of; a journal that will keep you abreast of the latest hardware and software developments; a national forum with articles written by acknowledged experts and motivated beginners; a magazine you will find indispensable. We intend to bring you the best reviews, the most informative how-to-do-it articles, and perhaps an insiders' column from Atari headquarters. Additionally, we shall make available the collected volumes of public domain software and this at a price you can't possibly ignore. (See our application for further information.) We have scheduled six issues in this our first year. Expect to see some changes in format and content as we learn who you are and what you need. Actually, that's my clever way of asking you for your support by way of phone calls and letters and of course your subscriptions.

We hope to provide a publication you shall all look forward to receiving. For beginners we have Starting Line, advanced programmers see Systems Guide, and software publishers and would-be publishers watch for our interviews with some Atari programmers who are making it. There's more, so keep watching--with your support we're really going to GROW.

Oh, one more thing. ANTIC will finally give Atari enthusiasts a strong clear voice that will be heard down there in Silicon Valley.

Well, that's it. If you have any questions just drop us a note--we'll respond in our I/O Board (that's our input-output department).

ANTIC, THE ATARI RESOURCE

James Capparell
Editor/Publisher