 May/June 1987 issue | |
| Editor | Les Ellingham |
|---|---|
| Categories | Atari 8-bit Atari ST |
| Frequency | Bi-monthly |
| Publisher | Page 6 Publishing |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Final issue | 1998 |
| Based in | Stafford |
| Language | English |
| ISSN | 0952-4967 |
Page 6 (subtitled Atari Users Magazine) was a British magazine aimed at users of the Atari 8-bit family and Atari ST home computers. The first issue was in 1982, and it was renamed to Page 6 Atari User and then New Atari User before ceasing publication in 1998.
The magazine had its origins in the newsletter of the Birmingham User's Group, an independent Atari club based in England. Les Ellingham was appointed to be the editor of the newsletter, but decided to produce a magazine with broader appeal instead. He remained editor of Page 6 throughout its entire run of 85 issues. Although subscription-only for most of its life, it was available through newsagents during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
When Database ceased publication of the original Atari User magazine in 1988, Page 6 bought the rights (and subscriber list), [1] and renamed their magazine, firstly to Page 6 Atari User in February 1989 [1] [2] and then to New Atari User in June of the same year. [3] The latter was simply Page 6 under a different (and more newsagent-friendly) name, [3] and had next to no continuity with the original Atari User. The editor Les Ellingham had declined the offer to edit the original Atari User when approached by Database Publications in 1985.
Due to "high interest rate, reluctance of the news trade to support smaller circulation magazines and reducing advertising income", New Atari User had to be withdrawn from retail sales and become subscription-only with issue 59 (December-January 1993). [4] [5]
The magazine was named after the area of memory in 8-bit Atari computers covering locations 1536–1791. Memory is divided into pages of 256 bytes (the first being page 0). The sixth page begins at 256×6, or 1536. Page 6 is neither used by the operating system nor by Atari BASIC and so can be used to safely store short machine language routines to speed up BASIC programs.
The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first personal computer with a bitmapped color GUI, using a version of Digital Research's GEM from February 1985. The Atari 1040ST, released in 1986 with 1 MB of RAM, was the first home computer with a cost-per-kilobyte of less than US$1.
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International. It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 12.5 and 17 million units. Volume production started in early 1982, marketing in August for US$595. Preceded by the VIC-20 and Commodore PET, the C64 took its name from its 64 kilobytes(65,536 bytes) of RAM. With support for multicolor sprites and a custom chip for waveform generation, the C64 could create superior visuals and audio compared to systems without such custom hardware.
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. As the first home computer architecture with coprocessors, it has graphics and sound more advanced than most of its contemporaries. Video games were a major appeal, and first-person space combat simulator Star Raiders is considered the platform's killer app. The "Atari 8-bit family" label was not contemporaneous. Atari, Inc., used the term "Atari 800 [or 400] home computer system", often combining the model names into "Atari 400/800" or "Atari home computers".
Atari BASIC is an interpreter for the BASIC programming language that shipped with the Atari 8-bit family of 6502-based home computers. Unlike most American BASICs of the home computer era, Atari BASIC is not a derivative of Microsoft BASIC and differs in significant ways. It includes keywords for Atari-specific features and lacks support for string arrays, for example.
Dr. Dobb's Journal (DDJ) was a monthly magazine published in the United States by UBM Technology Group, part of UBM. It covered topics aimed at computer programmers. When launched in 1976, DDJ was the first regular periodical focused on microcomputer software, rather than hardware. In its last years of publication, it was distributed as a PDF monthly, although the principal delivery of Dr. Dobb's content was through the magazine's website. Publication ceased at the end of 2014, with the archived website continuing to be available online.
The Apple IIGS, the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family, is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer. While featuring the Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari ST, it remains compatible with earlier Apple II models. The "GS" in the name stands for "Graphics and Sound", referring to its enhanced multimedia hardware, especially its state-of-the-art audio.
Compute!, often stylized as COMPUTE!, was an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's PET Gazette, one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET computer. In its 1980s heyday, Compute! Covered all major platforms, and several single-platform spinoffs of the magazine were launched. The most successful of these was Compute!'s Gazette, which catered to VIC-20 and Commodore 64 computer users.
Action! is a procedural programming language and integrated development environment written by Clinton Parker for the Atari 8-bit family. The language, which is similar to ALGOL, compiles to high-performance code for the MOS Technology 6502 of the Atari computers. Action! was distributed on ROM cartridge by Optimized Systems Software starting in 1983. It was one of the company's first bank-switched 16 kB "Super Cartridges". The runtime library is stored in the cartridge; to make a standalone application requires the Action! Toolkit which was sold separately by OSS.
The One was a video game magazine in the United Kingdom which covered 16-bit home gaming during the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was first published by EMAP in October 1988 and initially covered computer games aimed at the Atari ST, Amiga, and IBM PC compatible markets.
Optimized Systems Software (OSS) was a company that produced disk operating systems, programming languages with integrated development environments, and applications primarily for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. OSS was best known for their enhanced versions of Atari DOS, Atari BASIC, and the Atari Assembler Editor, all of which were substantially improved over Atari's products, as well as the Action! programming language. OSS also sold some software for the Apple II.
Creative Computing was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format than the rather technically oriented Byte.
Atari User was a British computer magazine aimed at users of Atari home computers, and published by Database Publications between 1985 and 1988.
Atari ST User was a British computer magazine aimed at users of the Atari ST range. It started life as a pull-out section in Atari User magazine. From April 1987<http://www.atarimania.com/mags/hi_res/atari-st-user-vol-02-issue-02_5.jpg volume 2 issue 2</ref> onwards it became a magazine in its own right, outliving its parent by a number of years. It was published initially by Database Publications in Stockport, and later by Europress in London.
Antic was a print magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and later the Atari ST. It was named after the ANTIC chip in the 8-bit line which, in concert with CTIA or GTIA, generates the display. The magazine was published by Antic Publishing from April 1982 until June/July 1990. Antic printed type-in programs, reviews, and tutorials, among other articles. Each issue contained one type-in game as "Game of the Month." In 1986, STart magazine was spun off to exclusively cover the Atari ST line.
ANALOG Computing was an American computer magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. It was published from 1981 until 1989. In addition to reviews and tutorials, ANALOG printed multiple programs in each issue for users to type in. Almost every issue included a machine language video game—as opposed to Atari BASIC—which were uncommon in competing magazines. Such games were accompanied by the assembly language source code. ANALOG also sold commercial games, two books of type-in software, and access to a custom bulletin-board system. After the Atari ST was released, coverage of the new systems moved to an ST-Log section of the magazine before spinning off into a separate publication under the ST-Log name.
.info was a computer magazine covering Commodore 8-bit computers and later the Amiga. It was published from 1983 to 1992.
Dragon User was a British magazine for users of the Dragon 32/64 computers published from 1982 by Sunshine Publications. Production of the computers themselves had ceased by 1985 but the user community remained sufficiently active to justify the magazine's continuation until 1989.
New Computer Express was a weekly magazine published by Future Publishing in the UK from 1988 to 1991.
Byte was a microcomputer magazine, influential in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s because of its wide-ranging editorial coverage.
BEEBUG was a magazine published for users of the BBC Micro between 1982 and 1994. It was the first subscription magazine for computers made by Acorn Computers.
Literally in the last couple of days before this issue went to press PAGE 6 completed discussions with Database Publications which resulted in an agreement for PAGE 6 to take over the Atari User title [..] Look out for the new PAGE 6 ATARI USER on sale 19th JANUARY
This issue I have to welcome a lot of new readers to PAGE 6 ATARI USER [..] The major change that you will notice is a change in the name of the magazine
So here we have the first issue of NEW ATARI USER or rather the 38th issue of PAGE 6! [..] those who have been with us a long while can still call us PAGE 6 [..] nothing's changed except the name on the front cover.
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