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Editor | Dennis Brisson |
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Staff writers | Tim Walsh Lou Wallace Ellen Rule Beth Jala Tony Branter Robert Rockefeller Arnie Katz John Ryan Walt Latocha |
Frequency | Bi-monthly |
First issue | January 1984 |
Final issue Number | November/December 1992 Issue #94, volume 9 number 6 |
Company | IDG Communications |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
ISSN | 0741-4285 |
Run (stylized as RUN) was an American computer magazine published monthly by IDG Communications with its first issue debuting in January 1984. Bi-monthly publishing began in June/July 1990 (issue #78, volume 7 number 6), and went on until the magazine folded in November/December 1992 (issue #94, volume 9 number 6). [1] In its heyday, Run's monthly circulation was in the 200,000–300,000 range. Folio , the trade journal of the magazine industry, rated it as the second fastest-growing U.S. magazine of 1985.
The magazine contained articles about Commodore 8-bit home computers and peripherals, as well as reviews on available software packages for the computers. In addition, every issue featured several type-in programs written in BASIC and/or machine language. The magazine's name came from the BASIC command "RUN
", [2] which started execution of the computer's program, presumably typed in from the magazine.
The front cover was originally accented by a logotype reading "RUN", with each letter placed on a key button resembling those used on the C-64. In June 1987 the keys were removed and the font became italicized with rounded letters.
Run columns included the following:
Michael Vaughn Konshak, better known as Mike Konshak, a BASIC software developer and mechanical engineer, contributed the popular DataFile database management program and many other utilities for the Commodore 64 to Run. [4] The code was first published in the back of the November 1984 issue. A small note, written by Konshak at the end of the article, stated: "If you don't want to type this in, send me $6.00 and I'll send you a disk". [5] 1500 Run subscribers sent Konshak money in the first month, which prompted the editors to create the "Re-Run" disk to generate more revenue for the publisher.[ citation needed ]
A series of dozen follow-on article by Konshak were published in the ensuing two years, and the programs were exclusively sold on Run's Re-Run disk, as the editors restricted authors from soliciting for disks in the magazine from then on.[ citation needed ] Datafile then evolved into dFile64, dFile128, dFcalc, DFword, etc., and was sold by Konshak through his small company, MichaelSoft – "[a] cottage industry of homespun software". [6]