ZIP Beep was a humor magazine created by J Charles (Chuck) Strinz. It was published monthly from September 1984 to 1989 [1] [2] [3] [4] and was syndicated to over 150 Bulletin Board Systems around the world through BBS Press Service, making it the first ever online humor magazine, and one of the first online magazines. Most of the original 60 monthly issues are now available on the magazine's author's website. The magazine was based in Twin Cities, Minnesota. [5]
The humor in ZIP Beep ranged from topical articles regarding Ronald Reagan, Mickey Mouse, and Jay Leno, to more esoteric technology humor.
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination of the three.
The Acme Corporation is a fictional corporation that features prominently in the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote animated shorts as a running gag. The company manufactures outlandish products that fail or backfire catastrophically at the worst possible times. The name is also used as a generic title in many cartoons, especially those made by Warner Bros. and films, TV series, commercials and comic strips.
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short Fast and Furry-ous. In each episode, the cunning, devious and constantly hungry coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and subsequently eat the Road Runner, but is always risibly unsuccessful in doing so. Instead of his animal instincts, the coyote uses absurdly complex contraptions to try to catch his prey, which comically backfire, with the coyote often getting injured in slapstick fashion. Many of the items for these contrivances are mail-ordered from a variety of companies implied to be part of the Acme Corporation.
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.
Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. First founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology- and health-oriented media websites, online shopping-related services, internet connectivity services, gaming and entertainment brands, and cybersecurity and martech tools. Previously the company was predominantly a publisher of hobbyist magazines.
A beep is a short, single tone, typically high-pitched, generally made by a computer or other machine. The term has its origin in onomatopoeia. The word "beep-beep" is recorded for the noise of a car horn in 1929, and the modern usage of "beep" for a high-pitched tone is attributed to Arthur C. Clarke in 1951.
Datamation is a computer magazine that was published in print form in the United States between 1957 and 1998, and has since continued publication on the web. Datamation was previously owned by QuinStreet and acquired by TechnologyAdvice in 2020. Datamation is published as an online magazine at Datamation.com.
Computer Gaming World (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through the 1990s and became one of the largest dedicated video game magazines, reaching around 500 pages by 1997.
Minneapolis–Saint Paul, also known as the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, in the state of Minnesota, United States of America, has two major general-interest newspapers. The region is currently ranked as the 15th largest television market in the United States. The market officially includes 59 counties of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and extends far to the north and west. The radio market in the Twin Cities is estimated to be slightly smaller, ranked 16th in the nation.
PC Magazine is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues as of 2024.
PC Accelerator (PCXL) was an American personal computer game magazine that was published by Imagine Media. It was known for its Maxim-like humor and photography.
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie is a 1979 American animated comedy package film directed by Chuck Jones, consisting of a compilation of classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts and newly animated bridging sequences hosted by Bugs Bunny. The bridging sequences, which had been produced in 1978, show Bugs at his home, which is cantilevered over a carrot-juice waterfall. The film was released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Bugs Bunny.
Chuck is an American action comedy/spy-drama television series created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck Bartowski, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the CIA. The message embeds the only remaining copy of a software program containing the United States' greatest spy secrets into Chuck's brain, leading the CIA and the NSA to assign him handlers and use him on top-secret missions. Produced by Fake Empire Productions, Wonderland Sound and Vision, and Warner Bros. Television, the series premiered on September 24, 2007, on NBC, airing on Monday nights at 8:00 p.m./7:00 p.m. Central. The opening theme song is a wordless edit of "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" by the American rock band Cake.
Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet is an animated television special that aired November 15, 1979 on CBS. It stars Bugs Bunny and incorporated parts of several Looney Tunes cartoons. The special followed up on the successful Looney Tunes special Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals that had aired in 1976, which reintroduced the character of Bugs Bunny in his first new material since 1964.
The Brown Jug is a college humor magazine founded in 1920 at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Byte was a microcomputer magazine, influential in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s because of its wide-ranging editorial coverage.
Perihelion Science Fiction is an American online science fiction magazine specializing in hard science fiction. The first issue was published on November 12, 2012, and it has maintained a regular monthly update schedule since. Perihelion has published fiction by authors such as Joseph Green, Ken Liu, Lela E. Buis, Aliya Whiteley, and Steve Stanton, including articles by National Press Club member John A. McCormick and comic strips and illustrations by Casey Brillon, Christopher Baldwin, and John Waltrip. Sam Bellotto Jr., is the editor and publisher. Eric M. Jones is the associate editor. Perihelion Science Fiction pays semi-professional rates for fiction.
Gemaga was a Japanese video game magazine founded in 1984 as Beep and published by SB Creative. During its history, it was known variously as Beep, Beep! MegaDrive, Sega Saturn Magazine, Dreamcast Magazine, Dorimaga, and finally Gemaga. When it ended publication in May 2012, it was the longest-running Japanese game magazine.