Practical Computing magazine
Encyclopedia
Practical Computing was a UK
computer magazine published monthly. The magazine was published by IPC
Electrical Electronic Press Ltd. The first edition was released in August 1978 as a special computer show edition, and the second issue was October 1978. The magazine carried on to 1987 when it merged with Business Computing. In September 1989, it was renamed Management Computing.
It provided in-depth review
s and preview
s of the latest hardware
and software for the information technology
enthusiasts and professionals, initially providing a mix of articles aimed at hobbyists and at small business people, later focusing its attention increasingly exclusively on the business and professional market.
s and the Tandy TRS-80
as well as single-board computer
s such as the UK101
and Nascom 2
. Later in its life it focussed more on business computers such as the ACT Sirius 1 and the IBM PC
. Towards the end of its life, reflecting their dominance in the small computing marketplace, it covered the IBM PC and compatibles almost exclusively, with the occasional Apple Mac or small UNIX workstation
piece.
The editors were:
The initial publisher in 1978 was Wim Hoeksma, who died in 1981. Chris Hipwell was its publisher in the early 1980s. Tom Maloney was advertising manager.
The cover price in 1978 was 50p; in June 1980 it rose to 60p, June 1981 80p, 1984 85p and 1985 £1.
Your Computer was a spin-off from Practical Computing.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
computer magazine published monthly. The magazine was published by IPC
IPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
Electrical Electronic Press Ltd. The first edition was released in August 1978 as a special computer show edition, and the second issue was October 1978. The magazine carried on to 1987 when it merged with Business Computing. In September 1989, it was renamed Management Computing.
It provided in-depth review
Review
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
s and preview
PREview
PREview is a requirements method which focuses on the early stage of Requirements Engineering: discovering and documenting requirements. PREview uses a Viewpoint-Oriented Approach to enable the conversion of top-level goals into requirements and constraints...
s of the latest hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
and software for the information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
enthusiasts and professionals, initially providing a mix of articles aimed at hobbyists and at small business people, later focusing its attention increasingly exclusively on the business and professional market.
Development and evolution
The magazine followed the trends of the microcomputer industry at the time. Initially it covered a broad range of systems including Commodore PETCommodore PET
The Commodore PET was a home/personal computer produced from 1977 by Commodore International...
s and the Tandy TRS-80
TRS-80
TRS-80 was Tandy Corporation's desktop microcomputer model line, sold through Tandy's Radio Shack stores in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first units, ordered unseen, were delivered in November 1977, and rolled out to the stores the third week of December. The line won popularity with...
as well as single-board computer
Single-board computer
A single-board computer is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor, memory, input/output and other features required of a functional computer. Unlike a typical personal computer, an SBC may not include slots into which accessory cards may be plugged...
s such as the UK101
Compukit UK101
The Compukit UK101 microcomputer was a kit clone of the Ohio Scientific Superboard II single-board computer, with a few enhancements for the UK market - notably replacing the 24×24 screen display with a more useful 48×16 layout working at UK video frequencies. The video output was black and white...
and Nascom 2
Nascom
The Nascom 1 and 2 were single-board computer kits issued in 1977 and 1979, respectively, based on the Zilog Z80 and including a keyboard and video interface, a serial port that could be used to store data on a tape cassette using the Kansas City standard, and two 8-bit parallel ports...
. Later in its life it focussed more on business computers such as the ACT Sirius 1 and the IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
. Towards the end of its life, reflecting their dominance in the small computing marketplace, it covered the IBM PC and compatibles almost exclusively, with the occasional Apple Mac or small UNIX workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
piece.
The editors were:
- 1978 — Dennis Jarrett (main magazine), Nick Hampshire (Computabits)
- 1979-1983 -- Peter Laurie
- 1984 — Jack SchofieldJack SchofieldJack Schofield is a British technology journalist and former Computer Editor for The Guardian newspaper, for whom he started writing a weekly computer column in 1983. He joined the staff to launch the newspaper's computer section in 1985...
The initial publisher in 1978 was Wim Hoeksma, who died in 1981. Chris Hipwell was its publisher in the early 1980s. Tom Maloney was advertising manager.
The cover price in 1978 was 50p; in June 1980 it rose to 60p, June 1981 80p, 1984 85p and 1985 £1.
Your Computer was a spin-off from Practical Computing.
Concept and design
- The coverart was initially hand-drawn, later it went for occasional (but humorous) photographs, then finally a mix of photos and geometric graphic design.
- From October 1978 to October 1979 the magazine serialised the book Illustrating BASIC by Donald Alcock. This book was unusually written by hand rather than typeset, and featured little insects to show common programming errors or bugs.
- When it was more of a hobbyist magazine, Practical Computing published fiction -- usually stories with a computing or science fiction slant. A noted series was Richard Forsyth's Son of Hexadecimal Kid, which ran from September 1980 to December 1981.
- The magazine underwent two redesigns in its history, in 1982 and 1985. In 1985 the title font changed, losing its trademark 'mu' symbol, and the subtitle 'for business and professional micro users' appeared.