Softside
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SoftSide Magazine is a defunct computer magazine, begun in October 1978 by Roger Robitaille and published by SoftSide Publications of Milford, NH.
SoftSide was a magazine about programming. It had a format similar to the early issues of Nibble (magazine), with articles and program listings to enter and try out. A version that was specific to the Apple II began in January 1980, and lasted as a focused publication until August 1980, when it combined with the other versions of SoftSide (covering TRS-80, IBM-PC, and Atari computers). The Apple Computer edition was edited by Mark Pelczarski, who was also an Apple II game author and publisher.
In the first few years of publication readers often had problems with the legibility of the dot-matrix program listings. The printers of the time were not as legible as they are now and by the time it was photographed and placed in the magazine, it had become a bit illegible. One reader commented, "After a short while of typing, you felt like you needed some of the 'coke bottle bottom' eye glasses!" [1]
Like many computer publications of the time, SoftSide fell on hard times because of financial pressures and competition. This came during their attempt in 1983 to increase their distribution and reach a larger audience of readers. As a result, Robitaille made some efforts to reorganize the publication into a new magazine called SoftSide 2.0 (directed towards the computer user), and Code (for the programmer), with disk versions of both to be made available. Unfortunately, he was never able to get either concept fully established, and SoftSide disappeared from view in late 1984. 4
Programmers who appeared in SoftSide include Sheldon Leemon, Harry Bratt, Craig Chamberlain, and Lance Micklus.
