A.N.A.L.O.G.

A.N.A.L.O.G. (from Atari Newsletter And Lots Of Games) was the name of a computer magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit home computer line. It was known for its "advanced" programs in comparison to most type-in magazines of the era, especially its main rival, "ANTIC", another long-lived magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit line. "ANALOG"s first issue was released in February 1980 and it was published bi-monthly and then monthly until 1988 when it was sold to LFP, Inc. It continued to run until its final issue in December 1989.

Lee H. Pappas and Michael DesChesnes co-launched "ANALOG". The full meaning of the acronym was rarely spelled out in the magazine. Originally the title as printed on the cover was "A.N.A.L.O.G. 400/800 Magazine", but by the eighth issue it changed to "A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing". Though the dots remained on the cover, it was simply referred to as "ANALOG" or "ANALOG Computing" inside the magazine.

In addition to articles and reviews, "ANALOG" published games and other assorted programs as program listings. While the programs were covered under the magazine's copyright protections, users were granted the right to type them into their computer for personal use, so long as they were not sold or copied. ("Reader Comments", "ANALOG" #2, page 5). "ANALOG" earned a reputation for publishing fast and smooth machine language games, whereas most listings in the other Atari magazines of the time were written in Atari BASIC. Such games were accompanied by the assembly language source code.

Pappas went on to launch "ST-Log", a magazine for Atari ST computers, "Video Games & Computer Entertainment", "PC Laptop Computers Magazine","TurboPlay", "VISIO", "Picture This!", "Popular Home Automation", and "Home Theater Builder".

In 1989 LFP, Inc. announced it would merge "ANALOG" and "ST-Log" into one Atari resource. Instead, both magazines were dropped less than a month later and the staff merged into "Video Games & Computer Entertainment". December 1989 was the final issue of "ANALOG".

ee also

*"Atari User" – A British Atari magazine
*"Page 6" – One of the longest running Atari magazines

External links

* [http://www.cyberroach.com/analog/ "A.N.A.L.O.G." magazine archive] – At Cyberroach.com
* [http://www.atarimagazines.com/startv5n3/editorial.html STart Vol.5 No.3] – Editorial on ST-log's and A.N.A.L.O.G.'s demise.
* [http://www.atarimagazines.com/st-log/ ST-Log magazine archive] – At Classic Computer Magazine Archive