There is much to try to cover here, so I will try to be as short about all of it as is possible.
First of all let me tell those of you who are subscribers to IQLR what is going on there. The publisher of IQLR, Bob Dyl, recently suffered a massive heart attack. This was not his first, in fact it was his first heart attacks some years ago that caused him to close his Sinclair computer business, English Micro Connection. After a few years of rest and recovery he opened the magazine IQLR which grew to be the largest QL magazine in the world at the present time. His health had been suffering for a few months now. When he had this large heart attack, which as of the last time I spoke to him left him in need of surgery, he was not strong enough to survive the surgery. I hope that with time and some therapy he will become strong enough to do whatever is needed. He has contributed much over the years to Sinclair computer users worldwide and many owe him a debt of gratitude. Thanks Bob.
This left Bob unable to continue with IQLR. In fact his family would not have let him if he tried. The last issue was all set to go, save for a few ads. I at this time am unsure what will happen with what he had. His wife and children are trying to handle things.
Since that time I have spoken with Jochen Merz, by phone and by FAX. I was FAXed that most of the QL dealers were going to do what they could to continue the magazine. The name may change. I was asked as a QL dealer to participate in this. At the show in Boston for the QL I assume we will be discussing this and I will let you know more when I know. When I last spoke they had assembled an issue to mail out. He told me it would be mailed out to the current subscribers and a “test” copy would be sent at cost to about 4,000 known QL users also. I hope this enterprise does work. Being mailed from Europe will not be cheap. As much as you Americans seem to love to complain about your mail service and the price…… you have rates and service times that are far cheaper and faster than any in Europe. Perhaps they can find ways to
lower the cost elsewhere.
I hope this issue gets to as many of you as possible before we go to the show in Boston. I also want to see as many of you there as is possible. Peter Hale, formerly of Emsoft, said to tell you that if you were flying in and needed a ride from the airport to the hotel to give him a call in advance so he would know before you arrived. I would give you his number and it is 617-889-0830. He lives about 10-15 minutes from the airport I think. If more of you show up at this show then there is a chance that they will continue, if not then kiss them good-bye!
That brings up a gripe of mine. I have had a few people complain to me that they think it is rotten that UPDATE will not continue on forever. Well gee whiz. Some wonder with the change from Mechanical Affinity to FWD Computing as to whether we will continue to support Sinclair computers. The answer on the magazine is that if we had better support from you we would have been continuing. It is as simple as that. When I hear someone who has never subscribed to UPDATE tell me how much they enjoy it and that they have photocopies of every issue . . . it can be annoying. I also do not want to have to write the majority of the magazine and over the years articles have become less and less. This is the last time I will ever bring this up in a public forum. You keep what you really support, kind of like your freedoms under your constitution, etc. If you neglect these things they get whittled away. This rule applies to all areas of life. End of subject.
Meanwhile I have seen more and more of you on the Internet or at least with email (electronic mail from your computer over the phone line). Some have asked me if I might consider an electronic version mailed out over the Internet. This would not have as much mailing cost. There would still be some expense on my part, but it would cut it to half or more. Not all of you have access to the Internet. Perhaps you should remedy that. It is the immediate future of computing and whatever comes after it will for some time be some variation of it. I would still need input of articles and some payment to do this. It would free Carol up from the hundreds of hours she spends printing, collating, stuffing of envelopes, labels, etc (I do believe she is somewhat burned out on this). It would cost less and perhaps I could be more timely. Write or email me on this Some have asked if I would put out a magazine on disk. Sounds good till you get to the part about having to have it in several formats (QL, Z88 in QL and PC, TS2068 in Larken..Oliger..Aerco, etc.) Then I would have to format hundreds of disks, use disk mailers and still go through the Post Office during their business hours. The neat thing about mail on the Internet is that it does not shut down and fifty letters cost me the same as one letter. Perhaps the time has really come for email. The poor old Postal Service has once again tried to figure out how they can make money on email. It will not happen, as they are too late with too little.
What would it get to have more of you send in articles for the next issue? It will be the last issue of UPDATE as you now see it. Please help me to make it one of our best. Would any of you be interested in having T/SNUG pick up where we leave off on support in the form of a magazine? They would definitely need people to provide them with articles for the Z88 and the QL. They have been strong in their support for the TS1000 and the TS2068. I will be sending them lists of current and past subscribers in North America. Those overseas I would want your okay before giving out your name and address.
New for TS1000 and ZX81 users. There is a new mini magazine dedicated just to them and it is from Germany. The first issue came out in January this year. It is free, as you only have to pay for the stamps. Send some IRCs (International Reply Coupons that should be available from your local Postal Service clerks). The address is:
Peter Liebert-Adelt
Luetzowstr. 3
D-38102 Braunschweig
Germany
E-mail: [e-mail address omitted]
amateur radio: [e-mail address omitted]
SALE ON UPDATE BACK ISSUES
This is a very limited sale. Boxes of back issues of the magazine take up a lot of room. We need the room for other uses, and don’t really want to send them to the land fill, so here is the offer.
You can get any four issues, except the current subscription year, for only $12 and this includes North American shipping. For other areas of the world add $2 for each four issues to cover extra postage. When you order give at least one alternative issue, as we may quickly run out of certain issues from years back. The first issue after we took over UPDATE was Oct.’90, so choose from then to the July ’95 issue. Any left in a few months will be thrown out, so get them now, please.