SUM

SUM grew out of a Timex Sinclair user group formed in Gainesville, in September 1982. The user group’s newsletter started out as postcards sent to a handful of people telling them when and where the next meeting would be.

In January of 1983, the group started sending out a single sheet of typed “news”. Slowly it grew to two pages, and then to a four page newsletter — all typed. The July 1983 newsletter was the first one created using a word processor: Memotech’s Memotext and the Seikosha GP-100 printer (also known as the Gorilla Banana).

Over the next year, the newsletter stayed at four pages, covering events at the last meeting, reviews, short programs submitted by user group members and where to find hardware and software.

When Timex exited the market, the newsletter’s editors, Richard Cravy and Joe Williamson, thought that interest would dry up.

“Instead, we were flooded with requests for more information on our group and newsletter. There was a great thirst for Sinclair knowledge from everywhere. Everyone wanted to unite to keep the faith going. So did we.”

At that point, Richard and Joe decided to turn the newsletter into a magazine.

August 1984 was the first issue of SUM Magazine. It was eight pages long, had six articles and two ads.

SUM merged with Time Designs Magazine after the July 1986 issue (volume 4, number 7).

The first year of SUM was reprinted in The Best of SUM.

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