Year: 2009

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Volume 14, Issue 3 now shipping

Volume 14, Issue 3 (September 2009)

The September 2009 issue of Juiced.GS was mailed this morning to all domestic and international subscribers. This 20-page issue features coverage of not one but two Apple II conventions: KansasFest and Mt. Keira Fest, held the same week in July but a half a world apart. KansasFest also led to two other of this issue’s articles. Peter Neubauer looks at how and why he wrote his HackFest entry, with judge Eric Shepherd offering his insight into what made Peter’s program win the competition; while Ivan Drucker reviews his favorite model of Apple II, which isn’t an Apple II at all.

In the time since our last issue, Juiced.GS announced it would be publishing another four issues in 2010. The September issue usually follows that announcement with a half-page subscription renewal form on the back cover. But who wants to rip that out and mail it in, thus defiling the issue? No need face such a conundrum this year, as the renewal form is now a separate flyer inserted into the issue. This separation also means none of Juiced.GS‘s 20 pages are used up by the subscription form. It’s a winning combo!

As always, every Web site and product mentioned in this issue is linked to from this site’s issue links.

If you have any questions or comments about this issue or Juiced.GS, please email me, or leave a comment below.

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Stamp of approval

A typical issue of Microzine.
A typical issue of Microzine. Image courtesy NeighborhoodValues.com.

I grew up with an Apple II in the classroom, where I regularly enjoyed Scholastic’s Microzine, a sort of edutainment version of Softdisk. One Microzine game (perhaps Math Mall on issue #22) put players in the role of the proprietor of a a galactic pet store, where they needed to fulfill customers’ orders. Shoppers weren’t picky about how many or even what kind of pets they wanted — as long as they collectively had the exactly right number of eyes, feet, tails, and other appendages. It might take three space monkeys, two Martian blowfish, and a cosmic coonhound to accommodate their expectations.

Though I haven’t seen an issue of Microzine in decades, I don’t have to miss this particular game, as I play it every year with the United States Postal Service. With each postage rate increase, I have to determine what stamps to buy to mail an issue of Juiced.GS. For example, it costs $2.92 to send an issue to Australia, but there’s no single stamp with that value. What lesser stamps can I combine to come closest to that number? It can’t be less than $2.92, but the greater the total is, the more cents are lost. It’s an inexact but demanding science.

There are enterprise alternatives to this chore: both Stamps.com and a Pitney Bowes mail meter would let me purchase and apply postage from my own home office. But both require a monthly fee, making them more suitable to companies that mail products regularly. That describes Juiced.GS‘s former publisher, Syndicomm, which markets a variety of Apple II hardware, software, and publications. But for Gamebits, whose sole product is Juiced.GS, paying monthly for something I’d use quarterly is not economical.

And besides, it’s not a great burden to manually address and stamp envelopes four times a year. But it does explain why your issues will be arriving this month featuring lauded authors and wedding cakes. It’s not a hidden message so much as it’s a manifestation of skills I learned on an Apple II.

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A fifteenth volume of Juiced.GS

KANSAS CITY, MO — July 24, 2009 — Juiced.GS, the last remaining print publication dedicated to the Apple II computer, announced today that it would continue publication for a fifteenth volume.

“When Max Jones founded this magazine in 1996, the Apple II line had already been discontinued for three years,” notes current editor-in-chief Ken Gagne.  “Nobody imagined it would still be printed into a third decade — but come 2010, we’ll have four more quarterly issues.”

Juiced.GS was founded to provide focused coverage of the Apple IIGS, the only 16-bit model of the Apple II personal computer that Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs originally created in 1977.  As other magazines have ceased publication or moved to online-only formats, Juiced.GS has expanded to encompass all models of the Apple II.

Each issue of Juiced.GS brings a variety of news, reviews, how-tos, and interviews that look at the past, present, and future of the Apple II and its community.  Recent features have included interviews with Bob Bishop, who, with Steve Wozniak, comprised Apple Computer Inc.’s original R&D department; and 8 Bit Weapon, a modern-day “chiptune” band that performs live music using retrocomputers such as the Apple II.  Other features have detailed how to build your own Apple-1, reviews of the CompactFlash for Apple (CFFA) and MicroDrive/Turbo interface cards, a tutorial for programming with TCP/IP, and a gamer’s guide to interactive fiction.

“I am just delighted with [Juiced.GS] — each issue just has a ton of content,” said Carrington Vanston in an episode of 1 MHz, an Apple II podcast. “It’s exciting just to get an Apple II publication in [this day and age].”

Juiced.GS 2010 calendar coverTo commemorate Juiced.GS‘s fifteenth volume, publisher Gamebits has created a 2010 wall calendar that features pictures of Apple II hardware, software, and people seen in past issues of Juiced.GS, but now in full color.  The calendar also marks significant dates in the Apple II’s life, such as the founding of Apple Computer Inc., the release of AppleWorks 1.0, the first broadcast of an Apple II-specific podcast, and the dates for KansasFest 2010.

Subscriptions to Juiced.GS, which is available in hardcopy only, cost $19 for U.S. customers and $26 for international.  The Juiced.GS calendar costs $16, which includes shipping anywhere in the world.  These products as well as free sample issues can be found on Juiced.GS‘s newly redesigned Web site, https://juiced.gs/

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Juiced.GS focus group & blog launch

This morning, Juiced.GS hosted a focus group at KansasFest. Less a presentation and more a roundtable, the session was an opportunity for editor and publisher Ken Gagne to talk with the Apple II community about how its last remaining print publication can better serve its (potential) subscribers.

Four areas were covered:

  • Format: Juiced.GS is facing the same issue as the rest of the publishing industry — print or online? We debated the pros and cons of hardcopy versus PDF.
  • Design: If magazines are supposed to freshen their look every 3-5 years, Juiced.GS is well behind the curve. Some suggestions for minor touch-ups were given, but the consensus was that Juiced.GS doesn’t need to look better than the (non-existent) competition and should focus on content and readability.
  • Content: After outlining the kinds of content commonly found in each issue, suggestions were taken for new topics and archetypes. Some would not be timely for a quarterly publication, but several ideas aimed at new members of the community were enthusiastically received. Candidates for future interviews were requested but none were made during the session.
  • Web site: This site was redesigned this year and is now easier to update and expand. How can we take advantage of that? Several attendees felt an online forum for readers and writers to converse and collaborate would be a valuable addition. This blog is the result.

Already the fruits of this dialogue can be seen here. How else would you like to see Juiced.GS evolve? What articles would you like to see published? Feel free to respond here, or email us. Both venues may be considered for publication as letters to the editor.