With
this issue we (hopefully!) welcome thousands of new readers. If this
is your first PAGE 6, welcome! I hope that you get as much enjoyment
from the magazine and your Atari as I have done over the past five
years. You may think that you have picked up a new Atari magazine
but you are in fact reading the longest established Atari magazine
in the UK, you have already missed 28 issues! This issue is,
however, our first on the newsstands so, if our existing readers
will bear with me for a while, I would like to
tell you what PAGE 6 is all about.
I started the magazine long ago in the days when the
only support Atari got was from a couple of newly founded American
magazines and I have tried to make it a magazine that users who
really care about their Atari computers can enjoy. I bought one of
the first Atari 400's brought into the UK and many of our regular
contributors have been using Atari computers for as long. The one
thing that, I hope, sets us apart is that everybody who contributes
to the magazine is a believer in Atari. You won't find any
journalists, or staff writers or freelance scribes or a publisher to
whom the magazine is just another earner, just fellow enthusiasts
who have been encouraged to share their thoughts and discoveries
with you. We don't knock anybody else, it's just that the magazine
is put together by people who have been in love with Atari for many
years and I believe that PAGE 6 reflects the very best on the Atari
scene.
Most
contributors started out, just like you, by reading the magazine but
have now turned into accomplished writers who can turn out objective
reviews, interesting articles and some incredible programs. You will
notice that our reviews tend to be long, because our reviewers know
their Atari's and I encourage them to study programs in depth before
writing their reviews. Our program listings are often even longer!
PAGE 6 has published some of the most complex, interesting and
well-written programs for the Atari and will continue to do so.
Don't be afraid to type them in, or send for the disk that
accompanies each issue if you really don't have the time.
I am sure that you want to get on and read the
magazine so I won't keep you long. I have always believed that
PAGE 6 belongs to its readers and I hope that you too can feel that
it is your magazine. Several of our contributors encourage you to
write to them and I hope that you will take up their invitation and
also let me know what you want to see in the magazine. You might
even like to contribute programs and articles. They will be more
than welcome!
TYPE IN
TYPO!
If you
want to type in any programs from PAGE 6, please type in TYPO 3
first. It is included in every issue and is one of the finest error
checking programs ever published. Each line is checked as it is
typed in and you will find it invaluable. Some of those long
listings may seem daunting but many of our 'old' readers have been
typing them in for years without any problem. You can too, and
typing in listings is one of the best ways to absorb those
programming techniques that others have discovered.
WHY PAGE 6?
You may already know, but if it is a puzzle let me explain. When I
first tried to find a name for the magazine I wanted something that
would be identified with the Atari machine (Atari wouldn't let me
call it Atari User!!) so I thought of all the various 'bits and
pieces' that made up the machine. The Operating System is divided up
into 'pages' for easy identification of various routines and one of
these pages was deliberately set aside for users to input their own
routines. This page was page 6 and as the idea of the magazine was
to encourage users to submit their own routines and programs for
publication, it seemed like a good name for the magazine! So PAGE 6
was born. I added Atari Users Magazine for clarification and took it
from there.
People still get puzzled but it soon trips off the tongue as several
thousand readers who have discovered us over the years will know!
Enjoy this issue. There are some great programs and
articles, some serious, some fun, but all written by dedicated Atari
Users. Just like you.
Les Ellingham
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