Robert Lock, Publisher/Editor-ln-Chief
Will The Price Wars Continue?
Texas Instruments announced a $100 rebate program on the TI-99/4A, thereby bringing its price to $199. We must confess that we were never aware that TI had moved to $299, but this was apparently the case. The stock market welcomed all of this news enthusiastically, promptly lowering the price of stock in TI, Commodore, Warner Communications (Atari), and Tandy.
The recent market rally seems to have helped though, and the group is climbing back. Atari has announced a software coupon savings offer on the 400, and Commodore has moved to lower prices on the VIC-20. Predictably, Commodore has slowed down its introduction of the $179 Max machine, moving instead to dramatically increased VIC production. Their 40,000 units per month will be increased to 70,000 by late fall.
As an aside, we'd like to point out a few things. A personal computer is not, for example, a toaster. It's a sophisticated piece of computing power that, properly used, can teach, entice, amuse, and entertain. This is a rapidly maturing market. It will continue to grow on its strengths. We suspect that those who try to sell it on price alone will suffer in the long run.
West Coast Subscribers, Take Heart
Finally, with this issue, your copies will start arriving earlier. You are now officially in the "pool," meaning your copies are trucked by our printer to three west coast mailing centers, where your copies are mailed. The key is mailing you on the west coast rather than the midwest. We're expecting this will cause all of your magazines to arrive by no later than the First week of the month. Imagine – your subscriber copy arriving before retail store copies!
A Record Setting Issue
Not only did our press run break 100,000 with this issue, but we set other new COMPUTE! records as well: largest issue, most advertising, most four-color. Equally important, this special games issue is full of excellent articles, and, as always, programs ready to type right in and use. Enjoy it.
A New Atari President
Roger Badertscher, who resigned as president of the Atari, Inc. Home Computer Division in June, has been replaced. Ray Kassar, chairman and CEO of Atari, has announced the appointment of John Cavalier. Mr. Cavalier was previously vice-president and general manager of the Dixie-Dixie /Marathon unit of American Can Company.